Renew

"The great intellectual tradition that comes down to us from the past was never interrupted or lost through such trifles as the sack of Rome, the triumph of Attila, or all the barbarian invasions of the Dark Ages. It was lost after the introduction of printing, the discovery of America, the founding of the Royal Society, and all the enlightenment of the Renaissance and the modern world. It was there, if anywhere, that there was lost or impatiently snapped the long thin delicate thread that had descended from distant antiquity; the thread of that unusual human hobby: the habit of thinking."  G. K. Chesterton

There are many fans of Les Misérables in the world. I am one of them. My wife and I have seen the 1980 musical, the 1998 dramatic film, and now the musical that is currently playing in theaters. We've been moved to tears each time we've seen it. Reactions to the film have been fascinating to hear and read. Most people are buzzing about the music, the live recordings of the vocals that were used and have become a rarity in films. Most were stirred, even stunned, by the performances, though many panned Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Javert. There have been a good number shocked by the crass vulgarity in the film (Rated PG-13). Bob Bixby, on his blog Pens é es , had this reaction: I was bemused by the many Christian lovely ladies in the blogosphere who were scandalized by the Lovely Ladies song (and Master of the House ). Haven’t they ever listened to the actual words of that song? The lyrics are famous. The movie did not falsely advertise its elf. It was a screenplay of t...

Over the Christmas holidays, my parents came down for a visit. We had a wonderful time celebrating Christ's birth. For me the highlights were having my mom and dad in our Christmas services. During one small group class we went through Ephesians 4:4, 5--"There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call--one Lord, one faith, one baptism." I knew our discussion would be interesting. You see, I'm a Presbyterian pastor. My mom and dad are Baptists. Christians have disagreed about the proper mode and subjects of baptism since the early days of the church. We all agreed, however, that "one baptism" here refers to the baptism of all believers into one body, which is the result of the Holy Spirit bringing us alive in Christ. Baptism is an outward sign of the inward reality of the believer being in Christ as the result of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. All genuine believers who are "in Christ" a...

I recently received a Merry Christmas message from Steve Rice, a friend and colleague of many years--great words for the close of this year: Why am I doing this? We have all asked ourselves this question at some time or another in our work. It is usually at a time when things are not going well or the way we expected them. It is when morale is down and service has become a drudgery instead of a joy. We often can get lost in the myopic view of the every day and lose sight of the big picture. So it can be helpful to stop in the 'busy'ness of service and remind ourselves why we work so hard and toil with such diligence. Why do we spend our time, our skill, our resources on projects that we may or may not see personal results from? The simple answer is we have all been called to serve. We have been called to serve to make this world a better place. We have been called to serve our fellow men in all their plights. We have been called to serve each other and pass on to ot...

Last Friday's tragedy in Newtown, CT has left a whole community (if not the country) reeling in waves of grief. How could this happen and why? Could something like this be avoided? How can we protect our children? How can we stop such violence? The onslaught of advice from experts in crime prevention, legislation, mental health, education, family counseling, medicine, religious groups and the like has been overwhelming. Most of it is well-intended and much of it can be beneficial, but could it be too much too soon? Rain is good, a torrent can be deeply damaging. This becomes clear when some use the occasion as a soap box for their social or political agenda. All kinds of issues are brought up that have little to do with the horrific circumstances. Thinking we know much more than we do, we end up sounding like Job's friends. At least they sat with Job in silence for 7 days. We could use more of that. Pause. Weep. Grieve. Listen. Lend a hand, a shoulder, a hug. Of course there ...

Here are three simple items for my Christmas list this year: To have more time with friends who have more faith than I do. It is wonderful to have a living, breathing, walking example beside you as you walk through life. Faith-filled friends give a godly infection. “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” Philippians 3:17 Secondly, to get rid of everything doubtful in my life this year. “Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”  2 Corinthians 7:1 I hope to avoid degrading and defiling entertainments and distractions that eat away at the life of the Spirit in me. The third item is for mastery of my tongue. “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” 1 Peter 3:10 Here is...

In Aftershock authors David and Robert Wiedemer and Cindy Spitzer write about the next global meltdown. Despite the risk of sounding like "Chicken Little," here is their executive summary: What is a bubble?   An asset value that temporarily booms and eventually busts, based on changing investor psychology, rather than on underlying fundamental economic drivers that are sustainable over time. What is a bubble economy?   An economy that grows in a virtuous upward spiral of multiple rising bubbles (real estate, stocks, private debt, dollar, and government debt) that interact to drive each other up,a dn that will inevitably fall in a vicious downward spiral as each falling bubble puts downward pressure on the rest, eventually pulling the whole economy down. What is the bubblequake?   Phase I of the popping of the bubble economy, including he fall of the real estate bubble, private debt bubble, stock market bubble, and discretionary spending bubble. What i...