Happy Friday,
Produce fruit consistent with repentance.
John the Baptist, Matthew 3:8
Scripture explains repentance as a Spirit-driven, comprehensive activity – one that begins with sorrow and includes changes in both our attitudes and our actions. Some get it wrong by thinking they can engineer these changes on their own. More get it wrong by thinking that feeling bad is enough. As John the Baptizer makes clear, real repentance results in a transformation. No transformation means true repentance did not happen.
The Gratitude Challenge 2.0: I read enough about gratitude last week to persuade me to keep the Challenge going. If you generated a list of things you’re thankful for, take three minutes right now to add to it. If you didn’t get around to it writing out at least twenty items, start now. If you need help, read this inspirational piece about gratitude, or this piece about how many things are going right.
The Ig Nobel Awards: Because my uncle holds a grudge against Stockholm for not awarding a Nobel Prize in Geology, I’ve not given their silly award much thought. Seriously, it’s never bothered me that I haven’t won. Who wants to? Besides, I have so many participation trophies on my shelves, I don’t even know where I’d put it. Plus, there is the hassle of the long flight to pick it up. Who has time for that? And now something better has come along anyway. In the spirit of the Darwin Awards comes (drum roll) the Ig Nobel awards.
Word(s) of the Week: Two terms earned honorable mention this week. The first is “disordered passivity,” which was coined by Peggy Noonan in this should-be-read WSJ piece. The second is the “Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect,” which describes forgetting how unreliable a source is in one area and then trusting it in another. (You are guilty of Gell-Mann Amnesia when you read an article on a subject you know well, realize that the journalist has no idea what they are writing about, and then turn to another story, assuming that the paper is more trustworthy on this new topic than it was the previous.) If you want to read more about Gell-Mann amnesia, click here. The actual Word of the Week is post-liberal, which is suddenly showing up everywhere. Given how little agreement there is about what liberal means, I’m not certain how long it will take to gain consensus on post-liberal. But my suspicion is, it’s the word coined to describe those who no longer believe in freedom of speech.
A Second Conversion: Once Copernicus’ helio-centric theory carried the day, a revolution followed. A similar tsunami should have up ended your life. I’m talking about the one that follows the realization that the universe does not revolve around us, it revolves around God. I know that you know this. But we need to keep rereading the memo. God does not exist for our benefit; we exist for His.
BTW: I still have not heard anyone wonder if COVID is God’s judgment on us. I am not suggesting it is. I just find it curious that no one has suggested as much. I’m pretty sure earlier generations would have raised this possibility by now.
From the Home Team:
- Syler Thomas, Christ Church’s long-time Student Ministries Pastor recently published this piece on sports and the glory of God.
- Brad Coleman, our Campus Pastor in Highland Park, is headed to LA to join some friends in writing, recording, and filming new original Christmas music. He’s done this before. This group goes by the name Reindeer Tribe, and you can find their website here.
Without Comment: 1) In four major pollsters’ explorations of identity, people report that their political affiliation ranks at or near the bottom in a hierarchy of importance; 2) 24% of the world is currently Muslim and 31% is Christian; 3) Those born in 1946 had an 80% chance of making more money at thirty than their parents were making at that point in their lives. Only 50% of those born in 1991 – i.e., those turning thirty this year – did so; 4) This year’s most popular names are: Bella and Luna (for girls), and Max and Charlie (for boys). BTW, these are new names for puppies not people; 5) LSU just lured Notre Dame’s football coach away by offering him a 10-year, $100 million contract. (I am told professors make somewhat less.)
Overheard: I was encouraged and unsettled at a conference this week. It will take a while to process what I’ve learned, but I can pass along a few quick take-aways: 1) One man noted that the much-repeated adage that a parent “cannot be happier than their least happy child,” is both wrong and destructive. He also notes that it certainly is not true of our Heavenly Father; 2) When asked about the failures of the church, one man noted, “When you hear the 7th grade orchestra play Beethoven, don’t judge Beethoven;” 3) When limited to one word to describe Jesus, someone noted that Dallas Willard chose “relaxed.” Who else falls asleep in a boat in a storm?; 4) Finally, on two occasions we heard from Lo Alaman, a spoken word artist whose wedding video went viral after his comments to his bride.
Closing Prayer: How brief is our span of life compared with the time since you created the universe. How tiny we are compared with the enormity of your universe. How trivial are our concerns compared with the complexity of your universe. How stupid we are compared with the genius of your creation. Yet during every minute and every second of our lives you are present, within and around us. You give your whole and undivided attention to each and every one of us. Our concerns are your concerns. And you are infinitely patient with our stupidity. I thank you with all my heart—knowing that my thanks are worthless compared to your greatness. Amen. (Fulbert of Chartres – 970 – 1028)