Pastor Erik's Sometimes Dangerous Blog
Erik DiVietro
Teaching Pastor,
Bedford Road Baptist Church, 2004
Master of Divinity,
Liberty University, 2016
PhD in Bible Exposition,
Liberty University, 2022
Oddball Contrarian,
Since Birth (according to his parents)
According to the Hartford Institute for Religious Studies, here are the top ten largest churches in the United States: Lakewood Church, 43,500 (Joel Osteen) LifeChurch, 35,000 (Craig Groeschel) Fellowship Church, 24,000 (Ed Young, Jr.) Willow Creek Community Church, 23,400 (Bill Hybels) North Point Community Church, 23,375 (Andy Stanley) Second Baptist Church, 22,700 (Edwin Young, #3’s
Last year, Rob Bell wrote a controversial book on who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Then he resigned his role as teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church. Now, his successor Shane Hipps is resigning because the megachurch is falling apart and the board has decided to reorganize, placing the teaching pastor under
It is always insightful to look back and contemplate how we change over time. Back in 2008 I wrote a post about the regionalization of the local church At the time, we were a congregation of about 50. We were in the midst of planning a renovation, and we were financially strapped. There were all
Last night, I watched LeBron James (supposedly the greatest individual player in the NBA) have an average game and lose. The Miami Heat consists of two tremendously talented players (James and Dwyane Wade) and a cast of basically nameless supporting players. In order for them to win, James and Wade must play extraordinary basketball. Against
One of the key reasons I don’t do conferences is that inevitably someone wants you to do some kind of “learning exercise.” I am a high-brain, verbal learner which means that I learn best by taking in information and teaching others, and most “learning exercises” do nothing for me. At the Biblical Imagination Conference we
You might remember that last year, when the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup there were widespread riots in Vancouver. Similar things have happened in many cities across North America, but all pale in comparison to the 1894 game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Stockings. (Despite the similarities in name, neither of
Apparently, Fred Phelps (the pastor of that bastion of hope and encouragement, Westboro Baptist Church) has some tremendous insight into the Scriptures. In the video below, Phelps pinpoints the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to the year 1898 BC. This is tremendous news to me since until now I have wondered endlessly how to date the
This morning, our beloved congregation will worship without us. Nichole and I are in Syracuse, New York for a conference and concert. I’ll be completely honest. I don’t like being away. It is more nerve-wracking than being there. When you invest so much of yourself into something you believe is God’s thing, you become very
I am headed to Syracuse, New York, for the weekend for the Biblical Imagination Conference with the man, the legend, the awesomely bearded Michael Card. While I could never aspire to have a beard like his, Michael has long been one of my musical heroes. He combines teaching and art in a way that you
A video of a North Carolina pastor was making the rounds of the internet recently. Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church begins a diatribe on placing “lesbins, q-u-weers, and hom-o-sessuals” (that’s how he pronounces the words) in what amounts to concentration camps so they will die out. The video has over a
