Review of "Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be)"

I was out of town the entire past week on business, which on one hand is bad because I had to be away from my wife the whole week, but is great on the other hand because the flights give me uninterrupted time to read. For some reason, I can really focus on a plane.

Anyway, I had the chance to read Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) this week. I had heard great things about this book, and they are all justified. This is one of the better books I have read in quite a while.

It's written by Kevin DeYoung, a young pastor in East Lansing, and Ted Kluck, a writer who deals mostly in sports and has written books about Mike Tyson and football. An interesting mix. Kevin would write one chapter full of analysis and propositions, then Ted would write one about his experiences engaging different aspects of the Emergent Church. I liked the dynamic, although I thought Kevin's chapters were the real meat of the book. Ted's chapters, with his keen observations, served as a great breather every other chapter.

The book does a great job of presenting what the Emergent Church is all about (although they quickly point out that it is not a unified movement). They focus on the leading voices, combing through sermons, books, blogs, etc. in search of what their beliefs and attitudes are. The result is a great presentation of some of the "Conversation" happening in the movement, and then a biblical analysis of why that particular part of the conversation is dangerous.

I'm not a professional reviewer or theologian, but I thought this book was one of the best defenses of the biblical gospel and associated doctrines I've ever read. Kevin's chapters are articulate, fair to the Emergent movement by not characiturizing the beliefs, and lucid in the defense of the biblical doctrines. Although the book does a lot to show what the Emergent Church is doing, it really becomes a presentation of the Gospel. After all, if we know the true, biblical, gospel it doesn't matter what the "new" beliefs are...we still test them against the Bible. Whether you're interested in the Emergent Church or not, you will find value in this book.

Some of my favorite quote from the book (believe me, there are MANY more I could include...my book is highlighted like crazy):

"It's one thing for a high school student to be in process with his theology. It's another thing for adults to write books and speak around the world about their musings and misgivings...I seriously question that this space should be hugely public where hundreds and thousands of men and women are eagerly awaiting the next book or blog or podcast arising from your faith journey." (p. 17)

The "Are You Emergent" section on pages 20-22 is hysterical.

Commenting on the postmodern ethos: "...it's really cool to search for God. It's not very cool to find Him." (p. 32)

"...my generation is introspective at a level somewhere between self-absorption and narcissism." (p. 34)

"But there is also the possibility of certainty, no because we have dissected God like a freshman biology student dissects a frog, but because God has spoken to us clearly and intelligibly and has given us ears to hear His voice." (p. 40)

"It seems that when emergent authors want to contest traditional beliefs (in, say, hell, exclusivism, and propitiation) they cry, "All we have are interpretations," but when they want to make their points (say, about hell as a metaphor, inclusivism, and kingdom living) they argue, "You've been misreading the Bible, can't you see?" It seems there is a meaning in the text after all." (p. 84)

"Christianity cannot and does not exist without boundaries. Being a Christian in any biblical sense requires that we not only say yes to many things, but that we also are willing to say no to a number of beliefs and behaviors." (p. 118)

"Young people will give their lives for an exclamation point, but they will not give their lives for a question mark, not for very long anyway." (p. 127)

"At what point can we say that "sitting barefooted on the floor" and commenting on Ephesians as an impromptu but extended tete-a-tete between church members and leadership" that focuses on "the intensity of interpersonal communication" sounds more profound than it really is? There's nothing offensive about this tete-a-tete, but isn't it just sitting on the ground talking about the Bible?" (p. 155)

"Pastors are supposed to be more than lost travelers with more questions than answers. They are supposed to fan into flames the gift of preaching (2 Tim. 1:6), be filled with power instead of timidity (1:7), and rebuke, reprove, and exhort with complete patience and teaching (4:2)." (p. 160)

"Orthodoxy means right doctrine that overflows in right living, which can be variously applied in the political sphere. For emerging churches, however, it seems that orthodoxy means right living immediately applied in the political sphere without attention to doctrine." (p. 192)

"I'm sure emergent Christians are sincere in their love for Jesus, but what kind of love is it that makes so little of His glory as the long-awaited Messiah and the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16), the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8), the righteous Judge (2 Tim. 4:8), the conquering King who rules the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:26-27), the great I am (John 8:58) and the Lamb who was slain to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29)?" (p. 204)

Also check out Kevin's last chapter on the churches in Revelation. Great comparisons to churches today.

This was a great book and I highly recommend it, both for those in the emergent church to challenge their beliefs and help them see the God of the Bible, and for those is "traditional" churches, both to be aware of this movement and how to defend biblical beliefs against it as well as simply for a tremendous presentation of the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible.

More Reviews of this book:

Tim Challies (Excellent reviewer)
Sam Storms (bottom of the page - 5 parts)
Theooze (Amy Sandova - for an emergent-sympathetic point of view on the book)

Final NA Post (maybe...)

Just ran across a couple of links that I found interesting:

This article talks about the aim of the conference and has quotes from most of the speakers.

This post from Bob Kauflin's website has all of the songs that we sang during the conference with links to where you can find them if you want. My favorites were from the NA Band and Fee.

...I still have some small videos from the conference, so you may have to put up with just one more post related to this amazing conference.

New Attitude Audio and Summaries

If you weren't at New Attitude (and even if you were), it would be very much worth your time to head over to their site. They have audio of every talk given at the conference (don't miss John Piper's talk on fighting for faith with God's word...amazing). Justin Buzzard live-blogged the conference with some great summaries of the talks. Additionally, you can get a bunch of Crossway books for 35% off with free shipping on orders over $30 through their site. Bob Kauflin's book Worship Matters is definitely on my list after hearing the songs at the conference.

It was an amazing weekend and I plan to listen to most, if not all, of the talk again. They are all from the Bible, about the Bible, and committed to making you love the Bible because of two things: it's true and it's about Jesus. The teaching was really edifying and encouraging. I highly encourage you to check it out.

How Can I Speak More Boldy for Christ?

John Piper has a great answer to this question over at Desiring God. He speaks about preparing his heart to encounter people, then says:

"But that grows out of the fact that he's my life. He's my life. It's not like, "Oh here's a little thing I'm supposed to do." Rather, he is the one holding this plane in the air, providing the oxygen, and governing the sky. He is the one who created this person beside me, and he is the most relevant reality in their, whether they know it or not."

Great stuff as always from Dr. Piper.

Music Video of the Week

Shane and Shane - "Embracing Accusation" (One of my favorite songs, and this video has the lyrics, too.)

NA Sessions 5-7

So unfortunately, we had to check out of the hotel this morning, so I haven't had internet access all day. Now, it's 12:05 AM and Leah and I finally made it back to Cincinnati (we have to miss C.J.'s talk tomorrow morning because I can't take the day off work). So not only am I tired from an amazing weekend, but I have to get up early to go to work, and I fly out tomorrow for a business trip to Wisconsin for the rest of the week.

Therefore, all I'm going to say about the talks we heard today from Eric Simmons and John Piper (twice!) is this: AWESOME. Eric preached on the point of the Bible and how to develop a vision for studying it (great talk that really convicted me), Piper showed the amazing sacrifice of William Tyndale to get us the English Bible and rescue theology from the Roman Catholic Church, then Piper finished the day by teaching us how to fight for joy with God's Word.

John Piper was, is, and will always be my favorite speaker. He is not the Messiah, but he is for me the man who most clearly points us to the Messiah.

An amazing day that I'd love to say more about, but I'm hardly awake. Check out Justin Buzzard's live-blog if you need more.

Thanks guys at NA for an amazing conference.

NA Session 4 - C.J. Mahaney

"God's Word and Our Feelings"

(Sidenote: Josh Harris introduced C.J. Mahaney as someone he met 12 years ago, while he was working on a book "that would ruin many of your lives." I Kissed Dating Goodbye...Considering this was directly towards almost entirely college kids and mid-20's people, I thought the comment was hysterical.)

C.J. Mahaney preached tonight on Psalm 42. The Psalm deals with a man struggling with despair and a "downcast soul." He feels an apparent absence of God and is enduring trials of some kind that is only exacerbating his turmoil. The Psalm, C.J. pointed out, is essentially the internal, unending conversation the Psalmist is having with himself.

C.J. made the distinction between the Troubled Soul and the Hopeful Soul. For much of the Psalm, the writer is Troubled, but then he begins to speak to himself instead of listening to himself. This is how we can move to the Hopeful Soul: by talking truth to ourselves. This requires perseverance (the Psalmist had to do it multiple times), and it must depend on God for the transformation.

But what exactly do you say to yourself? C.J. points out the Psalmist's example is a good one: "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."

He essentially rebukes his soul and commands it to hope in God and know God's promises. C.J. quoted Spurgeon about using God's promises, saying we should "draw the sword from its sheath and use it with holy violence." Also, the Psalmist will praise Him again. C.J. - "Troubled Souls become Hopeful Souls as we sing Truth to our souls."

Finally, C.J. closed by making an amazing point: "The Psalmist felt forsaken by God. The Savior was forsaken." Not only does Psalm 42 give us an example of what we should do when we feel forsaken, it shows us something that Christ actually experienced. Powerful thought.

We closed the night after this emotional talk by having the entire conference sing "It Is Well With My Soul" a cappella. One of the most moving experiences ever for me. I don't believe I've ever sang that loud in my life or felt the Spirit more closely. Truly humbling and amazing.

Again, these are just my thoughts about the talks. For more in-depth summaries of the different talks and much better analysis, be sure to check out Justin Buzzard's live-blog of the conference. He's much better at this than me, and I've been encouraged by reading his posts. Also, you can get audio of all the talks very soon after they're done there.

NA - Sessions 2&3

Session 2 - Mark Dever: "The Authority of Scripture"

After some amazingly good worship, including my new favorite hymn ("My Lord, I Did Not Choose You"), Mark Dever spoke on the authority of scripture.

He began with 4 common objections unbelievers (and some believers) typically have to the reliability of the bible.

1. Has it been translated accurately? What about the different translations?
2. Is what we have what was actually written by the original authors?
3. Is what the original authors wrote accurate?
4. Is the bible true?

Dever made the point that seekers should not waste their time on the first 3 questions. The main question is #4, because if the bible is true and really is God's word, that changes everything.

In the 2nd part of his talk, Dever addressed the authority of scripture. Addressing the postmoderns, he made the statement, "Just because I don't know everything doesn't mean I don't know anything." This is actually a powerful statement that young people need to be armed with against people who tell them there is no way to have anything objectively known. Dever then walked through basically the entire bible, showing what the bible says about itself and its claims to authority.

Nothing in the talk I hadn't really heard, but it was great nonetheless and Dever is really a very intelligent man.

Session 3 - Al Mohler: Q&A

At the 3:00 session, Al Mohler fielded questions from the crowd on a variety of topics. Can I just say, the man is a genius. Some of the questions, I felt like I could have answered them, and then when I heard Mohler's answer, realized I knew absolutely nothing. Not only were his answers concise and answered the question well, but he is one of the most articulate people I've heard.

My favorite questions related to the role of the Law for Christians today, the inerrancy of scripture, and the Doctrines of Grace.

Favorite lines:

"Without the doctrine of inerrancy, we can't be certain we have the Word of God."

"There will be plenty of people in heaven, saved by grace, who knew nothing of the doctrines of grace, but only knew grace."

Great conference so far, aside from the ridiculously long lines at the food court. Great speakers, amazing worship. I've never seen so many young people worship God so fervantly and get so excited by lines like this:

Unless Your grace had called me
And taught my darkened mind
The world would have enthralled me
To Your glories I'd be blind
My heart knows none above You
For Your rich grace I thirst
I know that if I love You
You must have loved me first

It's truly an encouragement.

NA - Session 1: Joshua Harris

We're here! The New Attitude Conference is officially under way. We started with some amazing worship...complete with a tambourine lady (poorly) trying to play along with the band from the back of the room...hmmm....

Joshua Harris kicked things off last night with a talk on Jeremiah 15:16:

"Your words were found,
and I ate them,
and you words
became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart."

Josh hit on 3 different Old Testament characters and their different responses to encountering God's word: Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Jeremiah. He used 3 words for these resonses: Tearing, Burning, and Eating.

Josiah (Tearing) - Josiah encountered the Word of God after it had been lost for a time. When he heard the word and realized the people had not been obeying it, he tore his royal robes in humility and repentence.

Jehoiakim (Burning) - Jeremiah wrote the Word of God down and sent it to Jehoiakim, but when he encountered the Word, he cut the scroll into pieces and burned it.

Jeremiah (Eating) - Even though Jeremiah was dealing with despair, he spoke of God's Word as the thing that helped sustain him. It was also a delight.

Highlights for me (not direct quotes, but pretty close):

"When was the last time you wept before God's Word? When our hearts are affected by something, there are emotions. If it's been a long time since the Word affected you that way, what is it that's been moving your heart?"

"All Reformation in the Church stems not from learning new techniques or something that hasn't been there, but about a return to the Word of God. That's all you need."

"We have an iTunes mentality with the Word sometimes. We pick out the tracks we like, but don't buy the whole album."

Great message by Josh, and it really convicted me about being broken by the Word. Then, in the community groups afterwords, we were split into groups of about 9 to talk about the message and other things. Hearing other young people talking about having a passion for God's Word is truly encouraging and convicting. I'm really excited about the rest of this conference. I think it's going to be amazing.

Off to New Attitude Tomorrow

I will be attending the New Attitude Conference in Louisville starting tomorrow. The conference goes through Tuesday morning (I'll only be there through Monday, though...need to save my vacation days for when the baby shows up in December...). Speakers include John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, and Joshua Harris. Should be great stuff. Anyway, I'm going to try to blog each night about the day. I might even try to post between talks if possible.

Justin Buzzard will be live-blogging on the NA website here. You can also check out his blog here.

I posted this before, but in case you missed it, here's the promo video for the conference:



Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Steven Curtis Chapman - "When Love Takes You In"

Pray for the Chapman Family

"...that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope." 1 Thessalonians 4:13

Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman has adopted 3 little girls from China, including 5-year-old Maria. Yesterday, this precious little girl was killed when she was hit by a car in their driveway.

Singer/songwriter Chapman, who recently was inducted into Music City Walk of Fame, is one of contemporary Christian music's most recognizable and most awarded names.

He and his wife, Mary Beth, have long been supporters of international adoption, having brought three girls from China into their family. Maria was the youngest.

The couple is so active in the cause that they formed an organization, Shaohannah's Hope, to aid families wanting to adopt.

With his latest music tour, which came through Nashville in November, Chapman started a campaign called "Change for Orphans." He asked audience members at each stop to bring spare change to the concert, where it was counted and given to a local family to aid in their adoption process.

"I don't know of anybody who loves his children more than he does and is so committed to the adoption concept, and to lose one, no matter what the circumstances, is heartbreaking beyond all comprehension," said John Styll, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association.

"He talks about his kids all the time. That's his life. His kids are more important to him than music, that's for sure."

Please pray for God's comfort for this family as they grieve over their daughter and sister.

Click here to learn more about or donate to Shaohannah's Hope.

Click here to hear an interview with Chapman about his daughters and the song Cinderella.

Godless vs. Godly Grief

Jon Bloom over at Desiring God has a good post about the difference between human guilt and godly regret in which he contrasts the cases of Judas' and Peter's betrayals of Christ.

About godly grief, he concludes:

"A person who has godly regret grieves over the terrible thing he has done and believes that only God can help him. So he turns toward God in faith, confesses his sin, and looks to the cross where the penalty of that sin was placed on the Son of God."

Amen.

Obama's Speech to Planned Parenthood

Justin Taylor posted this video of Barack Obama giving a speech to Planned Parenthood in July of last year. I only watched the first part (about 10 minutes), but it truly frightens me to think about this man being our next president, especially after the past couple months.

My wife is pregnant. Due to some concerns, she has been having ultrasounds every 2 weeks to check on the baby's health and development. This means we've been able to watch the growth every 2 weeks and see this human come together. We saw the heartbeat at only 6 weeks. At 10 weeks, my child has arms, legs, fingers, toes, even fingernails. At only 10 weeks, this is a human being. This is our child.

I have always been against abortion, but this has really hit home for me seeing all of this. I can't even imagine someone having this child killed at this point, let alone later in the pregnancy through partial-birth abortion, a practice Obama defends in the video. He has impassioned arguments about how women need to have the same opportunities as men and should be able to determine when and how many children they have. I agree women should have these opportunities, and there are plenty of ways to plan your family without the use of abortion as your form of birth control.

Obama never even mentions the child.

I realize, of course, this is because he doesn't think it's a child. It's just some tissue with the "potential" for human life. With all due respect Mr. Obama, my child isn't potential. He is a life, deserving of the same rights you want for all other people. I want the same rights for my baby, and for all other babies.

Music Video of the Week: 5/19

Shawn McDonald - "All I Need"

Prince Caspian Review

Leah and I saw Prince Caspian on Friday night. Though it doesn't live up to C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (which is an allegory of the greatest story ever), I thought it was entertaining nonetheless. Having never read the book version, I was not aware of the changes that were made in the screenplay, but apparently, they were significant. Amy Hall has a great review where she outlines some of these changes and the impact they have on how certain characters are portrayed, specifically Aslan.

"The first [line change] happens when Lucy finally meets Aslan face to face. She remarks to him that he's bigger. In the film, Aslan says that every year she gets bigger, so shall he get bigger. But here's the actual interchange in the book:

"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

This is actually a very profound idea and one of my favorite moments in the book. When we deepen with age and experience, we're able to see further into the rich depths of God, and our understanding and awe of His greatness grows. It's very clear in the book that the change is happening all on Lucy's side, but the film leaves the impression that Aslan has changed (whether that was what they intended or not). One is left with the postmodernish suggestion that we create God for ourselves in our minds; he gets greater as we are better able to define greatness. To make Aslan contingent on other characters is to kill the attractiveness of his character."

May seem subtle, but this undermines the character greatly.

Dead to Sin, Alive to Christ

Today was an amazing day for me. Though I've been a Christian for a while, I had never been baptized. I was baptized as an infant, which I am convinced is meaningless now. Therefore, today, at Faith Bible Church in Cincinnati, OH, I was baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.


Although there's nothing magical about the water, and even though I know the physical act itself accomplishes nothing, it was still an amazing feeling standing in the water in front of the entire church, knowing that God was working. Also, my sister and brother-in-law were also baptized right after me. It was incredible.


There is something about stepping forth and making a confession of faith in front of people. I am now identified as a disciple of Christ, and have symbolically identified with his death and resurrection.

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

~Romans 6: 3-11

Praise be to God.

Only One Way of Salvation?

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Justin Taylor has a post at New Attitude about the exclusivity of Christ as God's provided way of salvation. He had some suggestions on how to address common objections to the truth that Christ is the only way. Worth the read.

He also includes this video with R.C. Sproul explaining why Christ can be the only way. Very much worth the 7 minutes.

Prince Caspian Open Today

I Will Glory in My Redeemer

I finished John Piper's book, God is the Gospel, over lunch today. As a huge Piper fan, I highly recommend it. It's essentially about the idea that any Gospel that does not point us to seeing and savoring all that God is for us in Christ is less than what it should be. Some people love the gospel because of what it gives us (heaven, freedom from guilt, changed lives, etc.), but our love for the gospel should be rooted in our love for God himself. Christ died to remove the barriers between us and God so that we could see Him clearly and savor Him fully. That is the good news of the gospel, that we get God; other blessings are additional, not central.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you." Psalm 73:25

As Piper ends the book, he shares some song lyrics as a way to praise God for these truths with songs that express the idea that God is our greatest pleasure. One song he shares is one of my favorites from Sovereign Grace Music, "I Will Glory in My Redeemer," from Songs for the Cross-Centered Life.

I will glory in my Redeemer
Whose priceless blood has ransomed me
Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails
And hung Him on that judgment tree
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who crushed the power of sin and death
My only Savior before the Holy Judge
The Lamb Who is my righteousness
The Lamb Who is my righteousness

I will glory in my Redeemer
My life He bought, my love He owns
I have no longings for another
I’m satisfied in Him alone
I will glory in my Redeemer
His faithfulness my standing place
Though foes are mighty and rush upon me
My feet are firm, held by His grace
My feet are firm, held by His grace

I will glory in my Redeemer
Who carries me on eagle’s wings
He crowns my life with lovingkindness
His triumph song I’ll ever sing
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who waits for me at gates of gold
And when He calls me it will be paradise
His face forever to behold
His face forever to behold
His face forever to behold

Heaven Without Christ?

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?"

~John Piper, God is the Gospel (p. 15)

Can We Win a Game on the Road, Please?

Why it's frustrating to be a Braves fan: simultaneously the best home team while also the worst road team. Not to mention they're 1-11 in 1-run games. Yeah, 1-11. And they're only 3.5 games back. Imagine if they could do anything in the clutch. I'd almost rather lose by 5 or 6 runs than 1 run every game.

East	W	L	Pct	GB	Home		Road	East	Cent	West	Streak	L10
Florida Marlins	23	16	.590	--	12-9		11-7	12-5	9-7	2-4	Lost 2	7-3
Philadelphia Phillies	22	18	.550	1.5	11-8		11-10	4-6	9-6	9-6	Won 1	5-5
New York Mets	20	17	.541	2.0	12-7		8-10	13-8	4-6	3-3	Won 1	5-5
Atlanta Braves	19	19	.500	3.5	14-4		5-15	8-11	5-5	6-3	Lost 1	6-4
Washington Nationals	16	24	.400	7.5	10-11		6-13	10-17	6-7	0-0	Lost 1	4-6

Einstein on the Bible and Jewish People

Bloomsbury Auctions in London is auctioning off a letter in which Albert Einstein dismisses the Bible as "childish." He says, "the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish." The story mainly focuses on the fact that Einstein is critical of the Bible, but it is not surprising that Einstein, who was not a Christian, would have these things to say about God's word. This is the view of practically all non-believers.

What I found much more interesting were his comments about the Jewish people:

"..the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

Unintentionally, Einstein expresses the very nature of the Christian belief in God's grace. He is entirely correct; there is nothing better about the Jewish people than other people. God's choosing has nothing to do with whether we are "better" than other humans or not. It is entirely by grace. We do not do anything to earn this. This was the case with the Jews as God's chosen people just as it is true now of his chosen people from all nations.

ESV Study Bible Sample

The team at Crossway has released a sample Introduction to the Gospel of Luke. It's a 7-page PDF and looks very nice. Additionally, it should be noted that the 35% discount offer they have for pre-orders ends May 15th, so if you're going to get one, you'll want to do it very soon.

The ESV Study Bible comes out this October.

Music Video of the Week: 5/12

Warren Barfield - "Love is Not a Fight"

Talk About Sportmanship

If you're a sports fan, you've probably already seen pictures of Central Washington's Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace carrying Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon around the bases after she was injured rounding the bases after hitting the first home run of her career. I hadn't seen video of it until now, though. I didn't catch this story on SportsCenter the other night, but this is an incredible story.

The Evangelical Manifesto

What does it mean to be an Evangelical? What issues are important and what should the response to those issues be?

Justin Taylor has a synopsis of the Evangelical Manifesto, a document that attempts to answer these and other questions. Its production was led by Os Guinness (with others) and it was signed by over 80 evangelical leaders. Taylor states:

As the title indicates, this is a manifest to declare (1) evangelical identity (attempting to clarify the confusions that surround the term Evangelical in the US), and public commitment (attempting to explain where they stand on issues that cause consternation over Evangelicals in public life). They have three burdens: Evangelicals must (1) reaffirm their identity; (2) reform their own behavior; (3) rethink their place in public life.

You can download the document and a study guide here:

Evangelical Manifesto

E.M. Study Guide

Note: I'm not endorsing this document as I have yet to read the entire thing. Just making the resources available. Once I'm done traveling this week, I plan to read it and may then post my comments. Until then, I defer once again to those who know much more than me.

Another Travel Story

Yeah, so I am out town traveling this week. Here's a nice story about what happened at my hotel earlier today. Apparently this establishment is not quite as upscale as I had hoped...

Here's another link from a local news page.

Conservatives Happier Than Liberals?

A new study suggests that Conservatives are happier than Liberals because of their ability to "rationalize social and economic inequalities." Apparently, someone has decided that the only way people could possibly look at the world around us and be a happy person is to "rationalize" all of the bad aspects away. Surely it couldn't be possible that someone could see negative things such as poverty and racism and be anything but perpetually depressed unless they simply find ways to ignore them. Surely a wife can't really be happy in a "traditional" marriage because of the "inequality"; she must rationalize her discontent.

Or could it be that despite the negative aspects of the world, many people have found a hope that allows them to see the fallen nature of our world and know that things are not condemned to this state forever? Could they have a hope that allows them to work towards fixing poverty and helping others in need, while at the same time knowing there is a Creator whose redemptive work is all around?

John Piper says it much better in his book God is the Gospel:

"The good news is not that there is no pain or death or sin or hell. The good news is that the King himself has come, and these enemies have been defeated, and if we trust in what he has done and what he promises, we will escape the death sentence and see the glory of our Liberator and live with him forever. This news fills us with hope and joy (Rom. 15:13) and frees us from self-pity and empowers us to love those who are suffering. In this hope-sustained love he will help us persevere until the final trumpet of liberation sounds and the [fallen world] is made into a "new earth" (2 Pet. 3:13)."

Prince Caspian - Interview and Trailer

Christianity Today has an interesting interview with Andrew Adamson, the director of the new movie based on C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian.

Also, check out the trailer below:

Apologizing for what?

Roger Clemens has apologized. For what...who knows? What exactly does this mean?

Clemens refused to reveal the reason for public declaration but concluded: "I realize that many people want me to simply confess and apologize for the conduct that I have been accused of, but I cannot confess to, nor apologize for, things I did not do. I have apologized to my family for my mistakes. And having offered this apology to the public, I would ask that you let me and my family deal with these matters in private."

He says he didn't cheat on his wife, and he didn't cheat using steroids. Now, obviously, Clemens cheating on his wife is none of my business, but he says he is apologizing to the public. So as someone apparently receiving this apology, I ask, "What exactly is he apologizing for?"

Learning from a 3-year-old (or younger...)

I absolutely love kids. One of the things I love about them are the incredible things they say sometimes. I have 8 nieces and nephews (4 of which live within 30 minutes of me). They routinely cause me to be amazed at what comes out of their mouths. They are all smart kids, even the ones that can't talk yet...I can tell...

Here's an example of the incredible insight kids can have. Here's his dad's blog.

Sovereign Grace Music - Come Weary Saints

Sovereign Grace Music has released a new album called Come Weary Saints. They have released numerous albums of God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, cross-centered music. I have many of them. My favorites are Songs for the Cross-Centered Life and In a Little While. Great stuff. With this new project, Bob Kauflin explains:

At the Sovereign Grace Music site we say that “Come Weary Saints is an invitation to redirect your focus to the God whose love has been forever demonstrated at the cross of Calvary.” The CD contains twelve songs, mostly written with a congregation in mind, that reference our trials and suffering in a genuine but redemptive way.

Some sample lyrics from Bob's blog:

In Your grace, You know where I walk
You know when I fall, You know all my ways
In Your love, I know You allow
What I cannot grasp to bring You praise
Thank You for the trials, for the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength, knowing You have ordained
Every day
(by Todd Twining and Joel Sczebel)

Come, hopeless hearts, do not despair
Hide away in the love of Jesus
For ten thousand joys await you there
Hide away in the love of Jesus
(Steve and Vikki Cook)

It is not death to close the eyes long dimmed by tears
And wake in joy before Your throne
Delivered from our fears
Oh Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die
(Orig. words by Henri Malan, addl. words by Bob Kauflin)

50 Years of Mathematics

Got this email from my father-in-law a while ago and re-discovered it today while cleaning out some old emails.

Ah, how things are changing...

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Fifty Years of Math 1957 - 2007 (in the USA)

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her registe r. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this?

Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?

2. Teaching Math In 1960s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math In 1990s

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok. )

6. Teaching Math In 2007

Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?