@nwbingham tweeted this:

“12 Bloggers Summarize the Gospel in 10 Words or Less http://tr.im/vF9M #tulip // How would you say it?”

My response:
“Crushed skull, redeemed cosmos, satisfied wrath, Kingdom come, Deo Gloria.”

You can see what some other bloggers said at the site Fallen and Flawed.

I know the meme went around about twittering the Gospel a few months ago, so I’m not going to try and start that again. However, if you’re up for the challenge, feel free to attempt your 10 word Gospel in the comments.

The second of two memes that Mike (ΕΝ ΕΦΕΣΩ) recently tagged me in is listing 5 books or scholars that had the most immediate and lasting influence on how I read the Bible. This list probably won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone familiar with what I’ve written. It is in no particular order.

1. Greg Beale, Christopher Wright, and Tremper Longman III

More than any other authors, these three have heavily influenced me in several areas including intertextuality, and understanding the Old Testament in light of the New. In terms of intertextuality, Greg Beale’s book “We Become What We Worship” (review) is top-notch. For Christopher Wright, make sure to check out “Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament” (review [link down at the moment]) and “The Mission of God” Tremper Longman has a lot of great books out there, but the most recent I read by him is “Immanuel in Our Place: Seeing Christ in Israel’s Worship ” (review).

2. Andy Crouch, Michael Wittmer, Abraham Kuyper and Tim Keller

This three men have all written books/sermons that have absolutely transformed my view of Christianity’s call to cultural engagement. Crouch’s “Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling” is an absolute must-read in this area. Wittmer’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth: Why Everything You Do Matters to God” is one of the better theologically reasoned books on the subject. Kuyper’s sphere sovereignty is foundational for most of my thinking. And Tim Keller is Tim Keller.

Now I’ve already gone over my limit of 5, though I guess I’m really doing this by themes instead of authors. Either way, I’m going to stop with the next section—
3. N.T. Wright
Wright has been one of my greatest influences since I’ve been introduced to him. In terms of eschatology and understanding how it plays out in the present, he is unmatched. In terms of defending the historicity of the resurrection, no one else comes close. Understanding the Bible in terms of community—one of the best. When I disagree with him (mostly his definition of “righteous”), he forces me to think through a text in light of what he says. I can never outright reject him, I have to look at the passages and study them thoroughly before I reject what he says.

I know there’s a lot more people that should be on this list… but I either can’t think of them or I’m not trying because I have so many already. I’m hoping that Brad and Jacob pick up on this.

Mike at ΕΝ ΕΦΕΣΩ is apparently tired of my long periods of silence, and has tagged me in to memes. The first of the two is the “Funny things in ancient literature” meme, where we are to… well… mention something funny from ancient literature. Three things immediately sprang to mind for this meme.

First, we have the Apostle Paul:

Ὄφελον καὶ ἀποκόψονται οἱ ἀναστατοῦντες ὑμᾶς.

which, translated, says: “I wish that those who bother you [by saying you need to be circumcised] would just cut the whole thing off!”
-or-
“I wish that those who bother you wouldn’t stop at the foreskin!”

Wow, Paul.

Second is the prophet Elijah:

‏ויהי בצהרים ויהתּל בהם אליהו ויאמר קראו בקול־גדול כי־אלהים הוא כי שיח וכי־שיג לו וכי־דרך לו אולי ישן הוא ויקץ

Translated:
When it was around noon, Elijah began to mock the prophets of Baal: “Shout louder! He is a god after all! Maybe he is busy daydreaming, or maybe he’s using the bathroom or he has left to go on a journey! Perhaps he’s asleep and you need to wake him up!” (1 Kings 18:27)

Oh Elijah. Of course, the best Old Testament story goes to Elijah’s protégé Elisha. Check it out:

Elisha went up to bethel, and as he was walking along the road some children came out from the town and began to make fun of him. “Get out of here, baldy!” They said. Elisha turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of YHWH. Two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youth. So Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and returned to Samaria from there. 2 Kings 2:23-25.

Hahahaha. That’s hardcore. This is made even better in the KJV/ESV where they translated the gender of the word for bears as “she bears.” You DO NOT mess with God’s annointed—especially the bald ones.

I’m tagging Brad, Jacob, and Rick.

Pastor Chad Lewis gives 10 things that he is thankful for in his latest post, and then says: “We often focus on the negative aspects of our lives. We too often focus on the trials. If you had to write 10 things that you are thankful for, what would be on your list?”

Here is a list of 10 things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for…

…God absolutely flipping my life upside down when I was 18.
…a fiancee who is far greater than I deserve.
…a local church that is Gospel-driven and centered.
…a community group where we can dig into each other’s messy lives- and still be loved.
…a past that shows I have nothing to offer, but glorifies God by showing his grace to sinners.
…the freedom to read and study the ancient Scriptures.
…a mom who is amazing.
…sweet tea.
…the opportunity to serve Sojourn Community Church.
…the opportunity to see God work in others’ lives.

Dr. Jim West has challenged all bibliobloggers to post a picture of their desktop. I am constantly changing my background, so I thought I would give you two shots. I’m a big fan of high-def backgrounds like this one:
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I was tagged by TC for this meme. Here are the rules:

” 1. Be contemporary

2. Be idiomatic and free as possible.

3. Parsing is optional. “

Here is my stab at it:

“Since you have shared in Christ’s resurrection, you should seek out the heavenly things because that is where Christ is- ruling over his kingdom with power and authority. Always keep your focus on the things of Christ, and not worldly things, because you have died to those things and your new life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ is gloriously revealed, so too will your identity as Christ’s be revealed along with him.”

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I was tagged by both TC and Jeff.

“In an effort to keep it simple, short, and easy to follow, I’d like to challenge you to quote one verse (not one chapter). And then say what the Lord has been teaching you in one sentence (not one paragraph). Then tag 5 peeps (you know the drill).”

Of course, we could all probably fill volumes on this subject.  If you’ll forgive me, I’ll piggy-back on my last post.

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. ” Psalm 68:5 (TNIV, Link goes to NRSV).

What I’m learning: God is infinitely stronger than my insecurities. See last blog.

Tagged:
Brad
Zane
Mike