Helpful Internet Reading

I am always amazed at how quickly time can slip away with my internet reading. Remember when you first discovered the internet and its ability to place unfathomable amounts of information at your fingertips in just seconds? How easy was it to loose an hour of time learning and seeing and reading "useless" information? (i.e. information that you can pass onto someone on a ride up an elevator or over a casual lunch and begins, "I was reading just the other day...")

Since I am a reader, losing much time in reading is one of my guilty pleasures. However, I have made it my practice to focus my internet reading in order to peruse what it helpful and to avoid, as much as possible, that which is distracting. Here's five blogs that I have found to be helpful for my walk with Christ and have encouraged, corrected, challenged, angered and every emotion in between in the process.

1. Pure Church - http://purechurch.blogspot.com/
Pure church is written by Thabiti Anyabwile who pastors a Baptist Church in the Cayman Islands. Talk about suffering for the Lord! This is a blog I have been reading for just over a month and I find it helpful the 2-3 times per week I check it out. He often gives good insights about pastoral ministry--which appeals to me personally--that also benefit the church at large. He is a former Muslim who was wonderfully saved by Christ. Of note is a series of ariticles he has written on "Surprises Sources of Joy in Pastoral Ministry". Part 4 is particularly good.

2. Denny Burk - http://www.dennyburk.com/
Denny was my grader for Dr. Robert Stein's Hermeneutics class. He is now a professor of Criswell Bible College and writes this blog that often focus on "hot topics" withing the church and culture. The blog is both informational and well thought. I particularly enjoy following the comments to his blog, since there are often folks responding who believe the exact opposite of Denny. I always leave this sight knowing something I did not before and check it out about twice a week.

3. Don Whitney - http://www.spiritualdisciplines.org/
Don is a professor of Spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY and the director of the Center for Biblical Spirituality. At this site, you can check out articles that Don has written along with many other special helps in Christian growth. Don does a monthly newsletter that you can receive via e-mail. Among Baptists, I do not know of any other person who speaks so well about spiritual disciplines and Christian growth. He is having a conference in Louisvilee in October. Louisville is great in the fall and this conference could be a big blessing to any that attend.

4. John Piper - http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/
John Piper is one of my favorite preachers and he has begin writing a blog from his ministry web site, Desiring God. Piper never fails in causing me to think more highly about God and his glory. He has been incredibly influential in my walk with Christ both through his preaching and writing. Of note, Piper wrote a very interesting article about the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis. This is a bridge that he had traveled over many, many times where he serves as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. I will say this...when you read Piper, get ready to think (never a bad thing!).

5. Derek Vreeland - http://www.derekvreeland.com/
I have been drinking coffee with Derek for just over a year in Americus, GA with another fellow minsiter of the Gospel. Our friendship has spawned and grown to an incredible act of grace and encouragement as we three pastors meet regularly. Our friendship has shown me what happens when a Southern Baptist, a Presbyterian (USA), and a nondenominational Charismatic become friends--GLORY! I enjoy Derek's casual but very thoughtful articles. Plus, he has a really good picture there.

Good reading!