You need to read this book (10/9/09)

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton

This is by far the best book I’ve read this year. Horton argues that the American church has been slowly moving away from the gospel of Jesus as the center of our life and preaching to softer, gentler forms of legalism (moralism, personal comfort, self-help, self-improvement, and individualistic religion). We need to stop preaching “Do better, try harder” and start preaching Jesus.

“When we try to fit God into our life movie, the plot is all wrong – and not just wrong but trivial. When we are pulled out of our own drama and cast as characters in his unfolding plot, we become part of the greatest story ever told. It is through God’s Word of judgment (law) and salvation (gospel) that we are transferred from our own pointless scripts and into the grand narrative that revolves around Jesus Christ” (Christless Chrisitianity, 94).

A few things to be excited about.

1. Jesus is alive.
2. Tim Keller’s new book, Counterfeit Gods (of which you can download the intro here)
3. Tim Keller’s new blog.
4. Michael Horton’s new book, The Gospel-Driven Life.
5. The Avett Brothers’ new album, I and Love and You.
6. A free Sojourn demo of “O For A Thousand Tongues”.

I’m getting married!

Well, as most of you probably know, I recently proposed to my beautiful girlfriend, Katelyn Christine Dean. On July 25, 2009 I asked her to be my wife and she said yes, which was the answer I was hoping for. We are both incredibly excited and are very grateful for the prayers and support of our friends and family. I thank Jesus every day for blessing me with such an incredible woman and she has been a major way that he tangibly shows me grace in my life. We now have a wedding website, so you can check that out here!

John Piper on the new birth

One of the unsettling things about the new birth, which Jesus says we all must experience in order to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3), is that we don’t control it. We don’t decide to make it happen any more than a baby decides to make his birth happen – or more accurately, make his conception happen. Or even more accurately: We don’t decide to make it happen any more than dead men decide to give themselves life. The reason we need to be born again is that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. That’s why we need the new birth, and that’s why we can’t make it happen. This is one reason why we speak of the sovereign grace of God. Or better: This is one reason why we love the sovereign grace of God.

- John Piper, Finally Alive

Wilco (rocks)

I realize that for a lot of people, my endorsement of Wilco’s cleverly titled new album, Wilco (the album) doesn’t hold a ton of water. There are very few bands/artists that I hold in as high esteem as Wilco. Jeff Tweedy is a consistently excellent songwriter and every incarnation of the band has put out some incredible music.

While throughout the years, they have had a constantly evolving cast (Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt are the only original members), Wilco is currently running on it’s longest-lasting lineup and the results have been glorious. While Sky Blue Sky was a great album in it’s own right, it largely felt like Wilco hit the refresh button – it was basically a live album recorded in the studio. Wilco (the album) on the other hand, is a self-consciously studio-driven venture. One of the best parts of the album is that the band sounds like they had a blast making it.

Sonically, there are traces to be found from every stage of their history and this is one of the reasons why Wilco (the album)’s title is so appropriate – it is the best statement of Wilco (the band)’s complex identity ever recorded on tape. It also reminds us that even throughout the sonic deconstruction of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, at his core Tweedy has always been a writer of great pop songs.

From the first chords of ‘Wilco (the song)’ to Nels Cline’s jazzy noodling on the close to ‘Everlasting Everything’, Wilco (the band) has once again proven to be one of the most exciting bands in the world and Wilco (the album) is the latest installment of their near-perfect catalogue. It is also some of the finest music you’ll hear this year. Or next.

Piper vs. Wright?

For those of you who may be interested in the justification debate between John Piper & N.T. Wright (and a whole host of others…), Trevin Wax put together an overview that was published in Christianity Today this past month.  It is now available at his blog.

Piper’s book responding to Wright.

Wright’s book responding to Piper.

.pdf summary of Piper & Wright’s respective positions.

Kevin DeYoung also posted some good thoughts on the subject a few days ago.

For the record, I’m with Piper on this one, but I have tremendous respect for both men and have benefited from both of their work.

I haven’t died, but I haven’t had a lot of time to blog lately.  More coming soon…

Jerry Bridges on sanctification

“It is the glory of Christ revealed in the gospel, the good news that Jesus died in our place as our representative to free us not only from the penalty of sin but also from its dominion.  A clear understanding and appropriation of the gospel, which gives freedom from sin’s guilt and sin’s grip, is, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, a chief means of sanctification.

To the degree that we feel we are on a legal performance relationship with God, to that degree our progress in sanctification is impeded.  A legal mode of thinking gives indwelling sin an advantage, because nothing cuts the nerve of the desire to pursue holiness as much as a sense of guilt.  On the contrary, nothing so motivates us to deal with sin in our lives as does the understanding and application of the two truths that our sins are forgiven and the dominion of sin is broken because of our union with Christ.”

- Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace

My week in music.

This week has been pretty action packed.  For those of you who didn’t know, my birthday was last Friday and my wonderful girlfriend’s birthday was on Monday.  As a gift, my parents got me tickets to see my musical hero, and on Tuesday night Katelyn and I rocked out at the United Center for almost three hours to the tunes of my good friend, Bruce Springsteen. It was my second time seeing him and he and the E Street Band never disappoint.

I have also been really enjoying Animal Collective’s 2007 masterpiece, Strawberry Jam and Steve Earle’s new album, Townes.  The latter is a tribute to Earle’s good friend Townes Van Zandt, who was one of the best songwriters in America’s history.

Francis Schaeffer, art, and Animal Collective.

I am giving a presentation on Monday for my Christianity and Culture class on how Christian are to relate to popular music.  While reading Francis Schaeffer’s classic Art & The Bible, I came accross this killer quote:

“For a Christian, redeemed by the work of Christ and living within the norms of Scripture and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the Lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts.  A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God.  An art work can be a doxology in itself.”

One album that I have really been enjoying lately is Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective.  I bought a few months ago during spring break because it was on sale for $7.99 on iTunes and I had wanted to listen to it for a while.  I was a little nervous because it is very different from the kinds of music that I usually listen to, but I really, really like it.  They are one of the most innovative, strange bands out there, but I would highly reccommend it.  If you give it time, this album gets better with every listen and every beat, layer, synth, and strange, oddball noise points me to our innovative, glorious Creator.

Here is the video for their song “My Girls”:

The album cover:

C.J. Mahaney on worldliness

“Resisting worldliness is absolutely vital, but not ultimately most significant.  Jesus Christ is most important.  We must fight worldliness because it dulls our affections for Christ and distracts our attention from Christ.  Worldliness is so serious because Christ is so glorious… Meditate on the cross.  Consider the wonders of the Savior who died for sinners and rose victorious over sin and death.  Dwell where the cries of Calvary are louder than the clamor of the world.”

- C.J. Mahaney

Buy Worldliness