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BOB JONES

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Canadian Insights for US Church Leaders on Same-Sex Marriage and Youth Uncategorized

Canadian Insights for US Church Leaders on Same-Sex Marriage and Youth

In most cases, Canadians play catch-up with American leaders on social issues, but here's two issues where Canadians can offer some leading insights. 1. Some Advice on Same Sex Marriage For US Church Leaders From a Canadian Carey Nieuwhof is a pastor in Barrie, Ontario. His recent blog post on same-sex marriage has been shared over 100,000 times and counting. Canadian pastors are ten years ahead of our US colleagues in dealing with legalized same-sex marriage. Nieuwhof says, "If you believe sex is a gift given by God to be experienced between a man and a woman within marriage, why would you expect people who don’t follow Christ to embrace that? Why do Christians expect non-Christians to act like Christians?…
Bob Jones
July 1, 2015
AN UNCIVIL WAR: THE FLAG AND THE CROSS Uncategorized

AN UNCIVIL WAR: THE FLAG AND THE CROSS

South Carolina was a vacation destination of our family in the late 60’s. Warm April breezes on the Boardwalk, pecan pie, grits and Confederate flags frame my memories of southern hospitality. Like a lot of boys, I began a childhood affection for all things Blue and Grey. My entire collection of non-religious books is about the Civil War. “God’s and Generals” is one of the few films I’ve watched more than twice. I built dioramic layouts on our ping pong table depicting the Battle of Gettysburg, using 100’s of 1/72 scale, personally hand-painted soldiers. A lot has changed in the last two weeks. Nine people were murdered because they were black and sitting in a Charleston, S.C. church with a…
Bob Jones
June 27, 2015
#97 = Hope Uncategorized

#97 = Hope

Will Connor McDavid break Twitter? That's probably the only unanswered question about the NHL's #1 draft pick. He's already had an Edmonton street named after him and he hasn't even broken a sweat in a copper and blue jersey. He's been anointed "The Next One" and Stanley Cup parade routes are filling the dreams of Oiler nation and city employees. McDavid has also been called "Hope" not "Hype." So in a year of HOPE at North Pointe, what can we learn about #97? Brian McDavid, Connor’s dad - “He has been preparing for this for a long time. Right now, to me, it simply seems like the next step in his progression, but I am sure on Friday night when…
Bob Jones
June 26, 2015
To Write Love on Her Arms Uncategorized

To Write Love on Her Arms

Jamie Tworkowski, didn’t set out to start a nonprofit organization. All he wanted to do was help a friend and tell her story. When Jamie met Renee Yohe, she was struggling with addiction, depression, self-injury, and suicidal thoughts. He wrote about the five days he spent with her before she entered a treatment center, and he sold T-shirts to help cover the cost. When she entered treatment, he posted the story on MySpace to give it a home. The name of the story was “To Write Love on Her Arms.” Renee's Story "Renee is 19. When I meet her, cocaine is fresh in her system. She hasn’t slept in 36 hours and she won’t for another 24. It is a…
Bob Jones
June 24, 2015
Amazing Grace in Charleston Uncategorized

Amazing Grace in Charleston

Jon Stewart began his June 18th edition of The Daily Show with an emotional, joke-free commentary about racism and gun violence in America following the shooting deaths of nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. “I’ve got nothing for you in terms of jokes and sounds, because of what happened in South Carolina,” Stewart said. “I honestly have nothing other than just sadness once again that we have to peer into the abyss of the depraved violence we do to each other and the nexus of a gaping racial wound that will not heal yet we pretend doesn’t exist.” A Gaping Wound When a nation’s comedian finds humor inappropriate, you know the events of the…
Bob Jones
June 19, 2015
WANTING MORE OF GOD Uncategorized

WANTING MORE OF GOD

I want MORE of God. I want MORE of God who is not created in my image. I want MORE of God who accepts people who are painfully aware they could be wrong in their beliefs. I want MORE of God who knows my infallibility and allows room for me to err on the side of mercy and grace. I want MORE of God who is a friend of sinners and the conscience of the self-righteous and died for both. (Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 23:25-28) I want MORE of God who allows the righteous to suffer and the unrighteous to prosper, in this life. (Romans 5:3; Psalm 73:3) I want MORE of God who designed marriage to be for life and…
Bob Jones
June 15, 2015
2000 YEARS OF JESUS BUILDING HIS CHURCH Uncategorized

2000 YEARS OF JESUS BUILDING HIS CHURCH

The animated map contained in this post is a powerful visual depiction of the most important movement in history: the spread of Christianity. Every frame is one year in the last 2000 years of the Great Commission. Watching the video inspires me. I can see in a few moments what Jesus saw 2000 years ago as he hung on the cross. He has built His Church and "the gates of hell" have not prevailed. 2000 Years of Jesus Building His Church Charting the geographic progress of the Gospel over the last 2,000 years includes the stories of the apostles' journeys, the outposts of the early church, the hotbeds of persecution, the staging grounds of the Church’s major theological battles and…
Bob Jones
June 15, 2015
RELATIONSHIPS: WHAT WAS, WHAT IS, WHAT WILL BE Uncategorized

RELATIONSHIPS: WHAT WAS, WHAT IS, WHAT WILL BE

On September 18, 2014, with only 57 minutes notice, my family as I knew it, died. Within an hour of CPR that failed, my four children lost their father, his parents lost their son, and I lost the relationship I was supposed to grow old in. The grief was so thick I couldn’t see through it. In the days that followed, I began to realize how much was missing and would be affected going forward. It wouldn’t be just George who would be grieved, there was so much more. It was all the relationships built along the way. Lost Relationships Each of the children had a unique relationship that was lost. Shyla no longer had Dad in the stands watching…
Bob Jones
June 10, 2015
Marital Conflict: NHL Playoff Insights For Couples Uncategorized

Marital Conflict: NHL Playoff Insights For Couples

Members of the Ottawa Senators' (in red jerseys) fight with the Montreal Canadiens (in white jerseys) during the third period of their NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinal hockey game in Ottawa May 5, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (CANADA - Tags: SPORT ICE HOCKEY) Rodney Dangerfeld is famous for a lot of sayings but none so sarcastic as the one about the NHL – “I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out.” Professional hockey has a reputation for bloodied noses, broken fingers and black eyes. Some feel fighting gives the NHL a black eye but a closer look will show something that even married couples can learn about conflict from hockey players. Fights in the Playoffs The…
Bob Jones
June 5, 2015
RISKY FAITH: RISING INTOLERANCE FOR CHRISTIANITY Popular

RISKY FAITH: RISING INTOLERANCE FOR CHRISTIANITY

A 65-year old man “became” a woman and everyone from the President of the United States to ESPN applauded this as “courageous.” Freedom of speech has its obvious liabilities but until recently, to say the least, free speech was tolerated. Anyone who expressed contrary opinions about this story were instantly demonized and dehumanized. If the commentator had any association with Christianity they were not only dismissed as deluded but derided as oppressively intolerant. Increasingly, Christianity is not tolerated because of the need for greater tolerance. Intolerance for Tolerance The word 'tolerant' as it is used today, seldom, if ever, includes opposing arguments or competing worldviews. Being tolerant used to mean, “I may disagree with you completely, but I will treat…
Bob Jones
June 3, 2015