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A little light reading
Well, it is official, seminary has begun in earnest. My fall semester classes started yesterday morning. Yes, I realize I took Greek this summer and that was both challenging and rewarding, but for some reason it just didn’t feel like seminary, I’m not sure why, it could be just because summer classes have that feel of something temporary or that there were very few of us on campus.
So this fall I am taking 4 classes (well, actually 5, but 1 is a weekend elective that will be over and done with before Labor Day ever shows its face). I’ll have Preparation & Delivery of Sermons, Greek in Exegesis, Covenant Theology I, Spiritual & Ministry Formation, & Gospel-Centered Sexuality (the weekend course). It is a good schedule, plenty of demanding work and lots of good content. I am excited about my professors and the chance to take the classes with some friends. I’m still not sure about this whole semester thing, having only ever been in the quarter system I am a little fearful of the 16 week slog, but I am looking forward to having a little extra time to plow through the reading that I will need to get through (yes, some of it will indeed be skimming). So for those of you that are interested, here’s a run down of the books I have for this semester…
New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the New Testament, Rogers & Rogers
Greek Grammar Beyond the Basic, Daniel Wallace
How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth, Fee & Strauss
Novum Testamentum Graece (Nestle/Aland)
Christian Spirituality, Alexander
Children of the Living God, Ferguson
Transforming Grace, Bridges
The Call, Guinness
Creation Regained, Wolters
He Gave Us Stories, Pratt
Proper Confidence, Newbigin
Far as the Curse is Found, Williams
Science & Faith, Collins
Real Sex, Winner
Sex for Christians, Smedes
Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapell
Using Illustrations to Preach with Power, Chapell
Well, there they are… not nearly as big as the pile that will accompany some of my future semesters, but plenty to keep me busy for this one. One thing about all this reading… obviously there will be things that I or other people will disagree with in some of the texts (probably not so much in the reference books). One of my professors this morning encouraged us to do the opposite of what out generation does so well and instead be sympathetic readers. This does not mean the we need to agree with everything we read, but neither should we approach everything we read with suspicion. We should look to read cooperatively, ideally the author has written something that is readable and that accurately relays the idea that they are trying to get across, so we, as the readers, should also approach the books with an ear to listen for that idea. I think we so often are looking for what we disagree with, but we should be looking for what we agree with. How do we define ourselves? By always stating the negative about what we are against or by positively identifying ourselves with what we believe is true. Food for thought… dig in.
I don’t often get excited for children’s books being made into movies, but sometimes, there can be great joy in going to see one of these movies as an adult. While at the cinema on Wednesday waiting to see the newest Harry Potter film, I got to see the preview for Spike Jonze’s upcoming adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. I am excited to see this. So I figured I would share the preview so you could get excited too. Oh and there is another trailer at the end as a bonus 
and also for your enjoyment:
I think the looming reality of what will be coming this fall has helped me kick my personal reading into overdrive. It also helps that I rarely watch TV any longer (with the exception of working my way through House, one of my roommates just got me addicted and he has the first 2 seasons on DVD). So just to recap, here is what I am reading and have recently read:
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose – I figured since I have now lived on both ends of the Lewis & Clark expedition I should get to know it a little better. Once I finish I am going to go and check out the statue in St Charles MO.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe – A classic that helped push the move towards emancipation into overdrive. I’m only a bit of the way in and am enjoying it immensely, including some great theological conversations that have already taken place.
Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion by Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck – from the same guys that brought us Why We Aren’t Emergent. Just started it, but it looks promising so far.
On Being Black & Reformed: A New Perspective on the African-American Christian Experience – Anthony Carter. Just finished reading it and thought it was very helpful in understanding some historical and theological perspective of my African American brothers and sisters. My post some thoughts in the coming weeks when I’ve had a bit more time to digest what he had to say.
Hood by Stephen Lawhead – Just finished. The first book in a new trilogy with a fresh look at the Robin Hood legend. Good read. Pure fun.
Friday, July 10 marked the 500th birthday of John Calvin. I had intended to post on Friday but, as is often the case, I procrastinated and am just now getting it done.
John Calvin by Titian
There has already been much said about Calvin in honor of his quincentenary and so I will withhold a rambling post. However I did want to say that what I most appreciate about Calvin was his passion for the Glory of God and his confidence in the Sovereignty of God. Many have vilified Calvin for his theology and yet fail to really understand his theology or dig beyond the rhetoric espoused by his critics. I particularly like what Charles Spurgeon had to say concerning Calvinism,
I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what is nowadays called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.
Calvin’s faithfulness to the Word of God through his preaching and his desire to see a church that esteemed the glory of God above all are a legacy that we can all be thankful for. Calvin did not shrink from reminding us that our only hope, our only joy, our only good comes from God alone. Even in his own life he bore great sadness through his confidence in the Glory and Sovereignty of God.
I call ‘piety’ that reverence joined with love of God which the knowledge of his benefits induces. For until men recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by his fatherly care, that he is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond him – they will never yield him willing service. Nay, unless they establish their complete happiness in him, they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to him. – John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
So happy birthday John Calvin, I thank the Lord for your faithfulness and the legacy we have inherited.
If you are interested in reading more on Calvin, check the following out:
The Life of John Calvin by Theodore Beza, a biography written by Calvin’s successor
John Calvin: His Life and Influence by Robert Reymond, an accessible and well written biography
John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine & Doxology, Burk Parsons (editor), a great anthology about the life and work of Calvin
Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. His crucial work. It is highly devotional.
Visit the Calvin500 website for an extensive list or works by & about Calvin.
UPDATE: I totally forgot, but over at the Reformation21 Blog they are Blogging the Institutes all year! Check it out.
Stockholm Syndrome Trailer from Derek Webb on Vimeo.
Derek Webb’s new album, Stockholm Syndrome, is now available for pre-order or immediate digital download. I got it earlier today and am enjoying it immensely. The hype around the marketing campaign for it has been pretty entertaining and while I was thoroughly confused it did its job and got me interested. If you are wondering, Derek does indeed use a four-letter word in one of the songs, but I think it was well placed. I do find it amusing that they are having to do an “explicit” version and a “clean” version. I’m excited that Derek is willing to talk about the issues on the record (and on Mockingbird) with an audience that may need to have our attitudes in certain areas significantly challenged. I think it is worth a listen (or 10 or 20) so I won’t get into my thoughts on the issues he tackles right now.
233 years ago these words were put forth by the Founding Fathers of the United States, declaring their independence from Great Britain. If you have never read the whole Declaration of Independence, I think it is well worth the few minutes to read it.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
The other day while watching the Confederations Cup Final (sadly Brazil beat the US) I was reminded of one of my favorite hymns. At the end of the game Kaka, one of the Brazilian players, removed his jersey to reveal an undershirt declaring “I Belong to Jesus.” I know that in much of the West today such effusive shows of religion are frowned upon, we can often be too cool for such displays, marginalizing them as throwing our beliefs too much in the face of others. What is remarkable about Kaka’s display is the joy that is always there (I believe this is the case even when his team does not win). Why should we be such shrinking violets about what we believe? Do we really believe it, do we really hold it to be true? If our answer is yes, then why should we be scared that someone find out that we belong to Christ? I think there is nothing so distasteful as someone who says they believe something but is embarassed by it.
Kaka: I Belong to Jesus
Earlier that same day during the sermon at South City Church, Pastor Jay Simmons used a quote by the comedian Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller), an avowed atheist, that I think summarizes how misguided we can be about what we do with our beliefs. This is Penn’s response after he had been proselytized by a business man after a show (he is actually commending it, especially since the man did it respectfully):
“If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward, and atheists who think that people shouldn’t proselytize — ‘Just leave me alone, keep your religion to yourself.’
“How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize?” Jillette asked. “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? If I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there’s a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”
Check out this video for Penn’s full response:
All that to say that I was reminded of one of my favorite hymns entitled I Belong to Jesus and I wanted to share it with you. You’ll find the words below and if you would like to hear it, my friend Nathan Partain has set the beautiful words to a beautiful tune. The song is featured on his new CD, 11:43am. It was one of the songs played on my last Sunday at CrossPoint and has been a great reminder to me over the last few months of who I am. So, check it out.
I Belong to Jesus
I belong to Jesus; I am not my own;
All I have and all I am, Shall be his alone.
I belong to Jesus; He is Lord and King,
Reigning in my inmost heart, Over ev’rything.
I belong to Jesus; Blessed, blessed thought!
With his own most precious blood, Has my soul been bought.
I belong to Jesus; He has died for me;
I am his and he is mine, Through eternity.
I belong to Jesus; He will keep my soul,
When the deathly waters dark, Round about me roll.
I belong to Jesus; And fore’er I’ll stand
With my precious Saviour there, In his glorious land.
words: M Fraser, Music N Partain
Grace, J
I’ve been thinking about change a lot lately. No, not the random pennies I find in my pocket from time to time, but life changes. There has been a considerable amount of change in my life over the last year and while I am excited about it all, it has also been weird and in some ways difficult. In many ways these changes have been about moving forward and growing up, about trusting that God will provide and trusting others.
A bit over a year ago my friend, Jonathan, made a now infamous video of me (I may attach this on the blog one day, but I am not currently ready for that level of comedic exposure). It was a comedic response to my bungling ways in the area of romantic relationships. I am not suave. I am rarely cool. Tact is not necessarily my forte. Yet time and time again I had lumbered forward like Grawp (HPOotP) in my awkward way. Anyhow, this video made its way onto the computer screen of a lovely woman who I am proud to call my fiancee. Christine and I met online, this is true, but it was through the meddlesome love of two friends that we were set up in the first place. We met in person some two months later at the wedding of one of the meddlesome friends in Indianapolis. We clicked right away (I think she has a thing for my awkward side) and by the end of the weekend we had decided to give long distance dating a try. The problem was, she lived in Ireland and I in Seattle. Well we made it work. Lots of phone calls, a bit of miscommunication here and there and some Transatlantic travel ended with Chrissy and I getting engaged in Seattle in May.
We Got Engaged!
In the midst of my relationship with Chrissy I was also determining where, when and if I was going to finally go to seminary. As many of you know I have talked about this for years. I have hemmed and hawed, procrastinating and blaming it on some reason or other. Finally, sitting on my couch one night some friends suggested I just do it. Why don’t I just apply and see what happens. I tend to be a pessimist about these things. I didn’t think I would get in. I did. I didn’t think I would get the financial aid to make it possible, but I did. I didn’t think my car would make it, it did. Throughout all of this I have seen the gracious hand of God. I certainly don’t deserve to be here, but I am nonetheless. I am now living in St Louis, MO, attending Covenant Theological Seminary. I am taking summer Greek, remembering the thrill of learning new things because I want to learn them. It is hard, but hard in the same way that working out is hard when you are doing it but it feels so good later.
As I was packing up to leave Seattle just one month ago the reality that my life was forever changing began to dawn on me. Was I ready to say goodbye to the city I had come to love, to the church in which I had grown in so many ways, to family and friends, some of whom the reality is I may not see again this side of eternity. I stubbornly moved forward, hiding my emotions behind the flurry and stress of working up to the last minute, saying last minute goodbyes (to some people more than once), packing what I could take and getting rid of most of the rest of my possessions. When I finally left Seattle, with the blessing of good friends who graciously took care of many last minute loose ends for me, I looked in the rearview mirror and began to weep. I was exhausted. My life was changing. I realized I would never come back to Seattle the same person. The next time I go back I will be married. I will have been a student for more than half a year if not more. Some friends will have moved away. My church will have changed. Heck, the Alaskan Way Viaduct may not even be there and maybe I can take the lightrail from the airport. It won’t be the same.
As I contemplate the changes that have happened, both good and hard, as well as the multitude to come, I am ever more confident that I do indeed belong to Jesus. I am excited and nervous. Lets see what is coming next.
Check out the opening clip from the forthcoming documentary Collision. Douglas Wilson & Christopher Hitchens square off over whether or not Christianity is good for the world. (They also coauthored a book on the same topic).
COLLISION – 13 min VIMEO Exclusive Sneak Peak from Collision Movie on Vimeo.
Visit Going to Seminary for seminary tips and advice.
