Blind Man's Fancy

Who Moved My BMF?

2008-09-16T13:43:00.003-05:00

Blind Man's Fancy has fancied a move to bjmaxwell.wordpress.com. Our local Wal-Mart is undergoing its regular renovation to give customers a new look. If that strategy is good enough for Wal-Mart, it's good enough for the Blind Man.

Also, all posts from this site have been transferred to the new site. See you there, friends (and foes).

Jane Austen on Youth Ministry

2008-09-09T13:54:00.003-05:00

In the recent issue of Touchstone Magazine, Eleanor Donlon wrote an article entitled "No Plain Jane." In the article Donlon decries the Hollywood movie Becoming Jane. Becoming Jane is a biographical depiction of Jane Austen, author of the famous Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Rather than present the period piece according to period propriety ("Regency style" in Donlon's words), the director "sexed up" or "grunged up" Jane's life to appeal to a modern audience. The real Jane Austen would not workshop well among moderns.

Donlon provides a keen insight about how Jane Austen's culture gets lost in translation and which complements a previous post on youth ministry:

"[Jane's] life, letters, early writing, and general demeanor demonstrate a maturity and poise completely foreign to our expectation of a “teenager.” That’s the real problem. We have invented a false category of person—the “teenager”—who has the rights and “needs” of an adult but is not expected to behave as an adult, and who is expected to make all sorts of embarrassing and sometimes harmful mistakes."

Perhaps Jane Austen would've made a great youth minister.

Why Arminian Foreknowledge Keeps God on the Hook

2008-08-27T08:09:00.002-05:00

The doctrine of election is easier to understand than it is to stomach. God has chosen from eternity past those who will enter heaven (Acts 13.48; Eph 1.3-6). To state it negatively, no one will enter heaven who has not been chosen from eternity (Jn 10.26). These are simple enough statements, on which both Calvinists and Arminians agree, but are convictions hard to come by.

Arminians and Calvinists love Scripture and hope to embrace what Scripture teaches. Therefore, both agree that the "elect" (i.e. chosen, children of God, church, saints) are the only ones going to heaven (2 Tim 2.10). They must also agree that the basis on which God elects (or predestines, chooses, etc.) them is foreknowledge (Rom 8.29).

Examine Rom 8.29-30 in reverse order. Those glorifed are only those justified. Those justified are only those called (effectually to salvation). Those called are only those predestined (to salvation). Those predestined are only those foreknown to that end. In other words, those foreknown consists of the same number as those glorified. God glorifies in the end the same folks he foreknew in the beginning.

A critical hinge, therefore, is how we understand foreknowledge. Calvinsists define foreknowledge essentially as foreloving. Foreknowledge is not mere "prior knowledge" but prior affection. The common example is Gen 4.1, where Adam "knew" Eve. He didn't come into some facts about Eve, but engaged her intimately and affectionately.

Jesus will one day say to some who were confident in their self-righteousness, "I never knew you" (Mt 7.23). He didn't mean he didn't know the fact of their existence, but that he didn't have a familial, loving relationship with them. Therefore, Calvinists consider foreknowledge God's prior affection set on those he will then predestine, call, justify and glorify. His saving acts are based on no other reason other than God chose to love them before the foundation of the world. Hence, we derive the term "unconditional election."

Arminians object that this understanding of foreknowledge charges God with duplicity. How can God honestly demand everyone repent and believe when he's determined that some don't? He would be like Lucy who promises Charlie Brown she'll keep the football steady, but who always jerks it away at the last minute. For God to be truly and freely worshiped he must allow all men to truly and freely chose him before he acts savingly on them.

The foreknowledge, therefore, on which God's election is based (something Scripture clearly teaches and on which Calvinists and Arminians agree) cannot be foreloving, but foreseeing. In eternity past and according to his omniscience, God could see those who would freely choose him (i.e. exercise prevenient grace) in their lifetimes. And because they would choose him he then elected or predestined them to salvation, a gracious act God was not obliged to do. Hence, we derive the term "conditional election," with the condition being foreseen faith.

This definition begs as many questions as the Calvinist definition. For example, (1) Does it hold true in texts like Acts 2.23, Rom 11.2 or 1 Pt 1.20? This post is long enough without explaining that it doesn't. (2) If saving faith is God's gift (Eph 2.8-9), then isn't whatever faith God foresees merely what he must give those who believe? In essence, God foresess that he will grant saving faith to some and not others (and we're back to square 1!).

At any rate, this definition of foreknowledge apparently relieves God of any charge of unfairness, and encourages true and free (uncoerced) responses to the gospel. However, I submit that such a definition in no way leaves God off the hook, but still demands that God explain himself as it were. Let me offer a philosophical defense of this thesis.

For the sake of argument, I'll grant the Arminian definition of foreknowledge: God simply knew beforehand (by his omniscience) those who would respond savingly to the gospel and on that basis elected them to salvation. If God eternally knew who would believe, did God not also - by that same omniscience - know those would not respond savingly to the gospel? In other words, God must've known those who would not believe as surely as he knew those who would. And knowing that, God still chose to create those he knew would not believe.

The Arminian must still explain why God would create those he knew beforehand would go to hell. God is still on the hook and must explain himself because he hasn't been relieved of apparent "unfairness."

Some possible explanations are: (1) God's omniscience is not comprehensive or reliable. Some of those he foresaw as believers turn out not to be, or vice versa. What he thought to be true in eternity past turns out not be in time and history. In order to be "fair," God has to allow that some fall through the cracks or pleasantly surprise him. Simply stated, one must allow that God could be wrong about some of those he foresaw in either condition.

(2) God grants prevenient grace to all those he creates, even those he knows will not believe in hopes that they might. Then we're left in the same predicament as the Calvinists: God cannot genuinely demand repentance and faith from those he already knows will not do so. Unless, of course, God might be wrong about someone in the end and he's hedged his bets by granting prevenient grace. This doesn't seem consistent with Rom 9.17-18, 22-24.

(3) For God to be "fair," he must create only those he's reasonably hopeful will believe the gospel. Otherwise, if he creates someone he knows will not do so (based on his omniscient prior knowledge) he's not fair because that person doesn't have a real "shot" at salvation (unless (1) is true). But, in what sense can Judas then be called the "son of perdition" (Jn 17.12) or anyone a "vessel of wrath prepared for destruction" (Rom 9.22)?

Judas was such because he chose to be and God honored his choice. I can summarily agree with that. But the fact remains that God created Judas (fore)knowing he would not believe. In fact, he created Judas (a devil, Jn 6.70) to be the agent of Jesus' arrest and, with the rest, his executioners (Acts 2.22-23; 4.28). Otherwise, how could God guarantee that Jesus would even be killed? And if there was no guarantee that Jesus be killed then there has been no authoritative promise of salvation.

The Calvinist understanding of foreknowledge makes better sense of the biblical witness. Whatever God foresaw in me, it was not love for him (1 Jn 4.10, 19) but rebellion against him (Rom 5.8, 10). And although Arminians want to honestly relieve God of any guilty charges, they leave me with more questions about his omniscience and omnipotence. I'm thankful that God didn't foresee me, but foreloved me "to the praise of the glory of his grace" (Eph 1.6).

Shamu, Say It Ain't So!

2008-08-26T13:51:00.006-05:00

My family and I traipsed through Sea World-San Antonio last week. Oh, to be a kid again! I found myself saying often, "So this is what my parents went through!"

Of course, Sea World is nothing without Shamu. We built him (or her?) up to our kids for weeks. We sat down in the "splash zone" eagerly waiting for the rain of terror. I remember the first time I met Shamu, The Killer Whale. Mesmerized. Terrified. I hated him. I loved him.

Imagine my surprise when the Shamu show opened with a schmutzy video about anything being possible if I just believe. What? I'm hear to see Shamu, The Killer Whale. Bring on the testosterone! Shamu and friends were then paraded around to Kenny G music like ballerinas. They'd castrat...I mean, tamed Shamu, The Killer Whale! (Please, no one tell me he has been a she all along). He's now nothing more than Flipper in an orca suit. Where's the fear and adrenaline that gripped me as a kid? Send Bud and Sandy for some real heroes or give me a refund!

Speaking of Sea World, Dale Ralph Davis has written some very helpful OT commentaries for Christian Focus Publications. Commenting on Joshua 10, Davis unleashed this insight I couldn't help but post:

"The popular image of Jesus is that he is not only kind and tender but also soft and prissy, as though Jesus comes to us reeking of hand cream. Such a Jesus can hardly steel the soul that is daily assaulted by the enemy. We need to learn the catechism of Psalm 24. Question: Who is the King of glory? Answer: Yahweh, strong and mighty! Yahweh - mighty in battle! (Ps 24:8). We must catch the vision of the Faithful and True sitting on the white horse, the One who 'judges and makes war' in righteousness (Rev 19:11-16). No mild God of soft Jesus can give his people hope. It is only as we know the warrior of Israel who fights for us (and sometimes without us) that we have hope of triumphing in the muck of life" (Davis, Joshua: No Falling Words, Focus on the Bible, p82).

"Reeking of hand cream". . . classic! Maybe that's why Shamu smelled so good.

Petrology 101

2008-08-22T10:15:00.008-05:00

Rancor about energy has risen as quickly as its prices. Political rhetoric has grown nauseating. Entrepreneurs capitalize on fear and confusion. Environmentalist outcries near pathological proportions.

What are Christians to think or do about this supposed "global energy crisis"? I submit three broad responses. Perhaps we could assume that energy policies have nothing to do with faith in Christ. Therefore, I can worship God on Sunday but am free to curse the government or "Big Oil" or Saudi sheiks on Monday. God should stick to getting me into heaven, but I'll take care of concerns at the pump. If not careful and prayerful the Christian can get swept up into a this-worldly mentality of desperation. Worse yet, we could adopt a wholesale secular mindset that assumes my attitude at the pump has nothing to do with my attitude in Christ.

Secondly, we could buy into the notion that Christian faith is Christian environmentalism. We should reclaim our creation mandate to steward the earth's resources with doxological care. Therefore, we should create voting blocs and lobbies to baptize environmental concerns. How can the church claim to care for souls if she doesn't even care for creation, right? How can we look forward to a new earth when we've managed the old one so poorly? While I don't espouse abuse of creation, I don't suggest it needs "saving." It's groaning for its own resurrection (Rom 8.19f.) and we are free to enjoy it as far as it can be enjoyed.

Or thirdly, Christians should develop a "petrology" that guides our individual consciences and families in light of a robust biblical theology. We should maintain the primacy of our heavenly citizenship (Phil 3.20-21) as the "rule of law" that shapes our view of energy concerns. Rather than divorcing the city of God from the city of man or merging the two cities, Christians should interpret their earthly citizenship in light of their heavenly citizenship. Imagine two enjoining circles where in the shared area the Christian's heavenly citizenship is entwined with his earthly citizenship.

How should our heavenly citizenship inform our approach to any supposed energy crisis?

1. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand" (Prov 19.21). We must refuse to assume our next President will cure the pain at the pump. Aside from the President's political limits (we have three branches for a reason!) his plans are derivative, not authoritative. God will have his way and do whatever he pleases (Ps 115.3). Our next President will do only what God intends he do, whether or not the President knows God controls him.

Christians need not wring their hands in desperation but rejoice that our God will do what is good for us. It may not look all that good to unbelieving onlookers, but we trust our God far more than our executives. And if God should allow gas prices to fall under a particular President's administration we must not be tempted to worship that President.

Whether gas is $1 or $10 per gallon, the Christian's worldview remains the same. We're citizens of heaven, sojourning for a time, seeking other weary travelers to join us, and waiting for the day when wine and milk are free (Is 55.1). High gas prices are no threat to our joy and are merely the costs of living in a fallen world.

2. "If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them" (Ps 62.10c). There is something that I've yet to hear from any talking head, pundit or preacher. Having gas and using oil are not rights that we have. They're privileges (much less low prices for the privilege). In other words, we act like driving SUVs, flying in planes, heating and cooling our homes are rights that government is bound to protect. We assume oil-rich nations and companies owe us lower prices.

We've set our heart upon riches and God said don't do that. Scripture is full of those who received riches as blessings from God, but soon assumed a spirit of entitlement toward them (Samson, Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, etc.). Blessings for which they should've been thankful became rights God owed them. And such is the heart's journey from humility to pride.

Take Hosea's Gomer (Israel), for example. Eighth-century Israel became so accustomed to free-flowing wine and bumper crops that they didn't care they'd "played the harlot" with foreign gods (Hos 2.5). It was Yahweh who gave them these gifts, but they used them in the service of Baal instead (Hos 2.8). They deserved their indulgences and cried "Foul!" to any prophet who suggested otherwise. They set their hearts on riches and God said don't do that.

Might we've adopted the same attitude towards oil? God created it; therefore, it's useful for our benefit and ultimately to serve God's glory. But have we used it to bolster our own indulgent lifestyles? Even worse, has it replaced God himself? In America, we assume we can't live without oil as though it sustains our life. We assume we have to live the way we do or else. In our "wisdom," We've exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for strategic oil reserves (Rom 1.21-23).

Suggest that someone get rid of their car and they'll say, "But, I have to drive to work!" Do you? Or does the lifestyle you want to lead demand that you do so? "But, I have to heat and cool my house!" Do you? Is central heat/air a right or a luxury God affords you because he's a kind, compassionate God?

I hate paying $4/gallon as much as the next guy. In fact, I recently sold my beloved F-150 and bought a Maxima in light of it. But no one forces me to live as I do. I'm not sure what my life would look like on minimal oil and its products (I'm not very crafty or handy). But I do know that God promises to meet the needs of those who seek his kingdom and righteousness (Mt 6.33). This does not mean, however, he's obliged to sustain my middle-class lifestyle. Worship God and not oil and we'll find God is much more necessary than oil.

3. "Then Jesus said to them, 'Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions' " (Lk 12.15). Does my demand for cheap gas reveal a greedy heart? Do I want cheaper gas so I can spend more on other indulgences (which have become rights I deserve)?

Perhaps we may piously assert (in public at least) that we'd give more to God's kingdom if gas was cheaper. Really? Then go without your cable or satellite bill. Eat out less. Buy fewer clothes or buy them at Goodwill. Stop smoking and drinking Starbucks. Then we'll see how pious we really are. We'll follow our treasure straight to our heart. We may find that high gas prices really don't prevent giving more to the kingdom; they cut in on our greedy action. (In the interest of full disclosure, I speak hypocritically here. We have a satellite dish, eat out too much, drink too much Starbucks and have way too many shoes.)

Jesus said to beware every (Gk. pases) form of greed. This means there is more than one form of greed (corporate usury). And we may find one of those forms sneaking up on us at the pump.

As citizens of Christ's kingdom, we've been made privy to a new economy. It's one in which God is our treasure and it's from that treasure that he sustains us. It's one that revolves around his gifts of grace. If he didn't spare his own Son will he not freely give us all things (Rom 8.32)? The next time we pay "the man" for his gas, may we erupt in worship that God has given us far more than oil. He's given us Jesus and one day we'll strike it rich with him.

Carson for President!

2008-08-15T07:50:00.002-05:00

"As for democracy, if we promote it, we do so not because we take it to be an absolute good, still less as the solution to all political problems, and not even because it is an ideal form of government, but because, granted that the world is fallen and all of us prone to the most grotesque evils, it appears to be the least objectionable option. Our eschatology teaches us that the game isn't over. The way we get to the end is not by military conquest, and not even by the ballot box, but by our Lord's return - and meanwhile we engage in the proclamation of the good news about Jesus in word and deed and remember that he himself taught us that Caesar has a sphere, under God, that is to be respected, an authority that is to be obeyed" (D.A. Carson, Christ and Culture Revisited, p193).

Hear, hear! and amen.

Kairos Article on Infertility

2008-08-14T10:34:00.003-05:00

Kairos Journal just published a fantastic little article entitled "The Pain of Infertility." My wife and I struggled for 10 years through infertility issues, which led us to Amy's full hysterectomy in July, 2007. As this article aptly points out, infertility is not a simple matter of bio-technology but is a test of idolatry.

11 Years and Joyfully Counting. . .

2008-08-14T08:37:00.004-05:00

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband (Prov 12.4a)

Saturday, August 16, marks the greatest eleven years of my life. On that day eleven years ago Amy and I became one in mind, heart and body. She's given far more than she's gotten and served far more than she's been served. We're not who were were then and not who we'll be in another eleven years; but I'm thankful wherever we'll go and whoever we'll be we'll go and be together.

My Queen,

Solomon wrote that "house and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD" (Prov 19.14). In other words, we might "come into" wealth but we don't "come into" a prudent wife. She is a precious gift from God. You are a precious gift from God to me.

Eleven years together has not always been easy. I'm thankful for that. God has proven his love for us by leading us to and through difficult situations. Thanks to me we've not always handled them perfectly, but thanks to you we've handled them by God's grace and we're still standing. Together. In faith. In hope. In love.

We've tasted what it's like for Jesus to journey with his church. Ups and downs. High roads and side roads. Joys and sorrows. Weal and woe. He thought such a life worth the last drop of his blood. I agree. It is worth it. And the blessed "already" of our marriage makes me long for the "not yet" of his.

You are a woman of the Word. I'm so proud to see your Bible colorfully marked up with your multi-colored pen and "protractored" lines. I'm thrilled to see your shelves lined with biographies of women who cherished Christ at all costs. You are indeed being sanctified by the washing of water with the Word (Eph 5.26). While I doubt much of it has to do with me, I'm glad to benefit from such generosity from God. Christ is your True Husband and you serve him well.

You are a woman of the home. God has blessed us such that we don't have competing ambitions. Your "career" ambition is to make a home suitable for peace and godliness. That, my queen, is far more difficult and demands far more energy than any 9-to-5 job. I never worry that you're Puritanically oppressed or chauvinistically stunted. You're free in every sense of the word. By your gentle, quiet and submissive spirit, you prove you hope in God above all things (1 Pt 3.1-6).

You are a woman of the church. You love God's people and their growth in godliness. Like many of our generation, you're having to become the Titus 2 woman you never had yourself. I pray that our daughters and granddaughters will inherit a church where the women love the gospel, teach the gospel and model the gospel. You're part of a pioneering effort of sorts to reclaim the glorious name of "churchwoman."

You deserve far more from your husband than I've provided. I'm sure you've done far more sanctifying of me than I you. But whatever the case, we've journeyed together faithfully now eleven years. God ordained our marriage to help each other persevere in and toward our heart's greatest desire: our Lord Jesus. The worst may not be behind us but neither is the best. May God bless both to our eternal enjoyment of Christ.

Love,

me

Guilty as Charged

2008-08-06T11:02:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Doctor Dictionary, I was recently brought to my knees in sackcloth and ashes. It appears I'm guilty of sesquipedalianism. Sesquipedalian is an adjective meaning "long and ponderous; having many syllables." Although, isn't "sesquipedalian" itself guilty of its own definition? Contradictions all we are.

Thoughts on Youth Ministry (Part 3)

2008-08-06T09:37:00.003-05:00

These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons... (Dt 6.6-7)

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
(Eph 6.4)

Youth ministry has become an industry to rival all industries. Yet, at the first opportunity more teenagers abandon the church than ever before. Teenagers know less about the gospel and orthodox doctrine than ever before. This makes little sense unless we understand God's means of raising children/youth in the community of faith. Please allow some latitude for the following broad (but true, I think) generalities.

Biblical instruction begins first and foremost in the home. It's clear in the old covenant community (national Israel) and the new covenant community (Christ's Church) that the primary responsibility for biblical training lies with fathers (or parents, more generally). Yet Christian parents have long abdicated that responsibility and privilege. They've outsourced this duty. They provide mainly room and board, but entrust their children's souls to the local (youth) pastor.

The well-intentioned youth pastor is thereby charged with making church exciting for the teenagers because the parents are too bored with church to do so. Because "big church" (i.e. the ordinary means of Christ's grace) is obviously inadequate, he/she must orchestrate a lively atmosphere rather than lively faith. The idea of "worship" becomes more important than its reality. In so doing they cultivate the worship of "worship" rather than the worship of Christ.

Graduation from high school is full of anticipation and eagerness for the next stage of life. Graduation from the "youth group" is the end of all excitement and looms with future boredom. How can this be among those who guard and pass down the world's greatest news?

With that said, I humbly offer these naive comments:

1. The church's corporate gathering should be the youth's "main event." Eph 6.1 clearly assumes children are in the same setting in which husbands, wives, parents, employees, employers, etc. are addressed (cf. Col 1.20). Paul was not talking to adults about children, but talking to children among adults (hence, the vocative address "Children"). If that was true of children then how much more teenagers who were considered young adults (see previous post).

Assuming there must always be a youth alternative to the adult gathering undermines one of the very reasons we gather (to pass down the faith passed down to us). For example, many parents neglect corporate prayer because there is nothing for their teenagers during that time. There is no better place for them to be! They benefit much more from seeing/hearing how Christian men/women pray with/for each other. What about the church's members's meetings? Bring your teenagers to the church's members' meetings! Teach them how Christians resolve conflicts, address thorny issues and treat one another over against the world's approach.

2. The church's "youth pastor" is primarily a teenager's dad (or mom, as the case may be). This is not to anathematize the position of youth pastor, but to encourage it as a complement (not supplement) to a father's work. Youth "events" are to be extracurricular activities rather than the sum and substance of church life.

We've assumed something beyond biblical church life is necessary to keep kids interested in church. Times have changed and teenagers need some whiz-bang novelty to make them want to come. Does that really reflect NT Christianity?

Whose job is it to make sure church is "exciting"? The parents! If teeangers see that dad gets more excited about Saturday afternoon football than the church's gathering then they'll assume rooting on the Big 12 is more important than worshiping Christ. If dad lauds the size of Saturday's bass, but mopes through Sunday's truth about Christ then what conclusion must they draw? If mom constantly complains about church folk but praises her aerobics classmates then what seed is sown in young minds about church folk? If children do not see Christ (husband) and church (wife) at work in their home, they will not see their home at work in Christ "at" church.

Teenagers should see in their parents a distinct change when it comes to the church's worship. They should see that water parks and campfires are indeed fun and enjoyable, but nothing affects mom and dad like the church's worship. Dad may rejoice at his new raise, but nothing compares to his elation at new birth. Mom may glory in a new dress, but nothing lights up her face like hearing of being clothed in Christ's righteousness. Mom and Dad love family vacations, but nothing thrills them more than returning to the family of faith.

3. So, we do have a youth ministry (or rather "ministry to youth"). It's called the church. We do have "something for the youth." It's called the gathering of the church where we sing, preach, pray, read the Scriptures and observe the ordinances. If that's not enough, then it's not enough for anyone despite their age.

The best ministry we provide teenagers is the equipping of their parents, who in turn invest the passionate pursuit of Christ's glory in their children. I'm afraid this is much more intimidating for the parents than teenagers. It's time we confess that we've played fast-and-loose with our children's souls, and begin the long march back to biblical faithfulness. It's time parents seriously recover the grandeur of Christ in their own hearts for the sake of their children. God help us be strong and courageous.

(Backtrack to Part 1 and/or Part 2)

Thoughts on Youth Ministry (Part 2)

2008-08-04T15:59:00.004-05:00

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3.28).

The gospel is revolutionary! By the gospel, Jesus is able to do what no other institution, leader, ideological system or government can do. He is able to unite seemingly un-unitable (had to coin a word!) people into one body, with one heart and mind (see Eph 4.4-6).

The world exploits our demographical categories (young/old, rich/poor, black/white, liberal/conservative, etc.). The world uses these distinctions to perpetuate division and hostility. In the church, however, Jesus is able to unite all these otherwise divisive categories into one people. Paul does not mean there is no gender, ethnicity or economy in the church. Men are still men, women still women, Greek still Greek. He means all those things that divide us in the world do not do so in the church. Whereas in the world we're able to see who's who and where we fit in the pecking order, in the church we don't exaggerate our differences but celebrate the Christ who has redeemed them for his glory.

Whereas in the world ethnicity, gender and class create racism, sexism and classism, in the church those same differences testify to Christ's ability to reconcile the irreconcilable. And eternity will be spent praising the One who, by one life of obedience, was able to unite every nation, tribe and tongue under one rule and reign.

This theological reality should inform how we gather as a local church. Our gathering should reflect, as much as possible, the reality of heaven. When we consistently segregate teenagers into their own "church," we're saying the God of adults is to be approached differently than the God of teenagers. Jesus saves but he doesn't unify. We might even treat them as the center of the church's life, gearing everything toward attracting and keeping teenagers.

Jesus is clearly the center of the church's life. This is the beauty of the gospel. Jesus is able to take self-absorbed teenagers, feeble senior citizens, career-driven middle managers, high school dropouts and PhDs and make them one people with one mission.

I'm not categorically rejecting all youth-specific events or Sunday school classes (not a biblical requirement, by the way). I'm stressing a shift in mindset that seeks to incorporate children/teenagers in church life as soon and as much as possible. It's a mindset that stops emphasizing our differences (youth, children, senior adult, cowboy, Gen-X, etc.), but emphasizes the Jesus who is able to reconcile what our sin has caused.

In other words, it's not necessarily a great testimony to Christ to have 100 teenagers go to summer camp on the beach (secular organizations do the same). It's a tremendous testimony to see four teenagers partner with three senior citizens on an evangelism project. It's no great testimony to have a room full of hyped-up teenagers shouting to the Lord (a football game can create the same adrenaline). It's a tremendous testimony to see teenagers sitting respectfully with their parents, Bibles in laps and attention staid to the sermon. Where else can we find that except in Christ's church?

So, have your midnight bowling trips and laser tag nights. But make sure your teenagers know that's not church (even if you mention Jesus at snack time). Make sure they can distinguish the fleeting excitement of pizza night and the eternal excitement of the church's worship.

The greatest threat to our children/teenagers is not boredom, for which entertainment is the remedy. Their greatest threat is their sin, for which the gospel is the remedy. They need rescue from their narcissim to life in community. They don't need a Christian alternative to the world's entertainment. They need the alternative to hell and where else will they find it but in Christ's church?

To be continued . . .

(Warp to Part 1 and/or Part 3)

Thoughts on Youth Ministry (Part 1)

2008-08-04T10:50:00.009-05:00

Some question about youth ministry arises often at our church. Visiting parents ask what we have for their teenagers. Members wonder what we're doing for the "youth." By modern standards we have or do very little. No glitzy youth building for youth "worship." No services designed to package God's truth in sound bites teenagers can understand. No teen-centered atmosphere that defines our church. But, we do have a youth ministry.

There is a rampant adolescentizing force that raises adults/parents to act more like children rather than training children for adulthood. Commercials regularly depict children teaching their parents as though they're the prudent ones in the family. Companies market childish products to parents in the name of relevancy ("Thirty is the new twenty," for example. Everything is geared towards appearing and acting younger). Popular sit-com fathers are overweight dunderheads, while their children are the "wise" ones who teach him about life. Public service announcements have children urging their parents to talk to them about sex, drugs and predators. The overall message is "mature" children and teenagers are now forced to tell their parents to grow up.

This mentality has seeped into the church such that we assume the "youth" should be the church's main emphasis in all we do. There is great pressure to occupy (read: entertain) teenagers. They are "the future of the church" (I thought Jesus was) so we must do anything and everything to keep them interested. To question such an approach and being willing to take attention away from teenagers is tantamount to hating them. Therefore, I want to think aloud through some seminal thoughts, asking if we should assume "youth ministry" a biblical category. (I suppose the same could be asked about other demographic-specific ministries, i.e., children, senior adult, young marrieds. etc.)

Scripture seems to promote two categories of development: childhood and adulthood. One is a child until it's time to prepare for adulthood. In Jewish tradition, a boy or girl enters the initial stages of manhood and womanhood at thirteen and twelve, respectively (via bar and bat mitzvah). They don't become full-fledged adults per se, but the expectations were geared towards adulthood. There doesn't appear to be this formal, intermediate (teenage) stage where you are half-child, half-adult. Rather, you are a young adult learning to become a mature adult.

The expectation was that when a boy reaches (say) thirteen he gets involved with men. He didn't hang out with his 13-year-old buddies at the mall all day, texting acronyms and shuffling his ipod. He tags along with his father at the mill or in the field (where his buddies would also be!). He learns what men do and grows in his physical, emotional and spiritual abilities to assume leadership of his own family one day.

In the church, we should prepare our young adult (teenage) men and women for churchmanship (Titus 2.2-8). The young men should be involved with the older men, learning what men do to lead families and Christ's church. The young women should be likewise involved with the older women, learning what women do to serve families and Christ's church.

As it is, we keep teenagers cordoned off as though they're not mature enough to handle adult teaching. This is a cop out for two reasons. One, they're learning physics or chemistry in school so they have the capacity to process heady things. They may not be disciplined to do so, but they're equipped to do so. Two, they're subject to "adult" themes everyday, all day. The world is not waiting for them to reach a certain again before it peddles adult themes to them. They learn about sex, war, religion, etc. before they're able to drive. While the world indoctrinates our teenagers with its wicked dogma, the church gives them pizza and puppets. We pinch their cheeks rather than pierce their hearts. We chalk up their silliness to a "they're just teenagers" mentality rather than call them to maturity.

We do well to learn from our Supreme Example, Jesus, who at 12-years-old was found listening to the temple teachers (Lk 2.41-52). Our teenagers should be sitting in on adult conversations, Bible study classes, congregational prayer and church meetings. They should be learning about theology and church life. They won't be able to handle all of it, but they'll be able handle much of it. The church is not responsible to make cute churchgoers, but to make disciples. Our largest mission field is our own children/teenagers, whom we must teach to obey all that Jesus taught.

More to come.

(Teleport to Part 2 and/or Part 3).

Mandatory Speed Limits and Total Depravity

2008-07-30T13:13:00.003-05:00

As a countermeasure to rising fuel prices, Washington contemplates a mandatory 55mph speed limit. This is akin to the same 1974 legislation designed to enforce better fuel economy and ideally lower fuel prices. Aside from the obvious political stupidity this measure says volumes about total depravity.

Politically speaking, why don't all those lobbying for the mandatory speed limit simply choose to do 55mph? Why do we need government to dictate something that can be easily chosen by those governed? It's not illegal to slow down so why do we need a law making it legal? The assumption is we're bound by law to do 65mph unless Aunt Samantha (Uncle Sam's feminist sister) restrains me from doing so. While I try to hold my political cards close the vest, this pot is too rich. "We the people" (i.e. free-market citizenry) can have greater and quicker impact on fuel prices than anything else. It's Economics 101.

I digress. From this we learn far more about our common depravity than our common recession. This issue gives great insight to our approach to the law, but especially God's law.

For example, our 4-year-old daughter is old enough to process things she sees on TV. When an inappropriate advertisement we often shield her eyes from seeing it or distract her from it. She now often senses what material is inappropriate and says, "Dad, cover my eyes so I don't watch that." To that I respond, "Sweetie, why don't you just choose not to watch it?" The assumption is she's going to do what she shouldn't unless she's restrained from something outside herself.

You see, we overestimate the power of the law and even more the fallacy of free will. Take those speed limit signs, for example. They can state the law as a potential deterrent to crime. They serve as a basis of judgment if the law they state is broken. They provide some measure of safety. But of all the things they can do they cannot make us to the speed limit! They're impotent to do the very thing they're designed to do (create law-abiding drivers). Such is a matter of the heart. Drivers must still choose to do the speed limit.

Such is the nature of God's law. As much as it can do, it cannot make us law-keepers. Like my daughter and speeders, we will insist on sin and demand to be restrained. If God doesn't want us to sin then he'll have to stop me because I'm certainly not going to restrain myself.

To insist on the fallacy of free will is to insist you're free not to sin. Try it and see how free your will is, especially when you've the tasted the thrill of 65mph. How eager will you be to throttle down?

What we need can only be accomplished by the change of the heart, not the change of the law. Thus, Paul wrote in Rom 8.3-4: For what the Law could not do (i.e. make law-keepers), weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

We need more than the law written on signs (or tablets), but on the heart. This is what Jesus accomplished in his obedience and gift of the Holy Spirit. By engraving God's law on our hearts the Spirit ensures that we want to God what God commands. We're compelled from within, not commanded from without.

All that to say: drive slower, drive less, vote Bob Barr (did I say that out loud?) and consider how desperately we need Jesus to make us law-keepers.

Carson on Common Grace

2008-07-28T10:16:00.002-05:00

In our morning Bible study yesterday, Preston Atkinson discussed the reality and implications of and our responsibility toward God's common grace. In light of that discussion I couldn't help but post this quote from D.A. Carson:

"It comes as an enormous relief to recognize that, however odious and sweeping sin is, whether in personal idolatry or in its outworking in the barbarities of a Pol Pot or an Auschwitz, God intervenes to restrain evil, to display his 'common grace' to and through all, so that glimpses of glory and goodness disclose themselves even in the midst of the wretchedness of rebellion. God still sends his sun and rain upon the just and the unjust; he still guides the surgeon's hand and gives strength to the person who picks up the garbage; the sunset still takes our breath away, while a baby's smile steals our hearts. Acts of kindness and self-sacrifice surface among every race and class of human beings, not because we are simple mixtures of good and evil, but because even in the midst of our deep rebellion God restrains us and displays his glory and goodness" (Christ and Culture Revisited: 49).

The question is not why God would allow so much evil, but given the depth of our depravity why there is not more evil than there is.

We covered Joshua 6 in our preaching yesterday. The text begs the question: "How could God endorse what appears to be genocide?" God was not guilty of genocide. Jericho was guilty of "theocide" and deserved every bit of God's fury. So, let's not ask why God did what he did to Jericho, but contemplate why he didn't do it sooner. And there we enter the mysterious world of God's common grace from which we must never emerge.

Stott on Worship and Then Some

2008-07-10T15:15:00.006-05:00

"The worship which is pleasing to God is offered by his people together, who have assembled in order to do so. Our Reformers understood the implications of this principle, namely that everybody should participate. Whereas the medieval mass was celebrated by the priest at the high altar, and the lay people were spectators, the Reformers deliberately brought the action down from the chancel to the nave and ensured that the lay people were not merely spectators but participants" (John Stott, The Living Church, IVP: 2007, p38).

How might this inform our modern Protestant worship gatherings? We may not celebrate mass, but are we guilty of locating worship in the chancel (i.e. on the stage) all the same? Can we truly call our gatherings participatory, or are we merely spectators of a different kind?

In my humble experience, excessively accompanied praise bands/teams tend to drown out congregational singing. My attention is drawn to the "worship" of those on stage rather than the voices of my brothers and sisters. I'm all for a variety of instrumentation (something for which we're praying at our church!), but keep it simple. Make sure the instruments supplement, not dominate, congregational singing. They should help the church sing better, not make the songs sound louder.

In my humble experience, busy services tend to locate worship on stage more than in the Spirit. I know there's pressure to accommodate our services to our short-attention spans. Keep it movin', or you'll lose 'em. I wonder if doing so makes worship about the zippy pace on stage rather than the Spirit's pace in the heart.

In my humble experience, excessively-used screens encourage worship "watching" rather than participating. I'm all for a screen (something for which we're hoping at our church!). It helps people sing robustly with their heads up. But when everything is on it we become lazy spectators. We're not obliged to flip our own Bible pages or help our neighbor find Haggai. We just simply look "up there" and voila, there it is. No participation or personal responsibility.

In my humble experience, the above with their various sister elements detract from the preaching. In preaching we are commanded to engage our hearts and souls in the exposition of Scripture. It is the "foolish" focal point of the church's gathering. Paul loved songs, hymns and spiritual songs in their proper place, but when he entered town he didn't organize a cantata or direct a skit. He preached. We must discipline our minds to enter into the hearing of God's word, which God has ordained for that moment to benefit our growth in godliness.

If typically everything else in "worship" is done for me "up there," then I'm less inclined to participate in the sermon. Instead, the preacher has a few minutes to serve up something easy or else I'm gone to Carolina in my mind. Keep it snappy or I take a nappy (okay, that's corny).

How steeped are we in (to use Stott's language) chancel-centric worship? Just imagine what your congregation would do if your song leader didn't lead from the stage. Would they know what to do? Would they sing with less enthusiasm? Do they expect to be performed to or share in what God has performed in Christ?

We've done a few things in our congregational worship to encourage participation rather than spectating. Perhaps they'd spark your own ideas.

1. Our songs are led from the floor, off to the side near the pianist. He's more heard than seen, and our congregation has learned that we are the choir. Our attention is drawn away from the stage to focus on lyrics before us and voices around us. Our congregational singing has drastically improved.

2. We e-mail our order of worship to the church by Friday afternoon. Not everyone reads it, but hopefully more and more will. This gives the whole church time to contemplate the songs, Scripture readings, sermon text, etc. When we gather we're less dependent on a stagehand to tell us what to do next. Rather, we're already prepared and can help each other through the service.

3. We keep our services intentionally simple. There's just no busyness with people up, down and around. Perhaps we're regulative principle-with-a-small-r folks. Prayer, reading, singing, preaching, (monthly) communion. One, we don't have a wide array of artsy folks to do much else. Two, we don't want our worship to be swallowed up by the service. While some may equate simplicity with boring, we could not disagree more strongly.

4. We encourage children to sit in congregational worship as early and as much as possible. There's nothing like children to keep the gathering participatory. They've not yet learned the fine art of our pious formality. We should help them sing the church's songs, listen for certain words and train their minds towards the preaching text (all of which we know because we've gotten the order ahead of time!).

I doubt any of this may be relevant to you. But maybe there are a few boring folks out there who may empathize.

Beware the Amalekites

2008-07-09T07:37:00.003-05:00

It's all about the numbers:

4,100 Americans killed.
30,000 Americans wounded.
$600 billion invested
$130 per barrel
$4 per gallon

I'm the last to assume the Iraq War has an easy fix. For some, staying costs more than leaving. For others, leaving costs more than staying. I have no idea. I'm thankful God has made me a citizen of another kingdom; therefore, my interests lie there. I want to draw attention to one of this war's unwritten casualties.

We minister in the Ft. Hood region of Central Texas. Ft. Hood is the largest Army base in the world, occupying 340 square miles of Texas soil. It garrisons 45,000 active duty soldiers, about half of which are deployed at any given time. Most soldiers here are either on or preparing for their third and fourth deployments. Typically, a soldier is deployed (now) 15 months and home for a year. That means over the last six years, the typical soldier has spent upwards of four of them in Iraq/Afghanistan.

What is the unwritten casualty? The family. Politicians care about the numbers, but the church must care about the families.

I sat this week with yet another married soldier who, while deployed, succumbed to sexual temptation. While Washington debates dollars and cents, there is a far greater cost to this war. Army wives contemplate divorce from half-way across the world. Army "brats" suffer miserably broken homes. Soldiers feed pornography addictions and return home angry, confused men. Our local pregnancy center has even seen its fair share of lonely Army wives.

Fifteen months is a long time and Iraq is a long way from home. But fifteen months can (and does) ruin the next generation. It had better be worth what we're selling them out for.

Stay. Leave. I have no idea. What I do know is that while we're away (rightly) fending off terrorists, the Amalekites have made a raid (1 Sam 30.1-2). They've carried off women and children and chained them to lives to brokenness and betrayal. Thanks to our sterling military we may never see another explosion over our shores, but I fear we will see implosion from within them.

All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Armies can rebuild bridges and restore order, but they can't redeem the families who benefit from them. The Church, armed with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only army fit to do that. Let us stand up, dear church, and fight the unseen war so there will be fewer unseen casualties.

Fanning the Slowly Burning Flame

2008-06-26T05:15:00.004-05:00

For some bizarre reason, I found it easy to meditate more on pastoral discouragement. In so doing I was drawn to Paul's exhortations to imitate him (1 Cor 4.16; 11.1; Phil 3.17; 1 Thess 1.5; 2 Thess 3.9; cf. also Heb 13.7). Certainly, Paul hoped the churches would imitate his zeal for Christ and his word. However, he also was a model for dealing with life's pain and discouragement (more the context of Phil 3.17). As much as Paul taught Christians how to live, he modeled even more how they were to die (to self and the world).

Pastors should be worthy of imitation in areas like prayer, evangelism, mercy, etc. But we are also examples of how God's people deal with despair. And how our people need such an example in an age where depression has become a Godless industry. In our own suffering we teach our congregation how to address the downcast soul (Pss 43-43). We exemplify how it is that God, through the gospel, restores the soul (Ps 23) and strengthens feeble knees (Is 35.3; Heb 12.12).

What does this mean practically? We must resist the urge, pressure and expectation that we always be "on." There is a general perception that the pastor's life is "together" and void of despair. We don't help that perception by always appearing as though it is. We fear anyone thinking otherwise because we want to keep our job and reputation. Before long, our people assume from our example either (1) pastors must be better equipped to deal with despair or (2) we deal with it superficially and suffer it privately.

When we sense discouragement taking root then we should confess it before the brothers and sisters we serve. Then we share how it is that God is helping us through his word and prayer. Show them how the gospel is for more than tent revivals, toe-tapping music and happy faces. The gospel is both a scalpel and a soothing balm to heal the wound it often creates. Live out discouragement in front of the people so they can see Jesus is better than Dr. Phil and Mr. Pill. Show them that Ps 34.18 is really true: "God is near to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in Spirit."

I remember sitting at the knee of William Hughes at 2004 pastors' conference in New Jersey. I had been recently voted out of my first church after only a year. He had been recently ousted from the Scottish church he'd served for several decades. I'll never forget his example. In his intoxicating Scottish brogue and with his gift of story-telling (which seems true of most Scots!), he took me to a park in Glasgow. He said he still remembered the tree under which he sat, processing what had just happened. And then he said something I'll never forget: "Barry, Jesus was close to me there."

Dear brothers, let's teach our people that a real Jesus really comes close to those in despair. In fact, pain is often necessary for Jesus to come close. If they don't see that reality in their pastor, then they'll lose most hope of finding it anywhere. They'll resort to the empty means our world advertises, and lose out on the very purpose for which God gives Christ to us.

"For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ" (2 Cor 1.5).

Stoking the Dimly Burning Wick

2008-06-24T15:35:00.006-05:00

It's another Sunday afternoon in the pastor's house. He lives for Sunday mornings but dies by Sunday night. Like Elijah, he slinks from Carmel to cave in a few short hours. He wakes up eagerly with glorious expectations only to lay down fitfully with questions. Does anybody care about the things of God? Is there a bud on any of the trees? Is anyone hungry for something, anything resembling godliness? Does anyone like talking about the Bible? Do matters of the soul matter to anyone?

Inevitably these questions drift from "them" to "me." Maybe it's me. After some years we should expect some quantifiable growth, right? Even a pruned tree comes back in the Spring. Am I right for this church? Maybe we just want different things from each other. Am I even right for ministry? Maybe I misunderstood the yearning I thought God was giving me. Maybe folks were just tickling my ears when I asked them about pastoral ministry. Maybe I'm doing more harm than good. There are fewer people doing fewer things on a slimmer budget. Is the ship sinking or did I run it aground? I love what I do, but hate what I've done. Am I crazy? Have I preached the right gospel? Where are the classifieds?

Pastoral discouragement takes a painful on the best of us. I was asked recently how I would counsel someone in the scenario summarized above. Hence, this post. It seems I'm becoming something of an expert on pastoral discouragement! By God's grace, may what follows be helpful for you or those you might find in similar circumstances.

Some introductory comments are in order. One, don't do too much introspection on Sunday afternoons or Monday mornings. It's not helpful. The evidence of grace is much clearer on Tuesday. But it's just not that easy, is it?

Two, God has designed ministry to kill you. It killed Jesus and it will kill us. Paul spoke of his ministry perhaps more in terms of dying than living (2 Cor 4.11-12; Gal 6.17; Phil 2.17). He even lumped his concern for the churches in with the pain of imprisonments, beatings, starvations, drownings and muggings (2 Cor 11.23-29). Therefore, the pangs of discouragement are the sounds of a man giving his life away for God's people. It's the sound of man making his home in a cemetery, hoping that today will be the day life springs eternal. God will make sure Jesus is the only one left standing in the battle royal for souls.

I recently asked my childhood pastor if he ever wondered what he was doing in ministry? He said, "How about the first twenty years?" So for many of us we've got at least a decade more of this stuff to go!

With that said ask yourself these questions, in this order (think flowchart):

1. How is my marriage and family? Paul teaches us that a pastor's home will influence the church far more than the reverse (1 Tim 3.4-5). The first place Paul expects the church to look for pastoral fitness is his home. Therefore, all the questions we ask about the church must first be asked about the home. Do I see fruit in my wife and children? Is there interest in the Word at home? Am I teaching my home how to pray? If not, then I cannot expect those things from the church. Improve these areas first and then see how God affects the church in turn.

2. If you can honestly answer "yes" to the above, then I'd ask the question to which I often hate the answer. Do I desire spiritual growth in my church because I love the people so much that I truly want them to escape hell and enjoy Christ (Rom 10.1)? Or, do I want spiritual growth because I want to be known as a pastor who grows people spiritually? In other words, do I want their growth for my sake or theirs (and Christ's)? Do I want more fruit because of it what it will say about me or Jesus? Do I gravitate towards those who make me look good or Jesus look glorious?

3. If you can answer humbly to all the above, then I would ask if I overemphasize corporate concerns at the expense of individual souls. We must absolutely protect the corporate nature/integrity/purity of the church. But, I'm often guilty of emphasizing it so much that I fail to invest in individual souls. That's like a shepherd caring for the flock, but neglects the sheep. That's like a captain running a tight ship with little concern for the sailor.

I'm afraid this is one of the pitfalls of church reformation. Look, we'll not all be Capitol Hill Baptist Church. If not careful, we may do more lording for the institution than leading souls to Christ's lordship (1 Pt 5.1-3). Am I finding out what makes folks tick and how I can best sow seeds of life in them? Am I connecting with people/families despite their apathy toward the church? Sometimes we may have to long endure bad doctrine, anemic constitutions and poor churchmanship for the sake of shepherding souls.

4. If I can testify to a consistent, careful (albeit imperfect) attention to souls, then it might just be that God has simply called me to an especially difficult ministry. Such is not all that uncommon in Scripture. Paul threw up his hands a time or two. Isaiah and Jeremiah had pathetic "track records." God called Isaiah to preach until folks grew deaf! His preaching was primarily a ministry of God's judgment. Timothy's experience wasn't all Hawaiian shirts and sexy staging. Biblical ministry is impossibly hard; that's why not many folks/churches do it.

There are more churches than I'd care to count who have longstanding conflict and unrepentant sin. Even worse, they're full of unregenerate members. If we preach to/on those issues then many folks will leave. That's what they do when they don't want to deal with conflict biblically. We must make sure that if we must preach to/on those issues we do so with profound humility and prayer.

5. If I can come to terms with #4, then do I preach and pray with the same passion as I would with hungry souls? Have I sloughed off my preparation because the church doesn't expect much anyway? Has a critical spirit or hate set in that needs confessing and repenting from? Have I resorted to using a "bully pulpit" to take out my anger? Will I believe that when God says he uses foolish means, he means it? Will I pray that God help me love twice-dead sheep twice as much?

6. These aren't all the questions by far (or maybe not even the right ones!), but they're a good start toward clawing out of discouragement. Other practical questions might include the condition of the church before we came. Has it ever been a vibrant, God-centered, biblically-functioning body? What's been the typical pastoral tenure? Have their pastors simply ridden out the honeymoon period, hit the wall and left? Sometimes we expect 3-year-olds to do calculus.

Discouragement is strangely a means of God's grace. By it God breaks me down in order to kill more pride in my heart. Jesus doesn't need me for his church to prosper, and that's a hard realization to come to. I need Jesus for me to prosper. I'm not entitled to preach or be heard. I'm entitled to hell and anything less is God's gift to me. Will I be content in Christ even if God has to strip my ministry to do it?

Also, find a way to get around other pastors. Discouragement shrinks our world. Brotherhood enlarges it. We've started a monthly pastors fellowship in our town. It's only four of us and I'm the only Calvinist. But it's a tremendous boon to my soul and it improves our churches' reputations and faithfulness. Our church isn't so bad after all! We simply read/discuss a book and pray for our ministries/churches. It's amazing how members change when they know the local pastors talk!

While I hope this helps, I would much rather entrust you to those who've hurdled far more than I have. Take a seasoned, gray-haired, weathered, wrinkled pastor to lunch and ask him this question: What do you know now that you would've loved to know when you started? Some things we have to learn by experience, but many experiences would be different if we'd learned.

J.C. Ryle Quote

2008-06-11T07:23:00.004-05:00

This quote should've been included in yesterday's post:

A true Christian must be no slave to fashion if he would train his child for heaven. He must not be content to do things merely because they are the custom of the world; to teach them and instruct them in certain ways, merely because it is usual; to allow them to read books of a questionable sort, merely because everybody else reads them; to let them form habits of a doubtful tendency, merely because they are the habits of the day. He must train with an eye to his children's souls. He must not be ashamed to hear his training called singular and strange. What if it is? The time is short--the fashion of this world passeth away. He that has trained his children for heaven rather than for earth--for God, rather than for man--is the parent that will be called wise at last. (J.C. Ryle, "Primary Obligations of Parents," Free Grace Broadcaster, Summer 2008, p13).

The good bishop strikes again.

Modesty Mojo

2008-06-10T14:32:00.004-05:00

My dear brother in Christ Steve Burchett offered a provocative comment on the most recent post. I'd hoped to skirt the issue (no pun intended), but he's forced my hand. Rather than offer sound bites in the comment section I thought I'd respond with a new post. What follows are the worm can-opening ramblings of an ignorant man with which a grain of salt would be a complement. You'll find out quickly I'm out of my league in this discussion.

1. "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable" (1 Cor 6.12; 10.23). In other words, there are some things we do that are more stupid than sinful. God must help us determine what those things are as individuals, families and churches. Perhaps the government school/private school/homeschool debate falls into this category (depending on the particular school systems, options, etc.). And perhaps I've just offended everyone in those camps! Suffice it say, parents must decide what is best for their children's soul, not simply what's convenient for their schedules.

2. We must instill in our sons a love for modesty that complements their hatred for immodesty. We default to immodesty if we don't have other alternatives. If they shouldn't consider "that" attractive then what should they consider attractive? This means mothers must model biblical modesty (1 Tim 2.9-10;1 Pt 3.1-6) and fathers must praise them for it.

We should use language of beauty when women display a "gentle and quiet spirit." This will drill into them that beauty is this and not that. He must know that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but in the eye of our Creator. Our sons must know that our sin perverts beauty, and Christ must change our heart-eyes so that we see what God sees. This is not to say we must consider "looks" irrelevant, but that we must not define a person by them.

Fathers are certainly to blame for off-colored comments, cat calls and grunts. When our sons see our eyes follow a woman sauntering by, he assumes it's okay to watch women saunter by. As we instruct our sons about beauty we must be able to ask them, "Son, do you see Dad watching those things?" or "Son, do you ever hear Dad talking about women that way?" Lord willing, they will say "no." And our daughters will know what kind of man is best for them to marry.

Further, I'm afraid mothers are trying to become more like their daughters than the other way around. We can't expect young ladies to understand modesty when their mothers compete for the same attention. I want to ask many women, "Aren't you 40? Why do you and your 12-year-old dress alike?" The hidden person of the heart is so 16th century, I suppose. I'm eternally thankful for a mom who was a daughter of Sarah (1 Pt 3.6). She dressed modestly, walked with dignity, served with humility, carried herself maturely and honored my dad highly. Because of her example I knew what sort of woman I should marry (and did!). Her example didn't keep me from every indecent thought, but it did inform who I wanted to wake up with each morning.

3. We must teach our sons to avoid temptation. So let's not put them in over their heads, which is something very difficult for them to judge. Young men lack sense (Prov 7.7) and there are some places that are just stupid for them to go (Prov 7.24-27). Knowing where the sweet-talking mistress lives, why would we insist they use her street to come home?

I've heard horror stories about our local high school. I'm sure some are apocryphal, but if they're even half true I'm terrified. Perverse sexual behavior in the halls, latch-key lives that open more than the back door, locker room sex education. If I wouldn't want my son watching/hearing any of that on TV or screen then why would I want him to see it live? We wouldn't intentionally subject our children to physical harm, so why would we freely subject them to spiritual harm?

The alternative is settling for some level of allowable immodesty. If you wouldn't want your son peeping in your neighbors bedroom window then why allow him to watch another couple doing the same thing on TV? Why is one indecent and the other not? If I wouldn't want him seeing sexually explicit material in print, then why subject him to seeing it in person? If I would chastise him for looking a friends sexually explicit magazine in a school locker, then why tolerate him looking at it being acted out by the lockers?

However, we must also teach them how God intends we resist temptation. We cannot make hermits of our sons. They must confront evil and tempation. They must know there is a real enemy after their soul who will use any means necessary to derail their holiness (Eph 6.12; 1 Pt 5.8-9). That lustful (or greedy or angry, etc.) thought is a means to an end: treasuring something more than Christ; loving hell more than heaven. It's thievery, wanting something that's not yours.

As we instill an avoidance instinct we must also instill a resistance instinct. If a stranger approaches my son with some sort of proposition then I want him to yell and run. If Satan approaches my son with some sort of proposition then I want him to resist with Scripture (Phil 4.8, for example), prayer and getting the heck out of the situation. Avoid the fight if you can, but fight like mad if you must. And "having done everything, stand firm" (Eph 6.10-17). If they are Christ's, God will not leave them to destruction.

4. Sin is not what we do, it's who we are. The most well-equipped son with all the tools of biblical avoidance and resistance will still find a way to violate women and pervert beauty. It's amazing how vividly I can remember images I haven't seen in 25 years, but can't remember the Scripture I memorized yesterday. Not even becoming eunuch eradicates sin. Changed scenery is only a temporary fix. We must have a changed heart.

In the end, we must not make our son's purity about self-righteousness, but Christ's. We must leave them hoping in God's grace and forgiveness in Christ rather than any self-discipline of the will. It will do him no good to have the purest mind, but a Christless heart.

I talk a much better game than I play. I leave the thousand other things that should be said to those more qualified and mature. God have mercy.

Mahaney Excerpt

2008-06-02T10:19:00.005-05:00

Make sure to check out this excerpt from C.J. Mahaney's upcoming book on modesty. What a great word to those of us with daughters. Don't let the world (or especially the church!) redefine immodesty as "cute."

We've recently confronted this at our house. Pastors live on used clothes. Our 3-year-old daughter came into some shorts that have writing on the backside. What possible reason would there be for writing on the back of a 3-year-old's shorts? So they're relegated to play-at-home shorts and she must wear them backwards, if she wears them at all.

In fact, I see no reason for any girl (especially Christian) to want such writing except to say, "Look here!" They mustn't wonder later why all guys want is to get into the very shorts they're advertising! "You can't deal me all the aces and expect me not to play," crooned the country star. Yes, there is a word to be said to our sons as well.

Some may say, "C'mon, Maxwell, she just three and they're just cute shorts." To that I say, "She not just three. She's already three and already processing and learning the definition of modesty. I'd rather her learn that from Scripture, not you." I understand the nature of total depravity, which means that I and my son are like dumb oxen and stupid birds (Prov 7.22-23). We need no help luring our eyes to inappropriate places. Men will take the bait every time. Therefore, I don't intend to teach my daughter to set the hook.

Thoughts on Joy (Part 2) or An Apology for Christian Joy

2008-05-30T08:53:00.005-05:00

The three observations I offered in the previous post have prompted several more. God commands us through Paul to always "Rejoice in the Lord" (Phil 3.1; 4.4; 1 Thess 5.16). I want to obey God's commands; therefore, I must (1) repent of the sin of joylessness and (2) strive for greater measures of Christ's joy he both promised to me and prayed for me. All of this is possible by the Holy Spirit's advocacy and empowerment. Bear with me as I think out loud regarding the gracious command to "Rejoice in the Lord."

Joy takes on many forms in our life. We can identify those forms by what we supply after saying, "Well, at least I still have my ________." What fills the blank is what keeps us tethered to joy. No matter how bad things get, we can still find joy, gladness and hope in whatever "this" is. We can easily mention some things that fill the blank: spouse, children, health, job, retirement, dignity, pride, etc.

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with finding joy in those things. In fact, it would be sin not to because the psalmist commands that we forget none of God's good benefits (Ps 103.2ff). However, we do sin when we find ultimate joy in them. This for two reasons. (1) All those things are temporary. They can quickly become idols that when they fail us we doubt God's goodness and grace. (2) Those less-than-ultimate means of joy confuse what is the greatest threat to our joy. To say, "At least I still have my children" assumes childlessness is the greatest threat to my joy. To say, "At least I still have my spouse" assumes widowhood is the greatest threat to my joy. To say, "At least I still have my job" assumes poverty is the greatest threat to my joy.

Again, don't get me wrong. Losing a child, spouse, job, etc. are certainly threats to joy. But they are not the greatest threat.

The greatest threat to our joy is our sin without a remedy. It's the thought that there is no way to rebuild what my sin has destroyed. It's the truth that unless God does something about my sin, I will forever suffer his wrath. It's the fact that I stand guilty before God, subject to his eternal punishment, with no recourse within myself. That is the epitome of joylessness.

You see, being childless or widowed (as tragic as those things may be) will not keep us from heaven. Being jobless or penniless will not bar us from eternal life with God. Our sin will, though. So whatever/whoever it is that can relieve that eternal joylessness is to be our ultimate joy (our "fill-in-the-blank" answer). Of course, that person is Jesus Christ who has removed the sting of eternal death and sin's power to keep us eternally joyless.

In Luke 10, Jesus sent out 70 of his followers to declare the arrival of God's kingdom in Christ. Jesus gave them authority over demons and sickness. They returned "with joy" (v17) recounting how they commanded demons. But as great as that was Jesus said (v20), "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." In other words, when his followers lost all they had they were not to say, "At least we still have the joy of having commanded demons." That was not an ultimate joy that would sustain them through death. Knowing they were secured in heaven would.

So when Paul commands us to rejoice in the Lord, he's saying to every Christian that God, by his sovereign and infinite grace, has chosen to relieve you from your greatest enemy: sin and death. Jesus has sealed and secured our eternal joy in him; therefore, there is no amount of suffering/tragedy in this life that can threaten that ultimate joy. No matter how bad things get (or appear to get), remember that they are not as bad as they would one day be had God not redeemed you in the Lord Jesus. Conversely, according to Luke 10, no matter how great things are, remember that they are not be ultimately trusted and tempt you to idolatry (Ps 62.10).

Friend, you may think that hell would be losing your most treasured possessions in this life. That's not hell by a long shot. You may think that heaven is enjoying your most treasured possessions in this life. That's not heaven by a long shot.

Our greatest enemy is not poverty, loneliness, ignorance or sickness. Therefore, our greatest joy cannot by definition be wealth, family, education or health. Our greatest enemy is God's eternal wrath against our sin. Therefore, our greatest joy is Jesus Christ who has relieved God's wrath and secured his eternal favor toward us.

Thoughts on Joy (Part 1)

2008-05-30T07:33:00.008-05:00

Those who know me worst know I struggle for, with and in joy. Yes, I've read Desiring God. Yes, I've read When I Don't Desire God. And if Piper ever writes When I Don't Desire to Desire God then I'll read it, too. My problem, however, is not ignorance that needs educating. It's sin that needs killing.

We recently finished a study through Philippians at our church. As you know, joy is an important (but not the only) theme in Paul's letter to this small church. It is deeply connected to another important theme: thinking or considering (the phroneo word group and its synonyms are used as much as the chairo word group). Therefore, Christian joy derives from considering or contemplating objective truth; namely, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think deeply on the gospel and joy will not be far behind. Neglect doing so and despair sets in.

Consider Paul's instruction in Phil 4.7: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. I humbly offer three observations. You'll need to remind me of these tomorrow, by the way.

Joy is a command to be obeyed. Paul does not offer a helpful suggestion to a bi-polar or depressed client. He's not telling us to "keep our chin up." He's issuing a command (note the present-imperative chairete) to every believer in Christ to rejoice in Christ (cf. 1 Thess 5.16-18). R. Kent Hughes comments, "Joy is not a luxury--it's a necessity!"

We may not often discern all of God's will in a certain situation. But we can be assured that part of his will in every situation is that we rejoice in Christ. We're not to find a silver lining in every cloud, but the gospel lining. Joylessness, therefore, is a sin from which we must repent (not a condition for which we need a prescription).

Joy is not circumstantial. Where does Paul expect us to find this joy? It must be easy for him to say considering he didn't have three kids, a dead-end job, a mortgage and rising gas prices. You're right. He didn't have those things; he was much worse off. Remember, he wrote this letter from prison, which was his home away from home (cf. 2 Cor 11.23-29). Ask him today what God's will is and he'll say, "Rejoice in the Lord!" What if tomorrow things go from bad to worse? "I will say (future tense), 'Rejoice!'"

Paul loved the phrase "in the Lord" in this letter (1.14; 2.19, 24, 29; 3.1; 4.1, 2, 10). By using it here (and 3.1) Paul placed our joy squarely in the truth and promises of Jesus Christ. We don't rejoice because of what our circumstances do to us temporally, but because of what Jesus did for us eternally. Paul could not envision a circumstance that could eclipse the joy of the gospel.

Many of us ride a spiritual roller coaster. This week we feel close to God because some good things have happened. Next week we're distant from God because some bad things happen. If things are good, we love/boast in God. When things go bad, we wonder why God hates us so much. Joy is circumstantial. It's earth-centered. It's an outside-in approach.

God intends to free us from this cycle. He frees us not by always giving us favorable circumstances, but by bringing us over and over again to what he's done for us in Christ (see Jas 1.2-4; 1 Pt 1.6-9). God works joy in us from the inside-out.

No matter how bad the circumstances are, they are not remotely as bad as the eternal situation from which God has saved us. No matter how good the circumstances are, they are not nearly as good as the eternal situation for which God has saved us!

D.A. Carson comments: “If we fail to respond with joy and gratitude when we are reminded of these things, it is either because we have not properly grasped the depth of the abyss of our own sinful natures and of the curse from which have been freed by Jesus or because we have not adequately surveyed the splendor of the heights to which we have been raised.”

Imagine the most painful situation you could ever experience (the rape and murder of your wife and children, for example). Rejoice that if you are in Christ, then that's the closest to hell you'll ever get.

Now, imagine the most euphoric situation you could ever experience. Rejoice that this is but a small taste of the heaven Christ has bought for you.

Joy is not a feeling. Joy is part of the Spirit's fruit: the working of Christ's character in us (Gal 5.22). Jesus promised it to us (Jn 15.11) and prayed it for us (Jn 17.13). So unless Jesus is a liar or prayed wrongly then his joy is ours for the taking. What is his joy exactly? It's the eternal bliss of perfecting a people by faith through his death (Heb 12.1-3).

We simply cannot make ourselves feel better. We assume so when we counsel "Cheer up, it'll all work out" or "It could be worse" or "Stop feeling that way." If it were as simple as making ourselves feel better, don't you think we would? The fact is joy is the fruit of Christ's promise and prayer, given freely by the Holy Spirit whom he sent to us. Meditate on what he's done for you and despair will make way for joy.

My joy is not a determination of my will. I can't simply determine to feel better tomorrow. I can resolve to sow seeds of the gospel today that will bear fruit of joy tomorrow. So pass me a rake, preach the gospel to me, and fertilize the seeds with your prayer.

Kairos Journal Article

2008-05-29T09:25:00.000-05:00

To complement Tuesday's post, I refer you to this newly-posted article from Kairos Journal entitled "Wanted: 'Generic Chaplains'".

May God keep us from becoming generic pastors!

Calvin Quote

2008-05-28T12:41:00.004-05:00

In studying for a sermon on Ps 109 I ran across this quote from John Calvin. In light of those who would consider Calvinism antithetical to evangelism, consider this:

"As we cannot distinguish between the elect and the reprobate, it is our duty to pray for all who trouble us; to desire the salvation of all men; and even to be careful for the welfare of every individual" (Commentaries, vol. VI, Psalm CIX, p283).

This is consistent with a substantial number of other quotes throughout his commentaries and even the Institutes. We'd do well to listen to Calvin before making assumptions about Calvinists.

Last Roll Call

2008-05-27T14:31:00.003-05:00

I was humbled last weekend to preach the funeral of a dear sister, new member of our church and soldier in the U.S. Army. Her memorial service earlier in the week was my first experience with a military funeral. Folks warned me about the "Last Roll Call" and they were right. It was a moving experience filled with great dignity and honor.

So it was a tremendous privilege to preach Cindy's funeral, which was followed by a military burial. It was out of town so many of our church couldn't attend. Therefore, I want to post the funeral message as an encouragement to our folks and maybe to the handful of others who may read it.

We often cope with a loved one's death by asking what they would want us to do in light of it. Jesus told a parable (Lk 16) about a man who had died and begged Abraham (in heaven) to send someone to inform his brothers about the eternity he was now experiencing. Abraham said that what God had already revealed was sufficient to inform them about eternity.
So, what would Cindy have us do and know now? We need not sensationalize or speculate about eternity. God has not kept us in the dark, or left us to process death any way we can. He has brought the truth about death and how he deals with it to light. And Cindy would have us know what God has already revealed in Scripture. Sufficient is God's revelation in his word to instruct us as to what awaits us all, and what Cindy now knows.
So, I hope to briefly help us think about a few things God has already taught us and about which we need not be confused and what Cindy would tell us were she able to.
One, God grants life for the sake of eternity.
In Psalm 39, the psalmist asked God to make him know how transient his life was. He spoke of every man's life being a mere breath. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Whether we are 44 or 84 when we die, life for us is a blur all the same. We'll all ask, “Where did the time go?”
God gives us our brief life to prepare us for eternity. Solomon wrote in Eccl 3.11 that God has put eternity in the heart of every person. There is in all of us this longing for more than this life. There is this yearning that someone has to make right all that's gone wrong with this world. And it is foolish to presume ourselves invincible, that this life is all there is and that we'll have tomorrow to figure it out.
So, I think God is teaching us not to waste life on this life, but invest every moment in eternal things. He demands that we not avoid what he has clearly woven into the fabric of our souls: the sense of eternity and how he deems that we spend it.
Let's not assume we'll have tomorrow (or this afternoon) to answer the questions our soul has today. As unlikely as it was last week to us that we'd be here, so might it be next week for any one of us. Jesus asked what profit there was to gain the whole world but lose your soul.
I'm confident Cindy would say that you and should spend far less time preparing for the next gadget, promotion, or achievement that may not come and prepare for eternity that is certain for us all—sooner than later.

Two, heaven is a glorious reality for Christ followers.
We emphasized at our church last Sunday that we're not to pity Cindy, but be jealous of her! She confessed Christ and was baptized into his church in Germany. As a church we joyfully affirmed that confession. So, as Paul wrote in 1 Thess 4.13, we do not grieve without hope.
God brings us again to the reality, received and known by faith in Christ, that a real heaven awaits those who are his. Cindy did not enter eternal life last Thursday morning. She merely transitioned in the eternal life she already possessed by faith in Christ.

We get easily wrapped up in and discouraged by the burdensome trappings of this life such that we don't meditate on the glorious blessings of the life to come. We are to always be heavenly-minded to be earthly good.

So if you are a believer in Christ today, then rejoice that God has renewed your hope and confirmed your faith that this life is not all there is. Cindy's death (albeit difficult) is a means of grace to us. God reminds us that will make all things right one day.

Three, following Christ is the only way to truly make sense of death.
All of us ask “Why?” and “How?” at times like this. And we'll be frustrated if we don't understand what God is doing to orchestrate history to a certain end. Cindy's death is not some random event that slipped under God's radar. Rather, it is part (albeit difficult) of the unfolding of his plan to have a people for himself.

The Bible says that all death is a result of man's fall into sin. Our deaths may not necessarily be caused by some particular sin, but that we die is because we have all sinned against a holy God. Death, according to Scripture, is to be no surprise to us.

But, God does not leave us without hope. It is in this hope we shared with Cindy for the last several months. In fact, it is this hope that dominated my last conversation with her about two weeks ago.

In Christ, God took on the penalty of our sin on the cross (that otherwise keeps us eternally dead and subjects of his wrath) and raised him from the dead to prove Christ's sacrifice was sufficient to redeem his people. And therein provided the way God deals with death: by resurrection.

Now, all those who trust Christ face death with the certain hope that our sin does not have the last word. Rather, as Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15.48-49, our earthly bodies will give way to heavenly ones.

Friends, we all want to shake our fists at God sometimes, but our arms are too short to box with God. God has given us a sure way and remedy to deal with death. It's not by keeping us from it, but by raising us from it.

All those in Christ have this promise: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom 8.11). That is the surprising thing about all this: that a holy God would transform the likes of us into sons and daughters of heaven.

So what would Cindy want each one of us to do today? I can tell you based on the authority of God's Word, that she would want us to come to Christ. She now knows the surpassing glory of Jesus and would not want any one of us to waste one more moment in unbelief and the illusions of this life. She now knows that there is no hope of understanding all this apart from him. And that Christ is worth all you and I have.

We were moved this past Wednesday as Cindy's memorial service ended with the last roll call. Three times a deafening silence followed the call for Master Sergeant Cynthia Lee Tillery to report for duty. It prompted to me imagine a roll call in heaven last Thursday morning, when “Tillery” was called to report. And all the redeemed rejoiced to hear her say, “Present, My Lord and Savior.” And after hearing for years the voice of her sergeant say “Well done, Soldier!” she was pleased to finally hear the voice of her Savior: “Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant.”

So, friends and family, God would have us mourn Cindy for now, but do so full of hope that heaven is home to those in Christ and Jesus is our everlasting reward. Amen.

After the graveside ceremony, a young soldier who was part of the funeral detail pulled me aside. He said to me, "Thank you for speaking about Christ." He'd participated in his share of funerals and everyone talks about God (generically), he said, but very few talk about Jesus. We embraced in the truth that there is no other name under heaven by which man must be saved (Acts 4.12).

I left encouraged that Christ was heard, but staggered that such was unusual funeral fare. The name of Jesus remains an offense or a stumbling block (read Acts 4). But it is the name of Jesus we must leave with all people.

The Glory of Christ in Fostering Children (or I Am Mephibosheth)

2008-04-07T09:03:00.006-05:00

"So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. . . . Now he was lame in both feet."
(2 Sam 9.11b, 13c)

"While we were children, [we] were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son . . . so that we might receive adoption as sons. . . . So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
(Gal 4.3-4a, 5b, 7).

We woke up one morning last week with one child. We went to sleep that night with three. God is taking us on our first and most-thrilling ride of being foster parents. It's not all sunshine and lollipops, but it is more glorious than we ever imagined.

We're thankful for what God is teaching us about children, the State, welfare and depravity. However, we're infinitely more thankful for what he's teaching us about the gospel. We're all grandsons of Saul, lame in both feet, and dependent on the King's mercy.

I'm certainly no expert on foster care, but I didn't want to waste these first impressions. So for posterity's sake and posthumous disposal, here are my initial thoughts. They are subject to change without notice.

1. There is a world of darkness and depravity out there that my middle-class, white, suburban mind only knew about in pictures. Hell is real and gleefully torments the least of those among us. All the while, churches debate oak versus pine hardwood floors.

2. Our process has revealed a strange misunderstanding of God's sovereignty among Christians. Many have said, "I don't think I could foster children because you put so much into them only to have them leave one day. I couldn't take that pain." To that I've considered several thoughts.

One, it will and should be painful if it happens. We trust God will meet us with strengthening grace then. We believe God will help understand more and become more like Jesus through it.

Two, why not have the same perspective with biological children (or anything else for that matter)? Does God owe them another day simply because they're genetically yours? As certainly as God may send our foster children back home tomorrow, can he not call your biological child home all the same? We must hold all God's gifts loosely. Thankfully and joyfully, but loosely.

Three, God did not temper his commitment to us by the amount of pain that commitment might cause. If we only did those things that carried little-to-no risk of pain we'll never know the abundant life of Christ (Phil 3.10).

3. The State is God's gift for restraining evil and rewarding good (Rom 13.1-7). But it is not a parent. God intends the State wield the sword, not a rattle. More Christians need to be involved in fostering and adoption. I say that as a recovering pious snot who who not so long ago thumbed his nose at "those people who need to get a J-O-B."

Christians spend much time complaining about the welfare system. We argue that its the secular government's fault that kids are wasted and schools are dangerous. While that may be true in part, our inaction has demonstrated faithlessness in the gospel to remedy social ills. We've buried our heads in the sand, refusing to put God on display to the world. Fostering and adoption provide a tremendous opportunity to prove that the gospel-centered worldview can and will do far more than "the system" (much like Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship initiative in prisons).

This is not a political issue, but a spiritual one. You want to see public schools change in fifteen years? You want to see children who know more about God's glory in creation than man's glory in XBox? Don't look to a secular government for help. By faith, foster and/or adopt. Multiply that perpsective throughout the church and our communities look much different in a decade.

Is our faith in the government or the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Do we believe King Jesus to be a far better caregiver than Caesar?

Not all Christians should foster and/or adopt children, but more should than do. Let's not rush to couch this in terms of "calling." We often justify disobedience to Scripture by claiming we're not "called" to this or that (see Jas 1.27). There is one "Calling" and that's to Christ (Eph 4.4). All efforts thereafter are outworkings of faith in that Calling.

Is fostering/adoption something you'd like to do? Do you have opportunity? Refuse to look on paper and calculate all the possible outcomes to all the "what ifs." Don't overthink it or you'll never do it. Step out on faith, start the process and see if God prospers it. Be willing to put God on display for all your world to see. What better picture of the gospel could we paint for our communities than reaching into darkness to rescue helpless children from condemnation? This leads me to the next thought.

4. Fostering/adopting have helped us understand the gospel better. We have a small, but real, taste of God's compassion for us. Staring into the eyes of abused children is to stare into a mirror. Children otherwise stuck in hellish situations is no different than all of us born slaves to sin. As bad as an abusive home is in this life it's nothing compared to hell's eternal abuse. To pity wards of the State is to understand God's pity for me, otherwise a ward of Satan.

Fostering/adoption is making a child in fact what he/she is not by nature. God makes us in fact what we are not by nature: his children with all the rights and privileges of heaven. We are lame children who sit at the King's table and feast on his finest menu. We don't call him "Mr. God" but "Abba, Father" (Rom 8.15; Gal 4.6). Therefore, fostering/adoption are means to an end--evangelism. They are living tracts, living parables.

We also understand a little better that for there to be redemption, God must tolerate (in fact, sovereignly allow) abuse. Our joy in fostering has come at a huge expense; the disruption of a family and abuse of children. Likewise, God's joy came at the universe's ultimate expense: the death of his One and Only Son (see Acts 2.23; 4.28). It's a hard truth to stomach, but God must let sin takes its course so that grace can be, well, grace.

While I'm thankful for two new children in whom we'll invest all we can, I'm more thankful for two children through whom God has invested in me. They've helped me understand that I was born on the other side of the tracks, too.

I am Mephibosheth.

Pastoral Leadership Re-redefined

2008-03-31T08:33:00.007-05:00

The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
1 Timothy 5.17 (NASB)

The term "leadership" makes me nervous. It makes me nervous because in today's climate I'm not a very good leader. I don't motivate many people toward innovative ideas. I don't plan events well. I don't provide many "aha" moments that transform lives. I don't attract too many folks seeking help. I don't know all the orgasmic buzz words that seem to excite folks. I wouldn't last one week on The Apprentice!

The term "pastoral leadership" makes me doubly nervous. It makes me doubly nervous because I do none of the above things within the context of the local church.

"Leadership" is a thorny issue in the NT. Jesus had the Pharisees. Paul had the Judaizers. Likewise, "leadership" had its own parasitic threat: human pride. Talk of leadership was often followed by "but" to stave off pride's imminent assault on those who loved talking about it (see Mt 18.1-4; 23.1-12; Mk 9.33-37; Lk 9.46-48; 22.24-27; 1 Pt 5.1-4).

This is not to demonize the word "leadership" or those who adopt it. I wholeheartedly affirm its importance and prominence in any organization. However, I have significant reservations about the influence its garnered in pastoral ministry and among pastors.

I discount "Google stats," but I thought a quick survey might help the cause. A search (as of writing) for "leadership conference church" revealed 700,000 related sites. A search for "pastors conference church" revealed 229,000 related sites. And I'm sure the advertising for leadership conferences was directed mainly at pastors. The larger church culture has (unwittingly?) shifted its emphasis from the pasture to the boardroom. Now the church no longer needs pastors, but leaders. Not shepherds, but executives.

I don't think this is merely a matter of semantics. Some might say that "leaders" are simply the new "pastors." It's a distinction without a difference in the name of cultural relevance. But any drift from biblical language is a slippery slope. For instance, "life partner" is the new "spouse." "Issues" is the new "sin." Redefining biblical words leads to redefining biblical categories. Redefining biblical categories leads to redefining the biblical community.

There is something qualitatively different about pastoring than leadership. And we do well to redefine the redefinition of the office.

Enter 1 Timothy 5.17, where Paul instructed Timothy on those who "rule well" (kathos proestotes). (I leave the discussion between any difference between "ruling elders" and "teaching elders" for a smarter blogger. I'm baptist in polity, however, so you do the math.)

Paul used "rule" (proistimi) in 1 Tim 3.4-5, where it's translated "manage." He used the same word in 1 Thess 5.12, where it's translated "have charge" or "lead" (so CSB). We might say the phrase "rule well" sounds much like what we'd call "good leadership" (so CSB, NET).

How did Paul define "good leadership"? Those who exponentially increase Sunday School attendance? Those who baptize increasingly more people? Those who expand the acreage and square footage? Those who improve gross receipts for the stakeholders? Those who grow the bottom line?

Paul said "double honor" should be reserved for those who "work hard at preaching and teaching." By "work hard" (kopiao) Paul meant laboring and toiling (for example, see 1 Cor 4.12. Phil 2.16; Col 1.29). See also 1 Tim 4.16, where Paul summarized Timothy's ministry in terms of personal holiness and commitment to the apostolic teaching.

In I appreciate the KJV's translation of "teaching" (didaskalia) as "doctrine." This better clarifies the pastor's "teaching" ministry as more than psychologized biblicism, which talks about issues and therapy rather than sin and repentance. The pastor's teaching is doctrinal exposition, explaining why Christ's cross and resurrection is the only answer for human despair.

In other words, the pastor clocks in every morning at the Word of God and he doesn't clock out until he's worked hard in it. He may moderate the most efficient meeting. He may run the sharpest administration. But, he's not worthy of double honor unless he's strapped himself to the plow and cultivated fallow ground to sow hallowed seed.

I'm tempted to work hard at everything else than preaching/teaching because they promise quicker results. But I don't need another reason to be pragmatic. Therefore, I don't need another leadership conference about how Wal-Mart can help my church attract more customers. I need the Holy Spirit to convict and convince me again that the foolishness of preaching is really what attracts saints to Christ (1 Cor 2-3).

In the church, becoming a better leader means becoming a better preacher. Developing leadership "skills" means developing better exegetical skills. Calloused knees mean more in the church than an innovative mind.

Maybe I'm just a cop-out, but. . .

Elite Eight Update

2008-03-31T08:18:00.002-05:00

Elite Eight Results: 2-2
Cumulative Record: 41-19

I hear the Calipari is good this time of year.

Sa-weet Sixteen Recap

2008-03-29T11:27:00.002-05:00

Sweet 16 Results: 6-2, with all Final Four teams still standing proudly.
Cumulative Results: 39-17.

Elvis is in the building.

God Ain't Angry so Why are You, Dad?

2008-03-27T08:00:00.010-05:00

Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

Psalm 85.5

Mom's great fried chicken (it's the homemade buttermilk batter) deserved a walk around the block. This would not be just any walk, though. This would be the walk in which Lidi would ride her bike all the way. I probably thought it to be more about me than her. Teaching your daughter to ride a bike is a father's rite of passage, having proven yourself able to teach a lifelong ability. She would ride her bike . . . and enjoy it . . . or else.

Freshly aired tires and retightened training wheels awaited their champion. She mounted her chariot with great eagerness and fanfare. We set out with her father leading this two-person parade in a high-chested gait. "Look at us, everyone! I'm the world's greatest dad, indeed, despite what your little coffee mug says."

We'd traveled about fifteen yards from our driveway when the slight downhill slope took over. Lidi has not mastered the intricate braking system on sophisticated Barbie bikes. So the bike picked up speed and Lidi might as well have been on a 747 that lost a wing. She screamed for her life and declared (to the neighborhood) the walk was over. We'd made it all the way in front of the next door neighbor's house.

Are you kidding? "Either you ride or go home," I said. Who cares about your 3-year-old fear when Dad's 34-year-old reputation is at stake? So, I idly watched as she fumbled and stumbled to get her bike back in the garage. It was hard for her concentrate beyond her panic-stricken tears. I wonder if she'll look forward to another "walk" again.

Would that this was the end of the episode. I wouldn't let it go for two hours:

"Dad, can I sit with you?"
"I only sit with girls who ride their bikes."

"Dad, give me five."
"I only give fives to girls who ride their bikes."

"Dad, will you play with me in the play room?"
"I only play with girls who ride their bikes. You're going to want to play with your friends one day, and they're all going to be riding their bikes. But you'll have to stay home and cry because you didn't learn to ride yours. How do you expect to get into college?"

I know. I know. And she didn't even commit sin!

Lidi doesn't know Psalm 85.5, but she knows the same question, "Dad, will you be angry with me forever?" If our home is her first seminary then I did a poor job teaching the doctrine of God, especially in light of the gospel. A simple, uneducated word study will suffice to prove my incompetence.

In the OT, Israel understood that God could be angry with them. They had no problem making God the subject of the verb "be angry" (anaph) (Dt 1.37; 4.21; 9.8, 20; 1 Kgs 8.46; 11.9; 2 Kgs 17.18; Ezra 9.14; Pss 2.12; 79.5; Is 12.1; cf. Ps 95.11). This is not to say God was only angry or always unmerciful; only that God could be angry with his old covenant people.

When we come to the NT, there is no reference to God being angry with his new covenant people. The Greek word translating the above Hebrew anaph is orgizo. And when God is the subject of that verb (or related to the noun orge), the direct object is never the church. His anger is certainly directed toward unbelieving rebels (see Mt 18.34; 22.7; Mk 3.5; Lk 14.21; Jn 3.36; Rom 1.18; Eph 5.6; Rev 11.18, etc.), but never towards those in Christ.

This is not to say the God of the OT was wrathful, but the God of the NT is not. It's the same God, but his longsuffering anger was expended on the cross. The "NT God" is no less wrathful (or the "OT God" less merciful). His unchanged wrath is simply directed toward a different person-- the Lord Jesus Christ--rather than his people.

God answered the psalmist's question in Ps 85.5 with a resounding "No!" He proved it when Jesus emerged from the tomb. The relief of God's anger is not because we finally figure out how to keep God happy, but because God will take his anger out on his Son. It's not that we no longer do things that should make God angry, but that God no longer holds those things against us because Jesus drank all the cup.

God might be grieved (Eph 4.30), but he will not be angry. It's hard for some of us Christians to stomach, but because of Jesus God is not mad at us! Heaven has no thin ice. Those who hold fast the confession of faith need never fear God's anger. This is what makes the gospel "good news" and unbelievable were it not for God's grace to believe it. Maybe that's why many do not look forward to the walk with God: fear that if we get scared in front of the neighbor's house he will angrily embarrass us for all the world to see. We're so scared of making God mad we never enjoy what makes him happy (i.e. himself and his grace to us in Christ)!

So, Lidi, Dad's anger was a poor reflection of the gospel. Because of Jesus, God never sits idly by as I shuffle my bike back home after failure. Though he has more freedom for me than I often choose to enjoy, he never forsakes me. In other words, he never treats his children like orphans. And he certainly never holds his anger over my head like Daddy sometimes does to you. In other words, God never treats his children like slaves. That's what adoption means, princess.

"Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline you ear: Forget your people and your father's house; then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him" (Ps 45.10).

Dear friends, come to Christ and ride your bike freely . . . or not.

Oh, the Madness!

2008-03-17T10:45:00.004-05:00

Blind Man Fancy's Official Final Four Picks: Memphis, wait...I don't care about anyone else. T-I-G-E-R-S, Tigers!

But for the sake of the madness I've chosen the three local teams from all the places I've lived (Xavier, Louisville, Memphis) and one lock (Kansas). UT-Austin could be included except they're in Memphis's region and Tigers always beat Longhorns. It's the law of the jungle. Baylor could also be included (we're equidistant from Waco and Austin), but they're in Xavier's region and seriously...Baylor?

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

2008-03-11T08:32:00.013-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with the pastoral office. There, I've said it. I love what the office should be. I hate what it's become. I love the idea of the biblical pastor. I hate the idea of the 21st-century American pastor. I love what I could be, by God's grace. I hate what I'm pressured to be, by man's expectations. I love seeing the flock eat week-in, week-out. I hate the ecclesiastical steroids that tempt them between meals. I love what churches need to be biblical. I hate what churches expect to be successful. I love the institution. I hate institutionalism. I love that Jesus doesn't need me to adorn his bride. I hate that he doesn't need me to adorn his bride.

Like many pastors I've struggled to reconcile what I should be with what "they" say I should be. The tri-fold glossy pamphlets I receive peddle a pastor who is marketable, administratively brilliant, motivational, highly-starched and sharply-creased. A baptized Tony Robbins. A sanctified Gap model. A glorified spiritual guru.

Frankly, I have absolutely no desire to be any of those things. Well, I do like a starched shirt from time to time. It's the Arthur Andersen in me. But, I'm neither wired nor care to be a marketing genius who cleverly packages the gospel at discount rates. I simply can't stomach the Hollywoodization of the church in the name of cultural relevance. Why has "church" gotten so complicated? Where is the simplicity of biblical community? The elephant has drown in an inch of water.

Maybe I'm dead wrong and prideful, but I've felt (very, very) guilty for a long time that I'm not, nor care to be, that guy. I feared that maybe I don't really love the lost or the church. Who is that guy? Joe Smiley with a PhD, MBA and PsyD who dazzles the masses with his organizational and rhetorical wizardry. He's an entrepreneurial team player who offends no one while defending everyone.

I just want to be pastor.

A guy who prepares consistent biblical truth because it prepares him to kill sin and love Jesus.
A guy who regularly prays with and for the people rather than "strategizes" about prayer.
A guy who 'd rather help a brother/sister over coffee than attend some executive meeting that caters to our inner pope.
A guy who doesn't want to sell appearances to sexy Christians, but invites the broke, lame and outcast to the head table of God's grace.
A guy more concerned about becoming like Christ than doing tricks for him.
A guy who doesn't have to be someone he's not.
A guy who has little figured out, but wants to lead the band of the ignorant to the surpassing knowledge of Christ.
A guy who doesn't preach for a living, but lives to preach.
A guy who doesn't need to finish first, just finish together. The village idiot may be an idiot, but at least he still has the village.

Two particular resources have helped me recently peak out of the shadows. David Wells book No Place for Truth and particularly the chapter entitled "The New Disablers" freshened the breeze. Wells masterfully describes why I feel guilty about modern expectations; and why we've assumed these new expectations as normal pastoral work. I can't come close to summarizing Wells, but you'd do well to try yourself. For perhaps the first time I finally felt free to hate that guy and still have hope that I might one day be a good pastor. The square peg need not fit anywhere. Of course, now God must have mercy on my hate!

Also, Michael Horton wrote an article in the latest Touchstone Magazine, whose March theme is pastoral ministry. The article entitled "All Crossed Up" addresses the very issues raised in part by Wells. I close with several selections from Horton's article:

"Just as traditionalism is a parody of a living tradition, a ministry defined by the entrepreneurial, creative, and innovative capacities of today's 'super-apostles' should not be mistaken for genuine growth and outreach. Marking the remarkable missionary advances of the apostles, we meet repeatedly in the Book of Acts the phrase, 'the word of God spread.'"

"When churches abandon the ordinary ministry for extraordinary 'excitements sufficient to induce conversion [quoting Charles Finney], eventually the innovations become traditions and the insatiable craving for ever-new experiences of spontaneous expressivism, like a drug addiction, leads eventually to the spiritual equivalent of a heart attack. Tragically, the landscape of American religion is littered with successive waves of 'revival' (often patterned on American trends in salesmanship) followed inevitably by periods of spiritual fatigue and skepticism."

"Instead of focusing ecclesial faith and practice on marketing Jesus to the 'unchurched,' the apostolic pattern was to draw aimless drifters into the covenantal drama already in progress. To become a Christian was already to begin one's lifelong journey in the company of pilgrims under the care of the church. Discipleship was defined by churchmanship. Personal faith in Christ was never set over against the active membership in the visible body of Christ."

And finally,

"When pastors feel the burden of saving people, selling the gospel, or cornering the market through their own cleverness, methods, creativity, or charisma, they eventually burn out. So, too, do the sheep who are submitted to perpetual exhortations to imitate their restless 'authenticity.'"

Is that freedom I smell or just burn out?

T4G Mooch 4 Me

2008-03-05T10:27:00.004-06:00

Anyone, anywhere got any connections for two pastors to stay during the T4G Conference? Yes, I know there are hotels in Louisville. Yes, I know there are cheaper hotels in Louisville. But if I'm going to sleep terrible anyway (being apart from my wife) I'd rather not pay to do it. Besides, I'm the quintessential miser who'd rather spend money on books and Heine Brothers coffee (and maybe a haircut from ol' Xavier Nally's).

Calvin on Philippians 2.21

2008-02-05T13:52:00.000-06:00

For those of us obsessed with what God will do in some other time in some other place, Calvin drew out the implications of Philippians 2.21:

"For you must give up your own right if you would discharge your duty: a regard to your own interest must not be put in preference to Christ's glory, or even placed upon a level with it. Withersoever Christ calls you, you must go promptly, leaving off all other things. Your calling ought to be regarded by you in such a way, that you shall turn away all your powers of perception from everything that would impede you. It might be in your power to live elsewhere in greater opulence, but God has bound you to the Church, which affords you but a very moderate sustenance. You might elsewhere have more honour [sic], but God has assigned you a situation, in which you live in a humble style. You might have elsewhere a more salubrious [healthful] sky, or a more delightful region, but it is here that your station is appointed. You might wish to have to do with a more humane people. You feel offended with their ingratitude, or barbarity, or pride; in short, you have no sympathy with the disposition or the manners of the nation in which you are, but you must struggle with yourself, and do violence in a manner to opposing inclinations, that you may keep by the trade you have got; for you are not free, or at your own disposal. In fine, forget yourself, if you would serve God." (Commentaries, Baker: 2003, vol. XXI, "Epistle to the Philippians," p77-78)

Say Uncle!

2008-01-25T09:40:00.000-06:00

I've recently unshelved an old book to shake me out of my devotional rut: Disciplines for the Inner Life by father and son team, Bob and Michael Benson. Some may find it mystical and weird at some points. But, for those of us who approach life hyper-analytically a little weirdness is good for the soul.

Part of the daily meditation includes quotes from the history of Christian spirituality. I can't vouch for all the works of all the authors, many of whom are unfamiliar to me. But I try to benefit from them even if their body of work might raise an eyebrow. I trust you'll let me know if you recognize such a name. At any rate, I was recently pinned down by this quote by Anthony Bloom:

Let us think of our prayers, yours and mine; think of the warmth, the depth and intensity of your prayer when it concerns someone you love or something which matters to your life. Then your heart is open, all your inner self in recollected in the prayer. Does it mean that God matters to you? No, it does not. It simply means that the subject matter of your prayer matters to you. For when you have made your passionate, deep, intense prayer concerning the person you love or the situation that worries you, and you turn to the next item, which does not matter so much - if you suddenly grow cold, what has changed? Has God grown cold? Has he gone? No, it means that all the elation, all the intensity in your prayer was not born of God's presence, of your faith in Him; it was born of nothing but your concern for him or her or it, not for God. (p38)

Uncle!

Creation and the Cross

2008-01-15T08:01:00.000-06:00

By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Therefore, when Jesus received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (Gen 2.2; Jn 19.30)

Our church recently benefited from a sermon by Paul Haines on John 19.30. Specifically, he unpacked some of what Jesus meant by "It is finished" (tetelesthai). Jesus did not mean "Whew! I'm glad that's over. I've had it with all this so I'm done!" That would require "I'm finished" (tetelemai?).

He meant what a king means when he's taken an enemy stronghold. He raises the flag and announces not that the battle is simply over, but that it is won. Therefore, by "finished" (teleo) Jesus did not mean "over," but "completed" or "accomplished." And that completeness--the "finished-ness"--remains so until this day and for eternity (hence, the perfect tense rather than aorist).

The it that was completed is the substance of Scripture and the source of our deepest worship. I won't belabor all that it could mean (because I don't know). But Jesus summarized it in Jn 17.4 as "the work You have given Me to do." John's Gospel is about that work.

I was woken up early this morning by our daughter's cough. I was kept up by this verse. Specifically, I wondered if Jesus' announcement that he'd completed his work had any correlation to the same announcement in Genesis 2.1-2. If someone has already written on this connection then please let me know. If not, then consider what follows to be a silly attempt by a proud man trying to matter.

God created all things in six days and on the seventh day rested from all his work (LXX: ergon). God did not announce that his creative work was simply over, but completed (LXX: suntelesen). He did not clock out on the sixth day saying, "Well, that should do for now. I'll take tomorrow off." God's goal in creation was accomplished. Whatever he intended by the previous six days work was done. There was no need to go further. He had put all things in place to accomplish his will.

When Jesus announced his finished work in Jn 19.30 I wonder if he was echoing God's creative work. Was he providing the substance/fulfillment of God's sacramental creation? Was Jesus giving us the hermeneutic by which we interpret Genesis 1-2? Was God's goal in creation more than just biology, ecology and sociology? Might it be that the created order in nature foreshadowed his re-created order in Christ? If so, then Genesis 1-2 are not merely about creationism, but re-creationism. And what Genesis 1-2 are to creation, John's Gospel is to re-creation.

Let's note some interesting elements of John's Gospel. John began "in the beginning" where Christ (the Logos) existed as God and through whom God created the world (1.1-3). Where did God begin his creative activity in Genesis 1.3? With light shining in darkness. Where did John go from his beginning? With Light shining in darkness (1.4-5).

From there John takes us through Jesus' famous "seven signs" that demonstrate he is the "Sent One." Each sign grows in intensity and relative impossibility. They all contribute some piece to redemption's puzzle, all point to some aspect of Jesus' work. They culminate in the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11.1-46), which is the final piece to the work Jesus was sent to complete.

Might these signs mirror the seven days of creation that end in God's rest? John masterfully began "in the beginning" and marched through seven signs: Jesus' work (ergon) of redemption that culminate in his eternal rest from that work (resurrection life). Therefore, John 19.30 is to John 1.1 what Genesis 2.1-2 are to Genesis 1.1. This makes Jesus' statement in Jn 17.4 all the more amazing. Anticipating his death and resurrection, He declared the completion of re-creation. What God had declared at creation--my work (ergon) is complete--is now what Jesus declared at re-creation.

Every day the sun rises is of a piece of God's creative activity. The sunrise is not a new work of God, but part of the completed work of God. And because of Christ we now see the purpose of the sunrise: to declare that light always overcomes darkness. The Light always overcomes The Darkness (see Rev 21.23-24). It is finished. And now every day a person repents and believes is of a piece of God's completed re-creative activity.

What's the upshot of all this? The cross was not God's best effort at creating new life. This assumes he's put all the pieces in place, but it's not done until someone completes the work by repenting and believing. He's made new life possible, but not actual. Is that what we saw at creation? When God rested on the seventh day did he say, "Well, I've put all the pieces in place. Now, I hope the sun rises. I hope Adam chooses to breathe now that I've given him life"? Certainly not.

With his last God-forsaken breath Jesus declared God's work finished, not mostly finished or finished insofar as God held up his end of the bargain. He declared it finished so that every child God gave him will indeed come (i.e. will behold the Son and believe in him, Jn 6.39-40). And every child who comes will be forever secure (Jn 6.37; 10.28-29). There's not one more ounce of effort God must expend to see all his children come to him. It is finished. Jesus has now "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb 1.3; 8.1; 10.12; 12.2). Whereas earthly high priests got in and out of the Holy of Holies as quick as possible, Jesus has sat down in The Holy of Holies (Heb 8-9). Whereas earthly high priests had to secure their anchor outside the veil, Jesus is our anchor inside the veil (Heb 6.19-20).

God's creative work is not complete because the sun rises. The sun rises because God's creative work is accomplished. Likewise, God's redemptive work is not finished because a person repents and believes. A person repents and believes because God's work is finished. That's what Jesus announced and could finally rest from his anguish, pain and toil. He could now rest and so gave up his spirit. Now, the Spirit could finally come and dwell in God's people, not merely with them. Regeneration, repentance and faith are not things left undone at the cross. He made sure they will now in fact happen because of the cross. Now, we never have to worry if there is some salvific loose end that we'll miss. Rather, we trust confidently and hope assuredly that all God needs to save us has been accomplished. We now rest because Jesus has rested (Heb 4).

I welcome any help, elaboration, correction and chastisement you could offer. Is this connection between John's Gospel (specifically 19.30) and Genesis 1-2 legitimate? Or, has this already been settled and I've merely proven my ignorance once again? Or, should I have taken some NyQuil and gone back to sleep?

Baptist Catholicism (Follow-Up Follow-Up)

2007-12-20T08:21:00.000-06:00

In light of the "Baptist Catholicism" discussion, I would humbly recommend Walt Chantry's small book entitled Today's Gospel (Banner: 1970). In it Chantry exegetes Jesus' evangelistic "strategy" with the rich young ruler in Mark 10.17-31. He minces no words in confronting what he calls "neo-traditionalism" that resembles Tetzel more than Jesus (p12).

Chantry writes:

"Products of modern evangelism are often sad examples of Christianity. They make a profession of faith, and then continue to live like the world. 'Decisions for Christ' [which he defines as the mere "outward procedure of going forward, verbally confessing sin and publicly asking Christ to be one's Savior"] mean very little. Only a small proportion of those who 'make decisions' evidence the grace of God in a transformed life....There has been a great deal of noise and dramatic excitement, but God has not come down with His frightful power and converting grace." (pp13-14)

The result according to Chantry is:

"Evangelicals are swelling the ranks of the deluded with a perverted Gospel. Many who have 'made decisions' in modern churches and been told in the inquiry rooms that their sins have been forgiven, will be surprised as Tetzel's customers to hear, 'I never knew you; depart from me' (Matthew 7:23)." (pp 14-15)

In other words, the ends don't justify the means because the ends are not that promising.

Let's be gracious, though. As surely as not all "aisle walkers" are necessarily converted, not all are necessarily unconverted either. However, we must be careful not to confuse substance and accidents (used in the Aristotelian sense). The substance of conversion consists in regeneration, repentance and faith. The accidents of conversion consist in the varied circumstances that surround conversion (time, circumstances, etc.).

Modern preaching has confused the two, creating this logic: My conversion was occasioned by my going forward; therefore, going forward must play some part in conversion. In this situation, "going forward" is an accident that has become substance.

Another example of this confusion is "invitation hymns." Modern church history allegedly demonstrates that certain hymns seem to excite response (i.e. coming forward for salvation). Having already assumed that such response plays some part in conversion (above) we must then conclude that the right hymns must play some part in it, too. Accidents have become substance. Therefore, The Baptist Hymnal (Convention Press: 1991) contains a section entitled "Invitation and Acceptance" with 16 hymns considered conducive for exciting response. (By comparison, here are only 3 hymns related to baptism, Scripture's public profession).

We could make the same connections with "Sinner's Prayers," mood lighting, language/vocabulary used (i.e., "leave your seat, leave your sin"), etc., etc., etc.

It's certainly not wrong to reflect on the circumstances surrounding our conversion (see Acts 22.1-21; 26.1-20). But, we must not confuse them with our conversion. I did this for 15 years before God opened my heart to my lostness. At 6, I walked the aisle and was baptized. As a senior in college the Holy Spirit began his uncomfortable, convicting work.

I revolted at the thought that I might not be converted. What was my reasoning to assure myself that I was saved? I retreated to the circumstances of that supposed converting experience some 15 years earlier. The more details I could remember about that night the more I convinced myself I was God's. Accidents had become substance. I was more Roman Catholic (Tetzelian?) than Baptist at that point. As soon as a foot in the aisle steps, the soul by God is kept.

By his free and sovereign grace, God did not let me drown in my perverted logic. I remember the sermon on repentance by which God convinced me that my faith was in the details of some night 15 years earlier, not in Jesus Christ who saves sinners. I was banking my eternity on what I did for Jesus, not on what Jesus did for me. God gave me repentance (the substance of conversion), not a better memory (the accidents).

The writer of Hebrews gives us the best place to look for assurance of God's grace: Today (Heb 3-4). He warned the congregation to guard one another from "an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God" (3.12; cf. 4.1). How were they to do that? Were they to get in a circle and have everyone tell their "testimony" of when God saved them? Was remembering that experience enough to stave off an evil, unbelieving heart? No.

His remedy for fending off hell was to encourage one another "Today" from hardening their heart. Am I hearing and responding to the Shepherd's voice today? Am I diligently striving to enter the rest Christ has purchased today (4.11)? Am I holding fast the confession of faith today (4.14)? Do I recognize the depth of my sin and need for a High Priest to stand in my stead today (4.15)? Do I draw near with confidence to the throne of grace for help today (4.16)? Can I not wait to gather with the saints around the Lord's Table?

It's great to reflect and reminisce about the occasion of our conversion. But, that is not enough for assurance. What happened then is only as real as what is happening now. For example, suppose you ask me about my marriage. I answered you by describing what happened on August 16, 1997. That's great, but it doesn't tell you anything about my marriage, only about my wedding. The health of my marriage depends what's happening today. Did I wake up enthralled with my wife today? Do I currently model Christian manhood so that my daughter knows what to look for in a husband? Can I not wait to see Amy when I go home for lunch today?

So, friend, stop looking back to determine if you are God's child, hoping he will grandfather you into heaven. We're not born again into a shallow memory that lives in the past, but to a living hope that looks forward (1 Pt 1.3-5). Today, do you hope in Christ for all things? Today, don't harden your heart. Repent and believe today. Then read this again tomorrow.

"Stuff Happens . . . you get pregnant"

2007-12-17T09:17:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday's edition of the Austin American-Statesman printed an article about Brynn Cameron, mother of Cole Cameron Leinart. You sports fans recognize the last name as that of Matt Leinart, 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and injured quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals. The couple attended USC together, where Cameron still plays for the women's basketball team. They no longer have a relationship. Cameron raises their young son while balancing school and basketball.

In the article Ms. Cameron (a Mormon) confesses the less-than-ideal situation in which she finds herself. Yet, she does have a son that should not be penalized for being offsides. We rejoice she didn't abort the baby and pray that God open their hearts to his forgiveness in Christ.

With that said, I was sadly taken aback by Ms. Cameron's statement that closed the article. I was not amazed she said it necessarily, but because of its sad commentary on teenage sexuality in general (Cameron was 19 when she conceived). Perhaps its just Southern California, but I'm sure her "advice" rings true to many teenage girls:

"Although it's kind of been hard that it's so public, I want girls to see that stuff happens. Sometimes you get pregnant," she said.

"Stuff happens" and "Sometimes you get pregnant"? This is what you want girls to know? These statements are disturbing on several levels.

1. Having sex and conceiving a child is not "stuff" happening. Getting gum on my shoe or losing my keys is stuff happening. Creating life is not stuff happening. Can you imagine their son reading this article when he's 15? He will read that he was "stuff" that happened? "Cole, you weren't the product of a lifelong covenant relationship of love, forged by the covenant-keeping God. You were merely the collateral damage that sometimes happens because lust has no self-control. Happy Birthday."

It's an understatement to say this reflects a low view of God. God creates life. He loves to create life. Do we ever read that God considers life just some stuff that happened. A cosmic "whoops" that he didn't see coming?

It's as equally an understatement that this reflects a low view of humanity. The last thing we want girls to see is that they're mere incubators for "stuff" that may happen. The womb is a precious and powerful gift from God. It was through the womb that God chose to become human. Therefore, we are not to cheapen the blessedness of fertility.

2. "Sometimes you get pregnant" only makes sense if the assumption is you will be having sex. Our world treats humanity (especially teenagers) like animals, who instinctively cannot refrain from sex. So if you're having sex then, yes, sometimes you get pregnant. But there is a guaranteed way to keep unwanted pregnancy from sneaking up on you: don't have sex outside of marriage. The next last thing we want girls to see is that having sex is a given. And given that, sometimes they get pregnant.

Further, take it from those who suffer from infertility. Ms. Cameron's statement is an arrogant disregard for God's sovereignty in child birth. To speak of pregnancy so matter-of-factly also insults God's design for women. Childbirth is a God-given, fundamental characteristic of womanhood, without which women must struggle for their identity. Pregnancy is not an "easy come, easy go" or "sometimes you win, sometimes you lose" proposition. Of course, Ms. Cameron has defined what "win" means for her: orgasm without conception. She "lost" when "stuff" happened and Cole was conceived. Oh well, they gambled and lost. It was fun playing on the house, I guess.

While she averages 8 points a game and her "husband" (which he now is according to Scripture) recovers from injury, men and women worldwide struggle to know why "stuff" didn't happen to them. Why didn't the "sometimes you get pregnant" happen to the married couple who desire children more than athletic accolades? Couples cry and groan for years while co-eds giggle and wink that they're pregnant after a one-night stand with Mr. Heisman. Really...has life become this trivial in our culture?

3. Marriage and family (and childbirth) all reflect something far greater than this world can offer. There is no marriage in heaven (Mt 22.30) and presumably then, no sex. Our sense of family will be finally transformed from our physical ties to the union we all share with our older Brother Jesus (Rom 8.29). Therefore, the earthly institutions of marriage and family serve to illustrate God's redemption of a people in Jesus Christ (Eph 5.22-33). They are God's visual aids to understanding the gospel: God giving birth to a people in a covenant relationship.

To talk about sex, pregnancy, family, etc. so glibly is to talk about the gospel glibly. To say pregnancy is "stuff" that happens is to say redemption is "stuff" that happens. If covenant marriage is unnecessary then the blood of Christ that inaugurated the new covenant is unnecessary. If it's not necessary that Cole have a Christ-figure sanctifying his mother, then it's not necessary for God to have a church that he sanctifies in Christ. If young Cole is an orgasmic "whoops" then the church is a cosmic "whoops."

We adopted our daughter, who was born because "sometimes you get pregnant." God considers adoption a huge concept in understanding our relationship with him (Rom 8.15). Does Ms. Cameron think so lightly of how God remedies "stuff" (i.e. sin) that happens?

I'm afraid Ms. Cameron said far more than she intended to say. Let's make sure our girls don't see things the same way. Fathers, we may not throw the tightest spirals in the backyard, but we will still be champions in God's kingdom. Let's make sure our daughters are trophies of His grace.

Baptist Catholicism (Follow-Up)

2007-12-14T08:14:00.000-06:00

There were some reflections I thought about after yesterday's posting. I want to unpack a little more what I meant by "loving quantitative [i.e. measurable] self-exaltation rather than qualitative humiliation."

Here's what I meant. When we "tell our testimony" (a concept worth revisiting in itself) we typically recount what we've done for God rather than what God has done in/for/to us. In so doing, we overestimate ourselves and underestimate God's sovereign grace. For example, if I say "I made a decision for Christ" I infer (probably unintentionally) that I was previously undecided. Scripture, however, never assumes that much of us. We're not born "undecided" until we decide. We're born decidedly rebels with no intention of changing our vote until God overcomes us by grace. Joel's "Valley of Decision" (Joel 3.14) is not our deciding on God, but God deciding on us!

As far as "testimonies" go there's hardly a better one than the man born blind in John 9. The Jewish leadership asked him for his "testimony" as to how he could now see. Each time he began with Jesus, who applied clay to his eyes (vv11, 15). His focus was never on what he did, but on what Jesus did. All the blind man could bring to the table was his blindness.

The man's hearers were not mistaken as to who did it. They didn't care what the man had to say about the Siloam pool, but Jesus (v17). No one even supposed any "power" in the Siloam pool. So Christ-centered was his testimony that the Pharisees were left asking, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" (v26). All attention was on Jesus, who came that "those who do not see may see" (v39).

Our own conversion stories should leave folks asking the same questions: What did He do to you again? How did He open your heart to believe? What do you say about him since He opened your eyes?

Jesus' 7th sign in John (the crescendo of the signs depicting Jesus' redemptive work) was the raising of Lazarus from the dead (Jn 11). (Notice that with each "sign" we are progressively worse and Jesus is more powerful. What began as "thirst" in ch. 2 ended with "dead" in ch. 11!) No one celebrated Lazarus' coming out of the tomb. No one patted him on the back saying, "Good job, Lazarus." In fact, Lazarus didn't even think to remove his own grave clothes. Jesus had to command even that (v44)!

I doubt Lazarus ever told people how he came out of the tomb. I'm confident He told everyone how Jesus made him alive (Eph 2.5).

What's the upshot of all this? I'm certainly not categorically condemning those who use language like "I came to Christ" or "I accepted Christ." We've raised a generation or two who simply don't know what else to say. I know many folks who explain conversion this way do so with humble hearts. And they undoubtedly talk more about Jesus with folks than I do.

What I am saying is this: Let's make sure that when we talk about conversion (in general or ours personally) we do so with all light shining on Jesus. Let's leave people knowing or asking about what God does in/for/to us in Christ rather than what we did for God. That means we need to shore up our vocabulary so that we can more confidently exalt Christ.

Baptist Catholicism (or What the Altar Call, Sinner's Prayer and the Pope Have in Common)

2007-12-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

The typical Baptist suffers from Catholiphobia: the fear of all things Catholic. Most Baptists (including myself) know more about Catholics than Catholicism, which is probably true of any religious tradition. But one is not Baptist for long before realizing we strongly oppose Catholic baptism.

The Council of Trent's insistence that the sacraments (of which baptism is one) works ex opere operato sends chills up our spine (for example, see the Catholic Catechism, par. 1128). The Catechism later states, "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word." (par. 1213). In other words, the mere act of baptism regenerates whether or not the infant being baptized has repented and believed the gospel.

By definition no Baptist can ever claim baptism works ex opere operato and remain Baptist. We must reject Catholic baptism. However, might we be guilty of Baptist Catholicism?

What follows is certainly nothing new. (And as I look back over it, too long and not very organized!) I know this connection has been made numerous times in numerous places (see especially Iain Murray's booklet The Invitation System, Banner: 1967). But, a recent conversation with another pastor re-ignited my thoughts on how the altar call and sinner's prayer have Catholicized Baptist evangelism.

The altar call and "sinner's prayer" have become for Baptists sacraments that work ex opere operato. Surely no Baptist would ever admit to such an atrocity, but in practice we hardly know the biblical terms of conversion anymore. Now, we evangelize by saying "Come down and pray this" (or vice versa) regardless of whether or not there is demonstrable repentance and faith. We assure the "convert" of salvation because they've "come forward" and/or repeated a sinner's prayer (which has somehow been canonized into The Sinner's Prayer).

For example, one famous gospel tract ends this way:

"Here is how you can receive Christ: 1. Admit your need (I am a sinner). 2. Be willing to turn from your sins (repent) [Note: Jesus never says "be willing" to repent, but to repent!] 3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave. 4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit (Receive Him as Lord and Savior)."

The sinner's prayer has been infused into the language of conversion (repentance and faith).

The Southern Baptist North American Mission Board encourages this internet tract, which concludes under the heading "How to Receive Christ":

"A personal relationship with God begins by praying to receive Christ. . . . We have provided a prayer you can use right now as a guide." (italics mine)

Explain it how you will, but that's as much ex opere operato as any Catholic baptism. Say the prayer and you now have a relationship with God. Murray writes:

The words 'believe' and 'repent' are now largely replaced by other terms such as 'Give your life to Christ', 'Open your heart to Christ', 'Do it now', 'Surrender completely', 'Decide for Christ', etc. and in similar language those who profess conversion are sometimes represented having 'given in'. (The Invitation System, p25)

Again, no Baptist would ever confess that the aisle or prayer saved them. But, it's amazing how many professing believers cannot talk about their conversion without attaching it to these acts. When asked about conversion many will say "I went forward" and/or "prayed to receive Christ" and/or "made a decision" rather than "I repented and believed." Essentially, it doesn't matter when or if I believed, only when I walked the aisle or prayed the prayer (that's ex opere operato!). In fact, any hint of repentance often comes when, after years of running from God, I "got things right" as a teenager or in college. But we don't call that conversion; we call it "rededication." We love language of quantitative self-exaltation (see Murray's quote above) rather than qualitative humiliation. We love the appearance of things rather than the reality.

Altar calls and sinner's prayers are not biblical, but don't we do many things not found in Scripture that we consider helpful for ministry? Absolutely and it's a point well-taken. However, altar calls and sinner's prayers are not simply extra-biblical conventions that we use in gospel ministry (a la microphones, bulletins, pianos or offering envelopes). They've monkeyed with the gospel. The day a person attaches any salvific significance to the piano is the day we start singing a ccapella.

Before we point our fingers at those pesky, legalistic Catholics let's remember what Pogo said to Porky: "We have met the enemy and he is us." Preach Christ alone, friends. He is a much better Comforter than all the aisles and prayers in the universe.

Loving God, Charles Colson

2007-11-14T10:32:00.001-06:00

The first book I received after my conversion was Loving God by Charles Colson (Zondervan: 1987). My oldest brother gave it to me to fertilize my freshly sown faith. It retains a special place on my shelf as a fantastic introduction (and extension) to the Christian life. Colson is an able story teller who weds truth to experience in unexpected ways (note to pastors: sermon illustrations abound!). Whether or not you agree with Colson about everything, you can be sure of one thing: Loving God is a great tool on which to cut newly converted teeth.

In reviewing the book recently I was struck again by the following excerpt (pp196-97):

It is the nature of man to organize. Probably since the Tower of Babel we have been setting up hierarchies, organizational flow charts, orders of authority, and all the other structural schemes dreamed up through the ages. The more advanced the civilization, the more refined the organizational schemes.

However, though structures are essential to hold society together, they are there to serve, not be served. The marvels of modern technology have produced a sophistication in systems and structures that encourages what Jacques Ellul, the French historian, calls 'the political illusion,' the misguided belief that all problems can be solved by structures - namely, institutions. So for each new problem, a new institution is created.

Unfortunately this mentality has invaded the church, and we treat it as a structure (and just another one of many in society at that) dependent on charts and manuals and plans and computer print-outs.

But the true church is not held together by any structure man creates; it is not an organization. It is alive, its life breathed into it by a sovereign God. Its heart beats with God's heart. It is one with Him and moves as His Spirit moves - where he chooses and often against the designs of man.

The life function of this living organism is to love the God who created it - to care for others out of obedience to Christ, to heal those who hurt, to take away fear, to restore community, to belong to one another, to proclaim the Good News while living it out. The church is the invisible made visible.

The invisible made visible. Calvin introduced the idea of the invisible and visible church. While the distinction may in fact be, we should be always striving to close the gap between them.

Phriday is for Peterson is for Pastors

2007-10-26T11:07:00.000-05:00

A brother has recently drawn my attention back to Peterson's Under the Predictable Plant. Perusing my highlightization resurfaced the following quotes:

"Parish glamorization is ecclesiastical pornography - taking photographs (skillfully airbrushed) or drawing pictures of congregations that are without spot or wrinkle, the shapes that a few parishes have for a few short years. These provocatively posed pictures are devoid of personal relationships. The pictures excite a lust for domination, for gratification, for uninvolved and impersonal spirituality. My own image of the desirable congregation was shaped by just such pornography - a tall-steeple church with a cheesecake congregation. It alarms and dismays me that even though I long ago quit looking at the magazines and lining the walls of my vocational imagination with pictures, I am still vulnerable to seduction. . . . Listening to many pastors talking to other pastors when they are away from their parishes, you would think none of this [i.e., the reality of Ninevehness] was true. Every conversation features wonderfully glowing stories about successful programs and slick conversions. I used to hear such storeis or read such books and be impressed. After some years of careful Bible reading and congregation watching, I am no longer impressed. I think it far more likely that these pastors, insofar as they are telling the truth, are presiding over some form of Greek mystery religion, or Baal shrine, or Babylonian religious parade." (pp22, 25)

"Our work is not to make a religious establishment succeed but to nurture the gospel of Jesus Christ into maturity. Holiness cannot be imposed; it must grow from the inside." (p133).

"We cannot nurture the life of Spirit in a parishioner while holding a stopwatch. We cannot apply time management techniques to the development of souls." (p164)

John Armstrong Article

2007-10-24T15:39:00.000-05:00

Don't miss John Armstrong's article entitled "Keeping Christ Primary: Still the Church's Greatest Task."

Him We Proclaim, Dennis Johnson

2007-10-24T07:41:00.001-05:00

I'm crawling through Dennis Johnson's new book Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from all the Scriptures (P&R, 2007). Perhaps the following quotes will stir your soul as well. (The references to "apostolic" preaching are not a defense of modern apostleship, but how he describes Christ-centered, redemptive-historical preaching.)

"Apostolic preaching is no nine-to-five job at which employees put in the required hours and then leave workplace worries behind at day's end, paychecks in hand, to pursue their 'real' lives. . . . The apostolic preacher's struggle, therefore, is at its root a spiritual wrestling match with evil spiritual forces whose strength outmatches our own - were it not for the victorious power of our Champion Jesus." (pp86-87)

"Occasionally, Christians pursue pastoral ministry because they are burned out in the cutthroat competition of the business world and imagine that they will find a tranquil (and even restful) life in the church, especially as a pastor who preaches on Sunday and enjoys a flexible schedule the rest of the week. Some starry-eyed ministerial aspirants imagine that people always admire, respect, and appreciate pastors. Such adulation can be a great boost to shaky self-esteem! Paul, however, awakens us from fantasyland and introduces us to the real world: those who would practice apostolic preaching must be prepared for both toil and suffering." (p90)

Paul exhorted Timothy to "keep a close watch" on himself and his teaching (1 Tim 4.16). Doing so would "keep the main thing the main thing" which was his and the Ephesians' salvation. We are not to keep close watch on the fickle winds of public opinion. Rather we must laboriously ask two questions: Am I living right? and Am I teaching right? (outlined in 1 Tim 4.6-15). At stake is not our ego, reputation as likeable men, or self-fulfillment. At stake are souls that unless they hope in the Living God will not be saved.

And finally from Johnson:

"The preaching that matures and edifies, no less than the preaching that evangelizes and converts, calls believers not 'beyond' the gospel to 'deeper mysteries'. . . but more deeply into the gospel and its implications for our attitudes, affections, motivations, and actions." (p68)

Where is Jesus?

2007-10-16T07:50:00.000-05:00

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Col 3.4).

I've been a pastor for less than a minute. The following reflections will therefore say more about me than anything else. But in the little time I've spent in pastoral ministry there is one thing blatantly obvious about our churches. We don't talk much about Jesus.

We have Jesus in our mission statements, on our banners, in our children's drawings and at the end of our prayers. Hopefully Jesus is central in the pulpit, our songs, the baptistery and the communion table. But beyond those places where we would expect to find Jesus why don't we talk about him?

Where is Jesus around the tables at church-wide meals? Where is Jesus in the hall before congregational worship? Where is Jesus when we recap our weeks to our brothers and sisters? Where is Jesus when we return a borrowed tool to a brother? Where is Jesus when we return a casserole dish to a sister? Where is Jesus when we unexpectedly meet a family at the store?

Why is it that we can talk extensively about most other things, but when asked about Jesus our tongues go on lock down? Where is Jesus when asked about the recent doctor's visit? Where is Jesus when complaining about a new co-worker? We talk freely about beer, tongues, doctrines of grace and Israel, but where is Jesus in our conversations? Where is Jesus when asked how we're doing?

Frankly, we just don't talk about Jesus much: what we're learning about him, how he lives through us, how his death/resurrection has shaped a new life experience, how he is transforming our minds to conform with his, how he is helping us overcome sin.

We'd much rather talk about something else. We gladly make our children, grandchildren, hobbies, politics, gas prices, jobs and weather everyone else's business. But our walk with Jesus is somehow considered a private affair that is not anyone else's business. "My brothers, these things ought not be so!" (Jas 3.10).

The Apostle Paul told the Colossians (and us) that Christ is our life (lit. the life of you) (Col 3.4). And we inevitably talk about those things that define our life. That being the case, how could we not talk about someone who is our life? The only way we would not is if he is really not our life, but only a part of it at best.

In Col 3.16, Paul commanded the Colossians (and us) to let Christ's word dwell (enoikeito) richly or abundantly (plousios) in us. God spared no expense in giving the Holy Spirit to us (see Titus 3.6 where plousios is used). Therefore, we are to spare no expense in getting Christ's word into the soul. We are to be frugal in many things, but never with Jesus. That deeply-rooted seed will then bear fruit in teaching and admonition of one another in all wisdom, often in the form of songs.

Where is this teaching and admonition of one another that those rich in Christ enjoy? Paul didn't write this to the elders at Colossae, but "to the saints and faithful brothers" (1.1). We are all responsible to teach and admonish one another with the word of Christ.

In Eph 5.18-21, Paul commanded a Spirit-besotted life as opposed to (alla) a wine-besotted life. What does the Spirit-filled life look like? It's a life of addressing one another with heartfelt, grateful, Christ-revering songs. (That is the Holy Spirit's main purpose, by the way--to help us make much of Jesus.) It's helping one another worship God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The alternative to drunkenness is not sobriety, it's Spirit-filled worship with the brethren. If we don't strive toward Spirit-filled, Jesus-saturated conversations with one another then we'd might as well share another glass of wine.

There is another sobering (pun intended) implication of this. If it's true that we talk little about Jesus in the church, then how little must we talk about him with the lost?

I need to talk about Jesus more, even (or especially!) if it makes others uncomfortable. Better to be uncomfortable in this life and comfortable in heaven than to be comfortable in this life and uncomfortable in hell. You can help. Don't ask me how "it's" going. "It" is pathetic, lifeless and Christless. Ask me how Jesus is going in my life. Make me consider him and how my life cannot be defined without him. Help me sing.

Forecast: Heavy Storms (Sam, that is)

2007-10-15T09:17:00.000-05:00

I continue to benefit greatly from Dr. Sam Storms' ministry. You cannot afford to miss this latest reflection on 2 Cor 4.1. You may have to register to get to it, but it's well worth it. In case you don't get to it, here's a quote to contemplate:

If you should ever think that your position in the kingdom of God is a reward rather than a gift, there will be little to sustain you in seasons of hardship and anguish. Only so far as you confess that although you deserved eternal death you instead received eternal life will you find power to persevere.

And the thunder rolls.

Eugene Peterson for the Weekend

2007-10-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

Quotes from Peterson's latest The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way:

"The introduction of 'faith' into our language produces a radical and total reorientation from a flat-earth existence, plotted along the monotonous lines of a suburban subdivision [and they are monotonous, aren't they?], to a multidimensioned 'on earth as it is in heaven,' in which God's presence is the dominant and defining reality with whom we have to do" (p45).

"...the way of faith requires repeated testing so that we can discern whether we are dealing with the living God or some fantasy or illusion we have cooked up in a mulligan stew of lust and anger, envy and sloth, pride and greed" (p49).

"The world, the flesh, and the devil are all working full-time to fill our minds and emotions with pictures and longings for a so-called 'more' life that is ignorant of The Holy, for abundant life that has nothing to do with God. This godless trinity not only controls the public media and mass advertising as it propagates and glamorizes its lies; it has also infiltrated large parts of the church, interpreting the Christian life for us in such ways that we are trained to avoid or be contemptuous of anything that doesn't promise us gratification" (p145-46).

And particularly for you pastors:

"Preaching that is primarily about us is not gospel preaching; in fact, it is not preaching at all. That would be bad news, not good news" (p163).

The Grace of Opposition

2007-10-10T08:13:00.000-05:00

". . . in no way alarmed by your opponents . . ." (Phil 1.28a)

I have a confession to make. I don't handle opposition well. It knots my stomach and petrifies my spirit. Failure simmers in my heart when the heat of opposition waxes in my life. Often for me, resistance means I must doing something wrong. However, Paul said that the right opposition is proof that we're doing something right.

A few points of exegesis are in order. One, Paul used a double negative to emphasize the importance of conducting an alarm-free ministry. Two, his word "alarmed" is used only here in the NT and means frightened (ESV/NIV/RSV), terrified (KJV) or intimidated. It's also present tense and passive, meaning we are to always keep alarm (fright, terror, intimidation) from happening to us. Three, "opponents" (antikeimenon) is actually a present tense participle reflecting an ongoing forceful campaign of opposition. The word stands in direct contrast (anti) to standing firm or being established the gospel (see 1.6, where keimai is used as "appointed" or "established").

We Texans might paraphrase Paul this way: Dig your spurs so deep in the gospel that there ain't no way you're spooked by those trying to rustle you. "Ain't no" is terrible English, but it's great Greek!

How then are we to interpret opposition? It's a sign/proof (endeixis) either of destruction or salvation, depending on which side of opposition you are. For those opposing the one-spirited, one-minded defense of the "faith of the gospel" (v27), their very opposition testifies to their imminent eternal destruction (apoleia) (see 2 Thess 1.5). For those united in the defense of the faith of the gospel, opposition proves God's salvation of them (soteria).

In other words, our lives are not evaluated by whether or not we attract opposition (it's inevitable that we will), but by the nature of that opposition. There is great encouragement in attracting the right opponents (see Acts 4.24-31). As we lock arms with those living worthy of Christ's gospel, standing firm in one spirit (Spirit?) and contending together for gospel faith (v27) then we can be sure God has saved us. Verse 27 then is the remedy against intimidation.

We must not be intimidated by opposition. Rather we are to be encouraged by it as long as it's the right kind. When it comes, we look around to see with whom we're still standing. If it's those growing in God's grace, standing firm in the Spirit of God, laboring for the gospel then we know God's salvation is near. If ever we find ourselves staring those same folks down then we know our destruction is not far behind. Either way, opposition always proves something. (If ever we are without opposition then we probably "ain't no good to nobody"!)

Let me illustrate. We had an extremely difficult experience at an Ohio church. Lines were drawn very sharply and quickly against my ministry there. It caused great angst for us all. It also forced me to ask on whose side I really was: Jesus or Satan's. Was I to interpret this opposition as a sign of my destruction or my salvation?

Well, among many supporters there was a gentle, godly widow named Lois. She is a lady devoted to prayer, deeply committed to Christ's glory, humble in spirit, lover of church integrity and gospel-wise. She stood by us unwaveringly until the end, undoubtedly enduring her own pain. I was constantly tempted to doubt God's favor on us, but when I saw Lois on our "side" I knew where God's grace rested. I knew that if I was fighting with Lois then I was okay. She was always my wind gauge of grace. If ever she opposed us then I knew it would mark my destruction. I knew that any enemies of Lois would be, in some measure, enemies of Christ. So I was glad to share those same enemies.

It's hard for me to swallow, but God's assurance often comes from unlikely places. I clamor for God's assurance through the encouragement of the saints (often idolatrously!). And while God does graciously provide such, he also provides the right enemies to assure me of his grace. Encouragement from the right people goes a long way in my soul. I pray to benefit equally from the criticisms of the right people as well.

Out of the Mouths of (Brilliant) Babes

2007-08-24T09:30:00.000-05:00

The Maxwells spent last week on Corpus Christi beach. God spared us from Tropical Storm Erin, but blessed us with Tropical Storm Lidi. You first-time dads know well the moment when this reality hits you: "Wait, I've suddenly become my father"? This was our first real family vacation and that's when it hit me. I was no longer the one frolicking in the sand and surf. I was the one lounging about with the sun wooing me to a blissful nap. It was painfully obvious: I had become my dad!

But I digress from the real reason for this post.

One morning Lidi was diligently constructing one of her first sand castles. That's it above, the little mound with the stick majestically emerging from the center. She's a minimalist, by the way.

Proudly, she called my attention to it and I asked her what it was (fully expecting her to say "a castle!"). She said, "It's my church!" I took the bait and asked what her church was called. Without hesitation she said, "I Love You Church." To quote Forrest Gump: "that's good."

I learned much about worship that day. She didn't know it but Lidi provided an excellent commentary on Revelation 21.2-4. Jesus will for eternity be on display with his church. He will clothe her in beauty and holiness for all the world to see. He will proudly say to his (and our) Father, "Look what I built, Father!" When asked, he will say this is his new Jerusalem, his bride, his holy city, his dwelling place. At that point I hope to look at Lidi and with a wink say, "It's the I Love You Church."

Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. (Rev 19.7-8)

Revival Redux

2007-07-25T16:16:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't heard of this latest project, see what the guys at Yale's Jonathan Edwards Center have been up to here.

Eugene Peterson for the Weekend

2007-07-13T11:37:00.000-05:00

"Pastors enter congregations vocationally in order to embrace the totality of human life in Jesus' name. We are convinced there is no detail, however unpromising, in people's lives in which Christ may not work his will. Pastors agree to stay with the people in their communities week in and week out, year in and year out, to proclaim and guide, encourage and instruct as God works his purposes (gloriously, it will eventually turn out) in the meandering and disturbingly inconstant lives of our congregations.

"This necessarily means taking seriously, and in faith, the dull routines, the empty boredom, and the unattractive responsibilities that make up much of most people's lives. It means witnessing to the transcendent in the fog and rain. It means living hopefully among people who from time to time get flickering glimpses of the Glory but then live through stretches, sometimes long ones, of unaccountable grayness. Most pastoral work takes place in obscurity: deciphering grace in the shadows, searching out meaning in a difficult texts, blowing on the embers of a hard-used life. This is hard word and not conspicuously glamorous.

"We are there to focus the overflowing, cascading energies of joy, sorrow, delight, or appreciation, if only for a moment but for as long as we are able on God. We are there to say "God" personally, to say his name clearly, distinctly, unapologetically, in proclamations and prayers. We are there to say it without hemming and hawing, without throat clearing and without shuffling, without propagandizing, proselytizing, or manipulating. We have no other task. We are not needed to add to what is there. We are required only to say the name: Father, Son, Holy Ghost." (Under the Predictable Plant, pp86-87)

Update

2007-07-05T08:27:00.001-05:00

Amy came home yesterday afternoon. She is recovering well, but still in much pain. It will be 6 weeks before she's back in game shape. Until then we pray to enjoy more of God's kindness.

There is something therapeutic about "home" that encourages healing. Whether or not we are better, we always feel better at home. We're never more ourselves then when we are home. Even the neglected child and abused wife long for place to call "home," where there is safety, purpose and peace. Home is life, comfort and rest.

Perhaps God has built this analogical and theological sense into us. He has infused a theology of place into our DNA. As strangers and aliens on this earth (Heb 11.13; 1 Pt 2.11), we long for our heavenly home (2 Cor 5.1-4; Heb 11.13-16).

This longing for home is the yen for mortality-swallowing life (2 Cor 5.4). When we confess "it's good to be home" it is a confession of faith. We confess that Home (the Jerusalem above) is indeed Good because Jesus has prepared it for us (Jn 14.2) and is preparing us for it (Jn 14.16ff.).

We left home for good in Genesis 3 and God changed the locks. Since then we've been roaming this land trying to find our way back. So lost were we that God came looking for us and found us in the far country. In Christ, He has given us the way back home. So we are glad to be home from surgery. But we would much rather be home from sin.

O sweet and blessed country, the home of God's elect!
O sweet and blessed country, that eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest;
Who art, with God the Father and Spirit, ever blest.
(Bernard of Cluny)

Hysterectomy by Faith (Part 4)

2007-07-02T19:05:00.000-05:00

I write beside my wife who is recovering from a "successful" surgery. The operation went smoothly with no biological complications. Her pain is great now, but we pray it's worth it in the long run.

I will confess, however, this has proven much more difficult for me than expected. There is a tidal wave of feelings, questions, speculations and doubts that leave me awash in creatureliness. Frankly, I feel like mourning. I didn't realize how much hope is wrapped up in potential. I've never feared being human this much before.

I fear resentment. Will today always lurk stealthily in the back of my mind? Has "what if" been forever seared into my soul? Will I hide the "hysterectomy card" in my sleeve to trump my failures?

I fear entitlement. Will I now expect God to make good on his end of this deal? Will I assume that because we did this in faith God now owes us one . . . or a hundred? Was I deceived by self-righteousness cloaked in false humility?

I fear selfishness. Will I consider this mainly Amy's problem? Will I hurt with her or hurt for her? Will I keep her in my unflinching arms or at arm's length? Will I derive some sick satisfaction from hearing Amy say, "I'm sorry."

I'm thankful God comes after his sheep. Why so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God.

Hysterectomy by Faith (Part 3)

2007-07-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

Amy and I report at 12pm to Scott and White Hospital (Temple, TX) for her afternoon surgery. The plan is for a full, abdominal hysterectomy. She will be in the hospital 2-4 days, Lord willing.

The Puritans broke evil down into three expressions: the world, flesh and devil (Eph 2.1-3). All of them conspire to disrupt faith and trip the saints. This morning we experience such a conspiracy. Despite God's overwhelming confirmation through prayer, counsel and your encouragement, we yet buckle under the weight of this life-changing decision. We take comfort that our Lord Jesus wrestled until the 11th hour as well on our behalf (Mt 26.36-44).

David wrote in Ps 25.12, "Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose." Therefore, we wholeheartedly ask that your prayers be specifically this: that the Maxwells fear the Lord. Like the father of a demon-possessed boy, we believe but need help with our unbelief (Mk 9.24).

Pray that our decision be driven by a deep reverence for God and trust in his all-sufficient grace. As our fear of God increases so will the clarity of this God-instructed choice. Pray that we fear God more than surgical complications, a life without biological children, uncertain emotional/psychological effects and the opinions of men. You see, it's not making the wrong decision that we fear. We fear making a decision that is not by faith in and fear of our Sovereign and Good God. Pray that Jesus be more glorious to us than the most precious gifts of this life. Pray that we see this experience through the biblical lens of creation, fall, redemption and new creation, not pain and hopelessness.

I hope to preach soon on some of the things God is teaching us in this. God has designed this so that Amy, Lidi and I will worship Jesus more, hate our sin more, and long for the next life more. He's also designed it to serve God's people (2 Cor 1.5-7). Therefore, we hope to be stewards of this grace. No experience (whether painful or joyous, trivial or monumental) in the Christian life is to be hoarded, but to be shared for the benefit of the church (Rom 12.15; 15.2-3; Gal 6.2).

In the end, brothers and sisters, this is not ultimately about a hysterectomy any more than cancer is ultimately about cancer or fertility is ultimately about children. Ultimately, it's all about worship, both ours and yours.

Too often we turn to Job to find a kindred spirit in suffering. But the climax of Job's story was not how much he suffered. It was about how much he worshipped (Job 1.20-21; 2.10; 42.1-6)! Only when we are led to the greatness and beauty of God does our suffering make sense.

Help us worship today, brethren.

Preacher Quote

2007-06-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

A great Friday quote to set the pace for Sunday:

It is not the duty of the clergy to blunt the sharpness, to soften the hammer, to quench the fire. Woe to the preacher who protects the people from the Word that kills, because he protects them also from being made alive--truly and forever alive. Woe to the preacher who acts as a buffer, deflecting the force of the Scriptures to soften the blow, because in protecting the people from the stroke, he prevents their healing.

If his labors in the pulpit amount to a lifetime of standing between the people and the Word of God, reducing its effect, taming it and making it polite, presentable, and harmless, he will have nothing to show for it in the end but wood, hay, and stubble, instead of gold, silver and precious stones.

If the passages that have been read speak of life and death, then elaborate on life and death. If they speak of repentance, then preach that men should repent. When they encourage faith, proclaim faith. When they warn of hell and the judgment to come, then blow the trumpet as a faithful watchman on the walls. When they comfort, speak as a pastor who feeds the sheep.

Let the meaning of the Scriptures be expounded to their full effect; proclaim from them the truth that affects the eternal destiny of the souls in your care. It is far easier to preach if a man will ride the Scriptures like a wave, letting them make their own point and arrive at their own destination. (Robert Hart, Touchstone Magazine, June 2007, p5).

Hysterectomy by Faith (Part 2)

2007-06-13T08:44:00.001-05:00

In God's kind providence, He has brought a sermon to meet our need. If children are a blessing of the Lord and if we want God's blessings then how can a hysterectomy be of faith? John Piper helps answer this question in a recent sermon.

Thank you, Father, for sending preachers by whom You meet our need for help, counsel and comfort.

Hysterectomy by Faith (Part 1)

2007-06-11T07:56:00.000-05:00

When Jesus heard that [Lazarus] was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Jesus then said to [his disciples] plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe." (Jn 11.6, 14-15).

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac . . . He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead (Heb 11.17, 19).

She's a beautiful thirty-one year old daughter of Sarah (1 Pt 3.6). With her gentle and quiet spirit, she is precious in the sight of God. She cares for her home as a service to God. She loves her Bible and prays for her husband's progress in faith. She raises her daughter as an indebted steward, not an entitled older sibling (Lk 15.29). She's also my wife.

At the Fall, manhood and womanhood became hard for all who participated in the rebellion against God. I was there. Amy was there. And now we face one of the decisions we've inherited from our first parents.

Amy suffers from endometriosis, which is runaway tissue that squats in unwanted places. It's more common than one might think, but affects different women in different ways. For Amy, it causes an extreme amount of pain, infertility and years of frustration. Each month it will zap weeks of strength and cripple gladness. We've exhausted the various treatments and face what it the ultimate (earthly) cure: hysterectomy on July 2. We remain ever more hopeful for the heavenly cure: resurrection on the day of the Lord.

This has caused no small amount of reflection. The defining issue for us has been whether or not we can have a hysterectomy by faith. You can read how God is transforming Amy here. I hope to think out loud over the next few weeks and months about this. Through the two passages above God has given me a grid through which I can interpret this situation. Perhaps, God will help us all find great comfort and sustaining faith in Jesus.

How Long, O Lord?

2007-05-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

A recent article in Tennessee's Baptist and Reflector bemoaned the apparent failure of Southern Baptist churches to meet the 2006 institutional goal of one million baptisms. In the article, Mr.
Wilkey asked, "With all the effort and with all the passion Bobby Whelch [the previous SBC president and spearhead of the baptism campaign] put into 'Everyone Can,' why is it that apparently "everyone didn't?"

"Apparently 'everyone didn't?'" How can we possibly and "apparently" know that? Is it because there were only 364,826 baptized in 2006 instead of 1 million? This represents a fundamentally mistaken understanding of evangelism. God is not obliged to save 1 million souls no matter how big the tour bus is. Ironically, the number of 2006 baptisms was even less than 2005. Isn't it just like God to humble his people and let them know that He will do all the saving? Maybe he didn't like the slogan "Everyone Can!" Maybe "God can!" would've set better in heaven.

As usual, I have my own delineated ramblings on this:

1. God causes the church's growth (1 Cor 3.6). Sure, it's primarily through the evangelistic efforts of his people, but that there were not more baptisms is not due to our "apparent" failure. The campaign would have been more biblically based if the goal was to share the gospel with (not baptize) 1 million souls. Of all people, we Baptists should know that baptism recognizes God's sovereign work in the heart. Therefore, we could've shared the gospel with at least 1 million people and then celebrated the faith of those God had appointed to eternal life (Acts 13.48).

In Acts 2.41, we read that God added 3,000 souls to the church. Verse 41 does not say, "And the church lamented that there were not 3,001." What if the disciples set a goal of 4,000? Did they fail because only 3,000 were added? Of course not! In fact, we see the church in awe that God would add any souls at all (v43). Again, our addiction to numbers and statistics make light of God's sovereign grace in salvation. We've become our own news, not God.

2. I can't believe we would consider 364,826 baptisms a failure. Let's assume all of those are true converts, something the recent SBC track record does not allow, but let's assume they are. That means there were 1,000 converts per day in 2006! How is that not amazing? That sounds encouragingly like Acts 2.47 to me.

3. In light of #2 above, we cannot assume that all those baptized are true converts. In fact, if recent history is any indication then only a 1/3 are. Therefore, if we wanted to see 1 million converts in SBC churches, we should've set a goal of 3 million baptisms. Until we recover our historic and biblical understanding of regenerate church membership, we militate against biblical church growth. God will not entrust souls to churches who will not take those souls seriously.

4. Why does we assume the SBC holds the corner on baptisms? I'm confident there are thousands of non-SBC churches that baptized new converts. I suspect there were 1 million converts baptized by all evangelical churches worldwide. Yet, we don't seem to see ourselves as part of God's global church, but want to hog all the new believers. Shouldn't we celebrate our small, God-given part in the Kingdom rather than assume we are the Kingdom?

What are we to make of Paul's statement in 1 Cor 1.14? He was glad he didn't baptize any more Corinthians than he did! He knew the turf war it would've created (v15). Even the few folks he did baptize was enough to draw sharp lines in the sand (vv12-13). I'm afraid this campaign reflected a sense that SBC baptisms are somehow unique and more valuable to God. What if there were 635,174 other people who heard the gospel from a Southern Baptist, but were baptized at Main Street Bible Church or Anywhere Presbyterian Church (PCA) or New Guinea Christian Fellowship?

Nobody failed because "only" 365,000 were welcomed into Christ's church. God is to be praised, Jesus is to be exalted that He saves sinners. I'm all for greater evangelistic efforts, but let's leave the fruit to God and celebrate whatever number He adds. If it's only one, then that's one more than we'll ever be able to convert ourselves.

Journey Out of Sarcasm (Part 5)

2007-05-07T07:46:00.000-05:00

...so that it will give grace to those who hear. (Eph 4.29c, NASB)
...that it may give grace to those who hear. (ESV)
...that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (KJV)
...that it may benefit those who listen. (NIV)
...in order that it might give grace to those listening. (Maxwell)

Paul told us what not to do with our mouths: don't let language unfit for the Kingdom come out our our mouths (v29a). Paul told us what to do with our mouths: only say what builds up the Kingdom (v29b). And before we consider Paul a closet legalist he gives us the motivation for obedience: love. Language is a tool to serve others in love. Paul was not propagating a "don't say this, but say that" formality. He was commanding a "don't hate, but love" mentality.

Our responsibility for clean and clear language is not a matter of a social etiquette. We've missed Paul's point if we leave Eph 4.29 reasoning, "Good Christians don't cuss, so watch your language." He has called us to view language/words through the eyes of their Creator. Jesus has redeemed all the good gifts we've corrupted, including language. Therefore, those in Christ now use their words as God uses his: to give grace to those with ears to hear.

According to this verse, language is a means of grace. We often think of grace as the attitude in which gifts are given, which is certainly true. We can and should give others good things as an expression of grace. In other words, grace is the catalyst of gift-giving, whether or not the person receives the gift as an act of grace. But, what is given in this verse is grace itself. The direct object of the verb "give" (didomi) is grace (charis in its accusative form). (The NIV does not help us here.) Therefore, language is the vehicle by which we give someone grace. Words are not the end of Paul's command; they are means to an end. They carry grace from one heart to another. Language is a means of grace.

Sarcasm is ungrace. Kingdom language really invests God's unmerited and special favor in another's life. When I bring an edifying word to a brother or sister I am calling down heaven's blessings on them. Just because I didn't say something sarcastic (indeed a miracle in itself) doesn't mean I've honored God with my words. I've honored God when particular grace has been given, when love for my brother's edification has won the heart.

Even superficial small talk, though not technically unwholesome, can violate the spirit of Ephesians 4.29. It's disheartening that most conversations among believers are shallow and silly. It's sinful how little we talk about Jesus with each other, how we've seen him lately and we want others to see him. Most conversations are about yesterday's game, our children's new trick, or what it was like during the war. Jesus said our heart will be where our treasure is. And he also said we will speak of things that fill the heart. Therefore, we will talk about what we most treasure (that's the transitive property for you math types). Given the typical conversations in the pew and around the dinner table, what must we say is our treasure?

We rarely get past this small talk to serve one another with God's words. We will boast that we talked with so-and-so this week, but we didn't. Talking in God's kingdom is giving grace through language. Small talk is a way for us to get through a conversation with as little effort as possible. Small talk considers a person inconvenient, but we're too prideful to admit that. So we wade through the shallow end, skim pleasantries off the surface and call it a conversation. God gives us great responsibility to serve each other with our language. We must not settle for superficial talk, but tunnel to the heart to find out what grace is needed to be more like Jesus.

We are not selective either. Our grace-giving language is to be spent on those listening (present tense participle). If we're talking to someone then they're listening (or at least hearing sounds coming from our mouth). And if they're listening we are to give them grace through what we say.

My journey out of sarcasm is not simply changing what I would say or saying nothing at all. It is praying that my heart change so that I want to use words differently than I've used them before. It's using every occasion to serve others with words of God's grace. It's putting the needs of my brothers/sisters above my need to be heard. This journey will be a long one and not soon abandoned, Lord willing.

Journey Out of Sarcasm (Part 4)

2007-04-16T08:35:00.000-05:00

...but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment... (Eph 4.29b, NASB)
...but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion... (ESV)
...but that which is good to the use of edifying... (KJV)
...but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs... (NIV)
...but whatever is good toward edification's need... (Maxwell)

The remedy for sarcasm is not silence. The old Southern adage, "If you can't say nothin' good, don't say nothin' at all," has its limits. Holding the tongue might be best at a given time, but it is a short-term solution. The goal is not to simply avoid unwholesome talk, but to replace it with edifying conversation. This is the force of the adversative "but" (alla).

One can avoid uttering unhelpful things, but still harbor a slanderous spirit. Sure, it is best that I keep my mouth shut when sarcasm mounts its charge from my heart. But, silence is not a sufficient long-term solution. Besides, I would have little to say! Rather than having immediate sarcastic thoughts toward a person, Jesus demands that I have an immediately edifying posture towards them. Rather than hate spewing from the heart, love erupts.

I don't think Paul is using superlatives in vain. Everyone needs edification. Everyone needs edification all the time. Therefore, never say anything that hinders edification, but always supply what edification needs do its work in a person's heart. This demands a keen spiritual awareness of one another, which the Holy Spirit gives to those who ask.

The word translated "edification" or "edifying" (oikodomen) draws on building language (so ESV/NIV). It refers to a literal building (Mt 24.1; Mk 13.1) and a metaphorical building (1 Cor 3.9; 2 Cor 5.1; Eph 2.21). It is used here and other places to describe edification: the process of building others up into Christlikeness (1 Cor 14.3, 12; 2 Cor 12.19; 13.10; Rom 15.2; Eph 4.12, 16). The church is a spiritual house, made up by holy, breathing "bricks" (1 Pt 2.4-5). When fully complete the house will be an eternal monument to Jesus, the Foundation and Cornerstone (vv6-8).

Edification, however, doesn't always mean a compliment. It doesn't always mean we tell someone how great they are despite apparent sin (see 2 Cor 12.19; 13.10). It does mean we discern the best mix of mortar to set another stone in place. Our goal is not to say what puffs up the ego, but what builds up the heart unto Jesus. Edification is about the intent of the heart, not rosy language. We say whatever it is for the purpose/with the goal/to the end (hence, pros) that our neighbor is more firmly established in Christ.

Edification may help remove bricks that don't belong on the house in order to set the right ones. But even this is a gentle process. Sarcasm is like a wrecking ball. It tears down violently and with little care. Sarcasm may be addressed at a legitimate need, but demolishes more than its target. It might aim at a certain brick that needs attention, but it takes out a whole wall in the process. Edification is careful and precise, discerning and wise. It chooses words carefully and avoids unnecessary rabble.

Today I meet living stones. And they encounter me. In fact, we are members of one another (Rom 12.5). We are all part of the same house. If they are not firmly established then I am not firmly established. My sarcasm toward them not only weakens their wall, but mine; we've mixed hate into the mortar. And Jesus' house eventually rejects hate-laced mortar.

John Chrysostom has the final word: "Whatever edifies your neighbor, say this and nothing more."

Monday Morning with Edwards

2007-04-16T08:19:00.000-05:00

Especially on Monday morning, nothing goes better with my Hawaiian Macadamia brew like a shot of Edwards. Stir in this quote from "The Christian Pilgrim" into your pastoral ponderings (or in my case, pastoral poutings!):

God is the highest good of the reasonable creature; and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean. Therefore it becomes us to spend this life only as a journey towards heaven, as it becomes us to make the seeking of our highest end and proper good, the whole work of our lives; to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labour for, or set our hearts on, anything else, but that which is our proper end, and true happiness? (Works, Hendricksen: 2003, p244).

Thank you, Dr. Edwards.

Postchristian Ameridoxy

2007-04-11T07:28:00.000-05:00

A presidential hopeful stumped in Central Texas yesterday (I refrain from mentioning the name to avoid any bias). He (or she?) said all the things most Texans want to hear: handguns, hunting, heterosexuality, and a bigger army. He/she was asked about the role of faith in the presidency, to which he/she responded thusly:

"[Americans] want a person of faith to lead the country, but they don't particularly care what brand of faith that is, so long as the values that person has are American values . . . If people want to know more about my particular faith, they can contact my church." (Austin American-Statesman, Wednesday, April 11, 2007, pA6)

Risking misinterpretation I understand him/her to say: "believe what you want about God/god/gods, but American values are non-negotiable. Defend America, but leave faith matters to Rome, Salt Lake City or Nashville." Ameridoxy trumps orthodoxy.

One way to respond to this candidate's claim is politically. Such has been the mainline church's response. I can already hear my dad writing his congressman. "Christian values are American values!" he scribes. For many, the reverse is more true: American values are Christian values. In other words, to be American (whatever that is) is what it means to be Christian. To think otherwise is liberal and treasonous.

I recommend America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln by Mark Noll. In it, Dr. Noll masterfully traces the merging of Christian thought and patriotism. By the 19th century one often talked about God and country using the same language. And to defend one was to defend the other. Christian faith was described in terms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unsuspectingly, the American dream shared the platform with Jesus as the savior of the world. Now presidential candidates say, "Faith in absolute terms is really irrelevant and unhelpful, the American way is the way of salvation." Ameridoxy trumps orthodoxy.

Rather than responding politically we must respond biblically. We must maintain the peculiarity of the church (1 Pt 2.9). The church of Jesus Christ is God's "nation" and Jesus her king. This was an apostolic mantra as even they had to confront salvation-through-nationalism, too. Israel couldn't accept that there were other nations on God's radar screen. If there were surely they had to become Israelites to be truly saved (Acts 15). Rome couldn't believe anyone could be more powerful than Caesar. Yet, to a man the apostles maintained the priority of God's kingdom over Caesar's.

God is not saving America any more than he is saving Canada, Brazil or New Zealand. He is saving Americans, Canadians, Brazilians and New Zealanders. He is saving the church of the Lord Jesus, which outlast every world kingdom (Rev 21-22). And when he saves us we immediately become strangers and aliens no matter our home address (Heb 11.13; 1 Pt 1.1; 2.11). When God saves us in Jesus we are no longer Americans who will go to heaven "like all good Americans do." We are citizens of heaven who are passing through this land as ambassadors (Eph 2.19). We cannot expect from any nation what only Jesus provides in heaven. Life, liberty, happiness and freedom are his to give, and when Jesus sets you free you will be free indeed (Jn 8.36).

Our primary allegiance is to Jesus. Love America by loving Jesus (not vice versa). Defend Christ's name in the church more than God's name in the Pledge. Pray with the church for souls as eagerly more than we campaign for votes. Proclaim the majesty of Christ in the church louder than we decry the politics of liberalism. Evangelize the lost more boldly than we trumpet candidates. Listen to God's word in the church more than media pundits on the radio/TV. Seek help, support and comfort from the church more than the state. Care more about discipline in the church than at Gitmo. Care more about sin in the church than terrorism in the land. Care more about false teaching sneaking into the church more than immigrants sneaking past the border. Seek first God's kingdom in Christ and his righteousness (Mt 6.33)!

Then America will look much different. Well, I guess it would be heaven. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Journey Out of Sarcasm (Part 3)

2007-04-03T15:38:00.000-05:00

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth (Eph 4.29a, NASB)

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths (ESV)

No rotten talk should come from your mouth (HCSB)

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth (KJV)

Every worthless word from your mouth--don't let it come out (Maxwell)

No matter how you slice it, my sarcasm must bow to Scripture. No version let's me get away with it! Let's see how Eph 4.29a refracts the light of the gospel.

The verb "come out" or "proceed" (ekporeuestho) is a present-imperative. Paul does not offer a suggestion to heed or wise counsel to consider. He is issuing a command to be obeyed . . . always. No unwholesome, corrupting, rotten word (logos) should ever breach the larynx. By implication this includes unwholesome conversations and dialogue (so KJV, ESV, NIV).

How are we to tell what may be unwholesome or corrupt? What does it taste like? The word translated "unwholesome" (sapros) is used seven other times in the NT. It described the type of tree that produced bad fruit (Mt 7.17, 18; 12.33; Lk 6.43). It also described the type of fish that angels will throw away in the eschatological assize (Mt 13.48). The unwholesome word is any word unwelcome in the kingdom of God.

God will one day light the pilot light for heaven's proverbial furnace. He will throw every word, thought and deed into it to test the quality of each man's work (1 Cor 3.13). Whatever was worthy of the kingdom will come out shining like gold (v14). Whatever wasn't will we cleaned out from the ash bin (v15). My sarcasm will be swept out with all the bad trees and junk fish. What will be left of my words and conversations?

It pains me to hear Jesus' words to the Pharisees: "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Mt 12.34). This amazingly comes on the heels of v33, which speaks to the bad (sapros) tree and its evil fruit! The bad fruit-bearing tree equals the evil word-saying heart. My journey out of sarcasm is not so much a change in vocabulary, but a renovation of the heart. It's a journey out of hate into love. Therefore, how much will be left of my heart after the furnace cools? Jesus, have mercy on me.

"I just can't help it, it's who I am" is no longer a viable excuse. If I have heard Jesus and and been taught in him (Eph 4.21) then I am to be renewed in the spirit of my mind (v23). We are commanded to be renewed, to put ourselves always in the way of the Spirit, to shed the old self and put on the new (v24). Therefore, I am commanded and able in Christ to keep any unwholesome word from escaping my lips. As with all aspects of sanctification, God commands nothing that he does not give us his strength and ability to obey. We remember Brother Augustine: "Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will!" (Confessions, X.29)

Journey Out of Sarcasm (Part 2)

2007-03-29T09:07:00.000-05:00

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.
(Ephesians 4.29)

At least for me, the ladder out of the slough of sarcasm is grounded in Ephesians 4.29. This verse doesn't have to do only with sarcasm, but it includes it if sarcasm is "unwholesome" speech. The verse has three rungs, on each of which I hope to meditate in the coming months. There is (1) prohibition; (2) command; and (3) reason for obedience. By the Spirit's help I will not slip and bang my shin on the way back down.

First things first: context. I'm tempted to relegate sarcasm to some minor category of sin listed under personality quirks or genetic inevitability. Paul knew better. By Jesus, God transforms the new self in righteousness, holiness and truth (v24) from the old self of unrighteousness, corruption and deceit (vv17-19, 22).

That's a wealth of big, important words, but what does that look like? This new creation is so evident that liars speak truth (v25), rageaholics reconcile (v26), and thieves become generous (v28). And so powerful is God's re-creative work that those who use language to abuse, destroy and manipulate now use language to edify in grace (v29). In summary, those who were content to grieve the Holy Spirit now stop doing so (v30). The old self's bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander (v31) have been evicted by Jesus so that kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness rule the heart and mouth (v32).

So for me, ending my addiction to sarcasm is as important as replacing ignorance with knowledge, lies with truth, murder with reconciliation, and theft with generosity. This process is part of God's gracious means to assure me that I'm really his. I don't think this is overstated, but my old self stands ready to be convinced otherwise.

Journey Out of Sarcasm (Part 1)

2007-03-29T08:03:00.000-05:00

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.

(Ephesians 4.29)

I have a love-hate relationship with sarcasm. I love it, but it hates me and those to whom it's directed. According to my Random House College Dictionary sarcasm is a "harsh or bitter derision or irony" or a "sharply ironical taunt or gibe; a sneering or cutting remark." Well, when you put it like that! I love irony, but exposing it often carries a high price. It costs trust, credibility, and authority. It often comes at another's expense.

A brother recently cleaned the fog off my soul's mirror. I'm too sarcastic, especially publicly. Many of you have known that for quite some time. God be praised for the patience and overlooking love you've shown. God have mercy for the damage I've done to your sanctification. What I've long thought a creativity medal is actually a millstone. For that, I'm deeply sorry and plead the merits of Christ alone to make the sarcastic whole.

I've struggled with this off and on for years. I'm sure psychoanalysis would reveal some underlying fears that sarcasm masks. Sarcasm is a way to deflect ignorance with irony. Sarcasm is a way to get my way via embarrassment instead of encouragement. It's an attempt to assume leadership by violent oppression rather than through love. What's better than a good gibe to get the upper hand? Sarcasm is a cheap shot that knocks breath out of the soul.

Whatever the underlying factors, it's plain ol' sin. Sarcasm is pride's native language. I'm sarcastic because I want to be. And I want to be because I'm sinner through and through. I like exalting myself rather than Jesus. What's my remedy for sin? God's gracious and loving correction in his word. If I am his I will listen. That will constitute the next couple of posts: my inner dialogue with Scripture in order to be less sarcastic and more edifying. God help me. God help you help me. It's about time.

The Sweet Smell of Madness

2007-03-15T08:15:00.000-05:00

Ah, it's that time of year again. Heaven must be the perpetual & infinite excitement we know dimly as March Madness. Why else would God give us such a precious gift except to whet our appetites for Beulah Land? It consumes us, thrills us, possesses us, caresses us, and adopts us. It's college basketball in all its glory and I love it.

Of course, Texas is a basketball wasteland. With five teams in the tourney (UT, A&M, Tech, North Texas and A&M-Corpus Christi), Texas cares about Spring football practice and where Bill Parcells ate supper last night.

Knowing I will roll a TV into my office rigged with a sophisticated paper clip-based antennule, my wife jokingly remarked that Sunday's sermon will be unusually more less-than-stellar. At least I think she was joking. Nevertheless, I hereby submit my final four and 2007 NCAA champion: Maryland, Pitt, North Carolina and Memphis. Memphis will triumph over Maryland in the Finals.

They mock at kings [i.e., Florida] and rulers [i.e., Jones, Altman, Matta, Pitino, Williams] are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress and heap up rubble to capture it (Habakkuk 1.10).

Go Tigers Go.

Congregational Worship and Spurgeon's Death

2007-03-07T08:28:00.000-06:00

Sitting in front of my desk the gentleman asked, "Barry, is it true that what we will be doing for eternity is worshiping God?" "Well," I said, "that sure seems to be what the Bible teaches," briefly referring to Revelation 4-5. "Hmm," said he, "that sounds boring to me."

That conversation echoes in my soul louder than most others. I was thrilled he was even thinking about heaven. But he revealed much more than his personal contemplations. He was really saying more about the church than his own doctrine of heaven. I suspect a similar sentiment rests in the majority of church folk.

You see, our frame of reference for heavenly worship is the church's earthly worship. This man assumed that if he had to spend an eternity doing/experiencing what he did each Sunday morning then he would be eternally bored. Frankly, I agree. If we view Revelation 4-5 through the lens of our typical congregational worship, it leaves little to look forward to. Rather, our jobs seem exciting, vacations refreshing, Little League fulfilling, and gadgets enthusing in comparison. The church's worship? Yawn. Seeing Grandma again excites me, but singing to Jesus everyday? Where's the remote?

Do we leave the church's public worship longing for heaven or the office, backyard or TV? Does congregational worship leave a taste of Revelation 4-5 in our mouths, or an aftertaste of cough syrup (helpful, but not delightful)? Might it help to take our worship "cues" from John's vision so that we're not confused when we get there? Do we love singing and praying together as a church? Is the crescendo of our week the Lord's Supper with the church? Do we not worship the same precious Jesus as the heavenly saints?

A.T. Pierson preached at Metropolitan Tabernacle one week after Charles Spurgeon's death (January 31, 1892). His text was Revelation 4.1 and his comments will not let me go. Provided below are two excerpts from From the Pulpit to the Palm Branch:

"The central object, and the central glory in the vision of heaven, is God; and if we have not learned to think of heaven as, first of all, not the place where our departed friends, however dear, are gathered, but, first of all, as the place where God dwells, we lack the fundamental conception of heaven. The first thing that John saw, and the first thing to be seen, was the throne of God. The light and glory of that divine presence makes every star grow dim, and fills the whole horizon of heaven and the whole vision of the redeemed" (p77). (See John Piper's contemporary treatment of this in God is the Gospel, pp15-17.)

"Let us stop to consider a moment, that, if you do not love worship, you never can enter heaven. If you do not love worship, you are unfitted for the main activity and ecstasy of heaven, which is endless ascription of glory and praise to God and the Lamb!" (p81)

Please preach about worship one week after my death. Have church because that's what I'll be doing!

John Armstrong Articles

2007-03-07T07:58:00.000-06:00

John Armstrong recently published two great articles on the preaching ministry. The first is entitled "What Ever Happened to Good Sermons" and the second "Preaching and Hearing Good Sermons." In the latter Armstrong provides helpful instruction on listening to good sermons. I provide that excerpt below in case you don't read the articles.

The old saying is true: "You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink." So good preaching can be done but good listening can still fail. The preacher must prepare and experience the force and power of truth. But the hearer must also learn to listen for the Spirit’s prompting and leading. I suggest these actions will help those who listen to preaching:

1. Ask "why" questions, not just "what" questions. As you listen to the text being read listen—do not simply follow words. In fact, I suggest you listen without following in a Bible so that you develop this skill. As the sermon unfolds, ask "why" did Jesus say this, or "why" did Paul urge this action or response? You need to know the meaning of a text in order to see its significance.

2. Plan to respond to whatever it is that God reveals to you in a sermon. Pray often, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." Take an action step and follow it up when you come to the end of a biblical sermon.

3. Make listening to the sermon an act of worship, not simply a classroom experience. Receive the Word with a spirit of gratitude, for it is God who is speaking to you. Be reminded of God’s grace and his mercy toward you in Jesus Christ. Remove whatever distractions keep you from listening carefully.

4. Prepare before the sermon to listen to what God may say to you. Start your day with prayer to this end and ask God for the Spirit of revelation when you enter into a service of divine worship. Humble yourself and seek God’s glory in your hearing.

I especially appreciate #2 above: "take an action step" (this, of course, assumes the preacher has provided careful steps of action from the text). It is difficult to see most folks chat it up immediately after the close of the public assembly (or before, for that matter). We've been confronted with the mysteries of God. Lost souls hang in the balance and might very well enter eternity before lunch is served. Satan is on a rampage of destruction. Sin is breaking new ground. Yet, we seem unaffected. The only action step is toward the door while superficial pleasantries vanish like vapor.

For those who aren't pastors: prepare to hear a word from God specific to you every Sunday. Then pray often for your pastor, asking the Spirit to make him alive to truth. Though the pastor may be ignorant of your struggles, God is not. And God will provide divine counsel through the preached word. After the sermon let the preacher know about an action step you intend to take. Say to him, "God has taught me through the sermon that I must [insert action step her] in order to love and obey Jesus." That will greatly help him pray for you and help you along in sanctification.

A Minister's Prayer (Valley of Vision)

2007-03-06T15:45:00.000-06:00

Brooding over my sin last Sunday morning I wondered if I'd deceived myself again. Would God really have me preach the gospel? Is what I feel humility due to the grace given me or fear that men will not like me? In my desperation I was drawn to the following prayer in The Valley of Vision entitled "A Minister's Confession":

O GOD,

I know that I often do thy work without thy power,
and sin by my dead, heartless, blind service,
my lack of inward light, love, delight,
my mind, heart, tongue moving without thy help.

I see sin in my heart in seeking the approbation of others;
This is my vileness, to make men's opinion my rule,
whereas I should see what good I have done, and give thee glory,
consider what sin I have committed and mourn for that.

It is my deceit to preach, and pray
and to stir up others' spiritual affections in order to beget commendations,
whereas my rule should be daily to consider myself more vile than any man in my own eyes.

But thou dost show thy power by my frailty,
so that the more feeble I am, the more fit to be used,
for thou dost pitch a tent of grace in my weakness.

Help me to rejoice in my infirmities and give thee praise,
to acknowledge my deficiencies before others and not be discouraged by them,
that they may see thy glory more clearly.

Teach me that I must act by a power supernatural,
whereby I can attempt things above my strength,
and bear evils beyond my strength,
acting for Christ in all,
and have his superior power to help me.

Let me learn of Paul
whose presence was mean,
his weakness great,
his utterance contemptible,
yet thou didst account him faithful and blessed.

Lord, let me lean on thee as he did,
and find my ministry thine.

Amen, and amen.

A Keyhole View of Eternal Love

2007-02-26T08:19:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks at our church we've concluded the prophet Micah and began Nahum. Among other insights we have been blessed by the the prophets' answer to this question: "What is God's posture toward his people?" They don't speak of God in abstract language or nebulous theological concepts. They speak of a God who attends personally to those staring down the barrell of a loaded Assyrian shotgun. They worship a God who meets the morning's perilous headlines with his own letter to the editor. They pray to a God who cranes his neck to hear every heartfelt plea.

I was helped recently by the following excerpt from C.S. Lewis's The Problem of Pain:

"The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word 'love', and look on things as if man were the centre [sic] of them. Man is not the centre. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. 'Thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created' (Rev 4:11). We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the Divine love may rest 'well-pleased'. . . . What we would here and now call our 'happiness' is not the end God chiefly has in view: but when we are such as He can love without impediment, we shall in fact be happy" (The Problem of Pain, HarperCollins: 2001, pp40-41).

If you are in Christ, God is making you into someone he can love "without impediment." We tend to think of God (especially the "OT God") as one who is constantly angry until we persuade him to love us (with obedience, sacrifice, etc.). But, the prophets teach the exact opposite. We are the ones angry with God until he persuades us to love (and be loved).

God is happy whether we exist or not, whether we like it or not. He owns and rules every molecule in the universe (Ps 24.1; 50.10-12). He needs no help to be God (Acts 17.24ff). What is a God to do who owns all, rules all and needs none? Give! There is nothing for God to get; therefore, if he is to do anything at all he must give. And give he does.

God doesn't create us primarily to get anything from us (Lewis's point above), but to give everything (i.e. himself) to us. To make us worthy recipients of all he gives, God gives us Jesus to make us alive (dead folk can't receive anything) and make us able (impotent folk can't do anything). Now, every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ (Eph 1.3). We tend to make God liberal with his wrath and stingy with his love. Could there be a greater offense to God? The cross is not the work of a stingy God, but of One who is passionately jealous for a people to love (Jn 3.16).

It's easier to expect God's wrath than his love. The prophets lived to change our minds on that.

Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love (Micah 7.18).

Marriage Conference Update

2007-01-08T09:36:00.000-06:00

After Jesus fed 5,000 brawns with a sack lunch the disciples whimpered in nautical storm. Jesus rode the storm portside. Convinced they saw a ghost, these seasoned mariners screamed like limp-wristed sallies. Jesus wrung out his outer coat, the sails rested, and the disciples stood agape in bewilderment. Mark provided a rather understated commentary for their astonishment: "for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened" (Mk 6.52). Not gained any insight? Are you kidding? It was easier to believe a ghost than Jesus.

We are recovering from our dizzying marriage conference weekend. Some have been thankfully interested so I'll provide some post-game analysis. Perhaps it will help you and your church think through some issues. It would be sin to gain no insight from what God has done.

1. We cannot export what we do not own. We learned a valuable lesson. God will not entrust everyone "out there" to us until we're healthy "in here." We were hoping for substantial community participation. But we did not realize that we didn't own Ephesians 5.21-33, yet. God limited participation to our church with a few exceptions.

2. Ministry to marriages is meddlesome. There is no easy around it. It's easy to put a few plans together, stay on time, brew some coffee, have a few laughs and call it a conference. God taught us that He will not settle for superficialities. He will dig deep, root out, snoop around, and sweep up. If you're not ready for that then enjoy another cold one at the sports bar.

3. Ministry to marriages is rewarding. How refreshing it is to hear men who've been married for decades say, "Wow, I didn't realize how much I needed that." A new breeze blew through many couples this weekend.

4. Ministry to marriages seems intimidating, but it's really not. There are couples who are intimidated to be honest about their marriage. That's because the husband doesn't realize that he's a sinner like the rest of us. But, the remedy for "irreconcilable differences" is our Reconciling Christ (2 Cor 5.18-19). Dealing honestly with marriage is simply bringing gospel promises to bear on the home. Jesus promised that his yoke is easy and burden light (Mt 10.30). Therefore, not dealing with marriage in light of Christ's easy invite is most intimidating.

5. Healthy churches depend on healthy marriages. God confronted us with this truth: if we don't get the home right (ordered according to Christ's loving word) we won't get anything right. Churches limp often because marriages limp. Why? Because marriage is God's living parable of redemption. It is a virtual gospel tract. And if we don't invest in the most basic evangelistic picture at home then we cannot expect blazing evangelistic success in the church.

6. You need to have Rick Larson at your church soon. God has gifted him to say what needs to be said in the way you want to hear it.

That's all for now. I have a meeting with the Greens and their 16 children. Hopefully I will not harden my heart against further insight.

Southern Hills Marriage Conference

2007-01-04T10:35:00.000-06:00

This weekend marks our first effort at hosting the Southern Hills Marriage Conference. Divorce and dysfunction are rampant in our area. This is exacerbated by Army life, especially during wartime. Soldiers return different men and women to different families. We hope God will use our small church to make Christ precious to our community. We pray it will be an annual tradition to serve our community in Jesus' name.

We would ask that you pray for the conference, which will be held this Friday & Saturday (Jan 5-6). Pastor Rick Larson (Sierra Bible Church, Sonora, CA) will teach through Ephesians 5.22-33 in six-sessions. Please encourage anyone you know in Central Texas who would benefit from this opportunity to contact us.

To help you pray more specifically, we've provided the following guide for our church:

Pray for Rick Larson and his preparation
Pray that our preparation be excellent, efficient and God-centered
Pray that God send many unbelievers to the conference and that they will hear and respond to our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ
Pray that God will strengthen marriages at SHBC so that we attractively illustrate the gospel in Copperas Cove
Pray that God use the conference to set SHBC on a course of reducing divorce and dysfunction in Copperas Cove

God be praised for using fools for his glory.

sdrawckaB ti daH ev'I

2006-12-08T12:56:00.000-06:00

He must be one who manages his own household well . . . if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God? (1 Tim 3.4-5)

For ten years of marriage and eight years of ministry involvement I've had something completely backwards. The "thorn in my side" was actually a speck in my eye. And the speck in my eye was actually a log. And that log was actually an overpriced cabin. Thankfully, God is a kind lumberjack.

Here's what I had backwards (or maybe out-of-balance, but that sounds too weak): the priority of the church in the pastor's home and the priority of the pastor's home in the church.

While knowing 1 Tim 3.4-5 and its demand on pastors, I functioned quite oppositely. I assumed that church health would translate into marriage/family health. If things at church are going well then things at home would go well. The church was the primary influence at home. This ridiculous reversal robbed my wife of more than I care to mention.

My perspective was precisely opposite of Christ's design. Our ministries are to be overflows of what we enjoy at home, not vice versa. I expected God to prosper the church, which would then spill over into our home. This led to some terrible frustration because the anemia I thought was the church's "fault" was actually mine at home. I had it backwards.

So, I've thought through some specific ministry frustrations that I thought were church-related, but were actually husband/father related. Perhaps they will help some of you before another log is laid.

Intimacy. I long complained about lack of intimacy in the church. I would exclaim: "What's wrong with these Christians? Don't they know the gospel and how we are to be transparent? I'll just have to preach louder and longer on it."

But, do you know where the lack of intimacy came from in the church? My home! I've spent nearly a decade neglecting some of my wife's most basic needs of intimacy. 1 Tim 3.4-5 is really true! If a man is not intimate at home then how will he promote intimacy in the church of God?

Now, we know that there is a level of marital intimacy that will not be directly seen in the church (i.e., the X-rated part). But, there is a "nakedness" of the soul that will reflect the nakedness of the bedroom. In other words, the pastor's vibrant sex life will translate into the church's vibrant soul life. If you don't know how to be selflessly naked with your wife, then how can you possibly be selflessly intimate with the church of God?

It's amazing that this simple realization has transformed how I interact with and feel toward church folk.

Prayer. "Why won't our church pray together, for Pete's sake?" Well, do you pray at home? I don't mean talking to God with your wife around and calling it prayer. I mean communion with God in Scripture-saturated praise and intercession. Do you practice at home what you are expecting at church? If not, then lower your expectations. I've lowered mine.

Worship. Is worship dull at church? If so, then it might be because it's dull at home. Is it even present at home? Do you sing God's praises robustly together? Do you read Scripture with verve and expectation?

Encouragement. The ministry of encouragement is all but absent in the church these days. Christians simply don't know how to encourage one another from the Scriptures. We have an extensive vocabulary of gossip and complaint. But, we have a weak vocabulary of encouragement. Be encouraged! If you create a home of biblical encouragement it will overflow into the church. It will be contagious. An encouraged wife encourages other wives, and you won't be able to stop the glory train!

Evangelism. Oh, how I've bemoaned, "Where is the church's evangelistic zeal?" Well, it's exactly where I left mine: in my home. Am I a faithful evangelist to my wife and daughter? Do I bring the gospel to bear on what God brings our family's way? Do I lead my family in evangelizing our neighbors?

This connection is not always true. There are men with intimate, praying, worshiping, encouraging, evangelistic homes whose churches still struggle. However, this connection is probably more true than not. Brothers, you're not waiting on the church to get its act together. The church is waiting on you.

Or all this may be just me.

Wow, Has it Been That Long?

2006-12-06T15:40:00.000-06:00

Wow I didn't realize how much time had passed since last post. I had overblogged and needed some time away. It's amazing how many folks have so much to say about so little (including the Blind Man). Thanks to all two of you for your concern about my bloglessness.

Hopefully, the posts will pick up. God has unlocked a room in my soul that I'd locked a long time ago. Little did I realize I had locked myself in, and refused to give my wife a key. I will share soon.

Here is some great news: Season 5 of "24" is now out on DVD. Amy and I are addicted and have been slobbering all over ourselves in anticipation. We've found that watching it via DVD is much more fun. It's CTUtiful.

Another Dose of Peterson

2006-11-02T08:23:00.000-06:00

One can never have too much of Eugene Peterson. May this quote from Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places stay your mind on Jesus (pp144-45):

When things go wrong, whether at home or in society, in church or in government, it is easy to find a moral reason: disobedience or ignorance of the biblical commandments is obviously at the root of a lot of what is wrong with the world. We conclude that if only we can educate our children and our parents, our politicians and our professors, our business leaders and our celebrities in right thinking and right behavior, things will improve dramatically.

But the moment this becomes our basic orientation for dealing with what is wrong with the world, we have turned our backs on the cross of Christ, on Jesus as our Savior. The moment the moral life defines our way of life we turn our backs on most of what is revealed in our Scriptures, refuse to admit the presence of God in what is happening around us (history), but worst of all, refuse to deal with the most significant thing we know about Jesus, having replaced the real Jesus with a crude, one dimensional cardboard cutout. It amounts to a defiant denial of Jesus. We place ourselves in a position to receive Jesus' most serious rebuke: "Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things" (Matt 16:24). When we rip the moral life from the living context of the Christ life, pull it up by the roots from the nourishing, loamy soil of Scripture, we end up holding a withered, drooping, and finally dead flower, a cut flower.

With that said, check out Kim Riddlebarger's latest post entitled "The Triumph of Thomas Paine?".

Arturo Azurdia on Preaching

2006-10-24T15:07:00.000-05:00

Due to William Marshall's commendation, I recently procured Arturo G. Azurdia's book entitled Spirit Empowered Preaching. The book lived up to the hype. And like pork ribs on the 4th of July, the Azurdian aroma still wafts through my hungry soul. You cannot afford to miss this book, especially those of us who decorate our preaching with self-exalting trinkets.

You'll know its benefits soon enough. But, here are a few appetizers:

It must be understood that the preacher does not share, he declares. It is for this very reason that small group Bible studies can never replace the preaching of the gospel. Preaching is not a little talk. It is not a fireside chat. To substitute sharing and discussion for preaching is to risk the integrity of the gospel itself (p88).

The preacher brings to a fallen humanity the very testimony of God centered on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, a work which by nature shatters all human self-sufficiency. To then attempt a proclamation of that message in a manner that relies upon methods reflecting the wizardry of men is to eviscerate the gospel of its own content. The cross . . . not only determines the substance of the preacher's message, it dictates the manner in which preachers communicate it; in a way that rivets the attention of people on the beauties of Jesus Christ rather than on the comparatively paltry gifts of the preacher (p91).

The pulpit calls those anointed to it as the sea calls its sailors, and like the sea it batters and bruises and does not rest. To preach, to really preach, is to die naked a little at a time, and to know each time you do it that you must do it again (p127, quoting Alistair Begg).

A major step toward experiencing the power of God necessitates a thorough-going recognition of our lack of it. . . . The preacher must recognize, and even revel in, his own human inabilities (p143).

Enjoy this book, brethren, and may Christ's church benefit from your effort.

I've Had it Up to Here

2006-10-19T08:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I've had it up to here (about 5'7") with the mainstream "Christian" bookstores. Actually, they've frustrated me for many years. Once you tiptoe past all the crystal nativities, gold-plated crosses and ceramic Jesuses, you might find a book. But don't blink because you'll be quickly surrounded by stuffed animals, CDs, and wall plaques.

The actual book section of a typical Christian "bookstore" is two aisles' worth of fiction, an aisle of self-help resources (financial, destiny, medical, etc.). There's probably a large section of "Spirit-filled" materials next to the "Quick-n-Easy Ways to Meet God" shelf. This, of course, is not to mention the "Left-Handed Suburban Mom with Three Kids Study Bible." Any books of substance will be tucked away on the bottom shelf, in the back corner, next to the clearance rack of Jesus erasers and Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Now, these stores are for-profit organizations so more power to them: it's the American way. But, they will market what Christians are buying, and Christians are buying what churches are encouraging. That's the scary part.

This leads me to my particular bone of contention. Having just received a handsome catalog from a local Christian bookstore, I noticed a disturbing product. Plastered on the "best sellers" list is Robin McGraw's (Dr. Phil's wife) new book Inside My Heart: Choosing to Live with Passion and Purpose. Now, I can't say many of the other books are much better, but are you kidding me? This is considered Christian literature. Let's look at some excerpts from the book, taken from www.insidemyheart.com:

"I absolutely believe that in order for a woman to experience happiness, fulfillment, and peace, she needs to know two things: who she is, and who she is meant to be."

What about who God is in Christ, and who she is as sinner?

"I believe that in this life, we are defined not by the station in life into which we are born, nor by our pedigree, race, or religion, but by the choices we make."

I doubt Robin is implying something about the imago Dei. We are defined by the choices God makes with respect to us. I can choose all day to be a 6'5" shooting guard for the Clippers. But, at the end of the day I'm still a 5'7" runt who can't make a free throw.

"I also believe that God means for me to be an advocate for myself, both in my marriage and every other aspect of my life."

Dear Robin, there is one mediator (advocate) and that is the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2.3). And he has sent another advocate in the Spirit to teach us his ways. This "God helps those who help themselves" mentality is a cancer in the church and an offense to the gospel.

"To me, there's a huge difference between expecting happiness to come to you because you deserve it, and going out and getting the happiness you believe you deserve."

Get the happiness you deserve? On what grounds do we deserve happiness? We are sinners and deserve God's eternal wrath.

"I believe that God doesn't give you more than you can handle, and I allowed myself to hold fast to that. I told myself, Robin, there's a reason for this, and He knows you can handle it."

You may believe that, but it's not biblical. God gives us precisely more than we can handle so that we will cry out to him. God doesn't test us to prove how strong we are. He does so to prove how necessary and strong he is (2 Cor 12.9-10). We cannot handle our own sin; Jesus has to take care of that for us.

"I think the success of a marriage is in large part based on the willingness of each partner to do what it takes to meet the other's needs."

Success in marriage depends on God's grace to unite and preserve two sinners. Further, from where does "the willingness . . . to do what it takes" come? Where all the sudden do we get this desire? Only the gospel can create that kind of heart. Our model is Jesus, who left heaven to become our servant (Phil 2.5-11).

I don't doubt this book has some practical wisdom. But, it is certainly not Christian. It's Grade A humanism that seeks to sound Christian-ish while maintaining a man-centered approach to "passion and purpose." It's about self-empowerment and self-fulfillment. In the end, there's no Jesus, no talk of sin and, therefore, certainly no need for redemption. Righteousness is assumed to be an inherent quality, not something foreign to be given. God owes us happiness on our terms. And what keeps us from this happiness is our ignorance and/or heritage. That is simply not Christian truth.

Unfortunately, there will be many women in our churches who will consider this great material for their soul. They will be easily duped into self-righteousness and a spirit of entitlement. We must warn them and encourage them to gospel truth. You want some solid, biblical, God-centered women's material? Contemplate the cross where we see who we really are and who God really is. Then go read about Sarah Edwards, Susanna Spurgeon and Ann Judson, who really understood passion and purpose.

Pastoral Insights from Edwards

2006-10-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

Jonathan Edwards preached at Robert Abercrombie's ordination ceremony in 1744 (Works, Hendricksen, vol. 2, 955-60). Can you imagine having Edwards preach your ordination charge? I feel silly thinking about it. Preaching from John 5.35, his message was entitled "The True Excellency of a Gospel Minister." Ministers, says Edwards, are to be both burning (passionate) and shining (doctrinally clear) lights. At one point he provided this convicting insight:

If a minister has light without heat, and entertains his auditory with learned discourses, without a a savour of the power of godliness, or any appearance of fervency of spirit, and zeal for God and the good of souls, he may gratify itching ears, and fill the heads of his people with empty notions; but it will not be very likely to reach their hearts, or save their souls. And if, on the other hand, he be driven on with a fierce and intemperate zeal, and vehement heat, without light, he will be likely to kindle the like unhallowed flame in his people, and to fire their corrupt passions and affections; but will make them never the better, nor lead them a step towards heaven, but drive them apace the other way.

But if he approves himself in his ministry, as both a burning and a shining light, this will be the way to promote true Christianity amongst his people, and to make them both wise, good, and cause religion to flourish among them in the purity and beauty of it (p958).

At the close of the sermon Edwards addressed the church over whom Abercrombie would have charge. Perhaps the following could help remedy the epidemic firing of pastors (especially in Southern Baptist life):

When your minister shows himself to be a burning light, by burning with a proper zeal against any wickedness that may be breaking out amongst his people, and manifests it by bearing a proper testimony against it in the preaching of the word, or by a faithful exercise of the discipline of God's house, instead of taking it thankfully, and yielding to him in it, as you ought, does not raise another fire of a contrary nature against it, viz. the fire of your unhallowed passions, reflecting upon and reproaching him for his faithfulness. Herein you will act very unbecoming a christian [sic] people, and show yourselves very ungrateful to your minister, and to Christ, who has bestowed upon you so faithful a minister, and will also, while you fight against him, and against Christ, fight most effectually against your own souls. If Christ gives you a minister that is a burning and shining light, take heed that you do not hate the light . . . but love and rejoice in his light; and that not only for a season, like John the Baptist's apostatizing hearers: and come to the light (p960).

More from Edward Payson

2006-10-09T14:55:00.000-05:00

I thought this 'rule' of Edward Payson's would provide some food for thought:

My rule, in regard to visiting, is to visit as much as time and health will permit. I make none but pastoral visits. I gave my people to understand, when I was settled (as their minister), that they must not invite me to dine or sup when they did not wish to have the conversation turn wholly on religious subjects. This has saved me much time and trouble (Legacy of a Legend, p109).

How much courage it takes to keep pastoral vigil. There are plenty of conversationalists who can discuss weather, politics, playoffs and children with our people. There are few who guide mouth and mind to gospel matters. I'm quite certain I fit into the former. It's much easier that way.

Fantastic New Blog

2006-09-25T09:05:00.000-05:00

Our co-pastor, Preston Atkinson, has created a new blog called New Wine, Old Skins. He is a gifted poet (see Poems from a Pilgrim's Plow) and (re)writes many lyrics to the tunes of familiar hymns. Often he writes them according to our sermon texts/emphases. We are grateful to use many of them in our congregational worship. His new blog will be devoted to these songs. If you are looking for songs to accompany a text you will greatly benefit from his creativity.

Let me recommend one song in particular (that I trust he will post soon!). It is entitled "This is Our Savior's Work" to the tune of "This is My Father's World." He wrote it for our communion services and is fantastic. I would recommend anyone use it as a communion anthem.

Enjoy yourself!

Sermon Preparation (Homiletical Drivel, Part 3)

2006-09-25T07:54:00.000-05:00

We now come to the last installment of our 3-part series (cheeky-tongued, mind you): those things I do not do well in sermon preparation.

1. I rarely have a catchy introduction and conclusion. Oh, the horrors! Some guys are masters at parlaying an experience into a perfect sermon introduction (Swindoll, Begg, Ferguson, and everyone else who is not me). They leave the "catch" until the end, where they tie the introduction together with a jaw-dropping conclusion. Either I just haven't lived enough experiences or I'm just pridefully lazy, but I just cannot seem to do that consistently. If there is a personal experience that seems obvious then I'll try to use it. But, I don't try to manipulate or manufacture something obviously disingenuous.

My introductions are usually about the text (where we've been, where we're going). The conclusions are usually summaries of the applications. Frankly, it takes me so much time to craft the substance of the sermon that I've very little time to go hunt down a gripping introductory story.

Now, I'm not necessarily proud of this or uninterested in improving. But I do have an untested pastoral "theory." If I'm going to preach somewhere one time then sure I want to have an appropriate and interesting introduction. The audience does not know me or my personality. The introduction can establish some report (read: rapport). However, after some time of preaching regularly with a congregation they learn how to listen to you. It takes a while, but they learn your personality and how best to hear the sermon. In other words, they get used to you and your style (at least I hope so!). Just unleash the Bible.

2. I am jealous of those preachers who can see analogy in everyday life. They are men who commune with God so closely that everything they see and do reflects something of God's character. Good preachers fascinate me as they see God and derive heavenly illustrations from a trip to the grocery or day at the park. It just seems that they are striving to learn about God in every detail. "Man," I think, "how do they see that stuff?"

In some sense, we must see all of life/creation as sacramental. There is not one thing/event that God is not using to convey his holiness, grace and mercy in the Lord Jesus. Yet, I seem to waltz through the day in godless oblivion. So, that I struggle with introductions and illustrations is due largely to my inattention to our Revealing God. You can easily be a better preacher by simply paying attention to life around you (a la Jesus and his parables)!

3. I do not meditate on the text enough. Close the lexicons and the 17th commentary, and just sit in the text. Meet God. Let him use your imagination. Let your mind meander through the text exploring every possible implication. Some implications will be silly, but many will not be. The Bible wasn't written to PhDs and for academic journals, but to shepherds, fishermen, adulterers, homeless folk, whores and refugees--to sinners. Preachers are sinners before they're ever preachers, and we're not prepared to stand as preacher with the text until we've bowed as sinner before God. Meditation asks, "What is God saying to us sinners?" We must speak of our sin in the 1st person, therefore, make sure you preach God's glory in the same.

4. I am not specific enough in my applications. They're too general. Put names and faces to applications. Bring the Scriptures to bear on specific situations. Our congregations have real jobs with real worldly stress. They must know the gospel has something to say to and power to redeem sin in the workplace, marketplace, and home. So, bring the sounds of the auto repair shop to the melody of the gospel. Bring the sights of the elementary school to the light of the gospel. Bring the smells of neighboorhood grills to the sweet aroma of the gospel. The world is drab and dull; the gospel is lively. Exalt the Lord Jesus such that the gospel is more immediate and real than cranky bosses, wayward children and difficult neighbors.

Well, I could go on. But you would be better off reading at least Piper's Brothers, We are Not Professionals for real help and insight.

Jesus makes preachers, not the other way around. And the stock from which he makes them is foolishness. Good preaching comes from fools who love Jesus deeply and enjoy his company.

Sermon Preparation (Homiletical Drivel, Part 2)

2006-09-19T09:56:00.000-05:00

Now, the specifics (I would skip this part and read other guys). Incidentally, this is all based on a commitment to expositional preaching.

Mondays are for me what the day after the Tour de France was for Lance Armstrong. I'm spent. So, I tend to do less soul-demanding things on Mondays. If we are in the NT, I usually translate at least next Sunday's passage. (We are in the Minor Prophets now, which I had spent about year prior outlining. So, my schedule is a bit different now than with a NT text.) If Greek were a baseball game I would bat 8th. If Hebrew were a baseball game I would bat 9th. If I'm caught up on translation I will chase about a dozen Titelists into the local woods (I only hit my Nike balls when I know I'll find them).

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I will exegete and try to outline the passage as best I can. In a sense, I try to write my own commentary on the passage. Then I consult commentaries and find out how wrong I really was. Then I hunt down some sermons (not to plagiarize!), but to see what better preachers emphasized, illustrated, and how they got to Jesus. You wouldn't believe how few sermons there are on the Minor Prophets, though!

On Thursday, I usually start writing the manuscript, usually leaving points of application stewing until Friday. I (sinfully, for some!) use a manuscript simply because I don't trust myself to trust God. On Friday, I finish the manuscript and pray like crazy it's half-way edifying for God's people. On Saturday, I wonder why God would use such an idiot and pray that Jesus returns before Sunday at 10:45am.

I confess that my sermons are rarely structured according to "proper" homiletical standards (introduction, point/illustration/application x 3, conclusion). It has proved more simple and beneficial for us to introduce the passage (usually brief), provide an exegetical/contextual outline, and then provide applications. In fact, on every manuscript of mine you'll find three headings: Introduction, Exposition, and Application. But, again I sneak toward Part 3.

Not every text or week breaks down like this. Some texts flow easier than others. Sometimes life experience matches up better with a text, which provides more personal investment. Other weeks I'm fumbling around on Friday trying to find the sermon buried in 4 days worth of minutia. All the time, though, I'm haunted by the sermon, usually waking up each morning with a knot in my stomach.

Well, there's the secret. Sorry you had to wake up for it.

Sermon Preparation (Part 1)

2006-09-19T08:59:00.000-05:00

In the cloak of e-darkness I've been asked to provide my approach to sermon preparation. Like Abraham, I fell on my face and laughed (Gen 17.17). And like a true daughter of Sarah (1 Pt 3.1-6), my wife also laughed to herself (Gen 18.12). I can think of fewer things more comical than me providing any edifying material on sermon preparation. But, I did promise and so I'll give you about 3 minutes to read this post before I delete it forever.

I hate to provide too many specifics because God has wired his servants in different ways. Some guys are extremely sharp and can study quite methodically and creatively. The rest of us hang around the fringes of Christ's garment, scrambling for the scraps that fall from the Master's table. So, I'll address this issue in three parts. First, the intangibles of sermon preparation. Second, the specifics. And last, those things I don't do well and from which you will probably benefit the most.

First, a few intangibles. 1. I have a wife who understands her service to Christ and his church. Therefore, she supports the preaching ministry by maintaining a gentle and quiet spirit that spills over into a simple, peaceful home. God be praised that she makes sure our home does not compete with the church. I, however, tend to mess things up from time(s) to time(s).

2. We have a congregation who values the preaching ministry. They want the good stuff on Sundays. So they respect and appreciate my study time. They pray often for me and God does more for the preaching ministry through them than through me. They understand that a joyless pastor is unprofitable for them (Heb 13.17)! So, while I try to devote each morning to study, I do have many afternoons/evenings available as well.

3. I have a co-pastor who helps process and plan through the texts. This is invaluable! We try to get together weekly and let our imaginations squeeze any implications/applications from the text. He is also the "first responder" on Mondays with encouragement and reflection.

4. God's Word is not a cute, fuzzy puppy that you can pet in its kennel. It is an unchained lion. Trying to confine how we will approach Scripture is dangerous. So, I would warn against trying to define so sharply how and when you will hear from God. If you need to deal with your sin from 8-11:30am on Tuesday then you do it. The word study can wait until your family goes to bed.

5. One thing against which I must constantly guard is an academic approach to preaching. I am so fearful of getting the Bible wrong, that I get God wrong. We do not bring our congregations to a text, we bring them to God in and through the text. We do not leave them with words rattling around in their heads. We leave them with the voice of God roaring in their souls. The word of God is what is living and we're the ones who are dead. Therefore, we preachers do not bring life to the Bible, the Bible brings life to us.

6. Faith. Preaching is nothing without faith. We really must believe that Almighty God does a mysterious, unseen work through the preached word. Otherwise, we think the church rises or falls on our ability, language and personality. Here is what pride looks like: fearing more what people will say about me at lunch than what they will say about God. That's faithless preaching.

Well, I'm sneaking toward Part 3 already. I'll stop now and give you time to catch your breath after the hilarity.

Quotes from Edward Payson

2006-09-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since updating the blog. Frankly, I think I OB'd (overblogged) and needed to back away from the table. It's amazing how unnecessary we really are!

My wife has enjoyed reading about and from Elizabeth Prentiss this summer. This has caused me to take interest in Prentiss' father, Edward Payson (1783-1827). After Harvard, Payson was a pastor in Portland, Maine for 20 years until his death. In a recent collection of his devotional thoughts I was impressed by the following:

Men honor and glorify God, when they show by their conduct that they consider him the most perfect and best of beings, and love, reverence and confide in him as such; for these things naturally tend to excite a high estimation of God, in the minds of their fellow creatures. (Edward Payson, Legacy of a Legend, SGCB: 2001, p5).

While were at it, try this one on for size as well:

We may judge the state of our hearts by the earnestness of our prayers. You cannot make a rich man beg like a poor man; you cannot make a man that is full cry for food like one that is hungry: no more will a man who has a good opinion of himself, cry for mercy like one who feels that he is poor and needy (p86).

And, finally for the pastors:

Oh, if ministers only saw the inconceivable glory that is before them, and the preciousness of Christ, they would not be able to refrain from going about, leaping and clapping their hands for joy, and exclaiming, "I'm a minister of Christ! I'm a minister of Christ!" (p101)

Joel on Repentance

2006-09-05T14:39:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday we made our way through Joel 2.1-27 in our congregational worship. In so doing, we addressed the nature of biblical repentance (specifically, vv12-17). Perhaps you may benefit from a particular aspect of repentance that reverberates through my soul.

Repentance is a corporate responsibility (vv15-17). So important is this that God said it twice (cf. Joel 1.14). For Joel, the act of repentance was not primarily an individual call of returning to God. He didn't tell everyone to go home and repent. He called God's people to get together and repent. So important was the gathering that no one had an excuse. No one was exempt from the call for corporate contrition—elders, children, nursing infants (and by implication, their mothers), consummating newlyweds and priests (v16).

How desperately we need the church to live repentantly! We hate sin, return to God and enjoy God's mercy much more effectively in community. We are not simply individual, cavalier repenters running around in church clothes. We are a community of repentance that relishes and returns to God together. We gather to help one another through our sin, to God in Christ, and to the enjoyment of God's mercy in Christ.

Let's be specific in light of this text: if repentance means anything to the Christian (church) then congregational prayer must be a priority of every Christian (church member). “Brethren, we shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians” (Spurgeon). (It's strangely comforting to know that Spurgeon struggled to motivate the church to prayer!)

The Lord's Prayer is a corporate prayer (Mt 6.9-13). The earliest church was constantly together in prayer (Acts 1.14; 2.42; 4.24). And the earliest church constantly experienced the power of God in miraculous ways.

Let's be honest. We all like the church praying for us, but very few value praying with the church. We think there is value in the church praying for us, but we see no value in gathering with the church to pray for others. And we limp along, struggle with sin, grow distant from God, worship apathetically, our souls grow bone dry and we wonder why. Are you gathering with God's people to cry out to God?

Most church folk have no problem attending 7 Bible studies during the week. We certainly have no problem gathering for fellowship and meals. We do have a glaring problem gathering to pray and to pray repentantly. And if we are not gathering to pray, we are not taking repentance seriously.

America doesn't need the church to point fingers at elected officials and lobby Congress and litigate morality. America needs the church to hit her knees in true repentance—taking seriously the gravity of our sin, our devotion to God's glory and dependence on God's mercy (1 Pt 4.17).

Dear church, let us proclaim a solemn assembly. Let us gather the people. Let us sanctify the congregation. Gather the children and the new parents. Let the newlyweds come back from their honeymoon. Let the teachers come out of their rooms. Let the coaches come off their fields. Let the soldiers come out of their posts. Let the mechanics come out of their shops. Let the executives come out of their offices. Let the retirees come out of their retirement. Let the teenagers come out of their silliness. Let the pastors come out of their books. Let the sinners come out of their sin.

And let us say, 'Spare your people, O LORD, and do not make us a disgrace, a byword among the nations. Why should they say, 'Where is their God? For your name's sake, O God, act in your own self-interest that we would be saved!' Amen.

Fascination with God

2006-08-31T15:51:00.000-05:00

Bruce Demarest's book Satisfy Your Soul (NavPress: 1999) continues to be a regular part of my spiritual diet. It'll make you squirm in some places, but we all need to wriggle out of the craters our souls make when we get lazy. One quote won't stop buzzing in my ear: "Many Christians are jaded and spiritless because they lack fascination with God. Churches that attempt to relieve spiritual boredom with entertainment vainly mimic the ways of the world" (p116).

There is a way to imitate fascination with God that is not actually such. Churches can easily promote a fascination with feelings about God, but it's not fascination with God. Folks become easily fascinated with the people on stage who portray fascination with God. But, it's not fascination with God. I can be fascinated with prayer to God, but not with God.

Spiritual boredom is the fruit of gospel boredom. We don't need God to do something fresh and exciting to revive us. He's already done what is necessary for that: crucified and raised the Lord Jesus. That our souls become dull is no fault of God or those regulative principle freaks. It is because we make sanctification and spiritual vitality about something other than the cross. "Sure the cross saved us," we say, "but we need something more now to keep us fresh." That's like telling your wife, "Sure, the honeymoon was great, but I need someone more now to keep the libido fresh. You just don't do it for me anymore." Godless jerk.

C.J. Mahaney quotes Jerry Bridges and John Stott in his book The Cross-Centered Life (p15):

"The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it" (Bridges).

"All around us we see Christians and churches relaxing their grasp on the gospel, fumbling it, and in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether" (Stott).

I am fairly boring preacher. Our congregational worship is fairly boring (too much so for my taste). But, we must not attempt to manufacture fascination with God. We must seek and believe God to bring the cross back into focus. Our worship is vibrant when the gospel is vibrant in our souls. And God alone can stir those waters.
(Now, could God have provided us a simple, tangible means of keeping all our senses laser-locked on the cross? I thought I read somewhere something about a Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11.26)? If you're bored with the gospel, humbly take communion. It'll knock the taste of sin right out of your yap.)

It's official, I've become my dad (but, that's not so bad after all)

2006-08-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

Football is king in Texas. And last night our local high school introduced the new season with a showcase of all the school bands. Along with the bands the various cheerleading/dance squads wowed the crowd with their award-winning routines. At least I think they did. I hardly watched, but the crowd seemed impressed.

I did not have to see much in order to be outright appalled, disgusted and burdened. It was near impossible to miss dozens of jr. and sr. high school adolescent girls parading around in scantily clad, hideously offensive outfits. What little I did catch of their routines made me think MTV was there auditioning for an Eminem video. Parents applauded, boys ogled and drueled, and the girls soaked it all in like celebrities.

(Begin loud typing)

Let's be honest, these modern 'dance' routines are nothing less than exotic dancing under the guise of an extracurricular activity. The music to which they danced was X-rated entertainment. I suspect it's not much different that what a perverted, sex addict would see in a 'gentlemen's club'. But, on a football field it's wholesome and 'good for the team.' Teenagers run rampant sexually because we've removed the fences! We applaud sexually-suggestive material and encourage shamelessness. And then we wonder why teenagers get pregnant and boys grow up to treat women like meat in a display case. It's because we've put them on display. What else are they to think? True love may wait, but can the parents? In the name of modernity, we've raised neanderthals and sex slaves (not so modern I would say).

I cannot see any possible justification for Christian parents to allow their daughters to participate on public school 'dance' teams. I don't know if that was the case with anyone last night. And I realize this is a broad generalization. There are exceptions that maintain tasteful team spirit (private schools, etc.). But, I suspect what we saw last night was more the rule than the exception. In what universe does bare skin and provocative poses foster education and discipline?

Consider the Scriptures. I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil (Rom 16.19b). Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature (1 Cor 14.20). How could any Christian parent encourage knowledge is what is obviously evil? How could any Christian parent applaud what opposes godly virtue, gospel fruit and biblical modesty? Does Genesis 3 mean anything to us? Do we really underestimate the extent of our sin that we can entrust mature material to adolescent audiences?

We've sorely neglected teenagers in the church. We've praised girls when they've pranced around like showgirls. We've chuckled when boys gave the new girl the once-over. Yet, when it comes to gospel instruction and biblical virtue we have little to say and little to commend. God help us.

I gotta go before I have a stroke.

What I Learned on Vacation

2006-08-24T07:01:00.000-05:00

After a week's vacation I learned a valuable lesson. Several lessons, actually. One, I try to hit too many impossible golf shots. A 175-yard, corner-cutting 7-iron over a ravine with towering oaks is not wise, especially with a new ball. Two, I am fat and offend God with my lack of self control. Two barbecue sandwiches for lunch followed by a sackful of Krystal burgers for supper is not wise (for you Yanks, Krystal is the Rebel version of White Castle).

And perhaps the most valuable lesson I learned on vacation was this: I am an extremely prideful man. This is no shock to most of you. It is always the prideful person who is the last to realize he is such. Thank you for your patience while I summarize my pride with the following statements and commentary.

I always want to be the one who says the right thing at the right time. If it's a theological discussion I insist on being the profound one. If it's a humorous conversation I insist on being the witty one. If it's a sorrowful conversation I insist on being the encouraging one.

The unwholesome word we guard against is not necessarily a four-letter insult (Eph 4.29). It's whatever is not beneficial to edify others. If I'm not talking to 'give grace to those who hear' then I'm blabbering unwholesomeness for the sake of edifying myself. I'm not so sure this blog helps alleviate this plague, either.

I feign humility in order feed my ego. Even self-deprecation centers on self! Drawing undue attention to myself in any context necessarily draws attention away from God. Even foolishness finds its end in God's glory and wisdom (1 Cor 1.18-31). Again, I wonder whose purpose this blog serves.

I always want it to appear that I love Jesus more than I do. Here goes: I do not pray as much as I want others to think I pray. I do not delight in Scripture as much as I convince otherwise. I do not love people as much as I want them to think I love them. I do not care as much as I want people to think I care. There, I said it. God have mercy.

I constantly seek to be impressive. I loathe (or at least want you to think I loathe) this insatiable desire to be impressive to people. Jesus was right. Losing your life in this world is the only way to find it. The more I strive to make a name for myself the more of myself I seem to lose. Note to self: I'm just a small, country church pastor who is as ordinary and sinful as they come. Get used to it so that you can truly live in God's pleasure.

Well, there you go. Apparently, there was much more dirty laundry than we packed in our suitcase. Pass the hot sauce.

M'Cheyne Read My Mail

2006-08-10T15:36:00.000-05:00

In the previous post I asserted that being loved as a pastor can be as dangerous as being hated. I was, frankly, just shooting my mouth off without much thoughtful consideration of that statement. However, I was pleased to run across the following quote from Andrew Bonar's biography of Robert Murray M'Cheyne (Banner, 1997). Bonar recorded the following June 22, 1836 entry from M'Cheyne's diary. M'Cheyne had preached his last sermon at Carron-shore, one of his itinerate stops, and reflected afterwards (p54):

"Carron-shore. My last. Some tears; yet I fear some like the messenger, not the message; and I fear I am so vain as to love that love. Lord, let it not be so. Perish my honour, and let Thine be exalted forever."

I am so vain to love that love. Could it be said any better? M'Cheyne July 8th entry was no less restrained:

"I see a man cannot be a faithful minister, until he preaches Christ for Christ's sake--until he gives up striving to attract people to himself, and seeks only to attract them to Christ." (p55)

God help me. I wonder if I've ever preached a real sermon before.

Pastoral Courage

2006-08-08T08:04:00.000-05:00

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

(2 Corinthians 4.1-2)

Pastors make enemies. Some make more than others, I make more than most, but all stand opposite someone. It's not intentional, but it is inevitable if one is striving in a ministry of the Spirit (cf. 2 Cor 3.8, the antecedent to 'this ministry' in 2 Cor 4.1).

Indifference is not a healthy mark of the pastoral office. You are either loved or hated. Paul would say you either smell sweetly or stink (2 Cor 2.15-16). So make sure you are emitting some aroma! But, being loved is often harder than being hated. Being hated bows the back and clouds the blue skies of grace. But, being loved swells the heart, fertilizing haughty seeds Adam buried in our soul. This proves to be a daunting profession, not suitable to the proud of heart.

Paul had enemies (2 Cor 4.11). Ironically, his fiercest enemies came from within the church. Yet, Paul and team did not lose heart or become discouraged. They understood their ministry as a gift of God's mercy. They were not there to prove themselves to the Corinthian church (2 Cor 3.1-5). They had no axe to grind or egos to protect. They were given the ministry as a free expression of God's grace. Therefore, they had nothing to lose because the ministry was 'on loan' in the first place.

Their task was to stay out of the shadows. They were not to match craftiness with the Corinthians. Rather, they were to toe the line in broad daylight, holding themselves out 'to every man's conscience in the sight of God.' They were to open themselves up to public scrutiny and believe righteousness triumphs over shenanigans. They were to make God's word plain ('manifest the truth') in word and deed, and trust God to draw the lines. They would be hated by those blinded to the gospel and loved by those enlightened by the gospel (2 Cor 4.3-6).

I too easily strive not to be hated. Apologizing too quickly for God's word, I fight to open the shades that God intends to keep closed. I too easily strive to be loved. Tip-toeing around souls, I often treat ministry like Valentine's Day.

Oh, for the courage of Paul! Preach, model and enforce the truth of God and call every man to graceful submission. God's people will rally. God's enemies will revolt. And when the dust settles, the Spirit will have won the day.

Dear church, pray that your pastors have a good conscience before God and men (Heb 13.17-18). That is for your good, according to Heb 13.17! Make sure you have no reason to be embarrassed of them. Keep them from punching below the belt. Hold them accountable to public scrutiny so that they will lead the charge with God's truth. Don't let them sheathe their sword in the face of danger, but hold up their arms with all vigor. Don't dare let them lose heart, or hearts will be lost. "For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God" (2 Cor 4.15).

Barnhouse Quote

2006-08-07T08:12:00.000-05:00

We've recently begun a preaching series through the Minor Prophets. Of course, James M. Boice's expositional commentaries are staples of this diet. Commenting on Hosea 2.2-23, Boice quotes Donald Grey Barnhouse. This is the most powerful extrabiblical paragraph I can remember ever reading. I couldn't resist including it in a sermon, and I cannot resist providing it here:

The pursuing love of God is the greatest wonder of the spiritual universe. We leave God in the heat of our own self-desire and run from His will because we want so much to have our own way. We get to a crossroads and look back in pride, thinking that we have outdistanced Him. Just as we are about to congratulate ourselves on our achievement of self-enthronement, we feel a touch on our arm and turn in that direction to find Him there. 'My child,' He says in great tenderness, 'I love you; and when I saw you running away from all that is good, I pursued you through a shortcut that loves knows well, and awaited you here at the crossroads.' We have torn ourselves free from His grasp and rushed off again, we are sure, this time, that we have succeeded in escaping from Him. But, once more, the touch of love is on our other sleeve and when we turn quickly we find that He is there, pleading with the eyes of love, and showing Himself once more to be the tender and faithful One, loving to the end. He will always say, 'My child, my name and nature are Love, and I must act according to that which I am. So it is that I have pursued you, to tell you that when you are tired of your running and your wandering, I will be there to draw you to myself once more.' (quoted in James Montgomery Boice, The Minor Prophets, vol 1, p25).

I Love Baseball and I'm Not Bitter

2006-08-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

Let's get one thing straight. I am neither a Cubs nor a Dodger fan. That Chicago traded Greg Maddux to L.A. is a roaring matter of indifference to me. The league is lucky to have the Cardinals, who provide the only real entertainment to fans worldwide.

However, Mr. Maddux does cheer me with his dogged commitment to one of baseball's fundamental, non-negotiable elements: the stirrups (or the appearance of them). I absolutely hate those stupid pants that have infected baseball. In what universe does any player think that ground-dragging pants serve the best interests of baseball? They get on my nerves as much as gas stations whose "8" is upside down on their sign. If you want to wear pants to play sports then take up bowling or golf. Otherwise, wear real baseball pants with stirrup-laden socks. Anything else is just plain stupid. (Don't get me started on basketball "shorts," which are really koolats with stripes.)

Steroids are not baseball's biggest threat. Fancy pants are. They threaten the integrity of the game and all things sacred about baseball. I submit that anyone having worn them should be barred from the Hall of Fame. What's next? Pink jerseys and lace lettering? Visors instead of caps?

Thank you, Greg Maddux, for remaining a true baseball man. It's unfortunate that you were never a Cardinal. Spending a career in the minor leagues is tough. So keep your pants on; we need someone like you.

Why I Love the SHBC Men

2006-07-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
(1 Thess 2.8)

I love the men of our church. They are warriors. They are courageous. They are patient and wise. They are men.

In most small congregations women get most things done. Men will chortle and chide like locker-room sophomores, but when it comes to prayer only the sopranos are heard. Men will bait hooks and load rifles, but the scabbard is silent when wielding the Word. Men will defend their investments like the Alamo, but slink into the shadows when the Gospel meets a back-alley thug. Men will love their toys with bright-eyed enthusiasm, but suddenly become tongue-tied when expressing love for their wives. Where in the world are the men of Christ's church?

Well, I can tell you where a dozen of them are. God has blessed our congregation with gospel men. These are men of which I am not worthy. These are men who do not abdicate their God-given calling to be defenders, leaders and champions of Christ's church. These are men who take prayer seriously and are not afraid of confronting sin. These are men who demand firm, square-eyed handshakes and bear hugs. These are men who lock impenetrable arms. Were I to become a tenth of what these men are I would be proud.

Like many reforming churches, we don't yet have formal elders. While I cannot wait for that day, God has comforts me through the SHBC men. Most of them do not aspire to be elders (1 Tim 3.1). But, that's okay. They are men who pray together, counsel together, and make sure I preach like a man who loves Jesus. And I'll take that any day.

I encourage any pastors striving for reform in their churches. Get the men of your church together and fertilize their God-given seeds of leadership. Having men without having elders is much healthier than having elders with no men. And no, you can't have any of ours.

1 Chronicles 21.13 and the Wooden Spoon

2006-07-21T08:42:00.000-05:00

The previous post has me thinking about fatherly discipline. I've been a father for only about two years now. That, however, is plenty of time to realize that a 'theology of the rod' is absolutely necessary. Frankly, I've sloppily made things up on the fly so far. My daughter is none the better for it, either. I pray God will use 1 Chronicles 21.13 to set my feet on firmer ground.

In Withhold Not Correction (P&R: 1978), Bruce Ray writes the following penetrating paragraph (p61):

Fathers, do you realize that when you administer discipline it is an act of worship? Do you approach discipline with that in mind? Are you concerned to accurately portray the character of God as you wield that rod? Do you keep in mind your supreme motive, which is to bring your child into a subordinate relationship to the authority of God? Fathers, you are to be a reflection of our Lord Jesus Christ in the home. As Christ is the Head of the Church, so you are to be head in your home.

To that I say a rowdy "Amen!" Our children see the first glimpse of God's character in their fathers, whether it's a right reflection or not. Children become theologians before they ever know the meaning of the word 'theology.' It's the imago Dei in all of us.

God has a standard of holiness that demands obedience. Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. And our children benefit greatly from the safety of discipline. God is holy and so we enforce that attribute. Now, (with much thanks to 'cousin' Katie Burchett), my daughter is learning her first hymn, "Holy, holy, hooooooLEE!" (she likes a big finish).

Enter 1 Chronicles 21.13. A proper demonstration of the character of God demands the mercy of discipline as much as the rod of discipline. Don't get me wrong. I support a firm-handed correction, but will my daughter consider the mercy inherent in it? In other words, when faced squarely with her sin (or sinful act) will she say Davidically, "I'll fare much better with my dad than to let this sin fester"? Or will she be terrified to confess sin and receive correction from me? Will she remember that the pain of 'the spoon' was always soothed quickly by swift forgiveness?

With merciful discipline she will learn something about the nature of sin, too. Sin kills and the enemy in her is a lying thief. But with dad there is great mercy because of his great love for her (Heb 12.4-17). His discipline will be much less painful. In the end, she will understand the gospel of grace, in which God beat our sin out of Jesus and sanctifies us in his merciful love. I can't wait for her to get to the next line of the hymn: "merciful and mighty."

Well, I'm not sure where all this is going. In fact, I could be completely wrong about all of this. But, I'm sure you'll find out well enough when you run into Lidi in twenty years. I hope she'll tell you something right about God. If she does, make sure she thanks her mother.

I'll Take Door #3, Monty

2006-07-19T07:51:00.000-05:00

David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man." (1 Chronicles 21.13)

Meanwhile, back at headquarters . . . the mighty king David reveled in his domination. In his wake lie Ammonites, Arameans, and Rabbahites. In the heavyweight division, David routed the Philistines. And in the title bout David felled the giant multi-dactyled freak of Gath. Long live the king!

Satan got wind of an opportunity and toed the line against Israel. He 'moved' David to take a census. "Exactly how many people do I rule, General Joab?" asked David. A pensive Joab set out with the government questionnaire. What Joab knew that David seemed to forget was that God didn't like censuses. They smelled like pride and trust in military strength more than God. David had no recruiting quota to meet, and however many brawns he had it was quite enough. As long as God was in the camp there was plenty of manpower.

True to form God expressed his displeasure. David confessed his foolishness to God, who responded through Gad. Gad invited David to God's version of Let's Make a Deal. David could choose his own punishment from three options. Behind door #1 was three years of famine. Behind door #2 was three months of war. And behind door #3 was three days of a virulent epidemic. On paper, David had every resource available to stave off a 3-year famine and wage a 3-month war. Yet, David chose door #3.

Of course, he would! It was the quickest punishment of the three options. He could get it over with. But, that wasn't David's reason. David chose option #3 because it held the greatest potential for mercy. Mighty David, ruler of all things Middle Eastern, now with a head count of 1.5 million warriors, considered his chances better with God's 'sword' than his enemies'. Now he needed mercy, not strength.

What a transformative view of God! David knew that whatever anger God harbored against him would be tempered by His great mercy toward him. The Philistines would have no mercy. The Ammonites would have no mercy. God would. And such would spare David of untold misery. Option #3 cost him 70,000 soldiers which was far better than losing them all to famine or sword.

God's people too often hint of God as some impulsive ogre, one breath away from unleashing his fury on us. The cosmic mother says to us, "Just wait until your Father gets home!" And we scamper fearfully away from God's presence, knowing that one look from him will destroy us. Given our chances against man or God, we readily choose the former because God will grease us.

Dear friends, we cannot wait for our Father to come home! Because when he does, he brings with him the full measure of mercy. Our discipline will be perfect and we will find yet another reason and way to love him. We will not (cannot!) bear the full brunt of his anger without God reneging on his promise in the Lord Jesus. The Father has already come home! And Jesus endured what we most fear (God's anger) and secured for us what we most want (God's mercy).

Dear sinner, there is no mercy in your sin. As we say in Texas, "It'd soon kill ya' as look at ya'." You stand no chance of survival at the hands of sin. It runs roughshod over you like a Philistine army. You've measured up your strength and you've been found wanting. You see, you've inherited Adam's pathetic army who hasn't won a battle in 15,000 years. Oh, they'll convince you that 'this is the year,' but it's a hopeless lie. There are no Cinderalla stories in the war against sin. Flee to the haven of mercy where the fight has already been waged and won by our Merciful Lord Jesus. Oh, that you would fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercies are very great.

Spurgeon on Maxwell

2006-07-07T07:59:00.000-05:00

I hope Spurgeon's morning meditation will make for better preachers this weekend. He reflects on 1 Thessalonians 5.25 ("Brethren, pray for us") with the following edification to the church:

This one morning in the year we reserved to refresh the reader's memory upon the subject of prayer for ministers, and we do most earnestly implore every Christian household to grant the fervent request of the text first uttered by an apostle and now repeated by us. Brethren, our work is Solemnly momentous, involving weal or woe to thousands; we treat with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ's army, we are the especial mark of the enmity of men and devils; they watch for our halting, and labour to take us by the heels. Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt, above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many knotty cases, and our wits are at a non plus; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink. We wish to profit you by our preaching; we desire to be blest to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners; therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. Miserable men are we if we miss the aid of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given thsoe blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the gospel. We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, city missionaries, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you "BRETHREN, PRAY FOR US." (Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Hendrickson: 1991, p378).

I was particularly struck by this sentence: "Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt, above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it." I've lived for months exactly what Spurgeon describes here; only I couldn't define it so well. Groping in a dimly lit room, I've tried to find the stupid switch (i.e., switch for stupids) that would shed more light on my dilemma. And this one sentence was a 100-watt bulb for me. I realize that truth had become a "minsterial and official" consideration. Sermons become fearful deadlines, counseling becomes an eye-rolling duty, and Scripture becomes a textbook. Such is the peculiar temptation of the pastor.

I grew up in and around Memphis. Yet, I never once stepped foot on the (hallowed?) grounds of Graceland. Now, I don't mind telling others about Graceland. I can tell you what it looks like. I can tell you where it is and little history of the area. I might offer an anecdotal tidbit about Elvis. I could tell you how much others enjoy Graceland. But, personal enjoyment? Please. Even tour guides can merely collect paychecks without any affection for their attraction.

And that's often the case, isn't it? Those who grow up near the beach don't enjoy it like those raised in the mountains. Those reared around the corner from the Eiffel Tower don't marvel at it like those raised on Elm Street in Sheboygan. What the rest of the world considers a vacation destination, we consider ho-hum familiarity. We live so close that we live farther away than anyone.

This is the pastoral temptation of which Spurgeon speaks. We (okay, I) live so close to the text that we don't enjoy it. We pass by it everyday in the same way and the scenery doesn't change. We certainly don't mind telling others about it. We might even offer an anecdotal reflection on how Scripture once affected an ante-bellum missionary. We can tell others where to go for enjoyment, but personal enjoyment? Please. There's no time for that with a sermons looming and ministry meetings to lead.

So, with Spurgeon I plead with my church family: Brethren, pray for me. You deserve a passionate tour guide, who doesn't simply point out the Living Water to you. But, with the Living Water dribbling down his chin, he grabs your hand and races with you to the well for more. And once there, he climbs in first that you can follow him to where the Water tastes the sweetest.

Now, let me mark that switch so I can find it next time.

July 4th and Mama Max

2006-07-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

My mom (a.k.a. Mama Max to the grandchildren) died on July 4th, 1990. I was a hellbound church rat at the time who squinted from the glare of a remarkable Christian death. Each July 4th provides an opportunity to reflect on that experience. Last year was the 15th anniversary of her death, which sparked the following reflection. I am ever grateful for our kind and gracious God, who tolerated me for a season that I may enjoy him for eternity.

It was a sweltering August day when a Mississippi Delta cotton field welcomed her into this world. It was an even more sweltering July day when the Delta received her back again. Born among the cotton and buried under the magnolia, God invested fifty-eight years in His most precious servant.

July 4th marks fifteen years since her last breath on this earth. Riddled by cancer, she mounted a gallant battle against an undefeatable foe. Yet, it was how, not how long, she fought that affects me to this day. You see, one can fight a losing battle with nothing to lose or win a fighting battle with nothing to gain. She did not fight for this world, but to leave it and so inherit the spoils of liberty.

It was appropriate that God called her home on Independence Day. There is no greater freedom than that which liberates us from this world. After fifteen years of reflection God pries open my eyes to the nature of true freedom. That freedom is enjoyed only in and by Christ. I offer three areas where we desperately need the Great Liberator.

First, in Christ there is freedom from sin. Despite what fifty-six men decided in 1776, we are not as free as we boast. And though we may be born in a free state we are not born with a free soul. American children grow up to lie and disobey like every other child in the world.

The Bill of Rights had kept us free from political tyranny. But, it has done nothing to alleviate hatred, abuse, injustice, anger, and murder. Free market capitalism has not assuaged greed. Freedom of speech has not lessened slander and bigotry. Freedom of the press has not stamped out deceit. National freedom has not and never will prevent the abuse of it. No matter how much freedom we enjoy as patriots we remain enslaved to a human nature dominated by sin’s curse.

Jesus teaches us in John 8.34 that every person who commits sin is a slave to sin. And there is no human institution that can free us from that cruel warden. Therefore, in John 8.36 Jesus said, “If [Jesus] makes you free, you will be free indeed.” In Romans 6.16, the apostle Paul explained that we are slaves to the one we obey. In other words, if we continually submit to our carnal desires and the world’s lusts, we become co-dependent on sin. Therefore, Paul taught in Galatians 5.1, “If was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Our only hope of being freed from sin’s dominion is by faith in Christ. Otherwise, we remain shackled in a train hurling headlong off a cliff. The key to unlocking the shackles is a persevering faith in Jesus Christ. Then will we rejoice that Christ frees us indeed!

In Christ, there is freedom from death. If ever we doubt our enslavement to sin we need only to look in the mirror. Our bodies are not what they used to be. One stroll through the cemetery reveals that there is no nationalism in the grave; Americans die as surely as every other human in the world. So before we get too proud of our strength and freedom we must admit that we are not free not to die.

In Hebrews 2.15, we learn that Jesus died to “free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Therefore, Christ’s death was the death to end all death. However, this does not mean Jesus did not prevent any person from dying physically (obviously!). If He did that would be more of a curse than a blessing. Would you really want to live forever in a world that is decaying at an exponential rate? That is no life.

Christ secured for believers an eternal life in a perfect world to come by dying and being resurrected. For Christ-followers our last breath in this life is really the first breath in the next. Simply stated, he who dies to this world lives in the next, but he who lives for this world dies in the next. What a glorious plan!

This is why Paul can say that (physical) death has no sting (1 Corinthians 15.55) and to die was gain because it meant eternal life with Christ (Philippians 1.21). Death has no power over the believer in Christ because it had no power over Christ Himself. Therefore, Christ provides freedom from death in that we view it as the door to heaven. Believers in Christ can boldly agree with Charles Spurgeon who once said, “Death! You are a welcome guest; you are an angel of light, and the best friend I have.”

In Christ, there is freedom from fear. On the surface, there is much to fear in this life. Identity thieves, terror alerts, failing economies and sexual predators would cause anyone to tremble in paranoia. We distrust most people and assume hidden agendas at the highest levels. If all that is is all there is then there is little to calm our fears and settle our souls.

This need not be! Christ frees us from the fear of this world. Again, Paul taught in Romans 8.15, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba (Aramaic for ‘father’), Father!” This verse resonates with me because we have recently adopted our precious daughter. As our adopted daughter she will never fear being unwanted, unloved, alone or rejected. She has every right and privilege to call me “Father” without fear. She need not fear that I will intentionally do anything that would not be in her best interest or discard her for genetic differences. Likewise, Christ makes us what we are not by nature: children of God vested with all the rights and privileges thereof. And we can rely on God for every need without fear of being despised (see also Isaiah 35.4). In Christ, we rest easy that God does all things for our good and His glory (Romans 8.28).

This Independence Day may we celebrate robustly the liberties we enjoy as Americans. Yet, let us carefully remind ourselves that those liberties are hardly permanent, guaranteed or absolute. We desperately need a greater liberation—a liberation from ourselves. Praise God that He has not left that to us, but has accomplished in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ!

Relief for the Repentant

2006-06-29T12:35:00.000-05:00

I knew you would repent from your anti-Cardinalism. A 'mysterious' 2-out throwing error in the bottom of the 9th allowed the winning run against the Tribe (i.e., Babylon).

How can a team lose 8 straight games and still be 1 .5 games ahead? Answer: Cincinnati Reds.

Eight is Enough

2006-06-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

Whatever Achanite hiding banned items needs to come forth in order to lift the curse off the Cardinals. Eight games is quite enough! You know who you are and you're silly to think the Cubs will benefit from this stunt. Vince Coleman got a taste of what it's like for the grounds of Busch Stadium to open up and swallow someone. You don't want that.