Three things I’ve come across recently in other blogs seem worth repeating. Each evokes its own emotion, which makes me consider which order is best to list them here. I think I want to end with the serious one, because I hope that you think about that the longest. I’ll start with the funny one because I don’t think it would follow the sad one so well. And the sad isn’t truly, deeply sad, but it’s not happy for one who has devoted his life (so far) to the very opposite notion.
Funny: My friend Geoff links to this video on youtube called “Baptism Cannonball.” 1.5 minutes long.
Sad: My friend Micah has posted a audio clip in which John Piper says (in 1999) that he has no desire to visit Israel. I’m not afraid to wrestle in the meta.
Serious: Justin Taylor points to this article on the consistently repugnant behavior of Christians at restaurants. Read, be convicted, and stop doing it. If only as many Christians would read this story as read about Mr. Haggard. And my guess is that this sort of thing has done more harm to Christian testimony than Mr. Haggard ever could.
My wife waited tables for a few years to get through college (in the South) and had this same experience. She said “tracts” were often left in the tip tray in the place of a tip. Unbelievable. . .
I think that Piper rightfully puts very little stock in sensationalistic religious experiences, which is often how Israel tours are advertised and viewed. The difference with IBEX is that the focus is on learning the land, history, background, culture, and content of the Bible in order to prepare young Christians for lives of fruitful ministry. Piper is probably not talking as much about Israel trips that have this kind of perspective. I found it interesting that he doesn’t know exactly why he doesn’t have a desire to visit Israel since he almost always has well-thought-out reasons for his perspectives.
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