Procrastinators: Leaders Of Tomorrow

I pulled a plethora of unnecessary all-nighters in college because I put things off until the last minute. Unfortunately, not much has changed in seven years (although I now have a much better haircut, but that's beside the point.) I promise I'll write a more substantive post later today, but right now I'm putting it off and giving into my lazier tendencies

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While I'm embracing sloth, here are a few links to peruse:

"All these books may set out prescriptions for changing the world, but one verity they never question is the absolute necessity of having at least one-third of their text taken up by folksy anecdotes." Zingers like this abound as Alan Jacobs discusses The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, Finding Our Way Again: The Return Of The Ancient Practices by Brian McLaren, and New Monasticism: What It Has To Say To Today's Church by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove in Do-It-Yourself Tradition at First Things.

Paul Asay of Focus on the Family's Plugged In website contends that this year's nominees for Best Picture were "movies the Academy thinks you should watch. But there's a real and ever-widening gulf—a culture gap, if you will—between what Hollywood needs you to watch and what you want to watch." I somewhat disagree with Asay's conclusions, but Oscar Apathy is an interesting read.

Need a new t-shirt? Who doesn't! Consider this gem from Threadless.

Understanding Jonathan Edwards

Over at Theology Forum Kyle Strobel examines a new book entitled Understanding Johnathan Edwards by Gerald R. McDermott. For those who don't know Strobel is currently attending King’s College, University of Aberdeen and is doing his dissertation on Edwards.

Being a fan of Edwards myself, at times I've struggled to grasp his complex 18th century writing style and deep theological/philosophical references. Therefore I give you a quote from Strobel which I feel sums up what the individual who first encounters the writings of Edwards.

"... for the beginning student, Edwards can seem impenetrable, if not just odd."

He continues on the book itself:

There are several distinctive features of this volume making it stand alone among the many secondary volumes of Edwards literature...What I want to note up front is my favorite aspect - it was written for those who may have little to no knowledge of Edwards or the field of Edwards studies. What excites me about this is that it accomplishes what few (if any) have: an introduction to major themes in Edwards thought that is usable for the classroom.

Discipline Yourselves for Godliness

Consider the following cautionary tale,

A man and his family go to church. Everything seems right this day. The sun is out, the parking attendants are friendly, and the family is 15 minutes early. Upon entering the sanctuary, the man glances up at the luminous stained glass, and his thoughts drift heavenward. Those present seem peculiarly friendly. People he's never met introduce themselves, ask him thoughtful questions, and listen intently to his answers. Gradually, the family meanders through the crowd to their respective seats, and worship begins. The choir soars to new sonorous heights, and as the voices of the congregants meet those of the choir, it's as if the heavenly cloud of witnesses has joined in too. The man begins to weep, enraptured by the mellifluous sounds. Once the singing ends, the choir and worship team quickly exit the stage, and the senior pastor solemnly approaches the pulpit. He is to deliver a sermon entitled, "The Holiness of God." His tone and elocution are flawless, his exegesis immaculate, and his personal illustrations are ever so illustrative. His preaching is replete with theological profundity, practical relevance, and white-hot zeal. Those gathered cling to the edge of their seats, and a collective sense of wonder lingers in the room. Upon finishing the sermon, dozens of people line up to speak with the pastor. The man and his family proceed to the fellowship hall. Once again, warm and friendly faces greet them. Joy and gratitude fill the family members. They have never been so thankful for their church.


And then...

they go home. The man instantly gets in a fight with his wife over something utterly inane, ignores his kids, and then assuages his guilt by going down to the den, locking the door, and perusing through some of his favorite porn sites for a couple of hours.

What has happened? The man attends a fantastic church. The worship is Christ-exalting, the preaching is expositional and practical, and the members are outgoing and genuinely concerned with each other's well-being. Why is this man not growing?

My dad's sermon this past week answers this question. He preached on how we change out of 1 Tim 4:7-8;

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Information and inspiration are not enough to change us. Yes, we need to be in the Bible, and yes, our hearts need to be in the right place. However, while these are necessary conditions for growth, they aren't sufficient conditions. That's why the Bible says things like this, and this. We are creatures of habit, and if we don't cultivate new habits, we won't grow. We are new creations in old bodies, and said bodies have a lot of old habits that take time to work through.

It takes hard training to become godly. Yes it's done in the power of the Spirit, yes it's done with lots of prayer, yes it's done with the realization that apart from Christ we can do nothing, but it's still done. And it's hard work. The grace of God in Paul labors (1 Cor 15:10). Knowing Paul, I'm guessing that doesn't mean he lounged around trying to "let go" while the Spirit labored within him.

Read This, Even if You Don't Care about Sports

If you don't read Rick Reilly, shame on you.

I've already told you once: whether or not you have any interest in sports, you need to be reading his column on ESPN.com.

Sadly as of yet I don't see a way to subscribe to only his column (which is bi-weekly) via RSS. In the mean time, do as I do and occasionally check back at ESPN.com and see if he's got anything new (it's on the front page). Also, if you ever at the dentist's office and you see a 5-year-old Sports Illustrated lying around, pick it up and turn to the back page. He wrote for them for a long time.

The current piece is on the pro athlete's responsibility to be a role model, highlighting John Elway's unwavering willingness to do so.

I tried to find an excerpt, but you need to read the whole story for any of it to make sense. Go do it- it's encouraging when we're so used to A-Rod-esque downfalls.