Postmodern Reading

Dealing with the topic of reading a text from a postmodern perspective (ie, we have no access to a text's read meaning), Graeme Goldsworthy says this in his most recent book called, Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics:

Why, we might ask, does the postmodern protagonist deny the role of authorial intent, and put the argument in books written quite clearly with the assumption that the reader will, or at least should, understand what the (postmodern) author intends? (p. 137)

He ends the chapter called "The Eclipse of the Gospel in Philosophical Hermeneutics" by saying:

One can only wonder at the inconsistency, perhaps even hubris, of postmodern philosophers and hermeneutic theorists denying the reader of a text any access to objective meaning or the author's intention, while expecting us all to read their works as they intend, and not to misrepresent their meaning. (p. 138)

iTunes U

Speaking of iTunes... They also just announced a new feature on their site called, "iTunes U". This is where universities from around the country have upload their classes to listen to or watch in video format for free. You can check out listings here. Look on the left side to see which universities are listed.

The one of most interest to me is a course in beginning Biblical Greek that can be downloaded for free in video format from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Looks like a great resource for church leaders and lay people who would like to get started learning Biblical languages. You can find this course here.

Great Records for $7.99!

Today iTunes if offering their "biggest albums of all time" for 7.99. John Mayer, Keane, David Gray, Snow Patrol, etc. Sounds like a great deal. If you are an iTunes user, you can find the link here.

iTunes also just announced that they have switched a great deal of their catalog to music that is not iTunes specific. Meaning, it will be in a raw MP3 format that you can share with any other music player on a computer. Before this, you had to have iTunes and you could only share your music with a total of 5 other computers.

Steve Jobs is my hero.

Reformed Rock Stars

Timothy Brister has an interesting post called, "Are We Creating a Reformed Celebrity Culture?". I have wondered this often times myself and I think the answer is certainly "that depends". This can only be answered on a personal basis and you check your own heart. I think this was summed up best when a friend jokingly asked me the other day, "So is John Piper really the fourth member of the Trinity?" His point is taken well. Sometimes I wonder if in the past I have talked more about certain leaders impact on my life than Jesus'. 1 Cor 4 is a great study on how to view our leaders.

For the most part I think most of this is just raw sociology at work in the human heart. We all wants to be part of a team and have a sense of corporate identity which leads to a sense of belonging. That's not to say that most of the "Reformed Rock Stars" (as I call them) shouldn't be honored by those who are influenced by them, but as sinners I believe it's good to question our motives about how we talk about them and view them.

(HT: Challies)

Vintage Consumerism

Dan Kimball is interviewed for the Out of Ur blog.

Why I Live In The Suburbs

I doubt this would happen to me where I live. Wild stuff (no pun intended).

(HT: Relevant Mag)

10 Things

John Mark Reynolds has a short and interesting article entitled, "College Graduation: Ten Things I Wished I Had Known". It doesn't just apply to college graduates, but is good wisdom for all of us. I resonated with this one:

#4 - If you are bored, pretty much ever, there is something wrong. We live in the most fascinating culture of all time with almost unlimited chances and choices. Perhaps you are only living for self and not for a cause bigger than you are? I know, I know. It sounds Commencement-y, but you cannot be happy living only for self.

(HT: Joe Carter)

This is how it really is on the road

Shaun Groves outlines the truth about being a hard-core touring musician.

Mac Tips

For all you Mac users out there (why are we not all Mac users by now?) there is a cool blog you might want to bookmark or add to your reader called, A New Mac Tip Everyday. Some of the stuff they have posted I have already known, but other posts have proven to be most helpful!

I know your are in the band and all...

Here is an interesting article for all you "praise team" members (I hate that term with a passion). It's called "I'm with the worship team" and is written by Tom Curly. I don't agree with everything he says in it, but it's definitely worth the read. His main goal is to outline the differences between a typical band mindset vs. a mindset that should permeate those who lead worship for Christians.

(HT: Relevintage)

Flag in Church?

Should you post the American flag in your church sanctuary? iMonk deals with this issue here.

Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long

I just got the new Maroon 5 CD entitled "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". It's really good. The lead singer has one of the coolest voices to come around in a long time and they have definitely have taken a step up in terms of their production and programming on this sophomore effort. These 13 songs are chalked full of great melodies that stick in your brain long after you shut it off. I also like how this CD is probably even more funk and pop influenced than the last one.

My only complaint about this one is that it's seems to carry on the singular theme from their last CD: the "hey I'm still ticked at the chick that screwed me over" lyrical thrust. It kind of gets old and I would love to see them come up with something a bit more original to say.

To see a really cool video of them playing their first single from this record on aol music, click here.

Oklahoma Bill

Good news found here on the pro-life front.

(HT: Relevant Mag)

Beer Marriage

Doug Wilson notes that he and his wife will be speaking at a marriage conference in Virginia by using a very funny advertisement.

First Cause

Melinda has a good post discussing the question of "who created God" that was posed to Ray Comfort in the infamous ABC "debate". She writes:

We know the universe isn't eternal, otherwise the finite energy would have run out. We know that all events have a cause. But for the atheist and evolutionist, all causes and events are natural so the "first cause" has to be a natural one, and so far no natural cause can stop the infinite regress since none is sufficient to be the ultimate first cause.

Read the whole post here.

LOST - Season 3 Finale

Did you watch the season Finale of LOST last night? It was pretty good. Still WAY more questions than answers, but I'll for sure be watching next fall. Even with all the plot complications it's still the best show on TV (except for The Office). Brad links to some interesting reactions from last night's episode from Lost Easter Eggs:

When Jack pulls up to that funeral home, the name of it is “Hoffs/Drawler.” This is an anagram for “Flash Foward.”

So I’m thinking the gist of Jacks flashforward is that he’s now haunted by Bens words to him that if they leave the island …they all will die. this funeral might be one of many…and jack can’t bear to watch them all die one by one. He feels responsible as he refused to listen to Bens warning. Maybe they’re all sick?

Flash forwards are impossible and unreal, and this show, as crazy as this still sounds, is based in reality. Jack can’t see the future; what we saw tonight is the present. Notice how Jack doesn’t react to any of the “flash forwards”. If he did see them, he would know he’d be that remiss about leaving, and would take steps to correct that mistake.

It is not a “flash forward” in the sense that we understand “flashback.” Rather, it is the present, and we get a glimpse of what’ll happen. So yeah, all of LOST has been a mega-flashback from the point of today’s flashforwards, if this makes any sense. BUT, since within the LOST world, the ISLAND is the PRESENT, then what we saw tonight wasn’t the ACTUAL present, but the REAL future, what it all will lead to. But Jack was most definetly NOT getting Desmondesque flashes as he gazed unto oblivion. I buy the JEREMY BENTHAM possibility. It would tie into the whole John LOCKE, Desmond David HUME, Danielle ROUSSEAU philosopher trend.

The name in the HD screen caps is clearly Jeremy Bentham. Here is some info about this European philosopher: the Prision he designed, which was made to be able to observe all prisoners without the prisoners knowing they were being watched to create a power of mind over mind…And lastly the socail power club he belonged to called the Jacobin Club (JACOB)

I also think we just saw the very end of the show. I.e. Jack and Kate meeting up is how Lost ends in 48 episodes. The only difference is that by then we’ll know who was in the casket and we’ll know why Jack was so distraught about not being able to go back.

I’m thinking that when the rescue ship makes it to the island, they only have enough supplies to take a select few, vowing to come back for the others. That’s why Jack feels so incredibly guilty, because they left people behind, and they haven’t been able to find the island again….

i think they went back in time to before the plane ever crashed, before any of them ever got on the plane or made the decision to get on the plane — thus, jack’s dad is still alive, and only the survivors of the crash know about the crash ever happening. it doesn’t explain the “golden passes” but it does explain jack’s dad being alive, jack and kate having to keep something a secret, etc.

i also think that because they leave the islane, everyone dies (charlie - heroin overdose, claire’s baby aaron getting sent to bad parents, jin being killed by sun’s father…etc…) the island is actually what kept them alive for a good, quality life.

the entire run of LOST we have been rooting for them to get off the island, this episode changed all that — now we want them to stay on it. excellent writing.

Video editing can make good music

Here is one of the most creative things I have seen in awhile. This guy doesn't play any instruments, but since he a wiz at video editing he can create a pretty cool song. Very interesting stuff...

(HT: K-Pooh)

Images of Jesus

Here is a cool gallery of images of Jesus that artists have created throughout church history.

(HT: Relevant Mag)

Worship Thoughts from Mark Dalbey

We dare not confuse biblical principle with the application of a biblical principle. For instance, let us suppose that I decide the best way for the congregation to pray
the Lord’s Prayer is to sing the Lord’s Prayer. There is a biblical principle that relates to either praying the Lord’s Prayer with words only or praying with music in a worship service. It is to use the Lord’s Prayer when you pray. The element is prayer. Under this heading of prayer, the Lord’s Prayer is a legitimate actual prayer to pray and a model of ways in which we should pray. My application of praying this biblical prayer is that I decide to sing it. Suppose I think this is so wonderful, so impacting, and so faithful to the Bible that I am going to say that you are not praying the Lord’s Prayer properly in your church unless you sing it. If I do that I have turned an application of a biblical principle of prayer and a particular kind of it into the biblical principle itself.

We confuse principle with application in worship, too. People find a worship expression that is exciting, has a sense of being faithful to God, and rings true with the worshipers gathered in this time, place, and local church. People’s lives are being impacted and changed by the Gospel in this worship service. They long to have other people experience the same blessings that they are. Some of these people may have come out of other kinds of worship experiences where that was not happening. Therefore they are suspicious of anything other than how they do it as being legitimate before God and impacting to the people. You can see how people get to that point. We could turn a lot of good, biblical applications of things in worship into new laws for people to have to abide by. That is what I am most passionately against. When I am around people who, when it comes to style of worship, are strict traditionalists, I tend to nudge them. I affirm where they are and the principles behind it. But I say, “This is not the only legitimate way that the principles that you hold dear and are applying in this way have to be done by everybody else. Are you paying attention to the demographic realities, generational dynamics, socioeconomic, and ethnic aspects? There are people whose voice in song and worship is potentially being pushed down or off to the side. You are so convinced that your one right way of doing it must be true of every time, place, people, and class.” When I go to churches where they are committed to only contemporary worship, with no hymnals or organs, I try to affirm what is right about what they are doing. I also nudge them toward realizing that the world is bigger than where they live. I challenge the attitude that is a whole lot like the attitude on the other side.

From this lecture from this class at covenantworldwide.org

Soular - This is the way it feels

You've probably read my blogs about the band Soular in the past, but I wanted to draw your attention to their new video for the song "This is the way it feels". The guys from Soular are from Albuquerque and the lead singer, Marsh, used to have my job here at Desert Springs Church as the music pastor. They are hitting the road very hard right now and if they come to your area be sure to check them out. They are a great band with a killer new video you can see here.

My favorite Coldplay song

I like this video too because Chris is playing the guitar that I play.

Biblically Illiterate?

A majority of American's say they believe in God and say they attend church. This story reports that although these number may be high it says nothing at all about knowledge of the Bible. This unfortunately is exceedingly low. You can read about it here and test yourself!

(HT: Relevant Mag)

"24" - I've been compromised

Dear Jack Bauer,

I must say from the outset that your show has proved to be quite entertaining. My wife and I heard all about you from all our friends and how we HAVE to start watching you save the world with a mere cell phone, a flashlight and a 9mm, but I have to confess that we cannot continue to watch it. Our plan was to fire through all 7 seasons on DVD to get caught up for next year, but that plan has been compromised for the following reasons.

1. Your daughter is the dumbest TV character ever created. I can't stomach you saying "I love you baby" to her over and over again when she calls you at the headquarters and you can't talk. Instead of shooting all the bad guys, I think you should have shot Kim long ago for being so dumb. The list of her dumbness is too long to list but I'll give you three: 1) Not calling 911, but Daddy instead when she was in the house with the psycho Dad guy at the end of season 2, 2) going to the scary house in the woods with scary psycho lonely nomad in the hills and 3) the whole plot line of rescuing the little girl and not telling the police anything about psycho Daddy in season two was about at dumb as it gets.

2. Sherry Palmer is the second dumbest character ever created on TV. She is pulled directly from the daytime soaps. I'm sorry, but the former first lady orchestrating a nuclear attack on the the US is just a bit too far fetched for me.

3. Jack you are the toughest guy ever. I get that. I am convinced. This is the problem. I can tell you already what is going to happen in the following 5 seasons. You will save the world all on your own with the simple tools of your world-saving trade, a cell phone and a 9mm (and a little torture here and there).

For these three reasons I'll have to cease my watching. It was good while it lasted. Thanks for the memories.

Sincerely,


Z-Schrute

I want you to have this...

Emery Lewis Nielsen

The Trilogy of children is now complete. Trifecta, trinity, trilectical tension, triceratops, triple threat position... all that to say we now have three kids.

Emery was welcomed into this world yesterday at 2:02 pm. We were scheduled for a c-section. We got to the hospital at around 1pm and he was born an hour later. Our OB was not messing around. It was the fastest thing I have ever seen. I would rather have that than waiting around all day.

Here are the specs:
-6 lbs 11 oz
-20 inches
-We thought the hair was red, it's not, it's blonde like his siblings
-Wicked cone head

Kim is doing well and since this is her 3rd c-section she really knows what to expect. God has been so good to us to provide three beautiful children.

Baby #3

Today is the big day. My wife and I will be heading out (no pun intended) to the hospital around 2pm for my wife's scheduled c-section. We are having a baby boy. We are excited and nervous all at the same time. Life is truly a gift from God, but sleep is as well and once you get over 30 it becomes even more important. Thus the excitement and nervousness. Experience tells us though that God provides what you need to get through whatever sleep deprived haze you may be wading through, so I'm sure we'll be fine.

Moving from man-to-man defense with two kids to zone defense with three will also be an interesting new challenge (please forgive the basketball metaphor if you are not a fan). We are not totally set on a name yet, so if you want to throw out some suggestions, we are game.

For my wife's first two c-sections, I didn't watch that much, fearing that I might lose my lunch or pass out, but this time around I think I might try and catch as much of the action as I can stomach (again, no pun intended).

We would covet your prayers today that God would give grace to all involved. Children truly are a blessing from the Lord.

Buster Speaks Out!

Anyone remember Arrested Development? If not, you need to check it out on DVD. Basically, it's the funniest show ever created for TV. One of my favorite characters from the show, Tony Hale, who played Buster, is interviewed here on what it's like being a Christian in the entertainment industry.

John Mayer - The Village Sessions EP

Yesterday I purchased the new release from John Mayer called, The Village Sessions. Here is the description from his blog:

The long-awaited digital release of the indie EP "The Village Sessions" has finally arrived. The EP was recorded with guitarist Robbie McIntosh in late 2006 after that Fall's US Continuum Tour. It features acoustic versions of songs from Continuum and includes very special guest Ben Harper on "Waiting On The World To Change."

One of the coolest things about this record is that when you buy it from iTunes it comes with a 20 minute video that documents the amazing process that John went through to record the song "In Repair". He basically challenged himself to write a whole original song in one day. He came with no set idea of what would happen but through inviting some of the world's best musicians (drummer, Steve Jordan and 8 string guitarist, Charlie Hunter) to collaborate with and having a great environment to work in, they came out with a very cool song. This movie documents this process and it was extremely interesting to watch raw creativity in action.

John Mayer fans have to get this recording. It's really good.

Part 3

Here is part three of Hitchens/Wilson debate hosted by Christianity Today.com. My favorite paragraph this time from Wilson to Hitchens:

Take the vilest atheist you ever heard of. Imagine yourself sitting at his bedside shortly before he passes away. He says, following Sinatra, "I did it my way." And then he adds, chuckling, "Got away with it too." In our thought experiment, the one rule is that you must say something to him, and whatever you say, it must flow directly from your shared atheism—and it must challenge the morality of his choices. What can you possibly say? He did get away with it. There is a great deal of injustice behind him, which he perpetrated, and no justice in front of him. You have no basis for saying anything to him other than to point to your own set of personal prejudices and preferences. You mention this to him, and he shrugs. "Tomayto, tomahto."

The Worship Industry

Say what you will about Brian McClaren and his wacky theology, I think he has much good to say here in this video clip from The Work of The People.



(HT: Brad)

One look says a thousand words

Pro-Abortion Arguments

If you want to be an advocate for the lives of the unborn you might consider diving into the arguments and "ethics" of those who are pro-abortion. (I hate the word "pro-choice"...choosing what?) Here is an article entitled, "Abortion: why it’s the ultimate motherly act", by Caitlin Moran that turns abortion into a potentially moral act that should be pursued in many circumstances.

I guess this leads to an honest question for myself and those of you reading this: If you want to be an advocate for the unborn, do you actually have any friends that are pro-abortion? If not, why not?

(HT: Big Mike)

Selective Abortion

Al Mohler reports on the slippery slope of selective abortion. He writes,

Just days after reporting that 90 percent of all babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are now aborted, Amy Harmon reports in The New York Times that the real reach of the question goes far beyond Down syndrome. Now, some babies are aborted for virtually any trait considered undesirable by the mother or parents -- and ethicists seem unwilling to draw any clear lines

Read the whole post here.

Rudy and Abortion

The STR blog has a good post dealing with Rudy Guiliani and his position on abortion.

Ashley

Louie Giglio recounts a moving story about a college girl named Ashley on the 268 blog. You can find it here.

Season 4 of The Office

Good news for fans of The Office.

(HT: JT)

Humilty and Worship

Jeffery Ream posts a few good thoughts of the importance of humility for worship.

Noah's Ark Project

Here is a cool story that should stir up wonder and praise towards God in light of his creation. It's called the Noah's Ark project and it attempts to catalog all of life on planet Earth.

I wonder if these animals will make the list?

(HT: Relevant Mag)

Next Gen iPod

Check out the specs on the next generation of the iPod. Not sure when it comes out...

Round 2

The 2nd installment of the Hitchens/Wilson debate can now be found here.

I am finding their back and fourth exchange to be very enjoyable. Both men are good writers and thinkers. A Christian might say that Hitchens is not a good thinker due to the fact that he is an atheist (they would say the same about us!) but we should be quick to remember (if you take the Bible seriously) that being a Christian has much less to do with thinking about facts than is does divine calling from above. James implies that demons know more about theology than I ever will, but the problem is that they hate what they know.

Here is my favorite portion of this current posting:

When another atheist makes different ethical choices than you do (as Stalin and Mao certainly did), is there an overarching common standard for all atheists that you are obeying and which they are not obeying? If so, what is that standard and what book did it come from? Why is it binding on them if they differ with you? And if there is not a common objective standard which binds all atheists, then would it not appear that the supernatural is necessary in order to have a standard of morality that can be reasonably articulated and defended?

For Who You Are

When I lived in Nashville last year, I had a songwriting publishing deal for about 6 months with Word Entertainment. I quickly found out that the "sit in a room 3x a week and write hits" approach to songwriting really wasn't my style. I am very thankful for the opportunity that I had to work with some great people and learn a lot about the "right" way to write a song, but it just wasn't me. I really didn't enjoy trying to fit into the box that I was forced to write in. Some would say that a good writer can fit into any box that you place upon him. I get that and I met many writers like that. Perhaps I was just not that great of a writer, and I am fine with that reality.

Anyway, all that to say, a couple of the songs that I co-wrote did see the light of day and one of them just got released on the latest Women of Faith CD. The song is called "For Who You Are". You can find it here (iTunes, double click to hear sample) or here (Amazon).

When I lived in Nashville for those two short years, I never would have thought that I would have gotten cuts on a Women of Faith CD and a Point of Grace CD (I co-wrote a song that made it on their upcoming record). No offense to these artists, but to be most honest, this style of music is not my preference, but when you are hired to write songs for a record label and publishing company, you have to try and create what sells. This style of music is, generally speaking, the dominate seller in the Christian market. Thus you have to do what you have to do to get paid. Herein lies the classic clash between art and commerce.

Am I a musical prostitute or a sell-out? A mercenary? Maybe, but whatever the case may be, I learned a lot from it and am grateful for having had the experience in Nashville that I did. Thought you might want to hear a bit of it...

Hitchens vs. Wilson

Christopher Hitchens (atheist) and Douglas Wilson (Christian theologian) have begun an online written debate concerning the following topic: "Is Christianity Good for the World?"

The first installment is an interesting read. You can find it here.

This is my favorite portion of Doug's response to Christopher:

In your second objection, you gaily dismiss the Old Testament, "which speaks hotly in recommending genocide, slavery, genital mutilation, and other horrors." Setting aside for the moment whether your representation of the Old Testament is judicious or accurate, let me assume for the sake of discussion that you have accurately summarized the essence of Mosaic ethics here. You then go on to say that we who teach such stories to children have been "damned by history." But why should this "damnation by history" matter to any of us reading Bible stories to kids, or, for that matter, to any of the people who did any of these atrocious things, on your principles? These people are all dead now, and we who read the stories are all going to be dead. Why should any of us care about the effeminate judgments of history? Should the propagators of these "horrors" have cared? There is no God, right? Because there is no God, this means that—you know—genocides just happen, like earthquakes and eclipses. It is all matter in motion, and these things happen.

If you are on the receiving end, there is only death, and if you are an agent delivering this genocide, the long-term result is brief victory and death at the end. So who cares? Picture an Israelite during the conquest of Canaan, doing every bad thing that you say was occurring back then. During one of his outrages, sword above his head, should he have stopped for a moment to reflect on the possibility that you might be right? "You know, in about three and a half millennia, the consensus among historians will be that I am being bad right now. But if there is no God, this disapproval will certainly not disturb my oblivion. On with the rapine and slaughter!" On your principles, why should he care?

Interesting Punishment

Don't shoplift at Wal-Marts in Alabama.

(HT: Relevant Magazine)

The Future of "Lost"

"Lost" will continue for three more seasons and 48 more episodes. Read about it here.

I want more answers and less plot complexity!!! It is getting a bit ridiculous as this point.

(HT: Relevant)

Eccesiastical Beauty

Take a tour of the 10 most beautiful churches in the world. Should we build churches like this today, or should money be spent elsewhere?

(HT: Think Christian.net)

Worship Leader Essentials

Blog.worship.com has compiled a list of links for all their posts in a series entitled, "Worship Leader Essentials". You can find it here.

The Reunion You Have Been Waiting For

One of the greatest bits of news in rock and roll history.

A Christian Worldview for Music

CCM magazine is redefining it's definition of Christian Music. I think this could be a good thing.

Encouragement for Reading

Pastor John Piper writes in, "Brothers We Are Not Professionals",

We think we don't have time to read. We despair of reading anything spiritually rich and substantial because life seems to be lived in snatches. One of the most helpful discoveries I have made is how much can be read in a disciplined blocks of twenty minutes a day.

Suppose that you read slowly, say about 250 words a minutes (as I do). This means that in twenty minutes you can read about five thousand words. An average book has about four hundred words to a page. So you could read about twelve-and-a-half pages in twenty minutes. Suppose you discipline yourself to read a certain author or topic twenty minutes a day, six days a week, for a year. That would be 312 (days) times 12.5 (pages) for a total of 3,900 pages. Assume that an average book is 250 pages long. This means you could read fifteen books like this in one year.

Further on he writes,

This astonishing discovery freed me from the paralysis of not starting great, mind-shaping, heart-enriching books because I lacked enough big blocks of time. It turns out that I don't need long periods of time in order to read three masterpieces in one year! I needed twenty minutes a day, six days a week.

"Every poet and musician and artist, but for grace, is drawn away from love of the thing he tells, to love of the telling till, down in deep Hell, they cannot be interested in God at all but only in what they say about Him."

C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

(HT: Seth)

What Am I To Do?

From John Piper, on the folly of comparing ourselves to others:

Jesus will not judge me according to my superiority or inferiority over anybody. No preacher. No church. No ministry. These are not the standard. Jesus has a work for me to do (and a different one for you). It is not what he has given anyone else to do. There is a grace to do it. Will I trust him for that grace and do what he has given me to do? That is the question.

(HT: Worship Blog)

Killing Church Politics

Mark Lauterbach has a very insightful post here, entitled, "Killing Church Politics". Church leaders need to read this one.

JAM

John Mayer with a good word for musicians:

Jimi Hendrix, whether by chemical escapism or by the luxury of singularity that discovery offers, never played guitar sheepishly. He was so rooted in 'now' (which unfortunately at its most immediate sounding is still only best known as 'then') that he never read over his own ticker tape while he played. Maybe after, sure - that's where self-betterment stems from - but in the act, when thinking about yourself does you no good, there was no judgment. By not considering the expression worthless, he made it momentous.

And maybe that's one of the many things I have left to learn. Maybe I need to bend a note without concurrently wondering if it's going to reach the right pitch; maybe I just start closing my eyes and bending away. And with statistics showing that over 90 percent of my readership doesn't know what a minor pentatonic scale is, I bet this is worth transposing into non-musical terms. So here goes: close your eyes, get out of your own way, and JAM.

Read his whole post here:

We are not that unique

I love this statement from Mark Lauterbach:

I do not think we live in times that are all that unique. I do not think post modernism is all that new and different. I do not think that relevance is found in cultural cleverness. I think God is always relevant because he is unchanging. I think humanity is basically the same in the depths of our existence. I think we remain a race of people corrupted by sin and fundamentally opposed to the humiliations of the cross. We are only able to see and believe by grace.

Natasha in Calcutta

Recording artist Natasha Bedingfield recently took a sabbatical from her recording career to serve in an orphanage in Calcutta.

Here is what she had to say:

"The past few years have been devoted to my career. So it was great to do something less selfish. It filled me with a lot of hope. In the past, I have felt there were so many horrible things in the world I just wanted to shut it out - what can one person do?

Especially when it just takes so much effort to survive, keep your own life afloat, pay the bills. But to see the things that people are doing to help others, the smiles on the kids faces - those kind of things stay with you."

At her record company's request, she agreed to a phone interview with a fashion magazine during her sabbatical. "I'm in the orphanage, my heart is kind of in shock, and they're asking me, 'What's the most you've ever spent on an item of clothing?' I said, 'Thanks for reminding me how materialistic I am.'

Read the whole article here.

Subwoofer

Denver Seminary Prof, Doug Groothuis doesn't like your rap music. Here is his poetic polemic:

Subwoofer

March 14, 2003 by Doug Groothuis

Thumping, bumping from nowhere—louder, deeper, unmistakable,
unavoidable.

Now from everywhere—pounding, roaring, bursting into my
unprotected being, uninvited, unstoppable.

A rolling, prowling object
radiating meanness, rudeness, crudeness, lewdness.

Sonic stench of thick machine noise
Putrid pulsations penetrating the unwary sensorium.

Subwoofer
Sonic-ravager
Noise-blaster
Rudeness-amplifier
Rudeness-accelerator
Boom-bomber
Bombast-er

Nowhere to hide
No shield to wield
No escape from the quake.

Vibrations vitiating body and soul
No cover for the ears
It roars in through the pores,
the spores of sonic death,
disintegration, degeneration.

At last, the beastly roar retreats
from the scene of the cultural crime.

The wounded remain
dazed, angry, helpless

On it thunders, to terrorize, victimize all in its audio wake
More sensoria to scuttle
down the wretched road

Shalom undone,
plundering peace, ravaging reason,
ear by ear, soul by soul.

Subwoofer
Sub-humanizer
De-humanizer
Anti-humanizer
Uncivil, uncivilizing
profitable, popular, poisonous

Subwoofer

Nowhere to be seen or heard or feared or hated
in the Kingdom that is to come!

Living Smaller in Bigger Spaces

Here is an interesting stat:


(HT: My Money Blog)

Still too busy?

Dan at Cerulean Sanctum continues his discussion of busyness for Christians. He says:

Jan at The View From Her asked why Christians are demanding more and more Christian movies and TV shows. Isn’t it all just preaching to the choir?

That question fits here because I feel that our discipleship in this country is so poor we’re failing to create disciples who can stand on their own two spiritual feet. They need constant propping up in order to walk the path of Christ. So instead of developing an inner life filled with the Spirit, they surround themselves with pleasant Christian messages they believe will strengthen them.

Unfortunately, that misguided belief resembles going into battle clad in pillows rather than armor. Yet in a frenzied environment packed to the gills with this activity and that, we flop to the couch with nothing left and turn on our sweet little Christian movie before we doze off.

Read the whole thing here.

Have you seen this?

I have two main problems with this commercial:

1. The implication of these commercials is that if you are a wiz at exegesis then that means you you have no idea how to reach lost people. And if you don't believe in seeker sensitive ministry then you are equated with a tightly wound dork in a bad suit? The false dichotomies abound! In my opinion these commercials are overly simplistic and present very unhelpful characterizations.

2. Christians need to spend way less time copying the culture and spend more time thinking about how we can be uniquely creative for the glory of God. No one is impressed by our feeble attempts to be "relevant" by performing a copy job that is half as good as the original.

Does anyone know who produces these?

(HT: Think Christian)

The Implications of the Reign of Christ

Doug Wilson says,

The Lord Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. That should affect things down here.

Further on...

But for too many Christians, this is done in a superficial "Honk if you love Jesus" way. For example, when the faith is taken into the business world, nothing really happens unless you count putting that little fish in the corner of the yellow pages ad. This means that when other Christians look at the ad, they think they ought to take their business there -- "And because we are Christians, maybe he'll give us a discount." I wonder why no one ever says, "Look! A Christian business. Why don't we take our business there so we can add ten percent to our bill -- help out a brother a little." This sort of "religious club" mentality is not the result of submitting our businesses to the authority of Christ; it is simply clannishness. In those businesses where Christ is truly honored, affecting the approach to debt, making payroll, etc., the results are a wonderful testimony to the reign of Christ. So we should long for the day when evangelical Christians have the general reputation for hard work and honest dealing that the Huguenots had in France. We are not there yet.

Read the whole post here. It's good.

Only 10 Christian Calories

Brant Hansen writes about the 1in3Trinity sports drink:

Sometimes, after a Christian jog through my secular, master-planned (but not by the real Master) community, I feel a need for refreshment. Christian refreshment.

A beverage that has repented of its sins.

That's why I drink 1in3 Trinity. Like the makers say, it's made of a special formula "handed down from the flourishing vines and trees of the Holy Land."

It's packed with 1000 mg of Christian Taurine, plus 50 mg of Biblically-based Glucuronotactone. (Ecclesians 4:21). And it takes seriously Jesus's call to consume 180% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B-12.

The makers say if it reaches "just one person", it's worth it.

MuteMath in ABQ

I went to the MuteMath show in Albuquerque last night. It was their second show here in 6 months or so. They never fail to to entertain. Flips over the Rhodes, drums gear flying all over the stage, guitar player "playing" his pedal board, drummers climbing up the main speaker stack, and overall music madness contained in an overall groove and melody that will make you respond is recipe for an amazing show to take in.

You have to see these guys live. Unreal.

Faith in Iraq

Newsweek has an interesting story about the faith of soldiers in the war in Iraq.

The Real Emerging Church

But I would just say to you that there really is another emerging church that people don’t talk about that much, and that is the church in the East.

It’s the real emerging church. I don’t think emerging church is the right word here in the West, I think it is deconstructing. And that’s not bad. The church always needs to be deconstructed in the sense that this is what it meant to our fathers, now what does it mean to me and what is it going to mean to my children and grandchildren?

The emerging church that I deal with the most is in Asia and Africa and that part of the world and it is truly an emerging church, where Christianity for the first time is exploding on that side of the world, like we haven’t seen here for millenniums or centuries.

China is the greatest church growth story the world has ever known. But here’s what’s different in the two churches: the church in the East, it’s not deconstructing, it’s constructing; it’s not frustrated and disillusioned, it’s excited and positive, it’s just a totally different response. It’s not old faith and vintage faith that’s being reinvigorated, it’s new faith with a tremendous amount of passion.

I think the whole dimension of what we’re going to see from the emergent church in the East is far more significant on us than the Western emergent church is going to be on the rest of the world. For the first time in the history of the church we’re going to be affected more by the East than us affect the East since the split between the Orthodox churches, I’m convinced of that.

-Bob Roberts, pastor of NorthWood church, author of Glocalization and Transformation

(HT: Relevintage)