Books I'm Reading

I've been trying to get back in the written word more, and now that Angela and I have finished watching the final season of Veronica Mars, we are spending less times watching pictures that talk at us. Now I'm relying on my imagination to paint pictures.

I recently finished the 700+ page Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. I got stuck in the middle for a while, but then it finished just in time to set it up for the final book that may or may not ever come. So now I've picked up the books below and I have several on deck. Below are the ones I'm currently going back and forth between.

unChristian is a fantastic book so far. It takes research done over several years by the Barna Group and shows us where Christians are getting it wrong when dealing with people outside of the church and dealing between generations within the church. In addition, the authors use plenty of scripture to back it up. If you're wondering whether door-knocking and pamphlet-giving works, checkout this book.



Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter offers insight into the favorite president of many, including myself. In addition, it offers proof that the vampire craze isn't something new -- it's been around for at least 8 score and 5 years.






The Strategy-Focused Organization doesn't have "pictures", but it does offer plenty of graphs and charts, which are a lot like pictures. I'm reading this one to get a better understanding of the role strategy plays in organizations, especially cutting-edge ones like Central Dallas Ministries.





Good to Great is another book on understanding how to improve organizations. I like this one a lot.

Peace, Hope . . . Justin?

I have a t-shirt from Pepperdine that I like a lot. It's from MLK Day 2003. At Pepperdine, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a Day of Peace, Hope, and Justice. On the t-shirt it says "Peace", "Hope", and "Justice" in small white letters. When I wear it, people always say, "Whoa, you got your name on your shirt? That's . . . Oh, wait. It says, 'Justice'."

"Justice" ain't what it used to be. Just like "Hope" and "Change", people are now rallying around this phrase "Social Justice". I drove by a church yesterday that had the phrase on a yard sign to try and bring people in. We are in danger of turning that phrase into a broad meaningless void that really doesn't mean anything.

One thing we all know, however, is that it is a liberal phrase. Glenn Beck told us that. People hear "social" and think socialism. "Social intercourse" for many people now means an orgy while reading quotes from Marx. Many people who trend toward conservative viewpoints hear "social justice" and think, "Oh, great. Another handout for people who are lazy."

I want to share a story. It's a story most of us know, but we may not think about it as a story of social justice. We usually hear it as a story of grace and loving one another. You know what, that's what social justice is. Here it is:

There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.'

(Luke 10:30-35, The Message)

Would it change the story it it was a rich man traveling? A poor man traveling? The Samaritan -- the bad guy to the Jews -- gave the man a handout. He didn't force the man to become an indentured servant of his to repay the loan. He didn't force him to go to education classes to learn how to avoid being robbed when traveling on the highway. The Samaritan showed the man mercy when other "godly" people wouldn't. And he simply loved the man.

That is what Social Justice is. And that is 100% liberal. It's also 100% of what we are called to do. As Brent Clifton pointed out recently on this blog: "When will we learn the simplicity of 'Love the Lord thy God; and Love your neighbor as yourself; upon these, all the law and the prophets are built'" (Matthew 22:37-40).

We are not called to worry about what they are going to do with "our" hard-earned money they get as a handout. We are simply called to

To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8. Go and do likewise.

Hippy, Hipster, or Helpful

I bought a pair of Toms shoes during our tax free weekend. I like how they feel like moccasins. Then I started to think about how they looked kind of like shoes a hippy would wear. And then I thought about how hippies used to wear moccasins. But I thought, I shower and dress too nice to be a hippy. Does that make me a hipster? Finally, I came to the conclusion that I was helping by wearing my Toms. I was helping first and foremost children in other countries who don't have the luxury of affording shoes of such quality. Second, I was helping my feet by having comfortable shoes.

Plus, they aren't too casual to where to work when I wear jeans. And that can't be bad, right?

Church Changes

Below I have included some thoughts from John Calvin. Last Sunday, Randy Gill spoke at our church about how worship has changed over the last 2000 years. He used this quote to show that the changes that have taken place are not as serious as every generation seems to think.

I will take it a step further on an issue that is close to my heart: women's role in the church. The church is one of the last areas reaching toward equality even though Jesus was radical in his treatment of women, the church of the 20th and 21st century has been the last place to treat women equally. Here are Calvin's words:

By this one example we may judge what opinion we should have of this whole class. I mean that the Lord has in his sacred oracles faithfully embraced and clearly expressed both the whole sum of true righteousness, and all aspects of the worship of his majesty, and whatever was necessary to salvation; therefore, in these the Master alone is to be heard. But because he did not will in outward discipline and ceremonies to prescribe in detail what we ought to do (because he foresaw that this depended upon the state of the times, and he did not deem one form suitable for all ages), here we must take refuge in those general rules which he has given, that whatever the necessity of the church will require for order and decorum should be tested against these. Lastly, because he has taught nothing specifically, and because these things are not necessary to salvation, and for the upbuilding of the church ought to be variously accommodated to the customs of each nation and age, it will be fitting (as the advantage of the church will require) to change and abrogate traditional practices and to establish new ones. Indeed, I admit that we ought not to charge into innovation rashly, suddenly, for insufficient cause. But love will best judge what may hurt or edify; and if we let love be our guide, all will be safe.

It's not about women; it's about the fact that what seemed right yesterday may not be right today, and tomorrow, who knows. There's something to think about. Comments are always welcome.

Mexico Needs Our Help

That such a proud and troubled country has been struggling and hurting for so long is a verguenza that should burn in every North American's heart. Now the country that is closer to us in history and culture and geography than all others but one is in the midst of being crushed by a dark hand from within. I just read an article by The Wall Street Journal called "Mexico Under Siege". It's no longer just a poor area or border area issue; all of Mexico is at risk.

I do not understand how we have let this happen. Did our government think NAFTA was all we needed to solve emigration and poverty in Mexico? If it did, I think we can safely move past that misguided effort into the war that sits a few feet away from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

We have heard so much about protecting our borders. But you can't treat the symptom without fighting the illness. Immigrants come to the United States illegally, and we hate them for it. But if they stay they could end up being added to the more than 28,000 who have been murdered since 2006.

Immigration reform will not be successful until we help our neighbor. We will not win the war on drugs until we help our neighbor. I know we're not a Christian nation, but now is the time to find a solution beyond capitalism. I do not know what the answer is. There are many problems in Mexico and not enough solutions. But we have to try, because Mexico needs our help.

Where My Vampires At?

I like vampire stuff. But this is kind of ridiculous. I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer (tv series more than movie) and Angel, but that stuff was deep and more about growing into an adult and the battles that face us through that process. I was also a big fan of The Monster Squad, but that was more about awesome teenagers than monsters. People are going crazy of the Twilight saga. It's like Lady Gaga in a book series.

However, as a response to the craze, some great things have come out of it. We have the new movie Vampires Suck hitting theaters, and probably the best thing to come out of this is this music video parody of "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy & Bruno Mars.

This video is amazing.



Thank you, Darnell, Alan, Alec, and the rest of the McBeard Media team. It's stuff like this that makes pop culture less annoying and more hilarious.

Foodies: Angela and Me

I don't like to say we're "food snobs". I prefer the term "foodies".

Friday night, Angela and I went to one of our favorite restaurants: Fireside Pies. It's not your typical pizza pie, and for the price they charge it better not be. It was another dinner where Angela and I failed to eat vegetarian, but it was worth it. Laura Currey -- again showing how well she knows Angela and me -- called us "food snobs". We copped up to it, but, thinking about it, the term "foodie" suits us much better. A "foodie" by my definition is one who is very picky about the food he or she ingests. A foodie isn't picky like a child because foodies love all kinds of food. The difference is that a foodie hates food that is poorly made or made of poor quality.

Sometimes it's mental. For example, we avoid high fructose corn syrup like it's the plague. The Dublin Dr. Pepper made with pure can sugar, to me, tastes better than the high fructose corn syrup version. I think it has a cleaner aftertaste. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm crazy. Either way, I wrote a letter to Blue Bell Homemade Ice Cream suggesting that they do the same thing as Snapple by making a "natural" version of their ice cream. Unfortunately, they responded very defensively with a letter and articles about how high fructose corn syrup is the same as real sugar. Of course, both articles were funded by the corn industry.

Whatever we eat, we try to make sure it is good when it hits our tongue as well as when it is sitting in our bellies. Nobody likes the I-knew-I-shouldn't've-eaten-that feeling. When Angela and I do our budget, we know that we will spend more than Larry Burkett recommends on food, but we want the good stuff. As people who try to be vegans with a sprinkle of cheese (but who still love the taste of meat too much), we want to spend more up front rather than in the long run on our health care costs.

As a result, we feel like we are encouraging others to stand up and say cheap food is not worth the price you pay. We want to taste our food, feel good about it, and make sure the future has plenty of good food left.

I always feel like I should leave a challenge for the reader in the blog. I guess my challenge this time is for you to stay away from the cheapest, fastest food (i.e., McD's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc.). If you want something quick, take a step up a level: Go to In-N-Out, Chipotle, Which Wich. I'm not telling you to give it up (even though we should). I just want you to do as Which Wich said in the email they sent to me: "Eating healthy at[a place with good food] is like doing pilates for your tongue."