THURSDAY THINGAMAJIG: Tragedy beyond words

Today's miscellaneous report comes from conservative news service CNSNews.com. I have known many families with Down Syndrome children over the years and have experienced the blessing of having these special needs people in our communities. However the days of Down Syndrome children in our midst may be numbered. Click HERE to read their report.

If this article is anywhere close to accurate in its numbers, our society may be tolerating hidden genocide of a specific kind through elective abortion.

This is horror and tragedy beyond words.

WEDNESDAY QWOTE: Eugene Peterson

Today's quote is from my favorite author, Eugene Peterson, from an interview with Richard Foster at Renovare, July 2006.

By the way, I just picked up my copy of EP's latest book, Tell It Slant, the fourth volume in his series of "conversational theology." I'm looking forward to being enriched by his always insightful words, which are consistently subversive of so much of the nonsense we hear today about the faith, the church, and the ministry.

"We are at a crisis in the American Church. I don't know enough about the rest of the world to speak about it, but our rhetoric is louder and more abrasive. Our relationships are shallower, more superficial. We have an enormous amount of energy in churches in this country, and I would like to do with my readership what I've tried to do as a pastor: get them to take their lives seriously in the wholeness of Christ, not for what they can get out of Christ. I would like to make a dent in the debilitating consumer mentality that has beguiled religion and faith in this country."

MONDAY MUSINGS: Blue Parakeet, part 5

FROM MIKE: Check out this post at Jesus Creed about the release of The Blue Parakeet.

This will be my final post on the book, and then I will put a review on Amazon.com. This book will be highly recommended.


The final part of Scot McKnight's helpful new book is a case study about the subject of women in ministry. Entire denominations have dealt with this contentious issue by appealing to the Bible. While Scot does not claim to give an exhaustive study of the matter in this book, he does outline an approach to reading the Bible that can help us approach controversial questions like this.

First, he gives personal background and stories to show how the issue of women in ministry has been a matter of disagreement in evangelical circles. He also sketches the main positions people have taken. These stances boil down to whether we are reading the Bible through the tradition (various forms of patriarchalism) or with the tradition (mutuality or evangelical egalitarianism). He advises the latter as the way that best understands this issue in the light of the whole Biblical story.

It knows the story of the Bible in which Jesus Christ makes men and women one again, in Christ and in marriage. And, in conscious dependence on the Spirit in the context of a community of faith that seeks to live out that oneness, it gives to women the freedom to discern what God has called them to do—whatever it might be, including preaching, teaching, and leading in the church. (p.161)

Secondly, in order to flesh this out, Scot looks at the Biblical material itself and discusses stories and texts concerning women in both Testaments, looking most intently at those passages that restrict women from exercising ministry in the church (1Cor 14, 1Tim 2, etc.). I think he argues convincingly that these restrictive passages must be read both in light of the whole story and in the closer contexts of the epistles in which they are found, and that when we do that, it becomes clear that Paul's restrictions in particular were based on situations in the early church that made limiting women's public ministries advisable.

He concludes:

...we are given a pattern of discernment in the Bible, a pattern that flows directly out of the Story, to listen to what God said in that world so we can know what God is saying to us through our world. (p.212)

pSunday Psalms: The Book of Psalms

STEPPING BACK TO LOOK AT THE PSALMS
For our Sunday studies and meditations on the Psalms, I will now step back and take a broader approach. Our first series on the Songs of Ascent (Pss 120-134) grew out of my own desire to review that collection, but before we move on to another portion of the Psalms, it would be beneficial to get a big picture of the entire book.

Few sections of Scripture have been as beloved over the centuries as the Book of Psalms. It is certainly a favorite part of the “Old Testament” for many Christians, for it speaks with a “New Testament” spirit of personal intimacy and relationship with God. Many New Testaments are published with Psalms attached, but I know of none that combines the NT with Leviticus or Nahum!

Eugene Peterson says that the primary Biblical material for teaching believers to pray is the Psalms. He also notes that, because prayer is elemental and not advanced knowledge, the prayers we find in the book are honest, true and personal. Indeed, if we read them correctly we will see that they are earthy, rough and painfully realistic. Psalms helps us face God frankly, in the unadorned reality of our humanness.

In addition to appreciating the devotional value of these texts, the careful Bible student will also note that the individual psalms have been put together into a BOOK that is highly organized and which communicates a message as a whole work. Though many have approached the Psalms as a collection of individual songs rather like a hymnal, in its final, edited form, this is not a haphazard collection of poems and songs.

BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS

• The Book of Psalms is a collection of many different types of sacred songs and prayers, originally used in Israel’s worship.

• King David wrote many psalms (2Sam 23:1-7) and led the way in organizing the use of the psalms in the temple worship (2Chron 15-16). Under God’s direction, he set up the pattern described in Chronicles and reflected in the various notations we find in the psalm headings.

• The Book of Psalms was compiled during and after the Babylonian Exile. These prayers and songs that had previously been used in temple worship were now gathered into a new form that could be studied and meditated upon by God’s people.

• Therefore we can distinguish between individual psalms and the Book of Psalms. Each psalm is an inspired text of Scripture that stands on its own and may be read, prayed or sung for God’s praise and our edification (Eph 5:19, Col 3:16). However, we must also take the final form of the book seriously. Under God’s providential guidance, the individual psalms were organized into a Book with a coherent message.

• In my experience, this is not how we ordinarily think of the Book of Psalms. We tend to see it like a hymnal or collection of poems made up of “pearls without a string.” But I believe that the Book of Psalms can be read as a whole book, and that there is an overall organization to the individual psalms that can be detected and studied for our edification. Just as the Book of Isaiah is a collection of the prophet’s messages that have been put together and arranged to teach a coherent message, so the Book of Psalms takes the prayers, praises and worship materials of Israel and links them together to form a book with an overall theme.

SATURDAY SPORTS WRAP: October 10-11

FCHS SPOILS GREENWOOD HOMECOMING
On a perfect autumn Friday evening under colorful skies, the Franklin Grizzly Cubs won a close one at the homecoming of local Mid-State rival Greenwood, 23-21. The game featured five lead changes and nine turnovers. Franklin took the lead at the end of the third quarter and then survived a wild finish for the win. It was Franklin's first win since the second game of the season, and it sets up a rematch in the sectional opener on Oct. 24.

FRANKLIN COLLEGE DEMOLISHES BLUFFTON
The Grizzlies celebrated their homecoming by trouncing Bluffton, 63-3. Two sky-diving specialists descended and landed at midfield just before the start of the game, and then with the first kick Franklin took off and never looked back. Franklin was nearly perfectly balanced, with 488 total offensive yards, 246 rushing and 242 yards passing. The Grizzlies scored at least 2 touchdowns in every quarter.

Franklin travels to Anderson next week to face the Ravens, who surprised Mt. St. Joseph on Saturday, 10-9.

FRIDAY FOTO: Friday Night Skies

Colorful autumn skies over the high school football field.

Greenwood, Indiana. October 2008.

Photos by Michael Mercer

THURSDAY THINGAMAJIG: A bit o' history

I've been thinking about church history this week...

• We took our youngest son north to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI for a college visit on Tuesday. He is interested in studying history and theology. We sat in on a wonderful class tracing history, philosophy and theology through the centuries.
  

• Today I began reading Phyllis Tickle's eloquent new book, The Great Emergence, which gives a big picture framework for understanding periodic major reformations in religion over the course of history.

• We've been attending a Lutheran church lately, and I've been brushing up on my Luther and Bach, too.

All this reminded me of a book on my shelf that I've neglected. I hope to peruse it this evening. It is by Mark Noll, called Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. In this book, Noll identifies twelve key times in history when Christianity experienced important changes and transitions.

Could you name them?

I will list these turning points below, and it will be our assignment together to learn more about them, OK?

1. The Fall of Jerusalem (70)
2. The Council of Nicaea (325)
3. The Council of Chalcedon (451)
4. The Rule of Benedict (530)
5. The Coronation of Charlemagne (800)
6. The Great Schism (1054)
7. The Diet of Worms (1521)
8. The English Act of Supremacy (1534)
9. The Founding of the Jesuits (1540)
10. The Conversion of the Wesleys (1738)
11. The French Revolution (1789)
12. The Edinburgh Missionary Conference (1910)

Note: Extra points if you can identify the subject of the picture above!

WEDNESDAY'S QWOTE: Marva Dawn on Worship

Cartoon courtesy of www.mattglover.com

Today's words come once more from Marva Dawn's great book that deals with the "worship wars" in our churches. Like so many of us, she observes that the church in America has too often chosen to be "of" the world and not "in" the world—the opposite of what Jesus said we should be. And this shows in our worship, our music, and our sermons.

"How will we teach Christianity's specialness if the music in our worship services imitates the superficiality and meaninglessness of the general world and our sermons talk about subjects that those in the pew can learn from psychologists, sociologists, and the local television station? I am very interested in using modern music, as future chapters will demonstrate, but our music must contain the substance of the faith, the heritage of the Church's uniqueness, the character-forming truths of Christianity. Similarly, our sermons must be focused on the Word of God, which is the "special" domain of Christianity."

Marva Dawn
Reaching Out without Dumbing Down

TUESDAY TRAVELS: Earthquake in Kyrgyzstan

UPDATE: Video report from the BBC.

Click HERE for the NYTimes report on Sunday's earthquake in Kyryzstan that, as of this report, killed 72 people and leveled the mountain village of Nura.

And here is an UPDATE about the rescue effort that is underway.

Kyrgyzstan is a small country in Central Asia that was once a Soviet Republic. It is a poor country of mountains, horses, and shepherds. The people are nominally Muslim, but adhere mainly to their own folk religion.

I had the opportunity to visit there in 2001. Dear friends were serving in mission with an international team that was working on educational and agricultural development, as well as encouraging the small Christian community in Naryn, a town in the middle of the country.

I ask us to pray for the people affected by this latest earthquake, especially those in and around Nura. And lift up the Christ-followers there, that they will have God's strength to love and serve those in need.

MONDAY MUSINGS: Part Two

Too many musings to limit myself to one post today. Check out:

• Stephen Mansfield in USAToday on "The New Evangelicals." One observation regarding their political loyalties: "The new evangelical prays for all four nominees but commits unreservedly to none, choosing rather to speak of righteousness to each in the hopes of something more than a mere political victory in November."

• Internet Monk on how the stock of evangelicalism is way over-valued. A couple of his reasons:
  

• Evangelicalism is overvalued because its politically useful. (If I read another email telling me Sarah Palin is Esther I’m going to put a drumstick through my eye.)

• Evangelicalism is overvalued because it has too much music and too little Bible.

• Evangelicalism is overvalued because it constantly claims evidence that God is working through it to change the world, but the evidence in those places dominated by evangelicalism isn’t very convincing.

MONDAY MUSINGS: Blue Parakeet, part 4

Part Two: Listening
Many years ago, in his book Knowing God, J.I. Packer made an invaluable contribution to the church when he reminded us that there is a great difference between knowing about God, and knowing God. The Blue Parakeet takes up this theme in its second part, on "Listening."

Having helped us understand the Big Story by which we must read all the "wiki-stories" of the Bible, Scot McKnight next encourages us to remember another foundational principle. The Bible is God's story, God's book, and our aim in reading it is to listen to the one speaking to us so that we may deepen our relationship with him. He calls this "The Relational Approach to the Bible."

Reading the Bible is part of a personal conversation with God. It also involves us in the ongoing community conversation that God has had with his people over the centuries. We read with the tradition of those who have known God before us, both within the Scriptures themselves and in the subsequent history of God's people. Our goal is not simply to submit to the Bible's authority and obey, though that is clear. Preeminently in this relationship we learn to love. We delight in God's words and treasure them in our hearts. We stand in awe of his wisdom. We welcome his communication as truth, not so much as an intellectual category, but in the recognition that his words reveal reality and integrity and wholeness to us. They promote "shalom." They lead us to love God and others.

Part Three: Discerning
When you read a chapter like Leviticus 19, what do you do? Scot gives a quiz at the beginning of part three of his book, asking which of the commands in Lev 19 we think we should keep, and which we may ignore. It's a great test, because right in the midst of prohibitions against wearing garments made of mixed materials, etc., we are called to "be holy," and to "love your neighbor as yourself." And ALL are backed up, not by cultural reasoning, but by the words, "I am the LORD your God."

How do we know what to apply to our lives from the Bible? Well, one thing is clear—Bible readers, including you and me, have always picked and chosen which instructions we think we should follow from the Scriptures, and we have developed patterns of discernment that guide us in working this out.

What principles do we use to adopt and adapt the Bible? Given that the Bible is not simply a rule book that straightens out all our messy situations and questions, how do we discern? Scot sets forth specific issues raised by the Scriptures, including divorce and remarriage, circumcision, women's dress, cosmology, the death penalty, speaking in tongues, and being all things to all people for the gospel's sake. He does this mainly to prompt us to think about what it means when we say we approach these kinds of matters Biblically. The main test case is raised in the subsequent chapters—the ministry of women in the church—which I will talk about in future posts.

One of the main contributions of The Blue Parakeet is its call for us to own up to our selectivity. No matter how much we may proclaim "the authority of the Bible," or "the sufficiency of Scripture," most of us tend to ignore the processes by which we read and understand and apply its teachings. But the "how" question is so important!

Also, our arrogance in assuming that we know what we're doing when we approach God's words is astounding. I am thoroughly embarrassed by so many of the papers I wrote in Bible college and the "truths" I preached in my early ministry. I also remember reading early evangelistic sermons by one who has been acclaimed as one of the greatest preachers in the 20th century. In one of those messages, his great example of the sinfulness and need for revival among his people was that some of them had started taking daily baths!

Examples could be multiplied, ad finitum, ad absurdum. Thanks to Scot McKnight for calling us to think about these things at a fundamental level.

pSunday Psalms: OVERVIEW OF PSALMS 126-134

THE ISSUES WE FACE IN WORSHIP
When we read these Songs of Ascent together, a flow between them may be detected.

• The first three psalms describe the journey to Jerusalem, from the pilgrim's home (120), to the blessing he receives for his travels (121), to his arrival at Zion (122). They end with the pilgrim praying for the "peace" of the city (122.6-9).

• The second set of three retraces the same themes, from the standpoint of the pilgrim entering Jerusalem. He looks up from his troubles and lifts his eyes to God in trust (123), testifies to God's protection on the journey (124), and expresses his assurance in the security of Zion and God's people (125). The set ends with a blessing of "peace" (125.5).

• Psalms 126-134 describe various issues of life that are addressed for the pilgrim who is participating in the worship at Jerusalem.

What concerns does God help us face and deal with when we come together with His people, and stand before His presence and His Word?

• Restore your people! (Ps 126). Remembering what God has done in the past, we pray that God will bring full and continual renewal to his family.

• Give us our daily bread! (Pss 127-128). Acknowledging that we trust God ultimately for the daily blessings of life in our work and family, we seek his blessing. (Note once more the concluding blessing of "peace" at the end of Ps 128).
  

• Put the world to rights! (Pss 129-130). In these two psalms we pray that the righteous Lord (129.4) will deal justly with those who oppose him (129), and redeem His own people from their sins (130).

• We hope in the Messiah! (Ps 131-132). In Ps 131, David expresses his childlike faith and encourages Israel to hope in the Lord. Then in Ps 132, we respond to David's prayer, and recall God's covenant with David, praying that God will bless His King and provide for those who take refuge in Him.

• Blessed in the Lord's blessing (Ps 133-134). We celebrate the blessing of having worshiped in unity with God's people (Ps 133), and then leave the sanctuary with an antiphonal song of blessing (Ps 134).
  

The collection ends with the main confession of faith in these psalms:

"May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth." (Ps 134.3)

SATURDAY SPORTS WRAP: October 3-4

Plainfield 24, Franklin 13
Grizzly Cubs break scoring drought, but fail to stop Plainfield's strong running game. Franklin will look to get back on the winning track next Friday at Greenwood.

Franklin College 30, Defiance 14
Grizzlies bounce back after last week's loss at Trine. In this week's Heartland Conference opener, Franklin scored on its first two possessions and controlled the ball the rest of the way for the win. Next week FC returns home to face Bluffton for homecoming.

Dodgers 3, Cubs 1... Dodgers advance
Dismal. Embarrassing. Season over. Baseball is not a hard game. If you don't pitch, field and hit, you don't win. The Cubs didn't pitch in the first game, field in the second, or hit in any of the three. See ya next year.

FRIDAY FOTO: Cubs on the brain

This shot was taken when my son Jesse and I went to a Cubs game in Cincinnati earlier this summer. This is Derek Lee at the plate. I remember that many Cubs swung at bad pitches that night and showed little discipline at the plate. That was an anomaly from the way they hit most of the season. Unfortunately, they are in one of those slumps again, if the first two games of the NLDS are any indication.

Of course, there is still hope, but it's the hope of what most would call a "miracle." Give credit to the Dodgers too. They are playing well at just the right time.

As for me, like most Cubs fans, I'm pretty sure the sky is falling.

THURSDAY THINGAMAJIG: It was the worst of times

(Photo from ChicagoSports.com)

"That wasn't good baseball. In fact, the last two games were probably the two worst games we played all year, from a walking and errors standpoint. It wasn't fun to watch, I can tell you that."

(Lou Piniella)

Superstitious fans will be invoking cosmic phenomena once more, and frankly, who can blame them? One of the best teams in baseball has completely fallen apart in the playoffs. The Cubs would have had a hard time beating a Little League team, the way they played in the first two games of the NLDS. And it wasn't just the walks and errors, painful and inexplicable as they were. It was also an uncharacteristic total lack of discipline at the plate and the absence of any kind of resilience or energy to fight back when down.

Folks, we're reduced to praying for miracles now.

WEDNESDAY QWOTE: Dodgers walk all over Cubs

Ryan Dempster walks seven.
In the fifth inning, he walks the bases loaded.
James Loney hits a grand slam.
Game over.
Cubs are down 1-0 in the NLDS to the Dodgers.

Sigh...


(Photo from ChicagoSports.com)

"We talked about the importance of throwing strikes before the ballgame. And their guys threw strikes and ours didn't. It hurts."

(Lou Piniella)

TUESDAY TRAVELS: Nobody "Covers" like JT

Today we take a trip through the world of music. Dad is such a fan of James Taylor that our kids know every JT song since the 1980's by heart. They've heard them on every road trip, danced silly jigs to them as toddlers, enjoyed them on summer lawns in concert, watched them on DVD, and listened to dad play his own versions of them on the guitar.

One aspect of JT's music that I've always enjoyed is his ability to cover the songs of other artists and make them his own. Songs like "You've Got a Friend," "How Sweet It Is," "Everyday," and so many others have always satisfied. Now he's put together an entire album of covers, and it's amazing.

First of all, the new recording is more consistently upbeat than other JT albums. In concert, Taylor often uses covers to pump up the pace and volume, and several of those songs are here, including, "Summertime Blues" and "Not Fade Away." Backed by the fine "Band of Legends" that toured with him this summer, this collection rocks. I especially enjoy the brilliant horn section work and razor-sharp guitar solos.

Second, the variety is wonderful. Songs run the gamut, from the expected standard singer-songwriter material ("Suzanne") to traditional country ("Why Baby Why") to sublime pop ("Wichita Lineman") to smooth, so-fine R&B ("It's Growing," "Sadie").

This is a fine, fun, and fresh recording. According to the liner notes, the sessions took place over ten days in a converted barn studio with twelve outstanding musicians. The energy of this "live in the studio" approach is apparent from the outset.

Highly recommended!

MONDAY MUSINGS: Blue Parakeet, part three

The Bible is not so much a book we read as it is a world into which we enter.

This is how I would summarize Scot McKnight's big point as he encourages us to read the Bible as story. Instead, we are trained to read it in other ways...

• As a collection of laws
• As a collection of blessings and promises
• As an inkblot, projecting onto the Bible what the reader wants to see
  
• As a puzzle that, once put together, reveals a system mapping God's mind
• As accepting one part of Scripture like a maestro, one teaching voice that explains all the rest of the Bible

All of these approaches are "shortcuts" that keep us from entering the world of the Bible fully so that it can do its work in our lives.

Instead, we first need to grasp the big picture or the "Big Story" of the Bible. Then, we need to recognize that all the various "stories" in the Bible contribute to its Big Story. Scot McKnight calls these "wiki-stories," a reference to Wikipedia, the ever-evolving open source web encyclopedia. The Bible tells the Big Story, and to do so it is made up of many wiki-stories. God spoke to Moses in Moses' day in Moses' way, to Paul in Paul's day in Paul's way, and so on throughout the historical time-frame in which Scripture was written, and yet these individual parts, diverse as they may be, are each a true reflection of the Big Story, and all are held together by the Big Story.

To show us how the Bible works, McKnight outlines the plot of The Big Story. It is about:

• God creating Eikons to live in oneness
  
• The Eikons becoming cracked
• God forming a covenant community to restore cracked Eikons (which fails)
• God sending Jesus as the Perfect Eikon, who redeems cracked Eikons
• God consummating redemption and restoring perfect oneness
  

This is the plot of the Big Story, and we read every wiki-story in its light. In subsequent chapters, McKnight will take one issue—the ministry of women in the church—and show how reading the Bible in the light of its Big Story can help us apply its teachings in our lives today.

pSunday Psalms: Psalm 126

Living between Memory and Hope
My daily work is as a chaplain for a hospice program. That means I work with people who are dying, their families, and in our bereavement program with those who have lost loved ones in the past year. Psalm 126 is a song that speaks volumes to these precious folks. It speaks to me too, for we all live in the now, which is between the past and the future. We live between our memories and our hopes. And how shall we then live?

The first three verses of Psalm 126 look in the rear-view mirror at what has gone before:

When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.

These words were sung by those who had returned from Babylon. The Lord had done great things for them, and now they were home. It was a dream come true, a cause for celebration, and a witness to all nations of God's sovereign grace and power. This memory made them glad.

However, the next three verses look to their future:

Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

When the exiles returned, they came home to chaos. A huge rebuilding project awaited them. Think people returning to New Orleans after Katrina, or to Galveston after hurricane Ike. Nor was the devastation only in their environment. A small, weak group without the infrastructure of the kingdom as they had known it, they were still beset by their enemies round about and prone more than ever to spiritual discouragement. In one sense they were back, however, in reality they still faced a long hard road to get all the way back.

And so they cry out to God for a full return, that he will fill them like rains that transform the desert. They cling to the promise that their present tears are like seeds sown in fertile soil. One day they will yield a harvest of never-ending gladness and fruitfulness.

Now may be the time of tears and toilsome labor. Do not despair. Faithfully plant your seeds in the fertile field between memory and hope and look to the Lord of harvest.

SATURDAY SPORTS WRAP: Sept 26-27

One game left for Cubs
The Chicago Cubs finish the regular season tomorrow against the Milwaukee Brewers, whom they defeated 7-3 today, dropping the Brew-crew into a tie in the wild card race. (photo from ChicagoSports.com)

Trine upsets Franklin
The Franklin Grizzlies, who had moved up in the NCAA Div III rankings to #14 this week, were surprised by a strong Trine Thunder team, 30-27, today at Trine's homecoming. Franklin's record drops to 2-1, in anticipation of next week's conference opener at Defiance.

The usually potent Grizzly offense had several chances in the fourth quarter to drive for a score, but the Thunder defense stiffened and prevented the comeback. Then sophomore QB Eric Watt took over, and Trine ran out the clock.

Turnovers were costly for Franklin, as Trine turned four Grizzly miscues into scores.

Whiteland dominates visiting Grizzly Cubs
The Whiteland Warriors soundly defeated Mid-State rival Franklin Friday night, 48-0, at Whiteland's homecoming. Franklin was in the game in the first quarter, and had chances to make some noise early, but mistakes and aggressive Warrior play quickly turned the tables, and the rout was on. (photo from The Daily Journal)

FRIDAY FOTO: Late Summer Bee

Late summer bee. Sept 2008.

(Photo by Michael Mercer)

THURSDAY THINGAMAJIG: Random Rants

Today, some random rants and reflections on various subjects...

• I'm a die-hard Cubs fan and Carlos Zambrano is scaring me.

• Have you watched the news on TV lately? Really? Where did you find it? I've been looking and can't seem to find anything that resembles it.

• Starbucks needs to get back to doing what they do best--introducing people to a wide variety of good coffees.

• Contemporary Christian music is mostly awful. However, the David Crowder Band's "Remedy" is exceptionally fresh and exhilarating. And Bob Kauflin at Sovereign Grace Music is a gift to the church.

• When it comes to the culture wars, I am a conscientious objector.

• If the political ads are any indication, this election will change nothing about the fact that we are being led by idiots who think we are idiots.

• Thomas Friedman is correct. In the light of our various energy crises, we have one of the greatest opportunities in history for creative innovation and progress. Who will seize the day?

• A huge Bronx cheer to Lifeway Christian Stores for their decision to pull from display a magazine featuring women pastors on its cover. Are you kidding me?

• TVLand has been airing "best" episodes of The Cosby Show this week. What fun. That was our young family's favorite show and we still enjoy it together.
  

• 700 billion dollars. Speechless... Someone will be held accountable, right? RIGHT?

WEDNESDAY QWOTE: Luther on Justification

From Roland Bainton's biography of Martin Luther, Here I Stand, today's quote comes from the great turning point in Luther's life in 1515--when he grasped the meaning of justification by faith in Paul's letter to the Romans.

I greatly longed to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, "the justice of God," because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant.

Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that "the just shall live by his faith." Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on new meaning, and whereas before the "justice of God" had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven.

TUESDAY TRAVELS: Back to Orissa, India

On today's travels we return to news from Orissa, a state in eastern India. Here is a first-person report from a Christian friend and doctor who is leading an effort to bring relief to those suffering from the many trials Orissa has been facing over the past months. As you will read, the situation is now becoming dire, not only because of the persecution and communal violence that has racked the state, but also because of the monsoon rains and an impending cyclone.

"Thank you very much for remembering the people of Orissa in your prayers. Yes, it's the state which is undergoing various types of trials and tribulations.

"Last the whole month the ethnic violence in Kondhmal District of Orissa where churches were torched and Christians were massacred and the whole community was in fear and distress and most of them were hiding in the jungles , and this violence has spread to different other states like Bangalore and Mangalore in Karnataka and Kerala and also in other states like Madhyapradesh, and Chatisgarh, in which mostly the churches and Christians were attacked by the particular fundamentalist, exreme outfit of the so called Hindus even though it is not supported by the majority of the Hindus. Even now there are continued attacks on Christians and the destruction of churches in various parts of our country...

"When the state was recovering gradually from these tragedies, then came the devastating flood in Orissa where 17 districts have been affected but more so the worst affected are the four districts like CUTTACK , PURI, KENDRAPADA, JAGATSINGPUR. Because of the typical topography of Cuttack, as you have seen, on both the sides there are two major rivers--the Mahanadi & Kathjuri, and both are fully swollen with the water level much above the city of Cuttack. But we are safe because of the ring road surrounding the city of Cuttack, and more of the damages are in the suburban towns because of the breeches in the embankments of the river which were carrying the water much above the danger lines. This situation is there since about 4-5 days and we are busy with the relief and rescue work along with the Govt machinery.

"However, to worsen the situation now since today we are again having the rains along with the cyclone which is threatening to hit the coastal Orissa in the next two days which will definitely be bad for the city of Cuttack, as the water of the rains of the cyclone cannot be drained to the two rivers on either side of the city which are already full and swollen. So most probably the people of the city will be drowned in the city water itself. So we are planning to shift the people to higher buildings and getting prepared for any eventualities. Please do PRAY that this coming cyclone will be weakened.

"But in all these situations God has helped us to strengthen our faith and be allowed to trust Him more. In most of the churches we are having worship services conducted with tight police custody and protection.

"Here we have formed a NGO by name THE SAMARITANS which is collecting funds from our local people and giving relief to some at least, and tomorrow we are planning to go to another suburban village of 42 Mouza which has been very badly affected by the flood and we hear that some of the families are still marooned in the water and needs to be rescued and some food to be given immediately."

Story in The Times of India

MONDAY MUSINGS: The Blue Parakeet, part 2

I have been granted the privilege of being an advance reader for Scot McKnight's, THE BLUE PARAKEET: Rethinking How You Read the Bible (Zondervan, pub. date 11/1/2008). Our "Monday Musings" for the next several weeks will focus on understanding and responding to Scot's book...

In seminary, I came across Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren's book, How to Read a Book. How I wish I had read this much earlier! And how it changed my understanding of how to read the Bible! I have had other epiphanies like this over the years involving the "how" of studying Scripture. Because these experiences have been so important to me, one of my emphases in teaching is always to help people understand how to read the Bible as much as to teach them what it says.

I am having one of those profitable experiences right now, as I read Scot McKnight's upcoming book. In chapter two, he sets forth three ways that he has observed people reading the Bible.

• There are those who read to retrieve. The Bible is read to retrieve the practices described therein, and then re-create them in our own lives. The problem with this, of course, is that we can never live first-century lives in the twenty-first century. A better way is to engage in the ongoing adoption of the past, adapting it to new conditions in a way that is faithful to the Bible.

• There are those who read through tradition. Who decides what we should adopt and what we should adapt? Who decides what is faithfulness to Scripture? Some believe we can only do this if we read the Bible with the safeguard of an authoritative tradition that locks down our interpretations. Scot identifies the danger of this approach—traditionalism. Many of our ancestors were adapting the teachings of the Bible to their own day, and we can no more continue to live in that era than we can in Biblical times. However, we can read in the context of the Great Tradition— reading for ourselves but in a way that is responsible to what the church has always believed. And therefore, he commends the third way:
  

• There are those who read with tradition. This comes close to the great principle of Reformation Protestantism: reformed and always reforming. We appreciate and respect the wisdom of those who have studied the Scriptures before us. At times we disagree with their interpretations and seek to reform the practices that grew out of them. We also recognize that God is still on the move today, the Spirit is still speaking to the churches, the Word of God is still living and active. In our culture, in our day, facing the issues that challenge us, the Bible will come to life for us and guide us in a plain path.

After these general observations and admonitions, Scot McKnight challenges us specifically to read the Bible as story, to learn to listen, and to develop discernment. Next time we'll examine what it means to read the Bible as story, and some of the less helpful habits many of us maintain in approaching the Scriptures.

pSunday Psalms: PSALMS 123-125

The next three Psalms of Ascent, Pss 123-125, serve as counterparts to the first three songs in the collection—Pss 120-122.

• Like Ps 120, Ps 123 looks to God for grace in a context of trouble and conflict. (Verse 1 also picks up the language of lifting up one's eyes—see 121.1.)

• Like Ps 121, Ps 124 confesses "Our help is in the name of the Lord" (see Ps 121.2).

• Like Ps 122, Ps 125 celebrates the security of Jerusalem and God's people. Note how this psalm also ends with "peace" (see 122.6-9).
  

However, the three psalms also advance the thoughts of the three previous pieces. Let's see how...

PSALM 123: From a World of Contempt to the Place of Grace
It has been suggested that this psalm represents the first prayer in the Temple after the arrival of the pilgrim at Jerusalem (see 122.2). For the first time in the collection, the psalmist addresses God directly. Whereas in Ps 121, he lifted up his eyes to the mountains, here he lifts up his eyes to God himself. Having come from the world of exile, a world of scoffing and contempt for the life of faith, he enters the King's presence and immediately appeals to the King for grace. This word expresses a request for assistance from a subordinate to one in authority. Such relationships are pictured in verses 1-2. This is why we come to the sanctuary—for a respite from the stifling atmosphere of contempt, and to receive gifts of grace from our King to help us stand.

PSALM 124: From Confession to Testimony
This is a direct counterpart to Ps 121. In the earlier psalm, the pilgrim confessed his faith in God as his helper, and the community affirmed his faith by invoking God's promises to keep him on his journey. Now, having arrived in Jerusalem, the psalmist calls all God's people to join him in praising the Lord for keeping his promises! In vivid language he describes how God has proven in their experience the truth, "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

PSALM 125: From Assurance to Prayer
In Ps 122, the pilgrim had arrived in Jerusalem (122.2) and was filled with awe at the meaning of this city for his people. Ps 125 is a further meditation on Jerusalem and how it represents the security of the righteous in God's care. The mountains, which the pilgrim had surveyed on the horizon at the start of his journey (121.1), now surround him in the King's City and assure him that God will never allow the wicked to triumph ultimately. He takes this assurance and goes to prayer in verses 4-5, asking God to accomplish his purposes. The goal, once more, is the final "shalom" (v.5).

SATURDAY SPORTS WRAP: Sept 19-20

UPDATE: Cubs take Central Division Title!
The Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 to clinch first place.

Cubs Must Wait for Another Day
The magic number is now at 1.

Milwaukee did their part by losing to
Cincinnati, but the Cardinals shelled Carlos Zambrano in his first start since his no-hitter, winning 12-6.




No Offense
The Franklin Grizzly Cubs football team was punchless against Decatur Central Friday night, suffering their second straight Mid-State Conference shutout, 27-0. Clayton Simmons, one of the conference's leading rushers, was held to just 26 yards, and the DC defense gave QB Daniel Bechman little time to throw the ball. Unfortunately, the schedule doesn't get any easier—next week Franklin plays 8th-ranked Whiteland.

FRIDAY FOTO: Orissan child

Young child—Cuttack, Orissa, India. 1998.

(Photo by Michael Mercer)

THURSDAY THINGAMAJIG: What is the Real Prosperity Gospel?

iMonk does it again—hits the nail on the head with a perceptive post on where the false teachings of the "Prosperity Gospel" hit most of us.

You don't want to miss this, and you don't want to fail to think and pray about this.

Read it HERE. Let it sink in.

WEDNESDAY QWOTE: Big Z's No-No

"I guess I'm back...Next stop will be the World Series"

(Carlos Zambrano, after his no-hitter on Sept. 14, 2008)

TUESDAY TRAVELS: Mobility and Ministry

On the "Out of Ur" blog, Collin Hansen asks, "Can you shepherd a flock that won't stay put?"

His report asks us to consider the fact of American mobility and its impact on ministry. A USA Today report he cites says that 16% of Americans moved in 2006—that's nearly 50 million people! In the face of this reality, how can churches possibly promote the kind of deep fellowship that comes from long-term relationships, the longevity that makes possible respected leadership, or the connections that make true accountability and church discipline practicable?

If this fact of modern life is so counterproductive to the Christian way, is it possible that Christ-followers might find that one of the best ways of having a long-term influence in our world would be to put down roots in one community and stay there, sacrificing wanderlust or chasing the American dream, and simply living out kingdom values for a long time?

What do you think?

Here is Hansen's conclusion, which ends up focusing on a pastor's responsibility to set an example in this regard:

For the sake of loving each other and loving our neighbors, Christians should re-learn how to put down roots in one community. There will often be valid financial and educational excuses for leaving. But if you invest in your community, the community will invest in you. For too long Christians have followed that American dream to greener pastures, to the neglect of their genealogical and ecclesiological families. If we hope to reverse this trend, shepherds should set the example.

MONDAY MUSINGS: The Blue Parakeet, part one

I have been granted the privilege of being an advance reader for Scot McKnight's, THE BLUE PARAKEET: Rethinking How You Read the Bible (Zondervan, pub. date 11/1/2008). Our "Monday Musings" for the next several weeks will focus on understanding and responding to Scot's book...

In my last pastorate, I coined a slogan from a verse in Deuteronomy to help our church understand how to follow Christ. I called it, "Learning, Loving and Living the Bible." Now, we Bible-believing Christians think we know what that means, but Scot McKnight's new book says pointedly that our claims of understanding and practicing the Bible are often hogwash— that we all pick and choose what we emphasize and practice when it comes to living out the Bible's teachings.

For example, the clear commands of James 1.26-17, by which the Bible defines "true religion," are words that somehow, many of us avoid as our definition of genuine Christian discipleship. Other examples include how we deal with Biblical teachings about the Sabbath, tithing, footwashing, charismatic gifts, and Jesus' calls to surrender our possessions. In addition, a whole range of contemporary issues challenge Bible believers to apply its teachings in arenas far removed from historical contexts that the Biblical writers addressed.

McKnight's big question, then, is "How?"—"How are we to live out the Bible today?"

The book's title was taken from an experience of birdwatching. Someone's pet blue parakeet fluttered into the author's backyard and took its place at the feeders, forcing the resident sparrows to take notice and adapt. For Scot McKnight, "blue parakeets" are Biblical passages that make its readers stop and think. They get our attention. We do not know what to make of them right away and so, they give us opportunity to pause, observe, and reflect. However, they remain frustratingly beyond our ability to tame them. How we approach these "blue parakeet" passages reveals a great deal about how you and I read our Bibles and attempt to live out its teachings.

The emphasis of this book is much needed today. Exploring our unexamined assumptions is always healthy, and never more so than when we are trying to discern what God has said to us and how we should respond. Furthermore, in today's world, where Evangelicalism regularly devolves into triumphalistic certainty about matters theological, moral and political, we must never be afraid to peek behind the curtain to determine the actual machinery behind the great and terrible Oz.

pSunday Psalms: PSALM 122

Psalms 120-122 are like a mini-collection within the Psalms of Ascent, taking us from the pilgrim's home, then along the road until he arrives at the place he is going.

• Psalm 120 describes where the pilgrim lives and establishes his hunger for God’s shalom.

• Psalm 121 foresees the pilgrim’s journey and expresses the assurance that God will keep him through all its challenges.

• Psalm 122 anticipates the pilgrim’s destination and looks forward to the shalom and good that come to those who arrive there.

Psalm 122 focuses on Jerusalem, the destination of the righteous pilgrim. Jerusalem is described here as:

• The place where the house of Lord is

• The place where God’s people dwell together

• The place where all Israel goes to give thanks to God

• The place where God’s Davidic King rules and renders judgment

If, as is likely, this collection in its final form was meant to encourage the exiles returning from captivity, the second part of the psalm makes perfect sense as an expression of their longing for peace and prosperity within the city which had been ruined but was now being restored.

Jerusalem is a powerful image in Scripture. From Genesis, as the place where the priest-king Melchizedek appears, to the Book of Revelation, which describes a New Jerusalem, this city upon Mt. Zion has been at the heart and center of God’s plan for history. King David established it as the place of God’s rule, and his son, Jesus, faced the climactic events of his ministry there, weeping over the city that crucified him.

According to the Bible, the destination of the Christ-following pilgrim is the New Jerusalem, the city that will one day descend from heaven and fill the earth with God’s glory. On that day people from all nations will flow to the mountain of the Lord to worship and learn from the King of kings. The world will be put to rights and peace will cover the globe.

Today, as so often through history, Jerusalem is a place where conflict and strife reign—it represents the rest of the world that is groaning as it awaits its deliverance. And so, on our journey through this world, we continue to pray and work for the things that Jerusalem has always idealized, and that the New Jerusalem will bring to fulfillment—the worship of God through his Messiah, the unity of all nations, justice, true prosperity and goodness, and above all, shalom.