That One Guy

moeYou might also want to read an IM essay from almost 8 years ago: The Little Brothers of St. Archie Bunker.

There’s always “that one guy….”

Some of the posts here at Internet Monk run well over a hundred + comments these days, and you won’t be surprised that someone usually finds a way to get deleted. I’ve come to call that predictable commenter “that one guy.”

“That one guy” seems to always be on a different page from the rest of us in the conversation, and that’s not always bad. A different point of view can be God’s truth. I believe that. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here.

Let’s review some of the classic contributions by “that one guy.”Continue reading “That One Guy”

Review: NLT Mosaic Bible

978-1-4143-2205-6Tyndale’s NLT Mosaic Bible is off to a fast-start today. Those of us who like the NLT second edition should be happy for any opportunity to recommend this readable and helpful translation. An 80+ page sample of the Mosaic is available from Tyndale.

I received my copy earlier this week. I’ll share a variety of observations.

1. The Mosaic Bible is actually two books under one cover. It is a 52 week devotional resource keyed to the Christian year using art, quotations and extended selections from a broad sampling of Christian traditions on every continent, tradition and period of history. The second book is a two column NLT Bible, with center references, an excellent concordance, a Greek/Hebrew dictionary, maps and other helpful materials in most standard Bibles. These two books use different kinds of paper and are easily distinguished for one another. I was particularly glad that these materials are separated, because I do not want a Bible to look like a workbook or anything other than a text of Holy Scripture.

2. Mosaic is heavily graphical, with a generous sampling of Christian symbolism and an excellent selection of Christian art. All the artistic and literary resources are listed in an index. There is an intentional effort to capture an ecumenical, pan-traditional look that some might call “post evangelical” or “emerging.” Some may find this trendy. It is well-done and a pleasure to work through.Continue reading “Review: NLT Mosaic Bible”

NLT Mosaic Bible Released

163x251_mosaicRESOURCE: More than 80 pages of Mosaic are available to view here.

UPDATE: THE CONTEST IS CLOSED. Congratulations to winner Brian Ladd.

For those of you interested in the New Living Translation of the Bible, there will be some excitement at the release this week (9/22) of the Holy Bible: Mosaic Edition, a unique edition of the NLT that combines a year’s worth of weekly devotional material shaped around the Christian Year and expressions of various traditions with an NLT reference Bible. The Mosaic Bible is now available for order at Amazon.com.

The devotional side of this Bible has a large collection of diverse Christian art, quotes, stories, Biblical observations and other materials from every continent and every age of Christian history. It truly does present a “Mosaic” of the Christian church. I believe many of the IM audience will have a particular appreciation for this Bible.

A wealth of material from the publisher is available at HolyBibleMosaic.com.

I’ll be sponsoring a Question and Answer session with Mosaic General editor Keith Williams on October 14th.

How To Talk To An Evangelical On A Journey

HikerDear Well-Meaning Non-Evangelical Friend,

Please sit down, have a cup of tea or coffee…and listen.

I see that you’ve responded to some of us who are pilgrims in the evangelical community and who are on a journey within and perhaps beyond evangelicalism. You’ve offered up some “help” in the form of advice, comments, explanations and so forth.

If possible, I’d like to encourage you to consider a few matters that could prove useful to our shared ultimate goal of knowing the Trinitarian God and following Jesus.

1. It’s possible you may be able to claim a few of us for your particular church by arguing with us over the specifics of doctrine. There are some among us who are in the mood to be convinced. But you are making a mistake, in my view, in regard to most of us with this approach. Your assumption that we need to be battered with the clubs of better logic and more knowledge is not the pleasant experience you apparently remember it to be. Let us have a process that operates under our terms and with our perception of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If this is an episode of Bounty Hunter, tell us.Continue reading “How To Talk To An Evangelical On A Journey”

Preaching For Grownups: Mark 9:14-29

grownupI’m posting this morning’s sermon at Manchester Presbyterian Church where I supply. I strayed just a bit from the actual lectionary reading, back into last week’s text, which I’d replaced with Mark 8….oh, anyway. This is the first sermon where some of the themes of my nameless book are really prominent. Hopefully, I’ll find more ways to incorporate book themes into preaching.

I am replacing the category “London Presby,” which is sermons, with “Preaching For Grownups.” I’d like to do this as a regular podcast someday, but right now we will just make it a category. Production values are non-existent.

The sound in the background? That’s one of God’s beautiful children. You’ll get used to her. We all have.

The scripture is Mark 9:14-29. I do a bit of my overview of Mark in here as well. Feel free to share this message with those who assume I have a Kentucky accent. I need to stamp out that rumor.

A Theological Announcement….Sort of

eucharistUPDATE: Just banned a commenter. The admonition to “stop wasting my time” and “leave the SBC” was unacceptable. New commenters- read FAQ section 10 please.

For the past two years, I’ve been trying to get a single question answered:

What are the actual historical evidences, before Zwingli, for the Baptist view of the Lord’s Supper?

I’ve asked this question high, low, in-between and everywhere I could get a hearing.

Long story short: No answer. If there are evidences, then someone needs to write a book, asap. It’s long overdue.

Now let’s be clear what I am saying and not saying. My reading of the New Testament is deeply shaped by my Baptist upbringing, and it’s hard for me to read anything in any discussion of the Lord’s Supper that isn’t a version of the Zwinglian position. Baptists, at their best, such as in the Second London Baptist Confession, articulated a view quite similar to the language of John Calvin: in the Lord’s Supper, we feed on Christ by faith. As I have demonstrated in past posts here at IM (See the Baptists category), I believe there are many confessional resources in the history of Baptists to articulate a richer, deeper theology of the Lord’s Supper than what is commonly heard from Baptist pulpits: a deconstruction that virtually has taken the supper out of church life and the discipleship experience of most American Baptist Christians.Continue reading “A Theological Announcement….Sort of”

Internet Monk Radio Podcast #157

podcast_logo.gifThis week: The journey from evangelicalism to liturgy. Self-Assessment and The Loving Father

Support the IM sponsors: New Reformation Press. Reformation theology for everyone. Rockbridge Seminary. Family, ministry and online seminary all coming together. Modern Reformation Magazine. Featuring my current article on discipleship. The Ministry to Children blog is “information central” for children’s ministry on the net. The Theology Program is your best non-seminary educational option. Sign up for classes or buy the whole program.

David Head writes about the baseball incident and God’s love.

Want to support what I do? Use the Paypal button to make a donation or visit the Amazon Wish List.

The IM Weekend File: 09:18:09

belushi19411UPDATE: Got this note about a discount on Jesus Girls.

My wife wanted to read Jesus Girls after reading the review.
Can’t get it anywhere except the publisher right now though. I emailed them asking when Amazon would have it and they said, who knows, Amazon is really slow sometimes. However, they gave me a 25% off coupon that is good until Sept. 20. That’s $5 for IM readers who might be interested. The code is: NOTESS

What I’m doing now: I’m on a men’s retreat with the men of St. Patrick’s Anglican Church. It’s a real pleasure for me to just be “one of the guys” and not in a leadership position. It’s only a little more than a day, but it’s a much needed break from preaching, teaching, talking, etc. Pray I enjoy silence, rest, friendships and good teaching before I return home to preach Sunday morning and evening. No blogging till I return.

Podcast: Sometime before Monday a.m. Most likely sometime Sunday.

Site News: We still have RSS users who are getting partial posts in Google reader. RESUBSCRIBE to the feed using the icons on this page and the problem will be solved.Continue reading “The IM Weekend File: 09:18:09”

Why Doesn’t The Church Talk About Domestic Abuse?

rrUPDATE: Check out: “Seven Reasons Women Stay In Abusive Relationships and How To Defeat Each One of Them” by John Shore.

From Kentucky.com, following a high profile murder that followed a high profile history of domestic abuse

The news reports of the recent death of Amanda Ross, allege that she was a victim of domestic violence. Based on statistics, it is likely domestic violence is happening across all faith communities in Kentucky. (According to the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, in 2007, over 4,000 Kentuckians were in shelters, including 2,313 women and 1,760 children.) Are faith communities adequately addressing the problem?

1. It’s an issue where women and children are the victims of men’s sins (primarily), so it’s an uphill battle right there.

2. Scripture deals with “love your wife as Christ loves the church,” and the application is obvious, but none of Paul’s sin lists or our favorite parables or stories contain a guy who slaps around his girlfriend or a man who beats his wife when he’s drunk.

3. What’s the payoff for the average pastor who brings this up? Counseling women and hearing embarrassing secrets. And then….divorces. We all know how evangelicals feel about those….or, at least most of them

4. Never has the church’s need to develop its own counseling resources with women specializing in helping women been more obvious.Continue reading “Why Doesn’t The Church Talk About Domestic Abuse?”

A Picture of the Father’s Grace

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/video/videoplayer.swf

A wonderful picture of the Father’s grace toward us. If you have been told that God is not like this, remember that in Jesus he is more like this than you could ever imagine.

Let go forever of the scolding, punishing God who demands perfection. Embrace the Father who blesses us and delights in us because of his over-flowing love.