Hard Times for the Gospel
May 29, 2007
Sorry, I said I was going to bed, but I made the mistake of checking Bloglines before I turned this beast off, and I found Michael Spencer’s rant on
Hard Times for the Gospel
This post manages to offend just about everybody in one way or another—which might be a key sign of well-balanced, penetrating analysis. Surely Michael is right, and his words are well, well worth the read. Hear, hear, Michael…
Post #1000 – Some Things I’ve Learned from Blogging
May 29, 2007
Well, here ’tis: post #1000, spanning a little over three years, meaning I’ve averaged nearly a post a day, which is pretty good, I suppose, given that I took several months off a little while back. I’d like to begin by thanking Webbie-Dude Paul, a great friend of mine since high school days when he got saved about 14 times after hard times of partying and sinning, and when he’d come to me to confess like I was Father Superior or something. Maybe he knew I was going to be a pastor or somethin’, I don’t know. Anyway, he does this site for me and doesn’t charge me a dime to do it, sort of his own labor of love, I guess. Thanks, buddy; I couldn’t do this without you, and you know it.
Next, thanks to all of my loyal readers and posters, to you lurkers, and hey, even thanks to those of you who dive in once or twice or occasionally and lob a grenade. When you post something inflammatory, and then I respond, and you don’t come back to follow up, it makes me look good and makes you look stupid, so hey, that’s a win-win, I figure! But back to the regulars: thanks for reading and posting, to Don and Matt and Mark and Sherry and Bob and Warm Tarheel and Graham (from across the big pond) and Hefe and Warren (well, Hefe and Warren and their silly post-a-thon of awhile back for the sole purpose of appearing at the top of my commentors stack was, well, pretty much what you’d expect of Hefe and Warren if you knew them, and knew that they both so desperately need lives—get one, boys!). Also thanks to Mel and Gurufrisbee and Expat Teacher and some of the rest of you who are fellow Christ-followers but who in some ways are the “loyal opposition”. You’ve kept me honest; called me on my excesses (and there sure have been some), and sharpened me in important ways. Thanks.
Now, to try to say a few profound things (increasingly difficult in my old age), on the subject of a few things that I’ve learned through doing this for 3+ years, with Norah Jones’ smoky voice escorting me in the background.
– I’ve learned that writing is an imperfect medium. I suppose that this isn’t news, but I know that there have been times when I’ve said things that didn’t come out the way I intended them to, that people have misunderstood my emotions or my emphasis or just plain the point I was trying to make. Perhaps writing isn’t imperfect so much as this writer is pretty darned imperfect himself. Yeah, that’s probably it…
– I’ve learned that clear thinking is hard to find. I say that not from the standpoint that I think I’ve always got a handle on it, but it’s hard to read blogs, to read some of the posts made on this blog, and not be discouraged by the seeming inability of people to sustain a clear line of argument without either sidestepping issues or resorting to ad hominem attacks or irrelevancies. Real thinking is indeed a rare commodity today, and the ability to write a best-seller, or to hold elective office, or for-Pete’s-sake to have a blog, doesn’t guarantee that a person does a good job of actually thinking.
– I’ve also learned that humility is a rare thing. Now and again, you’ll hear a blogger who’ll admit that an adversary has a good point to make, but that’s pretty rare. We’ll argue our points well past the point of them making sense, sometimes. And yes, I said, “we”.
- I’ve learned that blogging can be a tool of influence. People have told me how much they enjoy reading my musings about life, and I appreciate it. I hope I’ve made people think some, perhaps re-consider cherished opinions and ideas from time to time. I’m a theological conservative, and I make no apologies for that, and yet I hope that I hold my theological positions with grace and humility. I’m sure that I fail that test sometimes, but a “fightin’ fundamentalist” I ain’t, and I hope I show that we evangelicals can have a sense of humor, not take ourselves too seriously, and yet give no quarter to the popular mythologies of our day. I’m a libertarian conservative politically, which means in part that I consider myself to be a true conservative as opposed to some who I think are willing to jettison their conservativism when holding to it consistently would not be to their advantage. I really try not to “drink the Kool-Aid” for anyone, though I’m sure I fail at that sometimes. But I try to just honestly call ‘em as I see ‘em, and maybe if I do that as clearly and with as much good humor as possible, people will think things through one more time and come to at least see my point of view, even if they don’t agree with it.
If I thought longer, I’d probably be able to think of more or better lessons that I’ve learned through having done this for these years, but I’ve got a trip to San Antonio ahead tomorrow, it’s 10:32 at night, I need some sleep, and Norah is singing, “The Long Day is Over.”
Perfect.
Post #1000 on the Way, But ’til Then…
May 28, 2007
My next post on this blog will be post # 1000, and I’m going to try and make it something special (thing is, I’m not sure what, just yet). I leave for vacation on Wednesday, which basically means that tomorrow I’m going to figure out what I’m posting, get it posted, and hope it is a pretty good milestone. I have a few things I wanted to post on, but don’t think any of them is worthy of being #1000, so I’m going to take a minute here and make a compilation post on several subjects.
First, David Wayne, the Jollyblogger, is one of my favorite bloggers, and it’s extremely rare, I mean extremely rare, that I find myself in disagreement with him. But I do regarding this post of his, and I commented as well; I’ll let you read my disagreements for yourself:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned us of dispensing “cheap grace”, and I fear that that’s exactly what is happening with regard to some of the commenters. I’m sorry; this is going to sound terribly sexist, and I don’t mean it to be; it’s just an observation I have, and I’ll say in advance that it’s a generalization, okay ladies? Now…why does it seem that most Christian women who post on such matters come down on the side of, dare I say it, “cheap grace”? Yes, yes, there are plenty of men who do as well, I understand, but lots of women seem to love to tell people off whom they think are being “judgmental”. Sorry, but it doesn’t wash—and after you read Jollyblogger’s post, and my response, if you need me to explain why that’s the case, I’ll be happy to.
Second, from the world of sports, I am utterly, utterly blown away by the fact that ESPN chose to devote a good bit of this afternoon’s programming to this event:
Yep, there the cameras and sportscasters were, in Scranton, PA, televising a AAA game, all because Roger Clemens was tuning up there. Please. I mean, please. I only know this, by the way, because I was eating in a restaurant, and there it was on the massive screen, complete with his pitch count. Seriously. Words fail me…
Finally, this is not good news:
Report: Soda May Seriously Harm Your Health
Well, at least I’ll go out happy. Burp.
Corrs Video of the Week: Goodbye
May 28, 2007
Been awhile; time for our favorite Celtic group again. Nice piano work by the unsung Corr, Jim, on this one.
The Flag in the Sanctuary?
May 28, 2007
Michael Spencer has a great piece on the appropriate display of the American flag in our churches.
What About the Flag in the Sanctuary?
I think he’s just about dead-on with this one. Respect for the flag is altogether appropriate, but the sanctuary isn’t the place for the flag, IMHO. In Mercer, we had it in the sanctuary for many years, and then I began to think about the significance of putting an American flag in there. Eventually, I removed both the American and the Christian flags to the lobby; still in the building, but in more appropriate places.
IMonk also touches on something that’s bugged me for years: in VBS, why do we always pledge first to the American flag, and then to the Christian flag (and to the Bible last)? Shouldn’t that order be reversed?
Fun Stuff from Joe Carter
May 26, 2007
Face it: we all love arresting and funny commercials, and here are a few that I hadn’t seen, from around the world, courtesy of Joe at Evangelical Outpost; enjoy!
Children’s Ministry, Zoroastrian-Style
May 25, 2007
From our “general weirdness” files comes this website:
I found this thing when an email on Gmail contained the word “prayer”, and our friends the Zoroastrians paid, I guess, to have their children’s site put high on the link list. Further weirdness: they claim that the American Library Association has proclaimed their site one of the best ones for kids (wonder if the ALA actually does that, and if so, wonder if the ALA designates any evangelical children’s ministry sites thusly…hmmm…).
Final weirdness I wasn’t aware of: Zoroastrians worship Mazda. Particularly weird for me since I drive one, and trust me, worship hasn’t entered my mind relative to this vehicle (Blasphemy? Yes. Many times.).
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
