Featured – The Rev

An Expedition…

March 30, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

Over the last few days I have been interacting with folks about a great many things. Something that has struck me is the cavalier attitude toward doctrine. Many of us no longer seem to think that doctrine matters. We say things like, “I am not a theologian, but…”Here’s the reality: doctrine does matter.What we believe matters.It matters big time.When hardship and conflict come it is what we believe that will determine how we respond. Because, what we believe matters.I have been heart-sick over the way those who hold a similar theological position as I have responded to a book that came out recently. They responded with polemics and rhetoric (some even before they had read the book!). Most have not responded with discernment or charity but have looked for a way to hang a “heretic”.I have also been thoroughly disappointed in the way that those from other theological positions have either blindly defended or tried to move themselves away from...

What’s Worse? (Part 2)

March 29, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

In our previous post we saw how Jesus engaged the world. He entered in and sought to transform the culture within which he lived. He did so with passion, without regret, and in perfect holiness. He did so to the point that he was called a “drunkard” and a “glutton”. This is our model.How do we apply it?The first question that I hear murmuring is, “He was God. It’s different isn’t it?”No. It’s not different. That kind of reasoning has no place here in the quest for the engagement of culture. It can’t. If it did then we ought to say, “He was God, therefore we shouldn’t disciple, because it’s different.” We could allow this line of thinking to go in any number of directions. No, it’s better to say that Jesus did it, therefore, we must try.The next thing I hear murmuring through your mind is, “Not everyone is called to this. What about the weaker brother in Romans?” I hear...

What’s Worse (Part 1)?

March 21, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

As we near the end of this discussion on engaging culture a few concluding points need to be made. Primarily we need to discuss which is worse, sinful thematic elements, or subtle deconstructions of worldview. This is something that we struggle to figure out on a principled level in every aspect of our lives as Christians. For us to get our minds around this reality we must first look at the life of Jesus to give us a glimpse of how we ought to live. To do that I think it will be helpful to take a look at Luke 7.This section of Luke’s narrative begins with the story of the Roman Centurion. The Jewish context of this time was varied and it is hard to necessarily pigeon hole the average Jew into a group. However, there is one thing that we can be relatively certain of, and that is the basic distrust and dislike of the Roman occupation. This was...

Observations on the Conversation

March 18, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

There have been a few (and by a few, I mean more than you can shake a stick at) posts by people responding to a book by a Christian famous pastor and author. It’s reaching epidemic proportions. Almost to the point of being annoying.I am not going to write about the pastor or the book (I haven’t read it, actually it was sold out at my local bookstore, so I couldn’t buy it).What I do want to write about is the nature and tone of the conversation.I am appalled.I am appalled by the tweets, facebook posts, and one liners.Social media is short form and is not the proper place for the kind of interaction that topics like this need. There are some topics that require more than 140 characters. Issues of Heaven and Hell certainly fall into that category.This hit home for me last night after a weekly conversation called, Coffee/Doubt. We spent an hour dealing with this topic and...

Garden State: Good or Bad?

March 15, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

In our second to last post exploring how to engage with culture we will be evaluating the film Garden State . Remember the four key questions that we use in our evaluation: What does this tell us about God? What does this tell us about man? What does this tell us about man’s greatest problem? What does this propose for the solution to man’s greatest problem? From here we would then compare those answers to the Biblical worldview. Let’s dive in…What does Garden State tell us about God? Not much. God does not make an appearance in the film. It would seem that there is no sense of a divine presence. The characters in the film are apparently on their own to figure out the world.What does Garden State tell us about people? It has much to say here. Zach Braff paints for us a crystal clear image of the fallenness of humanity. All of the characters are deeply flawed. One is a liar, one a...

Do the Lenten Twist

March 10, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

This morning as I watched my Facebook and Twitter feeds fill up with what people were giving up for Lent a thought struck me. It was simple and profoundly un-original. I began thinking about what Jesus did during those last forty days. The Scriptures don’t really give us a blow by blow. However, I think what we see is that Jesus did not give things up. Jesus drew closer to his disciples. He spent more time with them. All this was in preparation for his death. We know now that he lives. Death could not keep him. So, I think for Lent instead of giving up something, we ought to think about picking up something. Why not take the next forty days and draw close to Jesus? What would it look like if we did this? What if, for the next forty days we spent time in prayer, study, and community? Oh, wait…it turns out that is exactly what Lent is supposed to be...

A UM Fan Not Happy About Jim Tressel

March 9, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

I am a pretty big University of Michigan sports fan. I enjoy it when that school down South loses and I hope that they are the first number one seed to lose to a sixteen seed in the NCAA tournament. I like it when they mess up in big games and lose their Bowl games. I really do. Today we learned that Jim Tressel would be suspended for two games and fined a good deal of money for lying to the NCAA (these were OSU’s penalties, more may be coming from the NCAA). In this, I took no pleasure. In this, my heart was saddened. I have made many a crack regarding the man whom I refer to as the “Sweater Vest”. I even sent out the following tweet the moment I heard about Chris Robinson and Dan Wetzel’s article: “This just in the Ohio State University cheats. #shocked” As the story unraveled and more information was brought to light, I became less amused and more saddened. By...

The Lion King: A Wolf

March 7, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

In my previous post I suggested a method for evaluating culture. We are going to begin with an evaluation of the beloved Disney film, The Lion King . EvaluationThe first question is, “What does this communicate about God?” The Lion King communicates very little about God. Actually, there is no sense of the divine. New Age philosophy is rampant where the created order is governed by the “circle of life”. As beings pass from life to death they become disembodied spirits and act as overseers. There is a mystical Ape shaman who provides insight for Simba throughout his adventure. The second question is, “What does this communicate about man?” The Lion King communicates much about man. It presents a picture of humanity as having little meaning or purpose. The main characters go through life seeking to find their actualized potential. This is done through their good deeds or works. But, there is no overarching purpose, for at the end of the day they...

The Questions Are…

February 28, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

Movies, music, TV, books, are all meant for our entertainment. Or are they? I would argue that while they may be entertaining, their primary purpose is to communicate. These are all means by which we as people communicate the stories of our lives.When you sit down to read a book, listen to an album, watch a TV show, or watch a movie you are peering into the heart and soul of another person. You are hearing from them what they most deeply believe about life and truth. We as followers of Jesus must engage with this cultural activity critically.We are a free people. We are also a called out and holy people.Jesus sent us into the world to be as innocent as doves and as wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16). Sadly most followers of Jesus pick one or the other. We need to be both. To be both means that we must learn to think and engage the world critically....

Give Me a New Law!

February 22, 2011 by The RevNo Comments

Derek Webb sings, don’t teach me about politics and governmentjust tell me who to vote for don’t teach me about truth and beautyjust label my musicdon’t teach me how to live like a free manjust give me a new law (from “A New Law”) This tends to be how the average Christian implicitly lives. Not many of us would say it aloud but we live this way. If it’s a “Christian” band then it’s good. If it’s rated “G” then it’s good. If it’s rated “R” then it’s bad. If it’s “secular” then it’s bad. We have created a new law to replace the one that Jesus freed us from. We have done so because we don’t want to learn “how to live like a free man”. To be sure this is not a recent development. Paul was dealing with it in the first generation of Christians. In Galatians 5 he writes, For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not...