Rodney Stark and other sociologists tell us there were 10 values of early Christians that stood in stark (no pun intended) contrast to the pluralistic pagan culture of Rome. Let’s prayferfully think through these values and match them to the witness of our own churches. Do we see the city existing for us or do we see our church and our lives existing for the city? (David Fairchild, 10 Marks of the Early Church)

This is an interesting post! What I want to know is this: which of the 10 values listed in the post are exemplified in your local church… and why aren’t the others? (HT: JollyBlogger.)

Wow… a whole week without posting. Yes, I’ve been bad again, but at least I have a decent excuse this time. Even if I’m not writing much, I’m still reading a lot in the blogosphere! Taking a cue from Adrian Warnock, I’d like to direct your attention to some interesting posts I’ve read over the past few days…

The House of Degenhart » You May Be Right…

When ill-behaved children lose an argument, they say “SO WHAT!” or “Oh yeah? Well you’ve got a big nose!” Grown-ups say, “You may be right, but in the grand scheme of things your solution would represent a misallocaiton of resources.” Christian grown-ups say, “Yeah, but what’s really important is telling people about Jesus.” You know Jesus – he’s apparently the guy that doesn’t really care about the truth very much, or how people live their lives, so long as people sing happy clappy songs about him and don’t judge each other.

Pyromaniacs: How to deal with posts you don’t like—and the flip side

I’ve noticed a pan-internetal phenomenon you’ll all recognize. It’s how different people deal differently with posts, articles, essays they don’t like. (Now, I suppose I have to add “and pictures.“)

You can not like a post for many reasons, reasons which will vary in part due to the post’s content, and in part due to where you are, spiritually, intellectually, temperamentally, and time-wise (schedualically?).

Maybe the post in question is really stupid. Maybe it’s palpably wrong. Maybe it’s wrong and stupid.

JOLLYBLOGGER: Fathers do not exasperate your children

“Do not be harsh with your children but be gentle.” So this writer does not exhort fathers to exercise their authority. Instead, he presupposes that authority and then sets the bounds for its use. He also presupposes that children are not just property over whom the father has legal rights. They are owed dignity as human beings in their own right.

Challies Dot Com: The Tyranny of Quiet Time

Johnson wrote about something I had only recently realized myself. “That half hour every morning of Scriptural study and prayer is not actually commanded in the Bible.” Imagine that. He goes on to say, “As a theologian, I can remind us that to bind the conscience where Scripture leaves freedom is a very, very serious crime. It’s legalism rearing its ugly little head again. We’ve become legalistic about a legalistic command. This is serious.” We have somehow allowed our quiet time, in its length, depth or consistency, to become the measure of our relationship with God. But “your relationship with God—or, as I prefer to say, God’s relationship with you—is your whole life: your job, your family, your sleep, your play, your relationships, your driving, your everything. The real irony here is that we’ve become accustomed to pigeonholing our entire relationship with God into a brief devotional exercise that is not even commanded in the Bible.” So what, then, does Scripture command? It commands that the Word of God be constantly upon our hearts. We are to pray, to read the Scripture and to meditate upon it, but we are to do so from a joyful desire, and not mere performance-based duty. We are to do so throughout our whole lives, and not merely for a few minutes each morning. Like Johnson, I came to realize that the “goal isn’t that we pray and read the Bible less, but that we do so more–and with a free and needy heart.”

So do not allow quiet time to become performance. View it as a chance to grow in grace. Begin with an expression of your dependency upon God’s grace, and end with an affirmation of His grace. Acknowledge that you have no right to approach God directly, but can approach Him only through the work of His Son. Focus on the gospel as the message of grace that both saves and sustains. And allow quiet time to become a gift of worship you present to God, and a gift of grace you receive from Him.

I’ve been observing as Adrian Warnock continues his God-killed-Jesus series, and so I was delighted to see The Daily Duck: Thoughts on Adrian’s Sermon, a response from the waterfowl who first called Godbloggers to the carpet on this issue. The Duck made some really good points, especially as to how justification and sanctification work out. I’ve included a (rather lengthy) quote from his post, and my own comment is included afterward:

Continue reading →

If you’re even vaguely aware of the firestorm that’s erupted in the wake of Tim Challies’ review (with excerpt) of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Confessions of a Reformisson Rev., there are three posts you must read:

• Throwing Mark Driscoll Under the Bus (JollyBlogger)
• Driscoll-gate – Scandal or Witch Hunt? (Adrian Warnock)
• Bruised Reeds, Smoldering Wicks (Dan Edelen)

All three are thoughtful, grace-filled approaches to the issue.

Personally, I don’t really go for the cussing, but I think there’s far more serious issues being glossed over in the Church, and I really don’t see anything wrong with Driscoll’s (quoted) advice. I think that was probably far more helpful to the guy than any soft-spoken (read: girly) response could have been. I mean, there’s gentleness… and then there’s being a pansy. I think we need to treat men like men, and sometimes that means sounding “harsh.”