May 2007 Archive
John Donne: The Reformed Soul (05/31/07 - 9 Comments)
I have long had a bit of a fascination with John Donne. A poet and eventual clergyman who lived from 1572-1631, Donne's poems are among my favorites. His Holy Sonnets have given me much cause to think and his early works, so often sexual and vulgar, have shown a man who underwent a clear and profound transformation in his life. From writing poetry which described forbidden and clandestine affairs that involved bribing servants, hushing siblings,...
The Boxing of God (V) (05/30/07 - 1 Comments)
In four previous articles, I have discussed the tendency of Christians to put God in a box of our own imaginations. Since it has been a few days since the last article, let me just review each of them really briefly before moving forward in this discussion (and before concluding this discussion). In the introduction we looked at the apparent conflict between God's revelation of Himself and our tendency to put Him in a box....
New Attitude (X) (05/29/07 - 6 Comments)
After fighting our way downstairs this morning (the Galt House hotel always has elevator problems, and they are exacerbated on the last day of a conference when everyone is trying to leave at the same time-all the elevators coming down were full, so we eventually caught one going up and then rode it back down) we had a nice breakfast with Collin Hansen, who is a writer for Christianity Today and the guy who wrote...
New Attitude (IX) (05/28/07 - 2 Comments)
As has become customary, the good folks at Desiring God have released Piper's message within a couple of hours of it being delivered. You can download it from their site by clicking right here. This message is titled "Discern What Pleases God--Himself." It is really a kind of entry level, introductory overview of John Piper's theology, the insights from Scripture that have formed the foundation for his entire ministry. So if you're curious about why...
New Attitude (VIII) (05/28/07 - 0 Comments)
When I take the time to do some edits to these live-blogged articles I often notice how often it is that speakers change from “me” to “you” to “us.” When I run through these articles I see this all the time and am tempted to change it, but generally choose to leave things just as they are. So if you see me go from first person to second person to third person, chances are that...
New Attitude (VII) (05/28/07 - 3 Comments)
I had assumed, when I came to this conference, that we would sing a lot more songs than at most other conferences. To my surprise this has not really been the case (or it hasn't seemed to be. I haven't actually been counting). Rather, we've sung about the same number of songs as at most events. Yet the worship times are definitely longer. I think it's just that the Sovereign Grace folk take a little...
New Attitude (VI) (05/27/07 - 5 Comments)
Whenver I blog these conferences, people want to know what books have been recommended. Before each session we've had a couple of books recommended to us. Here is the list thus far: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman Doing Things Right in Matters of the Heart by John Ensor The Message of the Old Testament by Mark Dever The Message of the New Testament by Mark Dever...
New Attitude (V) (05/27/07 - 3 Comments)
People often ask me if some speakers are easier to "blog" then others. The answer is a clear yes. There are some speakers who speak in such a way that they are really quite easy to capture and to summarize. There are others that are very difficult. The primary difference, I think, is between those who provide very logical, clear, alliterated and structured outlines versus those who may not. This would include the likes of...
New Attitude (IV) (05/27/07 - 4 Comments)
The speaker of this, the first session of the second day of the New Attitude Conference, is Mark Dever, whom you may know as the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, the leader of IX Marks Ministries, and the author of several notable books. He said he was excited to be here to speak to what he considers to be a bunch of missionaries to the future. His topic essentially boiled down to this: How...
New Attitude (III) (05/27/07 - 0 Comments)
I think the powers that be must have read my blog and noted my comments about the music being "not quite rock concert loud." This morning the music seemed noticeably louder. I'm quite the fan of loud music, so this suits me fine, even if it is difficult to use my laptop when my foot keeps tapping. When 3,000 voices are added to the already amplified singers and instruments, it becomes very loud indeed. It's...
New Attitude (II) (05/26/07 - 4 Comments)
We arrived in Louisville after two good and uneventful flights, including one that is the shortest I've ever been on. Our first hop took us from Toronto to Cincinnati, a flight of about an hour and a half. The flight from Cincy to Louisville clocked in at just sixteen minutes or something like that. No sooner were we up than we were down and on our way to the hotel. After waiting through a long...
New Attitude (05/26/07 - 8 Comments)
This morning Aileen and I are leaving for sunny (we hope) and beautiful Louisville, Kentucky so we can take in the New Attitude conference which runs from this evening until Tuesday morning. It will feature a great group of speakers: Joshua Harris, Eric Simmons, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, C.J. Mahaney and, of course, the ever-present John Piper. The topic, spiritual discernment, is of particular interest to me and I look forward to learning all sorts...
The Boxing of God (IV) (05/25/07 - 2 Comments)
This is the fourth installment in a series of articles discussing the Christian tendency to put God in a box. In the first article we saw that we tend to feel insecure about God unless we have contained Him within a box in our minds and then saw that God has revealed Himself to us in a way that is incomplete, but which we can understand. God’s revelation of Himself provides a framework within which...
The Boxing of God (III) (05/24/07 - 4 Comments)
This is the third article in a series that discusses that tendency Christians have to put God in a box. In the first article (link) we saw that we tend to feel insecure about God unless we have contained Him within a box in our minds and then saw that God has revealed Himself to us in a way that is incomplete, but which we can understand. God's revelation of Himself provides a framework within...
The Boxing of God (II) (05/23/07 - 13 Comments)
This is the second article in a short series dealing with the tendency Christians have to put God in a box (click here for the first article). Several people, commenting on this first article, remarked that this is a topic usually reserved for people attacked Reformed theology rather than defending it. Bear with me and I think you'll have to agree that we, even as Bible-loving Christians, can put God in a box. We can...
The Boxing of God (05/22/07 - 11 Comments)
A couple of years ago I got thinking about the idea of putting God in a box. This is a charge people often level at conservative Christians and Reformed folk in particular. It is not unusual for us to hear that we seem to feel that we have got God figured out, stuffed and mounted on the wall. And to some extent this may be true. I began to write about this and soon came...
Book Review - George Whitefield (05/21/07 - 10 Comments)
Few recent books have so wide and so deep an impact as Arnold Dallimore's magisterial biography of George Whitefield. The first volume, stretching from Whitefield's birth in 1714 to his section visit to American in 1740 was published in 1970 and has since been reprinted six times. The second volume, which stretches from 1740 until Whitefield's death in 1770, was published ten years later in 1980. It has been reprinted three times. Together the volumes...
King for a Week - Tranquility (05/20/07 - 1 Comments)
King for a Week is an honor I bestow on blogs that I feel are making a valuable contribution to my faith and the faith of other believers...or sometimes just because I really like them. It is a way of introducing my readers to blogs that they may also find interesting and edifying. Every two weeks (or so) I select a blog, link to it from my site, and add that site's most recent headlines...
A Soft Spot for Soft Serve (05/19/07 - 16 Comments)
Here's a topic appropriate to a warm Saturday afternoon during a sunny, spring long weekend (or it's a long weekend up here in Canada, at any rate. Victoria Day, don't you know...). You have probably found, as I have, that as people get older it becomes more and more difficult to buy them good birthday presents. After all, when you are a child you have no means of getting the things you so desperately want....
Publisher Crawling (05/18/07 - 5 Comments)
I am working on a new feature for Discerning Reader. Every week I'll troll through a long list of publishers and bestsellers lists to try to find new or upcoming books that look like they will be of particular interest. Since Discerning Reader isn't quite ready to handle the column yet, I thought I'd post it here. This is a sample of what the column will look like. The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her...
Blogging - Wrapping It Up (05/18/07 - 12 Comments)
This is the fourth and final entry in a series dealing with blogging and the wider societal trends that have contributed to the rise of blogs. This first article is here, the second here and the third here. I am sure that some people reading this series are interested in beginning a blog of their own. I am not going to get into the nuts and bolts of how to sign up for a blog,...
Blogging - State of the Blogosphere (05/17/07 - 19 Comments)
This is the third article in a series dealing with blogging. The first article is available here and the second here. In this series I am discussing not only blogging but also some of the wider societal trends that have led to the blog's popularity. This is a bit of a long article and I do apologize for its length (which is a tad ironic since in this article I comment on the fact that...
Blogging - History and Societal Trends (05/16/07 - 13 Comments)
This is the second article in a series dealing with blogging. The first article is available here. Don't run away if you are not a blogger and do not have any interest in blogs. I think you'll find this article helpful in understanding some of the wider societal trends that have led to the rise of the blog. Let's back up for a moment and discuss the history of the blog. While the term "blog"...
Jerry Falwell (1933 - 2007) (05/15/07 - 1 Comments)
I don't often post small news items except in A La Carte, but this one seems especially significant. Jerry Falwell died today shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73. It would take some time (and greater expertise than I can offer) to analyze Falwell's legacy, though surely we will hear a lot about it in the coming days. I trust (and hope) others will do this work of...
Blogging - My Story (05/15/07 - 19 Comments)
Last week at The Basics Conference I was privileged to lead a seminar on the topic of blogging. The topic that was assigned to me, "Blogging Your Ministry," is probably not the best title for what I delivered. I spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out what I could possibly say about blogging that would not be both tedious and boring. I soon found that there was a lot that was worth saying...
Book Review - American Patriot (05/14/07 - 3 Comments)
George "Bud" Day is the most decorated officer in the modern history of the U.S. military, having won (this is a chest seriously full of medals and ribbons) the Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal for Valor with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal for Merit, Purple Heart with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters,...
A Leacock Mother's Day (05/13/07 - 5 Comments)
Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) was a Canadian economist and humorist who wrote several books. He is remembered today only as a humorist. His best work is probably Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, a hilarious satirical look at small-town Ontario. It is utterly brilliant. When I think of Mother's Day, I often think of a particular story Leacock wrote to celebrate the day. I do not have a copy in my library but, by looking long...
The Nature of News (05/12/07 - 9 Comments)
I continue to make my way, rather slowly, really, through the 20th anniversary edition of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. Though written some 22 years ago, it continues to stretch my mind and to help me think about this visual culture we live in. In a chapter dealing with "the peek-a-boo world" he discusses the changing concept and definition of news. Where news was once regarded as functional information, the telegraph (and, after it,...
Challenging The Blasphemy Challenge (05/11/07 - 34 Comments)
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is all the rage these days. I first bumped into this strange fad when watching Brian Flemming's documentary The God Who Wasn't There. At the end of this film, at its very climax, Flemming, while standing at the front of an empty chapel, slowly turns the camera and speaks right at it, saying that He denies the Holy Spirit and acknowledging that this will guarantee him an eternity in hell...
Don Piper's 90 Minutes in Heaven (05/10/07 - 30 Comments)
The Bible tells us about three people who were privileged to see heaven on this side of the grave. All of these men, Stephen and the Apostles Paul and John, were alive when they were given a glimpse of the wonders of heaven. Don Piper, a Baptist pastor, claims to be a fourth, though unlike the other three, he first had to die first. Returning home from a conference, Piper's car was crushed under the...
Thursday Ramblings (05/10/07 - 5 Comments)
I returned safely home from the Cleveland area yesterday evening. It is quite a long drive but one that is still faster, I would imagine, than flying since it allows me to avoid waiting in airports, the inevitable airline delays, and all the other trappings of air travel. As always, it is very good to be home. I'll be here for another two weeks and will then head for Louisville for the New Attitude conference,...
The Basics Conference (VI) (05/09/07 - 7 Comments)
This morning, after a great breakfast supplied by Chick-Fil-A (who knew such quality fast food could be had this far north?) Edward Lobb delivered a session on "Preaching God's Glory" and he spoke from John 17, a chapter in which Jesus tells us in what language and terms He has been praying for us. The question before us is this: what is Jesus actually requesting from the Father in this chapter, this passage that comes...
The Basics Conference (V) (05/08/07 - 13 Comments)
When you show up for dinner and find your table set with extra napkins, wet-naps and toothpicks, you know you're in for a good meal. Tonight we were spoiled with a dinner of chicken, ribs and beans followed with Klondike bars and chased with some Pepsi. Very nice. And then, on a full stomach we reconvened for a few songs and a session led by Derek Thomas and discussing "Preaching as Warfare" (based on 2...
The Basics Conference (IV) (05/08/07 - 0 Comments)
Today's second session was led by Edward Lobb who spoke on "Preaching as Work," carrying on the theme begun by Derek Thomas earlier in the morning. Work is, by its very nature, difficult in this post-Eden world. There is a part of us that longs to avoid work and to do something else. But preachers have been called to labor. The purpose of this session was to bring a fresh challenge but also a real...
The Basics Conference (III) (05/08/07 - 3 Comments)
After last night's session Julian and I met up with the Dunn family who graciously offered to put us up over this conference. I have grown weary of hotels and it was great to be able to stay at a real house. So we made our way over there and I lasted just a few minutes before I had to head off to bed. The first day of a conference is always a tough one...
The Basics Conference (II) (05/07/07 - 5 Comments)
Voddie Baucham began the conference proper with a session dealing with "Preaching to Postmoderns." He explained that this is a difficult title because it relies on a term that is nearly impossible to define. Some use postmodernism to describe a generation, a group of people currently in their twenties. But this is unfortunate because postmodernism is not new. Since the sixties at least this postmodernism was shoved down the throats of students. In reality postmodernism...
The Basics Conference (I) (05/07/07 - 7 Comments)
We had a good and safe drive to Cleveland ("we" refers to myself and Julian Freeman, a friend and pastor's assistant from my church. Julian, you may remember, traveled with me to the WorshipGod 06 Conference last year). It was quite uneventful but for a brief hiccup at the border. When I cross the border to go to these events I always mention that I'm going to a "pastor's conference" or a "Christian conference." I...
The Basics Conference (05/07/07 - 9 Comments)
I am off to Cleveland in about fifteen minutes. I'll be attending The Basics Conference which is held at Parkside Church (which is, of course, pastored by Alistair Begg). Cleveland is somewhere around five hours away by car so I decided to drive rather than fly. I will be there until the conference wraps up Wednesday at around noon. If you could remember me in prayer, I'd be grateful. Not only would do I ask...
Sunday Afternoon (05/06/07 - 3 Comments)
This was a long and busy week. Tomorrow I'm driving all the way to Cleveland to blog The Basics Conference and to lead a seminar there. So things aren't going to get less busy until later in the week at best. I often find that the busier the week, the more I appreciate my day of rest. As I reflected on this, I remembered a hymn written by John Newton, a man whose biography I...
A Couple of Clarifications (05/05/07 - 38 Comments)
It is quite rare that I feel the need to revisit an article I've posted the day before, but today I'd like to post just a few points of clarification about what I wrote yesterday on the subject of homeschooling. The most important point is this: I do not think homeschooling is always or universally a bad option. I know many homeschoolers and respect their decision to homeschool their children. My parents homeschooled my sisters...
