Yes, CJ wants the Saints to win, expressly because he loves our local church.  This brings him into the happy, expansive family that many are calling The Who Dat Nation.  But alas he must  “belong before he can believe”, for he is a Who Dat Nation ‘member’ with ailing faith, a weaker brother.  I hope he comes all the way by the close of the big game on Sunday night.

I seriously doubt he will wear a dress if he is proven wrong.  But perhaps he’ll come back to preach in 2010 and receive a signed Jersey or something.  Meanwhile, let us pray for our dear brother.

Alex Chediak’s article over at The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) needs no introduction.  Very insightful.

In the latest issue of World magazine, Megan Basham reviews romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You (rated PG-13 for sexual content and some strong language).  I’ve not seen it, but I am not surprised to learn that the film is nothing other than the latest variation on the same, worn theme of aggressive, independent women chasing men into their late 20s and early 30s, hoping against hope that they will somehow earn the unwavering love, commitment and respect for which they so deeply (and painfully) long.  They are mainly unsuccessful, as the film’s title suggests, as these men are “just not that into them.”  Basham explains:

“Behind the laughs, and, indeed, the film’s popularity, is an unspoken question: What left women in such a precarious position? Why do we so rarely see romantic comedies that show men pursuing women anymore, as opposed to merely ‘realizing’ they’re in love two-thirds of the way through the film?”

What’s changed, Basham goes on to insightfully explain, is that women are now “liberated from the social norm of saving sex for marriage” which means that men are free to approach their pursuit of women as a quest for physical and relational intimacy apart from any long-term, binding commitment.  They can enjoy sexual intimacy without being “stuck” with a particular woman, so they in turn grow more “stuck” in passivity, unwilling to exert sacrificial energy for their woman, unable to savor the joy that only a lifelong, binding, monogamous relationship can cultivate.

Moreover, given the abundance of women willing to play by these rules, many men feel justified in scornfully regarding a woman for even wanting marriage and family.  In the film, the character Beth (Jennifer Aniston) is afraid to bring up marriage with her seven-year, live-in boyfriend because she doesn’t want to seem “clingy or psycho.”

The 80% female audience ought to be left with the inescapable conclusion: trading hearts and bodies for the temporary affection of men is a losing proposition. On the other hand, the confident, steadfast reservation of sex for marriage results in a woman attracting the right kind of man – a man who will lay down his life to earn her respect and win her love.  Sadly, the movie’s ending suggests that the four love-hungry protagonists can have their cake and eat it too.  Only in the movies, folks.

“Be careful what books you read, for as water tastes of the soil it runs through, so does the soul taste of the authors that a man reads.”  -John Trapp

Last week I had the chance, over at the blog for Next, to introduce another main session speaker for the Next Conference (May, 2010): a personal favorite, Mark Dever.

Dever has what he calls a “canon of theologians”.  He has a particular theologian assigned to each month of the year, such that, in a given year, in addition to his other reading, he will devote extra time to becoming more familiar with that theologian and his writings.  Those 12 or so men have been so consistently edifying to his soul that he makes a point year after year to delve more deeply into their writings.

All that said, if I had a canon of living theologians/pastors, there is no question in my mind that I would take a month of every year to spend extra time benefiting from Mark’s eminently helpful books, sermons, articles, and interviews.

This is a snippet of an email sent to members of the worship team at Lakeview Christian Center – a great bunch of friends and servants, and a fine group of musicians to boot.   I try to encourage the team to be “readers of good books”.  We want to be a worship team full of people who desire to learn more and more truth about the God we worship, so that we might lead others in God-centered, doctrinally-anchored songs that rise from grateful hearts.  We certainly don’t want to worship in a way that we’re simply stringing together tired cliches that say lots about how we feel and precious little about the One we’ve gathered to worship.

So, this little list is from a recent exchange with the team.  Since I’ve sent this, they’ve been chiming in one by one to let the other team members know what books have affected them the most this past year.  Seeing the solid things they’ve been reading and hearing how it has affected them is a great encouragement to the whole team.

Hopefully, as we’ve talked about before, we are cultivating the art of good reading – first and foremost, God’s Word, but also – and we learn this value from God’s Word – faithful teachers and Christian leaders (whose fruitful labor lives on in books) …

Though not in any particular order, these would be the five best books I read in 2009.

Just Do Something (DeYoung, Kevin)

Pivoters [our ministry to 18-30s] always ask questions about life, marriage, calling, majors, decisions, so I read anything on this topic that I can get my hands on.  DeYoung’s book is far and a way the best treatment I’ve come across on the topic of how to discern God’s will.  It’s also a perfect book for someone who says “I don’t like to read” since 1) the book is pretty short 2) DeYoung’s writing is solid, engaging, and at several points humorous and 3) every Christian immediately recognizes how relevant this subject is for his/her life.

The Reason For God (Keller, Timothy)

Keller’s defense of Christian faith is beautifully written and cogently argued.  He does an excellent job arguing for the biblical worldview and Christian faith as well as deconstructing some of the pillars of 21^st century skepticism.  I love Keller’s writing.

Instructing Your Child’s Heart (Tripp, Paul D.)

The re-enacted conversations of how to discipline and correct children with the gospel are alone worth the price of the book.

Keeping Holiday (Meade, Starr)

Meade’s book is a kind of modern day Pilgrim’s Progress.  The characters and story development effectively communicate truths like – our inability to fulfill God’s requirements, Christ’s provisions for us, the Christian standing always with “the wind in his face” (opposition to the world, flesh, devil), false promises of sin, the ways that God “speaks” and draws us to Himself, the power of grace, the traps of religion, and more.  Short book.  I read it to the boys.  They begged for more every night.  So did I.

The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Calvin, John)

I have tons of quotes from Calvin’s Institutes, but have never gone through the whole thing.  It is widely regarded as one of the grandest works of Christian literature in all of church history.  All of Calvin’s theology is bathed in Christ-centered devotion.  He is no rationalist or dusty theologian.  It was a riveting read that brought me to tears on many occasions.  His letter to the King of France in 1536 (at the front) is Christian statesmanship par excellence.  I trust Calvin’s magnum opus will be on my all time top 10 list when I’m 90, if I’m alive.  Ref21 blog has a reading plan that will take you through it in a year.  You’ll have to put on your thinking cap, but the journey is well worth the effort.

I’m letting myself slip little by little here because in the case of some of the writers I mention in this series, I’ve engaged their material more in sermons or articles rather than in their books.  That would be the case here.

Powlison is a seasoned man – seasoned by years of ministry and some challenging personal trials.  The main thing I hear him ’say’ to me as I read and listen to his stuff, is “Matt, care for people.  Listen to people.  Ministry is not one size fits all.  Seek to apply the gospel to the individual sitting next to you.  Comfort and speak the truth in love, with patience.”

Two great places to hear him say that, in more and better words are in the following sermons:

• Jesus is NOT One Size Fits All
• In the Last Analysis: Look Out for Introspection

I’ll get to Mark Dever in this series soon and talk more about this then, but the 9Marks Interviews have been an invaluable resource for me.  I’ve listened to many of them, many times each.  One of my all time favorites (I’d say top 3) is Dever’s interview with Powlison.  The way Powlison shares his testimony is a beautiful tribute to the power of God’s grace.  It’s also great stuff if you have particular interest in counseling.

It is no exaggeration to say that God used this man to change my life.  His book, Willing to Believe, devastated some of my most cherished theological beliefs and began to open new windows for seeing and being amazed by the grace of God.  Over the next few years I read just about any Sproul book I could get my hands on – even his children’s books.

• Willing to Believe
• Faith Alone
• Getting the Gospel Right
• Lifeviews
• The Holiness of God (probably my favorite Sproul book)
• Knowing Scripture
• After Darkness, Light
• The King Without A Shadow
• The Lightlings
• The Priest With Dirty Clothes

For every birthday I’d get a new teaching series from Ligonier.  When our oldest, Hunter (now 11), was a baby we’d joke that he’d grow up thinking of Dr. R.C. Sproul as “Uncle R.C.”, since he spent so much time in the car playing with his mobile and listening to Sproul talk about ‘God and ice cream cones’, univocal vs. analogical language, talks on the sacraments, practical godliness, apologetics, salvation, Trinity, world religions.

I’m grateful to God for Sproul’s strong love for Scripture.  This quote – a recent response to a question about his retirement – is vintage Sproul:

“I’ll retire when they pry my cold, dead fingers off of my Bible.”

I hope that’s not soon.  My boys hope to shake Uncle RC’s hand one day.  Maybe T4G 2020?

I met Josh when we were kids.  My dad pastored the church where his uncle served as the associate pastor.  During summer times, Josh’s family would come in town and he and I would play together, jumping prickly bushes in the front of the church building.  He also taught me how to do a front handspring and was my inspiration for a 12 week stint of gymnastics classes at the YMCA.

Little did I know back then that he would grow up to be such a godly leader and gifted communicator.

On the Next blog, I took a few moments to intro Joshua Harris.

Kevin DeYoung returns to the Next Conference.  I share some thoughts about why I’m glad to hear this.

A friend and co-blogger, Chris Campbell, introduces our very own C.J. Mahaney, who will also be speaking at the Next Conference in May 2010.  I can’t wait to be there.