Subversive Influence

SynchroBlog: But is it Revival?

Yesterday it seems we had something of an impromptu synchroblog going as we offered responses to the  antics  ministries of John Crowder and Todd Bentley, with the labels of revival that have been tossed around. My thoughts as well as those of Robbymac, Kingdom Grace, and Bill Kinnon were born of an email conversation we had struck up following the thoughts of others, including Andrew Jones (see my earlier post for additional links). I love the graphic that Rob made up, and even Bill’s pic is a good one — he even looks thoughtful. The image on Grace’s post says a lot, and had me thinking about some years back when we were praying for a pastor for the church plant we were undertaking. A friend of mine on the team was famed for saying he’d even follow a donkey, as long as it was God’s donkey. Good line, but as I looked at the circus image, I was struck by the fact that following God’s donkey is alright, but you have to exercise discernment to make sure you don’t end up following the wrong ass. Just a general observation of course, not a characterization of anyone in particular.

Oi-Oi-Oi-Oi-Oi. And Harrrumph.

The buzz of the day is around the old hyper-charismatic mess. Steve Knight opines on John Crowder who’s big on “Tokin’ the Ghost.” Yes, sadly, you read that right. I don’t know if it’s Todd Bentley-ish or what. Uh-huh. Here’s a few words to the wise should you get to watching the YouTube videos at the ends of those links. (1) When someone claims to have been through a “dark night of the soul” that ends with “spiritual power”, there’s a 99% likelihood they’ve never read St. John of the Cross. (2) When anyone starts using the phrase “whole new dimension” or “whole new level”, run away. (3) When you’re being told to ignore all that you know and believe only in the transrational “greater reality”, it’s time to exercise some sharp discernment… and use your brain. Seriously, claims of “bi-location” where one person appears in two places at the same time? What’s up with that? Did a simpler explanation never occur to anyone, or is it supposed to be a sign of faith to run to the most outlandish explanation? So I guess they’ve got this “revival” thing going on in Lakeland, FL. My email is abuzz this morning, and I’m thinking of Robbymac’s Post-Charismatic? book (link to Amazon.ca).

HoMY 52: The Doxology

When I first began my series Then Sings My Soul: The Hymns of My Youth a year ago, I had no idea that it would run this long. I thought it would probably run several weeks, a few months — six, maybe nine — and I’d run out of material. I had no idea until I began looking back into old hymnals that we had sung so many hymns that remain familiar to me even today… even though I’m not often in a hymn-singing context anymore.

Still, these old hymns evoke memories and cause me to be thankful for a heritage of faith, even though I am glad to have left the traditions in which I first learned them. We do still sing some of these hymns, such as today’s selection, the Doxology. I recall singing this one in my youth, not regularly or routinely, but whenever it was sung it seemed to have some extra reverence attached to it. This is not the oldest hymn I’ve covered, but it ranks. Thomas Ken, a bishop in the Church of England, wrote the hymn in 1674, and it is most often sung to the tune of Old 100th, composed in 1551 and usually attributed to the French composer Loys Bourgeois.

Random Acts of Linkage #60

You ever notice they don’t make anything like they used to? Not even cold and toothache remedies. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is entirely at your discretion. (Two images via DRB).

If you’re a fan of irony, there’s also the office of the National Association of Telemarketers…

Riddle me this:

What do sea monsters eat? Fish and ships.

Why do sharks only live in salt water? Because pepper water makes them sneeze.

What kind of monkey can fly? A hot air baboon.

Why has nobody ever spotted a leopard in Africa? Because leopards are born with spots.

Alright, on with the linkage… a bit shorter one this week.

1. Rapture Index: “You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we’re moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture.” Mmmm-hhmmm. Uhhmmm, yeah.

Baffling

This whole Myanmar thing. It’s gone from tragic to abominable. When you have to pressure a government to accept aid because they’d rather steal it and keep it from their people, just letting them die so they can hold onto power… abysmal. A sham. What do you call it? Subjecticide? Voter-cide? Relieficide? Unthinkable, one would have expected. And yet, it happens. Somebody really ought to do something…

What’s up with Book Pricing?

What’s up with book prices? I was looking for a certain few titles at Amazon.com… a few from my own wishlist and a few for my wife. Those of us in Canada are well-aware of the “Canadian pricing” that appears on books printed in the USA. For example, if I reach out beside me and pick up the library copy I have of William McKeen’s Highway 61: A Father-and-Son Journey through the Middle of America, the price is listed at $24.95, which sounds about right for a 280-page hardcover book. But wait — below that it says the price in Canada is $35.99. Huh? That’s an exchange rate of $1.44, which we haven’t seen in quite a while now. Back around Christmas time, Canadian book retailers were repricing their books at par, basically selling for the US price. Made sense, with the way that the exchange rate is so close right now.

[Book Review] Becky Garrison: Rising From the Ashes — Rethinking Church

As it turns out, reviewing Becky Garrison’s book, Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church, is not a simple straightforward matter. It doesn’t really have a plot or a single argument to put forward that one could assess and say, “She convinced me” or, “She didn’t.” The book is a collection of interviews she conducted in person, over the phone, by email, and by instant messenger chat sessions — with a few excerpted blog posts thrown in for good measure. It’s a bit like reviewing an entire table of hors-d’ouvres and attempting to render a single opinion. Or better perhaps, it’s like wandering around a wild cocktail party filled with every emerging church personality you could think of and a few besides. As you wander, you eavesdrop on a myriad of conversations… you grab some ideas from one, move onto the next, and another, and another. You wander by the first one again to find the subject has changed, then move along to yet another discussion. The conversation are all very diverse, but if there’s a single theme it would be the subtitle of the book: “Rethinking Church,” which is a broad enough summary that the pages of the book still cover a wide array of topics.

Navigate Older Posts

Browse archives by month May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 or category