Rick Ianniello

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

iTunes knows all, reveals all

From A; Instructions: Go to your music player of choice and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question. NO CHEATING.

How does the world see you? Searching [live] (Lynyrd Skynyrd) - I can live with that.
Will I have a happy life? - Dreams be Dreams (Jack Johnson) - hmmmm....
What do my friends really think of me? Leave My Girl Alone (Stevie Ray Vaughan) - what's this about?
What do people secretly think of me? Let It Come (Vineyard Music) - nope, I was thinking "Get the Funk Out Ma Face" by the Brothers Johnson.
How can I be happy? Homies 'n Thugs [remix] (Tupac) - ????
What should I do with my life? Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles) - one can only hope...
Will I ever have children? It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Eli (NOFX) - interesting...
What is some good advice for me? All I Could Do Was Cry (Gladys Knight & The Pips) - oh no, this is scary...
How will I be remembered? I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever (Delirious) - cooool
What is my signature dancing song? Funk 49 (Joe Walsh) - yep
What do I think my current theme song is? Deliver Me (David Crowder Band) - I need it!
What does everyone else think my current theme song is? Classic Lines from Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld) - yep, they think I'm a clown.
What song will play at my funeral? Star Wars Cantina (Weird Al Yankovic) - hey, what's up with that?
What type of men/women do you like? Slightly Dirty (Larry Carlton) - that was BC.
What is my day going to be like? Bumper Cars (Rick Strauss) - I'm feelin' it...

Spooky or what?!?!

The blogsphere continues to be abuzz with warnings against NT Wright and his "ilk" (that one was for you Randy). Here's one such charge, "The argument is against selling out to a dishonest, postmodern notion of "scholarship" which demands that every truth be couched in disclaimers and provisos—until the authority and clarity of God's Word lie suffocated under a billion qualifications. " I would agree that intending to couch truth in disclaimers and provisos as a norm is not good. On the other side, I'd say that to speak on every topic in a dogmatic fashion is contrary to Scripture and reveals a hard, legalistic heart. It lacks humility and love and fails to understand that a truth may be communicated in various fashions and still contain absolute truth. And it is presumptuous since per Scripture we only know in part.

In this context, it also makes the generalization that postmodern thought is wrong but does not substantiate the claim. Back to Wright, here is a paraphrased story from DA Carson (I like both of these guys simply because they have no real names - NT and DA).

"An old woman calls you in the minute of the night, tells you she was told she has but a few minutes to live, and she's scared. Can you come? You rush to her side. The doctor tells you as you go in that she's in her last moments. She takes your hand, trembling, and says, 'I'm about to die, and I'm afraid. What must I do to be saved?'

"What do you tell her?"

Carson relates that Wright said, "Hm. That's a really great question. I'll have to think about that."

So the implication is that Wright doesn't know how to share the Gospel. And that is the conclusion one would reach if that was already in their mind about Wright. If one had in mind that there are many ways to share the same Gospel message and had no former prejudice against Wright, I don't think that would be their conclusion.

Here is Wright's response to "how do we train the average Christian to evangelize the people with whom they rub shoulders given a New Perspective on Paul's definition of the gospel?"

As the questioner knows, there are as many ways of leading someone to a living, saving relationship with God through Jesus the Messiah and in the power of the Holy Spirit as there are people . . . one of the old Puritans (Baxter?) said, wisely, that ‘the Almighty breaketh not all hearts alike’. As far back as the Acts of the Apostles we can see people being converted in a variety of ways, from the gentle heart-opening of Lydia to the earthquake etc of the Philippian gaoler. That’s where I start.

Having said that, there are of course constant features, which include the recognition

a. that God is God, the creator, calling us to worship, love and adoration;

b. that the crucified and risen Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, is the world’s true Lord, and hence MY Lord, calling me to gratitude (‘the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me’) and submission (‘the obedience of faith’);

c. that this God, and this Jesus, promise to send the Holy Spirit to live within us to enable faith, hope and love;

d. that this extraordinary and wonderful message finds us unready, unprepared, and, worse than that, in a state of idolatry (worshipping false gods), rebellion (submitting to other lords), and that fractured humanness (for which the biblical shorthand is hamartia, sin) which is the very opposite of the genuine humanness the Spirit longs to create in us, so that the appropriate response to the good news about God, Jesus and the Spirit is contrition, recognition of sin and guilt, repentance with intention of amendment of life, in gratitude for that full dealing with sin which has been effected through Jesus’ death;

e. that in the Messiah and by the Spirit God has created and is creating a worldwide community of those now commissioned to shine his light in the world, and that this community, defined by the faith professed in baptism (Jesus is Lord, and God raised him from the dead) is the true home of all, equally, who share this faith and who together take forward God’s mission to and in the world, the mission through which the Lordship of Jesus as the world’s true sovereign (‘all authority’, he said, ‘in heaven AND ON EARTH’) is put into effect. Any and every ‘seeker’ needs at some point to be confronted with the challenge that if Jesus isn’t Lord of all (including our social, cultural and political lives) he isn’t Lord at all.

That’s already quite a mouthful, but if I were today leading a serious seeker towards full faith and commitment that’s what I would be aiming at. One way of doing it would be to read a gospel with them, perhaps (but not necessarily) John. Another way would be to talk through what it would mean to pray the Lord’s Prayer with each clause full of meaning. Another way would be to meditate prayerfully on the death and resurrection of Jesus (I have a friend who was converted from a liberal Judaism in his teens through a performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion). I take it for granted that at some point (d) above would need gentle exploration to see what repentance might mean in this case, and that at some point (e) would be introduced to see what appropriate church context this person could make their own, with a view to sharing the life of a community dedicated to glad worship of God in Jesus and to following him in mission in the world. Far more important, though, would be gently and steadily exploring (a), (b) and (c), stressing particularly that all our ideas about who ‘God’ actually is need to be brought into line with who we discover Jesus to be through reading the gospels and through prayer (John 1.18). But depending on whether the person was ten years old or seventy, was male or female, rich or poor, well educated or uneducated, from a happy family or an unhappy one, all this would take a very different course. I have sat with some enquirers for whom (in Oxford!) it was natural to get out a Greek New Testament; and of course with others for whom that would be, well, all Greek to them. And, again of course, everything, but everything, needs to be soaked in prayer, the prayer of love which will give these people into the care of God himself, who is a far, far better evangelist and pastor than we ever will be.

I shall stop here before I feel another book coming on.

I think the charge that "the postmodern preference for ambiguity and uncertainty is seriously at odds with Scripture" is unsubstantiated and frankly, the accusers seem to demonstrate a greater lack of understanding of the Gospel than the accused. It seems to me that both sides have a clear understanding of the Gospel and how to present it. One side seems a bit distracted from the task and prefers to play the role of watchdog. I've read and heard some great preaching from that group. I for one think they would really contribute to the Kingdom if they got back to that focus.

why write?

“I am the sort of man who writes because he has made progress, and who makes progress by writing.” - Augustine, Epistle 143.2-3

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

calvin's drink

Great post by Wince Brack at the Pot Calling the Kettle

Predestined?

W.W.C.D. - (What Would Calvin Drink?)

Find out here!

Sunday, March 19, 2006

afghan christian faces execution

Afghan Man Faces Execution After Converting to Christianity
By Benjamin Sand
Kabul
18 March 2006

An Afghan man who recently admitted he converted to Christianity faces the death penalty under the country's strict Islamic legal system. The trial is a critical test of Afghanistan's new constitution and democratic government. [more]

the practice of the presence of god

Today I read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It was ok but I think I am not contemplative enough for this kind of writing. It could be because I sandwiched reading this between watching The Godfather/The Godfather II and the David Gilmour concert on BBC. I can only blame myself for lacking the spiritual discipline required for this kind of book. But I did pick up some good thoughts and these were consistent with recent points on worship [here and here]. Brother Lawrence said, "Believe me, count as lost each day you have not used in loving God." I believe him. My soul yearns for more of God. And the more I become aware of His presence, the more of Him I desire. I think this is why I so love to be with His people. In them I experience a community with not only them but also with our Father. On the other hand, this comes at the cost of private, intimate times with our Lord. I need to develop the latter more.

Brother Lawrence's approach to worship was that "our sanctification does not depend upon changing our works, but in doing them for God's sake instead of doing them for our own." He said that, "it was sad to see how many people mistook the means for the end, filling their lives with work which they performed imperfectly, because of their human or selfish goals." He found God in all things. He set his mind to praise God in even the most common tasks.

We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. We should not be disturbed if, in the beginning, we fail in our discipline, because eventually we will gain a habit, which will naturally produce its fruits in us, without our care, and to our great delight.

The end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshippers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity. The greater perfection a soul aspires after, the more dependent it is on Divine grace.

I think I was most moved by these words in the introduction, "The conversation and letters of this humble but exalted lay brother have been compiled to show all of us how, at any moment and in any circumstance, the soul that seeks the companionship of God may find Him." I pray that somehow in my life, this truth might also be visible.

modern worship

It has been written:

There are several reasons for opposing it [modern worship music]. One, it’s too new. Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style because there are so many new songs, you can’t learn them all. It also puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than on Godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances, making people act indecently and disorderly. The preceding generation got along without it.

Some may think that this was written recently, as a critique of “contemporary” worship choruses, that may not include older hymns. Actually,

Those words were voiced in 1723. They were a critique of Isaac Watts, who produced the first hymnbook in the English language, and wrote such traditional favorites as “Jesus Shall Reign” (based on Psalm 72), “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (based on Psalm 90), and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”. [Source: Gary Tangeman, Disciplemaking Church, CLC, 1996, P.164-165]

Saturday, March 18, 2006

primavera

Barb and I had a great dinner at Primavera with Pete and Sandy. In addition to all of the great friends we have made here, we will miss the food when we move back to the US. The guys at Primavera do it right. Good friends and good food ... prosecco, antipasto, pesce, vino bianco, profiteroles, coffee (no need to say "espresso" here), sambuca, followed by cohiba's and cognac back home - it just doesn't get any sweeter ...

church music

I just read an article in which the author claimed, "It should be clear to anyone who examines the subject carefully that modern church music, as a rule, is vastly inferior to the classic hymns that were being written 200 years ago." The argument is that "modern church, fed on choruses with insipid lyrics, has no appetite for her own great tradition of didactic hymnody." I don't get this guy. Me, I'm quite happy with the creatures and the elders:

Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.

You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.

Or even John Wimber:

Isn't He, beautiful
Beautiful, isn't He
Prince of Peace, Son of God
Isn't He

Isn't He, Wonderful
Wonderful, Isn't He
Counselor, Almighty God
Isn't He, isn't He, isn't He

Yes You are, beautiful
Beautiful oh yes You are
You're the Prince of Peace
The Son of God
Oh yes You are

Yes You are wonderful
Wonderful oh yes You are
You're the Counselor
Almighty God
Yes You are Yes You are
You are

Yep - I'm lovin' those insipid lyrics.

dinner with angela

Last night I went to diner with Angela. We started off with a little shopping (she's like her mom). Then we went to Vapiano's in Frankfurt but she decided that wasn't her crowd. I think she was sparing me - they seemed a little sophisticated in there and perhaps she thought I might embarrass myself. So we went to a nice Italian place just of the Zeil (panorama's of Frankfurt) for some pasta. My little girl is becoming so mature. I really love her.

A friend of mine told me a long time ago that a father should take his daughter on regular dates. I agree. It builds intimacy. It provides a chance to focus on her to let her know she is special - a chance to really listen to her. And very important, a chance to model what she should be looking for in a future spouse. I need to take her out more.

Friday, March 17, 2006

lunch and shopping with barb

I took Barb for a little döner kebab today. I went for the döner but Barb chose Isaiah's favorite, lamacun. Lecker! We went to Hofheim and of course she also managed to find a few little gifts for herself. There's never a bad day for shopping. Here are some photos.

colson on culture

This excerpt is from Mark Driscoll's blog of his recent interview with Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship Ministries:

Question from Mark Driscoll: Is Christianity at war for culture?

Answer from Chuck Colson: One has to go back to Niebuhr’s formulation of the relationship between Christ and culture to first come up with a theological answer that is satisfactory. My own theology has been informed largely by my Calvinist convictions. But I also have great respect for Anabaptists who would take sharp issue with that. It seems to me that we have an obligation, if we believe in the sovereignty of God, to try to bring Christian influence to bear on all of culture, not to control culture, but to be salt and light. It’s interesting that throughout history some of the greatest social reforms have come about in periods when Christianity had its greatest influence in culture. I think about the abolition campaign, the civil rights movement, and many of the greatest human rights advances in history. I’m well aware of the other side of that argument, that some terrible things, like colonization, have taken place when Christianity had its greatest influence. On balance, however, as you look at how societies have been influenced by various worldviews, Christianity, from my perspective, scores high. But in the final analysis, I am driven by my view of Scripture and Scripture’s application to life, largely influenced by Calvin and even more so by Kuyper.

what is the gospel?

This morning Richard Morschel brought an excellent message at the ICF Men's Prayer Breakfast. The text is Acts 4; Peter and John are "doin' the stuff" just as Jesus taught; demonstration and proclamation of the Kingdom of God. This, as it always does, caused others to demand an explanation. They answer with boldness, "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." GLORY! Now that is something I can get excited about!

First, look at these guys. Very Jonathan like aren't they. Regular guys standing before what seems insurmountable odds, with nothing other than the knowledge of the glory of God and His power within them. Yep - that's good enough.

But there's more to it. Here is the key question today (and it is the same one I am asking in my earlier post witness the kingdom), what is this salvation or kingdom message?

It's the same thing Jesus told John's disciples when they were sent to find out if He was the messiah. "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosya are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." (Lk 7.22) Jesus told us plainly what He was here to say and to do (Lk 4.18-19) and then He told His disciples to do the same (Mt 10.1ff, Lk 10.1ff, Mt 28.16-20).

It is unclear to me how we can read the whole of the Gospel and get from it that our role is one of telling others about Christ coming to earth as a man, dieing on the cross as a substitution for our sins, raising from the dead, etc., so that we can have life in heaven forever if we receive the free gift of His forgiveness and accept His leadership in our lives. While that in and of itself is a GREAT message and is clearly part of it, how do we read the Bible and come away with only this? The Kingdom of God is here!!!! Repent. Repent meaning not only to turn from sin, but to turn in our whole thinking toward our earthly existence. To move from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. To experience His Kingdom on earth just as it is in heaven (Mt 6.10). To know His life in the already not yet. (Jn 10.10)

This my friends is the Gospel. This is the Kingdom of God. Glorification at the end of our earthly lives or at His return is only a piece of it. The Gospel is that our God reigns! Come, taste, the Lord is good. Enter into His rest. Enter into His Kingdom.

As Jimmy taught, it is worth everything. We cannot buy it and yet it costs everything. And having found it, we now must go out and demonstrate and proclaim it.

Back to Richard's lesson, are we going to be advocates or witnesses? The advocate argues or defends a person. The witness gives a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. The definition for witness I think Jesus has in mind is "one who furnishes evidence". Not simply telling about, but demonstrating. The redemption of the Kingdom encompasses our entire being and as that happens, that is the witness the fallen world needs.

1 Jn 1.1, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life."

emergent church family plan

If you like the emergent church, you'll like this. Created by Marc at Purgatorio.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

people are unbelievable

We just get stupider...

City Rejects Claim By Own Employee, So Wife Files Another

jonathan

Erwin McManus of Mosaic is teaching from 1 Sa 13&14 - it's great! Here's the set-up. There are thousands of Philistines moving in to make war on King Saul and a few hundred of his men. The Philistines are smart and wipe out the blacksmiths to keep Israel from making swords. For some reason, the Hebrews decide it would be a good idea to give their plowshares, axes, and such to the Philistines to sharpening - they even pay the Philistines to do it. Dirty Philistines don't come through. Only Saul and his son Jonathan have swords.

So Jonathan decides to do something about it. Here's the first cool thing. He says to his young armor-bearer in chapter 14, verse 6, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” Check out the "perhaps" part. He knows God. He knows what God can do. And he knows that God may or may not deliver him. Sometimes we have the Daniel in the lions den or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the furnace experience. And sometimes we do not. Many more were eaten by lions and burned in the furnace than were rescued in this manner. But regardless, our God is able to save us and we will do what He has called us to do.

After that, the armor-bearer is so cool. He should have replied, "well let me know when you are sure" but instead he replies, “Do all that you have in mind. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” How many leaders have built a relationship like that with those that we are called to serve? So many of us are wrestling with the congregation. That in and of itself speaks volumes. We need to develop relationships in a way that the response is as this one.

Finally Jonathan tells him, “Come, then; we will cross over toward the men and let them see us." What is the deal with that? Shouldn't he have tried some sneak attack? No! He is saying, "look, this is what is right in the eyes of God and I'm stepping out." Many of us today are sneaking around. We pray for the low risk situations. Or we pray and then when something happens, we say, "yeh, I was praying for you." But life in the Kingdom is bigger and more risky than that. God is calling us to step out. To be different than the pack. To boldly proclaim the reality of His Kingdom in a world that has no hope without Him.

Praise God for His faithfulness.

church discipline

Christianity Today posted the following article in their Leadership Journal. It contained some good advise but mostly helped me realize that life where I'm at could definitely be worse...

To Discipline Touchy Tom

The bullet learning points are:

Train the leaders
Meet privately at first
Hold out hope to the very end
Call the police
Teach the congregation about restoration
Leaders should confess
Offer redemption
Minister to the offended and hurting
Encourage accountability

The article is worth a read.

watching the watchdogs

I was confronted (in a good way) recently by a friend for criticizing critics. He was right but I still struggle with the Christian "watchdog". As I read/listen to them, I typically see offense in them greater than what they are warning against. So I'm trying to figure out a way to fire off a warning without becoming like those I am warning about.

Here is a general example of what I am getting at. I just read that Joel Osteen has signed a huge deal for his next book. As expected, the blogshere is lit up with this. Quickly the conversation drifted to "guys like Osteen and Warren"...what?!? Osteen and Warren? The connection being what, people that have made money selling books? What about Osteen and Sproul or MacArthur? So - learning one, be real careful when making links. If you are going to be critical, focus on the actual issue and avoid the association trap. Especially when the association has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

After the guilt by some association warnings, the argument generally (1) looks at all of that could go wrong if someone takes the offending persons teaching/statements to extremes or (2) presumes that the offending person's points are the full balance of their ministry. Warnings of what could happen and taking snapshots as representing the whole would make anyone look bad. I cannot tell you the number of times I've read these criticisms about Warren (and others) yet I cannot recall reading someone showing where he has taught contrary to Scripture. So - learning two, try to determine what is actually wrong and don't make judgments based on what could go wrong.

Regarding Warren, I read attacks about his use of various Bible versions. Typically these are really against the Bible versions themselves and not so much against Warren. It seems some people just don't like these versions. I can respect that but I'm not sure how that makes Warren a danger for using them since the principles he is teaching are not contrary to Scripture (regardless of the version). He explains in PDL why he did that (efficiency in communication) which again may not be the best approach (he could have written a heavier book) but I doubt that puts him in the "evil" category. So - learning three, don't get caught up in a great argument about what is wrong with X and then conclude that because someone's name is mentioned in the article that they are guilty of something.

Net, please be careful in the criticism of a brother. Look for specifics that show a teaching contrary to Scripture. Avoid guilt by association and attacks on straw men. If there's error, then we need to judge but as I read the watchdogs, I see very little of substance. Be careful.

I love John Piper. I recently heard him speak about a denomination that he has great issue with but he spoke with regard for others and he focused on specifics. He started by first acknowledging things he had in common with this group and that while he disagreed with them on the topic he was about to address, he acknowledged that they were sincere in their thinking, etc.. Then in an uncompromising way, he took statements that he verified from the other viewpoint and contrasted them to Scripture. He purposefully avoided using examples that he could not verify. Piper demonstrated integrity yet he was unwavering - we could use more like him.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

flowers for barb

I love Barb! She loves flowers. Here are some pics of her flowers...

jesus and the manicotti

My friend (he'll be honored by this) over at pot calling the kettle highlights this story:

Man Claims Jesus Appeared In Pasta Dish

You can even get a glimpse of the holy macaroni here. I don't see Him. I guess I have been so tainted by the pictures Marc at Purgatorio has blitzed me with that I cannot even recognize our Lord in pasta. I need to go repent.

Oh, and as a side note, the guy at the free dictionary doesn't sound Italian and does not pronounce manicotti the way my grandparents from Italia did.