Always Reforming

This post is an adaptation of my sermon notes from 12/23. One of life's most fundamental questions, one that we must all ask ourselves is, “Who is Jesus?”   This question has received many answers, and many of them are correct, if incomplete.   Jesus is God.   He is a man.   He is a teacher and a shepherd and our Savior.    The Reformed tradition has long thought it best to view Christ through the lens of His three offices: Prophet, Priest, and King.   Of these three, people like to emphasize His Kingship the least as it is the most repulsive to our human nature (see the Garden of Eden).   Liberal Christianity likes to speak of Christ as our Prophet, Evangelical Christianity likes to speak of Christ as our Priest, but it seems nobody wants to speak of Christ as our King!   The New Testament, however, strongly emphasizes the Kingship of Christ.   In fact, o f the three offices He occupies, His Kingship is perhaps emphasized the most.   The Early Church (and really the Ch

As the Spencer family was driving along one day, a P!NK song came across the radio.  I, being a moderate fan, and it being one of her songs that is kid-friendly, allowed it to continue playing.  When the chorus began, I heard the sound of our eldest, Genesis, singing along from the back row.  I turned to her and said, "You know this song?"  She just sort of shrugged her shoulders and nodded. That was one of the most surreal moments in my life.  A few realizations descended upon me.  First of all, I was amazed that I'm old enough to have a kid that is old enough to sing along intelligently to songs that she hears.  It's one thing to hear your kids mimic the sounds that they hear, but it is an altogether different feeling when they actually begin to sing the lyrics of a song to the actual tune (sort of) of that song.  That's something that sneaks up on you! Secondly, I was reminded just how powerful our influence as parents really is.  The six-year-old's

Millennials.  We're the worst, aren't we? People are always ragging on us.  We're lazy.  We're stupid.  We're spoiled.  We're the scum of the earth and everything that ever happens is our fault. While we can laugh off many of these complaints as the bitter ravings of old people who don't know where else to aim their vitriol, it would do us well to consider their criticism and examine our hearts. One area that is a major weakness for our generation is our obsession with entertainment.  This is certainly not a universal issue, nor is it one upon which our generation has a monopoly.  We are our parents' children. Generally speaking though, we live for entertainment. We worship entertainment.  Even when we worship, we want entertainment. We have more free time than most people in the history of the world, so we exhaust it by entertaining ourselves. We have more money than most people in the history of the world, so we finance multibillion dollar

History contains many noteworthy happenings.  Some catch the eye, some the mind, and some the heart, but others, a select few, grip the soul and refuse to relinquish their hold.  The tale that I am about to relate resides decidedly in the final category. Our story occurred in June of 1946.  Our protagonist, Brookes Whitmore, had finally returned to his home state of West Virginia after participating in Hitler's war.  A young man of 25 when Pearl Harbor was bombed, he was not lucky enough to avoid the draft.  He was, however, lucky enough to come home in one piece.  He had yet to find consistent employment, instead taking odd jobs here and there.  That is where our story gets interesting, or, shall we say, odd. Brookes sat at the bar in the only diner in Philippi, WV, sipping on a cup of below-average joe.  It was still early.  He knew it was sometime between 8 and 10 because Uncle Ed (he was nobody's uncle in particular) was in the corner trying to sober up (after 10 he

The midterm election cycle of 2018 was one of the more tumultuous in recent memory, which is saying something!  In the end there was only a moderate amount of upheaval as some new faces and new ideals replaced old ones and the House went to the Democrats.  One of these new faces, one that has been both news-worthy and meme-worthy, is that of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  As has been the case with her face, her name and faux pas have basically been unavoidable for the last few months. Ocasio-Cortez's election is significant because her victory represents more than just the triumph of a particular political campaign in New York's 14th congressional district; her victory signals a new political epoch.  She represents the rise of a generation fully willing to embrace political and economic ideals that directly contradict the principles upon which this country was founded. There is much that is compelling about Ocasio-Cortez, both to Millennials and previous generations of lib

A legendary director has passed.  Many average film watchers may not know the name  Bernardo Bertolucci , but his extensive career was full of accolades and his work continues to be influential.  As news of his passing spread across the web, the crying emojis and RIPs spread like ripples in a pond.  Film critics and self-proclaimed movie buffs everywhere are mourning the passing of our one the great filmmakers of cinematic history.  I, too, mourn his passing, but not for the same reasons.  I mourn his passing the way that I mourn the death of any unrepentant sinner.  I mourn because I know that he is not resting in peace.  I am happy to say that I have never seen a Bertolucci film, so I cannot speak to his talent as a director, but regarding the content of his films, I will admit that Bertolucci was ahead of his time, but not in a good way.  You see, Bernardo Bertolucci was basically a glorified pornographer.  He pushed the boundaries of what could be placed in films, both culturally

We find Oliver (Oly to his friends) travelling down 77 South, nonplussed and road-raging. He was having one of those days.  He had felt exhausted as soon as he had torn himself from his pillow and he had already had a long day before the Eastern Time Zone reached 9:00 A.M. He was annoyed with the sun in his eyes.  He was annoyed with the inane radio show hosts.  He was, above all, annoyed with his fellow motorists crawling down the expressway.  Obscenities and fossil fuels filled the air as impatient drivers fought bumper-to-bumper traffic in a doomed attempt to make it to work by 9. "Just my luck," he thought aloud. Oly dreamt of having a job to which he could be late, and, accordingly, was en route to a job interview at an IT start-up.  It was not the most prestigious job opportunity in the world, but it was significantly more prestigious than the burger-flipping he had been doing for the decade since his high school graduation. As he checked the clock franticall

St. Augustine of Hippo. That was the full Christian name of my now deceased cat.  I loved that cat. It was also the name of a well-known bishop and author who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries.  He is widely-respected, having been "sainted" by the Catholic Church and also being considered a spiritual father by the Reformers and even many modern Evangelicals.  John Calvin, for instance, quotes from Augustine extensively in his Institutes , many times wresting back Augustine's authority from his Catholic opponents who claimed it for their own positions. Like emo kids in the 2000's wearing tee-shirts adorned with the images of Bob Marley or The Ramones, we sometimes agree with famous theologians without ever really knowing what they taught.  Not wanting to be "that guy," I recently decided to read one of Augustine's works.  Instead of reading The City of God or Confessions , cuz, who has time for that, I decided to start with something much

Celebrities from Taylor Swift to LeBron James to Brad Pitt and Leo DiCaprio  are once again out spreading the message of the importance of voting (apparently they feel that being famous qualifies them to have an opinion; alas, a platform is no replacement for knowledge!).  These Hollywood types are trying to rile up the youth (a familiar statist and socialistic tactic) of this nation, a demographic that is traditionally progressive, but that rarely votes.  Millennials especially have distanced themselves from the political process, despite being highly-opinionated and strong-willed. The message being propagated is that everybody has a voice.  Everybody, we are told, has not only the right, but the responsibility, to vote.  Everyone has a civic duty to help decide public policy and who our civic leaders will be for the next 2, 4, or 6 years. But is that true? Should we encourage every eligible person to vote? Does an 18-year-old, fresh out of high school, have the same qualifica

One of the most difficult things in the world for humans to do is to receive admonition .  Admonition is painful.  It is repugnant to our pride.  Fallen human nature simply does not like to be told that it is wrong and/or ignorant.  Because we have this natural (read "fallen") predisposition, receiving admonition is one of the premier signs of wisdom.  He who knows the most knows just how little he knows, while he who thinks he knows everything has yet to figure how much more there is left to know! Enter 2018. Receiving admonition is especially difficult in an age where our god is Self and our creed is Follow your heart .  Our culture has trained us to be self-centered and belligerent, so being corrected is hardly something we're prepared to take.  I have rights!  I have a voice!  When being true to oneself is the summum bonum, receiving admonition is worthless or even immoral. So much conflict resolution training, whether it be for the home or work place, focuses o

I am a man of few and simple pleasures: my wife's company, a glass of wine, a thought-provoking film, etc.  Among the highest of these pleasures is reading a good book, and, while merely reading a book is enjoyable, finishing it is even better.  There are few things in this life that compare to finishing a good book!  Here are the top four reasons why I love to finish a good book: 1) The sense of fulfillment.   When you close a book for the last time, you feel this strange sense of accomplishment.  I am not the most well-read person I know, but I have read quite a few books in my lifetime, and I still get that feeling every single time I finish a book.  The longer the book, of course, the greater the sense of satisfaction you receive from finishing it.  Short-term goals in life are incredibly powerful, and finishing a book is an easy way to feel like you accomplished something.  Even if the book was mediocre, finishing it can bring a strong sense of fulfillment. 2) The sense of

Last week I received (among the litany of junk mail that I normally get) a colorful advertisement inviting me to place the weight of my vote behind Mike DeWine and Jon Husted , Republican candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor, respectively, here in my home state of Ohio.  Now, while I'm a right-leaning independent, this post will not be discussing the merits of any particular candidate or party.  I'd like to explore why we vote the way we do. As I perused the tri-fold flyer, three thoughts went through my head.  Firstly, I thought, "Is it really that time of year again?"  I'm beginning to think it's always that time of year!  Secondly, I couldn't help but to notice that the ad was printed on some incredibly-thick cardstock.  It was a really impressive piece of third-class mail!  The campaign donations must've been flowing in for Mr. DeWine this year. Finally, I was struck by the audacity of the claim on the front of the ad.  The tagline, careful

John Calvin. That's just one of those names.  If you haven't heard of him, you might be theologically and historically illiterate.  If you have heard of him, you probably love him or hate him.  In my experience there are few people who are dispassionate about him and his teachings.  Those who reject his ideas often label him as a heretic and a murderer, while those who adhere to his teachings recognize him as one of the foremost theologians in the history of the Church, rivaling such minds as Augustine and Aquinas.   I am decidedly in the latter camp, but such reverence does not imply any type of man worship or total adherence to his views.  Honoring men of God does not require implicit faith in their teachings.  As Calvin often feels free to critique the illogical or unbiblical views espoused by Augustine, who was obviously one of his favorite authors and biggest influences, so Calvin's adherents should feel free to critique his teachings, always comparing them to

I have been quietly observing this whole Kavanaugh situation , but now I thought I'd offer a few thoughts.  I guess I haven't been accused of sexism recently enough.  In case you are unaware, the confirmation of Trump's most recent nomination for the Supreme Court is not going as smoothly as he would have hoped.  Depending on your perspective, Brett Kavanaugh is either reaping that which he has sown or is enduring character assassination the like of which most citizens will never begin to understand.  Regardless, it is a depressing commentary on the state of politics in the United States of America.  Here's my take: 1) It's always suspicious when a woman "goes public" with an accusation of sexual assault only when a conservative politician is about to attain an important office.  Can we all agree to that?  We've seen this one so many times before that it's difficult to be anything but cynical.  It's hard for the casual bystander not to ask, &

Scandal seems to be the general theme of Pope Francis's tenure, and this year is no different.  If you've paid attention to the news at all recently, you've probably heard something about the Pope.  You see, it appears that he was privy to information  (regarding the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholics priests) that the civil authorities in Pennsylvania would've probably appreciated being given.  That's not a good look for the Roman Catholic Church, to say the least, nor is it a good look for the Pope personally, which is why many different voices  are, both religious and secular, are calling for the Pope to resign. This, my friends, is why having a Pope is a bad idea. This is what happens when you don't listen to Jesus . Allow me to explain. You see, when I first heard that the Pope was being called upon to resign, I was stunned!  "Can you do that?" I thought.  Can you call the Vicar of Christ to resign? Now, I'm no fan of the Po