"The Lima Bean Gospel"

In the most recent issue of Christianity Today, Mark Labberton wonders whether our gospel is too small and bland, like a lima bean. The church is often bland, he argues, and "the fruit of this vine appears to be lima beans." Here are two paragraphs for you to chew on:

"Rather than seek the God who spoke from the burning bush, we have decided the real drama is found in debating whether to podcast our services. Rather than encounter the God who sees idolatry as a pervasive, life-threatening temptation, we decorate Pottery Barn lives with our tasteful collections of favored godlings. Rather than follow the God who burns for justice for the needy, we are more likely to ask the Lord to give us our own fair share. A bland God for a bland church, with a mission that is at best innocuous and quaint - in a tumultuous world."

And,

"The apparent smallness of our gospel is directly related to the smallness of the church's love. When prominent Christian voices call for protests and boycotts over things like our freedom to say 'Merry Christmas,' the gospel seems very small indeed. If, by contrast, such voices called the church in America to give away its Christmas billions to the poor and needy around the world - as an act of incarnational love - that would leave a very different impression of the faith we profess, and offer a far greater hope for a love-hungry world."

I'll leave it at that, without further comment other than to say that this guy needs to get out more and see what the church is doing in the world. Chew on it and let me know what you think.

Not Sure How to Train

I've been shopping around various half-marathon training programs, and I'm not sure which one to choose. The one I'm currently planning on using (from coolrunning) looks good but has a high amount of running (peaks at 35 miles a week). Another one has only three days a week of running: one speed day, one tempo day, and one distance day and peaks at about 24 miles a week. And a third site matches up perfectly with the days I want to run and the days I don't want to run (Sunday and Tuesday), peaking at 26 miles a week. Lastly, Hal Higdon has a novice training program that looks easier but still sufficient.

My concern is that if I go with the higher mileage, I might increase the likelihood of injury by over training, especially considering I'm still over 20 lbs heavier than I should be. The second site almost seems too easy; however, it is put forth by RunnersWorld.com, a trusted source, not some guy who thought it would be funny. Hal Higdon's looks good, too, and I'm already running at about the demands of week four.

I'm pretty sure, therefore, that I won't be training with the coolrunning program. It seems a little advanced for me, as well as possibly a little too much running for my knees and hip and lower back.

I've tried taking one-minute walk breaks every mile (as recommended by Jeff Galloway, marathon stud who also has a regular column in RW). This might be the way to go for me. The walk breaks only add about 20 seconds to my mile pace, and they sure make 13 miles seem less intimidating by chopping it into 13 one-mile segments. Knowing that at each mile marker I get to walk for a minute helps psychologically. Galloway says that it also helps speed recovery and lessens the strain on the joints.

So, fellow runners (especially you fellow half marathoners - Shannon and Courtney!), let me know what you think and what plan you are using.

PS - I'm excited about the next training check in. I'm running more and eating better (vegetables, fruits, grains, and lots of protein - and no fast food [except on Sundays, when all bets are off!]). I anticipate some numbers (distance) to go up and some (weight) to go down.

Of Wedding Gifts and Coming to Faith

I bought a book from Half Price Books the other day, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. That I bought this particular book is not important (although it's got a great title); what intrigued me was the card left inside of it. Apparently, Grandma and Grandpa bought Jess and Brian the book as a wedding gift, writing the following in the card: "Hope you'll read this book for yourselves. It is a difficult, tough read/only for the brightest and best. We are so thankful that we could come to your wedding. Hope your honeymoon is full of fun. We love you both. . . ."


It's not difficult to figure out what happened. Jess and Brian read the title (apparently they are atheists or at least not Christians, whereas Grandma and Grandpa are Christians), rolled their eyes, and tossed it in the pile of stuff to take back. They probably kept it in the house, hidden, for a good year or so before deciding to take it to HPB.

This is not the first time I have gotten a used book that had some sort of message in it. Last year, I bought a book from Amazon about the death of children and infants (I worked it into a teaching series on Heaven), and in the front was a message to a lady who had lost a child to miscarriage.

What I get from all this is the fact that sending someone a book does not change much. If giving someone a book to read, or actually reading books, really accomplished what the giver/author intended, there would be very few problems left in the world. The Bible, anyone?

Bringing someone to faith in Christ involves more than a presentation of facts, be it in a book, a discussion, or some other method of sharing the gospel. There must be (caution: trendy word ahead) authenticity, an evident and consistent genuineness of one's faith. The world will know two things when we live what we believe: 1) because of Jesus, new life is available to everyone, and 2) belonging to Jesus really does make a difference. Jesus himself prayed, "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21).

Half Marathon Training Check-In (December)

Okay, this photo was taken today, but close enough.

December: not so great. Here's how it breaks down (last month's numbers in parentheses)

Weight: 225 (224)

Pounds to goal weight: 30 (29)

Miles run this month: unsure - stupid coolrunning.com changed to a new sign in system and I haven't been able to access my running log. I changed to logyourrun.com, so I can tell you that from Dec. 13-31 I ran 29.1 miles.

Days to the Flying Pig Half Marathon: 123

See you next month!

What's Next - Kid's First Bowflex?

Recently at work, I saw a package for Kid's First Treadmill from First Fitness. Here's how it looks once assembled:

Call me crazy, but back in my day, "kid's first treadmill" was the back yard, the playground, the park, or even the inside of the house. What kills me is that the box lists its many advantages, such as: it will help your kids develop muscle conditioning and balance for outdoor sports. So you can pay $110 to help your kid get that muscle conditioning and balance for outdoor sports, or you can, for free, take your kid to the park and play outdoor sports with them. The box also says it helps "promote a lifetime of fitness." Or a lifetime of gym memberships.

Are we that lazy that we make our kids get on a treadmill to get exercise? Here's some ideas that won't cost you much if anything: stop playing so darn much XBox; parents - feed your kids other foods than fried, sugar-filled, and packaged in wrappers; go outside and play with your kids; watch TV less; dust off and ride that bike.

Not Really What Was Meant By "Leaving Your Mark"

Poor Birdie! :(

I was at Raymond Walters College (a branch of the University of Cincinnati) a couple of weeks ago when I saw something in the window. I thought it was some fake, something an art student had done as a joke. But it was on the outside of the window, so I realized it's probably not a fake. Poor birdie. He (or she) was just flying along one day, saw an "open" window, and went for it, thinking Yes! I'm finally I'm going to get ins--- [SMACK]

No Linguistic Socialism In Church

I read an interesting article the other day from the Nov. 18 issue of Christian Standard. Paul Williams, who writes the "And So It Goes" column, asked the question, "is keeping it simple always a good idea?" The idea of the article is that in many places and environments, insider language is expected and appropriate. If you don't know it, you will learn it in time.

He writes, "In the world of growing churches we are always encouraged to keep our language seventh-grade generic, the language of the people. Don't speak so you can be understood. Speak so you cannot be misunderstood." And later, "I want to be sensitive to those just beginning the spiritual journey, but there are times I also want to praise God for his omnipotence."

He's onto something here; for a long time, I have bristled at churches that "dumb down" everything for the sake of being relevant and understandable. It seems their M.O. is "small words leads to big numbers." Perhaps that's too harsh, but there is a trend of not using insider language so nobody feels left out or stupid. This trend is ubiquitous in contemporary worship songs. Generally, I don't have a problem with such songs; I often listen to my local Christian station, WAKW. And there are some great songs out there now (by the likes of Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin); they certainly have gotten better since the 90s, showing a renewed passion for worship songs (not just feel-good Christian songs) and songs that don't try to be too dramatic (like the melodramatic Carman) but seek to just tell God how you feel. That said, though, there sure is a lot of fluff out there, too (Trading My Sorrows, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, and just about anything with "River" in it - thanks Danny for the idea - love it!).

Here's what I offer for your consideration: why don't we use big words, then explain them so people will: a) learn their meaning, and b) benefit from it. We have some great words: propitiation, redemption, repentance, etc. - let's keep using them and explain them to the people. You could have a whole sermon on redemption. And hymns - keep them coming. Explain the words ("here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I've come"?), but keep them coming. Sure, maybe kick out the organ and jazz up the arrangement a bit, but hymns are often very powerful, memorable, and capable aids to worship. But one thing we should not do is become vocabulary socialists: people who "level the playing field" not by raising up those with a poor vocabulary, but by suppressing those with a rich vocabulary. Or as Mr. Williams suggests, "Maybe what we need to do is make a concerted effort to more quickly turn outsiders into insiders."