on the walk

Here are some great thoughts on worship from a good friend of mine who is wise beyond his years.  (And that is saying something because he is getting up there. )

The Art of Worshipping God

Here is the opening,

My highest goal in worship planning is that our worship at Grandview proclaim God’s greatness … while reflecting our gifts from God. This goal can be difficult road to travel, causing disappointment on many sides. Some folks prefer worship to reflect the gifts and tastes of previous generations, without taking our own gifts into account. Other folks prefer the “new” church, which winds up being a somewhat generic, church-in-a-box, nothing-but-beat, just-do-what-the-cool-church-does model that ignores as much of the past as possible. Continue Reading »

The Internet Monk has been having a fascinating conversation about membership over on his fantastic blog. His latest interview is my favorite so far. I’m no Baptist, but this discussion address issues that are relevant for any tradition that values the local church, baptism, church membership and church discipline. If those issues interest you, then be sure to check out this post.

Dr. Nathan Finn on Church Membership

on the walk

-Ethan

I recently discovered a blog that is one of the funniest places I have ever been. But since this blog isn’t usually about funny, I haven’t linked to it. But this blog is also occasionally powerfully and profound.

Here is a recent post on the importance of letting our scars be ugly. I will quote best paragraph but you can follow this link for the whole thing.

Here is the best part:

Have you ever thought about what type of party the father threw the prodigal son in Luke 15?

I didn’t until last night. I didn’t see the implications for you and me until I thought about shining my own scars. But you know what the prodigal son gets when he comes home? A welcome home party. The father doesn’t throw him a “you never left” party. He doesn’t call the servants excitedly to get things ready for the “everything is fine” party. Not at all, he makes a point of saying, “Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’

He says that twice. Once to the servants and once to the older brother. The father got it. The reason to celebrate was not that things were perfect. It was that the son had been lost, voluntarily so, and was now found. He had been willingly dead by leaving but was now alive. The fact that he had blown it, the fact that the son had broken his life was not a source of shame, it was a cause to celebrate. The gross of being lost and dead was part of what made the reality of being found and alive so bright and true and undeniable.

Amen and Amen,

on the walk

-Ethan

Ps. Once you are there, be sure to hang around and explore the funny.

Check out these strong reflections from Micheal Spencer.

Are we putting up unnecessary obstacles to the welcome of Jesus to all people however weary and heavy laden?

on the walk

-Ethan

John Stackhouse has two posts gathering background reading on the recent movie “Expelled.” In the first post, the meat is in the comments, as his readers provide a wide spectrum of possible sources for further reading. In the second he gives his analysis of what he was offered. His top recommendation you can go find for yourself on his blog. It is a detailed and fine analysis of the Expelled movie that is sympathetic but still careful and critical. But his second choice I will serve to you on a platter.

If you are at all intrigued by the conversations surrounding the “Intelligent Design” community I recommend this fine article by Loren Haarmsa.

I leave for vacation soon so posting may be spotty for a week or so.

on the walk

-Ethan

I have become a fan of Francis Chan since I discovered him while wondering You Tube. Here is another comment from him on the need to be prophetic. I also like the whole idea of a video blog.

Check him out for yourself.

on the walk

-Ethan

Here is a link to a story of some people who found a creative and gospel driven way to be like Christ.  Check it out.

on the walk

-Ethan

Here are a few links to a great conversation on suffering. The dialog partners are Bart Erhman and N.T. Wright. Erhman is a biblical scholar and former Christian who is making his living these days teaching and writing books which try to debunk or counter Christian faith. Wright is a British scholar and one of the leading voices of New Testament scholarship today. You can catch up to the conversation with the following links.

Bart Ehrman: How the Problem of Pain Ruined My Faith

N.T. Wright: God’s Plan to Rescue Us

Bart Ehrman: What About the Actual Suffering?

N.T. Wright: What it Looks Like When God Runs the World

Bart Ehrman: God’s Kingdom Has Not Come

N.T. Wright: The Bible Does Answer the Problem–Here’s How

It may raise more questions than it answers for you, but it is an important conversation and it would be hard to find two better people on whom to eavesdrop.

on the walk

-Ethan

Here is a great post from Ben Witherington on our temptation to want less from God than God desires for us.

on the walk

-Ethan

I was bopping around YouTube tonight looking for videos of people who can talk backwards which I think is cool. In one of the links was this video of Millard Fuller. He was the founder and long time leader of Habitat for Humanity so I was interested. It is an odd and rambling little piece. But in a surprising twist, Continue Reading »