American sentenced in North Korea

Here is a report from the British newspaper "The Guardian" about an American who was recently sentenced to hard labor in North Korea:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/02/north-korea-kenneth-bae-hard-labour
While in Yanji last year (Yanji is just across the border from N. Korea) we met many people who were working in Rason, the place where he was arrested.  Don't forget to pray for N. Korea.

For "Calvinism"

We have recently been watching and discussing R.C. Sproul's video series Chosen by God in one of our Sunday School classes.  Naturally, though our church is "Calvinist" in its confession, this has not always been easy for everyone to grab hold of.  Everything in our culture and, for many, our upbringing, screams against a God who is that sovereign.
Well, Mike Horton has recently written a book called For Calvinism. (You can buy the book at wtsbooks.com for $10.86, or get the Kindle version for $3.79 from Amazon).   Interestingly the foreword is by Roger Olson, a friend of Horton's and a committed Arminian (who in turn earlier wrote a book, Against Calvinism).
So far I have only read the introduction and the foreword, but even that much has been very worthwhile.  Incidentally, "Calvinism" is not anyone's favorite way to refer to this, including Horton.  Much better is simply to call what Calvin (and Augustine and Paul before him) taught "the doctrines of grace."
Now you might think this is for theological eggheads only.  I encourage you to read Horton's introduction (you may even be able to do that online without reading the book :)).  I think many Christians (and non-Christians) may think that all that we need to do is just be good people.  History has shown, however, that cultural "goodness" is something that cannot be passed on apart from a deeper understanding of God--and without reflecting on what his Word teaches.  And that, even a cursory glance of the Bible shows, is more than superficial goodness.  So go on--read it!

A Glimpse of Average Life in China

Check out this video for an interesting look at one young man's daily life in Shanghai--a window cleaner at Shanghai's World Trade Center (our family met with a dozen of my former students at a pub in the basement of this building last May).  Very well-done video, worth a few minutes' time.

Speaking of Good Jealousy...

In Romans 11 Paul says that the Gentiles' turning to Christ, in the divine plan, is to create "jealousy" among his kinsmen, the Jews.  Well, as I was reflecting on that, there appeared a column from one of my favorite writers, David Brooks, on the Orthodox and Hasidic Jews in New York City--and on one of their grocery stores.  Seems that these conservative Jews are not afraid, or particularly bothered, by following a different drummer--or, in contemporary language, being counter-cultural.  I wonder how my family, and our church, looks like from the outside--inasmuch as we march to a different drummer, can people see it?  What do they think of it?  Is it attractive?  May God give us grace to inspire jealousy.

"Why We Need Confessions" Link

A few weeks ago I mentioned a New Horizons article, "Why Christians Need Confessions."  At the time the article was not yet on the Internet.  Now it is: you can find it here.  To whet your appetite, here are the seven main reasons Trueman cites for why we need confessions:
1. Confessions Limit Church Power
2. Confessions Offer Succinct Summaries of the Christian Faith
3. Confessions Allow for Appropriate Discrimination between Officers and Members
4. Confessions Highlight What Is Important
5. Confessions Relativize the Present and Connect Us to the Past (i.e. the church did not start in 2000, but has been around a long time--and the past has wisdom for us!)
6. Confessions Reflect the Substance of our Worship
7. Confessions Fulfill a Vital Part of Paul's Plan for the Post-Apostolic Church

Some of these may not be what comes to mind for you--but don't let that stop you from reading this one.

Don't Miss This

If you haven't seen it yet, please be sure to spend 28 minutes to listen to Dr. Ben Carson's address at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.  The C-Span feed was put on You Tube, and is available here.  This guy is an excellent speaker, and has a few good ideas.  Don't miss it.

A Hot Time in a Cold Place

The city of Harbin, Northeast China, where I lived for four years, has an annual claim to fame: the "ice lantern festival," perhaps the most prominent event of its kind in all of Asia, even perhaps the world.  For your viewing pleasure, the Wall Street Journal has a blog with pictures.  You can see it here.

Was It Real--or Faked?--or "Enhanced?"

Does it matter if what you see is real--or electronically spruced up?  You may have missed the flap over Beyonce's singing at the inauguration last week--was she singing in real-time, or did she lip-sync?  And does anyone really care?  Here is an interesting article about how people prefer--at least we think--things to be more perfect than they could ever be in "reality," and whether reality can measure up to "enhanced" reality--whether it is pictures of people, or advertising, or singing.
Or--worship.  Think about it: What if the musicians in worship thought they could do a "better" job by pre-recording their music, then lip-(and instrument-)syncing during worship?  And what if a preacher decided he could do a "better" job by pre-recording the sermon, and lip-syncing?  What would be lost?
Or--here's another angle on this.  One current phenomenon is churches with multi-site worship services, where the sermon is preached at one site, and broadcast at all the other sites.  So that if you are at another site, you do not get to "see" the preaching live, but only broadcast.  What do you think?  Is there not something to live, in-person preaching--the interaction, non-verbally, between the pastor and the congregation--that is taken away (I do think so--what do you think)?  And then, can a pastor really act as shepherd (the word "pastor" comes from a root word meaning "shepherd") for a congregation that he only knows "remotely?"  Is hearing preaching merely a matter of taking in information--or is there more going on?  Let me know what you think.