via Ted McCagg
Flotsam and jetsam (3/22)
Good Reads
- 21 (Mostly) Irrefutably Laws of Multi-cultural Church Leadership: I believe that a picture of heaven on earth in a diverse body of people reconciled by Jesus to God displays the Gospel too beautifully to ignore. Our church is multi-ethnic (I use the term more or less interchangibly with “multi-cultural”) and multi-generational, and it’s all God’s grace. I love seeing diversity every Sunday as I preach God’s Word.
- The Touch Screen Generation: Young children—even toddlers—are spending more and more time with digital technology. What will it mean for their development?
- Bigger Than We Think: The doctrine of Creation goes deeper than just explaining how the world began.
- An Open Letter to the Church from a Lesbian: When the word “homosexual” is mentioned in the church, we hold our breaths and sit in fear. Most often this word is followed with condemnation, laughter, hatred, or jokes. Rarely do we hear any words of hope. At least we recognize our sin. Does the church as a whole see theirs?
The Big Bible Bash: Quarterfinals
And then there were eight. All of the top seeds are still in the running, but another 2-seed went down. Matthew this time. And two 7-seeds have made surprisingly deep runs in the tournament: Philippians and Revelation.
So heading into the Quarterfinals, there are eight books left: 3 Old Testament books (Genesis, Psalms, and Isaiah) against 5 from the New Testament (Romans, Philippians, Acts, John, Revelation). Cast your votes to see who makes it to the next round. (Update: Voting closed.)
Tournament Update
The Round of 16 featured some pretty close matchups. Some of the 1-seeds experienced their first real challenges. After dominating the first two rounds, Genesis barely got past (4) Hebrews with 60.6% of the vote, and Isaiah won by an even narrower margin (58.7%) against (3) Luke.
The most interesting matchup of the round came when (3) Acts defeated (2) Matthew with 51.4% of the vote, even though Matthew led by a slight margin after the first day of voting.
It Is Not We Who Can Sustain the Church
It is not we who can sustain the Church, nor was it our forefathers, nor will it be our descendants. It was and is and will be the One who says: “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” As it says in Hebrews 13: “Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today, and forever.” And in Revelation 1: “Which was, and is, and is to come.” Verily He is that One, and none other is or can be.
For you and I were not alive thousands of years ago, but the Church was preserved without us, and it was done by the One of whom it says, ‘Who was’, and ‘Yesterday’.
Again, we do not do it in our life-time, for the Church is not upheld by us. For we could not resist the devil in… the sects and other wicked folk. For us, the Church would perish before our very eyes, and we with it (as we daily prove), were it not for that other Man who manifestly upholds the Church and us. This we can lay hold of and feel, even though we are loath to believe it, and we must needs give ourselves to the One of whom it is said, ‘Who is’, and ‘Today’.
Again, we can do nothing to sustain the Church when we are dead. But He will do it of whom it is said, ‘Who is to come’ and ‘Forever’. And what we must needs say of ourselves in this regard is what our forefathers had also to say before us, as the Psalms and other Scriptures testify, and what our descendants will also experience after us, when with us and the whole Church they sing in Psalm 124: “If the Lord himself had not been on our side, when men rose up against us,” and Psalm 60: “O be thou our help in trouble, for vain is the help of man.”
The Big Bible Bash: Round of 16
Sixteen more books have fallen in The Big Bible Bash. And only sixteen remain. Two of our 2-seeds are out, and one of the Gospels has now been eliminated. The tournament has begun to favor NT books, with only 6 OT books remaining. But that includes heavy hitters like Genesis, Isaiah, and Psalms. So this round of voting should prove very interesting. (Update: Voting is now closed.)
The Upsets
All of the number 1 seeds cruised to relatively easy victories in the Round of 32, winning with an average of 90.5% of the vote in their races. But it was a tough day for the 2-seeds. (2) Mark fell to ( 7) Philippians (41.3% vs. 58.7%); and (2) Proverbs fell to (7) Revelation (32.6% to 67.4%). Even (2) Matthew struggled for a while against (7) Exodus, before winning with 61.6%.
Flotsam and jetsam (3/20)
Good Reads
- 7 Traits of False Teachers: The existence of the counterfeit is never a good reason for rejecting the genuine. Peter essentially tells us, “Of course there are counterfeit Christians. Of course there are teachers who do the church more harm than good. What else would you expect in this fallen world? Grow up! Don’t be naïve! Don’t miss what’s real simply because you have seen the counterfeit.”
- Living Well in Ordinary Time: ”The hardest thing in the world is to be where we are,” observes Rowan Williams in his Lent book, Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles Our Judgment. Enigmatic though it may be, I think Williams’s remark is one worth pondering if we are to negotiate faithfully the current challenges before church and world.
- Book Publishers Scramble to Rewrite Their Future: Wired magazine takes a look at changes in the book publishing industry.
- A New New Testament: Are you Serious? The council of 19—including two rabbis—examined several ancient writings…and determined which of these worthies deserved a place at the table with original New Testament books. Ten books were selected for this honor, along with two prayers and one song.
Meet Our New Th.M. Program Director: Todd Miles
As I announced last month, my family and I are moving to Wheaton so I can take up a position there. That means we’re looking at a couple of transitions here at Western Seminary, one of which involves our Th.M. program. I’ve been directing the ThM at Western for the last six years, and it’s been an incredible experience. So I’m pleased to announce that Western has selected a new program director for the Th.M., and it’s someone who will do a great job leading the program forward.
Todd Miles has been teaching at Western for 10 years now, focusing mostly on theology, ethics, and hermeneutics. Not only is he well respected by both students and faculty, but he is an outstanding academic supervisor. As program director, I’ve always known that if I assign a student to Todd, that student is going to get quality time and attention at every stage of the program. And students routinely express great appreciation for the time and effort that Todd puts into reading and commenting on their research projects. So, if you’re looking for a Th.M. program with program director who will really invest himself in you, your research, and your future, Todd’s the guy.
To introduce him, I asked Todd to answer a few quick questions about himself and the program.
The Big Bible Bash: Round of 32
The first round of voting is over, so we’re on to the Round of 32 in The Big Bible Bash. And, as expected, the first round favored the top seeds. Indeed, somewhat surprisingly, the higher seeds won every single contest. Even the close races between the 8 and 9 seeds ended up in a victory for the 8 seeds.
As you may know, we’re giving away almost $500 worth of commentaries and other great books from Zondervan, IVP, Baker, Eerdmans, and Crossway. All you have to do to participate in the giveaway is cast your vote for your favorite books of the Bible. If you missed out on the earlier rounds, no worries. You can still vote in the later rounds and be eligible for the giveaway. So cast your vote now! (Update: Voting is now closed.)
Tournament Highlights
Although it’s time to put the first round behind us, we can take a few moments to reflect on the most interesting developments from the first round. Here’s the updated tournament bracket. But, if you’re just interested in the highlights, here you go!
Flotsam and jetsam (3/18)
Good Reads
- DIY Superpowers for the Cyborg on a Budget: So what kind of sixth sense could you acquire today if you were in the market? Anything from infrared vision to an internal compass to a sort of “spidey sense” that alerts you when something is approaching from behind. And the cost can run from the tens of thousands of dollars to as little as a few bucks, as long as you have a scalpel and a hearty tolerance for risk and pain.
- How Movements Recover: [Augustine] wanted the church to go on offense and swallow the world. This would involve swallowing impurities as well as purities. It would mean putting to use those who are imperfect. This was the price to be paid if you wanted an active church coexisting with sinners, disciplining and rebuking them.
- 10 Ideas That Make a Difference: They can be as huge as a new constitution or as tiny as a medical microchip. In this special report, TIME explores innovations that are changing the way we work, live, pray and play.
- Why Should Protestants Care about the Pope? In many ways, for better and/or worse, Christianity still goes through Rome. And there is no more visible representative of worldwide Christianity than the bishop of Rome. That may make a great many Christians (and non-Christians) squeamish, but it is what it is.
Tournament Update
After one day of voting in the Round of 64 for the Big Bible Bash Tournament, most of the favorites are performing as expected. At this point, it appears as though all of the top seeds will move on to next round.
And IVP has generously donated a few more boks to the giveaway. That means we’re now giving away 15 BOOKS WORTH ALMOST $500!
A Few Close Races
Although the top seeds are doing well, we do have a few races that are too close to call. And that includes almost all of the contests involving a 8 seed vs. a 9 seed.
