Darryl's Blog
January 2007 Archives
From Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together:
A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men. When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has been placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself first to see whether the trouble is not due to his own wish dream that should be shattered by God; and if this be the case, let him thank God for leading him into this predicament. But if not, let him nevertheless guard against ever becoming an accuser of the congregation before God. Let him rather accuse himself for his unbelief. Let him pray God for an understanding of his own failure and his particular sin, and pray that he may not wrong his brethren. Let him, in the consciousness of his own guilt, make intercession for his brethren. Let him to what he is committed to do, and thank God.
Just saw an ad for this book:
“Brian Bailey makes two things crystal clear in this book: if you've got a church, then you need to spread your story. And if you need to spread your story, blogs are now an essential tool. Time to pay attention!”--Seth Godin, author, Small Is the New Big
The Blogging Church offers church leaders a field manual for using the social phenomenon of blogs to connect people and build communities in a whole new way. Inside you will find the why, what, and how of blogging in the local church...
The book includes contributions from five of the most popular bloggers in the world—Robert Scoble, Dave Winer, Kathy Sierra, Guy Kawasaki, and Merlin Mann, as well as interviews with blogging pastors such as Mark Driscoll, Craig Groeschel, Tony Morgan, Perry Noble, Greg Surratt, Mark Batterson, and many more.
Interesting!
At the gym where I work out, there's a red cardinal on the other side of the glass by the treadmills and elliptical machines. It's been there for days, and it does nothing but try to fly through the window. Persistent, but not very smart.
I was thinking about how small a brain this bird must have to spend its days doing this. Then I wondered what the bird must think of the people it watches every day on our side of the glass, frantically sweating on treadmills that don't go anywhere...
I decided to think about something else.
Ron Martoia, author of Static, understands what happens when someone challenges our understanding of the gospel.
I confess that the first time I grappled with these concepts, I had a hard time. I felt there must be some mistake, that the people introducing me to these concepts must surely be misguided...
I know my experience is not unusual, because I have helped others take the same journey. In talking about this topic for the past several years, I have found that people have a lot of emotional investment in making sure that what they have believed in the past is in fact correct. I have seen person after person first get defensive, and then courageously examine and explore the archives of experience that are informing their definitions. Then they begin the process of exploring whether this thing they have never heard before is perhaps a better, richer, more nuanced, more beautiful, more complete and engaging way to tell the story.
Ron suggests something that, in theory, most evangelicals should agree with: that we should let the Bible define the gospel. The problem is that we have been taught things about the gospel that are extrabiblical, but we're not always aware of this. Words like gospel and repentance start to carry extrabiblical meanings, which we read back into the biblical text.
The language we use is loaded with baggage—namely, that many times our own understanding of the concepts we are trying to communicate is flawed, incomplete, or downright wrong. This may be hard to swallow, but frankly, it's true.
Take, for instance, the gospel. Ron suggests:
We have reduced the gospel and abbreviated the story. We have decided that "the gospel" is all about getting people a seat in the heavenly stadium. But what if tickets on the fifty-yard line in heaven are at best a by-product of the gospel and the newsflash is something quite different? Is it possible that the breaking headline has a lot more backstory to it than we've been letting on?
What Ron is really suggesting is something I really value: that we recapture a theocentric gospel, which helps us locate our part in a "still-unfolding story" and understand that our "personal stories have meaning and value in a larger narrative framework."
Years ago, J.I. Packer wrote, "To recover the old, authentic, biblical gospel, and to bring our preaching and practice back into line with it, is perhaps our most pressing present need." I agree. For those of us who are ready to take up this challenge, Static is a challenging read that leads us to ask exactly the right questions that can lead to real transformation.
Find out more about Static at Amazon.com | Amazon.ca.
Someone once said, "“It will serve the church if we spend the next 15-20 years asking the question, ‘what is the gospel?’” A statement like this sounds offensive at first for those of us who think we know the gospel. But the more I think about it, the more I think that this statement may be right.
This past week I listened again to a message by Tim Keller on the gospel. Keller quotes Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones as saying that the apostle Paul gives over fifty gospels in a nutshell. If the gospel is that rich and layered, encompasses the whole biblical story, then it makes sense to spend a bit of time making sure we haven't settled for a truncated version.
That's why I'm loving Ron Martoia's new book Static. Ron is a provocative thinker who has finally written a book challenging us to understand the gospel message as never before.
Ron writes:
It became obvious to me that much of what I had unquestioningly adopted as “gospel truth” contained all sorts of anomalies, unexplained loose ends, and far too many trite and thin explanations. The Bible, as I had come to understand it, even in the context of earning a biblical studies degree at a Christian university, didn’t seem to sing with the richness and depth I thought would be consistent with the heart of God, the Creator of the universe...
Just hit the pause button for a moment, take a deep breath, and let’s reflect. We’re talking about things we all hold near and dear, so this isn’t a journey where emotions are absent. But remember what is at stake...We are trying to figure out how to communicate clearly and in non-hostile ways the most important story in human history. Even more, we are trying to make sure we tell the real story - and the full story - not a CliffsNotes version that leaves out important, plot-altering details, or a Reader’s Digest excerpt. We are trying to invite people into the greatest story ever told, a story that can help them make sense of their personal stories, alter their life’s trajectory, and find a destiny and connection in loving God and loving others.
This is a dangerous book because it makes you rethink assumptions you may have held for a long time. I think it's an important book because of the stakes:
Christians by the thousands are hopping from church to church or leaving the institutional church altogether, disappointed, disillusioned, and disheartened because their understanding of the gospel and repentance has not delivered the dramatic life change they were led to believe would happen. Further, their disappointment makes “sharing their faith” even more difficult because it seems they are making promises they can’t deliver on, and neither can the church.
I'll be blogging some sections of the book this week. Static is scheduled for release this April.
Every hockey dad has to brag sometimes.
The funnest part of my somewhat wonky week was seeing my son in his first end-to-end rush today, capped by one of the nicest goals I've ever seen.
Almost makes those 7 a.m. weekend practices worth it!
Last Saturday night I woke up throughout the night with vertigo. When I got up, it went away, which made me happy because I didn't have to run around at the last minute to find someone to preach for me. Nothing like a pastor keeling over in the pulpit.
Every night since then, except for one, it's come back. I'm being thoroughly checked out, although so far it appears to be a virus. Yesterday I had some during the day and took some Gravol to help. The only bad thing about Gravol is it makes you drowsy, which didn't make me the best date for a lunch I had booked yesterday with Charlene. (Amazing lunch, by the way - part of Winterlicious.)
Nothing major, but a bit of an annoyance. I'm not enjoying this song quite as much as I used to.
I spent the day at Heritage Seminary listening to Charles Price from People's Church. Charles spoke from 1 Samuel on how pastors can stay fresh with God. If you're interested, my notes are online as a web page or PDF document (requires the free Acrobat reader).
I just want you to know that I would never do this. Even I have my standards.
The FoxFaith website says: "We understand that as a pastor, there are movies out there that are in parallel with your value system that you may want to support, if you could only see the film before it came out in theaters. Together, Fox Faith and DirecTV have come up with a solution. We want to give you a chance to see the movie via satellite. If you are a church and want this, they will install a satellite system in your church for free and give you basic service for free as well. There are no strings attached. We believe this really solves the problem. After you have the satellite, we'll let you know when the Fox Faith screenings will take place and what channel it will be on. You will be able to view the movie before it comes to theaters over a virtual private network."
Ah, just what our pastors needed--free satellite TV with "no strings attached." We can't help but wonder how many pastors will think, Sermon prep? Bah! Why dig out my Greek lexicon when I can watch an advance screening of the next "Christian thriller"!
I will, however, accept free meals from restaurants in exchange for casually slipping the restaurant name into my sermons. Contact my agent.
Jordon asked me to post five things that nobody knows about me. Here she goes:
- When I was a kid I wanted to be a page in the Ontario Legislature. Back then I think it was a one year commitment. It didn't work out so I had to settle for knocking on Bill Davis's door down the road (he wasn't home but someone did answer the door) and occasionally visiting the Legislature. I still like it the odd time I get there.
- My favorite university course was called Evil. I did really well too. I didn't do quite as well in a course called Love and Friendship.
- Jobs I have held: newspaper carrier, flyer delivery boy, ice cream scooper, kid's shoe salesman, photo finisher, and builder of fabric salt and sand domes.
- Jobs I wanted to have: architect, teacher, and writer.
- Ministries I started: When I was six I started a ministry called Worship Centre. Besides having plans to expand across Canada I'm not clear on what the ministry did. I did sell a cassette tape of one of my sermons to Bill Prankard though, and to my grandmother. One tape survives and is closely guarded with my life. The Worship Centre continued to survive on mailing lists until just a few years ago.
- Plus a bonus: I am not afraid of birds.
To keep this going, I'm tagging Bill, Mike, Arthur, and Charlene (just to get her blogging again). Let's hope they don't take a month like I did.
Andrew Hamilton (Hamo) has stopped blogging for now:
One of those changes is that I am going to be giving up blogging for at least two years if not permanently. It's a long and somewhat personal story that doesn't really belong online, but over the last few days I have become increasingly convinced that this is something I need to do.
Good for Andrew for doing what he feels is right. But I will miss his blog!
Microsoft tries to save me from itself when I browse to microsoft.com:
"There is a problem with this website's security certificate...We recommend that you close this website and do not continue to this website."
We are pleased to announce that we have planned another conference called The Evolving Church: Restoring Justice and TICKETS ARE NOW FOR SALE. The date of the conference is March 24, 2007 at The Meeting House in Oakville (no overflow like last year!). The plenary speakers will be Jim Wallis, Shane Claiborne and Ron Sider with workshops from David Fitch, Sandra Ryan, Dion Oxford, Dan Oudshoorn, Greg Paul, Rick Tobias and others.
Sounds great. All the information about registration, workshops and group rates can be found at epconference.net.
My prediction for Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die is that it will join The Tipping Point and Built to Last as a must-read for business people. The book explains why some ideas stick and some don't--and I've been on both sides of this equation. A warning though: If you read this book, you'll revamp a lot of your marketing material (as you probably should).
I started the book on Audible last night and it's as good as he says. The jacket copy says, “This is a book written for anyone who strives to craft messages that are memorable and lasting: teachers, businesspeople, journalists, ministers, and nonprofit leaders.” Just ordered a paper copy.
Tons of great geek sites out there and they're all getting better:
Google Homepage is now where I start out. It is by far the best start page I've had. Instant access to my Google Calendar (shared with Charlene and coworkers), Google Docs and Google Notebook, GMail, and Joe's Goals.
Google Reader is now what I use to read blogs. It's way better than it used to be and I seem to be able to read stuff faster and to share selected posts with others.
Yep, Google knows everything about me.
I still like Backpack but Hiveminder looks cool as well. I'm torn though. I am trying out Midnight Inbox and don't know which one I'll stick with.
I just finished iWoz, the autobiography of Steve Wozniak, inventor of the personal computer and founder of Apple. It's an okay book, although I would recommend it to geeks only.
The conclusion of the book, though, applies to anyone in ministry in these interesting times.
If you're as lucky as I've been, then you'll get to live in a time when you're young just as a revolution is about to take off. Just like Henry Ford was there for the automotive industry, I was there to see and build the first personal computers.Back in the mid-1990s when I was teaching school, I thought one time to myself, Wow, I wish I could be twelve now, look at the things I could do with what's out there now.
But then I realized I was lucky. I got to see the before, the during, and the after of some of those changes in life. I got to be one of those few people who could effect some of those changes...
I hope you'll be as lucky as I am. The world needs inventors - great ones. You can be one. If you love what you do and are willing to do what it takes, it's within your reach. And it'll be worth every minute you spend alone at night, thinking and thinking about what it is you want to design or build. It'll be worth it, I promise.
A great sermon from John Piper:
The great tragedy is not mainly masturbation or fornication or acting like a peeping Tom (or curious Cathy) on the internet. The tragedy is that Satan uses the guilt of these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had, or might have, and in its place give you a happy, safe, secure, American life of superficial pleasures until you die in your lakeside rocking chair, wrinkled and useless, leaving a big fat inheritance to your middle-aged children to confirm them in their worldliness. That's the main tragedy....
If it will help to have two headings, here they are:
1) Theology can conquer biology. Or another way to say it more specifically: Justification can conquer fornication.
2) Trust Christ to the hilt with gutsy guilt.
I'm still not sure that churches are talking openly enough about this even though it's obviously an important issue. Glad to see a sermon like this from Piper.
From atU2.com:
With its monster-selling Vertigo tour complete, U2 is ready to reinvent itself, frontman Bono said during a BBC Radio interview earlier this week. "Our band has certainly reached the end of where we've been at for the last couple of albums," he said. "I want to see what else we can do with it, take it to the next level; I think that's what we've got to do."
What's fashionable soon becomes unfashionable. While you might be remarkable for a time, if you don't reinvest and reinvent, you won't be for long. Instead of resting on your laurels, you must commit to being remarkable again quite soon.
I've been on holiday this past week. Haven't done much of anything. It's been nice.
I'm ready to reengage now. I don't want 2007 to be a repeat of 2006 or even the year before that. I'm ready to get unstuck and to get going. Maybe even to experience a bit of reinvention.
Here we go!
I'm scanning some of my childhood pictures and came across this one. What I wouldn't pay for a suit like this, along with matching socks, today.
Update: Rev. Mike thinks he's got me beat. You be the judge. I say it's hard to compete with purple.
If I look out my front door, I can see the tip of the CN Tower. I took Christina there years ago, and Charlene and I ate there once, but we've never gone as a family, at least not until yesterday.
We had fun except for the crowds. And I'm not sure I could justify the price ($140 for a family of four) if we hadn't used Air Miles to get three of the tickets. But you have to do it once I guess.
More pictures here.
Scott nails it in his New Year's Eve post:
another year comes to a close. another year older. i've been thinking about how short life is lately.
and i've been thinking about forgiveness.
it seems somehow natural to put things behind you on this night, to move on. it's easy to say, harder to do. so much baggage is accumulated. too many memories, too many episodes.
is forgiveness the hardest part of life?
i hope in 2007 we can learn to forgive. i hope i can. i hope some people can finally let me go, you know who you are. i hope a few can forgive me for things i've done, and for things they think i've done. i hope i can move on in life. i hope i can forgive my outstanding accounts...
welcome to 2007. there are a few bridges to build, a few to mend, and a few to burn. that is my prayer for this year. i hope this year i will also come to peace with my station in life, and boldly dream again for the future. i am glad i have a future.
i forgive you.
please forgive me.
Happy New Year to you.