So for those outside the church world, "Apologetics" is all about evidence and proof for the existence of God. Classical apologetics focuses most of its attention on logic, science and archeology, using these disciplines to show that there is a God, that Jesus did raise from the dead etc.
Recently I was at a conference where Ravi Zacharias spoke and he is considered one of the world's finest "Apologests." To introduce Dr Zacharias, the hosts made this video which I found shareworthy. Hope you enjoy
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Apologetics and Apologizing
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Reflections on Catalyst West Conference
Last week I returned from probably the finest church leader conference I've attended in a while - Catalyst West Coast.
I came away with many conclusions, the first being: I am in no way a vegan metrosexual who takes an hour to do his hair. (yeah, its an odd thing to say, but those guys are RAMPANT at these church conferences.)
In the unrelenting face of ubercool, I remain an old uncool fart in my jeans and flannel and I'm great with it. God loves me as is, I am frugal with the hair product and fashion budget and I'm strangely comforted knowing I could push one of those vegan dudes over if the wind doesn't get him first.
The second (and much more important) take away is just how much teamwork is involved between personal courage and God's Holy Spirit.
This is the takeaway I've been mulling over the most.
The conference had many speakers and like any conference there were hits and misses, but the folks who had something to say all pretty much had the same theme: I sought God, God guided me, it took massive courage to overcome my fear/doubt/comfort (insert obstacle here) but I moved forward because God was clearly in it.
Now before you get too cynical, none of these stories had Brady Bunch endings and only some of them resulted in big successful stories. Some of the stories were relatively new and localized. For example, one lady (Catherine Rohr - social outreach rock star) left a lucrative Wall Street job to go to prison. No she isn't getting all Madoff on us - she left a few years back before it was a trend and she spent down her finances including her retirement account to fund a ministry teaching prisoners character and business.
Her premise was simple: most prisoners get out one day. Most of those get back in. Most prisoners are excellent entrepueners, but are misguided. Into this dynamic steps Catherine bringing an intesive character and business curicculum and a handful of Christian business people, and next thing you know, she'll pulling a 98% success rate among her graduates. (ie, instead of going back to jail, these dudes are leaving prison and getting jobs, and/or starting legitimate businesses.)
Now this is a small program in one prison and is only a few years old. Maybe it will be big one day, maybe it will remain local, but one thing is for sure: it involved a sharp young business woman's courage to act on God's call and follow God's Spirit.
Other stories about local churches seeking to make a tangible difference in their communities, everyday church leaders stepping out boldly, praying for boldness, praying for God's clear direction, some young women working to dent the massive international sex slave trade that is out of control.
and on and on. You could come away from a conference like this feeling small or overwhelmed and I'll post about that later one. But meanwhile, here, for me, was what God was saying in a Nutshell
Courage + God's Spirit = great work of God.
I'm not a formula guy. If you know me, you know I like to mull and process, but I am embracing this simple idea - praying for courage, praying for boldness, praying that God's Spirit would lead and we would follow. I'm excited about the year ahead for my own walk, my family and our fantastic local church who is kicking it here in Broomfield
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Not gonna worship him!
So right after Easter, Andrew, my 5 year old had a friend over for the day. Easter was clearly on all our minds when we went outside to hunt for "rolly pollys." (I'm sure they have a technical name, but they are the little grey metalic creature that roll up into a ball when you go to pick them up. Every boy should have at least one rolly polly in his pocket at any given time...)
So our little friend picks one up and says, "I'm going to keep this rolly polly, then put him on a cross and then worship him."
whoa.
Things suddenly went from boyhood outdoor fun to full blown ten commandments breaking idolatry! So we had a little chat about idols and things that are made verses the maker of everything and who we worship etc.
Of course, I know these kids were just processing the Easter story at their own age levels. Me at 37 - I think I get it, I really don't get it, I'm on the journey of getting it. Kaylee at 2, who was tagging along wanting her own Rolly Polly for her own pocket, is all about Easter eggs and a fun dress. Andrew and his buddy at 5 are sorting out the grand scheme of idolatry, worship and substitutionary atonement.
anyway, we concluded our little theological exercise by declaring that we'll only worship the maker, not things that are made. (yeah, sorry. This is what happens when you come play at the preacher's house...) Plus, its cruel to crucify a rolly polly who never hurt anybody, so let's not do that either.
Fast forward three weeks from that life lesson and I'm taking my boys to the new King Sooper market and we're perusing items near the deli. Right near cheese section stands a short statue of a 20" high stout man dressed in a chef's apron and looking happy. Andrew walks by him, stops to reflect on the statue and declares with a big grin, "Its made. We're not gonna worship him!"
The lesson stuck. I'm a good Dad. Rolly Pollys everywhere rejoice at being able to live a long and prosperous life...
The power of short film
Last week, Erik and I were grateful to go to Catalyst West - a church leadership conference in Irvine California. Many of my ministry heroes were there and I'll be blogging later about my own learnings from the conference.
meanwhile, here is a short film from "Mosaic" - an urban church in L.A. led by Erwin McManus. Erwin inhabits everything we love about ministry: sheer passion, a strong missional mindset and uber creativity. His church, being in L.A. is filled with artists, poets, actors, dancers etc, so everything they do is off the charts creative.
here is a great example of how creativity can be harnessed to empower a message. Hope you enjoy
Monday, 13 April 2009
Unexpected Narrative
Penn Jillette is a professional entertainer and well known atheist. Below is his reaction to a fan giving him a Bible. I found his response to be surprising and thought provoking - hope you enjoy.
Monday, 30 March 2009
Driscoll verses Chopra on ABC's Nightline
Thanks to Brian Miller for sending me these clips. Also, kudos to Mars Hill Church in Seattle for hosting this debate. I think its a great example of how a local church can engage culture in meaningful debate in a respectfull way.
The debate claims to be about if Satan is real or a myth, but it really becomes a debate about the nature of truth. Those of you who know anything about Mark Driscoll will be impressed with his restraint, I think.
I've embedded part 1 here and you can find all the debates here.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
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