We visited two churches already. Last week we visited a PCA church. It is too far from where we will be soon living, but I knew a couple people there, and I thought since I am attending Covenant, I should go to a PCA service at least once. I really appreciated the Christ-centered worship, but I don’t think we’re quite Presby enough to go PCA.

Today we visited an EV Free church. I was really disappointed in the sermon. It was about setting priorities. It was a good message for a Wednesday night time management class, but Sunday mornings I want to hear the Gospel.

Quick side note. My parents go to an ELCA church. Say what you want about that denomination, and I’m likely to agree, but the pastor at my parent’s church is a great gospel preacher. When I visited there, he was nailing Law and Gospel, broken down so it was easy to understand. There are a lot of problems at that church, but they have been gaining 10-15 new members a year, which is remarkable for an ELCA church that size. Maybe there are people who do want to hear the gospel.

OK, we found a SBC church near us which is very multi-ethnic and looks pretty solid. It’s on our to-visit list.

My question for those who know the SBC and know me from online:
Do you have any advice or comments as we consider an SBC church?

I’m just asking because I am very unfamiliar with that church culture, and also there seems to be a lot of controversies going on now. Just anything you think may be helpful.

Cyberwurx, our host, is changing the BHT to a new server on Tuesday. Expect several hours of outage Tuesday. After the change, I expect much improved blogging. Of course, I also expect the Reds to pass the Brewers and the Astros before the year is over.

John, while I’m not smart enough to comment on Ellul I think you hit the nail on the head when you said ...to be regarding all political power as being inherently suspect. Personally, in post-Watergate America, I am always skeptical of all politicians down to even our local levels. I hate being that cynical but it seems like every time I find an official I can stand behind I’m disappointed. Politics is about power and perpetuating that power. I just don’t think it is method the church should get involved in.

Tommy said When are Dobson, Haggard, et al going to realize that they are just being pandered to by the politicians to get elected? I guess that may have been one of the reasons I posted the link. And it is one reason I am leary of if not against the faith-based initiatives funding and the whole marriage of American evangelicalism with the Republican party (or ANY party). If Christians expect to buy influence with their votes, what can you expect from a political party if they give you funding, etc.

Public Service Announcement: I hate to be a geek, but, well, you could follow Joel’s link to Amazon and read The Man Who Was Thursday for $8.05 + shipping and handling, or you could go over to the online Christian Classics library and download it for free.

I love my Mac OSX Dashboard on the Powerbook, and just discovered today that Konfabulator, the Windows version of the same widget program, is now available for free. 600+ Widgets. Not all the Mac widgets are available, but its the way coolest thing for a very busy and interactive desktop. (Wish they had a wiki program, but I’m running wikipad instead, and its good.)

I was about as good today as I can be in teaching, preaching. Sleep, reading, rest and relief from constant pressure is so helpful to me. Preaching 3-5 times a week doesn’t bode well for the quality of my messages. Plus, I’ve just been listening to my favorite preachers all week. Greg Nichols. Al Martin. John Sartelle. Mark Dever. Piper. Ravi. That’s helpful, too. I think a lot about moving to another pulpit when I get excited about preaching, but I know I need to stay in place, where my mature gifts can make the biggest difference. Nothing is on my heart more than for my little church in town to live, and not die….but it’s hard to see any hope. The church situation here is the choice between wild Pentecostalism and the shallowest of amusement parks. It is all mountain women and children. I’d wager Clay Co has few men in church, per thousand, than any place in the America. And here I am, with a pretty decent little reformed thing going on….in the last place that anyone cares. Keep on keeping on. That’s what’s in front of me.

BHT Lurker Mike Rose writes with a question about Bill Gothard:

Michael—Do you or any of the BHT fellows have any opinions/experience with Bill Gothard and/or the IBLP seminars. My tiny little church seems to be being taken over by true believers in Gothard. I have read online info from various sources that make me more than leary of the hyper-legalism that some claim Gothard represents. Any input would be appreciated.

Seeing Josh’s shirt reminds me of this story: I was wearing this causal shirt one day in chapel, and it has a nautical design all over it. Not Hawaiian, but close. Some guy walks up to me and says, “Well, you’re looking pastoral today.”

long pause He meant that I look like Rick Warren. Warren’s shirts are now official pastoral attire for America.

Speaking of Warren, he’s written Tim Challies, and the letter is up.

Everytime I pass Thinklings these days- which is now one guy posting one post a day- I am envious of what a great group blog really is. sigh It must be so cool. (jn)

Josh, you are too drunk to post. Drink some water and sleep it off.

(JN?)

And Frist was one of the guys in the first “Justice Sunday” too. When are Dobson, Haggard, et al going to realize that they are just being pandered to by the politicians to get elected? It makes me laugh to see all the outrage and disappointment from the culture warriors, see this Dobson announcement.

Dobson says, “We urge Sen. Frist to reconsider his position in light of the values he has espoused during his career in public service.” The only thing wrong with this statement is that politicians don’t have values, they just adopt the values of the people that get him elected. Rumor is that he wants the presidency in 2008, so he’s transitioning to the center, just like Hilary.

I’m not quite sure where I stand on the stem-cell debate. From what I’ve heard, there isn’t anyone who wants to use the embryos for a permanent solution, they are just the easiest to work with right now, and to learn how to do it. The ultimate goal is to be able to take a cell from your liver and grow you a new one, not have a big farm full of embryos to do it. That’s my understanding of the goals, I may be wrong.

So, if the embryos are going to be destroyed anyway, is it still ethical to do the research if the families donate them? Again, I don’t find an easy answer there.

Judson – Interesting article. I did not know his love story had been turned into a novel. Was it truly the “fatal flaw in Kierkegaard’s philosophy” or the fatal flaw in Kierkegaard himself. (If the two are indeed seperable.) He seemed to praise marriage but for some reason feel incapable of it himself, He saw the faith necessary, but could not chose it himself. Maybe he needed Prozac (jn).

Kierkegaard fans, you must read this.

John: Bad form on my part, but before I check out your posts, I just want to throw into the mix here for consideration (if anyone is actually around except the crickets) Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday, which raised your questions (more or less) about 100 years ago. Delightful.

Jeff: This is an ideal opportunity for me to plug my recent series of posts on anarchism and Christianity, based on Jacques Ellul’s writings on this subject, of which the concluding post has gone up today.

While I’m not familiar with Bill Frist and his views, from what people are saying about the failure of many Republicans to meet the expectations of their Christian supporters, this seems to vindicate what I put in the conclusion to that post:

Christians should never give any political power a “free pass”. “Jesus is Lord, and therefore Caesar isn’t” – so we need constantly to be relativizing political power, to be regarding all political power as being inherently suspect.

If we find ourselves holding a position of wholehearted and uncritical support for any politician or political position, or if we find our instinct is always to seek a solution to problems by means of political power rather than by other means, then Ellul will again hold us to account on this, and rightly so.

Ellul’s argument is basically that “anarchy is neither possible nor desirable, but working towards it is essential”. I wouldn’t go as far as Ellul: I don’t think we should even work towards anarchy as such, but any healthy Christian political position will include something of an “anarchist” suspicion of political power.

One thing on which I’d appreciate people’s thoughts is on the question of how we distinguish “anarchy” (in the Jacques Ellul sense, rather than the throwing-bombs-around sense) from “libertarianism” – or if really those are just two different words for what is essentially the same thing (so that libertarianism is just anarchism’s right-wing mirror-image).

An example of what happens when the church forgets the true nature of politics.

D.A. Carson’s three messages at a recent SBTS seminar: “Why Does Hebrews Quote The Old Testament Like That?”

I’m not familar with the content of the site where Mr Challies is given a beat down in the comments. Are the commentors TR?

Matthew: No. They are Chick Style Fundies, from what I can tell. MS

Tim Challies gets flamed by angry fundies after letting Richard Abanes (a Rick Warren supporter) have his say. I swear, is there any group that enjoys eating its own more than the Christian blogosphere?

Who’s next on the menu?

Generous excerpts from an off-the-cuff Q&A with B16. Much wisdom and insight into the man.

Tommy: Whitetail. The average buck will go around 110 lbs. Archery season will begin Oct. 1. Blackpowder about two weeks after that, and then rifle another week later. The season will end around Dec. 8th.

City Methodist Church, Gary, Indiana

Construction of the church once known as First Methodist began in 1925, an era of economic boom barely 20 years after Gary was founded as a steel-making city. United States Steel Corp. contributed more than half the project’s cost of $650,000. Elbert Gary, who gave his name to the city, donated a Skinner organ. The sanctuary seated 950 worshippers, and in the church’s heyday the congregation totaled nearly 3,000 members.

City Methodist played a role in Gary’s early cultural history, Meyers says. Pastor William Seaman blocked a screening of Birth of a Nation, a movie that glorified the Ku Klux Klan, and railed against the growing power of the Klan in Indiana during the 1920s. In a time when African Americans were refused entrance to white churches, Seaman welcomed black worshippers to City Methodist.

Social change in the 1960s affected the church, and by 1973 the congregation had dwindled to 300 members. The Methodists left the structure in the late 1970s; a second congregation briefly occupied the building, then departed in the early 1980s. Storefronts and office space occupied one wing of the building after that, but soon the building was totally abandoned.

Today the interior lies in ruins, picked clean of ornamentation and swept by a 1997 fire. Large sections of roof gape to the sky; many of the Gothic arch windows have been stripped of their stained glass; debris clutters the floors.

Update: Pics and info from a City Methodist directory. Two color photos at the bottom.

How does a church die?

John Granger documents the entire “Pope vs Harry Potter” deal at his website.

Thomas Oden finishes the CT Church Discipline series. Typical quality stuff from Oden.

The Lexington newspaper profiles Ben Witherington III.

Here’s a very good video about the ESV, viewable online with high speed.

The Parish with a good post on the “first person” perspective of most contemporary worship music.

Tommy: Reindeer. I think Bill lives close to the North Pole.

Bill-

White-tail season opens November 5th, closes January 15th (at least in my county). The last few years have been strange, an excessive amount of rain has caused the rut to be very heavy in October, then die down, then get going again in mid-December. After 10 years of the guys down there shooting anything that moves, they finally decided to start doing some game management the last 5 years. The bucks have been bigger the last few years then anytime before (both body and antlers), although South Texas whitetail aren’t very big compared to what you can get even in North Texas. I forget where you live, what type of deer do you have around?

As long as we are talking about breakfast:

I just whipped up homemade blueberry pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup. Served Miriam breakfast in bed.

I had a revelation this morning. We’re just not ‘getting it’ here at BHT, it’s that simple. Pastor Osteen, Dr. Dobson, Pastors Dollar, Parsley and Crouch…they’re the new face of Christianity; this bullcrap we’re spouting was sort of ok for folks that lived a long time ago, like before America.

What I’ve realized is that we’re at the tail end of one long, drawn-out adventure in missing the freaking point. It’s sad really, that people like us, alive today can still be caught up in some ancient perception of humanity that subordinates us to an inferior, backseat role in life.

This new Christianity that out there, it’s cool and new, it’s like the difference between an Escalade and a Conestoga wagon. I mean, like, which one would you drive if you had a choice?

Wake up Fellows.

I like highbrow food. But to really appreciate the fine stuff, you have to thoroughly delve into the cheap stuff. Even the folks at Food Network admit a Philly Cheesesteak just isn’t a true Philly Cheesesteak without Cheez Whiz. I make my own chili all the time. Particularly venison chili. But I’ll happily scarf down a can of Hormel (uh, after I pry off and discard the orange, hardened layer of grease).

Tommy: When does hunting season start? Our herd is way down this year, and I’m losing my mother in law’s property to hunt on. I took 2 deer there last year and 3 there the year before.

Phillip: Great to come across a fellow Moore-ite. I’m awaiting the results on my final module of the Preliminary Theological Certificate, which sounds to be the course you’re doing – or are you full time?

For those who don’t know about Moore College, it’s the theological college for the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, and a bastion of ultra-low church conservative evangelicalism. I think the PTC is the course taken by those becoming lay readers (i.e. lay preachers) in Sydney. (Hence when people ask me what the course qualifies me for, I usually reply that it qualifies me to take up “a type of ministry I no longer really agree with, in a church of which I am no longer a member, on the other side of the planet” (SW)).

Compared with the fluff that gets served up in the equivalent courses in the Church of England – one of my most cherished possessions is a certificate from the Diocese of Rochester that tells me I will never have to do their Faith and Ministry Course again (JN) – the PTC is well-nigh miraculous. I once heard Peter Jensen (Archbishop of Sydney and former Principal of Moore College) saying that the essential things to teach lay people on such courses were the Bible, doctrine and church history, and that is borne out by the list of compulsory modules for the course:

1. Introduction to the Bible
2. New Testament 1
3. Old Testament 1
4. Doctrine 1
5. Romans
6. Reformation Church History
7. Prayer Book or Christian Worship
8. Doctrine 2

Howja like them apples?

The material reflects the best and the worst of Sydney Anglicanism – commitment to sound biblical theology and Christ-centred, gospel-centred interpretation on the one hand, a rather “levelling” attitude towards worship and the sacraments on the other – but they have been remarkably tolerant in continuing to give me (*modest little cough*) good marks despite my increasing tendency to go into a kind of Lutheran frenzy when presented with questions about the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. (JN)

In short, the course reflects a commitment to raising up an informed, educated, Gospel-focused laity that a lot of other churches would do well to learn from.

A charitable, but spot-on analysis of Osteen over at Christian Century (h/t Jamie Smith). For those of you who can’t get enough of that other “Joel.”

Heh, I’m preparing for a Moore College test next month, and sweating it. It’s been a long time since I was in school, and while New Testament 1 shouldn’t make me nervous, I don’t like tests much.

Anyway, I’m a fan of Moore College. Their stuff isn’t perfect, by any means, and every now and then I catch a whiff of things I bet they’ll regret having said 100 years from now, but for the most part their materials are first-rate, and I’ll extend a few points on credit to anyone that comes through there.

On Breakfast: Sorry, put me on the list of folks who prefer the finer foods in life. Velveeta? That’s not food. Miracle Whip? Uh-oh, an exception: A sandwich just isn’t a sandwich without the tangy taste of Miracle Whip salad dressing. Keep the catsup away from me, and give me the dark and spicy mustard, if you please.

Just today I was lamenting the unavailability of a good Filipino restaurant near me, and then you go on about local grocery stores not carrying kalamata olives. Heck, my local Albertson’s carries all sorts of exotic ingredients from all around the world. I should stop complaining.

I’ll stop complaining when I find some good pansit and lumpia.

muffled sounds from somewhere under the floor

:)

btw Clearly, you and Joel are not shopping at an eastern Ky Kroger :-)

Michael – LOL – I forgot the “JN” to go with my description of the party. I have to admit that when he added venison sausage to the queso, I ate my share. But its still good advice for Josh. The kerby salesman told me I could really have something if I wanted it, now couldn’t I? :-)

>Tommy is allowed to have “queso” in the corner

Josh: As you mourn your continuing state as a lonely, single Lutheran man, contemplate the above sentence. It contains much of the unadvertised essence of the marital state of many men who go to churches where wifely submission is regularly preached to loud amens (or nods, if Presbyterian). :-) (jn)

Monk disappears down well hidden trap door.

Joel – Kalamatas are divine. Nice recipe, except for the tuna. Things with a shelf life of more than a year don’t count as real food.

Michael – your breakfast scares me. I join the “high brow” side.

On so called “queso” (velveeta and rotel) – We have an annual Christmas party here where a friend of mine and I make all kinds of (supposed to be) elegant and ‘exquisite’ dishes, decorate the house and fill it with invited guests. In order to get him to endure the festivities in his house, Tommy is allowed to have “queso” in the corner. So all the men go eat fake-queso, for heaven’s sake, while we women and one lone joel-type man enjoy things like nutmeat pate in brioche, spinach and goat cheese stuffed phyllo pasteries and fine cheese.

When Tommy’s parents come to visit, they always bring a big box full of chips, goldfish and cookies for Tommy and the girls. I think they worry that I deprive them between visits. :-)

I just added an entire on-line version of “Celebrating Common Prayer” to the sidebar. Check this out. Really helpful.

I’m discovering that our friends who don’t like hymns and love CCM are a rather “all or nothing” lot. It’s sort of “burn ‘em….burn ‘em all!” I’ve invited them to consider the differences between the first 100 hymns in the Baptist Hymnal and the next 100 songs played on K-Love.

A BHT Must Read

Joel: Let me share some of my favorite recipes with you :-) Here’s a sample:

WHITE TRASH BREAKFAST
1/2 dozen thick-cut slices of baloney cut into pieces
1/2 dozen eggs, beaten
1/4 block of Velveeta, chunked up
Fry baloney to desired crispness. Toss beaten eggs into frying pan and scramble along with baloney. Toss in Velveeta at the very end to melt. Serve with biscuits.

4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes (about 1-1/2 lb)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbl extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbl lemon juice
3 tbl capers, chopped
12 large black brine-cured olives, pitted and chopped (kalamata, nicoise or gaeta)
1/4 cup finely chopped small red onion
2 tbl chopped fresh parsley leaves
ground black pepper
1 (6-oz) can or (7-oz) pouch tuna, drained

Core and halve tomatoes lengthwise, then cut each half into 4 or 5 wedges. Toss the wedges with the salt in a large bowl; let rest until a small pool of liquid accumulates, about 15-20 minutes.

While tomatoes are softening, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, capers, olives, onion, parsley, and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Pour mixture over tomatoes and their accumulated liquid. Toss to coat. Set aside to let flavors blend, at least 5 minutes.

Crumble tuna over mixture. Toss to combine. Adjust seasonings and serve immediately.

Point: Warren…at least on the “silly” decision of the SBC to leave the BWA. (My my my….the man can generate more brief quotables in a short time than anyone on earth.)

Of course, he’s only saying that because I said it a year ago. Our current SBC leadership loves to sound like they are mission-minded, cooperative Baptists, until they have to cooperate with someone who isn’t a fundamentalist or a Presbyterian. shakes head

I don’t like soccer but I found this headline irresistable. Nothing says “sexual excitement” quite like a bunch of German women. Blech.

“This is no flash rip-off joint where clients are taken for a ride..” What?

Youseff has an excellent rating from Charity Navigator....much better than Ligonier!

That’s Moore College, the conservative hotbed in Australia…..and home of BHTer Phillip Winn!

It’s the mustache and the cufflinks that threw me off. I also looked up the Theological College he went to in Australia and it appears to be a school for folks preparing for ministry in the Anglican church. Youssef’s church also calls him their “rector”. He’s moving up the scale.

He preaches in a suit, behind a pulpit, to people who sit quietly like Baptists. The communion table is quite prominent. But the messages I’ve heard on TV are kinda hard for me to follow, and kind of Warrenish. But I’ve never seen him on Paul Crouch’s couch kissing the ring.

I don’t know, man. I don’t know anything about Youssef but he’s got that TBN look to him.

But, his church’s website says he earned a PhD in social anthropology from Emory University. Emory is not like TBN at all.

Matthew: Exactly. I’m monitoring several TR blogs right now to see who is the first to reveal our pomo approach to Tuna Salad (and Joel’s insidious, high brow influence on all us simple believers.)

Micheal, how could the TR’s criticize our doctrine of Tuna Salad? There is no unified BHT doctrine of Tuna Salad. We’re just a bunch of people with different Tuna Salad recipes discussing the good and the bad of different recipes. It’s like a conversation about Tuna Salad. To say that we have one view of Tuna Salad shared by 30 people is just, well, dumb.

Oh.

Anybody know anything about Dr. Michael Youssef, his background, theology, church, etc.?

Here was question that needed an answer:

>And why do we think we’re so sure of the answer to that question?

Because Lutherans ask the questions, and the rest of us give the right answers. Duh. (jn)

Music permeates worship. Even the intonations used in the sermon are variations on Gregorian chant. When proclaiming the Word, which preacher is content with the bare word stripped of cadence and pitch? The sermon has a melody, and like the solemn tones of Gregorian chant, are sounds from another world, conveying nuances of mood even as it unfolds in stability, calm and dignity. (Yes, even the fire-and-brimstone and snake-handling types present a frenzied and exaggerated caricature of this.)

The problem we have to deal with in our time is that singing and playing an instrument well has become a specialized talent with “artistic” value, but which does not fit into everyday life. Liturgical music was transformed long ago into “church” music. And church music simply isn’t interested in liturgical unity, in service to the congregation. It is an attraction, a “spiritual” hors d’oeuvre. Holiness and beauty are bound to one another only externally. In the transformation from liturgical to church music, we’ve lost its religious and aesthetic significance because inwardly we’re autonomous. No longer are our lives experienced as “before the face of God.” Church music today merely reflects the classification, division and broken-upness of our ordinary lives. Music merely reflects our experience of autonomy. Gone is the unity of external and internal, the relationship of word and sound, fittingness, propriety, and service. Augustine warned against the lascivia animi during singing, and I wonder if we will ever be able to recognize again how powerful this danger of pride really is.

Where faith and music touch, voices do not sound for themselves. The congregation sounds in the place (and in their place) of the great multitudes from every nation. The minister sounds in the place of the elders. The choir sounds in the place of angelic voices. (Rev 4-5, Rev 7:9-12, Rev 19:1-10). The choir in the Orthodox liturgy announces: “Let us now, representing the cherubim, the voices sound in mystic fashion, and raising the thrice-holy song of the life-giving Trinity, lay aside all earthly care.” Earthly music is here to remind us of that distant song and can only faintly echo the Gloria in aeternum.

John, the one who is small in stature is nominative (subject) while Jesus is accusative (direct object) so I think Z probably was the one who was short(er). He must have been REALLY short by today’s standards.

Michael asked: I’m not on their team, but by using a state run facility, didn’t CC sign up for possible hassles of this sort?

I don’t think so. There’s an Idaho Statutory exception to all of the wine laws for a) sacramental wine and b) home use.

If it’s illegal at the University of Idaho, it’s also illegal for all churches in the state who do not meet in someone’s home…

We’re waiting for the Truly Reformed to condemn us for our doctrine of Tuna Salad.

Where do I go to find out that olives and dijonaise don’t go together.

The question which hovers all around this post-to-be and is just dying to come out is: just how condenscending can I be and get away with it?

First, don’t pull this “white trash” schtick in your falsely modest way. A good Southern cook, if faced with a novel ingredient, isn’t just going to toss it into Aunt Edna’s slaw recipe that she got from Grandma Pilcher who got it from her Grandma Pilcher.

One of our kids’ favorite books has been We Are Bears. A mother’s two young cubs emerge from their den for the first time and mom shows them the ropes of what it takes to be a bear in the big wide world. One of the intrepid lads happens upon a mushroom that looks like a an embalmed dust bunny. “Can I eat this?” he asks. “Trust your senses. What does your nose say?” replies mom. Cub #1 approaches the fungus: “It says ‘Stay away, this is yucky’,” as the mushroom vents a cloud of poison dust.

This heartwarming tale provides a moral to the story of the great tuna salad quest: trust your taste buds and trust time-proven ingredient harmonies. Olives, tomatoes, artichoke, basil (think pizza—what ingredients have a good time together and which ones hiss and spit at each other), a little pungent cheese (parmesan, feta, gorgonzola). Never mind, I’ll send you one of Melanie’s recipes—it will change your outlook on tuna salad forever (for the better).

Talk about weird, BHT has become a tuna salad and heavy metal blog.

Michael, I’ve felt the same way about a couple of Brennan’s books…disappointment as I’ve felt that they were more repackaging old material in a bit of a different light rather than presenting new material.

Michael, that’s very tediously persuasive. Thank you. ;-)

Michael: The Tulsa Drillers. Tulsa is about 2 hours away. Little Rock Travellers are about 2 1/2 hours away.

White trash would fit in pretty well with us folks in Mansfield.

Our pastor is leaving in August. He has accepted the pastorate of a church in Washington state, in the Seattle / Tacoma area. He has been in Mansfield for seven years.

I would appreciate prayer for our church, although getting a new pastor may mean no more “faddish” leadership. He bought into Jabez and PDL.

My desire is for a pastor who is Christ focused in the pulpit, and who will be able to encourage our church in the area of discipleship. We are very shallow as a whole, spiritually. That may be fairly typical for a small Southern Baptist church in Arkansas.

Moderator: Is there a minor league team nearby?

The logic of the story goes with the shorter person climbing in a tree to get over a crowd that blocked his view. It’s not the habit of the Gospels to give any physical details about Jesus, but to give relevant physical details about those Jesus is encountering.

Josh: No, both those bands make me want to join the ELCA. (jN)

Steve Camp perfectly captures this “God is my girlfriend” business.

...and which came to mind reading about Zacchaeus in our children’s Bible stories book tonight:

He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. (Luke 19:3)

Question: Who was short in stature? Jesus, or Zacchaeus? In other words, to whom is that last “he” referring? And why do we think we’re so sure of the answer to that question?

At this point, Joel, I’ll blog anything to stop the Big Hair Revival Meeting. I’m starting to hear Stryper.

You have to remember I was born white trash and I’ve never risen above it. Where do I go to find out that olives and dijonaise don’t go together. (Remember, you are going to spend several days with me, so this may be important.)

Today’s Tuna included Miracle Whip (Pretty tangy), olives (I never like them much), dijonaise (OK), onion (ok), sweet pickle, egg white, a bit of lime juice (OK).

Michael, this is the culinary equivalent of playing John Cage for the call to worship. I nearly choked on my kalamatas when I read this. Please, for the love of Pete, dijoinaise + olives???

I’ve been updating the iMonk Archives page with all the major essays up through June.

Dale: I’m not on their team, but by using a state run facility, didn’t CC sign up for possible hassles of this sort?

Hinkle reminds us of what the Disciples of Christ have turned into. Alexander Campbell would be so proud. (jn)

I won’t buy it till someone assures me that he says something new.

Today’s Tuna included Miracle Whip (Pretty tangy), olives (I never like them much), dijonaise (OK), onion (ok), sweet pickle, egg white, a bit of lime juice (OK). I was out of wheat bread. I’ll skip the olives next time. Not bad, though.

VDH reality check is available early this week.

I’m attempting to read Shadowmancer sometime this summer.

I want this Worship CD. Anytime will do.

I mentioned before that there was a complaint filed about my church serving wine to those under 21 at the Lord’s Supper.

Here’s the most recent turn of events:

University of Idaho President Tim White has signed a permit allowing Christ Church to serve communion wine at an Aug. 7 service in the Kibbie Dome.

White’s permission comes with the clause that wine not be served to minors, said UI spokeswoman Nancy Hilliard.

“And it comes with the stipulation that Sodexho (food service contractor for the Kiddie Dome) does positive ID checks and that the State Board (of Education) has a copy of the permit,” she said.

Hilliard also said UI Interim Director of Auxiliary Services Peg Godwin told her Kibbie Dome staff would be on hand to help monitor the communion ceremony.

Josh: Do you ever listen to Tourniquet?

Michael: That’s one BIG kitty !!!

Josh and I had a free-ranging conversation yesterday at a local watering hole at which time we confessed our mutual admiration for Karl Barth. Here is an example of why I think he is very good. It is on the subject of joy: More »« Less

Interruptions, grrr. My draft post got shoved down a bit. But in comes John with a killer post—Yes! Those 20th-century English composing freaks rock. And a few of those French guys, too, like Messiaen (listened to O Sacrum Convivium on the way to school this morning—ahhh). Oh yes, and a few more of those Russian guys like Rachmaninov, Taneyev, Gretchaninov, Lvov, Chesnokov.

It is a tragedy of epic proportions that such church music is now rarely heard and used in its proper context, but is heard in the public concert hall (or in a church which performs it in a concert context rather than a worship context). Its religious function has been overtaken by a culturally elite aesthetic function. Meanwhile, the music of the public airwaves and stadia makes its claim to be the new and authentic church music. [/rant]

...the comparative aridity of Christian music written and performed between 1900-1970

Hmm. Those years saw music being written by (among many others) Oliver Messiaen, Sergei Rachmaninov, Ralph Vaughan Williams, CHH Parry, Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten and Herbert Howells. Hymns such as “Tell out my soul” and “Be thou my vision”, and hymnals including The English Hymnal and Hymns Ancient & Modern Revised. The birth of the traditional services of Nine Lessons & Carols, particularly that at King’s College, Cambridge. The beginnings of the revolution in “authentic” performances that has transformed the performance of works by Bach and Handel, and rescued people like Monteverdi from obscurity. And the moment I post this I’ll think of another fifteen reasons why the twentieth century was a golden age for church music.

Oh, sorry. You meant evangelical music. By people with pianos, guitars, tambourines and testimonies. Oops. My bad.

Now that I’ve returned from the hospital after choking on my Raisin Bran, here’s my response to Andrew Sandlin on CCM. (I’m a big Sandlin fan, so this is an oddity.)

Bill, wild strawberries and raspberries (if you can survive the skeeters). Fifty-five this morning when I left for Fargo…warming up to eighty. Usually we don’t get any snow until September (semi-sw).

Josh: I’m tempted to finish this letter I’m writing with “You’re my rose. Can I be your thorn?”

Is this a letter you’re writing to explain why you should be let into heaven? I seem to remember quoting Poison lyrics worked for these guys. (SW)

CCM seems to have restored the tone of high worship from both the Reformation and Isaac Watts eras that was gradually lost over the last 200 years

A claim with this magnitude of coma-inducing incongruity deserves, forgive me, a blunt reply: this is easily the most asinine claim I have EVER heard. The tone of high worship??? Is Mr. Sandlin trying to be insulting here? Do tell: what is your conception of “high” worship? More »« Less

Josh/Mark, thanks a lot for the encouragement. I’m really having fun. But I have an EXTREMELY competitive personality and think I should be doing Satch/Malmsteen stuff after only 6 months.

I’m understanding the theory in my head, especially with tablature, but it’s not making it to my fingers which is really frustrating. Like I said earlier, I’ve got a lot of time to make up and I wanna be there now!

Tom: You’re close. Velveeta and Salsa.

Kent: How are the blackberries over there? I picked a few cups yesterday, but in a week or so, we should be flooded with them. Do you have snow yet? (sw)

Well, Josh and I have to disagree again. Miracle Whip rules (mayo is so dull), and Velveeta is mandatory for the good old Velveeta/Ro-Tel Tomato combination dip—how can you live without that?

In that Lutheran pastor’s affirmation of his son’s homosexuality (by the way, did he really say that lifestyle was a choice, because most who say that it’s not a sin believe that people are born that way) don’t discount the fact that his public position may have a lot to do with the fact that it is his son and not just some people “out there” who indulge in that lifestyle. A person will often defend his kids in public even while privately disagreeing with what they do. When I lived in Enid, OK, there was a pastor there whose son, who lived in Florida, was getting a lot of publicity as a cult leader (remember Yahweh Ben-Yahweh?) I was flabbergasted when this minister of the gospel angrily defended his son against his critics. But family ties, in this instance, won out over truth. It will do it every time (well, not “every” time but quite a bit of the time.)

I find its emergence a healthy breeze after the comparative aridity of Christian music written and performed between 1900-1970. While some of this music is superficial and trite, much of it is superior both technically and theologically…

I must have completely missed that when I was guilted into giving up secular music in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. CCM was so bad it drove me back to the devil’s music.

>CCM seems to have restored the tone of high worship from both the Reformation and Isaac Watts eras that was gradually lost over the last 200 years...

choke….snort…..gag….....thud

Scott Kurtz’s comic, PVP, makes a pretty good point regarding the current flap around the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game. It’s not so much that discovering in-game simulated sex isn’t bad, it’s that things were already appalling before then. Funny the sort of thing that set off the watchdogs’ radar.

The ratings system is weak assurance, folks. Pay attention to what your kids play and watch.

We’ve been talking about tuna and mayo too long. Time to stir the pot again.

Andrew Sandlin has GOOD things to say about CCM. Stop the presses.