Endorsement for Grafted Into The Vine

T. David Gordon is Professor of Religion & Greek at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania; he is also the author of Why Johnny Can't Preach and Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns-- two books that have skyrocketed in popularity due to their poignant critique of much of our church culture today. T. David is also ordained as a Teaching Elder in my denomination, the PCA.

He was gracious enough to offer an endorsement for my recent booklet, Grafted Into The Vine: rethinking biblical church membership. Here's what he said:

"This volume clearly, gently, and biblically addresses why believers should care about and be members of Christ's visible church on earth. It is convincing without being argumentative, and instructive without being pedantic. Thoughtful Christians will be rewarded for the small amount of effort it takes to read this good book."

Thanks so much, T. David!

The ongoing advance of eBooks

I have a strong interest in books, eBooks, writing, and publishing (which I mention just in case it isn't self-evident!). Not only as a reader and bibliophile, but also as a writer and publisher, I continue to find books to be some of the most compelling media and certainly some of the best ways to communicate ideas broadly.

As I pointed out in a recent post, eBooks are here to stay. What may surprise you is that eBooks have a 40-year history! Here's a useful and interesting infographic describing that history (Facebook readers, visit the blog to see the graphic):

via ebookfriend.ly

Do you read eBooks? What platform(s) do you prefer to read them with?

Tom Hanks on children

Tom Hanks is hilarious, and obviously very talented. In this video, he manages to poke fun at himself and the "show business" world, while also exposing how ridiculous some parents act about their kids. Worth a watch (HT: Jonathan):

St. Patrick's Day videos

More videos, this time in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

Let's start with some Muppets doing "Danny Boy":

Those "Leprechaun Brothers" remind me of this leprechaun in Alabama:


Which reminds me of this scene from Wayne's World:


That brings us to the (pretty awful) string of Leprechaun movies-- NOT one of Jennifer Aniston's career highlights:


And we'll finish up with John Mayer -- oddly enough, also not one of Jennifer Aniston's career highlights-- singing "St. Patrick's Day":



Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

(Facebook folks, watch these videos on my blog: pastorblog.hickorywithepc.org.)

Satirical videos about pastors

These videos (brought to you by "TheLutheranSatire" channel on YouTube) are hilarious, making use of a website/technology that let's you input dialogue and choose a scenario, then it auto-generates a cartoon video.

Check them out for a really good laugh!

Ash Wednesday: How Do We Celebrate?

Things your Lutheran Pastor Totally Loves, #1: Quick Questions


Things your Lutheran Pastor Totally Loves, #2: Talking with Biblicists



(Facebook folks, see them on the blog: http://pastorblog.hickorywithepc.org)

iPad apps I use

I was pleasantly surprised at the interest in my recent reflections on my iPad as a tool for presbytery and General Assembly. It seems like there may be some usefulness to further reflections, so here's a look at the apps I use regularly (which will give some insight into how I use my iPad as well, I suppose). NB: the links will take you to the iTunes page where you can get the app, or read more about it.

Bible Tools
ESV Study Bible ($14.99). I have loved this app as a great way to access the Bible. It loads quickly, and is very easy to navigate. It also has all of the content (commentary, notes, maps, etc.) from the full ESV Study Bible, which makes it a real bargain. This is my first choice for Bible apps in my iPad, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Alternatively, you can get the ESV Bible without the study content, as a free app.
Accordance (free). I use Accordance as my primary Bible software on my Mac, and their iPad companion app is a super complement to it. I can open just about any module that I already have purchased/installed on my computer, so it is good for cross-referencing in original languages or in other translations (not to mention the other modules).It's also fast in loading, and the search/navigation is easy and quick. Because I already use it on my Mac, I can't offer any insight about which modules would be available to those who just want to use it on their iPad.
Others: I also have, and have used, the Logos app, which is a companion to the full Logos Bible software (much like Accordance in that way); it too is a good and usable app, and is free-- though again, I cannot comment on what modules/texts are available if you don't already own them in a desktop version. Those who want free access to just about any translation will appreciate the Bible HD app from LIfechurch.tv, but two limitations may frustrate: first, it loads somewhat slowly, and second, you must have a constant internet connection to access the texts.

"Presbyterian" Tools
Reformed Confessions. I have two apps for this, and they are both very good: iReformed Reference Library (99¢), and Christian Creeds & Reformed Confessions (free). Both have the same content, in somewhat different layouts-- the Westminster Standards (Confession + Larger and Shorter Catechisms), the Three Forms of Unity (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort), and three creeds (Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian). I find the iReformed Reference Library slightly less-easy to navigate, especially because it requires a horizontal orientation. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with either.
Robert's Rules ($1.99). This is an app version of the book Robert's Rules of Order, and has a nice, hierarchical layout. If you're already pretty familiar with the content of Robert's Rules, this app will be quite useful; if you don't know your way around the book, though, you may have trouble finding what you seek. (The app needs a search feature to compensate for this.) Also, it is based on an older version of the text, so some of the wording may be slightly different from a current publication. An eBook version may be preferable to some/most.
GoodReader ($2.99). There are a LOT of PDF readers for iPad, and you certainly don't need to pay for one to read PDFs (Apple's iBooks reads PDFs quite well, and is free.) But I like GoodReader because it has some powerful options for making notes and adding bookmarks. I commented on these in my previous post, so I wont' re-hash it here.

Social Tools
Social. I use this as my main access for Facebook in my iPad-- I'm surprised, though, that I can't find it in the App Store any longer. It's either no longer available(!) or being updated.
Flipboard (free). I go back and forth with using this one-- sometimes I prefer it for regularly checking updates on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other sources. At other times, I ignore it for weeks. You might like this if you are primarily a consumer of social media, not an interactor; if you like to comment, respond, "like", etc., you might find Flipboard limiting. But if you want to take in a wide amount of social network information and process it quickly, Flipboard may be a good alternative to the standard options.
TweetDeck (free). I don't do a lot of Twitter on my iPad, mostly because it find it a more tedious interface for the way I use Twitter. On the occasions when I do want to read tweets, TweetDeck is a good solution for me: it allows me to have multiple accounts open in the same "window" at the same time, and check them quickly.
GoodReads (free). I use GoodReads on my iPad even less than Twitter, and I wish they would release an iPad app that was more full-featured. This is simply the iPhone app in a larger screen. Occasionally (maybe a couple of times a month, if that) I open this one up, and I'm glad to have it when I do.

Information Tools
The Weather Channel (free). I check this app (either on my iPhone or iPad) every morning, and sometimes during the day. The iPad version is awesome-- it gives easy access to several different displays simultaneously, making it really easy to get a sense of the weather now, over the next few hours, and in the coming days. This is a great addition to any iPad, in my opinion.
ESPN Scorecenter XL (free). I use the iPhone version for a long time, but didn't install this one until they made it a free app for iPad. Still, I've found it to be useful to check scores and standings. I wish they would work out an ESPN3 solution for iPad, and I assume that they are trying to figure that out. Meanwhile, this is a great way to keep tabs on teams that aren't of great interest locally.
Articles (99¢). This is a more recent addition, but I've found it to be a very approachable interface for accessing Wikipedia articles quickly, and marking those that are of interest.
Star Walk ($4.99). We got this last summer when there was a meteor shower coming, and we found ourselves in the backyard watching the sky a good bit. This is a really cool app, and a great guide to which stars are which. We'll get more use of it again when the weather is better, I'm sure.
iBird Explorer ($9.99). This is the iPhone version, but I have it in my iPad too. Think of a digital, interactive version of the green Audubon guides, and you've got a sense of what this app offers. We like it for identifying backyard birds, but I got the "South" version so that when we travel we can use it elsewhere. Lots of fun. I wish it had capacity for a list of which birds we have seen.

Reading Tools
InstaPaper ($4.99). Without a doubt, this is my most-used iPad app. I follow a lot of blogs and news sites by RSS, which I either scan, read quickly (if the article is short), or send to InstaPaper. Then I can read them offline on my iPad (or iPhone) whenever/wherever I want. One of my favorite apps.
Kindle (free). For reading eBooks, I spend most of my time in this app-- mostly because the selection is the largest. It's a very usable app, and easy to read in; I've probably read a dozen eBooks in my Kindle app on iPad.
iBooks (free). While Kindle may be my most-used eReader, iBooks is my preferred one. I like the interface better, and it loads faster. If I have the option, I'll buy eBooks in ePub format and drop them in iBooks rather than buy them in Kindle-- but I don't always have that option, or the price is often higher.
Others: I use some other reading tools on my iPad, as well: for news, I like The Daily (free + subscription), an iPad-only national daily newspaper, and Slate (free). I also like MacWorld's reader app. For eBooks, Stanza (free) offers a good reading environment and great selections that are harder to find (or get into an eReader) elsewhere. I have a couple of magazine subscriptions via Zinio (free + purchase/subscription), which is a great e-magazine option. There are also lots of great comic books available via iPad app, too!

Productivity Tools
DevonThink To Go ($14.99). I use DevonThink all the time, every day, on my Mac; it warehouses 75% or more of my digital information. So it's great to have an option to sync some/all of that information to my iPad and take it with me. This app has some maturing to do, but I have great hopes and expectations for it.
Bento ($4.99). A good bit of what I can't organize in DevonThink is managed by Bento. Here again, I like being able to sync them and take it with me.
MacGourmet ($4.99). Since I do most of the cooking in our home, I frequently collect and use recipes. MacGourmet is my desktop Mac solution for collecting recipes, and when I use them in the kitchen I usually do it via iPad. This is the iPhone version, which syncs great and works just fine on the iPad.
Pages ($9.99). I use the iWork suite all the time on my Mac; I really only need to work with Pages on my iPad, and even then not very often. This is a good app, though, and a solid solution when I do need to edit a document.
Parcel (free). I do just enough shipping to be grateful for an app that will help me track packages quickly. This one works well, and the interface is easy to use.
Calculator Pro (free/$1.99). I was surprised that the iPad didn't come with the great calculator app included on the iPhone. When I need a calculator, I'm perfectly satisfied with the free version of this app; additional features are available in the paid version.

Entertainment Tools
Netflix (free). This is a well-built app, and offers a lot of tools. I use it mostly to manage our Netflix queue, and I haven't watched any streaming video with it-- but I LOVE that streaming is available with it!
TED Talks (free). The folks with TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) regularly offer some of the most thoughtful and innovative ideas around, and the presentations are excellent. I love this app for the occasional dip into thought-provoking videos and new ideas.
Amazon (free). I manage all book recommendations, as well as other items of interest, through a collection of "Wish Lists" on Amazon-- so this app, which makes it a piece of cake to find and add books and other items to these lists, is a gem.
YouTube (free/included with iPad). There is plenty of time-wasting possible with YouTube, but it also has genuine usefulness, and I think the YouTube app on iPad is as ideal an environment for YouTube-looking as it gets.

That is the core list. I have another 5-6 apps that I use occasionally, plus about a dozen games that are regularly played-- but I won't go into details on those, other than to say that the iPad is a fantastic gaming platform.

What apps are YOU using?

A new book(let)

I have a new book-- a booklet, actuallly-- that is getting released this week: Grafted Into The Vine: rethinking biblical church membership.

Doulos Resources, a publishing ministry that I've been involved with for a few years, is releasing this booklet as a part of a new series, entitled Strengthen The Church. For more information about the booklet (and about Doulos Resources), visit this website: Doulos Resources -- Grafted Into The Vine

I have repeatedly encountered misunderstandings and unbiblical practices in the church today regarding membership. So many people in many of the different congregations I have served have held to a view of membership that was completely out of accord with Scripture! I wrote this booklet out of that need, and out of a desire for others to reach an understanding of what the Bible teaches about membership in Christ's church.

There are three basic principles that I put forth in this booklet:
All Christians need membership in the local church
Church membership is nothing less than your public profession of faith in the Gospel
Church membership is nothing more than your public profession of faith in the Gospel

Following that, I briefly address two hard questions that often arise when people are confronted with these three principles together.

It is my prayer that this booklet will minister to God's people, giving them hope, encouragement, comfort, and security.

Check out my new booklet, Grafted Into The Vine: rethinking biblical church membership!

Church as community

Mike Mercer "took over" the blogging duties at Internet Monk (a site which I stopped reading shortly after Michael Spencer's death last winter), and recently posted a great piece on church-- that is, on what makes a church, and whether many of the groups passing themselves as "church" today are really "church". (HT to Scot McKnight for pointing me back to iMonk.)

Mr. Mercer's points on what defines a church are poignant. He gently challenges the notion that church is about people of like age/stage, socio-economic status, affinity, or core values gathering together. In many ways, his post is simply a more pastoral version of the same challenge that Dr. Anthony Bradley is regularly putting before the PCA.

I love Mr. Mercer's closing points, which so neatly summarize what is and what isn't important in the identity of a church:

God is creating a community–a cross-cultural community—that is, a people that consists of folks who may be very different from one another, but who share a “common unity” in Jesus Christ. That is the NT vision of church. Our unity does not consist in the fact that we all have tattoos or like grunge music or meet in a pub. Nor does it consist in the fact that we are mostly conservative middle-class suburbanites. Nor does it consist in our whiteness or blackness or the specific ethnic culture in which we live. Nor is it about organs, hymns, robes, and pews.

Our only true oneness is in Christ. We accommodate to “where people are” to reach them in the world for Christ, making them disciples. But then, when we baptize them and teach them to observe all that Christ commanded us, we call them into the practice of cross-cultural love within the new family God is creating. What the world needs to see is faith communities made up of people vastly different from one another who have laid hold of that.

That’s church.

I highly recommend this post from Internet Monk, "Is It A Church?"

Remembering Ordination Vows

A small handful of events and discussions recently have led me to re-read and remember the vows I took in ordination to be a Teaching Elder in the PCA. They are as follows:

1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as originally given, to be the inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice?
2. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and the Catechisms of this Church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures; and do you further promise that if at any time you find yourself out of accord with any of the fundamentals of this system of doctrine, you will on your own initiative, make known to your Presbytery the change that has taken place in your views since the assumption of this ordination vow?
3. Do you approve of the form of government and discipline of the Presbyterian Church in America, in conformity with the general principles of Biblical polity?
4. Do you promise subjection to your brethren in the Lord?
5. Have you been induced, as far as you know your own heart, to seek the office of the holy ministry from love to God and a sincere desire to promote His glory in the Gospel of His Son?
6. Do you promise to be zealous and faithful in maintaining the truths of the Gospel and the purity and peace and unity of the Church, whatever persecution or opposition may arise unto you on that account?
7. Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all your duties as a Christian and as a minister of the Gospel, whether personal or relational, private or public; and to endeavor by the grace of God to adorn the profession of the Gospel in your manner of life, and to walk with exemplary piety before the flock of which God shall make you an overseer?
8. Are you now willing to take the charge of this church, agreeable to your declaration when accepting their call? And do you, relying upon God for strength, promise to discharge to it the duties of a pastor?

These are beautiful vows, and they are weighty and convicting vows. They require a love and subjection to Scripture and its teachings. They include a commitment to accountability, zeal for purity, peace and unity, and a life of grace-filled, Spirit-dependent living. And they represent a call to pastoring God's church-- watching over the flock, exercising government and discipline, visiting the people, instructing, comforting, nourishing, and guarding them, praying with and for them.

Today I'm remembering my vows, and praying that God will make my commitment and devotion to them even stronger; that He will use them to fortify my personal piety and dependence on Him; and that He will continue to re-shape and make me into His own image, a new creation in Christ!

Happy anniversary!

Happy anniversary to my dear, sweet Marcie!

You are my true love, my favorite companion, and my heart's true friend. I love you with all of my heart.

Happy 13^th anniversary-- I'm looking forward to dozens more.