Friar Tuck's Fleeting Thoughts

First weeks in Hot Springs, SD

2012-01-29T23:54:00.002-07:00

There have been several things happening at United Churches of Hot Springs, SD. Some have been fun. Some have been challenging. But, thanks be to God, I have not had a boring day yet.

There are several things that I love about United Churches:

I love that we have both a contemporary service, and what might be described as an informally liturgical service. I feel like each week my worship gets to run the gamut of Christian tradition, and I get nourished in each service in different ways.
I am feeling like my preaching is well-received. I am staying strictly Biblical, and people seem to enjoy the kind of teaching I have to offer. In both services I feel like I am finding a groove and connecting with folks.
We have enjoyed some of the little things people did to make us welcome. They brought by meals as we arrived. They cleaned and painted the house. This made Jen happy. And "when momma is happy, everyone is happy"
Many of the new people I meet are intriguing to me. This is true of my ministry is the community as well as my ministry within the church

Some of the challenges are:

Negotiating expectations. The board is not meeting until March. They are eager to let me be me. This is nice and thoughtful. It has also created challenges. It is clear they have expectation. Yet, it is also difficult to figure out what those are.
My timing. This is a strange time to move to town. People are snowbirding, many of them just heading out in January for weeks or months. Many of our church leaders are gone on a mission trip this week. Another set will be leaving for the second half of February. Our administrative assistant's husband had a brain aneurism. So I have felt a little lost, and like I am on an island the last 10 days or so.
Adapting to the United Churches structure. In some ways, it feels overly structured. In other ways it feels loosey-goosey. All in all, I have yet to put my hands around how the church runs and feel at home with it. But I am sure that will come, and my understanding will grow.

TOMORROW: THE WALKERS IN THE HOT SPRINGS COMMUNITY

A little video on Hot Springs from the chamber of commerce--slightly dated

2012-01-29T23:23:00.002-07:00

Book Review of God at work by Gene Edward Veith Jr.

2012-01-27T22:46:00.001-07:00

God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life
by Gene Edward Veith Jr.
ISBN 978-1-4335-2447-9
Crossway Books
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Many people see their job as a burden. They work hard, but they see what they do to make a living as burden instead of as a joy and a calling. Dr. Gene Edward Veith believes that this approach to our work and our lives is not what God has designed for us.

Veith believes that we all have a call and a purpose for God. The work that God has designed for us to do should find its way into how we do our jobs, order our family lives, participate in our church, and enjoy our leisure.

Veith then goes on to discuss honorable and not so righteous ways to live out the gifts and calling that God has given us. We can abuse our calling unethically, and we can neglect the gifts God has given us.

We also need to be prepared to suffer in carrying out the purposes and callings that God has given us. A lot of people give up too soon, and miss out on God's blessing because they don't say committed to who God made them to be when the going gets tough.

This is a thoughtful book, and a nice introduction to a Christian philosophy of vocation. I am glad to have it as a resource.

Book Review of NIV Once a Day Bible

2012-01-27T17:13:00.002-07:00

For years I have had Tyndale's "One-Year Bible" on my shelf. Several times I have been led by this tool to read through the Bible in a year. Several other times I have stopped short. Zondervan's "Once a Day" Bible is the same, with a few minor variations.

The differences between the "One-year" and the "Once a Day" Bible will help guide you on which Bible is best for you. The "Once a Day" Bible orders its readings by days you have read the text, as opposed to ordering the readings by the calendar year. For many this will be helpful. You can start reading through the Bible at any time of the year, instead of feeling like in order to do the One-Year reading plan right you have to start on January 1.

Both Bibles give their readers and Old Testament and a New Testament reading each day. The Once a Day Bible gives its readers an excerpt from EITHER the Psalms or the Proverbs. The competitor we described earlier gives you an except from both each day. I think this is a matter of taste. I prefer the way this "Once a Day" Bible orders the wisdom texts.

Another uniqueness of the Once A Day Bible is the brief devotional thought that is added at the end of each days reading. I think this will be encouraging and helpful readers.

All in all this will be a helpful book in allowing Bible readers to make their way through the whole story of Scripture, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking to take on such a noble endeavor.

Book Review of the NIV Life Application Study Bible (2011 Edition)

2012-01-27T14:07:00.001-07:00

As most of my readers know, the NIV has updated their translation of the Bible in 2011. They integrated much of their work with the TNIV into the new NIV. Included in the 2011 New International Version of Scripture is inclusive language for humanity (e.g. humanity instead of mankind, not using the male pronoun when speaking of people in general etc.). I think it is a needed correction, and the NIV reads well. The new NIV also made some needed changes in readability, using conversational English instead of borrowing the overly formal and somewhat stilted phrasing of versions like the RSV or KJV. It is a good change, and I think the new NIV will be a great tool for communicating to the next generation.

The NIV Life Application Study Bible is a re-release of the Life Application Study Bible with updates for the New NIV. That means that the publishers updated the text, some of the notes to correspond with the language of the text, and they also updated the concordance to match the new version.

Still prominent in the NIV Life Application Study Bible are the things that made is so popular in the first place. Those things include:

Extensive study notes
Guidelines for teachers and church leaders for use of the study Bible and teaching in general
Helpful introductions to each book
Insightful charts
Explanations of difficult issues that arise in passages in a thoughtful and even handed manner
Several charts and diagrams to better help the reader understand what is happening in the text and how to apply it
A Harmony of the Gospels
A 365 day reading plan appendix
a small bible dictionary
helpful maps at the back of the Bible.
many more helps and guides

I would recommend this Bible to a new believer seeking to understand and apply God's word. This study bible combines easy to understand helps in understanding with the great new NIV translation. If you are looking for a new Bible, pick this up.

Book Review of Reading Revelation by C. Marvin Pate

2012-01-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Reading Revelation: A Comparison of the Four Interpretive Translations of the Apocalypse
C. Marvin Pate
ISBN 978-0-8254-3367-2
Kregel Academic and Professional
Reviewed by Clint Walker

No part of the Bible is more debated on its meaning that the book of Revelation. Several pastors, teachers, and leaders have avoided the text because it is fraught by so much interpretive diversity and controversy. Even Luther said of Revelation that he could "in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it." (see Wikipedia on the Luther Bible)

C. Marvin Pate takes the challenges of understanding Revelation head on with his bookReading Revelation. The text begins with an introduction to the four major schools of interpretation (preterist, historicist, idealist, futurist). The rest of the book is goes verse by verse through the book of Revelation.

The bulk of the book Reading Revelation is presented as a spreadsheet. On the far left is the Greek text. Then there are four more columns for each of the methods of interpreting the text. Each of these interpretations has an expanded translation of that verse, amplified to express that specific perspective's interpretation of what is being said. Some times the entire text says the same thing. At other points, the diversity of interpretive viewpoints becomes more clear.

I thought this text was intelligent and informative. The author's point of view is not played out in the text--he does not push you toward his point of view. Instead, each way of reading the text is handled evenhandedly. I tend to be, for the most part, a partial-preterist and a partial-futurist. But, as I read, I came to value some of the other insights that other ways of looking at this text might have to offer.

Furthermore, as I read the introduction and then read through the book, I was impressed at Pate's passion for the study of the book of Revelation. He obviously loves the complexity and challenges that reading revelation holds, and wants to share that joy with others.

If you are curious about how to understand the last book of the Bible, this book is a must-have for you. I am glad it sits on my bookshelf.

Book Review of Missional Worship by Cathy Townley

2012-01-25T15:00:00.001-07:00

Missional Worship: Increasing Attendance and Expanding the Boundaries of Your Church
by Cathy Townley
ISBN 9780827216440
Chalice Press
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Much has been written in recent years on the "missional" church. Much of this discussion centers around how churches are trained to see themselves as missionaries, and see the church as a mission center that equips people to go out into the world with their Christian faith instead of as an organization that people should join out of duty and obligation.

Into the mix of literature on this movement, Cathy Townley submits her discussion of Missional Worship. Rev. Townley has developed a through book of equipping a church to outreach through worship.

Missional Worship is a book with two parts. The first part discusses a philosophy and some basic methods to develop a missional worship service. These include a clear target audience, some key networks that a worship leader has formed relationships within, finding some key leaders that will advocate for and help build your worship service, developing a prayer team, as well as some helpful hints in building a worship team.

The second part of Missional Worship focuses on the "nuts and bolts" of what a missional worship service needs to have in order to be successful. For instance, how do you develop a leadership community of worship leaders without making it into another committee people serve on? How do you create a quality worship service without degenerating into a performance model of worship and church life? How do you deal with transitions in a worship service that does not degenerate into an "insider experience" or on the other hand feel choppy and disjointed? These are all important questions that Townley seeks to answer.

What is most helpful about Townley's teaching is that a worship leader needs to have a worship lifestyle. If a pastor or a worship leader is simply a showman, and he/she does not live the truth they are teaching, people will know it and see it. But if the person is authentically prayerful, authentically passionate about their faith, and authentically active and hopeful of reaching unbelievers, that will pass on to the congregation as well.

There were a couple of things I struggled with in Missional Church. I thought for a book that talked about "missional church" the author spent an awful lot of time a 1980s church growth model of outreach. I also thought the author wrote a lot like she might speak during a seminar, and I got the impression she is a better teacher and workshop leader than writer.

All in all though, there is a lot of good advice in this book, and some helpful hints for those designing a worship service that is hopeful of reaching unbelievers. I took much of it to heart. I am sure others will be benefited by taking Townley's advice to heart as well.

Special Blessings

2012-01-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

Today, I made several visits with homebound people who live out of town.

I visited Evelyn. Evelyn is not feeling well. Her husband just passed away and she is facing several health concerns. It was a nice visit. She was so sweet to me as I left her apartment. She has been good to us, and she feels like I have been good to her.

Next I visited Helen. Much of our visit was about her sharing her memories, and asking about folks in the church and its general health. As I left, she said, "Before you came we prayed for who God would send us. That God would send us a good pastor. You were an answer to prayer. Yes. You were an answer to prayer." That about moved me to tears.

Then I visited Dudley. Dudley and I visited for quite a while. He shared several stories about his upbringing, as well as about some things that are going on in his heart and mind after moving in with his doctor. As I left, I gave Dudley a hug and told him I loved him. He smiled. Then he started to cry, as he often does. "You have been a good pastor, Clint. We have had several good pastors. You have been one of them."

I left my visits feeling blessed and encouraged by each person I got to see.

I stopped at the Loaf and Jug on my way back to the house. I ran into another pastor in town. He kept putting his head on my chest saying I could not leave. Then, he stopped and said he would be against us leaving if it was not such a good opportunity for us to grow in our ministry to leave. He then shared things he appreciated about my ministry. He said, "I have heard you. You are a GOOD preacher Clint. I have always loved to hear you preach."

Each person blessed me that I saw today. It made me feel good. It made me sense that God had blessed me and my ministry here, even though I have sometimes doubted it.

Our next to last weekend in Colorado

2012-01-08T20:08:00.001-07:00

Today, we spent our second to last weekend in Colorado. Because I had the week off, we decided to go to Colorado Springs and worship at my old church, First Baptist Church of Colorado Springs.

It was nice to be there, and to see a lot of old friends. Many of them had not met Karis, so it was fun to show her off as well.

After church we went with our friends Freddie and Dawn Martinez to Old Chicago's. I had some Italian Nachos. It was a lot of fun.

I was surprised how much different the church felt as a worshiper instead of as a staff person. People were friendlier than ever, and it felt good to reconnect with everyone. There was none of the judgement and hard edge that I experienced as a staff person. I felt, as I sat there, that as a member I could really enjoy being at this church.

We then traded in my shirt that was sun damaged at Casual Male XL and headed home. It was a nice day.

Book Review of The Essential Guide to Healing by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark

2012-01-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Essential Guide to Healing: Equipping All Christians to Pray for the Sick
by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark
ISBN 978-0-8007-9519-1
Chosen Books
Reviewed by Clint Walker

I believe in healing. I also have a hard time with the charismatic movement, and its overemphasis on the sensational works of power in people's lives instead of the everyday workings of God's grace. So, I got a copy of The Essential Guide to Healing to stretch my thinking and expand my horizons.

I thought this book started out well. The emphasis on sharing testimonies was an especially appropriate entry point to begin a conversation about healing ministry.

I appreciated the authors' considerable effort to communicate a theology of healing. Many books on healing selectively pick a few Scriptures, and then load the rest of their book with anecdotes that make themselves and their friends superstars. This book has a little more depth than that.

To be sure, Johnson and Clark do share lots of stories.They also take on some difficult objections to the kind of healing ministry they do. I disagree with some of their assumptions and practices, but I also believe that their ministry comes from an honest, faithful, and good place.

While I appreciate the author's lack of exclusion by eagerly attempting to say that everyone can practice healing prayer, I believe that this attitude does have some dangers. Specifically, I think when one says that healing can be done by anyone, it is small step to say it is normative for everyone. When this happens, it can become easy to beat people up for not being healers, or create a caste system in the church. This is not what the authors intend, but it could be a logical outgrowth of their teaching if students of this book are not discerning and careful.

This is a worthwhile book to own, and one that I will pass on to friends.

Book Review of A Study Guide to Calvin's Institutes by Douglas Wilson

2012-01-05T00:49:00.000-07:00

Fewworks of Christian theology compare with the Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Institutes is a brilliant, systematic explanation of Christian beliefwritten by John Calvin, who is one of the founding fathers of the ProtestantReformation. A Study Guide to Calvin’sInstitutes is a teaching tool meant to help lead everyday people throughthis magisterial two-volume work. This book is written by Douglas Wilson, whois a pastor-leader at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. The book is well-thoughtout, however, its presentation is a little too austere for most readers.

Atearlier points in history, people were taught faith tenets catechistically.This means that students were taught questions and answers to memorize,allowing students to absorb a tremendous amount of content. This was especiallycommon in the Reformed Tradition, including such documents as the WestminsterShorter Catechism, among others. Embracing this traditional form of education, A Study Guide to Calvin’s Institutes isa huge catechism meant to summarize the content of Institutes.

AlthoughI admire the austerity and the insensitivity to marketing concerns of DouglasWilson in writing this book, I believe it is a little too old-fashioned and formalfor most readers, even if they are attempting to be students of the Institutes. Hundreds of pages ofquestions and answers are a rather lengthy summary of an even lengthier text.Half of the fun of reading such a wonderful work such as the Institutes is slowing down enough tofigure out what the book is saying. The questions and answers extract all thebeauty of the text for a quick summary of the facts, which is disappointing forme.

IfI were to use this book in a teaching setting, I would use A Study Guide to Calvin’s Institutes as a voice in the room tolaunch discussion about each section of the book. The catechetical format would be helpful inlaying down a standard from which readers of the Institutes could then begin forming their opinions in agreementwith or opposition to Wilson’s interpretation.

Fora theology lover like me, this book will be a lot of fun to have on my shelf,and read through. In fact, it may function a lot like the study notes do in mystudy bible. For most, the format and the nature of the book will bedisappointing.

Book Review of Miracles are for Real by James L. Garlow and Keith Wall

2012-01-04T23:39:00.005-07:00

Miracles are For Real: What Happens when Heaven Touches Earth
By James L. Garlow and Keith Wall
ISBN 978-0-7642-0907-9
Published by Bethany House
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Many people, although they believe in Jesus, do not really believe in the miraculous. Even those who do believe in miracles in general often have a hard time hoping and trusting that God can do the miraculous in their lives. James Garlow and Keith Wall believe that this should not be so. In their book Miracles are For Real they are argue that miracles are for today, and that they are surprisingly more common than we usually expect.

It is easiest to describe this book as having three parts. The first part of the book makes the case for miracles in the everyday lives of believers and in communities of faith. The second part of the book expends considerable effort describing how miracles work. A third part of the book confronts some faulty thinking and misconceptions of how miracles work.

What I like about this book is its sensitivity to real life questions such as: Why haven't I received my miracle I had prayed for? or Why do so many supernatural things seem to keep happening for the same few people? Thinking through and answering these questions is difficult. I did not always like everything about how the authors answered these concerns, but I am very thankful they attempted to confront them.

I think Miracles are For Real would be a great book for two groups of people. First, I would love to see newer believers read this book. Secondly, I would love to see this book get into the hands of people with real questions about the power of prayer.

Book Review of Baptists Through the Centuries by David W. Bebbington

2012-01-04T12:39:00.001-07:00

Baptists Through theCenturies: A History of a Global People

ByDavid Bebbington

ISBN978-1-60258-204-0

BaylorUniversity Press

Reviewedby Clint Walker

Baptistidentity has been at the heart of a lot of discussions in Baptist churches andseminaries in the last several years, especially in American Baptist andSouthern Baptist circles. It only makes sense, then, that Baptists need to do acareful job of understanding and communicating about their history. DavidBebbington, a church historian from England that has been teaching BaptistHistory at Truett Theological Seminary, has written an excellent book on thesubject. Baptists Through the Centuries:A History of a Global People is even-handed, balanced, well-organized, and thoughtful.It is a book I would recommend to anyone wanting to know where Baptists comefrom, what they have been about, and what that means for Baptist and Americanchurches today.

Thefirst several chapters of the book attempt to cover one formational issue forBaptists in each century. Then, as theauthor moves toward the late nineteenth century through the early twenty-firstcentury, he tackles several topics in recent Baptist history that have effectedhow Baptists see themselves and do ministry.

AsI read, I was hooked by the first chapter. Much of this chapter was aboutwhether Baptist churches have their roots in Anabaptist or Separatist history.This was helpful for me to think about, mostly because I do have someAnabaptist leanings. What I discovered is what I suspected, namely that thefamily tree that the Baptists were born out is much broader and more dynamicthan some historians would have their readers believe.

Iwas also intrigued about the Baptists rather slow acceptance of revivalism inboth America and Europe. Given the amount of churches I have attended that areBaptist and have spoken about revivals, love gospel songs, and long, drawn-outinvitations I expected this way of worshipping to at the core of Baptist developmentfrom the start. In fact, it was not.

Bebbington’sapproach to the Baptist identity/freedoms issue is surprisingly balancedconsidering he is writing for Baylor University Press. He rightly appreciatesShurden’s
Four Fragile Freedoms as animportant work in the ongoing battle between fundamentalists and those who arenot as “confessional”, but does not go so far as to endorse it as a landmarkhistorical summary of Baptist belief and history. He also points out thatBaptist churches have developed with more episcopal-styled church governmentsin places such as Moldova, and other formerly communist countries.

Allin all, I appreciated Bebbington’s writing. Baptists Through the Centuries: A History of a Global People isappreciative of Baptist history and development without being overwhelming. Itis wise and honest, and deftly avoids agenda-driven pitfalls that many Americanauthors bring to their discussions of what it means to be Baptist. In otherwords, Bebbington is a good, honest historian that deserves to be heard by abroad audience.

Book Review of Christian Music: A Global History by Tim Dowley

2012-01-03T00:57:00.001-07:00

Christian Music: A Global History

By Tim Dowley

ISBN 978-08006-9841-6

Fortress Press

Reviewed by Clint Walker

Each and every week,throughout the country, churches are discussing what “worship style” theircongregation should embrace. Some people believe that churches should embrace amore “contemporary” style, following recent trends in secular and worship musicand bringing those musical styles into the church. Others embrace a more“traditional” style of worship, believing that they are reflecting a historicfaith by the songs they sing. Both people who are traditional and people whoare more contemporary could benefit by reading Tim Dowley’s Christian Music, which describeshistoric contributions to and development of music in the church.

Many persons who mightembrace a more traditional worship style will be surprised how the way peopledo church music and worship has changed throughout the centuries. Christian Music tracks them all. Fromthe pre-Christian worship of the Ancient Hebrews, to the chant of the earlychurch, on to the radical revolutions in the way churches incorporated worshipafter the Reformation and beyond, Dowley clearly demonstrates that worship inthe Christian church has always been changing and evolving.

Persons who embrace a morecontemporary style will be impressed with how similar the concerns and goals ofhistorical church musicians were to their own. Many of the revival songs thatwe now understand as “traditional” because of their instrumentation wereactually attempts and presenting Christian music to nonbelievers in a way thatwould be easy for them to both sing and understand.

This book is certainly apleasure to hold in one’s hand. The pages are thick. The text is filled withhigh quality photographs of artwork and worship settings that skillfullyillustrate each era in the development of church music. The text is wellfootnoted. It also has a nice index. Christian Music works hard to cover thetheological and cultural diversity of church music as it has developed.

I only have onedisappointment. This book billed as a global resource. Much of the discussionof church music in a “global” sense makes it into each chapter through a smallarticle that serves as an interlude between sections in the book. I would haveliked to have known more about the development of church music outside ofWestern Civilization in more depth.

Over all though, Christian Music would make a wonderfulbook to own and read, as well as a great textbook. If I had a coffee table, Iwould say it would be a good coffee table book as well with the fine artisticsensibility the book presents. This book is both smart and classy. I loved it!

Book Review of Understanding Your Mormon Neighbor by Ross Anderson

2012-01-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

Understanding Your Mormon Neighbor
by Ross Anderson
ISBN 9780310329268

Published by Zondervan

Reviewed by Clint Walker

When I was in high school, the community I lived in had a very well-attended Mormon church. Many of my coaches and peers attended the LDS church. As a young evangelical, there were several times where I attempted to engage in dialogue with my LDS teachers and peers. What I discovered is that doctrinal discussions were very difficult, and that when we did get somewhere as we talked we found that we were using similar words and terms in different ways.

As I grew older, I discovered that Mormons and evangelicals often seem to talk over one another instead of with one another about matters of faith. Discussions about and with Mormons among mainline and evangelical Christians often seems to degenerate into attempting to win an argument instead of seeking to relate to and understand one another. Ross Anderson, in his book Understanding Your Mormon Neighbor, attempts to guide Christians in more productive approaches to building relationships and creating disciples in a Mormon context.

As I read this book, I discovered that Ross Anderson was a wise guide in setting me and other evangelicals on the right track in both building stronger relationships with our LDS friends, as well as sharing our faith with Mormons in such a way that we communicate clearly. One thing that was especially helpful in Understanding Your Mormon Neighbor was understanding Mormonism both as a culture and as a religion, much like Judaism, only with a much shorter documented history (p. 13). In the same chapter, Anderson also discusses why using the term "cult" to describe Mormonism, while it may be technically correct in terms of Christian orthodoxy, is unhelpful and misleading to use because of the terms other definitions of the word and popular stereotypes of what cults do to their adherents (p. 20-22). This book also describes the fluid nature of LDS doctrine, and how that makes discussions of doctrinal truth difficult, and often different from Mormon to Mormon (p. 29-31).

Each chapter is more and more helpful. It is obvious that Ross Anderson, as a former LDS adherent, both loves and extends a lot of understanding and grace to Mormon people. He approaches being a minister and missionary in a Mormon setting much the same as if someone was attempting to be a missionary in any other cross-cultural setting--respecting the culture, embracing its strengths and beauty, while at the same time proclaiming biblical truth in a way that challenges errors embedded in that culture.

Also, the reader needs to make sure they read the introduction and appendices of the book, which also offer interesting and helpful information in this study. This is easily the best book for Christians on standing for their faith in a Mormon context that I have ever read. I would recommend it strongly to anyone, and especially those who live in areas where the Mormon church dominates both the cultural and religious landscape.

Baby Naming Poll

2012-01-01T14:04:00.002-07:00

The little one, the baby websites say, is about the size of a sweet potato

As the baby has been growing we have been trying to figure out baby names

So we have put together a little survey, and we are hoping you will vote. We might not go with what you vote for as a name, but we might. We are just curious.

HERE is the link. Or you can cut and paste this address to get there

http://www.babycenter.com/403_-2-needs-a-name_14978005_410.bc

Looking Ahead

2011-12-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

Make an effort to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker, who doesn’t need to be ashamed but is one who interprets the message of truth correctly.--2 Tim 2:15 (CEB)
Pray continually.--2 Thessalonians 5:17 (CEB)

In the last year I have done a lot to care for others, and for their spiritual welfare. I have expended a lot of effort in a lot of church things. I have led our community's ministerial alliance. I have completed another Backyard Mission Project. Yet, as I look back on how I have cared for my own soul, I am deeply disappointed with myself. I need to do better.

Yet, I know this phrase, "I need to do better" gets me nowhere. I said this every January about weight loss, and I spent many of my years gaining weight instead of losing it. I have told myself that I am going to study more, pray more, and save more over and over again. I rarely make any progress.

This is because intention is not enough to get anything accomplished. As Dallas Willard might say, I need Vision, intention, and means.

I think I am a hard-working man. I work hard to be a good dad, husband, pastor, and person. I do not think, though, I am as disciplined as I could be. Especially when it comes to really managing my time.

My planners show this weakness. I begin using them in January, but then I lose track of what I am doing with them as I go through the year.

I think I can be a more prayerful and spiritually grounded person, and a more scripture-saturated pastor if I can organize my time better. I think I can be a more studied pastor if I plan to study more. I also think I can make some new strides in weight loss and personal health if I write it into a daily plan instead of trying to fit in time to make it happen.

.

Book Review of THE EARLY CHRISTIAN LETTERS FOR EVERYONE by N.T. Wright

2011-12-28T14:00:00.004-07:00

The Early Christian Letters for Everyone

By N.T.Wright

ISBN978-0-664-22798

WestminsterJohn Knox Press

Reviewed byClint Walker

About the Series

A generationago, William Barclay wrote a New Testament commentary series called TheDaily Study Bible. Although the theology of its author was moreprogressive than many of the American pastors who used Barclay’s commentaries,the series sold well and was used often because of its readability, brevity,and the ease in which it aided preaching and bible study.

In manyways, Westminster John Knox’s “For Everyone” commentary follows in thefootsteps of Barclay’s Daily Study Bible. In other ways, this layman’scommentary does MUCH better than Barclay. The New Testament commentaries in the“For Everyone” series are written by N.T. Wright, who is clearly one of themost accomplished and well-known theological scholars of the twenty-first century. The layout iseasily accessible, with each small periscope of Scripture newly translated,followed by a one to two page comment on every passage.

Most of thecommentary articles in the series begin with a short illustration of what ishappening in the passage, followed by an explanation of what was happening inBible times, and then a few thoughts about what the passage means for believerswho are studying it today. With Wright’s deft communication skills, it combinesthe best of scholarship with an explanation of the passage that everyone shouldbe able to understand.

About this Book

The EarlyChristian Letters for Everyone is a small commentary volume about several ofthe general epistles; namely James, I John, II John, III John, I Peter, IIPeter, and Jude. I found this commentary very helpful. I was pleasantly surprisedthat even though this was a small volume covering several books of the Bible atonce, Wright several lengthy entries when necessary to thoroughly interpret thepassage. I enjoyed all of the commentary, but I especially enjoyed studyingthrough I John and Jude.

Wright’scommentary on I John is especially helpful because he clears up a number ofmisconceptions that can arise from the book. For instance, Wright guides hisreaders through a proper understanding of the terms “world” and “flesh” so thatthey will not misconstrue them in a way reinforces the material world as badand the non-material as good (p. 147). He also clearly explains why John endedhis epistle with the phrase, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (pp.167-169).

What Ienjoyed about Jude (or Judah) is something different. From the first entry tothe end of this small epistle, Wright draws me into the story of this smallbook. He helps me to feel and understand with my heart why Jude was writingwith such energy and urgency. He communicates this message in a way that when Ican teach it, I can help my congregation think and feel their way through thispassage as well, and get to the core of what he is trying to say.

I wouldrecommend this book to teachers and students of Scripture alike. I wouldespecially recommend it as a supplement to a Bible study one is doing as agroup or individually. Whether you are theologically educated, or just aneophyte to reading God’s Word, there is something “for everyone” to learn.

Book Review of Flames of the Spirit: Flames for Worship ed. by Ruth C. Duck

2011-12-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

Flames of the Spirit: Resources for Worship
Edited by Ruth C. Duck
ISBN 978-1-60608-584-4
Published by Wipf and Stock Publishers
Reviewed by Clint Walker

About the Publisher
This month I was honored to have Wipf and Stock join in with the number of publishers that I review books for. Wipf and Stock is a wonderful little small publishing house out of Eugene, which also happens to be about an hour from where I was born. Wipf and Stock does not exclusively publish religious but many of them are faith-based. Nearly all of Wipf and Stock books are what I would call "thoughtful", by which I mean that they are for people who buy books to expand their thinking and help them to grow and learn intellectually. I am so excited to get to share about some of their books with you!

About the Book
Recently, as I make the transition from a town and country church with informal worship to a church with a more formal worship tradition, I have been seeking some resources to provide me with well-written litanies, unison prayers, and responsive readings. Being familiar with Ruth Duck from my seminary texts, and seeing occasional church readings attributed to her, I decided to find a way to get a hold of her book Flames of the Spirit. Now, as I plan worship for the coming year, I find that Ms. Duck's book is helpful to have in my library as one of many resources that will guide me as I plan worship.

Flames in Spirit is organized in relationship to the Christian Year, which is very helpful in liturgical churches. It not a large book (121 pages). Because of its brevity, Flames of the Spirit does not cover every reading for Years A, B, and C in the Revised Common Lectionary. The text that each reading is designed to support is referenced at the beginning of that reading though, which makes it easy to understand where the reading fits into the service that one is planning.

The readings are done in a collaboration of a number of readers. I think this is good. It increases the quality of readings that are offered. It also ensures that as one uses this book over time in worship leadership, that every reading does not sound like all the others.

Flames of the Spirit is written from the perspective of progressive, mainline Christian leaders. For this reason, all of the readings use inclusive language for both God and humanity. Many of the readings also come from the perspective of a more "social" gospel, emphasizing peace and justice issues. I personally am sympathetic to some of the concerns, but do not feel as invested and beholden to these concerns as the authors of these litanies and readings might. This means, as I hinted at earlier, that I will use this book a lot, but I will also supplement this resource with other similar resources as well.

All in all I think this is a very helpful book. I am glad to have it on my shelf.

Book Review of Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

2011-12-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis
by Lauren F. Winner
ISBN 978-0-06-176811-8
HarperCollins Publishers
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Lauren Winner is one of my favorite writers. Since Girl Meets God came out, I have been eager to find any articles or books she has written. Most of her books are confessional, even those that engage a specific subject, such as spiritual disciplines or sexual ethics. Her latest book, to be released on January 31, 2011, is a spiritual autobiography about facing sin and loss as Winner faces mid-life. True to form, Still is totally riveting and readable, and deserves to be read by a wide audience.

Truth be told, Still is about Lauren Winner's "dark night of the soul". Throughout the text she struggles with the failure of her marriage, a sense of the absence of God, depression, lonliness and loss. She speaks a lot of working through the "middle" parts of life, where great things are not beginning or ending, and where we are just challenged to keep pressing on and pushing through. Through Winner's insights and intelligent words, readers will find someone they can relate to, and know that they are not alone in such difficult struggles.

Winner's book is smartly organized. She organizes it in three parts entitled "wall", "movement", and "presence". Each chapter is brief, and speaks of a specific incident or insight in that part of her journey. The book is also organized around the Christian year, which allows Still to take on the paschal rhythym of life, a sense of death, and rebirth. The end of the book has an interview with her by her publisher, which gives further insight into the book.

Still is everything I enjoy in a book. It is smart and well-referenced. Winner is slightly neurotic and a little quirky in the way she presents herself, which makes her all the more enjoyable to read. I received the book and read it all in one evening. It is that good. I recommend ordering it immediately upon its release.

Book Review for THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY by Dallas Willard

2011-12-24T18:33:00.001-07:00

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God
By Dallas Willard
ISBN 0-06-06333-9
HarperCollins Publishers
Reviewed by Clint Walker

In many Christian leadership circles, Dallas Willard's name is well-known. Dallas is extremely well-written and well-spoken. One of the things that Dallas Willard is best known for is advocating for a life of discipleship and spiritual formation.

Perhaps the most well-known and well-respected books by Dallas Willard is his fifteen year old book The Divine Conspiracy. Most of Willard's book is about how to live the "kingdom of the heavens" kind of life right now. A majority of the text reflects upon the Sermon on the Mount as a guide for apprenticing ourselves to Jesus.

The main point of The Divine Conspiracy is that the "kingdom of the heavens" kind of life is easily and simply available to any believers that open themselves to it. He argues that is in not complicated way of living, but very few people are truly committed to living in the Way of Jesus. Most of us settle for a "gospel of sin-management" that separates justification from sanctification, and creates a false dichotomy between salvation and discipleship. Willard goes to great lengths to show how conservatives and liberals, evangelicals and social gospellers all fail to understand the gospel "wholistically".

The whole text, is extensive, well-footnoted, and thoughtful. At times, such as with Willard's understanding of the beatitudes, I tended to disagree with Willard. In other chapters, such as "The Community of Prayerful Love", I was challenged and moved to understand and live the truth of the gospel more fully. Either way, this a great read. I believe in will be a classic in Christian books for generations to come.

Book Review of Teaching Generation Text by Lisa Neilsen and Willyn Webb

2011-12-21T11:34:00.001-07:00

For those who lead children and youth in activities and education, cell phones have become the bane of their existence. As hard as schools try, they continue to have cell phones distract their students. So, Neilson and Webb challenge teachers to stop fighting students and start working within the "texting" culture, using cell phones as an ally instead of an enemy.

This book is very through, although if I were to use it I would really have to do some deeper research om how to use my cell phone more effectively. The book includes ideas on how to develop lesson plans with wireless technology, and how to advocate for a text-friendly educational plan in your classroom, school,and district. The authors provide studies of this model of education to bolster their advocacy of the use of text messaging in schools. It is a really well laid out argument in favor of cell phones, especially smart phones, in a classroom environment.

I do think, however, that the authors are a little overly optimistic about how smoothly this model of education will integrate into an educational environment. I don't have any evidence of this however, just the gut instinct of someone who worked with adolescents for over a decade.

Book Review of Work Matters by Tom Nelson

2011-12-20T22:14:00.003-07:00

VOCATION WEEK: REVIEWS OF BOOKS ON FINDING MEANINGFUL WORK AND VOCATIONAL IDENTITY

Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Morning to Monday Work
By Tom Nelson
ISBN 978-1433526671
Published by Crossway
Reviewed by Clint Walker

It seems that the study of work and vocation is garnering more and more interest from Christian publishers. I have several books on this topic in my review cue. The first book in this series is by Tom Nelson, who is the pastor of Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas. It is titled Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Morning to Monday Work.

My impression of this book is mixed. On one hand, this book would be an excellent basic text to guide a group or a class on discovering ways to integrate one's spiritual life into one's work. The entire text is a easy to understand theology of work in the life of a Christian. It discusses concepts like calling and vocation in terms that just about everyone can understand. Each chapter begins with a well-selected quote, and ends with a prayer and a few discussion questions. Many chapters have "case-studies" of real people who have been able to put the principals that Nelson mentions into action. As Work Matters discusses the concept of work, it also touches on other theological topics, such as the doctrine of last things (what will work be like on the other side of eternity), work ethics, and much more.

My biggest disappointment with this book is that it really did not challenge me all that much. I thought Work Matters was well-written. I also thought it was really a basic book on the topic. I was hoping for something more. But, for those looking for some introductory ideas and skills to guide them in integrating their work life with their faith journey, this is a great book.

(I was given copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Evaluation of Missiolife: A New Intergenerational Educational Program for the Entire Church

2011-12-19T23:30:00.001-07:00

Recently, Beacon Hill Publishers came out with a challenging, exciting new curriculum intending to lead churches in holistic spiritual formation. It is called Missiolife. The idea is to develop a spiritual formation program for the whole church that will launch them into ministry. The publicist for this company contacted me about being part of a group of people that review this curriculum, and post an evaluation of it. There is much to commend about this curriculum. It has a solid educational philosophy and some good goals. It is smart. It has some of the best minds in cutting-edge evangelicalism developing and endorsing this work. There promotional materials are impressive.

I also think the idea of developing a digital curriculum is wise. There is a lot that one can do with this methodology. You can have students watch videos before class, read PDFs that you send them via email, and much more. The development of digital curriculum allows the publisher to be flexible and adaptable, and it saves a lot of trees and shipping costs to get the curriculum from the teacher to the students.

The fatal flaw of Missiolife, at least as I read it, is does not come across as very user friendly for people sitting in the pews. All the good theology and good pedagogy is helpful, but if I cannot give this curriculum to a teacher and have them have a clear idea of how the curriculum would work within 10 minutes of receiving the curriculum, I will have a lot of angry, frustrated teachers on my hand as a pastor-leader. This curriculum, by that measure has the potential to have a lot of people get very frustrated with me very quickly, at all age levels.

Could it be that I am not understanding the presentation and packaging? Possibly. But if I have a hard time with sensing the plan and flow of the curriculum, my congregation will be completely lost in sampling it and trying to plug it into our educational ministries. I hope that Beacon Hill takes this concern to heart. They have done too much good thinking and good planning to let this new venture go down hill because they couldn't clearly communicate how this teaching plan would "work" in a way the average person in the pew would understand it.

Book Review of Lit! by Tony Reinke

2011-12-19T22:28:00.002-07:00

Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books
by Tony Reinke
ISBN 978-1-4335-2226-0
Published by Crossway
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Anybody who knows me knows I love reading. After all, why would I be writing all these book reviews if I did not love books? So, when I had the opportunity to pick up Lit!, I grabbed it.

As you might expect from the subtitle, Lit! focuses on encouraging people to read, and instructing people how to read well. The book is divided into two sections. The first section of the book is a theological guide to reading as a faithful Christian. The second section of the book is practical. It gives guidelines and advice on how to become a good reader. Included in this section is how to read across genres, and how to find time to read in a busy world. In both sections there is a caution that our visual/digital culture distracts us from thinking and reading well. I could not agree more.

There is a lot to commend about this book, and there are a few perspectives that I did not agree with as much. First, the good things about the book. Lit! is full of wise words. The guidelines for non-fiction reading are stellar. Reinke correctly reports the benefits and challenges of reading as a spiritual discipline. I resonated with the truth he shared about reading not being transformational without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. I felt comforted as Reinke shared about the different kinds of reading non-fiction, because I learned that skimming as one reads non-fiction is both common and helpful to others as well as myself. There are several fun turns of phrase in this book as well, which make it fun to read.

As I said, I was disappointed by some of the text. Most of the disappointment had to do with the influence of the "New Calvinist" movement upon the book. There were several cautions about reading fiction that I disagreed with in Lit!. For example, Reinke overstated his case against visual mediums over against the written and spoken word. He shared concerns about children reading Harry Potter, which I thought was a little bit silly. And he believed that fiction should not help guide worldview development, where I believe story is what most powerfully forms identity regardless of whether we like it or not.

All and all though, I wouldn't let these concerns keep you from getting Lit! into your library.

(This book was provided by Amazon Vine in exchange for a review)

Sermon on Isaiah 9:10-17--Immanuel, God with Us

2011-12-19T01:16:00.001-07:00

GOD WITH US

Scripture

10 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask asign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in theheight above.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test theLORD!”

13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a smallthing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore theLord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear aSon, and shall call His name Immanuel.[b] 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, thatHe may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Childshall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread willbe forsaken by both her kings. 17 The LORD will bring the king of Assyria uponyou and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since theday that Ephraim departed from Judah.”

Sermon

In the landof Israel, long before Jesus, there was this man of God who spoke God’s wordwith courage. His name was Isaiah. He was what the Hebrew people called aprophet. The word prophet is a word that we hear a lot, but the idea of aprophet in Israel had a larger role and a more expansive meaning that we havein twentieth century America.

People likeIsaiah, who were God’s prophets were both foretellers and forth-tellers. Let meexplain that. Did prophets foretell things in the future that were going tohappen in generations or even decades to come? Yes they did.

More oftenthan not though the prophet spoke God’s truth about what was going to happen inthe future in order to bring God’s insight into contemporary situations. Then,there was a smidgen of hope that if people heard God’s Word, and responded toit with repentance and faithfulness, that the people would experience God’spower and presence in a deeper and more profound way.

The chapterbefore this one in Isaiah is an often quoted passage, especially for personswho are seeking to understand what the call of God is like. In Isaiah 6, Isaiahgoes to the temple, and into the sanctuary, and he encounters God there. He isoverwhelmed. Isaiah tells God that he isan unclean man with unclean lips. God purifies Isaiah. Then the heavenly hostsbegan to ask who will go out on God’s behalf. Isaiah commits to do just that.

God tellsIsaiah that he will go out and preach God’s word to people. And he will bepersecuted, rejected, and ignored because of it. Do you still want to go,Isaiah? Are you still willing to say, “Here am I, send me!?”

Isaiah waswilling to be God’s spokesperson, and at some points God’s laughing stock, andwent out to God’s people with words of caution and warning, blessing andencouragement. One of the first prophetic duties Isaiah was called to performwas to speak God’s Word to Israel’s king.

Now it so happensthat Isaiah was alive during when promised land was a divided kingdom. Thenorthern kingdom was called Israel or Ephraim. It was less godly than thesouthern kingdom. The southern kingdom was called Judah. Judah’s king was, atthis point, in a little bit of a crisis. Israel and Judah were combining toattack Israel. The king was pondering whether he should join up with Assyriaagainst Syria and Israel or Ephraim. This was not a wise idea, nor an idea thatGod would honor.

Ahaz beginsa dialogue with Isaiah, or was it vise-versa. Anyway. God offers to give Ahaz asign that is amazing and fantastic. Ahaz says that he is not going to test Godby asking for a sign.

To that Godsays this, that in the next few years this young woman, who apparently was intheir presence, was going to conceive. She was going to have a child. And thatthey should call that child, “God with us”, because the child was a promisethat God would see Israel through the difficult time. The child would have itrough, and there would be some difficult financial times ahead, but they wouldbe able to avoid complete disaster. At least temporarily.

And that isexactly what happened. And many people believe this child to be the kingHezekiah, who was one of the righteous kings of Israel, at least until the endof his life. Isaiah brought prophetic messages to him as well.

And thispromise during this crisis, GOD WITH US, demonstrated by the conception of ayet to be born child, became a part of God’s people’s collective memory. Andcame to be understood not only as a prophecy for that time, but also as apromise for what was going to happen when the Messiah came. So when people weredrug off to Israel, they believed that at one point God was going to raise up aleader, born of a virgin, that would be a life that was lived as GOD WITH THEM.

Immanuel.God with Us. Immanuel. God with Us. These words filled people’s hearts. Whenthey wondered if their children were going to have a future, they clung to thepromise of the coming Messiah. When the persecution from invading powers, theyremembered that salvation may be just around the corner, being formed in awoman’s womb, a miracle of God, and a sign that God would never abandon them,would never leave them or forsake them.

God couldhave given bigger signs. Hurricanes. Food falling from the skies. Mountains ofgold appearing out of nowhere. In fact, to Ahaz, he offered anything. But, whenGod chooses to show us that he hears our prayers, when he wants to show us thathe has not left us alone or forgotten about us, he gives us something moreamazing and more precious. When God wants to show us that he is with us, hesends his message of his presence and faithfulness through the gift of a child.

I havealways thought this very appropriate and very wise on God’s part. There is justsomething about a child, and children, that even if they are not a sign ofdeliverance or a promised Messiah, that helps us trust in the presence of Godand have hope for the future.

This is whywe respond so favorably to children. This is why our worlds seem to get biggerand our hearts seem to become more tender when we are awaiting the arrival of anewborn child, and as they wiggle their way into our lives and we begin to carefor them and treasure them. This is why grandparents and great-grandparentslong to be close to their grandchildren. This is why churches hope to hear thecries of babies and the pitter-patter of little footsteps in the sanctuary onSunday morning. Children embody hope for nearly all of us. The miracle thatthey are teaches us about God’s presence and his goodness.

But by thetime we read the New Testament, and we hear this passage quoted in the gospelof Matthew, we begin to understand that this child that we hear about, thisImmanuel, this Jesus is a more special gift than we ever expected.

As theangels said to Joseph in Matthew 1,

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was asfollows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they cametogether, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph herhusband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, wasminded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things,behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, sonof David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which isconceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, andyou shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 So all this was done that it mightbe fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall callHis name Immanuel,”[d] which is translated, “God with us.”

You see,God’s promise through Jesus is always better and always more amazing than whatwe expect. The people were looking for some person whose leadership would makethem feel like God was on their side. But when God sent Jesus, he did evenbetter. He sent his Son Jesus as God in human form.

That littlechild growing inside Mary was not just a great teacher that was going to showpeople right from wrong, although he was that. That little guy in that youngwoman’s womb was not just going to grow into a great leader, although he wasgoing to do that as well. That child that Mary and Joseph would raise was goingto be God in a bod, he was going to a living, breathing man that was also God.

When we seethat little Jesus in a manger, we see the lengths that God will go to in orderto reach out to us, love us, be with us, and make a way for us to be with himfor eternity. Jesus left the comfort of heaven for a feed trough. He left thechoirs of angels for the jeers of ugly crowds. He left the beauty of heaven forarid dirt, sand, and stone of ancient Israel. And Jesus did all of that becausehe loves us with all of his heart, and he cannot bear to see us hopeless andhelpless, and lost without him.

So Jesuscame from heaven to earth. He was tempted just like we are, yet without sin. Hewas hungry and sick. He was tired and lonely. He cried. He teased his friends.He worked a job where he got sore and he had blisters. He went fishing. Heexperienced rejection from family and friends. In the end he was beaten andbruised to take our sins upon himself. And he did all of that out of love foryou. To save you. To show you the way. To show me the way.

And when hedied, he rose again. And he appeared to his disciples. And it came to the pointwhere Jesus was going to ascend to heaven, he began to speak about the promiseof the Holy Spirit coming to indwell and guide his disciples. And they weretold to go into all the world and tell other people about the love of Christ.And Jesus told them as they went out into the world as his friends and representativesthat “lo, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So thispromise that we hear in Isaiah, that we see fulfilled with Jesus, this promisethat God is with us, is not just a promise for days of old. It is a promise ofJesus for disciples today as well. We may feel abandoned, but we are notabandoned by our Heavenly Father. God is with us. We may feel alone, but we arenever alone. God is with us. We may feel that nobody cares about us, or what weare going through. But that is simply untrue. We know this because God is withus.

The questionis, will we believe and trust that truth, or will we ignore it. Because if welive our life with this trust and this confidence in the truth that God’s lovesurrounds us, and is always near to us, and always accessible to us, we canlive a totally different kind of life. We will not have to be filled withanxiety. We won’t have to be riddled with doubt. And we won’t feel comfortablejust being apathetic either. Instead we will be able to live in faith. And whenwe truly trust that God is with us we will be able to claim the truth that theApostle Paul proclaimed in Romans 8

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things tocome, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, norany other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of Godwhich is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tebowing and Christian Culture 2

2011-12-17T13:38:00.004-07:00

One of the things I find most interesting about the Tim Tebow phenomenon is how it is many ways a narrative about how Christ can be shown as strong in our weakness.

For anyone who watches the first three quarters of most Broncos games, it is fairly obvious that Tim Tebow does not demostrate the skill set of an effective professional quarterback. His timing is pathetic. His footwork is awful. He has a slow passing delivery. He is painfully inaccurate on some of his passes. It just looks pathetic.

Somehow, though, when the fourth quarter comes around he leads his teams on miraculous comebacks. Strange things begin to happen. And Tim Tebow leads the Broncos to victory.

Generally, I am not a big fan of believing that God cares who wins football games. I pray when my Ducks and Seahawks play anyway, but I am not sure God roots for certain teams, and against others.
But, when I see Tim Tebow's transformation between the third and fourth quarters, I begin to believe that something supernatural is taking place. Which pains me to say, because I would prefer that God hate the Broncos as much as I do.

This appearance of a supernatural transformation in the fourth quarter speaks poorly for Tim Tebow's skill set, and more loudly for God working most powerfully through his servants when they are weakest. It is hard to believe that Tim is doing what he is doing when you watch him at the end of games. Sometimes it is easier just to believe that something is being done through him.

This narrative is a little different than most Christian athletes. Most Christian athletes enter the field of professional athletic battle as Goliaths. Tebow comes into the arena with five smooth stones and a slingshot. Then he has faith that somehow, someway God will do the rest.

I find the change in the Christian athlete narrative fascinating and intriguing. And, I am anxious to see what happens next.

Tebowing and Cultural Christianity I

2011-12-17T00:20:00.000-07:00

The other day I came home from work, and opened my Facebook page. One of my parishoners had a picture of their child "Tebowing". For those of you who are unfamiliar with the practice, "Tebowing" is a certain position of bowing in prayer that mimics Tim Tebow's prayer pose on the football field. Underneath the picture my friend had commented, "Thank you Tim Tebow for showing my son that God is cool".

Now I certainly appreciate my friend's heart on this matter. She wants her children to love Jesus, and she is working hard to raise them right. She is looking for all the role models she can get in support of her Christian faith. And, in a day where there are so many awful role models in our popular culture, it is helpful to have one or two that reinforce good, healthy, Christian values. Yet, I had some measure of discomfort when I read this proclamation. This discomfort had less to do with my friend and family, which I have a lot of respect for, and more to do with how Christians and Americans deal with expressions of faith in the public square.

A number of questions raced through my mind. Is God best described as cool? Do I want my child thinking of God as "cool"? In what ways does longing for and expecting God to be "cool"effect the faith development of persons in our culture?

As I pondered these questions I came to a conclusion. I don't think the Lord cares if he is all that cool. Furthermore, I think that more often than not, the way of "cool" and the way of Jesus run in opposite directions.

Over and over again throughout Scripture God's people are called to be "set-apart", holy, peculiar. Instead of being cool, they were often viewed with suspicion. They were beat up, they were persecuted, and they were murdered for what they believed. The early Christians were believed to be unpatriotic to Rome, and irrationally loyal to their God in a land of polytheism.

Jesus often had crowds gather around him. As soon as the crowds became large, Jesus would challenge people in harsh manner. He would encourage them to count the cost of following Jesus. He would say things that would so shock people that the crowds would nearly disappear. Jesus was so uncool to his peers that they murdered him.

More often than not, American Christians act like an insecure sophomore in high school. You know what I am talking about. Christian culture acts like that kid that gets picked on everyday, but is desperate for everyone to like and admire him. He has yet to learn to be comfortable in his own skin, so he mimics every trend that comes along, and does everything he can to gain positive attention.

This summer, I listened to a Christian leader speak about his evangelistic efforts. He could have shared about many opportunities he had to share his faith. He chose to share about how he led a celebrity journalist to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The way he described it, it was almost like a romantic conquest. He began to speak to her over dinner before. He closed the deal the next morning for coffee.

I wondered, as I often do in moments like this, why it is so important that he reached a celebrity with name recognition? If Christians are true to their message, shouldn't a homeless drunk or a prostitute finding hope in Christ matter as much to them as a famous journalist or great pro football player?

You see, what happens with "cool" Christianity is that we try to push God into our mold so that we can brag about Him, sell Him, and use Him for our benefit, and to serve our agenda. When we try to place the label "cool" on Jesus, we try and fit life of work of Christ into something that is easy, palatable, and marketable. We try and make our image of Jesus conform to society's standards. And by doing so, we compromise and ignore basic biblical truths that seem inconvenient.

Book Review of Distinctly Baptist ed. by Brian C. Brewer

2011-12-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Distinctly Baptist
ed. by Brian C. Brewer
ISBN 9780817016982
Judson Press
Review by Clint Walker

In the Baptist circles that I run in, discussions of historic baptist principles are commonplace among pastors and denominational leaders. This is especially true from people with a more progressive, activist theology. These discussions take place for two reasons. One reason is that many people have ties with Southern Baptist life, and believe that conservative drift of the SBC in the last 20-30 years does not reflect Baptist principles. Specifically, the effort to force pastors and people in the academy to sign on to a rather narrow theological statement has been resented by many, and many of those people have drifted into American Baptist Life.

The other reason that many people argue for Baptist distinctive beliefs is that they believe that the Baptist history of soul freedom and religious freedom should absolve congregations from ethical accountability and theological orthodoxy as they associate with other Baptist churches. This particularly relates to, but is not limited to, sexual ethics in Baptist life, and the refusal of some congregations to embrace the historic Christian teaching that homosexuality is incompatible with biblical teaching.

Into this mix of defining Baptist identity steps the faculty of Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, and the book Distinctly Baptist: Proclaiming Identity in a New Generation. This text is unique in that it is really a collection of sermon manuscripts. In 2010, on the 400th anniversary of the Baptist movement, the faculty of Truett preached a sermon series in their chapel that reviewed 14 Baptist principles that have guided Baptist life and mission. Some of these principles are shared across the Christian movement, some are more uniquely Baptist.

I truly enjoyed this book. I found myself agreeing with some the Baylor faculty, and I found myself less comfortable with other messages. Some of the messages were engaging and easy to understand. Some of the sermons were more heady and esoteric than I really cared to read in regard to Baptist identity. As a whole though, these messages hang together. The Truett faculty accomplish the task of describing what Baptists are like without defining Baptist belief, and by doing so creating an alternative Baptist orthodoxy based on Baptist principles.

What is neat about the book as well is the introductions to each section of the book. In these introductions, there is a summary of what is going to be discussed. There are also suggested Scripture texts for preaching on each of these Baptist principles, as well as ideas for introducing these concepts for worship and ways of creating opportunities for service relating to these principles. In addition to this, there are suggestions for further reading.

A few more Hot Springs Pics: From the Walking Trail

2011-12-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

These pics obviously need some editing as they have a lot of shadows, including shadows of me. They are of the path that runs through town, especially between the hotel and the United Churches building

Book Review of Night of the Living Dead by Matt Mikalatos

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Night of the Living Dead Christian
by Matt Mikalatos
ISBN 978-1-4143-3880-4
Published by Tyndale House Publishers
SaltRiver Imprint
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Much of Christian fiction is dull and schmaltzy. That is why I often avoid it like the plague. Every once in a while, though, a writer comes along in the Christian writer's market that breaks that mold, and is truly creative. Matt Mikalatos has truly found his own creative, unique voice. And the Christian fiction world is truly better for it.

Mikalatos' most recently released book is entitled Night of The Living Dead Christian. It is a smart, intelligent allegory of the Christian life.

The focus on the book is the wild, crazy supernatural battle of the author and some friends he meets along the way. Mike begins the story as someone who is leading a neighborhood watch. As he seeks to fulfill his responsibilities, he finds himself enmeshed in battles with werewolves, zombies, and more. All right in his neighborhood. The result is a theological conversation on the nature of spiritual growth and transformation via a "horror-movie" kind of theology.

What intrigued me as I read is the ability of Mikalatos was his ability to build a connection between his novel and the literature of monsters in general. Historically, monster novels and stories were prophetic about the human condition. For instance, Frankenstein is a warning to our culture about becoming overly dependent on technology to solve our problems and provide for our comfort.

Night of the Living Dead Christian is more overtly Christian in its use of the monster archetypes to communicate ideas of theology and faith. It challenges our propensity to live parallel lives through the metaphor of the werewolf. It uses zombies to communicate the idea of being dead inside, but still looking alive on the outside. The examples go on and on.

So if you are looking for something to read that is fun and little quirky, but theologically sound, I would recommend grabbing the book and giving it a read.

I currently have one copy of this book to share with others. So, join in the conversation. I will chose one person who comments on this blog expressing interest in the book. The winner will be chosen on Monday the 19th.

(this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review)

watch on tyndale.com

Book Review of Matthew by Craig S. Keener

2011-12-11T22:42:00.001-07:00

Matthew
by Craig Keener
The IVP New Testament Commentary series
ISBN
Intervarsity Press
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Craig Keener is a brilliant man. He is also passionate about Jesus and about ministry. The professor at Asbury Seminary has written a two-volume commentary on John that has become a standard of quality biblical scholarship. Several years ago Keener also wrote a great little commentary on Matthew, which I was recently given the opportunity to review. It was recently re-released in paperback.

What is great about Matthew by Craig S. Keener is that is really sharp and on point with the academic work, and yet at the same time it is really very conversational and accessible. It is even, at some points, surprisingly humorous,such as when it warns against preacher puns with the parable of the wheat and the tares (p. 242).

Keener keeps to the basics in this commentary. He organizes his understanding of Matthew around the themes of the Kingdom of Heaven and discipleship, which are perfectly appropriate. Very few passages are written about for more than two-four pages.

The strength of this commentary is that it really says in plain language what each passage in the gospel of Matthew in its social and literary context. When you read the words that Keener has to say about each specific passage, you can clearly relate to the time it was written, and see what was happening through the gospel by the way Keener opens up his readers' mind to understanding.

The one weakness about this commentary is that it is really does not communicate much in most passages about what the specific text means in everyday life. In other words, Matthew helps its readers observe and understand the text, but the author leaves it to his readers to figure out how to apply what they have learned.

All in all, this is a good commentary. It would be especially good if someone was teaching from a curriculum about something in Matthew, and wanted to use this commentary to add in insightful background information.

(This book was reviewed after the publisher provided me with a complimentary review copy. Thanks IVP!)

Advent 3 Sermon on Isaiah 35

2011-12-11T14:00:00.001-07:00

1The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,

And the desert shall rejoice and blossomas the rose;

2 It shall blossom abundantly andrejoice,

Even with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given toit,

The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the LORD,

The excellency of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,

And make firm the feeble knees.

4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

“ Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come withvengeance,

With the recompense of God;

He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall beopened,

And the ears of the deaf shall beunstopped.

6Then the lame shall leap like a deer,

And the tongue of the dumb sing.

For waters shall burst forth in thewilderness,

And streams in the desert.

7 The parched ground shall become apool,

And the thirsty land springs of water;

In the habitation of jackals, where eachlay,

There shall be grass with reeds andrushes.

8 A highway shall be there, and a road,

And it shall be called the Highway ofHoliness.

The unclean shall not pass over it,

But it shall be for others.

Whoever walks the road, although a fool,

Shall not go astray.

9 No lion shall be there,

Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;

It shall not be found there.

But the redeemed shall walk there,

10 And the ransomed of the LORD shallreturn,

And come to Zion with singing,

With everlasting joy on their heads.

They shall obtain joy and gladness,

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

As most of you know, I wasborn in Oregon. I grew up in Roseburg, Oregon as a matter of fact. Right afterwe moved here, Jennifer and I had the opportunity to travel to my boyhood homewhile I officiated the wedding of a youth group member from Colorado Springs.

As I headed toward where Igrew up after I officiated the wedding in Portland, it was obvious that my joyand anticipation was starting to grow. With each mile, my heart filled withanticipation. Memories came flooding back. As Jennifer drove, I was able toremember familiar places and sign posts from the past. All the small towns onthe Old 99 Highway. The paper mill in Albany, Oregon that smells really bad.Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The ice cream shop in Rice Hill. The Winchester Damthat we used to stop at and look for fish on the fish ladder. The lumber millthat my mom’s boyfriend worked at. The beautiful, green Umpqua River. Each mileforward got me closer to home. Closer to the place that I love. Closer to myroots. Closer to that place that I always dreamed of getting back to since Ileft it in junior high.

To a lesser extent, I feelthat anticipation when driving back to Fowler from Pueblo. I check off thestreets as I go in my head. I look forward to seeing that bend in the river alittle ways on this side of Nepasta where the Arkansas comes close to Highway50. I know that when I hit that Travel Inn sign that used to be a KFC sign I amless than five minutes from my front door. I look for the signs. I get eager toopen the front door and be home.

I know you feel much thesame way. Most of us enjoy seeing signs along the road that point us towardhome.

This is, in some ways, asimilar idea to what God is trying to communicate to Isaiah through Isaiah 35.The image of Isaiah’s journey; however, has greater import than our journeys toour front doors.

The picture is bleak as thestory begins. God’s people are in a hard place. The ground is dry and crackeddue to the lack of moisture. The people’s bodies are feeble. Their hearts arefilled with fear. Some are blind. Some are deaf. Some are crippled.

God’s people, as this isbeing written, are a discouraged people. They are wondering, have we beenabandoned by God? Why then is life THIS hard right now? Why then do I hurt somuch? Why am I struggling, God? Why don’t I feel like you are close? Why don’tI feel you at work? What is going on, Lord? Their enemies have beat them up,put them down, and rubbed their nose in the dirt. And they wonder…does Godnotice? Does God care? Do they matter to him?

And, in the midst of thatheartache, in the midst of those doubts, God sends his people good news. He ispresent. He is listening. They need to look up. They need to rejoice. Theresalvation is nearer now than they ever anticipated. Because God is about tolead them on a wonderful, beautiful journey home—and provide for them amazingsignposts along the way.

So, the prophet, in themidst of heartache, in the midst of physical and emotional pain, and in themidst of difficult circumstances tells the people to have joy. He tells them torejoice, have joy, or be glad. These words are mentioned 5 times in ten verses.He commands them to do this because he sees what God is doing, and that in thewords of soul singer Sam Cooke in the midst of the civil rights movement, hetells them to look up because “change, change is gonna come.” As a matter offact it is here.

God is on the move. He willnot leave us alone in our misery and suffering. He will not leave us alone inour heartbreak. He will not abandon us in a dry and weary land where there isno water. No the message of Advent is that our king, King Jesus, has come andis coming. He is true and he is faithful. King Jesus is making a way out of noway. He’s building a highway to us, with lots of rest and refreshment along theway, and then he is leading us in a victory march to Zion, to the city of God,to the foot of his throne as his own.

So open up your ears, andhear the good news. Open up your eyes, and see his kingdom on the move allaround us. Know that your prayers have been heard. You deliverer is coming. Andrejoice. And get ready. Prepare your hearts and your lives for the coming king.

To see this hope mostclearly, you need to see the passage in its literary context. This chapter hasa chiastic structure. This is a type of poetic structure in Hebrew that placesthe key point of a passage in the middle of the passage, with themes and words matchingone another before and after the key point. In this passage they key point isin verse 4. Verse 4 says in the Message, “Tell fearful souls, "Courage! Take heart! God is here, righthere, on his way to put things right and redress all wrongs. He's on his way!He'll save you!"

When things seem like theyare out of control, God is listening. When things seem completely hopeless, theone we place our hope in is not far from us. And if we are wise, we will lookup, we will look around, and see that he is at work, and see that whether wesense his nearness or he seems far away, he is at work loving us, deliveringus, rescuing us, giving us new life and new hope.

So today, no matter ourcircumstances, if we see the world through the eyes of faith, can have joy. Wecan have joy because we know the story. We know that it starts with a lovingcreator speaking the world into being, and it ends in our eternal home with ourPrecious Savior.

The Scripture urges us tonotice all the things that God has done to reach us. First, it says that he has provided water inthe desert. And not just a little water. The Scripture says that streams willburst forth from out of nowhere. That where there was once a parched ground,now there is this spring of fresh water for people to drink out of. And theplace that was a scary, parched, windswept wild place will become an oasis.

Several years ago, I wasleading a youth group through the desert to San Diego for an urban missionsexperience. We made our way through Phoenix, cut our way down through this twolane that took us to the interstate that runs right along the border, and westopped in Yuma. Now, I don’t know how many of you have been to Yuma, but Ihave to tell you Yuma is not a desirable place to be. It is ugly. It is hot.And the people are not friendly. Anyway…we leave Yuma and we start through thisruggedly beautiful set of jagged mountains that we have to get over to get toSan Diego. Those mountains have little pullouts on them about every 2-5 miles.And in these pullouts are little fountains of water that you can stop at whenyour car overheats driving in 110+ degree weather at steep grades. I began tothink what it might be like to have the van we were driving full of kidsoverheat and have to stop in this spot in the middle of nowhere. It was a frightening experience.

Life in desert is always alife lived on the margins. Life in that kind of wilderness is not really aboutliving, it is about surviving. It is about getting your family from one day tothe next.

And what does God bring tothat barely surviving life? Abundance. More water than they needed or couldhave hoped for. Enough so that they did not have to live their lives justsurviving. Instead, through Jesus, God made a way where we could truly live life,and not just survive it. That is why he said, “I have come that they might havelife, and have it abundantly”. (John 10:10).

Then, Isaiah also says thatGod heals those who are disabled, and strengthens those who are weak. Thecrippled walk. The blind see. The deaf hear. The mute do not simply speak, theysing.

Certainly we see Jesusfulfill this promise in the Gospels. When John the Baptist sendsrepresentatives to Jesus to ask if he is the one that is promised, Jesus says,“Tell him the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the good news ispreached to the poor”. A brief summary of Isaiah 35 and 61—understood asprophecies of the Messiah.

But even today, Jesus offersus his healing. And he offers to make us stronger and more whole. He takes ourfeeble souls, and gives them strength. He gives us the ability to be who wenever thought we could be, and through his Spirit do what we never thought wecould do. He changes our lives. He gives us new lives. By his grace.

We also see that Jesus makesa way out of no way. A way for us to walk with God and his people. And then, atthe end of our journey, to reside in Zion, eternally in the presence ofGod. The Bible says the Messiah makes aHighway of Holiness.

The idea is, as the Messiahseeks to save those in the wilderness, he builds the original road to nowhere.Where there was no way to God, Jesus makes a way to Zion to be in his presence.

The final verses use twoother very important words. Redeem and ransom. Both are words used forcaptives. To ransom is to pay a price to set someone free who has been heldcaptive by someone else. To redeem, in biblical language, is to buy a slavesfreedom and restore them to good standing. This passage promises that whenJesus will come he will do both. He will pay the price to set us free, and hewill restore us to what he created us to be.

The question is, will we gowith Him? He has set us free from slavery to sin. Will we go with Him?

He has offered us life, truelife, instead of an existence just trying to survive. Will we trust Him? Willwe walk with Him?

He has offered healing toour weak and feeble lives and souls. Will we trust him to heal and strengthenus? Will we walk with this Jesus?

He had made a way wherethere is no way for us. He has become the way, the truth and the life. He hasbuilt a path to us, and now he invites us to get on the road to Zion with Him.

Will you get on that journeyhome with Jesus? A journey filled with blessing and provision, hope and joy.

I hope you will. Because asyou get on the path with Jesus, you will begin to notice things on the journey.You will notice signs along the way. Bends in the road. You will experience asense of peace and confort as you walk with Jesus. And then, somewhere alongthe road, you will realize that the journey from the parched wilderness to Zionis not just any simple journey. You will notice that that as you walk withJesus and you look toward eternity with God, you are not heading to a strangeand scary place. You will find as you walk with Jesus, and you see the signsalong the road, you will realize that everywhere you have been before you werea stranger and foreigner. As you go with Jesus, and you follow his lead, youwill notice he is simply leading you home.

Book Review of the NIV Study Bible

2011-12-09T23:00:00.001-07:00

A little over 15 years ago, I was licenced as a minister at Armourdale Baptist Church. When I received this honor, the deacon board at the church gave me an NIV Study Bible. It has been well used since then.

About one year ago, the people at Zondervan updated their NIV translation. Recently, they have published a revision of my beloved NIV Study Bible. So, I picked up the newer version, and have been looking through it off and on ever since.

I am truly impressed with what the new NIV Study Bible has to offer. Changes from previous versions of this bible include:

stronger introductions to sections of Scripture, instead of simply introductions to books
A layout that has a much more readable font and much clearer delineation between the "notes" section and the actual Scriptural text.
More visual aids.
Most of the visual aids in the new NIV Study Bible are now in full color. This makes the maps and the charts much easier to look at, and adds to greater ease in understanding these study tools.

Each of the changes in the NIV Study Bible adds to its quality instead of detracting from it. This product still keeps its most helpful features including:

excellent notes about verses and passages at the bottom of each page
helpful maps, drawings, charts, and other visual aids to help the reader to understand the context of each passage a little bit better
a helpful topical index AND
a decent but not exhaustive concordance

For evangelicals this study bible is the standard bearer for all study bibles. It maintains that standing with this new edition. In the process of transitioning to the 2010 NIV text, the folks at Zondervan have show that they are not afraid to step up their game to make an even better product. For that they should be commended.

(This bible was provided in exchange for an honest review)

Pictures of Me and Of the Fam and I

2011-12-09T11:36:00.001-07:00

These are the directory pictures for the Olan Mills Directory they are putting together at United Hot Springs, SD. It is sure a good family picture. Not sure I like the picture of me, but trying not to be picky. I always get squinty when I smile. Grr.

Book Review of The Gospel of Matthew by Matt Woodley

2011-12-08T23:51:00.001-07:00

The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us
Resonate Series
by Matt Woodley
ISBN 978-0-8308-3642-0
Published by Intervarsity Press
Likewise Imprint
Reviewed By Clint Walker

I am a pastor. One of the reasons I am a pastor is that I love studying and teaching the Bible. In my teaching and preaching I often use Bible commentaries to help me go deeper into the word and understand it better. Most commentaries are helpful in one way or another. Some are more technical, and can be so esoteric that it is really hard to pass on anything that I learned from them. Other commentaries, in an attempt to be down to earth, have dumbed things down so much that I find them hard to use as well. The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us falls to neither of these pitfalls. As a matter of fact, this commentary for the common person is supurb. Matt Woodley has achieved a noble mission. He has written a commentary that will be helpful for both the lay person seeking to know more about the Bible, and the pastor preparing a sermon or Bible study for their congregation.

The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us is, as far as I can tell, written in the tradition of a lay person's commentary. In the tradition of William Barclay and N.T. Wright, Matt Woodley spends just a few pages sharing about each section of the Scripture. He does not get bogged down in details that are unimportant. Woodley clearly explains what was going on at the time the Bible was written, and with a deft eagerness makes a quick transition to why that matters to people like you and I today.

Woodley makes his interpretive framework clear from the beginning when he says, "Jesus has come to fulfill the story of God's chosen people" (p. 24). What he means by this is not that Jesus has come exclusively for Hebrews, but rather that the gospel for everyone is rooted in and the fulfillment of what God has been doing through the Hebrew people in the Old Testament. It also means that Woodley sees the gospel as expressing and rooted in a narrative process. Thus, both the commentary as a whole, and each section of the commentary have a "story-formed" feel, which I agree with and greatly appreciate.

Throughout The Gospel of Matthew, Matt Woodley shows he has a gift for being able to turn a phrase. Early in the book he says that Jesus was the "one that saves us from our sins" but that "they (many of Jesus' Jewish hearers) wanted a Messiah that would save them from the sins of others" (p. 29).

When talking about the parable of the sheep and goats, one of my favorite passages, Woodley makes some more deft observations. First he notices where the parable is located in the context of the story when he makes a point of reminding his readers that "this passage contains Jesus' last official teaching in Matthew's teaching-filled gospel" (p. 233). He goes on to share this helpful observation about the meaning of the text, "Here's the crux of the matter: mercy requires personal presence: (p. 234).

Each section of this book is written like what I shared about these two sections. This is a commentary that is actually fun to read. In the books promotional materials, I noticed that others agree with me. I could not agree more with Mark Galli, the senior managing editor of Christianity Today when he says,

"This commentary by Matt Woodley is one you don't simply want to reference but read. Woodley rightly manages to find the note of grace and promise in every passage. This is a book about the gospel--good news--of Matthew. I can't imagine studying the first Gospel without this book within easy reach."

Heck, this book is even endorsed by F. Dale Bruner, who in my opinion who has written the best commentary I have ever read or used when he wrote his two volume commentary on the book of Matthew.

If you are a pastor that is leading a study or preaching on Matthew, or if you plan to do so at any time in the near future, you need to have this commentary in your library. It is that good.

(I was given this book in exchange for an HONEST review by the publisher)

Review of Baby's First Bible Retold by Sarah Toulmin

2011-12-08T21:24:00.001-07:00

Baby's Little Bible
Sarah Toulmin
ISBN 987-0-7459-6271-9
Published by Lion Hudson
Reviewed by Clint Walker

As most readers of this blog know, I am a father of an 18 month old, and we have another little baby on the way. So when the opportunity came to pick up this Baby's Little Bible for my little ones, I jumped at the opportunity.

Baby's Little Bible is a collection of bible stories for small children. There are a total of 20 stories. Nine of the Bible Stories are from the Old Testament. Eleven of the Bible stories are from the Gospels. There are no bible stories from the rest of the New Testament.

There is much to commend about this book. The pictures are colorfully illustrated. The stories are written in a straight-forward fashion. The author ends the story of Jesus following the resurrection well. The cover is appealing.

I do, however, have some concerns about the book as well. First, if it is truly a baby book, than it should really be a board book. I would not give this book to my toddler because she would tear the pages apart. Also, some of the vocabulary of the book is a little advanced for babies and preschoolers. Especially preschoolers who are trying to learn to read.

All in all, I think this book will be helpful during story time with my little ones as they grow. Baby's Little Bible is a good resource for parents to read the Bible stories to their children.

* This book was provided in exchange for an honest review

Thoughts on Rom. 8:1-11 in the CEB

2011-12-07T10:07:00.001-07:00

¹ So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ God has done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness. God condemned sin in the body by sending his own Son to deal with sin in the same body as humans, who are controlled by sin. ⁴ He did this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. ⁵ People whose lives are based on selfishness think about selfish things, but people whose lives are based on the Spirit think about things that are related to the Spirit. ⁶ The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. ⁷ So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. ⁸ People who are self-centered aren’t able to please God.
⁹ But you aren’t self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. ¹⁰ If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. ¹¹ If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you.

For my last month, we are discussing Romans 8 in our midweek bible study. As I close my ministry here, I want to close it with an emphasis on the love and grace of Jesus, which has really been my focus wherever I have been in ministry from the start.

Last week we discussed section of this passage that says "there isn't any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." We visited a lot about the ways we seek to condemn ourselves and earn God's love instead of accepting it, and allowing it to work through us to transform us. It was a very helpful and fruitful Bible study. At least...I thought it was.

What is difficult about this passage is the discussion of what other versions translate "the flesh". The repeating of the word "flesh" over and over again, in contrast and relation to Spirit in Paul's midrashic logic is not always easy to explain. You have to untangle what the word "flesh" means and then begin to unpack the steps of Paul's reasoning.

So, as I reread this passage in the CEB, it stood out to me that this translation used the word "selfishness" for the "flesh". I think this is very helpful for many people in the pews. So often it is easy to confuse flesh with the body, and then body with materialism. This leads to a logic that says everything in the material world is bad, and we need to strive to be completely unembodied to be spiritual. This really is a form of gnosticism. And a lot of people have become Christian gnostics from a misinterpretation of this passage and others like it.

By the CEB using the term selfishness, I think we have a pretty good summary for "the flesh". It is not a perfect summary of the concept, but it makes the point of "the flesh" while steering us clear of a disembodied spirituality that labels our bodies as inherently bad. I like it.

Book Review of Deeper into the Word: OLD TESTAMENT

2011-12-06T23:23:00.001-07:00

Deeper in the Word: Old Testament
by Kerri Wyatt Kent
ISBN 978-0-7642-0843-0
Bethany House Publishers
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Over the last year or two, I have come to respect and enjoy the writing and thinking of Kerri Wyatt Kent. She is intelligent. She communicates clearly. Kerri also has a way of thinking through and studying things that most people wouldn't take the time to study. Then she shares what she has learned on her journey in a way that people want hear more of what she has to say.

Kent's latest book is a sequel of sorts. I reviewed her first book on the New Testament in July. This book is a collection of word studies on the Old Testament. It is just as good, if not better, than the book I read last summer.

Deeper into the Word: Old Testament takes on 100 words that are important in the Old Testament Scriptures, and explains that word's meaning and significance more in depth. Each entry is two to four pages long. The words are listed in alphabetical order, which makes it really to get to the word you are looking to study.

I think the Old Testament is a lot more interesting to look at with word studies. Much of Hebrew is driven by word pictures, and so many of the words merit further description once you understand them. Kent's work on this set of word studies reflects this truth. I particulary liked the studies on "glory" and on "harvest".

Another thing that makes the book interesting is the specific words Kent picks to study. Some of the words you would expect in an Old Testament word study, such as "covenant". I was also overjoyed when she picked words like "wander", that are unique enough to grab my attention but also do a good job of shedding light on God's Old Testament story.

I would recommend this book to those seeking a meaningful devotional, or for those wanting a helpful word study resource. As a meaningful devotional, it would be really easy to chose to read a word a month for the next couple of months. As a word study resource, it would be helpful in preparing for some Bible studies and sermons.

Colbert on Christmas

2011-12-06T08:19:00.001-07:00

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Colbert Report: Denver Airport and the Apocolypse

2011-12-06T07:37:00.001-07:00

This is one of the best Colbert Report reports ever, and it aired last night

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Mysteries of the Ancient Unknown - 2012 End of Times

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Reflections on Romans 8: 12-17--CEB Blog Tour

2011-12-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

¹² So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. ¹³ If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if you put to death the actions of the body with the Spirit, you will live. ¹⁴ All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. ¹⁵ You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.

The Bible Study this Wednesday is on Romans 8:12-17. The topic in the curriculum is confident Christians. The idea being that the evidences of God's presence mentioned in these few verses, when taken to heart, creates confident Christians.

When I look at this passage, the language that stands out to me is "child of God". This concept is repeated 3 times in five verses. Simply put, this is where our confidence, if you want to put it that way, comes from.

Specifically, our confidence is exercised in relationship with God in this passage. Self-judgment leads to fear. Fear leads us to try harder. Trying harder leads us to live in self-centeredness and selfishness. Selfishness leads to death.

On the other hand, life in the Spirit leads to us being adopted as God's children. Seeing ourselves as treasured and loved by God as chosen children means that we do not see him as a slave master, but rather as a father that loves us that we want to please. When we understand that we are truly God's child, we realize that everything in his hands is also ours, either now or in the future. Also, everything in the universe is accessible to us.

Also, it becomes clear then that when we are God's heirs, we inherit his treatment. Therefore, rejection and suffering is part of being a disciple. It is not due to failure or a strained relationship. Thus, we need not fear we are being condemned when circumstances go wrong. It is part of what it means to be part of the family of God to experience suffering..

Parenting Posts: General Updates and Thoughts

2011-12-05T23:43:00.001-07:00

Our little KK is growing like a weed, and she is so fun. She comes up with something new nearly every day. It is crazy to think last year at this time she was six months old and not even walking yet. Now she running everywhere, and encouraging us to join her.

One of the things she has taken to lately is patting a place on one of the couches and telling us to "sit". Only sit ends up being mispronounced with an additional h between the s and the i. We can't help but laughing.

Karis loves music. She has taken to creating a little band within our home. She hands out instruments, and then she says, "Two, three" and then insists that everyone begins playing. We do this over and over again. She also loves to sing "itsy-bitsy" spider, as well as "wheels on the bus". At church, she likes to get up on the piano bench and play the piano whenever the bench is empty. Yesterday, at our Christmas pictures, she found a little baby grand piano for children. She loved it, and it made for some good pictures.

She also enjoys coloring, and does it quite often. She talks to us and herself about what she is drawing, but we cannot make out what she was saying.

Her behavior gets a little obscessional at this age, which at times worries me that there may be something wrong. Her mother says a little OCD is normal for an 18 month old.

Church is a little challenging to deal with as far as Karis goes. She is so energetic, especially in church. There are people that delight in her little escapades at FBC Fowler on Sundays, and there are others that Jennifer believes communicate some disgust and frustration that she does not have the ability to be quiet and not say anything throughout worship yet. Last Sunday, Jen and Karis sat with "Nette" (her babysitter), and she did much better. Except when she started grunting loudly during a bowel movement in the middle of the sermon.

As far as I go, I think negotiating behavior of toddlers in worship is always difficult, but as a clergy person it becomes more complicated. Why? Because as a PK, a parent/child relationship in church always has more theological import. If a pastor is a workaholic, the kids tend to blame God for taking their Dad away too much. If the pastor's reputation is sullied by a child's behavior, the child of a pastor that sins feels the judgement of the church more acutely. And, when Karis runs toward me in the pulpit, all I can think of is "let the little children come unto me, for such is the kingdom of God". I want her to be behaved, but I think being too stern with her and too frustrated with her at church ends up making the church this place of anger and judgment instead of grace and love. I don't know how to explain this all, but I want to try and have appropriate expectations of her, but I don't want to squelch her spirit or place undue scrutiny on her behavior because she is a pastor's kid. Besides, it is a different experience for a child when they are asked to be non-responsive when there dad's voice is being amplified for an hour. Obviously, something I am still working through. However, moving to a church where we can have nursery care in worship on a consistent basis without feeling like we have to fight for it all the way will be nice.

Also, we are pondering whether Karis ready for potty training. She seems to announce when she has to go to the bathroom quite a bit, or when she just urinated. Jennifer has said she has pointed to the toilet and said "pee" a few times. I am eager for her to be potty trained on one hand, but nervous because it brings with it yet one more set of parenting skills that I feel woefully ill-equipped to exercise.

I am also becoming more and more curious about how Karis will handle a new child coming. She seems to enjoy babies, but an inquisitive toddler around a newborn worries me a little bit.

We are also worried about the unborn child a little bit. The doctor said she had a two-percent chance of having some sort of birth defect after a recent set of tests. That means that there is a 98 percent chance that our new child will be a happy, healthy little one, however we both spend a lot of time stressing about the 2 percent. We figure that will Jen's advanced maternal age, and some of her health concerns, that this all just gets put into the complicated logorhythm that determines risk level. We hope the month or two goes fast before we can get further tests and know what we are possibly dealing with. So, keep us in prayer with that one.

What Bill Maher has to teach Christians about Christmas

2011-12-05T15:44:00.001-07:00

My friend Steve Buie posted this on facebook. I thought it was especially appropriate in the season of Advent, even though I don't recommend the video for folks who have a problem with crude language

Money quotes:

"This is our real religion, greed. People pretend to go nuts for Jesus...but I don't know"

"As for me I don't really know what spirituality means, but I know if you are weeping over a sweater, you don't either"
"

KJV Spoken Word Poetry--Fun Stuff

2011-12-03T09:27:00.001-07:00

Book Review of Why God Won't Go Away by Alister McGrath

2011-12-01T23:47:00.001-07:00

Why God Won’tGo Away

By AlisterMcGrath

ISBN978-0-8499-4645-5

ThomasNelson Publishers

Reviewed byClint Walker

I have oftenheard about what both people inside and outside of the church have referred toas the “New Atheism”, and each time it has been mentioned, I have been foggyabout what the term meant. For this reason I picked up Why God Won’t Go Awayby Alister McGrath. What I discovered was a cogent, clearly written summary ofthe New Atheism, as well as some simple to understand criticisms and objectionsto the philosophy that informs the New Atheists.

McGrathbegins this book by identifying the key leaders in the New Atheist movement.Then he distinguishes the unique characteristics of the movement, especially inrelationship to more traditional forms of atheism. Then McGrath goes in depthabout the identifying arguments and attitudes of the New Atheists. He ends thebook by questioning the future of New Atheists, and plotting the future ofthinking Christianity in light of living in a world where the “New Atheism” hasa strong influence.

What I foundunique about the New Atheism is the fervor of its leaders. One of the argumentsof many of these men is that religion is not just wrong, but in fact religion isdestructive and evil. Much of this line of argument, although being aroundamong average people for a long time, gains new steam after the violence of9-11 by religious Islamic fundamentalists. A traditional atheist believes thatChristianity is illogical, and focuses on reason. The “New Atheist” aggressivelyseeks to evangelize people to be atheists because they believe that religious faithmust be destroyed. They believe that religious faith is dangerous. The “NewAtheists” tend to attempt to be logical, but in fact much of the “new atheism”is polemical, and calls their disciples to aggressively fight against thewretched religious folks.

This book iskind-hearted and grace-filled. It is also a book full of strong Christianconviction regarding the truth about God’s existence and the gospel of Jesus. Iwould recommend it to anyone struggling with issues about whether there is aGod. I would also especially commend this book to believers who are strugglingwith doubt.

(this book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

Prospective Herman Cain Ad

2011-12-01T08:48:00.001-07:00

What she says, what we hear

2011-12-01T07:56:00.001-07:00

Book Review of 40 day Journey with Howard Thurman

2011-11-28T22:32:00.001-07:00

40-Day Journey with Howard Thurman

Edited byDonna Schaper

ISBN 978-0806657691

Published byAugsburg Fortress

Review byClint Walker

HowardThurman is one of my favorite leaders and thinkers of the twentieth century. Hewas a social activist, a theologian, and a pastor. He wrote over twenty books,and he was respected around the world. Thurman was an inspiration to leaderssuch as Martin Luther King Jr., who was known to take Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited with him wherever he went. Much of the civilrights movement was based on his thinking. He lived from 1899 to 1981. Hisimpact is underappreciated by most. He was a man ahead of his time.

In recentyears, Augsburg Fortress has tried to gather snippets of the work of well-respectedChristian thinkers and leaders from contemporary times and history. They thentook these snippets and placed them into a devotional based on that person’swork. Included are luminaries such as Luther and Julian of Norwich, as well asmore recent leaders like Parker Palmer and Kathleen Norris. Howard Thurman wasselected as one of the people whose work would be guiding people’s spiritualreflections. The result is the book entitled 40-Day Journey with HowardThurman.

The 40-DayJourney with Howard Thurman is organized in an intelligent manner. Eachday has a paragraph or two from a sermon, essay, or book by Howard Thurman.Then a Scripture is shared that relates to the quote. After some time forsilence, the reader is given a few questions to help guide the readers thinkingabout the issues that Thurman presents in his writing. Then there is a Psalmreading, and some further questions to guide a reader that wants to go deeperby journaling as they work their way through this book. The day’s devotionalguide then concludes with a couple of prayers for the reader to recite. Byorganizing the 40-Day Journeyin this manner, this devotional is helpful for those who want to go deep intheir theological reflection, as well as those who don’t have time to be asthoughtful and contemplative.

I thoughtthe actual selections in 40-Day Journey with Howard Thurman werewell-chosen, although I did enjoy some days more than others. What impresses meas I read through the whole book is just how contemporary Thurman sounds, eventhough he was born 112 years ago. His writing speaks both to issues in thesetimes, and to the state of his readers’ hearts and souls.

This book isan excellent primer to the work of Howard Thurman, as well as a great book forfurther reflection on Thurman’s work for Howard Thurman admirers. I wouldrecommend it quickly to friends, and especially to friends who are interestedin theology and recent history.

A Metaphor for discipleship

2011-11-28T20:38:00.001-07:00

Thanks to J.R. Briggs, I saw this video about swordmaking. It is about being a craftsman and an apprentice. I think it is brilliant, and a metaphor for apprenticeship and discipleship in faith. Very moving.

Handmade Portraits: The Sword Maker from Etsy on Vimeo.

Book review of Xealots by Dave Gibbons

2011-11-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

Book Review ofXealots

Xealots:Defying the Gravity of Normality

By DaveGibbons

ISBN978-0-310-32702-8

Published byZondervan

Dave Gibbonsis an innovator, a leader, and an artist. He is also a pastor of afast-growing, cutting-edge church that is based in Southern California. Thatchurch is planting churches in urban areas all around the world.

DaveGibbons’ latest book, Xealots, is a tour de forceon his philosophy of life and leadership. While the focus of what he is sayingcomes out of his experience of being a ministerial leader, it is useful foranyone wanting to live a life of impact and beauty.

Xealotsis divided into two parts. The first part, entitled “mind”, speaks to attitudesand mindsets that Gibbons believes are essential to producing the kind ofwisdom and character that form effective leaders for the future. The secondsection is entitled “movement”, and this section shares about some basic habitsto form as a Christian leader. They include obedience, being open and receptiveto the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, and giving and receivingblessings.

This bookhas some good ideas, but reading it is more than an instruction manual, or abook with a few helpful thoughts. Reading Xealots is an inspirationalexperience. I was especially moved by the chapters “Scars” and “Becoming aFather”. “Scars” speaks to the transformational power of heartache and pain,and how experiencing these challenges empower leaders to develop deeper faithand form a ministry with greater power and impact. “Becoming a Father” is aboutour need to be blessed by those in authority over us and by those who haveinfluence upon us. It goes on to challenge leaders to not only seek blessingsfrom others, but to be aware of opportunities to offer approval and blessing toothers.

Xealotsis a joy to read. It has the ability to challenge and inspire those who read itto be all they can for God and for others. It touched my heart. I know it willdo the same for others.

Sermon 11.27.11

2011-11-27T22:53:00.001-07:00

APresent and Future Hope

1 The word that Isaiah theson of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days

That the mountain of the LORD’s house

Shall be established on the top of themountains,

And shall be exalted above the hills;

And all nations shall flow to it.

3 Many people shall come and say,

“ Come,and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

He will teach us His ways,

And we shall walk in His paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 He shall judge between the nations,

And rebuke many people;

They shall beat their swords intoplowshares,

And their spears into pruning hooks;

Nation shall not lift up sword againstnation,

Neither shall they learn war anymore.

5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk

In the light of the LORD.

I love Christmas. I loveAdvent more.

Christmas these days isabout songs and gifts, food that is bad for you and cards from people you donot otherwise hear from, lights and color, and people reciting the story of Jesus’ coming into theworld, and remembering what that means. It is a time of the year that is filledwith joy. I love the smell of pine needles and I love sitting in front of thetree in the dark and counting my blessings. I love remembering all the detailsand challenges that Mary and Joseph had as they brought Jesus into the world,and I love opening gifts in our jammies first thing in the morning in theliving room. There is much to love about Christmas.

However, like I said, I likeAdvent more. Advent is all about a journey. It is full of anticipation both aswe remember the hope we have through Christ’s second coming, and as we walkalong with the stories of Scripture we get to remember how Jesus came into theworld 2000 years ago, and what that meant for us today. Advent speaks to thesense of longing that many of us experience in our lives. It speaks to theyearning for God to have a more powerful influence on our lives and in ourhearts. Advent has depth. It runs counter to the corruptions of Christmas.Advent challenges us to worship fully, pray honestly, and to live expectantlyin our relationship with God.

In the last three years, Ihave preached from Matthew, Luke, and John during the Advent season. This year,I am going to follow the lectionary readings from last year, and study theprophetic passages from Isaiah that point to what Christ’s coming means.

Nearly all of the propheticannouncements in Isaiah that apply to the hope for the Messiah have at leasttwo meanings. In some senses, they point to the life and work of Jesus asrecorded in the New Testament. At the same time they also point to the end oftime, the “day of the Lord”, the moment when Christ will return and seteverything right.

Isaiah 2:1-5 is very typicalin this sense. It speaks about the life and work of Jesus, and how it has hadan impact on the whole world. At the same time, it speaks even more strongly tothe future, and what hope we confidently look forward to as believers in Jesus.

As Advent begins, and Isaiahbegins to share his prophecies, we begin to hear God’s Word. And God’s Wordcomes to us in this passage in the form of an invitation. Three times in thesefive verses the call to come appears. “Many people shall come” it says. Theywill say to one another, “Come, let us go to the mountain of God”. Then thepassage ends with the words “come let us walk in the light of the Lord”.

In this passage Jerusalemhas become a destination place. It has become a hub for the whole world. Zionbecomes that place that people come because it is the center of power.Jerusalem has become that place that people flock to for learning andknowledge. The capital of Israel is theplace people want to be to learn a new way of living, and to find a new andeternal hope.

And so the invitation goesout. COME! Come to the place where God is at work. COME! Come to the placewhere God presence resides. COME! Come to the class where God can teach us andgive us understanding. COME! Come to the light!

It is interesting. The word “Advent”means the same. It is Old English for someone or something coming. Itspecifically refers most often to the arrival of something new that has beeneagerly awaited or expected. The “Advent” of the NBA season will be Christmasday this year—two months late. Specifically, in Christian thought, Adventrefers to the coming of Christ.

When we read Isaiah in thelight of Advent, and in light of the context it is written, it appears to besaying this. God is on the move. His kingdom is coming. His power is moremanifest each day—even if you cannot see it. And he is offering people like youand I an invitation. Come learn from Him. Come study under Him. Come to joinhim in what he is doing. Come and learn how to live God’s way.

As we think of that firstChristmas day, we forget that everyone at that manger was led there from somewhereelse. Joseph and Mary were in someone else’s barn, and lived on the other sideof the country. The wise men came from afar. The shepherds came in from thefields and found Jesus lying in a manger.

Even more, we remember thateveryone who came to visit the family of Jesus was issued an invitation to comevisit Him. The wise men followed God’s invitation through following the starGod had put in the sky to guide them, and by obeying what the angel had toldthem via a vision. The shepherds were greeted by a chorus of angels singing inthe sky, and then invited to go into Bethlehem and see the baby Jesus.

I am sure many of you havereceived many invitations to different parties, events, and performancesthroughout your life. You have gotten a card in the mail inviting you to awedding of a friend. You have received that invitation to a high schoolgraduation from a niece, nephew, grandchild, or neighbor. Sometimes evenfunerals can be invitation only kinds of events.

When I was a summermissionary in the Alaskan village of Stony River, AK I had a strange experienceof invitation and exclusion that will help illustrate the value of invitation,and the crushing disappointment of being not-invited. It all had to do with afuneral dinner. You see, especially in these isolated villages, a funeral potlatch(not to be confused with potluck) dinner is a big deal, and it is all abouthonor.

I had been trained on suchoccasions that as a missionary it was important to attend these events, andthat it was also very important to place yourself near the back of the line inthis funeral dinner, because one’s place in line was a matter of how importantyou were to the family. Presume too much, you are bound to embarrass yourself.So, I grabbed a piece of firewood lying in the middle of the yard outside thetrailer where the meal was being served, made it into a stool, had a seat, andvisited with folks here and there as they came by.

Well, the family that washosting the meal I was fairly close to by the end of the summer. They saw mewaiting my turn, and insisted I come to the front of the line. I meant so muchto them and the family. I needed to be in the front. This felt awkward. Bothbecause I already had food at the cabin while many of the other guests were travelling,and because I was white and most of the other people there were not. But, if I rejected the invitation I riskedinsulting the host. So I reluctantly went toward the front of the line as I wastold. I felt honored. I had been included and invited to a place in line thatshowed I was valued by the family.

As the line went along,several people would be invited into this double wide to grab their food offthe tables in the living room, visit briefly, and then make their way out thedoor. When people exited the back door, someone would come and get more peoplefrom the front door. When the other family member came outside she invitedpeople in, and then told me that I needed to get out of line so that otherscould come in. I would be included later, I was told, if there was enough forme. Needless to say, this was embarrassing to experience in front of the wholefamily.

So I left the line. I wasintending to leave the whole event. As I was going I was visiting with otherpeople I had gotten to know in the village. I started to play ball with one ofthe kids. Another member of the same family came outside, grabbed me, told meto move up toward the front of the line. Then the family member again came outwho did not know me, and reminded me to wait my turn.

At this point, I justdecided not to visit but to leave the event completely. Another one of thefamily grabbed me before I could get very far before I could get away,instructed me to come with her, grabbed a hold of my elbow (super assertive forthat passive culture), pulled me past everyone, and brought me into the house.Her mother at the same time explained to the family member who I was and whathad happened and what I meant to them. She apologized, which was also a rareaction in that setting. I was served all sorts of traditional native fingerfoods, and visited a little bit.

You see, invitations conveyto those not invited and to those invited their value to the one issuing theinvitation. At times it can feel like an honor to be invited. It can also, atother times, just crush us when we are not invited to spend time with familyand friends that we treasure. In the situation I described above, I experiencedboth the honor of being a special guest, and the utter shame of being uninvitedat the same event. More than once!

I think some of us wonder ifthe life of faith is like that potlatch dinner. Sure the invitation is extendedto us. And we may even be tempted to accept Jesus’ invitation to come and learnfrom Him. But we are afraid once we start on the Jesus Way, that somehow wewill be found to be somehow unworthy of the invitation. And so then, we wonderif it is even worth responding to the invitation in the first place.

But as we read through thispassage we come to see that God does not just issue invitations to wise men andshepherds 2000 years ago. He does not just issue invitations to thewell-educated, the spiritually elite, or the people that were born to the rightfamily, or in the right country. No, his invitation to come, to learn from him,to understand, to truly live is an invitation he offers to everyone. Isaiah 2:2says all nations will “flow toward Jerusalem” and that nations will learn to“turn their swords into plowshares”. It also says that “many peoples” will bethere. To every nation, and to every person, God issues the invitation throughJesus to journey with Jesus, to walk with Him, to learn from Him, to be led byhis light.

If you don’t believe Isaiah,listen to the invitations of Jesus throughout the gospels…

“Come follow me” (Matthew4:19)

“I am the gate; whoeverenters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and findpasture.” (John 10: 9)

“The thief comes only tosteal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it tothe full.” (John 10:10)

“I have come into the worldas a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” (John12:46)

Jesus answered, “If you wantto be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you willhave treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21)

“Come with me by yourselvesto a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)

“Come to me, all you who areweary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

This list goes on and on.

God invites us on a journey.He invites us to move toward Him. He invites us to join Him in what he is doingin the world, and to do our part to serve Him and love Him and his people inthat place.

He invites us to come to Himand learn from Him. He invites us to be in his presence, and to learn what lifeis all about.

And what is interesting is,if we respond to this invitation by accepting it, and journeying toward God’sgrace and his presence, we will find that God has been pursuing us, making hisway to us, watching and waiting for us since the beginning.

He has been pursuing us whenhe came to earth in that manger. He had been making his way to us when he liveda sinless life, and taught us what God was like, and how to live. And, when hedied on the cross and rose again to forgive us of our sins, he again issued anopen invitation to each of us. He sent the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.And the Scripture is clear, He is coming again. He is returning.

At that moment I wonder, howwill you have responded to his invitation?

Prayer for the Day from the Church of Scotland

2011-11-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

Ever present God,
you taught us that the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Grant that we may ever be found watching for the coming of your Son.
Save us from undue love of the world,
that we may wait with patient hope for the day of the Lord,
and so abide in him,
that we may wait with patient hope for the day of the Lord,
and so abide in him,
that wen he shall appear, we may not be ashamed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Presbyterian Book of Common Worship #254)

Prayer for the Day by Ruth Duck

2011-11-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

In the Advent seasons, whe the past has fled, unasked, away
and there is nothing left to do but wait,
God, shelter us.
Be our surrounding darkness;
be the fertile soil out of which hope springs in due time.
In uncertain times, help us to greet the dawn and labor on, love on,
in faith awaiting your purpose hid in you
waiting to be born in due time.

(Presbyterian Book of Common Worship, #253)

Book Review of Ten Commandments from the Backside by J. Ellsworth Kalas

2011-11-25T23:30:00.001-07:00

I recently finished a preaching series on the Ten Commandments. In the coming days, I am reviewing some of my resources that I used in preparing those sermons. This is one such review.

J. Ellsworth Kalas is a professor of homiletics at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is also a prolific author. Perhaps some of his most popular books are in the "from the backside" series. In this "from the backside" series, Kalas helps his readers see the good news in Scripture by guiding them to see the Scripture from the vantage point of someone who has a "backstage pass" to the awesome things God is trying to do through his Word.

In The Ten Commandments from the Backside Kalas produces a solid book that explains the good news of the Ten Commandments for the common person. He often addresses his readers by restating the "thou shalt nots" as positive statements for living well.

Kalas shares a number of good stories throughout this book. He also brings a down-to-earth practicality to the text which reminds his readers about why each of the Ten Commandments is important.

If you are interested in understanding the Ten Commandments as grace and truth, I recommend you purchase this book soon. I found it very helpful in enriching my understanding of the text. I am sure you will too.

Advent from Isaiah--Isaiah 2:1-5--CEB

2011-11-25T18:25:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 2: 1-5
¹ This what Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

² In the days to come
   the mountain of the LORD’s house
   will be the highest of the mountains.
   It will be lifted above the hills;
      peoples will stream to it.
³ Many nations will go and say,
“Come, let’s go up
to the LORD’s mountain,
   to the house of Jacob’s God
      so that he may teach us his ways
      and we may walk in God’s paths.”
Instruction will come from Zion;
   the LORD’s word from Jerusalem.
⁴ God will judge between the nations,
   and settle disputes
   of mighty nations.
Then they will beat
their swords into iron plows
   and their spears into pruning tools.
Nation will not take up sword
against nation;
   they will no longer learn
   how to make war.

⁵ Come, house of Jacob,
let’s walk by the LORD’s light.

I am working through this text to preach on this Sunday. It is from the lectionary texts from last year. Thankfully, I have a few resources to work with, but I am still attempting to figure out this passage.

Here is what I have noticed so far:

This passage seems to have a chiastic structure

Verse 1 and Verse 2 contain and invitation to come to the mountain of God and be led by Him
Verses 3a and 4 both speak concerning the nations
Verse 3b is the center of the chaism, and thus contains the theme of the whole passage. What is that theme? That we will be able to learn what God says and be able to live it!

What do you think? What do you see in the passage? What themes speak to you?

Prayer for Today from St Augustine

2011-11-25T15:54:00.001-07:00

O loving God
to turn away from you is to fall,
to turn toward you is to rise,
and to stand before you is to abide forever.
Grant us, dear God,
in all our duties your help;
in all our uncertainties your guidance;
in all our dangers your protection;
and in all our sorrows your peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(from Presbyterian Book of Common Worship, p. 23)

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Psalm 100
¹ Shout triumphantly to the LORD,
all the earth!
² Serve the LORD with celebration!
   Come before him with shouts of joy!
³ Know that the LORD is God—
   he made us; we belong to him.^[a]
   We are his people,
   the sheep of his own pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanks;
   enter his courtyards with praise!
   Thank him! Bless his name!
⁵ Because the LORD is good,
   his loyal love lasts forever;
   his faithfulness lasts
   generation after generation.
(Common English Bible)

I have always loved this Psalm. It is probably the most common psalm to pray or read during the day of Thanksgiving. Sometimes, when I read passages in a different version I notice different things. This was true as I read this passage in the Common English Bible.

Notice, as you read, the short declarative statements. Many of them, as I read them here, are punctuated with exclamation points. They are commands. Specifically, they are joyful, even jubilant commands.

Most specifically, verse 5 stands out to me. It speaks to me because it explains the first 4 verses. We worship joyfully and praise jubilantly for the following reasons:

The Lord is good
His love is loyal
His love lasts forever
His faithfulness goes on not just for us, but for generations to come, even those yet unborn

I am reminded as I read this that God is full of grace. He treats me better than I deserve. I owe Him everything.

Prayer for the Day by Teresa of Avila

2011-11-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

Govern everything by your wisdom, O Lord,
so that my soul may always be serving you
in the way that you will
and not as I chose.
Let me die to myself
so that I may serve you;
let me live to you who are life itself.
Amen

Book Review of Praying the Jesus Prayer by Frederica Mathewes-Green

2011-11-23T15:15:00.001-07:00

Praying the Jesus Prayer
by Frederica Mathewes-Green
ISBN 978-1-61261-059-7
Paraclete Press
Reviewed by Clint Walker

This year Paraclete Press has put out a little book called Praying the Jesus Prayer by Frederica Mathewes-Green. It is more of a pamplet really. The entire text is only 56 pages plus notes. When you order the book you will get a package of 5 of them, perfectly designed for a prayer or study group seeking to understand this text.

I think you find that if you order this book, you will read through it over and over again. Especially if you are in any way interested in contemplative spirituality from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, or if you are more specifically interested in understanding the Jesus Prayer.The Jesus prayer is a sentence prayer, drawn from Scripture, that a person prays repeatedly. Specifically, the words of the Jesus Prayer are, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner". This is most specifically drawn from the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

This book is designed to be a primer to the Jesus Prayer, and to a lesser extent Orthodox Spirituality as a whole. Green has written a book with the same title that is much longer and more in depth.

There are several things that make the book an asset for persons interested in meaningful prayer life. Green is skilled at bringing concepts in Orthodox spirituality that come to bear on the Jesus Prayer down to earth. For existence, her discussion of "the little radio" in one's head that allows one to develop spiritual conscientiousness and understanding is brilliant. Relatedly, her discussion of the Orthodox concept of the "nous" is very helpful to prayer novices and prayer scholars alike.

Also refreshing is Mathewes-Green's exhortation on how to prepare one's heart and life to pray effectively. She is aware that some spiritual consumers view any kind of prayer as one more technique on the market place to gain an experience of a sense of divine power. She eschews this mentality, and asks her readers to truly become serious about growing closer to God before praying the Jesus Prayer in earnest.

Over and over again, in this short book, Mathewes-Green shows profound insight about her own tradition from the perspective of an outsider, and of the human condition and its fraility and inability to pray well. She also is down to earth, and Mathewes-Green clearly communicates in a way that people can understand and believe that the way she has found is possible for others. What a good book!

The Common English Bible: A Test Case in Inclusive Language from Evangelical Perspective

2011-11-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am remiss on doing any real original posts leading up to this holiday season. With a job change and a new baby on the way, as well as Karis teething with both of her incisors this week, I have not had a chance to do any real study on specific verses and chapters for this blog.

I have, however, been slowly looking at the videos that the CEB put together to share about their new translation. I have been appreciating all that the PR people at the CEB are sharing.

Below is a video about the CEB's translation of a particular phrase. Traditionally, it is translated "Son of Man". However, this phrase tends to be misunderstood in many ways. Joel Green of Fuller Seminary explains the term, and why the CEB translates it "The Human One". Enjoy.

The "Human One" Explained from Common English Bible on Vimeo.

We have an announcement to make...

2011-11-22T19:17:00.001-07:00

National Bible Week and the Common English Bible

2011-11-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

This is National Bible Week. It comes and goes with little fanfare, in part because there is another holiday that happens Thursday of this week that ends up stealing a lot of the glory away from this week of celebration and remembrance.

This week, to remember the National Bible Week, we are spending most of our time focusing in on the Common English Bible, and what its recent release means to Bible lovers everywhere.

I have several friends that complain, "Why do we need another Bible translation?" Certainly I understand where they are coming from. But, because language, culture and people are constantly changing, sometimes it helps to have folks to come around every now and then.

Below is a video telling the Common English Bible's story. I hope as you watch this little slideshow you will get a feel about why this new translation is such a joy and an asset to Bible lovers everywhere.

Common English Bible from Common English Bible on Vimeo.

Moving to United Churches of Hot Springs, SD

2011-11-21T23:38:00.001-07:00

For those of you who have not heard, the Walkers are moving to Hot Springs, SD. We appreciate our ministry in Fowler, but we feel like God has opened up the door for us to accept the call to minister as Pastor of United Churches of Hot Springs, SD. There is much to say about Hot Springs, and I will be sharing about those things in future weeks.

For now, I thought I would offer a few pictures to let you know a little bit about where we will be living.

View of sanctuary from parking lot

A view of the church sanctuary and fellowship hall from the other side of the river

Picture Share: A Walk around Our Future Home

2011-11-21T23:35:00.001-07:00

Front Entrance

Another picture of the front entrance

Side yard

Back porch

Downstairs in back of the house

More Yard Pics: Wild Turkeys

2011-11-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

A Whole gaggle!

Close up of a turkey--they were quite large

The turkeys are heading up the hill out of the back yard

Picture Share: Dad and Karis in Hot Springs

2011-11-21T23:26:00.001-07:00

Karis and I in the back yard of the parsonage in Hot Springs

Another pic on Veteran's Day Weekend

Book Review of The St. Francis Prayer Book by Jon M. Sweeney

2011-11-21T10:57:00.001-07:00

In recent years, as readers of this blog know, I have experimented with fixed hour prayer. I have also had a long-term interest in St. Francis' spirituality, especially his ability to combine depth in spirituality with a compassionately activist faith. For this reason, when I saw The St. Francis Prayer Book I snapped it up as quickly as possible.

Once I recieved The St. Francis Prayer Book, I was impressed. The first thing I noticed is how the book was organized. The book is divided into four very helpful sections. The first section presents a summary of the nature of St. Francis' prayer life. The second section presents the "St. Francis office". It includes morning prayers and evening prayers for one week. This section of the book does not necessarily include a lot of the words of St. Francis. Instead, it contains Scriptures and prayers inspired by St. Francis' sprituality what we know of the form and content of his prayer life. The next section shares occassional prayers that are attributed to St. Francis himself. Then there are some very helpful appendices to further model one's prayer and spirituality after St. Francis.

I have read several books on Francis of Assisi. Jon Sweeney gave me new insights in his brief summary of Francis' prayer life. I was really impressed by the introduction with this book. If you buy the book you must read it. It sets the stage for everything that follows.

I thought the actual "St. Francis office" was very helpful and well done. It was laid out in a way that seemed to both provoke me to mediation on the Lord and prayer to him. It mixes Scriptural and historical prayer resources well. And, as a Protestant, it was nice not having to work through a lot of veneration of Mary in a prayer book published by a Catholic publisher.

I also the other parts of the book helpful. The occassional prayers, while I have similar resources elsewhere, I felt was well laid out. Also, the appendices were also intriguing to read and think about.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in either fixed hour prayer, or St. Francis of Assisi's spirituality.

More on the Common English Bible

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have written earlier this month about the Common English Bible. The more I read about it, the bigger fan I am becoming!

Today I discovered this video about some of the ideas behind and issues in translation with this stellar version of Scripture which combines academic rigor, everyday language, and sensitivity to contemporary issue of inclusion in the way we use language.

Goals for the CEB from Common English Bible on Vimeo.

Prayer for the day from Harry Emerson Fosdick

2011-11-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

O God, you have built your church
upon the foundationof the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.

Save the community of your people
from cowardly surrender to the world,
from rendering to Caesar what belongs to you,
and from forgetting the eternal gospel
amid the temporal pressures of our troubled days.

For the unity of the church we pray,
and for fellowship across the embittered lines
of race and nation;
to growth in grace, building in love, enlargement in service
increase in wisdom, faith, charity, and power,
we dedicate our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen

(Harry Emerson Fosdick, from UMC Book of Worship)

Prayer for the Day from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2011-11-19T01:30:00.000-07:00

Beneath Thy Tender Care
O Lord my God, thank you for bringing my day to a close;
Thank you for giving me rest in body and soul.
Your hand has been over me and has guarded and preserved me.
Forgive my lack of faith
and any wrong that I have done today
and help me to forgive all who have wronged me.

Let me sleep in peace under your protection,
And keep me from temptations of darkness.
Into your hands I commend my loved ones
and all who dwell within my house;
I commend to you my body and soul.
O God, your holy name be praised.
Amen.

(by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Prayers from the Heart ed. by Richard Foster)

Prayer for Today--From St. Thomas Aquinas

2011-11-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Give us, Lord
steadfast hearts, which no unworthy thought can drag downwards
unconquered hearts, which no tribulation can wear out
upright hearts, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside

Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God
understanding to know you
diligence to seek you
wisdom to find you
and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.

(From UM Book of Worship #530)

Hearing God call us to endure

2011-11-17T10:37:00.001-07:00

Revelation 14
1 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion. With him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I heard a sound from heaven that was like the sound of rushing water and loud thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 They sing a new song in front of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. 4 They weren’t defiled with women, for these people who follow the Lamb wherever he goes are virgins. They were purchased from among humankind as early produce for God and the Lamb. 5 No lie came from their mouths; they are blameless.

6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead with eternal good news to proclaim to those who live on earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

8 Another angel, a second one, followed and said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She made all the nations drink the wine of her lustful passion.”

9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them and said in a loud voice, “If any worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or their hands, 10 they themselves will also drink the wine of God’s passionate anger, poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will suffer the pain of fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. 11 The smoke of their painful suffering goes up forever and always. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, and those who receive the mark of its name.” (Common English Bible)

As I read this passage, the first thing I have to remind myself is that this part of Scripture was written to the church as an encouragement. I have to remind myself that this is written to the church, because the passage sounds downright scary. I believe what Jonathan Edwards said about fearsomness of being under God's wrath. I don't want to experience this kind of judgment, and it is only a confidence in God's saving grace that can hear even this passage as good news.

What I think is happening through this passage is that God is encouraging believers to stay strong and endure in their faith. He is challenging us to not put our faith in the powers of this world, because they are in fact temporary. Babylon may seem strong, but she will fall in God's good time. As will the kingdoms of this world, including the American kingdom. Will our faith endure in the midst of this hardship? This seems to be what God is asking.

He is doing more than asking or encouraging though. He is pleading with us. Stay strong. Remember where your victory is. Trust in God's power, not in earthly power. Ultimately, your life and eternity is in his hands. Endure!

(this post is part of the Common English Blog Tour)

Prayer for Today

2011-11-17T08:33:00.001-07:00

You raised up Your Son, O God and seated Him at your right hand as shepherd and king who seeks what is lost, binds up what is wounded, and strengthens what is weak. Empowered by the Spirit, grant that we may share with others that which we recieved from your hand, to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(From Revised Common Lectionary Prayers by the Committee on Common Texts)

Book Review of Addiction and Virtue by Kent Dunnington

2011-11-16T21:07:00.001-07:00

Addiction and Virtue
by Kent Dunnington
ISBN 978-0830839018
Intervarsity Press
Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology
Reviewed by Clint Walker

If most of the books in the series of Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology are like Addiction and Virtue by Kent Dunnington, then Intervarsity Press is going to have a critically acclaimed, best selling series of theology books on their hands. Addiction and Virtue is a brilliant, interdisciplinary approach to developing a theology of addiction that has a lot to say to the church about its witness in the world and its life together.

The thesis of Addiction and Virtue is profound. Put simply, Dunnington believes that both the model of disease and the model of choice when approaching addiction is insufficient in explaining the addictive condition. A disease model, taken to its logical end, takes away a sense of responsibility for the person experiencing the addiction, which in turn can sabotage an addicted person's ability to take responsibility for their addictive behavior. A choice model is limited in that fails to take into account the etiological factors that are outside of an addict's conscious control.

Drawing from the philosophy of Aristotle and the theology of Aquinas, Dunnington attempts to account for addiction through the category of habit. Using the language and categories of virtue and virtue ethics, Dunnington believes that the idea of habit accounts for individual agency and responsibility, as well other forces that drive addiction that may feel or actually be outside of an individuals conscious control. Habit is formed by decisions, but it is also formed and influenced by upbringing, and complex biophysical drives and functions that are not easily explained.

The understanding of addiction as habit also had meaningful implications for the church, and how people in the church approach one another. It also has profound implications for persons who identify themselves as addicts within local congregations, and how we provide care for them. The second half of this book addresses these implications in detail.

One of the most profound thoughts in this section of the book is the idea that "Addiction is in fact a kind of embodied cultural critique of modernity and the addict a kind of unwitting modern prophet" (p. 123). The rise of the idea of addiction, the prevalence of those claiming to be addicts, as well as the effectiveness of AA in dealing with addiction all have a lot to teach us about who we are as modern Americans. Specifically, dealing with addicts can help the church in dealing with the emotional and social needs that all sorts of people all around us experience--not just addicted persons.

What I find intriguing about the concept of addiction as habit is how it relates to the current language and philosophy of spiritual formation. Much of what we describe as spiritual formation is about the development of spiritually healthy habits through the exercise of what is commonly referred to as spiritual disciplines. Could recovery from addiction be thought of as a spiritual discipline? I certainly think it can. As a matter of fact, those seeking to develop holy habits could learn a lot from folks in the recovery movement.

I think this is an excellent book. It is a must read for those interested in pastoral care, philosopy, and/or spiritual formation. It is "outside the box" thinking that is sure to become a standard and classic in a theological understanding of addictive behavior.

(This book was provided by Intervarsity Press in exchange for an honest review).

Music Review of Goat Rodeo Sessions

2011-11-16T20:18:00.001-07:00

After seeing this ensemble perform on the Colbert Report, I had to go out and buy the CD of the Goat Rodeo Sessions. I have not been disappointed. Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile (of Nickel Creek) and the crew have put together a wonderful album of excellent music.

I like to the Goat Rodeo Sessions it while I am working on something where I need to think. This album works well for this because it is extremely well-played, but not overpowering or overwhelming.

My favorite song on the album is Here and Heaven. Aiofe O'Donovan's voice is exquisite on this track, and blends well with Chris Thile's.

I would recommend this album to everyone, especially folks who love bluegrass or folk.

Prayer for Today

2011-11-16T12:21:00.001-07:00

Lord, open unto me
Open unto me--light for my darkness
Open unto me--courage for my fear
Open unto me--hope for my despair
Open unto me--peace for my turmoil
Open unto me--joy for my sorrow
Open unto me--strength for my weakness
Open unto me--wisdom for my confusion
Open unto me--forgiveness for my sins
Open unto me--love for my hates
Open unto me--Thyself for myself
Lord, Lord, open unto me.

(St. Augustine, from Presbyterian Book of Common Worship, p. 23)

The Brand New Bloggie Plan

2011-11-16T11:46:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while, I feel the need to be a little more structured with my blogging. Now is one of those times.

As most of my readers know, book reviews have become a more and more prominent feature on this blog. That will continue. I am hoping I can continue it at an accelerated pace. I have added a number of new publishers lately, and I am hoping to continue to grow that business through this blog.

But there are certain other elements that are features of this blog. I am going to share those things in a scheduled manner. Or....at least attempt to. This is how the schedule will go:

Sunday:              Sermon/Church stuff
Monday:             Battle of the Bulge--weight loss journey
Tuesday:             Parenting Posts--about our parenting journey
Wednesday:        All things culture
Thursday:           Extra, Extra!--My thoughts on current events and other newsworthy items
Friday:                Friar Tuck's Faith--thoughts on life in ministry and faith.
Saturday:            All things Sports

Every day:          Devotional thoughts featuring the new Common English Bible

Funny cartoon I found (Thanks Scot McKnight)

2011-11-14T21:02:00.001-07:00

Book Review of Bless Us, O God by Dorothy D. France

2011-11-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

Bless Us, O God: Services and Prayers for Special Days
by Dorothy D. France
ISBN 978-0-8272-0237-5
Chalice Press
by Clint Walker

Lately, as some of my readers may have noticed, I have been working on bringing together some prayer and devotional resources to add to my library. I recently ordered, Bless Us O Lord, and have gotten a chance to look it over. What I discovered was an excellent resource for church leaders, especially lay church leaders who might be charged with leading a meeting with a devotion, or planning a special worship service of some sort.

The book is separated into four parts. The first part has devotions for different moments of the Christian year.This includes moments such as Advent and Easter, and also less prominent moments in the church year Each devotion is followed by a brief prayer. The second part of the book has devotions and prayer for moments of the civic year, including holidays like New Year's Sunday and Labor Day Sunday. Then there are a few meditations for other "occasions" that may not show up on the calendar.

The final section of the book is an organization of special services at different occasions in the life of the church. Some of these services are unique to persons in the Christian Church/Disciples background. Many other services, in fact most of them, are useful in most denominational settings.

Some of the resources in Bless Us, O Lord I will find extremely helpful. Others I will probably not use. Where I will find this most helpful is as a resource to share with lay leaders in my congregation. There are several moments in the life of the church where lay leaders are called on to share devotional thoughts, and this is an easy plug and play resource for such events.

Bless Us O, Lord will be a helpful reference item on my bookshelf in my office. I imagine it will be an equally helpful resource for others.

(Chalice Press has given me this book in exchange for an honest review)

It was only a matter of time: reflections on the Penn State child abuse scandal

2011-11-12T14:35:00.001-07:00

When I was a junior in college, I got myself in a difficult situation with my team and my coaches. I did not intend to find this trouble, and I would have handled things much differently now. What did I do? I unintentionally brought the racial tension on our college football team out in the open. I did this by naively suggesting to another teammate that we discuss issues of tolerance racial issues in an "open forum" based upon some recent conversations I thought I had overheard. By the early morning hours, I was forced to coerce the person I knew of that was making racially tinged comments to out himself, and a campus wide drama insued.

The phrase that kept coming up regarding the issue to me, and with the coaches was that we needed to "keep this in the family" and that I was "trying to destroy" the coaches work and being a "gossip" by suggesting that it was an issue that needed to be addressed. Even the next spring, more than six months later, Head Coach Bill Bauer was scolding me for beginning this dialogue with my teammate. He again said that "we" needed to "keep things like this in the family", keep them quiet, and not be divisive.

The incident in question happened during a fun, celbrative event that happened before our game against the Friends University Falcons. Each year, the coaches would get out raw chicken meat, have players put the meat in their mouths, hanging down their chin, and then have the next teammate in the relay grab the raw chicken with their mouth from the other side of the chicken meat. The winning team did not have to do conditioning.

My junior year the coaches allowed anyone to opt out of the Falcoln relay who did not feel comfortable with it. Every African-American player, as well as one or two Whites and Hispanics declined to participate. A person in front of me mumbled something. I thought I heard him say a racial epithet. I asked him to repeat it. He said, "They are a bunch of lazy a** n*****s". I asked him to repeat a third time. He said the same thing.

In retrospect, what I should have done right then was either join my teammates who declined to participate, or chosen to physically assault my teammate for what he said. But I started doubting myself. After all, there were a number of other teammates around me that I respected that did nothing to respond. I am hard of hearing, I thought. Maybe I just missed it.

After my practice I thought that maybe this incident, even if I misheard it, would be a good starting point to discuss cultural differences. (Again, I was very niave). I went to a black friend who I trusted and considered a friend to discuss the possibilities of putting together this kind of educational/dialogical opportunity for my dorm. After all, I was an RA charged with putting together an educational program.

My friend gathered every black male on campus, and brought me into a classroom to discuss the issue an hour later. They wanted to know who had said the words to me, and they wanted to do violence to the young racist. When I said that wasn't my intention, they brought in Coach Kim Raynor, who told me I was making his life miserable and I should have known better than to cause problems. I negotiated a deal where the person could out himself and confess what he had done wrong by the next day to the coach, then the team. Which he did. He repented to his teammates. He continually tried to injure me with cheap shots during practice. The coaches did nothing about this though. They believed I deserved it. Why? "I did not keep it in the family."

For the rest of the year I recieved phone calls with death threats. People tried to run me over. I was ostracized by much of my team. All this on a "Christian" college campus of 500 people. All of this becuase I was trying to address racism, and I did not "keep things in the family".

"Keep things in the family" I came to understand meant two things. First, it meant keep things within the football famil, and then it meant to keep things within the "white family". I didn't say much about this incident to anyone on campus afterward. But somehow it was an open secret to many through other people's conversations.

What does this have to do with the Penn State issue? Everything.

From the first time I heard this "keep it in the family" language in the locker room, I heard it as the language of disfunction at best and abuse at worse. It suggested that knowlege should not be shared outside of the football family. And by "keeping secrets" you were protecting your "fooball family".

Keeping confidences can be healthy, especially on a football team. You do not want to leak personality conflicts on the team to the media, for example. Nor is it helpful to share the team's game plan publically. Keeping basic confidences and having loyalties, however, is different than keeping bad secrets.

Nearly every team has this "keep it in the family" approach. And while it sometimes produces loyalty toward a team and brings them together, this attitude can also be abusive and destructive.

I believe it is this "keep it the family" culture of keeping bad secrets to protect the institution that we are seeing at work at Penn State University. A graduate assistant sees what he believes to be sexual assault. He can hardly believe his eyes.

I imagine a number of questions going through his head. Am I seeing what I am thinking that I am seeing? Is that boy as young as he looks? Do I really want to investigate? Can I confront this respected football coach? What should I do? He was paralyzed with his concern, this much we know.

What does the young man do who sees what happened in that locker room? He calls his football coach dad. What does his football coach dad tell him to do. "Keep it in the family. Go talk to Joe Paterno. He will take care of it from there." So that is what the graduate assistant does.

What do the people in the program do? Isolate the man further from them? Yes, but they also strive to keep this incident "in the family" to protect the school and the program from the outside world. Why? Because nearly every football team functions on a bunker mentality. Nearly every team is coached from day one that it is these "80 men you go into battle" with against the world, and you better be loyal to them no matter what. And, when the team is led by a respected leader, you had better be even more loyal to him than to your own family. That is what you are coached, trained, and brainwashed to do in college football. Unless you think hard and resist this groupthink, like I tended to do as a college football player. I paid a dear price for it.

As a graduate assistant coach, the man should have confronted his former defensive coordinator. I understand people's anger. I also understand that what he did was what he was trained to do.

The way I see it, this make Joe Paterno all the more complicit in what happened at his school. He demanded absolute loyalty and a lot of power, but did not exercise his power to help the most vulnerable on his coaching staff or with the children in his community. And he has begun to reap what he has sown. Do I wonder whether Paterno was on top of everything at that point? Yes I do. But I also know that this abuse is not just about individual behavior, but a culture that college football coaches create which demand that "bad secrets" be kep "in the family".

The child abuse scandal is about more than a deviant running rogue in Pennsylvania. This Penn State scandal is a wakeup call about the dark-side of sports, and in this case specifically college football. I hope it is not just one school that is listening, but people in all kinds of sports throughout the country. There has to be a better way of engendering loyalty than demanding that everything is "kept in the family".

The Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale by Elena Pasquali, Illustrated by Sophie Windham

2011-11-11T21:54:00.001-07:00

I have always loved the three trees story since I first heard it. And, with this new retelling and reillustrating the story I fell in love with this children's story all over again.

This story tells a story about three little trees. Each of them has a dream of what they want to be, and each of them has an idea about just how that might happen. Each of the trees gets chopped down, and does not seem to have their dreams come true. But then, through the life and work of Jesus, each of them discovers God's purpose and their dreams coming together in a way that is better than they had ever hoped or expected.

I always read this story to children in our church during Advent, because its themes of waiting and hope so clearly correspond to the message of the Advent season. It is also appropriate for the Easter or the Lenten season.

Until now, the only telling of this story is the one distributed by Cook Communications, told by Angela Hunt, and illustrated by Tim Jonke. Now, Lion Children's book has commissioned Elena Pasquali and illustrator Sophie Windom to retell the story in a slightly different and new way.

That this story should be retold by Pasquali should come as no surprise. Pasquali has a skilled, strong history of retelling traditional folktales for modern audiences, as well as retelling Bible stories in ways that children can understand.

Elena Pasquali does an excellent job with the text. It is evenly paced and readable.

What makes this book fascinating to me is the different kind of illustration that accompanies the text.

One thing that is unique to this version of the story is that each of the trees is a unique KIND of tree. Each of them have different bark and different leaves. This adds to the readers understanding of the "uniqueness" of each of the trees on the hill. Each of them were different kinds of trees, and thus were best suited for the different kinds of purposes they came to fulfill.

The artistic style of illustrator intrigued me. It reminded me a lot of Edward Hicks' depictions of biblical scenes in his artwork in pieces like "The Peaceable Kingdom" and "Noah's Ark". Windom uses color more pleasingly than Hicks, but the way she integrates animals into intriguing pastoral scenes is reminiscent of Hicks' work.

All in all, I would recommend grabbing a copy of this book. I hope it will be a treasured part of your families life they way it is in the life of our church congregation.

(This book was provided for me for free in exchange for an honest review by Kregel Publications)

Seventh Commandment Sermon--Be Faithful

2011-11-06T21:46:00.003-07:00

BeFaithful

As you turn our Biblepassage, I think it would helpful to say something about the Ten Commandmentsas a whole. One of the criticisms that some people have about thesecommandments is that there are, they believe, worse things that someone coulddo than what is mentioned in the Ten Commandments. For example, many believethat forms of sexual assault are more grievous than adultery. Or they assertthat not taking a day off is not nearly as much of a sin as abusing your wifeand children.

And, if the good Lordleft me to rank sins, I would probably have to agree with them about how theyare ranked.

The thing is though,if we are looking at the Ten Commandments, we are not looking at the Top Tenworst sins. What are looking at, when we look at the Ten Commandments arecommands that are basic in our life together. Instead of being exceptional orextreme, they are foundational and spiritually formational.

The Ten Commandmentslay some basic stakes and build some basic fences. They create some basic moralboundaries for the people of God that lay the foundation for what they areabout, who they are, and who they are called to be. Anyway…to our passage weare studying. God’s word says this.

1 And God spoke allthese words, saying:

2“I am the LORD your God, who broughtyou out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3“You shall have no other gods beforeMe.

4“You shall not make for yourself acarved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is inthe earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bowdown to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourthgenerations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to thosewho love Me and keep My commandments.

7“You shall not take the name of theLORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes Hisname in vain.

8“ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep itholy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh dayis the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor yourson, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor yourcattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORDmade the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and restedthe seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

12“ Honor your father and your mother,that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

13“You shall not murder.

14“You shall not commit adultery.

15“You shall not steal.

16“You shall not bear false witnessagainst your neighbor.

17“You shall not covet your neighbor’shouse; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor hisfemale servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is yourneighbor’s.”

Judge Roy Moore of Etowah,County Alabama was sued by the ACLU and the Alabama Free Thought Association in1995 for displaying the Ten Commandments on the Courtroom wall. A MontgomeryCounty judge ruled that the judge must take down the display from his wall. TheSupreme Court then issued a stay of that removal, and then the Governor issueda decree that the Ten Commandments would be able to stay up, and would bedefended by the National Guard of Alabama if necessary.

At the same time one personwisely uttered, “Don’t worry about the Alabama legislature hanging up thatdisplay of the Ten Commandments there. Until they figure out a way to dosomething about that thing about adultery, those senators and representativeswill want to keep those commandments in court, and as far away from them aspossible.”

I have a pastor friend whoused to go around telling a joke that never really took off. He said he hadfound proof that God must be a female. He would receive odd looks. “How did youdo that?” someone would ask.

Because the Bible says,“Thou shalt not commit adultery,” he would respond. Half the people would moan.The other half would raise a scolding eyebrow and shake their heads, and thenthe conversation would awkwardly transition to the next subject.

The truth is, that althoughthe command, “You shall not commit adultery” is pretty straight forward, it isnot heeded as often most of us would hope it would be. Studies and surveys areall over the place, but the most reliable research tells us that somewherearound a little over 1/3 of men commit adultery at one point in their lives,and somewhere near 1/4 of women do the same. Which is not so many people thattransgressors can say, “Everyone else is doing it”, but enough people that mostof us might be alarmed.

There are a lot of peoplewho seem to view marriages in our society like working their way through abaseball farm system. You know, you start with some minor league mate, thenafter a few years you find a way to marry up from single A to Triple A. Theneventually, the plan is with these people, to hit the big leagues with someonewho is hot, kind, and well-financed, and stay with them for as long as you canlast.

Martin Luther said with theprevious commandment—thou shalt not kill—we are commanded to learn how to livenext to our neighbor. With this command we are commanded to learn how to livewith the one that lies next to us in bed. (That Luther was a pretty witty andearthy fellow)

The truth is, marriage isnot an easy calling. It is difficult to commit your life to someone, to raisechildren with them, to share—your finances, your heart, your future, your life,and your bed with someone. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of God’s grace tohave a strong, faithful marriage.

I think a lot of peoplestruggle with marriage, and being faithful within the context of marriagebecause they do not understand these truths: that marriage is not easy, andthat marriage is a life’s calling given to us by God.

Marriage is not easy. And itis not always the big things that will drive you apart. Sometimes it is thelittle things that will just drive you nutty. For my wife, I am sure there aremany of these things that she puts up with by suffering silently. But, when shehas the baby bundled up and is ready to head out the door and I cannot find mykeys or my wallet, I know it tries her patience. And as I have shared with someof you, when I drop ice on the floor and she steps on that piece of ice 20minutes later because I did not pick it up I can hear her groan from the livingroom.

Marriage is not easy, forthe most part, though, because it forces us to be less and less selfish. Inother words, a good marriage forces us to grow as people in ways that we mightnot be willing to do otherwise. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to God’sWord, in Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians.

21submitting to one another in the fear of God.22 Wives, submit to your ownhusbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as alsoChrist is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore,just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their ownhusbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also lovedthe church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her withthe washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself aglorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that sheshould be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their ownwives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no oneever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord doesthe church. 30 For we are members of His body,[b] of His flesh and of Hisbones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and bejoined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[c] 32 This is a greatmystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let eachone of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife seethat she respects her husband.

Submitting is not easy! Itmeans to surrender your wants and desires for the betterment and benefit ofanother. Submitting means choosing not to get what you want. And the Scripturesays husbands and wives are to submit to one another. It goes on say thathusband ought to give of himself for his wife in the same way Christ gave ofhimself for the church. That means self-sacrifically. And truly honoring andrespecting one’s husband is not easy work—especially when it means you oftenneed to do the thankless things to support your family that nobody everappreciates.

You see, when we don’tremember that marriage is work, and it is difficult at times, then what we dois have this worldview that marriage is about making ME happy, ME beingfulfilled, ME feeling good, ME getting the life that I want. We read romancenovels or watch movies that promise happily ever after, and when we don’texperience our “ideal” relationship in marriage we look outside our marriage tofulfill our relational and emotional needs as well as our physical urges.

Let’s face it. There aretimes when most of us guys get tunnel vision. And we get involved in all ourwork and our little projects. And our wives can talk about their concerns overand over again, and we can just blow them off. And then you gals can easily getto the point where you feel alone and taken for granted. If you haven’t foundways to do the hard work that marriage requires at these times, it can be easyto be tempted to stray to someone who treats you like you are special and givesyou attention.

And let’s face it. Thosehoneymoon years where you can lie in bed together all day can quickly move intotimes in our marriage when we have to try fit in our moments of marital blissinto narrow windows of time when we are not working, the children are asleep orout of the house, the dog isn’t barking at the bedroom door, and company hasnot dropped by. Even then, when you are more likely to smell like diaper creamthan Chanel No. 5, and you still have breathe that smells like Ruffles andonion dip, that it can be tempting to have a wandering eye, and to forget thatmarriage takes effort, and things won’t be like this forever.

And it is being faithful toone another in moments like these and others like them, that we grow up. It isin this kind of life together with a person we have made promises to that welearn what it is like to be faithful, and to have someone be faithful to us. Welearn what it is like to see ourselves with our many faults and shortcomings,and then look next to us and see someone who continues to love and care for usin spite of them. And we can look next to us and see someone who we have grownup with and grown old with, and know that you may not have gotten rich or doneanything extraordinary, but you have created something beautiful simply bystaying with one another, raising kids together, sharing life together, andtruly becoming the “one flesh” that the Bible describes marriage as.

And when you commit adultery,you scar that beauty, that sense of safety, that experience of unconditionalacceptance and love by chasing after some idealized experience that leadsnowhere. What you do when you commit adultery is you begin to treat people inyour life as objects to be used instead of gifts to be treasured. You become ataker instead of a giver. You become a human parasite, sucking the life out ofeveryone around you to feed your unrestrained appetites, and destroying theirhappiness and joy and your soul in the process.

And I am going to be asblunt as I can, so that there is no doubt about what I am saying. Don’t bedeceived into believing that your sin will just be between you, your spouse,and whoever that person is you have on the side. You’reunfaithfulness to your marriage will affect your children’s ability to be happyand maintain healthy relationships when they are older. It will affect theirsense of confidence and security in the world around them. Your hopping intosomeone else’s arms and someone else’s bed will affect the ability of coworkersand friends to trust you and respect you—whether you notice it or not. And itwill ultimately make those issues that you are trying to escape from by goingoutside your marriage bigger problems and harder to deal with. Adultery is moredestructive that most of us ever anticipate.

Yes marriage takes work. Butmarriage is also a call from God. The passage in Ephesians said that marriagemysteriously teaches us about the relationship of Christ and the church.

Here is what part of this issaying. One of the concepts that the Bible teaches us about is covenant. Acovenant is a promise between two or more parties, designed to be a blessing toall parties involved. The Bible talks about God making covenants with humanity.It describes him being faithful to the covenant he made. He keeps his promises.It is for that reason we can trust Him. We can trust Him with our lives and oureternities because he keeps his promises and he is faithful.

Marriage is a promisebetween a man, a woman, and God where we make a covenant. And this covenantmirrors God’s covenant with humanity, and his faithfulness to those who haveput their trust in Him. As we remain true to the covenant, both by doing thework marriage entails (by truly loving and giving to and respecting oneanother), and by avoiding unfaithfulness, we give witness to the faithfulnessof God who brought us together.

You have seen it. You haveseen that couple that has been married faithfully for 50 years. They are in achurch basement or the senior center. People are standing up to celebrate themand their marriage as they sit at a table. Underneath the table cloth they areholding hands. They look at each other and smile. You notice that the longerthat they are together, they more they look like they have always just belongedtogether. They have given one another the covenant love that they promised, andGod’s covenant love has went with them. Someone stands up and says, “It is rareto see a marriage last this long these days”. People nod and smile. They knowthat this faithful marriage has been blessed by God’s grace. The couple hasblessed many in the room in ways they have not even begun to imagine. They havebeen a blessing because they have been faithful to their promise. They havebeen faithful to their call from God to be a faithful husband and wife, and ithas made all the difference.

And somehow, when you thinkabout that faithfulness, you are struck by its beauty. And it is in thosemoments you are to remember that they did not learn about thatself-sacrificing, beautiful, faithful love from the world. They learned aboutit from a man who lived a perfect life and was crucified in order to remainfaithful to his promise to love and redeem sinners like you and like me. Andthat love and truth seems to make perfect sense all over again.