I'm preparing to preach this Sunday on David's ascension to the throne in Israel (2 Samuel 5-7). There are some great stories and some great theological insights in this part of the Bible -- so I'm really enjoying the process of developing the text for my message.

But textual preparation is not the only part of message preparation for me.

Because of my background in visual communications, I tend to consider the images that I use during my teachings to be nearly as important as the words that I use. I find that the work of Rembrandt van Rijn is often as valuable a study companion as that of Matthew Henry. So whenever I'm working on a message, I'm simultaneously developing a Word document and a PowerPoint presentation. I realize that some people may not care that much about the imagery associated with a sermon, but the visual reinforcement is that important to me. And besides, there's such a great artistic history of biblical imagery, too, that it seems almost silly not to take advantage of these resources in preaching.

The search for the perfect images to accompany the words of my sermon often takes a lot of time and energy. I've used Google Images, or Flickr Photos, or the excellent on-line resources of the Rijksmuseum, and I've learned how to craft my search queries in such a way that they yield maximum results. Still, I've recently discovered one particularly useful website, developed by a Norwegian school-teacher, which I've found to be particularly helpful in finding biblical imagery.

The site is called Biblical Art on the WWW, and I highly recommend it to anyone who preaches or prepares visual accompaniment to teachings from the Bible.

The site is searchable by Biblical Text, Biblical Subject, Artist, or Word -- and it's crazy the breadth of imagery that can be accessed through this site. It includes everything from illustrations to children's Bibles... to the classic Gustave Doré etchings (which you have probably seen numerous times, without realizing who it was that created those images)... to works by the Italian Renaissance masters... to works by Rembrandt van Rijn and Marc Chagall (two of my personal favorites)... to images from Medieval illuminated manuscripts (which I think are especially cool)! All three of the images within this post were drawn from this site (as only a very small, representative sampling of the offerings), and all three are representative of themes that I'm covering in my message this Sunday.

Pretty cool, isn't it?

The only way the site could get better, I think, would be to include images from stained glass windows -- which I also find to be especially beautiful for electronic projection in a church setting -- but even without this added touch, I've been especially pleased with this internet resource, so I figured I would pass it along.

Dear Elliot,

I should have known from the very beginning that you would be a basketball nut.

I still remember watching coverage of the 2002 Final Four -- Indiana, Maryland, Kansas, and Oklahoma -- while camped out in the birthing suite of St. Luke's Hospital. The NCAA basketball tournament was an afterthought that year, as we were much more interested in this itty-bitty, basketball-sized bundle of baby-boy named Elliot Anderson Asp. Still, looking back I can't help but wonder if you forced your way out of the womb a week before your due date, just so you could sneak your birthday up a month and become a part of the whole "March Madness" phenomenon.

We're now in the week of your 10th Final Four, and it's fun to see the ways that you embrace the Madness. When I wake you up in the morning -- in the NBA-themed bedroom you share with your brother -- it's often with quick questions and hushed summary statements of the previous evening's scores ("The Heat won, but the Buckeyes lost"). After you get ready for school, we check scores and watch basketball highlights on the internet. After school, we play basketball on our miniature court in the basement or outside at one of the nearby playgrounds. Saturday mornings are basketball training with Basketball 's Cool Oost. Sunday mornings are pick-up games with the big boys... Basketball is a big part of your life these days.

Still, I'm happy to know that basketball is not the only thing in your life. Far from it! I love the way that you so gracefully manage so many skills and activities: a voracious appetite for reading, a sincere appreciation for music, an abiding respect for nature, special time with family and friends, a sincere spiritual sensitivity... and of course the sports, too. You do all of these things well. So I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. You're my boy, and I'm very pleased with the ways that you're growing up.

If I could offer you one piece of fatherly advice for you in the coming year, your 10th year of life, I think it would be this: Learn to move without the ball. In basketball, of course it's important to have good shooting technique and good defensive posture -- which, clearly, you do -- but it's also important to move without the ball so that you put yourself in position to get rebounds, seal off the passing lanes, and make strategic moves toward the basket that allow you or your teammates to score more easily. I know that we need to keep working on this together, since words can hardly convey the whole idea. But basically, the more you can move without the basketball, the more you endear yourself to your teammates and create a better basketball environment all around you.

This isn't just basketball advice, you know. It's good advice for life, too. Being a good student isn't just something that happens in the classroom. Being a good Christian isn't just something that happens in church. Being a good friend isn't just something that happens when other people are around. In all these aspects of life, it's important to "move without the ball" and practice basic things like love, faith, and perseverance when no one but God is looking. In a sense, this is what it means to grow up -- doing things that you know are right, even when there's nothing immediate in it for you.

Now that you're growing up, I just want to encourage you in this. I've already noticed you acting with such "invisible" integrity, and it makes me very proud. You just need to keep practicing -- with basketball, and with everything. So keep up the good work, my boy. Read the second chapter of Proverbs, and put it into practice. If you do this, the possibilities are practically limitless for how God will use you in the years to come.

Happy Birthday, Elliot. I love you.

Yours Forever,

Dad

I so, so sympathize with people who have to learn English as a second (or third or fourth) language.

I can relate in part because I've had to learn a other languages myself (though I don't believe that Dutch is as technically complex as English) -- but lately I've been noticing how hard it is even for people who have to learn English as their first language! My children, of course, are the primary example that comes to my mind.

Our three-year-old, Cor, is starting to grasp the concept of the singular and the plural. Most of the time, you just add an "s" to any singular word to make it plural -- or, vice versa, you take away the "s" from any plural word to make it singular. But when Cor asks for a "Kleeneck" (instead of a Kleenex), he's greeted with laughs. Or when he wants to have one more bowl of Energy Mix cereal and asks for a bowl of "Energy Mick," he's corrected. He's following the logic, but the logic leads him nowhere! Fortunately, being three, he doesn't care and just keeps learning by trial and error. But it shows me how challenging the language acquisition process can be.

Even with my almost-nine-year-old, Elliot, the language acquisition process can be challenging. This morning, he was reading me some statistics from a magazine, and he relayed the information to me that NBA basketball star Kevin Durant has a wing-span of "seven-dot-five" feet. I told him that usually such a figure would be spoken out as "seven-point-five." But seriously: How ludicrous is it that a "." in internet lexicography is pronounced "dot," while a "."  in numerical scenarios is spoken out as "point" (nevermind the fact that it can also be pronounced "period" in other situations!)?!? The complexity of language in things like this is astounding. Elliot has a good feel for language -- speaking two of them quite fluently, and even beyond his age level -- but still, he hasn't been able to figure out these intricacies after nine years of dedicated, ground-level study! Crazy, isn't it?

It's crazy, but it's cool. Languistics fascinate me.

Two weeks ago, I asked if it was possible to contend without being contentious. As a Christian leader, I believe that there are absolute truths which require us to stand up and contend for what's right; however, I'm also challenged by the biblical directives that a Christian leader is supposed to be "temperate, self-controlled, respectable... (and) not quarrelsome" (see 1 Timothy 3:1-12). Christians are supposed to be characterized by a sense of love and unity, not arrogance and antagonism. But seldom is this ideal truly realized; sadly, it's often the exact opposite.

So I've been thinking about different ideas for how to contend with this contentious characteristic of contemporary Christians -- and I thought I would share a few of my suggestions here. It's not a complete list, but perhaps it's a starting point:

1. Pick your battles. The number one way to come across as a contentious Christian is to have a strong and unwavering opinion on every single issue. And why?!? It's exhausting, unneccessary... and unbiblical! The Bible directly addresses this by saying, "Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters" (Romans 14:1). So when experiencing friction with other beliefs or opinions, it can be very helpful to ask: "Is this a hill that I'm really willing to die upon?" Most of the time it probably isn't. So don't.
2. Believe the best about others. The truth is that the vast majority of people -- even the most disagreeable or misinformed individuals -- are motivated primarily by good intentions. They love their friends and family. They don't like to see others suffer. They feel normal human emotions and think normal human thoughts. Unless you're dealing with Hitler or Stalin or some other notorious sociopath, it's doesn't do anyone any good to demonize a person with a different view on any given subject. Oh, and in case you're tempted to believe that you're dealing with a Hitler or a Stalin, you're probably not. Seriously. You're not.
3. Start with self-examination. When contending with someone on a particular subject, a particularly effective, non-contentious way of interacting with the issues at hand is to approach things from an attitude of self-examination. How do you fall short of your own ideals? Which mistakes can you own up to, even if they might have come from good intentions? Self-deprecating humor can work well, too. It's surprising how agreeable others can become, if you're just willing to put yourself in the hot seat instead of attacking others.
4. Argue from the positive side of things, as much as possible (if you really must argue). As my friend Marco recently put it, "If someone is convinced that Apple is better than Microsoft, it is more compelling to me when they focus more on the arguments 'for' Apple, rather than putting much emphasize on why Microsoft would be so bad." How much more true should this be for more important personal and spiritual issues! If you can't come up with the positive points for whatever it is that you believe, then maybe you should be reconsidering your own position.
   
5. Admit that you might be wrong. A tiny bit of humility goes a long, long way towards reducing contentious communication. Even if it's only the tiniest 0.00000001% chance that you might be wrong on a given topic, just admit it.

What do you think? Any other tips that you might suggest for contending without being contentious? Or do you want to fight me on any of these suggestions. :-)

I should offer the disclaimer that my goal in addressing this topic is not stripping ourselves down to totally non-offensive, vanilla-flavored, non-committal communication! An excessively argumentative attitude is not good, but neither is elusive agnosticism about everything. The extremes can be unhealthy in either direction. I've said before, and I'll say it again: balance is best. But even as I express this wish for balance, I freely admit that I'm hopelessly pastoral in thinking through these things -- even while I appreciate the value of those with strong prophetic gifting. My main hope in laying out these thoughts is to create a dialogue in things like this that allow us to stick closely to the ideal expressed in Ephesians 4, with different people using their different expressions of God's grace "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Spring has sprung in the Netherlands, and we're all extremely grateful!

As you can see in the 17-second video clip above, a bright sun and a sharp shadow can be quite the novelty after a long, dull, gray winter in the northern Europe.

It also tends to make a person feel like singing and dancing -- as you can see in the 26-second video clip below, with my children performing on a "stage" formed by a rectangular metal manhole cover, using a "microphone" created by some sort of utilities pole.

Ain't the springtime grand?

This is one of those posts that might only be interesting to grandparents, six-year-old girls, and perhaps the occasional interior designer... But here is a brief tour of Olivia's new bedroom (the result of several weekends of working on it).

If you enjoyed my photographic documentation of the recent Amsterdam50 Retreat, then you really need to check out the images just published by the great Marco Pauws. He's a crazy-talented photographer who has generously made a collection of his images available on-line.

Being the full-service professional that he is, Marco has also provided the following instructions for downloading any image files, in addition to the link to the on-line collection:

If you want to download a single or a couple of full size images, just click on the image. As you get to comment section, you see a magnifying glass appear when you move your mouse over the image. Click on it and you'll see the picture full size on a black page. In the right upper corner you'll see "view all sizes". When you click on that you can select 'original' and right click on the image to save it on your computer.

It will take too long to download every single image image this way. So, if you want the full collection just click on the following link and save the zip file on your computer:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10872653/Twello%20A50%20Retreat/Twello%20A50%20Retreat%20Full%20Collection.zip

This zip file contains all pictures. But please download it before March 31. After that, the link will expire. And remember: it's a large file, so please be patient :)

So anyway, I hope you enjoy this collection of images as much as I do!

What a weekend! It's Tuesday, and I'm still processing everything that happened over the course of the fantastic 48-hour retreat that I got to experience with the rest of my friends and family from Amsterdam50...

We were blessed with mild, sunny weather -- the first true weekend of spring -- and an incredible venue for the retreat: Landgoed het Hunderen, an estate whose history stretches back to the 10th Century with a magnificent country mansion built in the early 1600s. Getting to experience such a weekend in such a setting was lovely in and of itself.

But the best thing about the weekend was that we got to experience it together as an extended spiritual family: seeking rest, reconnection, and spiritual renewal together as a church.

We bunked out in the country mansion and its carriage house (which have since been converted into large group accomodations). We ate meals together. We enjoyed times of Bible study, worship, and discussion. We played games together (including a two-and-a-half hour basketball marathon on Saturday afternoon). And we even got to celebrate two spontaneous baptisms, right in the old moat that encircled the estate!

It was definitely a weekend to remember. I didn't manage to take everyone's portrait, throughout the course of the weekend, but I'm deeply warmed to look at the faces of these men, women, boys, and girls who made my weekend -- and who make my daily life -- so rich and so meaningful.

In case you'd like to see more pictures from the Amsterdam50 Spring Retreat, you can view them through the Ministry Pictures section of this website, through my Flickr page, or through the Amsterdam50 Facebook Page.

Is it possible to contend without being contentious?

Is it possible to write a compelling argument without coming across as being unnecessarily argumentative?

These are questions that are buzzing around in my mind these days. I recently finished reading T. David Gordon's Why Johnny Can't Preach, and I was thoroughly impressed by the information that was presented in the book... but there was something that bothered me about it, and it was only a few days after my final reading that I was able to put my finger on the problem. Despite the excellence of Gordon's material, I feel that its impact was hindered by the authorial tone: a tone which I experienced to be subtly obnoxious.

Now, I've heard that Dr. Gordon can be very pleasant and charming, in-person; so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as a person. Nevertheless, without any personal context, it's hard to interpret the way that Gordon builds his argument (albeit an excellent argument) as being anything other than belittling, brow-beating, and curmudgeonly. As far as I can tell, he doesn't even attempt to disguise his disdain for people with different opinions and practices (in this case, people from the emergent church movement and unskilled preachers of all different theological persuasions). And when he makes his points (excellent points though they may be!), he regularly leads into them with words like "clearly," or "obviously" -- and the general tone is such that "any idiot should know this, and if you think otherwise, well, then you're just a dummy." He doesn't say it in so many words, but let me just say that I was able to pick up the cues -- and I'm not even a very intuitive person.

The thing is: it's not just one book by one author. I get this same vibe from a lot of Christians -- preachers, especially. And if I'm irked by it (even though I am both a Christian and a preacher), I can only imagine what people outside the Church must feel in the midst of such contentious communication. To me, one's tone speaks just as much, if not more, than one's words; and I'm just saying that our tone all-too-frequently fails to communicate the message that Jesus said we're really supposed to be sending.

I understand the need to be committed to Truth. I understand the need to argue intelligently and articulately about important issues. And I understand that polarizing and passionately-argued books might sell better than books marked by moderation. Still, I wish for a different way of forming arguments -- with humility and gentleness and empathy. I wish for a way to contend without being contentious -- to present arguments without being argumentative.

Colorful sidewalk chalk drawings point the way home. There are only a few people I know who could have provided such beautiful street art...

I love the pre-dawn stillness of the basketball court on the Krugerplein. It's one of my favorite places in Amsterdam for solitude, reflection, and exercise.

Bus 37 bumbles past every five to ten minutes.

Little old Muslim men in long robes and tight skullcaps stroll along the edges of the court, chatting as they presumably return to their homes following morning prayers at the neighborhood mosque.

I run back and forth, from hoop to hoop, pushing myself to overcome an invisible foe. And when I pause to catch my breath and shoot free-throws, the calm of the Krugerplein Court is delicious.