Though not in attendance at this year’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, Ky. (for he’s not even a Southern Baptist), Mark Driscoll seemed to be omnipresent at the proceedings.

Judging by many of the motions made from the floor of the convention, a lot of Southern Baptist folks apparently don’t care too much for Driscoll, the edgy pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. One motion wanted LifeWay Christian Stores to expunge Driscoll’s books from their shelves. One motion sought to keep those who associate with Driscoll from speaking at the annual SBC Pastors’ Conference. One motion wanted such associates of Driscoll to be investigated.

The hating on Driscoll by a vocal minority was loud and obvious. They don’t like him because he is too sexually suggestive. They don’t like him because he drinks alcohol. They don’t like him because he’s been known to use some off-color language.

Fortunately, the SBC committee assigned to handle all the motions had the sense to toss these motions out, and to gently rebuke those who offered such slanderous measures.

I’ll be the first to admit that I think Driscoll sometimes goes too far when it comes to the language he employs. Sometimes he is too crude and suggestive. Sometimes his humor is inappropriate. (As an aside, the condemnation of Driscoll for his cussing is especially despicable. Driscoll has publicly repented of his former propensity to use vulgar language. If God can cast those transgressions as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more, what does it say about us when we insist on taking sins for which Christ died and of which Driscoll has repented and keep throwing them in his face?)

But I also know that Mark Driscoll faithfully and powerfully preaches the gospel, and he is committed to planting gospel-centered churches around the world. So I’m willing to put up with what I consider to be some of his shortcomings to embrace him as a brother and to applaud him for keeping primary in his ministry the message that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried and raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

I fear that far too many Southern Baptist churches have all but abandoned that message entirely. I hear about too many sermons dealing with matters of secondary importance – like how to handle your finances, how to be a good dad, how to eliminate stress, how to be a strong leader and lots of other trivialities that don’t amount to much in the eternal scheme of things.

We have lots of churches where nobody could possibly be saved because they’re not hearing the message of salvation, and yet we have messengers at the SBC annual meeting who want to launch a personal crusade against Driscoll because they’re uncomfortable with his language.

Give me the choice between Driscoll and his emphasis on the gospel (despite his faults) and many Southern Baptist churches where the language is perfectly appropriate and pristine and yet devoid of the gospel’s wonderful words of life, and I’ll take Driscoll every time.

Kevin DeYoung’s new book, “Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will,” offers sound counsel to those who struggle to make decisions about such matters as jobs, marriage, school, etc. DeYoung sees the problem of too many people sitting around trying to discern the will of God for their lives and paralyzed by the fear that they’ll make a wrong decision. In reality, he says Christians need to spend more time pursuing Jesus, using the brains God gave them and then moving forward with life.

A few quotes that I found to be particularly insightful:

God is not a Magic8-Ball we shake up and peer into whenever we have a decision to make. He is a good God who gives us brains, shows us the way of obedience, and invites us to take risks for Him.

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If you think that God has promised this world will be a five-star hotel, you will be miserable as you live through the normal struggles of life. But if you remember that God promised we would be pilgrims and this world may feel more like a desert or even a prison, you might find your life surprisingly happy.

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So go marry someone, provided you’re equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it’s not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God’s sake start making some decisions in your life. Don’t wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God’s will, so just go out and do something.

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“Just Do Something” is a helpful book, and I commend to it you. It would be especially helpful for teenagers, college students and young adults.

I also highly recommend Kevin’s blog, as well as an excellent sermon Kevin preached at Union University in the fall and another book that Kevin co-wrote with Ted Kluck, “Why We’re Not Emergent.” I wrote about that book previously.

Here’s a quote from Owen:

Indeed, the line that talented women only do justice to their gifts through full-time work is a myth, nothing more. Full-time mothering involves skills and tasks too numerous to mention and almost too varied to believe. In a traditional home, women may well assume some burden for education, requiring a fast and flexible mind. They must solve countless domestic problems. They must engage in significant moral formation each day, handling challenging ethical situations. They must budget well. They have to plan. The sheer amount of planning alone in the life of a young wife and mother is staggering and took a young, naive husband by surprise early in my marriage.

So the cultural line that draws so many women out of the home and into the workplace is just plain silly. God made women complex, highly nuanced, multitalented, and the demands of the home call for just such an individual, one who can manage many tasks at once, negotiate the shifting moods and needs of a child, and provide emotional and physical support for a husband. The home is not too small for a woman; it is almost too large for her (and men, so adept at various forms of work, are simply no match for it, as the briefest of motherly absences abundantly proves).

I appreciate these words so much. I’ve heard of some mothers who justify their decision to work full-time by saying things like, “But I feel like I’m especially gifted …” which, in essence, is saying that stay-at-home mothers are not especially gifted. I beg to differ.

Read Owen’s entire post.

Hat tip: Challies

After:

Back in November, I had the privilege of meeting up with Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays and going to church with him at Community Bible Church in Nashville, Tenn. Ben and his wife Julianna are an impressive couple with a heart for the Lord and for His church. I was equally impressed with the church and its pastor, Byron Yawn.

My stories about Zobrist are now up on Baptist Press Sports:

Tampa Bay shortstop welcomes church’s counsel
Zobrist’s heart for pastors comes from upbringing

Some other new stories on BP Sports are also very good:

‘No’ to pro ball, ‘yes’ to the ministry
Heisman winner burdened for inner cities
Pistol Pete’s faith gets new spotlight

And then a couple of insightful columns:

Brett Maragni: Learning leadership from little league
Gordon Cloud: A fly in the ointment

It was one of those softball questions posed by our 5-year-old son Daniel that Christian parents love to hear.

Wow, what a great opportunity to talk to Daniel about Jesus, my wife thought to herself. So she proceeded to explain to Daniel how all people, boys and girls alike, are sinners. She told him that Jesus was the only person who wasn’t a sinner. She presented the gospel to Daniel, and told him how Jesus will forgive us of our sins if we will repent of them and trust in him for our salvation.

Daniel listened dutifully until Sarah finished her response. He then asked a follow-up question:

“And what are girls in Spanish?”

Good for Heathdale for standing on its principles and not capitulating to the spirit of the age.

Though this is in Australia, I fear it won’t be long until Christian universities in the United States will not have the freedom to refrain from hiring people based on their religion.

Conversation yesterday as Daniel and I were playing catch in the front yard:

Daniel: Is tomorrow St. Patrick’s Day?

Me: Yes it is.

Daniel (looking down at the grass): Is this clover?

Me: Let me see. (I walk over to check). Yes it is. See how all of these have three leaves? Every once in a while you can find a clover with four leaves, but not very often. They’re hard to find.

Daniel: (About five seconds later) Like this one?

Obama had one of the most radical pro-abortion voting records in Congress, and Gushee (and evangelicals who voted for him) thought he would do something to reduce abortions? What naivete.