GroshLink

Thank-you to the Facebook friend who introduced me to Chris Smith of The Englewood Review of Books via Facebook! This morning I downloaded Chris' excellent piece Growing Deeper in Our Church Communities, thanks to a link I saw while reading Fighting despair in 2010 (an superb challenge to cynicism). Let me encourage you to check out both of these links and pass them along to brothers and sisters in Christ ;-)

At one time, James Cameron's creations spurred me to dream of engaging in conflicts in our world and those beyond.  But Avatar spurs no such interest in me. 

Why?  It's been a slow process, but I think that The Lord of the Rings wore me out of watching such material on screen and my growing desire to engage those whom God has placed around me has given me glimpses of a much different new heaven/new earth toward which I journey as part of the people of God.  Yes, there is conflict and transformation, but films such as Avatar are not good analogies to what one finds in the Biblical story (Note:  The Lord of the Rings is a better analogy and much better dialogue) and a growing family does not afford me the time to watch/critique every new show in town.  

PS. Reviews which you may find of interest:   Christianity Today (Todd Hertz, December 17, 2009.  Note: Considering what Hertz shares about the political and spiritual points of the film, I think his review is too positive), A New Eden, Both Cosmic and Cinematic (Manohla Dargis, NY Times, December 18, 2009), Otherworldly "Avatar" Familiar in the Worst Way (Christian Hamaker, Crosswalk.com, December 18, 2009). If you've seen Avatar, I would love to have your thoughts on the film.

PPS.  Today I read the second volume of G.P. Taylor's Doppleganger Chronicles.  Shhh. ... I'll be sharing it with the family on Christmas morning.

Updated 12/18/2009, 9:03 pm.

The Inquiring Nuns (1968) ask people on the street, inside/outside Roman Catholic churches, and in museums around Chicago, "Are you happy? ... What makes you happy? ... What makes you unhappy? ... Why?" 

Last night while watching The Inquiring Nuns with Theresa, I was reminded how asking good questions, listening, and probing further guides conversation even with people you don't know (or don't know very well). That's central to campus appointments, outreach tables (where I've done similar interview through the years), small group Bible studies, web/email interactions, etc.  What a joy to have the opportunity to not just cold call, but have many opportunities to return to conversation with faculty, researches, students, etc AND pick-up where we left off.  Pray for the Spirit and the Word to enable me to grow in asking good questions, listening and discerning how to share helpful next steps with those whom I minister. 

PS.  Interested in more from The Inquiring Nuns (1968)?  Here's an Interview with a "contemporary" man and a blogger review.

Update: If Theresa and I were interviewing people, we'd prefer to explore contentment or satisfaction instead of happiness.  Harder to ask as simple a question.  Maybe, "How do you find contentment/satisfaction?  Would you describe yourself as contented/satisfied at this time?"  Hmm. ... this would lead to a much different interaction, "Are you happy?" enables a circumstantial, entry door to conversation.  Anyone with thoughts on the topic?

In Waiting for Jesus to Show Up, I mention the encouragement I received from G.P. Taylor's Shadowmancer (Note: CT Author interview).  More later. ...  For today, let me add that Hayley loves Taylor's Doppleganger Chronicles. Yes, here's one case of a reluctant reader spurred on by illustra-novella (i.e., mixture of prose, comic sequentials, and graphic illustrations). I'm hoping to check out the 2nd volume shortly, but that requires a run to Quarryville (i.e., the only Lancaster County library w/this September 2009 release in stock).  I think it's worth it for both of us, as we read a fair amount of it together and well-written children's books deal with major life themes in such a helpful manner ;-) 

In the mean time, Hayley's reading the 1st volume again. Amazing!  Anyone else reading the Doppleganger Chronicles?  More of my thoughts on the author, his books, and their impact in our household coming. ...

Don't miss the FREE audiobook download of InterVarsity alum Gary Haugen's Just Courage (InterVarsity Press, 2008) at Christianaudio.com!

Note: Gary A. Haugen is president and CEO of International Justice Mission (IJM), a human rights organization based in Washington, D.C. Prior to founding IJM, he worked in the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice and was director of the United Nations genocide investigation in Rwanda.  He is also the author of Good News About Injustice (InterVarsity Press, 1999), available in paper and audio.

As a border-line introvert/extrovert involved as a leader and in leadership development, not to mention married to an introvert who has served in a variety of leadership roles, I'm quite interested in the soon to be released Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture (Adam McHugh, InterVarsity Press, November 2009). If you are too, check out the free on-line PDF of Chapter 1, click here.

Note:  Excellent author interview at Adam McHugh on 'Introverts in the Church'. Here's a sample of the Q&A.

What are some of the benefits that introverts can bring to the ministry?

“Through my diverse experiences as a church pastor, hospice chaplain, and college campus minister, I have become thoroughly convinced that introverts bring tremendous gifts to ministry. Perhaps the most profound of those gifts is our ability to listen. People in our culture so rarely have the experience of being truly listened to – having not only their words and thoughts but also their feelings taken seriously and reflected back to them.  Because introverts process internally, instead of talking in order to understand, we are natural listeners and we also offer a non-judgmental posture which helps others open up to us. I think that we can become a contemplative presence in whatever setting we are in – listening for what’s underneath the words being said and also paying attention to the movements of the Holy Spirit, gently guiding others to hear God’s voice in their lives and in the community.”

HT to Greg Veltman for this excellent ad.  Let Lord Byron's (1788-1824) poetry into the mix of the 21st Century stage.  Much to be found at BBC's Poetry Section.  Enjoy.

As you may know, this week’s Emerging Scholar's Week in Review is up, click here. In case you haven't checked it out, I'd encourage you to watch Stephen Colbert's interview of Matthew Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work. HT to Derek Melleby's Shop Class as Soulcraft for drawing my attention to this piece.

Note: For the original New Atlantis essay of the same title and various links related to the author/book click here. In the ESN Week in Review I ask,

Alongside being a member of the knowledge making community, do you have skilled, manual competence (in some form)? Do you at times enjoy, even relish, the cognitive demands of manual, blue-collar work? What are your thoughts regarding whether academic labor is understood and/or accepted in our wider culture?

In case you haven't heard Obama has tapped Francis Collins for directing the National Institute of Health (NIH). Time for the hearings ;-) As I've posted on the Emerging Scholars Network Blog, the NPR piece lays his credentials, faith, and embracing of the two out in the open. I wonder how many hits there will be to BioLogos (which the NPR article links to) over the course of the next several days? Looking for a summer read for beach? Well if you haven't picked up Collins’ The Language of God, now is the time (or at least catch the NPR interview) so you can talk about it with your family, neighbors, and colleagues ;-)  

You may remember, I have a number of posts on Francis Collins.  They can be found at More Language of God.  And if you have lots of time in the car, don't forget to download Collins' presentation on Science as Worship (introduced by Kathy Tuan-MacLean) at Following Christ 08 (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Graduate & Faculty Ministry Conference). Duration: 56:26.

Do you have a testimony to or suggestion regarding:

the best manner for framing our inescapable duty both to think and to act upon what we think?

In Your Mind Matters, John Stott walks his reader through the great doctrines of creation, revelation, redemption, and judgment (p.22). Any responses to this paradigm?  Note:  Join the converation on Why Use Our Minds? at the ESN blog. 

On Sunday, April 19, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Graduate & Faculty Ministry in Central PA partnered with Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ in exploring Culture Making and launching the Central PA Christian Scholars Network.  Below are links to audio files from two of Crouch's presentations.  Comments (including criticisms/misgivings) and reflections on Culture Making are welcome, particularly since I'm writing a review on Culture Making for Brethren in Christ History & Life. 

From the Garden to the City (Sermon)

Culture Making (Sunday School)

C.S. Lewis comments in the Preface to the 1961 edition of The Screwtape Letters:

If you gauged the amount of Bible reading in England by the number of Bibles sold, you would go far astray.  Sales of The Screwtape Letters, in their own little way, suffer from a similar ambiguity. … It is even, as I have noticed with a chastened smile, the sort that gravitates towards spare bedrooms. … -- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, NY: New York, Touchstone, 1996, 1961 original edition, p.5).

What book from the Christian scene would you place a similar seat of honor?  Today, would it be Christian Classics given as gifts or purchased as must haves for a Christian library, such as Augustine's Confessions, Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presense of God, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Hannah Hurnard's Hinds' Feet in High Places, J.I. Packer's Knowing God, Martyrs Mirror, Pilgrim's Progress, Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline?  OR do we only purchase books and keep books we intend to read (to address particular concerns or as part of discussion groups)?  Or do we not have a culture which leaves Christian books lying around?

Last week I had a brief conversation regarding the danger of peacemaking (and more broadly social action or global citizenship) becoming the end of our faith instead of our relationship with God as part of the people of God (i.e., the Church through time and space) rejoicing in the Victory of God lived out in the present and recieving full consummation in New Heavens and the New Earth.  Below's a quote from C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters in which a middle management demon counsels his mentee Wormwood on temptation in relationship to this very concern:

Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing.  Provided that meetings, pamphlets, policies, movements, causes, and crusades, matter more to him than prayers and sacraments and charity, he is ours – and the more “religious” (on those terms), the more securely ours.  I could show you a pretty cageful down here -- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, NY:  New York,  Touchstone, 1996, 1961 original edition, Letter IV, p.39.

As you may remember, C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters has been on my mind for quite some time (The Broken Heart, Demons on the web, Halloween/Harvest Party?, Temptations come and go).  Currently, I'm in the process of writing a book review.  Below's a quote on prayer which came to my attention and I couldn't shake it.  So I pass it along to you.  More quotes coming.  

The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. ... If this fails, you must fall back on a subler misdirection of his intention. ... Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings there by the action of their own wills. ... Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feelings and never let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment.  

But of course the Enemy will not meantime be idle.  Whenever there is prayer, there is danger of His own immediate action.  He is cynically indifferent to the dignity to the dignity of His position, and ours, as pure spirits, and to human animals on their knees He pours out self knowledge in a quite shameless fashion. ... In avoiding this situation – this real nakedness of the soul in prayer – you will be helped by the fact that the humans themselves do not desire it as much as they suppose. There’s such a thing as getting more than they bargained for! (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, NY:  New York,  Touchstone, 1996, 1961 original edition, Letter IV, p.30)

How about The Watchmen?  With the film receiving so much press, I had to check out the graphic novel.*  What is interesting about The Watchmen, and receives exploration in the essay Taking Off the Mask: Invocation and Formal Presentation of the Superhero Comic in Moore and Gibbons’ Watchmen, is the irony of vigilante superheros.  From where does our salvation come?  Who can be trusted to set things aright in our difficult age, or any age for that matter?

In stark contrast to how The Watchmen resolve the problems of the world (in case you're not familiar with their decisions, I won't spoil the story for you), we find Jesus the Christ giving his life as a ransom for many and calling His people to love God, neighbor, self, and creation.  Gregory Nazianzen writes,

Many indeed are the wonderous happenings of that time:  God hanging from a cross, the sun made dark and again flaming out; for it was fitting that creation should mourn with its creator.  The temple veil rent, blood and water flowing from his side: the one as from a man, the other as from what was above man; the earth shaken, the rocks shattered because of the rock; the dead risen to bear witness to the final and universal resurrection of the dead.  The happenings at the sepulcher and after the sepulcher, who can fittingly recount them?  Yet no one of them can be compared to the miracle of salvation.  A few drops of blood renew the whole world, and do for all men what the rennet does for the milk:  joining us and binding us. -- Gregory Nazianzen, On the Holy Pasch, Oration 45.1, taken from The Ancient Christian Commentary on Mark, edited by Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall.

Greeting:  Christ is risen!

Response: Christ is risen indeed!

Let us eagerly anticipate the new heavens and the new earth and follow God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Last night a friend shared his mutual interest in film.  This morning I continued the conversation by forwarding Groshlink's two most relevant threads, Speculative Literature/Arts and Reviews and Cliff Notes, along w/the post which I share most often when discussing film, In Search of Good Film Nine Signposts.

In the mail box this morning I received the March/April Edition of Books & Culture.  And what did I find? Two excellent articles on movies to add to the archive. Below's an excerpt from Roy Anker, professor of English at Calvin College and author of Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies (Eerdmans):

So, Is the Narnia Franchise Dead -- at least the most recent attempt? As Disney is now all about the money and whatever it takes to get it, even the violence, I'm not so disappointed about a possible new sponsor or resting the series at Prince Caspian. Due to the LOTR-like battles, I was reticient to watch The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe with my twins even when they were eight and I'm not sure when we'll watch Prince Caspian. ... Maybe the fact that Prince Caspian doesn't sit on the shelf of a strong Lewis and Narnia fan helps explain the lower DVD sales (although I'm sure I'll eventually get a copy).  W/regard to our younger daughters, we'll return to the BBC version alongside reading the books as they kindle our imagination and spirit.  

Now if I take a step back and think about engaging culture on a adult level, there are still glimpses of the Gospel in the most recent series which provide opportunities for conversation and a blessing to the larger culture.  When I watched and discussed the films with friends, students, and family there was exciting dialogue about the original purpose and direction of Lewis' writing as a follower of Christ (note:  it was fun to contrast Lewis with Tolkien on their view of writing fiction).  From that perspective, press on but let's be wary about all the marketing to children!

Earlier posts include:

On the Possibility of Miracles
Prince Caspian goes to the Big Screen
Narnia Spoiler

Good to see Byron's highlighting Sufjan Stevens Christmas Songs. I ordered my copy through him last year and as last year, Christmas songs rings through our house (and they'll return as part of the Christmas tradition next year).

If you haven't had the opportunity to join the chorus, then visit here (and click the pic of the musical note near the top of the page).  Note:  Pitchfork's review still available here.

Book Review by Theresa Grosh*
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

This book is not about jazz music at all! In memoir-style, Miller shares his nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality. For someone like me who was (gratefully) born and raised in the church, I appreciate the fresh insights on Christian living that Miller shares. The author gains many of these insights from his colorful collection of friends including Tony the Beat Poet, Penny who is always right, Andrew the Protester, and his pastor Rick.

In a recent communication from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, I came upon audio files by The Reformation Society of Pittsburgh on The Puritan's View of the Pulpit and The Pilgrim's Progress. I'm placing these presentations on my to listen list. Hope to squeeze them into my travels.

These talks are timely because on Saturday I had an extended conversation w/a grad student who shared with me J.I. Packer's thoughts on the elements of good Puritan preaching.  I've asked for the link to which he was referring, I believe it was an audio file.  BTW, here's a link to Packer's Why We Need the Puritans (from A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life). He concludes:

If you follow Groshlink, but not the Emerging Scholars Blog or Facebook, then you've missed two recent trains of thought which may be of interest.

1. An inquiry to academics: How do you find the time and the focus to write? In this piece I share some of my struggles in writing in the midst of my growing family.

2.  Some thoughts on a today's Closer to Truth which explored Why a Fine-Tuned Universe? and included Messiah College Philosophy Professor Robin Collins among the various interviewees. Be sure to read my comments to the original post regarding the show itself. For those with deeper interest, here's a link to a clip of the interview with Physicist Paul Davies, who follows Collins, and below is a brief video of Dr. Henry Schaeffer III on the Fine Tuning Argument.

As part of the InterVarsity Press (IVP) Staff Advisory Team, I have a little bit of an insider track on future material from IVP. Recently I found out that InterVarsity staff will soon receive copies of Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice.  Note: some of you will remember Rice's IVP classic More Than Equals, co-authored with Spencer Perkins.

Reconciling All Things begins a powerful series entitled Resources for Reconciliation. I hear that the second book in the series, Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness by Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier is AMAZING. As such, I'd encourage readers of the blog to consider taking a look at the material and if you read it before I do, let me know your thoughts. ...  Below is a section from the series introduction, a good word.  By God's grace, may the people of God rooted in the Word and Spirit journey in the direction of re-creation through greater Christ-likeness.  For more, go here.

The series seeks to offer a fresh and distinctive vision for reconciliation as God’s mission and a journey toward God’s new creation in Christ. Each book is authored by two leading voices, one in the field of practice or grassroots experience, the other from the academy. Each book is grounded in the biblical story, engages stories and places of pain and hope, and seeks to help readers to live faithfully — a rich mix of theology, context and practice. This book series was born out of the mission of the Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation: Advancing God’s mission of reconciliation in a divided world by cultivating new leaders, communicating wisdom and hope, and connecting in outreach to strengthen leadership. A divided world needs people with the vision, spiritual maturity and daily skills integral to reconciliation. The church needs fresh resources — a mix of biblical vision, skills in social and historical analysis, and practical gifts of spirituality and social leadership — in order to pursue reconciliation in real places, from congregations to communities.

The ministry of reconciliation is not reserved for experts. It is the core of God’s mission and an everyday call of the Christian life. These books are written to equip and stimulate God’s people to be more faithful ambassadors of reconciliation in a fractured world.

For more information, email the Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation at reconciliation@div.duke.edu, or visit our website.

Good morning!  Who needs coffee when one has Coca-Cola? 

In a recent on-line political conversation, a friend shared the below commercial and I was wondering is this the original I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing?  If not and you know the proper link, please pass it along.  Thank-you.  Note:  At present, this is just curiosity. 

When I spoke at Penn the other night, a student wondered whether I was advocating the Emergent Church Movement. Why? Because of my relationship to InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) and my passing around of The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time. As I've always understood the emerging in ESN as developing (i.e., from undergrad to grad to postdoc to faculty), I had never thought of the association. And I was passing around Tom Sine's book in relationship to a story regarding Randy Pausch's life, one in which he left a lecture by Tom Sine. This led to a brief conversation regarding the Emerging Church.

And this hasn't been my only recent conversation on the topic, so when I came across Scot McKnight's McLaren Emerging: In his last two books, Brian McLaren presents more clearly than ever his vision of the gospel, the article caught my attention and I figured that posting a link to it would be a great idea as McKnight is as close as I get to the Emerging Church (unless one starts exploring Newbigin and the missional church movement). I particularly disagree with those who claim to return to the Bible by setting aside all of God's work through his people across time/geography or seek to piece together various Church practices without any recognition/interest of their original purpose/meaning, and/or those which question the centrality of the cross in the overall Biblical story (creation, fall, Abrahamic people of God, birth/life/death/resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the Kingdom of God/people of God, new heaven/new earth).  Here's a quote from the article:

You might remember my June 6 post The Other Indiana Jones Movie.  This morning Peter T. Chattaway's Indiana Jones and the Deadly Blather: Notes on the devolution of a franchise establishes itself as the must read article on Indy's Devolution. Here's the conclusion which hits the mark (Note:  If you're a fan, I'd encourage you to take the time to read the whole piece):

For fans like myself, it is impossible not to feel disappointment at the note on which the franchise has now concluded. A number of critics have suggested that there is no real difference between the aliens of Crystal Skull and the religious artifacts of the earlier films; they're all just mystical MacGuffins, and equally silly, or so these critics say. But no matter how pulpy the earlier films were, they at least turned our attention to matters of the spirit and stoked a sense of awe. Crystal Skull has nothing that compares to this; indeed, the characters even perform autopsies on the "gods" of the past. It's safe to say this is one Saturday matinee that won't be getting much play in Sunday school.