Jeff Noble's Blog, page 55

Full circle with a “straw cake”

One of my favorite things about spending time with my grandparents in Hamburg, Arkansas was what came out of Opal Noble’s oven. Opal was my grandmother, and she could cook. Meals with them in south Arkansas tended to be big, low on health consciousness, but high on taste.

Lunch was always the biggest meal. Supper was leftovers (which were left on top of the stove all day for those of us who liked to graze). D.B. (“Daddy Buck”) was my grandfather, and he always had one menu item for supper: a mug of milk with cornbread crimped into it.

The pièce de résistance of Opal’s culinary skills was something that she made sure was always under the dome when I arrived – her coconut cake. We kids called it the “straw cake,” and it was undoubtedly similar to angelic manna.

Tonight, my life cycle turned full circle as my daughter made a coconut cake from scratch. Opal went to be with Jesus on June 11, 2004, but as the smells of Adelyn’s cake wafted throughout the house, and we poured glasses of milk, I knew Opal was smiling. And I think Jesus’ mouth was watering.

Here’s to simple pleasures, fond memories and straw cake.

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10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #7

I hope you’re enjoying the series. There are links below to the first three books. Today’s book is one that I know most of you won’t read. However, it’s one you really should. As a Christian, put it on your bucket list of books. Save it for a good, long winter read.

7. Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History

I began reading this book in the winter of 2011-2012. I’ve been chewing through its 428 pages (excluding endnotes) until recently.

Eusebius is one of the early church leaders. He was the bishop of the church in Caesarea about 314 a.d., and he composed his history of the first three centuries (since the ascension of Christ) by using letters, documents and records that existed during his day. As a result, we have a rich, deep record of the life and times of Christianity in its first 300 years in this book.

It’s fascinating. It’s inspiring. It’s compelling.

The book is divided into 10 books, which Eusebius delineated and published separately. It also includes his The Book of the Martyrs. The only addition not by Eusebius is an examination into the proceedings of the Council of Nicea in 325 a.d. by Isaac Boyle which is helpful for understanding the context of the early third century of Christianity.

Here are a few things I am taking away from the book:

When Christians are persecuted, their faith is refined and the church grows in spiritual power.
The persecution of Christians -whether overt murder and physical or political and systemic threats- may be a form of judgement on a church that is drifting towards complacency and compromise with culture.
When the church is in relative peace, its leaders are distracted and often have time to fight against one another.

By reason of excessive liberty, we sank into negligence and sloth, one [Christian leader] envying and reviling another in different ways; we were almost on the point of taking up arms against each other, assailing each other with words as darts and spears, prelates inveighing against prelates, and people risng up against people, and hypocrisy and dissimulation had arisen to the greatest height of malignity. Then the divine judgment, which usually proceeds with a lenient hand, while the multitudes were yet crowding into the church, began to afflict the episcopacy with gentle and mild visitations… But, as if destitute of all sensibility, we were not prompt in measures to appease and propitiate the Deity… Some that appeared to be our pastors deserting the law of piety, were inflamed against each other with mutual strifes, only accumulating quarrels and threats, rivalry, hostility and hatred to each other, only anxious to assert the government as a kind of sovereignty for themselves. (Book 8, Chap 1, p280)

When divergent doctrines emerge in the church, it’s vitally important that church leaders address them in a spirit of love, but with a view to determining truth, according to the scriptures.
The church fathers were deeply intent on making real disciples, and the processes they embraced to do so should challenge us to rethink the modern church’s approach to discipleship.
Evil is not original. I was struck by the actions of some of the Roman Empire’s emperors and how similar they are to some of today’s political leaders.

One example is the emperor Licinius (co-regent with Constantine) who betrayed Constantine and was ultimately defeated. He began persecuting Christians in the following way:

Why should we, moreover, recount his innovations in marriage or his novelies in regard to the dying? By means of these, he dared to restrict the ancient and wisely established institutions of the Romans and to introduce as a substitute certain barbarous, savage, unlawful, and truly lawless laws. He also invented innumerable pretexts of exaction [taxation] against the people subject to him and every variety of method to extort silver and gold, new measurements of lands, and means of gain by way of penalty from those in the country who were no longer living but had long since died. [italics mine] (Boox 10, Chap 8, p380)

The following was said of the downfall of emperor Maximinus (one of the principal emperors who fostered persecution against Christians):

Unable to sustain the magnitude of the government so undeservedly conferred upon him in consequence of his own incapacity and deficiency in the qualities of a prudent and imperial mind, he administered his affairs in a foolish and disreputable manner. (Book 9,  Chap 10, p347)

I recognize that not everyone will run to pick this book up, but if you really are interested in church history (there’s so much to learn and be inspired from the great saints of old!), I’d encourage you to consider:

Christian History magazine/website
Tim Challies article about church history books – both surveys and in-depth

What other sources – podcasts, web, etc., would you recommend about church history?

 

Also in 10 Books You’ve Never Heard Of

Want to add some books to your reading list that you may not hear about elsewhere? Jeff offers you 10 great books you need to read that you probably haven't heard of.

10 Recommended Books (that you may not have heard of) #10


10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #9


10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #8

10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #7

View the entire series.

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Many thanks to Northstar Church in our first five years

This past Sunday, the people of Northstar Church surprised us with a treat in recognition of our five year anniversary with them. They presented a basket-full of thank you notes, goodies, and some of Carolyn’s and my favorite things (Texas Road House, movie passes), as well as some generous gift cards. We have been so overjoyed and grateful to serve among this people in the mountains of southwest Virginia the past five years.

This is the video they put together for the occasion.

If you’d like to see more of where some of these clips came from, check out the Northstar YouTube channel.

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Ode to fantasy football

This post is repost from the entry I wrote for Aaron Peck’s blog over at carpdime.com. The assignment was to write about “one experience you’ve had that helped shape the person you are today.”

There are so many angles I could go on this, but I think I’ll choose the most profound, fulfilling and friendship-begetting activity known to man: fantasy football.

Aaron probably had no idea who he was asking to write on his blog, but in the fantasy football world, I’m kinda a big deal. You see, I’ve been playing fantasy football since 1992. That’s right, you whipper snappers! That’s 22 years of experience. Those of you who think you’re a baller just because you drafted Robert Griffin III? Consider this. I drafted Bret Favre as a rookie in 1993. Boom.

So here’s how I got involved.. I had just gotten married in May 1992 and started as a youth intern at First Baptist Church of Garland, Texas. I had been a seminary student for a year already in a four year program in Fort Worth. The youth minister was a friend and now my boss – Kevin Wieser – and he invited me to fill a vacancy in his league mid-season. So the 1993 season was the first time I participated in a draft.

Here’s my roster, for those of you who are NFL fans:

QUARTERBACKS

• Chris Miller, Falcons

• Brett Favre, Packers

• Jim McMahon, Eagles

RUNNING BACKS

• Christian Okoye, Chiefs

• Ronnie Harmon, Chargers

• Kevin Mack, Browns

• Heath Sherman, Eagles

• Darrell Thompson, Packers

• Jerome Bettis

• Natrone Means

• Marvin Jones

WIDE RECEIVERS

• Keith Jackson, Dolphins

• Webster Slaughter, Oilers

• Mark Duper, Dolphins

• Mark Jackson, Giants

• Don Beebe, Bills

• Sterling Sharpe, Packers

• Tommy Kane, Seahawks

KICKERS

• Lin Elliot, Cowboys

DEFENSE

• Steelers

• Bills

• Packers

At any rate, those were the glory days of fantasy football. There weren’t magazines about it, nor were there TV shows. When I told people I played fantasy football, I quickly had to explain that it wasn’t raunchy or porn-related. Apparently the word “fantasy” conjured up all kinds of sordid thoughts among my Baptist friends.

Our “commissioner” was in California. He ran what we figured out was a pretty profitable enterprise. We’d send him $30, and he’d send us – in the mail – our weekly results and reports. We had to drop our starting lineups in the mail on a Tuesday in order for them to arrive in time. As a rookie coach, I remember the snickers on our live draft conference call when I drafted Marvin Jones (the top draft pick that year.. unfortunately, he was a defensive player). The commissioner – probably as a joke – still put him on my roster, and I had to endure snide comments for several drafts after that.

Monday morning almost always found me with a copy of the sports page of the Dallas Morning News, poring over the boxscores, and adding up my team and my opponent’s team scores. I’d repeat the process for a close game on Tuesday morning, to get the Monday Night Football game boxscore. Occasionally, I’d celebrate for a couple of days prematurely, only to find out when the official reports came in that I’d miscalculated and actually lost.

Those were the days before internet, and I remember spending a lot of time during the season, actually on the phone with other owners, trying to manipulate, cajole and coerce them into making trades in a way that would benefit my upstart team.

Kevin and I were pretty competitive. We both kept notebooks of our teams, stats, and research. In a particularly weak moment one hot fall in Dallas, I remember he caught me with my hand in the trunk. I knew he kept his notebook in the trunk of his car, and when he ran in to the church to grab something, I popped the hood, jumped out of the car, and was in process of stealing trade secrets when he reappeared sooner than I accounted for. I fumbled around for an excuse, but no hail mary materialized to save my honor.

What has fantasy football done for me over the years? It’s kept a group of long-time friends together in leagues who now live across the country. It’s provided hours of enjoyment, taunting, and Sunday afternoon TV intrigue. It’s made me knowledgeable of players across the league. It’s also given me fodder for conversations with an increasing amount of guys over the years that I would have nothing in common with otherwise.

These days, it seems everyone is in a fantasy football league. Even gals have fallen in love with it, although 22 years ago, they were calling us sports nerds. One of the greatest joys has been the last several years when my son got in a league with me and fell in love with it. He actually won our league last year.

I was surprised to discover a hobby that I enjoy so much out of the blue. I’ve won several Super Bowls over the year (three in a row during one remarkable stretch). There have also been some not-so-proud moments.

I’ll confess there have been some lazy mental moments in church on a Sunday where my mind has drifted to wondering whether I should change my lineup (and a few occasions where I actually did via my iPhone). To a group of college guys, I’ve even shamelessly compared my careful study of players in preparation for a fantasy draft to the preparation of Jesus in selecting His disciples, in a weak attempt to be relevant. Then there was the time Kevin figured out my login password (after we went high tech) and changed the score of my Super Bowl game, giving me a loss. I was devastated and moped around the house for 30 minutes until I realized that the scores had been tampered with.

This probably wasn’t the post most would expect. I’d be happy to give it another shot, and I have blogged about my story here. However, fantasy football has been a part of my life for a long time, and it’s definitely helped shape who I am today. By the way, it’s about that time for fall prep!

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10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #8

I *think* it was David James, my former supervisor with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention that recommended Rising Tide to me several years ago. If it wasn’t him, I’ve forgotten, but if it was you, please feel free to claim the honors in the comments below.

John Barry’s epic narrative of “The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America” remains one of my favorite books of all time. It’s hard to drive through the Delta of Arkansas, Mississippi or Louisiana not think about what could have been if that flood hadn’t happened. The flood was so bad that it changed the course of the Mississippi River. It was so bad that you could get in a boat in Little Rock and motor almost directly to Birmingham.

You’ll be intrigued to learn that it was the 1927 flood which actually paved the way for America to become a welfare state. The dynamics and conflicting strategies of actually managing rivers – though it may sound sleeperesque – are compelling when paired with the colorful personalities that Barry describes in the book. When you add midnight boat rides full of dynamite into the mix, you really have a book that only lacks zombies for plot twists.

Several years ago, Carolyn and I drove through several Delta towns with my mom and dad (post here):

We went to Arkansas City, which at one point in Arkansas history was destined to be a significant economic and agricultural center of the state. That was until the great flood of 1927 essentially wiped it off the map. Honors passed to its across-the-river neighbor, Greenville, MS, and the town never recovered. A great book on this is John Barry’s Rising Tide.

If this becomes your next book, let me know! I’d love to hear that I’ve influenced another Rising Tide fan. I’ve given the book as a gift and recommended it constantly over the years. It’s the kind of writing that makes one a lover of history.

Also in 10 Books You’ve Never Heard Of

Want to add some books to your reading list that you may not hear about elsewhere? Jeff offers you 10 great books you need to read that you probably haven't heard of.

10 Recommended Books (that you may not have heard of) #10


10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #9

10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #8

View the entire series.

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10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #9

 

You can find anyone’s “My Top 10 Most Favoritest-Meaningful-Make-Me-Float-Like-A-Butterfly” book list online today. When challenged a while back to come up with a list of books that I’d recommend, I thought I’d offer a list that I don’t think you’ll get elsewhere:

9. The Gauntlet by James Street

Here’s one that I can almost guarantee 99.8% of you haven’t heard about. When I was a youth minister in Tolar, Texas in 1991-92, I was told about this book by my pastor Milton Perry.

It was written in 1945, and though out of print, you can still get it used here on Amazon or you can look for it on other book sites.

Street was a journalist who became a Baptist minister (even attending the same seminary as I did) who apparently grew disenchanted with local church ministry and returned to journalism.

The Gauntlet is a masterful and sublime description of ministry life. If you want to know some of the things that your pastor goes through, pick up this divinely enchanting book.

The story follows seminary student London Wingo and his wife Kathie from Texas as they accept a position at the Linden Baptist Church in southern Missouri. This is London’s first preaching position. He is welcomed by the retiring minister Honeycutt who sees great potential in the young man.

It’s not long before unspoken expectations begin to surface and cause tension between London and his wife Kathie as well as with the young couple and various members of the church as they struggle to serve God amidst a congregation of very real and imperfect people. Street’s tale is on-the-mark when it comes to inner spiritual struggles, fears, and pride that most ministers face.

Also in 10 Books You’ve Never Heard Of

Want to add some books to your reading list that you may not hear about elsewhere? Jeff offers you 10 great books you need to read that you probably haven't heard of.

10 Recommended Books (that you may not have heard of) #10

10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #9

View the entire series.

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10 Recommended Books (that you may not have heard of) #10

Many moons ago, Katie McCaleb asked me about creating a recommended book list. I’ve drug my heels on that request so long, she probably has forgotten she asked me. Katie is a member of our church and one of the most frequent laughers at my jokes, so I must not let her down..

As I began to compose a list, I realized that many of the books on it were more than likely on other’s “recommended read” lists. I wanted to be a little different, so I’m going to take it a book at a time and offer you Ten Books That You May Not Have Heard Of, one at a time.

10. Wide as the Waters by Benson Bobrick

There are fewer folks who prefer the King James translation of the Bible today than ever before. Even fewer people know that the King James Version of the Bible was not the first English translation. And there are even fewer that know the blood that was shed for the Bible to be translated into English to begin with.

This book is a wonderful read – and at times you’ll need to remind yourself that you’re reading nonfiction. It is epic.

It traces the story of the English Bible through the tumultuous reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I, a time of fierce contest between Catholics and Protestants in England, as the struggle to establish a vernacular Bible was fought among competing factions.

You’ll develop a renewed sense of appreciation for the blessing of having the Bible in English after reading of the sacrifice involved in bringing it to the people.

Men like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale deserve your awareness and respect. You’ll develop a profound respect for today’s Bible translation societies, including Wycliffe Bible Translators.

The video below is from WBT:

Also in 10 Books You’ve Never Heard Of

Want to add some books to your reading list that you may not hear about elsewhere? Jeff offers you 10 great books you need to read that you probably haven't heard of.

10 Recommended Books (that you may not have heard of) #10

10 Recommended books (that you haven’t heard of) #9

View the entire series.

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For Christians, remember that the Gospel is “news”

“There are preachers and not just teachers for the same reason there are reporters and not just commentators. The reason is that there is news and not just comment. News begs to be heralded, at least if it’s good news. Later it may need to be explained and argued about. Ordinary Christians need to remember this. Christianity is news before it is theology.”

John Piper nails it in a brief devotional in Taste and See (also available online here). Too many Christians are mute about their faith because they have begun to believe that Christianity is a set of ideas to be articulated, a bunch of religious mumbo-jumbo to share. They’re the frozen chosen simply because they don’t know where to start.

In this hesitant state, fearful of just what exactly to communicate to someone else about faith, love, hope, the cross, Jesus, etc., Christians default to just… being nice. It’s one of Satan’s greatest joys to see good, but silent Christians.

Piper reminds us to:

“..ponder the news-ness of Christianity. It’s news, not just ideas or arguments. That too. But first and powerfully and joyfully it is news. ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people’ (Luke 2:10).”

He quotes J. Gresham Machen in his book God Transcendant:

“We could not hope to be listened to if we had merely our own thoughts; there are so many others in the world wiser and more learned than we. But in a time of peril in a beleaguered city the humblest of day-laborers is more worth listening to than the highest of orators, if he has news.”

Remember that primarily, Christians have good news. Yes, there’s time for theology, commentary and analysis. But you can leave that to others. Give people in danger good news first.

In the immortalized words of detective Joe Friday from Dragnet fame, “Just the facts, ma’am.”

 

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Nuff Said: Son of Hamas, Elders as Disciple Makers, Hipster Quitter, Caveats to the #IceBucketChallenge, the new face of the IMB,

Son of Hamas

Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of one of the founders of the terrorist organization Hamas. He converted to Christianity, and he tells the startling and profoundly unsettling story in his book Son of Hamas. There was an excellent commentary about the MSM’s (mainstream media) willful ignorance about Hamas’ true nature and objectives in its conflict with Israel. Watch Yousef’s two-minute CNN interview:

 

Elders as Disciple Makers

Our church has a “Leadership Board” which is what we call the role of the elder. On it are seven exceptional servant-hearted men, one of whom is a campus pastor for us at another site. If you add me in, there are eight of us altogether. We’ve articulated our role through the acrostic DAMP (we’re not ‘all wet’) – deciding, advising, monitoring and praying. We gleaned these four indispensable roles for elders from Gene Getz’s helpful book Leaders and Elders. Ours is a staff-led church, with the elders serving the church by ensuring that our staff are biblically-grounded and Christ-saturated.

An article by Jeramie Rinne called Elders—The Church’s Lead Disciple-Makers resonates deeply with me, and I’ll be sharing it with our team this week.

Are you an elder in your church? Then you should be one of the church’s lead disciplers… Elders tend the flock in such a way that believers develop from spiritual infancy to full-grown Christ-likeness. Overseers labor in hope that the sheep will move beyond a needy, self-focused, toddler Christianity to an adulthood of serving Jesus and leading others to Jesus.

Caveats to the #IceBucketChallenge

With everyone from sports stars to political leaders dousing themselves with ice water for ALS awareness and fundraising, two important considerations have arisen, that at first glance, may strike one as inconsequential. They both merit thought:

It’s a waste of water.
The ALS Association may be an advocate for embryonic stem cell research.

Actor and activist Matt Damon posted a helpfully practical video of his own dousing (in toilet water) to explain the first.



The Southern Baptist’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission posted an article explaining why the second is a concern.

Hipster Quitter

Derek Loy of Asheville, North Carolina tried the hipster lifestyle – scarves and all – and went broke. He quit it and reverted back to main stream. Very funny article here.

“Do I miss hanging out at a brewery, drinking with a scarf on and talking about Radiohead tattoos? Actually, no. No I don’t. I’m finally free to go to a Buffalo Wild Wings and watch sports on Sunday, while drinking a giant Budweiser.” said Loy ecstatically. “The ironic thing is if I didn’t make this change, I would have been close to living out of my van, which would have made me a god among hipsters.”

After his profound endorsement of his common lifestyle, Loy proceeded to dip a corndog in chili and said, “This is the best I’ve felt in years.”

The new face of the International Mission Board

From christianpost.com

Again a shout out to Southern Baptists.. The Twitterverse was abuzz this past week with news that David Platt would be stepping down from psatoring the Church at Brook Hills to become president of the International Mission Board. Platt is a well known preacher and author in most Christian circles. His passion for missions is undeniable. Some staunch SBCers were less than enthused about the choice for various reasons.

Hershael York, pastor of Buck Run Baptist Church summarized their objections and responds to them well in this article, in which he says:

I am convinced that no one will excite and energize a young generation for missions and, by extension, the Cooperative Program like David Platt. Perhaps instead of fussing and fuming about the young Southern Baptists who don’t support the Cooperative Program we should ask why they aren’t excited about it and have not bought into it. I do not mean to be unkind, but I can’t help but notice that many of the ones whose recriminations ring loudest are the very ones who have presided over our precipitous decline in giving, missions, and baptisms. David Platt was 5 years old the last time Cooperative Program giving went up! Maybe it’s time we allow some of the disenchanted, disaffected but deeply devoted young leaders to share the burden of leadership.

I’d encourage you to watch this short video from David Platt about the process and his joy in serving in this new capacity.

The Other Side of the Ocean

Check out mentalfloss’ great graphic about, well, what’s on the other side of the ocean (from the US perspective):

 

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Guest blog at Virginia Baptists’ site about “Super Center Savior”

I’m grateful for Nathan White, the Virginia Baptist Mission Board Web Minister, for publishing a guest blog on the Virginia Baptist’s website about my book Super Center Savior. In it, I ask the question:

What would it look like if your church had as much influence in your community as Walmart does?

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