Academy Award-Winning Actor Gives College Grads His No. 1 Piece of Advice: ‘Put. God. First!’

Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington’s very first piece of advice Saturday for graduates of Dillard University consisted of just three words.

“Number one,” he said slowly and resolutely. “Put. God. First!”

Actor Denzel Washington delivers the commencement address at Dillard University on May 9, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Image source: Josh Brasted/Getty Images)

“Put God first in everything you do,” Washington continued to loud cheers. “Everything I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It’s a gift.”

The actor, who received an honorary doctorate from the New Orleans’ school, told a story about his life 40 years earlier. He had a 1.7 grade point average and was sitting in his mother’s beauty parlor when a woman gave him “a prophecy.”

Washington said the woman told him he would “travel the world and speak to millions of people.” But he added that while her words came true, “the most important thing that stayed with me since is that I’ve been protected, I’ve been directed, I’ve been corrected. I’ve kept God in my life and it’s kept me humble.”

“I didn’t always stick with him, but he’s always stuck with me,” Washington said. “Stick with him in everything you do.”

“I didn’t always stick with him, but he’s always stuck with me.”

During the rest of his brief commencement address — just over 10 minutes long — Washington urged graduates to “fail big” and take chances. But in regard to material things, he cautioned that “you will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.”

“I pray that you put your slippers way under your bed tonight,” the actor noted toward the end of his time behind the podium, “so that when you wake up in the morning you have to get on your knees to reach them.

“And while you’re down there, say thank you. Thank you for grace, thank you for mercy, thank you for understanding, thank you for wisdom, thank you for parents, thank you for love, thank you for kindness, thank you for humility, thank you for peace, thank you for prosperity. Say thank you in advance for what’s already yours.”

“True desire in the heart for anything good is God’s proof to you, sent beforehand, to indicate that it’s yours already,” Washington said.

“Don’t just aspire to make a living,” he concluded, “aspire to make a difference.”

Here’s video of Washington’s speech: LINK

My Visit To Saddleback Church....R. Bushey

May 10, 2015

My Visit To Saddleback Church

By Richard Bushey 

Having not been in Los Angeles for long, I am non-committal to the churches that I have visited. However, I have attended a few small group meetings, which are quite nice because they offer an outlet to meet and get to know new people who happen to kindred spirits; Christian by faith. Among those small groups that I have attended, one is a subset of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. This morning was the first day that I had the opportunity to go to Saddleback Church. Although, it was in Los Angeles, which is not the headquarters or main location. It is one part of Saddleback. My visit to Saddleback Church was quite interesting, and you might be intrigued by my review, both the positive and negative aspects of it.


Before I begin my review of my visit to Saddleback Church, I should qualify it by saying that I am not laboring to write a scathing review of this church nor of Rick Warren. I have no intention to smear him or his church. I do not know much about him, and I know that he has the endorsement of John Piper, which is a very good sign, as far as I am concerned. Absent knowledge, I should appeal to those who have knowledge and discernment. Piper is wise enough to offer endorsement only where it is due. With that qualification in mind, I do have a few observation about my visit to Saddleback Church, some praises and some criticisms.

They had very talented musicians and worship leaders. Though there was only about three or four songs, their performance was sublime. The singers were so talented that I was almost inclined to approach them afterwards and tell them that their singing was sublime. But I usually ignore those inclinations because they probably hear that sort of thing all of the time.

The performance of the singers is an important aspect of a church visit. If one visited a church that featured untalented musicians (which I have encountered), people will be less inclined to come back another time and less inclined to hear the gospel. Since they have such talented musicians, it is definitely a mark in their favor. That was my first impression of my visit to Saddleback Church, and first impressions are important.

There was an invitation without the gospel. Rick Warren’s daughter and wife tag-teamed a sermon. They were not there in person. Instead Saddleback Church in Los Angeles plays a recording of the worship service hosted by the main Saddleback church. There was a video of these two women rotating their way through this sermon. They were both excellent public speakers and have clearly mastered the craft.

They should be commended as they were both quite interested in telling the audience that they needed to accept Christ. They both wanted people to know that it is our duty as people to accept the free gift of salvation that God has given to us. Amy (Rick’s daughter) even spoke a little about election, and I had an inkling that there was a bit of theological latitude behind her words. She knew what she was talking about and she understood the gospel.

The question that I would present to Amy, and her mother, Kay and Rick, is why the gospel was not preached. They invited people to accept Christ and to pray a prayer. But they did not preach the gospel. I did not hear that man was sinful and needed a savior. I did not hear that Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead. I did not hear that he died in our place. I did not hear that our sins were nailed to the cross, or that the kingdom of Satan was shut down at the cross. I did not hear that God came in the flesh. I did not hear Paul’s gospel. I heard an invitation to accept Jesus.
Now I am not charging Rick and his wife and daughter with unbelief. They believe the gospel. But Paul said that the gospel is the power of God to those who believe (Romans 1:16). It is the message of the cross that we are to preach. That is the wisdom and the power of God (Colossians 1:18). What I heard was a narrative. Amy told us that God healed her, and that is great. Christianity works for her. But if the gospel is not preached, then all we are doing is sharing a psychological system that helps you to overcome your problems. That is not Christianity. That is Scientology. That is the essence of my visit to Saddleback Church. I heard people who I have no doubt love the Lord, and I do not doubt their salvation. But they did not preach the gospel.

The preaching was very shallow. Amy (daughter of Rick) and Kay (wife of Rick) used selected Scripture to make the point that people needed to accept Jesus. They wanted to relay the point that God knows them and wants them to come into a relationship with him. When they do that, they will be able to put their trust in him, despite all of life’s trials. That is a good and commendable message. That is a message that one would want unbelievers to hear. But they are preaching in one of the largest church on the west coast. They are in a church. It is full of believers and they are giving this invitation to accept Jesus.

The question is why it is that a church full of believers would need spiritual milk. In a stroke of irony, Kay quoted Hebrews 5:12-13, which reads, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.” They were teaching the elementary oracles of God. Why are they not diving deep into Christian truths? Why are they not talking even about the precise details of living a Christian life? Why are they giving a message for unbelievers to a group of believers? My visit to Saddleback Church has molded the expectation that the leadership thinks that their parish are spiritually immature. They need to be told to accept Christ.

My visit to Saddleback Church. Again, I was very impressed with certain aspects of their worship service. I was impressed with the ability of their musicians. I was impressed with the passion that Amy and Kay displayed and with their capacity to relate to the audience and speak in public. But I was not impressed with their content. I was not impressed with their presentation of the gospel, nor was I impressed with the fact that they felt that they had to feed their parish with spiritual milk.
However, these observations should be taken tentatively, because they are just observations. I am not making definitive statements. I am not saying, “Saddleback Church does not preach the gospel,” nor am I saying, “Saddleback Church is composed of the spiritually immature.” I am saying neither. I am saying that these are things that I observed.

John 6: 1-15 Sunday School

Intro quote, CHS “Jesus’ followers had looked at their little store of bread and fish and given up the task as hopeless; but Jesus, altogether unembarrassed, and in no perplexity, had already considered how he would banquet the thousands and make the fainting sing for joy.”

Read John 6: 1-15

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ²  And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. ³  Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴  Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵  Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” ⁶  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷  Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” ⁸  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ⁹  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” ¹⁰  Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”  Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹  Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.  So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²  And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” ¹³  So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

¹⁵ Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Opening prayer & we’ll get started

Loving God, we give you thanks and praise that, through Jesus, you healed the sick and fed the hungry.  With a few paltry fish and loaves of bread, you fed a crowd of famished people, and with grace to spare.  We, too, long to be fed. We, too, clamor for your healing touch.  We come to you in prayer now, pressing in on you from all sides, with our needs and desires — some trivial, some profound — and through it all, you love us. You are attentive to the deepest yearnings and the most hidden wounds of our hearts.  Attend to us, once again, we pray.  Amen.

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So before we even get into the specifics of this miracle, I wanna hear from you guys on What is a Miracle?  And what is a miracle’s Purpose? Give me an example.

“A miracle is a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe & wonder & bears witness to Himself.”  John Frame professor of systematic theology Westminster Theological Seminary 

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According to RC Sproul the thing that makes this event 1 of the most important in Scripture its one of the few that is referenced in all 4 of the Gospels.  Also we should understand that the book of John is not written as a normal biography where 1 event leads to this, leads to that & so on.  John is a theological argument, like Romans.  In it John stresses 7 miracles prior to the death & resurrection of Jesus that he believes will convince you that Jesus is not only the promised Messiah but he is also God Himself clothed in flesh & walking among us. 

In John’s argument we’re at miracle #4.  Can you guys name miracles #’s 1-3?

1-    Turning water to wine, Ch 2

2-    The healing of the official’s son, Ch 4

3-    The healing at the pool of Bethesda, Ch 5

A few points not to miss from this event:

            The men alone in the crowd numbered 5,000 - so the total number has been      estimated to be more like 10,000 to 20,000 people

            The crowds followed not out of faith in Him but out of curiosity concerning the wonders he could perform 

            Our friend, “Practical Philip” states 200 denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be          

enough to give the whole of the crowd a taste.  Since 1 denarius was a standard              

day’s wage for a day laborer in Israel, then 200 denarii equals about 8 months salary  

@@@@ Any questions so far?

 

I want us to imagine some scenarios on HOW it was that Jesus was able to perform this miracle?  So I’m gonna give you 4 possible scenarios & let me know what you think of them.

1-    Generosity; in theologically liberal churches & seminaries this passage is described in this way…lets imagine that there were many in the crowd that packed lunches & many that forgot to pack lunches.  So Jesus looks out into the crowd & can tell many are hungry so he brings forward this example of generosity a small boy that is willing to give up his food to feed the hungry.  The crowd gets Jesus’ guilt trip & those with food share with those who have not & so everyone is able to eat, with leftovers.

2-    Las Vegas level illusion; others have posited that Jesus & his Apostles had stock-piled a hoard of food nearby in a cave so all Jesus had to do was sit at the mouth of the cave & his apostles would secretly slip him food & he would pass it around giving the illusion that he had a never ending supply of food at hand.  “There’s nothing up my sleeve, I promise.”  

3-    Star Trek; this option is for he Really real nerds but on Star Trek as they are passing through the vastness of space & are unable to pull into a drive through they had to create “food replicators” that could take existing matter pulverize it into subatomic particles & then refashion that matter & energy into new forms including food, this led to the idea on the show that the people’s waste product (you know #1 & #2) were being re-sequenced into usable material, like food.  Which would explain why the crew always complained that the “replicated” food was not as good tasting as the “real” thing.  Could Jesus have used available matter & just changed rocks & flowers to bread & fish?  

4-    Last option, Ex Nihilo.  This is the common idea of how God creates, Ex Nihilo is Latin & it means “out of nothing” meaning out of no pre-existing material.  If this is true then it implies that God rules over all things in the universe, things seen & unseen & nothing is too big or small for God to handle.  Verses Heb 11:3, Ps 33:6&9, Col 1:16.  This would also be a VERY big example of deity of Christ as he is able to create the miraculous food Ex Nihilo.

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Something that I find interesting is that the 2 miracles that involve food, parallel the Lord’s Supper well before he institutes it in the Upper Room – the water to wine & multiplication of bread.   MY views of communion.  Ask them about theirs?

 

              John MacArthur states that we can imagine that the bread in this miracle is small barley cakes which itself parallels an OT miracle of the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 4: 42-44.  Read that passage.  RC Sproul goes on to say that only the poorest of the poor ate barley bread & that the barley cakes would have been similar in size to 5 Twinkies & the fish were probably small like sardines or smoked herrings that the boy brought for his own lunch. 

So to wrap up – When you came to faith how did you see the “tales” of miracles in the Bible?  As truth, metaphor, symbolism?  Did these claims make coming to faith easier or harder?   End quote, “Those whom Christ feeds he fills; to whom he gives, he gives enough; as there is in him enough for all, so there is enough for each. He replenishes every hungry soul, abundantly satisfies it with the goodness of his house.” Matthew Henry

Spurgeon’s Psalter discovered by *My Pastor*

Spurgeon’s Psalter discovered by MBTS

March 11, 2015 

Scholars at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary have discovered, within the institution’s Spurgeon Library collection, a Psalter that 19^th-century Baptist pastor Charles Spurgeon used in the compilation of his commentary on the book of Psalms, The Treasury of David.

“One of the purposes for the existence of the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Seminary is to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ for the church and the academy by preserving the personal library of Charles Haddon Spurgeon and fostering a deeper appreciation of his life, legacy, theology, and preaching,” said Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Seminary. “It is, I believe, exhilarating and important to uncover such an artifact that Spurgeon personally used to create resources for fellow believers to study and better understand the book of Psalms.

“It is an evident blessing from God to allow for such a discovery, and we are grateful to Brian Albert for his dedication in combing, page-by-page, through Spurgeon’s library. It is our hope, that as we delve further into the collection in the season ahead, we will discover many more such artifacts that provide better insight into the life and ministry of Charles Spurgeon.”

In recent months, Albert – pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Lenexa, Kan., who is also a research assistant at the Spurgeon Library – has dedicated one day a week to combing through the library’s books. His process includes reviewing a book twice, looking for notations, dates, and other pertinent data. He then attempts to trace the book to other sources of Spurgeon.

Upon his discovery of the Psalter, which was published in 1864, Albert brought the work to the attention of Christian George, curator of the Spurgeon Library and assistant professor of Historical Theology. George analyzed the book and concluded that much of the handwriting in its margins belongs to Spurgeon and that it was, in fact, a working Psalter that Spurgeon had used.

“This Psalter, which was used by Spurgeon in the formation of The Treasury of David, is just that – a treasure,” George said. “My hope is that it will propel Spurgeon scholarship forward by revealing not just the product of Spurgeon’s literary labors, but also the process.

“Every once in a while,” George continued, “you get a glimpse of what God has accomplished in the past. This Psalter, along with other works in our collection, gives us a window through which God illuminates his amazing work in the life and ministry of Charles Spurgeon.”

In proving its authenticity, Albert noted that the publication date of the Psalter not only fell within Spurgeon’s lifetime, but also limits the timeline. The date also corresponds with the writing of the Treasury of David (approximately 1865-1885). Each year (1804-1900), this particular Bible was printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

“There were hundreds printed annually so it would be easy access for the public to purchase,” Albert said. “This fact told me that the Spurgeon Bible was not an heirloom or family Bible, but was more ‘usable.’ The fact that this Bible was only on the Psalms also struck my curiosity as to the relationship with the Treasury of David.”

Albert also depended upon the publication’s notations and sources cited. Many of the notations in the Psalter were Spurgeon’s.

“What struck me as significant was not only the fact of Spurgeon’s notations, but the amount of them,” he said. “I began to suspect that this was a “working” Bible.

He added, “I noticed that many of the sources (of the more than 50 used) that were noted in the Bible were also in the Spurgeon collection. When I checked these cited sources, many of them (well over half) had personal notations of the specific Psalm passage. This indicated to me that at least Spurgeon’s personal books were used for the source material, which verified that this Bible was used by Spurgeon as a ‘working Bible.’”

Finally, putting all the pieces together, Albert was led to research The Treasury of David.

“When I began to correspond the text of Scripture with the notations in the Bible, next to the text with what appears in the Treasury of David, the data was conclusive,” Albert said. “This Bible belonged to Spurgeon, was noted by Spurgeon (in part) from much of Spurgeon’s personal books to help write the 20-year work Treasury of David.”

In an effort to further verify the authenticity of the annotations, George sent samples from the Psalter to Malcolm Yarnell – noted English Reformation scholar, Baptist theologian, and director of the Center for Theological Research at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary – for a forensic examination of the handwriting. Yarnell compared the samples against other known samples from Spurgeon’s middle- and late-period sermons, and his conclusions were that, of the six samples provided, four belonged to Spurgeon, and one “probably” belonged to him.

“This is an important find,” Yarnell said, “primarily because Charles Haddon Spurgeon remains the single most important preacher to have ever graced Baptist history.
“I look forward to hearing more about your discoveries in the archives at Midwestern Seminary and the implications they have for our understanding of how Spurgeon prepared his sermons and writings,” he added.

In 2006, Midwestern Seminary purchased the personal library of Charles Spurgeon, which contains approximately 6,000 books. Many of these books are heavily annotated with Spurgeon’s own handwriting and reveal his use of them in his ministry. The collection is currently being archived and analyzed before being transported to the “The Charles Spurgeon Center for Biblical Preaching,” which is currently under renovation but slated for completion in August.

On Being Brought From Africa To America

Phillis Wheatley was the first published African-American woman and first published African-American poet.  Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven and transported to North America.  She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write, and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.

'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their colour is a diabolic die."
Remember, Christians, Negro's, black as Cain,
May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.

 

 

 - Poem by Phillis Wheatley

 

from Lutheran Pastor Jordan Cooper, I'm a Calvanist but I don't think he's wrong to critic many Calvinist

Reformed Theology and False Faith

I have been meaning to address the issue of "false faith" in Reformed theology for some time, but the subject is so immense that I fear that a blog post will not do it justice. This subject seems to come up more than any other (besides baptism) when talking with Reformed Christians. So here is my attempt to at least begin the dialogue.

In Reformed theology, one cannot be truly regenerate and fall away from the faith. However, most of us have known seemingly devoted Christians who have at some point in their life walked away from Christ. So how does our experience make sense of the teaching of perseverance? One must conclude either one of two things.
1. That these people truly were saved and did fall away, hence the Reformed teaching is wrong.
2. These people were never saved in the first place. Some have "false faith", think that they are believers but fall away from the faith. Others have true faith and persevere to the end. This is the conclusion of Reformed theology.

So how does one know if they are truly regenerate or not? For a Lutheran, one can look to his or her baptism, the sacraments, and the proclamation of forgiveness in absolution. These are objective means by which God continually creates new life and brings forgiveness. They are not mere "signs" of God's favor toward us (as has been taught by Reformed theologians because of Augustine's unfortunate use of the term) but are themselves acts of grace confronting our sin.

For the Reformed theologian, one assesses his regeneration by the nature of his changed dispositions. This is not the case with all Reformed theology (look for example at the Lutheran-influenced theologians at Westminster West) but is predominant in revivalist American Reformed Christianity. In this system, one must continually test his election by looking for signs of the Spirit's work in one's heart.

The defense for this idea usually comes from the book of 1 John. John lays out a series of tests which one must compare himself/herself to. If one passes these tests, assurance of salvation is granted. One must have a love of God, a love of one's neighbor, and a love of God's commandments. Even so, aren't there some who have fallen away who seem to have a love for God, neighbor, and the commandments? Surely, these people believed themselves to be saved and had some signs of new life. This is the problem Jonathan Edwards faced in the great awakening. So many conversions were happening. How was one to determine the true from the false? In his book the Religions Affections, Edwards goes beyond these outward signs and asks the reader to examine his/her heart. Are your affections changed? Do you really hate sin? Do you love God for God's sake?

If you have read my recent article in the Issues etc. Journal, then you are aware that these questions plagued me for some time. The constant question on my mind was "how do I know if I am elect?" Rather than pointing to the objective work of Christ, God's presence in the sacraments, or the proclaimed word, I was often pointed inward. After reading Edwards and listening to preachers like Paul Washer, there was one conclusion I could come to: If these men are right, there is no way I am saved. In fact, if these men are right, I don't think anyone is saved. The fact is, the standards are so high that no one who has not yet been glorified can meet them.

The problem stems from the Reformed view of election. When election becomes the primary soteriological motif, the question of salvation becomes "how do I know if I am elect?" One cannot point to the objective work of Christ, because it was only done for the elect. Thus, before I can have assurance that Christ died for me, I must look to my works as evidence of the Spirit. Once I have this assurance, I can look to the cross. Whether or not it is intended, I am ultimately pointed to my works. One is then trapped in the Augustinian plague which denies assurance to anyone. Though I know this is not the intent of most Calvinists, when election becomes so central, and the cross is put in a secondary position, this is inevitable.

How do you know if you are elect? Look to God's electing act now. God is creating new life in you through the word and sacraments. He claimed you at your baptism. He continues to claim you through the Eucharist. When Paul speaks to the Ephesians of their election in Christ, he does not stop to make sure that everyone in his audience has tested their faith for genuineness. He does not say "God chose some of us in him" or "God chose us in him if you have enough fruit". Paul proclaims indiscriminately that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world! This is because Paul understood that God's electing act was worked out through baptism, and the gathering of the church.

But what about 1 John, Matthew 7, and the other passages which speak of the necessity of works? Here there is a legitimate place for distinguishing between "true faith" and "false faith". The distinction is simple, and much less complicated that it is made out to be. False faith is simply faith without repentance. It is proclaiming the gospel without the law. Some proto-gnostics at the end of the first century began teaching that the body was useless, thus whatever one did with the flesh (sexual immorality, etc.) was of no concern. This is what John seems to be battling in his epistles. True faith in Christ is accompanied by sorrow over sin.

If you look inside yourself for assurance, you are going to be continually disappointed. Even the regenerate heart is not completely cleansed from sin. Instead, look to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Look at his completed salvation, and participate in Him through the Eucharist and his proclaimed word.

A Request from The Reformed Libertarian

C.Jay Engel, editor of ReformedLibertarian.com, is celebrating his blog’s three-year anniversary, and he has a request for his readers:

It’s been three years since I started this blog, two years since I bought the domain, and one year since I shifted the site from a small WordPress blog to a GoDaddy hosted site.  And just this year, we hit our record for daily visits: over 2,500 in one day! Not too shabby for a small time, before-and-after work hobby.  Meanwhile, Brandon Adams, whom I consider my co-editor by now (without his permission to title him such), has taken up an applaudable amount of hours in helping me articulate and develop both our stance on things like theonomy, and, perhaps where he has been the most helpful to far more people than just myself, in the realm of the difficult doctrine of Covenant Theology.
We released three essay-length ebooks so far this year, all them are available for free on pdf.  I am about 85% done now with The Reformed Libertarian Manifesto, and Brandon and I are continuing to work toward a fall release of a full critique of theonomy, beyond the comments we have already made on the topic…

As we look now at another year, and all the things that are coming including the two books, many more essays, and even possibly a podcast (I bought all the equipment I need and at present, it is starring down at me from the top of my desk.  *Turns chair around to face the other direction*), I am grateful that I have a public outlet to voice my own thoughts and to continue to learn things.

However, it should go without saying that doing this isn’t totally without financial cost. In the next month I am anticipating needing to raise money for the following things:
-Annual WordPress package which includes my site theme, the special additions to this theme that we have access to because of the package, Google analytics, the unlimited storage space, and other related benefits. The cost for this is just over $300.
-Annual GoDaddy hosting package is about $50.

-For both our coming books, we have a copy editor that we will be using. Hopefully, the Reformed Libertarian Manifesto book will be completed at the end of May and sent over to him for review. When he does his work on both this book and the Theonomy Critique, it will cost around $1,000 or so.

The above, plus the podcast equipment, plus the books that I order, read, and review for this site makes me realize that through this summer, I will be spending more than $1,700 on the site (plus other unforeseen expenses). I would do it even if nobody donated. Why? Because I love it. It has become part of who I am. I have become known as “The Reformed Libertarian.”  I share the total amount and some of the breakdown only for the purposes of being transparent, so that you know where any money that you donate will be going.

This is my formal request: if you have the financial means, something left over from your budget this month, I would be honored if you could help me out on the projects related to this site. You should know I demand nothing from you and everyone is welcome to continue to read and enjoy this site. Even if no one donates, it will go on. But it would be monumentally helpful if I could share in the cost for some of these things. I do this every year.

This year, my goal is to raise $1,000 out of the above estimates for my expenses. Every little bit helps, whether it is $5, $25, or $100. Or somewhere in between. If you can donate, you can click here for the Paypal link (the link is also on the front page, right hand side). 

As more readers show up everyday to check out the website, I realize that there is actual interest here; there are people who really want to know about the intersections of Reformed theology and Libertarian polity. I thank you for being part of that, whether financial or otherwise.

If you have any questions about any of this whatsoever, please email me at reformedlibertarian@gmail.com

LINK HERE !!

Thank you so much everyone!
–C.Jay Engel; editor and creator