Interesting thoughts from Jon Lovitz as he was interviewed on my favorite local sports radio show. Listen to the whole thing or you'll miss pieces (13 minutes), but his thoughts on stand-up & politics, Clint's empty chair, and what a real liberal is are worth hearing.
STREAMING FREE
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As a blogger who faithfully tweets out great deals every month when Amazon lists their $5 albums, I'm afraid I have to say this month's crop is not good. Sorry, but Pink, and Katy Perry, and Asia just aren't doing it for me. I had to work hard to find the gems, and there are a few diamonds in the rough. Here's my short list of albums worth checking out, but I'd love for you to check out all 100 and let me know what I'm missing. Maybe I'm wrong! :)
Best of the Best
Worth Checking Out
Bill Nye evangelizes the US population toward evolution with this video that's received over 3 million views in just over a week. I've provided a couple of quotes from it below the video.
"Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science, in all of biology. It's very much analogous to trying to do geology without believing in tectonic plates. You are just not going to get the right answer. ... Your whole world is just going to be a mystery instead of an exciting place. As my old professor Carl Sagan said, 'When you're in love you want to tell the world.'"
"I say to the grown ups: If you want to deny evolution and live in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine. But don't make your kids do it because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need engineers that can build stuff and solve problems. It's just really a hard thing. It's really a hard thing. In another couple centuries that worldview, I'm sure, just won't exist. There's no evidence for it."
You think this might be shown in a few schools? Share your thoughts on the video, pro or con.
If you want to listen to what Tim Keller does when he holds Open Forums for non-Christians, skeptics, seekers, etc...listen to "Losing My Religion: Why Christians Should Drop Their Religion." Redeemer has audio from 44 Open Forums, though I haven't checked if audio for others is offered free like this one. MP3s are typically $2.50, but this one is free.
I listened today. Instructive for us as missionaries and preachers, evangelists and apologists, disciples and strugglers with religiosity. He confronts religion, truths, psychology, philosophy, and truth-claims respectfully, yet still directly.
How can we as pastors and ministers speak to our city, our culture, with intellect, wisdom, courage, and charity? Keller's example helps me, and I hope it will help you too.
I've been telling folks about Vespers music for a few months now, hoping you would check it out. Now that The Fourth Wall is only $5, I hope many will pick it up. I love it, Molly loves it, and our kids love it.
Everyone needs to be careful of the Kool-Aid Joe Thorn and others are trying to get you to drink over growing beards. Bearded men are dangerous!!! :) Second video is the best.
The new album from The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter, is now streaming FREE in full at NPR Music First Listen. Go listen and let me know what you think. One of the best bands in the world right now, in my opinion. Both a personal and family favorite. I own everything they've done and will buy this one when it releases on September 11th.
Also check out their recent 9+ minute interview with NPR Music: Matters of Life & Death. Check out The Avett Brothers' website for more.
Joe Thorn is having Odd Thomas do a spoken word piece during worship gathering on Sunday. Some have raised the question of whether or not it's appropriate. Joe writes...
Though we have never done so before, Redeemer’s elders are excited to include spoken word in our worship gathering this Sunday. The main reason we are happy to include it is because spoken word, in this context, is an earnest appeal to look to Christ. Thomas will bring a theologically rich, compelling, confrontational, message to God’s people based on God’s word. And the fact that it is poetic in nature is not a hit against it, but a strength. God loves poetry and has given us much of his word in that very form.
It's a very comprehensive post on what spoken word is, how it conveys truth, he gives some video examples and more. Joe also answers these questions (questions I had too) in his post...
Go check out "Spoken Word in the Church" from Joe Thorn. Comment there with your thoughts and questions. Interesting topic.
Five $2 Tuesdays deals at The Good Book Company...
It sounded like a cheesy title, but Michael Frost (Exiles, The Shaping of Things to Come, ReJesus, The Road to Missional) delivered a simple, thought-provoking breakout at Exponential 2012 that I listened to by podcast last night. He compares a good marriage to how we say "I do" and "To death do us part" and the ongoing romance with our spouse with how a church loves her neighborhood (or city). I'd have some minor quibbles, but it was quite helpful for me.
Here are some of his thoughts and points from my sketchy notes, which you can see are comparable to marriage. Should we commit to our neighborhoods (cities) to a lifelong romance, till death do we part? Good thoughts here...
- Talk to your mayor, police chief, fire chief, school principals
- Eat in local restaurants, get in local cafes, walk the neighborhood
- Ask people what they want, long for, desire
- NOTE: Interesting section on midnight-5am "street pastors" 16:45 mark
- "Listen to your neighborhood, it is telling you--if you listen hard enough--how to evangelize them, how to serve them, how to unleash an awareness of the reign of God in that place."
- You will move culture to a tipping point by transforming hundreds of thousands of villages across the nation.
- If this place goes down, we will go down with you.
New Andrew Peterson album, Light for the Lost Boy, is out today.
From Ray Ortlund's sermon on mission from August 12th at Immanuel Church (emphasis his).
...we live in a city and in a world that ignores [Jesus]. Sometimes we ignore him. ... We are not happy that the real Jesus is still ignorable in our city and far beyond. We don’t accept that. We’re making it our church mission, and I am asking you today to make it your life mission, to make the real Jesus non-ignorable in our city and far beyond.
[...]
Every one of us can be involved, because this is not for spiritual high-achievers; this is for broken sinners. God’s power comes down on weak people. So, you’re the one he wants to use. What are you going to do for Jesus that just can’t be ignored? What are we going to do together that can’t be ignored? That purpose is going to take us beyond routine church life. Routine church can be ignored. And it is our mission to change that, which we means we need to change first. The more repentance the world sees in us, the more repentance we’ll see in the world.
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John Piper on George Whitefield and his dramatic preaching...
But the question is: Why was Whitefield “acting”? Why was he so full of action and drama? Was he, as Stout claims, “plying a religious trade”? Pursuing “spiritual fame”? Craving “respect and power”? Driven by “egotism”? Putting on “performances” and “integrating religious discourse into the emerging language of consumption”?
I think the most penetrating answer comes from something Whitefield himself said about acting in a sermon in London. In fact, I think it’s a key to understand the power of his preaching—and all preaching. James Lockington was present at this sermon and recorded this verbatim. Whitefield is speaking.
“I’ll tell you a story. The Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 1675 was acquainted with Mr. Butterton the [actor]. One day the Archbishop . . . said to Butterton . . . ‘pray inform me Mr. Butterton, what is the reason you actors on stage can affect your congregations with speaking of things imaginary, as if they were real, while we in church speak of things real, which our congregations only receive as if they were imaginary?’ ‘Why my Lord,’ says Butterton, ‘the reason is very plain. We actors on stage speak of things imaginary, as if they were real and you in the pulpit speak of things real as if they were imaginary.’”
“Therefore,” added Whitefield, ‘I will bawl [shout loudly], I will not be a velvet-mouthed preacher.”
This means that there are three ways to speak. First, you can speak of an unreal, imaginary world as if it were real—that is what actors do in a play. Second, you can speak about a real world as if it were unreal—that is what half-hearted pastors do when they preach about glorious things in a way that says they are not as terrifying and wonderful as they are. And third is: You can speak about a real spiritual world as if it were wonderfully, terrifyingly, magnificently real (because it is).
Read or hear John Piper's entire bio of George Whitefield from the 2009 Desiring God Pastors' Conference.
I enjoy catching moments in which the mundane becomes interesting. This was a touristy spot in a touristy city with my touristy kid with a touristy dad with a touristy camera. But a mild post-processing filter plays with the light and makes it interesting to me.
Check all of my photography. If my photography is new to you, check out the 10 photos people have favorited most on my Flickr stream.
In September The Avett Brothers are releasing a new album, The Carpenter. CAN'T. WAIT. Here's "Live & Die" as played on their tour bus for an NPR Music Field Recording. You can get some of their albums for $5 right now: Emotionalism | Four Thieves Gone | Mignonette | Live Vol 2. All excellent.
Not only is this ump's strikeout call great, the fan laughs like Alan Alda in M.A.S.H. I've watched this a dozen times in 5 minutes...
The Lord Jesus saw a vast harvest waiting to be gathered in but hardly any workers to do the job. So he issued an instruction to his followers: 'Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field' (Matthew 9:38).That command still applies today. Although 2000 years of Christian witness have past, there are still millions in our world who have never even heard the name of Christ. Even in countries where many profess to be Christians there is great ignorance, and a spiritual great hunger - which only the Gospel of Christ can answer.
This book is an attempt to describe the nature of gospel ministry and to answer the questions that those who are considering it may have. The aim is not to persuade everyone that they should give up their present jobs and offer themselves as workers to churches and missionary organizations. We all have different gifts. But we should all be asking ourselves this question: 'What is it that I could do that would most bring glory to God through the spread of the gospel?' For some that will mean staying where they are, for others it will mean a significant change of direction.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction (Vaughan Roberts)
- Section 1: What is gospel ministry?
- 1. What is Gospel Ministry? (Vaughan Roberts)
- 2. The Character of Gospel Ministry (David Jackman)
- 3. The Priority of Gospel Ministry (Richard Coekin)
- Section 2: Varieties of gospel ministry
- 4. The pastor-teacher (Andy Gemmill)
- 5. The realities of being an evangelist (Roger Carswell)
- 6. Church planters for the harvest field (Tim Chester)
- 7. Gospel ministry overseas (Andy Lines)
- 8. Cross-cultural ministry in the UK (Andrew Raynes)
Go pick up Workers For The Harvest Field or another $2 Tuesdays deal.
