Lots-o-Links 12.16.08

Brief Molly Update: We are going to Molly's neurologist today. He will hear that the medications are not working so far.  Then we will hear whether Molly's EEG shows us anything worth knowing.  And all of this is contingent upon the weather not being so bad that we can't go since it's in Crystal Lake and a snow storm is coming.

Jonathan Dodson: Four Church Planting Manuals Reviewed

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary now offers a PhD in having a quiet time

David Allen has a new book, Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life

This 9Marks video is kinda funny.  "It's calligraphy. I can't even read it."

Stephen King lists his 10 best movies of the year

Keller and Powlison: Pastor's Self-Evaluation Questionnaire

John Frame: Christ and Culture audio

Trevin Wax wants you to have some good books...for free

Very excited about Jerram Barrs' newest book coming in May of '09: Learning Evangelism from Jesus

Lots-o-Links 12.2.08

Quick Molly Update: Molly has been doing a little better lately.  She is even starting to sleep on her own (without meds).  It's not every night, but it's getting better.  When she sleeps well her Chiari symptoms seem to be significantly better the next day.  When she sleeps poorly, her Chiari symtoms get all jacked up.  She still isn't sleeping deeply and consistently, but things are headed in a better direction.  We are going to her neurologist (not neurosurgeon) today to ask about the sleep issue.  Hopefully he will have some insights.  Thanks for your continued prayers for my wife and family.

Here's the Advent devotional my family is using (via). We are also using selections from the excellent Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas.

Karis Church's Theology Weekend audio featuring Bruce Ware is up

ESV SB for your mobile phone - $29

Dan Kimball has some missional misgivings

Mark Driscoll on The Mission and Vision of the Acts 29 Network. It's nice to follow Mark over the past few years and hear the the ways he's changed as well as how he hasn't changed.

Paste Magazine lists their top movies of 2008

Roger Ebert on the death of the film critic (via)

The New York Times: 100 Notable Books of 2008

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Crossway has put out a wonderful, small book for Advent called Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas . It contains 22 4-8 page readings from sermons and works of dead folks (like Martin Luther, J.C. Ryle, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and more) and living folks (like Tim Keller, J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, Joni Eareckson Tada, John Piper, and others). Pick it up.

Here's an excerpt from Tim Keller's chapter, "The Gift of Christmas"...

When September 11th happened and New Yorkers started to suffer, you heard two voices. You heard the conventional moralistic voices saying, "When I see you suffer, it tells me about a judging God. You must not be living right, and so God is judging you." When they see suffering they see a judgmental God.

The secular voice said, "When I see people suffering, I see God is missing." When they see suffering they see an absent, indifferent God.

But when we see Jesus Christ dying on the cross through an act of violence and injustice, what kind of God do we see then? A condemning God? No, we see a God of love paying for sin. Do we see a missing God? Absolutely not! We see a God who is not remote but involved.

We sometimes wonder why God doesn't just end suffering. But we know that whatever the reason, it isn't one of indifference or remoteness. God so hates suffering and evil that he was willing to come into it and become enmeshed in it.

Frightened, Confused, and Broken Leaders

God loves reluctant leaders and, even better, he loves reluctant leaders who know they are frightened, confused, and broken.  In fact, he seems to have a special fondness for rebels and fools.  Does God choose troubled leaders because few other people are foolish enough to say yes, or does he choose weak, troubled people because they serve a unique purpose in their broken state?  The answer is yes.

Dan Allender in Leading With a Limp, p 54.

Chief-Sinner Leaders

Paul calls leaders not merely to be humble and self-effacing but to be desperate and honest.  It is not enough to be self-revealing, authentic, and transparent.  Our calling goes far beyond that.  We are called to be reluctant, limping, chief-sinner leaders, and even more, to be stories.  The word that Paul uses is that a leader is to be an 'example,' but what that implies is more than a figure on a flannel board.  He calls us to be a living portrayal of the very gospel we beseech others to believe.  And that requires a leader to see himself as being equally prone to deceive as he is to tell the truth, to manipulate as he is to bless, to cower as he is to be bold.  A leader is both a hero and a fool, a saint and a felon.

We are both and to pretend otherwise is to be disingenuous.  The leader who fails to face [his] darkness must live with fear and hypocrisy.  The result will be a defensiveness that places saving face and controlling others as higher goods than blessing others and doing good work.  Clearly, the biblical model of leadership is odd, inverted, and deeply troubling.  It is so troubling that most churches, seminaries, and other religious organizations would never hire a 'chief sinner.'  The only one who thinks to do so is God.

Dan Allender in Leading With A Limp, p 57.

The Reluctant Leader

We should bless men and women who have done their level best to escape leadership but who have been compelled to return and put their hand on the tiller. We should expect anyone who remains in a formal leadership context to experience repeated bouts of flight, doubt, surrender, and return. Why would this be God's plan? Why does God love the reluctant leader? Here is one reason: the reluctant leader is not easily seduced by power, pride, or ambition.

Dan Allender in Leading With a Limp, p18.

Attracting the Irreligious

Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think.

Tim Keller in The Prodigal God, 14-15.

Molly Update and Lots-o-Links 10.22.08

Quick update on Molly.  She is finishing up her third round of steroids tomorrow, so we hope that will have a good result.  But as of today she has had more numbness/tingling in her legs than ever before.  Her balance issues are dramatic.  She is sleeping a little better, but not nearly enough yet.  It's still very worrisome around here, but God is our refuge (we read and prayed Ps 52 with our kids this morning).

Links...

Kung-Fu Election.  "Huck-uh-beeee!"

Good Wendell Berry website that I wasn't aware of until a few weeks ago.  New Wendell Berry Poetry.  New Billy Collins poetry.  Poems for autumn.

JD Greear - Multi-Site vs Church Planting.  Bill Streger - Great Questions for Pastors. Jonathan Dodson - Redefining Evangelism.

Questions to ask before confronting.  Powlison on Friendship Counseling.

BibleArc.  Tom Schreiner taught me this at SBTS.  Could be a cool resource site. We'll see.

I have this ESV Study Bible.  Haven't used it enough to say too awful much (though I like what I've seen), but I do really dig the online version that is available for those who buy a hard copy.  Place for notes, highlighting text in different colors, and the full content of the study Bible.  I will use the online resource several times a week.  You should get one!  Westminster is a great place to buy books, especially ESV Bibles.

A Holy Longing: Beauty and the Gospel.

Total Church Conference audio is up.

Lots-o-Links 10.2.08

Molly Update: Molly has been really worn out, feeling sick to her stomach, and has been in bed most of the time after returning from surgery.  Because of that she has been very frustrated and wants to feel better.  I'm just trying to remind her to take it slow and realize this is a long term healing thing.

Mark Devine has mentioned me in his new book. The chapter is found here. 

Jonathan Dodson: Why Evangelism Methods Must Change, Tools for the Missional Church, & Church Planting Manuals Reviewed.

Ahh, the growing Covenant Theological Seminary Worldwide Classroom.  What a great resource.

Justin Taylor: From John Piper's new book, Spectacular Sins, What To Do, and What Not To Do, With Evil.

Mark Driscoll is releasing the book Porn-Again Christian online for free.  It will be released progressively over the next several months. 

Josh Harris' Preaching Notes series: Mark Driscoll.

Ahh, the baseball playoffs are here.  Love it.  Love baseball.  Inspiration...

The Big 5: Books on Spiritual Warfare

There's a demon under every rock, around every corner, lurking in every dark alley, and in your closet!  MUHahahaha!  *Ahem.*  So...

What are your Big 5 books on spiritual warfare?

These would be books on the theology and practical reality of demons, demon possession and oppression, or stories about people dealing with these issues.  These can be books that deal primarily with sin or prayer, spiritual "armor," etc, as long as they have a significant "warfare" component.  There are a lot of kooky books and authors out there, but there are some really good ones too.  Go!

The Big 5: Books on Sin & Temptation

It permeates your life.  You were born with it, live with it, and die because of it.  It's in your thoughts, words, and deeds.  You do it far more than you admit and you think others do it way more than you.  Even your humble admission of how much you do it makes you feel sinfully proud of your humility.  We need to learn more about it so we can kill it, avoid it, hate it, stomp on it, run from it, and rip it out.  So...

What are your Big 5 books on sin & temptation?

These can be books on the doctrine of sin, specific sins, overcoming temptation, etc.  In general these should be books about understanding and avoiding sin.  These books should not have forgiveness as its main focus, though it very well may play a role in the book.  Go!

Lots-o-Links 9.8.08

New book in the mail, Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas.  It contains 22 readings for Advent, including ones from Martin Luther, Tim Keller, Jonathan Edwards, and others.

A church thinking missionally...Benched (via)...

Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

Convention speeches as seen through Wordle. Very cool.

Christianity Today has a bunch of "Culture Making" stuff: Andy Crouch article, Andy Crouch interviewed, Andy thinking about his next book.

Craig Groeschel: The Power of Questions part 1, part 2, part 3.

Tim Keller's preaching notes. Good luck.

Jeremy Pryor: Your Discipleship Tools Are Too Weak (don't miss the helpful dialogue in the comments).

Total Church Conference: A Community-Centered Gospel.

Molly's Big Brain and Giving Thanks by Faith

As some of you know we are headed to see Dr. Frim, Molly's neurosurgeon, at 10am tomorrow.  They will have reviewed all her MRI stuff, spinal fluid flow info, etc and have a view of where to go from here.  If this is news to you, catch up on Molly and Chiari.  FYI, she's had mostly very bad days lately, but today was slightly better as she was able to walk and stand without constant help.  

If you think of her, pray for Molly's appointment tomorrow.  You may also want to pray that we get there on time, as that seems to be a problem lately.  Chicago traffic is unreal sometimes (most times).  We are driving out at 7am.  If you want to keep up with our trip and get the scoop first, follow my Twitter updates on the right sidebar of the blog, or here.

Molly and I were at the Desiring God conference last year called Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints.  That was just a few months after her brain surgery and elimination of her symptoms.  Now that her symptoms are back there is much good to remember from the conference.  Honestly, I hadn't thought of the conference in a while.  Then today a friend at Crossway pointed me to Jerry Bridges' message found as chapter 1 in the Stand book.  It was good for us to revisit it.  Here's an excerpt...

...Lamentations 3:38 says to us, “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” That is, God is in sovereign control over the difficulties and the pain just as much as he is in control over what we would consider to be the good things, the blessings of this life. Now we should thank God for the good things of life. We are to be thankful people. But what about the bad things, the things that we would not choose to have in our lives? Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to “give thanks in all circumstances,” and then he adds, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” That is to say, it is the moral will of God that we give thanks in all circumstances....

How do we do this? We do it by faith. We don’t just grit our teeth and say, “Lord, I don’t feel thankful, but you said to give thanks, so I’m going to give you thanks even though I don’t feel thankful.” That’s not giving thanks. We do it by faith. We do it by trusting in the promises of God. We do it by faith in the words of God through Paul in Romans 8:28–29, where he says “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him.” And then he defines the good in verse 29 as being conformed to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what God is after. He wants to conform us to the likeness of Christ; so he brings or allows these various circumstances, circumstances that we ourselves would not choose. He brings them into our lives because he wants to use those circumstances in his way to conform us more and more to the likeness of Christ. And so by faith we can say, “Lord, I do not know what particular purpose you have in this difficulty or this pain, this trial. But you said that you will use it to conform me more and more to Jesus Christ, and for that I give you thanks.” So we give thanks by faith.

Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints, chapter 1 "Four Essentials for Finishing Well" by Jerry Bridges, page 34. 

Solomonic Soulwinning

I really like Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman. In chapter 2, "Solomonic Soulwinning," Newman gives four lessons from Solomon/Proverbs.  It's very good advice.  All the Scripture quotes are ESV. 

1. Avoid an Argument

"Many an evangelizing Christian has won the battle but lost the war by not avoiding an ugly argument." - p 42

17:14 - The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

"The man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." - p 42

2. Recognize a Fool

"...some dialogues should stop, and others should never start.  Recognizing these situations before it's too late is crucial." - p 43

14:7 - Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

23:9 - Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.

18:2 - A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

"Until someone is more interested in truth than in airing his or her own opinions, it's best to talk about the weather." p 45

3. Remember that People are People

"We're not just just rational beings to be informed and educated, spiritual beings to be evangelized and enlightened, or physical beings to be fed and satiated.  We are whole beings, called to love God with the whole heart, soul, strength, and mind." - p 45

"Solomon understood the complex nature of people.  He realized that conveying content makes up only a small part of the communication process." - p 48

14:30 - A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

20:5 - The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

4. Remember the Power of the Tongue

10:31 - The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

12:18 - There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

17:27 - Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

"...somewhere between total silence and nonstop talk lies wisdom." - p 49

The Big 5: Books on Biblical Hermeneutics

That's right, I dropped the "H" bomb.  Knowing how to read the Bible is just as important as reading it.  I've heard too many Christians say they read it but don't get it.  It's not just a lack of spiritual understanding, it's a lack of a hermeneutic.  So...

What are your Big 5 books on biblical hermeneutics?

These are books on biblical interpretation, understanding biblical genres, etc.  There is a range from text books all the way down to the very practical for average Christians.  Don't list books on biblical languages...that's another list.  Don't just list reference books on the Bible either.  Go!

Lots-o-Links 8.26.08

Tim Keller in byFaith Magazine: The Case for Commissioning (Not Ordaining) Deaconesses (via)

Trevin Wax: Bedtime Prayers With Our Children

Here's why my SBC Greensboro photo with Joe is legit: The History and Nature of Man Friendships

Kent Shaffer: Top 10 pet peeves about worship leaders

9 year old can't play baseball because he's too good

Are you following Josh Harris as he puts up preaching notes of notable preachers?  Dever.  Mahaney.  Pretty cool.  Looks like some coming from Keller soon. 

Brad Lomenick from Catalyst: Turning Ideas into Reality

The Blazing Center: 7 Tough Questions to Ask Your Friends (via)

Molly has just started reading Practical Theology for Women by Wendy Alsup.  Interview with Wendy.

Death by Love

Outstanding. More at RE:LIT.

The Big 5: Biographies

Biographies can teach us things that non-fiction instruction can never teach, or never fully teach.  There's something about examples and real life experiences that impact us more directly and deeply.  So...

What are you Big 5 biographies?

Let's say no memoirs, though those can be great too.  These can be of Christians or Presidents or whatever.  Should be fun.  Go!

The Big 5: Books on Calvinism

Yeah, I know that some (many?) of you aren't Calvinists.  And you probably know that I am, but that's not the point.  The point is we all need to read on theological topics of importance regardless of our personal positions.  Often those well-written books persuade us.  So...

What are your Big 5 books on Calvinism?

Actually, be a little more free with the topic if you like.  List a book on Calvinism, Arminianism, both, the sovereignty of God, or even a particular topic like predestination, election, etc.  Go!

The Big 5: Daily Devotionals

What are your Big 5 daily devotionals?

I'm not asking what books you like to read during a devotional "quiet time." I'm asking about books that are created as daily devotionals. Often they are dated or numbered for daily use. Sometimes they are not yearly but are still written for daily reading. Just make sure they are true devotionals. Got it? Go!