New Reformation Network

So, why did I create the New Reformation Network?Because I wanted to give young reformed people a place to meet, share ideas and think together. Here's my first post from the New Reformation Blog

You know there's something going on. There is a young reformed awakening. We feel it in our churches when we hear yet another watered down syrupy feel good sermon that does injustice to God's word. We see it on TV when we hear that kind of message being passed off as Gospel. We read it in books written by people who are afraid to proclaim God's word. We know there's more. Way more.

So why this place? Because I believe that all across the country and around the world there are people like us. We have ideas, we have talent, and we want to do something about it. This is far from trying to emulate Emergent Village. This is about getting together to live out our faith in a biblical practical way.

I hope this place is a little messy. I see it as part think tank, part collective (I almost named is Reformed Collection) theological co-op, network, commune, and above all a place for fellowship and for sharing the vision God has given each of us.

I invite all thinkers, writers, artists, pastors, leaders, young, old, activists, layman and women, and anyone who just wants to see this reformed awakening to spread to the sleeping church of the US. Here is place to discuss ideas, share vision, talk about books and movies and mobilize to act. I live in Southern California and I believe that there is young Calvinist movement going on down here that needs to be given a voice. Well, here is where you can speak your mind.

So what are you waiting for? join already and invite your friends. If you have bible studies, events, songs, videos, thoughts, or things you want to blog about get on here and share it. This blog is open to you guys.

Semper Reformada!

Visit the Network, let me know what you think, and join! Get involved, write, put up songs, socialize, etc... Just do it!

New Reformation: My New Big Project

Visit and join today!

This is the new project I am working on. click on the widget to visit the page. I'll have more to say later.

Media Bias?

For those of us following the election, it's been very interesting to see media bias for a certain politician. Whether it's been the overzealous praise by Keith Olberman and Chris Matthews, or the rise in positive stories of one candidate over the mostly negative stories reported of another, what is the real reason? I was rather surprised at the take given by veteran technology reporter Michael Malone. Writing on ABC online, his report "Media's Presidential Bias and Decline" is an interesting take. He writes

[W]e are also supposed to be taught that even though there is no such thing as pure, Platonic objectivity in reporting, we are to spend our careers struggling to approach that ideal as closely as possible.

That means constantly challenging our own prejudices, systematically presenting opposing views and never, ever burying stories that contradict our own world views or challenge people or institutions we admire. If we can't achieve Olympian detachment, than at least we can recognize human frailty -- especially in ourselves.

Simply put, reporting has changed. It used to be about the facts. Today that has all changed. He goes on

The absolute nadir (though I hate to commit to that, as we still have two weeks before the election) came with Joe the Plumber.

Middle America, even when they didn't agree with Joe, looked on in horror as the press took apart the private life of an average person who had the temerity to ask a tough question of a presidential candidate. So much for the standing up for the little man. So much for speaking truth to power. So much for comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable, and all of those other catchphrases we journalists used to believe we lived by.

His own experience is telling.

[W]hat really shattered my faith -- and I know the day and place where it happened -- was the war in Lebanon three summers ago. The hotel I was staying at in Windhoek, Namibia, only carried CNN, a network I'd already learned to approach with skepticism. But this was CNN International, which is even worse.

I sat there, first with my jaw hanging down, then actually shouting at the TV, as one field reporter after another reported the carnage of the Israeli attacks on Beirut, with almost no corresponding coverage of the Hezbollah missiles raining down on northern Israel. The reporting was so utterly and shamelessly biased that I sat there for hours watching, assuming that eventually CNNi would get around to telling the rest of the story … but it never happened.

In our own country it's even worse. Regarding this election he writes

If the current polls are correct, we are about to elect as president of the United States a man who is essentially a cipher, who has left almost no paper trail, seems to have few friends (that at least will talk) and has entire years missing out of his biography.

That isn't Sen. Obama's fault: His job is to put his best face forward. No, it is the traditional media's fault, for it alone (unlike the alternative media) has had the resources to cover this story properly, and has systematically refused to do so.

Why, for example to quote the lawyer for Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., haven't we seen an interview with Sen. Obama's grad school drug dealer -- when we know all about Mrs. McCain's addiction? Are Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko that hard to interview? All those phony voter registrations that hard to scrutinize? And why are Sen. Biden's endless gaffes almost always covered up, or rationalized, by the traditional media?

Sad to say, he's right. Current media has lost its way. In my own life I have seen serious debate of topics (anyone remember Politically Incorrect?) to entertainment stories being given every 10 minutes on a normal newscast. Sound bites have replaced full quotes, and we've stopped thinking and asking tough questions from those we are voting for, and from those who report the news? It's a sad state of affairs when bloggers were the first to report John Edwards affair (and it was largely ignored by the major media-possibly because at the time he was still in the running for Democratic VP?) and as soon as Sarah Palin was announced as VP candidate, swarms of reporters were sent to Alaska to get dirt on her. Malone finishes

Furthermore, I also happen to believe that most reporters, whatever their political bias, are human torpedoes … and, had they been unleashed, would have raced in and roughed up the Obama campaign as much as they did McCain's. That's what reporters do. I was proud to have been one, and I'm still drawn to a good story, any good story, like a shark to blood in the water.

So why weren't those legions of hungry reporters set loose on the Obama campaign? Who are the real villains in this story of mainstream media betrayal?

The editors. The men and women you don't see; the people who not only decide what goes in the paper, but what doesn't; the managers who give the reporters their assignments and lay out the editorial pages. They are the real culprits......

And then the opportunity presents itself -- an attractive young candidate whose politics likely matches yours, but more important, he offers the prospect of a transformed Washington with the power to fix everything that has gone wrong in your career.

With luck, this monolithic, single-party government will crush the alternative media via a revived fairness doctrine, re-invigorate unions by getting rid of secret votes, and just maybe be beholden to people like you in the traditional media for getting it there.

And besides, you tell yourself, it's all for the good of the country …

No matter what your political persuasion, we must learn to think again. We must learn to actually talk through the issues. If we don't we will be led by labels, libel, and looks instead of a careful assessment of the issues. THINK DAMNIT!!!!

Overheard: Let My People Read is Back!

After a brief hiatus (similar to that going on with the Pyromaniacs) I've come out of hiding. I still ask that you keep Iraqi Christians in prayer.

-I hope you've noticed some changes to the Blog. I have added a bunch of links to new reformed people who I like. Also I've expanded my blog links as well. My friend Jonathan Chan has a great blog where he has been writing up a storm. I've also added a section on links that deal with culture and a Digg.com bar as well.
-More so, I'm working on doing something BIG. It's coming, just you wait and see. If you're young reformed like me (and are a fan of the resurgence, this is for you) However, I would like to say that I will try and focus on more serious topics that have been on my mind as of late. Namely, this new dichotomy (Either/Or) thinking about social justice and it would seem everything else, but particularly talking about the unborn and evangelism. I will also be delving into Rob Bell's newest ideas regarding the New Exodus Perspective.

-For now, I will only say that I hope you vote this next week. As a Christian who believes the life of the unborn is important, I will be voting for those candidates that hold closely to where I stand in that issue. The other issue is the issue of marriage. My friend Soisauce (Jonathan Chan) has an interesting post on California's Prop 8. I have to say what he says stings, but he's right.

-Books have been backing up on me, but I have a few reviews left in me. As a matter of fact, John Frame's multitple perspectives have proven to be helpful in thinking about many of todays issues. So don't be surprised if I echo him in many areas.

-Movie reviews are coming up as well. I saw pretty much every major movie over the summer and I will review them. I also have seen: The Dutchess, Eagle Eye, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, The Secret Life of Bee's. So watch out for those.

-TV recommendations are also coming in. I highly recommend Eli Stone (on tonight on ABC). It's about a Lawyer who hears from God. Not entirely Christian in its theology, but it is very well done.

Please pray for the Christians of Iraq

Ok, if you haven't been watching the news, thousands of Christians in Iraq have had to flee their homes. The reason being that many of them are being killed. It really moved me to bring this issue up. I emailed an organization called Christians of Iraq. Here is what they have to say

The situation of the Christians of Iraq has been gone from bad to worst because the central Iraqi government has done nothing to stop the violence against them, as if Iraqi ruler don't mind that Christians of their country are persecuted and driven out of their homeland. Some reports indicate thathttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif the Iraqi security forces are involved in terrorizing the Christians. The only solution would be for the Bush administration and the UN to pressure the Iraqi government to protect its Christian citizens which so far it has failed to do .. Please read the latest articles about this subject. at and http://www.christiansofiraq.com

People who wish to help have to promptly call the white house and their members of congress to ask them put pressure on the Iraqi government to stop the terror against its Christian citizens. The villages weher the Mosul's refugees have taken shelter in are in dire need of assistance.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent have been notified but no assistance from these organizations has come yet.

Please, call, email, write, your local congressmen today and ask them to make sure our soldiers are helping in the area. Speak up for these people. They are a minority and thus have us to call on. Please pray as I get the word out. here are a few websites
Find your local congressman or woman and call them now
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

To donate and get more info from an organization that deals with this please go to
http://www.persecution.com/

OK Heres what I also want you to do: I want at least a couple hundred of you to go to
http://www.redcross.org/

and TELL THEM TO GET INTO THIS AREA. If they need money, give it. You can spare 5 bucks. Every little bit counts.


Pray you guys.

Frank!

Flashback Friday's: Tuesday morning edition

Yeah I was sick to sorry about that folks. HEre are some gems.
Why I hate religion-Mark Driscoll



The Shack-Why Mark Driscoll hates it and you should too.


American Idolatry-Mark has a few things to say about it from a missions perspective. (I think)

The Temple of Science

This post comes from Thomas Lazlo. He and I went to school together and when I read this on his facebook page, I had to share it with you. You can find it HERE. The image above is of the "temple" itself. You can learn more about it at WIRED.


In a South Parkian turn of events, an artist has created a temple devoted to the worship of science. From the pictures I've seen it looks as if it's replaced stained glass windows with a picture of the cosmic background radiation. For info on that read Hugh Ross in "The Creator and the Cosmos." That's not the point. The point is that science thinks that it can replace religion, the problem is that it can, and athiests and Christians alike should be worried.

The artist's muse came after a Beyond Belief conference where men like Richard Dawkins talked about how the worship of science could do all that religion does: "They were trying to figure out what science might do to provide an alternative to religion. There wasn't a consensus, but there was momentum towards the idea that science could do everything religion could, that it could be everything religion had been."

I'm not going to debate this one bit, all I can say is thanks but no thanks. If you want to worship science, beware, science is a cruel deity.

Do you want to talk to me about happenstance and cruelty? Do you want to talk about unnecessary suffering? Do you want to talk about the silence of the Heavens?

Yes, science can provide all of these to you. In fact science can give them to you wholesale, no need to format a theology. Why do bad things happen to good people? Because the universe is a cold, harsh, unfeeling place in which life has beaten the odds and survived for billions of years, yet the universe does what it takes to make certain that life that has grown to the point that it feels...that it feels nothing but pain. No need to come up with theology explaining why science doesn't answer your prayers, because there is no voice.

And how does one worship science? How does one worship the pursuit of knowledge in a universe that exists SOLELY TO EXIST!!! Thanks but no thanks.

What of faith? Faith is lost. What of love? Love exists to perpetuate the species. What of hope? Illogical. What of kindness? Altruism or egoism, all leave someone out. The worship of science can provide help only for the majority. The poor, the uneducated, these are all left out. Thanks but no thanks.

Isn't there enough religion? Isn't there enough organization of like-minded individuals setting up institutions and rules to make sure that "we win and they lose." All that science creates is a hierarchy of education and wealth. The third world has no potential, the manual laborer, he offers no spiritual benefit to society. All he does is provide food, while the men and women in ivory towers provide him with another message from the Heavens, like last week when they found a thirteen million digit prime number. Science be praised! Thanks but no thanks.

Has the point not been made? Have Christians said but not done too often? We do not serve a capricious angry God, we do not seek knowledge of a silent Heavens. The God I serve is a God that puts the worship of science to shame. I serve a God who said that true religion is taking care of the widow and orphan. I serve a God who didn't look for the strongest, and most capable, but sought the prostitutes and the lepers. I serve a God who can weigh the heart, a God who I cannot hide from who actively makes me into a better person.

I don't care who I am in the cosmic scheme of things. I don't care about my place in the universe. I'm man number 4,385,123,892 in the tiny blue speck by the tiny yellow speck in the tiny disc shaped galaxy in the vastness of space. I don't give a damn about that identity. I want to be a man who people know is full of love. I want to be a man who provides hope to the hopeless, who exercises faith in the dark times, who triumphs through humility, and does not neglect the call to serve. I want to be a good man, I don't care about science when compared with my soul.

Science is nothing new, the god is no more powerful than any of the other gods served worldwide, except one. My God loves me. You may call me an idiot, you may call me gullible, you may call me regressive, but my God calls me his son, and that's what I care about. You see? I don't care what the Richard Dawkins of the world say about me. They're the ones devoting their lives to a futile cause. And in a hundred years when we're all dead, the great minds won't matter. Thanks for the blu-ray discs and surround sound science, thanks for the vicadin, it didn't heal my heart, but it made me numb for a while. I'm sick of people devoting themselves to purposelessness.

If all Christianity is a lie, then I will devote myself to the lie and make the world a better place than anyone bowed before the altar of knowledge. Without my God I become a freight train, get out of my way as I race for the top. Without my God I become a handgun, coldly firing without any care of my target. Without my God I become a brute, demolishing all weaker than me so that I can let my seed flourish. Your god may be more popular than my God, but my God is good, your god isn't anything at all.

If all your god is is everything, then your god isn't anything. My God is more than everything, he made everything. He set up the universe and he put us on the best planet possible to seek knowledge about this universe. Science wouldn't exist if this planet weren't fine-tuned to support observation. Science poses no threat to God, I glory every time it tells me something new about the universe he created. It doesn't matter how, all that matters is who.

My God may have been used in the past for wars and crusades, but don't think that the god of science won't be used in the same way. Men have a way of using belief for their own benefit. It's all the same. Maybe there's a lot of dissenion in Christianity, as knowledge increases, uncertainty concerning the things we don't know increases as well, and as that increases, disagreements are created. There will be disagreements and factions in science. There will be disagreements in Christianity... but just for now, someday all will be forgotten because we will not just know truth, we will see it and sense it with every aspect of our being.

Thanks but no thanks science, you can do all that religion does, but we don't want any more of that. I'll take Jesus Christ instead.

Flashback Fridays: Movie Music Edition

Bueller.....Bueller?? Great clip from Ferris Bueller's day off. I want to do this one day. Twist and shout!!!!


That Thing You Do! A great film from my youth. Ok from 12 years ago. It's a great song.


Jack Black and kids= SCHOOL OF ROCK!!!!


And finally...THIS IS SPINAL TAP! Stonehenge. Just watch it. This is a great and funny mocumentary. This is one of the funniest and most memorable parts of the film. These guys later went on to make A Mighty Wind and Best in Show.