Linkathon 10/22
Short and sweet:
Tim Keller is interviewed by Christianity Today about his new book Counterfeit Gods (HT: Justin Taylor) which is also reviewed by Tim Challies. And, there are 150 Keller sermons free for download (HT: Mike Pohlman).
A new science-fiction show, Flash Forward, challenged ERunner’s faith.
Doug Wilson and Christopher Hitchens debate religion at The Huffington Post (HT: Desiring God).
Driscoll tells you pastors who to look out for when choosing leaders.
Skye Jethani: Atheists have fundamentalists, too.
Jonathan Leeman tells us to beware our seminary professors. Owen Strachan comments.
Shaun Groves get witnessed to at his own concert.
Jim Hamilton interviews Tom Schreiner.
Brad Hightower at 21st Century Reformation riffs on an Ooze article by Todd Hunter regarding what is wrong with emergent.
Anvil shooting. Because we’re always serious around here 😉
Gosh, I need to get to bed. I haven’t stayed up this late since in a while.
And, as far as the rest of you go, I wasn’t here….FIRST
Delurking about a few links, I can remember folks speaking about Rich Mullins and his potential “conversion to Catholicism”. Basically God caused his jeep to crash before he could totally apostatize, now I always found that rather strange and also pathological. Basically it made me want to puke. Mr. Mullins did so much for the faith and the lives of people but if he even hinted at “Romanism” God would take him out. Yes people think like that, actually they wait with baited breath for the hammer to fall on the apostates.
Being witnessed to, Other then the one time I was contacted at a bible table at college no one ever “witnessed” to me. I did respond rather quickly to the call, and for the most part it has come off as a bit of an incontinence, if not total disruption. Someone talked to him in a civil tone for a 1/2 hour, that is about 28 minutes longer then I have ever experienced in the real world. Not a whine just an observation. Back to lurking. By the way I miss Mr. Mullins.
The anvil shooting really started my day off right!
Anvil shooting…ROTFLOL 😆
AWESOME!! I need to go find me an anvil and some gunpowder. 🙂
As long as we are talking linkathon, we are in the process of updating our website, you can see the new design here:
http://www.calvarychapelcheyenne.org/newsite
my favorite page is our childrens ministry page:
http://www.calvarychapelcheyenne.org/newsite/03%20Ministries/childrens.html
ENJOY!
If Mark Driscoll really believed that “positives” should be the only people who are ministry leaders then shouldn’t he cease being a ministry leader given that he is much closer to being a negative than he is to a positive?
He describes “negatives” as, among other things, “bring[ing] organizational sickness, division, and trouble because they are proudly more interested in their cause winning than the gospel and the good of the whole. Negatives tend to draw other negatives toward themselves as factions, and they also prey on neutrals in order to increase their own power and control.”
Is that no exactly what Driscoll does?
When I read the Driscoll approach to leadership it reminds me of how condemning and controlling men get sometimes.
I will bet Driscoll in his “younger” days (he is still very young) would have not met his own rules of picking leadership. Why is it when strong willed leaders get there they start pontificating about what good leadership is when they probably failed to meet the rules themselves? It seems to me it was his failure to sit under someone else which led him to becoming the “great” leader he is today.
I heard Raul Reese give similar instruction about “novice” men who wanted to be pastors, but in his own testimony he would have been considered an untrained novice himself. He was guilty of the very thing he accused others of doing.
My point? We have got to stop being hypocrites about this stuff.
The rules apply to every one but me, I’m special.
Bravo to Jessica and Drew! 🙂
By the way…I know the pastors get tired of me recommending expensive books to buy…however…
The volume Schreiner is speaking of is what I’m working through in my recovery.
It is brilliant and is one of the most important and instructive books I’ve ever taken on.
Michael,
have you been able to get out to see “Lord, Save Me From Your Followers” at T-town?
No…tell me more…I usually have no clue whats happening here. 🙂
Jessica and Drew,
Great points! Anytime you define the world as being several categories of people, and you include yourself as one of the rare members of the best category, you have both insecurity and pride. Those dumb sheep just need to grow up to be like me, so they can become a positive shill for me, and maybe oversee one of my extension campuses. Definition of a “negative”- someone who disagrees with me. Nice.
Re: Driscoll…I’m just wondering why I should take a guy seriously who dresses in a shirt like that.
Oh wait – now I’m being a negative. 😉
Michael,
It is a feature-length documentary by a film maker out of Portland playing through tonight at T-town. Its premise is that the American expression of Christianity has polarized people so much that no one hears the gospel anymore, only partisan politics. It is very thought provoking and well-done. Our friend PA at the dove-ster is in a state of consternation over its message. If you can muster a trip out, it may be well worth it.
Mine is one of two comments on the anvil shooting. I thought for sure that video would be the primary topic of discussion today. How disappointing…it was awesome!
If you haven’t watched it yet, go watch it. Maybe it’s the Texan in me, but there’s something really fun about watching a cast iron anvil get blown 100 feet up in the air! 🙂
phil,
I really want to see that…I wonder if Trey would sit through it with me.
I bet PA is absolutely beside himself.
His best friend is a member of my church… 🙂
Michael,
It is pg-13 but not for cussing or nudity or anything like that. (bummer.) PA is conflicted because both issues define his station…he’s made Christ about conservative politics.
The anvil video was awesome! Brought back a lot of great memories of blowing things up.
I think every dictator is a “positive.”
M,
It’s got a great section in it where a woman director from KINK, a secular Portland rock station, who is not a believer goes to Africa to check out the World Vision work with AIDS orphans. She wanted to see it first hand to determine whether it was something she could urge their listeners to support. She came back thrilled with what she saw, promoted a one-day support-a-thon with a goal to support 400 orphans. Their secular audience called in and signed up to support 800 in one day!
I’m bummed, Trey would be bored stiff…
PA is a very decent fellow who has done exactly as you say…and it’s tuned off a whole lot of people.
phil,
I will have to find a copy somewhere…this sounds right up my alley.
Michael,
Check PA’s website, it may have some appropriate links. Somehow they’ve been promoting the movie. I don’t know if it would be on dvd yet.
philbertz said, “It is pg-13 but not for cussing or nudity or anything like that. (bummer.)”
you are bummed it does not have cussing or nudity?
dusty,
should have inserted mr. winkie eye. 😉
me too philbertz…I forgot mine 😉
Michael
What volume are you working through… need to read Schriener
BD,
You will love it I think…”New Testament Theology: Magnifying God In Christ”.
It’s an excellent work on the theme of the NT…”the kingdom”
Anvil launching, definitely. MrFixit found a bunch more vids of it. His kind of fun. 🙂
Just added it to my shopping cart…
BD,
I will be very interested in your thoughts…
I just read the “Beware Your Seminary Professors”. It kind of ties in to something I’ve been thinking about over the last several days.
I know someone who is a theology teacher. He seems to see no problem in getting drunk. He’s rude and uncaring toward other people. And I suspect he became a theology teacher simply because it bolsters his self-esteem to have a captive audience holding on to his words. He conducts himself in a very unpastoral manner, but whenever he does something that’s particularly mean or rude and someone mentions how unpastoral he’s being his response is “I’m not a pastor.”
That seems wrong to me. I think that if you are putting yourself forward as a religious instructor that you are, at least to some degree, a pastor and ought to behave like one. I don’t understand how someone can accurately teach Biblical theology if their teaching merely springs from their intellect and does not also come from their heart.
I don’t understand why an academic should be held to a lower standard than a regular pulpit pastor.
Listening to Schreiner ….
The interviewer is making a mess of the New Perspective… almost laughable.
I like Schreiner’s presentation in the interview… I want to hear his take on Israel…
He shows us that the LAND INHERITANCE is typological of New Heavens and New Earth… That pretty much tells me where he is going…
Brad Hightower was one of my pastors at the last CRC I went to… good guy.
Jessica,
If he were at a Lutheran seminary, he would be a called and ordained pastor.
Schreiner does not sound eager to toss Wright on the trash heap or to ascribe to him heresy and damnation. Interesting given the difference they have on imputation.
Very useful discussion…
Schreiner takes a lot from Wright…and leaves the bad stuff behind… 🙂
He’s George Ladd for the 21st century…
Jessica,
There is a difference between an office of the church and academia.
However…he is in Christian leadership and should be an example to follow not a jerk to avoid.
Thanks for the link Brian. Lots of folks have dropped by as a result and I am thankful for that. God bless!
“I don’t understand why an academic should be held to a lower standard than a regular pulpit pastor.”
Actually in the past academia held themselves to a higher standard than those pounding it out in the trenches. You know the old “ivory tower” thing.
This guy you told us about is just a jerk and truthfully the standards are the same for us all, just those in leadership have a greater public consequence for their failures. From what you said this teacher needs to be “taken behind the woodshed” for a little meeting of the minds.
Michael, where is your phoenix?
No time to fix it…I’ll find a way… 🙂
hard to recognize you without it…like centy without his shades. 😎 😉
***If he were at a Lutheran seminary, he would be a called and ordained pastor.***
That makes sense to me. It seems to me that a theology teacher is essentially a pastor to pastors; I don’t understand why some people think of it as a lesser position or one that does not require good behaviour.
I think all jobs held by Christians, from Patriarch down to Walmart Greeter, should require the exact same level of good behavior. No one should be a jerk. All should be kind-hearted.
I agree Xenia.
“All should be kind-hearted” That is true, I have been so convicted about not being kind hearted in my heart of hearts, I e holding on to resentment deep down. Being kind hearted does not mean weak, it means a deeper strength found only in God.
OH by the way world peace is now on the horizon, Windows 7 has arrived I am trying it out right now seems a bit better. Take care.
Wanted to share this
basically this is some of what I do, along with deigning the switches and software to use these devices, usually, no always for free. In my devision we have had zero monies for development for basically twenty years. All the devices, software, applications etc used are self developed. I always considered that an honor, but in my personal experience it is one of my greatest vices and personal, moral, and spiritual failings. That is one theme that was made very clear. I dont get it but it was made very clear.
Brian,
I loved watching that … how beautiful!!! What amazing work!
Where’s the TGIF thread? I wanted to be FIRST! Oh well, off to work. Maintenance comes in today to move all the heavy stuff out of my classroom. Woohoo…bye bye mold!
“OH by the way world peace is now on the horizon, Windows 7 has arrived ”
I used to think demons could only posses live things, like people and pigs, that is until personal computers come along.
Drew
PS. I’m convinced both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs sold themselves to the devil in some high school ceremony to take over the world.
;(
Drew, are you saying that BG and SJ have given life to the beast? 😯
brian,
great stuff, and blessings for all you’re doing. I enjoyed the video a lot.
Driscoll thinks he sounds original. He sounds like one of Obama’s czars. He sounds like Hanegraaf when his pride trip exploded into high gear. He sounds nothing like the Apostle Paul who was highly accomplished when it came to leadership and actual team leading. Communist team building tactics and the gospel do not go together.
Looks like suppressing, distorting and punishing free speech in the church is one area where the church has actually lead the world rather than following it.