A gem from Ray Ortlund

My dad used to say to me, when I was a kid, “Listen, son. Half-hearted Christians are the most miserable people of all. They know enough to feel guilty, but they haven’t gone far enough with Christ to be happy. Be wholehearted for him!”

I used to roll my eyes when you said that. I don’t any more.

Deep Church

DEEP CHURCH by Jim Belcher
I bought this book last time I visited the store, and was pleased to meet the head sherang, Karl Grice, at the same time.

The title is a quote from a 1952 C S Lewis letter to the Church Times in which he said that instead of being either Low Church or High Church, perhaps Christians who believe in God's supernatural intervention in the world should be called Deep Church, or in Richard Baxter's terminology Mere Christians.

Belcher is one of the pastors of the Redeemer Presbyterian Churches founded by Tim Keller. He has researched the Emerging Church movement extensively by meeting its leaders, attending meetings and reading their literature and blogs.

He says that traditional Christians and Emerging folk are suspicious of one another and need to get to know and learn from this interaction. He believes there is a way of combining the best of both worlds into a new Deep Church, while still being cautious about unhelpful aspects of both groups.

The book is well worth reading. You might also find Darrell Bock's article at bock's blog to be something to chew over.

Discrepancy

Interesting comments by Dr Megan Best, Palliative Care doctor

I have always found striking the discrepancy between the public support for euthanasia (among those who are healthy) and my patients’ desire for continued life. I was informed of a recent poll which claimed that 87 per cent of Australians support legalisation of euthanasia.

Research done on palliative care populations, however, tells a different story. A study done some years ago in Sydney found that less than one per cent of those referred to a palliative care service made persistent requests for euthanasia.


My own observation is that things haven’t changed much since then. Why the disparity?

I think there are many reasons why this is the case. The absence of death in everyday life no doubt contributes - it is a remote event often occurring in hospitals, and many of us base our understanding of what really happens on hearsay. And hearsay, especially from the distant past, has some horrifying stories to tell.

Yet I think the main reason why our community voices such strong support for euthanasia is because it has been confused about some accepted end-of-life practices which are already legal, but poorly understood. These include withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment and symptom control.

Another palliative care doctor featured on Australian ABC TV's Four Corners program on Monday night said something similar

Tominthebox news network

Tominthebox news network has me chuckling from time to time. The past few items are great fun.

I like the Russian elderly protesting over the new facebook layout and also love the one about the kids who are counting up to 490 times that they have to forgive one another [and the boy doesn't have to forgive his sister, because it only says, in the ESV, for example, that you have to forgive your brother], and I also love the news that the Episcopal Church is about to permit opposite sex couples to marry.


Magic!

But You Don't Know Kerry

The original was called But you don't know Harry and was written by a woman for women, but it impacted me when I read it about 30 years ago, and I think it applies to all of us.

The title of the book means

I'd like to be obedient to Jesus and be nice to my wife, but my wife, Kerry is impossible!

I'd love to put in an honest day's work, but my boss, Kerry is a mean person and doesn't deserve to be treated kindly.

If we're honest, I reckon we all have piles of these excuses. And that's all they are, aren't they!

True leadership

On Sunday, our minister preached a terrific message on 1 Samuel 15 and 16, where God rejects Saul as king, and appoints David as the new leader of Israel.

Here's the conclusion of the talk, but the whole thing is well worth reading:

What's the most important thing to look for in a leader? God says:
• It's someone who'll hear my word and do it.
• It's someone whose heart wants what I want.
• It's someone who's more interested in pleasing Me than in looking good before the people.
What delights
God is the person who hears His word and does it – the person who comes to His King and submits to Him. Is that you? If not, what will you do about it?

I am praying that our elected leaders who claim to be Christians would be people who truly submit to God's Word, however unpopular that may be.

Having a whinge

I'd just like to whinge about the lack of an E in the usual way people spell WHINGEING