Not for the Faint Hearted

Spirituality Column #95
September 2, 2008
Current! In Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current! In Westfield (IN) newspaper

Not for the Faint Hearted
By Bob Walters

My daily thirst for Bible instruction and faith commentary is well-watered by the online blog “SeriousFaith.com,” written by Brent Riggs.

I’ve mentioned Riggs before and will probably mention him again. His daily email commentary is not for the Christian faint-hearted. He’s a Bible guy, not a denominational guy. He pays attention to what scripture says, not what we want it to say. His focus is on what God wants from us; not on what we want from God.

Riggs isn’t a minister, at least not the ordained kind. He’s a former Army drill sergeant raising a family in Tulsa, Okla., who teaches Sunday school and has obviously paid attention to some very fine theological mentoring. His actual business is graphic design and website development.

It occurs to me that I laud his efforts due at least in part to the fact that he is not an actual minister; I’m not either. Riggs is a church member with a passion for God’s truth and a gift for communication. We should all be so Christ-centered in our energies.

I don’t agree with Brent every day, but his arguments are always well constructed and his Bible citations flawless. He recently (Aug. 13) excoriated and called heresy The Shack, a book I immensely enjoyed and saw as an exceptional story describing God’s love for humans.

Riggs also panned The Message version of the Bible, even though there is Aramaic (language of Jesus) precedent for street language scripture (the Targum).

Nonetheless, Riggs presents solid, serious Biblical devotions and teaching. He emails daily, and writes fresh entries two or three times a week. His easily accessible online archive has exceptional content, for example ...

... Where in the Bible does it say Christ “descended into Hell”? Well, it doesn’t. At SeriousFaith.com, search “descended into Hell.” Fascinating.

... Sick of “prosperity Gospel” and “personal victory” preachers? So is Brent. On his website search “Give Me, Fix Me, Restore Me, Bless Me.” Great stuff, especially considering Riggs has a young adopted daughter named Abby for whom I hope you will pray. She is battling leukemia.

SeriousFaith.com. Take a look at it and sign up for Brent’s free daily emails if the teaching gets your attention.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that theologian George Bebawi’s class on Romans resumes Wednesday, Sept. 3, 6:30-7:45 p.m. at East 91st Street Christian Church in the Great Room.