My first project was making soap.  It actually worked, so I took some pictures and prepped a description of the process.  It might not be helpful for you, but I am posting it here so I can look it up again when I decide to prepare another batch.

Getting Started

January 6th, 2013:
My introduction to making lye-based soap was an article over at The Art of Manliness: “How to Make a Manly Bar of Soap”

To be completely honest, my first thought was, “Isn’t lye how murderers dispose of a body?”  I probably read too many mysteries.  My second thought was, “Coffee and walnuts sounds good, but I wonder what else would work.”

So, the next step was simple: visit the library and Google soap recipes.

If you’re following these steps, I can save you some time.  The Dewey code you’re looking for is 668.12.  If you prefer the Library of Congress system, as I do, you’re looking for TP991.  Library of Congress really is a better system, but we can leave that discussion for another time.

At the local library, I picked up the following:

• Milk Based Soaps: Making Natural, Skin-Nourishing Soap
• The Everything Soapmaking Book: Recipes and Techniques for Creating Colorful and Fragrant Soaps
• Homestead Blessings: The Art of Soap Making (DVD)
• Soap Maker’s Workshop: The Art and Craft of Natural Homemade Soap

As you can see, post-colon subtitles are the order of the day.

I got these home and quickly reviewed them all.  The first two books have not proven useful at all.  The DVD was unusually helpful, as well as being amusing–the West women are sincere and serious, but just a little quirky.  Which is okay.  Honestly, that DVD was probably about the best resource I found, even considering the information available on the internet.  Finally, the last book, Soap Maker’s Workshop, does a great job of breaking down the differences between Hot Process and Cold Process soaps, as well as providing a whole slew of helpful recipes.

And of course, the internet helps.  Two sites have proven particularly useful:

• Miller’s Homemade Soap
  
• Mountain Sage Lye Calculator

As I write this, my next step is to settle on a recipe (or two) and to identify and source the necessary supplies and ingredients.

Creating a Recipe

January 15th, 2013:
So, I settled on some recipes.

The main questions I had to answer in order to develop some soap recipes:

1. What liquid do I want to use?  There are some limits.  For instance, lemon juice is acidic, and would neutralize some of they lye, leaving me with a bunch of un-saponified oil.  Milk has a  fair amount of sugar, and can create all sorts of interesting results (including separation and browning).
2. What oils do I want to use? 
3. How much lye will you need?  Caution here: lye is dangerous.  If you intend to use the information on this page, you accept the responsibility for using it safely.  You want to avoid the fumes, you want to avoid skin or eye contact, you definitely want to avoid ingestion.
4. What additives do you want?  

So, I decided to make two batches of soap.  For the first, I am going to use double-brewed coffee and for the second, green tea.

I chose coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter.  Coconut oil helps make the bars of soap hard, and can create a nice lather.  Olive oil provides less lather, but is great for conditioning.  Shea butter mixes the best of both, making for a hard, conditioning, lather-rich bar.  Miller’s Homemade Soap has a great article describing the properties of the various oils available here.

I probably worked backwards when it comes to the lye.  I decided that I was going to use 16 oz. of lye for each batch, because that’s the amount in which my local Menard’s sells the stuff, and I didn’t feel like measuring it out.  Deciding the amount of lye first meant adjusting the weight of the oils to match.

As far as additives, I decided to keep it simple.  I’m going to add oatmeal to the coffee bars and honey to the green tea bars.

Since Walmart sells coconut oil in 31.5 fl oz (30.2 oz) jars for a very good price, I knew how much coconut oil was going into each recipe.  Smellgood out of Atlanta sells raw shea butter in 16 oz increments.  Using the Mountain Sage Lye Calculator, I was able to input these two amounts and identify the necessary amount of olive oil using trial and error.  The final result was that I needed 73 fl oz (69.25 oz) of olive oil.  To convert oils from fluid oz to weight, you can use the calculators over at {Convert To}.

You are welcome to download and use my recipes at your convenience.  Before doing so, please ensure that you have double-checked my measurements and make doubly sure you know what you’re doing with the lye.  Again, it is a dangerous substance, and you are responsible for using it safely.

Here are links to the two recipes:

• Green Tea & Honey Soap
• Coffee & Oats Soap

My next step is to gather my supplies and make the soap.

Making Soap

January 26th, 2013:
And now it comes together.  The shea butter has arrived (quick shipping by Smellgood!), the lye was in stock at Menard’s, and I have a free Saturday.

The following steps and pictures are meant to describe the process I used in some detail.  Don’t hesitate to post questions and I’ll answer them as well as I can.

Step 1:  Gather the materials

For the two batches of soap, I needed:

• Two measures of 73 fl oz of olive oil
• Two 31.5 fl oz bottles of coconut oil
• Two measures of 16 oz of raw shea butter
• Two 16 oz bottles of 100% lye
• 4 tbsp of honey
• 2 cups of ground oatmeal (I ground this with a coffee grinder)
• Two five gallon buckets
• Hand mixer
• Two wooden spoons
• Rubber gloves & safety glasses
• Food scale (Most recipes insist on a digital scale, but I converted the weights to fluid oz for the coconut and olive oils.  The scale was only necessary for the shea butter.)

Step 2: Prepare the forms

I went with the simplest, cheapest forms possible.  I lined several Amazon boxes with parchment paper.  I wasn’t sure how much space I’d need, but these boxes proved perfect.

Step 3: Prepare the liquid

I probably should have done this the night before.  The recipes call for between 29 and 43 fl oz of liquid.  I decided to use 36 oz.  I brewed the tea until it was fairly dark, and I double-brewed the coffee to ensure that it was very dark.  It should be cooled before mixing it with the lye, so I stuck it in the fridge while I prepared the oils.

Step 4: Melt the oils

This took a bit of figuring out.  Raw shea butter needs to be melted and strained through a cheese cloth to remove any shell residue.  So I measured out just a hair over 16 oz and tried to melt down the shea butter with indirect heat.  That did not work.

The better approach was to add 16 oz to the other oils and to melt all of the coconut oil and shea butter down in the olive oil, and then to pour all of the oils through a cheesecloth at the same time.

Step 5: Mix the liquid & lye

I did this while the oil was melting over a slow heat.  Since we have such lovely winter weather, I took advantage of the cold, and mixed the lye and liquid outside.  This had the double-benefit of keeping the fumes out of the basement and allowing the mixture to cool a bit before adding the oils.  When mixing these, Rule #1 is, Always add the lye to the liquid! Never add the liquid to the lye!

This was much easier than I expected, after reading all of the warnings.  I wore rubber gloves and eye protection, and cracked open the bottle of lye and poured the whole thing in.  I stirred it carefully with one of the wooden spoons, and it began to fume and steam pretty quickly.  I left it to cool for a bit.

Step 6: Mix the oils and the lye solution

Once the oils are melted, I poured them through a cheesecloth into the other five gallon bucket. I added the lye, and began blending them with the hand blender (some sites call this a “stick blender”).

A couple of bits of advice: Make sure the blender is fully immersed before you turn it on.  Don’t burn out the motor.  Stir with the blender on for about 5-10 second bursts, and then stir with it for another 30 seconds or so.

After about 2 minutes, I added the oatmeal or honey, based on the recipe that I was making at the time.

You’re looking for trace.  I don’t know why they all call it “trace.”  I think a better term is, “kind of like custard or melted ice cream.”  Basically, it gets thick enough to support drops or lightly drizzled lines.  Once you have that, you’re ready for…

Step 7: Pour the soap into the molds

This step is exactly what it sounds like.  Pour the soap into the molds.  The soap will have the texture of a loose batter.

Once they’re in the molds, you’ll want to close the boxes and cover them with a heavy blanket.  The soap needs to stay warm for a night or so.

Making Soap, Day 2

January 27th, 2013:
Now we’re onto the final steps for the soap project!

Step  8: Release and cut the soap

The parchment paper molds proved to be wonderful for this part of the project.  I was able to lift them out easily and lower the sides so that I could cut the soap into bars.  I weighed the soap first, out of curiosity.  The two recipes each produced about 10 pounds of soap.  That’s kind of insane.  And then we cut the soap into two batches of 40 bars.

Step 9: Cure the soap

The final step, apart from using the soap, is to set it out to cure.  You want to stack it in such a way that air can get to all the different sides of the soap.  It’s best to let it cure for four weeks.

I’m looking forward to using this soap in a month–I’ll be back at that time with an update on how it turned out after curing.

Post-Project Notes

January 28th, 2013:
I had an idea of the cost for these bars of soap going in, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the total cost per bar (including the costs for the mixer, buckets, gloves, and spoons) was only $1.06.  Future batches will cost even less as I already have all of the necessary equipment!

March 24th, 2013:
Now we’ve had the chance to use both types of soap and I’m very happy with how it turned out!  The Green Tea & Honey soap feels wonderful–it lathers, it moisturizes, it cleans.  The Coffee & Oats soap does all of that, and it exfoliates the heck out of my skin.  I found that I don’t care to use the Coffee & Oats soap every day because it’s very exfoliating, so I keep a bar of each on hand.  Perhaps next time I’ll try instant oatmeal instead.  That might break down a little more than the old-fashioned oats.  Either way, I’m pretty happy with this project!

Happy Soaping,
Dan J.

1. The internet doesn’t corrupt, but it creates a space for the expression of existing corruption.  This shouldn’t surprise any Christian (see Mk 7:14-23), but it’s helpful to remember that the internet does not defile.  Our response to the internet defiles.
2. The internet distracts us from who we are.  Miller had the idea that without the internet, he would be a better person–that the internet was “corrupting his soul.”  But, all it did was allow for existing corruption to play out in a different environment.  The web plays a growing role in blinding people to the evil in their hearts, and it anesthetizes them by convincing them that their behavior is shaped by the internet (“If only I could disconnect, I would be a better person!”).  However, while the expression of their desires might take different shapes in different environments, but their desires come from within, not from without.
3. The internet reveals who we are.  Ironic, I know, given no. 2.  While I believe the internet distracts us from who we are, I think it also reveals our great evil.  Daily we are confronted with the reality of great human evil–child abuse, sexual assault, murder, racially-motivated hatred, disgusting practices and desires, and on and on.
4. Christians need to let the gospel shape our response to the internet, and let the internet serve our proclamation of the gospel.  We must constantly, daily, return our minds to the gospel reality–we are great sinners in need of a great savior–and the internet did not make us this way.  At the same time, the internet is another irrefutable piece of evidence against those who say that humans are basically good.  Who can surf for a day without agreeing that humanity is broken and wicked?
5. We can use the internet to sustain Christian community. As missionaries and members of the body of Christ, we find e-mail, Skype, and social media to all be significant aids to maintaining healthy relationships with a worldwide community of fellow believers and family members.
6. We can use the internet to avoid true community.  At the same time, the internet gives us an extra mask.  We can hide behind our e-mails and status updates, feigning vulnerability and hiding from one another.  Face-to-face, hand-in-hand discipleship requires time and presence.
7. We can let the internet can distract from more substantial work–work which requires extended thought and extended time for creative output.  Perhaps this alone is sufficient cause to disconnect for extended periods of time.
8. Christians need to personally evaluate how to apply the Sabbath principle to our connectivity.  Shutting off our phones, email, social media, Netflix, television, etc., at set weekly times would likely be a valuable and edifying practice.  Maybe you all do this, but I don’t and I should.  (On this, maybe read “What Happens When You Really Disconnect” by Tony Schwartz.)

I’ll stop there, but I’m very interested in your thoughts.

Internetfully yours,
Dan J.

Rather than proclaim Christ incarnated, crucified, risen, and seated (1 Cor 15:1-11), we talk about how the church has improved our lives, broken our “bad habits,” or made us better people. These things are true, but they are not the center of the Gospel. In fact, other groups often do these things as well or better than many churches (see AA, Mormonism, counseling, Neighborhood Clubs, Peace Corps, etc).

Such an attitude towards evangelism and discipleship reduces Christianity to another form of self-fulfillment. It acts as though the Gospel is all about us.  I think that such an evangelistic approach springs out of an over-acceptance of the claims of postmodernism.  While postmodernism is correct in emphasizing our subjective experience of objective truths, it often over-reaches–valuing such experience (which is limited in scope and context) over objective reality (which is not limited).

So, churches, seeking to avoid division over doctrine, begin to emphasize experience first.  This feels good–we’re naturally bent towards narcissism–and it pushes us further away from doctrine and further into ourselves.  Eventually, we have divorced ourselves from the Word, from clear truth, and ultimately from the hope that the Gospel gives to those who know the depth of their sin.  For such people, hope is not found inside or in our experience.  For such people, hope is found in the truth of Scripture.  But if the church has abandoned such truth in favor of experience, then the church has nothing to offer hopeless sinners.

The linked article is a helpful discussion of this problem: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2011/07/05/the-subjective-power-of-an-objective-gospel/

So Happy that Christ is Always True,
Dan J.

Adam & Eve also did a couple of things: (1) They demonstrated little familiarity with the actual words of God (Eve adding “neither shall you touch it”); (2) they evaluated the serpent’s words on the basis of what made sense to them rather than on what God had said.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Gen 3:1-7, ESV)

Today, the most destructive lies in the church follow the same general pattern: (1) Leaders focus our attention on our worship and our obedience, rather than the One being worshiped and obeyed; (2) leaders treat Scripture like a troubleshooting manual rather than the gracious life-giving words of God.

Church leaders who, in word or in practice, repeat these lies–”It’s all about us and what we do,” and “We don’t need to study Scripture a whole bunch, we just need to act”–serve neither the King nor the kingdom.

Additionally, we repeat the sins of Adam & Eve: (1) We have little familiarity with the words of God; (2) we make decisions according to our desires rather than according to the words of God.

Notice that the problem begins not with a straight-out lie, but with a de-emphasis of God and God’s words.  These problems will never show up as an obvious lie on the front end, but they will lead to destruction all the same.

Today, tomorrow, forever–fix your eyes on Christ!  Study the Word!  Encourage your leaders and congregation to do the same!

Yours by the Grace of God,
Dan J.

How great is our God!
Dan & Anna J.

Check out a video interview with the author here.

Check out a helpful review here.

Download the audiobook for free from here.  (I’ll have a post in the near future regarding how to go about adding these books to a Kindle in such a way that the device recognizes chapter breaks, tags, etc.)

Every now and then we start a study at MCC that seems to be much more helpful than the average study.  This month, we started one of those studies.

N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope is one of those books that everyone kept recommending, and which I have sitting on my shelf, but which I haven’t quite got around to cracking open just yet.  I wish I had read it sooner.  The DVD study is wonderful, and I highly recommend it if you’re leading a small group or Bible study.  It’s available at a few places, but Amazon and CBD: Reformed seem to have the best prices on the resources.  (And I think only CBD carries the DVD.)

The study centers on the questions, (1) What is our hope? and (2) What are we doing about it in the meantime?  Wright has done a great job so far, and I’ll probably post a follow-up after we’re done with this study.  In any case, the study has already opened up some good discussion at our church about bringing hope (specifically, bringing the hope found only in Jesus Christ) to the children in our drug-riddled, abuse-filled area.

I’ll post in a video below in which N.T. Wright does a good job of laying some groundwork for the content of the rest of the study.

Looking forward to bringing hope to the world,
Dan J.

One Thinline became five thick volumes.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have had a small project in the works.  I thought I’d post some photos and a brief explanation of the project today.  I’ve been working on a “blank Bible”–so named not because the Bible had all it’s words removed, but because it has many additional blank pages inserted for note-taking and outlining.  The idea is an old one, and there are plenty of Bibles available that do a better job of providing a quality-bound, wide-margin, note-taker’s Bible, but I thought it would still be a good use of an ESV I’ve had sitting on the shelf for a couple of years.  This particular ESV is the Thinline, and I picked it up at Costco for about $10 on a whim (which is a good deal considering its current price on Amazon).

If you want, you can click past the break for the pictures & project description.

Update: I added an electronic copy of the cover I created in Word.  The link is at the bottom of the article.

So the basic approach was to take the Bible to Staples and ask them, “Can you chop the binding off a Bible and then rebind it?”  They replied, without hesitation, “Sure.  Why not?”  This is far-and-away a much easier approach than Mr. Reinke’s (he recommends a table-saw and a pair of custom clamps.)  The gentleman at the counter pulled out an X-Acto knife, and within five minutes had the Trutone (read: pleather) cover removed (though he preserved the front & back in case I wanted them) and the stitched binding sheared off.  For an additional charge, he chopped a stack of printer paper to identical proportions, and I went home happy.

I spent that evening listening to the Golden Globes (I still can’t believe Inception lost to Facebook: The Movie), and sticking blank pages between every printed page, w/ a few extras at the front of each book (for outlines/key terms/author/date/etc), and after about 6 hours, I had the whole thing ready in three stacks.

Problem: Staples (and AlphaGraphics, and Kinkos) can’t ring-bind 2″ stacks made of tissue paper, so it was back to the table to break it out into five portions.  I have it broken down into the Pentateuch, the Histories, the Wisdom Literature, the Prophets, and the New Testament.  This feels good, and it binds well.  I took it back to Staples yesterday and picked the whole thing up this morning.  They had only two pages (at the beginning of Luke) kick out during the binding process, but they were able to re-insert those at the correct location.

As for the covers, I made those on Word because I’ve just got mad-skillz with Microsoft Word.  I lifted the ESV logo from their site, which I think is probably fair-use, since I bought the Bible and since I’m going to add the following phrase to this page: You should buy an ESV Bible!  There, that should cover any legal issues, probably.

The total cost of this project was right around $30.  I paid a little extra to have the nice, leatherette backing board bound onto these volumes, and I’d recommend it if you’re considering a similar project.  Total time invested–maybe 7 hours counting trips to and from the Staples.  Let me know if you do something similar; I’d be interested in hearing how it turns out.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

UPDATE: The cover I created is available as a downloadable Word 97-03 or a Word 2007 file.  Feel free to edit or modify it as you see fit.

In the meantime, wonder with me at the reality of this Masonic Bible, discovered during a recent visit to Half-Price Books.

This really exists. I’m not sure how or why.

At least it had some excellent drawings of Solomon’s Temple.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

When I interviewed for the position of pastor at MCC, I was asked what books I had been reading lately.  My first response was “Agatha Christie.”  They looked surprised, but I had to be honest, and usually you’ll find a good mystery in my reading pile.  Right now (between responsibilities) I’m sipping my way through P.D. James’ Cover Her Face, which is a pleasant tale of gruesome death.

I’d love to offer some grand theological support for my love of mystery.  I have always loved the mysteries of the faith, for instance.  I have found deep intellectual comfort in the mysterious Triune nature of God, or in the mystery of God’s providence working through our willing choices, or even the deep mystery of regeneration.  These please some part of me in a way that, say, questions of historical record do not.  In any case, I love mystery, and so I think you should too.  What’s that?  You don’t?  Well, then you’re just nutty.

This is all to say that I offer my hearty recommendation of the newest incarnation of the original detective.  Sherlock on Masterpiece Mystery is a blast.  The premise is simple enough: Put Holmes in the middle of 2010 and let him have a run at the modern world.  Now, this could be a miserable failure on so many levels, but I was pleased with the writing, the production, and the translation into modern times.  The actors and writers don’t seem to be winking at us, the very campy possibilities are left to rot in the pile of unused bad ideas, and the integration of modern technology feels natural and unforced.  The only significant downside is that the season is so short–only three 90 minute episodes constitute a single season–but a second is scheduled for Fall, 2011.

If you have a soft spot for Holmes & Watson, watch it for free until December 7th on PBS Online.

Happy detecting,
Dan J.

Maybe I’ll do a post on how I’ve got my office set up once it’s ready to go, and then I’ll add a bunch of words like “GTD” and “productivity” and “maximum efficiency” and “lifehack” in order to get all of the “I need to be productive, so I’ll read the tubes all day to learn about productivity rather than actually working” traffic.  If what I just said makes no sense to you, then be thankful.  You probably get stuff done.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

The flooring is this stuff from Floor & Decor, and it looks nicer than we both expected.  However, the whole “Click-Lock” thing should be renamed to “Click-Mutterangrily-Retry-Poundwithyourfistandcry-Lock.”  We had hoped to finish the office today, but our car broke down yesterday morning, and so we had to get that into a shop and deal with the repairs before we moved on to the flooring.  We made okay progress, and we’ll probably be finished by the end of the week.  I’ll post more pictures when the floor is in and the furniture is set up.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Finally, p.180 does offer an explanation of spontaneous creation. The conservation of energy means that universes can only be created from nothing if their net energy is zero, with negative gravitational energy balancing out the positive energy of matter and radiation. This necessitates that a law of gravity must exist. Because a law of gravity exists it must and will of itself create universes out of nothing (no reasoning given).

So gravity is God.

Enjoy,
Dan J.

Cross celebrating delivery from a plague, Szentendre, Hungary

Ed Stetzer recently interviewed author Darrin Patrick regarding his new book: Church Planter. This looks like a good read, and one which will prove helpful to folks in many mission-minded contexts outside of the “standard church planting ministry” (as if such a thing exists).

The following comment struck me as insightful and needed for many churches today:

Stetzer: How is contextualization not compromise?

Patrick: Good contextualization is not bringing the gospel to people on their terms. That would be compromise. Biblical contextualization is bringing the gospel to people with their terms. That is why we take our language about the gospel and forms of church that declare the gospel and we adapt them to be understandable to the cultures in which we find ourselves.  (emphasis mine)

I think this distinction makes most of the difference.  When a church is willing to give up a long-held culture for the sake of the Gospel, it’s not out of a desire to appease, entertain, or placate a crowd, but rather out of an understanding that the intended audience will never hear the shocking Gospel as long as it is communicated in terms and forms that they just don’t understand.

Hit the link (here) for the rest of the brief interview.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Julie, this one’s for you!

It’s been a busy stretch since graduation, with us placing some increased time into initiating a couple new ministries at Mayer, both of us working hard on remodeling the kitchen (pictures will follow in a future post!), and the search for a second job for Dan.  So, when he said that he felt like he was getting grumpy about things he wouldn’t normally feel grumpy about, we decided to take a brief break over the Labor Day weekend to sit on the beach in San Diego and do absolutely nothing.  The whole sitting and doing nothing thing lasted for about an hour and a half before we decided it would be nice to move around a bit, and so we visited a few places we haven’t taken the time to visit in the past–namely, we spent an afternoon at Balboa Park and a morning at La Jolla.  The rest of the pictures are below.

The first picture is of the Broken Yolk Challenge.  No, to answer David J.’s first question, that’s not Dan eating that meal (his dad learned that lesson for all of them).  It’s an insane meal, so we’ll just put a link to the restaurant’s website, and insert their own description here:

The Broken Yolk Challenge

Broken Yolk Café Special (For the iron man or woman)

A dozen-egg omelet filled with mushrooms, onions, American cheese and smothered with our chili and more cheese. On the other half of a 15-inch pizza pan is a generous pile of homefries and two biscuits.

The Broken Yolk Special is Free if you eat it all within an hour.

After breakfast, we wandered around the Gaslamp District, picked up some unique San Diego Starbuck’s Coffee, and then headed over to Balboa Park.  We’ve included a picture of the huge Organ Palace for Julie’s sake–they still have weekly organ concerts, which Dan thinks is ridiculous.

The other photos are of the Botanical Gardens, the Japanese Gardens and the various park facilities. The park on Labor Day Weekend was the location of choice for weddings and quinceañeras, and every group arrived in style–we loved the last group, which rolled up in some classic Chevys appropriately modified with hydraulic bounce kits.

As you can see, we didn’t walk side by side at La Jolla.  We just stared at each other and drank coffee while the surfers wandered by.  And, of course, we should thank Dave & Trish for hosting–you were great!

Grace & Peace,
Dan & Anna J.

Church in Vladimir, Russia

I had a visit this evening from a pair of polite, well-intentioned young men.  They were members of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, and they were in the process of visiting homes in the area to share the Gospel.  I offered them a glass of water, and attempted to chat with them a little bit about the content of their tract.  I almost wish I hadn’t.
The conversation was brief, the topic was the King James Version, and the response was about as much as could be expected in an impromptu meeting.  I wasn’t looking for a conversation on the KJV, it just happened to be the core content in the “Gospel tract” they were passing out.  The thrust of the church’s claims, as you can guess, was that God preserved His Word, and that He did so in the King James Bible.  The church website says about as much, with the statement: “We believe that the King James Bible is the word of God without error.”  (Emphasis theirs.)

Since this was the topic on hand, I tried to quickly discuss through some risks inherent in the KJV (you should really read this article by Daniel Wallace for some helpful insights), and then I tried to encourage them to study it for themselves.  Anna started to offer a comment, but they quickly cut her off and said they had to leave.

Bolton Priory

I wish I could stop thinking about this visit and this church, but it sat on my mind for the rest of the evening, and I finally decided I needed to write the pastor.  I’m still waiting for his response, but in the meantime, I just want to throw out this comment:  When a church decides to preserve a culture rather than pursue the Kingdom of God, that church is going to die.

I don’t mean this only with regards to the churches that seek to preserve a KJV-only, men-in-pants-and-women-in-dresses culture.  I mean this just as much for a “contemporvant” church, or a church like Mayer Community Church.  If the members of the church I serve decide to put their cultural values before the Kingdom of God, then MCC will die as soon as the last members of the preserved culture pass away.

Even as I say this, I happily admit that I have been blessed by the flexibility and adaptability of the members of MCC.  They have been very willing to question and weigh every commitment in exploring ways to reach Mayer.  I think that as long as this is the practice, MCC will continue to be effective at making disciples and glorifying God.  How is this done?  By asking questions such as the following:

• Does this ministry practice exist because it satisfies the preferences of the church members, or because it is effective at transforming lives and transmitting the Gospel?
• Does this ministry practice create a communication barrier between generations?  Between the congregation and the community?  Between men and women?
• Has this (long-standing) ministry practice continued to play a part in changing lives, or is it simply familiar?  (You never want to dump a practice just because it’s old.)
• Does this (new) ministry practice enable the communication of the Gospel in a way that makes sense to the people in this community, or does it simply carry the “appeal of freshness.”  (You never want to introduce a practice just because it’s new.)
• Do we as a congregation care most about God’s glory or about our glory?  Are our ministry practices giving evidence of that?

This is nothing formal, but if a church wants to pursue God’s Kingdom, the above list is a rough approximation of a small part of that constant decision making process.  As I said a moment ago, I’ve been happily surprised and encouraged by MCC’s willingness to ask questions like these on a regular basis, and I suspect that it will result in increasingly effective ministry.

Feel free to suggest questions or comments that might help in this battle to put our commitment to the Kingdom of God before our commitment to a specific culture.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

“Bolton Priory” Image: Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

On a side note, Finland just took first place in a “Best Countries” survey.  I think I can see why.

Light on the Brakes,
Dan J.

PS – I’m not sure if it’s just me, but Mika Hakkinen reminds me of Anna’s grandfather personality-wise.

The study is led on DVD by Paul Carden, who has over 30 years of experience in researching cults and world religions, and who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Centers for Apologetics Research.  We’ve only just started, and I will be happy to provide a followup, but so far it has proven to be interesting and instructive.  The group at Bible Study has even asked if we can stretch the study an additional half-hour each week to cover some of the topics in greater depth!  Anyhow, if you’re interested in learning more about the study, check out the trailer below, then hit up the link for more more information and sample lessons.

CCR Church Promo from Eric Lau on Vimeo.

See Christianity, Cults & Religions for more info, and drop me a line if you use this resource to let me know how it works out for you.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

When I walked out the door after work this afternoon, the wind was blowing, ominous clouds covered the sky, and heavy raindrops began to fall.  I quickly shuffled into the car and turned on my radio.  Flash Flood Warning for Maricopa County.  Great.    

Driving into Phoenix on the looming overpass from the Loop 101 to the Loop 202 was quite the adventure.  At first, I just thought, “Boy, I should slow down.”  Then, the word “hydroplaning” started to flitter through my brain.  By the time I reached the main stretch of the 202, I was envisioning white out snow storms from my childhood.

Thankfully, it didn’t get quite that bad.  But when I stopped to get some gas at Costco, the guy next to me literally stepped out of his car, started to pay, felt the raindrops pummelling him, and promptly ran back to his car and drove off.  He must be a native.  :)

I took the side streets home, and boy, am I glad I was driving our Jeep.  Those were some big “puddles.”  Everyone was trying to drive in the middle of the road, which was pretty interesting considering the fact that these are two-way streets.

Eventually, after passing a few bushes in the road and a lot of downed palm fronds, I pulled into our driveway and gave thanks that all this excitement meant that my nearly dead front lawn would have a shot at making it through the rest of the summer.

For those of you not from Phoenix, I promise it really does rain here, and this is a true story.  Monsoon season is a reality, not just something Phoenicians make up to convince themselves to feel better.  And if you don’t believe me, I dare you to come visit in the midst of an infamous Phoenix summer!

AJ

1. 

   "Facebook" by An Phan Văn (used w/ permission)

   Facebook has a reputation for changing up privacy settings, and in fact overriding many users’ original privacy expectations.  (See this helpful chart for a history of Facebook & privacy issues.)

2. We don’t have a lot of spare time to book people’s faces.
3. They retain copies of your content indefinitely, and can do whatever they like with them.  For those of you who want the other side of this story, see Mark Zuckerberg’s response.  (Summary: “It’s like if you e-mailed a picture to a friend, they can do whatever they want with it.  We’re your friend.”)
4. It feels–for reasons I can’t quite explain–less intimate even than e-mail.  (Although, the messaging & chat features are helpful.)
5. They won’t allow joint (“married couples”) accounts.  I don’t want to ramble too much here, but this seems to me to be one of the worst “features” of the site.  Seriously.

So, if we’ve been pretty adamant about not using Facebook, why are we changing directions and adding Facebook to our already busy lives (as the title of this post so helpfully asks)?

1. Our families use it.  Multiple times in the last year, friends and family have said, “Oh, didn’t I tell you about _____?  I know I posted it on Facebook.”  So, reason #1 is that we’re happy to keep up-to-date on what’s happening with our family and friends.
2. We can’t destroy it.  We’ve considered this, and asked ourselves if it was possible to make it as if Facebook never existed.  It seems like we can’t do that.

That’s pretty much it.  Our families use it, and we can’t make it go away.

Hoping to co-opt a social networking behemoth for God’s glory and Christ’s kingdom,
Dan & Anna J.

Reimagining Evangelism

Back in May, I mentioned that we were beginning a new study on evangelism at Mayer Community Church.  We have just completed that study, and I wanted to drop a brief comment here: If you have the chance, go through this study.  It’s not particularly earth-shattering, but it is often helpful in ways that are unexpected.  Anna and I have both found resources and comments in this study that have helped us to redefine our approach to sharing the Gospel.  The study focuses on a few key ideas, but three have seemed to resonate most with the body at MCC:

1. We need to drop the scripts and simply start doing things we love to do with folks who don’t yet know Jesus.
2. It’s important to re-establish trust before proclaiming truth.
3. Simply being present in people’s lives is a fantastic way to gain the opportunity to share the Gospel.

If you’d like more of an idea on Richardson’s approach and general style, feel free to read through his comments on developing a GIG (Group Investigating God), or even through the first chapter of Reimagining Evangelism.  Have fun!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

But, as with most jobs, there are a few questions to be asked and a few choices to be made.  How long is too long?  How short is too short?  How often should I step out the main exegetical series (we’re in the Gospel of Mark at MCC) to address particular passages or issues?  Should I even consider this question?  Is it important to develop services for the two main holy seasons (Easter & Christmas)?  Is it important to preach a Mother’s Day message, a Father’s Day message, and a Memorial Day message?

I think, though, that there is one question that many pastors fail to answer explicitly, and in failing to answer this question, they miss out on delivering content that could extend their work indefinitely.

Last Thanksgiving, Anna and I visited family and friends in northern Indiana, and we had the pleasure of sitting in on the church services at McCoy Memorial Baptist Church.  The pastor–Ray Laborde–was addressing 1 Corinthians 9-10, which is a minefield to say the least.  The sermon was excellent.  The applications were helpful.  The delivery was clear and to-the-point.  As a congregant, I found myself edified by Pastor Laborde’s message both that morning, and for some weeks after.  Even today, I feel more able to approach Paul’s letter–all of 1 Corinthians–with a clearer understanding of his goals, the primary themes, and the Corinthian context.  The reason, I think, is because Pastor Laborde chose to “show the seams.”

This is where I stitch things together

By “show the seams,” I mean that Pastor Laborde chose to let the congregation see his work.  He chose to show them the outline that he had developed as he studied the whole book and as he studied the passage in context.  He chose to show them the results of his study into the Corinthian culture and pagan temple practices.  He chose to show them the questions he had as he sought to draw out application for today, and he chose to show them how he moved from these various bits of information to his overarching conclusion.  I think he chose to do all of this intentionally.  He chose to “show the seams.”

So a question I think pastors would benefit from considering and deciding upon is this: Do I show them just the results, or do I show them my work as well?

After we returned from Indiana, I began to consider this question, and I decided to begin showing the work as well.  In practice, this is not that difficult.  It simply means doing little things like:

It’s okay to let them see your work!

• Providing at regular intervals a clear outline of the entire book and of the surrounding context
• Providing at regular intervals a clear outline of salvation history and where the passage in question fits into that history
• Listing the questions that arise from a careful reading of the passage
• Mentioning–at least briefly–the steps taken to answer those questions (What words were worth further study?  What cultural issues demanded attention?  What literature, maps, lexicons, or other resources were available?)
• Discussing the alternative answers and their implications (What do others think, and why did I reject or amend those answers?)
• Commenting on personal, internal battles with the implications of the passage (I don’t mean one should turn the pulpit into a confessional, but that one should identify ways in which they struggled–as all imperfect humans must–with accepting the truths of the passage.)

In ninth-grade math, Mr. S—— always sent my work back with a note at the top: “Show Your Work!!!”  I always said, “But I have the right answer!  What’s the point of writing down all the steps?  It’s a waste of time and paper, and isn’t it important to be efficient?”  (I’m not saying I was a good kid.)  He would reply, “I need to know that you actually know what you’re doing.”

In one sense, showing the seams–or showing our work–as pastors can be helpful to the congregation for much the same reason:

• They can gain confidence in the pastor’s commitment to Scriptural truth and to the work required to draw that truth out
• They can know that their pastor is committed to the truth of Scripture rather than to simply flouting his already-developed beliefs
• They can know that their pastor also remains in need of ongoing transformation
• They can learn to recognize the types of questions to ask as they read the Bible privately
• They can learn what resources are available to answer those questions
• They can gain a deeper understanding of how their devotional readings fit into the immediate context, into the whole book, and into salvation history
• They can begin to recognize why they struggle internally with accepting certain truths in the passage at hand, and once they accept that there is a battle, they can gain motivation to fight for growth

Again, I believe there are countless other benefits when a pastor chooses to show his work.  I have suffered through countless sermons where the pastor simply read the passage, summarized some of the main points of the passage or the narrative unit, followed each with a humorous or engaging illustration, said what he considered to be the overall idea of the passage, and then explained how he felt we should apply that point to our lives today.  This might be nice and it might warm my heart and encourage my soul, at least until I sit down for Sunday lunch.  What it fails to do is provide me with the tools and the insight to continue studying and learning from the passage for the following weeks or months.  So, I suppose that if I can encourage pastors to begin to do one thing, it would be this: Show The Seams.

When it popped, we were at the Grand Canyon with Anna’s folks, and we missed most of the excitement.  So, when I heard Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) say that failing water heaters made for his favorite explosions, I had to look for the video evidence.  I can honestly say that seeing this makes me just a little bit happier that we weren’t home.

Anyhow, have fun checking your T&P valves!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Crossway describes it as follows:

Meaning at the Movies: Becoming a Discerning Viewer

Hollywood produces, packages, and sells hundreds of movies every year. Many of these movies propagate a distorted sense of morality and ethics. Under the surface of immoral behavior and unlawfulness, however, there can be deeper problems in Hollywood’s messages. What are these stories telling the viewer about life, relationships, and God? What worldviews and ideas do they espouse? If Christians are to tread carefully at the theater complex, they need resources to help them.

This book is just such a resource. By exploring the relationship between Christianity and art, the theology of biblical discernment, and a brief history of filmmaking, as well as through analysis of popular films, Meaning at the Movies equips readers for careful discernment in the cinema. The book does not simply list criteria for judging film art; instead it encourages Christians to develop biblical and critical discernment in regard to not only film, but all aspects of culture.

Vitamin Z has a giveaway this month, where three lucky readers will win a free copy of this book, so don’t hesitate to head over there and sign up!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

The Mayer Community Church Doctrinal Statement

So this is cool.  Wordle lets you upload whatever text you care to upload, and then it spits out a randomly generated word cloud.  I found it to be an enjoyable diversion.  Linked below, you can see the results of uploading the Mayer Community Church Doctrinal Statement.

Feel free to check out the original at the Wordle site, or to upload your own.  Have fun playing with words!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

I landed at Kehl Springs, which sits at the top of the Mogollon Rim and overlooks Payson, Pine, and Strawberry.  The wind was constant, as was the sun, and by midday, I discovered that I had acquired a bright red sunburn on both arms.  This was a surprise since it was about 50°, but I’ve heard stories about skiers getting sunburned, so I should have expected it.  I’ve posted some thoughts and pictures (of the site, not the sunburn) after the break.  The video, though, was made for Anna’s sake–she doesn’t like heights–but I think it gives a good view of where I was sitting for the afternoon.

In any case, it was a good retreat.  Nothing spectacular, no booming revelations, no stunning life decisions.  Just time to read through a Gospel and to consider ways in which I would like to pray for God’s sanctifying work to continue.  Perhaps the most intriguing thought I came away with is this: Do I pursue sanctification because I want to be a better person, or because I want to glorify God?

I think that if I am pursuing sanctification because I want to be a better person, my motivation will quickly dwindle.  Why?  Because self-improvement–like all idols–can only satisfy so much.  It becomes too easy to find folks who will say, “You’re a decent person.”  There is little joy to be had in receiving glory for fixing myself, when I’m all too aware of the reasons I shouldn’t receive glory!

On the other hand, if I’m pursuing sanctification for God’s glory, the motivation never ceases because He never ceases to deserve glory.  Rather than satisfaction in my own efforts, I can find satisfaction in collaborating with the Holy Spirit and being edified by His ministry to me.  Rather than joy in my own, undeserved glory, I can be joyful that God’s glory will not fade and His transforming work will not end until I am conformed to the image of His Son.

So, that’s that.  I’m now praying that God’s glory would be my motivating impulse in the pursuit of sanctification, and I would be happy to have your prayers for that as well.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Our irrigation runs have been less than pleasant in the last year.  The water fails to reach the front yard and instead, it blows out our berms and floods our back patio and driveway.  This is great if we have a dirty driveway.  It’s less great if we want a green lawn in the front yard.

Part of the problem is that our side yard is fairly narrow.  Another part of the problem is that we set our shed in such a way that it further constricted the flow of water through our side yard.  So, we moved the shed, and as you can see in the pictures, we’ve started a planter in the shed’s original location.  The run that came immediately after this change went much better; our whole front yard was watered, and our back patio remained mostly dry.  We’ve just picked up some glysophate to destroy any growth in the planter and to prepare it for Anna’s grand vision.  (I think she’s going with succulents.)

The other issue to address was the ditch itself.  It was simply a dirt trench, and the sides have slowly washed out over the last few years.  So, we’re widening it and then dropping in retaining walls on both sides.  When we’re done, it should be as narrow (or a little narrower) than when we started.  This will help keep the water pressure a little more “pressure-y.”  Our next run is in two days, so we’ll need to get this done soon.

Anyhow, if you’re in Phoenix soon, and you’re feeling handy with a shovel, you’re welcome to stop by and help move some dirt.  We’ll even make you some iced tea!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

For this post, I’m going to return to the passage last discussed in Part 2:  Acts 17:16-32.  The focus of the last post was on the need for Christians to develop the skill of discernment–this is not a unique spiritual gift, but a part of every Christian’s growth in maturity–and to apply that skill to the regular evaluation of the art forms of today.  Particularly, I argued that Christians should view and evaluate film and television, as I have found that this is the area most Christians are most hesitant to integrate into evangelism.  But how can we choose to partition off any portion of our lives from Kingdom activity?

In any case, I am turning in this post from a study of Paul’s practices and to a study of his words.  In what follows, I want to present what I believe is a helpful breakdown of Paul’s presentation of the Gospel.

In the previous post, I focused primarily on the Paul’s activities.  I looked at the physical behaviors that made up Paul’s approach to evangelism.  They were:

1. Study the Bible carefully and regularly.
2. Study the false religions of our time.
3. Study the various art produced by the world today with prayer and discernment.
4. Regularly refer to these religious beliefs and these artistic creations while in discussion with outsiders.

In today’s post, I want to address Paul’s rhetoric.  What form of argument does Paul rely on when dealing with a pre-Christian, highly paganized society?

Figure 1

I think it is possible to outline Paul’s comments as starting from agreement, moving through the logical conclusion of that agreement, and landing on worldview-transforming truth.  This pattern repeats twice (22-27a; 27b-31; see fig. 1).  Paul starts by pointing to a truth which the Athenians would accept.  He then moves through an appropriate logical step and into the transformative conclusion.  Ultimately, Paul makes use of the agreement to point to flaws in philosophical conclusions of his listeners.

Paul’s recognition of their religiousness in Acts 17:22 is not simple flattery.  He has actually investigated their religious practices.  To be “religious” in this context is to be sincerely involved in the pursuit of the divine.  This, Paul agrees, is an excellent endeavor.

However, the existence of an altar to an unknown god gives pause and indicates that at some level, the Athenians realize that their general polytheistic practices leave them unsatisfied.  If there is more than one god, there might well be thousands, and who would dare to leave those unknown gods un-worshipped?

He declares that there can only be one supreme God (in essence, a dissatisfying polytheism naturally leads to monotheism), and that a supreme God needs nothing from people.  Rather, this God created all humankind.  This would rub some Athenians the wrong way, as many held that they had literally sprung from the soil of their land–they were a unique and separate people.  In essence, Paul is contradicting their notions of ethnic exclusivity; he’s putting them on level ground with all of humanity.

He is presenting a transformative notion of humanity as a unified group under the eye of a single God.  This will necessarily have some consequences for moral behavior and choices, and it will necessarily result in a desire for relational reconciliation with this one all-powerful God.

A Satellite View of the Attica Basin (Courtesy of NASA)

Paul then appropriates the literature and background thought of the group to which he is preaching.  He first quotes Epimenides (whom he will also quote in Titus 1:12) and then Aratus (Acts 17:28-29).  In doing so, Paul effectively shores up the transformative comments at the end of the first cycle in a way that the Athenians are hardly likely to combat–will they challenge their own poets?–and he establishes the grounds for the second cycle.

In the second cycle, Paul moves from agreement with the poets of Greece—we are indeed close to God and created by Him—to the logical refutation of idol manufacture and worship.  Paul turns this to a discussion of sin and judgment and the evidence of that impending judgment, specifically Jesus’ resurrection.  It’s this statement that most clearly runs against the worldview assumptions of most in the audience.

Stoic and Epicurean philosophers made up the majority of Paul’s audience, as Luke tells us in Acts 17:18.  Given this fact, it’s little wonder that his presentation was halted at the notion of a personal resurrection.  The concept of an afterlife was dismissed by the Epicureans as a source of anxiety.  Epicurus writes, for instance:

For all good and evil consists in sensation, but death is deprivation of sensation.  And therefore a right understanding that death is nothing to us makes the mortality of life enjoyable…So death, the most terrifying of ills, is nothing to us, since so long as we exist, death is not with us; but when death comes, then we do not exist.*

So, this might explain the general mockery Paul receives in Acts 17:32.  However, it is not the idea of judgment that bothers the Stoics.  They believed that destruction was coming.  However, they held that this was simply part of a cosmic cycle of birth, growth, destruction, and rebirth, and that all souls were consumed and reused.  So they too are challenged by Paul’s words; rather than a cycle of fire, Paul anticipates judgment by Jesus.

In the end, some few did join Paul and believe the message (Acts 17:34).  But what are we to make of his arguments today?  As I mentioned above, I think there are three steps, and all three are easily transported into our own contexts today.

1. Find a point of agreement in the observations or beliefs of the person with whom you are sharing the Gospel.
2. Discuss the ramifications of that belief.
3. State the conclusions which you have come to as a result of that observation.

In everyday practice, this might work as follows:  ”Jeff” sees a lot of suffering and evil and it bothers him.  Since this also bothers you, discuss with him why it is that suffering or evil bother us.  Why is it that disloyalty makes us desire judgment against the disloyal party?  Why is it that horrific war crimes make us desire judgment against despots?  Why is it that the murder of innocents bothers us internally if we have no tangible connection to the victims?  It seems like we naturally reject the idea that the world is supposed to be full of evil–it doesn’t jive with what we desire.  This naturally directs us to the possibility that we were created for a world that wasn’t full of suffering, and that something must have gone wrong.  From this point, it’s almost too easy to explain the Gospel from Genesis through Revelation.

This was a long post, but I hope it was helpful.  Feel free to post any questions or thoughts in the comments section.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

*Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus” in Classics of Philosophy
(ed. Louis P. Pojman; New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 358.

If you decide to make use of this resource, drop me a line and let me know how it went.  I plan to bring an update in a few weeks as we continue through the study.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

My Office Away From Home

Well, it’s not long now before this view becomes a thing of the past.  Ah, who am I kidding, I’ll be a Starbucks junkie for a while to come.

My plans for after graduation?  Well, that’s a good question and I’m so glad you asked.

1. Finish the kitchen ceiling
2. Dig out, repair and shore-up the irrigation ditch
3. Read everything in my library (well, maybe not everything)
4. Go camp for two days and just rest, pray, and eat some homemade chili

At least, those are my plans…I might just sleep for two weeks instead.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Tim has some interesting work at his other two sites: 10MillionWords and Discerning Reader.  The second is his book review site; he’s generally balanced and helpful.  The first is his project to “learn about life and culture through the lens of all of America’s bestselling books.”  He offers reviews on these as well; his most popular so far is of Chelsea Handler’s recent offering.  He writes,

Of all the books I’ve read this year, and I’ve read plenty, this one is easily the worst. Frankly, I can’t think of a single reason I would ever, under any circumstances, recommend it. I can’t even understand why anyone, anywhere would buy it. It’s not sexual enough to titillate, it’s not clever enough to amuse, it’s not sophisticated enough to cause reflection. It’s an utter waste of time, money, effort and atoms. It is very clearly a cash grab, Handler’s attempt to make a few more bucks before her 15 minutes of fame comes screeching to a halt. And I say that this can’t happen soon enough.

Have fun with these!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

In light of that fact–that there are only 35 days left for me to write 5 term papers, read two books, and prep for two finals–I’m going to get back to work.  I’ll make up for the short post with pictures.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

"The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen" by Rembrandt (Wikipedia)

It’s late, and I’ve just finished putting the final touches on the fourth and last sermon in my Easter, 2010 series.  At Mayer, we’ve covered the following:

1. What Were We Created For? (Gen 1:26-31)
2. What Went Wrong? (Isaiah 59:1-8)
3. What Is The Solution? (Mark 15:33-37, John 19:28-30, Matthew 27:50-54; Luke 23:39-43)
4. What Is Our Hope? (Romans 8:18-30)

In all, I’d say that I have felt more comfortable with this series of sermons than any other.  It’s always exciting when you take a long, macroscopic look at the whole narrative of Scripture.  It’s amazing how cohesive it all is.

From beginning to end, we’re confronted with a holy God who created us to glorify Him, to live in a right relationship with Him, and to show forth His image in right relationships with each other and with the created universe.

We’re shown–and we know this to be true–that everything that we were created for has been shattered, twisted, and corrupted by the all-pervasive stench of sin.  Sin has separated us from God and turned us against each other.

And then Christ dies for us, and in his dying moments, he is suffering the full weight of our sin, the separation between us and God that our sin has created, and still this perfect Savior is reconciling relationships, creating a way back to God’s presence, and redeeming us from our sin.

And now, we join with Paul in affirming that because Christ rose again, we can look forward with expectant hope to the full restoration of creation, the glorious resurrection of our bodies, and the final reconciliation between the people of God and God Himself.

I love Easter.  It is nothing less than the Gospel.

Happy Easter,
Dan J.

"Saint Paul Writing His Epistles"

As stated in the first post of this series, the apostles employed a wide variety of approaches as they proclaimed the gospel, and these approaches were both deeply personal and deeply informed.  In this post, I want to address Paul’s gospel message in Acts 17:16-34.  In doing so, I’m going to recommend a practice that John Piper generally recommends against.

Before continuing further, I want to state my respect for John Piper and for his clear desire for God’s glory to spread across the world.  Desiring God transformed the way I approach the Father, and Don’t Waste Your Life is one of the forces God used in pushing us towards service abroad.  At the same time, I disagree with Pastor Piper on his choice to avoid contemporary art forms (particularly film and television) in proclaiming God’s good news.  For instance, in a recent posting, John Piper wrote:

I think relevance in preaching hangs very little on watching movies, and I think that much exposure to sensuality, banality, and God-absent entertainment does more to deaden our capacities for joy in Jesus than it does to make us spiritually powerful in the lives of the living dead. (“Why I Don’t Have a Television and Rarely Go to Movies”)

I want to say that I completely agree with him on the first point–relevance in preaching indeed hangs very little on watching movies.  In fact, it hangs much more on studying movies.  Unfortunately, Piper presents a popular false dilemma and a more popular straw man.  I hope to show that Paul’s evangelism in Acts 17:16-34 proves these to be incorrect.

Turning then to Acts 17, we see that Paul arrives at the Aereopagus and declares to the pagans that he knows their unknown God.  Look first at something often missed:

In Acts 17:23a, Paul states, “For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’”

Parthenon From the South

What does Paul say here?  It’s interesting to check the terms used.  The term translated as “passed along” is the Greek dierchomai. I like the ESV, but this is better translated as “moved through in a thorough way.”  The term translated “observed” is the Greek anatheoreo, which is not a simple “looking,” but a “careful observation.”  Basically, he was investigating their pagan worship.  In fact, he was close enough to read the inscription on the altar “To the unknown god.”  Paul was studying the popular false religions.

In Acts 17:28.  Paul states of God, “Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’”  Paul is here quoting two secular sources.  The first quote comes from a hymn of worship written to the false god Zeus by Epimenides of Crete, and Paul again quotes this poem in Titus 1:12.

The second comes from the stoic poem Phainomena by Aratus.  This was an extremely popular poem of its time.  Paul doesn’t  have only a passing familiarity with these works–he’s able to cite them from memory during a tense dialogue.  Apparently, Paul read and studied and knew pagan art.

In essence, what we have here is Paul first finding common ground through a familiarity with their religious practice, and then through a knowledge of their popular art.

This brings us back to what I think is the straw man in Piper’s post.  He assumes that a Christian consumes movies or television only for the sake of entertainment.  That we simply watch these artistic forms.  And I think that he’s probably correct in a majority of cases.  Too many Christians simply watch.  Instead, what should take place is careful study. In the same way that we read literature not passively but actively, we should view movies with an eye for their content, their message, and their core values.  Many Christians will reject a call to treat television and film as art because they don’t want to give up the entertainment available there–I’ve had faithful Christians tell me that they have no interest in thinking about what they are watching!  How can this be?!  Piper’s straw man argument will hold true as long as Christians refuse to engage what they view in an intentional way.

Athens from the Areopagus

I also accused Piper of relying on an old false dilemma–of assuming there are only two options, when in fact, there are many more.  Later, in the same article, he writes:

If you want to be relevant, say, for prostitutes, don’t watch a movie with a lot of tumbles in a brothel. Immerse yourself in the gospel, which is tailor-made for prostitutes; then watch Jesus deal with them in the Bible; then go find a prostitute and talk to her. Listen to her, not the movie. Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners.

I agree with his first point again.  Don’t watch a movie with a lot of tumbles in a brothel.  There’s no call in this post to toss discernment out the window.  And I agree with his last point–being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners.

At the same time, this is a false dilemma because it assumes you can only do one of two things in preparing for effective evangelistic encounters–you can either study art or study the Bible.  I believe it’s possible to do both.  And I believe it’s possible to subsume our study of art under our study of Scripture.  I think it’s possible to pursue the study of art as Newton pursued his study of the natural realm, to make our study of art–including film and television–an act of worship.

Paul concluded his gospel message with a clear transition from the pagan art and worship to the Scriptures, which stood as the final authority in Paul’s life.  In Acts 17:31, he makes a clear declaration of the coming judgment and the hope of resurrection.  By Acts 17:34, some of his hearers have converted to Christianity.

All of this brings us to this very simple method for evangelism:

1. Study the Bible carefully and regularly.  If you skip this step, the rest will fail.
2. Study the false religions of our time–maybe pay particular attention to secular paganism, or raw “spirituality”
3. Study the various art produced by the world today with prayer and discernment.
4. Regularly refer to these religious beliefs and these artistic creations while in discussion with outsiders.  Explain why you think these shows and movies get some of it right, but still ultimately miss the mark.  Often, they will fail to account for evil in people, or mankind’s general desire for joy.

This method can work well because it connects the evangelist to the listener on a non-confrontational level.  It allows the evangelist to identify similar values, and then it allows the evangelist to give and explain our “Better Answer” to the questions of life.

I hope this proves helpful as you proclaim the gospel to friends, family, and neighbors.  Don’t be afraid to use everything at your disposal in pursuing their eternal salvation!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

“The Conversion of Saint Paul” by Caravaggio (Wikipedia)

For Bible Study up at Mayer Community Church, we’re discussing Mark Dever’s helpful book, What Is A Healthy Church? The chapters for this evening are focused on the gospel and conversion.  While re-reading his chapters, and considering ways to encourage evangelism by the members at MCC, I began to review the wide variety of evangelistic approaches used by the apostles.  The apostles felt an incredible amount of freedom in sharing the content of their faith.  They viewed almost every type of discussion or activity as a means of proclaiming Christ.  Their evangelistic approach was deeply personal and highly informed.

At the same time, I began to consider the relatively anemic form of evangelism that I have encountered at many churches.  Abut two weeks ago, a pastor gave me a tract and said to me, “This tract is great, because you don’t even have to talk to them about the gospel.  A lot of times, if I’m in a hurry, I just give them one of these and leave it at that.”  (Emphasis mine.)  This is not the apostle’s approach!

In light of that contrast, I thought it would be helpful if I kicked off a semi-regular series on the ways in which Paul and the other apostles shared the gospel.  The hope is that looking at these methods (or the lack of method!) might encourage us to share the gospel more freely.  Today, I want to focus on Paul’s very simple and very personal approach in Acts 26:1-23.

In his chapter, “A Biblical Understanding of the Good News,” Dever identifies four key components to his presentation of the gospel:

1. Who God is
2. Who man is
3. Who Christ is and what he did
4. What our response should be

I think this list is helpful, and a quick mental review of “God, man, Christ, response” can serve one well during a tense moment of evangelism.  A similar mental checklist I have used frequently is found in Paul’s gospel proclamation before King Agrippa:

1. Who I was: Notice that Paul admits to imprisoning holy people, pushing for the death of holy people, seeking to make them blaspheme against God, going from town to town just to harm them.  This is not a pretty picture. (Acts 26:1-11)
2. How Christ caught me: Paul gives a clear description of Christ stopping him, declaring his sin, and and making him a new creation. (Acts 26:12-18)
3. Who I am: Paul is a new man, serving the holy, seeking to cause people to turn to God rather than blaspheme, setting himself in line with Moses and the prophets. (Acts 26:19-23)

This approach is simple, because it consists of three easily discussed components.  This approach is personal, because it requires the evangelist to share their sin and their transformation without shame or pride.  This approach is God-glorifying, because it emphasizes the miraculous work of God in conversion.  And this approach is effective.

“Conversion on the Way to Damascus” by Caravaggio (Wikipedia)

It clarifies that God does not save just “good” people.  It encourages the listener to consider just how much in them also needs the transforming mercy of Christ.  It encourages the evangelist as they are reminded of the transformation that has taken place, thereby strengthening their faith.  It moves the focus from apologetic facts to the reality of Jesus Christ crucified and risen again.  It makes clear that our savior can actually save.

I hope this helps as you proclaim what Christ has done for you.  Have fun sharing the Gospel!

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

If you haven’t joined the dark side (by purchasing an Apple product), then you can find a mobile version of the ESV here.  In either case, the world has been transformed by the free availability of the Bible, and it’s nice that Crossway Publishers further that by making this excellent translation available at no charge.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

"Isaac Blessing Jacob" by Govert Flink (Wikipedia)

In my devotional reading this morning, I was going over the stories of Isaac’s life, from Genesis 24-26.  This period covers what happened to this patriarch between the death of Sarah and the marriages of Esau.

Now, going into my devotional reading, I was less than expectant.  I have read Genesis dozens and dozens of times, and it was the first book I preached through as a pastor.  In every case, Isaac has been the lull in the action, the dip in the road, the “why is this here?” for me.  And I say that self-critically.  But why is Isaac here?

Within Jewish tradition, Isaac has always been a bit of a low point.  He was there when Abraham’s knife was restrained, and he fathered Jacob and Esau.  But otherwise, he’s practically a no-show.  Waltke* notes that at the mid-point of his life (Genesis 27:1-2), he is blind, ignorant of the Lord’s will (to bless Jacob), and focused on his own pleasure (he states that he “loves” delicious food, using a Hebrew word commonly reserved for the love between people).  Some commentators have proposed that he was blind as a result of weight-related diabetes.  In any case, the last half of his life is not remarkable.  Moses instead places his focus on Jacob, and from the time of his stolen blessing on, we hear nothing of Isaac until he dies (Gen 35:27-29).

Today, the three things that jumped out at me–things I had generally passed by without a thought before–all involved Isaac’s early relationship to the Lord:

1. In Genesis 24:63, Isaac spends the early evening in silent meditation. This is understood in the Targums as a time of prayer.
2. In Genesis 25:21, Isaac devotes time to prayer for his wife, who is barren.  “And the Lord granted his prayer,” with twins!
3. In Genesis 26:2-5 and Genesis 26:24-25, Isaac is spoken to directly by the Lord, and he responds with worship.

What we see here, I think, is that Isaac had instilled some patterns of worship within his life.  He had received the blessing of God through direct revelation.  And at some point, he turned decidedly from the worship of God to spiritual blindness and a love for food.

So, my earlier question: Why is Isaac here?  I think that besides the obvious, his biography has been carefully crafted by Moses as a warning to all who find themselves treading the path away from the worship of God and towards the worship of pleasure.  When our days are spent searching out new ways to satisfy our flesh, and our hunger is for “tasty game” or “delicious food,” rather than for the living Word of God, we are turning the way of Isaac.  When our delight in a dinner exceeds our delight in persecution for His name’s sake, we are turning the way of Isaac.  When we can’t hear the voice of God over the rumbling of our bellies, we are turning the way of Isaac.  Let us turn back to the living God and pray for eyes re-opened to His will.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

* Bruce K. Waltke and Cathi J. Fredricks, Genesis: A Commentary
(Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2001), 376-377.

1QIsa(b) - A Dead Sea Scroll Containing Isaiah 57:17 - 59:9 (Wikipedia)

I’m teaching on Isaiah 59:1-15 this Sunday as the second part of a four part series on the Gospel.  Last week, we looked at Genesis 1:26-31 to discuss what it was that God created us for–I argued that he created us to glorify Him as His image bearers, in harmonious relationships to creation, to each other, and to Him.  This week, we’re looking at what the problem is–why we aren’t enjoying harmony with each other and intimacy with God.  I think Isaiah 59:1-2 makes it pretty clear that it’s not God’s fault.

It seems that Isaiah’s audience was frustrated with God for His refusal to recognize their piety–”Why have we fasted, and you see it not?” (Isa 58:3a)  And God says (in a rough paraphrase), “Do you think I’m looking for a day of fasting, with ashes and sackcloth?  Try mercy and justice instead.  Try feeding the hungry and clothing the naked instead.” (Isa 58:5-7)

And then Isaiah 59:1 opens with this statement: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save…”  What’s the problem then?  Isaiah 59:2 says simply, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.”

Sin absolutely cuts mankind off from God’s mercies, and no amount of religious activity will do.  Our only hope is that God followed through on His promise in Isaiah 59:20, that He sent a Redeemer for those who turn from transgression.

Please pray for the effectiveness of this series.  Mayer needs Christ.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Grace & Peace,
Dan & Anna Julian