by Stephen Rodgers

Hey Everyone,

I’m writing this from the Mellwigs’ kitchen table in the Czech Republic to let you know that due to an unfortunate combination of events, we’re not going to post any new articles this week. However, the plan is that we will just pick it up next week like nothing ever happened.

However, since we have the “related posts” section at the bottom of each article, I thought that this might be a good time to draw your attention to some articles in the archive that would be a good springboard for exploring.

• First of all, there’s an entire category on the subject of missions.
• Or you could use the search box on the right to search for various words like Czech, missions, or Meinolf.
• And last but not least, did you know that we have three sermons by Meinolf in our sermon archive? You should check those out if you haven’t heard them before; they’re “gweat!”

Enjoy everyone, and we’ll see you when we get back!

Pro Rege

Update: Some people have noted that it’s difficult to find Meinolf’s sermons. So, ease of access, let me list them for you here:

1. Missions in the 21st Century
2. Two Reasons for Missions
3. Get Ready to be Involved in Missions

by Stephen Rodgers

I just have a quick note for everyone related to some minor changes to the blog.

• I know a lot of people share articles via Facebook, Buzz, Twitter and whatnot, but not very many were using the links at the bottom of the articles to do so (heck, I wasn’t using them, and I post every Beacon article to my Facebook page). Since they weren’t getting use and were just taking up space, I’ve removed them. If you feel that there’s a need for a particular kind of share code, come talk to me.
• The blog is getting a lot larger than it used to be. We’re currently at 600+ articles and climbing. To make it easier to delve into the archive, I’ve enabled some code to link to 5 articles that seem to be similar (mostly calculated by the recurrence of keywords in the content; we could filter by category, but that seemed unnecessary for now). These links will appear at the bottom of each article under the heading of “Probably Related Posts.” I’m hopeful that this will help you browse particular topics more easily, but please let me know if you spot anything strange.

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

And just like that, another hiatus comes to an end. From the previous notes you can see what our goals were for the break, and I’m happy to say that most of them were met (although a couple will continue to resolve in the next week or so).

Just to let you know, the recent LBCSJ church plant has had a rather significant effect on our staff. Some faithful workers were a part of that team, and have since left. Now don’t get me wrong, they left with our best wishes and prayers, but they’re still not here anymore. Other staff members have taken the initiative to step into some of the positions in other ministries left vacant by their departure. And while they’re still here in the broader sense, that means they’re not here as much in the narrower sense.

To make a short story shorter, we’re a bit understaffed from where we used to be. The plan for dealing with it is simply that we will continue to post Tuesday-Saturday on our regular schedule, and Mondays will become a bit of a…can I say surprise? Like a party? Or a weekly Christmas that sometimes just doesn’t happen sometimes?

In other words, if I have an article for Monday, I’ll be sure to post it for you. But that won’t always happen.

This might change for a number of reasons. A current staff writer might get a wild hair to write more. A new staff writer might emerge from the shadows. I might try to create a new series that doesn’t require much effort (a la “Random Post from the Archives” or the like). But in the meantime, we’re just going to take a tiny step back, take a deep breath, and see what happens.

We’re still here five days a week.

Thanks for reading!

by Stephen Rodgers

A quick update for anyone who keeps track of such things:

• The migration to WordPress 3.0 went off without a hitch.
• The old SPARK category no longer exists; it has been merged into the Lighthouse News category. You can find all the previous entries there now.
• The 2010 College Graduation testimonies have been posted.

As a matter of personal curiosity, does anyone use the “Share on…” links at the bottom of each article? I know when I post on Facebook, I just copy the URL. If they’re not getting much use, it might be better to put something that would be helpful to more people there, like a “Similar Articles” list. If you have an opinion on that, please track me down and let me know.

Thanks!

by Stephen Rodgers

Just in case you were wondering where today’s article is, I wanted to let you know that the Beacon is taking a short break. We’re taking two weeks off to…

• give our writers a breather (they’ve earned it!),
• adjust to some recent changes in the church (San Jose church plant),
• finish a couple of Beacon-related projects (including something for the hallway at church),
• do some site maintenance (WordPress has a new version out, there’s some cleanup to be done in the archives, Dan has some spiffy new designs),
• and plan the rest of the year.

We’re planning on returning on 7/26.

See you then!

by Stephen Rodgers

You might be wondering where the Weekly Links are.

It was brought to my attention that we’ve been screaming along at a pretty quick pace lately. Lots of new content. A new writer or two. We started by posting articles four days a week. Then five. We’re at six now. Frankly, we’re running out of week.

Sometimes we get so caught up in what we’re doing that we don’t stop to consider why we do it, and what it’s supposed to accomplish.

So there won’t be a Weekly Links this week. Consider today a small break. Take a moment to catch up on articles you’ve missed (there’s a list of Recent Posts on the right). Download and listen to a sermon you didn’t fully get. Get a cup of tea and relive a few recent events…maybe you were there, maybe you weren’t. Are you behind in your Scripture reading? Take the time to fix that; remember to pray first. Shoot an encouragement email to a friend. Write a note to your spouse.

And thank God for the grace and opportunity to do so.

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

It’s hard to believe that 2010 is 25% gone already, but the calendar doesn’t seem to be lying in this case. I hope that even though the time is flying by, you’ve been enjoying the Beacon so far this year, and that in our own small way, we’ve been able to edify and encourage you in your walk with the Lord.

There’s not a whole lot to say this month, except for two announcements:

1. The first announcement is that with today’s post by Kyle, we have completed our tour of the ministries at LBC. However, don’t worry because we’re going to loop back around and get updates from them again. However, rather than focusing on just what they do, this time we’re going to try to give you a more personal or specific glimpse into each one. That may mean photographs, interviews, reports, or something else entirely. It’s always an adventure around here. So keep an eye out for those beginning on April 8th.
2. The second announcement is that in keeping with Pastor John’s exhortation and John Piper’s recommendation, we are going to begin a new series here at the Beacon. The plan is that starting this Saturday, and running indefinitely, we will post a brief devotional by Spurgeon. I realize that such materials are freely and abundantly available (TeamPyro has their version, GTY has three RSS feeds for Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Drawing Near, and Strength for Today, and there are a ton of non-devotional reading plans as well). However, not everyone avails themselves to those materials, and out-of-sight-out-of-mind can and does nip at the heels of all but the most disciplined of us. We may just be another trickle in a much larger stream, but God speaks very clearly about the need to dwell on His word (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

Plus, Spurgeon is awesome.

ps. For the GTY links, you may need to copy/paste the link into your favorite RSS reader to make them work.

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

The RSS button in the sidebar has been fixed. So if the only thing preventing you from enjoying RSS updates was my inept code, that obstacle has been removed.

If you prefer to enjoy the site simply by visiting it everyday, then nothing has changed for you.

Also, since we are once again benefiting from the DTR3 series at church, I wanted to bring your attention to some of the DTR-related content we have here on the Beacon:

• Review of DTR1
• Preview of DTR2
• DTR2 Preview – Part 1
• DTR2 Preview – Part 2
• DTR2 Preview – Part 3
• The Crystal Clear Truth About Marriage
• DTR2 Is Coming!!
• Intro to DTR2
• Defining the Relationship
• DTR2: Waiting for Magic?
• Defining the Relationship
• Membership in the Local Church and Dating
• What’s the Problem with Dating?
• Pursuing a Gentle and Quiet Spirit
• Practicing in Dating What You Know to Be True

Just letting you know.

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

Well, March is now upon us, Beacon 3.0 has been running smoothly (except for the couple hours last week when I broke it during an upgrade; by the way, thanks Kyle!), and we’re all another month deeper into 2010. I don’t know about you, but the time just seems to fly by!

This month brings with it a few new changes to the Beacon. Personally, I’m super-excited about all of them, but just to highlight a few for you:

• Garrett Glende has moved up to the San Jose area in preparation for the church plant, but that isn’t going to stop him from completing his Living Theology series (current motto: “about 14 done, only 44 more to go!”). I know that I’ve been enjoying it immensely, so please keep him in prayer, since he’s going to be juggling work, moving, and writing.
• Cesar Vigil-Ruiz has joined the staff, and he has a desire to keep us all supplied with a near-endless stream of book reviews. I worked with Cesar years ago on the original Beacon, and let me tell you, this is going to be good stuff. So keep a weather eye.
• And last but not least, Richard Shin has put together a series of interviews for the upcoming church plant that really are a must-read. His asks a lot of questions that expose a more personal side of the preparation, and getting to see these has been like an early Christmas for me. I think you’re going to enjoy them and well as be encouraged by them.

And as you might have figured out, these additions mean that we will be moving from a 4-times-a-week-schedule to a 5-times-a-week schedule. So unless something goes wrong, you will have new content every weekday.

Well, I hope that serves to whet your appetite for what’s coming. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or ideas, feel free to track me down at church, or send me an email.

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

I hope everyone had a great time yesterday, watching the gold team play against the blue team in that football game. (Hey, I’m doing my best here). I know that many of us had a great time with the Lim family. I think some people actually watched the game too.

If you’re looking for something to feed your brain along those lines, Kevin DeYoung had an article on sports in general, and CJ Mahaney had an article about the Superbowl in particular.

And one last thing. Since the new Sunday School classes have started at LBC now, make sure you put in the time to get the most out of them. Do the reading. Come prepared. If you miss a week because of personal reasons, that’s ok; don’t give up!

And if your teacher told you to email him, you should probably do that soon. Just saying. ;-P

Have a great week everyone!

Pro Rege