Reformissionary

Gopsel Coalition Site is Online

The Gospel Coalition

9 Marks Blog: Church Matters

9 Marks, the very helpful ministry of Mark Dever and Matt Schmucker from Capitol Hill Baptist in DC, now has a blog. Check out Mark Dever’s introductory post.  From a 9 Marks email...

Our intended audience, as with most of 9Marks material, is pastors, church leaders, and seminarians. At the same time, we hope that all Christians become more interested in church matters, because we believe the local church is the focal point of God’s plan for displaying his glory to the nations. That includes all of us who profess faith in Christ.

Blog contributors will consist of Mark Dever, Matt Schmucker, Jonathan Leeman, and the 9Marks lead writers, as well as several like-minded pastors and occasional guests. For the time being, we thought we’d try opening the blog to public comments. Hopefully it can be used as a place of honest inquiry and discussion regarding pastoring and leading local church life.

Lots-O-Links-n-Shtuff

Allelon - "a movement of missional leaders" -- They have a website which has a number of resources, but I'm really loving Alan Roxburgh's netcast (especially the audio podcast) the most.  There are things said that I don't like or agree with, but in general this is a great podcast for seeing the emerging missional church for what it is and what it claims to be in different locations.  The interview with Steve Taylor is really great.

Theology Unplugged (TUP) is a podcast by some Dallas Seminary profs.  They say, "The uniqueness of TUP is that we speak on theological issues of the day with clarity, honesty, and openness. TUP allows the listener to make informed judgments on the most important theological issues today."  Their seven part series on the emerging church is a great example of that.  I'm through the first three episodes and I'm pretty shocked at how well they do in trying to understand the emerging church.  Well worth hearing. (HT: Internet Monk Radio)

Peter Leithart finds ways of saying things that just make sense to me...

One of my recurring frustrations with recent debates in the Reformed world is a widespread failure of theological imagination. Too many seem to operate on the assumption that we have everything already figured out; we have all possible categories and positions ready to hand. All we need do is deploy these categories on whatever happens our way. It'll fit, Procrustes says.

Thus, it is seriously proposed that someone is either on the road to Rome or the Road to Geneva - with no possibility of a third (or fourth, or fifth) destination, with no possibility that there might be something in between (though in between is where much of the Christian world lives). And if I suggest that we Reformed might still have something to learn from the Bible about justification, then I must be Rabbinic or Roman Catholic - there simply is no other alternative.

The Evangelical Outpost (Joe Carter) wonders why Southern Baptists would create boundaries with alcohol that would exclude Jesus from leadership in the convention.  He asks, "Can we be more ethical than Jesus?"

Darryl Dash hears Tim Keller and blogs: Tim Keller on Spiritual Fruit and Ministry.

Desiring God Blog: 25 Ways to Help Kids Love to Read

Drew Goodmanson on Missional Eldership.

Miniature Earth -- "If the world's population were reduced to 100, it would look something like this..."

English 101 (we all make mistakes, but some of us make too many!)

Some Videos...

Children See, Children Do...

Doll Face...

Stop Motion Beatbox...

Scot McKnight's Advice to Bloggers/Authors

Scot McKnight gives some good advice to bloggers, er, authors who blog.  Point #5 is outstanding. :)

Oh Snap!

Joe Thorn on SnapShots.

Website Issues

Geez, yesterday was a nightmare with this blog.  It was down all day and I did nothing that could have caused it.  I was emailing both Typepad and GoDaddy (for domain issues) about it and they were both pointing the finger at the other one.  Ugh.  Finally at 1:30am this morning the GoDaddy people were able to do something to fix it, though I'm still not convinced it was their problem in the first place. 

So nice to have the site back up, especially since I will be blogging this week from the Baptist Identity Conference at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.

Amazing Blog Post

This is probably the best blog post I've read in...a long while. Just Amazing.

Random Shtuff

Some places worth going and things worth reading...

Michael Spencer on Francis Chan's Gospel Presentation
Drew Goodmanson on Conducting a Church Missional Survey
NT Wright at CT: Mere Mission
Free Hugs
Fast Company on Creative Class Struggle
Pan's Labyrinth
Interview with Bob Roberts

World Changers

I should have been linking this blog for some time now, but just realized I don't have him on my blog list.  Please keep up with Steve Addison's blog, World Changers.  It's consistently fantastic.

Reformissionary Roundup

Time for a roundup of random stuff.

1. I've started a Bible study series at our church based on Kris Lundgaard's book, The Enemy Within (@ Monergism).  Lundgaard's book is based on two of John Owen's works on sin.  I read it a few years ago and rereading it for this series.  Very helpful book.  Justin Taylor points to some of Lundgaard's audio messages on The Enemy Within.

2. Watched the movie Click with my wife yesterday.  It was moderately funny.  Best part of the movie is what Adam Sandler does to David Hasselhoff (there's a bad word here, so don't watch if you can't handle it).

3. Speaking of video, the Smiling Addiction video is great.  It's an original piece (including original music) by Crossroads Community Church in GA.  I think Joe Thorn first pointed me to this.

4. It looks like Paradox, a music venue at Mars Hill Seattle but not run by Mars Hill, is no more.  This article doesn't really give Mars Hill's perspective in a good light, but the news was worth mentioning.

5. Have you taken a trip on Line Rider yet?  Throw on a scarf and go!

6. Alan Hirsch is blogging.

7. Tim Keller wants to help you know how to "Work."  Great sermon.  Keller provides Dorothy Sayers' definition of the biblical doctrine of work: "Work is the gracious expression of creative energy in the service of others."  Other TK Resources.

Blogging for Pastors

Cory Miller asked me 5 Blogging Questions.  I answered them.  Cory has them up now at ChurchCommunicationsPro.  See how other bloggers responded.

Catching Up

I want to update you on a few things concerning the blog and life.

One of my main goals with the blog over the last few months has been to only blog when I want to, and to keep from encouraging comment threads that end up wasting my time.  For the most part I've stuck with that idea and it's made the blog an extension of my life rather than a power over my life.  I haven't been writing much of my own thought lately, not much in terms of original content.  But I'm okay with that right now.  I hope that will change soon, but it has to mesh with what I'm doing in my local church.

We went to visit my parents after church on Sunday.  I've mentioned before that my Mom has cancer.  Last week they found out the chemo is working and shrinking the cancer.  It's hard to say what that will mean for the next few weeks or months, but it's the first piece of good news we've had since she was diagnosed.  Thanks to all who are praying.  The picture is of my mom and sister.  My sister colored her hair, my mom (who is losing her hair) is wearing a Halloween wig.

I'm halfway through preaching Colossians and loving it.  It's just what I need, and I'm thankful to God for what I'm learning.  I hope our church is getting the same thing.  The one thing I haven't done much of lately is listen to sermons.  My wife and I used to listen to a sermon together on Monday mornings.  I would be in my office and she would be working on the house.  But I moved my home office to our basement so we are disconnected.  I miss those mornings listening together to guys like Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll or Tim Keller.

My sons and I are really enjoying the football season so far.  The Bears are exceeding all expectations and look like they are equipped to go the distance.  The Monsters of the Midway are monsters again.  Beware!

Have you enjoyed a good cigar lately?  Why not?  I've been learning a lot about cigars lately and have enjoyed one or two.  Delightful.  Pick up this one, or maybe this one.

Last let me mention some things I've been enjoying lately.  Richard Lovelace's book, Renewal as a Way of Life, has been a great encouragement so far.  A very thought provoking book.  Ray LaMontagne's new CD, Till the Sun Turns Black, is good.  iMonk's podcast has been a nice diversion.  So has Writers on Writing. 

By the way, the iTunes 7 upgrade sucks for Windows users.  Then they put up a fix (7.0.1) which merely sucks less.  Distortion.  If you haven't upgraded, stay where you are for now.

Driscoll Updates Ministry in Seattle

Mark Driscoll has a nice, long post on what's happening in his life & at Mars Hill.  It's an interesting post with a look at a few people who are throwing stones at him, the growth issues they face at Mars Hill as well as the number of people they have in various recovery groups, and stuff he is writing. 

Whatever you think of Driscoll, it's good to keep up.

Suburban Blog

Albert Hsu, author of The Suburban Christian (which I liked), has a blog.  I'll be reading.

(HT:JT)

Sermon Cloud

My buddy Drew Goodmanson has some good news about Sermon Cloud.  This is a cool idea you need to check out.  Here's some info...

Sermon Cloud is a website for a community to interact with sermons. What are the powerful sermons people are listening to? Who are the up-and-coming preachers of the day? Where are the messages about themes that you need to hear? How can you find a great preacher in your home town? Sermon Cloud was designed to help you with all of these questions.  Sermon Cloud users help let each other know which sermons they amen. An 'amen' is a recommendation of the sermon. Users can post comments about their interaction with these sermons (even the comments can be designated as helpful or unhelpful). Sign-up for free to begin interacting, commenting and recommending sermons
today!

For Churches and Preachers: Sermon Cloud offers churches FREE Advanced Sermon Syndication & mp3 services. Are you interested in podcasting, syndicating and using all the other 'Web 2.0' buzzwords for your church? Sermon Cloud Features include Resampling mp3's to be optimized for the internet, Syndicating content (Integrating directly into iTunes store, syndicating through RSS feeds.), Displaying recent sermons on your church website, Podcasting mp3, Sermon Streaming capability in our Jukebox player, Tagging System, Commenting on sermons, Community recommending sermons, Searching for sermons and more...

Wild Wednesday

I found (via Fast Company) a video on Web 2.0 that is super-helpful.  It's a 24 minute video from TechCrunch. I love the end where all these guys are asked what browser they use.  Care to guess?

In the video Arrington conducts conversations with 13 Web 2.0 CEOs about what Web 2.0 is, whether we're in a bubble, what business models work, what is the role of publishers, and how important and how large is the early adopter crowd, along with other issues related to user adoption trends and technology. For certain, Web 2.0 is about technologies such as Ajax, Mash-Ups, Flash, Tagging, and open source applications. But mostly Web 2.0's central focus is user participation.

Participants included Joe Kraus (Jotspot), Scott Milener (Browster), David Sifry (Technorati), Auren Hoffman (Rapleaf), Chris Alden (Rojo), Jonathan Abrams (Socializr), Aaron Cohen (Bolt), Jeremy Verba (Piczo), Steven Marder (Eurekster), Matt Sanchez (Video Egg), Godhwani (Simply Hired), Keith Teare (edgeio), and Michael Tanne (Wink).

Speaking of Web 2.0, last week Joe Carter (Evangelical Outpost) and I met with Justin Taylor (I hear J.I. Packer calls him Justin the Squire!) and a couple of other Crossway Publisher folks about blogging & reviewing books.  Very good conversation, and some great people.

I am trying out Browster because of the 2.0 video.  Wow, it's very interesting.  Anyone else trying it?  You need to check it out.

I'm pumped about GTDGmail.  If you haven't read Getting Things Done by David Allen, and/or if you aren't implimenting GTD in your life, please give it a look.  And then you can get GTDGmail and really geek out.

Watch the "Lecture Musical" from Prangstgrup.  Hilarious.

Michael Foster leads us to David Slagle's 100 Things I've Learned the Hard Way as a Senior Pastor.

Some Music You Should Check Out:

Husky Rescue (myspace)
Serena- Maneesh (myspace)
Black Angels (myspace)
TV on the Radio (myspace)

**If you are a Southern Baptist, please skip this next part.**  Imbibe?  Review and share your thoughts on your latest bottle of vino at Cork'd.  Gotta light?  CigarCyclopedia.

Speaking of "the good life," if you are a Southern Baptist you need to read this critical article from former SBC President Bobby Welch.  We need more wisdom like this!

I understand one pastor's blog site indicates he believes his drinking assists him in soul-winning!...

We have many outstanding young pastors and others on their way to leading this Convention to...do it as "sipping saints,"...as...soul winners! God help us to...elect a user or promoter of the use of alcoholic beverages to...leadership...!

Please don't sent hate mail.  It's a joke.  ;)  Bobbay is SOOOO funny.

Links Matter

A few links...

John Piper has written a manuscript responding to N.T. Wright's view of justification.  Who knows if/when we will see it since he is seeking the thoughts of others on it, but the conversation at Justin Taylor's blog about it is already interesting.  Piper wrote this on his summer sabbatical at Cambridge.

Brian Spears writes on the 10 things you'll learn by visiting other churches.  Always helpful for those of us who too rarely get to visit other churches.

The Church Planting Resources site is looking good, and is now considered to be 83% sexier (according to Drew Goodmanson).  It's a site for "free exchange of information to help build the Kingdom and ultimately spread the gospel." 

Comback Churches has some good stuff from Ed Stetzer, including his "Stirring the Waters" articles.

And have I mentioned before the PeopleGroups website?  Some good, basic demographic stuff for you.

MBB

If you haven't noticed, I've killed my other blog: Missional Baptist Blog.  Just thought I would let everyone here know that.

Review: Breaking the Missional Code

A couple of nights ago I finally finished Breaking the Missional Code, a new book by Ed Stetzer and David Putman.  I found it to be a worthy read and I wanted to offer a somewhat brief review of it.

I expected this to be a good intro to missional thinking.  I'm not sure that's what I'd call it.  I would call it a good intro to the outworking of some missional thinking.  It's not about the "missional code" but about "breaking" it.  That's why it's a book of stats, helpful stories, charts, and plenty of simple, practical ideas based on solid missional foundations. 

I must admit that I'm a little concerned that some guys who don't get missional theology could apply much of this book as church growth advice.  Joe Thorn seems to make similar observations.  It's hard to break the missional code if you don't get "missional."  So I wish the book had a little more space dedicated to something more foundational in explaining "missional." 

One of my favorite aspects of the book is the pervasive help concerning thinking on culture and contextualization.  The church should "spring forth out of the soil in which it is planted" (p 91).  "We must look for those cultural bridges to every people group, population segment, and cultural environment" called "redemptive analogies" (p 97).  All good stuff.

There's plenty on planting, on models and methods.  Lots of good questions on vision, networking, and readiness.

I really liked Chapter 12 on emerging networks.  It's mirrors much of what I've been personally desiring and encouraging among Southern Baptists.  They have recognized the backwards work of denominations and parachurch ministries and recommended a helpful approach to getting denominations thinking about their role in a healthier way.  My favorite advice is that denominational agencies need to "learn to 'dance' with other organizations."  Can I get a witness?

For me the chapter on the practices of leaders who break the code was crucial to the book.  Maybe it's just because of where I am and what I'm wrestling with in ministry, but it's very helpful nonetheless.  They said we need to ask the right questions of the right people to understand the culture we are in.  We must be willing to pay the price physically, emotionally and in so many other ways.  Getting culture and making an impact will take real risk.  According to the authors it will also take great teams, so leaders need to "inspire people to take overwhelming risk" (p 201).  We need focused visionaries who work on their churches and not just in it.  These are not just brief statements, but all thought out and explained.  Very helpful.

The absolute best thing to me about this book is you don't get through it and think there is one way to "do church."  It's a book about asking the right questions based on the right biblical principles and hopefully seeing an indigenous church raise up that reflects the culture in the right ways and is different than the culture in the right ways. 

When we talk about missional churches we are not referring to a certain form, expression, model, type, or category of church.  We are talking about a church that seeks to understand its context and come to express that understanding by contextualizing the gospel in its community.  Over time the church becomes an indigenous expression of the gospel within that culture, eventually removing all extrabiblical barriers.  The truest expression of this mission church is that is fully represents Christ in its context, maintaining biblical integrity so that gospel moves unhindered. (187-188)

I really enjoyed and recommend Breaking the Missional Code.  For biblical/theological foundations many of us will need Bosch, Guder, Newbigin, Van Gelder and others.  But for the how-to outworkings of missional theology, Breaking the Missional Code is very worthwhile and has already caused me to make some plans this summer to implement a few great ideas.  I see this book as mainly helpful for practitioners and those in training, but it is also the most accessible book for local church leaders.  May it find a wide readership.

Worship Incarnate

Joe Thorn: "Worship Incarnate"

Praying With The Church

There is a blog tour (interesting idea) for Scot McKnight's new book Praying With The Church.  I hope to have a review up on the book in the not too distant future (I've been sent a copy), but I'm too bogged down with stuff right now to take part in the tour which begins Monday. 

Other books I'm reviewing soon...
Breaking the Missional Code by Stetzer and Putman (I hope by next week)
Pocket Guide to the Bible by Jason Boyett
Bonhoeffer Speaks Today by Mark Devine

Living in Woodstock, IL

I've started a new blog.  Yeah I know, but it's not what you think.  I've started this blog to bless and encourage the blessing of my city.  It's called Living in Woodstock, IL and it's all about life in Woodstock (go figure).  Actually, it's a non-political, non-advertisement, and completely pro-Woodstock, IL site that intends to spark conversation about and enjoyment of our city.

It's really just about my experiences (personal and family).  I'm not really sure how it will work, IF it will work, or what exactly it will become in the days ahead.  But I figured it was worth a try.

So check it out and let me know what you think.  But please, don't comment there.  That's for locals and Woodstock lovers only.  Thanks.

PastorHacks

Bob Hyatt has started a new site, PastorHacks.  " Less time on tasks, more time with people. That's the goal..."  Very cool idea.  Grab the feed, read the blog, share your insights and questions. 

Jon the Baptist

A couple of weeks ago I was able to meet Jon, the Baptist.  Jon (Whitehead) and his wife Aryn (sorry it's a camera phone image) were planning to come to Chicagoland for his sister's graduation from Wheaton College, so he sent me an email hoping we might be able to meet up.  We knew it would be tight since we were leaving for Seattle that day, but it was well worth the time to grab a Caribou Coffee meeting on the way out.

Jon and Aryn are from Texas Kansas City, where Jon is a lawyer.  He had some good thoughts on the future of the SBC (let's just say that he recommends a lot of Ex-lax and throne time, the porcelain one...okay, not really...but that would have been wise...and funny).  And like me, Jon married way above his head. 

Head over to Jon's blog and check out his thoughts.  Good guy.

Thorn Asks, What Does God Want?

Joe Thorn starts a four parter on "What Does God Want?"  (Someone needs to tell Joe that God probably wants more than Joe can write in four posts, but Joe is just a simple guy after all.)  In part one he deals with some spiritual disciplines in light of the values Micah 6:8. 

I am not pitting spiritual disciplines against these values, but I am pitting the narrow, hyper-personalized approach to spirituality against what God desires for us. When Bible study, prayer and fellowship for the purpose of personal, spiritual strength are our greatest emphases we are missing the point. What God requires of us is not closet spirituality, but public spirituality.

I'm quite certain that nearly no one will disagree with Thorn on this, but in practice most of us are guilty of "closet spirituality."  Too often our pride will keep us from admitting it.  I've been a member at churches where the first application point every week was, "So first of all we need to read our Bible's more."  Aren't we are known by the fruit we produce?  It's very easy to see that the American church looks more like Job's counselors than justice and mercy workers.

MereMission Site

I very rarely pimp new blogs I find, but this one could be pretty cool.  Check out MereMission.  It's a group blog that is for "practical exploration of missional theology."   

The Resurgence of Resurgence

From Mark Driscoll...

The elders at Mars Hill Church, which I founded in 1996, have always been a big-hearted, kingdom-minded team of godly men who have given over 10 percent of our general budget to help church planters since our inception. Now, they have also agreed to give even more money to serve the greater church by launching The Resurgence ministry. This includes paying for the development of a massive website that will include thousands of free articles, audio and video podcasts, film reviews, music reviews, book reviews, and more. It also includes freeing up one of our elders, Gary Shavey, to serve as director of The Resurgence, and recently hiring Jon Krombein as the full-time content manager for the forthcoming website.

To kick The Resurgence off with a bang, we will launch the new website this spring, Zondervan will release my next book Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church in early May, and we will be hosting the Reform & Resurge Conference 2006 at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Below I’ll introduce each of the main speakers and give some reasons why you will not want to miss this event.

Resurgence is Surging

The Resurgence website is "becoming" as two new articles pop up from John Armstrong ("Why Seek to Advance Tradition?") and Anthony Bradley ("Keeping it Real").  Learn more about these guys.

Mark Driscoll's blog is directly linked here.

The Da Vinci Challenge

Sony isn't stupid.  As the worldwide bestseller and much discussed, debated and disliked (among Christians especially) The Da Vinci Code heads to theaters on May 19th, Sony has put together a truly brilliant marketing scheme.  They have started a website called The Da Vinci Challenge for Christians.  On the site Christian experts will deal with issues raised by The Da Vinci Code between now and the release date.  Currently there are articles by Darrell Bock, George Barna and Richard Mouw, and links for discussion take you to the Hollywood Jesus website.

From The Da Vinci Challenge...

The primary focus of The Da Vinci Challenge is to help Christians prepare for the inevitable question that will arise with the release of the film, “What do you think of The Da Vinci Code?”

These are the facts - currently, there over 40 million hardback copies of The Da Vinci Code in print. There have been thousands of column inches already written about The Da Vinci Code, and there will surely be more. It is now possible to take tours across Europe to visit historic sites referenced in the novel. On May 19, 2006, the highly-anticipated film version of the book, starring Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks, will open in theaters. There are literally millions and millions of devoted fans of The Da Vinci Code spanning the globe.

But there are also numerous people worldwide who question the theories espoused in The Da Vinci Code. Books refuting the claims of the best-selling novel have collectively sold millions of copies. Churches have held sermons and seminars to address the controversy and dispute assertions that many believe run counter to the foundations of their faith. These, too, are the facts.

The Da Vinci Challenge offers a thoughtful and faithful response to the questions raised by The Da Vinci Code. In the weeks leading up to the release of the film, prominent scholars and experts from across the spectrum of Christianity have volunteered to tackle specific issues raised by The Da Vinci Code – cultural, historical, theological and practical. By tapping into the collective wisdom of these respected Christian men and women, The Da Vinci Challenge hopes to present a forum where people can wrestle with the complex topics raised by the book and the film.

While Sony Pictures Entertainment has provided the means for this discussion to take place, neither the studio, the filmmakers nor Dan Brown have any editorial control over the content of this site. None of the Christian experts have been paid for their commentary or insights. This is an open forum where discussion, debate and disagreement are welcome. The Da Vinci Challenge wholeheartedly invites you to join the conversation.

Together for the Blog

Can anyone deny that the Together for the Gospel blog has been a great addition to the blogosphere?  Well okay, I know some will try to deny it, but you are wrong.  I have been enjoying it and marveling at the fact that people I thought would never be blogging are putting up some swell offerings for us all to enjoy.  Take, this post by Al Mohler, or this one by Mark Dever, or this one by C.J. Mahaney, or this one by Lig Duncan as good examples.

Russ Moore, Blogging, and Revolution

Today Russ Moore has written a short article/blog post called "The Spiritual Danger of Blogging" (also posted at Mere Comments).  He has some important things to say, things that we as bloggers need to hear.  To be honest, I think he aims this post at me (though I drink mochas). 

I've encountered many blogs run by the sort of "self-righteous" and "cynical" people that he mentions.  Strangely, most that I have encountered have been run by Calvinistic inerrantist reformed-types (who I doctrinally side with) who think a doctrinal statement is the bottom line of righteousness.  They typically spend a lot of time finding errors in the doctrines of others, defending anyone who holds the same doctrines they hold no matter what they say, finding people with any connection to something bad and broad-brushing them into the heresy camp, and looking for sins in the culture to preach against.  It's a deadly lot and I have run among the "angry Calvinist" number before.

Though Russ seems to emphasize the bad bloggers (he may be a bit cynical about bloggers, I think), he also points to a good group of bloggers out there.  My fear is that his group would be the kind who always tow the party line, and link to the "right" places, and vote straight party ticket.

I've found many good bloggers too, but I would think they would be a different sort than Russ'.  I like the bloggers who don't draw extra-biblical lines of fellowship.  They are willing to speak truth even when it costs them connections they may need in ministry.  They point out the dangers Jesus points to (like legalism) and not the ones that legalists point to (like alcohol).  The bloggers I like are the ones who like Jesus so much that they realize how messed up they are and how great grace is.  I like bloggers who are interested in a Kingdom that God builds, and who would have no problem watching our institutions and kingdoms die when they cease serving God's desires.  Sounds delicious, doesn't it?

Ultimately Moore seems to miss something.  He writes, "But, let's be honest, blogs also tend to give a microphone to a kind of deadening cynicism and blind self-righteousness in the guise of taking on self-righteousness, legalism, and what-have-you."  Sure, we all would agree.  That happens too much.  All of us who blog have certainly from time to time held on to our "rightness" too tightly because being wrong isn't fun.  But this sort of self-righteous blogging that Moore speaks of rarely makes a ripple in the blogosphere, let alone beyond it. 

And Moore's quote can just be as easily be turned around.  The guise could be on the other side, just as it was with Jesus who seemed to criticize the religious power brokers the loudest and sharpest, not the little guy who was "self-righteously" attacking legalism.

In other words, I seriously doubt the big problem with blogging is that some of the "self-righteous" ones are getting a hearing and hurting the big boys.  I think it is much more likely that if any bloggers are getting loud enough to actually create a stir among the power brokers, those power brokers would try to find a way to combat the bloggers.  The odds are stacked against the bloggers and for those with power, position and notoriety.

And isn't this what we see with Luther and the 95 Theses?  He was an annoying gnat to the institution for questioning what they were doing.  Then some started to agree with him which created fear among the powerful, and an attempt was made to silence him (something that can't be done in the same way to bloggers, which elevates fears among the powerful today).  But Luther continued on as a flawed man who didn't do it all right, but who in the end was faithful and led a revolution of biblical proportions.

While I'm not able to remove the lint from Luther's belly button (and I'm more likely to lead a revolution for P.F. Chang's), I'm more hopeful about real change happening in the SBC after reading Russ' post.  It's a sign that the message of 'necessary change' is getting out.  God help us.

Vote for #11

C'mon guys I need some help.  My Brokeback Pastors picture, which I still laugh out-loud about on a regular basis, has been entered in a theology photoshop contest.  I'm not winning. 

I need some votes pretty bad and I have a lot of readers on this site.  So please go to the Theology Photoshop Contest page and vote your conscience (Brokeback Pastors).  Whoever wins (Brokeback Pastors) will get some iron-ons of their entry.  Could you imagine me wearing that to the SBC annual meeting?  C'mon.  Help me out here guys and gals.  I need your vote!  My entry is the last one, #11.

Mark Driscoll and Robert Schuller

Mark Driscoll offers a post on his experience preaching at the Crystal Cathedral.  I'm thinking Driscoll's blogging will not disappoint.

Justin Taylor Moving to Wheaton

A guy I would consider a friend who I have never met in person, Justin Taylor, is moving to Wheaton to work for Crossway.  Very cool.  He REALLY has chosen to come to Wheaton in order to be closer to me, Joe Thorn, and Scot McKnight.  We are going to form a Barbership Quartet in which JT will be the barber.  But here's what he is saying publicly so far...

We are in the process of a move to Wheaton, IL for my new job. The past seven years in Minneapolis, at Desiring God and Bethlehem, has been a wonderful season for us. But we’re also excited about this new chapter of our lives. After years of uncertainty of what I would like to do when I grew up, I now feel fairly confident that I would like to stay in the publishing industry long term.

I’m not really sure what the future plans for my blog will be. (Perhaps someday I’ll get around to moving to a different location than Blogger.com.) I enjoy blogging, and I enjoy the interaction that goes on because of it. But it’s not my primary calling, and I have to be careful that I don’t let the tail wag the dog.

As for new books: I’m currently under contract with Crossway to edit a new edition of John Owen’s three main writings on sin: Mortification of Sin, Temptation of Sin, and Indwelling Sin. Kelly Kapic of Covenant College—who will be publishing an academic book on Owen’s Communion with God—will be my co-editor. We will be providing introductions, adding headings, footnotes, a glossary, etc.

I’ll also be editing Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, the follow-up book to Desiring God’s conference in 2005, with speakers like John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Mark Talbot, David Powlison, Carl Ellis, and Steve Saint.

Burnside Writer's Collective 2.0

The Burnside Writer's Collective, something conjured in the mind of Donald Miller, has a new site up.  It's an "online magazine presenting an alternative to franchise faith."  Choice. 

I've been waiting for it for a while, and it looks good so far.

(HT: Goodmanson)

Technorati Mini

Do you obsess over who is linking to you and wish you could know as soon as possible?  Well someone is always willing to do the work to feed your obsession.  Enjoy Technorati Mini which updates every 60 seconds automatically.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Technorati Mini may be habit-forming. Do not operate a motorized vehicle while using Technorati Mini. May cause excitement and/or nostalgia for Web 1.0. Minors should discuss using Technorati Mini with their parents. Technorati Mini may annoy popup-blockers. Do not taunt Technorati Mini.

Piper Resources

Monergism is doing some great new stuff, including adding a page of John Piper resources that gives easy access to tons of stuff: books, mp3's, sermons, essays, stuff by topic, etc.  Bookmark it and use it often.

By the way, we need to name this Piper picture.  My best three: "The Piper Moose," "Piper plays paper football," or "Piper asking God for a 'high ten'" 

NetVibes

I've been using NetVibes for a while now and I like it.  It's a homepage that has modules for gmail, flicker, and any site with a feed (like a blog, CNN, or whatever).  Give it a look.

Where's Joe Thorn?

Yes, the rumor is true.  Okay, there's no rumor, but there should be one now that Joe Thorn has "unintentionally" deleted folders containing his blog posts. 

Since he was doing a series on the seven deadly sins, and his most recent one was "envy," it's clear that God deleted his blog because Joe envied my blog.  Shame on you Joe. 

In partial seriousness, Joe should have his blog up and running again in the next five to forty-five days, or something like that.

Christ Plays: Part 2

We continue reading and discussing Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places over at Scot McKnight's Jesus Creed blog.   We are on pages 49-84.

Some good quotes from Peterson...

Wonder is the only adequate launching pad for exploring a spirituality of creation, keeping us open-eyed, expectant, alive to life that is always more than we can account for, that always exceeds our calculations, that is always beyond anything we can make. (52)

If you want to look at creation full, creation at its highest, you look at a person - a man, a woman, a child. (53)

Artists, poets, musicians, and architects are our primary witnesses to the significance of the meaning of "virgin" in the virgin birth as "a summons to reverence and worship."  Over and over again they rescue us from a life in which the wonder has leaded out.  While theologians and biblical scholars have argued, sometimes most contentiously, over texts and sexual facts and mythological parallels, our artists have painted Madonnas, our poets have provided our imaginations with rhythms and metaphors, our musicians have filled the air with carols and anthems that bring us to our knees in adoration, and our architects have designed and built chapels and cathedrals in which we can worship God. (57)

Monergism: Tim Keller Resources

Justin Taylor has just informed me that Monergism has built a Tim Keller resource page.  It looks like they haven't located any articles other than the ones I've listed in my Tim Keller Articles post (maybe they used my links to build their page?), but they have added some audio resources which is helpful.  Always glad to see Keller's ideas getting out there. 

So I've added a link on my Keller post to Monergism, which is a tremendous resource for all thing reformed.  Oh, and I've finally added D.J. Chuang's Keller resource page, which I keep forgetting to add.  Chuang's site was one of the first places I learned about Keller.

Christ Plays on Scot McKnight's Blog

I'm blogging on Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places with Scot McKnight and a few others over at Jesus Creed.  Well, the few others haven't appeared yet, but they will. 

Check out the first post and join in the conversation.

Desiring God Conference Bloggers

Challies and CoffeeSwirls are live-blogging the Desiring God Conference on Suffering and the Sovereignty of God in Minneapolis.  I attended last year's conference which was excellent, and was offered the chance to blog the conference this year but had conflicting plans.  Very cool to be able to keep up with the conference through these blogs. 

I won't update links to all their posts, but here are the ones online so far.

Challies: Session 1, Session 2
CoffeeSwirls: Day 1 Thoughts; Piper/Taylor Showdown

Google Blog Search

Google Blog Search

Schlapfer Moves Out

Rob Schlapfer is out of the online game, it appears.  Discerning Reader, Antithesis, Christian Counterculture...gone.

(HT: BHT)

Scot McKnight's New Address

Scot McKnight has finally advanced his online status through a url of his own.  You can now read him at jesuscreed.org.  Please update your bookmarks.

Carolyn McCulley

Carolyn McCulley's blog Solo Femininity has moved.  Good blog for single Christian women.

Relevant Online

Looks like Relevant Magazine Online is finally going to get the new site up and running tonight.  Very cool.

(HT: Brian Orme)

UPDATE: Yep, it's up in beta form.  Looks good.

Missional Blogs

There are a couple of blogs I've been reading a lot lately, and I want to encourage others to read them.  Really good stuff.

the blog of Van S
Backyard Missionaries

Reformation 21

This looks really good.  Reformation 21 is the new online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE).  It is edited by Derek Thomas, and he explains the purpose of the e-zine in more detail here.  They explain the purpose of the e-zine as...

Reformation 21 is an online magazine (ezine) created to serve, edify, and educate Christians by presenting an authoritative reformed perspective, while embracing various denominational positions, on a variety of relevant historic matters, current issues, and thoughtful positions that inform, inspire, and challenge Christians to think and grow biblically." 

They also have a weblog, book reviews, an archive of both new and older writings, and counterpoints that engage a cultural issues.

You can read a list of contributors which includes Alistair Begg, John Piper, Mark Dever, Paul Helm, Sinclair Ferguson, D.A. Carson, Al Mohler, and Jerry Bridges.

 (HT: JT)