false theology – 11:3 Restoration

Tales from the bus. Missed….

Many of my longsuffering readers know that I am a bus driver and driver trainer for the local school district. Previously, I have blogged a few posts related to work and theological lessons from interactions on the job….. Grouped as ‘Tales from the bus,’ this is another such missive.

Lately, we have been critically short of drivers due to a number of irrelevant factors. Long story short, several driver’s recent bouts with a stomach bug has left us scrambling each day to get children home. Routes are being piecemealed between drivers who are willing to pull double duty or drive sections that border their normal routes, then a couple staff members in the office get to pick up the rest. “Adventure” would be an understatement.

This afternoon I was assigned two short elementary routes that I whipped out before racing to the high school to pick up two routes of high schoolers. To keep from confusing the elementary students, I used their bus, but placed large prominent numbers on the bus for the two high school routes. The signs clearly said, ‘1 & 5‘. Continue reading “Tales from the bus. Missed….”

Brick v Stone as a Building Material

A couple of days ago, I was delivering some metalwork to a customer in the upstate of South Carolina. While in the area, I called a good friend and brother, Jeff, to see if we could meet-up for lunch. What a blessed time of fellowship, open Bibles in the restaurant and animated discussion of the Word!

During our conversation he began talking about the difference in building with bricks and stones as an illustration in the context of Exodus 20:24-25. Let’s read,

²⁴You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

I could immediately identify with his illustration as I had written a related article almost a year ago. His angle was slightly different, but the points are inextricably connected. Continue reading “Brick v Stone as a Building Material”

Bilateral Ecclesiology. Antisemitism…. In Reverse?

A book I read recently hit a nerve. Frankly, I didn’t realize it was such a sore spot until that moment.

More than a few times in the last couple months, I have run into a theological debate/discussion about ecclesiology. Specifically, Bilateral Ecclesiology. Now, before you run for the exit, let me explain what the words mean and why it is important to understand.

In theological terms, the study of the ‘church,’ is called ‘ecclesiology, from the Greek word ‘ekklesia.’ ‘Bilateral,’ of course, means ‘two parts, two sides, two parties…’ So, Bilateral Ecclesiology is the coined term for those who believe the ‘ekklesia,’ in this use meaning the ‘Bride/Body of Messiah,’ has two parts.

The place this has really sprung to the forefront is in Messianic circles Continue reading “Bilateral Ecclesiology. Antisemitism…. In Reverse?”