Darryl's Blog
Ben Witherington has the most balanced review I've seen of The Shack, including this bit on the institutional church:
There is no such thing in heaven or on earth as an organism without organization, order, structure, form, otherwise it would have no distinct shape, purpose, or being. And that applies to God, the church, as well as to all created things—remember the story of how God created the universe in a very specific order with very specific properties? Well it’s always been like that. Creativity takes a particular form and shape, bring order out of chaos or a disparate group of elements. Spontaneity is not particularly more God-like than something that was planned before the foundations of the world and executed over a long period of time. And why we should think an organism like the church needs to normally be completely spontaneous in order to be ‘alive’ is a mystery. Perhaps it is an over-reaction to spending too much time in moribund or unwell churches. One thing I know about real works of art--- they take time to create, and care, and skill, and form, and substance. This is as true of a Matisse masterpiece as of God’s creation of the universe.
We went to the zip line at Cape Enrage, New Brunswick today. Here's my mother on it. Go Mum!
The expression on Charlene's face says it all.
We spent Sunday night in beautiful Grand Manan Island, the largest island in the Bay of Fundy.
Monday morning came early. We were scheduled to take a tour to Machias Seal Island to see puffins and seals. Because of tides, the tour left at 7 A.M. - 6 A.M. Toronto time!
We got there and it was worth it. Puffins - lots of them. Here's just one.
Then a seal colony.
And more exploring.
We're in Saint John, New Brunswick now, and I'm going to go to bed now, happy that I don't have to get up early in the morning to be in some boat. As good as it was, I'm glad to be sleeping in tomorrow instead.
George Whitefield (1714-1770) didn't start out as much of a preacher. After his first sermon, someone complained to the bishop that Whitefield's sermon had driven 15 people mad.
In the years that followed, Whitefield preached 18,000 sermons to crowds of up to 30,000 people throughout Great Britain and the 13 American colonies. He crossed the Atlantic 13 times and travelled extensively when any type of long-distance travel was impossibly difficult. It's hard now to imagine how much of an impact Whitefield had in his day. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called Whitefield "the greatest preacher that England has ever produced."
Whitefield died in 1769 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, just northeast of Boston. He is buried there at Old South Presbyterian, a church he helped to found. I had tried to set up a time to tour the building, but we couldn't seem to make it work.
I showed up in any case to take a look around.
I thought I'd only get to look around outside, but decided to check the School Street entrance to the church just in case. Turns out someone was there. She called her husband Richard, and within half an hour we were getting a private tour of the church, including the crypt underneath the pulpit where Whitefield was buried.
More pictures here, including one of the house in which he died. It hasn't changed too much from this old drawing I found online.
The tour was fascinating. If you like church history and ever get the chance to visit Newburyport, you should try to take the tour as well. Can't wait to finish volume 2 of Dallimore's biography of Whitefield.
Registration for the 2009 National Conference of The Gospel Coalition is now open. I've signed up. Anyone else going?
Look at who she brought into this world.
We're on vacation in beautiful Hyannis, Cape Cod. Hyannis is home to the Kennedy Compound, former summer home of John F. Kennedy. It's just two miles west of where we're staying.
Almost my entire family is here - 20 of us. Not sure if Hyannis will ever be the same. Looking forward to relaxing this week and spending time with my family. It's good to be back in Massachusetts - haven't been here since I graduated from Gordon-Conwell last year.
Next Saturday we head up to the Maritimes, with a stop in Newburyport to see the church where George Whitefield is buried. Lots to enjoy before then though.
There was a time that I was sure I was going to get an iPhone whenever it came out in Canada. That all changed when I realized how much it would cost. Then I saw that Rogers was reducing their rates in response to customer feedback. I began to lean towards getting one again, until I realized their reduced rate didn't include features like Visual Voicemail, which you could get for an extra $8. Feels too much like getting nickeled and dimed.
All of a sudden I'm liking the monthly fee on my iPod Touch.
I was already starting to analyze what drives me to want things like this so strongly. I began typing this post using iPhone as a keyword. As I typed i the program suggested idolatry as a tag. If an idol is something that you long for, that you hope will give you meaning and fulfillment apart from Christ, then maybe the iPhone is too much like an idol for me. Sad when you think about what it is.
Last year I saw John Piper react to being given an iPhone. He offered thanks, and then said, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" I know what he means.
So no iPhone for me. And I'm glad actually.
"Think about being an unabashedly intellectual pastor. I can’t think of a city in North America that is oversupplied with those." (John Stackhouse)