Recently in weblog updates Category

I've been thinking about how I can improve my blogging in 2007. Even though I don't have a copy of Blogging for Dummies, it definitely should be on my reading list. Why? Because I stink at blogging. I only post a little more frequently on my blog than J.R.R. Tolkien does on his. So, I've decided to attempt to become a real blogger in 2007. My goal is to blog five days a week, Monday through Friday. Most of the posts will be brief but hopefully helpful. Here's what I'm considering doing each Monday to Friday. Feel free to make suggestions.

Mondays: Monday Musings - Monday's posts will be given to my musings on the gospel. I will either post my thoughts on various biblical texts from a gospel-centered perspective or quotations about the gospel from books I'm currently reading.� Sometimes I'll post a link to a particularly good gospel-centered sermon I have found.

Tuesdays: Tolkien Tuesdays� or Torrance Tuesdays - First,� why Tolkien Tuesdays?� A blog called "eucatastrophe" that does not post regularly about J.R.R. Tolkien or The Lord of the Rings should be called something else. Therefore, many of Tuesday's posts will be Tolkien related. I hope to include, from time to time, quotations from The Lord of the Rings that help illustrate some aspect of the gospel. If ever you find some interesting Tolkien tidbit that you think I might want to post, send it my way.� Second, why Torrance Tuesdays? No one has contributed more to my understanding of the gospel than T.F. Torrance.� His thinking on the Hypostatic Union has revolutionized my understanding of the significance of the incarnation.� Torrance is gospel-centered like few others I have ever read.� To read Torrance is to be invited to feast on the gospel.� So, every other Tuesday will highlight a quotation from one of his books.

Wednesdays: What Should I do Wednesdays - This is an idea from Jollyblogger. Here's how it works: David Wayne writes, "'What should I do Wednesdays' will be a place where you, the reader, can give me advice. Each Wednesday I'll post a question asking for your advice and invite you to share it in the comments. I would also love it if some other bloggers would take this up and do it on their blogs - who knows what kind of collective good advice we might come up with? I'll also share my own answer to the question, so that will be my 'what you should do Wednesday' contribution."

Thursday: Treasure Trove Thursdays - Thursdays will be dedicated to posting on blogs that I've recently discovered. If you know of a blog(s) I might be interested in discovering, send me the link.

Fridays: Foto Friday - If you have any interest in seeing my digital pics, check out my blog on Fridays. I'll begin by posting pics from my Scotland trip this past July.

Please take a few minutes to look at the recently added gospel-centeredness resource page listed above.� I'll continue to add new links on the page over the next few weeks.

Thanks to Ben of BigBlueHat my blog’s publishing platform, WordPress, has been updated. My brother, who blogs over at totellthetruth, is helping me update eucatastrophe’s organization of pages and links and add a few new features. The added feature I am most excited about is the Hebrews Class link. As some of you know, I am teaching a class on The Epistle to the Hebrews this semester. This link will provide opportunities for online discussion of the text and themes of this great epistle. My hope is that many of my 90+ students will take advantage of this new feature. If you are not a member of my Hebrews’ class, you are still welcome to participate in the discussions. I will not be sending out blog updates for this particular page though.

Thank you for your patience as we rework the site...

My blogger bio page has been updated with several new family pics. Within the next week I'm hoping to post blog entries that have a little more substance than the last few have had. But if you want to see something new, you'll have to look at my bio page for now.

The new pics are courtesy a girl with a camera. Thanks, Angela!

Mr. Standfast (a.k.a. Bob) is at it again. He's recently launched another blog. If it is anything like his first one, it will be a worthwhile surfing destination. He has entitled it Gratitude & Hoopla. If you are wondering why he named it that, here's his answer:

I'm no cockeyed optimist when it comes to this life, this world, but, well, I know the hope (the celebration) to which I've been called. The end, the destination, is a party. The joy then will be complete. Perfect. Not marred by sin, tears, dissipation. So . . . I'm already excited. If it looks and sounds like pure foolishness to you, oh well. I'm just letting you know, this is what I'm about. this is where I'm. This is why it's called "Gratitude & Hoopla."

Go take a look here.

When I have had internet access over the past month, the quality of it has been mediocre at best. But starting next week when my access improves I should be able to post more regularly. If you are interested in receiving regular Eucatastrophe Updates via e-mail (even if you currently do), send a blank e-mail to dan@eucatastrophe.com with the word subscribe in the subject box. I will no longer be sending Eucatastrophe Updates from my bbc.edu e-mail account.

P.S.

It was brought to my attention that when you send an e-mail to dan@eucatastrophe.com to subsribe, it is returned saying that your e-mail was undeliverable. That's not true. My eucatastrophe account receives every e-mail sent to me. So, we are not quite sure why we are having this particular problem right now. Hopefully we will have the problem solved soon. If you've already sent an e-mail to dan@eucatastrophe.com in order to subscribe, just assume I have received it. You do not need to send a duplicate. I will send an e-mail confirmation of your subscription within 24 hours or so. Thanks.

Occasionally I will alert you to what I think are some very helpful (i.e. edifying) gospel-centered posts by other bloggers. Today I would like to recommend three excellent posts by David Bish (thebluefish blogger of the UK). They provided rich gospel food for me this past week (seeing that I struggle with the very same things). So let me encourage you to take a trip across the pond to read David’s gospel-centered posts.

Aircon for My Soul

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

I've added a new link category to my sidebar. It lists eucatastrophe articles that specifically unpack some of the various facets of gospel-centeredness. For those of you who are relatively new to eucatastrophe, here is the primary object of this blog: to explore the beauty and implications of the gospel of Christ for all of life. So with that objective in mind, I added "B 2: eucatastrophe articles" to our link categories.

If you are not familiar with the Warnie Award, it is an award given by Adrian Warnock to a blog that he considers destined for blogdom "prominence" :-). The recipient of the latest Warnia Award? PyroManiac, the blog of Phil Johnson. Do I believe Phil is destined for blogdom "supremacy"? :-) Absolutely. My first introduction to Phil Johnson in blogdom (I’ve been aware of Phil’s Bookmarks for some 6-8 years) was on Sharper Iron where he received no small amount of attention. So take a look at his blog. He will not bore you.

I am always on the lookout for gospel-centered blogs though I don’t actively search for them very often (time issue). If you take a look, you’ll notice that I’ve created a new link category that lists a few gospel-centered blogs that I have found. These are blogs that make much about the centrality of the gospel for all of life. Making much of the gospel of Christ is to what I have dedicated my blog. Here are those who are currently on my gospel-centered blog list:

Adrian Warnock's UK Evangelical Blog Beginning with Moses Dave Bish - thebluefish Dave Cruver - to tell you the truth Paul Schafer - Glorious Gospel of Christ Group David Wayne - Jolly Blogger Rob Wilkerson - My Miscellanies on the Gospel

May the tribe of gospel-centered bloggers increase. I would love to see more bloggers who not only hold the following beliefs but also occasionally blog about them:

1. As Tim Keller writes, “The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A to Z of Christianity.” It is not merely that which gives us entrance into the Christian life but also that which grows us in the Christian life. Therefore, gospel-centered bloggers do not address sanctification issues without reference to the gospel of God.

2. The gospel is the hermeneutical key to unlocking the Scriptures. Graeme Goldsworthy: “By referring to the gospel as the hermeneutical key I mean that proper interpretation of any part of the Bible requires us to relate it to the person and work of Jesus.” Therefore, gospel-centered bloggers do not interpret and apply texts without reference to Scripture’s overarching story-line of the gospel.

3. “The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” is seen in the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). God shines this light in our hearts with saving and sanctifying effect through the preaching of the gospel. Therefore, gospel-centered blogs will make much of the gospel of Christ in their blogging.