Joel Revalee, ministry blog

"How can they ignore these verses?" "Don't they know this is how The Apostles did things?" "Can't Brother ______ see this scripture?" If you are like me, you have encountered individuals which provoke these kinds of questions. People who have what the writer of Hebrews called "divers and strange doctrines" ( Heb. 13:9 ). Men & women whose beliefs about The Bible defy reason and basic Theological probing. They often perplex us, and decline even rudimentary examination of their odd views. Persons with such weird and mystifying beliefs are the subject of this post. Outlier beliefs Throughout my ministerial life, I have fellowshipped with a wide range of preachers with disparate views and approaches. But there was always a bedrock of truth among these men of God. They approached The Bible seriously, and took great care to understand and apply its precepts. There is, however, a different group. Existing in Christianity ar...

Who do I listen to? Whose counsel do I seek? What voices speak into me? These questions are at the core of common ministerial advice. Through the years, I have received numerous sentences of counsel and wisdom from others. Such counsel has both shaped me and at times rescued me from wrong decisions. I begin with an explanation of words. "Reasonable People" There are those around us who are stalwarts of stability. They are the co-workers who always arrive at work at a regular time, and leave each day at the same hour of departure. They are the ones around you who seemingly have their lives neatly packaged together. All their loose ends are tied. They are tidy. They are predictable . I have a question: would The Apostles have been in that category? They lived UNREASONABLE lives! They accepted abnormal conditions. Their existence, according to outside observance, would have looked inherently unstable. They traveled to faraway lands, and were told by Jesus NOT...