The price of Gossip

1 Timothy 5 has some advice: 12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. Read this story. I find it chastening because I can be prone to this and the Lord is working in my life to show me a better way. As you may know, I believe Gossip and Gluttony are the only two permissible sins in the church. By permissible, I mean things you rarely hear preached about from the pulpit, are allowed to persist in the open, and in many cases have leaders that condone if not participate in them. Imagine if church discipline were handled like this town handled their issues. I'm not advocating that, but it is something for us to think about. It harms the body of Christ and our witness. And it can destroy people's lives and reputations.

WHEW!

The semester is finally over! I have now completed 22 of the 96 hours needed for my Master of Divinity degree at Asbury Theological Seminary. This was a different semester with the classes I took, but I wanted to share with you a neat book from my Christian Doctrine class.

Across the Spectrum does a wonderful job of taking a bunch of issues on which evangelicals may disagree. Some of them include:

Biblical Inspiration
Sovereignty of God
Baptism
Sanctification
The Lord's Supper
Women in Ministry

and the list goes on. I give the authors credit for presenting all sides fairly without forcing the reader to a conclusion.

If you want to explore some of these issues I encourage you to read this. Each chapter is about 20 pages, and is a quick read. If nothing else, it will make you think and sharpen your arguments. It may even change your mind on some things. You never know.