The hopes and doubts of living in a new Reformation

There's a lot for me to do and I haven't gotten it done. Part of me wants to do a lot of big things. I think I have a tall order to start with: start a New Reformation. That's big. I think it's not to me to start, I think it is for me to participate and make a move. Part of it came when Dr. Bob gave the message on the characteristics of a reformer. I believe it includes a sense of inadequacy, a sense of Destiny and a sense of God's help. I think I have felt some of that in my life. I just feel hopelessly useless at times. Who am I to think I can really do a lot of the things I have wanted to do? My dreams are too high for me. And yet they feel within reach. As one friend told me a while back: the world is yours. One of my pans is to write a book.

My friend Mig has reminded me that I have been saying that since we were 12! True. I think I have more to say now than I did then. But why won't it come out? I'm in full research mode right now, but I don' know where to start writing. It kind of all began a few weeks ago when I was making a list of books coming out this year. One is called "Why I'm not Emergent by Two Guys who should Be". Wow. They stole my idea! Dang. But as I thought about it, they are really coming at it from the perspective of what they are against. Good for them, we need a good critique of something dangerous (or at least very concerning) like the Emergent church. However, I don't want to just say what I'm against. I want to talk about what I am for.
I was contemplating calling the book "Anti-Blue Like jazz". But then again, I want to show what I'm for. And BLJ does not capture that. I have seen a lot of people at my school really get into some of this stuff, and I just want to tell them that they are walking in sketchy territory. I want to show them the beauty and comfort of the New Reformation.

But back to my book. I want it to show what it means to be Reformed and young. Christianity Today wrote an article (and has a book coming out) called Young Restless Reformed. It is a restless experience sometimes because people don't always get what were saying. Our positions are muddled and misunderstood and almighty free will is not honored. It's annoying and it does make one restless. However, I have hope. In my book I want to share some of that (however small) hope. If not to present it to the interested, to present it to the already believing. Maybe I should call it "how to cope with being reformed".
I want to write about everything. Faith, scripture, why I still love church, why I am annoyed with it, a new kind of reformation, why I am annoyed by a new kind of Christian, culture, hope and doubt. A light of hope I have seen is in the new book 'The Reason For God' by Tim Keller. It's basically a presuppsitional/verificational apologetic book that takes on some of the most recent attacks on faith. It's very good and very interesting. I would highly recommend it to all of you to see how you can apply reformed apologetics to post-modern settings. Any book that quotes Lord of the Rings, historians, theolgians, sociologists, Scripture, Bono and Darth Vader throughout is worth taking a look at. Go buy it, read it, and think about it. Who knows, maybe one day, I may be endorsing my own book.