10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)

I have had two different people in the last three days tell me that we need to sing this song by Matt Redman at The Vine.

I bought it and I agree.  We will be singing this at The Vine.

You can get the song here.  The whole album here.

Lyrics:

Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship you holy name


The sun comes up
Its a new day dawning
Its time to sing your song again
What ever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes


Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name


You're rich in love and you're slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind
For all your goodness I will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find


Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul


Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name


And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Soon my soul will sing your praise un-ending
10,000 years and there forever more


Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name


Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name (repeat 3x)


Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name (repeat 3x)

One:27 Stories

Amazing video here.

We Can't Avoid Theological Rigor

Eric McKiddie:

Pastors and congregants alike often use the “we will never fully know” excuse to marginalize the practical value of certain theological topics. This trump card brings to a screeching halt conversations about eschatology or the relationship between divine sovereignty and human freedom.

But just because we can’t fully know something, does that mean we shouldn’t learn as much as we can about it?

Speaking of how the divine Son was able to be incarnated into fallen flesh, T.F. Torrence says, “Here we are faced with something we can never fully understand, but it is something that we must seek to understand as far as we can” (Incarnation, 62).

We must seek to understand it as far as we can.

Even though some theological topics contain more mystery than others, there is always more that we can understand about them.

So let’s bring our theological A game even to the most mysterious doctrines.

Well said. Eric has a great blog that I would encourage you to check out.

A Picture of Jesus - Joe Louis on a Bus

This story is from John Dickson' book, Humilitas, which I have heard is quite strong.

Three young men hopped on a bus in Detroit in the 1930s and tried to pick a fight with a lone man sitting at the back of the vehicle. They insulted him. He didn't respond. They turned up the heat of the insults. He said nothing. Eventually, the stranger stood up.

He was bigger than they had estimated from his seated position — much bigger. He reached into his pocket, handed them his business card and walked off the bus and then on his way. As the bus drove on the young men gathered around the card to read the words: Joe Louis. Boxer. They had just tried to pick a fight with the man who would be Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World from 1937 to 1949, the number one boxer of all time, according to the International Boxing Research Organization (second on the list is Muhammad Ali).

Here is a man of immense power and skill, capable of defending his honour with a single, devastating blow. Yet, he chooses to forgo his status and hold his power for others — in this case, for some very fortunate young men...

Read more here.

(via)

Irony Here? Pastor Loses Temper While Reading Scripture About God's Love

Yet another reminder to turn your cell phone off in church.



(HT: Ed Stetzer)

On Churches and Numbers

As a new church planter, the struggle to maintain a healthy view concerning the number of people at your church is ever present. As a leadership team, we have been preaching to ourselves that the primary orientation of our hearts in reference to this struggle should be a resolve to simply be faithful to what God has called the church to be and to seek to do that over the course of decades.  Faithfulness is the goal.  Faithfulness in evangelism, discipleship, love, and service.  When that happens, the church happens.

This quote was encouraging to me along those lines.

Reviewing, then, the teaching of the New Testament, one would have to say that, on the one hand, there is joy in the rapid growth of the church in its earliest days, but that, on the other hand, there is no evidence that the numerical growth of the church is a matter of primary concern.

There is no shred of evidence in Paul’s letters to suggest that he judged the churches by the measure of their success in rapid numerical growth, nor is there anything comparable to the strident cries of some contemporary evangelists that the salvation of the world depends upon the multiplication of believers.

There is an incomparable sense of seriousness and urgency as the apostle contemplates the fact that he and all people “must appear before the judgment seat of Christ” and as he acknowledges the constraint of Jesus’ love and the ministry of reconciliation that he has received (2 Cor. 5:10-21). But this nowhere appears as either an anxiety or an enthusiasm about the numerical growth of the church.

Lesslie Newbign, The Open Secret, 126.

Kevin DeYoung reflects on this quote here.

10 Ways to Love Your Kids

Great post here from Rachel Jankovic.

On a similar note, my wife is currently reading Rachel's book, Loving The Little Years.  She has been loving it and recommending it a lot.  I just asked her what she would say about this book.   Here is what Kim said:

"The book is very challenging yet encouraging. Not fluff and great illustrations and word pictures. It's all about your own heart being right in reference to your kids even while you are in the midst of the exhausting trials of motherhood. She is concise and poignant. Motherhood is not all warm and fuzzy and that is acknowledged but there is strong encouragement here as well."

The State of Christian Hip-Hop

Elections Do Have Consequences

Denny Burk:

Elections do have consequences. And all those who were arguing in 2008 that candidate Obama would favor policies that reduce abortions have been proven tragically wrong. Not only has he adopted policies that will expand abortions, he is favoring laws that coerce Christians into funding abortions. President Obama’s latest actions are an appalling overreach that will have sad implications for pro-life Christians. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a President open up a more radical and intrusive attack on religious liberty and on unborn human life than what we are witnessing right now.

Read the rest.

Dunk of the Day (If Not The Year?)

This is freak-nasty good.

I Can Relate To This (Most Musicians Can)

(HT: 22 Words)

A Good Summation of All Blog Arguing.

(HT:  Todd Rhodes)

Why John Piper Isn't a Millionaire

Denny Burk:

John Piper preached a sermon yesterday on giving that I hope everyone will listen to. It is the only time I have ever heard him talk with specificity about how he spends his own money. He acknowledges the risk of sharing his own story but rightly concludes it is worth the risk to share.

Piper says that he gives away all of the copyrights to the books that he writes to the Desiring God Foundation. So he gets none of the royalties from his books. Why does he do this? Because he knows he would be a millionaire if he didn’t, and he doesn’t trust his own heart with those kinds of riches. For Piper, the issue is not how much money you make but how much you keep. He is apparently keeping very little.

This is one of the reasons why Piper is a hero to me. I know that Piper is just a regular guy; he’s human and sinful like the rest of us. Still, he’s a regular guy who fights with all his might to pursue his joy in God. God, help us all to do the same.

You can watch the message below, listen below, or download here.

Truth, Debate, Unity, and The Elephant Room

Joe Thorn has a well written piece today on his blog in reference to the above title.

Because theology is so critical to the life of God’s people, dialog and debate are very necessary components in the life of the church. Most of the debating that happens in the church today seems to be between solid Christian apologists, like James White or William Lane Craig, and those outside of the protestant faith. Good stuff. But it would be good for us to have more of it going on in-house. Debate is good among friends who disagree, and between men on totally different teams. Debate and dialog force us hold up our theology or practice up against another man’s with the aim of truth winning out. It’s not just a testing of our positions, practices, ideas and arguments, but a public testing of such things that benefits the audience.

Public discourse is hard, and we seem to prefer to talk about one another, rather than to one another. Perhaps it takes too much humility and courage to put yourself out there for debate. Or, maybe it’s just too much work. Either way, the church needs to do better at conversing with one another from different families and theologies.

This doesn’t mean we should come together to hold hands, striving for unity apart from truth. In fact, it requires that we ask hard questions, confront error, admit where we are, and where we disagree.

Read the rest and read some of his suggestions for making the event better.

One thing I completely agree with Joe on is our need to have more public face to face discussion/debates between different people from different tribes/camps.  Let's talking around each other and more talking to each other, in public.

Think of how much ground could have been covered if Rob Bell and one of his most prominent and public critics of "Love Wins" would have got in a room and talked for two hours and then had that broadcast on the web.  I know this happened a little bit in last year but everyone could benefit from it happening way more.

On a different note, Joe has written a very helpful little book called Note To Self.  If you don't have it you'll want to pick it up.

How do you discern the conversion of a child?

Brian Croft:

There are commonly 2 extremes as we all wrestle with this question. The first is the careless lack of discernment of many churches who have an alter call for 4-5 year olds, ask them to raise their hand if they love Jesus, then baptize them as converted followers of Jesus. The other extreme often results from the carelessness of the first.

This extreme prevents both parents and pastors to be willing to affirm whether or not a child is truly converted until they are adults and are completely independent of their parent’s authority and care. I believe a middle ground must be approached if we truly desire to discern clear biblical evidence that a child, teenager, or young adult has become a new creature in Christ. 

Knowing we are not God and cannot see the heart, I believe there are still evidences we can see and know to help us discern a child or teenager’s conversion in a similar way we try to do the same with adults. In the spirit of Jonathan Edward’s 5 signs of true conversion, here are 5 evidences that I try to use as a template as both a parent and pastor in wrestling with this issue.

Read the rest.

AmazonMP3 Deal

The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces (Full Works Edition)
Various Artists
Price: $3.99

Complaining and Awe

Paul Tripp:

For sinners, the road between awe and complaining is very short. You and I were created to live our lives in the shadow of awe. Every word we speak, every action we take, every decision we make, and every desire we entertain was meant to be colored by awe. We were meant to live and minister with eyes gazing upward and outward. We were meant to live with hearts that are searching, hungry, seeking satisfaction, and being satisfied. Bad things happen when pastors lose their sense of awe. Bad things happen in ministry when we have no wonder inside of us. Bad things happen in local church leadership when we are no longer amazed. Bad things happen when we look around and nothing impresses us anymore.

Read the rest.

Cheap eBook Alert - Francis Schaeffer

Six Francis Schaeffer books for $3.99 each:

• Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life
• Truth with Love: The Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer
• Death in the City
• The Finished Work of Christ: The Truth of Romans 1-8
• Pollution and the Death of Man
• No Little People

"Daylight" - John Mark McMillan

You can get his record here. I would highly recommend it.

James MacDonald Shares Thoughts After #TheElephantRoom

You can read his reflections here.

A Portlandia Wedding

These caricatures are so funny.



(HT: 22 Words)

Just Keep Going

I needed to read this today.


Here is a short article by Kevin DeYoung on perseverance in the Christian life and ministry stemming from the life of William Wilberforce.

Lost + Full House = 90's Awesome Sitcom

(HT: Relevant Mag)

Cheap eBook Alert

Sexual Temptation: Establishing Guardrails and Winning the Battle
Randy Alcorn
$0.99

Ed Stetzer Reflects on #TheElephantRoom

Here are his thoughts.

More Reflections on #TheElephant Room - Trevin Wax

Trevin Wax has a lengthy post that is worth reading. His conclusion:

In the end, I admire James MacDonald’s intention to bring about more civil discourse between believers. We need charity and clarity. But civility is not a love-fest. We will disagree – strongly at times. Why? Because theology matters. The stakes are high. Bad theology hurts people.

Bad conflict in the Christian church is caused by ego and pride. Good conflict ought to flow from love and compassion. We need less “bad conflict” and more “good, sharpening conflict.”

Weak unity in the Christian church is caused by minimizing the importance of theology. Strong unity flows from affirmation and celebration of the essential truths of Christianity and how they impact our lives and ministries. We need less “weak unity” and more “strong unity.”

So when we engage in conflict, let’s make sure it is out of love for the truth, love for Jesus, love for one another, and love for the people we shepherd. Sometimes we may even stand against a brother on a certain issue, but even when we take an adversarial stance, it ought always to be for the good of that brother and the glory of King Jesus. Let’s take the goal of The Elephant Room seriously and be people who are full of grace and truth.

Read the rest.

Ray Lewis' Speech After Recent Playoff Loss to Patriots

What Happens When You Drop Your iPhone

So true.

Funny.

Questions After #TheElephantRoom

Darryl Dash with a helpful post that asks some good questions and provides some links if you missed the commentary from yesterday.

Pressing Towards Evangelistic Faithfulness

Ross Appleton with a very helpful article:

Let’s encourage God’s people to speak, to move toward a boldness rooted in the unshakeable reality of the Gospel, where we rely on the Holy Spirit to tell us what to say and when to say it. Without His guidance we will either talk too much or never talk at all. We will awkwardly throw up on people because we think their eternal destiny is up to us and not the sovereign Holy Spirit, or we will never say anything at all because we are waiting for that perfect time when someone is least likely to resist, instead of trusting in the transformative power of the Gospel.

Read the rest.

Forsake All Fraudulent Success

Ray Ortlund:

In a world of secrets, outward success is everyone’s goal. If we can just succeed, we won’t have to face ourselves. No wonder that doesn’t work. It can’t work. The reality of what we are will always topple this house-of-cards persona we so earnestly wish were true.

The gospel is not God’s way of giving us an even better self-improvement goal. The gospel is God’s judgment on our better selves and his replacement of it all with Jesus.

Every one of us thinks, “If only I could do __________ or be __________, then I would arrive.” So, what does “arrival” look like to you? If it isn’t Jesus, the risen Lord himself, every arrival you achieve is only another set-back.

If you make financial security your arrival, you are already trapped in anxiety. If you make a thin body your identity, you will hate yourself more. If you make a porn-free life your okayness, you are doomed to compulsion. God’s remedy for you is not more money or better looks or perfect control. God’s gift to you is Jesus. With Jesus, we are saved. Everything is going to be okay. Without Jesus, we are damned. Nothing will go right.

Forsake all fraudulent success. Make Jesus your goal, your arrival, your identity, your comfort, your okayness, and he’ll gladly give himself to you — and on terms of grace. But reach for anything else, and it will turn into its opposite and betray you.

To paraphrase the apostle Paul, “I’ve lost everything, and I don’t even care, because now I get Jesus” (Philippians 3:8).

Teens and Porn: 10 Stats You Need To Know

Wednesdays were Pretty Normal - A Video

Get the book here.

Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal - An Interview with Michael Kelley

Michael Kelley is a good friend from my Nashville days.  Back then he was a college pastor at a local church with strong communication gifts.  Soon after we left Nashville, Michael and Jana found out that that their young son had cancer.  It was heartbreaking.  Years later, Michael has written a book that deals with these this season of their lives.  You'll definitely want to check it out.

Here is a brief interview with Michael.

1. How has watching your son endure cancer changed you and your family? 

That's a big question. It might be more of the case of how has it "not" changed us. For me, I think the day Joshua was diagnosed was the day I actually became an adult. Up until then, I had the luxury to sort of play at life, and even play at theology. But when Joshua was sick, it brought an incredible seriousness to life - to marriage, to parenting, to work, really everything. For us as a family, it's really become one of the biggest things that's made us who we are. In a lot of ways, we feel like God has given us this story and it's our job to try and steward it well. 

2. Facing the potential death of a child is unspeakably horrific. When were the darkest hours? 

I have a really vivid memory of 2 things. I remember when Joshua was hooked up to a morphine drip because the pain was so bad, and him waking up every hour in the hospital crying and not being able to comfort him. One night in particular, we watched "Barney's Puppy Love" about 17 times just trying to make it until the sun comes up. That was a dark night. 

I also remember a couple of times trying to hold it together long enough to get out of the hospital room, walking into my office at work, closing the door and laying down in the floor and crying.

It wasn't at either one of those times that we necessarily thought we would lose Joshua. But I think now it was just a sense of loss in general because of how much life had changed. Loss of dreams, loss of joy, loss of time - much, much loss. 

3. What do you feel is unique about this book that Christians need to consider? 

I think there are many books that try and reconcile biblically the goodness and grace of God and the brokenness of the world and the suffering of His people. These are good books.

What I hope separates this book from others is the fact that this book is not meant to explain that tension at all. It's rather an acceptance of it. It's an attempt to describe believing with the full knowledge and experience that we will all, inevitably, experience that brokenness. We certainly don't have it all figured out. I do think, though, that we all have a choice about what to do with our pain and disappointment. It can either stall your walk with the Lord, or it can push you deeper into it. 

4. What do you want this book to accomplish? Why did you write it? 

The first reason to write it was because I honestly thought it was my job to do so. I think God wants us to be stewards of our experiences and stories as much as our money and time. So the book is an attempt to steward what we've been given responsibly and well.
But I also think that there are many, many people who, having experienced something like cancer, have been existing without pressing into that experience. They just gritted their teeth and tried to get past it. My hope is that, through this book, many people might press deeply into their own experiences and find that despite their painful circumstances, God was not only with them, but was actually hurting alongside them in a deeper way than they were. 

5. No one wants to endure suffering, but looking back, what have been the blessings? 

There have been many. I think my wife and I know and support and love each other more now. I think I love being a father and the responsibility that means more now. And I hope I am more reliant and dependent on the Lord now.

Get Michael's book here on pre-order.  

MUTEMATH - Odd Soul Tour Trailer

My favorite band is going on tour.  You won't want to miss it. This trailer is really cool.

You Cannot Smile in Such a Cellar

Erik Raymond:

I am all for communicating sin and the need for Christ. This is biblical. It forms our understanding of the gospel. But sometimes preachers and Christians linger a bit long in the boiler room, inhaling the smoke of the Law without opening the windows of grace. You cannot smile in such a cellar.

Spurgeon saw and spoke of such a trend in his day. His observations and cautions may be surprising but I think right on.

Read the rest.

Portlandia is Funny

Madison, WI is just a mini version of Portland. I love living here. Good parody here.



(HT: The Blazing Center)

Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” sung in the style of Bon Iver

Awesome.



(HT: 22 Words)

Paterno, Sandusky, and the Nature of the Law

Michael Kelley:

It’s almost as if there is in all of us some base level of morality – a law of conscience if you will. Something that’s ingrained deeply within us that requires something of us. And that “something” is not just to do the minimum required, but to do and be more than we are. We feel it, and it has suddenly risen to the level of the national consciousness.

What we are seeing playing out before our very eyes is in a sense why the law doesn’t work. The law, apart from Christ, is about the minimum. It’s about what is required of you. But even when we keep the minimum, there is still something inside of us that knows the truth. It’s the nagging feeling that there is something else. Something more.

And then here comes Jesus, and He takes it to another level:

“Murder you say? Well, there’s something more. Murder isn’t just about the physical act of killing. It’s about thinking ill of someone in your heart, too.”

Jesus won’t let us settle for the minimum. He fulfills the law, body and heart. And thankfully, He fulfills it on our behalf. But in so doing, He gives us a new heart, one that doesn’t only feel the need for something more, but actually desires to do it. To love, and to not just murder.

Read the rest.

Cheap eBook Alert - A Heart For Freedom

Just got this book in the mail.  Looks riveting.

A Heart For Freedom
Chai Ling
$1.99

Five Ways to Fight Abortion and Serve the Unborn and Their Moms

John Piper with another important article on this topic.  His five ways are:

• Supplication
• Consideration
• Education
• Legislation
• Proclamation

Read the rest to see these five ways expounded upon.

6 Years of Vitamin Z

As of yesterday, this blog has been going for six years.

Thanks for reading, commenting, and supporting this site.  When I started six year ago, I was living in Nashville as musician and trying to figure out what I was going to do when I grew up.  Many things have changed in these last six years and many of you have tracked with me through all those changes.    I don't know if I'll be doing this six years from now but for now I am thankful for the role this blog has played in my life.  I hope it serves you well.

The Cross Seems Silly When God is Shrunk and Man is Elevated

“All inadequate doctrines of the atonement are due to inadequate doctrines of God and man. If we bring God down to our level and raise ourselves to his, then of course we see no need for a radical salvation, let alone for a radical atonement to secure it. When, on the other hand, we have glimpsed the blinding glory of the holiness of God, and have been so convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit that we tremble before God and acknowledge what we are, namely ‘hell–deserving sinners’, then and only then does the necessity of the cross appear so obvious that we are astonished we never saw it before.”

- John Stott, The Cross of Christ, 109

(HT:  OFI)

Should I Marry a Man with Pornography Struggles?

Russell Moore answers that question here.

Jesus Isn't Safe: An Appeal to Christian Radio

Matt Papa has begun a series of posts that I think will resonate with many.  Click here to read the first.

You can check out Matt's music here.


(HT:  T-Wax)

Keep Your Head Up - A Review

Thabiti Anyabwile has a good review of Keep Your Head Up.  His conclusion:

Keep Your Head Up joins an important discussion already well underway between the conservative Cosby types who argue that African Americans need to accept and exercise more personal responsbility in addressing social problems and the liberal-progressive Dyson types who do not deny the need for personal responsibility but argue Cosby and his ilk overlook the more pervasive and debilitating effects of structural racism. Both Cosby and Dyson would criticize the Black Church for failing to play an effective role in resolving these social ills.

Keep Your Head Up speaks up to the church and for the church. The book really doesn’t break new ground, depending largely on the data and analysis already provided by Cosby and Dyson. The book’s main contribution is the insertion of the gospel in these discussions about African-American progress. If it did nothing else but repeatedly make known the Good News that the Lord Jesus Christ redeems sinners from their sin and brokennes, making them new, removing their guilt, and giving eternal life and everlasting hope through His death, burial, and resurrection, then it would have done a lot.

Perhaps it’s best to think of Keep Your Head Up as an early comment from evangelical Black Christians. There’s more that needs and certainly will be said. We can look forward to that. Read Keep Your Head Up for a start.

Read the rest.

"How do pro-life Christians honor a pro-choice president?"

John Piper with a helpful answer here.

The Evangelical Uneasy Conscience Faces the Future

Russell Moore:

It’s a little book by a dead man from the last generation, and it just might be the road-map for the future of American Christianity. I’m referring to the late theologian Carl F. H. Henry’s 1947 book “The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism.” This slim little paperback’s importance might not seem obvious in a digital whirling world of contemporary Christians, but the issues Henry raised over sixty years ago are more relevant than ever.

Read the rest of this very important post.

President Obama's Comment on Roe vs. Wade

President Obama:

As we mark the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must remember that this Supreme Court decision not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right. While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue- no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant woman and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption. And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.

Denny Burk comments well:

It was the last line of the statement that provoked me the most. The President says he wants “our daughters [to] have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons.” Who could disagree with that statement? I agree with it totally. The problem is that President Obama does not really mean it. At the same time he calls us to protect our daughters’ rights, President Obama praises the decision that has led to the legal killing of at least 25 million of our unborn daughters. Clearly he does not want to protect the rights of all of our daughters, but only some of them. How can he not see the moral absurdity of his own words?

There was no reason for President Obama to speak today. In fact, I would rather that he would have put his hand over his mouth and kept silent. On today of all days, his calloused indifference toward our unborn daughters is a stunning and sad spectacle.

Cheap eBook Alert

Today only (Sunday).  This book has quite strong reviews and usually goes for $34 as hardback.

The Fall of the Roman Empire
Peter Heather
$1.99

Free eBook from John Piper Concerning Abortion

You can download it here.  This is a very helpful resource.

Our Culture of Moral Relativism

Robin Phillips:

We hear a lot these days about the dangers of moral relativism, or about what happens in a society that has abandoned its commitment to objective morals.This emphasis on objective morals is important, but it is equally important to remind ourselves what moral relativism looks like on ground level.

Last week for his Breakpoint program, Chuck Colson told about the recent experience of Dr. Stephen Anderson, who teaches philosophy at A.B. Lucas Secondary School in Ontario, Canada. His students had just finished a unit on metaphysics and were about to start one on ethics. Colson writes about Dr. Anderson's plan for getting the conversation about ethics going.

To jump start the discussion and to “form a baseline from which they could begin to ask questions about the legitimacy of moral judgments of all kinds,” Anderson shared with them a gruesome photo of Bibi Aisha, a teenage wife of a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan. When Bibi tried to get away from her abusive husband, her family caught her, cut off her nose and ears, and left her to die in the mountains. Only Bibi didn’t die. Somehow she crawled to her grandfather’s house, and was saved in an American hospital.

Writing in Education Journal magazine, Anderson relates how he was sure that his students, “seeing the suffering of this poor girl of their own age, [they] would have a clear ethical reaction,” one they could talk about “more difficult cases.”

But their response shocked Anderson. “[He] expected strong aversion [to it], … but that’s not what I got. Instead, they became confused . . . afraid to make any moral judgment at all. They were unwilling to criticize,” as he said, “any situation originating in a different culture. They said, ‘Well, we might not like it, but maybe over there it’s okay.’”

Anderson calls their confusion and refusal to judge such child mutilation a moment of startling clarity, and indeed it is. He wonders if it stems not from too little education, but from too much multiculturalism and so-called “values education,” which is really just an excuse for moral relativism.

Anderson writes, “While we may hope some [students] are capable of bridging the gap between principled morality and this ethically vacuous relativism, it is evident that a good many are not. For them, the overriding message is ‘never judge, never criticize, never take a position.’” Anderson wonders whether in our current educational system, we’re not producing ethical paralytics? Well, if the horrifying example of the students’ reaction in this case is any indication, Anderson already knows the answer.

On Prayer And Being Scared That God Might Give You What You Ask For

Jon Bloom:

When visiting my mother recently I was leafing through a well-known magazine and came across an article about a well-known actress who is a professing Christian. The article described her vibrant faith and the role of prayer in her life. I was encouraged by her cultivation of constant prayerfulness. I want to grow in that too.

But the comment that stuck with me was, “I know not to beg [God] for patience, because then he gives me situations in which I have to grow more patient; I learned that lesson!”

God bless her honesty. Over the years many earnest Christians have said similar things to me. Ask God to make you more godly and what happens? You get more difficulty, more struggle, and more pain. Who wants that?

Read the rest.

America's Most Common Surgical Procedure

Al Mohler:

Abortion is now America’s most common surgical procedure performed on adults. As many as one out of three women will have at least one abortion. In some American neighborhoods, the number of abortions far exceeds the number of live births.

Most Americans will pay little attention to the 38th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to arrange the killing of the unborn life within her. Since that decision was handed down, more than 50 million babies have been aborted, at a rate of over 3,000 each day.

One of the most chilling aspects of all this is the sense of normalcy in American life. Abortion statistics pile up from year to year, and each report gets filed. Moral sentiment on the issue of abortion has shifted discernibly in recent years, as ultrasound images and other technologies deliver unquestionable proof that the unborn child is just that — a child. Nevertheless, the larger picture of abortion in America is basically unchanged.

Read the rest.

Two books I recommend concerning this issue:

The Case for LifeDefending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice

Some Cheap and Formative eBooks For Kids

This could also be a great way to read to your kids via your eReader (iPad, Kindle, iPhone, etc).

GEORGE MULLER “The Bandit of Ashley Downs”

MARTIN LUTHER “Spy for the Night Riders”

JOHN WESLEY “The Chimney Sweep’s Ransom”

AMY CARMICHAEL “The Hidden Jewel”

HARRIET TUBMAN “Listen for the Whippoorwill”

DAVID LIVINGSTONE “Escape from the Slave Traders”

HUDSON TAYLOR “Shanghaied to China”

D.L. MOODY “Danger on the Flying Trapeze”

ADONIRAM & ANN JUDSON “Inprisoned in the Golden City”

JOHN NEWTON “The Runaway’s Revenge”

Cheap eBook Alert

Alone: The Classic Polar Adventure
Admiral Richard E. Byrd
$1.99

Here is the description:

In this 1938 volume, the great explorer recounts four months he spent alone gathering scientific data in a shack in Antarctica. The result is a remarkable story of survival and adventure.

This is What is Known as a Vicious Verbal Beatdown

I don't follow politics that much (this is the first debate footage I have seen this election cycle) but I found this quite amusing as I was scrolling through my RSS feed this morning. All of a sudden John King was transported back to the 3rd grade and was being lectured by the principal for silly behavior in class. Classic.

In case you missed it...

Is Christianity a Crutch?

God’s Will and Your Vocation

Ligonier Ministries:

How can you be sure that the work you are doing is what God wants? Learn the biblical guidelines in Romans 12 as you seek God’s will.

“It’s a Girl: The Three Deadliest Words in the World.”

This trailer is hard to watch but you need to.



(HT:  Denny Burk)

Single Moms, Abortion, and The Church

Russell Moore with his usual winsome wisdom here. This is a powerful and needed word for all those who embrace the logic of the pro-life position.

Russell Moore:

As the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision approaches, most Christians recognize, and rightly so, the loss of millions of unborn human lives. What we often forget is the second casualty of an abortion culture: the consciences of countless men and women.

Too often, pastors and church leaders assume that, when talking about abortion, their invisible debating partner is the “pro-choice” television commentator or politician. Not so. Many of the people endangered by the abortion culture aren’t even pro-choice.

In your congregation this Sunday, and in the neighborhoods around you right now, there are women vulnerable to abortionist propaganda, not because they reject the church but because they’re afraid they ‘ll lose the church. Pregnant young women are scared they will scandalize church people when they start to show, so they keep it secret. Parents are fearful their pregnant daughter, or their son’s pregnant girlfriend, will prompt the rest of the congregation to see them as bad families.

As they keep all of this secret from the Body of Christ, many of them fall prey to the false gospel of the abortion clinic. “We can take care of this for you,” these people say. “And it will all go away.”

Read the rest.

The Heavens Declare The Glory of God

Crazy video about our universe.


(HT: 22 Words)

Four Keys To Creating a Team Culture

At The Vine we are excited about leading the church as a team.  Given the right personalities and a lot of intentional work, this has proved to be a huge blessing for us and the church.

Whether you lead a church or any other team, Ryan Hugeley's post today about how to do this well will serve you greatly.  I would commend it to you to read and implement.

Here are his four points. I say Amen to all of them. Click over to read his explanations.

1. Lay the Foundation First
2. Pay the Relational Rent
3. Test Before Trust
4. Settle Into the Sloppy

Vehicle, Obstacle, or Passenger? Thoughts on Parenting

Barnabas Piper:

It’s hard being a parent. It’s hard raising little sinners up to be godly, contributing members of society. Children make it hard by being, well, themselves.

But you know what’s harder than raising little sinners? Being a sinner who gets to raise little sinners. Parents are selfish, and this selfishness exhibits itself most clearly in our parenting.

We treat out children as vehicles to happiness. They are required to carry us to the promised land of reputation or vicarious success. The bear the weight of our bulging, saggy, baggy egos on their little shoulders as we jerk the steering wheel this way and that toward good grades, little league all-star games, and proper table manners. They strain under the burden of our crushing expectations as we mash the gas pedal to speed up their progress toward making us look like genius parents in the eyes of people whose praise we lust after and who we can’t really stand.

Read the rest.

I Am the Pharisee: Pondering Past Hurts and Current Controversies

A post of mine you might want to check out at The Gospel Coalition blog.

Applying the Gospel Coalition Mission Statement that Churches "Must Work for Justice"

Ed Stetzer with a helpful post that I would commend to you.

Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum Kit

Some of you will probably want to invest in this as you seek to train up the next generation.  Here is a description:

Based on The Moonbeam Award Gold Medal Winner in the religion category, The Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum tells the Story beneath the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. A journey like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation---and at the center of their Story too. The Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum provides churches with 44 complete teaching lessons which include easy-to-use teacher instructions, story background material and engaging activities for children as well as a take-home note for parents. The curriculum kit includes a DVD-Rom with printable teaching material and student handouts, one hardcover Jesus Storybook Bible, and three audio CDs containing David Suchet's audio rendering of the stories.

Discipleship 101

Shaun Groves with a good post on discipleship.  Check it out.

Porn blamed for children's problem sexual behavior

This will keep happening.  We live in a new technological world that facilitates new levels of sexual dysfunction.  This is new.  The world has never before seen access to this darkness like it has now.  The consequences will be far reaching for generations.  We have no idea what we are doing.  We have no idea how this generation of children will turn out in 30 years after being repeated exposed to this filth for years and years before marriage.  My hunch is that marriage will not survive as we know it in the coming decades. Will the church rise up?

The.age.com.au:

VICTORIAN children as young as five are being referred to specialist programs to address sexually abusive behaviour - and the number of minors exhibiting such behaviour is exploding. 

The availability of pornography through portable devices drastically affects a child's understanding of acceptable sexual behaviour, according to experts, and is being blamed for the rapid escalation in cases.

Read the rest.

Book Winners!

These were the books:


Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons by Thabiti Anyabwile

Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches by James Hamilton

Keep Your Head Up: America's New Black Christian Leaders, Social Consciousness, and the Cosby Conversation:  by Anthony Bradley (editor)




The three book winners are...

Kyle Dorminey

Denny Dispennette

Willie Harris Jr.

Kyle get's first pick, Denny second, and Willie third.

Thanks for participating and stay tuned for February's new book giveaway!

Persecution of Pakistani Christians

Powerful testimony here on the CNN Belief blog.

Beautiful images here.


(HT:  Into The Mud)

Cheap eBook Alert

Fox's Book of Martyrs
$2.84

An Adoption Story - Daniel Doss

Powerful.

My Favorite MLK Jr. Clip

How Come Dinosaurs Don't Talk?

Brian Regan is funny.

Get John Piper's "Bloodlines" For Free

This would be a great start to your MLK Jr. Day.  Download and read.

John Piper:

Bloodlines is one of the most autobiographical books I have written. It tells my story from racism to the path of redemption. I preached on the theme of Bloodlines yesterday to mark Martin Luther King weekend. The title of the message was “From Bloodlines to Bloodline.” I argued that God is calling his people to move from the alienation of many bloodlines to the reconciliation of the single bloodline that began on the cross of Christ. 

I urged my people to read the book. Not because I care about selling books, but because I want them to know my story, to be aware to the global relevance of the issue, and to feel the hope that comes from the power of the gospel. 

In making the book available in a PDF version online for free we are trying to remove every obstacle that might keep you from that experience. 

Chapter six is the one I tried to unpack in the message. It is close to the center of the Gospel’s relevance for perseverance in the cause of Christ-exalting ethnic diversity.

If you would rather have a real book, you can get it here.  

Cheap eBook Alert(s)

Don't Make me Count to Three - $3.99 (My wife has read this and says it's quite well done.)

When Sinners Say I Do - $3.99  (One of my favorite marriage books.)

God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment - $8.19 (Insane deal for this price)

The Deep Things of God: How The Trinity Changes Everything - $2.99 (The reviews of this book were STRONG when it came about a few months ago.)

Big Truths for Young Hearts - $1.79 (Great devotional for kids over 8).

Sex and the Supremacy of Christ - $2.99 (Great comprehensive work in our age of confusion.)

Dieting, Exercise and Healthy Motivations

Mike Cosper has a good post about the above issues. Good stuff. His conclusion:

In recent years, I find I'm far more motivated by how I feel than by how I look. When an injury required almost three months off from exercise last year, I once again stared at a bit of a discouraging "spare tire," but I was far more concerned with my general fatigue and weakness.

When we're healthy, we're better able to serve, love, and bless others. We don't wear out so quickly, and we're not daunted by requests to help, whether it's moving a table, leading a kids' Sunday school class, or traveling to Africa.

The dieting roller coaster isn't ending. So long as we have Big Macs and big screen TVs, there will be a host of people who wake up one day saying, "I need to lose weight." And in the world of diet books and exercise tapes, there is plenty of good science and helpful information. We don't necessarily need different goals for our weight and fitness. We need better motivations.

Read the rest.

Dealing with Bitterness

Shawnda Kovacs:

Do you struggle with bitterness? Even if it's here and there or everyday? This 5 minutes of Gospel pointed toward bitterness might be a gift of freedom for your soul!

It's minutes 40:35 to 45:40

(RSS click through to view)

Joe Paterno’s first interview since the Penn State-Sandusky scandal

Read it here and see a video clip.

A Transgendered Person Enters The Congregation...

...a transgendered person enters the congregation to hear the preaching of Christ. This frightens parents, who do not come to church planning to explain to their children why two women are holding hands, why a man is dressed like a woman, or why the man in the next pew smells like alcohol. Parents in the church are outraged. I understand this; as a father with three children, I feel the tension.

But without realizing it, parents like me are sometimes embarrassed by Jesus.  Why would Jesus draw people like that to himself?  It is hard for parents to remember that children in the crowds saw Jesus with prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners.  Parents want to go into Jesus' presence at church in order to keep their kids safe from the world.  But Jesus keeps drawing unsafe people from the world to himself. We are confounded.  We complain, "How am I supposed to explain this to my kids?"  With that complaint we lose sight of something vital:  To explain how Jesus reaches people no matter where they've been or what they've done is to explain to our kids the gospel.  It is to explain our own testimony.  It is to teach the next generation how Jesus relates to people and the world.   

A homiletic position that is able to treat the Scriptures without an awareness of those outside the church is hauntingly similar to the way preaching was being done by those religious leaders who challenged Jesus and whom Jesus challenged.  A community that was raised on the regular teaching of God's Word was shocked that Jesus would come not for the righteous but for those who need a physician.  

- Dr. Zack Eswine, Preaching to a Post-Everything World, p.  81

Climbing Without Ropes

The intensity of this is mind bending.

Turning Your Kitchen Into a Synthesizer

Nerds, gather around.

Ted "Golden Voice" Williams One Year Later

Remember the homeless guy with the amazing radio voice?  Here is a video updating what has happened to him since that video broke a year ago.

The #Tebow Mania Keeps Getting More Maniacal

FoxNews reports:

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may not need the help, but some witches are planning to cast a spell to put an end to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s miraculous season. 

Witches Lorelei and Lori Bruno were scheduled to hold a seance at noon today – Friday the 13th – at Haven Crow Corner in Salem, Mass. to fix a win for the Pats. 

“I’m going to raise the energy of the universe and send out all the good mojo,” Lorelei told the Boston Herald. “Lori will call in the Angels.” 

The good witches won’t hex Tebow, as it’s “not their way,” but plan on setting up an alter with a hand-sewn Brady puppet and mojo bags filled with herbs and stones for every Patriots team member.

Read the rest.

Christians Love Their Numerology

Yeah, it was funny to chat about after the game but come on...  Don't get too carried away.

Engaging Without Watering Down - Some Reflections

A few days ago I posted a video about a church community serving well in their city.  It probably didn't paint a full picture of what is going on there and I don't have all the information about their situation.  You can go back and watch the video if you would like.  I simply wanted to commend what I saw as a good way of seeking to be intentional with those who don't know Jesus.

This post got some push-back in the comments.  Maybe rightly since we don't have all the information about what is really going on behind the scenes in the video.  My greater point was to highlight the intentionality that is on display. To me, it seems that serving is a great way to do this.  Sounds pretty biblical, eh?

At The Vine, my small group has been volunteering at the local crisis pregnancy center and serving women there who are pregnant, young, and scared.  They are mainly black women who come from extremely rough backgrounds.  After a year we have seen two of these black women come into our small group.  One has become a Christian and just last night I explicitly shared the Gospel with another as we chatted on the couch after our small group.

All we did was show up and serve.  Once a month with some food.  Very simple and easy.  But when we show up God goes with us as we are filled with his Holy Spirit.  Who knows where that is going to lead?  I had zero expectations.  It could have been a complete failure.  Maybe it will be in the future but we are going to stick with it right now.  These women need Jesus and where else are they going to go to get him?

We just showed up to serve.  Service usually leads to relationships being built.  When relationships are built it's easy to share Jesus.  How could we not talk about what is most important to us with those who know us?

So lead me ask you, Holy Spirit filled believer, where are you intentionally showing up and seeking to make Jesus known through your relationships of service and love?  You might not like the video above because it deals with "sodomites" and seems to reek of the "social gospel".   Great.  But let's hear from you about your approach to living among the lost.  Honestly, I'm all ears and I have much to learn.  There are probably a thousand ways to do this.

No one is above critique.  There are certainly wrong ways to go about evangelism and service.  Just make sure that we don't get rebuked by D.L. Moody in conversations like this in reference to evangelism:  "I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it."

Cheap eBook Alert

Crossway's version of The Pilgrim's Progress with illustrations by Mike Wimmer for only $0.95.

Doug Wilson and "Real Marriage"

Doug Wilson has been reviewing Mark Driscoll's "Real Marriage".  I think his post today (part 4) cuts to the heart of the issue.  He models a charitable and generous review that reflects a relationship with Mark.  It's harder to light someone up in a review when you actually know someone and have spent time with them.

Be Sure To Silence Your Phone During The Symphony

This is my worst nightmare.  This is our technological age.

Speaking Winsomely About Complementarianism

Becoming a Complementarian from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Ten Lessons in Organizational Leadership from Steve Jobs

Interesting post here from Thom Rainer.

Get the book here.

Going Paperless

I am finding myself saying it all the time, "I live in a paperless universe."  No more huge file cabinets when you use programs like Expensify, Evernote, Dropbox, and have a great scanner.

Darry Dash how a good post on how he goes about this in his technological life.