The Return of Great TV

Jake Keck this is for you. I would have simply emailed this to you, but sometimes I have to justify having a blog.

American Gladiators’ Returns

Now which crappy new show will this replace?

Matt

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Now playing: Bloc Party – Luno

Desiring God Pick’s

First off this is a great example of a ministry truly putting their money where their mouth is. It is refreshing I imagine for many of us younger guys (and gals) who can be quite cynical about the use of money in ministries and their true motives, to see Desiring God take a loss (which they will on this sale) in order to get good books into people’s hands. So thank you Desiring God for doing this, it speaks very loud of your true intentions and mission. Here is what I would (or am going to) buy.

This book pastorally speaking, is wonderful for pastor’s to have on hand to give out or go through with Christians who are looking for “purpose.” It is classic Piper and is a great place to begin with for those who have not read much of his other stuff. Or it is a good book for those who might be a little intimidated by his larger more loquacious volumes.

Another book that deals with purpose. This book can best be used as a devotional, or even in some type of small group. But for those who are ready and called to lay down their lives and surrender their existence to Jesus are wise to closely heed the imperatives that he places upon his disciples. As we call him Rabbi and try to emulate him we should be clear and knowledgeable of what it is that he demands we do. Read this book.

Have not read this book, but I have listened to all the audio from the conference that it was produced out of. But what is not to like? A book that deals with sex and the supremacy of Jesus now that just has to be titillating. And if the conference sessions are close are anything like the chapters of this book it is worth your time.

Honestly just about everything they have is good stuff. The other Wayne Grudem book “Biblical Foundations of Manhood and Womanhood” is also a winner. So rather than highlight their entire inventory I would just tell you to go visit their website and be blessed by cheap books! There is even one on Open-Theism! So if your into Open-Theism surprise God and go buy the book, he will never see it coming!

note: my mocking and caricaturization of open-theism is meant to be humorous, if your sense of humor has been impaired or just never really developed I apologize, and will pray for you.

ryan

Web Wednesday – All John Piper Books $5

Right now, DesiringGod.org has all of John Piper’s books for $5.

Be patient, as you would expect, the server is running very slow.

Personally I would recommend:

The Pleasures of God

This is my favorite John Piper book ever. Nothing has helped shape my view of God’s glory, and self-sufficiency, than this great work on what God takes pleasure in. Nothing has ever encouraged me to read scripture to take great pleasure in God.

God is the Gospel

When it comes to reformed views on the gospel, most people find it inapplicable to daily life and/or not practical for actually missional/evangelical work. This is a excellent work that treats the gospel as foundational and exhaustive to the Christian life. I find it a great study to help live on mission in this world. There is a reason Acts29 places this book in their missiology category of recommended books.

Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

A great selection of essays for a Biblical foundation of the roles of men and women. Plus, I have a man crush on Wayne Grudem. There I said it.

Matt

(Ryan, your recommendations?)

Velvet Elvis and Vicky #1

Before I get started on part 1 in a series of Velvet Elvis and Vicky posts, I would like to point to Joe Thorn, who has posted 2 excellent posts on family worship. Here and Here. Really good stuff, obviously, not having kids, Vicky and I can do some fun stuff like add reading a crazy book like Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell to our time. Now for the fun.

THE GOOD

quotes:

“Times change. God doesn’t, but times do.”

thoughts:

The best thing Bell does in Chapter 1, which also probably freaks most people out, is deconstruct our idea of doctrine. In an incredibly articulate way he makes an analogy to how we have set-up and worshiped our doctrine and beliefs in the place of God the same way Aaron and the Israelites set-up and worshiped the golden calf in the place of God. This was deeply convicting and moving. I pray that we all would here Rob’s advice and not trade in worshiping and following the living an true God for worshiping and following our man-made concepts of him. Our doctrine should lead us to God, not take his place. Horribly wonderful.

THE BAD

quotes:

“Luther was taking his place in a long line of people who never stopped rethinking and repainting the faith.”

– This is probably a semantical issue, but still it would be much better to say that we are “rethinking and repainting” our expression off the faith. The faith (in the person and work of Jesus Christ) never changes, our expressions (which are culturally relevant) do.

thoughts:

At this point our reading I considered this simply a conceptual error on Mr. Bell’s part, not a theological error. However, it became apparent throughout the beginning chapter that Rob’s focus lent towards a modified justification by works, and not justification by faith alone. One very apparent part was his description of why he is a Christian:

As a Christian, I am simply trying to orient myself around living a particular kind of way, the kind of way Jesus taught is possible. And I think that the way of Jesus is the best possible way to live.

It isn’t irrational or primitive or blind faith. It is merely being honest that we are all living a “way”.

I’m convinced being generous is a better way to live.

I’m convinced forgiving people and not carrying around bitterness is a better way to live.

(I omit 3 lines for lengths sake)

I’m convinced being honest with people is a better way to live.

This is Rob’s view of faith. Atheists place their faith is many ways of living. Christians place their faith in the way Jesus taught to live.

This is really the standard Emergent “Christus Exemplar” version of Jesus. The problem with this Jesus, is unless he goes to the cross to take care of our sin problem, he is simply another legalistic Pharisee. Maybe I’m just not as good of a person as Rob, because when I am honest with myself, I am not convinced that the way of Jesus is the best way to live. I am constantly confronted with the fact that I want to live my way not Jesus. This causes me to repent, draw closer to Jesus, and trust by faith that he is in the process of conforming my heart to love what he loves. Like Rob, I come to my conclusion when I am honest with myself. And since we both think that when people are honest they come to different conclusion, the reality is that one of us is not really being honest with themselves.

THE UH-GLY:

Check out this quote:

“Perhaps a better question than who’s right, is who’s living rightly?”

I would say that Brian McLaren has a right to accuse Rob here of blatantly stealing his entire premise for A New Kind of Christian, however, Rob changes one word and thusly changes the entire meaning. McLaren’s thesis of ANKOC was that Christian are more concerned with being right than being righteous. That is a phenomenally wonderful statement, which stabs the Christian sub-culture with the most blatant truth of what it causes the prevailing culture to feel.

  “Hey Rob, stop stealing my ideas. You don’t even get it!”

Rob’s rehashing of the statements produces a legalistic inclination, to what was previously a very wonderful thought. With McLaren’s version, we are freed from needing to be right and always needing to defend our side, and moved to loving God and others. With Bell’s statement, we move from needing to be right and always defend our side to facing the legalistic hill of needing to do what’s right. Now the burden is on us to be like Jesus:

This kind of life Jesus was living, perfectly and completely in connection and cooperation, is the best possible way for a person to live.

Great, you thought living up to your parents or societies expectations was hard, now you have Jesus’ life.

Conclusion:

That review is only half-way through chapter 1. This process could take a while.

Matt

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Good To Great Part Deux

Well since my first installment was such a success here is round two.  I think these two concepts are some of the most important not just in the business world but really just about any facet of life.  It is often a fear of conflict and lack of focus that derails many of us from doing the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do.  Anyway here goes.

The next trait that great companies embrace is a willingness to confront and deal with brutal facts about themselves and their mission.  At the same time, the great companies do this because they have faith in their ability to overcome any obstacle they may be facing (67).  Often when leaders link the success of the company with their worth they will ignore or trivialize information that is negative.  This is why Dr. Collins argues that great organizations create environments where truth, no matter how difficult it may be to hear, can be heard and processed (74).  Listening to cold, hard facts may not be as fun as a retreat or company party but the rewards are immeasurable.  Allowing debate and dialogue about the weaknesses of a company is the best way to turn them into strengths and grow.  Great companies realize this.

With great leadership in place and the right people on board, a great company must now turn to the principle of the “Hedgehog Concept.”  This principle is a process of not just figuring out what the company is going to do, but what the company is passionate about, can be the best at, and also financially excel (96).  Once this is completed, this concept will act as a filter for all decisions and actions of the company.  If the concept is well defined, it will simplify decisions and provide structure for a company to stay on track when it might be tempted to try something else or to change gears (114).  Developing a clear Hedgehog Concept can take many years, but the time is well worth it.  In the long run, it will allow the organization to process data much quicker and also gives everyone in the company a clear picture of what the mission is.

 

The next mark of a good to great company is a culture of discipline.  Dr. Collins points out that many times as companies grow, they have a need to institute mass amounts of bureaucracy to keep people on task, but doing so comes at a consequence.  Often when the regulation and micro-management increases, the company loses its ability to be creative, entrepreneurial, and responsive; this leads to frustration and an exodus of some great people (121).  Dr. Collins stresses that there is a huge difference between a culture of discipline and a totalitarian environment.  In a culture of discipline, you have the right people who are self-disciplined and fanatical about getting their work done (124).  The idea of having the right people comes into play here as key to developing a culture of discipline.  Ultimately in a culture of discipline, the right people are clear on what the Hedgehog Concept of the company is and deeply committed to carrying it out.  Through a culture of discipline a company is able to continue to grow, yet not become bogged down in administrative tasks and details.

Reading Velvet Elvis with Vicky

The other day I asked my wife when was the last time she read something from a person or side that was different from her set of beliefs. Her answer:

“Never”

It was then I said we would go to the bookstore and pick out a book that would stretch us to think, help solidify what we believe, and maybe even help us learn. However, it had to be something that was capturing people and wasn’t written by a flat out heretic (like Joyce Meyers, Joel Osteen, or T.D. Jakes). After much deliberation we decided on Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.

It has been great to go through it the past few days with my wife. It has caused great discussion, and given us some great subsequent Bible study times. Over the next few weeks, I would like to post THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UH-GLY of what we are reading. I think some of you might be surprised by what we have liked, and most likely not surprised by what we haven’t.

Blessings,
Matt

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Good To Great

Well I finished reading Jim Collins epic leadership book Good To Great again. As someone who likes to delve into the leadership theory and practice world I have found this book incredible and very well written. I would imagine that it would be especially helpful not just to business leaders but also to church leaders, particularly church planters. Since there was so much good content in this book I do not want to just throw it back on the shelf but will instead spend some time writing about it, doing so often helps me retain and further wrestle with good principles and insights. So I am going to blog through the book a little bit and hope to foster some good conversation on the concepts that Collins presents. Here is my first installment, which well tell what the book is about and the first trait he sees to be essential to great leadership.

Author Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great sets out to uncover just what exactly are the principles and ideas that propel a company to be great for a sustained amount of time. His book is not about looking at companies that just happened to stumble into a timely swing of the market, like the late nineties dot-com boom, but companies that, in spite of external forces and economic factors, still thrived. Jim Collins is not just writing about his opinions and what he thinks are the reasons for companies being great. Rather, he is an incredibly dedicated researcher, spending over five years uncovering the findings for what makes a company succeed over the long haul. What might make his book even more compelling and adept at being applicable to ministry is that the majority of his findings are counter cultural and greatly differ from the personality driven leadership model that is so often assumed in American culture. Though Good to Great is written in regards to what makes a successful corporation and one must be careful in transposing all principles onto church leadership, there is a wealth of wisdom that church leaders could learn from and implement that would allow our ministries to grow and endure.

Good to Great begins with laying down the leadership gauntlet and challenging many of the stereotypes that exist about leadership today. Dr. Collins argues that for organizations to make the transition from good to great they must have, what he calls “Level 5 Leadership” (20). The quote by President Truman at the beginning of chapter two grasps the idea of Level 5 Leadership, “You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit” (17). This is not to say that leaders must be egoless, but rather they channel their ambition into the success and accomplishment of the organization rather then themselves. Level 5 Leadership is marked by two characteristics –humility and a determined will. Contrary to popular opinion today, great leadership is not defined as individuals with gregarious personalities and larger than life talents. Personality and talent driven leaders can at best only lead a company to a period of greatness (26). Instead it is the leader who practices modesty and is more concerned with renown of their company who will do a better job at forging a company into sustainable greatness. These leaders are also marked by their resolve to achieve success and results for the company. It is important to note here, that often personality leaders often share this same goal, but what ends up happening is that, at times, the goal of seeing the company thrive may be at odds with a their desire for personal credit and notoriety. Level 5 Leaders are tenaciously committed to seeing the organization do well and prosper long after they are gone. This type of leadership is truly the foundation for any company wanting to make the leap to greatness.
A Level 5 Leader realizes that no matter how talented he or she may be, the success of the company will start with having the right people in the right positions and getting rid of the wrong people. In fact, getting the right people must even come before deciding the mission. Dr. Collins uses an analogy to communicate this, “They first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it” (40). The right people are so imperative that finding them must take precedent over all else. So who are the right people? Dr. Collins defines them as people with a bent toward excellence wired into who they are. Regardless of circumstance, role, or even compensation, these people want to achieve and do their best. In short, these are people with great character, personal responsibility, and a strong work ethic (51). Companies that achieve greatness have Level 5 Leaders who recognize that the company cannot be defined by one person and their excellence; if so, then success will only last as long as the leader. Long term greatness reflects a group of people who are competent and have upright character.

This makes up for the whole Kirk Cameron thing. Hitchens vs. Wilson

For those of you who have not been following the debate between Hitchens and Wilson you must repent and go and read them right now.  Hitchens is the latest to capitalize on the evangelistic atheist fad and write a nasty book with old arguments to market to the American people.  Hitchens is no intellectual slouch either and his book, God Is Not Great is actually written very well (I read most of it yesterday at Tattered Cover) but it just does not say anything new.  It follows in the footsteps of Dawkins, and Harris’ books which are filled with moral claims about the evils of Christianity but provide us no basis for the making of these claims.  Even if I am to ascribe to the atheist view I would then have a hard time authoritatively saying that religion is universally bad.  You may be able to say that you personally believe religion to be worthless and bad, but you can not make a binding moral claim that others should abide by, because you believe there is no authority greater than self.  The debate between Hitchens and Wilson is the best engagement I have seen from an apologetic front in quite some time.  Take some time to read through these and be encouraged that once again it is not usually the intellectual and truth problems that lead people away from the gospel but the hardness of their heart (Rom. 1).

Good call Lost, good call

Well since our blog has turned into a pop culture reference site (which I am cool with) I thought I would comment on Lost deciding to set an end date for the TV series.

So why the need to set an end date for the program?  Let me explain by way of analogy.  We all know that guy who found that great girl that they fell head over heals for.  You know the type of girl you would stay up all night with talking at Starbucks.  They begin dating and the relationship is fantastic, they relate well, they enjoy each other’s company, and just love being with one and other.  This guy is more than willing to just let their relationship go on like this indefinitely, but she is not.  She wants to know what the end game is, where is this relationship headed?  Well sadly, the guy just shrugs his shoulders mumbles some stuff about how he is happy with the way things are and just wants to keep living day to day.  This story always ends the same way, she will try and wait him out, then get frustrated and eventually they are headed for splitsville.  What happened?

Well the guy in this analogy is ABC network.  They would like to just keep stringing the girl along ( the viewer) but eventually we want some resolution.  The only TV program that can avoid this is situation is pro wrestling, and soap operas but they would fall into the “tease” catagory, lots of promise, but never fully deliver.  Think about it, why do we love sports?  Because there is drama, suspense and then in the end a climactic victory/resolution, such as the NCAA tourney.

Well Lost was able to string us along for close to 2 1/2 seasons before many starting jumping ship because they just sensed there was never going to be an ending.  Its to bad this has happened to because Lost has brought it like never before this last half of the season.  And as hard as it is for me to admit this, it has become the best show on TV (sorry Jack Bauer you will always have a special place in my heart).  So for all of you who may have given up on Lost because you thought it never would commit, COME BACK!! The next three, and final seasons will be some of the best in TV history I promise you.

book lists

JT recently linked to a John Mark Reynolds list of books that every college student should read. I thought the list was great, and seeing as how I went to UNLV, I wasn’t required to read a single one. Well actually, I did read most of the Bible in my Bible as lit class. I wanted to write a short list of books a 20-something person trying to be missional should read, but before that I wanted to note how many of those books that John Mark listed I have actually read, plan on reading, or would rather play flag football on the I-15 than read.

First, every college student should read the English Bible from cover to cover.
YES. By the way, you know you’re dealing with a scholar when he prefaces “Bible” with “English”

In order to save time and sapce, I’ll put in bold what I’ve read, and make comments as necesssary.

Iliad, Odyssey, History of the Peloponnesian War, Ethics (Aristotle), Metaphysics (Aristotle), Meno, Republic, Timaeus, Oedipus Rex, Bacchae, Orestia, On Friendship and On Duties (Cicero), Aeneid, Meditations, History of the Church (Eusebius), Confessions, City of God (I know, I’m trying to plant a church and I haven’t read these. I must really trust Jesus.) Histories (Tacitus), Consolation of Philosophy, Summa Theologica (selections!), Divine Comedy, Canterbury Tales, The Prince, The Institutes (selections from Calvin), Fairy Queen, Shakespeare (Hamlet, Lear, As You Like It, Henry V, Julius Caesar), Fairy Queen (at least Book I), Leviathan, Second Treatise on Government, Pensees.

Some notes. All these? Really? No significant scholarly books have been written since Pascal?

Ten Works of You Should Read to be Civilized I would say chickified, not civilized here:

1-3. Some poetry by Donne, Blake, Wordsworth, and Dickenson (counts as 3!)
Does it make me uncivilized if I don’t know who some of these poets are based on last name alone. By the way, since when does reading poetry make one civilized? I freaking hate poetry, and I make no apologies
4. Pride and Prejudice
Normally, watching the movie doesn’t count. But when its a freaking eight hour miniseries we can make an exception. And yes I just admitted to watching the eight hour miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. I’ll turn in my man card at the end of the day
5. Tale of Two Cities
I can’t stand Dicken’s. What a long winded blowhard. And yes I watched a lot of TV growing up
6. Jane Eyre
7. Moby Dick
8. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
9. Brothers Karamazov
Maybe, one day I will read this. I kind of feel guilty that I’ve never read any Dostoyevsky. This actually makes me feel uncivilized
10. Anna Karenina

Modern Top 10 (US student):

1. Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
2. Federalist Papers
3. Reflections on the Revolution in France
4. Wealth of Nations
5. Communist Manifesto
6. Origin of Species
7. On the Genealogy of Morals
8. Civilization and Its Discontents
9. No Exit
10. Lincoln’s speeches (especially Gettysburg, which should be memorized, and the Second Inaugural) Alright, that statement was effing crazy

This list actually convicted me more than any. I really should bust a few of these out. Damn you UNLV, I shouldn’t have to supplement my degree later. I say that like I would have read them if they made me. One other gripe about the list. NO MODERN AMERICAN LITTERATURE. No Bradbury, Orwell, Steele, or Blume. Remember, if we are to be civilized, it must be within our civilization.

Alright, for the twenty something missional list

English Bible, not necessarily from cover to cover, without verse or chapter numbers
cover to cover could be counterproductive, also reading without verse or chapter numbers helps avoid systematic pitfalls, as well as helping to see the text in a meta-narrative way
The Shaping of Things to Come, or Exiles, or The Forgotten Ways
for all the emerging garbage out there, these guys shine for their commitment to Christ-centered missional thinking. I don’t agree with everything, but man do they have a high respect for the person and work of Jesus determining our mission
A Generous Orthodoxy
know what you’re up against
Desiring God, or Knowing God, or The Pleasures of God
good, God-glorifying theology never hurt
Sex, Drugs, and Coco-Puffs
Nothing will challenge you, and help you understand the minds of our generation better than Chuck Klosterman. If you haven’t read Klosterman, your are misisonally deficient.

Ryan, if you have a short list, or want to comment in a post, please feel free. Anyone, if you want to give your five in the comment box please feel free.