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“The polarity of ‘secular versus sacred’ is alien from the start to the categories of Hebrew wisdom. Rather, reflection on human experience without resort to the religious language of Israel’s traditional institutions of law, cult, and prophecy is characteristic of wisdom, and is by no means a sign of secular origin.” ~ Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, p. 574 (emphasis mine)

Never thought I’d quote Dr. Childs in an entry, but his observation about Song of Songs is something that we need to consider as Christians in the 21st century. All we do can be an act of worship to God – even washing the dishes or holding hands with a member of the opposite sex. We need to get rid of this dichotomy between holy and profane, secular and sacred. P.O.D. and Amy Grant have served as ministers to the Gospel, even if they didn’t lace every song with “Jesus” this and “Jesus” that, with an “Amen” thrown in for good measure. On the flip side, Chris Tomlin’s songs of worship and praise are a great contribution to the “playlist” of the church. There’s room for both. It doesn’t have to be “either, or”…it can’t be that way.

I guess this means I disagree with Dr. Jones. I still believe you are called into a ministry regardless of your profession. Maybe I’m trying to justify my experience here – I believe my time spent managing at Papa John’s and substituting in the high school allowed for ministry opportunities that I couldn’t have had during my youth ministry days – even if they weren’t “Christian” professions.

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Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"
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