It seems that there is a difficulty with my image host and many of the images here including the banner are not showing up. None of the content seems to be affected, just the images, including many of the sidebar images. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have this resovled as soon as possible. In the meantime, enjoy a good cup of tea, get a good book and relax a bit.

This week is shaping up to be quite a bit of blogging about blogging. Today I want to offer some more thoughts related to some of the pitfalls I strive to avoid. I’m not saying I always succeed. I’m simply pointing to some of the traps to which I am personally prone.

Yesterday we touched on the idea of simply speaking a lot, feeling the need to always have something to say. Most of my blogging is done in spurts, so I don’t think I’m as prone to that trap. However, one of the dangers any blogger must be aware of is the pursuit of increased traffic through fostering unnecessary disagreement. Wanting more visitors is not necessarily a bad thing, but the ways many acheive those goals often is a bad thing.

One of the things I’ve noticed about some of the more visited blogs is that they seem to thrive on what might most politely be defined as little more than arguing. Many of them center their entire output around a single or a set of theological points and their blogs stand or fall with those particular theological emphases. Some of these blogs do draw in a large number of visitors and their comments.

While there is a place for defending the faith (1 Peter 3:15, etc.), and we certainly must stand for not only orthodoxy but theological precision, far too often, the tone on many of these sites is sarcastic and simply not nice. We are certainly called to “follow the pattern of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13), “guarding the good deposit” (2 Timothy 1:14), Paul also says much about how we are to go about this in 2 Timothy 2:23-26:

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Paul sets boundaries as to how we are to treat one another, even when there might be theological disagreements. We must avoid “foolish, ignorant controversies” because they breed quarrels. In fact, “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone.” Our goal must be seeking our “opponents” salvation. This is certainly more important than being “right” and generating blog hits through controversy, the very thing Paul says we must avoid, treating each other with kindness. What’s more, for the most part, the “debates” taking place on many blogs are actually among people who all claim to be believers.

Being kind seems to have become a lost art in the blogosphere where everyone not only wants to be heard, but wants to be right. For all bloggers who profess to be Christians, being kind is not an option but a requirement. Loving others certainly seems to include being and we are commanded to love others (John 13:34, etc.). Fostering a contentious spirit does not appear to be part of truly loving one another.

While it probably means that I will receive fewer hits than other blogs, I have intentionally chosen to stay out of many of the frays sweeping across the blogosphere like tornadoes. I do, from time to time, interact with posts I find on other blogs and I am occassionally critical of the views I find out there, but I pray, and I want to be held accountable, that my tone is not contentiuos.

My only agenda here is exploring just how big the Gospel is and how it affects every area of life. When I fail to meet my own standards, I need to hear it. That’s one of the beauties of blogging is that there is a built-in microphone for everyone to be heard. This doesn’t mean that everyone is right by any means (which is another danger of blogging), but that we can truly hold one another accountable.

I want to see people treat one another graciously even in the midst of disagreement and I’m afraid that this happens far too infrequently on far too many blogs, my own included.

As long as I’m meditating on blogging this week, I want to pause and briefly examine some of the pitfalls that I personally wrestle with in blogging. As I’ve stated, I intentionally try not to make blogging a priority. It is an enjoyable outlet, but my primary focuses are my family and my church. Nevertheless, there is an inherent tendency to want to make sure that I have a post everyday. This pressure comes from only myself and there is no basis for it.

When I find myself feeling that way, like I have to have a post everyday, I quickly remind myself about the dangers of saying something when I have nothing to say, which is exactly what I would be doing otherwise. It’s interesting how much the Bible has to say about this exact topic. While we might simply think that the Bible is concerned with the quality of our speech (which it certainly is: Ephesians 4:29, etc.), it is also concerned with the quantity of our speech. Consider these verses:

Proverbs 10:19: When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Proverbs 29:20: Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 17:28: Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Ecclesiastes 10:14: A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?

Though there surely other applicable verses, these serve to make the point that the Bible is not only concerned with the quality of our speech but also the content. What we so fail to understand is that when the quantity of our speech increases, almost always, the quality of our speech will decrease.

Of course, this not only applies to blogging but to all of life. This is a lesson I find that I have to continually learn. I’m one of those people who often thinks I know what you’re going to say before you say it and while you’re still speaking, I’ve already formulated my response and I can’t wait for you to finish so I can get my point across, in fact I may just cut you off because, after all, I already know what you’re going to say and where you’re wrong! We very quickly and very dangerously underestimate the power of the tongue. We all know from far too many painful experiences that the sing-song saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” simply isn’t true. We’ve all been hurt by careless or intentionally hurtful words and we’ve all been on the slinging side of those words as well.

Besides feeling an internal, nonsensical pressure to post a lot, I also have to be mindful of the “you’ve come here to hear what I think” mentality. I’ve been very clear from the beginning that one of the reasons I blog is because it is an inherently feedback-based medium. This coincides well with my learning style which incorporates much dialogue. I often find the comments refreshing, challenging and thought-provoking. I find it tremendously helpful to hear other viewpoints.

Yet there are many blogs which adopt an almost preachy tone to their posts as if theirs is the only opinion and you’re somehow less if you disagree. While I’m sure that I’ve stepped into that trap more than I care to admit, it is one of the dangers that I try to always keep before me as I do blog. I’m here less to tell you what to think about something than I am to hear what you think. It goes without saying that my final filter is Scripture, but I worry that many of us have sought to make the kingdom of Christ a much more narrow place than it truly is and blogging can be one tiny reminder for us of the true diversity that marks the Body of Christ.

We all need to be reminded that, even within the bounds of orthodoxy, there are different ways to see things. Hearing those differing viewpoints is often good medicine against pride, provided we’re willing to listen rather than formulating our rebuttals while the other person is finishing their sentence!

• Read The Church by Edmund Clowney
• Read War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles by Paul David Tripp

Yesterday, as I was pondering why I blog, I realized that one of the things I have not written about here is why I named this blog as I have, Colossians Three Sixteen. The verse itself reads:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

This has been a verse that I have meditated on much over the past several years. I’ve always found it interesting that Paul would include the idea of using music as a form of “teaching and admonishing one another.” Music is a very integral part of my own life. There are very few times when I am not in the presence of some music. I play music while I study, while I write and it is often in the background in the car and at home. But the importance of Paul’s phrase seems to lie deeper than just being a reminder that music is important.

Paul, in a sense, is reminding his readers that not only is all of life worship (whereas we often simply think of the singing on Sunday mornings as worship) but that it is also communal. Over the past couple of years I have been particularly struck by the importance of community in the Scriptures. Paul’s inclusion of the “one another” assumes that the Christian life will be lived out in the context of a loving community that will be seeking to hold one another accountable. The fact that Paul includes singing as part of this process is a reminder of how encompassing he viewed it to be and how minimal we often see it to be.

Paul says that the attitude behind all of this that is to color the lives of believers is thankfulness. Thankfulness implies humility as well because it is a continual recognition that we have been given something. The more I think about Paul saying that we ought to live with “thankfulness in our hearts to God,” I can’t help but think of the Cross. No matter what our circumstances, Christians are to be thankful because of the Cross. Believers, in every situation, live in the shadow of the Cross which certainly gives us much to be thankful for.

Notice that everything we’ve discussed is an explanation of just how we are to “Let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.” I love this phrase. It’s not just enough to know the word of Christ, it’s not even enough to memorize it, it is to dwell in us richly, it is to thrive in our lives. This is so often the point of meditation that I come back to, how do we bring all of life under the reign of the Gospel? Paul provides at least some initial steps towards that goal.

When others see my life, I want them to say that the word of Christ dwells richly in me. This blog is a small step for me (out loud and with the feedback of others) towards that goal and the name, for me, serves as a perpetual reminder of its purpose.

• Read Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C.J. Mahaney
• Read The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel by Mark Dever

As the year begins (OK, so I’m a little late with this post just like the Santa one, but at least I’m posting it), it is helpful to evaluate why we’re here. Not necessarily in the grand, scheme of the cosmos sense, although that is always appropriate (”To glorify God by enjoying Him forever . . . ), but more in the sense of why are we here, at http://www.colossiansthreesixteen.com. In other words, why do I blog?

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but I try to differentiate myself a bit from some of the other blogs that are out there. Some seem to exist for the sole purpose of providing you links to other stuff which is fine and I actually do once a week. Others seem to thrive on confrontation, and/or pride over a particular theological point (or set of theological points, say five of them?), serving simply as a means of propaganda for that particular point and the argument(s) surrounding it.

The original impetus for starting the blog was actually fairly self-serving. Since I was no longer in seminary, I was not being forced in any sort of formal sense to put my thoughts together on a wide variety of issues (not that pastoring isn’t challenging!). Since seminary I’ve retained the desire to pursue further theological training, and as such, I wanted a venue where I would be forced to think critically on a variety of topics and have those thoughts open for interaction and critique (I’m not necessarily asking to be graded though). Part of my personal learning process is interaction and talking through issues, so I thought that a blog would be a good place to pursue those things because blogs, by nature, invite interaction and feedback.

The idea of putting my thoughts out for interaction and feedback is honestly one of the most attractive things about blogging for me. I don’t write posts to tell you what you ought to think on particular issues. Instead, I try to formulate my own thoughts into (I hope) coherent ramblings and then put them out there for feedback and discussion. This is different from my work as a pastor when I’m often telling people specifically what the Scriptures say. Here at the blog, I’m struggling to discern what it is that the Gospel does in fact have to say on a wide variety of issues. I want to wrestle with how the Gospel applies to all of life.

Blogging for me has never been a priority. I make a point not to let it interfere with my church or home and when it looks like it might, I simply don’t blog. I typically write a few posts at once so that it remains in the background. This approach also means that I don’t have to write a post every single day, even when I’m busy. I’ve been blogging now for approximately a year-and-a-half, and as I have, I hope you’ve noticed a theme developing: that, though I intentionally try to write on a wide variety of topics, there is a unity to all that happens here. That unity is the Gospel. I sincerely believe that the Gospel is for all of life, not just part of life and that much of the Christian life is actually brining every area of life under the subjection of the Gospel and filtering everything through it. The Gospel is about more than just getting into heaven.

It breaks my heart to see that many professing Christians do not know how to think biblically on a wide variety of issues. The thought that the Gospel is about more than just the saving of souls is utterly foreign to a great many people. While I don’t claim to have all of the answers, I do claim to be a fellow traveller who is striving to bring all of life under the rule and reign of the Gospel, to understand everything through its light.

Naturally, any blog is going to reflect the character of its author, so many of the issues addressed here include music, popular culture and the arts because those are some of my personal interests. I don’t take an interest in those things merely for themselves. Instead, I see each one as a vital avenue for the expression of the Gospel. My sincere desire is that we will get rid of the notion that is so common among many, that we can somehow compartmentalize our lives and that there are areas in which we don’t have to think or act like Christians.

The Gospel is for all of life and I want to understand and practice all that that means. That is why I blog.

• Read The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like The Rest of the World? by Ronald J. Sider
• Read The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith by Alan Wolfe
• Read Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer
• Read Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey
• Read Desiring God by John Piper
• Read Eyes Wide Open: Looking For God in Popular Culture by William Romanowski

A blog curiously titled “SWBTSUnderground” recently featured a short piece called “Retribution.” For those of you not familiar, the letters “SWBTS” stand for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the second largest Southern Baptist seminary, behind Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville (where I did my M.Div.). The blog title is perhaps best captured in this piece: the (anonymous) blogger feels that any outspoken concerns and/or criticisms of the seminary, and the SBC as a whole will result in retribution of some sort.

I recognize that many of my readers are not only not Southern Baptist, but actually have little to no interest in the convention. However, it is part of my world, it’s my blog and the idea presented by the SWBTSUnderground interests me, so I want to briefly examine this idea of “retribution,” not only at Southwestern, but within the larger Southern Baptist context and any possible implications about larger denominational life.First, what is meant by this idea of retribution? It seems that there is a fear (founded or not) among many, particularly at Southwestern Seminary. There is a fear of openly holding to Reformed or Charismatic beliefs, there is a fear of openly disagreeing with officials. In other words, there is a fear that if one “crosses” the wrong person or says the wrong thing, there will be consequences, possibly of losing employment. Whether or not these fears are founded, the fact that they exist and are widespread means that we must be willing to examine the fact that something has gone wrong.

Within the larger Southern Baptist context, many feel that there exists a “good ol’ boy” network: a framework of high-level SBC relationships that groom their successors and pass “power” from one approved “good ol’ boy” to another. Therefore, if you’re not part of this “approved” network, your chances of rising within the SBC are slim to none. All of this raises the question of positions of “power” and anyone’s desire to rise to those positions. This is simply the nature of politics and it is also a substantial reason why many younger evangelicals are moving away from denominations.

This is honestly where my primary interest lies in some of these discussions. The simple fact that people are (even if it is unfounded) worried about speaking out means that there are dire problems in the Southern Baptist Convention. However, I’m not so sure the problem is uniquely Southern Baptist. Any time we function within any sort of bureaucracy, there will be those who want to rise to power (whatever that perceived “power” might be), those who want to keep power and just about everything in between.

The questions raised by these Southern Baptist issues are valid and essential for all believers as we examine how to best pursue the Kingdom of God. Denominations have typically been as much about exclusion as much as they have been about cooperation. They have been about the of drawing borders, typically along such lines as baptism and polity. While these issues are important, there seems to be a move among many believers to view them as secondary while the deeper truths of the Gospel are causing many to cross those borders. Yet, denominational structures also provide vast opportunities and resources that might not otherwise be available to local churches so there is certainly a benefit to the idea of a denomination. The question becomes whether or not the benefits outweigh the growing difficulties.

This is a crucial time for denominations, particularly Southern Baptists. As many become increasingly (and more vocally) jaded by its tactics, the leaders have some crucial decisions. Will they continue to heep criticism at bloggers, or will they recognize that there are indeed many valid concerns gaining momentum. Will they continue to hold on to power and practice exclusion or will they gravitate towards a greater ecuminicalism (within the bounds of orthodoxy)? Will those raising the concerns truly foster a desire to work together, or will everyone involved become jaded and resort to exclusion?

It seems that the current challenges facing evangelicalism call for a unity that has been lacking in a strict denominational approach. It will certainly be interesting to see how we rise to meet these challenges. There seems to be a large move that incorporates the idea of keeping “denominational distinctives” (whatever those might be: baptism, polity, spiritual gifts, etc.) while at the same time recognizing the need to not only dialogue with but cooperate with those outside those specific boundaries yet within the larger bounds of orthodoxy.

This in and of itself poses the larger question of orthodoxy. As I’ve written before, the very notion of orthodoxy has been questioned by some who have sought to make its boundaries as “generous” as possible, trying to convince us that humility does not recognize nor point out theological error. These are exciting times, both within the Southern Baptist Convention and the larger realm of evangelicalism. I pray that, rather than buckle under the burdens, we, together, strive towards the greater vision of a humble orthodoxy.

I’m going to be making some (hopefully) minor changes to the website over the next few days. Hopefully it won’t affect things too much. I’m going to switch templates (yes, again). I want a slightly wider format and I don’t like how the green fades in to the text of the posts on the left margin. That really should be one of the only noticeable changes, so things shouldn’t be disrupted too much.

Well, the technical difficulties resolved themselves. The last post “Mutually Exclusive?” has disappeared and with it the formatting difficulties (you know, this wouldn’t have happened on my Mac!)�so I suppose we’ll just leave it at that today and I may or may not post it. God’s sovereignty at work. I’m going to go with my wife and ride up the lift to the top of the mountain and enjoy God’s goodness. In the meantime, enjoy the view that I do (it’s with my phone so it’s a bad image but you get the idea).

Had some formatting issues with the last two posts that were kicking my sidebar down, so I’ll try to resolve those and get those posts back up. Comments might be lost. Sorry Rick.

Well, it’s happened again. You’ve squandered another perfectly good week browsing blogs and surfing the internet and you feel like you’ve got nothing to show for it. Can’t remember what you saw, didn’t process what you read? Let me help. Here’s some of what caught my eye this past week:

Read the Oregonian’s piece detailing the move by many independent records stores to carry used CD’s in a market that finds it increasingly hard to compete.

Read the Independent’s and the Guardian’s respective four-star reviews for Sufjan Stevens’ The Avalanche outtakes album (ht: lhb).

Read Pitchfork’s review of Sufjan Steven’s Illinois outtakes project The Avalanche.

Read as the American Spectator wonders aloud at what it might have been like that the Times covered the American Revolution.

Browse the lineup for this year’s Austin City Limits festival, including favorites Anathallo, Calexico, Van Morrison, Galactic and too many to mention. Also, they have just released the schedule.
Read Douglas Jone’s piece regarding the literary genius of Flannery O’Connor (ht: JT).

Gawk as the ever-reclusive but always brilliant Tom Waits has announced some ulta-rare live U.S. appearances (thanks Kyle).

Read this Stylus article which argues, (contra RIAA) that (at least for the author), downloading music actually does increase actual CD sales.

Watch the movie trailer proclaiming “The greatest underdog story of our generation is back for one more round…” Rocky Balboa.

Read about the latest clash in the “culutre war” as Orange County, FL officials consider adding “sexual orientation to its fair-housing ordinance” (ht: PR).

Read about a different battle in the same war as Illinois University has been forced to reinstate a campus group that asked “members pledge to adhere to Christian beliefs” after they had revoked the group’s campus privileges (ht: PR).

Read Christianity Today’s interview with Mark Driscoll obviously titled “Men Are From Mars Hill.”

See Carson, the amazing psychedelic baby.

Become a drug dealer and help distribute AIDS medicines to Africa.

Look into my ears and see what I’ve been listening to at the Last.fm site which uses a plugin called “Audio Scrobbler” to track the music you listen to and then make recommendations on your established listening patterns.

Send a Bible to China through VoM’s “Bibles Unbound” program.

Sign up for eMusic, expose yourself to a world of new music and help me get free downloads in the process!

Read Christianity Today’s 5-star review of Andrew Osenga’s new CD “The Morning.”

Read Will’s post “State Health Care” which tells of a family facing the possibility of losing custody of their teenage son because they support his wish to seek non-traditional cancer treatment.

Browse the ECPA books selections of the year.

Watch the video for “Everyone Choose Sides” by the Wrens from their 2003 (has it been that long already?) masterpiece “The Meadowlands.”

Read Joe Carter’s “How To Start a Blog” series.

Read Russell Moore’s play on Rod Dreher’s book Crunchy Cons with his post “Churchy Cons.” Also read Moore’s post “A Baptist Preacher’s Abortion” about Donna Schaper, who “says she’s a grown-up, a pastor, and a murderer. She claims all three labels, and is not apologizing for any of them.”

Read this Baptist Press piece about the University of Oregon school newspaper that has published graphic portrayals of Jesus as a homosexual. What’s more shocking, the articles says that the paper is “published with funds drawn from mandatory fees paid by every enrolled student at the public university.”

Read Marvin Olasky’s piece identifying Ralph Reed as “evangelical sleaze in politics” (ht: PR).

Read this and this article chronicling Johnny Cash’s first number one album since 1969 as Rick Rubin continues to “Cash” in.

Browse the new “Do You Apologize” website from Southwestern Seminary in conjunction with their upcoming conference.

Rejoice as Mark returns to posting the “Wrestler of the Week.” This time featuring “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

Read Phil Johnson’s post chronicling the process he and John MacArthur go through to produce books as well as the newest MacArthur book “The Truth War.”

Read this Guardian article wondering why there is so much bad writing about so much good music (ht: lhb).

Browse Will’s list about where to find good, cheap books.