Stronger Church

A Minister's Prayer - Part 3

2008-02-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

"Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth, that an honest testimony might be borne for Thee."

So reads the next section in the prayer "A Minister's Preaching" in the book Valley of Vision.

Why do we preach? Preaching, after all, seems to be considered by some to be suited to a former era. Today we are to have conversations and tell stories. One of our members told me that an unsaved friend recently shared that she liked listening to one well-known TV preacher because "He makes me feel better about myself."

In the end, we preach because people need to hear from God. We, like the writer of the lines above, long that people might be edified with divine truth. We want to see them grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, to see them mature in their faith, to see them live out the truth of Scripture in their lives.

But that is not an easy thing.

When I graduated from Bible College I think I expected that people who were interested in spiritual growth would hear the things that God's word said and simply change. I wish is was that easy. In point of fact change in our lives takes time, and I've started comparing what we do when we preach to the way layers of newspaper and paste become a paper mache creation. I can't create the final product, but I can add to the layers each week by God's help.

In the end, whether people feel good about themselves is hardly important. What is important is that our people grow to be like Christ. That's what it means to be edified. There is no more important task. May God give us a pastor's heart to long that our people be edified.

Monday, Monday - January 28, 2008

2008-01-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

Monday is a day many pastors take off, but I'm usually in my office. It's a good day to catch up on "stuff" and do some planning for the week if I haven't been able to do that over the weekend.

I began a series called The Story: From Creation to Christ that I plan to preach through this year. I chose 46 different passages/incidents in the Old Testament and am tracing the storyline of the OT to show how it points to Christ. The process of determining what to leave in and what to leave out was interesting and challenging. But I finally settled on what I would do and have mapped out a year's preaching.

I was curious to see if anyone had done this and committed this to print, but I had very limited success in finding anything other than traditional Bible Survey materials. New Tribes Mission has some great materials, and I looked a a few good Children's Bible Story books as well. One of the best is the Jesus Storybook Bible. I love the subtitle: Every Story Whispers His Name.

I am so glad to see that Purgatorio is back. Nothing like the Divine Vinyl section. I can remember those days . . .

A Minister's Prayer, Part 2

2008-01-24T15:13:00.001-05:00

"My Master God, I am desired to preach today, but go weak and needy to my task;"

Long story short. I entered pastoral ministry while in Bible College in 1976. I preached a few times but frankly, it never came easy to me. I felt uncomfortable, and that discomfort grew as time went on. I was the Associate Pastor on a two-man staff, so it was not something that I needed to be doing, so I gradually let it alone.

In 1980 I took a position in a larger multi-staff church. For 23 years I did not preach outside of one Good Friday service. A series of circumstances led to the departure of the Senior Pastor in the winter of 2003. We were by then a three-person staff and it appeared despite my length of service that the church would not be able to sustain three people. I felt I might be the odd man out. I asked our Elders for the opportunity to preach in the interim for several reasons, some for the benefit of the church having a familiar face, but also because I wanted to see if this was something that I could do, and thereby open other opportunities for ministry beyond my previous experience.

As God had it, the interim became permanent, and in a month I am coming up on my fifth anniversary of regular preaching. I have grown to love the opportunity. Preaching can be discouraging (Is anyone growing?) and it can be challenging (How am I supposed to present this passage?). I have days when I wish I could say, "Ok. Let's take a break and let me do this again and hopefully get it right." I also have days when I sense God's hand in a bit of a different way. Preaching is tiring, which is why my Sunday afternoons are given to a good nap. Those of you who preach know the drill.

I resonate with the words of the Puritan brother who wrote the sentence above. I feel that I must preach to be doing what God wants me to do. Yet I am fully conscious of my own weakness and need. I am grateful for each Sunday that God gives me the opportunity to share His Word. I can see how it would be possible to be so comfortable in preaching that doing it is almost second nature and hardly a thought is given to the magnitude of the task or the consequences in the lives of people. But I pray that does not happen.

If you listen to my sermons you won't hear a great orator. What I hope you would hear is someone doing his best to share what a text is saying and how that message relates to the lives of people who, after 28 years, have become dear to me.

Guys are not great at acknowledging weakness or need. And it is very possible for pastors/preachers to think that they are strong enough for the task. But I have come to learn that one of the things that I must keep in mind is that this work is one for which I am weak and needy.

Thank you, Lord, for providing the strength.

A Minister's Prayer, Part 1

2008-01-21T19:14:00.001-05:00

I have benefited greatly from the book Valley of Vision over the last two years. I often read an appropriate prayer during our church's observance of the Lord's Table.

I find one particular prayer very moving, and it is one that I posted back in 2006, called A Minister's Preaching. While I prefer to exegete Scripture, I thought I might open this new year and return to blogging as hopefully a personal discipline that will also help some other pastors by sharing some thoughts on this prayer, which I pray each week before I leave my office for our morning worship service.

A Minister’s Preaching

My Master God,
I am desired to preach today,
but go weak and needy to my task;
Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth,
that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,
with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertaining to my subject,
with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,
proper expressions, fluency, fervency,
a feeling sense of the things I preach,
and grace to apply them to men’s consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects,
and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.
Help me to offer a testimony for thyself,
and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people,
and set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached.
and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted,
and help me to use the strongest arguments
drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings,
that men might be made holy.

I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness,
that I might be a pure channel of thy grace,
and be able to do something for thee;
Give me then refreshment among thy people,
and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way,
or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer,
or be harsh in treating of Christ’s death, its design and end,
from lack of warmth and fervency.
And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.

What Would Change About Our Sundays If . . .

2007-09-07T10:51:00.000-04:00

I'm stepping out of the normal Sunday morning routine this week by showing a video sermon by Mark Dever that I feel challenges the way we approach our time of worship on Sunday. Mark presents thirteen propositions about worship. Though some require explanation, most of them are pretty clear. What would change about our Sundays if we realized that:

1. God cares about how he is worshipped?
2. Worship if fundamentally about God?
3. Worship involves our whole lives?
4. Worship is fundamentally hearing and responding to God's Word?
5. Worship involves our wills and emotions?
6. Public worship should be distinguished from private worship?
7. Public worship is the business of the church assembled?
8. Public worship should edify the congregation?
9. Public worship is not based on a certain musical style?
10. Passivity is always inappropriate in worship?
11. Corporate worship is worth preparing for?
12. True Christian worship services will attract non-believers.
13. If you are a true Christian, corporate worship is your future?

I especially appreciated Mark's 1st, 10th and 11th points as it relates to the way we approach our gathering on the Lord's Day. How do these things change the way you approach Sunday?

Back . . . again

2007-09-05T07:44:00.000-04:00

I had great hopes of being able to do a real, honest-to-goodness series of articles on the priority of meeting together as a body of believers, but an unusually busy summer waylaid that intent. But we're back with some tips and resources:

A great article on how to retain and benefit from your reading.

We've been looking at a very good video series this summer from Ligonier Ministries entitled 5 Keys to Spiritual Growth. The highlights - to me - were Ligon Duncan's message on the reason for praying to a God who is sovereign and Mark Dever's excellent discussion of what should go on when we gather as a church (Worship in Spirit & in Truth). We've found a good video series to be a nice change of pace in our adult Sunday School.

Can you top this trivialization of the cross? I saw this on a church sign in our area: "Avoid burning - use Son Block"

Church: Organization or Organism - Part 1

2007-06-16T14:37:00.000-04:00

A friend emailed me this week and told me of a conversation he and his wife had with a friend of theirs who is getting married. The bride-to-be said this of her future husband: "He's not really into organized religion, but he's a Christian." It reminded me of a familiar mantra from the late sixties and early seventies: "The church is not an organization, it's an organism."

I'm observing that such thinking is not all that uncommon today. It is not so much that people are choosing to fly solo in their pursuit of Christ. What is happening is that people are jettisoning the church - for various reasons, but including the fact that that Christians don't need an institution. But is that true? And if the church is an institution or organization, is that bad?

As I was scanning some blogs the other week, I noticed that those who have misgivings about the place of the modern local church often point back to Acts 2:42-47 as a model for church life. And there is a lot to be admired in that passage. It describes a group of believers in Jesus Christ in an almost Eden-like environment. But as much as there is much to learn and emulate from that passage, two things need to be remembered. First, this is a description of the church in it's infancy, and second, this is not the "last word" on what the church does.

Last night I was watching the Detroit Tigers roar (pun intended) past my beloved Phillies. As the game got more and more out of hand, I began channel surfing and came across a documentary on the History Channel about the Hippie movement in the late sixties. At first, hippies were gathered primarily in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. They numbered a few thousand, took drugs (LSD was, for a time, legal), had free sex, and tried to enjoy what they felt was an attempt at utopia. Things turned ugly - and quite fast - when thousands more teens and young adults headed west during the Summer of Love. The Haight-Ashbury district turned into a cesspool of sickness, crime and poverty. So the True Believers began to migrate elsewhere. Some moved to other cities, but some moved into the country to continue their quest for utopia. There they lived communally, contributing their possessions, working together, etc., until the inevitable happened: they realized that they could not sustain themselves just by "existing" and enjoying each other's company. So back into society they went, took jobs, had families, and bought houses.

One of the people interviewed was Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. As a participant in that culture, he stated that many of those living in the communes felt that they were living as the early Christians did (apparently following the model of Acts 2:42-47, though Vonnegut did not refer to that particular passage). That brought me back to my own experience as a young adult during that time – though I was part of the institutional church. Many young Christians – inside and outside the structured church – wanted that kind of community, that kind of authenticity, and that kind of heaven-on-earth that so many tried to accomplish (in wrong ways, of course). The church was big, our parent’s religion felt stale. There had to be a better way.

And we were right. There had to be a better way. But it wasn’t going to be by staying in Acts 2 mode.

(More to follow)

Church - Part 1

2007-06-11T13:37:00.000-04:00

Last week I shared a concern that Christians are - for a variety of reasons - increasingly dismisssing participation in a specific local church as something that is important to their faith. This is happening for a variety of reasons. Some people have bad experiences in church. Others have expectations about church that are not met. Others have more philosophical objections to the church. Some are simply anti-institution. Others genuinely seem to feel that participation in a church has had a negative (or at least inhibiting) impact on their own spiritual life.

Over the next few weeks I'd like to share what I believe about the church. This is going to be an argument that is developed, so those of you in my decidedly un-challies-esque readership (translation - not thousands in number) need to cut me some slack. You're free to comment on what I post, but bear in mind that this isn't over until it's over, so some of your objections/points may be answered down the road a bit. For that reason, I'm going to wait to engage critics or questions until I've finished the series. Hey! It's my blog (grin).

I had hoped to begin this "series" earlier, but have not been able to. I am going to try 2-4 posts per week on the subject. I hope that those of you who stop by will check back often. I'll have the first main entry up on Wednesday, if not before. Thanks for reading!

Church

2007-06-04T15:22:00.000-04:00

One of the greatest burdens that a pastor has is when he sees people treat Sunday worship as incidental to their lives. I've taken the last two weeks to speak about the importance of Sunday worship. I must admit that I have a hard time conceiving that there are Christians who can dismiss this so quickly.

Having grown up in the 60's and 70's, I can remember a day when stores were closed, neighborhoods were quiet, and it was pretty easy for Christians to devote the day to corporate worship. Those days are long gone, and we find ourselves in competition with expanding work schedules, household projects, kids' sports programs, and just staying home to rest because it's been a busy week.

Part of the problem - from my point of view anyway - is that we've dumbed down the entire Christian experience. There was nothing sacred about Sunday School followed by a morning worship service followed by an evening worship service followed by Wednesday prayer meeting. That traditional schedule has gone the way of the horse-drawn carriage in our church, and instead we emphasize Sunday morning, Sunday school and small groups. I do wish I had the opportunity to reclaim Sunday nights - at least on occasion - but people have been out of the habit of Sunday night attendance for years now, so I am not optimisitic about the prospects of recovering it, but it would be nice . . .

I was reading some blog entries from people who are "disillusioned with the institutional church" and have stopped going altogether. I think they are wrong, but at least they are thinking about it. So many of our people aren't thinking.

I have blogged infrequently for the last several months, so the only person reading this may be the person who is writing it. But that's ok. I feel strongly about the need to recover this commitment, and I'm going to post some thoughts and ideas about this over the next few days and weeks. I've taken two weeks to teach our people about the importance of Sunday worship, and I have developed an even greater commitment to it than before I started. I hope you'll stop by and read why.

Wow

2007-04-05T15:06:00.000-04:00

Time flies. My last post was on January 12th. To those of you who stop in and read (and my weekly report says that a couple of dozen do - hardly the same level as Tim Challies, but hey) it has been a very busy 2007. Yet I have a desire to contribute to the pastoral discussion that takes place in cyberspace.

Those of you who preach - do you find it harder to prepare Easter and Christmas sermons? I do. I think that the greatest challenge is finding an appropriate text. Let's face it - there are lots of them. But it is easier to know "where to go" when I am in a regular series. I'm choosing to preach a topical/expository sermon this Sunday on how the NT writers interpret the meaning of the resurrection.

One of the things that I have been thinking about is the development of a system of study for our church - I hate to use the term "discipleship program" that focuses on thinking rather than doing. A lot of the very good training programs (such as the Navigators' 2:7 series) are helpful for establishing positive spiritual habits. But I'd like to develop something for our church that focuses more on ways of thinking. One of the things that I think our modern church lacks is a sense of understanding of the future. Our church used to have a prophecy conference every-other year in conjuction with 7 other churches in our area. That fell by the wayside some time ago, and probably at that time for the best, because much of it tended toward the speculative . But I think a negative has been that we are more "now" focused and as a result we don't live in anticipation of Christ's return and in the awareness of the judgment seat of Christ.

In that vein, I have been scanning a new book by Stephen J. Nichols entitled Heaven on Earth: Capturing Jonathan Edwards's Vision of Living In Between. I'd post a link to it but Blogger doesn't work right with Safari - the default Mac browser. (I made the switch about a month ago and am entirely pleased with the transition).

To those of you who read - Happy Easter to you. May you be filled with joy at the new life we have in Christ!

A Few Resources

2007-01-12T09:52:00.000-05:00

I've used several books and videos over the years on the subject of raising children. I have to say that the best that I have used is called Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Chip Ingram. Available from Walk Through the Bible Ministries for only $99 for 9 3o-minute sessions, there is a noticeable lack of psychobabble and a good deal of practical application of what the Bible tells us about parenting.

Ingram recently completed a book by the same title, available via Amazon, and would be a good book to give new parents. Well-worth using in an adult Sunday School class, small group setting, or just having it available to in the church library. We were impressed enough to buy a copy for our daughter and son-in-law.

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Hardly a ministry resource, but Stephen Lawhead's most recent book, Hood: Part 1 of the Raven Trilogy, is fun reading. I wouldn't put it among Lawhead's best work, but it was, well, fun. It is the beginning of the story of Robin Hood, though told from a very nontraditional perspective. Blogger of Bloggers Tim Challies posted a review on a pre-release of the book some months ago. I generally use audio books as my non-ministry reading, but this was a Christmas gift and one I would recommend.

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John Piper's book on depression When the Darkness Will Not Lift, is online. Justin Taylor has some things to say about the book. It can be printed (it is in PDF format) and given to people who may be struggling with this problem.

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My next read is The Devoted Life, by Kelly Kapic and Randall Gleason. Subtitled, An Invitation to the Puritan Classics, this looks like a good intro into Puritan authors and their writings.

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SO GLAD to have the Far Side back, and in a on-page-per-day tear off format. What a great sense of humor. You either "get" Gary Larson or you don't but, fans will enjoy the daily look at one of his classics.

Evangelicals and Innovation

2007-01-09T16:03:00.004-05:00

In his new book Why Should I Believe You? Rediscovering Clergy Credibility (Abingdon), Thomas Bandy notes that the church is one of the last organizations in our culture that discourages (I think this is a typo, it should be “encourages”) innovation. He writes, "The church must learn the hard lessons that organizations in other public sectors have learned. In a world of mass migration, technological change, rapid communication, and spiritual searching, core values for maintenance, stability and predictability are no longer practical. The church is one of the last holdouts in organizational America that rewards employees and volunteers for their lack of experimentation.

"Such behavior is quite contrary to the New Testament, in which Jesus uses the parable of the talents to urge an entrepreneurial spirit in the disciples. It is also contrary to the tradition of first-millennium Christianity, in which leaders of the Christian movement tried everything from funeral societies to house churches to table talk in the agora in order to share the gospel. It is the dominance of the diocesan church of the second millennium, and the need of the diocesan leaders to control, that changed everything. Now we have to change back again."

The above two paragraphs were lifted out of the latest issue of Preaching Now, a newsletter that I generally find very helpful. For some reason these few sentences really stuck in my craw. I don’t know Thomas Bandy, and don’t plan to read his book, but I want to respond to what he said with one short word: baloney.

There are a couple of straw men that the church growth writers have set up, and one of them is that the church has failed to innovate. I’m not sure where these writers have been, but after thirty years of ministry, statements like that make me scratch my head. In point of fact Evangelicalism has been extremely good at innovation. We have ministries to college students, servicemen and servicewomen, ministries aimed at specific professions. We’ve creatively designed all kinds of ministries to kids and teens. I had lunch today with a friend whose church has a ministry to deaf people. I could go on and on. The church has discouraged innovation?

I look at my own congregation. I’ve served here for 26 years and I want to tell you that this is not the same church it was in 1980 when I came. Our people dress more casually. We’re not stuck singing gospel songs from the 1930’s. We do both older and newer Christ-centered music. Discussion has replaced lecture in many areas of our teaching ministries. Our kids programs and youth groups are not age-specific replicas of a worship service. We’ve moved from the King James Version. Many of our adults attend home Bible studies during the week, something made possible by eliminating our Sunday evening and midweek services. We use more than just an organ and a piano on Sunday morning. Our efforts to reach out to our community have been focused on having them receive something from us rather than inviting them to join us in our "thing." And I could go on.

Some might say that these changes are not that significant? Really? You should have been here while they were taking place. Some people had a hard time with some of these "minor" changes. And my congretation is not the only one of which this would be true. None of this would have happened – here or elsewhere – without innovation. So exactly what is it, Mr. Church Growth Expert (and I am not directing this at Mr. Bandy) that needs to change?

Let me share a lesson I learned years ago. For the first decade of my ministry at Faith I worked broadly in the Christian Education program. One of my responsibilities involved the evaluation of children's curriculum. The early 1980’s happened to be a time when innovation and creativity were big ticket items in the world of curriculum publishing. Borrowing from the educational methodology that was in vogue at the time, publishers traded in plain-looking, content-driven teaching quarterlies for more colorful, activity-centered programs. Some of the really creative leading-lights even included props for the teachers to use to move the kids from one whiz-bang thing to another.

The problem was that as the methods became more creative, and the activities became more prominent, it became evident that the content had to be cut back. Initially this was viewed as acceptable, because after all, the average kid’s attention span was regressing at a record pace. So we had them act out stories, make things, etc., etc., with the understanding that they would grasp more if they were active learners. But fifteen years later, kids weaned on those kinds of programs don’t know the Bible.

I am not advocating a return to fill-in-the-blank quarterlies. I'm not saying we should go back to rote learning. But I am pointing out an example of what happens when methods become the focus. I could cite other instances of methods overshadowing message, but in order to keep this on the shorter side, I won’t do that.

I bristle when I read statements like those that begin this entry. I’m sure that the author knows of some stick-in-the mud groups who live as if this was 1957 and not 2007. But I don’t suspect that is true of as many churches as some of the experts seem to think.

Here are some things that I know. God honors his Word. There is power in it, because the Spirit of God uses it to change people’s lives. The Gospel has a specific content. It can’t be reduced too far without removing its essence. Christ’s call is to discipleship, not a fulfilled life, and people are more interested in fulfillment than they are in following. That’s why thousands of people gathered to listen to him teach and get a free lunch in the bargain, but why when he rose from the dead he only had about 120 people to gather around him.

Our call is to be faithful. I want to be creative, and I want to be innovative, but not at the expense of the spiritual well-being of my people and not at the expense of the clarity of the Gospel. I would contend that some of the weakness in our churches and in our people has come about because of some of the very innovations that the gurus’ applaud. Christian people know less of the Bible, are less distinctive in their lifestyle, and think less and less from an eternal perspective than previous generations. That’s what I'm observing, and I am not alone, at least based on the conversations I have with friends in ministry. I want to recover some of that, not find more ways to let it happen.

Thomas Bandy has written other books that show that he is apparently interested in these things too. It may be that Preaching Now excerpted something that represents just a small part of what he says. But I still say it’s baloney. Evangelicalism has changed, it has innovated, and some of the change and innovation has weakened us. Let’s fix what we can, let’s change where we need to change, but let’s be sure we are not being unfaithful to the message or to the God who gave it to us.

When Time Magazine Shows Us the Way

2006-12-06T19:06:00.000-05:00

This came from the December 5, 2006 issue of PreachingNow, the newsletter of Preaching.com. If Christian leaders are reading this, and taking it seriously, do they realize that the same is true of adults? Clever video clips and Christian comics will not mature our people. God's Spirit has historically used Scripture to do that. There is no reason to think that our culture is so unique that we can jettison 2000 years of precedent and come up with a better idea.

Youth Ministry: More Substance, Please
Youth ministries are seeing a hunger for more Bible-based worship and teaching and less fun and games, according to an article in the Nov. 6 issue of Time magazine.

"Believing that a message wrapped in pop-culture packaging was the way to attract teens to their flocks, pastors watered down the religious content and boosted the entertainment," according to the Time article. "But in recent years churches have begun offering their young people a style of religious instruction grounded in Bible study and teachings about the doctrines of their denomination. Their conversion has been sparked by the recognition that sugar-coated Christianity, popular in the 1980s and early 90's, has caused growing numbers of kids to turn away not just from attending youth-fellowship activities but also from practicing their faith at all."

The move to more substantive programming is seeing results in growing numbers and changed lives. Time reports: "Bible-based youth ministries at churches around the country are enjoying a similar success. At Shoreline Christian Center in Austin, Texas, youth pastor Ben Calmer vetoed the purchase of a pool table because it didn't further his goal of increasing spiritual nourishment. Instead he started a class in which the young people wrestle with such difficult questions as, 'Why doesn't God answer all prayers?' No one seems to be suffering from the absence of the pool table. Youth membership has doubled, to 160, during the 18 months Calmer has been in charge. Similarly, teens at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md., are embracing the big doses of Bible study youth pastors now recommend. Teen ranks have tripled, to nearly 600, since the mid-1990s." (Click here to read the full article.)

Wrapping Up 2006, continued - software

2006-12-01T13:13:00.000-05:00

Logos Bible Software has become a staple of mine in study. When they upgraded to version 3, I sprung for the Scholar's package, which while duplicating some of the resources I already had, made enough sense because of what it added.

GreatNews is my blog reader. It is free, easy to use, does not crash, has not choked on any feed that I give it, and did I mention it is free? Great program.

With the cost of storage so inexpensive, and having been bitten by not having backups of my data in the past, two programs have been useful in my own backup strategy. I have two internal hard drives in my PC - one for programs and data (divided into a couple of partitions so that data is on a different partition than my programs) and one for backup. Then I have an external backup drive as well. I use SyncbackSE, a shareware program from 2BrightSparks. They have a freeware version, but I paid for the full program and am glad that I did. When I run SyncBackSE, it notes any changes to my files and copies the newer versions to my backup drive. I use this daily. When I want to back up my main partition, which includes only my operating system and program files, I use Acronis TrueImage. Many people use Norton Ghost, but I have been using TrueImage (now in version 10) through 4 incarnations. If I try out some freeware that I don't like, it takes me 3 minutes to restore my main partition. I've also created some baseline installations of my operating system (just basic, with drivers, with programs, etc.) so that in the event of major program changes I can restore to what is essentially a fresh install of my system. A little obsessive? Maybe, but lose your data and you'll wish you had been more obsessive.

Wrap Up 2006, Continued - Some Books, Part 2

2006-11-30T09:01:00.000-05:00

Though I just began using it last week, Craig Keener's monumental commentary on Matthew is just fantastic. I am preaching on Matthew 1 and 2 for several weeks and his comments and research on the background to Matthew 1:18-25 were immeasurably helpful.

The Reformation Study Bible accompanied me many times this year to Barnes and Noble for my lunch 'n study sessions. The notes are helpful, and in the main do not ignore questions that arise in difficult passages. The RSB and a handful of photocopied articles/book chapters make quality study out of the office a lot easier.

DA Carson's New Testament Commentary Survey is a constant help in choosing books for purchase. It is now in its sixth edition.

I did not read either of these books, but listened instead to the audio versions. If you have an interest in church history, I would highly recommend The Reformation for Armchair Theologians and Calvin for Armchair Theologians. There are several other books available in this well-written, entertaining and often witty series. Up next on my iPod after Stephen Sears' book Landscape Turned Red (about the Battle of Antietam) is Luther for Armchair Theologians.

Wrap Up 2006, Continued - Some Books

2006-11-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

I've been preaching through Romans since the beginning of the year, and will finish the book sometime in March. Two superb helps in the process are the commentaries by Douglas Moo (NICOT) and Thomas Schreiner (BECNT). Both commentaries are filled with top-notch analysis, and interact with other sources, but show a spiritual depth that sometimes is lacking in exegetical studies. Moo's commentary is one of three on Romans that he has offered, and each one is of value to the pastor and teacher.

I've also appreciated The Valley of Vision, and have been sharing portions of it with our church as an introduction to our monthly observances of the Lord's Table.

I am privileged to have a, uh, special room in my office. It's small and sparsely furnished. And this has been a helpful friend. I can't discern the meaning of a Hebrew word with it, but I can make a case that Ron Santo, who played 3B for the Cubs in the 60's, should be in the Hall of Fame with no question. :-)

Beginning to Wrap Up 2006

2006-11-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

My blog-posting frequency is about one or two times per week, and as we work down through the last 5 weeks of the year, I'd like to focus my comments primarily on some things that encouraged, blessed, instructed, etc. me during the year.

Hands-down the highlight of the year was being able to attend the Together for the Gospel conference in April. There was not a weak message among the lot of them, and the conference left me with a renewed sense of commitment to "stay the course" and build my ministry around the exposition of Scripture as the primary means God uses to birth and build his people.

I am also grateful for the generosity that was displayed, shown by the fantastic selection of books that were given away to each participant.

One way in which the conference benefited our congregation is that it introduced me to some of the fine Sovereign Grace hymns which have become a regular part of the music of our congregation.

Spiritual Gifts

2006-11-21T12:35:00.000-05:00

I've been preaching for the last several weeks on the subject of spiritual gifts as I make my way through Romans 12. I appreciated the post that Tim Challies had the other week, as his thoughts paralleled mine in several ways. I think that is a good thing, at least I hope so.

I had come up with a list of four questions about spiritual gifts that I wanted to answer in the course of the series-within-a-series. The first one related to the issue of the continuation of some of the miraculous gifts. I spent a Sunday explaining both the cessationist and continuationist positions and trying to explain the cessationist view that our church has held and the basis for it.

This past week I addressed the issue of the gift of prophecy, as it appears on the list of unusual (if I can use that word) gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, and also on the list of conventional gifts in Romans 12. But what was probably of particular interest - and generally is - to most of our congregation was the discussion of how we know what gifts we have and how they are to be used. I've concluded several things that might be helpful as I've tried to sort through the biblical data on this topic.

We must not treat spiritual gifts as a novelty. Often people are interested in what gifts they have much like they are interested in finding out what type of personality they fit into. It is cool to hear where you fit, but nothing much happens after that. In reality, we will give an account for the use of our gifts, since they have an important place in the life of the church.

We should be careful about splitting hairs when it comes to identifying gifts. There are four (perhaps five) lists of gifts in the New Testament. One is found in Romans, two lists are in 1 Corinthians 12, one is in Ephesians, and then possibly one in 1 Peter. Each list is different, including some gifts that are not found on other lists, and excluding some gifts that are found on other lists. I've seen books and articles that provide very precise definitions of the different gifts, but I'm not so sure we can do that, or that we need to. First of all, many of the gifts are simply mentioned. They are not shown in action, such as might be done in a narrative portion of Scripture where we have an illustration of their use. Therefore there has to be some humble uncertainty about being too fine in our definitions. For example, can anyone make a case that there is a fundamental difference between the gift of leadership (1 Cor 12) and administration (Rom 12), or that serving (Romans 12) is different than helps (1 Cor 12)?

I've encouraged our people to think more broadly, following Peter's discussion in 1 Peter 4. There are those who are gifted in communication and there are those who gifted in hands-on types of ministries. There are certainly more than two gifts, but here is a place to begin.

Many, but not all, of the spiritual gifts have corresponding character qualities. By this I do not mean that a gift is equal to a particular character quality, but rather that some gifts may involve the ability to excel in areas all should be obedient in. In Romans 12 Paul says that some are gifted to serve. Yet he also says in Galatians 5:13 that all of us are to serve each other. He identifies a gift of exhortation, but then tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:18 & 5:11 that we are all responsible for encouraging each other (same word). There is a gift of giving (contributing), but all of us are to give. There is a gift of doing acts of mercy, but Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful,” speaking about it in a way that applies to all of his followers. How does this relate to our finding out what gifts we have? It may be that as we practice the behavior of a Christian, we discover that there are certain capacities that seem to stand out, or are areas in which we excel.

The use of spiritual gifts requires involvement in more than just Sunday morning. This is a no-brainer, but unless a person is committed to the life of the church, which means that they are in some formal or informal sub-segments of the entire congregation, their gifts will not be able to be used. Most people cannot use their gift on Sunday morning.

Rather than finding out what our gift is through a survey or course of some kind, I'm inclined to suggest to our people that they need to:

1. Believe that they have a spiritual gift (or have gifts).
2. Be committed to serving the Body as servants of God (connecting Romans 12:1-2 with 12:3-8).
3. Participate in the life of the church.
4. Pursue Christlike character.
5. Look for opportunities in which they feel that they can serve and then observe how God blesses their ministry. This includes considering the desires that God places on their hearts.

While this is no magic formula, it seems to make the discovery process subordinate to getting involved in church life and making discovery about giftedness take place in the context of community.

Remember Those in Prison

2006-11-13T15:52:00.000-05:00

It can be hard to watch television.

Do you remember the wall? The wall covered with pictures of men and women who disappeared in the span of a few moments when extremists directed two airplanes into the largest targets on the New York City skyline. There’s a picture of a man, sitting on the roof of his home. He’s lost everything but his life and the clothes on his back. There’s a picture of a child, flies buzzing around her face, looking at us through hollow, hungry eyes. Mother and father are gone, the victims of yet another military coup that brought death to streets where she once played. Here’s a woman carrying her dying child, looking in vain for food for herself and her baby, but the ground is dry, even the water is spoiled, and there is no food.

We feel helpless. So helpless. You feel so incredibly helpless that the only way to deal with the helplessness is to turn it off, turn away, try to forget.

This morning I want to show you a picture that I hope you will not forget. I hope that I will not forget. It is a hard picture to look at, but we need not feel helpless nor hopeless.

As the writer of Hebrews closes his letter, he tells his readers to pay attention to several areas of responsibility. In chapter 13, verse 3, he writes this:

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

What can we learn from this text that applies to what is going on in our world?

Christians around the world are in prison or suffer mistreatment because of their faith.

There are two special inserts in your bulletin this morning. I would like you to look at the map and note that it represents, as the title says, areas of the world where Christians are persecuted. This means that because a man, woman, boy or girl has placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, they are in harm’s way. Look for a moment at that map.

Note that those areas which are highlighted are also earth’s most densely populated. Missionaries have talked to us about the 10-40 window, that area of the world most resistant to the Gospel. If you look at the shaded areas, you’re looking at the 10-40 window. And right at this moment, in those places, we have brothers and sisters in prison and who are undergoing mistreatment for no other reason than their faith in Jesus Christ.

Of course, persecution of Christians is not new. Persecution began as soon as the excitement of Pentecost had settled down, and we can read about it in Acts 4. Paul wrote several of his letters while in prison. Many of the Apostles died as martyrs, with apparently only John dying of old age, but even he was in prison for his faith.

In addition, there is no reason to expect that persecution will stop. Jesus told his followers that the world would hate them because it hated him (John 15:18-25). Peter wrote to address the difficulties that Christians were facing in 1 Peter 4:12-19.

We need to be fair. People acting under the banner of Christianity have been guilty of persecuting people of other faiths, though in most (but not all) cases this was less a matter of theology and more a matter of power, ambition and nationalism.

Who are we talking about? Who is being persecuted? We’re talking about shopkeepers, fishermen, farmers, mothers, fathers and even children. We’re talking about pastors and church leaders – people whose “crimes” are having faith in Christ and being faithful to him. Owning portions of God’s word. Sharing their faith with others. And their punishment includes being mocked and perhaps even disowned. It could involve being excluded from the business community. It might mean the loss of property, beating, prison, torture and even death. All because of faith in Christ the Lord.

Why? What makes this happen? Simply, the Gospel is a threat. It threatens the power structures of this world because it has room for no ultimate authority other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God the Father. And people hate it.

So what do we do?

We are to remember those who are persecuted

In a first-century context, Roman law used prison as detention until punishment rather than as punishment itself; sometimes prisoners had to depend on outside allies for food.[1] To remember their brothers and sisters, then, meant providing for their sustenance, helping their families, making sure that they were fed and clothed. But we’re half-way around the world from most of our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted, so what can we do?

Before I answer that question, let me point out the reason that we need to care. The last few words of Hebrews 13:3 tell us that we are to remember these people “since you also are in the body.”

There are two ways to think about this. One way to see this is to acknowledge the fact that we are all vulnerable. And that is true. There is no guarantee that any of us will avoid persecution. So the idea is that we should realize that “there but for the grace of God go I.” But I think that misses something. I think that the best way to see this is that it is a reference to our inclusion in God’s family, as Paul has been telling us in Romans – we are all part of one body. We care because these people are our brothers and sisters. They have the same Father, they are indwelt by the same Spirit, they love the same Savior, they are fed by the same book. They are our family. How can you not care for family?

The question of course is, “What are we supposed to do?” The writer of Hebrews tells us only one thing: remember them. It is a word used only twice in the New Testament – both times in this book. It’s found also in Hebrews 2:6, where it is used in a quotation from Psalm 8, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him.” The word “mindful” and the word “remember” in Hebrews 13:3 come fro the same Greek word. It obviously means more than just “think about.”

So how do we remember? Well, you will notice that this is not the International Day of Protest for the Persecuted Church. Not that such activity is wrong. It is wholly appropriate for us to contact those in authority and urge them to act on behalf of those who are persecuted where possible. The media won’t herald their cause, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t.

I would suggest that we need to remember our brothers and sisters in two ways.

First, we need to remember their needs by making room in our lives to pray for them. If you haven’t already looked at the second insert in your bulletin, do so now. It is two sheets stapled together. This contains requests for 30 – count them, 30 – nations around the globe where Christian people are mistreated. Can you choose one country and pray for it once or twice a week? Can you take one country each day and rotate through this in a month?

What do we pray for?
· That they would be released (the church prayed that way for Peter in Acts 12)
· That they would be faithful to Christ and not deny Him.
· That where parents are in prison, especially fathers who earn the living, families will be provided for.
· That their witness will be effective.
· That the national church would grow strong. There are requests on this sheet for each of these 30 countries.

Second, we need to remember their example. It is simply time for us to wake up.

People are being put in jail and are tortured for the privilege of gathering as a spiritual family, and so many of us are quick to pass on going to church if something more entertaining or exciting comes along. That needs to stop. There may be reasons for you not to be here on a Sunday morning – and that includes staying to learn the Word of God in Sunday School – but there aren’t many good ones.

People are being mistreated because they have been found to have portions of Scripture in their possession. We have multiple Bibles and some of us never even open them up.

I could go on, but you get the point. Why are we so horribly casual with that for which others are willing to die? May God have mercy on them in their suffering, but may he also have mercy on us for our negligence.

Application

I am aware that none of us can pray for and respond to everything. But I also know that more of us can and should be involved in this. I hope that this makes us aware of what is happening in our world, and gives us a desire to join together with these our brothers and sisters and stand with them as they go through their darkness. There may come a day when they stand with us through ours.

[1]Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Heb 13:3). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

The Priesthood of All Believers, Part 2

2006-11-09T18:13:00.000-05:00

Part 2 – Offering Spiritual Sacrifices

According to what we read in 1 Peter 2, we are a community of priests offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God. What kinds of sacrifices is Peter talking about? Let’s look at four places in the New Testament where this idea appears:

Romans 12:1-2 – the offering of our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.

Philippians 4:18 – speaks about the sacrifice of giving.

Hebrews 13:15 – speaks about the sacrifice of praise.

Hebrews 13:16 – speaks about sacrifices of good deeds and sharing. And that’s where this ties in with Romans 12.

Part 3 – Spiritual Gifts and the Priesthood of All Believers

Look back at Romans 12:3-8. It is our privilege and responsibility to minister to each other’s needs according to the way that God has uniquely gifted us. As I said last week, no one is exempt. Rather, we are to acknowledge that, as part of the body, as part of the fellowship of believers, we are to see ourselves as ministers of God.

Therefore,

- We don’t need a human priest to mediate between God and us the work of Christ, our great High Priest, gives us access to God (Hebrews 10:19-22).

- We don’t need a priest to interpret the Bible to us. John writes in 1 John 2:27 – “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you.” That does not invalidate the need for pastors and teachers and elders who teach and guard the flock. God has gifted people to teach His Word. Nor does it mean that each person can decide for himself or herself what the Bible is saying (as if it means different things to different people). What it does mean is that you as a Christian person are capable of understanding truth because God’s Spirit lives in you and teaches you.

- We don’t need a priest to do the work of ministry. That is assigned to all of us. The gifts belong to the body, not a super-spiritual subset of the body. Some of us function vocationally in ministry responsibilities, but all we are all ministers. That means that while it is appropriate for pastors and elders to visit the sick and care for people’s needs, any of you can perform the same spiritual function. My prayers are no more or less effective than your prayers. Many of you are just as capable if not more so of providing counsel and direction. That’s why Paul says later in Romans (15:14) that “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.” That word instruct means warn, admonish, exhort, counsel.

Catch this too – when the writer of Hebrews tells us that we have full and complete access to God on our own, he tells us to do two things. Look at Hebrews 10:23-25:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Ministry. Believers helping other believers grow toward godliness.

Responding to God’s Word – Your Place in the Priesthood of All Believers

What is the best way to respond to what God says in his Word about our status as priests and ministers to each other?

One response would be gratitude. This is a doctrine that people died for.[1] I am not saying this to inspire guilt or pity, as our parents may have done when they got us to eat our vegetables by reminding us of all of the starving children in the world. But certainly those who died to provide us with the heritage that we have cannot be treated with indifference.

Another response would be prayer. Prayer for what? Prayer that the church would be the church. We should pray that what Paul says about God’s intent for the church would be a reality.

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16, ESV)

[1]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1988). Be what you are : 12 intriguing pictures of the Christian from the New Testament (67). Wheaton IL: Tyndale House. “The priesthood of the believer is a precious article of the Christian faith, the defense of which has cost many a life.”

If You Want Some Insight as to How the Culture Views Christianity (and some other unrelated stuff).

2006-11-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

I read this last night before the election results were in. This forum was open to anyone, regardless of political persuasion. I find it telling. Do you?

I'm connecting this in my mind to Phil Johnson's dead-center, right-on-the-money, hit-the bullseye comments from last week.

Here's a good article on preaching the longer books, especially in the OT.

These two posts are helpful with regard to our devotional reading of the Bible. Old Truth warns against reading one Bible verse. Dan Phillips talks about having devotions from Leviticus.

Rick Phillips reflects on Scot McKnight's recent lecture at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia on the Emerging Church.

The Priesthood of All Believers

2006-11-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

At the heart of the Protestant Reformation was a commitment to five key beliefs. We took several weeks last year to look at these doctrines, which are summarized by five Latin phrases:

Sola fide – by faith alone!
Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone!
Solus Christus – Christ alone!
Sola Gratia – through grace alone!
Soli Deo Gloria – for the glory of God alone!

The issues surrounding the Reformation were not just about the beliefs of the church – though that was the foundation. They were also about the practices of the church. These were also held up to the scrutiny of Scripture and found wanting.

As it became clear that Rome would not be changed, the Lutheran and later the Reformed movements began to wrestle with questions relating to the Church. The Roman Church service was organized around the Mass. The Protestant churches sought to root their understanding of “doing church” in the example of the New Testament. Church services began to be teaching times, and in addition Luther emphasized the inclusion congregational singing, believing that, as one writer says, “the vigorous singing of simple hymns could open the hearts and minds of God’s people to embrace the Word of God.”[1]

It would now be good for us to read two passages. The first is in 1 Peter 2:4-10. The second is just a few pages away, in Revelation 5:1-10.

Central to the changes that took place in what the church did when it gathered was a recapturing of biblical ideas about what the church was. It was out of the reformers’ understanding of passages such as the two we have just read that a concept known as the priesthood of all believers was taught. And this – like the five “sola” statements we looked at last year, was a radical departure from what Rome had been teaching.

The Priesthood in the Roman Church & The Protestant Response

The Roman church taught that there was a difference in status between those who were part of the church hierarchy and the common person. The priest stood between the people and God, acting as a mediator. He performed the Mass. He acted as confessor. He could proclaim pardon for sin. But Luther protested on the basis of Scripture:

“It has been devised, that the Pope, bishops, priests and monks are called the Spiritual Estate; princes, lords, artificers and peasants, are the Temporal Estate; which is a very fine, hypocritical device. But let no one be made afraid of it; and that for this reason: That all Christians are truly of the Spiritual Estate, and there is no difference among them, save of office alone. As St. Paul says (1 Cor. Xii), we are all one body, though each member does its own work, to serve the others.” [2]

Luther went on to say that all Christians are consecrated as priests, and this on the basis of what Peter and John had written in the passages we read earlier.

You can’t imagine how radical this was! And it still remains radical to the mind of the traditional Roman Catholic.[3]

The Implication of the Doctrine of the Priesthood of all Believers

Part 1 – What the Reformers Intended

I need to clarify a few things. Luther’s protest against the division between church hierarchy and the layperson was not intended to introduce a spirit of individualism. In an article on the Priesthood of All Believers, Dr. Timothy George quotes Lutheran Scholar Paul Althaus:

“Luther never understands the priesthood of all believers merely in the sense of the Christian's freedom to stand in a direct relationship to God without a human mediator. Rather he constantly emphasizes the Christian's evangelical authority to come before God on behalf of the brethren and also of the world. The universal priesthood expresses not religious individualism but its exact opposite, the reality of the congregation as a community.”

He then comments as follows:

Of course, Luther did believe that all Christians had direct access to God without recourse to "the tin gods and buffoons of this world, the pope with his priests." But for Luther the Priesthood of all believers did not mean, "I am my own Priest." It meant rather: in the community of saints, God has so tempered the body that we are all priests to each other. We stand before God and intercede for one another, we proclaim God's Word to one another and celebrate His presence among us in worship, praise and fellowship. Moreover, our priestly ministry does not terminate upon ourselves. It propels us into the world in service and witness. It constrains us to "show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (I Pet. 2:9).[4]

Luther saw from Scripture that the church was a community, and that while there are those who have specific responsibilities for teaching and oversight of the church, everyone who is truly a believer has a share in the work of the church. I like the way John Piper talks about this:

“The main thing here is that we as a church are meant by Christ to be a corporate dwelling of God in the Spirit. It's true that each of us is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). But there is more of God to be known and enjoyed than any one can know in isolation. We are being fitted together, Paul says, for a temple and for a dwelling of God by his Spirit. There is a presence and power and manifestation of the Spirit of God meant to be known in this gathering of worship that we do not know at any other time in isolation.

“We are not just isolated living stones. We are, verse 5 says, being built (by Christ—"I will build my church") as a spiritual house. The stones are meant to so fit together in this house called Bethlehem that something whole, something more than a collection of individuals comes into being—a temple, a dwelling of God by his Spirit.

“And O how jealous I am to see that happen more than it ever has.”[5]

I echo that feeling. How much good we could do, how much stronger we would be, how much more God would be glorified if all of us recognized our God-given responsibility to function as priests offering sacrifices to God.

(To be continued)

[1] http://www.thirdmill.org/newfiles/joh_barber/PT.joh_barber.Luther.Calvin.Music.Worship.pdf. Quotation is taken from page 2.
[2] Found quoted in numerous places on the Internet, from the opening paragraphs of Luther’s To the Christian Nobility.
[3] http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Eucharist/Eucharist_022.htm. This article or sermon identifies Luther’s ideas as heresy.
[4]http://www.founders.org/FJ03/article1_fr.html. Source for the quotation from Paul Althaus is found there as well.
[5]http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1994/865_Becoming_a_Spiritual_House_and_Holy_Priesthood

Reformation Day 2006

2006-10-31T10:40:00.000-05:00

Last year I presented a six-part series on the key doctrines of the Reformation. It is not always easy to measure the effectiveness of a sermon or sermon series (and you hate people telling you, "That was such a nice sermon!"), but as near as I could tell, it was both edifying and educational, which was what I hoped for.

I have spent my life in non-denominational churches, and one of the flaws of being an independent church or coming from an independent church background is that it can create a sense of independence on a variety of levels, one of which is a sense of independence from Christian history. I suspect that most Christians have an awareness of the early church that comes from the study of Acts and the NT epistles. But any sense of history ends there. As a result, "our" way of doing things is the only way of doing things right. "Our" kind of music is representative of how music ought to be done in Church.

My teaching through the five Solas of the Reformation last year made me realize several things afresh, and these have continued to motivate my ministry this year.

The doctrinal issues that the Reformers fought for remain the main issues theologically and are at the root of a lot of practical issues that the church continues to face nearly 500 years later.
Our people need to understand the significance of the things we believe. What does it mean, for example, to not believe in justification by faith alone? What are the implications of rejecting Sola Scriptura? I think it is easy for a layperson to assume that these things are often trivialities that have no bearing on "real life" but that theologians and scholars bandy about. Not so!
Our people, especially those who were raised in an "salvation by grace through faith shown by a raised hand and then coming forward" environment need to hear these doctrines taught and taught and re-taught. And we don't need to go outside of the realm of regular systematic exposition of Scripture to cover them. They fill the pages of the New Testament letters.
That teaching doctrine does in fact relate to life. The division between "doctrinal" and "practical" is artificial, misleading, thoughtless and . . . irrelevant.

I have deliberately exposed our people to more church history in the last year and plan to do so as an ongoing part of pastoral ministry. Who can listen to John Piper's sermon/lecture on William Tyndale and not be moved? Who can hear that believers were put to death for teaching their children to pray the Lord's Prayer in English - and not come to the conclusion that holy things have become too common for us and that we take for granted the rich privileges we have, even for things so simple as owning our own copy (in reality copies) of the Bible?

The Reformers were not perfect people, but that is not the point. We owe much to them, and much of what they worked for has been so watered down in our day that it needs to be regularly reviewed and taught afresh.

It is the clarity of the Gospel and its implications that will secure the church, not methods, visuals, skits, or attempts to be culturally relevant (while lacking clear biblical conviction). So to Martin, John, and the rest of you faithful men, here is one 21st century pastor's thanks. And thank you, Lord, for your grace which was shown to them, and through them to us.

Unnecessary Creativity

2006-10-18T12:38:00.000-04:00

Maybe I'm just grumpy . . .

I received an email promotional (which means advertising) for a series of about a dozen video clips that can be played 2 minutes before the worship service starts to let people know that the service is, in fact, about to begin. They feature biblically focused, Christ-exalting, heart preparing activities such as ninja fighting, hamburger eating, etc. I wonder if after they get shown the Pastor of Comedy comes out to warm up the crowd a bit more.

I'm teaching on Romans 12:6-8 this week, and as I am considering spiritual gifts, someone sent me a copy of a church bulletin advertising someone who has a Gospel Trick Pool Shot ministry. I'm glad that I was able to learn about that before I confined myself to the somewhat drab list of gifts in the New Testament. I know, I know: all things to all men. Got it.

Tim Challies asked the other week for a definition of discernment. I don't have one to contribute, but I can pretty safely say that the exercise of such a quality might preclude using these kinds of things that get pushed at us.

But then I am thankful . . .

Sovereign Grace recently put out a CD of songs based on the Valley of Vision book of Puritan prayers and meditations. We have no record of the puritans having partaken of trick pool shots or comedy warm-ups, but they nevertheless appear to have been deeply spiritual and pretty effective. I would highly recommend the CD, available via Sovereign Grace or downloadable via iTunes. This is not so much news as a recommendation. It is both God-honoring and pleasant to listen to.

Influential Books

2006-10-11T19:41:00.000-04:00

Christianity Today has a list of the 50 most influential books in the last 50 years on their website. Several bloggers have commented pro and con on the selection of titles.

During the early 1970's I worked in a large Christian bookstore that my church ran. What made it unusual then (and I think the standard holds true today) is that while they serviced the entire area, they carried only those books that fit the doctrinal beliefs of the church. They would order anything that was published by an evangelical publisher, but would only stock those books that fit the church doctrinal statement.

Based on that time and seeing what people were reading, I'd suggest a few other titles for the list as well. I'm not necessarily recommending any of them, but as I recall they shaped Evangelicalism in the 1970's in particular.

Harold Lindsell's The Battle for the Bible was a defense of biblical inerrancy.

Ray Stedman's Body Life was the book that unleashed a new understanding of how Christians should view their role in the local church, and created an interest in discovering and using spiritual gifts.

Jay Adams' Competent to Counsel was an effort to restore biblical counseling and exhortation to pastors and church leaders. Adams was wrongly chided for being simplistic and harsh, blaming everything on sin. But there is a whole movement that followed in his steps and refined his ideas.

Merlin Carothers' book Prison to Praise was a huge influence on the Charismatic Movement in the early 1970's. We (the bookstore I worked in) did not carry it, but we did tons of special orders for people who wanted it. I'm not charismatic, nor did I appreciate the way people who were charismatic felt the need to try to infiltrate non-charismatic churches at that time, but the book was nevertheless highly influential.

The Living Bible made CT's list, and it certainly made its mark. But surely any list that includes translations should include the New International Version. The NIV became almost THE standard text to preach from and was the foundation for numerous reference sources, both academic and popular in nature. The New American Standard Bible, while not enjoying the popularity of the NIV, was released at somewhat the same time and provided people with a choice other than the KJV and the RSV (which did not enjoy favor with American evangelicals).

Growing up in an independent church culture, I would have to suggest 1967's New Scofield Reference Bible as one of those books that shaped my part of the evangelical world. The New Scofield included updated notes, plus some changes in the wording of the KJV text. Most dispenationalists loved it, some KJV-only types saw it as a perversion of the truth. Regardless of your theological slant, the NSRB was THE study Bible until they began putting one out for every segment of society.

What books are influential depends on a lot of factors. These were books that shaped the evangelical world during a time of great change.

Luther and Preaching

2006-10-09T13:49:00.000-04:00

I was listening to John Piper's talk on Martin Luther last night as I was going to bed. I was deeply impressed by Luther's prayer, and felt that it often reflects the need I feel as I prepare to preach:

Piper writes about Luther that: He was driven by a passion for the exaltation of God in the Word. In one of his prayers he says, "Dear Lord God, I want to preach so that you are glorified. I want to speak of you, praise you, praise your name. Although I probably cannot make it turn out well, won't you make it turn out well?"

This lecture is available at www.desiringgod.org as in both print and as an mp3 download. I have several of Piper's biographical talks on que for the next week or so.

News, Links and Resources

2006-09-27T16:43:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the people who commented on the previous post. I appreciate their insight.

I've caught up with a few good articles, resources and books over the last few weeks. Here are a few worth looking at:

Led By the Spirit, by Jim Elliff, is a brief but very helpful booklet on how to discern the will of God. It is available via the publisher (www.joshuapress.com or via Amazon.)

A great article by John Piper on the will of God can be found here. Also, Dr. Piper had a recent article on the Pope Benedict remarks about Islam here.

An excellent online Bible program from the makers of the NET Bible is worth bookmarking.

Young, Restless, Reformed looks at the resurgence of Reformed Theology, and at conferences such as the Together for the Gospel conference that was held in April.

Do you do any research writing? Check out Ottobib - an online bibliography formatter.

The Missions Atlas Project has a great interactive site that might be helpful to those of you who do work with your church missions program. Thanks to Ron Smith, our Student Pastor, for pointing this out to me.

I was asked to point out a link to a site that provides information on retreats for Pastors. Maybe someone will find the opportunity to take some time aside from the demands of ministry.

Commentaries, Quotations and Sermon Preparation

2006-09-20T18:58:00.000-04:00

I've been around computers long enough to remember paying $450 for a hard drive that would hold a whopping 50 megabytes of data. That's right. 50 megabytes. That hard drive ran WordPerfect, a database program, a spreadsheet and a few utilities on an MS-Dos (non-graphical) operating system. Plus it held the various data files that I created with those programs. I was thinking about the small capacity and huge financial outlay for that initial hard disk drive this afternoon when I picked up a 1 gigabyte memory stick for $16. Times have changed.

Many pastors and Bible students use an electronic library and/or the internet for their study. I have, over the last decade, accumulated a pretty substantial collection of books to use with my Logos Bible software. In fact, I've been able to purchase a few sets that have enabled me to pack up the hardbound editions and get them ready to be sent to pastors who lost their libraries in the hurricane last fall. Some may debate the wisdom of parting with a paper copy, and to be honest, the more empty spaces on the bookcases in my office are kind of hard to see, but it was hard to hang on to both paper and electronic versions of the same book when there are guys who are doing without. Plus, if the Communists ever do invade, I probably would be better of grabbing my laptop than trying to stuff a few choice volumes in a backpack as I ran for the hills.

But the fact remains that Bible study is done with both electronic and print resources. And I'm wondering what system or process other pastors use to pull info out of print-and-paper books. I am preaching from Romans still, and have 10-12 commentaries on Romans in print, plus several others in electronic format. Pulling a quote from an electronic resource is a piece of cake, but I'm wondering how other guys treat their printed resources. It is easy to underline, but of course, you need to be able to remember what you underlined. Do you type out or write out info that you find in a commentary or other reference? How do you keep track of information you've found so that you can go back and use it (directly or indirectly) in your sermon prep? I have a method, but I'm finding it kind of tedious.

Any suggestions?

Back at It

2006-09-09T10:14:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. Part of that time was spent at the New Jersey shore with my wife, my daughter and son-in-law and their two kids, who are the cutest grandchildren in the world. And then the inevitable return-to-action from a week off.

I began a series on Romans in the winter of 2005, and then what was a brief time-out from the book after chapter 5 turned into the full summer and fall. I picked up the series again in January, and had planned to finish Romans by Christmas this year. While I was away I spent a good amount of time in Romans 12, and it appears that we'll finish Romans 12 by Christmas. It is hard to apologize for walking so slowly through this great chapter when each phrase begs for explanation and application.

- - -

I'm glad to see Jon Trainer back at it at Personal Trainer. I find Jon a good source for links and info, and read his site often. Jon took a break from blogging because of some carpal tunnel issues. He's a good guy and has lots to contribute.

Is there any more perversely enjoyable way to end the week than Purgatorio's Divine Vinyl that appears each Friday? I just can't get enough of this stuff.

The League of Reformed Bloggers has been updated. David Wayne at JollyBlogger keeps this list, and it can be found here. I haven't (just can't) read each of the blogs, but for those who are reformed in theology, it is a good base for both theological and practical material.

I think I owe Milton Stanley a tip of the cap for pointing to this series on Gospel Centered Congregational Worship. Good stuff!

D.A. Carson and Tremper Longman have their respective commentary surveys coming out in new editions. I find them invaluable.

Dead-center right-on hit-the-nail-on-the-head article by Dan Phillips on the issue of inerrancy. Those of us who are 40+ have seen what Philips is talking about actually happen.

The Shepherd's Fellowship (John MacArthur) has put their Pulpit Magazine and blog online for all to see.

A blog I recently discovered is one called The Shepherd's Scrapbook. Tony Reinke is in the middle of a series on studying the Puritans.

Good Reading

2006-08-05T09:58:00.000-04:00

Here are a few links that I've marked that are worth passing on:

Tim Challies wrote a superb article entitled What It Means to Be Reformed, and followed it up two days later with a fine article entitled Credo.

Mark Dever wrote a piece on questioning professions of faith. What, you mean "I prayed a prayer" isn't sufficient??

Always helpful, Milton Stanley provides a link to an article on using Scripture more in worship. Milton's site is a fine source of good writing and thinking.

My problem with things Emergent is that it seems too similar to old liberalism in new clothes. Phil Johnson has some worthwhile insights.

Full Circle

2006-07-29T11:37:00.000-04:00

I had blogged on June 21 about a lesson that I was learning. It came full circle this week, as the man I had written about has trusted Christ as his Savior. We've had good discussions about the Gospel, justification by faith compared to his previous catholic checklist system, and other biblical themes. He's been devouring Romans (with some help from Douglas Moo's excellent Encountering the Book of Romans . I actually shared with him yesterday what God had taught me about trusting in Him through the last month in regard to this issue.

I had a great time preaching through Romans 9 last week. It is a hard chapter, and the fact that we are an independent (non-denominational) church means that we have no "party line" in the area of Reformed theology. Some agree, some disagree, hopefully all found themselves appreciative of God's immeasurable goodness to us in Christ.

I had linked to a couple of sites a few months ago that provided good quality, free pictures for use in Powerpoint. Here's another one that I found. I thought it was pretty impressive and seems to have a good store of photos.

I finished what I felt was a helpful series on The Da Vinci code challenges. While the impact of the movie was overhyped, I was glad for the opportunity to discuss some theology and church history with our adults.

Among the many superb giveaways at the Together for the Gospel conference was a DVD by John Piper on William Tyndale. Available for $7, this 80 minute lecture was superb. We showed it over two weeks to our adults in Sunday School to a good response. In the last 9 months I've tried to expose our people to some significant areas of church history (a series on the Reformation themes, etc.) and as one older saint told me, "We've never heard some of this before." That is both tragic and encouraging! I'd highly recommend the DVD. The printed copy of the lecture (apparently abridged in some ways) is available free.

A Minister's Preaching

2006-07-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

From The Valley of Vision, Banner of Truth, page 191:

A Minister’s Preaching

My Master God,
I am desired to preach today,
but go weak and needy to my task;
Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth,
that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,
with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertaining to my subject,
with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,
proper expressions, fluency, fervency,
a feeling sense of the things I preach,
and grace to apply them to men’s consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects,
and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.
Help me to offer a testimony for thyself,
and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people,
and set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached.
and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted,
and help me to use the strongest arguments
drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings,
that men might be made holy.

I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness,
that I might be a pure channel of thy grace,
and be able to do something for thee;
Give me then refreshment among thy people,
and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way,
or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer,
or be harsh in treating of Christ’s death, its design and end,
from lack of warmth and fervency.
And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.

A Minister's Prayer

2006-07-03T11:14:00.000-04:00

I read this yesterday in The Valley of Vision, published by the Banner of Truth Trust. I hope it will encourage you.

A Minister’s Prayer

O my Lord,
Let not my ministry be approved only by men,
or merely win the esteem and affections of people;
But do the work of grace in their hearts,
call in thy elect,
seal and edify the regenerate ones,
and command eternal blessings on their souls.
Save me from self-opinion and self-seeking;
Water the hearts of those who hear thy Word.
that seed sown in weakness may be raised in power;
Cause me and those that hear me
to behold thee here in the light of special faith,
and hereafter in the blaze of endless glory;
Make every sermon a means of grace to myself,
and help me to experience the power of thy dying love,
for thy blood is balm,
thy presence bliss,
thy smile heaven,
thy cross the place where truth and mercy meet.
Look upon the doubts and discouragement of my ministry
and keep me from self-importance;
I beg pardon for my man sins, omissions, infirmities,
as a man, as a minister;
Command thy blessing on my weak, unworthy labors,
and on the message of salvation given;
Stay with thy people,
and may thy presence be their portion and mine.
When I preach to others, let not my words be merely elegant and
masterly,
my reasoning polished and refined,
my performance powerless and tasteless,
but may I exalt thee and humble sinners.
O Lord of power and grace,
all hearts are in thy hands, all events at thy disposal,
set the seal of thy almighty will upon my ministry.

I Stand Rebuked - Gratefully

2006-06-21T19:05:00.000-04:00

I've done enough funeral services and weddings over the years to know that the Gospel is most often met with a yawn and polite indifference than glad acceptance. Being told that you are sinful, that you stand in a place of impending judgment before a holy God, and that nothing you can do in-and-of yourself makes a bit of difference does not go down well. I'm sure that is what has led to the efforts by some to repackage the message in less offensive ways. But the reality is that even when the cold, hard facts are presented with sweetness (and they should always be presented with love and grace) they are still cold, hard facts. And most of the world ain't buying.

Praying for the sermon I am going to be delivering is a regular part of my prayer life. I regularly remind myself that no matter how gripping my introduction, no matter how insightful my thoughts, and no matter how convincing my argument, it all falls apart without the work of the Spirit. And I gladly admit that - I don't want to be responsible for trying to change the hearts and minds of people. Certainly I play a part - as is true of any pastor and teacher - but God's work through His Word is what ultimately makes the difference.

Typically on Sunday mornings I take some moments before the service and again before the sermon to confess my own inadequacy and ask God for His empowering. But this past week I found myself being a bit faithless, and the lesson learned is worth sharing.

A younger couple visited us on Sunday morning for the first time. I was on my way to the front of the auditorium immediately before the service began and greeted them. The husband told me that they were looking for a church and had heard good things about ours. Afterwards, I saw them talking to a family in our church and came to find out that one of our teenage girls had extended an invitation to attend to this man, who was one of her high school teachers. (Bravo for her, by the way!)

I preached from Romans 8:18-25 on Sunday: Future Glory and Present Pain. I explained the Gospel, talked about our future resurrection, spoke about heaven, and felt that from my standpoint I had done a decent job of explaining and applying the text. But as I saw this couple leaving, I thought to myself that they probably wouldn't be coming back. I saw nothing in our service or in my sermon that would be attractive to people who, if they typical middle-class unchurched folks, were probably looking for more than biblical exposition.

For some reason this stayed with me and on Monday morning I felt a sense of rebuke. I was making an assumption not only about these people, but about the power of God to minister to them. We do have people who visit us and it is clear sometimes from their reactions that we're "not for them" (by their standards). But that's not a guarantee. While the road is narrow and there are few that find it, there are still those few, and in my quick response I had dismissed the very thing for which I pray each week.

It was a good reminder to me, and I determined that no matter what the outward response was, I still needed to trust in God's power. But my lesson-learning was not complete.

On Tuesday morning the man who had visited called our office and asked if he could stop by and pick up a copy of the book we had given out for Father's Day (Jerry Bridges' Transforming Grace). Marilyn, our secretary, told me about the call. I was somewhat surprised, as I had offered him a book at the end of the service and he had declined. He would be coming by at a time when I was out for a lunch appointment, but I was grateful that he was coming by.

When I returned from lunch, Marilyn told me that not only had he stopped by to get the book, but he was extremely positive and almost excited about the service, and in particular the fact that I taught from the Bible for 35 minutes. He gave Marilyn his name and address (I wrote him a letter thanking him for his visit and sharing some information about our church) and made it quite clear that he intended to come back.

So take that, Peter.

The passage I'll preach from this week includes that great chain of salvation's process, beginning with being foreknown and ending with being glorified. I'm praying that this couple comes to know Christ as their Savior. If God should have us be a part in that, I hope I get to baptize them. I might tell them - and our church - the lesson I learned about a sovereign God who, without telling me first, works in the hearts of people.

The application goes beyond just visitors and lost people, though. The same thing is true as we minister to our flock. Change and growth are invisible in the short-term. Only God knows what is going on inside the hearts of people when we preach. So let's continue to do our job of study and preparation, and let's continue to confess our own inability to change people. But let's remember that God has promised to honor His word. That came home very vividly to me despite my unbelief.

Monday Discoveries on Friday

2006-06-09T08:14:00.000-04:00

Except it is Friday. Grrr to Blogger. I had a post with a pile of links and tried to "publish post" the other day and was given an error message. Nothing could be recovered. Oh well.

Do you use Powerpoint in your preaching and/or teaching? Indezine will give you about 300 free templates for your use, and Stock.xchng will give you free pictures to use as backgrounds. I use and recommend both. If you want to pay $99 per year, there are some excellent powerpoint templates at PresentationPro. Imagebank is another free photo source.

Monergism.com has links to a series of Adobe pdf sermons on Romans by Presbyterian pastor Tom Browning. You can also find mp3's of the sermons there too.

Check out the New Testament Hyperconcordance.

Recommended books for pastors? Check here. Make sure you read the article "Why Pastors Need Church History."

I love my iPod (a gracious gift from my brother). In addition to a multitude of music and an avalanche of audiobooks, I have a plethora of preaching. Old Truth has a post on How to Buy and Reform your MP3 Player. 9Marks interviews are all availablef for free download.

Speaking of 9Marks, founder Mark Dever had a superb post on the importance of gender roles at the TogetherfortheGospel blog.

Superblogger Tim Challies has a good post on reading that would be worth looking at. So many books and so little time. Tim's article will be helpful.

Love the guys at Fide-O. Here's one about expository preaching and the contention that it is harmful. Hello? Thanks for barking, guys!

Here's a problem that is becoming more and more prevalent. I was joking with our Associate Pastor, Ron Smith, the other day about going back to the old legalistic approach that if you don't come to church, you can't go to heaven.

Brad Hightower at 21st Century Reformation has a nice article on Discipleship.

Want to be encouraged? Read the article, Backdraft Preaching. I emailed this to the author: If I read nothing but "I feel like charred wood on cold ashes. But I don't worry about it. I know God will open the doors again, let the wind rush in", I would have been encouraged. I hope the same is true for you. Thanks to my friend Pastor Glenn Jago for the recommendation.

Wednesday Stuff: T4G

2006-05-31T08:52:00.000-04:00

I would like to say I am somewhat amazed at the controversy this statement has caused. I was particularly struck by the words of David Warnock in his post in which he takes issue with the statement:

But it reinforces my views about how inappropriate the whole statement is. You cannot redefine the gospel to be the things that four friends agree on, ignoring the areas where you disagree and then tell everyone else that these things are now foundational requirements to be faithful to the gospel. This starts to move in the direction of the heresy of changing the canon, of deciding that the Bible should not include certain books because you can't agree on them.

I doubt seriously if the T4G folks seriously intended to write a new doctrinal statement for Christians. What it seems to be instead is to do what the conference itself did - issue a call back to the foundations on which historical, orthodox Christianity has stood for centuries. Personally, I rejoiced to read it. Reading my posts of two weeks ago will indicate why. The T4G statement focuses largely on doctrinal and practical issues that have been attacked or compromised in our day. By the response at the conference, there were 2800 church leaders who were glad to see it, and I suspect thousands more who are weary of the shifting doctrinal sands that exist within "evangelicalism" today.

I agree wholeheartedly with Adrian Warnock (no relation to David, if I am not mistaken), who wrote:

What keeps the gospel safe? I would argue two things predominantly- firstly an appropriate humble attitude to the bible itself, and secondly the presence within the church of men like Mahaney, Dever, Mohler and Duncan and many others today who preserve the apostolic foundation of doctrine through their teaching and direction of their own churches and those in relationship with them.

It would be of value to note Mark Dever's posting on today's T4G blog on the issue of complementarianism. While taking on a tough issue, he nevertheless (and I think correctly) identifies the problems that this generation faces.

- - -

Why address the DaVinci Code? It appears that once again the Christian media has jumped all over the bandwagon. Books, videos, study materials are appearing almost daily. But this time I think there is good reason.

I'm not so much interested in countering the claims of a novel. That serves no good purpose. Rather I feel it is an opportunity to teach our people some things that they might not know. I saw a video clip by Josh McDowell in which he said that the issues of the DaVinci Code are not answerable by Scripture, but by Church history. I am sure he did not mean that in the absolute sense. But I think he is right in the main. So taking the time to teach our people about things such as the formation of the canon, the Council of Nicea and Gnosticism can have a productive, faith-building/affirming result.

I was thinking of doing a parody called the Kinkade Code, but someone beat me to it (thanks to Tim Challies for the heads up).

- - -

One of the benefits I received from the T4G conference was being introduced to some wonderful cross-centered hymns. I had not heard The Gospel Song, I Will Glory in My Redeemer, or How Deep the Father's Love for Us. We've already introduced one of them to our people, and will introduce I Will Glory in My Redeemer this week, Lord willing.

The Evangelical Identity, Part 4

2006-05-16T19:04:00.000-04:00

I would assert that there is a new liberalism that has invaded the traditional, historic, orthodox Christian faith. Like its predecessor a century go, it wants to be considered Christian even while denying or redefining the very essentials of that faith. And that cannot be allowed to happen.

There is no question that the split between theological liberals and conservatives in the early 1900’s led to some excess. We’re all familiar with those who have taken separation – and the basis for it – to excessive extremes. But the church I am part of – and I suspect the churches that many are a part of – were birthed out of a desire to remain faithful to orthodoxy and have done so without being, well, nutty. So it can be done. How it can be done, I’m not sure. But I look back eight years ago and see that men from diverse backgrounds drew their lines in the sand and God prospered the movement. Like the true Church, without a visible hierarchy, evangelicalism was able to be self-policing.

There are no doubt those who want to keep the evangelical pool very broad. It is evident that those who have denied belief in the essentials of the Christian faith, either explicitly or by redefinition, still consider themselves to be evangelicals. But they are not. Those men and women who fought the influx of liberalism in their denominations, churches and schools would not consider that departures from what the church has commonly regarded as orthodoxy should be tolerated. So why should I?

How judgmental! And how can one obscure pastor with a Bible college education dare to decide who is and is not evangelical? What give me the “right” to do that? Who do I think I am?

I am a shepherd charged with guarding my sheep. So I’ll do that in my own little corner. And my prayer is that there will be many, many, many more pastors who will recognize the problem and be willing to say, “This is an error. It is outside of the bounds of historic, orthodox Christian faith.” Brother pastors, we must do this, for the sake of the Gospel.

I began writing this because of some negative remarks I read about the Together for the Gospel Statement. Personally, I applaud it. I hope that it is a rallying point for those who want to be faithful to the Scriptures and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I like what Ligon Duncan wrote shortly after the conference had concluded:

What do we want to see come out of this extraordinary international gathering of (predominantly young) pastors and churchmen?

We want to see a strong coalition of Bible-saturated, truth-driven, God-entranced, prayer-soaked, aggressively evangelistic, Christ-treasuring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-filled, sovereign grace-loving, missions-advancing, hell-robbing, strong-thinking, real-need-exposing, soul-winning, mind-engaging, vagueness-rejecting, wartime-life-style-pursuing, risk-taking, justice-advancing, Scripture-expounding, cross-cherishing, homosexuality-opposing, abortion-denouncing, racism-resisting, heaven-desiring, imputation-of-an-alien righteousness-proclaiming, justification-by-faith-alone-apart-from-doing preaching, error-exposing, complementarian, joyful, humble, courageous, happy pastors working together for the Gospel. (thanks to John Piper for much of this language)

And we want to see them leading a strong coalition of evangelical churches who, while they hold as faithfully and biblically as they know how to certain doctrinal distinctives not shared by all other biblical evangelical churches, band together for the Gospel on a robustly doctrinal, historic, orthodox, reformational, world-opposing-while-at-the-same-time-world-loving, Bible-preaching, Scriptural-theology-inculcating, real-conversion-prizing, deep biblical evangelism-practicing, New Testament church-membership-implementing, church-discipline-applying, healthy and growing Disciple-making, biblically led basis – for the display of God’s glory in the churches.

The Evangelical Identity, Part 3

2006-05-11T08:26:00.000-04:00

There have always been differences of opinion among evangelicals about doctrine. Churches tend to be gathered around their viewpoints on what I call "the major minors": issues of doctrine that tend to be distinctives of a particular group or church. Among those are mode of baptism, millennial issues, and spiritual gifts. These kinds of doctrinal differences had nothing to do with the essence of Christianity. Believers with different persuasions on these issues still had the fundamental doctrines of Christianity in common.

But not today.

Consider:

We have an ongoing discussion about the nature of Scripture, including lines like "we need to be careful not to elevate the [printed] word above the [living] Word." If you have any familiarity with the liberal-fundamentalist debates of the early 1900's, that sounds like, as Yogi Berra is alleged to have said, "Deja vu all over again."
There is a growing acceptance of the idea that salvation can be found apart from personal faith in Christ. The subtle, deadly form of this argument is that while there is no salvation outside of Christ, a person need not embrace Christianity to be redeemed. The more "pop" expression is found in the TD Jakes quote that was floated this week.
N.T. Wright, whose views on justification depart from what the church has understood for centuries, recently had no problems embracing a brother scholar who denied the bodily resurrection of Christ.
Mark Dever wrote an excellent piece in Christianity Today about the atonement. Because he wanted to help all of evangelicalism to defend this crucial doctrine against liberal rejection? No! Because, as the lead-in line for the CT article says, "More and more evangelicals believe Christ's atoning death is merely a grotesque creation of the medieval imagination." Dever [correctly] says that "At stake is nothing less than the essence of Christianity."

I could go on. In fact, I could go on for quite awhile.

Sounds a lot different than debating over baptism or when Jesus is coming back, doesn't it?

I'm writing this in very small chunks. I'll finish up with some comments about what I think needs to be happening in light of these serious, crucial denials of the heart of the Christian faith by those who still consider themselves to not only be Christians, but evangelical Christians.

T4G Book Give-aways That the Committee Rejected

2006-05-10T07:32:00.000-04:00

1. Rappin' the 'Fess - the Westminster Confession in Street Verse by the Duncan Boyz
2. Fun Ways to Tie a Tie by CJ Mahaney
3. The John Piper Encyclopedia of Jokes for Preachers.
4. Justification for Kids - featuring RC Sproul and Larry the Cucumber.
5. Holy Honking Noses: Using A Clown Ministry to Grow Your Church by the 9Marks Staff
6. Father of Blogging by Tim Challies

------

On a more serious note, Tim Challies linked to a sermon on the DaVinci Code by Al Mohler that was given at Covenant Life Church in MD. Everyone and their grandmother is getting in on the act with responding to the DaVinci code. I am sure that some resources will be better than others. But DR. Mohler's sermon would be a good resource for someone who might not read a book.

Thanks to Carolyn McCully for posting the link to the sermon. Carolyn's blog has some great stuff.

The Evangelical Identity, Part 2

2006-05-08T14:19:00.000-04:00

In the first part of this series, I wrote about how there was, as recently as forty years ago, a general consensus about what was and was not evangelical doctrine. I don’t believe that such a consensus exists today. We are certainly moving away from such a consensus.

Before I go on, I need to speak to the issue of the changing nature of theology. Theology has been called a science, and I suppose like all areas of scientific investigation there are going to be refinements in our understanding. While theology is based on divine revelation, its formulations are the product of finite minds. Given that, there is always room to grow in our understanding of God and Scripture. I hope that as I continue to study, I will learn more, have my thinking refined, and be more aware of what God’s Word teaches.

Refined is a key word here. Refined does not mean the denial of what the church (presumably under the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit) has affirmed for centuries. What arrogance to assume that the body of Christ, possessing the Scriptures, has been misled on so many key points of Christian belief! Yet that is what is happening today.

We’re no longer talking about Calvinism vs. Arminianism. We’re not debating Dispensational and Covenant Theology. The issue is not charismatic vs. cessationist thinking. We’re talking about the heart of historic, orthodox Christian faith. And in this writer’s opinion, the evangelical pond is getting too wide. Is it time to redraw the lines?

Granted, there will always be differing views on some things. But in our day we see people proposing different ideas on the essence of the Gospel. If we identify evangelicals as those who believe and affirm the traditional evangel, does that leave room for the inclusion of others who in one way or another deny the traditional understanding of those views?

What’s at stake? I’ll write more about this in part 3.

A "Self-Absorbed" Blogger Responds to Tim Challies

2006-05-08T07:25:00.000-04:00

"Humor: Peter, who was at the T4G conference but was too self-absorbed to come over and say "hi" to me, has posted a list of missed giveaway opportunities at the conference. Among them are "RC Sproul, John Piper and John Macarthur Bobble head dolls." Tim Challies

Unfortunately I missed the Band of Bloggers meeting due to missing my ride. But I did see Tim in the hallway twice. But Tim considers me too self-absorbed to say hi? Let's shed some truth on this issue. Who feels comfortable approaching a guy who 1) is wearing a shirt that says, "I was chosen to blog this conference and you were not" and 2) has a posse of blogger wannabees keeping autograph seekers and paparazzi away from him?

I carried a sign that I unfolded on a few occasions that said, "Hey Tim Challies - Hi." But Tim ignored it and one of his "guardians" told me to move on or I'd never blog again, "if you know what I mean."

The Evangelical Identity - Part 1

2006-05-06T16:00:00.000-04:00

Some things that I have read over the last few days have led me to begin what will be a two- or three-part series on the issue of what comprises evangelicalism.
--------------------------------------------------

Twenty years ago I wrote this paragraph for our church’s 50th anniversary:

Because of a commitment to the Bible as the inspired and unerring Word of God, 99 believers made the decision in 1936 to withdraw from the [denomination name], and establish an independent Bible-preaching congregation in Roslyn.

There is no paper trail from 1936 that will permit me to navigate through the issues that led the pastor and 98 other Christian people to leave their church property (this amounted to most of the congregation) and begin meeting in the local fire hall. But from all that I have read and heard, the issues that led to this split were not unlike what was happening in other places in our country during the “fundamentalist-modernist controversy” of those early decades.

This controversy is reflected in the doctrinal statement that was adopted by our congregation in its infancy. There are actually two of them. There is a general statement of belief that was apparently standard fare for most Christian churches. But then there is a second in which the points mentioned in the first are clarified. The reason for the inclusion of a set of clarifying statements was due to the fact that while some were using similar terms they did not represent the same ideas that orthodox, historic, biblical Christianity meant when believers used them. Thus terms like “the inspiration of the Bible” came to mean that the Bible contained inspired material, or even that the Bible was inspirational.

Through the intervening decades, especially the 40’s through the 60’s and maybe into the 1970’s, evangelicalism had a clear identity. With few exceptions, an evangelical was identified by certain non-negotiable beliefs.

At my ordination in 1977, I was asked to provide a statement of faith, defend it, and then was questioned regarding different matters of theology. Because evangelicals largely had consensus on most doctrinal points, those who examined me, in addition to being sure that I could articulate evangelical doctrine, questioned me on my doctrinal distinctives. Recognizing that there were differences of opinion among Christians in some areas, they wanted to know my views on eschatology, baptism, election, and church government. The two “hot” issues of the day were the charismatic movement that had burst on the scene (and at that time was minimizing doctrine, embracing anyone who had a so-called “experience” of the Holy Spirit, and shattering congregations) and the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture. Harold Lindsell had written The Battle for the Bible and John Warwick Montgomery had edited God’s Inerrant Word. Both books sought to articulate a high view of Scripture. While the issue over inerrancy was significant, there were few other areas – if any – over which evangelicals could not have consensus.

Fast forward to the early 1990’s. Due to a problem in our Christian School, I had been asked to add the role of school administrator to my associate pastor duties. I had served in that role for a number of years when I was invited to participate in an ordination examination for a brother from another congregation. Because of the hours that filling two staff positions involved, I had not been able to attend an ordination council, nor had I been able to maintain an active awareness of what was happening theologically within evangelicalism. As I sat with the other examiners, I was stunned to listen to questions that showed that within almost every traditionally accepted area of theology, some professing evangelicals had begun to “question” what had long been held by professing Christians. I wish I had made a list at the time of new viewpoints and variants (some obviously more significant than others).

Missed Opportunity Giveaways at T4G

2006-05-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

The giveaway books were fantastic. Macarthur Study Bible (NASB) topped the list, but the other books were very well chosen and very worthwhile.

That being said, the founders of the T4G should realize that they missed the boat by not providing the following:

1. RC Sproul, John Piper and John Macarthur Bobble head dolls.
2. A DVD of the Star Trek: the Next Generation episode where Captain Picard finds his long-lost separated-at-birth twin, CJ Mahaney.
3. "DJ Ligon" t-shirts.
4. Crystal Cathedral Lego sets
5. VeggieTales Study Bibles to take home to our children and grandchildren.
6. "Reformed By My Own Choice" bumper stickers.
7. "I Bash If You Flash" RC Sproul collector buttons.
8. Unisex tote bag, courtesy of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
9. Special "Whoops I Saw An Angel" Depends (1 in every 100 autographed by Al Mohler)
10. Coupons for the Sovereign Grace Barbershop and Styling Salon: one style fits all.

Try harder in 2008, guys.

Together for the Gospel Reflections

2006-04-29T10:02:00.000-04:00

I arrived back in Philadelphia yesterday afternoon, filled with a myriad of thoughts about the three days that many of us spent in Louisville. There are numerous bloggers who have provided a better coverage of what happened than I can. Tim Challies and Shaun Nolan both have comments on the different speakers and their messages. I can't duplicate their outstanding work, but would like to add some of my own thoughts.

People are buzzing - and rightly so - about John Piper's message. While each speaker was outstanding (I did not get to hear John Macarthur due to having to leave for the airport), John Piper seemed in the role of the OT prophet. If you get no other message from the conference, you must listen to that one, though I have to wonder if the impact will be the same. Some things are moments, events, and cannot be adequately replicated.

The wonderful people at Sovereign Grace have already made the sessions available for purchase. An MP3 of all of the messages (not the panels) is available for only 11. It is a must.

The singing, led by Bob Kauflin on the piano, was moving. Hearing 2800 men singing the great cross-centered hymns of yesterday and today was a great experience. A CD of just the music would be worth having.

As far as my own life, there were two things that stood out to me. One was the encouragement that I received from the messages to keep doing what I am doing in terms of preaching expositorily and focusing on the Gospel. You other pastors know all of the stuff that we get bombarded with that focuses on a different message and management methods. What a refreshing drink of water this conference was for that alone.

Secondly, I was deeply encouraged at the age of the participants. There is obviously a growing movement in our day that transcends denominations, is vested in our younger men, that affirms the historic Gospel and doctrines of grace. I would estimate that 2/3 of those in attendance were 45 and under.

Other highlights for me included striking up a friendship with fellow-Pennsylvanian Shaun Nolan, riding home from the conference with Will Metzger, author of the book Tell the Truth, used by God in evangelism training for 25 years, praying with 6 other pastors from Texas on the way to the airport about my son and one other man's father and their need for Christ, the fantastic accommodations, Ligon Duncan's rap with his brother, the banter between the four founders of T4G, Mark Dever's warm MC'ing, the amazing generosity that led to giving away over a dozen fine books, CJ Mahaney's challenge to watch our lives closely.

I could go on.

It's happening again in 2008, and Lord willing I will be there, even if I don't like to fly.

---

Shortly after Christmas, my daughter Cindy decided that we needed to do something with our living room. So she began to scrape off two layers of wallpaper and more layers of paint from the plaster walls of our home. It was being done bit-by-bit and had come to resemble what my wife called "early crack house." While I was away, to my astonishment and gratitude, my small group worked for three nights (and during the day when possible) to finish stripping the wallpaper, removing the glue, spackling, priming and painting the walls. Their motive was to express appreciation, and it did that and more.

At Together for the Gospel

2006-04-26T12:50:00.000-04:00

I am not a fan of flying, and sure enough, the ride to Louisville was a bit of a test of faith. It got pretty bumpy for the last half of the flight. I figured that if anyone started to scream, then I'd get scared, otherwise I'd pretend that the shaking plane had no impact on me whatsoever, just like the other guys.

There were a number of guys on the plane from Sovereign Grace churches. Several sport the Mahaney haircut.

I will be attending the meeting for bloggers that Timmy Brister put together and am looking forward to that. Mark Dever speaks tonight on The Pastor's Understanding of His Own Role. That is followed by a panel discussion on Why I'm Doing What I'm Doing with My Life. Tomorrow is a very full day.

I walked a few blocks around the hotel last night and this morning. This part of Louisville is very nice. Lots of restaurants. The Louisville Slugger Museum is just down the street, and for being as much of a baseball fan as I am, I should get there. Kind of like going to London and not seeing Big Ben. But I'm not sure that the schedule will allow that tomorrow.

I understand that the sessions will be available after the conference. See www.togetherforthegospel.org for more information.

Monday Discoveries, Except It's Tuesday

2006-04-18T14:53:00.000-04:00

As several bloggers have noted, the April 9Marks newsletter has some outstanding articles. The review of George Barna's book Revolution is great, as is the article on "expository listening."

John Samson at Reformation Theology, links to a great pastoral-centered post about the Gospel of Judas.

An earlier post at the same site lists books that are "must reads" for our theological edification and education. I don't even have some of these. As such I haven't read them. Alas, each day brings me face to face with more books I should read. Thanks for the great post! I was on the mailing list of a well-known (and formerly very helpful) Christian publisher who just keeps pumping out the Christian therapy books. I canceled out of that list today.

Al Mohler has a post, also referenced in a number of blogs, about the pastor as theologian.

I've been using an RSS aggregator called GreatNews. Freeware published by CurioStudio. Catch them here.

Hoping to meet some of you folks at the Together For the Gospel Conference next week!

Monday Discoveries

2006-04-10T08:13:00.000-04:00

Here are some good links that I found over the last few days:

A great article by John Samson on Preaching for the Glory of God over at Reformation Theology. Worth printing and reviewing from time to time.

Pastor Samson also provides a link to the Gospel of Judas over at the National Geographic site. With this "discovery" and the upcoming DaVinci Code movie, it would be helpful to have resources for our people so that they are not shaken in their faith. While people who do the research might see these things as fully answerable, I am concerned about less mature believers in whom these things plant a seed of doubt. Al Mohler had a great column on the Gospel of Judas this past week (see the entry for April 7).

Andrew at Faith and Practice had a very good entry on discernment. Another worthwhile article to print out.

The White Horse Inn (Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals) is not available as a podcast. Good stuff, and free.

On a different note, if you want to enjoy a moment of levity, check out this video. For those of you who enjoy the latest and greatest free software, check out this link.

Some Great Advice for Pastors

2006-03-31T10:54:00.000-05:00

This post is from Dr. Ray Pritchard's website and is must reading for those of us in pastoral ministry. Thanks to Roy Lim, one of the men in our church, for sending it to me.

Oh, Those Forwards

2006-03-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

You have them. Well-meaning people in your life who think that you need to read "the forward." Usually embedded several levels deep in an email, they range from the funny (or supposed to be) to the patriotic. They are often sentimental, occasionally misguided, and - when it comes to Christian things - seem to be more often than not untrue. Sometimes they are several years old, and simply making the latest round by means of someone who recently got email.

There is an assumption that pastors need to read these things. I've hinted to our people that I don't, but occasionally I'll get them anyway. In many cases they are a mixture of Bible and pro-America politics. I am a conservative Republican, but I consider this blend of patriotism and faith to be a hugely misguided distraction to biblical Christianity.

At any rate, after being the recipient of yet another forward of this nature, I did what I usually do - I check the internet hoax sites and forward the correction to the person who sent me the story. I do this for several reasons. First, in many cases well-meaning people are perpetuating a story that is false. Second, I would like to encourage them to not believe everything that is sent to them, and finally, I want to teach them how to research this stuff for themselves.

In dealing with the latest forward this morning, I encountered this article which ought to be printed as a bulletin insert in our church publications. I hope you can make use of it. http://www.crivoice.org/urbanlegend.html. The parts the interested me were more of his comments about forwarding email without thinking. I haven't documented the accuracy of his rebuttal to the original post.

I had intended to post another chapter of DA Carson's book about prayer, but this week was a bit compressed. I had my first visit to my Irish friend Colon O'Scoppy on Friday, so between the "prep" day and "the day" itself, my week was shortened. I actually had my sermon done two days early. More from Carson's book next week.

Praying While Looking Ahead

2006-03-14T09:25:00.000-05:00

When I was in Bible College I worked in my home church's Christian Bookstore. It was around the time that some major events took place in the Christian publishing world. I can remember that The Living Bible and the New American Standard Bible were "new." We sold quite a few of both of these translations. But probably the biggest seller was Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth. Looking back, Lindsey's book was more sensational than scholarly, but I will give him credit for this: he raised people's awareness of Christ's return.

The church in which I grew up and the two churches in which I have served have all had a dispensational orientation. I can remember when my present church was involved with 7 or 8 other local churches in a Prophecy Conference. We had some of the finest pastors and teachers speak on things related to Bible prophecy. Of course there was the occasional sensationalist speaker, but in the main these men were simply trying to communicate the importance of eschatology.

I was reminded of that while continuing my reading of A Call to Spiritual Reformation. Carson writes:

We are losing our anticipation of the Lord's return, the anticipation that Paul shows is basic to his thought. Even though we do not disavow central truths, for many of us their power has been eviscerated. The prospect of the Lord's return in glory, the anticipation of the wrap-up of the universe as we know it, the confidence that there will be a final and irrevocable division between the just and the unjust - these have become merely credal points for us, instead of ultimate realities that even now are life transforming.

The loss is great. It means that instead of investing in the bank of heaven, where "moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matt. 6:20), we may be seduced into devoting almost all of our time, energy, and money to the merely temporal and ephemeral.

He then asks:

When was the last time you heard a profoundly biblical and telling sermon on the second coming? (italics mine)

As he concludes this chapter, he shows how connected a commitment to eternity and Christian growth are. Again, highly recommended.

Reading About Prayer is Tough, Too!

2006-03-10T11:04:00.000-05:00

For a variety of reasons, it's been a little over a week since I have been able to read any more of DA Carson's book, A Call to Spiritual Reformation. But this morning I was able to work through chapter 2: The Framework of Prayer, based on 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12.

In the opening part of this chapter, Carson talks about being thankful. Two paragraphs are worth quoting:

For what do we commonly give thanks? We say grace at meals, thanking God for our food; we give thanks when we receive material blessings - when the mortgage we've applied for comes through, or when we first turn on the ignition in a car we've just purchased. We may sigh a prayer of sweaty thanks after a near miss on the highway; we may utter a prayer of sincere and fervent thanks when we recover from a serious illness. We may actually offer brief thanksgiving when we hear that someone we know has recently become converted. But by and large, our thanksgiving seems to be tied rather tightly to our material well-being and comfort. The unvarnished truth is that what we most frequently give thanks for betrays what we most highly value. (page 41)

and

For what have we thanked God recently? Have we gone over a list of members at our local church, say, or over a list of Christian workers, and quietly thanked God for signs of grace in their lives? Do we make it a matter of praise to God when we observe evidence in one another of growing conformity to Christ, exemplified in trust, reliability, love, and genuine spiritual stamina? (page 44)

The first paragraph - 'nuff said. But let me share a comment about the second.

I have been praying for the health and well-being of our church, and for the church to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. I have been praying that the church would deepen, but also grow numerically. Praying about those things is an open admission that change is needed. And there is nothing wrong with that! Change should be taking place until we get to Heaven.

What struck me about what Carson says in this second paragraph that I've quoted is that as I have been praying through our church directory, I find myself having a lot to thank God for. There are a lot of people who have been good examples, busy in work for the Gospel, faithful, etc. Thanksgiving, then, balances my intercession for the church. While I earnestly want to see God at work in the lives of people, thanksgiving reminds me that He is in fact already at work. While growth is needed, growth is already taking place. While people need to mature, maturity is already evident in many people.

- - -

I'm taking a one-week hiatus from Romans this Sunday. In preaching the early part of Romans 7, dealing with our relationship to the Law, it occurred to me that it might be of help to our people if I spoke about the broader issue of how Christians relate to the Old Testament. This might seem more ideally suited for a classroom, but preaching is teaching. So that's what I'll be doing this Sunday.

Prayer is Tough

2006-03-02T07:33:00.000-05:00

Many Christians I talk with will readily admit that prayer is not their strong point. If you step back, it seems a bit odd that prayer should be so hard. We are, afterall, given the privilege of privileges - being able to talk to the Creator and Lord of the universe. Why is it so hard?

In my own experience, I point to distraction as the major culprit. Whether I pray in a quiet place or not, there are inner and outer distractions. The multitude of things to do, interruptions, etc. all make staying focused on prayer hard work.

Some of you in more liturgical churches may scratch your heads at this, but independent evangelical churches have tended to shy away from anything that smacks of formalism, including praying the Lord's prayer. But I have found that following that prayer - whether verbatim or as an outline - is a good way to begin to focus my praying for the day. I've also picked up a tip that Mark Dever shares in his book The Deliberate Church - praying through the church directory. Doing this for a couple of weeks has been so fruitful to me that I encouraged our Elders to begin the practice.

I look around and see evangelicalism is disarray. I see my own people struggling with basic areas of discipleship and with how to live for Christ in a world that all but swallows up our being Christians. I am more convinced that any change in direction - corporately or individually - will come through prayer. I've told our people several times that I am not sure how prayer "works" but I know that it does.

My reading project at the moment is the book A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson. I began reading the book late last week and unfortunately have not had time to do anything with it this week (I am preaching from Romans 7, and those of you who have done that will immediately understand why I've not been reading anything else!). But his first chapter scanned areas of need within the church and within lives of Christian people, and presented the case that prayer was the most urgent need of all. I'd recommend the book, based on the first chapter alone.

- - -

Anyone listen to their sermons via iTunes? I was given an iPod by my brother over a year ago, and use it daily. Because of that, iTunes is my default music/media player. If you have any mp3's of your sermons, listen to them in iTunes and check out the category that iTunes puts them in. Mine: the Blues. Ha!!

If you are interested in the writings of Martin Luther, check out this site devoted to them.

Reading & Notes Revisited

2006-02-21T11:06:00.000-05:00

I appreciate the input from Bumble and the question from Larry in the comments section of the previous post.

Bumble has a very fine set of study templates that would be of value for any preacher to look over. Larry's question involved what pastors use to compile their notes. I tend to stick to pen and paper, photocopying sections of commentaries as needed to take with me to my daily lunch/study at the local Barnes and Noble. But I don't use any electronic tools for notetaking, despite a rather substantial investment in Logos/Libronix software.

Speaking of reading, Ligon Duncan has an excellent series of posts on pastors and reading. See the Together for the Gospel blog.

I would also recommend a book by Dale Rosenberger called Who Are You To Say: Establishing Pastoral Authority in Matters of Faith. His church background is a bit different from mine, but he has some good things to say about the importance of God's Word as the center of our pastoral authority.

Next up on my list of reading is A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson. What are you reading?

- - -

My fantasy baseball league draft is looming on the horizon. If you are so inclined, and would like some good um, small room reading, I highly recommend Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster.

Reading and Notes

2006-02-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

Today is a principal study day in my week. It is a day where I do a good deal of reading about the text I am preaching from on Sunday. I tend to do more personal reading/observation of the text on Tuesdays and intensify that for Wednesday, combining it with checking commentaries and other references.

I have a substantial collection of electronic books (Logos/Libronix), but I don't want to confine myself to electronic sources - especially while preaching from Romans. To do so would mean to miss the outstanding commentaries by Douglas Moo (NIC) and Thomas Schreiner (ECNT). These two commentaries vie for the top spot in my list of favorites.

I find myself taking notes of ideas/concepts, linking them to page numbers in the respective commentaries. Occasionally I will pull a few sentences out as a quotation, but I'm finding that doing this involves a good deal of writing. Not that there is anything wrong with that - writing is a way of learning.

But it got me thinking about how other pastors handle the results of their reading. How do you take notes? Do you mark your books or write notes on separate paper? Do you file them?

To Preachers, From Luther

2006-02-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

"That's why it is so difficult to preach. No matter how I preach, something goes wrong. Someone always goes off on a tangent. If I don't preach about faith, the result will be useless and hypocritical works. If I only emphasize faith, no one does any good works. The result is either useless, faithless do-gooders or believers who don't do any good works. So we must preach the message to those who accept both faith and works. We must preach to those who want to remain in the vine, put their trust in Christ, and put their faith into action in their everyday lives."

From February 2 reading, Faith Alone, Zondervan

The End of The Spear

2006-01-31T08:02:00.000-05:00

Tim Challies posts a link to an article by well-known Christian author Randy Alcorn who weighs in on the End of the Spear controversy.

Alcorn's concern is that some glaring inaccuracies were distributed around the internet by Christians and as a result the film studio (run by Christians) was slandered. If that is true, it is very unfortunate. As is true with many things, we need to be very careful before we push the forward button.

His primary concern, though, seems to be that Matthew 18 was not followed in dealing with this situation. I have to confess that I am not sure Matthew 18 is intended to cover this kind of situation. There seems - to me anyway - to be a difference between a brother who sins against me as an individual, and dealing with a public position taken by a person or group that is considered unbiblical.

What Alcorn asks, though is that we get our facts from the mouths of those involved in the decision to cast Chad Allen. He prints six questions that are answered by the studio execs and asks that we form our opinion on the basis of what they say. I've read their responses, and since I forwarded some objections about the film to our church, I will forward this link as well. But I didn't find their explanations particularly comforting or helpful. I'll certainly give them the fact that they didn't cast Allen in this role deliberately, but I'm not satisfied with their explanations of why they went on with the project.

Your mileage may vary.

On another front, Mark Dever's 9Marks newsletter had a fine article this past week that is worth reading. Go to the website and read How My Mind Has Changed - the Centrality of the Congregation. It is worth distributing, especially to your staff and elders.

I'm currently reading The Deliberate Church. Much of it apparently comes from things that Dever has taught or written. So far the book has been worth reading and shows a seriously thought-out approach to church life. I found his discussion of the biblical basis for church membership pretty interesting ( page 60-61).

Reading

2006-01-26T07:35:00.000-05:00

Lots of books, little time, administrivia.

What a combo! I have a good number of books I'd like to read. Things get in the way. Some of it is me, some of it is circumstantial. How do I do a better job and read more?

There have been a couple of reading-oriented posts on the new Together for the Gospel blog. Yesterday (January 25th), Mark Dever shared his program of reading that was quite interesting. Dever is both a theologian and an historian, and his reading schedule reflects that. Today, Al Mohler's entry, "Some Thoughts on the Reading of Books" provides some very useful advice and some insight into how a very busy person stays on top of things.

I also received the monthly newsletter of Preaching Now (www.preaching.com) in which the ten best books of the year for preachers were listed. It comes from an article in the Jan-Feb issue entitled The Top Ten Books Every Preacher Should Read.

I've got a couple of books on my list as you probably do. How do you make sure that you get to them. Al Mohler reads late at night. When do you do your best reading. Do you have goals, lists of books to read? Do you skim or read thoroughly? Do you take notes? What's on your list to read this year?

By the way, in signing off, Dr. Mohler points to a resource I don't remember seeing before: Bible Researcher. Looks like it would be of value.

- - -

Thanks to those of you who responded to my blog yesterday. Your comments were both encouraging and helpful. It meant a lot!

Blogging, Time and Miscellany

2006-01-25T08:24:00.000-05:00

What to do with this blog?

It's been two weeks since I posted, and have considerably slackened my blog posting over the last few months. When Stronger Church was birthed nearly a year ago, my purpose was to point out resources that could be used by those committed to seeing the church maintain biblical moorings. Some earlier posts linked to internet resources, recommended commentaries, and discussions of preaching. Along the way there were several rants about suspect methodology and a few posts about personal experiences.

Reading some of the blogs I scan each day has made me aware of issues facing the church that I might not have known about. I've been able to correspond with a couple of other people who share the same perspective that I have (and a few who don't). By reading blogs and writing one, my thinking has been refined in some areas. I recently told a friend that writing on my blog has helped me to think through a number of issues.

It seems that the most successful blogs are maintained by people who are highly committed to posting at least once (and sometimes more) per day. I've struggled to do that, and in the last few weeks have noticed one former regular blogger disappear, one decide that daily posting is too much, and one new blogger wondering if blogging will cut in on other things he ought to be reading. A weekly or every-other-weekly posting schedule is going to mean that people are less inclined to read, and if no one is reading, what's the point?

I'm not sure where I'm headed with this. I don't think I can commit to daily posting, but I want to be able to share with other people of like interests and passions the things that I find helpful in my own walk as a pastor. So for those of you who have tuned in and not found anything new, stay with me for a bit. I'm working on some things that I hope will be of value.

Dealing with Sin

2006-01-11T08:35:00.000-05:00

Luther speaks about the need for us to deal with our sins by recognizing what Scripture says about Christ paying for them:

You must rely on these and similar verses with your whole heart. The more your conscience torments you, the more you must rely on them. For if you don't and try to quiet your conscience through your own sorrow and penance, you will never find peace of mind and will finally despair in the end. If you try to deal with sin in your conscience, let it remain there, and continue to look at it in your heart, your sins will become too strong for you. They will seem to live forever. But when you think of your sins as being on Christ and boldly believe that he conquered them through his resurrection, then they are dead and gone. Sin can't remain on Christ. His resurrection swallowed them up."

---
From the 1/7 reading in Faith Alone, Zondervan, edited by James Galvin.

Luther on Justification by Faith Alone

2006-01-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, while over at my favorite bookstore (Westminister Seminary), I saw a new version of a devotional called Faith Alone based on the writing and preaching of Luther. My wife was kind enough to get it for me for Christmas.

The first several days focus on justification by faith, and I've been struck with how simple the Gospel is, and how simple it is to grasp of this subject (which unfortunately is often bypassed in our presentation of the "gospel").

In today's reading, Luther says:

Instead we should conclude with Paul that we are justified by faith alone, not through faith formed by love. So we shouldn't attribute the power of justification to something formed in us that makes us pleasing to God. We must attribute it to faith, which takes hold of Christ the Savior and keeps him in our hearts. This faith justifies us apart from love and prior to love. We concede that we must also teach about good works and love. But we only teach these at the proper time and place - when the question deals with how we should love, not how we are justified.

Augustine on Christmas

2005-12-23T11:02:00.000-05:00

“Rejoice, you just;” it is the birthday of the Justifier.
Rejoice, you who are weak and sick; it is the birthday of the Savior, the Healer.
Rejoice, captives; it is the birthday of the Redeemer.
Rejoice, slaves; it is the birthday of the one who makes you lords.
Rejoice, free people; it is the birthday of the one who makes you free.
Rejoice, all Christians; it is the birthday of Christ.

From Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel, page 32

Rejoice!

2005-12-22T12:09:00.000-05:00

Our Savior, dearly beloved, was born this day. Let us rejoice. No, there cannot rightly be room for sorrow in a place where life has been born. By casting out fear of death, life fills us with joy about the promised eternity. No one has been cut off from a share in this excitement. All share together, a single reason for joy. Our Lord, finding no one free of guilt, has come to liberate all.

Let saints exult, for victory lies within their reach.
Let sinners rejoice, for they have been called to forgiveness.
Let heathens take heart, for they have been summoned to life.

Leo the Great (400-461)
From Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel

Christmas Encouragement

2005-12-19T14:47:00.000-05:00

On this day, dear brothers and sisters, Christ was born to us. Let us prepare for him in our hearts a dwelling full of obedient service. Let us prepare a crib, a cradle brilliant with the flowers of a good life and the perpetual sweetness of its fragrance. Let us receive the tiny little Lord in our hearts. May he grow and make progress there, nourished by faith; may he ascend to youth there on the steps of life; and may he exercise the powers which are mentioned in the Gospel.

Caesarius of Atles, 471-543 AD. Quoted from Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel, by John D. Witvliet and David Vroege. Page 44

Lessons Learned

2005-12-16T08:16:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned a number of times that while I've served here at Faith Church for over 25 years, it was not until 2003 that I became the Senior Pastor. I've learned a lot over the last three years, but there are still things that sneak up on me and surprise me a bit.

One of those happened yesterday. I conducted a funeral for an 89 year old lady in our church who passed away last week. Her death was not unexpected, due to illness, nor was the service particularly emotional. Attended by maybe 30-40 people at most, it was a simple 25 minute service followed by the burial (man was it cold standing in the cemetery!). But for some reason funerals take it out of me. I found it really hard to focus yesterday afternoon, and am a bit toasted this morning too.

The other lesson re-learned has to deal with Christmas sermons. Though I have taught adults extensively over the course of my time here, I was not in a situation to have to teach seasonal series. The first year of preaching Christmas was easy - I had never done a Christmas series. Last year was a bit more difficult. This year was harder yet. Make no mistake - there is a lot to say about Christmas, but I am finding that coming up with something fresh for three or four weeks straight is not always easy. I don't know how you guys who have been preaching for 10, 20 or 30 years or more do it, except that you must rework past sermons. I'd be interested in hearing what some of you more experienced preachers do.

At any rate, for my own edification, as well as to prompt my thinking, I've been reading a book entitled Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel. It is a collection of sermons by different pastors and teachers through church history, beginning with Jerome and ending with Calvin. Some of them are particularly rich, and each chapter is followed by the lyrics of a Christmas hymn. Highly recommended.

I'm going to share a few quotes with you during the next few days. In the meantime, today's slate includes putting the finishing touches on Sunday's message on the reason behind the incarnation. I leave you with this quote from Bede (673-735 AD): In a wonderful manner he began to be what we are, while continuing to be what he had been, assuming our nature in such a way that he himself would not lose what he had been.

By the way, Al Mohler is doing a series on Why We Preach. I liked this quote from yesterday's entry:

Preaching did not emerge from the church's experimentation with communication techniques. The church does not preach because preaching is thought to be a good idea or an effective technique. The sermon has not earned its place in Christian worship by proving its utility in comparison with other means of communication or aspects of worship. Rather, we preach because we have been commanded to preach.

Have a good day!

Arguing Over Christmas

2005-12-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

As a teen and young adult, I can remember the annual round of articles in Sunday School papers (remember them - those 4-8 page mini magazines that we got for attending Sunday School each week). It seemed that each year they ran an article that championed people who didn't celebrate Christmas for their family, but gave all of their time, efforts and gifts to others. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but does everyone have to do that?

In my first pastorate there was an older couple whose large family of grown children had never experienced Christmas. Instead of the tree, gifts, songs of the season, etc., Mom and Dad had opted to "celebrate Christmas in our hearts all year long." None of the kids, to my knowledge were believers, and I always wondered if this somewhat dour approach to Christian faith pushed them in the wrong direction. I'm not saying that not getting presents kept them from Christ, but you wonder about the long-term impact of their choice.

On the other side you have those who go out and go nuts. There are some kids who are getting Xboxes, iPods, new computers, AND a bunch of other stuff. Mom and Dad will be in hock until the next ice age, but the kids will have a wow day.

You are no doubt aware of the current fuss over how the bad liberals are trying to take away Christmas. Christians are supposed to boycott Target and other stores, do battle with townships over nativity scenes, and heck, we're even supposed to be ticked off at the President for not sending Christmas Cards but sending Happy Holiday cards instead. I just read a headline on MSN about this. Are we serious. The President betrayed us? Who do we think we are?

To me, the silliness of the thing with the merchants is that we want them to recognize Christmas by calling their sales pitches and enticements to excess CHRISTMAS SALES. Yup. Put that word back in the circulars and thousands will be swept into the kingdom.

I hate the encroaching secularism, but I'd rather have that than put a false face on what really exists. What bothers me more than the secularism, though, are fellow Christians. I'm oh-so-tired of the "reclaim America and give me my rights" rhetoric. You can troop the founding fathers out dressed in elf suits to sing Hark The Herald Angels Sing until the cows come home, and that doesn't make us a Christian nation. Never has. Never will.

Frankly, I think that the political evangelical watchdogs want more than "our rights." My deep-seated suspicion is that they not only want a secular society to affirm our rights, they want that same society to affirm that they (the society) are actually better off with us around. In other words, don't just accept that we are here. Be glad! Don't just tolerate us. Like us!! We're good for you!

Someone in our church asked me what I thought about this whole thing. "What will we do if they take Christmas away?" Here's my answer: I guess we'll have to be Christians anyway.

The curmudgeons aren't going to spoil Christmas for me. Neither are the "I'll be broke until July" yuppies. And this year, neither are the evangelicals. I'm going to use the season to listen to music that uplifts the Savior. I'm going to spend time with friends and family, and enjoy their company. I'm going to try to lead our people to contemplate again the wonder that God became man to die for us and as us. I'm going to spend some money to care for the needs of my family (Christmas is a good time to replenish what has worn out) and some of their wishes too. And along the way I'm going to pray that more and more, with each succeeding secularizing year, that there is such a contrast between the way the pagans deal with this holiday and the way God's children do, that people may wonder if they are missing something. And I also hope that when that time comes, that we we'll be known more for the answer we give about the Savior than we are for our ability to picket, protest and petition.

So Merry Christmas. And Happy Holidays too.

Random Musings at the End of the Week

2005-12-02T07:51:00.000-05:00

My wife teaches at a Christian School near us and they have been having some discussions among their faculty about the potential hazards of kids and weblogs. I was talking about the same issue with Ron Smith, our youth pastor. Dr. Al Mohler has an excellent article on the subject of teens and the internet that you must read and share with those who work with kids.

There is no better non-biblical proof for human depravity than simply observing how nearly everything becomes corrupted. Every medium that can be put to good use ends up being put toward sinful uses. Give us a new gadget and someone will find a way to put porn on it.

Phil Johnson posts about his first six months as a blogger. There ARE a lot of us sharing our opinions, and frankly, the two dozen blogs I skim through (I use an RSS aggregator) result in only a couple of posts that are meaningful to me, but they are worth sorting through for the insights, recommendations and resources that are discussed. One major benefit of blog reading for me has been the ability to be kept up to date on issues and trends in the Christian world and in theology.

Milton Stanley, always resourceful, points to a post about personal devotions at Gratitude and Hoopla. Worth the read, along with the Pimp My Devotional Time that I shared about the other day.

If you are a Pastor and have a Youth Pastor who would NOT use this kind of nonsense, get down on your knees and be thankful. And then thank them. From some of the stuff I read, this kind of thing proliferates youth ministry. Oh well, it gives me a good sermon illustration of what we do when the glory of God gets shelved.

I was encouraged by this post by Phil Ryken, Pastor of 10th Presbyterian Church in nearby Philly. They have been involved in a major roofing project. We're facing some major building projects of our own - original (read 60-year old!) heating system and air conditioning systems need to be replaced, and we are likely to need a new roof - all within the next three years. For a congregation of 250 that is a pretty tall order, and there are inevitable discussions that weigh the value of spending on these kinds of projects as opposed to other things. My biggest concern has been that we not forget that while we need to care for these things, we also need to continue to spend for ministries that are essential to our central purpose. We all agree on that, of course, and so we will manage our funds very very carefully. But I liked Phil's last sentence: And if Jesus returns in the meantime, he will be pleased -- I think -- to see that we have a good roof on our building and are planning to serve our city as long as we, by the grace of God, are able.

Have a wonderful weekend ministering and being ministered to. I am preaching on the last of the Solas - Soli Deo Gloria.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Faith Alone!

2005-11-29T08:54:00.000-05:00

I've finished 4 of the 5 Sola statements and preached on the subject of faith alone this past Sunday. In my reading, I came across an interesting and helpful quote from John Calvin.

Calvin wrote: This is the main hinge on which religion turns, so that we devote the greater attention and care to it. For unless you first of all grasp what your relationship to God is, and the nature of his judgment concerning you, you have neither a foundation on which to establish your salvation, nor one on which to build piety toward God.

I explored that a bit, looking at Hebrews 10:19-22, hoping to show that justification by faith alone means, among other things, that I am not on probation in my acceptance with God, and that my access to God is not based on my performance. There are moments in a sermon when you can sense that you have the attention of your audience. Subjective, to be sure, but I felt that God was speaking to our people in that one point of the sermon.

Isn't it a freeing thing to know that we approach God because of what He did and not because of what we do? Praise God for His salvation!

By the way, the aforementioned Calvin quote came from a superb chapter written by Sinclair Ferguson in the book After Darkness, Light. That chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

- - -

I printed out a good article this morning from the blog dialogos on the subject of quiet time/devotions. I look forward to reading it more thoroughly. I generally prefer to keep my quiet time related to what I am preaching on. But I also enjoy hearing about new ways of keeping time with God fresh.

Randomized

2005-11-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you have a great day with family and friends. We are truly blessed people.

I have been enjoying Purgatorio since I discovered the site the other week. As much as I hate the gimmickry that evangelicals use today, they might be trumped by some of the antics of yesteryear. Growing up as a youth grouper in the 60's and 70's made it possible to be exposed to former Mafia hitmen, unnumbered drug addicts, midgets, whistlers, burn victims, etc. who had a testimony. I do not question that the people who did this stuff were sincere, but sometimes we put on a freak show. Anyway, the record album covers on Purgatorio are priceless.

A few interesting quotes caught my eye this week. Philip Ryken shared a fascinating quote on the Reformation21 blog. Sad.

Fide-O offered this post with some good quotes by preachers about preaching. This one is good too.

Tim Challies, near the top of my favorites, has what I thought was a well-reasoned statement about Rick Warren. Thanks, Tim! Also worth reading is Steve Camp's review of Brian McLaren's book A Generous Orthodoxy.

Finally, good-bye to a classy man. Jim Thome, who signed a multi-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies three winters ago, has been traded to the Chicago White Sox. Thome played brilliantly in 2003 and 2004, hitting dozens of moon-shot homeruns in those two years. Last year be played for several months with injuries before undergoing season-ending surgery. Sadly, before he was shut down, the Philadelphia boo-birds were letting him have it a little. But they represented a minority. Most Phillies fans hurt with Thome at his inability to produce. His injury led to the emergence of Ryan Howard, a younger player with similar potential, and to clear the log-jam at first base, Thome was sent to the White Sox pending outcome of a physical. In an age of selfish athletes, I loved this quote, given during a phone interview yesterday:

"When I leave the game of baseball someday, I want people to recognize that I always put my teams first," Thome, 35, said in a telephone interview last night. "That's what I love about the game - being part of the team. I see in Ryan Howard what someone saw in me when I broke into the big leagues. And now it's time for both of us to seize the opportunity ahead of us. It's a win-win situation. I really enjoyed my time in Philadelphia, and I want to thank my teammates and the fans for a heck of a ride."

Class act, all the way. We (fans "own" their teams, you know) got a fine centerfielder and two great pitching prospects for Thome, but I'm going to miss him. I hope he hits a ton of homeruns for the White Sox. Thank YOU, Jim!

An Encouragement to Persevere

2005-11-20T16:39:00.000-05:00

Laura and I had the opportunity to spend Thursday night through Saturday noon at Word of Life Inn in Schroon Lake, NY. We were attending a Pastor's Conference there because of the generosity of some folks in our church, and we had a great time. Dr. Donald Hubbard, who at one time was the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in New York City (Stephen Olford), brought great wisdom and insight into the life of Peter in his four sessions. We also had a touch of snow on the ground Friday morning, combined with the cold weather and Christmas decorations around the Conference, treating us to a foretaste of our favorite season (next to baseball season for me, anyway!).

One of the things that I appreciated most was the presence of dozens of fellow pastors, many of them serving in the upper New York and New England areas - not known for being easy for the Gospel. Many of these men serve in churches of 50-75 and faithfully preach Christ year after year. In an age where size dictates success, they would not be deemed as successful. But I suspect that God looks at this much differently.

Dr. Hubbard told a story during his last session that I think speaks to the heart of all of us who preach and teach. I know that I have written before about the idea of wondering if we make a difference. His story - true from his own experience - was intended to encourage us to realize that God is at work in ways we may never know.

He told of serving in a small church in Ohio at the outset of his ministry, and seeing a young lady evidence a sense of conviction as the Gospel was preached one night in an evangelistic meeting. However, the infant that she was holding began to cry and she left the meeting early. Dr. Hubbard found out who the visiting woman was, and after finishing his regular job one afternoon the following week, he went to call on her. He had just arrived at the home - an apartment over a bar - when the woman's husband and the husband's brother also arrived, greeted him gruffly, and went into the kitchen. He began to share the Gospel with the woman, but was stopped by the husband, who threatened to throw him down the stairs if he didn't leave.

Five years later, he was speaking in another church, and a man came to see him at the end of the meeting. It turned out that this was the brother-in-law of the woman, and he had overheard the Gospel during that brief time and had never been able to shake the words he had heard. He said that shortly after the visit five years before, the woman's husband had been shot and killed. He, however, had come to talk about Christ.

Thirty years later Dr. Hubbard was invited to go back to his first church and preach. After the service he was approached by a woman who asked him if he remembered a young woman with a baby who had left an evangelistic meeting, and subsequent a visit to her home. Dr. Hubbard replied that he indeed did remember such a visit many years before. The young woman said that she was in fact the infant in that story, and that her mother had come to Christ and that she herself had become a Christian along the way as well and they were both serving the Lord.

I'll gladly confess to a tear in my eye after hearing how our Sovereign God used the words of a young pastor who probably felt that they had amounted to nothing, and he encouraged us to remember that we don't always see the results of our ministry in the lives of our people.

So be encouraged, friends. What you did this morning in preaching God's truth is something God can and will use in His way. Let's keep at it, working hard in the Gospel, for God's glory!

Three Implications for Grace Alone! Today

2005-11-16T08:59:00.000-05:00

I have been preaching on the five Solas of the Reformation. We studied Scripture Alone! on November 6 and Grace Alone! this past Sunday.

My goal has been three-fold: first, to highlight doctrines that are essential to evangelical faith; second, to help people understand and appreciate their spiritual heritage; and third, show that these beliefs were not just under attack in the 1500's, but in many respects are still current issues, even within so-called Evangelicalism.

While evangelicals would certainly affirm the essential nature of Grace, sometimes our behavior betrays that we really don't practice what we say we believe. I shared three indicators of this kind of thing: (interested parties, should there be any, can read the entire sermon at http://www.faithcom.org/resources/textmessages/2005/051113pb.pdf, and also listen to it at http://www.faithcom.org/resources/default.htm.)

1. We show that we don't understand "grace alone" when we present salvation as something that is the result of what we do. We've developed our own vocabulary in relation to the Gospel that lacks biblical root. As a result, when we ask people how they know that they are saved, they are likely to respond with something that they did: "I prayed a prayer" or "I went forward in an evangelistic meeting" or "I turned my life over to Jesus," etc. Semantics? I don't think so. If it were just sematics, there wouldn't be so many people questioning their salvation because they aren't sure that they "really meant it" or "really understood it." Sadly, security for some is in their response.

2. We show that we don't understand "grace alone" when we depend on marketing, techniques, having the right tools, etc., to reach people and help them grow. Our pragmatic approaches to ministry may be popular, but faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. People are not saved because of our cleverness.

3. We show that we don't understand "grace alone" when we think that our access to God is based on how well we're performing.

- - -

For those of you who are in pastoral ministry, I would encourage you to consider either preaching or teaching these five great themes. My own study thus far has been spiritually enriching in my own life, and the feedback I have received from our people has been very encouraging.

Preaching and the Mind

2005-11-09T14:18:00.000-05:00

Here is a great quote from Joel Beeke in a chapter entitled Evangelism Rooted in Scripture, out of the book Whatever Happened to the Reformation:

First, Puritan preaching addressed the mind with clarity. It addressed man as a rational creature. The Puritans loved and worshipped God with their minds. They viewed the mind as the palace of faith. They refused to set mind and heart against each other, but taught that knowledge was the soil in which the Spirit planted the seed of regeneration. Puritans thus preached that we need to think in order to be holy. They challenged the idea that holiness is only a matter of emotions.

The Puritans preached that a flabby mind is no badge of honor. They understood that a mindless Christianity will foster a spineless Christianity. An anti-intellectual gospel will spawn an irrelevant gospel that does not get beyond "felt needs." That's what is happening in our churches today. We've lost our Christian mind, and for the most part we do not see the necessity of recovering it. We do not understand that where there is little difference between the Christian and non-Christian in what we think and believe, there will soon be little difference in how we live.

page 245-246.

By the way, I recommend the book highly. It deals with several very relevant topics.

A Great Story

2005-11-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

The 11-08-2005 issue of PreachingNow just hit my inbox. I loved this story, but also appreciated the counsel. I try to document thoroughly what I use from others, but I can't imagine preaching someone else's sermon.

In his new book Preaching: How to Preach Biblically (Thomas Nelson), John MacArthur includes a chapter of frequently-asked questions posed to him about expository preaching. One of his questions deals with documenting ideas we draw from the works of others: "A balance is the ideal. We cannot document every thought in our sermons. On the other hand, we should give credit where due.

"Pastors sometimes ask me if they can use my material. I have given them blanket permission for anyone to use my sermons and preach them in whole or in part if they wish, and I do not want any credit as the source. If what I say has value to someone, I am honored for him to use it for God's glory. The truth is all His.

"Yet if someone re-preached one of my sermons without enriching it by going through the discovery process, that sermon will inevitably be flat and lifeless. The great Scottish preacher Alexander Maclaren once went to hear another man preach, a young man with a reputation for being a gifted preacher. Much to Maclaren's surprise, the young man said at the outset of his message, 'I've had such a busy week that I had no time to prepare a sermon of my own, so I'm going to preach one of Maclaren's.' He did not know Maclaren was in the audience until Maclaren greeted him afterward. He was very embarrassed and became even more so when Maclaren looked him in the eye and said, 'Young man, I don't mind if you are going to preach my sermons, but if you are going to preach them like that, please don't say they are mine.'

Reflections on 9 Months of Blogging

2005-11-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

I started this blog in February 15, 2005. From time-to-time I’ve wondered about the value of doing this. I don’t feel that I can post every day, and some weeks have gone by with only 1 or 2 posts. But blogging has been a positive experience overall, for a number of reasons. I thought I’d share some of those reasons.

I’ve met some really fine people. There are a couple of fellow-pastors with whom I have corresponded outside of the blog. Though we’ve never met, these are people for whom I pray once or twice a week, especially on Sunday morning as we all share in the common task of feeding God’s flock. I’ve benefited from some insights from more well-known speakers and pastors who have used blogging as an effective tool for edification and instruction. I’ve been encouraged by the blogs of several women, and by the blog of one remarkable young lady ho is a freshman in college.

I have to admit that it is easy to be negative and focus on what is wrong – and there is a lot that troubles me in our generation – but I am encouraged by the faithfulness of many. Not everyone has given in to the culturally-driven church. There are a lot of people, plodding along (in a good sense) with their small-to-medium size congregations, which – to quote Howard Hendricks – is more than we are ever going to want to give an account for. There are people who are concerned about the purity of the Gospel, about biblically-rooted Christian faith and life, and I have learned quite a bit from them.

I’ve been pointed to some outstanding resources. Books, lectures, other blogs – all of these have been useful. One of the reasons I began Stronger Church was to be able to recommend things that were helpful to me. For as many links as I have pointed to, I have received far more from the insights of others.

Blogging has sharpened my thinking. Most of us who are in ministry are very busy and don’t have a lot of time to investigate every new idea that comes down the pike. In fact, I am amazed at how often I talk to people who are really uniformed about what is happening in the Christian world. I won’t compare reading other people’s blogs with going to school, but there is a benefit that comes from the reading and interacting. It is in some ways like being in a classroom.

So to those of you who are represented in these paragraphs, I thank you. You’ve left a mark on my life over the last nine months that has been significant.

Evangelicals Ruin Something Else

2005-11-02T19:13:00.000-05:00

Here's the copy from a recent Christian Book Distributor (CBD) advertisement:

Toto Baggypants (Junior Asparagus) is a young Flobbit who has inherited a mysterious bean with unique powers from his uncle Billboy (Archibald Asparagus). Toto sets out on a quest to discover the bean's purpose with Ear-a-Corn (Larry the Cucumber), Leg-o-Lamb (Jimmy Gourd), and the dwarf Grumpy (Pa Grape). Their quest is full of adventure, great danger (beware of the evil Sporks!) and much laughter. Join this fellowship as they climb Much Snowia, endure the Razzberry Forest, and eventually trek deep into the land of Woe. Will the "Fellowship of the Bean" complete their quest?

This new VeggieTales episode also features the original song "It's About Love" by country music star Wynonna Judd. Plus Larry the Cucumber, dressed up like Elvis, is featured in a special edition of Silly Songs with Elves!

I mean, granted it's not the Bible, but good night. Forget rolling over - Tolkien must on a rotisserie in his grave. I have never read the Lord of the Rings series, but I have listened to all 40+ 90-minute cassettes of the unabridged version three times. The ease with which one can identify biblical themes may be up for discussion, but LoTR is a piece of literary art. And these guys, making sure that cute 'n shallow win out, have made it into velvet painting.

How dare I criticize when I haven't even watched it? No need to - the problem is the concept. I don't care if the edible elves win a stinking Oscar. We've already got the Lord of the Universe portrayed as a baby carrot. Can someone put this crowd in a freezer bag before they work their dumb-down magic on anything else? Here's the message kiddies - don't take anything of substance seriously. We can make a cartoon of it.

Oh yeah:

8. A plush doll of Martin Luther that says "Here I stand" when you squeeze his belly.

How We Failed to Capitalize on Reformation Day

2005-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

What is wrong with us? We've missed a major opportunity to make the Reformation relevant to 21st century people. The marketing geniuses that provide meaningful stuff for the shelves of our Christian bookstores certainly have overlooked this one. Why are we not seeing quality items for sale such as:

1. Indulgence trading cards.
2. An "educational" video series on the Reformers using animated pieces of fruit - or maybe cute little bears dressed in period costume.
3. Reformation T-shirts (oh right, we've got them)
4. Luther and Calvin vs. The Pope and Tetzel wrestling action figures.
5. A modernized version of the 95 Theses, entitled, "Hey Mr. Pope!"
6. Greeting cards with pithy sayings from Luther's Table Talk. Luther needs to be cartoonized of course. How cute! (Hey - is there any way we can get these on Starbucks cups??)
7. Diet of Worms gummy candy.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Reformation Sunday

2005-10-31T08:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Reformation Day. #488 if you are counting.

My sermon yesterday morning was a quick overview of the Reformation, identification of the five "solas" that I plan to study with our church, and some reasons why the issues of the Reformation lead to pastoral concern today. If you want to listen to it, it should be up on our website sometime today.

I took the train in to Philadelphia on Friday afternoon to pick up 100 copies of the Cambridge Declaration from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. I also found that the book A Reformation Reader by Denis R. Janz was very helpful. What was especially cool was the fact that the book came with the complete text in Logos/Libronix format.

Anyway, while not a typical expository sermon, I felt it was worth taking the Sunday to raise awareness of the issues involved. Our people seemed to find it helpful, so that was good.

This week I am going to be reading some materials on the sufficiency of Scripture. On top of the pile is RC Sproul's book Scripture Alone.

Eric Svendsen has a good quote about the Reformation from Philip Schaaf on his blog. OldTruth has an interesting note on why we need the Puritans, as well as a good one on preaching. Jollyblogger talks about why we need to appreciate the Reformation. A reminder as to why all three need to be heeded.

Reformation Sunday and the Independent Church, Part 2

2005-10-19T19:19:00.000-04:00

I had intended to add more to this several days ago, but did not.  My apologies to those of you who stopped by looking for something new.

Over the last week-plus I have had my intent to preach through the five “solas” of the Reformation affirmed several times.  In preparing to preach this week, I am reminded at how both believing in and following Jesus Christ are based on objective revelation.  There are numerous calls in Scripture to stand solidly on the foundation that was heard at conversion.

I try to walk two miles two or three times a week at a local park.  My iPod was playing a sermon on pastoral ministry by Alistair Begg.  He was talking about how some feel that no one listens to preaching anymore and arguing the case for why people do listen to preaching.  I was thinking that if we could get people to concede that preaching still has a valid role in the church today (something that I wholeheartedly affirm), certainly that preaching has to be focused at the day-to-day experiences of the listener.  Doctrinal preaching then, has to be set aside.  Maybe a Sunday School class on doctrine can be offered for the super-interested, the more intellectual listener.  But not in the pulpit!

Yet by the grace of God doctrinal preaching changed the course of history.  These five basic affirmations of biblical Christianity have enormous impact on real life.  Part of good doctrinal preaching has to be to show that to be true.

Because I prefer teaching a passage rather than doing a topical study in a sermon, I’m planning to focus on one particular text each week.  But I’ve assembled some fairly new resources on the truths of the reformation that I would like to commend to you.

The late James Boice wrote Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?  It spends a chapter on each of the five major doctrines.  I recommend it highly.  Gary Johnson and R. Fowler White have edited a book entitled Whatever Happened to the Reformation.  The forwards are written by R.C. Sproul and David Wells, and Michael Horton contributes the afterward.  In Here We Stand, one of the best books I read this year, Michael Horton’s chapter on the Solas is superb.  R.C. Sproul has a fine book called Scripture Alone that goes beyond the scope of one sermon on the Bible, but I will recommend it as a resource for those interested in more than we can cover on one Sunday morning.  Ditto for his book on Justification entitled Faith Alone.  Terry Johnson wrote The Case for Traditional Protestantism which deals with these five doctrines, and finally After Darkness, Light: Essays in honor of R.C. Sproul is a fine exposure to the Reformation truth.

The next entry on this blog will probably deal with what I hope to accomplish in this series.

* * * *

As an aside, I have had the opportunity to attend Mark Dever’s lectures on preaching at Westminster Seminary over the last two days.  They have been excellent.

Reformation Sunday and the Independent Church

2005-10-10T09:10:00.000-04:00

Our church was birthed 69 years ago by a group of 99 people, including the pastor, who left a denominational church because of a growing liberalism in that denomination. Moving a few blocks down the street to the local fire hall, Faith Community Church began its ministry in 1936. In what was certainly somewhat of a reaction to the problems inherent in denominations gone bad, the constitution specifies that the church may not join any ecclesiastical group, denomination or fellowship. In other words, we're independent.

All of the churches that I have been involved in since my family trusted Christ in the mid 1960's have been independent churches. One was a member of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America, the other was an independent Baptist church (not of the fightin' variety) and Faith, which came from Presbyterian roots, has morphed over the years into what I have sometimes described as a "closet Baptist" church.

One could argue the pros and cons of denominations. I am not one who feels that the existence of different denominations and fellowships necessarily implies a fundamental disunity in the Church. Oh it can be that, but it does not have to be. There are positives and negatives of being on your own. I'd like to share some thoughts for a few moments on one of the things that I feel is a negative, and what I am doing this year to try to correct that.

In any church - especially independent congregations - it is possible (likely?) that people have little or no sense of heritage. And in a culture that seems to regard history as being somewhat irrelevant, most of our people have little interest and certainly little knowledge in pre-Billy Graham evangelicalism. And that concerns me.

Most of the readers of this blog will be familiar with the five "Solas" of the Reformation. This list of five key doctrinal beliefs that the Reformation emphasized. And as several have said (and as I have blogged before) we need Reformation Version 2 in our day. And unfortunately it needs to be pretty much about the same issues that were addressed in Version 1.

I was thinking about the five doctrinal affirmations referred to in the Solas statements. Do you notice that every one of them is under attack today - and not (just) from outside the Church, but from inside. There are people inside evangelicalism with a low view of Scripture's trustworthiness and authority. There are those who fudge on the issue of salvation by Christ alone. With the way the Gospel is presented today, grace and faith have taken a back seat to praying a prayer and coming to learn how special we are. The Glory of God? Fuggedaboudit.

We're not dealing with superfluous doctrines here - these are the core of Christian belief. Take them away and we no longer have Christianity. And that's why I want to talk to our folks about these key Reformation doctrines.

So beginning on Sunday, October 30, which is Reformation Sunday, we're going to spend 5 or 6 weeks talking about these key beliefs. I've postponed getting back into Romans until after the holidays because I feel it is important that we be grounded in these basic areas of biblical truth.

I'm not interested in creating another church holiday, but I am interested in increasing our awareness of what is essential to our faith, and it seems that this presents a good opportunity. What about you? Does your church provide any resource or teaching specific to these core beliefs at this time of year? I'd be interested in hearing about them.

In my next blog entry, probably in a day or two, I'd like to share a couple of resources that I picked up to help in this process.

On Sowing and Reaping

2005-10-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

John Piper writes:

The absence of manifest conversions does not mean that a person has been faithless in labor. Only God knows how long a minister must sow before the reaping comes - or if the faithful minister himself will have the privilege of doing the reaping. But if he sows and another reaps, still the sower has not sowed in vain.

But should I be content to say, "I am a sower, another will reap?" No, not until my life is over. Then, if the reaping has not come, I will rest my life on this: One sows, another reaps."

From Taste and See, page 132.

Random Observations and Links

2005-10-04T09:13:00.000-04:00

In my first pastorate in NJ, there was a church near us whose sign was the talk of the Christian community. A lot of people couldn't wait to drive by each week to see what new corny slogan was posted. Wish I had kept a list of the "best" of the "worst." The other week I spotted this one in our area: "Laughter is God's hand on the shoulder of a hurting world." Wow. If there was a prize for trite, I think we evangelicals might have a good shot at winning.

Speaking of winning, two bloggers, Phil Johnson and Scott McKnight, are Chicago Cubs fans. Thanks to the inability of the Cubs to beat the Houston Astros on Sunday, my Phillies go home for the winter and Houston goes on into the playoffs. I have my personalized Phillies jersey (a gift from three of our men upon my installation as Senior Pastor here two years ago) hanging in my office this week to commemorate a fine finish to their season. In case any Phillies read my blog (ha ha ha ha ha), thanks, guys!

Jim Martin has a great post on making a difference. A good opportunity to check the correlation between our beliefs and our behavior.

Fred Butler blogs about a pastor's dream - inheriting someone's library. He talks about some books that he especially appreciates.

Thanks to Tim Challies for a solid book review on a topic that is becoming the next big thing for evangelicals. Why can't we be satisfied with what God has revealed in his Word? Steve Camp blogs about Every Christian's Duty. How can our people defend what they don't know?

Here's a fine article on preaching from 1999, perhaps even more appropriate today.

I appreciated this interesting article by Fred Butler (two quotes in one post, Fred!!) on leaving King James onlyism.

Mark Dever, Phil Ryken and a few other contemporary preachers will be speaking at Westminster Seminary near Philadelphia in two weeks. The conference theme: Preaching that Builds a Healthy Church. Looking forward to going.

Westminster has a collection of lectures and chapel messages on their website. Many if not most of them are in Real Audio format, but they state that they are moving toward MP3. Thankfully!
If you don't want your system clogged up by the Real Player software, there is a program called Real Alternative.

That's it for this morning. Would like to post more original stuff but am in day two of a migraine. Thankfully not as bad as yesterday!

More Resources You Might Like

2005-09-26T09:08:00.000-04:00

Following one of Phil Johnson's links the other day led me to a site sponsored by Twin City Fellowship called Critical Issues Commentary. You can download both print and audio copies of their every-other month publication. Worthwhile stuff.

Shane Raynor has a good post on Salvation, Repentance and Cheap Grace on World Magazine's Theogica Site. Wish those guys would get an RSS feed - have I missed it?

Those of you who do research papers and aren't in love with the citations part of writing need to check this site.

Kevin Jones (The Reluctant Puritan) shows a creative side. Nice job, Kevin.

I'm using a new book by John Piper as devotional reading. Check out Taste and See. I bought it at Westminster Seminary's bookstore, but they don't have it listed. Given their Amazon-beating prices and flat $5 shipping charge per order, you might want to check them out before you buy.

Two books on my reading list are Mark Dever and Paul Alexander's new The Deliberate Church and D.A. Carson's A Call to Spiritual Reformation.

Running the Blogger spellchecker on this post was a hoot, by the way!

New Stuff

2005-09-21T07:40:00.000-04:00

One of the things I had in mind when I started this blog in February was to hopefully share quality resources with other pastors or interested laypersons. I recently came across a series of lectures downloadable in mp3 format on the Reformation from the ministry of Tom Browning, pastor of the Arlington Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Texas. These are recorded in decent quality, and went right on my iPod. They are apparently the first part of a multi-part series. It covers some of the men who paved the way for the Reformation and then focuses on Luther. Thanks, Tom, for making these available.

Old Truth blogs about being seeker-sensitive. Tim Challies begins a review of the book Is the Reformation Over.

Kevin Jones has a blog called The Reluctant Puritan that looks like it is one of those worth stopping by regularly. I could not find the RSS feed for it, but you can find the site here.

Probably one of the saddest and yet funniest things I've seen in some time is this post about a Texas fundamentalist church that issued trading cards of its staff members. Not only do they have the person's photo on the front, but soul-winning and baptism stats for the previous year are included as well. If I read the article correctly, the church made the particular staff person whose card was "released" during a given week available for autographs on that Sunday. Hat tip to Texas Baptist Underground. It appears that the author of the blog is a recovered militant fundamentalist.

A question for those of you who use news aggregators for blog reading: are you aware of any software that allows you to track comments and responses on other people's blogs? I am currently using FeedDemon, which apparently does not have that capability.

Did You Ever Wonder . . .

2005-09-14T19:08:00.000-04:00

If there are such things as Mega-Mosques . . .
If some Buddhist temples are seeker-sensitive . . .
If other faiths have marketing seminars . . .
If Muslim kids have programs and make things out of popsicle sticks . . .
If Confucians are more "blessed" when their sopranos hit the obgligatory end-of-song high note. . .
If the Koran has been paraphrased more than three times . . .
If you can buy action figures in an Islamic or Hebrew bookstore . . .
If there is such a thing as a Taoist rock festival . . .
If Druids ever argued about music preferences . . .
If other faiths use cartoon vegetables to tell their most sacred stories . . .

Some Unfinished Business

2005-09-12T09:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was one of those rare Sundays where I didn't get to finish my sermon. I don't plan my messages with the clock in mind, but it is uncanny how when I edit the sermon to put on our website, I come in often at 31 or 32 minutes. Go figure.

I am finishing a series of sermons on Paul's exhortations in 1 Thessalonians. I was preaching yesterday on 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 and got "stuck" in a good way on my second point, which was about discernment. I had some illustrative material from an article by Tony Campolo (his school is about 30 minutes from here) espousing an essentially Open theism view of the Hurricane. I had debated whether or not to use his comments, but felt that it was important to since he is a well-known speaker in our area. Talking about the implications of his teaching, which I personally reject as unbiblical, took a little more time than I had planned. But the fact is that there are people within the boundaries of contemporary evangelicalism whose views don't square with historical, orthodox, biblical Christianity. When Dr. Campolo advises that we take the view of a Rabbi who indicates that God is not as powerful as we have given Him credit for, he is clearly over the line.

Paul, knowing that there would be false teaching after he left Ephesus, commended the elders and their people to the Word. Enough side-stepping or re-interpreting Scripture. Enough denying what Scripture clearly teaches. If it doesn't square with the Word, it is to be rejected, no matter what a person claims about his or her relation to Christ. I read this quote by Donald Carson to our folks (thanks to the folks at 9marks.org for the tip) :

Read discerningly. Read everybody discerningly, whether you're reading my books or his books. Test everything by Scripture. Don't believe somebody just because they're nice and write well, or just because they're scratching where the current culture is itching. Always, always, always if you're a Christian, come back to the test of scripture, so far as that is humanly possible.

If you want to read Dr. Campolo's article, it is here. Those of you who feel that it would be nice for Evangelicals to stay within the bounds of theological orthodoxy ought to read this interview as well. I agree with Tim Challies statement about him being dangerous and promoting false teaching. And I don't give the proverbial rats hind quarters whether Dr. Campolo is a) more educated than me, b) a better speaker, c) more popular, etc. I can't do my job as a shepherd if I don't warn the sheep.

Compare Dr. Campolo's viewpoints to John Piper's. His words were dead-center honest and upheld the biblical glory of God. May God bless him for that.

Anyway, next week I'll finish the series, talk a little more about discernment, and talk about the need to have not only 1) an open heart, 2) a discerning heart, but 3) a responsive heart to truth. The text of my sermon is on our website at www.faithcom.org in case anyone is interested.

- - -

The next hot thing, of course, wading through the evangelical pool, is to accept Mormons as co-believers. Phil Johnson has some thoughts. Tip of the hat to Milton Stanley for his contribution on reading the Bible and preaching. A good quote from John Stott.

2005-09-03T18:53:00.000-04:00

Deep in the heart of Florida Marlins territory, I presented my brother-in-law with a Phillies shirt.

A Charge to A Dear Brother (in-law)

2005-08-30T10:40:00.000-04:00

I had the great privilege of participating in the installation/dedication service for my brother-in-law, Dr. Brian Wingenroth, who is the new Senior Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Pompano Beach. Here is the essence of what I shared in my charge to the pastor on Sunday. I hope it will encourage all of us who preach to preach the Word!

- - -

Please open to 2 Timothy 4.

Brian, I have no doubt that you want to have an effective ministry. But how does that happen? We have seminars and books by the score that want to tell us what to do, how to be effective, what we need to focus on. I had several pieces of mail waiting for me when I got back from vacation last night purporting to revolutionize my ministry. And with rare exception I use them as an opportunity to be environmentally conscious - I recycle them!

But how do we decided what makes us effective? The more I think about the church and about what is important, I am convinced of two things:

Scripture must define our ministry priorities.
When we look at the pastoral task in Scripture, our primary - not our only, but our primary - priority must be the communication of God's Word.

I have no doubt that we think alike on this issue, but the climate in which we minister today is moving further and further away from this view of ministry. But I want to challenge you to commit yourself to an view of ministry that is not merely part of a passing and antiquated evangelicalism, but rather is rooted in the inerrant Word of God.

Read 2 Timothy 4:1-4.

I wish I had time to develop this passage in more detail than I do. What Paul says in chapter 4 comes out of his discussion in chapter 3 on the nature of Scripture. Because Scripture is God-breathed and because it is the means God uses to change lives, Paul prefaces his commands to Timothy in words that are clearly not just friendly counsel - they are divine edict (read again vs. 1). Out of this comes the command that forms the heart of this passage:

Preach the Word.
This is not preaching about the Word or preaching from the Word, but preaching the Word. There is a difference between preaching the text of Scripture and using Scripture to support our own ideas.

Our ideas don't bring life. God's words do. Our ideas don't change the heart. God's words do.

Preach the word persistently.
"In season and out of season" relates to the climate of the times. Whether it is trendy or not, whether it is popular or not does not matter.

How do we stay on track here? One way is by coming to the text for the message, and not to the text to support our message.

So preach the word persistently. Preach the simple and preach the profound. Our "climate" is one in which there are calls to lighten up and dumb down. Personally, I resent the insinuation that our people can not or will not learn. Luther taught the doctrine of justification by faith to peasants. Why can't our people learn doctrinal truth?

Preach the word to the heart.
"Reprove, rebuke, exhort" (correct, rebuke, encourage - NIV) are words that clearly tell us that we need to speak to more than just the mind. These words tell us that we need to speak with authority to values, behavior, the way people think, how they behave - because the Word does.

Everyone wants to be relevant. You will be relevant if you preach the Word and preach to the heart.

Preach the word with urgency.
A good pastor guards the souls of his people. A good shepherd knows that there is a real enemy who seeks to devour. A good shepherd knows that a verbal profession of faith does not guarantee genuine conversion. So we preach the word with a sense of urgency. We care that our people hear it and that they learn it, and we do all that we can humanly do to enable those things.

If we are not living in the climate Paul describes in verses 3 & 4, we must be very close. This is a day of doctrinal shallowness and compromise, a day in which God's nature and his priorities are distorted and sometimes even attacked. And you will compete with highly visible people - on TV, radio, and in print - who are considered credible because of their celebrity, and yet offer your people nothing more than spiritual candy.

Never take this pulpit without reminding yourself of the awesome responsibility of your task and of what is at stake, and preach the word with urgency. You do not know how long people will listen.

You may be accused of being old-fashioned and out of touch. Some people will visit and never return because you preach more than a feel-good message. Even some who are sitting here today may urge you to lighten up, which means to dumb down.

You pay that no heed. You determine at the start of your ministry here to preach the Word, to preach it persistently, to preach to the heart, and to preach with urgency, and when God brings this chapter of your ministry to a close, you will have fulfilled your responsibility to lead these dear people "into paths of righteousness for His name's sake," and you will have nothing for which to apologize when you stand to give an account "in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus."

Preach the Word.

Down Time

2005-08-22T09:47:00.000-04:00

Laura and I are going to be spending a few days at Harvey Cedars Bible Conference on Long Beach Island in New Jersey. This has been an annual event for us for a number of years. A good time to rest and relax a bit. This year we're having to come home two days early. On Saturday we fly to Pompano Beach, Florida where my brother-in-law Brian has just assumed the position of Senior Pastor at the Grace Baptist Church. I will be speaking as part of his installation service next Sunday. I am honored to be a part of that.

Here are some things I found last week that you might have missed.

Ligon Duncan posted a list of helpful resources on the Reformation21 blog. The Reformation21 blog is one of my must-reads each day.

John Macarthur had two messages on the Grace to You broadcast last week that dealt with preaching. Good stuff. You can download his broadcast each day through iTunes. No doubt the Apostle Paul would have had an iPod.

A Saturday ago, Milton Stanley linked to a challenge for those of us who preach. Thanks, Milton!

Here are some links to an interview with Phil Ryken, Senior Pastor of 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. The links appear on the blog Sharper Iron.

Steve Camp tells it like it is once again.

Have a good week, friends - will catch up again next Tuesday or so.

What I Want

2005-08-15T08:38:00.000-04:00

In just a week or two Laura and I will finish 25 years of pastoral ministry here at Faith Community Church. For the first 22 I worked in various capacities as needs arose, mostly focusing on our educational programs and ministries to adults. However, in March of 2003 I began preaching during a vacancy in the Senior Pastor's position, and that led to the church calling me as Senior Pastor in September of 2003. Unlike what I am sure a lot of people have the opportunity to say, these last few years have been the best.

So this particular August/September period is a special one for me in several ways. However, it is also the time when most churches "re-gather" for the coming year, having allowed the summer to provide a break from some church programs. As we begin another year of ministry, I have been asking myself what I hope to accomplish. I have a list of "things to do," but I am not thinking about tasks. I am thinking about what I would like to see happen in the lives of our people and in our church as a whole, and I find that while I can do things that move in those directions, that the real work is done by God.

Here are some things that I am thinking about and praying for:

I want to see more of our people here more often. Our generation has re-defined faithfulness, and it is not for the better. Call me simplistic, but if we preach and teach because we believe that God's Word is in fact living and active, and that it does change lives, then it stands to reason that it is essential that our folks have a regular diet of the Bible. I'm praying that God will speak to our people about having a greater hunger for His Word.

I want to see more of our people in small groups and our groups become closer-knit communities. At present about 35-40% of our adults are members of a small group. Our groups meet weekly to share together, pray together, and learn together. While no groups are perfect, I know enough about what happens in our groups that I can state without question that those who choose to opt-out of small group participation are missing something significant to their spiritual lives.

I want to see our entire church become better followers of Christ. As I am composing this, I received an email from a friend in our church that contained an article on the nature of pastoral ministry. One of the points was that the church needed to be more focused on mission. I'm going to use that term in this way: I would like to see our people follow Christ more intentionally in their daily pursuits. A starting point for that is that they be aware that no matter where they go and what they are doing, no matter how mundane the task, no matter how public or private, no matter how frustrating or exhilarating, being a follower of Jesus Christ in some way relates to the way that we conduct our lives. In other words, I want us to live life with a pervading sense that we are living for the glory of God. That affects how I work, how I live in my home, how I deal with those outside of Christ, etc.

I am clearly conscious that these tranformations - which are hardly unique and probably could be said at any time by any pastor in any evangelical church - take place only by the work of God. So how does that relate to what I do? At the outset of this new church year, and as I reach into the second quarter of my ministry here, I am aware of the need to do several things so that God can use me as a catalyst as he sees fit.

I'm not sure that I can list steps or goals yet for myself. I am thinking about that, and plan to do more of that when I am on vacation next week. But my thoughts center at this point on my own pastoral and personal priorities as a student and communicator, and on the need to emphasize what I think God wants to do in our church - like building deeper community and living effectively (which includes both character and witness) in our non-church world.

How about some of you? What are you thinking about as you get ready to enter a new season of ministry? I'd be glad to hear what you want to be doing and doing better? Let's commit to pray for each other so that we will be God's tools in the task!

Tuesday Wanderings I Should Have Posted Yesterday

2005-08-09T08:56:00.000-04:00

I am taking a semi-break this week. Our very capable Youth Pastor is preaching on Sunday, and I'm using a bit of vacation time by taking an afternoon off here and there through the week. I spent a good part of the day yesterday going through piles - you all have them, I am sure. Today I'm having my annual lunch with my friend Bob, who God used in my life while I was in high school over 35 years ago. We're remained friends since then and have opportunity to keep in touch via the internet. But we do manage to get together for lunch each summer.

Preaching is close to my heart, so I always appreciate articles on doing it right and doing it better. Al Mohler has part 1 of a 2 part series on his blog. You'll want to read it, I am sure. I've printed out a ton of preaching-related posts and articles to take with me on vacation in a few weeks. This goes in the pile.

Rebecca, over at Rebecca writes, posts a review of Brian Chapell's book Praying Backwards. This book seems to be getting a lot of attention.

Thanks to Got Doctrine? for a reminder of the grace of God. Also to Steve Camp, for reminding us what it means for God to be God.

Tim Challies has a story you simply must read.

Dale Barrett tells us "This is Why." Thanks, Dale. They don't always happen often, but they mean more than most people realize.

A great, thought-provoking post appeared at Cerulean Sanctum. I was going to share some thoughts about what Dan is saying, but I'll let the article speak for itself - it does so quite capably. Ok, I'll at least say this: words are powerful. We need to be careful what we say and what we allege. We need to deal with ideas and try to avoid personalities. And always, Scripture is our standard and not our preferences and prejudices. Thanks, Dan, for the reminder.

Being Thoughtful and Deliberate

2005-08-05T08:52:00.000-04:00

On occasion I'll look through a devotional entitled Day By Day With the Early Church Fathers. Often their comments are challenging, and it is interesting to see how people of a different time sought to apply Scripture to their own situations.

Yesterday's reading was a quotation from Clement of Alexandria:

The Savior teaches nothing in a merely human way, but teaches His own with Divine and mystic wisdom. Therefore, we must not listen to His words with worldly ears. We must search out and learn the meaning hidden in them. For what the Lord seems to have simplified for the disciples requires even more attention than puzzling statements because of its overabundance of wisdom. In addition, the things He explained to His children require even more consideration than the things which seem to have been simply stated. Those who heard such explanations did not ask questions, because the Lord's words pertaining to the entire design of salvation were meant to be contemplated with awe and a deep spiritual mind. We must not receive these words superficially with our ears, but must apply our minds to understanding the Spirit of the Savior and the unspoken meaning of His Words.

I don't think that Clement is suggesting that there are hidden meanings that need to be discovered in place of or in addition to the normal meaning of what is said, but that we need to contemplate, meditate, think through what we read. Scripture is amazing in its simplicity, yet profound in its depth. In our fast-paced world, we may get the general meaning by a fast reading, but only by thoughtful contemplation can we see the implications. For me, this was a reminder to slow down in my study and meditation, and I've actually decided to start my prep a day earlier so that I have time to think more about the passage than I have.

Milton Stanley posted something yesterday about letting the text speak to us over time. Some guys can work on sermons months in advance. I have found that doesn't work for me. I do my best when I am focusing my energies on what I am going to communicate on the coming Sunday. Of course, in a situation where one is preaching through a book of the Bible, one can increase a broader perspective by continuing to look at the context of what is being preached on a given week. But the point of what Milton blogged is right - we need to do a thorough job of preparing the meal we intend to feed to our flock.

- - -

Bob at Mr. Standfast recommends two CD's he has been listening to. If you like Celtic-type music, you will probably like these. As a long-term listener to country music (to be distinguished from the bad rock and roll that often plays on contemporary country radio), it is interesting to hear the Celtic roots in so much of American music. Now if Bob would just buy several of us the CD's to "review."

Tim Challies has a fantastic post: Making Christianity Better or Rock and Roll Worse. Right on. The authors - regardless of their spiritual orientation - have captured what we look like to people on the outside and it isn't pretty.

Slice of Laodicea points to an article entitled The Gospel According to Rick Warren. What was particularly interesting to me in the story was this quote:

John Macarthur is on target when he writes, "Listening to a seeker-sensitive evangelical preacher today, we're likely to think it's easy to be a Christian. Just say these little words, pray this little prayer, and you're in the club."

The article's author goes on to say that "Admittedly, salvation is received by faith alone in Christ alone, but it is not received by mouthing a little prayer lacking in biblical content and understanding, with the hopes that you will find purpose in life."

Macarthur warns, "People are breezing through those wide, comfortable, inviting gates with all their baggage, their self-needs, their self-esteem, and their desire for fulfillment and self-satisfaction. And he most horrible thing about it is they think they're going to heaven. "

Seen Around the Blog World

2005-08-02T08:50:00.000-04:00

Bruce Johnson's blog has good counsel about how we introduce our sermons. If I remember, the first of the Seven Laws of Teaching is "gain and sustain the attention of the student." That applies to preaching as well. We don't have to set ourselves on fire, but how we start off is going to affect whether people listen or not.

Slice of Laodicea has a post about antagonism toward preaching. See, there are better ways, don't you know? (Some of you probably think I hate clowns.)

Al Mohler blogs about tradition.

Some of you may already be aware of this, but Covenant Seminary has a great selection of messages and lectures by their faculty and guest lecturers. They are downloadable MP3 files for those of you who, like me, are iPod connected. Load it up!

Phil Newton talks about the essentials of the Gospel on the 9marks.com website.

The Past

2005-07-29T10:10:00.000-04:00

Bumble's response to my recommendation of an article about heritage resulted in my wanting to comment in a blog entry rather than in a response to his comment.

Several years ago our former Pastor had us repeat the Apostles' Creed. A family who had been raised in fundamentalism got up and left and they have never come back. For them, reciting the Creed was associated with formalism and dead denominationalism, and they wanted no part in that. I mourned their lack of perspective.

In the article I pointed to in the previous blog, Rick Phillips suggests returning to or re-acquainting people with the past. I think he gives some good advice, even if one doesn't want to use the particular forms he proposes.

Our culture is enthralled with the latest and greatest. We almost seem to need the latest and greatest to sustain our interest. And we view what came before us as antiquated and irrelevant. When we bring that approach to our spiritual lives and to our churches, we plunge headlong into a consumer driven mentality, and a mentality that suggests that youth is far superior to age and experience, and I believe we do so to the detriment of our people.

I recall a conversation recently with my brother in law. He had indicated that his Pastor had been approached by a visitor who told him that he could fill his church if he would "lighten up" and preach less, sing more. That - to me - typifies so much of what we hear today. Let me see if I get this right: Our people are biblically illiterate, but I should teach them less? Our people live lives that are no different than the pagans around them, but I need to focus on felt needs?

Those who came before us give us balance. Their wisdom calls us to faithfulness and devotion. We can ignore them, but in so doing we display an unusual arrogance. We certainly want to avoid the extreme that equates doing things the "old" way with biblical fidelity. But if using the contributions of those who have gone before us - even if their style is different than ours - can help deepen our people, then let's open that well from which they can drink.

Friday Pickings

2005-07-29T08:20:00.000-04:00

Ligon Duncan has posted an article on what we ought to be reading. One of the helpful aspects of blogging is the ability to share recommendations.

My observation is that most evangelicals - especially those in non-denominational, independent churches like the one I pastor - have no sense of heritage. Here is a post on establishing balance.

Proof that the inmates are running the nuthouse.

A good article on the need for a strong foundation.

The Continuing Discussion About Reformation

2005-07-26T09:26:00.000-04:00

A number of people have been blogging about the condition of Evangelicalism. Adrian Warnock wrote about his conversation with Phil Johnson regarding the attacks on orthodoxy today. I think he's got it right when he compares the situation to terrorism in that the attacks come from all sides.

This is a different battle than that which the Church faced a century ago. Back then, the enemy was more clearly defined. A general rejection of supernaturalism played itself out in a rejection of most if not all orthodox doctrines. Today, as Adrian and Phil observed, the battle is being fought on many fronts - and often by those who claim (and may in fact be) part of the Church. After the battles of Lexington and Concord at the outset of the American Revolution, the British troops made their way back to Boston, being picked off by unseen American militia hiding behind rocks and trees. Our situation is not unlike that today.

Steve Camp has a good post about some of the people whose approaches have and are potentially derailing us from being the Church in a biblical sense. Don't see a problem with anything he says there.

There seems to be a basic presupposition that Christianity has "not worked" and that something is needed to bring it up to date, make it more effective, etc. But as I see it, abandoning the heritage that some are so quick to toss aside is precisely what contributes to our weakness. As I said the other day, the answer is found in restoring what God has given, not trying to reinvent something else.

It's for that reason that I am so grateful for Mark Dever's 9 Marks of A Healthy Church. I doubt Mark or anyone on his staff reads this blog, but if this should cross any of the 9 Marks staff's desk, please tell Mark that his book, which calls us to hold on to what God has used for centuries, was the most significant book I've read in the last ten years and has deeply impacted my thinking about pastoral ministry.

We've got to hold on, seek after the Lord, preach and follow the Word, and live faithfully. Ideas fade away and become yesterday's fads. God's Word endures forever.

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Speaking of Steve Camp, another of his posts shows what happens when we get off track. What happened to 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12? I appreciate Steve's having the guts to call it as he sees it and show biblically how this kind of activism in the name of Christ is actually disobedient.

The folks at the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals have a new web-based publication. It is called Reformation 21. Thanks to Doug McHone of Coffeeswirls.

How about this situation for people who stand for the truth? Hat tip to Random Responses.

Monday Stuff

2005-07-25T12:31:00.000-04:00

John Telfer Brown's blog Scotwise has frequently encouraging articles. I recommend a regular visit.

The Constructive Curmudgeon has a good review of Os Guiness' book Prophetic Untimeliness. I've looked at the book a few times at Westminster Seminary's bookstore, but haven't read it yet. I may after reading this review.

Walk Between the Lines has a good post about sermon stealing. With all of the material on the internet today (and frankly, with all that is in print) where do we draw the line between what is appropriate and what is not?

The Bible Archive has a post on commentaries, and also a link to some extensive commentary recommendations that we blogged about in February. A must- have if you like to review lists of recommended resources.

John Schroeder share some quotes from John Wesley's wisdom. Good reading.

Luther

2005-07-22T07:43:00.000-04:00

Laura and I watched the movie Luther last night. I'd give it 2 stars out of 4.

The abuses of medieval catholicism (though the current catechism affirms the Treasury of Merit and indulgences) are quite graphic, and the film does a good job of showing the political ramifications of the Reformation in Germany. The scenery is fantastic, and generally the acting is quite good. Where the movie falls short is in its failure to clearly show Luther's own struggle. What we are shown is a man keenly aware of his own sinfulness, and his being pointed toward Christ. But the defining moment in Luther's life - and the theological substance behind the Reformation - namely, his understanding of justification by faith - is a no-show. We have a scene where Luther is preaching to his people, and he makes the point that it is Christ and not the abuses of the church that save. But his conversion is too basic to the plot of the Reformation to gloss over it the way the film did. I take away a whole star for that. (Hollywood quivers)

Nevertheless, I'd recommend it as helpful insight into the Reformation time period. I noticed that Christian Book Distributors had the older black & white DVD for $4 so I ordered that. I watched that over 20 years ago. CBD doesn't have the current one, but I have seen it in Best Buy for about $10, give or take. Two hours long.

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Interesting post on "Christian psychology" at Eternal Perspectives. Got Doctrine has a quote from Joseph Smith and a picture showing that the advent of the blow dryer helps a lot of us avoid this kind of bad hair day. Rebecca Writes has been sharing some material from different historic church documents. Rebecca lives and blogs from the Yukon!

Don't Know Whether to Laugh or Cry

2005-07-21T12:45:00.000-04:00

My cell phone rang while my wife and I were out to dinner last night. My adult son was calling, hoping to find that I was home. He was flipping through the channels and came across two women TV evangelists. He said, "if the sound was turned down, you would think you were watching two women wrestlers." No doubt a couple of Dolly Parton hair-types. What boggles my mind is that people watch this stuff and not just for laughs.

One of my check-daily websites is called Major Geeks. They frequently list what they consider to be offbeat sites and the other day listed this one. Does the logo offend you? It offends me. So does the t-shirt being sold at the top of this page. "Come on, Peter. Paul said he was all things to all men that he might win some." I wonder if there is a more abused verse in Scripture in our current evangelical environment.

Steve Camp has a post about influential evangelical churches. Those with the apparatus for doing so felt it was important that we know WHO was WHO. First question: why? Second question: So what?

But then there are some good things that have passed by on my screen:

Phil Johnson wrote about the need for new reformers, and I blogged about it a few days ago. Tim Challies had a good post a few days ago that complements what Phil said.

I stumbled across a blog that exists to list the blogs and web pages of scholars. Here 'tis. You might be interested in some of these.

If anyone has the mistaken view that all of today's teens are deadheads, take a look at this young lady's blog. Keep it up, Laura!!

The other afternoon, I pulled our staff into my office and viewed one of my favorite Three Stooges episodes: An Ache in Every Stake. The boys are ice delivery men turned cooks and create total mayhem with good, clean fun. I suggest a good dose of the Stooges from time to time.

A New Reformation?

2005-07-19T08:29:00.000-04:00

Phil Johnson's recent post on the state of Evangelicalism ended by saying, "We sure could use a new generation of Reformers." He's right, of course. I believe it was Howard Hendricks who said that Evangelicalism is 5 miles wide and 1 inch deep. And that was said years ago. I can't help but think that it is worse now.

We do need a new Reformation. I've thought a lot about that over the last few years. How might it happen?

First, we need to remember that the Reformation was a work of the Spirit, unique for its times. Can the Luther/Calvin/Zwingli (and a host of others) event happen again? Who knows? But it was a work of God's Spirit. Because of that, the most important thing that we can do it pray. And when we pray, we may find that we, like those who came before Luther and company, are planting seeds for a future harvest.

Second, we need to be faithful to Scripture. If we don't have 500 or 5000 people because Bible teaching is "boring," then so be it. Oh, not that we are to be boring. We are to be creative, engaging, relevant, personal. Afterall, Jesus embodied these qualities. But the message is unchanging. The meal we offer hungry people on the Lord's Day cannot be a clever quick-fix "how to" series. We need to teach the Scriptures, teach them through exposition, teach them sequentially (meaning that we don't skip from place to place each week).

Third, we need to urge greater commitment to the local Church. In many churches, we've gone from what was considered a legalistic approach to church attendance (Sunday AM, Sunday School, Sunday PM and Prayer Meeting) to a far more lackadaisical approach. I'm not saying that we need to go back to old forms. But we do need to call our people to be faithful. As I have been urging our folks, we need to see that being with with the Lord's people on the Lord's Day so that we can hear the Lord's Word is an essential, not just one of a number of options for Sunday. They need to understand that something is wrong with their hearts if they are not giving the Word of God the attention it deserves in their lives. Our particular model emphasizes Sunday morning, Sunday School and Small Groups. If we really believe that our people need to be taught, so that gathering together on the Lord's Day or in Small Groups are times for re-orientation and encouragement (among other things), then we need to let them know that we expect them to be there. Some will choose to not follow. Lead the ones who will. But when we meet, let's be sure that we feed them well.

Fourth, we need to preach the Gospel clearly. We've obscured the meaning of justification by faith by all sorts of nonbiblical terms from "invite Jesus into your life" and "surrender to Christ" to (for children) "ask Jesus to be your special friend." Are we smarter than the Spirit? Are we more clever, more articulate, better able to understand how to get through to people? We need to repent of false representations of the Gospel. And if you think I am being overly technical, survey your people and find out how many of them believe they are saved because of what they said, prayed, did (going forward). I read on someone's blog yesterday (sorry - I forgot where, so I can't give credit) about a woman who would bribe children with candy so that they would pray the sinner's prayer, and thereby be "saved." What a horrible, horrible thing to do. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation. Let's explain it clearly and accurately. It is possible to do both.

Fifth, we need to warn our people when we see them endangered. We need to be able to point out error and wrong emphasis, but do so without the jealous rivalry and silly bickering that characterized (and apparently still can characterize) fundamentalism. We don't need witch hunts. If you have a problem with what Rick Warren says, articulate a biblical position against it, but let's leave his waistline and Hawaiian shirts out of the discussion. What do they have to do with anything?

Finally, we need to pray. I said that already. But we need it. I am so deficient in this, and in talking to many in ministry I know I am not alone. We need to pray for the state of the Church, but be confident that Christ is building His Church. We need to pray that God will raise up sound teachers. We need to ask God to mute the impact of those who have the ears of our people due to TV, radio and bestseller lists, if they are teaching what is not sound. We need to pray that God will work in the hearts of our people to lead them to a deeper commitment to the local church. We need to pray for each other, that God will keep us faithful, will help us to be growing, and that He will use us as His servants in this difficult day.

Perhaps God will use these things to bring needed Reformation and renewal to His Church. Maybe not. But Luther's reformation began in his heart. Let's let that be true of us.

Unregenerate Church Members

2005-07-13T09:04:00.000-04:00

One of our Elders sent me an article by Jim Elliff about the Southern Baptist Convention. What he describes as a problem in the SBC (Southern Baptists: An Unregenerate Denomination) is likely common in most churches to one extent or another.

Our western evangelical culture relies heavily on a revivalist style that called people to outward profession of faith, and frankly, there can be problems with that. It should go without saying that it is entirely possible for people to pray a prayer, make a decision, go forward, etc. without having genuinely repented and been converted. Yet how many times haven't you heard someone base their assurance of salvation on an experience of profession?

A lot of this comes as the result of alleged childhood conversions. Can kids be saved? Sure. IF THEY CAN UNDERSTAND THE GOSPEL. But so often kids have been led through an experience of sorts. In fact, it is almost funny. Someone will say, "I accepted Christ when I was 5 but . . ." and I want to jump in and say, "let me finish - you didn't have any real change/you weren't sure/you couldn't remember what you did so you rededicated your life to Christ when you were a teenager and it was then that you started to follow Him." And that's the testimony of those who are probably genuine believers.

But what about those who are not? My wife was talking to a co-worker the other day about a young man who made a profession of faith years ago but shows no fruit. When she said something about his not being a believer, her co-worker was quite surprised. "Didn't he make a decision years ago?" Which means that the "decision" somehow got him "in." Let's face the fact that many - too many - people think this way. Kids grow up, leave the church, live like pagans, but Mom and Dad say, "Well, he made a decision when he was 10."

While addressing far more than childhood conversion issues, Elliff says that wrong thinking about conversion is rampant in the SBC. It's rampant in any church. So what do we do? Going through Romans 1-5 the past few months has given me an opportunity to address this from a number of angles on numerous occasions. I may have sounded like a broken record at times (or for you younger people, a scratched CD), but I don't care. There is something fundamentally wrong with us - especially those of us in the pulpit - if we don't understand the biblical Gospel and instead substitute an experience of some kind for genuine conversion.

Elliff says that there are five things that we have to begin to do:

1. We must preach and teach on the subject of the unregenerate church member.
2. We must address the issue of persistent sin among our members.
3. We should be more careful on the front end of church membership.
4. We must stop giving immedate verbal assurance to people who have made professions of faith or who respond to our invitations.
5. We must restore sound doctrine.

Each of these points is worth pondering.

I mentioned a resource the other week that we have used this summer. RC Sproul has a newer series of videos on Assurance of Salvation. It is excellent. I would recommend that you check it out. In fact, you can download the mp3's for $2 each (there are 6 of them) and preview his comments. The resource is described here.

Accepting the Word, part 2

2005-07-10T17:55:00.000-04:00

Last post I quoted John Chrysostom, late 4th century pastor and bishop. He made a good observation about the need for the individual to work to apply the Word that is preached to them.

Let's face the fact that the average person-in-the-pew is trained in passivity. Not necessarily by us, but our entertainment culture teaches people to be observers rather than participants. I've blogged about this before in some ways, but I am increasingly feeling the need to help our people understand their role in the preaching/teaching process.

One of the things that I shared with our congregation this morning is that the sermon does not end when they go home. Ideally there ought to be some review time during the week in which they ask themselves some questions:

1. What was the point of the text that Peter preached on?
2. What changes need to take place in my life because of that text?
3. What is my role in bringing about those changes?

This is at least a starting point. I'm going to start putting something like this in our bulletin or at the end of the sermon outline that is in each bulletin so that there is clear communication that once they have received the Word (heard it), they need to accept it (process it). I think that is what Paul was thankful for when he commends the Thessalonian Christians in 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

The reality of our passive-entertainment culture says to me that we need to be regularly helping our people learn to listen and process. Making application of the passage is essential, helping them know how to take it the next step is just as essential.