The Unwavering Principle

Drive out of my Indiana town in any direction and, before it is out of sight in your rear view mirror, you immediately encounter farmland stretching out before you.  With this sunny spring, every field seems to be filled with rows of tiny seedlings.

Undoubtedly, the farmer who planted them recognizes the small plants on his land for he knows what seeds he planted.  Where corn was planted, corn is growing.  The same is true in the other fields, be it beans or watermelons.  Each plant joins the others to tell the same story.  You reap what you sow.  You can see this principle in every field, in each direction, every year, in each season.

If only we could see it spiritually.  If only instead of driving by those fields unfazed, each plant had a tongue to cry out the lesson so many need to hear.

Church Architecture

Rebecca VanDoodewaard at The Christian Pundit has been doing an insightful series on the architecture of churches, especially their sanctuaries.  She shows how the architecture reflects the theological viewpoints of the congregations as they worship. I highly recommend them.

The next time you visit a church, or even worship in your own sanctuary, play a little Sherlock Holmes.  Take a few moments and look at the structure of the sanctuary in light of these insights.  You may be able to tell more about the congregation than you realized.

Here are five articles with their themes:

Ecclesiastical Architecture 1 (An Overview)

Ecclesiastical Architecture 2 (The Pulpit)

Ecclesiastical Architecture 3 (The Communion  Table)

Ecclesiastical Architecture 4 (The Baptismal Font)

Ecclesiastical Architecture 5 (Choir Loft & Instruments)

Help to Read

A few great links about reading:

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N. D. Wilson on The Hunger Games (thanks to Trevin Wax):

One final thought: never read or watch a story like a passive recipient, enjoying something in a visceral way and then retroactively trying to project deeper value or meaning onto the story you’ve already ingested. Such projections have been making authors and directors seem more intelligent than they are for decades. As you watch, as you read, shoulder your way into the creator’s chair. Don’t take the final product for granted, analyze the creator’s choices and cheerfully push them in new and different directions. As we do this, the clarity of our criticism will grow immensely. Which is to say, we’ll be suckered far less often than we currently are.

For anyone who’s read the books (and for parents!), the whole essay is truly worthwhile reading.

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Tim Challies’ interview with Russell Moore about reading fiction & literature is enlightening and helpful.

Fiction can sometimes, like Nathan the prophet’s story of the ewe lamb, awaken parts of us that we have calloused over, due to ignorance or laziness or inattention or sin…Fiction helps the Christian to learn to speak in ways that can navigate between the boring abstract and the irrelevant mundane.

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I recently read this review of Alan Jacobs’ latest book and can’t wait to read it. Anyone want to join me?

 

Another Curmudgeon on the Youth Culture

In the book of Proverbs, a father tells his son there are two females vying for his attention: Woman Wisdom and Lady Folly (see Proverbs 9).  It is somewhat like the old Dating Game Show with just two contestants.  Wed yourself to the first, he tells him through those first nine chapters, and you will have understanding, favor with God and man, a crown upon your head, length of life, a satisfying wife, and peace of days.  Join yourself to the latter and immaturity, ridicule and heartache, ruin, adultery, a plundered home, and a shortened life will be your reward. Sure seems these days many are picking Contestant #2.

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Jonah Goldberg, editor of National Review Online, in an interview gave what one has called a “curmudgeonly rant”  about the youth culture (hence this post’s title).  It’s a little strong, but it is rather refreshing to hear someone say things such as “we are all born idiots” and “the fact that young people think socialism is better than capitalism is a result of what sociologists call ‘their stupidity.’”

Gentle Answers #1: A Friend in Sin

The question came to us: How can you minister to a friend (professing Christian) who is addicted or becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol? How can you lovingly come along side them and help them avoid the friends they have been keeping who are negatively influencing them, especially when you only see them in person when you come home from college?

An Ancient “Problem-Solving” Technique

My friends speak of it.  I hear distant reports of it.  And I have seen it with my own eyes, more than once.  It seems that wherever I turn, the same problem runs rampant in the pop Evangelical church.  It is this: A segment of the leadership (and especially those who are looking to “enter the ministry”) begin criticizing another segment of the leadership, typically the pastorate.  No, not quite.  It isn’t full blown criticism, at first.  Rather, it begins as merely a “concern.”  “Holy sighs” are wed with anguished looks.  Problems in the church as discussed and dissected at great length.  Motives are scrutinized.  Past incidents are exhumed and thread together into a tapestry of intrigue.

Using the Psalms as They Are Meant to Be Used (Michael LeFebvre)

I asked Michael recently if we could feature a chapter of one of his books here at Gentle Reformation, and he graciously agreed. This article is taken from chapter five of Singing the Songs of Jesus by Michael LeFebvre, published by Christian Focus Publications, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland (www.christianfocus.com) and is used with their permission.

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Nails are efficiently designed for what they do. With the forceful swing of a hammer, your nail will sink through one board and secure it to the board behind.

Screws, likewise, are well-designed for their purpose. Although similar to the nail in many ways, the screw has the added feature of spiraled thread running up its shaft, and a notched head. But the screw’s distinct design requires a distinct action. It must be turned into the surface with a screwdriver, not pounded like a nail. For the screw to function at its best, it must be used according to its design.

The same is true of the Psalms. The ancient hymns of Israel (the Psalms) are as different from modern hymns as screws are from nails. Not only do the Psalms lead us in praise in the train of our Mediatorial King, but they also lead us in a very different ‘method’ of praise than modern church songs. Although the Psalms serve in generally the same capacity as modern hymns (to praise God), they are different in how they function within the heart as they stir that praise of God.