I heard about this book on NPR a few weeks ago and kept waiting for it to show up at my local Borders. I got a gift card for Borders and this seemed like the thing to spend it on. The authors discuss ideas that survive and ideas that don’t. They use as an example an internet rumor about a ring of kidney thieves. I remember this one. When we first got e-mail in the Air Force a squadron commander forwarded a version of that rumor that took place in Las Vegas. That idea “stuck”, it lasted. Next they quote a vision statement from a non-profit agency or something. It is as technical and dull as you can image but accurate and good. So why does one stick that isn’t true and the true one not stick? The introduction is worth a read.

The brother researched this and came up with six principles that make ideas sticky. They’re listed on the back cover of the book if you want a quick summary, but don’t miss reading the book. They make it fun and interesting avoiding the non-stickiness they skewer in the process.

The reason it grabbed my attention was two-fold. First, when we preach we need to help people remember what is being taught. We certainly don’t want to resort to being cute or clever in our preaching but we do want Biblical truth to stick. Also, when leading a church plant you need to help your people catch the vision and remember the vision. One way is to repeat it over and over; but consider what the Heath boys say about that:

And, finally, there’s the most common refrain in the realm of communication advice: Use repetition, repetition, repetition.

All of this advice has obvious merit, except, perhaps, for the emphasis on repetition. (If you have to tell someone the same thing ten times, the idea probably wasn’t very well designed. No urban legend has to be repeated ten times.)

There is wisdom here but it is incomplete. Repeating a bland vision statement might be the only way you’re going to get people to remember it. But repeating a “sticky” vision statement might not be what it takes to make it stick, but it can help people understand that this is something very important. I think of John Piper’s motto: We exist to spread a passion for supremacy of God in all things, for the joy of all peoples in Jesus Christ. That is somewhat sticky and easily remembered but John says it all the time. It is important to him. So don’t rely on repetition but don’t abandon it either.

I’m not very far in the book yet. It is recreational reading right now but what I’ve read so far is good and helpful. This is one I think other church planters should take a look at.

The picture and the quote above come from the Mitchell Park Conservatory in Milwaukee. Ben, Gillian and I went there on a field trip. Gillian got the picture of the flower in the dome that had the rain forest environment. After we visited in all the domes for a while the Conservatory had a class for the kids. As I sat in the classroom I noticed the above quote printed on one of the windows and my only thought upon reading it was “what an unsatisfying answer.” This is the best that naturalism can come up with? The answer is only utility, never beauty. But consider Sherlock Holmes’ refection on the matter:

There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion. It can be build up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers. – Sherlock Holmes in The Naval Treaty

Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. – Luke 16:18

If you do a study of divorce in the New Testament, but especially in the Gospels, you’ll soon notice that what Jesus said about it is not consistently reported. In Matthew 5:32 Jesus includes one reason for which divorce is permitted: adultery. So why did Luke leave it out? I mean he is clear that he has researched these things and if the exemption is included in Matthew the most likely Luke was aware of it, right? To compound the matter, Luke 16:18 seems out of place. Jesus isn’t discussing divorce and, unlike in the other gospels, he isn’t asked about it.

Don’t decorate yourself with people. Jesus never did.Generally, when things don’t fit you’re missing something. There are very few cases where texts are probably not where they belong (i.e. John 7:53, 8:11 and Mark 16:9-20). There is no textual evidence that Luke 16:18 doesn’t belong there so the question is, “Why did Luke cite this teaching where he did?”

Well, one of the nice things about reading through Luke in a year instead of sticking with the reading plan I have used is that I can slow down and spend some time meditating on something like this. That’s just what I did and here’s what I’ve come up with. All of this is currently subject to revision and review.

The context Read On…

See the photo? Sad isn’t it. The hinge on my Powerbook jammed and when my daughter tried to close it, it snapped. My options? Well, I checked with the company that repaired it when I dropped it and broke the hinge last time. Turns out it was three weeks out of warranty. They said they understood and offered to consider it when they performed the $250 repair. Again. I decided to pass. Another website had a do-it-yourself deal on the hinge for $99. That site usually has excellent detailed instructions with photos. They said that the hinge replacement was too advanced and didn’t recommend doing it yourself. My only other option was eBay. I found a hinge there for $40. Installed it today and I’m back in business.

To be fair, I did find instructions on line from some other brave soul who did it his self also. It was easy but very nerve wracking. I kept wondering if I was going to break the display. The trim is still loose so I need to find a good adhesive but the work itself was pretty easy.

I got a TrÄ“o 650. It isn’t WiFi capable. I get to pay Verizon $40 a month for that privilege. No. Thank. You. I’ve already whined about this.

But! I did find a way to share my Mac’s internet connection with my TrÄ“o via Bluetooth. Which is pretty cool. I’m copying comments posted at MacDevCenter.com but I’m also adding a little detail. This works. It allowed me to surf the net, check email and even sync Avantgo (who STILL don’t have a conduit for the Mac, thankyouverymuch.) Any way, here’s how you do it:

1. Pair your PDA via Bluetooth to your Mac; after that, the Bluetooth discovery option in both devices can be set to “off”
2. Open a terminal window on the Mac (Applications->Utilities->Terminal)
3. Run the following command. Just copy and paste it (all on one line), it will ask for your password, that’s what sudo does. Enter an admin password when prompted:
   sudo /usr/sbin/pppd /dev/tty.Bluetooth-PDA-Sync 115200 noauth local passive proxyarp ktune asyncmap 0 persist :10.0.1.105
4. Enable IP forwarding by pasting this into the terminal window as well:
   sudo sysctl -w net.inet.ip.forwarding=1
5. Setup your PDA for a new bluetooth connection; the device should be setup as “pc connection”, 115200 speed, and a fixed IP (in our case 10.0.1.105) and DNS same as the one on your Mac. Here’s how you do that:
   • Preferences ->Network
   • Click Modify to unlock the settings.
   • Click Detials…
   • Click Modify to unlock the settings.
   • Click Advanced.
   • Uncheck IP Address Automatic and enter the IP address as above.
   • Uncheck Query DNS and enter the DNS IP address your Mac is set up to use. That’s in System Preferences under Network.
   • Click OK
   • Click OK
   • Click Connect

Keep in mind that I tried this on a G4 iMac running Mac OS X 10.4.8 with a cheap Bluetooth dongle and a Trēo 650 and it worked fine. I might try it again with my old Tungsten T3.

UPDATE: No luck with the Tungsten but I’ll have to try it again. Had other problems. Also, once you redirect the internet through the Bluetooth you can’t sync with Bluetooth. I’m waiting for my sync cable so that is a problem. Right now the only way to undo it is to reboot. Blah. I’m looking in to a better answer to that too.

UPDATE 2: This will only work if you are connected to the internet via a PPP connection. I have an iMac connected to a DSL modem that uses a PPP connection. It works on that. I share that internet connection via the iMac’s Airport. When I try this hack on my Powerbook, it doesn’t work because the Powerbook is not connected via a PPP connection. The iMac takes care of that. I need to fish around and see if there is a way to share another type of internet connection.

UPDATE 3: Something I keep forgetting is that you have to go to HotSync Manager -> Connection Settings and uncheck bluetooth-pda-sync-port before you do the steps listed above. Once I remembered to do that I was able to sync the Trēo and the Tungsten,

Gizmodo is on to something here. The RIAA is trying to sue WiFi providers if people use their hotspots to download music illegally. This would have absolutely no effect on downloading music and would only serve to have free WiFi providers pull the plugs on their services for fear of being sued. It is a stupid money grab by the RIAA. So if I use a Ford to drive to my friend’s house to pick up a CD so I can take it home and copy it, will the RIAA go after Ford? Why not go after Dell because that’s the computer that was used to make the copy? Or Sony since they produce the blank CDs? It is stupid, just stupid.

What Gizmodo is proposing is not that we pirate music during March but that we stop buying music from RIAA labels. That would include the iTunes Music Store and any of the major record labels. Follow the link and join the protest.

Update: Changed the link to catch all of Gizmodo’s links instead of just their first one. Keep an eye on this one.

I’d like to see him try this with Mohammad.

To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. – Jesus, Luke 6:29

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. – Jesus, John 15:18

There it is. Snow has arrived in the Chicago area and it came on hard. Gillian was messing with icicles on the patio so I grabbed the camera to catch her in the action. After she finished, I jabbed my head out into the falling snow and snagged this.

This picture is a screen shot from Time.com. I had just finished reading an interview with Al Mohler about his Calvinism and his recent time in an ICU with a life threatening complication. This picture was at the bottom of the page and was part of a list of features.

The young woman in the photo wore a customized t-shirt that contained an expletive which Time tastefully blocked with the red box. You can figure out which expletive it was. She’s a New Orleans Saints fan and the camera caught her during a playoff game with, obviously, da Eagles. Apparently, the camera lingered on her for a while before they cut away. A conservative watchdog group complained.

I just love Time’s sentiment. Perhaps the crazy guy with the wig and the “John 3:16” sign in the end zone wasn’t so bad after all, huh? :) By the way, the Mohler interview was great. Go read that. The article attached to this photo wasn’t that great.

I’m currently reading George Hunter’s The Celtic Way of Evangelism for two classes. This morning on the train I got to chapter 5, “How Celtic Christianity Communicated the Gospel” and came across some advice for preaching to pre- and post-Christian people. Hunter cites Kierkegaard’s advice ¹Kierkegarrd wasn’t Celtic, but Hunter puts him forth as one of two models of communication that St. Patrick may have fit within when he preached to the Irish. :

First, engage and speak as though personally, to individuals, not as to an audience en masse…Second, speak concretely, even poetically and imaginatively, rather than in abstractions. Third, speak to yourself as well as to the audience…Forth, stress possibility; that is, what a person’s life can become. If you tell stories of heroes of the faith, the goal is not for the people to admire the heroes (that is counterproductive) but to glimpse what their own lives can become. Fifth, reject all temptation to pressure people to decide now; respect their freedom and encourage their free response in measurable time. (p. 62-63)

Then I saw C. H. Spurgeon’s list [via Justin Taylor]:

1. Use the Spirit’s appointed means
2. Put your trust in the Spirit’s purpose and not in the Spirit’s means
3. Seek the virtual preaching of Jesus
4. Recognize the difference between mental and spiritual power
5. See the Bible as your primary homiletics textbook
6. Don’t forget to testify
7. Engage the imagination and emotion
8. Lean upon the community of believers

Before you hop on the “Prince of Preacher” bandwagon, remember that Spurgeon preached in a Christian context. That is, the London he preached in was a “Christian” London. Though not everyone was a Christian, the cultural ethos was Christian. What Hunter is putting forth is a method of preaching in a non-Christian setting. The West is largely a post-Christian culture and so we can’t assume that methods that “worked” 75 years ago will bear the same fruit today. You could once being a sermon with the assumption that the hearers (I hate the term ‘audience’ in the context of preaching) basically understood sin and judgment. The God they knew of was the Christian God. But not so today. “God” in our post-modern setting could be any number of ideas gathered from various religions and personal inclination.

At the same time, notice that there is some overlap between the two lists. What grabs my attention is what is in Spurgeon’s list and not in Hunters: the Holy Spirit. If we’re talking raw communication theory, which, presumably, Hunter is, then omission of the Holy Spirit is understandable. But when it comes to preaching the gospel (the title of Hunter’s chapter) excluding the Holy Spirit is deadly.

We have to be careful that preaching doesn’t turn into, on one hand, lecture and, on the other, entertainment or therapy. Our current setting is post-Christian. We are still dealing with the hang over of the therapy focus of the 70s (notice that when someone makes a public mistake the answer is to enter therapy, a public apology is seldom good enough.) Our culture is fixated on entertainment. We pay poor actors better than we pay teachers. Preaching in this environment is different from preaching in Spurgeon’s day because we only have the lingering culture junk of the Christianity that was once vibrant here. It is also different from the days of St. Patrick because whereas Patrick had to deal with animism and paganism, he didn’t have to contend with atheism and excessive leisure.

In our setting, as in Spurgeon’s or St. Patrick’s, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to attend his word with power. Post-modern cultural tricks and simply relying on the form of past preachers we admire aren’t sufficient. We must preach to the people before us today. We must preach. Not entertain or counsel. If we do all that we can do in preaching, we we get all the results we can get. But if we do all we can do and rely on God, knowing that if he doesn’t engage the preaching we’ll fall flat, then great things can happen. Miraculous thing. Ultimately, our preaching succeeds not because of our skill or techniques but because the Holy Spirit is at work in it.