Christianity Today posed this question to a number of leading ecclesiological thinkers and got a number of interesting answers (HT: 9Marks). I recommend you check the whole thing out (it’s just two pages). What I found most striking among the answers is that only once was the Bible directly referenced. Even then, no text was mentioned. Now, many of the folks cited on this list do in fact tie their ministries to Scripture. I know some of them, and they... Read more
Just saw that the Together for Adoption conference, held this past weekend in Franklin, TN, drew over 600 people. Praise God for that response. It’s also great to see that Zach Nielsen live-blogged the whole conference. His summaries are available here. Dan Cruver, director of T4A, blogged what he saw as the highlights of the conference. I would encourage you to read them alongside Nielsen’s valuable summaries. Many of us have benefited hugely from Russell Moore’s reflection and theological work... Read more
1. Have you heard of the Lausanne movement? They’re gearing up for the 2010 conference in Cape Town, South Africa. John Stott, Billy Graham, and Francis Schaeffer were heavily involved in the 1974 gathering. Sounds pretty cool. 2. Weekly Standard writer Noemie Emery spells out the recent troubles of our nation’s president. Here’s a key slice of her commentary: These are the five contradictions to Barack Obama that have misled the public, without the intent to deceive. He does have... Read more
From the LA Times, more on the recent outbursts of Kanye West, Serena Williams, and Joe Wilson: In the wake of these high-profile outbursts across disciplines — politics, entertainment and sports — many Americans have found themselves asking what is going on. To some, it’s not a coincidence but rather the manifestation of a deepening social dysfunction. “It’s extremely regrettable, but not shocking,” said Pepper Schwartz, a University of Washington sociologist. “And there is a viral element to it. It’s... Read more
I found this somewhere on the web and thought it was well worth pondering together (does anyone forget where they found content? ). In the quotations below, pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church (Seattle, Washington) defines what he sees as the difference between a “load” and a “burden” that we carry in our personal lives: A “load” is a light enough pack that someone should be expected to carry it alone. Practically, this means that the typical person needs... Read more
NYT columnist David Brooks has a thoughtful column out today called “The Next Culture War” that suggests that the shameful levels of debt our country is now carrying are a moral issue. He’s got a great point, I think, though I disagree with him on a number of matters (the “culture wars” and the issues raised in them are actually of great importance, easy as they are to skewer intellectually). Here’s the bottom line of his argument: In 1960, Americans’... Read more
The provocative writer Michael Chabon recently published a marvelous essay called “Manhood for Amateurs” on the loss of what he calls the “Wilderness of Childhood” in the New York Review of Books. In the piece, Chabon muses on the ways in which modern children have been robbed of the danger and wonder inherent in childhood exploration. He writes of past days of freedom and adventure: The thing that strikes me now when I think about the Wilderness of Childhood is... Read more
Well, they didn’t say it quite that openly. But the stories of five prominent and now retired professional athletes, covered elegantly by the Washington Post, suggest that while money is not in itself evil, neither does it guarantee happiness. In fact, it often does not. Here’s the tagline from the article on former NFL player Peter Boulware: What brings purpose to life at age 34 when you have everything you could possibly want but nothing to hitch your dreams to? Former NFL... Read more
This is an eclectic day. As usual. For the report on Ravi Zacharias, see number 7. 1. Time Magazine recently ran a piece on conservative commentator Glenn Beck. Interesting read. 2. A piece to read from the NYT on the debate over health-care, end-of-life issues, and “death panels.” There’s a bunch to sort out here, but we need to note at least one thing: while it’s important to focus on reforming end-of-life care, Christians have a huge interest in preserving... Read more
I have blogged about this before–mainly because it keeps coming up–but I’ve just read a fascinating piece called “Blue Is the New Black” by NYT op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd in which she briefly explores her thesis that modern women are unhappy. (Photo: Adam Polselli) Here’s a synopsis of her argument: [T]he more women have achieved, the more they seem aggrieved. Did the feminist revolution end up benefiting men more than women? According to the General Social Survey, which has tracked... Read more
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