Orphan Sunday

Check out the video....

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

[HT: JT]

Missional: Front Porch Ministries

Cool. We need more Christians like these....

Stating the obvious (or what should be)...Christianity, Religious Pluralists, & Intolerance

In the USAToday, opinion columnist Tom Krattenmaker has an interesting piece called, "And I Like To Thank God Almighty." Seems he's a bit miffed about evangelical Christians [insert "join the club" here]. Oh, he has praise for many of them and the way they comport themselves. But there's that little problem with Christianity that they preach that he doesn't like.

"If their take on God and truth and life is the only right one — which their creed boldly states — everyone else is wrong."

Of course, Krattenmaker thinks this is perfectly unacceptable in our pluralistic society--you might even say it is the unforgivable sin of religious pluralism.

But what he and other folks who hold similar views can't seem to get is their own bigotry, defined of course as an intolerance towards other's beliefs and opinions. What makes this sort of bigotry especially deceptive is that it masquerades as being open-minded, tolerant, self-evident. He laments that evangelical Christians have "little appreciation for the beliefs of the rest of us," all the while SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS the fact that he has little appreciation for the beliefs of evangelical Christians. Ahem, physician, heal thyself.

Let's hit the ball back into their court by restating his central assertion this way:

"If their (Krattenmaker & other so-called religious pluralists) take on God and truth and life is the only right one--which their [pluralistic] creed boldly states--everyone else is wrong."

But being blinded by his own zeal, Krattenmaker can't see is that when they say, "There can't be one religious truth, and Christians--quoting Jesus--are wrong [John 14:6]," that itself is a religious belief and an arrogantly smug claim to knowledge. IOW, Krottenmaker et.al. are saying that they perceive more of reality than all the religions of the world, and so they can make the audacious claim that they know more of ultimate reality than, say, Christians, Jews, or Muslims."

And make no mistake about it, Krattenmaker believes so strongly in rightness of his viewpoint that he is zealously preaching it from the nation-wide pulpit of The USA Today. He's evangelizing trying to win converts to his own narrow and arrogant viewpoints. Or to put it the way we like to in the West, he's shoving his views down everyone else's throats.

It's better if we'd all get off our high horse and just admit that we all are exclusivists. We all believe that our views are correct. The better question is to ask, "How shall we then live?" "How do we get along?" Which worldview / philosophy / religion provides resources for dealing with those who are different?

As for me, I'm sticking with the resources provided by Jesus who prayed for, welcomed, and laid down his life for his enemies. Anybody got a trump for that one?

Related Posts:
*A Conversation About Christianity & Exclusivity

*Check out Penn's thoughts on the subject (& he's an atheist & no friend of Christianity!):

"I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward–and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself–how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"

Through thick & thin....

Psalm 16:8, "I have set the Lord always before me...."

The faithful Christian,
"...whether he abound in wealth or be pinched with poverty
whether he be of high or low degree in this world
ought continually to have his faith
and hope surely built and grounded upon Christ,
and to have his heart and mind
fast fixed and settled upon him,
and to follow him through thick and thin,
through fire and water,
through wars and peace,
through hunger and cold,
through friends and foes,
through a thousand perils and dangers,
through the surges and waves of envy,
mailice, hatred, evil speeches, railing sentences,
contempt of the world, flesh, and devil,
and even in death itself,
be it never so bitter, cruel, and tyrannical,
yet never to lose sight and view of Christ,
nevert to give over faith, hope, and trust in him."

~ Robert Cawdray, cited in Spurgeon's Treasury of David

Joshua Harris: Hold That Thought, God. Need to Check My Email

Filed under: "Note to Self"
-----
Joshua Harris: "I think a lot of us we could rephrase the words of Proverbs 24:33-34 about the sluggard and say, "A little web surfing, a little Facebook, a little folding of the hands around the smart phone and spiritual poverty will come upon you like a robber."

Stranger Know Thyself

In his book, Lost in the Cosmos, the late Walker Percy asks,

"Why is it that of all the billions and billions of strange objects in the Cosmos--novas, quasars, pulsars, black holes--you are beyond doubt the strangest?"

Flickr Favorites: Ballooning over Yangshou

Ballooning over Yangshou, originally uploaded by Charlie Lawrence.

Book Review: Liberal Fascism

Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great read of intellectual history. Defining fascism as essentially "a religion of the state", Jonah Goldberg traces core liberal ("progressive") commitments as well as those of liberals-masquerading-as-conservatives. In the process, he traces the thread that runs through the politics of Hitler & Mussolini, Woodrow Wilson, FDR & the New Deal, Kennedy, Johnson, as well as George W. Bush ("when somebody hurts, the gov't has got to move" & his 'compassionate conservatism'), Pat Buchanan, Hillary, and everybody's favorite, Obama.

Most people react emotionally to such a claim b/c fascism is usually associated with Hitler & Mussolini & their atrocities, but what is forgotten is the praise given to these leaders by the West before their atrocities. "Before the war, fascism was widely viewed as a progressive social movement...". Faciscm is a totalitarian political religion, and the mood at the beginning of the 20th Century was for social engineering, complete in some instances with eugenics, racial profiling, 'family planning,' moving beyond Christianity, etc. For example, the title of the book comes from HG Wells, who told the Young Liberals at Oxford in a 1932 speech that progressives must become 'liberal fascists' and 'enlightened Nazis.' It's hard to imagine anyone saying that after the war.

My view, all governments tend toward totalitarianism unless something prevents it from going there. In the absence trust in God, folks will trust in the nanny state for cradle to grave love & care & security. In other words, totalitarianism, or a holistic approach where nothing falls outside the realm of regulation--from what you eat to what you say to what you believe. In America, it takes the form of a 'smiley-face' fascism. As Goldberg contends,

"If there is ever a fascist takeover in America, it will come not in the form of storm troopers kicking down doors but with lawyers and social workers saying, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help.""

And again,

"...in America, where hostility to big gov't is central to the national character, the case for statism must be made in terms of 'pragmatism' and decency. In other words, our fascism must be nice and for your own good."

Goldberg closes with a quote from CS Lewis:

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Overall, a good read & well documented. I learned much that I never even remotely learned in the university. In fact, when you read this book, everything going on in today's politics at the federal level becomes crystal clear.

View all my reviews >>

Discipleship: Bridge or Dead-end

"Discipleship must always be discipleship-in-movement-to-the-world. The disciple who will not lay down life for the world and for the Gospel of reconciliation is not worthy of being a follower of Jesus Christ."

"Far too often mission is relegated to one of those 'wishful thinking' categories that we hope to get to some day in our ministry. The newer third-world churches are supposedly not ready to engage in mission on their own until they reach a certain level of maturity...Meanwhile the North American and European congregations often relegate 'mission' to the leftover category, with the internal necessities of congregation and membership receiving higher priority. Mission calls us to radical reexamination. If mission is part of the essence of the Church's nature as the body of Christ and the people of God, then it ought to be at the top of the list."

And I love this quote of Johannes Blauw's in The Missionary Nature of the Church...

"There is no other Church than the Church sent into the world, and there is no other mission than that of the Church of Christ."

And again,

"If one wants to maintain a specific theological meaning of the term mission as 'foreign mission,' its significance is, in my opinion, that it keeps calling the Church to think over its essential nature as a community sent forth into the world. Seen in that light missionary work is not just one of its activities, but the criterion for all its activities.... It is exactly by going outside itself that the Church is itself and comes to itself."

"Collision" : Atheism vs. Christianity

I'm really looking forward to this documentary being released later this month. The new bad boy of atheism, Christopher Hitchens, & Doug Wilson, began writing about the topic, "Is Chrisianity good for the world?" Then they took their conversation to the streets. Both are capable evangelists for their religion.

SYNOPSIS
COLLISION carves a new path in documentary film-making as it pits leading atheist, political journalist and bestselling author Christopher Hitchens against fellow author, satirist and evangelical theologian Douglas Wilson, as they go on the road to exchange blows over the question: "Is Christianity Good for the World?". The two contrarians laugh, confide and argue, in public and in private, as they journey through three cities. And the film captures it all. The result is a magnetic conflict, a character-driven narrative that sparkles cinematically with a perfect match of arresting personalities and intellectual rivalry. COLLISION is directed by prolific independent filmmaker Darren Doane (Van Morrison: To Be Born Again, The Battle For L.A., Godmoney).

OVERVIEW
In May 2007, leading atheist Christopher Hitchens and Christian apologist Douglas Wilson began to argue the topic “Is Christianity Good for the World?” in a series of written exchanges published in Christianity Today. The rowdy literary bout piqued the interest of filmmaker Darren Doane, who sought out Hitchens and Wilson to pitch the idea of making a film around the debate.

In Fall 2008, Doane and crew accompanied Hitchens and Wilson on an east coast tour to promote the book compiled from their written debate titled creatively enough, Is Christianity Good for the World?. “I loved the idea of putting one of the beltway’s most respected public intellectuals together with an ultra-conservative pastor from Idaho that looks like a lumberjack”, says Doane. “You couldn’t write two characters more contrary. What’s more real than a fight between two guys who are on complete opposite sides of the fence on the most divisive issue in the world? We were ready to make a movie about two intellectual warriors at the top of their game going one-on-one. I knew it would make an amazing film.”

In Christopher Hitchens, Doane found a celebrated prophet of atheism. Loud. Funny. Angry. Smart. Quick. An intimidating intellectual Goliath. Well-known for bullying and mocking believers into doubt and doubters into outright unbelief. In Douglas Wilson, Doane found the man who could provide a perfect intellectual, philosophical, and cinematic counterpoint to Hitchens' position and style. A trained philosopher and and deft debater. Big, bearded, and jolly. A pastor, a contrarian, a humorist--an unintimidated outsider, impossible to bully, capable of calling Hitchens a puritan (over a beer).

It was a collision of lives.

What Doane didn’t expect was how much Hitchens and Wilson would have in common and the respectful bond the new friend/foes would build through the course of the book tour. “These guys ended up at the bar laughing, joking, drinking. There were so many things that they had in common”, according to Doane. “Opinions on history and politics. Literature and poetry. They agreed on so many things. Except on the existence of God.”

Should make for some good viewing and discussion.

For more info, check out the website here.

Brought in to be sent out...

I'm reflecting on this quote and the best way to get God's people to buy in to their calling to be God's missionary people:

"The Church is not an exclusive club of privilege, neither is it a place to rest from our labors. We have been brought in so that we may gather others into this Kingdom of Grace."

Chapter 4 of this book includes a discussion of "The Essence of the Local Church in Historical Perspective," and speaks about the traditional reformational marks of the church (word, sacrament, & doctrine) and casts those in light of a missional reading of the four attributes of the church (one, holy, catholic, & apostolic). Then concludes with these thoughts...

"What is the Church? It is the unifying [one], santifying [holy], reconciling [catholic], and proclaiming [apostolic] activity of Jesus Christ in the world. Mission cannot be something separate from or added to the essence of the Church. The essential nature of the local congregation is, in and of itself, mission, or else the congregation is not really a Church."

"Notice that this description is a far cry from saying that 'everything the church does is mission.' What the church does internally with no intention of impacting the world outside of itself is not mission. But when a local congregation understands that it is, by its nature, a constellation of missional activities, and it intentionally lives its life as a missionary body, then it begins to emerge toward becoming the authentic Church of Jesus Christ."

Why are some things bad and some things good?

I'm enjoying a re-read of Tim Keller's excellent book, The Reason for God.

"People still have strong moral convictions, but unlike people in other times and places, they don't have any visible basis for why they find some things to be evil and other things good."

It seems I have this conversation over and over again (& btw, it's a conversation I enjoy having), but why do people who say they do not believe in God continue to make moral judgments and evaluations? It is inevitable that they do, but I want to know the basis for why they make these statements.

"If there is no God, then all moral statements are arbitrary, all moral valuations are subjective and internal, and there can be no external moral standard by which a person's feelings and values are judged."

The most anyone can say is, "To me, murder, rape, racism, bigotry, etc., is wrong, but they may be right for you. My personal opinion has nothing to do with you so please ignore me."

"If a premise ("There is no God") leads to a conclusion you know isn't true ("Napalming babies is culturally relative") then why not change the premise?"

As Dostoevsky said through a character in The Brothers Karamazov, "If God does not exist, then all things are permissible."

Problem is, even though people want to say this, they can't live that way. Even Bertrand Russell, the great existentialist who said that there is no such thing as right or wrong, couldn't live by that creed b/c he objected to the World War on moral grounds.

So again, why not change the premise?

"God's Artwork" by Jason

My friend, Jason Sells, captured this amazing Texas sunset:

"God's Artwork"

Flickr Favorites: SWELL SCULPTURE-CURRUMBIN

SWELL SCULPTURE-CURRUMBIN, originally uploaded by Bagubun_ Photography.

Reading the Bible Missionally

My friend, Shawn, sent me this link on a new series of blog posts discussing "Reading the Bible Missionally." Looks like this is right up my alley. I look forward to this discussion.

“It is not enough, however, just to say that mission has a solid biblical foundation, we also need to see that the Bible has its roots in mission. That is, the Bible is the product of God’s engagement through God’s people in God’s world for God’s ultimate purposes for the nations and the world…So from beginning to end, the Bible is missional, by its very existence and by its comprehensive message. Mission then has to be a prime hermeneutical key for our own Bible reading and teaching.” [Quoting C.Wright's The Mission of God]

C.S. Lewis on “What Are We to Make of Jesus Christ?”

"There is no half-way house, and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him, ‘are you the son of Brahmah?’ he would have said. ‘my son you are still in the vale of illusion.’ If you had done to Socrates and asked, ‘are you Zeus?’ he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Muhammad and asked ‘are you Allah?’ he would first have first rent his clothes and then cut your head off. If you had asked Confucius, ‘are you heaven?’ I think he would have probably replied, ‘Remarks which are not in accordance with nature are in bad taste.’ The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said is out of the question. In my opinion, the only person who can say that sort of thing is either God or a complete lunatic suffering from that form of delusion which undermines the whole of man… He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three effects – Hatred – Terror – Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval."

— C.S. Lewis, “What Are We to Make of Jesus Christ?”

World's Longest Basketball Shot

Don't know if it's legit, but it looks pretty cool.

A Conversation about Heaven & Exclusivity

Bobby slammed his coffee cup on the counter a little bit harder than he intended to: “You see, this is what frustrates me about you Christians. You all think that only Christians will be in Heaven. What about other people, like Gandhi, Buddha, or any other number of good people?”

Greg was a little surprised a Bobby’s intensity. They had connected a couple times previously in the semester getting coffee before their Philosophy 301 class and had always enjoyed asking each other what they believed. Greg tilted his head a bit and suggested somewhat teasingly, “Well, Bobby, I’m glad that you at least believe in Heaven.”

“Now, I didn’t say that, I consider myself open to the idea. But…," and then he hesitated.

They both sat down and poured packets of sugar into their coffee. “But…if there were a heaven, Christians are wrong about it?” Greg offered.

“They are wrong about it if they think that only Christians will be there. That’s just too…too…?”

“Exclusive? You think Christians are too exclusive.”

“Exactly,” nodded Bobby. The two college juniors sat in the corner where the sun was shining through the blinds.

“Okay,” said Greg, pausing. “It sounds like you’ve spent some time thinking about this. Let me ask you a question.”

“Shoot.”

“What kinds of people will be there?”

Bobby didn’t hesitate. “All kinds of people will be there, young & old, rich & poor, Jews, Christians, Muslims & non-religious folks.”

“What about Atheists?”

Bobby looked up for a moment weighing the question. “Sure, I know many Atheists who are good people. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be there, even if they don’t believe in God now.”

Greg took an unusually slow slip on his coffee, gathering his thoughts. “So you believe that good people go to heaven?”

“Yes! And—I must say—that’s much more inclusive and open-minded than you Christians,” Bobby said with a smile and a bit of satisfaction.

“Okay, now I’m confused,” Greg said throwing open his free hand.

“What do you mean?”

Greg leaned forward in his sofa chair. “I thought you were worried about Christians being too exclusive, but your view takes the cake!”

“I’m not sure I’m following you,” Bobby said hesitatingly, not wanting to take the bait. “What do you mean?”

“Well, maybe you can clarify this for me. You say that all kinds of good people—Muslims, Jews, Christians, and even good Atheists—will be in heaven because they have been, well, good.”

“Yes…?” Bobby was wondering where Greg was going with this.

“That view is much more ‘exclusive’ than what Christians believe.” Greg threw himself back into his chair shaking his head.

“How so?”

“What about the bad people?” Greg said protesting. “I mean, people who’ve broken the big commandments: liars, cheaters, murderers, adulterers? According to your view, they have no hope of heaven.”

“Okay. What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that your standard requirement for getting into heaven is that people have to be ‘good,’ but that excludes a lot of people.”

“Hmmm…okay. You got me," Bobby answered, somewhat sarcastically.

“Bobby, I’m not trying to get you. I’m just trying to understand your view."

"But that doesn’t exonerate Christianity’s exclusivity.”

"Look, everyone is exclusive on this issue, unless you want to say that everyone goes to Heaven when they die. But not many people want to say that. I mean, do you believe that Hitler will be in Heaven? There has to be an accounting, somehow. There has to be some kind of judgment for those folks, don’t you agree?”

Bobby nodded his head in agreement setting his coffee on the table. “Yeah, I can’t see God throwing open ‘the golden gates’ for the likes of Hitler, Moa-Tse Tung, Lenin, & the like,” he said as he threw open his arms in a big welcoming gesture.

Greg leaned forward again. “But here is the deal. Christianity says that there is hope for everyone, even for the really bad people too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if we take seriously what the Bible says, everyone has sinned against God, and nobody is perfect, not even one. Yet God requires perfection.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then what hope is there for anyone?”

“Well, that’s just my point. Here’s the heart of the Christian message: God himself came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived the perfect life, which means he loved God and others perfectly. And he voluntarily gave up his life when he died on the cross for people like you and me.”

“Okay," said Bobby as he was looking up tracking the argument. "I think I’m following you.”

“Do you know what the Apostle Paul said that I find so encouraging?”

“No, what?” They both stopped and looked up at a group of co-eds who entered the coffee shop laughing hysterically.

Greg & Bobby looked back at each other and busted out laughing, shaking their heads. After a moment, Greg continued, “He said something along the lines of, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”

“An Apostle of Jesus Christ said that he was the worst of sinners?” Bobby asked incredulously.

Greg nodded.

“Why would he say that?”

“Well, before he became a Christian, he was hunting down Christians and killing them. Speaking of his pre-Christian days, Paul said that he was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.”

A light seemed to be going off in Bobby’s mind, “And Jesus somehow made the difference?”

“Exactly,” Greg said with a smile. “Paul went on to say that it was because of this very reason—that he was the worst of sinners—that he was shown mercy, so that the Lord Jesus might use him as an example of his patience towards those who would come to believe on him.”

Bobby leaned forward, “You mean to tell me that Paul was saying that his hope of heaven was not because he was good, but because he was bad.”

Greg chuckled reassuringly. “You're starting to get it. Paul wasn’t good, even though he excelled as a Pharisee—that is, a religious teacher,” he clarified. “In many ways, he had to abandon all hope in his goodness and throw himself at the mercy of Jesus.”

Greg paused to make sure Bobby understood. Bobby was nodding his head like it was all sinking in. “Go on,” he said.

That’s why I said earlier that a standard that says, ‘All good people get into heaven,’ is actually very exclusive, much more so than Christianity. Christianity says that even bad people have reason to hope for mercy if they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for only bad people.”

“I think I’m getting what you are saying.”

“Let that sink in. I truly believe that Christianity is unique, because it doesn’t tell you to go out and make religious pilgrimages, or to pray a certain number of times per day in a certain direction, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, or do x, y, & z. It tells you to abandon all hopes of impressing God with your goodness—because you can’t—and to believe in the Lord Jesus who actually saves people like us and people who are ‘worse’ than us and people who are ‘better’ than us.”

“Well Greg, this has been an interesting conversation. I have never seen things that way before.”

“I used to not, either. I’m glad we had this time to chat in between classes.”

The two rose and put on their backpacks.

“Me too. Maybe we can carry on this conversation later?”

“I’d love to. Because our hope is not really Heaven, but Heaven on earth.”

“Wow. We’ll definitely have to carry this conversation on later.”

"If 19-year-old boys are ruining your day because of what they do with a ball, that's a problem."

JT linked to an interview with Matt Chandler of The Village. He asks two questions:

* What stirs your affections for Jesus Christ?

* And what robs you of those affections?

So far, so good. Then he gets to meddling, as they say.

Sanctification here at The Village begins by answering two questions. What stirs your affections for Jesus Christ? And what robs you of those affections? Many of the things that stifle growth are morally neutral. They're not bad things. Facebook is not bad. Television and movies are not bad. I enjoy TV, but it doesn't take long for me to begin to find humorous on TV what the Lord finds heartbreaking.

The same goes for following sports. It's not wrong, but if I start watching sports, I begin to care too much. I get stupid. If 19-year-old boys are ruining your day because of what they do with a ball, that's a problem. These things rob my affections for Christ. I want to fill my life with things that stir my affections for him. . . .

We want our people to think beyond simply what's right and wrong. We want them to fill their lives with things that stir their affections for Jesus Christ and, as best as they can, to walk away from things that rob those affections—even when they're not immoral.

Great words to remember. I have a few thoughts.

I love sports. I used to love them too much. I, along with any number of sports fanatics, would have my day--no, my week--ruined by a game. I had too much invested there. Thankfully, I've made some progress in this. My wife seems to think this is why the Aggies have stunk for so long, b/c God was dealing with my idol. If that's the case, sorry Ags. He has been messing with yours too!

Secondly, while fully agreeing that there are times when we simply need to "walk away" from those things that ruin our affections for Christ, we still need to work through them. For example, food can function this way. But we can't go cold turkey on food!

What we need to do is learn to use the gift of food for God's glory. Same thing with alcohol, sex, influence, tv, investing, shopping, parks, facebook, etc. No, I'm not saying everyone has to use each and every gift from God. But sometimes, I fear the impression is given that the answer to our struggles is simply to 'walk away' from 'the things of the world' instead of learning to engage them correctly.

The Christian life is then viewed merely as a strategy of keeping the corrupting influence of the world far away, rather than dealing with the corruption within my own heart that takes the good gifts of God and perverts them for my own selfish reasons. In other words, it's a problem when the problem is viewed 'out there' and not within the core of my being. If it is out there, I can manage the issue. If it's "in here", then I desperately need Christ.

The worst examples of this are people who say sports, drink, tv, etc., always ruin appetite for Christ. Therefore it is always wrong for everyone to participate in these activities. The word for this is legalism. [Disclaimer: No, I'm not saying this is what Chandler is saying.]

So how should a Christian view sports? Should s/he have nothing to do with it? I think that part of the solution is to bring our thinking under the lordship of Christ. Or another way to put it is, How should we think Christianly about sports? Is it possible that sports can actually increase my appetite for Christ? I believe so.

To that end, here's a good book that I would recommend as well: Game Day for the Glory of God: A Guide for Athletes, Fans, & Wannabes.

Says the author, a self avowed Christian who 'absolutely loves sports,'

"DO I ever thank god for the incredible amount of pleasure that I receive from sports...? Let us resolve from this point forward that we will not enjoy the gift of sports without giving thanks and honor to the Giver himself. Let us recognize that sports are indeed gifts from a generous God to undeserving sinners, and let our enjoyment of sports be marked by thankful hearts."

Simply put, yes, we can enjoy sports as a gift from God, but like any of His gifts, we value the gift over the Giver of the gift. That's where the trouble begins, and what I think Chandler is talking about.

This new one looks good too, though I haven't read it yet: The Reason for Sports: A Christian Fanifesto.

Here's a link to the whole Chandler interview.

Pondering these quotes....

"The Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning."
- Emil Brunner

"There is no participation in Christ without participation in His mission to the world. That by which the Church receives its existence [i.e., the life of Christ] is that by which it is also given its world mission."

~ qtd. in God's Missionary People, ch. 1

"In choosing a people, God intended to reach out to the whole world.... 'In choosing Israel as segment of all humanity, God never took his eye off the other nations; Israel was the pars pro toto, a minority called to serve the majority. God's election of Abraham and Israel concerns the whole world."

"The Church is not an exclusive club of privilege, neither is it a place to rest from our labors. We have been brought in so that we may gather others into this Kingdom of grace."

~ qtd. in God's Missionary People, ch. 3