Greetings!
It started to rain as I was in the middle of deciding what topics to address this week. Olive, my thunder-phobic pooch, wasn’t helping as she had to deal with her anxiety by laying in my lap. So we had to have a therapeutic cuddle until the thunderstorm passed.
Now she’s on the floor, though still demonstrating some apprehension, as the rain slowly falls outside.
So let me share with you the topics I put together for this week’s Doyle’s Half Dozen. Thanks for reading!
1. Weirsbe’s death
Warren Weirsbe, well-known Bible teacher, died last night, May 2, at the age of 89. I have led a few Bible studies using Weirsbe’s books. I also appreciate this quote he said:
“Writing to me is a ministry. I’m not an athlete, I’m not a mechanic. I can’t do so many of the things that successful men can do. But I can read and study and think and teach. This is a beautiful, wonderful gift from God. All I’m doing is using what he’s given to me to teach people, and to give glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Justin Taylor offers an excellent obituary, very complete and well-written, about this great teacher of God’s Word. Your time will be well spent, reading about Warren Weirsbe.
2. Hooked on Hooks
This week, I had the privilege of attending a photography workshop led by Marc Ira Hooks, an award-winning international photojournalist who used to serve with the International Mission Board and currently serves with a Southern Baptist association in Texas and pastors Branch, Texas, First.
It was a great experience, and I appreciate Marc’s instruction and advisement, especially since photography is not one of my strong suits.
I first learned about Marc when Bob Nigh, former managing editor of the Baptist Messenger, met him in Sochi, Russia, when Bob travelled with the Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma to participate in an outreach program near the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Bob wrote articles mentioning Marc, in a preview of the Russia trip and while in Russia.
I finally met Marc last year at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Dallas. He is as nice a guy as you could meet and an excellent photographer and storyteller. And he admits he loves Oklahoma Baptists!
Thanks Marc for offering your tricks of the trade and for spending time with us at the Baptist Building.
3. Discovering Dominique
One of my favorite feature writers Sarah Zylstra offered another great piece this week. She offered me the opportunity to learn about a fellow Liberty University alum, Dominique McKay, who is the press secretary for U.S. Senator John Thune.
Check out “My Faith at Work on Capitol Hill” and see if it encourages you as much as it did me, knowing Dominique is sharing her faith in D.C..
4. Livingstone’s legacy
David Livingstone, the great missionary pioneer, is remembered this week. His death was May 1, 1873. Brian Hobbs wrote about Livingston in his blog “May Day & Medical Missions.”
I found another great bio piece offered by Christianity Today.
Livingstone did not see many converts to Christianity. In fact, it was reported he only led one person to Christ, a chief of an African tribe. However, the seeds of the Gospel he had sown, as well as the influence he had on modern day missions exceeds beyond his immediate influence, which is why it is important for Christians to share the Gospel despite the responses we may experience.
5. Pro-life offers hope
Check out Josh Wester’s article “Why Christians offer hope, not the fatalism of abortion.” It’s another revealing element of destruction and demise that is embedded in the philosophy supporting abortion.
Wester wrote, “While Christians would support any number of solutions aimed at guaranteeing the best possible outcomes for children born into these circumstances, ending their lives before they take their first breath is not only a mistake but a tragedy of the greatest magnitude.”
6. Mohler responds to negating the Bible
Al Mohler wrote a great response to an article featured in USA Today. Check out “Should Christians Just Admit That The Bible ‘Got It Wrong’ And Move On?”
I did not read the USA Today article, but it concerns me how the disregard to the Bible is growing. At the heart of the article, Mohler reports, is the aggressive approach taken to promote the LGBTQ worldview.
Mohler, once again, gives excellent responses to the discrediting of the Bible. His article is an education on how to handle those who believe the Bible is irrelevant and denies its complete authority as God’s Word.