Beginning of the Lenten Season

Today marks the beginning of Lent - the season of penitence leading to Holy Week, which culminates in the majectic victory of Easter. And so begins another year celebrating the liturgical rhythm of the church, keeping the focus on Christ and him crucified.

The liturgical colors have changed to a royal purple in my parish and a black cloth will hang over our crucifix for the season . I took down the palm to burn last night so my pastor could mix the ashes with a bit of oil for today's Ash Wednesday service. Tonight I will help lead the service administering the ashes with the sober words, "Remember that you are from dust, and to dust you shall return."

One of the blessings of following the church calendar is that you get a full spectrum of emotions by following the life and ministry of Jesus that you do not normally find in broad evangelical circles which are just... tepid. Like life itself, there are ups and downs, laughter and tears, joy and suffering. This kind of worship just seems...well...real, earthy, and more importantly, true.

Dr. Bruce W. Winter Audio Lectures

One of my interests both pastorally and academically is the Graeco-Roman influences behind some of the New Testament texts, particularly Roman jurisprudence. And one of the leading scholars in this area is Australian Bruce W. Winter, who I believe used to direct Tyndale House at Cambridge. I'm saving up to purchase a few of his books, but I found these lectures here at the European Leadership Forum. Really good stuff on what Paul was dealing with in Corinth; especially helpful for pastors, in my opinion. 

A Very Sad Description of Mega Church Worship

Aussie theologian Ben Myers shares his experience attending a mega-church. This is worth a read as it isn't just a rant against all things new. He has some profound comments on the psychology of the big screens, and many of the post-comments provide some good insight.

Faith and Theology: Mega-church

Creation and Blessing

Getting a head-start on my readings for my upcoming course on the book of Genesis. The primary text is Allen P. Ross' book: Creation and Blessing. So far this looks to be an excellent introduction on Genesis, ancient literary genre, and helpful intruductions on various methods of interpretation. While solidly orthodox and conservative, he engages with numerous approaches in a fair and balanced manner. I also like the fact that this is not really a commentary, but assists you in exegesis (forcing you to do your own textual work). If you are interested in Genesis (and who isn't) this should be on your shelf.

Christocentric Reading of the Psalms

I'm nearing the end of my class on ecclesiology and working on the final paper, which looks at models of the church using Avery Dulles' comparative approach. In so doing, I've spent a little time peering into Dietrich Bonhoeffer's works, albeit not as much as I'd like. Bonhoeffer is an enigma as he is both loved and hated by a wide array of traditions.

I have not read enough of his own writings to have an informed opinion, but my curiosity has certainly been piqued by Eric Andrae's article, Pro Deo et Patria: Themes of the Cruciform Life in Dietrich Bonhoeffer. (highly recommend reading it if you have the time).

Here is a quote on how Bonhoeffer's hermeneutical approach the Psalsms. I like to call this an Emmaus Road Hermeneutic as Jesus told his disciples in Luke 24 that the entire canon was all about him:

If we want to read and to pray the prayers of the Bible and especially the
Psalms, therefore, we must not ask first what they have do uith us, but what
they have to do with Jesus Christ. We must ask how we can understand the Psalms
as God's Word,and then we shall be able to pray them. It does not depend,
therefore, on whether the Psalms express adequately that which we feel at a
given moment in our heart. If we are to pray aright, perhaps it is quite
necessary that we pray contrary to our own heart. Not what we want to pray, but
what God wants us to pray. If we were dependent entirely on ourselves, we would
probably pray only the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer. But God wants it
otherwise. The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not
the poverty of our heart.