A Life: Salty and Bright

My desire and prayer to God is that your life and your ministry would have a radical flavor; a risk-taking flavor; a gutsy, counter-cultural, wartime flavor – that makes average American people in your church uncomfortable; a strange mixture of tenderness and toughness that keeps people a little bit off balance; a pervasive summons to something more, something hazardous, something wonderful; a saltiness and a brightness about your life and your church; something like Jesus; some extraordinary love, something risky, some crazy sacrifice that nobody can understand - including mom.

-John Piper [T4G sermon]

Words of Wisdom

There are many motivations to live the Christian life. A wise man makes use of them all.

-Pastor Steve Hartland

Wright on ...

Let's be quite clear - in the 1st century, if your leader gets executed by the authorities, you either give up the movement or you find yourself a new leader. Going around saying he's been raised from the dead is not an option. You are far too hard-headed for that.

-N.T. Wright

In Case You Missed It ...

I don't care how reformed you are, this was a good prayer and you don't have to be wearing soft pink, purpose-driven boxer briefs to admit it.

For the Record

The more I read Wright interacting with Piper, the less I want to say "new perspective" and "old perspective," and the more I want to say macro perspective and micro perspective. This is an unnecessary quarrel between the astronomer and the microbiologist. But, though it may be an unnecessary quarrel, it remains a necessary debate. When it comes to the "perspective" of the astronomer, Wright is gloriously edifying. When it comes to his denial of the glories under the microscope, he is simply wrong.

-Doug Wilson on N.T.Wright and 'The New Perspective'

Pray for Justus

All - thank you for your prayers and encouragement. It has been a year since we almost lost JJ and within a month or two, we will be finishing his chemo treatments. Immediately after this he will have surgery in which several internal samples taken for biopsy. Lord willing, he will have no lingering disease present and we'll be able to schedule a final surgery to remove his IV port, and then be done with this forever.
Please pray that as we finish his chemo, the disease will be totally eradicated, and that he will never relapse. Many Thanks, Ben.

Forgetting Ourselves

The thought of Jesus eating with vile sinners and scoundrels seems unbelievable until we remember that He continues the practice to this day - we call it the Lord's Supper.

Thou and Thou alone ...

I'd sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.

-Hwin to Aslan, in The Horse and His Boy - Book 3 of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis