Purpose Driven Death

Nice concept. I won't be able to go, though.

What's Your TW?

Theological Worldview that is. Randomly browsing through some pages I found this quiz. Although a little untrusting on such tests in general, I do like to take them, if for nothing else than they make you think. What I find interesting about this one is that it lists me as more postmodern than fundamental. My friend Rey the Tony-Jones-fan-of-the-moment will laugh... well try it for yourself and see if it works for you.

You scored as Reformed Evangelical You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God's Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die. Reformed Evangelical 79% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75% Emergent/Postmodern 61% Fundamentalist 54% Neo orthodox 50% Charismatic/Pentecostal 50% Roman Catholic 39% Classical Liberal 39% Modern Liberal 25%

Could You?

An excerpt from Piper's book God is the Gospel. Quoted by Francis Chan during his message at the YS Convention:

"The critical question for our generation--and for every generation--is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever say, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"

1 Corinthians 13 - The Message Remix

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything as plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere.

So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 from the Message Remix

1 Corinthians 13 - The Missionary Version

Pic Courtesy of David Dennis

If I could speak the Qur'anic Arabic tongue like an Arab Muslim, and like the angels of Paradise, but have not love, I am only like the Arabic adhan piercing into the ears of a reserved Englishman.


If I had the gift of foretelling one's qismat, and if I could fathom fully the mystery of predestination and all the knowledge of the religious mystics, and if I had the faith to cast out the jinn from a soul possessed, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I were to give ten times the amount of zakat for the poor, and surrender my body to the sword of martyrdom, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy a fellow missionary's success story among Muslims. Nor does it boast about its own number of baptized believers. It is not proud to admit deficiencies and shortcomings among its own ranks. It is not rude when approached by aggressive Muslim missionaries who likewise pursue a religious agenda. It is not easily angered by the constant bombardment of objections and insults against the Christian faith by well-trained Islamic apologists. It keeps no record of wrongdoing in regard to historical Muslim-Christian relations and terrorist acts carried out in the name of Islam.

Love does not delight in evil and harm that erupts in Muslim lands as a result of natural disasters and wars. Rather, love rejoices in the truth that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, even if the one calling is a Muslim.

Love always protects the identity and testimony of the sincere Muslim seeker. Love always trust in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, regardless of how many days, months, or years may be required. Love always hopes in the mercy of God, even for the hardest of the fundamentalist Muslims.

Love always perseveres no matter how discouraging the prospects of Muslim evangelism may appear. Love never fails.

As hard as we try on this side of life, we will never be perfect communicators or perfect imitators of the Gospel. There will always be some measure of cultural distortion, and some degree of misunderstanding, and some innocent mistake of offense. Languages, idioms, and meanings of words will inevitably change in time. New knowledge will replace old knowledge. The "new man" will continually overtake the "old man." Though we will only be able to convey the perfect message in part, these three will always remain: knowledge, contextualization, and love. But the most perfect of these is love.