Daniel Rose: The Pastor Next Door

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:

Revelation 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. We typically think of sin as a simple moral act of doing wrong.

Sin goes much deeper though.

It corrupts everything it touches. It makes all things broken.

Do you notice that we are appalled?

Think about it, we live in a world where we are surrounded by brokenness the way a fish lives in water, and yet we are shocked by these kinds of things. I think that’s because we experience the common grace of God on a moment by moment basis. This means that we experience the fact that God is with holding most of the evil in the world.

Occasionally evil is allowed to occur.

When it does we are shocked.

When it does we ask questions and we doubt.

We pray.

We think.

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Pain is the result of evil.

Evil is the reult of sin.

What do we do with sin?

Nothing.

It’s been dealt with for us. Jesus, lived, died, and resurrected to deal with sin, the results of failing to live in covnenantal relationship with God. He is the culmination of the story of God’s people where we find redemptive grace and reconciliation.

Today’s shootings are a reminder that we live in a broken and sin soaked world. They are a reminder that we need to deal with this sin. They are a reminder that we need to be in relationship with grace soaked redemptive God who is speaking through pain.

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.

[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTlmho_RovY])

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. My grandmother, Mimi, died suddenly in a car accident the summer after my freshman year in college.

Those things were hard.

Now as an adult, who is a parent, and a pastor, I am learning that the admonitions about suffering in the Scriptures are real. This week God has seen fit to enroll Amy and I into Suffering 099.

It’s a remedial course. No credit given.

The frustration that comes from the deep seated selfishness that is present within me is ugly. Thankfully we are only dealing with pneumonia. It will pass.

Here’s to the hope of suffering well in the small so that when the big comes along we are ready to honor King Jesus in the midst of it.

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. He has figured out how to take people’s pigment from them so that he can be visible.

Eugene had gone through his entire life with nobody seeing him.

Could you imagine? Never being seen.

Alive, but not seen.

We all desire to be seen. Every kid at every sporting event, play, or performance scans the crowd looking for Mom and Dad. They want to be seen. My home reverberates with, “Daddy, watch this. Mommy, watch this.”

To be seen is hardwired into us.

Why do you think social media is so powerful? It helps us to be seen.

I love that Jesus tells us that he sees us and he notices us. He promises that God cares. We are not invisible and never will be. Because the one we can’t see, sees us.

http://www.fox.com/fringe/full-episodes/3256702/

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. It added to my enjoyment of the game.

It was all out “there”.

Last night a few of us started talking about Twitter. A comment was made that has stuck like a “splinter in the brain” and brought some of my self reflection full circle.

He said, “You guys put so much stuff out there it’s really hard to find what’s valuable.”

As a pastor, there is one thing I know, words matter. I desperately want my words to count and to have meaning. I want them to have purpose. Everything I do is all about words. When I started to write a blog I thought about why I blogged.

I have never thought about why I social media’ed.

So, here’s the deal, the way I use social media needs to change. That witty banter on Twitter? It’s going to disappear from the public forum. It will find its way into Direct Messages. Twitter is all about interaction. So there will still be some @-tweeting but only when it counts, when there is something to be gained by doing it. The posts will be fewer because what I put out there needs to have meaning. Typically, they will be connected to larger posts at Tumblr/Posterous.

Facebook? I will probably continue to use it the way I have been. Which is post things about my family, links, and various ministry related things.

What about Goole Plus? That’s been a different beast all along. I am not sure yet.

Foursquare? Is there value in people knowing when I check in? Nope. I will moving to Forecast and use it when I want it to be publicly known where I am going to be and for a purpose.

My hope is that when someone looks at my feed on Twitter, my timeline on Facebook, or my series of posts that they will quickly and easily find something of value and meaning.

As one of my favorite blog’s title reads, “Less Clutter, Less Noise”.

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”. The myth is that the Romans Road or the Four Laws are the “Gospel”.

News flash: They aren’t.

The Gospel is big and broad. It is the all encompassing story that makes sense of all other stories. Pay attention this Advent season. You may just hear the Gospel.

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. His is the greatest story.

Do you know it?

content

Leadership As Influence

By Charles Lee

Leadership 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.

The reality is that leadership in a formal sense requires a certain set of perspectives, values, and praxis that very few are able to carry out well. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some phenomenal leaders that are literally changing the landscape of our world. Here are a few insights I’ve picked up about what it takes to become a great leader:

• Pain Frames Purpose — Great leaders do not run away from pain, but rather, recognize that pain is what truly forms and informs their life purposes. It is not to say that they are sadistically looking for pain. Rather, their passions are often rooted in part by their experience of pain and suffering. Passion by definition is not only a reference to fervor, but also the willingness to move forward in the midst of pain.
• Collaboration is Necessary for Creative Innovation — Leaders recognize that they cannot and will not do it alone. Every great endeavor needs a team or community to help it flourish. Great leaders move from simply wanting collaboration to sensing a deep need for it. In other words, collaboration is not a nice add-on, but rather, a necessary foundation for moving ideas and people forward. In addition, innovative leaders welcome voices from unrelated fields to spark creativity and refinement of purpose.
• Courage Guides Decisions — Great leaders are marked by their courage in decision-making. They rarely lean towards the popular vote. Courage inherently implies that there exists a presence of fear and disheartening obstacles. Courage is the ability to move forward despite the presence of fear.
• Compassionate Justice Provides Perspective — No matter how tough a great leader may appear, deep inside they all care about the people they lead. Compassionate justice is a reference to a work that seeks to make things right with a posture of real care. It’s not simply about accomplishing the “task”, but more importantly, achieving something together without dehumanizing those participating. People ultimately “follow” a leader because they sense that they have their best interest in mind, even if it means that they go against the grain.
• Focus of Implementation — Great leaders don’t just talk, they do. They realize the hard work is in the implementation of their vision and courage. They don’t make excuses nor choose to sit on their ideas. They choose to move forward and figure things out along the way. Great leaders are focused on implementing better. There’s not satisfied with a 30,000 feet view. They also want to see what’s right in front of them. The focus is not just greater vision, but greater action. Great inspiration without great perspiration is nothing more than wishful thinking.

Living life as a leader is a noble pursuit. It takes a special person to move beyond the romanticized version of influence.

Are you a leader? If so, our world needs you at your best!

Charles is the CEO of Ideation, a creative agency that specializes in helping organizations and businesses take ideas to implementation via innovative strategy, branding, design, marketing, web, social media, and innovative events.

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This is a very, very good article on Leadership.

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. Because, what we believe matters.

I have been heart-sick over the way those who hold a similar theological position as I have responded to a book that came out recently. They responded with polemics and rhetoric (some even before they had read the book!). Most have not responded with discernment or charity but have looked for a way to hang a “heretic”.

I have also been thoroughly disappointed in the way that those from other theological positions have either blindly defended or tried to move themselves away from a position which is the logical outcome of their own.

I am more convinced than ever that what we believe matters.

Then I read David Fitch’s recent post over at Reclaiming the Mission and I understood again why what we believe matters.

David coherently points out the distinctions between a “coalition” and an “expedition”. As I read this post I kept thinking back to a friend’s description of Jonathan Edwards as an “experiential Calvinist” and another concept that has been rattling around my head, the “experimental Church”.

It is sad to me that those who hold to the Reformed view of theology (not Calvinist Baptists like Piper, Driscoll, etc…they are not Reformed and as a result they are not in view here) have struggled to follow Edwards. It makes me wonder if we don’t really believe what we say we believe.

It seems to me that if Reformed theology is true then it demands from us an expedition into the experiential and experimental Church.

Why?

Because if Reformed theology is true then it is unflinchingly pointing us toward Jesus and his Kingdom. This requires us to follow Edwards to the frontier. It requires us to step out and actually act on our beliefs in the sovereign God, the in-breaking Kingdom, and the imputation and incarnation of Jesus.

It is my opinion, that Reformed theology (not Calvinist Baptist theology) is best suited for a post-Christian world, because it necessarily drives us toward the lost, culture, transformation, community, and authenticity.

But, only if we believe it.

But, we will only believe it if it matters.

It matters.

Over the upcoming weeks we will look at how our beliefs drive the mission and as a result help us to understand why doctrine matters.

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?”

No. It’s not different. That kind of reasoning has no place here in the quest for the engagement of culture. It can’t. If it did then we ought to say, “He was God, therefore we shouldn’t disciple, because it’s different.” We could allow this line of thinking to go in any number of directions. 

No, it’s better to say that Jesus did it, therefore, we must try.

The next thing I hear murmuring through your mind is, “Not everyone is called to this. What about the weaker brother in Romans?” 

I hear your concern. I think in some sense it’s an appropriate one. I don’t think it should rule the day. The thinking becomes similar as the previous statement. The “stronger” brother has a responsibility to help the weaker grow. He should not flaunt his freedom (which is Paul’s concern) but should help his brother grow and become strong. To remain stagnant is not what Paul is arguing for. 

How do we engage with a broken culture and transform it while maintaining our holiness? 

That’s the question. 

I think we first need to realize that we need to start at the place of discernment. We each have different capacities and different amounts of freedom. Some of us will be able to engage in different cultural activities and others will look elsewhere. These differences are what make us the body. Discernment requires us to pray, to study, and listen. 

We must not allow discernment to be a vague form of legalism though.

To avoid this we must believe the best in those around us. 

This caveat must not be a license to sin. The thing about sin is that you typically know it when you see it.

Along with discernment there must also be engagement. The engage means that we are moving out critically. We are not simply taking in but we are evaluating, critiquing, and seeking understanding. This also requires us to have a “telos” or goal of transformation.

If we are simply seeking to be entertained then we are not following Jesus’ example.

If we withdraw from the world then we are not following Jesus’ example.

If we engage, transform, and then begin to create culture, we are following Jesus’ example.

There is so much we complain about and worry about. What would happen if believers created culture on the basis of the Christian worldview? What about education? Politics? Art? 

We would find films rated R, G, PG, PG-13 because life, reality, is represented by all of them. We would find horror films, we would find romance, comedy, action, violence, sex, redemption. We would find these because they are part of the Scriptures and reflect reality. 

We engage culture because we are human. We seek to transform it because we image bearers.

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. That was the function of one goalie being a hall of famer and another being a young player still earning his stripes.

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. To do that I think it will be helpful to take a look at Luke 7.

This section of Luke’s narrative begins with the story of the Roman Centurion. The Jewish context of this time was varied and it is hard to necessarily pigeon hole the average Jew into a group. However, there is one thing that we can be relatively certain of, and that is the basic distrust and dislike of the Roman occupation. This was understood to be an extension of exile. The average Jew would not have associated with Centurions. The leaders of Capernaum apparently did because this particular Centurion built the local Synagogue. 

This story is remarkable because of Jesus’ statement, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 

That is an abrasive statement, at best. That would be like a U of M football coach saying that OSU is the greatest football team ever, at a pep rally on campus at U of M. This simply does not happen. 

But it did.

From here Jesus raises a widows son from the dead. He displays the justice and compassion of God.

Then we encounter a remarkable interaction between Jesus and John’s disciples. We couldn’t possibly enter into a full exposition of this passage, however, I want to point out verse 34. Jesus says, “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

Consider what Jesus is saying here. He self-identified with the immoral and broken of his culture. He did this to the point that the religious people called him a glutton and a drunk. Jesus stepped into the sinful world and engaged it so fully that he was challenged as to his own morality.

This section closes with a sinful woman, a city prostitute, forgiven. Jesus allowed her to touch him and caress his feet with her hair. She made him ritually unclean. Jesus didn’t care. He forgave her and sent her away in peace. 

Jesus engaged the lost world and transformed it.

This is our model. 

How do we apply this? That’s the next post!

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).

What I do want to write about is the nature and tone of the conversation.

I am appalled.

I am appalled by the tweets, facebook posts, and one liners.

Social media is short form and is not the proper place for the kind of interaction that topics like this need. There are some topics that require more than 140 characters. Issues of Heaven and Hell certainly fall into that category.

This hit home for me last night after a weekly conversation called, Coffee/Doubt. We spent an hour dealing with this topic and barely scratched the surface. The questions were real and powerful. There was discomfort and passion. The conversation could have gone on for many more hours.

As we dive into the depths of what it means to be human and what it means to interact with the divine we must realize that the conversation will necessarily be long form.

I appreciate the long form critiques that are taking place on a few blogs. Sadly, blogs are typically group-think factories (this one is no different and yes I get the irony). You don’t necessarily interact with the blogs of those you disagree with. The comments of a dissenter are typically annihilated with polemic, by the readers, not usually the author.

This is the kind of conversation that needs to take place around the table where representative people can really talk through it.

This has always been the chasm. Scholarly papers used shoot past each other without either being read or digested. Books would be published and not really interact with one another. Magazines would publish response pieces that were inflammatory so that the magazine would sell. The bloggers preach to the choir. The tweeters condense it all into 140 characters.

My only solution is for the Church to engage in real dialogue. Face to face. Person to Person. That was the beauty of the ancient councils. The Church leadership would gather, dispute, worship, pray, teach and decide.

I like social media. I like blogging. I think they both have a place. But, I think they fall short as mediums for theological dispute (although I think blogging done right could be fantastic, a synchroblog on this issue could be worthwhile and helpful).

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.

Then we all sang karaoke.

Weird.

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:

1. What does this tell us about God?
2. What does this tell us about man?
3. What does this tell us about man’s greatest problem?
4. What does this propose for the solution to man’s greatest problem?

From here we would then compare those answers to the Biblical worldview. Let’s dive in…

What does Garden State tell us about God? Not much. God does not make an appearance in the film. It would seem that there is no sense of a divine presence. The characters in the film are apparently on their own to figure out the world.

What does Garden State tell us about people? It has much to say here. Zach Braff paints for us a crystal clear image of the fallenness of humanity. All of the characters are deeply flawed. One is a liar, one a thief, and the other on a quest to finally enter into reality. We see the darkest realms of humanity through the quest of the characters. The low point of the film is a journey through the heart of a hotel where you can see people behind closed doors, we witness the depths of depravity. We also learn that humanity is capable of great love.

What does Garden State offer as man’s greatest problem? Quite simply the problem is humanity itself. We find that those who are rich are just as awful as those who are poor. We find that those who are loved well are just as broken as those who are unloved. Humanity itself, Garden State proposes, is its own problem.

What is the solution to man’s greatest problem? The film offers the solution of forgiveness and sacrificial love. The turning point in the film is when the three main characters arrive at “The Ark” and meet the caretakers of the “Abyss”. They find that they are content, happy, and satisfied because they love one another self-sacrificially. It is here that the characters come to a turning point and are radically changed in their quest. The film ends by the thief sacrificing his ill gotten gains, the liar speaking truth, and the one looking for reality finally dying to self on behalf of another. All this is in the context of forgiveness given and received amongst the three and others.

There are many more themes and threads and similarly to our review of the Lion King (see Rob’s comment there) this barely scratches the surface (there are many connections to the Illiad, many sub themes, etc…).

Are there any bridges or connections to the gospel? I think there are many. This film is a great portrayal of original sin and the need for love and forgiveness. It is imperfect in communicating these things, yet, it provides a grid for some very real and clear conversation regarding these themes. There is not a single perfect character and every character needs love and forgiveness. I would suggest that this film provides a fantastic jumping off point for conversation and discussion of the gospel.

There are some thematic elements (drug usage, alcohol abuse, sexual situations) that are inappropriate for young viewers and should be discerned. However, as a presenting worldview it is significantly less harmful and may even be helpful as compared to the Lion King. That discussion is for next week.

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). 

In this, I took no pleasure.

In this, my heart was saddened.

I have made many a crack regarding the man whom I refer to as the “Sweater Vest”. I even sent out the following tweet the moment I heard about Chris Robinson and Dan Wetzel’s article:

“This just in the Ohio State University cheats. #shocked”

As the story unraveled and more information was brought to light, I became less amused and more saddened. 

By all accounts Jim Tressel is a man who pursues Jesus. He is, therefore, my brother. When a brother stumbles and falls it is heartbreaking. Tressel made a poor choice, lied, and got caught. This is not a football problem, it is a sin problem. I am prayerful that “The Vest” has men in his life who tell him hard things and that they are drawing alongside him now. 

It is in these kinds of situations that those of who are called “Christian” must determine where our allegiances ultimately lie, with the body of Christ or a football team. If you are a Christian and a Michigan fan I hope that you will refrain from making light of this or taking shots at Tressel. If you are a Christian and a Buckeye fan I hope that you refrain from making light of this and overlooking the sin. 

Friends, what we have here is a brother in Christ who sinned in a public way. Let us respond with truth, love, forgiveness, and mercy.

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. He spent more time with them. 

All this was in preparation for his death. We know now that he lives. Death could not keep him. 

So, I think for Lent instead of giving up something, we ought to think about picking up something. Why not take the next forty days and draw close to Jesus? What would it look like if we did this? What if, for the next forty days we spent time in prayer, study, and community? 

Oh, wait…it turns out that is exactly what Lent is supposed to be about. It’s not about giving up candy, coffee, or pop. It’s about taking a season of our lives each year to significantly focus our attention, to twist our thoughts to Jesus. 

For forty days will you focus? Will you join me in doing the Lenten Twist (I know it’s cheesy, but hey, I like cheese)?

[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZAtzcthSxM?rel=0])

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”. As beings pass from life to death they become disembodied spirits and act as overseers. There is a mystical Ape shaman who provides insight for Simba throughout his adventure. 

The second question is, “What does this communicate about man?” The Lion King communicates much about man. It presents a picture of humanity as having little meaning or purpose. The main characters go through life seeking to find their actualized potential. This is done through their good deeds or works. But, there is no overarching purpose, for at the end of the day they will be claimed by the “circle of life”. The Lion King also implicitly teaches a Hindu caste system. Where those born to significance and power retain that role based on birth. One cannot escape his caste. Finally, there is a clear and overriding fatalism that pervades the film’s characters. 

The third question, “What does this communicate about man’s greatest problem?” Man’s greatest problem in the Lion Kings is other men. The lead characters must fight against the antagonists. Why? Because the antagonists are trying to escape their caste and live above themselves. The antagonists are lower level beasts seeking to rise above their place. 

The fourth question, “What is the proposed solution for man’s greatest problem?” The proposed solution is works. Simba and the rest of his protagonist friends must do good to overcome their enemies and put down their attempt to leave their caste. The other side of the coin is that Simba must give in to fate and embrace his place in the highest caste, thus perpetuating the “circle of life”. This “circle of life” can apparently be shut down by those in the lower caste rising above themselves. 

Summary
As you can see there are great problems with this film. It misses the mark regarding God and the divine. God is a personal and engaged being who sacrificially loves. Man is created in the divine image and their future is not sealed by caste or fate; but by their choices and responsiveness to their Creator. Each man will eventually receive exactly what they want. Man’s greatest problem is not other men, but sin. The broken relationship between themselves and their God. This cannot be solved or repaired by man’s good works but by the sacrificial working of God alone. The solution to man’s problem is monergistic and is accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

Are there any redemptive aspects to this film? Yes, one. The key one being the role that community plays. It is through community and relationship that Simba is able to “overcome”. 

Conclusion
The Lion King is a film that is deeply embedded with a faulty worldview. It embraces new age and Hindu philosophy. I would consider this film to be one that, while, whimsical, fun, musically good, and entertaining communicates a very dangerous worldview. The messages communicated will require a good follow up conversation with your children if they watch it.

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.


I will write this: Calvinist does not equal Reformed.


The “neo-Reformed” “movement” is a label that has been given to people who are Calvinist and young and Baptist. By definition, you cannot then label them Reformed.


Why?


Because, Reformed theology is Covenantal theology which is not held by Baptists. They do not hold to a unified understanding of the Bible (while some may give lip service to this, their praxis denies it). Covenantal theology necessarily requires one to come to a position of paedo-baptism in one’s praxis.


Covenantal theology necessarily requires us to understand the Bible as a unified whole and that means that we must see continuation between Old and New Testaments. Calvinist Baptists see distinction here. They see a strong distinction between the people of God in the Old and New Testament.


If you are going to critique the positions of Piper, etc…please do so with the understanding that they are not Reformed. They are Calvinists.


To make this simple:


Reformed equals Calvinist::Calvinist does not equal Reformed

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bs6us

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. You are hearing from them what they most deeply believe about life and truth. We as followers of Jesus must engage with this cultural activity critically.

We are a free people. We are also a called out and holy people.

Jesus sent us into the world to be as innocent as doves and as wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16). Sadly most followers of Jesus pick one or the other. We need to be both. To be both means that we must learn to think and engage the world critically. Many Jesus followers also miss the “sent” aspect of the statement. This necessarily means that we must engage the world.

 

Here are four questions that if we would apply them to the film, music, and books then we will be able to think critically:

1. What does this communicate about God?
2. What does this communicate about man?
3. What does this communicate about man’s greatest problem?
4. What is the proposed solution for man’s greatest problem?

These questions can be applied to religion, politics, and the arts. These are worldview questions. The answers give us insight into the worldview of the communicator. From there we begin to ask another set of questions:

1. How is this view similar to and contrast with the Biblical view of God?
2. How is this view similar to and contrast with the Biblical view of man?
3. How is this view similar to and contrast with the Biblical view of man’s greatest problem?
4. How is this view similar to and contrast with the Biblical view of the solution to man’s greatest problem?

As we take these handful of questions we can begin to understand the good and the bad of various cultural pieces of the pie. There is nothing that should be taken in without thinking critically. Just because song is called “Christian” does not make it so. Over the next few posts we will seek to apply these eight questions to a few songs, “Christian” and “Secular” and see how they stack up. We may also take a look at some G-rated films and compare them to R-rated films to see which are more detrimental from the Biblical worldview.

Let the discernment begin!

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. If it’s rated “G” then it’s good. If it’s rated “R” then it’s bad. If it’s “secular” then it’s bad. We have created a new law to replace the one that Jesus freed us from. We have done so because we don’t want to learn “how to live like a free man”. 

To be sure this is not a recent development. Paul was dealing with it in the first generation of Christians. In Galatians 5 he writes,

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1 ESV)

Paul then goes on to exonerate the Galatians for accepting circumcision and submitting to a yoke of legalism. We do the same. Only we are most often guilty of doing so in the realm of pop culture and personal agendas. There is a balance, however, so Paul gives the following warning,

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 
(Galatians 5:13–15 ESV)

Paul then discusses the role of the Spirit in our sanctification and restoration. We must not miss what Paul is talking about here. What he is saying is that we must learn through the tutoring of the Holy Spirit what it means to live free. He is calling the people of God to learn character and virtue. He desires them to come to adulthood and maturity in the faith. 

Consider how we raise our children. When they are babies and young children we give them direct orders. We tell them what to do and we expect them to do it. As they get older we begin to give them reasons and try to help them learn why we desire them to do these things. 

Why do we do this? Because we want them to become adults who can reason and discern the world around them. 

Unless it comes to music.

Unless it comes to film.

Unless it comes to politics.

Then we teach them to read the label and the follow the “law”. 

I have heard it said, “not every Christian is ‘called’ to engage culture.” Really? Here is the definition of culture, “An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning.” If we live around other human beings then we must engage culture, it is that simple. 

Jesus sent his disciples into the world. His desire was that they would be holy (check out this post about holiness). This holiness was not a self-righteous piety but being set apart for the mission of God. To be on God’s mission necessarily means that we must engage culture. 

We must do so critically.

We must do so with eyes wide open.

We must do with discernment and wisdom.

So, how do we that? That’s the subject we’ll tackle next…

Here is Derek Webb’s video for “A New Law” for your enjoyment:
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr4DBnB7aNQ?rel=0])

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. Nothing really stood out as problematic. 

I really appreciated the clarion call throughout the text to abandon all and follow Jesus. For this alone the book was worth the price of admission. 

The place where I think the book really wins is the emphasis on discipleship. I am reminded again that Robert Coleman nearly 50 years ago really did know what he was talking about with The Master Plan of Evangelism

. 

I hope that we who have read this book will take the Biblical command to multiply our lives through discipleship seriously. It is through the work of discipleship that the world is changed and transformed. 

[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ums9X9xJrZA?rel=0])

It is in the context of discipleship alone that we will see the kinds of things that are described in the book. Discipleship is the soil for radical Christian living and growth. Actually, it’s only “radical” because we’ve lost the focus. As Platt says, we have become too caught up in the big buildings, the cool programs, and the fog machines, to really be bothered by biblical discipleship. 

I pray we will be willing to disciple one another. I pray that we will be willing to disciple our neighbors. I pray that we will simply obey the Scriptures that we taught as infallible truth. 

Who’s in?