Keller: The Prodigal God

Posted on October 24, 2008

I received an advanced copy of The Prodigal God this week, Tim Keller’s third book (Reason for God, Ministries of Mercy). This short book is a narrative introduction to Christianity based on Keller’s reading of Luke 15, focusing especially on the parable of the so-called “Prodigal Son.” His faithful reading of this familiar story brings into focus the self-righteous sin of the elder brother as well as the irreligious sin of the younger brother, charting a gospel middle that points the sinner away from themselves to the abounding grace of the Father.

Chapter after chapter offers redefinition of traditional evangelical readings of topics such as sin, lostness, and heaven. Keller’s insightful re-readings and redefinitions are valuable for new Christian and old, and especially for those who have a problem with Christians and the Church. If you’ve heard Keller preach on this passage before, there’s a lot of overlap; however, there are some fresh gems embedded in the text. Here are a few:

“The world is not simply a theatre for conversion narratives, to be discarded at the end when we all go to heaven.”

“Most of us are either too eager or not eager enough for what Jesus offers.”

Death in the Family

Posted on October 24, 2008

For readers that are friends, we just found out that Robie’s aunt suddenly died early this a.m. Robie was incredibly close to Ileeta. The family was tight, Ileeta had recently gone through a divorce and leaves behind two daughters. Fortunately, Ileeta is with Jesus, in fulness of joy. Pray that we would mourn, comfort and rejoice in the strength that God provides. We leave for Dallas today.

Soli Deo Gloria Church Plant

Posted on October 23, 2008

David Avila is an experienced church planter whose newest plant, Soli Deo Gloria, is in its early stages in Austin, Texas. David brings not only rich experience of planting failure and success, but also a multi-cultural vision for a multi-cultural city. David is a friend and fellow board member for the Austin PlantR Network. Borrowing heavily from David Garrison, his latest blog post lays out some of SDG’s methodology which includes: Evangel, Dunamis, Movement, Ecclesia, Sola Scriptura, & Indigenous.

Keane – Perfect Symmetry

Posted on October 23, 2008

I became a fan of Keane the first time I heard them live, opening for U2 during the Atomic Bomb tour (side note: Bono’s Recent Speech). The combination of guitarless, piano driven music, soaring vocals, and reflective lyrics makes Keane a unique band. Although Hopes and Fears is their best known album. Under the Iron Sea was a great follow up, featuring some great songs like “Crystal Ball”, “Frog Prince”, “Hamburg Song”. With the release of their latest album Perfect Symmetry, Keane has reworked their sound considerably.

Perfect Symmetry is like Keane meets Culture Club, a real 80s throw back sound. These guys are, after all, children of the 80s. At first I didn’t like it; I love the old, classy Keane, but I haven’t take PS out of my cd player in a week. The first half of the album contains the synthesized sound that smacks of the 80s, but the second half of the album is like the old Keane. There’s no doubt they had fun making this album.

My son loves what he calls “The Monkey Song” also known as “Pretend that You’re Alone.” It’s a song about the ramifications of biological and social darwinism. Tom ties Darwinism to the selfish gene in the following lyric:

We are just the monkeys who fell out of the trees
We are blisters on the earth
And we are not the flowers, we’re the strangling weeds in the meadow
And love is just our way of looking out for ourselves
When we don’t want to live alone
So step into the vacuum, tear off your clothes and be born again

If we are just monkeys that fell out of the trees, then love is simply an emotion, a biological secretion designed for self-protection. Surround yourself with people who “love” you enough to protect you. Of course, this often backfires because our selfish love is more selfish that we could ever imagine. Darwinism empties love of any virtue. Makes you long for an absolute Love.

The rest of the album is scattered with lyrically reflective, poppy 80s tunes. A thought provoking combination. After all, the ideas and experiences Tom Chaplin kicks around are far from pop in substance. Hope you pick it up and enjoy it.