This Strange Land

Catacombs & Cathedrals

2012-05-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

The catacombs, of course, are the legacy of a tiny persecuted band of believers, meeting in their graveyards to escape the all-seeing eye of imperial Rome. The cathedrals represent a very different turn in church history: a church that not only could grow in size but could, in fact, outgrow and outlast the Empire itself. The catacombs represent simplicity and earthiness; the cathedrals transcendence and wonder.
We need both, somehow.
Sometimes American evangelicals, traveling to sites of significance in church history, are disappointed. They want to see a Disney-type restoration of “the early church” in a way that makes it seem as though the faith went by time-warp straight from a pristine golden era to the Graham Crusades. This sort of Christian tends to like the catacombs, for the same reason some people love working on their antebellum family histories but don’t like family reunions.
But the catacombs and the cathedrals both remind us of two things: God’s sovereignty in sending down the faith, and the frailty of humanity as stewards of that faith. We can’t romanticize the early persecuted church. After all, the New Testament Scriptures are often rebuking those churches for precisely the things we see going on in our churches today: division, carnality, immorality, arrogance (1 Cor. 4:7-13, 5:1-8, 6:1-8). And, if Christianity had remained in the catacombs, it is quite possible that you and I would have never encountered Christ.

He concludes:

In the heroic stories of church history (Athanasius defeats Arius! Augustine turns back Pelagius!) and in the awful parts (state churches and triumphalism and scandals), God is orchestrating a flow of the river of redemption that takes it from the hillsides of Judea through the bustling streets of Antioch right down to that Baptist church in Arkansas, or wherever it was that you first heard the name of the Christ of God.
The kingdom of God is vast and tiny, universal and exclusive. Our story is that of a little flock and of an army awesome with banners. It’s a Christianity of persecution and proliferation, of catacombs and cathedrals.

Read the whole article here.

Confession

2012-05-31T11:14:00.002-07:00

It does no good to use big words to talk about Christ. Since I seem to be incapable of talking about him in the language of a child, I have reached the point where I can scarcely talk about him at all. All my words fill me with shame.
It is indecent to call the Bible wonderful. It would be indecent, too, to say, ‘My mother is a wonderful person.’ So, you cannot praise Christ the way you would praise a mere human being. You have to fall on your face and cry out for mercy; the only way you can talk about God is to ‘confess’ — confession Laudis — either that or else confession of your shame. If Christ is merely interesting to you, or merely admirable — what will become of your miserable soul?
”

- Thomas Merton, The Sign of Jonas

HT: Overstreet

2 Random Things

2012-05-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

How can you not get excited about this movie?

This is how I'm making my coffee these days. Two great reason's to make your coffee this way: 1. You can literally spend 4 dollars to get a good dripper like the one in the video. 2. It is better without all the cream and sugar.

And I just tried this one today and it also is blowing my mind.

21 Words for Fathers

2012-05-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

HT: Blog and Mablog

Wheels of Fury or Watson's Get New Bikes

2012-05-05T05:04:00.001-07:00

1 Man 4 Boys Wrigley Field

2012-04-25T07:10:00.002-07:00

A former co-worker and friend was nice enough to give our family 5 Cubs tickets. My wife, Stephanie, was unable to attend so we picked up one of the boys' friends and headed to Wrigley Field. I was a little nervous but it ended up being a great afternoon in one of America's most iconic ballparks. Cubs looked terrible and ended up losing by only one run but who really goes to Wrigley expecting a win??

Jude Michael Helverson

2012-04-17T09:14:00.002-07:00

Practicing my photography skills on my new nephew this weekend. This is Jude Michael Helverson born on April 9th. I can't get enough of my Canon EOS T2i. I've got a new niece that I can't wait to photograph this summer when I'm in Oklahoma

Easter Prep 2012

2012-04-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

And many songs were written of their valiant deeds...

2012-03-17T10:08:00.002-07:00

And many songs were written of their valiant deeds...

The Three Ninjas

2012-03-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

No one else would protect the weak. So one day three brothers took the law into their own hands...

Eric Metaxas Interviews his pastor Tim Keller

2012-03-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this interview. Eric Metaxas author of Bonhoeffer Pastor Martyr Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery interviews his pastor Tim Keller. It is a nice window into Keller's background and how he approaches some difficult topics.

Eric Metaxas and Tim Keller "Fireside Chat" from Brian McGee on Vimeo.

Typical Dinner Conversation At Our House

2012-03-01T16:55:00.001-08:00

35 Things I Hope My Kids Will Say About Their Dad

2012-02-17T06:04:00.000-08:00

There is a great post over at the Becoming Minimalist blog by Joshua Becker where he lists 35 Things I Hope By Kids Will Say About Their Dad. Here are the first Ten:

1. “He loved us.” I could see it in his words, his face, and his actions.
2. “He loved our mom.” And was always faithful to her.
3. “He was honest” Both to us and to others. I never remember him telling a lie.
4. “He was spiritual.” He valued things bigger than this world… and kept his eyes open for them.
5. “He worked hard,” He understood the value of a hard day’s work and wasn’t afraid of it.
6. “But he always came home on time.” He worked hard at his job. But he knew when to quit for the day.
7. “He cared about people more than money.”8. “He was a good friend.” He taught me what that meant in a world that doesn’t.
9. “He helped others.” He looked for opportunities to serve… especially those who couldn’t help themselves.
10. “He was generous” with his home, his money, his time, and his energy.

Read the rest here

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2011-12-21T05:45:00.001-08:00

This guy is Great

Christopher Hitchens and Doug Wilson Debating

2011-12-16T19:08:00.001-08:00

Cello Wars

2011-12-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

Buddy Greene at Carnegie Hall

2011-10-06T12:14:00.001-07:00

The Boys Are Back...In School

2011-08-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

Caden at the Pool

2011-08-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

I took the boys to the pool today and decided to try and capture a few shots of Caden. I'm not sure about the end result but I had fun with editing in various ways. Let me know what you think.

Beautiful, Haunting Music from Josh Garrels

2011-06-17T04:20:00.000-07:00

Mason Jar Music Presents... Josh Garrels from Mason Jar Music on Vimeo.

Furniture Assembly With the Boys

2011-06-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

Farmer Max

2011-06-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Why Young People Leave the Faith

2011-05-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Drew Dyck write's,

Over the past year I've conducted dozens of interviews with 20-somethings who have walked away from their Christian faith. Among the most surprising findings was this: nearly all of these "leavers" reported having positive experiences in youth group. I recall my conversation with one young man who described his journey from evangelical to atheist. He had nothing but vitriol for the Christian beliefs of his childhood, but when I asked him about youth group, his voice lifted. "Oh, youth group was a blast! My youth pastor was a great guy."
I was confused. I asked Josh Riebock, a former youth pastor and author ofmY Generation, to solve the riddle: if these young people had such a good time in youth group, why did they ditch their faith shortly after heading to college?
His response was simple. "Let's face it," he said. "There are a lot more fun things to do at college than eat pizza."
college?

Read the Whole Article at Out Of Ur

HT Ur via Z

Pseudo-Repentance and Porn

2011-04-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Dr. Russell Moore writes in his book Tempted and Tried,

In our time pornography has become the destroying angel of male Eros. I don’t mean to suggest that pornography is only a male temptation (it is not), but pornography, because of the way a man has been designed toward arousal is, when available, a universal male temptation. It has come to the point now that whenever I meet with a couple in which there is a man who is an emotional shell of himself—dead to intimacy with his wife—and a marriage is fraying apart, I ask how long the pornography has been going on. In every case it’s there.

There is a kind of helplessness that a man engaged in pornography exhibits. He often speaks of it in terms of a “struggle” or an “addiction.” Now both of those terms are accurate, I believe, but they distance a person from his sin in a soul-decaying manner. Pornography is not just an addiction; it is occultism. The man who sits upstairs viewing pornography while his wife chauffeurs the kids to soccer practice is not some unusual “pervert”; he is (like his forefather Adam) seeking the mystery of the universe apart from Christ. That’s the reason the one picture, stored in his memory, of that naked woman will never be enough for him. He will never be able to be satisfied because he will never be able to get an image naked enough.

I say pornography is occultism because I believe the draw toward it is more than biological (though that is strong). The satanic powers understand the “the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). They understand that the pornographic act severs a one-flesh marriage union at the very point of intimate connectedness and instead joins Christ, spiritually, to an electronic prostitute (1 Cor. 6:16). They also know that those who unrepentantly practice such things “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10).

Pornography is, in one sense, no different from any other form of sexual temptation. But in another sense it is even more insidious. Pornography brings with it a kind of pseudo-repentance. Immediately after it is “over,” the participant feels a kind of revulsion and self-loathing. Whereas an adulterer or a fornicator can at least rationalize a kind of transcendent “love” behind his sin, even a conscience thoroughly seared over rarely wants to write love songs or poetry in celebration of his pornographic self-satisfaction.

Typically—at least in those who have some sort of Christian or moral identity—the pornographic act is followed by a resolve never to do it again, to leave it behind and find some sort of accountability. But what masquerades as a repentant conscience is in most cases little more than a sated appetite. When the appetite is “hungry” once again, the demonic powers will collaborate with the biological impulses to find a way to make it seem irresistible again. As the cycle of temptation grinds on, the illusion of repentance keeps the sin in hiding, so that actual repentance never happens until, as with Esau, the conscience is so seared that repentance is then impossible (Heb. 6:4-6, 12:16-17).

And this is, of course, exactly where the powers want any child of Adam—and especially any professing brother or sister of the Lord Jesus.

Dr. Russell Moore via Challies

Preview of the New "Hobbit" Movies from Director Peter Jackson

2011-04-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan and can't wait for these movies to come out. Feast your eyes "Lord of the Rings" nerds!