The rain never materialized. Thanks to the Bueschers (specifically Eric and Eleanor) for taking some pictures. See the GALLERY.
During Sunday's worship service, Bryan McReynolds introduced us to the TIMO Project.
TIMO will send a team of missionaries, led by the McReynolds, to Tanzania for 2 years beginning in early 2012. This team will be living with and serving the Nyamwezi people, an under-reached tribe in western Tanzania. Their goals include the establishment of a viable church and to equip team members for a lifetime of mission work.
Make plans to join Bryan on Wednesday evening at 7:30 for an informal dessert at the home of Ed and Jamie Kruft (4219 Lostridge, 78731). To RSVP, please email me (bslaton@allsaintsaustin.org).
Paul Soupiset, friend and designer from San Antonio who also played a part in designing the All Saints logo, is amassing a new set of Lent sketches. Here's how he explains it:
"This sketchbook builds on an earlier project I published online back in 2007 — I had embarked on a daily discipline of creating simple water-colored sketches during Lent (a 40-day period of self-examination observed between Ash Wednesday and Easter in many Christian traditions), as a way to slow down, think about the passage of time, meditate or pray, and root myself in my surroundings. I'd steal away during lunch breaks to chronicle my day and consider the architecture, discarded objects and infrastructure I encountered while walking around."
See them all - LENTEN SKETCHBOOK.
by: Pastor Craig Higgins http://www.trinitychurch.cc/Resources-For-Lent
People from different religious backgrounds have very different reactions to the season of Lent. Some grow up in churches where Lent is observed, but with little to no real explanation. Whether observed as a time of strict austerity or merely as a time of forgoing a few simple pleasures, Lent may seem like an empty, meaningless ritual in such cases. On the other hand, some grow up in church traditions where Lent is not observed at all. These folks may think of Lenten observance as, at best, a hollow custom, or, at worst, quite foreign to authentic Christianity. As a matter of fact, many who grew up in church have the same question as those who didn’t: “What is Lent, anyway?”
How does the ancient liturgical practice of following the church calendar help us consciously step into the gospel, conforming us to Jesus and the shape and purpose of his life? I raised this question in my last blog, giving a theological answer and promising existential explanations as well. Here is one: the church calendar helps us sacralize time.
What does it mean to sacralize time?
Every person or community has certain days that are more important and special than others because of what happened on that particular day. For example, a couple’s wedding anniversary possesses an importance for them that even their family members and closest friends don’t share. The same is true for Americans and 9/11. That date carries a weight of significance for us that people of other nations don’t feel. 9/11 is a date that has been set aside formally and informally in the hearts, minds, and practices of Americans and marked as different and special. For our nation 9/11 is a holy day. The word “holy” or “sacred” simply means set apart, or according to Merriam-Webster: “imbue(d) with sacred character, especially through ritualized devotion.”
Everyone has some experience of this, of how “an ordinary day in our common calendar can become charged with memory and meaning, can become, in a way, hallowed… (and) we choose to mark such dates because in some way they have marked us… We set them apart to remember and, as appropriate, to grieve or celebrate or give thanks. Such days for us are no longer ordinary.” (Bobby Gross, Living The Christian Year)
This is what it means to sacralize time, which we find being done throughout the Bible – God set aside the Sabbath day as holy, the ancient Jews travelled to Jerusalem for the major annual festivals held there, and the early Christians moved the day of gathered worship to Sunday because it was the day on which Jesus was raised from the dead.
The practice of following the church calendar both acknowledges and utilizes this common human experience as well as the biblical precedent of sacralizing time. It does this by marking certain dates that correspond to the major events in Jesus’ life as holy. The church calendar and those who follow it regard these days as holy, because they believe that Christians are the beneficiaries of what happened to Jesus in those events. He was born for us; he was baptized into the plight of our sinful existence; he was crucified as a sacrifice for our sin; he was raised so that we might receive a new life; he sent the Holy Spirit so that we might join him in his mission to make all things new.
In other words those days in Christ’s earthly life changed our lives forever. The Lord has sacralized time. Following the church calendar is essentially an aid to help us recognize this – recognize the spiritual significance of these particular days, as well as the seasons of time that surround them, so that we can inhabit God’s story. Because in inhabiting God’s story through our worship and personal habits of devotion, God’s grace will form our hearts and transform our lives into conformity with Jesus’ life.
To participate well in an Ash Wednesday service one has to understand the season of Lent. To understand Lent one has to see it within the context of the entire Christian year. So the church calendar is where we must begin in order to worship “in spirit and truth” on Ash Wednesday.
Eugene Peterson writes, “When we submit our lives to what we read in Scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but our stories in God’s. God is the larger context in which our stories find themselves.”
The practice of following the Christian calendar rests upon this fundamental conviction of which Peterson speaks - our lives are apart of a larger story that encompasses the entire world and its history. This grand narrative is, of course, the biblical story. This Genesis-to-Revelation epoch begins with the Triune God creating all things from nothing out of his effusive joy, including mankind in his image. Following God’s creation comes man’s fall into sin where human beings rebel against God with ruinous consequences to themselves and the earth. But God then counters man’s sin by incarnating himself in the person of Jesus Christ. It is through Christ and his work that mankind, along with the physical creation, are redeemed. And all of this dramatic action finally culminates in a new heavens and earth where God’s people dwell, delighting in the glory of his presence. In Romans 1 the Apostle Paul call this story “the gospel of God,” the good news.
But how does Paul’s gospel intersect with the church calendar? Bobby Gross, in Living The Christian Year, helps us see the connection: “To embrace Jesus is to be reconciled to God and to consciously step into his Story. And to follow Jesus is to have the shape and purpose of our lives conformed to the shape and purpose of his…. In other words, we want to inhabit the still-unfolding Story of God and have it inhabit and change us. And this is exactly what the ancient liturgical habit of living the Christian year helps us to do.”
Okay, but again, how? How does the ancient liturgical practice of following the church calendar help us consciously step into the gospel, conforming us to Jesus and the shape and purpose of his life?
There are both theological and existential answers to this question. Let’s begin with the theological (and move on to the existential in the next blog). The central theological doctrine of the New Testament upon which all others rest - that believers in Christ are united to him by faith and share in his death and life – is also the foundation for the practice of the church calendar. The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” For Paul, a Christian is someone whose death for sin has been endured already by Jesus and also someone into whose heart God’s life has exploded.
The Apostle Peter speaks of this dual, death-and-resurrection blessing as God having “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3) and even as Christians being “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Because Jesus has joined himself to us in his death on the cross, Jesus can make believers into participants in his communal life with God the Father and God the Spirit.
Since Christians are united to Jesus in his death and life, then it makes sense to structure our corporate and individual lives of faith around His life as he lived it on the earth. This is what the church calendar is – a structured sequence of 6 seasons built around holy days that turn Christians’ attention in worship and daily life to the primary events in Jesus’ life: his birth, baptism and transfiguration, death, resurrection, ascension, and giving of the Spirit. The goal of the church calendar is to, year after year, immerse Christ-followers’ hearts, bodies, and minds in the divine actions that have been undertaken on our behalf.
As we respond in faith to our rehearsal to these redemptive events by mirroring God’s movements in our worship and devotional practices – his waiting (Advent), giving (Christmas), telling (Epiphany), dying (Lent), rising (Easter), being poured out (Pentecost) – we are drawn more fully “into the grace in which we stand” (Rom 5:2) and are “conformed to the image of God’s Son.” (Rom 8:29). Our lives are shaped by Jesus’ story.
1) While they’re still fresh, discuss your first impressions of The Social Network. What images or dialogue from the film linger in your mind? What does it leave you thinking about?
2) One reviewer dubbed TSN, Five Angry Men. Who are the angry men in the film? Why are they angry?
3) In my review I assert that TSN isn’t about Mark Zuckberg or Facebook; it’s about relationships. In your opinion is this a fair charge?
4) There are two central male/female relationships portrayed in the Social Network: Mark and Erica, and Eduardo and Christy. Two others – Sean and Amelia, and Mark and Alice- get less face time. Describe all 4. What is it in each relationship that brings the couple together? While they’re together—and none are for very long—what is it that keeps them together?
5) Two women in The Social Network describe Mark in very different terms.
Erica: “You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an a**hole.
Marilyn: “You're not an a**hole, Mark. You're just trying so hard to be.”
Which in your opinion is closer to the mark (no pun intended) and why? Which, if either, do you think comes closer to Aaron Sorkin’s view of Mark? Defend you answer.
6) Discuss how women are portrayed in The Social Network, from Facemash to romance to legal counsel. Is The Social Network implicitly misogynist? If not how does it escape that charge?
7) Imagine you were on the jury, hearing the Winkelvosses’ lawsuit against Zuckerberg just as it’s laid out in TSN. How would you have ruled? Don’t base your verdict on your understanding of intellectual property law, but on your own sense of fairness. In your opinion, who deserves to win and why?
8) Same question, but different lawsuit. This time it’s Zuckerberg vs. Eduardo Saverin.
9) In a recent review Sorkin said,
“This thing — social networking, and obviously Facebook is the king of that — which was meant to connect all of us and bring us closer together, I don't think it's done that. I think it's done the opposite. I think we're now by ourselves, inventing new identities, performing for each other. I think it's an insincere form of connection. But, let me quickly add that that is an opinion that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie. You can love Facebook, hate Facebook, never have heard of Facebook, be indifferent to Facebook, and that will not affect your enjoyment of the movie anymore than being a fan of bank robberies is going to affect your enjoyment of The Town.” Discuss this quote.
10) Are you on Facebook? If so, why? If not, why not?
Ranchopalooza #2 just happened. Visit the full GALLERY to get a better idea of what it looked like.
At the end of their 1979 ode-to-nihilism, The Wall, Pink Floyd, after dismissing most of the things we turn to for comfort—school, work, love, sex, politics—as “just another brick in the wall,” gave themselves an out in the album’s last cut, “Outside the Wall”:
“All alone, or in twos, the ones who really love you walk up and down outside the wall. Some hand in hand and some gathered together in bands, the bleeding hearts and artists make their stand. And when they've given you their all, some stagger and fall. After all it's not easy banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall.”
Yes, I’m afraid even mainstream nihilists cannot be trusted. Bless them, they need something to live for as much as the rest of us do, and what better refuge from the pointlessness of it all than humanity itself? Whatever else may happen to disappoint you, there will always be someone to love you, someone you can trust, someone to rely on.
Or will there be?
In perhaps the best-made of last year’s films, The Social Network turns the cynical eye of reason on the last refuge of the meaningless: human relationships.
No matter what you may have heard, Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay isn’t about Mark Zuckerberg, who refused to take part in the project, nor is it about the advent of Facebook, the internet phenomenon that, according to its devotees, has changed the world. It’s about relationships, or perhaps, more precisely, what relationships are about.No, I’m not suggesting that reason per se is inherently cynical. Most Americans I know would benefit greatly from a little disciplined thought about themselves and the word they live in. Thinking doesn’t produce cynicism; failing to think clearly does. But when the cynic turns reason towards relationships, his conclusions are predictable.
Relationships are about sex.
In his book Accidental Billionaires, on which The Social Network is based, Ben Mezrich writes, “The impetus of everything in college, I think, is to get laid… I know that was my whole purpose in becoming a writer.” I don’t know Mark Zuckerberg; perhaps he and Ben Mezrich are really alike at this point, or perhaps Mezrich is guilty of creating TSN’s Zuckerberg in his own image. Either way, sex is the cheapest commodity that is traded for in The Social Network, and thus, the most easily obtained.
Relationships are about social standing.
In TSN’s first and most painful scene, Mark is busily engaged in destroying his relationship with his girlfriend, Erica. He’s blind to this fact, of course, but no one else is.
Mark: “I want to try to be straightforward with you and tell you that I think you might want to be a little more supportive. If I get in [to the Phoenix Club, an elite Harvard social club]I will be taking you to the events, and the gatherings, and you’ll be meeting a lot of people you wouldn’t ordinarily meet.”
Erica: “You would do that for me?”
Of course there’s really no safe answer to the “why do you love me?’ question, but “because you enhance my social standing” may be the all-time worst.
Relationships are about money. Or not.
The Social Network flits back and forth between Mark’s story and his depositions, given for the lawsuits filed against him by former classmates and his best friend, Eduardo Saverin. When the opposing attorney accuses him of starting Facebook so he could gain admittance to the Phoenix club, Mark replies,
“Ma’am, I know you’ve done your homework and so you know that money isn’t a big part of my life, but at the moment I could buy Mt Auburn Street, take the Phoenix Club, and turn it into my ping-pong room.”
It’s a quote that perfectly captures a central TSN dilemma: having money isn’t a worthy goal. That’s old school. But what money can do for you creatively, socially, relationally? That’s cool. Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, makes a brief appearance in The Social Network in the person of Justin Timberlake, and explains it like this:
Sean: “ A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool?
Eduardo: “You?”
Sean: “A billion dollars.”
Of course, there’s just enough truth in Sorkin’s snapshots of love to make them believable. Anyone who watches The Social Network and can’t relate to the pain of Mark’s failed relationships is either a liar or has led a charmed life. None of us are immune to the lure of sex, money or social standing; all of us struggle with the power they exert over us and our relationships. The cynic is right in admitting that even the best of our relationships are flawed, just as all of us are. But he’s dishonest in pretending that once we’ve seen the faults, there’s nothing left to see.
C.S. Lewis put it like this in The Four Loves:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
The Social Network begins with Mark in a room full of people, talking with Erica face-to-face. It ends with Mark alone with his computer, sending her a friend request via Facebook, waiting for her reply. How do you think she answers? There’s a sad irony evident in this ending: while Facebook may allow you a “yes” here, The Social Network does not.
1. Eric Metaxas discusses Bonheoffer. 8 minutes, here.
2. Tim Keller and author Gabe Lyons discuss The Next Christians:
In his sermon yesterday Tim quoted from the essay The Advent of Humility (Tim Keller). The bulk of the material he cited can be found below.
The entire essay may be downloaded for free at the Redeemer City to City website. Registration is required. The site provides access to dozens of articles like this one and offers an introduction to Redeemer City to City's work to "catalyze and serve a global movement of leaders who create new churches, new ventures, and new expressions of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the common good."
"There are two basic narrative identities at work among professing Christians. The first is what I will call the moral-performance narrative identity. These are people who in their heart of hearts say, 'I obey; therefore, I am accepted by God.' The second is what I will call the grace narrative identity. This basic operating principle is, 'I am accepted by God through Christ; therefore, I obey.'
People living their lives on the basis of these two different principles may superficially look alike. They may sit right beside one another in the church pew, both striving to obey the law of God, to pray, to give money generously, and to be good family mem¬bers. But they are doing so out of radically different motives, in radically different spirits, resulting in radically different personal characters.
When persons living in the moral-performance narrative are criticized, they are furious or devastated, because they cannot tolerate threats to their self-image of being a 'good person.'
But in the gospel our identity is not built on such an image, and we have the emotional ballast to handle criticism without attacking back. When people living in the moral-performance narrative base their self-worth on being hard working or theologically sound, then they must look down on those whom they perceive to be lazy or theologically weak.
But those who understand the gospel cannot possibly look down on anyone, since they were saved by sheer grace, not by their perfect doctrine or strong moral character.
Another mark of the moral-performance narrative is a constant need to find fault, win arguments, and prove that all opponents are not just mistaken but dishonest sellouts. When the gospel is deeply grasped, however, our need to win arguments is removed, and our language becomes gracious. We don’t have to ridicule our opponents, but instead we can engage them respectfully."
Redeemer City to City from Redeemer City to City on Vimeo.
Our annual Growth in Grace event is cancelled due to inclement weather. Refunds will be made available. Please contact the office if you have questions (office@allsaintsaustin.org). Thanks.
“We choose to mark (certain) dates because in some way they have marked us.” - Bobby Gross
Everyone has certain dates that are charged with meaning. Consider children and birthdays or wives and wedding anniversaries. Then there’s baseball fans and opening day, accountants and April 15th. September 11, 2001 – we all remember where we were on that day. Days and even entire seasons can become filled with significance. They can become sanctified, meaning set aside, from all other days and times. This is what it means to have a holiday (holy day) or holiday season.
The Church calendar is built upon this common human experience of time.
Vigen Guroian is Professor of Religious Studies in Orthodox Christianity at the University of Virginia. He’s the author of nine books and has contributed over 200 articles to journals, magazines, books, and newspaper on subjects from liturgy to bioethics. He’s been featured on programs as diverse as NPR’s Talk of the Nation and Chuck Colson’s Break Point.
He’s also an avid gardener. “I think that gardening is nearer to godliness than theology,” he writes in Inheriting Paradise. “One of the principle things gardening teaches is that you cannot make your garden grow. Other forces are at work.” Of course, “you have to weed. You have to cultivate. This is painful. You get blisters. You bleed, you sweat.”
More important—at least to us—is his fondness for good stories.
In Mystery and Manners, Flannery O’Connor wrote, “a story is a way to say something that cannot be said any other way… You tell a story because a statement would be inadequate.” Years later in After Virtue, Alasdair Macintyre writes:“It is through hearing stories about wicked stepmothers, lost children, good but misguided kings, wolves that suckle twin boys, youngest sons who receive no inheritance but must make their own way in the world and eldest sons who waste their inheritance..., that children learn or mislearn what a child and what a parent is, what the cast of characters may be in the drama into which they have been born and what the ways of the world are. Deprive children of stories and you leave them unscripted, anxious stutterers in their actions as in their words.”
In Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classical Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination, Professor Guroian echoes the same sentiments and one ups them. Good stories not only capture truths that can’t be told any other way, they shape our imagination and character.
“Fairy tales and fantasy stories transport the reader into other worlds that are fresh with wonder, surprise, and danger. They challenge the reader to make sense out of those other worlds, to navigate his way through them, and to imagine himself in the place of the heroes and heroines who populate those worlds. The safety and assurance of these imaginative adventures is that risks can be taken without having to endure all of the consequences of failure; the joy is in discovering how these risky adventures might eventuate in satisfactory and happy outcomes. Yet the concept of self is also transformed. The images and metaphors in these stories stay with the reader even after he has returned to the "real" world.”
Sound interesting? You can find more of Dr. Guroian’s musings on stories here.
Even better: be sure to join us Friday evening, February 4th, 6:00 PM at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for All Saints’ 8th Annual Growth in Grace Conference. It promises to be a memorable evening.
1) What are your first impressions of the film? First impressions aren’t considered conclusions; they’re what you’re left thinking of in the moments after the film ends.
2) Contrast the brothers, David and Albert. How are they similar; in what do they differ and why? Which attracts you more and why?
3) Contrast Albert and Lionel. Aside from their professional relationship, what do you think attracted them to one another? Was theirs, in your opinion, an unlikely friendship?
4) What visual images from the film stand out most strongly in your mind? Lionel is shown most often against an inviting backdrop--a fireplace or a chair—while Albert is shown more often in space—in a large room or in front of a blank wall. How does this influence the way you feel about each character?
5) While he never pretends to be a medical doctor, Lionel makes no effort in the film to make sure Albert knows he isn’t one, which leads to an embarrassing moment later. In your opinion is this less than honest and worthy of criticism? Or is Lionel the victim of society’s overemphasis on credentials?
6) David also gave a famous speech—his announcement that he has stepped down as king—that isn’t heard in this film. It includes these words:
“You all know the reasons which have impelled me to renounce the throne. But I want you to understand that in making up my mind I did not forget the country or the empire, which, as Prince of Wales and lately as King, I have for twenty-five years tried to serve.
But you must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.
And I want you to know that the decision I have made has been mine and mine alone. This was a thing I had to judge entirely for myself. The other person most nearly concerned has tried up to the last to persuade me to take a different course.
I have made this, the most serious decision of my life, only upon the single thought of what would, in the end, be best for all.”
Discuss this quote. Do you admire David’s decision to abdicate? If so, why? If not, why not?
7) There were many objections to David’s marriage to Wallis Simpson—social, political, and moral—but only one with legal grounding. Mrs. Simpson’s first divorce was not recognized by the Anglican Church and, therefore, might not have been considered legal in a British court. So David in marrying her might have been guilty of bigamy. Do you think David should have been allowed to marry her and continue as king? Defend your answer.
8) Define freedom. How would Albert, Lionel, and David define it? (That’s 3 more definitions, not one shared.)
9) In one of the film’s pivotal moments, Lionel, deliberately goading Albert to anger, asks “Why should I listen to you?” Discuss Albert’s reply: “Because I have a voice!”
You may have noticed that at All Saints we’re still celebrating Advent, not Christmas ... at least not yet. We sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” every Sunday, but not “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come." I’m sorry if this annoys you. If you, like millions of American Christians, start the season with “Silent Night” the day after Thanksgiving, I can offer you sympathy, but only sympathy. At All Saints “Silent Night” will have to wait till Christmas Eve.
There’s a reason for this.
G.K. Chesterton explained it like this a hundred years ago:
“There is no more dangerous or disgusting habit than that of celebrating Christmas before it comes, as I am doing in this article. It is the very essence of a festival that it breaks upon one brilliantly and abruptly, that at one moment the great day is not and the next moment the great day is. Up to a certain specific instant you are feeling ordinary and sad; for it is only Wednesday. At the next moment your heart leaps up and your soul and body dance together like lovers; for in one burst and blaze it has become Thursday. I am assuming (of course) that you are a worshipper of Thor, and that you celebrate his day once a week, possibly with human sacrifice. If, on the other hand, you are a modern Christian Englishman, you hail (of course) with the same explosion of gaiety the appearance of the English Sunday. But I say that whatever the day is that is to you festive or symbolic, it is essential that there should be a quite clear black line between it and the time going before. And all the old wholesome customs in connection with Christmas were to the effect that one should not touch or see or know or speak of something before the actual coming of Christmas Day.”
In Isaiah 35 the prophet speaks of the coming of the Lord: “Behold, your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." It’s a passage we’ll consider together in more detail this Sunday morning, one that is obviously appropriate for the Advent season. Chesterton’s emphasis and Isaiah’s are, I think, one and the same. The coming of the Lord, while not unanticipated, is sudden, and because of this, we should always be ready. Our songs, our symbols, and our lives should reflect this.
*Painting - Pablo Picasso, The Blind Man's Meal (detail)
Most people don't take funny movies seriously. If you want to reflect and be challenged, go see the latest foreign import or dramatic biopic. If you want to escape and be entertained, go see “Due Date” (actually, if you want to escape and be entertained don’t see “Due Date,” but you get the point). In the over 80 year history of the Academy Awards only two genuine straight up comedies have ever won best picture – “It Happened One Night” (1934) and “Annie Hall” (1977). If a comedian wins an acting award, it’s almost always for a “serious” role (see Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg or Mo’Nique).
But more pervasive (and insidious) than any Oscar bias is the outlook of the average theatergoer who might dismiss the emotional power of funny or even shy from comedies that deal with “difficult” subjects. As Christians, striving to pursue Christ in all things, reverence will often seem more Godly than its opposite. But are we missing opportunities to experience truths about Christ and our human condition (all while laughing so hard we nearly pee our pants)?
The British import “Four Lions” (currently playing on a limited run at various Alamo Drafthouse locations) is the first feature film directed by writer/director/actor Chris Morris – famous in England for his 20 years in comedy, but not so much (at least for now) in the U.S.[1] The film has been described as, “a three stooges movie about wannabe terrorists.” Morris clarifies, “Some people say it’s the funniest film they’ve seen about Jihadi terrorism.” And that’s basically what it is. But (no offense to the three stooges), it’s also so much more.
After several years of meticulous research, interviewing (among others) terrorism experts, Muslims, and government investigators, Morris wrote a script following a group of Islamist extremists living in Sheffield, England in training to be suicide bombers. Morris recalled during a Q&A at the Sundance Film Festival (where the film premiered in 2010):
It seems counter-instinctive to want to make a comedy about this subject. But I was reading a serious book by a man called Jason Burke called "Al-Qaeda" and came across this incident which happened on millennium eve, where these guys in Yemen wanted to blow up a U.S. warship which was moored just offshore. They gathered at three in the morning, put their launch into the water, filled it with explosives, and it sank. And I thought, you’ve got five Yemenis standing around, staring at each other, and what are they going to say?
There were more incidents like that that had unexpected moments of humor. All of this was ludicrous, and these guys were basically pretty foolish. If you get five average blokes to try and organize something, they’re going to screw it up. The dynamics of that kind of group, whether it’s a five-a-side football team or a stag party, it’s going to go wrong. And these kinds of operations are really no exception. Even if they get away with it they only just get away with it. If you remember, even on 9/11 the so-called twentieth hijacker went to flying school and said, 'Listen, I just want to learn how to take off and fly, I don’t need to land.' And you think, this can’t be real.
“Four Lions” is a hilarious, heartbreaking, painful, and (again) hilarious movie about suicide bombers. Which begs the question: is there any value to experiencing uncontrollable laughter where you absolutely (positively, without a doubt) least expect it? Aren’t certain things “off limits”? What about the holocaust? Nuclear annihilation? War? Infidelity? Death?
Well, see “The Producers” (1968), “To Be or Not to Be” (1942), “Dr. Strangelove” (1964), “Mash” (1970), “The Graduate” (1967), or “Harold and Maude” (1971) respectively. I’m serious. Put them on your Netflix queue right now. We’ll wait....
I once heard the writer Dick Keyes speak on humor at a L’Abri conference in Minnesota. Keyes defined humor as “incongruity perceived.” He continued, “we’re created to have dominion over the earth and yet nature is always upsetting that.” We exist in a tension: the life we’re living is not the one for which we were made. The radical duality of our identity in Christ is that we are a “glorious ruin” – separated by sin, but made perfect in Christ. As a result, if we’re living exclusively in either glory or ruin, we’re living a lie. Humor can show us that we’re not all glory or all ruin. Comedy is the great leveler.
Keyes noted that totalitarians and fanatics don’t laugh – they will not accept incongruities. “Humor allows you to grasp something you never had. You’re aware of another reality, another truth.” While Keyes is quick to point out that humor cannot be the only outlet, it can (and should) be one which we (as Christians, as human beings) celebrate.
After all, what is the ultimate incongruity? The God of the universe becoming flesh, a baby, and dwelling among us. The cross, it’s been said, is the greatest moment of cosmic irony. While humor can be misused in a broken world, opportunities abound for our ideas to be challenged and reshaped, to laugh both at ourselves and at the absurdity of the broken world in which we live, and to remember that we are indeed “glorious ruins.”
During the Sundance Q&A, the actor Riz Ahmed (who plays the group's somewhat reluctant leader Omar) spoke about “Four Lions”:
I don’t think it’s a film about terrorists at all; I think it’s about five guys. It was very easy to relate to, because they’re just guys with families and friends… It’s about a bunch of blokes and the social dynamic amongst them.
“Four Lions” pokes a hole in what often seems to be a hermetically sealed world of fear. Simultaneously deflating the power of terror and lifting up the terrorists as flawed humans, the film puts its subject through both glory and ruin. Questions about reverence, religion, and extremism are posed amidst genuine moments of serious emotion and absolute absurdity. “Harry Potter” will be in theaters for months. “Four Lions” might be gone by Thanksgiving. Go see it. It’ll shake you up a little.
[1] The film is also the first released through Drafthouse Films, a distribution company launched by Tim League, CEO and founder of Austin’s own Alamo Drafthouse.
Artist and All Saints member Sonya Berg Menges recently sat down with us to talk about art and life. Her work will be on display at Champion Contemporary Gallery until November 27th.
Sonya grew up in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and traveled often to visit family in upstate New York (Niagara Falls), New Hampshire and southern Maine. Much of the inspiration for her artwork stems from her experiences growing up in the Northeast. She graduated in 2005 with a BA in Studio Art from Messiah College, and earned her MFA in Studio Art at UT this May. She currently teaches beginning design and drawing at St. Edwards University.
In her own words, "Moving to Texas was one of the greatest tests of my faith, but has proved to be the richest blessing. Here I met my husband Austen, joined an incredible church, and embarked on an art career, for which I am truly humbled." When she's not making art in her home studio, Sonya enjoys cycling, cooking, and gardening.
Champion Contemporary Gallery in downtown Austin represents Sonya, so much of her work is available for purchase through them, even after her show ends. You can also see more of her work at www.sonyaberg.com.
Tell us about your current installation, Deep End.
My current show at Champion, Deep End, is my first solo show. It is a display of my most recent work from the past two years, and includes drawings and paintings of both waterfalls and empty swimming pools. I started making works about waterfalls after collecting my grandfather’s and dad’s slides of Niagara Falls.
I’m interested in how the grandeur and the danger of a waterfall can be contained within the rectangular edges of a painting or drawing. The waterfall is beautiful, treacherous and yet safe in my painting.As a counterpoint, the empty swimming pools are anxious and morose. The perspective of the empty pool is from the inside, standing on the bottom looking up from the deep end, or across the lane lines seeing the deep end looming ahead. They are landscapes that become metaphors for cultural decay and can be apocalyptic. There is also a tension between the man-made structure and the prevalence of nature.
Some of the pool images are based on photographs I took this spring of empty municipal pools in Austin – Dittmar, Bartholomew, and Shipe.
What are some of the greatest influences and inspirations for your art?
I am very influenced by my surroundings, and my interaction with the landscape around me. Besides my studio, outside in nature is where I feel closest to the Lord. How can I not create when this is what He has made? I am also influenced by the work of 19th Century landscape painters, such as Caspar David Friedrich, and artists from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole. Peter Doig is a contemporary painter whose work I admire.
Can you talk a little bit about how and why you chose to become an artist?
I sense a gift and calling to be an artist. My mom says I was pegged as an artist from age 3. I know it gives me joy to express myself through my hands and eyes. It is a way I relate to God, the world, and to others.
What is the most challenging part of being an artist for you?
Working as an artist sounds glamorous, but truly it is a daily spiritual and emotional battle. Sometimes it is difficult to spend so much time alone in the studio. There is also a considerable investment upfront of time and money.
Part of All Saints' mission is to be a community "extended through cultural engagement", and art is arguably a significant element of culture. In what ways do you see your work as a means of cultural engagement? How has your faith influenced your art and vice versa?
With my work, I hope to speak to universal emotions – feelings of comfort, anxiety, loneliness, and redemption - and therefore engage with others. I also must be involved in the art community, both locally and beyond Austin. These actions of course include sharing the Gospel, often within relationships.
I have a hard time using the title “Christian artist.” Really I am a Christian who makes art, and I should be prepared to fully participate in the (secular) art community. However, the truth is I create because God created me, and I must glorify God with my work. I also have to trust and believe this is what God is calling me to do, despite criticism, discouragement, and seemingly little reward.
For years now there has been a rich conversation in the church in general about the need to encourage, support, and participate in the arts. Do you have ideas as to how those of us who are not artists by profession can live this out? In other words, what does it look like for us to really value arts and culture, and not just say we do?
Well, for me in particular, the most direct way to encourage, support and participate in the arts is to purchase my work. I know my drawings and paintings are not in everyone’s taste, but everyone knows someone who likes to hang art in his or her home. Plus, this is my employment, and purchasing work helps pay the bills.
Secondly, in order to engage the art community I display my work in shows. Coming to an opening is a huge way for church members to participate in the visual arts, beyond what happens on Sunday morning.
Lastly, some artists are willing to do commissions, creative projects, or small works if they are specifically requested. For example, I am willing to do portrait commissions, as I can establish a personal connection and have my work in someone’s life.
What's next for you?
Between working in my studio and teaching, I am going to a month-long residency in August in northern California where I’ll work on a new body of work. I am also illustrating a children’s book titled Deep End, written by a friend and edited by my husband Austen.
*The All Saints picnic scheduled for this Sunday has been cancelled due to expected weather conditions.
The All Saints picnic returns next Sunday, November 14. The P. Terry's burger truck will be back to serve fresh burgers and fries. Please make plans to join us. You'll need to register, make your menu selection, and pay ($5/individual or $15/family), all of which you can do online:
REGISTER HERE
Please don't let cost be the reason you miss the picnic. If your personal budget doesn't allow for you to spend this right now, just register and select "Free lunch, please." You'll also find an option to cover a burger (or two) for someone else ... just find the "Sponsor a burger" box.
Andrew D. White was the first president of Cornell University back in 1896 when he published his History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. His little book (919 pages) was a hot item back then, for despite the persistent rise of science and increasing skirmishes between scientists and theologians (e.g., Darwin published his On the Origin of Species in 1859), it was still hoped that the romance of science, democracy and Christianity would flower in the 20th century and bless the world. White was a naysayer, arguing that science and faith had always been at odds and would always be at odds.
“The goal of this symposium, then, is to provide pastors, Christian leaders, and scientists with a good foundation for understanding important current ideas in science, Christian theology, and the interaction between them. The plenary and breakout sessions by leading scientists and theologians will survey advances – and controversies – in science and theology. The subsequent dialog in panel discussions, combined with numerous opportunities for individual interaction, will further elucidate the ideas and issues at stake…
Understanding the interaction between science and faith is vital for the empowering of the Christian church to hold the Gospel out to our society with fearless, Christ-honoring integrity. We hope to equip leaders in the church to influence – even define – the terms of discussion between science and faith. The historic and oft used 'two books' analogy of God’s revelation is helpful here; the 'book' of nature and the 'book' of the Bible. Since both 'books' are from the Triune God, the information revealed in these 'two books' will enhance our understanding of both, and ultimately will be acknowledged as consistent, though they may seem partially incongruent at times because of human limitations and misconceptions.”
Want more info on the conference? You can find it at www.vibrantdance.org. Tickets are still available. If like me you don’t have the time to attend the entire conference, tickets for individual lectures are also available.
Hope to see you there.
Last March, my wife, Julianna, and I were planning a weekend trip to St. Louis to begin looking for places to live. We were about to move from Austin to St. Louis, so that I could begin a seminary degree at Covenant Seminary. My wife was going to quit her studies at UT, and I was going to quit my work at All Saints. In God's Providence, days before we were going to purchase our flight to St. Louis, I received an email from a friend informing me that a seminary was to be planted in Austin that coming fall. Despite the incredible education and community offered by Covenant Seminary, Julianna and I were drawn to the idea of continuing our education within the church and community of All Saints and Austin. I decided to become one of the seven first-time, full-time seminary students at Redeemer Seminary in Austin.
The granddaughter of Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, and the daughter of Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Redeemer in Austin offers graduate-level theological education and exists to "extend the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ until that knowledge covers the earth as the waters cover the sea" (see Habakkuk 2:14).
Redeemer states,
"Our specific mission is to support the church in its mandate to equip the saints for ministry. We pursue this mission in three ways. First, we seek to form men for ordained gospel ministry as pastors, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, and other tasks specified by the church. Second, we seek to train men and women to serve Christ in kingdom ministries other than those that require ordination. Third, we seek to serve as a center for Christian research and scholarship and to communicate the fruits of our labors to the church and the world."
As someone pursuing ordained ministry, I am benefitting from the first missional goal, and I pray that Redeemer Seminary's presence in Austin will benefit both All Saints members and Austin with all three of these missional goals.
As you might imagine, being a young start-up seminary has its challenges: many of the professors currently drive down from Dallas or are teach via tele-conference; the student body is small (though the size has exceeded expectations); and there is currently only part-time administration. But, it has been a blessing for us students who were considering leaving this city for theological training and it will continue to be a blessing for Austin to have an evangelical seminary in Austin and for us to study under outstanding professors like Sinclair Ferguson, Skip Ryan, and Paul Tripp—all part of the Austin faculty this fall.
If you are interested in learning more about the seminary, you can do so at their website. Classes meet on Redeemer Presbyterian Church's new campus near Manor and Alexander Avenue. Anyone may audit a course for $100/class, and deacons and elders may audit a class for free.
It is exciting to be a part of a new local seminary that trains pastors, equips leaders for full time ministry, and thus benefits the whole community. We are currently in the midst of a one year trial run to see if the Redeemer Austin campus can be viable in the long term. The Austin campus is on track in terms of full-time students (though we welcome more and you can apply for full or part time status for the Spring), but for this first year, we need to raise $120,000 (enough money to hire a full time staff member and professor for the Austin location).
In a city whose identity is so closely linked to higher education, a Reformed seminary with a top notch pedigree (Westminster itself was born out of Princeton) represents a tremendous academic, cultural, and spiritual asset. Our participation in and support of Redeemer seminary is an investment in the spiritual future of Austin and central Texas, one we hope will pay big dividends in the years to come through the expansion of God’s kingdom in our community.
If you would like to be more involved in the process, please feel free to email myself (taylor.b.leachman@gmail.com), Paul Pearson (Paul@Pearson-Properties.com), or Redeemer Seminary's Austin representative Tim Sharp (sharpboys@hotmail.com).
I love good stories. Sitting in a rocking chair on my grandmother’s front porch on a hot Alabama summer night, listening to my father and his brothers laugh about boyhood egg-stealing; cold November evenings in northern Minnesota while the Block kids recall the bringing-the-horse-in-the-house tale; Edith Schaeffer, dropping names and recounting miracles high in the Swiss Alps: it doesn’t get any better than this.
In my opinion Get Low tells a very good story. My delight in it is, no doubt, due in part to the fact that Chris Provenzano’s screenplay is as essentially southern a tale as the ones I used to hear on my grandmother’s front porch. The personalities, events, music, the look and feel of it are as familiar to me as my Dad’s stories of his childhood. I know these people. Indeed I wonder how many of them I may be related to. For me, watching Get Low felt like a visit home.
Actor Robert Duvall’s taste in stories is impeccable. Over the years he’s brought many of them to life and created some unforgettable characters: Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies, Sonny Dewey in The Apostle, Gus McCrae in Lonesome Dove. Get Low’s Felix Bush is as memorable as any of them. “I talked to God a lot about you over the years,” a friend tells him. “He said he broke the mold when he made you, said you sure were entertaining to watch—but way too much trouble.”
After living alone for more than 30 years in a cabin in the woods near a small town in the hills, Bush startles the local minister with his presence one morning and with an odd request: “It’s time for me to get low,” he says, and explains that he wants to host his own funeral, a big party to which everyone is town is invited to come and tell stories about him. He, of course, wants to be present—alive--and to listen.
From this unconventional beginning the story leisurely unfolds through the introduction and interaction of other memorable characters. When the preacher declines to take part, Bush turns to Frank Quinn (Bill Murray), the director of the local funeral home, whose reservations about the project are easily overcome by his greed: “Oooh, hermit money!” Frank’s greenhorn assistant Buddy (Lucas Black) gently guides Bush—and us-- through the preparations. The appearance of Bush’s old flame Mattie (Sissy Spacek) after an absence of many years adds a touch of spice and grace to proceedings.
All these apparently random introductions take on a sharper focus when we meet Charlie Jackson (Bill Cobbs), the minister Bush wants to preach at his funeral. It seems Jackson is the only man alive that knows a certain story about Bush and his past, a story that Bush wants told, a story that needs to be told. It’s a story of love and loss, of sin and redemption, of guilt and forgiveness. And I couldn’t help but wonder in hearing it if this is what made Get Low so “unbelievable” to the New York Times.
What makes a story a story that needs to be told? Writer Rebecca Horton gives this answer:
“I sometimes challenge myself by asking the question “does this story need to be told?” …stories become needed, not because the author felt that they were needed, but instead because there is a deep human longing for truth, meaning, and relationship that extends beyond material need. Good stories scratch the itch that lies just below the surface of things, churning up just enough dust to make others curious.”
Get Low admirably scratches the itch without satisfying it. It stirs up the dust just enough to make us curious. It’s a tale that needs to be told. Would that more filmmakers, especially those who are believers, learn to tell it as well.
“The study… involved 79 college students — 32 men and 47 women — who agreed to wear an electronically activated recorder with a microphone on their lapel that recorded 30-second snippets of conversation every 12.5 minutes for four days, creating what Dr. Mehl called “an acoustic diary of their day.”
Researchers then went through the tapes and classified the conversation snippets as either small talk about the weather or having watched a TV show, and more substantive talk about current affairs, philosophy, the difference between Baptists and Catholics or the role of education. A conversation about a TV show wasn’t always considered small talk; it could be categorized as substantive if the speakers analyzed the characters and their motivations, for example.
Many conversations were more practical and did not fit in either category, including questions about homework or who was taking out the trash, for example, Dr. Mehl said. Over all, about a third of all conversation was ranked as substantive, and about a fifth consisted of small talk.
But the happiest person in the study, based on self-reports about satisfaction with life and other happiness measures as well as reports from people who knew the subject, had twice as many substantive conversations, and only one-third of the amount of small talk as the unhappiest, Dr. Mehl said. Almost every other conversation the happiest person had — 45.9 percent of the day’s conversations — were substantive, while only 21.8 percent of the unhappiest person’s conversations were substantive.
Small talk made up only 10 percent of the happiest person’s conversations, while it made up almost three times as much –- or 28.3 percent –- of the unhappiest person’s conversations.”
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Col. 4:5-6.But a good conversation can only reflect that meaning, point in the direction of it. It can’t create it.
Have you ever played the prosperity game? It’s a mental exercise that asks how you would spend ever increasing amounts of money. Here’s how it works. Each day, for twenty days, you receive a sum of money and you must spend it all that day (no giving or tithing on the gross allowed). On day one you have a virtual $100. Each day the sum doubles (day 2 you have $200, day 3 $400, day 4 $800, etc) and you continue to play (spend) for 20 days. For you math nerds, you’ve already figured that by day 20 you will have $52,428,800 – nice job.
If you seriously consider your purchases you will learn about your heart. You will also get frustrated as your virtual account is replenished anew each day and deciding how to spend your money actually becomes a burden (ha!). It really is fun to consider what we would do with that money!~Ryan Motola; ryan.motola@gmail.com
John Mays excerpt - a life of integrity
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart |
| Marilynne Robinson |
Marilynne Robinson's new book, Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self, is a collection of lectures she delivered at Yale last year. You can actually stream videos of the original lectures here.
For more on faith and science, consider attending The Vibrant Dance of Faith. This conference from the The Hill Country Institute takes place in Austin in October.
"There are two kinds of Bible reading that I try to do. I read the psalms through every month using the Book of Common Prayer's daily office. I also read through the Bible using Robert Murray M'Cheyne's reading calendar. I take the more relaxed version - two chapters a day, which takes you through the Old Testament every two years and the New Testament every year. I do the M'Cheyne reading and some of the psalms in the morning, and read some Psalms in the evening. I choose one or two things from the psalms and M'Cheyne chapters to meditate on, to conclude my morning devotions."But don't despair yet. Keller proves realistic and practical:
"The problem with mid-day prayer is finding a time for it, since every day is different. All I need is to get alone for a few minutes, but that is often impossible, or more often than not I just forget. However, I carry a little guide to mid-day prayer in my wallet which I can take out and use.Be sure to follow the links to the ESV website where you'll find the Daily Office and M'Cheyne's reading calendar among several other resources. Bill recorded a short podcast along these sames lines last year. You can find that here.
“If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of then would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self –denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and to nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Our problem? Not so much when we want our satisfaction as what we are willing to be satisfied with: porn instead of a real wife, entertainment instead of meaning, wealth instead of the weight of glory. The paradoxical truth of the matter is that the most satisfying things are worth working for, waiting for, even according to the Scriptures, worth suffering for.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” II Cor. 4:16-18
Around the office we’ve been talking about books for the last few weeks. What’s everyone reading? What are we looking forward to reading in the summer? Our goal has been to produce a list of recommended summer reading to share. I’ve been more or less carrying the list around. Last week I organized a list to share with the staff at Alpine Camp where I was leading some staff training. You’ll find that list, with a few additions from various All Saints staff, below.
Seems like this book list is necessarily going to always be a work-in-progress. Yet it also seems important to go ahead and put something out there as a record of where it stands today. Hopefully you’ll find something in the list below that you’ll want to add to your own “book list” after reading it this summer.
Caveat: I’ve read most of what is on this list, but that means little more than that the list is of a personal nature to me. I read for many reasons: content, tone, the beauty of language, spiritual edification, mental sharpening , simple repose. You might find something on this list with which you will disagree or that even disturbs you. That said, the list is pretty safe – nothing outlandish. I recommend everything here. I pray that this simply serves as an aid in gaining ideas for books to read, for the summer and beyond. Since this is a blog, I’d welcome you to comment with your own recommendations or thoughts.
Also, I’d recommend you consider beginning with C.S. Lewis’ Introduction to On the Incarnation (the first book on my list). In introducing this ancient book Lewis comments on the value (and surprising approachability) of so many “old” books. He proposes, “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.”
So, in the spirit of Eugene Peterson’s translation of Ezekiel’s vision, “Eat these books.” Read, digest, and be nourished by these words. And do so with a pencil in hand.
Bill
+++++++++++++++
Athanasius; On the Incarnation (Athanasius was the brain and heart behind the Nicene Creed; this gives you an understanding of how pre-modern thinking differs from modern thinking; a devotional read, truly worshipful.)
Augustine; Confessions (classic in spiritual formation); On Christian Doctrine (more philosophical, especially helpful in regard to the nature of words and knowledge)
Barrs, Jerram, The Heart of Evangelism
Berry, Wendell; Jayber Crow (novel about a bachelor barber in the fictional setting of Port William; an excellent intro to Berry’s agrarian thought; What are People For?; Sex, Economy and Freedom (essays by one of America’s foremost thinkers. Given (recent poetry by Kentucky’s former poet-laureate); A Timbered Choir (poems written on the “Sabbath” over several decades).
Bradbury, Ray; Fahrenheit 451
Bridges, Jerry; Transforming Grace; The Disciplines of Grace (excellent foundational books in terms of what constitutes “the gospel” of Christ Jesus.
Bruner, Frederick Dale; Matthew 1-11 (The Christbook); Matthew 12-28 (The Churchbook) – purchase through Eerdman’s website; possibly the best commentary you will ever read. Much more than an exposition of the gospel of Matthew.
Calvin, John; The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Please read him before you judge him and his work, and know that this it is not as difficult as you might suppose. The parts dealing with the Ten Commandments are alone worth the price and effort.)
Chappell, Bryan; Each for the Other (One of the best preachers in America in one of the best books on the subject of marriage – great for the married and unmarried alike, including teenagers).
Collins, Billy; Sailing Alone Around the Room (two-time US Poet Laureate)
Chesterton, G.K.; Orthodoxy (a keen wit combined with an unparalleled ability to frame the argument; perhaps the most quotable Christian, besides Lewis, in the 20th century).
Dillard, Annie; Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Annie Dillard is one of the heirs of the American Standard plumbing company (yes, the toilets) and thus has been able to spend her life reading and exploring. The fruits of a life of scientific curiosity, walks in the woods of Virginia, and unorthodox theological musings, combined with a poetic prose; like few other things you’ll read; An American Childhood (Annie Dillard pours her talents into the description of growing up.)
Doig, Ivan; This House of Sky (autobiography of growing up on a sheep ranch in Montana)
Dostoevsky, Fyodor; Crime and Punishment; The Brothers Karamozov (on most short lists of must-read novels)
Earley, Tony; Jim the Boy
Eire, Carlos; Waiting for Snow in Havana; confessions of a Cuban boy
Ferguson, Sinclair; The Christian Life; A Heart for God (approachable, biblical, foundational theology in a small package)
Gonzalez, Justo; The Story of Christianity (Volumes I & II) (a thoroughly enjoyable and readable ancient and modern church history; we need more writers like Gonzalez).
Greene, Graham; The End of the Affair; The Heart of the Matter; The Power and the Glory
Guinness, Os; The Call (for the Christian and non-Christian alike ... truly helpful and encouraging with many engaging biographical illustrations)
Herbert, George; The Collected Poems
Hugo, Victor; Les Miserables (one of the best modern novels; humanistic in overall scope, Hugo was no stranger to the gospel, and his book includes some of the most redemptive characters and scenes in Western literature. If you have always wanted to read a big book, but thought you couldn’t, give yourself a year and read one to two chapters per day.)
Hunter, James Davison; To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World
Lee, Harper; To Kill A Mockingbird (follow it up with Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles Shields)
Lewis, C.S.; The Space Trilogy (not as well known as other works, but near the top for Lewis); Mere Christianity (a modern classic; originally talks given over the BBC radio network); The Great Divorce (a great intro to Lewis; a “fable” about a bus trip from the edge of hell to the edge of heaven – priceless dialogue between characters); The Collected Works [especially “God in the Dock” and “Christian Reflections” (these two collections of essays are the sources for the vast majority of C.S. Lewis quotations in modern works), Surprised by Joy (Lewis’ biography/conversion narrative; gives excellent insights into Lewis’ training and the pagan interior behind Great Britain’s “Christian” exterior in the early and mid twentieth century)].
Lundgaard, Kris; The Enemy Within (former pastor turned Dell executive turned missionary to Slovakia, who has written one of the most helpful books out there on identifying and putting sin to death)
Maclean, Norman; A River Runs Through It
McCarthy, Cormac; All the Pretty Horses (Bk 1 of the Border Trilogy; The Crossing; Cities of the Plain); also No Country for Old Men, The Road, The Sunset Limited, etc.
McCloskey, Robert; One Morning in Maine (illustrated)
McMurtry, Larry; Lonesome Dove
Newbigin, Lesslie; Foolishness to the Greeks; The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society (foundational works regarding Christianity and Culture; Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt and Certainty in Christian Discipleship (required reading for incoming Covenant Seminary students); The Household of God: Lectures on the Nature of the Church; Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History
North, Sterling; Rascal (perfect summer reading)
O’Connor, Flannery; The Complete Stories (the standard for ‘Southern’ Christian fiction); Mystery and Manners (posthumously published essays on what it means to read and write and encounter the world-at-large as a Christian)
Pascal, Blaise; Pensee’s (an introduction to the ‘thought’ (pensee means thought) of one of the world’s great thinkers. Yes, this is the same Pascal from geometry class. “Jesus Christ is a God whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without despair.”
Percy, Walker; The Moviegoer; The Last Gentleman (Southern, Roman Catholic, Existentialist fiction; the best books I know of for getting into the mind of the modern male and understanding the anguish (‘malaise’ in Percy’s language) and fear produced by the modern world; also excellent for understanding the modern South)
Petersen, Eugene; A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (Peterson’s meditations on the Psalms of Ascent; Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (volume one of Peterson’s spiritual theology)
Potok, Chaim; The Chosen; The Promise; My Name Is Asher Lev; The Gift of Asher Lev (Potok was a Rabbi, Professor of Literature, Painter, Biblical scholar and Editor)
Pratt, Richard; He Gave Us Stories (summary of how the Old Testament is put together and how to understand it from a Christ-centered perspective)
Rogers, Jonathan; The Wilderking Trilogy
Schaeffer, Francis; True Spirituality; The God Who Is There (excellent intro to Schaeffer and to in-depth Christian thinking)
Schmemann, Alexander; For the Life of the World (first three chapters are exceptional in their outlay of a Christian approach to life; with the latter chapters being less reliable)
Tolkien, J.R.R.; The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings (trilogy which can and should be bought as a set; these go together in the order listed. There is nothing else like them, at least in terms of quality of prose, depth of narrative and character development, and breadth of scope. Problem: once read, similar fiction always fall short.
Williams, Michael; Far as the Curse is Found
Wright, Christopher; The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (Wright heads the Langham Fellowship, the theological wing of John Stott’s church, All Souls)
The Spring picnic, in pictures: Picnic, May 2010.
Take 5 minutes to hear Bill talk through Pentecost, 1 Peter 3:15-16, and why the All Saints logo turns red this Sunday.
Podasts return. Take 5 minutes to hear Bill talk through the upcoming switch to a 10:30 worship time, what's in store for Christian Education in the fall, and how all of this relates to one of All Saints' core commitments - rootedness.
The church-wide picnic returns next Sunday, May 16. This time the P. Terry's burger truck will be arriving to serve fresh burgers and fries. Please make plans to join us. You'll need to register, make your menu selection, and pay ($5/individual or $15/family), all of which you can do online:
“Sandor Ferenczi, a disciple of Freud's, once identified a disorder he called Sunday neurosis. Every Sunday (or, in the case of a Jewish patient, every Saturday), the Sunday neurotic developed a headache or a stomachache or an attack of depression. After ruling out purely physiological causes, including the rich food served at Sunday dinners, Ferenczi figured out what was bothering his patients. They were suffering from the Sabbath…”
“About a decade ago I developed a full-blown weekend disorder of my own. Perhaps because I am Jewish, it came on Friday nights. My mood would darken until, by Saturday afternoon, I'd be unresponsive and morose. My normal routine, which involved brunch with friends and swapping tales of misadventure in the relentless quest for romance and professional success, made me feel impossibly restless. I started spending Saturdays by myself. After a while I got lonely and did something that, as a teenager profoundly put off by her religious education, I could never have imagined wanting to do. I began dropping in on a nearby synagogue…”
“It was only much later, after I joined the synagogue and changed my life in a million other unforeseen ways, that I developed a theory about my condition. If Ferenczi's patients had suffered from the Sabbath, I was suffering from the lack thereof. In the Darwinian world of the New York 20-something, everything -- even socializing, reading or exercising -- felt like work or the pursuit of work by other means. Had I been able to consult Ferenczi, I believe he would have told me that I was experiencing the painful inklings of sanity. For in the 84 years since Ferenczi identified his syndrome, which bears a striking resemblance to what is now called workaholism, it has become the norm, and the Sabbath, the one day in seven dedicated to rest by divine command, has become the holiday Americans are most likely never to take…”
“Americans, of course, no longer cherish obedience as a virtue. We have become individualists, even libertarians. We will no longer put up with being told how to dispose of our free time. But our unwillingness to suffer constraint shouldn't blind us to the possibility that Sabbath discipline may have real benefits. For one thing, it reflects a paradoxical insight: only a Sabbath that you have to work for will appear worth keeping, just as, in psychoanalysis, a patient will value only those sessions for which he pays. Anything gotten for nothing will be treated as such. After all, as in therapy, the good that comes from the Sabbath is mostly intangible. We don't produce anything when we don't work…”
“Most people mistakenly believe that all you have to do to stop working is not work. The inventors of the Sabbath understood that it was a much more complicated undertaking. You cannot downshift casually and easily, the way you might slip into bed at the end of a long day. As the Cat in the Hat says, ''It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.'' This is why the Puritan and Jewish Sabbaths were so exactingly intentional, requiring extensive advance preparation -- at the very least a scrubbed house, a full larder and a bath. The rules did not exist to torture the faithful. They were meant to communicate the insight that interrupting the ceaseless round of striving requires a surprisingly strenuous act of will, one that has to be bolstered by habit as well as by social sanction…”
“Do I think everyone else should observe a Sabbath? I believe it would be good for them, and even better for me, since the more widespread the ritual, the more likely I am to observe it…”
Culture Making on the Road from Culture Making on Vimeo.
SEVEN STANZAS AT EASTER
Make no mistake: if He rose at all“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40)
Jesus’ stones crying out always brings to mind Annie Dillard’s essay “Teaching a Stone to Talk”:
Ok. People like this should get help, or at least stay on their small island. But Dillard’s response is more gracious:
So, what is more audacious: Jesus’ words and vocation or Larry’s? Is Larry the “crank”, or Jesus, or both? Would it have been better if Jesus had been requisitioned to a small island (like John on Patmos) where he could teach his stones to talk, or even sit and talk with them till his heart was content?
When the Apostle Paul wrote that “the creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed,” and that “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now,” he was onto the same thing, it seems, as Jesus. The creation groaning? Stones, trees, landscapes, lakes stirring, speaking? Is this the Bible? Do inanimate objects become animate?
No; they don’t. But the point that Jesus and Paul are making bears radical illustration. Stones do not speak. And post-fall, people do not know God. Post-fall, people do not praise God – period. “You shall surely die” was not an idle warning. Spiritual death is real, as is physical death – and dead people do not talk.
So what are all these people doing, crowding the road to Jerusalem, shouting to Heaven, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest”? What is God up to as this man rides a donkey into the City of Peace, thus disturbing said peace?
Jesus words serve as notice that something far more audacious than stones shouting is about to occur. Jesus’ “fate” is about to be set in stone – literally. But the stone of his destiny is going to open its mouth. The stone will be rolled away. And when Jesus walks from his tomb of his own accord, by the power of the Spirit, stones will speak.
The “day” is not only the time of Jesus’ emergence from the stony tomb, but the situation of our emergence, in Him, from death:
Peter says that Jesus is a precious, chosen, living stone, and so are we, in Him. Thus, in Christ Jesus we begin to see all of what we once called “life” as nothing but death, nothing but futility, an exercise sillier and more futile than teaching a stone to talk. And yet, what are we but stones that have been taught to talk, to live?
So maybe Larry isn’t crazy so much as faithless, hopeless, without a vision for what can become true when God is involved. And it is only by God’s grace that we do not settle for a life, an eternity, of futility.
Jesus would settle for nothing less than the regeneration of the human heart, body and soul. Jesus talks to stones and his words – and blood - make stones speak, even shout.
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock (stone) and our Redeemer. Amen.