www.spiritualdisciplines.org newsletter #15

Issue Number Sixteen

Don's Schedule

Please pray for these ministry opportunities in April and May.

Trinity Baptist Church
Wamego, KS
Grace Community Bible Church
Roselle, IL
Carolina Baptist Association
1st Annual Church Revitalization Conference
Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute
Hendersonville, NC
Fruitland Baptist Church
Hendersonville, NC
Temple Baptist Church
Kenosha, WI
Resurrected Reformed Baptist Church
Chattanooga, TN

Bulletin Inserts
To Download

Atheist Michael Newdow recently argued before the Supreme Court to remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. Don wrote a piece on Newdow's efforts two years ago. You may find it timely reading (or to use as a bulletin insert) now. To read it, click here.

Sample Chapters from
Books by Don Whitney

Why I Am A Baptist
from Why I Am A Baptist

Do You Thirst for God?
from Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health

Silence and Solitude
from Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

Why Join a Church?
from Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church

A Spiritual Mind

Set
from How Can I Be Sure I'm A Christian?

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What's New on the Web Site?

Three new, real-life stories added to the Knowing God section
Two articles translated into Spanish
Endorsements for Don's books on the books by Don Whitney page.

News from Don's Ministry

The Center for Biblical Spirituality
In addition to his work as professor of spiritual formation at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Don also ministers through church and conference speaking, writing, and his website. He has recently pulled together these parts of his individual ministry under a ministry incorporated as The Center for Biblical Spirituality. This non-profit, tax-exempt status provides opportunities for expansion of Don's ministry as the Lord directs and provides. Although the content will remain the same, you should notice the name of the website changing soon from www.SpiritualDisciplines.org to www.BiblicalSpirituality.org. Please pray for the ministry of The Center for Biblical Spirituality.

Bulletin Insert about The Passion
The bulletin insert, Ten Questions to Ask About the Passion of the Christ, has quickly become the most popular piece ever published on Don's website. With Palm Sunday and Easter upon us, and with interest in The Passion of the Christ movie renewing as a result, some are reprinting the insert for outreach opportunities provided by these events. If you or your church can use this free resource, click here.

Featuring Don's New Book

Below are two of the ninety chapters
from Don's book

Simplify Your Spiritual Life.
with Discussion Guide included.

Take Up Your Cross Daily and Follow Jesus

During the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s, Martin Luther articulated a timeless distinction between two approaches to knowing God. He labeled one a "theology of glory," and applied it to those who believe they can attain to a glorious knowledge of God by human goodness, religious effort, mystical experiences, or the wisdom of human reason. According to this view, God manifests Himself most often through blessings, victory, success, miracles, power, and other exhilarating experiences of "glory."

By contrast, Luther argued that the biblical way to know God goes through a "theology of the cross." God has "hidden" Himself where human wisdom would not expect to find Him, that is, in the lowliness and suffering of the man Jesus Christ, and especially in His humiliating death on a Roman cross. As Luther put it, "true theology and recognition of God are in the crucified Christ."

Click HERE to finish reading this article.

Prepare for Evangelism with a Simple Outline

Many Christians think they cannot adequately share the gospel unless they've had formal training in evangelism. I'm for evangelism training, but training is not necessary before you can tell someone about Jesus and give your own testimony about how you came to know Him.

In John 9 we read of a man born blind who, within an hour after his conversion, is witnessing to Ph.D.'s in religion (the Pharisees). Obviously, he'd had no evangelism training, but he was able to talk about Jesus and his own conversion. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to say, after being saved and after hearing countless presentations of the gospel in sermons, if Christians still believe they cannot evangelize without massive amounts of training, then either they've heard very poor preaching or they've been very poor listeners.

However, it does boost one's confidence in sharing the gospel to know a general outline of what to say and to have some appropriate verses of Scripture committed to memory.

Click HERE to finish reading this article.

Evangelism is Exhilarating

Only the sheer rapture of being lost in the worship of God is as exhilarating and intoxicating as telling someone about Jesus Christ.

[Taken from page 99 of Don's book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Find out more about this book here.]

Or order by phone: 800-405-3788

Family News and Notes

Thanks to all those who sent birthday greetings on my fiftieth birthday. Caffy has often tried, but never succeeded, in surprising me on special occasions. But this time she caught me completely by surprise. Two days before my birthday, I was scheduled to have lunch with the dean at my seminary. As we met a policeman (who is a neighbor) came around the corner and "arrested" me! When a colleague with a video camera appeared simultaneously, I knew I'd been "had." My neighbor put the cuffs on me, and down to the student center we went. There, in front of several dozen people from the seminary, our church, and other assembled friends, he read aloud several "charges" against me. Most of them had to do with being a "stylophile," which is the technical term for "pen lover". (In the photo of me, Laurelen, and a seminary secretary, notice the "Dr. Stylophile" title on the banner.) Then all sorts of shenanigans began, but I'll not bore you with the details. How Caffy managed to pull off such a big surprise involving so many people, I'll never know. What a great wife to go to so much trouble.

If you were one of the many who sent email greetings, thank you for taking the time and for your kind words. Thanks again to Caffy's surreptitious solicitations, I received a stream of birthday messages for days.

The Lord seems to have greatly blessed the piece published in February, Ten Questions to Ask about the Passion. Even an online glamour magazine for young women, a site claiming 1.5 million readers per month, reprinted the entire piece. If you have a testimony of the Lord's blessing of it through your own church or ministry, please pass it along to me at Don@SpiritualDisciplines.org

Caffy was featured in the Sunday, March 14 Kansas City Star. The "Home" section of the Sunday paper spotlights a local person who does unique work in the field of home decorating. A photograph of Caffy with art brushes accompanied a brief article about her abilities as a muralist and trompe l'eoil interior painter. When she isn't homeschooling Laurelen or teaching an art class at the school where Laurelen takes a few classes, Caffy really enjoys these chances to paint.

Laurelen just keeps growing. What a blessing it is for me to be the dad of such a wonderful little girl. The sweetest part of any day is our time of reading together and family worship.

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