the dreaming tree

i just saw a big tour bus with the name of some ministry on the side of it, and with the slogan, “doing God-sized things.” i always just kind of assumed that only God could do God-sized things. maybe i’m too quick to criticize a group who i’m not familiar with; i want to believe they mean well, and i really hope they are doing significant ministry–but i grow weary with man-centered ministry rather than Christ-centered ministry. and churches trying to catch people’s eyes with slogans and cute sayings rather than actually engaging the culture relevantly. paul became all things to all people in order to evangelize, so why do we try to force people to become like us, and adhere to our standards, before we’ll talk to them?

sometimes i like to imagine the lives of extras in movies. especially when i’ve already seen a movie and don’t have to worry so much about following the plot and dialogues of the main characters. i wonder who they are, where they came from and where they’ll be going afterwards. i think about how they’re real people captured in a split second on a movie screen. people who have laughed and cried and gone through devastation and euphoria. but i don’t see any of that, and even though i’ll never know anything about them, God knows every detail of their lives.

this past week i listened to a podcast of a short series of lectures by dr. ergun caner at the seattle worldview conference on islam and christianity. dr. caner is a turkish immigrant who moved to the u.s. when he was a teenager, the son of an imam (prayer leader) in the muslim religion, who converted to christianity and is now an apologist and professor of theology at liberty university. anyway, it was a very enlightening series of talks on islam and what it stands for, and how it is not only very different from christianity, but seeks to violently destroy it. and he spoke about how christians should be prepared to engage muslim people, being fully aware of what they believe, rather than simply condemning it. i really think every christian needs to hear what he says…you can find the podcasts on itunes by searching for seattle worldview conference, and here’s his website: www.erguncaner.com. he’s really very engaging and funny, so don’t be scared by the lengths.

on the same note, i’ve been listening to podcasts of a course at covenant seminary called apologetics and outreach, taught by dr. jerram barrs. it’s really quite challenging, as well as practical and informative. i’d warn you that he is a bit soft-spoken, but once you realize the enormous truths that he is teaching, it’s quite worth hanging onto. he also has a book called the heart of evangelism, which i haven’t read yet, but looks to be that class on paper.

perhaps i’ll write more in-depth about some of these things another time, when i haven’t already provided so much to read.

this is me and lee. (lee lee lee lee lee lee lee lee lee lee lee. we’re talkin’ fuckin’ lee.)