I’m currently enjoying a night out at the ballpark*, courtesy of my church and our deacon board. It’s really a great treat, especially since they sprung for the seats that come with an all-you-can-eat buffet! I promise you that I will savage the cookie tray, but only after I down a third-dozen hotdogs. And I’ll be washing this down with a gallon of Mr. Pibb. (He’s not Dr. Peper, but he’ll do.) Sports are always better when they come with unlimited food and soda! Continue Reading…
I love rap! I’ve loved it since I was a kid. I grew up on dc talk. They were one of my favorite bands from way back in the day. And then I discovered the Beastie Boys. And Jay-Z.My love for rap has only increased over the years. Right now, I’m really enjoying some Trip Lee, Json, Tedashi, Andy Mineo, and Lecrae. (It’s great to finally have some Christian rappers with some street cred.) Here’s a great line from one of Lecrae’s new songs:
Yeah, I do believe in Heaven
But my actions ain’t the key
Them gates remain locked
If it all depend on me
Lecrae, “No Regrets” from the mixtape “Church Clothes”
My wife is always telling me that I’m too negative. My responses are defensive—”I’m not negative”—or offensive—”Well, if this children’s Bible wasn’t so heretical, I wouldn’t have to correct it.” Never do I respond honestly with “You’re right, and I’m sorry.”
Why am I so negative? I guess I could give you a lot of reasons for that, but those would be pretty specific to me. I think there’s a much more general reason for negativity that affects us all to some degree: we expect better, maybe even the best. So many of us have negative views of life because we walk around, seeking out perfection, and constantly end up disappointed. We have too great of expectations. How is that possible? How can we expect life, the world, everything to be better, best, even perfect when all of creation is clearly tending toward a loss of quality and increase of evil? How can we expect “perfect” if it doesn’t exist?
The life and fellowship of a Christian church ought to be a fellowship of people among whom God’s will is done – a bit of heaven on earth.
George Eldon Ladd
I talk a lot about Heaven (Paradise) with my students, and I often get a lot of questions about what it looks like. I would attribute that to the adolescent need for concretes over abstracts, but I still get a lot of such questions and comments from adults. Which, really, makes complete sense. Heaven seems ethereal. Putting it into concrete terms can be difficult.
With that disclaimer, let’s give it a try. Continue Reading…
