Fifteen Random Thoughts About the Economic Crisis

Rather random. Incomplete. Just things I keep thinking.

1. I’m convinced that some of the news media (***cough*** Fox ***cough***) are using the financial situation to create a “panic” audience. That is, they are putting on every extreme, doomsday voice they can, they are ignoring larger context, they are keeping their audiences convinced this is the end of the world, and then they are hauling in the advertisers. I’m surprised that so many Christians are failing to notice the agenda of much of the news media in this situation.

2. I’m not discounting the seriousness of the situation when I make the observation in statement #1. I’m not saying the doomsday team isn’t right. I’m not in any position to say what is going on, but I am concerned that the news and opinion on some venues is being selected with a good deal of bias. The information picture is large and complex. Throwing the worst case scenarios out there hour after hour seems to be a specific tactic with a specific (political) goal in mind.

3. I listen to a good bit of BBC and CBC. It’s not panic headlines 24-7. There seems to be more context. It’s the same crisis, and there are a lot of very unflattering things said about the U.S., the stimulus, the bailouts, businesses, government, etc. But I don’t hear these media outlets playing the situation for panic, profit or politics.Continue reading “Fifteen Random Thoughts About the Economic Crisis”

“I Forgive Myself:” The Hardest Word?

One of the things I really don’t like about run-of-the-mill evangelical spirituality is the assumption that we’re all basically clones of each other. Cheerful clones. Mentally healthy clones. Good family clones. Conservative political clones. Happy at church clones. Like the same music clones. Clones who cope well. Clones who think alike. Clones who can take a cheerful verse and dissolve any problem in short order.

Let me take a simple thing. I don’t like Fox News. I don’t have a vendetta about it, but it’s inflammatory much of the time, and their overall harping tone doesn’t do a thing for my blood pressure. They do a lot of name calling, cheap shots, girly pics and “true crime” coverage. I don’t live in England, so I don’t want the screaming British media.

What would be my fate if I stood up at my next public gathering with conservative evangelicals and read the previous paragraph? Let’s just say that many judgments would be made on this one item, most of them far from true.Continue reading ““I Forgive Myself:” The Hardest Word?”

Riffs: 02:18:09: Scot Mcknight on the “Neo-Reformed”

UPDATE II: Trevin Wax agrees and disagrees with Scot.

UPDATE: Now tell me again, where are they keeping that secret book?

Justin Taylor finds the characterization of the neo-reformed as fundamentalist inaccurate, to say the least.

‘Twas not so long ago, on a Calvinistic web site you’ve all visited, that one could hear a serious call to present one’s reformed credentials if one planned to be part of the discussion.

‘Twas also not so long ago, on more than one Calvinistic web site, that a person disagreeing with the main points of the host would be asked to answer “What is the gospel?”

And ’twas not so long ago, that I said, “I’m not a Calvinist,” an announcement that has now earned me at least a weekly email or two telling me that I am about to leave the faith or become a Roman Catholic.

In my own journey, I had happy days as a Calvinist. My days at Southern Baptist Founder’s Conference meetings as a “Timothy George” type SBC Calvinist were good times. Then there were the bad times. Posts about me at certain flaming blogs. Days of posts about me after the word went out through certain Calvinistic chat rooms that I was leading my audience outside of accepted boundaries. Letters to publishers and my employer, and weirdness on comment threads where my name was invoked as “emerging” and “apostate.”

When I finally swore all this off, it wasn’t to become an Arminian, or a Catholic or a one man band. It was to get the heck away from whatever was/is going on among the newly energized reformation police.Continue reading “Riffs: 02:18:09: Scot Mcknight on the “Neo-Reformed””

Liturgical Gangstas 6: Unappreciated Strengths and Overlooked Weaknesses

Welcome to IM’s popular new feature, “The Liturgical Gangstas,” a panel discussion among different liturgical traditions represented in the Internet Monk audience.

Who are the Gangstas?

Father Ernesto Obregon is an Eastern Orthodox priest.
Rev. Peter Vance Matthews is an Anglican priest and founding pastor of an AMIA congregation.
Dr. Wyman Richardson is a pastor of a First Baptist Church (SBC) and director of Walking Together Ministries, a resource on church discipline.
Alan Creech is a Roman Catholic with background in the Emerging church and spiritual direction. (Alan’s not a priest. If he is, his wife and kids need to know.)
Rev. Matthew Johnson is a United Methodist pastor.
Rev. William Cwirla is a Lutheran pastor (LCMS) and one of the hosts of The God Whisperers, which is a podcast nearly as good as Internet Monk Radio.

Here’s this week’s question: What is the most misunderstood positive thing about your tradition, and the most ignored weakness of your tradition? Of the five traditions represented, from whom do you believe your tradition could learn the most?Continue reading “Liturgical Gangstas 6: Unappreciated Strengths and Overlooked Weaknesses”

Open Mic at the iMonk Cafe: Why Aren’t We Doing Inner City Church Planting?

metrohopekn7UPDATE: Jared Wilson takes off on this topic.

I’m not dogging any churches here. I love my brothers and sisters in the suburbs. But this is a question that needs to be discussed. No blame, but thoughtful consideration. If you want to rant, go away.

I drove around Lexington yesterday, looking at suburban church after suburban church after suburban church after suburban church…..

I know Lexington pretty well. It has a major downtown/inner city area. Universities. Lots of businesses. Lots of housing of different kinds. Plenty of ethnics (Hispanics, especially) and minorities down there. Plenty of young people in the city. Lots of poverty and the resulting problems.

There are some churches in the inner city, but they are mostly Catholics, older, endowed, old money mainline congregations and Pentecostals who are happy to reach out to non-white, non-suburban people.Continue reading “Open Mic at the iMonk Cafe: Why Aren’t We Doing Inner City Church Planting?”

Some Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts

If you haven’t read them recently, the relevant passages on Spiritual gifts are 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12, and 1 Peter 4.

Most of us who are old enough recall when we first heard teaching on the subject of “spiritual gifts,” or charismata. For me, it was in the Charismatic movement’s first wave, which involved me both with Catholic charismatics and with charismatics in the mainline churches. That teaching almost entirely dealt with the gift of tongues and other “supernatural” gifts of the Spirit.

Later on, many of us encountered evangelical teaching on spiritual gifts in teaching that seemed heavily influenced by various kinds of secular personality theory, especially the identification of various personality characteristics as they pertained to work, relationships and self-understanding. The Biblical material on spiritual gifts took a back seat to questions of fulfillment and happiness. I’ve known many Christians who were on a permanent quest to be accurately defined in terms of spiritual gifts/personality type/vocational preference and style.Continue reading “Some Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts”

I’m A Poor Player

I love chess. I’ve loved it since I was a kid. I’ve kept my first chess sets. I can recall every hand held set I ever took to school when I was told not to. I still stalk ebay looking for a particular plastic set that I wanted when I was a boy, but could never afford.

I coached our school’s chess team for 5 years and loved every minute of it. Those were some of my very best times with students. Every so often, I’ll go on a riff reading chess books, studying games and playing chess computers for weeks at a time.

Of course, I love the gear. I have an Isle of Lewis set that I ordered from the UK at a shipping rate I don’t want to discuss. (Actually, I have two.) I just bought a Chinese style set that I don’t need. I own two tournament sets. I’d be really happy to run the chess room in any pub anywhere. Hire me.Continue reading “I’m A Poor Player”

Internet Monk Radio Podcast #127

podcast_logo.gifThis week: Starting some talks about parents, student ministry, etc: This week I talk about evaluating the “acting out” teen and parenting/ministry for identity rather than behavior.

Exit music from Randy Stonehill. The new CD, Paradise Sky.

Our sponsors are: 60 Ways to Leave Your Mother…Alone. A comic by Michael Buckley.

New Reformation Press. Download new teaching by Dr. Rod Rosenbladt.

Zaccheus Press– Fine Catholic Books, including Union With God.

Want to be an IM advertiser? Want over 450,000+ unique visitors with close to 5.5 million page views last year to see your ad on the sidebar? IM has the most diverse readership in the blogosphere. I am #12 on Relevant Christian’s list of blogs read by Christian leaders. Get your product out there to a loyal audience that supports this site. Contact me if you are interested. Outstanding rates available on request.

Poetry Slam ’09

One of the events I am responsible for at the ministry where I serve is a poetry slam. Competitors must perform an original poem. Non-competitors are either adults or are performing non-original work.

Here are four of the poems from last week’s slam. I’ll add some more later.

First, my wife Denise Day Spencer. Second, my daughter Noel Cordle. Third, one of my students, Zunilda Lynch, performing the Inauguration Poem “Praise Song for the Day.” Finally, our student winner for the second year in a row, Emel Curtis.
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Living In One Room

In Screwtape Letter 10, the senior tempter reminds Wormwood that, as much as possible, he should strive to have his patient lead two completely separate and parallel lives.

It’s basic demonic advice, and few of us would need much explanation. Someone ought to add that’s there’s no good reason to stop at two separate lives. Three, four, five or fifteen separate lives are all possible if you learn the basics of compartmentalizing.

Yes, that’s a fifty cent word: compartmentalizing. Taking a whole life, dividing it into sections, putting up walls between those sections and living in each one as a different world that allows you to be a different person.

I’m not talking about multiple personalities. I’m simply saying that Screwtape was wise to point out that we often live in one room- and with the people in that room- as if the other rooms don’t exist.Continue reading “Living In One Room”