January 9, 2012 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
Good Reads
- Why Didn’t Tolkein Win the Nobel Prize: I’m not a fan of The Lord of the Rings, but I have wondered how such a monumentally influential author was overlooked for a Nobel Prize in literature. C.S. Lewis nominated J.R.R. Tolkien in 1961. The governing committee considered him, but ultimately awarded the prize to the Yugoslavian writer Ivo Andric. Why? Recently declassified documents explain the committee’s reasoning.
- The Missing Ingredient in Most Goals: “A clearly written goal is not enough. A carefully thought out action plan isn’t either. You need more than this if you are going to accomplish really big goals. Let me explain.”
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January 6, 2012 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
Good Reads
- What Do We Do With Our Slavery-Affirming Theological Heroes?: “How is it possible to believe the gospel and articulate so clearly the doctrine of justification by faith alone, yet miss how this doctrine severs the root of racism and ethnocentrism forever? Even more, how can one’s life be so out of step with one’s theology?”
January 4, 2012 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
Good Reads
- Here’s a great read for staring the new year right. Time Lost and Found: “I’ve heard it said that every day you need half an hour of quiet time for yourself, or your Self, unless you’re incredibly busy and stressed, in which case you need an hour. I promise you, it is there. Fight tooth and nail to find time, to make it. It is our true wealth, this moment, this hour, this day.”
- The Next Billy Graham Might Be Drunk Right Now: “Most of the church in any generation comes along through the slow, patient discipleship of the next generation. But just to keep us from thinking Christianity is evolutionary and “natural”…, Jesus shocks his church with leadership that seems to come like a Big Bang out of nowhere.”
- How to Stone People without the Inconvenience of Picking up Rocks: “Shepherding those who struggle with life dominating sin is not unlike swimming out to a drowning victim. There’s always the potential of having your nose broken by the very one you are trying to save. It’s an exhausting sort of love, but sincere. Churches that truly love their members swim out to each other’s lives in light of the risks.”
- A Forgotten Text? ”I have often in the past stood with those who laughed at what we regarded as the ignorant, unsophisticated taboos of the older generation. But now I worry about the ease with which the rising generation talks explicitly of ‘the fruitless deeds of darkness’ in the name of cultural engagement, fear of being thought passé or simply a desire to slough off the legalisms of their fathers in the faith.”
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January 2, 2012 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
Good Reads
- The Pedestal Complex: “Our celebrity culture not only honors the wrong people; it actually undercuts the heroes who used to be the real celebrities — those we ought to celebrate.”
- Doesn’t Anyone in the Media Ever Read the Bible? ”It happened again just the other day. I was reading the New York Times and I came across something so hilarious that for a moment it seemed to be some kind of joke. But this was in an obituary.”
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December 30, 2011 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
Good Reads
- Churches Bring Custom Apps to Their Flocks: WSJ takes a look at technology in the church. “Pastors and parishioners say the technology can enable people to uphold the call to stay religiously involved at all times, not just on Sunday. App developers expect thousands of churches to develop the apps in coming years to meet demand from worshipers.”
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December 28, 2011 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
Good Reads
- Two Approaches to the Incarnation: Paul Helm argues that we need to view the incarnation more as God’s condescension into the world than a military conflict between opposing powers.
- Literacy Matters–In Church: “In my former work as a high school teacher and now as an educational researcher, I’ve been amazed at the diversity of teens’ experiences, delighted by the creativity and resourcefulness that they demonstrate in various contexts, and impressed with their articulation about things that matter to them. My experiences with teens don’t negate these “moralistic therapeutic deism” findings from recent national studies, but they do prompt me to go beyond blaming teens for being self-centred and inarticulate.”
- The Book of Books: What Literature Owes the Bible: Marilynn Robinson has an excellent piece in the NYT on literature and the Bible. “The Bible is the model for and subject of more art and thought than those of us who live within its influence, consciously or unconsciously, will ever know.”
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December 14, 2011 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
December 12, 2011 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
driving in the snow
Good Reads
- Greg Peters questions the practice of going “on retreat” to get spiritually renewed: “What if local churches became the real centers of spiritual renewal in the life of the evangelical church? What if retreats were unnecessary because the local church met its member’s spiritual needs by way of daily or, at least, near-daily worship services?”
- Money Matters: Do I Have to Give? Tim Challis is writing an interesting series answering the questions Do I have to give?, How am I to give?, Where am I to give?, and How much should I give?
- Jesus Ripped Up Santa’s List: “we like the list. We like the neat and tidy categories that the list offers and the obvious ramifications of our behavior.”
- Churchill for Pastors: 5 Leadership Lessons: “Pastors can identify with the ups and downs of Churchill’s career. His quips inspire them. And his triumphs and tragedies can even teach us a thing or two (or five) about leadership.”
Other Info
- If you’re getting tired of fantasy football or fantasy baseball, try Fantasy Curling.
Just for Fun
December 9, 2011 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
gotta love Arrested Development
Good Reads
- Gospel Centrality: A Warning and Recommendation: ”Evangelicals are deeply essentialist. For a variety of historically conditioned reasons, we like to boil things down to their road-ready minimum and get on with life. As I’ve often heard it said, we tend to have two speeds, essential and unimportant.”
- Getting Inerrancy Wrong: “Sadly, though, it is becoming increasingly clear (again) that even some of those who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture have different interpretations of what inerrancy means.”
Other Info
- Deal of the Day: Aaron Armstrong is giving away a plethora of books. Seriously, go check it out. He’s got a great package of books to give away to three different winners.
- All of Church History in 5 Hours: Michael Patton has posted the mp3 files, handouts, and power points for a 5-hour overview of church history. Somebody check this out and let us know how they are.
- America’s View of Southern Baptists Studied: “The majority of Americans have a favorable impression of Southern Baptists, according to a recent LifeWay Research study. However, 40 percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of the denomination; more than a third strongly assume an SBC church is not for them; and the negativity is higher among the unchurched.”
Just for Fun
- Loved this “diary” from a day in the life of a cat and a dog. From the cat: “I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now.”
December 7, 2011 in
Flotsam and jetsam with
Good Reads
Other Info
Just for Fun
