Darryl's Blog
December 2005 Archives
I love reading the howies catalog. I can't afford most of their stuff and that's okay with them:
Living without debt means living without black clouds. It means living for today and tomorrow. It means escaping that feeling that you're constantly trying to dig your way out of a hole. (And, if it helps, remember it also means not adding to the squillions-worth of interest that the banks make every day, basically for doing nothing.)...Naturally, we'd hope you'll keep buying stuff from howies. It puts food on our table, after all. But if you can't afford something now, we'd much rather you waited until you could. We accept cash, cheques, and - yes - even credit cards. But we don't want your tomorrows. We want you to have those.
Some sobering statistics on internet pornography:
- 60% of all web-site visits are sexual in nature (MSNBC /Stanford/Duquesne study, Washington Times Jan. 26, 2000).
- According to Christianity Today the percentage of pastors who visited a porn site. 57% Never, 21% A few times a year, 9% Once in past year, 7% More than a year ago, and 6% Couple times a month or more.
- At least 200,000 Internet users are hooked on porn sites, X-rated chat rooms or other sexual materials online (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Associated Press [Online], Feb. 29, 2000).
- 51% of pastors admit that looking at internet pornography is their biggest temptation. (Christianity Today, December 2002)
It's one of those temptations that is common, and yet there's often a sense of shame in wanting to get help.
A great new resource is available, and is worth looking into as we head into the New Year. It's called Pure Online: 30 Days to Purity:
Found via
- Buddy is still here. So far no luck in finding someone who wants a troubled dog.
- I've learned that Charlene is forgiving and prone to forget offenses after a few days. I've experienced that myself but somehow it's different when the creature receiving the forgiveness is a dog.
- Evidently, the 15mg dose of Valium was on the low end for Buddy. He can receive up to 55mg. Maybe that will knock him out.
- We are investigating doghouses in case the solution becomes leaving him outside when we're out. You can do that even in the dead of winter in Canada.
- I would have gladly shipped Buddy to Saskatoon if only Jordon had asked. Of course they couldn't name him Maggi but maybe John Major or something.
Ken Miller has written a review of Barna's latest book in Christianity Today. Sam Storms has also written a review (part one and part two), and so has Michael Haykin, a former prof of mine and someone worth listening to:
Here is Evangelicalism throwing the past and its caution to the winds and eloping with the fervently anti-institutional spirit of the age—a nymph with oh so many paramours. Nothing really revolutionary here. Just utter silliness and the giddiness of childish infatuation.
And this quip from Chris Treat:
His exegesis is so thin that the most telling result of Barna’s book may be how much evangelical leaders take his exegesis seriously. If Barna’s weak exegesis can convince evangelical leaders that the Bible is silent about the local church, then evangelicalism has surely reached the pinnacle of Biblical ignorance.
(links via)
These reviews, of course, are harsher than my own.
A couple of responses:
It's been four months since we brought a black lab-hound home from the pound. We've survived the destruction of his crate and the neighboring carpet and computer, a trip to the behaviorist, and all kinds of incidents I haven't blogged.
Last Sunday, we came home from church to find that Buddy had gone on another rampage in the house. Nothing valuable was damaged, but we were lucky. What surprised us the most is that Buddy was on Valium that morning. Yes, they prescribe Valium for dogs. Charlene figured it was a good idea since it could be used on me or the dog, depending on what happened.
We've finally realized our little dog experiment has failed. We are not going to be the ones who can get him over his separation anxiety.
It's too bad, since he really is a good dog when we're around, and we've invested a lot in making this work. But dogs that come from pounds sometimes have issues.
So, we're looking for a new home for the dog. He'll make an excellent pet for someone who is home more than we are, and can give him enough exercise. But it's not going to be us.
If you know of anyone who's up to the challenge, let me know.
Carla includes me on a list of bloggers who have made an impact on her this year:
Darryl @ Dash House. Now this one might surprise you. Darryl is unapologetically sympathetic to the emergent church movement, while I am diametrically opposed to pretty much 98% of what they're all about. Some may even say Darryl himself is 'emergent'. Either way, of all the people that have responded to my critique of EC at ENo, Darryl has by far been the most gracious, and Christlike example of someone who can disagree and do it with dignity.
Carla, you might get along well with my brother, who told me yesterday, tongue in cheek, that he didn't know why Richview hadn't fired me and my emergent views yet. That's probably a subject for a whole other post.
(My brother David was on a bit of a tear yesterday. That's when I love talking to him the most.)
Seriously, thanks for the honor, and I'm learning from you too. I suspect if we ever meet we'll find we like each other, and probably agree on a lot of issues too.
Let the cooking begin.
I'm not a big fan of Christmas stress. I usually get myself pretty stressed. Add our wedding anniversary to the church and family Christmas stuff and it's a pretty busy time of year.
This year I've managed to avoid most of the stress. I have my sermons done, including my January 8 one (a record!) so I can kick back for most of the next two weeks. Most of my wrapping is done. I hate wrapping, but I always feel a bit guilty leaving it to Charlene, even though she says she enjoys it.
I'm looking forward to a couple of lighter weeks and some time with family.
In any case, all the best to you this Christmas. I know quite a few of you now who visit here, although I'm sure that there are many I don't know. I hope you'll get some time to slow down and enjoy all of God's gifts - not the least of which is the staggering gift of God becoming one of us. Have a great Christmas.
Know of any mature churches that made big mid-course corrections? According to some it's a pretty short list. If you know of any, let us know here.
Jordon's promising your name in Christmas lights. I won't do that but I will raise a glass of egg nog to your name.
Fifteen years ago I married Charlene. It really was about the smartest thing I've done.
We've been through a lot together. I can say that I really am a different person. We had this dream of getting old together and it actually is happening...and I couldn't ask for more.
I've been thinking about this post quite a bit this week:
The hope of the prophets, that longed-for "someday," is born in flesh among us NOW. The Word of God whose love gave birth to the world is here among us! It's no pie in the sky; it's a child, revealed to the hosts of heaven and the shepherds shivering in the cold outside the village. The life that has come among us is none other than the light of the world. No darkness can overcome it; all the ends of the earth will see God's salvation, deliverance from everything that separates us from one another and from God.
That's why they say this is Good News. And here's something that just might be the best part of it: when we proclaim that God's Word was made flesh to live among us, we're not just talking about an event in the first-century Roman province of Palestine. Every time we gather together to live into the way of Jesus, we are the Body of Christ, and the life-giving Word that powers the universe finds flesh among us.
This year, more than others, it's hit me that the incarnation continues today in the church. In a way, Advent continues too, as we wait for the church to deliver on this promise. Still waiting, still hoping.
We get eight and a half hours of sunlight today, which is about seven hours less than we get in June. So I kind of like this day. It's the darkest day of the year, but it only gets better from here.
A lot of books critique the modern evangelical church. A critique can be helpful, but what is even more useful is some help on how to be the church more faithfully. It's even better if this help is given from someone who is thoughtful, not just pragmatic, and a practitioner, not just a theoretician.
I've just finished one great book. Now I'm on to another. Both look like candidates for the best couple of books I've read all year.
The pages are already getting dog-eared and I've lifted many great quotes, and I'm only a couple of chapters in. One of my favorite quotes so far, because it states theology so visually: "If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section."
Neil Cole is challenging us to develop an ecclesiology that is more about Jesus:
When you look at the conventional church in America and all that it offers, you are left gazing down an old soggy street. It does not compel you to go further down that road. More vision statements, more Christian concerts, more sermons, and more blueprints for bigger auditoriums are not enough.You will be amazed what people do for Jesus that they will not do for your vision statement. There is something better. There has to be. Jesus did not die and rise from the dead so that we can have better church bulletins and more comfortable pews.
I'm just getting started, but so far I've found something significant on pretty much every page.
Like The Great Giveaway, this book calls us to a renewed ecclesiology (theology of the church).
I hope to have reviews posted on both of these books fairly soon.
Or so I heard on the radio this morning as they gave advice on how to behave at the staff Christmas party.
It was already too late for the staff at Richview. We broke bread and, between us, ate a cow at Canyon Creek. Sandy won the lucky draw and came prepared with a lampshade, which he wore after only one drink (of water!):
The evening did not go perfectly as one of the wives was missing and another wasn't feeling well by the end of the night.
Here is a picture of some of us:
If you measure life by how many great people you know, then I am a blessed man. Last night was a good reminder of what a great group of people I get to work with.
And it's not minty green. Looks great, but then again I've always liked Jordon's designs.
Get your three-minute sermon ready:
This 10 part, 1 hour weekly television series is setting out to find America’s next great inspirational speaker. Do you have a unique and positive message you wish to share? Do you want to make a difference in the world? Do you feel like you have the will and the skill necessary to inspire others? If so, we’re looking for you to show up, sign in and speak out!
I would have liked this better if they had called it "Preacher Idol" or something like that.
Scot McKnight turns the tables and suggests some ways that those in the emerging movement might talk to evangelicals. These two are my favorite:
...don’t engage evangelicalism by reducing evangelical theology to some stereotyped, narrow-minded fundamentalist idea that we know full well is dismissed by many thinking evangelicals. Let’s not suggest that all evangelicals pastors and churches are control freaks or that their churches are business shops, let’s not suggest that dispensationalism is typical for evangelicalism, let’s not suggest that all evangelicals are politically uneducated or politically Ludite or any other such stereotyped category — in other words, treat evangelicals the way we expect to be treated (for many of us are in both camps). (This, after all, is good praxis.)
...the point of the EM conversation is not to divide the Church but to find unities within the Church, so establish conversations that seek commonalities and are rooted in commonalities and that seek out commonalities. Shame on you if you end up meeting with only acrimony. Pray together; break bread together; discuss together; disagree clearly but with love and in the spirit of finding genuine gospel.
Most of these can be reduced to two words: play fair. Not bad advice.
We live in a ridiculous world where people pay far too much attention to celebrities. But that's the world we live in. Might as well do something with it. (Bono, U2)
I was telling the kids about one of my first jobs today, which was at Kiddie Kobbler. Josiah asked, "What was it like to work there in the olden days, Dad?"
Kids...
From Emerging Churches, a book I'm currently reading. Nice summary here.
1. Identifying with Jesus (and his way of life)
2. Transforming secular space (overcoming the secular/sacred split)
3. Living as community (not strangers in proximity at a church service)
4. Welcoming the stranger (radical and gentle hospitality that is inclusive)
5. Serving with generosity (not serving the institution called "church," but people)
6. Participating as producers (not widgets in the church program)
7. Creating as created beings
8. Leading as a body (beyond control and the CEO model of leadership)
9. Merging ancient and contemporary spiritualities.
Congratulations to the De Freitas clan on the birth of baby number four.
So what do you do if you disagree on an issue? I like what happened when Doug Pagitt announced an Emergent Christian/Jewish Leaders Meeting.
It's hard to replicate all the dynamics of the community Fitch talks about ("humility, the regular confession of sin and repentance, and a 'vigilant eye'") online, but you may be able to generate a reasonable facsimile.
The issue: The press release talks about collaborating in ways that "help God’s dreams come true for our synagogues, churches, and world" and partnering to talk about "the future and God’s Kingdom.” While you can work together on issues of social justice, do these statements imply that you can collaborate on God's Kingdom while disagreeing on Jesus?
In his excellent book The Great Giveaway, David Fitch suggests that theology must be worked out in community:
The community of Christ therefore is necessarily the place out of which interpretations of the Spirit are worked out...When there is disagreement regarding an interpretation of Scripture, or something new to be discerned, here the pastor as interpretive leader must stand ready to submit and engage the church in the communal practice of seeking out God's will for the church over this fork in the road. Out of this process, Christians in communities are not embattled over who is right or wrong, but rather are engaged in asking how shall we be faithful to Scripture, to go forward in Christ.
I love this approach, because it doesn't sacrifice truth or relationship. We value truth, but truth is discerned in submission to the Spirit and in community as we look at Scripture.
I highly recommend Fitch's book, by the way, even though I almost posted the following a couple of days ago:
Memo to David E. Fitch
Stop messing with my mind.
I'll try to illustrate what Fitch writes about in my next post.
All I want for Christmas is some iPod underwear. Oh yeah and abs like in the picture.
Mena Trott, president and co-founder of Six Apart, has given a controversial speech on civility and blogging:
I've seen people make disparaging comments about other people -- comments that they would never say to their faces.
In blogging, this is very much a reality as well and it is much more permanent.
For this reason, many people are afraid of bloggers.
Frankly, I'm a blogger and I'm afraid of bloggers...
While I think it's fairly difficult for a single blogger to hurt a company beyond repair by posting inaccurate information, I do believe a single blogger can cause an organization to waste time and energy cycles defending and preventing the spread of inaccuracies. We don't have unlimited time to manage these cycles, so wouldn't it be great if we could be simply more civil?
Civility is defined as a courteous act or courteous acts that contribute to smoothness and ease in dealings and social relationships.
Smoothness and ease in dealings of social relationships? Is this possible with what we're doing with weblogs? When we preview our own posts what if we read for more than just proper grammar or valid HTML? What if we read it for accuracy, appropriateness, good nature. Read it for civility.
Fundamentally, our biggest goal should be bringing a new generation to weblogging.
If we want to bring a new generation to weblogging -- a goal that I've seen attendees here expressing -- we need to create an environment where people feel welcomed.
I'm not surprised this speech was controversial. I think it would be just as controversial among Christian bloggers as well, actually.
Naïve? Yes. I don't actually think it will happen. But I do enjoy the more irenic bloggers. out there.
I like her speech, but there's more to the story. More reaction here. (I don't think I'll be introducing backchannels while I preach anytime soon!)
From The Times Online:
A survey of Anglican, Baptist and Methodist clergy by the Right Rev Michael Whinney, retired Bishop of Southwell, showed that most were sensitive introverts who lacked the characteristics to be "out there" in the community.
"One wonders about the stressful element of this type of work for the introverted majority in church leadership," Bishop Whinney said. "This begs the question as to how effective is the system for choosing and placing ministers in churches."
...All three denominations surveyed are experiencing long-term decline, although within each there are pockets of revival, normally led by evangelical clergy who would be classified under the extrovert personality type.
Bet you Rev. Whinney is an extrovert! It's true though: most pastors I know are introverts.
Canadian Gospel Music Association Covenant Award winner Ali Matthews and guitarist Rick Francis, will be performing a Christmas concert at Richview. Admission is free. Time: 7:00 p.m.
In case you missed it, some American megachurches have cancelled Sunday gatherings on Christmas Day. There's been a lot of reaction, most of it negative:
"This is a consumer mentality at work: 'Let's not impose the church on people. Let's not make church in any way inconvenient,' " said David Wells, a professor of history and theology in Massachusetts. (Telegraph)A church can compress two services to one, cancel Sunday school or cancel an evening service. Those are all secondary issues that fall under the "better or best" type of reasoning. But to cancel church altogether simply to cater to the desires of unbelievers is a whole different matter. At the very least the pastors should be waiting by the door to greet those who arrive. Even if no one walks through the door, at least the pastors have taken a stand for what is most important to them and have modelled Christ's own love for worship. (Tim Challies)
It is past time that these sorts of churches be called to account. It is time for them to realize that they have simply capitulated to the larger culture's agenda on issue after issue, in this case in supporting the worship of the idol called family in place of the worship of Jesus. (Ben Witherington)
Scot McKnight has posted a "mild case in defense" of these churches. He (I think) attends one of them. Scot gives nine points. Here's a sample:
This leaves us with this: no strong correlation between Sabbath and Sunday; no commandment to worship together on Sunday...what I’m reading is that there is too much identification of “worship” with Sunday morning and too much identification of “being the church” with “attending a Sunday morning service"...So, my suggestion is this: let’s be a little more charitable in light of what the NT does and does not say. Let’s permit our brothers and sisters, once every seven years, to make decisions that we might not approve of but know that they answer to God, that we answer to God, that it is about worship of God and incarnating the gospel in our world for the good of others and the world.
I spoke to a pastor today who's still going ahead with both morning and evening services on Christmas Day. I was amazed. Evening services are almost extinct in these parts.
Of course, we were saved from this debate most recently by a leap year. In 1999, Christmas came on a Saturday. The next year, it jumped to a Monday.
We are going ahead with a morning service, although I really don't know how many people to expect.
I am actually more concerned with the New Year's Day gathering. Last time Sunday was on January 1, I was one of maybe ten people at church.
Update: Cerulean Sanctum weighs in with a good post.
Update 2: Between Two Worlds writes, "I think that McKnight has the a better Scriptural case than Witherington. And I appreciate McKnight's call for a bit more charity and irenicism. But I still think it's legitimate to question the rationale and motivation for this move."
Despite being friendless, something strange has happened the past few days. It started out with cleaning the garage, which makes no sense to me. Maybe it was the feeling of relief you get after months of procrastination, but that should have worn off by now.
The past few days I've been overwhelmed with this feeling of peace and gratitude. I don't expect it to last, but I'm enjoying it. I'm not taking any drugs and I haven't had any blows to the head. I don't know what's up.
Have you ever had a really good mood for four days and started to wonder what's going on?
I read an article on my last trip about a study on happiness. The article listed ten steps to happiness, which sounds formulaic, and it is. But some of them actually make sense. One of them, "Count your blessings - at least five - at the end of each day," has really stuck with me. There hasn't been a day when I haven't been able to come up with five in a matter of seconds.
I just have this realization of how incredibly blessed I am, and it feels good to be grateful. It's not such a bad way to live.
According to Frappr I don't have any friends.
Following the example of Andrew Jones (always a good idea), I put a Christian Top 1000 button on my sidebar the other day:
They say to put one on all of your pages since it will improve your rankings.
I don't know what it is about buttons like this but they're just tacky. Tacky can done well - it's its own style - but I don't know if I have what it takes to do tacky well. I do tacky all the time but it rarely looks good on me.
I just can't do it.
One of my favorite book titles is If Those Who Reach Could Touch by Gordon and Gail MacDonald. It's about our need for relationships, and our inability to enjoy the type of relationships that we yearn for because of our brokenness and sin.
I've often felt like that, especially in the middle of some conflict. It's ironic that behind many conflicts is a desire for relationship, and yet the conflict gets in the way of the desire ever getting met.
I get pretty frustrated as I read sites like Emergent No. I have never met Carla personally, although I'd like to one day. She strikes me as a thoughtful person with whom I disagree on many issues, but someone I could see also being a friend. I think we'd agree on a lot of things as well. She really seems to be a person of goodwill.
I also see others who go to that site with different perspectives, and many of them seem to be decent people as well. Occasionally we'll stumble into a good discussion, but most of the time we seem to talk past each other and get nasty. We're trying to reach but we never quite seem to touch.
I don't mind disagreeing on the issues. It just seems so hard to get to the issues and to have any type of constructive dialogue.
I'm not naive enough to think we'll do better - this same dynamic is repeated in almost every church it seems - but do we really have to settle for things this way? Why did Jesus have to say we'd be known by our love?
I think I mentioned that I've been reading David Fitch's The Great Giveaway. I took the book to the gym today to read on the bike, and today's chapter was on preaching. I think I expected to disagree with this chapter from some provocative comments I'd scanned.
I'm in this D.Min. in preaching, and I have a lot invested in the topic. I don't want anyone taking that away, even if they're right.
I jest, sort of. I'd be heartbroken to discover that I've wasted all this time and money in something that he successfully dismantles.
As i read the chapter, I found myself marking the pages like crazy. By the end of the chapter, I realized that he is largely right. I also realized that he was covering my thesis topic (theocentric preaching, or how we fit into God's story in preaching rather than trying to make God fit into our stories and needs) exceptionally well.
"Paul was a liver more than a leader." (Louie Giglio, Catalyst 2005)
I think I know what he meant to say.
Make your next film here.. Cool to see some of the locations.
David Fitch, author of The Great Giveaway, is blogging for the "purpose of conversations engaging the issues of being the church in postmodernity." It looks great, especially since he likes Canadians. The man has taste.
His book is worth reading too. I hope to post a review soon.
Today is World AIDS Day. Steve Camp has posted a Biblical call to help people with AIDS:
It is a day to remember those who are infected with the AIDS virus--those who are HIV positive. It is a day to reflect on how little we as Christians have done in regards to this important issue and need to be doing from a biblical world view in precept and practice. It is a day to repent of our sins; both of apathy and promiscuity.
Two megachurch pastors expressed regret this week for not responding sooner:
Megachurch pastors Bill Hybels and Rick Warren both expressed their deep regrets for not joining the fight against HIV/AIDS sooner as they partner to call the Church to quickly take action in the battle against one of the world’s greatest humanitarian emergencies.
Bill Hybels, senior pastor of the 18,000-membered Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, Ill., and Rick Warren of the 20,000-membered Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. both began their sessions Tuesdays with apologies for their lack of awareness and response to the pandemic that is expected to kill 93 million people by 2010.
“Willow would be on the list of churches to get it too late,” reflected Hybels. “As I look back, I take full responsibility for this. Our church just celebrated its 30th anniversary last month. I have to live with that. I confess it. I believe it is covered with the cross but it is a mystery to me why I didn’t get it.”
Similarly, Warren lamented during the opening session, “A few years ago I had to repent. How did I miss this? What were the blinders on my eyes? You can’t just care about people spiritually but you have to tend to people physically too.”
...“The church has been missing in action. If we are the Body why aren’t we ministering with the whole Body?” he asked.
(Via Monday Morning Insight Weblog)
It is a day for reflection and repentance, a day to think about how we can do better in the future.
If Jesus Christ were on earth you'd find him in a gay bar in San Francisco. He'd be working with people suffering from AIDS. These people are the new lepers. just like the turn of BC / AD. Don't touch them, walk away from them. If you want to find out where Jesus would be hanging out, it'll always be with the lepers. - Bono, U2