Bob Creson

News flash: things change fast.

I recently recorded a Carson Daily Last Call where he interviewed Gavin Newsom, the Lt. Governor of the State of California. I’d never heard of him but was intrigued by the idea that he’d written a book about how to reinvent government called Citizenville. Now, that’s a news flash for a State headed apparently for bankruptcy unless emergency measures are employed.

I’m not here to promote his book, but a phrase he used in the interview with with Carson Daily really caught my attention. He reported that Thomas Friedman said that when he wrote his book about Globalization, published in 2005, The World is Flat, he never mentioned FaceBook, Twitter was a sound, the Cloud was something in the sky, 4G was a parking place, Linked-in was a prison, an app was what you filled out to attend Stanford, and SKYPE was a typo! Newsom said, “We are on a collision course with the future!”

No kidding. Many thought Friedman’s work was ground-breaking but he never mentioned FaceBook. Things are changing so fast it’s easy to feel disjoined and out of touch.

Newsom made the point that organizations need to function like an app–like Amazon–be a ‘platform” for participation. Life is no longer dominated by the ‘top down’ or centralized but rather by the customized. Life is managed with smartphones that organize our lives. His point? Government, and by extension, organizations that don’t become this customizable platform are dying.

While this may be a bit dramatic (really, dying?), something about his analysis rings true. Too often I/we want to control or manage life when, in reality, control is a myth. The most we can hope for is to point in a direction. If a movement results from our ideas, it’s probably due to more than our wise attempts to direct people’s lives onto the road we’re traveling.

I’m not very good at seeing trends, but one trend I know: don’t blink, or things we thought we understood will change. Often for the better, and often without our help. That said, it’s not wrong to try to ‘nudge’ things in a direction we think they should go.

Just remember, Siri didn’t exit just a couple of years ago. Now ‘she’ is my personal assistant. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

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Last night Dallas and I had the privilege to attend an event at RTS, Orlando–the Spurgeon Lecture series where Dr. John Piper delivered the address.

According to the RTS website, “The Spurgeon Lecture is a hallmark of the Nicole Institute of Baptist Studies, which was established on the Orlando campus of RTS in 2012 to honor the legacy of Dr. Roger Nicole (1915-2010). Nicole, a founding editorial board member of Christianity Today, was a distinguished visiting faculty member at RTS from 1989 to 2000. The Spurgeon Lecture, named after the great Reformed Baptist preacher Charles H. Spurgeon, is designed to equip and inform the audience on a broad range of theological, historical and cultural issues.” Promoted at the seminary as Baptist and Presbyterians coming together around reformed theology (rooted in the Protestant Reformation many believers returned to the gospel of salvation by grace alone).

The lecture was classic Piper, and very well done. It was a mix of admiring Spurgeon (“known as the ‘Prince of Preachers’ he produced powerful sermons of penetrating thought and precise exposition. His oratory skills held his listeners spellbound in the Metropolitan Tabernacle and many Christians have discovered Spurgeon’s messages to be among the best in Christian literature it is believed he preached to well over 10m people”) while at the same time, according to Piper, recognizing s few of his shortcoming (his appreciation of fine cigars).  Grin.

He used his illustrations/antidotes about Spurgeon as a springboard for encouraging those in the room committed to pulpit ministry/pastorate. He said, be yourself, not someone else.  We all have shortcoming, even Spurgeon had his shortcomings.  ”Get going” Piper said.

One of the characteristics of Piper is strong commitment to a mind dedicated to truth and a heart committed to God. His sermons are punctuated with expressions of humility which are genuine. Having just “retired’ (he said last night he and his wife, Noel, don’t use that word) from regular speaking at Bethlehem Baptist, he was asked by a reporter if he had any regrets. “Regrets? I could have done better!” he said.

I’m reminded that even showing up is a virtue.  Many people just don’t show up.  I love what the way Peterson paraphrases Ephesians 4:1-3 MSG  ”…here’s what I want you to do…I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily…”

Sure you could do  better…just do something.

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Too many people today want to simplify our human complexities—we’re either ALL right/good or ALL bad/wrong.  We are ALL conservative or ALL liberal.  And there seems to be an illusive ‘litmus’ test to determine orientation and worldview.

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Alfred is a Nooni speaker in Cameroon, West Africa, and a translation consultant in training for the six Misaje languages. Alfred is supervising the technical part of the six-language Misaje translation program.
“In October of 2012, for the first time ever, the number of Bible translation needs dropped below two thousand. I wanted to share this good news with all of you, so I wrote to all worldwide staff.
“The day I wrote, Dave Lux, a member of Wycliffe USA and an advisor to the Misaje cluster of languages, opened my e-mail on a remote mountaintop in Lassen, Cameroon.
“At the same time he read my email, Dave said he witnessed the first sharing of new Scripture in the six Misaje languages. Dave wrote, “The Misaje translators yesterday afternoon divided up their newly printed books of the parables of Luke for distribution. It struck me as an historic moment. It was quite unknown by the world, and equally uncared for by the world, but from God’s perspective it was precious to see these men taking steps for the first time for the six language groups to have the printed Scriptures.”
“Dave sent me a picture of this event— Alfred Njinyoh is right there. If I didn’t have the background from Dave, Alfred would be anonymous—unnoticed, but a critical part of that translation project.
“Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:26–29, NLT).
“This event on a remote and unknown mountain top in Cameroon, witnessed by unknown men and women who speak languages that are unknown and insignificant in human terms are all part of a large event and important to God. Six more communities are hearing the Good News in their mother tongue; six fewer communities without any of the Word.” Read more.

Celebration of completed Scriptures, Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.

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