Two questions are left with me from this weekend. First, do I have room in my life for a baby in a cave or a rambunctious three year old? Second, will I Christmas all year or will I forget until next year?

[youtube www.youtube.com/watch via youtube.com Fairy Tales which are glimpses into our cultural psyche. They paint pictures of deeper bits of reality. ABC’s Once Upon a Time paints an interesting picture: The town of Storybrooke is under a curse. The people there do not know who they really are because of the curse. There is one woman and a little boy who know the truth. The woman, the Evil Queen is doing everything in her power to conceal the truth.

At the end of every year people write their evaluation blog posts. Kevin DeYoung has produced his where he critiques the Young, Resltess, and Reformed (YRR) “movement”. I want to take a moment and give my own critique. I would encourage you to read his post to get a bit of background and also take note of his helpful suggestions. I think Kevin is correct in his critiques. I would however add one and that is of dogmatic clarity.

There aren’t many Christmas movies as good as Elf. It’s hilarious and it is also poignant. Like most other Christmas movies related to Santa Claus the issue at the center is belief, or the lack thereof. One of the best moments is when Buddy finds ou that Santa is coming to the Mall… [youtube www.youtube.com/watch This scene has been in my mind for a few days now. I keep thinking about it’s illustrative purposes for me as a follower of Jesus.

Grace111218reduced.mp3 Listen on Posterous Here’s a link to the text: http://bible.us/Rev8.6.ESV Here’s a nifty way to understand the letter of Revelation in a big picture: http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swfRevelation on Prezi

See the full gallery on Posterous Christmas is about telling stories and sharing traditions. I love hearing the Bride share stories with the Princess as she passes on the traditional sugar cookie baking. It is absolutely beautiful!

The picture is from the front page of the Detroit News website. Two shootings, one day, two different parts of the country. The question that I see in my Twitter feed is simple: What’s wrong with the world? The answer to that question is simple too: We live in a sin soaked world that is broken. Does that answer sound trite? It’s not. You see living in a sin soaked world means that we should be surprised when good things and not the bad.

I am a Daddy of a Princess. She is the apple of my eye. I love her desperately and want more than anything to protect her and keep her from crying. When I look around the world and see the standard of beauty that she is expected to live up to it makes me sick. Below is a great video that gives significant wisdom and insight. If you know a female of the species, you should watch it.

In our community at Grace Chapel we are currently studying through the Revelation of John. It’s a fascinating letter that challenges believers to remain faithful and true to the gospel until Jesus returns. A significant piece of the message is that the follower of Jesus will experience suffering. Life will not be all roses and puppies. I have experienced suffering only as a child. My parents divorced when I was nine and that was painful.

There are few shows that speak to the human condition as regularly and poignantly as Fox Television’s Fringe. The most recent episode, “Wallflower” is a parable on the human need to be known. Spoiler Alert — If you have DVR’ed the episode stop reading and come back. The Fringe team has to investigate mounting murders around Boston. Murders that are apparently being done by an invisible man. They find that there is a man, Eugene, who has a rare genetic disorder that has made him invisible.

This is a recent sermon I gave on Revelation 6. Grace_111120_reduced.mp3 Listen on Posterous

It’s crazy when you begin to self reflect. I don’t recommend it. It’s not very much fun. You begin to grab hold of some things that you take for granted or take lightly and find that you need to change. I love change. I love changing other things. I hate changing me. Do you want to hear a confession? I truly enjoy social media. One night I was a Tigers playoff game and bantering back and forth with a number of friends on Twitter.

This is an image from an article that just hit my news stream and I am sure that it will begin to pop up in more and more places. It’s one of those that picks up steam. It’s embarrasing and frustrating. It begs a bigger a question… What is the gospel? Scot McKnight has done a great job exploding the Gospel myth that he refers to as “The Plan of Salvation”.

See the full gallery on Posterous Part of the traditional hanging of the ornaments in our home includes Amy telling the story of each ornament. The first ornament hung is always the same. It’s hung in honor of my Mimi. Her legacy will always live because her story will always be told. Over the course of the next four weeks we will be telling the story of another. He is the one who would come and culminate all the stories of all the world.

contentLeadership As InfluenceBy Charles LeeLeadership is often defined as influence.In my opinion, everyone possesses the ability to “influence” or lead others in the general sense of the word, but not everyone is a leader (i.e., someone who functions in a publicly recognized role of guiding and/or influencing others). There are numerous individuals who influence the lives of many and yet don’t function well once given a key role of leadership in an organization and/or company.

Over the last few days I have been interacting with folks about a great many things. Something that has struck me is the cavalier attitude toward doctrine. Many of us no longer seem to think that doctrine matters. We say things like, “I am not a theologian, but…” Here’s the reality: doctrine does matter. What we believe matters. It matters big time. When hardship and conflict come it is what we believe that will determine how we respond.

In our previous post we saw how Jesus engaged the world. He entered in and sought to transform the culture within which he lived. He did so with passion, without regret, and in perfect holiness. He did so to the point that he was called a “drunkard” and a “glutton”. This is our model. How do we apply it? The first question that I hear murmuring is, “He was God. It’s different isn’t it?

Last night I realized why it is going to be very difficult for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. Jimmy Howard is a very good goalie. However, when going against an elite goaltender there will be a significant difference in the way the game is.called. The whistles for Luongo were quicker and that made all the difference. The Wings lost last night and it was because the whistles were just a little to slow on one end and a little to fast on the other.

As we near the end of this discussion on engaging culture a few concluding points need to be made. Primarily we need to discuss which is worse, sinful thematic elements, or subtle deconstructions of worldview. This is something that we struggle to figure out on a principled level in every aspect of our lives as Christians. For us to get our minds around this reality we must first look at the life of Jesus to give us a glimpse of how we ought to live.

There have been a few (and by a few, I mean more than you can shake a stick at) posts by people responding to a book by a Christian famous pastor and author. It’s reaching epidemic proportions. Almost to the point of being annoying. I am not going to write about the pastor or the book (I haven’t read it, actually it was sold out at my local bookstore, so I couldn’t buy it).

I just watched the Fab Five. I cannot even begin to express the number of emotions it brought up in me. So weird. I remember where I was when Webber called the timeout. It was the first time I had been to a sports bar, we were in Milford at my Dad’s and it was this little joint out on Milford Road. There was dead silence. With the exception of the one UNC fan.

In our second to last post exploring how to engage with culture we will be evaluating the film Garden State . Remember the four key questions that we use in our evaluation: What does this tell us about God?What does this tell us about man?What does this tell us about man’s greatest problem?What does this propose for the solution to man’s greatest problem?From here we would then compare those answers to the Biblical worldview.

I am a pretty big University of Michigan sports fan. I enjoy it when that school down South loses and I hope that they are the first number one seed to lose to a sixteen seed in the NCAA tournament. I like it when they mess up in big games and lose their Bowl games. I really do. Today we learned that Jim Tressel would be suspended for two games and fined a good deal of money for lying to the NCAA (these were OSU’s penalties, more may be coming from the NCAA).

This morning as I watched my Facebook and Twitter feeds fill up with what people were giving up for Lent a thought struck me. It was simple and profoundly un-original. I began thinking about what Jesus did during those last forty days. The Scriptures don’t really give us a blow by blow. However, I think what we see is that Jesus did not give things up. Jesus drew closer to his disciples.

In my previous post I suggested a method for evaluating culture. We are going to begin with an evaluation of the beloved Disney film, The Lion King . Evaluation The first question is, “What does this communicate about God?” The Lion King communicates very little about God. Actually, there is no sense of the divine. New Age philosophy is rampant where the created order is governed by the “circle of life”.

If you don’t live under a rock then you know that Rob Bell is coming out with a new book. This book is already causing a great stir among many in the theological realm. John Piper, Justin Taylor, and the like are all commenting on a book they have not yet read. David Fitch and others are using this as an opportunity to slam the “Neo-Reformed” “movement”. I will not write anything about Bell’s new book until I read it.

Movies, music, TV, books, are all meant for our entertainment. Or are they? I would argue that while they may be entertaining, their primary purpose is to communicate. These are all means by which we as people communicate the stories of our lives. When you sit down to read a book, listen to an album, watch a TV show, or watch a movie you are peering into the heart and soul of another person.

Derek Webb sings, don’t teach me about politics and government just tell me who to vote for don’t teach me about truth and beauty just label my music don’t teach me how to live like a free man just give me a new law (from “A New Law”)This tends to be how the average Christian implicitly lives. Not many of us would say it aloud but we live this way. If it’s a “Christian” band then it’s good.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=danielmroseco-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=1596449381 I just finished reading David Platt’s Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream. It’s a good read and really challenging. David successfully puts the ideas and concepts of books like Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat’s Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire into terms that the average 40+ person can understand. His metaphors are great. His passion is obvious. I think for the most part his exegesis is solid too.

On our way home from school I decided to break the news to Ethan. He had only one question, “Why Dad?” Listening to all the talk about Miguel Cabrera and thinking about my own family’s history with alcohol and drug abuse, I am realizing that all of us are asking the same question. We feel a lot like this: [youtube www.youtube.com/watch You know what though? We don’t want to hear the answer.

Dear Miguel, I don’t know you. I have not ever met you. I have watched you play baseball every summer since your arrival in Detroit a few years ago. You may be the best baseball player I have ever seen. Every night before I go to bed I see your life sized poster hanging on Ethan’s, my nine year old son, bedroom door. You are his favorite player. He’s never met you either.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=danielmroseco-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=0470486724 Missional Map-Making: Skills for Leading in Times of Transition is one of those books that jumped out at me as one that I needed to read. First, it was penned by Alan J. Roxburgh who has been a key player in the missional movement for a very long time. Second, the title alone highlights the fact that Roxburgh is not just talking recipes but is seeking to dive deeper into the heart of what is happening in the church today.

Creation: the act of producing or causing to exist; the act of creating; engendering. We are all little creators. We are designed to create. Some of us may do this ways we would call “creative”; poets, artists, authors, or painters. Regardless of how creative you feel, you as a person created in the image of God, are to create. This is what it means when the Scriptures talk about the “subduing” and having “dominion” over the creation.

We live in a unique time in the history of the world. If you don’t believe me check out this video: [youtube www.youtube.com/watch Did I mention that video is a year or so out of date? Regardless. The reality is that the world is a very different than it was just a decade ago. We live in a time where our world is more interconnected than ever through mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, and Wordpress.

The Holy Spirit lives in those of us who have been reconciled by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those of us who are invited into and adopted as sons and daughters of the living God have received our new but old identity as ambassadors. He gives us all we need to be who we are. This is it what it means to human. What does this ambassadorship look like?

Where have we been in this quest for understanding the cultural engagement by Christians? Well first we saw that humanity is created in the image of God, second we recognized our epic fail, then we saw how the Law was given to keep on the straight and narrow, and in the previous post we looked at King Jesus. The question we must now face is what does this mean for the Christian?

As we continue to think about what it means to be culturally engaged Christians we must take a look at the turning point. Where have we been so far? First, we are created in God’s image. Second, we failed and failed big. Third, the Law was given as an overseer to show us our need for the Son. Now, we come to this place, the turning point. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=danielmroseco-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=0470947802 Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Conquering any Business Challenge. It was given to me by a friend who said, “You have to read this. It’s pretty great.” I was looking forward to reading it because I had already taken the leadership style inventory that goes with the book and found out that I was a “Wildebeest”. That didn’t seem very inspiring. You can read that last comment as “I was a bit skeptical”.

Last week I wrote that we have experienced an epic fail regarding our roles as ambassadors for the Creator to the creation. We rebelled and separated ourselves. We lost our way and began a corrupting process that led to shame and guilt (the first sin was Adam’s silence followed quickly by fratricide, that’s one heck of a spiral). The story though is just beginning. Thankfully we are not the heroes or the centerpieces of this story.

In my previous post we looked at our identity as image bearers of the Creator King. We saw that humanity is called to follow its Creator in creation as representatives and ambassadors. But, something is not right. The original ambassadors for the King failed. They failed and as a result they sent all future generations into despair and exile. The man, Adam our representative head, was silent as his wife was deceived and drawn into sin.

God created… Did you catch that? God created. God made. God did. God acted. What did he create? Quite simply, everything. He created it all and he did it well. You might even say perfectly. One of the things he created was a human being, “male and female he created them.” We learn from Genesis: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

I am reading a great book by Dick Staub entitled, The Culturally Savvy Christian. As I have been reading it, I keep hearing amens and alleluias rumble inside my head. I think it’s because this guy has written a book that I would have loved to write. I can’t write the book, he already did. What I can do though is bring some focus to this little corner of the cybernet and discuss a bit what I think it means for the church to engage culture.

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[podcast]https://danielmrose.com/wp-content/uploads/Grace-101226-reduced.mp3[/podcast]

It seems as though there is something huge waiting to break through. I can’t put my finger on it but there is something almost tangible enveloping my heart, mind, and soul. Have you ever felt this way?Naysayers don’t seem to have any power. The vision, the mission, the dream are in front of me and yet it seems as though there is a fog that causes me to not quite be able to fully comprehend.