Information Overload

I've been thinking a bit lately about how information I've been ingesting. On Google Reader, between around 20 subscribed blogs, I currently have over 200 unread posts. On Itunes, I have 300 new podcast episodes waiting for me. On Sunday mornings, I listen to a sermon on my Ipod before I arrive to church. I buy books far faster then read them. Is it any wonder that I find it harder and harder to take quiet time with God.

My friend Shane  just posted this video earlier today. It astonishes me to see how fast we're moving and it's exponential. We're moving far faster then we can possibly learn to catch up to. Give it a watch and let  me know what you think.



Lord, free me from the addiction to information and cure of my quest for control,
Stan

Alexandra Burke

I'm not ashamed to say that I've enjoyed watching the X-Factor over the last few months. It's beens an interesting contest with the winner emerging fairly late in the game, compared to the ones who's been getting all the press attention. Well you know what they say about cream: it rises to the top.


These two video are ones that I've found myself watching several time over the last couple of evening.

In the first, the eventual winner, 20 year old, Alexandra, performs a duet with her musical hereo, Beyoncé.
Look at the joy on her face. Look how happy her friend and mentor, Cheryl Cole, is. This video just makes me feel good.



Her second is her performance of the winners' single, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. This is a classic song and one of my favourites. It conveys the story of David and Bathsheba and how through his adultery and subsequent murder of Bathsheba's husband, he lost his relation to God. It's a song about emotion and despair. I was sceptical that the X-Factor could ever do this song justice but I'm astounded.

Got my first real 6-String...

Using an Argos voucher I won last month (entertainment.ie), I treated myself to  a Yamaha F310 acoustic guitar. I should be clear that I cannot yet play it. I haven't played music since I did keyboard in school and that was shambolic to say the least. But now, I've decided that I'm going to master or at least get my musical ability to an adequate level.
So far, I've got the "G" and "D" down but "C" is proving a bit more difficult.

Found a great series on online beginner guitar lessons. I'm confident I'll be confident in no time.

Porn Again Christian

I'm in Galway tonight. I'm down for a leadership training day with Andrew Jones (aka blogger, Tall Skinny Kiwi). I'm in amazing hotel called the Clayton and taking full advantage of the lan in the room.

I'm reading through a book that I'd like to share with you. It's a e-book by Mark Driscoll and released by Re-lit on their website for free . At the moment, it's just available to read on the web but it's going to released in pdf format for distribution in the next few days.

Considering the topic, they recommend that not everyone read it. It is specifically for Christian men and they don't recommend that women read it. IT IS EXPLICIT. Don't read if you're worried about offense.

If however, like myself, you're a Christian male who lives with the reality of life in world and media that's saturated in cheapened sex, if you're some strength and kindness in resisted temptation, if you are finding yourself becoming insensitived to lust and porn, READ IT.

Later edit: just noticed on my tracker, that two people came to my site after googling porn. If you come from such a query, I suspect you probably won't stay long but if you do. I hope maybe, you give this book a chance and may experience some freedom from the vice of porn addiction.

Sexy God - Zooma

Funny.

What do you think?

What If Starbucks Used Church Marketing?

What If Starbucks Used Church Marketing?

The blog ThinkChristian  clued me into this great video from Beyond Relevance. It answers one of the great questions: what would it be like if Starbucks based its customer experience on churches?

How do you find it when you visit a new church? Perhaps, it doesn't alway go that comfortably. This video definitely brings back some memories for me. I'll have a new appreciation for the simple joy of buying a coffee (which I already quite enjoy).

Elected Saviour

So America has a new president elect. I have to admit I'm a little bit excited at the prospect of what can happen but also cautious and more then a little sceptical of Obama's presidency. I've yet to seen anything that convinces me he has the ability for positive and long-lasting change.

Change itself is inevitable. It's going to happen no matter what. The recession is change. The war was change. 9/11 was change. Change is positive or negative. We can accept changes, try and stir in the right the direction or outright urge them on.

As an informed outsider, it looks to me that the US is going in a constant cycle from one extreme to the other. Just as America was fed up with the Republican regime, I'm sure that it will be with the Democrats. It's just another of history's cycles.

 "History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now."

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

The main reason I'm skeptical of Obama is this - that he's poised as a saviour who is going to rescue America from its woes. He has been seen as the realisation of Martin Luther King's dream, the guide in times of economic woe and an end to the jaded politics of yesterday.

But he fail. He won't live up to the hype. 

I'm not trying to discredit him or convince people. I've accepted that he is now America's new president but I just believe that when expectations are stacked so high, there's going to be a fall. Everyone feels the need for some kind of saviour; we all know the world is in a mess. No human can be that saviour.

I read Psalm 2 last week and I think its apt for the times:

1 Why are the nations so angry?

      Why do they waste their time with futile plans?

 2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle;

      the rulers plot together

   against the Lord

      and against his anointed one.

 3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry,

      “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

 4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs.

      The Lord scoffs at them.

 5 Then in anger he rebukes them,

      terrifying them with his fierce fury.

 6 For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne

      in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.”

 7 The king proclaims the Lord’s decree:

   “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son.

      Today I have become your Father.

8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,

      the whole earth as your possession.

 9 You will break them with an iron rod

      and smash them like clay pots.’”

 10 Now then, you kings, act wisely!

      Be warned, you rulers of the earth!

 11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear,

      and rejoice with trembling.

 12 Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry,

      and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—

   for his anger flares up in an instant.

      But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

Man, this was written long before Jesus even came to earth, but it describes his eventual rule and simply reminds me that when I place my trust in any politician or ruler to makes things right, God probably laughs.

With that in mind, I still believe we need to pray for our leaders, that they have wisdom and guidance from God and that they may place their trust in Jesus. So, Barack, Biffo, I'll be praying for ya.

Shocking Arguing

I was listening earlier to an interview (click for link) with Doug Pagitt on the Way of the Master radio show. To set the scene, let me tell you a bit about the players: Way of the Master has a reputation of being unashamedly fundamental.  Pagitt on  the other hand, is one of the leading voices in the Emerging movement, which I think I've written enough about for you to get the picture that he's not fundamental.

This is obviously a volatile mix , but nothing could prepare me for the train-wreck of  a conversation that follows. The interviewer, Todd Friel, pulled no punches in addressing the controversial elements of the emerging movement. I thought, maybe that Pagitt would tactfully dodge the questions, hopefully engage them and maybe show himself to be closer to orthodox Christianity.(i.e. the truth of Christianity as seen by the historical consensus), but no...

Instead he pretty much acted like a jerk. He disingenuously feigned ignorance of commonly held Christian beliefs and laughed out loud at the fairly reasonable questions of Todd Friel. He did nothing to defend his own view that everyone is saved regardless of faith in Christ. He instead acted like someone would be stupid for ever thinking that Heaven or Hell are physical places. Beyond patronising.

Now, I've often seen arrogance in discussions like this, I've never seen anything like this.

Doug Pagitt in my eyes, has wrecked his witness and let pride get in the way of any chance of engaging seriously in matter of faith.

If you know me or have read this blog at all, then you know that I'm an idea guy. I love looking at different ways of thinking with pragmatism and logic. I like to see why people believe what they do and if I see faulty logic or bad thinking, it bothers me.

I can be arrogant. I can get overexcited. I can let my judgement of the other side get in the way of communicating my own views. (Please don't mention Barack Obama to me; you won't like what you see.)

But I don't want to be that guy.
I want to embrace clarity in beliefs.

 I want my strengths and interest in it to be a part of my ministry. I think its important especially in youth work and sharing faith with young adults.

But please, God, give me the love and self-control to stay level-headed and always to talk out of love and never for my own pride.

Relevant Truth (or something like that)

I reading a lot of blogs lately but haven't done much posting myself.

Yep, I'm yet again using the "having blogged in a while" clíche opening.

Anyway, reading a great post earlier by Philip on Nexus4Change (check my reading list) based off his reading of Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz, a book that I reccomend. He raised a concern that I have feeling myself, not so much with Miller's writing specifically but with a lot of modern Christian books.

Before I talk about the concern, let me share what I like about the recent works of Don Miller, Rob Bell and a load of other authors I've yet to read: Christian faith is being shared in a manner that is relevant, honest (in terms of the human condition), attractive and intelligent. These men have moved with the times and acknowledge that times have changed and text book theology isn't going to go down with the Web 2.0 generation.

But my concern is this: that as postmodernism, relationalism (if that's a word), and the centrality of the human condition have been embraced, that their grasp of truth has been lost. It's is not culturally sensitive to call people sinful or declare that a large group of people will suffer for eternity because they don't believe the right thing. So, its not said.  Scripture is re-examined or deconstructed in light of our modern context. As Brian McLaren's book states: Everything Must Change.

I'm not going to outright reject the thinking of leaders like that and I'm trying to broaden by own understanding but let me offer my own belief as far as sharing the Gospel in our current culture.

In one hand, we hold our methodology, our ways of communicating, our structures of meetings, etc. This hand is open. This things can change. In fact, they should. We have to engage people where they actually are, not expect them to fit into a cookie cutter before we give the hope that exists in Christ.

In the other hand, we hold the Gospel, the Words of God, the centrality of God's truth and the challenge to understand what we believe without unnesscarily reinventing the wheel. We take the truths and ideas of the Bible in the context of when they were written with the understanding that it's not relative and that there is intention behind the writing. This hand is closed. By that, I don't mean that we arrogantly shout off what we believe but we avoid the blind leading the blind. There is actual truth that we are moving closer to.

I think that maybe the length of this post will make up for the post drought. If you made it through, well done.

Reflection on Time

I was just thinking about my schedule for tomorrow.
Let me give you the background.

I was originally scheduled to work in my job (in Zumo) tomorrow from 2.30pm to 7.30pm tomorrow. That's five hours.
Earlier today, I got a phone call from my manager asking me to work instead from 8.30am to 2.30pm instead.
Six hours.

The strange thing was that despite the longer work hours, I got excited about the opportunity to have a productive afternoon after work.

Now, my manager has switched me back to the afternoon shift, I'm kinda disappointed.
The prospect of having a productive day (aside from my job) seems gone.
It's strange that although I'm working less hours, I feel like I have less free time.
Why is that?

Probably, it's that I find it easier to get stuff done in the afternoon or evening then the morning.
Maybe, it's that it hard to focus in the morning also know that I'll soon have to get ready for work.
On some level, I wonder if its because by forced to get up early in the morning, I feel less lazy then I would sleeping in a bit. (I should mention here that I slept in very late and frequently over Summer.)
Also, it disjoints my day by having to be somewhere in the middle of it.

My challenge tomorrow is whether I can overcome a schedule that defies my personal body clock and make use of the time I do have. I feel like through a combination of appreciating the time I do have and taking time to reflect and worship (God, Jesus specifically) that the time will be well used.

I travelled to Dundalk this weekend with 3Rock for a leadership training day with Rev. Tom Wilson during he reflected on solitude. Think I need to practice some of that. More of my thoughts on it tomorrow.

Au revoir.
(I like foreign versions of "you see later")

Au Revoir, Irish Bible Institute

I'm slap down in the middle now of a what I'm sure could be considered a big week.

Last Sunday, I officially graduated the Certificate of Applied Theology from IBI.  Here's a picture of me and my new certificate in what appears to be a Hogwarts dress uniform.

While I'm not a big fan of formal occasions (particularly when it's my formal occasions) and due to bad planning came particularly underdressed for this particular occasion, and had a cold, I really enjoyed the afternoon. It was a great opportunity to catch up with my friends from the college and let my parents and friends get a glimpse of the IBI world.

I'm going to miss college life this year but have found the odd random excuse to give it a visit. With my certificate, I got membership to the alumni society, Cairde (apparently, friends in Irish) and with that, conintued membership of the library which should prove useful. Two of my friends, Paul and Paddy have started in the college recently and I couldn't be more excited for them. They stand to gain a lot including an increased understanding and appreciation of their faith, a great opportunity to develop in their own walk with Jesus and an invitation to a great community of  believers.

Goodbye for now, IBI. See you when I continue on to the diploma.

I was going to write something else in this post, but since this is getting long, that can get its own post.

Most Famous Stan McConnell

If you're anything like me, when you get bored you look up random things on Google. In the course of doing this, I discovered that this site is THE no.1 result for "stan mcconnell" (with my Bebo page in third place). Ok, I don't know if Google results are the ultimate measure of fame, but I reckon its the closest thing we have.  So, with that in mind, I hereby declare myself the most famous Stan McConnell in the world. Unfortunately, I do less well in the results for "stephen mcconnell", my real (official,non-nickname) name. but I'm ok with that since there are significantly less results.

I am shocked, unhumbled and in awe at this random achievement and welcome any challenges on my claim.

If you're another Stan McConnell, who like me, is vain enough to google your name and you stumble across my site, drop me a line. If I find you to be more famous then me, you can win the above plaquetificate.

My plans

HI guys,

I was holding off writing about my plans for this year until I was more certain of them. I've finally gotten to the stage where I'm sure, so I'll blab.

I'm not returning to IBI this year. So, for the first time in 18 years, I'm not a student. I've finished my certificate in May and plan on finishing the diploma in the next couple of years. In the meantime, I want to get more hands-on learning and experience in youthwork.

What I'm doing instead of Bible college is working with 3Rock Youth in a leadership training program. I'm ecstatic about the year ahead. The more I hear about 3Rock and what I'll be doing the more excited I get. In the program, I'll be helping create resource for youth and leaders, working in school and more in the broad Dublin area. The role seems like the perfect fit for what I'm seeking to do. I'll be continuing to work with Gap alongside this.

I'm also considering a change in my part-time job. I've got one in mind which lets me pick my own hours and gets good money but may prove unpopular - door to door market research. What do you think?

Hymn in Internet Cafe

Yo, I'm in town right now in a internet cafe and the music being played by the staff here is the worship song, Days of Elijah, I think in Spanish.
I'm enjoying it.

Blue Like Jazz

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Debated between giving this the three stars or four stars. I sided with the higher rating because it definitely has a few very poignant moments which makes the rest worthwhile.



The book is enjoyable but the wavey, stream of thought style can make it hard to coherently follow and remember. That said, I think Don walks very well the tightrope between relevance and error that can be found in a lot of Christian books lately. He manages to convey a faith thats honest, emotional and rooted in daily reality but also grounded and bordered by what we know to be true.



Recommended.


View all my reviews.

Here to Make Friends?

Found this video on ThinkChristian. IIt's demonstrates a common cliche in reality tv: the "I ain't here to make friends".










What it makes wonder though is whether this isn't just a reality TV thing. One of the girls above says that she already has enough friends and doesn't need anymore. I wonder if there are times when I'm just civil to people but deliberately avoid anything deeper then an acquaintance. If I am, which I'm sure I am in at least some situations, how am I missing out?

100 Books.

My friend Sheggi posted this list in her blog. So I'm taking the challenge."The Big Read was a 2003 survey carried out by the BBC, with the goal of finding the “Nation’s Best-loved Book” by way of a viewer vote via the Web, SMS, and telephone.

The Big Read figures that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books. How do you stack up?

 How to Play:

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.

2) Italicize those you intend to read.

3) Underline the books you LOVE.

4) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (Read a bit but far from all)

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (Have yet to finish it)

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (started, didn't finish, I will one day)

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (isn't this covered in 33)

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (started but yet to finish)

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom 

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams 

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (read almost all his other books, but only seen the movie of this one)

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

 ....................................................

I'm 9 out of 100. How about you?

Bradley Hathaway

A while ago, I came upon this guy on the X3Church podcast.

He's a Christian poet or spoken word artist and his work is beautiful.

Look him up on Youtube and Myspace to hear some more: Bradley Hathaway

I'm planning on ordering some of stuff on Amazon once I get a 3V (online purchasing) card sorted.

Why I'm Not Emergent (by a guy who should be)

I have a big passion for being involved in anything new or revolutionary. My lifelong goal is be some one who starts ministries, spread ideas and makes people think in a constructive way. With this composure, I was naturally drawn to one such new and revolutionary movement in the Christian body.



This was a movement which like the puritans, of times past, seemed to desire to strip Christianity to the bare bones; to ask the question, "is the way we do church really the only or even the best way?". It engaged with culture actively and produced books and video resource which didn't smack of the typical Christian cheesiness.



I entered this world through the eyes of hip, bespectabled pastor, Rob Bell and his book, Velvet Elvis. Rob, the cool geek, used interesting metaphors and introduced new information from rabbinic teachings which made him sound smart (and me sound smart when I quoted him). He offered a simple reading of the scriptures with an air of enthusiasm and hope: we can make this world better.



Next came the videos, a library of not just one, not just a few, but an ever growing library of short teachings which could serve as discussion starters or just get one thinking. They looked brilliant. (I for one love the cute voice that says "noo-ma" at the beginning.)They were shorter then the usual 50min sermon at only 9-15 minutes (although they didn't hold my attention for the whole time, I remembered tidbits). Each one handled a topic and while not quite answering the questions, they inspired you to think and consider a possibility. They were a wonderful half-way house between Jesus, Dr. Phil and the social-networking generation.



I got more and more engrossed in the revolution through podcasts of Mr.Bell and Mr. McManus (Erwin Raphael). I loved the little gems of inspiration and scriptural self-help. I loved the rabbinic trivia and the "you thought it meant this, but it really means this" moments. I did for a while anyway.



All this time, I'd had to quiet the voice that noticed the illogicalness and borderline heresies and just tell myself that "that's OK, remember it's only a spring, not a wall; I'm sure the rest of his stuff is still good". Ironically, it was around the time that I saw Rob Bell live and even shook his hands that the mental house of cards fell for me. I did some research, read some stuff, reread some stuff, thought about stuff and finally saw that I just didn't need this revolution, which is generally know as the emerging or emergent church. I wish it could define more but it's after midnight and it's hard enough to explain even when I'm fully awake.



This week I've been reading this book.

It's one of the best books available on the movement and unlike similar books (such as the one by D.A. Carson) it's by a couple of guys who fit the typical demographic of a emergent pastor). It's very good and much more balanced then the title may suggest.

My next post will be related to this one and be about what I feel is negotiable in Christianity and what isn't. I'm much too tired to write that now.

Reinterpretation

I was listening yesterday to a podcast of a sermon from Rob Bell's church, Mars Hill in Michigan. I used to listen to these podcasts regularly but stopped after I made a conscious effort to move away from the emergent church movement, which I feel often misrepresents the Gospel.

However, after talking to one of the teens I work with and explaining that I didn't listen to them anymore (he does), he asked why. I honestly didn't have a good answer and so I decided to give them another chance.

The first podcast that  came to wasn't by Rob Bell himself, which was refreshing. The sermon by Kent Dobson ,was on the "Naked Bloody Guy" of Mark 5:1-20. This is a familiar story of a man who had been possessed by a multitude of demons, the encounter he has with Jesus and his freedom from that.

What frustrated me constantly in the course of this sermon was that Dobson seemed to be overly concerned with suggesting new interpretations for every aspect of the story. Many of these were a stretch and seemed to be based on massive assumptions.


In a story of demon possession, Dobson completely underplays the supernatural aspect and tries to reinterpret the story as a statement about the colonial oppresion of Rome. Thus when the demon replies to the question, "what is your name?" with the phrase "My name is Legion for we are many", the man is making a political statement about the military might of Rome and his forced isolation.


Eventually, the application of the sermon, based on Jesus' command to this man, was that it is our responsibility to share the story of what Jesus has done for us and the mercy he has shown us. Good application. Good point. Why though, was it necessary to focus on the military oppression of Rome which you have to dig and and add to the story to even find there?

This reinterpretation seems to a common feature in the teaching of emergent preaching, particularly in my experience in the teaching of Rob Bell. Almost every sermon I hear from him has a moment of 'you may think it means this, but I know it really means this'. In fact, at least in my group, I think this added a lot to his appeal. However, I think this obsession with new understandings moves the sermon away from the truth of scripture. If someone interprets scripture based on whatever new information he chooses, he can make it say almost anything. I believe for the most part, the best guide for reading scripture is itself.

Definitely, it's more then beneficial to be culturally aware of the original setting but come on; first look at what the passage itself says.

Dustin is block-voted out.

Dustin, Ireland's best hope for Eurovision glory has tragically been knocked out before the final night.
In tribute to his efforts, here's Dustin in a more sombre tune: Fairytale of New York

Jazz

I was working on my Martin Luther essay and got distracted by a book on my table. It was Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I haven't read it yet but I just read the introduction and thought it was worth sharing. Here it goes:

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music didn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theatre in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. 

After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.

I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happens."

In researching Martin Luther, I found that he once said, "I do not love God! I hate him." This was the same Luther who revolutionised Christianity, who brought the world away from the church as an institution and into Christianity as a personal, living faith.

Yet, he hated God.

He hated God because of his guilt... because he was a sinful, messed up wretch who God had every right to squash if He so chose.

One verse made a difference to Martin:     Romans 1:17

This Gospel tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."

The reason Martin's hate was turned to love was the realisation that God isn't waiting to squash us, who have faith in his Son. He's saving them and changing them and that is something worth enjoying.

Close your eyes, enjoy the jazz.

Another Option

It's really late on Thursday night, I've made little progress on my essay. I'm really going to have to force myself to somehow do it in the next two days which is difficult with my schedule. I'm thinking that I'm probably going to miss church this weekend to finish it up. :(

On the decision making front, I've noticed that the option I'm leaning to is directly related to what I'm been doing lately and basically my emotional state. Making decisions based purely on emotion, I think. is not good. So, that's something else to think about.

Fortunately, I have however thought outside the box and thought of another option for what to do in the coming year. (actually, a couple, but one that I'm serious about) which could be potentially a perfect fit for me at the moment. I won't say what that option is until I've had a chance to find out a bit more about it and contact a few people.

Ok, now having done no typing of my essay (but just about every other distraction I could find), I must sleep and discipline myself in the morning.  Ah,... discipline.... not my strongest area....

Fork in the road.

It's been a while since I posted so I figured another one was in order.

Honestly, I'm current procrastinating from a college essay that's due on Wednesday. If anyone has any input about the Life, Teaching and Legacy of Martin Luther, let me know.

My head's been in a place lately thats making it hard to focus of study. I've been debating in my head about what I should be doing next year (as in after the Summer).
On one hand, I can follow the plan I've had for a while and continue in IBI and finish the diploma, while continuing to work with Gap.
On the other hand, I could train specifically for youth ministry, which would involve most likely a move overseas but would provide immense experience and opportunity to
grow.

What I do know is that every week, I'm more sure about my calling in youth work and am figuring out more what that's supposed to look like for me in terms of how I work best and what I can do. I want to be as best prepared to do this work as I can but at the same time, I'm very excited about what the future has in store for Gap and the challenges that we will face and feel like I'm important in those plans.

I'm really stuck on this. I'm wondering whether God had one particular way he wants me to go or whether boths ways could be right in some way.
I'm wondering whether God is going to give me some kind of obvious sign or whether he want me to use wisdom.
:I

WordLive

I just starting trying out a new service that Scripture Union offer, WordLive. It's an online Bible study for the Web 2.0 generation (basically all the internet addicted people like myself).
It's offers a multipart, multimedia Bible teaching devotional everyday.

I was already pretty excited about the format before I started, and it's got the substance to back up the packaging. It takes you through the backround infomation, reflection and even offers a chance to hear the scripture read out loud.

Today, it was talking about Judas and what the difference is between his remorse for betraying Jesus and repentance.
It states it better then I could here in my fly-by blog post, so if you have the time check it out.

Stan Story: The Saga Begins.....

Tonight, in Gap, I had the opportunity to share a bit of my story about and how I got closer to God in time. The problem was I wasn't that well-prepared and I only had ten minutes. What I'd like to share in a series of post is the extended version. So, each post is going to be a part of my story and and an application of something I learned from or gained from that experience.

Keep in mind when I say stuff I learned, I don't mean learned as in just knowledge but more something I learned a deep heart level. I think the beliefs and experiences we have in our Christian walk make a bit part of who we are.

So I begin...

Born 22nd January 1986 in Dublin City, Ireland.


I was raised in at typical Irish Catholic family, so since the beginning of school, I knew a little bit of the Bible and about Jesus.

Since as long as I can remember, my family background has always been incredibly difficult. My mother since before I was born has suffered from Muliple Sceloris which is a paralysing disease. So, rather then the traditonal mother-look-after-child scenario, its always mean the opposite. I'm not saying this to look for sympathy but because through the difficulties of the this, I've learned one of the key points of the Gospel: this world that we now inhabit is not how it's supposed to be. It's broken on a deep level and the ideal is far from the reality.

Although, I didn't know the Gospel yet, I knew this in a deep way.

I think everyone feels this brokeness somewhere in their live and worlds. Walking throughs the streets of Dublin City, it's tangible.

I also believe that God can use the evil or dark things in the world and work His purposes through them, so I'll explain next time how God used my family situation to bring me to Him.

John Piper and the Prosperity Gospel

This is a video that I found on Benjamin Euler's blog. John Piper is talking about the Prosperity Gospel.
I have to say I can understand why he is so angry about this. I come from a background in a prosperity Gospel church and I've seen first-hand the damage that this false teaching does.

It raises expectations for God to deliver and when God doesn't give wealth, health and joy, people question  their faith, their righteousness and eventually leave the faith. Prosperity Gospel IS NOT a good thing.

I think my experience with the prosperity gospel is what gave me the passion I have for confronting false teaching. That's about the only benefit that my dealing with it have had.

I'm a Ex-Rob Bell fanatic.

I've had a change of heart about Rob Bell in the last week or so.
I still think he's a great communicator and presents some Biblical truths and insights in his videos and sermons.

The problem thought isn't the transmission, it's the message. I wonder how many people are actually aware how controversal and shocking his messages are.

Firstly, he approaches Christianity from a post-modern view. Post-modernity is the idea that it's impossible for to know absolute truth. In the first chapter of Velvet Elvis, he essentially writes that Christian doctrine is not important, that if elements of the Gospel are false, it doesn't matter.
The fact is however: that it does.
Without the foundation of historical fact, we may as well believe a fairy tale. Without the coherent system of theology, Christianity becomes a sentimental, mish-mash of well-meaning but non-sensical ideas.

I'd encourage everyone to read up a bit about Rob Bell and the emerging/emergent church.

Back to Basics has an excellent sermon called "Emerging or Submerging" on mp3 that I recommend listening to.

Here, you can find a good, even-handed analysis of the Nooma DVDs by Greg Gilbert.
It's got three parts including a individual rundown of each of the Noomas.

Please check the background for yourself and don't get up in the fancy packaging. I know Rob has some good ideas but be discerning in what you absorb.

Feel Good

I hadn't posted in a while and I was going to break the hiatus, I was going to post some long-winded article about how my quiet-time are now just focusing on one thing per day but I decided to abbreviate it. Here go:

I read lots of things in my bible-reading time; I remembered little.
I read and focus on one thing; I remember and get a chance to apply 100% of it.

SIMPLE: Focus on less, learn more.


Now, for the rest our time together, watch this:

What does it mean that the Bible is "inspired"?

Hi guys,
Been ages since I posted and I wanted to get something up.

So, to save time and experiment with how well it works, I'm posted an essay, I wrote last November about what it means that the Bible is "Inspired by God.
I'll stand by and say that I'm pretty proud of this essay. I'm not sure if it reads as well as a blog post as it does as Theological essay, but its worth a try:


How would you explain what it means that the bible is inspired?

In order to answer this question, I will first talk about what is meant by the word inspired.
Is it inspired simply in that it inspires people to do great things?
This could be said of any great literature.
Is it inspired in that it contains a flawed record of God’s actions?
The Bible itself does not allow us to make this assumption.

“All scripture is breathed out by God… 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

This verse is commonly translated “All scripture is inspired by God…”
It is undoubtedly the most commonly quoted verse considering the inspiration of the Bible.

However, “breathed out” is more correct.
It implies that God is not just the inspiration for scripture but that scripture originates from him. It wasn’t just men writing their own thoughts on what God might be like. God is expressing himself through the scripture.

How this actually took place is a matter of debate. The above view has been criticised for implying that God dictated his Words to men who simply acted like secretaries at typewriters. C.H. Dodd wrote that the original implications of dictation theory are that “the primitive religious thought the "inspired" person was under the control of a supernatural influence which inhibited the use of his normal faculties.”

This view is uncommon today. Although there are undoubtedly times when God did speak directly through men such as the prophets, this doesn’t take in account the obvious personal touch that is seen in the writings of the New Testament. F.F.
Bruce writes that “Dictation leaves no room for the writer’s individuality of thought and diction, but this individuality gets the fullest scope in the Bible.” This is demonstrated most obviously in the four Gospels. Each has separate focuses and unique features that are born out of each author’s intent and unique point of view.

How then are the scriptures both breathed out by God and written by human authors? Luke, in writing his Gospel, was not given the words directly from God but tirelessly researched the life of Christ from the people who witnessed Christ’s life. It doesn’t mean that it is solely a human document. 1 Peter 1:21 says: “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” According to this verse, it is by being carried by Holy Spirit that enabled men as they speak from God. The Apostle, Paul in writing 1 Corinthians is guided into truth by the Spirit of God.

There is debate over whether the inspired word of God contains error since it passed through fallible human hands. However, while humans can make mistakes, it is wrong to say that they always do or even that it should be expected most of the time. It is unreasonable to expect the Bible to contain errors simply because it was written by human hands. Milne concludes his writing on inspiration with a reminder from Ephesians: “[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will.” In his guiding of the authorship and compilation of the scriptures, I believe God has through his spirit maintained the integrity and accuracy of his Word. I believe that as we reflect on the history and read it with our own eyes, we can’t help but be convinced likewise.

Explain how Christians believe God speaks through the words of Scripture?



The Bible is the record of God’s word and actions with humanity. Although, its components are written to many individual and groups spanning thousands of years, there is clarity of purpose and completeness in its variety. Taken together, the scriptures are a Christian’s chief source of revelation of God.

In one sense, we have to read the Scriptures like we would read any other book – that is with the purpose that the human author had in mind when he wrote. It would be wrong for Christians to blindly take any given verse of scripture and apply it as if God had spoken directly to them. For instance, the Pentateuch was given specifically to the Jewish nation. The covenants, laws and promises given in the Jews in exile can’t be applied to an Irish, evangelical Christian.

On the other hand, the Bible is clearly more then any other book. Its ultimate source is God and it therefore has unique properties not found in any other writing. It is ultimately authoritative (when understood and applied correctly), universally relevant, wholly inerrant, and it alone carries the revelation of God and the salvation that He offers. Therefore, it is with respect and awe that we read the scriptures. We should seek to understand through careful study.
The Scriptures aren’t however a static text book that we learn history or theology from. There do more then teach us what God is like. They show us how to follow him.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16

The same Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of these is now indwelling in believers. It is through this Spirit that we can see God speaking in the scripture. At an intellectual level, it is possible for anyone to understand what the scriptures mean, but Duvall and Hays argue that it only through the Spirit that we can truly set aside an “unbelieving preunderstanding”.

It is the Spirit also that helps us grasp and believe at a heart level. The Holy Spirit also gives us the ability to follow God. It is both through Scripture and through the Spirit working together that we move toward righteousness and towards God. God isn’t just revealed in his inspired writing and the witness he bears but also in the Holy Spirit that is present in all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. It is this connection that makes the Bible a living book with endless depth, relevance and hope.