Pastor Gabe's Old Blog

Perhaps you've heard the rumor that Donald Trump is a Christian now. It happened just recently, according to Dr. Dobson . "I don't know when it was, but it has not been long," Dr. Dobson said. "I believe he really made a commitment, but he's a baby Christian." Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus On the Family and someone I grew up listening to, is among a list of evangelicals that make up Trump's evangelical advisory board, or more specifically what's called his "Faith and Cultural Advisory Committee." It's a pretty eclectic mix that includes Southern Baptists like Jerry Falwell Jr, David Jeremiah, and Ronnie Floyd; word of faith preachers like Ken and Gloria Copeland and Paula White; politicians like Michele Bachman and Ralph Reed; and megachurch pastors such as James Robison, James MacDonald, and Robert Morris (more popular for Kari Jobe than for being Robert Morris). According to Christianity Today , not everyone on the b...

This sermon was delivered on June 26, 2016, on the one-year anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage in the United States. An expanded version can be purchased in a printed manuscript form by clicking here . Introduction The world sure loves to talk about sex. Sex, sex, sex. Money, power, sex, money, and sex. Then the church speaks into the world's sinful passions and says, "The answer is Jesus." And the world responds, "Why do Christians just want to talk about sex all the time?" That will likely be the response to this message, re-writing a sermon that I first preached on April 28, 2013, addressing the subject of same-sex marriage and how the church should respond. Incredibly, the world changed a lot in just three short years. Same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide on June 26, 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstituti...

So I've been watching the NBA Finals even though they're rigged (I figured I'd go ahead and infuriate a few at the beginning of the blog this time). Even if you haven't been watching, you might have heard that Steph Curry, star of the Golden State Warriors and reigning MVP, chucked his mouthpiece at a fan in frustration after fouling out in game 6 in Cleveland. (He wasn't targeting the fan. The guy was an innocent bystander.) Said Coach Kerr after the game, he was glad Curry got frustrated. Half the fouls were ticky-tack stuff that shouldn't have been called, he said, especially on the MVP. Lebron flopped on that last play, the one where Curry earned his sixth foul. The ref should have known better than to buy it because Lebron is a champion flopper -- or so I've heard . Curry deserved to be frustrated and the coach seemed proud to get that kind of emotion out of his star player. For Curry's emotional outburst and Kerr calling out the refs, they ...

The following is a statement that was made on the WWUTT podcast on June 3, 2016. It was made into transcript form to be posted on this blog. Some of the wording may vary a bit. On Thabiti Anyabwile's blog through the Gospel Coalition website, he featured a guest post from Nick Rodriguez, fellow church member at Anacosta River Church in Washington D.C., the Southern Baptist church where Thabiti is a pastor. In that blog, Rodriguez gives six reasons why evangelical leaders should tell Christians to vote for Hillary Clinton . I've had much respect in the past for Thabiti Anyabwile (a name that is quite fun to say). His Nine-Marks book What Is a Healthy Church Member sits on my shelf. In fact, I can see it from where I'm sitting. I've shared his articles and his videos. I've quoted him in sermons. As much as I've appreciated some of the things he's said and written, his recent turn on certain social issues is quite concerning. Thabiti has drawn critic...