ReformationUnderway

It should come as no surprise that Google is able to attract many authors and public figures to speak to employees on their campus. The company is among in the US by market cap, and has a very significant cultural reach. (A search in YouTube would find video of many of the 2008 presidential candidates speaking at the Googleplex.)

Justin Buzzard has an account of Tim Keller’s Google appearance on his blog. Google has a huge number of employees with graduate degrees, and would certainly tend to provide a very secular, intellectual audience. If it’s true that the lecture and Q&A will be posted to YouTube, count me among the apologetically-challenged who will be wanting to watch the event.

I recently read a post (an old post, actually) on Erik Raymond’s blog, which contained the following statement:

We should stop preaching sanctification to the world and start preaching the gospel.

How true that is! We either have no gospel, or a works-based gospel (which is as good as no gospel), if we go around trying to “convert” people to a standard of personal holiness with which we are satisfied rather than declaring the truth of Christ on the cross, and His sinless life, as the only means of being found righteous before God.

There’s one thing I know about Hillary Clinton: Virtually everyone has a settled opinion of her, and the opinions are rarely ambivalent - everyone takes a side when the question is Hillary. (Actually, there are two things I know about Hillary, and the second is that I will not be casting a vote for her in 2008 should she receive the nomination for President of the United States.)

I won’t suggest that Mark Driscoll has many things in common with Hillary, but I do think they share this one. (In reality, they share both of the above distinctions. I highly doubt that I’ll be voting for Driscoll for President this year, either, but for entirely different reasons.) Two recent posts on Tim Challies’ blog dealt with Driscoll and his latest book, Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions. The book review came first, and was followed a day later by another containing both explanation for why the comments on the book review were shut down and a deeper look into Challies’ own take on Driscoll. The book review would perhaps be best described as somewhere between a highly-qualified endorsement and a sometimes glowing advisory to avoid the book. The follow-up post posed and answered a number of questions about Driscoll the man and his use (or misuse) of his position.

Personally, I tend to agree very much with what D.A. Carson said about Driscoll while here in Nashville, which is where Challies rubbed shoulders with him. I am very much encouraged by what I see, from a great distance, of the growth and maturing of Mark Driscoll. Carson called this his “trajectory,” and that is a fittingly Carsonian word choice.

What about you? Where do you come down on Driscoll? Is he a master of keeping the world’s most relevant news relevant to the culture of his day, or is he a master at being repugnant?

Technorati Tags:
Mark Driscoll, DA Carson, Tim Challies

The Rob Bell NOOMA video series is getting some attention right now in the reformed blogosphere. If you haven’t already seen it, you really need to see this parody of the “Bullhorn” installment in Bell’s series. Enjoy.

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Emerging Church, Rob Bell, Nooma

What can I say? I'm an Aggie, so when I saw this, I just had to pass it along... Coming soon to a Missions Conference near you!



"Whaddaya MEAN you wanna paint the sanctuary?!?"

Gig'em!

Technorati Tags:
Evangelism, Missions

Dan Phillips, he of TeamPyro, has a very interesting post today recounting his encounter last weekend with a pair of Mormon missionaries. Based on his account, I wonder if the Mormons aren't slipping in the preparation of missionaries? In my experience, they are typically very well "catechized" (if I may borrow that term) in the doctrines of the LDS church. Have you encountered Mormon missionaries who seemed as poorly prepared for responding to elementary questions as the two Dan describes?

Technorati Tags:
Evangelism, Mormonism, Mormons

Abraham Piper is the son of well known preacher and author John Piper. And he's a one-time prodigal son who returned home and came to faith in Christ. He now works as part of his father's ministry, Desiring God.

The website of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has an article written by Abraham Piper, titled Let Them Come Home. If you are the parent of a prodigal child, or you have friends or family that are, you may find the article very encouraging.

(HT: Justin Buzzard)

Technorati Tags:
Evangelism, Parenting

We (my wife and I) have a loved one in whom we have observed a pattern, and it comes to mind at this Christmas season. Each year, we have multiple occasions to give this person a gift. Sometimes we do a better job selecting a gift than others. It's just not possible to hit a home run every time you step up to the plate, right?

So, what is the pattern? Some years and on some occasions, we can deliver the gift in person. Other times, it must be delivered to them by another. No matter how the package is delivered, though, the next time we have the opportunity to see this person face to face, we are very likely to experience an attempt to return the gift, unused, maybe even unopened, to us, because we can use or enjoy it more than they can, or because they don't deserve it.

Now, I truly seek to not take myself too seriously, so I am not deeply hurt or offended by this behavior. It can be frustrating, though, to select and prepare a gift for someone, and have them, essentially, reject it. And if you've truly worked and sacrificed to be able to give this gift, it is hurtful to have it returned to you. A gift that is returned to the giver unused was clearly not appreciated to the degree that the giver had hoped when they selected it.

As I've thought about this person recently, I've wondered how they could possibly have any understanding of the most essential truths of the gospel of Christ. And this leaves me troubled for their soul.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Eph. 2:8-9 (ESV)

How should we accept gifts given to us? With gratitude! If something is given to us, we should enjoy it to the fullest. This clearly means different things in different cases. Some gifts should be played with. Some should be worn. Some should be displayed in a place of prominence in our home. But no gift should be returned to the giver.

What does it mean to enjoy God's gift of salvation for you who are saved? For starters, it means you should enjoy it, which implies that you must not live as one who had not been given this same gift. You should let God and man see the fruit of a life changed by the gospel. And you should offer thanks and praise to God in gratitude for this indescribable gift.