wished-for

Just added this book to my Amazon wish list. Here's the blurb...

Art is often viewed as being inherently spiritual. But what does it mean to describe an experience of art or beauty as spiritual? Is there a relationship between the spiritual experience a person has in the presence of a work of art and the Holy Spirit of Christian faith? Theologian, musician, and educator Steven Guthrie examines particular areas of overlap between spirituality, human creativity, and the arts with the goal of sharpening and refining how we speak and think about the Holy Spirit. Through his exploration of the many different connections between art and spirituality, Guthrie uses the arts as a creative lens for exploring the Holy Spirit and offers a unique introduction to pneumatology. He also introduces an important idea from the early church that is now unfamiliar to many Christians: the Holy Spirit is the humanizing Spirit, whose work is to remake our humanity after the image of the perfect humanity of Jesus Christ. This clear, engaging theology of the arts will be of interest to professors and students in theology and the arts, pneumatology, and systematic theology courses as well as thoughtful lay readers, Christian artists, worship leaders, and pastors.

preaching and authority

Here, then, is the preacher's authority. It depends on the closeness of his adherence to the text he is handling, that is, on the accuracy with which he has understood it and on the forcefulness with which it has spoken to his own soul...What really feeds the household is the food which the householder supplies, not the steward who dispenses it.

John Stott, The Preacher's Portrait, p.26 (my emphasis)

Caught, not taught

Christianity is "a contagion which spreads by contact with a shining example; it is not just learned from a textbook. God's most powerful visual aid in the education of mankind is a consistent Christian."

John Stott, The Preacher's Portrait, p.87 (my emphasis)

Call no-one 'Father'

I suggest that what Jesus is saying is that we are never to adopt towards a fellow-man in the Church the attitude of dependence which a child has towards his father, nor are we to require others to be or become spiritually dependent upon us...Spiritual dependence is due to God our heavenly Father. He is our Creator, both physically and spiritually, and as creatures we utterly depend upon His grace. But we do not and must not depend on our fellow-creatures. Our desire, as preachers, is (like Paul) to 'present every man mature in Christ'. We long to see the members of our congregation grow up into independent, adult, spiritual maturity in Christ, looking to Him for the supply of all their needs, since it is 'in Christ' that God 'has blessed us...with every spiritual blessing'. We have no desire to keep our church members tied to our own apron strings and running round us like children round their mother. There are in every church some weak and feeble souls who love to fuss round the minister and are constantly seeking interviews with him to consult him about their spiritual problems. This should be resisted, and that strenuously. Gently, but firmly we should make it clear that God's purpose is that His children should look to him as their Father and not to men.

John Stott, The Preacher's Portrait, p.73f

The Complexities of Forgiveness

Cate Macdonald has written two very thoughtful articles on forgiveness and its complexities. Someone you know may be very helped by reading them.

Part 1

Part 2

The Blind Boys: Amazing Grace

HT: Justin Taylor

Preacher/Pastor

The preacher needs to be pastor, that he may preach to real men. The pastor must be preacher, that he may keep the dignity of his work alive. The preacher, who is not a pastor, grows remote. The pastor, who is not a preacher, grows petty.

Phillips Brooks, quoted in Stott't |The Preacher's Portrait, p.77

the brain and creativity

You might want to check this out.

an increase of humility and collaboration

This article by Alan Jacobs makes the observation that many scholars are badly-placed to pick-up on biblical allusions in non-biblical texts (the case in point being Oscar Wilde's Portait of Dorian Gray). It's worth a read and so, too, are the comments, in which one reader advocates "increased humility and collaboration" which seems a fine thing to me.

Beautiful photos of Llyn

Check out this collection by Martin Turtle.

And if you're ever in Abersoch, the gallery is well worth a visit.

For some strange reason

my family say this ad reminds them of me.......

On Mynydd Mawr

Pwllheli: The marina beach, towards Abererch sands

Pwllheli: from Gimlet Rock towards West End

Atop Gimlet Rock (2)

Atop Gimlet Rock

Towards Morfa Bychan

Between Carreg Y Defaid and Pwllheli

can you be so certain?

Tony Schwarz writes of Ten Principles to Live by in Fiercely Complex Times. They all bear considering but I liked the first in particular:

Always challenge certainty, especially your own.When you think you're undeniably right, ask yourself "What might I be missing here?" If we could truly figure it all out, what else would there be left to do?

the arctic light

The Arctic Light from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Do you want to work in an office?

Here's some interesting thoughts on the topic.

Me? I'd love to, but keep the home-based study, too, for when I want space and silence.

If you're a boring preacher....

why not share these rules with your congregation?

aurora borealis

The Aurora from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Do you read journals?

The case is made here for pastors doing so (and not just journals, I guess).

Is mission your idol?

While a vision for serving God is needed, and the desperate condition of our world cannot be ignored, there is a higher calling that is going unanswered in many Christian communities. As shepherds of God’s people, we must not allow our fears of insignificance to drive us into an unrelenting pursuit of church growth, cultural impact, or missional activism. Instead, we must model for our people a first-class commitment to a first-class purpose—living in perpetual communion with God himself. As we embrace the call to live with God, only then will we be capable of illuminating such a life for our people.

Skye Jethani, Has Mission Become Our Idol?

so, so cool

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Using Desire Properly

Sometimes you'll listen to communicators who are really effective because they're great at playing on longings and producing emotional responses in people. And that can make a talk really successful, and it can make a communicator really popular. But it can actually damage the spiritual formation because people become dependent on a story or a lofty experience during a sermon to have deep emotions about God. And then when they're removed from that setting, they find themselves not feeling much about God. And part of what spiritual formation involves is the reformation of my desire so that I am freed from desires that lead me away from God, and I am increasingly motivated by desires that lead me toward God and the life God wants me to live.

John Ortberg, Redeeming Authority

how should evangelicals handle the debate over the new perspective?

Tim Gombis has some fruitful thoughts on the subject over here.

Neat work!

Reflections. Lake Tyrrel from Alex Cherney on Vimeo.

Modelling the message

At the end of an article that reflects on David Fitch's proposals for overhauling church planting, Jason Hood reminds us of the important example of the Apostle Paul. Whilst the whole article is worth reading, these words in themselves are solid food for thought:

Paul's own method for ministry was a message: his gospel (1 Cor. 15:1–4; Rom. 1:1–4) and his gospel-shaped way of life (1 Cor. 4:8–17).This message impacted Paul's method of ministry. He did not choose a tent-making approach to ministry for pragmatic or financial reasons, but for pastoral reasons. He used his lifestyle to model the sacrifice and service required of every Christian (Acts 20:33–35; 1 Thess. 2:9–12, compared with 1 Thess. 4:9–11; 2 Thess. 3:6–12; and a point also made in the middle of 1 Cor. 8:1–11:1).