What's Next for The Gospel Coalition

Christianity Today interviewed D.A. Carson about The Gospel Coalition and its future. On the second page of the interview he noted our regional conference coming up on May 30th. 

I wanted to do something fun and useful with all of my blog reading. Each week (or so) I will share my favorite blog entries from the past week (or s0). Enjoy!

1. There are two conferences that I have enjoyed paying attention to over the past couple of years for pastors and theologians. The first is the Gospel Coalition which I was able to attend this past month. The second is Together for the Gospel which I have not attended but hope to next year. Pastor Duncan who is a part of both describes their differences and similarities on his blog post this week.

2. If you are concerned about abortion issues, which you should be, read this article about a pastor from Oakland that put it all on this line in a Christ honoring way in this blog post.

3. I liked this idea from The Resurgence blog post on not getting caught up in our own Christian worlds.

4. John Piper explains his methodology in Bible Study in this blog post.

5. 3000 year old homework assignment! Check this blog post out if you want to see some serious old school homework.

Compete and Complete

Yesterday I competed and completed an Olympic marathon with five of my friends and another seven friends that came for support and coaching. I had no idea when I started this process about nine months ago how intense the process would be. It was at challenge learning how to swim and bike and run in such a way as to do them back to back to back. It was challenging to watch friends have to back out because life demands were too much to prepare sufficiently. It was exciting to see the support and care from family and friends.

In the end it was a real joy to compete and complete. It was different for me because the competition was not really me against another person. One of my coaches just kept telling me don't pay attention to everyone passing me focus instead on my own pace and what I needed to do to complete the race. Wise words that probably saved my life in the water, but also allowed me to finish the race.

This week I am preparing a message on discipleship, how fitting given the process I just under took. If I attacked this race the same what I go after everything else competitively in my life I never would have finished. I had to admit to myself my weaknesses and live with them. I had to accept the 55 year old woman passing me on the run up the hill that I was walking (one day I will catch you lady).

Our lives as Christians is the same kind of journey. We want to be super strong and powerful, but in the end there is always someone passing us, more mature than us, but in the end we all strive to be like the one who achieved the prize perfectly.

Biologos

Francis Collins, the director of the Human Genome Project, wrote the book 'The Language of God' in the summer of 2007. Collins offered a detailed perspective of his discoveries about DNA and how he viewed DNA as the fingerprint of God. His results and conclusions left me confused, excited, and wanting more answers.

Now he has launched a website called "biologos". This is a word he coined that combines his understanding of God through the Bible and his understandings from science. On the front page they have a list of questions that people most frequently ask them ... 

1. If God created the universe, what created God?

2. How are the ages of the Earth and the universe calculated? How accurate are those figures?

3. How was the Genesis creation story interpreted before Darwin?

4. What does the fossil record show? 

If you would like to read an interview with Dr. Collins about this new site you can so here.

I wanted to try something fun on the blog and do something useful with all of my blog reading. Each week (or so) I will share my favorite blog entries from the past week (or s0). Enjoy!

1. First is a thank you blog post to Ben Peays who helped organize The Gospel Coalition conference this past week (you will notice a Gospel Coalition theme emerging here). Thanks a lot, Ben. 

2. Second is a blog post regarding the newest edition to my favorite commentary set, Pillar Commentary. 

3. Third, is a blog post of the Gospel Coalition messages that are online, or you can go to their website and check them out.

4. Fourth, is a blog post on the difficulties of change that was challenging from Tullian Tchividjian. 

5. Fifth, What it the Gospel Coalition? Great question! Check out this blog post to get an idea, Tim Challies also put up a second blog post for part 2. 

Supermarket Church

CNN has a report on the growing tendency of Americans to shop for church. This quote came out of a CNN news story posted tonight: 

"You're seeing the free market at work," said Gregory Smith, a research fellow at the Pew Forum. "If people are dissatisfied, they will leave. And if they see something they like better, they will join it."

When we define worship for ourselves, worship itself becomes the idol that we are serving. This was the fundamental problem for the Samaritans. They lost the pathway to understanding salvation because they changed the word of God to their own liking (John 4:21-22). This is why it is so important for us to mediate on Psalms like Psalm 19 that draw us to understand where the truth can be found and where relationship with that truth can be found.  

At The Gospel Coalition last week Joshua Harris gave a presentation on this very real issue in the church community today: Ministering in a Church-Hopping Society

Don't Waste Your Life Video

I really enjoyed this video by Lecrae. I have not really listened to his music before, but I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed the book Don't Waste your Life by John Piper, but it always surprises me by how much it has touched people. John Piper has an amazing affect on people.