Best of 2012

Two Thousand and Twelve...the calender only has a few more days on it - but enough to go out and pick up copies of the best albums, books or movies. Here's some of my favorites:

Books (read in 2012, not necessarily published in 2012)

Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church, Todd Billings. This one is an accessible treatment of a doctrine that is getting a lot of attention over the past five years or so. Billings does a great job relating this doctrine to real life concerns of the church.

Grace-Based Parenting, Tim Kimmel. Every parent needs grace. This book was a great reminder of the call in parenting without being legalistic and beating up already beaten down parents.

Calvin's Ladder: A Spiritual Theology of Ascent and Ascension, Julie Canlis. This is the most academic book on my list, but I loved it. Canlis does a fantastic job showing how union with Christ is at the core of Calvin's theology.

Preaching to a Post-Everything World:, Zack Eswine. I read more than 3000 pages on preaching this past year (I can hear the jokes now - "when's it gonn pay off Dan?"), but this was very helpful in that it was very unique. Most dealt with interpreting the text, this highlighted the responsiblity to interpret the world.

Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, Christopher Wright. Ok, this is pretty academic also. It is, however, a fantastic help for the believer looking to the Old Testament and wondering how all the laws and ethical injunctions apply today.

Knowing God, JI Packer. This isn't the first time this book has been on my 'best of' list, and it won't be the last. I reread it again (I think that's number four). It's one of the best devotional books I've ever read, and the best this year.

Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures, Dennis Johnson. This was another very good preaching book. Johnson does a great job navigating the extremes of several approaches. Helpful and worshipful.

Favorite Albums (Released in 2012):

Hard Rock:
King Animal, Soundgarden
Amaryllis, Shinedown
Oceania, Smashing Pumpkins
House of Gold and Bones, Stone Sour
Days Go By, The Offspring

Blues, Southern Rock, Folk, Etc.
La Futura, ZZ Top
Somewhere Beneath These Southern Skies, Dirty Guv'nahs
Wrecking Ball, Bruce Springsteen
Drive Towards the Daylight, Joe Bonamassa
The Longing (EP), All Sons and Daughters
The Peace of Wild Things, Paper Route
Babel, Mumford and Sons
Once Upon a Time in the West, The White Buffalo
Uncaged, Zac Brown Band

Movies (Released in 2012)*:
Dark Knight Rises
The Avengers
The Amazing Spiderman

*This list is sad. I need to see more movies. Cmon Lynn, we're going on a date!

Destinations Inside Evangelicalism & Some Outside Too

The most recent issue of Modern Reformation is gripping. The March/April issue contains half a dozen or so articles from and interviews with people who have left evangelicalism for various other options; hence the cover title 'Exit'. These got me thinking, not only about where I'd go if I left but why I have not exited. It's certainly not because evangelicalism is perfect - far from it. Or, why haven't I aligned myself with a specific denomination within evangelicalism. If I did, which would it be. Here's a few of the top contenders (not in any particular order)

1. The Presbyterian Church
a. Evangelical Presbyterian Church
b. Presbyterian Church in America
c. Orthodox Presbyterian Church
d. Reformed Presbyterian Church

2. Reformed Churches
a. United Reformed Church
b. Christian Reformed Church
c. Reformed Church of America

3. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

4. Reformed Episcopal

5. Roman Catholic

How about you?

Over the next weeks/months, I'll post on why I've stayed put and why I haven't been lured to specific denominations within evangelicalism or churches outside.

New Camera Fun

I've been on a forced 'stay-cation' while Lynn is in New Orleans. I decided to use the two hours Luke was in preschool on Tuesday to get used to my new camera. Ellettsville has some interesting stuff if you're looking through a camera.

Best Books of 2011

As I looked back and on my reading list for 2011, I realized it wasn't a very good one. I read a lot, about a book a week. Unfortunately, the demands of classes this year meant I read a lot of narrowly focused books on education, small groups, etc. While useful, they aren't inspiring reads, or the kind of life transforming books I like to recommend. But, there were a few really good reads alongside all the trudging:

1. Who's Tampering with the Trinity, by Millard Erickson. This was a required read for the seminar on the Trinity led by Steven Roy. I loved it and blogged a little about it. I'd recommend it as it will aid your understanding of the Trinity as well as give you insight into contemporary debates.

2. Living in God's Two Kingdoms, David VanDrunen. VanDrunen offers a great overview of Biblical/Redemptive history, tracing how the covenants connect (and where there is disconnect). The book examines how Christians are called to live in this world as citizens of another. Great insights into how we keep the church about the church and still engage as individuals in the work of being salt and light. Also posted on it here.

3. The Gospel for Real Life, by Jerry Bridges. I'm pretty sure this book has made previous lists. Remember, this isn't books that came out in 2011, but books I read, or reread, in the past 12 months. This is a great, very accessible book on the importance of 'preaching the gospel to ourselves'. I walked through it with my small group and really got a lot out of it again.

4. What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain. This is one of those narrowly focused, skill building books I mentioned above, but, it was excellent. It's not a cookie-cutter approach to teaching, but offered great insight into the goals and best approaches of teaching. Also worthy of mention is Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach.

5. The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ, Cornelius Venema. Venema's book helped me 1) understand the controversial New Perspective on Paul championed by Sanders, Dunn and NT Wright; and 2) helped me understand its deep deficiencies. It's pretty dense, but if you've read Wright on Paul, pick this up as a counter argument before deciding Wright is right (can never resist that).

6. Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?, C. John Collins. This book will make a lot of people mad. On the fundamentalist side, Collins will infuriate people with his suggestions that the language of the Bible may be less than literal, but poetic, etc. Nor will the like how he entertains scientific theories about man's origins and deems them, many at least, compatible with what the Bible teaches. On the opposite extreme, others won't like his insistence that a literal Adam and Eve are necessary to story line of Scripture. Blogged about it more here and here.

7. Two Views of Women in Ministry. This book actually had four essays with responses from four different contributors. It was a very thoughtful and thought provoking book. I don't think I agreed with one essay in total. I certainly agreed with the most strident egalitarian in the mix, Linda Belleville, and the most strident complimentarian too, Tom Schreiner. In the middle, I found a lot to agree with from both the moderate complimentarian (Craig Blomberg) and moderate egalitarian (Craig Keener). Related blog post here.

8. From Garden to the City, John Dyer. Ok, truth time - I haven't finished it yet, but I hope to by Jan1! Unless Dyer gets real stupid in the last third of the book, I would highly recommend it to anyone who uses technology. Yet, that's you! He helps the reader consider how technology shapes us just by using it, whether for good or evil purposes. Moreover, he explores how God has utilized technology to further his redemptive purposes in the world. Blog post.

9. Union with Christ, Robert Letham. This profound theological truth has 'flown under the radar' in most evangelical theologies, including my own, until now. John Williamson Nevin woke me up to it and prompted me to explore it more. Letham's book is my first step in this exploration. Next up, a whole class on it in January! Letham does a masterful job of covering lots of material in church history and the Biblical text in a relatively short space. Some sections are tough - like that on the churches understanding of hypostasis and the incarnation. Some other sections will be too much for some readers - like sections on Calvin on the Supper where he argues that we truly partake of Christ's substance in the act of eating and drinking. Don't get me wrong, he's right, but it's a lot to take in if you come from a 'memorial' background.

10. Honor Bound, by WEB Griffin. To make it a perfect ten, I needed to include this awesome series of war novels. I started this series at the tail end of 2010, but read five of the six in 2011. It's a great fictional series on the founding of the CIA, called the OSS in its early days. It traces the work of one particular team in Argentina during the tail end of WW2 and into the Cold War. Fantastic!

Goals for 2011

Now that we are three quarters of the way through 2011, I thought it would be good to reflect on some goals I had set. If I haven't met any of them, then there's time to get on it still.

1. Slow down: rushing has become a pattern even when unnecessary. Epic Fail. This year seems worse than any year in the past. Two kids involved in multiple sports, Lynn's work, my work, homework, etc. Feels like we're rushing all the time, even when we're laying in front of the tv.

2. Enjoy my pipe at least once a week. Nope. Can I make up for missed weeks by smoking every day till the end of the year?

3. Learn to enjoy the mundane. I do think I've gotten better at this. I even enjoyed mowing the lawn this year, or at least hated it less.

4. Reflect on my readings more (a post-it-note inside each book with one thought it stimulated). Did better at this, but as a lot of my reading came from the library, I should've written reflections in a place that would be permanently accessible. Still room for improvement.

5. Drink less beer. Nope - but I have tried some interesting new beers.

6. Drink more wine, and maybe some Scotch. Nope. Red wine still tastes like cough medicine to me. Like scotch though.

7. Read more dead theologians. Yes. I've been working through Calvin's Institutes and Luther's commentary on Galatians. I've also been reading early reformers, though not their work as much as peoples summaries of their work (not so good with French, etc.).

8. Don't feel guilty for reading fiction. I may have been too successful here. I've read a ton of fiction this year.

9. Stay in better contact with old friends. Some. I've made contact with good old friends that I had fallen out of contact with. Still need to do better. For my excuse, so #1.

10. Play more - not just watch more. Yeah. I've been pretty serious about playing with the boys - baseball, soccer, football, action figure and power rangers (with Luke).

11. Golf at least twice - which is two times more than last year. Nope - but I can make this up! Golf anyone?

12. Get better at woodworking. Maybe. I think I've got another desk project coming my way.

13. Finish the icemaker. NOPE. Six years it hasn't been finished. Do we really need it now?

14. Change my own oil - it's really not that hard! Nope. See #1.

15. Teach Caleb how to change the oil. Ok, I need an oil change. Maybe this week.

16. Go birdwatching more - I've got the books and the binoculars. No.

17. Be on the internet less - especially at home. Yes. Not having a home computer for 4 months made this goal an easy one to meet.

18. Read the Institutes (finally). About half way there.

19. Take more walks - in the neighborhood, in the woods, on campus, in the mall - who cares. Definitely no. Don't remember the last time I went for a walk, unless it was a rushed walk across campus to get to my car before I got a ticket.

20. Do less via email and more over the phone. No. Phone calls are so hard.

21. Do less over the phone and more face to face. Yes. I have had lots of wonderful meeting this year, meeting that I wouldv'e done vial email or phone a year ago.

Ok, so I have a lot of work to do. Better hurry up and get to it.

The Appeal of Legalism

I had an epiphany this morning in Starbucks while discussing the book The Life of a God-Made Man with my good friend Aaron. I've enjoyed the book and our discussions together, but today I was mildly frustrated with a paragraph in the chapter "A Man and His Wealth." Here's what the author, Daniel Doriani, writes,

"Being rich towards God means [seeing] that an old car can be viewed as an embarrassment or as a gift to the kingdom. If you have $40,000, which is the nobler use - to purchase one 'cool' vehicle or to provide a century of food, clothing, and Christian education for impoverished children overseas (ten children for ten years at $400 per year)?"

I certainly agree in substance with what Doriani is saying, but where do you draw the line. Should I choose a $5000 clunker of a mini-van or a reliable and comfortable $15,000 mini-van? It could certainly be argued that using the extra $10,000 could be used for more noble purposes? Ok, what about a $10 movie (which is really $20 because I never go alone)? Can I justify going to a movie or should I find a nobler use for the money?

In my conversation with Aaron this morning I was pushing for a line, a clear black and white - this is how much you can spend without feeling guilty. Then it hit me (thanks in large part to my friend). I want the line, the rule, the clear black and white, so that I won't have to wrestle with the heart issues involved. Ouch. That's pure and simple legalism of the Pharisaical variety! I wanted to say, 'There, I followed the rules. I'm good, go away guilty feelings'. (By the way, I refuse to feel guilty for going to a movie on occasion! How you spend your money isn't the point of this post really.)

We're all drawn, by our nature, to legalism. In part, I think, because it allows us to dodge tough heart issues (and in part because it fuels our pride). Steve Brown just might be right when he contends, "I believe that we show our depravity less by the bad stuff we do than by our reversion to Pharisaism" (A Scandalous Freedom: The Radical Nature of the Gospel (See all Religion & Spirituality Books)).

Stupid Lyrics

I hate stupid lyrics, especially stupid worship song lyrics. Some of the ones I hate most:

- He Needs Just a Few Good Men, by the Gaithers. Sung on Father's Day across the country. My thoughts...bullsh-t (I didn't swear, I put a - in there!). Since when does God need anyone to accomplish his purposes!

- Above All, Michael W. Smith. I hate the man-centeredness of this song. I know I'm petty, but come on - he thought of me above all? Not really. He prayed in the Garden, "Your will be done", and sought to glorify his Father above all!

- Oh, and here's a new one. All to Show, by Hillsong (sorry no video for this one). The song as a whole isn't horrific, but I can't stand the self-congratulatory, grandiose lyrics in verse one. If we are a history making generation, I doubt it'll be for the right reasons!

We are a history making generation
For all that's true
Jesus, the life that I live is your reflection
It's all for you

(pre-chorus)
And unto your name
All glory and praise
For who you are

(chorus 1)
It's all to show the world
Who you are to me
All to show the world I'm free
In the life you gave

My Homemade Desk

We couldn't find a good, small, cheap desk for the boy's room. Nor could we find good plans. So...I designed and made this very simple desk. I probably have $30 and 10hrs into it. It came out reasonably good given the tools I had. I learned a few things, especially about glues and stains, but I'm happy with it. Next up, a bookcase for our bedroom. (It is square and level, thought the pictures make it look cattywampus).

Best of 2010

Best CD's on the mellow side:
1. Train: Save Me, San Francisco (released late 2009). Just a lot of fun!

2. Mumford and Sons: Sigh No More. I love the cd, but the language means I can't listen to it at church or with the kiddo's in the care. Makes me want to drink a stout.

3. Zach Williams: Story Time. Best CD of the year for me. I love it. Don't know how to describe it, so just go and listen to it (for free at NoiseTrade)

Best CD's on the harder side:
1. Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy. Good, especially the hard stuff. I can leave the 'ballads'.

2. Stone Temple Pilots: Stone Temple Pilots. Fun. Groovy. Rockin.

3. Pearl Jam: Backspacer (actually released late 2009). There's only an album or two of Pearl Jam that I haven't really liked.

4. Apocalyptica: 7th Symphony. Didn't think I'd like this, but it's great. Cello rockers!?! The guest vocals make the album especially good.

5. 30 Seconds to Mars: This Is War Technically, it came out in Dec. 2009, but I got it in 2010. Great album. Creative


Best Christian CD's:
1. Caedmon's Call: Raising Up The Dead. Good.

2. Red Mountain Music: All Things New. Fantastic! This has some wonderful hymns - some I knew, others I wasn't familiar with. I love it.

Books (Fiction):
1. King Raven Trilogy (Hood, Scarlet, Tuck), Stephenen Lawhead. I loved these books and flew through them. Caleb also liked them very much. Wish there were three more books in the series!

2. Night Angel Trilogy, (The Night Angel Trilogy), Brent Weeks. This series is not in my typical genre. Filled with ninja type stuff, and magic. I loved it. Ok, so I'm not a classics kind of guy - that much we know.


Books (Theology, Spiritual, etc):
1. Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters, Tim Keller. Really good. Our small group studied through it. We dragged it out too long - it's a book to read in a week or less. We took 3-4 months. Still, great book.

2. Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to "The Passion of the Christ", by Stephen Nichols. Eye opening. It's witty, insightful, at times very depressing. Very good - wish every Christian in America would read it.

3.American Evangelical Story, The: A History of the Movement, Doug Sweeney (reread). I like history, especially the history of the church. Filled with blunders, heretics (Finney!), and screwballs, but still it's Christ's church and it advances. If you wonder how we, the church in America, got to be how we are, this is a great book.

4. The Pilgrim's Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come, John Bunyan. Classic. Rereading it, this time with the kids on Sunday afternoons before nap. Thanks Aunt Mary for the gift.

5.The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything, Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. Wonderful, practical, simple. No need to reinvent the wheel of ministry - just keep doing what the church as always done.

6. The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men, Richard Phillips. Manly stuff. Good, not over the top, pound your chest and live wildly crap. Made me want to be a better father, husband and see my boys grow up to be godly men too.

7. The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism, Kevin DeYoung. I had little to no exposure to the Heidelberg Catechism till this year. DeYoung writes a great intro to it. We're not done with it, but faithfully plodding along in the mornings.

10. Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants, DH Williams. We read this as a staff. It was a wonderful reminder of how indebted we are to tradition and how we should embrace it as a way forward.

11.Adolf Schlatter: A Biography of Germany's Premier Biblical Theologian, Werner Neuer. I am in awe of Schlatter - his humble piety and his immense ability as a theologian (among other things). Wish I could find more about him and by him.

12. John Williamson Nevin: High-Church Calvinist, DG Hart). A great intro to Nevin's life and thought. Of the bio type books on Nevin I read, this was the best. Nevin is so out of step with American Evangelical Christianity, his alien perspective is a welcome corrective.

13. Dual Citizens: Worship and Life Between the Already and the Not Yet, Jason Stellman. Ok, I have to be honest here - all the talk about the church transforming the world sound overly triumphalistic (and exhausting) to me now-a-days. The 'steady as she goes' approach to church and ministry; the doctrine of the two kingdoms and the spirituality of the church as won me over. Stellman's book is a great introduction to the two kingdom approach to church and life. I highly recommend it.

14. The Mystical Presence, John Nevin. This is a hard, dense book, but for a rich theology of the incarnation, the church and the sacraments, it's fantastic. If you can get through it, you'll be enriched, big time. You won't (shouldn't) agree with everything Nevin presents, but even where you disagree, you'll be challenged to rethink things you've probably just assumed. Oh, and it's free on GoogleBooks!



Movies (I saw in 2010 - often I'm slow in seeing movies, so most are from 09 or even 08):

1. I Love You Beth Cooper. Childish, and I laughed hard.

2. Hurt Locker. Great movie. I usually hate movies that are up for awards, but his was awesome.

3. ZombieLand. Great movie. Again, laughed hard.

4. Ninja Assassin. Ok, not high art - but people get their skulls cut in two. Makes for a great movie.

5. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I liked this a lot better than HP7.

6. Iron Man 2. As good as the first - and a great soundtrack.

7. Toy Story 3. I liked it better than TS2.

8. Clash of the Titans. Not as good as the original, but still a good movie.

9. Kick Ass. Guilty pleasure. What kid hasn't wanted to be a superhero!

10. Inception. Really cool. Reminded me of Jacob's Ladder from 1990.