Most Christian websites and blogs will have biblical references scattered throughout their text. But how much better would it be if that content could be automatically linked to one of the Bible websites that are out there? Well, I suspect it could be even better if, instead of merely inserting a link, you could automatically insert a little pop-up window that revealed the text without even leaving the website. That's exactly what I can now do here on the blog.

That's just what those wonderful people at Logos Bible Software have done. For example, if I was to write John 3:16 or 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, a script now creates those neat pop-up windows. There is nothing to install as such, just a few lines of code to add to your template, or if you are using Wordpress, as I think I would like to do soon, then you can install a plug-in and customize it. Apparently you can even change the look to match your site. I'm told that so far 2,000 sites have installed it, and 10 MILLION pages are calling the script.

Pop over to Reftagger and you can get the whole thing set up in about five minutes or so.

On Friday night I was privileged to be invited to attend a glitzy Christian Blog Award ceremony sponsored by a number of prominent Christian organizations, including the UK's Premier Christian Radio.

You can imagine my pleasure, then, when some of the awards went to some of my blogging friends. I was also deeply honored and somewhat pleasantly surprised to receive second place in the "Most Inspiring Leadership" category. I hadn't really thought of this blog specifically as a leadership blog, but I guess I write about things I'm interested in. Judging by the design of some of these sites, it's certainly high time I made some progress on that major redesign we all know this blog needs!

Here is the full list of award winners and runner-ups:

Best Church Website

First Place and £1000
Kingdom Faith Church, Horsham
http://www.kingdomfaith.com/

Second Place
Magdalen Road Church, Oxford
http://www.magdalenroadchurch.org/

Best Christian Music Site

First Place and Bose noise cancelling headphones
The Band With No Name
http://www.thebandwithnoname.com/

Second Place
Worship Central
http://www.worshipcentral.org/

Most Inspiring Leadership Blog

First Place and Palm Pilot
Grahame Knox
http://www.insight.typepad.co.uk/

Second Place
Adrian Warnock
http://www.adrianwarnock.com/

Most Green (Environmental) Website

First Place and Solar Power Charger
Eco Congregation
ew.ecocongregation.org

Second Place
Environmental Ideas
environmentalideas.blogspot.com

Best Christian Newcomer

First Place and Nabaztag Digital Device
Looking at Life
http://www.lookingatlife.org.uk/

Second Place
What’s your point?
http://www.whatsyourpointcaller.blogspot.com/

Best Young Christian Blog (under 25)

First Place and Nintendo Wii
Hugh Bourne
http://www.hughbourne.co.uk/

Best Christian News and Reviews

First Place and Digital Recorder
Christian Today
http://www.christiantoday.com/

Shared Second
Release International
http://www.releaseinternational.org/
Shared Second
Inspire Magazine
http://www.inspiremagazine.org.uk/

Best Provision for Youth Website

First Place and Nintendo Wii and an article in Youthwork magazine
TearFund Youth Department
www.tearfund.org/youth

Second Place
Nymo
http://www.nymo.org/

Best Christian Social Action Website

First Place and Palm Pilot
Hope Info
http://www.hopeinfo.co.uk/

Second Place
Jubilee Centre
http://www.jubilee-centre.org/

Best Creative Christian Website or Blog

First Place and Apple iPod Touch
Theology Network
http://www.theologynetwork.org/

Second Place
CIA Basketball
http://www.ciabasketball.com/

Best Christian Organization

First Place and Palm Pilot
Catholic Church
http://www.catholicchurch.org.uk/

Second Place
Methodist Church
http://www.methodist.org.uk/

People’s Choice Award

First Place and Nabaztag Digital Device
Saffron Planet
http://www.saffronplanet.net/

SPONSORS OF THE EVENT:

Premier Christian Media's website
Nationwide Christian Trust

EPLS Design
KICC Kingsway
London Internet Church
KICCTV
Willow Creek

I missed the fact that Joe Carter hung up his solo blogging hat, but caught it on The Tall Skinny Kiwi's site. As one who is still in mourning for the passing of Phil Johnson's solo blog, and before that the true godfather of Christian blogging, Josh Clayborn, I'm disappointed by this latest development. I also don't think that Joe is right when he says that solo blogging is becoming passe. There seems to be waves of solo bloggers who arise, some of whom die away quickly, while others defect to group blogging at various points in their journey. But there are others who, like me, have absolutely no intention of hanging up our solo careers just yet.

The simple fact is that much of the time group blogs are boring. They are also often confusing. There are exceptions to this, of course. And that's not to say that group blogs don't have interesting posts on them. That tall skinny kiwi guy says it well when he describes what is, to him, important about a stand-alone blog.

— A standalone blog is a window to a real person and is therefore, or at least it should be, a holistic picture of someone's life. You are therefore far more likely to see a picture of a blogger's cat on a standalone blog than in a collaborative blog.

— Being an individual means you can speak for yourself and be bolder than you would be if you were trying to speak on behalf of the group.

— When my mother comes on my blog to look for pics of the kids, she doesn't really want to sort through other people's mess to get there.

— Online collectives might be more efficient in gathering information, but a single standalone blogger can appeal to a unique audience. The gospel writers might have been more efficient if they produced a single collaborative gospel, and the New Testament may have been lighter to carry in your pocket, but the fact is, and we celebrate this fact, that we have Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and each book is wonderfully unique in a standalone way. I think the future is still bright for Standalones

For me, a stand-alone blog is a single voice sounding a clear note amidst the cacophony of noise we are exposed to online and in our real world lives. It's an opportunity to experience fairly fully one person's view of the world. Reading a stand-alone blog is as useful as walking into a noisy crowded room and having someone come up to you and speak directly into your ear, pointing out who the important people in the room are and what has been going on before you got there. It may only be one person's opinion, but if you grow to trust that person, you will find yourself enjoying listening to that opinion, even when you happen to disagree.

I may not have comments any more on this blog, but I do still love the interaction that goes on via Facebook, e-mai,l and other people's blog posts about my own posts, and I like the opportunity to sound off about others' posts pretty much like I am doing right now. I don't have to be moderate in what I'm saying if I don't want to be. I'm not a corporate mouthpiece. I personally wouldn't want to be sharing a collective responsibility for the words appearing on a group blog right now, or at least not in place of writing here. Here, I get to say more or less what I want to say, and that's very liberating to me. You get what you pay for, so in other words, since you pay nothing, you can't really complain too much about what you get to read on any blog. No one is forced to keep reading, but if you want to find out more about what an English doctor who happens to serve on the leadership team of a reformed charismatic church with a genuinely international flavor thinks, well you're in the right place!

The fact that I'm the only voice on this blog is also, in another sense, a massive pressure. It is a pressure that I suspect from time to time brings out the best in most bloggers. Without that relentless daily deadline looming up on you, I suspect many of the most pithy, insightful, personal, and provocative posts by our favorite bloggers would simply never be written.

I do, however, worry at times about the responsibility of having become a voice that many people listen to. My ways of handling that concern are numerous. First, it's why I often quote the voices I like from elsewhere, who I think are wiser than I am, so I try to point people to their sites. The irony is that the more nervous I get about the number of readers I have and the more I try to send them elsewhere, the more they keep coming back for more! That signposting function is a mark of all the best blogs. My eagerness to expose people to other voices than my own is, of course, also why I have interviewed so many Christian leaders here. My concern about having become more prominent than I believe that I deserve to be is why I take seriously the feedback that I receive. It's also why I submit myself to a select few men who know that a single e-mail from them would lead to an instant deletion of any post on my blog they thought was deviant. Chief among them is, of course, the main leader of the core team I serve on at Jubilee, Tope Koleoso.

But despite those concerns, I'm glad that this blog gives me a voice. I'm surprised daily by how many people want to listen to that voice. But I hope I can do some good since I'm effectively able to have a daily quick chat over a cup of coffee with more people than I could ever dream of doing that with in a week of drinking coffee 24 hours a day. The interesting thing is that, just as I do with other people whose blogs I read regularly, I suspect that many of you feel like you know me a bit better than you "really" do. In fact, there is no doubt that even the people who really do know me in the flesh find they know me better if they read my blog. A very close friend of more than ten years recently told me he had discovered a bunch of stuff about me on the blog that we had never spoken about!

Not everybody should have a blog. Many people don't want to share that much of their lives with other people, let alone with anyone who happens to be passing by! Not everyone has the time, discipline, or inclination to write even a couple of hundred words a day. Not everyone can keep it up. There have been times when I have considered shutting my blog down altogether. But the last time I felt like that was a long time ago. I sometimes feel like I'm neglecting my readers, or at least not putting as much of myself out there as I used to. There are definitely times when I have to pull back a little, perhaps because of business or the need to refresh myself. But I have to say that most of the time I enjoy our chats over a mug of coffee, or in my case, a cup of tea. I won't be quitting just yet!

Abraham Piper has invited any bloggers coming to the DGM conference later this month to an open house on the Saturday evening. I so wish that I could be there, but sadly I can't. I am, however, sending a representative. My dear friend and pastor, Tope Koleoso (pictured right), is planning on attending the conference and will provide us with his feedback here on my blog. Do look out for him there, and say hello to him for me if you will be there!

UPDATE
It's not too late to book into this conference. At least one of the talks may prove to be quite controversial. You know you could be heading for trouble when Pulpit Magazine is getting a rebuttal in before you even speak!

ALERT, web tool with serious addiction potential ahead! Well, I managed to manhandle my blog tool to export 500 posts on one page, copied the text and generated the following wordle. Its a bit of fun. See also the following interesting wordles - Team Pyro, All the books of the New Testament (be sure to click to part two)

One of my habits is that once per year I like to share with you a list of the top traffic referrers to my blog. This excludes search engines and blog aggregators. This time I thought I'd do it for half a year. So, here is the list for the first six months of 2008. You can compare the 2007 list — positions are placed in brackets after the current one.

There are a few things that are worth noting. For the first time I have included some interesting data which says something about the "quality" of the referrals. It seems that the readers of different websites vary in their level of interest in my blog and the length of time and number of pages they tend to look at. Also, partly depending on how well established a site is, and how well worn the path is between them and this site, we see big variations in the percentage of visitors referred that are new to adrianwarnock.com

There are a couple of new entrants to the list which suggest to me that there is a whole audience of Christian website readers who do not frequent some of the typical Christian blog sites. So, for example, not only was desiringgod the top referrer, but they sent a high proportion of new readers and high-quality readers who spent plenty of time at my site reading other pages.

Some of the old faithful top blogs sent readers, only one-third of whom were new to the site. A noticeable exception to this was my old buddy, David Wayne (The Jolly blogger), as a significant portion of his referrals came over here for the first time.

There are also a lot of readers coming from Twitter and Facebook, which are not exactly blog aggregators, and I suspect we will see these two services grow in importance in their ability to drive readers. The Facebook Blognetwork service has been especially helpful for me in finding other Christian blogs.

I have a sneaky feeling that there are a whole new population of potential readers for Christian blogs that actually don't yet frequent any of the top blogs. I am fairly sure that a number of newcomers to my blog over the last few months fall into that category. Some of them haven't even heard of a blog, and might not even realize that this is one.

I have noticed an increase in readers of the blog since I got rid of comments, and I wonder if some of the non-blog readering public who are finding their way here are actually put off by the vigorous debates often seen in comments sections. Does anyone reading here really miss the comments section? I know I don't.

Since stopping the comments I have seen large increase in the number of appreciative e-mails I receive from readers, which suggests to me that these new readers are a nice bunch. I often have a smile on my face these days as I read my e-mails. So, thanks very much everybody, your feedback makes this all worthwhile. And thanks to everyone who has linked here, even those that didn't make the top 40 as links—even on less well-read blogs—are definitely crucial in helping people find this and other blogs to read.

I'd love to hear from you if you fall into this group of people who have found my website in the last six months and who don't really read many other blogs. Drop me an e-mail at adrian.warnock@gmail.com and let me know how you found the blog and what you do and don't like about it.

Without any further ado, here are my top 40 referrers:

Position (previous)		Ave Pages per Visit	Ave Time on Site	Per Cent New to This Site
1. (27)	desiringgod.org	3.15	00:06:22	57.15%
2. (3)	challies.com	2.10	00:02:24	32.36%
3. (1)	theologica.blogspot.com	2.13	00:02:28	34.55%
4. (4)	en.wikipedia.org	2.64	00:04:55	78.73%
5. (5)	thebluefish.org	1.95	00:02:15	18.19%
6. (2)	teampyro.blogspot.com	1.79	00:01:52	33.78%
7. (10)	janga.biz/terryvirgoblog	2.91	00:04:18	24.36%
8. (-)	newwordalive.org	3.72	00:04:40	53.03%
9. (16)	facebook.com	2.30	00:03:17	42.30%
10. (9)	hughhewitt.townhall.com	2.69	00:04:02	20.26%
11. (8)	benwitherington.blogspot.com	2.13	00:02:16	57.98%
12. (21)	fide-o.blogspot.com	1.66	00:01:33	23.74%
13. (15)	unashamedworkman.wordpress.com	1.85	00:01:46	34.23%
14. (11)	jollyblogger.typepad.com	2.89	00:04:03	67.60%
15. (26)	psalm305.blogspot.com	2.02	00:01:47	54.47%
16. (20)	danhames.blogspot.com	1.69	00:01:23	8.52%
17. (-)	hughbourne.co.uk	1.28	00:00:55	3.08%
18. (14)	albertmohler.com	2.43	00:03:07	57.24%
19. (23)	theopedia.com	3.20	00:06:51	72.84%
20. (25)	sfpulpit.com	1.90	00:01:41	33.19%
21. (24)	stevenjcamp.blogspot.com	2.15	00:02:07	40.09%
22. (18)	qaya.org/blog	2.56	00:06:05	53.40%
23. (-)	twitter.com	1.79	00:03:03	61.19%
24. (-)	gracechurchblog.com	1.59	00:01:20	13.16%
25. (-)	tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com	1.36	00:00:59	52.22%
26. (12)	spurgeon.wordpress.com	1.91	00:02:13	18.34%
27. (28)	lashawnbarber.com	1.70	00:02:10	19.75%
28. (22)	solofemininity.blogs.com	2.25	00:02:22	48.12%
29. (7)	blog.togetherforthegospel.org	2.99	00:04:32	28.93%
30. (59)	firstimportance.org	2.59	00:02:27	31.85%
31. (-)	esv.org	3.38	00:04:46	76.16%
32. (17)	monergism.com	1.96	00:02:40	66.42%
33. (-)	andreesphotoblog.blogspot.com	1.57	00:01:51	9.30%
34. (33)	piercedforourtransgressions.com	2.65	00:04:10	65.08%
35. (-)	blews.blogspot.com	1.63	00:01:47	91.74%
36. (29)	creative2567.blogspot.com	1.57	00:01:34	44.44%
37. (-)	heatlight.wordpress.com	3.69	00:06:05	69.44%
38. (-)	blogs.lifeway.com	2.32	00:04:25	70.94%
39. (-)	dannyfoulkes.com	1.67	00:01:20	4.76%
40 (32)	42.blogs.warnock.me.uk	3.26	00:04:02	48.96%

Maybe you didn't even miss us, but if you did, I am sharing an e-mail below that I received in my inbox shortly after returning from the USA on Saturday, which explains why you have been unable to reach my site. Nine thousand servers (and hence probably 100,000 websites) going down in one day is a massive deal! This kind of event is obviously almost unprecedented, and I am grateful for the efforts of our hosts in dealing with this difficult situation, as well as their regular updates. But it does make me wonder why, in this day and age, we still rely on essentially a single computer to host most websites.

I guess eventually the whole web will be cached so events like this will be a thing of the past. Perhaps one day DNS will know where two entirely separate copies of a website live and send us to the working one if something like this happens. Still, the fact that you are reading this means we are back, and hopefully will remain so for a long time to come!

Here is the e-mail I received:

Hello all:

If you are receiving this e-mail, then it is because you have a website or other services hosted on my server. Currently the server you use is down because the company that I host with (The Planet) has had a major fire incident at its Dallas Houston facility (where the server is held). The Planet is the world's largest hosting company, and this is a very unusual situation. Here is their current release;

This evening at 4:55 p.m. CDT in our H1 data center, electrical gear shorted, creating an explosion and fire that knocked down three walls surrounding our electrical equipment room. Thankfully, no one was injured. In addition, no customer servers were damaged or lost.

We have just been allowed into the building to physically inspect the damage. Early indications are that the short was in a high-volume wire conduit. We were not allowed to activate our backup generator plan based on instructions from the fire department.

This is a significant outage, impacting approximately 9,000 servers and 7,500 customers. All members of our support team are in, and all vendors who supply us with data center equipment are on site. Our initial assessment, although early, points to being able to have some service restored by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Rest assured we are working around the clock.

We are in the process of communicating with all affected customers. we are planning to post updates every hour via our forum and in our customer portal. Our interactive voice response system is updating customers as well.

There is no impact in any of our other five data centers.

As soon as I have further information, I will let you all know. I fully expect them to have restored service at some point today (Sunday). My apologies for downtime.

Many thanks,

Ian Jukes

Today I thought I'd tell you a little about an integrated approach I've set up to make use of the online social networking websites, and also to share with you some different ways you can access the content of this blog. Basically I have tried to ensure that a few of these sites will work together for me, that each of them, therefore, will offer you another way to follow the blog, and, where possible, point you to other material I think you should be reading before mine.

Before I get into all of that, let me first name and shame one of my real-world friends. Ian Jukes, who hosts this site for me, committed a cardinal sin using one of these social tools. I caught him calling me “The Warlock.” Now I can tolerate all kinds of misspellings of my name—I have been called Adrian Wamoch, Warnick, Warnack, Warnoc, Warnok, and all kinds of other things. But Warlock, I have always hated, for obvious reasons! So call me anything, just not Warlock, all right? For some reason the nickname that has always stuck to me has been “Warnie,” which I think was something to do with “Arnie.” The thing is, with this blog it’s not so much that “I'll be back!” as “I will never go away!”

On the subject of Warnies, I have made a significant change to the Warnie award system. I have decided that, as of today, I will award mini Warnies to specific articles that I like. Thus, the practical effect is that the Warnie Winners box in my left sidebar will now also include posts from other blogs and sometimes newspaper articles that I have come across and liked. If you spot one of your posts in the Warnie box, you are entitled to say, “One of my blog posts was given a Warnie today.” From time-to-time, I will still issue a Warnie to an entire blog, and from then on, all posts published on that blog will appear in the Warnie Winners box. Those blogs are also entitled to wear the “Warnie Winners” badge. That box is a great place for you to keep up-to-date on what's going on across the Christian blogosphere. You will find all the posts from such places as Tim Challies, the Pyromaniacs, and Terry Virgo, among many others. It is worth saying that you can subscribe to the Warnie feed in a newsreader, and from now on the Warnies will also appear on Twitter.

The observant among you will have already noticed that I have now joined the ranks of the Twitterers. Thanks to something called Twitterfeed, you can also read my blog headlines over there. Twitter has an option to allow you to export all your “tweats,” so you can find them at Twitter, here on the blog, in my Facebook profile page, and at my rarely used myspace page.

In addition, I use a program called MoodBlast to send some of my brief thoughts to both my Facebook status line and Twitter at the same time. There is also an option within Facebook that allows me to automatically import my external blog posts as Facebook notes.

Last, but not least, there are a whole range of ways people can read the blog using my RSS feed. All you need is an online or offline newsreader and you're on your way. There is no doubt that my own favorite way to read other people's blogs is by adding them to Google Reader. Google Reader allows you to subscribe to many blogs and scan their headlines each day looking for something interesting. If you want, you can befriend someone and share your favorite links with them. A few people have started doing that with me, and it sure helps me to find things to share (and as a result, put in my sidebar). You have to add someone as a friend to your GoogleTalk list in order to do this. Just search for me by my e-mail address — adrian.warnock@gmail.com. If you share blog posts with me like this, then they are just one mouse click away from receiving a post-specific Warnie!

When it comes to social networking sites, you very quickly have to make a decision. Are you going to befriend only those you know well offline? Or are you going to befriend a broad range of people, including many you have “met” only through cyberspace? It probably won't be a great surprise to you to find that I've taken the second approach.

If you are a regular reader here and want to connect with me on any of the above services, feel free to do so. It's always nice to know who's out there reading the blog, and to interact with some of you as time permits. At the moment I can still manage to answer the vast majority of my e-mails and online “friendship” requests. There are a few, of course, that do slip through the cracks, but if you send your e-mail again, the chances are good that I'll see it the second time around! This is truly a privileged position for me to be in—being able to connect to so many people, and yet not find myself swamped as those who are famous often are. I have enjoyed and benefited so much from my online friendships, some of which have eventually resulted in meeting face-to-face. So go on, don't be shy! Add me as your friend—just don't call me Warlock!

It’s my blogoversary today. Five years is a long time. At the moment I can only think of a handful of other Christian blogs that I still read from time-to-time that were around back in 2003. Here are some of them, with dates they began in brackets (where I know them):

• Tim Challies (June 2003)
  
  
• David Wayne (December 2003) now at Jollyblogger
  
  
• Joe Carter (October 2003)
  
  
• Josh Clayborn (? Date) now at In the Agora
  
  
• Hugh Hewitt (? Date)
  
  
• The Bluefish Project (August 2003)
  
  
• Cindy Swanson at Notes in the Key of Life (October 2003)



• Neil Cox (October 2002)
  
  

If you know of a Christian blog I’ve forgotten and which started sometime in 2003 or before, drop me an e-mail. Also, if you have been reading my blog—even intermittently—since those early days, why not drop me a line, too!

I thought it would be a bit of fun to have a look at how the design of my blog has changed over the years. Perhaps it’s surprising, but there has been a gradual evolutionary note to my design changes. Rarely have I made a radical overhaul overnight. If you would like to join me in memory lane, I have shared a few links below, thanks to the Way Back Machine. April 2003 is a lifetime ago in blog time!

• April 2003 — The initial design was really quite simple. I would spend much of the next few years messing it up and then trying to fix it!
  
  
• January 2004 — I embraced a Spiderman design using a drawing by my child. At the top of this page you can also see a list of links to a larger number of old blogs than I listed earlier. The best thing is that the links will take you to the old versions of those blogs—lots of fun!
  
  
• April 2004 — The spider’s web remained, but was alongside what was supposed to be a funky psychiatrist’s couch!
  
  
• July 2004 — A rather plain design, with the sidebar on the right and a truly awful background color, although the psychiatrist’s couch remained.
  
  
• April 2005 — By now a navy blue banner had appeared, which would remain for quite awhile in differing formats. I rather like the short endorsement quotes in this design.
  
  
• September 2005 — the psychiatrist’s couch has finally gone, replaced instead by my face superimposed alongside the tower which houses Big Ben.
  
  
• April 2006 — Three columns have now arrived, a concept which remains today, and Big Ben and my face have become separated.
  
  
• June 2006 – Big Ben and my face are reunited in the photo I still used until two weeks ago, when it was replaced with the current photo. The blue banner is clearly on its way out as it has shrunk dramatically.
  
  
• April 2007 — The site is now beginning to look fairly similar to what you see today, although it’s still a bit more scrappy.
  
  
• June 2007 — The navy banner has finally gone, although I couldn’t quite let it die, so a line remains, which I have yet to remove today. This is the final design at my old URL. Shortly after this snapshot was taken, I took the plunge and ditched http://www.adrian.warnock.info/ in favor of http://adrianwarnock.com/. Shortly after that move, the last few tweaks were made to bring the design to what it is today.

I am not currently of a mind to make any dramatic changes to my design. But I thought I would give any budding designers out there a chance to offer my blog a birthday present. I reckon it might be time I got myself a logo to replace that persistent blue bar and the current “adrianwarnock.com” title. So this post also announces a competition to design me a logo — feel free to submit as many drafts as you like via e-mail. There is, however, no guarantee I will use any of them. No prize is being offered, except the reward of knowing I might use your logo, although I will, of course, acknowledge any winner in a blog post here. So if you think five years of blogging deserves a better logo than my current plain text, now is your chance!

I didn't get a chance to capture people's response to Hugh Palmers' talk as I had to drive through the night to get home so I could go to work today. So when I was about half-way home, when I needed a break, I pulled into a service station and recorded this. It covers my reaction to Hugh's talk, the week as a whole, and also explains a bit about just what a blog is for anyone who is new around here! You can download it here.

There were a few other bloggers at the event. Pop over to the following blogs. If I have missed anyone, please let me know, or just write a post linking here and I should find you using this Google Blogsearch for other blog coverage or to meet fellow NWA attenders.

• the blue fish project — http://thebluefish.blogspot.com/
  
• Terry Virgo — http://www.janga.biz/terryvirgoblog
  
• Sean Green — http://seangreensblog.blogspot.com/
  
• rain — http://paper-angels.blogspot.com/
  
• Chris — http://chriswatsonlee.wordpress.com/
  
• Tim Chester — http://timchester.wordpress.com/
  
• Hughbo — http://www.hughbourne.co.uk/
  
• Simon — http://hiddenwithchristingod.blogspot.com/2008/04/very-excited.html
  
• Dan Hames — http://danhames.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-word-alive.html
  

The 2008 conference season is upon us. If you haven't finalized your plans to attend conferences, you had better move quickly as many of them are set to sell out as they did last year.

I will be attending two conferences, and will be live-blogging both of them. The first is a brand-new conference called New Word Alive. This runs from the 7th to the 11th of April.

In addition to reporting on the sessions, I will be recording video interviews with John Piper, Don Carson, and Terry Virgo. If you have had any questions you have always wanted to ask one of those giants of the faith, feel free to drop me an e-mail and I will consider asking it. I may also interview one or two other people at the event if time permits.

A limited number of cancellations have apparently been received, so at the last minute you may be able to squeeze into an event that sold out very quickly. If you are going to be there, do look out for me and say "Hi"—it's always nice to meet readers in the flesh.

The second conference I am attending is Together on a Mission, a Newfrontiers conference where Mark Driscoll will be speaking. Brighton Conference Centre and the surrounding hotels are filling up very fast, so move quickly if you want to come. It is definitely worth a flight, and many will be joining us from all over the world. This season there are also a number of other Newfrontiers events in the UK and also the USA, as well as elsewhere around the world. If you enjoy this blog, you would love to attend one of these conferences and they are all open to visitors.

There are many other conferences that are available. Together for the Gospel is worth a special mention as registration is only open for a few more days. Also, Tim Challies has a list of other conferences, and if I had time I would love to attend one of the Acts 29 events.

During the next few months my workload also increases as there are a number of conference-like events that I have to attend for my day job. I am also going to be doing a fair bit of preaching at church. So, expect there to be a few occasions where I don't post quite so regularly. The first of these short hiatuses begins right now. The blog readership has grown lately to such an extent that you might have noticed the current server sometimes bends under the weight. We have taken the plunge and bought a brand new server. At some point in the next few days you should hopefully notice a big improvement in load time and, I trust, an absence of the occasional outages we have been experiencing lately. To make this transfer as smooth as possible for the tech guys, I will not be publishing anything new until the transition is complete.

Have a nice few days, and keep following the links in my Warnie sidebar in the meantime.

3,000 posts—that’s some kind of milestone, I guess. It means that while I may not have been blogging for as many continuous days as Challies, I have been cranking out posts at an average rate of over 1.6 a day for almost five years despite my intermittent blog breaks. I thought that I would comment on the 1st Warnock Blog Entry, which appeared on April 16, 2003.

Hi! This is Adrian Warnock here beginning his blog. Quite why I am starting today is anybody's guess, but I think it’s something to do with being at the point of major change in my work life. Of course, the world is in flux right now also, and I guess the deluded part of me thinks that, at the very least, I would like to be able to read my thoughts again at some point in the future. Maybe these blogs will be like diaries used to be? But then, who keeps a diary these days? I did keep one years ago. It would be nice to be able to show my children these musings when I am old and grey, assuming that I make it that long, of course!

I really don't know how regular a blogger I will be, but if my own sudden interest in other people's blogs is anything to go by, then I might be surprised how many people are interested in the witterings of an aging psychiatrist in London UK. There is something very personal and appealing to the nosy part of me (and believe me psychiatrists are nosy (of course we are!!) about blogs. So maybe someone out there will find this interesting. It will, no doubt, be a ragtag bundle of thoughts, links, news that interests me, and quotes. I guess a blog is putting part of yourself out there for all to see. It almost makes you feel like you are making something immortal. Kind of like bringing a child into the world and doing your bit to counteract future underpopulation in the western world. Maybe blogs are surrogate children for all those childless net citizens. Which kind of begs the question—What is a father of four doing producing one?!

Being a father, I will no doubt bore you all silly at times with funny tales about the kids. I may also muse about psychological suffering, wonder how the Bible can be applied to 21st century life, and generally chat. Now chat is something I'm good at!!! Although this is my first blog, it is not my first website. Sermons and articles that I and others have written are available at Jubilee Church which is the church I am proud to attend. Why not pop over there, take a look, and mail me about something and we will get this show on the road!

Thinking back I really had NO idea what I was letting myself in for, either in terms of the change that was coming to my work life (something that I deliberately do not talk about on my blog) or what blogging itself would entail. I think that my motivation of having something to show my children in years to come and leaving some kind of mark behind me is still very much there. I still tend to think of my blog readers as being my friends or family members, which is why I still bore you with stories (and even videos) of my five kids and our trips.

Oddly, I have rarely mentioned psychological or psychiatric issues on the blog, partly because of my desire to keep work and blogging entirely separate. Maybe one day I will speak about Christians and psychiatry. For now the closest I have come to addressing those issues was an old series on Christian counseling.

One massive benefit for me in my off-line social relationships has been the outlet that blogging has given me for all my pent-up ideas and thoughts. I am now so much better at keeping a cork in the bottle of sparkling wine that is my brain and mouth. So, I hopefully don't bore people in the real world quite as much as I used to! There’s a thought—“Start a blog—become less of a bore!”

I’m glad that I’m still part of the same church, living in the same city, and married to the same wife as I was when I started out on this adventure called blogging. Three thousand posts later, I’m sure that no one individual has successfully managed to endure every one of them. Someone started on that marathon effort once. They quietly gave up roughly half-way through, I think! Blogging has helped me no end, especially in thinking through issues and understanding other perspectives far more than I ever did before. I never knew how much hard work it would be. But I have never regretted it. Not everyone should start a blog. Not everyone should continue a blog. But from my own personal perspective, I’m so glad that one day I was able to start and could have said, if only I knew—“One down, only 2,999 to go!” But this will not be my last post, so here's to the next 3,000 posts. I’ll keep writing as long as you keep reading!

I have now come to the end of publishing the top 30 posts of all time on my blog. I have compiled a list here, with links back to the original posts. I hope you enjoyed remembering these posts as much as I did!

1. Interview with Mark Driscoll — April 2, 2006
   
   
2. Blogging, Discernment, and a Book by Tim Challies — October 26, 2007
   
   
3. The ESV—A Bible Translation for Everyone? — July 10, 2005
   
   
4. Sam Storms, John Piper, and John Bunyan Versus Wayne Grudem, Al Mohler, and Mark Dever — August 21, 2007
   
   
5. Steve Chalke and "The Lost Message of Jesus" — November 21, 2004
   
   
6. Interview With Wayne Grudem: Highlights and Reflections — December 18, 2006
   
   
7. What is a Reformed Charismatic? — November 26, 2005
   
   
8. Interview With C. J. Mahaney — October 10, 2005
   
   
9. Thanksgiving Sermon—The Importance of Gratitude — November 28, 2005
   
   
10. I Don't Want Balance . . . I Want It All! — July 19, 2007
    
    
11. The Atonement—N. T. Wright Attacks Both Sides of the Debate — April 23, 2007
    
    
12. The Toronto Blessing—When the Church Seemed to be Going Mad — May 15, 2005
    
    
13. Tom Wright's Response to John Piper — November 19, 2007
    
    
14. Interview —Terry Virgo on the Future (Summary Post) — June 28, 2007
    
    
15. Massive Collection of mp3 Messages Made Free — August 22, 2007
    
    
16. Who Are Your Favorite Well-Known Living Preachers? — July 20, 2005
    
    
17. Interview With Sam Storms — April 12, 2006
    
    
18. Kim Riddlebarger Contradicts John MacArthur — August 27, 2007
    
    
19. Adrian Interviews Justin Taylor — January 17, 2006
    
    
20. Twelve Literary Features of the Bible — October 25, 2007
    
    
21. Adrian Interviews Mark Dever — January 30, 2006
    
    
22. Albert Mohler—Radio Host and Theologian — November 8, 2006
    
    
23. Interview With Wendy Alsup, Deacon at Mars Hill Church — January 25, 2007
    
    
24. Interview With Rob Rufus — July 13, 2007
    
    
25. Penal Substitutionary Atonement: Precious Gospel or Divine Child Abuse? — July 2, 2007
    
    
26. 25% Off Logos Bible Software — July 28, 2006
    
    
27. The Best Blond Joke in the World . . . Ever! — January 14, 2006
    
    
28. Who is Adrian Warnock? — September 2, 2006
    
    
29. Josh Harris on Being Discipled by C. J. Mahaney — December 20, 2005
    
    
30. How to Use the New Google Calendar, Including Outlook Synchronization — April 15, 2006
    
    

Today I can finally reveal that No. 1 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on April 2, 2006, and was my interview with Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Thanks to my friends at Crossway, a free copy of Mark Driscoll's new book, Vintage Jesus, will be winging its way to Vince, who e-mailed the correct answer, Hugh, who blogged it, Terry B, who guessed wrong, and Craig who deserves a prize for persistence.

Back in April 2006, I had only recently heard of Mark Driscoll. When we conducted this interview, he was already prompting quite a significant response online, and as the months progressed, he would become probably the most talked-about preacher on the Internet. Other recent and popular posts on my blog about Mark Driscoll include:

• Mark Driscoll, Terry Virgo, and Shepherding God's People
  
  
• Driscoll on the Defeat of Shame and the Scotland MP3s
  
  
• Mark Driscoll Preaches On the Atonement in Edinburgh, Scotland
  
  
• Mark Driscoll at Menmakers in Scotland
  
  
• Mark Driscoll Apologizes for Not Being Humble
  
  
• Mark Driscoll Firm, But Kind, About Joel Osteen on Prosperity Teaching
  
  
• Mark Driscoll in Christianity Today

I have also listed ways of obtaining Mark Driscoll's sermons online at "Audio Sermons: Mark Driscoll—The Charismatic With a Seat Belt."

It is an absolute pleasure to welcome to my blog, Mark Driscoll. Mark is known for having a prominent role in the early days of the Emergent movement, and for his rapidly growing Mars Hill Church. More recently, via his new venture, Resurgence, he has made an explosive entry into the Christian blog-world, which some have likened to none other than The Pyromaniac himself. More posts about Mark Driscoll are linked at the end of this article. You can also visit my interview with Wendy Alsup, a deacon at Mark Driscoll's church.

Adrian
So, Mark, tell us a bit about yourself and your ministry . . .

Mark
I was born in 1970 to a hard-working blue-collar construction worker dad. I was raised Irish Catholic, but did not know Jesus until God saved me while reading Romans in college at the age of 19. Shortly thereafter, God spoke to me, telling me to plant a church, train men, preach the Bible, and marry my girlfriend, who was a Christian I dearly loved. I married Grace at the age of 21, graduated with a degree in Speech at 22, moved back to my hometown of Seattle, and launched Mars Hill Church at the age of 25. Today I am the father of five children and remain one of the elders at Mars Hill Church.

Adrian
In my first post about you I said, "Mars Hill is one of those unique churches that is probably too emerging for some evangelicals to cope with, much too traditional for the emerging folks, too charismatic for the reformed folks, and too reformed for the average charismatic. It's a wonder anyone likes the church! Actually, the more I read of Mark the more he sounds like he is making his home in the same kind of center ground that my own church tries to occupy." Do you recognize that description of yourself—do you sometimes feel like something of a theological misfit?

Mark
I am a theological misfit and have learned to be okay with that. We are missional, which offends fundamentalists. We hold to the fundamentals, which offends the liberals. We are theologically charismatic, but not shake and bake holy rollers, which puts us in the middle of a big debate to be shot by both sides. We are reformed, but not old school, and don't baptize babies, don't hold to the regulative principle, and won't die on the hill of Limited Atonement, but hold a more unlimited/limited position, which upsets both sides of the debate. In the end, I hold to a high view of inerrant Scripture and am trying to be biblical, even when it makes a mess of my systematics.

Adrian
What other groups or individuals can you look at and say, "Yeah, they seem to have got it—I can follow them"? Who would you say have been your main influences?

Mark
I learn a lot from John Piper, D. A. Carson, Wayne Grudem, and Tim Keller. The dead guys I like tend to be Puritans and early church fathers. I also am a huge Spurgeon fan, and read every biography I can get on him. I love biographies and learn from the lives of Calvin, Luther, Aquinas, Augustine, Patrick, etc. . . .

Read more . . . Interview With Mark Driscoll

I have had a number of entries in my competition to guess what is the most popular post on my blog. Only one person has come up with the right answer, however, and it is not a blogger. So, I thought I'd give the rest of you a small clue, and 24 hours more to guess correctly. I can reveal that the post in question is about a Christian leader. Tomorrow I will announce the winners and reveal the most popular post.

The queries have started coming in. Readers are e-mailing me, wanting to know:

1. Have I forgotten about the series of republished popular posts?
   
   
2. What is the number one most-read post on this blog?

The suspense is building up . . . !!

So I've decided to launch a competition, offering four free new Christian books to the winners. The competition question? It's simple. As of now, which post is currently the most frequently read post on my blog? (There are only 2,990 or so to choose from!)

The first two bloggers who post the correct guess (with a link back to this post) will each be declared a winner and receive a Christian book through the mail. Two more books will go to the first two correct e-mail guesses. If there are fewer than two bloggers or e-mailers with the correct answer, the free books will switch to the other group. If no one gets the right answer, I will select some winners in a quasi random way (so don't sue me!).

Get thinking, and feel free to enter more than once! E-mail the post URL to adrian.warnock@gmail.com, or write your guess on your blog.

No. 2 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on October 26, 2007. This post was an expression of some of my own concerns and frustrations about the blogging world I have come to love so much. I said some things I had been wanting to say for a long time, and it was not a great surprise that the aftermath of this post would lead me to disable comments on my blog a month later. Tim's book addresses discernment, which lies at the root of many of my issues with the Christian blogosphere and its direction.

A couple of updates to the original post appeared several days later and have been included here as part of the original post.

UPDATE—November 3, 2007
Phil has now written part two of his reply, and I have responded with a post entitled, "Of Tone, Discernment, and the Charismatic Question."

UPDATE—October 29, 2007
Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacs and I have been debating the issues raised by my criticism of him in the comments section of his original post. Just search for "Adrian" using the "find in page" function if you want to follow our specific debate. Phil has also written a new post, "If you can't say something nice," and we are debating in the comments on that post.

I will leave this post at the top of my blog for a couple more days as I want to give you all a chance to read it. If you are interested in some of my related thoughts on this subject, you could read the following posts:

• My Visit to the Billy Graham Center
  
• I Don't Want Balance, I Want It All!
  
• My Comments Policy
  
• Blogging Principles for Christians

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Those of you with an eagle-eye will have already noticed that I am publicizing Tim Challies' forthcoming book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. I doubt that many are surprised that I should want to encourage you to read his book, and I will show in this post why that is the case.

To begin with, however, I want to be very open and honest with you. When I first heard that Tim was writing a book I was actually a little concerned. This may surprise those regular readers who know how much I respect Tim and enjoy his blog. But I still had in my mind an old paradigm where those who are in some way "approved" as trained experts are the ones who should write books. Tim, like me, has no theological degrees. I also know that, just like me concerning this blog, he has been rather surprised by the way in which his readership has grown to an extent he never predicted (and, I should say, to a substantially larger figure than my own). So I was surprised that Tim put his neck on the line still further by taking on the challenge of writing a book.

Tim and I have both been riding a wave—the wave of blogging. In both the secular field and the Christian field, it seems that the most successful bloggers almost all seem to have something in common; they are not "officially trained" recognized global experts in their chosen fields. Perhaps this is because the real experts are too busy to write on a daily basis, or perhaps this is because of a new phenomena in our culture—one with which I'm not particularly thrilled, to be honest. In our 21st century culture there is a growing mistrust of any form of authority and of academics. It is actually rather sad to me that this now seems to be spilling over into the Church, and that it might seem, at first glance, to also include the Christian blogosphere.

One of the most influential early articles discussing the Christian blogging phenomenon was titled, "We Know More Than Our Pastors," and it embodied this trend. It concerned me immensely. David Wayne summarized this piece and sounded some very valid concerns about it. For me, I wanted almost nothing to do with the concepts outlined therein.

Even as I have enjoyed the way that I have been able to be buffeted in this hurricane called blogging, I have also been somewhat concerned about some of the implications of this new marketplace of ideas. I suppose that, despite these reservations, I remain in the blogosphere because I am drawn to it as surely as a bee is to a flower in bloom, and as the Apostle Paul was to the debating spots of ancient Athens.

I am also here because somebody has to be. I am certainly not here because I imagine myself to be at the vanguard of some modern reformation that will sweep away the "old guard" in the way some bloggers (usually not Christian ones) speak about. I am here because, ironically enough, I see this new media as a way that we can proclaim the old, old message. I am here because, in some small way, I can act as a signpost to direct passing traffic to wiser heads than mine. The more readers I find visiting here, the more I feel the need to both quote and link to others. Whatever the size of your blog readership, that filtering process is the single best gift you can give both to your readers and to the writers of even the biggest blogs. I am pleased that the headlines from several bloggers who deserve to be read more than I do appear in the "Warnie Winners" box in my sidebar.

The blogging community can be thought of as a road system, a library, an ecosystem, or perhaps most aptly of all, a jungle. With no single classification system or map, what is needed are good wise guides. There are precious few of them online.

Read more . . . Blogging, Discernment, and a Book by Tim Challies

No. 3 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on July 10, 2005 and represented the first in my series of interviews with Christian leaders. I had no idea back in 2005 where the blogging journey would lead me. An exclusive offer to interview the translators of what was then a little-known, new, apparently niche-appeal translation was simply too good to turn down. The folks at Crossway were kind enough to offer me this amazing opportunity, which I grabbed with both hands!

For awhile, my blog was entirely devoted to the ESV. At the time, some people probably thought I'd never talk about anything else! They were wrong, of course, because although I often do go on and on about a subject for quite awhile, eventually the subject changes as the weeks roll into months and then years!

Here is that post in its entirety. For an exhaustive list of posts about the ESV on my blog, please click on the link provided at the end of this post.

This post is the final one in an extended series I have run on the English Standard Version of the Bible. The opportunity to interview the ESV translators has been great. We have one more answer to share on a video clip, and at the end of the post I will list links for all my previous posts on the ESV (including some that weren't directly to do with the interview).

I hope this series of posts will continue to be of use to others, so if you have enjoyed them please do consider linking to this post on your own blog.

If you want to know more about the ESV version of the Bible, these interview posts should be helpful to you. There is also a great ESV Blog which is run by the publishers.

If these posts have prompted you to buy yourself a new Bible, do let me know by e-mailing me at adrian.warnock@gmail.com. The choice of Bible translations is a very personal thing, and most serious Bible students will own more than one version. Comparing and contrasting differing translations of a passage is very helpful in trying to understand what the Bible means.

I hope that even if you do not decide to use the ESV as your primary Bible translation, you will at least look at it from time-to-time to compare it to your current favorite. It is available to read for free online, and can be bought online from Crossway or Amazon.

The Final Question
To what extent was the translation of the ESV Bible one consciously assisted by prayer and the Holy Spirit? How conscious of his work in illuminating and guiding our understanding of God's Word were you in working together on this translation?

Watch J. I. Packer respond (Windows Media).

I may say, we did make worship basic to what we were doing and started each day with a reading of Scripture, a word or two of application, and prayer together. And we thought that important. We wanted the blessing of God on what we were doing, and we were sensitive not to follow a procedure which would, in fact, leave God out of what we were doing.

Read more . . . The ESV—A Bible Translation for Everyone?

No. 4 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on August 21, 2007, and was one in a series of posts that catalogued a major debate about baptism and church membership which took place online between such theological heavyweights as John Piper, Sam Storms, Wayne Grudem, Lig Duncan, and Mark Dever.

The posts listed below were all so popular they could have made the top 30 in their own right. It's worth reading all of them:

• The Pipers Respond to Dever in the Baptism Debate
  
  
• Wayne Grudem Changes His Mind on Baptism
  
  
• Wayne Grudem Replies to John Piper on Baptism
  
  
• John Piper Disagrees with Wayne Grudem Over Baptism Graciously
  
  
• Wayne Grudem Says Sam Storms is Right About the Lord's Supper
  
  
• Sam Storms Feels Mark Dever is Confusing on the Lord's Supper
  
  
• Mark Dever Joins the Grudem Versus Piper Baptism Debate
  
  
• John Bunyan and the Grudem & Dever Versus Piper Baptism Debate

The post begins as follows:

This whole baptism debate is shaping up to be very interesting indeed. It is surely the first time in living memory that those who I can only think to call the "big guns" have used the blogging medium to have a serious theological debate in front of the rest of us. While Lig Duncan and Justin Taylor have both helpfully shared a bit about what paedobaptists believe, this debate has rather been about whether our local churches must have clear stances on this issue.

Arguing for a more rigorous approach, we have seen Wayne Grudem (who also started the whole thing), Mark Dever, and his 9Marks buddy, Aaron Menikoff, while on the other side we have had comments from John Piper, Abraham Piper, John Bunyan, and now in this post, Sam Storms.

I and many others have very deliberately steered clear of joining in the debate because, for some reason, I'm finding it one that is very stimulating and interesting to observe from the touchline. It has been a model debate, and is a clear example of how we can disagree robustly on an issue while still loving and respecting each other. The following words from Sam Storms are no exception. Sam is a good friend, and has given me permission to republish the following complete article which appeared in his newsletter.

The rest of this post is taken in its entirety with permission from an e-mail from Sam Storms, who retains the copyright and is alone responsible for its content.

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Reflections (46)

Piper, Grudem, Dever, et al. on Baptism, the Lord’s Table, and Church Membership

(Just how “Together for the Gospel” are we?)

A few days ago Justin Taylor alerted us to a slight change in Wayne Grudem’s view on baptism, to which John Piper then responded. Wayne then posted his response to John’s response, and one needed only to wait for the ripple effect. By the way, you can read these articles on Justin’s blog in the archive section (www.theologica.blogspot.com).

Recently (August 16, 2007), Mark Dever posted on this issue at the 9Marks blog (www.blog.9marks.org). My primary concern is less with the question of the relationship between baptism and church membership (as important as that is) and more with a related topic that emerges in the course of discussion.

Let me take you back to the Together for the Gospel conference that was held in late April, 2006. It was hosted by Mark Dever, Al Mohler, Ligon Duncan, and C. J. Mahaney, who also invited three others to deliver plenary messages: John Piper, R. C. Sproul, and John MacArthur. Registration for next year’s conference is now open and I strongly urge you to attend. I will certainly be present.

After the conference was officially over, on Friday afternoon, there was a small gathering of some 75 people in one of the adjoining rooms at the Galt House Hotel. The purpose of this meeting was to address an issue that was raised last year by John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

To be brief, John has come to the conviction that the terms on which one enters the membership of the local church should be, generally speaking, as close as possible to the terms on which one enters the membership of the universal church. In other words, he grew increasingly unsettled by the fact that conscientious, born-again, Christ-loving, Bible-believing Christians who were only baptized as infants could not join his local church. It has been the policy of Bethlehem Baptist Church, a member of the Baptist General Conference, that in order to become a functioning member one must, among other things, be baptized as a believer. On this scenario, Ligon Duncan and R. C. Sproul, being Presbyterians, could attend but would not be permitted to join Bethlehem Baptist Church. . . .

Read more . . . Sam Storms' e-mail

No. 5 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on November 21, 2004. I felt like a lonely figure back in 2004 with my strong criticism of Steve Chalke's views on the atonement. I argued that his words were close to blasphemy at the time. John Piper would subsequently accuse Chalke directly of blaspheming, and Wayne Grudem would first agree, then modify his position to something similar to what I had said back in 2004.

Many questions remain unanswered about this whole controversy, and I remain open to Steve coming on the blog and explaining his current position more fully to us, or indeed to quoting any clarification comments he wants to make elsewhere. Sadly, to date he has declined my repeated invitations to speak further about this controversy.

Another closely related post that was also very popular was a post which explained how Brian McLaren had supported Steve Chalke.

UPDATE #1
Controversy over Steve Chalke and the atonement continues to rage, and according to reports, may have been involved in the recent split between Spring Harvest and Word Alive.

John Piper also responded directly to Steve Chalke as follows:

"One of the most infamous and tragic paragraphs written by a church leader in the last several years heaps scorn on one of the most precious truths of the atonement: Christ’s bearing our guilt and God’s wrath . . .

With one cynical stroke of the pen, the triumph of God’s love over God’s wrath in the death of his beloved Son is blasphemed, while other church leaders write glowing blurbs on the flaps of his book. But God is not mocked. His word stands firm and clear and merciful to those who will embrace it."

ORIGINAL POST
It doesn't happen often, but the EA has issued a statement critical of a well-known UK Christian leader. Steve Chalke was criticized in quite strong terms for his book, which apparently says that the "penal substitutionary" aspect of the atonement is a false teaching. This latest criticism comes following a public debate and an article by Steve Chalke available online, during both of which he reaffirmed his views. The EA statement says:

We trust that instead of dismissing penal substitution out of hand as a false teaching tantamount to "cosmic child abuse," Steve will recognise its significant place in the range of atonement theories to which Evangelicals have characteristically subscribed. We also trust that he will interact more positively both with the theology which underpins it, and with that vast majority of Evangelicals across the world who continue to affirm it. It may be true, as Steve has claimed, that Evangelicals are often perceived to be harsh, censorious, and ungracious, and that this can hamper evangelism. However, we do not accept Steve's assertion of a causal or necessary link between affirming penal substitution and being harsh, censorious, and ungracious.

For these reasons, we do not believe that penal substitutionary atonement can be rejected as it is rejected in "The Lost Message of Jesus," and as Steve has persisted in rejecting it since. While affirming the many gifts which Steve has to offer, we urge him, as a much-loved brother in Christ, to reconsider both the substance and style of his recently expressed views on this matter.

So what was all the fuss about? Steve Chalk in his book says this:

The fact is that the cross isn't a form of cosmic child abuse—a vengeful father, punishing his son for an offence he has not even committed. Understandably, both people inside and outside of the church have found this twisted version of events morally dubious and a huge barrier to faith. Deeper than that, however, is that such a construct stands in total contradiction to the statement "God is love." If the cross is a personal act of violence perpetrated by God towards humankind but borne by his son, then it makes a mockery of Jesus' own teaching to love your enemies and refuse to repay evil with evil. The truth is the cross is a symbol of love. It is a demonstration of just how far God as Father and Jesus as his son are prepared to go to prove that love. The cross is a vivid statement of the powerlessness of love.

Read more . . . Steve Chalke and the Lost Message of Jesus

No. 6 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on December 18, 2006, and was a summary of the highlights of my interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem, a man who is certainly a wonderful gift to the global Church! Other segments of this interview would have made the top 30 in their own right, as would my review of Dr. Grudem's supreme Systematic Theology.

At times it looked like it would go on forever, but the Wayne Grudem interview is over. In this post I look back on the whole interview and its aftermath. If you haven't got time to read through the whole thing, this will give you an overview and help you select the parts you may want to read in more detail. I will also share some personal reflections of the interview - some of which, of course, directly resulted in the sudden change to my comment policy

Part 1 - Personal Matters

If there is one thing that stands out from this whole interview, it's the fact that egalitarians simply don't understand what complementarians like Wayne Grudem are saying. The assumption made by some people seems at least to me to be that anyone who believes in a husband leading and taking responsibility for his wife is effectively a woman-hater. I hope that particular view is indeed rare, but we need to do everything we can to ensure that we are communicating across the divides caused in part by us using words differently.

This quote sums up the man, Dr. Grudem, in my mind, and reveals that - far from being the troublemaker some people think he is - this is a man of deep love and humility. Bizarrely to me given the way I understand the word, some poeple even held this quote up as an example of Dr. Grudem "submitting" to his wife. In reality, it is a great example of him taking the responsibility for a decision that would help his wife and simultaneously hurt his career. Perhaps if this was what every husband meant by leading his wife, the whole feminist issue would evaporate:

"We moved to Phoenix Seminary in Arizona in 2001, primarily because of Margaret’s health. She had been experiencing chronic pain after an auto accident a number of years earlier, and we found that the pain was aggravated by cold and humidity. Well, the Chicago area is cold in the winter and humid in the summer! After a couple of trips to Arizona, which is hot and dry, we realized that Margaret felt much better there. So I phoned the academic dean at Phoenix Seminary and asked if there might possibly be a job opportunity there for me. It is a long and wonderful story of the Lord’s guidance and provision, but the result is that we have been here since June of 2001, Margaret has felt much better, and I also love the seminary where I am now teaching. So we are thankful for God’s blessings in many ways. I am thankful to the Lord that when we were making a decision about whether to move to Phoenix, on the very day we were talking and praying about it, I came to Ephesians 5:28 in my regular schedule of daily Bible reading, and the Lord used this verse strongly in my own decision process: “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” After reading that, I thought it was important for me to move for the sake of Margaret’s physical body, her physical health.

Part 2 - Systematic Theology and Controversy

Dr. Grudem's answer to my question about his book, Systematic Theology, further demonstrated his humility, but in other ways was also quite revealing. A big difference between men like Grudem and certain other theologians is that he believes it is his task to make complex theological truths understandable by ordinary "lay" people without theological degrees - people like me. I cannot agree more, as quite frankly, if a theologian cannot write about his ideas and the evidence he bases them on in a way that a person of reasonable education can understand, then there is something very wrong. I thank God for men like Grudem who can do just that.

"I am surprised, and thankful to God for the way the book seems to continue to be a blessing to people – and not just to pastors and seminary students, but lots of other Christians from all walks of life. As you know, I believe that God intended His Word to be understood, not just by specialists, but also by ordinary Christians. The “blessed man” in Psalm 1 is held up as an example for all of us: “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2)"

Read more . . . Dr. Wayne Grudem—Highlights and Reflections

No. 7 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on November 26, 2005, and endeavored to explain that curious phenomenon—a charismatic Calvinist or "reformed charismatic." There was a time when we were considered an oddity and people doubted our existence. Now, at least in England, reformed charismatics are on the ascendancy and many Christians are intrigued by us.

With the resurgence of interest in things reformed and charismatic, I thought I'd post a bit on what I feel is a "reformed charismatic." Simply put, reformed charismatics are those people who are trying to foster a convergence by taking the best that is available from both charismatics and reformed people. If, like me, you are convinced of the following points, you might be a reformed charismatic:

• Mark Dever and Rick Warren both have useful things to say to the Church.
  
  
• C. J. Mahaney is an acceptable person to preach from a pulpit normally filled by John MacArthur.
  
  
• You like reading blogs by Tim Challies and Phil Johnson, but also by the pneuma bloggers.
  
  
• You like the Alpha Course, and enjoy reading Spurgeon and Piper.
  
  
• You just don't see why there is such anger between certain charismatics and some of their reformed brothers. At the same time you still believe that there really is a truth to discover.
  
  
• You are in a reformed church, but secretly long for more of an experience of God. You are in a charismatic church, but secretly enjoy listening to preaching and reading books that teach substantial theology.

In a sense reformed charismatics are occupying the center ground. Like "new Labor," they advocate a third way. It is really possible, they say, to pursue a solid biblical knowledge and sound doctrine while experiencing the presence and the power of God in a real way today. The Word and the Spirit are not in conflict, but rather work together to cause us to know God.

The charismatics believe in a God who is alive and acts today. We believe in a God who wants a personal relationship with his followers, who hears prayers, who reveals himself, who pours out his love into our hearts, and who never changes and is the same God of the Bible today. We believe that receiving the Holy Spirit is a conscious real experience. We believe that this experience of the Spirit is one of the major ways that God gives us assurance that we are saved.

The reformed believe in the solas of the reformation, and in the classical evangelical position on the gospel. We believe that man is so dead in his sin and facing the wrath of God that he requires a work that entirely originates in God to deal with it.

Read more . . . What is a Reformed Charismatic?

No. 8 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on October 10, 2005, when I had the honor of interviewing C. J. Mahaney via e-mail.

C. J. has, in recent years, been introduced to a new audience because of his friendship with Mark Dever and Company. I have known of him since the 1980's, and loved to listen to him live at early Newfrontiers Bible Weeks.

In January 2008, C. J.began blogging at the Sovereign Grace Blog—C. J. Mahaney's View From the Cheap Seats and Other Stuff. The headlines from that blog will be appearing in my Warnie Winners Box from now on.

Adrian
It is my great pleasure to welcome to the blog one of my greatest heroes in the faith, C. J. Mahaney. C. J. is well-known as a preacher and the leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries. More recently he has been gaining fame in the world of blogs as the husband and father of the writers of GirlTalk. He is also the mentor of another well-known blogger and author, Josh Harris, who I have also interviewed.

Welcome to the world of the blogosphere, C. J. It was great of you to join us for this interview. I would like to talk to you today about your new book, Humility—True Greatness. First of all, what prompted such a book? Whose idea was it, and how was it born?

C. J.
Adrian, I'm honored to be interviewed! I can assure you the idea for this book was not mine! I didn't volunteer to write this book, and there were countless times while writing it that I had the following thought: "You idiot! Why did you agree to write this book?" I was approached by my publisher to write the book, and I was encouraged by my wife and friends. After some initial reluctance, I agreed to do it. I can assure you that writing about humility is a humbling experience.

Adrian
It seems from what you are saying and from my reading of the book that humility is actually something of a lifetime message for you. Am I right in that assessment? Do you believe that one of the biggest needs of the Church today is for leaders to emerge who have the authority to lead, but the humility to do so graciously? If so, how will this book and other resources help in producing such leaders?

C. J.
Adrian, you ask good questions and you ask a lot of questions! It is true that I have been studying both humility and pride for many years for the purpose of weakening pride in my own life and cultivating humility by the grace of God. And I think Scripture is clear about the priority of humility, not just for leaders, but for everyone who professes to love and serve the Savior. In Isaiah 66:2 we read the following astonishing statement:

This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."

Although God is aware of all things, he is searching for something in particular, something that acts like a magnet to capture his attention and invite his active involvement. And that something is humility. God is decisively drawn to the humble. It is my hope that this book will remind the reader of the priority of humility in the divine economy and the gracious promise of God "to give grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

Read more . . . Interview With C. J. Mahaney

No. 9 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on November 28, 2005, and simply linked to a sermon my pastor, Tope Koleoso, had preached on gratitude. Presumably it is a mark of the high percentage of my readers who are also preachers. It rates quite highly in a Google search for a "Thanksgiving Sermon."

Tope's sermon was very warmly received at the time. Oddly, it was preached entirely by coincidence on the Thanksgiving weekend as he felt prompted to preach on gratefulness. I am thrilled that it is one of Tope's sermons that is the most visited sermon page on this blog in spite of the fact that all that is available is a link to the mp3 file. I want to give tribute to my pastor, and thank him for all of his love and behind-the-scenes support of this blog.

Tope Koleoso, my pastor (Jubilee Church, London), didn't even realize that it was Thanksgiving this weekend and preached an outstanding sermon on the need to be grateful. There were some amazing parts where he opened his heart and shared some of the experiences he has had which led him to gratefulness. It was one of the best sermons— if not the best sermon— I have heard from him. You can download the mp3 or listen to it right here:

We have now arrived at the countdown of the top ten most popular posts of all time with readers of this blog. No. 10 appeared on July 19, 2007, and of all the posts I have written, this one is probably my own personal favorite. It is a rallying call to a kind of Christianity that is not ashamed to embrace the best from many different backgrounds.

The last four words of the above title are not new to me, but they are certainly resonating with me at the moment — "I Want It All!" Why should I have to choose, for example, between being enthusiastic about theology and being charismatic?

I know what some of you are thinking as you've been reading my posts on the Together On a Mission conference. You're wondering why it is that someone who is so enthusiastic about what was obviously a very charismatic conference can also be deeply committed to defending and understanding biblical doctrine. I know it's hard for some of you to believe, but it really is the same me who wrote all those posts on the atonement who also was so deeply touched by this latest conference. For those of you who have never met one, I am indeed that rare breed — a Reformed Charismatic.

Too often, however, the temptation for me is to downplay one side of that equation or the other in order to appear "balanced." When I am with the charismatics, my reformed doctrine often appears alien to them, although in the UK, Newfrontiers offers a major exception to that with over 200 churches that are broadly reformed and charismatic. When I'm with the reformed, I'm tempted to soften my charismatic viewpoint and not speak too much of the things I have seen and experienced. Why is it that on this issue, as on so many others, the Church seems to be split in half? Why can't we be both radically reformed and radically charismatic? Why do we see a conflict and therefore try to play down both in order to be "balanced?" I don't want to be balanced, I want it all!

On the one hand there are those who care about theology enough to study God's Word in detail, weigh scripture against scripture, study great theological minds, and preach intellectually stimulating messages that would stretch even a PhD in Theology — which, incidentally, I am certainly not! Why is it that for the majority of us, if we want such a feast for our minds, we must sacrifice certain other things? Why are some leaders in the Church committed to theology almost exclusively? Is even great theology so captivating that it is the only need of the Church? I don't believe it can be, or God would have given us a Bible that was a systematic theology and not the one we have, which is essentially a collection of lots of stories with a few doctrinal portions.

Read more . . . I Don't Want Balance! I Want It All!

No. 11 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on April 23, 2007, and examined what is possibly the most controversial article Bishop Tom Wright has ever written. In it, I questioned his ability to criticize some who dismiss Penal Substitutionary Atonement while approving of Steve Chalke, stating his own support for a form of PSA, and decrying angrily the value of the book, Pierced For Our Transgressions. I posed a number of questions to Wright in private e-mails, and sadly, he declined my offer to allow him to clarify his position further on my blog.

There is clearly a theological storm brewing. Bishop Wright has entered the fray, and appears reluctant to stand firmly on one side or the other of the debate. He doesn't mention the disagreement between UCCF and Spring Harvest, but he doesn't have to since the issues are clearly the same. I am sure he did not read my post from last Friday on this subject, and the comments that have been flying around here about it — but his statements definitely are as apt to the discussion as if he had!

Wright begins an important article by explaining that he is disappointed with Jeffrey John, who he feels denies the biblical doctrine of the wrath of God. Wright is clear that:

“The biblical doctrine of God’s wrath is rooted in the doctrine of God as the good, wise and loving creator, who hates — yes, hates, and hates implacably — anything that spoils, defaces, distorts or damages his beautiful creation, and in particular anything that does that to his image-bearing creatures. If God does not hate racial prejudice, he is neither good nor loving. If God is not wrathful at child abuse, he is neither good nor loving. If God is not utterly determined to root out from his creation, in an act of proper wrath and judgment, the arrogance that allows people to exploit, bomb, bully, and enslave one another, he is neither loving, nor good, nor wise.”

So far so good, but Wright seems to want to put the blame for the Dean of St. Alban’s rejection of penal substitution firmly at the door of evangelicals who, he feels, have been teaching a caricature of the true biblical teaching. Speaking of what has occurred he says:

“This is what happens when people present over-simple stories with an angry God and a loving Jesus, with a God who demands blood and doesn’t much mind whose it is as long as it’s innocent.“ You’d have thought people would notice that this flies in the face of John’s and Paul’s deep-rooted theology of the love of the triune God: not ‘God was so angry with the world that he gave us his son’ but ‘God so loved the world that he gave us his son’. That’s why, when I sing that interesting recent song ‘In Christ alone my hope is found’, and we come to the line, ‘And on the cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied’, I believe it’s more deeply true to sing ‘the love of God was satisfied’. I commend that alteration to those who sing that song, which is in other respects one of the very few really solid recent additions to our repertoire. So we must readily acknowledge that, of course, there are caricatures of the biblical doctrine all around, within easy reach — just as there are of other doctrines, of course, such as that of God’s grace.”

So if both Jeffrey John and evangelicals have got it wrong, in his opinion, what does Wright feel is the correct understanding?

“. . . this, I think, is as clear as it gets in Paul — in Romans 8:3, where Paul says explicitly that God condemned sin in the flesh of Jesus Christ? Paul does not say that God condemned Jesus; rather, that he condemned sin; but the place where sin was condemned was precisely in the flesh of Jesus, and of Jesus precisely as the Son sent from the Father. And this, we remind ourselves, is the heart of the reason why there is now ‘no condemnation’ for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) . . .”

[Wright then introduces Romans 3 and states] “To put it somewhat crudely, the logic of the whole passage makes it look as though something has happened in the death of Jesus through which the wrath of God has been turned away. It is on this passage that Charles E. B. Cranfield, one of the greatest English commentators of the last generation, wrote a memorable sentence which shows already that the caricature Dr. John has offered was exactly that:

“We take it that what Paul’s statement that God purposed Christ as a propitiatory victim means is that God, because in His mercy He willed to forgive sinful men and, being truly merciful, willed to forgive them righteously, that is, without in any way condoning their sin, purposed to direct against His own very Self in the person of His Son the full weight of that righteous wrath which they deserved. (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 2 volumes, Edinburgh: T & T Clark; vol. 1, 1975, p. 217.)”

“. . . It isn’t that God happens to have a petulant thing about petty rules. He is the wise and loving creator who cannot abide his creation being despoiled. On the cross he drew the full force, not only of that despoiling, but of his own proper, judicial, punitive rejection of it, on to himself. That is what the New Testament says. That is what Jesus himself, I have argued elsewhere, believed what was going on.”

Wright seems to want to expound a somewhat subtle and nuanced view, the likes of which some people believe Packer and Stott themselves hold — where we are allowed to say that God punished sin in Jesus, but not that Jesus Himself was punished for sin. To me, at least, that kind of statement seems to be trying to have your cake and eat it. This is certainly what Wright seems to do when he then turns to discuss Pierced for Our Transgressions.

He begins in such a way that we are warned that his overall opinion is not positive: “I was all the more frustrated when I came upon a new book . . .” He then acknowledges:

“I can fully understand the frustration, within that tradition, at the way in which some recent writers from within the evangelical world have cast doubt, or worse, on penal substitution as a whole. There do seem to me to be some evangelicals who have done what Jeffrey John has done — rejected the doctrine because of the caricatures.”

Read more . . . N. T. Wright Attacks Both Sides of the Debate

No 12 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on May 15, 2005, and examined the events surrounding and subsequent to what came to be known as "The Toronto Blessing."

I published this post from an article I had written many years prior to May of 2005. In some ways it was this article that first stirred the "writing bug" in me. I surveyed the historical events associated with "The Toronto Blessing," and also looked at some biblical and church history data. Some of my reformed friends may be uncomfortable with the fact that I am willing to see good in what happened. No doubt some of my charismatic friends will be unhappy with the fact that I also accept that unhelpful excesses occurred in some places.

In addition to the sections I have republished here ("An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? What On Earth is Going On?" and the "Origins of the Movement"), I also trace its spread to the UK, similar phenomena in history, what our response should be to these phenomena, and how to test similar movements. You can read my thoughts on those issues by clicking here or on the link provided at the bottom of this post.

I thought I would share with you—for history's sake and in its entirety—an article I wrote almost eleven years ago about the so-called "Toronto Blessing."

An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? What on Earth is Going On?

In the months following May 1994, there was a sudden wave of bizarre phenomena in many churches in the UK, USA, and elsewhere in the world from a wide variety of backgrounds. Since then, the city of Toronto, Canada, has become closely associated with these events. Much attention has been drawn to all of this in both the secular and Christian press.

Phenomena widely reported with these events included falling over, laughing, crying, shaking, peculiar movements, cries, roars, intoxicating joy, and incoordination. While a dramatic transformation in the life of many of the people affected by these phenomena was observed, a large number of conversions was not reported and most people did not call this a revival.

The falling may, on occasion, have been sudden and violent. I am unaware of any cases of injury resulting. Giddiness was sometimes reported prior to the fall. There usually was not a total loss of consciousness, and most were able to hear, although they might not respond. A feeling of detachment was common—hours could go by and seem like minutes. An apparent spastic or flaccid paralysis was often present in individuals affected. Many reported impressions and visions imparted to them while on the floor. Some felt as if they were physically pinned to the floor and felt quite unable to move.

Likewise, shaking and other apparently involuntary movements took a wide variety of forms. These had to be seen to be believed, but included repetitive leaping to a great height, a heightened physiological tremor, twitching, and being thrown as though hit by an electric charge.

All of the above phenomena occurred in combination with the same individual. They sometimes followed prayer, with laying on of hands, or began spontaneously during worship, preaching, or alone at home. People became so intoxicated with joy that they had to be carried to their cars. Some were carried out rigid, others staggered as though drunk. It was very difficult to observe all of this without wondering, "What on earth is going on?"

A pattern emerged from study of the spread of the these phenomena. People, and especially church leaders, flocked to the affected churches to investigate. Even the skeptical found themselves being affected, much to their surprise. Upon their return home, often before assimilating what had happened, they found similar events breaking out in their own churches. The briefest of statements about God doing strange new things might be followed by a request for any who would like a fresh touch from God to stand. Often at this point an entire congregation would stand to its feet, and following a short prayer, a sudden outbreak of the above phenomena occurred. Those affected might not have even heard of the specific phenomena that had occurred elsewhere!

Origins of the Movement

The center of much of this attention, with 20,000 to 30,000 visitors from around the world in the first six months of 1994, was a tiny building at the end of a runway in Canada where the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church (now Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship) was meeting. John Wimber was the unofficial leader of the Vineyard Movement, of which this church was a member. This was one of several groups of charismatic or "new" churches worldwide. The Vineyard Movement was strongest in the USA, but certainly had churches elsewhere, including London.

Although the controversial John Wimber had seen many of these reported phenomena on a smaller scale in his conferences, he seemed to have had little to do directly with the birth of this movement. Indeed, Mr. Wimber subsequently died.

The first place where these phenomena occurred in the intensity and extent now so well known was actually not Toronto, but in the USA. In 1989, South African evangelist, Rodney Howard-Browne, complained that his meeting was being ruined when many people fell off their seats and began laughing. He soon became convinced that God was to blame. These events followed Howard-Browne and persisted after he had left, spreading rapidly. In April 1993, during meetings in Florida which were attended by 10,000 people, waves of laughter affected the congregation. Subsequently, widespread attention was drawn to these events. Approximately 2,200 people were baptized in water, and 800 new members were added to the host church by the middle of 1994. Another church in the area, whose initially reluctant pastor was suddenly struck to the floor with laughter, reported that by the middle of 1994 the church had grown from 800 to 1,500.

As a result of this meeting, Howard-Browne was invited to preach to 4,000 students later that year. He reported, "One night I was preaching on hell ... [laughter] just hit the whole place. The more I told the people what hell was like, the more they laughed. When I gave an altar call, they came forward by the hundreds to be saved."

The interesting thing has been that far from dying down after this evangelist left town, the phenomena continued and spread. The movement did not appear to be centered in a man, and in terms of its spread to the UK, Howard-Browne played a very limited role.

Since 1991, there has also been a separate outbreak in Argentina, where the phenomena seemed to be associated with a full-scale revival. In November 1993, John Arnott, the pastor of the Toronto Vineyard Church, traveled to Argentina and the United States to see what was happening. He met with another Vineyard pastor, Randy Clark of St. Louis, who had been prayed for by Rodney Howard-Browne and subsequently experienced similar effects in his own church.

On the 20th of January 1994, a meeting with Randy Clark took place in the Toronto Vineyard and the phenomena broke out. Very soon, news spread and the people started coming to investigate. From this church, other Vineyard churches and many other groups were affected.

Read more . . . "The Toronto Blessing" - When The Church Seemed To Be Going Mad

No. 13 on the list of most read posts on this blog appeared on November 19, 2007, and was part of a series of posts on the debate between Bishop Tom Wright and John Piper over justification. Other parts of this series which would have made the top 30 in their own right include:

• John Piper, N. T. Wright, and Gracious Discernment
  
• John Piper: Is N. T. Wright Preaching Another Gospel?

The series is summarized here:

• Piper on Wright Conclusion: What is Justification?

The post is republished here in its entirety:

Trevin Wax has interviewed Tom Wright. A manuscript and audio are both available. Of particular interest is the following short section from Wright on Piper. Would that all our theological sparring partners could speak this way about us!

"Piper is in a different category. He graciously sent me an advance manuscript of his book which is critiquing me and invited my comments on it. I sent him a lengthy set of comments. I’ve only just got on email about two days ago the book in the revised form and I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. So I cannot say whether he’s being fair or not at this stage.

But I do know that he has done his darndest to be fair and I honor that and I respect that. People have asked me if I’m going to write a response, and the answer is that I don’t know. I’m kind of busy right now. But I maybe should, sooner or later."

No. 14 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on June 28, 2007, and was the summary post of an interview with the father of the family of churches of which I am thrilled to be a part, and a man I respect like few others alive today. Terry Virgo is that rare true gift of God to the global Church, a man who will leave the worldwhile Church in a far better state than he found it. His influence extends far beyond the 500 churches which are a part of Newfrontiers to the many thousands of others who have been affected by his teaching.

If you want to keep in touch with Terry, please do add Terry Virgo's Blog to your reading list or keep visiting here, where his posts will appear in the Warnie Winners headline box from now on.

So far in this interview with Terry Virgo we have looked at his view of the wider church scene, the origins, and then the distinctives of Newfrontiers. Today we will examine his view of the future.

Terry, I would love to draw your attention now to the future. What do you think it holds for you and the family of churches you lead?

Within Newfrontiers it is essential that we prayerfully look for emerging apostles and not simply regional supervisors. I thank God for regional supervisors who help us to serve the Church, but it's essential that we make space for genuinely anointed apostles and let them find their own sphere. We must be flexible. I think that the Apostle Paul was called by God, developed his own apostolic sphere, and then received the right hand of fellowship from Peter and John who were Apostles before him. Paul came out of a different stable. He wasn't made an apostle by Peter and John; they acknowledged that he was one. We need to look for the same kind of development — we look for gifting and give it the right hand of fellowship rather than thinking that we can institutionally appoint people into that office.

How would that happen? How would you recognize that?

In South Africa the unexpected death of Simon Pettit, our senior leader, has forced the issue in an extraordinary way. God said to us that an oak tree had fallen, but not to be replaced by another one. Instead, saplings were growing and we were to discern who they were and encourage their growth. Now, what I have observed is that there are three or four guys who are gifted in raising up leaders, raising up churches, and overseeing churches. They have done it as a result of their own gifting. So, instead of trying to set up a South Africa structure, we aim to recognize gifting. So we want to say to different brothers, we see you emerging as apostles, we want to encourage you. But, we want to recognize that you have a gift rather than impose a structure on you.

I want to encourage those men to gather their own teams — to find their Timothys. We want to fan the flame of their gifting, exhort them to go for it, father them, but believe God for their apostolic gifting.

Historically, in what we call Newfrontiers, Terry Virgo was the only person regarded as an apostle since I fathered the movement and started the first churches. I was very reluctant to use the word at all for myself. People used to say to me, "Why don't you make other apostles?" I used to say, I don't know if I am one myself, let alone make anyone else one. We veered to the side of being very reluctant.

As years have gone by we have probably swung too much the other way. We have used the word apostolic as an adjective in a very misty way. We have almost drifted into calling regional leaders apostles. The reality is that regional structures are very helpful, but not every person we have asked to oversee a region demonstrates apostolic gifting. If you formalise regions, you are in great danger of institutionalising so-called apostles. That will never work.

You can just see how the whole bishop structure emerged, can't you?

Yes, and you also get to think of apostles as being responsible for regions, which is almost totally the opposite of what an apostle is. An apostle is a sent one. He is not a maxi-pastor; he has to have freedom to go as that's in his heart, and cannot be over-structured.

I don't want to leave behind a structure which is a shell that uses the labels, but has nothing truly apostolic happening. We have to try to prepare for the next generation. I am pushing late sixties now. I am not going on forever. These are huge issues for us at the moment which we talk a lot about. In recent years we have discussed the implications of my death or retirement. We didn't think Simon would die before me; it was a huge shock. What happened in South Africa has forced the issue for us and been instructive at a time when we are also talking about it theologically and theoretically.

You can never guarantee that you will be saved from institutionalism, but we must do everything in our power to avoid it.

Read more . . . Terry Virgo on the Future

No. 15 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on August 22, 2007, and announced a major gift from Sovereign Grace Ministries to the global Church. Their vast collection of audio messages are now available online for free. If you have not already taken time to explore this treasure trove, shame on you! In order to encourage you to check out this fantastic collection, the post is reprinted here in its entirety:

Carolyn McCulley just alerted us to the fact that the entire collection of Sovereign Grace Ministries mp3 messages have been made completely free to download. Carolyn was too modest to mention that her own talks are included, as well as a number of other ladies. Get browsing, and if you have an iPod, you might need to consider getting a bigger one! This is a phenomenal resource, as you can see by the following list of speakers with messages available:

Randy Alcorn, Mark Altrogge, Christine Bass, Ken Boer, Robin Boisvert, Gary Bowers, Mike Bradshaw, Mike Bullmore, John Butler, Craig Cabaniss, Solomon Campbell, Kristin Chesemore, Nancy Chouinard, Mickey Connolly, Steve Cook, Vikki Cook, Brent Detwiler, Jenny Detwiler, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, Bob Donohue, Jim Donohue, Andy Farmer, Rick Gamache, Pete Greasley, Wayne Grudem, Joshua Harris, Dave Harvey, Kimm Harvey, Eric Hughes, Danny Jones, Bob Kauflin, Bill Kittrell Grant Layman, John Loftness, Marty Machowski, Carolyn Mahaney, C. J. Mahaney, Janelle Mahaney-Bradshaw, John MacArthur, Kenneth Maresco, Carolyn McCulley, Mark Mitchell, Albert Mohler, Mark Mullery, Aron Osborne, Jon Payne, John Piper, David Powlison, Mark Prater, Jeff Purswell, Michael Ramsden, Charlotte Richardson, Trey Richardson, Ken Sande, Phil Sasser, Pat Sczebel, Janis Shank, Steve Shank, Chris Silard, Eric Simmons, R. C. Sproul, Carl Taylor, Justin Taylor, Stuart Townend, Eric Turbedsky, Todd Twining, Terry Virgo, Bruce Ware, Darryl Wenger, Nicole Whitacre, Dave Wilcox

No. 16 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on July 20, 2005. In this post I simply asked my readers to identify their favorite preachers, and I listed my own personal favorites. I have retained all of the comments from this post and have now added them to the end. To see my list and some of my readers' lists, click here.

If you are interested in letting me know who are YOUR favorite well-known living preachers, please e-mail adrian.warnock@gmail.com and place BLOG PREACHERS SURVEY in the subject line. We will then add your comments to the list.

No. 17 on the list of the most-read posts on this blog appeared on April 12, 2006, and was my interview with Dr. Sam Storms. Sam is a well-known Calvinistic charismatic speaker. He writes popular books which express a very similar theology to that of John Piper in an accessible way. His latest book, Signs of the Spirit, is an interpretation of Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections, and another book, scheduled to be released by Crossway in February, is entitled "The Hope of Glory—100 Daily Meditations on Colossians." It was good to be able to ask Sam some questions via e-mail.

Adrian
It's a delight to welcome Sam Storms of Enjoying God Ministries to the blog today. Sam, to begin with, would you tell us a little bit about yourself, your family, and your ministry?

Sam
Thanks, Adrian. I'm honored that you would want to interview me. I'm 55 years old and have been married to my incredible wife, Ann, for nearly 34 years. I'm a bit surprised you didn't ask the question that so many others have, so I'll come right to the point: Yes, I did propose to her on our first date! I certainly don't recommend that for anyone else. But after 34 wonderful years of marriage, it worked for us (or maybe it worked in spite of that rather impetuous proposal).

I have two daughters. Melanie is 27 and lives in Kansas City with her husband and two sons. What that means is that, much to my surprise, I'm old enough to be married to a grandmother! My other daughter, Joanna, is 21 and is in her third year at Wheaton College, where I taught Theology from 2000 through 2004.

I left Wheaton in 2004 and established Enjoying God Ministries so that I could have more liberty in what I study, write, and teach. I loved Wheaton. Although Wheaton is mainstream evangelical and not even remotely charismatic, they were incredibly kind and generous to me. I had the opportunity to stay there another two years, but felt the Lord was leading us to leave. I describe in some detail in my book, Convergence, how we were led to Wheaton and again back to Kansas City.

Enjoying God Ministries is primarily designed to be a resource to pastors, Christians, and churches everywhere. I've put virtually everything I've ever written on the website (except for books still in print), free for anyone to download and use as they please. I'm traveling extensively and trying to write as much as I can. Crossway will be publishing my revised and expanded book, Chosen for Life: A Defense of Divine Election, later this year. So I'm staying exceedingly busy, to say the least.

Adrian
Can you tell us a bit more about how you came to become a Christian, and how you got into ministry?

Sam
I was raised in a very conservative Southern Baptist home. We lived in Oklahoma and Texas until I moved to Kansas City in 1993. My parents led me to Christ when I was about nine years old. But honestly, I can't recall a time when I didn't know Jesus as my Savior. I know there was a time, but I was immersed in the life and faith of my family and the church from as far back as I can remember.

I had a very distinct and powerful "call" into ministry when I was ten years old. For awhile, in my late teens, I thought I might pursue a career as a professional golfer, but even then I envisioned some form of ministry being tied up in it. My golf career came to a fitting end when I realized that I had too little talent and too much of a bad temper!

Adrian
Who, would you say, has had the biggest influence on you?

Sam
My parents and my sister, first and foremost. I had a wonderful Christian home and family. In terms of spiritual development, two men in particular had a powerful impact on me. Russ McKnight, a lay elder in a church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, profoundly influenced me beginning in my college years. He was the first person to introduce the Reformed faith to me and put up with my Arminianism very patiently. He, more than anyone else, is the reason I'm a Calvinist. Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, who was professor of New Testament, and later Systematic Theology, at both Dallas Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, had the greatest impact on my overall theological development. But more than that, he provided me with a model of godly excellence in all of life.

As for those still living who've influenced me, certainly John Piper would be at the top of the list. John's personal friendship and theological orientation have been an indescribable blessing. In fact, I'm answering this question as I sit in the airport on my way to preach for him at Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis. John and I first met at a Jonathan Edwards conference in Wheaton back in 1984.

Others whom God has used in my life would include Mike Bickle, Jack Deere, and Wayne Grudem, primarily when it comes to my rejection of cessationism and my broader experience of the Holy Spirit.

As for the distant dead, Jonathan Edwards towers above all others. But there have been others. Calvin, Luther, Owen, the 19th century Princeton theologian, Charles Hodge, 19th century theologian, William G. T. Shedd (I consumed his multi-volume, Theology, while in seminary), and B. B. Warfield. More recently I'd have to point to Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Read more . . . Interview With Dr. Sam Storms

No. 18 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on August 27, 2007. At the Shepherd's Conference earlier last year, John MacArthur underestimated the likely fury of non-dispensational Calvinists at being told they weren't "really reformed." This post was an extract from Kim Riddlebarger's response, which was written several months later. Its popularity proves either that people are still interested in eschatology or that MacArthur bating should become the next Olympic sport. I am publishing the post here in its entirety, with Dr. Riddlebarger's conclusion. Use the link below to read his full response.

Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, senior pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California, and visiting professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary, California has issued an article refuting John MacArthur's extraordinary attack on Reformed amillennialists from earlier this year. If nothing else, it should convince you that amillennialism is consistent with being Reformed and having a high view of Scripture. Kim's article is well worth reading in detail; here is his strong conclusion:

“Along with countless others, I am very grateful for John MacArthur's bold and vocal defense of the Gospel. I am also grateful for his years of faithful service and willingness to tackle controversy in the evangelical church. But how I wish that Dr. MacArthur had chosen not to pick this fight. Sadly, he did.

This is hard to say, but in his lecture Dr. MacArthur set up and repeatedly attacked a straw man. His was a pyrrhic victory over a phantom foe.

If you are a dispensationalist, my plea is that you don't repeat the arguments Dr. MacArthur used in this lecture. Disagree as you will, you do have the responsibility to accurately represent the Reformed amillennial position. Dr. MacArthur did not.

My suggestion is to read the books listed here (Click here: Riddleblog: The Latest Post—A Quick List of Amillennial Resources in Light of MacArthur's Charges), and then after doing so, make up your own mind. Interact with amillennial writers, weigh our arguments in light of Scripture, and see if we are truly guilty of the charges leveled at us by Dr. MacArthur.

While you may not be convinced of Reformed amillennialism (hopefully, you will!), at least you'll be better informed and realize that Reformed amillenarians are not anti-Semites who don't take the Bible literally or seriously.”

No. 19 on the list of the most widely read posts on this blog appeared on January 17, 2006, and was a lengthy chat I had with Justin Taylor. Few editors are as well-known as Justin. He has expertise in editing others' writings, highlighting interesting posts around the blogosphere, and creating his own work. He is now an integral part of the Crossway Books team. He is also someone I am pleased to be able to call a friend.

Adrian
It is a real pleasure to be able to welcome to the blog, Justin Taylor, who is known to some as John Piper's right hand man. First off, Justin, perhaps you can tell us all a little bit about yourself and how you came to be working with John Piper.

Justin
Adrian, it's a pleasure to chat with you. Before I answer, let me first express my gratitude for your work in the blogosphere in producing thoughtful edifying material, as well as your work in encouraging and connecting with other bloggers.

About myself? At the risk of boring your readers, I was raised in a Christian family. I first prayed the sinner's prayer at age 4. Then I prayed it again at ages 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. I consider my decisive conversion to be after my freshman year in high school, when I truly understood the nature of Christ's finished work on my behalf.

When I went off to college four years later, I took a humanities course with a professor who would later become my advisor. I was captivated and frustrated with the first lecture—which was a passionate plea for the idea that a belief in moral absolutes was the source of great evil in the world!

I soon became a Study of Religion major, and almost lost my faith in the process. I had never really encountered intellectual arguments against Christianity, and they were now flying at me fast and furious. After one particularly vigorous discussion, based on the implications of Gordon Kaufman's Theology for a Nuclear Age, I remember being pretty shaken. I had no interest in believing a Christianity that wasn't true. Walking back from class, I sat down and leaned against a large tree, staring at the stars and expressing my doubts and confusion to God. God was very kind and merciful to me, and in that moment granted me a sense of peace and assurance. From that point on, I continued with my questions, but I knew that only a fool could deny his Creator.

Thus began an interest for me in apologetics and theology. During the summer break following my freshman year, my friend Matt Perman (now the Internet and radio director at Desiring God) was writing me long letters seeking to persuade me that Calvinism was biblical. In the mail he sent me a tape by John Piper on definite atonement. I was intrigued by the message because Piper was clear, winsome, and intellectually challenging. (My general view of pastors at that time was one of well-meaning anti-intellectuals.) I began listening to more and more Piper tapes.

Our public University of Northern Iowa had about 13,0000 students. By my junior year, 1,000 students a week were attending a weekly Christian meeting. And the interesting thing is that John Piper, along with corollaries like Calvinism and Christian hedonism, became one of the main topics of conversation among the Christian student body.

I made a couple of trips to Bethlehem Baptist Church (just a few hours drive away) to hear Piper preach. One Sunday I was there with my brother. I said to him at one point, "I'd love to just come here for a year or two and hear him preach—even if I had to clean toilets as an excuse to hear the sermons!" I inquired as to whether Bethlehem did apprenticeships, and it turned out that The Bethlehem Institute, a two-year, seminary-level apprenticeship program, was being planned at that time.

When I graduated from UNI in 1998, I applied for TBI. I was the first applicant. Not knowing if any more would apply, I was accepted! So I did an apprenticeship from 1998-2000. And one of my jobs during that time was as a janitor at Bethlehem—cleaning toilets! (I'll let the debate rage in the comments section as to whether my previous utterance in this regard was prophetic!)

In 2000, I was planning to go to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville to complete my MDiv. Piper's editor was asked to take over a church, and thus the job opened up. Desiring God prevailed upon me to stay for just one year. At the end of one year, we had a moving van lined up to take us to Southern. But DG prevailed again, and I've been at DG ever since. In mid-January, however, we'll be moving to Wheaton, Illinois, where I will take a job at Crossway Books as the Managing Editor for the forthcoming ESV Study Bible.

Adrian
You may have seen some discussion about discipleship on my blog following a post by Tim Challies about being jealous of Josh Harris. That inspired my interview with Josh Harris, which focused on his relationship with C. J. Mahaney. I guess it was also part of my motivation behind asking you today. Do you get the impression that your relationship with John is similar to the relationship Josh has with C. J.?

Justin
I'm not sure there are very many people in the world who have a relationship like C. J. and Josh have! One of the differences is that C. J. was specifically grooming and mentoring Josh to step into C. J.'s pastoral role, whereas I was first a student of John's, and then his employee. So our relationship of necessity has looked quite a bit different. John has been a wonderful mentor, friend, and counselor to me. No one has taught me more about the centrality of God in Christ and his supremacy over all things for his glory and the good of his people.

The question most people ask me about John is whether or not he's the real deal. I can say with absolute confidence that he is. What you see is what you get. He lives modestly (he doesn't personally receive a single penny from his book royalties), he is teachable, he is humble, and he goes hard after God. It has been such a privilege and joy to study under him and to work for him these past seven years.

Read more . . . Adrian Interviews Justin Taylor

Photo of Justin Taylor courtesy of Tony S. Reinke, The Shepherd's Scrapbook. Used by permission.

No. 20 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on October 25, 2007, and introduced us to a remarkable new approach to a study Bible, brought to us by Crossway. As of January 2008, I'm still working my way through this Bible, reading it from cover-to-cover. I'm enjoying it very much.

Crossway has made the preface of its new ESV Literary Study Bible available online. They have also made the text available for electronic purchase. I am very impressed with the introductions they offer to every passage in the Bible. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Too many Christians think that the literary study of the Bible necessarily implies that we do not believe it is inspired by God. This is, of course, not true. The Bible is, after all, a book. You will almost certainly find the comments in this new work totally different to those you have read in any other study Bible. As far as I know, this is the first truly literary study Bible.

Crossway has kindly given me permission to share the following extract here. It explains twelve literary features of the Bible which together make it unique:

1. A unifying story line.
   
   Although the overall genre of the Bible is the anthology of individual books and passages, the Bible possesses a unity far beyond that of other literary anthologies. The technical term for a unifying superstructure such as we find in the Bible is metanarrative (big or overarching story). In the Bible, the metanarrative is the story of salvation history—the events by which God worked out his plan to redeem humanity and the creation after they fell from original innocence. This story of salvation history is Christocentric in the sense that it focuses ultimately on the substitutionary sacrifice and atonement of Christ on the cross and his resurrection from death. The unifying story line of the Bible is a U-shaped story that moves from the creation of a perfect world, through the fall of that world into sin, then through fallen human history as it slowly and painfully makes its way toward consummation and arrives at the final destruction of evil and the eternal triumph of good.
   
   
   
2. The presence of a central character.
   
   All stories have a central character or protagonist, and in the overarching story of the Bible God is the protagonist. He is the unifying presence from the beginning of the Bible to the end. All creatures interact with this central and ultimate being. All events are related to him. The story of human history unfolds within the broader story of what God does. The result is a sense of ultimacy that comes through as we read the pages of the Bible.
   
   
   
3. Religious orientation.
   
   The subject of literature is human experience, and this is true of the Bible, too, but a distinctive feature of the Bible is that it overwhelmingly presents human experience in a religious and moral light. Events that other writers might treat in a purely human and natural light—a sunrise, a battle, a birth, a journey—are presented by the authors of the Bible within a moral or spiritual framework. Part of this moral and spiritual framework is the assumption of the biblical authors that a great conflict between good and evil is going on in our world and, further, that people are continually confronted with the need to choose between good and evil, between working for God's kingdom and going against God.
   
   
   
4. Variety of genres and styles.
   
   Every literary anthology of the Bible's magnitude displays a range of literary forms, but the Bible's range may well top them all. We need to be alert to this, because the religious uses to which we put the Bible can easily lull us into assuming that the Bible is all one type of writing. The list of individual forms, if we include such specific motifs as the homecoming story or trickster or love poem, keeps expanding. (A complete guide to these literary forms as we find them in the Bible is Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998].) The variety that we find in the Bible stems partly from the large categories that converge—history, theology, and literature, for example, or prose and poetry, realism and fantasy, past and future, God and people.
   
   Read more . . . Twelve Literary Features of the Bible

No. 21 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on January 30, 2006, and was my first meeting with Mark Dever. Mark is a great man of God, and was very much the initiator of the set of relationships now described as Together for the Gospel. I interviewed him for a second time in a post entitled "Theology for All—An Interview with Mark Dever," and posted notes from a series of talks he gave in London in September of 2007.

One of the highlights of the year for me has been meeting Mark Dever—so much so that several weeks after this meeting I published a post entitled, "Is Mark Dever an apostle?"

He graciously made space in his schedule for me to interview him face-to-face in spite of the fact that I was unable to hear him preach during his visit to the UK. I had previously reviewed his book, Deliberate Church, so this opporunity to meet the man filled me with eager anticipation. I have also enjoyed his new group blog, Together for the Gospel, which he writes together with C. J. Mahaney, Al Mohler, and Ligon Duncan.

On meeting him, it immediately became clear just how much Mark is a relational guy. At first it felt as if he was the one interviewing me, along with my pastor and friend, Tope! He showed such an interest in our church and in our history that I almost forgot why I was there. He was interested in us as people, and we spent a significant amount of time chatting about church leadership, preaching, and friendships that cross denominational boundaries.

He is a man of humor—when I confessed that of the four guys running Together for the Gospel, Lig was the only one I didn't really know, he laughed and accused Lig of being the "pope of evangelicalism." He rattled off a list of Lig's credentials and jobs, and then finished up by saying something like this:

"It's no wonder you don't know him—after all, he's a Presbyterian! There's a bit of a jump between charismatics and Presbyterians, so he would be the one furthest away from you. And besides, there aren't too many Presbyterians in the UK anyway! Baptists are like cousins to charismatics, and C.J.—well, if you're in Newfrontiers, he must be like an apostolic uncle to you!"

I was impressed that he was aware of the relationship between Newfrontiers and Sovereign Grace, and for that matter, that he had even heard of us—our family of churches is not very large in the US.

I did, however, protest that I know of at least one famous American Presbyterian—David Wayne—and we chatted about how friendships that cross genuine differences of opinion are invaluable to our learning and development as Christians.

Mark was eager to point out that he had learned a lot from the three other guys despite the fact that he is utterly convinced that Lig, in particular, is living in sin over his view of baptism! We had a good laugh about that. I explained to him what I felt was my trump argument—one I had put to David Wayne when we had discussed it online. The argument essentially goes like this. If the Baptist is wrong and the paedobaptist is right, what is the worst possible outcome? Unless you believe in baptismal regeneration and that babies who die unbaptized go to hell, then the worst outcome is that we are unnecessarily delaying baptism for people and as a by-product giving them a chance to remember it happening to them! On the other hand, if we are right and the paedobaptist is wrong, then, as Mark put it, they are in sin and preventing people from obeying a simple and direct command in Scripture. Mark smiled and said, "I used exactly that argument with Lig!"

Read more . . . Adrian Interviews Mark Dever

No. 22 on the list of most widely-read posts on this blog appeared on November 8, 2006, and was the last segment of my seven-part interview with Dr. Albert Mohler.

Dr. Mohler is a phenomenon who, by God's grace, accomplishes more than ten ordinary men could possibly hope to do!

It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a link to his biography for any who need to know more, as well as a link to my Together for the Gospel Conference Round Up Post.

This interview is being serialised over several days. So far I have published parts one, two, three, four, five, and six. Today we conclude the interview and discuss one of the most controversial things Dr. Mohler said at Together For the Gospel.

A full version of the interview can be downloaded here.

Adrian

One of the striking things that you said at the conference was that you wanted to put SBTS out of business—what exactly did you mean by that, and what do you think the rest of the board would make of you being successful in that quest?

Dr. Mohler

There is always the danger that my statement will be taken out of context! I do not mean to say that Southern Seminary should cease to exist in the very near future. I emphatically believe that the best and most proper place for the education and preparation of pastors is in the local church. We should be ashamed that churches fail miserably in their responsibility to train future pastors. Established pastors should be ashamed if they are not pouring themselves into the lives of young men whom God has called into the teaching and leadership ministry of the church.

I do believe that there is a role for formal theological education, but we should not be seen as an agency that is assigned the task of training ministers by franchise. I want to assist churches and to assist pastors in training pastors. But, after fourteen years of service in this capacity, I am absolutely certain that the finest theological seminary on earth is absolutely incompetent at replicating the actual life of a gospel congregation. I want to train a generation of pastors who will train pastors, and I want to help them in that task.

Adrian

What would this concept of a seminary in every church look like?

Dr. Mohler

Well, the concept of a seminary in every church would look pretty much like what I just described. As a matter of fact, I think it would look pretty much like what we see in the New Testament, and especially in the relationship between Paul and Timothy. Paul poured himself into Timothy, exhorted him, taught him, corrected him, and entrusted significant ministry to him. Undoubtedly, Paul served as his mentor and model in preaching and teaching and in the leadership functions of ministry. This is what I hope to see develop in healthy gospel churches—a group of young "Timothys" studying under the directed leadership and teaching of a senior pastor. I want to help those churches and those pastors by providing a program of theological education that assists them, working in partnership.

Read more . . . Albert Mohler: Radio Host and Theologian

No. 23 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on January 25, 2007, and was the concluding segment of a conversation I had with Wendy Alsup, a deacon at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. It was very interesting to get the inside story on what it is like to be a female deacon working at Mark Driscoll's church.

It is a pleasure to welcome to my blog today, Wendy Alsup, who is a member of Mars Hill Church Seattle—led by Mark Driscoll. Wendy is a mother of two, and Deacon in charge of Women's Theology and Training. There has been a lot of controversy about Mark Driscoll in the blogosphere, so I thought it would be great to get an insider's look at what it is like to be a member of the church he leads. For more information see my interview with Mark Driscoll, his blog or the new look Mars Hill Church website – their video section is especially cool. In part 1 we focused on finding out a bit more about Wendy and the church she attends. In part 2 we looked at what Mars Hill does to maintain a sense of community. Part 3 looked at the church’s emphasis on theology. Today I conclude by asking Wendy more about what ministry looks like at Mars Hill.

Adrian
Clearly it sounds like the Bible is highly valued at Mars Hill. It is often said that many churches seem almost as though they have chosen between being a "Word" church or being a "Spirit" church—do you feel that is true in the case of your church?

Wendy
H-m-m-m-m . . . that's curious. That is a very unbiblical concept. When Christ first instructs on the Spirit's coming, he says the Spirit will not speak his own, but will bring to remembrance the teachings of Christ. So the evidence that the Spirit is at work is that Christ, the Logos, is lifted up—which means a true "Spirit" church must be a "Word" church. I think the Spirit is working mightily at Mars Hill because I see Christ's name lifted up and lives transformed, and I know that only happens through the Spirit's quickening.

Adrian
What does the ministry of Mars Hill feel like behind closed doors? Mark Driscoll says things like, "I am a charismatic, but not that sort of charismatic." Just how charismatic would the church feel to the average member who is fully involved in the life of the church?

Wendy
I grew up in a non-charismatic background and was initially skeptical of switching my views on this—even once I was convinced from Scripture that the gifts are still for today. Maybe I was subconsciously afraid of being personally slain in the spirit during a service. :-) Then I began to slowly realize that many of my most respected friends at church quietly practiced charismatic gifts, but did so in a private way that seemed consistent with Scripture. My respect for them eased my skepticism and concern. Overall, it's not a big deal around church.

Behind closed doors, Mars Hill is not dominated by any personality. It is simply a bunch of humble believers doing their best to control the chaos. It reminds me of the old Super Bowl commercials of the company that built a plane while it was flying, and another where the company likened themselves to cat herders. There is no time to become territorial, and no room to etch an empire. We're all hanging on for dear life, but loving it at the same time. We've grown by nearly 4000 people in just the four and a half years I've attended. That's crazy! The testimonies of transformed lives bring me to tears again and again, and makes all of it worthwhile.

Adrian
What can you tell us about what it's like to be a woman on staff at Mars Hill?

Wendy
I am not technically on staff—I’m a volunteer and do most of my work from home. Our church does employ a number of female deacons, and we have many more who volunteer their time and energy. We have a wonderful group of elders who are very sensitive to the needs of women in the church and are very humble, gracious servants of Christ. It's been an honor and blessing to work with them. In particular, any time I've approached an elder with a women's issue that concerns me, they always receive my concern and work willingly with me to address it. But we do believe that women can't be elders, and that wives need to submit to their husbands. And for some people, no matter how you explain it biblically, they take that to be synonymous with female oppression. The reality is that Mars Hill is filled with strong women who search the Scriptures and know the Word. But, Lord willing, our strength is submitted to God's control. We're called to be gentle, not weak, helpers, not doormats. Gentleness implies tempered strength. Babies aren't gentle—babies are weak. But when an adult who has the strength to crush the baby instead cradles them in their arms, that's gentleness. That's what God has called us to be as women. Strength under God's control. I'm very impressed with the strength, character, and theological depth of the women at Mars Hill. I'm also impressed with the way our leadership receives and develops the gifts among our women.

Read more . . . "Interview with Wendy Alsup, Deacon at Mars Hill Church—Seattle"

Although I am on a blog holiday at the moment, it gives me great pleasure to welcome my friend and newly published author, Tim Challies, to the blog for the next portion of his blog tour. Today he will answer a question submitted by another blogger.

As I discuss spiritual discernment with other people, one of the questions that always seems to arise is this one:

“Isn’t spiritual discernment a gift of the Holy Spirit?”
The answer to this one is, “Yes, but . . .” Let me explain.

“In 1 Corinthians 12:10 Paul writes about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in that list is “the ability to distinguish between spirits.” The Bible provides no further elaboration on this gift and does not tell us all that it entails. Whether this gift is the gift of discernment as we understand it today or whether it is a little bit different we can’t know. What we can know with some certainty is that there is a spiritual gift of discernment in operation today. There is a wide variety of gifts (certainly far more than the Bible lists) and discernment must be one of them. This gift will allow those who have it to identify and expose the spirit of Satan. While all believers are exhorted that they must “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1), those with the gift of discernment have been given special ability and responsibility. They are equipped by the Spirit to expose the lies of Satan in the teaching of men. They are able to see to the heart of the issues and to see Satan’s shadow behind what does not accord with the Word of God. These people are given special skill and special responsibility in doing the work of discernment. These people are to be a blessing to the Church.

So while this gift does exist, it is important to realize that this does not let everyone else off the hook. I like to draw a comparison to the gift of evangelism. There are some people for whom evangelism comes so naturally. Where some of us are terrified at the thought of sharing the gospel with a stranger, there are some for whom this is completely natural and they like nothing better than meeting strangers for this very purpose. I knew a man who, several days a week, would head to the local train station and stand on the platform for hours, sharing the gospel for five or ten minutes at a time. It was his passion and he woke up in the mornings excited to do this. I can scarcely imagine such a thing! But even though there are some who have been blessed with this gift, it does not mean that the rest of us have no responsibility for the spread of the gospel. All of us are called to take the gospel to the lost. And discernment is similar in that, though there are some who are specially gifted, we are all to practice it and are all to understand its importance to our faith.

So is there a gift of discernment? Yes, there is. But do not allow this to preclude you from understanding discernment and putting it into practice in your life. For most of us, discernment is a discipline, a way of thinking about life and a skill that we must sharpen with constant practice.

No. 24 on the list of the most widely read posts among readers of my blog appeared on July 13, 2007, and provided an audio link to my interview with Rob Rufus.

Interviewing Rob at the end of the Together on a Mission 2007 Conference was memorable, and those who listened to the mp3 will know just how much laughter was a part of that conversation. In December 2007, the written transcript of this interview with Rob Rufus was published as a series on my blog. Any one of those segments can be read by clicking on the links here:

• Preacher Rob Rufus
  
  
• Rob Rufus on Word and Spirit
  
  
• Rob Rufus: How to Explore the Charismatic
  
  
• Rob Rufus on apostles Today
  
  
• How apostles Work Today

It was a real delight to sit with Rob Rufus and Tope Koleoso at the end of the conference for the following wide-ranging interview. I would strongly encourage you to listen to this, especially if you want to get more insight into what these apostolic families of churches look like in practice, or if you are just intrigued to learn more about the Holy Spirit.

You can download the mp3 or listen to it right here on the blog:

No. 25 on the list of the all-time most popular posts with readers of this blog appeared on July 2, 2007, and summarized some of my series on the atonement. It also included links to a number of other posts on the subject. There were many other posts within this series—the most popular of which was entitled "J. I. Packer on the Atonement."

As we finally draw near to the conclusion of this long-running series on the atonement, it has struck me just how the lines are being drawn. On the one hand there are those of us who feel PSA is essential to the gospel. It’s not that we think it’s the only thing—or indeed that every gospel presentation must major on it. It’s just that we think it’s essential, and that gospel presentations can’t deny it.

Just yesterday I heard what, to me, was the best gospel message I’ve ever heard. In fact, it didn't major on an explanation of the exact mechanism of the atonement, but there was a line about the coming wrath of God and how that had to be taken away. I was reminded as I was listening that the gospel shouldn’t become merely a battleground for us to fight over. It should, instead, be something we hold precious. I can't encourage you enough to download and listen to Tope’s sermon on the prodigal son. Many Christians heard the impact of this message of God's love and forgiveness with a fresh insight. Several visitors made a response to the gospel. I loved what he said at the close of the sermon—“It may be free, but it wasn't cheap. It cost the life of his son.”

It seems impossible for those of us who love the gospel of the Savior suffering the punishment of our sins to simply agree to disagree with those on the other hand who claim it is “divine child abuse.” I suspect the divisions in the visible church over this issue will grow more prominent rather than less so. This is just one of several reasons that, as Andrew Cottingham spoke of today, makes ecumenicalism so difficult for some of us who really care.

Today the American magazine, Christianity Today, published an article about the recent UK controversies over the atonement online. They were kind enough to quote me in the article, acknowledging my role in breaking the Word Alive / Spring Harvest story.

9Marks has this month published a whole issue about defining the gospel. They were eager to point out that PSA is essential to it, and the controversy over PSA is mentioned in one of their editorials. Others (including myself) were asked to write 100-word contributions explaining the gospel. I would love to read such a brief outline by someone from the other side of this debate.

There has also recently been an article by D. A. Carson on Penal Substitutionary Atonement which, not surprisingly, comes down firmly on the side of the authors of PFOT and makes plain that PSA is at the heart of the gospel. . . .

Read more of . . . "PSA—Precious Gospel or Divine Child Abuse?"

No. 26 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on July 28, 2006, and announced an offer to my readers from Logos Bible Software. If you don't yet own this software, the offer is still available now. If you purchase through my site, I receive some reimbursement as a result.   If you decide to budget for this invaluable resource, you will not regret this, I'm sure!

I'm delighted to be able to bring you a very special deal from one of my favorite Christian companies. Logos Bible Software has offered readers of my blog a 25% discount if they follow the link from my site and purchase one of their base libraries, adding the code WARNOCK at check-out."What is Bible software and why should I want it?" you might ask me. In this digital age, Bible software uniquely enables you to study the Bible in depth in a way that previous generations could only dream of doing. When I first began studying to preach, I could sometimes be found in the London-based Evangelical Library with a load of books strewn on the desk in front of me. Logos soon put a stop to that!

For many years now—if I want to check out the meaning of a Bible passage, or do a word study in the original Greek, or indeed check out the latest theological thinking on a certain subject—I almost always turn to my full-time personal digital assistant—where I can get the information I need in seconds. I call my growing collection of electronic commentaries, lexicons, Bibles, interlinear Bibles, reference books, and theological journals my personal Theological Seminary in a Box.

Just one example of what is available—almost all of John MacArthur's life works can be purchased on just one disk! (What will I use as a doorstop now, you ask?) There are, in fact, thousands of books and products that you can add to your Logos library.

Over the years I have found this software to be an invaluable resource in sermon preparation, and I can't recommend it highly enough. At first glance the prices do not seem cheap, I will admit, but there are two things to remember:

1. The first is that, per book, the prices are very low. Scholar Gold, for example, works out at less than $1.50 a book! To buy the print copies of these amazing resources has been estimated by the makers to cost over $11,000!
   
   
2. The second is that I know many of you will have at least considered putting careers on hold and remortgaging your homes in order to pay for a theological education. Some people might actually find this software to be a better investment, or at the least, buying it might help you decide if Bible college really is for you and thereby save a costly mistake! A few hundred dollars to save a few thousand is not a bad idea.

Read more of . . . "25% Off Logos Bible Software"

No. 27 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on January 14, 2006, and linked to this hilarious joke. Its popularity was measured by the number of visits to the post in the last half of 2007. The original post is reprinted here in its entirety—just follow the link below to read the joke.

If you are like me, then you like jokes. Jokes often take a group of people and poke fun at them for appearing to be stupid. For some reason, jokes about "dumb blonds" seem to be among the funniest jokes of all.

If you want to find the funniest blond joke the world has ever seen, CLICK HERE!

I just received the following announcement in my e-mail about a blogging tour that Tim Challies will be taking next week. I have previously highlighted Tim's book here on my sidebar, and in my review of it, in which I said:

"Tim Challies takes us from the turbulent marketplace of ideas that is the modern western church back into the world of the Scriptures. Sadly, today many people fall into the trap of being naively blown from one wind of teaching to another. Others become so expert at straining out the gnats of what they believe to be error that they are unable to learn from anybody. Instead they believe themselves to be the guardians of "true" doctrine. Tim shows us from the Bible itself how to avoid both errors. Tim's reliance on the Bible is refreshing in an age when doctrinal pillars of our faith are being challenged by prominent preachers, and there is a constant search for novelty in parts of the Church. This book, like no other I have seen, aims to give ordinary Christians like you and me the tools we need to learn how to discern truth from error. I wholeheartedly urge you to get yourself a copy and read it, and then buy one for a friend."

RELEASE FROM CROSSWAY

Most Christians are a little fuzzy on the topic of discernment. We know that someone should apply discernment to the media, to teachings, and to important decisions. We've heard of discernment ministries, and we may have even used the phrase "the gift of discernment." The general tenor of our conversations could lead us to conclude that discernment is best left to the professionals.

Perhaps this conversation needs to be re-opened. Leading evangelical blogger Tim Challies initiates the dialogue with his new book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, which contends that discernment is the call of every believer. In conjunction with the book's release, Challies is taking his message to the blogosphere. His two-week blog tour will start on Monday, January 7th and will run until Friday, January 18th. Watch for Challies on the following sites, and submit your comments to participate:

Jan 7: Evangelical Outpost

Jan 8: Tall Skinny Kiwi

Jan 9: A-Team

Jan 10: Adrian Warnock

Jan 11: Gender Blog

Jan 14: Jollyblogger

Jan 15: Between Two Worlds

Jan 16: Team Pyro

Jan 17: Internet Monk

Jan 18: Church Matters

Tim has written more about his tour and some foolish comment controversy some have been stirring up about his book. All I want to say for now is that a team of professionals built the Titanic. A single amatuer built the ark.

In my interview with Wayne Grudem he said something pertinent to this latest controversy over "professionalism" in the church:

". . . it is always wise to have a governing structure where the highest governing offices in the church and the highest positions of influence are open to lay people as well as ordained people. The denominations where only clergy have the highest of authority seem to be the ones that are never able to be brought back once they drift into liberalism because the ordinary lay people who have common sense and are reading their Bibles every day don’t have any way to regain control of a denomination that has gone astray if it has that kind of structure."

—Wayne Grudem

First up, let me wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR, and may 2008 bring rich blessings to you and your family!

Beginning tomorrow, and for the next month or so—during my extended blog leave—I have arranged to highlight the thirty most read posts of all time from this blog.

These posts were selected on the basis of the number of visits to the individual post pages during the second half of 2007. Much of this, of course, reflects the extent of traffic sent from Google on certain subjects, but that, in turn, has been influenced to some degree by the number of people linking to those posts. Thus, this is hopefully a good measure of popularity among regular readers who blog themselves, as well as first-time visitors from Google.

Where two or more posts from the same series, or very much the same subject, could both potentially have made the top 30, only the most popular one did so. Links to the other related posts will appear in that post on the day the post is highlighted. Each post will be lightly edited by my editor, Annette Harrison, and the first few paragraphs—including a new introduction—will be reposted here, with a “Read-more . . .” link taking you back to the original post. By the time we get to the end, we will have re-published all thirty of these most popular posts. A list will be generated at the end of this post as each one is announced.

I hope this exercise will alert you to the fact that on most of the blogs you visit there is a large catalog of archived posts which may still be of interest today. I have had feedback from some readers of this blog that when they are researching a certain subject they have found the “Search This Site” feature quite useful in locating some of the things their favorite bloggers have had to say in the past on that subject. I certainly find that feature quite useful myself when visiting other bloggers' sites.

I hope you enjoy this republishing of some of my best bits! Some of these posts were more widely read than I ever expected, and many of my own favorites will make a reappearance while I’m spending January reflecting, recharging, praying, enjoying my family, planning for the year, and reading, as well as continuing in my secular job.

I will be on a retreat with other core team leaders from Jubilee Church beginning on the 11th of January through the 14th, which will come at the end of our customary church-wide week of prayer and fasting. I will also be away on business for a few days in January, which should also give me some additional much-needed personal time.

From the 3rd through the 18th of February I will be traveling with my daughter, Tamasin, and my son, Henry, to Orlando, Florida. We have never been to Orlando, and are excited about spending time bonding together as a smaller unit of our family. We will enjoy some hospitality from a close online blogging friend, Jesse Phillips, for some of the time. I’m sure I’ll post some updates on our trip while we are in Florida, and thanks to the kindness of my editor, written transcripts of my previous audio interviews with John Lanferman (the leader of Newfrontiers in the USA) and Mark Dever will also appear during February.

Please pray for me during this time that I will come back refreshed and raring to go with all my responsibilities, and particularly for the next phase of blogging as I press towards reaching the goal of completing five years of writing a blog in April 2008!

In the meantime, keep coming back! In addition to the republished material, I may not be able to resist posting some new material during this time. In any case, there will always be interesting headlines appearing in my sidebar from the Warnie Winners, and Annette will be highlighting other interesting posts from around the blogosphere.

Everyone needs a break from time to time, but I hope that the things I have set in place over the next six weeks will mean that you feel it’s almost as though I haven’t gone away at all. Please bear with me as I may not answer my e-mail as frequently as usual during this time.

As of January 2008, these are the thirty most widely-read posts on my blog:

30. How to Use the New Google Calendar, Including Outlook Synchronization
    
    
29. Interview—Josh Harris on Being Discipled by C. J. Mahaney
    
    
28. Who is Adrian Warnock?
    
    
27. Best Blond Joke in the World Ever!
    
    
26. 25% Off Logos Bible Software from Libronix
    
    
25. PSA—Precious Gospel or Divine Child Abuse?
    
    
24. Interview With Rob Rufus
    
    
23. Interview with Wendy Alsup, Deacon at Mars Hill Church—Seattle
    
    
22. Interview With Albert Mohler—Radio Host and Theologian
    
    
21. Adrian Interviews Mark Dever
    
    
20. Twelve Literary Features of the Bible
    
    
19. Adrian Interviews Justin Taylor
    
    
18. Kim Riddlebarger Contradicts John MacArthur
    
    
17. Interview With Dr. Sam Storms
    
    
16. Who Are Your Favorite Well-Known Living Preachers?
    
    
15. Massive Collection of Sovereign Grace mp3 Messages Made Available Free
    
    
14. Terry Virgo on the Future
    
    
13. Tom Wright's Response to John Piper
    
    
12. "The Toronto Blessing"—When The Church Seemed To Be Going Mad
    
    
11. The Atonement: Wright Attacks Both Sides of the Debate
    
    
10. I Don't Want Balance! I Want It All!
    
    
9. Tope Koleoso—Thanksgiving Sermon on the Importance of Gratitude
   
   
8. Interview with C. J. Mahaney
   
   
7. What is a Reformed Charismatic?
   
   
6. Dr. Wayne Grudem—Highlights and Reflections
   
   
5. Steve Chalke and "The Lost Message of Jesus"
   
   
4. Sam Storms, John Piper, and John Bunyan Versus Wayne Grudem, Al Mohler, and Mark Dever
   
   
3. The ESV: A Bible Translation for Everyone?
   
   
2. Blogging, Discernment, and a Book by Tim Challies
   
   
1. Interview With Mark Driscoll
   

There are only a few more things I’d like to do before I shut down the blog for Christmas. Posting will resume on the 1st of January, but I’ve got something a bit different planned for that month. I'll tell you more about that when the post I’ve written for that day is published by my editor and research assistant, Annette Harrison.

One thing I do want to do besides saying "Happy Christmas" to all of you is to say a big "thank you!" I obviously want to thank you, my readers, as our interactions make this a much more rewarding experience (yes—even those of you with whom I disagree!). Most of all, I want to thank my family for allowing me to give multiple hours to this hobby of mine. And I want to thank Annette for her help with editing. If anyone out there is looking for a paid remote editor, please drop her an e-mail at annette.harrison@gmail.com and tell her I sent you!

There is, however, one group of people I would like to thank in more detail—those websites and blogs which have sent traffic my way. This surely is a competition where some major kudos go to the winners. It’s almost worth linking to my posts just to share, hopefully, a spot on this list with so many illustrious companions! I will simply reveal here those of you who have done the most to help send readers to my blog this year. I have decided to increase the number of bloggers getting a “thank you link” to 70 this year—have a look and see where your blog stands in these rankings! I did this last year, and it’s interesting to compare the rankings from last year with those of this year. (I will indicate in brackets the previous year’s ranking.)

These sites are ranked in order by the ones who sent me the most visitors as referrals in the second half of 2007. Perhaps not surprisingly, the vast majority of these websites are sites I love and often link to myself. There is a lot of linky love going on, and I count many of these people as my friends. If any of them are unknown to you, why not pop over and visit their site during the next couple of weeks while there will be nothing new here. You just might find yourself wanting to keep going back!

This year you will also get to hear what I think of the top fifteen winners. While I have expanded the list this year because so many interesting blogs rank beyond the top 15—since I couldn’t think what to say about Facebook—15 seemed like as good a place as any to stop my comments. So whoever you are, I want to thank you for your kindness in reading and sending other readers to this blog. I hope that the people you sent found something useful, even if it was only a handy link from which to continue surfing. Remember, keep linking, and who knows? You might make this list next year!

Here, then, are my top referring websites, with the exception of search engines and aggregators:

THE TOP FIFTEEN TRAFFIC DONORS TO THIS BLOG

1. BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (3) http://theologica.blogspot.com/
   The blog with three names—"Theologica" or "Between Two Worlds" or more likely known to most of us simply as "Justin Taylor's blog"—has leap-frogged over two others into top place this year. No other website, apart from search engines, has sent me so much traffic, and for that I am very grateful. But I am much more grateful for the wonderful resources that Justin's blog provides. Reading his blog is dangerous as it sends you off to read all kinds of interesting material from the farthest reaches of the Christian Internet. Justin is a real asset to the Church today. May God continue to bless him!
   
   
   
2. PYROMANIACS (1) http://teampyro.blogspot.com/
   
   The fall in position of the blog of Phil Johnson and friends is, I suspect, not because of a fall in popularity of their blog. Rather it is because I have been less successful trolling for links there. If Phil and the crew want to knock Justin off the top spot next year, they will just have to link to me more often in 2008. Despite my disagreements at times with their style, I do have great respect for the fire-lovers and value what I learn from them. In addition, Phil is an old friend, and whenever we meet for coffee at Waterloo, interesting events arise!
   
   
   
3. CHALLIES.COM (2) http://www.challies.com/
   
   Tim Challies is another great blogging friend of mine. He was just as I expected him to be when we ate steak together just minutes after I got off a plane in Toronto. He hates me to remind him that I played some part in “discovering” him, but I am proud to acknowledge that his blog has left mine standing as it roars off into the distance! I believe that Tim is a man to watch, and that he will be around online, at Christian conferences, and in books for a long time to come. If you have not already done so, be sure to get a copy of his book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, when it comes out in just a few days. It’s exciting to watch what God will do by his grace with a man who is willing to let God lead him.
   
   
   
4. WIKIPEDIA (—) http://wikipedia.org/
   
   This year a surprise entry on this list has been Wikipedia. This site is another place I enjoy visiting for all kinds of reasons beyond the fact that it sends me web traffic. An experiment in collaboration, it gives purchased encylopedias a run for their money. People often criticize it, but ultimately, if something’s wrong, you can actually go in there and correct it! If nothing else, it gives us an accurate perception of what techno-savvie web users think about a given subject.
   
   
   
5. BLUEFISH PROJECT (5) http://thebluefish.blogspot.com/
   
   Holding stable is part of Dave Bish's character, so it’s perhaps appropriate that he is the only site in the top 5 which did not change rank! Dave Bish is another good friend of mine. He traveled out to the edge of London just to meet me for lunch. We have chatted many times online, and his blog is one of the most popular Christian blogs in the UK. He has devoted his life to helping students find Christ—a noble profession.
   
   
   
6. CHRISTIANITY TODAY (—) http://www.christianitytoday.com/
   
   I believe the willingness of main-stream Christian media sites to partner with and link to blogs will be a major feature of the next few years. Over the last year, I have become increasingly impressed by the massive resource that is Christianty Today. I just wish we could get this magazine in the UK!
   
   
   
7. T4G BLOG (—) http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/
   
   Despite the fact the Together For the Gospel guys seem to have largely abandoned their own blog, it still keeps sending me traffic. No other website with so little freshly updated material has sent me so much traffic. Perhaps as the brothers begin to turn their thoughts more and more to the 2008 T4G conference we’ll see more posts coming from them. I’m determined to return to “blogging through the T4G Statement” of eighteen months ago. (I really must finish before their next conference!!) Oddly, this time last year they had more content, but sent me fewer hits!
   
   
   
8. BEN WITHERINGTON (8) http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/
   
   Ben Witherington is the first website on this list where I don't have any personal contact with any of the authors or representatives. But that’s only because he doesn’t list an e-mail on his website. If any of you have a working e-mail for Ben, drop him a line and tell him he holds 8th place for the second year running in this list of my top referrers. Tell him I love his blog, and would love to make e-mail contact with him!
   
   
   
9. HUGH HEWITT (11) http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog/
   
   Hugh was one of the first prominent Christian bloggers to link to me, and for that I will always be grateful. He blogs mostly about American politics, and when I am interested in finding out about what’s going on in that arena, Hugh’s site is one of the first places I go. Glad to see him rising up the charts a little, but surely you can do better than that next year, Hugh!
   
   
   
10. TERRY VIRGO (—) http://www.janga.biz/terryvirgoblog/
    
    It is truly impressive that such a new blog should make it into this list’s top ten. With a full year in 2008, I fully expect to see Terry in a higher slot this time next year. Terry Virgo is a name with which every reader of this blog should familiarize themselves. Please do go read my interview with him, his blog, and listen to some of his sermons. He is the man who has taken a small band of reformed charismatics in the UK and led them to what is now more than 200 churches, with another 300 churches worldwide. I am privileged to follow him as he follows Christ. He is the single most influential church leader over my theology and values. He has shaped so many of the people who have, in turn, shaped me. I thank God for Terry, and being linked from his blog was one of the highlights of my year. If you want to make a new year's resolution this year, determine to find out more about this man and what God has accomplished through him.
    
    
    
11. THE JOLLYBLOGGER (4) http://jollyblogger.typepad.com/
    
    David Wayne was my first real blogging buddy. I still miss our "tag blogging" and remember the times when people accused us of being the same person. He is another blogger who I have been able to have the joy of meeting in the flesh. Let’s do some tag blogging again this year, David. And c’mon! Surely you can do better than #11! Let’s see a jump back up in the rankings next year!
    
    
    
12. SHEPHERD’S SCRAPBOOK (—) http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/
    
    Regular readers of my blog will recognize the name, Tony Reinke, as the source of some of my photos. But he doesn’t just do good photos—he does great posts as well! He seems to be on the upward climb, and I keep finding him referred to all over the place. Expect to hear more from him next year. Remember, just like Tim Challies, you first heard of him here!
    
    
    
13. EVANGELICAL OUTPOST (—) http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/
    
    Joe Carter's site is a massively influential Christian blog. To have any traffic coming my way from him is a great honor indeed. It has been one of the greatest mysteries of blogging that for some reason his and my blogs seem to live in worlds that overlap surprisingly little. I do enjoy his material, so I’m hoping that next year we will be able to interact a bit more than we have in recent years!
    
    
    
14. ALBERT MOHLER (7) http://www.albertmohler.com/
    
    Al is America's favorite seminary professor. If Wayne Grudem had time to do a radio show and a blog on top of his seminary tasks, preaching, and writing books, he could undoubtedly give Dr. Mohler a run for his money. One of the mysteries about Al is that he doesn’t seem keen to leave us with many books that have been penned by his hand! Nevertheless, I’m happy that he sends me a fair bit of traffic!
    
    
    
15. UNASHAMED WORKMAN (—)
    http://unashamedworkman.wordpress.com/
    
    The sidebar of this blog alone is a worthy resource. I will know when I have arrived as a blogger when I have been added to this amazing list of blogs and other sites to visit. Even without having a place on that list, Unashamed Workman has still managed to make the top fifteen blogs which send traffic my way. That’s because he has linked to some of my material. The quality of his own posts makes this blog a very worthwhile read.
    
    
16. http://facebook.com/
    
    
17. http://monergism.com/
    
    
18. http://qaya.org/
    
    
19. http://reformation21.org/
    
    
20. http://danhames.blogspot.com/
    
    
21. http://fide-o.blogspot.com/
    
    
22. http://solofemininity.blogs.com/ (12)
    
    
23. http://theopedia.com/
    
    
24. http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/
    
    
25. http://sfpulpit.com/
    
    
26. http://psalm305.blogspot.com/
    
    
27. http://desiringgod.org/
    
    
28. http://lashawnbarber.com/
    
    
29. http://creative2567.blogspot.com/
    
    
30. http://julnbde.blogspot.com/
    
    
31. http://ceruleansanctum.com/
    
    
32. http://42.blogs.warnock.me.uk/
    
    
33. http://piercedforourtransgressions.com/
    
    
34. http://mrlauterbach.typepad.com/
    
    
35. http://boarsheadtavern.com/ (9)
    
    
36. http://scotwise.blogspot.com/
    
    
37. http://thesimplepastor.blogspot.com/
    
    
38. http://against-heresies.blogspot.com/
    
    
39. http://chri.st/
    
    
40. http://earnestlydesire.blogspot.com/
    
    
41. http://ken-fields.blogspot.com/
    
    
42. http://energionpubs.com/
    
    
43. http://charismaticbloggers.blogspot.com/
    
    
44. http://worldmagblog.com/
    
    
45. http://thedigitalsanctuary.textdriven.com/
    
    
46. http://kiwiandanemu.org/
    
    
47. http://theresurgence.com/
    
    
48. http://englishbibles.blogspot.com/ (6)
    
    
49. http://expositorythoughts.wordpress.com/
    
    
50. http://cartoonchurch.com/
    
    
51. http://ukcommentators.blogspot.com/
    
    
52. http://parablemania.ektopos.com/
    
    
53. http://theologyonline.org/
    
    
54. http://bigbadmo.blogspot.com/
    
    
55. http://rianniello.blogspot.com/
    
    
56. http://adrianreynolds.blogspot.com/
    
    
57. http://enjoyinggodministries.com/
    
    
58. http://wordandspirit.co.uk/
    
    
59. http://firstimportance.org/
    
    
60. http://9marks.org/
    
    
61. http://andycottingham.com/
    
    
62. http://exiledpreacher.blogspot.com/
    
    
63. http://tatumweb.com/
    
    
64. http://gospelgrowth.blogspot.com/
    
    
65. http://matthewhosier.blogspot.com/
    
    
66. http://robrufus.blogspot.com/
    
    
67. http://peter-ould.net/
    
    
68. http://fundyreformed.wordpress.com/
    
    
69. http://faithbyhearing.wordpress.com/
    
    
70. http://phillipjohnson.blogspot.com/
    

During the months of September and October, I spent a lot of time quoting from a book Justin Taylor produced—a lightly edited John Owen. These can all be read on the category page for posts labeled "John Owen." In November, I gave John Piper on N. T. Wright the same treatment.

I also wrote a post titled Blogging, Discernment, and a Book by Tim Challies which managed to provoke the Pyromaniacs, review Tim's book, and muse about the best approach to blogging for Christians—all in the same post! It was not long after that when I made the important decision to remove comments from this site because I just wasn't managing to find the time to moderate them properly. This was announced in Thanksgiving and Some Changes Around Here.

Terry Virgo hasn't found out and stopped me yet, but I managed to let everyone into the Secret of Newfrontiers—if you want to know what that is, you will have to read the post. I was also able to share an interview with a man who has a unique perspective on our movement, having been in it for decades before officially leaving, while remaining our very good friend. I am, of course, talking about Greg Haslam, who is currently occupying D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' pulpit in Westminster Chapel, London.

It was very moving to be able to visit the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois. I was also able to return to London in time to renew my acquaintance with Mark Dever, and to listen to him preach. Here are the posts:

• Theology for All — Lessons for the Future by Mark Dever
• Theology for All — Lessons for the Present by Mark Dever
• Theology for All — Lessons From the Past by Mark Dever
• Theology for All — Mark Dever in the UK
• Theology for All — An Interview with Mark Dever

In November I met Mark Driscoll in the flesh for the first time and shared the following posts about the meeting and his sermons there, as well as mentioning a couple of key ones from his home church:

• Driscoll on the Defeat of Shame and the Scotland MP3s
• Mark Driscoll at MenMakers in Scotland
• Mark Driscoll Preaches on the Atonement in Edinburgh, Scotland
• Mark Driscoll Apologizes For Not Being Humble
• Mark Driscoll Firm, But Kind, About Joel Osteen on Prosperity Teaching

In December I posted probably my most political post so far—"Time to Put a Stop to Brown?" It is fair to say that I assumed people would understand that I believed that, for better or worse, it is God who has given us this leader at this time. I should not have assumed that, nor should I have neglected to remind all of us of the need to pray for him. With Brown seemingly helpless against Cameron's weekly accusations that the PM is dithering and indecisive, it sure looks like the leader of "The B Team" needs our prayers! For the sake of our nation, I hope something changes and soon.

My final interview of the year was actually a transcipt of an interview I had previously shared in audio form. The interviewee was Rob Rufus, and that was surely a good way to end what has been my most eventful year of blogging so far.

May was not as controversial a month as I reported yesterday that April had been. I continued with the following posts on the atonement and the resurrection throughout May and also into June. In fact, there were a few posts on the atonement which spilled into July, and I have listed them here also. If that's not enough for you on this vital subject, remember to look at my April review which lists a lot more!

• John Stott on the Atonement—The Conclusion
• Terry Virgo On the Results of the Cross
• C. J. Mahaney on the Cross
• Tom Schreiner on the Atonement
• Spurgeon on the Atonement
• Wayne Grudem on the Atonement
• A Limited Atonement? Did Jesus Die For All?
• J. I. Packer on the Atonement
• The Atonement—A Quiz
• Penal Substitutionary Atonement—Precious Gospel or Divine Child Abuse?
• Brian McLaren Supports Steve Chalke About the Cross
• The Atonement and the Resurrection—It's All About Jesus
• The Atonement—Jesus' Death Is Not Repeated at Communion
• The Atonement—Don't Forget the Blood of Christ
• Are You Still A Sinner?
• Is the Cross a Legal Fiction? No, Because the Resurrection Changes Us
• The Atonement—Is Penal Substitution the Only Thing That Happened at the Cross?
• Christianity Magazine Reviews Pierced For Our Transgressions
• The Atonement—Is Jesus the Good Cop?
• The Atonement—What Does Imputation Mean?
• Jonathan Edwards on the Resurrection
• The Atonement—What Did Jesus Die From?
• The Atonement—2 Corinthians 5
• Atonement—Jesus Thought He Was Fulfilling Isaiah 53
• The Atonement—Isaiah 53
• Resurrection Sunday—The Commission of the Risen Christ
• Sam Storms Reviews Pierced For Our Transgressions
• Atonement—Who is Preaching Another Gospel?
• The Atonement—What Happened to Jesus on the Cross?
• Resurrection Empowered Life—The Deposit Guaranteeing Our Inheritance
• Penal Substitutionary Atonement Summarized in Romans 15
• The Atonement in Romans 12-14
• Resurrection Empowered Life—Dying to Live
• John Piper Friday—Christ's Obedient Life and Death Entwined
• The Atonement in Romans 9-11
• The Atonement in Romans 8
• Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Separating Over the Atonement
• Resurrection Empowered Life—Raised With Christ
• John Piper Friday—Romans and the Reason for the Atonement
• The Atonement—Romans 6-7 and Penal Substitutionary Atonement
• The Atonement—Romans 4-5 on Penal Substitutionary Atonement
• The Atonement—Romans 1-3 and Penal Substitutionary Atonement
• Atonement—The Angry God of the Bible
• N. T. Wright on Paul and the Resurrection Empowered Life

May and June were also the months I began to introduce my readers to the leader of the family of churches of which I am a part. I did a multi-part inteview with Terry Virgo, shared two of his sermons, and introduced his blog in these posts:

• Terry Virgo Preaches on Ephesians 4
• Terry Virgo Preaches on Jesus' First Miracle
• Terry Virgo Starts a Blog
• Terry Virgo On Healings, Driscoll, and Theology
• Amazing Grace on a Wedding Day

I highlighted a post on a subject that would later in the year lead to the first full-scale blog debate between some of my heroes of the faith. It was slightly cheeky, and I suppose the possibility of a challenge by others was implicit in Mark Dever and Ancient Baptistries. I was also very provoked by a post I quoted from Gandalf's blog, Why Do We All Like Jesus?

I very much enjoyed talking with Liam Goligher, in a wide-ranging multi-part interview, as well as The Authors of Pierced for Our Transgressions.

I also put out a plea which remains out there for anyone with old messages from Downs Bible Week, C. J. Mahaney, and Others to contact me. In particular, I am interested in messages by my old mentor, Henry Tyler.

Also in May I was fascinated to come across a sound bite that has lived with me since—"We need to show the people we understand what it's like to be unbelievers."

UPDATE - Steve Chalke has expressed his views more fully in a chapter in The Atonement Debate, and I have posted a response to this.

Today I will continue my review of the last year's blogging which we began yesterday. April was a very interesting month for me on this blog. So much so that it deserves an entire post. It was a month which single-handedly seemed to dramatically raise my UK readership, and that rise persisted after the month ended. Since I have historically had so many US readers compared to British, sometimes this feels like an American blog to me. (OK, I'm sure it doesn't to my American readers!) But it seems to me that us Brits have yet to embrace blogs as passionately as our cousins across the pond.

After Easter I considered some readily available information about a significant controversy that had risen to the fore again and now threatened to split the Evangelical movement in two. There seemed to me to be an unfathomable reluctance in certain UK Christian media outlets to cover it. I wondered if some news desk decisions were being influenced by certain commercial relationships. In the end, after much deliberation and with the support of my spiritual mentors, I did the first real piece of journalism I had ever done and broke the story that the split between Word Alive and Spring Harvest was not as amicable as many had understood. Suddenly, UK Christians were turning to my blog to read the latest developments and varying opinions of key figures on both sides to whom I tried to give a platform.

Looking back, as messy as that time was, I really don't regret the decision to break that story. My sources were several and impeccable, and without looking for gossip, I had heard rumors for several months. Interestingly, I subsequently discovered that at least one person had hinted at the same story on their own blog before me. (Sadly I cannot now remember the link to that.) I didn't expect the level of public debate between the two sides that would occur, nor the phone calls I would receive from key players on both sides to explain their version of events to me. I felt like something of an agony uncle at times, and knew far more details about the situation than I would have wanted to publish or it would have been beneficial to publish. Splits are always painful. This was the first one that played out in front of the amassed Christian blogs.

I was glad of one thing—the secular media did not pick up the story, although in a sense it shows how irrelevant we have become to their perception of our culture. I really didn't expect to have such a role, and I very much doubt that there will be too many times in the future when I will find myself doing a similar thing.

You can trace the story as it emerged here on my blog in the following posts:

• Word Alive and Spring Harvest to Separate After Fifteen Years Because of the Atonement


• Response from UCCF to the Spring Harvest Decision to End the Word Alive Bible Teaching Week After Fourteen Years.


• The Atonement—N. T. Wright Attacks Both Sides of the Debate


• Pete Broadbent of Spring Harvest Makes a Statement About Word Alive


• Peter Broadbent States Atonement Was a Factor in Spring Harvest Split

The interesting thing was that I was, in any case, in full flow in a series on the atonement. So, with the whole blogosphere lit up on this issue, the blog posts I had already written seemed so much more relevant. Here are the posts in question:

• Wright Quotes That Affirm Penal Substitutionary Atonement


• Dave Warnock Shares an Alternative View of the Atonement


• John Stott—Champion of Penal Subsitutionary Atonement Retires


• The Atonement—Penal Substitutionary Atonement Defined


• The Atonement—If Jesus Was Not a Sinner, Why Did He Die?


• The Atonement—The Place of Union With Christ


• The Atonement—The Terrible Problem of Sin


• The Atonement—Wrong Ideas About the Cross
  
• The Atonement—Should We Disagree With John Stott?


• The Atonement—Packer on Penal Substitution


• The Atonement—The Mission of Jesus


• The Atonement—The Historical Background to the Cross


• The Atonement—An Attack on Penal Substitution


• The Atonement—Quotes From Leon Morris


• The Atonement—Does the Cross of Jesus Matter?


• T4G Article 7—The Atonement: An Introduction
  

Somehow in the midst of all that, I also blogged about other subjects. Notably, the following posts reflected on other debates, and also how we can cooperate together despite certain differences:

• Relating Together for the Gospel


• A Cessationist Healing?


• Newfrontiers Magazine Focuses on Healing


• The PCA Considering Excluding Followers of N. T. Wright


• Mark Driscoll Banned Church Planting Video

I also blogged a fair bit about the resurrection, including the following:

• The Resurrection Empowered Life—Gazing on Jesus


• The Resurrection Empowered LIfe
  
• Book—How Much Does God Foreknow? by Steve Roy

I also remember one of my rare forays into the world of politics in US Election—Dipping My Toe Into a Can of Worms, and an article I published elsewhere entitled Loving God—A Guide for Beginners.

It's time once again to review another year's worth of blogging here at my place. I have made it something of a tradition to look back and reflect on the year that has passed. I have done this previously in December 2006, 2005, and 2004. The format is simple: I highlight some of the posts that I remember most, or enjoyed writing the most over the year. This time I will break it down into a series of posts.

This year I began January's blogging—after extending my customary Christmas break slightly longer than previously—by taking up my autobiographical story with a post entitled My Story Part Five—Learning to Value Being, Not Doing. I did not return to my story again this year, so this remains surely the longest running, as yet unfinished, series on my blog. I am sure that I will eventually return to this and catch up to the current day. In that post I talked about the value of silence and reflection.

In one of the shortest, but most personally challenging posts of the year, in the second post of 2007 I shared some Reflections of a Returning Blogger, citing Scripture that said few words were wiser than many. I suspect this contributed to a trend this year on my blog to shorter posts and, hopefully, to more careful consideration of what I say.

I also spent a few days in January on an interview with Wendy Alsup, a deacon in the Mars Hill Church—Seattle, where Mark Driscoll is pastor.

In February I began what would be an extended series on preaching with two posts that quoted the Together for the Gospel Statement Article 4, John Piper, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Expository Preaching.

I also mentioned that I had just heard a new book on the atonement would soon be released—Pierced for Our Transgressions. Little did I know then just how much I would be focused on that subject this year. I shared the audio of a talk I had given late in 2006 for Jubilee entitled What is the Bible?

I remember being stirred to ask Should We be Optimistic or Pessimistic About the Future? and challenging my readers to find a quote I was sure I had once read from Spurgeon. That readers' challenge remains open and can be answered via e-mail on reading Spurgeon's Prediction of a Future Revival. I did manage to find one quote where Spurgeon asks the question Will More Be Saved Than Lost?

It was also great to publish the news that I was able to play a small part in restoring the works of Charles Simeon to a larger audience.

I seem to have been somewhat distracted from my posts about preaching, and only quoted C. S. Lewis on the Need for Plain English Preaching all month. I did quote one of my greatest living hero's impressions of one of my greatest preaching heroes of the past—I am speaking, of course, about John Piper on Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

In March I returned to the subject of preaching, and there were a significant number of posts which culminated in Ten Conclusions About Expository Preaching. In the middle of this I wrote about The Risks and Rewards of Using Technology in Sermon Preparation.

I posted about the T4G Articles 5-6—The Attributes of God and the Trinity, which included the audio of another talk I had given at Jubilee late in 2006.

One of the traditions of this blog is that every now and then I engage in a gloves-off debate with the Pyromaniacs. In March, one of these was summarized in a post I entitled Am I a Thrill Seeker?

If I remember correctly, that debate with the Pyros was, at least in part, sparked by possibly the most controversial post of the year anywhere in the Christian blogosphere. It was published over on Desiring God, and my reflections on it were entitled John Piper Hears The Voice Of God. I also remember the call that went out that month for Prayer for an Exhausted Mark Driscoll.

March was a hectic blogging month, but nothing would prepare me for what was to come in April, especially as I had written many of my forthcoming posts on atonement in a single sitting and thought I would have a quiet time as my editor faithfully published them all for me. That, however, must wait for the next installment of this year in review series.

It is now almost a week since I made the decision to stop comments here on the blog. In the next few days I will also be deleting all the old ones. I have to say that, so far, I have not missed them. It's not so much that I don't want interaction with my readers—that, in any case, continues in other ways. Rather, I'm glad that the immediacy of that interaction is less, and its constant demands on my time have abated. Having one less demand on my time is so welcome!

Previously I felt constantly under pressure to monitor the stream of comments coming into my inbox to determine which ones should be approved. Part of the nature of these comments was that the majority of them seemed to disagree with the original post. I think this is partly because those who read a post and like it are unlikely to say so in a comment. I know that I myself am more inclined to respond to something that I dislike online. It is this argumentative aspect of comments that has bothered me somewhat. I genuinely believe that, for me at least, removing comments is a way of taking a step away from being quarrelsome.

I came across the following verse this week which made me think that I have done the right thing—at least for me in my situation.

"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will." (1 Timothy 2:22-26)

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If you miss making comments, you can always pop over to one of my reader's blogs who has begun an interesting discussion on Martyn Lloyd-Jones' views of guidance. He said to tell you that he would welcome your opinions! Or, you could go and read Alistair's transcription of what Driscoll really said about God hating sinners and join in the conversation over there.

UPDATE
In response to this post Rick asks, "Are Blog Comments Unscriptural?" whilst Dave Warnock collects the posts from those who think I should not have stopped publishing comments.

I am thankful today. It may not be my holiday, we may not have anything even remotely like it here in the UK, but as I said last year, I am very glad of the reminder this American holiday represents.

I know that at times I still have a sinful tendency to focus on things that are not going the way I want them to rather than to be thankful for everything that has gone well. I know that even after all these years of growing as a Christian, there are times when self-pity, criticism of others, and ungratefulness rear their heads. I know that in the corner of my heart their lies an area as yet not cleaned by the grace that is washing me day-by-day and making me more like Jesus. That area stubbornly refuses to learn that I am not the center of the universe. Neither will it accept that minor inconveniences to me are not worth getting upset about. It must continually be reminded that if I just learned to actually be more sincerely thankful rather than merely mouthing the words "thank you" in a ritualistic manner, my world would actually be a better place. So apart from all the other reasons I have to give thanks, my own selfish interests would be better served!

The truth is, we all find it hard to say a simple "thank you."

My dear readers, I do want to thank you today so much for your patience and ongoing interest in these voluminous and persistent writings of mine which threaten to encroach upon your coffee breaks on a daily basis! I do value the time you invest. I appreciate your interest in the matters that interest me. I am grateful to God for his grace, which has meant that some of you find that investment of time to be at times helpful to you.

* * * * *

One of the interesting things about blogging is the way it seems to go around in cycles. I suppose it's partly because of the way blogging obviously reflects the rest of our lives. I know that, for me, my blog is just an extension of me. Many times my friends have to stop me when I'm talking to them and say, "Adrian, I've already read that on your blog!"

So it felt rather strange when I realized the odd coincidence that this Thanksgiving I'm again returning to a theme that was bubbling up in my thinking at the same time last year. This culminated in a post just days after Thanksgiving titled "Making a Minor Tweak to My Comments Policy."

Interestingly, I had the same internal conflict then I find I have right now. On the one hand I was upset about some of the comments I received on the blog, and on the other hand I was thankful for many of the comments—"especially from those who disagree with me." The real problem I face is that sometimes it's really hard to decide which comments I am happy to publish and which ones I am not. It's difficult to set any clear set of rules that can be understood by both me and you, my readers. Tone is in the eye of the beholder, as my recent debate with the Pyromaniacs clearly demonstrated.

Last December I realized that my earlier tweak had not been enough, so I made a major change in how I would deal with comments here. I now feel that the change I made last year is no longer adequate. It served me well this past year, but now it's time for another radical change. My big problem moving forward is that, with all my other responsibilities, I am so busy that something has to give. I have decided that the time I spend making the often agonizing decision about whether or not to publish a comment (and which I probably sometimes get wrong) is going to have to be freed up.

So, at least for now, beginning today, I will no longer publish comments made on my blog posts.

What does this mean? Firstly, for the vast majority of you, it will make little or no difference. I know that only a tiny proportion of my readers even read the comments, let alone add to them. For some of you, though, this will be disappointing. Does this mean I am no longer interested in your feedback? Absolutely not! Does this mean I will stop reading e-mails sent to me? No! In fact, by freeing some time, it may even make it more likely that I can respond to an e-mail privately, or if appropriate and with the permission of my correspondent, on my blog itself.

I will still, as time permits, try to interact with those who disagree with me. I am not retreating into some kind of bunker! From time to time, I will also probably post a link here to such a post and answer it. I may even frequent the comment sections on other people's blogs.

Why am I doing this? It's mainly for my own sanity. It's because I need to reclaim the time I currently devote to scratching my head in deciding whether or not to publish comments. I feel responsible for the words which appear here in the comments section. I obviously do not have any similar responsibility for what people might post elsewhere. I may well find myself quite happy to read even quite critical comments made elsewhere, whereas reading the very same words as a potential comment for publication here would make me anxious about whether or not I should accept it.

I am grateful for my interactions with you, my readers, which have helped me to understand so many things more clearly. It is therefore with some sadness that I now pull the plug on comments. Because of my current time pressures, it is better to stem the flow of comments now than to wait until I am engulfed in a major comment storm at some point in the future.

If you have made any comments you want to save for the future, please go in and copy/paste them, since at some point fairly soon I will be removing all the old comments also.

The following verse has influenced this decision, and I hope will continue to influence my blogging in these post-comment box days:

"The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out." (Proverbs 17:14)

UPDATE
Not everyone is happy with my decision, as this post over at Peter's blog demonstrates.

UPDATE—February 19, 2008
In January 2008, the following post was identified as the 2nd all-time most popular post with readers of this blog. The 3rd most-read post was "The ESV: A Bible Translation for Everyone?"

This post was an expression of some of my own concerns and frustrations about the blogging world I have come to love so much. I said some things I had been wanting to say for a long time, and it was not a great surprise that the aftermath of this post would lead me to disable comments on my blog a month later. Tim's book addresses discernment, which lies at the root of many of my issues with the Christian blogosphere and its direction.

***************

UPDATE—November 3, 2007
Phil has now written part two of his reply, and I have responded with a post entitled, "Of Tone, Discernment, and the Charismatic Question."

UPDATE—October 29, 2007
Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacs and I have been debating the issues raised by my criticism of him in the comments section of his original post. Just search for "Adrian" using the "find in page" function if you want to follow our specific debate. Phil has also written a new post, "If you can't say something nice," and we are debating in the comments on that post.

I will leave this post at the top of my blog for a couple more days as I want to give you all a chance to read it. If you are interested in some of my related thoughts on this subject, you could read the following posts:

• My Visit to the Billy Graham Center
  
• I Don't Want Balance, I Want It All!
  
• My Comments Policy
  
• Blogging Principles for Christians

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Those of you with an eagle-eye will have already noticed that I am publicizing Tim Challies' forthcoming book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. I doubt that many are surprised that I should want to encourage you to read his book, and I will show in this post why that is the case.

To begin with, however, I want to be very open and honest with you. When I first heard that Tim was writing a book I was actually a little concerned. This may surprise those regular readers who know how much I respect Tim and enjoy his blog. But I still had in my mind an old paradigm where those who are in some way "approved" as trained experts are the ones who should write books. Tim, like me, has no theological degrees. I also know that, just like me concerning this blog, he has been rather surprised by the way in which his readership has grown to an extent he never predicted (and, I should say, to a substantially larger figure than my own). So I was surprised that Tim put his neck on the line still further by taking on the challenge of writing a book.

Tim and I have both been riding a wave—the wave of blogging. In both the secular field and the Christian field, it seems that the most successful bloggers almost all seem to have something in common; they are not "officially trained" recognized global experts in their chosen fields. Perhaps this is because the real experts are too busy to write on a daily basis, or perhaps this is because of a new phenomena in our culture—one with which I'm not particularly thrilled, to be honest. In our 21st century culture there is a growing mistrust of any form of authority and of academics. It is actually rather sad to me that this now seems to be spilling over into the Church, and that it might seem, at first glance, to also include the Christian blogosphere.

One of the most influential early articles discussing the Christian blogging phenomenon was titled, "We Know More Than Our Pastors," and it embodied this trend. It concerned me immensely. David Wayne summarized this piece and sounded some very valid concerns about it. For me, I wanted almost nothing to do with the concepts outlined therein.

Even as I have enjoyed the way that I have been able to be buffeted in this hurricane called blogging, I have also been somewhat concerned about some of the implications of this new marketplace of ideas. I suppose that, despite these reservations, I remain in the blogosphere because I am drawn to it as surely as a bee is to a flower in bloom, and as the Apostle Paul was to the debating spots of ancient Athens.

I am also here because somebody has to be. I am certainly not here because I imagine myself to be at the vanguard of some modern reformation that will sweep away the "old guard" in the way some bloggers (usually not Christian ones) speak about. I am here because, ironically enough, I see this new media as a way that we can proclaim the old, old message. I am here because, in some small way, I can act as a signpost to direct passing traffic to wiser heads than mine. The more readers I find visiting here, the more I feel the need to both quote and link to others. Whatever the size of your blog readership, that filtering process is the single best gift you can give both to your readers and to the writers of even the biggest blogs. I am pleased that the headlines from several bloggers who deserve to be read more than I do appear in the "Warnie Winners" box in my sidebar.

The blogging community can be thought of as a road system, a library, an ecosystem, or perhaps most aptly of all, a jungle. With no single classification system or map, what is needed are good wise guides. There are precious few of them online.

One such wise guide is surely Tim Challies. I know that he shares many of my concerns about the world of blogs, and has a similar attitude in wanting to support those in positions of authority in the Church rather than tearing them down. I know that he is submissive to others. I like that he respects those, like me, who might differ with him on secondary issues, but firmly join hands on the Gospel. I have also met a godly man called Paul Martin who pastors him wisely. The more I came to know Tim, the more my concerns about the concept of a non-expert writing a book began to evaporate. If the modern world needs non-experts to grapple with the words of the experts and make them more accessible to the rest of us, then those who have been given that gift should be encouraged to find an appropriate outlet, even if that looks a bit different from previous models.

Writing a book is very different from writing a blog, even though the number of words involved in a blog over the years may be just as numerous. With a blog, there is instant feedback, and a chance to easily go back and reword or retract an argument. With a book, not only is it more permanent, it is somehow expected to be more accurate, so the responsibility feels greater. James 3 is ever present in the mind of a preacher, and should be in the mind of a blogger as well. Speaking personally, I have applied it even more strongly to the concept of writing a book, which quite frankly has always terrified me rather than attracted me.

But for some people there comes a time when a book finds them and demands to be written. That is what has happened to the man I am glad to call my friend, Tim Challies. He is painfully aware of the cacophony of voices available online, and the need to discriminate between them. The average member of your congregation might well be either theologically illiterate or have imbibed a watered-down, overly simplistic doctrinal system which he has heard away from your church pulpit. Blogs, mp3s, books, magazines, TV programs, conferences, and radio all compete for the minds of modern Christians. The battle has never been stronger. How should we respond to this?

There are a number of different approaches that could be taken. We could just ignore what is going on around us, which would not be wise. We could, instead, become great experts in the different types of false teaching that are being purveyed. There are some bloggers who seem to have the goal of ferreting out everything that is less than perfect. These are often termed "watch blogs." The temptation is to take some kind of perverse gratification out of proving others wrong. As the years have gone on, by God's grace, that temptation has increasingly looked less appealing to me, although there was a time when I frequently delighted in giving in to it.

Sometimes even bloggers with good intentions can fall into the trap of being over zealous in their discernment. I am sure I have fallen into that trap myself at times. But this past week, in reading a post by Phil Johnson, I thought I saw a classic example of someone who had over-reached himself in reacting to some things he had discerned. Now, don't get me wrong. I share many of Phil's concerns. I am indeed concerned about some aspects of Willow Creek's ministry philosophy. Personally, I am not sure how to interpret their recent "repentance," and certainly was VERY worried to see that they have invited Brian McLaren to speak at one of their conferences. BUT it bothers me that Phil seemed (at least to me) to be implying that Willow Creek has absolutely nothing to teach us. I am sure that if we fail to recognize something as being good and helpful and true, we fail in our discernment as much as if we blindly accepted everything in a naive way. I know it sounds cliched, but we really must be looking for the good in people, especially in those who have not denied important aspects of the Gospel. It is quite correct to say, "I like what this person says about the following subject, and have learned from them, although I disagree strongly with them on another subject." If, instead, we lump people and whole movements together into an amorphous lump of theological rejects, surely we risk alienating them and, ironically, driving some further away from the truth of the Gospel that I know Phil and I both love.

But if Phil was harsh on Willow Creek, he went on in the same post to be even harder on the charismatics. I mention this because this kind of over-zealous discernment is sadly quite common. Again, quite rightly, he was pointing out the sin in a specific charismatic minister. Also, quite rightly, he was pointing out that due to an absence of discernment this kind of error is all too common in the charismatic movement, and sadly is often covered up. So far so good. And, despite his claim that his charismatic friends would be angry at these comments, I agree! What I struggle with, however, is that he then makes plain that he believes that charismatic doctrine itself is to blame for these sins and the lack of discernment that allows them to continue unchallenged. Phil applies the red card of his disapproval to the entire movement that, despite all its acknowledged weaknesses, I am thrilled to have been part of for decades. Should we use discernment with such a broad brush stroke?

My dear friend, Jesse Phillips, took Phil to task admirably in the comments section and repeated this on his own blog. No one seemed able to answer his arguments that while it is true that some second-order implications which people draw from core charismatic doctrine do encourage gullibility and an absence of discernment, the core doctrines themselves do not need to do so. Phil, in reply, claimed that reformed charismatics were a new breed, and only caused by alien influences on the movement. This is not true. Men like Terry Virgo and C. J. Mahaney and the groups of churches they lead have been around for many decades now. Perhaps these groups are not as visible as they could be, but I know they are also not alone in being committed to a firm grasp on reality and the wisdom of the Bible.

To simply dismiss the entire charismatic movement in just one sentence does not seem a wise response to the fastest growing segment of Christianity. It is not, of course, wrong to disagree with charismatic theology (some of my best friends online are cessationists, like Tim himself, of course), but Phil does not seem to recognize any good that has come out of the movement. It would be like me refusing to acknowledge the fantastic work being produced by cessationists. Much as I disagree with some of the positions cessationists take, I am willing to go so far as to state I learn as much and perhaps even more helpful theology from their teachers as I do from fellow charismatic teachers. Doesn't discernment require that we identify helpful material even when it comes from those we disagree with on relatively minor points?

There is surely another way to respond to the marketplace of ideas to which we are exposed in today's church. The single best approach to discerning truth from error is to focus on understanding and proclaiming the truth more (while remaining aware of what is being taught around us). We need to learn to recognize the truth for ourselves by studying the Bible. But we must recognize that we ourselves are not immune to error. We need to ask God for humility wherein we submit ourselves to the views of others and are willing to be taught by them. Indeed, we should be willing to use our discernment as a sieve to strain out the good bits from a mixture of error in order to do so. None of us has a monopoly on truth, or for that matter, error. Some may grasp certain aspects of the truth with remarkable ease, while others of us may struggle to understand it for years. There is, in my view, often much truth in the very ministries of those who we eagerly criticize. We can learn from more people than we like to think we can—provided we have discernment. I am frequently provoked when I read the writings or listen to the teachings of others who come from different parts of the Church than I. This must be done with caution, of course, and requires that I have studied the Bible for myself first. The more we understand the biblical truth for ourselves the better skilled we will become at testing everything and holding onto the good. I love the way Tim says it in his book:

"We can best know what is wrong by first knowing what is right. Experts on counterfeit currency know this as well. They train others first to know the traits of genuine currency because such knowledge will make apparent what is fraudulent. Christians need to dedicate themselves to learning and knowing truth so that what is evil and abnormal will appear obvious. For this reason the Apostle writes, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). He encourages us to think first and foremost about what is right and true and pure and lovely. In Romans 16:19b he says this as well, exhorting the Roman church “to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.” Never does the Bible tell us to dwell primarily or repeatedly upon what is false.

The relationship of truth to error is such that we can best know error by knowing truth. The opposite is not true. People who invest undue effort in concentrating upon what is false will not necessarily be able to identify what is true. By dwelling upon the beautiful truths of Scripture we will subsequently learn discernment. A discerning person will know that he must focus his heart upon what is true and pure and lovely, having confidence that in doing this God will bless Him with the ability to expose darkness."

Tim Challies takes us from the turbulent marketplace of ideas that is the modern western church back into the world of the Scriptures. Sadly, today many people fall into the trap of being naively blown from one wind of teaching to another. Others become so expert at straining out the gnats of what they believe to be error that they are unable to learn from anybody. Instead they believe themselves to be the guardians of "true" doctrine. Tim shows us from the Bible itself how to avoid both errors. Tim's reliance on the Bible is refreshing in an age when doctrinal pillars of our faith are being challenged by prominent preachers, and there is a constant search for novelty in parts of the Church. This book, like no other I have seen, aims to give ordinary Christians like you and me the tools we need to learn how to discern truth from error. I wholeheartedly urge you to get yourself a copy and read it, and then buy one for a friend.

I will close by quoting another passage from Tim's book that expresses well his aim in writing the book:

This book is written for the general reader who wishes to understand discernment, to understand what the Bible teaches us about discernment, and who wishes to equip himself in this discipline. It is not written primarily for people with theological training, though I trust they, too, can benefit from it. Rather, it is written for you and for me—average Christians living in a culture and in a church where it so often seems that anything goes. It is written for those who look at much of what is said and done in the name of Jesus and ask themselves, “How can this be right?” It is written for all those who believe that it is the duty of every Christian to think biblically about all areas of life so that they might act biblically in all areas of life . . .

I do not intend to do the work of discernment for you. There are many books, web sites, and ministries that claim to teach discernment but do so by simply listing all the things you must do and the things you must not do. This book approaches the subject differently and is the result of my studies in Scripture to find the tools of discernment that God provides to us in his Word. And so I will not present a list of ministries you should avoid or endorse, authors whose books you should burn or buy, and music you should not listen to or that you should immediately download to your MP3 player. Rather, I hope to teach biblical wisdom on how you and I can become more discerning. I will present to you the wisdom of the Bible as it teaches us how we can become men and women of discernment. I will present principles you can use as you walk this life distinguishing between what is truth and what is error, what is right and what is wrong.

Today I am going to do something I don't believe I have ever done before. I am going to publish an edited and expanded version of an old post of mine. Unlike certain Christian bloggers who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty (you know who you are!) I am going to be up front about it, and even place a link to the original 2005 post entitled "DON'T LISTEN TO ME—WHAT DO I KNOW?"

I want to ask you today, "Are you too loyal?" I think being too loyal is a bigger problem than we sometimes realize. Generally loyalty is a good thing. For example, I am not surprised that many of my readers are the same people who keep coming back rather than total strangers just popping through. Indeed, I hope you are feeling quite loyal towards me as you read this, that in some odd Internet way you even consider me your friend. But that friendship with me or any other blogger—or for that matter preacher to whom you listen online—should NEVER become a replacement for your friendships with godly Christians. If it did, that would be one example of what I mean by being too loyal.

You can also be too loyal by being too trusting of someone, and by following them too closely. I strongly hope that I don't have any readers who read this blog uncritically; that would be foolish in the extreme. In real life I could be anyone. No matter how well you feel you know me from my blog writings, it's not possible to deduce the answers to all kinds of really important questions. Am I a Christian in good standing in a local church? Do I have the appropriate level of biblical understanding to support what I say? What is my character like? Do I treat my wife and children as well as I ought to? What theological degrees or qualifications do I have? I will give you the answer to that last question only—NONE!

It worries me a little that some readers of blogs look to those blogs for their teaching more than their own local church. Some might even feel that they do not need to go to a church, partly because of the biblical food they feel they are getting online. The challenge for some, no doubt, is that they attend a church whose teaching they believe is not biblically sound. There are definitely many Christians who continue, out of a misguided sense of loyalty, attending churches they believe teach blatant error. To listen to online teachers and get one's teaching there may seem wise when you feel that your local preacher is in some way deficient.

If you are in a situation where you don't feel you are able to agree with the vast majority of the preaching of your church, and instead you believe you are learning more online, I would strongly urge you to carefully consider your position. As I have said before, one of best things about of being in my church is the joy of being pastored by our elders, Tope Koleoso, Stuart Emsley, and as of last Sunday, Dave Pask. Those three men care for my soul. It is a delight to follow them. Bloggers, book authors, and TV or Internet preachers cannot pastor you.

It is often helpful to read a blog with discernment, even if you disagree with some of the author's ideas, if doing so helps you to examine the blogger and your own beliefs in the light of Scripture. I sincerely hope that you do not need to take that kind of critical approach to your pastor's sermons, or at least not to the same degree! We should be able to listen to our preachers without having to constantly mentally edit out the parts with which we disagree.

Incidentally, this is one reason why those of us who are preachers need to be careful that we do not go beyond simply explaining the Scriptures in our sermons. We should stick to preaching and explaining the Word of God, and we need to be very careful with our theological deductions. What we really must avoid when preaching is to take a deduction we have made from Scripture and build another deduction on top of that. It will not foster the correct attitude towards preaching in the hearts of our hearers if they are constantly having to decide whether what we are saying is mere speculation or the very Word of the living God!

If you cannot honorably submit to the leadership of your local church, either it is time to leave, or it is time for you to change your attitude towards them. While it is great to learn from blogging and other means, if it is pulling you in a different direction to your church leaders, you need to ask: "Am I reading too much content from the wrong kind of blogs, or am I in the wrong kind of church?"

There are, of course, two opposite errors that are both equally foolish. One is to leave a church for a minor and foolish reason and not have anywhere to go that is more suitable for your theological nitpicking. The second is to be too loyal to a church that has long since jettisoned the primary issues of the Gospel, or with whom you have strong disagreements on some of the key secondary issues; without such agreement we cannot honestly work together in a church.

What keeps you at your church or reading a blog or listening to an online preacher? Is it the kind of foolish loyalty that is little better than a bad habit or addiction? Or is it because serving in that church is good for your soul in a tangible way? Are you too loyal?

Few readers of Christian blogs will have failed to come across Tim Challies, the uberblogger who will shortly become a Crossway-published book author. In fact, I'm almost willing to bet that no one will first hear of Tim's blog through this post. If I'm wrong, do leave a comment to that effect and/or drop me an email! Anyway, Tim has a bit of a tradition over at his place. Unlike lesser mortals such as yours truly, Tim blogs EVERY day. I really do mean EVERY day. Christmas, Easter, summer holidays—in fact, Tim has now blogged for 1396 days without a single day off!

So, like around twenty others, when I saw a group on Facebook dedicated to a campaign to give Tim a short rest, I simply had to join. Then I saw that Tim's pastor and wife had joined, and for a while, to be honest, I was getting a bit concerned. If one's pastor and wife are telling you it's time for a rest, you ought to listen. So, I even offered to send Andrew Fountain round to steal Tim's PC for a day or two! I know from personal experience how addictive the Internet can be, even when we are doing good things.

Anyway, Aileen Challies, wife of Tim, is also a Facebook friend of mine, and I was therefore really pleased to be able to discover that she had joined the group out of a sense of fun, rather than any real concern about her husband's addiction to blogging. This is what she said (she's given me permission to share it):

"You need to understand Tim's personality. For a long time he was not a disciplined person . . . and his attention span has always been well, flighty? That is one reason blogging has been so good for him. It allows him to stay in web design because blogging, and everything else associated with it, gives him a variety of things happening, which stops him from being bored. It has also been a vital part of his spiritual growth over the last four years. Blogging truly has turned my husband into a much stronger man and husband. He thirsts now after God's will and Word in a way that he never has in the twelve years I have known him. I'm not sure most people could carry what Tim does with the reading, writing and research, and work, and, of course, family, but it is necessary with his personality! He does read fast, writes in the mornings, from about 8:30 to 10:00 (one benefit of being self-employed) and still has plenty of family time. While I can understand where the concern is coming from (outside looking in) you all really need to spend a day in the life of our family to see that it is not anywhere near what you are imagining!"

UPDATE
My blog editor has started another group on Facebook to campaign for Tim to keep going and not miss a single day! It's called "I need my daily dose of Challies!" How could she????

This week was meant to be almost a crescendo as I had hoped to finish off my long-running blog series on the atonement last week. Blogger ruined all that sadly! Due to some kind of bizarre fault, I was unable to publish my blog for several days at http://www.adrian.warnock.info/, which in blog years is a lifetime!

So I thought of a neat work-around. I would simply move the blog to a new server and domain name that was co-operating with Blogger and all would be well. A quick temporary redirect on the main home page at the old site (I can get in via FTP myself) and it seemed that I would be able to seamlessly move to adrianwarnock.com several months earlier than I had planned.

The problem was that I had forgotten that there are hundreds of people reading my blog by the old feed address, which was superceded by my current feedburner feed. One of the neat things about feedburner is that I was able to switch that to my new domain with no problem at all.

Shortly, my technical whizzes will be able to complete a proper transfer over to the new domain such that any page at http://www.adrian.warnock.info/ will automatically divert over here, so all those links out there on the web will start to work properly again. It's just that at the moment, for anyone reading my site via the old feed, it looks like I am on one of my holidays!

So, all you my faithful readers out there (well the half of you that have figured out where I now am, anyway!) please can you mention my plight on your own blog and let a few folks know that I am now going to be blogging at http://adrianwarnock.com/ (note there is no www).

Thanks to Peter Kirk (who, incidentally, has written something on the blood of Jesus with which I wholeheartedly agree) for pointing out the problem with the feed. After his email a quick look at my stats made me realize how sudden a drop in readers I have had. Still it's probably good for me, as I now remember how it used to feel when I hardly had any readers!

So, when this blog is back to full strength, I will post a proper blogspotting post thanking each and every one of you who links to me at the new address within the next couple of days!