LeaderLines: Cultural Conversation Starters

How are we to interact with the culture? Books and films and music often touch on the same subjects that the Bible does: forgiveness in the midst of betrayal, failure, hope in the midst of suffering, redemption in the midst of failure, and so on. So, the books and films and music around us can be “cultural conversation starters.”

The Apostle Paul shows us how. In Acts 17, he’s waiting in Athens for his friends to catch up with him. As Paul walked around the city, he noted it was “full of idols”—the Greek text could be translated it was “under” idols, it was overwhelmed with them, overrun with them. And verse 16 says he was “greatly distressed” at this reality.

He shared the message of Jesus with anyone who would listen, and soon someone said, “You need to present your case at the Areopagus.” That’s a Greek word that means Mars Hill, and it was a place where the philosophers of ancient Athens gathered to hear various opinions and then discuss them.

The interesting thing is that, although all the idols and wrong ways of understanding God disturbed him, when he was given a chance to speak, he didn’t blast the people for it. He actually used one of the many idols as a reference to start his message, and he even quoted from two of their familiar pagan poets as a way to support what he was trying to say. Here’s his speech:

²²Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

²⁹“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. ³⁰In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Now, obviously at this point in the speech, he’s starting to turn the conversation to Jesus, but this whole idea of a dead man alive from the grave brought the whole conversation to an end for the time being. Verse 32 says, “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject.’” That was the end of the conversation for that day, but some of them expressed interesting in hearing more later, and verse 33 says some came to believe.

Acts 17 gives us a three-point outline for how to use the surrounding culture to begin conversations about Jesus:

Know your world.

Respect your world.

Inform your world.

I want to look at each point for the next 3 weeks. First, know your world.

There’s a guidebook for preaching with the title Between Two Worlds. What a perfect description of anyone who wants to explain the faith to others. You have to know your Bible and you have to know the culture you’re in. Paul knew something about the culture he was in. In Acts 17, you see him walking around Athens, talking with the people, paying attention to their shrines. In fact, he was so well acquainted with their shrines that he could point out the inscription on one of them: “To An Unknown God.” This also means that he was checking all this out for himself instead of just drawing conclusions about the culture based on what others were saying—that’s a lesson we could learn in outreach to our own culture. Did you notice that Paul quoted not one but two pagan poets that would have been familiar to his listeners, and that means he must have read more than the Bible and religious material.

In short, Paul not only knew his Bible, he knew his world. He knew something about the customs and convictions of the people he was speaking to.

Next week we’ll look at the second way to interact with the culture: Respect your world.

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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Winning Ways: Edging God Out

I read about a man in Pennsylvania who insisted on representing himself before the court after being charged with drunk driving. He told the judge the state laws don’t apply to him because, he said, “I live inside myself, not in Pennsylvania” and therefore he was a sovereign country that couldn’t be prosecuted. The judge decided the man needed a psychological evaluation.

Ya think?

Here’s the sad thing: most of us feel the same way. The only difference between this man and the rest of us is that this man said it out loud!

Go on: Admit it. We behave like we’re a sovereign country, independent of everyone else around us. We let our desires take precedence over any consideration of others.

Pride is at the root of everything that ruins us. Think about it. Why do people go to their grave refusing to admit their lives could ever be so sinful that they would need Jesus to save them? Why do we put ourselves into deep debt and even live on God’s tithe in ordre to put ourselves in houses, clothing, cars, and schools that impress others? Why do people neglect to pray, assuming their own wits can get them by? Why do people look away from the way God has commanded them to live and form their own version of morality? Why do we look smugly on someone else’s sins, thinking we are somehow beyond the reach of sin ourselves? When we do fall into sin, why do we refuse to bring it to God so things can be set straight again?

The answer to all those questions: Pride.

Ken Blanchard, co-author of the One-Minute Manager and many other books on leadership, wrote, “The biggest addiction we have to overcome is the human ego. Why? Because ego stands for Edging God Out.”

We could all use help battling our ego. Join us this Sunday @ 10 for a message called “How to Keep Your Pride from Ruining You.” It’s the third study of our sermon series called “Bumper-Sticker Wisdom.”

On another note, there are a couple of things from last week I don’t want you to miss. In last week’s LeaderLines I informed everyone about some major gifts we’ll use for capital improvements (click here). And you really should view the testimonies from last Saturday’s Network for Life fundraiser (click here). You’ll hear Michelle Miller, who sings in the choir, Donna Rivera, who also sings in the choir and serves on our custodial staff, and Jan Whitney, who began attending in January. Their stories will remind you that we serve a great and good God!

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday April 28

“Nothing will more effectively preserve us in a straight and undeviating course in this economy than a firm persuasion that all events are in the hand of God, and that he is as merciful as he is mighty. This should lead us to gratitude in prosperity, patience in adversity, and a wonderful security respecting the future.” John Calvin, paraphrased by Knox Bucer-Beza


“In the quest for better health, many people turn to doctors, self-help books or herbal supplements. But they overlook a powerful weapon that could help them fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life: their friends” (NYT). Build friendships after the Sunday morning sermon at Hillcrest in a Sunday School class or a Common Ground group.


100 Years in the Same Apartment


The NFL likes Big 12 players. Six of the top 20 picks in this weekend’s draft were from our conference. And Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith was the #2 pick by the St. Louis Rams. (story)


“How exactly does a 40-year-old man explain to his wife that he might have torn his rotator cuff during a midnight game of Wii tennis?” (NYT)


“If you drive substantive Christianity out of the public square, or cheer over its decay into irrelevance, you may rid yourself of the possibility of Pat Robertson, but you also close the door to Martin Luther King” (Rod Dreher; HT: “Death By Deism”).


“Even faster than Google, Amazon and eBay in their days, the three-year-old Twitter has become deeply embedded in the culture. President Barack Obama twittered the words, "We just made history," on the night of his election. It was a twittered image that first captured the forced landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. Scores of people trapped in the Mumbai terrorist attack twittered desperately for help. And in a much discussed event, a San Francisco technology writer twittered his surprise to discover his home was being broken into.” (WSJ)


“Because they have been largely walled off from the world of hypertext, print books have remained a kind of game preserve for the endangered species of linear, deep-focus reading. Online, you can click happily from blog post to email thread to online New Yorker article -- sampling, commenting and forwarding as you go. But when you sit down with an old-fashioned book in your hand, the medium works naturally against such distractions; it compels you to follow the thread, to stay engaged with a single narrative or argument….There is great promise and opportunity in the digital-books revolution. The question is: Will we recognize the book itself when that revolution has run its course?” (Stephen Johnson writing about digital books in the WSJ)


“If you are walking by Blackwell bookshops, near Charing Cross Road in Central London, chances are that you might want to pop in to buy a book. The book chain has purchased a new device that prints up books at the speed of 105 pages per minute from a catalog of more than 400,000 books with another 600,000 books coming up within the next few months according to the company. The Expresso Book Machine is a boon since it allows out of print books to be printed.” (TFOT)


If you hate rock music, you might be a bug. Maybe that guy in Kafka’s story just didn’t like Led Zeppelin.



Why I lost the Spelling Bee: I was told to spell
‘Lake
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.’


Ed Stetzer continues to worry about the declining numbers in SBC life. Giving to international missions is up while baptisms at home are down: I sometimes think strong (rabid) support for international missions in a church can serve as a thin cover for timidity and carelessness about doing what it takes to reach one’s own mission field.


Evidence that the economy really, really is stagnant: Teens and young adults are forgoing the hot labels when shopping at the mall and going for the more economical stores.


In USA Today, Stephen Prothero takes issue with the widely-discussed Newsweek cover story on the decline of Christianity. He says that the data might show a decline in denominational identification but people still say they are “spiritual” in Christian terms: “they identify their faith less and less with ‘organized religion’ and more and more with the personal power of Jesus himself.” He says that pieces like the Newsweek cover story ironically “aligns quite well with the desires of atheists and evangelicals alike. The so-called new atheists want to see Christianity on the retreat because to them, religion is poisonous idiocy. But born-again Christians like the faith-on-the-run story, too, because it makes their centuries-old call to re-Christianize the country only more urgent.” He says that Albert Mohler’s lament on the disappearance of Christian influence (quoted in the Newsweek piece) is more “timeless rhetoric than timely analysis,” to which Mohler replies on his website: “My concern is with the very trends Prothero himself identified. The transformation of American Christianity into just a Christian-branded ‘spirituality’ is part and parcel of my concern.”


Yep, that’s happened to me (metaphorically speaking):

Highlights from the NFL Fund-Raiser, Part 2

Network for Life, an aftercare ministry, held its fundraiser at Hillcrest last Saturday. NFL was born at Hillcrest and we continue to be their biggest backer. I loved hearing these three stories of changed lives. Take a few minutes with these video clips.

Songs from the fundraiser can be viewed here.

Michelle Miller--




Donna Rivera--





And the newest addition to Maggie's House, Jan Whitney--

Highlights from the NFL Fund-Raiser, Part 1

Network for Life, an aftercare ministry, held its fundraiser at Hillcrest last Saturday. NFL was born at Hillcrest and we continue to be their biggest backer. The fundraiser was a "Texas" theme, with BBQ and western wear. So some of our members put together some music for the occasion. Here's Herb Ingram, Joey Taylor, Erin Waldo, Katie Brock, and Shirley Sears with their song selections. My personal faves are "Get Down on Your Knees and Pray" and "Come to Jesus."

Also, you really should watch three powerful testimonies at this blog post.

"Get Down On Your Knees and Pray"--



"Come to Jesus"--



"Shallow Water"--

"Baptism"--




"That's Just the Way He Was Raised"--




"Keep On the Sunny Side"--




"I'll Fly Away"--

Song of the Week: Mindy Smith's "Come to Jesus"

This song got all kinds of airplay on KGSR a couple of years back, and introduced Mindy Smith to the Americana scene. I've picked it this week because the gang closed with this number at last night's fundraiser for Network for Life, a prison aftercare ministry that began at Hillcrest and still receives most of its support from us.

Here's Mindy Smith singing "Come to Jesus"--



And here's the cover by Erin Waldo with Katie Brock, Shirley Sears, Herb Ingram, and Joey Taylor:



Lyrics here.

LeaderLines: Campus Renovation is Underway!

I’m amazed at God. As we told the church in last night’s business meeting, about $800,000 has dropped into our lap.

The timing couldn’t be better, since it’s time to get to work on renovating our church campus.

When Bob Flaherty died in 2007, he left most of his estate to our church. Complications in how he executed the will delayed the gift until now, but $675,000 of his estate will soon be put to work. In addition, a partnership with Casner Christian Academy, a local preschool, has come with a gift of $150,000.

We’ll spend God’s gift on campus improvements. We have fantastic space in a fantastic location, but our space needs some updating and upgrading.  That’s one of the three renovations I believe God called me to lead when I arrived here in May 2003. I believe God called me here to lead the renovation of our heart, our program, and our space. I've been speaking and writing about this for the last 6 years. 

First, the renovation of our heart means that we need to renew how we think.  We're learning how to be a congregation where Austin can find and follow Jesus together.  Some churches are very effective at helping people find Jesus, but they don't really focus on helping people grow once they've come to faith.  Other churches are very effective at helping people follow Jesus, but frankly they're uncomfortable with the issues and questions that seekers raise.  Our church needs to be where people can come together to meet Jesus and grow in him.  I prepared an eight-day devotional guide that will help you understand this better.  You can download a copy from our website.

Second, the renovation of our program means that we need to renew what we do. Missionaries in a foreign place try to connect with the culture of the people they're called to reach, and we have to do the same thing in the mission field God has called us to reach.  Trying to think as missionaries to Austin has resulted in changes to our schedule and our worship services and our programming.  Theology never changes, but methodology has to.

Third, the renovation of our space means that we need to renew how we look. Across the last several years, our focus has been on the first two renovations.  Now we're ready to make some updating and upgrading to our facilities--and isn’t it amazing that this unexpected income of $800,000 came just as we’ve been wondering how to get started!

Why should we improve our facilities? Because it sends a message.

I read about the East Seventh Street Baptist Church in New York City.  No one in the neighborhood refers to it by that name.  They all call it “The Graffiti Church.”  The pastor’s business card even uses that title. 

Why is it nicknamed “The Graffiti Church?”  When Baptists began their work in that location in 1974, the place was covered with spray-painted artwork, slogans, and gang signs.  Anytime they painted the walls, more graffiti would appear.  Since they couldn’t beat them the decided to join them, and church leaders began adding their own spray-painted work to the walls:  Bible verses and artwork with Christian themes starting appearing alongside the work of neighborhood taggers.

Now that’s what I call “evandalism!”  (Groan!)

When I read about the Graffiti Church, it made me think: what does our church campus “say” to our neighborhood?  Our congregation’s “look” sends a message.  Fair or not, people draw conclusions about our ministry from the way we take care of the facility.

Did you know that God actually withholds his blessing from those who pay more attention to their own house and business than they do to the place where he is worshipped?  In Haggai 1:1-9, he actually says we should pay attention to the building where he is worshipped “so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored.”

God says we “honor” him by paying attention to the place where we praise his Name and study his Word.

This church knows how to build.  Within the last 10 years you renovated the multipurpose center, and you built a three-story education building.  You were already at work updating and upgrading our campus before I got here.  I’m glad I’m here to join you in that ongoing work!

As things progress, I’ll let you know more about how we plan to improve the building. But I’m looking forward to upgrades to the children/preschool wing, additional parking, and an entryway/foyer.

The scale of renovation that has to happen will take a lot more than the $800,000 we announced last night. But I’m glad God has provided so generously so that we can start this process!

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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Gravity and Gladness

I'm preparing the Worship Seminar that I was asked to teach at our Baptist Seminary in Lusaka, Zambia, in June-July. 

I'm halfway through "Gravity and Gladness on Sunday Morning," by John Piper, available here.  Ah, such good stuff.  You should check out all six hours, especially if you're a pastor/elder or worship leader.

Winning Ways: "Gaining from Brilliant Thoughts"

Exactly how many brilliant thoughts are there in the world?

Over 10,000. And according to the Wall Street Journal, you have to pay to use them. Such as:

“No man is an island, but some of us are long peninsulas.”

“Before I knew the best part of my life had come, it had gone.”

“Doing it wrong fast is at least better than doing it wrong slowly.”

“I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.”

“If you want a kind answer, you should ask a kind question.”

Those are from Ashleigh Brilliant, who lays claim to being history’s only full time, professional published epigrammatist.

To qualify as a Brilliant Thought (his label), the Santa Barbara resident says an epigram must conform to a rigid code: it can only be 17 words--a tribute to the number of syllables in Japanese haiku. Also, to ensure that an epigram will make the transfer across time, he makes no reference to fads or fashion, and he avoids rhymes and puns.

Reader’s Digest has paid him $50 each time they have used a Brilliant Thought in their “Quotable Quotes.” But there’s more money in selling merchandise with his epigrams and threatening lawsuits against those who use the sayings without permission. By the time the Wall Street Journal wrote about him, he had written more than 350 threatening letters to alleged infringers, and had filed and won a half dozen copyright cases. At the time of the article, his business was generating about $100,000 a year.

I like a lot of Mr. Brilliant’s epigrams, and I’m impressed that he’s made a successful business from his work. But I’ve been studying another set of brilliant thoughts--and they are absolutely free to use.

Under divine inspiration, ancient wise men collected pithy sayings into the Old Testament book we call “Proverbs.” At Hillcrest, we’ve started a study through this ancient book in a Sunday morning series called “Bumper-Sticker Wisdom.” You can catch up with the series at our website, and then join us at 10am this Sunday for the next installment: “How to Keep Your Mouth From Getting You Into Trouble.”

Invite someone! We’ve created an “e-vite” on our website for you to send to your friends. Or you can just forward this email to your friends.

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday April 21

Cappuccino Foam Art


“I’m Gonna Make Mistakes.” Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, a Christian, embraces the idea of being a role model while also admitting she's flawed. (Interview with Carolyn Arends)


How insecure must you be about your religious beliefs to demand the State prohibit anyone from saying bad things about them? The Economist weighs in on the recent United Nations resolution against "defaming" a religion. Think about it: When a government can determine what is or isn't "defamation," there goes the right to free speech. Yikes.


My current issue of This is True reported that the Daily Universe, the student newspaper of the Mormon-church-run Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, published a typo. On its front page, a photo caption identified the “Quorum of the Twelve Apostates” of the church, rather than “Apostles.” All 18,500 copies were pulled from newsstands, and the paper was reprinted. Hmmm.


Dana Spivey asked us to pray for little Bentley Welch, a newborn in her extended family. Bentley’s mom wrote this on her blog:

My aunt Dana, gave me a letter from her church.. I was in AWE, I could not believe that these amazing people took time out of their busy lives to do that for Bentley and our family who live an hour and half away. The letter was perfect and everything more….Several members of the Church even signed the letter letting us know each and everyone of them are praying for Bentley. I just could not control myself when I read the letter, it also included a few verses in hopes to give us a little peace…I am so thankful for this letter, I hold it close to my heart. We are going to start a scrapbook or something to keep all these things together so we can look back.

“When I think about atheist friends, including my father, they seem to me like people who have no ear for music, or who have never been in love.…These unbelievers are simply missing out on something that is not difficult to grasp.” (“Why I Believe Again,” by A.N. Wilson. This is really a remarkable piece on Wilson’s return to faith. I remember reading his God's Funeral: The Decline of Faith in Western Civilization. Check out the Q&A with him, including this answer to what he is still trying to resolve on his return to faith: “Childish playground things - religious people aren't cool, religious people have spots, wear specs, all those feelings; embarrassment at being in the same gang as people whose views sound, and perhaps are, absurd ; or worse than absurd. The disconcerting sense that certain psychological types (often v unappealing) seem to be drawn to religion. I very much dislike the intolerance and moralism of many Christians, and feel more sympathy with Honest Doubters than with them.”


Good Stuff: Take 8 minutes to see Mike Huckabee's interview with former supermodel Kathy Ireland, who tells how she became a Christian and how she became pro-life. (HT: Between Two Worlds)


“The religious right, at least in its cruder expressions, is indeed a phenomenon without a future. A younger generation of evangelicals and their leaders, while generally remaining culturally conservative, tends to view the religious right's model of social engagement as too narrow in focus and too negative in tone. And the loose language of creating or re-creating a ‘Christian America’ has always been a heresy, a historical error and a blunder. A heresy because no human kingdom, however admirable, can be properly identified with the Kingdom of God. A historical error because the federal government has been wisely nonsectarian from its beginning -- its laws informed by religious values while establishing no single, official religious tradition. A blunder because the conflation of faith and ideology can politicize, nationalize and thus diminish the appeal of faith itself.” (Michael Gerson, reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of Jon Meacham’s Newsweek cover story of last week)


“United Airlines has just implemented a tough policy for fat people: If you're too big to fit in a coach seat on a full plane, you'll have to pay for a first-class seat or two adjacent coach seats. And if those options are sold out, you'll be bumped from the flight.” (Slate) Salatan suggests an alternative. His idea is sound, but couldn't airlines just concede that travelers are, on average, larger these days, give us all a skosh more room, and quit shoehorning us in those ridiculously tiny things that pass for seats?


“The ministry of preaching…is a declaration of war. We’re not delivering speeches; we’re striking a nerve with our culture, our listeners, the enemy who opposes them and, sometimes, with our own souls. A.W. Tozer said: ‘Our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum,’ and every time we issue that ultimatum, we step into a ring of fierce spiritual combat” (Link)


Palm Pre Fever, Baby—but please come to AT&T soon, which my office requires. “The Pre takes everything that's great about the iPhone — multitouch commands, the App Store — and adds most of what the iPhone's missing, such as a real keyboard, MMS messaging and a multitasking OS that can do more than one thing at once. And I also got a pleasant surprise. Contrary to previous reports, the Pre will be able to run Palm OS legacy applications. Millions of Palm PDA, Treo and Centro owners can simply port their favorite apps over to the new platform” (Fox)


“Rapid-fire TV news bulletins or updates on Twitter or Facebook could numb our sense of morality and make us indifferent to human suffering, scientists say. New findings show that the streams of information provided by social networking sites are too fast for the brain's ‘moral compass’ to process and could harm young people's emotional development” (CNN) That’s odd for CNN to report the finding, considering that people had the same concern about 24-hour news coverage to begin with….


I’m trying out BeatScanner, which assembles playlists from your music collection that serve as good workout music.


Slightly fewer men than women go online, but they spend longer when online and go to more sites than women. (story)





Gordon MacDonald wants to know:

In these days of economic distress we will no doubt hear much about a historic 19th century depression that hit in 1859. America and much of Europe was then plunged into fiscal chaos. Unemployment in American cities neared 25 percent.

While not having a complete economic stimulus plan, a man named Jeremiah Lanphier one day got a simple idea. Why not, he asked, get some people together each day at noon to pray? Lanphier was the key guy who got churches up and down the east coast to open their doors at midday and admit people for the purposes of prayer. And by the millions—in America and in Europe—people began to pray.

I doubt that Lanphier ever got a scintilla of credit for the eventual economic recovery of the nations. But, on the other hand, he originated a spiritual bailout.

All I know is that what became known as the Noontime Prayer Revival touched several generations before its influence ended. But it took a fiscal meltdown to get it off the ground.

Jeremiah, where are you when we need you?

Song of the Week: The Odes Project "I'm Putting On the Love of the Lord."

I've been reviewing the 2-disc Odes Project, and here's the second track, "Ode 3: I'm Putting On the Love of the Lord." The Odes Project sets to music the Odes of Solomon--anonymous Christian devotional expressions from nearly 2000 years ago. Click here to read the lyrics to "Putting On the Love of the Lord," as well as the Third Ode it was based upon. Listen:

Winning Ways: Bumper Sticker Wisdom

How well do you know your proverbs? A third-grade teacher wanted to know how well her children knew them, so she gave her class the first half of a proverb and the kids had to come up with the rest. Here was what they wrote:

As you shall make your bed, so shall you....mess it up.

Better be safe than....punch a fifth grader.

Strike while the....bug is close.

It's always darkest before…daylight savings time.

You can lead a horse to water, but....how?

Don't bite the hand that....looks dirty.

An idle mind is....the best way to relax.

A penny saved is....not much.

Two's company, three's....the musketeers.

Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and....you have to blow your nose.

Children should be seen and not....spanked or grounded.

It seems that it’s part of being human to condense wisdom down to memorable one-sentence proverbs. Maybe that’s why we like God’s Book of Proverbs so much. This Sunday, we’re going to re-discover the proverbs through a new sermon series called “Bumper Sticker Wisdom.”

Austin is a bumper-sticker-crazy town. Have you noticed this? When I first moved here six years ago, I was amazed at how many people felt I needed to know their opinion while waiting behind them in traffic! (I also concluded that our church facility is built on a “cultural fault line,” because when you leave our church campus and head south, the bumper stickers get more liberal, and when you leave our church campus and head north, the bumper stickers get more conservative!)

The biblical proverbs are “bumper sticker wisdom”—condensed down to pithy statements meant to make you smile and nod appreciatively. I think you’re going to find this new sermon series through God’s proverbs to be a helpful study. We begin this Sunday at 10am with, “How to Get the Good Advice You Need.” Proverbs 27:17 (TEV) says, “People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.” We’re going to look at a lot of proverbs this week to discover 5 ways to enlist the good advice of wise people.

By the way, you can help me prepare for this series by sending me photos of bumper stickers you see. I already have quite a collection, but pull out that cell phone, snap a photo, and e-mail it to me. I’ll put some up on the screen this Sunday!

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday April 14

50 Things Every 18-Year-Old Should Know. I don’t agree with #7 (you’ll never get married or have kids if you wait til this rule is fulfilled). But the rest of the list is pretty solid. Like #26: “When men have a problem and they tell you about it, they want to know how to fix it. When women have a problem and they tell you about it, they just want you to listen.” Or #35: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”


Facebook fans do worse in exams: Research finds the website is damaging students’ academic performance.


Predictions are hard to make—especially about the future…


Jonathan Dodson suggests “8 Ways to Be Missional.” Excellent.


"Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek’s original Mr. Spock, made a surprise appearance Monday night in Austin to screen the J.J. Abrams latest installment to the Star Trek franchaise for an unsuspecting audience.” (Wired)


“Time Warner Cable is pushing some fuzzy math to justify its controversial plan to ditch flat-rate broadband subscriptions in favor of a metered approach that effectively charges customers by the bit.” If you use TWC here in Austin, you should give this a read. (Related: “Consumer Group Asks Congress to Investigate Bandwidth Caps”)


“Faith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom.” This is a must-read WaPo piece. I may have to do a separate post on this disturbing scenario developing in the Land of the Free.


“America now has two strongly motivated religious armies, each making up about 20 percent of the population — with religious traditionalists on one side and an emerging coalition of secularists and religious liberals on the other. … Meanwhile, the middle is what I call OprahAmerica, a great mass of people defined by a vague quilt of beliefs and emotions.” (Terry Mattingly)


“Religion, like everything else, is polarizing, with the faithful more willing to call themselves "born again" and doubters more willing to call themselves unbelievers or atheists” (John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridgein “God Still Isn’t Dead,” WSJ)


Apparently, it’s not just religion that’s polarizing. A recent Pew poll shows that President Obama is a much more polarizing figure than any of his predecessors for whom such data was gathered. Is it Obama or is our culture slimming in the middle as people separate out to the wings (right and left)?


“America’s dysfunctional health care financing system needs to be reformed. But the goal should not be universal coverage. Reform should simply aim to make health insurance more affordable and portable. Ramesh Ponnuru explains why the “practical,” “moral” and “political” arguments for universal coverage aren’t strong enough.


“The American Heritage Dictionary, Black's Law Dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary, and Webster's have all added same-sex unions to their definitions of marriage….Dictionaries occupy prime social real estate, with significant authority over adjudicating the meaning of words. Courts use them as evidence of societal attitudes and to interpret statutes….Historically, the dictionary, like society at large, had a staunchly heterosexual view of marriage. Webster's 1828 dictionary defined marriage as ‘instituted by God himself for the purpose of preventing the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, for promoting domestic felicity, and for securing the maintenance and education of children.’” (Slate)


Read “Vermont’s Quiet Revival,” by Terry Dorsett. We financially support Dorsett’s ministry through our missions giving.


“Suppose scientists could erase certain memories by tinkering with a single substance in the brain. Could make you forget a chronic fear, a traumatic loss, even a bad habit.” (NYT)


Photographs of great church signs.


Should you use handheld devices in church . . . even if it’s just to access a Bible app?


Here are three articles from the Southern Baptist Texan on end-times viewpoints (For the record: I have been historic premillennial (not dispensational premillennial) since first examining the issue at 19):

What is “Postmillennialism,” “Amillennialism,” and “Premillennialism”?

Experts: Eschatological views varied within bounds of orthodoxy

Humility accompanies profs’ eschatology views

Generations view eschatological doctrines through different lenses, observers claim

University of Texas Forum: Was Darwin Wrong?

University of Texas Forum: Was Darwin Wrong?

April 28 in Gregory Gym, 7-9 p.m

A scholarly forum in which a Biblically-informed scientific creation model will be presented and skeptics will have a chance to respond.

Keynote speakers include Dr Hugh Ross and Dr. Fazale Rana from Reasons to Believe and Dr. Michael Shermer from the Skeptics Society. Panelists from the University of Texas include Dr. Stephen Weinberg, Dr. Sahotra Sarkar, and Dr. Ken Diller. The event will be moderated by Dr. Juan Sanchez, VP of Research of UT.

UT Students and Professors will be admitted free with ID; $10 admission for others. For more information go to wasdarwinwrong.eventbrite.com or contact John Weber at jweber14@austin.rr.com or 512-638-7780.

Song of the Week: Page CXVI "In Christ Alone"

The Getty's song, "In Christ Alone," has been covered by a bunch of bands, as well as sung in countless churches. For Easter Sunday, here's a version by Page CXVI:



Lyrics here.

Why Was Jesus Crucified?

Slate magazine is hardly mistaken as a right-wing ezine. That's why it's a nice surprise to see a piece on the crucifixion of Christ that largely hews the orthodox line: "Why Was Jesus Crucified?" by Larry Hurtado, head of the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh.

My one objection to the article is that he's much too generous in describing ancient heretical takes on Christianity as "other forms of Christianity." Mind you, he believes that the right convictions prevailed. Still, though cancer could be called another form of cell growth in the body, we don't tend to be so generous in describing cancer in this way. Neither should we be so generous in describing ancient heretical views as simply another take on Christianity.

That said, I think Hurtado does a good job challenging the Jesus espoused by some "historical Jesus" types (including some among the "Jesus Seminar" panelists, who made a whistle stop in Austin last week). The greatest weakness among many of said scholars is their inability to give us--in Hurtado's words--a "crucifiable" Jesus (read the Slate article).

I'll have to look into Hurtado a little more. You should spend a half-hour with him by watching the introduction to a video series called Devotion to Jesus: The Divinity of Christ in Earliest Christianity. I withhold my final verdict on him until I've read him some more. But the video is good stuff.

Hurtado gives a brief explanation of the historical forces that led to Jesus' execution in the Slate article. The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, explained the higher force behind the historical circumstances. For your Good Friday meditation, here's Isaiah 53:3-6--

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God,

smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

Winning Ways: Get a Do-Over

Just as. We too.

Those two little phrases make all the difference. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).

Just as. We too. The resurrection gives us hope that we can make a fresh start.

When we put our faith in Christ, the Bible says a union takes place between our life and the Lord’s life. When we become believers, our old life with its frustration, regret and guilt dies with Christ. And, since we unite with a Christ that was raised from the dead, we can have a new life with hope and expectation and confidence.

In the film “City Slickers” Mitch consoles his friend Phil, a character who has lost his marriage and his job, and he wants to throw in the towel. Mitch tells him, “Take a do-over. Like when we were kids playing ball and the game went bad. Just start over. You can have a clean slate.”

The reason that line connected with so many moviegoers is that we’ve all experienced the desire to “just start over.” If this is true and God can enable us to make a fresh start, what would you like to do over? Some of you would say, “I’d like to be a better influence with my kids.” Or, “I’d like to be a better example to my sister or brother.” Or, “I’d like to be more attentive to the needs of people around me.” Or, “I’d like to make better choices.” Or, “I’d like to show stronger self-control.”

We can’t go back and reverse all the mistakes and sins of the past, but we can say, “That was the old me, and in Christ people will see a new me. I get a do-over.”

That’s one thing you’ll learn by participating in “The Easter Encounter.” This special set of worship experiences is for believers and their friends who are asking spiritual questions. On Thursday, April 9, join us at 7pm for the Lord’s Supper. Then, on Good Friday, April 10, gather with us during your lunch break at noon for a 45 minute service that will turn your attention to the cross. And on Easter Sunday, April 12, celebrate the resurrection with us at 10am!

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This is an excerpt from my book, The Anchor Course: Exploring Christianity Together. Go to AnchorCourse.org to review a chapter, purchase a book, or run a Course yourself.

You can help me prepare for “The Easter Encounter” with your prayers. Learn more here.

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday April 7

“Scot Free?” “Humble Pie?” “Fit as a Fiddle?” 10 Misconceptions About Common Sayings


“Overall, the research shows that nearly one-third of all adults (32%) consider themselves to be ‘mostly conservative’ on social and political matters, and about half as many (17%) claimed to be ‘mostly liberal’ on such matters. The other half of the adult population generally takes a position somewhere in between those opposing viewpoints.” These identities have some interesting implications in predicting where one stands on key Christian convictions according to George Barna (via Ed Stetzer)


Hillcrest is co-sponsoring the mayor and city council candidate debate at the Dell Jewish Community Center Wednesday, April 29. More here.


You really should take 10 minutes with Jon Meacham’s Newsweek cover story, “The End of Christian America.” Think as a missionary would think about this article, because you are a missionary to your American culture.


Albert Mohler, who was quoted heavily in “The End of Christian America,” has some reflections on the article. While he says Meacham treated him fairly in the main, still, he says, “I hope I did not reflect too much gloom in my analysis. This much I know -- Jesus Christ is Lord, and His kingdom is forever. Our proper Christian response to this new challenge is not gloom, but concern. And our first concern must be to see that the Gospel is preached as Good News to the perishing -- including all those in post-Christian America.” Amen.


“Sour economies don't just destroy jobs and wealth. They can tear apart marriages, often because of the debt that couples accumulate and, when times get tough, have trouble repaying. In this adaptation from his new book Financially Ever After: The Couples' Guide to Managing Money, Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff D. Opdyke describes the challenges couples face when dealing with debt and how they can begin to address them.”


Want to Save Some Money? Shop Without Touching


eHarmony, the popular matchmaking website started by evangelical psychologist Neal Clark Warren, has been forced by the New Jersey attorney general to start a same-sex dating website called Compatible Partners (story). One more sign that the gay rights movement wants far more than tolerance; this won’t end until even private organizations fall under state mandates to endorse homosexuality. You may happen to agree with this end, but understand: it is one thing for private businesses and organizations to freely choose to change under pressure of social ostracism; it is an entirely different thing for the force of law to mandate such changes. In the Land of the Free, the government should not interfere when leaders of private businesses and organizations make decisions in keeping with their moral principles.


“Botox may not only provide a nonsurgical face-lift — it may also lift your spirits, new research suggests. By paralyzing the facial muscles used for frowning, Botox prevents people from physically displaying expressions of negative emotion. Building on previous research that suggests facial expressions not only reflect but influence mood levels, the new study hypothesizes that Botox may lighten people's moods by literally wiping the frowns off their faces.” (Time)


Cathy Lynn Grossman, religion reporter for USA Today, discovered that ‘How to Pray’ is one of the top searches on AOL -- below how to get rid of ants, play poker or make french toast but above how to prevent diabetes.


“Interested in avoiding the next financial bubble? Then evangelical Christianity could be for you. A new study by Christopher W. Crowe, an economist for the International Monetary Fund, found that during the last two housing booms in the United States, regions with high concentrations of evangelicals saw lower gains in home prices and less volatility than similar regions with fewer evangelical residents.” (NY Times)


“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” - Pope John Paul II


This is Why You Keep Reading “Links to Your World”: “Surfing the net at work for pleasure actually increases our concentration levels and helps make a more productive workforce, according to a new University of Melbourne study.”


Want to understand the reason for the cross this Easter? Here's a 3-minute video that can help:



You can also find a brief defense of the Resurrection produced by the same congregation here. (HT: Between Two Worlds)

Practical Atheists

Tony Woodlief lowered the boom in World magazine online:

When we forsake the spiritual disciplines and only gather corporately for 90 minutes a week, we roll into church on Sunday desperately hungry, expecting our pastor to feed us. ... It’s too much for any one man to bear. A pastor can’t “feed” us in that brief time slot on Sunday morning. He wasn’t ordained to do so. Yet how many people do we know who grumble about how the minister’s sermon wasn’t “uplifting” enough, or how they don’t feel “fed” in this or that church, or how they’re looking for a place where the preaching “speaks” to them?

Here’s a bold idea: If a person isn’t spending more than a few minutes a day in prayer and Bible reading, and can’t remember the last time he fasted, kept silence, or poured himself out for someone in need, then there is no sermonizing in the world that is going to fill him, because he is living—for all practical purposes—as an atheist.

So he blames his pastor. And then the church shopping begins, as he looks for that special speaker who can tickle his fancy, bring a tear to his eye, give him the illusion that he is really “connecting” to something.

I’m increasingly convinced that a good portion of the dissent and malaise we find in churches could be solved if more of us would shut our cakeholes and zealously pray for an hour each day.

Song of the Week: Bruce Springsteen's "Jesus Was An Only Son"

Bruce Springsteen is in town tonight for a sold out concert (We helped). Since Easter Week begins today, too, here's Springsteen singing about the Passion. It's intriguing to see the attraction Springsteen has for the Jesus of his Catholic upbringing, even though there are some points we could discuss.



Jesus was an only son
As he walked up Calvary Hill
His mother Mary walking beside him
In the path where his blood spilled
Jesus was an only son
In the hills of Nazareth
As he lay reading the Psalms of David
At his mother's feet

A mother prays, "Sleep tight, my child, sleep well
For I'll be at your side
That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell,
Shall pierce your dreams this night"

In the garden at Gethsemane
He prayed for the life he'd never live,
He beseeched his Heavenly Father to remove
The cup of death from his lips

Now there's a loss that can never be replaced,
A destination that can never be reached
A light you'll never find in another's face,
A sea whose distance cannot be breached

Well Jesus kissed his mother's hands
Whispered, "Mother, still your tears,
For remember the soul of the universe
Willed a world and it appeared

LeaderLines: How to be a Church for Emerging Adults

“Adultolescence.” “Youthhood.” “Extended adolescence.” You’ve probably seen all of these labels in magazine articles about those currently between 18 and 30. Christian Smith prefers to call this new phase of life “emerging adulthood.” Smith is a sociology professor at Notre Dame and a celebrated author of national studies on youth and religion. In a recent article on “emerging adults,” he wrote:

For most American youth, there extends between high school graduation day and the eventual settling down with spouse, career, kids, and house a very long stretch of time in which to have to figure out life. For many, it is marked by immense autonomy, freedom of choice, lack of obligations, and focus on the self. It is also normally marked by high instability, experimentation, and uncertainty. For many, emotions run high and low, as hopes and exhilaration recurrently run up against confusion and frustration.

Last week I introduced some characteristics of this phase of life, and I pointed out four social forces that give rise to the current experience of emerging adulthood. Now, what should church leaders be ready to address as they serve and challenge 20-somethings? “The answer is surely not for the church to fall all over itself to quickly reconstruct its message and practices to somehow become more ‘relevant’ to emerging adults,” Smith writes. “But oblivious disregard for emerging adulthood and the larger meanings and challenges it raises for church and culture surely won't do either.”

We want to be a community where people can find and follow Jesus together. If we are successful in our efforts, those who start to join us in friendship and service and Bible study won’t start off sharing our biblically-informed convictions. They will need sensitivity and patience as we take extra time to commend biblical values to them.

Social and Cultural Issues. Young adults, Smith writes, “are more likely to have grown up in a broken home, less likely to believe human nature is good, more likely to be distrustful of other people and of social institutions generally, less likely to read the newspaper, more likely to expect a world war, much more likely to have viewed a pornographic movie, and much more liberal about sex, divorce, and other social issues than are older adults.” But that’s compared with the current generations of older adults. When you compare those now in their 20s to the opinions of those in their 20s in 1973 and 1985, you find a different picture: “Today's emerging adults compared to those of previous decades are . . . more likely to be in favor of making divorce harder, less in favor of legalizing marijuana, less in favor of teenagers having sex, [and] more in favor of making pornography illegal to all. . . .”

Steps for Church Leaders: Those who want to impact 20-somethings can’t be shocked or defensive about the positions that emerging adults take on social and cultural issues. Explain the biblical position on these subjects, including the value or benefit that the biblical view adds to life. At the same time, establish a fellowship environment where persons feel accepted regardless of whether they’ve come to accept the biblical convictions.

Adherence to Religious Upbringing. Smith quotes Jeffrey Arnett, who has done his own study of emerging adults and has concluded: “The most interesting and surprising feature of emerging adults' religious beliefs, is how little relationship there is between the religious training they received throughout childhood and the religious beliefs they hold at the time they reach emerging adulthood. . . . Evidently something changes between adolescence and emerging adulthood that dissolves the link between the religious beliefs of parents and the beliefs of their children.”

Steps for Church Leaders: Take the time to explain our Christian convictions, don’t be threatened by sincere questions, and be sure to include the practical implications for the things we believe. Also, knowing that 20-somethings enjoy very diverse relationships among their friends a coworkers, they are sensitive to intolerance. Show them how its possible to be a committed Christian while also being tolerant of those who are not.

Attachment to a church. Related to the abandonment of the faith they were raised in, 20-somethings have a looser loyalty to a religious community than any other age group. Of course, most who have left home for college can recall a period where we questioned the religious instruction of our upbringing and showed little or no church involvement. But for many generations, starting a family was a point where we re-committed ourselves to our faith. But as today’s 20-somethings postpone marriage into their 30s, “churches are now looking at 15-year or even 20-year absences by youth from churches between their leaving as teenagers and returning with toddlers—if indeed they ever return.” Smith writes:

These are crucial years in the formation of personal identity, behavioral patterns, and social relationships. Returning to church as full-fledged young adults with children in tow—yet having spent a decade or two forming their assumptions, priorities, and perspectives largely outside of church—they may very well bring to the churches of their choice motives, beliefs, and orientations difficult to make work from the perspective of faithful, orthodox Christianity.

Steps for Church Leaders: It’s essential to connect 20-somethings to a faith community. Help them see that you’re not enlisting them into a club or getting them to support an institution. You’re enlisting them into a community that’s on a mission to change the world.

Marriage and Children. As mentioned in the last paragraph, many 20-somethings are postponing any consideration of marriage until the indefinite future, after the degree is earned or after an expected standard of living is reached. Because of cohabitation and other sexual choices, Smith writes:

Some emerging adults avoid church precisely because of the tensions all this raises. Some do attend church, including evangelical churches, but keep their sexual behaviors compartmentalized as their own private business. In any case, it seems clear that the church will not be able to respond faithfully and effectively to emerging adulthood and emerging adults if it does not seriously grapple with these questions of sex, cohabitation, and approach to marriage.

Steps for Church Leaders: We need to restore the vision of marriage as a covenant and a mission outpost. It is a covenant—a publicly stated covenant—not just between two people who say they love each other but between two people who say they will continue to learn how to love each other. Marriage is also a mission outpost, since marriage is meant to be a strategic partnership in making our little part of the world a better place. Who wants to postpone a vision like that for 10-15 years? “True, authentic selves are made more than found,” Smith writes. “It is arguably as much or more by making and keeping promises than by dabbling and deferring that we come to know who we as persons really are and are called to become.”

Money. “Setbacks, roadblocks, poor decisions, and bad fortune can turn emerging adults' paths in very bad directions,” Smith writes. “Having money and social capital often helps emerging adults to stop, readjust, and change course in a better direction. But some simply do not have the financial and social resources on which to draw. So as their adulthood emerges, they live on the edge, just a few bad breaks or poor decisions away from serious life problems and a compromised future.”

Steps for Church Leaders: Certainly, every generation of adults could use biblical guidance on money management. But guidance should especially be provided to those who are just now starting to form habits and make decisions with their finances.

Navigating disappointment. Another place the church can offer help and challenge is when 20-somethings hit the wall of bitter reality: “Stagnant careers, failed romances, personal insecurities, financial difficulties, and other disappointments and problems often lead to sarcasm, depression, apprehension, loneliness, and self-defeating gambits to force life to turn out the way it was promised to have worked (e.g., quick "rebound" romances, spending sprees, ill-considered job changes).”

Steps for Church Leaders: God’s People, God’s Spirit, and God’s Book can help emerging adults navigate the inevitable disappointments in life.

Be in prayer for the emerging adults in our congregation—and the emerging adults in our community whom God intends us to reach!

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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Winning Ways: Written in Red

“I (heart) my kids. I (heart) Leslie.”

As rescue workers removed the dead and wounded from the 2005 commuter train wreck near Los Angeles, they saw that message on a passenger seat.

It was written in blood.

The image made its way around the internet, and the story of the injured man soon followed. John Phipps, an aerospace engineer, was pinned under debris from the crash and having trouble breathing. Not sure if he would make it, he wrote a message to his wife and children using his own blood. “I love my kids. I love Leslie,” he printed (using a heart symbol in place of verbs). The blood ink seemed to be running out as he got to the second sentence.

As firefighter Captain Rosario later related the story for TV cameras, he choked with emotion. “The fact that this guy in this situation had the amount of love he had for his family, and for him to realize ‘I’m possibly going to die here,’ how could any words explain it?”

Thankfully, Phipps recovered, but the story turns my attention to another man who wrote out his love in blood.

The night before Jesus was crucified, he took the cup from the Passover observance and said, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).

He expressed his love by bearing our sin away in sacrifice. And he commanded us to remember his love, in part, by regularly taking the bread and the cup of Communion. This Sunday we’ll look at his command to eat the memorial meal until he comes back.

This Sunday’s study will launch us into “The Easter Encounter.” That’s what I’m calling a special set of worship experiences next week. On Thursday, April 9, join us at 7pm for the Lord’s Supper. It was on a Thursday 2000 years ago that the Lord’s Supper was first established. Then, on Good Friday, April 10, gather with us during your lunch break at noon for a 45 minute service that will turn your attention to the cross. And on Easter Sunday, April 12, celebrate the resurrection with us at 10am!

What a dramatic way to conclude our long walk through the Gospel of Matthew! Don’t miss out!

P.S. You can help me prepare for “The Easter Encounter” with your prayers. Learn more here.

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.