World without End: Skyebox Apple Tree (Part 1)

What on earth are you doing, and does it matter? Skye Jethani has a thought-provoking post on his Skyebox blog about how your ideas about "the end of the world" affect the way you live today. The post is called The Apple Tree and the End of the World (Part 1). I'm not sure how many parts are yet to come, but I'm looking forward to reading them.

If Skye's post piques your interest on this important subject, I'd encourage you to order a copy of N. T. Wright's book, Surprised by Hope, and start reading that too. The possibility of a future new heaven and a new earth might just motivate you to plant more apple trees (and do lots of other beautiful things) today.

Mouw Chimes in On Bell

Richard Mouw, the highly respected president of Fuller Theological Seminary has been quoted in USA today about Rob Bell's forthcoming book, Love Wins. I'm sure that his positive statements will stir up a lot more negative reaction in the blogosphere. I hope that will push Mouw into post something more substantial on his own blog outlining his reaction to Bell's book.

From the USA Today Article:
But Richard Mouw, president of the world's largest Protestant seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary based in Pasadena, Calif., calls Love Wins "a great book, well within the bounds of orthodox Christianity and passionate about Jesus.

The real hellacious fight, says Mouw, a friend of Bell, a Fuller graduate, is between "generous orthodoxy and stingy orthodoxy. There are stingy people who just want to consign many others to hell and only a few to heaven and take delight in the idea. But Rob Bell allows for a lot of mystery in how Jesus reaches people."
Read the Complete Article

Lenten Reading Schedule

I'd like to invite you to join me in reading through the Gospel of Mark during these weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday. It's a wonderful way to enrich your Lenten season and prepare your heart for a more meaningful Easter. Each Saturday night, I'll post the reading schedule for the coming week. I'll also post videos of Max McLean's interpretive recitation of each chapter.


Lenten Readings for this Week:
March 14 – Mark 2:1-17
March 15 – Mark 2:18-28
March 16 – Mark 3:1-19
March 17 – Mark 3:20-35
March 18 – Mark 4:1-20
March 19 – Mark 4:21-34

Watch Mark Chapter 2


Watch Mark Chapter 3


Watch Mark Chapter 4

New Series: Darkness No More

My new teaching series at Valley Christian Church begins this Sunday.

Darkness No More
Finding Light & Life in Christ

Sunday, March 13
Kingdom of Light • Colossians 1:9-14

Sunday, March 20
Children of Light • Ephesians 5:8-14

Sunday, March 27
Words of Light • 2 Peter 1:19-21

Sunday, April 3
Hearts of Light • 2 Corinthians 4:4-7

Sunday, April 10
Armor of Light • Romans 13:11-14

Sunday, April 17
Fellowship of Light • 1 John 1:5-10

Friday, April 22
Good Friday Service, 7:00pm
Leaving Darkness, Loving Light • John 3:19-21

Sunday, April 24
Resurrection Light • 2 Timothy 1:9-10

Sunday, May 1
City of Light • Matthew 5:13-16

The Trouble (and Blessing) of Lent

I first started observing Ash Wednesday and Lent during the years I served as the Campus Pastor for Christian Student Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. The CSF ministry center was just blocks away from Luther Seminary. I would occasionally go over to the Chapel of the Incarnation over on the Luther campus to take in Wednesday morning worship.

David Lose, faculty member of Luther Seminary, has written a nice article on the meaning and benefits of Lent. If you've never observed Lent, or if your experience of Lent has been some sort of empty ritual, you may find his essay helpful.

"I need Lent, finally, to remind me of who I am -- God's heir and Christ's co-heir -- so that, come Easter, I can rejoice and celebrate with all the joy, all the revelry, all the anticipation, of a true heir to the throne." Read the Complete Essay

Beauty for Ashes

We had a wonderful time of worship and reflection last night at Valley Christian. This was our second year to have a service on Ash Wednesday, and it's proving to be very meaningful.

It's good to look mortality in the eye and to remember our days our numbered (Psalm 90). Remembering that "we are dust, and to dust we will return" is a profound way to begin our journey toward Resurrection Sunday. As we imposed ashes on the forehead or hands of worshipers, we said, "Remember you are dust." Then as the worshipers partook of communion, we said, "Remember He is life."

Here are the lyrics to the closing song I wrote for last night's service. The attitude of the worshipers and the sound of their singing was wonderful.

Saved from Darkness
Overwhelming shadows—
Sin, guilt, doubts, and fears.
Who can pierce the darkness?
Who can dry our tears?

He has saved us, He has saved us
From the dominion of darkness.
He has saved us, He has saved us,
And brought us into the Kingdom
Of the Son He loves.

Though the truth is shining,
Some still love the night.
Will you leave the darkness?
Walk into the light!

He will save us. He will save us
From the dominion of darkness.
He will save us. He will save us
And bring us into the Kingdom
Of the Son He loves.

One true light is shining—
Hope and life for all.
Will you now receive him?
Can you hear him call?

“I can save you, I can save you
From the dominion of darkness.
I can save you, I can save you,
And bring you into my Kingdom,
As the son God loves.”

Let us strive to please Him,
Living fruitful lives.
Sharing in His Kingdom,
Children of the Light.

He has saved us, He has saved us
From the dominion of darkness.
He has saved us, He has saved us,
And brought us into the Kingdom
Of the Son He loves.

Words & Music by Dave Burkum
© Copyright 2011 by Sonoluma (burkum.com).


View and Listen to Music Here

Spring toward Resurrection - Lenten Readings

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the traditional Christian calendar. The lengthening days of spring that precede Easter are a wonderful time for reflection on the life and light that Christ brings into our lives ("lent" comes from old German words for "long" and "spring"). The melting snow, budding trees, and emerging flowers serve as beautiful metaphors for the renewal, hope, and transformation that God has graciously given us through Jesus. It's good to remember that the Christian life is a journey toward resurrection and restoration.

In an effort to help you have a meaningful Lenten season, I'd like to invite you to join me in reading through the Gospel of Mark during these weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday. Each Saturday night, I'll post the reading schedule for the coming week. I'll also post videos of Max McLean's interpretive recitation of each chapter.

Lenten Readings for this Week:
March 10 – Mark 1:1-15
March 11 – Mark 1:16-34
March 12 – Mark 1:35-45

Waiting Wins: McKnight on Bell

There has been much brouhaha and speculation about Rob Bell's soon-to-be-released book, Love Wins. Too much! From my jaded point of view, the firestorm over the book says more about shrewd marketing and the frustrating state of popular Christianity than it does about Rob Bell's theology.

I'll wait until the book comes out and I've read it before writing anything about it. In the meantime, one of the best posts I've read is from our good friend, Scot McKnight, over at the Jesus Creed blog. Rather than stirring the pot, Scot is, thankfully, challenging people to care, think, wait, and love.

Scot writes:
Waiting for Rob Bell 2 (2011.03.07)
I stood in horror watching the blogosphere light up last week, but my horror was not simply over the accusations made against an author whose book was not even yet available nor just over those who were denouncing Rob Bell for what they were absolutely certain was universalism. No the horror was that there was a volley of posts put up about hell. It looked like a tug of war between Love Wins! and Wrath Wins! Is this what we need? the way to proceed? the way to find resolution?

My horror, then, was three-fold: first, the image of God that is depicted when hell becomes the final, or emphatic, word and, second, the absence of any context for how to talk about judgment in the Bible and, third, the kinds of emotion expressed: we saw too much gloating and pride and triumphalism on both sides. I felt like those who watched the sinking of the Titanic and who didn’t cringe at the thought of thousands sinking into the Atlantic to a suffocating death. They were instead singing and dancing to a jig that they were right or had been predicting the sinking all along. . . . Read Scot's entire post.

New Dave Burkum Website

After a few frustrating years of never getting my personal website updated, I finally have a new site thanks to the good people at Weebly and Bandcamp. Both sites have been extremely easy to work with. When people like me can make a site, you know that the internet is getting easy enough for anyone. Much appreciation to my friend, Jordan Peacock, for introducing me to Bandcamp.

Now you can find your way to most everything I do, just by visiting my site. Click Here to Go There

Singing Birds and the Bible

There is not much mention of birdsong in the Bible. A brief mention in Psalm 104 about birds singing in the branches, and a mention in Ecclesiastes 12 about the elderly being no longer able to hear the sound of birds. Other than that, birds are mostly mentioned for flying or being birds of prey. It makes me wonder if the birds in the middle-east are poor singers.

Surely, if the psalmists and prophets had been around birds that had wonderful songs, they would have written more about them. Growing up in Nebraska, the most impressive birdsong I heard was the Meadowlark. These days in Minnesota, some of my favorite bird songs are the common loon, the turtledove, the cardinal, the chickadee, and the oriole.

This morning, I stumbled across a video of the lyre bird, the most amazing singing bird I've ever seen or heard. I think you, too, will find him to be very impressive. If ever a bird deserved to get mentioned in the book of Psalms, you'd think it would be a bird named after a lyre. Too bad their wasn't a psalmist from Australia. Maybe the writer of Psalm 71 was! He wrote, "I will sing praise to you with the lyre."



If you can think of other Bible passages that mention the songs of birds, I'd love to hear from you.

Movies, Faith, and Thinking

I'm so glad to see filmmakers portraying stories of faith and religious conviction in a more nuanced and honest way. It seems like I'm seeing an approach that is less cliched, avoids stereotypes, and less partisan. Two such recent films that I hope will make it to theaters in the Twin Cities are, Of Gods and Men, and Higher Ground.

Of Gods and Men, based on real events in 1996, is the story of Trapists monks serving and living peacefully in an impoverished, predominantly Muslim Algerian town. Threatened by fundamentalist terrorists, they are faced with the decision to flee or face the peril of staying in their community.



Higher Ground, directed by Vera Farmiga, portrays the story of a woman whose life moves from faith to doubt. Her journey begins as a coerced child convert among Christian fundamentalists, moves through teenage rebellion, then on to her return to faith and baptism, and finally to her becoming a religious skeptic. The film was adapted from This Dark World, a memoir by Carolyn Briggs. The film is reportedly going to be in theaters fall of 2011.

One of the things I would like to get started in my church is a monthly gathering I would call Theater for Thinkers. I used to do something similar when I was a campus minister with Christian Student Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. The idea is simple. Watch thought-provoking films with others, and then have some good conversation. I would choose films that stir up and address questions about life, truth, faith, morality, Christianity, religion, ethics, and justice. What movies would you suggest?

The Brothers Karamozov

Cheri and I have both tried reading Dostoevsky's classic novel, The Brothers Karamozov, a couple of times in the distant past without success. So when we heard great things about a Russian-made mini-series (twelve episodes - almost nine hours of viewing), we thought it might make for some good winter entertainment. Maybe it would even inspire us to take another try at reading the book.

We were right about winter being a great time to watch the series, especially this winter in Minnesota, with snow depths and temperatures quite similar to Siberia. The setting for much of the series was filmed in frozen and snow covered Russian villages and landscapes, so before putting the DVD in the player, we would grab a blanket and a mug of something hot to drink. Perfect.

All in all we enjoyed the series. The cinematography was good, the sets and locations were beautiful and believable, and the acting was generally very good. The subtitles were amusing at times, with the syntax reading a bit more like a Russian learning to speak English ("How my English sound to you? Do you think I'm saying is it good?"). The result was more charming than distracting.

Many of the reviews about the series say it was very true to the book. If that's true, that's not such great news to me. I will have to confess that I found the story to be tedious and ultimately unsatisfying. When I finished the last episode, I was more disappointed than satisfied. I most certainly wasn't motivated to give the book another try, at least not any time soon. Maybe some other long dark winter.

The plot line was much more a vehicle for Dostoevsky's exploration of political, moral, philosophical, and religious ideas, than a captivating story with moral and philosophical implications. It wasn't a gripping narrative that brought with it the need to wrestle with moral issues, but rather a lot of philosophical/theological discussions and dialogues strung together by a less than compelling story.

That being said, I'm sure I would enjoy reading the book simply for the philosophical/theological explorations which are surely the reason for the book's masterpiece status. The story and the characters, on the other hand, seem a bit flat. The brothers seem more like two-dimensional figures representing worldviews in an allegory (the secular atheist, the religious mystic, the passionate hedonist, the selfish survivalist) than the complicated and messy people a reader comes to accept as real. When all was said and done, I didn't like or care about any of the main characters. The more I got to know them, the less real and more caricatured they became.

Do you have thoughts about the book? Let me know. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Encourage and convince me to read it!

Do you live in the Twin Cities? Would you like to borrow my DVDs and watch the series (there's still plenty of snow on the ground and it's 11 below zero today), let me know and I'll get the discs to you.

Good News: Warmer Days Ahead!

"Arctic air returns this week bringing a few sub-zero nights, but there are signs that this could be the last time this winter we see temperatures this cold...for this long. It looks like a major pattern change will bring an extended spell of much milder weather starting this weekend, and lasting through most of next week."

Read more on the MPR Updraft Blog

Sayings from the Northern Ice

As of this morning, eleven teams continue to race in the Beargrease Marathon. They have covered 235 miles so far. Nathan Schroeder of Chisholm, MN is in the lead.

I'm rooting for Colleen Wallin of Two Harbors, MN who is currently in 7th place. I enjoyed talking with her for a few minutes before the race began. The best finish she's ever had in the Marathon is 6th place, so I'm rooting for her to move up at least two places in the standings.





I'm slowly reading my way through The Way It Is: New and Selected Poems by William Stafford. I was delighted and surprised at the serendipity of coming across this poem during the Beargrease race.

Sayings from the Northern Ice
It is people at the edge who say things
at the edge: winter is toward knowing.

Sled runners before they meet have long talk apart.
There is a pup in every litter the wolves will have.
A knife that falls points at an enemy.
Rocks in the wind know their place: down low.
Over your shoulder is God; the dying deer sees Him.

At the mouth of the long sack we fall in forever
storms brighten the spikes of the stars.

Wind that buried bear skulls north of here
and beats moth wings for help outside the door
is bringing bear skull wisdom, but do not ask the skull
too large a question until summer.
Something too dark was held in that strong bone.

Better to end with a lucky saying:

Sled runners cannot decide to join or to part.
When they decide, it is a bad day.