This video is from October 12th’s worship gathering. It couples images from the last couple of weeks’ news with the second half of Jars of Clay’s song Oh My God.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is the first book in his Dark Materials trilogy, a fantasy series for young adults. This winter, a movie based on the book starring Nicole Kidman will premiere. The series is an engaging story that follows a girl named Lira and her friend Will as they explore their own personal destinies.

The book and the movie have come under criticism because of the author has named himself as an atheist.
With the backdrop of a very engaging story, Pullman uses his trilogy explore the themes of atheism. Each book builds on the previous, until the third book in the series in which he takes the creation narrative and completely turns it upside down. The books also explore the themes of friendship, loyalty, community, and free will.

How should followers of Jesus Christ respond to a cultural phenomenon like this that argues against the very foundation of what and who we believe? Should we run and hide? Should we boycott? Should we convince ourselves again that Hollywood is out to get us and this is a new front in some culture war? Or, should we use this movie as an opportunity to engage in an informed and constructive dialog from a Christian worldview?

How does a Christian worldview deal with such a trilogy and movie? Is it proper to expose ourselves and children to Pullman’s writings? I believe that is a decision that needs to be made on an individual basis, taking into consideration the maturity and critical thinking skills of those in question.

In Pullman’s writings, one can expose their children to the worldview of atheism, helping them to be able to think about their own Biblical worldview and how it interacts with what Pullman is saying. Helping children to develop and learn to engage with what they are reading and seeing from a Biblical worldview now, will help them as they face and evaluate books, movies, and ideas in the future. Yes, The Golden Compass has been written by an atheist; talk about it with them. What do they agree with, what is true in his writings, what is false. Walking through this with them now, will begin to give them the tools that they need to recognize and identify worldviews behind what they engage with in the future. If they do not even understand what a worldview is, this can be a wonderful tool for education and discussion. Use Pullman’s writings as a stepping stone to learning to engage and identify other worldviews in what they see and read.

Today is day 40 in our 40 Days of Purpose. We have walked a path together, thinking about how to live up to God’s desire for us, how to please him in every way. We have talked about worshipping God, building relationships with each other, growing to be more like Jesus, getting plugged into ministry, and sharing the good news of Jesus with people we come into contact with. As we finish up today, I am curious about what you have learned, how you have grown, what your journey has been like. Would you be willing to share you story with us all? Do it here.

And thanks for walking this path with me.

Balance. What an amazing thing – the ability to stay upright, to stay together, to keep from falling. We marvel at the tightrope walkers who can keep their balance on small lines at staggering heights. We applaud the gymnasts who perform acrobatic feats on balance beams. And maybe we ought to be awed too at how we all get up every day and put one foot in front of the other, navigating dangers and steps of various kinds, all while keeping our balance.

Spiritual balance may be harder to keep than physical balance. Spiritual balance is about not going overboard with one aspect of our walk with Jesus that we neglect the others. Time and again, I have seen Christians – and even whole churches – do that very thing. Time and again, I’ve caught myself neglecting one of the basic things for which I was created.

For me, keeping my balance is easier when I am aware of the danger of losing it. I think more about it, concentrate a bit, make it a priority. Today’s chapter in PDL – and we’re almost done, so don’t bonk now – was a great reminder that for me to live a life that is worthy of God and pleases him in every way, I have got to worship him, fellowship with others, grow as a disciple, serve with faithfulness, and share Jesus with effectiveness. Balance.

I grew up in a church culture that was pessimistic and hopeless. The world was spiralling out of control, things were going from bad to worse, and everyone was out to get us. The church had a remnant and fortress mentality, thinking that it was just our little group and that we needed to hole up together and just wait for Jesus to come back. Sara Groves has this great song about taking our church to the moon that reminds me of what it was like growing up.

I have since then developed a different way of looking at things. I now look at the world with much more optimism and hope. I am inspired by that heavenly vision of people from across the globe and throughout the ages unified in worship of Jesus. I am challenged by the great problems of our day, problems that governments have been unable to solve but maybe the church could. I have been captured by the little phrase, “Love Wins.”

So, what does that mean? For me, it means that we adopted a little girl from the foster care system. It means that I support the One Campaign. It means that we have a Compassion International child. It means that I dream of adopting another child from a desperate part of the world (and, yes, my wife knows about that.) It means I can’t wait for Vintage to be in the financial position to make a serious commitment to oversees missions, not as white American saviors, but rather in training local pastors to lead effective, world-class churches in their countries.

There is so much to do. And with God’s help and by his grace, we can do it.

What does being a world-class Christian mean to you?

Back on Day 12, I shared that I think that honesty and humility are the true essence of faith. I think that they are the true essence sharing faith too.

When it comes to sharing Jesus, I think too many followers of Jesus are paralyzed by fear, frozen by the hypocrite label. Most of us tend to think that to share Jesus we’ve got to have some semblance of perfection in our lives. Since we are not anywhere near perfect, we don’t bother letting people know that we are Christians because we don’t want to be called hypocrites.

When we think this way, we are missing some crucial – our non-Christian friends already know that we are not perfect. They are not surprised when we mess up. In fact, they may be a little amused by it. It is only when we *pretend* to be perfect that we run into trouble.

If we are honest and humble enough to admit our imperfections, we become channels through which God’s grace flows. If we apologize for an unkind word, if we admit our frustrations and discouragement, if we say we are sorry, we embody the honesty and humility that are the essence of faith. People are not attracted by perfection – who can be perfect? People are attracted by honesty and humility.

Can you be honest?
Are you humble?
If so, you are the kind of person through whom God will make his appeal!

Have any thoughts about this?

I am curious what impression and thoughts you have when you hear the word “evangelism.” Share them here.

Guys like to brag about how strong they are – how much they can lift or how much horsepower their engines have. But bragging about our strength doesn’t really draw us closer to God or each other.

I am a weak person. I really am. I often try to mask it, but I am pretty weak. As Bono said, “I’m not broke, but you can see the cracks.” I am a mess, really.

As I’ve told my small group, I have a voice in my head that tells me I am lazy. When I am running late with a project or when I just feel like taking an evening to chill or when I can’t seem to get into a creative groove, I start hearing in my head about how lazy, unproductive, and undisciplined I am.

I get cranky pretty easily too. I hate it when I get testy with my kids, but not enough to stop. I get annoyed way too easily. I am frequently too sarcastic and cynical.

I am weak, and I guess I ought to glory in that. There is wonderful irony when God’s grace can come shining through in a guy who is wearing his cranky pants. There is sweet mystery when effectiveness flows from a couch potatoe. (I’ll spell it with an “e” because I’ve got an nostalgic soft spot for Dan Quayle.)

Vintage is a place where vulnerability and authenticity are values. We believe that messy spirituality is still spirituality. It’s our prayer that’s God’s grace and glory will shine through our weaknesses.

How about you? How weak are you?