One List Chicago Didn't Make it on...

Apparently, according to Richard Florida, Chicago didn't make it onto the list of America's Most Literate Cities.

However, according to GQ, Chicago is the best restaurant city of the US. Shouldn't Zagat or some other service like it determine that? Really, what weight does GQ hold in determining this?

Ride for a Penny on the CTA

Since at least 1999, the CTA has encouraged New Year's Eve revellers to take advantage of the "Ride for a Penny" program. Every 12/31 from 8pm (I believe) and into the wee hours of the New year morning, party goers get a super discounted "rate" to decrease the amount of work for city, county and state cops and to cut down on highway/road injuries and fatalities. Chicago has a lot wrong with many of its systems and institutions (CTA included), but this, imo, is a good move. There is a sense of justice and common sense (and grace!) about this action. So, even if you're not the type to bring in the New Year to the point of drunken stupor, go out and take advantage of a cheap bus or train fare.

Speaking of the CTA, they are raising their rates for the upcoming year. Check out the new rates. While some may contend that this is unjust, greedy or crooked, we've got to remember that service institutions such as the CTA have to pay bills as well. As a Chicagoan who rides the CTA everyday and sees how poorly some its employees get treated sometimes, I'm fine w/ the fare hike even though I'd rather have save the money. I love riding the CTA (and so does my son, too), and I'm fine with giving to "Caesar" what he is due.

Showdown in the 'Hood

As great as it is to live in the Logan Square neighborhood, like any other community, it has it share of problems. For the first time since we have lived here, we heard gunshots not too far from our home. Apparently, the cops and a high-ranking gang banger got into it.
Every night, we pray with our kids for the safety our home and our neighborhood. I know that the Chicago Police don't have the shiniest history, but I am grateful for them that God has comissioned them to protect us. Though both a detective and the criminal were both hit, neither of them suffered loss of life (to my knowledge).

Shepherds After God's Heart

I was encouraged recently by Abraham Piper to thank God publicly for my pastor. While I know that I can thank God for one, I must extend that out to four shepherds who have watched for my soul over the years in various capacities.

This is quite the motley band of shepherds, I know...

Dr. Mark Minnick was my pastor from 1996 to 2001. He pastors Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville, SC (yes, I was a Bob Jones student). This guy's pulpit rhetoric is a tour de force. He has mentored hundreds (if not thousands) of men from the pulpit on how to be a pulpiteer of the gospel. His rhetorical gifts are not to overshadow his sober, earnest Christian walk. When I think of a modern day example of someone for whom it means "to live is Christ", it's Mark Minnick. I had the special privilege to share several Lord's Day lunches with him and his family while in college and go on a English Reformation study tour with him in my grad school years while in Greenville. Minnick's second "love" is church history. Many of his sermon illustrations come from the history of the church. Minnick cared for my soul by preaching the beauty of the mystery of the gospel (listen to his long series on Romans and Ephesians).

Dr. Michael Barrett is an associate minister of Faith Free Presbyterian Church, President of and OT professor at Geneva Reformed Seminary (Greenville, SC). From 1994-2000, he was my esteemed professor of OT at BJU. OT Wisdom Books, Jeremiah/Ezekiel, OT Theology and other classes. Dr. Barrett was never formally my pastor, but he taught me the gospel. His passion for Christ in the OT and making sure his students got a grip on that was second to none. His fervor for Christ and loyalty to the Scriptures transcended "party lines". The gospel Barrett taught me helped loosen me from the bonds of a false understanding of the gospel. His teaching gave me solid footing for  my life. There is no debt I could pay Dr. Barrett except to carry on a legacy of being faithful to the Chief Shepherd. Thanks, Dr. Barrett. 

Though they would probably argue it, Minnick & Barrett, are two of the biggest reasons, providentially speaking, I am where I am today and think the way I do.

Dr. Dave Doran is the pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church (metro Detroit, MI) and the president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary where I finished my M.Div. Dave Doran "inherited" this sheep at a transition time of life (2003-2007). I had recently finished a short-term mission in a theological college in Mexico. I was a new father, poor and hungry to write long papers. Doran is a plodder for the truth and as one of my friends dubbed him a "Bible lawyer". His intellect, ability to reason and articulate complex truths shaped me. I would say his reasoning abilities are nearly impeccable, but I know that would both make him uncomfortable and be untrue. Two of my clearest recollections how Doran shepherded me was when he invited me and several other seminarians in the church to a series of breakfast discussions applying his then Sunday sermon series on Biblical discernment. That series still pervades my thinking. The other memory (and more personal) is when Rachel and I had just experienced the stillbirth of our second child, Nicolas. Dave & Claudia were among the first to our hospital room. I still am moved to think that this great thinker and defender of the faith is so human as to embrace and comfort the sorrowing people of his church. To sum it up... relentless biblicism is how Dave Doran stamped my life.

Finally, Jon Dennis, now the newly appointed senior pastor of Holy Trinity Church, Chicago, is my pastor, boss and fellow elder. Yes, Jon is the only one of these four that doesn't have a "Dr." before his name, but he's working on it. We were led into Jon's fold in the middle of last year. I have never been able to get as close to a pastor as I have with Jon. So far, one of Jon's noted  contributions to my life is his shepherding instinct. He is only 9 years older than me but has been in gospel ministry since his early 20's. Working with and listening to him talk about his passion to reach Chicago and his love for those of Holy Trinity Church is an example of the apostolic sort. I am living in the exemplary ministry of a man who is careful with the sheep God has given him. Pastor Dennis is a man of God, and the more I see him live in and out of the church, the more I see how big shoulders God has built on him.  To borrow some Driscoll lingo (who would have ever seen the same last names of pastors in the same post?!), Jon is an "ox" and quite the "dude." I look forward to continued service with him.

Culture, Contextualization and the Church

Last week, Rachel, the kids and I headed to Michigan to visit many dear friends. Rachel and I also attended the 2008 Mid-America Conference on Preaching sponsored by Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and hosted by Inter-City Baptist Church. The subject of the conference was "Culture, Contextualization and the Church." It was intriguing enough to me to return while also reconnecting w/ friends. It was a wonderful little conference. The sessions are for the most part intellectually stimulating and rigorously biblical. Subjects covered were methods of apostolic "contextualization," worldliness, contemporary challenges for biblical separatism amongst some others that really had nothing to do with the subject of the conference. For those who would like a "heady"interaction on a definition of culture, I would highly recommend Mark Snoeberger's session on "More Notes on a Definition of Culture." Mark is a careful (maybe fastidious) scholar. You will be challenged. Let me know what you think.

Figuring Out the Blogging Phenomenon

As I am trying to find myself in the blogosphere, I found a brilliant piece written by Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic's blog team. This guy's been blogging for over 7 years. Though I don't see the world through the same lens that Andrew does, I admire his journalism. I'll be sure to read him again.

Here are a couple noteworthy quotes from the article:

A blog, therefore, bobs on the surface of the ocean but has its anchorage in waters deeper than those print media is technologically able to exploit. It disempowers the writer to that extent, of course. The blogger can get away with less and afford fewer pretensions of authority. He is—more than any writer of the past—a node among other nodes, connected but unfinished without the links and the comments and the track-backs that make the blogosphere, at its best, a conversation, rather than a production.

The role of a blogger is not to defend against this [the scrutiny] but to embrace it. He is similar in this way to the host of a dinner party. He can provoke discussion or take a position, even passionately, but he also must create an atmosphere in which others want to participate.

Alone in front of a computer, at any moment, are two people: a blogger and a reader. The proximity is palpable, the moment human—whatever authority a blogger has is derived not from the institution he works for but from the humanness he conveys. This is writing with emotion not just under but always breaking through the surface. It renders a writer and a reader not just connected but linked in a visceral, personal way.

There are times, in fact, when a blogger feels less like a writer than an online disc jockey, mixing samples of tunes and generating new melodies through mashups while also making his own music. He is both artist and producer—and the beat always goes on.

Flubbed Cubs!

So ends our dreams and aspirations...
However, this video is just downright nice!

This-worldly vs. Other-worldly

Richard John Neuhaus explores this theme in a recent article over at First Things. I was hopeful that he would breathe some fresh insight into that debate. Alas, that did not happen. It, nevertheless, is a stimulating read.

Introducing this Blog...

The naturalization process for the blogdom is so easy. I have battled becoming a citizen here, but here I am. I should say, "Here we are." We don't know how long we'll be here. We're pilgrims anyway; it might not be long, and I won't feel bad.=+)

The "we"? That is, for now, my wife and I. Starting a blog can be tempting as a means to be popular w/ 15 people. If I invest my time into my blog for my audience of "15" and lose my own family, what shall it profit? That's why I intend for my wife to contribute to this occasionally. I can't do much w/out her, and having her on board will help enrich the content of this blog immensely.

We feel there is a little bit of room for some people to network in an online community who are: 1) considering a move to a big city and/or 2) longing to navigate the murky waters of culture Christianly (which implies discerningly).

People who don't know what they're getting into or what to expect when changing addresses need resources. More so, they need a community with which to identify. Those who are single need a family no matter how much independence they strive for in the metropolis. Those who are newlywed or married w/ children need someone with a history in that urban enclave. From finding out how to get your new driver's license, to learning particular pronunciations to commiting to a local church, the reality is: we need each other.

Though we are based in Chicago, we hope that the occasional posts on this blog will accomplish the purposes stated above no matter what city you live in. Ultimately, we hope that this will contribute to the growing "army" of families that move into the cities for the cause of Jesus. Let it be known that we hope never to convey a "chip on our shoulders" because we live in a big city.
Soli Deo Gloria!