the new, new blog

Well, Tumblr has been a poor move choice, too much love with social media and almost no meaningful discussion. I took 6 hours and have put all my good posts together onto...

http://www.theologan.com

And that's where I'll be posting Monday through Friday!

The End (and The Beginning of a New Blog)

New Blog: http://loganpaschke.tumblr.com

It's time to move on.

It's hard to believe that it's been a year and a half since I started this blog and it's just as difficult to let go.

In one way it feels like I'm giving up, but I know better. I don't give up. I'm a very persistent person.

What are the reasons I'm shutting down this blog? I will count.

1. Blogger is not well-suited for actually writing. When I type something out and preview it I expect it to look exactly the same. It does not. There's always formatting problems, always double spaces, and it is always frustrating. Blogger may have the most blogs, but it is not best for the writer. And that's what I am. Blogger is also very anti-Web 2.0 which means if you want to connect to other web applications you can't do it easily.
2. I have a long history here. Nearly 250 posts to be exact. The problem is that far too many of those posts don't represent who I am now. You have to understand that this blog has constantly oscillated between being an echo chamber or a watchdog chamber up until I realized what was going on. I managed to salvage what I wanted this blog to be and even felt satisfied about it. For a while. I have now realized that it is simply beyond repair.
3. Frankly, no one comments. I know, I know, I should expect that. I'm not well-known, I don't pastor a church, I'm not an awesome writer, and I don't usually respond to comments. Got it, thanks. But, my most popular post had over 600 unique visitors and not a single comment. It is utterly frustrating to write something that is popular but no one comments. Whereas I can post something on facebook or twitter and someone is bound to at least like it or comment on it. I should note that this point is a minor complaint compared to others.
4. Working on a book makes you a lot more cognizant of who you are and what you are saying on the internet. I fear that I have been too stupid with my words. At my new blog, I will post much more wisely and focus on the book I'm working on.
5. Speaking of which, when the book comes out and I eventually get the the new blog linked up with the domain, I would rather be proud of it rather than embarrassed by it. I'm happy to defend the work I've done here, but it's a hesitant defense. For example, when a Christian attacks street preaching I defend the street preacher. It becomes a problem when the street preacher I am defending turns out to be a heretic. Now, I know I haven't written anything heretical here, but I have at times been Pharisaical which is utterly wrong.
6. Simplify. I want to make blogging simple again.
7. All topics. I want to blog on all topics of life and I feel constrained here.
8. Original Content. I want to focus more on writing and not pasting.
9. Daily Blogging. I want to blog daily and blogger makes that difficult.
10. One less thing to worry about. With this blog shut down, it will make life a little less complicated.

Around 30% of visits came from outside the U.S.A.
Top twenty countries/territories

1. USA
2. United Kingdom
3. Canada
4. Australia
5. Brazil
6. Germany
7. Philippines
8. India
9. Belgium
10. New Zealand
11. Singapore
12. Indonesia
13. Sweden
14. Spain
15. South Africa
16. France
17. Italy
18. Netherlands
19. Kuwait
20. Poland

Over 90% of people who visited were new visitors
Over 10,000 page views by over 7,000 unique visitors
Viewed in over 55 different languages
Viewed in over 100 countries/territories
Has been accessed from every region on the earth excluding Middle Africa

To the commentators who commented, thanks!
To the bloggers who put me on their blog roll, thanks!
To the readers of this blog, thanks!
To the friends I've made, thanks!
To the haters, thanks!

all for Jesus,
Logan Paschke

An Interview with John MacArthur - Shepherd's Conference 2010

Carlos Whittaker EPK

Beautiful Church - Evangel

recommended blogs part 1

Since I'm too busy to type up "actual content" here's a list of blogs I especially recommend.

These are the blogs. I mean, I love these guys and gals. They work hard at blogging. For them, blogging is a way to express truth to many people they will never meet in person. It is an addendum to their daily lives as they serve their local church. Glory to God is their modus operandi and they believe in the words of John the Baptist, that we must decrease so Jesus can increase.

They stand sharply contrasted to the "echo-sphere" of Christian blogging. This is where someone blogs something and then five people blog the same thing without adding or creating anything new. Here's a post on what I'm talking about. It will help you see what the Xtian Blogosphere has turned into.

Their motives are not for fame, money, or self-promotion unlike the vacuous fog of pimpers, pumpers, pastors, and planters who have a blog just to talk about how awesome they are, how great their church is doing, and how they got a new book out that you should buy so they can do even better be more like Jesus. case in point: Perry Noble. /I could give you one thousand other examples similar to Perry Noble, but I have better things to do like count how many verses are in the 10th chapter of Ezekiel whilst whistling Dixie/

They teach true theology. Truly studying who God is and what He has done. These are not marketers, philosophers, or post-modern wishy-washy platitude-spewing puppies. For example, they won't twist baby-food Atheist arguments to try to promote "another gospel" like a certain influential, yet increasingly anti-truth (hence anti-Jesus) inspirational talker. Instead, study is the norm for them, they are always reading, writing, and thinking. But although they know the ivory tower well, they have not forsaken the heart for the head, but instead go hard after that Matthew 22:37

---

Les Lanphere is cool. He sounds like the kind of guy who designs  With a blog named Killer Robot Zombie, it has to be good. And it is. When he started blogging, I was checking it quite a bit. But, you know what's even better than his blog? Another blog called Regenerated.us which features Les and three other guys all of whom write articles which play to their strengths and gifts.I believe this presents one of the more unique blogs. It allows four guys of the same reformed theological persuasion to present truth in diverse ways. Not only that but Les has started a bible study for young adults focusing on the the importance of theology, who God is, and what the gospel is.Very cool.

Speaking of Expository Living, let me introduce you to another brother who just started blogging, Tim Truax. A brother from another mother, but a brother none the less. He lives by the Word and is truly gifted in teaching and in study. He is the most joyful, faithful person I've ever met. I would not be surprised to see God use to radically alter thousands and thousands of souls unto the glory of God and the delight of Jesus. Along that line is a devoted heart for the mission field. Listen to him and do not despise him because he is young. Start Living Expository.

It's hard to put into words just how different we grew up. This is a continuing theme in my life. I meet many Christians that I have nothing in common with except for the gospel and often reformed theology. But, oh that is enough, in fact the gospel overcomes every cultural barrier. For instance, Doug K. Adu-boahen and I come from rather different backgrounds. He grew up in Great Britain, I grew up in North Dakota. He is Black and I am White. /feeling a song coming on here/ He was a Pentecostal, I used to mock Pentecostals. /I still do if they are on the fringe and think that this is biblical/He speaks with a ridiculous accent and I talk normally. All conjecture aside, Doug is a man of God and his blog has so much good teaching. It really does. There was a time when I tried hard to start a joint blog, but I fell in love with the church and the blog never came to fruition. Did he smack me on the head in an angry email for wasting his time? Nope. It's because he knows what grace is and he communicates it very, very well. You might say he's wired4truth.

Dan Phillips hosts a great blog called Biblical Christianity. Everything from pop culture to politics to expositions on theology are there. He has a great feature called "Hither and Thither" in which he goes through the most interesting things happening in the news or on the web and provides wise commentary. I don't think I've ever seen a blog so seamlessly integrate a well-written review of the movie Star Trek and in the next post go through mother's day biblically. That ability to transition from reviewing a movie to the scriptures is something that so many more bloggers (including myself) should learn how to do. Plus he's a fan of lolcats and internet memes, nice. Must Read.

More recommendations to come.

#11 Trapped in the Drive-Thru by Weird Al

Enough said, I'm feeling like we should kick up our feet and enjoy eleven songs that I feel are worthy to pass on to my loyal (few) but loyal readers, partly because I have no time to write up actual articles and partly because I'm feeling it. You feeling it? Good. Let's roll.

#11

Trapped in the Drive-thru by Weird Al

I still remember when I bought my first album by Weird Al. Ironically, it was (and still is) considered on the lower tier of quality, but I thought it was the best thing since video games. I would loop "Poodle Hat" over and over again on my CD Player, yes I had a CD Player instead of an MP3 Player. This was when CDs were still dominating the music world and dinosaurs roamed the earth. Anyway, I actually went to see his concert while he was on tour for his album. The same concert tour on which he heard that his parents had died. The concert opened with a dedication to his parents with us all responding by rising to our feet and giving a solid five minute ovation.

No one, I repeat, no one has so influenced how I view comedy and humor than Weird Al. This song is one of his best. It perfectly parodies an over-the-top music video by R. Kelly (don't watch it, you're not missing anything). Turning a super-dramatic music video into a mundane hilarious one.

All of this requires observation, creativity, and exaggeration. Important tools to use when making a speech, writing a book, or having a conversation. Christ's use of humor and parables shows that He effectively used these things, we should not hesitate to imitate Him.

I don't go as far as Mark Driscoll. I really don't think that media consumption to be culturally relevant is the most important thing. But there is no reason not to cultivate a strong imagination and mind through reading/writing.

There is a difference between reading/writing and watching/playing. The former is creating something with your imagination while the latter is simply reacting to something. There are exceptions to this, but I don't hesitate to say that what I've just described is a norm. I would love to someday hear a Christian preacher who was a video game designer and hear how he would weave together a sermon. I hear plenty of preachers who play video games, but their imagination and story-telling abilities are usually non-existent.

What is Love? on Mario Paint Composer

It's amazing to me what happens when you give people the tools to create things.

The Plumbline Collective, iSix5, and others who rap to rep the King

We'll be taking a music break for a little while. Just so I can have a little more free time for school.

I highly recommend the Plumbline Collective and iSix5. Both bands are full of radical reformed rappers and they are theologically strong, lyrically tight, and rhythmically fine! And it's free, so blessed be.

"SEMPER REFORMANDA I (SR1)"
http://www.theplumblinecollective.com...

"SEMPER REFORMANDA II (SR2)"
http://www.theplumblinecollective.com/

"UNPACKED"
http://isix5.com/archives/2010/04/06/...

"SONGS OF THE REDEEMED"
http://isix5.com/archives/2010/03/14/...

"AlexFaith - OverNight the EP"
http://www.theplumblinecollective.com/downloads.htm

Sidenote: Next post will have some more music as well as considering the implications (positive and negative) of using powerpoint in sermons.

Here I Stand #2

This post is in dedication of all those who think that the reformers were men without emotion, sorrow, or love. May they be reproved and realize that it was the radical recovery of the lost gospel which caused the reformers bring all of their heart, mind, and will to proclaim the doctrines of grace to their very last breath. That discovering the beautiful theology of the reformation drew them nearer to God not farther away.

The solemn vow had been taken. He was a monk, as innocent as a child newly baptized. Luther gave himself over with confidence to the life which the Church regarded as the surest way of salvation. He was content to spend his days in prayer, in song, in meditation and quiet companionship, in disciplined and moderate austerity.

The Terror of the Holy

Thus he might have continued had he not been overtaken by another thunderstorm, this time of the spirit. The occasion was the saying of his first mass. He had been selected for the priesthood by his superior and commenced his functions with this initial celebration. 

The occasion was always an ordeal because the mass is the focal point of the Church's means of grace. Here on the altar bread and wine become flesh and blood of God, and the sacrifice of Calvary is re-enacted. The priest who performs the miracle of transforming the elements enjoys a power and privilege denied even to angels. The whole difference between the clergy and laity rests on this. The superiority of the Church over the state likewise is rooted here, for what king or emperor ever conferred upon mankind a boon comparable to that bestowed by the humblest minister at the altar?

Well might the young priest tremble to perform a rite by which God would appear in human form. But many had done it, and the experience of the centuries enabled the manuals to foresee all possible tremors and prescribe the safeguards. The celebrant must be concerned, though not unduly, about the forms. The vestments must be correct; the recitation must be correct, in a low voice and without stammering. The state of the priest's soul must be correct. 

Before approaching the altar he must have confessed and received absolution for all his sins. He might easily worry lest he transgress any of these conditions, and Luther testified that a mistake as to the vestments was considered worse than the seven deadly sins. But the manuals encouraged the trainee to regard no mistake as fatal because the efficacy of the sacrament depends only on the right intention to perform it. Even should the priest recall during the celebration a deadly sin unconfessed and unabsolved, he should not flee from the altar but finish the rite, and absolution would be forthcoming afterward. And if nervousness should so assail him that he could not continue, an older priest would be at his side to carry on. No insuperable difficulties faced the celebrant, and we have no reason to suppose that Luther approached his first mass with uncommon dread. The postponement of the date for a month was not due to any serious misgivings.

The reason was rather a joyous one. He wanted his father to be present, and the date was set to suit his convenience. The son and the father had not seen each other since the university days when the old Hans presented Martin with a copy of the Roman law and addressed him in the polite speech. The father had been vehemently opposed to his entry into the monastery, but now he appeared to have overcome all resentment and was willing, like other parents, to make a gala day of the occasion. With a company of twenty horsemen Hans Luther came riding in and made a handsome contribution to the monastery. The day began with the chiming of the cloister bells and the chanting of the psalm, "O sing unto the Lord a new song." Luther took his place before the altar and begin to recite the introductory portion of the mass until he came to the words, "We offer unto thee, the living, the true, the eternal God." 

He related afterward:

At these words I was utterly stupefied and terror-stricken. I thought to myself, "With what tongue shall I address such Majesty, seeing that all men ought to tremble in the presence of even an earthly prince? Who am I, that I should lift up mine eyes or raise my hands to the divine Majesty? The angels surround him. At his nod the earth trembles. And shall I, a miserable little pygmy, say 'I want this, I ask for that'? For I am dust and ashes and full of sin and I am speaking to the living, eternal and true God."

The terror of the Holy, the horror of Infinitude, smote him like a new lighting bolt, and only through a fearful restraint could he hold himself at the altar to the end.

The man of our secularized generation may have difficulty in understanding the tremors of his medieval forebear. There are indeed elements in the religion of Luther of a very primitive character, which hark back to the childhood of the race. He suffered from the savage's fear of a malevolent deity, the enemy of men, capricious easily and unwittingly offended if sacred places be violated or magical formulas mispronounced. His was the fear of ancient Israel before the ark of the Lord's presence. Luther felt similarly toward the sacred host of the Savior's body; and when it was carried in the procession, panic took hold of him. His God was the God who inhabited the storm clouds brooding on the brow of Sinai, into whose presence Moses could not enter with unveiled face and live. Luther's experience, however, far exceeds the primitive and should not be so unintelligible to the modern man who, gazing upon the uncharted nebulae through instruments of his own devising, recoils with a sense of abject littleness.

Luther's tremor was augmented by the recognition of unworthiness. "I am dust and ashes and full of sin." Creatureliness and imperfection alike oppressed him. Toward God he was at once attracted and repelled. Only in harmony with the Ultimate could he find peace. But how could a pigmy stand before divine Majesty; how could a transgressor confront divine Holiness? Before God the high and God the holy Luther was stupefied. For such an experience he had a word which has as much right to be carried over into English as Blitzkrieg. The word he used was Anfechtung, for which there is no English equivalent. It may be a trial sent by God to test man, or an assault by the Devil to destroy mean. It is all the doubt, turmoil, pang, tremor, panic, despair, desolation, and desperation which invade the spirit of man.

Utterly limp, he came from the altar to the table where his father and the guests would make merry with the brothers. After shuddering at the unapproachableness of the heavely Father he now craved some word of assurance from the earthly father. How his heart would be warmed to hear from the lips of old Hans that his resentment had entirely passed, and that he was now cordially in accord with his son's decision! They sat down to meet together, and Martin, as if he was still a little child, turned and said, "Dear father, why were you so contrary to my becoming a monk? And perhaps you are not quite satisfied even now. The life is so quiet and godly."

This was too much for old Hans, who had been doing his best to smother his rebellion. He flared up before all the doctors and the masters and the guests, "You learned scholar, have you never read in the Bible that you should honor your father and your mother? And here you have left me and your dear mother to look after ourselves in our old age."

Luther had not expected this. But he knew the answer. All the manuals recalled the gospel injunction to forsake father and mother, wife and child, and pointed out the greater benefits to be conferred in the spiritual sphere. Luther answered, "But, father, I could do you more good by prayers than if I had stayed in the world." And then he must have added what to him was the clinching argument, that he had been called by a voice from heaven out of the thunder cloud.

"God grant," said the old Hans, "it was not an apparition of the Devil."
_____________