Distinguishing Between Values and Faith – "Strong societies are held together by shared values, and shared conversation is a vital part of that community cohesion. I derive my values from my Christian faith, but in saying that, I’m not claiming that Christianity has an exclusive on human goodness. I believe that we all derive our values from our personal beliefs; I also believe that a shared conversation about our different beliefs leads to more understanding, not less. And in situations like 9/11, 7/7, and Charlie Hebdo, it’s often in the context of faith that people try to find answers to the question ‘Why?’" UK writer Gill Robins writes frequently on values-based education.
Discovering the Bible's Bonus Tracks – "… [I]n 1 Corinthians 5:9, Paul alludes to an earlier letter to fellow believers in Corinth. We don't have that letter, nor are we aware of its specific contents. Let's say, however, that archaeologists unearth a clay pot containing a manuscript dating from the mid-first century and fitting the description of Paul's letter. Should the church welcome 3 Corinthians as the 28th book of the New Testament? Not so fast … So, what criteria did the early church use as a guide? [Craig] Blomberg notes three predominant requirements: apostolicity, catholicity and orthodoxy."
When Our Theology of Suffering is Tested in Reality – "Two months ago we were shocked by the diagnosis of our thirteen-year old grandson’s extreme headaches. Yes, we heard the dreaded “C” word; he has brain cancer. Overnight our lives were turned inside out and upside down, and the once-in-a-lifetime Christmas on the island of Maui with our children and grandchildren was out the window. By God’s grace we have enjoyed a relatively tranquil life, at least so far as health issues are concerned. No one warned us of this, and we certainly did not ask for it, but suddenly the theories we had espoused in trying to help others were put to a test at home." A Wheaton College professor offers five takeaways from this experience.
The Problems of Great Speakers Who Try to be Writers – The writer begins with a jargon-laden introduction, then "This turgid, cliche-ridden paragraph is my own attempt to capture the flavor of much that passes for written communication in Christian circles these days. The style is quirky; topsy-turvy is the word order; and the passive voice is clung to for dear life. It defies the reader to read on … Most of us are speakers first and writers second. It is natural, therefore, that some of the patterns and habits of spoken English should creep into our writing. This is especially true of those who speak for a living (like preachers). Very often, good preaching is characterized by elaboration, illustration, and a general ‘padding out’ of the material so that the audience can take it in. Good writing is quite different. It is sharp and economical."
What Francis Chan Teaches His Kids – "My daughter did bring home a guy a few months ago from college and some of my friends asked her, they said 'hey how serious are you with him' and they told me her answer was so weird. They said her answer was 'I just want to hang out with him long enough to see if God answers his prayers.' That's a weird answer but in her mind that was her gauge." The California preacher went on to tell listeners of John Piper's podcast how in their home, answered prayer is the measure of strong relationship with God.
Worship Service Down-Time During Announcements – Thom Rainer offers 9 observations about that not so special time in the service: "Most church leaders believe that the retention rate of announcements by members is low. If retention is indeed low, it would indicate that most times of announcements are done due to pressure or tradition or both."
Was this Board's Action Discriminatory? – So there was a teacher fired, and there is the element in the story that 'the student was asking for it.' It's hard not to let your mind make up the missing pieces, but in this case: "The Phillipsburg [PA] School Board fired [teacher Walter] Tutka after district officials said he refused to meet with them to discuss his giving a middle school student a copy of the Bible. Tutka handed the boy, who had been asking about a passage from the book of Matthew, a copy of the Gideon's New Testament in October 2012." The teacher was suspended in January, 2013.
We Take You Live to Our Reporter in the Field – I know some of you have heard stories from the missions front lines before, but I know this guy. He gave up a comfy career as a dentist to do something he and his wife believe in, and now he describes his work in Rwanda: "I walk in to see (as my first case ever in Africa) a sedated child with a massive hole in the side of his jaw. The hole was not caused by a object, no, it was caused by perhaps a simple ulcer or infection that kept spreading. Because the child is malnourished, and was also battling malaria, and also likely was not getting clean water, and was likely a low birth weight baby, and was also not easily accessible to health care … the list goes on, he developed one of two conditions. Osteomyelitis—which is an infection of bone … or NOMA – described as a disease of the poor, where this uncontrolled bacterial infection knows no limit and literally destroys one's face … Oh I forgot to say that he is also an orphan. But you probably saw that coming."
Those Problematic Worship Lyrics – We've seen articles before on songs like this one: "'I want to touch you, I want to see your face, I want to know you more.' It’s tough to sing lines like these when the song never mentions who you’re singing to, and this one never does. The vague lyrics could easily suggest a plan to sneak around and make out in the bushes or a desire to encounter Jesus." But this was the first time we'd seen this one mentioned: "'Yahweh, Yahweh, we love to shout your name, oh Lord.' Jewish people don’t write or say Yahweh to refer to God out of respect — instead writing the name without its vowels, YHWH, or using the alternate Adonai, meaning 'Lord.' So, to sing a song that not only uses the name Yahweh, but emphasizes the shouting of it seems … odd. The Vatican agrees—in 2008, it removed/replaced the name in all of its songs and prayers, and the Christian Reformed Church removed every occurrence of Yahweh and Jehovah from its Psalter Hymnal."
Short Story Department – An accusation of plagiarism against Christian author and possible Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson ended very differently than another high profile plagiarism case with which readers here are familiar. The source copied refuted the idea saying that the 16 attributions that did appear reflected Carson's honest intentions.
Parting Shot – Okay, this is totally superficial, but I think this church has the coolest menu for searching sermon series archives.
Link sleuth @PaulW1lk1nson blogs daily at Thinking Out Loud.
