Who are YOU to judge? (Part I)

Debate is WONDERFUL! I love politics, I have to say. Not PLAYING politics, but if I didn't have a calling on my life for the work of God I would go into politics at the highest level. The debates would be my favorite part. There is an indescribable rush that occurs when you can wrap the entirety of the opposition's argument into one little ball and shut the entire concept down in grand fashion leaving them speechless with no rebut. The problem is, there really is no debate involved. Have you ever seen a candidate, right in the middle of a live televised event, stop and say, "wow, you know, that's not a bad idea....I never thought of it that way!" Of course not. Both have their minds made up on the issue and have no interest in changing their own perspective, only those that are listening and wishy-washy in their belief system. It would stand to reason that if you're here you have some belief system in place, as a blog about Biblical truth doesn't promise to be light reading. It further stands that if you're like ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE you would prefer to have your position confirmed rather than debunked, as it's never comfortable to be told "your position is wrong" when it's what you have determined to be right. Let me revisit my first statement; Debate IS wonderful...if there is a willingness to change position on an issue.

I don't want this blog to simply be a witty observation of, "You know what drivel I heard Rick Warren saying the other day???" because, well, he's just too easy a target (though I'm sure he will be covered), in addition to the fact it has been done ad nauseum. I introduced today's post the way I did because it took a while for me to realize something when entering a "debate": for learning to be effective a person has to either a) not have a current base of knowledge so that ANY new information becomes the basis for their understanding on the issue or b)currently have a belief system on an issue but have a willingness to change that belief if new facts are presented.

I'll interject at this point a quick side note. I am the son of a preacher. This interjection serves two purposes. The first being, I've got a little (OK a LOT) of preacher in me. I write like I speak, and when talking about things like this, I speak...well...like a preacher. Imagine sermons you've heard, and my entries will make a little more sense. There is always an opening (usually witty story telling, as you must awake the sleeping crowd...lol), an establishment of the nature of discussion, establishing WHY there NEEDS TO BE a discussion on the topic to begin with and then....the discussion. So I apologize in advance, because even my WIFE is calling me long winded! The second reason I mention this is that it's rare that a person understands, unless you too are a PK, the marriage of pastoral and fatherly upbringing coming together in one mish-mash of leadership. If ANYONE has a set view of biblical issues, it's me. Imaging the things your dad told you growing up. If he said you could fly then, by god, you could FLY! At the same time, you likely had a similar experience with your pastor. If you grew up in church, you probably heard the same preacher and their views on the bible your whole life and even though I'm sure you read the bible yourself, for the most part, you took for granted, what your pastor had to say. When you combine those two powerful forces into one...and the guy LIVES with you no less, it's just inescapable that I WILL take for gospel anything he says. I'll talk another time about how dad's stroke and him falling away from that leadership position actually brought me CLOSER TO GOD, but again, that's for another day. All of this comes down to one point: despite my steadfast hold to the "truths" I was brought up on, many of them are great ideas...but not in the Bible. I DO NOT QUESTION CHRIST'S WORK ON THE CROSS or any of the founding principles of the Christian Faith. This is also not a blind call to open your mind and soul to any psychobabble that you hear. What I'm trying to establish is that regardless of how long you've held a belief, how many people have taught you that belief or how many people have told you that belief is right...if the Bible doesn't support that belief, then that belief is wrong. If you are unwilling to yield to Biblical correction, and not YOUR IDEA of what the bible says but what the bible ACTUALLY SAYS, I suggest you save the heart ache and frustration and go do something productive, like play Farmville.

Through the many blog posts that will follow, and for as long as I speak about the bible publicly, I am confident to know that I will be labled as "judgmental". It's the throw around phrase that ultimately says, "this is how I feel/act/believe/think and because you are challenging that, you are JUDGING ME!" In the next post I'll dig deeper into just how JUDGMENTAL and TERRIBLE I am for reaching out to a brother or sister in Christ with what the bible says, what result I should expect in return for being so JUDGMENTAL, as well as the biblical basis for doing so in the future. Finally, (I know, you were WAITING FOR THAT "finally" word to show up...hahaha)the one practice I held on to from my time with T-Mobile is the idea of never leaving a coaching without first developing a S.M.A.R.T. plan. "Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time Based." I can talk all day long about what's wrong, but if there is not a plan given to correct it...what's the point! Thanks for reading, talk to you soon!

This is the "Why" behind our Apology

Today I introduce to you, "We Would Like To Apologize". This serves as an introduction into the why and how behind this project. I might throw in the who, where & when to complete a perfect little newspaper article, but that will be for another day.

Hannah and I have a heart for the truth, plain and simple. We are not perfect, Lord knows. We also will lay this out there before you have a chance to say it....we DON'T know everything. But the love for truth is what's driving us to start this Blog. That, and the fact that I watched Julie and Julia and am about to turn 30. But 99% because of the truth thing.

It is an almost daily occurrence that we are witness to things posed as being "of God", but couldn't be further from the truth. It could be a mindset, a belief, an understanding, or even something that has been taught as "gospel" since childhood but can be found nowhere between the covers of the Bible. It also is to be noted this comes from both inside and outside of the church. We are at a time on God's timeline when not having an understanding of His will and His direction is too costly a mistake to make. We are not about to mount our "high horse of higher holiness" (hereafter referred to as the "4H" club...lol) but wish to allow ourselves to be used as God's servants to uphold and defend His word against untruthfulness.

Hannah and I will both be posting at different times, so if you notice typos...it's most likely me. If you see amazingness, it's probably her. All communication will go through my e-mail, though, so feel free to address the mail to either one of us.

Once we have posted an article I encourage you to post comments and spur good natured conversation. The ground rules will be these;

1) Comments are to be directed to the bible and in direct reference to the topic of the article. Any attacks directed at the persons commenting (i.e. "Man, you are an idiot like Bryce!" or simply CALLING someone, "Bryce") will not be tolerated and will result in the post being deleted and you being banned from being able to post in the future.

2)You are allowed to disagree! There is no one, no matter the training they have, that will have answers to everything. We should all work together to gain a better understanding of God's Word and a great tool to accomplish that is conversation and debate. At the same time, an argument unsupported by the Bible, or simply your "feelings" on an issue, is not an appropriate comment for this venue.

We look forward to growing together with you in the knowledge of Christ. Please e-mail me at BryceSkaggs@gmail.com with any questions or topic suggestions.