Writer and Teacher
Resources for Preparing for and Spiritually Surviving at College
Feb 3rd
J. Budziszewski, How to Stay Christian in College: An Interactive Guide to Keeping the Faith (Think, 2004). A former atheist and radical, now professor at the university of Texas, gives straight advice on different worldviews and myths that students encounter at college.
Alex McFarland, Stand Strong in College (Tyndale House, 2007). Apologetics youth expert helps the student prepare for the academic, social, emotional, and spiritual challenges he or she will face. Geared to high school students.
Jonathan Morrow, Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower’s Guide for the Journey (Kregel, 2008). This guidebook provides wisdom from biblical truth and practical experience. It discusses intellectual challenges, financial problems, sexual snares, getting enough sleep and more.
Abby Nye, Fish Out of Water (Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2005). The author tells of her story of facing the anti-Christian atmosphere and pressures she experienced at Butler University and how she survived with her faith intact.
James W. Sire, Chris Chrisman Goes to Colleges: And Faces the Challenges of Relativism, Individualism and Pluralism (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993). Fictional account of three young men at college and how they confronted the dominant ideologies of the secular university.
David Wheaton, University of Destruction: Your Game Plan for Spiritual Victory on Campus (Bethany House, 2005). Professional tennis player and speaker relates his experience at Stanford University. He identifies perils faced in sex, alcohol/drugs, and humanism and gives a game plan for surviving spiritually.
Fun With Our Grandchildren
Jan 30th
Last summer Barbara and I wanted to spend a day with each of our four grandchildren. We set the following guidelines—one day only, one child only, and suited to the child’s interests. At that time Dane and Luke were twelve; Hope and Mark were nine. They live within three miles of our home.
Hope, our little drama queen, has acted in two plays at the local Stained Glass Theatre. We went to a Disney Cinderella play performed in a classic theatre in Springfield, Missouri, about eighty miles away. One hundred fifty young people made up the cast. Hope identified one of the step-sisters as the part she would like to play. We also visited the Springfield Zoo for a couple of hours in the morning and ate lunch in a quaint café before attending the play.
Mark loves animals. We spent a couple hours at the Tulsa Zoo in the morning. We drove across town, grabbed a sandwich, and spent the afternoon enjoying the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, Oklahoma. We found it interesting to see what caught his attention. He entertained us with his comments and descriptions of the marine creatures. The amazing diversity in the animal world declares the creative wisdom of God.
Dane, Hope’s brother, expressed interest in flight. We arranged to meet a flight instructor at the Joplin Regional Airport who graciously showed us the trainer he used in training pilots and the other planes in the hanger. He answered Dane’s questions. Then we went to Tulsa Museum and Planetarium. We learned about constellations, saw many airplanes (including the F-14A “Tomcat” Fighter Jet), and participated in the interactive exhibits (including the Space Shuttle Robotic Arm and Space Maneuvering Unit).
Luke, Mark’s brother likes science. We went to Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, which has a special program in solar energy. The director of the program met us in their house powered by solar energy. He explained solar panels and the value of solar energy. After lunch we went to the Kansas Technology Center at Pittsburg State University. A professor guided Luke in designing a 3-D frying pan using engineering software and gave us a walking tour of their facility. We also stopped by the Chemistry and Biology Departments.
I quipped to someone, “How else would we get to do these fun things if we didn’t take our grandkids.” The best part of our outings was spending time with each grandchild individually and hearing what they think. Watching them mature has been a blessing. Connecting with grandchildren keeps the family legacy alive and well and keeps grandparents young.
Where Is God When We Suffer? Soon Available in Russian
Jan 4th
Last year Sergei Golovin, president of the Christian Center for Science and Apologetics (http://www.scienceandapologetics.org/engin.html) requested permission to translate and publish Where Is God When We Suffer? What the Bible Says About Suffering. The book has been translated into the Russian language and is at the printers, soon to be available. My Christianity Stands True has been in Russian for several years. Dr. Golovin, a scientist, was converted to Christ and has devoted the last several years to a ministry of building faith in God, Christ, and the Bible among his people. He wrote the following comment about Where Is God When We Suffer?
The Good News of Suffering—Lynn Gardner’s Book in Russian
by Sergei Golovin
The people of The Soviet Union have experienced a great exodus from the Egypt of communism and atheism into the desert of democracy. Now, twenty years later, flourishing enthusiasm is replaced with general apathy and disappointment with religion. Wrong expectations were never met, right expectations were not developed. There is an issue however nobody is indifferent to—the issue of pain and suffering. That makes Dr. Gardner’s book, Where Is God When We Suffer? an extremely effective tool for proclaiming Good News of Jesus in the postcommunist part of the world.
Some books on the issue of suffering comfort a reader. Some explain suffering. Some explore the biblical view of it. Some tell how to cope with suffering and help others. The book by Dr. Gardner shows the issue from all these viewpoints. The book is not just theoretical reasoning, but is written out of the personal experience of the author who has suffered a lot. Instead of aborting the human race because of sin God’s plan allowed suffering in the world with the goal of redeeming the fallen world through his sharing suffering at the Cross. The Cross of Christ is the only way to overcome suffering. Clear focus on Christ makes this book on suffering a vehicle for the Good News.
C. S. Lewis, Apologist—a Bibliography
Dec 12th
C. S. Lewis may well be the most influential twentieth century English language apologist. The following resources provide information and perspective on his apologetics.
Baggett, David, Gary R. Habermas and Jerry L. Walls, eds. C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness and Beauty. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Burson, Scott R. and Jerry L. Walls. C. S. Lewis & Francis Schaeffer: Lessons for a New Century from the Most Influential Apologists of Our Time. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998.
Cunningham, Richard B. C. S. Lewis: Defender of the Faith. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008 reprint of 1967 ed.
Dorsett, Lyle W. Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C. S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2004.
Downing, David C. The Most Reluctant Convert: C. S. Lewis’s Journey to Faith. Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 2002.
Duriez, Colin. “Lewis, C. S.” New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics, W. C. Campbell-Jack and Gavin McGrath, eds. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006, 402-403.
Duriez, Colin. The C. S. Lewis Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to His Life, Thought, and Writings. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.
Farrer, Austin. “The Christian Apologist,” Light on C. S. Lewis, ed. Jocelyn Gibb. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1965, 23-43.
Geisler, Norman L. “Lewis, C. S.,” Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999, 420-425.
Kilby, Clyde S. The Christian World of C. S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964.
Lindsley, Art. C. S. Lewis’s Case for Christ: Insights from Reason, Imagination and Faith. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Lindskoog, Kathryn Ann. C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian. Glendale: G/L Publications, 1973.
Macdonald, Michael H. and Andrew A. Tadie, eds. G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis: The Riddle of Joy. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
Purtill, Richard L. C. S. Lewis’s Case for the Christian Faith. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1981.
Walsh, Chad. C. S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics. New York: Macmillan, 1949.
Walsh, Chad. The Visionary Christian. Touchstone Books, 1996.
I Am Thankful for My Double Lung Transplant
Nov 28th
In July 2000 at University Hospital in Denver I had a lung biopsy. Immediately after the surgery the surgeon said my wife, Barbara, “Have you considered a lung transplant?” We had not given one thought to a transplant.
I began having a non-productive cough in 1995. In the fall of 1999 I was checked out for shortness of breath with asthma, apnea and other things ruled out. My local pulmonologist suspected idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis which a CT scan at Barnes Hospital (St. Louis) confirmed. However, my doctor wasn’t sure what treatment to pursue.
I went to National Jewish Research Center, a top respiratory hospital in Denver. They agreed with the diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Idiopathic means the cause is unknown. Pulmonary refers to the lungs. Fibrosis means scarring. IPF, as it is called, is a progressive scarring and deterioration of the lungs leaving the victim unable to breathe. My doctor said, “You don’t have cancer, but you have something just as bad. You have a life expectancy of about three years.”
More than 128,000 Americans suffer from this disease with about 48,000 diagnosed annually. Each year 40,000 die of IPF, the same number as die of breast cancer. Despite these facts, little is known about IPF. It has no known cause or means of prevention or FDA-approved treatment—outside of a lung transplant. More >
C. S. Lewis and Fairy Tales for Children
Nov 17th
When speaking about C. S. Lewis in class at Wheaton College, Clyde Kilby said he believed that children exposed to the world of fantasy were better able to understand and relate to the real world as adults.
In The Christian World of C. S. Lewis, Kilby wrote:
Lewis rigorously defends the fairy tale against any who claim that it gives a false conception of life. The fact is, says he, that this is the direct opposite of the truth and it is the so-called realistic stories which deceive children. The fairy tale, like the myth, on the one hand arouses longing for more ideal worlds and on the other gives the real world a new dimension of depth. The boy ‘does not despise real woods because he has read of enchanted woods: the reading makes all real woods a little more enchanted.’ The child reading the fairy tale is delighted simply in desiring, while the child reading a ‘realistic’ story may establish the success of its hero as a standard for himself and when he cannot have the same success, may suffer bitter disappointment.[1]
Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and other similar books have an important place in a child’s early development.
[1] Clyde S. Kilby, The Christian World of C. S. Lewis (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964), 116.
The Grace of Grieving
Nov 3rd
God cares and suffers with us when we grieve. He grants grieving as a grace to help us deal with personal loss and to prepare us to comfort those experiencing loss.
Grief as a Gift
Christians grieve even with our hope in life beyond death. Losing a loved one brings great pain and indescribable sadness and loss. It is insensitive, unrealistic, and unbiblical to suggest that Christians do not need to grieve. Pretending one does not need to grieve is unhealthy.
God designed the grieving process as a way of coping with the death of loved ones and other tragic losses. Mourning and expressing one’s grief can facilitate healing. Minimizing or refusing to grieve delays healing.
Grief is the mental, emotional, and spiritual pain and sorrow enabling us to cope with serious loss. The depth of our grief depends on the intensity of our love for the person or thing that is lost. When the loss is anticipated due to extended illness, grieving takes a different shape than in cases of unexpected loss. In divorce, the hurt is permanent but it lacks the closure and finality of the death of a mate because conflicted consequences continue.
When a tragic loss occurs, grief is more consuming and devastating than we ever imagined. Words fail to express what we feel. Shock leaves us half-numb, making it difficult to comprehend what others say or to formulate our own thoughts in coherent sentences. However, the shock helps us survive the early hours and days. More >
New York “Bankees”
Oct 23rd
A couple years ago my ten-year-old grandson, Luke, said he heard that the New York Yankees were the best team in baseball.
I responded, “They are the best team money can buy.”
He answered, “They should not be called the New York Yankees. They
should be called the New York Bankees.”
I believe his label still fits.
Resources Evaluating Postmodernism and the Emergent Movement
Oct 21st
Carson, D. A. Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
Early evaluation of the Emergent Movement by a theologian.
De Young, Kevin and Ted Kluck. Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). Chicago: Moody Publications, 2008.
Solid work evaluating the views of emergents in the light of biblical Christianity. A good first choice for one seeking to understand emergent thinking.
Erickson, Millard J., Paul Kjoss Helseth, and Justin Taylor, eds. Reclaiming the Center: Confronting Evangelical Accommodation in Postmodern Times. Wheaton: Crossway, 2004.
A careful and scholarly response to the views of Stanley Grenz, Brian McLaren, Robert Webber and others who consider themselves post-conservatives.
Erickson, Millard J. Truth or Consequences: The Promise & Perils of Postmodernism. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
Analysis of the roots and results of postmodernism acknowledging strengths and exposing logical flaws and suggesting an evangelical response.
Groothuis, Doug. Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
Hard-hitting critique of postmodernism’s view of truth and defense of the correspondence theory of truth. A good first book for one wanting a philosophical and biblical evaluation of postmodernism. More >
Wisdom from Coach Wooden
Sep 21st
John Wooden learned important lessons from his father, Joshua Wooden. Below are Joshua Wooden’s Two Sets of Threes and his Seven-Point Creed.
Two Sets of Threes
- Never lie
- Never cheat.
- Never steal.
- Don’t whine.
- Don’t complain.
- Don’t make excuses.
Seven Point Creed
- Be true to yourself.
- Help others.
- Make each day your masterpiece.
- Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
- Make friendship a fine art.
- Build a shelter against a rainy day.
- Pray for guidance, and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.
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