Between the Lines

The following was part of an assignment submitted for a class I am currently taking through Pfeiffer University's graduate program in Practical Theology.              Depending on who you ask today, many are likely to say that the Church is dying. Often times, at least in my experience, by “death,” one means that the Church is loosing its top-down political and cultural influence in such a way, that they feel this loss of prominence is equitable to its impending death. With that fear being shouted from every corner, pulpit, diner, or legislative floor, it is hoped that it will lead to the mobilization of professed followers of Christ to “take up arms” and “stand for what is right.” I however, am of the opinion that the church is not on the decline, but rather as Ed Stetzer noted, it is “just being more clearly defined.” [1] It is because of this clearer definition, along with other reasons, that I am strongly hopeful for t...

The team from First Baptist Church, Monroe departed on Saturday afternoon around 3:30 bound for Memphis, TN. To help make the 10+ hour drive more palatable, we stopped in Knoxville, TN for the night, and drove the remaining 5 hours across Tennessee on Sunday to reach Brinkley Heights Urban Academy, which during the summer serves as the host site for Street Reach Memphis . SRM is a 20+ year old ministry birthed out of the hearts of the small congregation of Brinkley Heights Baptist who desired to see their community changed. Now they welcome mission teams from all over the country to work in the eastern portion of inner-city Memphis each summer. Our team of 12 adults and students was assigned to a site known as "National" where we conduct backyard Bible clubs for children in the area. On Monday morning we welcomed about 65 children between the ages of 3-14, and on Tuesday, we joined with about 50 children. Our mornings consist of canvassing the area in teams to knock on doors...

Well, I had some issue with the internet in our hotel here in Athens the past few days but I think I have it worked out, so this is a combined post that will serve as my final one for this trip. Yesterday we drove over to ancient Corinth and were able to view the ruins of this city where Paul spent about 18 months of his ministry helping to establish the church there. We were able to see various structures that were left from the ancient city and learn about its storied past. On our way back to Athens, we made a stop at a sea side restaurant where we were treated to a full Greek dining experience that pushed some and delighted others. I personally enjoyed it! In the afternoon we were free to explore Athens, and a few of us visited the newly opened Acropolis Museum that was simply amazing. I also was able to enjoy a ride on the Athens subway which I have to say was pretty nice.  This morning, our last of the trip before heading home, we got an early start to beat the crowds to the ...

Today we set out from Thessaloniki toward our final destination of the trip, Athens. It's a long ride, but there were a couple of stops that we made along the way. In the morning we made a stop in Vioria, which in Biblical days was known as Beroea. This is where Paul escaped to after the drama in Thessalonica ( Acts 17:10-15). Here Paul preached and taught for multiple days, enough that Jews from Thessalonica heard about it and came to Beroea to cause trouble for him. In the town today there is a site that commentates Paul's work in the town, including a statue of him, a beautiful monument depicting his ministry in the town, and finally a set of ancient steps that tradition says Paul stood on to preach.  Next we had a special treat for all the history buffs in the group. We went to the small town of Vergina (vur-HEE-na) where we were able to visit the tomb of Phillip II. Phillip was the father of Alexander the Great, and was known for strengthening Macedonia, which would provid...

Today we set out from Thessaloniki toward our final destination of the trip, Athens. It's a long ride, but there were a couple of stops that we made along the way. In the morning we made a stop in Vioria, which in Biblical days was known as Beroea. This is where Paul escaped to after the drama in Thessalonica ( Acts 17:10-15). Here Paul preached and taught for multiple days, enough that Jews from Thessalonica heard about it and came to Beroea to cause trouble for him. In the town today there is a site that commentates Paul's work in the town, including a statue of him, a beautiful monument depicting his ministry in the town, and finally a set of ancient steps that tradition says Paul stood on to preach.  Next we had a special treat for all the history buffs in the group. We went to the small town of Vergina (vur-HEE-na) where we were able to visit the tomb of Phillip II. Phillip was the father of Alexander the Great, and was known for strengthening Macedonia, which would provid...

Location of Lydia's Baptism (Acts 16) Today we continued following the path of the Apostle Paul. In the morning we drove to ancient Phillipi. We began in the lower village of what today is called Lydia. It is so called because this is the location where Lydia, Paul's first convert in Europe was baptized (Acts 16). Here we saw the beautiful riverbank that now commemorates this major event, as well as went inside the beautiful Greek Orthodox Church on the site. It was an exciting time as the workers and priests were anxiously preparing for St. Lydia's day which is ironically taking place tomorrow. Following our time at the village of Lydia we rode the half a mile over to the ruins that have been excavated from ancient Phillipi. Excavations began here in 1914 so there was much for us to see.  Much of what was visible of the city's structure are ruins from 2nd and 3rd century prior to its abandonment in the 5th century. There were several structures remaining from w...

The actual horse used in the Troy movie, and it was just outside our hotel in Canakkale Today was basically one thing, traveling! We left our hotel this morning along the Aegean Sea in Canakkale and were able to ride the ferry across Darnels Strait. We continued driving for about three hours until we reached the Turkey/Greece border. After going through border control, we had to transfer from the bus/tour guide we had been using throughout Turkey to a new bus/guide for our time in Greece. It was a unique experience but it was necessary. We said goodbye to Funda and hello to Dora, our guide for Greece. After about two hours, we made it to our first stop, the town of Kavala. During Biblical times, this town was known as Neopolis, the location where Paul first stepped foot onto Europe to further the Gospel . Picture depicting St. Paul's arrival The town has changed much since that time due to conflicts with the Ottoman Empire of Turkey where the city was leveled. We saw a...