I probably shouldn't admit this publicly, but I really like the DC Comic character “Power Girl.” She’s a strong woman and I like strong women.

I’m a Southern Baptist pastor and for the record, I like strong women!

My mother is a strong woman. I married a strong woman. I love strong women!

And the character of Power Girl, a.k.a. Kara Zor-L, a.k.a. Karen Starr, a.k.a. the cousin of Superman from an alternate universe, is a strong woman who voices her thoughts, makes important decisions, shows an uncanny wisdom for her age and isn’t afraid to step up to take leadership.

And that brings me to something else about her character that I need to mention. It’s not so much about her character, as it is about her costume. For quite some time, Power Girl’s costume featured what fan-boys have collectively referred to as the “boob-window.”

It is a very obvious marketing decision aimed at the part of the male mind that’s powered by testosterone. Various writers have tried to turn this “window” into some sort of message for empowering women. One said that it was merely Power Girl declaring her femininity. Another tried to explain that Kara was just trying to figure out a symbol to put there and hadn’t come up with anything! (Which, of course, makes perfect sense, because when I can’t figure out which tie to wear, I cut a tie-shaped hole into my shirt and expose my mostly hair-less chest.) Still another had Kara explain that “the window” enabled her to fly around without a mask because no one was paying attention to her face!

In 2011 when DC Comics rebooted their books, may of the characters were given redesigned. While I thought the new costume for Power Girl was hideous from a design/fashion perspective, I thought that it better reflected her character as a strong woman.

I was talking with some random folks in my local comic shop and one guy (who I didn’t know and have never seen again) actual said this, word for word, as we critiqued the new costume: “I know I’m a perv, but I liked the boob-window. It’s not Power Girl without the boob-window.”

So, there you have it . . . the authors can try and explain the obvious objectifying of women by arguing that it empowers women . . . but in the end, the first thing many fans think of when they think of Power Girl is her cleavage. Not for being a strong woman. There's a problem when a character is known for her anatomy rather than her inner-workings.

Well, I had hoped that Power Girl would get a redesigned costume, but alas, they went back to the pre-reboot design. While browsing the comic shop a couple of weeks ago, I saw the old-design on the cover and said to the guys at the shop, “I see the boob-window is back.” And everyone in the store (all males) let out a collective groan with comments like, “There’s no reason for it,” “I didn’t like the new design, but this is worse,” and “I’m not happy about it.”

I guess there’s hope for us guys after-all.

It's a shame that the powers-that-be decided to take a step back for this character and for strong women everywhere. 

What do you think? Am I way off track here?

Untold Podcast – Episode 9

May 28, 2013

“Flood of Terror” by Justin Lowmaster was actually the first contemporary piece that the Untold Podcast got its hands on!

Through episode 4, all the podcast’s show either originated from my own works, or were pieces in the public domain. Now, I personally have enough works to keep the Untold Podcast in production for a decade, but I didn’t want it to be about me! I wanted other voices!

After the pilot episode was released I began contacting about half a dozen of my Christian writing friends, asking for stories. Most of them said they’d get something to me. But after four months, I hadn’t received a single story.

Not content to settle on public domain stories (although we will be featuring them from time-to-time) I began going through my personal library and “cold-calling” (via e-mail) various authors. Justin Lowmaster was the first because his story was featured in a compilation I had also been published through and I knew he retained the rights to his story.

I had inquired about “Flood of Terror” but he was also interested in having “Send In” featured on the show. So, I agreed to produce both of them (with episodes in between). So, in many ways, this was intended to be episode 5, but I think the order worked out very well.

***SPOILER ALERT***

(Listen to the story here first)

Concerning the story, while I was evaluating the story, I almost decided to pass over it. The theme of “God will never give us more than we can handle” features prominently in it. And, as I’ve blogged about before, that’s just plain bad theology.

But something deeper was going on in this story. Even though the protagonist said the phrase several times, when push came to shove, God did give him more than he could handle. At the height of the action, Charles was literally in over his head, about to drown and it wasn’t his karate, or his intellect that saved him. It was the Word of God. Period. Charles didn’t stop the cult. God did. God just briefly spoke through him.

I can’t believe I almost missed that.

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Summary: Dr. Darrell W. Johnson explores the process of why and how God uses and speaks through the accurate preaching of his Word to always, always, always accomplish something.

Review: I found this book inside Eerdmans Bookstore in Grand Rapids, MI. I was already racking up a sizable book bill during my trek down there to hear William Lane Craig in a snow storm. I picked up this book and put it back three or four times. Then I read the first chapter. I suddenly had the distinct impression I had come down to Grand Rapids not so much to hear Dr. Craig talk about the multiverse, but to purchase and read this book.

The full title of the book is The Glory of Preaching – Participating in God’s Transformation of the World. Throughout the course of the book, Johnson delves into the mystery of how the preaching of the word transforms, and how God actually speaks through the message to transform both the preacher and the listeners.

My one critique of the book is the middle section, where Johnson gives instructions on how to construct a message that is faithful to the original meaning of the text, while communicating to the audience. I found myself in much agreement with him (with some lesser-squabbles here and there), but the entire section just felt out of place. It was too short to serve as terribly helpful tutor for sermon prep, and too long to skim through.

Regardless of this, the balance of the book, is absolutely marvelous. I have undoubtedly “learned” some things about preaching from this book . . . but what I found more valuable as a preacher is a renewed sense of awe over what happens every single week.

I am simultaneously humbled and inspired to understand how the Holy Spirit works through an ordinary chum like me to speak his words of life. I am beyond myself to know that the preaching event always accomplishes something . . . not because of my rhetoric or delivery, but because of the power of the Word.

Anyone who preaches needs to read this book. Period.

Preachers need to fully grasp the grandeur and the glory of what they are called to do – whether it’s once a year, or every week. Rather than go on, I’m going to share just a few of the wonderful passages from this book. (The rating will appear afterwards.)


“Something always happens.”

“Praedicatio verbi Dei est verbum Dei: The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God”

“Preaching works because somehow the risen and ascended Preacher being preached is actually doing the preaching himself. We do not stand up before others, Bible in hand, alone; we stand up in and with Jesus. We participate in the activity of another.”

“Jesus’ word not only informs, it performs; his word not only announces, it accomplishes what it announces.”

 “Why, for all the ‘preaching’ (the quotation marks are my gentle way of wondering if all preaching is in fact preaching) that goes on in North America at the beginning of the third millennium, is North American culture so un-Christian, even anti-Christian? Why isn’t all the ‘preaching’ having a greater effect on the culture? If I may be so bold to propose an answer, it is because too much of the ‘preaching’ is good advice and not good news. Good advice without good news changes no one.”

“sermons are more ‘born’ than they are ‘constructed.’”

“Humility in preaching comes not by taking ourselves out of the picture, but by putting ourselves in the right place in the picture, under Jesus, pointing to Jesus.”

“the life of the preacher is lived not trying to avoid suffering but choosing to go with Jesus into [it].”

“When we stand up before other human beings, what do we see? […] When the authors of the New Testament look out at other human beings they see persons made by Jesus, for Jesus, held together in Jesus, longing for Jesus, only finally [complete] when in relationship with Jesus.”

“Something always happens.”

Rating: 5/5 (I loved it)

Find it here on Amazon.

I had a good conversation with a good friend of mine (who is currently attending a Becoming the Archetype concert) about presenting evidence to atheistic persons.

He very wisely avoided some peripheral issues (like a six day creation, the virgin birth, and the inerrency of the Scriptures) and drove to the heart of the matter.

I think too often Christians get side-tracked in presenting evidence and we present arguments about issues that are important, but aren't of the utmost importance.

So, when talking to friends who want to discuss the evidence supporting theism and Christianity's truth-claims, these are the topics that are at the heart of the matter:

1. The Existence of God

2. The Objectivity of Morality

3. The Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus

4. The Problem of Pain (Suffering and Evil)

(Also read a great presentation of this issue by Dr. Doug Geivett)


(5. No Good Positive Arguments for Atheism)

Certainly these videos only touch on these very important topics. But these are the topics I focus on. If friends want to try and side track the conversation away from these points (by pointing to something like the age of the earth), I will simply say, "That is not a central issue of the Christian faith, and you cannot demolish all of theism and Christianity by arguing against a secondary issue."

There are plenty of full-length free videos of debates and talks on these topics and many others over at:

Reasonable Faith.org
Open Biola (Apologetics)

Reasonable Faith YouTube
Dr. Craig Videos YouTube
Dr. Doug Geivett's Blog

  I may have just prayed the stupidest prayer I have ever prayed.

In my sermon last week, the big idea was “We should wait for God’s deliverance because only God can deliver us from all our struggles.” It came from Psalm 25.

I preached the message about being in relationship and expectation with God concerning both our internal and external struggles. I talked about inward and outward transformation only coming from God. I delivered the message. I prayed. Then I sang Everlasting God (“strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord”) with the congregation and thought we were done.

But then, God messed everything up.

At the point where I usually summarize the message, then bless the congregation, God led me into a different direction and I asked*, “Do you know why David was such a great King? It was because he knew he was over his head, he couldn’t handle his internal and external struggles and he waiting on the Lord. He turned to the Lord for deliverance because he couldn’t do it on his own.”

And then I prayed the most foolish thing I’ve ever prayed before.

In the prayer, I asked God, “I would ask that you make sure this church is always in over its head . . . so we are always, always, always in need of your guidance and direction so that your glory can be shown.”

So, there we go, that’s it. I even said in my prayer that my own spirit didn’t want to pray this prayer. Part of me wishes I hadn’t prayed that prayer.

I like my comfort. I like being able to handle all my internal and external struggles by myself.

I think the Spirit prompted me to pray that prayer because at the end of the day, if the Orchard Church is doing things we are comfortable and capable to do . . . then God isn’t empowering it. We are.

So we’re over our heads. We’re starting a Saturday night service and don’t have much in place. We need to make disciples and we can’t. We need to evangelize and we are deficient. We need to show our neighbors the love of Jesus and we can’t even get through one day of showing our own families that same love.

Being in over my head is not a place I like to be.

It was a foolish prayer. It was a prayer to keep the Orchard Church perpetually weak.

But I prayed it because the Holy Spirit led me too, and “because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength” 1 Cor. 1:25 HCSB).

*This is generally what I said. For exact words please listen to the sermon.

The moral decline in America is leading to good things.

It is evident that the increase in permissiveness, the abandonment of sexual ethics and the celebration of sin is being championed by Sin, Satan and the World. The American church is in decline and Christianity is largely unacceptable in the West.

So why is this a good thing? What grace can come from the rapid moral decline we've seen recently?

I have to confess, I was thinking about all this in light of Romans 8:28 (We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.) during the largely uninteresting Iron Man 3. And I really think there are great goods.

What good can come from the marginalization of Christianity and the systematic infringement on religious liberty?

1. It forces Christians to actually consider our sexual ethics. What is the purpose of marriage? Of sex? Of romance? Of procreation? Why does God put such limitations on human sexuality? Are these limits morals repressive, or protective and freeing? How does God view divorce? Over the last sixty years the church has, in general, done a poor job of celebrating healthy sexuality and navigating people through sexual sin. The current climate helps us to consider all these issues.

2. It gets rid of wolves (masquerading as sheep). Individuals who come into the church with an agenda, looking for power, and trying to grab power will be greatly minimized. There is little cultural power to be had among a group of despised and marginalized individuals. Certainly, wolves will still run around in the churches . . . but there will be far less of them.

3. It forces the Church to focus on evangelism and discipleship. Let's face it, far too often the church and her members focus on things that don't really matter too much. We spend money on sound systems and furniture far in excess to what we expend on bringing the good news to those who need it.

4. It eliminates toxic churches. This one is really harsh. But there are some really awful churches out there teaching either false doctrine or false practices (or both)! As Christianity's influence declines, these churches will not be able to survive as their members and finances dry up.

5. It helps the Church rediscover grace. When sin is kept to a minimum because of Christianity's influence on the culture, it is far too easy for believers to lapse into legalism (and condemnation). Now that we are surrounded by so much open sin, believers are faced with a decision. We can summarily damn the vast majority of people we interact with, or we can be like Jesus and meet people wherever they're at . . . and love them like Jesus loves us.

6. It makes stronger believers. By and large believers are going to rise up to the challenge they face, rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit and become stronger followers of Jesus Christ.


What other good things might come from moral decline? How else does God work in the midst of darkness?

We need churches of all sizes to make disciples. Small, medium and large churches all have their own strengths and weaknesses. I’ve served in churches of all three sizes and now pastor at a small church.

In our “bigger is better” culture many people walk into a congregation of 20-100 and never return. If they were any good, after all, wouldn’t they be larger?

But what healthy small churches lack in numbers, they make up in many other ways. So, why join a small church?

1. Highly Relational: Small churches value relationships. Both introverts and extroverts can start building deep, meaningful relationships in small churches within a short amount of time.

2. Family: The small church sees itself as a family. While there are some uncomfortable squabbles in families, a healthy small church’s strength is in the mutual care and love they have for each other. An entire family or an individual can join a small church and find themselves fully embraced by the family of God.

3. Pastoral Access: If you have a burning theological question, something in the sermon struck you, or you just need to talk, a small church pastor is readily accessible. You won’t have to go through a long vetting process or wrestle for his time. If you need to talk, there’s usually time in the week to have a good conversation.

4. Ownership: In small churches every member has ownership in the church. While all churches belong to God, in a small church the sense that God has called each member to a mission to reach others with the gospel is hyper-immanent. There is no large staff to accomplish the great commission, just the members!

5. Discipleship: Because of the relational nature of a small church and the close proximity everyone has to each other, the church has no choice but to allow the older to train the younger and be a multi-generational church. With a little bit of structure, discipleship flourishes.

6. Service Opportunities: In small churches, every member really is needed! The disciple-making mission of the church can’t happen unless everyone is helping. Because of this, there are service opportunities for those who want to serve. Has God called you to music? There’s a need in a small church! Has God called you to teach? There’s a place for you to teach! In fact many of the pastors of some of the larger and more influential churches in America grew up in small churches where they had the opportunities to serve in areas that would be closed to them in a larger church.  

7. Built for Multiplication: Small churches know how to operate with the bare-minimum. Because of this, as a small church grows larger, they have a tremendous opportunity to send a large portion of their congregation across town and start a new church to reach new people and make new disciples! America needs more healthy churches. And more churches, reaching more people is always a good thing!

Healthy, bible-based churches of all sizes are needed. Small churches are vital to the health of the Universal Church. So, if you’re looking for a church, consider joining a healthy small church!

Summary: Enoch, a man once in service of the false gods and their giant-progeny, travels with his family to the very edge of Eden to learn the secrets of becoming a giant-slayer. But Elohim has more planned for Enoch and his sons than becoming Nephilim bounty-hunters.

Review: The second book in the Chronicles of the Nephilim series by Brian Godawa, Enoch Primordial is actually a prequel to Noah Primeval (reviewed here) (Untold Podcast story-episode here). The world of this second novel feels much larger than the Noah book. We’re introduced to a much larger number of biblical (and extra-biblical) characters, and travel to some very unique locations in this biblical fantasy.  

However, I didn’t like Enoch as much as its predecessor. There was quite a bit of exposition in the novel as a whole, but particularly in the opening chapters which made getting into the novel rather difficult. In addition to this, Enoch has a large cast of main characters, but as they traveled together I didn’t feel that they were distinct from each other. The reader is certainly told how they are different, but I just didn’t feel they were particularly well fleshed-out. Add to this the grandfather (Enoch), father (Methuselah), and Son (Lamech) have similar back-story elements, and further haziness is cast over the characters. Other character motivations (one in particular) made no sense to me coming or going. And a court-room scene, while making some very good observations, seemed a little weird for the world of the story, and very drawn out.

So, does this mean I don’t like the book? Not at all! I just feel that there were too many messages, information and “interesting” tidbits inserted into the novel.

But I liked the story. There is genuine character growth, real heart-ache and some really cool triumphs in this fantasy novel! I appreciate Godawa’s general approach to the genre which gives us minimal descriptions and unleashes our imaginations to fill in the rest. This really engages the mind, and moves the story along! I also like Godawa’s integration of healthy biblical perspectives (often contrasted against unhealthy ones that many believers hold). I was also thrilled to have Nephilim characters in this novel, whereas they seemed like thoughtless brutes in Noah, in Enoch they are actual characters.

So, Enoch Primordial wasn’t as strong as Noah Primeval, but does that mean I’m giving up on the Chronicles of the Nephilim series? No way! I love this series and I’m chomping at the bit to free up some time to get to Gilgamesh Immortal in the next few weeks.

So, if the idea of biblical fantasy is at all appealing to you, go check out Noah Primeval and definitely check out this book, Enoch Primordial for a fun ride and an expanded world.  

Rating: 3.5/5 (I liked it)

Find it here on Amazon.

Also, because I’m a pastor and theologian, I feel professionally obligated to make some sort of comment about the sizable Appendix in the book which gives some background information. Like most things there’s areas of agreement and disagreement. I really appreciated the main article “Retelling Biblical Stories and the Mythic Imagination in Enoch Primordial”. Here Godawa provides a winsome argument for, essentially, retelling biblical stories in the fantasy genre in order to communicate the timeless truths of scripture to a contemporary audience.

The section on Satan, or “the satan/the accuser,” is unfortunately a hornet’s nest issue which simply cannot be effectively addressed within the space Godawa gave it. There are major issues of exegesis, Old Testament hermeneutics, New Testament hermeneutics, NT use of OT hermeneutics, progressive revelation, apocalyptic literature, linguistics, grammar, divine attributes, divine sovereignty, biblical typology and prophetic literature to be dealt with in an issue like this. And, unfortunately, in this section Godawa raises more questions (or more doubts) than he provides answers. This, of course, isn’t always wrong. But this topic and the issues he brought up deserve a more robust exploration if they’re brought up. (My advice: only dive into this section if you’re willing to do extensive follow-up homework).