In “The Ultimate Issue” Brian logged an interesting and thought provoking post on “designing your own God.”

I like it. That’s good stuff.

Yet, I think there is a tension between having the right beliefs about God and having a personal knowledge of God—which will always be unique to at least a degree.

To make a comparison: Knowing God is like studying the stars. There are facts that can be known: among other things, stars are hot; are primarily composed of

Friend and CTI coworker, Craig Brian Larson, has started his own blog: “The Ultimate Issue,” an evangelistic companion-piece to his witnessing efforts.

Now, Brian’s an interesting guy: He’s a quiet, unassuming pastor at an Assemblies of God storefront church in the heart of Chicago. To meet him you wouldn’t know he’s the editorial force behind one of the best preaching resources on the planet: PreachingToday.com.

Yes, I work for the company that hosts and profits from that site, but I don’t profit from mentioning it. I do, however, really believe that if you’re preaching, you need to pay attention to the stuff that Brian’s working on. (That includes the book I mentioned in a previous post). But, if you think of him as a leader of preachers you might not easily think of him standing near a crowded Chicago sidewalk engaging individuals in one-on-one conversation, and passing literature

I recently received a copy of The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching: A Comprehensive Resource for Today's Communicators, and have been browsing through it from time to time. Whether you’re a full- or part-time preacher or even if you spend any time at all speaking in front of others as a Christian attempting to bring others to a better understanding of the Bible, or to bring them to a point of decision, you need this book on your shelf. It is the finest compendium of useful preaching/exhortation articles I have ever seen.