Thom

For those of you who don't know, Thom Yorke, front man of epic rock band, Radiohead is one of the weirdest dudes on the planet and that's a good thing. Thom and his boys have basically created much of what we today dig as the sound of pop music. These guys invented Coldplay, Muse and a host of other bands that have been strongly influenced by them. I think Thom is one of those guys who walks that line between genius and insanity and depending on the day, you don't know which is which. Musically, he is a genius, but check out the way he looks at the crowd at the beginning of this video. Creepy! If you don't have their record, OK Computer, you need to repent and go get it right now.



(HT: B-Bergs)

Yet another sign that the apocalypse draws nigh...

Relevant Mag blog reports that the David Crowder band is in the studio now recording their next record. Guess who they have as a guest guitarist? Ted Nugent! The Nuge!!!! I wouldn't believe it, but you can watch for yourself here. I know it's legit because you can see some of the guys from the band in the video and we played a few shows with them when I played with Matthew West. It's really the DCB with The Nuge. There has to be a back story about this that I'm sure is pretty interesting. Watch the video here:



Here is another classic video of The Nuge:


Is this guy for real?

Are you self-righteous?

Mark Lauterbach asks some great questions concerning how you know if you are self-righteous or not:

1. Am I moody in my assurance of salvation, depending on the present state of my sanctification?
2. Do I think of myself as better than other Christians who do not do things in "my" superior way -- schooling, parenting, doctrinal convictions, church life?
3. Am I as fearful of the moral and religious as I am of the immoral?
4. Do I get discouraged by criticism?

Read the whole post here.

Just as I am

Nichole Nordeman has an interesting arrangement of "Just as I am" found on the "music inspired by the movie" soundtrack for Amazing Grace. You can get it here (iTunes).

Do you blush?

Wildman, and resident philosopher from Denver Seminary, Dr. Doug Groothuis says,

Truly, too many Americans have lost the ability to blush--a prelude to judgment if not repented of. Read Francis Schaeffer's Death in the City on the judgment of God against the West and what this means for Christians. We need more weeping prophets (like Jeremiah adn Schaeffer), not wimpy puppets. See Jeremiah 20:9

Ten of the best April Fool's Day hoaxes

Here is an article about the best April Fool's day pranks. This one is my personal favorite:

In 1998, a newsletter titled New Mexicans for Science and Reason carried an article that the state of Alabama had voted to change the value of pi from 3.14159 to the "Biblical value" of 3.0.

Long live New Mexico!

(HT: Relevant Mag)

Creative People and Truth

"It's the job of creative people, and especially those who are followers of Jesus, to be radical truth tellers "

-Derek Webb

From this story.

(HT: Relevant Mag Blog)

The Office - Promo for New Episode - April 5th

I can't think of anything to post today, but I thought that in light of tonight's rerun of The Office you might want to check this out.

After last night's American Idol, I had to post this...

Reactions to American Idol

1. Can someone please explain to me what is going on with Sanjaya? Dude needs to move on.

2. Holy cow, can you say 80's fashion? It made me want to break out my old white and pastel Miami Vice jacket that I wore in 3rd grade. I need to get a "members only" jacket and start wearing it around again.

3. Jordin is the best singer even though tonight she did a song that did not show it very well.

Bob on the Psalms

Bob Kauflin has a couple of interesting posts dealing with those that believe we should only sing the Psalms in our ecclesiastical gatherings. This quote was rather convincing to me,

There's no question that singing the Psalms (or at least metrical versions) can be and has been a rewarding experience for many Christians. I thank God for those churches today that remind us of the rich resource God has given us in the Psalms. But the most significant reason I don’t think God wants us to sing only the Psalms has to do with his desire to reveal himself in Christ. We aren’t meant to only sing songs where Christ can be seen “in the shadows.” The identity of Christ was a matter of life and death for the early Christians. Was he God or not? Was he to be worshiped or not? The first century church made it clear both in their theology and doxology (teaching and praise) that Jesus was God. The revelation of God in Christ required new songs of praise to be written both for the building up of the church and the spreading of the Gospel. Our situation is no different today.

You can find both posts here.

How to spiritually protect your family

God in the Suburbs?

This looks like an interesting article:

The Gospel and the God Forsaken: The Challenge of the Missional Church in Suburbia by Todd Hiestand. You can also download this paper in pdf form from this link.

(HT: RK)

NCAA Division II Championship

Who cares about division II hoops anyway right? Well, after having one of the greatest finishes ever in sports history you might want to pay more attention. This is greater than they could do it in the movies. Unreal.

The Final Four

Bill Simmons says that this upcoming Final Four this weekend might be one of the best ever. He writes,

We'll always remember that UNC-Georgetown game from 1982 not just because of the last 30 seconds, but because Patrick Ewing, Sleepy Floyd, Sam Perkins, James Worthy AND Michael Jordan were involved. Maybe there wasn't as much star power in the 2007 rematch, but Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, Ty Lawson and Brandan Wright could end up being top-12 picks three months from now; Tyler Hansbrough should crack the top 20; and we're not even mentioning Wayne Ellington (one year away from being a prime-time player) or the three Georgetown perimeter guys (Sapp, Wallace and Summers) who shot a combined 19-for-30 on Sunday. With the exception of Wright (who probably would have entered last year's NBA draft under the old rules), that's just good fortune to have so many quality players in the same Elite Eight game. And over everything else, that's why you'll be flicking channels 35 years from now and stumbling across that game on ESPN Classic. You know, assuming it's one of the three days of the year they aren't showing a 24-hour poker marathon. Anyway, with two No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds staying alive in a loaded college basketball season, we're headed for the most exciting Final Four since '99 with UConn (Rip Hamilton, Jake Voskuhl and Khalid El-Amin), Duke (Shane Battier, Corey Maggette, Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon), Ohio State (Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd) and Michigan State (Mateen Cleaves and Mo Peterson). From a talent standpoint, there's no comparison between then and now: This year's quartet features a future No. 1 pick and franchise center (Oden), six future lottery picks (Oden, Conley, Noah, Horford, Brewer, Green and Hibbert), two more potential first rounders (Afflalo and Collison), two elite college players with a knack for coming up big when it matters (Georgetown's Wallace and OSU's Ron Lewis), three superb coaches (Thompson, Florida's Billy Donovan and UCLA's Ben Howland, who pulled Bill Self's pants down on Saturday) and quality point guards on all four teams. You'd have to travel back to '93 (when three No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed made it, including Michigan's Fab Five team) to find this much talent and this many subplots in the Final Four.

All I know is this: Saturday's games (Florida-UCLA and OSU-Georgetown) are appointment viewing for anyone who ever gave a crap about basketball. When's the last time you could say something like that about the Final Four? I'm giddy.

S3

The final Spider-Man 3 trailer is here. Check it before you wreck it.

N.T. says...

N.T. Wright writes,

For generations the church has been polarized between those who see the main task being the saving of souls for heaven and the nurturing of those souls through the valley of this dark world, on the one hand, and on the other hand those who see the task of improving the lot of human beings and the world, rescuing the poor from their misery.

The longer that I've gone on as a New Testament scholar and wrestled with what the early Christians were actually talking about, the more it's been borne in on me that that distinction is one that we modern Westerners bring to the text rather than finding in the text. Because the great emphasis in the New Testament is that the gospel is not how to escape the world; the gospel is that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Lord of the world. And that his death and Resurrection transform the world, and that transformation can happen to you. You, in turn, can be part of the transforming work. That draws together what we traditionally called evangelism, bringing people to the point where they come to know God in Christ for themselves, with working for God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. That has always been at the heart of the Lord's Prayer, and how we've managed for years to say the Lord's Prayer without realizing that Jesus really meant it is very curious. Our Western culture since the 18th century has made a virtue of separating out religion from real life, or faith from politics.When I lecture about this, people will pop up and say, "Surely Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world." And the answer is no, what Jesus said in John 18 is, "My kingdom is not from this world." That's ek tou kosmoutoutou. It's quite clear in the text that Jesus' kingdom doesn't start with this world. It isn't a worldly kingdom, but it is for this world. It's from somewhere else, but it's for this world.

(HT: Evangelical Outpost)

Elliot's New Record

I posted a few days ago (found below) on Elliot Yamin of American Idol fame and his new single "Movin On". It's a great song and I encourage you to buy it if you dig that style (Pop, R&B, Funk, Soul, etc). Recently his whole record was released and I was very excited to purchase it since I seriously believe he is the best singer that American Idol has discovered. Unfortunately my feelings about his whole record are not as positive.

In short, I was disappointed with it. Bad production (except for the single), subpar songwriting, and cheesy, low budget programming. It kind of sounds like the record co. didn't want to spend that much money on him and it shows. To be sure, Elliot is an amazing singer, but if the songs don't really speak it doesn't matter a lick. It doesn't even seem that he gets to show off his amazing vocal chops that much. It's like the songs have constricted him.

One of my biggest pet peeves these days is the obligatory "slap President Bush in the face" song that is chalked full of gross over simplifications about how we all just need to get along. Blah, blah, blah. Elliot has one of these songs on his record. This bugs me. John Mayer has one of these on his last record (that I think is one of the greatest creations ever conceived by a musician) but at least John's song has one of the nastiest (good nasty) grooves ever played by a band.

Don't give up on Elliot just yet. If he even does a mediocre job with his sales with this record, the record co. will probably give him a bigger budget next time and it will be worth a listen just based on his amazing vocals.

If you were to buy a couple more songs from the record get, "A Song For You" and "Alright". These are pretty good too.

Sometimes it's ok that your church is embarrassing

Dan Edelen writes:

One of the things I appreciate about my church concerns the openness to letting anyone talk. The pastor and elders do a fine job of knowing when to let others stand up and take the microphone. That’s a real gift. It also means everyone’s involved in the service. People don’t just sponge it all up; they contribute in tangible ways.

I feel blessed to be a part of a church that has so many positives going for it.

I love to see my wife dance in church. Several of the women danced spontaneously—yet another blessing to have that openness to express one’s worship through dancing. But by the time the A/C kicked in (82 degrees in March?) I was pretty sweaty and so was my wife. We fanned each other after I came down from behind the drums.

We sit near the front. Since our church does draw a rural crowd, we get a lot of folks who sit in the last third of the church. Most of the visitors do, anyway. But this morning, two women visitors sat behind us. During the offering time, the church breaks up to greet others, so we chatted with the visitors.

Moments later, one of the men of the church approached the pastor with several things he felt we should be praying for. He listed the needs and called people up for prayer. At that point, I knew the pastor wouldn’t be preaching that morning and I got that “Oh no, the visitors aren’t going to see a normal Sunday” feeling.

It’s a mixed feeling. I want people to come back. I know when I’m out of town and visit another church, it’s always disconcerting to me to show up on that weird Sunday when nothing’s the way it normally is. I’m always fascinated by what constitutes “normal” church for other people, so I get disappointed when I get the guest speaker or it’s “Raise Money for the New Children’s Wing” Sunday or some other aberrant meeting.

So when it got a little “pentecostal” during the extended prayer time, I had that feeling wash over me—the “Hey, it’s not even noon, so no one can be drunk” riff on Peter’s original Pentecost sermon. When the worship team got called back up to the front, I had this in mind about our visitors:

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
—1 Corinthians 14:23-26

Plenty of building up happened Sunday. God blessed people and they blessed Him in return. That’s the best you can hope for on any given Sunday. Even if the blessing this particular Sunday might be perceived by outsiders as a bit unconventional.

I’m perfectly fine with whatever looniness I exhibit. I learned a long time ago not to be so stuck on myself that I keep God from doing a work in me or through me. But what about those visitors?

As you all well know, I’m not ashamed of the charismata. Yet I always get a little voice inside me saying, “What are the visitors thinking?” What I consider perfectly normal, they might think is…well, loony.

Or better, rightfully embarrassing.

Read the whole post here. Thoughts?

An American Wrongfully Imprisoned In Nicaragua

Have you heard about this? This is crazy.

iMonk on Education

iMonk may be rethinking his philosophy of education. He says,

Less than 10% of the students I work with have any desire to link up education with life goals. And I’m beginning to wonder if there may be good reasons for that. How many of my good friends are doing what they intended to do when they started college? Are the ideas of “preparation” and “career” starting to have entirely different meanings than in the past? I’m beginning to wonder if factors like technology, mobility, awareness of changing culture, even, strange as it may sound, certain aspects of generational immaturity and postmodern culture are combining into a whole new version of “career” path, and undermining education as we know it.

This entire situation can drive a traditional, “good guy” teacher like myself into despair. Does my English class matter? Do my efforts to creatively teach Shakespeare matter? Is the whole notion of “staying in school” questionable, and do my students possibly have the moral high ground when they despise and detach from the educational experience?

Read the whole post here.

MuteMath - "Typical" - One of the coolest music videos ever

Shot in reverse. Genius. Like I have said many times on this blog, you HAVE to check these guys out.

Lust

Here is a funny post from Seth Ward. I can totally relate.

This is how I roll now...

(HT: Shlog)

Hockey is Hard-core

(HT: RK)

A Prayer for Today

O splendor of God’s glory bright
From light eternal bringing light
Come pour the Holy Spirit’s ray
On all we think or do today
Confirm our will to do the right
And keep our hearts from envy’s blight
Let faith her eager fires renew
And hate the false and love the true

-St. Ambrose

Steve Heading to UNM

Clearly Steve missed taking his Vitamin Z and needed more of a frequent dose. Read about it here.

Steve goes to the church in Iowa City were I was one of the worship pastor's for 5 years and now it looks like he is headed down here to Albuquerque, NM to be the new coach of the Lobos. I guess I'll actually have to be Lobo fan now. I never thought I would see the day, but oh well...

The price of "Stuff"

I have not read Michael Mihalik’s Debt is Slavery, but I assume it's a good read. Check it out on Amazon and see what you think. From The Mighty Bargain Hunter blog, John reports from chapter three of this book in terms of how we should view our possessions. I don't think this book is necessarily a Biblical study, but I think we could attach a Bible verse to all of these points. 1 Tim 6's exhortation of us that "godliness with contentment is great gain, for if we have food and clothing we will be content with that" comes to mind here.

John writes about chapter 3 of the book, Debt is Slavery,

His main point is that each piece of “stuff” you bring into your life costs not only the price you paid for it, but also will cost you in many other ways:

• If it was purchased on credit, you’re paying interest on that stuff.
• You’re spending time to maintain that stuff.
• You’re possibly spending money to maintain that stuff.
• You may be paying money to get trained how to use the stuff correctly.
• You may even be paying money to be able to use that stuff legally.
• You’re using space in your garage to store that stuff when you’re not using it.
• You’re perhaps paying a self-storage company to store that stuff.
• You’re probably paying a “stress premium” just having that stuff co-habitating with you.
• Lastly, you may have to pay someone to take that stuff away, or spend your time selling it or giving it away, when you can’t stand it anymore!

Crock Pot

Ok, this is a dumb post, but some of you out there might appreciate it. I think the crock pot is one of God's greater gifts in creation to be delighted in. Here is a list of 5 must have recipes for all you crock pot lovers out there.

TV will destroy your brain

Abraham Piper has complied a list of great quotes of John Piper's on TV watching. They are well worth considering. I assume that these quotes certainly could never pertain to genius television like, The Office, 24 (minus the dumb Kim stories), and Lost, but everything else is fair game in my humble (but correct) opinion.

Here is my favorite:

Fathers are worked to a frazzle and so are too dogged to spend quality time with children; mothers are lured away from their little children to the work force; children have their own activities, and the one thing that pulls them all to the same room makes zombies out of them all: the television.

Has this happened at your church?

About at close as I have gotten to something like this would be when I was leading worship and the power went off in the middle of my worship set. We couldn't get it turned back on and we sent everyone home.

Sandra

Noel Piper recounts a moving story from the Desiring God blog:

In January, I was part of the Cameroon Harvest Project 2007. This was a joint mission of Bethlehem Baptist Church and Joni and Friends International Disabilities Ministry. The purpose was to distribute wheelchairs to people for whom a wheelchair is out of reach, either because they're not available or are way too expensive. One of the people we met was a 6-year-old named Sandra. Her story is hard to forget. When this little girl was born with obvious disabilities, her fearful parents took her to the riverbank and left her—a newborn baby. This was called “returning her to the gods.” After 3 or 4 days of lying there, she was rescued by an old woman. But when the woman was at work every day, she left the small girl, who couldn't move from the position in which she was placed, closed up in a shed with the chickens. If there was food within reach of her mouth she could eat. She had no ability to move away from her own waste or that of the chickens. Nungu Magdalene, a Joni and Friends Associate, found the girl when she was about 4. She named her Sandra and took her to the school and home for children with disabilities that Magdalene founded and operates in Santa, near Bamenda. She and her staff pray with her, sing over her, and show her how Christ loves. When people from Sandra's village see her now, they are amazed at what prayer and Christ-like love has done for her. On the day our team worked near the school and home, Sandra was tense and apprehensive at first among the unfamiliar people and activities. But among the chairs we had brought was one—just the right size, with the right kind of harness, the right kind of head and trunk support, and with the ability to tilt backward so that Sandra's head doesn't flop forward. All our chairs were chosen “randomly” and shipped months ahead of our arrival. But God had prepared beforehand the chair for that one particular little girl in that one particular place on that one particular day. When Sandra knew that the chair was hers, her apprehension was gone. Sandra is non-verbal and it isn't clear how much she is able to comprehend. But sometimes even words would be inadequate. When the therapist placed her in her new chair, Sandra's stunning smile radiated understanding, gratitude and joy. We were blessed by Sandra, who never was a curse. And we pray that she will indeed be God's.

iMonk Interview With Noel Concerning Mark D.

iMonk interviews a big church pastor friend of his from East Lansing, MI, concerning the Mark Driscoll confessional that I posted below a few days ago. Here are the questions that iMonk asks:

1) What’s your personal reaction to Driscoll’s post?

2) He calls you and asks what he should do. What do you say?

3) How is your church working to keep this from happening at Riverview?

4) What is your response to multi-site video church planting?

5) What is your view of the interaction of church growth and church planting?

Click here to read the responses.

Give up something for lent, and replace it with something else...

In light of this story, I sure am glad that I'm not Catholic.

(HT: Wittenburg Blog)

24: Season 2

So my wife and I just started watching 24, Season 2. It's been pretty good. We are 7 episodes in right now. At this point I have a couple complaints:

1. The Kim story is as stupid as it gets. Like she would steal the abusive father's car, kidnap his daughter, etc. I understand that the writers are trying to get them in the car with the dead body in the back, but does the end really justify the means? And the whole bit about it being too hard for her to see her Dad because it reminds her of her dead mom? That is wack. I have having a hard time dealing with Kim's dumbness this season. My wife and I find ourselves continually looking at each other and giving the usual eye roll as Kim's story unfolds this season.

2. Bringing back Palmer's wife boarders on day-time soap opera cheese. They have all these scenes where Palmer has the steely look in his eye and then storms off away and then we get the close up on Sherry's face and she has the devilish dumb look on her face like we know she is up to something. This is classic day time soap opera approach (Yes, I used to watch them during the summer when I was a bored kid) and it's pretty nauseating.

I know, I know, since when is TV supposed to be believable? Yeah, I hear that, but these seem to push it over the edge for me.

Don't get me wrong, but I love the show and Keifer Sutherland as Jack is brilliant, and I'll keep ordering the successive seasons on our Netflix, but I just want to lay out some more reactions as we go along. I know there are plenty of 24 lovers out there!

More on "The Secret"

Here is another review of the Oprahized book, "The Secret". I think this is a secular review. Anita Creamer writes,

What's presumably intended as inspirational pablum for the masses quickly turns offensive when it becomes just another way of saying that victims deserve their fate.

Sometimes, people get lucky. Sometimes, they get unlucky. And sometimes, they make their own luck.

Byrne, for example, got lucky when she decided to market "The Secret" to a shallow American public eager to latch on to the easy answers of the latest self-help craze as a way to feel better about itself.

Or maybe she was just really shrewd.

(HT: Challies)

Calvin Pens a Parable For His Dad

To read, click on the image to enlarge.

Bono needs to keep looking...

Ryan T. Anderson writing for First Things has an interesting post called, "Bono still hasn't found what he's looking for". It's an interesting read dealing with his faulty view of Biblical economics and the church.

Elliott Yamin

Hands down, the best singer ever on American Idol has been Elliot Yamin. The reason why I say this is because he is the only singer on American Idol to dare attempt a Stevie Wonder song and actually sing it really well. It's really too bad that he got fourth place last year to Taylor (I'm a hick) Hicks.

Recently I was hunting around iTunes and found that he has released this single. It's a really cool track. Kind of a Stevie Wonder meets Maroon 5 kind of feel. Very soul and groove oriented.

Pray for Mark Driscoll

He writes:

I write this blog while flying somewhere over the United States late on a Thursday night heading home from a conference in the great nation of Texas. I have blogged very little thus far in 2007 as I have been playing hurt in terms of my health. I have been pushing it for ten years since Mars Hill Church opened up, and the end of last year was a particularly rough patch. I was looking forward to a few weeks off after Christmas to catch up on sleep. Sadly, what happened is that I would be very tired and go to bed at a decent hour only to wake up a few hours later, unable to return to sleep. I was not stressed out or thinking, but it seemed something was physically wrong. Even sleeping pills were of little to no help and by the end of the holidays I was exhausted, having slept an average of perhaps three hours a night. A naturopath said I had overextended myself and worn out my adrenal glands (which regulate my sympathetic nervous system). The result of basically a decade of perpetual stress and a final taxing season was that I was exhausted all day—I literally had blurred vision and would fall asleep quickly only to wake up a few hours later, unable to sleep again. So, I have been conserving energy for my family and church, but some Sundays are brutal. I find myself nodding off on the side of the stage before one of the four services I preach live.

Later on he writes:

So, although I am limping along, I am encouraged. God has been gracious enough to bring into my life at just the right time some very wise and helpful people who have given me gifts of wisdom, permission, and perspective. My prayer is that I might now unify all of this into a more comprehensive and wise life plan that I can execute so as to be as fruitful as possible for as many years as Jesus grants me and, in turn, share that wisdom with other leaders. Through it all, I am deeply thankful for the kindness that has been extended to me. It has somehow become vogue in some circles to simply criticize megachurch pastors, but my experience with some leading pastors of large churches has been incredible humility, kindness, hospitality, encouragement, and support, which has been convicting and heartening.

Read the whole post here.

Groothuis on Reading

Dr. Doug Groothuis is a professor at Denver Seminary and has some wise thoughts below on the topic of reading for the sake of comprehension and remembrance.

1. Read often, giving adequate time for the nature of the work.

2. Stop watching TV (if you do). It tends to rot the mind. Read the appendix to Truth Decay on that as well as the contemporary classic, Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman (1985).

3. Mark up your books, underlining key ideas and jotting ideas in the margins. Keep an index in the front of the book of the most important ideas. If the book is especially profound, take detailed notes on it.

4. Try to use the ideas from good books in letters, essays, teachings, and conversations. Form a book club. Keep the ideas alive. Aspire to write a book yourself, if it is needed and you are the person to write it.

5. Reread important books. This is a mark of the literary person, as CS Lewis notes in An Experiment in Criticism. I have been rereading much of Francis Schaeffer recently, a man I first read nearly 30 years ago as a young Christian. It is well worth it.

6. Never get rid of a book you have read. I have thousands of books, but lament that I let go some I read (and some I didn't).

7. Read and reread old books. Don't be taken captive by fashion. Savor the classics.

8. Ask smart people what their favorite books are and why. Then read them.

9. Read in silence. Carve out a private place if need be.

10. Always look up and learn unfamiliar words you find in your reading. From 1976-1994 or so, I filled a blank book of over a 100 pages with such words. Use such words in conversation, even if the person you are conversing with may not know them.

11. Spend time in books stores, new and old. Get a sense and feel for what is out there.

12. When in doubt, buy a book.

The Glory of March Madness

This is as good as it gets. I love this time of year so much I could pee my pants. Last night when this went down I was so jacked up my wife was a bit scared.

Steve Harvey Introduces Jesus Christ

I don't know what the context for this is, but it's pretty cool.

Mohler Misquoted

Al Mohler clarifies his beliefs on homosexuality. It's a good post.

More on the Madness

Why you should watch March Madness at the office.

BTW - if you have a high speed connection you can watch the games online!

Another reason I am glad that I don't live in the south anymore...

I'm sure he is a nice kid, but come on!

You Home as Your Best Investement

Here is an interesting article about viewing your home as an investment. It might not be all it's cracked up to be. I'm not sure I totally agree with it, but it's definitely worth thinking through these issues.

Piper on Relativism

From this post on the DGM blog:

The claim that there is no one standard for truth and falsehood that is valid for everyone is rooted most deeply in the desire of the fallen human mind to be free from all authority and to enjoy the exaltation of self. Relativism is not a coherent philosophical system. It is riddled with contradictions both logical and experiential. Sophomores in college know that something is fishy when someone claims that it is true that all truths are relative. And every businessman knows that philosophical relativists park their relativism at the door when they go into the bank and read the language of the contract they are about to sign. People don't embrace relativism because it is philosophically satisfying. They embrace it because it is physically and emotionally gratifying. It provides the cover that they need to do what they want.

Simon in the hotseat

Fans of American Idol might be interested in an upcoming 60 minutes story that focuses on Simon Cowell. You can read about it here.

The Best Basketball Commercial Ever

Unless you are familiar with Michael Jordan's career you won't understand this. If you are you'll probably get chills.

If this doesn't move you you might not have a pulse

Click on the image to read the caption.
(HT: Brant Hansen)

More signs that the apocolypse draws nigh

This is straight wack.

(HT: The Blazing Fire)

Kauflin on "Worship Hits"

Bob Kauflin on worship "hits":

But it serves us to remember that many of the best songs for congregational worship have already been written by folks like Isaac Watts, John Newton, Fanny Crosby, and Charles Wesley. Let's make sure that we're not so enamored with the present and future that we miss out on what God's given us in the past.

Read the whole post here. It's great.

This is ridiculous

(HT: RK)

Help! I'm addicted to Starbucks!

Spending too much at Starbucks? Here are 10 ideas for limiting your output for a warm, frothy, beverage:

1. Don’t go
2. Buy your coffee at retail outlets
3. Make friends with Starbucks employees
4. Purchase Starbucks gift cards on eBay
5. Look for Starbucks offering promotions
6. Take your own cup
7. Order simple
8. Keep those gift cards (they are collectible)
9. Raid your change jar
10. Buy McDonald’s coffee

My personal take is that if Starbucks offered free wifi, they would soon take over the world.

(HT: PFA)

Jars and The War in Iraq

Jars of Clay are not fans of the war in Iraq. You can read about it here.

Does anyone really care what celebrities think of politics? I know I don't. I guess if people can play big rock guitars that equates to omniscience on all other topics... Just to be clear, I don't have anything against the guys in Jars. From what I know they are great guys, but I just think we shouldn't rush to throw a mic and tape recorder in someone's face just because they are "famous".

This is one of my favorite songs - Rodeo Clowns

You can buy a cool version of this song here.(iTunes)

(HT: Emily)

Covenant, Spring 2007

The Spring 2007 edition of "Covenant", the magazine of Covenant Theological Seminary is now online.

Highlighted in this edition is an article by Jerram Barrs entitled "The Saturation of Cynicism". The subtitle reads: "Where does the deep pessimism that permeates society come from, and how can Christian counteract this spiritually deadlly attitude?"

Click here to download this edition in pdf format.

BTW - Jerram Barrs is the best professor I have had at Covenant Seminary. You can get the lectures from my favorite class of his, Apologetics and Outreach, by clicking here.

More on Volume in Worship

Scooter has begun a series of helpful posts dealing with the issue of volume in worship.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

H20 Can Save You Money

Want to save $1000 a year? Here is one interesting way that might apply to you.

Ramm on Nietzche

What is the devil’s due Evangelicals can glean from Nietzsche? It is the willingness to be driven like Nietzsche. It is the willingness to spare no pains in the search for truth. It is the willingness. . . .to work into the late hours of the night or to start in the earliest hours of the day; to pick up a new project as soon as we have finished an older one; to grow weary and exhausted in our quest for truth; to have...our eyes watery from too much reading, and our bodies bent over from long, weary hours at the study desk.

No Evangelical whose reading habits are a disgrace to the seriousness of the Christian ministry, or who spends more time before a television set than he does in serious reading in his study has the right to damn Nietzsche from the pulpit to some gruesome place in the Inferno.

--Bernard Ramm, The Devil, Seven Wormwoods, and God (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1977), 61-62.

(HT: The Constructive Curmudgeon)

The Madness is Upon Us

Bill Simmons paints the perfect picture of the greatest sporting event in the world, March Madness. He takes us through an emotional ride that almost anyone can relate to when it comes to watching your favorite team. Read the post, it's great.

And then David took the stone out of his bag, and aimed it at the Philistine ...

Explosions in the Sky - New Record

Instrumental band, Explosions on the Sky just released their new album called "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone".

If you are into melodic guitar instrumental rock that is full of huge dymanics and beauty, then this band is for you. If you liked the music to the 2nd greatest sports movie ever, Friday Night Lights (after Hoosiers), then you will love this band because their music was the soundtrack.

I just bought it on iTunes and it sounds pretty cool. You can find it here (iTunes) and here (Amazon).

Is Discovery Buring "The Lost Tomb"?

Judge for yourself. You can read about it here.

(HT: Relevant Mag)

The Best of Dwight That You Probably Have Not Seen

Since there is no new episode of The Office tonight you can click here and see some pretty funny unknown (by most of us) scenes of Dwight and others from the show. Pretty amazing stuff.

Basketball Beauty

Unless you have played the game, you might not appreciate this pass, but give it a look and see what you think.



Chris Broussard has a great article about this guy that you can read here. It's pretty interesting.

What do we talk about in church?

iMonk reports on some observations from an atheist about our church services. Obviously these are generalizations, but it's interesting commentary none the less from him and iMonk. Read it here.

Thoughts on Volume in Worship Services

This morning at our staff meeting we read an anonymous comment card from someone in the congregation that said that the sound of the music was too loud in the worship service.

Just as a quick aside to this post: Don’t write anonymous comment cards. It’s thoroughly unbiblical since Matthew 18 implicitly exhorts us to deal with our concerns with someone else (or anything dealing with relationships) face to face. God is in the business of love, and wants us to love each other. Anonymous comment cards undercut the possibility of learning and growing together simply because we don’t’ know who the person is that we need to communicate with. Take the risk of love and talk to someone that you disagree with face to face! Pragmatically speaking, I have almost always seen that great spiritual fruit is bore when we believe and obey God's way of doing confrontation.

I am also perplexed as to why one small comment from among 1000 people can garner so much attention. It’s probably just a matter of “the squeaky wheel getting the grease”, but we need to remember that for every negative comment there are probably 50 people or so who think the opposite and just didn’t’ write it on a comment card. Unfortunately, most of us (myself included) are quicker to complain than we are to praise.

On to the sound issues…

How do we discern what is appropriate volume levels in a church service? Like most issues in New Testament worship, we don’t have a large amount of prescriptive material to work with, thus we are called to use good wisdom to ascertain was is appropriate.

Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Some would argue that the sound of our voices in worship should be primary. “People need to be able to hear themselves and others around them singing”, they might say. These folks might argue that amplified music detracts from worship because of the potential of our voices becoming drowned out by loud guitars, etc. I would submit that the opposite could also be true in the case of those who are not as musical or confident in singing. My wife, for example, would readily admit that she is not the greatest singer in the world and when she can hear herself and she knows that everyone around her could potentially hear her as well, this may cause her to sing softer due to insecurity. I believe that music that is louder (within reason) can bring an energy to a worship service and in fact encourage people to sing with passion. I was recently at a conference where it was clear that the leadership was very cautious of “loudness” in worship. There were many musicians on stage attempting to play in a pop-rock form, but it lacked so much energy that it was simply awkward and distracting.

2. Along these lines we need to be careful that we do not emasculate the genre that we are using (which is what I thought they were doing at that conference). All art forms have a history and we need to be careful to respect and not redefine the form too drastically. If I were to play polka music I would seek to figure out what polka music is usually defined as and do that. If I am going to play be-bop music, (jazz from the late 40’s and 50’s) I would need to figure out what one needs to “say” to speak that musically language and then seek to communicate using the right “words” to be true to the language. In the church where I lead, we use a pop-rock form for much of our music. The leadership hired me partly because they knew this is what I would bring. Rock music inherently needs to be played with a certain visceral energy and can’t be “felt” apart from a relative degree of volume that communicates this. If we are going to continue to use this form then we need to seek to do justice to the form, or else find a new form.

3. As with most issues, the issue of volume in worship is a subjective one. Who defines what “loud” is? We can go round and round on these types of discussions. What I come down to is that ultimately our people have to trust our leadership and those that the leadership has enabled to oversee ministry. If they don’t, they need to find a new church. Our soundperson can’t always be trying to please every sonic whim of the people in our congregation. This would be utterly paralyzing. He (or she) needs to be freed up to mix the sound in a way that he/she deems is appropriate (if he is way off then why was he hired in the first place?) and if he is not consistently doing a satisfactory job at this then the leadership needs to find a new soundperson. Fortunately for the church where I serve, I feel as though our soundperson is doing a great job and consistently accomplishes a good mix for worship. My suggestion for our church is that our soundperson should report to one or two key people in leadership to “check-in” and see what their perception is of the volume level. After that, basically our soundperson doesn’t need to listen to the opinions of anyone else. This seems to be the mode of operation for every other area of ministry in our church. Ministry leaders don't receive direct evaluation from the whole congregation, they get evaluated by the elder board of our church and more specifically by one or two key people from the elder board. This doesn't mean that those men don't listen and interact with the concerns of others in the church that might pertain to an area of ministry, but at the end of the day "success" in a job is defined by those men and not the whole congregation.

4. Keep in mind that a perception of loudness or what is too harsh for the ears is more complex than just one simple volume knob that you can bring up or down. This discussion far exceeds the scope of this post, but just know that things such as sound equalization, hearing on the part of the soundperson, type of speakers and other auxiliary sound gear, etc, all contribute to what one considers to be “loud”. It’s not just a matter of turning one knob up or down.

5. Keep in mind that oftentimes (but not always) “it’s too loud” are the words that are used, but what a person is really saying is something like, “I don’t like it”. The problem is that they just don’t know how to articulate this, thus they blame it on the volume. Think about it, if I loved the sound of the violin, then I would want to be sure that I could actually hear the violin in worship. If I didn’t like the sound of the violin, then I wouldn’t want to hear it. Simple right? Put another way, imagine an elderly couple who would rather be subjected to Chinese water torture than go to a rock concert. This same couple loves to go to the monthly performance of the symphony orchestra in their city. What they don't know is that the raw volume of the orchestra probably at times exceeds that of an average rock show, but the sounds are very different. The latter is preferable (to them) and the former isn't. Thus I think we have to admit that at times our musical preferences are more the issue than just volume levels. Certainly this is not always the case and a sound has the possibility of just being too loud (or too soft) regardless of how I feel about it's inherent sonic value.

The issue of volume in worship is a very complex one and as a result needs to be handled with humility and grace. I hope that these thoughts can help to guide the discussion in my church and yours. Let me know what you think.

Bill Piper

John Piper has just posted a touching account of his father's passing. Read it here.

How to be creative

Here is something that might be kind of interesting for all your creative types, or those that want to be.

From the website:

Hugh MacLeod, an advertising executive and popular blogger with a flair for the creative, gives his 26 tried-and-true tips for being truly creative. Each point illustrated by a cartoon drawn by the author himself.

If you've ever felt the draw to do something creative but just haven't been able to pull it together, you'll love this manifesto.

Click here to download. It's an interesting read.

Two Types of Musicians

Scot Longyear breaks down musicians into two categories. Funny, but very true. Don't be a #2 guy!

1. The guy who can play like Clapton and Matthews. Unless this guy is on tours or a serious studio musician, he probably owns a few guitars and a few pieces of gear. He can make a $200 Yamaha acoustic sound like a presentation series Taylor. All talent, limited gear.
2. Guy number two has way too much gear and way too little talent. You have met this guy. He has the latest and greatest. More guitars than your local Mom and Pop music store. Each one is high-end. The problem is that Mr. Guitar Man has spent most of his time figuring out how to max another credit card rather than spend the time on practicing his chops. We have all been this guy at one time or another. We fall into a trap of thinking that if we just had a little better rig, we would sound incredibly better. It's a fantasy.

Idol Likability

Tim Sanders on who will win American Idol this year based on "likability":

This year, two of the contestants demonstrate this value added dimension: Sundance Head (Above) and Chris Sligh. Sundance shows a tenderness and a sense of humility and belies his Texas roots. And and according to DialIdol, he's the top vote getting guy so far. Chris Sligh brings a fearless sense of humor and a real self-accepting attitude that inspires anyone who's every dreamed of being of the show but thought they were to regular-Joe to try. Both demonstrate an emotional availability and a sense that they must entertain us, not just sing at us to impress Simon.

(HT: Timmy B)

Naturalistic Science is Inconsistent

"Hoover goes on to discuss the notion of chance, in a very engaging little argument. He says that chance contradicts the ways we ordinarily explain things. You see, an appeal to chance is not an explanation at all. It is an appeal to agnosticism, an agnosticism which violates all the canons of science. So when a scientist looks at any immediate reality, he operates under the assumption that we live in a regular, predictable, and knowable universe, one in which the orderly procession of cause and effect holds. Yet, when the naturalist comes to ultimate or metaphysical questions—questions like the origin of the universe—he abandons the principle of sufficient reason and he appeals to chance."

-From lecture 13 found in this class at CovenantWorldwide.org

Duke vs. North Carolina Smackdown

Bill Simmons from ESPN.com has a pretty funny commentary on this event. He says,

I don't mean to pile on Billy Packer here -- OK, maybe I do -- but when you're already considered to be one of the biggest apologists on the planet for Duke basketball, is it really a good idea to keep making excuses for a Duke player after he just threw a malicious elbow at Carolina's best player with 15 seconds remaining in an 12-point game? That was one of the strangest sequences I've ever watched in a televised basketball game. Here's a rough transcript (I'm doing it from memory): (We see a replay of Gerald Henderson measuring Hansbrough, flying over from six feet away, then delivering a Macho Man Savage-type elbow into Hansbrough's face one second after Hansbrough had already been stripped of the ball.) Packer: "Yeah, he was going for the ball ... that was NOT intentional." (We see another replay of the same thing from a different angle -- this time, it looks like Henderson could potentially be arrested for what just happened.) Packer: "See, from that replay, there's NO QUESTION that Henderson was going for the ball ... that was definitely an accident.) (Jim Nantz thinks about mentioning that Hansbrough had already been stripped of the ball before Henderson even raises his elbow, realizes that he has to announce games with Packer for the next four weeks, doesn't want it to be awkward, decides against saying anything at all, starts day-dreaming about the Masters.) Packer: "Nope ... no way. He was going for the ball." (Cut to a replay of Hansbrough walking off the court with his face broken in half.) Packer: "Jim, if anything, that was probably Hansbrough's fault for going after Henderson's elbow with his face ..." You get the idea. We have media criticism rules at ESPN, so I have to tread carefully here ... but have you noticed that Packer somehow turns himself into a major story before EVERY NCAA TOURNAMENT? As I wrote a couple of years ago, I was watching an Indiana State Final Four game from the '79 tournament and they made a big deal before the game about how Packer had publicly attacked Indy State's credentials for the entire tournament, and now they were in the Final Four and he was eating a little crow -- they even showed an awkward interview with him and Larry Bird after the game. This was 28 years ago!!!!!! What chain of events needs to happen for CBS to replace him with a more palatable, more enjoyable, agenda-less lead analyst? Does 100 percent of the country have to band together and say, "We're tired of this guy?" Or are we good at the current number of 97 percent? (Note: After this column was posted, I received a flood of e-mails from Duke fans saying that Packer is NOT a Duke apologist -- in fact, he's considered to be anti-Duke and anti-UNC because he's a Wake Forest alum. I always thought he cowtowed to Coach K over the years, but I'll defer to the masses on this one. Maybe he's just a curmudgeon.)

The Veggie Man

Here is a snippet from a great interview with Veggie Tales founder Phil Vischer. Phil says,

Near the end we were selling a gazillion [Veggie Tales] videos and I was getting four hundred fan letters a day, but one day I was reading my Bible and I came across the verse that lists the fruit of the Spirit. It occurred to me that none of those things were present in my life. It didn’t say the fruit of the Spirit is impact, large numbers, or selling lots of videos. I realized something was not right.

I began asking, how am I supposed to live? I thought I had that figured out, but evidently I was completely wrong. So over three months I went through all of Paul’s letters and wrote down every directive or instructive statement he made. And when I read all of those statements it became clear that the gospel I had was a sham. It was more the gospel of Benjamin Franklin than the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was more about self-improvement, and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, and going out and changing the world. It was American cultural values masquerading as the words of Christ.

Phil has a new book out dealing with many of these issues. It's called, Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story about God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables

Coldplay

Here is some brief info on Colplay's new record.

Keller on Corporate Worship

Here is a great article from Tim Keller discussing what needs to be primary in our thoughts when planning or leading people in a service of worship.

(HT: The Humorless One)

That's A Good Question!

Seth Ward asks some interesting questions:

1. Why the word for dyslexia is the easiest word to jack-up and the most difficult word for a dyslexic person to spell. (I have yet to spell it correctly on the first try, including this time.)

2. Why the word for phonics is not spelled foniks.

3. Why a drive-way is called a drive-way and not a park-way.

4. Why people drink Diet Coke.

5. How ones breath can go from toothpaste good at night to "good-morning-dearI-just-ate-a-pile-of-fresh-manure-while-you-slept-BAD?"

6. Why we spend so much time (as men) washing our chest in the shower when it is probably the cleanest part of our bodies. You would think that we fall chest-first into a dirt every day.

7. Yawning. The REAL reason for yawning is still a mystery. There are theories, but it still doens't explain why when one person yawns it inspires all to yawn.

8. Using the bathroom in Heaven. Will we or won't we?

Dissing Discernment

Dan Edelen posts an interesting read dealing with theological error and why we are quick to "diss discernment". He gives 5 reasons why:

1. We’re too busy - Busy people nod their heads and unthinkingly accept whatever comes their way. That’s a recipe for disaster. While the sheer number of lies out there overwhelms the average person, God still holds us accountable for truth.
2. We’re too apathetic - “Does discernment matter? Why should I care?” Paul warns that many have shipwrecked their faith by lack of discernment. Rank pragmatism within many Christian hearts pushes discernment into the background because its raison d’être doesn’t immediately leap out. We don’t understand that God’s people perish for lack of knowledge and that this knowledge is beneficial for own its sake—because God said we need to know it.
3. We think we’ve arrived - We’re saved now, so what? But eternal security isn’t license for spiritual sloth. Too many Christians think they’re in, but then fail to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. That fear and trembling includes godly discernment.
4. We’re naïvely optimistic - Jesus didn’t tempt God by taking a leap off the top of the Temple. The same Enemy that tempted the Lord tempts us. He’s a master at deceiving us into thinking we’re immune from the mess our neighbors made of their lives. It never dawns on us that we could go down in flames, too. So when the Enemy tells us to jump off, we do. That’s pride, and it’s from the pit of hell.
5. We’re not drilled on discernment - People quote 1 John 1:4 (Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world), but it’s always for some other person in some other church at some other time. Our church leaders should have that 1 John 1:4 filter up at all times and show us how to keep it up as well.

Married with Kids

Relevant Mag blog reports:

A new study has found that married couples with children are now the minority in the United States, occupying fewer than one in every four homes; it's the lowest ever recorded by the census. Researchers have found that marriage with children is now far more common among the well-educated and affluent, with working-class families often steering away from marriage.

Women and Worship Leading

Bob Kauflin has a great post answering the question of whether a woman should be a worship leader or not in the church. He answers with his usual grace and wisdom.

Thabiti's Trip

Thabiti Anyabwile reports on a recent trip he took to Southeast Asia. He interacted with many Muslims there and has some great reflections upon the experience in the form of these 10 points that he expounds on:

1. Islam is not impregnable

2. There are many who are paying high costs to follow Jesus

3. In the words of Piper, "risk is right."

4. The Gospel is the power of God

5. I was struck afresh by the glories of God revealed in His church

6. I fear too much and am too often in fear.

7. Regard no man from a worldly point of view

8. Hold the rope

9. Darkness is really dark indeed

10. Love is necessary

Copeland

The band Copeland just came out with a new record that is pretty cool. It's called Eat, Sleep, Repeat. I think this song (iTunes) is my favorite thus far. Cool piano part and really deep groove when the drums come in. This guy is a great singer as well. Very cool harmonies on this track.

The Bones of Jesus

Unless you have been under a rock for the last few weeks you have probably heard about the controversy surrounding the tomb of Jesus that was supposedly discovered in Palestine. Wack stuff. But TV people will do anything to draw attention and make money. Ever heard of the Di Vinci Code?

One of the foremost theologians today concerning the reliability of the Bible, and especially the New Testament is Dr. Craig Blomberg from Denver Seminary. He just released his response and it's probably worth the read. You can find it here.

Straight talk about pornography and the church

The Grey Shadow blog has a great series of posts on the effects of pornography. This looks like a great resource for use in the church.

(HT: ThinkChristian.net)

Friday Funnies - Dwight Highlights

This is really funny. Rainn Wilson is going to blow up in a few months/years. He is crazy talented and crazy funny.



(HT: JT, YSMarko)

Demographic Stats

Here is an interesting tool to discover the demographics of where you live. Just plug in your zip code and get some stats on the average person you live near. Might be a great tool for churches as well to get to know their community better.

(HT: ThinkChristian.net)

The Mystery of Music

I think this song is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard musically. Sometimes I get emotional when I listen to it. I dare you to buy it and see for yourself.

Music is so weird. It has such a power to move us. This is going to me one of my first questions when I get to heaven... "God, what the heck is up with this thing, music?" It is something I have given my life to studying, but yet I feel like I really don't understand how it "works" most of the time. Nonetheless, I am so grateful to God for the gift of it.

"LOST" has issues

LOST used to be my favorite show on TV. Not anymore. I think my favorites go in this order now:

1. The Office
2. 24 (on DVD - season two)
3. American Idol
4. LOST

So what is the problem with LOST you may ask? Last night was the straw the broke the camel's back. Season three has been cool, but recently it has actually gotten kind of boring! Last night they literally accomplished NOTHING! We learned new information only from the last two minutes of the show. It was a complete waste of time. The producers and writers need to check themselves before they wreck themselves.