Reformissionary

Wayfarer: The River

If you like Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, or just like indie music and great melodies and harmonies, you should check out 5 free songs from Wayfarer below. I got one of those "Hey, can you check out our music" sort of emails, which I get a lot. Most of that stuff just doesn't work for me. This does. It really, really works.

Wayfarer creates "repurposed hymns and spiritual songs," or as Dan of Wayfarer told me, these are "old and beautiful lyrics, entirely re-written." All I know is that into my second listen through and I'm enjoying it enough to stop other important things to tell you about it. Download for free, right now...

New Books In The Mail

A few new books worth checking out have found there way into my possession. I hope my readers will check them out...

From Founders Press, Whomever He Wills edited by Matthew Barrett & Tom Nettles. It has some outstanding authors who have written different essays, including a forward by Timothy George.

Here are just a few of the essays I'm looking forward to reading...

2. Total Depravity: A Biblical and Theological Examination by Mark DeVine

8. God’s Sovereignty Over Evil by Stephen J. Wellum

10. John Calvin’s Understanding of the Death of Christ by Thomas J. Nettles

13. The Glorious Impact of Calvinism upon Local Baptist Churches by Tom Hicks

Founders Press has more info. Check it out.

Another book worth checking out is the Mission of God Study Bible (HCSB) edited by Ed Stetzer & Philip Nation. Been looking forward to this for some time, and it looks great. Contributors include good pastors and thinkers like Trevin Wax, Matt Chandler, Joe Thorn, Eric Mason, and Tullian Tchividjian.

Go read 7 reasons why I love the Mission of God Study Bible by Devin Maddox. Here are a couple...

• Study for a Purpose: Mission
• Portable Size
• Dynamic Content Powered by Technology

This is a nice addition to the growing group of excellent study Bibles out there.

Jonathan Dodson's new eBook, Unbelievable Gospel, is another one worth checking out. From their website...

Very often we find it difficult to share our faith. In the workplace, neighborhood, or social settings, talking about the gospel doesn’t come up naturally. “Jesus” isn't a topic that hits the neighborhood Google groups, flows naturally on coffee breaks, or crosses our lips in local pubs. But when it does, all too often what we have to say is simply unbelievable. Even the way we share the gospel is often unbelievable.  Are there actually good reasons for our hesitation in talking about Jesus? Despite what you might think, there are very good reasons for not talking about the gospel. In Unbelievable Gospel, Jonathan Dodson explores ways we shouldn't share the gospel as well as ways we could, to make the gospel more believable.

You can also see Desiring God's Helpful Quotes from The Unbelievable Gospel and reviews by Luma Simms, Tom Farr, and Greg Willson. Go buy Unbelievable Gospel.

Keller: It Takes Faith to Doubt

From Tim Keller, part 2 of his posts on how the Gospel changes our apologetics...

...a gospel-shaped apologetic starts not with telling people what to believe, but by showing them their real problem. In this case we are showing secular people that they have less warrant for their faith assumptions than we do for ours. We need to show that it takes faith even to doubt.

[...]

There is a way of telling the gospel that makes people say, “I don’t believe it’s true, but I wish it were.” You have to get to the beauty of it, and then go back to the reasons for it. Only then, when you show that it takes more faith to doubt it than to believe it; when the things you see out there in the world are better explained by the Christian account of things than the secular account of things; and when they experience a community in which they actually do see Christianity embodied, in healthy Christian lives and solid Christian community, that many will believe.

Read all of How the Gospel Changes Our Apologetics, Part 2 (Part 1)

Should We Do Spontaneous Baptisms?

Good discussion between Mark Dever, Darrin Patrick, and Matt Chandler on whether or not we should do spontaneous baptisms. Important time to have this discussion...

(Via) Thanks to The Gospel Coalition for helpful resources and discussions for the sake of the church.

Music Monday - CHEAP | 7.23.12

TONS of excellent music on sale right now. The scope of the sale is blowing my mind. Here are my recommendations.

If you have a genre or "sounds like ___" request, let me know in the comments. I put a * next to albums and artists I want you to try most of all, and may be a discovery for you.

$2.99

• Arcade Fire: The Suburbs | Neon Bible | Funeral
• *Low: C'mon
• Band Of Horses: Everything All The Time | Cease To Begin
• Beach House: Teen Dream
• Panda Bear: Tomboy | Person Pitch
• LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
• Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank the Cradle | Our Endless Numbered Days | Around The WellI | The Shepherd's Dog
• Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes | Helplessness Blues
• Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca | Rise Above
• Wye Oak: Civilian
• Phoenix: It's Never Been Like That
• Best Coast: Crazy For You
• The National: Cherry Tree
• Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
• Radiohead: The Bends
• Mogwai: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
• Destroyer: Kaputt
• *The Antlers: Hospice
• Elliott Smith: Either/Or
• M83: Saturdays = Youth

$3.99

• *Lost In The Trees: A Church That Fits Our Needs
• The Avett Brothers: Four Thieves Gone | I & Love & You | Emotionalism | Mignonette | Live, Vol 2
• Shearwater: Animal Joy
• Okkervil River: I Am Very Far
• *The XX: XX
• *Sharon Van Etten: Tramp
• Broken Bells: Broken Bells
• The New Pornographers: Together
• Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
• Sleigh Bells: Treats | Reign Of Terror
• Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself | Armchair Apocrypha
• Other Lives: Tamer Animals
• Vampire Weekend: Contra | Vampire Weekend
• Girls: Father, Son, Holy Ghost
• Anais Mitchell: Young Man In America
• The War On Drugs: Slave Ambient
• Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
• Delta Spirit: Delta Spirit | History From Below
• LCD Soundsystem: London Sessions
• My Morning Jacket: Z
• Trampled By Turtles: Stars & Satellites | Palomino
• Devotchka: 100 Lovers
• The Antlers: Burst Apart
• Band Of Horses: Infinite Arms
• Sigur Ros: Inni
• Jonsi: Go
• Joe Pug: The Great Despiser
• Neko Case: Middle Cyclone
• Feist: Metals | The Reminder
• Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues | The Good Life | Midnight At The Movies | Nothings Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
• Tune-Yards: W H O K I L L
• Dawes: North Hills | Nothing Is Wrong
• Atlas Sound: Parallax
• Yuck: Yuck
• Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning | The People's Key
• Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring For My Halo
• Laura Marling: I Speak Because I Can
• Sarah Jaffe: The Body Wins
• Real Estate: Days
• Wilco: The Whole Love
• Cults: Cults
• The National: High Violet | Alligator | Boxer
• Bon Iver: Bon Iver | For Emma Forever Ago
• Dr. Dog: Be The Void
• U2: The Best Of 1980-1990

$4.99

• *Lower Dens: Nootropics
• Sigur Ros: Valtari
• The Lumineers: The Lumineers
• Of Monsters and Men: My Head Is An Animal
• Beach House: Bloom
• Sufjan Stevens: Michigan
• Spiritualized: Sweet Heart Sweet Light
• Father John Misty: Fear Fun
• LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening
• The Shins: Port Of Morrow 

Phriday is for Photos 7.13.12

From July of 2007...

This is Danny in 2007, who is now 9 years old. See all of my photography.

Avett Brothers Albums | $3.99

Getcha some Avett Brothers goodness for cheap! These are $3.99...

• Mignonette
• Four Thieves Gone
• Emotionalism
• I and Love and You

 

 

The Big 5: Books on Church History

I have been asked by a friend about my favorite books on church history, so I thought I would throw it out for everyone. Try to limit to the most expansive books on church history, at least for your first few. If you want to add a couple of faves from certain time periods (reformation, early church, baptist, puritan, etc), feel free to do that as well. But make sure they are books about the history of that time, not books from that time. And do your best to stay to 5.

So, what are your big 5 books on church history?

Together for Adoption 2012

If you haven't been to Together for Adoption, it's a great experience. We loved it, even though we haven't adopted a child. It fed our soul, showed us the love of our adopting God, while also revealing to us the need great need to encourage Christians to consider adopting. Here's info on the conference in Atlanta in September...

The primary objective of our September 14-15 national conference is to take Christians deeper into God’s story of Adoption to give hope and practical tools to walk with deep joy through “the sufferings of this present time” (Romans 8:18-23) for God’s glory and the good of orphans around the world. God’s work of adoption within the world is a story that encompasses all of human history, from its pre-temporal beginnings when God predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to the renewal of the heavens and the earth. From the Apostle Paul’s perspective, Adoption is the story that makes sense of the universe, that makes sense of our broken lives and gives the existence of all creation ultimate meaning.

[...]

Join us September 14-15 in Atlanta for Together for Adoption National Conference 2012. Over 1,000 people will gather together at Cross Pointe Church to explore God’s Story of Adoption for a Broken World.

Register now. Follow on Twitter.

Underprogram Your Church

Jared Wilson shares ten reasons to underprogram your church. Here are a few that resonated most with me, though they are all good reminders of what's most important. (By the way, Jared's new book, Gospel Deeps, is coming in September. Pre-order it.)

1. You can do a lot of things in a mediocre (or poor) way, or you can do a few things extremely well. 

2. Over-programming creates an illusion of fruitfulness that may just be busy-ness. A bustling crowd may not be spiritually changed or engaged in mission at all. And as our flesh cries out for works, many times filling our programs with eager, even servant-minded people is a way to appeal to self-righteousness.

7. Over-programming creates satisfaction in an illusion of success; meanwhile mission suffers. If a church looks like it's doing lots of things, we tend to think it's doing great things for God. When really it may just be providing lots of religious goods and services. 

8. Over-programming reduces margin in the lives of church members. It's a fast track to burnout for both volunteers and attendees, and it implicitly stifles sabbath.

Read Jared's post, "Ten Reasons To Underprogram Your Church."

David Murray's Posts On Evangelistic Preaching

David Murray has three posts up on evangelistic preaching. Some helpful stuff.

• What is evangelistic preaching?
• Four kinds of evangelistic preaching
• Why is evangelistic preaching so rare today?

Tim Keller | How The Gospel Changes Our Apologetics

How do we do apologetics? Tim Keller weighs in...

Apologetics is an answer to the “why” question after you’ve already given people an answer to the “what” question. The what question, of course, is “What is the gospel?” But when you call people to believe in the gospel and they ask, “Why should I believe that?” —then you need apologetics.

I’ve heard plenty of Christians try to answer the why question by going back to the what. “You have to believe because Jesus is the Son of God.” But that’s answering the why with more what. Increasingly we live in a time in which you can’t avoid the why question. Just giving the what (for example, a vivid gospel presentation) worked in the days when the cultural institutions created an environment in which Christianity just felt true or at least honorable. But in a post-Christendom society, in the marketplace of ideas, you have to explain why this is true, or people will just dismiss it.

Go read Dr. Keller's entire post and visit my Tim Keller Resources page for much more from Tim Keller.

Music Monday 7.9.12

MUSIC WEBSITES (you might wanna check out)

• American Songwriter
• Pretty Much Amazing

STREAMING FREE

• Fang Island: Major
• Clare & The Reasons: KR-51
  
• Old Crow Medicine Show: Carry Me Back
• Delicate Steve: Positive Force (out now)
• Dirty Projectors: Swing Lo Magellan (out tomorrow, $3.99?)
  
• Dead Rat Orchestra: The Guga Hunters of Ness (out now, video below)

 CHEAP

• July $5 Albums
• Josh Garrels: Love & War B-Sides (FREE)
• Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca ($3.99)
• Arcade Fire: The Suburbs ($3.99) | Funeral ($5.49) | Neon Bible ($5.49)
• Once Soundtrack ($5)
• The Black Keys: Brothers ($2.99)
• Metric: Fantasies ($3.99)
• Hillsong Live: Cornerstone ($3.99)
• Classic Sinatra: His Greatest Performances 1953-1960 ($3.99)
• Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More ($4.99)

BURNING UP MY iPOD

J.D. McPherson: Signs & Signifiers ($4.99)

VIDEO

From the earlier mentioned Dead Rat Orchestra, you probably haven't seen something quite like this. So cool.

Phriday is for Photos 7.6.12

Jack & I took in The Amazing Spider Man midnight show this week. Go geek or don't go...

Tim Keller: Dealing With Evil

Tim Keller on how liberals and conservatives deal with the reality of evil in his sermon on Spiritual Warfare...

The Gospel is the only approach that truly is not simplistic, that looks at the messed up families, looks at messed up hearts, looks at messed up neighborhoods and says, "There's biological problems, there's sociological problems, there's psychological problems, there's moral problems, there's spiritual problems, there's demonological problems...we're going to look at all of those things, we're going to deal with all of them. All of them!" ... Until you embrace the Christian understanding of evil, you are reductionistic, you are simplistic. You'll either make the liberal mistake of underestimating cosmic evil, or the conservative mistake, frankly sometimes of just saying we can't do a thing.

New Book: Unbelievable Gospel

My friend, Jonathan Dodson, has written a short ebook called Unbelievable Gospel. Looking forward to digging in. Has anyone read it yet?

David Murray On Evangelistic Preaching

David Murray begins some posts on evangelistic preaching. A blurb...

What do I mean, then, by evangelistic preaching? Let me put it positively:Evangelistic preaching expounds God’s Word (it is expository) with the primary aim of the salvation of lost souls (rather than the instruction of God’s people). Stuart Olyott says it is to “preach from the Bible with the immediate aim of the immediate conversion of every soul in front of us.”

So, what really distinguishes evangelistic preaching from all other kinds of preaching is its obvious and unmistakable aim – conversion. Its target is unconverted hearers. And its conscious and deliberate aim is to call, invite, and command needy souls to repent and believe the Gospel.

Why has this kind of preaching become increasingly rare in many Reformed Churches? I’ll give you my answer next week, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on it first.

Go read the whole post and comment.

Josh Garrels | Love & War: B-Sides & Remixes FREE

Grab the B-Sides & Remixes from Josh Garrels' excellent album, Love & War & The Sea In Between below. Also check out the new Josh Garrels website.

$1.99 Albums | Today Only

These fine albums are $1.99 today only...

• The Black Keys: El Camino
• Beach House: Bloom
• Gotye: Making Mirrors
• Regina Spektor: What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
  
• The Lumineers: The Lumineers
• Fun.: Some Nights
• Of Monsters and Men: My Head Is An Animal

Music Monday 7.2.12

CHEAP

• July $5 Albums
• $2.99 Albums

Check out J.D. McPherson's throwback sound with "North Side Gal." Love it. His new album, Signs & Signifiers, is $2.99!

July 2012 $5 Albums

Some great $5 albums...

• Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• The Black Keys: Brothers ($2.99 for now)
• The Dead Weather: Sea Of Cowards
• The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldiers
• Regina Spektor: Far
• Coldplay: Parachutes
• J.D. McPherson: Signs & Signifiers
• Damien Rice: O
• Passion Pit: Manners
• Japandroids: Post-Nothing
• Ladyhawke: Anxiety
• The Magnetic Fields: Love At The Bottom Of The Sea
• The Heavy: The House That Dirt Built
• Death Cab For Cutie: Plans
• Thelonious Monk: Genius Of Modern Music Vol 1
• John Coltrane: Blue Train
• The Beastie Boys: Solid Gold Hits
• Alice in Chains: Greatest Hits
• The Beach Boys: Greatest Hits Vol 1
• The Band: Greatest Hits
• Kenny Rogers: Number Ones | Don't be the coward of the county
• Prince: The Very Best of Prince | Party like it's 2012