overheard…

when nicholas kristoff of that dirty, liberal, communist organ otherwise known at the new york times was asked “what are some ways that christians in america can encourage the growth of christianity in china?” he responded in part by suggesting that:

“Christians shouldn't only speak up on behalf of Christians who are tortured. Falun Gong is bearing the biggest brunt of religious repression in China. It behooves the American evangelical community to speak up when Falun Gong believers are tortured or their children taken away.”

i thought this response was brilliant insofar as it both challenges christians to effectively incarnate the love of Christ and provides an intriguing road forward for the christian mission throughout the world. concerning the latter, i think that the members of falun gong would find christian advocacy much more persuasive than an effective evangecube presentation.

you can read the rest of the article by clicking here.

willing to work and/or completely whore myself for...



for the past two weeks my allergies and sinuses have been killing me. at first i cranked myself up on sudafed and it worked for a season. then i added the walgreen's brand of claritin to my cocktail and it carried me along for a few more days. but sometime yesterday morning my cocktail simply stopped working, leaving me phlegm filled and completely miserable. fortunately at that point my co-worker jacque stepped in with a hit of benadryl and ever since the sudafed/claritin/benadryl cocktail i've been imbibing has left me feeling fine and flying high.

man i love drugs. love them.

i'm not a smart man, but i know what a good post is*

last week uncle cade threw down his top 100 favorite pop songs on his blog. these posts were filled with wit, musical insight and one too many references to the scissor sisters. considering the genre, i can think of no higher compliment than to say that it was truly "hornby-esque." good work roomie.

today josh brown posted eugene peterson's stinging, prophetic indictment of the american pastorate. those of us churchmen and women who have grown cold to the Word of God, set aside proper adoration of the Lord to focus on the attraction of men and have tended to value success above obedience to Christ need to soberly consider this piece.

apparently lowery land has once again vanished from the blogosphere. raise your hand if you are surprised and cajole the loweries to write again if you see them.

i mentioned chad ragsdale's thoughts about a proper emphasis on the great commission yesterday, but it's so damn intriguing that i would like to mention it again today. if i read rags correctly, his central premise is that the great commission is more properly considered the result of a community that is following Jesus rather than the sole purpose of those communities' existence. i think he's really onto something there, but i'll let you read and think about it for yourself.

finally, mr. mayor took some time out to visit sinners and saints last week and he has some really nice things to say about his experience. i mention this not to puff us up, but because seeing the community through his eyes has helped build me up.

damn i have smart friends, and i'm thankful for every one of them.

* my own posts excluded.

mid-morning time waster

this morning, i began to think about experiences that appeared inconsequential at the time, but ended up being incredibly significant. if not for these unexpectedly significant experiences, i fear i would be a far different man.

1. in the summer of 1999 on a sun-drenched highway somewhere between florence and naples, trent seggelke introduced me to the pilot g2, 07 point, black pen. up until that point i had been a devotee of the uniball vision, medium point, black pen, but i often felt guilty for serving the uniball, since it did not feature a refillable cartridge and so contributed to extraneous post-consumer waste. now, thanks to trent, i have spent seven years devoted to the g2, which features a variety of vivid colors, a refillable cartridge and a luxurious, gently ridged non-stick grip. since that moment on the tour bus, life has not been the same.

2. in the late spring of 1994 kristi salter, a girl who had attempted to seduce me as a freshman, only to be rebuffed, and later turned into the girl who everyone said would give it up but didn’t,* finally convinced me to purchase a pair of black, eight eyelet, doc martin boots. although i had originally ridiculed these boots and made vague, unfunny jokes about the institutionalized futures of those who sported such orthopedic wares, i immediately fell in love with my docs, which i have beat to hell over the years but continue to wear.

3. sometime in late august of 2006 the pixie finally convinced me that irrigating one’s sinuses with salt water is an effective remedy for sinus infections. although immersing one’s sinuses with salt water is nowhere near as pleasurable as the salt water enema, the former practice is essential for those who struggle with allergies throughout new england’s most famous of seasons.

i could also write about the moment that my friend scott introduced me to bottle rocket and thus began my infatuation with the skilled, sexy wes anderson or the first time that miah began to expand my ecclesiology by talking about home churches, but i need to “get my big girl panties on” and get back to work.

feel free to share your seemingly inconsequential, but ultimately significant experiences below.

* praise ye the Lord.

musing…

“follow me,” he commanded.

not: build my church, do what you love or fulfill your former professor’s expectations. just “follow me.”

so i try to follow and forgo my lust for success. i constantly tell myself that God doesn’t demand success and Jesus only expects obedience, while also realizing that i am bereft of both.

still the call remains, “follow me.”

i cringe every time i hear that call for i realize that responding to it might mean that i have to continue enduring 40 hours of meaninglessness in order to walk forward with this little band of disciples in beverly. furthermore, i loathe the idea of setting such a mediocre professional example, and providing so incompletely, for my child.

but i cannot escape the call: “follow me.”

so i’m going to follow...stumbling, cursing and grinding all the way. i’m going to continue learning how to uncover and celebrate the imago dei in my coworkers and i’m going to learn all that a slave of Christ can learn from 40 hours in customer service. i’m going to risk being vulnerable with my brothers and sisters so that we can share this struggle. i’m going to soak up the sermon on the mount and try to embody Jesus’ commandments in even the most mundane moments of my life in hopes that along the way i can encourage my brothers and sisters and call a few others to the life of Jesus.

“follow me.” i suppose that submitting to this command is enough. at least i believe that in my head. Spirit, i will rely upon you to transform my heart.


if you have a moment, check out what my buddy rags has to say about the great commission. chad’s one sharp cookie* and he has good things to say.


* whatever the hell that means.

i lied



the cool kids decided that redeeming applebees is not a part of God's sovereign plan. for this reason, the boston cohort will be meeting at the boston beerworks (fenway location) instead. this beerworks location is right across the street from fenway park. you can locate it by putting 61 brookline ave., boston, 02215 into google maps and following the directions or by jumping off the greenline at kenmore square and walking towards fenway. i think that the latter option is preferable, but, as the selection of a new location suggest, my opinion doesn't matter all that much.

if you have questions about the meet, feel free to contact me at gentry13@gmail.com.