A minor

Memorial Day

Yesterday morning, after going out for breakfast, we took the 40-minute drive south to Lewiston/Clarkston so Hollie could check out the Memorial Day sales. She didn't find anything at the mall, and Costco was closed, so we decided to do some scenic driving instead. We always enjoy the 2000-foot descent into the LC valley, and we decided to follow the Snake River down to the beginning of Hells Canyon around Asotin, WA. It made for a wonderful drive - and windy, as our car windows were stuck down.

Later we (finally) watched We Were Soldiers. If you can stomach some extremely graphic war violence, I would recommend this movie. The Colonel exemplifies sacrificial leadership with his commitments both to being "the first one on the ground; last one to leave" and to "leave no one behind, dead or alive." I have a copy of the book on which it was based, co-authored by Hal Moore (the Colonel who retired as a Lt Gen) and Joseph Galloway (the journalist), but I haven't read it. Now I have to.

"Wayne Fox" Email

To my readers, commenters, and linkees who received emails from "Wayne Fox," my apologies. According to David Hoos' May 23 entry ("The Stambler Strikes Again...") they actually came from Douglas Stambler. For further evidence, see this post.

CottonWings

I just discovered that my old buddy, Patrick Trisler (who, for those of you who don't know, is the uncle of cute little newborn Sophie Booth) has an online art gallery.

David Dark Book

Are any of you familiar with this fellow and/or his book: David Dark, Everyday Apocalypse: The Sacred Revealed in Radiohead, the Simpsons and Other Pop Culture Icons (Brazos Press, 2002)?

- via (Doh!) a Blog*Spot banner ad on David Hoos' blog ("Exploring the Matrix - www.explorefaith.org - What is The Matrix telling us about the Kingdom of God?"); also see Dark's bio.

"American Idol"

Despite my wife, I sure hope Ruben wins. (Actually, she likes Ruben too; she's just pulling for Clay.) I guess we'll find out in ten minutes, but I just heard Clay sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for the second time. Sheesh. I love that song. Clay is remarkably talented, but I hate his version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Hollie: Everyone in America except you thinks Clay's version is great.
Me: No way. I'm sure Simon and Garfunkel hate it.
Hollie (laughing): Okay, so everyone in America loves it except you and Simon and Garfunkel.
Me (laughing): Well, I love "Bridge Over Troubled Water"...I have the damn' album! I know the spirit of that song, and Clay got it all wrong.

Go Ruben!

Update: Yes!

Matrix Reviews

Hear! Hear!

Addendum: Be sure to see Rev Michael Pahls' insightful comment.

Speaking of Jim Jordan...

I saw that he played The Architect in The Matrix Reloaded (which Hollie and I enjoyed watching this afternoon).

Addendum: I had to laugh when I read Jeffrey Overstreet's parenthetical about The Architect, played by "Helmut Bakaitis, who looks like the father of Colonel Sanders, Sigmund Freud, and Robert Altman."

Speaking of Joel Garver...

2003 BH Conference
July 21-25

Phone: 850-897-5299
Email: jbjordan4@cox.net
Address: Biblical Horizons, Box 1096, Niceville, FL 32588

Schedule:

Monday, July 21
Noon Registration begins
4:00pm James B. Jordan, Exposition of Daniel 10-12 (I) and familiarization practice for the Vespers sung liturgy.
5:30pm Dinner (on your own)
7:00pm Vespers; Rich Bledsoe, topic to be announced

Tuesday, July 22
7:45am Coffee & Doughnuts & Fruit
8:20am Jordan II
9:30am Peter J. Leithart, The Biblical Understanding of Justification (I)
10:45am Break
11:15am Joel Garver, Postmodernism and Christian Orthodoxy (I)
12:30pm Lunch
2:00pm Film watch & discussion: Fritz Lang's Metropolis*
7:00pm Vespers; John Barach, On Liturgical Preaching

Wednesday, July 23
7:45am Kauphy & Deaunnoughts & Phroot
8:20am Jordan III
9:30am Leithart II
10:45am Break
11:15am Garver II
12:30pm Lunch
2:00pm Film watch & discussion: Andrei Tarkovsky's Solyaris (I)*
7:00pm Vespers; Bledsoe

Thursday, July 24
7:45am Qafi & Donutz & Fruut
8:20am Jordan IIII
9:30am Leithart III
10:45am Break
11:15am Garver III
12:30pm Lunch
2:00pm Film watch & discussion: Solyaris (II)*
7:00pm Vespers; Bill DeJong, The Nature of the Covenant: The 1944 Theological Controversy in the Netherlands

Friday, July 25
7:45am Coughee & Nuts-of-Dough & Phruyghte
8:20am Jordan V
9:30am Jeffrey J. Meyers on the Trinity
10:45am Break
11:15am Garver IIII
12:30pm Conference ends

*We will have the film discussions in the afternoons if we can work out the logistics, and if enough people are interested.

"Continental breakfast" is provided by the Conference at 7:45am and throughout the morning. Other meals are on your own.

The singing at the Conference consists of hymns and psalms in various styles. The Vespers service consists of a sung liturgy, and the opening session on Monday afternoon includes a practice session, so try to arrive by 4:00pm Monday.

Dress is casual for the daytime sessions - many wear shorts and sandals - but we do request these not be worn for the evening Vespers services.

Cost:

The cost of the Conference is $75.00 per person (one notebook), or $100 per family (two notebooks). Additional notebooks are $25.00 each. Prepayment is not required, but we appreciate knowing if you plan to attend so that we can prepare. Also, you will need for us to send you a map showing how to get to the meeting place.

Location:

Trinity Presbyterian Church, Valparaiso, Florida

Updated Monday, May 19: I have posted more details and a revised schedule. Click "Comment" for additional info.

Sacra Doctrina Rides Again

Joel just IMed, "I've blogged." Hurray!

Anti-Anonymous-Comment-Post-ers of the World, Unite!

"I would chisel my name in stone and throw it through a computer screen before I'd blog a comment without my name. I fear no opinion." - Remy, from a comment on the blog formerly known as amberBach.

Sometimes I wish Sensus Plenior required either an email address or URL. Of course one could always enter something bogus, but in general, a lot of nonsense can be eliminated by the mere appearance of serious security.

Mission Church Meeting

Tonight Doug Wilson and Peter Leithart led a meeting about the new mission church in Moscow. The church will be a plant of Christ Church, and Peter Leithart has committed to serving as pastor of the mission for two years (after which time, if the church is particularized and if it calls him to continue as pastor, he could consider a more permanent call). We are planning to be part of the new church, and I was very pleased with tonight's meeting.

After an introduction and some explanation by Pastor Wilson, Dr Leithart outlined some immediate and midrange goals, as well as some aspects of his overall vision for the new church. The immediate goals are regular, edifying worship, pastoral care, and elder training (because before the church can become particularized, it must have its own elders). The main midrange goal he mentioned was liturgical development. In the end, he would like the church's liturgy to resemble something closer to Anglican or Lutheran liturgies. In the short term, he mentioned practical things like praying the corporate confession of sin in unison, collecting/bringing the offering as part of the service, and using responsive elements and hymns like the Sanctus around the Lord's supper.

He then discussed three aspects of his an overall vision for the new church. First, inspired by Philip Jenkin's The Next Christendom (see my 6 Nov 2002 post), he would like to participate from afar in the growth of the church in global South by ministering to local internationals. Second, inspired by the work of UW-Seattle sociology of religion professor Rodney Stark, particularly his The Rise of Christianity (HarperCollins, 1997), Dr Leithart would like to participate in the kind of social and mercy ministries that contributed to the growth of the early churches and that Christianized entire cities. And finally, inspired by the work of Rich Bledsoe (see this article and scroll down to "The city is my parish") and other pastors in Boulder, Colorado, who have built relationships with the district attorney, police chief, and other civic officials in their area, Dr Leithart would like to serve the city by building similar relationships and offering to pray for and do whatever we can to help the local officials.

Launch of the new mission church is set for August. In your prayers, please remember the elders and congregation of Christ Church, Dr Leithart, and all of us who will make up the new congregation.

Outline of Stambler's Beliefs

Yesterday I got an email from Douglas Stambler, out of the blue, saying he was here to answer any questions I might have. (If you have never heard of Stambler, see Isaiah's blog.) He signed his email, "In Christ, Douglas Stambler (Moscow, Idaho)," so I asked him what he believed it meant to be in Christ. Here is part of his reply:

I have outlined my beliefs for you and anyone else you would like to share them with.

In Christ,
Douglas

Outline of My Beliefs
-Douglas Stambler

Jesus Christ
God and Son of God
God and a human being
Divinely conceived through His mother Mary

Global Prophecy
Revelation has continued up to the present time since the Bible was written.
There are prophets today.

How We Know God's Will For Us
Through the New Testament
Directly from God
Through other people and miraculous signs

Modern Day Prophecy
God designates one, head prophet for the world.
The Mormon Church claims that Gordon Hinkley is this person.
God has told me that I am the head prophet of the world.

Responsibilities of the Head Prophet
To encourage all of humanity to come closer to God
To help people organize and live in Christ-centered communities
To make sure that Christ is not misrepresented by people calling themselves Christians

Why God Does It This Way
We will never fully understand why God does it this way.

Evidence That I Am Head Prophet of the World
My predictions are 100% accurate.
I warned people to leave NYC about 1 week before 9/11.
The Lord has used me to perform miracles wherever I travel.
No one can ever harm me physically, emotionally or otherwise.

Conclusion: Three predictions regarding NSA College
NSA will eventually replace the University of Idaho.
NSA will fuse Mormon prophecy with Native American oral tradition.
NSA will start a new church by 2010, run entirely by Nez Perce Indians.
Email contact: moscowgarage@yahoo.com

Wowzers!

Meshereth Magazine (Revised)

As a section editor, I have been fairly involved in Meshereth. My main contributions thus far have been obtaining articles (e.g. this by Peter Leithart, as well as upcoming articles from Jim Wilson and Rob Maddox) and generally giving Rick a hard time. I am pleased to see the magazine come to fruition. Please let me know if you have any ideas for future contributors to the Community section. Special thanks to Emeth and Isaiah for their hard, countdown work on the site.

Banks and Braaten

Today I got two new books in the mail - two books I've been wanting for some time: Robert Banks, Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in their Cultural Setting, Revised Edition (Hendrickson, 1994) and Carl Braaten, Mother Church: Ecclesiology and Ecumenism (Fortress, 1998).

Banks studied at the universities of Sydney, London, and Cambridge, as well as Moore Theological College; was founding professor of lay ministry and chair of the ministry division at Fuller Seminary; and is currently director and dean of the Macquarie Christian Studies Institute in Australia. Braaten is professor emeritus at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, founder and executive director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology, and co-editor of the journal Pro Ecclesia (in which our own Peter Leithart has been published).

I'll write more after I've read more.

Real-life Bloggers

Some of you may wonder why my blog roll is so long. One reason is that I've met - and, in many cases, spent a significant amount of time with - half of the people in my list, including:

Aaron Booth
Amanda Roberts
Barb Scarecrow
Betsy Drallab
BJ Kennedy
Christin Booth
Daniel Ballard
David Hoos
Deacon Blues
Duane Garner
Emeth Smith
Emily Chapman
George Grant
Isaiah Eyre
James Marsalis
Jared Miller
Jeff Meyers
Jennifer Horne
Jessie Bessie
John Barach
John Butler
Jon Sutton
Joseph Hogue
Josh McInnis
Josh Melton
Lamar Cranston
Luzy Zoe
Mark Horne
Matt Colvin
Matt Harper
Micah Lewis
Rachel Eyre
Remy Wilkins
Rick Capezza
Sarah Garner
Sora Colvin
Tara Ebeling
TB & J Lizenby
Tim Eaton
Tim Gallant
Tim Hagen
Toby Sumpter

Sometime in the next day or two I'll write about how I know each of these people.