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Shepherding Thoughts
by Pastor Ben Francis
Welcome to Shepherding Thoughts: An inside look at a Southern Baptist Pastor's comments on navigating popular topics in Christianity and Religion.
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Ben Francis
Feb 2313 min read
What's Happening when the Pastor is Preaching?
Every single week, 52 weeks per year (and more if you include Sunday nights and Wednesday nights), Pastors rise to speak the Word of God...
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Ben Francis
Sep 7, 20239 min read
Why I'm Starting a PhD…
Well, now you know. I’m starting a PhD. I noted toward the end of last year that I was working on a large project that would take up some...
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Ben Francis
Sep 5, 202310 min read
How do We Actually Experience God’s Sovereignty?
Sovereignty: God’s absolute and unquestioned control over every single detail of creation, including our lives and choices. So, how do we...
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Ben Francis
Sep 5, 20226 min read
Is In-Person Preaching better than a Screen?
With the advent of new technology, new possibilities are introduced to the human experience. The rise of computers, the internet, and...
152 views0 comments
Ben Francis
Jul 24, 20225 min read
Are We Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids?
Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids A Review Parents, are we raising emotionally healthy children? It's a tough question. It's tough because...
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Ben Francis
Jul 15, 20228 min read
Christians Should Judge each Other...Right?
“Only God can judge me!” That’s what the license tag said on the car parked in front of me. It's not an uncommon thing to hear in the...
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Ben Francis
Jun 23, 20223 min read
What I'm Reading, June 2022
June has been a good month for a number of reasons, but it's been an especially good month in the book department. I’ve been thoroughly...
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Ben Francis
Jun 1, 202210 min read
How Should Christians Bury Their Dead?
“Funeral customs and practices show how bodies are regarded in any society. They reveal what is commonly believed about death and what...
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Ben Francis
May 22, 20229 min read
Gender and the Christian Worldview.
A Biblical Framework for Understanding Gender: A Christian Worldview. Recently, our Church, along with two other sister Churches in our...
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Ben Francis
May 11, 20224 min read
Are Hymns Important? Yes!
We are living in an age when music is doing all sorts of things. Churches are attempting and trying a number of musical variations in an...
116 views0 comments
Ben Francis
May 6, 20223 min read
In Praise of My Wife…
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and while the holiday is man-made, the regular celebration of mothers is a good and right gift...
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Ben Francis
Apr 18, 20226 min read
They're Teaching Kids What!? - Culture Shifts...
American culture is changing. In some ways, that is no great news. Culture is always changing and shifting to some degree. But right now,...
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Ben Francis
Apr 18, 20223 min read
What I'm Reading These Days...
It will come as no surprise to anyone that I am a big fan of books. I love books. Books make up a big part of my life. I turn to them for...
121 views1 comment
Ben Francis
Apr 3, 20227 min read
The Commodification of Discipleship.
A building Crisis comes calling… Have you ever thought about how odd it is to walk into a grocery store? It is odd to walk into a store...
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Ben Francis
Mar 21, 20225 min read
Is Our Discipleship in the Right Order?
Keeping the Horse and the Cart in the Right Place Discipleship: … How would you define it? Do you think most Church folks would know how...
148 views1 comment
Ben Francis
Mar 13, 20228 min read
The Evangelical Industrial Complex and the Fall of Discipleship.
What Happened to Discipleship? The Evangelical Industrial Complex — “Big Eva” - Big Evangelicalism. If someone were to ask you, “ What is...
865 views1 comment
Ben Francis
Mar 1, 202212 min read
Should Christians Read the Left Behind book Series?
This will be a longer post, but I want to be thorough and offer some helpful material as I interact with Dispensational teaching. If you...
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Ben Francis
Feb 27, 20227 min read
Fast Discipleship is Not always Good Discipleship
More reflections from Wendell Berry We live in a microwave economy. You know what I mean — we live in an economy where we can have pretty...
98 views0 comments
Ben Francis
Feb 26, 20225 min read
Farming for Healthy Families.
Discipleship is Household Work. A Mountain Morning. I greatly enjoy the writings of Wendell Berry, particularly his essays on farming,...
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Ben Francis
Feb 17, 20225 min read
How does Discipleship Happen?
I hear the question a lot. “I want to grow in my faith. I want to know the Bible better. I want to pray better. I want to be a better...
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