From Memory

This is John Piper reciting the entire book of Philippians from memory. It takes him 17 minutes to complete. It is awesome. While I understand we are making a transition in communication, I still believe that the oral tradition is deeply seated in the human mind and soul. Scripture was meant to be read aloud and memorized. There is power in hearing Scripture and poetry read aloud because it connects us to some of our deepest human roots. Piper models it for us here.

Media and Laziness

A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation on the online lives of teens resulted in these stats:

“Eight-to-eighteen-year-olds spend more time with media than in any other activity besides (maybe) sleeping—an average of more than 7 1/2 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Justin Taylor adds: "The report goes on to say that due to multi-tasking, the average kid actually consumes 11 hours of media in that 7.5 hour time frame."

Here's the typical Christian response: OH NO. I'M UNPLUGGING MY COMPUTER AND SMASHING LITTLE JOHNNY'S XBOX INTO TINY LITTLE PIECES SO HE CAN'T EVEN DREAM OF PUTTING IT BACK TOGETHER. MEDIA IS EVIL AND I WILL NEVER ALLOW IT IN MY HOUSE! THAT YOUTH GROUP BETTER DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! NOW!

But you know what, if this is true, there's really only one solution. Go play with your kid. This is not the media's fault, they're doing their job. This is your fault.

While we live in the busiest age, where people constantly complain about their full schedules, I believe we actually live in the laziest society in history. In all actuality, being super busy is really being lazy.

Think about it: if your schedule is filled every week with meeting after meeting and scheduled event after scheduled event, you're not really working too hard but you're just letting other people and events dictate your schedule. Then, you spend all of your time hopping from one person or event to the other without thinking about much. You can fill your time by just jumping from appointment to appointment. That doesn't sound like there's too much effort there.

But you come home after a "busy day" and playing with your kid is just "too much." You just watch the tube with him, or you go up and lay down while your kid is occupied with a screen.

I know for me, it is an easy week if the week before I just filled it up with meetings. I just look at my phone, and drive where I need to be and say what I need to say after that. It really isn't too challenging.

You know what's challenging? Leaving pockets of time (large pockets) for prayer or for spontaneous things to come up. For you to be free. For you to rest.

Man, if you're a parent, it could be for time with your kids. So then, when you come home from work, you don't just let your kid surf the internet or be entertained by the multiple mediums that are available to him/her, but instead you have time and you are rested. You can clean. You can help others who are too busy.

That's the type of people that other people need.

If you are a Christian, this is how you are different. Don't just be another busy person. People do not need another person with a hectic lifestyle, they are surrounded by those. People (and your kids especially) need people who are centered.

"For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies."

I Can't Wait to Tell You About the Time I Met Tower of Power

Tonight is my buddy Jerrad's bachelor party. Because Jerrad's dad is connected (and black), he knows some guys from Tower of Power, one of the greatest bands of all time (ALL TIME, Kanye). We got the bass player's cell phone number and a pretty open invitation to chill with the band. Judging by their music and this picture, I think we'll have a great night.

What is hip?

We Have A Strong City

"Then the king said to me, 'What are you requesting?' So I prayed to the God of heaven, and I said to the king..."
-Nehemiah 2:4

There is way too much to say about Nehemiah. I first studied this book under Pastor Mark Driscoll up at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. During my time in the book, it became an instant favorite.

For multiple reasons, God is putting that book back in to my life as my mentor, Joel Dombrow, is teaching through this book at Willamette Christian Church. Also, I know that my friends at Solid Rock just finished going through this amazing book.

Certainly God works through people, and he works even stronger when those people congregate. We often believe this to be churches, which is true, but it is biblically accurate to notice that God works through cities perhaps even more than "churches." I love taking inventory of where God is bringing my city, Portland, and who is in tune to it all.

As I look back on the past three or four years, it becomes apparent that God has been raising up churches and young leaders to rebuild the city of Portland. I see Portland like Nehemiah sees Jerusalem: laid in ruins. It is a beautiful city, but it is a broken city.

It is such a privilege to not just watch, but be a part of God's plan to rebuild Portland. We are JUST getting started.

ANYWAYS...another entry perhaps.

I place this verse at the top to remind us of the prayerful demeanor of Nehemiah. If you don't know the story, I'm not going to type a summary, just read the book. But in 2:4 he is asked a question by the king, which every visionary desires:

"What do you want?"

Before Nehemiah goes into his vision, he prays. It must have been a quick prayer, but it was enough.

St. Paul, when writing to one of the churches he looked after, reminds them to "pray without ceasing." What we lose in the English translation is that St. Paul is actually using a medical term to describe "without ceasing." He's not saying, "Pray 24 hours a day and seven days a week." If we did that, we wouldn't ever put any prayer into action. The Greek medical term he uses is to describe a scratch in the back of your throat that you have to constantly itch or clear. In other words, pray as if it's the only thing that will bring your life comfort. As if it's something that will bring you clarity in your system, or deeper even, your soul. Also, don't be surprised if you continue in spiritual discomfort when you're not in prayer.

All that is said of Nehemiah's prayer to the king is just one part of a sentence. He didn't get on his knees, he didn't light a candle, and he didn't hold anyone's hand. There absolutely are times for such things, but they are not law when approaching the Creator. Prayers do not have to be long winded, they do not have to be on your knees, they just need to be honest and often. You don't even have to close your eyes and fold your hands.

This little prayer by Nehemiah changes the history of Jerusalem, and in turn, the world. Prayer is our most powerful asset as the people of God, and often our prayers reveal our shallow faith. In other words, when we pray just to find the keys or for a parking spot, we really are creating a very small god. Nehemiah was a man who prayed for his city to be renewed and people to turn back to God is droves. He knew not only of God's love, mercy, and passion, but he knew about God's supreme power.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."

My friends, pray bigger.

Plugs

It's normally a little awkward when that friend gives you their piece of art and they say that daunting comment: "Let me know what you think!" You smile halfway and force out the enthusiastic, "Yeah, OK!"

I realized this at the dawn of the MySpace Music pandemonium that apparently is still going on. "Check out my MySpace page and let me know what you think!"

I won't!

Luckily, however, I've been overwhelmed by the amount of talent that is in my life. That, for the vast majority of my creative friends, there is a direct contradiction to that common situation of having to fake the enjoyment of someone's pathetic and terrible work of art.

My friends are stupidly talented, and if none of them get famous or in some way recognized, I will be eternally confused.

Two of my very good friends recently released some amazing creative material.

John Finnerty is my roommate, and in my opinion, a remarkable graphic designer. I've learned a lot living with him - more than just how much he sucks at Halo 2. He recently opened THEYEARTWOTHOUSAND, which is an exploration of design with naive mediums. It is showing in the lobby of Pacific Northwest College of Art.

He also designed the album cover for my old buddy Mitchell Sumner, who released a truly terrific album, "Jip Opus." Only a couple times before have I kept listening to a friend's record over and over and over. "Jip Opus" is not leaving my car, not even to load on to my iTunes. It is beyond worth the $7 you can pay on CDbaby.com.

So buy some local music and visit a local art show because these people are freaking talented and I get the pleasure of knowing them.

Things Fall Apart

For all of the comments I've read regarding the unforeseen and horrific disaster in Haiti, Albert Mohler seems to articulate a great balance between what we can never know and what we can know in the present age. I don't always agree with Dr. Mohler, but here I quote him in this excerpt:

God’s rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment.

The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake — at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense — in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption.

Why did no earthquake shake Nazi Germany? Why did no tsunami swallow up the killing fields of Cambodia? Why did Hurricane Katrina destroy far more evangelical churches than casinos? Why do so many murderous dictators live to old age while many missionaries die young?

Does God hate Haiti? God hates sin, and will punish both individual sinners and nations. But that means that every individual and every nation will be found guilty when measured by the standard of God’s perfect righteousness. God does hate sin, but if God merely hated Haiti, there would be no missionaries there; there would be no aid streaming to the nation; there would be no rescue efforts — there would be no hope.

The earthquake in Haiti, like every other earthly disaster, reminds us that creation groans under the weight of sin and the judgment of God. This is true for every cell in our bodies, even as it is for the crust of the earth at every point on the globe. The entire cosmos awaits the revelation of the glory of the coming Lord. Creation cries out for the hope of the New Creation.

In other words, the earthquake reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only real message of hope. The cross of Christ declares that Jesus loves Haiti — and the Haitian people are the objects of his love. Christ would have us show the Haitian nation his love, and share his Gospel. In the midst of this unspeakable tragedy, Christ would have us rush to aid the suffering people of Haiti, and rush to tell the Haitian people of his love, his cross, and salvation in his name alone.

Everything about the tragedy in Haiti points to our need for redemption. This tragedy may lead to a new openness to the Gospel among the Haitian people. That will be to the glory of God. In the meantime, Christ’s people must do everything we can to alleviate the suffering, bind up the wounded, and comfort the grieving. If Christ’s people are called to do this, how can we say that God hates Haiti?

1 Samuel 16:7

While I wish I would have written this, I cannot claim authorship. I don't know who wrote it, but it has floated around church blogs for some time. It is a really great way to illustrate the Bible's view on leadership, and the definition of "greatness" as defined by the Christian person. It's a fake report for a Pastor search committee.

*************

Search Committee Report:

The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for our new Pastor.

Adam: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he enjoy walking nude in the woods.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Abraham: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man’s wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: Great preacher but our relocation costs for all his wives are out of our budget.

Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.

Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

Hosea: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.

Deborah: Strong leader and seems to be anointed, but she is female.

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.

Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Amos: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people–might fit in better in a poor congregation.

Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper-even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.

James & John: Package deal preacher & associate seemed good at first, but found out they have an ego problem regarding other fellow workers and seating positions. Threatened an entire town after an insult. Also known to try to discourage workers who didn’t follow along with them.

Timothy: Too young!

Methuselah: Too old . . . WAY too old!

Jesus: Has had popular times, but once his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all, and then this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he’s single.

Judas: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We’re inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.

***********

He doesn't really look at things the same way we do, does He?

NERD ALERT!

NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! NERDS!

So my bro has over 1,000 comic books to his name, and as life hits you in the gut a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. He's now selling over 1,000 comic books and he wants YOU to buy 'em! So check out this ad and purchase some total NERD gear!

Here's his NERD message:

Hey everyone, we have 1000+ comic books to sell and for lack of a large enough venue, we’re setting up an ongoing series of appointments for you to come to our apartment and browse our stunningly well-organized collection! Almost everything is only a dollar each! Discounts offered on bulk purchases, negotiations welcome (but not lowballers!). Buy 1, buy 10, buy 100, buy them all! They are all Modern Age superhero comics from the late 90s/ early 00s. There’s a heavy Spider-man, Superman, and Batman presence, but then there’s some of everything else right down to The Magic Pickle! Highlights include:

- A sizable portion of Batman: No Man’s Land
- Mark Waid’s run on Fantastic Four
- Assorted X-Men
- The complete “Hush” storyline of Batman, by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee
- The complete Bruce Wayne Murderer? / Bruce Wayne Fugitive storyline
- Batman/Huntress: Call and Cry for Blood, with issue #1 signed by Greg Rucka
- Complete series of 1602
- JSA #1-43 and 46-54
- Assortment of trade paperbacks for $10 each
- And so much more!

We also have some bigger-ticket items – prices negotiable but we’re armed with the knowledge of their value from several sources and you wouldn’t want to cheat poor twenty-somethings, would you? These items include, but are not limited to…

- Rising Stars ½ Wizard World Exclusive
- Superman/Batman #1 and #8 (rest of the series, from 2-7 and 9-17, will be our regular price)
- Wolverine Origin miniseries
- Birds of Prey #8
- Amazing Spider Man Volume 2 #36
- Ultimate Spider-Man #5

Finally, we have a delightful sampling of some comics-related goodies, pictures available upon request:

- Batman Masterpiece Edition – featuring a Golden Age action figure, a reprint of the first Batman comic and a hardcover book filled with sketches, interviews, and more
- Flash of Two Worlds sculpture – a great statue of two Flashes saving the day – worth about $200, but we’re offering a massive discount because the packaging isn’t in good shape and we lost the certificate of authenticity (product itself is fine)
- Two limited edition Warner Brothers plates with art by Alex Ross, one of Plastic Man and one of Captain Marvel*
- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Absolute Edition Volume 1 – Hardcover*
- Dave Grossman figurine of Superman changing
- Classic Batman mini-bust by Tim Bruckner*
- Superman steel safe bank
(*currently up for auction on eBay, so come take a look and if you’re interested we’ll notify you if it doesn’t sell there)

We can’t hold anything for you, but will gladly tell you if something is still available. We are located near 25th and Lovejoy in NW (exact address provided after email correspondence). Appointments would be for after 1 pm Tuesday-Saturday and anytime on Sunday and Monday. We’re happy to answer any questions -thanks for looking!

CONTACT:
Scott Nye: scottn_86@yahoo.com

What is Education?

"The end then of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love him, to imitate him, to be like him, as we may the nearest by possessing our souls of true virtue, which being united to the heavenly grace of faith, makes up the highest perfection."

-John Milton

Words for Worry

"You are meddling with Christ’s business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances.You have been trying “providing” work and forgetting that it is yours to obey.

Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing.

Come and survey your Father’s storehouse, and ask whether he will let you starve while he has laid up so great an abundance in his garner?

Look at his heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind!

Look at his inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault.

Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while he pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you?

If he remembers even sparrows, will he forget one of the least of his poor children?

'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.'"

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Conquered Words: December

This is my monthly post where I tell you what I have read and (ever so briefly) what I thought about each work. If you haven't read these books, then read this blog and pretend that you did!

December is my favorite month to read. In college, you really have only one week of school during the month, and the rest is off. Beyond this, in my specific ministry, the work really winds down as people get busier and run off out of town. Or even more so, like this year, I get to leave town, which means travel time to kill using the weapon of a great book (I had flights to Detroit and back. Boo yah!). Over all of this, December in Portland is always somewhat cold and always rainy, which makes for some of the best reading weather our God can offer.

Here's what I read:

The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons (ESPN Books, 702 pages) Of course I didn't read all of this book. Please comment if you read every word because I think you deserve a medal for wasting your time. This is a good read, but if Simmon's wasn't such an egomaniac he could have written a great book on basketball in under 400 pages. His history is what I read. For the most part, I tried to skip his "what if" scenarios and "could you imagine..." sections. Yes, Bill Simmons, I COULD imagine what it would be like to put Michael Jordan on the same team as Bill Russell, but I won't because the exercise of rewriting history in my brain is a WASTE OF TIME AND ENERGY. Russell was a Celtic in the 60s (mainly) and Jordan was a Bull in the 90s (mainly), THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED. WHAT GOOD IS IT TO PLAY PRETEND? Here's what I love about this book: Simmon's plain loves basketball and for anyone who loves the game, it's totally worth poking around in. Simmon's did an impressive amount of research and has a lot of statistics for you, but don't try and conquer every word, you'll only find yourself asking "What if Bill Simmon's could shut up?"

The Audacity to Win by David Plouffe (Viking, 390 pages) Whether or not you're a fan of Barak Obama, the man and his partners ran perhaps the greatest campaign for the presidency. Certainly it was a campaign that changed the way American politicians will run. David Plouffe was one of the main brains, if not THE main brain behind everything that Obama was able to accomplish. He was his campaign manager and remains a close friend to Obama. In this book, Plouffe gives the reader an inside look at every step of the campaign. At times it's a little excessive as Plouffe is an election nerd who expects everyone to care about each county in Iowa as much as he does. I certainly skipped some portions to get to the meat. What is rewarding in this book is the raw insight to how much of a political underdog this campaign really was. While seeing Obama win and go in to office, it looked like her was royalty, he sure didn't start that way. Plouffe gives an excellent account for how he and his team took the underdog to the Oval Office. If you have any love for the West Wing or political science, it would be worth your time. It was a historic run.

Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson (Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 327 pages) Ronson writes medium sized books that feel like a 1,000 word article. He packs tons of information in his fast-paced gonzo journalism. It's one thing to expose great facts, but it's another thing all together to be such a thrilling storyteller. Ronson certainly has a niche. This book is a compilation of different profiles of extremists in America. And while each profile is separate, somehow, through Ronson himself, he ties them all together. It takes you until the third story to realize this is not a book with a bunch of different stories in it, but it's just one story. Each profile sees a group of people or a person who believes there to be a small secret government group that rules the whole world. They're called the New World Order. Most of my time in this book was reminding myself that these people were REAL. A magnificent portrayal of the fringe in our society. Ronson gives them a human portrait which gives the humorous moment a delicate tenor.

Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee (Penguin, 220 pages) I found a new favorite. Coetzee is a South African who can write fiction so succinctly it's scary. Disgrace is the story of professor David Lurie, who could be one of the saddest characters I've read. Coetzee has a talent that very few writers have: the gall to offer no redemption to his characters, and to still write a great story. THAT is a difficult task and Coetzee does it well. And then in this, Coetzee writes some of the most beautifully constructed sentences. He's a trained scholar in linguistics, so I guess that kind of comes with the degrees. I need to read more Coetzee.

Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou (Bloomsbury, 347 pages). My first graphic novel ended up being one of the biggest mind trips EVER. This will be difficult to write about but just to get it off my chest: I ADORED THIS NOVEL. I read it in about 8 hours over two days and then I read the ending again. My mom got this for me for Christmas, hearing about it through her friend who is a brainiac. Logicomix is a graphic novel that is about what the authors call "The Quest." In other words, the search for truth. It is most definitely a philosophy book masked in a modern medium. Yes, the authors are Greek and yes they're very intelligent. The book is mainly an autobiography of Bertrand Russell, perhaps the most important logistician the world has known yet. He changed mathematics and reshaped philosophical thought during a time when the West desperately needed it - through the World Wars. I learned a ton about Russell, more about logic/math, and even more about the human's desire for truth. This is my favorite subject and the reason I read so much. Truth is the most important concept humans can know and access. And, if I may, that is why Jesus Christ's most outrageous statement is not that he knew the truth or that he could bring you to the truth, but that he WAS the truth. This graphic novel will remain as one of my favorite pieces of literature. WARNING: Just because it has pictures doesn't mean it's fully accessible for all audiences. My head took a spin, I know I didn't get everything...

I was SO close to finishing The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson...I decided to wait until January to report on that. Stay tuned and keep reading, friends.