Against Nothingness

Nearly every day I drive by this billboard:   I've struggled with both whether and how to respond to this. It invites the nonconstructive response of mockery and the not-possible response of argument. Neither suits and yet there it sits, on the side of the road, every day. In the end, I've decided to engage. What I mean is this: Let us lend as much depth as possible to this message, let us seek the points of connection and appeal, and let us delve into the question of the rhetorical and persuasive power of the choices made herein. Let us take seriously each part. There is, of course, every chance in the world that I will overshoot my mark but, given the alternatives, this is the risk I choose.  To begin at the beginning: "Dave 27:1" The appeal to individualism, which suffuses this ad, begins almost subtly. The title mocks scripture but also pulls at the thread in each of us which desires to ' live by my own rules ' and ' go...

Calvin Miller, The Vanishing Evangelical: Saving the Church from its Own Success by Restoring What Really Matters . Baker Books, 2013.  Herein lies an examination of the current state of that somewhat nebulous entity known as "Evangelicalism.' An analysis which hops from worship to mission to the information age to the attack of secularism and preaching in the church. An analysis and, nearly, an obituary.  In his first chapter Miller notes "Generally I have noticed that the events of any movement that has been moving in one direction continue to move in that direction until they reach a conclusion. Great movements like American evangelicalism rarely come to a complete and final stop. They end in a reduced state of trickled down vitality. There will always be evangelicals, of course; the question is how many and for how long?" Yes, indeed. Wait... what? I'm afraid the confusion here is basically carried through the whole book. If there will alway...

Bob Fu, God's Double Agent: The True Story of a Chinese Christian's Fight for Freedom . Baker Books, 2013 Herein lies the tale of Bob Fu. Born in China, full of ambition and a desire to improve his home, Bob eventually became involved in the protests which ended in Tiananmen square. The resulting punishment and depression were the context for his conversion and the beginnings of a ministry that would lead him to found China Aid.   I don't want to give away too much more of the story; you should read it for yourself. And that, I suppose, gives away the rest of this review. I find a good Christian biography to be a very encouraging and challenging thing. Good in the sense that it is well written but, more importantly, good in that it displays the work of Jesus in the life of one of his followers. This, God's Double Agent, was a good Christian biography. And you should read it. Did I say that already? It's worth saying twice.  Conclusion: 5 Stars. Rec...

Nightmare by William Schwenk Gilbert When you're lying awake with a dismal headache,      and repose is taboo'd by anxiety, I conceive you may use any language you choose to      indulge in without impropriety; For your brain is on fire - the bedclothes conspire of      usual slumber to plunder you: First your counterpane goes and uncovers your toes,       and your sheet slips demurely from under you; Then the blanketing tickles - you feel like mixed       pickles, so terribly sharp is the pricking, And you're hot, and you're cross, and you tumble       and toss till there's nothing 'twixt you and the ticking. Then the bedclothes all creep to the ground in a heap,       and you pick 'em all up in a tangle; Next your pillow resigns and politely declines to       remain at its usual angle! Well, you get some repose in the form of ...

I read sermons regularly. I enjoy it and I fancy that it improves my own preaching, though I suppose I must leave that verdict with my congregants. Regardless, I have oft been instructed well by pastors past and wish, on this occasion, to pass on one such worthwhile specimen.  Here, then, I humbly present to thee, most esteemed reader of mine, a sermon. A sermon which comes at the conclusion of a series on heaven.  The Justice and the Joy of Heaven by John Donne Justice : As it is said of old cosmographers, that when they had said all that they knew of a country and yet much more was to be said, they said that the rest of those countries were possessed with giants or witches or spirits or wild beasts, so that they could pierce no farther into that country; so when we have traveled as far as we can with safety, that is, as far as ancient or modern expositors lead us in the discovery of these new heavens and new earth, yet we must say at last that it is a country i...

The First Psalm      The man in life wherever placed,           Hath happiness in store,      Who walks not in the wicked's way,           Nor learns their guilty lore.       Nor from the seat of scornful pride           Casts forth his eyes abroad,      But with humility and awe           Still walks before his God.       That man shall flourish like the trees,           Which by the streamlets grow;      The fruitful top is spread on high,           And firm the root below.      Be he who blossoms buds in guilt,           Shall to the ground be cast,      And, like the rootless stubble, tost           before the sweeping ...

McIntosh, Gary L. Arn, Charles. What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of Thumb for Leading Your Church. Baker Books, 2013. What Every Pastor Should Know is just the reference book it sounds like. 101 rules of thumb divided into 15 sections covering such topics as evangelism, small groups, revitalization, and more. These rules of thumb, which McIntosh and Arn are very careful to offer with appropriate cautions in the introduction (all churches are different, these are just guidelines, etc.), are each given in four parts: the rule itself, a brief introduction, a longer explanation, and a set of practical suggestions.  Though the subtitle of this book indicates that the rules are about "leading" a church, it really should have read "growing" a church. This is not a criticism, merely a clarification. The rules offered here are very much a product of the church growth movement. Thus, the underlying assumption that leading church is really a...