Moving

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5 (non-lame) Podcast for Your Spiritual Life

Despite my microscopic attention span, I have always enjoyed reading books.  I tend to gravitate toward books that communicate ideas, especially when those ideas are connected to the human experience.  I enjoy reading books by old dead guys like GK Chesterton, Soren Kierkegaard, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, but I also appreciate modern spiritual writers like Fredrick Buechner, Philip Yancey, Don Miller, Anne Lamott and Rob Bell.   However, during my undergrad years (I like to say “undergrad years” so that people might think I had “post-grad years”), the rigors of studying and writing papers combined with a part time job and the unavoidable need to “have a life” often left me with very little time for reading; especially reading non-fiction books for pleasure.   However, regardless of course load, work load, or social liveliness, one thing is always a constant in the college experience:  the iPod.   So, download, subscribe and wedge those trademark white earbuds in on your way out the door for class.  Here are five non-lame Podcasts for your mind, heart and soul.

Peachtree Presbyterian Podcast – Why not keep up with what’s going on back home?

The Mars Hill Bible Church Podcast – Mars Hill Bible Church of Grandville, MI (not to be confused with Mars Hill of Seattle), is home to one teaching pastor you may have heard of (Rob Bell) and another you may not have (Shane Hipps).   Although Rob Bell is the author of several best selling books, Shane Hipps is an incredible teaching pastor who comes from a very unique Mennonite background.  Other guest you will hear from Mars Hill include names like Peter Rollins (a personal favorite) and John Ortberg.

The Bored Again Christian – Proclaims itself as “Arguably the #1 Christian music podcast on iTunes, or whatever that means”, I’d say there is no argument.  Like many of you I tend to cover my ears when I hear the words Christian and music smashed together, but “Just Pete” over at Bored Again puts together a podcast of good music and conversation that is relevant.  A post on the BAC blog puts it nicely…

Why should the Devil get all the good tunes,
The booze and the neon and Saturday night,
The swaying in darkness, the lovers like spoons?
Why should the Devil get all the good tunes?
Does he hum them to while away sad afternoons
And the long, lonesome Sundays? Or sing them for spite?
Why should the Devil get all the good tunes,
The booze and the neon and Saturday night?

Listen for music from singers, songwriters and bands noted for spiritually introspective music like Sufjan Stevens; David Bazan (formerly of Pedro the Lion);  The Elms; and regular 11o5 contributor, John Black as well as some bands you may think less likely to find their way onto a “Christian Podcast” like, The Arcade Fire, Sunny Day Real Estate and Monsters of Folk (a Conor Oberst side project).

The Relevant Podcast – The folks at relevant magazine have put together a fantastic podcast that features segments on new music (currently highlighting The Civil Wars), culture and society, (they recently had a great interview with Tony Campolo), as well as film and television.

Let My People Think – Ravi Zacharias holds the rare trait of being a first rate intellectual but also a great communicator.  His “Let My People Think” podcast is a must listen for philosophy majors, and those who find their heads spinning from the rhetoric spewed out in Ethics class or that religious studies class you thought would be a good idea to take as an elective.

Happy Listening….

Cheers (college style) 2k9

Christmas Break Stuff

College Gathering will pick up this Sunday (Dec. 13) and we’ll meet every Sunday morning at 10am in room 4208, upstairs in the Lodge through January 10.

Our annual Christmas party is changing shape a little bit this year.  Cheers (College Style) will take place on Friday, Dec. 18.  We’ll meet at the Lodge at 4:30 to carpool to Marta.  Then head down to Centennial Park for ice-skating, followed by dinner at the varsity.  Then we’ll take Marta back to our cars and finish the night up with dessert at the Lodge (and possibly a movie at someone’s house …).  The night should wrap up by 9:30 or so (without the movie).  Its gonna be a great time, so invite your friends and significant others and spend an evening in the City with Peachtree U.

Finally, on Christmas Eve, Peachtree U has been commissioned as the official candle lighters for the 11:00pm worship service at Peachtree.  We’ll need 6-8 students to show up to the Lodge at 10:30, get the run down, and then pass an open flame around the Sanctuary without burning it down.  You can sign up to help out on facebook.

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you over the next few weeks.  Good luck on finals!  May God bless your time and energy!

Georgia v. Auburn Tailgate

The week has come.  Get out your red & black, get out your blue & orange, and iron the wrinkles out of your gameday pants!

Peachtree U is going to be tailgating with the Brothers Teegarden and we want you to come visit us.

Festivities will start in at the crack of dawn.  We’ll have food and beverage, TV & radio coverage of all the pre-game programs, and if all goes according to plan, some corn-hole games with Joe Ryan’s face painted on the sets.  I promise you won’t want to miss out.

Location of the tailgate is somewhere between FIJI & Sigma Chi, on the way up the hill towards FIJI, it’ll be on the right … I’ll put more specific details up when I get them.

Hope to see a bunch of ya’ll on Saturday!

What to Do on Your Upcoming Holidays

Hello everyone!  I got to see a few of you over this past weekend, which was a really great surprise … kind of like Christmas morning as a child!

Speaking of Christmas, that’s coming up here fairly soon (also Thanksgiving), and I was thinking that you may be getting really concerned, maybe even nervous about what you are going to do on Sunday mornings while you’re home.

Well, have no fear.  We here at Peachtree U have got you covered (with the slight exception of Nov. 22, for those of you who will be around for the Sunday before Thanksgiving).  On that morning, we’ll still do a brief Coffee Hour before the 1105 service in the Lodge Cafe from 10:40 – 11.

As for 11/29 and 12/13 – 1/3, check out the trips and events page for full details.  Can’t wait to see all of you.  Hope you’re finishing out the semester (or quarter) well!

Proverbs 9 Question

A student recently asked this question of Proverbs 9:7-8:

“I’m doing the Proverbs challenge, but I’m confused about something in Chapter 9.

Verses 7-8 say, “If you correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, you will be insulted. If you correct an evil person, you will get hurt. Do not correct those who make fun of wisdom, or they will hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.”

Why shouldn’t we correct these people? Aren’t those the people we need to help the most?”

I thought that it could be helpful to post the response and wanted to encourage ya’ll to continue in the Proverbs Challenge that we’re doing through the month of October and to ask questions when you run into something that throws you off a bit.  Hope you’re enjoying the month and hope to see ya’ll soon.

—–

So glad that you are reading through the Proverbs with us and asking questions. Community is such a great thing when approaching the Scriptures.

The first thing that I would tell you to do when you come to a passage that you don’t really get is to read it in a few different translations (TNIV, ESV, The Message, and NRSV are the 4 that I use most frequently). In this passage, for instance, it looks like you read from NCV, which I don’t really know anything about, but I’ll list the other translations below and you can see if they help you to get a different perspective on it.

TNIV – 7 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;

whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.

8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;

rebuke the wise and they will love you.

MESSAGE – If you reason with an arrogant cynic, you’ll get slapped in the face;

confront bad behavior and get a kick in the shins.

So don’t waste your time on a scoffer;

all you’ll get for your pains is abuse.

But if you correct those who care about life,

that’s different—they’ll love you for it!

ESV – 7Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,

and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

8(A) Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;

(B) reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

NRSV – Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse; whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt.

A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you; the wise, when rebuked, will love you.

In response to your actual questions [“Why shouldn’t we correct these people? Aren’t those the people we need to help the most?”] I think that the passage itself is getting into why we should not bother with correcting the “mockers and scoffers” or “those who make fun of wisdom” … it is because those people have no interest in wise living and so not only will our attempts at correcting their behavior be futile, but we will be inviting their abuse on us to see no fruit in return.

This is not a passage about decent, thoughtful, conscientious Christians who have strayed off the straight and narrow in a certain area of their lives. it is a passage about the villains of the world … about those people who have no interest in “good or bad” “right or wrong”

To the second question I would say that, while those may be the people who need the most help, we are not likely to be the force of change in their lives and God seems to know this and, in the proverb, warn us against trying to take on the responsibility for changing them. That is God’s work and in those extreme cases, the most effective ways for us to help them would be to simply love them well without forcing our own standards into their lives, and to pray for them.

I hope that some of that is helpful. Scripture can be tough to sift through a lot of the time, but the approach of reading and asking questions when you get confused is the way to do it. Glad you’re pursuing Truth and Wisdom!

Proverbs Challenge – October

For the month of October, we will be reading the book of Proverbs together, one chapter every day.  The book of

Proverbs is found in the Old Testament and contains practical wisdom for leading a Godly life.  We’re really excited to have students all over the country reading Scripture together and engaging in discussion

Check the facebook group every day for the day’s Proverb and discussion!

How We’re Praying for You

I say “we’re” because it is not just I who prays, but every week we pray as a staff for all of you. And this is not because we think that you are heathens or floozies (I like that word), but because we’ve all been to college (some of taking longer than others … Joe) and know that college life, while incredibly fun, is often difficult and confusing, and at least has the ability to land us in precarious, undesirable situations asking “how did I ever get here? and how am I gonna get out?”

Maybe you know what I’m getting at first hand, maybe second hand, and maybe you are somewhat naive to the more difficult and/or regrettable side of college life so far … it matters not. The Word of our Savior is this: “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Rest from you need to over-achieve; Rest from your guilt or your shame; Rest from your worry or your confusion; Rest from emotional pain … whatever is burdening you, Jesus offers rest if we will come to Him … if we will receive it. And that is grace. The ability and desire of God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Always offered; without condition. Grace

Below is the thrust of our prayers for you over the last few weeks. I am posting this because in praying, especially with the whole staff, I have experienced the rest offered through the grace of Jesus, and pray that you will feel it as well. We love you all and miss you, but are so excited for what you are doing and learning at school.

{Father, we ask that You would watch over our college students … Your children … while they are away at school. That You would be beside them, especially the freshmen, as they begin to transition into a new way of life. Remind them of their identity as Your creation and as image-bearers, full of worth and value because they are Yours, and not because of the grades they make, or the social status they attain.

We ask that You would also use them as a light to the people around them allowing others to see You and Your Kingdom here on earth. Give them Your heart for their classmates, teammates, sorority sisters, fraternity brothers, neighbors … for the outcasts and losers, for the hard-to-love. We know that can be so difficult to do, but that it is the life You call us to.

And finally God, give them joy. Put friends in their lives, Christians and non-Christians, who are life-givers; who they can have fun with and will be built up and encouraged by … and let that joy be apparent to everyone they know.

We ask all these things knowing that You love these students and desire for them to live in Your grace and into Your Kingdom, and that You will pursuit them without cease.

Thank You for Your faithfulness, in the name of Jesus,

Amen}

Peachtree U Coming to UGA Games!!!

Hey everyone. This post is primarily for UGA students, but also Auburn, and really anyone who wants to join us for a few tailgates in Athens. I’m planning on coming to some football games this season and bringing some of your favorite young adults from PPC who happen to be fans of college football/ministry. As of now, the planned dates for Peachtree U tailgates will be

9/12 – v. USC
11/14 – v. Auburn
11/21 – v. Kentucky

and we’ll stake out a good spot to tailgate, buy some good food, and send out reminder invites before each gameday. You won’t want to miss out

See ya in football season!

wn