We are back from our holiday break with new podcasts based on the articles in our magazine, FrontLine.

We left off with an interview with the associate editor for the November/December edition of the magazine, Dr. David Anderson. We did that interview just before Christmas. You can check our feed to catch up on that one if you missed it.

Today we have an interview with a husband and wife team who each wrote an article for the FrontLine issue themed The Thinking Christian. Our team is Bryan and Rebecca Brock, both teach at Maranatha Baptist University. They will give more of an introduction to themselves to you at the beginning of our conversation.

Our conversation seems appropriate as we get into the New Year. Bryan, Rebecca, and I discussed the ideas of wisdom and maturity and their growth in the Christian life. As we set out in a New Year with new goals and hopes for the future, I hope you find the conversation a blessing.

Both articles are available on our substack for paying subscribers with previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

See here for the two articles:

Hermeneutics, Discernment, and Spiritual Maturity

Is Your Wisdom Wise?

The recent shooting at Abundant Life Christian School brings, again, the subject of school violence to the minds of Christian School parents. In the years since the pandemic, school shootings have skyrocketed across the country. In 2000, there were 31 school shooting events nationwide—which was a fairly average year for the time period. In 2020, there were 116– In 2021, 257—in 2022, 308—in 2023, 349—and so far in 2024 there have been 325 shooting incidents in elementary, junior high, and high schools across our nation.[i] There are all kinds of school shootings—accidental, gang conflicts, intruders, former students, and kids who plan shootings for a variety of reasons.

I am not convinced that guns are more available to kids now than in the past. It is possible that increasing crime and violence has encouraged more families to turn to firearms as a form of household self-defense. But there was a day when firearms were readily available to kids at all times, and school shootings were extremely rare. This does not mitigate the necessity that parents properly secure and keep track of firearms in the home. Angry, depressed kids are unpredictable and parents must consider the real possibility that there is less of a threat from the outside than from their child using a weapon on themselves or others. Just because you have a Second Amendment right to have a gun in your home does not mean it is the wise choice for your family, and it certainly does not permit you to be careless with a firearm.

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Read the rest of the article here: When Kids Shoot Kids: A Christian Perspective on School Shootings – Proclaim & Defend

or, just listen to the podcast.

This is our pre-Christmas edition of the podcast. We will take a break for a couple of weeks because most of us have family business to take care of just now. We will be back in January with more interviews from the November/December edition of FrontLine.

Today we have the Associate Editor for that edition, Dr. David Anderson, the president of Maranatha Baptist University. He joins us to discuss the theme, "The Thinking Christian: Biblical Wisdom in an Emotionally Driven World."

Along the way we touch on the contents of the magazine and the way the authors developed the theme. I think we have another outstanding edition and hope these interviews will stir your interest in getting a copy for yourself.

Dr. Anderson mentioned several helpful works on wisdom that we would like to recommend:

A Commentary on Proverbs – Peter A. Steveson

Proverbs – Derek Kidner

Planning Your Life God's Way: Practical Help from the Bible for Making Decisions – Timothy W. Berry

An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom – Robertson McQuilken & Paul Copan

Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job – Layton Talbert

I also mentioned Robertson McQuilken’s book, A Promise Kept, the story of his wife’s struggles with Alzheimer’s and his care for her as her life came to its end. This is an excellent book, well worth reading.

Normally, with our interviews, the accompanying article is behind a paywall. The article for this one was the opening editorial for the November/December edition of FrontLine. It has already been published on Proclaim and Defend and we republish it here.

The Thinking Christian: Biblical Wisdom in an Emotionally Driven World

We encourage you to subscribe, and especially to subscribe to FrontLine itself. Paying subscribers to the podcast will have a FrontLine subscription included, but you can just subscribe to the magazine if that's what you prefer. Bottom line, we want to get more people taking the magazine! No matter how many we have, we want more, and we think the content is always helpful to Christians.

Santa Claus is everywhere around Christmas. But did you know that there was a real Saint Nicholas? He was the pastor of a local church that was likely founded by the Apostle Paul on one of his early missionary journeys.

Most of the information we have about Nicholas of Myra comes from a history of his life written 500 years after his death. However, this history claims to be based upon much earlier sources that are now lost. We do know that there were churches built in the 5th and 6th centuries in Myra and Constantinople that were dedicated to him. So he certainly was a true historical figure.

Here is what we know, and what we think we know about him.

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Read the rest of this article here: From Pastor Nicholas to Santa Claus – Proclaim & Defend

or, just listen to the podcast.

This week we have a unique opportunity for our interview. I'm talking to authors from the November/December 2024 edition of FrontLine. Mostly we are discussing the theme of The Thinking Christian, but this time I am focusing on a regular feature of the magazine, our Chaplain's Report.

Our chaplain for this edition is Troy Shoaf who serves with several law enforcement agencies, and you will guess which one caught my attention when I saw the headline of his article, "Serving in the Secret Service." I knew I wanted to have a conversation about his ministry right away. Troy is also involved in a ministry called Blue Line Ministries. I've provided the link in the show notes and invite you to check it out.

The chaplaincy in its many forms is a valued part of the FBFI ministry and I am so glad to be able to introduce Troy Shoaf to you so you can hear about various aspects of his ministry in the chaplaincy.

Before we turn to Troy, let me remind you that paying subscribers to our substack will be able to read his article right away. With a paid subscription to our substack, you will automatically get a subscription to the magazine. You can also subscribe just to the magazine itself. We encourage you to take advantage of the good Christian insights our magazine offers.

Subscribers can read Troy’s article here: Chaplain’s Report: Serving in the Secret Service (preview for non-subscribers)

Photo by Jason Hafso on Unsplash

Jordan Petersen is doing a series on the Gospels on the Daily Wire.

The discussion panel consists of Jordan Peterson (a Canadian psychologist and social philosopher who admittedly is not a born-again believer), Dennis Prager (a religious Jew, founder of Prager U), Robert Barron (Roman Catholic bishop, philosopher, and evangelist for the Catholic Church), Johnathan Pageau (Christian thinker and liturgical artist, but not necessarily a born-again believer), Greg Hurwitz (Novelist and screenwriter), James Orr (professor of Philosophy of Religion at Cambridge University), John Vervaeke (Associate professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, admittedly not a follower of Christ), Douglas Hedley (Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Cambridge University), and Stephen Blackwood (founding President of Ralston College, who grew up in a Christian home but was unclear about the exact nature of his faith).

How are we supposed to respond to nine men discussing the gospels, when most of them are not true believers in Jesus Christ? Should we listen? Should we pray for those on the panel to be supernaturally exposed to the truth of the text? Should we avoid the discussion altogether as potentially corrupting?

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The full article is here: The Word is Jesus! Should you let Jordan Peterson preach the Word to you? or, just listen to our podcast.

Our episode this time turns to the November/December edition of FrontLine, which came out on this theme: The Thinking Christian.

Our first interview is with a man who is a long-time friend of mine, David Potter. Our first meeting was almost thirty years ago in Alameda, California. He served with the same mission board as I did, Baptist World Mission, and we've kept in touch over the years.

He has contributed to Proclaim & Defend numerous times and has given us an article in FrontLine called, "The Renewed Mind: The Key to Conformity to the Will of God."

The article is especially about God's moral will and living for God in a fallen world. We recently sat down for a conversation on this theme. I hope you will find it helpful.

Let me remind you that paying subscribers to our substack will be able to read David's article right away. With a paid subscription to our substack, you will automatically get a subscription to the magazine. You can also subscribe just to the magazine itself. We encourage you to take advantage of the good Christian insights our magazine offfers.

David mentioned a couple of books in our conversation, I'll provide links for them in the show notes.

* Book recommendations: Pilgrim's Progress Updated English Edition, Includes Part 2, Christiana's Journey, Winning the War to Walk Worthy - Tim Berrey

* Pilgrim's Progress worksheets (from Grace Baptist Church of Victoria)

Read the article here: The Renewed Mind: The Key to Conformity to the Will of God (preview only for non-paying subscribers)

Many people will be giving thanks this week—and probably a number who refuse to do so depending on their view of the recent elections.  Believers always have reason to give thanks regardless of how the circumstances of life turn.  It is such a renewing and invigorating exercise when we take the time to meditate on our Lord and give thanks to Him.  This is what Psalm 118 is intended to do for Israel, and for us as well.

Give thanks for His faithful love. Psalm 118:1-5

The word chesed is translated mercy here.  In other places, it is translated as lovingkindness.  I like using the term faithful love.  It flows from His goodness and His innate kindness toward me.  It flows out of His inmost being and is not just something He does, but reflects who He is.  When His love mixes with His eternality it produces a mercy without end—a love that endures forever. That manifests itself in times of blessing—like when we celebrate the harvest, but it also is evident when He answers my prayer in times of distress.

Give thanks because He is your victory. Psalm 118:6-14

This world is a hostile place for the true servant of God.  The god of this world is the enemy of the Heavenly one (John 8:44, Ephesians 2:2).  Because He is on my side, I do not have to fear human beings. He is more powerful than the nations with their sophisticated and powerful weapons of war.  My strength is not in my power or resources.  He is my strength now and always.

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Read the rest of the article here: Psalm 118: Thanksgiving for Today’s Believer – Proclaim & Defend, or just listen to the podcast!

In today's session we are talking to Mark Swedberg, veteran missionary in Brazil. He wrote an article for our September/October FrontLine called "Revelation: When Does God's Wrath Begin?"

What he is addressing is the challenge to the pretribulation rapture brought on by those who teach a "pre-wrath rapture" position. The article fits in to the FrontLine theme, "the Rapture," and it addresses a question that can challenge  Christians as they try to work through the details of many varied passages of prophecy.

I should say the conversation did take us through some of those details and I hope you will stay with us to the end. I think Mark does a good job showing us how the pre-wrath rapture position just doesn't work. So join with us as we go step by step through this.

As always, I want to remind you that paying subscribers to our substack will be able to read Mark's article right away. With a paid subscription to our substack, you will automatically get a subscription to the magazine. You can also subscribe just to the magazine through the FBFI website.

For our paying subscribers, here is the full article: Revelation: When Does God’s Wrath Begin? (preview for everyone else).

It was news nationwide,

The elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas announced this week that lead preacher Steven J. Lawson had been removed from all ministry responsibilities after he confessed to having an "inappropriate relationship" with a woman.

 This one was a shocker, and a deep disappointment to many in conservative evangelicalism and fundamentalism.  Lawson is the founder and President of OnePassion Ministries, and was a mentor of sorts to many who seek to exposit the word of God faithfully. His connections to Master’s Seminary, Ligonier Ministries, and Reformed Theological Seminary, and all the relationships that go with those connections made the pain run deep.

Such failures (and none of us know the specifics) are not uncommon in ministry and are not exclusive to any camp of believing Christianity.  Some ministry philosophies make the temptations greater, but they are still great no matter the crowd with which a minister fellowships. On August 5, the NPR news station for North Texas ran an article entitled, Several North Texas pastors step down, removed from positions amid controversies.  The article title was kind.  Seven very prominent pastors in just the north Texas area had recently resigned.

This is not a casting stones, blog.  Biblical, fundamentalist, Baptists have had their own share of failures.  However, the Lawson case reveals that the problem was deeper.  Steve Lawson was not actually the pastor of the church where he was the lead preacher.  He was not an elder at Trinity or even a member of the church!  Because of that, all the church could do when confronted by his impropriety was remove him from all ministry responsibilities. They could not perform any type of church discipline as commanded by the New Testament.  He was functioning as a sort of superstar regular guest preacher for the church.

This brings up some important questions that we must address in the 21st-century Bible-believing church world.

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Read the rest of the article here: Holding Pastors Accountable – Proclaim & Defend

or just listen to the podcast!!