We are so pleased to announce that Eli Calvin Thomas arrived on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 10:42am. He was 7lbs, 6oz and 19.5 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing great and brothers are adjusting. It’s been a bit of a rough time, though because we walked in the door from coming home yesterday and I immediately came down with the flu and a temperature of 102.5! Not a good time to be sick to say the least! I’ve literally been in bed for the past 24 hours and only very recently had the energy to get up at all. But Kristi’s Mom has been here and been a tremendous help.

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and we’re anxious to adjust to life with four boys!

Kristi and I are going in to the hospital tonight to begin the process of inducing labor! Lord willing, our fourth son, Eli Calvin Thomas will be here some time tomorrow. Please pray that everything would go smoothly and that we would be able to remain calm and joyful during this sometimes trying process.

Of course, that means I’m not sure when I’ll be posting again, but that’s honestly not really at the top of my priority list right now, so sit back, be patient, and please, lift us up in prayer.

See you on the other side. Lord willing with a new son!

By Adam Groza

This will be a short post with a simple message: Christians need to stop reading blogs that practice slander and gossip. I am basing this on St. Paul’s words in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5:11. St. Paul makes is clear in the beginning of the verse that he is talking about so-called Christians; that is, people who profess to be saved but by their unrepentant lifestyle prove they are not members of the Redeemed (the new lump, verse 7). Specifically, Paul mentions in verse 11 the sins of immorality (pornos, or fornication), covetousness, idolatry, reviling, drunkenness, or swindling. Paul says we are not to associate with such a person, not to even eat with such a one. There is debate as to whether the Supper is in view in this latter prohibition, but for my purposes, Christians are first commanded by St. Paul not to associate with such people who (1) claim to be Christians and (2) exhibit such unrepentant ways.

There is a practical application of this verse in regard to blogs that generate readership by reviling people, especially (but not limited to) those whom God has put in authority, such as pastors, religious, or government authorities. The Bible is clear that God establishes those in authority over us, and our respect for God is demonstrated in our submission to them (1 Peter 2:13-15). People who revile others are not Christians (1 Corinthians 6:10). Those who verbally abuse or blaspheme others will not inherit the kingdom.

Some blogs have literally become popular for the kind of scoffing mentioned in Psalm 1. Spurgeon says that those who tempt others sit in the seat of the scornful. Many blogs daily tempt Christians to engage in gossip and slander, or to take joy in other peoples troubles. Spurgeon calls such tempters the “Doctors of Damnation”. The Psalmist warns that those who scorn and revile will not stand on the Day of Judgment. If we have interaction with people who contribute to online slander and gossip we should witness to them because they need to be redeemed. Furthermore, their churches are negligent for not practicing church discipline.

St. Paul commands followers of Christ to have no association with those who revile others. In the same way that you should leave or stop a conversation in which someone is being reviled or blasphemed so too Christians should avoid such blogs. If you enjoy listening to gossip in a traditional conversation you sin, being yourself guilty of gossip. Having nothing to do with those who revile means walking away from conversations in which people are being attacked and I am suggesting it means we avoid online sites that engage in gossip and slander.

Praise God for friends like Brent who use their sites to help us reflect on the glorious truth of God as it relates to life and culture but not at the expense of others. Don’t let your internet traffic be the fuel for the online fire of slander.

• Read When People Are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch
• Read Speaking The Truth in Love by David Powlison

I’ve been reading The Chronicles of Narnia to the two older boys at night before bed. We started with The Magician’s Nephew and are currently reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We just read the section in which the White Witch is about to kill Edmund before his immediate rescue. The Witch and her dwarf escape by masking themselves to look like a tree stump and a boulder and Lewis notes that this was one of the Witch’s powers, “making things look like they’re not.” This, of course, is one of Satan’s tricks. He does not create, he distorts, fooling us into thinking things are as they are not.

Overcoming this, of course requires discernment; all the more important and difficult when the heartstrings become involved, as of course, they often are. Discerning truth never occurs in a vacuum and it nearly always involves people. It is a difficult thing to stand for Truth knowing that someone might feel hurt in the process. But Truth is no respecter of mere feelings. Truth is Truth whether it makes us “feel” good or not.

All of this came to mind as I read a recent article in the February 2008 issue of Christianity Today. The article, entitled “The Transgender Moment,” told the tale of John (Julie) and Joanne Nemecek. According to the piece,

John Nemecek struggled with gender confusion from early childhood. Marrying at age 21 didn’t change that confusion. Neither did raising three sons - all of whom are themselves now happily married. Four years ago, Nemecek’s Internet search of a medical site matched the symptoms he exhibited: gender identity disorder (GID). ‘It was an awesome experience to realize something I’d been dealing with all my life had a name,’ Nemecek says. A therapist, endocrinologist, and a counselor all later confirmed the diagnosis.

Nemececk began taking female hormones in 2004 but will not undergo sex reassignment surgery and recently celebrated his 35th anniversary with his wife Joanne. As a result of his decisions, Nemecek lost his job at Spring Arbor University, a Free Methodist affiliated school and has stepped down from serving as an elder where he also served as occasional pulpit supply. At a news conference covering his firing, Nemecek was quoted as saying:

Should I deny my head, heart, and soul to live according to what others think of my body? I cannot do that and live a life of Christian integrity.

Elsewhere, Nemecek has been quoted as saying “This is something that’s in you from the womb.” The not-so-subtle implication, of course, is that this is the way he was born and to try and force him to live any differently (i.e. as a man) is simply unloving and outright discriminatory. Nemecek now works as an independent consultant on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.

Nemecek’s story is a sad one. I can’t imagine what it must be like to go through life confused about one’s gender and the inner turmoil that must cause. Then, to gather what one thinks is the courage to act on that confusion, only to be ostracized by the world and rejected (or so one feels) by a church community one thought was based on love. Surely there is much heartbreak in this and other stories just like it. But let’s be clear, this is not about emotions; it is not about our sympathy towards Nemecek.

We see that “transgender” advocates realize that this is about more than our sympathy. The movement has closely aligned itself, as we see with Nemecek’s current role, with the gay, lesbian and bisexual “rights” movements. This is not about sympathy, it is about people seeking to redefine the boundaries God has set for His creation.

Nemecek argues from is to ought. He believes he should be able to change genders, therefore, it’s what God allows and even condones. Notice the absolute subjective nature of his arguments: “Should I deny my head, heart, and soul . . . ” He then labels this as “Christian conscience,” but it is anything but; it is a person seeking to redefine what God has set in place. The move to redefine marriage is perhaps more public, but this is nothing less than a push to redefine gender, not by God’s standards, but man’s.

I haven’t looked, but I doubt it would take long to find stories of people who said that they felt gay from birth, or felt attracted to children or animals. Pardon my bluntness, but I hope you see my point. Nemecek asks if he should deny “head, heart, soul,” as if these internal weathervanes are indicators of Truth. Yes, he is to deny these things because these things are blowing about in the winds of sin and his emotions have taken place of God’s Word.

God, of course created male and female with distinctive roles (Genesis 2:18-25, Ephesians 5:22-33, etc.) for each. Our feelings, and even our confusion, no matter how sincere they might feel, do not change these realities. Because of sin, even our discernment is defective (Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9, etc.) and our emotions are certainly no better off.

Evangelicals must be both sensitive and bold. While we ought to hurt with Nemecek, we must also assert that his confusion is a result of sin rather than “God’s mistake” in assigning gender (granted, Nemecek did not use these words, but his actions betray the belief). As awkward as it might initially seem, the unloving thing would be to encourage him in his current pursuits. As believers in Truth, we must understand that our lives are called to align to God’s standards, not the other way around. We are not free to redefine things as we see fit. Whether marriage or gender.

we must speak with sensitivity, but we must speak the Truth (Ephesians 4:15). We must recognize that emotions run high in such situations, but we must also assert that the issue is not emotion, no matter how high.

• Read the article “The Transgender Moment”
• Read The Chronicles of Narnia

Hello and welcome to your and welcome back and welcome again. This is the Weekly Town Crier, where, once a week, i pass along a collection of links that, for one reason or another, caused me to think. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I wholeheartedly agree with or endorse what’s on the other end of every link, just that they made me think, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

See what I hear at Last.fm.

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Browse the week in photos from Yahoo.

Read as John Piper considers “Abraham Lincoln’s Path to Divine Providence.”

Read as Time wonders if its time to pay teachers based on their performance.

Visit Tim Keller’s webiste for his new book The Reason For God featuring video and audio.

Read as N.T. Wright says most Christians are wrong about heaven.

Read about the woman who is suing Best Buy for $54 million over a lost laptop.

Proving that “research” is not always “objective,” read Barna’s new report that says that: “Americans Embrace Various Alternatives to a Conventional Church Experience as Being Fully Biblical.”

Read about the U.K. declaring 2008 “The Year of Reading.”

Read as the Evangelical Alliance considers Sharia Law in British Society.

Consider Desiring God’s $1 Easter Outreach.

Read as Al Mohler considers the rise in teen suicides as connected to the rise in websites giving detailed instruction on how to kill one’s self.

Read this piece which says that “Jehovah’s Witnesses are the fastest-growing church body in the U.S. and Canada.”

Read as U.S. News and World Report examines Huckabee and his relationship to evangelicals.

Read about the debate over illegal immigration stirring within the LDS church.

Read about the Pope’s plans to visit the White House.

Read as the St. Petersburg Times says that “Faith Trumps Science” by noting that “Florida parents don’t have much faith in evolution.”

Read about the recent testimony on same-sex “marriage” in Maryland.

Read about “American bishop, Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh” saying that “Anglicanism, it seems, is coming apart.”

Read as John Mark Reynolds suggests five reasons why Mike Huckabee should get out of the race now.

Read about Kimbo Slice’s KO of Tank Abbott.

Read about Congress again considering “a bill to protect religious expression in the workplace.”

Read as Brian McLaren says that the, “Christian faith is understood as a story by a postmodern generation that sees itself as part of the developing storyline.”

Read as “Apologists ask churches to step up response to ‘militant atheism.’”

Watch as 200 people freeze in the middle of Grand Central Station.

Read this profile of Jay Farrar of Son Volt.

Read as Mark Dever argues that “The way many Christians practice seeking God’s will before they make a decision amounts to spiritual and emotional bondage.”

See the amazing “bookshelf staircase” (ht: lhb).

Read about the Muslim leader who recently told an audience that “American culture’s view of American Muslims and Islam is steadily deteriorating under an onslaught of “bigotry” on cable news shows, newspaper op-ed pages and in the blogosphere.”

Read this piece which claims that “Christianity and Islam are competing for believers by promising Nigerians prosperity in this world as well as salvation in the next.”

Read as “Defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed Wednesday that California’s death penalty system was deeply troubled but split over the causes and solutions.”

Read about the “women’s commentary” on the Koran.

Read as Democrats are relying more heavily on evangelical voters.

Read as the Pope says that a trip to China is “unthinkable” at this time.

Read about what happened to all of the shirts and hats that were printed in advance declaring the New England Patriots as the Super Bowl Champions.

Read about the frequency that only teens can hear that is being used against them in Britain.

Read as the AZ Republic wonders whether fasting is beneficial.

Read as Douglas Groothius considers what is necessary for a genuine “Christian counter-culture” to exist (ht: JT).

See the delegate count in the presidential primary elections.

Read about Oxford conducting a “scientific study” on religious belief.

Read about the traveling papal art show.

Read about Qatar’s first Christian church.

Though it’s still in many ways a “work in progress,” I wanted to make the first episode of the much-promised Habañero Hour podcast. It won’t change the world, but it might change the way you think about “Christian” music. The Habañero Hour is a music/interview podcast dedicated to exploring and challenging the idea of “Christian” music.

Though we realize that the “talking” sections seem a bit over-compressed, rather than re-record (again), we wanted to go ahead and let you know that we’re working on that for future episodes. We’re trying to coordinate recording a conversation between a guy in AZ and a guy in TX, trying to make it sound good! All while being novices to say the least. But we’re so pleased with the music, we just wanted to let you hear it.

We’d also like to ask you to help us promote the podcast. If you have a website or blog, please consider featuring us and sending people our way. You can find some images to use here.

Here is the setlist for episode 01 of the Habañero Hour:

1. Distress Signal by Jeremy Casella
2. In the Garden by Doug Burr
3. Hang You Upside Down by Model Engine
4. Ruin of the Beast Introduction by Steven Delopoulos
5. Ruin of the Beast by Steven Delopoulos
6. Hoodwink by Anathallo
7. Our Friends Appear Like the Dawn by Bodies of Water
8. Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates by Andrew Osenga
9. Glorious by Ever Stays Red
10. “I’m A Human Artist” by Steven Delopoulos
11. “Agendas” by Steven Delopoulos
12. May I Always Keep My Feet Upon The Ground by Steven Delopoulos
13. Paul by Pushstart Wagon
14. Foot On The Brake by Half-Handed Cloud
15. The Parable of the Mustard Seed by The Trees Community

Please bear with us as we continue to work out the kinks and learn what exactly we’re doing. Until then, please focus on the music and not us!

• Subscribe/Download to the Habañero Hour at iTunes
• Download as a direct-download mp3 file
• Visit the Habañero Hour website
• Help promote the Habañero Hour podcast
• Visit us at Facebook
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• Visit us at Myspace
• Visit us at Virb

I’ve been thinking a bit more about some of the ideas presented with Psalm 127 (see here), particularly in light of influencing our children and the imagery of aiming them as arrows in spiritual warfare. Parents must refuse the culture’s insistence that children are an interruption in our “real” interests, pursuits and lives. We must first believe that children are a blessing before we can live like it, then we must take seriously, not just the education but the formation of our children.

I hate that I have to make this caveat, but I do. It is not my intention to dictate your conscience or that of your family. My wife and I have come to the conviction that, for us, home-education is our current choice. I do sometimes share the reasons why we have come to those convictions, but not as an agenda for home-education. I know that many well-meaning Christians say that if you don’t educate your children at home that you are somehow “giving in.” I don’t believe that. It is not my intention to change anyone’s conscience on this issue, just to share some of the things that have shaped ours.

One of the first things that comes to the fore of many home education conversations is the idea of socialization. The charge, of course, is that children educated at home will lack the necessary social skills needed to be active and productive members of society. But it shouldn’t take most of us long to realize that much of the “socialization” we received in public schools (for those of us who attended public schools) was anything but positive. In fact, thinking back a bit on my own “socialization,” a certain proverb comes to mind (13:20):

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

It’s not necessary to discuss whether I was the companion or the fool or both. But what is necessary to discuss is that Christians must be able to think and respond biblically to such arguments as the “socialization” argument. When we consent to allow others to raise and influence our children, much less, when we allow some of their biggest influences to be their peers, it with much less confidence that we can say they are walking with the wise.

A quick listen to the conversation of many young people (though it’s certainly not age-discriminate) should convince us that “the mouths of fools pour out folly” (Proverbs 15:2) and a quick trip down memory lane ought to remind us that “bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Surely this just goes with common sense. If you stand on a chair and try to pull someone up to you who is on the ground trying to pull you down, who is going to win? It’s much easier to pull someone down than it is to pull someone up, especially someone who does not want to be pulled up. Put your child in a room full of kids who don’t want to be “pulled up” and now we’re told that this developing their social skills.

If Deuteronomy 6 teaches us anything, surely it teaches us that parents are to have the primary role in the formation of their children and despite what our society tells us, this certainly means spending time with our children pouring into them, because if we’re not, someone else is.

All of this is to simply point out that the “socialization” argument against home education is only convincing if we want children who think and act like the rest of the world. The truth is that social skills derive from a variety of settings and situations and if we’re raising children to be adults, shouldn’t they receive more social input from adults than peers? This used to be the norm, as children either worked on the farm with adults or followed in their father’s profession, but since then, we have come to believe that it is healthy for them to be surrounded by people their own age with the same weaknesses.

The church must do better at encouraging and equipping parents to think through these and other issues from a biblical foundation to pursue biblical standards.

• Read Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp
• Read Everyday Talk: Talking Freely and Naturally about God With Your Children by John Younts
• Read Teach Them Diligently: How To Use The Scriptures in Child Training by Lou Priolo