I love how he gets up and he is all like... "Yeah!!! King Kong ain't got nothin' on me!!!"
And then he is like... "What?!?!?"
Pride before fall. We can all relate I'm sure.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Disassociation and P*rn
Compelling insight here from Martin Amis. Interesting that we speak calmly as the ship is going down. I don't think anyone realizes how profound of an effect the ubiquity of porn will have on our world as we move into the future. We live in times where this is really something "new under the sun". We are truly pleasuring ourselves to death. And it's no true pleasure at all.
(HT: Mockingbird blog)
(HT: Mockingbird blog)
Same Confession, Different Practice
Tim Keller:
One reason I wrote my new book Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City is that I believe there is a common misunderstanding of the relationship between doctrine and ministry.Read the rest.
Let me illustrate. A puzzling but common sight today is that many churches share the same doctrinal foundations, yet go about ministry in radically different ways. For example, consider two Presbyterian churches that both subscribe wholeheartedly to the Westminster Confession of Faith and catechisms. The first church uses contemporary music and very little discernible liturgy, employs lay ministers to lead meetings and ministries as well as pastors, and deploys the latest marketing and media strategies. The second church operates in almost the opposite way, using classical music, traditional liturgy, and emphasis on the ordained clergy. They also vigorously criticize the methods of the other church as a betrayal of the Reformed faith, and perhaps even of the gospel itself.
The same doctrinal foundations seem to be producing two completely different sets of ministry expressions. How can that be?
Harry Potter Tree House
My kids would wet themselves.
J.K. Rowling just won the right to build these in her yard. More on the story here.
J.K. Rowling just won the right to build these in her yard. More on the story here.
And if you don't know what this is all about, of course, read the books.
Important Quotes from "The Case for Life"
Get the book here. It's essential reading in this election season.
- It isn’t enough to feel pity for the unborn. We must act on behalf of the unborn. The Good Samaritan was not praised for feeling sorry for the man on the side of the road, but for stopping to help (9).
- Simplify the issue. Bring the issue back to the central question: is the fetus a human person? To bring this point home, ask if a particular justification for abortion also works as a justification for killing toddlers (25).
- Use the acronym SLED. Size: are big people more human than small people? Level of Development: Does self-awareness make us human? Are older children more valuable than infants? Are those with dementia less valuable? Environment: Do your surroundings determine your humanity? How can a journey eight inches down the birth canal change the essential nature of the child? Degree of Dependency: Does viability make us human? Are newborns or those who need dialysis not deserving of human rights? (28)
- Embryology textbooks uniformly state that new human life comes into existence upon completion of fertilization. This is scientific fact, not a theological belief (49).
- The claim that 5000-10,000 women died a year from botched abortions prior to Roe is “unmitigated nonsense” (to quote a statistician featured in Planned Parenthood publications in the 60s and 70s). A total of 45,000 American women of reproductive age die each year of all causes. A better estimate is that 500 women died annually from illegal abortions in the years leading up to Roe (160).
(HT: Kevin DeYoung)
Authority in Weakness
Collin Hansen:
Jesus never needed to confess any sin. He established his moral authority through perfect love and staggering miracles. And that got him killed. We sinners silently and sometimes violently resent goodness. But we read in Philippians 2 that his humbling death on the cross led to his exaltation in heaven. He did this to secure salvation for all who believe and to leave believers an example. Citing Jesus, Paul writes, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves" (Phil 2:3).Read the rest.
Jesus shows us you'll never earn or recover moral authority in the world's eyes unless you renounce the world's means. We know we'll fail if judged by peers on a scale. A lifetime of good works can be wiped away after one misstep. Instead, we seek the good of others before our own, careful always to confess our sin and boast in our weakness, so that Jesus might be exalted above all. We won't be perfect, but we'll offer credible witness to the power of the gospel.
Cheap eBook Alert
Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition
James K. A. Smith
A Man After God's Own Heart
R T Kendall
Killing Cockroaches
Tony Morgan
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Could a Cultural Prophecy Get Anymore Right?
From the forward to Neil Postman's, Amusing Ourselves to Death:
We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.(HT: Andy Perry)
But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned out in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny 'failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions.' In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us. This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.
God is Not Bored
Just think of the many unworthy ideas and attitudes about God that the doctrine of the Trinity can help us name, reject, and even deride. The doctrine of the Trinity expels unworthy ideas about the perfection of God’s life. It is unworthy to think that God without us is lonely or bored. God is not looking something to do in the happy land of the Trinity. God did not create the world in order to fill the drafty mansion of heaven with the pitter-patter of little feet. God is not pining away for companionship in a lonesome heaven.– Fred Sanders, The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, pp. 95-96
Good theological reflection, taking its lead from the Bible, would always reject the idea of divine loneliness or boredom. But as soon as you entertain the truth of the doctrine of the ontological Trinity, the unworthiness of the idea of a lonely or bored God becomes patently obvious. The triune God is one, but not solitary. Nothing that God does in creation or redemption is done because God lacked employment and occupation. The incarnation of the Son of God was not undertaken as an excellent adventure to provide diversion from the dullness of being the eternal Son. All these ideas are unworthy of God, as the doctrine of the Trinity makes obvious.
….God is not lonely, bored, or selfish. But if we turned it around and said it in a positive way, we would simply say that God is lvoe. Not by conincidence, this is also how the Bible puts it. This is what the Bible helps us learn with greater precision: that God is love. The triune God is a love that is infinitely high above you, eternally preceding you, and welcoming you in.
(HT: Erik Raymond)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Learning How To Understand The Bible
Doug Wilson:
I would recommend this book as well.
Proper Bible study must always be preceded by thorough reading. Most mistakes in interpretation are caused because the context of the passage is neglected. In most cases, the context is neglected because it is not read.Read the rest.
Often new Christians are introduced to certain "narrow" types of Bible study (memorization, Bible study guides, etc) without having any idea of what the Bible as a whole is all about. This causes several problems. First, someone could "study" the Bible for years in this fashion without ever really learning. Secondly, this ignorance is seldom dealt with because it is hidden behind an impressive array of Bible quotes. When a Christian quotes a passage out of Hosea from memory, it rarely occurs to others to wonder if he has ever read Hosea. If he hasn't (as is frequently the case), he cannot know the context of the passage he quotes. This is because he learned it off a little white card and the card has no context.
What then is the first step in learning what the Bible has to say?
I would recommend this book as well.
Rescuing Daniel from the Children’s Books
Questions for Our Pro-Abortion Friends, Church Leaders, and Politicians
Kevin DeYoung:
Books by Kevin DeYoung:
What shall we call the unborn in the womb?
If the entity is a living thing, is it not a life? If your person began as a single cell, how can that fertilized egg be something other than a human being? Isn't it more accurate to say you were an embryo than that you simply came from one?
So when does a human being have a right to life?
Shall we say size matters? Is the unborn child too small to deserve our protection? Are big people more valuable than little people? Are men more human than woman? Do offensive linemen have more rights than jockeys? Is the life in the womb of no account because you can't hold him in our arms, or put him in your hands, or only see her on a screen?
Shall we make intellectual development and mental capacity the measure of our worth? Are three year-old children less valuable than thirteen year-olds? Is the unborn child less than fully human because he cannot speak or count or be self-aware? Does the cooing infant in the crib have to smile or shake your hand or recite the alphabet before she deserves another day? If an expression of basic mental acuity is necessary to be a full-fledged member of the human community, what shall do with the comatose, the very old, or the fifty year-old mom with Alzheimer's? And what about all of us who sleep?
Shall we deny the unborn child's right to life because of where he lives? Can environment give us value or take it away? Are we worth less inside than outside? Can we be justly killed when we swim under water? Does where we are determine who we are? Does the eight inch journey down the birth canal make us human? Does this change of scenery turn "its" into persons? Is love a condition of location?
Shall we reserve human dignity only for those humans who are not dependent on others? Do we deserve to live only when we can live on our own? Is the four-month old fetus less than human because she needs her mom for life? Is the four-month old infant less than human when she still needs her mom for life? What if you depend on dialysis or insulin or a breathing apparatus? Is value a product of fully-functioning vitality? Is independence a prerequisite for human identity? Are we worth only what we can think, accomplish, and do on our own?
If the unborn life is human life, what can justify snuffing it out? Would it be right to take the life of your child on his first birthday because he came to you through sad and tragic circumstances? Would you push an 18 month old into traffic because she makes our life difficult? Does a three year-old deserve to die because we think we deserve a choice?
What do you deserve now? What are your rights as a human person? Did you have those same rights five years ago? What about before you could drive? Or when you used training wheels? Were you less than fully human when you played in the sandbox? When you wore a bib? When you nursed at your mother's breast? When your dad cut your cord? When you tumbled in that watery mess and kicked against that funny wall? When your heart pounded on the monitor for the first time? When you grew your first fingernails? When you grew your first cells?
What shall we call the child in the womb? A fetus? A mystery? A mistake? A wedge issue? What if science and Scripture and commonsense would have us call it a person? What if the unborn child, the messy infant, the wobbly toddler, the rambunctious teenager, the college freshman, the blushing bride, the first-time mother, the working woman, the proud grammy, and the demented old friend differ not in kind but only in degree? Where in the progression does our humanity begin and end? Where does life become valuable? When are we worth something? When do human rights become our rights? What if Dr. Seuss was right and a person's a person no matter how small?
Why celebrate the right to kill what you once were? Why deny the rights of the little one who is what you are?
Books by Kevin DeYoung:
- The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness
- Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
- What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission
- The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism
- Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The Lovable Lostness of Jesse Pinkman
If you don't watch Breaking Bad
, ignore this post. But if you do, you might want to check out this post from The Mockingbird Blog. Plus there is a clip from one of the best scenes in the whole series that many will enjoy watching again.
, ignore this post. But if you do, you might want to check out this post from The Mockingbird Blog. Plus there is a clip from one of the best scenes in the whole series that many will enjoy watching again.
A Great Test For How Grace-Filled You Are
Jon Acuff writes:
I realized this about me the other day. Be honest, have you ever caught yourself doing the same thing?
It Take Faith To Argue Against God
Tim Keller:
Books by Tim Keller:
The Prodigal God
King’s Cross
Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything
The Reason for God
Counterfeit Gods
Generous Justice
You have to show people that it takes faith to doubt Christianity. C. S. Lewis argued with God before his conversion that the universe seems so cruel and unjust. But then he asked himself, "But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? . . . Atheism turns out to be too simple" (Mere Christianity, Book 2, Part 1). In the natural world the strong eat the weak, and there's nothing wrong with violence. Where do you get the standard that says the human world shouldn't work that way, that says the natural world is wrong? You can only judge suffering as wrong if you're using a standard higher than this world, a supernatural standard. If there's no God, you have no reason to be upset at the suffering in this world. It takes faith to get mad at this world.Read the rest.
Books by Tim Keller:
The Prodigal God
King’s Cross
Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything
The Reason for God
Counterfeit Gods
Generous Justice
I Used to Complain About This in High School
Now my sentiments are finally confirmed. It was a complete waste of time.
Reinventing Running
I am a runner. If you are too you might want to check this out. Pretty interesting. Obviously this doesn't come from a Christian worldview but still worth watching.
Get the book here.
Get the book here.
Pride is Defeated by Knowledge of God
Joe Thorn:
Recommended reading:
The enemy of pride is not humility, but faith. Humility is wrapped up in faith, emanating from our dependence on Christ for ”wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30) It is saving faith that sees things rightly. It sees God as he has revealed himself, and one’s self as he truly is. Faith does not believe “I am better,” but “I am ruined.” It recognizes that all of us have broken God’s law, and is grieved most severely for one’s own transgressions. Faith knows a man does not “deserve better,” but confesses that whatever he has is grace undeserved, and finds that all the Christian has in Jesus is supremely satisfying. Faith cannot believe “I am sufficient,” for faith itself is a kind of dependence. Faith confesses, “I am poor, blind, naked, and miserable” and can only look to God for what one lacks.Read the rest.
Pride (and the lies it believes) is only overcome by faith. If you want to kill pride and grow in humility you must give yourself to the knowledge of God.
Recommended reading:
Monday, August 27, 2012
Four Ways To Create a Culture of Evangelism
Thom Rainer:
Books by Thom Rainer:
- Church Culture Shift #1: Leadership Must Model a Passion for Evangelism.
- Church Culture Shift #2: Ask one Sunday school class or small group to become an evangelistic group for one year.
- Church Culture Shift #3: Begin a small-scale evangelistic mentoring approach.
- Church Culture Shift #4: Make certain corporate prayers include praying for the lost.
Click over to read his explanations.
- Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them
- The Millennials
- Breakout Churches: Discover How to Make the Leap
- Essential Church?: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts
- Simple Church
3 Criteria of Righteous Anger
Paul Tautges:
(HT: DashHouse)
- Righteous Anger Reacts against Actual Sin.
- Righteous Anger Focuses on God and His Kingdom, Rights, and Concerns, Not on Me and My Kingdom, Rights and Concerns.
- Righteous Anger Is Accompanied by Other Godly Qualities and Expresses Itself in Godly Ways.
(HT: DashHouse)
The Dangerous Sin of Grumbling
B.J. Stockman:
It’s easy to ignore pervasive “normal” sins like grumbling and fixate on more occasional “shocking” sins like that sexual sin that held you years ago. But don’t be deceived: a murmuring mouth is particularly grieving to God because it reveals discontent in God. Psalm 106 says that one of the reasons God made the people of Israel “fall in the wilderness” was because they “murmured in their tents” (v. 25, 26). This has serious consequences. In the following, I summarize and add to Burroughs’ section on “The Evils of a Murmuring Spirit” and offer seven evils of a grumbling, murmuring, and complaining heart within the Christian.Read the rest for his seven points.
Praying For Rain - What if it Doesn't Come?
Powerful video here.
[17] Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
[18] yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
[19] GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
(Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV)
Cheap eBook Alert
If you don't get this FREE eBook, you need to repent, and then you can readily apply what you read in your new FREE ebook.
Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love
Jerry Bridges
FREE
Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love
Jerry Bridges
FREE
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Cheap eBook Alert
Numerous good ones here.
Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books
Michael J. Kruger
ESV Student Study Bible
Crossway
Excellence
Andreas J. Köstenberger
The Great Tradition of Christian Thinking: A Student's Guide (Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition)
David S. Dockery (Author), Timothy George (Author)
Literature: A Student's Guide (Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition)
Louis A. Markos (Author)
Thriving at College [Kindle Edition]
Alex Chediak
Friday, August 24, 2012
The Root and Spring of Humility
Do you want to know the root and spring of humility? One word describes it. The root of humility is right knowledge. The person who really knows himself and his own heart, who knows God and his infinite majesty and holiness, who knows Christ and the price at which he was redeemed, that person will never be a proud person. He will count himself, like Jacob, unworthy of the least of all God’s mercies. He will say of himself, like Job, ”I am unworthy.” He will cry, like Paul, “I am the worst of sinners” He will consider others better than himself (Philippians 2:3).- JC Ryle, Commentary on Luke
(HT: Joe Thorn)
Vacating The Internet
Tim Challies reflects on a week away from technology. I think his practices here would be wise for many of us.
Get Tim's book on rightly handling technology in today's world in light of God's word.
Based on a week away, and other experiences through a summer that was at times busy and at times very relaxing, I’ve determined that I need to make some adjustments and course corrections in my use of digital technologies in general and the Internet in particular. Here are some of them:Read the rest.
- I am planning on making Sundays a day in which I do not check email and do not surf the Internet. I see this as a way that I can remind myself every week that the real world needs to take precedence over the digital world.
- Realizing that I have fallen into unhealthy patterns with my phone, I made email more difficult to access, burying it in a folder off the first page of apps. I plan to use my phone for email only when I absolutely need to find some information.
- I am using my computer to check email less often and to respond to fewer messages. This includes emails where all I would respond with is a one-word answer, thus wasting someone else’s time, and emails that really serve no purpose. I am attempting to batch process email just a couple of times a day instead of allowing it to remain open at all times.
- I am hoping to build into my life some regular self-audit times, to tighten up where I’ve gotten to relaxed and to see if I am still taking my devices under control.
Get Tim's book on rightly handling technology in today's world in light of God's word.
Prank Demonstrates our Culture's Obsession with Celebrity
Depressing and awesome all at the same time.
They Unlocked The Door
“It is noteworthy [in Acts chapter 2] that the disciples, who appear to have been hiding away from their enemies in the spirit of John 20:19, immediately became different people. They unlocked their door, and went down to the most public place they could find and there preached Jesus boldly. This change from cringing cowards to fearless preachers was permanent. We read of Christians making all sorts of mistakes afterwards, and they are far from being perfect. But we do not again read of them hiding away for fear of men. The Spirit altered all that. From now on they became fearless vehicles of the Spirit in proclaiming to men the message of the gospel.”- Leon Morris, Spirit of the Living God p, 53.
(HT: Ray O.)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Piper on God's Holiness
This is rich.
John Piper:
John Piper:
In the end, God is holy in that he is God and not man. . . . He is incomparable. His holiness is his utterly unique divine essence. It determines all that he is and does and is determined by no one.Read the rest.
His holiness is what he is as God which no one else is or ever will be. Call it his majesty, his divinity, his greatness, his value as the pearl of great price.
In the end, language runs out. In the word “holy,” we have sailed to the world's end in the utter silence of reverence and wonder and awe. There may yet be more to know of God, but that will be beyond words.
There is Nothing Left For You To Do
Can you see that this death of self is not, in the final analysis, something you can do? For the point is that God has once and for all reserved for himself the business of your salvation. There is nothing you can do now but, as the words of the old hymn have it, “climb Calvary’s mournful mountain” and stand with your helpless arms at your side and tremble before “that miracle of time, God’s own sacrifice complete! It is finished; hear him cry; learn of Jesus Christ to die!”- Gerharde Forde, “Sermon on the Death of Self”
Can you see it? Can you see that really the last, bitter death is there? That in that cross God has stormed the last bastion of the self, the last presumption that you really were going to do something for him? Can you see that the death of Jesus Christ is your death? He has died in your place! He has done it. He made it. He created a salvation in the midst of time and his enemies. He is God happening to you. It is all over, finished, between you and God! He died in your place that death which you must die; he has done it in such a way as to save you. He has borne the whole thing! The fact that there is nothing left for you to do is the death of self and new birth of the new creature. He died to make a new creature of you, and as he arose, to raise you up to trust God alone.
If you can see it, perhaps then you can see, or perhaps at least begin to see, what is the power of God’s grace and rejoice. For that is the other side of the coin once you have gotten out of your self-enclosed system. Then perhaps you can turn away from yourself, maybe really for the first time, and look upon your neighbors. Maybe for the first time you can begin to receive creation as a gift, a sheer gift from God’s hands. And who knows what might happen in the power of this grace? All possibilities are open. You might sell your car, or even give it away – for someone else. You might find even that you could swallow your pride and stage a protest march – for your neighbor – or begin to seek to influence the power structures! For in the power of his cross the way is open! The way is open to begin, at least, perhaps in faltering ways, in countless little ways, to realize what it means to die to self. For that, in the final analysis, is his gift to you, the free gift of the new man, the new woman, the one who can live in faith and hope, for whom all possibilities are open!
His books here.
Cheap eBook Alert
The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith
J. P. Moreland (Author), Tim Muehlhoff (Author)
Kindle Price: $2.99
Description:
Our beliefs are challenged from many directions. Every day it seems more difficult to explain to our friends, families and neighbors what we believe and why. When our ideas and arguments fail to persuade them, what then? Is there another approach we can take?
In The God Conversation veteran apologists and communicators J. P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff say that often the best way to win over others is with a good story. Stories have the ability to get behind our preconceptions and defenses. They can connect both emotionally and intellectually, appealing to the whole person rather than just to the mind.
How do we defend belief in a good God in the face of terrorist attacks or natural disasters? What can we say to show we are not arrogant to believe that Jesus is the only way with so many sincere people following other world religions? What if they think we are naive to say Jesus actually rose from the dead? And when they seem confident in their right to choose their own ethical stances, how can we help them appreciate the value of a universal standard of right and wrong found in the Bible?
The authors offer a wealth of penetrating illustrations, examples and quotes that respond to these issues and more. In these pages they enhance the logic and evidence found in other books defending the faith, with things that your friends, relatives or coworkers will ponder long after a conversation is over. Here is sound, empathetic coaching for those of us who long to communicate our faith more effectively.
This Pretty Much Boils It Down
- NT Wright, Simply ChristianThe death of Jeaus of Nazareth as king of the Jews, the bearer of Israel’s destiny, the fulfillment of God’s promises to his people of old, is either the most stupid, senseless waste and misunderstanding the world has ever seen, or it is the fulcrum around which world history turns.
(HT: Josh M.)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Power of a Focused Missions Vision
“Our God-designed finiteness limits what any one of us can effectively undertake. Therefore, our mission initiatives need to be strategically focused in order to bring maximum glory to Christ. Traditionally many churches have developed mission commitments without strategic integration. Predominately, churches have left the formation of strategy to agencies and have just sent people apart from understanding the strategic need and opportunities in the world.
Responding to opportunities as they come up might seem right at first, but the end result will be a shotgun-like effect to which our people will be less and less able to meaningfully engage.
The central questions become ‘What does it mean to complete God’s purpose among all nations?’ ‘What strategic opportunities remain?’ ‘In which ones is God calling our church to be his channel of blessing?’ That is where we focus.”
Traditionally, churches have used this “shotgun” approach when it comes to oversees mission work. The missions committee responds to multiple funding requests and the church financially supports a number of different projects all around the world. Some are going well. Some are not. And with some, they simply don’t know. But there is a line item in the budget for missions and that money should be spent.
Could there be a better way?
A MORE UNIFIED VISION: In the age of information, there is constant competition for our attention. This challenge is also true in the church. Most people who have spent any amount of time involved in a local church larger than 50 people knows how hard it is to keep the whole ecclesial organism focused, aligned, and moving in the same direction. Without consistent and focused energy keeping the lines of communication flung wide open, our churches always drift into whatever is next up on the announcement sheet or email blast. It’s hard enough to get everyone to simply show up to a membership meeting.
Now consider the traditional approach to the local church and missions sending. Let’s say a church of 400 is supporting six different missionaries (or as is often the case, many more). Is it really feasible to keep the whole church consistently updated on what is going on with these six different teams on a consistent basis and in such a way as to garner enthusiasm about the vision for each different project?
Would it not be better to be narrowly focused so that this challenged is diminished? The smaller the focus the easier it is to maintain unity and alignment around a common goal.
A CALLING MADE SURE: Too often, missionaries “lay hands on themselves” and simply head out to the mission field without pursuing a sense of deep affirmation from their pastors and peers. But who wants to squash their sense of calling? This is very similar to the man or woman who goes off to seminary right after finishing undergraduate studies without spending anytime serving at the local church, learning about leadership, and having years with older pastors to affirm their sense of calling. The seminaries are dying for the money. They will take all the warm bodies they can get. But is that what is best for the Church? Have we not seen train wrecks from churches being led by people who never got asked hard questions?
Same with missions agencies. They need people. Truly, as Jesus said, the workers are few, especially in the unreached parts of the world. But shouldn’t we be asking if they are the right people with the right gifts and the right training and at the right time? Unfortunately, too often a sense of calling is never affirmed by a local church and as a result, many missionaries don’t finish well.
But when the local church has sought to faithfully affirm the call of those desiring to go to the nations, there is a much greater likelihood that the right people will be released for the long haul. For example, the local church should make sure there has been adequate theological training. The local church should make sure that those being sent have proven character. The local church should make sure there is a clear philosophy of ministry that is mutually agreed upon. With a narrow focus there is space to take the necessary time to make sure these questions have adequate answers. It may take longer than the traditional model because a period of preparation is taken very seriously, but in the end, this should provide longevity for those being sent because they have been tested and their called has been made sure.
If you are a missionary reading this please read what I am NOT saying. I am not saying that you have to be officially sent by a local church after a period of rigorous testing and training to legitimize your calling. But what I am saying is that I believe it would be wise for those desiring to give their lives to the nations to submit themselves to local leadership and allow them to ask you hard questions about your calling, competency, and character.
LOVING, KNOWING, AND CARING: Can the local church give adequate “face time” to numerous different projects such that true love and care can be fostered? Can the church passionately shepherd, lead, and hold several different teams accountable in a vibrant way? Who really knows these people? How can we encourage them deeply? How is their marriage? What are their kids struggling with? What are their sin issues? What are their hopes and fears? Is anyone really pastoring them?
When a church mainly fields funding requests the relationship is simply transactional. And this is usually not healthy. Missions strategist, Matthew Ellison has written, “There are a generation of missionaries out there that don’t truly have a church home and are not adequately connected to a local church. Sadly, they are caught in a system that has unwittingly removed missionaries from the church.”
Given a narrowly focused model, when missionaries come home for rest and reconnection they know they are coming home to a people who truly know them. When they need prayer they can know that the whole church is praying for them. When sin issues are at the forefront they have a church that can call them to repentance and hold them accountable with true church discipline. When they are low on money, they know that they are going to be taken care of. With a more narrow focus, there is a much greater likelihood that missionaries will be well cared for relationally and spiritually.
FULLY FUNDED: For so many missionaries fund-raising is exhausting, time consuming, and stressful. What if we could take that challenge completely out of the equation? Would that not be life giving to those going to the hard places of the world? A local church wouldn't want to do this with multiple different projects. All churches have finite resources. But how much of a blessing would this be for those being sent if they knew they didn’t have to worry about finances?
When a local church knows the missionary deeply and has affirmed their sense of calling through testing, training, and time spent over the course of years, they could have full confidence to fully fund the missionary if possible. Relationships and resources should always go intimately together.
VARIOUS LEVELS OF SUPPORT: But isn’t this philosophy going to leave a lot of people out? By the power of the Spirit, churches have many different people with many different callings. Should we not seek to resource and support all the different ways that God has gifted people to serve around the world?
It probably depends on what we mean by “support”. I believe that for the reasons outlined above, having one main focus of emphasis is best in terms of:
- Financial support
- Pastoral accountability
- Consistent church-wide communication
- Prayer
- Encouragement
- Sending short-term local church terms to the field
- Raising up long-term workers from the local body to serve in the unreached area
At The Vine, the elders have decided that we have an official calling to participate in initiating a movement of church planting in North Africa. Acts 1:8 implies that we’ll plant churches in the unreached parts of the world and this doesn’t seem optional. This doesn’t mean that other areas are unimportant, it just means that, at this time, those areas are not our calling and would not receive primary support in the ways outlined above. That is not to say that in the future this won’t ever expand in some shape or form but for right now, this is our chosen focus.
But that doesn’t mean there can’t be other areas of secondary or tertiary support for people in their different individual callings that would simply not be as exhaustive. For example, say a college student wants to go on a summer missions project with Campus Crusade for Christ. Will we pray for them at our regular prayer meetings. Absolutely. Will a pastor be available to them to “equip” them (Eph. 4). Absolutely. Will we fund them? Probably not. Will we allow them to attend all of our small groups to raise money? Again, probably not. Can they seek to garner support within their sphere of relationships at the local church? Absolutely.
There are many creative ways to “support” someone from a local body who wants to do any number of great things. But just because something is worthy for an individual to pursue doesn’t mean that it should be completely embraced by the whole of the church in terms of emphasis and resource.
But we also may say that to that person, “Have you considered North Africa? Since this is our unique corporate vision, have you considering leveraging your gifts, passions, and efforts in that direction? Think of what we could accomplish in that one area with more laborers?”
AN ENORMOUS TASK: Simply put, more local churches need to be narrowly focused on reaching the unreached. By and large, in our current church culture, it’s simply not happening. Why? Because it’s really, really hard and the size of the task is quite daunting. Yet, at The Vine, we are seeking to see a movement of church planting happen in the hardest parts of North Africa. We are truly believing God for the impossible. In light of the enormity, we have to be united. Think of all that we could accomplish if we all were praying together, giving together, and going on short and long term teams together. The impact would surely be profoundly deeper than seeking to be a “mile wide but an inch deep” with the shotgun approach. There is a power in unity and power is what we need in light of the task.
A BETTER WAY: Imagine if church after church across the Christian world rejected the shotgun approach and embraced this vision. Would it not change the landscape of our current missions culture by creating longer term missionaries who are better cared for and last longer on the field? Matthew Ellison writes “But what if the majority (not all, but the majority) of a church's mission efforts were aimed at the winning of a particular people, and the majority of projects and programs you invest in were related to bringing that vision to fruition? How much easier would it be to communicate vision to the congregation, acquaint them with the target people, and involve them more in the lives of those you've sent out to reach them?”
In sum, we love our overseas missionaries too much to submit them to the shotgun approach. It’s not good for them, it’s not good for the local church, and ultimately, it’s not good for the people they are trying to win. We have to make sure our missionaries receive the best care possible and that the church is operating at maximum effectiveness. A more narrow focus can provide this. It may be the better way.
**For help in beginning this type of strategy at your church, I recommend an organization called 1615.org.**
The 20 Most-Watched TED Talks to Date
TED:
(HT: Nathan Bingham)TED is dedicated to ideas worth spreading. And that leaves many wondering exactly which ideas have been spread the most widely in the six years that TEDTalks videos have been available online. Here, a list of the 20 most-watched talks on all the platforms we track: TED.com, YouTube, iTunes, embed and download, Hulu and more.
From education to brain function to inspiring messages to techno-possibilities, this list represents quite a breadth of topics.
- Sir Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity (2006): 13,409,417 views
- Jill Bolte Taylor‘s stroke of insight (2008): 10,409,851
- Pranav Mistry on the thrilling potential of SixthSense (2009): 9,223,263
- David Gallo‘s underwater astonishments (2007): 7,879,541
- Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense (2009): 7,467,580
- Tony Robbins asks Why we do what we do (2006): 6,879,488
- Simon Sinek on how great leaders inspire action (2010): 6,050,294
- Steve Jobs on how to live before you die (2005): 5,444,022
- Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen (2006): 4,966,643
- Brene Brown talks about the power of vulnerability (2010): 4,763,038
- Daniel Pink on the surprising science of motivation (2009): 4,706,241
- Arthur Benjamin does mathemagic (2005): 4,658,425
- Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing your genius (2009): 4,538,037
- Dan Gilbert asks: Why are we happy? (2004): 4,269,082
- Stephen Hawking asks big questions about the universe (2008): 4,153,105
- Jeff Han demos his breakthrough multi-touchscreen (2006): 3,891,251
- Johnny Lee shows Wii Remote hacks for educators (2008): 3,869,417
- Keith Barry does brain magic (2004): 3,847,893
- Mary Roach 10 things you didn’t know about orgasm (2009): 3,810,630
- Vijay Kumar demos robots that fly like birds (2012): 3,535,340
Compare and contrast how the 2012 list of the most popular talks stacks up to the 2011 list, written on the fifth birthday of TEDTalks videos.
Ten Questions to Diagnose the Evangelistic Health of Your Church
Thom Rainer:
Read the rest.
- Are members more concerned about the lost than their own preferences and comfort? Listen to how church members talk to understand what their true priorities are.
- Is the church led to pray for lost persons? Most churches are pretty good about praying for those who have physical needs. But do they pray for those who have the greatest spiritual need, a relationship with Jesus Christ?
- Are the members of the church open to reaching people who don’t look or act like them? The gospel breaks all racial, ethnic, and language barriers. Do the members seek to reach others? Do they rejoice when these people become a part of the church?
- Do conflicts and critics zap the evangelistic energy of the church? An evangelistic church is a united church. A divided church is rarely evangelistic.
- Do small groups and Sunday school classes seek to reach lost persons within their groups? Sunday school was once one of the most effective evangelistic tools in the church. Are the groups in your church evangelistic?
- Is the leadership of the church evangelistic? The congregation will follow and emulate the priorities of the church leadership.
- Do the sermons regularly communicate the gospel? They may not be evangelistic sermons in the classic sense, but all sermons should point people to Jesus.
- Are there ministries in the church that encourage members to be involved in evangelistic outreach and lifestyle? You may be surprised to find how many members become evangelistic with a modest amount of training and equipping.
- Have programs become ends in themselves rather than means to reach people? Perhaps a total ministry and program audit is in order.
- Is there any process of accountability for members to be more evangelistic? That which is rewarded and expected becomes the priority of the congregation.
Living the Abstinent Lifestyle in New York
Trinity Laurel moved to Manhattan at 21 to pursue a modeling career. Raised in a Christian home, Laurel was a virgin when she reached the city, and says she has “remained pure” while living here since.Read the rest.
Not all of her friends can relate.
“They’re like, ‘How do you do that?’ ” Laurel, now 28, said. “People are almost fascinated.”
Welcome to New York, Tim Tebow. Now that the Jets have broken training camp and Tebow, a famous chaste Christian, becomes a full-time New Yorker, it has become a common, and mildly amusing, pastime to fret about the temptations he might face or the potential loneliness he might suffer.
But Laurel’s story, and the stories of other abstinent singles in New York, suggest that he will have plenty of company, and prospective dates.
Cheap eBook Alert
Art and the Bible (Ivp Classics)
Francis A. Schaeffer (Author), Michael Card (Foreword)
Kindle Price: $1.99
Perfecting Ourselves to Death: The Pursuit of Excellence and the Perils of Perfectionism
Richard Winter
Kindle Price: $2.99
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Beck 'Produces' A Genius Innovation That Appeals To The User-Generated Generation
"Loser" author, Beck, has a new idea for his latest "recording" that is quite intriguing. I didn't get it at first but after reading the article I can how this could create quite a stir. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Cheap eBook Alert
Knowing Scripture
R. C. Sproul
Godspeed: Making Christ's Mission Your Own
Britt Merrick
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