My Listening

I have done a handful of recaps of my reading on this blog over the years, and I have done a handful of concert reviews as well, but I have never done any report on my podcast listening. Probably because it has only been the last year or so I have actively listened to podcasts. But in any case, here we are...

There are probably ten different podcasts of which I have listened to at least a few episodes over the last year, but here I would like to highlight the three that I listen to regularly and attempt to hear every episode.

The West Wing Weekly

This podcast began in March 2016, just under ten years since the end of the Emmy-winning series The West Wing concluded its original run on NBC. The West Wing is without question my favorite TV show, having discovered it midway through its original run when I was a teenager.

The hosts of this podcast are actor Joshua Malina, who was part of the show's main cast for the last four seasons, and musician/composer Hrishikesh Hirway. Each week's episode focuses on one episode from the show, in sequence, and in addition to discussing the plot, production, and trivia of the episode, the hosts and their guest discuss related public policy and sociocultural issues. More often than not, an issue explored in the original episode of The West Wing is either still an issue today or else still relevant in some other way. Guests have included The West Wing cast and crew members as well as current and former real-life political, military, and NGO figures.

Listen to the 1 minute, 23 second intro episode, "0.00 Cold Open" for the hosts' explanation of their project.

Theology for Life

This podcast began just last December. The co-hosts are Ed Stetzer and Lynn Cohick, both Wheaton College faculty members. Each week's episode examines one of a myriad of theological issues, from the major timeless questions and creedal statements, exegetical commentary, comparative theology, and everyday Christian life. Highly relatable and gives a fresh introductory look at the different issues.

To date all their guests have been other Wheaton College faculty, but they've promised to have guests from other institutions and organizations as well.

Church Politics

This podcast began just this past May. The co-hosts are Michael Wear, who worked in the Obama White House as well as for the 2012 re-election campaign and is now a consultant and author, and Atlanta-based lawyer and political operative Justin Giboney. The first few episodes were groundwork, including two insightful podcasts examining the history and current focus and status of the Democratic and Republican parties, and thereafter they recap the week's political news and examine the issues based on their Christian convictions. Worthwhile listening for Democrats, Republicans, Christians, and those of other or no faith tradition all.

The podcast, presented by online arts and culture curator platform Forth District, does not (yet?) have its own website, but the first episode can be found at the Forth District website.

What podcasts do you listen to regularly?

A Post for MLK Day, Intentionally Late

In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the third Monday of January. Last week, on the third Monday of January, I took time throughout the day to read the latest articles and blog posts and essays coming through my feed about the life, legacy, and message of Martin Luther King Jr. and many related themes.

Those themes will never translate into actions and change unless we remember them on all the days other than the third Monday in January. And so today, on this fourth Monday of January, I share just two brief selections from my reading last week, for your reflection. Neither will take long to read -- unless of course you stop to think about what the words mean.

First, Joel J. Miller writes at Theology That Sticks of "Martin Luther King Jr.'s unfinished task." He reflects on a sermon King gave in Montgomery in 1956, and explores the contrast between racism and the Christian doctrine of the Imago Dei.

Second, I found a collection of "15 Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes That Will Challenge You to Take Action." Obviously, context is key and thus the next step after reviewing the list is to pursue the original sermon or speech or letter to better understand King's thinking, but the one liners in themselves can certainly provoke thought or conversation.

Was there anything you read last Monday that made you stop and think? Share a link in the comments section below.

Articles of the Week: Pentecost

Tomorrow, May 24, is Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth day since Easter Sunday, and the day the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles. Here are a few articles on that topic from my reading this week...

Tish Harrison Warren, writing for Christianity Today, draws on insights from both ancient and modern theologians as well as her own experiences to explore maternal symbolism as it relates to the Church. "This Pentecost," she writes, "we celebrate the beginning of that great work of sanctification, the birth of our mother, Christ's bride."

Over at the The Economist's Prospero blog, Johnson writes about the significance of translation to the advance of Christianity. On the first Pentecost, as chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles tells us, a large crowd each heard the apostles speaking in his (or her) own language. It was a miracle that day, and the miracle continues, a bit less dramatically but no more importantly, through ongoing missions work in Bible translation.

And finally (though this piece was actually from last week), Russell Moore writes at his blog in response to the recent Pew Center study on the record-low number of self-identifying Christians in America. Moore writes, "The future of Christianity is bright. I don't know that from surveys and polls, but from a word Someone spoke one day back at Caesarea Philippi."

And here are Keith and Kristyn Getty and company singing "O Church Arise."

On Waiting

Waiting.

Not quite a common theme for this season of Epiphany. The longing of Advent has since given way to the feasting of Christmas, that great turning point of redemptive history.

And yet, on the macroscopic level, waiting is the order of business for this time, these centuries between Christ's first Advent, the one celebrated every December, and the second, the one we are not yet able to celebrate because it is not yet here.

I came across two articles in my reading this week, this first full week after the Epiphany, on that theme, which I will highlight here along with my reflections after reading.

The first, by Jeff Strong for Christianity Today, focuses on an often-overlooked fact of the Christmas story (I confess I had never given it much thought), the fact that the shepherds and the Magi both returned, as far as we know, to the same lives they had had before. The next night the shepherds were back out with their sheep, and the Magi eventually made it back to their homeland and continued their scholarly pursuits. A little anticlimactic, when one actually considers that point.

And yet, it fits. After gathering for worship on Sunday mornings, a local congregation returns to their homes, and the next day to their places of work and study. But were the shepherds and Magi any different when they returned? Are we any different when we return from our weekly churchgoing?

The second article is more specifically about waiting. Amber Haines writes for The High Calling about a time in her life when she was very impatient for God to fulfill the promise to make all things new. But without waiting, without unmet desires, what use would there be for hope?

Are there times when we go through the motions of going to church and more often than not find ourselves bored with waiting for God to act? Or are we allowing this time of waiting, while in the midst of the everyday between Sunday and Sunday, between the first and second advents, to transform us?

Most people, being human, hate waiting. I hate waiting in traffic, in line, for the commercial break to end, for a response to that "urgent" email or text message I sent just thirty seconds ago, or for the brainwave that will allow me to finish this sentence. But I know that God is never behind schedule. If God has yet to act, it is because it is not yet time.

"It takes courage to return in a culture that continually invites us to move on," Strong writes. "We believe that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith," Haines writes, "and waiting becomes an active engagement with hope at its core."

We cry, "Come, Lord Jesus," and rightfully so. But sometimes, the response is, "be still and know that I am God."

From Meadowgate Farm

This past weekend, members of Adelphoi, Calvary Memorial Church's young adult community, gathered at Meadowgate Farm (the retreat home of one of our elder's in-laws) in North Central Illinois, for our winter retreat. There were seventeen adults and three children, and we made good use of the home's nine bedrooms and plentiful common areas. A relaxed schedule of games, conversation, and an almost constant flow of food was the order of business for the weekend.

Meadowgate Farm, outside Orangeville, Illinois

Saturday morning sunrise over North Central Illinois

Kirk Baker, who with his wife Amy leads the young adult ministry, led our group devotional times. His topic for the weekend was, simply but profoundly, growth. He challenged us young adults to think 20, 30, 40 years into the future: would each of us be more mature in Christ at that point? We are always and constantly responding to something, to some situation or another, he observed, and it is the sum of those responses over time that either make us more like Christ or less. This is the process of sanctification, essentially.

The next question Kirk had for us was what role does the Cross have in our sanctification. It has a crucial role, we agreed (I use the word "crucial" intentionally as it has as its root the Latin word for cross). On his handout, Kirk had written about the Cross: "Through Christ his out poured grace we experience comfort, cleansing, and the power to change." In our Saturday evening devotional session we looked at two passages from Paul's writings (Galatians 2:20 and Romans 8:9-10, to be specific), which describe this concept. Our discussion further led us to the conclusion that not only does the indwelling of the Spirit allow us to have godly responses to temptation and difficulty situations and circumstances, but it allows us to receive grace and have the courage to continue when we fall and do not have godly responses.

Thanks, Kirk and Amy, for leading our time of rest and reflection over the weekend!

About half the members of my small group were able to attend the retreat. In the back, from left to right, are Jill, Jason, and me, and in the front are Adriana, Matt, and Charlene.

God at Work

I came across two interesting interviews in my blog reading this morning on the topic of how God relates to one's work.

On his blog, The Exchange, at Christianity Today, Ed Stetzer interviewed Matt Perman about his new book What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done (Zondervan, 2014). Some very good points about managing workflow, customer service, and goals - all of which Perman ties to the gospel.

As part of the TGCvocations series, The Gospel Coalition's Bethany Jenkins interviewed Katherine Leary Alsdorf, senior fellow at Redeemer City to City, about her work, which focuses on, as the title of the interview states, "Equipping Churches for Cultural Leadership." Alsdorf speaks about the potential when Christians embrace leadership in their spheres of influence, "bringing hope, truth, and love into those parts of our culture."

I have also been personally reflecting a bit lately on the nature of Jesus' leadership during his earthly ministry. I may write about that soon!

Day of Rest

On the evening of the first Sunday in the spring semester if my freshman year of college, the resident assistant led a floor fellowship meeting. I remember us going around the room, mentioning highlights from our winter breaks, and meeting two new residents. He then gave us a challenge for the semester: observe the Sabbath by refraining from doing homework on Sundays.

I was a music major in college, so a substantial portion of my homework was my practicing. In addition to my primary instrument, I also had various secondary instruments to practice, so practicing required many hours each week. It was easiest for me to complete my practice hours in the music buildings, and since all the academic buildings were closed on Sundays, I had already been refraining from that particular part of my homework on the Sabbath when my RA gave this challenge.

Upon returning to my room after floor fellowship, I thought about what completely taking this challenge would mean. On the surface, it simply meant that I would not do written homework on Sundays, either. But beyond that, it would mean a little extra discipline to get all my weekend homework done by the end of the day on Saturday. I decided to go for it.

I am proud to say that I virtually succeeded in not doing any homework on Sundays for the duration of my college years. I also extended my observance of the Sabbath to include any work for the on-campus jobs I had during college. Sometimes it was necessary to do some work on a Sunday, generally when I had collaborative projects and schedule constraints of other group members necessitated meeting on Sunday, but on the whole, every Sunday was been a day off for me.

That does not mean that I sat around all day watching movies. I attended church in the morning and then spent the afternoon refreshing myself for the week ahead. I usually managed to get a nap in after lunch, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing, sometimes with friends and sometimes just by myself. I might read for personal pleasure, listen to music, or journal. One thing I always liked to do on Sunday evenings, generally not too long before turning in for the night, was go for a walk along the campus perimeter. During the week, I certainly went to many different places on campus, but I was usually more concerned with where I was going than the actual journey.

America is a very active nation. The reputation of New York City as “the city that never sleeps” might well be applied to the whole country. I am not certain that this is the best inclination. Hard work is very noble, and I am sure that it pleases the Lord when we spend our time in our studies and jobs. But we would do well to remember that God Himself rested at the end of the creation week, and that He commanded the fledgling nation of Israel to observe the Sabbath. Even construction of the Tabernacle halted on the Sabbath (Exodus 35).

I challenge you, particularly if you are a college student, to take what one might call the Sabbath Challenge. Refrain from anything related to your studies or job on Sunday, and instead focus on worshipping, relaxing, and preparing yourself for the week ahead. If you are a church employee or in some other job that requires you to be on duty on Sundays, pick a different day for observing a day of rest. Try it for at least a month.

Lenten Resources

Lent, the period of forty days (not counting Sundays) preceding Easter, begins tomorrow. As I did last year, I would like to share a few resources.

First, an essay from The Gospel Coalition on five benefits of observing Lent. The one the particularly resonates with me is the fifth, "Lent prepares us to celebrate the wonder and promise of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday."

Also, two devotional resources:

The worship staff at Calvary Memorial Church (myself included) will spend Lent reading through "God Is on the Cross," a collection of forty daily readings curated from the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The first two daily readings are viewable with Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (follow the link in the last sentence).

Also, Ray Pritchard has written a Lenten devotional, "Lord of Glory," with forty daily readings focusing on forty different names of Christ. The link in the last sentence will take you to a PDF of the devotional that you can download.

Have you come across any essays/articles/blog pieces on Lent, or have devotionals you will use this year? Please share in the comments section below!

The Greatest Commandments as a Guide for Worship

“Worship is a lifestyle,” we in Christian circles hear often, in sermons, conference keynote addresses, chapel messages, books, blogs, and Tweets. The ubiquitous nature of the phrase renders it cliché, which is unfortunate, because when we pass over that statement and the concept behind it, we miss something important about the Christian life.

To help us rethink this concept, let us turn to an admittedly ubiquitous passage of Scripture, but hopefully, because it is Scripture, we will not be tempted to dismiss as cliché. It is a few verses from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, beginning at verse 36:

[A Pharisee asks Jesus] “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

These few verses serve as foundation for how to live the Christian life. And, if worship is indeed a lifestyle, then these “greatest commandments” are also a foundation for how to worship.

Practically speaking, this makes sense. Upon hearing the word “worship,” most people first think of a corporate gathering engaged in singing. I think there is a reason why this is the first mental image to appear: it follows from the first great commandment. When a local body of believers gathers in corporate worship (both in an institutional local church setting, or in a non-church setting such as a conference, school, camp, and so forth), they are directly expressing their love to God, at least with their hearts. Let all with heart and voice before His throne rejoice, the hymn says.

What about souls and minds? I propose that there are other spiritual disciplines that directly follow from those facets of the commandment. For souls, consider the disciplines of private prayer and Scripture reading. For minds, I think of hearing a sermon, participating in a Sunday school class or Bible study or small group, and other concentrated forms of developing your understanding of the Bible and theology.

Now the second great commandment Jesus mentioned, “love your neighbor as yourself.” How might that be a guide for worship?

Through a lifestyle of worship, to return to our earlier term. Both the Old Testament (e.g., Jeremiah 29:7, Micah 6:8) and the New Testament (e.g., Matthew 25:40, Romans 12) speak to loving one’s neighbor (the parallel passage to Matthew 22:36-39 in Luke 10 is the parable of the Good Samaritan, which gives the definition of “neighbor”). We would be disobedient if we stopped at the first great commandment – if we stopped worshipping when we headed to lunch after church on Sunday. Our worship must progress to the second great commandment and indeed, to the Great Commission. This second great commandment is the foundation for the relationship between worship and justice – a significant discussion for our time.

The phrase “worship is a lifestyle” may be cliché, but hopefully we will not dismiss the concept behind it, and I think Jesus’ words can provide us with a helpful guide for living a life of worship.

Thanksgiving and Wrath

My church is currently in the midst of a sermon series titled "Finding Our Voice: Responses to God in the Psalms." Yesterday, Senior Associate Pastor Gerald Hiestand preached from Psalm 136 a message titled "A Voice of Thanksgiving." (That last link will take you to a video of the sermon.)

Psalm 136, which begins "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever," contains the phrase "for his steadfast love endures forever" as the second half of every single verse. I must confess: when I come across this psalm in my own devotions, I generally start to skip reading those second halves by about verse 5. Gerald, however, read the psalm in its entirety, including the refrain "for his steadfast love endures forever." He then drew our attention to some of the first halves of verses that are contrasted with that refrain in vv. 10-22.

"to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt" (10)

"overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea" (15)

"killed mighty kings" (18)

"for his steadfast love endures forever"?

It is a peculiar juxtaposition. Why does the psalmist give thanks for God's wrath against Egypt and the other nations? Because, as Gerald pointed out, God's wrath is directed against those who would harm Israel. And the Church, the worldwide people of God, should also give thanks today for God's wrath that is directed against that which would harm us.

Insights from Hebrew Poetry

My small group met on Monday evening of this week and one of our members, Grace, led a single-installment discussion on marriage (our group is a mix of marrieds and singles, all young adults).

She drew out attention to Genesis 1:27. This verse is indented, indicating it is a verse of poetry.

So God created man in his own image, / in the image of God he created him; / male and female he created them.

Grace then mentioned two other verses, which are likewise verses of poetry.

A foolish son is grief to his father / and bitterness to her who bore him. Proverbs 17:25

But he was pierced for our transgressions; / he was crushed for our iniquities. Isaiah 53:5a

The point is most clear in the Isaiah verse: the two lines of the verse state essentially the same idea: pierced/crushed and transgressions/iniquities. In the Proverb, grief/bitterness and father/her who bore him or parents.

Thus, in the Genesis verse, which uses the same poetic construction, the parallel terms are "image of God" and "male and female."

The conclusion: male and female, as distinct parts, form a whole, and that whole is the image of God.

Now, is an individual man or woman not the image of God? By no means. Every human being is worthy of full honor and dignity as God's image-bearer from the moment of conception. But male and female together - in marriage - also form the image of God. Grace gave a parallel example: each Person of the Trinity is fully God, and the Trinity as a unit is fully God.

Thanks, Grace, for those insights!

Focus on Text

TGC Worship, a great new blog I have been following, had a great piece a few days ago, "Modern Hymns, Choruses, and NPR." NPR had broadcast a piece about modern worship music. Blogger Matt Boswell responded, exploring the tendency to draw battle lines between hymns and praise choruses.

An excerpt:

Ultimately, the litmus test of congregational songs is not the style in which they are formatted; it is the content they are presenting. If our conversation about church music remains simply of style, we have not lifted our attention high enough to what is of first importance. The songs of the church should blatantly remind and retell the story of the gospel of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1, Psalm 105:1-5). In this, God is glorified and the church built up in its faith.

At my church, Calvary Memorial of Oak Park, we on the worship arts staff make a point to examine the text of any song we use in our corporate worship services. We look for what my music minister calls "the creedal statements," and we also use songs that repeat certain phrases that simply declare truths. Last weekend, for example, we used "Praise to the Lord" ("Praise to the Lord who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth") and "Good to Me" ("For You are good / For You are good / For You are good to me"). But for any choice, the text must be based in gospel truth - as Boswell notes elsewhere in this piece.

Ideally, in any given worship service, the entire story of the gospel of the grace of God will be sung. There is a wealth of songs, those written recently and those written centuries ago, suited to this task.

Articles of the Week - Worship Arts

This has been a very, very good week to be a worship arts professional with access to the Internet. In my online reading these last few days, I have come across so many insightful articles that have given me much food for thought on the discipline that is near and dear to me personally and professionally. A few highlights:

First, from Christianity Today:

Ed Stetzer, a professor, writer, pastor, church planter (etc., etc., etc.), who has a new blog hosted by CT's website, wrote a seven-step, Bible-based test to help service planners determine whether to include a given piece of music in a given corporate worship service. His conclusion contains this pull quote: "God can use any form of music. He has no musical style or preference." That speaks to the truth that music as well as all the other art forms are all vehicles for communicating gospel truths - many of the steps in Stetzer's test help determine whether a given musical vehicle will be an effective communicator. The one point I felt could have been expanded upon was the difference between music that may effectively communicate gospel truth and the more specific category of music that is appropriate for corporate worship - that is, congregational participation and, especially, singing.

Speaking of singing, theologian and author Steven Guthrie wrote a lengthy essay on the spiritual discipline characteristics of singing. It is a bit of a complex piece, drawing largely on the writings of Athanasius, so I am not quite finished reacting to it, but I do know that it makes unique points about what we do when we gather as a local church to sing.

I also discovered a true gem this week - a new blog, TGC Worship, hosted by The Gospel Coalition. It describes its purpose thus:

TGC Worship seeks to promote gospel-centered worship throughout the church by training and equipping leaders in the Word-shaped ministry of singing, songwriting, and service planning. 

Besides its introductory post from this past Tuesday (which itself is worth reading), there have been just three posts to date. Zac Hicks gave a multi-faceted list of "Things That Christian Worship Should Be" (lots of room for discussion about how these points may be manifested in the corporate worship service) and Ron Man, directly in the vein of the blog's overall purpose, writes an excellent outline of the ways the Word should guide our worship services.

I have to admit - I am on a bit of information overload right now with even these few articles! But praise God that, via the Internet, I am able to read the thoughts of more experienced worship arts professionals. As I have stated elsewhere, I never imagined I would be using my professional training in a local church to the extent I am currently, and certainly not at my relatively young age. But it has been a true blessing, and I love being a part of this profession!

A Model for Leaders

Are you a leader in any capacity? Are you a teacher, minister, or in some leadership position in the business or arts worlds? A few weeks ago, my senior pastor, Dr. Todd Wilson, preached a sermon that I found particularly challenging in my capacity as a leader.

His text was John 10:1-21, where Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd and gives an extended illustration. From those verses, Todd outlined the qualities of a good leader, specifically a good pastor of a church, but when I spoke with him afterward (as well as with my small group about the sermon), he (and they) agreed that it could easily apply to teachers, and other leadership capacities.

Watch the whole sermon - it will be worth your time!



Secularism and Christianity - Are Christians Losing?

Does the increasing secularism in the Western world over the last half-century spell doom for followers of Jesus Christ and our mission to make disciples of all nations? There is, of course, no end to the books, blogs, and other media that answer in the affirmative.

However, I would answer in the negative. I do not believe that our present postmodern world is poised to defeat Christianity. Far from it.

First of all, followers of Jesus and the institutional Church have always had opposition, though it has taken vastly different forms over the centuries and within different cultures. It is true that the Enlightenment was a significant turning point in the Church’s role as an institution in the West (that is a whole separate discussion), but there are more Christians alive today, in 2013, than there are in heaven.

Secondly, Scripture affirms that the Church is not going anywhere.

The prophet Isaiah records the LORD saying, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (55:10-11)

Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate, promised to build His Church, and promised that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). If the powers of hell cannot bring down the Church, then the worldly forces of secularism cannot even make a dent – as evidenced by the population statistic I stated above.

One final Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-29 speaks of God’s “unshakeable kingdom.” Take a few minutes to read in full this sweeping declaration of the awesome reality.

Thus, the whole of Scripture, from the prophets to the early Christians to the words of Jesus to Peter, affirms that the Church is not going anywhere.

And there is further evidence.

Several years ago, John Micklethwait and Adrian Woolridge (the editor-in-chief and management editor, respectively, of The Economist) wrote a book, God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World (Penguin Press, 2009). Their central thesis, as implied by the title, is that Christianity is in fact growing around the world at the popular level, even as the institutional state becomes more secular.

More recently, Mark Galli and Andy Crouch of Christianity Today wrote a piece for the March 2013 issue of the magazine, “The Future of Today’s Christianity.” (Well worth reading in full – this was the piece that refined my thinking on this issue.) Near the end, they state:

The church that Christ promised to build survived the license of Corinth, the legalism of Galatia, and the lukewarmness of Laodicea. It will survive, and more than survive, in our time, because it is built not by human hands but by Christ himself. He constantly renews and reforms his people. He breathes new life and new forms into being in response to institutional decay. And every day he calls sinners from every nation to himself, transforming them into sons and daughters in a new family.

And then they say, “We cannot imagine a more exciting time to be Christians than today,” a sentiment I find much more agreeable than dire warnings. Christianity is not going anywhere – God has promised so.