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Home Simpson Would Love This

2012-01-23T11:03:00.002-05:00

Here's an image that seems fairly descriptive of a fairly wide swath of our culture. It seems this is a remote control that doubles as a bottle opener. And, just in time for the hyperbolic run-up to the Super Bowl, it's available at a Groupon special price. Oy.

Thinking About Ron Paul

2012-01-18T21:38:00.000-05:00

I'm one of those undecided South Carolina GOP primary voters being targeted by all these (very) aggressive campaigns. I'm not particularly enamored with any of these five remaining candidates. All have strengths (though in one case you have to look awfully hard), and all have significant weaknesses. So I've come to grips with the fact that I'll be voting for someone I don't totally agree with. I'm also fairly convinced that Mitt Romney will win here on Saturday and will wind up the GOP nominee.

So let's talk about the curious case of Ron Paul. Now, to be clear, I don't think he really has a chance to win this nomination and I bet that, in his heart of hearts, he doesn't think so either. His campaign is about promoting his ideas/ideology, and that is generally a very good thing. He's honestly quite brilliant on economic issues and admirable in sticking to his guns on the Constitution, limited government, fiscal conservatism, and liberty. He seems to be alone in his commitment to making real substantive changes in the area of federal spending by cutting a trillion bucks from the budget, eliminating entire departments of the bureaucracy, and that sort of thing. He's also the only candidate I am completely confident is not beholden to or in the pocket of big corporate interests (like Big Pharma, for example) as well.

Now, there is that whole foreign policy issue. In an ideal sense, Paul's foreign policy ideals make sense. I don't know why America is the policeman of the world, why our troops get scattered all over the place, etc. But, alas, we don't live in a vacuum. We are where we are and some of his positions (on Iran, for example), seem a bit reckless, to be honest. But, here again, I remind you that Ron Paul isn't going to win... and a little more circumspection in our foreign policy would be a positive development.

Will I vote for Ron Paul? I don't know yet. I thought about it in 2008 and didn't pull the trigger. But I'm encouraged that people are taking him and, more importantly, his ideas more seriously. The GOP should take seriously his ability to ignite and create a significant movement of impassioned, if occasionally annoyingly exuberant voters, many of whom were previously unengaged politically. Those followers should not be ignored. The GOP needs their energy and enthusiasm. (I personally have high hopes that his movement will come to some fruition in Rand Paul, but that's another post for another time.)

I do want to bring attention to a very thorough article that thoughtfully builds a case for Ron Paul based on biblical and constitutional concerns, written by Vodddie Baucham.

The Medium and the Message: What I Learned From Junk Mail

2012-01-11T22:10:00.001-05:00

I regularly get direct mail from insurance companies and other insurance-related organizations that want me to sell their stuff. Usually it's a "hot" new Medicare product. (Think about that - do normal people ever think of anything related to Medicare as being "hot"?) Often it's some kind of life insurance thing that's going to make me rich.

The fun card (logo hidden to protect the guilty)

A few weeks ago I got one that was pretty cool. It was a card that, when opened, started playing a fun little New Orleans-style ditty. (I'm assuming you've seen greeting cards that play songs... it was like that). The kids really enjoyed it, and still do once in a while. That was a bit more expensive than a normal piece of direct mail marketing that they obviously thought would be worthwhile to stand out from the other junk.

Here's the thing. The other day I was telling Keri about it, but couldn't recall anything about it other than the music. I couldn't remember what insurance company had sent it or what product they were advertising.

I find it to be an interesting object lesson that it's possible for the medium to overwhelm the message.

That's something to keep in mind anytime you're trying to communicate something you think is important - whether it's your company's marketing message, your cause of choice, or your church's presentation of the Gospel. The medium matters, and creative presentation can be fantastic. But we need to be sure that the medium doesn't overwhelm the message. Because then the people we're trying to reach will completely miss the point.

Is Atlanta a Rotten Sports Town?

2012-01-06T23:03:00.005-05:00

With some regularity, sports commentators rip the city of Atlanta (my hometown) as a bad sports town. Todaysome lower-tier ESPN writer has published his view that "without question, Atlanta is the worst sports town in America." (Quite honestly, the piece is uncreative and poorly written, too!) So I offer two responses. The first, a defense of Atlanta by an Atlanta sports fan. The second, in what I imagine they would consider the quintessential Atlanta response, I shrug my shoulders and say, "Who cares?"

First, a defense. There are several salient points to make:

* Atlanta professional sports teams not named "Falcons" labor under ownership situations that range from bad to downright farcical. The Braves have out-of-town corporate owners that don't care about them beyond a tax write-off (literally). The Hawks (and formerly, the Thrashers) have a loose amalgamation of disparate owners who literally spent years in court suing each other. Nobody cares to build a winner, and fans aren't inclined to support that kind of owner.

* Most people that populate the metro Atlanta area are not natives. So they are casual observers at best of the local sports scene.

* When most of these commentators talk about "sports" they really mean "PRO sports." Because Atlanta is filled with sports fans, who on any given Saturday in the fall put 80,000-100,000 people in raucous college football stadiums within 2-3 hours drive in places like Athens, Auburn, Clemson, Columbia, Tuscaloosa, and, a bit further afield Knoxville. And that's not to mention the thousands packed into high-school stadia the night before.

Now, at the end of the day, I guess I'm an ultimate Atlanta sports fan, because I say "Who cares?" I don't orient my life and happiness around the success of the local team. The ESPN writer describes New York Giants fans, admiringly, as "living and dying with their team. Football is a part of their lifestyle, it's who they are." Yeah that's not me. Guess I'm not a "fan" (which is short for, you know, "fanatic"). And maybe that's not my town. But you know, I'm OK with that.

I enjoy sports, but I don't live for sports.

Pujols, Buckets of Cash, Loyalty, and Fandom

2011-12-12T22:21:00.005-05:00

Pujols being introduced to his new fans

los_111210_pujolspresser.jpg espn.go.com

If you haven't heard, Albert Pujols just signed a deal to play for the Anaheim Angels (I can't bring myself to write "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" because it's a dumb name) for somewhere slightly north of a quarter-billion dollars (yes, with a B) over the next 10 years. That a man could get paid more than the GDP of a bunch of small countries to play a game bothers a lot of people. That he would leave the St. Louis Cardinals also bothers a lot of people (who, as it turns out, are mostly fans of that proud franchise). I'm not a fan of either team, and have no particular allegiance to Pujols, so I offer these thoughts as a detached observer.

Should an athlete make that kind of money? I understand the complaint, but would you turn down the contract? Nobody would pay the man that kind of money if they didn't think they would make that much or more by employing him (in terms of putting a winning product on the field, in terms of marketing and merchandising, and in terms of eyes on television sets and butts in stadium seats). It's a free marketplace, and any one of us is worth whatever someone else is willing to pay, right? (And it should be noted that Pujols, by all accounts is a genuine believer, is very generous with his truckloads of money).

Was Albert Pujols disloyal? or... Did Albert Pujols owe St. Louis anything? The cries of loyalty are not uncommon in sports. I remember hearing the same thing when Tom Glavine, the legendary Braves pitcher, signed a deal with the hated Mets (talk about a deal with the devil!). Sports fans (think about the etymology of the term "fan" -- a shortened form of "fanatic") react to these issues in an emotional way because they have a (sometimes deep) emotional investment in their team.

Pujols in days gone by.
(albert-pujols-signs-tx4.jpg transcripts.cnn.com)

That's understandable. But let's think about this. What if you were offered a job with another company or firm in your industry - a good, upwardly mobile company, with some long term advantages (the designated hitter role in the American League makes a lot of sense for an aging Albert Pujols in the back half of that contract). Imagine that job also came with a salary that was 25% higher than what you'd make with your present employer. Sure you'd have to weigh out the advantages and disadvantages of relocating and all of that. But... would you blame someone for taking that job?

Maybe a story like this gives us an opportunity to step back and consider how emotionally invested we allow ourselves to get with our favorite teams. There's a line in the movie "Fever Pitch" (about a crazed Red Sox fan) where a kid asks the main character something like this: "You love the Red Sox and give everything for them. But do they love you back?" The answer is obvious.

This year, more than ever, has presented us with a number of cautionary tales that remind us not to put too much of our stock into these teams, programs, and players (and coaches). They'll let us down. (Yes, even Tim Tebow is human.) Only One person is worthy of our praise, and the good news is He won't let us down, won't dessert us for a better offer or more money (He doesn't need it), and definitely loves us back (because He loved us first).

Thinking about a song: "More Like Falling in Love"

2011-11-21T21:46:00.001-05:00

The other day I was in the car flipping through radio stations and came upon a pretty catchy song on one of the Christian radio stations (yes we have 3 different Christian radio stations). I was honestly enjoying it musically -- the vibe, as it were -- and then began to notice the lyrics. That kinda ruined the song. The chorus described the singer's desire for a faith that is:

More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance

Jason Gray, "More Like Falling in Love"

Here we have a great encapsulation of the romanticism that is so prevalent in Christian circles (at least in this country) and which permeates pop Evangelicalism. It's all about feelings and "heart engagement." We want a worship "experience" that gives us heart palpitations and warm fuzzies more than one that engages us with Truth. We all are familiar with the "Jesus is my girlfriend" genre of worship music where you could remove the word "Jesus" or "God" and insert a girl's name and make it a pop ballad. I think that many Evangelicals aren't "in love" with Jesus as much as they are infatuated.

Look, I've got nothing against engaging with God at an emotional level -- after all He made us emotional beings and we are to honor Him and pursue Him with our emotions. But if that's all we're doing then we are worshiping with less than our all -- less than our heart, mind, soul, and strength. What does this singer want to fall in love with? Presumably Jesus. But without the anchors of Gospel truth, the theological belief system and the meat of doctrine, he could wind up falling in love with a different Jesus, one of his own making.

The thing about this kind of weak-kneed, infatuation experience is that emotions are fickle and infatuation wanes. The human heart is deceitful, right? The feeling of "falling in love" will retreat when life gets hard, and there will be nothing to hang onto without "something to believe in." Real love has more to do with "allegiance" than breathlessly "losing my heart." You have to have something to hold onto when the feeling wanes, something to hang your faith on when your heart is wandering a different direction.

I'm reminded of Francis Schaeffer's influential argument that the Western experience has been split into two pieces, which he likened as two levels of a house. The lower level was the public life, where you find reason. The upper level is the private life, where you find your emotions, your spiritual beliefs, and that sort of thing. This is why you hear talk of your faith being good for you but not appropriate to be brought into the public sphere (of government, work, etc.). Schaeffer warned against believers being co-opted by this false dichotomy. Songs like this one fit neatly into this bifurcation -- the singer is yearning for an "upper level" experience with God without regard to the "lower level."

That might be temporarily satisfying and give you goosebumps, but it won't stand the test of time. No thanks. We need both. Give us love that is rooted in Truth.

The Re-Invention of Barnes & Noble Continues

2011-11-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

The Nook is the star of the show now

A little over a year ago I walked into a Barnes & Noble and noticed some subtle changes. Tonight we walked in and I'd say the re-invention is in full swing. If it wasn't obvious before, it's very clear now that the Nook has taken a central role in the company's future, and has literally taken a central role in the brick and mortar store. The first thing you see when you walk in is a huge Nook store-within-store, right in the middle of everything. And that makes sense -- one of the chief advantages that the Nook has over the Kindle is the brick and mortar presence where customers can check it out, play with it, and ask questions. The Nook really is the key to the future of the business.

For what it's worth, I think there are other advantages to the Nook -- mainly the ability to read all kinds of file types, including PDF, ePub, etc. From what I understand, the Kindle is more limited to files formatted for the Kindle (which is to say, those purchased from Amazon!) If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

Bye bye music, hello toys and games

There are other significant changes as well. When Barnes & Noble hit the scene in the 1990s, one of the cool things about it was the music center in the store. Well, seriously, when was the last time you bought a CD there? For that matter, when was the last time you bought an actual CD? Yep, it was inevitable and now it's happened - the music area is gone. In it's place is a "Toys & Games" area where you'll find some stuff for kids to do (the Thomas train table and a Lego table the kids enjoyed). The toys and games you'll find there are oriented towards educational purposes (i.e. there's some kind of redeeming value to them, in theory anyway), which sets these apart from a lot of the Toys R Us stuff. I think it's a great idea.

I really hope Barnes & Noble makes it in a rapidly changing industry. I love having it there as a place to hang out, thumb through books or magazines alone or with the kids, and now with the addition of more things for the kids to actually do, it's a nice place to go hang out as a family. And yes, we actually bought a couple things.

Great Pursuit

2011-09-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

I have another blog called The Great Pursuit. The truth is I'm never sure exactly what to put here versus there. At times I think of killing it and consolidating to one blog, but I kind of like having one that has a name other than my own. That could be useful. At present, it's primarily a place where I write more devotionally and/or where I like to put particularly noteworthy or thought-provoking excerpts of something I'm reading. I sometimes entertain thoughts of trying to post there quite frequently along those lines in order to spur myself to think, read, and study that way more often. I welcome any thoughts or suggestions on that front.

For now, I'll just note that tonight I posted an entry titled "Piper on Our Fixation with Personal Comfort."

John Stott on the danger of presumption in study

2011-08-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

The recent death of John Stott has inspired me to finally dive into what is generally considered to be his magnum opus, The Cross of Christ. In the preface, he makes a very wise disclaimer that eloquently states some of the discomfort I had as I got deep into doctoral work at seminary:

"In daring to write (and read) a book about the cross, there is of course a great danger of presumption. This is partly because what actually happened when 'God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ' is a mystery whose depths we shall spend eternity plumbing, and partly because it would be most unseemly to feign a cool detachment as we contemplate Christ's cross. For, whether we like it or not, we are involved. Our sins put him there. So, far from offering us flattery, the cross undermines our self-righteousness. We can stand before it only with a bowed head and a broken spirit…"

Now I want to be very quick to note that this is not at all meant to disparage or denigrate the study and pursuit of theology, whether it is undertaken formally or informally. I simply found that it was too easy for me to lose sight of the proper attitude and posture that such study should take.

The Earth vs. Sun

2011-08-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

Via: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/files/2011/08/Sun.jpg

An interesting picture to help you put things in perspective.

Corporations Don't Pay Taxes, and Why Profits Aren't Evil

2011-08-13T20:55:00.002-05:00

One thing that drives me crazy is when people get all hot and bothered about corporations getting tax breaks or incentives and whining about how they "don't pay their fair share." Let's make one thing very clear: Corporations don't pay taxes. Period. Oh they may write the checks (of course, GE is one of those corporations who has somehow managed to avoid paying any taxes). But taxes are simply factored into the cost of doing business, and therefore they are passed on to... the consumer.

Yes, consumers pay corporate taxes, primarily in the form of higher prices for the products or services they buy. In my present business, this is crystal clear: Government imposes mandates and increases taxes on insurance companies. The predictable result is that premiums go up. If your power company experiences a tax increase, your power bill will go up. If your grocery store of choice gets a tax increase, you'll pay more for food. You get the idea. (For that matter, if corporations keep getting hit with higher taxes - not to mention ridiculous regulations from the EPA, threats from the NLRB, and demands from countless other governmental agencies - they just decide to pack up and move some operations overseas.)

So I don't have a problem with corporations getting tax breaks. I don't have a problem with Amazon getting tax breaks to open a facility in South Carolina that will employ a bunch of people. I think we should all get tax breaks because when people have more money in their pockets, they tend to spend it, and that, friends, is the path to economic recovery.

When corporations have more money, they can hire more people or innovate. When people have more money, they put it into the economy. All of these things generate revenue (a view which stands in contrast to the standard media fare about tax increases = revenue increases).

Corporations are, after all, generally in business to make a profit. In the worldview of the liberal elite and the current administration, "profits" = "how much you screwed over the consumer." But in the real world, the profit is what motivates innovation, improvement, and giving a crap about the customer, among other things. Consider the difference between a visit to the DMV and a visit to an Apple store. Put another way: Both the DMV and the Apple store exist to get your money -- one does it by coercion and once by persuasion; one works by fiat and one by desire. You tell me which is better. Or consider the economies of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern European satellite states it dominated compared with those of the West.

Now, I don't at all believe that corporations are innocent Pollyannas. There are plenty that are horrible (Monsanto comes to mind, as do various tobacco companies.) But all else being equal, I have more trust in the free markets of capitalism where consumers are ultimately empowered than I do economies dominated by governmental intervention.

Reviewing Pujols: More Than the Game

2011-03-02T17:17:00.001-05:00

We watch a lot of sports at my house, and while my boys are still pretty young, I'm sensitive to wanting them to observe not just the athletic exploits, but things like sportsmanship, attitude, and character. As baseball season approaches, we're eagerly awaiting some Braves baseball, and watching our favorite players (guys like McCann, Heyward, and Chipper). But there's little doubt that the best player in the game is the Cardinals' Albert Pujols. The nice thing about Pujols is that he's someone you can point your son to with confidence that this is a guy with character, who approaches the game the right way, and whose priorities and values match our own. A new biography, Pujols: More Than the Game, seeks to make the case for his greatness both on and off the field.

There is a formal disclosure below about the fact that I got the book for free. Full disclosure also would require that I consider Tim Ellsworth, the co-author, to be a friend.

The book essentially lays out two goals: (1) to prove that Albert Pujols is the greatest player in the game today and one of the greatest ever; and (2) to prove that he is great off the field as well, and that his off-field greatness flows from his relationship with Jesus Christ. These two goals are interwoven in a fairly cyclical pattern where you get one chapter of baseball stuff, usually tracing a particular season in Pujols' career, and one chapter talking about his off-field life, focusing on how his relationship with Christ influences him.

As to the first goal, there are a lot of stats to back up the claim. Baseball people love their stats, and while I'm a baseball fan, statistics cause my eyes to glaze over. The recounts of each season are sprinkled with highlights and lowlights and occassional anecdotes. If you're a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, you'll probably really enjoy these chapters. If you're not, then you may find these chapters less interesting.

The second goal encompasses the most interesting components of the book for me. Here we learn about Pujols' conversion experience, his very solid family life, and his charitable work (he is deeply involved in projects in his native Dominican Republic and in work with the Downs Syndrome community). It's interesting and amusing to hear of the first baseman asking opposing baserunners where they'd go if they died tonight. It's cool to read about him leading a teammate to Christ and taking younger Latin players under his wing. Though he has a reputation as being prickly with the press, Pujols seems to be a man whose walk with Christ genuinely influences how he lives and works. A cursory look around the modern sports landscape affirms that this is not all that common. He's a guy who is a true role model, though far from perfect. Though the authors do occasionally mention his shortcomings, the charge could be made that they are a bit too laudatory in their assessment.

This is honestly not a particularly inspirational story in the sense that it will change your life or something like that. But it's well written and reads well. If you're a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals I think you'd love it. If Pujols played for the Braves I'm sure I'd love the book because I'd be more invested in the baseball parts. But it's a nice, casual read that will interest general sports fans and those who are interested in how a Christian uses a major platform for good.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Social Media in the Church

2011-02-09T22:39:00.001-05:00

It seems to me that the idea of a social media strategy for a church might sound like another lame attempt for a church to be hip, another popular fad to chase. And I suppose that, in fairness, that is sometimes the case. What I have in view with the concept though is not another way to bow to the idol of "relevance," but a biblically informed strategy for utilizing technology to aid in the church's mission and goals.

If you were to poll the people in your church, I'd bet a significant portion of them are engaged at some moderate to heavy level with social media, predominantly Facebook and Twitter. In other words, that's where many people are, and that's an obvious place to connect with them at some level. You see that happen organically in certain ways. For example, in a time of medical crisis, Facebook can become a very useful way for relevant information to get out to others who can pray for or serve a family in need.

I have in view a particular strategy that seeks to generally draw people deeper into the life of the church, which ought to have the deeper goal of drawing them deeper into the Gospel (which is to say, a life marked by a deepening engagement with, affection for, and application of the Gospel). How is that accomplished? Here's my suggestion:

One key purpose of the Facebook and Twitter feeds is to summarize/tease and link to new content in a central blog (this doesn't have to be fancy - a basic Blogger or Wordpress site would do). The blog serves several purposes. It alerts folks to what's going on in the church (in the old days we called this "announcements" -- think of it almost like an online bulletin, if you will, without the 10% discount at Golden Corral). You could tell stories of how God is moving in the ministries of the church or in mission projects.

But the blog also becomes a place to remind, reinforce, and send people deeper into the content of the Sunday sermon, the principle teaching mechanism of the church. Here you might post a short summary of the message with a link to video or audio if available, you might post links to articles or books cited as well as material for further study (and why not tag it to an Amazon affiliate account?). I'd also suggest some application questions that would stir people to think about how to apply the message and fuel good discussions in homes and small groups.

If we could visualize the strategy, it looks like this:

Social Media --> Blog --> The life of the church --> The Gospel.

I'd be interested in hearing any feedback or related ideas.

Inception and Existentialism; Nihilism

2011-02-07T22:07:00.001-05:00

Well I finally saw Inception and really enjoyed it. Though the special effects are really interesting, and the storyline unbelievably creative, I’m fascinated most by the philosophical themes that the movie seems to explore. These themes seem to draw from Nihilism and Existentialism, as so much high and pop art do, to raise some interesting questions. And I do mean questions – the film seems very pointed in NOT answering them. That’s part of the whole thing, really. I suppose many are left singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” (you know how that ends). I want to dig into the philosophy a bit and just think out loud with you.

There's more than just dreaming going on here. There are questions about what is real, what (if anything) has meaning. I think we can trace a philosophical/worldview movement from Nihilism to Existentialism. Nihilism is a philosophy that emerged in the late nineteenth century as really a logical conclusion to Naturalism (or any non-Theistic worldview). If reality exists in some kind of box with nothing outside of it (e.g. God) to imbue it with meaning, then all sense of meaning and value is groundless and, thus, fake. The existentialist is one who rises above the resulting despondency or resignation to create meaning and define his own life and circumstances. (I wrote more about it in a similar film review here.)

There are two main characters in the film and each has an existential moment – the moment where they reject Nihilism (again, the view that they are prisoners of the nothingness of life, prisoners of their circumstances, of a meaningless world, yada yada yada). They reject this Nihilism by refusing to drown in their own subconscious angst and instead by choosing to create and embrace a new reality, one that is not foisted upon them. Philosophically, this is Existentialism’s response to and rejection of Nihilism. But it is crucial to note that it is not a repudiation of the truth of Nihilism as much as it is a decision to defy it and/or ignore it.

The first main character, obviously, is Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). His existential moment occurs on the “bottom level” of the dream, where he must finally let go of his dead wife. He accepts the reality of her death and, though tempted to remain there with her in some profound depth of sub-consciousness, he chooses to leave and move on with his life, to build something new without her. After all, she is not real, all she is at this point is what he can project her to be in his mind. And as he tells her, that’s not enough. There’s something better about the real, complex, complicated, wonderful though flawed version of her that is gone.

So he embraces the “real,” though flawed version of life and chooses to get back to his children to live there.

The second character is Fischer. The entire dream sequence is, after all, a journey into the deep recesses of his mind. His existential moment comes after he breaks into his own subconscious and finds the idea planted there by the others – that his father wants his son to not try to emulate him, but to become his own man and build his own life. Sitting on the beach (at the “first level” of the dream, later), he tells his uncle “that’s what I’m going to do.” He has resolved to not be defined by anything outside of himself, but to become his own man. In a sense, he becomes the “super-man,” the overcomer spoken of by Nietzsche.

In that sense, it is interesting to note that Fischer’s transformation is ultimately wrought within himself. This would be an ultimately existential theme. The twist here, however, is that the idea that leads to the transformation is one that is planted in him from something outside of him. And here is where the movie (at least where I see it) departs from “orthodox” Existentialism. Can something from outside of you change you? (We could take it a step farther and consider the role of the “architect” of the dream, played here by Ellen Page, who designed the labyrinthine structure in order to create a setting where these things could take place. She is something of a muse who guides Cobb through the story.) It seems to me that this is a philosophical question that can lead towards a Gospel conversation, though I’d reckon that’s not what the filmmakers intend.

I think the filmmakers are rather intentional in wanting to leave these questions unanswered. The last image of the film shows that symbolic "totem" (a top), which Cobb keeps with him to discern reality, spinning around. It seems as though it begins to wobble. Does it drop? Is this a dream? Does it end? The implication seems to be that it will eventually drop, and that this too (this dream or reality – whatever it is – is there a difference?) will end, as all things must. But for now the sun is shining and the children are joyously hugging his neck and all seems well. Of course it will drop (that’s Nihilism, which is the inescapable reality of a non-Theistic worldview; that is what is true), but he’s going to walk outside in the sunshine and enjoy it (that’s Existentialism). That’s the courageous thing for the Existentialist to do. Enjoy it and make the most of it even though it doesn’t really matter.

Or does it? Here we part ways again because the Christian worldview argues strongly that it does matter, that there is an ultimate reality that does not end. The momentousness of this life, however, is that it does set our course for that eternal reality and how it will be spent. It will either be spent in the sunny and very real presence of the very real Creator and King, or it will be spent drowning in a lonely sea of self-conscious angst and pain.

The Architect calls us to Himself.

Paging Corinth!

2011-01-31T21:31:00.001-05:00

I've heard about some ugly church meetings before (when you're in seminary as long as I was you hear "war stories" like this). But this church meeting in North Carolina evidently got it on! Interesting that our church is currently working through 1 Corinthians, which was a pretty messed up church itself. In fact, yesterday's message from chapter 5, where Paul admonishes the church for airing their disputes in the local courts via lawsuits and such, which smears the name of Christ and the witness of the church. So while we can look at this story from North Carolina and be tempted to smirk, in reality it's a sad and ugly situation.

The Braves Caravan

2011-01-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

The "Braves Caravan" came to Greenville today and we took the boys to check it out. While they had been hoping for Jason Heyward or Brian McCann, the Braves brought Tommy Hanson, Brooks Conrad, bench coach Carlos Tosca, and a minor league pitcher we'd honestly never heard of (no offense to that guy). Unfortunately, they also brought Homer the Brave (my oldest son is absolutely terrified at costumed mascots). Given Homer's presence, and the fact that we were #236 in line, we decided not to spend the afternoon winding through Academy Sports.

Fortunately, Keri had gone to the restroom and saw Conrad in the hallway along with a couple uniformed officers, and rightfully figured that's where the Braves were going to come in. So we parked ourselves in a shoe aisle where we had a view down the hall, where local media were interviewing the players. While he was waiting his turn, Tommy Hanson spotted our boys and warmly smiled and waved at them, earning him much-coveted Top 5 status in my Braves pantheon. As it turned out, our aisle was the one they would be walking through to get to the autograph tables, and each of the guys high-fived the boys on their way through. That was probably cooler to them than getting them to sign a baseball, and it got us out of there to enjoy a spring-like day.

You are not the center of the Universe

2011-01-30T21:26:00.002-05:00

Our pastor referenced this video in his message this morning, saying he simply didn't have the time to include it this morning. It's pretty amazing and could cause your mind to explode, but it's a point well made. It's a little thing called perspective. The video concludes with the phrase, "You are not the center of the universe," and that's a powerful message. But perhaps more mind-boggling would be to consider that God is the center of the universe, that God spoke it into being, and that God is intimately acquainted with and sovereign over every subatomic particle in it.

Blogs vs. Facebook and Twitter. Why Blogs Win.

2011-01-27T22:18:00.003-05:00

I used to blog a lot, and so did a number of other people I know. In fact, I formed friendships with people over blogs, some of whom I never met face to face. I've blamed my lack of blogging the last couple years on a changed career path and, well, the fact that I've got 3 kids. But I think the other reason so many of us don't blog as much is the emergence of Facebook and Twitter. Prior to that, blogging was social media. And I think that was generally better.

The new social media certainly allows us to stay connected to people we don't see very often, if only in little chunks at a time, and that's a great thing. But there's only so much you can convey or share in 140 characters. That's sound byte communication. It's hard to really develop an idea or communicate much of substance. Blogging lets you do that. And the ability to write and share at greater length, to tell stories or share substantive thoughts from time to time, fosters better relationships and better interaction. At least I think so. I also think it's interesting how the proliferation of media options and the increasing influence of and access to media actually serves to water it down, to shorten the attention span, to really hinder our ability to communicate well. It all becomes so much noise.

So I'm trying to resurrect the blog. Besides, I just really enjoy writing (though it was nice to have people reading back in the day!). I totally understand the idea that a blog needs to have some focus, some kind of niche, to really become noteworthy. Not sure if I'm willing to narrow my focus, though I'm open to suggestions. I'm even considering killing my other blog, Great Pursuit, and integrating everything into one place in order to not dilute the amount of content I put out (because, after all, I still have the job and the three kids...). I'd be interested in any feedback on that idea. I don't think I'm going to abandon Facebook and Twitter, though I've thought about it. Not yet anyway.

Praying about a Dollar

2011-01-16T14:44:00.001-05:00

This morning, Asa (my 5-year-old) emerged from his class at church with a dollar bill. The teacher attached a note explaining that the children had been instructed to pray and ask Jesus how they should use their dollar. Some might choose to buy a toy or candy, and that is fine. Some, however, might be led to do something different.

The lesson was tied to the boy who gave his give fish and two loaves to Jesus, who then multiplied it into food for the multitude. It's an interesting lesson to pass on to children. But it's also an interesting lesson and/or reminder to pass on to us as adults. How often to we pray about how Jesus would use our money (or, rather, the money He has given us)? Do we believe that he can make more of it than we can? Food for thought.

Bible Story Books for Little Kids

2011-01-13T22:42:00.001-05:00

If you're a Christian parent, you've probably seen or been given a number of Bible story books for kids. There are scores of them out there, and they are of varying quality. I submit that Bible stories are not just moralistic tales like Aesop's Fables, but far too many publications are oriented that way. Instead, the stories in the Bible begin to draw us into the Story of the Bible, which is the Gospel.

From the ones that I've seen, The Big Picture Story Bible is my personal favorite Bible story book for kids. The stories are written in a manner that is suitable for young kids. At present, my 5-year-old is very interested in these stories and looks forward to reading the next one each night. My 3-year-old is not quite there yet. Obviously each child is different - we've used this book for a couple years, but I'd say it's tough for someone younger than 4. But for kids in that 4-6 range (maybe older?) this book is a great fit.

Obviously the stories are short enough for short attention spans. The thing I like about it, though, is that the biblical narrative, the "Big Story" is in view in each of the little stories. It fits together to introduce children to the narrative arc of the Bible, the story of creation/fall/redemption.

Unfortunately, it seems the book is not presently in print, and I honestly can't imagine why. But there are used copies out there and I commend it to you. I'm definitely interested in hearing about other options as well.

Seeds Family Worship

2010-09-09T22:33:00.000-05:00

In our recent move we came upon a couple of CDs my sister had given us a while back that we hadn't honestly listened to that much (though I couldn't tell you why). I suppose they had gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere, but they emerged as we were unpacking and wanting to entertain the kids sans TV and whatnot. They were CDs put out by Seeds Family Worship. And they are fantastic.

The concept is pretty simple - take a passage of Scripture and put it to music with a fun, catchy tune that is kid friendly. Suddenly our kids know, for example, Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalms 34:18, their two favorite songs right now. So we're listening to fun music that they enjoy (and, frankly, we kind of enjoy it too) and all the while they are memorizing Scripture.

My philosophy on Scripture memory for our kids is simple. We're just storing it in their mind for now, even though they don't fully comprehend everything they're memorizing. The idea is that they one day will, that what is stored down there will eventually bear fruit in their lives. So the "Seeds" concept really fits us, and I really commend it to you.

Garbage Capitalism

2010-09-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

We recently moved from inside the city limits of a suburban town to a house that is not within the limits of any municipality. One of the things that changed for us was the way we procure garbage and recycling pickup. Our previous homes (and there have been six that we've rented or owned) have all been within city limits and have always had municipal trash service. For the first time, I had to find a private company and pay them to pick up our garbage.

Sound like a bummer, right? Of course not. In fact, the more I think about it, the better it is this way. Here's why:

First, city trash disposal is NEVER free - you just don't think about it when you pay your property taxes, especially if they're paid through an escrow account in your mortgage. But it's not free.

With city trash, you have no choice. This can be very significant. The suburban town we formerly lived in recently debated a scheme that would have required residents to purchase a particular type of trash bag if they wanted their trash picked up. This would have amounted to a tax hike or a fee increase, depending on the semantics, and we would have had to swallow it because there was no other option other than hauling it to a dump somewhere in my minivan.

If a private disposal company came up with a half-brained scheme like that, I'd just fire them and go elsewhere... which is why they'd never do something like that. You see, the private company has to aim to please me in order to keep my business. They have to keep their price competitive and, therefore, their operation must be efficient... something a government operation will never be accused of. They also have to treat me well. Throw my trash container in the flowers or neglect to pick up my recycling? No way - that's not how you treat a customer/client whose business you want to retain. The city we lived in did that kind of thing on occasion. I bet the private company won't.

It's a small and mundane example of why the free market is so much better than government intervention.

What would you change about seminary?

2010-08-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

I read an interesting, though brief, Q&A where Albert Mohler (president of my seminary alma mater), DA Carson, Richard Pratt, and Jeff Lourie try to answer this question. There was a range of answers, none of which were bad, though some were better than others. I spent seven years in seminary earning a couple degrees, learning a lot, and eventually burning out and realizing that the academic life wasn't for me. But my experience does leave me with a few thoughts that answer this very question.

Seminaries generally do a good job of training academics, and highly trained academics are very important. These are the scholars who translate the Scriptures from the original languages, provide helpful and insightful commentaries, write helpful books that take us deeper into our understanding of biblical doctrine and worldview, and help equip pastors. So we need seminaries. But I'm not sure that, as presently constructed, they always do a great job of training pastors.

The chief problem is that you spend a lot of time in seminary (in the academically strong ones, anyway) working through a rigorous curriculum that takes up a LOT of time in reading, study, research, and writing. On top of that, you have to work to support yourself and pay for school. That doesn't leave a lot of time for serious involvement in the life of a local church, which feeds your soul AND provides valuable experience. Besides, if you attend a large seminary, there is often a disproportionate number of seminarians in the good local churches (relative to the opportunities to serve and escape the "seminary bubble.")

My solution would be for seminaries to more aggressively utilize web-based technologies to provide the academic training in a virtual classroom type model. The technology certainly exists to do that. There would be several distinct advantages to such an approach:

* The seminarian would not have to relocate. This is huge. Presumably a man who believes he is called to the ministry is probably living and serving in some way and with some effectiveness in the life of his local church, in the community where he lives, works, and has significant relationships. He is also more likely to have a fairly deep and invested relationship with a spiritual leader (such as a pastor) in his life. Why do we pull people out of that kind of context to train them for the ministry? It doesn't make sense.

* The time for training could be spread out. You wouldn't necessarily have to crunch through an MDiv in 3-4 years. You could get the training you need at your own pace - while there would be some sacrifice involved to be sure, it would allow for one to continue working, leading a family, and being involved in the life of the church. You wouldn't necessarily have to have a degree completed to begin serving in a paid position in the church if/when it was time to make that transition.

* A seminary could incorporate some kind of weeklong class 2-4 times per year for more intensive training times and classes, perhaps something like the "cohort" model that exists in the DMin programs at many seminaries.

The technology exists for this kind of educational experience - web-based videos, webinars, podcasts, iPad apps, etc. There would be plenty of options to consider. Those who seemed able and called to pursue a more serious academic pursuit could certainly do so in a more traditional manner. I think that this is the direction that theological education can and should go. In fact, I think it probably is heading that way now.

Chipper Jones

2010-08-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

I've been a Braves fan for a long time - back before they were any good. Dale Murphy was my favorite Brave in childhood, but the position player who is probably the greatest Atlanta Brave this side of Hank Aaron (again, we're not talking pitchers) is Chipper Jones.

So it's unfortunate to see Chipper go down with a torn ACL to end his season. The Braves are enjoying a remarkable ride in Bobby Cox's last year, and Chipper had just started heating up over the last month or two. Now I had been inclined to think that he should hang 'em up after this season and ride off into the sunset with the only manager he's ever known in MLB. He's 38, after all, and his performance had been on the slide the last two seasons. I didn't want to linger too long.

So with this injury, we may have seen the last of him. It's interesting that he hurt himself on a remarkable play. He's going to try to come back, but like I said, he's 38, so we'll see if he can.
If not, I hope he becomes the Braves hitting coach at some point in the near future. Heck, he unofficially serves in that capacity to some extent already.

He's the only switch-hitter in history to have more than 300 home runs (he's well over 400, trailing only Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray among switch-hitters in MLB history) and a batting average over .300. Next stop: Cooperstown.

North Korean Soccer

2010-07-31T09:38:00.010-05:00

If you missed it, somehow North Korea managed to qualify for last month's FIFA World Cup in South Africa. They had decided early on not to broadcast the games back home because there was concern that it might be embarassing. Then, in the opening round match with Brazil, they performed surprisingly well in losing a fairly close game 2-1. That prompted the North Koreans to decide to broadcast their next match, against Portugal, live.

Oops. They were embarassed 7-0, and then went on to lose 3-0 to Ivory Coast. After that last match, there were musings, half kiddingly, about what would happen when they got home. Now we know.

Stuart Franklin / Getty Images

North Korea's players line up before their first

World Cup game against Brazil on June 15.

The team was subjected to a "six hour barrage of criticism" on a stage before 400 party officials, journalists, and students. The manager was fired and forced into a job as a construction worker. His chief crime was embarrassing the Dear Leader's son and presumed successor. As ridiculous as this all sounds, many observers are of the opinion that things could have been much worse. Nobody was sent to a labor camp. But, really, who's going to want to play when it's time to try to qualify for 2014? Will FIFA even allow them to participate? How in the world does a country deteriorate to this kind of garbage anyway?

But I can't help but wonder if this isn't just a particularly virulent or boundless expression of the win-at-all-costs, sports-is-everything mentality that so easily pervades the sports world and "fandom." It's easy to point fingers at kooky countries with evil dictators and gawk at this stuff. But perhaps we ought to at least consider how we react when our favorite team is embarrassed on the field or what we yell at the officials when a call gets screwed up. I bet more than one fan base would have been tempted to hurl insults and epithets after getting thrashed in a playoff or bowl game. I mean, we do that at our TVs, right? Or how many of us have wished that the coach of our favorite team was digging ditches? Here we just happen to have a regime that is nasty enough to really make it happen.

Sports should be fun, right?

The Evolution of Barnes & Noble

2010-07-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

Tonight we decided to swing by Barnes & Noble after dinner because we weren't ready to head home and because the boys always enjoy playing with their Thomas the Train table and gear in the kids' area. We took turns watching the boys and browsing around while pushing Lydia in the stroller. It was the first time in a while I'd been in there and I noticed several things that seemed to have changed - things that I think mark a shift brought on by the sea changes in their business.

The first thing we saw when we walked in, front and center, was a kiosk devoted to the Nook, their e-reader, complete with display models and a sales rep manning the booth. It was the clearest and most obvious testimony to what's happening in the book/publishing business. With the success of Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad/iBooks, Barnes & Noble seems to be going all-out to get a stake in the digital book market, and is wisely leveraging it's stores to do so.

(Side note: I personally thought the Nook was OK but not great. The fact that the reader itself was not a touchscreen - only the color panel at bottom functions as such - made highlighting and notetaking and such pretty balky and difficult. I'm intriuged be the eReader concept but don't read enough currently to spend the cash. One feature of the Nook I did like a lot, however, was the ability to loan books.)

In the back of Barnes & Noble I noticed that a huge section of the store, near the kids' books, had been given over to more stuff for kids. There were educational toys and puzzles for kids of different ages, there were books with educational curricula (for homeschoolers and such I presume), and that sort of thing. Again, the emphasis here is on more stuff that you would be more apt to buy after browsing around a seeing it in person (as opposed to online at Amazon), and all of it is stuff that doesn't work or fit with an e-reader. Scattered throughout other display areas in the store were other board games and that sort of thing.

Lastly, I noticed that the music area was less than half occupied by music - there were more movies than CDs. I mean, surely not many people buy CDs anymore, especially at a store.

In short, Barnes & Noble seems to be wisely playing to their strengths - luring people (like us) in with their coffeshop, warm ambience, and the kiddie area in the back. I didn't go into buy anything - I rarely do (in fact, usually if I see books of interest I look for them at the library or on Amazon). But I did play with a Nook, look at games, kids books (you don't buy those without seeing them - at least we don't), and that sort of thing. That's a good recipe for them to survive, or so it seems to me.

ESV Online

2010-07-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

For several years now (really since about the time it came out) I've used the ESV translation of the Bible, believing that it best combines a solid word-for-word translation of the original languages with good style and readability. The translation team was top-notch both in scholarship and devotion, and it is put out by what is, in my opinion, the strongest, most solid Christian publisher in the business: Crossway. A couple of years ago they released the ESV Study Bible, which is widely regarded as, well, pretty amazing. Adding to my love of the ESV is Crossway's strong commitment to utilizing technology to get the ESV Bible out there in creative ways to make it as accessible as it can be.

With that in view, I strongly suggest you check out the new ESV Online, a suite of online tools to aid in Bible study that are incredibly useful and helpful. If you have purchased an ESV Study Bible you can see the notes and resources within this website as well. If you can't tell, I'm very enthusiastic about these tools! They have released an iPhone/iPad app and promise an Android app soon. Here's a 30-second introduction. Watch this and then go check it out!

The ESV Online (30 Sec) from Crossway on Vimeo.

The Johnsons in Africa

2010-07-07T16:21:00.000-05:00

Just a note that I'm adding another blog to the list at the right. The Johnson family (Travis, Amy, Lilly, Patton, and baby Aidan) are missionaries in Uganda. Travis, who was the best man at our wedding, is a doctor running a health clinic in the town of Bundibugyo, where they also lead a team that runs a school.

Anyway, they serve with a group called World Harvest Mission. Keeping up with them is one antidote to getting too caught up in the rat race here at home. I encourage you to follow their blog and pray for them (and contribute if you can).

Pro-Life Protesters on Woodruff Road

2010-07-05T20:31:00.000-05:00

I saw them again today. If you drive along Woodruff Road here in Greenville during the week, there's a good chance you've seen the elderly couple protesting abortion near the intersection of Woodruff Road and the Merovan Center office park. They usually walk the sidewalk in front of Applebee's and sometimes as far down as Chick-fil-A. Just to be clear, to my knowledge there are no abortions actually taking place in Applebee's, and I'll vouch that Chick-fil-A is in the clear here as well.

These people are there nearly every day walking around with signs that say "Stop Abortion Now." Sometimes the man carries a baby doll in a baby backpack (like a Baby Bjorn, but not as nice) and the lady is pushing a baby doll in a little plastic stroller. I'm fairly convinced that this adds more silliness than poignancy to their exercise.

I always want to ask this couple what in the world they're doing and why. Listen, I'm 100% supportive of their cause (abortion = murder and Roe v Wade should be overturned yesterday), but I think their methodology is, quite frankly, dumb. Forgetting the fact that we live in one of the most conservative parts of the country, I just don't know that seeing these folks with their signs and dolls walking up and down a congested highway is going to evoke a change of mind or heart in anyone.

I admire their passion for the cause, but couldn't it be put to better use? Wouldn't it be more effective to devote their time and energy to volunteering at a local crisis pregnancy center - recruiting volunteers, counseling hurting young moms-to-be, cleaning the floors, doing whatever needs to be done?

As evil as abortion is, I think the best Christian response is to seek to care for those in the grips of the kind of internal conflict that leads them to consider that course of action, to care for the orphans and the kids that other people don't want or simply cannot care for. I think we should absolutely be involved in using our opportunities to vote and advocate for these issues, but I think the primary thing should be to take a pro-active role in letting hurting young women (and men) know that there are life-affirming alternatives and helping make those alternatives increasingly available.

Summarizing a Month of Soccer

2010-07-04T13:18:00.000-05:00

I love soccer and grew up playing the game. I can remember discovering soccer on TV for the first time in the summer of 1986 when the World Cup was played in Mexico and Diego Maradona led Argentina to the title. I've watched every Cup since then with great interest, and 2010 has been no exception.

Many people hate soccer, and that's fine. I don't like the NBA and other people do. So what? But there are an increasing number of sports fans in this country who are discovering the "beautiful game," and that's a beautiful thing. What follows are a three of the things I really like about soccer, and, for balance, three of the things I do not:

What I don't like:
1. Diving. I understand that players will embellish contact or take a dive to get a penalty, but this happens WAY too much. And the way some players roll around like they've been shot is just unseemly - especially when they hop back up a moment later. I always associate this behavior with the Italians, but there are many offenders. It's silly and more than a bit pathetic.

2. FIFA referees. You never notice refs when they do a good job, but too many refs have been noticed for all the wrong reasons - disallowed goals (see: team USA), bad offsides calls (and non-calls - see Argentina-Mexico), bad bookings, etc. FIFA brings in under-experienced refs who can't keep up. And FIFA needs to embrace goal-line technology and perhaps even limited use of replay.

3. Accumulated cards. It's silly that two yellow cards over the course of five games can cause an important player like Germany forward Thomas Mueller to miss the semi-final match with Spain. Wipe the slate clean after the first round.

What I like:

1. The constant flow of the game. Time is never called except for injury. There are no commercial time outs to kill the action. There is constant movement and motion and flow. (A related point: Unlike most big-time sports in this country, there are no fat soccer players, or refs for that matter.)

2. The yellow card/red card system. While the door is open to subjectivity here, I like the booking system and think other sports would benefit from it as well. It's especially great that if you do something stupid and get ejected, you not only harm yourself but your team, who is not allowed to replace you.

3. It's the ultimate team sport. A star player can be a great catalyst for a team, but he alone usually can't make or break a squad. Soccer requires maximum effort from all eleven players. It requires crisp passing, solid runs off the ball, getting back on defense, etc. It's a great team game.

Blogger vs. WordPress

2010-03-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

I've been tempted lately to pack this baby up, move to WordPress, and start over. It just seems that WordPress has a nicer look and feel that you can do more with in terms of customizations and whatnot. Back when I started, Blogger was free and WordPress was not, so the decision was pretty easy. This blog has been around for a number of years now (since 2004 or so) and there's a lot of stuff in the archives. Some of it is decent, most of it is worthless I'm sure. There was a time when we were seeing 100 or more hits per day (back when I had a different job, no kids, and more time). So there's a bit of traction at this URL in terms of Google searches and that sort of thing, and there are still a few folks with bookmarks (though they are very few now I'm sure!). So for now I remain on Blogger. Besides, supposedly Blogger is going to get something of a facelift in the not-too-distant future. That said, I'm open to suggestions or comments, however, and could be persuaded the other way.

Warren Buffet's House

2010-03-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

I saw an interesting little article online that describes the homes of billionaires. For the most part, it's what you'd expect: lavish, even garish homes with ridiculous amenities. What was interesting to me, however, was the fact that Warren Buffet, the 3rd-richest man in the world (worth around $47 billion, but who's counting, right?), lives in a house in suburban Omaha he bought for $31,500 in 1958. Now, it's nice, and I'm sure that over the years he's sunk way more into the house than the original purchase price. While he has over 6,000 square feet, a handball court, and whatnot, the house is still a dwarf compared with the others on the list. And Omaha? If I was worth a billion I'd probably live near the water too. I'm sure Buffet has other residences.

Nevertheless, there's something to the idea that you can live simply and beneath your means. That probably has a lot to do with how Warren Buffet amassed his fortune.

Our Snowman

2010-02-13T22:48:00.000-05:00

Bad News for a Great Sandwich

2010-02-04T15:26:00.001-05:00

Uh oh. One of the places I like to eat out is Panera, and it’s a place I usually feel pretty good about eating. As far as eating out goes, in my mind it’s hard to find somewhere healthier. None of the food is fried or that kind of thing; they tend to use natural-type ingredients. There are salads that actually taste decent. All of this makes it easier to justify the exorbitant prices.

But it ought not surprise me to learn that the sandwich I most often get, the Chipotle Chicken Sandwich, happens to be the worst one on the menu health-wise. In fact, it’s judged to be one of the 10 worst sandwiches in America. Now, to be sure, this list is probably defined by mere calorie-counting rather than taking into consideration the quality of the ingredients (ie natural or processed, etc.). But calories certainly count.

Here’s the write-up:

#7: Panera Full Chipotle Chicken on Artisan French Bread
990 calories
56 g fat (15 g saturated, 1 g trans)
2,370 mg sodium
Panera’s Signature Sandwich menu houses some of the biggest gutbombs in the entire restaurant, so minimize the damage by sticking to the Cafe sandwiches. With the bulk of Panera’s sandwiches floating in the 700- to 900- calorie range, the Chicken Bacon Dijon on French Bread emerges as the clear winner. Just be sure to watch your sodium intake for the rest of the day.

Sometimes it just seems impossible to eat healthy…

Funny Kids

2010-02-01T22:28:00.002-05:00

Apparently Asa was rocking out to some bluegrass in the van today - a song called "Hello Trouble." That's our Kentucky kid. All of the kids are pretty funny these days, actually.

Thoughts on Chiropractic

2010-02-01T22:23:00.000-05:00

I've always been a bit interested in chiropractic, and because I have backpain and headaches fairly regularly, I recently took a chiropractor up on the offer of a free consultation. Turns out this one is a "NUCCA" chiropractor, which believe that the key to all of health is the proper alignment of the first vertebrate, the "atlas." It's a pretty big claim, and while I suppose I understand the line of reasoning, it seems rather spurious to me.

So I’ve spent some time the last day or two researching chiropractic and I must say that I am not inclined to pursue it -- at least not this NUCCA stuff. I could be persuaded to give a different chiropractor a shot if he seemed legitimate, did not make such vaunted claims, and that sort of thing. My wife, who has a background in fitness training, suggested that the pain in my neck and back could be better treated by a program of strength/resistance training and stretching. Now, I simply don’t like stretching because, well, I’ve never been particularly flexible. But it seems to me that she’s on to something. Her advice was to give that a shot for a little while before taking the plunge (literally and financially) into chiropractic.

Below I’m basically going to deposit some links I came across in my research:

* A book by Samuel Homola, Inside Chiropractic, which is apparently a critique of chiropractic written by a seasoned chiropractor. Here’s a good quote from the book (cited in the review below):

Chiropractic, which celebrated its centennial in 1995, is a curious mixture of science and pseudoscience, sense and nonsense. Much of it is based on the theory that misaligned spinal bones produce nerve interference that causes disease. Many chiropractors claim that correcting these misalignments (“subluxations”) can restore health and that regular spinal adjustments are essential to maintain it.

* In general, there’s lots of very interesting (and very readable) information at saveyourself.ca, which made a lot of sense to me.

In sum, in some ways I am drawn to alternative medicine (like chiropractic), but there are many reasons to be very cautious. Science is not my religion (and doctors not my priests) as it seems to be in our culture, but science certainly has value in explaining the world. You want medicine and healthcare that works.

The part of me that is drawn to alternative medicine is the part that likes to buy organic and shops at Whole Foods — I’m drawn to what seems to be “natural” and not industrialized or processed. (Don't get me wrong -- I eat plenty of industrialized and processed food – but philosophically that is my position). Why pop the pills made by Big Pharma if there is a better, more natural way? Furthermore I do believe that the Creator may well have endowed the body with the ability to take better care of itself than we might realize. I’m not a chance evolutionary result but a preordained and designed creation. At the same time, my theology reminds me that I’m also in a world beset by the repercussions of the Fall and Original Sin and all that. Stuff, like my body, doesn’t work the way it should.

Anyway, I’m beginning to ramble. The point is that there has to be some kind of middle ground, but it sure is hard to find and it sure is hard for a layman like me to know who to trust. People on both sides of the chiropractic debate get pretty worked up about it all. It’s hard to cut through all of that to find the truth. The key to the whole thing has to be finding a good, humble, honest personal doctor whom you can trust.

I just hope I have one. My new doctor seems promising, so I’ll stick with him for now. But I’ll continue to read and learn too. I welcome your thoughts.

Get Healthy

2010-01-31T22:23:00.000-05:00

Well it's time to get healthy. I kicked off my health campaign by getting the first physical of my adult life last week. No big surprises there. The doctor, who I think I like, took some time to get to know me and talk about changes I could make to my lifestyle to get healthier. There was no earth-shattering news - try to eat better and lose weight, exercise, take a multi-vitamin, etc. But I still found it helpful.

So I've decided to begin educating myself on some of these topics related to health and nutrition. I've also begun to experiment with cooking - for whatever reason I find myself more interested in learning to cook healthy and tasty food. To that end I've cooked tilapia (and used the leftovers for fish tacos) and a couple other things. I'll take suggestions on that - stuff that's good, healthy, and easy enough for a kitchen clutz like me to have a bit of success.

We'll see how this goes.

Daddy's girl

2009-12-25T18:06:00.000-05:00

Asa and the Newsboys

2009-11-04T22:02:00.001-05:00

There's a song that's fairly popular in the Christian music world by the Newsboys called "In the Hands of God." That song includes, in the main refrain, the following lyric:
"... rest for the restless, and the weary, hope for the sinner..."

Asa is very emphatic on this point, and recognizes this song for this particular lyric, which he sings:
"... rest for the restless, and the wee wee, hope for the sinner..."

What do you do with that?

The Human Genome Project and Christian Theology

2009-10-28T21:52:00.000-05:00

I'm assuming you've heard of the Human Genome Project, the much ballyhooed endeavor to map every strand of human DNA. Much has been made of the potential that could be ours if we could master and manipulate the genetic code. Much of this, of course, is (or would be) great. It is also, however, a humanist's dream. In the words of Fast Company magazine:

It is one of the biggest scientific endeavors in history, premised on the notion that the results can be used to prevent or fix many things, or possibly everything, that ails the human body - from allergies to cancer to aging itself. (emphasis added)

That's heady stuff. In fact, it's no leap to say that what is described here is nothing less than salvation by other means, the fountain of youth, eternal life achieved by our own ingenuity. Think of a world without sickness, without aging (without death?), with a quick fix to any malady.

Well the genome was finally mapped 6-7 years ago. Fast Company, again:

Yes, we've cracked the genome. Experts can identify every one of the 3 billion bases in every micrometer of DNA in any cell in your body. But so far, that has given the medical world no more ability to treat or predict most illness than knowing that Al Qaeda is camped out in Waziristan has allowed the U.S. government to clean up terrorism or predict where it will strike next. In fact, while thousands of links have been cataloged in journals and trumpeted in the media, with precious few exceptions virtually no promising new treatments or even highly useful diagnostics have emerged. And the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon.

What happened? Well it turns out that these things are pretty messy and downright complicated. These genetic connections "happen to be hideously convoluted." You can read more about it all in the Fast Company article.

But I suggest that Christian theology/worldview might have something to say about this (it usually does). All of this seems to me to corroborate the doctrine of sin, specifically the idea that the world is completely screwed up because of the Fall, which is to say because of human sin. Allergies and cancer and Parkinson's and aging and death are a part of life on a fallen planet because it has been marred by sin.

That's clearly not an explanation that would satisfy most scientists, operating as they do from a naturalist / secular humanistic worldview and presuppositions. But maybe it might be enough to make a few of them think about it and ask bigger questions. I hope they do cure cancer, but they won't ultimately cheat death. Only one man has done that, so it stands to reason that he'd be the only one to tell us how.

Chick-fil-A on wheat?

2009-10-28T21:02:00.001-05:00

I was amused at Chick-fil-A tonight when the girl taking my order asked if I'd like a wheat bun for my Chick-fil-A sandwich. Because, obviously, the guy ordering a fried chicken sandwich, fries, and a Coke is really into making health-conscious food decisions tonight. Was it an attempt to assuage my guilt? Could I take some shred of dignity and self-satisfaction away from my fast food meal because I boldly proclaimed my preference for the wheat bun? Or were they merely trying to squeeze another 20 cents out of me?

Alas, it turns out I made the responsible decision and opted for the wheat. The sandwich wasn't quite as tasty, but I took my stand for my health, right?

Lydia Grace

2009-06-11T16:14:00.003-05:00

Lydia Grace Forrest (or, as Asa calls her, Lydia Grace Speedy Forrest) was born this morning at 7:45. The delivery was mostly good and incident free. Everyone is doing well. Yes this is a low-res picture from my phone, but it's all that I've uploaded thus far. I'll load up Flikr later.

The Boys' Weekend

2009-06-07T21:18:00.003-05:00

A couple funny kid items from the weekend:

* Asa learned to play musical chairs in his class at church this morning. They played twice and he was, according to the teachers, the first one out both times. Evidently he was basically willing to give up his seat for the other kids who wanted it. That's both pitiful, funny, and endearing all at once.

* This evening we had some friends over (Matt and Anna M). They have served as babysitters for us on numerous ocassions. Asa was excited to see them (he'd been anticipating their arrival all afternoon). Eli, however, had a different response. As soon as he saw them walk in, he stood up, began sobbing, said "Mama" and went straight to Keri to hold on to her. He thought for sure we must be leaving. Again, pitiful and funny at the same time. (Not surprisingly, the thing that finally broke his mood was his favorite thing in the world: reading "Go Dog Go.")

* Asa was inspired by the French Open (Roger Federer specifically) to play a little tennis. So we got my racquetball racket out (about the right size, for now anyway) and began teaching him a bit in the driveway. Not surprisingly, he took to it fairly well. He does conflate his sports a bit. He was confusing tennis with baseball a little bit (the way he'd get into a stance and ready to swing), and then he'd say "Throw it to me, I'm open" - so football is up there somewhere too.

* We enjoyed a few minutes of MLS Futbol on Telemundo again this afternoon (we've done that a few Sundays). We all enjoy it when someone scores and the announcer (along with us) calls "Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!"

Death of a Blog? Nah... Perhaps a New Start

2009-06-04T21:37:00.006-05:00

There was a time when my job afforded me lots of dead time in front of a computer screen waiting on customers to enter a store. So I started a blog and blogged a lot. I was into it and was, for a little while, getting 100 hits a day or thereabouts. There was politics (national and denominational), culture/worldviewish stuff I was studying, etc.

Happily, I don't have that job anymore. Now I don't have the time and, frankly, I'm not sure I have anything all that interesting to say. And even if I did, I'm not sure that anyone is here to read it! It seems that blogs in general aren't what they once were. Sure there are some big-time blogs that emerged at the right time with the right content and achieved a wide readership.

So I've thought about killing this thing. But I won't.

Instead, I'm going to be more sporadic in my posting and will focus on family anecdotes and other items as I have time, interest, and inclination. I'll use it to post funny anecdotes and quotes from the kids and that sort of thing. I may put occasional pictures on it, but really I'll utilize Flickr for that since I ponied up the $25/year to do so (and since it is a much better format for photos). Thought about changing the URL to something like ForrestFamily... but for now I already have this one, and there's plenty of family stuff mixed in with the first five years of this blog.

The timing is good... Lydia Grace will likely be here in about 10 days. Here we go...

This and that

2009-06-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

A few random things that have been going on...

* Eli cannot get enough of "Go Dog Go" - and who can blame him? It's got lots of dogs and they often drive cars. He talks his way through it... sort of. "Ah-Ah" for dog. "Guh dah guh" is the title. "heh-wo" in a very high pitched voice when the girl dog greets the guy dog and asks if he likes her hat. You get the idea...

* Asa had to get an impromptu shower one morning this week after slipping into the potty... after the fact...

* Asa has been up 3 nights in a row with nightmares. He's scared of the dark for some reason. And once he has a nightmare, he cannot stand to remain in his room. And we've long since passed the point in pregnancy when we have room for him in ours. So I stagger out of bed and manage to get him set up on the couch. It's really a bit frustrating - we need to be sleeping these final pre-newborn days.

2009-05-30T13:55:00.002-05:00

"You need to get your shoes, big guy."

-- Asa, to me as we're leaving the house a couple weeks ago.

Photoblog Updated

2008-12-22T16:22:00.006-05:00

If you're curious, I've posted a bunch of pictures on my photoblog. There are family pictures (mostly the boys) and a number of scenic-type pictures (me having some fun with the camera). The date of each post is an approximation of when the photo was taken, but everything on the first page was uploaded in the last week or so. It's a handy way of backing up and sharing photos.

Good Music

2008-12-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

Let's mark March 3 on the calendar! It will likely be a good day for music fans.

Stott on responsibility for the death of Christ

2008-12-15T22:39:00.004-05:00

John Stott reminds us that, though it is easy to cast blame and look with incredulity upon the likes of Pilate, the Sanhedrin, and Judas, ultimately we are equally responsible for the death of Jesus.

"We may try to wash our hands of responsibility like Pilate. But our attempt will be as futile as his. For there is blood on our hands. Before we can begin to see the cross as someting done for us (leading to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading to repentance). Indeed, 'only the man who is prepared to own his share in the guilt of the cross,' wrote Canon Peter Green, 'may claim his share in its grace.'"

Yet there is one who is ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus: God Himself. The Father gave Jesus up to die on the cross. Jesus, for his part, willingly gave himself up to death in obedience to the Father.

"As we face the cross," Stott concludes, "we can say to ourselves both, 'I did it, my sins sent him there,' and 'He did it, his love took him there.'"

-- John Stott, The Cross of Christ, 63-64

An amusing anecdote

2008-12-05T22:47:00.002-05:00

The story is a bit unseemly, but I can't help but record it for posterity. As I tried to persuade him to try to go to the bathroom before bed, Asa, with his pants at his ankles, pointed to his backside and informed me, "The poo poo is asleep in my bottom."

Asa and the Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

2008-11-11T21:35:00.004-05:00

A little anecdote worth recording for posterity...

During a recent weekend visit at my parents' house, my mom was putting Asa in bed for a nap and told him a fairly well known story about monkeys jumping in the bed:

"Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
one fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor, and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed"

Four... Three... etc.

As she finished the story, Asa looked at my mom somewhat quizzically and said: "That doctor must have been very frustrated." (pronounced 'bery brustrated' - it will be a bittersweet day when he begins to properly pronounce the letter f.

Jesus' Perspective on the Cross

2008-11-10T23:28:00.001-05:00

"So then, although he knew he must die, it was not because he was the helpless victim either of evil forces arrayed against him or of any inflexible fate decreed for him, but because he freely embraced the purpose of his Father for the salvation of sinners, as it had been revealed in Scripture. This was the perspective of Jesus on his death."

-- John Stott, The Cross of Christ, 37

Packer on the Old Gospel vs. the New Gospel

2008-11-09T23:27:00.000-05:00

According to J.I. Packer, "one of the most urgent tasks facing evangelical Christendom today [is] the recovery of the gospel." He explains this statement, saying, "Without realizing it, we have during the past century bartered [the biblical gospel] for a substitute product which, though it looks similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a decidedly different thing." He then provides a helpful, if devastating critique of what he means, some of which is quoted below. The amazing thing is that he was writing nearly 50 years ago. If it was true then, it is probably more true now.

His chief critique of the "new gospel" of our age is that it

"fails to make men God-centered in their thoughts and God-fearing in their hearts because this is not primarily what it is trying to do... it is too exclusively concerned to be 'helpful' to man -- to bring peace, comfort, happiness, satisfaction -- and too little concerned to glorify God. The old gospel... was always and essentially a proclamation of divine sovereignty in mercy and judgment, a summons to bow down and worship the mighty Lord on whom man depends for all good, both in nature and in grace. Its center of reference was unambigulously God. But in the new gospel the center of reference is man."

In practice, the new gospel results in flawed evangelism, a diminished view of God, and an elevated view of the part we plan in our redemption. Packer writes:

"Thus, we appeal to men as if they all had the ability to receive Christ at any time; we speak of his redeeming work as if he had done no more by dying than make it possible for us to save ourselves by believing; we speak of God's love as if it were no more than a general willingness to receive any who will turn and trust; and we depict the Father and the Son, not as sovereignly active in drawing sinners to themselves, but as waiting in quiet impotence 'at the door of our hearts' for us to let them in."

Packer was arguing, fifty years ago, that the answer to what ails evangelicalism, is a return to the biblical, God-centered gospel in preaching and practice. This is true for evangelicalism as a whole, but also for individual Christians and churches.

Quotes from JI Packer, In My Place Condemned He Stood, 114-115 (This book is a compendium of several previously published writings.)

A Biblical Perspective on the Election

2008-11-03T21:39:00.000-05:00

The Benefits of Gratitude

2008-10-28T18:22:00.000-05:00

In a brief but interesting article in Fast Company a couple months ago, the authors tout the importance of giving employees the opportunity to receive positive feedback from the people who ultimately wind up using and benefiting from their work. They argue that it benefits not only the employee, but the customer who wants to express gratitude. I found the following excerpt particularly interesting:

In her book The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, describes a dozen scientifically proven strategies to make yourself happier. The first? Expressing gratitude.

In one study, researchers asked a group of people to make a list, once a week for 10 weeks, of five things they were thankful for. Other groups in the study wrote different kinds of weekly lists, such as "five major events" or "five hassles." The "thankful" group felt more happiness, excitement, and joy than the other groups. They even reported better physical health -- fewer headaches and coughs.

Another study found that making a "gratitude visit" -- writing and delivering a letter to someone who was kind to you but whom you had never thanked, such as the friend who suggested it was time to ditch the trucker hat -- caused people's happiness to spike for a full month afterward.

Here is yet another instance of a biblical principle that "works" in real life. Should we cultivate gratitude, then, because we'll feel better and thus benefit? Of course not. That would be something other than real gratitude, which is focused not on self but on another. Real gratitude certainly hangs out with its buddy humility in recognizing that one is not self-sufficient. But it's just interesting to find "proof" that it also engenders joy all around.

The Richt Family on Adoption

2008-10-27T17:44:00.000-05:00

4 Ways to Save Money on Health Insurance

2008-10-18T13:56:00.003-05:00

I don't tend to blog about work (I do that here), but thought I'd make an exception to that rule today. I'm an independent insurance broker serving individuals and small employers in Georgia and South Carolina specializing in health and term life insurance. In an uncertain economic climate, there's a good chance you can save some money in your family budget by taking a closer look at your health insurance situation. Here are three ways you could save money:

1. The most obvious way you can lower your insurance premium (and here we're talking about any kind of insurance, health, auto, etc.) is by raising your deductible. Depending on your age, the size of your family, and other variables, you could realize significant savings by taking this one step. If you're relatively healthy, it's something you really should consider.

2. Of course you can also compare your current plan with other insurance providers. You might find a similar plan at a more competitive price with another carrier.

3. You might also look to see if there are optional benefits or supplemental policies that you could do without, which would obviously result in a little breathing room in your budget.

4. If you're covered through your employer, you may be paying a pretty good chunk of change for coverage for your dependents. (You may not, but this is worth checking). If that's the case, and your family is fairly healthy, you might be able to realize significant savings by dropping them from the group plan and picking up separate individual coverage for them because it's typically cheaper.

Of course we'd be ready, willing, and able to help you explore these and other options to help you save money and maintain good health insurance coverage. See our website for more info.

BP Sports

2008-10-14T20:36:00.004-05:00

I meant to link to it here earlier, but last month I wrote a little piece for Baptist Press Sports.

Potty Time

2008-08-24T14:21:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago we embarked (again) on the adventure of potty training. This time we meant business. Keri basically put Asa into some big-boy underwear, put a towel or something underneath him on the couch, and told him that it was time to use the potty if he had to do any business. Asa soon discovered that it's uncomfortable to go anywhere else when not diapered, while simultanously learning that big-boy underwear are, when dry, more comfortable than diapers. The (in?)famous Elmo's Potty Time video underscored the message.

The clincher? The promise of a Thomas the Train sticker for every successful potty experience. The time will come when we can only wish that a little sticker was enough motivation, but at just under three years old, that's pretty darn cool.

The process was remarkably quick, to be honest. About a week in Asa was rocking and rolling, and had moved on to Curious George stickers donated to the cause by equally eager grandparents. Trips to the potty became cause for great to-do and celebration. At present, we've been accident-free for over a week. And we're saving serious moolah too.

Bridges on Grace

2008-08-09T20:57:00.001-05:00

Jerry Bridges, in writing about the misconceptions that people have about grace, says: "The statement that 'God's approval does not have to be earned but is simply there' is not true. God's approval does have to be earned. But the gospel tells us that His approval was earned for us by Jesus Christ in His sinless life and sin-bearing death. It is true that God's favor does not have to be earned by us. In fact, it cannot be earned by us. But it comes to us without earning because Jesus paid for it in our place as our substitute."

Bridges then provides a very good and succinct definition of grace:

"Grace is God's favor through Christ to people who deserve His disfavor."
Jerry Bridges, Growing Your Faith, 18-19

Athens

2008-08-07T22:26:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday I had the unexpected opportunity to preach at Crossway Fellowship, the Sovereign Grace church in Athens, GA. As I told them, I was a stand in for the stand in while their pastor was away. It was a last-minute opportunity that I was at once excited and stressed about. I preached the 1 Peter message I preached in our church two months ago. In my view it was adequate not great, but the people were very encouraging and it seems that, in God's providence, the text and message spoke into a number of people's present circumstances, so I'm very grateful.

We had a wonderful time there. The people just blew us away with their earnest warmth and hospitality. The fellowship was rich and fun - it was as if we'd been there a long time. We left feeling full in a good way (and also full because of a fun lunch at Barberito's after the meeting).

It was the first time I'd been in Athens in probably a decade. I spent a decent amount of time there for various reasons as a teenager, but not lately. It's still a quintessential college town, but there is noticeable and significant growth (I'd heard that, but it was still interesting to see). It is not just a college town anymore. Keri had never been, so it was nice to show her around a bit - including driving around UGA and letting her see Sanford Stadium. (Football season is approaching fast and we all know who's ranked #1!).

A few more photos

2008-07-14T21:34:00.004-05:00

There are, of course, many more photos. I hope to find time to put a bunch of them on the photoblog over the next week or so, but these will suffice for now.

Baptism & Testimonies

2008-07-13T21:53:00.001-05:00

Imagine that you're staying at the Marriott for the weekend, and on Sunday morning you decide to head down to the pool. Then imagine that a couple hundred people gather around the pool and 18 of them are baptized in the shallow end. That was the scene Sunday morning as our weekly meeting included a fun time at the pool witnessing so many baptisms. I enjoyed seeing fathers baptize their teenage kids and couldn't help but think about the day when I hope to do the same.

It was also nice to hear the testimonies of a few of the people participating - there was unfortunately not time to hear all of them. I just read a rather remarkable story that we were not able to hear. It's worth the read.

A few vacation photos

2008-07-13T16:06:00.001-05:00

Calvin on Knowledge of God

2008-07-11T15:09:00.000-05:00

A thought for the day:

Like Augustine before him, John Calvin talked about the pursuit of happiness as the beginning point for the knowledge of God. Calvin, however, kind of went through the back door in saying we need to first come to grips with our deep unhappiness, with the ruin wrought by sin in our lives and in the world. Calvin:

Each of us must, then, be so stung by the consciousness of his own
unhappiness as to attain at least some knowledge of God. Thus, from the feeling
of our own ignorance, vanity, poverty, infirmity, and - what is more - depravity
and corruption, we recognize that the true light of wisdom, sound virtue, full
abundance of every good, and purity of righteousness rest in the Lord alone. To
this extent we are prompted by our own ills to contemplate the good things of
God; and we cannot seriously aspire to him before we begin to become
displeased with ourselves.

In other words, we must first deal with the reality that things are not the way they are supposed to be; that something deep and fundamental is wrong about ourselves. We must be honest with ourselves. In so doing, we can begin to find God as He redeems and makes whole what is broken.
Quoted in David Clyde Jones: Biblical Christian Ethics.

Happy Anniversary

2008-07-10T10:13:00.000-05:00

Happy anniversary, Keri!

Kierkegaard's Wound

2008-07-08T14:44:00.000-05:00

One of the interesting paradoxes about pursuing holiness is that the more one advances in holiness, the more one feels the weight of sin and dependence upon God. People who are not serious about moral and righteous living often have a high esteem of themselves and of their virtue, while often those who really are more virtuous feel less so, because they are more aware of and more sensitive to the depths of sin in the heart of every person.

Kierkegaard scholar C. Stephen Evans writes: "Kierkegaard speaks of this split between what one is and what one knows one should be as a wound, and says that it is the mark of the truly moral or ethical person to 'keep the wound open.' and not bandage it with superficial palliatives."

In other words, it is painful to recognize sin within us - it hurts. And we live in a culture that wants to psychologize and medicate any kind of pain (even good pain) and convince us that we are really OK and good - it wants to kill the vestiges of sin by telling us there is no such thing. So we are taught to put band-aids on this wound, and to kill the pain through endless rounds of business and distractions that never give us time to rest and feel the pain of our sinfulness.

So Kierkegaard (who primarily wrote against the shallow superficiality of cultural Christianity in his day) is wise to warn us to "keep the wound open." That way we are wary of pride and constantly reminded of our dependence upon God's grace.

True Beauty

2008-07-06T19:54:00.001-05:00

In a 2004 cover story in Spin Magazine, U2 frontman Bono (note: if you're new to the blog, you'll know that U2 holds a unique position in my personal music pantheon) says, "The job of art is to chase away ugliness." (By the way, you can read the full article here). It seems to me that such a view certainly comports with Scripture. God is a creative God and one who loves beauty - He didn't have to make the sky turn glorious hues of orange and purple when the sun sets, for example. His creation was good. By contrast, sin brings ugliness - none worse than the ugliness inside the human heart. The goal of good art should be, as Bono says, to chase away ugliness, to remind show us beauty. There is a transcendent quality to art that does this, something that ought to remind us that True Beauty exists, and that ugliness will ultimately vanish in Christ's kingdom.

Of course, many in the arts celebrate ugliness. Think of the compositions of John Cage, think of infamous art exhibits that draw publicity by shocking ugliness. A poll of 500 influential arts figures, released in 2004, declared that the most influential work of modern art is Marchel Duchamp's "Urinal." And yes, it is basically a white porcelain urinal like you would find at your favorite rest stop. Don't believe it - look at it here. This is what the cultural elites of our day think is good art. I guess we might agree that it is influential, and certainly says something about the culture that produced and celebrates it. "Ugly" art attempts to subvert (or "deconstruct") the norm, what most of us would consider beauty. The purported aim is usually to "push the envelope," which they would have us believe is a high calling of art. Yet these things are subversive and destructive.

True Beauty exists, and it ought to be the goal of art to celebrate it and draw us to it, to remind us of the beauty of our Creator. The Church should celebrate such art and this high calling.

At the Beach

2008-07-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

By the time this is actually posted, I trust we will be well on our way to a much-anticipated (and much needed!) vacation at the beach. We sure love the beach (Keri and I often think we are misplaced beach bums)! To prevent any cobwebs or rust from developing on my recently resuscitated blog I've pre-set a few posts from a few years ago to reappear over the next week.

Have a great week. Cheers!

Eli's First Haircut

2008-07-04T15:39:00.003-05:00

After some debate, we determined it was time for Eli to lose the Austrian-punk-rocker do and get his first haircut. That way, or so the logic went, he won't be bothered by having hair in his eyes on the beach next week. So, though I felt like a dork, I took the camera in and got some photos of the event while simultaneously trying to entertain Asa.

Quotable

2008-07-02T22:32:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Asa was speculating as to whether or not someone would be coming over after his afternoon nap. He said, "Who's coming over when I get up? Nobody or yesbody, which one?"

It reminded me of when he says, "That's mines" (not yours). It all actually makes a little bit of sense.

Great Offer on ESV Study Bible

2008-07-01T18:06:00.000-05:00

The long-awaited ESV Study Bible is slated to be released in October. Crossway is making a very kind and generous offer: If you pre-order before July 31st you will get 35% off. Additionally, if you use this link to order, 5% of your purchase will be donated to Sovereign Grace Ministries.

The ESV is my favorite translation of the Bible, and I've read and heard that this study bible will be bar none the best one on the market.

What Happened to their Baby?

2008-06-30T16:17:00.007-05:00

It was probably one of the more difficult sermons Jim, our senior pastor, has had to prepare and preach. Last week brought tragedy to a couple in our church as, at 6 months, an infection sent the wife into early delivery that resulted in their second baby and first son being stillborn. When Jim's teenage son asked where baby Jonas was, it occurred to Jim that such a question would be on the minds of many others in the church, and so he deviated from our study of 1 Peter to wade through these very deep waters. The sermon is online as are Jim's sermon notes.

The result is a helpful look at a subject that we wish never came up, but occasionally does as babies are miscarried, stillborn, aborted, etc. Jim's treatment is thorough, well-researched, and biblically grounded. But, above all, it was very pastoral, a moment for a pastor to shepherd his flock through deep and troubling waters with great care and skill.

The conclusion is that baby Jonas is with Jesus, but not because he was innocent (he was not - the stain of sin was on him) and not because he deserved it (no one does), but because of God's sovereign grace. This is not mere sentimentality, it is good biblical theology that brings great comfort in times like this. I commend it to you. Also, here's a helpful article by Al Mohler and Danny Akin that reaches the same conclusion.

And pray for the Coopers - tomorrow they will bury Jonas. They are full of faith and grief.

Sprinklers at the Park

2008-06-29T14:59:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we decided to check out the new Hollingsworth Park. It's a nice park with a lot of open space and a decent playground area. Best of all, because it's new and not on a major road, it seems that very few people know it's there, so we nearly had the run of the place. One other thing we learned is that the sprinklers come on around 8 pm - but as you can see, Asa didn't seem to mind a bit. Eli was content to swing and hang out, but Asa preferred the sprinklers.

Stuff I Like: Bolthouse Farms

2008-06-27T21:39:00.002-05:00

If you're like me, you know you don't eat enough fruits and certainly don't get enough veggies, but are not sure what to do about it. A while back we visited Costco for the first time and, among the seemingly endless array of items to be sampled was a nasty, funktified looking concoction called "Green Goodness." I'm honestly surprised, looking back, that I dared take a sip. It just looks gross. To be honest, while it's not as bad as it looks, it's not that great either.

Listen to what's in it, though. Among other things you'll get wheat grass, spirulina, spinach, blue-green algae, kiwi juice. All told there are 14 all-natural, healthy ingredients that make up this nasty looking concoction. Basically, it's super-healthy, and it is not terrible. Do not be misled, I doubt you'll love it, but neither do I think you'll hate it, and it is really really good for you. So I'm all in.

Green Goodness is made by Bolthouse Farms, a family-run farm in California. I was pleased to learn they have a whole array of similarly natural, healthy products. I've been drinking a small cup of "Berry Boost" (which does taste very good) most afternoons for a pick-me-up, and am eager to try other products. I was also very pleased to learn that many of these products are available at our local Publix (among other places).

As if refreshing, all-natural, healthy products aren't enough reason to like Bolthouse Farms, check out their corporate mission statement: "The purpose of this Company is to glorify God through our business transactions, our work, and our relationships. It is further our desire to bring honor and glory to the Name of Jesus Christ by following God's Word in all of our dealings with employees, suppliers, and customers. God's Work as contained in His Inspired Scriptures will be the final authority in all Corporate matters concerning direction, decisions, and disputes."

Stuff I Like: JuJu's Mediterranean Bistro

2008-06-26T20:38:00.004-05:00

I envision a series of posts entitled "Stuff I Like" that includes random glimpses into fairly mundane things that I happen to like and enjoy. After all, a blog is in some ways a diary - a catalog of events one can look back on, a glimpse inside my life and, scarier still, my brain.

One thing I like is an easy-to-miss little joint called JuJu's Mediterranean Bistro. One day while Keri and the boys were meeting her mom for lunch, I was driving by and spontaneously decided to give it a shot. I wasn't sure it was even open. I walked in and heard the Middle Eastern pop music and knew I'd like the place. Turns out it was just me and JuJu herself, a Lebanese lady in her 50s (?) who does the cooking. She was really friendly and showed me great hospitality - she was really working hard to sell me on the place, and she was successful.

Yes, JuJu's is great. So far I haven't made it past stuffed grape leaves (there's a fancier name I can't pronounce and wouldn't dream of spelling), a chicken shawarma sandwich, and fatoush. There's much more I'd like to try. My greatest concern was whether or not the place could survive. Last week I returned for lunch with my friend Paul and was happy to see other customers.

I'm not a food critic, so here's a review from someone who apparently is. But I encourage you to give it a shot.

Asa's Wordle

2008-06-20T14:07:00.003-05:00

Click to see it larger.

Stuff I Like: Pandora

2008-06-18T16:10:00.003-05:00

Briefly, I may be the last one to the party here, but if you haven't heard of it you need to check out Pandora. I use it everyday while I work from home to provide some background music, which helps keeps me moving through the day. With Pandora, you can create up to 100 personalized radio stations (they also have some nice pre-set genre stations available - we like the New Orleans jazz station while entertaining friends in our home). You begin by entering a song or artist, and Pandora creates a station based on that preference, using music that is similar in style and whatnot. You can give a thumbs up or down to a particular song, and each time you do you're refining the station's content.

It's radio in that you can't just pick a song on-demand, and can't rewind or repeat a song (though you can skip one), and they pay royalties for each song they play. Pandora is free, relying on advertising and donations to keep going. It really is a great way to get music for any mood or whim, and I strongly recommend it.

2-Year-Old Theology

2008-06-13T17:20:00.001-05:00

"Does God have a beard?" An interesting question, though I changed the syntax. I believe it was actually, "he have a beard?" When Asa learned that God does not have a beard, he was noticeably pleased because, for whatever reason, Asa tends to be afraid of beards. (That's another post for another time).

I think that teaching my sons theology will be one of the greatest responsibilities, privileges, and joys of fatherhood. Of course we're teaching them theology everyday in the way we speak to each other, pray, discipline, repent. We're teaching them theology when we worship with and invest ourselves in the life of our local church. We're teaching theology a hundred different ways whether we realize it or not.

But I'm thinking of what the theologians call theology proper. For now there are a few questions about God, such as "Where is he?" In some ways we've already started drawing lines, such as this one that would make some mainline and liberal Protestants mad: "Is God a lady?" "No."
(Also last night.)

One day we'll get into the Trinity and all of that. It will be interesting, I'm sure. But for now Asa just seems content to know that God doesn't have a beard.

Bonhoeffer on Fellowship

2008-06-08T17:58:00.000-05:00

Another quote from my sermon notes from 1 Peter that didn't make it into the sermon, but which is nevertheless helpful and worth considering:

"So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians."
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 18

One of the main points in the message is that believers are able, in this life, to experience a foretaste of the eternal blessing that will be our inheritance in Christ, and that, apart from personal fellowship with Him, the primary means of experiencing that blessing is through giving ourselves to participation in our local church. I think Bonhoeffer understood that well.

Peter on the Believer's Perspective

2008-06-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to preach on 1 Peter 3:8-12. Though I didn't use this quote in my message, I found it to be a helpful in understanding the message of this text, especially given that these verses are a summary the previous chapter or so.

"[Believers] are encouraged to persevere, knowing that a great reward will be theirs on the day of salvation. Such perseverance is exhibited by living a godly life, living as good citizens, model slaves, gentle wives, and understanding husbands. When believers live in such a way, they indicate that they are placing their hope in God rather than in the joys and comforts of this world… those who hope and trust in God and in his future reward will have the strength to endure whatever comes their way in the present. When believers set their hope on the future, they reveal that their salvation comes from the cross of Christ."

-- Thomas Schreiner's commentary on 1 Peter, p 45

Mother's Day Photos

2008-06-06T08:53:00.004-05:00

We took the boys in the backyard the week of Mother's Day to try to get some nice photos for their grandmothers. I wound up taking a hundred or more pictures. This is the showcase shot -- the one that went in the frames. But there were more that were good and funny and all that, so I'll try to put more over on the photoblog this weekend.

Is This The End?

2008-06-04T18:11:00.001-05:00

I've been a Braves fan my whole life, so it's probably no surprise to know that my favorite player has long been John Smoltz. His fiery competitiveness is legendary, and his integrity and the respect he garners on and off the field is equally well known. He's a big-game pitcher par excellence, the winningest postseason pitcher of all time. He's the only pitcher to ever record 200 victories and 150 saves, and is in the very elite 3,000 strikeout club. For years he's pitched through pain, willing himself to continue, and has remained among the game's elite.

Today brings news that his shoulder can't go on, so he's having season-ending surgery that could well be career-ending surgery. I'm so glad he was able to pitch long enough this season to get that 3,000th strikeout at Turner Field. I sure hope he can come back, but if he can't, there is a real possibility that Smoltz, Glavine, and Maddux, should the other two opt to retire after this year, will go into the Hall of Fame together on what will be Braves Day at Cooperstown in a few years. That'll be cool.

Gospel Translations

2008-06-01T13:49:00.001-05:00

Gospel Translations is a new venture whose aim is to get gospel-centered resources into as many hands as possible, especially in parts of the world where such resources just aren't available. You'll find a video here explaining what they do. A number of organizations have joined forces in this worthwhile effort, and they are on the lookout for volunteers who can help with translation work. If you have the ability to help them, it would be a wonderful way to serve.

Bush at Furman

2008-05-31T08:55:00.006-05:00

Almost exactly ten years ago I graduated from Furman University, a smallish liberal arts school here in Greenville. Our commencement speaker was the President... of the school. Today, Furman's 2008 graduates will hear a commencement speech from the President... of the United States. A bit of an upgrade I'd say.

Now, I'm not being partisan at all about this. If you can get the sitting President of the United States to your campus for commencement, you just do it. The exposure and publicity it brings are priceless, and it lends a certain level of credibility or seriousness to your school. So, in 1998, if we could have had Bill Clinton, that would have been great. Heck, there were rumors that we had a shot at getting Jimmy Carter that year, and that would have been good too. These are just things you do if you can, and the speeches are certainly more interesting and memorable. (I mean, nobody really wants to listen to a speech at any graduation.... so it's good if it has a little pizazz to it.)

Naturally, the school has been awash in controversy over the visit. Much of the faculty is in a general foment, they have censured the school president for not checking with them, and many have now been excused from the ceremony as conscientious objectors. All of this, of course, only adds to the story and the potential publicity, which is a good thing. And it also makes it all a bit more interesting and memorable for those graduates.

Update: Here's the story of Bush's visit.

Come Weary Saints

2008-05-30T13:55:00.001-05:00

For some time now I've been meaning to post a review of the latest project from Sovereign Grace Music, entitled Come Weary Saints.

The focus of the songs on this CD is on turning our hearts to worship and setting our hope in the gospel in times of suffering, trial, and weariness. That theme is laced throughout each track. The lyrics are wonderfully rich and soul-stirring, and musically, in my opinion, this is the best CD from SG to date. While I genuinely like the entire CD, I'm particularly impressed with the fifth track, "Every Day."

There's more that could be said, but the long and the short of it is that you will, I think, both benefit from and enjoy this CD. I heartily commend it to you.

A Square and a Song

2008-05-29T21:30:00.003-05:00

Interesting tidbit from the other day: Asa has a toy guitar that he enjoys "playing" when we have music on. Yesterday he saw it laying on the floor such that the strap was roughly in a square configuration and said, "Mommy, look! A square!" Turns out he's starting to get the difference between squares and triangles, which seems good to me, though I have no frame of reference.

Speaking of playing music, I find it amusing that his all-time favorite song is "In a Little While," from a recent Sovereign Grace CD by Mark and Stephen Altrogge.

Random Observations & Notes

2008-05-28T08:25:00.001-05:00

* Tuesday brought more evidence that Asa is a sharp cookie. I'm not talking about recognizing letters or stringing sentences together or anything of that nature. No, it struck me again as we were kicking the ball in the backyard at the tail end of my lunch break on one of the first days of the year that noticeably felt hot. I realized that somehow he had positioned himself in the shade and I had been dispatched into the sun. Yep... that's just practical, common-sense smarts...

* Have you ever eaten a meal that you knew you, as you first laid eyes upon it, that you would regret? Happened Tuesday night when we decided to try out the new pizza place up the street. I honestly can't think of the name of the place... but suffice to say it would be best to ask them if you can get the grease on the side. The experience reinforced our belief that the best way to do pizza is at home. Whole Foods has a really good frozen cheese pizza (their in-house 365 brand) that has got to be healthier than what you'd get out (I know it's pizza but, isn't everything at Whole Foods healthier?). We've taken it and added spinach or beef or whatever and made pretty nice pizza that is definitely cheaper than what we'd get out. I recommend it.

* Lately, for whatever reason, I've had the urge to try to blog some more. Can't say what form it will take or how long it will take... or what (if anything) I hope to accomplish. We'll see.

Preaching

2008-05-26T16:22:00.003-05:00

One of the reasons it is good that we didn't make it to New Attitude is that, with so many people gone, it was JV day at our church -- so I had the opportunity to preach. We're working through 1 Peter as a church right now, so my text was 3:8-12. I was pleased to barely miss the "spirits in prison" passage! This was the first time I've preached out of a didactic text from the epistles (my other experiences, limited as they are, were in narrative texts). I'm grateful that it seemed to go well and I'm grateful for the encouragement I received from several people. The message is on our church website if you're bored and/or curious.

New Attitude

2008-05-26T16:18:00.002-05:00

The New Attitude conference is going on this weekend in Louisville. NA is Sovereign Grace's "next generation" conference, designed primarily for singles and young couples -- but there is no hard and fast rule. The oldest member of our church is there along with 44 others! There's a photostream and a liveblog, and the messages are being made available for download very quickly. I've not listened to them, but have begun downloading them. Check it out.

More Minor League Baseball

2008-05-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

A few months ago the Braves announced that they were moving their AAA affiliate from Richmond, VA, to their own backyard in the suburbs: Gwinnett County, whose products include Brian McCann, Jeff Francouer, and Alex Forrest. In fact, the stadium will be an exit down 85 from my parents, so I'm confident that we'll enjoy a little bit of AAA baseball in the coming years, just like we did during our years in Louisville, home of the AAA Reds. Minor League baseball is a great family activity because it's far cheaper than the next level, and the smaller stadiums bring you closer to the action. Plus, it's easier to get there and get out. Here in Greenville, we have a great ballpark downtown, but the baseball is not as good as the Greenville Drive only play A level. The AAA Braves are about as good as minor league ball gets for me.The Gwinnett Braves cement Gwinnett's place as pretty cool suburban area, joining the arena football team (Georgia Force), a minor league hockey team (Gwinnett Gladiators), and pretty nice concert arena to give the area some cool things to do. The stadium will be built in a hurry, I guess, as it will open next season.

Pictures

2008-03-31T20:43:00.003-05:00

Last week I put a bunch of pictures on the photo blog. Enjoy!

Hanging Out This Morning

2008-03-08T15:39:00.002-05:00

Still Here

2008-03-06T22:15:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post to indicate that the blog (and I) live!

Life has been busy, but of course everyone is busy. I've begun a new job selling health insurance with my dad, so have been busy trying to get up to speed in that endeavor. (So if you need health insurance/HSA or term life insurance...) I'm also still leading our care group at church, which also takes up time but is a lot of fun. The boys are very challenging and/or lots of fun, depending on the moment. Asa spends most of his time moving at full-throttle and talking our ears off. Eli's favorite hobby is kicking his legs up and down. If you missed it, he's six months old now.

One of these days I'll get some pictures up here... maybe this weekend? We'll see.

2007 Year in Review

2008-01-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

2007 was a pretty good year for the Forrest family. Here are some highlights off the top of my head (I may revise this later or add photos...):

* The most significant event of the year was, obviously, Eli's birth on August 30th. We announced the pregnancy as 2007 began, and the pregnancy proved to be more difficult for Keri as the year got underway. Most people (esp Keri) were shocked to learn that #2 was another boy, but we were and remain delighted by that news. We were blessed with a healthy baby boy (even though the cord was wrapped around his neck) and Keri was blessed with a quick delivery. I'll post a picture soon - its hard to believe he's 4 months old now.

* Asa began walking this year, among other new adventures for a very energetic, curious, gregarious little guy who has clearly moved out of baby and into toddler (big boy) phase. He's a sensitive and affectionate little guy, and we are often amazed at his sharp, quick mind. He keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing.

* We moved into our house in February (though we actually closed in the last business day of 2006). Our care group served us mightily as we painted and made a lot of other changes/enhancements to the house.

* There wasn't as much time on the road as there used to be, the happy fruit of living closer to home. There was a trip to Gulf Shores (AL) in the spring to visit my family, a long weekend at the beach (near Charleston) with Keri's family in the summer, and a long weekend with her family in Gatlinburg in the fall. In between there were occasional visits to Atlanta.

* I had the opportunity to preach on two occasions at our church, which were really the first time I preached for more than thirty people or so. I enjoyed the challenge and learned a lot too. I also began leading a care group this fall, an experience that is challenging and rewarding. We are very grateful to be a part of Sovereign Grace Church.
* Some of you may be surprised to learn that I actually graduated again (in absentia, fortunately), for what I expect to be the final time. I cashed in my chips, so to speak, applying my PhD work to a lesser degree called a ThM, finally bringing closure to my long academic career.

That's all for now... I can't keep reflecting on the year that was because I have to go pick up the first dinner of 2008, as I await the Sugar Bowl. I may write more later...

Happy Thanksgiving from Asa and Eli

2007-11-24T17:00:00.001-05:00

On the Ground in San Diego, Prophecy, etc.

2007-10-24T22:23:00.000-05:00

3 links for you today, in order of decreasing importance.

1. Mark Lauterbach is the senior pastor of Grace Church, the Sovereign Grace Church in San Diego. He is providing updates on the wildfires that are ravaging that area and are affecting many in his church.

2. Bob Kauflin (also of Sovereign Grace) presents a very helpful and interesting discussion on the use of the gift of prophecy in corporate worship.

Asa and the Firetruck

2007-10-13T14:27:00.000-05:00

If you're keeping score at home, Asa turned two on September 19th. A couple of weeks ago a local park hosted an event called "Touch a Truck," which allowed kids the opportunity to see and get inside all kinds of trucks, tractors, bulldozers, and even a helicopter. Unfortunately, some of the older kids discovered the unbelievably loud horns in the dump truck and cement truck, and the resultant din bothered Asa tremendously. So we didn't make it to all of the assembled vehicles, including his much-loved bulldozers (his favorite thing in the world). He did, however, enjoy the fire truck and helicopter.

This 'n' That

2007-09-17T22:05:00.000-05:00

A few odds and ends for your reading pleasure:

• Life is still a bit crazy and we're more than a bit tired, but all in all we are grateful for how well things have gone thus far since adding Eli to the mix. He is quickly gaining weight (a pound and a half in less than two weeks) and we think he has acquired another chin. Asa likes him, though he had a harrowing experience the first or second time he held his little brother. As we settled Eli onto Asa's lap, the little guy had a substantial blowout in the nether regions - you know, the kind that sound like you sat on a half-empty juice box. Asa certainly heard it and probably felt it and it freaked him out. Funny, funny stuff... if only the video camera had been rolling.

• I'm still in the middle of posting pictures to the photoblog – not as much time to do that kind of thing lately, for some reason or other. Some are there, more will certainly follow.

• Our church, Sovereign Grace Church, has begun to build a more robust website. I think it looks good.

• Tim Challies has a nice (and helpful) post up today called Ten Tips to Read More and Read Better.

• I've added a few new links in the sidebar recently. They include Stephen Altrogge, the new CBMW (Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) blog, the New Attitude blog, and Of First Importance. All of these are helpful and interesting blogs that I obviously commend to you.

1 Week

2007-09-06T21:43:00.000-05:00

Eli's one week old and doing well. Asa is adjusting and now enjoys his little brother. We look forward to sleeping more as the baby gradually realizes that he has days and nights mixed up. I hope to post more photos on the other blog over the weekend. But for now we gotta get some sleep!