Monday, October 12, 2009

Not To Be Confused With Jesus


Every time I say I won't do any more John Eldredge posts, something comes up and I break my promise. But Eldredge is a wild kind of guy, not a Promise Keeper, so maybe it's OK?
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What came up this time is yet another blog. I already mentioned Nate Claiborne's incisive analysis of Eldredge. But since then, I've come across Kent Leslie, who's writing his own indispensable series on Eldredge's Wild at Heart. He's as critical as I am, but a fair bit more humorous. And he's Pentecostal, which is not a branch of Christianity that I'd expect to be critical of books such as this.
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So if you need additional and even better reasons to hate Wild at Heart (while still loving the sinner, of course!), then check out some of the posts on Mr. Leslie's blog.


Thursday, October 8, 2009

Overwhelmed


Anyone else feeling overwhelmed?
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It all piles up.
Deadlines at work make for longer hours and more packed hours.
House "administration"...cleaning, fixing, paying, logging, trimming.
A Sabbath that isn't, because of meetings and trainings in addition to church, itself.
Friends I'm trying to befriend, disciples I'm trying to disciple, and leaders I'm trying to lead.

And e-mails to open, blogs to read...
...and blogs to write.

So what happens?
Mail I used to read gets summarily tossed with catalogs I used to peruse.
Invitations get turned down.

And I get resentful at all those church conferences, meetings, seminars, retreats, orientations, trainings, etc., that keep popping up.

And I stay up too late and am too tired the next day to function well or have a good attitude.

No additional church activities, please!
(But I will sign up for a six-week Flannery O'Connor class at Emory.)
((Now that makes sense.))

Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed?