Walking in Light

As I was reading through some Bible passages about the Holy Spirit this morning, I re-stumbled upon a morsel of illuminating commentary in the footnote for I John 1:7.  It reads:

Through the Word of God the indwelling Holy Spirit shows the Christian that he (1) still possesses an old nature (v.8), and (2) needs the forgiveness of his sins (vv. 9-10).  The blood of Christ is the divine provision for both. 

To walk in the light is to live in fellowship with the Father and the Son.  Sin interrupts fellowship but cannot change the relationship.  Confession restores fellowship and immediate confession keeps the fellowship unbroken. 

 My Bible of choice is the Oxford New International Version Scofield Study Bible, the 1984 printing of the 1967 edition.

The Gospel-Filled Wallet

One of my internet buddies has written a book.  And had it published.

It's called "The Gospel-Filled Wallet," and the author is Jeff Weddle.  Read more about it here.

Jeff says you won't like his book, though.  He thinks it will hurt your delicate sensibilities.  I say buy it and find out....that's what I did. 

Plus, I used a coupon from this page, the one entitled "LULUMAIL305" and got free shipping.

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Rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem

"The request reads: "Children wanted for Future Temple service. Ultra-orthodox Jewish sect is searching for parents willing to hand over newborn sons to be raised in isolation and purity in preparation for the rebuilding of the biblical temple in Jerusalem. Only members of the Jewish priestly caste, the Kohanim need apply..."

Words from an ancient scroll disovered in a recent archeological dig? Or perhaps an excerpt from a Hollywood screenplay for some biblical epic? Actually, those words appeared in the contemporary Israeli newspaper, Haaretz."

Read the whole thing. The last couple of paragraphs tell why this is important.


Believe it.

Jesus Stands Corrected

- excerpt:

I've been corrected many times by Christians -- after reading (on-air) something Jesus actually said. They don't like it. I'm serious. "You know, all the commandments can be summed up with love the Lord your God with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that, and..."

Ringing phones. "Hello?"

"You forgot one: Evangelize."

Jesus stands corrected.

From Brant Hansen. Read the whole thing.

What's So Great About Christianity?

Maybe I should start a category called "Books I Haven't Read Yet."

From the recently resurrected Anti-Itch Meditation, there is a pointer to this interview in Salvo Magazine with author Dinesh D'Souza. If, like me, you've heard that name on the TV news, but couldn't quite place him, it turns out he is a card-carrying renaissance man with multiple areas of high expertise. He has written a new book of Christian apologetics called "What's So Great About Christianity?," and has been spending the last year or so publicly debating noted atheists Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. I have not yet read the book, but if this interview is any indication, it would seem he is likely handing them their secular humanist heads on a platter.

Here's one of the best, most surprising bits from the interview, in response to the widely held and oft reported assertion that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world:

"That's actually not true. Islam is indeed growing, but primarily through reproduction. Muslims have big families, which translates into an increase in their numbers. But Christianity is growing both by reproduction and by conversions. The rate of Christian conversions in places such as Africa and Asia is really startling. Even the U.S., which is in some respects more modern, affluent, and technological than any other nation in the world, has also remained perhaps the most religious country in the West."

and

"The truth is, however, that if you go to South America, you will find a huge number of conversions to Protestant Christianity. If you go to Korea, you will find Christian churches with 100,000 members. If you go to China, you will find 100 million Christians. And if you go to Africa, you'll find that countries whose populations were only five percent Christian 100 years ago are now 50 percent Christian. These trends have not gone unnoticed by historians, who are startled by them and have attempted to explain them away, and they are the empirical basis for my claim that God is doing very well in this world."

Interesting.

What are YOU doing here?!?!

This cracked me up bigtime:




From David Hayward, at nakedpastor.com.

Social Networks in Ministry

Kem Meyer, the Communications Director at Granger Community Church, has a couple of interesting recent posts on the potential role that internet-based social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter can play in the life and dynamics of the local church.  One of them is provocatively entitled "Why is Twitter or Facebook Worth Your Time?"  This is an area of interest to me, personally, and I know it is to some of you who read my blog.  

A couple of weeks ago, our church started a Group on Facebook and we currently have just under 10% of our weekly attendance represented in this group.  Here's what is good about that. Relationship is based on communication, and Facebook has already proven that it is not merely just one more way to talk to other people in our community.  It has, in fact, shown itself to be an effective, genuinely positive way to deepen friendships, to mobilize volunteers, to connect ministry team members, to disseminate news and prayer requests of mutual interest, and, generally, to enable participants to "share life" in a new way and with greater immediacy than is available through other means.  I know of at least one case where members who did not previously know each other become "friends" on Facebook, and then turn that virtual relationship into an actual relationship.

btw, I stole the graphic from Kem's website.

THE END IS NEAR...and this video proves it. But don't watch it.

You know, in the future, when Brant Hansen tells me not to do something, I'll probably take his advice and abstain.  He warned me not to watch this video, but I did anyway.  So, it's too late for me and the damage has been done.  

But YOU, you still have a choice.  You can walk away...or click away, actually.  But whatever you do, don't watch this video.  Just don't.  And if you do, don't blame me, it's not my fault...I warned you.  It's Brant's fault or, more likely, Satan working through him.  Regardless, don't come crying to me.  Just be thankful that this is not your church and that you don't know these people personally.  Be very, very thankful.

 

This is surely a sign of the coming Apocalypse.

"Come quickly, Lord."

UPDATE:  Sadly, YouTube has pulled the video.  Evidently the copyright owner, The Way International, does not want anyone to see what kind of musical and theological shennanigans they are up to.  Trust me, it was really bad.  It's probably for the best.

ANOTHER UPDATE:  You can still find it here.  But, beware, there may be some kind of Jedi mind-control tricks employed by these folks.  Keep your Scofield NIV close at hand.

Yeah, well he's no Einstein...

Lest you think that it is going to be all-Rome-all-the-time around here, there is this article that supports a number of theories that I hold:

1)  Just because you are genius by Man's standards doesn't mean you aren't still a gibbering ignoramus by God's standard.  Duh.

2)  Understanding the truth of the Gospel is not about being smart.  Village idiots and little children can figure it out, for crying out loud.  Which, of course, is what drives so many academics crazy and why so many don't get it.  They don't understand how something so profound, so powerful, and so completely and compellingly true can not be dependent on their ability to understand it.  Understanding follows obedience, not the other way around.

3)  No one will ever understand the Bible unless they are willing to allow themselves to be changed by what they learn.

4)  None of this means that the Bible should not or may not be subjected to man's scrutinous gaze, or that it resists serious study by people wanting to apply their intelligence to understand the word of God.  Rather, "Thou shalt bring it on and giveth unto me your best shot, sayeth the Lord."

Way to go, genius...

In love with Jesus...or not.

"Today our congregation was asked to sing, "Jesus, I'm in love with you"-a line that shows up, in one permutation or another, in several songs that occur frequently in our worship leaders' rotation. Well, I didn't sing it. It's wrong, and I try not to sing wrong lyrics."

Bill Kinnon's blog, achievable ends, which I am reading daily now and will blogroll momentarily, points to a prickly little essay about modern worship lyrics with the above opening statement by Professor John Stackhouse of Regent College in Vancouver. I'm not prepared to agree with all that Kinnon or Stackhouse say, but I think together they make an interesting and useful point. I'd enjoying hearing more discussion of the topic. As a worship leader, I confess that I have sung lyrics like he describes and have felt some vague discomfort from time to time, although not necessarily for the same reasons.

Dr. Stackhouse, whose most recent book (which I haven’t read) is entitled Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender, also writes this interesting bit:

"...it gives me the homoerotic creeps to declare that I am "in love with" another man. And I don't apologize for saying so. A gender lens is interesting here, for a lot of men feel as I do (many have told me so), while many (not all) women seem to love telling Jesus that they are in love with him. I saw them, swaying with closed eyes and waving hands in the air this morning, singing exactly that. Maybe, indeed, they are in love with Jesus. But they shouldn't be."

I am no Greek scholar, but it is no secret that the word “LOVE” in a New Testament biblical context usually refers to the Greek words phileo, the warmth of emotion shared among friends, or agapao, which is a love founded on esteem, admiration, and an active sense of high regard for someone. The common noun form, agape, is, I believe, the most frequently used derivation and communicates affection, good will, love, and benevolence. Love’s sexual side, eros, appears only twice in the early Greek translations of the Old Testament, and does not appear at all in the New Testament. So, obviously, it does not inform discussions of or expressions of worship in any general or specific Christian context.

Dr. Stackhouse’s point seems to rest on his notion that the English language syntax utilized in the construction “I’m in love with Jesus”, necessarily refers to eros. That’s quite a stretch, in my opinion. It may well be bad poetry, but to strain so at the semantic nuances between “to love” and “to be in love” strikes me as being overly pedantic. Academically, it is a tenuous point at best, but if it makes him uncomfortable, then I agree, he shouldn’t sing it.

Poets, lyricists, and wordsmiths of every stripe have always stretched language and syntax in search of finding connections or creating new expressions. Though that is their function, their calling, and their art, it doesn't place them beyond the reach of criticism and the scrutiny of their peers. Sometimes the art is bad, without a doubt. And Kinnon's point at the end of his post about how bad lyrics lead to bad thinking about God is a very important one.

I encourage everyone to go read all of both posts referenced above.

How Not To Tell People About Jesus

Just once. Just one time, I'd like to hear about how somebody came to be a follower of Christ through this kind of methodology. Not going to happen. I'm in agreement with this author's opening statement.

Soul of a Man by Bruce Cockburn

Here is a great live version of one of my favorite Bruce Cockburn tunes, "Soul of a Man." Cockburn is an extraordinarily gifted and prolific songwriter and this is one of the few songs that he has recorded that was not written by him. He purportedy adapted it from a 1930 recording by Blind Willie Johnson. It appears on his excellent 1991 album, entitled Nothing But A Burning Light.



Here are the lyrics:

I'm going to ask the question
Please answer if you can
Is there anybody's children can tell me
What is the soul of a man?

Chorus:
Won't somebody tell me
Answer if you can
Won't somebody tell me
Tell me what is the soul of a man?

I've travelled different countries
Travelled to the furthest lands
Couldn't find nobody could tell me
What is the soul of a man

Chorus

I saw a crowd stand talking
I just came up in time
Was teaching the lawyers and the doctors
That a man aint nothing but his mind

Chorus

I read the Bible often
I try to read it right
As far as I can understand
It's nothing but a burning light

Chorus

When Christ taught in the temple
The people all stood amazed
Was teaching the lawyers and the doctors
How to raise a man from the grave

Chorus

I love this song. Take a listen and tell me what you think about it.

90 Minutes in Heaven

My Dad recently gave me this book and recommended it highly. I read it and liked it a lot, for a number of reasons, and wanted to recommend it.

There is an old idea that I have heard expressed in various ways, formerly in my own brain as well as from the mouths and pens of other people, that goes something like, "If only someone who had died and gone to Heaven were somehow able to come back and tell me about it, then...then I could believe..." Well, Don Piper is that guy.

This book is his account of the aftermath of a terrible automobile accident in 1989 in which Piper died, mutilated and crushed by a truck. Some 90 minutes later, miraculously, he came back to life. He was not resuscitated at the scene...in fact, the paramedics had examined him and then covered up his body, hopelessly pinned in his crumpled car. And yet, he came back to life.

Both factually and spiritually compelling, this concise 200-page narrative describes his long physical and emotional recovery in uncompromising detail. To this day, Piper struggles with chronic pain and mobility issues, but his story is definitely a story that encourages, that gives hope in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds

And Piper describes with certainty where he was and what he did for those 90 minutes. I'm not going to give that away or attempt to characterize it here. This is a book recommendation, not a review. My advice is to suspend any disbelief, disconnect any latent skepticism or preconceptions that you may have about such things until after you read the book. This really is not your typical "near-death experience" sensational account. You should read it and decide for yourself. Everyone should.

Rural Route #2: Country Churches

More pics from Rural Route #2.

Rural Churches in southern Randolph County.

Carlos Christian Church

Carlos United Methodist Church

Martindale Friends Church

New Liberty Church of Christ

Spartansburg United Methodist Church

2007 Willow Creek Arts Conference

It's hard to know how to follow a post on a half-ton wild pig, so I had to wait a bit...plus it's been very busy around here lately.

In a couple of weeks Nancy and I will be attending the 2007 Willow Creek Worship Arts Conference in Chicago. It is a big three-day gathering of various types of artists, musicians, and technical folk that usually draws several thousand people from all over the world. Willow Creek Church holds as one of its core purposes the equipping, encouraging, training and building up of other churches. And they do an excellent job of it. I appreciate the investment that my church is making in us by sending us.

I've been a couple of times before and have always gotten a lot out of it. This time I didn't know that I was going until just a few days ago, so I registered very late. Nearly all of the "breakouts" (Willow-speak for "seminar" or "workshop") that I would have probably chosen first were full to capacity so I kind of had to shop through the leftovers to find something interesting. Honestly, though, that doesn't bother me at all because often in my life God has used what seemed to be serendipitous or ambivalent encounters to inspire me or teach me something new and important. So it is with hopeful anticipation that I look forward to classes in the following areas:

• Vocal Artistry For Worship
• Got Blog?
• Line Array Workshop
• Extreme Vocal Makeover

Here's the deal with the singing. I sing because I lead worship...I don't lead worship because I am a singer. I am, at best, a functional singer. It is because I am skilled in other areas that I am an acceptable vocalist, able to sing parts, read music, interpret vocal styles, etc. I like to sing, but it's never been my main thing and I've never worked at it like I have my other instruments. So the vocal classes will be good for me and I'm certain I'll learn some things. My wife is an excellent singer and so is my son.

The unfortunately named Got Blog? seminar is no doubt going to be about blogging, presumably from a Christian bent somehow. Fine...I'm looking forward to picking up some tips and ideas, maybe making some new friends. My Mac laptop is kind of sick...I hope I can get it fixed before I go. Doubtful.

The Line Array Workshop is a technical thing about loudspeaker design and installation. It will really more benefit me professionally since that is one of the many things that I sell. It should be interesting, too, because Willow Creek uses a lot, and I mean A LOT, of Meyer Sound loudspeakers. Meyer is what the Lord uses in Heaven. They are the best speakers available, so it will be fun. I'm sure I'll learn something.

The David Crowder Band will be leading worship at some point, plus Willow Creek has a very strong music department, too. Keynote speakers include Donald Miller, who I really like alot because of his great book, Blue Like Jazz. Also, Erwin McManus, who I kind of like but I'm not sure I completely get, Dan Kimball, whose blog I have occassionally read, but about whom I know very little and who is therefore suspect, and Brian McLaren. Also, Willow Creek's own Nancy Beach, who I like a lot, and Dewitt Jones, who is a reknowned National Geographic photographer and award-winning filmmaker, and will probably have amazing photos displayed on Willow Creeks amazing projection system. That will be cool.

Honestly, some of those new-wavey, emergent church-types make my theology itch just a bit. But I will give them my undivided and open-minded attention while they try to brainwash me into believing their crazy new ideas about Jesus and God and church and such. Some of those guys aren't even Republicans. Can you believe it?!?!

It will be a fun time.

Linkage

A few things that caught my interest this morning, worthy of sharing.

1) Grand Theft Auto story…you reap what you sow. h/t to Jeff at AIM.

2) Randy Adams, a friend of mine, just returned from Belarus. He has been there many times, having helped build and equip what is probably one of the best recording studios in that country. Anyway, we were talking this morning about the sociopolitical climate there, which is oppressively totalitarian and growing more so. It piqued my interest in the history of that region so I had to surf around for some pictures and info. I don't think most Americans know much about Eastern Europe.

3) Another from Jeff, the Ever-Vigilant, who pointed me to this interesting post at The Evangelical Outpost. I agree with most of it and I found it all very thought-provoking: Ten Deadly Trappings of Evangelism

4) And I stumbled across this painting that I like, entitled The Narrow Way, by David Hayward.

Be Kind

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”
-Philo of Alexandria

For the last few days, I find myself returning again and again to this simple post over at microlesia. I really like the Chagall painting and, synchronistically, I happened across this article from the WSJ online about Chagall and his fascination with Jesus Christ and the iconography of Christianity.

Lately, I've been thinking about worldviews, in particular some aspects of how Christians and non-Christians view the world around them and, especially, some of the specific ways that each views the other. I am interested in some of the misperceptions that each hold about the nature of the other. I know that some people think that Christians are judgmental, hypercritical, and hypocritical all at once. And that can undoubtedly be true, not a misperception at all, really. Some of us aren't very good at being Christian. Some of us have good days and bad days. None of us are anywhere near perfect, and most of us fail much more often than we succeed in living the representative Christian life. But then, our standard is Jesus Christ, the Son of God Himself, the only perfect man. Nobody can do that.

And that is ultimately a point that both Christians and non-Christians should understand about each other and about themselves. All of us are demonstrably unable, on our own, to live in a manner that consistently reflects virtue and goodness. This observable truth should, in fact, give some comfort to non-believers. Christians are truly no better than anyone else, especially those who think and attempt to act like they are. And, for the Christian, that truth should provide ample humility and compassion sufficient to last a lifetime.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:8-10

"...with a pleasant lime odor."

I know it's early in the day, but this is my favorite thing I've seen on the Internet so far today. Be sure to click on the pix when you get there so that you can read the fine print...and it is fine indeed.

I'm just mildly surprised that it is intended to be applied to one's ears.

Refractions: Being a Child of the Creative Age

I read the transcript of an inspiring speech by artist Mako Fujimura to the recent International Arts Movement (IAM) conference, an organization I had never heard of until yesterday.

"If you asked a room full of kindergarteners "Raise your hand if you are an artist!" Almost every child would raise his hand. But if you ask a room full of adults, almost every adult would not."

Quoting Bronte's Jane Eyre, and holding it up as a model, Fujimura calls on artists to “create the world that ought to be.” It is a stirring and fascinating piece.

Please go read it.

And I need to go find a copy of Jane Eyre. I know, don't say it...

Where Does Your Soul Go?

The Weak-Minded Pessimist: Where Does Your Soul Go?

This post is a good example of why I read Jeff's blog every day.