And we found some banana plants where the flowers were easy to see:
Pictures: Queen's Botanical Gardens (pt 2)
We found a couple trees, the grass tree and the bottle tree, that were imported from Australia.
And we found some banana plants where the flowers were easy to see:
And we found some banana plants where the flowers were easy to see:
Pictures: Warorot
While each part of town has a neighborhood market, Warorot is a giant market that attracts folks from all over town; no other market is quite like it. So we took my folks there one day to have a look. We bought dried fruit and clothes, sampled a coconut shake, and took pictures, a fun experience.
In case you forgot, I blogged about Warorot last Feb.
In case you forgot, I blogged about Warorot last Feb.
1 Kings 16b-18
I continue to work my way through 1 Kings. This week I finished God's initial attacks on Baal through the prophet Elijah. You can find my commentary on my website.
Fender Bender
To experience the complete Thai lifestyle, one must participate in a car wreck. Given the way they drive here, it almost seemed inevitable, and a couple weeks ago we had a wreck. Well, wreck is too strong of a word; it was just a fender bender. Traffic stopped suddenly, but the guy behind us didn't stop in time and rear-ended us. Fortunately he wasn't going very fast and had a car smaller than our truck. No one was hurt. Also, the Thai people in the other vehicle were very kind and pleasant; we chatted amicably while the settlement negotiations took place. No police. No lawyers. No insurance companies. I suppose if one must be in a wreck, this was the best kind to have.
Pictures: Christmas Part II
When James' folks came to Thailand for a visit we had second Christmas (kinda like second breakfast for all you hobbits). Jasen's big present was a camera, while Emmy got clothes and a WebKinz. Ann's big score? Dr. Pepper flavored Jelly Bellys.
Pictures: Prince Royals College
I went to Prince Royals College here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, recently to do a bit of photography. Well, either kids in Thailand are *way* ahead of their American counterparts, or "college" doesn't mean what it means in America.
But doughnuts are good no matter country you're from:
But doughnuts are good no matter country you're from:
Pictures: Jacen's 11th Birthday Party (part 2)
So after watching several hours of Clone Wars, the boys naturally headed outside to practice. That meant lightsaber fights with sticks, of course. Luckily, no blood.
Pictures: Jacen's 11th Birthday Party
Wow, it's hard to believe, but my son is already 11. We celebrated his birthday a few days early with a birthday party. Four of his friends joined him for some chocolate birthday cake and presents as well as several hours of watching Clone War Season 1 cartoons. They had a blast.
Pictures: Our Family
A friend recently took some family photos for us. (Thanks, Will!) Here are the two we liked most:
Pictures: A Photoshoot
Another family in town that we are friends with asked me to do a photoshoot for them. Below are a few of the pictures.
Love the eyes:
It can be tough to get a good smile from kids, but this one is spot on:
Ah, siblings:
Love the eyes:
It can be tough to get a good smile from kids, but this one is spot on:
Ah, siblings:
Picture: Bull
Caught this scene on the way to work recently. I'm sure the bull outweighs the truck. If he shifted his weight suddenly...
Pictures: Thai School Christmas Program
I went to a Thai elementary school to watch a Christmas program. Not much was actually about Christmas, and none was about Christ, but it was still fun to watch. Below are some photos I took.
A sea of faces watching the program:
Traditional Thai dancing:
A Thai Santa, entirely too skinny:
A sea of faces watching the program:
Traditional Thai dancing:
A Thai Santa, entirely too skinny:
Pictures: Another Photoshoot
Just before Christmas I did a photoshoot of a family who came to Chiang Mai to visit their daughter; here are a few shots:
1 Kings 12-14a
Continuing to work my way through 1 Kings, I have posted my commentary on the dividing of the kingdom and Jeroboam's sin.
Some Thoughts on "Why Johnny Can't Preach"
“To preach the Word of God well, one must already have cultivated, at a minimum, three sensibilities: the sensibility of close reading of texts, the sensibility of composed communication, and the sensibility of the significant.” Thus T. David Gordon summarizes his book “Why Johnny Can’t Preach.” It’s a homiletics book, or more precisely it’s a book about the current state of homiletics. As one might guess from the title, Gordon thinks things are bad; he asserts that most preachers cannot and do not exposit the Word of God when they preach. I agree; for that matter, I have found few church members who can accurately define what exposition is.
The primary problem, in his estimation, is that preachers cannot closely read texts; that is, they don’t appreciate the skill with which a piece of literature is composed. This leads to a lack of ability to discern the true meaning (significance) of a text, and thus they preach sermons that are on the text but miss the point of the text. Gordon goes on to write that his problem stems from the abundant presence of electronic media that constantly distracts our attention and keeps us focused on the insignificant (can you say sitcom, Facebook, or Twitter?). In a similar vein, preachers can’t write well either, thus they can’t organize a good sermon.
His fourth chapter is a wonderful plea for Christ-centered preaching as well as a list of poor (though common) alternatives to exposition. He ends with some suggestions for homiletical improvement, many of which are quite good.
Overall, I find myself to be in agreement with his book. Perhaps the one area I would disagree most with Gordon is his emphasis upon reading classical literature, notably poetry. Gordon argues that learning to reading poetry will develop the skill of closely reading texts; while it may, I think there are probably many other degrees, jobs, and skills that can develop it. Computer programming, as one example, requires a person to pay close attention to details; I’m fairly certain that other occupations such as medicine and law do the same. Furthermore, I think anyone who takes time to develop inductive Bible study skills, such as those taught by Kay Arthur and Howard Hendricks, can learn to closely read a biblical text.
Overall, this short book is solid. But for those who are well read in expositional and Christ-centered homiletical books, it probably doesn’t really break much new ground.
The primary problem, in his estimation, is that preachers cannot closely read texts; that is, they don’t appreciate the skill with which a piece of literature is composed. This leads to a lack of ability to discern the true meaning (significance) of a text, and thus they preach sermons that are on the text but miss the point of the text. Gordon goes on to write that his problem stems from the abundant presence of electronic media that constantly distracts our attention and keeps us focused on the insignificant (can you say sitcom, Facebook, or Twitter?). In a similar vein, preachers can’t write well either, thus they can’t organize a good sermon.
His fourth chapter is a wonderful plea for Christ-centered preaching as well as a list of poor (though common) alternatives to exposition. He ends with some suggestions for homiletical improvement, many of which are quite good.
Overall, I find myself to be in agreement with his book. Perhaps the one area I would disagree most with Gordon is his emphasis upon reading classical literature, notably poetry. Gordon argues that learning to reading poetry will develop the skill of closely reading texts; while it may, I think there are probably many other degrees, jobs, and skills that can develop it. Computer programming, as one example, requires a person to pay close attention to details; I’m fairly certain that other occupations such as medicine and law do the same. Furthermore, I think anyone who takes time to develop inductive Bible study skills, such as those taught by Kay Arthur and Howard Hendricks, can learn to closely read a biblical text.
Overall, this short book is solid. But for those who are well read in expositional and Christ-centered homiletical books, it probably doesn’t really break much new ground.
Pictures: Our Thai Friends
Recently some Thai friends asked me to take their family photo. He's a pastor here in town and she's a Thai tutor (and teaches Ann and the kids). Afterwards they served us a delicious Thai meal, and despite a few language difficulties, we had a great evening of fellowship together.
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