Anything But Jesus

I was flipping through a book that caught my eye at B and N the other day. The title was "Stuff White People Like" by Christian Lander.

Here is one that I zeroed in on:

"White people will often say they are 'spiritual' but not religious. This usually means that they will believe in any religion that doesn't involve Jesus."

Even here in the insulated Bible Belt people are becoming more and more like this. They will go to church, you can talk about God, but don't really be one of those Jesus freaks. Don't be one of those intolerant, radical followers of Jesus.

It's o.k. to say that you have Jesus in your heart as long as you don't really do what He says, or follow His example.

I think this is becoming more and more prevalent even among church goers. Church is o.k. Let's sing about Jesus, just a little. Say a prayer or two, hear a motivational talk from the "lead pastor". But, don't take any of that stuff too seriously. Especially not the rabid way Jesus said we should be to truly follow Him.

Lander's book on this chapter goes on to say, "The most popular choices include Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah,and, to a lesser extent, Scientology. A few even dip into Isalm, but that's much rarer, since you have to make real sacrifices and actually got to a mosque. For the most part, white people go for religions that produce artifacts and furniture that fit into their homes or wardrobe. They are also particularly drawn to religions that do not require a lot of commitment or donations. When a white person tells you, I'm Buddhist/Hindu/Kabbalahist', the best thing to do is ask how they arrived at their religious decision. The are most likely to involve a trip to Thailand or a college class on religions."

Interesting thoughts!

God's Calling and the American Dream

From Dr. Albert Mohler's commencement address at Southern Seminary regarding the calling of a minister of the gospel.

"The American dream does not fit this calling. That dream calls for years of preparation to be followed by formal qualification, decades of professional accomplishment, and a happy retirement. Our hope today must be that these ministers of the Gospel will never retire, for the ministry is never accomplished. They may in due time be redeployed, but never really retired — never ready to rest and merely collect a pension or cash in their retirement accounts and live a life of leisure. They are to serve to the end, learn to the end, teach to the end, and be faithful to the end."

Search For Significance

The pop Christian world has been overly concerned about making people feel good at the exclusion of the rest of the gospel message. There are books, seminars, conferences, churches, preachers, and sermons that all focus on making people feel good in the name of God.

I have an aversion to such pseudo-gospel pop psychology preaching. I think it is dangerous and leads people away from the necessary understanding and response to the complete gospel.

But, contained within the true Gospel of Christ is the truth of significance and value.

Significance and value are not merit based, but it is intrinsic. I am a sinner, God does not value that. But, I am also His creation. You and I are created by God and IN HIS IMAGE. That means that we have an intrinsic value to God. That is one of the reasons He desires to redeem us from our sin.

There is more evidence of significance and value. The cross of Christ. The cross of Christ is God’s wrath being poured out on Jesus because of my sin. I deserved that wrath. Jesus took our punishment. In addition to that, and because of that, the cross is a statement of incredibly profound love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.” “This is how we know what love is: Christ laid down His life for us.”

Love is value and significance. Therefore, the cross of Christ is proof of value and significance.

God values me and sees me as significant. But, this is not like the self esteem packet that was sent home for my 5th grade daughter from her school(for real). The value and significance that God places on me is not so I can puff out my chest. It is not some type of psycho-therapeutic “I am a great person” message. It is greater than that! The worldly self esteem drives a person to a high mountain so they can shout to the world, “I am great, look at me.” The significance that God sees in me drives me to a high mountain so I can shout, “God is great, look at Him.”
It is humbling, motivating, inspiring, comforting, and convicting to understand from the true gospel that God places significance and value in me and you.

Books I'm Reading

Here is my current reading list. This will change when I get my syllabus for my summer doctoral program.



This book was recommended to me by Peggy Osborne. It is actually a business book on communication. I have just started it, but so far it is fascinating. It is really about effective communication and how to increase the odds that your message will be retained by your audience. How to make your ideas stick.



I have actually avoided this book for a while. It has been recommended by several women and my impression was that it was some sort of "chick-flick" type book. But, I have had several guys recommend it as a very powerful story. So, I think I'll give it a shot.



I have already read this book, but I am working my way through it again. It is basically a book on personality traits. The book gives you a system to ascertain and understand someone's personality and how they best like to communicate and behave. I would love to be able to "read" people better so that I can be better at communicating with them. It is also interesting.