Narnia III is On!

It wasn’t looking good for the franchise, but it’s now back on track. For what it’s worth, Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favorite Chronicle.

Young and Wise

We’re having some colleagues from the Crossroads staff over for dinner tonight. As I wait for them to arrive, I am struck with a completely unrelated thought about people in my life. So many of them are much younger than I … maybe thirty years younger … and each of them demonstrate significant depth and maturity. I’m pretty sure that that last sentence would not have been written about me when I was in my 20’s (I’m not even sure about my 50’s).

Donny, Phil & Ligaya, Tami have certainly changed our church. Jayson is going to take the huge step of faith in planting a church. Matt and Amy have taken a step of faith away from “comfortable” church. My daughter Jenny has a wonderful depth of spirit about her as she serves God in Scotland. Our youngest, Kristin, demonstrates wisdom and discipline regularly (and she writes well too!). Josh demonstrates wisdom and love with our grandkids that I’m pretty sure I didn’t always display as a young dad. Then there is my assistant at CBC who shows great patience in the midst of some difficult trials (hey, she works with me) and has wonderful insights from her world of dance.

I guess I should mention that I’m reading Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson who is like 28 years old! I don’t know Anne, but I am impressed by her depth and compassion in writing about a very difficult topic. A young woman who seems to have an old soul.

Lord, let us be humble to listen to the godly younger men and women you are growing around us. And let us know when and how to graciously add to their development.

Super Sunday Church Update

In a previous post, I wrote about the NFL’s position that church superbowl parties were in violation of copyright law, and the license granted by the NFL. The situation provoked some good conversations about integrity in churches and whether they should disobey because the government has no right to limit our ministries, etc.

We we don’t need to worry about losing our ability to gather men together for “worship” on super sunday any more. Superbowl parties are now legal according to the NFL.

I knew you would want to know.

Sin. Nothing You Can Do.

Consider the doctrine of sin. How many presentations of the Gospel skim over the serious situation of the lost, the total hopelessness of their sinfulness, and their utter helplessness to do anything about it. Absolutely nothing! Just in case you missed it, a sinner can do nothing about his sin. That’s why God has to deal with it, and the Good News, of course, that the does, through the death of Jesus.

Michael Horton in Christless Christianity indicates that many American churches, pastors, and Christians are falling prey to a ‘therapeutic’ worldview where “there is no sin and guilt to be forgiven by God but only burdens and feelings of guilt for failing to live up to the expections of oneself or other human beings” (p. 43).  They tend towards a practical Pelagianism where sin is not a universal human condition about which we can do nothing, but simply a choice that each of us makes. We just tend to follow the wrong example of Adam rather than the good example of Jesus (see p. 49).  The upshot has been that ministries have been moving towards fixing man’s flaws rather than casting oneself on God as one desperate for his sovereign grace in changing us from the core.

Horton’s book is a vital warning to the American Church. I’m not sure how many will listen. I suggest we must.

Cool Memories

In sorting through stuff in my home office this past weekend I came across some pictures I took of youth groups over the years. Part of the fun was putting some of the Crossroads Youth pictures up on on my Facebook page where many of us have been reconnecting. More fun was thinking back on how God worked in lives … and to reflect on how many were marked by God in those years.

I haven’t reconnected with too many from my youth pastor years at Grace Community Church, but I have lots of pictures from those years as well. And lots of memories! What a privilege to be part of so many lives …