Worship Evangelism Justice

From the introduction to Worship Evangelism Justice, by Mike Pilavachi, with Liza Hoeksma. Pilavachi is the founder and leader of Soul Survivor, in the UK. The book is an good read, and the perspective of what God is doing across the pond always interests me.
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"Jesus told us that loving God and loving our neighbor should go hand in hand. We've often separated out our spiritual activities from our secular ones; we go to a home group, that's spiritual; we buy a pair of sneakers, that's secular. Or is it? If we do our part to ensure that the person who is making our sneakers gets a fair wage and works in reasonable conditions, isn't that an act of loving our neighbor and therefore a spiritual activity? God is interested in the whole of our lives and He wants access to everything so that we can make choices that reflect Him better.

I believe that worship, evangelism and justice are close to God's heart and that they belong together. If we continue to ignore them, or even separate them, we will continue to see the numbers of people following God decline and te church's voice grow weaker. If we bring them back together, could it be that the church will again be right at the heart of the community and God will again be worshipped as He deserves?"

Devotion to Christ

This is what we learn from Mary Magdalene, whose feast the church has historically celebrated on July 22.



Much of her story is shrouded in mystery and misidentification, as well as recent ficitional (highly fictional) attempts to further change her story. What we know about her speaks to her wholehearted devotion to Jesus. She accompanied Him on His final trip to Jerusalem, stood at the cross, and then went to the tomb. And her reweard, of course, was that she was the first person our risen Lord spoke to.



Lord, give me the devotion of our sister, St. Mary of Magdala.

Even in the Darkness

A terrific song from an alternative folk duo, based out of Chicago, but touring the EU during the through November.
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Even in the Darkness
by Rue Royale (Brooklyn and Ruth Dekker)

Oh, I will follow you
Even in the darkness know your truth
Oh I will follow you
Walking in the light you’ve called me to

‘Cause I love your name, it is like honey on my mouth
I love your name
I love your ways, they are so beautiful to me
I love your ways

Oh, I will trust in you
Offer up my life to be made new
Oh, I will trust in you
I will cast my every care on you

Oh, I believe in you
I believe your every word is true
Oh, I believe in you
I will give my life, my love, to you

‘Cause I love your name, it is like honey on my mouth
I love your name
I love your ways, they are so beautiful to me
I love your ways

Even in the darkness, know your truth
Even in the darkness, know your truth

Book Review

The Reason For God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Timothy Keller.

The Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, Keller walks the reader through an accessible apologetic for basic Christian beliefs, such as sin, the crucifixion, and resurrection. He also takes on criticisms of the church and God, such as the problem of evil and the Church's historic role in causing/promoting injustice. Keller takes his experiences pastoring in "godless" Manhattan to balance an academic approach to the topic with modern (and post-modern) language and examples to reach 21st century skeptics.

June Reading List

48. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
49. Book of the Dead, by Patricia Cornwell
50. Snakehead, by Anthony Horowitz
51. The Third Secret, by Steve Berry
52. The Dragon Prince, by Melanie Rawn
53. Restored, by Neil T. Anderson

Currently Reading: The Star Scroll (30% done), Murder on K Streeet (25%), LOTR:Return of the King (10%).

Book Review

How to be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job, by Brother Benet Tvedten

Tvedten is a monk at a Benedectine monastery in South Dakota, so he knows what it is to be monastic. In this book, he describes the life of an oblate – a “lay monastic,” if you will. An oblate takes vows of spiritual commitment to a particular monastery, but has a regular job and family. Although I am not going to make this particular life choice, the life of balance that monastics exemplify I find attractive. I found the book on the "Monk Rock" website (monkrock.com) ... folks whose motto is "You don't have to be a monk to live like one."

I must say I learned a lot from this little book.

May Reading List

38. The Two Towers, By J.R.R. Tolkien
39. The Reason For God), by Timothy Keller
40. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
41. Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, by Anne Rice
42. Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, by Meg Meeker, M.D.
43. It's All Too Much, by Peter Walsh
44. Santa Fe Dead, by Stuart Woods
45. Before I Wake, by Dee Henderson
46. The Catholic Church: A Short History, by Hans Kung (transalted by John Bowden)
47. Breaker's Reef, by Terri Blackstock

Currently reading: Restored by Neil Anderson, and Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

I Shared the Gospel in Class Yesterday

Well, sort of. I mean, as close as you can at a public university.

I was teaching about target marketing, and I used as an example the first Narnia movie from the Christmas season, a year ago. I talked about the general ads that were on TV for the movie, presenting it as a fun, adventure fantasy movie with great special effects and exciting battles. Then I explained that C.S. Lewis was a Christian who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia to explore various religious themes, and therefore churches and Christian bookstores were also heavy promoters of the film.

With a picture of Aslan on the screen behind me, I talked about how Edmund's poor choices led him to be condemned to die at the White Witch's hands, but that Aslan stepped in as a substitute and died in his place, so Edmund could go free. Then Aslan rose from the dead, and led the armies of Good in warfare to defeat the White Witch once and for all.

I said, "You don't have to have spent a lot of time in Sunday School to know what that story is really about."

I can drop biblical references and Chirstian principles in lectures every now and then, but this was the first time I actually explained an allegory for the Good News.

Movie Review

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG)

If "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" is the gospel story, consider Prince Caspian a story of the church in the Dark Ages. More than a millenia has passed in Narnia since Aslan's sacrifice, and the land has been overrun by Goths and Vikings (oops, I mean the Telmarines), led by King Miraz. Aslan, the talking animals, and the 4 kings and queens have all become legend, and their historical reality is considered dubious.

The four Pevsesies return to Narnia after a year has passed in their time. They soon meet the young Prince Caspian, Narnia’s rightful heir to the throne. He flees as Miraz (his uncle) plots to kill him so he can place his newborn son on the throne. With the help the courageous talking mouse Reepicheep (an all-time favorite Lewis creation, portrayed wonderfully in the film) and a range of other formerly-hidden creatures, the Narnians, led by Peter and Caspian (who don't always work weel together, to put it mildly) seek to find Aslan, destroy Miraz, and restore magic and wonder to the land.

Often considered on of the weaker Narnia novels in terms of plot and action, the movie includes an extra battle scene and introduces a mild romance between Susan and Caspian. But movies and books are idfferent media, and I am more than willing to forgive deviance from the book to make a good movie.

And this is a very good movie, no doubt. Not as clearly a story of the gospel as the first movie, but if you want lessons and messages and references are important to you, they are there, if you look and listen.

The College Search

We recently took my (11th grade) daughter on her 5th college visit. We have taken her to 2 Christian colleges, and 3 traditional liberal arts colleges. As a professional academic myself, I steered her away from the crazier mainstream colleges, and towards the more academically rigorous Christian colleges.

I have been interested in her thinking, and have learned some things about her throughout the process. She has realized that wherever she goes, she won't exactly fit in. At a mainstream school, she'll be an outsider for her Christian worldview. At the Christian school, she'll be an outsider for her engagement with modern culture and post-evangelical leanings.

Her decision is in what context she wants to be "outside the box" -- and what box she wants to be outside of.