Around the Horn – 7.15.10

The Early Church Killed Jesus
The question that we often incorrectly ask after reading this is, “Why do these early Christians have this quality of church?” We see this quality as merely something to be imitated, but miss the roots of their devotion. We tend to see the first church as prescriptive, but it is actuallydescriptive of something deeper.

Who Are Your “Trusted Advisors?”
From Michael Hyatt, Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers: The point is, your advisors can make you or break you. Mine nearly broke me. In the process, I learned several hard but important lessons. . .

What Cautions Do You Have for The New Reformed Movement?
From John Piper: My caution concerns making theology God instead of God God. Loving doing theology rather than loving God.

Suddenly Realizing You’re More Conservative Than You Used to Be
I was surprised by my reaction to Jack Black’s prayer to satan. Not that I expected a certain reaction, I hadn’t planned for that moment, but my response still caught me off guard.  Here’s the transcript of what he said: “Since we’re giving a rock reward tonight, who wants to pray to the devil with me? Who’s in with me. Come on. Let me see those horns. Metal! Metal! Alright, now take the hand of the person next to me. Dear dark lord satan, I hope everything is good with you. I’m doing fine myself. Just want to say hi. And ask you to grant tonight’s nominees continued success in the music industry.”

Better Me Than You
Recently for some odd reason I was blessed to be wearing shoes when I stepped up the stairs and directly on top of a wayward nail which pierced straight through the sole of my shoe and into my poor foot. As I screamed dramatically, the thought ran through my mind which, for almost seven years, has been repeated every time I have been assaulted by my own home: Glad I got to that first. Better me than one of the kids. Today I was cleaning the girls’ room. As I slid my hand under Maggie’s bed, my right thumb made direct contact with the pointy end a piece of glass. A rather large piece of glass, which could have done substantial damage to a small foot. My blood oozed from my body, while, as usual, I expressed gratitude for the opportunity to get to it first. Better me than her. I stared at the blood stained glass when suddenly, I stifled a sob, and doubled over.  For the image of my bloody Savior hanging on a cross had appeared in my mind. “And He said, Better Me than you.”

Heart Religion
Ray Ortlund writes: I have heard some scoff at this account.  “Pietistic” was the word used, as if that settled it.  I’m not big on man-made labels one way or the other.  But what God gave Wesley that evening I revere as biblical, I cherish as personal, I respect as powerful.  I believe in theologically aroused heart-religion.  It is the gospel getting traction inside us where it really counts.

Obama Faces Growing Credibility Problem
From the Financial Times: According to Democracy Corps, a group headed by Stanley Greenberg, a liberal pollster who is a close friend of Rahm Emanuel, Mr Obama’s chief of staff, a majority of US citizens see Mr Obama as “too liberal”.  Astonishingly, 55 per cent of citizens think Mr Obama is a “socialist” against only 39 per cent who do not share that diagnosis. The same poll shows 48 per cent support for Republicans against just 42 per cent for Democrats. The numbers are eerily similar to 2006, except that it was George W. Bush’s Republicans who were on the receiving end four years ago.  “The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” says Rob Shapiro, another former Clinton official and a supporter of Mr Obama. “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”