The Blessed Martin

In honor of Reformation Day, I finally got around to changing my “Notable Quotable.”

The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God. — Martin Luther

All Councils "May Err and Many Have Erred"

So says the Westminster Confession of Faith (section 31.3), one of the key confessions of Reformed theology. This realization concerning the fallibility of human instruction goes along with ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda (“The Church reformed, always reforming”) to remind us of the church's need to constantly seek the truth of Scripture and never allow our flawed interpretations to override that truth.

Martin Luther realized that when he nailed the Ninety-Five Theses up on the door of Wittenberg Church 492 years ago today. Tradition and the wisdom of men supported indulgences, but the Gospel of Grace condemned it. We should similarly stand against the wisdom of men today, insomuch as it stands against the Gospel and the freedom that comes through union with Christ.

To celebrate the 500th birthday of John Calvin, which occurred earlier this year, Open for Business has offered varying perspectives on the Reformation over the past few weeks. With today's piece written by Steve Braun, the trilogy is complete:

• Biblical Challenges to Church Leadership by yours truly.
• Reformation Day Is a Stupid Holiday by Jason Kettinger.
• Ever Reforming by Steve Braun.

If you're hungry for more, you might also want to check out a very fine piece I stumbled upon over on the PC(USA) web site:

Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda. This motto calls us to something more radical than we have imagined. It challenges both liberal and conservative impulses and the habits and agendas we have lately fallen into. It brings a prophetic critique to our cultural accommodation—either to the past or to the present—and calls us to communal and institutional repentance. It invites us, as people who worship and serve a living God, to be open to being “re-formed” according to the Word of God and the call of the Spirit.

That is definitely the lesson we should take away from Reformation Day.

The DROID Has Landed

In my initial testing, it looks really promising.

Like a Dream You Came to Me

Like a dream you came to me,
And trod along the gentle path,
Like a dream you spoke again,
Said what I had once hoped to hear.
A million sighs like filled balloons
Flew pleasantly southwest and high,
Blown fast by kind old Zephyr's touch.

The old familiar visitant,
The ache that's spanned the years and years,
No longer welcomed, nor its lack
Did sting as we today ambled.

The birds gathered and sang just like
A merry band of strolling lutes,
But not outshown by the kindly Sun,
Who poured and splashed his golden rain
Upon your hair (each strand repaid).
But your smile accrued double.

So why am I again attended by
The milky form as though conjured?
Well paid, I do not owe again!
Your golden glow will pay suffice!
Why then do I again feel poor?
Surely, though it was like a dream…

But, oh! There was no like — only a dream.

iDon't Know

Verizon is, without a question, making some really strong decisions in recent times — not the least being the decision to go to LTE for its 4G network (a truly impressive technology). I also think the choice to move away from its long time ties to BREW phones, by putting a lot of its emphasis on Blackberry, Windows and now Android phones is brilliant and clearly the wave of the future.

I'm still not so sure of this campaign. While I don't advocate Dan Hesse's answer as a good way to compete, I think it is pretty bold to put a phone up as doing what the iPhone cannot do.

The trouble is that for as limited as the iPhone is in things such as multitasking, it is doubly ahead in ways most users actually care about: a huge ecosystem of first rate, beautiful, touch oriented apps; desktop class web browsing on a small screen; integration with the iTunes/iPod digital hub, etc.

It's significant that, for example, Apple clearly sees its consumer-level iPhone OS competitors more as Sony and Nintendo than Microsoft or Blackberry. Apple is also trying to play the enterprise card, but in this case, the consumer offers a far more lucrative market.

I think those iPhone advantages can be overcome for many users, and phones like the impressive HTC Imagio that I'm presently reviewing make a very good value/functionality argument for certain market segments. However, in sheer average user functionality, the iPhone has managed to rocket from out of nowhere to become the device to beat in mindshare and, in some segments, marketshare.

If I were Verizon I'd probably stick with the network tact and bide my time until the inevitable iPhone LTE shows up on their network.

asisaid Challenge Returns: Predestination

The Rules of the Challenge
You are on your honor not to Google or otherwise use electronic search tools to find the answers. The points will only be awarded to (a) regular commenters on asisaid or (b) people I know well via other means. I reserve the right to determine what these two categories mean and further reserve the right to disqualify any participant at any time for any reason. Call it unconditional election, if you wish and think that isn't potentially presumptuous coming from a mere mortal.

There is no guarantee of prize value or receipt and no purchase necessary to receive it. The prizes have no cash value and will be awarded at the sole discretion of Timothy R. Butler. I reserve the right to end the Challenge at any time. Domain registration, if chosen, will be provided through Universal Networks and its registrar affiliate. Void where prohibited. You must be of legal age, typically 18 years old, to participate in this challenge for a prize. All ages and locales are welcome to participate “just for fun.”

Jack and Squat

If you didn't catch this going around the internet yet, here is a little presidential address from last Saturday to brighten your day.

Tullian's Take

I don't claim to be well versed enough in the situation to make a clear statement on who is right in the Coral Ridge conflict, but I like what Tullian Tchividjian said in an op-ed published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Finally, whenever you see any of us who claim to be “Christ followers” behaving in a manner that is unlike Jesus, please forgive us. And please let that be a reflection on us, and not on Him. As imperfect people, we will continue to let you down and disappoint you, but Jesus will never let you down—he will never disappoint you. This conflict has “given the world the justification they're looking for to disbelieve the gospel”, and I am sorry.

Very true.

Can You Tell Helvetica from Arial?

Think you know your fonts? Try this quiz that takes famous logos using the Helvetica typeface to see if you can spot the (original) Helvetica version versus the Arial version.

HT: John Gruber. (Incidentally, I got 20/20, which means I get at least a brief moment to glory over the aesthetically astute John Gruber.)

Preparing to Preach

I'm trying my first attempt at preaching a Psalm this week. I'm preaching from Psalm 54, which is related to either 1 Samuel 23 or 26. Here's the text of the Psalm (ESV):

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A MASKIL OF DAVID, WHEN THE ZIPHITES WENT AND TOLD SAUL, “IS NOT DAVID HIDING AMONG US?”

O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers have risen against me;
ruthless men seek my life;
they do not set God before themselves. Selah
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
in your faithfulness put an end to them.
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

I'm excited.