From Small Government Times on presidential candidate and darling of evangelicals, Mike Huckabee:
To that enormous secular conservative voting block out there, I will say, be not afraid. It’s not that Huck would impose religion through government. No, his actions would truly offend you.
He would impose statism in the name of religion through government.
Read all of the article.
-Jonathan
I was able to accost Voddie Baucham right when he was heading out to catch a flight home. With trepidation I approached him and asked if I could interview him. He graciously agreed!
Paul Renfro, a co-elder with Voddie Baucham, graciously assented to being interviewed. He was a tall man (you can note the disparity in our respective heights), and I enjoyed listening to his topics on calling fathers to lead. One of his favorite topics was Voddie Baucham's message on family evangelism, to which I alluded in my introductory post.
I chatted with Mr. Jason Dohm (and his daughter :)). I was unable to attend any of Mr. Dohm's topics, but I was able to listen to him when Dad, Hannah, and I went to the church planter's symposium in Wake Forest this past summer. He has a pleasant personality and is well-rooted in Scripture. With me is my friend, Ben Wagner, part of my church family. Both of us enjoyed talking with the speakers.
I spoke with Dr. Andrew Davis as well. He is pastor of a church in Durham, North Carolina. He had some remarkable messages on what the Bible says about fathers and sons, both in Old and New Testament. He particularly focused on the Father/Son relationship in the trinity, including the time before creation, during creation, and when Jesus was here on earth.
Here is my interview with Pastor Marc Jantomaso. He is a pastor of a family-integrated church approximately two hours from us. I had a number of edifying conversations with him and his son.
In the audio clip, he speaks on the importance of the father/son relationship and gives important Biblical wisdom for young men.
On November 30th through December 1st, my family and I attended the regional Uniting Church and Home conference in Wake Forest. It was an edifying time, to say the least. It was great to see so many people interested in the family-integrated church model. I met a couple of families and wanted to meet many more!
The speakers were fantastic; the highlight being Voddie Baucham. He knows what God's Word says and isn't afraid to proclaim it. One of the points I especially appreciated was his message on family evangelism, i.e. the whole family ministering, serving, and preaching as a whole unit. This is so much more powerful and effective than each family member going off and ministering by themselves. Mr. Baucham pointed out that many assume evangelism is programmatic in nature, initiated by the church leadership. However, evangelism starts in the home, where the parents proclaim the gospel to their children and from there it should branch out organically.
I was also able to have the opportunity to interview a number of the speakers. I brought my trusty miniature digital recorder and Shure microphone and nabbed some of them when they weren't swarmed by a myriad of conference-goers. I will post these so my readers can benefit from them.
Jonathan Girotti
Not too long ago I completed reading "Fighter Boys: The Battle of Britain, 1940." It was fascinating book, detailing the lives of the British fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain in World War II. In a way, it provided a glimpse into a different world, one in which men were honorable, duty-driven men.
One passage did catch my attention, if only for the contrast it provides with today's anti-parental culture. It details a correspondence between a young pilot, Charles Fenwick, and his father.
"I am completely convinced that my love is no passing breeze. That being so I will tell you what I would be glad to have your opinion on. The desire of both of us is needless to say to get married, the question is when."
The answer, of course, was as soon as possible. He asked his father to let him know 'which side of the balance you vote will go in.' His father wrote back sympathetically, but argued firmly against matrimony. Fenwick was unhappy, but he submitted. "Dear Pa," he wrote a few weeks later. "Thanks. You win, you brought me out of a spin and I've come down to earth all intact although just a bit shaken."
I find this noteworthy for two reasons. One, he asked his father's counsel. That is enough to raise eyebrows today, but I expect it was slightly more common 70 years ago. Why on earth did God give us parents if not to guide us through times when we don't know what to do (or, think we know what to do)?
Second, it is noteworthy that Fenwick actually obeyed his father's counsel! He submitted, and realized that his father's advice was something to be obeyed. Yesteryear, even with its imperfections, had a greater respect for parental authority. We can't ask our parent's advice, and then do what we want to anyway.
Biblically speaking, parental jurisdiction over a child does not end when the child turns 18. It does not end when the child goes to college. It does not end even when the child moves out to his/her own apartment!
-Jonathan
Now you're probably thinking I have perished sometime since April, because of the dearth of new materiel on this site. This post is to contradict such rumors. I'm very much alive--and busy.
There's a brief rundown of where I am; I hope to post more in the following days since I don't have school. But I can't promise anything. Topics on my mind: church and church leadership; judgement and discernment; eschatology; other odds and ends.
Jonathan
Recently I posted about the audio drama that I was working on for the Homeschool Radio Drama Contest. I am happy to say that I have completed it! After two solid weeks of hard work, recording sound effects, recording script, composing the soundtrack, and editing vast amounts of audio, I finished "Horatius at the Bridge" this week. I made the finishing touches on Monday, the 9th, and the show was due on Tuesday the 10th. Talk about a close shave!
I've dabbled in radio drama before but nothing that I was completely satisfied with, quality-wise. This time, I was fairly pleased with the result; the multitrack recorder helped out a lot and made the quality a lot better. I got some superb voice-acting from Dad, Micah, and Hannah as well as me and my alter-egos. :) I was also able to get our friends, the Wagner family, to play some roles as well. Very fun!
To the left, you can see me in the role of director, telling Dad how to say his lines. Recording him was probably the most entertaining part of producing the drama. We got many hilarious outtakes that may work their way onto a "Behind-the-Scenes" edition in the near future...
By far, the most challenging aspect of putting "Horatius at the Bridge" together was composing the soundtrack. I've learned that no matter how good the actors are or how good the sound effects are, what really "makes" a scene for the listeners is the music. Music, since God created it to affect us emotionally and spiritually, is the prime way that audiences know how to feel during a scene. Thus, since I am no John Williams or Howard Shore, I had my work cut out for me! I spent all Friday afternoon and evening, as well as ALL Saturday composing, which consisted of sitting in front of the keyboard-synthesizer and trying to capture musical phrases that sounded good and fit the timing of the scene. Since the drama was set in ancient Rome and thus had warlike battle sequences and characters, I had decided early on to focus the orchestration on the brass, low strings, and percussion. I was praying very hard all Saturday that the Lord would help me finish the music on Saturday. And He did--while the rest of the family got to travel to beautiful Lexington, I stayed home and finished up the last of the music.
Sound effects were great to record, too. Micah brought over two swords that he owns, and we battled it out to create some neat sword clashes and sword draws. I had to replicate catapults, crashing bridges, crumbling walls, shouting armies, etc., etc. I got some great ideas from family members, too, on how to make stuff sound. I even have a hilarious recording of Dad, Hannah, Sarah, and me grunting and yelling like deranged apes in order to sound like enemy soldiers. So when you hear them in the drama, you know where it came from! ;)
The contest entries are being judged now, and the results won't be released until May. I am greatly excited and hoping that I will at least make it into the top three. The good thing is, every contestant, no matter where they place, receives a free copy of all the other entries. So I'll get a bunch of other families' radio dramas in return! I believe that Homeschoolradioshows.com does make all the audio dramas available for purchase after they announce the results, so if you are interested keep watch on that site.
However, if you want to listen to my radio drama for FREE you can download it HERE! It's 17:37 long and 16.1 MB large, so dial-uppers may have a hard time downloading it. But there it is, I hope you enjoy it!
~Jonathan
On Wednesday, I posted some pictures (scroll down) of me engaged in a curious-looking exercise. Some of you had some great guesses of what I was doing, but I think Mrs. O had the closest answer. I am recording sound effects for a new radio drama!
That's correct; I am in the middle of producing my very own radio drama. I am entering it as part of a contest hosted by the Erskine Family of Homeschool Radio Shows. For the past few years, they have sponsored a radio drama contest where homeschooled students and their families make a drama and send it in. You can read the details here.
This is my first time participating in the contest, and I am extremely excited about it. The contest rules stated that I have to choose from a list of stories to dramatize. I chose "Horatius at the Bridge," a half-historical tale, half-legend set in ancient Rome. I based my script on the story outline but expanded on it, fleshing out characters and events.
Now the time for sound design and sound effects is at hand. The pictures on Wednesday were of me recording the sound of boots on sand/gravel. Earlier, I had recorded boots on our concrete garage floor to get more stepping/scraping sounds. To get the sound effect of a heavy fortress door clanking open, I recorded myself opening an old iron woodstove door that we have out in the garage. Very interesting to listen to!
I have to finish the entry by April 10th, so I'll have my plate full for the next few weeks! I'm also having to recruit some people to do the voices...
~Jonathan
Over the past several weeks, two factors have drastically changed the traffic demographic of my blog. First was my making this weblog "public," i.e. it can now be seen on search engines. The other is my posting of the picture of Charles I. Now, a majority of my recent traffic are those searching on google for pictures of Charles I!
My site meter has a neat feature that allows you to see the percentage of hits that come from each time zone. Look at mine: the UK time zone was barely visible on the bar graph just a few weeks ago. Now it is rivalling my own time zone for most hits!
Quite amazing, is it not? So for all of you who are looking for Charles' likeness; drink your fill of Eugraphia and may Jesus Christ work in your life!
~Jonathan
From a ODU student announcement I received on email, yet another reason that I'm glad I am doing distance-learning and not going to campus:
| Subject: | "R.E.A.L. Conversations" Are Back!!!!! |
| Announcement: | On Monday February 12th, 2007 at 7pm the Office of Multicultural Student Services will resume its R.E.A.L. Conversation series with a presentation and discussion led by national speaker Shane Windmeyer. Shane’s involvement with Campus Pride, a national organization working to promote and provide a safer campus environment for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community, has led him across the country and to hundreds of college campuses. Please join Multicultural Student Services, Student Government Association, Student Activities Council, Interfraternity Council, ODU Out, Sigma Nu Fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, Panhellenic Council, and the Office of Student Housing for this exciting event. The event is free to the Old Dominion community and will be held at 7pm in North Cafeteria. Refreshments will be served. |
-Jonathan
Yesterday, in 1649, King Charles I of Britain was beheaded. It was the culmination of a brutal civil between the Royalists (those loyal to the king) and the Parliamentarians. I see the English Civil War as a precursor to the American Revolution. The English Civil War set a precedent--the king couldn't do anything he wanted to do. Charles was just as much under the law as any other citizen. Parliament rightly saw that the tyranny of Charles should be opposed as if he was a criminal. Unfortunately, the British monarchy, and even Parliament itself, did not learn its lesson. King George acted tyrannically toward the American colonies, abrogating their rights as Englishmen. In the same way that Parliament resisted King Charles, the colonists resisted King George.
Modern historians seems to side more the Royalists than with the Parliamentarians; after all, those Parliamentarians were stuffy old Puritans who--gasp--sang psalms going into battle! My family watched the movie Cromwell not too long ago which rather sympathetically portrayed the king and caused Cromwell to look like a raving madman in many places. I, however, think that this is an inaccurate view. Tyranny should always be resisted and the Parliamentarians were right to resist Charles.
I'm sad to say that my own state, Virginia, supported King Charles during the English Civil War. This is how Virginia earned its moniker, "The Old Dominion." Charles II, who was restored to the throne gave the colony that name in reward for its loyalty. But I can't really complain, seeing as I am taking college classes from a university bearing that name. :)
-Jonathan
Last Friday, January 19th, was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Unfortunately, Lee is not remembered much any more, and certainly less than Martin Luther King Jr. last Monday. Robert E. Lee was a courageous, godly man who did his duty to his God, family, and country.
From Life and Letters of Gen. Robert Edward Lee by Lee's contemporary Dr. J.W. Jones:
General Gordon testifies that in the deep agony of spirit with which Lee witnessed the grief of his soldiers at the surrender, he exclaimed, "I could wish that I were numbered among the slain of the last battle!" but that he at once recalled the wish and said, "No! we must live for our afflicted country." And one of his officers related that during those hours of terrible suspense, when he was considering the question of surrender, he exclaimed from the depths of a full heart, "How easily I could get rid of this and be at rest. I have only to ride along the lines and all will be over. But," he quickly added, "it is our duty to live, for what will become of the women and children of the South if we are not here to support and protect them!"
~Jonathan
As attentive readers may have noticed, I've haven't posted much recently. It's not that I've been extremely busy; I've just been in a blog rut. And the longer you're in a blog rut, the harder it is to come up with something to write.
But, if anything can get me out a rut, it's the condition of the modern church. Recently, my family received a email forward from a friend referencing a news article in the Toledo City Paper cheekily titled, "Viva Las Jesus: Hitting the entertainment jackpot with Toledo’s churches". Reporters, evidently unbelievers, toured several megachurches in the Toledo area. Their report is a sad indictment of mainstream Christianity. Just listen to the intro:
Big, booming, concert hall-worthy speakers? Rockin’ tunes accompanied by nifty background graphics, PowerPoint presentations, and fully choreographed services? Get me to the church on time.
Getting your Jesus on has never been a more entertaining experience. At these big, bombastic megachurches, you’re unlikely to find leather-bound hymnals or be forced to listen to a fire and brimstone preacher dressed in a brown suit preach on for more than two hours … and for that, we shout "Hallelujah!”
City Paper visited several area megachurches (and a few smaller churches known for putting on a kickin’ show) in an attempt to gauge the entertainment value of these salvation supernovas.
"Getting your Jesus has never been a more entertaining experience," eh? Churches are making Jesus sound like a cup of coffee; He's something you "get," and the more entertaining that "getting" is, the better! The "Jesus" these megachurches are offering is not the Jesus of the Scriptures. The upshot of the reviews is that the churches get people emotionally high with Christian rock music then have a quick sermon-lite. Where is the substance in that? Look at this review:
"The service kicked off by …" 35 minutes of inundation with rocking gospel from Minister of Music Derick Thomas and his band. "The music was …" intense! We’re talking electric guitar jams, Bowie-worthy synth riffs and drum solos from a percussionist who could’ve been a member of the Blue Man Group. Combine the instruments with a full gospel choir and soulful soloists, and you have the makings of a well-produced, if non-traditional, religious experience. "The sermon lasted exactly 30 minutes and covered …" reaping the rewards of "the Lord’s rains" and "being holy even when nobody’s watching." Truth be told, it’s hard to say exactly how long these sermons lasted during this two-hour service, as lengthy musical interludes often interrupted the talking portions. "...... Yikes! Cornerstone’s ministers know how to work a crowd, and it’s hard not to get swept up in the frenzy. The service climaxed with a bombastic synthesizer crescendo as worshipers transformed into a mass of waving hands and praying voices.
Something is indeed terribly wrong if even unbelievers can recognize that allegedly Christian music mirrors secular musicians. Now I realize that there is a range of standards of music in my readership and the rock music debate can go on until we're blue in the face, but I hope everyone sees that these rock concerts are completely out place in the church. While I hesitate to question the motives of the people involved, I honestly think that rock concerts as the main course, as it were, in churches is absolute drivel. What is its purpose? To get members pumped up and emotionally charged so they think they're having some spiritual experience. Look at the conclusion of the review:
Sensory overload and charismatic ministers make Cornerstone a compelling experience for devout non-denominational Christians. The uninitiated, on the other hand, might find the crowd’s ecstasy and the relative lack of sermon substance more frightening than fulfilling.
So an unbeliever can recognize the weak unedifying nature of this church yet the 4,000 members can't? What is wrong with this picture?
America has abandoned the New Testament model of the church in exchange for an entertainment-driven, human-focused "experience." The meeting of the church is not supposed to be a time where we can get revved up by "a rockin’ Christian rock sextet that’ll make even the most sin-happy soul shout "Hallelujah!". Where is the sound, deep Biblical doctrine? Where is the edification from Scripture? What about Christ-honoring, Scripture-filled songs and hymns? Where is the accountability--which I extremely, extremely doubt there is in a thousand-strong megachurch--among the members? Where is the strong preaching against sin (the "fire-and-brimstone" that the churches did not have as the reviews gushed)? Though I think that the regular meeting of the believers is supposed to be more a time of edification for believers not an evangelism service, it is the Church's job to ensure that unbelievers that visit are spiritually uncomfortable. One reviewer writes:
Even though I have no intention of leaving my Tibetan Buddhist-meets-Catholic belief system, I’d go back [to the church]. It added a new dimension to my beliefs and made me chill out for a while, something that’s nearly impossible most of the time.
If all that church does is "add new dimensions" to people's existing paganism, then it has little or no true spiritual power. If the reviewer can chill out for awhile without being seriously challenged about his or her paganism, then something is wrong with that church. I disagree with the statement that it's "nearly impossible most of the time;" this is going on in more churches than we would care to admit. It's mainstream Christianity.
The moral deterioration of America is not due to liberal takeovers of Congress or bad political agendas. It is due to the failings of the church to maintain sound orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Wait, maybe they just haven't followed Joel Osteen's 7 steps to fulfilling their true potential...
~Jonathan
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