‘Ten for the History Books from 2008′

Al Mohler

255th Christian Carnival

The 255th Christian Carnival went up yesterday at Parableman, but I’m told it’s still up today. (Be sure to use chains if you drive … there will be snow. Parking is around the back, next to Woolworths.)

Some of the posts featured:

• Save Your Christmas
• Fasting: Keeping It Secret In Our Culture of Food in America
• Stewardship 101
• 5 Inspirational Bible Quotes To Enhance Your Day

Who’s to blame for the recession?

The Acton Institute blog links to an “interactive blame game” graphic that attempts to outline the various agents who might be blamed for the present economic slowdown.

… And Vox Day questions whether there really is a recession, given the statistics:

“Notice how the numbers dance all over the place, before being thrown out altogether …”

Thanksgiving/Weekend Walkabout, Nov. 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

26 posts from the week that escaped mention (almost!):

Advent on your iPhone - Father Z

“Those of you who have an iPhone may want to know about a fun application for Advent for $0.99.”

The Blind Spot of the Spiritual Formation Movement - Craig Brian Larson

“Read books on spiritual formation and you will be hard pressed to find anyone who lists listening to the preaching of God’s Word as a first-order spiritual discipline.”

Check out free downloads from Christian music artist Josh Garrels - Joanne Brokaw

“Like other indie acts with a blatant faith message but an unconventional delivery … Garrels doesn’t quite fit the typical Christian music mold.”

The Day I Schmoozed - Amy Scott:

“Just tell her what she wants to hear.”

Evangelicals Adopting Advent - Cathy Lynn Grossman (HT: SharperIron)

“They’re giving a new, personalized spin to the prayers, candles and calendars to track the building excitement, and set a spiritual tone day by day.”

Faith and Politics - Doug Pagitt

“I was asked by the folks at Conservative Reformed Mafia blog to discuss my thoughts on faith and politics in light of my interest in running for the Minnesota State Legislature. I responded to questions with a video …”

Gordon Brown sells the nation’s soul to Satan - Cranmer

“As Gordon Brown has already sold the nation’s soul to the EU, all further treaties with the Devil are subject to EU scrutiny.”

Helpful Books on Justification - Mark Driscoll

It’s Time to Rethink the Issue of Homosexuality - Ken Silva

“Yes, you read that right; I do believe the time has come to rethink how we’re handling the issue of homosexuality in the Body of Christ. But maybe not like you think.”

The Jelly Bellies of Christendom - Prodigal Jon

“Super Sweaty Pastor – usually wrapped in a monogrammed handkerchief, these beans are slightly salty and super sticky from perspiration, taste like licking a Thompson Chain Reference and smell like a locker room”

Kids and Philanthropy: Teaching Your Children To Be Charitable - Beth Kanter

Logos360 Announced - The Wait Begins - ChurchCrunch

“It is, without question, simply a matter of time before we see what’ll it’ll really do to the digital landscape for Church Management Software.”

Meditations on Thanks and Giving - Carolyn McCulley

“As I prepare for Thanksgiving, one image is burned into my mind …”

National Geographic on Qeiyafa - Todd Bolen

“Much of the story reports what has been covered elsewhere, but there are some problems with the article.”

Of Crusaders and the West - Joshua Claybourn

“Our understanding of society and the individual certainly has its roots in the Crusaders.”

Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day October 3, 1863 - Abe Lincoln/Worship.com

“In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict …”

Q 2009 - Greg Atkinson

“Q is a gathering where church leaders and cultural influencers from the fields of business, politics, media, education, entertainment and the arts are exposed to the future of culture and the church’s responsibility to advance the common good in society.”

Recessions Are Good? - Rob Moll

“Recessions, before the Great Depression, were often viewed as good things.”

Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints (review) - Rebecca Writes

“I’ve reached the age where I think more and more about getting old, and I’ll let you in on a secret if you promise not to tell …”

Twilight (Book Review) - Tim Challies

“Admittedly, this is my first foray into fiction written for teen girls.”

An Unwanted Detour - Suzanne Hadley:

“A week later I sat in a doctor’s office trying to hold back tears.”

Video Interviews with John Lennox - Justin Taylor

“Creator or the Multiverse?”

What is the Church Year? - Mark Daniels

“The Church Year is a human invention. Observing it won’t make us better than anybody else. Nor does keeping it ’save’ a person from sin and death. But …”

50 eXcellent Blog Footer Designs - Hongkiat.com (sorry, had to reach for this one)

“In the eye of a visitor, the footer is perhaps one of the most unnoticeable section but to a designer who knows how important user experience, navigation and designs, they are treated the same.”

You May Be a Hyper-Calvinist If … - Phil Johnson

“Within the militantly Arminian sector of the Southern Baptist Convention, it seems there are still those who insist that ‘by the definition of Phil Johnson,’ James White is a hyper-Calvinist …”

Zane Hodges (1933–2008) - Dan Wallace (I mentioned Hodges’ passing, but it means much more coming from an accomplished Greek scholar):

“Zane taught Greek and New Testament courses at Dallas Seminary from 1960 to 1987. I took him for more courses than from any other NT prof, and learned a great deal from him. His skills with the Greek text were breathtaking. I never knew a professor who could sight-read as well as Hodges (except for Johnson). And he thought through his positions well. I didn’t agree with him on everything; in fact, I would say that I disagreed with him on most of his positions. I was always a bit nervous coming into his class because I wasn’t sure what he would say that hour that might rock my world. But I enjoyed immensely how he structured the courses, how he argued his positions, and how charismatic he was in the classroom. He was a superb preacher and very persuasive. His electives always had the highest enrollment by far of any NT electives at DTS. … Zane Hodges will be dearly missed. But he now knows the joys of his Savior and is finally home.”

Weekend Walkabout: Nov. 15, 2008

26 posts from the week that escaped mention (almost!):

• Announcing Ligonier Academy
• Beautiful Earring Found in Jerusalem
• Church Marketing Podcast
• Desiring God Pastors Conference (2009)
• ETERNITY, EVOLUTION, AND EMERGENCE
• Female Christian Bloggers
• Gospel and Culture Project
• Have no Fear
• In Remembrance of Veterans
• Jessica Simpson’s gospel background
• Keeping a Promise In Spite Of Himself
• Let’s Go Christmas Shopping!
• Matisyahu on Music, Religion, and Charity
• Nollywood: The Nigerian film industry
• One Week After The Election …
• Picture of the year - bulls*#t or prophetic?
• A QUANTUM OF SOLACE– A QUOTIENT OF PAIN
• Reminded of the Power and Priority of the Word
• SC priest: Voted for Obama? No Eucharist for you!
• Ted Haggard Speaks on Scandal for First Time
• Ur 2.0: Get Farther Out of Ur
• Visit the Sick, A New Book from Brian Croft
• When the World Slanders, and Christians Follow
• X-Mas in Goa video (OK, not a Christian blog … but some great percussion)
  
• Young Adults Make Bad Jurors?
• Zealous Police Officer (again, not a Christian blog … but a decent joke)

[FYI: A sure way to get cited here is to write a post beginning with the letter X or Z. Those are especially hard to find.  - HC]

Christian Carnival #250

Find it here (make sure you ride the Tilt-a-Whirl while you’re there).

Post titles include

• “Theism Implies Open Theism”
• “A Million Good Things”
• “5 Bible verses about money every Christian should know”
• “Why Some Marriages survive and others perish.”

“How we became debt free”

Amy Scott has begun a series of posts explaining how she and her husband got rid of their debt:

“In this series, I want to write freely without disclaimers. We never had extraordinary circumstances, like a $500,000 hospital bill, and so I am not writing to fix anyone’s life or to tell you what to do with an impossible situation. These are the things that belong in God’s hands. Yet, most people are drowning because the faucet was left on, and not because a tidal wave came out of nowhere.”

Re-thinking America’s economic habits

At the Center for a Just Society website, Mark T. Mitchell, Associate Professor of Government at Patrick Henry College, offers “Ten Questions and a Modest Proposal,” in response to the recent economic crisis.

An excerpt:

“2. The bailout was ostensibly necessary to protect our ‘American way of life.’ That such a reason was offered without justification indicates that our way of life is an axiom that must be assumed but never questioned. But is it too much to consider, if only for a moment, that perhaps our way of life is precisely the problem? Of course, a way of life is a complex thing, but insofar as the “American way of life” consists in living beyond our means, it is unsustainable. To the extent that consumer credit is at an all-time high and personal savings is at an all-time low, the ‘American way of life’ is irresponsible.”

(HT: Acton PowerBlog)

Around the blogosphere

• This week’s Christian Carnival (number 249) is up here (HT: Parableman) — topics include a critique of the Word of Faith movement’s view of the atonement, financial accountability among Christians, and the pros and cons of using Twitter
• The Gospel Coalition has revamped its site — check it out (HT: desiringGod)
• Culture11 wants to know how the recession will affect your charitable giving …

Stick to preaching, John Wesley

Ray Nothstine posts an article at the Acton Powerblog questioning Wesley’s economic sense.

‘Don’t panic …’

‘… but do mind your own business,’ says John Mark Reynolds:

“False historical analogies abound to feed our panic, but these are not the 1930’s. Stalin and Hitler do not stand across the Atlantic, unemployment is not at one-quarter to one-third of the population, and the real wealth of the last eighty years will not suddenly vanish.”

Climate change, the economy and the Christian

A post by Tex at Mere Orthodoxy: “Green Markets, Evangelicals, and the Poor“:

“The way to help the poor is by empowering them to grow their industries and economies through all the resources available to them. The jury is still out on the existence of catastrophic global warming as well as its possible impact; in the meantime, Christians and concerned citizens should …”

On a related note: you can see if your congress-person voted for the bailout here (HT: Vitamin Z).

A simple plan

Scot McKnight offers his own tax plan.

“First, no one goes free, neither the wealthy nor the poor.”

On the Dow Drop

Cranmer compares the pursuit of wealth with Israel’s Golden Calf worship:

“But all good things must come to an end, especially those good things which were not actually good, but merely seemed so.”

Sean Lucas at Reformation21 finds refuge:

“It is at these times that my heart and mind are pulled back to Psalm 62: ‘For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.’”

Susanna Rose at Mommy, Inc. is getting prepared:

“I think I am finally going to heed my mother’s words and be prepared, go to the grocery store tomorrow and stock up on necessary items which could carry us through for a while should things get much worse.”

And the Internet Monk describes a view of the financial collapse from his home in Appalachia:

“Economically, we’ve been in a crisis for a long time. You could say we got here early and fixed the coffee for the rest of you.”

How churches can save money in difficult times

Joshua Cody at the Church Marketing [Stinks] blog offers some tips.

“Think outside of the tithing box. … Some Americans are giving up their house to keep tithing. But let’s be honest, 5% of adults tithe, and a small percentage of those would give up their house before their tithe. So you’re going to need to find new revenue streams. Selling resources and innovative fundraisers are just the tip of the iceberg.”

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