“A tender heart and a backbone of steel”

John Piper, reflecting on the life of John Newton:

It seems to me that we are always falling off the horse on one side or the other in this matter of being tough and tender, durable and delightful, courageous and compassionate -- wimping out on truth when we ought to be lionhearted, or wrangling when we ought to be weeping….Some readers need a good kick in the pants to be more courageous and others confuse courage with what William Cowper called 'a furious and abusive zeal.' Oh, how rare are the Christians who speak with a tender heart and have a theological backbone of steel.

The Roots of Endurance, p. 42

Winning Ways: What’s at the Center of Your Life?

Have you ever thanked God for shoes?

Not shoe sales, now, but shoes.

Canadian pastor and author Mark Buchanan recalled a worship service in Uganda:

Every Sunday evening, about 100 Christians from the neighboring area would gather to worship. They met under a tin-roof lean-to that was set at the edge of a cornfield. They sat, when they did sit, on rough wood benches. The floor was dirt. The instruments were old. Some of the guitars didn't have all the strings. But they could worship! They made hell run for shelter when they got loose.

One Sunday evening, the pastor asked if anyone had anything to share. A tall, willowy woman came to the front. She was plain-featured, but she was beautiful. “Oh, brothers and sisters, I love Jesus so much,” she started.

“Tell us, sister! Tell us!” the worshippers shouted back.

“Oh,” she said, “he is so good to me. I praise him all the time for how good he is to me. For three months, I prayed to the Lord for shoes. And look!” And at that the woman cocked up her leg so that we could see one foot. One very ordinary shoe covered it. “He gave me shoes. Hallelujah, he is so good.” And the Ugandans clapped and yelled and shouted back, Hallelujah!

I didn't. I was devastated. I sat there hollowed out, hammered down. In all my life I had not once prayed for shoes. And in all my life I had not once thanked God for the many, many shoes I had.

I have to admit that I’m not where she’s at yet. I want to get there, though. How about you? We need to bring a passion for God back into the center of our lives.

On Sunday mornings, we’ve been working through the biography of King David. When he began his reign at the age of 30, one of the very first things he did was to bring back the ark of the covenant. The ark was the little chest that once resided in the holiest part of the tabernacle. It was the symbol of God’s reign. In 1 Samuel 6, the Philistines defeated Israel and captured the ark. But in 2 Samuel 6, some 60 years later, David’s first priority as king was the return of the ark.

What was he doing? He wanted God’s authority at the center of his life and his nation.

Join us this Sunday @ 10 and let’s recommit to bring passion for God’s reign back to the very core of our own lives!

________________________________

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to 1200 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday October 25

Self-Delusion Is a Winning Survival Strategy, Study Suggests

Mother's Little Angel Just Made Fun Of Classmate's Weight For 30 Straight Minutes

Scientists Discover The Most Relaxing Tune Ever. Listen to it here.

Thank you, George W Bush, for ending the Iraq War in Jan 2012. Yes, George W Bush.

Preserve Your Loved Ones as Their Favorite Vinyl Record...and Other Options.

A fringe of audiophiles find the cassette tape's flat tones and fuzzy hiss to be a comforting throwback.

Fingers wrinkle when wet to help you grip slippery surfaces.

Of "dream journals" and other creative ways to seek the Lord's direction. I am cautiously intrigued.  

Is it rude to send a message to your neighbors by renaming your Wi-Fi network? I'm thinking of renaming mine, "Hey Keep Your Yapping Dog Indoors Before Dawn."

Theres a wrong way to use apostrophe's. In this short piece learn about the future of the semicolon, the dash, the comma, and the interrobang. The interrobang?!  Yes, the interrobang.

Winning Ways: When Hiring a ‘Revenge Specialist’ Isn’t An Option

What do you do when people don’t treat you the way you deserve? When you work hard on a project and your boss takes the credit—and the year-end bonus? When you find out someone you thought was your friend has been trashing you to others? When your ex-husband won’t hold up his end of the child support?

One thing you could do is hire a “revenge specialist.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on this service a few years ago. For example, there was Lisa Patrock. Using insights from her college degree in psychology and sociology, Patrock designed specially tailored “revenge packages.” Cost: $35 fee plus reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred while carrying out the act of revenge.

Then there was Alan Abel, who dubbed himself the “Master of Retaliation.” For $25, he offered a two-and-a-half hour session called “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even.” The seminar included a manual of 100 of his proven revenge techniques, such as the one against a boss who offends you: Leave a loudly-ticking alarm clock in a gift-wrapped box on his or her desk. By the time of the article, he had trained about 1200 students in the art of retaliation—mostly jilted lovers and offended employees.

Now, before you ask me if I have their contact information, let’s spend a little time in the Old Testament story of David. A lot of his story is about patience in the face of injustice.

Last week we began a series on David. We’re calling the study “Full-Throttle Faith,” because that’s really the main lesson we get from all the stories about David’s life. We get to see a life wide open to God.

And that includes times when people were unfair to him.

Specifically, it was King Saul that treated David unfairly. Half of the book of 1 Samuel records no fewer than 16 attempts on David’s life by his paranoid king and father-in-law. The attacks began shortly after David killed Goliath, and they didn’t end until Saul died in battle a decade later.

In David’s full-throttle faith in God, he learned to have patience through this injustice. He learned that it was dangerous to take matters into his own hands and it was advisable to leave matters in God’s capable hands.

It’s not too late to join us for this sermon series through the life of David. Review the first sermon online and come this Sunday @ 10!

_________________________

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to 1200 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

“Now let's get back to the essential task of being better human beings”

My iPhone and iPad are fun toys, but following the death of Steve Jobs we heard a lot about how his devices have fundamentally changed life. Um, no.  A view Robert Gottlieb shares:

It is a sign of the incredible spiritual poverty of our time that gadgets like an iPhone or an iPod can be thought of as things that fundamentally change our lives, for they do not. They make for some conveniences and some pleasures, certainly, but conveniences and pleasures are not really the center of our lives; or if they are, that tells us something deeply sad in and of itself.

For example, now that I can carry 150 hours of music on a device slightly bigger than a fat credit card, do I understand the music any better? Do I appreciate it more than when I had to take an old LP out of cardboard sleeve, put it on the turntable, and place the needle on the grooves? Having all that glorious sound at my disposal, in three seconds to be able to choose from thousands of tracks of classical, jazz, new age, pop, or folk—does it make me love it more? Or just trivialize the experience so that I take it all for granted?

More important, far more important, now that I have a cell phone and can "reach out and touch" any of my contacts with a quick call or quicker text, do I care about any of them more deeply? Am I any better at keeping in touch with people I haven't talked to for awhile, or healing wounds from the past, or dealing with differences that arise within my family? Am I more honest about what I feel? More compassionate about other people's suffering? Any less likely to show off when I get an article published or gossip about some third party who both my phone pal and I dislike?

If you have a cell phone that takes videos, plays games, reads bar codes, provides instant maps to anywhere, and can use the half million or so apps available, are you a better person than you were before you got it? Any more able to handle questions of life and death, to face aging or illness, pain or disappointment? Is a world of terrorism and imperialism, environmental blight and staggering debt, hunger and poverty and sexual violence less frightening?

I heard all about "there's an app for that." Is there one for wisdom?

…

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs, and thanks a lot for the toys. And now let's get back to the essential task of being better human beings.

Roger Gottlieb

Winning Ways: Life Lessons from King David

The Bible tells us more about King David than any other biblical character. This Sunday, we’ll start a study of that remarkable life.

David’s name is mentioned 600 times in the Old Testament and another 60 times in the New. His biography spans 70 chapters. We watch him throughout the range of his years: from shepherd boy to victorious young soldier to middle-aged king to an old man just trying to find warmth. He was a man of contrasts: cunning warrior and sensitive musician, great political leader and flawed family leader.

And the only person in all of Scripture to be called “a man after God's own heart.”

That’s the reason to study David: We can learn from his example how to be wide awake to the presence of God in every life experience. In his victories he celebrated for the glory of God, in his losses he cried out for the help of God, in his failures he begged for the mercy of God, and in his plans he yielded to the guidance of God.

His was a full-throttle faith.

“Full-throttle” is a pretty good translation of the name “David.” His name is based on a Hebrew word that means “to boil.” I don’t imagine there’s ever been anyone who has ever lived up to that name as fully as David. But we love his story not simply because of his passion but because of the object of his passion.

God.

Most people know about David and Goliath, and they probably know some of the racy details of David and Bathsheba. Maybe they’ve heard a sermon on David and Saul or they remember a Sunday School lesson about David and Absalom. But from his boyhood to his death, the real story is about David and God.

And we’ll begin a study of that intriguing story this Sunday @ 10.

The 9-week series is called “Full-Throttle Faith.” We’ll start with David and Goliath—a lesson about big enemies and even bigger trust. Each week during the series, stay after the service, find a Common Ground group and discuss the sermon with friends.

Join us—and bring someone! Just click the “Forward” button on your email program and pass this enewsletter on to someone who needs a church home. Invite them to sit with you this week as we launch into this new series!

Tom

_______________________________________

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to 1200 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Another Elevator Talk

Last week I posted several “elevator talks” from our Hillcrest family. Here’s another that came in late. Thanks Debbie Marett!

Hillcrest feels like home to me. I have raised all three of my children here! I know that if I invite a friend to come to Hillcrest with me, that the members, who see a new face, will come up to right them, introduce themselves and make them feel right at home. Hillcrest is a community and mission minded church of all ages and backgrounds coming for the same reason, to learn and to worship. My pastor presents the gospel in a way that anyone can understand no matter if they are a baby Christian, a seeker or an old hand and he applies it to the real world and its daily challenges. I know that God speaks to me though him! Hillcrest has so many areas to be involved in such as music, games, classes, bible studies, camp, to name only a few. I thank God for Hillcrest and his leading me here over 20 years ago!

Are the Parents of the Millennials Boomers?

Alexandra Petri makes some good points in this WaPo editorial piece, but how late in life did her parents have her if these were actually her parents' experiences? The piece opens:

It's almost a truism that we millennials lack the opportunities our parents had. It's not just that we're missing out on the chance to contract polio and Beatlemania perhaps at the same time or to fight in the Korean War, or even to wind up at Woodstock surrounded by oily strangers....What's different is the lack of hope.

Yeah, um, as the parent of 2 Millennials, that wasn't what I was doing as a preschooler...or even a gleam in my daddy's eye....

Most people old enough to have enjoyed Woodstock and suffered polio have grandkids now. And "Korean War"? That would be the experience of the grandparents of Millennials.

Leaves me Jonesin'.

LeaderLines: Elevating Vision, Part Three

Ding.

The elevator at Seton Hospital chimed as the door opened at the ground floor. Knowing I’d lose my cell phone signal on the ride up, I quickly wrapped up my call.

“Jami, I’m at Seton about to visit Lucille,” I told my assistant. “I’ll be back at the church in 45 minutes.”

As I put the phone back in my pocket, the man who stepped into the elevator next to me said, “Church. You must be a pastor.”

It never ceases to amaze me at how this public identification causes people to turn for a look, and upon the man’s comment, 2 others in the elevator turned to get a quick glance at this remarkable creature called “a pastor.”

“Yep,” I said to the man, “Hillcrest Baptist Church.” Noticing he was a doctor, I added, “Don’t y’all usually take the staff elevator? These public ones at Seton are the slowest in town.”

He grinned and nodded. “The door opened when I walked by.”

Another ding, the door opened on the first floor, and the 2 other passengers stepped off, leaving the doctor and me alone for the ride up to the eighth floor.

“So, my brother says he’s started to attend church,” the man said, staring at the floor numbers over the door.

I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but it sounded like church wasn’t part of his own routine.

And it sounded like an invitation.

“Oh?” I said, “Has that made you think about that step yourself?”

“Well, my brother seems to be pretty high on it.”

“Good for him!” I said, grinning. “Does he go to a church in town?”

“He’s in Phoenix.”

“Well, come check out Hillcrest. Our priority is to be a church where people can find and follow Jesus together.”

I admit it sounded a little canned, but the elevator was passing the third floor, so I pushed on. “That means that whether you want to investigate faith or grow in your faith, that work is best done with others instead of by yourself. We want to be a place where spiritual investigation and spiritual growth can take place together. On our best days, it’s wonderful to hear the conversations that take place as honest seekers and humble believers build relationships with each other.”

He nodded, thoughfully. I was hoping my image of Hillcrest was giving him the confidence to brave a visit to this unfamiliar country called “church.”

“I expect a lot of churches in Austin have that same vision,” I added, “But what I like about serving Hillcrest is we’re deliberately multigenerational in that work. Some churches are good at targeting those who are older or those who are younger, but we just think there’s some good in all the generations learning from each other. I like the Sundays when I can do a baby dedication and recognize a 50^th wedding anniversary at the same time.”

He laughed, “Not the same couple I hope!”

I laughed, too. I wanted to add a comment about Abraham and Sarah, but I wasn’t sure he’d catch the reference to the biblical story.

“Do you have some time for coffee?” I asked.

“Not right now,” he said, but added, “Do you have a card?”

I took out my wallet and pulled out a card with my contact information. I wrote down “Sundays @ 10.” There are, of course, a lot of entry points to invite people into Hillcrest, but our one Sunday morning worship experience is still the Number One entry point.

“Thanks,” he said. “Maybe you’ll see me there.”

“I bet your brother would like that I said,” smiling.

Ding.

_________________________________

This is a fictional story, but I’ll be ready should it ever materialize! Two weeks ago in LeaderLines I introduced you to the concept of the "elevator speech." Business consultants advise clients to go through the discipline of preparing a 30- to 60-second summary of what their company does and how it could add value to the prospect. The theory is that you should be able to summarize what you do to a complete stranger in the time it would take you to share a ride in an elevator. Last week in LeaderLines I published a number of “elevator speeches” submitted by readers. Now, let’s put these thoughts to good work as we invite people to Hillcrest on October 16!

"In every future case, a court—and not the church—would decide whether the church's reasons for firing or not hiring a minister were good enough"

Yikes. Religious organizations may not retain the freedom to make their own clergy hiring and firing decisions if Obama's Justice Department gets its way. From the WSJ:

The Obama Justice Department has now asked the [Supreme] court to disavow the ministerial exception altogether [which historically has left the government out of disputes on clergy employment]. This would mean that, in every future case, a court—and not the church—would decide whether the church's reasons for firing or not hiring a minister were good enough.

But the government, including the judiciary, is not entitled under the First Amendment to decide what qualifications a minister should have, or to weigh religious considerations against others. Is a secular court to decide, for example, whether confining Catholic priests or Orthodox rabbis to males is a correct interpretation of scripture, or merely a vestige of outmoded and stereotypical bias?

James Madison famously declared that the civil magistrate is not a "competent Judge of Religious truth." Yet every discrimination claim about the hiring of a minister necessarily comes down to the question of whether the church had a bona fide religious reason for its decision. That places the courts squarely in the business of adjudicating the validity of a church's claims about its own religious practice.

The Justice Department's brief grudgingly concedes that there may be an exception for employees performing "exclusively religious functions," but this is an illusory protection. Every church officer—even the pope—performs at least some nonreligious administrative duties. If the government's position were accepted, the courts would be embroiled in disputes about the selection of clergy at all levels and in every denomination. This would be a radical reversal of our nation's long constitutional tradition.

This bears watching.

Winning Ways: Don't Bother Inviting Me

"Don’t worry about inviting me to church."

That's the surprising way Pastor James Emery White began a recent newsletter to his congregation. It was written as if from a friend of a churchgoer. It can help us get ready for Connection Sunday, October 16.

Writing as the the unchurched friend, White continues:

I know we’re friends, and you go to church, but I know talking about your faith makes you uncomfortable. At least, that’s the sense I get. We talk about a lot of stuff, but whenever church or God comes up, you get – I don’t know, tense. I’ve never understood why – it doesn’t weird me out as much as it does you – but I’m happy to relieve you of what is obviously something that makes you awkward.

Besides, he asks, is there anything at church that could really make a difference in his life?

It’s not like I’m an atheist – I’m not. I believe in God. I’m spiritual. And I want to do better; I’d like to understand the Bible, be a better parent, have a closer marriage, maybe even volunteer for something that would help others. But last time I went to church, that isn’t exactly what was offered.

And then there's the unchurched friend's personal hesitations:

Besides, we both know I’m not exactly a poster-child for Christianity. I’ve got baggage. I’ve got questions. I don’t think church is exactly the kind of place for someone like me.

But Pastor White has a point to make, and he closes his note from the imaginary unchurched friend with this:

But if, by chance, you think I have this all wrong,
then for God’s sake,
INVITE ME!

Have you figured out the person you plan to invite to meet your Hillcrest Family on Connection Sunday, October 16? I'll begin a 9-week series on the life of King David that day, and I hope the stories will engage, inspire, and convict your friend--as well as every one of us.

Did you know that Jim Johnson, the man who captained this year's phone campaign, began to attend our church as a result of just such an invitation in our last Connection Campaign? We expect 100 new faces on October 16 because of the phone calls, but we'd like to meet your friend, too.

Take a moment right now to write me and tell me who you're planning to invite (tom@hbcaustin.org). I'll also need your name and your preferred phone number on your note.

Links to Your World, Tuesday October 4

9 Really Simple Balloon Creations: Yeah, I could do these.


Farmer shuts down Rihanna video being filmed on his property when "things had got to a stage which were not acceptable to me."


Historians Politely Remind Nation To Check What's Happened In Past Before Making Any Big Decisions


I"f we make the time to exercise, it makes us so much more productive and leads to such improved creativity, cognitive function, and mood that the time we need for doing it will open up and then some--making us so much happier and better at the art of creation, to boot." --from an article on how exercise contributes to the artistic process. (Related: "How Exercise Can Strengthen the Brain")


Marvin Olasky, reflecting on the Red Sox and their very bad September: God "objectively is in charge of what happens on a baseball field as he is objectively in charge of what happens everywhere in the world....Subjectively, though, we make decisions moment by moment; we come through in the clutch or do not; we are responsible for our actions."

How Different Christian Denominations See Each Other

Pretty Accurate


Via: Ed Stetzer

It's About Tme

Sounds like a cool project, in select museums and art displays. From the WSJ:

In his profoundly captivating video work "The Clock," Christian Marclay wants us to see and hear the relentless tick-tock going on within the eidetic space of the movies. The thousands of shots he has spliced together from the history of cinema depict little else but scenes of characters checking the time, fretting about it, or surrounded by bell towers or digital clock radios that ground the action on the screen within the cycle of a fictive day and night.

The result is a functional collage that is figuratively and literally a timepiece. All the images and sounds that the artist (and his six assistants) have scavenged from the archives of world cinema refer to a particular minute and hour. These are then synchronized to the time zone in each venue where it is presented.

For instance, the bitter flashback in "Casablanca" of Rick (Humphrey Bogart) waiting like a fool in the rain with Sam (Dooley Wilson) for Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), so the trio could flee the Nazi occupation of Paris, includes a shot of a clock on the train platform that reads 4:56. The audience for "The Clock" watches this scene, too, at exactly 4:56 p.m.

Every minute of the 24-hour video is constructed with this same precision so that we experience it as a cinephile's mix-tape as well as a working chronometer. There is no need to check your watch during a screening; it tells you the correct time outside the walls, day or night.

Read the rest.