The gods aren't angry at Rob Bell, but others are

Two weeks ago Rob Bell was in town on his "The gods aren't angry" tour. My wife and I went to hear him and, for the most part, had a good experience. I had not posted about it sooner, mainly because I've been busy with that end of the semester crunch at Seminary, but also because it's taken me a while to digest what he had to say.

Just today a friend directed me to a review of Rob Bell's nearly 2-hour presentation. You can read the review here. I think I agree with what the reviewer has to say.

Of note is the fact that recently Mark Driscoll (pastor of the other Mars Hill church) labeled Rob Bell a Heretic at the Convergent Conference in September. There's plenty out there in blogland about this now.

Here's my comment on the goings on. I'm not quite ready to label Rob Bell a heretic. I have listened to some of his teachings and even read his first book Velvet Elvis. I wouldn't recommend the book to believers who are not mature in their faith, but Bell definitely challenges us as believers to live out our faith. Further, his communication skills are formidable and his knowledge of Biblical backgrounds is impressive.

Have a look at the review. I'd love to hear what you think.

Thanksgiving: Now it's just "that holiday before Christmas"

I had a conversation just the other day with some friends (see their blogshere and here) about Thanksgiving. It seems crazy that Thanksgiving Day is next week! It has been about 80 degrees here in Fort Worth the last few days!

My wife and I were out Christmas shopping (she likes to get it done early) last weekend. We went into several stores and to a local mall. Many of these places were already decorated for Christmas. Soon some men dressed as Santa will take their places at the local mall. One local station has already started playing all Christmas music, all the time. (Yikes!)

Amidst all this Christmas holiday marketeering, where has Thanksgiving gone? It seems that our culture today has forgotten to stop and be thankful for the blessings that God has given us. It seems that we have become so enthralled with what we expect to get for Christmas that we lose sight of what we already have. Sadly, too often our greed and desire for more stuff drives us. Instead of thanking God for what we have, we ignore it and lust after more!

I realize this, and I am stopping now to say "Thank you" to God. He has blessed me with far more than I deserve. This season, perhaps I will be able to focus on His blessings, and then maybe I can be a blessing to others.

Let us not overlook Thanksgiving this year, but rather stop and give thanks, remembering that all we have comes from God.

Barriers to Following Christ

I know I've missed a few days, and a Narnia post will be coming soon, but in the meantime here's what's been on my mind lately.

In my Sunday morning bible study class we've been going through the Gospel of Matthew. Over the last three weeks we've looked at Matthew chapter 8. During this time, we've witnessed Jesus' demonstration of His divine power, but also of His love for those that society rejected. In the first part of the chapter, Matthew gives account of three healings that Jesus performs.

Jesus first heals a leper who comes and bows down before Him (Mt.8:1-4). It stirs my emotions when I see that Jesus, who could have healed with a word, touches this leper. Secondly, Jesus encounters a Roman Centurion (vv.5-13). Here we find a Gentile, who, according to Jesus, has more faith unlike any in Israel. He believes Jesus to heal his servant, even while they are some distance away. In the third and final healing story in this chapter, Jesus heals a widow - Peter's own mother-in-law (vv. 14-15). After this he proceeds to heal many others. I find it fascinating that Jesus breaks so many stereotypes here and shows His power and compassion to such people as these (who remind us of ourselves sometimes).

This sets us up for the section that the title of the post refers to (vv.18-22). Two men in particular are highlighed in these verses. The first is a "scribe" or "teacher of the law", notice he's not a novice, and he already has a career. He declares to Jesus that he will follow Him "wherever you go." But Jesus seems to just shoot him down, declaring that while foxes may have holes, and birds nests, Jesus Himself (the Son of Man) is homeless. And that's all we ever hear of this gentleman.
Next another man says he wants to "bury his father." This can seem pretty deceptive to us today. Some commentators explain that the man's father is not necessarily dead, but that this guy wants to stay with his father in order to collect his rightful share of the inheritance (perhaps he's the eldest and stands to collect 2/3 of the total). In this case, Jesus again seems to put him down hard, declaring "let the dead bury their own."

This sort of thing seems typical of Jesus. He has a way with people. Think with me about the people who claim that they want to follow Jesus. He seems to put many of them down hard. The rich young ruler, for instance, is confronted about his wealth and goes away sad. Jesus has a unique way of cutting to the heart with the people that He encounters. In this passage, as with the others, Jesus identifies the real issue in the hearts of the individuals. The first man seems to have had an issue about his home or his comfort. Jesus speaks to the main barrier in his life - his home. With the second, He deals with the man's desire to collect his inheritance, or perhaps His relationship with his father. Whatever the issues are, Jesus cuts straight through all the smoke and mirrors and straight to the real matter.

You and I all have things in our hearts, we may seem to emphasize this or that, but Jesus knows what's most important to us. When we encounter Christ, He demands to be #1 in our lives, whatever is currently in the #1 spot of our hearts must take a back seat. I know that for me, when we discussed this, I was challenged to consider my priorities and values. Was there a barrier that was keeping me from following Christ? This is a question we must all ask ourselves, because Christ demands preeminence in our lives.

Which Preachers Do You Like to Hear?

This is my third post in as many days. It's highly uncharacteristic of me, but I've had a good bit to say lately. I've just recently added another section of links on the right-hand side. -------------------------------------------------------------------->

I've entitled this section "Sermon Spots." This is where I've been going lately to listen to some of my favorite preachers. Lately I've begun listening to sermons during my free time, and I've gotten a lot out of it. Some of my favorite preachers (apart from my pastor) are: Dr. Greg Belser, my parents' pastor; Pat Hood, for whom I have a lot of personal respect, at FBC Smyrna; Rob Bell, who has a unique way of making the scriptures applicable, at Mars Hill; Andy Stanley, who is a phenomenal communicator; and Ed Young Jr. who is also an amazing communicator. In addition to these, you can find hours upon hours of sermons and other great listening resources at "One Place."

Who are some preachers that you enjoy listening to? What do you like about them?

Expressions of the Christian faith in Narnia - Intro

Today I'm starting on a new series of posts that I will continue working on periodically. I invite your input, opinions, and thoughts on these matters.

First off, I want to start by saying that I have never been a big fan of the perennial fad books that seek to “find God” in whatever the latest thing may happen to be. I used to work in a Christian bookstore and came to despise the blatant commercialism that often goes on in the realm of Christian media. Several years ago, I remember nearly losing it when I encountered a devotional entitled Walking with Frodo. I don’t mean to slam the author of this book or others, but I do resent the system that has been built around claiming the latest pop culture item (cf. “The Gospel According to [insert pop culture item here]).” There was a time, not too long ago, when C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia were that fad icon. And I have a feeling that they will come back to the front shelf of Christian stores everywhere when another Narnia movie comes out.

Having said all that, I'm not looking at these books to be faddish. Earlier this year my wife and I sat down and re-read C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. She had never read them – I was shocked, and knew that this was a situation which I must immediately remedy. As we read through them, I gained some valuable insights.

One of the superficial benefits of reading children’s stories like these was that they provided me an opportunity to practice the “oral interpretation” skills that I had been learning about in my preaching class with Dr. David Allen. (SIDE NOTE: The Bible is far more important a book than any other, and after listening to some books on tape, I realized that I much preferred listening to those where the reader made the text come alive. Surely preachers of the gospel ought to cultivate that skill in the reading of the holy Scriptures.) I did enjoy getting to practice some of the voices, and it gave me a great chance to spend time with my wife – reading together is a great activity.

However, some of the deeper insights I gained had to do with the spiritual truths that Lewis actively conveys through these stories. He conveys many of the great themes of the Bible – redemption, Christ’s substitutional atonement, sanctification, forgiveness, the Lordship of Christ, child-like faith, the nature of sin and grace, Creation, the Fall, and the Return of Christ just to name a few. In some upcoming posts I hope to discuss some of these themes, recognizing that these are fictional books, but at the same time looking at these often parabolic stories through a Biblical worldview. The allegories are never perfect, but then, none ever are. Still, re-reading these books as a seminary student, I was able to pick up on some of the spiritual facets of the books that I had previously overlooked or forgotten about.

Over the coming weeks, as I get some of that ever-elusive "free time," I intend to post about some of these spiritual themes that we find in these much-loved children's stories.

Review: Communicating for a Change

I recently finished a great read, one which I highly recommend to anyone who preaches or speaks in public. The book of which I speak is Andy Stanley's Communicating for a Change.

The book itself is divided into two sections. The first section, written by co-author Lane Jones, is a modern day parable about a pastor who encounters a old trucker who teaches him the principles of effectively communicating. These principles are the foundation of Stanley's own method.

The second section of the book is from Stanley himself about his preaching method. Throughout this part, Stanley argues the case for his method, which revolves around focusing on a single point. He argues that many preachers today try to cram too much into their messages, and as a result the audience gets information, but no actual change occurs in their lives.

One of the best things about the book is that the reader gets to learn some of Andy Stanley's personal communication secrets. He takes on the issues around the preacher's use of notes, solid introductions and conclusions, finding your own effective style, and the authority of scripture. I highly recommend this book, but I must warn readers that only those who are willing to consider making some changes to their way of preaching should bother to read it. If you are willing to learn, I've no doubt you'll gain something from this book. It will certainly go on my shelf as a favorite.

I give this book 4.75 out of 5 stars.

Absurd Litigiousness Continues in America

This morning I read a number of news stories, many of which reported more lawsuits in America. How absurd can we be? Well we've already seen people suing God. Now today I've seen stories about a student suing the University of Massachusetts because he received a "C" in one of his classes. I can't help but scratch my head on that one. Maybe he's being done an injustice, but there's got to be a better way to solve the issue. Oh, and by the way, he's not some 18-year-old kid - the guy's 51. He should know better.

The second suit that I read about today involves a man suing his priest. According to the story, the man called the priest and left a critical message on the priest's answering machine. The priest played the message in church on sunday, and allegedly told the congregation, "This is the person in charge of religious education here last year. That's why it is no surprise to me [that] we had the kind of religious education we had. That's why we didn't get altar boys. What should we do? Should we send him to hell or to another parish?"

The story says, "[The parishioner] claims in the lawsuit filed this week in McHenry County that he was defamed and suffered "immediate emotional distress, embarrassment and humiliation."

Where do we even begin with something like this? Should I say that if you're bold enough to say unloving words to your pastor or priest, you ought to be willing for others to hear them? I think this guy needs to look for another way to deal with the issue. This goes back to the issue of Christians suing one another, and how the Bible teaches that we ought to take our disagreements to the church (1 Cor. 6) instead of taking one another to court. There are plenty of examples of this, but the point is that it makes us look really bad, and gives Christ a bad reputation.

What can we do to curb the overabundance of litigation that mires our court system in pointless actions?

Michael Vick Finds Faith in Christ?

This morning I heard part of the Michael Vick press conference after I got out of classes at Southwestern. I was surprised at what I heard Vick say. I'll let you watch and judge for yourself, but I must say what he says here is impressive. I've never been a big Vick fan, but I pray that what he says here is sincere.

In the conference he apologizes to his teammates, his fans, kids that looked up to him, and everyone that he let down. He owns up to what he's done and doesn't make excuses. He encourages others to learn from his example and to make better choices than he has made. He says he will now have plenty of time to think about what he's done. Most importantly, however, Vick says that he's found Jesus and given his life to Him.

Now when I heard that in my car this morning, I must admit my first thought was, "yeah, sure - that's a great way to get sympathy, claim religion." Then I realized that he could be for real. Shame on me or any of us for judging the man who claims that he has found faith in Christ! I pray that he truly has and that Christ will change Michael Vick. To some, this may just seem like a convenient excuse, but I can think of no better time to turn to faith than when we're losing everything else. Could it be that God allowed Vick to get caught and to potentially lose everything in order that Michael Vick might gain eternal salvation through faith in Christ? I think it's a real possibility.

I look forward to seeing what comes of this in the future. What do you think? Is Vick sincere? See for yourself: