Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category:
Things that should bother me more…
As a Christian & a human being, I am growing in my concern for justice issues throughout the world. I feel that most of my life, I have been oblivious to the needs of others, who lack some of the most simple things in life which I largely take for granted.
While this has escaped my concern for so long, I am actually grateful for some of the advances in technology & art. Example: I can no longer plead ignorance to the fact that right now there are around 300,000 children being coerced, forced or kidnapped to participate in armed conflicts throughout the world as child soldiers, most of them in Africa alone, since I went & saw Blood Diamond. I can’t say that I have no awareness that entire people group’s are having their simple rights as human beings trampled upon, because I spent over $150 to go see U2 in concert. The technology & art of today has made social concern and awareness an inescapable reality.
But what do I do about it?
Well, Jesus answered this question nearly 2,000 years ago. Read more »
An Evangelical Manifesto
Two posts in one day?!?! Can it be?!?! You bet… this is just too good not to share.
From CNN:
Conservative Christian leaders who believe the word “evangelical” has lost its religious meaning plan to release a starkly self-critical document saying the movement has become too political and has diminished the Gospel through its approach to the culture wars.
The declaration encourages Christians to uphold traditional marriage, as in this Massachusetts protest.
The statement, called “An Evangelical Manifesto,” condemns Christians on the right and left for using faith to express political views without regard to the truth of the Bible, according to a draft of the document obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
“That way faith loses its independence, Christians become ‘useful idiots’ for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology,” according to the draft. Read more »
Maple’s Story
I’m sitting here at a local coffee shop, grabbing some dinner, reading my new favorite book (Tim Keller’s The Reason for God), and otherwise trying to get away from campus and have some uninterrupted time to myself, when a little girl walks up to my table and asks me, “What chapter are you on?”
That was the first of many questions.
“What do you do?”
I’m a student.
“Are you in high school?”
Weeeell… It’s after high school, and after college.
“Do they talk on a stage, for a long time?”
Yes, very often.
“What’s your name?”
Brad. What’s yours?
“Maple. When a baby is born, how do they know if it is a boy or a girl?”
Well Maple… I…. uhhh… the doctors know.
“But how do they know?”
They went to a lot of school and… they just know.
“You go to a lot of school. Do you know?”
Uhhh…. No. Do you like to read, Maple? Read more »
Is Christian Music always Christian?
Don’t hear what I am not saying.
There are plenty of Christian artists out there who are great people and excellent musicians. But I happened across this video last week, and I had to laugh because I realized that sometimes the “Christian Music Industry” creates bands who exist for the sake of profit, just like the “Regular Music Industry” does. These are ridiculous distinctions, I realize that, but it’s the best I can do to make sense of reality.
Take a look at the video. Does it reflect any truth at all? Do some people lie for the sake of keeping up appearances? Is the Christian music industry really to blame? Are all of us to some degree just like the artists portrayed here? How can we battle against this tendency in “evangelical culture?”
Lessons of Life
While we’re a few weeks into April now, I am still recovering from March:
3/2: Massive car wreck that totaled my car (see pic).
3/8-9: Painted new apartment and began packing.
3/10: Found out my spine is jacked up from the accident, and I’ll need six months of physical therapy.
3/12: Two massive papers due.
3/15: We moved to St. Louis City.
3/18: Worship Band Rehearsal.
3/19: Special midweek service for Holy Week.
3/21: First chance to breathe in four weeks.
Now that I am getting a chance to breathe, I am starting to reflect on all this, and am starting to realize some difficult lessons God has been teaching me throughout the month of March. Read more »
Good Humor
We have been delving into some of the really heavy topics lately, and I thought I would lighten things up a bit. After all, God has a sense of humor, right? Why else would He give me a photographic memory, dyslexia, and ADD. That’s like putting a humidifier and a dehumidifier in a room and seeing which one wins. But seriously, scripture is filled with puns, funny stories, and odd little details that make you chuckle. For instance, take a look at John’s account of the resurrection and note how many times John points out that he beat Peter in a foot race to the tomb! It makes me laugh every time. Read more »
The Call of Discipleship: To Be a Blessing
“Missional” is such a buzzword in Christianity right now; thus it’s impossible to use it without defining it. For many, it’s the new word that means “evangelism.” For others, it means downplaying or ignoring so-called “offensive” aspects of the Bible so Christianity is more sensitive to our culture’s extreme value of tolerance. Regardless, the Bible describes the mission of Christians as being a blessing.
To show this, I’m going back to the “founding father” of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity: Abraham Read more »
