NYC

Enjoying sitting here in the living room of our apartment here in NYC. About to work on some of my assignments for the World Journalism Institute, which I'm attending here until the beginning of June.

3 couches in the room, a tv that hasn't been on since I've been here, a great view down the Avenue of the Americas from our balcony. So a nice set up.

Read with some of the other students today in Bryant Park, then came back for a typical (but very good) meal with single people--spaghetti.

Lots of good discussion. Several of our Christian colleges were paid a visit by Soul Force, so we talked through how our schools handled it. Also several interesting questions from the other students about my dear alma mater.

I think it will end up being a good time of Christian fellowship, and not just school. Maybe it will be the college dorm experience I never really had.

I took a long walk last night so I could learn more of the city on my own, so I went maybe 15 blocks or so, putting on my New York face and ear buds to act like I had somewhere I needed to go, of course.

Some observations from my walk last night,
by the numbers...

5 Starbucks stores
4 McDonald's
3 Subways
1 couple making out
1 embarrassing game of footsies
2 Café Europa stores
2 otherwise normal men talking to themselves
2 Ann Taylor Loft stores

It’s been a great time here. Nacey Pearcey is teaching the first 3 days of class, going from 9-4 with a break for lunch, unless we have a special speaker for lunch. I’m liking Pearcey better and better. Her book was pretty good (Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity), but hearing her explain her ideas in person makes it much better.

We’ve been covering a lot of ground, so I won’t really be telling a large percentage of it if and when I actually blog. But today we talked through the historical developments that led to the strong anti-intellectual thread in evangelicalism, and also the feminization of evangelicalism in the wake of the Great Awakenings and especially after the Industrial Revolution, when a much larger percentage of men left the home business or farm to work away from their families all day. It was some fascinating stuff, and I am not completely sure so far what the implications are.

Some other books we’re reading for the course—

The Heart of Evangelism by Jerram Barrs
--A great book by a Schaeffer-ite, an excellent treatment of the subject. It was an easy read, and yet still covered a lot of ground. I’d highly recommend it.

White Muslim: From LA to New York…to Jihad? By Brendan Bernhard
--A good read so far. It chronicles the conversion of Charles Vincent, a white American from California. He converted shortly after September 11, 2001. And he is not alone in turning to Islam. Some have called post-9/11 conversions to Islam as “the other effect” of the attacks.

On Writing Well by William Zinsser
--Haven’t started yet

Politics by Hendrik Hertzberg
--Excellent writer from the political left. He is a great communicator, and I have been especially drawn to his essays on capital punishment. He will be one of the lunch-time speakers next week.

Well, back to reading, or maybe writing an essay.
Looking forward to going to Williamsburg Church (williamsburgchurch.com) in Brooklyn and Redeemer Presbyterian this Sunday!!