Monthly Archive for March, 2011

Fukushima First Baptist Church

Published on March 31, 2011 in suffering. 2 Comments

Tim Challies links to the web site of a pastor of a church ravaged by the Tsunami and nuclear accident:

Yesterday a reader of this site sent me a link to an interesting series of blog posts—posts written by Pastor Akira Sato, who is the pastor for the Fukushima First Baptist Church, near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The email included this poignant paragraph:”Yesterday (Friday, March 18) one member who has been with us since the disaster had received an order from his company and left for work in the nuclear plant. (He is a leader of the plumbing job). As the family of God, knowing the departing pains of his loved ones, in tears we dispatched the brother with prayers. He left here with the Lord. Beside him, there are others, our precious members, who have been working hard at the plant. O, Lord, please protect them with your almighty hand! I beg you, please! ‘Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, ….that thine hand might be with me, and that wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me.’ (1 Chronicles 4:10)”

Here are several other excerpts from the pastor’s blogs:

[March 13] This has been triple disasters. Because of the quake, some member’s house was partially destroyed. I still haven’t been able to get in touch with the families who live near the beach. JR Tomioka station has been washed away by the tsunami. The city was utterly destroyed. You have already heard of the accident of Fukushima first nuclear power plant. All the residents were forced to evacuate, and my church members had to get on a bus without any belongings and sent to schools and gyms separately. It’s been hard to find out how they are doing. . .

Read more here.

One way to prepare for Holy Week

Published on March 31, 2011 in Easter. 0 Comments

Good Friday and Easter are only a few weeks away.  Perhaps, you have already been meditating and preparing.  If not, I would offer one approach:

  1. Read the Gospel of Mark as many times as possible.  It’s the briefest of the 4 Gospel accounts and it moves so quickly that if you prayerfully consider the content you will be amazed at what you see of the Savior.
  2. Order and read Tim Keller’s recent book, King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus.  Keller’s book is a reflection on the Gospel of Mark and will be a wonderful supplement for time in the Gospel of Mark.
  3. Journal brief thoughts (a sentence or two is enough) each time you read and prayerfully study.

The Apostle Paul sounds better than John Lennon at the nursing home

Published on March 30, 2011 in Culture and death. 1 Comment

I called on one of our older people today at a rehab center which is also a nursing home.  Pop music was playing over the sound system and the first song that caught my attention was John Lennon:

Imagine there’s no heaven . . .
It didn’t seem to me like “Imagine there’s no heaven” was a popular thought at the nursing home.

The next song spinning on the nursing home juke box was, “I had the time of my life,” and that one didn’t look like it was going to climb the nursing home charts either.

I understand that people loved I had the Time of My Life in Dirty Dancy.  Imagine went platinum for all I know.  But, neither song works very well in the nursing home.  I didn’t interview the people sitting about in wheel chairs, but my guess is that not a lot of them are dreaming that there’s no heaven.  Nobody looked to be having the time of their life.  Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey were nowhere in sight.

So. I decided to go with the Apostle Paul rather than a meditation on John Lennon. I read aloud to the person I was visiting 2 Cor 4:16-18, “Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all . . . For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

A review and an interview about “When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search”

Published on March 29, 2011 in Pastoral Search Committees. 0 Comments

Liam Moran recently reviewed my  book When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search.  He also posted some questions I answered about  pastoral transitions (see here).

A Chapter of Proverbs Today (Fear of man will prove to be a snare . . .)

Published on March 29, 2011 in Parenting and Proverbs. 1 Comment

Wisdom is the saw we use to cut through life. One of the best ways to sharpen your saw is to spend regular time in the book of Proverbs. Over time, Proverbs will become a part of your thought process.

I encourage our congregation that for the rest of their lives, they should have a discipline of reading the day’s chapter of Proverbs.  Today is the 29th, so read the 29th chapter.

Don’t be legalistic about it.  It doesn’t need to be every day.  But maybe 3-5 times a week read a chapter and write at the top of that chapter in your bible the month and year.  So today I would write 3/11.

You don’t have to spend extended time doing this, but make a point to let at least one Proverb sink in. Write a note paraphrasing it next to the Proverb.  Read it aloud. Tell someone about it.

On the 29th, you might consider Proverbs 29:25: “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trust in the LORD is safe.”

All of us struggle at points being more concerned with what people think than with what God thinks.  What does it look like in your world to fear people?

  • Maybe for a teenager it looks like being too fashion conscious, too concerned about what others think about your look.
  • For a parent, it might mean allowing your teen to do something which is against your better judgment because you don’t want to have friction at home.  (See this post on parenting).
  • For a pastor it might mean an unwillingness to preach the Word.  But, it also mean an unwillingness to take time off with your family because you are afraid of what other people would say.

Before buying the next inspirational bestseller, ask this question . . .

Published on March 28, 2011 in Recommended Reading. 6 Comments

Before being shaped by a book, movie, or sermon, ask yourself this question, “To what source of authority does this work appeal?”

Tim Challies posted today about another inspirational book selling like Cabbage Patch Dolls in 1982. I don’t think Tim was a good mood when he wrote the review, and I’m right there with him on this one. It’s Monday and I am grumpy, though I would point out that I just loaded the dishwasher and have now violated Matthew 6:1 by mentioning it here.  (I read this and it helped a little).

Anyway, the book Tim reviewed is about a 4 year old’s recollection of a visit to heaven. Tim more than adequately points out the problems with teaching based on the experience of a toddler.  I won’t rehash his arguments and I haven’t read the book.

But I think it is worth reminding our church family and other readers that a very basic question we should ask when considering an inspirational or Christian book is this, “To what source of authority does this book appeal?” Does the authority to which the author appeals reside in the Bible?

The question is not:

  • Can the author construct a hypothetical scenario that seems compelling to me? For instance, if an author says, “If God sends x number of people to hell, then we have problems,” the author is not appealing to any biblical authority.  Rather, he is appealing to what resonates with people’s culturally conditioned sensibilities.
  • Do I like how the story makes me feel? All kinds of fiction make people feel good during the duration of a movie or a book.  Audiences felt good when they watched the movie Pretty Woman.  But do we really think that the way to redemption for a prostitute and a selfish materialist would be an extended business relationship?
  • Does the story involve me? There are all sorts of stories that draw an audience in so that they want to know the outcome or resolution of the plot.  However, this doesn’t mean that we should allow them to shape our worldview.

On not grabbing the dog’s ears

Published on March 28, 2011 in Proverbs. 3 Comments

I recently became aware of a controversy brewing in the Evangelical / Internet world.  I know some of the people involved.  A post might generate some traffic and discussion.  But, I thought of Proverbs 26:17:

Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

I’ve never been snorkeling but this makes me want to go . . .

Published on March 27, 2011 in Creation. 0 Comments

Randy Alcorn:

When I think of the first glimpse of Heaven, I think of the first time I went snorkeling. It was absolutely breathtaking. There were thousands of fish of every shape and size and color, and just when you think you’ve seen the most beautiful creation, here comes another one. It’s endless. (I’ve included a couple pictures I’ve taken while snorkeling.)

I remember after days of snorkeling walking way out and jumping off the rocks into water that was sixty feet deep. The water was so clear I had the sensation of falling, and I could see fish and shells on the bottom as if just a few inches away. For most of my life I had seldom thought about that other world under the water. But I fell in love with that other world, and often find myself thinking about it even now.

Here to read the rest and see a really breath-taking video.

Brauns creativity combined with Spring Break

Published on March 26, 2011 in Stupid Stuff. 3 Comments

The genius comes from their mother’s side. Ben was forced to play the villain. Allison was not on location when the video was filmed.

It’s Saturday, just watch this

Published on March 26, 2011 in Stupid Stuff. 0 Comments