31 07/08
06:00

Disappointed

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Lately, I’ve become more and more disappointed in my lack of aversion to John Mayer.  I don’t know what’s going on.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeRaUjTBuv0&hl=en&fs=1]

This song is incredible and I’m seriously considering purchasing his new live album.

I will not, however, buy the DVD because I don’t care to watch a guy make this face for two hours:

30 07/08
06:49

Sunday morning coming down…

Here are a few pictures that I took as I got ready for this Sunday morning.  The day usually starts about 5:30am with me leaving the house and heading up to an empty and quiet powerhouse to preach my sermon to a very attentive group of red chairs.

After the final run through, I usually take a walk around the square to clear my mind and to remember that everything that happens in the church hour should impact the community that we live in and love.

 

The rest of the set-up crew gets to the PHouse between 8 and 8:30 and then church starts at 10:30.  After that, it all goes back into the box again.

29 07/08
11:27

First runner up, yet again.

Ole Miss, the number 2 party school in the country yet again.

You know this news has to make some upcoming-freshmen-parents shudder.

I covered it last year in this post.

Two new thoughts:

  • When is this going to be included in the BCS algorithm?  I don’t think Florida needs the help, but we could sure use it.
  • As a lot of the school/town’s attention turns to the upcoming Presidential Debate here in Oxford, I wonder if this could add to the atmosphere around what might be one of the biggest events in the community’s history.  Now, East Coast and International journalists will not only encounter tractors on the highway, people who freak out in Roundabout intersections, my hospitality, and Southern eccentrism, but maybe a few genu-wine party animals too in the run-up to the friday night(!) event.

28 07/08
06:49

My Garden

Since this is my first summer to actually own any plot of land, I have decided to be productive.

I haven’t had any problems with drought or boll weevils, but as you can tell, gravity is definitely taking it’s toll.

26 07/08
20:25

It’s what’s for dinner.

“If God didn’t intend for us to eat meat, He wouldn’t have made animals out of it.”

photo

26 07/08
06:41

Currently Reading – Christian News Report

christiannewsreport.com

News that is relevant to Christ-followers, unfiltered by Oxfordian Stephen Goforth.

25 07/08
06:38

How I survived the iPocalypse

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Well, I finally got an iPhone.

Anyone who knows me knows that it’s been a long time coming.  I even wrote about it on my blog a while back.  I had this plan to read through the Bible and then go buy one when I was finished.  It was a good plan too.  I would read some and then post some of my notes on the blog.  I was enjoying the accountability and everything was moving along just fine until several of my friends told me that I had the most boring blog in the world.  ”Lame,” they said.

So, I gave up.  And then I forgot about it.  

BTW, I do still read the Bible regularly during my personal time.  I just prefer using a reading plan like this one, as opposed to strictly reading it all the way through book by book.

 

…And then months went by…and the price went down…and then the day finally arrived…

I was the first person in line at the Oxford store.  I meant to get to the store between 5:30 and 6a because I had been warned by ATT employees to get there early if I wanted to get one. But then I woke up at 4 and couldn’t go back to sleep.

I pulled in the parking lot at 4:30a and listened to the BBC alone in the parking lot for about 20 minutes before the second person in line showed up. He was a nice older man who was buying a phone for his daughter. We spent the next 3 hours trying to figure out the HAM Radio he had bought the day before (Irony?).

By 5:15, there were about 8 of us.

By 6, closer to 15

By 8am, the line stretched to the end of the building and the excitement was growing.

Then they opened the door and the iPocalypse began.

I stood in the store for over an hour and watched all of the iTunes screens at all of the kiosks show the same thing – nothing. I also watched all the people (this guy included, I suppose) wait in the rising heat for a chance to come in the store.

About 9:30, they let me take the phone home unactivated and by 10:30a, it was fully operational.

Just in time for me to take a nap.

24 07/08
17:49

Witt

Dinner tonight with Witt, back from Columbia on a visit.

Follow her blog at emilywithaheart.com

photo

That’s my sister in the picture too.

24 07/08
13:15

Pat and Sarah – Having a baby

That’s right.

Although I’m sure that almost everyone in our life knows about it by now, I decided it was time to post something on the blog about our upcoming addition.

We’re excited.  And a little scared.  And sick.  And pretty tired.  

But hopefully the first trimester will be over soon and Sarah will start to feel better more consistently.

We are due on February 1st and I’m sure more updates will follow.

 

24 07/08
08:40

The Shack – time to weigh in

The Shack is a wildly popular Christian fiction book by William Young.  It’s currently number 3 on Amazon.com’s bestseller list.  A lot of people have read it and so have I.

Here’s my initial take on it (I RECOMMEND READING THIS AFTER YOU’VE READ THE BOOK):

The Good:
I really liked the book. I would even say that I loved it. I thought it did some things very well. It helped my faith personally by demonstrating the trinitarian love in a real way. It also was a story of great redemption and hope – something we all need to read and remember sometimes. I thought it was creative and, although it surely made some people upset, I think it is good to break out of our sometimes limited views of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The storyline was rough. I can’t imagine reading this after having kids. I know that has to be part of it’s draw. I also can see how Young can help a lot of people cope with difficult circumstances through Mack.
I also like how it’s written to make people think it was a real story relayed to him by a real person. Kindof, Blair Witch Project meets Left Behind.
Overall, I thought the book was really good. The Truth and creativity displayed was powerful and strengthening. For that reason, however, we have to have a conversation about what was not-so-true so that we don’t have to throw the baby [good parts of the book] out with the bath-water [by telling people not to read it at all].

The Shady:
You always have to be careful when you try to give an image to God. The second Commandment warns us not to make any images or idols to represent God and I think that Romans 1:21-23 shows the danger of doing that (we tend to worship the images that we create instead of worshipping a God who is much bigger than our imagination or ability to understand Him). Young does a great job of getting people to think more creatively about the nature of the Father, Son, and HS, but you just have to be careful.

The Bad:
1)There is one line where Young breaks from displaying a very sound representation of the trinity: “Papa” says, “I am truly human in Jesus.”
       This is called Modalism and it is a common mistake (and even heresy) made in understanding the trinity. The belief that God is found in three forms like water (can be steam, ice and liquid) in the Father, Son and Spirit is wrong. Why is it important to understand: a couple of quick reasons. First, to understand Jesus’ sacrifice and pain and love on Earth, we have to understand him as the Son who came to be with us (not just another form of the Father). Second, to understand the community and submission found within the trinity, we have to see them as three distinct beings in One. (There are more and maybe I will write on them later).
       There is plenty of evidence in The Shack where the trinity is displayed in the correct way, so I don’t really understand why Young threw that line in. However, it does bring up a good point for discussion (can you say book club?).
2) In another place the book says that there is no hierarchy among the trinity because that doesn’t make sense unless there is sin. This is not true. There is no sin within the trinity and there is hierarchy among the three. God sent the Son and the Son sent the Holy Spirit. Though they are equal in respects to their nature, they ultimately choose to be subservient to one another. Jesus makes statements like, “I only do what the Father tells me to do” and other statements in that respect.
        When we miss this, we miss the fact that God can bring equality and submission at the same time. In fact, that’s not only a sign of Love, that may be one of it’s most distinguishing elements. That’s why so many of the commandments of the new testament have to do with submission and equality (churches to spiritual leadership, in marriages, to government officials, in Christian community). Our lack of understanding of this fact leads to all sorts of problems in those situations.

The Picky (SPOILER ALERT!**):
I thought the car crash at the end was a little unnecessary. It only lasted for 2 pages and didn’t really add anything to the plot but forced drama. I know that’s picky, but it’s my opinion.

Final thoughts about the controversy:
What is sad about the controversy around the book is that God has been portrayed as so distant and cold in so many churches that the thought of him engaging people’s senses in a very real, loving and special way has really upset some people. We should never forget that God’s love is one of “incarnation”. It is close, especially in difficult times like the one Mack was going through. AND none of us should be surprised if God’s physical nature is different than we thought when we stand before him.
Finally, this book is just further evidence that creative wrestling with who God is happens best in community, with an open Bible right in the middle.

Would love to hear all of your opinions too.

*UPDATE:
If you read and enjoyed the Shack, I highly recommend supplementing it by reading Ministry in the Image of God by Stephen Seamands.  His approach to the Trinity and how it shapes our passion and mission in the world is dead on.
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