Adapting To The Culture

When the pastor at Family of Christ Congregation walked out the side door of the church and ran into the manager of the local radio station next door, he didn’t know his ministry and his world were about to change.

Family of Christ Congregation (FCC) was his third pastorate.   A rather imposing figure of a man, Pastor Tyrone Lexington Boone was born to an African American father and a Latino mother in a middle class suburb of northern Ohio; but the posting at FCC found him in a Tennessee medium-sized town that was “part south and part midwest” in its outlook.

The church seated 185 according to the fire marshal; though they once packed 210 people in for a wedding without resorting to extra chairs.   Sunday mornings tended to attract a fairly full house mixing young and old, suits and shorts, whites and non-whites, Charismatics and conservatives and the occasional “I’m not there yet” seeker.

The block was a mix of commercial and residential, but the church’s lot was deep, so parking was at the back of a skinny driveway.   You didn’t want to be going in when everybody else was coming out, or driving out when others will trying to come in.   There was a rather large bed and breakfast place on the other side of the driveway, and the local radio station was next door.

Currently operating under the somewhat dated name “PEACE 99;” the radio station wasn’t even a 99 at all, but broadcast at 98.9 FM.   But their studio was well insulated and the church never heard any noise from the place, especially on Sunday mornings when they ran some pre-recorded music commercial free.

Pastor Boone usually used the back door to the parking lot, but went out the side door more to see if the door actually worked or if it would prove to be sealed shut in the event of an emergency.    It was at that moment that Dan Righter — or at least that was his on-air name — the afternoon guy, station manager and owner of PEACE 99 walked out the side door of his building to see if the building lawn might need cutting.

“Hey!   I never use that door;” they both said to each other, almost in unison.   Dan Righter was also the station’s best sales representative, even though he had guys hired to do that job.   He was a quick study and his philosophy was that nothing in life is coincidence.  He saw an opportunity.

Pastor Boone muttered something about a “divine appointment” and was therefore quite receptive when the radio guy said he had an idea.

“I don’t actually make any money on Sunday mornings.   It’s not a good time to sell advertising spots.   So we just play stuff from the archives.    Heck, I even put a kid’s audition tape on the air to fill the time.   But I am under pressure from our community service advisory board to be doing more to help out in the town.   So Pastor, how’d you like to broadcast your Sunday service, free of charge?”

Boone shrugged his shoulders and said he’d never thought about going the radio before.    That was a lie.   It was all he thought about.   The Bible college he went to was next to a university that had a 100-watt campus station that could be heard for miles.    Not knowing he was from the adjacent institution, the students that ran the campus outlet gave him a four hour show on Monday nights.    He played an eclectic mix of music that had listenership from around the broader community.

“I don’t know about putting the church on the radio;” he replied.

“Look;”  Dan said; “There’s larger churches in town I can offer this to, but it’s a real hassle technically if I’m just giving the time away.   With you guys, I can run a line from your sound system right through these doors we just walked through, and when it’s over, it takes about 30 seconds to roll up the cable.  I’ll put the ‘free’ part in writing and we’ll commit to each other for 26 weeks.  If you want to walk away in six months, that’s fine.”

“You got a deal;” Pastor Boone blurted out, realizing even at that moment that this was a rather major decision he was going to have to clear through his board members, all ten of them.   Plus, he was at first going to have to make it sound like something he was considering, instead of something that was a done deal.

Nonetheless, the men shook hands on it.   Starting that Sunday, Family of Christ would begin sending their audio signal next door for PEACE 99 to spread throughout the town of 26,000 people.

It was Tuesday.

Zacchaeus Meets The Christmas Story

The story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19: 1-9 is the ultimate children’s Bible story.   Think about, it’s got:

• a short key character; kids can identify
• a parade — or something similar –  about to pass by
• tree climbing; what kid doesn’t like that?
• unlikely guy gets singled out for special treatment
• Zacchaeus and Jesus have a tea party, at least according to the children’s song; actual serving of tea may have been unlikely
• restitution of unfair trade practices; he did something bad and is going to make it right

But the tree climbing is the fun part of the story, so much so that we omit to notice the fact that respectable adults in the culture don’t climb trees.   In the book Preaching the Parables to Postmoderns, Brian Stiller reminds of another story where we miss the cultural nuances.

Stiller notes that in the story of the prodigal son, the father sees his returning son in the distance and runs to meet him.   To run meant to lift the lower hem of the tunics worn at that time, which would expose the ankles and lower leg.   While that may not seem out of line with the bathrobes worn in most church plays you’ve seen, it in fact is out of line with norms in that society.   Besides, the patriarchal head of household doesn’t run, period.

Zacchaeus climbs up a tree because he doesn’t want to miss Jesus.   The father in the story of the two brothers runs because he doesn’t want to miss a moment with or hide his enthusiasm for the return of his lost son.   Both actions involve a considerable loss of dignity on the part of both parties.

David understood this.   Consider this account from II Samuel 6:

¹⁴ David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

¹⁶ As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

The line I like is verse 22: I will become even more undignified than this.    Nothing reinforces this like the Matt Redman song,

I will dance I will sing
To be mad for my King
Nothing Lord is hindering
The passion in my soul

And I’ll become even more
Undignified than this
Some would say it’s foolishness but
I’ll become even more
Undignified than this

David’s removal of his outer garment ought to remind you of something else.  Think about this moment from John 13:

¹It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love^.

²The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” …

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.

The outer garment that Jesus removed was the fine piece of clothing that symbolized his authority as a rabbi.   Hours later, Roman soldiers would gamble for the chance to walk way with this prime specimen of clothing as a souvenir of their day’s work.

This action symbolized his servant leadership, but as he told Peter, there was a bigger picture yet to be grasped.   I believe that the removal of his outer garment symbolizes something else entirely, as shown in Philippians 2:

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor…

Jesus gave up the splendor of heaven — took of his outer robe — to enter into our human condition.   But then, as John 13:12 shows us, he puts that outer robe back on, i.e. he returns to the glory he had known before at the right hand of the Father.

There are lots of words we could use to describe this, but the key one for today is that he made himself undignified.

Now, he invites you to find a place where you can lose your own dignity in order to accomplish his purposes in your generation.

I Samuel and John passages – NIV; Philippians passage – NLT

Monday Lynx

Here’s some fresh lynx links to start the week:

• So far we’ve linked to Stuff Christians Like, Stuff White Christians Like and Stuff Christian Culture Likes (see blogroll at side) but this week we’re most definitely adding a link to Stuff Fundies Like.   You may be a huge Jon Acuff fan, but let’s face it, Jon goes to Andy Stanley’s church, which puts SCL in a world that most bloggers can relate to.   Stuff Fundies Like goes directly to the heart of conservative Christianity (i.e. Fundamentalists) and the author, who goes only by Darrell, definitely nails it.   (Warning #1:  Unlike SCL, SWCL and SCCL, the people portrayed in this one don’t always have a sense of humor.)  (Warning #2:  Allow at least a half hour becuase you’re going to want to read the ENTIRE thing.) (Warning #3:  Be prepared to do more than leave a comment; you can also sign up for a forum!)    Here’s that link one more time.
• Know someone who is 60 but has the ministry outlook of a 30-year-old?   Or how about someone who is 25 but seems to be going on 55 when it comes to their outlook on church and culture?   You might be dealing with someone who has a different MINISTRY AGE.   Now, thanks to Leadership Magazine, you can find out yours just by taking a simple survey.   (The scoring becomes rather obvious, but that just makes the whole thing more informative.)   Even if you’re not in vocational ministry, but serve on a board or teach a class:  Take the survey!  You may find that you’re a younger leader, pragmatic leader, or traditional leader.   Just 25 questions linked here.
• As far as I know, this isn’t a Christian book per se, but I was mailed a link to Start Up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer (Hachette, 2009) which begins with an interesting teaser:  “How is it that Israel– a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources– produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?”  Click here for more details. [UPDATE: See new link in comments section.]
  
• Jonathan Brink shares a link to a TED Talk by Karen Armstrong prolific author of over 30 books on religion including The Case for God (Knopf Publishing, September 2009).   Here she speaks on the history of “belief.”   This is heady stuff, but it’s worth viewing if you have 21:27 to spare.   Watch the video and read Jonathan’s comments here at the blog Misseo Dei.
• As Christians, we tend to focus on events which are close to us or familiar to us; so we usually pick up on events that take place in the White House that are more Christian-friendly.   So it’s interesting to see U.S. President Barack Obama giving an inter-faith, inclusive message on the occasion of Diwali (2:02) and lighting the Diwali lamp (1:00) in the White House.

Watch for the links lynx to appear any day any time !!  (Reminder to children:  Do NOT pet the lynx.)  Link suggestions are always welcomed.  Just call our link-tips hotline.

The Misunderstood God: Preview of Darin Hufford Book

In case you think I’ve forgotten, I decided to save my review of The Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford (Windblown Media) until a day closer to the November 2nd release date, when — in terms of people who still purchase from actual stores — it can do the most good.

But I wanted to give y’all a chapter fragment to chew on and tell me what ya think:

God Is Not Self-Seeking God did not send his only son to die because God was so offended by sin that he needed to whack somebody in order to feel better.  A “sin offering” is not made to God.  A sin offering is an offering made to sin.  Sin is a beast that wants to devour us.  Imagine you are camping in the wilderness alone and you come upon a grizzly.  The moment that bear sees you and begins running toward you, I promise you this: you had better come bearing gifts! If you have nothing to offer that beast he will devour you.  The sacrifice on the cross was essentially Christ throwing himself in front of the beast on your behalf and allowing it to consume Him while you escaped.  Jesus did not die on the cross to satisfy God’s moral rage at your sin.  He died to save you from the beast of sin.  The death he died to sin once for all. ~Darin Hufford, The Misunderstood God (Windblown Media, November 2009) pp 97-98

Robert Schuller Broadcast Date Announced

OK, so I’m a slave to blog stats.   Nothing drives traffic here like updated info on the rather public family feud between Robert A. Schuller (the younger) and Robert H. Schuller (the elder).   However, some are finding the information hard to come by, so I suppose we’re performing a valid service here.

So the official date is now set:  Thanksgiving Weekend.   (That’s U.S. Thanksgiving for my Canadian readers, not ours, which is this weekend.)  Sunday, November 29th to be specific.

The show will launch on American Life Network (ALN) and the “thirteen week scripted dramatic series” titled Everyday Life will kick off as a holiday special.

In other words, using narrative story instead of traditional preaching.   Brian McLaren and Donald Miller should like this approach.

You can read more here.

Guest Blogger Nathan Douglas on Adrian Plass

Yes, I know we covered British author Adrian Plass here as recently as May 1st, but when an e-mail from Nathan suggested I do something else in honor of the Canadian tour beginning this month, I threw the ball back in his court.   Regular followers of this blog know I don’t relinquish this spot to many guests, but I wanted you to meet Nathan Douglas, an undergraduate film student at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.  (Actually, some of his earlier work has been linked in this blog eighteen months ago.)

Paul has kindly offered me some space to write a few words about a mutually appreciated author: Adrian Plass.  As Paul mentioned in a recent post, Mr. Plass is embarking on a 17-city tour across Canada.  My post coincides with this event, namely because I’m pleased to have the opportunity to hear such a clever and illuminating writer speak, but also because just as the joy of experiencing a Plass novel should not be hoarded, neither should the chance to hear him in person pass by unnoticed.

There is one book that I have read cover-to-cover, four times a year, for about five years now.    It never grows stale, and it never loses its charm, nor its insight.  The surfaces of time and experience do not render it blunt.  It is The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass (aged 37¾).  My appreciation of Plass and his work is based on my experiences with this book, and its sequels.  What began as a fictional account of Plass’ daily life has grown into a tiny universe of its own, populated by some of the most endearing characters to spring from a pen.

Plass’ voice is such a gift to his readers, and to Western Christianity in general.  He understands the life of the middle-class Christian and articulates the graces and frustrations of that life with knowing love.  The life of the fictional Adrian is both plight and gift, and upon every new reading, I marvel at Plass’ ability to capture that finely tuned sense of bumbling around in the moment and by grace, playing some role in the works of God.

Perhaps what keeps the Diary fresh is its honesty about the humanity – quirks, flaws, and all – of Christians, and its refusal to communicate this solely through self-critical reflections.  Indeed, Plass’ greatest demonstrations of Christian reality come through the simple actions of its protagonist, whether they are somewhat misguided or deeply informed.  And as silly as some of these situations are, they speak truthfully to universal experiences amongst churchgoers (particularly Anglicans and charismatics, which happens to hit me right in the spiritual bulls-eye as far as experiences go).  Plass underlines the comedy with moments that start small and wind up emotionally resonant.  His speaking is known for its skill in evoking laughs and tears simultaneously, and one may find this gift humbly expressed in his writing.

“Talked to lots of nice people this morning from lots of different denominations.  Had a really great chat in the café.  Had to stop, unfortunately, or we’d have been late for the seminar on unity.”

The style of that writing is no less exciting; the man has a gift for crafting sparse sentences that provide just enough information, wit, and room for the reader to fill in the gaps.  His tone is the ideal balance of dry and emotive, informed by a deep love for the church. And outside of Lewis, I doubt I have read anyone who is so skilled at deploying sarcasm gently and effectively within a Christian context.

Adrian Plass is a prolific writer, and has written countless books outside of his Diary universe.  I have yet to read any, but am assured that they are no less affecting than these little tomes that I return to year after year.  If granted the time from a busy schedule, I look forward to seeing and hearing Mr. Plass in person.  And it is my hope that my fellow Canadians take this chance to experience in person one of the great, humble, and understanding voices of modern Christianity.

To read Nathan’s own blog, click here for Cinema Truth

Benny Hinn Denied Entry into the UK

Not sure why the blogosphere hasn’t picked up on this October 2nd story from the TimesOnline, but apparently — despite arriving by private jet — evangelist Benny Hinn could not pass the new “Tier Five” qualification for admittance into the UK.   Hinn’s jet then flew to another airport where he was again denied entry.

Hinn was booked October 1 – 3 at a venue in London’s Docklands district and many had traveled to London booking expensive hotels for the opportunity to hear him speak.   The free-admission meetings went ahead with another pastor taking his place.

Read the TimesOnline story here.

It was also covered October 3rd in the Telegraph of London.

That story was picked up in the Dallas Morning News, with a summary that began:

Benny Hinn was denied entry into the United Kingdom for a three-day rally this weekend in London under rules intended to combat extremism, according to news reports and a statement he released late Saturday
…Thousands of evangelical Christians had planned to hear Hinn. In a letter distributed to attendants, Hinn said immigration officials turned him away during two attempts to enter the country. Under new rules, religious workers must obtain a certificate of sponsorship from a church before arriving in Britain. In his letter, Hinn apologized and told supporters he believed he had done everything he needed to do in order to enter the country.

Coffee Time in the Middle of the Service

When I picture the first century Christians meeting together, I don’t picture rigid formality.   For example, I don’t picture the chairs being in rows, even though there’s something about the synagogue seating plan where the women were on one side and the men on the other.   I guess my mental image is more of an “upper room” kind of scene, and I can almost hear the baby crying towards the back.  And we know Eutychus was sitting in the window ledge when Paul spoke, which would greatly concern the insurance companies today.

I also realize that there is a whole history — some would say a whole theology — of fellowship around a meal table.   It’s an Eastern thing to be sure, but it’s also a very Christian thing.   The whole “love feast” concept.   Or the idea that the first communion service was, among other things, a supper.

But I can’t figure out the logic of churches who are taking the former pre-service coffee time, or post-service coffee time, and making it a mid-service coffee time.   We’ve been in a number of churches now where this is done and it hasn’t worked for us.   Today I spoke with a couple who — after three years which included some time in small group leadership – found it wasn’t working for them also.

Here are some reasons:

1. People are busy.  They make an effort to attend what they mentally budget as a 70-80 minute service and they expect 70-80 minutes of prepared content, usually meaning spoken or sung content.   It can be that the leadership has prepared it, or that individuals have brought gifts to the service that will be shared somewhat spontaneously.    But it’s content nonetheless.   Not ‘break time.’
   
2. People are visiting.   There’s nothing like standing on the sidelines when everyone else is catching up on the latest gossip when you’re a visitor and nobody wants to connect with you.   The couple in my above conversation found it hard to move past this point.   We know the feeling.   This ‘fellowship time’ could happen before or after.   Instead,this becomes ‘down time.’
3. People are literal.   They trust that when you say ‘five minutes’ you mean 300 seconds.   Not ten minutes.   Ten minutes is just too long for a time that is supposed to be dedicated to worship and teaching.   This is not the same as my first point; this has to do with expectations.   You said ‘five’ and you realized — as if for the first time — that you can’t serve that number of people down that much hot coffee that fast.   So as a result it went ‘over time.’

Has your church joined the growing number that have subscribed to this trend?   What are your thoughts on it?    Do some of you reap benefits from this worship order scheduling?  Or do you see other liabilities beyond the ones I listed?

Size Matters: Another Look at this Issue

What do you do when you agree with the sentiment of this position:

from Lee Coate at Random Thoughts blog, August 5th;

…but simply can’t ignore this data:

(Barna Research Data)

?????

from Kent Schaffer at Church Relevance blog, August 10th

Maybe both options offer something different.  Your thoughts?

Comments Left in the Blogosphere

Honestly, sometimes I think I do my best work on other people’s sites. Others may just think of it as dropping more litter on the information highway…

On the Jaycee Dugard case, I left this at Julie Clawson’s site:

I think there’s also a broader element to this story which so captivates us. The highway to my house passes through a dense forest. I’ve often wondered if there is any unsolved crime evidence hidden there. There’s a man on my street who in 20+ years has never planted a tree, never paved his driveway. I often wonder what goes on inside that house. There’s a property a few miles from me where for years, the interior was completely ringed by a six-foot solid wood plank fence. What on earth was going on behind that wall?

We drive through the woods and past homes and property oblivious to what stories are written there. It’s astonishing that something like this story could go on right under the noses of the neighbors for all those years, but then I ask, what could be going on right under our noses? But we don’t want to answer that question because to truly answer it would be to give up basic freedoms. I remember how, years ago, as an apartment tenant, I would resent the annual inspection by the landlord. I wanted to be king of my castle.

But maybe the loss of such freedom is the price we must pay to ensure the safety of people like Jaycee. On television at least, that property looked like it was dying for a closer audit; and health, fire, safety and environmental concerns are sufficient grounds for authorities to get a closer look.

I don’t visit the Emerging Women blog too often (!), but left this remark in regards to the TNIV discussion:

I was really impressed with the book How To Choose a Bible Translation for All It’s Worth by Mark Strauss and Gordon Fee, especially the way the book dealt with the Greek term ‘anthropos’– hope the spelling is close — referring to mankind not males. My fear is that we’ll look back on this day about a dozen years from now and decide that this was an overreaction. The TNIV was not the translation equivalent of New Coke.

Eric Miller is somehow able to attend a Beatles-inspired concert and get Christianity Today to print his review of it, under the rather offbeat title, Vacationing With The Pagans.    You can almost see the lightning and hear the thunder as the clash of cultures reveals itself in the emerging comments section.   I was rather amazed they ran the piece and wrote:

Wow!  If Eric Miller can get all this out of watching a Beatles tribute band do a beach concert, I hope he has a full book coming out.  Chesterton’s analysis notwithstanding, I’m sure this was a very professionally done performance; recreating very familiar original music is most difficult to do, but it is a joy to watch, especially when that music helped transform both a generation specifically, and Western society in general.

I’m sure it was most evocative, especially for those who lived through those days from 1963 to 1970.  After an experience like that, you want to share it with someone, and as Christ-followers, sometimes the only frame of reference we have is our faith; our spirituality.

But I’m also not certain where this fits into the online pages of CT, though I do see a value in celebrating these moments when they take place. Probably there were other Christ-followers in the audience, too; whether or not they would call it ‘vacationing with the pagans,’ I’m not so sure…

Finally, here’s one on Stuff Christians Like concerning the online church fad:

Occasionally… I’ll listen to a podcast while sitting at the desktop. Over the last few months I’ve been coming to the conclusion that I’ve been ADD all my life, before the diagnosis ever existed.

So I’ll never forget the first time — and the associated guilt — when I started clicking Solitaire cards as I was listening. Frankly, this type of multi-tasking only sharpens my concentration on the sermon.

Now I’m looking for a church that has video monitors installed in the last two rows for those of us who need a built-in distraction to hear the message more clearly.

So what about you?  Do you leave comments on blogs?  I guess if you respond to that, the answer is yes.

What Church Do You Go To?

Over at the blog, Twenty-Two Words,  Abraham Piper asked his readers a simple question on August 24th, “What church do you go to?”   The blog, which normally elicits anywhere from a dozen to three or four dozen comments got — so far — 925 comments in answer to this question, and the number still goes up a little every day.

Knowing I don’t have anywhere near A.P.’s traffic, I thought it might be fun to try this anyway.    But why this particular question and not, “What part of the world are you reading from?”

I often find that asking people where they go to church is simply a means of putting people in a box.   I try not to do it for that reason, but rather to establish a lingua franca to aid further communication, since I speak a total of 17 denominational dialects.  (Did I spell lingua franca right?   It’s been a long time since I used it in print. According to this article, I spelled it right but maybe used it wrongly.)

A.P. also found out that not everyone who reads his blog shares his faith, so following a reader suggestion, he boldly asked his non-Christian readers to ’sign in’ on September 1st, but a scant 16 have commented as of this writing.

So anyway, for what it’s worth — and PLEEEZE comment or it will be really embarrasing — what church do you go to?

Link Land

I’ll keep these short and sweet so you have time to click on all of them!

• Michael Spencer, aka Internet Monk is blogging through a series of analysis and commentary on the elements that make up an Evangelical church service.   No particular post link here, as you’ll have to scroll up and down to catch the entire series, The Evangelical Liturgy.   (But if you’re coming to this beyond early September ‘09, then use this link to the first six posts.)
  
• Christianity Today has done an interesting piece for women called What Not To Wear, advice for women in church leadership.    Apparently “Sally is too pretty to preach.”  (No, guys, there’s no pictures.)
  
• Regent College professor John Stackhouse suggests that it might be to our advantage to stop the drive towards extinction of that endangered species known as the Christian bookstore.   The piece  is titled, Good Bookstores: If We Ignore Them, They’ll Go Away.
  
• Congratulations to Denver-bound Jeff McQuilken at Losing My Religion on the occasion of 500 thought provoking blog posts.   Well, maybe not the anniversary one.   BTW, that blog title would make a great song title, don’t ya think?
  
• Ben Bateman at Mankind Toons has picked up his pen or brush or whatever cartoonists use after a long break, and also launched a new website.    See below for a sample of his work.
  
• Blogger Michael Kruse at Kruse Kronicle posts the 2013 Beloit College list, significant for me since I have one headed to college in a week.
  
• If you ever endured Philosophy 101, you know all about Plato’s Cave aka Plato’s Cave Analogy.   Someone has done a short Claymation, which in turn has been posted at Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice.
  
• Worried about Fluffy and Fido after the rapture.   Here’s another service that will take care of them, for a fee that is, at Eternal Earthbound Pets.  But don’t worry any longer, because in an interview with Jayson Boyette, the atheist founder admits they have no intention of ever actually having to feed the cats and dogs.     Part One.   Interview Part Two.

Currently Reading: Heaven and the Afterlife – Garlow

Heaven and the Afterlife – James L. Garlow I’m about a third of the way through this one and will be doing a full review on it in later in the week.  My first reaction is that this book takes a more secular, more scientific approach to this topic than the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn, beginning with the whole NDE or near-death-experience phenomena.   (Admittedly, it was the abridged 50 Days of Heaven that I read.)   Thus, I see the possibility of giving this one as a gift to a non-churched friend who may not get into Alcorn’s “bible study” approach to the topic.   But remember, I’m only one-third in. The only other major observation is that among many of the early NDE anecodotal stories, Garlow presents a few wherein the subject is not at all headed to a place of light and love — rather, the other direction — but is offered a last chance at salvation, while in some intermediate state between this life and the next.   Does this mean Garlow believes that ultimately, everyone is included in Christ’s finished work of the cross? I guess I’ll have to keep reading. Thinking Out Loud – Matters of Faith Because Faith Matters

Benjamin Elliott: An Exemplary Life

For the past few months, in the upper right corner of this site, there has been a prayer request for an 19-year old young man named Benjamin.   A year ago, Ben was diagnosed with Leukemia and after a courageous and inspiring fight against this form of cancer, today was welcomed into the presence of the Lord.

Yesterday his mom wrote on Ben’s prayer page on Facebook:

Something I heard via my brother from a fellow sojourner whom I’ve never met rings in my heart so loudly that I couldn’t keep it to myself.  He said, “All year I’ve been praying for a miracle for Ben.  I just realized that the miracle IS Ben.”

Because of Ben’s mom’s eloquence and transparency in describing the details of Ben’s last year, and because of the communications medium that Facebook and the internet offer, we as a family we have walked this journey with the Elliott family, step by step and have prayed more fervently and more intensely than with any other prayer request that has heretofore crossed our path.

I think it’s only fair to let Ben have the last word.   First, an introduction from his mom:

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This past Sunday (August 9) the Lord enabled Ben to not only rise earlier than he’s been accustomed to as of late, but to have the strength to stand (unassisted) for 10 minutes in his weak, nauseated and pain-stricken state while he conveyed some of these same thoughts to our packed house, church family.  The physical strength God gave him was nothing short of a miracle, not to mention the inner strength He provided to allow Ben to speak one of the most powerful messages I’ve ever personally heard (not to downplay any of my pastor/husband’s sermons).  To say that many were blessed and impacted deeply as a result of Ben’s response to God’s nudging would be an understatement.

Ben Elliott – Sunday, August 9th Memorial Baptist Church, Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Good Morning! It’s good to be here and to see everyone again. It’s been quite a long time and I wasn’t sure if this day would ever come…but it’s good to be back…finally!

I’m not going to be very long this morning because I’m kind of weak, I have a pounding headache and I’m a little nauseous to be honest with you.

I don’t want to have this morning focus on me at all. In fact, I was quite hesitant to even do this because I thought that by me coming up here it would get the focus of this last year on me and that’s the exact opposite of what I want this to be. This whole past year has been all about God entirely and His ultimate plan and purpose for my life and everyone’s.

The FIRST thing I want to say is …THANK YOU!

Thank you for all your love and support and encouragement and prayers. I’m positive they went a long way in allowing me to keep my sanity throughout months in hospital and through all the ups and downs and everything. The power of prayer can’t be matched at all. Thank you very much for that.

Thank you to everyone who came out this past week and wave to me as I was supposed to fly over the church building. It didn’t work out that way. We got up eventually and it was very good.

Thank you also for letting my dad and family have some extra time off so to spend time together. It’s been good and I’ve appreciated it a lot.

SECONDLY I want to talk about SUFFERING a bit.

I think I’ve learned a thing or two about suffering the past 12 months and I wonder what has been accomplished for God’s ultimate will because of my suffering? If I had had just a “normal year”, life would have continued as normal. BUT…how many opportunities for God would have been missed if I hadn’t endured that?

I’ve learned this past year that it is possible to suffer and go through terrible circumstances with a smile on your face and not have to ask the question “WHY ME?” Gods’ plan is bigger than all of us. His plans always work out perfectly, according to His will. So why should we waste our time asking “why” when instead we can sit back and just say “wow!!!”

I can keep a smile on my face because I’ve learned that suffering isn’t a punishment from God or a curse from Satan. Instead, I’ve learned that my suffering is a rare opportunity from God to showcase how awesome He really is.

While battling leukemia I have also learned that suffering has a way of connecting people…sometimes in weird circumstances…but the result is usually for the better. These past 12 months I have met and been helped by many, many incredible people; many people who do not have a relationship with God. I guess I won’t really know fully until eternity what impact my story may have had on them. But, if I was able to see a few of those people when I get to heaven…or when they get to heaven… just think of how exciting that will be!

My suffering has also connected me to God in ways that only after living through this kind of circumstance would you be able to understand. I hope that somehow, through my suffering, you have been connected to God in a deeper way too.

A cool thought I just got yesterday while running over this for a final time was that maybe my temporary suffering on earth has brought others to God…ultimately preventing them from eternal suffering in hell! I don’t know…just a thought I had yesterday.

And finally to sum up this whole suffering thing, I read a quote a few weeks ago and here it is:

“…Our healing begins when we participate in the suffering of God. When we don’t avoid it but enter into it, and in the process, enter into the life of God. When we see our pain not as separating us from, but connecting us to our Maker…”

FINALLY … I want to talk about DEATH.

I wonder if you have ever really thought about death. I mean not just a casual crossing your mind or passing thought…everyone’s done that. I mean really, really thought about death….because I have a little bit.

I don’t mean to brag or sound proud or be boastful or anything, BUT…I’m not afraid to die. I’m not worried about my death and I’m not afraid to die because I’m a Christian. I know that death just means I move from this life on earth to an eternal party in heaven. I can say 100% honestly that I am not scared to die…but I’m very excited actually. Just to think that there will be no pain or suffering…just partying and happiness eternally!

My name is written down in heaven! Think about that…“Benjamin David Elliott” is physically written down in the Book of Eternal Life! If that’s not a cool mental image then I don’t know what is!!

Psalm 139:16 says that “All my days ordained for me were written in God’s book before even one of them came to be.” Meaning God was in charge from the day I was born and is equally as is in charge of the day that I will die and takes me home. So…I don’t have to be worried or afraid, I just have to trust Him!

It says in John 3:2 that when we die we will be like Jesus. Now maybe I’m taking this verse a little bit out of context… but just think about this…When Jesus came back from the dead He was able to physically walk through walls. I don’t know, I just think that’s kind of cool!

So yes, God wants us to have a long life on earth and enjoy ourselves…BUT… just think of how incredible eternity will be! We as Christians should not be scared of death. Instead…we should look forward with hope to an amazing eternal life in heaven. Ultimately, it all comes down to our relationship with Jesus. It’s not about religion…it’s about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

So…I guess the bottom line and big question is this: Are you just a religious person…or do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Is your name written down in the big name book in heaven of eternal life? If it’s not…you should definitely take some time out of your day to think about how awesome eternity can and will be…if it’s spent with God in heaven! And, then….I’ll see you there…and we can party forever!!

My ultimate prayer is that God’s will, will be done and everyone will be okay with that. Whether that’s living for 90 more years or going to see Him very, very soon. The truth is, as a Christian it doesn’t really matter. There is no bad option. It’s a win/win either way.

Here is a final verse that I’m not going to read, you have to look it up in the Bible yourself…if you care enough. It’s a verse that has kept me going throughout this past year. God takes care of every single detail in our lives…very, very, very specific details. I think that’s cool too!! Thinking that someone cares that much about me, and knows so much about me is a very humbling thought. So I’ll leave you with Matthew 10:30.

Robert A. Schuller’s First Sermon in the U.S. Since Last Fall

The atmosphere is informal, the ambiance is casual, the technical video quality of the 29 minute sermon is somewhat poor, and the audio is somewhat hard to hear; but it’s a video recording that is going to attract a lot of attention over the next few days.   Futhermore, the audience — while definitely not the largest crowd he has ever preached to — seemed to be enjoying every word.

Robert A. Schuller’s sermon at his son Bobby’s church, The Gathering Community, preached on August 9th, but not posted online until Friday (14th)  represents his first sermon preached in the United States since last fall.   Appropriately, he preached on pain, which his wife Donna describes on her own blog as “an experience very familiar to him over the past year.”

Link to The Gathering blog here to see the video.   High speed internet connection — or much patience — strongly recommended.