Catholics Come Home Initiative

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I've been studying the Catholic Church recently: books, audio, attending Mass, etc. I ran across this video and wanted to share it. It's the Catholics Come Home Initiative that you and your church needs to know about. Best quote: "The Saints were sinners. They had problems. But when they found God everything was cool, and they were God's BFF's. That's what I want to be."

Music Monday 2.1.10

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Ipod guyAmazon is now listing a new 100 albums for $5. As usual, some come Reformissionary Recommended...

Check out the rest of Amazon's $5 albums.

Charlotte Gainsbourg's new album, IRM, is getting some serious playing time on my iPod. 

Seth Godin on spreading music and selling intimacy.

Frontier Ruckus put on a great show last year in Dekalb. I like their album, The Orion Songbook. Another should be coming soon. Here is a live version of "Mona and Emma" from Paste...

Midlake's 2006 album, Trials of Van Occupanther, was excellent. You can listen to their new album in full for free, and I love it so far. Check out The Courage of Others, which goes on sale tomorrow.

Last Chance $5 Albums

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Amazon's 800+ $5 albums ends tonight. Some great albums on this list. Here are a few I recommend...

  • 99 Most Essential Masterpieces of Bach, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven
  • The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music
  • 99 Most Essential Baroque Masterpieces
  • Vampire Weekend: Contra
  • Russian Circles: Geneva
  • Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours
  • The Album Leaf: Into The Blue Again
  • Thad Cockrell: To Be Loved
  • The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
  • Rodrigo Y Gabriela: 11:11
  • John Coltrane: The Ultimate Blue Train
  • The Weepies: Say I Am You
  • Great Lake Swimmers: Lost Channels
  • Matt and Kim: Grand
  • Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
  • Coldplay: Rush of Blood, Parachutes
  • J Tillman: Long May You Run, Year In The Kingdom
  • Radiohead: The Bends, OK Computer
  • Sara Groves: Fireflies and Songs
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz
  • The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
  • Gillian Welch: Revival
  • Volcano Choir: Unmap
  • The Avett Brothers: Four Thieves Gone, Mignonette, Emotionalism
  • Okkervil River: The Stage Names & The Stand Ins
  • Bon Iver:  For Emma, Forever Ago
  • White Rabbits: It's Frightening
  • Bowerbirds: Upper Air
  • Antony & The Johnsons: The Crying Light
  • The Zombies: Odessey & Oracle
  • Pelican: Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw

    • Review: Gospel-Centred Family

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    G-C FamilyA few weeks back I reviewed Gospel-Centred Church, a workbook by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester. I found it very helpful and I'm using it with some guys at Doxa Fellowship. I have two more reviews of similar resources on the way. In the next week or so I hope to review Gospel-Centred Life by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester. Today it's Gospel-Centred Family by Ed Moll and Tim Chester. All of these books came to me for review from the good folks at The Good Book Company. FYI, I review and promote resources that I like and don't just give everyone a shout-out. If I don't like stuff I won't review it. 

    Onto my review of Gospel-Centred Family (GCF). The book, running just over 90 pages, is broken up into twelve lessons/chapters in four main sections.

    • Part 1: A Gospel-Centred Family
    • Part 2: A Grace-Centred Family
    • Part 3: A Word-Centred Family
    • Part 4: A Mission-Centred Family

    Like Gospel-Centred Church, each lesson is roughly 5-6 pages long and moves through six segments. The first is a principle--the core of the lesson. A scenario is introduced to raise a dilemma in gospel ministry. Then we consider Scripture (only a reference given so you can use your own Bible) with questions, a section discussing the theology and application of the principle, discussion questions, and actionable items are finally suggested (see the lesson titles).

    I enjoyed the workbook a lot and think it will be helpful for the church. Let me start with a few weaknesses in GCF. 

    I would have liked if the book dealt early on with God's created purpose for the family. Why do we have families in the first place? Why are we to "be fruitful and multiply"? In some ways this workbook drops in on parents in the middle of where they are and works out of it rather than laying a foundation in the biblical story and then building on it. That's still good, but one chapter on creation foundations would have been nice.

    I occasionally disagreed with something, though nothing of great significance. One practical recommendation in GCF is to teach kids obedience by counting to five. The goal is to make it "clear that our children had to obey now" by teaching them to obey by the time we get to "five." But counting to five teaches your kids that they don't have to obey until you are almost done counting. Why not teach them to obey now by teaching them to obey now? Most of the advice is excellent and this one isn't a deal-breaker. But I still think it's odd advice.

    Now for the strengths, and there are many more than I will list. I really like this workbook. GCF deals with several crucial issues of parenting with a bunch of helpful, practical advice. I particularly liked the "Grace for a Child's Heart" chapter. We can easily train our children to be legalists if we aren't careful by comparing them to other children, holding grudges against them, humiliating them in public, bribing them to obey, etc. The authors stay cross-focused...

    Above all, bring your children to the cross. Teach them about the cross Extol the cross. Thank God with them for the cross. Sing about the cross.

    The next chapter is about seeing children as a gift. This is so important right now in our culture. I know few people who truly act like children are a gift from the Lord we enjoy more than a burden to bear. College can't come soon enough for these folks! Sad. And GCF is helpful. Simple changes will change everything: time, conversation, meals, creating things together, games, etc. My favorite is the advice to tell stories. I have so many stories and songs in my head from grandparents and parents. My generation of parents isn't as good at telling stories. Good advice. 

    One piece of advice I've just done poorly for too long is to "include the people from the church family in your family time." We used to do that, especially when working with college students. Too infrequently now. Family isn't just about what we do together for ourselves, but on mission to others. How can we be hospitable together? Support single-parents together? Model good family life together? And then GCF encourages us to lead our children to be servants, givers. Simple & concise, yet continually helpful advice throughout this workbook.

    I like what the authors said early on in the book, which expresses what we should want for our families...

    We're not calling our children to a life of obligation and hardship that they must tough out. We're calling them to treasure! We're calling them to treasure Christ.

    Let's do it. 

    I can see Doxa parents working through GCF together or on their own. I can see how hitting one chapter here and there in small groups might be helpful. 

    GCF sells for $9.99 with discounts in bulk. I highly encourage you to use it with families in your church. 

    Music Monday 1.25.10

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    4304025259_2f6667ed68The Brandi Carlile concert at The Pabst was outstanding Thursday night. I caught most of her cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues." You need to get Brandi's album Give Up The Ghost. Katie Herzig opened for Brandi. Her music is fairly new to me, and delightful. Live music is a great way to discover new music. Check out Katie Herzig's albums, especially Apple Tree. The folks at The Pabst posted a bunch of photos from the concert you can check out. 

    I watched It Might Get Loud on DVD with Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page this week. Great fun. Gained a lot of respect for Jack White in particular. After he played his favorite all time song, "Grinnin' In Your Face," from Son House, I just had to download his Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions.

    Check out The Low Anthem's Tiny Desk Concert. Molly and I will see them open for The Avett Brothers in March at The Riverside in Milwaukee.

    The XX have a new video for "VCR." Cool, mellow, creative...

    Good, cheap music...

    There...The Harp Remains In Tune

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    Here my best joys bear "mortal" on their brow. My fair flowers fade; my dainty cups are drained to dregs; my sweetest birds fall before Death's arrows; my most pleasant days are shadowed into nights; and the flood tides of my bliss subside into ebbs of sorrow. But there everything is immortal. The harp remains in tune, the crown unfading, the eye undimmed, the voice unfaltering, the heart unwavering; and the immortal being is wholly absorbed in infinite delight.

    Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening - January 18th "Morning"

    Music Monday 1.18.10

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    A few albums I'm just getting into and really enjoying so far...

    Here's Fanfarlo with "The Walls Are Coming Down". Very Beirut-ish. Follow the lyrics --> "The preachers and books of your empire will fight here alone / some day they will be forgotten and die one by one"...

    Molly and I will be seeing Brandi Carlile on Thursday night. We saw her last year and it was a great show. Her albums will be playing around the house a lot this week, especially Give Up The Ghost. Here's a live (mediocre quality) version "Looking Out." --> "Some people get religion / some people get the truth / I never get the truth"...

    Vampire Weekend's new album, Contra, is just great. Way better than I expected. Here's "Horchata" from the Craig Ferguson show...

    Lots-o-Links 1.15.10

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    Links

    Praying for the people of Haiti. Please comment with your recommendations on where to donate to help, and feel free to include a link. Redeemer lists three ministries.

    If you aren't reading Trevin Wax (Twitter) he's doing good blogging. His book, Holy Subversion, comes out soon. Worth checking out.

    JD Payne, my church planting professor at SBTS, author, missiologist, is now on Twitter and blogging. I just got his newest book in the mail, Discovering Church Planting and look forward to digging into some sections that might help during our church renewal process.

    Memphis is starting to talk about Jonathan McIntosh.

    Mark Dever interviews Matt Chandler, pre-cancer diagnosis.

    Brent Thomas is no longer the Baptist he never was.

    Brief Molly Update: She is doing well, with no major symptoms or issues. Very blessed. 

    Keller: Global Cities Initiative

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    Gci-letters_for_web  From the Redeemer Church Planting Center (via OnMovements.com)...

    The Global Cities Initiative Conference took place in New York City on September 9 - 11, 2009.  Over 80 cities were represented by ministry leaders and church planters, and the experience culminated in the signing of a covenant (found in a link to the right under "Related Media.") 

    Tim Keller gave three plenary addresses at GCI, which you can stream by clicking on the titles to the right (or download by right-click).  Also to the right are downloadable pdfs of the outlines of these talks, which were distributed at the conference.  The talks were:

    September 9th - "Gospel Renewal"
    September 10th - "City Focus"
    September 11th - "Movements & Ecosystems"

    The conference was hosted by Redeemer Church Planting Center in partnership with Transform World Connections, which was founded and is currently led by Luis Bush.

    Links to the audio and PDF's...

    Do The Work Of An Evangelist

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    Bullhorn-evangelism1 I've been wrestling with the role God has for me as a pastor-evangelist here through Doxa Fellowship in Woodstock and McHenry County. I'm reworking my approach and the amount of time I'm spending. I'm rereading and evaluating my efforts in the past, looking at what has been working and where I've been falling short.

    I'd love to hear how you all are doing evangelism. If you are a pastor/planter, how much time each week do you spend on evangelism (outside talking with visitors)? What is your approach, or strategy? What do you think you need to change? What are you planning to try in 2010?