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Literature and Preaching

One of my former students at Moody Bible Institute recently asked me how reading literature can improve preaching. More specifically, the student recognized the importance of reading, but was not sure where to begin. This was my brief response in case it is helpful to anyone else with a similar question.

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Great question and thanks for asking.

In general, I would say a mixture of different kinds of literature would be good. Maybe pick up an anthology of poetry, an anthology of short stories, along with a classic novel. (For example, check out Best American Short Stories or something like Good Poems from Garrison Keillor.) In addition to being enjoyable in their own right (which is important to keep in mind), here are some ways that the different kinds of literature can help with preaching:

Poetry can help develop your vocabulary, your use of imagery, and your sense of rhythm and sound.
Short stories can show you how to concisely develop a narrative. (Sermon illustrations usually need to be shorter than short stories, but the principles are similar.)
Novels can help you notice and develop major themes and motifs, as well as show how to develop characters within narrative preaching.

Mostly focus on the classics and/or contemporary authors recognized in literary journals. However, also keep in mind some more popular works (something that I don’t do as much as I should), but keep in mind that people in church are reading things like The Shack or Harry Potter, so it can be helpful to know what they are reading. Those are not always the best books ever written, but they can help you contextualize. They resonate with people for a reason, so it can be good to figure out why that is the case.

In regards to poetry, I would recommend people like Wendell Berry, Scott Cairns, and Billy Collins. Watch out for bad contemporary poetry. You might also check out Upholding Mystery: An Anthology of Chrisitan Poetry. You may not agree the theology of every single poem, but it offers a lot to think about, and that can be worthwhile.

Love in Victory & Defeat

Christians, love in victory and in defeat.

When looking at situations throughout history and around the world, we know that Christians are not defeated by governments or political movements. Christians are not defeated by fire (Nero), policy (Mao Zedong), poverty (Indian castes), expulsion (Columbian tribes), terrorism (al-Shabaab), kindnappings (Boko Haram), or beheadings (ISIS). Oddly enough, Christians are not even defeated by crucifixion.

Even still, if you feel defeated by recent events, keep in mind that in every situation (not only situations of our choosing), Christ taught us to love God and to love our neighbors. Those are not conditional, but unconditional commandments — and are even more applicable in times of uncertainty, challenge, and confusion. So no matter how you feel, remember that we serve a resurrected King, and in His Kingdom, true love never waivers.

The Community of Church

One of the often neglected benefits of the Church is her people.

We tend to see the worst of Christians in movies and sitcoms, but of the hundreds of Christians I am blessed to know, I am continually amazed by the compassion that I find. Take a bunch of sinners, put them in a room together, and you’ll be amazed by what God can do with them.

As I reflect upon the church, it is saddening that people live without it — not merely the experience of worshiping a Holy God, but the experience of knowing His people. And I’m not just talking about people to hang with, but people to hurt with — people who will shelter, feed, and comfort in the midst of life’s worst moments. After all, the church is not a building of wood or stone, but a people of flesh and blood.

If you haven’t experienced the life within a church, or if it’s been a while, send me a message. I’d be glad to help you find a local church in your area.

#GiveChurchAChance
#BeTheChurch

6 Reasons Why Pete Carroll Made the Right Call

I’m not a football expert. My only play calling happens in Madden football, but here are six reasons why Pete Carroll made the right call:

1. During the 2014-15 season, Marshawn Lynch was only 1 for 5 in TD runs from the one yard line. Lynch was more likely to fail than succeed.

2. Seattle wasted a timeout early, which meant that they would have needed to pass at least once in that four-down sequence. Passing early in the sequence early could have surprised the defense.

3. Vince Wilfork, at 325 pounds and a five-time All Pro, made running up the gut risky. Failing on 2nd down run would force a timeout and a pass on 3rd down to stop the clock (to ensure the possibility of four downs). This would set up the defense on 3rd down to defend the pass.

4. Out of 109 passes from the 1-yard line in the 2014-15 season, there 66 touchdowns and only 1 interception (the one by Butler in the Super Bowl). Passing meant more than a 60% chance of success, compared to only 20% with Lynch running the ball.

5. A “wasted play” increased the chance of keeping Brady off the field. Because the Patriots did not take a timeout, the wasted play needed to be a pass because the Seahawks only had one timeout. Running out of time was still a concern.
6. A pick and slant is a very safe play; there is little risk of a sack and wasting more clock. Only a magical play could stop the Seahawks. Butler did what less than 1% of other players have done this season.

Criticizing Pete Carroll, in retrospect, only undermines the incredible play made by Malcolm Butler. Fewer plays are more impressive, and play call criticism distracts from an unforgettable moment in NFL history.

Stats source: http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/102175/inside-seattles-decision-to-pass-from-the-1

Re: #deflategate

I’m struck that commentators still fail to add a disclaimer — distinguishing between news and speculation. The real story here is us — namely, the nature of poor news coverage and the desire to skewer someone as soon as possible.

Whether this was accidental, willful ignorance, or purposeful, we as the public simply don’t know. In any case, there are far more possibilities than commentators would have us think.
My guess, and only a guess, is simply that no one checked the air pressure at all — just like we don’t empirically test balls in other sports.

Many merely assumed that everything was okay. If that’s the case, then ethically, negligence has always been considered a lesser offense than conspiracy.

There was a safe assumption (because few honestly cared), and according to Brady, the balls were randomly selected out of a bag. This process was described by Drew Bledsoe (Brady’s predecessor and former rival) during an interview today, and there’d be no reason to stop this process of random selection. The QB reaches in a bag and selects the ones he likes; no NFL quarterback has an air pressure gauge in his back pocket to test each football. He assumes.

Again, that’s not to excuse anyone — merely to remind us that the media is not exactly known for being perfect. In the meantime, we might guess, but we should hold back judgment. Maybe my guess is way off, but at least I label it as a guess. We should demand that reporters do the same.

Brady & Belichick

Regarding Brady and Belichick, my thought is that they were “willfully ignorant.” That still leaves them culpable to some degree, of course, but it allows them to honestly say that “I did not know.” For some reason, the reporters did not push that point harder. The “process” of preparing the footballs was still quite vague, even at the end of the press conference.

Brady said he selected the footballs out of a grouping. Of course, he’s not testing PSI (no one would expect that), but if there were 20 footballs, he could easily select the 12.5, 12.0, 11.5, or 11.0 ones. He would “not know” in a sense; he just knew that he selected ones that felt right. After months, the ball boy would never need to be told; he would simply know that deflated ones made his boss happy. It would seem that strange number — 11 out of 12 — would confirm this. No one was explicitly told to deflate them, but by “defined chance,” Brady happened to select the lower PSI balls from the group.

Brady may have been honest during the press conference. After all, he played better in the second half with the inflated balls, so maybe he didn’t notice during the activity of the game. I would normally be suspicious, but if the referees did not notice, then the difference is pretty subtle. He may have planned his willful ignorance before the game, but really, no one pressed him about that.

I’m surprised the referees haven’t been grilled more. It’d probably be too risky to deflate them on the sidelines, so my guess is that the “football checker” was also negligent. But who could blame him? It’s such an unexpected thing to happen that he probably just checked them by hand.

That’s a lot of speculation, but willful ignorance is a way to “tell the truth” and “ignorantly” cross the line.

Why Jesus?

What makes Jesus unique from all other teachers or prophets? According to Mark, John, Paul, and the author of Hebrews, here is a brief list to start:

He created the world, preexistent before creation. (John 1:1-14; Colossians 1:15-19)
He lived a sinless life, fulfilling every obligation of the Law. (Hebrews 4:14-15)
He suffered for sinners, taking holy wrath upon Himself. (Romans 5:9)
He made peace with God, mediating between God and man. (Romans 5:1)
He rose from the dead, defeating both evil and death (Mark 16:1-13; John 20:1-10; 1 Corinthians 15:57)
He reigns with absolute authority, interceding as our eternal high priest. (Romans 8:34)
He indwells the hearts of His people, comforting and assuring them. (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 13:5)
He will come again, welcoming His people into His presence for eternity. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)
He is God, who alone fulfilled all of God’s promises. (John 1:1-18; 2 Corinthians 1:20)

Lessons from 370

In the aftermath of the Flight 370 crash, news outlets and culture at large have been captivated by the story. Given the rapid developments of world news and the short attention span of 24-7 news channels, it is all the more surprising that channels like CNN have focused (roughly 90-95%) on this story for roughly three weeks. Meanwhile, discussions regarding Russia and Crimea were mentioned for “just a second” (in the words of one CNN anchor) prior to returning back to Flight 370.

In light of this immense amount of attention, we can draw some observations that teach us about humanity. What follows are several reasons why this story has been so captivating:

We wonder about the future. Many of us fly, and we worry about our safety. We are partly captivated for selfish reasons — evident by the fact that most of our attention has been on the plane rather than the victims. This is most evident when news anchors use the word “exciting” when describing finding debris and/or wreckage.

We recognize (yet doubt) the limitations of technology. Part of our fascination results from the disbelief that cell phones, satellites, and radar cannot give us an immediate answer. We find it hard to believe that part of the world is beyond our knowledge.

We feel loss with fellow human beings. Despite the fact that we probably do not know anyone on board, we sympathize with those who are hurting. Seeing family members wail over their loved ones resonates deep within us.

We believe that humanity will rise. People want a resolution (e.g., finding debris being called “hope”) to be assured that humanity will overcome our pain and our ignorance. We may have lost 239 lives, but our investigation may save hundreds of lives in the future.

New Image Added: “forte.”

via Instagram ift.tt/1bU9kJL

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New Image Added: “grand haven.”

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New Image Added: “bricks.”

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New Image Added: “moth”

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New Image Added: “bridge.”

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New Image Added: “stroll ‘n snack.”

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Performance & Worship

In the context of corporate worship, performance is defined in various, even opposing, ways. For some, the term “performance” is inherently human-centered and distracting from the ultimate purpose of worship. For others, “performance” can be a display of God’s gifting and grace that ultimately lead us to worship Him. For that reason, it is more helpful to think in terms of what would be unhealthy and healthy in the context of public worship and establishing criteria for both.

What follows is a list of characteristics to help us assess any kind of performance. Not all of these characteristics will be present every time, but they serve as general “marks” that we can use to assess whether performances are healthy or unhealthy.

Characteristics of Unhealthy Performances

– The performer or the performance receives more attention than God.
– The congregation does not engage spiritually, but merely admires the performance.
– Clapping and praise goes to an individual or a small ensemble rather than God.
– Compliments revolve around the performer rather than the content or message of the performance.
– Performers are concerned more with their performance than the transformation of people’s hearts.
– Anger or jealousy results after poor performances, or pride after impressive performances.
– Performances stray from the standards / regulations found in Scripture.
– People prefer the performance over their own engagement.
– Prayers for the congregation are neglected.

Characteristics of Healthy Performances

– The performer and congregation recognize that glory belongs to God. (Psalm 115:1)
– The performance serves an intentional, Christ-glorifying purpose in the overall worship service.
– The congregation is invited to participate in some way — e.g., meditating, praying, singing, etc.
– The message of the performance is rooted in biblical truth.
– Performers strive for excellence, but recognize that transformation results from the work of the Spirit.
– Generosity results after performances, longing to give others opportunities to share their gifts with others.
– Performances align with the examples and principles found in Scripture.
– People are led to the priority of God’s Word (proclamation & response) in the worship gathering.
– Prayers for the congregation are prioritized.

New Poem: “These Dire Circumstances”

THESE DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES

a giraffe falls off the edge of the earth,
into abyss, somersaulting head first,
his legs running with no effect through the atmosphere.
o! how he curses himself for ever leaving his homeland!

like many animals near the end, he feels more like sand,
a handful of golden sand let into the wind,
released, separating further and furthermore,
abandoning that childish desire to elope.

but even the hopeless hope.
so he postpones himself with an oversized umbrella,
a multicolored phenomenon that he purchased a few hours earlier
at a dime store on the corner of fifth and fisk.

at the end of it all, he imagines his mother would tsk
for although he planned ahead, he hadn’t planned for this.

New Poem: “From a Room”

FROM A ROOM

i have held photos and heard rumors
of the mud hills of montana,
the fire falls of yellowstone,
and the patient rain of seattle.
a decade has passed by now, and i am here,
waiting in a room, writing poems
about far away places.

with time, the room changes from a living room
to a coffee shop to a doctor’s vestibule,
but my hand remains constant on the pen.
my pen digging deeper into pulp,
into paper harvested from the wild,
i wait for nature to claim its own,
for life to lead me to new life.

New Image Added: “thaw”

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Resurrection

First and foremost, resurrection is not a subjective feeling, but an objective reality. Any benefit that we receive on a personal level is grounded in the fact that Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead.

In other words, our hope does not arise from positive thinking, fuzzy feelings, or religious sentimentality, but from the historical reality of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. His physical body rose from a physical tomb, and because of this objective reality, our hope is not based in ourselves or our passing emotions, but in Christ. (1 Cor. 15)

Three Days

“After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.”

(Hosea 6:2)

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