Black Coffee Reflections

 www.blackcoffeereflections.com

Got my own domain, learning some basic stuff, we’ll see.

Well who doesn’t love Tim Keller?  Keller is probably the most confident speaker that I still liked after listening to him.  Not sure what it is, but I get him.  Though I wish he appreciated some of the values of the emergent conversation, I see his some of his values as almost parallels (You would expect someone like me to say that wouldn’t you?).

Anyway, he was interviewed on Christianity Today’s site and here are some highlights.  Full article here.

Also check out his new book The Prodigal God.  (Yep, that’s two this year.  He’s suddenly like Ryan Adams or something).

Are the doubts that believers face the same as the doubts that unbelievers face?

It’s your society that gives you the doubts. If you go to the Middle East and ask people what makes Christianity implausible, they’re not going to say, “Because there can’t be one true religion.” They’re going to say, “Because of how oppressive America has been as a Christian nation, and if you look at their culture, it’s lascivious and debauched.”

If you ask Americans, “What makes Christianity implausible to you?” they’re not going to say, “Your popular culture is filled with sex and violence.” They will say, “How could there be one true religion?” …

… I do think a lot of Christians — because they don’t understand the grace narrative — get out into the world and find it very tough to navigate. I think it’s because they don’t understand the gospel, not because they can’t answer all the theological questions.

You reject marketing apologetics like, “Christianity is better than the alternatives, so choose Christianity.” Why?

Marketing is about felt needs. You find the need and then you say Christianity will meet that need. You have to adapt to people’s questions. And if people are asking a question, you want to show how Jesus is the answer. But at a certain point, you have to go past their question to the other things that Christianity says. Otherwise you’re just scratching where they itch. So marketing is showing how Christianity meets the need, and I think the gospel is showing how Christianity is the truth.

C. S. Lewis says somewhere not to believe in Christianity because it’s relevant or exciting or personally satisfying. Believe it because it’s true. And if it’s true, it eventually will be relevant, exciting, and personally satisfying. But there will be many times when it’s not relevant, exciting, and personally satisfying. To be a Christian is going to be very, very hard. So unless you come to it simply because it’s really the truth, you really won’t live the Christian life, and you won’t get to the excitement and to the relevance and all that other stuff.

Many Christians say that the rationality of Christians’ faith is not the obstacle for unbelievers; they reject Christianity because of what they see as bad behavior and toxic attitudes.

There are always three reasons people believe or disbelieve: the intellectual, the personal, and the social… 

——–

There’s more like why he doesn’t include intelligent design as an argument from creation and more cultural insight. 

Calamity has fallen upon me.  For quite some time now, I’ve been living in disappointment.  Though this arguably the best days of my life (having adopted Nathan and watching my wife enjoy motherhood while I notify her when the baby is crying.  Like many dads, I’m pretty useless).  Obviously these and many more things give me joy.

But unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the Church Basement Road Show since our Sr. high youth and I will be in New Orleans.  (Yes, I checked to see if we would be in New Orleans at the same time but to no avail.I knew since they announced it but was hoping there would be some kind of delay or their RV would break down and would they would reschedule in the fall.  Who knows maybe one of them will pull a Jessica or Ashlee Simpson and get mono or pregnant or something and then they’ll reschedule.  

Anyway, you should check it out.  Here’s the gist:
Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones and Mark Scadrette are great friends and all released books this year.  And they are friends who have ideas and actually have the uhh, umm, courage (we’ll keep this pg-rated) to implement them.  And so, they are disguising themselves as 1908 revivial evangelists and hitting the road in an RV.  It’s only $10 but if you love Jesus you’ll give $20, you should buy all their books and support the good cause.  And don’t you dare buy Coldplay tickets and not go to this.  God is watching (and I’m trying to as well.)

Look for Thomas from Everyday Liturgy to blog about it.  He’s so friggin lucky.  If you are in the North Jersey, NY York, Philly, here’s the day that will probably change your life August, 1st (Friday) at  Marble Collegiate Church 1 W 29th St., New York, NY 10001 (212) 686-2770‎  marblechurch.org. 

Click here for the other dates

For more info here’s the link Church Basement Roadshow.  

If you have a sense of humor and tend to get things that intelligent and funny people say and do, you will enjoy this. 

So yesterday was my first Father’s Day.  It felt great though I am still trying to wrap my head around it.  Truth be told, I’ve been so happy and blessed every since we got Nathan that Father’s Day was great and all, but today feels just as good as Saturday did.

I did get to preach yesterday too and that felt good.  Not good in the performing sense but good in the I feel like the Lord is using me to some extent sense.  Also the congregation seems to have really warmed up to me this past year and I feel that there’s a better connection.  

My friend, Evan, reminded of Stanley Hauweras’ shock value line of American flags, mother’s day sermons, and whatever else as being non-Christian things and not being acceptable in churches.  If you don’t know Hauerwas, he’s the intelligent man’s version of Tony Campolo, only less spiritual (yes, I’m kidding.  I don’t know even know what ‘being spiritual’ means).  

So I gave a Father’s Day sermon that I said was directed to everyone but to the men first.  I remember hearing that these types of sermons leave some feeling isolated but I think that’s kinda short-sighted.  If we come to worship and not just to hear a sermon as being the focal point, then I think the sermon can be topical and specific from time to time because whoever enters the sanctuary should have the intent of worshipping God first, and having Him “speak to you” as secondary.  

I think of all the times I heard sermons and illustrations relating to marriage before I was married as a good thing.  I like hearing about the Proverbs 31 woman (from time to time) because I think she’s great.  Though I don’t plan on dying of old age soon, some of the messages that are geared towards older people are sometimes memorable to me because chances are if I live long enough, I’ll get old too.  (yes, I am aware of what I just wrote, but I am trying to be funny.  I’ll try harder).  I personally think that you can be blessed from pretty much almost any sermon, even if the guy sucks at his delivery.  If he (or even she!) is being faithful to their calling, then I must be faithful not only as a listener, but as a worshipper.

On October 10, 2008, Biblical Sem will be host: Next Challenges in Theology & Praxis for the Missional Church, which will serve as the Installation Ceremony - John R. Franke as the Lester and Kay Clemens Professor in Missional Theology.

Speakers will be Brian McLaren, Scot McKnight, Tim Keel.

Hey, i don’t care if they are installing energy efficient light bulbs, I’m thrilled my school is doing this.  Seriously, I’m also happy that a guy like John Franke is being celebrated.  A good man who loves God.  His only sin is that he likes the Vikings.  May God have mercy on us all.

Here’s what I know:

SCHEDULE
Noon - Registration
1:00 - 1:50 p.m. - Plenary session, Q & A with Scot McKnight
2:00 - 2:45 p.m. - Parallel sessions
2:45 - 3:15 p.m. - Snack break
3:15 - 4:00 p.m. - Parallel sessions
4:00 - 4:50 p.m. - Plenary session, Q & A with Tim Keel

5:00 - 6:30 p.m. - Reception with refreshments 

6:30 - 9:00 p.m. - Formal installation ceremony

SPEAKERS & PRESENTERS
David Dunbar
Darrell Guder 
Brian McLaren ”An Epistemology of Love”
John Franke 

I am taking an intensive class through Biblical called “Ministry and Media”.  It’s being taught by Pastor Tim Lucas from Liquid Church and we are encouraged to blog of course.

One of the books we are reading and posting feedback on our class site is The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture by Shane Hipps (who was at Fermi’s Q Conference – fantastic).

This was the assignment that we were to respond to:
“Marshal McLuhan famously observed, “The medium is the message.”  Yet, a lot of evangelicals claim media is value neutral.  Do you think media affects us as powerfully as Hipps suggests?  Or do you think it is truly neutral?  Give some examples of ways media has impacted you powerfully (for good or for ill).  In a well-thought out paragraph, show your interaction with the text we’re reading!”

Here was my response:

Like everyone, I agree with McLuhan and love the idea. Though it’s rare that I would defend an established evangelical opinion, especially one concerning the view on technology, I’d like to unpack this a little. Evangelicals are scared to death of watering down the message. If they believed in tattoos, they’d get Rev. 22:18-19 inked (“If anyone adds anything [to this book] … God will add to him the plagues ….”). Kidding (sorta) but our modern “interpretation” puts a great deal of fear in us that results in guarding the message. There is almost a theological reason to disagree with McLuhan.

In a sermon I preached this Mother’s Day, I said something to the effect of “The Gospel is changing”. I learned quickly that the “bolts of lightening” were not electric at all but were pews being thrown from the balcony. “I said, wait the resurrection is still true but the way my parents understood the Gospel is different then how I understand it … which is different then how my child(ren) will understand it … Jesus still died and was raised BUT understanding that is different….”. As they elderly women dismounted from the projection screen that they partially tore off, I tried to use the example that Rob Bell has regarding the idea of having a “personal relationship with God”. He reminds us that it is a new idea to the church, it’s an invention from this century’s evangelical movement. This revelation of course resulted in the biggest offering ever collected …

This based on a true story account did not end in tragedy because for many of them, the message was still in tact. Surprisingly, I did receive several positive comments from the “Silent” Generation because they saw their grandchildren in these thoughts.

Like everyone’s above comments, aside from the periodic data loss, I have had a fantastic experience with media and technology. Ipods, podcasts, ezines, blogs, have helped me grow spiritually in addition to the written word (and frankly with no help from the televangelists. But may those who are blessed by it be blessed by it). Hipps makes mention of the local Ft. Worth pastor who insisted the spiritually successful have a daily quiet time with the Lord, part of my normal morning ritual includes listening to sermons via podcasts as I am applying deodorant and hair gel. And though I’m not spiritually successful and couldn’t imagine making such a legalistic statement, I feel what that guy was trying to say.

Thomas at Everyday Litrugy has a decent interview with Brian McLaren regarding his new book, Finding Our Way Again, the Everything Must Change stop at Princeton and a couple other things.  

Here’s an exert:

“Brian: Part of moving beyond modernity is retrieving things we have largely forgotten as a culture: that there are rich treasures in the ancient ways, and that we are transformed by our thinking, yes, but not apart from practices - and we are transformed by practices, yes, but not apart from thinking.”

Click here.

A couple Tuesdays ago (April 15th), I went to see Brian McLaren at PTS with super blogger, Thomas Turner from Everyday Liturgy and super mission-centered barista , Jesse (he runs the Holy Grounds Coffeehouse in Allendale NJ).  Good times.  

I’ve heard this lecture a couple of times, have read through it in Everything Must Change and have a high appreciation for Brian and his presentation, specifically of the Three Crises, (Prosperity, Equity, Security)

“It’s not about equality, it’s about justice” is often the anthem mentioned by everyone from Bono to joe blogger.  A lot of time and thought have been spent on that line and I’ve come to appreciate it.

The thought that has really occupied me lately was mentioned by Brian that night, “What you focus on determines what you will miss”.   I may have heard that before but it struck me.  I find myself juggling this thought with the other appreciated maxims, “You can only do a few things well”, “Focus on your strengths, forget your weaknesses” and others.  Praying for wisdom on this because there seems to be some kind of goodness to the tension-balance-paradox that’s called for.  The mediation on it has been good for the soul.

If you are stimulated by such discussion, consider going to see Brian at the Everything Must Change Tour and/or read the book.

For more perspectives, check out Todd Heistand’s post or Everyday Liturgy Thomas Turner’s Hitchhiking to Princeton.

Session 3 with Francis Collins was a little more controversial.  Again, we sat in round tables of 10 so whispers were easy to hear.  Not to insult your intelligence, but in case you don’t know, Dr. Collins is the chairman of the Genome Project, author of The Language of God, a devout believer, debates Richard Dawkins on NPR regularly, but does not hold to conservative Christian views of origins.  Frankly, he wasn’t very specific of his position.  One of his points was to leave the audience unsettled with theirs. 

He discussed how science and faith are not enemies stating, “Regardless of what we have heard from the atheistic horsemen, we do not have to choose between the two.” 

I was proud of that because I’ve been teaching my students that for years.  In fact, back when I was in 4^th grade and heard of the Big Bang Theory and how that threatened the teaching of Creation, I immediately asked the teacher, “Why couldn’t God create the big bang …” The budding theistic evolutionist trajectory was quickly squashed when I entered youth group.  Today, I am certain that God is sovereign and that not even Francis Collins can figure it out.

Back to Collins, he showed 2 pictures – one of spiritual (stained glass window) and the other – DNA view along its axis which resembled each other.  Cool although the skeptic in me couldn’t help but think this was a little gimmicky for a world class intellectual.  Fortunately the next slide was not Jesus in the nucleus but his point was to segue how the spiritual world and the material one intersect.  It got everyone’s attention.

Collins was not raised in a religious home, his parents did not criticize religion but did not promote it.  He was an agnostic throughout college and then in med school, he was touched by the faith of those in hospital beds.  A woman asked him what did he believe and he did not have an answer, he researched it, found CS Lewis and continued his journey. 

The most unsettling moment (and this would come up in various conversations I had with people) was when he showed a slide of the human chromosome and the chimpanzee’s.  I am paraphrasing but he said the key difference was with the one part in the middle that has  a something mysterious in it while the chimp has two parts but not this particular thing (sorry I didn’t get what it was he said) inside it.  It’s here where they split.  He said something to the effect of it is possible that they had been the same until a certain point in time when God pre-ordained/pre-programmed/pre-something or other to split and create a new species.  Again, this was the unsettling moment.  He mentioned in passing literal meanings of Genesis 1, quoted Augustine, and Chesterton, and asserted his faith in the Almighty God.

Again, each Q speaker only had 18 minutes and his “big point” was, “science and Religion are not incompatible … God cannot be threatened.”  Some attendees were as upset as if he had just slapped their wives and ran out the door.  As for me, maybe their view deserved it.  So the possible lessons are don’t marry your theology or don’t marry an ugly wife, or be smarter then Francis Collins or maybe keep your theology open-handed and maybe your wife won’t get slapped by Dr. Collins.

Leroy Barber (pastor, Atlanta) from Beloved Community was the Session 5 presenter. 

These are the notes I took:

6 aspects that King shared from Jesus regarding Community:

1. All people can share in the wealth of the earth

2. Poverty hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated.

3. Racism discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced with a spirit of brotherhood.

4. Violence will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution

5. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. 

6. Conflict is part of human experience and will be reconciled and resolved peacefully.

I appreciated the last point the most.  As I am past the point of frustration with all those that say, “If we would just obey God, all will work out …” type of stuff, I find myself saying similar things like, “The struggle is inevitable, you will experience pain whether you are obedient or disobedient to the Lord, evil surrounds you, this is part of the human condition …”.  When Jesus promises us suffering … for the obedient.  He promises suffering for the disobedient, how do these prosperity gospel preachers drive their Bentley’s in good conscience?   Certainly people need to be encouraged, I value that.  But I think saying these types of things sell out the gospel in order to fill the offering plate.  Guys like Leroy are to be appreciated and I hope the Lord’s presence fills Beloved Community in Atlanta.