Repentance

Thomas Watson once wrote that repentance is vomiting up the soul.

New Music Site added

Check out Further Up if you are interested in good music resources and literature

Generous Orthodoxy thus far

So as most of my two or three readers know, I am reading a book by Brian McLaren entitled A Generous Orthodoxy, which I know concerns those readers. McLaren is a bit of a hot topic of late (last 3-5 years) because he is a leader in this thing called the Emergent movement. I am about 7 chapters into this book and I must confess that I am enjoying the book. He raises some good points and critiques about the conservative wing of Christianity/ Evangelicalism. For instance, McLaren makes the point that conservatives focus on “personal salvation,” to the neglect of being a blessing to others. To strengthen this vein of thought, he poses the question of, “How beneficial is Christianity to its non-adherents?” This is a great question. Hypothetically if the majority of the world’s population is Christian, then the world should be a better place to live, right? Not necessarily because of the majority only, but because the majority should be seeking the minority’s best interest as well. And by this I do not mean aggressive fire and brimstone preaching/evangelism, but rather something along the lines of addressing poverty, social injustices, caring for widows, feeding the hungry, etc. It is the Abrahamic covenant thing—I will bless you and you will be a blessing to others.

On the downside, I do not think McLaren addresses ultimate ends very well at all. The end of missions/the gospel, for instance, is other people and their betterment. Maybe I haven’t read far enough into the book yet, but I don’t think it will matter. The problem with this is that if people and their good is the ultimate end, then they become gods because the ultimate end has to be the most valuable. I also do not like the fact that McLaren does not even try to answer the question of hell and its dangers. He unapologetically says he has no answer. And then he makes the statement that this will upset his conservative readers. Of course it will! Not because we want people to burn in a literal place called hell. I would much rather believe in universalism, total annihilation, or separationist theories, but I cannot deny, revise, or edit what the Bible (and particularly Jesus) has to say about the subject.

Over all, I am enjoying the book. It makes me think and even rethink some things. I am appreciating the fact that my eyes are being opened to some downfalls in fundamentalism. I am also appreciating being a fundamental.

Please make welcome...

the newest blog site added to my list:

The Shepherd's Scrapbook,

and the newest website to the magazines and sites list:

Mars Hill

Click. Enjoy.

3 hour waste

Apparently Tuesday night is the night all tv stations agreed upon to have absolutely nothing worthwhile on television. As a result, my wife and i just spent the last 3 hours watching the American Music Awards. Watching the program was like looking at an open flesh wound--it was bad, but for some reason we couldn't look away. Maybe it was that we were laughing at Barry Manilow because he looked about as bored singing his song as everyone else did having to listen to him. Perhaps it was the fact that there is a dirth of good songwriters and a plethora of "singers" who just repeat one line of a song (Beyonce--"to the left", Gwen Stephanie--"wind it up", Snow Patrol--"if i just lay here", JayZ--"show me whatcha got" and every other performer that stepped on stage). Not only were most of the performances bad, but they were really bad. And if that were not enough, most of the performances looked like they belonged in strip clubs (i am purely assuming at this point). And maybe worst of all, all of the bumper music and graphics were reminiscent of Saved by the Bell!

Perhaps the one redeeming part of the show was when Kirk Franklin won an award and said that he apologized for so many people running around saying they were Christians but did not prove it with their life. Very salient, very true.

So what do we make of all this. Much of pop music stinks. That is about all i can come up with right now since my brain just got dumber for watching the show.

Thanksgiving address at GMCS

Thanksgiving may conjure up many different images and emotions for each of us. Growing up my family spent Thanksgiving day at my grandparent’s house in Little Rock. I remember being excited on Wednesday night because there was no school the next day. I recall waking up late and watching the parade on TV. I can remember Grandmother’s cornbread dressing, creamy corn, mashed potatoes. I remember crazy deserts (pecan pie, raisin pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie). I also remember sitting at that smaller table off to the side, affectionately known all over the world as the “kid’s table.” I remember playing catch, whether it was baseball or football, with my cousins, and occasionally the dads would come out to play a game of wiffle ball. We all have different memories and traditions we look forward to, mainly the indulgence in a spread like no other. But today I want us to think about those people we often associate with Thanksgiving—the pilgrims.

There is great debate over whether or not the Pilgrim’s celebrated the first thanksgiving. They probably did not. I am sure many people got together to celebrate the harvest season years before the pilgrims did. But we are fairly certain that the Pilgrim’s did celebrate with a large, communal meal. However, historians tell us that this harvest celebration revolved more around a church service than a meal. Now here is what I find amazing about the pilgrims and their ability to celebrate: after being openly mocked, possibly even persecuted by their fellow Europeans for their religious zeal, after leaving their homeland, after crossing the sea, after losing many to sickness, starvation, elements, and battles, it is then that they look at what they do have and they turn to God and say “Thank You.”

If we were to encounter the same types of frustrations, setbacks, sorrows, and grief’s as the pilgrims did, I am afraid we would more likely shake our fist at God than to thank Him for what He has given us. We would be more likely to take credit ourselves for the things we do have. “Look at what we have done.” “Look at what I have accomplished.” “We deserve to have plenty to eat and warm blankets to cover up with.” But let us not forget that we do not get what we deserve and that is a good thing. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Let us not forget that we are not limited to having those things which we accomplish, for if we did, we would have nothing. “For by him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities, all things were created through Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together.” “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”

So this Thanksgiving, admire the providence and sovereignty of God, who has created you to live in this time and not in 1620, when we may have cursed God. Praise Him for all that has happened to you and for all you do have, because every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of heavenly lights. Wrap your arms around your children and grandchildren and whisper prayers of thanksgiving into their ear and cherish them as gifts, on loan, from God. Bind together with your family and celebrate the season by celebrating Christ, the ultimate reason to be thankful. By having Christ, we truly reap a harvest that we did not plant, and our mission becomes to plant Christ into the hearts of others so they can reap the blessing that surpasses all.

Memorization

I copied this link on scripture memory from Justin Taylor's blogsite.

Interesting

I found an interesting article that you can read here. I am anxious to see some responses from my buddies.

Moved

I was moved by Mark Dever's post at www.togetherforthegospel.org:

Lost Emotions
by mdever
.
Preaching through II Peter, seeing the warnings against immorality, and at the same time reading of current movies, I'm reminded that the immorality of Peter's day is alive and well in our own time. Our secular friends view our Christian morality as a losing proposition--we lose out on experience and pleasure, all for rigid, legalistic rule-keeping.
A couple of years ago, I read an interesting rebuttal against this idea. Christianity wasn't in view. Rather, it was a less morally controlled present pitying a more morally controlled past. And this is what one character in John Fowles' novel The Magus says in response. It's worth considering.
“We lay on the ground and kissed. Perhaps you smile. That we only lay on the ground and kissed. You young people can lend your bodies now, play with them, give them as we could not. But remember that you have paid a price: that of a world rich in mystery and delicate emotion. It is not only species of animal that die out, but whole species of feeling. And if you are wise you will never pity the past for what it did not know, but pity yourself for what it did.” (John Fowles, The Magus, p. 149).
A whole species of feeling lost: the price of the loss of innocence. That's a lot more expensive than even the over-priced movie tickets of today.

Between Two Worlds: The Purpose of Moral Education

This post by Justin Taylor is worth a quick glance.

Between Two Worlds: The Purpose of Moral Education