I miss the old days. If I’m saying that, you know that the birthdays are piling up, right? But I do. I miss the old days.
What old days? The old days when you weren’t obligated to tell everyone how much you cared, how much you were doing for whomever is less fortunate than you, and all the ways you are helping out. The old days when talking about how generous and compassionate you were was considered bad taste. Those days when it wasn’t considered trendy and appealing to have a list of charities appended to everything you do, and when volunteering your time or donating your treasure was something you did without photographers in tow. (See Sean Penn for details.)Continue reading “The "Look At Me!" Offering: Trying To Hear What Jesus Says About Public Compassion”
Once upon a time there was a playwright. While this playwright was the best who ever lived, his passion was not for his plays, but for his son, the greatest actor of his time. The son loved to act, and to bring joy, truth and meaning to audiences of every age and all kind. His gifts were immense, and his talent untapped. This son had played many parts, but had never played a part that truly demonstrated his true talents and potential. Both the playwright and his son were convinced that, if the right play could ever be created, this young actor could change the world forever.
I’ve been to school the past week. The school of life. God’s school. The best teacher of all, with lessons that will never leave you asking, “Now how am I going to use that in real life?”
*Music Up….swells….Voice Over*
Every so often, I daydream about what I would say if I had to defend myself as having been a member of or sympathetic with that nefarious group known as “The Southern Baptist Founder’s Movement.” The Founder’s Movement is a group of self-conscious, non-apologetic Calvinists who want nothing more than to return the SBC to its roots in Reformation theology and to see the fruits of Reformation in the denomination. Of all the Calvinists in the world, they are my favorites, and while I have dropped the label “Calvinist” from my own theological resume out of deference to those who wouldn’t let my dog share a bowl with their dog, I still dearly love those Founders and what they are all about, mostly because I still hope for better days for the SBC.
Because I work with students, many of them not Christians, but mostly with some Christian background, I get a lot of questions about certain topics. I could probably post a “Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions From My Students” and you would be surprised at what is not on that list. Understanding that I am campus minister, frequent preacher and Bible teacher, the questions are usually related to what my students have heard from preachers or family members regarding subjects they are interested in. I’m supposed to confirm that Brother Billy Bob or Grandma were right or wrong. It’s a big responsibility, because….well…there’s not much way to avoid making someone angry with the kinds of questions students ask me.
Many of my readers will be aware that I recently removed the essay “The Piper Project” from this web site. I am an unabashed fan of John Piper; a listener to his preaching, a student and reader of his work and a teacher of his theology to others. I’ve travelled to hear him, and he is near the top of my list of people who have deeply influenced my life.
Who would have thought that one of the most loved or loathed words in evangelicalism would turn out to be “conversation?” Conversation is among the most popular metaphors for a way of doing theology, education and evangelism. While the word has been mostly attached to the emergent church- which describes itself as a “conversation”- it is clear that the usefulness of the idea has moved out of twenty-something Christianity and into the larger evangelical stream. (I recently found myself inviting students to have a “conversation” about Jesus with evangelistic counselors during a spiritual emphasis week service.)
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