Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

The Gospel Coalition 2012 National Women's Conference

Wow.  I'm astonished at the wealth of information available at the TGC National Women's Conference website.  I heard only two talks online at the time of the conference last month, but now they are all available online either via Video or audio.   Avail yourself (whether a man or a woman) of these outstanding speakers.

An added bonus is that some of the women speakers were asked what books had particularly influenced them.  See the list of books here.  Prepare to have a feast.

C.S. LEWIS -- HERE IS A ONE-STOP RESOURCE SITE

Here's a wonderful listing of C.S. Lewis quotes, bibliographies, and articles about C.S. Lewis.   How convenient and helpful!  And speaking of C.S. Lewis, here's a site that gives us an audio recording of C.S. Lewis speaking over the BBC using the text that would later become part of Mere Christianity.   The site also presents C.S. Lewis in his own voice reading the introduction to The Great Divorce.

Tilda Swinton played the White Witch in the latest movie version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.   In an interview she offers her perspective on how she sought to portray her character saying,

 It's not always necessarily the most frightening thing for small children to be shouted at.  Children shout and get hot themselves all the time, and in my experience it's actually a relief if you shout back at them.  Whereas the thing that's really unfathomable for children is a kind of coldness and emotional detachment; that's the thing they don't do.  So it occurred to me it would be more frightening to be faced with something really unaffectable.  You can't affect the Witch; you can't appeal to her; she's incapable of any compassion. Someone who gets angry is emotional; I thought it would be fun to shake up that stereotype.

Note:  I posted the above back on March 8, 2006.  Jennifer, an alert reader, wrote me that the first link was broken.  She supplied me with a link to the C.S. Lewis section of the Online University which I used as a replacement for the broken link.   Anyone interested in C.S. Lewis will find an incredible wealth of material at the Online University website.   Particularly astonishing to me is the availability of some of Lewis's full essays such as "Meditation in a Toolshed" (a must-read classic!!), "On the Reading of Old Books," "We Have No Right to Happiness" (posted on a Muslim Sunni website!), "De Descriptione Temporum," and a link to the additional following essays from God in the Dock: "Is Progress Possible? Willing Slaves of the Welfare State",  "Man or Rabbit",  "What are we to Make of Jesus Christ?"  There are still many more essays available!  Amazing!!

WORLD MAGAZINE NAMES RODNEY STARK'S "THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY" ITS BOOK OF THE YEAR

The full title of Stark's book is The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion (HarperOne).   In presenting the book as World's Book of the Year, Marvin Olasky does an excellent job presenting sketches from the book. 

[...] After Stark spends 200 pages on the triumph of Christianity, he turns to some defeats. The biggest ones came in the Middle East and across northern Africa, where Muslims murdered hundreds of thousands. Stark, quoting Muslim bragging about churches and lives destroyed, points out that "a great deal of nonsense has been written about Muslim tolerance." He calls the Crusades a "fundamentally defensive" counter-attack "precipitated by Islamic provocations, by many centuries of bloody attempts to colonize the West, and by sudden new attacks on Christian pilgrims and holy places."

Stark also criticizes other historians for being "as gullible as tourists, gaping at the monuments, palaces, and conspicuous consumption of Rome." He decries "the inability of intellectuals to value or even to notice the nuts and bolts of real life," and goes on to note medieval progress in windmills, crop rotation, chimneys, and a host of other practical matters.

He also calls "the Renaissance" a ridiculous myth: "Had there really been a return to classical knowledge, it would have created an era of cultural decline since Christian Europe had long since surpassed classical antiquity in nearly every way."

And yet, Stark mocks the idea of a medieval "Age of Faith," for "the masses of medieval Europeans not only were remarkably skeptical, but very lacking in all aspects of Christian commitment." Most people seldom if ever went to church, and some who did slept and snored, played cards while the pastor preached, or brought their dogs: "Most medieval Europeans were completely ignorant of the most basic Christian teachings," and many priests did not know the Lord's Prayer or other fundamentals.   [more...]

TIM KELLER, CELEBRATED PASTOR OF REDEEMER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN NYC, SPEAKS AT GOOGLE HEADQUARTERS

Yesterday in conversation with a pastor friend from New York, we chatted about numerous topics, including the subject of Tim Keller, the justly well-known pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.  I asked my friend if he knew that Tim Keller had spoken at Google headquarters in California on "The Reason for God." That surprised my friend.  Keller's talk (below)  is well-worth viewing.   (Keller's book carries the same title,  "The Reason for God,"  which I blogged about previously here).

 

I also mentioned to my friend that Tim had recently written a book, The Meaning of Marriage, and that Google had once again invited him to speak, but this time at their New York City headquarters.  That talk can be viewed below.

 

More Tim Keller videos follow:

CHRISTIAN WORLD PRAYER ASSEMBLY TAKING PLACE IN INDONESIA

I hadn't known of this gathering until this morning.  How magnificent that thousands of Christians from all over the world are coming together in Muslim Indonesia for this five-day prayer gathering. 

 

George Thomas of CBN News reports:  (my bolding)

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Thousands of the world's Christian leaders are in Indonesia seeking God's guidance on how to transform the nations with Christ's message of love.

It's an historic prayer gathering in many ways, not the least of which is Indonesia's decision to host the event. The huge Southeast Asian island nation is home to the world's largest Muslim population.

"That's what we are well known for, but there's something else taking place in our country," one Indonesian woman said.

Her words echo a deep desire among Indonesia's minority Christians to make the name of Jesus Christ famous. 

"We are a small percentage of the population, but we are compelled to tell others about Christ," the woman said.

Winds of Revival

A massive prayer movement is underway, connecting some 500 Indonesian cities with more than 5 million believers.

This week, an hour's drive south of Jakarta, the capital city, Indonesian churches invited more than 9,000 Christians to take part in the World Prayer Assembly 2012.

"We feel that the epicenter of the world revival is going to be Asia and especially Indonesia," World Prayer Assembly's John Robb told CBN News.

Such a large Christian event has never been held in this majority Muslim country.

"We see the WPA as kind of a stepping stone toward the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14: 'For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,'" Robb said.

For five days, representatives of more than 60 countries will network and strategize on how to bring Christ's salvation and healing to the nations.

"A new wave is coming so we wanted to catch it, the spirit of prayer, so that we can bring revival to our nation," Pricilla Abbathurai of India said.

"I've been praying that I would be a part (of) what God is doing in my country and for the whole world as we fulfill the Great Commission," Philippines resident Julius Velasco said.

"My prayer for this Congress is that this movement of prayer, this movement of mission will be joined together to see the Great Commission accomplished in the coming decades," American Paul Eshlemen said.

Organizers say worship and intercession will serve as the cornerstone for all the week's activities.

Throughout Indonesia some 1.5 million believers have committed to praying this entire week, and about 300 cities are joining together with all of their focus and prayer right here outside Jakarta.

The highlight of the gathering comes Thursday, when an estimated 100,000 Christians are expected to fill Indonesia's largest stadium with several more hours of worship and prayer for the nations.

ERIC METAXAS ON "LOVING GOD," CHUCK COLSON'S BEST BOOK

It is Eric Metaxas who says "Loving God" is Colson's best book.  I'm not in a position to say, but I respect Metaxas' judgment and enthusiasm.  But what does it mean to love God?  Metaxas says,

For Chuck, the answer lay in what Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote: “Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes.”

(I could have posted that as a "quote of the day" and left it at that.  It's profound.)

But Metaxas continues:

A “vibrant strong faith” is not “just knowledge but knowledge acted upon.” It is “not just belief but belief lived out.” Real faith, which is the cure to self-absorption and the way out of the prison we construct for ourselves, consists of “believing and act obediently regardless of circumstances or contrary evidence.”

Metaxas gives his personal testimony:

I’ll never forget reading "Loving God" after I became a Christian. I had never read or heard anything quite like it. This is the stuff of transformed lives; this is the stuff of which a world turned upside down is made.

The book "loving God" is still timely.

The thing is, "Loving God" is even more timely today than it was in 1983. It scarcely seems possible but our culture is even more preoccupied with the Self than it was thirty years ago. A survey of college students found that today’s student score significantly higher on the Narcissistic Personality Disorder than those of thirty years ago. At the same time, they are less likely to be happy.

Chuck’s message to the Church — that faith is inseparable from obedience and faithfulness — is every bit as essential today as when he wrote Loving God thirty years ago. . .  

Read the whole article...

Me:  Eric Metaxas has made me want to pull down from the shelf my copy of "Loving God."  It sounds like an inspiring and spiritually nourishing (and challenging) read. 

CHUCK COLSON, FOUNDER OF PRISON FELLOWSHIP, HAS PASSED AWAY

Chuck Colson resides up there with the top half-dozen or so men whom I respect most highly.  I love the way his evangelistic passion was joined to a mind fully engaged with the streams of thought current in the world today.  What a legacy he has left! 

I value Emily Belz's tribute and her highlighting of Colson's accomplishments and thinking.

The Jewish columnist, Mona Charen, wrote:

"This is a deeply cynical country these days, and yes, there is much to be cynical about. But there are people who achieve moral greatness. And one just died today. RIP."

Justin Taylor writes:

Charles Wendell (“Chuck”) Colson went home to be with the Lord this afternoon (April 21, 2012). He was 80 years old.

The announcement is here. You can also read Sarah Pulliam Bailey’s obituary at CT.

Mr. Colson’s memoir Born Again was published in 1975. Earlier that year he had been released from a seven-month stint in federal prison after pleading guilty of obstructing justice in the Watergate investigation. He had converted to Christianity in 1973 after serving four years as Special Counsel for President Richard Nixon. C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity was pivotal in his spiritual repentance and awakening. The memoir was made into a 1978 film starring Dean Jones. In 2005 Jonathan Aitken—himself a former politician turned prison turned convert to Christianity turned author—penned an authorized biography, Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed (WaterBrook Press). On October 15, 2008, Mr. Colson gave his testimony at Columbia University during a Veritas Forum. It was entitled “How God Turned Around Nixon’s Hatchet Man,” and you can watch it below:

 

 

 

 From Prison Fellowship "Remembering Chuck Colson":

 

CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD!

I was awakened this morning at 6:20 by my sister proclaiming with a shout: "Christ is risen!"  I groggily replied, "He is risen indeed!"  We had slept a bit late and had to hustle to get to the Easter morning sunrise service by 7:00 AM, but we made it!  And with five minutes to spare!  And what a glorious service it was!  A young man, speaking from his wheel chair, spoke with power, conviction, and joy of the fact of Christ's resurrection and it's implications for us as individuals and the world.  At the end he sang a solo, Stuart Townend's song, "See What a Morning!"  I had not heard that song before, but love it, and feel confident it will become a classic.  I've posted it below.  Enjoy!  And be encouraged!  Let the message of Christ's resurrection ring out throughout the world!

 

ENTERING MEANINGFULLY INTO HOLY WEEK

Holy Week is upon us, and  tomorrow is Palm Sunday.  In conversing with some others in casual conversation this morning, we lamented that our church doesn't make as much of Holy Week as the more liturgical churches, be they Lutheran, Anglican, Orthodox or Catholic.  We miss it.  Focusing on the last week of our Lord's life feeds the soul with the truth of what our salvation cost, and draws us into deeper fellowship with Him.

I was doing some bush whacking behind our home this afternoon and came upon a really prickly vine.  I cut a sizeable portion of it, and gave it to my sister, who is making it into a "crown of thorns" to remind us of the mockery and scorn our Lord suffered just before the Cross.  I'm not sure how well this homemade "crown" will turn out, but it seems to be coming along well even as I write.

Meanwhile I decided to go to the internet to see what others have done.  I found one lady who began at the beginnning of Lent making a crown of thorns which she used as an object lesson for her children and a means by which to encourage them to perform thoughtful deeds.  She writes:

Lent begins today, or, in the case of the Eastern Catholic churches, it has already begun on Monday. Here are a couple of simple practices that have in past years helped our children get into the spirit of Lent and prepare for the joy and new life of Easter.

The "crown of thorns" has been a big hit at our house. I've seen directions for making salt-dough crowns, but ours is simpler. I simply purchased at the craft store an 8" wreath made of woven twigs. On Ash Wednesday, we stick toothpicks into it to represent thorns, and place the wreath in the center of our dining table. The children get to remove one thorn for each sacrifice or act of kindness (you can make it as specific or general as you like) and their goal is to remove them all before Easter. Some years, we have cleared them all in plenty of time. In this case, we add little flowers to the wreath instead of removing thorns. The flowery wreath makes a good Easter centerpiece.

Me: I find her practice quite creative.   May Holy Week this year find us all more reflective, grateful, and worshipful than ever before. 

RABBI DANIEL LAPIN SPEAKS ON BAAL - ANCIENT AND MODERN

IMPORTANT:  Anyone concerned about American cultural degeneracy will want to listen to Rabbi Lapin's insightful explanation of the "Baal force" that has exerted such a powerful negative thrust on the land in the past few decades.   Baal influence is as strong today as ever in history.  It is "enormously seductive" Lapin says.  It involves yielding to our lower natures, to bodily appetites, to darkness and hopelessness.

I saw this program back in early February when Glenn Beck was still on TV and said to myself,  "I need to put this material on my blog."   I urge you to carve out time to watch the following video segments.  It will put a lot of things into perspective.

Part 1

 

Part 2

 

Part 3

 

Part 4

 

 Part 5

 

Part 6

 

Rabbi Lapin's conclusion was extraordinary, wasn't it?  He said the only hope for defeating this destructive force is Evangelical Christianity (with other Judeo-Christian religious systems thrown in as well).  

Update: Rabbi Lapin spoke in one of the segments above on the Baal emphasis on human waste.  Gateway Pundit published a news report today on Wall Street protestors caught on tape dumping tubs of feces down a bank stairwell and in a bank lobby.

TED SCHROEDER - GOD'S SUFFERING AND OURS

Ted Schroeder, in a devotional piece for Lent titled "The Tears of God," explores the profound mystery of God suffering on the cross, which reality sustains and inspires us in coming to terms with our own suffering.  Schroeder writes:

During Lent I am going to reflect on portions of the four Psalms that Handel uses in Messiah. Psalm 22:7,8 is used to describe the religious leaders' ridicule of Jesus during his agony on the Cross as quoted in the Gospels.

"All they that see him laugh him to scorn: they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying: 'He trusted in God that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, if he delights in him.'"

"Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God.' In the same way the chief priests and teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he cannot save himself. He's the King of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" (Matt.27:39-44)

They saw suffering and God as incompatible. If Jesus were God he would not be suffering an ignominious death. His claims to be the divine Son are shown to be false by his crucifixion. Is this true? It provokes us to consider the relationship between Christian faith and suffering.

As a teenager Ted Turner was religious and decided he was going to become a missionary. His twelve year old sister contracted systemic lupus. Ted tried to comfort her and prayed for her recovery. After years of misery she succumbed to the disease. Ted lost his faith. "I was taught that God was love and God was powerful, and I couldn't understand how someone so innocent should be made or allowed to suffer so." (Ken Auletta, The New Yorker, 23 April, 2001)

WHERE SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DWELL MOST, IN THE GOSPELS OR THE EPISTLES?

I learned (via Justin Taylor) that J. I. Packer recommends spending proportionally greater study time in the gospels. 

J. I. Packer:

[We can] correct woolliness of view as to what Christian commitment involves, by stressing the need for constant meditation on the four gospels, over and above the rest of our Bible reading: for gospel study enables us both to keep our Lord in clear view and to hold before our minds the relational frame of discipleship to him.

The doctrines on which our discipleship rests are clearest in the epistles, but the nature of discipleship itself is most vividly portrayed in the gospels.

Some Christians seem to prefer the epistles as if this were a mark of growing up spiritually; but really this attitude is a very bad sign, suggesting that we are more interested in theological notions than in fellowship with the Lord Jesus in person.

We should think, rather, of the theology of the epistles as preparing us to understand better the disciple relationship with Christ that is set forth in the gospels, and we should never let ourselves forget that the four gospels are, as has often and rightly been said, the most wonderful books on earth.

—J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2005), p. 70, 71.

AUDIO OF J.I. PACKER'S CLASSIC - "KNOWING GOD" - AVAILABLE FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME

What a wonderful opportunity to hear this wonderful classic read professionally!  You can download the audiobook for J.I. Packer’s Knowing God for free here.   (HT: Justin Taylor)

The print version of Knowing God is available here, and the Kindle version here.

GREAT GRACE

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Pet. 4:8)

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” (Prov. 19:11)

A powerful scene from the 1998 film version of Les Miserable:

 

HT: Justin Taylor, who is responsible for the Bible verses also

FANTASTIC STORY OF A PRISONER WHO WAS TOLD, "YOU CAN BE FREE RIGHT HERE WHERE YOU'RE AT"

This is an incredibly moving story.  I've had the privilege of meeting this man.  He's for real.  He's out of prison now.  This is well worth 12 minutes of your time.

 

AUDIO FOR THE 2011 GOSPEL COALITION WORKSHOPS

I'm grateful to JustinTaylor for the post and the link:

Training the Next Generation of Pastors and Other Christian Leaders R. Albert Mohler, Jr. Mark Driscoll, David Helm, Don Carson, and Ligon Duncan

The Pastor’s Counseling Ministry David Powlison

The Gospel for Muslims Thabiti Anyabwile

Is Your Church a Safe Place for Sad People? Learning to Walk with Each Other Through Loss Nancy Guthrie

Old Testament Narrative: Letting the Literature Speak Kathleen B. Nielson

Women Teaching Women the Bible: A Suggested Model Jenny Salt

Justification Versus Self-Justification Ray Ortlund Jr.

Preaching a Christ to Whom We Can Come Colin Smith

Orphans and Adoption Russell Moore and Voddie Baucham

Power Through Weakness Tim Savage

Signs of Grace in Inner-City Church Planting Eric Mason

Gospel Faithfulness and Business Leadership in Tumultuous Times Bob Doll

Christianity Explored - A Biblical Strategy for Effective Evangelism in the Local Church Craig Dyer and Alistair Begg

ROUND 2

What Should a Local Church Look Like? Tim Keller, Crawford Loritts, and Mark Dever

Pastoring with Discernment: Applying the Gospel to the Hearts of Those You Serve C. J. Mahaney

Asian American Christian Thought and Theological History: Pastoral Implications for Diversity and Innovation in a Multiracial Church Stephen Um and Julius Kim

An Invitation to Hispanic Pastors and Would-Be Pastors Juan Sanchez

Humble Orthodoxy Josh Harris

Gospel-Centered Pastoral Leadership Sandy Willson

The Feminist Mistake Mary Kassian

Literary Beauty and Gospel Truth: Celebrating the Biblical Union Kathleen B. Nielson

Pure Desire: Gospel-Centered Morality in a Sex-Saturated Society Gary Inrig

Mixing Whites and Colors Without Making Them Run: Building Gospel-Centered, Intentionally Multicultural Churches John Mahaffey

‘They All Look Alike To Me’: The Implications of a Christ-Centered Identity on the Issue of Racial Reconciliation in the Church K. Edward Copeland

Writing Corporate Worship Music Keith and Kristyn Getty

ROUND 3

The Spirit-Filled Missional Ministry of Jesus Mark Driscoll

Trellis and Vine Tony Payne and Colin Marshall

Fostering a Praying Church Scotty Smith

The Genesis of Gender Mary Kassian

When Despair Invades Gospel Work: Learning from Elijah Paige Benton Brown

One-on-One Discipleship: Grass-Roots Church Growth Jenny Salt

Biblical Theology: What It Is and Why It Matters Stephen Um and Richard Lints

Substitutes for the Gospel: A Modest Critique of Modern Evangelicalism Erwin Lutzer

The Mission of the Church Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert

Leading Corporate Worship Music Keith and Kristyn Getty

Seizing Global Gospel Opportunities: Why and How You and Your Church Can Get Involved Michael Oh

Questioning Evangelism Randy Newman

The Heart of the Expositor Kent Hughes

WHAT DOES "SOLI DEO GLORIA" MEAN?

                                                       
Most of us "sorta" know what the Latin phrase means, but sometimes it helps to get phrases like that nailed down.  D. A. Carson does that in the preface to his book, The God Who Is There.  He writes:

For years I have usually placed after my name, in the prefaces of the books I have written, the Latin phrase Soli Deo gloria, and I am about to use it again.  The phrase means "Glory in God alone" or "to God alone be glory."  It was one of five phrases developed about five hundred years ago to summarize a great deal of Christian truth--in this case the truth that everything that is done should be done for God's praise, to the exclusion of human self-glorification and pomposity.  The great composer Johann Sebastian Bach appended the initials of the phrase "SDG," to the musical manuscripts of each of his cantatas; it was similarly used by his contemporary George Frideric Handel (best known for what we commonly call "Handel's Messiah").  It is a small acknowledgment of something found in the very Bible that we are about to read, in 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

DR. D. MARTYN LLOYD-JONES ON THE "CLEAN POWER" OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, the renowned Welsh minister who pastored the famous Westminster Chapel in London for 30 years, recounted an incident from his early ministry that struck me as I read it.  He wrote:  (my underlining)

"I remember a woman we who was a spiritist, and even a medium, a paid medium employed by a spiritist society.  She used to go every Sunday evening to a spiritist meeting and was paid three guineas for acting as a medium.  This was during the thirties, and that was quite a large sum of money for a lower middle-class woman.  She was ill one Sunday and could not go to keep her appointment.  She was sitting in her house and she saw people passing by on their way to the church where I happened to be ministering in South Wales.  Something made her feel a desire to know what those people had, and so she decided to go to the service, and did so.  She came ever afterwards until she died, and became a very fine Christian.  One day I asked her what she had felt on that first visit, and this is what she said to me; and this is the point I am illustrating.  She said, 'The moment I entered your chapel and sat down on a seat amongst the people I was conscious of a power.  I was conscious of the same sort of power as I was accustomed to in our spiritist meetings, but there was one big difference; I had a feeling that the power in your chapel was a clean power.'  The point I am making is simiply this, that she was aware of a power.  This is this myserious element.  It is the presence of the Spirit in the heart of God's children....   (From Preachers and Preaching, p. 44)

"BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT... BLESSED ARE THE MEEK" - OH YEAH?

As a matter of fact, yeah!    Philip Yancey claims to have discovered that Jesus' Beatitudes unveil "a plain formula of psychological truth, the deepest level of truth that we can know on earth."   Yancey writes in The Jesus I Never Knew:

"The Beatitudes reveal that what succeeds in the kingdom of heaven also benefits us most in this life here and now.  It has taken me many years to recognize this fact, and only now am I beginning to understand the Beatitudes.  They still jar me every time I read them, but they jar me because I recognize in them a richness that unmaskes my own poverty.

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .  Blessed are the meek.  A book like Paul Johnson's Intellectuals sets out in convincing detail what all of us know to be true: the people we laud, strive to emulate, and feature on the covers of popular magazines are not the fulfilled, happy, blanced persons we might imagine.  Although Johnson's subjects (Ernest Hemingway, Bertrand Russell, Jean-Paul Sartre, Edmund Wilson, Bertolt Brecht, et al.) would be judged successful by any modern standard, it would be difficult to assemble a more miserable, egomaniacal, abusive company.

BROOKLYN TABERNACLE CHOIR - "THOU, OH LORD..." (PSALM 3:3)

What sanctified energy!  After listening to this, don't be surprised if you find the music rising in your spirit days later. 

 

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir lifts you into the presence of God.  A number of YouTube videos are available including these favorites:   "Gloria," "High and Lifed Up,"  "The Light of That City," and "I Bless Your Name."     

I especially like "I'm Amazed."   (I'm not sure what language is used in the subtitles.  It looks very similar to Spanish, but I don't think it is.   Can anyone help me out?)

In 2009 the Choir gave a concert at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola deemed "one of the most moving concerts ever given by The Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers."  A video playlist can be found here.   It's terrific.  Don't miss it.

What accounts for the joy, enthusiasm and palpable spiritual energy of this choir?  Carol Cymbala, the director/composer wrote a must-read article about the choir and its ministry, and also a book, He's Been Faithful, which explains many things.  I read it some time ago.  Following are excerpts from the book:

JOHN BAILLIE - "A DIARY OF PRIVATE PRAYER"

I've written before of my great indebtedness to John Baillie (1886-1960) and his little book, A Diary of Private Prayer.  In addition to wanting to incorporate the components of  William Temple's definition of "worship" into my life, I want to follow John Baillie's prayer for God's help and direction each day:

"Inspire all my thoughts.  Pervade all my imaginations.  Suggest all my decisions.  Lodge in my will's most inward citadel and order all my doings."

This prayer (from Day 21) is similar to Baillie's prayer for Day 9:

WILLIAM TEMPLE'S DEFINITION OF "WORSHIP"

Many reading this blog will have heard or read this definition before, as have I.  Sunday I heard it quoted again and decided it was time to "get it down" not only on paper, but also in my mind and heart.  I am in the process of memorizing it, and pray for grace to live it out.  William Temple was Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-44).

To worship is
to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God,
to feed the mind with the truth of God,
to purge the imagination by the beauty of God,
to open the heart to the love of God,
to devote the will to the purpose of God.

In an age as self-centered as ours, such focus on God will not come naturally.  But paradoxically therein is found our true humanity and human flourishing.  As St. Augustine (354-430 AD) put it, "Thou has made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee." 

BIBLE READING PLANS

Justin Taylor has assembled an astonishing number of Bible reading plans.  In the past I have used the Book of Common Prayer plan, which I have set as the opening page on my computer.  It's daily passages are taken from the Old Testament, Psalms, Gospels, and Epistles.  The selections are fairly short.  It's not a disciplined program for reading the entire Bible through in a year.   Of the various programs listed by Justin Taylor, the one put out by the Navigators and used by Bethlehem Baptist (John Piper's church), looks very good indeed.  Many of the programs have "catch-up days" for when you fall behind (which inevitably happens and causes discouragement).

Here is a sampling of a couple paragraphs from Taylor's blog post, but it's only a taste of what is there:

For the highly motivated and disciplined, Grant Horner’s plan has you reading each day a chapter from ten different places in the Bible. (Bob Kauflin read the whole Bible this way in five and a half months and explains why he likes this system a lot.)  [// This intrigues me.  I may try it and see how long I can keep it up.] 

         Update 1/6/11:  I've adopted Horner's plan and love it!  As someone else wrote:

This method is the equivalent of “channel-surfing” the Bible. I must admit I have been enjoying it because the wide exposure to different genres in one sitting keeps me engaged and makes it easier to read more content than I normally would.

Me:  As far as missing a day, so what?!  No problem.  At least that's going to be my approach, and it seems to be most everyone's viewpoint who are on the program.

Joe Carter and Fred Sanders explain James Gray’s method of “How to Master the English Bible.” My pastor, David Sunday, told me that “the plan they recommend is, from my vantage point, the most productive way to read and to master the Bible’s contents (or more importantly, to let the Bible master you!).”  [This intrigues me as well!  In a small way I've already fallen into it, but not as extensively as suggested]

I like these suggestions from Paul and Kaelin:

"...Journaling has been one of the key things that has helped drill God’s Word down into my mind and heart.

Here is the method I use:
Request – I pray to ask God to guide my reading
Read – I do my reading
Rewrite – After the reading or while I am reading, I copy down (yes word for word!) the verses that stand out to me.  Sometimes it is one or two, sometimes I feel compelled to write down a couple paragraphs.  Rewriting a verse is HUGELY helpful in remembering it and meditating upon it!
Respond – Then I write out a prayer to God telling Him what I believe He is showing me and how those verses relate to me at the moment (this is very helpful to look back on!).
Release -  I then write out quick petitions to God for all the things I am concerned about in my day.  I then release those to God, knowing God has heard and He will respond (see Phil. 4:6-7 and 1 John 5:14-15)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER LECTURES

Francis Schaeffer lectures can be found here and here.   YouTube videos can be found here. 

Update:   J.I. Packer (via "Between Two Worlds") lists Seven Things that Francis Schaeffer did for Evangelicalism.

First, with his flair for didactic communication he coined some new and pointed ways of expressing old thoughts (the “true truth” or revelation, the “mannishness” of human beings, the “upper story” and “lower story” of the divided Western mind, etc.).

Second, with his gift of empathy he listened to and dialogued with the modern secular world as it expressed itself in literature and art, which most evangelicals were too cocooned in their own subculture to do.

N.T. Wright: "After You Believe" (A Review)

- Update - I am indebted to "Jim" who left a comment on this post linking to N.T. Wright speaking at Elmbrook Church last April on "After You Believe."  It's a wonderful talk which I highly recommend.  Click here.  For more of Wright's articles and talks, see the N.T. Wright Page.

- I love book reviews.  They introduce me to new books and new authors, and they offer critical evaluation of authors already familiar to me.   Bill Kynes' review of N.T. Wright's After You Believe  appears in the current edition of Themelios, a wonderful theological journal that helpfully (and wonderfully!) publishes its articles and book reviews online.  I found the discussion of "rule-based morality" particularly cogent.  Kynes writes:

What are we here for? What constitutes a “good life”? What does God want from us? N. T. Wright applies his considerable biblical acumen to these questions as he seeks “a fresh reading of the moral thrust of the New Testament” (p. 67). The book doesn’t set out to deal with ethical or moral questions or to offer a fine-tuned study of character traits. Rather, Wright looks at the big picture, the overall theological framework, for living the Christian life.

Wright’s biblical framework is decidedly teleological/eschatological: “The basic point is this: the Christian life in the present, with its responsibilities and particular callings, is to be understood and shaped in relation to the final goal for which we have been made and redeemed. The better we understand this goal, the better we shall understand the path toward it” (p. ix). This emphasis on God’s final redemptive purpose makes this book in some sense a sequel to Wright’s earlier work Surprised by Hope (2007), which sets forth the NT eschatological vision of resurrected believers populating the new heaven and new earth (versus the common conception of disembodied souls occupying an ethereal heaven). We are not only saved from sin; we are saved for a new purpose—to fulfill God’s design when he first created human beings in his image to have dominion over his creation. Knowing what we are made for is essential to our understanding of how we ought to live.

DR. CURT THOMPSON - "ANATOMY OF THE SOUL"

Chuck Colson introduces Dr.Curt Thompson's new book, Anatomy of the Soul,  saying:

Psychiatrist Curt Thompson is certified by the Amercian Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is also a devout Christian who has written a fascinating new book called .

The book has a long subtitle, but I’ll repeat it here because it sums up well what the book is all about: “Surprising connections between neuroscience and spiritual practices that can transform your life and relationships.”  [more]

A book excerpt is available here.

The scientific field of interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) has emerged as a firmly established endeavor to explore the connections between mind, brain, and relationships. We who study within the realm of IPNB believe—at least at this time—the following is a helpful way of conceptualizing the mind: The mind is an embodied and relational process that emerges within and between brains, whose task is to regulate the flow of energy and information. A quick tour of that concept may be helpful.  [more]

SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD TO SIT BACK AND MEDITATE ON TRUTH

 

PIPER AND TAYLOR: "SEX AND THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST"

"Desiring God" has made available online as a free PDF book John Piper's and Justin Taylor's edited volume, "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ."  (HT: Between Two Worlds)  Amazing.  It came out in 2005.  Is this a trend?  Publish online a book that is five years old?  I'm all for it!!  I haven't read the book yet, but I respect the contributors and find it incredible that the entire book is now available FREE online.   

Endorsements:

"This is the rare book that delivers more than it promises. Pick it up to learn about the true joy of sex: you will, and you'll also learn about the joy of God."
—Marvin Olasky, Editor-in-chief, World; Provost, The King's College, New York City

"This book is a glorious start to forming a Christian mind that expresses delight in God's gift of marital intimacy-a Christian mind that so desires to delight in that which God delights in that it revels in rejecting the cheap substitutes pawned off on this passing age as true pleasure. Instead, it only finds satisfaction in what is purest and highest and noblest and best."
—J. Ligon Duncan, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi; President, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

"Sex is a wonderful gift from God, but it makes a terrible idol, brutal and unyielding in the misery it inflicts. These authors are a breath of fresh air, because unlike our culture's self-proclaimed 'sexperts,' they respect biblical authority and warmly embrace the Lordship of Christ. Hence, they can lift up the torch of divine truth and expose the enemy's lies about sex that have penetrated not only the darkest corners of our culture, but of our churches."

—Randy Alcorn, author, If God is Good and Heaven

LAUSANNE CONGRESS IN SOUTH AFRICA BRINGS TOGETHER THE MOST ETHNICALLY DIVERSE GROUP OF CHRISTIANS IN HISTORY

I posted below a short video-talk by Joseph D'Souza given at the Lausanne Congress taking place in Cape Town, South Africa.  But I need to introduce the congress to those for whom it is new.  David Virtue, of VirtueOnline, is onsite and posting articles on this historic congress.  He writes:

In Cape Town more than 5,000 men, women and youth have come from 198 nations - literally from every tribe and language and people group. They have one single objective - to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person on earth. We are now living in the age of the global church.

There are more languages being spoken here than at Pentecost. This is a gathering of people who are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ or to tell the truth about Jesus, preaching Good News to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, unreached people's and unengaged (no known missionaries) groups, both old and young. There are 469 out of 639 people groups representing 550 million people who have only recently been reached by mobilizing Christian agencies.. .

The congress is being linked through 700 global link sites in 97 countries reaching 100,000 people in eight languages. The Book of Ephesians is the guiding Biblical document uniting this congress. . . Fully a third of all the participants here at the Lausanne Congress on Evangelism are young people in their late 20s and early 30s. . .

CHILEAN MINERS AND CHRISTIAN FAITH

Update 10/20/10 - Chuck Colson offers thoughts on what the Chilean Miners' experience offers the church.

 

- (Original post) - A friend e-mailed me a report from a worker with Campus Crusade for Christ:

Probably you were watching on TV the rescue of the miners in Chile, and  maybe you noticed a T Shirt many were wearing. All those T Shirts are a gift from Campus Crusade for Christ Chile. The front reads: “Gracias Señor, Thank You Lord” and on the back;  Psalm 95:4 "Porque en su mano están las profundidades de la tierra, y las alturas de los montes son suyas"  “In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also”.  The idea was to glorify our Lord with all this and also to express our love and concern for them by giving them the Jesus Film and the Bible in audio through the MP3s. They received many gifts from outside Organizations,  but they decided to wear our T Shirts for the rescue,  and we praise God for this. . .

CBN video:

 

CBN text: Chilean Miners Emerge Changed Men After Rescue

CHURCH COLSON - "AUTISM AND AGAPE"

- 9/20/10 - More from Colson on Emily, Max, and himself.  Read the original post below, then come back and click through to this additional word from Colson.  Both are well worth reading.

- Original post - I like Colson's reflections.  They ring true.  His daughter Emily has an autistic son, Max.  Colson claims to have learned much from her and his grandson.

. . . To be honest, I can be judgmental towards other people. A child crying on a plane for example, when I wanted to work, made me wonder what is wrong with the parents. The patience and generosity that enables us to understand the plight of others doesn’t come naturally to me—or to just about anyone else, for that matter.

To the extent that I have learned it, I have learned it from watching Emily and Max. Watching Emily, and other parents of children with special needs, has taught me what it means to love in the biblical sense of the word agape. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Wise words from Myron Augsburger, the former president of Eastern Mennonite Seminary:

"I believe in justice: but I am not a preacher of the gospel of justice, but the Gospel of Christ who  calls us to justice. I believe in love, but I am not a preacher of the gospel of love, but the Gospel of Christ who calls us to love. I am committed to peace, but I am not a preacher of the gospel of peace, but the Gospel of Christ who calls us to peace. I believe in the value of the simple life, but I am not the preacher of the simple life, but of the Gospel of Christ that calls us to the simple life. Let us beware of the ultimate plagiarism of borrowing some great concepts from Jesus then running off proclaiming these concepts and not sharing the Christ that empowers these concepts."

WHAT IS LOVE?

Justin Taylor offers a Biblical perspective:

What Is Love?

God and Love

God is love.

Love is a gift of God.

What Love Is

Love is patient.

Love is kind.

What Love Is Not

Love is not arrogant.

Love is not rude.

Love is not irritable.

Love is not resentful.

What Love Does Not Do

Love does not envy.

Love does not boast.

Love does not insist on its own way.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing.

What Loves Does

Love rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Love hopes all things.

Love endures all things.

Love lasts forever.

Love fulfills the law.

{1 John 4:7-8; 1 Cor. 13:4-8; Rom. 13:10}

DAVID PLATT - MATERIAL WEALTH AND JESUS' KINGDOM REASSESSED

David Brooks reflects on David Platt's hot-selling book, “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream.”  (HT: Between Two Worlds)   Brooks writes:

. . .  Platt earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. At age 26, he was hired to lead a 4,300-person suburban church in Birmingham, Ala., and became known as the youngest megachurch leader in America.

Platt grew uneasy with the role he had fallen into and wrote about it in a recent book called “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream.” It encapsulates many of the themes that have been floating around 20-something evangelical circles the past several years.

Platt’s first target is the megachurch itself. Americans have built themselves multimillion-dollar worship palaces, he argues. These have become like corporations, competing for market share by offering social centers, child-care programs, first-class entertainment and comfortable, consumer Christianity.

Jesus, Platt notes, made it hard on his followers. He created a minichurch, not a mega one. Today, however, building budgets dwarf charitable budgets, and Jesus is portrayed as a genial suburban dude. “When we gather in our church building to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshipping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead, we maybe worshipping ourselves.”

LONDONDERRY AIR - "I CANNOT TELL . . ."

Biblical scholar Christopher J.H. Wright regards "The Londonderry Air" the "most hauntingly beautiful melody" in the world.  Being an Irishman, he admits to possible bias, but few would argue strenuously against him.   I have posted below the congregation of St. Anne's Cathedral in Belfast singing "I Cannot Tell" (a hymn set to "Londonderry Air).  Click the "continue reading" button for moving renditions of "Danny Boy" by Judith Durham, one of my favorite vocalists.  Also included are words to several hymns set to the "Londonderry Air" melody.

C.S. LEWIS - "MERE CHRISTIANITY" and THE SIGNIFICANCE OF "DESIRE"

I am facilitating a Sunday morning discussion class on C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity."  In the process I came across a wonderful 60 minute audio introductory lecture to "Mere Christianity" by Boston College philosophy professor Peter Kreeft. 

Also, I was pleased to discover a helpful outline/summary of the book here.

One of my favorite chapters in Mere Christianity is Lewis's chapter on "Hope."  Here he touches on the theme that lies at the center of his life:  human desire and longing as a pointer to God and heaven.  We  experience it as "joy".  This feeling of longing and desire is what the Germans call "sehnzucht," which Louis Marcos explains as:

 a German word that means "longing" or "yearning."  Lewis often used it to signify moments in his life when he felt an intense, overwhelming desire for an indefinable, numinous "something" that was just beyond his grasp.  For Lewis, the reality of these moments of longing (he more often calls them simply, "joy") and the stubborn fact that he could find no object for them, either within himself or the natural world, proved to him that their source must be supernatural (a "proof" of the existence of God and heaven that is  generally referred to as the "argument by desire").  - From Louis Markos, Course Guidebook to "The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis," published by The Teaching Company.

Perhaps Lewis's premier discussion of longing and desire may be found in his masterful sermon preached at Oxford University, "The Weight of Glory", which some regard as the best sermon of the 20th century.

Boston College philosopher Peter Kreeft dissects the subject in his internet article, "The Argument from Desire." He offers a longer discussion in his contribution to G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis: The Riddle of Joy, (a wonderful book for anyone interested in GKC or CSL).  Check also his audio lecture here.

Finally, I will simply add that I thoroughly enjoyed and profited from a book I read shortly after it was published in 1974, Bright Shadow of Reality: C.S. Lewis and the Feeling Intellect by Corbin Scott Carnell.  It is still in print, though with a revised subtitle: "Spiritual Longing in C.S. Lewis."  Highly recommended.

N.T. WRIGHT - "SIMPLY CHRISTIAN: WHY CHRISTIANITY MAKES SENSE"

Is there a better communicator than N.T. Wright?  Not many, I'm convinced.  The following 50 minute talk flies by, and what Wright says, stimulates and enlivens.  Dorothy L. Sayers, writing about conditions in England in 1949 said, "The brutal fact is that in this Christian country not one person in a hundred has the faintest notion what the Church teaches about God or man or society or the person."  (Creed or Chaos).  It's worse now, if that can be imagined, and the U.S. is about where England was in 1949.

My thanks to the Veritas Forum for permission to embed the lecture below.

GOLD FROM JUSTIN TAYLOR'S "BETWEEN TWO WORLDS" BLOG

No doubt there are many fine Christian blogs "out there" in cyberspace, and I wish I had unlimited time to benefit from many more than I do.  But for my money, the one blog that requires frequent visiting is Justin Taylor's Between Two Worlds.  Here's a sampling from recent posts:

- Free Audiobook: Tim Keller's Ministries of Mercy 

- Keith Getty on Writing Today's Modern Hymns  (I found this stunningly good)

- Thielman's New Testament Theology  (Seminary audio lectures with outline.  Amazing resource!) 

- Professor Peter Kreeft's audio lectures:

• 10 Uncommon Insights Into Evil from The Lord of the Rings
• Christianity in The Lord of the Rings
• The Language of Beauty

- D.A. Carson's "The God Who Is There" Video and Audio (MP3s for the 14 - part series here).

A MORNING PRAYER

One of my most valued possessions is John Baillie's A Diary of Private Prayer.  A couple of days ago I made special note of the morning prayer for Day 26.   I have broken up Baillie's single paragraph into the following segments:

O Thou to whom I owe the gift of this day's life, give to me also, I beseech Thee, the spirit to use it as I ought.

Forbid that I should stain the brightness of the morning with any evil thought or darken the noontide with any shameful deed.

Let Thy Holy spirit breathe into my heart today all pure and heavenly desires.

Let Thy truth inform my mind.

Let Thy justice and righteousness make a throne within me and rule my errant will.

Let Christ be formed in me, and let me learn of Him all lowliness of heart, all gentleness of bearing, all modesty of speech, all helpfulness of action, and promptness in the doing of my Father's will.

Isn't it wonderful? 

HAYLEY WESTENRA SINGING "AMAZING GRACE" AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE WORLD GAMES IN 2009 IN KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN

At the moment this is probably my favorite music video.

GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA - 101 YEARS OLD

George Beverly Shea, soloist for Billy Graham for many, many years, served as the Grand Marshal in the Fourth of July (2010) parade in Montreat, North Carolina.  Looking good!  Article follows.

 

Article follows:

C.S. LEWIS - "THREE KINDS OF MEN"

I found the following short essay profound and penetrating.  First published in March, 1943, it comes from Lewis's posthumous collection of essays, Present Concerns.  I came across it on the web at the C.S. Lewis Institute's May "Reflections."  (I took the liberty to subdivide Lewis's first long paragraph into three short ones.)

The first class is of those who live simply for their own sake and pleasure, regarding Man and Nature as so much raw material to be cut up into whatever shape may serve them.

In the second class are those who acknowledge some other claim upon them—the will of God, the categorical imperative, or the good of society—and honestly try to pursue their own interests no further than this claim will allow. They try to surrender to the higher claim as much as it demands, like men paying a tax, but hope, like other taxpayers, that what is left over will be enough for them to live on. Their life is divided, like a soldier’s or a schoolboy’s life, into time “on parade” and “off parade,” “in school” and “out of school.”

But the third class is of those who can say like St. Paul that for them “to live is Christ.” These people have got rid of the tiresome business of adjusting the rival claims of Self and God by the simple

SPIRITUALITY AND BASKETBALL: TRACING THE GAME'S ORIGINS

The desire to serve God resulted in the invention of the game of basketball.  John A. Murray, writing in the Wall Street Journal, tells the fascinating story of James Naismoth, the game's inventor.  The year was 1891.  Naismoth

moved to Springfield, Mass., to serve as a physical-education instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association's International Training School for Christian Workers (now Springfield College). Naismith's vision? "To win men for the Master through the gym."

Encouraged by his director, Luther Gulick, Naismith set out to create an indoor activity for students during the winter months. Having studied European gymnastics models, and toyed with indoor versions of football, soccer and lacrosse, Naismith spent two weeks testing various games with his assigned athletics class—with no success. Finally, Naismith decided to draw from all of these sports: with a ball that could be easily handled, play that involved running and passing with no tackling, and a goal at each end of the floor. Thus, at a Springfield YMCA in 1891, was the game of basketball born.

It's an extremely interesting, short read.  Chuck Colson adds his personal comments.

DR. MARTYN LLOYD-JONES: ONE OF THE 20TH CENTURY'S GREATEST PREACHERS

One Sunday evening years ago I happened to be in London and had the great privilege of hearing Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preach a sermon I still remember.  He took as his text Revelation chapter 3, the church in Laodicea.  The great Welshman commanded rapt attention as he unfolded the text in a way that only one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century could do.  I am indebted to Justin Taylor's blog post for the following 10-minute documentary introduction to his life, and for the other links provided below:

Justin Taylor says "A few years ago Mark Dever interviewed Lady Elizabeth [Lloyd-Jones' daughter] and her husband, Sir Fred Catherwood, about the famed preacher: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Reflections on His Ministry with His Family."  Me: I greatly enjoyed listening to this interview.  I learned that Lloyd-Jones encouraged C.S. Lewis to keep writing after his first book, The Pilgrim's Regress met with a generally poor reception and Lewis was discouraged.  There's lots more in that interview!

Taylor says you can hear The Doctor preach online for free at Martyn Lloyd-Jones Recording Trust.

Some free sermons are available here.

HAITI FINDS ITSELF IN THE GRIPS OF A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING!

This past week I received  e-mail reports about incredible events taking place in Haiti.  Then this morning our church showed a video clip which captures the essence of some of the reports.   Apparently we can no longer call Haiti a "voodoo nation."  This is truly amazing.  Authentic spiritual life is taking root in answer to the prayers of millions. 

 

J. I. PACKER ON "WHAT IS REVIVAL?"

Justin Taylor posts the following, which I think quite helpful:

Here is how J. I. Packer answers that question [What is Revival?] in his essay, “The Glory of God and the Reviving of Religion” in A God-Entranced Vision of All Things ^[1] (pp. 100-104):

Revival is God touching minds and hearts in an arresting, devastating, exalting way, to draw them to himself through working from the inside out rather than from the outside in.

It is God accelerating, intensifying, and extending the work of grace that goes on in every Christian’s life, but is sometimes overshadowed and somewhat smothered by the impact of other forces.

It is the near presence of God giving new power to the gospel of sin and grace.

It is the Holy Spirit sensitizing souls to divine realities and so generating deep-level responses to God in the form of faith and repentance, praise and prayer, love and joy, works of benevolence and service and initiatives of outreach and sharing.

What is the pattern of genuine revival? Packer suggests the following ten elements:

1. God comes down.
2. God’s Word pierces.
3. Man’s sin is seen.
4. Christ’s cross is valued.
5. Change goes deep.
6. Love breaks out.
7. Joy fills hearts.
8. Each church becomes itself—becomes, that is, the people of the divine presence in an experiential, as distinct from merely notional, sense.
9. The lost are found.
10. Satan keeps pace.

For more on revival, keep your eye out for the book coming out this Fall from ZondervanA God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir ^[2], by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge.

AKIANE KRAMARIK - CHILD ARTIST PRODIGY PRODUCES ART INSPIRED BY GOD

I am grateful to a friend who e-mailed me the following:

This is almost unbelievable.  I will tell you the basics, she is now 12 years old.  She started painting at age 4.  Her Mother is an atheist so God was never discussed in their home and she really had never been taught anything about Him or the Bible.  She has visions and has told her Mom she has visited heaven numerous times.  She gives God the glory for her talent.  She has never had an art lesson.  PS. Her family now believes in God.  (This 3 minute clip is from CNN).   Me: I think she is now 15.

If you found yourself saying "incredible" while watching the above video, then you absolutely must watch the next 8 minute video as well.  It inspired me, and I think it will inspire you also.

ANDREE SEU - NOVEL IDEAS FOR ANYONE WISHING TO START A NEW SEMINARY

Andree Seu, a writer for WORLD magazine, has "a modest proposal for a new seminary."  She herself is a seminary grad, so her opinions have personal experience (and a critique) behind them. 

Biographies are very important. Prime real estate in the curriculum should go to Charles Finney's "Holy Spirit Revivals," Trevor Yaxley's "William & Catherine" [The Life and Legacy of the Booths, Founders of the Salvation Army], the lives of Adoniram Judson, George Mueller, etc. (Philippians 3:17). These strengthen the soul because they are not mere history but testimonies, and "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."  . . .

. . . Study the Bible rather than theological systems, which are once-removed. God's power is in His Word, not in man-made constructions superimposed on it. Verse-by-verse is most helpful. All the rest will fall into place nicely.

. . . Allot enough time for a reading assignment to encourage the student to praise and pray his way through the book. The act of storing knowledge without immediate responsive worship is toxic to the soul. There is no subtler snare than intellectual pride. 

. . . Invite speakers from outside your camp. You'll be surprised how much of the Bible you missed. Close the seminary down for a week and have everyone listen to Beth Moore's "Believing God."

. . . If you find yourself reading more theology books than Bible, quit seminary immediately. 

There's a lot more. . .

Me:  When I read Seu's views, I was at first sympathetic.  I still am to a large extent.  I agree with the need to make Bible study central, and it's true that a "devotional approach" is commonly lacking at many (most?) seminaries, but on the other hand, it would be a disservice to exclude serious theological study and even comparative religion.  The mind must be expanded as well as the heart.  Critical thinking must proceed hand-in-hand with compassion, humility, and prayer.  I suspect Seu would agree with my comments.

BRIT HUME ON TIGER WOODS' NEED FOR CHRISTIANITY

- Update 1/7/10 - A lot of flak has been thrown at Brit Hume for his public endorsement of Christianity as a religion of redemption and forgiveness.  Peter Wehner offers an extraordinary defense of Brit Hume.  Update 1/8/10 - See also Mollie Hemingway's excellent round up of commentary including her own.  From her I learned that 10 years ago Hume's son, Sandy, committed suicide at age 28.  That moved Hume  from being a merely nominal Christian to being far more deeply rooted in Christ.  Another update: Today Christianity Today published an interesting interview with Hume:  I don't want to practice a faith that I'm afraid to proclaim. I don't want to be a closet Christian. . .  Christianity is a religion for sinners. Christianity is not about the salvation of perfect people. Christianity is a way for people who are not perfect to be saved. What Mark Sanford needs is not less Christianity. He needs more of it.

- (Original post) - Well, one thing's for sure.  Brit Hume is a Christian and is willing to let everybody know it.  Following up on a comment he made Sunday, last night Hume said to Bill O'Reilly, "He [Tiger Woods] needs something that Christianity especially provides and offers, and that is redemption and forgiveness...   I think that Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods badly needs."

WASHINGTON POST INTERVIEWS THEOLOGIAN J. I. PACKER

In a wide-ranging interview, Packer (author of Knowing God and numerous other books) was asked about the variety of spiritualities abroad today.  His response:

"There's a great divide between all the spiritualities of the world and Christian   because Christian spirituality is at every point a  relation to the triune God of the Bible. Secular spirituality isn't focused on God, if God even comes into it, but on me and my fulfillment. My self-discovery. My inner peace. The more you look at that gap, the wider it gets. It's the difference between self-centeredness and God-centeredness. It's unhelpful, actually, that both sorts of concern are called spirituality."

Read the whole interview.