~ UPDATED PAGES ON THE BLOG ~

Book Review ~ What Can I Do with My Guilt? by R.C. Sproul

Movie Review ~ John Wick

Music Review ~ Joy: An Irish Christmas by Keith and Kristyn Getty

 I’m Currently Reading

INTEGRATING FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

~ THIS AND THAT ~

IN THE NEWS:

• Pray for our sister, Asia Bibi, a Christian living in Pakistan, where only 2% of the population is Christian. She was convicted in 2010 of blasphemy which is punishable by death. Despite an international outcry, a court in Lahore recently upheld the verdict and affirmed the sentence that Bibi be hanged. She has 30 days to appeal to the nation’s highest court. We need to pray for her release. Read more here: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/10/21/pakistani-court-upholds-death-sentence-for-christian-woman-accused-insulting/
• I was stunned and saddened by the tragic death of St. Louis Cardinal Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on Sunday afternoon. Tavares was the top prospect in the Cardinals organization and was expected to have a bright future. I appreciated this column about Oscar from St. Louis Post-Dispatch write Bernie Miklasz: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-we-ll-always-remember-oscar/article_052b0744-d2e9-5e3e-a934-cda6d99f36fa.html. I’ll remember Oscar for two special home runs – the first in just his second at bat major leagues and the second just two weeks before his death in game two of the NLCS against the San Francisco Giants. You can watch both here: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/10/oscar-taveras-st-louis-cardinals-nlcs-home-run-video-mlb
• Even though his home run started my St. Louis Cardinals’ winter vacation, I commend to you this article about Travis Ishikawa, a Christian. Read the article from World Magazine “Teams Enter World Series on Emotional, Spiritual Highs” here: http://www.worldmag.com/2014/10/teams_enter_world_series_on_emotional_spiritual_highs
• At a moment when American churches and politicians are warring over gay rights and same-sex marriage, each side needs every soldier it can muster. Conservatives are about to learn that one of America’s leading evangelical ethicists is defecting to the opposition. David Gushee, a Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, a Baptist college and divinity school in Georgia, plans to announce that he now affirms same-sex relationships, in a speech to The Reformation Project Conference, a gathering of pro-LGBT Christians in Washington, on November 8. Read the article “Leading Evangelical Ethicist David Gushee is Now Pro-LGBT. Here’s Why it Matters”.
• Ed Stetzer writes about four trends in Christianity that may scare you.
• Where does Hillsong’s megachurch head pastor Brian Houston stand on gay marriage? Check out the article “Hillsong: We Haven’t Shifted After All” here: http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2014/10/hillsong-we-havent-shifted-at-all
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said pastors from across the United States should send “thousands and thousands” of Bibles and sermons to the Houston mayor who demanded pastors turn over their sermons to the government due to their objection to an LGBT discrimination city ordinance. Read more here: http://www.christianpost.com/news/mike-huckabee-asks-pastors-across-the-us-to-send-sermons-bibles-to-houston-mayor-128315/
• In light of what has been going on in Houston, Eric Metaxas has been encouraging pastors to send sermons and Bibles to the mayor. Read or listen to his commentary “A Line Has Been Crossed” here: http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/26266
• Chris Larson covers exciting highlights for Ligonier Ministries planned in 2015, including the one I’m most excited about – a complete updating of the Reformation Study Bible. Read his article “Seasons of Growth”.
• On October 2, 2014, Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III was installed as Reformed Theological Seminary’s fifth Chancellor in an inauguration ceremony hosted at First Presbyterian Church, Jackson.  The next morning at Grace Chapel on the campus of RTS Jackson, Ligon Duncan, Al Mohler, and Derek Thomas discussed the Direction of and Trends in the American Church.  You can listen to the audio here: http://www.rts.edu/site/rtsnearyou/jackson/chapel/Inauguration.aspx
• Did actor Shia LeBeouf become a Christian while filming Fury recently? That’s what some are reporting.

MUSIC:

• On October 21, the number one hip-hop/rap song and number seven overall on iTunes was “Beautiful Life 2 (Mine)” by Trip Lee. The song briefly features both of his young children. Congratulations to Trip, whose new album Rise releases October 28.
• Here’s the second video from Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil’s new album Goliath. It is for the song “Standing in Line”. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEmM1EBQp2s&list=UULw15RLCoSismXzSPAZ5YMg&index=1
• In his article “My Journey in Rhythm, Rhyme, and Redemption” Dan Dewitt, Dean of Boyce College, writes that “Christian rap has profoundly affected my ministry.”
• Have you heard Carrie Underwood’s new single “Something in the Water”, which is at the top of the Christian songs chart on Billboard? You can read about her writing of the song and listen to it. Here are the lyrics to the song, which is obviously about a conversion and baptism:

He said, “I’ve been where you’ve been before.
Down every hallway’s a slamming door.”
No way out, no one to come and save me
Wasting a life that the Good Lord gave me

Then somebody said what I’m saying to you
Opened my eyes and told me the truth.”
They said, “Just a little faith, it’ll all get better.”
So I followed that preacher man down to the river

And now I’m changed
And now I’m stronger
There must’ve been something in the water
Oh, there must’ve been something in the water

Well, I heard what he said and I went on my way
Didn’t think about it for a couple of days
Then it hit me like a lightning late one night
I was all out of hope and all out of fight

Couldn’t fight back the tears so I fell on my knees
Saying, “God, if you’re there come and rescue me.”
Felt love pouring down from above
Got washed in the water, washed in the blood

And now I’m changed
And now I’m stronger
There must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water

And now I’m singing along to amazing grace
Can’t nobody wipe this smile off my face
Got joy in my heart, angels on my side
Thank God almighty, I saw the light

Gonna look ahead, no turning back
Live everyday, give it all that I have
Trust in someone bigger than me
Ever since the day that I believed

I am changed
And now I’m stronger
There must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water

Oh, yeah I am changed
Stronger

• The new hymn “My Worth is Not in What I Own” from Keith and Kristyn Getty is one of my top songs of the year. Check it out, along with the lyrics, here: http://www.gettymusic.com/hymns-myworth.aspx?
• The Newsboys will release their first ever hymns album Hallelujah for the Cross on November 4^th. Read about the new album here: http://newsboys.com/newsboys-unveil-first-ever-hymns-collection-hallelujah-cross-november-4/
• Did you see Sting singing his own lyrical interpretations to a few classic instrumental ringtones, like “Marimba” and “Xylophone,” which apparently “actually sounds like a Police song” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon? If not, check it out here: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6289013/sting-ringtones-jimmy-fallon-tonight-show
• Michael Buble has released a Special Deluxe Edition of his excellent Christmas album. This edition features four additional songs – “The Christmas Song”, “Winter Wonderland”, “Frosty the Snowman” and “Silver Bells”.
• When Paul McCartney re-releases his 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound next month, among the newly unearthed works and bonus content is a previously unreleased take of album track “Beware My Love.” What’s particularly noteworthy is the percussion on the cut is handled by the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Read this story to find out more about it.
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band The Who have a new song “Be Lucky” from their umpteenth “Greatest Hits” package The Who Hits 50.   After all these years Roger Daltry’s vocals still sound good.
• Bob Seger recently performed John Hiatt’s “Detroit Made” on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

THEOLOGY:

• Redemption. What a great word. In this “Minute with Maxwell” video with John Maxwell, Maxwell looks at the word “redemption”. Check it out here: http://johnmaxwellteam.com/redemption-2/
• Miracles. Eric Metaxas writes that is one of the least-understood and, thus, overused words in American culture. His new book Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life, is his attempt to help Christians and non-Christians alike to understand what Christians mean—or at least should mean—when they use the world “miracle.” Read or listen to his commentary on Breakpoint here: http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/26274
• 5 Reasons Why I am Not a New Calvinist. James J. Cassidy writes that “(John) Piper was humble and levelheaded about the new Calvinism, acknowledging its shortcomings and how in some ways it falls short of the older Calvinism. But there was something in his comparison of the new and old that he missed: ecclesiology.” As a result, Cassidy lists five reasons why he is not one of the so-called new Calvinists. Read his reasons here: http://theaquilareport.com/5-reasons-why-i-am-not-a-new-calvinist-2/
• “Limited Atonement” is the middle letter in TULIP, but as author and pastor Douglas Wilson explains, that name might give the wrong impression. “The problem with ‘limited atonement’ is that it makes everybody think ‘tiny atonement.’” And, of course, no good Christian wants to cast the cross-work of Christ as diminutive. The better term, says Wilson, with a growing number of voices, is “Definite Atonement.” Same doctrine, better name. This way of putting it emphasizes the extent of Jesus’s accomplishment, rather than its restriction. Read the Desiring God article “Jesus Doesn’t Fail: An Interview on Definite Atonement” and watch the 13 minute interview with Wilson here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/jesus-doesn-t-fail-an-interview-on-definite-atonement
• “Practice Principles for Biblical Interpretation” by R.C. Sproul: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/practical-principles-biblical-interpretation/
• Earlier this month Ligonier Ministries held their 2014 Regional Conference in Philadelphia on the theme, The Truth of the Cross. Steven Lawson and Stephen Nichols joined R.C. Sproul to consider topics such as the necessity of the atonement, the reason for the incarnation, the two natures of Christ, and several others. You can listen or watch the messages free here stream for free.
• Mark Jones writes that there is a lot of diversity among Reformed theologians. Check out his article “Reformed Theological Diversity (lots of it)” for some of the areas that have been disputed among Reformed theologians here: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/10/reformed-theological-diversity.php
• Here is John Piper’s latest labs in his series on Romans 8. This one covers verse 3. Check it out here: http://www.desiringgod.org/labs/god-sent-his-own-son and this one covers verses 3-4: http://www.desiringgod.org/labs/love-fulfills-the-law

THEOLOGIANS:

• “The Redwoods and the Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment”. ‘J.I. Packer says that the Puritans are the theological and devotional Redwoods of the western world. My (John Piper) own experience is that no one comes close to the skill they have in taking the razor-like scalpel of Scripture, and lancing the boils of my corruption, cutting out the cancers of my God-belittling habits of mind, and amputating the limbs of my disobedience. They are simply in a class by themselves.’
• Theologian for the Ages: John Calvin – John Calvin (1509–1564) is easily the most important Protestant theologian of all time and remains one of the truly great men who have lived. Get to know Calvin better by reading Steven Lawson’s article here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/theologian-ages-john-calvin/
• William Tyndale (ca. 1494–1536) made an enormous contribution to the Reformation in England. Many would say that he made the contribution by translating the Bible into English and overseeing its publication.” Read Steven Lawson’s article “Prince of Translators: William Tyndale” here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/prince-translators-william-tyndale/
• Who is Ulrich Zwingli? Steven Lawson writes “Other than Martin Luther, Heinrich Bullinger, and John Calvin, the most important early Reformer was Ulrich Zwingli. A first-generation Reformer, he is regarded as the founder of Swiss Protestantism. Furthermore, history remembers him as the first Reformed theologian. Though Calvin would later surpass Zwingli as a theologian, he would stand squarely on Zwingli’s broad shoulders.” Read his article “Zurich Revolutionary: Ulrich Zwingli” here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/zurich-revolutionary-ulrich-zwingli/
• Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575) is regarded as the most influential second-generation Reformer. As the heir to Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich, Switzerland, he consolidated and continued the Swiss Reformation that his predecessor had started. Read Steven Lawson’s profile of Bullinger “Covenant Theologian: Heinrich Bullinger” here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/covenant-theologian-heinrich-bullinger/
• “Fortress for Truth: Martin Luther”. Steven Lawson writes that “Martin Luther was a giant of history. Some believe he was the most significant European figure of the second millennium. He was the pioneer Reformer, the one God first used to spark a transformation of Christianity and the Western world. He was the undisputed leader of the German Reformation. In a day of ecclesiastical corruptions and apostasies, he was a valiant champion of the truth; his powerful preaching and pen helped to restore the pure gospel.” Read his article here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/fortress-truth-martin-luther/

PROBING QUESTIONS:

• What do you say to a person who truly believes that they are unlovable? Tullian Tchividjian writes “What can you do when you hear stories of a life lived in constant disgrace? How do you provide comfort when one’s suffering is like nothing you’ve ever experienced?” Read his article “Portraits of Grace: Allison” here: http://www.pastortullian.com/2014/10/22/portraits-of-grace-allison/
• Have you been looking for twenty ways you can be refreshing in your church? Read Jason Helopoulos’ article and put some of these into practice: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2014/10/16/20-ways-to-be-refreshing-in-the-local-church/
• Have you heard the argument that “Gay is the New Black” that has been used to justify acceptance of homosexuality in our culture? Nobody can argument with the effectiveness in changing attitudes toward homosexuality in our culture. But is it an accurate argument? Pastor Voddie Bauchan doesn’t think so. Check out this article which includes Bauchan’s article on the subject along with a few recent related videos.
• Do you know professing Christians who don’t attend church? Here’s a helpful article from Matthew Westerholm at Desiring God on why we should attend church. Read his article “Three Reasons to Attend Corporate Worship” here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/three-reasons-to-attend-corporate-worship
• Have you ever found yourself apologizing for God? Drew Dyck in his new book Yawning at Tigers: You Can’t Tame God writes: “I’m done apologizing for God. Every few months an Atheist writes a book accusing God of being mean, and somehow simultaneously non-existent. Then we spill gallons of ink in response trying to defend God’s actions. I’m not trying to bash on apologists, because I think what they do is crucial. My beef is that after we get through explaining away every passage in the Bible where God seems mean, he comes off as hapless or misunderstood.” Amen to that! Read this article by Tony Reinke of Desiring God “Stop Apologizing for God” here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/stop-apologizing-for-god
• Is sin worse than hell? Jonathan Bowers of Desiring God writes that “So sin, in the final analysis, is worse than hell. We should not marvel that God burns with wrath against his enemies.” Read his article “Sin is Worse Than Hell” here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/sin-is-worse-than-hell
• Do you enjoy podcasts? R.C. Sproul Jr. recently announced the debut of the “Jesus Changes Everything” podcast. You can listen to it here: http://rcsprouljr.com/jce/
• Rising church leaders, what is it about you that encourages Tim Keller, John Piper and D.A. Carson? Watch this video from the Gospel Coalition to find out.
• Do you enjoy your present work or are you looking for the next big thing as far as your vocation? Check out this article from The High Calling.

CHRISTIAN LIVING:

• “We all love to be praised and celebrated. We want a name for ourselves. We crave a platform of respect. We desire to be important to other people. We want our work to be appreciated.” Read this article from Joseph Tenney at Desiring God: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/self-promotion-and-our-fear-of-obscurity
• Battling Sin. Rather than focusing so much on that one sin that you want to have victory over, John Owens writes that you ought to look to your entire life and to battle sins that God finds alarming. Read the next installment of Tim Challies’ excellent series on John Owen’s book Overcoming Sin and Temptation.
• “According to Jesus, it is what we do in secret that matters most.” Read Derek Thomas’ article “In Secret” here: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/secret/
• The liberating power of confession. check out this two-minute video in which Steve Brown shares a powerful story: http://liberate.org/2014/10/20/steve-brown-on-the-power-of-confession/
• In a new roundtable video with Nancy Guthrie and Jen Wilkin, Melissa Kruger notes that throughout Scripture we encounter the image of a fruit-bearing tree planted by a life-giving stream. The author of The Envy of Eve: Finding Contentment in a Covetous World believes this is a vivid metaphor for a heart that’s content in Jesus no matter what the “weather” (circumstances) of life. Watch the full eight-minute video to hear these three women leaders discuss Facebook, the three categories of discontent, the challenge of holiday catalogues, and more here: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/contentment-does-not-come-naturally
• Check out this fifth article “Lead Faithful Intimacy: A Guide for Husbands” in the series “A Guide to Biblical Manhood” (along with links to the previous articles).
• “Five ways for a husband to lead his wife biblically” by David Murray.
• In “A Prayer for Growing Thick Skin and a Big Heart” Scotty Smith prays “And Jesus, where we’re just too sensitive, too easily offended, too quick to keep a record of wrongs done to us, too slow to overlook the failures of others, have mercy on us. Free us to do the right thing in the moment—the gospel thing.” http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/2014/10/13/a-prayer-for-growing-thick-skin-and-a-big-heart[Note: Did we just ‘happen’ to put this prayer in after two articles on marriage? I think not.]
• John Maxwell looks at the word “Don’t”.  The day it appeared was “Boss’s Day”. Maxwell states “Don’t be a boss, be a leader”. Listen to the minute and a half video here: http://johnmaxwellteam.com/donot/
• “Don’t Expect Unbelievers To Act Like Believers”. Tim Challies writes “So often I see Christians acting surprised that their non-Christian friends or family members are acting like non-Christians. John Owen addresses this in his great work Overcoming Sin and Temptation. The book deals with the subject of mortification, of putting sin to death, and Owen dedicates one chapter to explaining why only Christians can behave like Christians.”
• Tim Challies suggests that there are seven things that your church needs from you.
• Answers to 7 uncomfortable questions. In this short article Kevin DeYoung offers seven uncomfortable questions and then asks “How would I answer these questions? How am I doing?” Read his article here: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2014/10/22/some-uncomfortable-questions/
• “Dealing with Doubt” by Randy Alcorn. He writes “In times of doubt, difficulty, and trials, our fundamental beliefs about God and our faith are revealed. So how can Christians find faith in the midst of doubt? How can they trust God’s plan when their lives seem out of His control, and prayers seem to go unanswered or, as it sometimes feels, even unheard?” Read his article here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/dealing-doubt/

BOOKS:

• Ben Carson, my choice to lead our country in 2016, has a new book out – One Vote: Make Your Voice Heard. You can order it here: http://realbencarson.com/category/store/
• Here’s a review of Michael Horton’s new book Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World, a book I plan to read. To go along with the review, here’s an interview with Michael Horton about the book: http://www.9marks.org/blog/being-%E2%80%9Cordinary%E2%80%9D-christian-interview-michael-horton
• Francis Chan recently wrote a book on marriage with his wife Lisa You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity. You can see our review of that fine book here – http://coramdeotheblog.com/book-reviews/theology-and-misc-book-reviews/. He has written an article on marriage for Desiring God titled “Marriage on the Edge of Eternity”. You can read it here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/marriage-on-the-edge-of-eternity
• This list of the top books on marriage by David Murray includes my favorite The Meaning of Marriage by Tim and Kathy Keller.
• Tim Keller’s forthcoming (November 4) book is Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. In this interview, Matt Smethurst asks him about mysticism, the problem with quiet times, how he’s taught his congregation to pray, advice for the distracted, and more. Read the interview here: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/tim-keller-on-prayer
• Here are two new books that you might have an interest in by Ravi Zacharias and Dave Ramsey:
  • Why Suffering? Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale
  • The Legacy Journey: A Radical View of Biblical Wealth and Generosity by Dave Ramsey
• Do you read your books on a mobile device? I love my Kindle. Here’s information on the new Kindle Voyage: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2014/10/23/amazon-kindle-voyage-is-voyage-into-ereader-luxury/17781255/
• Have you read the Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption? The movie version comes out this Christmas and I can’t wait. The book is about Louie Zamperini’s amazing life (if it was a novel you would say it wasn’t believable). Check out Ivan Mesa’s “Broken: The Power of Conversion in Louie Zamperini’s Life”.

TO MAKE YOU SMILE AND ENCOURAGE YOU:

• Scotty Smith’s ministry (seminary classes, preaching, writing and daily prayers) has had a profound impact on my life. Check out this video of him talking about gospel prayer here: http://liberate.org/2014/10/17/scotty-smith-on-gospel-prayer/
• In this wonderful prayer, Scotty Smith using 1 Peter 5:7, calls for us to offload our cares and anxieties on the Lord. Read it here: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/2014/10/14/a-prayer-for-offloading-our-anxieties-and-cares-on-god/
• Did you see Emma Stone and Jimmy Fallon playing “Box of Lies” recently on The Tonight Show? If not, check it out here: http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/segments/13726

Quotes from R.C. Sproul:

The sinner in hell would give everything he had to make the number of sins he committed in this world one less. -R.C. Sproul

The more seriously we understand the radical nature of sin, the more it exercises a restraint upon us. -R.C. Sproul

What Makes This Blog Different from Others?

I hope you’ve been enjoying the spectacular fall colors we are having in the Midwest this year. We really enjoyed the vibrant red, orange and yellow colors over the weekend. Whether you are a new reader of our blog, or have been with us for a while, we’re so glad that you check us out from time to time. What makes our blog different from the many other fine blogs out there? Our aim for the past 16 years has been to look at culture from a Christian worldview. That means we will look at movies, music, books, news, etc. from a Christian viewpoint. I do a lot of reading and so if I find something that I think you might find of interest, we’ll include it in our “This and That” category. And a relatively new passion of mine is helping myself and others integrate our faith and work, so we’ll try to include plenty of information about that as well. If you have any feedback on how we can improve the blog, please send it to us at bntpence@msn.com. Blessings.

 Déjà vu All Over Again

For the third year in a row (the year prior to that they won the World Series), the St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the second round of Major League Baseball’s postseason. And for the third year in a row, they ended the season with three straight losses, this time losing to the San Francisco Giants. The Giants took advantage of every mistake (walks, poor fielding plays and missed opportunities to score) that the Cardinals gave them, and were definitely the better team in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).

My Cardinal season started way back on March 15 when Tammy and I saw the Cardinals play the Atlanta Braves at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in the Orlando area. I saw four regular season games and one in each of the first two rounds of the postseason. I got to enjoy the new Ballpark Village and celebrated my Covenant Seminary graduation with a family lunch and a trip through the Cardinals Museum at Cardinal Nation within Ballpark Village.  All brought me great joy.

Cardinal Nation has high expectations, and no doubt we are spoiled. It’s just assumed we will go to the postseason each year. At the beginning of this season I told people that anything short of a return to the World Series would be a disappointment. So based on that, the season fell short of expectations. My favorite Cardinals’ beat writer Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch summed up the loss in the NLCS and the season well here: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-losing-the-nlcs-was-a-team-effort/article_2498ecb3-2661-54f7-aa92-2da0823453fb.html

But overall it was a fun year and I enjoyed watching the Cards, including the many Christians on the team, including Manager Mike Matheny, Adam Wainwright, Matt Holliday, Trevor Rosenthal, Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong.

Until next season…..
 

~ THIS AND THAT ~

IN THE NEWS:

• After years of controversy and months of intense scrutiny and accusations of wrongdoing, Mark Driscoll, the co-founder of Seattle’s Mars Hill Church, submitted his resignation last week. I first heard of Driscoll’s ministry when attending my first on-campus class at Covenant Seminary in January 2006. He was the pastor that many of the students on campus were listening to and reading. I’ve read a few of his books and used to subscribe to his sermon podcast. Read this article from World Magazine, which includes Driscoll’s resignation letter: http://www.worldmag.com/2014/10/mark_driscoll_resigns_as_pastor_of_mars_hill_church
• I found this article about the Driscoll resignation to be helpful from Trevin Wax. Read “The Mars Hill Postmortem”.
• What is going on in Houston? Check out Russell Moore’s article “Houston, We Have a Constitution” here: http://www.russellmoore.com/2014/10/14/houston-we-have-a-constitution/ Read Albert Mohler’s article on this issue “Sermons Are ‘Fair Game’ in Houston — The Real Warning in the Subpoena Scandal” here: http://www.albertmohler.com/2014/10/17/sermons-are-fair-game-in-houston-the-real-warning-in-the-subpoena-scandal/, and Eric Metaxas’ article “Hand Over Your Sermons, Or Else” here: http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/26252
• Last week, singer Glen Campbell, a Country Music Hall of Fame member, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011, released a video for the final song he’ll ever record — “I’m Not Gonna Miss You.” It was recorded in 2013 with producer Julian Raymond. Watch the video and read this article: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/14/showbiz/glen-campbell-final-song/index.html

• John Piper continues his series on Romans 8 from In the Book, with a look at verses 1-4. Check out the lab here: http://www.desiringgod.org/labs/the-spirit-set-you-free
• Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Trust announced last week the release of The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen by Sinclair Ferguson, a book I plan to read. To find out more about the book and read a sample from it, check out this article.
• And speaking of John Owen, check out Tim Challies’ excellent series on Owen’s book The Mortification of Sin (or Overcoming Sin and Temptation) http://www.challies.com/reading-classics-together/lets-learn-to-overcome-sin-and-temptation
• At their home ballpark, Major League Baseball players have walk-up music – a brief part of a song that plays as they walk up to home plate. What would your walk-up music be? Here’s the walk-up music for the players on the four teams that made the League Championship Series: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6281720/mlb-playoffs-intro-songs-revealed-royals-orioles-giants-cardinals-2014-baseball
• Did you see Bradley Cooper play Egg Russian Roulette recently with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show? If not, watch it here: http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/segments/14081
• Upcoming music releases you may be interested in include:

October 28
Love Ran Red – Chris Tomlin
Rise – Trip Lee

November 4
Eye’M All Mixed Up: Remixes – TobyMac
Hallelujah for the Cross – Newsboys

November 11
After All These Years – Andrew Peterson
The Essential Collection – Passion
Cathedrals – Tenth Avenue North

~ UPDATED PAGES ON THE BLOG ~

Book Review ~ The Heart of Leadership: Becoming a Leader People Want to Follow by Mark Miller

Movie Review ~ Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, rated PG

Concert Review ~ Keith and Kristyn Getty at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria

Music Review ~ Songs of Innocence Deluxe Edition – U2

More U2 stuff:

• If you haven’t seen it already, check out the video to the standard version “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone”) here: http://www.u2.com/index/home
• Here’s a link to the members of U2 answering questions submitted to them from their fans.
• Edge and Bono were in the studios of France’s Le Grand Journal performing acoustic versions of ‘The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)’ and ‘Every Breaking Wave.’ Check out the videos.
• And finally, in an interview last week, Bono mentioned that he always wears sunglasses because he has suffered from glaucoma for 20 years. Read more here: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6289043/u2-bono-sunglasses-glaucoma

Quotable:  I thought I heard the captain’s voice But it’s hard to listen while you preach      -From “Every Breaking Wave” by U2

With so much of concern going on in the world these days, I smiled when I saw this cartoon from World Magazine:

Visions of Vocation Book Club

Steven Garber was the speaker at my Covenant Seminary graduation in May. Tammy and I are reading his newest book Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good. Below are passages we discussed this week from our reading of Chapter 5:

Chapter 5: Come and See

• This business of seeing ourselves as implicated is central to the covenantal epistemology. That we see ourselves as responsible, for love’s sake, is what the responsibility of knowledge is always about.
• For people committed to lives of doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with God, it is never easy to craft a public policy that makes everything right for everyone. We know that at our best we still fall short—and someone somewhere will be hurt, falling through the cracks.
• For Tolstoy’s men on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it was in seeing that the one understood the meaning of his journey, just as it was in not seeing that the other missed the meaning of his journey. Central to the Telos Group’s mission is the conviction that it is in seeing what is going on that people will begin to understand the realities of the situation and begin to see themselves as responsible, willing to care about justice for all, not justice for “just us.”
• And it is no surprise that when people see and hear, meeting real people with real lives, that a transformation often takes place. Relationship, revelation, responsibility. When we learn like that, we begin to see ourselves as implicated.
• In the best of learning, in the truest learning, words have to become flesh, and more often than not it is in storied service that the eyes of the heart are awakened.
• The covenantal epistemology is a way of knowing that sees the world through the lens of relationship. I know you, and I love you.
• From the patriarchs on, God calls a people into being, naming them as his own and calling them to live in the world, remembering to remember the most important things.
• Relationship, revelation, responsibility—the heart and soul of the covenant lived in and through the vocations of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David—and of course the same is true for the generations of people who saw themselves as belonging to God, known by him and loved by him. The Hebrew vision of life, grounded in the God who has “fashioned a cosmos out of love,” is covenantal. There is no other word that so captures the meaning of life lived before the face of God, responsible for love’s sake to God for history, for the way the world is and ought to be. The biblical vision is that the covenant becomes incarnate in Jesus. Wisdom and justice, sovereignty and mercy, compassion and kindness, anger and patience, all characteristics of the Holy One of Israel, become flesh in Jesus.
• We can only learn the things that matter most when we come and see.
• They “do the truth,” they put the truth into practice. Yes, they give flesh to the word.
• And over many years, after many conversations, my conviction is this: moral commitment precedes epistemological insight. We see out of our hearts. We commit ourselves to living certain ways—because we want to—and then we explain the universe in a way that makes sense of that choice. It is why Augustine’s long-ago question still rings true: you cannot really know someone by asking, “What do you believe?” It is only when you ask, “What do you love?” that we begin to know another. We see out of our hearts? Yes, because we live out of our loves.
• But what I have seen is, in the end, it is always a matter of one’s heart leading the way, one’s loves shaping one’s vision of the world and the way that a person will live in it. It was for Nicodemus, and it is for us. Words have to become flesh.
• The story of the Samaritan woman in John 4 is its own wonder, offering another take on the meaning of incarnation.
• But here the Word becomes flesh to the woman, and she sees something that she has never ever seen: a man can know her and still love her.
• And the text says that Jesus came and lived for a while among them, incarnating words like holiness and mercy, wisdom and compassion. The people of the Samaritan village could see what the words meant as they were incarnated in their midst. Words have to become flesh.
• Sometime later, Jesus returns to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish feasts and walks by the pool called Bethesda (John 5).
• Sometimes, very strangely, we choose to love our wounds. Not so much that we openly embrace them, but so much that we cannot imagine living life without them. They have come to mean so much to us. We see ourselves in their light, or darkness, as the case actually is. And of course in the heartache of human life, it is out of our wounds that we wound others.
• It is amazing grace that finds him in his desolation, and he hears, “Get up, take your bed and walk.” It is an invitation to respond from the one who knew that the man was responsible, able to respond. When all is said and done, what happens is a profound mystery that is finally beyond our explanation—and we can only be amazed at the grace given. Words have to become flesh.
• For Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Jesus has been a friend, even as he has been a teacher.
• Even if we do not fully understand the whys and hows of this story, it matters supremely that God is not a passive responder to life and death—and that he does not expect us to be.
• Lazarus had not lost his humanity in his death—he had not become an automaton. The secret of his humanity was still his responsibility, as mysterious as it finally is.
• The words fall flat if there is no ability to respond, to be responsible. Relationship, revelation, responsibility—always and everywhere the heart of the covenant, especially the covenant incarnate. Words have to become flesh.
• Jesus spends the night before the crucifixion, Passover night, with his disciples, and several chapters of John are given to that (John 13–17).
• Stories do matter, and believing the true story of human life under the sun will give meaning to our vocations, as denying it will prove the implosion of our vocations.
• In every generation the most honest people have always understood that if there is not a story to make sense of my story, then why not “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”? The teaching of Jesus is never disconnected from the tensions of life, from the questions and concerns of real people in the world that is really there.
• The central themes of the covenantal epistemology are written into the story. Jesus initiates a deepening of the relationship, revealing more of himself in the process, and then sets forth their responsibility—which is summed up by the crucial connection of knowing with doing. This is the covenant made flesh. Words have to become flesh.
• The final story here is in the last chapter of John’s Gospel, the story of the disappointed and perplexed disciples returning to their fishing (John 21).
• Two of the most common and most ordinary human activities, working and eating, are sanctified in the story, made holy by Jesus, showing all with eyes to see that in the new heaven and new earth these will be an integral part.
• He could have shown them anything, he could have done anything. The resurrected Lord that he was, he could have done something noticeably “religious” for them, like baptism or the Eucharist. He could even have preached to them or prayed for them. What he chose to do was honor their work and then eat with them.
• Working, eating—these are central to human vocation, in every culture and every century.
• And then he invites them to respond with their labor and their lives, seeing even the most ordinary things of life as sacramental, made new as they are by the reality of the resurrection. They are signposts in a strange land of the world that someday will be. Words have to become flesh.
• A couple of years ago, I invited a group of folks to our home for dinner. We call these Vocare evenings “conversations about calling”, together pondering the meaning of Berry’s essay “Two Economies.” In earlier conversations, we had discussed the essay and decided it would be worth a more prolonged conversation because his vision of an economics of mutuality was remarkably rich. The essay sets forth “two economies,” a lesser economy and a greater economy.
• Berry believes that wherever we look in the world there are lesser economies: farms, villages, cities, regions, states, even nations.
• He says that for him the greater economy is “the kingdom of God,” but that people are free to call it what they want.
• What he does not give freedom for is whether there is a greater economy, or whether the greater economy is in fact the final arbiter of all economic visions.
• It is important to understand this about Berry: he writes for everyone, translating his own deepest convictions in language that the whole world can understand. He is not writing for a parochial audience, for people who necessarily think like he does, who believe like he does. And in everything he writes—poetry, novels, essays—he sees the world in terms of the covenantal cosmos, of relationship, revelation and responsibility. But he is a translator, using images and words to connect to the wider world.
• Berry is writing about the truth of the human condition, situating human beings in relation to God and to history.
• For some, the Berryian vision is for a time out of mind, a world that has long passed away. That is not fair to him or to the world. But there is a tension here, and I have said to him on a few occasions, “If what you were arguing were simply nice ideas for nice people who live in nice places, then I would not be interested. But what you are saying is true, and so it is our responsibility to figure out what it means for where we are.”
• These are the truest truths of the universe: We do not flourish as human beings when we know no one and no one knows us; we do not flourish as human beings when we belong to no place and no place cares about us. When we have no sense of relationship to people or place, we have no sense of responsibility to people or place.
• Perhaps the saddest face of the modern world is its anonymity, to live as if I am known by none and belong nowhere.
• From road rage on freeways to the casually cruel crime of the city to the existential angst of being lost in the cosmos, when we are not in relationships that matter, it is almost impossible to see ourselves as responsible to and for others.
• Berry is writing about a covenantal cosmos, about life in the world where knowing and being known is critical if we are to flourish. This one theme runs through the body of his work: We must learn to live incarnationally, committed to particular people and particular places. If we are to have honest lives, we will have to incarnate who we are and what we believe with those people and in those places.
• In every century and every culture there is an integral connection between knowing and doing, and it is most fully expressed in love. For glory or shame, we choose to live in love—or not. But there is also a greater economy, the kingdom of God, and in it we live and move and have our being—or not. Our flourishing depends upon our seeing these truths as true to the way the world really is. If we are to understand our place in the world, we have to find a way into that vision, somehow somewhere. Come and see.

Next week we’ll read chapter 6. Won’t you join us?

Faith and Work Book Clubs – Won’t you read along with us?

What’s Best Next Book Club

We continue with our overview of this new book on productivity from a Christian perspective. I’ve highlighted a number of passages and would like to share some of them from Chapter 18 – Harnessing Time Killers

How then SHOULD We Work? Rediscovering the Biblical Doctrine of Work Book Club

This week we conclude our overview of Hugh Whelchel’s fine book How Then Should We Work? Rediscovering the Biblical Doctrine of Work with Chapter 6. Whelchel is the Executive Director the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics and has a passion and expertise in helping individuals integrate their faith and vocational calling.

Next week, we’ll begin a new faith and work book club on Gene Veith’s book God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life. This looks to be an excellent book to read with peers with work.