I did not realize just how terrible the world is until the past few weeks. Even then, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. This missionary kid of seventeen years need two semesters in politics to actually understand the stupidity of this world.
That fact is mildly embarrassing, to be honest. But this has been an embarrassing year with the amount of idiocy that has been exposed even in my personal life.
They say that the best teachers are those that know you best. I believe this to be true. A teacher that can reach into your heart and find your deepest needs, gaps, and desires is a teacher that will always succeed. Moreover, a teacher willing to go to great lengths to ensure your complete understanding of a given topic is a teacher like no other. This man or woman will never be forgotten. They will implant their face upon the hearts and minds of our young generations for decades, changing the future for the better.
Note: this post was supposed to be published on Monday
Statler: Ah, Mrs. Collins has published another book, I see. Are you going to read it?
Waldorf: Read it? I’m going to use it!
Statler: Use it for what?
Waldorf: As kindling for my fire!
*The two chuckle*
Thank you Statler, and you, Waldorf, for that wonderful intro. I really don’t know what I’d do without you guys.
Since today is the first day of what will be many, many “Statler and Waldorf book reviews” to come, I may as well explain how I intend to conduct such posts. These will be published on Mondays, as the title insinuates, and will cover any book I have read within the past few weeks. Books will be given a summary, a star rating out of 5 (I will not give 5 stars unless the books are amazing), and a small, individual critique from both Statler and Waldorf. I may add more features as the posts continue, but this is how I intend to begin.
False teachers are everywhere. Everyone thinks that they’re the next John Piper, prepared to give controversial opinions with little care given to the legitimacy of their claims.
In an age of false news and quick, unresearched opinions, it can become almost impossible to properly research current events. Every smalltime blogger, podcaster, youtuber, and writer thinks that their take on current events is the most factual, needed piece of content on the web, and they’re usually wrong.
This extends beyond the news and into the Christian world. Thousands of “Christian bloggers” surround themselves with a small audience, then begin peddling false gospels and heresies, all while convinced of their own necessity and puffed up by their knowledge.
After over two years of silence, acclaimed rapper Lecrae has released his newest album, aptly titled “Restoration“. The album, containing tracks featuring popular artists John Legend and YK Osiris, has been met with wide success, garnering over 2 million YouTube views within mere days of being released.
What happened? What caused his music to take such an extraordinary shift?
Today is the day! Publishing Peace Ministries has officially launched! After three months of dreaming, writing, envisioning, and working, we have finally reached the Starting line.
Publishing Peace Ministries, originally known as “Project Cast”, began as the brain child of Jonathan Bjorn-Kellogg, aka. Bjorn. His vision for quality Christian content in an age of low-quality, lackluster “christian” content was a magnificent one, attracting people such as myself to the ministry idea.
After a few weeks, several decisions were made. First, the project name was changed to “Publishing Peace Ministries”, based on Isaiah 52:7, which says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
The project focus then shifted from YouTube-oriented to website-oriented. While YouTubing and Podcasting is still on the radar for Publishing Peace, the writing team shows a lot of promise and will begin work today.
Finally, before work began, the board of Directors voted me as the Director of Publishing Peace based, I believe, on my past experiences and current skill set. I am deeply humbled by the appointment and have promised to do my absolute best to ensure that this project succeeds.
If you’d like to become involved in the project as a writer, contact me or write me at mcfarlandhalfdoz@gmail.com. If you’d like to view/watch what we produce, you can visit our site by clicking here (make sure to subscribe) or following any of our social media below.
In the meantime, feel free to read our ministry’s information below.
Who We Are
Established in 2020, Publishing Peace Ministries is a gospel-driven organization devoted to creating quality content for all believers to help them discover joy in their Savior. We at Publishing Peace strive to bring people closer to Christ by showing them the truth, beauty, and goodness of the Gospel in a multitude of ways, including blog posts, podcast episodes, YouTube videos, film and television.
Our Cause
Our goal as a ministry is to show people the untapped spiritual depth and joy secured in the Gospel. We reject the worldly mindset of the “Sunday-only faith,” and strive to share the all-encompassing, life-transforming glory of what Jesus has done (and continues to do) for us.
Our Mission
Equipping today’s believers with the tools to grow and mature even in their daily lives so that they may go into the world prepared to serve and enjoy Christ in the fullest.
Our Vision
That today’s believers would discover the true magnitude the Gospel, preparing a generation to enjoy, grow in, and share their salvation.
Again, if you’d like to become involved in Publishing Peace, you can email me or contact me through the Contact page. If you’d like to visit our website, click above.
Until then, thanks for reading, and I hope you have an excellent day!
Comparing Christianity is an easy discussion for a missionary kid formerly based in a continent dominated by Muslims. Having seen firsthand the similarities and differences between Christianity, Islam, non-belief, and the rest, I have looked forward to this discussion since beginning the Monday Q&As.
Because this is the last Q&A from Stoa Apologetics, I will be answering all 14 questions, regardless of relevancy and wordcount. As always, the answers are taken from as close a Biblical standpoint as possible, and constructive discussion is always welcome. You can find the entire Q&A worksheet here.
Today we have not one, not two, but three awards to take care of! I have been double-nominated for the Outstanding Blogger award, an award I had not yet been nominated for, and single-nominated for the Thirteenth Disciple Tag.
Thank you so much, SonoofYHWH and MakaylaLife for the two Outstanding Blogger awards, and my brother Jesusluvsall for the Thirteenth Disciple tag! If you guys aren’t already following their blogs, make sure to do so by clicking on their names!
If I were asked to guess what percentage of bloggers put real, hard work into their writing and websites, I would likely hazard a guess at 10%.
10%. One out of every ten bloggers are fighting to put themselves above the rest, learning new techniques, sharpening their writing skills, and constantly updating their websites.
The other 90% are writing lazy, 200-word posts, publishing once a month, refusing to do any marketing or optimizing, and failing to improve their writing skills, all while complaining that their traffic stays at rock bottom.
Which group is yours? Which one sounds more appealing?
Our culture has completely lost what it means to be a man. What was once a proud and accomplished status now lies discarded in the dirt. Boys have taken over our country. They have normalized non-manhood, brought themselves and their immaturity into popularity, and they continue to reject the true calling to manhood.
This travesty has destroyed many pieces of our culture. Quality of relationship has decreased massively over the past fifty years, punctuated by increases in divorce and abortion.
What needs to be done? How can we, as Christians, aggressively attack and destroy what our culture portrays as “manhood”, and show the way to creating true, real men?
Worldview is a difficult topic to discuss, given the fact that the subject changes based on the person. Because everyone has a different worldview, it can become difficult to even speak on the subject, let alone have a decent discussion on the topic.
Christian worldview, on the other hand, is a unifying topic that needs to be discussed more often. Identifying weak worldview and working to grow stronger, Biblically-grounded worldview should be a lifelong goal for every Christian.
With that, we turn our attention on today’s Monday Q&A: Christian Worldview Application. As always, I will be choosing to answer 12 of the 14 questions presented in Stoa Apologetics’ worksheet, found here. Let’s dive in.
Traveling from a poor, third-world country back to the United States is arguably the quickest way to become grateful. Within mere moments of landing, you, the American, realize just blessed you are, and vow to never forget to thank God for what He has blessed you with.
Then, two weeks later, you find yourself back in the rhythm you left behind, quite willing to take life for granted. I’m no exception. It is so easy to get caught up in the flow of today’s world, and forget to thank God for the little things.
Over the summer, I have made it a point to increase my reading load. Mein Kampf, Pride and Prejudice, A Man Called Peter, Pontius Pilate, and many others have been the subject of my reading. Yet, standing apart from the rest, a single author has recaptured my attention, returning my reading to the world of novels.
Scripture. The key component to Christianity at its core. The cornerstone of our beliefs. Without Scripture, we have no belief, no Faith, no arguments, and no understanding of God and His existence. The defense of Scripture is so important that it has become a large tenant to Apologetics. Without it, Christianity fails.
Because of its importance, I have spent much time learning the historical and logical accuracy of the Scriptures. Because of this, I put much stock in the quality of response to the questions-to-be. While this may be the easiest Q&A so far, it will also be the most important. Read carefully.
As human beings, we are naturally critical of everything. We criticize our living conditions, our morals, our standards, our government, and even our friends. The “mindset of common criticism” has become commonplace within our lives, something we act upon naturally but fail to analyze properly.
Standalone criticism is not inherently wrong, yet there are many situations in which it can be the most harmful action to commit, particularly within a setting of friends or family. Within the last five years alone, I have seen seemingly innocent criticism tear apart colleagues, friends, and family. It destroys workplaces, families, friend cliques, and churches.
