Another Good Sunday at Christchurch

Many thanks to Aaryn and Maleah Sanchez for leading our music today at Christchurch. It was a joy to sing praises to God with you and God's people this morning.

Many thanks also to friend and CCU professor Phil Mitchell for preaching from Luke 13:20-21 this morning. Like yeast, the kingdom of God is often obscure to human eyes. Jesus followers will always be very small compared to the world. But that tiny number is more influential in the world than any others. Like yeast, the kingdom of God is universal. Yeast works its way through all the bread dough. And Christianity is impacting the entire world, as nearly 3000 language groups worshiped the Lord Jesus this Christmas. What encouragement and hope we find in God's Word!

After a fun lunch with the Brandt family after church to say thanks for Ericka's faithful service to our little kids at Christchurch this year, we are now home. Meg's started writing and I'm going to go work out at the gym. Then I'll probably start studying Isaiah again. A good day.

Book Review: Preaching & Preachers

Do you ever wonder what preachers talk about when they get together? Like most people, they talk about the weather, their wife and kids, and recent developments in the sporting world. But if a man is a preacher, he wants to talk about preaching with other preachers. If a man is a preacher, he is overwhelmed by the enormity of his calling. He feels a great need to learn from other preachers, especially the great preachers in Jesus' church. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a great preacher in the mid-20th century. His pulpit was at Westminster Chapel in London. And this book is a collection of his 1971 lectures to seminary students at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. It's a classic.

Lloyd-Jones and I don't agree on everything. For instance, I've just finished publishing a newsletter for my church and in it I outline my sermon schedule for the next 2-3 months. Lloyd-Jones would NEVER do such a thing. Read the book to find out why. He's an interesting combination of anti-legalism and passionate dogmatism on secondary preaching issues like this one.

But Lloyd-Jones and I do agree on nearly everything else related to preaching.
Lloyd-Jones is a champion of biblical exposition. He deplores pulpiteering and our modern emphasis on oratorical methods. Lloyd-Jones repeatedly reminds his hearers/readers that the real spiritual results of the preaching ministry are not usually immediately evident. The primacy of preaching is central in his theology of the church. I would have loved to hear D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preach.

This book reads like a collection of preaching lectures, which is exactly what it is. Chapters/lectures on the preacher, the congregation, the sermon, the act of preaching, illustrations, humour (note the British spelling) and preparation are extremely helpful even today. Books like this are also of great help to church members who want to cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation of the ministry of preaching in their church.

If any preachers are reading this far I would like to know if you've ever read or heard D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and what you think of him.

If any of my church members are reading this far I would love to loan you this preaching text or any of a number of others I have in my library. Just ask!

Friday in Red River

I've pirated wireless internet this morning, so today there are no more $2/hour charges to post my ruminations.

It is sunny and cold on this Friday in Red River, New Mexico. For all the latest news from my favorite New Mexico cowboy ski town, check out the Red River Miner.

When the temps top 20 degrees, I'll probably head up the mountain to the Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area for a little workout.

Let's see...what else should I do today? Here's a plan: Eat, ski, read, nap, eat, play games with the kids, eat, study Isaiah, pray, sleep.

I'm living the dream here.

Dodging Bull Elk

Last night about 10:30pm, our trusty MPV dodged a bull elk about this size. We had just turned left at Fort Garland and were headed south toward San Luis, on our way to Meg's folks place in Northern New Mexico. With a nearly full moon and clear sky we could see him very well against the snowy sagebrush. He was about the size of a moose. Huge. Definitely would have set off the airbags if we had hit him. But he was moving across the highway at about 30 MPH himself, so it turned out well for all of us.

Today, we are hanging out with Meg's folks in Red River, New Mexico. It's our favorite little cowboy ski town. I'm paying $2/hour to use the wireless internet at the Mountain Treasures coffee shop and art gallery. And it's still snowing!

Merry Christmas!

Sophie is on the far right in the second row.

Screaming 10 Year-Old Girls

I didn't sleep that well last night. Maybe it was because of the pack of screaming 10-year-old girls that have invaded my house for Anna's Birthday Party/Sleep-over.

I think we made a mistake when we did the piñata first, followed immediately by cookie cake, ice cream and lemonade. The sugar-buzz they got lasted way too long. At 3:30am, Meg had to go downstairs and tell the ones playing flashlight tag that it was time to go to bed.

Now they've all crashed and are sprawled across my living room floor. Their parents are scheduled to pick them up at 9:30am. I hope they get over their "happy-birthday hangover" by then.

A Dark Day

According to the US Naval Observatory, winter officially starts at 7:22pm tonight. The obsessiveskier is celebrating in his own way.

During my celebration this dark morning I learned from wikipedia that our winter solstice falls somewhere between yesterday and Sunday. Check out this graphic and see if you can figure it out:

In my opinion, the coolest thing about this time of year is that the snow doesn't melt as fast.

In other news:

Today is Anna & Sophie's last day of school before the winter break. WOOHOO!

Tonight is Anna's 10th Birthday Party. WOOHOO!

Tomorrow were planning to ski A-Basin. WOOHOO!

And on top of all that, snow is in the forecast.

If that doesn't call for a little spontaneous blog-style worship, I don't know what does!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

The Lion Shall Eat Straw?

This morning I'm studying Isaiah 11, getting ready for Sunday's sermon. The last clause of Isaiah 11:7 in the ESV says "And the lion shall eat straw like an ox." My next thought was, "Is that really what it says in the Hebrew?" So, I got out my Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon for a little word-for-word comparative study. Yep. Word for word, that's what the Hebrew text of Isaiah says.

I wonder how Isaiah's first readers responded when they first read this. Lions roamed the ancient Near East at that time. When people traveled 2700 years ago, most of them walked.

Some people in Isaiah's day got attacked by lions and eaten. Those stories got around fast.

My parents tell me stories of hearing lions in the night, just outside their tent/cabin, while they were on a photo safari in the Serengeti in Africa. I'd love to see lions like that someday.

In March, I took Meg and our girls to the Field Museum in Chicago where the Tsavo Lions are on display. The photo above is of the Tsavo Lions, now just mounted skins.

They were maneaters.

These two maneless male lions that ate nearly 140 railroad workers in 1898. It was Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson's job to hunt and kill them. Can you imagine taking that assignment? Here is a photo of Patterson shortly after he killed the first lion, which was more than 9 feet long.


Isaiah 65 speaks of a new heavens and a new earth. In heaven, God's people will live with Him forever in glorified bodies. Jesus had a body like that when he ate fish with his disciples in Luke 24:41-43. Jesus had a real body. And one day there will be will be a New Heavens and New Earth, and it bet it will have animals like these two maneless male lions. But instead of fearing that they will eat me and my kids, we'll be able to play with them. That's just one example of the kind of peace our Messiah Jesus will bring when he comes again.

As you prepare for Christmas and remember Jesus first coming as a baby, take time to remember that he's coming again. And when he does come again, things will be so different. The lion shall eat straw like an ox.

The Dead Theologians Society

Do you know John Knox? Would you like to get to know him? You can!

Every Wednesday morning at 7:30am, you'll find me and a small group of my nerdy friends at Panera in Superior. We read sermons from pastors and theologians who are now dead, but whose written words still impact the world. We eat bagels and drink coffee. We laugh together. We pray for one another and our churches. We're always open to newcomers. Today we read a bit of a sermon from John Calvin. We won't meet on December 26th, but we will meet on January 2 to study the fiery John Knox. For more info, visit www.deadtheologians.org or post a comment.

New Testament Greek 101

Today I graded the final exams for the New Testament Greek class I've been teaching. What a joy it was to see my students translating on their own. Now I pray that they will keep working on their Greek. My love for God has grown through my study of His Word in the Greek New Testament. My church is also benefiting as I make fewer exegetical mistakes when preaching and teaching.

Here's a great book that I use often to keep up with my New Testament Greek and to cultivate my affections for God.



The Greek text that underlies the New International Version as reconstructed by Edward Goodrick and John Kohlenberger III, along with word definitions in footnotes for all words that occur thirty times or less in the New Testament.

Ideal for Greek students and pastors, this volume saves time and effort in studying the Greek New Testament. By eliminating the need to look up definitions, the footnotes allow the user to read the Greek text more quickly, focusing on parsing and grammatical issues.

Volunteering at Superior Elementary School

Monday mornings are a lot of fun for me since I serve as a parent volunteer in both Anna & Sophie's classes at Superior Elementary School. The girls have great teachers who make it easy for me to drop in and help out. I've really enjoyed developing relationships with the kids, teachers and other parents at the school. Public education isn't perfect, but our family's experience at Superior Elementary has been great so far.

Another Good Sunday at Christchurch

Worshiping God was a pleasure today at Christchurch.

Many thanks to Robbie Hunter for leading us in music, to Randy Brandt for leading us by preaching, and to our friends and family for worshiping God in spirit and truth at Christchurch today.

Skating

If you haven't gone ice-skating yet this winter, you need to take out your calendar and schedule a trip to the rink. I spent a few hours this afternoon holding hands with Anna & Sophie, taking laps around the Boulder Valley Ice Rink here in Superior. The Superior Chamber of Commerce hosted a free "Skate with Santa" event today. The girls both saw lots of friends from school there. It was the sort of thing that gets you in the mood for Christmas. Good times.

Hurts and the Holidays

Once again, I've seen a significant increase in pastoral care calls during this time of year. Even though Christchurch is new and small, it is made up of real people who have real hurts. While the holidays are a wonderful time of year, they are also often reminders of real losses that my people have experienced in their lives. Cold, gray days and long, dark nights sometimes add to a mournful mood in the midst of the Christmas season. But as Isaiah 9 and Matthew 4 remind us, "the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned."

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." - Jesus, Matthew 5:4 (ESV)

Partnership Development Workshop

New churches like Christchurch need partners in the gospel like those that Paul talks about in Philippians 1:6. Today I'm at the Colorado Baptist Convention's office building in Centennial, gleaning insights on developing partnerships from Randy Chesnut, director of Cleveland Hope, a 3 year partnership strategy that has helped launch 12 new churches in that area in the last 24 months. Pray for me and for Christchurch to approach developing church-planting partnerships in a way that honors Jesus.

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow

Thank God, who rules over all creation, for bringing snow to Summit County this week!  The more than 23 inches of powder that have fallen in the last 3 days at Arapahoe Basin are a gift of God's common grace to all skiers and riders.  Montezuma Bowl must be scheduled to open soon.  Keep praying for snow!

The Tree Is Up!

Our friends the Bootons had a tree cutting party at their property in the mountains on Sunday, so we have another authentic Colorado Christmas tree this year.  Dave & Juli are creating "defensible space" around their log cabin home, just in case a fire comes along some day.  This beauty is actually the top 7.5 feet of a 45 foot blue spruce.  It came down and got tied to the top of our van in less than 5 minutes thanks to Dave's superior tree spotting skills and his 3 foot chain saw.  Tonight after dinner, the Kelly family put on some Christmas music and trimmed the tree.  Merry Christmas!

Not Bad Today at Winter Park

Jason Depew twisted my arm today and made me go skiing with him at Winter Park. Amazingly, the winds we had along the Front Range today were not blowing at Winter Park Ski Area. It was warm and not much terrain was open, but we used our free tickets from the Warren Miller movie and there we no lines and we got in quite a few runs. The best part of the day, aside from hanging out with Jason, was when the Ski Patrol decided to open the "Bash" run just below the Sunspot Restaurant. Unskied this year until today, we had thick powder over our boots, sometimes to our knees. After 2 runs clipping the tops of mini-trees and watching my fat skis float through the thickening snow, my summer legs were beat. Thanks, Jason, for making my job as a church planter/pastor quite a bit more enjoyable this week!

Birds of Prey Downhill

If you're skiing at 80mph and the air temp is zero degrees fahrenheit, what is the windchill? It was a cold one today at Beaver Creek.

Congratulations to Steve Nyman, Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht of the US Ski Team for finishing in the top ten of today's Birds of Prey Downhill. Steve Nyman is racing fast this year, consistently beating Bode. Today Nyman's time was only 5 hundredths of a second behind first place finisher Michael Walchhofer of Austria. The Hermanator, Herman Maier, finished 11th. I wish I had been there today, but life and ministry kept me off the slopes. Maybe I can talk Meg and the girls into heading over tomorrow for the Super-G races.

MIZ-ZOU! BCS Champions-to-be!?!

It's been a crazy year in sports. The Rockies made it to the World Series (never mind how that turned out...), the Arkansas Razorbacks upset LSU this week, and last night the MU Tigers beat the KU what-cha-ma-call-its to win the Big 12 North. As we passed Arrowhead Stadium in KC yesterday afternoon, I-70 was backed up for miles to the east and to the west. As one born in the Show-Me State, I have long dreamed of a collegiate national football championship. I think this is the year.

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

It all started with an extremely good packing job, if you ask me. I continue to be amazed at how much stuff actually fits in our 2001 Mazda MPV. Our trek across the great plains started on Sunday night around 6:30pm. After too many hours in the miniature van, we arrived in Salem, Arkansas at 6:30pm on Monday. It was wonderful to see Meg's grandma, Mrs. Nora Sherrill, and her aunt Joan and uncle John. But it is sad to see the effects of Alzheimer's taking their toll on our sweet Grandmommie. Praise God that the girls were able to see her again and hold her hand, if but for a few moments. With hope in Nora's union with Christ by faith, we arrived at my folks house in Ellisville, MO shortly after midnight that night, thanks to one of Sonic's Rt44 Cherry Limeades and Megan's gift of late-night conversation.

Tuesday brought 70+ degree weather, a rare opportunity for me to worship God at the Covenant Seminary Chapel, a great BBQ lunch with the pastors at FBC Ellisville, and a trip to the St. Louis Zoo with the girls and my Grammie Pearson (my mom's mom). Swimming in Granny & Poppie's pool filled up most of our time until Thursday morning, along with eating way too much of my mom & Grammie's incredible food.

Yesterday (T-day), we went over the creeks and through the woods for 20 minutes to Meg's folks' house and enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with Meg's sister Alison, my brother-in-law Jeff Niermann, and their kids, Lillian and Joshua. Someone wisely suggested that we take the family picture before the meal, which turned out to be a great idea, because I spent the afternoon upstairs in a triptophan induced nap.

Today, I'm up early, feeling great after a 7am run. This post is being composed at a St. Louis Bread Company (AKA Panera to my non-St. Louisan friends - that's how they all started years ago on the U City Loop near our alma mater, Washington U). Perhaps a movie this afternoon. Thanks to Meg, all our Christmas shopping is DONE! Tonight we enjoy the Christmas Lights with Lilly and Josh at Grants Farm. Perhaps I will also enjoy a few free samples of some of Anheuser-Busch's traditional offerings.

We'll get back in the car tomorrow morning for our cruise across the chilly plains, stopping in Wentzville to see my nephew Alex's new house and stopping in Independence to for lunch with my church-planting friend Jason Allen and his family. God willing, we will be back home before 10pm and I will be preaching from Jude 17-25 at Christchurch on Sunday morning.

Thank God for Thanksgiving!

Just as good the 2nd time

I just got back from seeing Warren Miller's Playground at the Paramount Theater in Denver. It was just as good the 2nd time.

Pray for snow.

Warren Miller's Playground

Last night I took Anna to see Warren Miller's Playground at the Boulder Theater.  She got to help Chris Anthony give away prizes during the intermission.  We had a great time.  Here's the trailer.

One Year Ago this Week

I got a new computer this week.  It's a MacBook and it has this really cool iPhoto program.  As I transfered our photos from this past year to the new computer, I was able to scan much of my life over the past year.  It has been a good year. This photo is from one year ago this week.  This morning I read a prayer from the Valley of Vision prayer book.  It was titled God the Source of All Good.  "O Lord God, who inhabits eternity, the heavens declare your glory, the earth your riches, the universe is your temple, your presence fills immensity, yet you have of your pleasure created life, and communicated happiness; you have made me what I am and have given me what I have; in you I live and move and have my being; your providence has set the bounds of my habitation, and wisely administers all my affairs.  I thank you for your riches to me in Jesus, for the unclouded revelation of him in your Word..."  In so many ways it has been a good year!

Book Review: The Peacemaker

Throughout each season of my life so far, God has allowed me to experience a significant measure of conflict with others. As the youngest child in my family, I learned how to avoid conflict (especially with my father and older siblings) and often behaved like those Alfred Poirier and Ken Sande call “peace-fakers”. As a teenager and young adult, I learned how to do my share of “peace-breaking” with family and friends, especially girlfriends. I am still shocked at my own ability to hurt others. I first started hanging around Christians when I was 20 years old. God brought me into a church that believed the Bible was true. This church taught me that the gospel of grace can reconcile broken relationships. I quickly grew to love these Christians very much. But when some of the younger Christians I loved in this church got in a big fight with some of the older Christians that I also loved, our church split and over half of the congregation left in a huff to start a new church a few miles down Manchester Road. I was a spiritually young Christian when that happened and that divorce-like experience has profoundly shaped my Christian life and my calling as a pastor (in both good and bad ways). I want to minister the gospel in such a way that people are reconciled to God and to one another. I want to see God glorified as the power of the gospel is displayed to be real in our relationships. But even after 12 years in ministry and with a seminary degree hanging on my office wall, I must admit how often I’ve failed in my own peacemaking. But there is hope. Reading The Peacemaker renewed my hope in God and my confidence in the power of the gospel to reconcile broken human relationships.

My hope has been renewed for more than just my ministry role as a pastor. This book also renewed my hope for my marriage role as a husband. I married Megan when I was 22 years old, and we have fought many times during our 15+ years of marriage. (Each one of those fights is resolved today, in case you’re wondering.) We have had to learn many conflict resolution skills and apply them many times during our marriage. But I’m concerned that sometimes we have not seen the connection between how we resolve our conflicts with one another and the way our marriage displays the gospel to our kids and to the world. I’m looking forward to applying the principles of this book to our next disagreement. I trust that as I apply this biblical teaching to my marriage, my love for Megan will grow even deeper and the glory of God will be displayed through real reconciliation, unity and peace between us.

I appreciated The Peacemaker’s focus on the sovereignty of God in relation to our personal experiences of conflict. During some church-related conflict I was in earlier this year, I often failed to see the centrality of God even in my trials. This prevented me from seeing conflict as holistically I should have seen it. “God’s sovereignty is so complete that he exercises ultimate control even over painful and unjust events.” (page 61) Embracing God’s sovereignty over my conflicts frees me to see that conflict is neither an inconvenience nor an occasion to force our will on others, but rather an opportunity to demonstrate the love and power of God in our lives. (page 31) The Peacemaker teaches that I Corinthians 10:31-11:1 presents a counter-cultural understanding of conflict: It is not merely a matter for negotiation, rather it is truly an opportunity to glorify God, serve others, and grow to be like Christ. When the gospel of Jesus is applied to our badly broken relationships with wisdom and skill (sometimes with the help of biblically-trained mediators, conciliators and church leaders), God is glorified as good.

Ken Sande also writes: “Many marriages, friendships and business relationships are lost because people focus exclusively on a point of disagreement and forget about all that they have enjoyed in and with one another.” (page 89) While this has not been a big problem in my marriage and personal friendships, it certainly has been a problem for me in my business and ministry relationships over the years. Before answering God’s call to full-time ministry 12 years ago, I worked for 7 years as a custom home builder and real estate broker. I can recall numerous times when one area of disagreement on a custom home contract became the exclusive focus of all parties. When I’m in the midst of a conflict, my inclination is to focus my work energy on the problem until it is overcome. This response only intensifies the focus on the problem, rather than on the overall business relationship (or rather than on God in a ministry relationship). Most of my custom home buyers were extremely satisfied with their homes, but I can still see the faces of a few where the focus on one problem led us all into a badly broken business relationship. Thankfully, none of these cases ever ended up in court, but I’m confident that those buyers never referred us to their other friends who were looking to build a home. Today, as I reflect on my ministry years, I can identify a number of ministry relationships where I have focused exclusively on one point of disagreement (sometimes behavioral, sometimes theological, sometimes relational), which has resulted in broken relationships and ultimately the departure of one of us from the fellowship of believers. Dear God, help me to see the forest for the trees, as well as my mistakes and my sins, and to respond to each matter of conflict I face with more wisdom and tact. Amen. “One evidence of sincere repentance is a willingness to thoroughly examine ourselves so that we can uncover both our mistakes and our sins.” (page 119) The more I reflect on life, the more convinced I am that repentance is not easy. It is a sovereign work of grace and is an inseparable experience with real faith in Jesus.

In The Peacemaker, I also picked up one very practical tip on asking for forgiveness. If a person to whom we may have confessed a mistake or sin does not express forgiveness, we may rightfully ask, “Will you forgive me?” “This signals to the other person that you have done all that you can by way of confession that that the responsibility for the next move has shifted to the other person.” (page 132) The important tip that I picked up is to allow the other person some time here. I need to be careful to not use this question as a means to pressure someone into forgiving me, especially my wife Megan and our girls. Better to say something like, “I hope you will soon be able to forgive me” and be patient as we wait for God’s work of reconciliation to be completed, than to press for forgiveness too quickly. Asking “Will you forgive me?” and expecting an immediate “yes” doesn’t allow the other person to go through the process of remembering the gospel and applying it to the situation. It is much better to have real forgiveness based on Jesus’ work than a forced forgiveness based on relational pressure.

Have you ever tried to follow the Bible’s teachings on resolving conflict and things only ended up getting worse? I have. “If your words seem to do more harm than good when you try to resolve a disagreement, don’t give up. With God’s help you can improve your ability to communicate constructively.” (page 162) As a personal application from the chapter on speaking the truth in love, I have recommitted myself to being disciplined to not interrupt others while they are speaking. This has been a bad habit of mine, especially with Megan, and with God’s help I’m going to get better at being a disciplined listener.

Here’s another hopeful lesson that I’m taking away from reading The Peacemaker:

“When an offense is too serious to overlook and the offender has not yet repented, you may need to approach forgiveness as a two-stage process. The first stage requires having an attitude of forgiveness, and the second, granting forgiveness. Having an attitude of forgiveness is unconditional and is a commitment you make to God (see Mark 11:24, Luke 6:28, Acts 7:60). By his grace, you seek to maintain a loving and merciful attitude toward someone who has offended you. This requires making and living out the first promise of forgiveness, which means you will not dwell on the hurtful incident or seek vengeance or retribution in thought, word or action. Instead you pray for the other person and stand ready at any moment to pursue complete reconciliation as soon as he or she repents. This attitude will protect you from bitterness and resentment, even if the other person takes a long time to repent.” (page 211)

I find hope here for the unresolved conflicts and broken relationships in my life. There is a God. He is the God of hope. He is big enough to handle the hard cases that we can’t fix. Because of Jesus, there is hope for reconciliation between people now at enmity.

The Peacemaker includes many real-life examples of conflict and reconciliation, but the most helpful to me was the detailed explanation of the “barking dog” conflict in the book’s final chapters. I plan to revisit this example the next time I have a conflict with someone outside my family.

I’m thankful for The Peacemaker. God used it to remind me how much I’ve been forgiven, and that has motivated me to more humbly be willing to forgive others.

Zuma Lift is Almost Ready!

Arapahoe Basin's new Zuma lift is almost ready! This new lift will add 80% more terrain for high alpine ski freaks like me. I can't wait to ski it.

Pastoral Care for Sweep Victims

A wise pastor once told me that God has a pastoral purpose for all the pain you go through in life. "Before God can use a man greatly, He must wound him deeply," he would say. Last night I realized the truth of those words.

As the Colorado Rockies' hopes for a 5th game were dashed by a deep pop fly followed by a strikeout last night, I recalled the pain that God brought me through just 3 short years ago. Yes, God wounded me deeply when my beloved St. Louis Cardinals were swept in the 2004 World Series by the Boston Red Sox. And so today, the day after the bandwagon fans of Colorado watched in horror as the Rockies were swept in four quick and painful games, I find myself able to empathize with my people as they grieve the loss of their World Series Championship hopes (and the loss of a good bit of their pride as well).

Humility is a virtue. So is loyalty. Hang in there Rockies fans, God has a good purpose in your suffering, though you cannot see it today. As the anonymous pastor once said, "When we cannot trace His hand, we must simply trust His heart."

Building Bridges

Last night I enjoyed lively dinner table conversation with Dr. Frank Page, the current president of the Southern Baptist Convention. In his unpaid role as SBC President, Dr. Page travels the country 4 to 6 days a week to visit with groups of Christians like me and encourage us to keep cooperating in worldwide gospel ministry. Amazingly, he has only missed 2 Sundays at Taylors First Baptist Church, the church outside of Greenville, SC where Dr. Page has served as Senior Pastor for 20+ years. Dr. Page had never been to Colorado before yesterday. It was fun to watch the look on his face as he gazed at the mountain peaks above the hotel in Breckenridge where our group was meeting.

Dr. Page and I are very different. We look different. We talk different. We do ministry differently. Our ministry contexts are radically different. Dr. Page is getting audiences with all the current presidential candidates and he is using the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people like Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He is also being hounded every week by all the Republican and Democratic political campaigns to give their candidate an endorsement. (He refuses to do so. Let's continue to pray for him.) My scope of influence is radically smaller. But we both share a love for Jesus and His Churches and for lost people around the world. I'm grateful to God for allowing me and my church to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves - His kingdom work through the SBC (and other ministry/missions organizations).

The group of younger, emerging SBC leaders meeting this week talked a lot about our role in shaping the future of the SBC through our cooperation in ministry and missions. We prayed a lot too. I'm still praying that God will unite more of his people in a common commitment to biblical theology and worldwide cooperative missions through the SBC.

A number of Christians today wonder about the future of institutions like the Southern Baptist Convention. What direction is it headed? Where is the SBC on the theological map? As a generation of traditional baby-boomer Southern Baptists dies, what will the SBC look like in 10 years?

I'm not sure anyone knows the answers to these questions. But I like the direction described in this booklet written by Timothy George and David Dockery. Please read it and tell me what you think by posting a comment.

PS: I also got two runs in yesterday at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area.

Little Highway Town Gets Cooler Every Year

My favorite little highway town in Summit County, Colorado keeps getting cooler every year. Silverthorne wasn't much more than a few gas stations and an old "BA" when I was in high school, skipping way too much school to ski. Then along came the Outlet Mall, and over the years, all that sales tax revenue has allowed the little town by I-70 to develop some great trails and bridges, an indoor water park, landscaped medians on Highway 9 and redevelopment of some high visibility properties. The Three Peaks Golf Course is looking great too, in spite of all the beetle kill. Just today, the town got conditional water rights that will allow it to build a new kayak park. How cool is that?!? We can now do all my favorite mountain sports in Summit County. I'm going to have to get a kayaking wetsuit next season, though. The water that comes out of Dillon Reservoir is ALWAYS cold. But on hot summer days in July and August, who cares?

Almost, but not quite...

These past few nights, it's almost been cold enough at night to get out my Cornice snowmaker. But not quite. Please join me in praying that the temperatures drop below 30 for at least 12 hours so I can fill up my front yard with man-made snow. If you're looking for an idea of what to get me for Christmas, how about one of the T-shirts shown at the bottom of the Cornice Snowmaker page?

Climbing Mountains & Seeking Meaning in Life

Tonight at Superior Elementary School, Tonya Riggs told us the story of her trip to the summit of Mt. Everest with the Everest Peace Project. The photos and videos and stories were utterly incredible. Ms. Riggs, a passionate mountaineer, is planning a 2008 expedition on Annapurna. Having seen the ravages of poverty, political unrest and numerous dead bodies on her trip to the summit of Everest, Tonya Riggs has united her passion for climbing mountains to a good cause, fighting ovarian cancer. But after hearing her incredible presentation tonight, I think she's still searching for meaning in life. As big as the mountains she climbs are, they are not big enough to fill the God-shaped vacuum in our hearts. Augustine's words are still true: "Thou hast made us for thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee."

Letters from Auntie D

Auntie D lives in China. I met her on Tuesday. You should visit her blog.

First Run of the Year

Arapahoe Basin is open, but barely. Today, we took our first run of the 2007-2008 ski season. On Wednesday Arapahoe Basin was the first ski area in the nation to open, with one glorious run, which is sometimes only a 20 foot wide strip of man-made snow. Who could resist having fun on skis so early in October? Certainly not the obsessive skier and his family.
This is the view looking down from the chairlift. Not much snow, huh?





See that little white strip on the right? That's the one run that was open today. Pray for snow.

A-Basin is Open!

Colorado's ski season has officially begun! Today was opening day at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. The girls don't have school on Friday, so I'm planning to head up to Summit County with them tomorrow night. There's nothing like a few mid-October turns on that man-made frozen granular stuff they call snow.

Book Review: God, Marriage, and Family

There are lots of popular Christian marriage books available today, but in my opinion, finding a good biblical theology of marriage and family can be pretty difficult. I now heartily recommend God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation to anyone who wants to go a bit deeper in their biblical study of marriage and family. You won't find many tear-jerker stories in this book, but you will find a lot of great Bible teaching, along with a lot of very direct applications that few writers today are courageous enough to suggest. Kostenberger is a real theologian who lives in the real world and he leads his readers through tough pastoral applications of clear Biblical teaching. Where the Bible isn't as clear, he leads you through the various positions held by pastors and scholars today, and suggests a way forward. Don't let the thickness of this text fool you, just under half of it is supplementary: an exhaustive bibliography, a study guide and some serious endnotes make it look longer than it is. Many of my living heroes endorse this book: Bruce Ware, Tom Schreiner, Mark Dever, John Piper, Daniel Block, Wayne Grudem and quite a few others have written hearty praise for Kostenberger's work. Men, regardless of your marital & family status, please read this comprehensive yet concise book for help creating your response to the marriage and family crisis in our culture.

God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation, Andreas J. Kostenberger with David W. Jones, Crossway: Wheaton, Illinois (2004), 448 pages.

Peacemaking in Practice

As we read the Bible, we find that even the best of churches like the "dream church" in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47) experience conflict and need peacemaking (see Acts chapter 15). I am greatly enjoying sitting under the teaching of Ken Sande today. Ken is the leader of Peacemaker Ministries. Ken is a great servant of the church of the Lord Jesus and has provided many helpful ministry resources at their website. Watch this video:

God is a God of Hard Cases

Pastor Alfred Poirier just finished teaching the biblical and theological foundations of the ministry of peacemaking tonight at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. I thank God for his teaching, but I thank God more for his mercy. God used Alfred tonight to give me hope that God can use a peace-breaker and a peace-faker like me to be one of his peace-makers. Thank you, Jesus.

Copper, I'm Still Not Buying

Copper Mountain has priced themselves out of the front range family ski market. Two years ago we got a Copper Four Pass for $69. Last year we bought them again for $84. This year Intrawest raised four pass prices to $139. Today they dropped them to $119. Yes, that's great Summit County skiing for less than $30 per day, but it's still too pricey, especially since we have to spend a half hour or more riding shuttles from the Copper parking lots and then walking to the lifts with our kids in tow.

I'm still not buying Copper Four Passes. The Colorado Pass is still a much better deal for people who plan to ski 12 or more days per season.

http://www.passwagon.com/four_pass.htm

Seasonal Rentals Start Today

We'll be at Christy Sports this morning picking out skis, boots and poles for Anna & Sophie. I can't wait for Arapahoe Basin to open. The region's two highest ski areas - Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Area - compete for the earliest opening day, usually sometime in late October. That means I can most likely be on my skis sometime in the next 3-4 weeks!

Here's a picture of the Kellys at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park last week.

Cowper's Still on My Top 40

If you don't know the story of William Cowper, take a quick trip to the cyberhymnal.

I really enjoyed singing "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" to myself this morning as I spent time with God reading the Bible and praying.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

DisneyWorld Top 10

We got back from Florida late last night. Here's a quick video clip of Anna, Sophie & cousin Lilly at the Festival of the Lion King. What a show!

My top 10:
10. Pirates of the Caribbean with new Captain Jack Sparrow audio-animatronics. Just like him.
9. Finding Nemo: The Musical. It's much better live than the promo clips that Disney has out.
8. Lights, Motors, Action stunt show from Disney Studios Paris. Incredible driving!
7. Mission Space. Downright awesome. Way to go, Gary Sinise!
6. Splash Mountain at night with Sophie and Anna laughing in the front seats.
5. The Laugh Floor with Mike Wizowski in Tomorrowland. Cool digital characters, live voices.
4. Mickey's Philharmagic. Great music, surprising effects and Donald Duck shot out of a tuba.
3. Seeing Megan play the part of an extra in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.
2. The Disney Princess lunch at the Akershus Restaurant at the Norway Pavillion in Epcot.
1. Expedition Everest. A great queue, a great coaster and an even greater surprise in the middle.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Finished. Done. Over. At last, closure!

Since I finished it late last night on the plane back from Orlando, Megan and I have been enjoying conversations about this last book of the Harry Potter series. (Note to husbands: I heartily recommend reading what your wife is reading and talking about it with her as a means of keeping your marriage healthy.)

Warning: If you haven't finished the book yet, there are spoilers below. I suggest you wait to read this after you've finished reading the series. (Watching the movies does NOT count!)

First, some of what I liked:

• Neville Longbottom! I'm so proud of that kid. I think he and Luna Lovegood should get married and have weird kids together.
• Rowling's portrayal of our fallen human condition through the imperfect personalities of James Potter, Harry, Dumbledore and so many others. Though the plethora of magical plot devices wore on me at times, I particularly appreciated the way she portrayed Dumbledore's temptation to power. As Jeremiah 17:9 says: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it?"
• The tragic and trustworthy Severus Snape. His redemption and steadfast unrequited love for Lily Potter are one of the most beautiful aspects of this book. But sad. Really sad. Snape is another of those who so poignantly reflects our fallen-ness back at us.
• Percy's change of heart and subsequent duel with the Minister of Magic.
• Hagrid.
  
• A unique application of the Christ-figure in the characters of Lilly and Harry Potter. I blogged earlier this year that Harry was going to die. Meg pointed out to me that Rowling was very careful with how she handled Harry's death-march to Voldemort and subsequent conversation with Dumbledore in the netherworld. But I still think Harry died. If he wasn't dead, where was he?
  
• Hermione's "Jane Austin" kiss with Ron after he proves the change in his character by his concern for the house-elves.
• A happy ending.
  

Now some of what I didn't like:

• Rowling's view of life and death. A number of times, Rowling says that there are things worse than death, but she never comes close to speaking of hell. Within all the darkness of the book, death is often portrayed as a peaceful, even appealing. It is not. As a Christian, I don't like death. Death is the result of the fall of man into sin. Death is NOT natural. It is alien to God's original good creation and it is a just and terrible consequence of sin. But it will not always be so. Jesus will come again soon to destroy death for good.
  
• Having Christmas presents but never talking about Jesus. Using cathedral-like architecture but never mentioning the church. Holding funerals but never even hinting at the reason why people do not have to grieve without hope. Yep, I'm a Jesus freak.
  
• I still have no idea what Rowling has in mind when she writes of "a well-ordered soul." The idea of splitting a soul is entirely foreign to human experience. We are embodied souls. Horcruxes do not exist. Like so many false ideas that the church has faced over the centuries, Rowling is playing with spiritual ideas that have real moral consequences. I am fearful that many who do not know what the bible teaches about humanity will become even more confused. So many times people who conceive of the soul and the body as two separable parts get into big trouble. Remember the gnostics, the antinomians, the ascetics and the legalists.
  
• With all the right and wrong in the Harry Potter series, there is not a clear understanding of the sinfulness of sin in these books. Too much misbehavior is marginalized as just "what wizards do". Harry and James and many others are poor heroes in this respect. And so much of this magic stuff is just plain selfish and evil.

I'm glad it's over. I'm done reading Harry Potter books.

This is a good series, but I do not recommend the last 5 books for children under 12 or 13. As always, parents must shepherd their children's hearts and watch that magic doesn't replace Jesus in our kids' affections. Have them read the Narnia books before they are 13.

This is a good series, but not a great series like Tolkien's Ring Trilogy. We shall see in about 20 years how this stands this test of time as another generation looks for summer reading.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to taking Megan on a date to the next Harry Potter movie.

Dan & Tina are Married!

I love officiating weddings. Our friends Dan & Tina were married last night at the Wild Basin Lodge. The aspens had just started turning yellow. The outdoor ceremony was cool, but pleasant. It was a simple ceremony, with only a harpist accompanying the service. Dan & Tina's family and friends traveled from far and wide to be with them on their special day. We prayed for them. They honored their parents. I exhorted them to live out the biblical vision for marriage that Meg and I studied with Dan & Tina during our premarital counseling sessions earlier this year. They entered their marriage covenant with one another with a beautiful set of vows and rings. We prayed for them some more. I pronounced them husband and wife. They kissed. The crowd erupted in applause. It was a beautiful wedding. And FYI, the Wild Basin Lodge has the best wedding banquet fare I have ever tasted. The grilled salmon and buffalo roast last night was fabulous! The toasts were honorable, the cake was excellent and the dinner conversation was friendly. And yes, I danced with Meg and Anna (Sophie fell asleep on her chair).

May God's covenant of grace with Dan & Tina be the source of their covenant-keeping with one another in this marriage.

Cool River Church

Earlier today I enjoyed a prayer walk with my friend Kevin Colon, who is the church planter and pastor of Cool River Church. I love Kevin's heart for God and for people. I'm looking forward to more prayer walks through the Town of Superior with Kevin in the months to come. Thanks, Kevin!

Pray for Our Garbage Collector

Our garbage collector drives a side-loading collection vehicle that's a bit like this one. It's a really cool truck with these big mechanical arms that pick up the trash can and shake the trash into the truck. I love watching the trash truck.

Our garbage collector's name is Ismael. He has been a Christian for nearly 7 years and he prays for the people in the neighborhood as he drives his route. And he is grieving today, so please pray for him.

We moved into our home 4 years ago and that's when I met Ismael for the first time. He was willing to take a few extra boxes of stuff left by the previous owners and I was so thankful. We usually chat a little bit when we see one another, but lately that's only been once in a while.

Ismael usually runs his route through our neighborhood on Mondays. Monday is now my usual day off, so as I was running up to the school to pick up Anna & Sophie this afternoon, I saw Ismael coming down my street.

Honestly, I didn't expect him to stop and get out of the truck when I waved at him. And I didn't expect to see his eyes red from bloodshot like they were. I instantly knew something was terribly wrong and asked him what was up. And this is what he told me: "My wife died 3 months ago this coming Thursday."

His eyes were bloodshot because he had been crying and because he hasn't been sleeping well lately. Ismael's wife died from complications related to a long battle with fibromyalgia. She had endured extreme pain in recent years. Like me and Megan, Ismael and his wife have two little girls in elementary school.

I was able to talk and pray with Ismael for a while this afternoon as he took a break in the park just below the school near our house. He is a man who knows God through Jesus Christ, and he is holding on to God's promises in the Bible, but his heart is broken. He doesn't know how to answer his 8 year old daughter's questions like, "Daddy, why did God take away my Mommy and your wife?" He knows that God is good and sovereign and that as Christians we do not grieve without hope. But he looks tired and sad and he's doing his best to hold on.

Will you please pray for our garbage collector, my brother in Christ, Ismael? He's grieving today and he needs people like us to pray for him. Pray something like Romans 15:13, that the God of hope might fill him and his daughters with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, they may abound in hope.

If you do pray for Ismael, will you please post a short comment? I'm planning on seeing him again next Monday and stopping him to see how he's doing. I'd love to tell him that lots of my friends were praying for him too. Thanks.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Well, I'm sad. How could someone read this book and not feel sad at the end?

The themes of love and loss are compassionately handled by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series. In this 6th book, there continues to be a strong theme of right verses wrong.

Like Megan, my favorite scene was when Fleur Delacour rebukes her future mother-in-law, Molly Weasley. Fleur had just staggered at the sight of her fiance Bill's facial wounds after his having been attacked by a werewolf.

"You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per'aps, you hoped?" said Fleur, her nostrils flaring. "What do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is that my husband is brave! And I shall do zat!" she added fiercely, pushing Mrs. Weasley aside and snatching the ointment from her.

And who among us remains unaffected by the blossoming of romantic love between Tonks and Remus Lupin? Or Ron and Hermione? Or Harry and Ginny for that matter? (I'm hoping that Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood get together too). NOTE TO THOSE WHO HAVE READ BOOK #7: Please don't spoil the good stuff for me.

So, my dear readers, in the wake of Dumbledore's death and funeral, how shall we characterize Rowling's view of the afterlife? Yes, there are shadows of Christianity in the book, like Christmas and the little man in the black suit speaking at Dumbledore's funeral, but is this series built on a Christian worldview in any way? And as we learn about the divided soul of Tom Riddle (I'll say the name, VOLDEMORT!), how does Rowling see humanity? What does Rowling have in mind when she talks of "a well-ordered soul"? With all the right and wrong in the Harry Potter series, is there a clear understanding of the sinfulness of sin in these books? What about forgiveness? Could we ever trust Snape again? Will Harry ever be able to forgive Dumbledore for trusting Snape, after all that it appears to have cost him?

Let me know what you think by posting a comment.

PS: I even found myself having a smidgen of compassion for Draco Malfoy at one point. That was a shocker. How about you?

www.ourchristchurch.org

We now have a website. Rejoice with us!

And FYI this was my 101st post this year!

Sometimes reaching the little landmarks does a lot to keep you going.

Montezuma Bowl

I am really looking forward to skiing Arapahoe Basin's new Montezuma Bowl in December.

Logos v.2.1

Hi friends,

What do you think of this one?

The View from My Office

Megan got our camera fixed this week and I was testing it out tonight. Here is the view from my office. First, Anna at my desk. And if you turn around, you see...













My library!

That's about it.

More Logo Ideas

It's funny how I post about some book I'm reading and nobody comments. But put a logo up and everybody becomes an art critic! Frankly, I am much more concerned about what the people of Christchurch actually believe about Jesus than how our logo looks. But since this is an important exercise, here are some more logo options. Many thanks to Randy Brandt for bearing with me and God's people as we go through this creative process.

Christchurch Logos

Hey friends, will you please give us some feedback on these logos?

Teaching New Testament Greek

Today I spent the afternoon preparing to teach New Testament Greek. Tomorrow at 8:00am at Rivendell College in Boulder, I get the honor of introducing a small group of students to the joys of reading the New Testament in Greek. To quote Luther: "Without languages we could not have received the gospel. Languages are the scabbard that contains the sword of the Spirit...if we neglect the literature, we shall eventually lose the gospel."

Thanks especially to Dr. Bill Mounce who has prepared so many excellent teaching resources!

Hey friends out there in the blogosphere! It's not too late for you to learn New Testament Greek. Seriously, if you would like to learn, let me know!

Let Us Pray

I am re-reading this book at about a one-chapter-a-day pace this month. John Piper is a gift to Jesus' church. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals is a passionate plea from one pastor to others to fight against the domesticating, Spirit-quenching influence of professionalism in ministry.

Check out some of these chapter titles:

Brothers, Beware of the Debtor's Ethic
Brothers, Consider Christian Hedonism
Brothers, Don't Fight Flesh Tanks with Peashooter Regulations
Brothers, Don't Confuse Uncertainty with Humility
Brothers, Tell Them Copper Will Do

Today my chapter was "Brothers, Let Us Pray." Lately I've been in many situations where I have been asked to talk about our new Christchurch. For instance, this morning at the school playground while sending Anna & Sophie off their classes, I spoke with 3 different parents about Christchurch. As I tell others about this great new little church, I am confident that God has called us to this, but I am so powerfully reminded that if God doesn't build this new church, we are dead in the water. So, let us pray. O Father, how we need you to call people to this church and to convert many sinners. We can't grow this church ourselves. We need you! Come, Holy Spirit, and do your work of regeneration among our friends and neighbors and coworkers who are spiritually dead so that they are born again spiritually and begin to worship you, O God, as you deserve. Jesus, this is your church and upon the rock you must build your church like it says in Matthew 16:18. Thank you that you are doing it and thank you for reminding us of our dependence upon you to do it. We trust you Holy Spirit for the power we need to be used by God in building this church. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.

"A pastor who feels competent in himself to produce eternal fruit - which is the only kind that matters - knows neither God nor himself. A pastor who does not know the rhythm of desperation and deliverance must have his sights only on what man can achieve. But brothers, the proper goals of the life of a pastor are unquestionably beyond our reach. The changes we long for in the hearts of our people can happen only by a sovereign work of grace." [page 54]

"A.C. Dixon said, 'When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend upon education, we get what education can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; but when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do.'" [page 56]

First Day at Superior Elementary

At 6:30am today, Sophie walked into my room dressed and ready to go to her first day of first grade.

At 7:30am today, I carried a very sleepy Anna downstairs so that she could get ready for the first day of fourth grade.

Guess who is happier about getting up early today?








Here is Sophie and her teacher, Carol L'Orange.















Here is Anna pushing up her glasses while her teacher Bobby Lehman checks the time.

A Vow to Ski Again

And I thought I was an obsessive skier. Check out this kid's story from yesterday's Summit Daily News.

Christchurch Next Exit

Christchurch. The simple name of our new church. I remember driving to the botanical gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand way back in 1988. The city was alive and welcoming, like this little new church is for newcomers. But it took some effort to get there, and it will take the Spirit-empowered efforts of many people for this church to grow out of its infancy. I like the name Christchurch because it reminds me of a great place. And it simply reminds us all of Who this church is to be about.

(I also like it because my middle name is Christopher. So if people start calling me Scott "Christchurch" Kelly, I won't need to change the monograms on my towels.)

Book Review: Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age

If I were in touch with the times, I would have read Stetzer's similar book, Planting Missional Churches. But it took me a while to figure out that all the cool church planters had stopped using the word "postmodern" and started using the word "missional" a couple years ago.

Ed Stetzer is a Southern Baptist missiologist who has become embraced widely by church planters of many different denominational stripes. I picked up my free copy of this book from Ed at the National New Church Conference in Orlando in April of 2006.

I thought these were some of Stetzer's most helpful thoughts:
"There is no basis, biblically or theologically, for the territorial distinction of missions and evangelism...the church must learn to exegete its culture and reflect on the culture from a biblical perspective." [28]

"Very few churches volunteer, [as the early church at Antioch did], to send the best of their leaders and to contribute significant amounts of money for the establishment of new congregations." [45-46]

Stetzer has led teams that have planted 3 churches and he has researched the planting of many, many more. He includes a lot of practical wisdom for Christians who want to plant churches that plant more churches. I don't get as much joy from reading missiology books like this as I do from reading a good biblical theology book, but this book was helpful to me as I am in the middle of planting a new church.

My Day Off

Since there's a church in my house on Sundays now, Monday has become my day off. Here are Anna & Sophie & Rosey at Summit Lake Park just below the Summit of Mt. Evans. We enjoyed a great picnic on this rock before the rain and lightning came.

He Shoots! He Scores!

This photograph from last night shows my friend Randy Brandt taking the puck to the net, weaving in and out of a plethora of defenders, getting hooked and still scoring the winning goal just before the 3rd period buzzer sounded. Sort of...

I was finally able to visit one of Randy's hockey games last night, but I didn't have a camera. I don't know who the guy in yellow is, but that's what Randy looked like last night. One of my many Canadian friends, Randy is the best hockey player that I know. He really did score an impressive goal, single-handedly taking the puck straight through a crowd of defenders. And he really did get hooked so bad that the other guy got a 2 minute stint in the penalty box. And the 3rd period buzzer really did sound. But that didn't all happen at exactly the same time.

Randy broke a stick and the team won by 5 or 6 goals. They were impressive. But Randy tells me that his Sunday night league where he captains is the better league. I want to see that team play sometime.

Book Review: Confessions of a Reformision Rev.

One of the benefits of being a church planter/pastor of a tiny brand new church without a name is that I can read as much as I want to. I started this one in the bathtub last night after taking Sophie to see the Underdog movie and putting her to bed. I quit reading it this morning at the point in the story of Mars Hill Church where attendance reaches 1000 people. Since there are now about 20 people meeting for church in my living room and we're praying about how to grow to 150, I think I'll stop here. When God grows our church out of my living room, I think I'll pick it up again.

Mark Driscoll makes me laugh out loud. Read this book and enjoy some laughter that is good for the soul. A master of sarcastic one-liners, Driscoll is part preacher, part stand-up comic. Take the title of chapter 1, for instance: "Jesus, Our Offering was $137 and I Want to Use It to Buy Bullets." Thank God he's a biblical preacher who talks about Jesus a lot too.

If you love people who don't yet know Jesus, you should consider Mark Driscoll as a special gift to God's Church. He says this of himself: "Over the years, I have accepted the fact that I'm really not much of a pastor but rather am a missiologist studying the city who leads a church filled with missionaries who reach the city and with pastors who care for the converts." [51]

I find hope today in Mark Driscoll's example of leading a church through its infancy. He spent a lot of time meeting people one-on-one, telling the gospel story as often as he could and inviting people to repent and believe, calling men to be men and do great things for God, praying, training leaders and learning to preach. I don't know what else I should be doing right now besides all that.

Driscoll often makes people mad, and he often seems to like it that way. As my wife so helpfully reminds me, disagreement is OK as long as it doesn't degenerate into personal attacks. Here is one important issue in pastoral theology where I disagree with Driscoll. Who has the right to remove someone from the fellowship of a church? Driscoll recounts a few stories from the early days of Mars Hill Church when he kicked people out of his young church all by himself. Does the Bible give him the authority to do that? Yes, shepherds are to guard the flock against wolves. But the wolves he unilaterally kicks out on pages 76 and 77 were some of his fellow workers and co-leaders! In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus has given us clear instruction on the process of kicking people out of the church. First you go to them one on one and give them opportunity to repent. Second you bring along one or two others and do the same thing. If they won't repent, then you tell the church and if they won't listen to the church speaking pleading words of repentance, then you all kick the stubbornly-unrepentent sinner out together. Have you ever seen the redemptive power of congregational corrective church discipline in action? I have and it's a beautiful thing. Church planters and church leaders and pastors need to learn from guys like Mark Dever here and thank God for the privilege of learning from Driscoll's mistakes. Driscoll's ecclessiology requires elder rule because of a missiological preference in creating a certain church culture. A biblical ecclessiology puts Jesus at the top of the org chart, ruling primarily through the scriptures. Next, the Bible puts a church on the org chart, a congregation of people who actually give evidence of being born again. In the New Testament, the church is called to recognize the gifting of men whom God calls to the office of elder/pastor by delegating leadership authority to these strong leaders. The scripture gives us more instruction about how to organize our churches than Driscoll admits.

Enough disagreement. There are so many great lessons for church planters and pastors in this book! Like this: "We learned that unchurched people tend to be the most traditional when it comes to church. For years, we had held services only on Sunday nights trying to be cool, different and therefore more attractive to unchurched people. But our first morning service took off in part because unchurched people thought that church was an event that happened in a church building on a Sunday morning." [132] I find a lot of hope in the fact that church planting isn't brain surgery. I also find hope in this comment from Driscoll on preaching: "Preaching is like driving a clutch, and the only way to figure it out is to keep grinding the gears and stalling until you figure it out." [133] My apologies in advance to the people who are coming to our new nameless church. It may be a bumpy ride for a while. But I think it will be an worthwhile adventure.

Once last priceless Driscoll-ism: "My answer to everything is pretty much the same: open the Bible and preach about the person of Jesus and his mission for the church." [86]

Amen, bro dude.