Kevin Ezell

Today was day one of the SBC Pastor’s Conference. Kevin Ezell is the Conference President and he has put together a top notch preaching line up. The theme this year “Greater Things.”

Tonight we heard from David Uth, pastor of FBC Orlando, Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellvue Baptist in Memphis, Ravi Zacharias, and Tony Evans, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas.

My personal favorite tonight was Ravi Zacharias who spoke on the life of Joseph, who considered to be “a man of all seasons.”

A commend the conference to you. You can listen to the conference live here.

There are also a couple of things worth noting.
1) There is a lot of talk about the recommendations of the GCRTF which will be voted on when the Convention convenes. You can read the recommendations here.
2) Tom Ascol in a tweet said that he has observed more younger messengers at this years conventions than that in years past.

That’s all for right now.

One more thing…

We're official

“DETROIT — From the sandy shores of Lake Michigan to the rugged streets in Flint, they listened to Ernie Harwell tell the Detroit Tigers‘ tales for more than 40 years.” So begins ESPN’s announcement; Tuesday, May 4, 2010 long time Detroit Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell past away. Harwell was 92 years old when he lost his battle to cancer. Ernie called Tigers games for 42 years, and Governor Jennifer Granholm said in a tweet today that he was “the voice of summer in Michigan.” Here is Harwell’s statement from a special event held for him after his retirement, at Comerica Park.

“In my almost 92 years on this earth, the good lord has blessed me with a great journey,” Harwell said at a microphone behind home plate. “The blessed part of that journey is that it’s going to end here in the great state of Michigan.”

There will be a special viewing at Comerica Park starting Thursday at 7am, until the last person who wants to pay their respects does. Harwell will be missed by the great state of Michigan, and the sports community as well.

Full ESPN article

“There had never, ever been a country music artist who had acknowledged his or her homosexuality,” she tells PEOPLE. “I wasn’t going to be the first.”

With this announcement on the heels of the Jennifer Knapp story, many questions come to mind. While Rock & Roll and Pop music have been friendly with the gay community for sometime (Queen, David Bowie, George Michael etc.), both the Contemporary Christian and Country music scenes have sung a different tune. There has historically been more of a taboo towards homosexuality in these cultures. Something is changing with the candor of these two musicians. I don’t know if it is the music business, these genres in particular, or contemporary American culture. Either way, the closet door has been opened for musicians in these realms and it will be interesting to see who enters in, or “comes out.”

Full Post on PEOPLE.com

Recently Tim Burton’s sequel to Alice and Wonderland hit theaters.  Despite my first thoughts of not wanting to see it, I did.  As expected the movie was very strange.  Alice, now a teenager, who is portrayed as a little “mad” travels back to Wonderland for the second time where everyone she encounters also seems to be a little mad.  Despite the sometimes-awkward conversations and weird characters, there was one thing that continued to jump out at me.

In a lot of ways the movie reminded me of C.S Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia.”   It has the same idea of another world where animals talk and humans come from a foreign world.  Just like in “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”, this movie takes place as the evil red queen has taken over Wonderland from her sister the good White queen.  The thing that jumped out at me was the very clear cut distinction between good and evil. The red queen is feared and seeks only her own glory and power while the old white queen is humble and has vowed to never hurt any creature.  (Spoiler alert) As the movie makes its way to its final scene, we find both queens with their armies ready to fight for the throne.  Then the unexpected happens.  Each queen sends one “Champion” out to fight on behalf of the entire army, winner take all.  Immediately the story of David and Goliath came to my mind.  Alice fights with a very old and powerful sword for the White Queen against the Red Queen’s greatly feared dragon.  Before the battle begins, the talking dragon addressed the special sword as “his ancient foe”.  At first this looks like cosmic dualism, two forces that have battled for centuries without one being stronger than the other.  However, in the next scene Alice and the sword defeat the dragon for good.  As soon as this happens, total victory is given to the White Queen, and almost immediately all of creation is put back in its rightful place.  The red army drops their weapons and surrenders to the queenship of the White.  The Queen then announces judgment on her very own sister the Red Queen for her evil deeds.

This film is not one trying to communicate the ideas of Christianity, but I think we can view it in light of what we as Christians know to be true. First the obvious connection one could make is Jesus defeating his enemies on the cross and restoring creation.  However, it may be more significant as it shows how even non-believers know the difference between good and evil.  The world is longing for wrongs to be made right and will not stand for injustice.  We live in a world where evil is a reality, where crimes go unpunished, and sometimes-evil rulers rise to power.  Christianity offers the answers to these problems.  It says that the true King is coming, and he will set all wrongs right and will take evil rulers from there thrones.  The world is craving for this to come true but for some reason they don’t want Jesus to be the one to set things right.

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What do Glenn Beck and Paige Patterson have in common?  They are both delivering commencement addresses at Liberty University.  It is interesting how Glenn Beck has become to the darling of conservative evangelicals.

From Christianity Today,

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck will deliver the commencement address at Liberty University’s May 15 graduation.
“Beck is one of the few courageous voices in the national media standing up for the principles upon which this nation was founded,” Jerry Falwell Jr., chancellor of Liberty University, said in the school newspaper’s story.
The baccalaureate address will be delivered by Paige Patterson, president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, whom Falwell called one of the “patriarchs of Christian higher education.”
“Both speakers continue Liberty’s long tradition of commencement speakers who are making a positive impact on society in all walks of life,” he said.

Knapp was persistent in claiming that pastors had no right to criticize her or use her in sermons. She said this is something that should be dealt with on her journey, with her faith community. Anyone who missed it should check out CNN or hulu and let us know what you think.

Larry King Live Blog

Dr. Albert Mohler –  ”Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It?”

Here are Jonathan’s Reflections

After eating a number of slices from Giordano’s Pizza, I found myself wondering why I was attending this year’s Wheaton Theology Conference.  I would be surrounded by theology and bible geeks (some of them very pretty), who were light years ahead of me.  I probably wouldn’t understand most of the content presented during the sessions.  So why choose to go?  I then remembered the conference theme, which was Jesus, Paul and the People of God: A Theological Dialogue with N.T. Wright.  This was why I attended.  Not just because of Wright’s awesome voice.  I wanted to see a dialogue happen.  Much to my delight, it did happen.  This was not an N.T. Wright pep rally, as some may interpret it from the conference theme alone.  Each speaker pointed out strengths, but also pointed out possible weaknesses, as seen from their perspective, in Wright’s biblical studies and theology.  In his responses during the panel discussions, Wright showed what it truly means to be a scholar among fellow scholars at points of disagreement.  He handled their critique and questions well, and he never got defensive.  The others speakers were also likeminded in their responses as well.  In the end, even though disagreements remained to some extent, he and his fellow panelists could laugh together, and joke about how they should probably go deeper into dialogue over some beer and/or wine.

The sessions with N.T. Wright himself were a real blessing.   His papers on Jesus and Paul were spectacular, ultimately making one want to love Jesus more, and appreciate the big picture when reading Scripture.  You could sense his pastoral care in the words he spoke, showing that he not only cared deeply about what he was talking about, but also cared deeply for the people of God, especially in his plea for everyone to go out and be the people of God in a hurting world in light of a strong picture of Christ and a strong appreciation of the big picture in Scripture.  And if anyone wants to listen to what is probably the best 15-20 minute message on Ephesians, listen to his chapel message at Wheaton.  It will not disappoint.

Now, are these reflections a kind of post-conference pep rally for N.T. Wright?  Maybe.  I do hold a deep respect for him, and not just because of his rigorous scholarship, clarity in communication, and pastoral heart.  Going back to what I said above, the fact that he was willing to come to the conference for fruitful dialogue with other scholars deserves applause.  However, Brady Martin reminded me of a particular danger, which I wholeheartedly agree with.  I hope that people do not simply accept everything Wright says on the basis of his personality.  The lens with which we view those whom we admire are always out of focus.  We should critically examine his writings and things that he has said.  To not ask tough questions is to dishonor his work, as Brian Walsh pointed out in his presentation with Sylvia Keesmaat.  An opposite danger I also want to point out, and close with, is the danger of outright dismissal of N.T. Wright, for which there is no justification.  In this case, you have no lens, and can’t see jack.  In an exercise of self restraint, for this post is already too long, I will only say that I hope people who are wary of certain views that Wright holds will still be quick to listen to, and slow to speak at, N.T. Wright.  No one wants to be in dialogue with anyone who has the attitude of “I cannot hear you because of what I expect you to say.”

Here are the lectures from the conference.

Christianity Today interviewed Adam Young of Owl City, Tuesday. You may know the catchy tune “fireflies” they put out.  Owl City sounds alot like The Postal Service, which, if you have the musical taste that I do, then that’s a good thing. In the interview they discuss an upcoming album, touring, stage dynamics and of course, Christianity. Check out the interview and also, their music.

Here is an excerpt from the interview,

Q. Do you want to be thought of as a “Christian musician”?

A.  It’s up to you, honestly. It’s not my place say what people should think of me as. Actions should speak for that. I follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly, so any definition that arises from that fact is all right with me. The same goes for Owl City. I am a Christian in a band. Is it a Christian band then? That’s up to those who ask that question.

Here is the CT Interview w/ Owl City

p.s. Happy Earth Day

In concert with Chris’ recent post on LOST, I was listening to the Paul Edwards Show today and he had as his guest Chris Seay, Pastor at Ecclesia Church in Houston. Seay’s new book is called The Gospel According to LOST, and in it he addresses alot of the theological and philosophical undertones that the show is ever so famous for. Seay says that he hopes the book opens up evangelistic opportunities for believers to connect with lost LOST fans. Check out the book, and the radio show for further details.

God & Culture Podcast

The author introduces the book with a quote from Francis Schaeffer,

“Christianity is not a series of truths in the plural, but rather truth spelled with a capital ‘T.’ Truth about total reality, not just religious things. Biblical Christianity is Truth concerning total reality – and the intellectual holding of that total Truth and then living in light of that Truth.”

This is the tone that is set for the readers. Pearcey explains the dichotomy that has been established in our culture, separating the public and private spheres, separating facts from values. Christianity, religion and morals have been placed in the private/values camp, which is treated as subjective, while science and reason have been placed in the public/facts arena. They are treated as objective. Children are being lost in this fray, taught that God, church and religion are “heart” issues and that science, evolution and cognitive reasoning are “brain” issues.

Pearcey submits that worldview training is not merely an academic exercise, but one that all Christians should endeavor to do; to, “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). The author identifies that all persons have a worldview that is filtered through the paradigm of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. All people worship some sort of god, whether it is the God of the Bible, or another supplementary deity. As a current student of theology at Boyce College, and hopefully a lifetime learner, I am excited to begin this journey with Pearcey. It is my hope to have feed back as well from those who have read, are reading or might consider reading.