as stated in the previous post, Andy Crouch is the former editor of Re:Generation Quarterly and regularly contributes to Christianity Today. as revealed elsewhere in the book, Andy is a Wesleyan Christian. while many may see labels as unnecessary, i think, as a Van Tilian presuppositionalist, they help us to better understand the way in which the person being talked about views the faith they profess and what sorts of ideas (or baggage) they bring to the table. he also represents the “glen” paradigm that Leonard Sweet described as striving for “evolving message/preserving methods.” to review, this is the paradigm in which popular culture is the root of all evil and the introduction of techno savvy ways of doing church and worship is the unforgivable sin. (more…)

so i’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Emergent Church movement that is quite popular in Christianity these days. this movement, or “conversation” as they like to term it, is largely a reaction to modernism and seeks to sort of reinvent the church in order to be more relevant and attractive to non-believers. they say that their main focus is to be as “missional” as possible. but discussion of that will come later. because i’ve been thinking a lot about this “conversation” lately, i’ve decided to take part in it and to begin studying it. after a bit of research, i picked up the book The Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives, a book containing, believe it or not, five perspectives on the Emergent conversation, edited by Leonard Sweet. over the next few blog posts, i’m going to be doing a series of reviews on each of the five different perspectives contained in the book and giving my thoughts on them, also providing an introductory post, using Leonard Sweet’s introduction to the book, and a concluding remarks post where i offer what i think of the “conversation” as a whole. (more…)

so sarah and i have been talking for a while about getting a dog, and could never seem to agree on a breed. well i think we finally have. we now have plans to get an Australian Shepherd puppy in late spring or early summer of ‘06. we’re very excited!

so i have been reminded a lot of how much of a blessing and a joy children truly are. not that i ever thought they weren’t, i had just…….forgotten. or just wasn’t as keenly aware of it as i have been lately. a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that i am now married and have a lot of friends who either have kids or are expecting (just fyi, since first attending the church that sarah and i are now members of there has always been at least 15-20 pregnant women. it’s crazy!).

i think the time that i realized this the most was this past sunday at church. like most presbyterian churches (at least ones that i have been to), our church excuses small children from the main service to attend “children’s church” after the offeratory is made. now the official line on why this happens is so that children can go off and learn about God and how they can serve and follow Him in language that is more suited to them than a typical sermon. they also get to do activities and crafts that relate to the lesson that they’re learning that week. now, again, this is the official line but i think that a big reason this happens is so that there are no screaming, crying, restless children during the pastor’s sermon. however, the children do stay with the congregation through the worship time and it was in such a time where i was struck with a renewed sense of joy and delight in little ones.

there was a boy who was about 4 or 5 sitting in front of us and he would stand on the pew when the rest of the congregation was standing and singing. there was one particular song that day that he actually knew and proceeded to belt out from the bottom of his lungs, as well as sway wildly while singing it, even if horribly off key. it was a very charismatic moment! i was terribly amused with this display but then i got to thinking that this might be a small taste of what heaven will be like. even the babes will be singing the praises and glory of God. i think i was most struck with the honesty and pure happiness in this small boy’s worship. now i have no idea if he knew what he was singing or had ever thought about the words of the song, but i do know that he had let himself go to sing a song about God with such a passion that most adults could only hope to have one day. it was truly pure and reverent.

it is this kind of innocence and faith that i can only assume was in Jesus’ mind when He said, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” and further emphasizes in His command to “let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” the faith that sees clearly and is not hindered by the efforts of men to destroy it. i think it is this innocence and honesty of faith that only children can teach and show us, and why they are such a treasured possession and the joy of every family.