i’m officially exiting gwinnett county.
if you need me, i’ll be reading by the pool…in florida. 
blogging may be sporadic, but twitter shall reign supreme.
peace out.
Stop what you’re doing, go to Amazon.com, and buy this book. I had the chance to review it, which was awesome, as discussed here and here.
I think a lot of us know how we do things at our churches, but Tim articulates WHY it’s so important to leverage culture for Christ. I’m convinced that a lot of the traditional vs. contemporary “fighting” that exists in churches today would subside if everyone read this book and understood the principles this book details. Rather than an us-versus-them mentality, wouldn’t it be great if people understood each other and agreed there was no one “right” way to do church?
In addition to being laugh-out-loud funny at times, Tim explains Jesus’ use of parables and pop vocabulary (i.e. hypocrite) to reach people, about how the intended audience of the gospels and the rest of the new testament was different, and about the dangers of accidentally worshipping culture over Christ.
I spend my life modeling, encouraging, organizing, and inspiring the how. Tim explains the why. We aren’t implementing culture for the sake of being cool, and though you probably know that generally, reading this book will make all the bits and pieces of truth you’ve heard fit together. This kind of knowledge will further your passions for teaching people about Jesus…through culture!
This book will leave you with the excited, overwhelmed, hopeful, inspired, can’t-stop-talking-about-it effect one experiences after leaving an Innovate conference for the first time…and we can’t all afford to go to Innovate, but you can probably swing $11.53. It’s a quick read. I think you’ll love it. And I’d love to hear your thoughts.
If you need further convincing, check out Tim’s exceptionally cool website.
I love the photography. And I love old church pews. It reminds me of the little chapel at Prospect UMC, where I fell completely in love with Jesus.
BooksFebruary 24, 2008 10:38 pm
Today we talked about Hypocrisy at The Vine. In Jim and Casper Go To Church Casper, the atheist, really has a problem with people who seem to select a topic, and then pick-and-choose scriptures that support their assertions…even if they are used out of context. Check this out:
“…Cherry-picking bits and pieces of the Bible to support your chosen topic? I think that’s like asking someone to understand the meaning of the Mona Lisa but only letting that person look at her hand. It’s simple: If the Bible is really they Word of God, it’s very, very important to not take it out of context. I mean, that’s a rule that applies to most every phrase ever said, so you’d think it’d apply tenfold to the Bible! You can’t look at Leviticus and say God hates gay people, then ignore Jesus’ endless commands to love each other. You can’t take a snippet of the Bible out of context and misuse it, or spin it, to support your particular pitch. That’s twisted.”
Very interesting, especially in relation to hypocrisy. Your thoughts?
