Mouw on Unconditional Election

“Now, I understand how people can say that this pattern of God’s selectivity does not seem fair. Why does he choose this person and not that one? Doesn’t this make it all seem quite arbitrary? I understand this complaint, and I take it seriously. But frankly, it does not seem to be a complaint that is properly lodged against Calvinism in particular. It is better understood as a complaint about the facts of life. When a non-Calvinist Christian friend asks me how I can believe that God favors some people over others, it seems to me sufficient in many cases simply to point to the person’s own life. Let’s say that she was born in 1950 in Illinois, and that from her earliest days she was nurtured by the Christian community: they provided her with teachers and books and friends who encouraged her growth in the faith. In all of this, her life is much more privileged spiritually than, say, a person her own age who lives, say, in an isolated rural village in North Korea. And when my friend testifies to the grace of God in her life, she has no qualms about thanking the Lord for the special blessings that have been directed her way - blessings that are, in fact, missing in the life of her North Korean counterpart. Has Calvinism invented the notion of divine selectivity, or are we simply acknowledging something that seems to be really there in the way we experience our lives?”

                                  (Richard J. Mouw, Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport, p.33)

The Christian Church in a Post-Modern World

This quote was on the banner at the Boar’s Head Tavern this evening. I find it compelling.

The primary problem confronting the Christian Church in a post-modern world is not whether Christian claims about God can be debated in credible ways with alternating accounts (logos) of abstract reasoning. Rather, the challenge is about ethos of Christian witness. Can particular Christian communities produce and sustain the kind of witness to God in which their practices of discipleship can serve as credible signs of God’s reconciling work in the world? -Michael Cartwright

Thanks banner guy at bht.

Relative Moral Ambiguity

On Mondays I attend a small gathering of Southern Baptist pastors who affiliate with our local association (yes, I’m a Southern Baptist). Yesterday during the preliminary chit chat (which I just love) the subject of hunting came up. One pastor was talking about conveniently forgetting to put a plug in his shotgun (required by law to prevent more than three shells being loaded into the weapon at a time), but he does purchase a licence because he doesn’t want his name in the paper for violating the law.

Street Cred

Tony Woodlief, blogger and writer, has referenced me and my blog in a piece he did for World on the Web (World Mag’s e-zine). And the stats go wild. While I have promised not to exaggerate familiarity, I count him a friend. Read his blog. Now. As you do, go through his archives. You’ll find a genuine man with a heart for God and great love for his family. Some stirring stuff, really.

Crazy Pat Endorses Rudy

Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy G. for the presidency in 2008. I get the impression Doug Wilson thinks it is a bad idea.

[Edit: So, it seems, does Tony Woodlief.]

Garver on Emerging

Read Joel Garver on emerging church. Really. Read it. For a fuller understanding of what he’s talking about, click on the links embedded in his post.

Odds and Ends

A little catching up:

The blog has not been very busy because the rest of life has been. Inspiration has run a bit lean lately as well, so rather than saying nothing, I decided to say…well, nothing.

Information

I’m the pastor of a church that is about a mile down the road from the local Wal-Mart. Just now I got a phone call at the church. The conversation went like this:

Me: Hello (insert name of church here).

Caller: Uh….do ya’ll know the number for Wal-Mart?

Me: Um, no. I have a phone book, though. Would you like me to look it up for you?

Caller: Yeah.

Me: K. (a moment passes whilst I grab the phone book and look up the number). Okay, here’s the number.

Caller: Okay, thanks.

Me: (puzzled) You’re welcome.

Serving the community looks like a lot of different things, I guess.

Beyond Liberal and Conservative

Read Joel Garver’s piece on post-conservatism, to which I say, Here! Here! (I also like Joel Hunter’s comment!)

 He also has a piece on Lesslie Newbigin that is worth reading. You should check out Garver’s blog with regularity.  There’s a link on my blogroll over yonder —>

Community is not a Hobby

Doug Wilson quotes from his book Mother Kirk on his blog: 

“Community will never arise from groups with ’special interests,’ whether those interests include ham radio, square dancing, or the five points of Calvinism” (Mother Kirk, p. 223).