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ECHOES OF HOME - #1

Welcome to the first issue of my newsletter, Echoes of Home where we seek to behold the glory of Christ through Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. For a little background on this experiment, read this. Otherwise, let's jump in!
THE TRUE

"If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." - Matthew 19:17

I’ve written beforeabout how the biblical understanding of freedom is a bit different than the world's. According to the world, you're free whenever you can make any decision that you want. When your options are limitless and your decisions are not bound by anything other than your desires, then you are "free." Laws and regulations are hinderances to our freedom because they deprive us of options.

But according to Scripture, true freedom is not found in being able to do whatever you want to do, true freedom is found in doing only the things that are guaranteed to bring you the most joy. When you have limitless options before you, it's hard to see past all of the cheap, frivolous pursuits that don't payout the joy that they promise. But when you can identify what is guaranteed to bring you joy—“to enter into life”—and actually *choose* that, then you are free.

In Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton wrote: “The more I considered Christianity, the more I found out that while it established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.”

The ability for “good things to run wild” necessitates barriers to prevent bad things from taking over. True freedom necessitates limitations. This is what New Testament morality is designed to do for us. It is given to us by our Creator who knows better than we do what makes us tick, what makes us flourish, and what makes us happy. Obedience is not a killjoy, it's the only way to experience true joy.

THE BEAUTIFUL

In this portion of the newsletter, my goal is to introduce you to something beautiful. Beauty can be conveyed through various mediums--writing, architecture, art, etc.,--and I will do my best to provide such a variety, but music is a medium through which I personally experience beauty in a profound way. According to Steve Turley, music is " an aesthetic bridge that facilitates a communion between the human soul and the True, the Good, and the Beautiful." You know that experience when you listen to a good piece of music and you get lost in it? When after the song is over you realize after the fact that you "spaced out?" That's what getting lost in the transcendence of Beauty feels like.

Ocean by John Butler is one such song that has often helped me experience that feeling of transcendence. And it's not so much listening to this song as it is watching him play it. Both the seeing and the hearing are important. It's an acoustic instrumental piece that takes you on a journey. If you've ever marathoned the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in one day, you are aware of how you can feel the weariness and heaviness of the Fellowship's journey after they toss the ring into Mount Doom. You feel as though you've been on the journey with them. 

This song is a lot like that.
THE GOOD

It almost feels strange to say, because I know so many are hurting right now during this season, but it's just been amazing to see how our church has flourished during COVID-19. We have had our challenges, and things have certainly not been easy, but we are seeing new people attend church every week, we are baptizing some folks this Sunday with other baptisms scheduled in future Sundays, several folks are moving forward in joining our church through covenant membership, and there are constant reports of our church members having Gospel conversations and engaging in disciple-making. For some reason, God has seen fit to bless our church, and I can't help but to thank God for this tangible display of His goodness to us.
THE EXTRA STUFF
WHAT I'M READING
The Dynamics of Spiritual Life

This has probably been one of the more fascinating books I've read in a while. I find myself highlighting and underlining on almost every page. It's 40 years old, but feels just as relevant as ever. Lovelace lays out an evangelical theology of renewal (or revival) that is absolutely fascinating. You can expect a lot of his ideas to find their way into my writings in the near future as I'm currently trying to work his model of renewal into a Truth, Beauty, and Goodness framework.
Buy on Amazon
Michel Foucault

This quote from the book explains why I'm reading it: “Michel Foucault is the all-time most-cited author across every academic discipline from fine arts to hard science, with over a quarter more citations than his nearest rival and leaving in his wake figures like Freud, Marx, and Einstein. Whatever measure is used, it is beyond doubt that his influence in the arts, humanities, and beyond is equal to or greater than that of any other twentieth-century figure.” 
Buy on Amazon
WHAT I'M RECOMMENDING

Consuming Media Like a Believer

My wife and I were recently on a podcast with some old friends of ours discussing social media and how it relates to church, politics, community, prayer, and just life in general. If you'd like to listen you can do so here, or you can search for "Consuming Media Like a Believer" in any podcast app and find it there. It was an enjoyable and, I hope, fruitful conversation.

Book Review: Don't Just Send A Resume

I recently had the opportunity to publish a piece at 9Marks where I had the privilege of reviewing Don't Just Send a Resume by my friend Benjamin Vrbicek. You can read the review on 9Marks here, but I developed such an appreciation for the book that I ended up publishing an extended version of the review on my website which you can view here. Also, if you are a blogger or are interested in blogging, you'll want to pre-order Benjamin's forthcoming book that he co-wrote with John Beeson called Blogging For God's Glory in a Clickbait World. I've been able to read it ahead of time and I'm certain that it will be a blessing to anybody who desires to convey the truth, beauty, and goodness of Christ and the Gospel through blogging.

The Church of Individualism

Brad Edwards - Mere Orthodoxy

"Evangelicals have had it all wrong. Secularism isn’t the root of the problem, but the inevitable fruit of an individualism cultivated within a domesticated church more interested in maintaining manicured lifestyles than exploring the messy inconvenience of the Kingdom. The threat isn’t lurking out there somewhere, but in here fueling the culture wars we claim to be victims of.

Secularism is not the prodigal son who fled a good and loving home, it’s the estranged spouse of evangelicalism’s extramarital affair with individualism."
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it! Also, I'd love to hear about how you are encountering Christ through the true, beautiful, and good. Just respond to this email with any recommmendations or thoughts that you have!
Kris Sinclair

"In Him we live and move and have our being..."
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