Wordpress!!!

I'm switching to wordpress! I hate to dis anything google, but wordpress is just way better than blogger.

So anyone who wants to keep reading, head on over to the new site.

My Wonderful Evening

My mom instant messages me at work and says that some of my aunts and cousins and a sister are getting together for dinner tonight at the Black Forest Inn. I was planning on swimming at the Y then doing a bunch of odd tasks, but decided to spend time with the fam instead.

Dinner was mediocre tasting and way over priced, but I really enjoyed the company. My cousins Lani and Tony were there. Tony and Lani are really young (kindergarten and preschool) and so they are also adorable. Tony plays this game where he calls me Luke to get a rise out of me (playing of course). Lani has the cutest smile ever. They are in the process of being adopted by my aunt Eve (who was there) and uncle Steve (who wasn't there).

So we all parted ways. My aunt Amy and I had to straighten my aunt Lisa and her son Luke out, they were hopelessly disoriented. I get home and do some of those odd tasks. Then I think "it's way too warm out to be inside today, lets go on a bike ride!"

So I grab my bike and head for the Greenway. I really wanted to see other folks who were hanging outside, so I headed to Phillips to see who I would see. I ran into Johnathon on his way back home, so we chatted for a minute. Apparently he has a very early morning on Wednesdays, so he was going to go to sleep soon. We parted ways and I continued to bike around Phillips. Sadly no one I knew was hanging outside, though I did catch a glimpse of the Tongs in their back yard.

So I headed back home and got out the guitar. I just played for a while on our porch, which overlooks the intersection of Lagoon and Irving. AKA it's pretty busy. I had a lot of fun playing, and Meredith, one of the other folks in our building, came out for a smoke. We got to chat about all sorts of stuff, she's pretty cool. I've been "looking" for houses and she has passed a few along to check out. She finally went inside to finish watching Milk with her boyfriend, which had apparently been on pause the whole time she was outside. Then I decided to do what I've wanted to do for a long time...

I met some neighbors! Erik (Eric?) and Kevin live across Irving from us. They are right around my age and both went to school at Winona. They are also brothers. We had a good time chatting about life and will probably do stuff together throughout the summer. I'm excited!

I walk back inside to find my roommate Taylor (who declined my invitation for bike riding) sweating profusely and writhing in the blistering heat. OK, not really, but he wanted to put the AC unit up. As he is in the basement I hear this yelling, followed by him running up the stairs. Apparently a bat had made it into the house and attacked him when he switched on the light! He grabbed a tennis racket and we both walked very slowly down the stairs. He wanted me to go first, so I took the racket and went in. No bat to be seen! We got the AC in with out further ado.

So there you have it, my wonderful evening!

Community - Taking It Offline

Here's a test: Spend one day surfing the Internet and spend another roaming your neighborhood. See how many good dinner table stories you have after each. There won't be a contest.

I can't remember how I got here, but that's where I found this.

Social Media: Twitter

I've been thinking a lot lately about social media. Questions like "What role should twitter play in my day to day life?" and "What is appropriate to blog about?" and "What information should I share on my Facebook profile?" just beg to be answered (if you're me). So I thought I'd give it a shot. Lets start with...

Twitter
Lets start small. Like 140 characters small. At first, I had no idea how to use Twitter.



But after a while, you start to understand that Twitter is so much more than a status update. It's a conversation. Or it's a place to ask questions. Or it's a place to keep current on a cool movie. I hear the search is really useful.

I like to use it for those thoughts that are too short to blog about. And as a giant chat room. You can follow me if you want.

Of course Twitter has it's drawbacks, but I'll save all the social media negatives for one post. That way you will only see the bad stuff once, and it'll seem less important. Kind of like how a kid would choose 10 pennies over 4 quarters. So I'm manipulating you, like I would a child.

Next I'll do blogging. Stay tuned!

The Foolishness of Idolatry

God has something to say in Isaiah 44:

6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. [1]
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
8 Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”

God is bringing it! Then read what He follows up with:

9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Come on piece of wood, say that you're like God. Tell me what is to come, what will happen. Oh wait, you can't.

The foolishness of idolatry shines through this story. A man makes a fire and a god out of a piece of wood, then worships it and expects the piece of wood to deliver him. He is such a fool! And yet, I find myself in this position too often. I make an idol of a phone, a man, even an image!

That last one really gets me. I can make a picture of the cross into my God. I miss the point! It's not the cross that's worthy of worship, nor even the salvation that was bought for believers on a cross. It's the one who paid the price. Jesus is the one we should worship.

Do you worship Jesus, or what He gives you? Do you worship Jesus, or a charismatic pastor? Do you worship Jesus, or what he has done for you?

Do you worship Jesus, or a block of wood?




I am convicted.

But there is one who is my advocate!

Update

I've been pretty busy lately. Ok maybe not too busy, but I haven't been setting aside time to slow down. So here's an update for anyone who's interested:

• I read the Twilight series in 4 days. At one point I read 120 pages in an hour. I didn't think that was possible. And talk about an unhealthy relationship!
  
• It was my birthday on Saturday. I got to spend it making some tasty treats with my sister and mom. Then we all ate Chinese food.
• Shane and Shane are my favorite group to see live. They are incredible artists, skilled musicians and sold out for Jesus. I haven't been able to get them out of my head since seeing them on Friday (and I don't want to).
  
• I'm going to hook up Shane Everett with some In Ear Monitors from my company.
• I need to get to bed earlier. Always.

I know I forgot some things, but that's fine. Just give me a call, I'd love to hear from you. I hope to write more, taking the time to put to paper (electronic bits?) what I've been thinking about. I have some new ideas and some old ideas that will (hopefully) be showing up here soon enough.

Thanks for reading!

Doxology

This has been in my head for a while, so I thought I'd put it in yours.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Community - Fear Of Man

Fear of failure.
Fear of looking foolish.
Fear of looking less than perfect.

Fear of rejection.
Fear of others judging me.
Fear of not impressing others.

Fear of not looking extraordinary.

My fears are silly. It's all about my ego. When it comes to living in community, I need to get out of the way.

My Own Little Limerick

Jess is quickly becoming one of my favorite bloggers. Right now she's doing a fun little deal where you give her your name and she writes you a limerick. Here's the one she wrote for me:

There once was a fellow named Scott,
Who became a career astronaut.
He fought his first alien
by ousting its ganglion.
Scott’s legend in schools now is taught.

I have to say though, the one Jess did for Katie is absolutely phenomenal. And check out her about page.

What Are Your Blog Post Standards

I write a lot for this blog. Most of it (~70%) doesn't end up getting posted. Even this post almost got stalled in production.

Do you want me to post incomplete, rough, ill conceived posts that would otherwise never see the light of day? Do you post those kind of things? What are your standards?

Links

A moral inconsistency in the white house?

Some sweet youtube music!

This post on wisdom cuts me to the core.

A must see for the role of suffering and the disabled in the church.

I don't know if I want to switch to wordpress...

I also don't know if I should quit blogging... sigh

One of the sweetest things I've read on guy/girl relationships in a long time. Be sure to check out the article he links to too.

Call Me

If you're reading this, I want you to....



I'm sick of text communication. Even better, lets get together for coffee or something. I'd love to see how life's going for you.

(if you're RSS, you'll need to click through)

Community - Putting On A Communication Face

A friend posted about Community. Read it for the context of this post.

I have thought about this too! My opinion: it's easier to write than speak. It gives every party time to think through their response, to phrase and rephrase things to their liking, eventually submitting some comment that reveals their best and wisest face. I even did it while writing the previous sentence (and this one).

Writing allows our thoughts to be refined and precise. The issue is, people aren't like that. People are rough, flawed, fallen. To present our thoughts in a pristine, beautiful form has great value, but it loses some of our character. We don't get to interact with the messy side of people. And the messy side is big deal.

Dealing with imperfect people also allows for closer fellowship. Understanding and copping with others' flaws helps me know them, love them, be gracious with them, in spite of the difficulties. And not only do I know them, but they get to know me! My sin gets stirred up when someone aggravates me. I have tons of flaws, more than enough to go around. Yet through it all, community can survive, even flourish!

None of this really addresses how to reach out to that neighbor, coworker, or friend of a friend. But it starts the discussion. I'll save those thoughts for a future post.

(p.s. I am looking for folks to run with, so hit me up if you're interested)

You Found Me

I had heard this song before, but had never really listened to the words. I share them with you now:

I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where you been?" He said, "Ask anything"

Where were you when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me

But in the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her, the only one who's ever known
Who I am, who I'm not and who I wanna be
No way to know how long she will be next to me

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me!

The early morning, the city breaks
And I've been calling for years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
You never sent me no letters
You got some kind of nerve taking all I want!

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, where were you? Where were you?

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me!

Why'd you have to wait to find me, to find me?

I don't know what to make of it all, but I hear a seeking for God. I had thought it was a throwback to Job with the "Where were you" action, but it's pretty clear that God is being questioned, they want to know why God didn't call before, why He didn't find them sooner. However it's intended, I like the song, especially because of how I see God in it.

The Greatest Challenge

"Today, the greatest challenge facing American evangelicals is no persecution from the world, but seduction by the world" - C.J. Mahaney, Worldliness p.22

I'm Back From Europe!

The reason for not posting anything these last two weeks is because I've been touring around Europe! I hit up England, Turkey, and France. I have to say, this was probably the best trip I've taken in my life (it's a tight race with China). God blew my expectations away in how He used my time across the pond.

Here are some of my favorite things that happened in Europe, in no particular order:

• Getting trapped in my hostel at 5am and needing to climb a 12 foot fence with my luggage, so that I can make the first tube to make my train to make my flight (which I did by less than 5 minutes) to get to Turkey.
• Spending 4 hours in a Turkish Cafe with Jon and Erik
• Great conversation in Mullhouse
• Hanging out and playing Parcheesi with the other team in Turkey
• Getting to see the France team and hang out with them
  

Finding A Future With Teaching

Some of the best council that I've heard for figuring out your gifting is this: It is done in community. The church will either affirm or deny your giftedness in the things you attempt. Ray Orlund Jr. shares his experience in an interview:

2. In a paragraph, how did you discover your gifts in preaching?

How does one discover gifts in any area? It just appears, as experience allows and in the fullness of God’s time. My own preaching started with complete ineptitude, graduated over time to struggle, and by now has advanced to varying degrees of effectiveness and ineffectiveness. My progress seems directly related to growing theological discovery of God’s glory in the gospel, through dissatisfaction with myself as a preacher, through the joy of seeing God use me, and through the assurance that at any time God can rend the heavens and come down in revival power.

(via Between Two Worlds)

John Piper began teaching 7th grade Sunday school, and then 9th graders, and then he helped out with a Greek class. Throughout this process, he was affirmed by those who were learning from him that he was gifted in teaching. Experience in community will lead us to our gifts.

I did not expect to be confronted with the idea of going into the pastorate.

I was talking with a dear brother after church one Saturday and the conversation turned to the future. He is doing the TBI program and asked if I had considered going through it. He affirmed in me some traits that would benefit someone in the pastorate.

The qualifications of an elder can be found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 (though I'd say read the whole book and not just a chapter). One of them is to be able to teach. Thinking on Pastor John's example, I think the next step for me would be trying to teach! I am praying about teaching Sunday School at BBC with the kids I've been with for the last two years (coincidentally, they'll be in 7th grade next year).

While I don't know if I am gifted in this area, I certainly love it. Being able to explain something in an understandable way brings me so much joy. And that may be enough to meet the biblical qualifications for an elder (there are other ways that I don't, but that's another discussion).

If I were to pursue the pastorate, I feel it would be necessary to go through seminary. However, the one that I am most familiar with (TBI) requires a year of Greek before enrollment. This means that I have some time to think and pray about any decision that would be made. Providentially, God placed me in the TBI Essentials course, which will meet that requirement by the end of next year. Praise God for His sovereignty!

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Guide me Lord!

Sometimes I Wish I Was Funny

Everybody knows someone who is stinkin' hilarious. I know a lot of those folks, and I love to laugh with them. Sometimes though, I start to get jealous. Why am I not a funny guy?

I am one of the worst story tellers ever. I mean it, I am downright bad. I can occasionally build some momentum in the telling of a tale, but the climax ends up being a cliff of disappointment that we all stumble over as you think I'm getting to the good part. Surprise! There is no good part. I got you excited for nothing.

Sometimes I try to make my stories as bad as possible, hopefully redeeming them with the different kind of funny that makes you laugh at how bad something is. Does that work? I hope so.

The reason I bring up stories is because they are a pivotal part of someones hilarity. The ability to effectively capture attention in an enjoyable way is just one step away from being the funniest person in the room. Once you have an audience, it's easy to get on a roll and keep cranking out the laughs. Plus, stories are a great place to drop in all those witty comments that crack everybody up. Seriously, I think about some of those for days.

Another way to be funny is to get that one person who will laugh at anything (like me) to be your friend. Then when you're talking with them and they burst out giggling, everyone else will stop what they're doing and think to themselves "oh man, that guy must be the funniest person ever, look at how he's making his friend laugh! I should totally listen to their conversation instead having my own." That's when I mess it up with one of my lame stories, but I know you're better at story telling than me. Keep up the good work!

Typing Races

[...]
(2:51:43 PM) Andrew: it took me about three times as long to type with just two fingers
(2:51:45 PM) Andrew: yikes
(2:52:04 PM) Andrew: 11 vs 48?
(2:52:08 PM) Scott: 11?
(2:52:19 PM) Scott: mark
(2:52:26 PM) Scott: it took me about three times as long to type with just two fingers
(2:52:30 PM) Scott: 7
(2:52:30 PM) Andrew: 7
(2:53:01 PM) Scott: this is so dorky
(2:53:04 PM) Andrew: lol
(2:53:14 PM) Andrew: enjoy life
(2:53:16 PM) Andrew: dorky is okay
(2:53:18 PM) Scott: haha
(2:53:21 PM) Scott: i want to blog about this

For the record, Andrew is the one who types with two fingers. I type like you're supposed to. :-)

Gratitude For Singleness

Happy Singles Awareness Day!

Now most people associate February 14 with Valentines Day, but single folk know what I'm talking about. Today is the day that we get reminded of our relationship status. That's right, I'm talking about Singles Awareness Day (or we could just call it SAD)! So happy SAD!

I've been celebrating SAD for about 4 years now, and it has been good! I remember one particular year, during my sophomore year of college. I was living in the dorms and had written this little note on my whiteboard:

"Scott would like to apologize to all the ladies out there, he will not be your Valentine"

My sister read this and got a little creative. For the rest of the night, I got about 12 phone calls from everyone who happened to be at this house a bunch of girls lived at called "the quad". The one that really made me laugh was Carrie. She calls at about 11:45pm and, sounding completely serious, asks me to pray about it. I think I'll remember that night for the rest of my life. Thanks girls!



But seriously, I really appreciate being single. It sucks at times, but only when you are viewing things from the wrong perspective. I've been studying 1 Corinthians 7 lately and have been very convicted:

32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

Am I anxious about the things of the Lord? This passage assumes that we are, and speaks to how being married distracts us from Him. I've been thinking about this all day, and it has really got me excited. I want to be anxious for the things of the Lord! I want my singleness to be something the Lord works out of! And I want other singles to be similarly burdened!

I'm so grateful we have scripture to teach and guide us! I'm praying that I am faithful to the Word.

Links!

So while I still want to generate my own ideas and content, I can't help but share with you (you 12 people) some of the great stuff that I've found:

The last line of this made me laugh so much! Progress happens!

I love how Adrian nails some of the issues dealing with discipleship.

These two posts by Tim Challies got me pumped up about discipleship too.

Meditations on an embarrassing game show helped to change my perspective. It helped for me to imagine my motivations if I was on the show.

A succinct but powerful quote on dealing with heresy.

It is so necessary to hear good biblical perspective on relationships!

A dear brother was honest about his hypocrisy. It is good to confess and repent!

Some thoughts on a Coldplay interview really convicted me.

CJ Mahaney interviewed John Piper on his blog. I'll end with a few gems:

What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?

Don’t preach in a way that a Muslim would approve. Preach a divine crucified Christ.

[....]

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?

A great tree will fall with many small chops. Pray for daily grace to keep chopping.

Indulgences Are Wrong

Apparently, indulgences are making a come back. I have issue with this. In the article, indulgences are described as follows:

In exchange for certain prayers, devotions or pilgrimages in special years, a Catholic can receive an indulgence, which reduces or erases that punishment instantly, with no formal ceremony or sacrament.

Now, I'm no expert in the Bible, but I have read a little. Take Romans 6:5-11 for instance:

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self [1] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free [2] from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It is by Christ's crucifixion as how we are absolved from our sin. In fact, it relies entirely on His work, and not at all on ours. We can see that even more clearly in Hebrews 10:

8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ [2] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

[emphasis mine]

Clearly there is nothing that we can do! Nothing! Jesus' one sacrifice was all that was needed to atone for our sin.

Here's another quote:

In recent months, dioceses around the world have been offering Catholics a spiritual benefit that fell out of favor decades ago — the indulgence, a sort of amnesty from punishment in the afterlife — and reminding them of the church’s clout in mitigating the wages of sin.

Where is the evidence for this in the Bible? Why would anyone think the church has any power to atone for sin? Isn't the church made up of sinners? How can sinners reconcile others to God? Isn't that why Jesus came?

Answers: it isn't, they shouldn't, yes, they can't, and yes (praise the Lord!).

Justin Taylor has a good explanation of what indulgences are and how they work. In the end though, he agrees with me:

When it's all said and done, the whole idea of indulgences comes down to the idea that Christians must undergo a process of temporal punishment before they are allowed to go to heaven. But Scripture doesn't teach that. Rather, the punishment process was completely absorbed for us by Christ on the cross. We may receive discipline from our Father, but we will never again receive any form of punishment. Scripture no where hints that those who are united to Christ are in two categories and locations: those undergoing purificatory punishment in Purgatory and those in their heavenly home. All who die in Christ go to be with the Lord. Thanks be to God who clothes us with his righteousness and took all of our punishment.

I thank God for the Bible.

Leading A 6th Grade Small Group

Pastor Bud sent out a letter to all the youth small group leaders a while back and included the following questions:

What is the first thing that comes to mind regarding heart preparation as a small group leader? What is the first thing that comes to mind regarding practical issues of small group leading?

My answer:

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

May I continue to grow in love for God and those kids.

Those Who Are Sent

I see the relationships that the TBI guys have. I see how close the get to each other, to the BBC pastors, to the folks in the church. Then I read this, knowing it's true.

Jesus left us an example of investing in a select number of men. The Gospel of Mark tells us, "And he appointed twelve, so that they would be with him and that he could send them out to preach" (Mark 3:14). His aim was to be with them for a season, and then to send them out preaching.

Paul carried on this example of discipleship with Timothy. He invited Timothy to be with him for a season, and then he sent him out, instructing him to perpetuate the process to subsequent generations: "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2).

To enjoy such sweet fellowship and tight relationships, knowing that it is for the purpose of being sent, seems so bittersweet. All the things that would draw them to stay! (as I write this, I am reminded of how these men love the Gospel and desire for it to be spread) I am grateful that it is ultimately Christ for whom we learn and labor. Praise God!

I think what really stirs these feelings in me is my own situation. I am at an amazing church right now and I love it here! But I also realize that I'm being built into and growing for a purpose. Aren't all Christians called to spread the Gospel? Why do I feel this call so specifically to "go"??

An aside: I think I feel the pull to go because I have been given so much and see the need in the world. I am compelled to help/contribute/be useful. Some confusion comes from the Lord confirming that I should not be pursuing missions right now.

All this makes me glad that the Lord has brought me to Bethlehem at this point in my life. There's no where I'd rather be right now and I am confident that this church is where God wants me to be growing. May I remain faithful to the Lord's leading.

Voicemail

I feel like leaving a message is just one of those things. You know... those things that are...um...awkward...

...like when I call someone and they don't answer, I feel awkward. If their phone was on, they now know that I called (missed calls). Do I leave a message? Do I hang up and try again? How long do I wait before trying again? Do I leave a message the second time? Can I expect them to return my call?

Maybe they left their phone at home. Maybe they can't hear it buried in their purse (oh man, my sister is totally this one). Maybe they're busy and they'll call back later. Maybe they won't call back unless I leave a message. Maybe they won't call back unless I ask them too in my message. Maybe....

My solution: always return the call.


And hope that others will do likewise.

Conversations In My Head

I think a lot. I often think more than I talk. Some do the opposite, but I'd say they both have the potential to be put in the "problem" category.

I say it's a problem because the thought comes at the expense of action. This is not good. I generally want to speak up, but am to afraid to take whatever risk is associated with my words. I'm getting a lot better at this balance.

And guess when this happens the most; when I'm angry. I get really frustrated at someone and walk away (not having said anything). As I walk, I realize "that would have been the perfect comeback!" I then run back to them and shout it in their face. Actually, I don't do that last bit, but I always wish I would have been thinking on my feet a little better during my argument. Of course, I am ultimately grateful that I'm not the witty slanderer that I imagine myself being, since that is a sin (I could find more).

Other occasions for these conversations to take place are when I want to encourage someone, when I'm waiting to pray in a group, when I am infatuated with a girl, when I am driving, etc. Basically, if I regularly have conversations with you, I've probably had a few that you weren't around for. So the next time you see me, ask what I said. Maybe I'll actually get it out. :-)


p.s. I don't know why I'm all about James tonight.

Why Blog? - Part 2

Why do I blog?

1. Collect my thoughts.
2. Express my thoughts.
3. Be heard.
4. Share things I've found valuable with others.

Lately I've only been using this to share others thoughts that I enjoy, as someone pointed out., really neglecting the main reasons that I started this (1 and 2). This is probably because I'm a poorly focused perfectionist (a.k.a. things get started but never get done). I start a lot of posts, but rarely finish them.

Part of this is just an experiment, how will the blog evolve. Of course, in posting this I fall into a trap. I have my own ideas, and at least I'm not being apologetic.

Oh yeah, I love hyperlinks!

It's interesting to see how some bloggers spit out tons of posts every day, while others only post sporadically. The quality vs quantity issue is quite the dilemma (I was tempted to hyperlink some examples, I restrained myself).

So I guess we've discovered that I really enjoy sharing the thoughts and content of others with whoever may read this. I really enjoy this stuff. It's interesting, fascinating, challenging, hilarious, etc.! But as the title says, this is the Blog of Scott. So going forward, that's what it'll be.

John Updike Is Dead

What is with my fascination with this man?? I will most likely be reading some of his books in the near future. You should read this article about him by Russel Moore. It's really interesting.

(via Between Two Worlds)

What Marketers Actually Sell

From Seth's Blog:

Not powder or chemicals or rubber or steel or silicon or talk or installations or even sugary water.

What marketers sell is hope.

The reason is simple: people need more. We run out. We need it replenished. Hope is almost always in short supply.

The magical thing about selling hope is that it makes everything else work better, every day get better, every project work better, every relationship feel better. If you can actually deliver on the hope you sell, there will be a line out the door.

Hope cures cynicism. Hope increases productivity. Hope needs no justification.

Read it there.

Ask Pastor John

The latest Ask Pastor John, dealing with the question "How would you counsel someone who blames their temptations on God's sovereignty?" is amazing!

Please listen to this clip!

You Have To See Your Need

From Take Your Vitamin Z:

"One of the great faults of the contemporary church is the tendency to soft-pedal sin and judgment. Like false prophets we 'heal the wound of God's people lightly' (Jer. 6:14, 8:11). This is how Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it: 'It is only when one submits to the law that one can speak of grace... I don't think it is Christian to want to get to the New Testament too soon and too directly.' We must never bypass the law and come straight to the gospel. To do so is to contradict the plan of God in biblical history.

Is this not why the gospel is unappreciated today? Some ignore it, other ridicule it. So in our modern evangelism we cast out pearls (the costliest pearl being the gospel) before swine. People cannot see the beauty of the pearl, because they have no conception of the filth of the pigsty. No man has ever appreciated the gospel until the law has first revealed him to himself. It is only against the inky blackness of the night sky that the stars begin to appear, and it is only against the dark background of sin and judgment that the gospel shines forth.

Not until the law has bruised and smitten us will we admit our need of the gospel to bind up our wounds. Not until the law has arrested and imprisoned us will we pine for the Christ to set us free. Not until the law has condemned and killed us will we call upon Christ for justification and life. Not until the law has driven us to despair of ourselves will we ever believe in Jesus. Not until the law has humbled us even to hell will we turn to the gospel to raise us to heaven."

- John Stott, Galatians, p. 93

Read it there.

Reviewing 101: John Updike's rules

This John Updike seems to be much more interesting than I originally thought.

"My rules," he writes, "shaped intaglio-fashion by youthful traumas at the receiving end of critical opinion, were and are:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending. (How astounded and indignant was I, when innocent, to find reviewers blabbing, and with the sublime inaccuracy of drunken lords reporting on a peasants' revolt, all the turns of my suspenseful and surpriseful narrative! Most ironically, the only readers who approach a book as the author intends, unpolluted by pre-knowledge of the plot, are the detested reviewers themselves. And then, years later, the blessed fool who picks the volume at random from a library shelf.)

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's ouevre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser. Do not accept for review a book you are predisposed to dislike, or committed by friendship to like. Do not imagine yourself a caretaker of any tradition, an enforcer of any party standards, a warrior in an idealogical battle, a corrections officer of any kind. Never, never (John Aldridge, Norman Podhoretz) try to put the author "in his place," making him a pawn in a contest with other reviewers. Review the book, not the reputation. Submit to whatever spell, weak or strong, is being cast. Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end."

(at Critical Mass)

Guilt Trips

Over at Stuff Christians Like:

My greatest source of shame, the record I like to spin the most is called, "The Ways Jon Lets God Down." Have you ever heard that one? It's got some jams on it, including:

1. Jon should know better by now but still makes the same mistakes.
2. Jon gets arrogant when something good happens and only comes to God when life is raining.
3. Jon wrestles with the simplest elements of faith and will never be a good enough Christian.

I could go on and on, it's an album I'm really familiar with, but lately, it’s getting harder to play it. Lately, as I've started to explore my shame with God, I've started to think that maybe God sees my shame and desire to beat myself into submission with guilt differently than I do. Maybe if I asked Him, what He thought, He'd say:

"What if you struck yourself in the head with a chain every time you felt guilty or ashamed for letting me down? What if, you physically punished yourself every time you were not perfect? What if the self abuse was physical and external, instead of mental and internal? Would the scars cry for help? Would the pain you were causing yourself seem cruel and unnecessary? Would your heart break if you watched that person? This is what I see when I watch you Jon.

My son, my son, who told you that the crucifixion was not over?

Read the whole thing.

Anticipating Surprises

"At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Ps. 16: 11)

Growing Dominion, Part 160

"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished" (Pr 27:12).

A prudent man sees it coming. A prudent man is not quick to defer maintenance. There are certain things coming which are predictable and scheduled, and others which are predictable but unscheduled. Just because something is unscheduled does not mean that it is not predictable. A business that depends on a fleet of cars needs to take into account the fact that the vehicles need maintenance, as well as the additional fact that a certain number of repairs will have to be anticipated as well—even though the breakdowns are not scheduled. A prudent man sees all this. You don’t have to tell him twice. But the simple pass on, expecting tomorrow to go swimmingly, just because today did.

(via the cleverly titled Blog and Mablog)


This one makes me think "so am I prudent or simple?" Sadly, I don't fare as well as I'd like to...

Seven Stanzas at Easter

Make no mistake: if He rose at all
it was as His body;
if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules
reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,
each soft Spring recurrent;
it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled
eyes of the eleven apostles;
it was as His Flesh: ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes,
the same valved heart
that—pierced—died, withered, paused, and then
regathered out of enduring Might
new strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
analogy, sidestepping transcendence;
making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the
faded credulity of earlier ages:
let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,
not a stone in a story,
but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow
grinding of time will eclipse for each of us
the wide light of day.

And if we will have an angel at the tomb,
make it a real angel,
weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair,
opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen
spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are
embarrassed by the miracle,
and crushed by remonstrance.

(via Between Two Worlds)

The author, John Updike, died this morning.

Parenting

This is the kind of father I want to be:


(via a 22 Words comment)

Therapy

I find these things to be very therapeutic:

1. A few wise words from a friend
   
2. Really loud music
3. Accelerating really fast
   
4. Praying through the Bible

What do you do?

Authors@Google: Tim Keller

This is an amazing apologetic talk.

Tim Duncan

"Well that was an acting job! If I was a ref, everytime Tim Duncan looked at me I'd give him a technical." - Cloid (my roommate)

Gianna Jessen: Abortion Survivor

Part I


Part II

Don't Be That Guy

I love the phrase "Don't be that guy." Who is "that guy?" Oh you know, he's that guy... who does that thing.... Yeah, don't be him...

I Love To Sing

I was working today and was struck by a thought: I don't sing at work.

It's not that I can't sing at work, but that there are appropriate places to sing and inappropriate places to sing. If I just sang all day at my desk, I'm sure someone next to me would ask me to stop. It's not because they think I sound atrocious (I hope). It's more because it's distracting them from their tasks.

That got me thinking. I heard something not too long ago that really caught my attention: Christianity is a singing religion. I can't remember where I heard this (probably from Bob Kauflin), but the person compared Christianity with some other religions and showed some differences between the motivations to sing. I love singing, especially when the songs have some awesome meaning or truth behind them. I sometimes love the singing more than what I'm singing, and get so caught up in sounding good that I miss the weight of the words.

Last Saturday I went to some friends' house for a birthday party. We hung out for a while, just socializing, but then we all got together in the living room and started singing. It was so good to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with each other!

The moral of this story:
Sing.

Is there any room on your plate?

Caryn has a great post over on her blog Defining Moments. A little preview:

If you were to write down all your activities, would they weigh heavier on the self-focused side - all about me, myself, and my family or the others-focused side - looking beyond yourself to the needs of others?

Check it out.

Facebook Friend Suggesting Jesus

A couple paragraphs from a post on evangelism at Stuff Christians Like:

It’s kind of like a Jesus drive by, me just spraying folks with the name of Christ and hoping it sticks. I don’t think that’s a particularly good thing. I can’t imagine that’s what God had in mind when He gave us the great commission. So what can we do to change that? How do we not just “friend suggestion” Jesus?

I don’t know. I’m all out of silver bullets, and to be honest there are about 3700 other blogs that have better advice about sharing your faith. But I have started to do something differently in the last few months. I’ve started to ask people questions I genuinely want answers to. Instead of asking a question and then forcing the conversation back into my framework regardless of their answer, I’ve tried to just listen and let people talk and remain engaged in what they have to say. The more I’ve done that, the more I’ve been amazed at how willing people are to open up when you actually listen. And sometimes, when I feel like God is cool with it, I get to ask my favorite question of all, “Who is carrying all that with you?”

Please read the whole thing.

What Marketers Actually Sell

From Seth's Blog:

Not powder or chemicals or rubber or steel or silicon or talk or installations or even sugary water.

What marketers sell is hope.

The reason is simple: people need more. We run out. We need it replenished. Hope is almost always in short supply.

The magical thing about selling hope is that it makes everything else work better, every day get better, every project work better, every relationship feel better. If you can actually deliver on the hope you sell, there will be a line out the door.

Hope cures cynicism. Hope increases productivity. Hope needs no justification.

Read it there.

When God Comes To Church

An excerpt from Bob Kauflin's post on the book When God Comes to Church by Ray Ortlund, Jr:

The Proof that the Spirit is With Us

So what is the proof that the Spirit is being poured out on us? The voice of the church rings with prophetic clarity. The people of God are no longer passive, intimidated, unresponsive, uncertain. They are no longer preoccupied with self, convenience, comfort. They are no longer complaining, whining, griping. Instead, they become outspoken in God’s praises and gospel truth, “declaring the wonders of God” (Acts 2:11). (87)

To turn us from self-exaltation to Christ-exaltation, from self-focus to Christ-focus, is a true mark of God’s presence in our midst.

Active, but Not Alive

The church is to be set apart by spirituality. Revival triggers a firm rejection of the foolish devices of carnality firing up the engine of the church and a joyous rediscovery of the awesome power of simple, biblical spirituality. The revival of a dead church occurs through spiritual awakening granted by God, not through our programs and devices. If a church is invigorated with other animating forces, it may be active but it is not alive. (120)

May God protect us from having the appearance of life in our churches and ministries - activities, programs, busy-ness, full schedules - and no true life, which can only come through the gospel and the power of God’s Spirit.

What are You Expecting?

God is not limited to our past experiences, our traditions, or what we think the church’s next step should be. We must leave room for divine mystery, for surprise. God never acts out of character but he does exceed our expectations. (31)

What are you expecting God to do in and through your life this year? Are you anticipating that you might be surprised?

Obama's Speech Wordle

Vitamin Z has a Wordle of Barak Obama's inauguration speech. Lots of buzz words.

Keep On Driving That Used Car

Lifehacker links to a neat article on saving money by driving an old car:

I recently had a talk with a friend about why I haven’t purchased a new car. He can’t understand why I still drive a 1995 Geo Prizm. I can afford to buy a new car, but I choose not to. The fact is, driving an older car saves me money!

To prove my point, I ran some numbers. I was surprised by how much money I’ve saved by driving this car for so long. [...]

Read the whole thing here.

I really like the bit at the end by the blog owner:

Though I complain incessantly about how much I want a new Mini Cooper, the fact is I’m following Joel’s plan, too. I’ll drive my Ford Focus into the ground.

I totally want a Mini Cooper.

Being Pro-Life Christians Under a Pro-Choice President

At the DG blog:

January 20, 2009 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

That is the title of a sermon I preached January 17, 1993 three days before Bill Clinton was inaugurated president. It is just as relevant—or more—today.

The text was 1 Peter 2:17, “Honor the king.” I closed with eight ways to honor a pro-choice president. The seventh was this:

We will honor you by expecting from you straightforward answers to straightforward questions. We would not expect this from a con-man, but we do expect it from an honorable man.

For example,

1. Are you willing to explain why a baby's right not to be killed is less important than a woman's right not to be pregnant?
2. Or are you willing to explain why most cities have laws forbidding cruelty to animals, but you oppose laws forbidding cruelty to human fetuses? Are they not at least living animals?
3. Or are you willing to explain why government is unwilling to take away the so-called right to abortion on demand even though it harms the unborn child; yet government is increasingly willing to take away the right to smoke, precisely because it harms innocent non-smokers, killing 3,000 non-smokers a year from cancer and as many as 40,000 non-smokers a year from other diseases?
4. And if you say that everything hangs on whether the fetus is a human child, are you willing to go before national television in the oval office and defend your support for the "Freedom of Choice Act" by holding in your hand a 21 week old fetus and explaining why this little one does not have the fundamental, moral, and constitutional right to life? Are you willing to say to parents in this church who lost a child at that age and held him in their hands, this being in your hands is not and was not a child with any rights of its own under God or under law?

Perhaps you have good answers to each of these questions. We will honor you by expecting you to defend your position forthrightly in the public eye.

You have immense power as President of the United States. To wield it against the protection of the unborn without giving a public accounting in view of moral and scientific reality would be dishonorable. We will honor you by expecting better.

I thought #4 was a little over the top, but does convey an important point.

Church Swearing

This really cracks me up. Especially #1.

Occasional Swearing at Stuff Christians Like

A Terrible Statistic On Abortion

This was terrible to read:

These precious unborn children have been deprived of life without due process of law. More than 3,300 abortions per day, or 138 per hour, happen in clear violation of the Constitution and the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, which makes it plain that our liberty comes straight from God and that our first right is the sacred right to life.

via Justin Taylor

Finding Jesus In A Russian Orphanage

Russell Moore:

This article will run in today’s Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. It’s an excerpt from my forthcoming book, Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches (Crossway).

When my wife Maria and I at long last received the call that the legal process was over, and we returned to Russia to pick up our new sons, we found that their transition from orphanage to family was more difficult than we had supposed. We dressed the boys in outfits our parents had bought for them. We nodded our thanks to the orphanage personnel and walked out into the sunlight, to the terror of the two boys.

They’d never seen the sun, and they’d never felt the wind. They had never heard the sound of a car door slamming or had the sensation of being carried along at 100 miles an hour down a road. I noticed that they were shaking, and reaching back to the orphanage in the distance.

I whispered to Sergei, now Timothy, “That place is a pit! If only you knew what’s waiting for you: a home with a Mommy and a Daddy who love you, grandparents and great-grandparents and cousins and playmates and McDonald’s Happy Meals!”

But all they knew was the orphanage. It was squalid, but they had no other reference point. It was home.

We knew the boys had acclimated to our home, that they trusted us, when they stopped hiding food in their high-chairs. They knew there would be another meal coming, and they wouldn’t have to fight for the scraps. This was the new normal.

They are now thoroughly Americanized, perhaps too much so, able to recognize the sound of a microwave ding from forty yards away. I still remember, though, those little hands reaching for the orphanage. And I see myself there.

The doctrine of adoption doesn’t simply tell us who we are. It is a legal entitlement, one we are prone to forget. “If children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,” the Spirit tells us (Rom 8:17).

I don’t know about you, but “inheritance” was something I, growing up in my working class world, never imagined would apply to me. An “inheritance” was something rich people left for their kids-for the spoiled trust-fund heirs who might speed around Malibu in their sports cars. It’s hard for us to imagine the place of inheritance in the world in which our Bible was first revealed.

In the world of the Bible, one’s identity and one’s vocation were all bound up in who one’s father was. Men were called “son of” all of their lives (for instance, the “sons of Zebedee” or “Joshua, son of Nun”). There were no guidance counselors in ancient Canaan or first-century Capernaum, helping “teenagers” determine what they wanted “to be” when they “grew up.” A young man watched his father, learned from him, and followed in his vocational steps. This is why the “sons of Zebedee” were right there with their father, when Jesus found them, “in their boat mending their nets” (Mark 1:19-20). When your father died, the vocation belonged to you, to pass on to your son.

This inheritance structure is a picture of something deeper, more real. The Bible identifies Jesus as the One who inherits the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. He is the One of whom it is said, “You are my Son” (Psalm 2:7), who is given “the nations as your heritage, and the ends of the earth as your possession” (Psalm 2:8).

The Bible speaks, paradoxically, of our adoption in Christ as a past event, but also as a future one. “We wait eagerly for adoption as sons,” Paul writes, and he tells us what that looks like: “the redemption of our bodies” (Rom 8:23).

We legally belong to our Father. But, as long as our bodies are dying-as long as the universe is heaving in pain around us-it sure looks like we’re orphans still. We know that we’re children by faith, not yet by sight.

This is why “suffering” is so important. It isn’t some self-flagellation, as though someone in a monastery in the Sahara is necessarily any holier than someone who’s not. All believers in Christ, the Scripture teaches, will suffer-all of us. You will be glorified, Paul says, if you suffer with him. The problem with too many of us is not that we don’t suffer, but that we assume that only Third World Christians or heroic missionaries are suffering. My boys didn’t know that they were suffering in Russia; they would feel it as suffering now.

We get too comfortable with this orphanage universe, though. We sit in our pews, or behind our pulpits, knowing that our children watch “Christian” cartoons instead of slash films. We vote for the right candidates and know all the right “worldview” talking points. And we’re content with the world we know, just adjusted a little for our identity as Christians. That’s precisely why so many of us are so atrophied in our prayers, why our prayers rarely reach the level of “groanings too deep for words” (Rom 8:26). We are too numbed to be as frustrated as the Spirit is with the way things are.

“I know you think this terrestrial orphanage is home,” our Father speaks through prophets and apostles and consciences and imaginations, “but it’s a pit compared to home.” Or, as the Spirit says through the Apostle Paul’s adoption teaching: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18).

I want to see that orphanage one more time. When the boys are a little older, maybe twelve or fourteen, I plan to make the trip again, with them. I want them to see, to feel, where they came from. It’s hard to imagine now what they’ll think of it. They’ll probably hate Russian food as much as I do-and look forward to slipping off with me to the McDonald’s in Moscow when we can find it.

At the orphanage, I’m sure their eyes will widen as we walk up those cracking steps into that horror movie-looking front door. They’ll probably go limp inside, just like I did, when they see all those abandoned toddlers peering out from the corners of the doors inside. Maybe they’ll try to replay in their minds the circumstances of the nights they were born. I’m not sure what all they’ll think of the orphanage.

But I’m quite sure they won’t call it home.

Bob Kauflin

A number of things bring this man to mind.

1. Some of the girls at 2520 are a little obsessed.
2. It was his birthday yesterday.
   
3. He spoke at the Desiring God Conference this year.
4. He leads worship.

I really appreciate this man. When it comes to effective and Godly leadership in worship, he is the best I've ever seen. Listening to Bob speak about worship --it's role and implementation-- you can sense a deep maturity. His was definitely my favorite talk at the DG conference.

Praise the Lord for blessing us with men like Bob Kauflin.

Loving = Listening

This thought has been incredibly evident in my life lately. I love so much more when I listen.

"Just as our love for God begins with listening to God’s Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them. God’s love for us is shown by the fact that God not only gives us God’s Word, but also lends us God’s ear.

We do God’s work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them. So often Christians, especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to "offer" something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening. But Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either; they will always be talking even in the presence of God. The death of the spiritual life starts here, and in the end there is nothing left but empty spiritual chatter and clerical condescension which chokes on pious words. Those who cannot listen long and patiently will always be talking past others, and finally no longer will even notice it. Those who think their time is too precious to spend listening will never really have time for God and others, but only for themselves and for their own words and plans."

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

(HT: Koinonia)

Via Take Your Vitamin Z

The Abdication of Adults

A few paragraphs from an article on some of the effects of technology on our culture:

Contrary to claims that computer use enhances functional literacy, Bauerlein cites research suggesting that screen time actually inhibits language acquisition by limiting exposure to complex or unfamiliar words. Even “software god” Bill Joy, cofounder of Sun Microsystems, dismisses the world of blogs and gaming as “encapsulated entertainment”—adding, “If I was competing with the United States, I would love to have the students I’m competing with spending their time on this kind of crap.” So much for “digital intelligence,” says Bauerlein, if even technophiles recognize time spent at this generation’s idiot machines as largely wasted time.

But are the machines themselves the villains in this story? Could technology, on its own, spawn an entire mindless culture of flirting, gossiping, photo-uploading, and virtual navel-gazing—all in service of flipping off the phonies out there who don’t get that every passing emotion experienced by Tarquin D. Pebbleface and set down in textspeak is, like, “wry and hilarious,” dude? If, as Bauerlein claims, “the genuine significance of the Web to a seventeen-year-old mind” is “not the universe of knowledge brought to their fingertips, but an instrument of non-stop peer contact”—well, how did we get here?

The answer lies in the same dismal territory already traversed by Diana West in her recent book The Death of the Grownup: the wholesale abdication of adults, not only parents but teachers, in favor of adolescent self-government—a culture that nurtures its present at the expense of its past.

via Take Your Vitamin Z (Please read the whole article. It's long but so worth it.)

This "abdication of adults" is something that has been grating on me for a while. It seems like this rejection of responsibility is at fault for so many cultural fallacies in modern day America.

The one that springs to mind most forcibly is abortion. There is a tremendous amount of sexual irresponsibility that occurs in most relationships. People want to feel good and they don't want to deal with the natural consequences of their actions. Namely, people like sex, but don't want the kids. So they kill their children. I realize that the issue of abortion is multifaceted, but through all of my thinking on the subject I cannot find a more fundamental problem than the avoidance of responsibility.

I am also concerned with how folks don't appreciate responsibility. I recently transitioned from life in a classroom to the working world. This transition has been painful at times, and almost always difficult, but I have learned to love responsibility through it all. The maturity that comes as a result of responsibility is exactly how I want to be growing and improving my own life.

It makes me so sad when I see people who have no desire to grow, to better themselves, to pursue some goal, to accomplish some purpose. What is life without these things? Your thoughts?

It's Cold

No wonder my car didn't start this morning.

Biblical Productivity

I have really been enjoying C.J. Mahaney's blog posts on Biblical Productivity, specifically the latest of this series dealing with Roles, Goals, and Scheduling. Check it out, if you've got time.

On Great Quote, One Sad Quote

"Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humility of its God."

- Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, p. 3

via Take Your Vitamin Z

"The most eminent American universities have become centers where sexual license and depravity are praised and the only conduct that meets with official rebuke is open disapproval of immorality" (Harold O.J. Brown, The Sensate Culture, p. 207).

via Blog and Mablog

An Ironic Thought

Seth Ward shared something that would be very tragic:

Wouldn't it suck (for the Calvinist) if, at judgment day, all the predestined were the Arminians, even though the Calvinists turned out to be right???

I Love Hymns

We sang a bunch of hymns this weekend at small group and it was wonderful. I had this beauty swimming around in my head for a couple days:

Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near,
join me in glad adoration.

Praise ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
granted in what he ordaineth?

Praise ye the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee!
Surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee;
ponder anew what the Almighty will do,
if with his love he befriend thee.

Praise ye the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee,
decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee.
How oft in grief hath not he brought thee relief,
spreading his wings to o’er shade thee!

Praise ye the Lord, O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
gladly for aye we adore him.

Jesus Knows

When I am estranged
When I don't fit in
When no one cares
When I'm alone

Christ Jesus knows all
He knows what's in man
He knows me best
He knows my worst

And I am a chief
Of sinners that is
From what I know
I am the worst

Yet still in my sin
I read this in awe:
"Christ died for us"

Church On Saturday

It always freaks me out when I get home after church on Saturday. I start thinking about work tomorrow...

Blog Comment Success

I can help but share this. Whenever you say or do something that others really appreciate or resonate with, it makes you feel really good. I had a moment like that today. I posted the second comment, and people actually quoted me later on. They liked what I said. My comment = validated.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this sounds completely ridiculous, but I don't care.

The Gospel!

I'm on a DG kick right now. Here's Pastor John Piper again, speaking the Gospel! Oh man, I love hearing this news!

via Timmy Brister

Swords Are For Killing

Pastor John Piper shares a good word about the sword of the Spirit over at the DG blog:

In New Testament times swords were not for digging, shaving, or whittling. They were for killing. The only reason Peter cut off Malchus’s ear was that he missed (John 18:10).

But Herod didn’t miss: “He killed James the brother of John with the sword” (Acts 12:2).

Many saints have felt the full force of the sword: “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword” (Hebrews 11:37). So it was and will be: “If anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain” (Revelation 13:10).

That’s what swords are for. So when Paul calls the word of God the “sword of the Spirit” in Ephesians 6:17, he is serious—something must be put to death. And it is not people. Christians don’t kill people to spread our faith; we die to spread our faith.

The link in Paul’s mind is given in Romans 8:13.

If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The Sword is for putting to death. And by the Spirit we put to death our sinful deeds. So I conclude that the way we kill our sins is with the Spirit’s sword, the word of God.

All temptations to sin have power by lying. The are “deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22). They tell us that the pleasure of the sin is worth it. The killing blow against these lies is the power of God’s truth. Hence the sword of the Spirit, God’s word, is the weapon to use.

As John Owen said, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” That is what swords are for, especially the Bible.

What Movies Are You Watching?

An article on the reformation 21 website had a paragraph that was particularly striking to me:

I am also struck by how Christian talk of cultural engagement has coincided with a watering-down of Christian standards of behavior and, ironically, thought. I have lost count of how many times I have been told in recent years that Christians should be able to watch any movie, providing they do so with a critical, Christian eye. There are several obvious problems with that kind of statement. For a start, such a categorical, sweeping statement has little, if any, scriptural or exegetical foundation and indeed seems not to take any account of texts such as Mt. 5: 27-30, Eph. 5: 1-3, Phil. 4: 8, etc. Second, even those making the case rarely mean exactly what they say: ask them if Christians can therefore watch child pornography, and none that I have spoken to have been prepared to go that far, except in the necessary cases of those professionally involved in the detection and prosecution of paedophile crime. No, Christians shouldn't watch child porn, they'll say; but the problem, of course, is that definitions of what is and is not pornography, even child pornography, are changing all the time and are driven, by and large, by the wider culture which increasingly mainstreams such material. Witness the new Kate Winslet movie, involving a sex scene between her character and a fifteen year old boy. Specious distinctions involving the actual age of the actor notwithstanding, it is arguably child pornography. Frankly, there are films rated PG-13 today which my grandparents would have considered as porn. Is the standard of what is and is not obscene set by biblical truth or by cultural accommodation? Talk of `Christians can watch anything as long as they do it critically' is as daft, unbiblical, soft-headed, ill-thought-out, and confused as anything one is likely to come across. In fact, I have a suspicion that for some it might simply function as a rationalization for watching whatever they like and not having to feel guilty about it, the Christian voyeur's equivalent of the `I only do screen nudity and sex when the script demands it' excuse of so many `serious' actresses whose bank balances have been boosted by the occasional flash of on-screen flesh.

What an excuse for a Christian to use! "It's ok to watch this terrible stuff because I am resisting the ideas it represents". That's simply not true. This article was convicting primarily because I saw Grand Torino yesterday and I honestly should have left. The racism was so terrible that it would have been better for our souls to not have watched it. I feel guilty because during the movie I was led to ask my friend if she wanted to leave, but I didn't speak up. Praise God that this is a godly grief that is leading me to repentance, but it is still a grief. May I be more faithful to Gods leading going forward.

Grand Torino

This was an intense movie. It leaves you with a question; what do I think about this?

First off, everyone is intensely racist, sexist, and all sorts of vulgar. That said, there are people like those portrayed in the movie. While this story has probably never unfolded in reality, I'm sure the initial situation exists. The guy is a Korean War veteran who nobody likes and who doesn't like anybody. Since it's a movie things change and he eventually gets friends, but throughout the whole thing there are so many racial slurs that are used it is almost unbearable (more unbearable because some folks laughed at these situations, hopefully because they were too startled to know how to react).

Secondly, terrible things happen. I mean just awful, gut wrenching, evil things. You can't help but pray that these things do not happen in reality. Please Lord, don't let people go through that. These terrible things demand justice. Demand it. You will yearn so much for justice, I guarantee it. And you wonder if or how it will be accomplished, since movies these days seem to let the bad guy off so much and it's too easy to have a vigilante hero who does things you don't really approve of.

Basically, Grand Torino is a really heavy movie that many folks will dislike and others will love. It is very intense. I think in the end, you have a respect for most all the characters who matter, but it's a tough one to watch. Email me if you want to hear about the religious tones of the movie.