Category Archives: Culture

2008-05-30 The Brief

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Blogroll

Eric Bryant did an interesting post a while back entitled Why Homophobia is So Gay.  I think he offers some good insight into how we should handle what I expect to be an inevitable norm, not just in America but globally as well.  As for me I think we need to start thinking beyond constitutional amendments if we hope to engage this and a host of other issues that are on the horizon.  I have not listened to the sermons that his post links to, although if I ever have the time, which I doubt, I will listen to them and post my thoughts here.

Derek Brown has done a fantastic post detailing How to Waste Your Theological Education this is a must read for all who are currently attending or plan to attend seminary.

Ed Stetzer (also here) discusses technology in the church and has some good insights as well as some great questions for discussion in his recent post Technolochurch.

 

Israel

First Things has an interesting and incredibly lengthy article entitled Zionism for Christians.

Just for Fun

Condoleezza Rice joins the Kiss Army.

Simply Amazing

Write Your Senator!

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For those of you who actually read Missio Dei I hope the title of this post was to some degree surprising or shocking.  If you are not familiar with my perspective on politics I would recommend reading Meaning versus Significance: Hermeneutics and Evangelical Political Activism I think it is a clear and concise explanation of where I stand.

So why am I encouraging you to write your senator?

The Kentucky primaries are coming up soon, this week actually, and I am sure there are some interesting things to vote for this time around.  Over the years I have heard countless individuals encourage me to “vote my conscience,” to “oppose what God opposes,” to “stand for what is right,” and other “evangelical” idioms.  Believe it or not I take these things very seriously and this has caused me to ponder how this should be applied in American politics.

But first let us read Scripture . . .

 “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. . . . . And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.  Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town’” (Matthew 10:5-6, 14-15).

“Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?  But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:3-5).

What merits a judgment worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah?  What heinous act not only deserves judgment but actually stores up wrath?

Answering these questions brings us full circle to answering the questions posed in the beginning of this post.  You should write your senator and propose a constitutional amendment that bans, not gay marriage or abortion or gambling, but nominal hypocritical self-righteous “christianity.”  That is what God hates.  If you want to uphold American morality then you should write your senator urging him/her to oppose the greatest moral failure in the history of America nominal Christianity.

2008-04-20 The Brief

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Together for the Gospel

The conference ― T4G ― was amazing and I hope to have some of my reflections on each session up within the next week.  For those of you who enjoy live blogging, sorry I type too slowly for that.  In the mean time Sovereign Grace Ministries has been kind enough to post the MP3s online for free download so please take the time to listen to each of the conference sessions below.

·         01 Ligon Duncan – Sound Doctrine – Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry

·         02 Thabiti Anyabwile – Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church

·         03 John MacArthur – The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability

·         04 Mark Dever – Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology

·         05 R. C. Sproul – The Curse Motif of the Atonement

·         06 Albert Mohler – Why Do They Hate It So? The Doctrine of Substitution

·         07 John Piper – How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice

·         08 C. J. Mahaney – Sustaining a Pastor’s Soul

Science

The University of Cambridge has just published the complete works of Charles Darwin online.  These works were previously available only to a select few have been published for the world to see.  This is the largest collection of its kind and contains everything from his original sketch of evolution to personal letters and photographs.

Theology

Pastor Joe Thorn, of Redeemer Fellowship, has created a phenomenal paradigm for his church entitled The Table, The Pulpit and The Square.  You can read his description and view the paradigm in his post The Full Paradigm.  I have e-mailed him and the other documents mentioned in The Table, The Pulpit and The Square will be posted online soon, so keep looking for them on his blog and I will provide links to them here.

2008-04-08 The Brief

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Theology

Biblical Studies:  This fantastic contains numerous journal articles as well as other resources dealing with OT and NT introduction, maps, commentaries, and Biblical Theology.

Theological Studies:  Yes, this website looks similar to the one listed above and is operated by the same individuals.  Only here you will find loads of books and journal articles addressing numerous aspects of theology.  Both of these websites have been a tremendous resource as I write papers and do research for school.

The Cup and the Glory:  The Official The Cup and the Glory website is up and running.  The book, by the same name, was by far the best book I read this past year (please read 2007 A Year in Books for more information) and I am pleased to see the website up and running.  The website is still under development and more information will be added later but I would recommend that you check it out and stay up to date on Dr. Greg Harris’s future publications in this series.

Want to Build a Megachurch?  In the following posts Justin Tapp, both a follower of Christ and an economist, examines church finances as well as some of the “supernatural” causes behind the success of some megachurches.  So far there are four posts in the series with more to come in the future so keep checking his blog for updates.

·         Churches and Finance, Part 1: The Illusion of Blessing?

·         Churches and Finance, Part 2: Should Churches be in Debt?

·         Churches and Finance, Part 3: Where Are Megachurches?

·         Churches and Finance, Part 4: How to Start a Megachurch

Bizarre News

The Polygamy Sect in Texas: I am sure most of you have heard of this by now my question is why do you think individuals are drawn into such sects?

2008-04-03 The Brief

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A Barista Named Chad

At Starbucks I work with Chad Mondragon who is the administrative pastor at Providence Community Church, in Lexington, KY.  Chad is theologically solid and I enjoy talking theology with him.  Chad has a ton of blogs/websites I have listed them below (in alphabetical order of course!) with a brief description of each.  Seriously check these out.

Chad and Melody: This is Mondragon family site.

Providence Community Church: This is the church’s website, hence the name, and there is a lot of good stuff here.  If you live near Lexington watch this site for updates as they just did a conference on a Biblical Theology of Creation, with two guest lecturers from the Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Virginia Beach.

Providence Community Church Blog: This is the church’s blog check here for sermon notes and other goodies.

South-Side Community Group: This is the blog for Providence Community’s south-side small group study.  They are currently studying through Ephesians and there are some maps and other resources dealing with that on this blog

Biblical Counseling

This semester I have had the privilege of taking a biblical counseling class at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary taught by Stuart Scott and it has profoundly impacted my understanding of both pastoral and lay ministry within the church.  Because of this I hope you will take the time to look at the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation and the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors.  Both of these websites are loaded with free resources to help you do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-14).

Books

Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists, by Collin Hansen, profiles the rise of Calvinism, or Reformed Theology, among young Christians.  I am young, I am restless, and I am reformed so this looks to be a fantastic read.  Tim Challies has reviewed the book and it is available here.  Prior to its development into a full-length book the brief article “Young, Restless, Reformed: Calvinism is making a comeback―and shaking up the church” was published in Christianity Today.

Culture

Why Americans Never Vote for What They Really Want: This article by Der Spiegel addresses the tension that exists because American voters want to have their cake and eat it too.  From the article, “The findings are clear: the desires of American citizens contradict their fundamental convictions.”  Yesterday I had a conversation with Nick Cooper about celebrities who tout their concern for third-world countries when their weekly earnings could rival many of these countries GNP.  Yes, American’s want the world to become a better place up to the point that it actually costs them something.

Ethnonationalism: With racial tensions in America, ethnic cleansing and genocide in Africa, and sectarian violence in the Middle East it is clear that these tensions profoundly affect us at the interpersonal, national, and global level.  I am sure that many of us are aware of the interpersonal and national issues arising from this but what about the international effects of ethnic prejudice?  Jerry Z. Muller examines ethnocentrism and ethnonationalism at the global level in his recent article US and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism.

Evangelism and Biblical Theology of Work

Over at Provocations & Pantings there is a lengthy series of posts addressing a biblical theology of work.  Because of our inherited sin nature we tend towards laziness and a work ethic that does not glorify God.  The unbiblical dichotomy between ministry and secular vocation―like when an individual says, “At work I am an architect but I am really a minister of the gospel”―has devastated numerous individuals understanding of employment.  From my observations I think this error characterizes evangelicalism at large and in all likelihood has affected your understanding of work as well.  This is why I recommend that you take the time to read the following posts:

·         The Cross Isn’t Sexy: A Dying Man’s Confession 

·         Missional Work 

·         Putting in Time or Preaching the Truth: What’s More Valuable?

·         Don’t Waste Your Work! 

·         Witnessing at Work: Sacred vs. Secular?

·         Gospeling at Work, Part 1

·         Gospeling at Work, Part 2

·         Churches, Affirm the Importance of Work and Mission

·         Note: As more posts are written in this series I will simply add them to this list so come back and check for updates.