May 2009
73 posts
“Our country is the world, our countrymen all mankind. We love the land of our...”
– WilliamLloydGarrison
“Sometimes it is easier to wash the feet of prostitutes than it is to wash the...”
– ShaneClaiborne
“I wish (Christianity) were more productive of good works, than I have generally...”
– BenjaminFranklin
“In civilized life, where the happiness, and indeed almost the existence, of man...”
– WashingtonIrving
“Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time… It tells us to tell...”
– LeoBuscaglia
“We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told,...”
– CSLewis
1 tag
We Could Question Beauty
What’s beautiful?
What’s ugly?
If you want to figure out what the beautiful things in life are…. maybe if you want to act prophetically and point to what’s beautiful and what’s counterbeautiful….you could question beauty.
Beauty, simply put, is the quality in something that elicits satisfaction and pleasure.
Beauty has a lot of trappings laid upon it. It...
“I have learned that sometimes asking questions is a way to demonstrate humility,...”
– AtholDickson
2 tags
It Matters Where We Start
Several years ago when I was working a children’s camp in the summer as a Bible Study leader, I began to struggle with what it meant to “lead someone to Christ.”
We had routines ingrained into our heads during our pre-camp training, having information downloaded into our memories about everything from “what to do if a kid wants to give you a hug” to “how to...
“If history teaches us any lessons at all, it teaches that force applied to...”
– Gaustad & Schmidt
“Whoever possesses God in their being, has him in a divine manner, and he shines...”
– MeisterEckhart
The Universe in '09 § SEEDMAGAZINE.COM →
thanks for passing this on, Chris D.!
1 tag
The Theology of the Poor Should Be to Cultivate...
Warning: I’m not going to do the title justice. In fact, I’m going to leave a lot of loose ends untouched. I just want to explore it for a second and see if I can get you thinking about something…
The theology of the poor should be to cultivate beauty, not tear down the rich.
What’s more valuable? Deconstruction or construction?
Now, I agree that sometimes...
“If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can...”
– CSLewis
2 tags
Do you ever ask yourself what God is interested...
Do you?
I see all the time where people relate certain things to prayer, God, and his blessings.
A first date gone well, a new house, an A on a Calculus test, or a promotion at work.
I tend to thumb my nose at this stuff. Do you? I think: is God really interested in getting that upper-middle class family “the perfect home” so they can live peaceful lives in suburbia? Is God...
Create, Create, Create « Praxis →
“Love, a term almost indefinable, is unconditional regard for a person that...”
– ScotMcKnight
Do we neglect what should be our identity?
This morning my wife did a fabulous job of leading staff chapel. She had told me that she wanted to do something that would help shape the rest of the day for our staff.
The whole experience focused around the idea of “restoration.” We sang songs, had scripture read over us, she spoke briefly about restoration in her life, and we collectively read some cool pieces that talked about...
“Christ was not making a historical observation when he declared: The gospel is...”
– SørenKierkegaard
It's Easy to Complain, It's Hard to be Faithful
Right?
I find it very easy to be discontent. Perhaps it’s part of being in a generation of relatively affluent young Americans that have the world at our fingertips—electronically and actually.
And when we’re discontent, or at least allow a spirit of discontent to rise occasionally, we find it very easy to complain. To nitpick. To find any and every reason to be...
“Paul continually returns to his conviction that there are two fundamental modes...”
– RobBell
Back On My Feet →
“All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this...”
– JohnCalvin
1 tag
the death of creative memory
Will iCal and Things be the death of my memory?
After just putting the finishing touches on Mother’s Day arrangements, I took time for the requisite back-patting and self-gloating. The sad truth is that there are many special days that I’m not prepared for nearly this far in advance, and it’s only two days before Mother’s Day!
Why was I super-husband today? Because my...
“When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day,...”
– AbrahamKuyper
How should we use Facebook? part II.
Yesterday I started a thought on the interaction of following Christ with culture (any culture—popular, low, high, whatever—and its expressions). The question is: What does it mean for the Gospel to interact with culture?
The example I used was Facebook. I probably would have avoided this example if I had researched the popularity of that discussion before (rather than after) I...
“In Jesus Christ there is no isolation of man from God or of God from man....”
– KarlBarth
