H.B.log

The week that was...and is not over yet

Friday's Already-Not Yet
I haven't had time to pull my head above water to see what's going on in the world this week, so this Friday's Already-Not Yet will have to be grown from the dirt under my own fingernails.  I've said elsewhere that church planting has thrown me into a "daily grind of war."  There are victories and losses, often in the same day, always in the same week.  Here's a four-day run, during which I've been praying Psalm 86 over and over:

Sunday.  We had a fun church gathering.  The music was humming, the preaching was a solid C+, and we had several new people jump on board our mission.  I gave a state of the church update and got to recount the history of Fellowship Denver as tied into God's bigger story and what a pleasure it has been to "count all things as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord" (Phil. 3:8).  Then, I went home and took a long nap before getting up and going to The Decemberists concert at the Fillmore. It was one of the best concerts I've seen in a long while.  Rate this day an Already.

Monday.  I spent the day at Stella's writing a booklet on 1 John to coincide with our next sermon series.  I love writing and Stella's, and even better is writing at Stella's (even though the Platte Park knitting club created quite the hen-house effect for a couple of hours).  At the end of the day, I received my weekly list of Sunday sins from the theater where we meet (stuff like "putting signs outside on the sidewalk, even though it's public property").  Rate this day an Already-Not Yet.

Tuesday. It's late April.  We had a steady, cold, November rain all day with a few cantaloupe-sized snowflakes mixed in. I had two heart-breaking conversations/emails (details intentionally fuzzy) and got a phone call telling me we are getting kicked out of the Denver Civic Theater without notice.  Rate this day a Not-Not-Not-Not-Yet.

Wednesday. New life...I became an uncle.  Brent Walker Beaumont, Jr. (hereafter known as "Walker, Texas Ranger") born to my little brother who hasn't even gone through puberty yet.  Congrats, Brent and Katie.  Rate this day an Already.

Thursday.  A couple of appointments, some sermon prep, a 3-mile run, and a gathering with a few friends for The Office.  Rate this day Uneventful, thank you, Jesus.

          

Justice for Virginia Tech?

Friday's Already-Not Yet
I usually devote this space to something whimsical - how Denver Mexican food will be cast into the lake of fire when Jesus returns, for example.  But today is not really a day for whimsy in light of the Virginia Tech shootings.  It was interesting watching us try to publicly cope with something less shocking than 9/11, yet so horrible that we  had to mourn.  Baseball still played ball, but the Washington Nationals donned "VT" hats.  American Idol warbled on, but with a more subdued introduction.  Jon Stewart mentioned it apologetically before launching into his satirical skewering of lesser news.

But if we can stop for just a moment, almost all of us would find ourselves yearning for resolution, or to quote a conversation I overheard on Tuesday while standing in line at Starbucks, "Something is f**d up in this world."  Justice is what we want.   Even the most irreligious among us, too ambivalent on most days to pray, might have closed their eyes and said a few words for the victims and families this week.   And as Douglas Wilson reminded me in this insightful commentary, even some atheists can't bring themselves to proclaim as good news the logical conclusion of God's non-existence.

To give you some context, Wilson is reflecting on what we could say about such tragedy if the "new atheism" as preached by evangelists like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens is true.  Wilson's piece is not a rant, but an irenic and reasoned appeal to the image of God in all of us - even when we suppress it the most.

Here is an excerpt (and here is the entire article):
"Given atheism, the Virginia Tech shooter is now in the same condition as Helen Keller, Mother Teresa, John Paul II, Ted Bundy, John Lennon, and Dolly Madison. The nirvana of non-existence is now his, and he successfully escaped to that haven from every claim of justice. That rampage is an atrocity which Harris, Dawkins, and Hitchens all believe will never be put right. Justice will never be applied to it. And this lack of justice is just the way it is. So what is wrong with this lack of justice now? Given atheism, nothing is wrong with it.

But even the new atheists cannot bring themselves to acknowledge this. This is because they are created in the image of God, and they know better. So my charge is not that they approve of such things. Of course not. Not a bit of it. My charge is that they are purveyors of an impotent disapproval. The shooting has stopped, the shouting has died down, the bullets are all spent, and the shooter has begun to decompose. And the infinite concourse of atoms that constitutes all reality continues to roar by us heedless, continuing, as always, to not give a damn."

A plug for Christian biography

The first step to growing up as a follower of Jesus is learning not to go into a Christian bookstore unless you know what you're looking for.  It's like grocery shopping without a list.  You'll probably wind up with a basketful of Doritos, Ding Dongs, and Fruity Pebbles.  And if you do know what you're looking for and you've taken care to select veggies, cuts of lean meat, and fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, chances are good that the Christian bookstore in the strip-shop next to the Rite Aid doesn't carry them.  Translation: Amazon.com is closest good bookstore for most folks.

So here's a planning tip for your Amazon excursion: try Christian biography.  A good biography can provide all the snap and crackle of an Osteen "non" fiction without the sugary pop.  One good author put it this way: "Good biography is history and guards against chronological snobbery (as C.S. Lewis calls it).  It is also theology - the most powerful kind - because it bursts forth from the lives of people.  It is also adventure and suspense, for which we have a natural hunger.  It is psychology and personal experience, which deepen our understanding of human nature (especially ourselves). Good biographies of great Christians make for remarkably efficient reading" (John Piper, Brothers We are Not Professionals, 90).

With that endorsement ringing in my ears, I recently ran across this post from Al Mohler, who offers a top-ten list of Christian biographies, ranked chronologically.  I've read a few of these and now have some great ideas for more reading.  (Note: It has a decidedly Reformed - for those who know that that means - lean to it). Here's Dr. Mohler's list with a few of annotations on the ones I've read:

Augustine of Hippo by Peter Brown.  This is my favorite modern book ever, anywhere, any genre.  Period.  I read it at least once a year. The prose is poetic.  The subject is the second most influential Christian in history (1. Paul, 2. Augustine).   If you haven't read it, put down your Sue Grafton novel immediately and get it.

Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox by G.K. Chesterton.

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton.  A solid book, and maybe a better place to start than Augustine because it's slightly easier reading, though not as poetic.  There's only one Peter Brown.

William Tyndale: A Biography by David Daniell

A Life of John Calvin by Alister McGrath.  It's unfortunate that there isn't a truly "classic" biography of Calvin.  This one is solid, but not spectacular. It was my constant companion during my Masters thesis research into Calvin's view of the Lord's Supper, so I have a special place in my heart for it.  I also have a special place in my heart for the 1984 Monte Carlo that I drove in high school, but that doesn't mean I would try to sell it to you.  We just spent so much time and kissed a few girls together, that I have fond memories.  To continue the car analogy, this is a reliable Honda Civic, not a BMW.

Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George Marsden.  Until Marsden published this book in 2003, Edwards was like Calvin: Mercedes man with a Honda Civic biography.  But Marsden cured that.  This will be a classic and is my second-favorite book on the list after Augustine of Hippo.  Kudos to my Aunt Mary Katherine who gave this to me for Christmas in 2003.

George Whitefield:  The  Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival by Arnold Dallimore.

Harry Emerson Fosdick: Preacher, Pastor, and Prophet by Robert Moats Miller.  I haven't read this one, but it's a great opportunity to play the old game "Which of these is not like the other," which I haven't done since I took the SAT. Answer: Fosdick.  All the other men biographied on this list are positive examples.  Fosdick is not one I would follow, even if it was just to cross the street.  A whole bunch of people got hit by a bus while Harry was the crossing guard.  A good synopsis and rationale is given by Mohler.

Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America by D.G. Hart.  To be frank, I've read this and one other biography by Hart and haven't enjoyed either.  He's not a very engaging writer and a little too curmudgeonly in his ways.  It's a shame.  Machen is a very important remedy to Fosdick.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years, 1899-1939 by Ian Murray.  Another I haven't read but will soon.  I didn't know "The Doctor" (as they called Lloyd-Jones) very well until the last year, but now I read him constantly (currently working through his 1 John book).  On several occasions when my first impulse was to curl up in a fetal position and suck my thumb, he saved my sanity and called me to be a man. 

Almost Kicked Out of Heaven: My Day at The Masters

Friday's Already-Not Yet

God said, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.” Bobby Jones was obviously paying attention in Sunday School, having perfectly tamed a postage stamp of land on the left bank of the Savannah River. Augusta National Golf Club, they call this little garden. In many ways, my Tuesday visit to The National was a practice round of the kingdom to come. Outside the gates, it’s a world not-yet subdued, where fast food signs, dated apartments, and a strip-shop church of miracles victory and deliverance crassly shout at the passersby. But inside, it’s a taste of the kingdom, a place where cell phones aren’t allowed and where it took me six hours of furious walking to finally find a weed – a discolored clump in the grassy triangle between #8, 9, and 18.

The dominant color, of course is green, found not only on the fairways, putting surfaces, and members-only blazers, but also in the passages where common patrons tread. Thick, lush grass in places where everyone else would put dirt and concrete – that’s what makes Augusta special. The accent colors are pink, as found on the azaleas and the frat boys, and white, as found on the dogwood blossoms, sand traps, caddie coveralls, and septuagenarian hair that sits atop the green jackets.

But like a naïve freshman, my green and white world would soon be grayed. Augusta National, it turns out, is much more like a Baptist church than the final Kingdom: lots of good stuff going on in there, but a few stern deacons can still make life miserable. I discovered this while sitting in one of golf’s most sacred sanctuaries, directly behind the #12 tee box, better known as Amen Corner. I noted that several of my fellow parishioners had removed their shoes for comfort. This felt like a good idea to me too, tired as I was from six hours of walking. So for a good 45 minutes, I dug my toes into the soft, cool grass while watching greats like Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw loft practice shots across Rae’s Creek. 

“You boys wanna keep your shoes? Then I suggest you put ‘em on, or I will walk you barefooted to the gate.” To get the full effect, you need to see a humorless older gentleman clad in a rent-a-cop uniform (“Securitas”), and you need to hear an r-less southern accent. High-pitched apologies ensued, as I hastily tried to sheath my feet, blanched as they were to a blasphemous white by the long Denver winter. Still, the lecture continued. “You’re really testing my patience, and I’m not gonna tell you again. Either you keep your shoes on or surrender your badge.  Now I’m not kiddin, ya hear…..” The flogging continued for a couple of minutes as we were verbally stripped of our patronly dignity.

In the real kingdom, there will be precious words for such circumstances. “Grace” means not receiving the punishment you deserve because someone else took it. “Expiation” means having your sin covered, no longer laid bare. But no matter how hastily I apologized, there would be no gracious end to the lecture. No matter how quickly I re-socked my feet, my sin would not be expatiated. Augusta National is one of the prettiest spots on earth. But even the prettiest spot on earth still has one grass weed and a few rascally people – barefooted profaners and old man complainers. And so we keep on repeating the centuries-old cry of Revelation 22: “Amen (Corner). Come, Lord Jesus!”

Friday's Already-Not Yet

Evangelical Shifting - Part 2

How do we do church?
Until recently church in America was fairly simple: a congregation that met on Sundays under the leadership of pastors or elders, often with at least one full-time, paid pastor.  Sometimes the church was quite elaborate - full time youth pastors, a worship leader for each key on the keyboard, basketball leagues, workout rooms, bookstores, cafes, recovery ministries, concerts, and drama troupes.  Other times, the church was quite simple - Brother Bob visits the hospital, counsels the newlyweds, preaches a sermon, and teaches a Sunday school class.  At the end of the day, he leaves the church office and walks across the parking lot to a small parsonage last updated in 1972. Either way, the core model was the same - a defined congregation gathering on Sundays under defined leadership.

But today, many are re-thinking the traditional model.  This movement goes by many names - organic church, simple church, and house church.  These folks are eschewing "institutionalism" in favor of something more earthy.  They usually meet exclusively in homes or small groups, don't have paid pastors, and are loosely organized.  This movement is growing in America, though the numbers are hard to pinpoint.

So, what do we make of this?  Here's a couple of my thoughts:
1. The house/simple/organic church movement is understandable.  It is primarily a reaction against the staleness that many have experienced in bigger churches.  Many Christians can sympathize with these concerns.

2. House/simple/organic churches can be a bit squirrely on particulars that Jesus and the Apostles laid out for church.  (George Barna even makes this statement: "The Bible does not rigidly define the corporate practices, rituals, or structures that must be embraced in order to have a proper church" - Revloution, 37.  Has George ever read the Pastoral Epistles?).  BUT, they're not necessarily unbiblical.  A house church can meet all of the New Testament descriptions of a church, and they often do.

3. However, I'm not sure this movement holds much hope for advancing the gospel in America.  My concern here has more to do with what missionaries call "contextualization."  Contextualization asks this question: what cultural forms will best translate the gospel in a way that's accessible to non-Christians?  In China, where Christianity is an underground movement, the house church is perfectly contextualized because it meets a need for secrecy.  But is it right for the American context?  I'm not convinced for this reason: many non-Christians tend to be suspicious of something that meets only in homes and always in small groups; it looks a bit cultish to them, and the intense intimacy is threatening.  In my anecdotal experience, the people joining house churches are disgruntled longtime Christians, NOT new Christians.  So, I'm not convinced that house church is a real advance movement as much as it is a reaction against something else.  The movement will continue to grow as it draws people from one form of church to another.  But will it grow through mission?

4. Another movement is beginning to flower that I believe holds more promise.  I'll call it "attractional-missional" churches.  These churches, most of which have been planted in the last 10 years, are "missional" because they view themselves as missionaries to a post-Christian culture rather than sellers of spiritual goods to a Christianized culture.  They even adopt many organic-church practices such as discussion forums in bars and coffee shops, film screenings, and workplace discussion groups (Neil Cole's Organic Church describes many of these practices).  However, they remain "attractional" because they are not afraid of visible events, especially large Sunday worship gatherings.

So to summarize: this attractional-missional movement shares many of the concerns of the simple/organic/house folks, but is better contextualized for America because it adopts organic practices without eschewing all things "attractional" (which is almost a swear-word in some circles).  Congregations such as Mars Hill in Seattle, Redeemer Presbyterian in New York, The Journey in St. Louis, and Mars Hill in Grand Rapids are pacesetters in this movement and have managed to reach many unchurched people, grow them up in Jesus, and remain spiritually vital while still looking like churches.    

Evangelical Shifting - Part 1

A conversation with a friend yesterday prompted an idea for a series of blog posts on the shifting ground of evangelicalism.  Here's what I mean: In the early 1900s, Christianity in America went through a shift when modern philosophy began creeping into the churches.  This resulted in the fundamentalist-liberal split, which dominated the landscape until the 40's.  The fundamentalists held tight to the tried-and-true Christianity, while the liberals decided to take a more "open minded" stance on matters such as Jesus' virgin birth, Jesus' bodily resurrection, God's creation of the world, and human sinfulness.  The replaced these with lots of vague talk about love.

In the 40's-50's, another shift shifted when a new mindset called "neo-evangelicalism" (soon shortened to "evangelicalism") emerged among Christians who desired to be just as theologically orthodox as the fundamentalists but also more engaged with mainstream culture.  Evangelicalism is responsible for all of the growth in American Christianity of the last 50 years.  The mainline churches, under the influence of near-beer theology, largely declined, though their endowments still pay the bills.  Fundamentalism, under the influence of an "everyone was killed and we're the only ones left" mentality have also declined.  That left evangelicalism as the broad, consensus movement.

And the genius of evangelicalism was its consensus.  Though different churches and missions groups had their specialties, you could always count on a few big themes: People as sinful, Jesus as savior, the need for personal faith in Jesus, the Bible as God's inspired word, and the need to apply the Bible to life in order to "walk with" Jesus.  The evangelical consensus ensured a common Christian experience across denominational and parachurch lines.  A kid like me could become a Christian through an evangelical Presbyterian school, go to college and join Campus Crusade, graduate college and attend a non-denominational megachurch, and then go on to  seminary without ever feeling like I left home.

But today, the evangelical consensus is beginning to shift; some would even say its crumbling.  Every day I talk with people who are interacting with the shift, most of whom aren't even aware that the ground is moving.  So, I will write this series of posts with a layperson in mind.  How is the evangelical shift affecting you?  Here are a few of the ways its being felt:

• ecclesiology - how do we "do church?"
• politics - what issues are Christians concerned with?
• theology - what did Jesus accomplish on the cross?
• theology - do you have to believe in Jesus to "go to heaven?"
• lifestyle - which cultural practices are OK for Christians; which are not?
• evangelism - how do we share our faith?

In each post in this series, I'll examine one of these topics and compare the old evangelical consensus with the new ideas that are emerging.

Don't drive around Boulder with this on your bumper

From a car with Connecticut tags parked in front of St. Mark's Coffeehouse today (where I often spend my day off with a few good books).

General Hogspital: An Ozark Man Drama

Part 2 of 2

For those waiting with bated breath, here is how the Arkansas football soap opera developed.  All events are listed chronologically and assigned a score of "already" or "not yet" depending on whether they reflect redemption or depravity, kingdom or chaos, good or evil.  For a complete description of the characters involved, please see Part 1.

Already: December 1997 - Boise State head coach Houston Dale Nutt emerges from page 2 of JFB's short list to become the new Head Hog.  HDN, a former QB under JFB before transferring to Okie State, openly campaigns for the job with messianic rhetoric about national championships, exciting offense, and "building a fence" around the state to keep blue-chip recruits from grazing in the greener pastures of Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana (note: no fence is needed along the Missouri and Mississippi borders; cattle don't graze on gravel).

Not Yet: December 1997 - As HDN leaves Boise State, one of his former Blue-Turf-Broncos calls him a "used car salesman."

Not Yet: August 1998 - HDN is spotted every day during two-a-days wearing a wide brimmed straw hat, leading to speculation that he might really be a used car salesman.

Already: Fall 1998 - In his first season, Nutt  rejuvenates the Arkansas offense.  The team opens the season by routing previous flesh thorn SMU and streaks to an 8-0 record and #10 national ranking.

Not Yet: November 14, 1998 - After pounding #1 Tennessee for three quarters in Knoxville, the infamous "Stoerner Stumble Fumble" helps the Hogs snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  After the game, I listen to a fat "Italian" singer at the Knoxville Macaroni Grill belt out a full-throated tenor version of Rocky Top while I water down my Farfalle Con Pollo Al Sugo Bianco with tears.  Not to worry, the Hogs will still get to play Tennessee again in the SEC Championship Ga....uh, nevermind, we  lose the next week to Mississippi State and go on to the "You can't spell Citrus with out UT" Bowl where we lose again to Michigan.

Already/Not Yet: 1999-2003 Seasons.  The Middle Ages of the HDN era are marked by triumph mixed with sorrow.  The Hogs go to a bowl in each of these seasons and have several signature wins such as avenging Tennessee in 1999, thrashing Texas in the 2000 Cotton Bowl, Jones to Birmingham to Atlanta for a "Miracle on Markham" over LSU in 2002, and whipping the Horns again in Austin in 2003.  But many Hog fans worry that the team is underachieving and pressure mounts on HDN.

Not Yet: June 2003.  Rumors swirl about the pending NCAA investigation into Arkansas football, which is prompted when one of JFB's deep-pocketed backers, Dallas trucking magnate Ted Herrod, "employs" a few non-truckers who happened to be Arkansas athletes.  These employees seem to have a hard time working the hours commensurate with their salaries.  Sensing JFB's vulnerability, Chancellor John White tries to carpe diem.  White has always wanted to turn the UA into a bona fide Georgia Tech, and replacing good ole boy JFB with Women's Athletic Director Bev Lewis seems like a step in the right direction.  But just before the coup, Big Jim descends from the heavens, puts his hand over White's mouth and said, "Don't move or I'll break your neck."  JFB gets a five year contract extension and White gets to keep his job so long as he confines his Chancelloring to matters not involving balls.

Not Yet:  December 2003.  Because of the low-altitude NCAA Cloud hanging over Fayetteville, nobody sees a small private plane approaching.  But on a cool December evening, a University of Nebraska jet lands at Drake Field, kills its lights, and tries to coast into a hanger unnoticed.  The plan is for HDN to pack his family, leave in the middle of the night, and fly away to become the next Colonel Cornhusker.  But someone tells Big Jim who once again descends from the heavens, this time with a bag of money and Get Out of Jail Free cards.  Big Jim gives HDN a big raise and a wink-wink "two year pass" that will allow him to endure two losing seasons while the NCAA Cloud dissipates.

Not Yet: 2004 & 2005 Seasons.  HDN makes full use of his two year pass by going 5-6 and 4-7.  At this point, the Springdale Mafia is enraged and makes plans to replace HDN with hometown hero Butch Davis, recovering from depression after coaching in Cleveland.  Flush with money from selling lots of chicken feet to the Chinese, Razor-Rooster Don Tyson offers to buy-out HDN and feed Butch Davis like family.

Not Yet: December 2005.  As recruiting season heats up, all eyes are on Springdale, 10 minutes down the freeway from Fayetteville.  Under Gus, the Bulldogs have won two state championships and have five of the top-rated offensive recruits in the country: GatoradeParadeUSATodaySportsIllustratedESPN.comRivals high school player of the year Mitch Mustain (QB), Damian Williams (WR), Bartley Webb (OL), Andrew Norman (WR) and Ben Cleveland (TE).  Previously committed to the Razorbacks, Mitch withdraws his pledge, opening a Charlie Weiss size hole in HDN's fence.  Williams (Florida), Webb (Notre Dame) and Cleveland (Florida) all run through the open fence so they don't have to play in HDN's run right, run left offense.

Already: December 2005.  Days after Mitch's de-commit, JFB tells HDN he has to hire an offensive coordinator.  Lucky for HDN, Gus is looking for a college job, and he is soon announced as the new Arkansas OC.  Hog fans dream of 4-wide shotgun formations in hurry-up-no-huddle style (henceforth "HUNH," in Arkie-speak).

Already: January 2006.  With Gus on board to run the HUNH at Arkansas, Mitch, Damian Williams, and Andrew Norman all about-face and commit to be Hogs.

Not Yet: August 2006.  Rumors swirl that Gus is not being treated very nicely by the other children on the playground.  The Murray State Mafia calls him "high school" and tries to disrupt the installation of his HUNH.

Not Yet: September 2006.  The Hogs open the season vs. USC with the HUNH firing on all cylinders.  For three plays.  Then RB Felix Jones fumbles and USC goes on to a 50-14 whuppin.  The only bright spot comes late in the 4th quarter when Mitch comes in and runs the HUNH to perfection for a TD.  After the game, JFB decrees that the HUNH be scrapped in favor of a power run that will feature RBs Jones and eventual Heisman runner-up Darren McFadden.  Mitch is announced as the new QB to execute the power-run offense.

Already/Not Yet: September - November 2006. After USC, the Hogs go on a 10-win streak and lock up the SEC West title.  However, eight games into the run, undefeated Mitch is benched in favor of last year's QB Casey Dick.  "Iv'e got a quick trigger," boasts HDN.  Casey's performance is spotty, but Nutt's trigger finger relaxes.

Not Yet: November 2006 - January 2007.  The Hogs lose their last three games of the season against LSU, Florida (SEC Championship Game) and Wisconsin (Cap One Bowl).  Casey Dick's play is spotty.  Mitch watches.  During bowl practice, the parents of Mitch, Damian Williams, and Ben Cleveland ask for a meeting with JFB where they air their frustration with HDN's offense.  After the meeting, Beck (Mitch's momma) issues a press release saying HDN is the head coach.  Meanwhile, a book about Springdale's last season, Year of the Dog is released, in which youthful Mitch is quoted as saying "Ole Houston has lost it."  Meanwhile, Damian Williams asks for a release and transfers west to USC.  Meanwhile, an email written by an HDN-friend to Mitch calling him an assortment of ugly names is made public.  Meanwhile, JFB appears at a booster club in Dallas and says Gus' spread offense can never win in the SEC.  Meanwhile, Florida wins the national championship running said offense.  Meanwhile, Gus announces that he is leaving to become Co-OC at football powerhouse Tulsa.  Meanwhile, Mitch announces he will not play for the Hogs again.  Summary: The Hogs lose games.  The Springdale Mafia loses its cool.  JFB loses his mind.  The Hogs lose an OC, WR, and QB. HDN loses a bunch of car sales.

Not Yet: February 2007. Big Jim withdraws his protection and JFB announces he will become "Ath-uh-letic Directuh Emeuhtus." 

Score-to-date:
Not Yet - 13
Already - 6
Interpretation: When Arkansas wins the Big One, you'll know the Apocalypse has come.        

Get to know a theologian: Graeme Goldsworthy

I generally rank my favorite teachers in two lists: a "dead guys" list and an "alive guys" list.  Among the living, I have to put Graeme Goldsworthy in my top-five.  I've never met Graeme (never met most of my favorite teachers).  Hailing from Sydney, Austrailia, he might as well be from "parts unknown" (ala Kamala the Ugandan Warrior and other assorted villans from my youth).  However, through his writing, I feel like I've learned at his feet for the past few years.

Goldsworthy specializes in a discipline called "biblical theology" which is the study of how the different parts of the Bible fit together to tell a unified story.  He's been my primary guide to this field, and it influences ALL of my preaching and teaching.  His two books that have impacted me the most are According to Plan and Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture.  The former is a great place to start for any thinking person who wants to really "get" the Bible.  It doesn't even have a place on my bookshelf; I read it so often that I just leave it sitting by my desk chair.

Why do I bring this up now?  Because I discovered a great interview with Goldsworthy over at the Buzzard Blog.  You can read it here.

HT: Kevin Cawley

Good reading from around the net

Here's some of the best articles I read this week:

Byron Borger's Best Books of 2006, Part Two.  Guys like Byron are why I love the internet: wicked-smart and irenic Christian brother operates a bookstore in the middle of a field in rural Pennsylvania, a place that I will probably never visit unless via plane crash, but because of the internet, he has a broad ministry and we get to share his wisdom.  See also my post from October on Byron.

John Piper on Prosperity Preaching: Deceitful and Deadly.  With the main-stream media beginning to pick up on this heresy, it's especially important that we distinguish the Prosperity Gospel from the Real Gospel.

The always-entertaining Mark Cuban's email from Donald Trump.

SEC Coaches and Their Political Counterparts by The Auburner.

John Brummet's Let's You and Him Fight on the soap opera that is Arkansas Razorback athletics.  First paragraph: "Arkansas is not a tailgate party masquerading as a state.  We're a Jerry Springer episode masquerading as a state."    

Should Christians be Culture Warriors?

The gospel in a pluralist city
As I prepare this week for a sermon on Titus 3:1-7, I am compelled to ask: Is "culture war" the best metaphor for how Christians relate to the rest of the world?  At the 1992 Republican convention, Pat Buchanan announced, "There is a religious war going on in our country for the soul of America.  It is a culture war, as critical to the kind of nation we will one day be as the Cold War itself." Since then, the smell of gunsmoke has rallied many Christians to the cause of reclaiming America, but was it a distinctly Christian smell they were following?

Consider these words from the Apostle Paul: "Remind them...to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people" (Titus 3:2).  And consider this from John Piper's excellent article "Taking the Swagger out of Christian Cultural Influence"

"Being Christian exiles in American culture does not end our influence; it takes the swagger out of it. We don’t get cranky that our country has been taken away. We don’t whine about the triumphs of evil. We are not hardened with anger. We understand. This is not new. This was the way it was in the beginning –- Antioch, Corinth, Athens, Rome. The Empire was not just degenerate, it was deadly. For three explosive centuries Christians paid for their Christ-exalting joy with blood. Many still do. More will.

"It never occurred to those early exiles that they should rant about the ubiquity of secular humanism. The Imperial words were still ringing in their ears: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). This was a time for indomitable joy and unwavering ministries of mercy.

"Yes, it was a time for influence –- as it is now. But not with huffing and puffing as if to reclaim our lost laws. Rather with tears and persuasion and perseverance, knowing that the folly of racism, and the exploitation of the poor, and the de-Godding of education, and the horror of abortion, and the collapse of heterosexual marriage, are the tragic death-tremors of joy, not the victory of the left or the right.

"The greatness of Christian exiles is not success but service. Whether we win or lose, we witness to the way of truth and beauty and joy. We don’t own culture, and we don’t rule it. We serve it with brokenhearted joy and longsuffering mercy, for the good of man and the glory of Jesus Christ."

General Hogspital: An Ozark Man-Drama

Friday's Already-Not Yet Part 1 of 2

We're a day away from this week's Friday Already-Not Yet, and I feel compelled to set the stage for the uninitiated.  Friday, we'll take a look at a real-life soap opera playing out in a small rice-and-soybean republic.  For my vast readership who has never been exposed to real BBQ or sweet tea...who have never been flipped off by an old man in overalls yelling "We got some Dawg's up in here, woof, woof"...who have never worn a plastic red pig on their heads...who have never put on a Brooks Brothers blazer in 90-degree heat to escort a cocktail-dressed Chi-O to a football game, let me introduce you to a few characters so you can get into the story:

HDN: Houston Dale Nutt, head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks who moonlights on the Baptist revival circuit, criss-crossing the state in a Cessna twin-engine to preach the good news of self esteem, usually after a catfish dinner and a highlight film.  He has all the qualities that we both love and hate about revival speakers.  Love: he gets us fired up and leads a rousing version of our favorite worship fight song.  Hate: he often preaches half-truths to get us fired up and singing.

JFB: J. Frank Broyles, Ath-a-letic Directuh of The Univuhsity, a silver-haired southern power broker with an August National Club membership to prove it, who sometimes does the meanest things in the most gentlemanly manner.  He is considered a quasi-deity in Arkansas, but more like a capricious Greek god than the Benevolent Father of biblical fame.  His name is sometimes used in statements like "JFB bless America," "thank JFB," and "JFB have mercy."

Big Jim: Jim Lindsey, captain of the 1964 National Champion Razorbacks coached by JFB, a team which also included such notable football personalities as Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson.  Big Jim is now a deep-fried real estate tycoon whose signature developments are B-grade apartment complexes built around par three golf courses.  He's also vice-chairman of the BOT (see next) and behind-the-scenes weight-thrower-arounder, rumored to have taken a bullet for JFB during an attempted coup in 2002.

BOT: Board of Trustees of the entire University of Arkansas System.  Big Jim is their most influential member.  They have ultimate decision-making authority over JFB.  Or do they?

John White: Chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, a former engineer who ascended to the UA helm after an illustrious academic career at Georgia Tech.  On paper the "boss" of JFB, he has the political shrewdness of Howard Dean and thus, no real authority.  Big Jim clipped his wings when he tried to overthrow JFB and replace him with his right-hand woman in 2002.       

Gus: Gus Malzahn, currently the offensive coordinator for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, most recently the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks and before that a shooting-star high school football coach at  Springdale High,  10 minutes from the University of Arkansas campus.  He is a guru of a wide-open spread offense with a self-authored paperback book and VHS library to prove it.  The closest thing you can find to a football intellectual.

Mitch: Mitch Mustain, freshman QB for the Razorbacks and 2006 GatoradeParadeUSATodaySportsIllustratedRivalsESPN.com National High School Football Player of the Year for Springdale High, where Gus was his coach prior to joining the Razorbacks where Gus was his coach.

Beck: Beck Campbell, Mitch's mom, a tough-talking, "getrdone" southern woman who drives a bright red Ford F-150 extended cab pickup truck with running boards, chrome toolbox, Razorback trailer hitch, and satellite radio permanently tuned to sports talk shows...wait, that's my mom...nevertheless, Beck is a smart,tough woman who wants everything to turn out great for Mitch.

Murray State Mafia:  HDN's inner circle of assistant coaches who have been with him since 1996 when he was the head coach of the Murray State Racers, which is rumored to be in Kentucky.  The Mafia includes Bobby "The Defender" Allen (linebackers coach), Consigliere Danny Nutt (running backs coach; HDNs little brother) and Mike "The Mule" Markuson (offensive line coach and "running game coordinator").

Springdale Mafia: A nebulous, shadowy group of people from Springdale who support hometown heroes Gus, Mitch, and Beck while opposing the Murray State Mafia.  The Mafia is funded and backed by one Big Bird: Tyson Poultry Magnate Don Tyson, creator of the Chicken McNugget.

Sunshine Pumpers: Razorback fans who believe HDN can do no wrong.  They tend to congregate at cyber homes like HawgsIllustrated.com

Darksiders: Razorback fans who believe that HDN can do no right.  They tend to congregate at cyber homes like Hogville.net

Wally: Wally Hall, sports editor of the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette, beloved from Bentonville to Bald Knob as writer who makes William Faulkner look like a bumbling George W.  Actually, that was a joke and a clever use of rhetorical analogy...imagine how crazy you'd go if I did that every paragraph.  Saying Wally is a writer is like saying I'm an Abercrombie & Fitch model.  We're both balding short men who don't look good in v-neck sweaters, even though we still try to wear them.

Now what happens when you get HDN, the Murray State Mafia, and the Sunshine Pumpers on the wrong side of Gus, Mitch, Beck, the Springdale Mafia, and the Darksider?  What happens when Frank and Big Jim descend from the heavens in Zeus-like fashion to manipulate the man-drama?  What happens when Wally tries to explain it all?  You get a Friday Already-Not Yet.

to be continued

HB 2.0

With the inbreaking of yet another year, I decided to make some upgrades to my personal operating system, call it HB 2.0, H-Vista, etc.  2006's mid-year adjustment was a smashing success with the addition of Getting Things Done and the Hipster PDA to my skill-set.  But HB 2.0 goes to another level.  So far this year, it's added snow skiing and now the BlackBerry 8703e to my satchel of tricks. The former resulted after I schooled a bunch of middle-aged people in a level 2 group lesson at Copper.  The later resulted after a disastrous 20-hour airport debacle last week that left me out of battery power and out of touch.  But then comes this low-flying bullet to knock me off my Shetland pony: evidently some people are jealous.   

Mike Jones goes to New Life Church

Friday's Already-Not Yet
Mike Jones, the former male prostitute who outed Ted Haggard, visited the Reverend's city on a hill in Colorado Springs last Sunday.  According to a Denver Post report, it sounds like he tasted a small spoonful of the gospel while there.  "Jones attended services  Sunday at New Life on a reconnaissance mission for his forthcoming book and said he was greeted warmly."  Said Jones, "A couple of ladies cried when they were touching me.  I was thanked for exposing the church, for helping Ted Haggard.  A couple of them said they hoped I got God into my life.  And they all said, 'God bless you,' every one of them" (read the entire Denver Post article here).

The gospel says that God is uniting all things in Jesus (Eph. 1:10), making the world work like it should.  Perhaps people being gracious to someone who the world might set-up as their enemy is an example of such putting-back-together.  The gospel says "None is righteous, not one" (Romans 3:10), unless you are talking about Jesus himself, in which case, "by the one man's obedience, the many will be made righteous" (5:19).  This means that neither this blogger nor the New Lifers are any better than Mike Jones, neither morally nor spiritually superior, just as much in need of grace as anyone else.  Perhaps the gospel  enabled them to welcome him as a fellow beggar on the streetcorner of God's city.

But just as quickly as we glimpse the gospel's "already" work comes this "not yet" reminder: "But Jones - who came forward out of anger toward Haggard's political stance against homosexuality - said he wasn't impressed on the whole.  If the Gospel is enough, he said, why the loud music and MTV-quality production?  'There seems to be something missing, some realism, in my opinion...' said Jones, who said he was raised Methodist but is estranged from organized religion." 

I interpret this to mean that because of the "not yet," people who don't want to believe the gospel can always find a reason not to.  And Christians are still good at providing reasons.  In the end, however, faith sees Jesus already at work and believes he will finish what is not yet done.  "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).