Quote of the Day
May 30, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Arrested
.:itunes:. Natasha by Rufus Wainwright
(via BWC : Interview with Tony Hale)
“Christian culture is not my role model, and in some ways, neither is the church.”
-Tony Hale
The Gospel and The Law
May 30, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Great
.:itunes:. Get A Room by The Psychedelic Furs
The series we are going through right now at Riverview has been great. It’s cool to have conversations with people who are beginning to really grasp their faith in Jesus deeper through understanding the Law.
I ran into this cartoon and it reminded me of the series:
( via nakedpastor)
Also, my friend Michael (internetmonk.com) was inspired to rant about the Gospel after listening to my message. Please take time to read his entire post, but if you’re too lazy to click on a link you can just read this excerpt (emphasis mine):
The Gospel tells you to repent and believe, but it doesn’t tell you everything to do, or everything to think. It doesn’t give you the responsibility to make the other guy into a better person or to make the world safe for democracy. The Gospel doesn’t make salvation a matter of saving the culture or even your kids. The Gospel isn’t a new law, and it’s not a new agenda. Jesus saves. That’s the Gospel. You can apply it. You can take it and follow Jesus, but don’t get too far from the Gospel or you’ll wind up just another annoying legalist…
The Gospel isn’t a ball of playdough waiting to be shaped into whatever happens to be of interest to me. It doesn’t serve political parties. It doesn’t sell books. It doesn’t make megachurches really cool. It purchases a people, saves them and changes their hearts to belong to God, not to the world.
The Gospel is simple. It’s free. It overturns us and our little party. It says things we don’t want religion to say, but that’s ok, because it’s not religion. The Gospel upsets people who are startled by its power and universal application. The Gospel can get you crucified, and then it’s even more powerful.
The Gospel breaks your heart over your own sin, and shuts you up about the other guy’s sin…
Quote of the Day
May 30, 2007 Quotes
.:mood:. Goodish
.:itunes:. Everybody Knows A Little Bit Of Something by King’s X
(Bill Gates via Wired.com
Microsoft Surface
May 30, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Inspired
.:itunes:. She’s the one by Robbie Williams
To show that I am not a complete and total Apple snob, I have to point out a cool new Microsoft product called Surface. This looks really cool and it is what I have been wanting every since I watched Minority Report. When the iPhone was announced, I was hoping it was the first step toward this kind of product.
Can’t wait to see what technology looks like in 10 years.
Chuck Swindoll Dropped from Radio Network for “Crude, Vulgar, From the Gutter” Language
May 29, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Great
.:itunes:. She will be loved by Maroon 5
OK, this is hilarious. (via MondayMorningInsight.com). If I owned a radio network, I would hire Swindoll just because of this.
Chuck Swindoll Dropped from Radio Network for “Crude, Vulgar, From the Gutter” Language
Huh, Chuck Swindoll? Yes that’s not a typo. It seems even Chuck Swindoll has been not been able to pass the Christian censors at the VCY Radio Network. Last week, VCY released a statement telling why they have dropped Swindoll from their stations. Among the bad words Chuck has used since 2000 (yes, they’ve been keeping a tally for 7 years now): buns, heck, crap, balls, and also for mentioning (and encouraging the viewing of) the Lion King.
Great Thoughts
May 28, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Inspired
.:itunes:. I Will Return by Daniel Amos
This weekend, during my message, I mentioned how I don’t think we should force the Ten Commandments into public buildings, etc. One of the biggest reasons is the first commandment itself:
“I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me.”
If we force that onto the American public, we are negating freedom of religion. Freedom of religion is essential, because people need to choose Jesus of their own freewill not have it forced down their throat. At the same time, I believe that God is the one who calls us. Yes, this paradox makes me a good “Calminian.”
Anyhoo…I just got a great email from someone at Riverview that I wanted to share. The emphasis is mine. You can see she’s a good Calminian, as well.
Thank you, thank you, thank you…
I have struggled so much (in my head) with whether my feelings about separation of church and state are hypocritical as a Christian. I needed to hear the validation from someone else. I feel so strongly that everything I believe as a Christian is what I came to believe through a process that I needed to go through. And I think the process that gets you there is the most important part of becoming a Christian. It’s what makes you remember why you made the right choice. And people have to remember - we didn’t choose this life. God chose for us to have the choice. If we force our choice on others, isn’t that like going above God’s head? He could have done it that way, but he didn’t. We have the choice to sin on every level. If you take away the chance to choose wrong, how will you see any benefit to choosing right?…I just wanted to thank you for making me feel like I’m not a terrible person for feeling this way.
Pray for North Korea
May 28, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Optimistic
.:mashup:. Emijean by Eminem vs Michael Jackson
(From Digital Chosunilbo)
Pray for North Korea. If Kim Jong Il’s health is really going downhill, this could be an opportunity for the Gospel.
South Korean intelligence officials are investigating information that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s health has deteriorated recently, a source said.
“The National Intelligence Service has obtained information that the reclusive leader Kim’s diabetes and heart disease have been worsening. This information is more reliable than former rumors,” a government official said…
Many experts say Kim’s worsening health will ignite a fierce power struggle between his sons, Kim Jong-nam, who was born to the late Sung Hae-rim, and Kim Jong-chul and Kim Jong-woon, both born to the late Ko Young-hee.
America
May 28, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Good
.:itunes:. Carnival by Natalie Merchant
Happy Memorial Day, everyone. For you Americans who read my blog, don’t forget to take a few minutes to thank God for the one million plus men and women who have given their lives in wars and conflicts for the sake of our country.
We are a screwed up country in many ways, but we are also a great country as well.
Today, take time to thank God that we live in a country that allows freedom of religion. I am so thankful for the separation of church and state. Here are the words of Patrick Henry that I shared this weekend at Riverview:
“It can not be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religious people, but by Christians. Not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is for this very reason that people of other faiths have been offered asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
On a related note, Michael the internetmonk shares his experience singing “America the Beautiful” at church this weekend. He has some great thoughts. Here’s a blip:
Perhaps the reason a song like “America the Beautiful” persists in worship among evangelicals is a simple, but deeply rooted problem: We- the church- don’t know who we are. We have lost our identity, and in the world in which we live, it is always easier to take hold of national identity than to live out the identity of God’s people.
Blog of the Week: Monday Morning Insight
May 26, 2007 Blog of the Week
.:mood:. Great
.:itunes:. World Come Crashing Down by Undercover
People often ask me what blogs I read on a regular basis and why. To this end, I am going to attempt to review a different blog each week. When I decided to do this, there was no question which blog would be first.
Blog Name
Monday Morning Insight
Blog Author
Todd Rhoades, who wears a great many hats. He works with Leadership Network, he developed ChurchStaffing.com, and he is an elder at New Hope Community Church in Bryan, Ohio. (His church has a series going on right now that makes we want to cry it is so beautiful. You can check out the video promo here.)
I have emailed a little bit with Todd and had the opportunity to meet him last year in San Diego. He is one of the most unassuming guys out there, who seems very passionate about resourcing the church body.
What is this blog about?
According to MMI’s “about” page:
Well, so you want to know more about MondayMorningInsight.com. MMI, as most people affectionately refer to us, is merely a compilation of internet stories and resources that would be of interest to pastors and church leaders across the United States and the world. We discusse everything from serious theological issues to humorous stories and satire about church ministries.
You’ll find that we really don’t take our selves all that seriously, but we do take the work of ministry very seriously. And that’s what we discuss and communicate about here at MMI: ministry, innovation, leadership, current events… you know, the things we passionate about.
Why do I read it?
I read MMI because it is hands down the best single source of resources for church leaders out there. Todd must spend hours online every day, weeding through all the crap on the net, finding the right pieces to throw onto his site. His bits are short and concise and always thought provoking. He adds a few questions for you to think about at the end of each article.
I have paid good money before for magazines that claim to do what Todd does every day for free. If you are a pastor or Christian leader, bookmark MMI. Do it now or else.
OK…I have to get to work
May 26, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Getting there still
.:itunes:. In The Car by Barenaked Ladies
Alright. I have finished tweaking my site for the time being. Here are the changes:
1. I have updated the blogroll as I mentioned yesterday. The sidebar has a limited list. You can still check out all the blogs I read here.
2. I added the recent comments and frequent commenter lists on the sidebar.
3. I added a new archive section. Click here to check it out. You can look through old posts by date or category. It’s pretty sweet and would be way cooler if I hadn’t accidentally whacked all my categories when I switched to WordPress.
Link Love
May 25, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Getting Somewhere
.:itunes:. Little of Your Time by Maroon 5
If there is one thing I have heard over and over about my blog it is this:
Too many links in the blogroll!
My blogroll has grown to such crazy lengths because of several things:
1. I read a lot of blogs
2. I skim a lot of blogs
3. I have a lot of friends with blogs
4. I meet a lot of people with blogs
5. There are a lot of people at Riverview with blogs
6. I like to share what I am reading with others
Because of all of this, I am implementing a new blogroll strategy. On the sidebar, I am going to include a few blogs that fall into a tight filter:
1. Daily Reads
2. Daily Skims
I will slap this up in the next day or two and update it from time to time. This will not include a lot of my friend’s personal blogs because although I read them on a regular basis, most people don’t click on their links from my site. I still have a blogreader that I read them in.
I am also implementing two new features to my blog (we’ll see how long I keep up with them).
1. A comprehensive blogroll (including friends) on it’s own separate page. You can click here to view that blogroll. I also have a link to this on my sidebar.
2. A weekly review of a blog that I think everyone should check out. This was a common request on my last roll call, so I thought it would be worth a shot. I’ll start that in a few days, too, and I’ll link to a list of these featured blogs soon thereafter.
Let me know what you think of this new strategy or if you think I should tweak it in some way. Mostly, the inter-phase of this blog is for those who read it, not me, so I want to make sure I serve y’all well.
Comments on the Law
May 24, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Very very tired
.:itunes:. How Many Times by Zack Hexum
So I have received a whole bunch of questions about the law since I launched the new series last weekend. I was going to answer some of the questions here on my blog but then I realized that most of the questions will be answered during the course of the series.
If you emailed me a question, just hang on! The answer is coming!
Back to the grind…
Oh, did you notice the “Top Commenter” feature in the right column? That’s right! Instant gratification if you comment a lot on my blog! I am working on more blog tweaks today…
Impressions
May 24, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Laughing
.:itunes:. Heaven by Live
OK…this guy does some pretty amazing impressions…
And of course Frank Calliendo is always good…
The Law
May 23, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Free
.:itunes:. Listen Up! by The Gossip
This past weekend, I launched a new series at Riverview called “Mosaic.” This series will be taking a quick look at “interpreting the Law normally.” I basically went through principles of how the Mosaic Law applies to New Testament believers. Soon, I hope to convert the message into a paper, so I’ll let you know when I do. Until then, you can download the message here or watch it here:
The reaction has been pretty cool. A lot of people talked with me over the weekend and several have sent me very good questions. Depending on my schedule this week, I am going to try to answer some of the questions here on my blog.
We also have over 450 people signed up to get Mess...@Eriv.net which is a list of discussion questions people can use for additional study throughout the week. If you would like to sign up to get these notes each week, you can click here.
Here are the study questions for this week:
In what ways have you tried to live an if / then faith?
Are there certain areas where you are trying to perform to make God love you more?
Are there certain areas where you feel like you are letting God down?
Read Romans 8:1
Since there is “now no condemnation” for you if you follow Jesus, what do you think he would say to you in these areas?
Take a few minutes to read through these passages and write down any specific things that strike you regarding your relationship to the Mosaic Law:
Galatians 3:10-13
Romans 7:4-6
Ephesians 2:14-15
2 Corinthians 3:4-11
Matthew 5:17-20
Luke 24:44-48
Galatians 3:19
Romans 8:1-4
Living in BI for now
May 23, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Inspired
.:itunes:. Arms of an Angel by Sarah McLachlan
(via Gizmodo)
“Much like the Western calendar marks time from before and after Jesus Christ, and how the computer world changed totally by the Macintosh—remembering that Windows is Microsoft’s copy of the Mac operating system—I am certain that the mobile telecoms world will count its time in two Eras. The Era BI: time Before the iPhone, and the ERA AI: time After the iPhone.”
-Tomi T Ahonen
Clean your room!
May 22, 2007 Uncategorized
(via Reuters)
I have bolded my favorite part.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A nine-year-old German girl was so upset about having to tidy her room she put up a sign in her window urging passers-by to call police for help.
Pedestrians in the central city of Braunschweig saw the girl crying in the window, holding up a sign up saying “Help! Please call the police!” Next to her sat a small boy. Quickly alerted, officers rushed to the scene to discover the girl had argued with her mother about tidying her room and enlisted her two-year-old brother’s aid to attract attention.
“The room looked like a battlefield,” said a spokesman for local police on Monday. “Officers told the girl to tidy her room. When they came back two hours later to check, it was all cleaned up. And the mother and daughter had made up too.”
That’s public service.
05-20-07_1516.jpg
May 20, 2007 Uncategorized
The sign before this one said
“Right two lanes closed”
Problem is there are only two lanes.
RiverBrew 2
May 19, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Proud
.:itunes:. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine by The Killers
I mentioned last week that Riverview was launching a new ministry called RiverBrew. And yes, “brew” is beer, not coffee. It’s an easy mistake to make if you know our church (Steve Fee once called us “the most caffeinated church in America.”)
Since this group is officially launching this weekend, I wanted to make a few observations. First, a promotional video they put together:
Basically, this ministry will teach people how to home brew their own beer. Here, again, are their objectives:
* To worship God through appreciation of his creation
* To build community and friendships through a common bond
* To model and exhort enjoyment in moderation of God’s gifts; quality over quantity
* To break down misconceptions about the Biblical view of alcohol
* To resume the Church’s historical role as making the finest beer in town
Here are some reasons I am glad this ministry is launching:
It is an example of young men taking a risk for the Gospel.
The guys who are starting this ministry are not doing so solely because they like beer (which they do). They’re also not doing it to buck the system (which it will). They are doing it because they have seen the increased popularity in home brewing and see the Gospel opportunity it provides. They will be able to reach people that are currently untouched with the Gospel.
I am sure they will receive criticism for their risk, and I am sure they will be gracious in the face of this criticism. It is a big risk and I am praying it will pay off huge with eternal rewards.
It is innovative.
This very well may be the first of its kind (at least in modern American history). It is certainly the first time I have ever heard of a ministry like this. I love innovation and I will try anything moral once. As Mark Batterson has often said, “everything is an experiment.”
If this goes well, awesome.
If it goes poorly, awesome.
It provides what our Secular Culture needs right now.
There is a time and place when the best thing a Christian can do is to abstain from alcohol for the sake of the Gospel. I believe that time is over in our culture.
American Christians are now known much more for what we are against than what we are for. That must change.
We, as a culture, are very well versed in the dangers of alcoholism, drunk driving, and the like. What we desperately need in America right now is examples of moderation. That’s why I love the tagline of this ministry: “Quality over Quantity.” Or as Jeremy Mason has said, “Drink less beer…drink better beer.” Amen and amen.
It provides what our Christian Culture needs right now.
American Christians need to remember that historical Christianity has not had a problem with moderate alcohol consumption. Only over the last century or so have we become a “dry” faith. The Bible, while clearly warning about the dangers of drunkenness, calls wine a blessing from God.
We also have to be careful to think that we can be “holier than Jesus.” Saying that abstaining from alcohol is more moral than moderate consumption is ranking ourselves above Jesus who drank wine. That is not wise.
I want to close with a quote from an essay written by Jeremy Mason for the RiverBrew page on our church’s website:
The history of the church has been deeply rooted in the responsible enjoyment of beer and alcohol. Beer has never been the focus, just one of many great joys along the way. Brewing has been a thing of beauty, always focused on the joy that a good brew can bring. It seems that many theologians have been accompanied by a good beer as they have set forth to fight the good fight of truth and faith. If history is any indication of the future, I expect the church will continue in its unabashed appreciation of God’s great nectar. In this pursuit, there will always be someone in town who is brewing the best beer, why not make it the church?
アップル - Macをはじめよう
May 18, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Great
.:itunes:. Who Needs Sleep? by Barenaked Ladies
The Apple ads are great, even in Japanese (via アップル - Macをはじめよう)
The Mashup is even great:
OK, while watching these, I found an interview with John Hodgman. He is a comedic genius:
Sarah
May 17, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Not quite sure
.:itunes:. Have You Ever by Incubus
I must admit my first reaction to this photo of a 103 year old woman and her great great great granddaughter (courtesy of BWE) was Sarah and Isaac.
Genesis 17:17
Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”
Let that sink in. By the time Sarah had her baby, she was a hundred years old. This would be like the hospital picture of Sarah and Isaac.
