This morning I went to Jon's church to hear him preach in person...finally. I had wanted to for a while and in the meantime have been relegated to listening online every now and again. For those of you who don't know Jon, he's that guy in your life who's the smartest person you know...except he's a little more brilliant. He would disagree...and maybe rightly so...but the point is that he's a great academic. Today, I was able to experience firsthand that he's also a great pastor and teacher. I also got to sit by a good friend of mine, James, who is one of those people I always count great joy in seeing. He is also brilliant in many disciplines and one of those truly authentic people whom you can't wait to share a beer with and love every minute of it. To the blogger, these guys may be better known as Jonny5 and cAPSLOCK, two of the great bloggers who hung it up before their time.

Anyway, I was wonderfully encouraged by Jon's message on 2 Peter 2, and I left very thankful that I was able to sit in today's service. For a while now, I've been thinking about the proliferation of anthropocentrism within the Church, and indeed I'll write much more of that later. Not today. Today, I am celebrating that I was graciously allowed to hear Christ preached. This may sound odd, but it is something I have found lacking in the current era of Christianity, and my soul has greatly been wanting for the message of Christ. This morning, my soul found a little quenching. In fact, it was permitted to quaff luxuriantly for about 30 minutes. There is no sufficient replacement for Christ. There is not a gospel of leadership that satisfies. Neither exists a competent gospel of "Christian living." Without Christ, all is empty and meaningless. It is like the tapestry upon which the Creator created light and life...formless and void. Today, I was reminded of the Light that brings life. As my good friend Ben so aptly claims - we tend to worship the derivatives of Christianity, not Christ. If Christ is revealed and is the true object of our worship, lives and actions change - both for the individual and the corporate. However, striving for the secondary qualities absent Christ will only yield confusion, bitterness, and legalism. Much too often, I find myself striving after these derivations; however, this morning I worshiped my Savior, and my heart sings.