omnivorous attentiveness

O that I may be a man of omnivorous attentiveness!

Lewis’s keen penetrating sense of his own heart’s aching for Joy, combined with his utter amazement at the sheer, objective realness of things other than himself, has over and over awakened me from the slumbers of self-absorption to see and savor the world and through the world, the Maker of the world. And this sense of wonder at what is—really is—has carried over into doctrine, and the gospel in particular.

Lewis gave me, and continues to give me, an intense sense of the astonishing “realness? of things. He had the ability to see and feel what most of us see and do not see. He had what Alan Jacobs called “omnivorous attentiveness.” ⁴⁰ I love that phrase. What this has done for me is hard to communicate. To wake up in the morning and to be aware of the firmness of the mattress, the warmth of the sun’s rays, the sound of the clock ticking, the coldness of the wooden floor, the wetness of the water in the sink, the sheer being of things (quiddity as he called it). And not just to be aware but to wonder. To be amazed that the water is wet. It did not have to be wet. If there were no such thing as water, and one day some one showed it to you, you would simply be astonished.

He helped me become alive to life. To look at the sunrise and with say with an amazed smile, “God did it again!” He helped me to see what is there in the world—things which if we didn’t have them, we would pay a million dollars to have, but having them, ignore. He convicts me of my callous inability to enjoy God’s daily gifts. He helps me to awaken my dazed soul so that the realities of life and of God and heaven and hell are seen and felt. I could go on about the good effect of this on preaching, and the power of communication. But it has been precious mainly just for living.

John Piper, in his sermon "Lessons From and Inconsolable Soul" (a biography of C.S. Lewis)

Take time to smell the roses...and be amazed!

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do i really love jesus?

As I was standing in church yesterday, singing of the blessings that I experience because of Christ, something grabbed at me.

Do I love Jesus because of His benefits or because of His person?

So often, we do a good job of acknowledging and talking about Christ, but only in conjunction with specific blessing or enhanced experiences of common grace.

How often do I talk about and enjoy Jesus simply because Jesus is radiantly glorious in His very person and essence?

Do I love the gift or do I love the Giver?

Do I love to be saved or do I love the Savior?

Do I love joy or do I love the Object and Source and Author of joy?

If the benefits of having Christ were removed, would I be content and overjoyed to just have Christ?
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music matters

In a recent article, Pastor Andy Stanley challenged and encouraged me in a profound way. As a musician and worship leader, it is so easy to err on the side of musical conservatism, thinking that good, interesting music detracts (and distracts) from real "worship." So often I focus on theological content and lyrical creativity and sing-ability, before I think of the music quality. And while I think this is a healthy and appropriate approach to take when choosing worship music to be used in the church, Stanley made me take a deeper look at the issue of the music itself. He writes:

As a performer, as a listener, as a visitor who might end up in a most unexpected place on a Sunday morning, music has a transformational power. And it moves people in ways that even the best communicator cannot.

Music matters.

To neglect the art of music, is to exclude from musical worship one of the most important elements. Music catalyzes the release of the affections.

At New Life, we have labored to ground music in the truth of who God is and what He has done, but also integrate music that is pleasing to the most critical or easy-going listener.

I must be careful to communicate that music is not the paramount element in musical worship. Clearly, Jesus was concerned that He be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth rather than in a certain place or form. If, by achieving quality music, you sacrifice theological integrity and God-honoring, Christ-centered praise, then worship is no longer in Truth. If, by achieving quality music and theological soundness, you quench the affections made alive by the Spirit, then you have erred on the opposite side. These three components work best when working together, because music is the key to unlocking the affections implanted by the Spirit in response to the Truth of God revealed in the Gospel.

Music matters.

Makoto Fujimura, an influential Christian artist, once said something that absolutely gripped me when I heard it a couple weeks ago:

Though the church may have left the arts, God has not...

We left culture to people who do not know Christ--

we are reaping the natural consequences of that vacuum...

Christians need to be seen as "creative artists"...

Music, invented and designed by God to bring Him glory, has been nearly entirely tarnished by culture. So much so that drums, for a long period of time (and to an extent, today) were viewed as instruments of the devil. We are reaping the natural consequences of believing that (good) music and (good) art has no place in the church: oh how wrong we are!

God is doing work to re-capture the arts. Good music must be continually reinstated and retaught to churches, that God may again use church music--worship music--to reach the lost for Christ.

Music matters.

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Sources: http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/music_matters_stanley

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be still

God commands His servant, David, to "Be still and know" that He is God. I've been paying more and more attention to the fact that in this life, we spend so little time being still and silent. We try to "know" without being still. It is so often because of our noisy busyness that we set "knowing God" aside.

This song is a conversation between a man, who is trying to preach to Himself the faithfulness and character of God, and God, who is responding by telling the man to be still-to be quiet and listen. At the end of the song, the man realizes that the reason He does not "know" God is no fault of God's: it is his own noise and ignorance.

Be still my soul, be quiet and wait
In silence rest, for God shall save
You troubled heart, why do you weep
Do you know God, do you know peace

Be still and know that I am God
Be quiet for hope is not lost
Be silent for still I hear your cry
Be still for I am on your side

Amid the waves, amid the flood
Your hand is stretched and Your promise good
Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief
And let me hear You-hear You speak

Why do I worry? Why do I fear?
'Cause I am so noisy that I cannot hear
Your voice in the whisper: "Do not be afraid
For I am still faithful and mighty to save"

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the best short story

I've been reading through Mark Dever's book, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, and just read something that I found helpful in communicating God's story.

In our church in Washington (D.C.) I always ask our prospective members to tell me the gospel in one minute or less. How would you do that? What would you say the message is? Here's what I understand the good news to be:

The good news is that the one and only God, who is holy, made us in His image to know Him. But we sinned and cut ourselves off from Him. In His great love, God became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law Himself and taking on Himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever turn and trust Him. He rose again from the dead, showing that God accepted Christ's sacrifice and that God's wrath against us had been exhausted. He now calls us to repent of our sins and to trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness. If we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God.

That story is 138 words long.

A few observations:

1. Time is of the essence. Attention spans are short. People are not by nature "listeners." You do not often have all-day to sit down with a friend and talk about the gospel in detail. This is, of course merely a tool to help, it is not a rule; it is not a law; it is not the right way to share the gospel. But I think it will help.

2. Evangelize in bullet points. As I read the story quoted above, I felt like I was reading bullet list, and that a lot of meat was missing. Funny--but that was the case! With a bullet point list, it does leave the door open for question--for further conversation. I have something else to talk about if a question is asked--something meaningful. This will help in your discourse with a non-believer.

3. Write it out. Writing something will really put your thoughts and word choice under a microscope. You will notice things as you write, that otherwise would fly under the radar. It will help your conciseness and your clarity.

Just a thought...

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