Book Briefs

ESI readers are more than likely readers of good books. Or at least they should be. Every once in a while I like to share some of the things that I've been reading lately in the hopes that you will share with me what you've been reading. So here's a list of what I've recently enjoyed the most.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
I love biographies and this is one of the best I've ever read. While Isaacson is a great writer, I think the book stands out because Steve Jobs is such a compelling figure. Beyond his personal story though, there are great insights on Apple products, building teams, vision driven companies, Bill Gates, the music industry, and more.

Charles Hodge: Guardian of America Orthodoxy by Paul Gutjahr
Charles Hodge is unfortunately unknown relative to his importance in American theological history. In this biography you are exposed to the debate of Arminianism vs. Calvinism, the way that many churches thought about slavery, the history of Princeton Seminary, and more.

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
The author's interest in memory competitions started with writing a magazine article that eventually led to him training, entering, and even winning the United States memory championships. Here's a quick fact: The world record for memorizing a shuffled deck of cards without a mistake is 21 seconds.

Surprised by Grace and Jesus plus Nothing equals Everything by Tullian Tchividjian
Every Christian has a tendency to drift away from grace and towards legalism and moralism. Tchividjian, grandson of Billy Graham, does an excellent job of explaining and applying the gospel to every day life.

Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters by N. T. Wright
Interesting historical and cultural introduction to Jesus. My only problem with the book is that after reading the chapter entitled "Why Did Jesus Have to Die?" I still had no idea why, according to Wright, Jesus had to die.

The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman
Page turning thriller. A unique novel depicting the relationship between a counselor and a most unusual client.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
This is a fascinating look into a person and time in world history that I was largely ignorant of. Here's a paragraph from the introduction:

"In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated merchants or wealthy planters, had been founded by one of his illiterate slaves, who, by the sheer force of personality, charisma, and determination, liberated America from foreign rule, united the people, created an alphabet, wrote the constitution, established universal religious freedom, invented a new system of warfare, marched an army from Canada to Brazil, and opened roads of commerce in a free-trade zone that stretched across the continents. On every level and from any perspective, the scale and scope of Genghis Khan's accomplishments challenge the limits of imagination and tax the resources of scholarly explanation."

Have you been reading anything that you'd recommend?

Talking Pictures in Review: The Tree of Life (Pt. 1)

It’s hard to find a film this past year that has sparked stronger reactions than The Tree of Life. It’s garnered no small amount of critical acclaim, including winning of the top prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and being nominated for three Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography). At the same time, its release prompted some theaters, after several walkouts, to warn moviegoers that the film is unconventional. Interestingly, the film earned an 84% positive rating from critics on rottentomatoes.com, while the audience rated it considerably lower at 60%. 

All of this helped make The Tree of Life a natural choice for last Friday’s presentation of Talking Pictures at The Crossing. Here’s the first installment of a discussion recap for those who haven’t yet seen the movie or wish to process it further. (After starting this, I eventually realized that putting the whole thing in one post would make it quickly overflow its banks.)



Before (or After) You Watch: Helpful Tips

Going into a film, I normally don’t look for people to “help” me watch it. I mostly prefer to form my own impressions and compare notes afterward. The Tree of Life is likely a notable exception to this rule of thumb. Rare is the person who comes away with a commanding grasp of this film immediately after watching it for the first time. The film is both too demanding and too rich for that. With that in mind, here are a few points that I shared with the Talking Pictures audience before showing the film, but they should also serve well in retrospect:

1. As C. S. Lewis once advised a young girl about writing, “Instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description.” This film, more than any other I have ever seen, seeks to “show” more than “tell.” Dialogue is sparse, if still crucially important, and the pictures are indeed worth thousands of words. These and other elements, like the music and sequencing of shots, work together not only to create an experience the viewer is meant to enter into, but also to communicate and drive the narrative. This means that those watching need to be alert and engaged to find significance in what they’re witnessing. This is not a movie that will connect all the dots for you.

2. Realize the film doesn’t progress in a straightforward, linear way. Instead, it alternates from the experience of the adult Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn in a wonderfully subtle performance) to remembrances and impressions from his childhood. Throw in scenes that are literally cosmic in scope (more below) and it’s relatively easy to become disoriented. However, that doesn't mean there isn't a discernible narrative arc. 

3. The Tree of Life focuses on the story of one particular Texas family, and even more specifically on Jack, both as a kid and an adult. This comes alongside scenes meant to convey the creation of the universe, the origin and development of life, and eventually, the end (or new beginning) of all things. The relationship between the smaller, particular story and the larger, cosmic story is an important one for understanding the film. With that in mind, note especially what precedes the creation sequence.  

4. A few other things to keep in mind as you watch:

• Take note of the passage of Scripture you see at the beginning of the film, as well as the first image you see. 
• Pay careful attention to voice-over narration. One specific point along these lines: Mrs. O’Brien’s (Jessica Chastain) beginning contrast of the “way of nature” with the “way of grace” very much frames the movie.  
• The middle of the film finds the O’Brien family in a church service. I’d argue the sermon and an accompanying visual are both important to understanding the fundamental message of the film.  
• The closing sequences of the film, including the adult Jack’s “visionary experiences” and what briefly follows, are bursting with significance. Seemingly every shot conveys a great deal. 

If you’ve not yet seen the film but are still planning on watching it, that should give you some decent tracks to run on. Next week, I’ll run through the post-film discussion.

The Snare of Misguided Love

In my own weird, thoroughly jacked-up manner, I really do love my family, and my love for them penetrates my soul at a deep level. God has been very faithful to give me this crazy blended family and has gone over the top in blessing me with a wife who doubles as my best friend along with seven children (hers, mine, ours, and "others"). I love and pray for all of them each and every day.

As my heart has ever-so-gradually been pulled away from self-absorbed, worldly interests and become more invested in the lives of these others, though, I have found some of the words of Christ calling us to a commitment to Himself more and more challenging with every passing year.

To put it simply, the deepest longing of my heart is to stand as a friend of Jesus on That Great Day with my wife and all seven of the kids we love so deeply. Yes, I understand fully that we will not marry or be given in marriage in eternity (Matthew 22:30), but my heart is such that I long for God to at least set things up so Shelly and I are living in the same New Jerusalem ZIP code. And the same can be said for each of our children.

As much as I care for my wife and kids, however, I know all too well that I am called to give my primary allegiance to Jesus. In fact, Jesus makes it very clear that if we love our spouse and/or kids more than we love Him, we do not belong to Him (Matthew 10:35-37), and we should seriously begin to question our salvation (Matthew 7:21-23).

Never is this allegiance more sorely tested, I've found, than when someone we deeply love chooses to turn their back on Christ and deny the faith. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that the temptation is strong to start thinking crazy thoughts such as, "I can't imagine how Heaven will be any good if this person is not there. How could a loving God call me to share eternity with Him...and deny me this person I love?"

Working for The Crossing in the context of separation and divorce ministries, I hear others give voice to this sort of thinking all the time. While this emotional response - particularly in the aftermath of separation - is entirely understandable and reveals a true heart of deep love and concern, the problem is that it often simultaneously reveals a heart that longs more for the presence of another person in their lives than the presence of God Himself.

As I write these blogs week after week, the faces and stories of people I know float in and out of my awareness. Oftentimes I will stop to pray for them along the lines of Ephesians 1, my desire being that they would know Christ personally, and that they would seek His Kingdom above everything else, that their hearts would be willing to "let goods and kindred go," if necessary, to be found "in Christ" and to become a blessing to others through that one, all-consuming relationship.

My heart goes out to anyone who has had to do just that, letting go of the hand of someone they dearly love in order to be faithful and obedient to Christ. I speak again from personal experience in saying that nothing is more painful than to consider that a loved one who has chosen darkness may very well never come back to the light, but it is in that moment of separation that God pours out his grace upon us by the bucketful, blessing our pain with the knowledge and assurance that He is in control of every event, large or small, and is doing an infinitely better job of reconciling all of creation to His love than we could ever even begin to imagine.

While I am still learning much about how God has been unleashing His Kingdom in this world ever since Jesus inaugurated the renewal of all things with His resurrection, one thing I know for sure: God rewards those who set aside all earthly concerns and follow Him, regardless of cost. In the simplest-possible terms, and at the risk of being overly obvious, the words of Christ in Matthew 6:33 are "true truth." Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these "other things" will be added to you.

Does it hurt to let go of someone and "give them over" to the path they have chosen, when that path takes them away from us? Yeah, it really, really does hurt. As Christians, though, we need to accept the obvious truth that we are not God, and that God is working something out that we can scarcely imagine. Easier said than done, I know! How hard it is to stand at the crossroads and watch as our loved one takes a fork in the road, choosing a different path than the one that Christ is calling us to follow with Him. Instead of following hard after Jesus, the temptation is strong to stand at the intersection, calling after Jesus to slow down a bit while we beg and plead with the person we care about so deeply.

But Jesus will have none of that. We are instructed simply to "Follow!" He knows that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5), and He also knows that the single greatest blessing we can offer to the individuals in our lives is to cling even tighter to Christ and give Him our requests, day after painful day, trusting Him to work all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:6-7).

The mistake we make far too often is to think that the love we are providing to another human being is in any way, shape or form "better" than the plan that has been mapped out for that individual from before the foundations of the earth were laid. In a sense, refusing to follow Christ unless and until someone else agrees to go down that road with us is tantamount to making that individual more central to life than Christ Himself. (For helping that ugly truth finally stick to my soul, I am deeply indebted to Tim Keller for his book, Counterfeit Gods.)

Loving the Lord means loving both His mercies and His discipline, for us and for others. The level to which we will trust Him often shows up in our level of willingness to surrender our loved ones to His good plan. I cannot count the number of times I have advised hurting individuals to take their eyes off of their loved ones and set their gaze firmly on Christ, trusting that He will not lose anyone whom He has chosen (John 10:27-30, Romans 8:38-39).

I do not offer that advice to others lightly.

Please remember, I too have a family that I love, and I too know how much faith it takes to trust God with their very lives. There have been plenty of days that began with me preaching that truth to my own heart the instant that the morning alarm goes off: "Lord, help my heart to understand and accept your word, especially those words that cause me so much distress. Amen."

Matthew 10:34-39 (ESV)
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Luke 14:26-27 (ESV)
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."

Songs and Scenes from Sunday, February 12, 2012

This week's music set-list review features photos by Scott Myers. You'll find links in the song titles that will allow you to purchase recorded versions of the songs where available.

Doxology - Words: Thom­as Ken (1674), Music: Old 100th, Ge­ne­van Psalt­er (1551), Additional lyrics and Music by David A. Cover and Christine Cover

Praise the Father, praise the Son,
praise the Spirit, Three-in-One.
Praise the Father, praise the Son,
praise the Spirit, Three-in-One.
All creation sings your praise.

O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing by Charles Wesley (1739), Contemporary chorus by David Crowder and Jack Parker

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

Hosanna by Brooke Fraser

Heal my heart and make it clean.
Open up my eyes to the things unseen.
Show me how to love like You have loved me.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause.

Gerik Parmele produced this video about Angie Azzanni and her relationship with the children at Granny's House.

How Long to Save by Patrick K. Miller, Christine Cover and David A. Cover

You are my Rock, my firm foundation;
apart from You I will fall.
You are my strength. my sure salvation!
I love You, Lord

Lord, You Have My Heart - by Martin Smith

Lord, you have my heart
and I will search for yours
Jesus take my life and lead me on.
And I will praise You, Lord.
I will sing of love come down.
And as you show your face
we'll see Your glory here.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - Words: Robert Robinson (1758), Music: John Wy­eth (1813), Arrangement by Sufjan Stevens

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here there by Thy great help I've come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood.

Music and Tech Team for February 12, 2012:

Zach Burmaster - bass
David Cover - drums
Sadie Currey - violin
Ashley Gross - vocals
Rhett Johnson - electric guitar
Scott Johnson - piano, organ, vocals
Alyssa Kelly - vocals

Kenny Ashton - tech intern
Kameron Bong - tech assistant
Mike Contant - sermon media
Chris Halsey - lights
Darin Nichols - music media
Jake Wandel - stage and tech coordinator
Tim Worstell - sound

White Lies / Black Sin

I read a recent article about a study that found a strikingly large number of health care providers are not completely honest with their patients when it comes to mistakes. The study also found doctors frequently tell white lies when it comes to full disclosure of test findings and diagnoses. You can read the article here.

I have a somewhat applicable perspective of being both a health care provider and a patient, so I was interested in the dynamics of the study. It appears that over 55% of doctors have been more positive about a prognosis than tests warranted and over 10% have told patients something that simply isn’t true. Over 30% believe it is acceptable to withhold medical mistakes from patients and a comparable number believe it is OK to abstain from revealing financial ties to drug companies or medical device companies.

I was quite surprised by the numbers and would expect they are even higher than reported as most folks aren’t even completely honest in anonymous surveys! However, I would like to dissect the findings from two different perspectives and try to bring those two perspectives together into a clear example of the power of sin in our lives and in our relationships.

First, I think it is important to consider that most doctors become doctors to help people. Most doctors are also very smart. But, wanting to help people and being smart doesn’t make one a good communicator. The article does a good job of contextualizing the circumstances where white lies seem reasonable. I see this in my office everyday. Obviously, as an optometrist, I don’t have to tell people bad news all the time. That is one reason I chose optometry over medicine. However, on occasion, I do have to tell folks that they are going to go blind. Blindness, like many conditions, doesn’t typically happen overnight. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a doctor to perform various tests over time to allow a condition to declare itself before completely revealing the condition to the patient.

Most medical ethicists consider this approach to be practical medicine. It is equivalent to simply “wanting to be sure” instead of perpetually worrying the patient if the tests actually reveal the findings to be normal after all. The only thing more unsettling than being told you are going blind is being told that you are going blind and then sometime in the future being told that you are now, in fact, not going blind! It is absolutely amazing how many of my patients are on anti-anxiety medications and we as providers must be cognizant of how our communication affects the whole person in context.

The article does broach the topic of financial interests in products and treatments. It is common practice for a healthcare provider or researcher to reveal any financial interests when presenting case reports or research. Therefore, I consider it reasonable to also reveal those interests to patients. I believe that to be an ethical and moral responsibility. I believe it is also an ethical and moral responsibility to reveal medical mistakes to a patient. The article states the most common reason for not revealing mistakes is fear of litigation.

If we look at these two issues in a biblical context, we begin to see the common thread of fear weaving back and forth within the patient - doctor relationship. The type of fear that leads to anxiety is the same kind of fear that leads to white lies. Anxiety is the fear of losing control. Lies are considered necessary to maintain control. Both are sin.

In this commonality of fear, I believe we can see another clear example of how our view of the gospel truly affects our daily decisions. Consider an anxious patient who filter’s unexpected news through the truth of the gospel. No one wants to hear bad news, but those who are willing to lose their life to gain it simply are not as upset to find they may actually lose it. Consider a physician that has come to terms that only the Great Physician can truly heal eternally. That physician knows full well the fear of failure and the pursuit of control leads to misrepresentation and a breach of trust. Now, place those two individuals in a room together working together to come to an understanding of a condition and you can see a very practical picture of the power of the gospel overcoming the power of sin.

Steve Jobs and Abortion

Last month I finished reading a book that is now easily on my short list of one of the best biographies I’ve ever read. It’s Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs.”

But in this post I just want to make one observation from Jobs’ story, specifically as it relates to the issue of abortion.

Early in the book, in the first chapter, Isaacson is giving us a brief biography of Steve’s biological parents—a 23-year old U. of Wisconsin college student named Joanne Schieble, and a Syrian grad student named Abdulfattah Jandali. They were unmarried, and their relationship was also somewhat unstable at the time Joanne became pregnant with Steve.




I cite this paragraph from the chapter:

In the summer of 1954, Joanne went with Abdulfattah to Syria. They spent two months in Homs, where she learned from his family to cook Syrian dishes. When they returned to Wisconsin she discovered that she was pregnant. They were both twenty-three, but they decided not to get married. Her father was dying at the time, and he had threatened to disown her if she wed Abdulfattah. Nor was abortion an easy option in a small Catholic community. So in early 1955, Joanne traveled to San Francisco, where she was taken into the care of a kindly doctor who sheltered unwed mothers, delivered their babies, and quietly arranged closed adoptions.

Steve was later adopted by a childless couple in San Francisco named Paul and Clara Jobs. They were the parents who raised him. And the world would soon be very different because of it.

Later, in 1986, now a multimillionaire celebrity, Steve Jobs tracked down his biological mother, who by then was named Joanne Simpson by another marriage and living in Los Angeles.

In chapter 20, we read this:

So one day Jobs called Joanne Simpson, said who he was, and arranged to come down to Los Angeles to meet her. He later claimed it was mainlyout of curiosity. “I believe in environment more than heredity in determining your traits, but still you have to wonder a little about your biological roots,” he said. He also wanted to reassure Joanne that what she had done was all right. “I wanted to meet my biological mother mostly to see if she was okay and to thank her, because I’m glad I didn’t end up as an abortion. She was twenty-three and she went through a lot to have me.”

This chapter tells one of the most fascinating stories of the book, where Steve re-connects with his biological mother and meets an until-then unknown sister. But what interests me here is how grateful Steve Jobs was that his mother did not have an abortion. She gave birth, and Steve Jobs was given his life. And history was changed.

That's not an overstatement. Think of a world with no Steve Jobs. But also think of the world now without millions of people who were not given their lives but aborted. Thankfully, when Joanne was pregnant, she lived in a small Catholic community in Wisconsin where abortion was not an easy option. That’s changed now, of course, all across our nation. And so has history because of it. And we’ll never know just how. We’ll never know our loss.

But this gets to one of the biggest insanities of abortion—and that's its blind arrogance! We think we know best whether or not a human life is worth living. We think that at any single moment we can assess the value of an entire life. And that worth and value is determined at a relatively brief moment based upon immediate convenience.

Certainly there are times when a pregnancy should not necessitate motherhood. There are so many reasons why a woman may make the wiser choice not to be a mother, but rather, to give the baby to be adopted by another who so badly wants to be the parent of an unwanted baby. And in those cases, as with Paul and Clara Jobs, that unwanted birth becomes a life-changing, world-changing gift.

Astonishing Tales

Having been a comic book fan all my life, I sometimes look back with a bit of nostalgia at the conventions of the genre around the time that I was growing up.  Marvel Comics, for example, could publish a book with the title Astonishing Tales, and all the accompanying melodrama that came with it (note the numerous exclamation marks on the cover of the first issue).  If the tales weren’t exactly astonishing, the creators not doubt hoped they’d be entertaining enough to get by.

Likewise, I ran across a few different items this week that, if not rising to the level of astonishing, are still capable of raising eyebrows for a variety of reasons. 

1. How much is homemaking worth?

It looks like quite a bit.  A recent study conducted by Investopedia put the total value of annual homemaking duties—including things like cooking, cleaning, childcare, laundry services, and transportation—as worth $96,291 in the marketplace. 

The Gospel Coalition’s Matt Smethurst comments:

Proverbs 14:1 states: "The wise woman builds her house." While the monetary value and practical feasibility of full-time homemaking may vary from home to home, what remains constant is the irreplaceable significance of a homemaker's contributions. The Investopedia article concludes, "The daily work of a homemaker can sometimes be taken for granted....However, these services could earn a homemaker a considerable wage if he or she took those skills to the marketplace. Homemakers, in general, contribute a lot more to the home in addition to these tasks and no amount of money can fill those needs." 

Indeed, no study could ever fully quantify the service of a mother who "looks well to the ways of her household" (Prov. 31:27). At the very least, this research should prompt us to express fresh appreciation to those stay-at-home moms whom we love and who, though receiving little recognition in the eyes of the world, are faithful and treasured in the eyes of their King.

2. A Chorus of Outrage?

A number of people have written admirably about the recent controversy surrounding the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation’s decision to discontinue funding Planned Parenthood and subsequent backtrack a few days later.  New York Times columnist Ross Douthat was in typically good form.  Two excerpts: 

Conservative complaints about media bias are sometimes overdrawn. But on the abortion issue, the press’s prejudices are often absolute, its biases blatant and its blinders impenetrable. In many newsrooms and television studios across the country, Planned Parenthood is regarded as the equivalent of, well, the Komen foundation: an apolitical, high-minded and humanitarian institution whose work no rational person—and certainly no self-respecting woman—could possibly question or oppose.

But of course millions of Americans — including, yes, millions of American women — do oppose Planned Parenthood. They oppose the 300,000-plus abortions it performs every year (making it the largest abortion provider in the country), and they oppose its tireless opposition to even modest limits on abortion.
………

Even if some forms of partiality are inevitable, journalists betray their calling when they simply ignore self-evident truths about a story.

Three truths, in particular, should be obvious to everyone reporting on the Komen-Planned Parenthood controversy. First, that the fight against breast cancer is unifying and completely uncontroversial, while the provision of abortion may be the most polarizing issue in the United States today. Second, that it’s no more “political” to disassociate oneself from the nation’s largest abortion provider than it is to associate with it in the first place. Third, that for every American who greeted Komen’s shift with “anger and outrage” (as Andrea Mitchell put it), there was probably an American who was relieved and gratified.

I highly recommend reading the whole thing. 

3. A Deafening Silence? 

Meanwhile, Get Religion’s Mollie Hemmingway (another writer worth following consistently) noted the media’s contrasting tepid response to another issue important to people of faith.  In a Feb. 3rd post she wrote:

We recently learned of the significant ruling from the Obama administration that Catholic charities (including educational institutions and hospitals that serve the most needy) would be forced under threat of massive fines to offer health insurance benefits that deeply violate church teachings, including contraception, sterilization and abortifacients. The news was covered, a bit. But none of the networks covered the news when it broke, and, according to one media watchdog, still haven’t! In general, the coverage has been surprisingly restrained, even though 142 bishops (some 80% of dioceses) have vociferously condemned this action.

In a post the previous day, she drew the explicit contrast:

It’s just so interesting to me that when millions of Catholics were read letters from their bishops about the HHS mandate targeting Catholic groups, it took days for a few stories to trickle out. When Susan G. Komen announces that roughly $700,000 in grants will be targeted to groups other than Planned Parenthood next year, it couldn’t be bigger news. There are thousands of stories already written. It says something about what the media prioritizes as well as what it considers sacred. There’s an almost religious fervor at play here.

[Emphasis mine]

4. A Storm of Persecution

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and later immigrated to the Netherlands, where she was a member of the Dutch parliament from 2003 to 2006.  Her autobiography, Infidel, was a 2007 New York Times bestseller. The fact that she is an acknowledged atheist only makes her cover story in the current Newsweek more interesting.  An excerpt:

But a fair-minded assessment of recent events and trends leads to the conclusion that the scale and severity of Islamophobia pales in comparison with the bloody Christophobia currently coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other. The conspiracy of silence surrounding this violent expression of religious intolerance has to stop. Nothing less than the fate of Christianity—and ultimately of all religious minorities—in the Islamic world is at stake.

The bulk of the article details numerous examples of persecution against Christians in the Muslim world. 

5. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

What happens when, unbeknownst to their parents in the next room, two imaginative kids (ages 5 and 3) decide to break into the bundle of paper towels just purchased at Sam’s?  Oh, to laugh or cry....

It's only about four rolls. 

Checked Your Sandals Lately?

As a punk kid growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, I carried around a huge chip on my shoulder...and that's something of a polite understatement. The truth is that I was furious at the world and furious with God for the many "hardships" that I felt I was regularly forced to endure. Things were "never quite right" at school, or at home, or even in the church. There were good times as well as bad, certainly, but even the good times had, for me, something of an "anxious aftertaste" to them. Why, I wondered, had I been "singled out" for such a messed-up life? "Oh, poor me!" You know, that kind of thing.

In hindsight, of course, I can see very plainly how appalling and offensive my complaints were, how utterly lacking in gratitude was my heart, and how petty my unmet wants were when stacked up against the wants and needs of so many other people I regularly came into contact with. There were plenty of people living south of Eight Mile who would have jumped at the chance to trade places with me. In fact, there were probably a ton of people living on both sides of that societal-class dividing line who would have taken that deal. Nice house in the suburbs, new clothes every fall when school started, a vacation home on one of Northern Michigan's crystal-clear lakes...many people, given the chance, might well have asked, "What exactly is your problem, kid?"

The problem, as it turns out, was an advanced case of blindness.

Just like me and every other parent on the planet, my parents - may they both rest at home with the Lord - made some mistakes. Caught up in a cultural zeitgeist that included reevaluation, rebellion, riots and Roe vs. Wade, my parents pretty much let the three Mayer children run wild. Perhaps my older sisters stretched the boundaries ahead of me, but by the time I hit my teen years, just about anything went and, as a result, pretty much everything did go...and then some. I don't remember either of my parents spending much time trying to reason with me or draw a line from my behavior to my fearful status before the living God, but one impromptu theology lesson that actually stuck with me came from my father who - no doubt tired of my near-constant bellyaching - responded with one seemingly-simple question:

"Have you ever noticed that you have not gone hungry, not even one day of your life?"

Coming from my father, as it did, this was an unexpected tactic that even I could not take lightly. In the moment, I doubtless shot back with some horrid, petty, uncaring riposte, but even with all the surface-level teenage sturm und drang, this simple remark stuck to my heart like flypaper. I couldn't shake it, even though I very much would have liked to.

My father, you see, had spent his teenage years putting up with all kinds of unjust treatment at the hands of the Nazis, one of whom nearly shot him for losing control of the family's horse-drawn cart, relenting only in the face of my grandfather's impassioned pleas not to "waste a bullet" on their "stupid, careless son." After that, my father and his entire family had to flee eastward as the Soviets marched across Eastern Europe. (Like many European families in that tragic time period, my father's family feared the Russians even more than they had feared the Germans.)

All that to say that I knew full well that my father, in addition to many, many sufferings that he did not even wish to speak of, had endured actual, legitimate hunger. Not the kind of hunger one puts oneself through during times of fasting and prayer, and certainly not the kind of hunger that Americans will try to endure in the name of losing weight. No, this type of hunger was "the real deal," the kind of hunger that comes upon a person when they have no money and, even if they did, there's nothing left to buy, anyway.

What was most effective about my father's remark was that he did not revisit in gory detail any of his childhood suffering by telling me about it; he merely pointed to the fact that I had never once gone without food. While there may well have been many other things that were arguably wrong about the way I was being raised, his point was powerfully made: "Even in your rebellion, you have always been clothed and fed."

Sadly, my life as a teenager compares quite favorably to the murmurings of the Israelites after God liberated them with a mighty hand and outstretched arm (Deuteronomy 4:34-35). Honestly, I sometimes get annoyed whenever my wife and I go through the book of Exodus together; it can really tick me off how frequently the people of God grumble and complain (Exodus 15:24; 16:2-3; 17:2-3; Numbers 11:1-2; 11:4-6; 12:1-2; 14:1-3; 14:41-42; 16:3-4; 16:41-45; 20:2-3; 21:4-5). If I am honest about it, though, what really ticks me off about the blindness of the Israelites is that it puts a finger squarely on my own shortcomings, reminds me yet again how blessed my life has been, and yet how quick I am to lose sight of God's blessings. Truly, how appalling it is to live in one of the most privileged cultures known to human history and yet shake a finger at God, demanding that He make right all of the broken relationships, financial strains and other petty concerns prior to my giving Him my whole heart, as if my withholding my affection for God hurts anyone other than me.

There is a verse in Deuteronomy 8 that never fails to remind me of my father's deceptively-simple observation. Deuteronomy 8:4 calls the attention of the grumbling Israelites to a very obvious sign, one that they had perhaps neglected to notice among all of the time spent lodging complaints against Moses, Aaron and the great I AM they were serving: "Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years." (ESV) True, you've been wandering in a desert absolutely devoid of shopping malls and yet, as it turns out, the stuff you left Egypt with held together for forty (40) years. Forty years! You would think that someone, somewhere along the way, would have noticed that their clothing had so far outlasted the manufacturer's warranty. Nope...apparently not.

My life is just like yours, or anyone else's. As you read this, there are plenty of things going sideways, no shortage of things that are not turning out the way that I had planned. My strongest temptation, then, is to focus in on those areas where it would seem to me as though "God is letting me down," and determine for myself that God can't really be God as long as Problem A and Relationship B are not entirely mended to my satisfaction. Taking this thinking to its logical conclusion, then, there would be no God available to worship unless and until all of my problems had been fixed such that I could relax and unwind in my own personal heaven, right here and now.

Rather than give in to that particular type of stupidity, then, I think it's probably better to ask God to give me vision to see how faithful He has been to me, even in the midst of conflict, heartbreak, anxiety and disappointment. Yes, there are plenty of things to worry about each and every day, but whenever I am tempted to despair, I remind myself of the grumbling heart and how it acts like an aggressive, lethal cancer on a life of faith. If we have been given eyes to see, it is no stretch whatsoever to find evidence of God's faithfulness to us, even as we have been murmuring against Him. I can't recall my earthly father ever once withholding food as a punishment, even though I know I well deserved to be brought up short somehow.

For anyone reading this who has found themselves in my shoes - eyes firmly fixed on what's wrong with their life and wondering why God won't make it go away - I would encourage them to ask God to open their eyes, breathe life into their rebellious hearts, and calmly point to the sandals that have been covering their feet all along.

Deuteronomy 8:1-10
The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

Songs and Scenes from Sunday, February 5, 2012

This week's Songs and Scenes review features photos provided by Gerik Parmele. You'll find links in the song titles that will allow you to purchase recorded versions of the songs where available.

We began our service with prayer (adapted from the Worship Sourcebook) asking God open our eyes to see Jesus for who he is.

Open our eyes, Lord, to see Your glory.
Open our ears, to hear Your wisdom.
Open our mouths, to sing Your praise.
Open our hearts, to receive Your love.

Here I Am to Worship by Tim Hughes

Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness,
opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You,
hope of a life spent with You.
Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down,
here I am to say that You're my God.

The Christ, Our Light by Martin Reardon

When all was dark and without dawn
You gave us Light, you sent your Son.
The Christ, the Christ, He shines, He shines
to take our sins away, away.

We confessed our sins by praying Psalm 130 together.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.

Since I Am So Sick by Don Chafer

Unto You, oh Lord, I lift up my soul.
In Your loving-kindness I believe.
Surely those who wait on You
will never be ashamed.
All of those who call on You
will know the faithfulness of Your name.

The Gospel Song by Drew Jones and Bob Kauflin

Holy God, in love, became
perfect Man to bear my blame.
On the cross He took my sin.
By His death I live again.

The apostle Paul's assurance from 2 Corinthians 5:21 (adapted) was a reminder of our forgiveness and hope because of Jesus Christ's once for all sacrifice on the cross.

For our sake God made Jesus Christ to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash

He became sin, who knew no sin;
that we might become His righteousness;
He humbled Himself, and carried the cross.
Love so amazing, love so amazing.

Jesus, Messiah, Name above all names,
Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel.
The Rescue for sinners. The Ransom from heaven.
Jesus Messiah, Lord of all.

Holy (Jesus, You Are) by Jason Ingram, Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin

Your name alone has power to raise us.
Your light will shine when else fades.
Our eyes will look on Your glorious face,
shining like the sun? Who is like you God?

You are holy, holy, holy
God most high and God most worthy.
You are holy, holy, holy
Jesus, You are. Jesus, You are.

Music and Tech Team for February 5, 2012:

Taylor Bonderer - violin
Andrew Camp - vocals, acoustic guitar
Kristen Camp - vocals
David Cover - electric guitars
Nick Havens - bass
Scott Johnson - piano, organ, vocals
Andrew Luley - drums
Shane Murphy - cello

Kameron Bong - tech assistant
Addison Hawkins - sound
Ken Kroll - lights
Michael Novak - sermon media
Jake Wandel - stage and tech coordinator

Fighting "The Man" that Jesus Died For

A lot has already been written about Jefferson Blethke and his poetic attempt to express his devotion to Christ even while he denies the church, an attempt that went viral on YouTube (see here). Even others on ESI have written very intelligently about this video, and I feel completely inadequate (and largely unmotivated) to the task of adding anything of value to the theological discussions swirling around it.

However, New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks had a really interesting write-up yesterday about Blethke and his recent capitulation in response to the dissenters of his message. Brooks has an interesting perspective on the whole debate, but my thoughts went in a different direction. (Probably not nearly as intelligent or maybe even original – but I'll share them, nonetheless.)

I would encourage you to read his entire piece, "How to Fight The Man," but here's a relevant portion:

Bethke watched a panel discussion in which some theologians lamented young people's disdain of organized religion. "Right when I heard that," he (Blethke) told The Christian Post, "it just convicted me, and God used it as one of those Spirit moments where it's just, 'Man, he's right.' I realized a lot of my views and treatments of the church were not Scripture-based; they were very experience based."

Bethke's passionate polemic and subsequent retreat are symptomatic of a lot of the protest cries we hear these days. This seems to be a moment when many people - in religion, economics and politics - are disgusted by current institutions, but then they are vague about what sorts of institutions should replace them.

We can all theorize why the intense desire for change has so far produced relatively few coherent recipes for change. Maybe people today are simply too deferential. Raised to get college recommendations, maybe they lack the oppositional mentality necessary for revolt. Maybe people are too distracted.

My own theory revolves around a single bad idea. For generations people have been told: Think for yourself; come up with your own independent worldview. Unless your name is Nietzsche, that's probably a bad idea. Very few people have the genius or time to come up with a comprehensive and rigorous worldview.

I think the overarching point of Brooks' theory - that if you want to be a rebel and oppose "the man," you might put more than your own experience and five minutes of thought into your rebellion - is a valid one, but as I read his editorial, I thought his question has a fairly obvious answer...at least, from a Christian worldview, it does.

The question is, "Why does an intense desire for change produce so few coherent recipes for change?" My answer, though potentially simplistic, would be that any other "recipes for change" would be equally flawed, just in different ways, because we live in a broken world. Institutions, policies, governments, organizations and people - especially people - are flawed.

Is the church messy, hypocritical, complicated and hopelessly imperfect? Yeah. Of course. "The church" is made up of sinners, every one of us. "The church" in its purest form - which I will very loosely define as faithful believers of Christ who believe in his sinless life, atoning death and resurrection, and who are seeking to genuinely live out life together in the pursuit of serving Him for His glory - is still going to make mistakes.

From the very beginning, the followers of Christ have lived in community (Acts 2:42-46). I don't think it's because within community there aren't failures and mistakes. However, I do believe that living outside of community is dangerous. Outside of community - and that is what the church is, a community - we are left on our own to perceive accurately, judge rightly and respond confidently based on our own perceptions.

Dave Cover had a great illustration in his sermon a few months ago that makes the point. He showed a video clip done by National Public Radio that compiled the result of several studies showing what happens when a person is blindfolded and then asked to simply walk (or drive, or swim) in a straight line. Without the ability to fix themselves on an end point, the result, time and time again, is that the blindfolded person will start out going straight, but will inexplicably begin to turn and will eventually go in circles. The most interesting point of the studies, to me, is that the blindfolded person, while turning in circles, is convinced in and of themselves that they are still going straight.

Dave asked the congregation, "What does it say about our own sense of guidance, direction and intuition? Well, I think it says it's for sure wrong." I completely agree.

Dave, this study, and God's word (Jeremiah 17:9) are all pointing to the same truth - on our own, we can't possibly judge what's right and wrong, because we are hopelessly trapped in our own logic, bound by our own experiences, held back by our own finiteness, blind to our own blindness. We need outside wisdom. We need each other's help more than we even know.

Like Blethke, you might have problems with the way in which organized religion has failed humanity historically in various ways and at various times. You might criticize one particular denomination for beliefs you don't think are biblical, or churches whose priorities may not seem in line with what Christ is calling us to.

Brooks posed the question as to why the anemic protests of individuals create so few relevant "new options." That's not what I would ask in response to Jefferson Blethke and anyone else standing outside "the church" and throwing rocks it. What I might say is, "So you see some problems inside the Body of Christ? Great! When are you going to walk through the door and invest your heart, soul, mind and strength, to the glory of God, to work alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ to solve them?"

Get involved and join the flawed, sinful folks in that church in serving their community. Seek the greater good of the Body of Christ by becoming a part of it, as best a flawed, sinful person such as yourself can.

Hebrews 10:19-24 (note the many uses of us, we and our in this passage)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

One Smart Ex-Slave

I first came across this letter in a Yale class on the Civil War that I listened to through iTunes U. I recently saw it again on the Letters of Note blog and thought it was too good to not to pass on to you. It's a must read.

What Your Heaven Looks Like and Why It Matters

Quick, what’s heaven look like in your mind?  Your first impression likely speaks volumes about your theology, so to speak, of God’s coming kingdom.

Admittedly, though, I’ve already prejudiced your answer with the way I’ve asked the question.  While it’s true that most Christians think reflexively of “heaven” as the place where God will spend eternity with his people, “the new heavens and the new earth” is more biblically accurate.  As it turns out, the stock scene of fluffy white clouds, golden haloes, and chubby little angels has almost nothing to do with the reality of what will be.  No, the Bible allows us glimpses of a renewed physical world that we inhabit, not as ethereal ghosts, but as gloriously embodied creatures (see, e.g., Rev. 21-22, 1 Cor. 15, Rom. 8:18-25). That is the Christian’s destiny. 

Fortunately, according to Eric O. Jacobsen, more and more evangelicals are coming to understand this point, and that has some important ramifications:

This eschatological* paradigm shift helps to combat some of the Gnostic tendencies inherent in evangelical theology. Evangelicals have been tempted to believe that to be spiritual is to deny or ignore the parts of our lives that have to do with our physical existence. But when we think of eternity in the context of a real physical place, we tend to take the physicality of our lives more seriously in the here and now.

*“Eschatology” refers to the theology or study of “last things,” i.e., Christ’s return, the consummation of his kingdom, the eternal state of believers and unbelievers, etc.

This is a tremendous gain.  Forgetting that it was God himself who fashioned man with a physical body and called it “very good,” the church has often failed to reflect properly on any number of good and necessary ramifications of our bodily existence.  For example, things like art and sex, inherently good gifts when used properly, have sometimes been neglected or misunderstood.  Likewise, there lurks a continuing danger to view vocations with obvious links to the physical world as somehow inferior to others, which in turn fosters dissatisfaction and/or guilt in those pursuing them.

But even if we’ve made progress in this regard, Jacobsen says we’re still liable to make a further error:

Evangelicals have also been tempted to think of their eternal reward as a return to the simplicity of Eden, more than a journey to the New Jerusalem. We have longed for pristine naturalistic settings of fields and forests and the simplicity of the organic nuclear family as the context of our eternal existence.

We have pictured heaven in these terms, rather than making room in our imagination for good (read: God-honoring) cultural developments and the beautiful complexities (read: shalom) of life in the society of others as the context of our future existence.

He continues a bit later:

I call this tendency an "over-ruralized eschatology," because it ignores the urban images of the eschaton that we find in the Bible (Revelation 21:10 and Zechariah 8:4, for instance) in favor of the rural and domestic images that many find more comforting. While I don't want to deny the possibility of rural beauty and even domestic bliss in the eschaton, the problem I have with ignoring the urban in our eschatology is simply that it isn't very biblical. No matter our aesthetic tastes, the story of our salvation goes from a garden to a city, not from a garden to a backyard.

As Jacobsen suggests, at least one possible result of holding to an “over-ruralized eschatology” (there’s your five dollar theological phrase for the day) is a prejudice, even if subtle, against that which is man-made.  This includes what we normally think of as technology and its fruits, everything from computers and the buildings we use them in to cars and the roads we drive them on. 

In answer to this, Jacobsen is right to point to the trajectory of the biblical story.  What begins in a garden (apparently uncultivated to some degree) does indeed end with a city, into which we will bring “the glory and honor of the nations” (Rev. 21:26).  But we should note something further.  The end is the natural and appropriate result of God’s activity at the beginning.  God, supremely creative himself, created mankind in his own image.  Not only so, but he commanded is to both fill and “subdue” the earth.  The sense of this latter point is one of discovering and rightly cultivating the potential God has placed within the world.  In short, we were made (designed) to discover, invent, create, construct, and the like. 

So while we at times rightly seek to preserve aspects of our natural world that reflect the glory and goodness of our creator, we may also ultimately reflect this same glory and goodness by not leaving the world the way we found it.  In this way, both apples and architecture carry divine fingerprints.  We shouldn’t be surprised if we enjoy both in eternity.

Does Anyone Ever Really Change?

As someone working primarily in marital and/or substance abuse ministries at The Crossing, almost all of the people that I spend time with are very much genuinely interested in change. They already are, by and large, committed to the idea that "something has got to give." Perhaps the change they believe is needed is someone else's, and they are not all that interested in change for themselves, personally. Whatever the scenario, the question that seems to weigh heavily on everyone's mind is, "Is personal change and renewal really even a possibility?"

When the situation has involved years of pain, abuse, betrayal and/or sorrow as a result of sin, this question is particularly poignant. Particularly whenever people ask this question - in whatever form - what they are really asking is whether or not a person's heart-level motivations can be redeemed and renewed, or (as many fear) are we instead forever enslaved to the personal-evil treadmill that we find ourselves walking on?

Of course, it can readily be demonstrated that it is possible to change what's going on at a surface level, and it is even possible to enforce change in someone else's life as well. Initiating a divorce, for example, forces severe, negative life changes on several people - not just the two spouses. Or, if someone has been convicted of a crime, removing them from society with a long prison sentence can also effectively enforce a surface-level change. In both cases, however, it is all too possible to endure surface-level changes - desirable or otherwise - and be left absolutely the same as we were before.

When asking about the possibility of change, then, what most people are really after is a straight, no-nonsense answer to the question of whether or not anyone's root-level desires and proclivities can "really" be reached with the truth of the gospel. "This guy's been like this forever...why should I think he'll ever be any different?"

Now add to this the deep confusion caused by conversion experiences that, after a few months, seem to "wear off," or the perception that a true conversion is "a bit too conveniently timed." I like to use an analogy - borrowed from the DivorceCare curriculum – that compares insincere faith to whitewashing a rotting barn; from the highway, the barn looks pretty good! But when you get up close and start scratching at the wood with your fingers, the inner rot causes it to immediately give way under a more-careful inspection.

As we attempt to determine the authenticity of heart- and soul-level change in another person, I really think it's worth bearing a few things in mind. It's also important that we immediately make a distinction between 1) gospel truths and, 2) the individuals who claim them.

The Truths of Scripture are unshakeable, "true truth," not subject to doubt or second-guessing. The individuals who assert these truths for themselves are in an entirely different category of reliability. Someone who claims Jesus but continues to betray their marriage vows by committing adultery, for example, doesn't invalidate the gospel truth, but rather the sincerity of their faith. After all, Judas Iscariot walked with Christ for three years, served as treasurer for the disciples, and witnessed all of the same miracles that Peter did.

So, with that, four quick thoughts:

1. Denying the possibility of authentic, soul-level change is nothing short of a denial of Scripture. Again, it is important to distinguish between what the Bible says and how different people in our lives are applying those truths...or perhaps further blaspheming the Lord by attributing His work to a self-applied sugar-coating glossed over the manipulations of our own hearts. If you deny the possibility of soul-level change, then you have to tear all the letters of Paul, Peter, and John out of your New Testament. (And get rid of Acts 9 while you're at it.)
   
   
2. Authentic soul-level changes will stand the test of time. In simple terms, if I have genuinely been reborn in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), then my conversion experience is permanent. Even if all of the outer trappings of my life should all fall apart, even if everyone I love should desert me and/or become an enemy, my life in Christ will remain (Colossians 3:3-4). I will be kept by Christ, period (1 Peter 1:3-5).
   
   
3. Soul-level change is not contingent on the response of others. The person who has been given a new heart will certainly be concerned to maintain and/or repair relationships, but the restoration of those relationships will not be ultimate. In other words, the renewed heart actively seeks to redeem and restore, but does not hang the legitimacy of its faith on a desired outcome. Whenever you find a place in your heart that essentially says, "I can't believe that Jesus is my Lord if such-and-such happens," then you have effectively made "such-and-such" your functional Savior; Jesus has been demoted to "supporting player" in your personal plan of redemption. (See Tim Keller's Counterfeit Gods for an in-depth study of this all-too-common phenomenon.)
   
   
4. Authentic change stands up to scrutiny. The truly-transformed person does not fear inspection (Psalm 139:23), exhortation and/or rebuke (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Proverbs 15:31-32). The man or woman who has been truly transformed is an open book (Matthew 5:33-37) and regularly submits to examination to ensure that they have not strayed from Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5; Proverbs 11:14). In fact, the authentic believer welcomes examination, and sees it as a potential opportunity to grow closer to the Lord. Of course, none of this comes as an overnight change, but more and more a heart captured by Christ will seek to more often live in the light, work to speak truth and live openly, etc.

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive. These four simple principles are written from the perspective of someone who works in ministries that regularly bring me into contact with people who typically have a fairly serious interest in "obfuscating the truth," or at least diverting my attention away from their sins and onto the sins of someone else. As a result, I tend to place a fairly high value on the idea that real, Christ-driven change will bear fruit over time. This longer-term view can sometimes be frustrating when temporal realities are pressing for decisions to be made. ("Do we get back together...or divorce?")

So, does anyone ever really change? I mean, really change?

Yes, of course they do. The radically-transformed life has been, throughout the ages, one of the most powerful apologetics for the Truth of Christ and the reality of the work of His Holy Spirit in the hearts of humankind. When we allow ourselves to believe that Christ is not powerful enough to change our hearts, or at least the heart of this particular person, we have an awful lot of faithful Christians to explain away. Chances are strong that you personally know someone whose life has been dramatically changed, whose trajectory toward death and destruction was inexplicably altered toward faith in Christ and service to others. That certainly is John Newton's story, and many, many others.

Jesus calls us to be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). I have to think that there were a ton of frightened Christians who labored mightily to believe that Saul, the same guy who had been imprisoning and killing off early Christians, had been miraculously transformed into the Apostle Paul. It was probably only after Paul gladly endured suffering for the sake of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:21-33; Colossians 1:24-29) that the authenticity of his faith was assured in the minds of many. While we are called to give those around us the benefit of the doubt when they claim a renewed heart in Christ, it just seems wise to let time (and troubles!) flesh out the truth. As believers, then, we can gladly welcome all who come to faith...we just might be wise not to "hand over the car keys" for a bit.

Matthew 10:26-27 (ESV)
"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops."

Songs and Scenes from Sunday, January 29, 2012

This week's Songs and Scenes review features photos graciously provided by Scott Myers. You'll find links in the song titles that will allow you to purchase recorded versions of the songs where available.

All Creatures of Our God and King - Words by Francis of Assisi (cir­ca 1225), Arrangement by David Crowder

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

I Sing the Mighty Power of God - Words: Isaac Watts (1715), Music and Additional Chorus: Scott Johnson, Keith Scherer, Andrew Camp, Steve Hendershot and Andrew Luley

I sing the mighty power of God,
that made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at God’s command,
and all the stars obey.

With Melting Heart and Weeping Eyes - Words by John Fawcett (1740-1817), Music by Clint Wells

Does not Thy sacred word proclaim,
salvation free in Jesus' name?
To Him I look and humbly cry,
"Lord, save a wretch condemned to die.
Lord, save this wretch condemned to die."

Christ is Risen by Matt Maher and Mia Fieldes

Oh death! Where is your sting?
Oh hell! Where is your victory?
Oh Church! Come stand in the light!
The glory of God has defeated the night!

Oh death! Where is your sting?
Oh hell! Where is your victory?
Oh Church! Come stand in the light!
Our God is not dead, he's alive! he's alive!

Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash

His body the bread, his blood the wine,
broken and poured out all for love.
The whole earth trembled, and the veil was torn.
Love so amazing, love so amazing.

Jesus, Messiah, Name above all names,
Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel.
The Rescue for sinners. The Ransom from heaven.
Jesus Messiah, Lord of all.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - Words by Isaac Watts (1749), Music by Lowell Mason (1824)

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

Music Team for Sunday, January 29, 2012:

Zak Burmaster - bass
Lacey Burrell - vocals
David Cover - electric guitar
Scott Johnson - keyboard, vocals
Andrew Luley - drums
Alison Tatum - violin
Brynne Whittaker - vocals

Get Your Kids a Nook

If you have children, I am pretty sure you have struggled with how to balance the mass onslaught of technological noise vying for your child’s attention. Xbox, Nintendo, Playstation, Ipod, Ipad, etc. A recent study found that children between the ages of 8 to 18 spend 53 hours a week on electronic media. Technology is a way of life for the children of this age. It can be an amazing conduit for innovation and imagination, but it can also encourage isolation and social ineptitude.

My wife and I enjoy the modern conveniences technology affords. We have also come to realize the humbling fact that children become who they are primarily through genetics and environment... and we as parents provide both! Sure, it is natural for our children to gravitate towards cool electronic toys like their dad! However, I want to be sure their time is spent wisely and the use of technology is respected as a privilege and not a right. For example, we strive to make TV watching an event for the whole family. The TV simply doesn’t stay on all the time. We don’t need more distraction...trust me.

We enjoy watching shows like Planet Earth on Discovery and my daughter enjoys watching House Hunters with my wife. We try to catch the MU games together and we get a kick out of watching American Idol as a group as well. And, just because we simply can’t get enough of watching our own kids laugh, we will put up with America’s Funniest Home Videos.

What we try to avoid is our kids disappearing into a room with a laptop or Ipod. The computer is in a room out in the open where everyone in the house congregates. My son has a laptop in his room, but it has a kids specific web browser and will not allow him to log in after 9:00 pm. Your computer probably has similar settings. Take a look and you will be surprised how easy it is to set parental controls on most computers.

One of our recent successes in the tech parenting department was getting our 11 and 8 year old a Nook simple touch reader. At $99 bucks it is a steal and most of the books are under 10 bucks. My 11 year old has read over 20 full length books since he received the Nook for his birthday in September. My daughter devours Junie B books by the dozen. Here is the kicker; with the simple touch reader, there are no options other than reading. Sure, there are better E-readers out there like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, but you will never know if your kid is reading or playing Angry Birds. When our kids have the simple touch reader in hand, we know they are either reading, sleeping, or daydreaming (and we are OK with any of those).


No deep theological discussions here today, just plain ole’ common sense. I know my best days are typically filled with both. Know you are not alone as you struggle to make the right decision for your kids. It is completely reasonable, and is in fact imperative, for you to set boundaries. Our lives as adults are defined by boundaries and we do our kids a disservice if we don’t adequately prepare them in self assessment of how they balance their own time.

John Wesley: Man of Contradictions

This morning I finished a biography on John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) by Stephen Tomkin. It's a relatively short book that's very well written and manages to paint a picture of both Wesley's strengths and weaknesses. If your paradigm for Christian leaders (or anyone for that matter) is that they are either "good" or "bad," this book will challenge your categories.

Wesley was a man of great faith with a relentless drive to spread the gospel and yet had significant sins and shortcomings. In that sense he is a perfect example of all of us. One of my church history professors at Trinity told my class that one of the benefits of studying the past is that it helps us understand that the best men are sinners and the worst sinners are still men made in the image of God.

Wesley's passion to spread the gospel in England drove him to ride on horseback over 250,000 miles, give away 30,000 British Pounds, and preach more than 40,000 sermons. He preached generosity to the poor and adopted that as his own lifestyle. Although he eventually made quite a bit of money off of his theological writings, he died almost penniless not because he had squandered the money but because he quickly gave it all away lest it corrupt him.

He was a man of great courage refusing to stop preaching Christ even in the face of death threats. On more than one occasion he preached while rocks were being hurled at him. To really appreciate Wesley you have to understand that the official state Anglican church had in many ways succumbed to dead orthodoxy. Through Wesley's ministry and influence people were introduced to "religion of the heart" which is nothing more than a real personal faith in the gospel. By the time of his death there were 72,000 Methodists in England and another 60,000 in America.

And yet Wesley's weaknesses were as great as his strengths. His marriage to a widow named Molly with four kids was nothing short of a disaster as he abandoned her for long stretches and always kept relationships with other women that made her jealous and uncomfortable. His stubbornness put him at odds with his brother Charles and they spent many years hardly communicating. Theologically he embraced the dangerous and unbiblical doctrine of perfectionism. In relationships with other pastors he was not trustworthy attacking his one time ally George Whitfield over the issue of predestination.

What do you do with John Wesley? I think that you learn that he's not that much different than anyone you know including yourself. Every person, every Christian leader is a mixed bag. Knowing this keeps us from idolizing any human being and reserving our worship for Jesus alone.

Read Tomkin's biography to learn much more about John Wesley.