Against Nothingness

The Journey So Far The controversy rages on over Rob Bell's upcoming new book. No matter what happens now, this controversy has effectively guaranteed that 'everyone who is anyone' will need to read this book. Either to find out what is wrong and bash it, or because someone we generally disagree with also disagrees with the book so it has to be good stuff! Then, because 'everyone' is reading it, people like me will 'have to' read it to. After all, I am a pastor, and if many of my people are reading and being influenced by a book, don't I need to know what is going on as well?  Or so the reasoning will go... and perhaps I will read it, who knows. In the meantime, none of this will stop me from continuing to join this fray which I probably ought to have stayed out of in the first place. Onwards, Christian... :) The Latest Salvo The latest salvo has been fired by DeYoung  claiming that not only do we not need to talk with Bell but, more importantly, it...

Edit: I haven't written much about heaven and hell myself; this post is merely pictures and questions. If and when I do so, I will link to it. In the meantime, you might check out these two good books on the subjects: Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church  by N.T. Wright The Great Divorce  by C.S. Lewis Edit 2: And here is my first, brief, thoughts on heaven: "Daddy, be a monster..." Apparently the news of Rob Bell's upcoming book  is causing even more of a stir than I realized.  Scott McKnight has some comments about it over at CT  and lots of others are blogging and commenting.  I think that part of what is going on here is simply that Bell has hit upon an important and controversial topic which people are interested in talking about: Heaven and Hell. You can certainly find some cool pictures of heaven and hell if you google that phrase :) I liked those two.  So, just to throw th...

I consider myself an evangelical. I am a pastor in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, so this ought to come as no surprise.  However, there are several things about evangelical culture which bother me. One of them, which has flared up recently, is controversialism. I don't even know if that is a word.   It seems that some members of the evangelical community just... well, either they are out looking to stir up controversy and get a reaction or they are firmly in the 'leap before you look' camp of reacting strongly to vague news without any real basis. I think it is both.  Why has this come up? Two recent events are the source of this week's vexation.  First of all was this post , forwarded to me by an equally irate friend, who had it forwarded to him as a tweet by Piper claiming that this article was more reliable than C.S. Lewis.  The author attempts to take C.S. Lewis to task for his misty atonement theory teachings in "Mere Christianity." In my opin...

Wesley Hill, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality , Zondervan, 2010. 160 Pages.  Thanks to  http://engagingchurchblog.com/  for this book and for putting on this blog tour.  Homosexuality is an important topic in the church and, as such, there is no shortage of books on the subject.  However, buried within the mountains of theological treatises, biblical exegesis, and stories of healing, it can be difficult to find an accessible, well written, and honest presentation from someone who is still in the midst of this trial, and may be their entire life. This is such a book. Part biblical theology, part personal memoir, and entirely honest and challenging, Wesley Hill graciously opens his heart and his mind for us to learn as he records his struggle to remain faithful to Christ in the face of his homosexuality. Divided into three parts, Hill seeks to explore and question (more than answer) issues of what the gospel demands o...

Douglas Leblanc,  Tithing: Test Me in This (The Ancient Practices Series) . Thomas Nelson, 2010, 176 pages.  Thanks to BookSneeze® for providing a free copy of this book for me to review.  Yet another book in "The Ancient Practices Series." If I could review the entire series and follow with a set review I would.  Sadly, this may be the last one available in E-Book format and with the usual mailing times for hard copies I will be lucky to get one more, let alone the four that I have yet to read. Anyway, on to this book.  What we do not have in this book is a defense, explanation, or teaching on tithing. There is nothing here on how to fast nor why, at least not explicitly and if you tried to draw implicit lessons you would be left wondering which ones to take. In these pages Leblanc has collected the stories of eleven individuals or couples who have made tithing a regular practice in their life. Resisting what may have been a strong urge to dr...

Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy . Thomas Nelson, 2010. 608 pages.  Bonhoeffer  is a book that has, apparently, met with stunning laudations.  I didn't read the article myself, but have it on good authority that First Things  recommended in a review that people go out and buy six copies and give them to friends.  Trusted friends also gave this book high accolades.  With this acclaim ringing in the background, how could I fail to purchase and read it?  That's right, I couldn't. And, having read the book, I understand what all the buzz is about... mostly.  As you may have guessed, Bonhoeffer is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  To summarize much more than that seems unnecessary.  Metaxas presents Bonhoeffer's life, from his childhood and family to his death in a Nazi prison.   As promised, Metaxas is a stupendous story-teller and a superb writer.  I learned a lot reading this biography; det...

When I started writing in this blog again, earlier in 2010, I did so with the aspiration of reviewing every book I read. I quickly gave up on said ambition when I realized how much more I like reading than reviewing, as well as how much I read.   Since then I have, with a few exceptions, really only reviewing books that I get for free in exchange for reviews. This has led to reading and reviewing some good books but, alas, many bad ones.   A couple of friends have pointed this out recently and told me I should review some 'good' books. I think they might be right.  So, I am going to give it a try.  Some reviews you can look forward to, at least to start (in no particular order): Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy Some of Eugene Peterson's five part 'conversation' series: Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Faces , Eat This Book , The Jesus Way , Tell It Slant , Practice Resurrection To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the La...

Nora Gallagher, The Sacred Meal .  Thomas Nelson, 2009.  176 pages.  Thanks to BookSneeze® for providing a free copy of this book for me to review.  Here we have the fifth book in "The Ancient Practices Series" Thomas Nelson has published.  In it Gallagher explores some aspects of Communion or 'The Sacred Meal.' She does not, however, set out to explain it fully, dissect it theologically, nor place it denominationally.  Each of these activities has a minor role to play, but the major role is played by story telling.  In exploring the meal that Jesus gave us, Gallagher puts front and center her own experience of said meal and what it has meant to her.  Stylistically this book was a treat.  Gallagher is an excellent story teller.  She chooses her tales well, illustrates her points effectively, poignantly draws out some of the nuances of partaking in communion, and in general keeps the reader very interested.  She had many great t...

My post several days ago, on Christian Celebrities , was terrible.  If I had to review it, I would be harsh; maybe even this harsh .  Good idea, but made of fail.  Really, I had nothing to say but felt obligated to post since I said I would.  I should have just said that.  Anyway, something interesting may yet come of it, thanks entirely to Roger and his comment/question.  He asked if Paul was/is a celebrity.  I said no; you can read my brief answer in the comments.  But it gave me an idea.   What if he had been?  I think things would have been different, so here are some of my thoughts on this 'what if'.  1. Who is the Jerusalem Kid? - News coming out of the middle east reports a new pair of rising stars: Paul and Barnabas.  Paul is taking most of the limelight as the pair travel around preaching a message of hope and good news and establishing something they call 'churches' which appear to be new kinds of temples they u...

Scott McKnight, Fasting . Thomas Nelson, 2009.  176 pages.  Thanks to BookSneeze® for providing a free copy of this book for me to review.  In this, the fourth book in "The Ancient Practices Series", McKnight explores and explains the discipline of fasting.  According to him  "fasting is the natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life." Within this definition McKnight seeks to avoid the instrumentalism which plagues many individuals practices of spiritual disciplines in modern times and instead affirm that fasting is about responding to God and any results we get from it are secondary.  With this in mind, McKnight explores nine different facets of, or reasons for, fasting: Body Talk (an expression of us as whole beings), Body Turning (repentance over sin), Body Plea (a cry out to God), Body Grief (response to loss), Body Discipline (part of spiritual growth), Body Calendar (keeping the  rhythm  of our...

Yes, the promised second post.    The other questions that came up were about Christian Celebrities.  For some people, a really popular Christian makes them uneasy.  Perhaps this is the right response, at least initially.  There are many dangers in celebrity, some which endanger the celebrity and some which endanger the fans.  For the celebrity, I imagine there is a struggle with pride, with people not calling you to account because they are awed by you, pressure which can (and often does) lead to hidden sin, and probably much more.  I have never been a celebrity (I hope I never am) so I am sure I am missing lots. That's OK though, I am more concerned with the dangers to the fans.  For those of us who consume the products known as Christian Celebrities (as well as all the attendant merchandise) there are also dangers.  We may hold that individual, who is still fallen and sinful, too highly for our own good.  We may idolize them. ...

Yesterday's post, Twice Excited , which referenced Jaeson Ma started a couple of discussions.  Some indirectly, in that I brought up the song 'Glory' in conversation, and some more directly via email and facebook messages.  From these conversations, two topics emerged: questioning the lyrical and theological content of contemporary Christian Music (CCM) and experiencing hesitancy in embracing Christian celebrities.  I will leave that second topic for another post.  What, then, about CCM? I need to begin by saying that I am overly sensitive to the lyrics of Christian music.  I find that many of the worship songs we sing, as well as more popular CCM, are devoid of any kind of theological grounding and can contain lyrics which are flat our wrong/bad. Let me give you some examples. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus" - (not such a contemporary song, I know.  I wanted to begin by reminding us that this is not a new problem, we just hear more new songs and so can...

Squire Rushnell, Louise DuArt.   Couples who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman. Thomas Nelson, 2011.  224 pages.  Thanks to BookSneeze® for providing a free copy of this book for me to review.  This is a book which aims to improve your marriage.  It argues that couples who pray together stay together (that almost hurt to write).  In terms of outline, the book begins by touting the benefits of prayer, moves on to the "40 Day Prayer Challenge" and then explores some of the obstacles and outcomes of praying together as a couple. In terms of content, the majority of this book is the stories of people, mostly celebrities, who have taken this challenge.  I have to begin by saying that as an idea, or advice, the main point of this book is great.  Getting couples to pray together will help their marriage and it is a good thing.  Further, the idea of a 40 day challenge is a great start.  However, as a book, Couples Who Pr...

I have spent a large part of this afternoon planning our high school youth trip to History Maker Conference.  Looking up dates and locations, prices and promo videos, finding us a place to stay and doing logistics for transportation, and so on and so forth. As I did so, I found myself getting excited.  If you read my posts last year on the subject, one fairly dark reflection given mid-conference  and a slightly more positive post after the conference , then you may be surprised to hear that.  But despite speed bumps along the way it was a great weekend last year. This year they have some good speakers and artists. You can check out their website to find out: historymaker.ca .  It looks like a good line up.   What actually started me getting excited was Jaeson Ma's 'Glory' Video  (which they had playing on one of their webpages). I have seen  'Love' before; our young adults used it at an outreach.  Glory is even better.  I th...

Kevin Belmonte, Defiant Joy: The Remarkable Life & Impact of G.K. Chesterton.  Thomas Nelson, 2011.  336 pages.  Thanks to BookSneeze® for providing a free copy of this book for me to review.  One could not do better in at the start of a bibliography than to echo Chesterton's own aims as a biographer: "to introduce a life and legacy that should be better known," as Belmonte paraphrases on the first page of this book. Such is the content of this book: an introduction to the life and legacy of G.K. Chesterton.  Belmonte weaves chapters which amount to book reviews with perspectives from many others who knew or knew of Chesterton and Chesterton's own words into a marvelous image of G.K.C. Defiant Joy  is an excellent book.  I have always been a G.K.C. fan, but Belmonte succeeded in renewing my interest and excitement for this man and his writing.  Through a perfect mix of narrative of narrative and quotes Belmonte has successfully displayed ...

Another month come and gone like the whirlwind it was.   Top 3 Visited Posts: 1.  Relationships and Faith: Christian - Non-Christian Intimacy 2. The "Me" Marriage 3. Many Joys I only posted 9 times in January; averaging barely 2 a week.  It was not a busy preaching month, but I have been giving the whole writing thing a go (as per my  Determinations for the Neoteric Heliacal Circumvolution ). I have to say, it has been much harder than I expected, and it is the only one of my resolutions I have not fully kept.  I have flossed every day since Jan. 1st (and my gums stopped bleeding weeks ago!).  I have cut down on dessert (enough that Kristina has made comments several times).  I do love my family more than I did last month.  And I have spent at least 5 minutes on my knees listening to God most mornings, as well as incorporating more listening into my other prayer times.  But I think I write 1-3 times a week, not 6...  Other than ...