May 17, 2008
A few weeks ago, I was sent a copy of My Beautiful Idol, by Pete Gall, for review. A long plane trip earlier this week gave me the chance to really dig in to the book. Once I did, it was easy to stick with it.
Much like Blue Like Jazz, My Beautiful Idol is a spiritual memoir of a young man trying to make sense of life in his early 20s. I’ve even seen the two books compared in this way on a few occasions. The similarity should end there, because otherwise it will distort the way one reads My Beautiful Idol.
About a third of the way through the book, I was struggling with whether I wanted to continue. Spending some time reflecting on it helped me to see why — I didn’t really like Pete Gall. But as I continued to read, I realized that that is kind of the point. Pete Gall writes of his journey as a young man to fully devote himself to God. He offers a great deal of transparency as he shows his own immaturity in that season. And as he does, I was invited to watch how he gradually becomes aware of that himself. And I respect him for showing us so much.
So, don’t confuse My Beautiful Idol with Blue Like Jazz — it’s written from a different stance and should be read as such. But do consider reading it if you want to be refreshed by the honest reflections of one man’s journey through the Christian faith. You might even see some of your own self along the way.
Tags: blue like jazz, books, donald miller, my beautiful idol, pete gall, reading
Posted in musing, reading 
2 Comments »
May 12, 2008
I have tagged a number of blog posts in the last few weeks that my heart was in tune with. Each of these somehow captures pieces of what I am hoping for in a new church community:
Tags: church planting, hugh halter, links, notables, pat loughery, todd hiestand
Posted in musing, notables 1 Comment »
May 11, 2008
Done…but not finished.
These are words my friend Blaine offered yesterday about graduation. They couldn’t feel more true.
Yesterday, I walked. It’s official. I have a long black robe and the fancy cap made famous by the gentleman on the Yahtzee box. I have a diploma (or at least a piece of paper promising me that I’ll get one if I passed my spring classes). I have a beautiful black, red and white hood. I have photographic evidence that I walked across the stage.
I am done. And it feels ridiculous to say so.
Tags: life, mhgs
Posted in life, musing 4 Comments »
April 29, 2008
One of my favorite times of the day is when I get to climb on the bed with my two older kids for storytime. (Sometimes Max joins us too, but his newfound urge to grab whatever is in front of him can get a bit distracting.)
I have discovered that there are some completely uninspired children’s stories out there. But, there are also some fantastic ones that I think I enjoy even more than my kids. Here are a few of my favorites:
Truthfully, a lot of Dr. Seuss could make the list, but those two are my favorites. Bonus points for The Sneetches for including the short but delightful Too Many Daves. I will never get tired of saying “Oliver Boliver Butt.”
Tags: dr. seuss, family, life, storytime
Posted in life, musing No Comments »
April 29, 2008
I suppose it’s not a secret that I’ve been reading Surprised by Hope by NT Wright based on my last few posts. After finishing it, I can say that it was what I hoped it would be.
It almost feels crass to say it so, but Surprised by Hope is NT Wright’s theology of end times. I’ve often heard others joke about being a panmillenialist — they don’t know how the end times will look, but it will pan out. I can appreciate the heart of this joke more than I can appreciate the cheesy humor of it. But I’ve come to a place where I don’t see this a valid position to hold.
The hope one holds for how God will ultimately redeem and restore all of creation is at the core of how one will live their faith in the present. Our understanding of faith is strongly shaped by our understanding of what happens “in the end”. Perhaps just as true, our current context and understanding will have a strong impact on how we shape our expectations of the final redemption of the world. But to shape our perspective of “end times” based on what is most convenient to our understanding now is to do a disservice to God’s greater story.
One critique I read on Amazon said that Wright should keep his political views out of the book and stick to theology. That seems to me to be a complete miss of what the book is about. I think Wright helps us to see that these two constructs can’t be so easily detached. And that is what I appreciate…Wright brings his views of what God is working toward to the present and makes them matter now.
The pinnacle of the book for me is Chapter 13 — “Building for the Kingdom” — where Wright lays out how justice, beauty, and evangelism are part of our co-creation of the kingdom of God. Each of these become not just a ’should’, or a moral obligation, but deeply hopeful acts of inviting genuine human life as God intended it to be.
Tags: books, eschatology, nt wright, reading, surprised by hope
Posted in musing, reading 3 Comments »
April 28, 2008
And salvation only does what it’s meant to do when those who have been saved, are being saved, and will one day fully be saved realize that they are saved not as souls but as wholes and not for themselves alone but for what God now longs to do through them. — NT Wright, Surprised by Hope
Tags: notables, nt wright, quotes, salvation, surprised by hope
Posted in musing, notables No Comments »
April 22, 2008
So far from sitting on clouds playing harps, as people often imagine, the redeemed people of God in the new world will be agents of his love going out in new ways, to accomplish new creative tasks, to celebrate and extend the glory of his love. — NT Wright, Surprised by Hope
Tags: heaven, notables, nt wright, quotes, surprised by hope
Posted in musing, notables No Comments »
April 22, 2008
Ambiguity is the element of tentatIveness, of risk, of gamble, in committtng to a path of understanding and action that is definite but also open-ended. If the church is commItted to learning Jesus as a living person, then It is also committed to ambiguity as an inevItable–and positive!–dimension of its existence. –Luke Timothy Johnson, Living Jesus
Tags: ambiguity, luke timothy johnson, notables, quotes
Posted in notables No Comments »
April 20, 2008
“Dang. NT Wright beat me to it.”
That’s what keeps going through my head as I’ve been reading Surprised by Hope.
When I think of how I want to use my voice, one of the main themes that comes up is dualism. Simply put, dualism is the idea that this physical world is a mess and the only good is that which exists in some other spiritual reality. I want my voice to be one that is not for, but against, dualism.
I often evaluate Christian beliefs and practices in light of how they have been shaped by the influence of dualism. I see how it influences everything from our view of creation, to our view of eternity, to what our prayer requests look like.
In the interest of disclosure, I should say that this is likely a theme for me because it is also a theme in much of NT Wright’s writing, which I’ve read my fair share of. In Surprised by Hope, much of his thinking regarding the influence of dualism on Christian theology has been pulled together in one place. And it is pulled together well — at least in the third of it that I’ve read so far.
And yes, when it comes to writing this book, NT Wright surpasses me in research, credibility, prose, pedigree, name recognition, number of words actually written, and publishers willing to give it a look. And so, reminded of that, I offer what is now going through my head as I return to my reading: “This is the book I rightly hoped that NT Wright would write.”
Tags: books, christianity, dualism, nt wright, reading, surprised by hope
Posted in musing, reading 2 Comments »
April 18, 2008
Tags: austin, life, seattle
Posted in life, random 1 Comment »
April 18, 2008
I started using Logos Bible software about five years ago and have a library full of handy resources. One of the most difficult things about switching over to Mac as my main computer a few years ago was the loss of Logos. They had publicly stated they were planning a Mac version, but it was obviously a bigger undertaking than they expected.
I have been able to use Parallels to run Logos for Windows on my Mac. But I found that it bogged down my system enough that it was often more of a hassle than it was worth. It performs better on my MacBook Pro than it did on my MacBook, but it is still a nuisance.
A few weeks ago, Logos finally rolled out an alpha of Logos for the Mac. It is still missing a number of features, but it has been beautiful to have it running without having to bog down my system with Parallels. The timing has been perfect as I’ve been writing some curriculum for Christ in Youth — an organization I used to do a lot with when I was in full-time youth ministry.
I’m not sure what the pricing to sidegrade from a Windows version of Logs to the Mac version is going to be, but all of the book resources are compatible with either. If you’re a Mac user and itching for good Bible software, you at least now have the option of buying a Logos package and running the Mac alpha.
Tags: bible, logos, mac
Posted in tech No Comments »
April 6, 2008
I realized earlier today that my last post on auditory stimulation was lacking. In fact, it was lacking a link to the audio file that made me consider writing that post in the first place. So, here it is:
Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Tim Keller. This was an open forum with Tim Keller at the University of Cal-Berkeley as part of his tour to draw attention to his new book The Reason for God. (I’m excited to dig into this book after I finish off the little bit of reading I have left for school.) I appreciate the humility and thoughtfulness with which Keller presents, and then engages with questions from the students.
Tags: audio, books, notables, tim keller
Posted in notables No Comments »
April 2, 2008
In other words, here are some things I think are worth adding to your iPod for your next commute or exercise time:
- Spirituality of the Cellphone - Shane Hipps spoke at Mars Hill (Grand Rapids)this past weekend. It was a fantastic summary of the thoughts in his book that was both accessible and practical.
- MacBreak Weekly 82: The Double Album - I listen to this Podcast almost every week. Last week, they were joined by Patrick Wilson, the drummer of some relatively obscure band called Weezer. Their conversation centered around how the music industry is effected by the internet. It sounds trite to say, but the networking that happens on the internet is truly causing massive shifts and the conversation around the music industry can serve as an entry point into how it effects other things too…like the church.
- I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie’s new single. Do I really have to wait until May 13 to hear the rest of the album?
Tags: audio, death cab for cutie, macbreak weekly, notables, shane hipps
Posted in notables 1 Comment »
March 28, 2008
Three tweets from this week:
- sun, i love you, i really do. but you are making my grass grow way too fast. can we work something else out? Monday 9:52am
- rain, i love the way you sound out there, i really do. but you are making my grass grow way too fast. can we work something else out? Wednesday 12:29am
- snow, i love you. I really do…in december. but you are making it hard for me to mow the lawn. can we work something else out? Friday 1:43pm
Tags: life, rain, seattle, snow, sun
Posted in life No Comments »
March 25, 2008
Anne Rice is living out my dream. I’ll cede it to her — she is more qualified. Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana is the second book in her historical fiction series about Jesus. In it, she combines historical Jesus research and fiction writing, and therefore two of my dreams/passions.
I think I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first in the series — Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. Perhaps more. The Road to Cana begins to deal with the Biblical narrative of Jesus’ ministry, and I appreciate the way she handled it.
Much like the first book, the greatest benefit is the historical research she has done. She places the Jesus story squarely in a first century context. These books are valuable because of the way they portray the political and religious tensions of first century Israel. I would think that one cannot help but read the Gospels with a new perspective on the work of Jesus.
And yes, I took great joy in having this book snugly in my Kindle only a few minutes after discovering it had been released. 
For Extra Credit: My Trust in the Lord - a column by Anne Rice in the Washington Post (HT: Zach)
Tags: amazon kindle, anne rice, christ the lord: the road to cana, reading
Posted in musing, reading 4 Comments »
This is the personal blog of John Chandler. The wonderings -- and wanderings -- you will find here were probably true when I wrote them, but that doesn't mean they will be when you read them.
