BrianD blog

…that is, move on to the all new BrianD Blog.

The preceding link will take you to my new blog, where I’ll be providing fresh content from now on. This site will be my reserve, go-back-to-in-case-of-economic-doom blog

This site will remain up for some time, while I migrate threads to my new blog, and I’ll respond to any comments posted here. However, I encourage you to check out the conversations at the new site.

The address is http://briandblog.com

Please update your RSS feeds and internet links and make sure you tell your friends!

Note: Today you’re reading what I normally plan run on alternating Thursdays here at BrianD Blog: a discussion of the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan (a discussion of Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney will run on the other alternate Thursdays).

Who is Francis Chan, and why am I discussing his book, Crazy Love?

Allow me to answer the why first. I heard good things about him, and was impressed by the reviews I had read of Crazy Love (such as this one by Tim Challies).

Now to the who: Chan is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. He may be best known in evangelicalism for a well-received talk he gave at the Catalyst conference in 2007 (you can watch a portion of it below, and you can read Jacob Vanhorn’s summary here).

He has also spoken during chapel services at The Master’s College (John MacArthur is the school president).

We’re going to start the discussion full-on sometime in the next week.

Meanwhile, get a sample of what Chan has written about from the book’s website; there, check out the videos for each chapter.

Hopefully, this will be a great discussion not just of what Chan is telling us, but what God is doing in us.

http://briandblog.com/

And there she is

As you can see, she’s nowhere ready for her varsity debut, but we had to get her out there anyway

I will be working on the new site over the next week, and plan to switch over to there from here at some point in the next week.

Meanwhile, I’ll post here and encourage you to continue the conversation here.

Good morning/afternoon!

Over at FTA, I’m continuing my discussion on Jack Hayford and S. David Moore’s history of the charismatic movement titled The Charismatic Century; this week, we talk about the early life and ministry of William Branham (he was an influence of Todd Bentley).

Michael Newnham defends John Piper, who’s been harshly criticized by some discernment bloggers for his support of one Mark Driscoll.

Tom Ascol gives a good retrospective of Christian blogging (while arguing that blogging hit its peak a year ago).

Peter-John Courson on what drives him.

iMonk critiques a certain “conservative evangelical” young preacher’s current series on the Song of Solomon.

Take an inside look at internet church campuses with Leadership Network.

Gary Lamb takes a look back at a multi-site church conference he attended, in which he makes this statement: “Multi-site is NOT the future of the church.”

Tim Stevens makes a good case that conducting a baptism over the internet can be done.

Digital Sanctuary on a phishing scam aimed at Facebook users.

Jared Wilson argues sometimes, you have to be the first to do something in ministry.

Scot McKnight on why he is evangelical, not Catholic nor Eastern Orthodox. Michael Patton comments.

R.C. Sproul’s series on prayer at Ligonier’s website continues, with part 4.

Scott Thomas of the Acts29 Network has 20 questions to help you figure out if you are a church planter.

For those of you who’ve always wondered about such things, Ed Stetzer lists who’s who in megachurch research.

Finally, a blog note: you’ll see to the right-hand side of the screen web buttons for Monergism and icons for books I’m currently reading or plan to read ASAP (they are, in order, Death by Love by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears; Crazy Love by Francis Chan; Approaching God by Steve Brown; and Spectacular Sins by John Piper). The list will change periodically.

Clicking on the icons takes you to Amazon.com. If you order those books through this site, I get a small kickback – 4 percent of the profits goes toward store credit for me. The Monergism link works the same way – if someone clicks on the link through this site and orders something, it works the same way as the Amazon deal does.

In short, I’m not getting rich off this deal, and I’m hoping for enough return from this to get me a free book or two

If you choose to order through this site, wherever you can get a better deal on a book, take advantage of it!

Michael has a similar set up at Phoenix Preacher – so, when you visit his site, if you’re in the mood to buy something from Amazon or Monergism, get to either site through the links at HIS blog, and support him in the process.

The Linkathon for this week can be found at Phoenix Preacher.

Also, be sure to read Michael Newnham’s interview with Tom Stipe as Stipe discusses William Paul Young’s book The Shack, and why he invited Young to speak at his church.

You’re reading an early, early edition of Daily Linkathon today.

Tomorrow – tentatively - we’ll start a discussion of Francis Chan’s Crazy Love and post the mega, once-a-week Linkathon that got postponed a day because of an interview Michael did with Tom Stipe today at PP. Saturday, tentatively, I’m going to start the discussion on the Crazy Love book.

Let’s get rolling:

I have posted a thread at, and exclusive to, From the Ashes: Get a move on! where I give an update my fitness regimen.

The following link from Marty Duren’s blog may be another of the best links you’ll read all year, and I’ll sum it up thusly: American Evangelical Christendom is dying, if not already dead; long live the Church.

Want to catch up on Granger Community Church’s Innovate ‘08 conference, featuring such speakers as Steven Furtick, Bobby Gruenewald and Tim Stevens? Do so right here. (HT: Kem Meyer)

PyroManiacs is going dark for all of October.

Part 3 of R.C. Sproul’s book Does Prayer Change Things? is online.

Bryon Mondok reviews N.T. Wright’s Matthew for Everyone (Part One) commentary.

Vitamin Z links to some helpful online, FREE resources from Covenant Seminary, including classes you can take online for FREE

From sermoncentral.com, Outreach Magazine’s 100 largest and 100 fastest-growing churches in America. (HT: Ed Stetzer)

Michael Patton says Calvinists often make the worst Calvinists.

Mark Driscoll was featured in Newfrontiers Magazine. (HT: The Mission and Vision).

The Resurgence interviewed Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae. It also posted the latest chapter of Driscoll’s e-book on p*rn, male sexuality and other things not discussed in polite society but probably very helpful to a large group of men.

Jonathan Dodson on why evangelism methods must change.

iMonk wraps up his series on rebaptism.

From the Acts 29 blog, D.A. Carson on five trends in the church today.

Barton at From the Ashes on how we should be remembered when we pass on.

If you work at a church and are into creativity and visual arts, Barton Damer’s Already Been Chewed blog may prove extremely helpful to you. (HT: Ben Arment)

Scot McKnight continues his series on the gospel, part 5 and part 6.

Ligonier has a page with summaries of each session of its West Coast Conference held last weekend.

Kem Meyer lists people’s reasons for using Facebook and/or Twitter.

All of the video, audio and notes from each session of last weekend’s Desiring God Conference (HT: Justin Taylor).

Tim Challies reviews Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshear’s book Death by Love; my review is forthcoming, sooner or later

Challies on Calvinism and evangelism.

Alan Hirsch gives his answer on if fundamentalism is a true expression of Christianity (a hint: no).

Ed Stetzer interviews megachurch pastor Kerry Shook.

Dave Ramsey on his three steps to change America’s future.

The ESV Study Bible is just over two weeks away from release to the public.

It has its share of endorsers, it’s been heavily hyped online and, judging by the PDF files available at its blog, looks really, really nice. Nice enough, perhaps, to preorder

So why am I not foaming at the mouth yelling at you to place your order for this thing?

After reading a parody post by iMonk yesterday, I did a quick mental inventory of the study Bibles I do own.

I already own copies of:

• The Reformation Study Bible
• The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible
• NIV Study Bible (for the Arminian in me)
• MacArthur Study Bible (for my inner Johnny Mac)
• Life Application Study Bible
• The Word for Today Bible (for my inner Dave RolphChuck Smith)

Not to mention the fact that I own many different translations of the Bible, including the Message, the New Living Translation, the New International Version, the King James, the New King James, the New American Standard Bible, the Good News Bible, and a German New Testament.

In fact, I own so many copies of the Bible that I ought to be giving them away.

Still I got caught up in this frenzy. Crossway, the ESV Study Bible’s publisher, has done a very good job of promoting its product.

In fact, Crossway almost got me to cough up some cash and place an advance order. Almost.

I haven’t cracked, though…yet….there’s still time.

There’s still tim–wait…I’m kidding myself.

I’m (probably) not going to buy the ESV Study Bible (maybe). I tell myself it’s because I have enough good study Bibles as is and that one more may be too much, or I could use the money on other things, like buying food and paying bills.

Perhaps I should hold out and wait to see if the ultimate study Bible will be released, and by that I mean (drum roll, please):

The Mark Driscoll Study Bible.

The MDSB, rated MH-17, available in ESV, NIV and other MD-approved translations, jam-packed with enough Biblical application and insight, uniquely delivered in Driscoll’s own style, to edify the saints and keep the discerners blogging to their graves

It may never get released

Regardless…I’m sure there will be more specialty study Bibles for me to check out, though there are already dozens of them in any Christian bookstore.

And I hope the thought that occurred to me as I was writing this sticks with me forever:

How about reading one of the Bibles you have – pick one, any one – or give in to your consumerism and buy the ESV Study Bible, for cryin’ out loud, as long as you’re reading the Bible????

Now there’s a thought.

10:43 p.m. update: Phoenix Preacher is down, and that’s all I know. I would say the reason is some type of server issue. That kind of thing will happen from time to time so I wouldn’t make too much of it. If you wish, you may continue the PP conversations over here, or just hang out.

10:45 p.m. update: Phoenix Preacher is back up! Hoorah!

Dan Edelen’s latest post may be one of the best blog posts you’ll read this year.

Here, he nails it regarding how the common man and woman are getting screwed by corporate America; evangelicalism’s unrealistic prescriptions for our country’s financial ills; and the unholy marriage between evangelicalism and the world.

ERunner on mental illness.

J.D. Greear on why hell troubles us so.

Mark Driscoll announces the publication of an e-book on male sexuality.

iMonk’s second post in a series on rebaptism.

Ed Stetzer kicks off his series on megachurches.

Stetzer also is interviewed by Joe Thorn at sub.text about suburban churches. (HT: Steve McCoy)

Three questions that mess Perry Noble up.

Also, I posted my review of Josh Harris’s Stop Dating the Church earlier today; if you’re interested or think it might prove helpful to you, check it out!

Note: I’m in the process of gathering my old threads and reposting them here. I’ll use them when I’m not able to produce original material on a given day.

The book being reviewed in this thread is Stop Dating the Church, written by Josh Harris, the senior pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland and an author and speaker in his own right.

I felt after reading his book that Harris had some helpful things to say about involvement in the church, particularly to “church hoppers” and those not involved in any church. I still feel that way, and would recommend it as a resource to help people understand what true commitment to a church really is all about; though I may not come to the same conclusions he does, I think Harris is helpful in reminding us that church is much more than a place to sit in the back pew before the 1 o’clock NFL game watching the giant action figure talk about family and stuff.

Stop Dating the Church, written by pastor and author Joshua Harris, is a good little book that affirms the importance of belonging to a church community and participating in it as a giver, not as a consumer.

Harris, the pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is probably most famous for writing a book extolling the virtues of courtship called I Kissed Dating Goodbye.

He calls on Christians to kissing dating the church goodbye, too, in Stop Dating the Church. In an age where many Christians (but not all) “shop” for churches and look for what can most benefit they and their families personally, Harris challenges the church-shopping reader to drop his consumeristic mindset.

Harris tells us some of the things that church-shoppers miss out on when they don’t commit to serving and being a part of a local church. He talks about what the church really is – not a building or an organization, but the body of Christ. Harris tells his readers why they need a local church, what happens when one joins a local church, and what the reader needs to look for when joining a local church (he boils them down to find one that teaches, values and lives God’s word), as well as giving tips for how to get the most out of Sunday services.

The level of commitment that Harris calls the reader to isn’t light. It is one that demands consistent, faithful participation in the life of that church, which includes service, regular attendance at the weekend services and giving. The idea of church discipline is also discussed, and Harris even goes so far as to recommend that readers looking for a church ask if the prospective church would be willing to kick you out for blatant, unrepentant sin.

Yet, Harris says all of these things in an easy going manner. He never comes across as yelling at the reader or trying to shove some undoable ideas down the reader’s throat.

Some grace might be advised, though, on behalf of people who have been hurt by the church (perhaps a good topic for a future book by Mr. Harris).

The idea is raised in this book that if you don’t join a church you are being disobedient to Scripture and may not really be a Christian. While it seems to me that Harris’s main point is that Christians need community to grow in Christ and cannot do so as lone rangers (which makes sense), that advice could be taken as abusive by someone who has been hurt by a local church, and has been burnt by every “local church” they’ve had the misfortune of running into (then again, what those folks could really use are strong, loving, committed Christians and a good, loving, Christ-honoring church to come alongside them).

The other point I have a problem with is Harris’s idea that you should seek a good, solid local church to the point of either not attending a certain college if there isn’t a good church in that community, or moving from your own community to another where there is a good local church.

First, his points on college just-so-slightly could easily lead to church leaders imposing their will on young college students and perhaps acting more in the church’s best interest than in the student’s best interest. More disturbing is the idea of moving out of town if you can’t find any good churches – what if you can’t? What is every church is the church from hell? Or you’re one of many people who don’t fit in with the existing church cliques? (Harris advises his reader to to pray for God to strengthen and refine the churches in their area, and find the best church they can and serve it humbly)

Even then, though, Harris doesn’t come off as demanding and authoritarian – perhaps his style makes his ideas a lot easier to accept than it would from another author.

The book is small, not much bigger than a CD and approximately 120 pages of material. It includes recommended books that will be helpful to the average Christian (including J.I. Packer’s Knowing God), and is one I recommend for anyone who is looking for a church or who needs to commit to one, local church.

Stop Dating the Church can be purchased through Amazon, christianbook.com, Monergism and Sovereign Grace.