A Firm Nail
SteelerDirtFreak :: 21st Century Missional Redneck Geek (title really says it all)
21st Century Reformation
3:17
A Cognizant Discourse

Thanks to those of you who replied about the (Emergent) Christian Writers Needed. While my earlier post pays $, there is a local (San Diego) magazine called the Paper Lion that seeks writers to submit their work.

I am looking for articles that may inspire young Christian people to look for or search out this type of activity on a Friday or Saturday night. I am looking for good Christian articles for believers and non-believers. Articles that will get people to look for Jesus, if you will. Fictional stories that will make the readers think; “What am I doing for God?”" Where am I going when I die?”

Like I said, no earthly pay on this one, but if you’d like to get your work published, it is a good start….

Our church continues to focus on examing what exactly it means to be participants in the Kingdom of God. Part of it, is certainly a worldwide focus on evangelism and the concerns of the universal church. I recall one recent Sheep article I did, the quote was given to me that 96% of money given in American churches, is used for American church buildings, salaries, etc. Certainly this is not the model and call we receive from scripture, where it was common for money/resources to be given generously for impoverished/suffering people.

This week’s World Magazine reminded me, why American’s must wake from our self-centerdness. The cost of being a Christian in much of the world is severe. We need to help them as we have been put in a position of financial blessings (at the cost of spiritual focus?). Here is an excerpt from the article, Arrest First, ask questions later (requires free subscription):

The South China Church is the most severely persecuted house church in the country, said Mr. Fu. The main reason, he said, is the churches’ “strong emphasis on evangelism and cultural renewal, and of course a very strong leadership.”

In 2001, authorities arrested founding pastor Gong Shengliang. They initially handed death sentences to him and four other church leaders, but later commuted them. Mr. Gong is now serving a life sentence and reportedly suffers physical abuse in prison. Four female church members served three years in re-education camps for recanting forced statements saying Mr. Gong had raped them.

One of the women, 34-year-old Liu Xianzhi, spent six years altogether in a camp, her first stint ordered for illegally evangelizing. She made rugs and Christmas lights before her release in February 2004. A year later, she escaped to the United States and spoke tearfully at a Washington press conference about the torture used against her to extract a confession against Mr. Gong. Officers beat her with an electrical rod, hung her by her hair until she lost consciousness, and tore her clothes off.

I have work for some writers who have been published on (at least) sites like Relevant, theOoze, NextWave, etc. and have a established blog presence.

Post your blog in a comment below for me to check out.

Ok people. Which ones of you have book ideas that you’d like to pitch? I’m going to be meeting with the Editor, 2 Division heads (emerging, christian living) and a couple others for dinner on September 9th. If you have a good book idea throw it past me.

Miller’s new book is up and shipping at the Burnside Writer’s Collective site:

Fueled by the belief that something better exists than the mundane life they’ve been living, free spirits Don and Paul set off on an adventure-filled road trip in search of deeper meaning, beauty, and an explanation for life. Many young men dream of such a trip, but few are brave enough to actually attempt it. Fewer still have the writing skills of Donald Miller, who records the trip with wide-eyed honesty in achingly beautiful prose. In this completely revised edition, he discusses everything from the nature of friendship, the reason for pain, and the origins of beauty.

As they travel from Texas to Oregon in Paul’s cantankerous Volkswagen van, the two friends encounter a variety of fascinating people, witness the fullness of nature’s splendor, and learn unexpected lessons about themselves, each other, and even God.

Book: Through Painted Deserts

Among the Gently Mad
Ochuk’s Blog (Interesting article of an open theist who became a calvinist.)
Queen City Mission

The Resolved Church has received a bunch of unwanted response from Christians who took issue with the SD Reader article I wrote about them. (Sheep & Goats June 23, 2005) In the article, Pastor Bragg said, “Beer is one of our core values.” Subsequent discussion has flared up in numerous sources:

World Magazine (100+ comments and counting)
Sharper Iron Forum (11 pages and counting)

Pastor Bragg writes an article to defend the criticism:

i feel as if i must defend and clarify a certain element of the resolved, and comments made by myself concerning who we are and what we do. if you have checked out the press section of this website, you have seen that there has been quite a bit of discussion from people about the infamous comment i made in the sd reader article: “beer is one of our core values.” for those of you outside of the church world, within the realm of “churchspeak,” core values seen as a necessity for all churches to establish in order to be successful. it is as if you have to have the clever and profound media-savvy, commercial-esque snips of information that define who you are as a church and how you do ministry. i don’t know if that definition is even accurate, because i don’t even really know what core values really are. i don’t think anyone really knows anymore. scholars maintain that the definition was lost somewhere in the 19th century (that is completely false, and a faint tribute to “anchorman: the legend of ron burgundy.”) frankly i am not much of a fan of the term. it seems to me that the church has been sucked into this trap of operating like a business, and we have to promote our faith in a tidy powerpoint-like presentation for people to buy whatever it is that we are selling. it’s straight pragmatism and it isn’t found in the good ole’ bible. well i don’t like the idea of marketing the gospel for anything. and i don’t think that the church operates in a bullet-point system. i think it’s messy, and in many ways, indefinable. i can’t coerce the nature of what the church is into well-packaged little fortune cookie statements that will appeal to the masses and make them want to come to church. when i said that beer is one of our core values, i was using seditious and provocative language to refute the idea that the resolved operates under a business mindset that prints core values and purpose statements over all of its literature and propogates the program of the church over the content we are attempting to communicate. the reality is that the gospel is our only core value. we treasure and love it above all other things. saying that beer is one of our core values is as accurate as saying cut-off jean shorts or cherry slurpees at 7-11 are our core values. we just don’t buy into the whole church as a business thing. church is a family and a community. church is the kingdom of God on earth, the living testimony to the world. yes, we like to drink beer, but no, we are not alcoholics and we don’t get drunk in order to preach better sermons or to make people think christianity is cool. we just don’t believe that we should refrain from enjoying something that God has granted us freedom to partake of, regardless of the tradition of the american church, which has avoided the issue entirely out of fear of making a mistake or being misunderstood. i don’t think we are revolutionaries in this, and i don’t think that it is a big deal. drew, the author of the article in the sd reader, did what any good writer would do, and used the comment as an attention grabber, which it most certainly was. but please, do not think that we are all about alcohol, and don’t judge the resolved on a single article written about us. when it comes down to it, if you come to a resolved service, you are going to be confronted with the gospel. it makes us uncomfortable, because it is offensive, but it gives us great comfort because it is our only hope in this world. all that being said, i have a terrible propensity towards sarcasm, and i have learned that sarcasm isn’t always best communicated in the black and white of printed media. so i will save my humor (which i find quite hilarious) for live audiences, and attempt to communicate in a serious and solemn, humorless fashion from now on (that was sarcasm). if this topic is of any interest to you (alcohol and the church), check out “drinking with calvin and luther,” by jim west. it is a good read and well worth your time. that is it for now kids, now go finish your homework before dinner, because homework is definitely a core value.

Michael J. Moore | EP
Reformissionary
Joe Thorn

Schaeffer is one of my heroes. Great article about his experience reaching the lost, proclaiming the gospel and founding a loving, missional community at L’Abri.

But L’Abri had its genesis in a spiritual crisis that engulfed Schaeffer in 1950-1951. Depressed by church politics and power struggles, Schaeffer wrestled with the question: “How could people stand for truth and purity and God’s holiness without ugliness and harshness?” He became dissatisfied, too, with his own failures to live out the faith as the Bible describes it, according to Mr. Barrs.

Schaeffer felt these problems so deeply that he began to question whether Christianity, if it has so little effect, could be true. Once again, as he did when he was 17, he plunged into Bible reading in search of answers. He found them, becoming convinced that not only salvation but sanctification and the whole of the Christian’s life are by faith. “The sun came out again,” he said, and he found “a new song in my heart.”

Now, in addition to holding Bible studies in the Schaeffer home and working with children, the Schaeffers began discussion groups for their teenage daughters and friends to hear their questions and to tell about the Bible’s answers.

On June 5, 1955, the Schaeffers drew up a plan to turn their home into a place where people could come to work out their problems and to practice “true spirituality.” Without finances and with no assurance that they would be allowed to stay in Switzerland, the Schaeffers purchased property in Huemoz, a rural village high in the mountains with a spectacular view of the Alps.

Ranald Macaulay, a student at Cambridge who became involved with the Schaeffers in the early days (and later married their daughter Susan), said the founding of L’Abri was consistent with its organizing principle: to live in constant dependence on the grace of God. At a March 11-13 Jubilee for L’Abri Fellowship at the America’s Center in St. Louis, Mr. Macaulay said the Schaeffers resolved to do no advertising for workers, no marketing to attract newcomers, no fundraising, and no planning—principles in stark contrast to most other ministries.

The Schaeffers saw L’Abri as a unique experiment—they did not necessarily recommend this radical dependence on God’s providence as a pattern for other ministries—but the needs always were met. Concerned with reaching individuals, the Schaeffers were content with small numbers. Over time, however, the effect of their work multiplied. Over 1,000 L’Abri alumni attended the jubilee celebration, an event that was equal parts conference and family reunion.

Full Article: Schaeffer: Taking the roof off

I think I forgot to mention the Burnside Writers Collective store is now opened. The first 200 orders of Miller’s books get an autographed copy. Don’t give your money to Amazon, help support the BWC group.

Last week I spent 4 days in Portland. I enjoyed a morning with Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz) discussing some of the projects he is working on. Exciting stuff will be coming from him (in the form of books, the Burnside Collective and even radio?…)

I met with Rick McKinley at a pub and I am really excited about McKinley’s next book unfortunately he may push back it’s release 6-months. The book will bring a lot of the work he has done on the Kingdom of God and how that pratically applies to a local church and their ministry. Imago Dei is doing so many ‘Kingdom’ minded things that other churches need to take a look at and learn from. [The more I think about the emergent movement the more I hope churches emerge toward a Kingdom view (versus programatic/fiefdom) of church.]

We’ll it didn’t take long, the Pope cleared any confusion with recent announcements:

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in his first clear pronouncement on gay marriages since his election, on Monday condemned same-sex unions as fake and expressions of “anarchic freedom” that threatened the future of the family.

The Pope, who was elected in April, also condemned divorce, artificial birth control, trial marriages and free-style unions, saying all of these practices were dangerous for the family.

My article was published on The Ooze and Next-Wave with discussions. I was curious how people would react to me saying it was sin to watch this, and now I know:

Ooze discussion
Next-Wave Discussion

‘Sin City’ was how I felt one-quarter of the way through this film. I hadn’t heard much about the film, other than watching a couple trailers. I had hoped it was going to be Kill Bill meets The Punisher (from the comic book, not the bad movie flop.) Instead, I was taken on a ride that easily lived up to the films name.

The movie takes place in a dark, rainy place called Sin City. The film is an adaptation from Frank Millers comic books (graphic novels is what they call them in the credits) and it follows three interconnecting stories. The list of stars is A list material with Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro and down from there to Mickey Rourke and others.

Cannibalism, decapitation, molestation, prostitution, murder, abuse, drunkenness, debauchery and just about every other sin you can think of was packed in this 124-minute wicked-fest. Now I understand this is what we should expect from a culture that has flipped God the middle finger, while we live in our sin-drenched lives where people no longer fear God. But even with that understanding, I have to confess there was a time I realized this film had gone too far and I needed to leave the theater. Well, I didn’t and at the end of the film I felt miserable.

Swirling in the graphic blood-soaked scenes was a moral message straight from hell. Good was bad, bad was good, justice was perverse, the Church corrupt (the local Cardinal sanctioned and participated in the kidnapping of prostitutes, next they are decapitated and then finally they eat their flesh), cops were on the bad guys payroll and the good guys were the murderers. This movie has so twisted the designs of God, I could only imagine the liberty it offers viewers who now have a new low of humanity to look at with pride and say, “Well I’m not as bad as…”

The primary motivation to write this review is to recommend that you not see this film. In our desire to be ‘culturally relevant’ often we do this knowing we enter into a world of sinners, but you don’t need to see this film to learn about the wicked world we live in.