Book Review: God is the Gospel by John Piper

February 19, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Why is the gospel good news? Is it because Jesus died for
the sins of the world, because Jesus was raised from the dead, because of the
promise of salvation and sanctification, or is it because the saved will enjoy
a heaven free of pain and suffering? John Piper contends that though these are
all aspects of the gospel, the gospel is not good news without God. Until you
“embrace God himself as your highest joy, you have not embraced the
gospel of God. You have embraced some of his gifts… but you have yet been
awakened to why the gifts, the rewards, and the miracles have come. They have
come for one reason: that you might behold forever the glory of God.” (38)

God is the Gospel is John Piper’s rich explanation of
what the gospel is truly about: “The gospel is not a way to get people to
heaven; it is a way to get people to God.” (47) Piper begins by defining the
meaning of the gospel, including all the aspects that are part of the good
news. He then moves on to describe what it means for God to be the supreme good
of the gospel in terms of each person of the trinity. He explains how this
applies to evangelism, missions, and sanctification: “There is no gospel where
the glory of God in Christ is not shown. And there is no salvation through the
gospel where the glory of God in Christ is not seen.” (97)

Not all of the gifts of the gospel are pleasant, so Piper
spends a couple of chapters explaining that “all the gifts of God are given for
the sake of revealing more of God’s glory, so that the proper use of them is to
rest our affections not on them but through them on God alone.” (117) The point
of each gift, of course, is the glory of God, and so Piper describes how that
works with both the good and the bad. He also explains that we shall eventually
see the glory of God and ourselves be glorious, since we must first be like
Christ to experience the glory of God. Piper ends the book with a series of
hymns describing the transforming power of the gospel that is the glory of God.

All of John Piper’s work flows from the same passion
for the glory of God, and God is the Gospel is no exception. At some
points the book is redundant, especially where it explicitly crosses paths his
other books. However, it contains many of its own great nuggets. For example,
in the introduction, Piper asks if we would be happy in heaven if Christ were
not there. Reflecting on such a question is a good exercise for getting the
point of gospel right, and so is the entire book. God is the Gospel is
an important reminder of what’s so great about the gospel and why we should
proclaim it.

Category Posted in Book Reviews, Main Page, Roger's Posts 9 Comments »

I Love Men

February 17, 2006 Posted by Amy Hall

I love the way God created men. We're different, we women and you men. We express our love for others in different ways. This valentine just about sums it up.

Category Posted in Amy's Posts, Gender Issues, Main Page, Miscellaneous 3 Comments »

Shocking News!

February 17, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Headlining the ABC 5:00 news this evening in Los Angeles was
this startling message: “There is surprising news about earthquake readiness.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has no plan to deal with a catastrophic
earthquake in southern California.”

Why are they surprised? If they think FEMA is supposed to
deal with every catastrophe, then they shouldn’t be surprised after what
happened due to Katrina. In their minds the federal government has failed
again.

I’m surprised for a different reason. Someone in the federal
government has it right! “Federal officials maintain that local and state
agencies are responsible for such strategies. FEMA contends that its role is to
offer only technical help and guidance to state and local leaders.” [San Gabriel Valley Tribune] Hats off to
Michael Chertoff for standing up to Boxer and Feinstein. I’ve never been too
sure about the guy since for some reason he reminds me of Sloane from Alias,
but I’m behind him now.

Chertoff made it simple: “Emergency management must begin at
the local level because municipal, county and state governments are best suited
to understand the needs, capabilities and vulnerabilities of their respective
locales.” I have my doubts whether the California state government is really
“best suited,” but this is generally true (in every other state). The federal
government’s role is to aid the plans of the local governments. Asking FEMA to
do it all is like having the National Guard give people speeding tickets. It’s
not their job; it’s the job of local law enforcement.

I am curious, though, why Boxer and Feinstein stop at FEMA.
If they want such a big government, why not make it bigger? Why not petition
the U.N. for earthquake disaster plans? I’ll be the first to agree that FEMA
really screwed up with Katrina (see this report on wasted money), but some of
that had to do with the inappropriate pressure put on the agency to do things
outside of their responsibilities. While Boxer and Feinstein whine on about the
need for bigger government, I’m thrilled that we have a wise man in charge of
Homeland Security.

Maybe it was just a slow news day. The next story had
one of their reporters in a rain jacket interviewing people about how cold and
overcast it was (61° and sunny at the time of the report, and we haven’t had
rain in weeks).

Category Posted in Main Page, Politics, Roger's Posts No Comments »

Adventures in Missing the Point: Andrew Jones

February 16, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Yesterday Andrew Jones let loose on the critics of the
emerging church in the United States. Though I have no reason to believe he had
The A-Team in mind, his post frustrated me because he’s missed the point of the
most of the critics and his tone and language aren’t helpful.

“I have been
listening to the latest wave of criticism against the emerging-missional church
in USA and I don't know if i am more angry with the critics for getting it so
wrong, or angry at emerging church practitioners for either not communicating
the heart of what we (the global emerging-missional church) are doing . . or
not knowing it in the first place.” Andrew’s rant is mostly about how much the
critics have missed the point. Unfortunately he never gives a single example of
a critic whose criticism is misplaced. Maybe I’ve sheltered myself from the
“extreme critics,” but most of the criticism I’ve seen is spot on. If Andrew’s
strong claim is accurate, he should be able to provide plenty of specific
examples (a couple of bad criticisms isn’t most of them).

Andrew suggests that maybe one or two churches fit the
criticisms, but I think this is an example of where he’s missed the point. Most
of the criticism, good or bad, of Emergent and the broader emerging movement is
not against specific churches. Rather, we’ve been concerned with
specific ideas and the people who promote those ideas. For
example, we’re concerned that postmodern conceptions of truth are becoming
popular and are being promoted by popular emerging leaders, like Tony Jones and
Brian McLaren. We believe such ideas are contrary to the Bible and harmful to
the proclamation of the Gospel, so we feel a responsibility to warn the church.

Are there emerging churches that are not guilty of our
criticisms? There are, but if they’re not guilty, then we’re not talking about
them (we rarely are talking about specific churches). Part of the problem, of
course, is defining what churches are “emerging.” If “emerging” simply refers
to churches that are seeking to better communicate the Gospel in their
respective contexts, then I’m all for them. In fact, most critics I’ve read
have made it a point to affirm that position. It’s when people are talking
about changing the content of the message that we become concerned, and this is
what we see “Emergent” doing.

In our current culture, we find things helpful and things
harmful to the proclamation of the Gospel. For example, emphasis on community
is a great thing, and critics have (for the most part) affirmed churches and
people who promote community. On the other hand, emphasis on constructing truth
is a bad thing, and critics have attempted to make that clear. Simply put,
critics (at least the ones I’ve read) generally have no problem affirming the
good things emerging leaders are teaching or doing while also being critical of
the bad things. But here, Andrew’s missed the point again. He spends several
paragraphs asking questions like; “Why isn't the emerging church getting
criticized for its trinitarian missiology? Why not?” Well, because we don’t
have problem with that, and most of the time we agree that such an emphasis is
a good thing.

“What about someone critiquing our commitment to faith, hope
and love? Our crucified lifestyles? Our abandonment of worldly attachments?” I
think Andrew lives out these commitments well, and I truly appreciate that
about him. However, by listing all of these commitments (and others) like he
does, he makes it sound as though those who don’t consider themselves
“emerging” lack these commitments and that they have a problem with those who
do. Questions like these are why there is more criticism than moving forward in
emerging conversations.

“When will we get criticized for our high view of
Scripture?” Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anything leading me to believe that
the leaders of Emergent have a high view of Scripture. For example, Tony Jones,
National Coordinator of Emergent-US, says, “we must stop looking for some
objective Truth that is available when we delve into the text of the Bible.” (Postmodern
Youth Ministry, , 201)

Andrew concludes, “My advice is to go back to the
Scriptures, again and again, and back to the way of Jesus.” I wholeheartedly
agree, and this is what we critics are most concerned about as well, and this
is why civil dialogue about what that means must take place. That won’t happen,
however, while the name-calling continues- “Sounds like the SuperApostles have
risen up and are demanding that you hand over your young.”

Category Posted in Emerging / Emergent Church, Main Page, Roger's Posts 16 Comments »

Noteworthy Events

February 14, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

For those of you in Southern California, there are a number of noteworthy events coming up…

February 14-16 @ USC:
The Veritas Forum featuring Craig Blomberg and Alvin Plantinga. See site for schedule, these are typically free.

February 19th @ Concordia University
John Warwick Montgomery on Luther's treatise on Christian Freedom. Free event from 6:30-9:30pm.

February 20th @ Biola University
Greg Koukl on the challenges of postmodernism and the emerging church. Free event from 7:30-9:30pm.

February 22nd @ Mariners Church
Ravi Zacharias and other RZIM speakers on engaging today's culture. 6:00-9:30pm, $20 online registration.

February 25th @ Claremont Colleges
James Emery White on the role of Christian Scholars in today's postmodern academy. All-day conference, fees vary.

February 28th & March 2nd @ Talbot Chapel
Jerry Root will give the annual Saucy Lectures on Christian education.

March 6th on FOX
Jack Bauer will fight evil for two hours straight., 8:00-10:00pm. (Warning: link contains minor spoilers)

And if you have a blog…
Provide a shameless plug for my C.S. Lewis blog (Never Enough Tea) and you could win a free signed book!

Category Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts No Comments »

Have You Read Your Bible Today?

February 13, 2006 Posted by Amy Hall

We have, in our hands, what everyone is searching for:

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

Perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true–restoring, making wise, rejoicing, enlightening, enduring, righteous.

Can anyone read these words without a thrill of longing? All of humanity is searching for these things as they wander–unsettled, anxious, confused, empty, lonely. Some would give anything to know where to find the solid, true, wise words that could bring them peace.

We have them. God's words. And through them He pours out life and draws us close. Remember your first taste, eagerly taken as you stepped out of a starved life, and then seek them with as much hunger as you did then.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

Category Posted in Amy's Posts, Main Page, Poetry/Scripture/Liturgy/Etc., Religion (General) No Comments »

Just Playing Around

February 9, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Do you ever feel guilty about doing things “just for fun?”
Many of us commit ourselves to so much that we often do. We feel like if we
spend any time watching television, playing a game, or hanging out with friends
we’re not making effective use of our time. Well, I do anyway.

So I’m going to come clean. Sometimes I play computer games.
I’m not really a “gamer.” There’s only a few games I like- Civilization 2,
Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2. Every once in awhile I’ll play for a few
hours straight, almost always there’s something more “important” I could be
doing. I like watching a few shows, like 24, Lost, Monk, and of course, The
A-Team. I started 24 half way through season 4. I acquired the earlier seasons
last fall and watched them in about a month. That’s 54 hours I could have spent
doing homework and getting better grades last semester. Lately I’ve started
baking for the fun of it, and for the fun of other people trying my
experiments.

There, it’s out now. Look at all that time I wasted! Well,
not really… Even though I often feel guilty, I usually force myself to take
leisure time. (In Seal Beach there’s a place called Leisure World and in front
is a giant globe. When I was little I associated it with the globe at Universal
Studios and so I thought Leisure World was an amusement park. It was some time
before I found out it was actually a retirement village…)

I have the unfortunate propensity for taking on too many
things. It’s in my blood. For example, I obtained a business license at 17 to
run an outreach concert ministry (Double-Edged Productions), while I was still
in high school. One March I put together 4 shows and called it “March Madness,”
and it was. I’d bore you by listing all the other things I’ve taken on, but you
should get the point. I need to force myself to take time to unwind, enjoy
life, and relax just a little.

This isn’t just something I do to keep my sanity, however.
Even though I don’t believe the Sabbath law is required of us today, I don’t
believe God decreed it just to make the law an even number. Taking time to rest
is rooted somehow in the divine act of creation. If it was important for God to
rest, so to it is for us who are made in His image. Taking a break isn’t just a
relaxing thing to do. It should remind us of our Creator and should be an
expression of worship to Him. It’s a form of enjoying God- by enjoying the
things He’s blessed us with. Having fun isn’t just playing around…

Category Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts 3 Comments »

Do You Ever Think About This?

February 7, 2006 Posted by Amy Hall

We don't think about it in real terms much, but we will see God. Think about that. We are going to see God–you are going to see God. You, Mr. and Ms. Ordinary, are actually, in reality, going to stand before God and see Him for yourself. We say this with our words all the time, but I don't think we really see it in our future like we see the fact that tomorrow we'll go to work and see our bosses. Sure, we think about other people seeing God, but think hard about this: one day, it will be your turn. You. Not someone else.

I can remember when the reality of this first hit me. Soon after this realization with its acompanying awe and excitement, I came across these verses in Job that perfectly expressed the wonder I was feeling:

And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes–I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

I imagine that thinking about this certain future event in concrete terms could cause two very different reactions. First, for those who have hidden from God–or even openly rebelled–in this life, the idea can't be very appealing. As I discussed in my last post, these are the ones who never saw God in all His goodness, truth, and beauty. They never knew He was someone to be desired for true joy, but instead, always thought of Him as someone to be avoided. They clung to their worn-out, threadbare ways and feared God would take them away. They saw God as the ultimate “taker” and spoiler of all things enjoyable.

But, the second reaction–how I pray that people would see God for who He is so that this would be their reaction! The second reaction, for those who know God in this life, is the one expressed by Job: “How my heart yearns within me!”

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee,
Op'ning to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

Category Posted in Amy's Posts, Main Page, Poetry/Scripture/Liturgy/Etc., Religion (General) Comments 1 Comment »

Baseball Goes Cheeseball

February 4, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Imagine you’re a profession baseball player. Your team has
had an extraordinary year and you’ve found yourself in the World Series for the
first time. Out of 28 teams, yours is one of the two best. You’ve worked hard
and your team (let’s say- The Red Sox) deserves the World Championship.

By some flaw in the space-time continuum, your opponent is
the Kansas City Royals. No one’s really sure how they got there since they
can’t tell the difference between balls and strikes, but they’re there. Being
the Royals, they don’t offer a challenge. Feeling bad for them, the
Commissioner of Baseball institutes a new rule: if a team is winning by 6 runs
in a game, it’s called for the leading team. Inevitably, every game lasts only 3
innings- becoming the shortest games ever played. All the work from the year
paid off with a World Series ring, but you don’t even feel like you played (you
only had 6 at bats over 4 games).

This may sound ridiculous, but it’s not far from the truth.
Such a “mercy rule” is practiced in softball and will soon be coming to
baseball…

Wikipedia on “Softball:” In games where one team leads by a
large margin, the mercy rule may come into play in order to avoid
embarrassing weaker teams. In fast pitch and modified pitch, a margin of 20
runs after three innings, 15 after four, or 10 after five is sufficient for a
win to be declared for the leading team. In slow pitch, the margin is 20 runs
after four innings or 15 after five innings. In the NCAA, the required
margin after 5 innings is 8 runs. The mercy rule takes effect at the end of an
inning. Thus, if the team batting first is ahead by enough runs for the rule to
come into effect, the team batting second is given their half of the inning to
try and narrow the margin.

Those of us who watched Team USA’s Women’s Softball team in
Athens saw the mercy rule regularly (almost every game was won by it). There,
USA won whenever they were up by 7 runs or more after 5 innings. All those
other teams who worked hard to get to the Olympics had their time cut short
because the organizers were “protecting their feelings.”

This March the world will see for the first time the World
Baseball Classic. 16 countries will compete for the new world title in a
tournament much like the Olympics. It should make for great entertainment, but
it will be ailed by one awful rule: the mercy rule. ESPN reports: “Games will
be stopped after five innings when a team is ahead by 15 or more runs and after
seven innings when a team is ahead by at least 10 runs. A game can be stopped
in the middle of an inning if a team reaches the threshold.”

Granted the threshold is significantly higher, but it’s
still an incredibly stupid rule. In baseball big innings can and do happen, so
the mercy rule harms the losing team more than it helps them by taking away
their last opportunities. It takes away the right earned by the losing team to
learn from their experiences. The best players and teams will be blocked from
setting and breaking records. In short, the mercy rule will ruin the game (just
like steroids!). True sportsmen can handle defeat, and if they can’t, they
shouldn’t be playing. They don’t need this
postmodern-cheesseball-therapeutic-crap.

PS- While I’m ranting, whose “bright idea” was it to use designated
hitters? As much as I love David Ortiz, it’s a dumb rule.

Category Posted in Culture, Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts 5 Comments »

True Freedom

February 4, 2006 Posted by Amy Hall

Now that I'm coming out of my daze (see my previous post), I have something to say, and it relates to more than just polygamy. In our society, we define “freedom” as the ability to do whatever we wish in our quest for happiness, and bold innovation is exalted; but does this lead to true freedom? There is a God-given human desire to seek freedom and fulfillment; but there's a terrible price to pay when we don't seek these things from God in the way He created us to receive them. Having not seen and believed that God's way is the way of joy, we rebel and grab at pleasures we think will make us happy and then suddenly find ourselves trapped in an empty world where nothing seems to make us happy and from which none of our efforts can quite free us. Though this tendency of the human heart extends beyond the subject matter of Big Love, a true story of polygamy illustrates the point well.

There's a book called Wife No. 19, written in 1875 by Ann-Eliza Young, Brigham Young's 19th wife. She left Young, fled Utah, and then spent her life writing and speaking against polygamy, desperately trying to gain enough political and popular support to put an end to the practice. Her book describes the lives of the women she knew while living as a wife of this Mormon prophet. It made me weep.

The Bible illustrates the heartache of polygamy, warns of its dangers, and asserts the superiority of monogamy, and yet the Mormon Church (for a time) embraced polygamy. They entered into their lifestyle of preference against God's stated wisdom and desire for them in favor of a new “revelation” they hoped would bring fulfillment; the result was misery for the women and children. Tragically, most of them did not try to change their situation because, since they were so immersed and isolated in their culture, they had no idea of the beauty of what they were missing. Ann-Eliza speaks of the power of seeing relationships as God meant them to be lived:

I had felt [polygamy's] misery; I had known the abject wretchedness of the condition to which it reduced women, but I did not fully realize the extent of its depravity, the depths of the woes in which it plunged women, until I saw the contrasted lives of monogamic wives…I now saw other women, holding the same relation, cared for tenderly, cherished, protected, loved, and honored….The contrast was so very great that, unless it was seen, it could not be realized, even ever so faintly.

The people had been taught to hate and fear Christians and Christianity though they had witnessed little of either; and so they clung to their ways–longing for a way out, but fleeing from the only real source of escape: the true God Himself–His wisdom, forgiveness, and freedom.

This is no different from what I see happening today–especially in Hollywood.

In her Dedication, Ann-Eliza pleads with the Mormon wives–desiring only to bring them into joy–in a passage that echoes Jesus' tears in Luke 19:41-42 and my prayer for everyone who is hurting in Hollywood:

I dedicate this book to you, as I consecrate my life to your cause. As long as God gives me life I shall pray and plead for your deliverance from the worse than Egyptian bondage in which you are held….You shrink from those whom God will soon lead to your deliverance, from those to whom I daily present your claims to a hearing and liberation, and who listen with responsive and sympathetic hearts.

Hope and pray! Come out of the house of bondage! Kind hearts beat for you! Open hands will welcome you! Do not fear that while God lives you shall suffer uncared for in the wilderness! This Christian realm is not “Babylon,” but THE PROMISED LAND!

Courage! The night of oppression is nearly ended, and the sun of liberty is rising in the heavens for you.

For all of you who have not yet seen and believed the true and glorious freedom of a life lived with God, I cry out with Ann-Eliza for your liberty.

Category Posted in Amy's Posts, Culture, Main Page, Mormonism, Religion (General) 7 Comments »

Book Review: God is the Gospel by John Piper

February 19, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton