Beyond Mediocrity Blog

(Image courtesy of europeanbestdestinations.com.) Looking at the castles and cathedrals that are still in existence today, I marvel. The giant, stone castles, the rocks green with ivy and mildew, still impose a menacing presence. The ancient cathedrals with their high ceilings, smooth marble stonework, and acoustical feat shout “God is glorious!” As I was meditating on the vast spectacle that these societal and spiritual fortresses still impress on us today, I was struck with this cliché: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” The age-old castles of the English, Scottish, and Normans – the castles we read about in stories from the Motherland – took decades to complete. One king may start the task and another may complete it; or one king may build a small fortress only to have it improved by a future king. The same can be said of the cathedrals. The men of old were not given to haste, whereby their dreams would only fizzle and fade rapidly. Hewing stone, transporting it, and then setting it in...

(Image courtesy of www.gettyimages.com.) “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10). “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The yoke of Judaism was the law. All the regulations, ceremonies, sacrifices, and every other form of regulative worship of Yahweh was purposefully commanded and carefully conducted from Abraham to Christ. But Peter makes a powerful statement in Acts 15:10: “Neither our father nor we have been able to bear [it].” The law brought self-righteousness, not real righteousness; therefore, the law brought condemnation. That is always what laws do: they convict us of wrongdoing, not justification or absolution from past wrongs com...

(Me, R.C. Sproul, Jr., and my dad at a conference in 2024.) I've been reading The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. Although I have met R.C. Sproul, Jr., I never met his father; yet, Sproul (Sr.) has been a strong mentor to me and a huge influence in my spiritual life. In 2017, when he fell asleep and went to be with Jesus, I cried. I felt a huge void in my world knowing that he wasn't here anymore. I came across these paragraphs in his book, however. I think Sproul and I were kindred spirits. What he says here is what Beyond Mediocrity is all about. Likewise, it's also what Renewing Your Mind (R.C. Sproul's podcast ministry) was all about.

(Image courtesy of New Line Cinema.) If, indeed, the Christian majority – which for centuries decisively dominated the Western world, including these United States of America – is no longer the majority, but has collapsed due to liberal theology, idolatry, and loose doctrine; and if the Western, Christian church finds herself in a persecuted state, having lost the power and influence that she once held for centuries in society; then I am greatly saddened and regret that I have lived to see such days, and (when I feel the weight heaviest) I regret that I have brought children into a world who will live in such days.

(Image courtesy of greentumble.com.) “In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord , according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord , the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord . He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled agains...

(Image courtesy of Fine Art America.) “My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them…” (Isaiah 3:12). For thousands of years, societies were governed by the fathers; some still are. This is called patriarchy (literally, “father rule”). In our corner of the world, the egalitarian worldview has mislabeled patriarchy as one of the darkest and most horrible societal structures of all time. For the last sixty years, American society has been ruled by the weaker sex; however, righteous men have finally had enough, as feminism has brought with it unprecedented violence, child sacrifice (abortion), divorce, and promiscuity. [1] [2] [3] [4] In summary, the push by women in the 20 th century to gain a place at the gates, and the equally disastrous consequence of men abdicating their headship, has devastated families, declined society, and softened men.