Friday, September 11, 2009

It occurs to me, while watching the September 11th film tonight, that there are, in this life, many bad ways to die. But there are a very few good ways to die. Therefore, when we see someone die a good way--we can give much thanks for them and for their families. It is a convaluted way to give thanks, but a thing in which there is much grace...the older lady who died sitting in her favorite chair with her Bible in her lap, in her living room before church...the fellow who simply slips into the arms of the Lord in his sleep...perhaps there are a few others. Thanks be to the Lord when a person dies in grace and mercy. It is rare.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

I figured out why I'm depressed. I secretly wish for several stupid things. Here they are:
a. I wish that a whole bunch of people that I really like in this place who do NOT go to the church with which I am affiliated, did. Or maybe ever more deeply stupid, there are about 4 little other churches which I just wish would say to me, "We've been praying about it and we think we're just supposed to come be with you from now on. Don't worry about the details, we'll work all those out."
b. I wish I could know what I know now, and be like 30 again.
c. I wish my girls lived here. And wanted to.
d. I wish I knew the Lord Jesus was returning like, in 1 year.
e. I wish Dallas Seminary would call me up and say, "Yo, we want you to come teach part-time." Adjunct Instructor in Coolness.
f. I wish in my next doctor's visit he would say, "Oh Neil, I want you to take this neat, non-addicitive, no-side-effects, sample pill which will make you lose 80 pounds while eating anything you want."
g. I wish my Dad would appear to me from heaven, young, full of Christ, and tell me some stuff.
h. I wish UMassDartmouth would invite me on to their faculty. I would promise to be good.

None of those are true. So that's why I'm kind of depressed, I figured out...

Monday, September 07, 2009

I remain terribly interested, vitally concerned and emotionally tied to the plight of the 20Somethings as regards evangelical Christianity. Others can never compel, cajole or convince a group to be receptive to Christ, as He is. (I seem to be thinking in triples today.) But we can pray and always be hungry for dialog with a generation that seems to NOT buy the evangelical "package." For example, I found the suggestion interesting in a recent CT article, that the 20Something block does not by and large "buy" evangelical eschatology. Too much commercialization and focus on sensational things has made them skeptical. I can understand that. The writer of the article, in a frenzy to distance himself from "e.e." confused the books and the movies, referring to the movie, The Late Great Planet Earth, which to my knowledge has never been made into a movie (though I wouldn't be surprised if I learned it HAD been made into a video game!) Finally, the suggestion is made that the older evangelicals (which I am afraid now seems to include me) have somehow failed to really communicate the core of the faith. Thus, lesser, more hollow forms of the faith are not wearing well or even being adopted by spiritually minded 20Somethings in general.