not another blog, v2.0

Family

• Zoë started kindergarten last week.  The initial separation was difficult for her (surprisingly . . . first day of preschool last year was easy), but when we came to get her, everything was great.  She’s really enjoying it, and already doing well, academically and socially.  Amy and I are sending her to a really good Christian school, but we’re not anti-public school or anything.  We’re just anti-THESE public schools around here. (They’re… not good.)
• I still like being married.
• It’s reported that Amy likes it, too

Church

• Things are going well.  We’re planting another Grace Central congregation (with a view toward even more over the next ten years). Folks are being gathered, forming relationships, believing the Gospel, serving eachother.  It’s cool to see Jesus work in and through people.
• Greg has been preaching through the book of Ezra, which is just what we need to hear at this stage — the story of God rescuing his people from exile, and then working through them to build his temple.  He’s doing the same now — his temple now known to be his people, the Church.
• (Feel free to subscribe to Grace Central’s podcast to hear these sermons, by the way.  Maybe you’ll want to come join us! The iTunes link is here, or you can subscribe manually here.)
• I’ll be preaching my first sermon (ever) at Grace Central some time in the next few weeks.  Please pray for me as I study and prepare to deliver God’s Word to his people.
• Home groups are starting back up in a couple of weeks after a Summer hiatus. We’re looking forward to that.

Tech

• I’ve been enjoying Ubiquity, a new experimental extension for Firefox. The best way I can describe it is that it’s like Quicksilver, but for your browser. You should just watch the video and try it out for yourself. It has the potential to change the way we browse.  Seriously.
• We got an Xbox 360 a few weeks ago.  I’ve actually been using it as a media extender (thanks to Rivet and a Linksys WRT54GS w/ DD-WRT firmware — in bridge mode) almost as much as I’ve used it to play games.  The ability to watch HD video podcasts on our TV rather than on my Macbook’s screen is pretty darn nice (not to mention streaming the iTunes library to the TV, as well).
• (My Xbox LIVE gamertag is raekwon00, by the way. Add me as a friend!)
• I added an Airport Express router to our home network (this is in addition to the Airport Extreme and the aforementioned Linksys).  This little thing is fantastic for extending your network’s range or creating a dual-band 802.11n/g network.  It’ll come in handy if I’m ever again in a hotel with wired-only internet as well.

Music

• I wish I had something to report here. I need some new tunes. Suggestions?

Zoë is an occasional “model” for the Ohio Department of Education’s early childhood brochures. This photo (taken by Amy about a year ago) was recently being considered for a “Read to Your Child” brochure.

Well, apparently, there was a two hour special meeting today at the ODE over this picture, because (despite numerous other department people loving it), according to one of the department’s photographers/art directors, it’s was “inappropriate”. Why? Because we’re on a bed. And I’m the “main focus” of the picture instead of her (mainly because I’m bigger . . . shocking, considering I’m an adult and she’s a child). But, mostly because we’re on a bed.

TWO HOURS today discussing this!

Your tax dollars at work, Ohio citizens.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations . . .” - Dueteronomy 7:9

My five-year-old daughter, Zoë, will be baptized in a couple of weeks.  Amy told her Grandma this the other day, and Grandma responded with “Is it one of those ‘infant’ baptisms, or is it a REAL baptism?”

After getting angry, calming down, and then thinking about it, I think that the answer is “yes”.

(Obviously, Zoë’s not an “infant” at five, but for the sake of this discussion, her upcoming baptism falls under what most people call “infant baptism” — that is, baptism given to the children of believers, usually soon after their birth.)

Baptism — whether it comes after someone has made a profession of faith or it comes after someone’s being born into a Christian home — is baptism.  The bifurcation between “infant” baptism and “believer’s” baptism is the creation of a false dichotomy.  Both are covenant baptism.

I think I’m going to pick up where I left off in the long-forgotten series of posts on Baptism to flesh this out.

Okay, so I lied. Heidelberg’s been sitting there at one post for three weeks now (along with the rest of the blog, really).  Truth be told, I’ve personally been a bit out of whack lately.  Stress has been unusually high and energy has been low for a multitude of reasons, and it appears that one way I deal with that is by closing off from others and being quiet.  (Blame my INFJ personality, perhaps.)  I’ve also noticed that those others who I tend to close off from include Jesus and my family, so this is unhealthy.

If you have a minute, pray for me. I’ll get back to blogging soon.

My wife Amy has decided to kick off her 29th year of life by starting a blog of her own.  About time!

Check out her (hilarious) inaugural entry: Snow Cones and Ovens. Drop by and leave a comment (and a birthday wish) or two.

(Also - I’m well aware that it’s been two weeks since Day 1 of Heidelberg Musings. Day two is coming tomorrow. Seriously.)

Q1: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

“Comfort” - in some sense or another, comfort is probably the most fundamental human desire.  More fundamental than our desire for love and relationship, for food, for wealth, for pleasure, for anything.  In fact, meeting any of these desires is just a means to an end: our comfort.  Whether we’re having a long talk with a good friend, popping pills, going to the shrink, or drinking a latté, we’re ultimately doing it for our comfort.  We hate to be uncomfortable in any sense, and everything that we do is designed to get us back to that place of comfort.  I guess that’s why the writers of the Heidelberg Catechism decided to address comfort in the very first question.  It resonated with their first readers in 17th-century Holland, and it resonates with us today.

A1: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyrrany of the devil.  He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.  Therefore, by his Holy Spirit He assures me of eternal life and makes me willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Jesus, in every sense imaginable, is the definitive answer to our discomfort.  We can rest in him, knowing that we are his, our debts are forever paid, and that even in the midst of doubt and suffering, he sovereignly orders our steps (and others’) and works them together for our good and his glory.

Q2: What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

It’s one thing to be comforted.  It another to have “joy” in being comforted.  Joy requires a constant awareness of just how bad-off you were beforehand, and an equally constant awareness of how great your comfort is now.  Those two things not only naturally produce joy, but thankfulness.

A2: First, how great my sins and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.

I really like the Heidelberg Catechism — a lot.  In my opinion, it’s one of the most complete pastoral summaries of Reformed Christian doctrine in existence.  So, to maintain and/or improve my writing and theological chops, I’ve decided to blog through it.  All 129 questions.

These “Heidelberg Musings” will be little meditations/devotions through each question . . . just as I’m personally processing through them.  While I’m not promising anything too profound, I hope and trust that these will be helpful to some (myself included).  When the Catechism was first produced in the 1600s, it was divided into 52 sections, one for each Lord’s Day of the year.  That’s how these will be divided as well, with each “Lord’s Day” being at least one post (maybe more, depending on how many questions are specified for a particular day).

On with the first Lord’s Day (in the next post). Please, let me know what you think . . . good and bad.

It feels kind of strange to be writing a “review” for a Bible, especially as someone who affirms Scripture as authoritative, God-breathed, inerrant, etc. The word “review” gives off a connotation of standing over God’s Word with a critical eye or something, like “hmmm . . . The ‘Bible’, eh? Never heard of it. How’re the sales at Amazon and B&N?” Rest assured, though . . . this is a review of features, not content.

So, Crossway recently released their English Standard Version Bible in a new format, the “Personal Size Reference” (PSR) Bible. After seeing that it had some features I like and some favorable reviews here and there, I went ahead and ordered one from the Westminster Bookstore. It arrived today.

This review will be scored, per feature, on a WIN/FAIL basis. (A few of you might get that. ;-))

Continue reading →

Dr. King said . . .

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

I wonder how many of my fellow African-Americans voted for Senator Obama primarily for his color (and rhetorical skill) rather his character (and policies). Of course, no one’s actually allowed to say this. If you’re white and you say this, you’re labeled a racist. If you’re black, you’re a self-hating Uncle Tom.

Ah well.