Bookmarks

A few years ago, the film 21, based on a true story, featured a small group of M.I.T. students who learned the art of “card counting” and took Vegas casinos for millions of dollars while playing the blackjack tables. It wasn’t a great movie, but it was fascinating for its topic and pacing.Fast forward a few years, and now another group of young people is doing the same thing. But they’re not from M.I.T. They’re Christians, and they call themselves “The Church Team,” and they’re also taking Vegas casinos – and others – for gobs of money, all because they’ve learned the science of counting cards. Their story is told in the awesomely titled Holy Rollers, which claims to feature “the most well-funded blackjack team in America – made up entirely of churchgoing Christians.”Sound shady? Perhaps unethical? You be the judge. They would argue that casinos are robbing people blind, especially folks who are addicted to gambling and/or can’t afford it in the first place. They’d say that they’re taking from the rich to put the money to better use – feeding their families, tithing, and keeping the moolah out of the wrong hands. “It doesn’t seem like one of the most noble things a person can do in the world,” one member of the team says in the film. “But at least we can liberate the money from the clutches of those who would use it for ill purposes, you know?”The team includes not just laypeople, but pastors and worship leaders. The filmmakers were subtle and secretive, managing to get unprecedented footage inside casinos, showing the team at work – and the casino operators who were always on the lookout for card counters, and then “inviting” them (sometimes politely, sometimes not) to leave.One of the Church Team members, David Drury, was asked in an interview if he saw their work as a form of “social justice.” Here’s how he replied:“The social justice side of things is hard to quantify. The first difficulty in this line of work is simply justifying to yourself how you are serving society by playing a game in a way that is largely frowned upon. We are raised in a society that values easily drawn pictures of ‘service’ that are easy to nail down but often don’t make no sense once you start asking hard questions. If you are a teacher, you bust your ass doing important work for no money. If you are good at dunking a basketball, you get paid millions to provide “entertainment” through the vehicle of a soul-sucking corporate structure. But at least you can draw those lines.“For me, I decided I was able to provide for myself and my family, which was of first-level importance. I was in a work structure (players and managers) where I was valued, where my goals were honored and were mine to set (as opposed to goals in a corporate environment), and where I was excited to work towards the success of the whole team. I felt supported like I never had before in a career endeavor. [And] yes, liberation, justice, and a good old fashioned sticking-it-to-the-man. He is big and I often felt infinitesimally small. When you have a big losing night AND get kicked out, what have you achieved? I choose to believe that the road is long, and while I am on it I mostly limp along with dark glasses, banging my cane against the curb.”Holy Rollers is a compelling film that explores a world where the answers don’t come easy, where there’s lots of gray and little black-and-white. It’s won awards at several film festivals, and it a provocative discussion starter. “People can’t stop asking questions,” Drury told CT. “The central paradox – Christians taking money from casinos – starts all sorts of conversations.”DVD pre-orders are being taken at the official site. Watch the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZsKRlBm7nI?version=3

First Look, Then Start Talking: Seeing the World Through the Eyes of Jesus Donna S. Thomas

Donna Thomas provides readers with a winsome and helpful book on sharing Christ with our ethnic neighbors. It provides numerous insights from a seasoned, yet eminently practical, personal evangelist. Her instruction is less proposition-centered and more reliant on storytelling, out of which profound principles of communication emerge. Restaurants, coffee shops, college campuses, and the like are all places where Thomas meets and takes time to care for the many immigrants God brings her way.—Lon Allison

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Arthur Holmes, author of All Truth is Gods Truth who promoted the idea of integrating faith and learning, died October 8. The Wheaton College philosophy professor authored several books related to faith and learning, including The Idea of a Christian College and Building the Christian Academy. He was born in 1924 and taught at Wheaton for more than 40 years, according to a blog post by David Osielski.
Throughout his writings and career, Holmes emphasized that, indeed, “all truth is God’s truth.” His desire was for Christians to not shy away from the difficult questions that may arise from whatever subject of academic study they choose. With a firm belief that any truth they find can be reconciled with their faith, Holmes challenged educators and Christians in academia to grapple with what they are interested in, noting that a strong faith can handle some turbulence while coming to a better understanding of God’s creation.
In reflection on his career, it is obvious he accomplished the goals he set forth for himself as a young teacher: he encouraged faith and learning in students, he countered the anti-intellectualism he found in the American church, and he helped prepare a great many students and Christian intellectuals for the various ranks of academia.

Wheaton’s archives has collected some of Holmes’ chapel addresses and his papers are housed in the college’s special collections.

What Jesus Demands from the World John Piper

Piper’s Jesus has marching orders for his soldiers. There’s work to be done for the kingdom and for each other. We should honor our commitments—in marriage, business, and society. Good preacher that he is, Piper’s exposition is piercing and solid. This book offers conviction in just about every chapter. But while the word “grace” may slip into one or more of the 50 demands that Piper lists, you won’t find it in the meticulously prepared index. Its absence there is noticeable.—Mark A. Kellner

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If Jesus Were Mayor: How Your Local Church Can Transform Your Community Bob Moffitt with Karla Tesch

Evangelicals have long talked about integrating “evangelism and social action,” but often with inadequate biblical and theological grounding and few practical models. If Jesus Were Mayor provides both. Moffitt, head of Harvest International, advocates “wholistic ministry” based on “God’s big agenda to restore all things.” Churches that practice this see people won to Jesus Christ and transform their communities, but church growth is not the central focus. If Jesus Were Mayor moves discussions about comprehensive ministry a big step forward.—Howard A. Snyder