Fifteen pieces of flair are the minimum required to work here.

My Conservative Reformed Mafia buddies peer pressured me into it, but now I am on Facebook.

If you're unaware, it's a pretty cool bit. I particularly like being able to assemble "my flair." Count 'em ... MORE than 37 pieces of flair as I express myself.

Sir, you ask how to fight an idea. Well I'll tell you how ... with another idea.

While on vacation, I finally got around to listening to some audio that had been on my "To Hear" list. Mark Driscoll's talk on The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World was on that list.

(Via the following link you can watch, listen, and/or download the message.)

Referencing the obligation to contend for the truth from Jude 3, Driscoll gave 9 things/truths for which we must contend:

1. The veracity (my word) of Scripture as the meta-narrative
2. The sovereignty of God amid the threat of Open Theism
3. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ
4. The reality of a sin nature amid the threat of Pelagianism
5. Penal substitutionary atonement
6. The exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way
7. Gender differences as defined by the Bible, resulting in different roles for men & women in the home and church
8. The doctrine of hell, being literal, conscious, and eternal
9. The Kingdom (and the King) over (and more important than) culture

Any others we might add, particularly those threated by the Emergent/postmodern condition?

Driscoll is a bit of a controversial figure, but I suggest his talk would be worth a listen.

Though one might disagree with his decisions about which particular aspects of culture should be rejected, received, or redeemed, I think he's right in that we need to be focus on the incarnation (by following Christ's example, i.e., being "incarnational") in addition to focusing on Christ's exaltation.

Driscoll's contention was that the Emergent tend to focus on Christ's humanity to the exclusion of His deity, while the Reformed are susceptible to the reverse.

I hate Illinois Nazis.

I live in the suburbs, which has its benefits, but such suburbanite living comes at a cost ... The H.O.A.

Those 3 dreaded letters stand for Home Owners Association, but the organization goes by other names (e.g., The Gestapo, Yard Nazis, and The Man).

We bought our current house as a foreclosure, so it should come as no surprise the yard wasn't well maintained. Within a week of living here we got a letter in the mail, a "Dear Occupant" letter, the gist of which was, "The HOA is fining you 100 bones for weeds in your flowerbeds."

I sent them an email saying, "Y'all gonna make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here."

They were like, "Oh, that's a standard letter we send to that address. We'll hold off and let you get your scene under control."

Later we got a similar letter because Herr Göring spotted some sloogey boards in our privacy fence. Fix it ... or else.

We've probably got 6 of these notices in the 2 years we've been living up in this piece. The most recent one was really whacked.

Our neighbor put in a beautiful privacy fence (seen in the background of this picture). It makes my rickety grayed thing look bad, really bad. He did his whole fence and wanted us to kick a buck or two to help cover the cost of that which separates our yards.

Heinrich Himmler let us know that the staining of the fence was unapproved and the infraction needed to be fixed.

Well, the neighbor is presently in England and his mother-in-law inhabits the place. I'm like, "What, they want her to take down the fence? Replace it? Make it look like mine?"

I'm sure they ultimately want fences like this one for each of our houses.

C'mon. It's not like we have a recliner or a washer on the front porch or a stack of tires or an expired auto in the yard.

Stuff like this motivates me to find a piece of land where I can have a chain-link fence and shoot guns in my backyard and pretend I'm living in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

So it's sorta social, demented and sad, but social. Right?

Previously, I addressed the incompatibility of Freemasonry and Christianity.

I was stoked to hear of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's similar 1942 conclusion in their general assembly report: "Christ or the Lodge?" (HT Brother Hank)

“III. CONCLUSION

The committee finds that the evidence presented concerning the religion of Masonry permits but one conclusion. Although a number of the objections commonly brought against Masonry seem to the committee not to be weighty, yet it is driven to the conclusion that Masonry is a religious institution and as such is definitely anti-Christian.

Far be it from the committee to assert that there are no Christians among the members of the Masonic fraternity. Just as a great many who trust for eternal life solely in the merits of Christ continue as members of churches that have denied the faith, so undoubtedly many sincere Christians, uninformed, or even misinformed, concerning the true character of Freemasonry, hold membership in it without compunction of conscience. But that in no way alters the fact that membership in the Masonic fraternity is inconsistent with Christianity.”
(emphasis mine)

I guess I'm down with OPC. Yeah, you know me.

If you're looking for a Clydesdale, I'm probably not your man.

Some great advice to live by:

• Don't look for something in the Law which can only be found in the Gospel.
• Don't look in yourself for what can only be found in Christ.
• Don't look in your fellow creatures for which is only found in the Creator.
• Don't look on earth for what is only to be found in Heaven.

-William Jay, of Bath England

(HT Bob Helmick, Providence Church elder)

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!

All this talk about Brett Favre and his potential un-retirement brings to mind my favorite Favre game of all time, the 1995 NFC Championship game ... in Dallas.

Enjoy these highlights as you see some guys I wish could come out of retirement.

As the French say, that certain "I don't know what."

Among others, John Calvin would be celebrating his birthday today. Had his life not been prematurely cut off thanks to Adam's fall, he would be 499 today.

Next year, brother, the big 5-0-0!

(Read about upcoming celebrations.)

Perhaps my favorite Calvin quote:

"Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty."
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.1.3

Happy Birthday to Jean Cauvin, my favorite French guy (he just had that je ne sais quoi) and the inspiration for one half of a great cartoon.

Well, I'll tell you something, this is no longer a vacation. It's a quest! It's a quest for fun!

It's Vacation Bible School this week at Providence Church. We're doing the Answers in Genesis' new curriculum and so far it's been pretty good, meaty and yet fun.

In particular, I've liked their 7 Cs of History Bible overview, attached to a memory verse.

Creation - Genesis 1:31
Corruption - Romans 5:12
Catastrophe - Genesis 7:23
Confusion - Genesis 11:9
Christ - John 3:16 (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49)
Cross - Romans 6:23
Consummation - Revelation 21:4

UPDATE: Check out some photos from VBS.

Cf. So, what are the 7 Cs anyway?

All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine.

I ... uh ... have this friend ... who watched this past season of the Bachelorette.

He just has to say that he never saw the past 2 episodes coming.

It was shocking that Graham was cut and didn't make the final 3, but you could see how that was his own fault. The final rose, or at least a trip to the finals, was his to lose.

But Jeremy not making the final 2? Wow, I couldn't believe he was beat out by Jesse. Yeah, Jesse the rad snowboarder. Jeremy was my guy from the beginning, so I ... uh my friend was already getting concerned.

But Jesse beating Jason for the final rose and engagement? Who would have seen that coming? I couldn't believe he made it into the top 12 and figured he was just around for comic relief.

Either it's me ... uh ... either my friend just doesn't understand women or Deana was much less predictable than expected.

Well, congratulations, Jesse & Deana. Knucks ... explode it with a view toward May 9, 2009.

C'mon! We're all going to die; die standing up!

With the flags waving and fireworks bursting in air, here are my favorite patriotic movies. Some of these really resonated with my growth and development of living overseas during the cold war.

These are movies that make me proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.

1. Red Dawn
2. Rocky IV
3. Patton
4. Sergeant York
5. Rambo: First Blood Part II
6. (Escape to) Victory
7. Platoon
8. The Right Stuff
9. We Were Soldiers
10. Glory
11. Miracle
    
12. Men of Honor
13. Top Gun
14. An Officer and a Gentleman
15. Patriot Games
16. Stripes
17. Firefox
18. Missing in Action
19. Red Heat
20. Spies Like Us

Miss any?

Our choices are what make us who we are. We always have the choice to do what's right.

It's easy to forget that there are still soldiers whose lives are at risk in Iraq. Some good bull to remind us via one man's sacrificial valor. (HT LTC. Michael J. Hartman (ret.))

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for jumping on a grenade thrown by an insurgent in Ramadi, giving his life to save 2 fellow SEALs in Iraq on St. Michael's day, September 29, 2006.

Per President Bush, he was the "4th Medal of Honor recipient in the 'War on Terror.'" He is the 2nd Navy Seal lost in Iraq and was the son of a Marine and a social worker. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his older brother, a police officer and former Marine; his sister, a nurse; and his younger brother, a college football player.

"Mr. and Mrs. Monsoor: America owes you a debt that can never be repaid. This nation will always cherish the memory of your son. We will not let his life go in vain. And this nation will always honor the sacrifice he made. May God comfort you. May God bless America."
-President Bush, at award ceremony (April 08, 2008)

During Mike Monsoor's funeral in San Diego, as his coffin was being moved from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, SEALs were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of two's, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike's coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.

The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it. A fitting send-off for a warrior hero, dead at age 25.

(PO2 Monsoor was also awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and the CAR.)

there is such a thing as manners, a way of treating people. These fish have manners.

QUICK TIPS: IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT LEAVING A CHURCH ...

Before You Decide to Leave

1. Pray.
2. Let your current pastor know about your thinking before you move to another church or make your decision to relocate to another city. Ask for his counsel.
3. Weigh your motives. Is your desire to leave because of sinful, personal conflict or disappointment? If it's because of doctrinal reasons, are these doctrinal issues significant?
4. Do everything within your power to reconcile any broken relationships.
5. Be sure to consider all the "evidences of grace" you've seen in the church's life--places where God's work is evident. If you cannot see any evidences of God's grace, you might want to examine your own heart once more (Matt. 7:3-5).
6. Be humble. Recognize you don't have all the facts and assess people and circumstances charitably (give them the benefit of the doubt).

If You Go

1. Don't divide the body.
2. Take the utmost care not to sow discontent even among your closest friends. Remember, you don't want anything to hinder their growth in grace in this church. Deny any desire to gossip (sometimes referred to as "venting" or "saying how you feel").
3. Pray for and bless the congregation and its leadership. Look for ways of doing this practically.
4. If there has been hurt, then forgive--even as you have been forgiven.

-Mark Dever, What Is a Healthy Church? (p. 57)

I think I might add the necessity of an "exit interview" in the event of departure to share how the church might improve in the areas you found lacking.

Prior to leaving, I think it's helpful for all involved to express concerns along the way, as opposed to sharing a laundry list of things that have been bugging you for months or years. It may be possible the leadership doesn't know and they can't fix it if they don't know it's broken. Also, after sharing those concerns, offer to be of help in fixing them, being part of the solution.

Any other thoughts?