That does sound like a fine play, Peter. If only any of us could live up to God’s best for us . . . only Jesus♡
I am making a pretend mushroom, spinach, and cheese omelet to share with son. I did not have the right kind of pan to cook it in so that is where we must pretend. It is not the proper shape😀
I’ll have to pick up some eggs (and I’ve heard prices on those have dropped), now I’m thinking about an omelet. It’ll have to be shredded wheat again this morning, though.
Another fast-flying week about to end.
And this year will be half over in another few weeks, how did that happen?
Making progress on things around here. Went through a box last night that was mostly old court documents. Some nasty things in there. I didn’t read much and was quick to toss.
The last thing in the box was pictures of the four boys we were adopting from Ecuador when he left. Still praying for them
My 93 y/o friend is still going through boxes from her move.😀 Better now than then, Jo! Congrats to those to whom the book is dedicated♡ Your lives will always be remembered in print😀 We are remembered in son’s dedication in his disertation book that hardly anyone will read😀
Woke up and thought I was in Oregon!!! Drizzly rain, sun hiding behind thick clouds …a great day to sit by the fireplace and read!!
Husband and daughter were going to hike but they headed off to have breakfast instead😊 they’ll stay drier that way!!
Spent yesterday watching over a sick little girl. She spent the day watching videos. I didn’t want to get too close as it was a yucky illness.
But I also went to the thrift store to leave some things and at the end of the day I went to the county library and found out how easy it is to leave books for their book sale. You just drive up and leave them on tables in a car port.
So I got rid of another five boxes yesterday. Almost done.
However there are all these bits and pieces all over my house. Old letters and pictures. So now I need to decide what to do with all of the bits.
So sad to hear this. Keller was among those I followed on Twitter (See? there are some very worthwhile voices on Twitter, you just have to find them and weed out the rest).
He was always clear and gracious. Being that we live in the culture we do, he took much unkindness online, even from those professing to be Christian. But he always responded with both forthrightness — and gentleness, never a hard word.
These are the copies of letters to the editor from readers I appreciate 🙂 :
She writes in part:
~ Always enjoy (my name)’s “just the facts, ma’am” reporting. She never weaponizes any of the eight parts of speech to tell the reader what to think. … ~
~ Hardly anyone could be more qualified than Timothy Keller to receive the Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness. It should have been the culmination of a remarkable career.
Keller applied Reformed theology to the heart of American culture while preaching at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he planted in 1989 with his wife, Kathy. Keller’s writing introduced Kuyper’s theology of vocation—his vision of God who claims “every square inch” of creation for his glory—to new generations of Christians around the world.
But the reaction from many Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) students and alumni revealed just how much American culture had shifted since 1989 when Keller stepped down from the pulpit in 2017. Keller’s views on women’s ordination and homosexuality countered the prevailing norms at PTS and other mainline seminaries, not to mention the broader culture.
By this evolving standard, Abraham Kuyper wouldn’t have been eligible for his own award. Under pressure from various advocacy groups, PTS leaders rescinded their decision to grant Keller the 2017 Kuyper Prize (which has since been hosted by Calvin College). The renowned pastor seemed poised to become yet another casualty in the ever-expanding culture wars.
Or not.
Keller did not receive the prize, but he agreed to give the lectures anyway. PTS did not want to reward him, but he still tolerated them. And for all the preceding protest, enthusiastic applause greeted Keller when he stepped to the podium on April 6, 2017. PTS president Craig Barnes got the message once again when he returned to dismiss the crowd.
I didn’t attend the PTS lectures, but I understand the surprising affection for Keller.
As a teenage evangelical convert in the late 1990s, I knew my faith was not welcome in the halls of power, whether that was in the classrooms of an elite private school or in the offices of the US House of Representatives. I never expected my zeal for Christ would make me popular or famous or rich. I just wanted to be faithful to God and obedient to his Word no matter where he led. I wanted to share my faith without reserve, even among hostile crowds.
And in 2007, I found an exemplar who modeled how to do that in America’s most secular settings. Timothy Keller shared the gospel boldly in the idioms of his day, without demeaning or demanding anything but faith and trust in our faithful, trustworthy Savior.
When the tragedy of 9/11 gave way to a new and more virulent outbreak of the culture wars, Keller demonstrated a different way. As an associate editor for Christianity Today in 2007, I reported on the first public event of The Gospel Coalition (TGC), which Keller cofounded. My initial read of TGC’s Theological Vision for Ministry, drafted by Keller, set forth an agenda I could follow as a young Christian coming of age in this contentious 21st century. …
… Keller didn’t even believe his own successful ministry in New York would offer much guidance for the generations that would succeed him. Keller followed Newbigin, who identified the post-Christian West as the most resistant, challenging missionary frontier of all time.
None of the traditional Christian reactions to culture would suffice as the basis for an effective missionary program under these contemporary conditions. If anything, these responses could only warn Christians of what not to do. Christians must not withdraw like the Amish, pursue political takeover like the Religious Right, or assimilate like the mainline Protestants. …
… As many American Christians began to shift their social and political tactics in 2016, Keller came under increased criticism and scrutiny from fellow evangelicals. But anyone who followed his work over the decades could see that he was not the one who had changed.
Keller did not court such opposition. Anyone working with him could attest to his extreme aversion to conflict. In all our personal conversations, I cannot recall hearing a single critical comment from him directed toward a fellow believer.
His steadiness under this growing hostility gave courage and comfort to younger leaders who became disillusioned by the fall of so many of our former heroes. Even I worried about uncovering unflattering secrets when I began writing his biography. Instead, talking to dozens of Keller’s close friends and family members who knew him from childhood only confirmed my personal experience of him. …
… Keller may have demurred at his ability to anticipate new challenges for the late-modern West. But he still laid out an agenda that could radically reshape evangelicals’ priorities—if only they would turn off the cable news and listen. Keller’s PTS lectures proposed seven steps for a missionary encounter in the post-Christian West. …
… Sixth, Keller highlighted the difference between grace and religion. As Richard Lovelace showed Keller in his first class at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1972, missionary encounters that produce social change depend on grace, not on the rules of religion. Only grace brings spiritual transformation. Apart from the Spirit of God, we’re helpless to effect lasting change in our fallen world. …
… Keller put his teaching into practice. He had told Christians for years that the gospel offers a distinct alternative to the intolerance of secularism and the tribalism of religion.
I don’t yet see widespread evidence that evangelicals have taken Keller’s advice or followed his example. Intolerance has been met with intolerance, hostility with more hostility.
But I suspect, if the Holy Spirit blesses us with another awakening, our churches will look more like what Keller envisioned—where grace will once more find a way through the tangles of religion and secularism. ~
__________________
Son and I went to Goodwill yesterday. I found a very cute and new appearing light gray sweatshirt with the Peanuts gang along with a Christmas tree in the center. This morning I planned to wash it and discovered what I thought was an inventory control device in a little pocket on it. I felt dismayed and wondered what to do about that. Then I saw it had a tiny switch and thought maybe it was a little music recording like you find in some cards. Then all of a sudden little lights showed on the front of the shirt!❤ But can I wash it? It smelled clean, like never worn. But still, I feel like it MUST be washed!
Oh Word Press you’re killing me with log in’s log out’s, not being able to “like” anything….and again I’m NancyJill and not NJ….and it’s only happening on my iPad…..need to figure this thing out! 🙃
Happy Birthday to Charlie Brown #1 who was planted in my front parkway 6 years ago today — May 19, 2017 — by the city of Los Angeles. His predecessor died and they brought a new tree in which since has thrived, now full and tall, though he does lean just a smidgen off to one side …
It is definitely cooler here. Son has been in town a week almost and we finally got to hike the boardwalk trail. It rained when we would have done it on some other days. I wore a wind breaker as we hiked today.
Wandering Views 
Welcome to Friday!
We went to an interesting play last night, The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy-Discord. It was interesting to see how 3 intelligent writers argued over their own versions of the Gospel, yet not one of them lived according to their own version.
As Shakespeare wrote, “What fools these mortals be.”
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Re: Yesterday’s discussion of the city in Kentucky:
An old joke – How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky, “Loo-is-ville” or “Lou-a-vull”? Answer- neither, it’s Frankfort.
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Good morning, Wanderers!
That does sound like a fine play, Peter. If only any of us could live up to God’s best for us . . . only Jesus♡
I am making a pretend mushroom, spinach, and cheese omelet to share with son. I did not have the right kind of pan to cook it in so that is where we must pretend. It is not the proper shape😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
A black moon?
https://www.heraldonline.com/news/state/south-carolina/article275546556.html?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
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I’ll have to pick up some eggs (and I’ve heard prices on those have dropped), now I’m thinking about an omelet. It’ll have to be shredded wheat again this morning, though.
Another fast-flying week about to end.
And this year will be half over in another few weeks, how did that happen?
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s Gray May here, down in the 60s every day and cloudy. Looks like it’ll continue through at least Memorial Day.
Once Gray May is done, we can move into June Gloom, another coolish, overcast month for us on the coast, typically.
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Making progress on things around here. Went through a box last night that was mostly old court documents. Some nasty things in there. I didn’t read much and was quick to toss.
The last thing in the box was pictures of the four boys we were adopting from Ecuador when he left. Still praying for them
LikeLiked by 3 people
Michelle I was honored by your dedication and would love a copy, please
LikeLiked by 1 person
My 93 y/o friend is still going through boxes from her move.😀 Better now than then, Jo! Congrats to those to whom the book is dedicated♡ Your lives will always be remembered in print😀 We are remembered in son’s dedication in his disertation book that hardly anyone will read😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
Woke up and thought I was in Oregon!!! Drizzly rain, sun hiding behind thick clouds …a great day to sit by the fireplace and read!!
Husband and daughter were going to hike but they headed off to have breakfast instead😊 they’ll stay drier that way!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spent yesterday watching over a sick little girl. She spent the day watching videos. I didn’t want to get too close as it was a yucky illness.
But I also went to the thrift store to leave some things and at the end of the day I went to the county library and found out how easy it is to leave books for their book sale. You just drive up and leave them on tables in a car port.
So I got rid of another five boxes yesterday. Almost done.
However there are all these bits and pieces all over my house. Old letters and pictures. So now I need to decide what to do with all of the bits.
Oh and things to put up on the walls.
LikeLiked by 3 people
hmmm…., wasn’t this what I was doing last year in PNG???
LikeLiked by 2 people
Could someone share the dedication page here? It was unavailable in Canada because…?
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I was just going to post that, NJ, thank you.
So sad to hear this. Keller was among those I followed on Twitter (See? there are some very worthwhile voices on Twitter, you just have to find them and weed out the rest).
He was always clear and gracious. Being that we live in the culture we do, he took much unkindness online, even from those professing to be Christian. But he always responded with both forthrightness — and gentleness, never a hard word.
LikeLiked by 3 people
These are the copies of letters to the editor from readers I appreciate 🙂 :
She writes in part:
~ Always enjoy (my name)’s “just the facts, ma’am” reporting. She never weaponizes any of the eight parts of speech to tell the reader what to think. … ~
LikeLiked by 3 people
Christianity Today:
_____________
Tim Keller Practiced the Grace He Preached
In an increasingly divisive world, the pastor theologian’s legacy was walking the higher road—the one less traveled.
|Collin Hansen
MAY 19, 2023
LikeLiked by 2 people
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/may-web-only/tim-keller-death-pastor-theologian-church-life-legacy-grace.html
________________
~ Hardly anyone could be more qualified than Timothy Keller to receive the Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness. It should have been the culmination of a remarkable career.
Keller applied Reformed theology to the heart of American culture while preaching at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he planted in 1989 with his wife, Kathy. Keller’s writing introduced Kuyper’s theology of vocation—his vision of God who claims “every square inch” of creation for his glory—to new generations of Christians around the world.
But the reaction from many Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) students and alumni revealed just how much American culture had shifted since 1989 when Keller stepped down from the pulpit in 2017. Keller’s views on women’s ordination and homosexuality countered the prevailing norms at PTS and other mainline seminaries, not to mention the broader culture.
By this evolving standard, Abraham Kuyper wouldn’t have been eligible for his own award. Under pressure from various advocacy groups, PTS leaders rescinded their decision to grant Keller the 2017 Kuyper Prize (which has since been hosted by Calvin College). The renowned pastor seemed poised to become yet another casualty in the ever-expanding culture wars.
Or not.
Keller did not receive the prize, but he agreed to give the lectures anyway. PTS did not want to reward him, but he still tolerated them. And for all the preceding protest, enthusiastic applause greeted Keller when he stepped to the podium on April 6, 2017. PTS president Craig Barnes got the message once again when he returned to dismiss the crowd.
I didn’t attend the PTS lectures, but I understand the surprising affection for Keller.
As a teenage evangelical convert in the late 1990s, I knew my faith was not welcome in the halls of power, whether that was in the classrooms of an elite private school or in the offices of the US House of Representatives. I never expected my zeal for Christ would make me popular or famous or rich. I just wanted to be faithful to God and obedient to his Word no matter where he led. I wanted to share my faith without reserve, even among hostile crowds.
And in 2007, I found an exemplar who modeled how to do that in America’s most secular settings. Timothy Keller shared the gospel boldly in the idioms of his day, without demeaning or demanding anything but faith and trust in our faithful, trustworthy Savior.
When the tragedy of 9/11 gave way to a new and more virulent outbreak of the culture wars, Keller demonstrated a different way. As an associate editor for Christianity Today in 2007, I reported on the first public event of The Gospel Coalition (TGC), which Keller cofounded. My initial read of TGC’s Theological Vision for Ministry, drafted by Keller, set forth an agenda I could follow as a young Christian coming of age in this contentious 21st century. …
… Keller didn’t even believe his own successful ministry in New York would offer much guidance for the generations that would succeed him. Keller followed Newbigin, who identified the post-Christian West as the most resistant, challenging missionary frontier of all time.
None of the traditional Christian reactions to culture would suffice as the basis for an effective missionary program under these contemporary conditions. If anything, these responses could only warn Christians of what not to do. Christians must not withdraw like the Amish, pursue political takeover like the Religious Right, or assimilate like the mainline Protestants. …
… As many American Christians began to shift their social and political tactics in 2016, Keller came under increased criticism and scrutiny from fellow evangelicals. But anyone who followed his work over the decades could see that he was not the one who had changed.
Keller did not court such opposition. Anyone working with him could attest to his extreme aversion to conflict. In all our personal conversations, I cannot recall hearing a single critical comment from him directed toward a fellow believer.
His steadiness under this growing hostility gave courage and comfort to younger leaders who became disillusioned by the fall of so many of our former heroes. Even I worried about uncovering unflattering secrets when I began writing his biography. Instead, talking to dozens of Keller’s close friends and family members who knew him from childhood only confirmed my personal experience of him. …
… Keller may have demurred at his ability to anticipate new challenges for the late-modern West. But he still laid out an agenda that could radically reshape evangelicals’ priorities—if only they would turn off the cable news and listen. Keller’s PTS lectures proposed seven steps for a missionary encounter in the post-Christian West. …
… Sixth, Keller highlighted the difference between grace and religion. As Richard Lovelace showed Keller in his first class at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1972, missionary encounters that produce social change depend on grace, not on the rules of religion. Only grace brings spiritual transformation. Apart from the Spirit of God, we’re helpless to effect lasting change in our fallen world. …
… Keller put his teaching into practice. He had told Christians for years that the gospel offers a distinct alternative to the intolerance of secularism and the tribalism of religion.
I don’t yet see widespread evidence that evangelicals have taken Keller’s advice or followed his example. Intolerance has been met with intolerance, hostility with more hostility.
But I suspect, if the Holy Spirit blesses us with another awakening, our churches will look more like what Keller envisioned—where grace will once more find a way through the tangles of religion and secularism. ~
__________________
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And I have a cousin named Keller after him♡ The parents attended his church.
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My friends in upstate NY were fans of his in the early 2000s.
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Son and I went to Goodwill yesterday. I found a very cute and new appearing light gray sweatshirt with the Peanuts gang along with a Christmas tree in the center. This morning I planned to wash it and discovered what I thought was an inventory control device in a little pocket on it. I felt dismayed and wondered what to do about that. Then I saw it had a tiny switch and thought maybe it was a little music recording like you find in some cards. Then all of a sudden little lights showed on the front of the shirt!❤ But can I wash it? It smelled clean, like never worn. But still, I feel like it MUST be washed!
LikeLiked by 2 people
We had dinner Monday night in CT with a woman whom Keller led to the Lord. She asked us to participate in prayer for him–which we, of course, did.
A good man, a good and faithful servant who loved his family–church and own–well.
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Oh Janice what a fun sweatshirt!! And yes I would definitely wash it…maybe the light battery pack disconnects?
Keller was a thoughtful and gracious brother in the Lord. A race well run good and faithful servant..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh Word Press you’re killing me with log in’s log out’s, not being able to “like” anything….and again I’m NancyJill and not NJ….and it’s only happening on my iPad…..need to figure this thing out! 🙃
LikeLiked by 2 people
Twinkling-blinking-flashing Janice!
You’ll outshine all of us at Christmas.
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“How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky, “Loo-is-ville” or “Lou-a-vull”? Answer- neither, it’s Frankfort.”
Peter,
As Chas would have said….
Booooo….. 🙂
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Happy Birthday to Charlie Brown #1 who was planted in my front parkway 6 years ago today — May 19, 2017 — by the city of Los Angeles. His predecessor died and they brought a new tree in which since has thrived, now full and tall, though he does lean just a smidgen off to one side …
LikeLiked by 2 people
Looks like an El Nino year is (almost officially now) in play.
Warmer in the north, wet-wet-wet on the west coast and the southwest (more rain for us!), dry in the northeast …
We’ve had some serious El Nino years in the past, with flooded streets and intersections.
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Oh, and colder in the south (sorry Kim!)
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It is definitely cooler here. Son has been in town a week almost and we finally got to hike the boardwalk trail. It rained when we would have done it on some other days. I wore a wind breaker as we hiked today.
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