creation project

A New Location

2006-12-05T23:42:00.000-05:00

Click Here for Creation Project

Let me know you found the new blog!

A New Creation Project

2006-12-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

Check out my new blog (more features, cleaner, slightly different audience) creation project

The World is Getting Younger

2006-12-02T15:10:00.000-05:00

BBC has presented a Fascinating Study on Global Population trends which indicates that the world is getting younger. In all, there are about one billion 12 to 18-year-olds, and almost 9 out of 10 live in the developing world. A quarter of young people live on less than US$1 a day. The study includes data on economic, education, and sexual activity among the world's youth.

Owen is Already Driving

2006-12-02T10:24:00.000-05:00

How Children Raise Parents

2006-11-27T23:21:00.000-05:00

Dan Allender's book, How Children Raise Parents, has been really helpful, personally and parentally, in connecting fatherhood/motherhood with the gospel. Here are a few thoughts distilled from the first two chapters of his book:

Good Parenting is…
Dan Allender debunks popular notions of good parenting—“provide the right influences and/or principles and your children will succeed”—by unpacking the way God parents humanity, offering his children the opportunity to become fully and truly human. In order to parent as God parents us, we must recognize two fundamental questions asked by all children: 1) Am I loved? 2) Can I get my own way?

The way we parent depends on how we answer these questions. If we answer yes to both questions, we must stay discipline and, in turn, rob our children of knowing God’s strength. We cheapen love. If we answer no to the first question and yes to the second, we give them license but no love, we spoil (=ruin) our children from knowing God’s mercy and care in the midst of our failures to keep his way. You get the idea. God parents us by telling us he loves us, but that we cannot get our own way. His love is communicated in and through his way, a way that is better than any other. God’s way, his rules, provides confidence for our children that security and strength can be found outside of themselves. There is someone bigger and better who cares for them.

Know Thy Children
However, answering these questions for our children will not work. We must know our children. When they refuse to do their homework or share with another friend when we have told them to do so, is it because they are seeking our attention which is rarely gained or is it because they simply want their own way? Moreover, parenting well requires wisdom, a knowing of our children’s bent. Allender defines “bent” as something that is beyond personality, it “is the manner in which God has uniquely written a person’s life story to reveal God’s character.”

Allender goes on to explain that child-oriented wisdom includes the understanding that your child is meant to be in, but not of, the world. Every child will bend one of two ways, “of” the world or “not of” the world, saddling up to the values of the world or secluding themselves from the difficulty of living in the world. From an early age, they will ten towards secularism or sectarianism, unthinking digestion of worldly values or unthinking embrace of religious values. Rebels or rule-keepers. At times God calls us to be rebels, and at others, he calls us to be rule-keepers, but never in our own strength. Knowing the sufficiency of the gospel for living and parenting in these tenuous times is key.
In order to respond to our child’s need for love and correction, affection and truth, we must know our own bent as well. Knowing where we lean under life’s pressures will reveal how we tend to push our children. If we tend towards pleasing others for approval, the example we set is “of the world.” If we tend to rely on ourselves to get through life, the example we set is “not of the world.” Knowing our bent, whether towards license or legalism, rebellion or religion, will enable us to mature as people and as parents, setting our hope not on parenting skill, but the wisdom of God. This wisdom is displayed in the gospel, sufficient for our victories and our defeats. Jesus death secures our forgiveness and his life our faith.

New U2 Single, Window in the Skies

2006-11-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

In the recent release of U218, U2 includes two new singles: "Windows in the Sky" and "The Saints Come Marching" (w/ Greenday). The spiritual tenor of both songs is unmistakeable.

In Window in the Skies, Bono exults in God's love and mercy at the "grave" (cross) and the "stone gone" (resurrection), through which "all debts are removed," opening a window to God in the sky.

Here is the first stanza and chorus:

Window In The Skies
The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat that’s in the sun
Will keep us when there’s none
The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed

Oh can’t you see what love has done?
Oh can’t you see what love has done?
Oh can’t you see what love has done?
What it’s done to me?

Comment

2006-11-27T16:01:00.000-05:00

In recent weeks there have been quite a few people who have told me that they read this blog. I am glad to hear that what is written is of interest and, hopefully, beneficial. By all means, read on, but consider one request.

Comment occasionally. I would benefit greatly from your comments on various entries. As you may have noticed, many of my blogs pose questions, which implies that I do not have answers. Perhpas a conversation through your comments will produce greater understanding for all, facilitating redemptive engagement with peoples and cultures through Christ for the glory of God.

Please feel no pressure here. Comment as led.

The Pill...for Men

2006-11-27T09:58:00.000-05:00

Scientists at King's College, London have developed a hormone-free pill for males as a form of birth control. Read all about it here.

When Will the Madness in Burma Stop?

2006-11-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

Burma has now pulled another stunt affecting its prisoners, political and criminal. The junta issued a dismissal of the Red Cross humanitarian activity in tending to prisoners. See the brief article here.

The military dictatorship of Burma is one of the worst in the world. Numerous minorites are oppressed by teh government, including the millions of indigenous Shan-Dai. When will the madness stop? When will the U.S. consider applying its world policing of terror in Burma?

We can't wait for the governments to cooperate. Pray for Burma, the peoples of Burma today, that God would empower social, economic, political and spiritual transformation. Pray for the missionaries working in those countries to be given vision, resources, and power to effect this change.

Have You Talked to God Today?

2006-11-25T20:46:00.000-05:00

You can have pictures of bibles, angels or crosses on your phone wallpaper, choose from upwards of 750 christian ringtones, and subscribe to inspirational daily text messages at faithmoblie.com.

Dejavu

2006-11-24T22:11:00.000-05:00

Dejavu , directed by Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Denzel Washington (unusually smiley), Val Kilmer (a bit hefty), and Jim Caviezel (not so Jesus), is one of the best films I have seen that blends solid acting, intelligent plot development, creative and gripping special effects, entertaining action, and theological dialogue.

Without introducing a spoiler, suffice it to say that the action is classic Bruckheimer, the narrative christocentric, the dialogue at once deterministic and voltarian, and the conclusion pleasing. Colored by speculation on parallel universe theory and the dejavu phenomenon, the film delivers and eclectic yet cohesive action film filled with philosophy.

Lines such as, "What if you had to tell somebody the most important thing in the world, but you knew they would never believe you? I would tell them anyway. You never know what people will believe." invite dialogue and reflection.

Check it out, with a friend, and explore these finely filmed themes.

A Few Thoughts on Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T11:35:00.000-05:00

The Thanksgiving holiday, though originally and legislatively is a God-centered celebration, has become a heavily politicized, commercialized and humanized tradition. From the political demonstrations of indians in D.C. to the food and football focus in the American home, the origin and orientation of Thanksgiving is easily forgotten.

It is forgotten that the first thanksgiving was the fruit of pilgrims' praise, in fellowship with Indians, to a God who had led them through adversity. In our land of plenty God's provision is not recognized as the product of divine mercy, but as the well-earned product of human work. No doubt, our participation in the creation mandate is essential in harvesting our plenty, but that mandate is also a blessing secured by the mercy of God. There are many people whose work in the ruling and subduing of the earth is equal, but thier produce unequal. Nevertheless, our Thanksgiving roots are not economical, as many would have us believe of the opportunist pilgrims.

It is forgotten that Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the holiday "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." Started by the pligrims and sanctioned by a president, this day commemorates the faithfulness of God, not the fortitude of man. Perhaps our land of plenty dulls our sensitivities to the infinite mercies of God? Perhaps the presence of adversity would foster greater recognition of the endless reasons to thank our beneficent Father?

I am reminded of God's faithfulness in providing for us, leading us to Austin, and giving my wife a fruitful womb. In turn, I consider not only his mercy, but also his creativity and propencity to produce life. I think of the assasination of the Prime Minister of Lebanon in the context of the killing of Jesus--for both there is the hope of the resurrection. I consider the hundreds killed or injured by blasts in Iraq today in the context of His promise to restore all things...and long for that day. I thank God for God, for being an essentially creative, life-giving, world-renewing Creator who in Christ has set the creation project back on track, destined for an eternal state of fructification and glorification.

Thank God for God.

The Place of Sin in Biblical Theology

2006-11-21T17:42:00.000-05:00

In reading Neal Plantinga's Engaging God's World I came across this striking quote:

“The Bible’s big double message is creation and redemption. Sin intervenes but never as an independent theme. Thus St. Paul, the Bible’s chief theologian of sin and grace, speaks of sin in terms of what it is against.” ~ Engaging Gods World, 87

What are your thoughts? Has Plantinga correctly framed sin within redemptive history, biblical theology?

Churchplanting Conference

2006-11-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

Check out this National New Churchplanting conference, with speakers like Darrin Patrick of A29, Matt Chandler of the Village, and Ed Stetzer of Missional Code fame.

Retreat Review: Thanking God for Your Prayers

2006-11-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

I knew very little about the setting or schedule of the retreat going into it--three talks and a sermon to Yale grad students and New Haven young professionals--that's about it. When we arrived in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts I was pleasantly suprised. What a wonderful setting for discussing creation, culture an our role in God's creation project!

The talks were well-attended in the basement of the large holiday house nestled in the woods. Forty plus crammed into the basement sitting on blow-up mattresses, chairs, whatever they could find in order to consider the biblical-theological basis and a practical paradigm for participating in culture to promote human flourishing and the glory of God!

Using the heuristic of a web browser, I proposed that we all too often use different browsers to surf the Worldwide web of culture and ideas. For movies and music we use secularism, for work and commerce we use consumerism, for church and bible studies we use christianity. Our worldview and approach to culture is seriously flawed and fragmented. Therefore, my aim during the talks was to promote repentance of using multiple fallen browsers and faith in the Creation-Fall-Redemption-New Creation browser our triune God has provided. To that end, the talks were: 1) Creation and the Goodness of Culture 2) Fall and the Brokenness Culture/Work 3) Redemptively Engaging Culture: Colossians as a Test Case 4) New Creation and Culture: How Will We Glorify God Forever?

Running on about four hours sleep, I gave my first talk and stayed up discussing it and other things with a table of students until 1AM. Saturday morning things went really well. The break out groups were so good I took notes on their discussions! Saturday evening was difficult. We were all tired, but God gave me strength to get through it, presently the material fairly clearly.

Sunday was awesome. Tolivar Wills led the worship service and I preached from Revelation 21.22-27. We took communion in the basement and sensed God's presence in Christ. This was followed by lunch and a spectacular cleaning job of the entire house (talks applied!).

Thanks for your prayers and support. I especially felt God's presence during the sermon.

Retreat: Redemptively Engaging Culture

2006-11-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

I will be giving three talks and a sermon for Christ Presbyterian Church Graduate Fellowship this weekend in New Haven, CT on "Redemptively Engaging Culture: A Biblical Basis and Practical Paradigm."

I am very excited about this opportunity. As you may know, we spent the last week and a half moving from Boston to Austin (we are thrilled to be here!). As a result, I am still working on my talks and would appreciate your prayers for my preparation and delivery.

Redemptively engaging peoples and cultures thru Christ...

Stanley Fish: Educators Shouldn't Moralize, Politicize or Draw Ethical Conclusions in the Classroom

2006-11-06T08:38:00.000-05:00

In a recent NY Times article, Stanley Fish called for the academcizing of education. According to Fish, to academicize is to "look into a history of a topic, studying and mastering the technical language that comes along with it, examining the controversies that have grown up around it and surveying the most significant contributions to its development."

Using these academic terms, Fish argues that moral and political conclusions should be banned from pedagogy: "The list of academic terms would, however, not include coming to a resolution about a political or moral issue raised by the materials under discussion. This does not mean that political and moral questions are banned from the classroom, but that they should be regarded as objects of study – Where did they come from? How have they been answered at different times in different cultures? – rather than as invitations to take a vote (that’s what you do at the ballot box) or make a life decision (that’s what you do in the private recesses of your heart). No subject is out of bounds; what is out of bounds is using it as an occasion to move students in some political or ideological direction."

But what of social and educational contexts that are morally charged, like genocidal geography in Africa, Eastern Europe and so forth? Fish writes: "There is nothing virtuous or holy about teaching; it’s just a job, and like any job it aims at particular results, not at all results. If the results teaching is able to produce when it is done well – improving student knowledge and analytical abilities – are not what you’re after, then teaching is the wrong profession for you. But if teaching is the profession you commit to, then you should do it and not use it to do something else."

Is this avoiding indoctrination or neutering knowledge? Is the postmodern turn in education a liberation or incarceration of knowledge? Is teaching simply the process of refining a students knowledge base and anaylitical skills or does knowledge inherently possess an ethical imperative, a moral obligation, to not only faithfully inform, but to personally reform?

Our New Address

2006-10-28T09:40:00.000-04:00

Send us a card!

Jonathan, Robie, Owen and Ellie (in Feb) Dodson
2239 Cromwell Cr #1302
Austin, TX 78741

We will miss our New England friends.

From a Phone Booth in Austin

2006-10-27T17:37:00.000-04:00

Photo by Matt Donovan

Moving to Austin

2006-10-27T10:39:00.000-04:00

Yes, we are moving to Austin...on Sunday. After taking a step of faith, logistics have fallen into place like dominos. For a while, I was waiting for "everything" to fall into place before moving by faith. Is this where God is leading? If so, salaries and people need to fall into place before I move my family. This is, of course, not how the heroes of the faith followed God. Abraham did not calculate God's providence and leading based on how he would get to the promised land and who would join him there.

I confess, I haven't walked in the footsteps of Abraham very well lately. When reading Ps 139 a few days ago, I repented of unbelief in God's promise of omnipresence. Wherever we go, he will lead us: "Where can I go from your Spirit? ... If I go to the edge of the sea or take the wings of the dawn, there you will lead me, your right hand will be upon me."

To be sure, many uncertainties remain. What two men will join me as the pastoral planting team? Where will the funds come from for start up costs and salaries? Who will join our launch team? What is the precise timing of launch? Yet, in the midst of this I know God's call. It is strong and sweet. And I am banking on his promise to lead me and a wife of great faith to follow me.

Reflection on Acts 29 Bootcamp

2006-10-22T20:48:00.000-04:00

Top Things About My Experience at Acts 29 Bootcamp

1. A refreshing and refining sense of call to churchplanting through conversation with my wife and others.

2. Exposure to a churchplanting network that has skillfully appropriated missiology for the N. American context, while retaining a sound, evangelical and reformed theological foundation.

3. A gospel-centered network that sees Jesus and the good news as the cure to a sin-sick church and culture.

4. A good session on missional preaching, including helpful comments on narrative exposition/preaching redemptive-historically by Darrin Patrick.

5. A practical session on establishing a “Religious Corporation” (501C-3).

Bottom Things About My Experience at Acts 29 Bootcamp

1. Unclear communication about the assessment process and practical benefits in becoming an Acts 29 churchplanter, e.g. how is accountability fostered, when if ever will I get a coach, what is the best way to raise support within the network?

2. Very young group of assessors and leaders, but the leadership has to start somewhere!

3. Very little training on the “nuts and bolts” of churchplanting, e.g. how to develop and impart vision, selecting and preparing a launch team, networking for the kingdom, knowing your city/community, launch services, how to review the first year of churchplanting critically.

**Philosophically, theologically, and interpersonally (great group of pastors) I would highly recommend Acts 29 as a churchplanting network, but would equally recommend that a churchplanter also pursue denominational or agency training on the nuts and bolts of churchplanting.

Convergence Culture: Technology, Media & Church

2006-10-22T17:46:00.000-04:00

Henry Jenkins is the founder and director of MIT's comparative media studies program and author of numerous books on technology, media and culture. In Convergence Culture, he advances the idea that new media does not replace old media, but that all media learn to interact with one another in a complex relationship called "convergence culture." For example, T.V. does not replace radio, and internet, T.V., but rather, these media become integrated and shape one another to the extent that they spin out the same content in different forms--Garrison Kieller's "Prarie Home Companion," is first radio, then on the web, then in film. Each manifestation of the same content reshapes and influences it. Perhaps a more modern example is that of The Matrix, a film that has its prequel embedded in animae and its post-quel (?) in video games. The content and story of The Matrix is present in three forms which allow the consumer increasingly complex and creative participation in the storyline.

Jenkins develops the idea of culture convergence alongside the notions of collective intelligence and participatory culture. Collective intelligence is a term coined by sociologists to refer to the benefits of a community pooling its knowledge in a given subject in order to increase the understanding of each individual in the group beyond the limitations of any one individual. In the age of information and of culture convergence we are easily overcome by the steady stream of fact and fiction. Collective intelligence can help us sort through culture convergence.

Participatory culture is evident in our desire to participate in our entertainment e.g. Survivor, American Idol, and Big Brother. These T.V. programs invite the audience to participate in entertainment through surviving, voting, or just living. As Jenkins writes, he aims at revealing the social and cultural impact of convergence upon our communities, industries, schools and governments. The cultural shift that this phenomenon is producing cannot be underestimated. It is influencing the way we think, act, vote, and live.

Jenkins writes: Right now we are mainly using this collective power through our recreational life, but soon we will be using it for more 'serious' purposes ... changing the way religion, education, law, politics, advertising and even the military operate.

The church must respond. What aspects of culture convergence should be embraced and brought into the church? Internet services, local community groups, interest-specific churches, and animated greeters are already in full swing. Can the collective intelligence of the church compete with the collective intelligence of consumers? Can participatory culture go too far in worship services? Artistic expressions in paint, clay and poetry during the preacher's sermons? Can media overload produce theological obscelence?

In case you dont want to read the whole book, here is an article summary

Wright on the Re-Integration of Academics and Theology

2006-10-22T07:46:00.000-04:00

"The to-and-fro in early Christian theology and poetry between creation and new creation, so underplayed in contemporary theology until very recently, offers in fact the matrix of understanding within which this freshly integrated vision of the task of a university and college can be understood. When, as has so often been the case, redemption has been understood in terms of escape from the world of creation, then of course Christian faith understands itself, and is understood by outsiders, in terms of a hiding away from the realities of the world. Faith and public life, religion and politics, private devotion and academic study, are then seen as antithetical. But where the fully biblical vision of God’s action in Jesus Christ is freshly understood in terms of God’s dealing with evil and corruption within the created order in order that the new creation may be born from the womb of the old – when, in other words, we embrace the vision of Colossians 1, built on the rocky foundation of the death and resurrection of Jesus in the way that this glorious Cathedral is built on the solid rock beneath us – then it becomes clear that those who claim that death and resurrection as the centre of their life, those who love Jesus and seek to follow and serve him, are called to be agents of new creation, and that this involves exploring, understanding and celebrating the old creation and discovering its inner dynamic in order the better to pioneer the new world in which the old is to find its glorious fulfilment."

Taken from N. T. Wright's sermon at the Inauguration of Dr David Wilkinson as Principal of St John’s College, Durham, Durham Cathedral, 17 October 2006

Evil and the Justice of God

2006-10-20T13:32:00.000-04:00

N. T. Wright's new book (seems to publish one every quarter!), Evil and the Justice of God is a good introduction to the "new" problem of evil in the 21st century. While it is not a highly technical discussion of the nature of evil, Wright cuts to the chase by considering the role of the cross in solving the problems of evil. The first chapter lays out contemporary events and historical solutions to the problem of evil in an engaging way (I read the first 45 pgs in about 30 minutes). Wright reveals the problems of postmodernism (evil exists, no one is responsible) and modernism (man can over come evil) and sets the course for a supernatural solution to the supernatural evils of our world. If you pick it up, let me know what you think.

Bowling

2006-10-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

Now that I am working for Bowling.com, I have into all things bowling that I might have fun. Check out this video.

Acts 29 Churchplanting Bootcamp

2006-10-16T15:30:00.000-04:00

The next couple of days I will be at the Acts 29 Churchplanting Bootcamp in New York. Audio for previous camps are available at Acts 29's website. Here is a listing of the main sessions for our bootcamp:

#1 Why Plant a Church? (Scott Thomas)

#2 Jesus-Centered Reformed Theology (Daniel Montgomery)

#3 Leading the Mission (Ed Marcelle)

#4 Preaching the Mission of Jesus (Darrin Patrick)

#5 Elders, Deacons, & Members (Darrin Patrick)

#6 Biblical Missiology (Ed Stetzer)

#7 Breaking the Missional Code (Ed Stetzer)

Prayer and the Mission of the Church

2006-10-15T22:26:00.000-04:00

This Sunday's sermon at Lanesville Congregational Church is available on the web: "Prayer and the Mission of the Church"

Misplaced Security and the Promise of New Strength

2006-10-15T21:56:00.001-04:00

Security. It’s something everyone wants, but doesn’t want to want. We all desire the assurance that our health, our families, our jobs, and our ministries will remain and not decline. If you’re like me, you want these assurances without the sense of dependence on other(s). When the noble layer of desire for security is peeled back, beneath festers a bubbly-hot, self-sufficiency—I want to be the source of security—for myself, my family, and yes, even my ministry. Removing this sense can lead to depression or spiritual awakening.

I have been without consistent income and clear ministry direction for months. In April 2005, I began interviewing for full-time ministry positions. It is now October 2006 and next week I will begin a “secular” job to support my family. During this time, I have visited and revisited my sense of calling. Should I be applying for teaching positions? Do I need more pastoral experience before planting a church? Should I apply for doctoral programs? Are there hidden character issues that need serious attention? Why has God chosen to not provide a full-time ministry position, one which I have been preparing for years to fulfill?

The answer that keeps coming back is wait upon the Lord (powerfully captured by Chris Tomlin's new song, "The Everlasting God". As vision for churchplanting grows and strategies begin to unfold, I am committed to planting with two other like-minded pastors and this has been a part of the waiting. However, the waiting goes much deeper. It is faith-growing patience and trust that God wants to cultivate beneath my ambition and in place of my self-security. It is acknowledgment of personal bankruptcy to carry out this vision of cultivating communities of Spirit-led disciples who redemptively engage peoples and cultures through Christ for the glory of God. It is waiting in weakness in order to discover that He alone is my security and strength.

When we wait, by faith and not by frustration, we are offered the rich promise of new strength: “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary” (Isa 40.31). This is a strength that requires weakness and promises wings.

Interestingly, becoming strong through our weakness is God-like. Not only does God give us wings to fly in faith to new heights, but these wings, in turn, can be a godly source of strength and security for others, as we shepherd them into waiting on the Lord.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.” (Ps 91.1-4)

By waiting on the Lord, I am realizing that we gain a new strength, wings from weakness, that image forth God’s wings, his abounding generosity, protection, and love for his children. By waiting upon his provision and timing, his humbling and giving, I am beginning to truly bank on this all-too-familiar promise, a promise that holds out strength for me and for all whom I shepherd, knowing more deeply the superior source and sense of security that come with dwelling under the wings of the Most High.

Sanctification, Bono, & Barth

2006-10-10T18:57:00.000-04:00

In his introduction to U2 By U2, Bono remarks:

"Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time. One of the extraordinary transferences that happen in your spiriutal life is not that your character flaws go away but they start to work for you. You're insecure: you end up a performer who needs applause. I have heard of people having life-changing, miraculous turn-arounds, people set free from addiction after a single prayer, relationships saved where both parties 'let go, and let God'. But it was not like that for me. For all that 'I was lost, I am found', it is probably more accurate to say, 'I was really lost, I'm a little less so at the moment.' And then a little less and a little less again. That to me is the spiritual life. The slow reworking and rebooting of a computer at regular intervals, reading the small print of the service manual. It has slowly rebuilt me in a bettter image. It has taken years though, and it is not over yet.

I think Bono is onto something here. Sure, it's not the Puritan ordo salutis, but perhaps the ordo is a bit too organized, even for the Bible. Barth has said that sanctification is a series of conversions. The idea is that sanctification is salvation (not vice-versa) and salvation is as much a point as it is a process. Gradual change. Even the addict has deeper and more significant sins to deal with than addiction to crack. That's just the surface of the sinner's heart. But the propensity to be addicted just might be a spiritual value--the human impulse to desire, to crave.

Do you think Bono is right? Can spiritual transformation be described as "your character flaws working for you?"? What of his honesty? A dose of that for the evangelical church, starting with numero uno, could go a long way...

Electrolux and Humility

2006-10-10T05:42:00.000-04:00

God's provision can be humbling. As some of you know, we live on the Atlantic Ocean on Boston's North Shore. Our rent--$150 a month--for a two bedroom garage apartment. 229 Summer St is nestled in the woods, on a hill overlooking the ocean. Below is a private beach, beyond is Cape Cod and the city of Boston. The view is stunning. But there's a catch. In exchange for this outstanding rent, I do work on the grounds and errands for our landlords.

Yesterday I broke out the electrolux at my landlord's request. Time to clean the two Lexus SUVs. Ironically, the Electrolux automatic is what I use to vaccum the SUVs. As I was vaccuming, I began to think about the humbling nature of this agreement--I do whatever work they want for cheap rent. I also did some of the weekly duties yesterday, like emptying all thier trash and recycling to take it down to the bottom of the driveway for pick-up. Picked up Poland Springs bottled water and sparkling water with lime and restocked their kitchen. Sometimes I wish I could just take out my own trash, vaccum my own car, and not buy my own fancy water.

But God's desires are greater than mine. He has called me, us, to a life of humble service. Whenever he provides, humility should abound. God's provision, I'm learning, is not only about meeting my physical needs, but also my spiritual needs. I am poor in humility. God wants to make me rich. So he provides a servant-like job in king-like grounds. I am a care-taker, not the king. All that God provides--health, finances, homes, children, respect, vocational success--should be a humbling reminder that I am brokering what is his. My family is his family. My money is his money. My success is his success. Whenever pride peaks at any flourishing in my life, may I always remember the Electrolux and vaccum any hint of hubris with repentace and faith in the gospel-providing God.

U2 By U2

2006-10-06T12:30:00.000-04:00

If you haven't already picked up the new U2 By U2, you're missing out. Of course, if you aren't a U2 fan, you have other issues. Seriously, this is only the third publication in twenty years that carries any kind of U2 authority about the philosophy, life and music of U2. The Unforgettable Fire (also an outstanding album) is now outdated and Bono in Conversation with Mitchka Assayas is, as the title says, mainly about Bono.

U2 By U2 is choc full of photography, complemented by rich biography. A collectable, weighing in at close to 5 lbs, the book belongs on any U2 fan's shelf. Let me know your thoughts on the book, should you pick it up.

Update on Robie

2006-10-04T03:21:00.000-04:00

Thank you for your comments and prayers. Both Owen and Robie are doing very well. Yesterday Robie had a level 2 sonogram to check out the lemon-sized cist. Two nurses and one doctor all confirmed that it is a fibroid- a muscular outgrowth of the uterus. Apparently, 70% of women have them and they serve no purpose (that we know of). Robie has a doctor's appointment in November to follow up on the "melanoma suspicious" cells, which must mean that the doctor isn't too concerned about them.

We have been encouraged by the responses of our friends and family. It's good to be loved.

News on the baby--it's a girl! She is due in February and is forming well and on schedule. With gratitude and praise...

Mark Noll: Evangelicals and Theology of Culture

2006-10-01T10:35:00.000-04:00

In the recent issue of Christianity Today, church historian Mark Noll has written an outstanding article on the historical influences of the 20th century upon Evangelicals: "Where we are Now and How we Got Here." Tracing the wandering steps of evangelical theological integrity and cultural sensitivity, Noll alerts us to the historical influences that push evangelicals from Church-against-Culture to Church-transformer-of-Culture.

Read it here.

Raising Kids to Torah

2006-10-01T05:47:00.000-04:00

The recent issue of N.Y. Times magazine reports the success of child psychologist Wendy Mogel's book,The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children. The book attempts to countner declining parental attention and deficient parenting methods with wisdom from the Torah and the Bible.

Mogel writes: “Jewish wisdom holds that our children don’t belong to us,”“They are both a loan and a gift from God, and the gift has strings attached. Our job is to raise our children to leave us. The children’s job is to find their own path in life. If they stay carefully protected in the nest of the family, children will become weak and fearful or feel too comfortable to want to leave.”

See the magazine for more.

Pray for Robie

2006-09-30T03:43:00.000-04:00

Since I left my family on September 15, a tornado of trials touched down in the Dodson household. I write this from Malaysia, eager to get on the plane which departs tomorrow night for Boston. Over the past three weeks Robie's severe cold turned into walking pneumonia, a biopsy came back as "melanoma suspicious," and, just yesterday, she was informed that there is a "lemon-sized cist" in her body. In addition, she has been caring for our one-year old son, Owen, and carrying our second trimester daughter. Owen has also made trips to the emergency room amidst sickness and difficulty in breathing. On Tuesday, the day after I return, Robie and I will be in Boston for tests regarding the cist. We desparately desire your prayers. This is, no doubt, a time of testing and faith-strengthening in the greatness and goodness of God and a reminder of this curse-ridden, Satan-oppressed world.

All of this comes at a tenuous time of life, a time of transition into churchplanting, a time of family relocation, a time of uncertainty. Nevertheless, we will sing of the lovingkindness of God forever, we will proclaim his faithfulness to generations, beginning with our son. Pray for strength and focused hope in the Lord who works all things together for our everlasting good. In advance, thank you.

Lausanne Younger Leaders Conference in Malaysia

2006-09-26T11:03:00.000-04:00

The Lausanne Movement is currently hosting an international conference of younger leaders from 110 countries in order to advance the cause of global evangelization. This meeting started on 9/24 and will finish on 10/1.

Here is a snapshot from one day of the conference.

Personal devotions were followed by breakfast with a South African, American, New Zealander and an Australian. Afterwards, our small group (Australian, American, Tanzanian, Nigerian, German) met for the third time to share our "life lines" and reflect on God's calling on our lives. The executive director of CCC of Tanzania shared his story--one of early persecution, falling mute, attending an open air evangelistic event attended by 30,000 people, where healing was proclaimed and he was healed without touch. He returned home, put on a tape player, and sang to a large gathering, where people embraced Jesus as Lord. He later received the gift of healing and would walk into hospitals and heal children with burns, lame women, and people near death. This brother is incredibly humble, pursuing his entire country for the gospel and glory of Christ.

This meeting was followed by a workshop on "Building Teams," led by an OMF churchplanter and missions strategist, which proved very helpful for our preparation for churchplanting. After that, I had lunch with another international table and connected with a like-minded Presbyterian pastor, who has been influenced by Keller and is theologically oriented. After that, I went to a meeting to discuss the Lausanne III meeting in 2010, which will hopefully meet Beijing. It was very interesting. Some people want to re-write the Lausanne Covenant (probably not for the best reasons). Doug Birdsall handled the metting with grace and skill, holding the line on the historic 74 document as a basis for evangelical, theological and missiologial unity.

This was followed by a N. America meeting where we discussed what we wanted out of Lausanne and how we would evaluate our experience at Lausanne for success. I connected with more people and had the opportunity to give some input and debate some concepts.

After dinner, we worshipped from 110 tongues and prayed for all the nations for half an hour. This was motivated by a compelling missions presentation by Jason Mandryk, co-author of Operation World. God is at work. During this time God broke my heart not only for the nations, but also for America. So often, the U.S. is overlooked in these conferences. We might be evangelized but there are many that have not received Christ. In many respects, we are an undiscipled nation.

With you taking the whole gospel to the whole world...

Return of the Tolkien

2006-09-19T07:10:00.000-04:00

Houghton Mifflin and Harper Colins have announced the release of a previously unpublished tale by Tolkien called The Children of Hurin, due out next Spring.

According to the AP, Christopher Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on "The Children of Hurin," an epic tale his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Excerpts of "The Children of Hurin," which includes the elves and dwarves of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and other works.

In the U.K.

2006-09-18T10:20:00.000-04:00

I am in historic Cambridge, England today, visiting some good friends, Stephen and Emma Witmer. This picture is taken in front of Trinity College.

Why Plant in Austin?

2006-09-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

It's not infrequent that I get the question, "Why churchplant in Austin? After all, Texas is saturated with churches." The last place on earth I ever thought I would consider planting a church would be in Texas. However, I have discerned at least six reasons why AUSTIN, texas is a compelling and strategic place to plant a new church: 1) Make Disciples ∙ 2) City Ministry ∙ 3) Strategic Value ∙ 4) Theological Distinctives ∙ 5) Missional Potential ∙ 6) Churchplanting Movement

Make Disciples. First, unlike most of Texas, Austin is predominately un and de-churched, with 80-85% not attending church at all. The percentage of unbelief in the gospel is, no doubt, even higher. Many of the urban churches are mainline denominations that have compromised the gospel of Christ (see below). Therefore, the sheer number of outsiders to the gospel of Christ are reason enough for numerous Christ-centered, missional churchplants. New disciples.

City Ministry. Second, to our knowledge there is not a city centre church to serve the needs of the city or to accommodate the rising population of Austin from an evangelical, church-planting perspective. Although there are many churches located downtown, many of these churches are not evangelical, but are mainline churches that have aggressively embraced pluralism. These churches, along with a couple of evangelical churches, however, have collaborated to meet the social needs of the city. Thus, there is a great need for an evangelical city centre church that seeks the eternal good of Austin. City Transformation.

Strategic Value. Third, the strategic kingdom value of planting in Austin cannot be overestimated. Richard Florida has ranked Austin as number two in the top U. S. cities of the Creative class. The Creative class is comprised of high-tech, bohemian-artists, and the educational elite. It is the strongest economic class in the U.S. in comparison to the working and service classes. Austin reflects this description well: high-tech (Motorola, Dell, AMD), bohemian (Austin City Limits, Blanton Museum, 6th Street), and educational elites (University of Texas, etc.) The contributions of this class are not purely economical, but also foster creativity, tolerance, and education wherever they arise. If this class can be reached with the gospel, their cultural and economical capital make them strategic people to redemptively engage the needs of the city, people who can be agents of ethnic, economical and spiritual reconciliation.

However, the societal contributions of the Creative class are not all positive. Although they possess a tolerant attitude, they are rather unconscious of their negative economic and social impact upon the working and service classes, which frequently affects minorities. In general, this class of people is not aware that they are an economic and social class. They are individualistic and merit-driven, which is what makes them succeed in their work. Moreover, their tolerance often only extends to the religious and ethnic elites, those with whom they work, not the minority poor. Due to their indifference and general lack of interest in contributing to social ills, the income gap arises around the booming creative centers, making them potential agents of social, ethnic and spiritual reconciliation. Redemption of Peoples and Cultures.

Missional Potential. The tolerance and economic potential of the creative class draw immigrants from around the world. From 1990-2000, Austin added 85,907 foreign born people to its population, increasing the previous population by 56%. In addition, there are approximately 115 countries represented at the University of Texas in the 4,500 international students who are enrolled. The nations are flooding this city. The population of Austin is divided between White (70%), Hispanic (30% of any race), Black (7%) and Other (13%) ethnic groups. The international population of Austin is on the rise, making the city a strategic center for missional activity and leadership development for the nations. World Missions Launchpad.

Theological Distinctives. Fourth, apart from the Austin Stone Community Church, I am not aware of a Reformed, Missional, Baptist church in Austin with a vision for the city and beyond. Some suburban churches are doing a fine job planting churches in the burbs, but do not have a significant presence in the city. Others are located close to the UT campus with a vision for reaching the student population, but we have not discovered a Reformed city centre church that seeks to promote a Kuyperian vision—the supremacy of Christ over every square inch of society, that seeks the redemption of peoples and cultures through Christ for the glory of God. Thus, the unique confluence of Reformed theology, Baptist sacrament, and Missional identity make another compelling case for this church plant. Reformed in doctrine. Baptist in sacrament. Missional in nature.

Churchplanting Movement. With the population of Austin doubling by 2025 to upwards of two million, there is a rising need for city centre churches that have a commitment to the supremacy of Christ and the good of the city. Coming alongside the long-term vision of The Austin Stone, this churchplant will strategically complement the vision of a churchplanting movement in Texas and beyond of solid churches that devoted to the supremacy of Christ and the transformation of communities, cities, peoples and cultures.

Searching for a Home

2006-09-11T08:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we roamed the city of Austin looking for a home. If you've ever looked to purchase a home, you know that the initial buzz of becoming a homeowner quickly wears off when faced with the number-crunching and tricks of the real estate trade. Starting at 9:30 AM and ending the day at 7:30 PM, we were weary by the time we made it to our friend's house, where we are staying...and this morning we will do it all over again!

When will we move? Fall, Spring, never? Where will we move? East, South, North, Central Austin? Somewhere else? As we continue to walk by faith in our journey towards churchplanting in Austin, I am poignantly reminded that our home is nowhere to be found, or at least the form of our home.

If home is where the heart is, then we will have to wait until the end of the age to kick up our feet. Abraham's life is a parable of this reality. He left his family, home, and culture to obey a call from God which was pretty unclear--"go to a land I will show you." Of course, as with everything with the eternally faithful and covenantal God, it wasn't without a promise: "And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." If Abraham obeyed, God would thrill his heart by making it a conduit of divine blessing...for the whole world. In short, Abraham was promised everything, the universe, if he would follow God.

Our search for a home is no different. The world we walk is our inheritance, but in rare form. God in Christ is redeeming it, peoples and cultures, through the Spirit in partnership with the people of Abraham. The heavenly blessings promised to Abraham are breaking into this curse-ridden world, transforming families, homes, cultures and cities. This is the gospel. This is the promise to Abraham and to my family. It is his promise to you, wherever you go. You are insufficient, but have been called to go and collect on an inheritance purchased by the death of Jesus. Ready this world for the world that is come, his Kingdom, by denying your sufficiency and the satisfaction of home with four walls. Accept the sufficiency of Christ to give you a multi-dimensional home, a new heavens and earth, where the world will be your couch and the universe your ottoman...and until then long for home, home with Christ and his new creation.

Edgy Christian Videos

2006-09-09T09:32:00.000-04:00

These videos from a churchplant in Raleigh, NC do a pretty good job of exposing Christian legalism from a very funny perspective. Be sure to check out the one on "achohol."

Vintage 21

Chuck Colson on Labor Day

2006-09-04T13:58:00.000-04:00

In Celebration of Labor
The Value of a Good Day's Work

September 4, 2006

What does Labor Day mean? For most of us, it's nothing more than a welcome break from what we tend to see as "the daily grind." Work to so many people is simply a necessary evil. The goal in life is putting in enough time to retire and relax.

But that attitude and that goal is contrary to a Christian worldview perspective on work.

Christians have a special reason to celebrate Labor Day, which honors the fundamental dignity of workers, because we worship a God Who labored to make the world—and Who created human beings in His image to be His workers. When God made Adam and Eve, He gave them work to d cultivating and caring for the earth.

In the ancient world, the Greeks and Romans looked upon manual work as a curse, something for lower classes and slaves. But Christianity changed all of that. Christians viewed work as a high calling—a calling to be co-workers with God in unfolding the rich potential of His creation.

This high view of work can be traced throughout the history of the Church. In the Middle Ages, the guild movement grew out of the Church. It set standards for good workmanship and encouraged members to take satisfaction in the results of their labor. The guilds became the forerunner of the modern labor movement.

Later, during the Reformation, Martin Luther preached that all work should be done to the glory of God. Whether ministering the Gospel or scrubbing floors, any honest work is pleasing to the Lord. Out of this conviction grew the Protestant work ethic.

Christians were also active on behalf of workers in the early days of the industrial revolution, when factories were "dark satanic mills," to borrow a phrase from Sir William Blake. In those days, work in factories and coal mines was hard and dangerous. Men, women, and children were practically slaves—sometimes even chained to machines.

Then John Wesley came preaching and teaching the Gospel throughout England. He came not to the upper classes, but to the laboring classes—to men whose faces were black with coal dust, women whose dresses were patched and faded.

John Wesley preached to them—and in the process, he pricked the conscience of the whole nation.

Two of Wesley's disciples, William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury, were inspired to work for legislation that would clean up abuses in the workplace. At their urging, the British parliament passed child-labor laws, safety laws, and minimum-wage laws.

But here in America we've lost the Christian connection with the labor movement. In many countries, however, from Canada to Poland, that tradition still remains strong.

Much of our culture has a distinctly Greek view of work: We work out of necessity. But, you see, we are made in the image of God and as such we are made to work—to create, to shape, to bring order out of disorder.

So this Labor Day, remember that all labor derives its true dignity as a reflection of the Creator. And that whatever we do, in word or deed, we should do all to the glory of God.

Mini-Sermon (a young preacher's dread)

2006-09-01T15:08:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked to give a "mini-sermon." Yep, that's what they called it. Ten minutes of preaching, no more, to a 50/50 crowd of christians and non. So I decided to tackle a light topic- Who is God?

Here is the unedited manuscript. Feel free to critique it. Upon reflection, learning to communicate Scripture in ten minutes is probably a really good exercise, especially for young preachers.

Who is God and How Do we Know Him?

Welcome to Trinity Church. For many of you this may be the first time to be with us (it is our first official Sunday!). We especially welcome you. The vision of Trinity church is to cultivate communities of Spirit-led disciples who redemptively engage peoples and cultures through Christ for the glory of God. There’s a lot packed into that, but this morning I’d like to draw your attention to one phrase “for the glory of God.” We exist because God exists. God made us and remade us to be truly human, to enjoy and reflect him in all we do. Therefore, we believe that the ultimate purpose for our personal, cultural and social activity is for him, for his praise, glory, honor. Since we exist for God, I’d like to explore a fundamental question with you for the next few minutes—“Who is God?” and, related, “How do we know Him?”

Who is God?
No matter why you came this morning or what you believe, this is an all important question: “Who is God?” If you consider yourself a Christian, this question should always be important, but many of us it isn’t. Many of us think that because we can answer this question correctly, that the question is no longer relevant. But I suggest that there will be many at the gates of Heaven who will get this question right, but will not enter into heaven.

If you are theist, you believe God exists, but you are not part of worshipping community, or don’t really give God a name, you content yourself with the fact that you believe God exists, this question is important because believing that God exists is one thing, knowing him is another. For instance, I can believe my wife exists, but knowing her is something much different, much more personal. Knowing God is no different. Believing he exists doesn’t translate to knowing him.
Perhaps others of you don’t have a clue “what” you believe. You might be the most honest people in the room. You know that this question—who is God—is a question that has been asked by all cultures throughout all time. You know it is important, perennial, and pressing and you’re here because you want to know God.

God is Trinity
Who is God? God is Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three persons, one God. Baffling isn’t it? Clint Eastwood/Frankie Dunn of the movie Million Dollar Baby also thought so. Perhaps you remember one of the opening scenes from the movie, when CE is at mass and he talks with the priest afterward? Priest asks what’s confusing him. CE says it’s the Trinity. The Priest says it all comes down to faith. This is partly true. But its not faith in the irrational. Its not irrational belief in God, but trust in an incomprehensible triune God. The Trinity raises a lot of questions, which, if you stick around, we’d love to explore with you. For now, along with Clint Eastwood/Frankie Dunn, we’ll admit that the Trinity is confusing—3 in 1, 1 in 3. BUT just because we can’t know God comprehensively, doesn’t mean we can’t know him at all. God is knowable and incomprehensible, otherwise he wouldn’t be God.

So, how do we know God is Trinity—Father, Son and Spirit? Well, our vision statement assumes this—we are seeking to cultivate communities of Spirit-led disciples who redemptively engage peoples and cultures thru Christ for the glory of God. But why should you trust us, a new church—we could be a cult or something. Well, God as Trinity is a historic confession that goes back to the Council of Nicea in the early fourth century. The Nicean Creed (381): “And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified...” Here we have the three persons of the Trinity, all equally worshipped as God, something the historic Christian church has recognized as true for 17 centuries. But just because our claim is old, doesn’t make it true. Edward Gibbons, in the Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, laments the outcome of Nicea, asserting that it was the result of heavy handed politics. In order to answer the question, “Who is God,” something greater than mere history is necessary. Something more reliable than human speculation…we need God to tell us who he is…and he has done so in the Bible. Now, if you have a hard time believing that the Bible is without error, I’d be happy to discuss that with you after the service. For now, I invite you to consider it’s claims; God’s claims.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus commands the beginning church: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Here Jesus informs his followers that when someone is baptized, when they are identified with the people of God, that they are recognizing God as Father, Son and Spirit. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, concurs: “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” The repeated plural pronoun indicates that the Creator God is plurality. Finally, the apostle Paul writes to an early church at Corinth: “For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," [triune Creator-God] has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Just six verses earlier, Paul informs us that knowing God in Jesus happens through the Spirit. So once again, we have Father, Son and Spirit this time collaborating to recreate and reveal God to us, answering both questions: “Who is God AND how do we know Him?” Who is God? He is the triune Creator and Recreator who reveals himself to humanity.

How do we Know God?
How, then, can we know him? According to 2 Cor 4.6, the only way to know God is to see Jesus: For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” If we want to know God, we must see Jesus. You see, the knowledge of God is not just mental. It is not sufficient to know that God exists or even that God is Jesus, we must receive light on our hearts. The knowledge of God is not just ethical. It is not sufficient to live moral lives, feed the poor, and contribute to charities. Even patterning your life after Jesus, going to church and attending Bible studies does not equal knowing God.

The knowledge of God is personal. It is light upon the heart. In Paul’s day the heart included the whole person, mind, will, and affection. What he is telling us is, that in order to know God we must see the face of Jesus. But the face of Jesus, like a shadowy photograph, cannot be seen without light on the heart. What is light upon the heart? It is at least two things: illuminating and warming. Like the sun, God reveals himself by clarifying who he is and warming us to him. When the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shines in our hearts, it doesn’t bypass the mind—it informs us that Jesus is God and that he died for our refusal to accept and honor him. But the knowledge of God ALSO warms the affections, transforms the heart, leading us into an intimate knowledge of Jesus, the Father and the Spirit. Where does the light shine? Not a room, or a study, but a heart. Light transforms. It transforms the heart, the affections, the entire person. Light illuminates the mind and transforms the heart. It changes your disposition towards God and everything else. It makes you desire God and worship Jesus because he is God. C.S. Lewis, “I believe in Christianity as I believe in the sun because by it I see everything else.”

A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future

2006-09-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

Some of you might be familiar with Robert Webber of "Future Ancient" fame. Webber is a prof at Northern Seminary whose writing, speaking and teaching has focused on the relevance of the ancient church- a refreshing perspective in all the highly caffinated ideas about being relevant and contextualized. Most recently, Webber has been working on a project that combines the old and the new, a web-based research project to determine the state of Evangelicals in the U.S. and how to call them to ancient reform.

An article in CT provides a quick glimpse into what this is all about. Webber comments on how the gospel story should impact the church:

"God has always been about the business of creating a people to witness to himself. God calls a family into being with Abraham, calls a nation into being with Moses. And now God has called a universal body of people, the church, to be a continuation of the presence of Jesus in the world and thus a witness to the reality of God and to God's story.

I'm asking people to see all of history through the story of God. God's story is the substance of the church, its worship, its spirituality, and its life in the world."

The project calls for a return to living in the narrative of Scripture in a bolder, more counter-cultural way. This is detailed in the online document called, "A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future."

Here is the TOC:

Prologue

1. On the Primacy of the Biblical Narrative

2. On the Church, the Continuation of God's Narrative

3. On the Church's Theological Reflection on God's Narrative

4. On Church's Worship as Telling and Enacting God's Narrative

5. On Spiritual Formation in the Church as Embodiment of God's Narrative

6. On the Church's Embodied Life in the World

Epilogue

It's worth skimming through to get a pulse where people think N. American Evangelicals need reform and for a model of applied biblical theology.

Read the whole thing here.

Fatherhood and the Continental Divide

2006-08-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

Last week I hiked up to the Continental Divide in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with my son on my back. The extra weight made it an arduous hike, but it was incredibly inspiring. As I exhaled in awe and in exercise, it occured to me that hiking my son to the Continental Divide is much like fathering.

Like any father, I desire the best things for my son-good friendships, health, joy, stability, and faith in Christ. Some of these things I can cultivate, but in the end only Owen's Creator can give them. Above all, I want Owen to encounter and enjoy the triune God through Jesus. We pray for him and sing spiritual songs to him every night. We continually ask God to give Owen faith, to remake him into the image of Jesus, to make him truly human by rescuing him from his selfishness.

Owen is divided by his sin from God. Through love, prayer, relationship, instruction and discipline, I can take Owen only so far...to the edge of the continental divide between this "present evil age" and the age to come, between sin and salvation. I cannot bridge the divide for him. Carrying him on my back to reach the Continental Divide was difficult, but bridging the divide is even harder, impossible. This requires death, and mine will not suffice. Only Jesus can collapse the divide between Owen and God, only Jesus in his death and resurrection, something that only Owen can embrace for himself. My faith will not suffice.

I can only take Owen so far. But God in Christ can take anyone who is far away and bring them near to him into everlasting joy and life in relationship with the triune God in this age and the age to come (Eph 2.17-18). Come Jesus, come Spirit, and collapse the divide for my son, that he might enter into fullness of joy with his Heavenly Father and his humanity be restored.

Significance by Works

2006-08-23T11:49:00.000-04:00

I have been living on devotional snacks lately, thirty minutes here, fifteen there. These times are genuine but barely substantial enough for the demands of daily discipleship. The past ten days have been crammed with four plane trips, two long distance drives, intense churchplanting examination, testing, networking and research. In all of this there can be a subtle seduction towards finding significance in works.

This morning I woke up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. After the usual demands of fatherhood (with an intensely morning-sick wife), I finally settled down into some uncluttered, unrestrained time. I pondered, email or communion with God? Some of those emails might be really important, related to our future, to churchplanting. I could get some work done before everyone else gets up. So went my thinking. But the Spirit won out.

Ephesians two. For grace you have been saved through faith…not a result of works. We are created in Christ Jesus for good works which he prepared beforehand that we might walk in them. What higher good works could there be than churchplanting? Emailing, networking for the kingdom of Christ, for the good of the world? After all, we were created for good works, predestined ones!

Paul continues. He tells us he wants us to remember something in light of the good works we have been created for—you were Gentiles in the flesh, separate from Christ, strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and God…but now, in Jesus, you have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace…the cornerstone of the living temple.

As I read this familiar passage with new light, I was struck not only by the repudiation of salvation by works, but also of significance by works. We are created for works, predestined works, which does not imply that our former createdness was works-free. There were plenty of works, things we did before Christ to obtain significance. The crazy thing is that after Christ I sometimes live pre-Christ, pre-gospel, and my works form the basis for my significance (though they would never do so for my bygone salvation!).

Significance by works is deadly. When I choose ministry over my Lord, I seek significance in what I do rather than who I have become. I ignore new creation and return to the old. Jesus promises the peace, the significance and the acceptance I hunger for. Works, as good as they may be, cannot replace the Incarnation of peace, restoration, acceptance, significance in the embrace of Jesus. He himself is our peace, not ministry or anything else.

We get peace plus, the warm acceptance of Jesus no matter how fleshly we can be. Nothing can beat that. The plus is that Jesus fits us into his living temple, breathes the joy of worship into our hearts, carrying us from individual significance to community worship of the divine community. Living life in the eternal temple.

Man, this was better than devotional snacks.

Planting a Church...

2006-08-19T18:04:00.000-04:00

Thanks for your prayers and emails regarding our exploration of Churchplanting. This week was filled with a barrage of tests (Strength Finders, DISC, Golden Personality), observation, interviews, group projects, etc by Teamerica. This was followed by two exit interviews and FIRST STEPS churchplanting training with Gary Rohrmayer (recently requested to direct Acts 29 by Mark Driscoll, but turned down). The assessment was intense and the training super.

We passed! Teamerica recommended we pursue some churchplanting expereince, which is preciesly what we will be doing in Austin over the weekend. Please pray for our conversations with churches there. We'll keep you posted.

Very exciting times...

Churchplanting?

2006-08-10T20:13:00.000-04:00

This Sunday Robie and I begin a week of churchplanting assessment and training with Teamerica, one of the most highly rated assessment centers in the country (though you could'nt tell it from thier website). Teamerica is associated with the Baptist General Conference (BGC).

This is a rigorous process and includes testing, discussion, presentations, preaching, etc. We would be grateful for your prayers during this week as we seek God's leading for the future. We'll keep you posted on the developments!

The Jesus Gospel

2006-08-09T08:24:00.000-04:00

Liam Goligher, the pastor of Duke Street church in Richmond, Surrey, has produced a new work, a biblical theology of substitutionary atonement, in response to the child-abuse atonement views of Steve Chalke and company in the U.K. The Jesus Gospel:Recovering the Lost Message has been released in the U.K.for which you can read a review at BeginningwithMoses.org Goligher also addresses Open Theism and 'the new perspectives on Paul' in an effort to restore confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Rico Tice endorses it saying: ‘This outstanding book walks straight out of the text of Colossians 1:28: “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom.”

Here is the Table of Contents:

* Act 1 Scene 1 - The message Jesus never lost: John 17
* Act 1 Scene 2 - East of Eden: Genesis 3
* Act 1 Scene 3 - Wet, wet, wet: Genesis 6
* Act 1 Scene 4 - Generation eXodus: Exodus 12
* Act 1 Scene 5 - Yom Kippur: Leviticus 16
* Act 2 Scene 1 - The scandal of forgiveness - Psalm 51
* Act 2 Scene 2 - Wounded for me - Isaiah 53
* Act 2 Scene 3 - The main event - Mark
* Act 3 Scene 1 - The Cross examined - Romans
* Act 3 Scene 2 - The great exchange - 2 Corinthians 5
* Act 3 Scene 3 - God is love - 1 John
* Act 3 Scene 4 - In his steps - 1 Peter
* Act 3 Scene 5 - Our great high priest - Hebrews
* Act 3 Scene 6 - The lamb wins - Revelation
* Notes

Pirates of the Carribean and Bible Reading

2006-08-06T10:13:00.000-04:00

The Connecting Church

2006-07-26T10:29:00.000-04:00

If you're like me (or the fictional Bob and Karen Johnson), genuine community is hard to come by, even in small groups. Ever find yourself frustrated by the low-level of relational connections at church? Have small groups, no matter how small, ever failed to meet your expectations, your need, of community? Have you ever deliberately avoided talking to a neighbor because you felt like you didn't have time to talk? If so, I encourage you to read two books--Kindgom of Couches (which i posted on earlier) and The Connecting Church: Beyond Small Groups to Authentic Community. If Walker's book focuses more on the inner workings of community, Frazee focuses on the outer obstacles and structural solutions to a culture rife with individualism.

Former pastor of Pantego Bible in Arlington, Texas, Randy Frazee lays out a simple, straightforward critique and cure to the ills of the Evangelical church's lack of significant, authentic community. Small groups won't cut it. Something greater, more systemic is at odds with our need for community. Frazee writes: "The church of the twenty-first century must do more than add worlds [i.e. personal world, parent world, etc.] to an already overbooked society; it must design new structures that help people simplify their lives and deveop more meaning, depth, purpose and community." (37) Frazee delivers. He gives us vision and structure for more satisfying community.

The obstacles of individualism, isolationism, and consmerism are critiqued by Frazee through his pastoral experience and sociological analysis (Locke, Meeks, etc). These ills are offered a cure through three main venues: Common Purpose, Common Place, and Common Possessions. The book is full of pastoral insights, some of which can be found on (49, 67, 82-3, 92). I'll just give some broadstrokes here.

Common Purpose - Too many churches don't really share common beliefs. Sure, the church has a statement of faith, and members sign off on it, but most churches fail to shepherd thier flock into a common creed. This raises Frazee's more questionable solution, identifying 52 values (community), beliefs (Trinity), and practices (social justice) that constitute his preaching calendar. It seems to me that the biblical interpretation will inevitably be forced to fit the mold of his Spiritual Formation Calendar. Nevertheless, the critique rings true and the solution is to more faithfully catechize, not just doctrinally, but also practically.

Common Place - Frazee essentially argues for a return to the neighborhood concept, where your neighbors really are people you hang out with. He recommends several Christians moving into a neighborhood to deliberately pursue community and outreach, making small groups geographic-specific and involvement intensive. Alongside these small, neighborhood groups, he recommends larger, mid-size groups, composed of regional small groups for the purpose of corporate teaching instructionand fellowship. The large worship service is reserved for inspiration and preaching.

Common Possessions - It's not what you think. Frazee doesn't recommend forming a commune and sharing everything you own- one T.V. per 10 families- no. Instead, he recognizes in Acts a willingness to and practice of sharing one's possessions. He suggests several key characteristics: interdependence (consider how you can share your resources, not just add to them), intergenerational life (seek the wisdom possessed by others), sacrifice (giving to others, even when it hurts), responsibility (recognize the biblical imperative to care for others), and children (include them, no matter how difficult, in small groups).

More could be said. I'll leave you to read it. Suffice it to say, this book will significantly shape the structure of my approach to community. One thing the book lacks is a biblical motivation for community (the gospel- forgiveness for failure and strength for victory). It is, at times, hyper-optomistic, but it does cast a vision.

Augustine and the Beggar, Nacho Libre and Glory

2006-07-18T15:03:00.000-04:00

St Augustine tells the story of passing by an inebriated beggar on his way to deliver a speech. As, he passed the drunk, he noted that this beggar was making jokes, in great spirits, possessing a joy, albeit temporary, that he himself did not possess. Augustine recollects his feeling of being "dragged along by his unhappiness," in pursuit of glory, recognition before men as a great orator. The beggar was full of temporary joy and Augustine with persistent worry. Augustine was concerned about the outcome of his speech. Would it rouse the applause, the awe of men?

He pondered the estate of the beggar. He was torn. Partially envious of the beggar, of his joy, and on the other hand, assured that he had the more noble vocation and higher learning. Augustine wanted to be both himself and the beggar, joyful and praised. The beggar found his joy in wine, Augustine in glory. In his reflection, Augustine concluded that they were both bereft of true joy and true glory.

He opens this narrative with the following line: "I looked with longing at honors, wealth, and marriage, and you laughed at me. Perhaps wealth is no great longing for us, but what of honors and marriage? What of people who like our sermons, people who read our articles, people who are amazed at our insights? Ahh, and marriage, what a haven, a place of untold acceptance, banishing loneliness forever and inviting unwavering intimacy of every kind? These things do not offer true glory or true joy, but call us beyond themselves to deeper joy, and perfect glory.

All men seek glory--praise, acceptance, recognition, worth. I was struck by this fact when watching the very funny Nacho Libre. Nacho (Ignacio), a cook in a Mexican monastery, sets his sights on becoming a Lucha Libre wrestler, a famed wrestler. Wrestling by night and cooking by day, Nacho's dual lifestyles are in conflict. Wrestling is not permitted by the church priests. Nevertheless, he pursues the glory of "winning" and hearing the crowds shout his name. Nacho is seeking glory, fame, worth, acceptance. It is the heartbeat of every human.

The only path to true glory and acceptance is through Jesus and in God the Father. Those who set their sights on a life of faith-filled following after Christ will be met with the glorious words: "Well done, my good and faithful servant" (Matt 25:23). Our praise is from God (1 Cor 4.5). The pursuit of glory was placed in the heart of men, a glory that can only be conferred by the infinitely glorious one, an acceptance and praise that flows from the king of Glory and to whom our glory bows.

True glory, true joy can only be found in the gospel of the glorious God. All other glories and joys must bow before Him, well crafted, well delivered sermons, godly marriages, and great wealth. Augustine recalls his deliverance from petty glory and fleeting desires: "Amidst such desires I suffered most bitter troubles, but your mercy was so much greater according as you let nothing prove sweet to me that was apart from yourself. Behold my heart, O Lord, for it is your will that I recall all this to memory and confess it to you! Now let my soul cleave to you, for you have freed it from so fast a snare of death...so that it might leave all things and be converted to you, who are above all things, and without whom they would be nothing." (Confession, VI.6.9)

Colson, Bono, Kidd and Worship

2006-07-13T17:48:00.000-04:00

Chuck Colson has a good, brief Breakpoint on Worship this week. Bono and Reggie Kidd weigh in beautifully.

The Journal of Biblical Counseling (and my first article in print)

2006-07-13T11:17:00.000-04:00

If you are looking for soul-nourishing, heart-instructing, mind-renewing resources on anything from battling cancer to Accountability groups, the Spring issue of The Journal of Bibilcal Counselingoffer it! The issue opens with John Piper and David Powlison addressing the issue of cancer from thier own current battles in "Dont Waste Your Cancer." In fact, the JBC and its parent ministry CCEF offer great counseling resources from a Reformed perspective.

Yes, and it so happens that this issue also contains my first printed article on "Accountability Groups." I hope you find the articles a blessing. The issue can be purchased for $8.00 here

Missional Conversation: Speaking With the Gospel in Your Heart

2006-06-30T16:10:00.000-04:00

Missional prayer leads to conversational mission. As Tom Nelson has said, it isn’t sufficient to stand on a shovel and pray for a hole. The gospel of Christ and the Christ of the gospel do not call us to prayer and inaction. He calls us to prayer and mission. Prayer and mission go hand in hand and are not optional; they are essential. Paul tells us to conduct ourselves with wisdom towards outsiders. What wisdom? The wisdom is living like Christ, living redemptively. In Christ are hidden all the riches of wisdom and knowledge. Who are the outsiders? The outsiders are the Gentiles, the nations, those outside the temple-city of Zion that God has called us to pray for and converse with. They are your co-workers and your neighbors, your family and your friends. How do we make the most of our time? This could be translated “redeem the time.” We redeem the time with our seasoned speech, our words of witness, with our conversations. This brings to mind Col 4.4-7:

pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

When Paul requested prayer for a door for the word, he also asked that he would speak clearly. He could have used any word to describe this witness—proclaim, preach, announce, declare—but he chose conversational words: speak, answer, speech. Preaching is just one way for the gospel to be communicated. Conversation is an equally important way. We need to speak the mystery of Christ in the vernacular of the culture. This means we need to know Christ and live Christ, to think theologically and live redemptively. We are to do so with grace, which does not mean you should memorize pat apologetic answers. We are to consider each person, which does not mean win the argument, lose the person. Instead, we need to engage in missional conversation, conversation that lovingly and relevantly presents the gospel and looks to God to open the door of the heart. David Powlison says we should do three things in conversation: 1) listen to others’ stories 2) empathize with their story and 3) redemptively retell their story.

A number of weeks ago, I walked into the Sportsman to get my haircut by Marlene. As she was cutting, we began talking.(I have known Marlene for several years, and as far as I can tell, she is not a disciple of Christ.) I looked for an opportunity to listen and to love, to find a place in the conversation where the gospel could speak…and the door opened. After some conversation about God and life, she shared: “I second guessed God this week.” So I asked her how. She told be about a highway patrolman who died last week, leaving a wife and seven kids behind. “That’s terrible, awful,” I said. “Where did it happen?” “Why?” she asked. “Why does he allow stuff like that?” I replied by telling her that was a good question, a difficult question. I asked he if she knew how the car wreck happened. She didn’t. I told her that God does care about that kind of stuff, but so does Satan. Satan wants it to happen and causes suffering. But, I said, he won’t forever because God has promised to right all wrongs, to secure justice forever; it’s just a matter of time. I continued, “The world is fallen; it’s a screwed up place. There’s all kinds of crap. But Satan isn’t the only problem. We’re also the problem. People are responsible for what they do—drugs, rape, and alcohol if it was involved in the accident. Stuff like this accident reminds us of our need for redemption. The world isn’t as it should be, but that’s why Jesus died, to set it all straight. She just listened. I continue to pray. God calls us to missional prayer and conversational mission. In fact, missional prayer will always lead to conversational mission.

Just Back from Vacation with Jonathan Edwards

2006-06-22T13:14:00.000-04:00

I've been out of the blogosphere for a few days since we were on vacation. I had a incredibly relaxing and edifying time with my wife, son, parents and Jonathan Edwards.

We spent a few days in the Stockbridge area, nestled in the Berkshire mountains of Western Mass. After being dismissed from his Northampton church, Jonathan Edwards spent ten years in Stockbridge, where he wrote Freedom of the Will, Original Sin, and the Nature of Virtue, prior to his short-lived presidency at Princeton.

We also made our way to Northampton, where Edwards preached for twenty-one years. The town has changed significantly, very little evidence of Edwards or his legacy remain (though Edwards scholar, Richard Lovelace lives there). We did have the privilege of standing on a step preserved from Edwards' church, but apart from that the church is no longer standing.

Perhaps it is fitting to wrap up with a quote from Edwards. Commenting on the centrality of Christ to all things, in creation and consummation, he writes:

"God had a design before the foundation of the world of gathering all things to himself. Since all things are of him and through him, so he intended they should be to him and also of uniting all chosen creatures one to another in one society in perfect union, one unto another. When he made the world, it was with this purpose. When he made heaven and made the angels in it, it was with this design. When he made this lower world and made man in it, it was with this design. His Son was the person pitched upon and chosen of God, by whom and in whom this great event should be brought about. He was to be the head of the union, that all might be united in him and by him to himself. Therefore, God created all things by Jesus Christ (Eph 3.9-11)."

Taken from his sermon, Jesus Christ is the Great Mediator and Head of Union in Whom All Elect Creatures in Heaven and Earth Are United to God and to One Another

How Do Husband's Love Thier Wives? Insight from David Gray

2006-06-14T22:23:00.000-04:00

Here's some insight on love, partially gleaned from David Gray, that I shared with my church recently.

The love your husbands are to give you is not lollipop love, all sweetness and no substance. Love isn’t romance—dates, dinner, dancing, and dressing up. Love isn’t gifts—roses, rings, sewing machines, and new shoes. It isn’t the scripted words of David Decoveny (?), Brad Pitt, or Mel Gibson. God and your husband offer much more than romance, gifts, and scripts.

David Gray, perhaps the 21st century James Taylor, is an incredible song-writer and musician. His latest album, Life in Slow Motion, contains a song that articulates exactly what love is without God.

“Ain’t No Love” goes:

Maybe that it would do me good
If I believed there were a god
Cut in the starry firmament
But as it is that’s just a lie
And I'm here eating up the boredom
On an island of cement
Give me your ecstasy I'll feel it
Open window and I'll steal it
Baby like it’s heaven sent

This ain’t no love that’s guiding me
This ain’t no love that’s guiding me

Some days i'm bursting at the seams
with all my half remembered dreams
and then it shoots me down again
i feel the dampness as it creeps
I hear you coughing in your sleep
beneath a broken window pane
tomorrow girl i'll buy you chips
a lollipop to stain your lips
and it’ll all be right as rain

This ain’t no love that’s guiding me

In case you dont know it, David Gray is an atheist, an honest atheist as far as I can tell. His brutal honesty exposes love for what it is apart from God. If our wives are not made in the image of God and loved with the love of Christ, they are reduced to relational, sexual, and emotional objects, wells for male "ecstasy." No sacrifice, just satisfaction. No substance, just sweetness—-lollipop love.

But, in Jesus, love is more than romance, gifts, and scripts, than buying chips and lollipops for the one you love. More than a relational, emotional, or sexual hight. In Christ, there’s more than lollipop love.

It has been said that love is as strong as death. So it was with Christ. His love led to his death. Your love for your wife should be that strong. Death to your perceived rights and desires in order to promote the holiness and happiness of your wife. Death to your right to not do the dishes because you worked all day. Death to your desire to not change another diaper. Death to your spiritual sloth which makes excuses to not pray with and for your wife. Death to your desire to be right, to win the argument, to hurt her with harsh and angry words. Self-dying love gives life.

We can give life--love--to our wives by loving them according to their love language. Stay with me. Do you know how to love your wife? What communicates love to her? Time, Gift, Service, Communication, Touch? All of these are important for everyone, whether they acknowledge it or not, but some tend to communicate love more strongly than others. My wife likes to receive gift love. Early in marriage I confused this with money love. Robie does not feel love from gifts based on how much they cost, but on the fact that I took the time, thought and energy to think of her and express it concretely. I give her love she can hold when I buy her something. It took me a while to catch onto this. And its not my natural inclination to buy Robie something. Gift love is not my love language, so I don’t naturally think this way. Plus, I tend to be pretty cheap, unless of course, it comes to buying a computer. Early on I thought it my duty to “protect” her from materialism. That’s not what was going on. The point is that love thinks the way others think. We get into our wives’ mindset, we know them, we affectionately study them. Peter says it like this: “husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way….” (1 Pet 3.7). Literally, live with them according to knowledge. Study, know and love your wife. Husbands, love your wives.

Mohler and Patterson Debate and Discuss Calvinism and Mission

2006-06-14T18:57:00.000-04:00

This week, at the 2006 SBC Pastors Conference, Al Mohler (Southern Seminary) and Paige Patterson (Southwestern Seminary) debated and discussed the implications of Calvinism for mission. See Thabiti's blog for a rough transcript.

This is refreshingly informative and winsome, unlike many theological debates. Here are two interesting quotes:

Patterson:
"I cannot subscribe to Calvinism because I am a Baptist. As Richard Muller in his article, “How many points?” (1993 Calvin Journal), points out, Calvinism is a system and Baptists are inconsistent for not buying into the entire system of Calvinism including church-state relations and infant baptism."

Mohler:
"I’ve said it before, there are two impossible persons. The person who doesn’t wish to respond but is drawn to Christ against his will, and those who wish to respond but can’t."

Bill Gates and IJM vs. Sex Trafficking

2006-06-13T17:16:00.000-04:00

Bill and Melinda Gates have donated $5 million to International Justice Mission, a splendid Christian justice agency, earmarking it to combat sex trafficking in the launch of Project Lantern.

Tim Keller - Lord of the Wine

2006-06-12T18:30:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my friend, Stew, I found a bunch of free Keller sermons. I haven't actually listened to many on his sermons, but of those I have listened to, his "Lord of the Wine" is one of the best.

This exposition of Jesus' first miracle at Cana demonstrates biblical theology in preaching at its finest. Without overwhelming his audience with numerous textual connections, Keller makes a compelling case for why Jesus' first miracle was so insignificant (water-to-wine, as opposed to resurrection-from-the-dead) and yet stirred Jesus, and should stir us, so powerfully.

Rethinking Reaching the Unreached

2006-06-08T10:18:00.000-04:00

With the introduction of Ralph Winter's revolutionary "Unreached People Groups" address at Lausaune 1974, the missionary enterprise took a decidedly ethnic (as opposed to national) turn. The subsequent momentum of the unreached peoples strategies, agencies, research and theories could not have been predicted. All of this has provided both fuel and focus for the 20th century world mission of the church and continues to shape missions strategies into the 21st century. Unfortunately, reaching the unreached is not as easy as western missions strategies often make it appear.

For example, when working among the Shan-Dai of SE Asia, Surehope teams from GCTS/OMF International discovered that identifying which tribal peoples were Shan-Dai and which were not was not exact science (as it turns out, there are upwards of 18 shades of Shan). A diasporate people, the Shan have crossed ethnic and national boundaries, blending with other cultures in order to gain work permits and social acceptance. To rework a quote by Charles Spurgeon, we cannot untuck the shirttails of the Shan in order to preach the gospel to them, therefore we must proclaim the gospel to all peoples. Unreached people strategies have thier limits.

Globalization and the rise of the Creative class have also introduced limits or, at the very least, force us to rethink reaching the unreached. Various unreached peoples are flooding urban centers as two-thirds world immigrants and refugees seek economic stability and political asylum in the West. Many of these non-western peoples represent areas and peoples that are considered unreached. For instance, various Indian people groups enter the hi-tech industry, which is part of rhe creative class.

Richard Flordia, professor of public policy at George Mason University and author of The Rise of the Creative Class, has pointed out that the Creative class possesses the greatest economic capital at present, over and against the working and service classes, and is concentrated in cities. Moreover, cities house half of the world's population, yet not all cities are created equal. Detroit, for example is driven by the working class, Las Vegas, the service class, and San Francisco, the creative class. The creative class is comprised of individuals that use knowledge to thier economic advantage to innovate and stimulate economic growth in the hi-tech, visual, aural, and educational fields.

Perhaps reaching the unreached should be refocused, at least in urban centers, to infiltrate the creative class. Moreover, the economic power of the creative class holds great potential for unleashing resources to spread the whole gospel to the whole world, to stimulate economically depressed areas and to raise the standard of living for the otherwise polarized classes. Several barriers, however, confront any focus on the creative class to reach the unreached. Strangely similar to the plight of the Shan, cultural mixing and stripping occurs in the creative class. Ethnic diversity, while affirmed among members of the Creative class, is globalized by the culture created by the Creative class. Flordia has pointed out several hallmarks of the "creative culture"--meritocracy, individuality, diversity--which are both good and bad. The point, however, is not to assess the value of thier values, but to realize that those unreached peoples working in the creative class have been enculturated into a rather different culture. Whatever our approach to reaching the unreached, the rise of the creative class must be taken into account.

U2 and New Album

2006-06-06T21:41:00.000-04:00

Bono is taking a hiatus from Africa and activism to unpack his new piano-driven song writing. He will join U2 this month to begin working on a new album. For more click here.

Student Volunteer Movement II

2006-06-06T20:55:00.000-04:00

If you're not aware of it, a new Student Volunteer Movement (SVM) has begun in an attempt to lauch and support a new grassroots mission movement in the tradition of Adoniram Judson and the Haystack Prayer Revival.

You can sign up for updates and partner with others to promote the world mission of the church at thier website, www.svm2.net

2006-06-04T18:44:00.000-04:00

If you are looking for a book on the slavery imagery and issues of the New Testament, Murray Harris' book,

Slave of Christ: A New Testament Metaphor for Total Devotion to Christ is outstanding.

International Day of Prayer for North Korea

2006-06-04T18:34:00.000-04:00

The Asia Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization just announced 25 June,the day that the Korean War broke out, as the international Day of Prayer for North Korea. Korean Christians are requesting assistance that all Christians around the world join them in prayer for salvation of 25 million North Koreans.

Note the date in your calendar and paste the following prayer needs:
a. Freedom of religion be granted in North Korea
b. North Korean defectors be recognized as refugees so that they will be guaranteed the freedom of residence, c. The divided Korean Peninsula be reunited by the Gospel.

Help Pass the Federal Marriage Protection Amendment

2006-06-02T15:06:00.000-04:00

Join the grassroots movement to flood our senators offices with messages for the preservation of marriage between a man and a woman in support of the Senate vote on the Federal Marriage Protection Amendment on June 5 by going here

N. T. Wright on Engaging Culture

2006-06-01T13:42:00.000-04:00

Check out this excerpt from N. T. Wright's address to Seatle Pacific University. The full transcript is here and addresses the ubiquitous Da Vinci Code.

"The task of engaging the culture with the Christian gospel and so working to transform the world always includes three elements. First, we must speak truthfully about Jesus of Nazareth, and explain how it is what we discover who God is by looking at him. Second, we must do so in full engagement with the world of our own day, understanding its ebbs and flows, its fashions and follies, the places where it has got things gloriously right and the places where it has got things gloriously wrong. Third, we must be prepared to refute — that is, to give a reasoned rebuttal of, not simply to say we disagree with — popular misconceptions which leave people with muddled and misguided ideas about Jesus and the nature of Christian faith."

Clothing and Community

2006-05-31T07:11:00.000-04:00

I like clothing. I don't shop or buy that much of it, but if I didn't have superior and more satisfactory desires, I'm confident I would. Although, I do love Christ more than clothing, I do have a few pairs of shoes. Sometimes I buy clothing to fit in. I bought two suits when I became an interim pastor. The rest of the leadership wears suits on Sunday, so I conformed. I recently returned from England where shoes are a personal statement. I shopped for shoes but didnt find any. I wnated them to set me apart in America, but in reality I was seeking conforming to England. I got some pretty cool Sketchers that actually come with European sizes. Does that count? The point is that we clothe ourselves to fit in to some community, vocational or social. Clothing is also theological. Paul tells the Colossians to put on the clothing of Christ: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. This clothing is very important. Without it we will not live with the community of faith and the triune God in the new creation.

All too often, we aren’t aware of or convicted by the fact that we have ill-fitting clothing. This is why women go shopping by twos. We need someone to point out whether or not our jeans really fit around the waist. That’s where the community of faith comes in. We need others to point out our high-water jeans and our oversize shirts. The problem is that too many of us don’t believe that we need others. We are so used to doing Christianity on our own that we actually think it’s an individual project. It’s not; it’s a community project. One of the greatest lies we have ever believed is that the Christian life can be lived on our own. Paul combats this individualistic notion with his one another commands: love one another, teach one another, and admonish one another.

A great place for this to happen is in the church, in small groups and in accountability groups. The problem with these groups, however, is that too often they run on individual, not communal gas. We expect everyone to do their homework, confession and repentance alone. But Paul tells us that we need to instruct, admonish and love one another by asking the hard and penetrating questions. By pointing out when the clothing doesn’t fit.

But how can we do this Christianly, redemptively? How is your clothing?

From Eden to Heaven

2006-05-26T13:18:00.000-04:00

Inspired by some friends, a group of us have launched a community blog, a place where three of my friends and I can continue conversations and start new ones about theology, literature, culture, the world and discipleship. Feel free to drop in and participate. We need all the help we can get: From Eden to Heaven

Ravi Zacharias Engaging Culture Webcast

2006-05-25T10:41:00.000-04:00

Check out the webcast from Ravi tonight on "Defending the Faith in the 21st Century" at 9:30 EST.

Lost: Can We Survive On Faith Alone?

2006-05-25T08:28:00.000-04:00

In the season finale of Lost, the question persistently asked by the narrarator and depicted by the button-pushing activities of characters like Locke and Echo, a spiritualist and a priest, is "Can we survive on faith alone?" Faith is pitted against the reason of science ala Jack, whose calculating rationale refuses to believe that pushing the button has anything to do with survival on the island. A take-charge-kind-of-guy, Jack leads the marooned plane-crash survivors through knowledge, medical and rational. He repeatedly saves lives through his knowledge, patching up gun wounds and fractured legs. Apparently, they cannot survive on faith alone.

However, as the season finale depicted, button-pushing was integral to island survival-if you are in the bunker. Come to find out, the button defuses a magnetic charge that continually builds up, a charge that draws everything magnetic towards it, the charge that caused the plane crash to begin with. Pushing the button prevents further crashes and bunker explosion. It also provides purpose. It gives Locke and Echo something to do, to find significance in, in an otherwise meaningless existence. Faith is life-preserving-literally and psychologically/spiritually.

Conclusion: Both faith and reason are necessary for survival on the island. Trust within the group, faith in the possiblity of escape, hope for interpersonal reconciliation are necessary in order to avoid despair. Of course, reason will be necessary to figure out where we are to place our hope. Is it in the "others"? An magnetic detection team? The gods of Echo, Sayid or Jack himself? Reasoned faith in what will enable them to survive?

Owen at Popster & GiGi's

2006-05-21T09:25:00.000-04:00

Story, Discipleship, Blue Like Jazz on the Couch

2006-05-17T20:46:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago the three of us sat on the couch and discussed repentance and community. I've learned a lot about this kind of discipleship from my friend, Will Walker, who wrote Kingdom of Couches.I also happen to be reading Blue Like Jazz (I know, I am behind).

Both of these books do theology through the back door, to borrow another friend's phrase. They are unpretentious, unimpressive and yet manage to make some rather plain truths more accessible. Both are written almost stream-of-consciousness, but then you realize by the end of each chapter that the journey the author took you on was not only existential, but profoundly theological. Perhaps its theology for the postmodern, but I'd still like to get to the biblical meat of the matter in any given chapter.

So, as we were talking about repentance from nagging cryptomeism, I asked how we can escape our tendencies towards spiritual narcissim, with obsession with our own stories. Dave replied, "To open ourselves to God's story." I asked, "So what's God's story?" After some debate we agreed to pursue our answer along the lines of story, narrative structure (some of which I stole from N.T. Wright and Donald Miller, with a spin of my own). We determined that the setting is Creation, the plotline is Redemption, the Problem is the Fall, and the Climax is Jesus--as Redeemer and Restorer, the Cross and the New Creation. After agreeing that knowing the climax of God's story is critical to experiencing the impact of the divine narrative in our own lives, we considered what our functional climax is.

Is Jesus the climax of our stories? I felt like some days yes, and many days no...my functional climax is often me. I tend to approach Jesus from above, attempting to assert my own story over God's by mastering Christology or publishing on theology. By doing these things I feel good about myself. My identity is firmly placed in me, not the Story. My climax is me. The other guys had different answers, but we all found it helpful to rethink discipleship from the vantage point of our story vs. His Story.

A Sunset View of Our Town (Manchester-by-the-sea)

2006-05-17T20:24:00.000-04:00

New Reads

2006-05-16T07:40:00.000-04:00

Now that I'm through with formal studies, let the freedom of reading begin! I have posted three new books under my "Reads" column. Two by Richard Flordia, professor from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Florida has makes a convincing case for an emerging sociological and economic class alongside the traditional working and service classes called the Creative Class. He considers the impact, both negative and positive, of hte Creative class. For instance, the creative class, determined by a creative index which is explained in the book, often exacerbates economic inequality while stimulating economic development in its major geographical centers. Those at the top of the geographical centers of creativity include D.C., Boston, Minneapolis, and Austin.

On a more entertainin note, I recommend Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin. Atwood is a master storyteller, developing multiple plots that interweave, create suspense, and intrigue. Incisive, well-placed cultural criticism is scattered throughout her writings. The Blind Assassin is no exception. So far, so good!

Let me know if you have read or start reading. I'd love to hear what you think!

Owen is Cute and He Knows It!

2006-05-16T07:02:00.000-04:00

English Breakfast Anyone?

2006-05-16T06:50:00.000-04:00

Queens on the High Street, Oxford

Kingdom of Couches

2006-05-03T16:46:00.000-04:00

Whether you are looking for a good book on community or not, you should pick up Kingdom of Couches. Will Walker has an inviting writing style and a keen sense of what is and what is not true Christian community. This book unpacks his reflections on community through the community (he relies on friends to help him sort things out and even quotes me!)

Sigur Ros (Victory Rose)

2006-04-29T10:19:00.000-04:00

If you haven't discovered the powerful, ethereal music of Sigur Ros, you are missing out. This Icelandic band debuted with a track on Vanilla Sky. Their concerts, I am told (by my brother), are among the most moving musical experiences to be had. Chuck full with creation-laden imagery (translated from the native icelandic), Sigur Rose lyrics beckon forth the worshipper in the listener. Though their god(s)falls infinitely short of satisfying the rebelliously infinite void in the soul of man, their music sends you searching, worshipping for the God that does.

Creation in Colossians - A Summary of my Thesis

2006-04-21T08:23:00.000-04:00

For those who have wondered where in the world I have been, where in the blogging world I have been, this entry answers that question with a summary of my months-long Masters thesis now days away from being finalized. On Tuesday I defend my thesis, followed by its binding for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's library. WARNING: this is an academic thesis, so it sounds like one. However, there is much practical pay-off for it, some of which is hinted at here.

This study focuses on the creation motifs present in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, an aspect of the letter which has frequently been overlooked. Scholarly discussion regarding the letter has typically hovered around the issues of authorship, poetic structure, and the so-called Colossian philosophy. While these matters are relevant and are briefly addressed in chapter one, discourse has obscured the equally pertinent, if not more significant presence of Paul’s creation theology.

Paul’s creation theology emerges from and expands upon the Jewish creation story. Therefore, chapter two unpacks a narrative approach to interpreting Colossians, recognizing the five primary stories which constitute the larger Story of Scripture: God, Creation, Israel, Jesus, Paul/Christians. With this narrative framework in place, we proceed to identify and exegete echoes of the creation story throughout the letter in chapters three, four, and five. Given the ubiquity of creation in Colossians, we restrict our focus to three main areas: 1) Paul’s use of heaven and earth language, 2) Paul’s creation mandate prayer, and 3) the Christ poem of 1.15-20.

In chapter three, Paul’s heaven and earth language offers an introduction and overview to the creational contours of the letter, conceiving of creation both cosmologically and eschatologically. Thus, Paul’s view of creation is characterized in already-not-yet terms, with the eschatological blessings of heaven breaking into the present earth. This juxtaposition of creation and new creation creates the context for Colossian identity articulated in Paul’s prayer of 1.3-14. The prayer depicts the Colossians in Adamic terms, as a people who are to increase in the knowledge of God and multiply in fruitful works. As they grow in good theology and good works, the Colossians are commanded to engage their culture in Christ-honoring witness and work (Col 3-4), multiplying their fruitfulness and expanding their dominion in all creation. Paul further describes the Colossians as heirs of the inheritance of Israel—all creation. Thus, the Colossians’ redemptive participation in the creation mandate, through fruitful multiplication and expanding dominion is an expression of the in-breaking new creation to create a new Israel. This convergence of the stories of creation and Israel in the story of the Colossians is subsequently explained through the story of Christ.

In chapters four and five the Christ poem forms our exegetical focus. As with the letter as a whole, treatments of the poem frequently overlook the influence the creation story. Instead, most scholars look to the Wisdom tradition as the background for the poem, advocating a Wisdom Christology. However, closer analysis reveals an Adam Christology which not only comports with Paul’s argument, but also hones in on the central theme of the poem—Christ is Lord of all creation. Throughout the poem, Paul selects Christological titles which allude to the creation story and describe Christ as the Agent and Regent of creation and new creation. The result is twofold: Christ is shown as supreme above all things and his creation is honored.

Returning to the Colossian philosophy, whose symptoms include strict dietary codes, ascetic treatment of the body, fear of powers and authorities, and the pursuit of visionary experiences to draw near to God, the purpose for Paul’s robust Christological mediation of creation becomes clear. Paul’s theology of creation serves as a corrective to the Colossians’ Christ-belittling, creation-degrading behaviors, erecting in their place the sovereign and all-sufficient Agent and Regent of creation, Christ the Lord.

What Does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to do with Justice?

2006-04-20T21:33:00.000-04:00

Earth is a Place of Injustice
The 20th century was a century of injustice. In fact, it was the bloodiest century of human existence. A special word was coined by R. J. Rummel, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii for the massive movements of state-sponsored killings that swept the planet earth during the 20th C—democide. Democide ran wild in Russia, China, Europe, Cambodia, Rwanda, Iraq, and the Balkans to name a few. Remember the genocidal attempts by Stalin, Mao, and Milosevic…Hitler’s Holocaust, Pol Pot’s Killing Fields, the Hutu-Tutsi massacres? Four times the number of people lost their lives to democide in the 20th C, than the deaths from all the wars, international and domestic, of the 20th C. The total number was approx 170 million.

Of course, governments aren’t the only agents of injustice. Five minutes in a daycare and the words “That’s not fair” are sure to be heard. And there’s the person that cut you off this week while you were driving, your company’s failure to give you that well-earned promotion, the way a friend, spouse or stranger treated you this week. Those things weren’t just; they weren’t right. In fact, they were wrong, unjust. Life is filled with injustice, from relationships to governments. Sometimes there is recourse, and sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes there’s justice and sometimes there isn’t. Is Sadaam on trial? Did Pol Pot die? Were the Nazi’s defeated? Well, yes…but that doesn’t mean justice was served. The trial, death and defeat of dictators and devilish ideologies does not restore life to the countless millions dead. IT does not renew friendships and families severed by the loss. It does not restore the psychological, emotional and physical damage done. Was justice served? Hardly.

Earth is a place of injustice. Heaven seems far away. What are we to do? Take up the sword? Resign ourselves to despair? What does heaven have to do with earth? What does Jesus have to do with injustice?

Should We Seek Heaven?
In our text this morning, Paul tells the Colossians—Christians oppressed by Roman authorities, spiritual powers, and subversive philosophies—that they should seek “things above” and “Set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Are we to conclude that Paul’s solution to the injustices of the Colossians to simply direct their thoughts away from earth to heaven, to ignore injustice and hope for the sweet bye and bye? Perhaps you have known a person like this, a person who incessantly talks about Jesus and Heaven but does very little about the injustices of earth; a person who is so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. [The movie Saved?] Is this the kind of Christianity Paul is advocating when he tells the Colossians to set their minds on things of heaven, not of the earth? Is Christianity no different from other forms of spirituality which talk up private spiritual experience, meditation, prayer and contemplation with little to no influence on the issues and injustices of public life? When Paul says we should desire and think about “things above,” what does he mean? What are these things above? Well, vs. 1 tells us that the things above is a place, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. So, the things above include, at the very least, Christ the Lord. This picture of Jesus seated at the right hand of God is one of authority, of a King upon his throne who rules over his enemies. This language is taken from a psalm written by Israel’s most famous king, King David (a king who fought injustice all his life). The powerful and poetic Psalm 110 describes Jesus as a lord, sitting at the right hand of God, deposing evil kings, ruling over enemies, and exercising justice over all the nations. All who oppose him are against him. Jesus is a king of justice.

But what qualifies Jesus to be the King of justice? How does he get this position? Why is he seated at the right hand of God and given the right to rule over the whole earth? Jesus is the king of justice for at least two reasons—his death and his resurrection.

Jesus and Justice
The death of Jesus deals with the injustice of earth by reconciling everything to God. According to Col 1.20, everything is reconciled to God through the blood of his cross, things in heaven and on earth, all powers and people, governments and dictators. Jesus died to reconcile everything to God and to secure world peace. However, the biggest problem on the earth is not democide or a demeaning comment from an employer, spouse or friend; it’s people, people who have unjustly committed high treason against their good and gracious Creator. Democide and defamation spring from a heart of injustice, a heart that is bent on seeking not heaven, but self. By refusing to trust, cherish, serve, and worship our Creator, we choose to trust, cherish, serve and worship something else. As Bob Dylan sang, “Everybody’s gotta serve somebody.” Whatever we desire most—whatever we trust and cherish—we serve and worship. For dictators it is power. For professionals it is often the promise of success. In the pursuit of success, all things fall second to the endless pursuit of promotions. For others, it is image. Whatever it requires to project a certain image we will pursue it—credit card debt, deceit, dishonesty. And just one more, people. Some of us desire the approval of people (parents, peers, and strangers) more than anything else. So we construct a web of lies to make others like us, saying yes when the answer is no. Yes, I saw that movie, read that book, like that person, know that song, etc. If we are honest, the pursuit of these things don’t really satisfy us. Our devotion to them is demonstration of the greatest injustice of all—treason against our Creator.

Jesus initiated his program of public justice by dealing with the control center of injustice—the hearts of men. His death rectifies the injustice committed against God—the rebellious refusal in the hearts of men to trust, cherish, serve and worship the infinitely trustworthy and cherishable God. In the greatest act of mercy known to man, Jesus died in our place to satisfy the just penalty of death for our sedition against the Creator. The cross of Christ secures this justice by faith or by force. For those that accept the merciful provision of God’s forgiveness for our high treason, we are reconciled to God by faith. For those that refuse his generous offer of forgiveness and fellowship, they will be reconciled by force upon Christ’s second return. To rework a line from the Wachowski’s recent film V for Vendetta, “Governments shouldn’t be afraid of their people and people shouldn’t be afraid of their governments; governments and people should be afraid of the Jesus of Justice.” When Jesus returns to complete and restore the creation he began, all will bow either by faith or by force.

The second reason Jesus is qualified to be the King of justice is His resurrection. Not only does Jesus defeat injustice at the cross, he also restores all the damages of injustice. His resurrection is the promise of the better world to come. When Jesus was raised from the dead, he walked about in a glorified body, a body that could eat and pass through walls, walk and disappear. His resurrection is the pattern and power for the restoration of all creation. Revelation 20-21, written by John, the apostle who stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus died, informs us that everyone will be resurrected, some for judgment and others for joy. For those who serve and worship Christ, every tear will be wiped away and they will enter the resurrected creation, a new heavens and earth. Jesus death and resurrection secure total justice by dealing with the penalty of injustice and the damages of injustice, for God’s glory and man’s good. So when Paul tells the Colossians to desire and seek the things above, he is not advocating an escapist Christianity that shrinks back from justice. Instead, he is advocating for trust and pleasure in, the service and worship of Jesus Christ the Lord.

By telling the Colossians to seek the things above, Paul means for us to trust and treasure Jesus who will eventually secure global justice and peace. Now, perhaps you are thinking, that’s great but what about injustice now? What about the present?

Heaven on Earth
To this question there are several responses. First, if justice is our ultimate concern, that is justice in our present circumstances, we have missed Paul’s point altogether. The point of seeking the things above—Christ and his new creation—is not to obtain justice but Jesus. Jesus deals with our unjust hearts through his death and resurrection, offering us new life with him. Second, the reason Paul tell us to set our hearts and minds on heaven, not earth, is because he knows that seeking and desiring Jesus inevitably leads to living like Jesus (whose life was filled with acts of justice). Third, the basis for Paul’s command to the Colossians and for justice in the present is our own death and resurrection. He writes: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jesus isn’t the only one who experiences death and resurrection. Based on this logic, the past tense, present reality of death and resurrection with Jesus is the basis for our living a life of Christ-centered justice. By faith in Jesus our old identity is put to death our new identity is resurrected. As resurrected people, whose resurrection life is double-wrapped in Christ and God, our responsibility, our privilege is to proclaim and perform new creation. Our lives should be an expression of the just rule of King Jesus, resulting in redemptive engagement with governments and people, creation and cultures. Instead of pursuing some kind of vigilante justice by force, we take up the weapons of faith and love in the name of Christ to serve others. We commit to a missional lifestyle of helping the helpless, caring for the poor, strengthening the weak. Whenever we are wronged we forgive, when slighted we bless, because the Jesus of justice will right all wrongs.

God has called his people to be agents of redemptive justice, gospel justice, to pursue heaven on earth. All of us will pursue this imperfectly. That’s okay. Salvation is a project and justice is a community project. The important thing is that we are setting our hearts and minds on things above—on Christ and the new creation—laboring for that eternal justice now, ushering in the new creation through acts and words of gospel love. For those who hope in Christ, the unjust man has been executed and in his place a just man has been resurrected. Live like it. Apart from the renovating, resurrecting work of Christ humanity is bankrupt in resources for ultimate justice, for total restoration. Earth is not heaven…yet. But heaven and earth have met, in Christ and in his people, who are to be a foretaste of the world to come. Seek Christ. Desire new creation. Make Earth Heaven.

Sermon Manuscript from Easter Sunday 2006 at Covenant Chapel

Pics from Oxford with Luke (my brother)

2006-04-15T13:09:00.000-04:00

Pictures from Stephen and Emma's Wedding

2006-04-15T13:01:00.000-04:00

Ireland, England

2006-04-10T03:30:00.000-04:00

I'm currently in the Shannon, IRE airport as I await my connnecting flight to London, where I will spend two days with my brother and his wife before flying to N. Ireland to participate in one of my dearest friend's weddings, Stephen Witmer.

Coming off a weekend marriage conference, no doubt, this wedding will be especially endearing. This past weekend I was reminded of the marvelous blessing of God my wife is!

More Edwards...

2006-03-17T06:11:00.000-05:00

Michael McMullen has released a second volume of Edwards previously unpublished sermons: The Glory and Honor of God

As many of you may know, Yale is launching a new Jonathan edwards online site with tons of previously unaccessible manuscripts made available. I am beta testing it and it looks pretty good so far. For more go to: Jonathan Edwards online

Jonathan Edwards Does Not Have an Evangelical Christology

2006-03-14T11:03:00.000-05:00

Many evangelicals worship Christ, sometimes the Father and rarely the Spirit. Many of these doxological binitarian evangelicals are monotheistic (not trinitarian) in practice. Many of these Christ-worshipping monotheists only know Christ as "Savior." They love and worship and follow Jesus because of his substitutionary, reconciling death and resurrection. A few know him more intimately and can explain the treasures of redemption in Christ by pointing out our Lord's work of expiation, propitiation, imputation, reconciliation, etc. Such christology is narrow. The gospel of Christ and the Christ of the gospel are so much more, but certainly not less. To be sure, Christ is a mediator, the Mediator (1 Tm 2.5), but he is mediator of more than "salvation." Jesus Christ is mediator of creation, redemption and consummation. He is mediator on behalf of God and on behalf of man, between the Spirit and God and man and God. Perhaps teh most overlooked aspect of christology today is Christ as consummator. We all agree that he is coming back to wrap things up and "take us home." However, Christ as consummator is infinitely more. Jonathan Edwards knew this well and explains the necessity of Jesus as consummator in a previously unpublished sermon on 1 Tm 2.5. Read it. Re-read it. Think about it. Think about him. Worship him afresh; worship him in unison with Father and Spirit:

"God had a design before the foundation of the world of gathering all things to himself. Since all things are of him and through him, so he intended they should be to him and also of uniting all chosen creatures one to another in one society in perfect union, one unto another. When he made the world, it was with this purpose. When he made heaven an d made the angels in it, it was with this design. When he made this lower world and made man in it, it was with this design. His Son was the person pitched upon and chosen of God, by whom and in whom this great event should be brought about. He was to be the head of the union, that all might be united in him and by him to himself. Therefore, God created all things by Jesus Christ (Eph 3.9-11)."

Taken from "Jesus Christ isteh Great Mediator and Head of Union," in The Blessing of God, ed. Michael D. McMullen

With One Voice- Reggie Kidd on Worship

2006-03-11T08:24:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Josh Otte for turning me on to Reggie Kidd's With One Voice. Here's a quote on Kidd's redemptive-historical, Jesus-centered book on worship:

"When Paul tells his churches to “let the word of Christ dwell
. . . richly” among them by means of “psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs” (Col. 3:16 niv), he’s inviting them to do more than use
music as a “warm-up” to the sermon. The song is not ornamentation;
it is participation in the very redemption of all creation. It
plays its own role in God’s showcasing his saving power before
humans and angels (Eph. 3:10)."

Trinity as Song

2006-03-01T07:26:00.000-05:00

Bad analogies of the Trinity abound (i.e. Father-Son-Brother; Ice-water-vapor). Richard Baxter found the Trinity under every rock. Though see God everywhere can be a good thing, drawing uncritical analogies is another. Often the oneness, or indwelling of thre persons of the Trinity is missed in analogies. This aspect was called perichoresis by early church fathers. Although the earlier Cappadocian fathers discussed the Trinity in perichoretic terms, it was a 7th century theologian, John of Damascus, who coined the term perichoresis (peri = “around”) and (choresis = “dance”). Perichoresis refers to the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit within the blessed Trinity. The idea is that the three persons relate to each other in fluid, dance-like motion, each person critical for the dance to be executed properly. The image also gets at the joy of the Trinity, a God who dances.

Perhaps a better analogy would be that of Song. Consider a three piece band-- each person of the Godhead making music through the unique instrumentation of their personhood, without which the song would be incomplete and dissonant. The Father, the vocalist; the Son the lead guitar; and the Spirit the drums. As the vocalist, the Father gives the Song its lyrical direction and purpose. As the lead guitar, the Son’s combinations of chords musically embody the words of the Father. He is known to play stunning ‘guitar solos’. The Spirit faithfully and consistently pumps out the backbeat of the Eternal Song. He keeps its rhythm, its time, holding the song together. Without the drums, song isn't the same; it isn't the Song. The Trinity-as-Song reveals the harmonious, interweaving nature of the Godhead, each “instrument” a crucial part of the Song. If one person is removed, there is no song. The melodies, harmonies and sounds that comprise the Song produce music that thrills the human soul. The eternal Song can not be dislodged from its prominent, everlasting spot as number one, top of the cosmic charts. It is the Song of all songs.

The Supremacy of God in Preaching

2006-02-14T22:42:00.000-05:00

As a budding preacher, I can use all the help I can get. There are all kinds of books on preaching, but very few on the preacher. To be sure, books on technique and mechanics have their place; however, the market has a glut of those. Therefore, a book makes all the difference when it takes a God-centered approach to preaching, one that puts the preacher in his place before a holy and supreme God. One such book is John Piper's The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Here are a few quotes that have fed me so well, I've memorized them and one extra by Cotton Mather.

"The cross is also the ground of the humliity of preaching because the cross is the power of God to crucify the pride of both preacher and congregation."

"Don't strive to be a certain kind of preacher, strive to be a kind of person."

"The Spirit-filled preacher has a tender affection that sweetens every promise and soften, with tears, every warning and rebuke."

"The grand design of a Christian preacher is to restore the throne and dominion of Christ in the souls of men." - Mather

Sermons on Colossians

2006-02-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

If you're interested, Covenant Chapel is now posting my sermons online: http://www.covenantchapelct.com/downloads/sermon_audio/

Pied Beauty

2006-02-07T15:41:00.000-05:00

Have you ever considered the beauty of dappled things, pied beauties? Hopkins did and has inspired me to take note of the brinded cow, stippled trout, the mottled leaves. Hopkins was trained at Oxford and later became a Jesuit priest. Upon his induction into the priesthood he burned much of his work. However, he must have eventually realized that Christ is not only against (some) culture; he is for it, for its beauty and transformation, since Hopkins took up the pen later on in life to create some of his best work. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1884-89) GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;	5
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:	10
Praise him.

Bono at the White House Prayer Breakfast

2006-02-04T17:01:00.000-05:00

BONO'S REMARKS TO THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

BONO
REMARKS AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

Thank you.

Mr. President, First Lady, King Abdullah, Other heads of State, Members of Congress, distinguished guests…

Please join me in praying that I don’t say something we’ll all regret.

That was for the FCC.

If you’re wondering what I’m doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well, so am I. I’m certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather. It’s certainly not because I’m a rock star. Which leaves one possible explanation: I’m here because I’ve got a messianic complex.

Yes, it’s true. And for anyone who knows me, it’s hardly a revelation.

Well, I’m the first to admit that there’s something unnatural… something unseemly… about rock stars mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents, and then disappearing to their villas in the South of France. Talk about a fish out of water. It was weird enough when Jesse Helms showed up at a U2 concert… but this is really weird, isn’t it?

You know, one of the things I love about this country is its separation of church and state. Although I have to say: in inviting me here, both church and state have been separated from something else completely: their mind. .

Mr. President, are you sure about this?

It’s very humbling and I will try to keep my homily brief. But be warned—I’m Irish.

I’d like to talk about the laws of man, here in this city where those laws are written. And I’d like to talk about higher laws. It would be great to assume that the one serves the other; that the laws of man serve these higher laws… but of course, they don’t always. And I presume that, in a sense, is why you’re here.

I presume the reason for this gathering is that all of us here—Muslims, Jews, Christians—all are searching our souls for how to better serve our family, our community, our nation, our God.

I know I am. Searching, I mean. And that, I suppose, is what led me here, too.

Yes, it’s odd, having a rock star here—but maybe it’s odder for me than for you. You see, I avoided religious people most of my life. Maybe it had something to do with having a father who was Protestant and a mother who was Catholic in a country where the line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line. Where the line between church and state was… well, a little blurry, and hard to see.

I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God.

For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people, in the name of God, did to my native land… and in this country, seeing God’s second-hand car salesmen on the cable TV channels, offering indulgences for cash… in fact, all over the world, seeing the self-righteousness roll down like a mighty stream from certain corners of the religious establishment…

I must confess, I changed the channel. I wanted my MTV.

Even though I was a believer.

Perhaps because I was a believer.

I was cynical… not about God, but about God’s politics. (There you are, Jim.)

Then, in 1997, a couple of eccentric, septuagenarian British Christians went and ruined my shtick—my reproachfulness. They did it by describing the Millennium, the year 2000, as a Jubilee year, as an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world’s poorest people. They had the audacity to renew the Lord’s call—and were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic’s point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty.

‘Jubilee’—why ‘Jubilee’?

What was this year of Jubilee, this year of our Lords favor?

I’d always read the Scriptures, even the obscure stuff. There it was in Leviticus (25:35)…

‘If your brother becomes poor,’ the Scriptures say, ‘and cannot maintain himself… you shall maintain him… You shall not lend him your money at interest, not give him your food for profit.’

It is such an important idea, Jubilee, that Jesus begins his ministry with this. Jesus is a young man, he’s met with the rabbis, impressed everyone, people are talking. The elders say, he’s a clever guy, this Jesus, but he hasn’t done much… yet. He hasn’t spoken in public before…

When he does, is first words are from Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,’ he says, ‘because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.’ And Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord’s favour, the year of Jubilee. (Luke 4:18)

What he was really talking about was an era of grace—and we’re still in it.

So fast-forward 2,000 years. That same thought, grace, was made incarnate—in a movement of all kinds of people. It wasn’t a bless-me club… it wasn’t a holy huddle. These religious guys were willing to get out in the streets, get their boots dirty, wave the placards, follow their convictions with actions… making it really hard for people like me to keep their distance. It was amazing. I almost started to like these church people.

But then my cynicism got another helping hand.

It was what Colin Powell, a five-star general, called the greatest W.M.D. of them all: a tiny little virus called A.I.D.S. And the religious community, in large part, missed it. The one’s that didn’t miss it could only see it as divine retribution for bad behaviour. Even on children… Even fastest growing group of HIV infections were married, faithful women.

Aha, there they go again! I thought to myself Judgmentalism is back!

But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy of our age.

Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move.

Moving people of all kinds to work with others they had never met, never would have cared to meet… Conservative church groups hanging out with spokesmen for the gay community, all singing off the same hymn sheet on AIDS… Soccer moms and quarterbacks… hip-hop stars and country stars… This is what happens when God gets on the move: crazy stuff happens!

Popes were seen wearing sunglasses!

Jesse Helms was seen with a ghetto blaster!

Crazy stuff. Evidence of the spirit.

It was breathtaking. Literally. It stopped the world in its tracks.

When churches started demonstrating on debt, governments listened—and acted. When churches starting organising, petitioning, and even—that most unholy of acts today, God forbid, lobbying… on AIDS and global health, governments listened—and acted.

I’m here today in all humility to say: you changed minds; you changed policy; you changed the world.

Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives.

Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone.

I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill… I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff… maybe, maybe not… But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. “If you remove the yolk from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places”

It’s not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It’s not an accident. That’s a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. [You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.] ‘As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor.

Here’s some good news for the President. After 9-11 we were told America would have no time for the World’s poor. America would be taken up with its own problems of safety. And it’s true these are dangerous times, but America has not drawn the blinds and double-locked the doors.

In fact, you have double aid to Africa. You have tripled funding for global health. Mr. President, your emergency plan for AIDS relief and support for the Global Fund—you and Congress—have put 700,000 people onto life-saving anti-retroviral drugs and provided 8 million bed nets to protect children from malaria.

Outstanding human achievements. Counterintuitive. Historic. Be very, very proud.

But here’s the bad news. From charity to justice, the good news is yet to come. There’s is much more to do. There’s a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response.

And finally, it’s not about charity after all, is it? It’s about justice.

Let me repeat that: It’s not about charity, it’s about justice.

And that’s too bad.

Because you’re good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can’t afford it.

But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment.

6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality.

Because there's no way we can look at what’s happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we really accept that Africans are equal to us. Anywhere else in the world, we wouldn’t accept it. Look at what happened in South East Asia with the Tsunami. 150, 000 lives lost to that misnomer of all misnomers, “mother nature”. In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it’s a completely avoidable catastrophe.

It’s annoying but justice and equality are mates. Aren’t they? Justice always wants to hang out with equality. And equality is a real pain.

You know, think of those Jewish sheep-herders going to meet the Pharaoh, mud on their shoes, and the Pharaoh says, “Equal?” A preposterous idea: rich and poor are equal? And they say, “Yeah, ‘equal,’ that’s what it says here in this book. We’re all made in the image of God.”

And eventually the Pharaoh says, “OK, I can accept that. I can accept the Jews—but not the blacks.”

“Not the women. Not the gays. Not the Irish. No way, man.”

So on we go with our journey of equality.

On we go in the pursuit of justice.

We hear that call in the ONE Campaign, a growing movement of more than two million Americans… left and right together… united in the belief that where you live should no longer determine whether you live.

We hear that call even more powerfully today, as we mourn the loss of Coretta Scott King—mother of a movement for equality, one that changed the world but is only just getting started. These issues are as alive as they ever were; they just change shape and cross the seas.

Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market… that’s a justice issue. Holding children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents… That’s a justice issue. Withholding life-saving medicines out of deference to the Office of Patents… that’s a justice issue.

And while the law is what we say it is, God is not silent on the subject.

That’s why I say there’s the law of the land… and then there is a higher standard. There’s the law of the land, and we can hire experts to write them so they benefit us, so the laws say it’s OK to protect our agriculture but it’s not OK for African farmers to do the same, to earn a living?

As the laws of man are written, that’s what they say.

God will not accept that.

Mine won’t, at least. Will yours?

[pause]

I close this morning on … very… thin… ice.

This is a dangerous idea I’ve put on the table: my God vs. your God, their God vs. our God… vs. no God. It is very easy, in these times, to see religion as a force for division rather than unity.

And this is a town—Washington—that knows something of division.

But the reason I am here, and the reason I keep coming back to Washington, is because this is a town that is proving it can come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call the least of these.

This is not a Republican idea. It is not a Democratic idea. It is not even, with all due respect, an American idea. Nor it is unique to any one faith.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ (Luke 6:30) Jesus says that.

‘Righteousness is this: that one should… give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for the emancipation of the captives.’ The Koran says that. (2.177)

Thus sayeth the Lord: ‘Bring the homeless poor into the house, when you see the naked, cover him, then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring fourth, then your Lord will be your rear guard.’ The jewish scripture says that. Isaiah 58 again.

That is a powerful incentive: ‘The Lord will watch your back.’ Sounds like a good deal to me, right now.

A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea…

And this wise man said: stop.

He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.

Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.

Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.

And that is what He’s calling us to do.

I was amazed when I first got to this country and I learned how much some churchgoers tithe. Up to ten percent of the family budget. Well, how does that compare the federal budget, the budget for the entire American family? How much of that goes to the poorest people in the world? Less than one percent.

Mr. President, Congress, people of faith, people of America:

I want to suggest to you today that you see the flow of effective foreign assistance as tithing…. Which, to be truly meaningful, will mean an additional one percent of the federal budget tithed to the poor.

What is one percent?

One percent is not merely a number on a balance sheet.

One percent is the girl in Africa who gets to go to school, thanks to you. One percent is the AIDS patient who gets her medicine, thanks to you. One percent is the African entrepreneur who can start a small family business thanks to you. One percent is not redecorating presidential palaces or money flowing down a rat hole. This one percent is digging waterholes to provide clean water.

One percent is a new partnership with Africa, not paternalism towards Africa, where increased assistance flows toward improved governance and initiatives with proven track records and away from boondoggles and white elephants of every description.

America gives less than one percent now. Were asking for an extra one percent to change the world. to transform millions of lives—but not just that and I say this to the military men now – to transform the way that they see us.

One percent is national security, enlightened economic self interest, and a better safer world rolled into one. Sounds to me that in this town of deals and compromises, one percent is the best bargain around.

These goals—clean water for all; school for every child; medicine for the afflicted, an end to extreme and senseless poverty—these are not just any goals; they are the Millennium Development goals, which this country supports. And they are more than that. They are the Beatitudes for a Globalised World.

Now, I’m very lucky. I don’t have to sit on any budget committees. And I certainly don’t have to sit where you do, Mr. President. I don’t have to make the tough choices.

But I can tell you this:

To give one percent more is right. It’s smart. And it’s blessed.

There is a continent—Africa—being consumed by flames.

I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did—or did not to—to put the fire out in Africa.

History, like God, is watching what we do.

Thank you. Thank you, America, and God bless you all.

Gunton and the Trinity

2006-02-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

In his posthumously published work, Act & Being: Towards a Theology of Divine Attributes, Gunton laments the detrimental influence of Hellenistic philosophy upon the manner in which the doctrine of the Trinity has been historically conceived. In particular, he critiques the disconnected way in which many theologians have described God via “attributes” in distinction from God as Trinity, stating at the outset of his book: “To speak of the Trinity is already to say something of God’s characteristics, while to speak of the attributes apart form the Trinity - as is often done - is a mistake, and one which we shall be exploring below.” Accordingly, Gunton asserts that many systematic theologies begin in the wrong place. Instead of beginning with the Trinity, which is itself characteristic of God, the majority of systematic theologies begin with Theology proper and extended discussions on God’s attributes, often to the neglect of the triune God. Gunton notes this problem in Hodge’s Systematic Theology, quoting a lengthy description of God which makes no reference to God as triune. In agreement with Gunton regarding Hodge’s oversight, Robert Letham writes: “he does not get around to suggesting that God is triune until after 250 pages of detailed exposition of the doctrine of God…” Thus, in the tradition of Lombard, Aquinas, Barth and Rahner, Gunton proposes that discussion about God should begin with his threeoneness.

Story of Scripture and the story of Postmodernism

2006-01-31T20:38:00.000-05:00

Jean-Francois Lyotard described Postmodernism as “incredulity towards metanarratives.” What does that mean? Well, as you know, a narrative is a story, add ‘meta’ (about, beyond) to it and you get an overarching story or a grand narrative. A metanarrative is an all-encompassing story that claims to have explanatory power for understanding the world. To be incredulous towards metanarratives is to believe that there are no such Stories. Thus, PM takes a disbelieving disposition to any story that claims to explain the world. Lyotard describes the various stories of the world, e.g. Islam, modernism, as myths- fabled constructions necessary for psychological stability, to make some sense of life as we know it. These myths are sundry and relative and cannot offer satisfactory resolution, finality and a future to the history of humanity. Therefore, what matters is not whether or not they are true, but whether or not we believe them. What matters is "your story." The particular story that postmodernism reacted against is the story of modernism, the story of progress birthed by the Enlightenment. Modernism told the 20^th C that the world would be cured of its ills through human progress, much of which was economic. The industrial revolution has come and gone, followed by the technological revolution. Multinational companies and a global economy are in place and yet, the 20^th C was plagued with oppression, starvation, wars, and violence. Not counting the wars, approximately 170 million lost their lives to state-sponsored killings (Mao, Hilter, Stalin).[1]

The story of modernism was a failure. Human progress did not achieve the utopia envisioned by the Enlightenment thinkers. And so, postmodernism rebelled against the idea that one story can explain our world, offer resolution to the incongruities of life, determine finality for this thing called history, and chart a course for the future that is bright and glorious. Postmoderns are right. Modernism did fail. The world is no more humane than it was before the Enlightenment. Nevertheless, we should be cautious to not throw out the baby with the bath water, metanarratives with modernism. Metanarratives, be they modernism, evolutionism, Islam or whatever, attempt to offer resolution, finality and future for the world we live in. Resolution for the contradictions of life and death, suffering and happiness, poverty and wealth, truth and deception. How can these co-exist? Finality for the world as we know and not an endless eternity of these unresolved polarities (Nietzsche, Hinduism), and Future for the present. Where will we go when it’s all said and done, individually and globally? Most metanarratives can not offer satisfactory resolution, finality and a future because they can offer no guarantees. Postmodernism does not believe in resolution, finality and the future but, instead, is incredulous towards any metanarrative at all. (Nevermind the circular argument made by PM, which is itself a metanarrative!) Against the backdrop of modernism’s optimistic failure and postmodernism’s nihilistic nothingness, the plausibility and power of the biblical metanarrative, the Story of Scripture shines brightly. (to hear or read further on an explanation of the Biblical story go to: www.covenantchapelct.com and click on "resources" and select MP3 1/30/06)

[1] In fact, the 20^th C was the bloodiest century of human existence. In fact, a special word was coined by R. J. Rummel, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii for the massive movements of state-sponsored killings that swept the globe during the 20^th C—democide. Remember the genocidal attempts by Stalin and Mao, Hitler’s Holocaust, Pol Pot’s Killing Fields, the Rwanda massacres? Four times the number of people lost their lives to democide in the 20^th C than through all the wars, international and domestic, of the 20^th C. The total number was approx 170 mL. For figures see R. J. Rummel, Death By Government (Transaction Publishers: 1997).

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

2006-01-26T13:33:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for a good book on spiritual theology, you can stop looking. Eugene Peterson's Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places is his first installment in a five-volume Spiritual Theology (the 2nd volume, Eat This Book is now avaiable). The title, taken from a Gerald Manley Hopkins poem (who I recommend), reveals the universal yet particular focus of the work- Christ is everwhere to be seen, in all of life. Peterson writes: "The focused conviction expresssed here is that it is Christ, the God-revealing Christ, who is behind and in all of this living (p.3)." However, Peterson's approach is not radically Christocentric. Instead, he takes a deliberately trinitarian approach to spiritual theology, unpacking Christ and his relationship with the Father and the Spirit through three distinct movements/chapters: 1) Christ and creation 2)Christ and history 3) Christ and community. The thesis is simple; it's an invitation to join the perichoresis (~dance)of the Trinity in everything you do.

He begins by debunking popular notions of "spirituality," without throwing out baby and bathwater. He then moves into creation, history and community. I'm not finished with it yet, but so far, so good. At times, I wish the theological roots went even deeper, but he does a good job integrating "theology" and "spirituality."
In typical Petersonian style, his turns of phrases, vivid imagery and biblical-tehological thought blend together in a delightful read. It's the kind of book that's worth curling up with. It demands meditation, repentance, and worship.

Check it out or buy it, you won't regret it.

How Different are Our Prayers from Madonna's:That we Pray or to Whom we Pray?

2006-01-20T15:08:00.000-05:00

It has become fashionable in our culture to include all religions in our prayers, to be inclusive. Madonna in her newfound spirituality often prays before her concerts with all her dancers. They gather around into a circle and she instructs them to pray to whomever or whatever they consider God and then leads them in prayer. The message she is sending is—“What matters is that you pray, not to whom you pray.” Similarly, books are often written on the power of prayer, focusing on its innate energy and potential for change with very little concern for whom the prayer should be directed to. You may recall a study that was published about a year and a half ago on Americans and Prayer. The focus of the article was on how statistics reveal that prayer, prayer of any kind by any person to any God produces results in health concerns.[1] The survey pool included Jews, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Atheists and Hindus.[2] The survey reported that of the 35% of those who do pray for health concerns, 69% have found it helpful in recovery. The survey focused simply on results, stripping prayer down to naked pragmatism. In addition, it avoided the more important question, “To whom should we pray?” Instead, it measured health-focused, results-centered, pluralistic petitionary prayers Similar to the prevailing popular notions on prayer, the survey's concern was that Americans pray, not to whom they pray. The focus was on the “power of prayer,” not the God of prayer. And so, prayer becomes the object of concern, not its goal or God of prayer.

All too often evangelicals approach prayer in this way. I know because I am one. Our prayers, like those of the Prayer Survey and Madonna’s prayer circle, are concerned NOT with whom we are praying but that we are praying at all. We pat ourselves on the back if we pray and kick ourselves if we don’t. Prayer is reduced to a spiritual barometer which measures the pressure of our piety. If we’re praying, the barometer reads high- no clouds and sunny skies- but if we aren’t, it reads low- thunderclouds and precipitation. Prayer loses its purpose, its direction, its aim. If our concern is primarily that we pray, what does it say about to whom we pray? What does it say about God? Well, for starters, it makes him out to be a mean-spirited boss. It depicts him as a God who is happy when we pray and mad if we don’t. But worse, if our concern is that we pray over to whom we pray, we pray like God isn’t even there.

[1] “Prayer for Health Concerns,” JAMA Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 164 No. 8, April 26, 2004

[2] 35% of respondents used prayer forhealth concerns; 75% of these prayed for wellness, and 22% prayedfor specific medical conditions. Of those praying for specificmedical conditions, 69% found prayer very helpful.

The New N. T. Wright?

2006-01-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

It appears that N. T. Wright is closing in on the doctrine of creation in his newly released, Paul: A Fresh Perspective. Although this book is mainly a reworking of previous material, primarily contained in Climax of the Covenant, it is interesting to note Wright's emphasis on the story of creation in Paul. He devotes and entire chapter to "Creation and Covenant" in Paul underscoring the fact that covenant was God's solution to what went wrong with creation and that creation is essential in solving the problem that went wrong with covenant. In typical Wright style, he aptly summarizes sweeping thelogical themes and concepts without much exegesis. However, that work is to be found in Climax.

Returning to Climax of the Covenant, we observe that the death and resurrection of Christ is, indeed the climax to the covenant with Abraham, Israel and the Church. However, Wright's emphasis on creation in Paul would lend the reader to conclude that the climax is not the resurrection, but the return and consummation of creation- into new creation. Consider the following quote: "...I believe this to be a vital underlying principle in all of Paul's thought- on the belief that the one true God is the creator, the ruler and coming judge of the whole world. Monotheism of the Jewish style, which Paul re-emphasizes as he refashions it, generates just this sense of the underlying narrative, the historical and as yet unfinished story fo creation and covenant, to which the individual stories such as those of Abraham and the Exodus contribute..." p.12 Where the stories of Abraham and the Exodus form part of the metanarrative of Scripture and drive the plot forward to its climax, isn't it creation itself that is central to the covenantal climax in the creation of all things new by the returning, consummating King?

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-08T23:11:00.000-05:00

Finding God's Will: An American Evangelical Obsession

2005-12-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

Our culture is obsessed with the notion of choice. This becomes especially apparent when you’ve been out of the country for a while. I can remember returning to the states after spending a couple of months in the hills of Northern Thailand and Burma. My first trip to Target was overwhelming. I distinctly recall standing on the toothpaste isle overcome. There must have been 40 different choices. I felt immobilized by the number of options. However, it didn’t take long for me to settle back into the decision-driven, choice-filled ways of our culture. We have an abundance of choice in America. This past week when I was in Texas, our rental car had XM satellite radio. There were 100s of channels to pick from. There was XM1 and XM2 including a station for every major city, news station and even sports teams. Cable TV offers well over a 150 channels and that’s not even the deluxe package. Much of our time is spent weighing our options, balancing pros and cons, whether it’s picking out toothpaste, choosing what channel to watch, renting a movie or selecting what college course to take. Americans spend more time shopping than any other society. They frequent shopping malls more often than houses of worship and 93% of teenage girls say that shopping is their favorite activity. So, in a decision-driven culture what frequently figures foremost is our life choices, US! He is a means to an end, the end of our choices. In fact, comparison shopping fuels the sense of self, the rush of choice, the power of purchasing. It is inevitable that this shopping-soaked, decision-driven culture will influence our perception of God and his will.

Projecting our consumerism and decision-driven lifestyles onto God’s will, we continue our obsession with choice. We seek God for answers, directions, “wisdom” BUT we do not seek God for God! We end up treating God like a Mall Information Booth Attendant. He is not a person to relate to, to know, to understand and enjoy, to worship; He is there to give us direction. We cry out to God, “Just show me where the GAP is so I can get there!” Other times we treat God like a comparison shopping chart or website. He exists to help us line up the products and possibilities of life, compare and contrast their features and options, and wallah- we make our choice! God is not the ultimate comparison shopping chart or website, dispensing wisdom for us to make decisions about what kind of toothpaste, computer, or movie we want to buy or what elective to take. God’s will for us is infinitely greater than supplying directions or narrowing down choices. Desiring help in deciding what God wants us to do with the myriad of choices set before us is understandable. Life is complex and God is sovereign and wise. And yes, God is sovereign over every hair of your head, but does not mean that He is constrained to tell you where it will part or fall. Often God is not primarily concerned so much with what we choose but how we choose it and with whom. God’s will for us is much greater than helping us execute a series of decisions to be made in mapping out our lives. Which raises the question, what is His will and how do we respond to it?

Covenant Chapel

2005-12-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday I began my position as Interim Preacher for Covenant Chapel of Manchester, CT The church is a young, vibrant, ethnically diverse church. Primarily composed of second generation Korean-Americans, Covenant Chapel is a warm and inviting place to worship. Emmanuel Chang, the worship leader, leads a very talented band. I haven't worshipped like I do at Covenant Chapel in some time.

Sermons will begin being posted online within the next few weeks. We are deeply grateful to God for the people of CC and anticipate great things through our time there. The interim is for six months, ending approximately in May. I would appreciate your prayers, if you think of me on Sundays. Sermon preparation every week is a new endeavor.

Looking to future grace...