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Russell Moore: George Jones Was Not a Hypocrite

April 27, 2013 in Culture with 0 Comments

Russell Moore reflects on the death of country music singer George Jones:

George Jones has died, and I am afraid a lot of people will think he was a hypocrite. George Jones was no hypocrite. He was the troubadour of the Christ-haunted South. The raw emotion, and even whispers of torture, in his voice can teach American Christianity much about the nature of sin and the longing for repentance.

Jones is easy to caricature as a hypocrite, to be sure. He performed some of the greatest songs in country music history. I would fight anyone, metaphorically speaking, who denies that “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is the greatest country song of all time, but Jones was known for more than his songs. His failed marriages, most notably from fellow country music star Tammy Wynette, and his life-long skirmish with substance abuse, were always in the headlines. Few people knew of George Jones who did not immediately think of the anecdote of his riding a lawn mower to the liquor store after the authorities, and his long-suffering wife, took away his freedom to drive a car.

Read the rest here.

The Most Offensive Thing in the Bible

February 26, 2013 in Apologetics, Creation, Culture with 3 Comments

Dan Phillips is on to something with his assessment of the most offensive thing in the Bible:

. . . I brought up the subject of secular talk shows and how they like to try to beat up on Christians of any size, shape, and significance about whatever topic they think is most embarrassing and controversial. Of course, at the moment it’s “gay” “marriage,” or the topic of homosexuality at all.

In the course of the lesson, I remarked that I think — from the comfortable quiet safety of my study — that I’d take a different approach.

When Piers or Larry or Tavis or Rosie or Ellen or The View or whoever tried probing me about homosexuality, or wifely submission, or any other area where God has spoken (to the world’s consternation), I think I’d decline the worm altogether. I think instead, I’d say something like,

“You know, TaPierRosEllRy, when you ask me about X, you’re obviously picking a topic that is deeply offensive to non-Christians — but it’s far from the most offensive thing I believe. You’re just nibbling at the edge of one of the relatively minor leaves on the Tree of Offense. Let me do you a favor, and just take you right down to the root. Let me take you to the most offensive thing I believe.

Discover the most offensive verse in the Bible here.

Trevin Wax: 10 Sure Signs We’ve Lost Our Minds

February 26, 2013 in Culture with 1 Comment

Trevin points out inconsistencies in the logic of our culture. For example, #5:

5. We decry the exploitation of women, but cry “censorship” when someone wants decency standards against objectifying women on television.

Read the whole list here.

Mohler Interviews Charles Murray

January 18, 2013 in Culture, Family with 0 Comments

Al Mohler recently interviewed Charles Murray regarding Murray’s forthcoming book, Coming Apart. Murray is an academic who has done in-depth statistical analysis of America’s downward moral trajectory.

On one level Mohler’s interview of Murray is an intellectual discussion. But it’s interesting to note that Murray and Mohler both agree that the solution to the problem is not new public policy. Rather, stronger families are needed. A discussion which begins in statistical analysis, ends at the dinner table.

If you take the time to listen, be sure to hold on for Mohler’s thoughts at the conclusion.

Listen here.

A transcript of the interview is also available.

Bob Bixby: Misérable means Miserable

January 7, 2013 in Culture, Entertainment with 0 Comments

Pastor Bob Bixby interacts with Les Mis the movie:

A lot of discussion about Les Misérables has been had.

I’ll join with some scattered thoughts under the following categories:

Musicality
Vulgarity
Spirituality

Musicality

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and everyone has a reason for why their opinion is credible (whether it makes sense or not). I’m no different. I think I know a thing or two about music having had some formal training in music. Thus, I think my opinion about the vocals and musicality has some credibility (with me anyway).

First of all, it’s hard to do a disservice to the music. The literature itself, musically and lyrically, is tested by time and will be sung for years to come. But it was the musical experience that was totally different. Many of us have heard the best singers in the world sing the music on the world’s largest stages. Or we have heard recordings of the same. Or we have seen cinematic musicals that were recorded differently than Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables in which he had the actors sing the music directly as they were acting. No studio recording of the solo and lip syncing here. The singers are singing the take live. It’s been done before, but it’s extremely rare and therefore a mainly novel experience for today’s viewers.

It’s for that reason that some were . . .

Read the rest here.

Is Chick-Fil-A Wednesday a Bold Mistake?

August 1, 2012 in Apologetics, Culture with 7 Comments

Regarding Chick-Fil-A, the elephant in the room is, “Are they discriminating against Rockford, IL?” We can’t even buy a sandwich here. . .

Barnabas Piper thinks Chick-Fil-A Wednesday is a bold mistake. He concludes an article for World Magazine with this paragraph:

So I stand with Dan Cathy in his biblical affirmation of family but I cannot stand with those making a movement out of his beliefs. I do not question the motives of Mike Huckabee or those thousands joining him, but what about the wider effects? How is the Kingdom of God served by this? Is Jesus represented well to the gay community and the politicians pandering to them? Marching on Chick-fil-A tomorrow like an army will produce nothing more than defined battle lines, and the result will be greater contention and fewer softened hearts. On both sides.

Read the rest here.

Piper may be on to something. Should we enjoy Chick-Fil-A sandwiches? By all means. They’re really good. But does the exercise of rallying today at Chick-Fil-A have the potential of breaking down lines of communication with those who reject Christianity. It’s a question worth considering.

Denny Burk has interacted with Piper in a post:

Today countless Americans will heed Mike Huckabee’s call to rally in support of Chick-fil-a. Over 500,000 people have signed up to take part and to show support for a company that has been under fire over the last couple of weeks for its advocacy of traditional marriage. For the most part, conservatives have answered the call. But Barnabas Piper is a notable exception and is calling the show of solidarity with Chick-fil-a a “bold mistake.”

Ross Douthat on Chick-Fil-A Wednesday

July 31, 2012 in Culture, Politics with 0 Comments

Ross Douthat against demonstrated why he is one of our day’s most insightful commentators. In his column for the New York Times Sunday paper he argued that there is a difference between freedom of belief and the free exercise of religion. He begins:

THE words “freedom of belief” do not appear in the First Amendment. Nor do the words “freedom of worship.” Instead, the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans something that its authors called “the free exercise” of religion.

It’s a significant choice of words, because it suggests a recognition that religious faith cannot be reduced to a purely private or individual affair. Most religious communities conceive of themselves as peoples or families, and the requirements of most faiths extend well beyond attendance at a sabbath service — encompassing charity and activism, education and missionary efforts, and other “exercises” that any guarantee of religious freedom must protect.

I cannot improve upon the way the first lady of the United States explained this issue, speaking recently to a conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. “Our faith journey isn’t just about showing up on Sunday,” Michelle Obama said. “It’s about what we do Monday through Saturday as well … Jesus didn’t limit his ministry to the four walls of the church. He was out there fighting injustice and speaking truth to power every single day.”

But Mrs. Obama’s words notwithstanding, there seems to be a great deal of confusion about this point in the Western leadership class today.

Read the whole thing here.

Mockingbird Reflects on Grandmother Bullied on Bus

June 28, 2012 in Culture with 0 Comments

It is interesting that for all the cultural concern about bullying, we seem relatively unable to deter it. The Mockingbird blog has some interesting reflections on the recent video of a grandmother being bullied which went viral on video.

Mockingird:

I expect by now that most people have heard of or seen the viral youtube video of grandmother and bus monitor Karen Klein being harassed and bullied to tears by small gang of seventh graders. If not, you can youtube it yourself–it’s really too dark and graphic to warrant embedding it in this post. Essentially, what happened is this: while watching kids on the way to school earlier this week, some seventh grade boys surrounded Ms. Klein and began to bully her, physically poking and prodding her while belittling her about her weight, her (assumed) financial state, and the history of suicide in her family. It’s dark stuff–really dark stuff–and you’re better off not watching the video itself. It’s like grandma got dropped in the middle of Lord of the Flies.

What’s made this story different, however, is that the youtube video documenting said harassment has caused a tidalwave of emotional and financial support to Klein. Thousands of emails in support poured in. A crowd-funding social media campaign, hoping to raise $5000 for Klein to take a nice vacation, has raised over $600,000 to date. Klein is being interviewed by just about every major news outlet. Something about Klein’s story has shaken the emotional subconscious of America to its core.

Read the rest here.

Alan Jacobs: Three Components of a Blockbuster Story

June 5, 2012 in Culture with 2 Comments

Whether we are thinking about The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, or The Avengers, it’s worth considering why some stories so easily capture our interest and motivate people to part with their time and money in record numbers? Stories sell, even in a down economy.

In an essay in Wayfaring: Essays Pleasant and Unpleasant, the always worth reading, Alan Jacobs, reflects on why Harry Potter so effectively snared the attention of so many. Jacobs theorizes that Rowling wrote a blockbuster because she:

Created characters people really care about.
Wrote suspenseful plots, so that you really want to know how it’s all going to come out.
Created a whole imaginative world that people love to inhabit, even after they already know what happens in the stories.

“Many writers,” says Jacobs, “can do one of those things; a few can do two; hardly any can achieve all three. (Tolkien is one of them, which is why he also, though a very different and much greater writer than Rowling, is equally beloved.) It’s the combination that makes [Rowling] special.”

In my mind, Hunger Games, achieved the first two of Jacobs’ three criteria. It was so effective in creating characters we care about, and a suspenseful plot, that it was a blockbuster. But it missed #3. Who would want to visit that world? No one in his or her right mind. But as someone (see m.l.) once sang, “two out of three ain’t bad.”

These three criteria in mind, it is no wonder that the Bible is the number one best seller of all time. It is about the most incredible, beautiful, breathtaking One in all of eternity, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is about many others we care about, whether David and Jonathan, Daniel and his friends, or Joseph. And it ends in a real place where those who know Christ will soon be in His presence.

This summer at The Red Brick Church, we will consider key stories in Our Story. We won’t dissect them like they’re laboratory frogs, rather we will en-joy them for the truth they are, and we can be sure that they’ll be about people we care about; we will want to see how the plot unfolds; and surely they point to a real world we all long to visit.

Our church’s sermons are available online.