Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Quote of the Day

"It is the fact of life that the best athlete and the finest scholar receive the hardest and the most demanding training."

I read this in a book somewhere. Since then I've written it in my journal and on sticky notes around my desk as a reminder of the fruit that comes from the demands of high pressure ministry.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Linus' commentary on Christmas

Have we lost the meaning of Christmas amongst the commercial trappings? Linus reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas.



Did you know that this show was almost shelved because of the reading of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke by Linus? Yet Schultz stuck to his convictions and this show became the greatest Christmas show ever. Check out this article from USA Today.

Quote of the Day

"To return evil for good is devilish; to return good for good is human; to return good for evil is divine." - Alfred Plummer

Monday, December 11, 2006

Nicole on Differences

Irenics is the name of this website. But, how do I deal with those who differ from my theological opinions? What does that look like? Roger Nicole writes a great article on practicing irenics (also known as a subset of Polemic Theology).

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Quote of the Day

"Here lies a decent, godless people. Their only monument to civilization was an asphalt road and a thousand lost golf balls." - T. S. Eliot predicting the epitaph on America's tombstone.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Sugarcoated, MTV-style youth ministry is so over. Bible-based worship is packing teens in pews now

A Time Magazine article demonstrating the authority of Scripture. My favorite quote is from a youth pastor who said, "No one seems to be suffering from the absence of the pool table." Amen.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man [and woman] of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tomlin Larger than Timberlake?

A congratulations goes out to Chris Tomlin! Time Magazine reports that "Tomlin [is] the most often sung artist anywhere."

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

"We're all racists, unconsciously."

"Author Michael Shermer talks about his op-ed that appeared in The Los Angeles Times. He explains how unconsciously and privately there is a little bit of Michael Richards inside us all." I heard this story on National Public Radio. Here's a link to the broadcast.

Shermer refers to this implicit prejudice exam from Harvard. I've taken a few of them already. It only takes 15 minutes. They're about 100 topics given randomly. Apparently, if I had to choose between the mountains and the ocean, I'm subconsciously biased towards the mountains.

But remember, when it comes to race...God does not show partiality. (Romans 2:11) Let's show ourselves to be children of God.

Monday, December 04, 2006

DelHousaye on Obedience

John DelHousaye writes, "Obedience brings the future into the present." To read more of John, visit his blog.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Rambo is reborn!


Focus on the Family's Citizenlink.org reports that Sylvester Stallone has become a Christian.

No Tithe, No Donuts

Here's a hilarious video from TheChurchYouKnow.com about tithing. No tithe, no donuts.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Wolf in Sheeps Clothing

I couldn't help but post this! The header read, "WHEN YOU ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE, LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT & SAY NOTHING"

Perhaps another (and somewhat disconnected) interpretation could be, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15)

somanorth - Emerging or Emergent?

As a leader of somanorth, the EMERGING congregation of Scottsdale Bible Church, I believe it's important to differentiate it from the Emergent Village, which has often characterized the theology of the emerging movement in the Church. I would align myself with this article from Brett Kunkle of Stand to Reason. He delivered it at the Evangelical Theological Society's Annual Meeting last week. It's written very well and it's relatively short considering the amount of information that floods in about the Emerging/Emergent movement.

Last year I wrote a Wikipedia stub about somanorth. It also differentiates us from the theology communicated by the Emergent Village.

In sum, even though we're "emerging," we're not following the vexing and perhaps unorthodox views of the Emergent Village and its representatives.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Brewer on Mopping

My friend Bobby Brewer recently blogged about the insufficiency of personal testimonies. Has our culture changed such that personal stories of Christ's transforming power have lost there potency since everyone has a story? Perhaps a new apologetic is in order.

new somanorth series

The new somanorth series begins December 3rd.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Sermon from God

What made a prophet's message meaningful? Could the power of their message simply be derived from its ability to expose the sin of the people? (Contrastingly, false prophets were condemned for delivering agreeable prophecies.)

Any preacher that doesn't address our rebellion against God may be safely ignored. These people have no word from God.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Church


A few months ago Nate Hughes and I preached a sermon together about becoming a missionary. I find this picture of him convicting. The sign he holds reads, "I am the church" in the Czech language.

I'm reminded that the Church is meant to be the light of the WORLD. In God's infinite wisdom and kindness, He has chosen to use you and I to reach the world with the good news of Jesus and, subsequently, usher in His Kingdom. Sunday service at 76th & Greenway-Hayden is only part of being the Church. The other part is taking the Gospel to Kierland Commons, Las Vegas, and the Czech Republic.

If you haven't signed up for a mission trip yet, DO IT!

"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." - Matthew 24:14

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Aliens or Demons?

John Dickerson writes a great article on Phoenix Lights, a strange UFO sighting in Phoenix about 10 years ago. Our own Dr. Bobby Brewer has a part in the article.

Could demons be using "alien" sightings and abductions as a modern way to oppress the spiritually critical Western mind?

Partial-Birth Abortion

A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial on partial-birth abortion from apologist Greg Koukl.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

On Sexual Immorality


"Illicit relationships promise like a god, but pay like the devil." - Erwin W. Lutzer, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

I'm tired of nice sermons.

A nice sermon is like oatmeal. It can sustain a person, but it won't offer much of a kick. A convicting sermon is like BBQ ribs. It bursts with flavor and satisfies down to the inner recesses of a person.

Monday, November 06, 2006

John DelHousaye on Characterization

John DelHousaye writes, "After we make our judgments about a person, there is always more, so that, in the very least, we should punctuate them with a question mark, and, perhaps even truer to the reality, an ellipsis. But scrutiny is free." To read other witty comments from John, check out his blog.

America NOT Abandoned by God


A well written article by one of my former professors at Phoenix Seminary. He asks a question with regard to President Bush, "Lord, if you will not help this kind of a courageous President who earnestly seeks to follow you, and continually seeks to walk in paths of righteousness, then what kind of President will you ever help?" All in all, a helpful conservative review of Bush's term as president.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Philosophers

"Philosophers are people who write about things they don't understand, and make it sound like it's your fault." - S. Lewis Johnson, Bibliotheca Sacra, October-December 1962

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Quote of the Day


"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Is the power in the Word?


I'm sensing two kinds of popular preachers today. The first are great story-tellers and fun to listen to. They often speak from a conviction about some social issue or theological misconception. Even though they're sometimes maligned for their negligible use of the scriptures, there is no doubt in my mind for their love for God and Jesus.

The second preacher is utterly convinced that the Bible is the Word of God and worthy of being expounded upon and applied. These men use verses and passages to exhort God's people into action or change. These men are maligned for being boring, irrelevant and unloving. I hear that their churches are small.

Over the last year I've had many opportunities to pray with people. I've noticed that most people sigh or groan when I use a verse within a prayer. They usually stay silent when I'm voicing to God my thoughts and opinions.

Thus, it seems that God's Word has a greater affect upon those who are living in the Spirit than a well told story or Christian cliche. Missionary zeal doesn't equate to transformed souls.

What do you think?

UPDATE: After further consideration, perhaps the Spirit uses both.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Christian by Culture


I was thinking about the earliest followers of Christ this morning. What would it have been like to dismiss all that you knew to follow some new teaching about a man-God named Jesus? Basically, if someone approached me today with some untested belief system, would I follow it?

We were born in a world where Christianity has been around for 2000 years. Christianity isn't necessarily novel in our eyes because many people prior to us have shown Christianity to be sound and reasonable. Moreover, becoming a follower of Christ hasn't been a finger in the eye of our culture. Christianity is the most proclaimed religion in America! This being said, if we were 1st century slaves who only knew of Roman divinities, would we take the risk to follow a Jewish Messiah? Could we overcome our Roman/Greek backgrounds and paradigms?

But then I thought about 2 Timothy 2:10. Paul writes, "For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain salvation which is in Christ Jesus..." It seems that Paul shared his faith with expectation. That is, he preached Christ expecting God to open the eyes of some of his hearers. This fascinates me because it seems that despite our backgrounds or beliefs God will open the eyes of some of those who hear the gospel.

In sum, Christ trumps culture.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Who is God?


Time Magazine released their newest data on how we as Americans see God. Perhaps we need to focus more of our evangelistic efforts on teaching who God is and who God isn't.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Facades

You'll rarely have a characteristic that's known to yourself and not known to others. Therefore, there's no such thing as a true facade. So why not be yourself? Consider the Johari Window for proof.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

A Beautiful Woman


What makes a beautiful woman? Check out this blog with attached video.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Quote of the Day

"Prayer is a great purifier of motives." - Edmund Clowney

Monday, October 16, 2006

to boycott or not to boycott


Do you wonder whether or not you should buy Disney tickets if they support Planned Parenthood? Stand to Reason has a great article that differentiates between taking a stand against abortion and taking a stand against someone who supports abortion. They correctly argue that these are two separate issues.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

The Bible as Non-Fiction

A great review of the the top 15 archeological finds that prove the reliability of our Bibles. (Pictures included!)

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Guilty Pleasures?



Is it wrong for me to enjoy The Office?

OT v. NT



'Testament' is an ancient word for covenant. Thus, Old Testament literally means Old Covenant. Now that we're under the New Covenant, where does that leave the Old?

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Dating v. Courting



The Bible says very little about HOW we should date, but it is extraordinarily concerned with WHO we should date, or WHAT type of spouse we ought to be.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Do pastors have a special relationship with our Lord?


I ran across this verse the other day. "In his right hand he held seven stars... the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand... is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches..." (Revelation 1:16A, 20)

I've always interpreted this verse as angels who oversee or protect the churches, like guardian angels. Although recently I heard Chuck Swindoll interpret these messengers as the actual pastors of the churches. (i.e. messengers are preachers and vice versa)

Is it possible that pastors have some sort of vicarious relationship with Jesus that differs from the rest of the congregation?

As a pastor I find this interpretation to be very comforting. I sometimes enter the pulpit with intense self-deprecation. "Is God even using me?" This interpretation makes me wonder if Jesus, the sovereign Alpha and Omega, has my heart in His right hand; such that the sermons I preach, the vision I cast, and the discipline I impose all come with His authority.

See Matthew 16:19; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Matthew 18:15-18; 1 Timothy 5:17-20

Why irenics?


Blogs appear to be magnificent places to discuss and debate ideas. Could there be a better way of doing the rigorous task of theological reflection? That's why I titled this blog "Irenics." (The definition may be found in the header above.) I plan on posting various quandaries that plague my mind. I hope this is a friendly place where we could refine and enlarge our understanding of our Lord and the world He created. Who knows? Perhaps we'll solve the 2000 year-old synergism v. monergism debate.

My First Post

I'm happy to announce my first official blog! Yes. I have had a blog on somanorth.com for a year now. But that blog was always a bit cumbersome. My friend, Lucas, always had to manually post my blog entries. This is blogging in its most purest sense.