Jonathan Storment’s Christian View of Work & Some Free Audio

Jonathan Storment’s post “God at Work: Mission Work” is something you guys should go and read. He has some really great reflections on the theology of work and retirement. Here is an excerpt,

It’s interesting that the Bible doesn’t have this idea of retirement. Instead the Bible has the idea of Sabbath. That is you don’t just work yourself to death until you turn 65. You work with the pace of someone who knows they aren’t the Savior and creator of the world. You rest for a season and then work for a season. But you never just decide to not work again.

In fact, the closest thing in the Bible that would resemble what we call retirement is death.

Which tends to stop most people from working.

Tim Keller points out in his book, “Every Good Endeavor” that if you ask most people in nursing homes how they are doing, they will report that they miss having someway of feeling useful to others. They miss work.

The Tim Keller book he references, Every Good Endeavor, is an excellent resource on how Christians should view work. I reviewed it here, if you want more information on it.

Also, Wes Woodell has posted up free audio of their retreat this past weekend. I wish more workshops and retreats would take up Wes,  Campus Ministry United, and the Tulsa Workshop’s practice of sharing free audio.

Third – Robert McClanahan’s post in New Wineskins on Violence entitled, “The Answer is Simple“. I think he pretty well nails it on guns, violence, evil and the solution.

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Francis Chan and Churches of Christ/Restoration Movement Influence?

Many of you have probably heard that Francis Chan is going to keynote at the Tulsa Workshop in 2013. When Terry Rush broke the news back in April he mentioned Chan’s connection with Wes Woodell helped work out the speaking arrangement. I am really excited that all this is working out and I think that will be a big plus for Tulsa next year. I don’t know Francis Chan but I have heard and read a lot of what he has to say. What I really like about Francis Chan is that he says so many biblical things and so many challenging things…the best part is he is usually doing both at the same time. He doesn’t challenge you just to challenge you and isn’t biblical for the sake of just being biblical. He is trying to move people’s hearts closer to God. I admire that.

If you have listened to his preaching you have probably noticed that Francis Chan says things that of us who have grown up in Churches of Christ find really familiar. He is very plain about wanting scripture to shape and guide our faith, worship/ecclesiology, theology, and mission. He often makes the point that if we just read our Bibles from the most non-biased perspective possible is all of this (church world) what we would come up with? That is a question we all need to ask ourselves. When I hear him say things like that it all it reminds me of our own traditional hermeneutics in the Churches of Christ.

About a week ago I noticed Wes had tweeted something about having lunch with Francis Chan before moving from California so I asked Wes how familiar Chan was with the Restoration Movement. Wes said that Chan actually did attend a church with Restoration roots while in seminary in Los Angeles for 6 months. My first thought was that my intuition was correct…he surely has some Restoration Movement influence in some of the things I have heard him say. Honestly, as interesting as I find that connection is, who knows if that is the case. Maybe he was attracted to that based on some of his own prior theological leanings and interpretations. What is most important is not who inspired who but that Francis Chan is in love with Jesus Christ and is helping others gain a more biblical worldview through his preaching and teaching. That is a God thing that transcends the labels we often like to put on things. Praise God for that!

Wes Posted Free Audio from the Sunshine State Experience

I have been out of commission for the past few days with the flu. Feeling a little more back to normal today, which is a great feeling! I wanted to point you to some audio over at Wes Woodell’s blog. It is from the 2010 Sunshine State experience, a college retreat held in central Florida each spring. I have the utmost respect for Buddy Bell (who preaches at the Landmark Church of Christ in Montgomery, AL) and Wes Woodell. That is why I am pointing you to Wes’ blog and the uploads he recently posted. I usually try to go to this but was unable to make it this year. Here is the link for the audio.

Free Audio from Campus Ministry United

Wes just informed me that the CMU website has just been updated and that the latest audio from the recent campus ministry workshop at Harding University has been posted. These lessons are free to download but that doesn’t mean they are subpar. There are some pretty heavy hitters in the Church of Christ.

1. Wes Woodell – “2009 Workshop Kickoff & Planter Interviews” (31:09) (Scriptures & Interview PowerPoint)
2. Anthony Wood – “How Evangelism to the Poor Can Equal Evangelism to Your Campus pt. 1″ (59:42)
3. Anthony Wood – “How Evangelism to the Poor Can Equal Evangelism to Your Campus pt. 2″ (36:16)
4. Kerry Cox – “Curriculum Planning Mini-Workshop pt. 1″ (51:18)
5. Kerry Cox – “Curriculum Planning Mini-Workshop pt. 2″ (32:33)
6. Buddy Bell – “Displaying Strange Behavior: The Value of a Holy Life” (55:12)
7. David Weidner – “Men’s Session: Real Sexual Purity in Campus Ministry pt. 1″ (63:44) ( David’s Purity pt. 1-4 PowerPoint)
8. David Weidner – “Men’s Session: Real Sexual Purity in Campus Ministry pt. 2″ (61:29)
9. David Weidner – “Men’s Session: Real Sexual Purity in Campus Ministry pt. 3″ (61:33)
10. David Weidner – “Men’s Session: Real Sexual Purity in Campus Ministry pt. 4″ (68:06)
11. Robin Weidner – “Women’s Session: Staying Secure & Sexually Pure In Your Campus Ministry pt. 1″ (41:07) (Robin’s Purity pt. 1-3 PowerPoint; Full Class Notes )
12. Robin Weidner – “Women’s Session: Staying Secure & Sexually Pure In Your Campus Ministry pt. 2″ (41:47)
13. Robin Weidner – “Women’s Session: Staying Secure & Sexually Pure In Your Campus Ministry pt. 3″ (24:15)
14. Buddy Bell – “Effective Small Groups In Campus Ministries pt. 1″ (56:07) (Effective Small Groups Class Notes )
15. Buddy Bell – “Effective Small Groups In Campus Ministries pt. 2″ (46:14)
16. Wes Woodell & Marvin Crowson – “Fundraising: Seven Principles Behind Effective Fundraising for Ministry Planters” (36:41) (Fundraising Class Notes Outling 7 Principles; Example Fundraising DVD; Example Fundraising PowerPoint; Sample Fundraising Info Packet )
17. Wes Woodell & Marvin Crowson – “Fundraising: Group Discussion on Fundraising for Smaller Events” (34:00)
18. Kerry Cox – “Communicating a Strange Idea: Sharing the Gospel with Strangers” (52:19)
19. Rita Cox – “Women’s Session: Ladies Leading In Campus Ministry pt. 1″ (48:16)
20. Hannah Cox – “Women’s Session: Ladies Leading In Campus Ministry pt. 2″ (51:53)
21. Seth Simmons – “Strange Behavior: Spiritual Disciplines pt. 1″ (67:13) (Spiritual Disciplines PowerPoint )
22. Seth Simmons – “Strange Behavior: Spiritual Disciplines pt. 2″ (69:43)
23. Gary Lambrecht & Lynn Stringfellow – “Healthy Elder/Campus Minister Relationships pt. 1″ (71:51) (Connection PowerPoint )
24. Gary Lambrecht & Lynn Stringfellow – “Healthy Elder/Campus Minister Relationships pt. 2″ (57:13)
25. Lynn Stringfellow – “Strange Criticism: Responding to Criticism & Persecution” (47:57)
26. Robert Cox – “Avoid Strange Teaching: Clear Doctrine in an Unclear World” (39:57)

Wes Woodell on Becoming More Evangelistic

I thought these thoughts from Wes were very practical and helpful. I hope you will take a look and share these with other who might benefit from them. Here is the link.