Stuff! 05/30/10
After keeping us waiting for a century, Mark Twain will finally reveal all
“The creator of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and some of the most frequently misquoted catchphrases in the English language left behind 5,000 unedited pages of memoirs when he died in 1910, together with handwritten notes saying that he did not want them to hit bookshops for at least a century.
That milestone has now been reached, and in November the University of California, Berkeley, where the manuscript is in a vault, will release the first volume of Mark Twain’s autobiography.”
The Council of Trent – The Sixth Session: Justification Canons
It’s interesting to read Rome’s official stance on reformation doctrine, particularly the doctrine of justification by faith alone. All people who hold to this doctrine (that is all who believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone) have been declared by the Roman Catholic church as accursed. And yet if we (evangelicals) are right on the gospel and Rome is wrong (and there can only be one correct view) then they have actually placed the anathema on themselves.
Is The Thickness of Two Short Planks A Forgotten Divine Attribute?
“None of the systematic theologies I own include `being as thick as two short planks’ in their treatments of the divine attributes; but it appears that there is a trend today to rectify this neglected aspect of God’s being.”
Pornography — The Difference Being a Parent Makes
“Ryan Tate got more than he bargained for when he made his protest to Steve Jobs. In a strange way, we are now all in his debt, because the response from Steve Jobs now puts Apple on the line. In the end, the real meaning of this media eruption is less about computers and “apps” and more about parents and kids.”
Mark Zuckerberg responds to privacy concerns
“We have heard the feedback. There needs to be a simpler way to control your information. In the coming weeks, we will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use. We will also give you an easy way to turn off all third-party services. We are working hard to make these changes available as soon as possible. We hope you’ll be pleased with the result of our work and, as always, we’ll be eager to get your feedback.”
And this guy says don’t believe it (Why you shouldn’t trust Facebook’s apology)
“Facebook isn’t sorry. It says it’s sorry, but it isn’t sorry. Sure, it’ll come up with tweaked privacy settings to defray criticism, just like it did in December 2009. And in August 2009. And in March 2008. And in December 2007.”
50 Freely Available Professional Fonts For Your Designs
Need some really neat and professional fonts? This here is a very good list.
Cause and Effect
I once had a bookmark that had a bunch of “Rules for Teenagers” printed on it – maxims for minors you could say. I forget what they were, except for one that really stuck in my head:
Stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.
Unless you’re a religious jihadist, sex trafficker, or something worse, this is generally good advice. Stand for something (good) or you’ll be swept away by whatever is fashionable to believe in, regardless of whether it’s good or not, like some hapless invertebrate in the turbulent open sea.
Of course, for Christians, that “something good” should be the gospel of Jesus Christ, the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:21). It’s the one thing that can save a person’s soul and transform him forever into the likeness of Christ to the eternal glory of God.
It should be, therefore, the supreme cause around which all Christians must rally.
Unfortunately many of us would rather give ourselves to anything but our Savior. Instead of standing for Jesus we fall for shiny and seductive alternatives – modern idols that glow with invisible power but are impotent to save and sanctify our souls.
Environmentalism, political issues, social activism – there’s a cause and movement for everything. We’re all lured by their seeming worthiness to end global crises, alleviate human strife, and make the world a better place. But do they measure up to the peace and power that come through knowing and being reconciled to a holy, infinite God?
Of course not. Yet our lives betray us. We pay lip service to the power and importance of the gospel and then center our existence around some lesser crusade, whether it be saving Mother Nature, electing government officials, or simply trying to convert people to a new brand of coffee coz it’s just too awesome and you haven’t lived until you’ve tried it blah blah blah.
Not that there’s anything wrong with a good cause, political reform, or better coffee. In fact, there are many good things in this world to be involved in and passionate about. But if we call ourselves Christians and our fervent desire to save the whales, change the government, or wax lyrical about overpriced consumer beverages overshadows our gospel message, then maybe we ought to reexamine what we believe in.
You see the gospel of Jesus is more important than any human cause or movement no matter how significant or high-impact they may be. That’s because the gospel is the only thing that can reconcile a person to God, ensure his sanctification, and bring him to everlasting glory (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
It’s also the most significant display of God’s grace, mercy, and power (Romans 5:8). God’s plan and execution of redemption puts His matchless person and character on vivid and unparalleled display; He is magnified in His love for us, glorified beyond measure when He redeems sinful, rebellious people.
We’d do well to remember that the next time our earthly causes eclipse God’s ultimate calling on our lives. We change the world by sharing, preaching, and living the gospel to lost people. The power of God works through the gospel to transform and redeem sinful lives. God is glorified through the execution of His gospel, not our Rainbow ships, government officials, or our all-flaming Orange Mocha Frappuccinos.
Standing for the gospel should be our supreme cause. We can certainly count on its effect (Isaiah 55:11).
Stuff! 05/22/10
This is the first in what I hope to be a regular series of posts compiled mostly of stuff I’ve encountered online throughout the week, both religious and secular in nature. The title: “Stuff!” Of course.
Fed Up With Facebook? Delete it, and Here’s How
“In the blink of an eye, Mark Zuckerberg has gone from boy wonder to Big Brother, from Mozart to Mao. The man and his machine have suffered a populist fall precipitous enough to make even Tiger Woods wince with empathy. All this calamity, of course, begs the obvious question: “How did things go so horribly wrong?”
“The model of adolescent faith is not the kid who can avoid the bad, but the kid who stares down the darkness in herself and in her world by seeking God in just such places. The model of adolescent faith is not shiny, happy kids, but honest kids, that in joy confess a God who works in backwards ways, in ways where the first are last, and the suffering are embraced, where all who taste death are promised God’s very presence. They are not good kids that avoid all that is bad, but faithful kids that go into the world to seek God in the real, in the reality of existence, which is both beautiful and horrible.”
“Contemporary worship suffers from an emotional bias. It is disproportionately upbeat. I am not necessarily talking about the tempo of the music, although this bias is sometimes reflected in the tempo. I am talking about its emotional tone. The culture of evangelical worship has little tolerance for grief in the assembly.”
London unveils creepy-looking mascots for 2012 Olympics
“Olympic mascots have always been the object of scorn (remember Izzy?), but these two, uh, things take the absurdity to a whole new level. There’s a complicated backstory to the characters which was written by a children’s author. It explains why the mascots have one eye (it’s a camera lens to see the world) and yellow lights on tops of their heads (an homage to London taxicabs), but fails to tell the tale of why they look like early rejects from a Pixar movie.”
Seattle’s Best Coffee Stirs Up Heated Opinions
“Seattle’s Best Coffee revealed a redesigned logo this week. Unfortunately, its ambiguous look brings to mind a lot more than just a cup of joe.”
How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell
While we’re still on the subject of design, here’s one take on the web design process that I’m sure every web developer can relate to. Hilarious and sobering.
Ian McKellen – Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
What would we do without the internet?
If Team Pyro did the Daily Show, it’d probably look like something like this.
Nike knows how to make commercials. But its latest World Cup ad has got to be one of its best ever. Helmed by Alejandro Inarritu (director of “21 Grams” and “Babel”) the nifty video is peppered with humorous visions of the future, skillful soccer plays, and hilarious cameos. An instant classic.
Being Small and Plodding On
Kevin DeYoung has written a very insightful article over at Tabletalk magazine called The Glory of Plodding:
What we need are fewer revolutionaries and a few more plodding visionaries. That’s my dream for the church — a multitude of faithful, risktaking plodders. The best churches are full of gospel-saturated people holding tenaciously to a vision of godly obedience and God’s glory, and pursuing that godliness and glory with relentless, often unnoticed, plodding consistency.
It’s a good word for those of us infatuated with the idea of revolutionizing the church by cultivating a big, modern yet somewhat invisible Christianity.
Also contributing to the idea that church is more about being a consistent visionary more than a mega-church revolutionary is Dr. Larry Mininger’s thoughts on small churches titled Measuring Success. He says:
Fascination with bigness obscures the truth that Jesus, the builder (Matt. 16:18) and head (Eph. 1:22) of the church, has built many more small congregations than large ones. Small churches, not large ones, are the norm.
Good stuff with which to start the week.
Will the Real Men of God Please Stand Up?
5/18/10 – I need to clarify something with this article so that I’m not misunderstood. This blog post is a general observation of today’s evangelicalism and the steep decline it’s on with regards to the seeker-sensitive movement and the abandonment of sound doctrine in the church. I wasn’t targeting anyone in particular, just pastors who are smitten by method, tactics, and managerial books more than they are the Word of God.
What I’ve written isn’t news really; many, many other pastors, certainly a lot more qualified than me, have been sounding the alarm for years. I’m just banging the gong because I feel it’s my duty to make a little noise on this issue this side of the world.
I am very grateful and in awe of pastors who pour their lives into their ministries and congregations and who preach the Word fully, clearly, and decisively. I’m blessed to be part of a church whose leader is sacrificial, holds the Bible in ultimate esteem, and is seeking to help his flock grow in the Word and in Christ. It’s a tremendous thing and I thank the Lord for allowing me to be part of a body that has this kind of leadership, that believes in the Scriptures and yearns for the truth.
Oh that pastors the world over who prize fame, pragmatism, and personal awesomeness over sound doctrine and self-sacrifice would return to their Savior and ground their ministries in the Word.
That’s the reason I write this.
—–
There are today too many motivational speakers disguised as Christian preachers. These men maintain an engaging Christian veneer but are weak and petty in their approach to truth. They are more concerned with meeting the felt-needs of their congregation and welcoming unbelievers into the fold that they downplay the Bible and sound doctrine in favor of fun, lighthearted, and inoffensive sermons.
Douglas D. Webster has observed that much of today’s preaching is not “God-centered, sin-exposing, self-convicting and life-changing” but composed of “light, informal sermons that Christianize self-help and entertain better than convict.” He goes on:
There are so many illustrations in today’s market-sensitive sermons that the hearer knows the pastor better than she knows Christ; so many human-interest stories that listening to the sermon is easier than reading the Sunday paper; so practical that there is hardly anything to practice.
No wonder nominal Christians leave the church feeling upbeat. Their self-esteem is safely intact. Their minds and hearts have been sparked and soothed with sound-bite theology, Christian maxims and a few practical pointers dealing with self-esteem, kids or work. But the question remains: has the Word of God been effectively and faithfully proclaimed, penetrating comfort zones and the veneer of self-satisfaction with the truth of Jesus Christ?
Indeed. This kind of man-centered approach to Christianity dominates today’s Evangelicalism. And we’re all the worse for it. Until pastors reclaim their duty to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2) we’re doomed to eating spiritual cotton candy. And we all know how that goes.
Wake up pastors! How long must we put up with you? How long until you abandon your humanistic rhetoric in favor of sound Biblical truth? When will you trade in your anemic illustrations and fortune cookie one-liners for the pure and nourishing meat of the Word?
Stop riding the Saddleback stagecoach; quit slurping from the Willow Creek fountain. Forget taking surveys to inform your ministry technique; cease tailoring your message to make non-Christians feel at home in church. Get back to the Bible, the sure prophetic Word (2 Peter 1:19). Exalt Christ, preach His atonement, explain the Resurrection. Trace the Redeemer and His mighty acts as recorded in the Word and set Him firmly at the center of your preaching.
Many will despise you for it; you might even lose half your church as the tares leave in search for less provocative sermons (John 6:60-66).
But at least you’ll be obedient to Christ.
There is no room in ministry for life coaches who speak Christianized psychobabble fueled by worldly, motivational technique. The sheep need shepherds (1 Peter 5:2) who will feed them the Word. Because only when preaching is meaty and devoid of fluff can the flock begin growing in earnest.
Me
Writer, designer, father of two, husband of one. Armchair theologian. Inconsistent blogger and photographer. Still, I try.Tweets
