“Christian Discernment Paranoia”

Carla Rolfe weighs in on Christian McCarthyism:

“It’s a good thing and a good service to the larger body of believers to be warned about things going on within evangelicism that ought not be going on. What I don’t get, is the seemingly obsessive way some folks latch onto this Discernment Wagon and so quickly and so easily write off SO many people and their ministries. It’s depressing, really. You begin to wonder who’s next, and what dastardly and horrific thing will be said about them. Or you. Or me.”

Wycliffe receives $50M for language translation

… from an anonymous donor:

“The gift, the largest in the ministry’s 75-year history, will be used towards Wycliffe’s Last Languages Campaign. The campaign seeks to bring language development and, in most cases, first-time literacy alongside the Bible translation program to more than 200 million people by 2025.”

(Let’s pray that the money gets allocated as intended — so may it be!)

Read the full story in the Christian Post (HT: Aaron Blumer)

Who’s watching Google?

Steve Knight is asking bloggers everywhere to support a ‘watch-blog’ project called Google Watchers:

“Google’s self-proclaimed mission is to ‘to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’

In the process of fulfilling its mission, Google has laid out 10 guiding principles—including #6, ‘You can make money without doing evil.’ Or, in short, ‘Don’t be evil.’

But what happens when they don’t live up to this ideal? Who holds Google accountable when they break rule #6? Answer: We all should.”

Visit GoogleWatchers.org

This is one of three website ideas Knight will be introducing. (Careful Steve – you’re being watched.)

Rosebrough on The Voice New Testament

Chris Rosebrough is concerned about The Voice’s handling of 1 Corinthians 6:9 – where traditional versions like the ESV read “men who practice homosexuality,” The Voice uses “sexual deviancy.” You can hear him discuss this on the latest Fighting for the Faith podcast.

(Speaking of this issue, see this post by Tony Jones at Beliefnet, in which he explains – in dialogue with Crunchy Con Rod Dreher – how he arrived at his current stance on gay, lesbian and transgender rights.)

Rosebrough has begun a multi-post series on The Voice here.

New Christian forum

Gene Aptaker, author of the Endtimes Disciples Weblog, has teamed up with two other Christian bloggers to open the Faith Defenders Forum:

“Those who are even close to a clear vision of what the Body of Christ is supposed to be and do are becoming more of a minority almost by the day; and they are having a much more difficult time finding true fellowship and encouragement. … Our desire and prayer for Faith Defenders is that it will be a place where such believers can come; meet others of like mind; begin to forge genuine relationships; and spur one another on to truly live out the reality and purposes of our awesome Lord and Savior.”

Christian Carnival Numero 251

… is set up at the Messy Christian blog (weather permitting). Post titles include:

• “Gabriel Murdi: A Glorious Life Cut Short” - Voke Emore relates the shocking death of Gabriel Murdi, who was refused medical treatment because of flaws in Nigeria’s public sector.
• “Tithing on Gross vs. Net: What Exactly is Gross Income?” - JCL explains why its necessary to tithe your gross income.
• “Dining with Harlots” - Jesus certainly liked shock therapy, said Richard H. Anderson.

Shuffle yourself

Zach Nielsen invites readers to share the first five tracks that pop up on their iTunes or iPod when they’re shuffled.

My results ended up looking pretty high-brow, as none of my U2, Keith Green or Donny Osmond songs came up (I’m joking about the Donny Osmond):

1. “Two pieces for string quartet: No. 2 – Allegro moderato” -  Aaron Copland (perf. Vanbrugh Quartet), Sextet and Piano Quarter
2. “No Blues” – Miles Davis, Miles Davis in Person, Friday Night at the Blackhawk, San Francisco, Complete
3. “Billy the Kid: The Open Prairie Again” – Aaron Copland (perf. Arianna Goldina and Rémy Loumbrozo), Music for Piano Duo
4. “Op. 30, Andante con moto tra” – Samuel Barber (perf. Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus), Prayers of Kierkegaard
5. “Put it in Your Pocket” – Joshua Redman, Momentum

On bias in journalism

At GetReligion, Mollie Ziegler reflects on a recent column by the Washington Post ombudsman, Deborah Howell, which examines whether there is any truth to what many Americans believe – that most in the media lean left. Strangely, Ziegler (herself a confessed liberal) notes, Howell quite typically denies the reality of bias, admitting only that there is a perception of bias. Writes Ziegler:

“I love how stories dealing with media bias always paint journalists as the good guys. Imagine a story about some major problem at Enron or in the Bush Administration where it was just asserted that the hearts and motivations of the players were good . . . but some external factor was to blame for the malaise.”

The ongoing battle partnership between Christ and cool

Joanne Brokaw posts the following video …
 
Radiator


… and writes:

“I’m still trying to figure out how some of this music ‘points to Christ’ … It’s hot, it’s completely relevent and totally cool. Great production, the band is funfunfun. I’m sure all of these bands on the tour are devout in their faith. … But is ‘doing it the way they do’ what we’re commanded? Or are we trying to fit Jesus into our own image of cool? When we’re attaching ‘Christian’ to a genre of music, shouldn’t we be glorifying Christ?
 
Sigh. Forgive my cynicism. The question of ‘what is Christian music’ is always simmering just under the surface for me, and it bubbles up once in a while and makes me ask, ‘Is this Christian music,’ especially when I’m little cranky. It could be that my conversation with Jeremy Camp is still ringing in my ears.
 
Or maybe all of this Bible reading I’ve done in 2008 is starting to get to me.”

eHarmony to offer service to gays, following legal settlement

Reuters story here (HT: Christianity Today liveblog):

“NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Online dating service eHarmony has agreed to create a new website for gays and lesbians as part of a settlement with a gay man in New Jersey, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General said on Wednesday.”

Everyone’s a theologian

Bob Kauflin posts on why theology matters to Christian musicians:

“Every Christian, musical or otherwise, is already a theologian. The question is, are you a good theologian or a bad one?”

And Greg Atkinson offers a post with a provocative title — Don’t Go To Seminary:

“Here’s what we need, folks: We need Christian, Spirit-led, God-fearing, prayerful young men and women to go into Hollywood, classrooms/ education, hospitals, military, law and law enforcement and dare I say: politics. I grew up hearing that all politictians were crooked, evil and dirty. That may be true for some, but it doesn’t have to be true for all. Why can’t we send Spirit-filled, Godly, prayerful youth into our government?”

Making culture

Trevin Wax writes a positive review of Andy Crouch’s Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling:

“What I love most about Culture Making is the theme of hope. Crouch believes we can start creating culture in small spheres (our family, for example). He points out the importance of small groups (three, twelve, 120). Culture is not always made by the large crowd. We can all get busy fulfilling the creation mandate to create and cultivate.”

And see this post by John Seel: “How Does Culture Change?” (HT: Ligon Duncan):

“Winston Churchill said we shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us. Culture formation works in the same way: it’s a historically informed dialectical process. Culture is both socially constructed and socially constraining. We make culture and are, in turn, made by it.”

 

Being thankful: women 312, men 0

There seem to be a lot of posts by women on thankfulness, but not so many by the guys.

Just yesterday, Sue Bohlin posted on “Turning Thanksgiving Inside Out” at the Tapestry blog.

“It’s not too hard to come up with a list of reasons to grump about the Thanksgiving holiday:
 
•    Lots of work in the kitchen
•    Lots of cleaning to do
•    Lots of cooking to do
•    Lots of buying food to do
•    Spending time with family where the worst in people easily spills out
•    Crowds in the stores as we prepare
•    The stores already have their Christmas decorations out—like since Halloween
•    Too much football on TV
•    Too much food
 
But to cultivate a biblical mindset, we can take this list and turn it inside out to reveal the embarrassment of riches and lavishment of blessings that are attached to each item by invoking our own personal thanksgiving:
 
Lots of work in the kitchen: Thank You, Lord, that I have a fully functioning kitchen! Thank You for my stove and my oven and my refrigerator and my sink and my counters and my storage of my many many kitchen items.”

And at Rebecca Writes, the womenfolk have been expressing their gratitude on a daily basis!
 
What’s up, fellas?

Mark D. Roberts on spiritual gifts (update)

Introduction:

“Little is more important for the health and growth of the body of Christ than the power of the Holy Spirit manifested in what we call spiritual gifts. Through such bits of grace, the Spirit builds the body of Christ. In fact, it wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that the Holy Spirit is a bodybuilder. …”

(update 11/7) Part 2: “The Abuse of Spiritual Experiences in Corinth . . . and Today“:

“We have seen what might be called an outbreak of ‘Corinthianism’ in the last fifty years. Positively, millions of Christians began to discover the power of the Spirit through spiritual gifts. Negative[ly], this often caused division in the church … Let me supply a bit of history that places our conversation of spiritual gifts in context …”

(update 11/10) Part 3: “The Ministry of the Spirit in ”

(Update 11/11) Part 4: “Defining ‘Spiritual Gifts‘”

(Update 11/13) Part 5: “Spiritual Gifts as ‘Momentary Empowerments’ for Ministry”

Part 6: “When and How Do We Receive Spiritual Gifts?”

“Although there are benefits to the ‘discover and use your gift’ model, it only takes you so far in ministry …”

(Update 11/17) Part 7: “All Gifts Matter to the Body of Christ”

“As it turns out, most churches in today’s world, whether overtly or implicitly, value some spiritual gifts while devaluing others.”

(Update 11/19) Part 8: “Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 1”

Part 9: “Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 2”

“So far we have seen that if we want to receive spiritual gifts, we should focus, not on the gifts or on our experiences, but on loving others and building up the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts come in the context of ministry done for the sake of love and edification.”

“Help Me Meet My Mother”

John Lee Saddington, author of the Human3rror blog, shares the story of his life as an adopted child, and asks for prayer and funds for a trip to Korea he will be taking to meet his biological mother, for the first time:

“Through no action on my part … I’ve been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a ‘all expenses paid’ trip back to Korea to visit her.  The OKF (Overseas Koreans Foundation) with G.O.A.L. (Global Oversees Adoptees’ Link) has chosen my brother and I to be a part of a group that will have the chance to meet their birth mothers.  44 fellow adoptees will join us on this trek around the globe, affectionately called ‘The First Trip Home.’”

Joanne Brokaw interviews Jeremy Camp

Story here (a portion of the interview can be heard via an audio link). Camp has just released a new album called Speaking Louder Than Before.

Thomas Kincade, Director of Light

Vanity Fair has a scathing article that features a 16-point memo painter Thomas Kincade circulated to the film crew of Thomas Kincade’s Christmas Cottage, a new film being released on video for Christmas. Some excerpts from the memo:

“4) Awareness of edges. Create an overall sense of soft edges, strive for a “Barry Lyndon” look. Star filters used sparingly, but an overall “gauzy” look preferable to hard edge realism. …
 
6) Hidden details whenever possible, References to my children (from youngest to oldest as follows): Evie, Winsor, Chandler and Merritt. References to my anniversary date, the number 52, the number 82, and the number 5282 (for fun, notice how many times this appears in my major published works). Hidden N’s throughout — preferably thirty N’s, commemorating one N for each year since the events happened.”

Official movie site for The Christmas Cottage.

Kincade’s own blog.

(HT: Wes Hill)

Charles Lehardy went to Patagonia Lake State Park in AZ

… and all we got was this beautiful photo to look at:

(Thanks, Charles!)

What does church attendance have to do with orthodoxy?

Does a full church indicate sound teaching and preaching? Should Christians seek high church attendance? (Or, conversely, is a church with low attendance ‘more spiritual’?)

A Methodist tussle of sorts has broken out between blogger Richard Hall (who implied that low numbers aren’t necessarily a bad thing), David, a Methodist preacher in the Birmingham, UK area (who has challenged Hall’s assertion), and Kim (who defends Richard by citing Lesslie Newbigin).