A friend in Finland

I received an email from a good friend of mine who is currently serving the Lord as a missionary in Finland. Be sure to check out the portrait Jim did, which is shown below. Jim, I can't wait to see you in October, we all miss you, my brother!

I don't think he would mind if I shared some of his last e-mail with you:

Hi Al, I read your blog, but didn't read the other blogs yet. I will get to it someday soon. I just finished "The Case for a Creator" by Lee Strobel. Anyone who reads that book cannot have any good excuse to believe in materialism or Darwinism, even many atheistic scientists admit Darwinism is just not feasible but they can't bring themselves to believe in a Designer. Strobel talks about "irreducible complexity", which is the idea that a biological function like the cilia which is actually a very complex biological motor, could not have happened unless all the parts of the machine came together exactly as they are to function as a motor, there is no way it could have evolved from a simpler design. There are literally millions of examples of these in nature. And he also talks about how the cambrian explosion of phyla, happened all at once, there is no gradual evolution in the fossil record. How did all that dna information get programmed at one time? Even Darwinists call themselves Neo-Darwinists now because they can't stomach Darwin's theories.

Anyway, having about 18 lessons a week which run from 1 to 2 hours each. I gave two guitar lessons today (Saturday). Also finished a portrait (I have to show somebody! - it's of a kid that was killed last year - friend of a friend).

I plan to be home at the end of October to visit some relatives and then hopefully get a teaching job overseas in the Orient somewhere. It's too expensive for me to stay here without a job and I can't seem to get one. Lord bless you all,
Your brother Zeteoan (Zeteon? - sounds alien) and your brother in Christ,
Jim

Ok, So I Haven't Posted Anything In A While...

Yesterday (or the day before, I have lost all track of time), I got a note from Gem over at My So-Called Homeschool about BlogDay 2006 which is supposed to get bloggers around the world to check out new blogs and areas of interest that they may not have read about before. Well, I had never heard of Blog Day before Gem dropped me that note and was kind enough to include my lowly blog in her list of 5. Thanks Gem! This is what I was supposed to do before August 31st:

1. Find five new blogs that you find interesting.
2. Notify the five bloggers that you’re recommending them on BlogDay 2006.
3. Write a post today with a short description of each blog, and link back to it.
4. Link back to the Technorati BlogDay 2006 page.

I know, I know, I am late, don't punish me for it! So, I suggest these 5 blogs for your consideration. Actually, since I have already broken the rules and posted this 2 or 3 days late anyway, I may as well continue to be a non-conformist and post more than 5 blogs!

Here they are:
#1 Adversaria A theological blog by Alastair Roberts that often intrigues me and disrupts my complacency. It also causes me to wrestle with God, the Church, and my life. Check this blog out AS SOON as you are done reading this post!

#2 Starving Jesus - 40 Days of Nothing 2 pastors who are fasting for 40 days and traveling around the country trying to get people out of the church pews and into participating in God's Kingdom. What a concept!

#3 Patrick Mead Patrick is the preacher at the Rochester Church of Christ. He has tremendous insight and his voice needs to be heard!

#4 Josh Graves Josh is Patrick Mead's son in law and he really gets and holds my attention.

#5 Preacher Mike Mike Cope is the preacher at the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. He is a wonderful speaker and an insightful writer. He is also the Senior Editor of New Wineskins magazine.

#6 Larry James Urban Daily Larry is the CEO of Central Dallas Ministries, a ministry with a focus on economic and social justice in inner city Dallas, Texas. Here is a man with a heart for the poor, the homeless, the social outcasts. Kind of sounds like a man after Jesus' own heart, doesn't he?

#7 Meanderings Our own preacher at Trenton Church of Christ. Mark is a witty, intelligent, fun loving guy that gets the Gospel, and tries to help the rest of us get it as well.

#8 My So-Called Homeschool Gem is a member at our church and a frequent blogger. She is a homeschooling mom (bet you would have never guessed!) and has a good post to read most everyday.

#9 Rabbi Saul: Studies in Paul and Second Temple Judaism A blog dedicated to the study of Paul, his faith, and the way in which he integrated the Hebrew Scriptures into the writings that would become his Epistles. If you like N.T. Wright, you will be at home here.

#10 The Ashram This blog is a community of people living in God’s Kingdom here & now. “a humble attempt at authentic living, relying on community and conversation for holistic answers to fractured questions, trying to catch a glimpse of the kingdom coming, seeking the one who said "follow me"...”

That's it. Check ‘em all out, let me know what you think.    

What I am studying (besides the Bible)

Lately, I have been listening to lectures by a famous theologian and bishop of the Anglican Church in Durham, England.  N.T. (Tom) Wright. Bishop Wright is widely considered an expert on the letters of Paul and he is also on the Eames Commission, which is seeking to steer the Anglican Church through the difficult waters of dealing with the American ordination of gay priests and how the church as a whole will respond to that situation.

I am currently reading his recently released book, “Simply Christian, Why Christianity Makes Sense”.  In both his lectures and his book, Wright speaks about God “putting the world to rights”. He says “Resurrection doesn’t mean going to heaven when you die. It isn’t about life after death, it’s about life after ’life after death’”. He discusses the concept that the ultimate goal for a Christian isn’t getting to heaven, it’s about being in a relationship with God that announces to the world that the Kingdom of God is here, that through Jesus the powers that corrupt and bind the world have been conquered, and that by His Spirit and through His church, He will heal and restore it.

We are called to be agents of that purpose, and we are also called to model that healing to others, showing the world that through Christ we have been made whole. We are currently living in the darkness, but we are doing so by the light of Jesus. And we are called to be those change agents through community. We are a group of people who belong to each other because we belong to God in and through Jesus Christ.

Wright says that the two primary reasons the church exists are to worship God and to work for His Kingdom in the world. But we can’t do it alone, we need the community and the fellowship of the church in order to build one another up, teach one another, pray with and for each other, and to set examples for one another.  To live the Christian life means dying with Jesus to the old way of living, rising again with Him, and  following Him into His new world, the world that God is now in the process of  “putting to rights”.

There is much here to consider. How are we supposed to live as citizens of God’s Kingdom? What is God calling us to do? How do we preach the “Good News” to a lost and lonely world? I don’t believe that it is enough for us just to consider ourselves saved from our sin through Jesus and His sacrifice, we also need to go out into the world and live our lives as examples of that Good News. We need to be Christ to the world.

N.T. Wright will be speaking at the January Series of Calvin College event in Grand Rapids this January, for more information on that event click here.

To read more from and about N.T. Wright, or to download mp3 files of his lectures, visit the unofficial N.T. Wright webpage on the internet by clicking here.