November 11, 2009
Already out is the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre audio version of C.S. Lewis’s masterful story, The Screwtape Letters. It stars Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes “sneak peek” to wet your appetite, and check out the official website here.
November 11, 2009
Can I quickly recommend a place to visit if you’re in Virginia, particularly the Lynchburg area? It’s the White Hart Cafe and Inklings Book Store. The Cafe is named after the White Stage that the four children chase at the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s a cafe dedicated to all-things C.S. Lewis, Tolkien and the rest of their literary group called the Inklings.
The atmosphere and decor of the place are wonderful. Darkened hard wood floors, worn-in leather chairs, bookshelves lining the walls, and the strong aroma of coffee in the air make this a truly inviting place. Check out more from their website here.
November 4, 2009
I almost swerved off the road today. But don’t worry, no one was hurt. Plus, on these back country roads I ride on everyday in good ‘ol Sussex County, Delaware the only thing to hit are farm fields.
Anyhow, the reason my steering wheel was given a jerk was because of something I heard on NPR (Yes, I listen to NPR news sometimes on the classical radio station… and yes, sometimes I listen to classical music… alongside, Led Zeppelin of course). In Ohio, after many years of battling, they finally passed approval for casinos to be built. Now I disagree with gambing and do not think casinos bring any good to community, but I don’t have time to get into all that. What I was struck by was the comment by a pastor interviewed on NPR. Basically, he said that he was against the casinos for awhile but changed his mind when he saw that it would help in creating jobs for their struggling job market! Pragmatism at its finest. If this is the way he thinks, why don’t we just allow drug dealers to sell crack. After all, won’t it help create jobs. I’m being sarcastic, of course.
So this is another fine example of convictions that were never really convictions. Of course, this example of someome trashing their convictions led me to think of another one that has been perplexing me recently… women pastors. I don’t agree with it and I’m seeing more and more of them lately. I love my wife and greatly appreciate the women in our church who serve faithfully and sacrificially. But I also know that Scripture designates the role of a pastor or elder to the male. This is not a superiority complex, but one of a different role. A role held by a male who is to lay his life down for the best of others. To serve. But more so than that, we are all called to be faithful to God’s word. So my question to those who think it’s okay for a woman to pastor… Do you honestly let Scripture be the central pillar and steering wheel to all you say and do? Will you follow Scripture even if you don’t see it being useful or beneficial to whatever you’re facing at the moment? Or will you be a “cut-and-paster”, meaning, you “cut” out things in the Bible you don’t agree with, or you “paste” in things you want the Bible to say?
Your answers to the questions, I’m sure will be revealing. Then you can find out if the convictions you have are really yours… or God’s.
October 31, 2009
492 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. One of my reformation heroes… from his first thesis, it says…
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.
Read Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis here.
And until November 1 you can download for free Max McLean’s reading of Martin Luther’s speech, “Here I Stand” (24 minutes).
October 25, 2009
Check out this quote from John Stott (I Believe in Preaching, p. 69)…
It is difficult to imagine the world in the year A.D. 2000, by which time versatile micro-processors are likely to be as common as simple calculators are today.
We should certainly welcome the fact that the silicon chip will transcend human brain-power, as the machine has transcended human muscle-power.
Much less welcome will be the probable reduction of human contact as the new electronic network renders personal relationships ever less necessary.
In such a dehumanized society the fellowship of the local church will become increasingly important, whose members meet one another, and talk and listen to one another in person rather than on screen. In this human context of mutual love the speaking and hearing of the Word of God is also likely to become more necessary for the preservation of our humanness, not less.
October 20, 2009
Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller is out and sounds good. Here is the
publishers description.
Sex, money, power, and love. So many of us have placed our faith in these glittering idols—hoping they hold the key to happiness and satisfaction, but knowing in our hearts they will only let us down. With the global economy in shambles, and the idols that we all as a society have worshiped for years crashing down around us, it is no wonder so many of us feel lost, alone, disenchanted, and resentful. But the truth is that these idols were lesser gods that could never give us true fulfillment. There is only one God who can wholly satisfy our cravings—and now is the perfect time to meet him again, or for the first time.
In Timothy Keller’s view, the Bible tells us that the human heart is an “idol-factory,” taking good, wholesome things and turning them into idols that drive us. With COUNTERFEIT GODS, Keller applies his trademark approach to understanding Christianity to show us how classic Biblical stories can reveal the key to understanding our society and own hearts. This powerful, inspiring book will cement Keller’s reputation as a leading Christian writer, for both the faithful and the skeptical, and it is a message that comes at a crucial time in our lives as individuals and as a society.
And if that’s not descriptive enough for you, listen to the words by the author himself…
October 19, 2009
All churches eventually get old. Of course, “old” can mean many things here… age of church, the building, the age of the people, etc. A burning desire of mine and others, I hope, in our church is to raise the next generation of church members for our local church. Kevin DeYoung has written a thoughtful blog post on this very topic. He writes,
Reaching the next generation—whether they are outside the church or sitting there bored in your church—is easier and harder than you think. It’s easier because you don’t have to get a degree in postmodern literary theory or go to a bunch of stupid movies. You don’t have to say “sweet” or “bling” ” or know what LOL or IMHO means. You don’t have to listen to…well, whatever people listen to these days. You don’t have to be on twitter, watch The Office, or imbibe fancy coffees. You just have to be like Jesus. That’s it. So the easy part is you don’t have to be with it. The hard part is you have to be with Him. If you walk with God and walk with people, you’ll reach the next generation.
Let me unpack that a bit. After thinking through the question for over a year, I’ve come up five suggestions for pastors, youth workers, campus staff, and for anyone else who wants to pass the faith on to the next generation: Grab them with passion. Win them with love. Hold them with holiness. Challenge them with truth. Amaze them with God.
He also writes,
If we are to grab the next generation with the gospel, we must grab them with passion. And to grab them passion, we must be grabbed with it ourselves. The world needs to see Christians burning, not with self-righteous fury at the sliding morals in our country, but with passion for God. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it, “I’m not looking for someone to set the world on fire. I want to know that if I dropped you in Thames it would sizzle.”
Read the whole thing here.
October 12, 2009
The toothpaste is out of the tube and you can’t get it back in no matter how hard you try. That’s how I liken the topic of election when discussion around it opens up. We discussed it at our Life Group (small group) tonight and it’s intriguing that we did as I just finished Sproul’s book Chosen by God. First, I have to admit to any from our Life Group who are reading this post, I feel that I was being a bit arrogant tonight in regard to the doctrine election, and I apologize. I hope you forgive me.
There have been some articles online that have been helpful when it comes to understanding the doctrine of election. I like how Tim Keller explains it by saying that the doctrine of election is that no matter how many chances given, we will always as humans choose to be our own lord and savior. We would never choose God unless he acts first. Thus, God chooses to open the eyes of the hearts of some to faith in Jesus Christ and to others he does not. This of course is a simplistic explanation of it. I encourage you to read Sproul’s book for more detail in a very clear and direct manner. Desirng God ministries also has a helpful article dealing with the five points of Calvinism which includes election.
Two things need to be mentioned first… 1. I don’t think it should be a necessary requirement to someone wanting to become a member of our church. We’ll never say, “Oh, you don’t believe in the doctrine of election so you can’t join.” Of course, election does undergird a lot of biblical convictions of mine and I’ll be honest about them, but we would never make it a requirement for membership. 2. The study of the doctrine of election should lead to worship of our great and gracious God as revealed in the gospel. It should be held with humility, not arrogance. As Ephesians 1:6 always sticks out in my mind… “to the praise of the glory of his grace.”
So with that, read below a couple of the benefits of believing in the truths of election (found from the DG website. Read the explanations here.)…
-These truths make me stand in awe of God and lead me into the depth of true God-centered worship.
-These truths make me marvel at my own salvation.
-These truths make me see everything in the light of God’s sovereign purposes – that from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be glory forever and ever.
-These truths make me hopeful that God has the will, the right, and the power to answer prayer that people be changed.
-These truths reminds me that evangelism is absolutely essential for people to come to Christ and be saved, and that there is great hope for success in leading people to faith, but that conversion is not finally dependent on me or limited by the hardness of the unbeliever.
-These truths make me sure that God will triumph in the end.
October 10, 2009
I really enjoy some of the stuff put out by Indelible Grace. They have a new cd that sounds pretty good. They are hymns (some that are pretty obscure) set to new acoustic guitar music. You can listen to samples and read the story behind each song here.
October 2, 2009
If you want a good summary of some of the strength’s and witnesses of 3 of the most popular perspectives in regard to the local church within evangelicalism, read below Tim Keller’s response.
This summer I spoke at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. It was an honor to be invited. No one pulls off a conference like Willow Creek. Who else could bring their content to 120,000 people? And the three other talks or sessions that I saw were extremely high quality.
The time at Willow led me to reflect on how much criticism this church has taken over the years. On the one hand, my own ‘camp’ — the non-mainline Reformed world — has been critical of its pragmatism, its lack of emphasis on sound doctrine. On the other hand, the emerging and post-modern ministries and leaders have disdained Willow’s individualism, its program-centered, ‘corporate’ ethos. These critiques, I think, are partly right, but when you are actually there you realize many of the most negative evaluations are caricatures.
John Frame’s ‘tri-perspectivalism’ helps me understand Willow. The Willow Creek style churches have a ‘kingly’ emphasis on leadership, strategic thinking, and wise administration. The danger there is that the mechanical obscures how organic and spontaneous church life can be. The Reformed churches have a ‘prophetic’ emphasis on preaching, teaching, and doctrine. The danger there is that we can have a naïve and unBiblical view that, if we just expound the Word faithfully, everything else in the church — leader development, community building, stewardship of resources, unified vision — will just happen by themselves. The emerging churches have a ‘priestly’ emphasis on community, liturgy and sacraments, service and justice. The danger there is to view ‘community’ as the magic bullet in the same way Reformed people view preaching.
By thinking in this way, it makes it possible for me to love and appreciate the best representatives of each of these contemporary evangelical ‘traditions.’ Nobody provides more practical help for organizing and leading ministry than Willow Creek. I also am humbled that Redeemer is well-regarded in each of these ’streams’ of evangelicalism, though we have our feet firmly set in our own Reformed tradition. That is quite unusual, and it makes it possible for us to both teach and learn across the spectrum of church life today.
September 30, 2009
Tim Challies has an interview post with Bill Farley’s new book Gospel-Powered Parenting. It is very good as it tackles issues like… Why “gospel” everything? School choice, and offensive vs. defensive parenting. Read it here.
September 30, 2009
The tour is back… this time with their father, Gregg Harris. It’s called Raising Kids to Do Hard Things tour. From their site, it says…
In Raising Kids to Do Hard Things, Alex & Brett’s father, Gregg Harris, presents the simple approach that he and his wife Sono have taken to make their home a place to “do hard things together” as a family. Far more than a child training seminar, Raising Kids to Do Hard Things is a household-strategy retreat for the whole family (ages 10+ and including grandparents). In this Friday night and all-day-Saturday, Mr. Harris will teach you how to make your home the launching pad of life for your kids.
Check out all the info at this site here.
September 29, 2009
One thing that concerns me at our local church, as well as others across the nation, is the lack of understanding of what church membership actually is and why it’s important to the Christian just attending a local church. Personally, while it may not be practical or realistic, I want to see every church attender at our church become members. This motivation, of course, stems from a biblically-driven conviction of the importance of membership to the local church.
And Kevin DeYoung, author of Why We Love the Church, has a great post on his blog on why membership matters. Here are his main points below on why membership matters, but please read the whole thing here.
1. In joining a church you make visible your commitment to Christ and his people.
2. Making a commitment makes a powerful statement in a low-commitment culture.
3. We can be overly independent.
4. Church membership keeps us accountable.
5. Joining the church will help your pastor and elders be more faithful shepherds.
6. Joining the church gives you an opportunity to make promises.
September 29, 2009
Yesterday was Yom Kippur, one of the most important Jewish holidays. Where I used to live there was a large Jewish population, many whom I was friends with. Justin Holcomb on the Resurgence blog has a great explanation what Yom Kippur is and how Christ fulfills it. Read it here.
And if you know someone who is Jewish take them out for a cup of coffee and ask them about their holiday.
September 26, 2009
The Desiring God Conference – Theater of God, looking at the life of John Calvin, is being live blogged. Check it out here.
