August 31, 2006 by iMonk
UPDATE: Several of Mark’s songs are available free at the Paste Music MP3 site.
Back in the day, I was Mr. Christian Music, and kept up with everything, so I remember pretty clearly the day I bought a Mark Heard album and the guy wasn’t smiling.
Mark Heard, for those who don’t know, was probably one of the four or five greatest songwriting talents to emerge from the early CCM movement. Heard started out as part of Larry Norman’s Solid Rock label, then became a song-writing, producing, performing dynamo for most of the 80’s. He passed away in 1992, on the verge of critical and mainstream musical success. His influence on today’s young indie songwriters and performers is substantial. The man was a monster of a talent. [Continue reading]
August 29, 2006 by iMonk
Some of you are asking about my views on homosexuality. I said just about everything I have to say about the topic of homosexuality in the IM essay “In The Gay Old Summertime.”
Though written several years ago when my kids were watching “Queer Eye,” it still expresses my own response to this issue as a Christian. Anyone is free to comment in the comment threads on your reaction and response.
Read: In The Gay Old Summertime.
August 29, 2006 by iMonk
Internet Monk Radio Podcast 18. I stop spending money. Talking God with Chinese students. Praying for friends from the Psalms.
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August 27, 2006 by iMonk
What do homosexuals and the political state of Israel have in common?
Both are the subjects of a flawed approach by Christians concerned about suffering and the Christian witness. While the Christians involved are very different, their errors and resulting actions are very similar. [Continue reading]
August 26, 2006 by iMonk
Internet Monk Radio Podcast 17. I start a revolution. Shane Claiborne. Blogwars. There’s more good guys than you might think.
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August 26, 2006 by iMonk
I think some of us need to hear the good news of sabbath and refreshment. Wow.
A great book from a great writer: Mark Buchanan on “The Rest of God.” It’s the finest exploration of the role of the sabbath in the life of the Christian I have ever read. Simply superb and a delight to read.
Well…”Quit and See What Happens” is apparently costing some churches some of those dedicated workaholics that keep everything rolling. I may need to go into hiding.
That discussion reminds me of a similar essay. One of my favorites: “The Sanity Verses.” If you missed this one, here is some Biblical material to help you remember that you matter, and God wants you to take care of yourself, not just the machine. Maybe your pastor hasn’t preached these verses quite the way I do in this essay. I wonder why.
While you’re catching up on those good passages, I’ll be working on a sermon and, hopefully, a podcast.
Read: The Sanity Verses. Or for something else to refresh your soul, read, “The Cracked Vase” by Lillian Daniel.
August 24, 2006 by iMonk
This is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the film Chariots of Fire, a remarkable movie about faith, worldviews and the motives to excel of two very different men. Chariots won Oscars for Best Picture, Writing, Score and Costumes in 1982.
I talked about Chariots of Fire on Podcast 16. I got to thinking that there might be bloggers willing to blog a post about this movie. So how about a “Blogfest?” What are your thoughts, memories, ministry uses and observations of Chariots of Fire? A movie produced by a Muslim starring an actor who died of AIDS, Chariots is a remarkable film that I find highly effective in presenting the Gospel. Where are the Christian films today with this kind of powerful, compelling story and presentation?
If you would be willing to write a blog post about the film in honor of this anniversary, I’ll post all the blog posts here at IM. Links to the posts should be sent to me at michaelATinternetmonkDOTcom. I will post the collected posts/links no later than Tuesday, August 29th.
If you give me heads up by email or comment, that would be great.
August 23, 2006 by iMonk
Internet Monk Radio Podcast 16. More Minor league baseball. Chinese student. Chariots of Fire. Sabbath from Church.
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August 22, 2006 by iMonk
Further UPDATE: Somehow, as usual, Phil Johnson feels the need to have some kind of last word about this post. So if you’ve been unduly influenced by my liberal rantings to love, pray for and appreciate your brothers and sisters still holding out in the mainlines, go get yourself vacuumed out real good at Phil’s blog. I guess my vast plan to make the TRs like Driscoll is working. Muhahahah! UPDATE: Well…I’ve managed to get everyone angry with me. It’s a good thing I don’t live off of your offerings. Thanks to all of you who’ve read this and commented. I look forward to YOUR posts on YOUR site about what Mark Driscoll should have said.
With the amount of time I’ve spent defending Mark Driscoll as a brother and his brand of evangelistic missionalism as a church model to be applauded, I suppose I’ve earned to right to disagree with Mark as well. It’s actually not the case that I disagree with Mark’s post on the death of the mainline denominations as much as it’s just that I need to say a few things in response, and in various levels of agreement and moderate disagreement. [Continue reading]
August 21, 2006 by iMonk
Mark Bertrand on watchblogging and the “either/or” assumptions of its practitioners. This post deserves wide circulation among all bloggers.
I’ve told this story before, but it bears retelling. I once had a young reformed Baptist pastor and his wife over to our home for dinner. We had mutual friends and I wanted to be able to discuss reformed theology with someone. After a pleasant meal, the young pastor and I went over to my office and talked shop for a while. The discussion began to take a bizarre turn. [Continue reading]
August 20, 2006 by iMonk
Internet Monk Radio Podcast 15. Finding God Beyond Harvard. Persecution. Church For Men. NOW AVAILABLE as an Itunes Subscription Podcast.
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August 20, 2006 by iMonk
This is my fifteenth year working at a Christian boarding school, and one constant during all of that time has been conversations about bullies. I’ve probably talked with 300 students about how to respond to a bully. I’ve probably had 50 conversations about the effect a particular bully was having on other students.
Because I was an only child, I was never picked on by older siblings, so I did not develop a kind of toughness that children from larger families have. There’s no doubt that being teased and taunted by other kids was more difficult for me because I didn’t get beat up every week by an older brother or cousin. [Continue reading]
August 19, 2006 by iMonk
UPDATE: Denise’s post of this weekend’s events.
We’d been gone from Lexington about 5 minutes when Denise started crying. “Twenty-one years I’ve been cooking for my children. That’s a big chunk of your life.”
You have such thoughts on the day you take you son to college. You stand at the crossroads, the haze lifts, and for a moment you see the journey you are on. [Continue reading]
August 17, 2006 by iMonk
Kelly Monroe Kullberg’s Finding God Beyond Harvard is several good things. It’s an account of the author’s own journey into a significant ministry that is touching the core of universities around America, while at the same time keeping her focus on the spiritual hungers and thirsts of university students. Kullberg is a gifted writer who does an outstanding job of making the reader feel the spiritual wreckage and emptiness that dominates a generation of university students. She’s buoyant and brave; thoughtful and filled with wonder. She’s also one of us- a person growing and learning as God moves faster than she can sometimes keep up. [Continue reading]
August 16, 2006 by iMonk
Internet Monk Radio Podcast 14. Minor League Baseball. Guilt by Association continued. Leaving/Finding a church. College Boy. Apologies.
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