A Brief Note for Reformed Authors

Okay, so this is another brief note related to books and literature in general. Tim Challies (along with two colleagues) has recently announced the establishment of a new publishing house. You can find more information at Cruciform Press, but if you have a book or two knocking about up in the old grey cells, this looks like a promising place to submit a manuscript.

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.

A Brief Note for Home Librarians

This is just a brief note to point out a small addition to our site, and to make a recommendation to those with large home libraries.  For the past year, I’ve been using LibraryThing as my cataloging solution.  My library isn’t the largest, by any means–some users boast well over 10,000 volumes–but I have more than I can track in my head.  But in any case, it’s a helpful way to keep track of what you’ve bought, what you’ve read, what you’d like to buy, and what you hated.  I started an account so I could organize my books more efficiently (I’m going with the Library of Congress system), but I’m using the system to help me spend my book budget more wisely.  If you’re interested, you can click through the link in this post, or through the widget down at the bottom right of each page.  Note: It’s free to add up to 200 volumes, but you can buy a lifetime membership for about $25.

Grace & Peace,
Dan J.

Five Weeks & Counting

Well, graduation approaches.  It’s only 35 days until I walk, and Phoenix Seminary becomes a fond memory.  Anna says it will be like having a husband again, Peanut plans on getting additional walks, and I’m staring at my bookshelves and practically shaking with anticipation–for the last four years, I kept buying books that looked good, knowing that eventually I’d get a chance to read for pleasure again.  The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor, I’m looking at you.

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.

Easter and the Gospel

"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.

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Paul’s Evangelistic Methods, Part 2

"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.

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Paul’s Evangelistic Methods, Part 1

"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.

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ESV on the iPhone

If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, I strongly recommend the new ESV App.  I’m a huge fan of the ESV translation (I preach from it weekly, and I use it for personal study and devotional reading), and it’s nice to have an easily-searchable, offline-accessible version on my PDA.  You can find it here.

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: Good Start, Poor Finish

"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?

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Does God Have Short Arms?

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.

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Welcome!

Dan, Anna & Peanut

Welcome to Julians Abroad: El Toro y La Cruz!  This is the new home on the web for Dan & Anna Julian.  Feel free to check back for our weekly updates, subscribe to our feed (use the buttons to the right), leave a comment, or drop us an e-mail.

Grace & Peace,
Dan & Anna Julian