"Follow your heart and fear does not exist"

On Sunday I start a new sermon series on the life of King Hezekiah called "Faith>Fear." I'll have to weave in this post from Wired's Beth Carter about the man who recently rode a 100-foot wave:

Garrett McNamara felt many things as the monster wave approached. Excitement. Awe. Joy. The one thing he did not feel, however, is fear.

That might seem unusual, given that he was about to ride what is believed to have been a 100-foot wave on Monday. But there was no place in his heart, or mind, for such things. He was focused utterly on the moment.

“If you have fear then it means you are not living in the moment,” McNamara told Wired by e-mail from Nazaré, Portugal. “You are either stuck in the past or worrying about the future. It is important to not think and just do! Follow your heart and fear does not exist.”

"There's No Place for Fear When Riding a 100-foot Wave," Beth Carter for Wired

 

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Winning Ways: Are You Suffering From the Wallenda Factor?

Consultants and coaches will refer to the "Wallenda Factor" when warning people about how fear can impact performance.

It's a reference to the famed Karl Wallenda. In 1978 he fell 75 feet to his death while walking a cable strung between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Later, his widow wondered if a fear of falling contributed his falling. It was an anxiety Karl had never known before, but his widow explained that months before his fatal stunt the performer had become convinced he was destined to lose his balance and plummet. His timid precaution that resulted from this terror may have compromised his performance, and thus his fear of falling became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Apparently Roosevelt was right: We really have nothing greater to fear than fear itself.

That's why I'm so impressed with King Hezekiah. When the young man began his reign over Judah at the age of 25, the formidable Assyrian war machine threatened his tiny nation. He had every reason to fear, and yet he demonstrated a rock solid trust in God. Instead of the poor decisions that panic often produces, Hezekiah made wise decisions. And God's responding deliverance of Jerusalem is one of the most dramatic miracles in the BIble.

We begin a four-week study through Hezekiah's reign this week. The series is called "Faith>Fear." Join us at 10!

Thanks to all who made the "Winning Ways" Banquet a success! Jay and Dee Simpson raise BBQ to an art form, Amy Karm and the orchestral ensemble did a beautiful job, and Melissa McKanna touched our hearts. Thanks to these folks and to everyone else who played a role in this great banquet! I want to add my thanks to my assistant, Jami Dismukes, for her always-thorough help on this and every other project.

The Anchor Course starts February 10. If you are exploring faith or trying to explain your faith to others, the Anchor Course will help. It's an 8-week study through a book I've written about the basics of Christianity. Consider it a sort of "tour guide" for our faith. Join me on February 10 at 5:30pm for a "no obligation" introduction of the study. If you decide to sign up for it, you'll get your free book on that night and then we'll meet every Sunday for 8 weeks at 5:30pm. For more information go to hillcrestaustin.org/anchorcourse.

 

 

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Our Chances of Revival

Os Guiness:

Scoffers will say there is only a slender chance of revival [in American Christianity] and that the odds are impossibly long. They would be right....Revival and reformation in America...have about as much chance as the likelihood of an obscure provincial sect overturning Imperial Rome, or of a shipload of motley Lincolnshire dropouts founding the twentieth century's greatest superpower.

The American Hour pp. 414-15

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All the News That's Fit to Misrepresent

So you think you're getting the straight scoop on Roe, the public's opinion on abortion, and the real work of the formidable Planned Parenthood? Mollie:

I’d recommend reading Tim Carney’s look at media treatment of abortion, Roe and Planned Parenthood. He begins by noting NBC’s misrepresentation of what Roe accomplished, calling it a fitting treatment for its 40th anniversary. He catalogues something you are not likely to even get a hint of from most mainstream media treatment — how “[l]egions of pro-choice judges and legal scholars have admitted that Roe was bad jurisprudence.” He goes on to note that “Planned Parenthood is an abortion business and an abortion lobby” but that its allies in the media obscure this.

He pulls few punches in showing that Planned Parenthood, contrary to media suggestions, doesn’t offer mammograms, offers almost no prenatal care and almost never refers pregnant women for adoption. “If you are pregnant, almost the only service Planned Parenthood provides you involves forceps or a scalpel.” This is true, of course, but it’s not a truth you will learn from most media presentations.

 

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Links to Your World, Tuesday January 22

If January 22 could speak, what would it say?


On this 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which discovered a heretofore unknown right to abortion in the Constitution, here are four actions to bring light into the darkness of our culture of death.


Photo Essay of Baptist Mission Work: "It might be on the streets of Zambia or on India's railways, where Christian workers aided children in need of shelter and schooling. Or in a south Asian village, where the only Christian family saw their home burned four times by persecutors. It might be on the border of Syria, where Christians helped a heartbroken Muslim widow fleeing the horror of civil war. Perhaps it means noticing people most others ignore: migrant workers in Thailand who need to hear about Jesus or nomadic herders in Mongolia who need access to clean water. Southern Baptist workers and their ministry partners did all those things in 2012. Click here to see photos of their works of love taken by IMB photographers."


Move over, Manti Te'o. $50 Million Lost To Online Romance Scammers Annually


Smartphone etiquette in the form of vintage posters. Read em all at http://tinyurl.com/acxbhwy.


Gandalf Problem-Solving Flowchart:

I've only recently been introduced to Wendell Berry's excellent writing (through his novel Hannah Coulter and then Jayber Crow). It's disappointing to see his ignorance in this recent slam against anyone opposed to gay marriage. Dalrymple takes his superficial rant apart here.



Taranto: "Republicans outnumber Democrats among Hispanic governors (2-0), Indian-American governors (2-0), Hispanic U.S. senators (2-1) and black senators (1-0)." It's curious, then, that the media script on Republicans is that they're the party of rich while males.

Of "Junk" Food and "Junk" Sex

Are we more Puritan about food choices than sexual decisions today? Mark Regnerus:

In a fascinating Policy Review article, Mary Eberstadt notes a shift in language among educated adults of different generations, one that has moved morality away from the domain of sex and into the domain of food. Sound strange? It may be true. Eberstadt asserts that the intense moralization about sex – but utter disregard for food sources and diet – that was a trademark of the 1950s has given way to a reversal of sorts. Today many educated emerging adults obsess about food – its sources, preparation, nutritional value, and ingredients – but care much less about questions of personal sexual morality than their forebears. The older generation consumed 'junk' food, which today's cosmopolitans consider nearly immoral. On the other hand, the new cosmopolitans have 'junk' sex, placing far less moral weight upon sexual decisions than their grandparents did.

Mark Regnerus, p 75 Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think About Marrying.

I will interview Mark at our January 27 "Winning Ways" Banquet. More information here.

 

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Winning Ways: " Or! What Is It Good For?"

To promote their claim that their product has great taste AND no calories, Coke Zero released a commercial with Ken Jeong singing "Or! What Is It Good For?" to the tune of the 1969 protest song, "War."

I'm done with "or," too. Especially when it comes to defining evangelism as either inviting nonbelievers to church OR simply living an authentic Christian life of service out in the community.

Um...am I the only one who sees this as a false dichotomy?

Should I build a genuine relationship with my neighbors? Yep. Should I live an authentic Christian life in their presence? Yep. Should I serve them? Yep.

But now, keep going: Should I bring my neighbors to sit with my Bible study group and listen to us believers wrestle with the implications of the text? Yep. Should I invite my neighbors to the church ski retreat? Yep. Should I pray and work toward the time my neighbors begin to sit with me in a service where real worship is taking place? Yep. Should I enlist my neighbors' help on a church mission trip? Yep.

The point is, let's do both. Let's build relationships "out there" with non-believers AND invite them to experience our congregation's life and study and worship. Wouldn't we want to expose them to a church where believers are praying for each other, serving each other, forbearing each other, worshipping God, and challenging each other with the Word?

In New Testament times, it was common for the churches to have seekers in their activities. In one of his letters, the Apostle Paul actually gave instruction on how to adjust the worship service to this reality (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

This Sunday we'll take a close look at that text. It's part of our January sermon series entitled, "This Is Your Wake-Up Call." You can catch up with the series at www.HillcrestAustin.org/Sermons, and then join us @ 10 this Sunday for the latest message.

Don't Miss the "Winning Ways" Banquet! Enjoy Jay Simpson's BBQ and hear UT professor Mark Regnerus. This special event will take place on Sunday evening, January 27, from 6-8 p.m. in the Multipurpose Center. Tickets are $6, and childcare for babies through 4th grade will be available for $5 per child. The childcare price includes the child's dinner. For more information go to www.HillcrestAustin.org/WinningWaysBanquet.

 

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Links to Your World, Tuesday January 15

The American heiresses who inspired Downton Abbey.

This guy picks Baylor as the dark horse candidate for representing the Big 12 in the BCS title game next year. Yes, I know. I'm just passing it along.

This bulldog knows what to do when he hears the blues playin'

John Tierney explains what's positive about "positive procrastination." So there.

The White House Officially Responds to a Petition to Build a Death Star

Mother Who Forgot To Pay 29-Year-Old Son's Phone Bill Reminded To Really Be Careful About That

Thabiti has a point about the message of Les Mis:

It seems to me the gospel was handled in a most unhelpful way. The “converted” Valjean spends the entire movie trying to find forgiveness through good deeds. We see him in the convent trembling, sweating, fading, with one question on his lips: “Am I forgiven?” His nemesis, who lives by an inflexible law and justice, is crushed beneath the weight of the law even when offered forgiveness. One wonders what the effect of the film might be if imputed righteousness might have been clearly communicated. Valjean could have done wonderful acts of mercy not for forgiveness but from forgiveness. He could have lived his life with assurance rather than dogging doubt. He might have actually told the film’s many other beggars where to find the Bread of Life. Rather than trying to be the Savior, he could have enjoyed the Savior. His nemesis might have had the crushing weight of the law lifted by the Lamb who satisfies both the Law’s demands and penalty....The film probably confuses mercy (being punished less than our sins deserve) with grace (being treated better than our sins deserve). Praise God for mercy, but grace is so much more. If you’re taking a friend who is not yet a Christian to this movie, be prepared to show them the difference between moral conversion and new birth.

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Winning Ways: Get Your Ticket for This Churchwide Banquet!

To promote our upcoming churchwide banquet I imagine all I have to say is, "Jay Simpson is cooking the BBQ." But let me tell you a little more about it anyway!

The "Winning Ways" banquet is designed to build your faith and introduce your faith to others. I will be interviewing Mark Regnerus, a sociology professor at the University of Texas.  He is the author of several articles and books on young adults and family issues.  Most recently, he was the subject of national media attention from his study of adults who had been raised by homosexual couples. 

I've asked Mark to share with us what he's learned about the value and the challenges of being a Christian in an academic setting.  This event will give you inspiration to live faithfully in your own chosen vocation--and it will impress the non-Christians we invite. Most seekers want to know what it's like to be a believer in the "real world" before they seriously consider belief for themselves.  Mark Regnerus is an example of a faithful Christian who is also highly competent in his academic setting.

This special event will take place on Sunday evening, January 27, from 6-8 p.m. in the Multipurpose Center.  Tickets are $6, and childcare for babies through 4th grade will be available for $5 per child.  The childcare price includes the child's dinner.
Now, here's how you can help make this event a success.

First, get your tickets soon. Did I mention Jay Simpson is cooking the BBQ?

Second, be thinking about who you will bring to the banquet. This would be a great way to introduce someone to your faith and your church.

Third, volunteer for a team.  Use this Sunday's Connection Card to express your willingness to serve on the Prayer Team, the Decorations Team, the Custodial Team, and/or the Server Team.  Or just write my assistant, Jami, and tell her you're willing to serve (jami@hbcaustin.org).

I'm looking forward to this churchwide activity...

...and Jay Simpson's BBQ!

Sermon Series Continues Sunday. Last Sunday I began a 4-week series called, "This is Your Wake-Up Call." You can catch up at www.HillcrestAustin.org/Sermons. This Sunday we'll discover that, like the Old Testament queen, Esther, God has placed you in Austin "for such a time as this." See you @ 10.

Links to Your World, Tuesday January 8

See What You’ll Look Like Old With Merrill Edge’s “Face Retirement”

 

Why a largely godless Downton Abbey?

"In the free market of the media it is not fair and accurate reporting that gets rewarded, but page views, clicks, and Neilson ratings. With online and cable news outlets struggling for viewers (and revenue), there is constant pressure for these organization to not just report news but make it. Therefore, when a Christian leader is needed to comment on an event, they are more likely to invite a Crazy Uncle Christian known for shooting his mouth off and insulting minorities than the thoughtful, reflective Christian offering wisdom" (Skye Jethani)

 

"For young adult religious identification in the last 30 years, mainline protestantism is dying, black protestantism is steady, and evangelicalism is growing. That is probably not what you have heard, but it is what the stats tell." Ed Stetzer

 

Time magazine makes the provocative suggestion that its sex selection abortions that have led to the infamous gang rape in India, as well as and sex trafficking and other crimes against women. How do progressives figure this one out?

 

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That Aging Software Is Really Something!

Merrill Lynch has come out with a tool designed to impress upon young adults how important it is to invest early for their later years. Pop in a photo of yourself and the online program will show you what you'll look like in senior adulthood.

So, I popped in this photo:

 

And here's how the program rendered it:

 

(Not really, but I couldn't resist! Happy Birthday, Gene!)

 

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Winning Ways: This is Your Wake-Up Call

In his fight against slavery, the ex-slave Frederick Douglass had a moment of crippling discouragement. His 1852 speech before an Ohio crowd grew bleak and disheartening as he expressed frustration that God had not yet liberated his people from slavery. That's when a fellow abolitionist, Sojourner Truth, stood up from the front row and asked her famous question.

"Frederick, is God dead?"

It's a question someone needs to ask a bunch of Christians today--maybe even you. We've read about the rising numbers of those who claim no religious affiliation. We've read that there's less church involvement from this generation of young adults than when any previous generation was in their 20s. We've read that our culture-shapers no longer operate out of a Judeo-Christian consensus. From both religious and secular media, many believers have grown discouraged from these bleak reports of our shrinking numbers and influence.

To which I ask, "Is God dead?"

When Sojourner Truth asked Douglass that question, it snapped him out of his despair. Here's hoping an upcoming sermon series will do the same. This Sunday I begin a 4-week series called, "This is Your Wake-Up Call."

God has provoked this series of messages within me. Even though our church has been growing, I've been in too many discouraging conversations about how Christianity is losing ground in the larger culture.

It's time we woke up to a few biblical realities. So, here's where we're going with the sermons in January:

Week 1: Let's regain our confidence that the gospel is powerful stuff. Powerful enough to transform the hardest heart--the hardest city.

Week 2: Let's remember that it was God who destined us for this particular time and place. When some of us pine for life in another era, we're denying God's wisdom in determining we are to serve him in this chapter of American history.

Week 3: Let's return to the biblical vision of our church as an exciting mission outpost.

Week 4: Let's look for practical ways to bless our city through service.

Join us @ 10 every Sunday for these important messages. Christian influence in our culture may be in a waning season, but God isn't dead. G. K. Chesterton was right: "Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave."

 

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Links to Your World, Tuesday, New Year's Day

Make your New Year's resolutions stick: Five steps for lasting change.

 

Speaking of resolutions, “morning people” tend to make more money, be more productive, be healthier and live longer, be more happy and satisfied in their lives. Michael Hyatt explains how to become a "morning person."

 

As you make your resolutions, here's a blog post that makes one New Year's "prayerful reflection" for each of the top 5 regrets of the dying.

 

A good resolution is to get into daily Bible reading. I tend to use the daily Bible reading plan from biblegateway.com, but here are some other plans to check out.

 

Bowl week is a good time to consider that the SEC is second behind the most competitive football conference, the Big 12.

 

“Please forgive me.” “I forgive you.” “Thank you.” “I love you.” The only things you need to say before you die.

 

A cold and broken hallelujah: CNN interviews Alan Light on the enduring popularity of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." The report is both intriguing and sad--like the song.

 

 

"People now have around 11 jobs in a lifetime, with four of those representing complete career switches." So says the subject of this article, who has created a website to explore the best match of your interests to careers.

 

Heart-warming story of a small Texas town whose Baptist pastor has led 25 families in the working-class community to adopt 76 children in need.


 

"All of us have beliefs — many of them subconscious, dating back to childhood — about what it means to get older....When stereotypes are negative — when seniors are convinced becoming old means becoming useless, helpless or devalued — they are less likely to seek preventive medical care and die earlier, and more likely to suffer memory loss and poor physical functioning, a growing body of research shows. When stereotypes are positive — when older adults view age as a time of wisdom, self-realization and satisfaction — results point in the other direction, toward a higher level of functioning." (NYT)

 

"She struggles with forgiveness, but she goes to weekly counseling sessions. 'I don’t want to miss out on heaven because of that man,' she says." Best line from D magazine's article on Lois Pearson. This is like the script of a sick horror flick, but it really happened. Her work to forgive the violent pervert, and the loving outreach from her church, are as remarkable as the sickness of the crime.

 

Powerful article from Ron Fournier about his relationship to his autistic son. Especially for parents with kids--and especially dads and with sons--who have challenges fitting in.

 

 

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Top Five Books Read 2012

My goal is to read 40 books a year in addition to journals, articles, and commentaries. For 2012, here were my top 5. If there's a hyperlink it will take you to my earlier posts on the book.

 

Decision Points, by George W. Bush


 

Bad Religion, by Ross Douthat

 

The Meaning of Marriage, by Tim and Kathy Keller

 

Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry

 

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester

 

Here are the rest of the books read in 2012:

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World by Nathan D. Wilson

 

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta (audiobook)

 

A Place for Healing by Joni Earekson Tada (audiobook)

 

The Hammer of God, by Bo Giertz

 

Words From the Fire by Albert Mohler

 

Tempted and Tried, by Russell Moore

 

I Am Second: Real Stories, Changing Lives, by Dave Sterrett

 

The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary by J. Alec Motyer

 

Jerusalem: The Biography, by Simon Sebag Montefiore

 

Coffee Shop Conversations, by Dale and Jonalyn Fincher

 

Love Does, Bob Goff

 

Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, Michael Hyatt

 

The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien (6th time through)

 

The Pastor by Eugene Peterson

 

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

 

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, Joshua Foer

 

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson

 

Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America by Chris Hedges. I got through most of it before deciding I could find more useful material to read.

 

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53, editors Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser

 

The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah, by John Oswalt

 

The three-book "Roland March Mystery" series by J. Mark Bertrand: Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide

 

Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites...and Other Lies You've Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media, by Bradley R.E. Wright

 

Amazing Grace: God's Pursuit, Our Response, by Timothy George

 

The Prague Cemetery, by Umberto Eco

 

Great by Choice by Jim Collins

 

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (2nd time through)

 

The Joy of Calvinism by Greg Forster

 

Center Church by Timothy Keller. I didn't write a review for this one, but recommend it for every church leader.

 

A Brief History of Thought by Luc Ferry

 

The Fever by Sonia Shah

 

They Call Him Giant Slayer: A Brief Political Biography of Marco Rubio by JA McClure

 

Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road, by Donald Miller (audiobook)

 

God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (audiobook)

 

Previous years:

Books Read 2009

Books Read 2010

Books Read 2011

 

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Review of Sonia Shah's "The Fever"

Sonia Shah's The Fever is the kind of book I like to read: A look at how something so minuscule can change the course of history. The book is a look at the complex process the malaria parasite follows to survive--and the long battle humans have fought to survive malaria.

My one complaint is her often snarky comments about Christianity, such as this one about the enlightened contemporary approach to benevolence as opposed to the British colonial and evangelizing motivations she says were behind medical caregiving in the past (p. 139): "Clinical trials have proven that antimalarial drugs, bed nets, and insecticides – unlike, say, the Ten Commandments – effectively alleviate malaria." Ironically, this quote was found in a chapter with the religious title, "The Karma of Malaria." Or she wrote (p. 173-74), "In 1661, malaria outbreaks so roiled London that Parliament House declared a day of fasting to 'pray for more seasonable weather.' By the 19th century, Britain had more effective ways to counter malaria than divine entreaty."

This seems an unnecessary slap at Christians who are the very people who populate efforts to provide relief from malaria--and who move into malaria-infested areas when response is needed to many other disasters and ailments.


Despite this unnecessary intrusion, I found the book a well-written exploration into an as-yet insolvable problem that humanity has found debilitating and even life-threatening.




 

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Links to Your World, Tuesday, Christmas Day

Nice rendition of "I Heard the Bells"--

 

Strange facts about 10 favorite Christmas carols.

 

Apple's getting a new home in Austin, with an eventual 7100 employees at the site.

 

"What kind of world do you want to have? One where intense, negative feelings we don’t like are labeled as disorders, or a world where people grieve?” That was what one critic said about the new DSM labeling bereavement as clinical depression. The DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, represents American psychiatry’s official tool for deciding between mental disorders and normality. Critics say the newest DSM represents "a tendency in modern psychiatry to medicalize the normal range of human experience." The ones to benefit, according to the article, are in the pharmaceutical industry. Story at Wired.






"There is overwhelming epidemiological evidence that the vast majority of people with psychiatric disorders do not commit violent acts. Only about 4 percent of violence in the United States can be attributed to people with mental illness." NYT, Richard Friedman, M.D.




Fonderie 47 takes AK47s off the market in Africa, melts them down, and gives the materials to artists to make jewelry. Cool project, cool photos. Sermon illustration here.

 

God hates Westboro Baptist Church.

 

Comforting: "In the autumn of 1885, people in Austin, Texas, began to feel sick. One after another, they developed a chill and then a soaring fever. They vomited and broke out in rashes. Their most distinctive symptom was agonizing pain behind their eyes and in the bones of their arms and legs. And when the fever subsided, lack of appetite and deep exhaustion left them unable to work for weeks or months. Austin had been founded only 46 years before, and it was still small, with just 22,000 people. By the time the epidemic was over, 16,000 of them had fallen ill." Now, according to this Slate article, it's coming back.

 

Saeed Abedini, American Christian, Imprisoned In Iran For Preaching Christianity, Thrown In Notorious Prison (HuffPo)

 

China's Central Committee wants the nation's universities to crack down on Christianity.

 

WSJ: "A Pew Forum study last year found that Christians are persecuted—by independent groups or governments—in 131 of the 193 countries in the world."

 

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"This development places the believer on a frontier again, at the beginning of a new adventure"

Paul Elie in the NYT:

For the first time in our history it is possible to speak of Christianity matter-of-factly as one religion among many; for the first time it is possible to leave it out of the conversation altogether. This development places the believer on a frontier again, at the beginning of a new adventure; it means that the Christian who was born here is a stranger in a strange land no less than the Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Soviet Jews and Spanish-speaking Catholics who have arrived from elsewhere.

From his NYT piece about the dearth of any real engagement with Christian belief in contemporary American fiction.

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Winning Ways: The End?

It ends on December 21. Not the world, likely. But the current talk about the end of the world will end.

A shame, in a way, since there's wisdom in considering the end.

I'm sure you know about the current Mayan meme. Apparently the ancient Mayans had a prophecy that December 21, 2012 would be the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle. This has evolved into a cultural sensation, and while most treat it with the humor it deserves, others have panicked. A wave of hoarding has hit China, where the John Cusack film "2012" has been popular. Russia’s government put their minister of emergency situations before the media to reassure people he had “methods of monitoring what is occurring on the planet Earth,” and that the rumors were not true.

Don't laugh, America: NASA scientist David Morrison has also been spending his time explaining to Americans exactly why the doomsday panic is unfounded. "Two years ago, I met with a group of middle-school science teachers,” Morrison says, “and I asked them how many of them were seeing kids who were worried about 2012. Nearly every hand shot up.” He gets "a tremendous number of e-mails about it,” he says, adding that “a large fraction are from people saying they’re scared and don’t know what to do.”

As I said, it's sort of a shame that on December 22 the talk that the world will end will end. Jesus and his apostles strongly advised we think about such things. In the Bible, there are more than 500 references to the end of the world at the return of Christ.

Mind, such careful reflection shouldn't result in the kind of anxiety and panic that the Mayan hoopla has generated. Instead, thinking of the end of all things should result in--

encouraging others to keep going (Hebrews 10:25),

arranging priorities in light of eternity (Colossians 3:2-4),

holy living (2 Peter 3:11-14),

faithful witness (1 Peter 3:15),

and longing prayer (Matthew 6:10).

When you wake up on December 21, why not turn to each of those texts and evaluate your life? It would be a good way to take a day that has grown large in our world's imagination and use it for your own spiritual growth.

Tom

Hillcrest Christmas schedule: On Sunday, December 23, we worship at 10 a.m. with no small-group meetings at 11 a.m. On Monday, December 24, join me for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 6 p.m.

______________

Each Wednesday I post my article from “Winning Ways,” an enewsletter distributed via email. Sign up at www.hillcrestaustin.info/subscriptions.

Mental Illness and the Jericho Road

Shannon Royce:

Mental health concerns are hidden disabilities that don't show any physical marker on the outside. There is no wheelchair, no assistance dog that might indicate that this is an individual who might require assistance or accommodation. Hidden disabilities cover the autism spectrum as well as encompassing those with mental health concerns such as bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia and those with neurological concerns such as epilepsy or Tourette's. Each of these disabilities is deeply life-affecting for the individual and the family who loves him or her....

Clearly there are distinctions between those on the autism spectrum, those with mental health concerns and those with neurological disorders. But the thing they have in common is they each are hidden from obvious view. They tend to be misunderstood. We don't know how to respond to them. They make us uncomfortable.

We tend to avoid that which makes us uncomfortable. We are busy. Our calendars are full. Full of good things. Important priorities.

I am reminded of the man who fell into trouble as he went to Jericho. The church leaders who saw him did not throw a rock at him. They did not curse him. They took no deliberate action to harm him.

They just walked past on the other side of the road.

Jesus commended the man who stopped, took notice and got involved. He said the good Samaritan was our example of how to respond. We need to stop, take notice, and get involved. This is not about programs, though programs may be fine. This is about personal engagement.

We are called as the body of Christ to engage the fallen and broken world with the grace and power of the Gospel of Christ. That includes those with mental health concerns.

Shannon Royce is president of ChosenFamilies.org, a nonprofit organization for families living with what the organization helpfully calls "hidden disabilities."

 

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Review of "A Brief History of Thought"

Luc Ferry's A Brief History of Thought takes us through five major eras of philosophical thinking. It is, true to the title, a brief ride (I completed the book in a couple of days). He begins with Greek thought (particularly the Stoics), then to Christianity, followed by humanism (in Kant), a lengthy wrestle with Nietzsche's postmodernity, ending with his own appeal to what he calls "post-Nietzschian humanism."

Though the French philosopher says he is no Christian, he presents all the philosophical movements as an effort to address "salvation." Each era of thought is shown to argue for three things: a particular "theory" (a way of seeing the heart of reality), ethics (a way of behaving that comes from the theory), and salvation (particularly seen as a solution to the fear of death).


His critique of Stoicism's solution (which advised us to refrain from "attachment") is relevant in the Western world listening to Buddhism's same call. And his dissatisfaction with where deconstruction has left us should resonate in the reader, too. It's notable that the concept of self-sacrifice is what forms the basis of his call back to transcendent values:

Counter to the the inevitable logic of a thoroughgoing materialism, we continue to believe (whether or not we profess to be materialists) that certain values could, in a given situation, lead us to risk our lives....Sacrifice, which returns us to the notion of a value regarded as sacred (both from Latin, 'sacer'), paradoxically retains, even for the committed materialist, an aspect which can almost be described as religious. It implies, in effect, that we admit, however covertly, the existence of transcendent values, superior to our material and biological existence (p. 244).

This way of thinking should be encouraged by believers. At the least it is a "common grace" defense of transcendent values, without which societies cannot be healthy. Even more, though, this way of thinking can serve as a "common ground" for Christian witness. A philosopical argument from the act of sacrifice and an acknowledgment of the need for salvation from the ultimate problem of death? The Christian story stands very, very close by.

 

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