A Fighters Heart

(Somewhat on faith, somewhat a general thought...)


Cormac McCarthy wrote a book called Blood Meridian in which the character
of the judge makes an argument that war is the most essential of
human activities. He starts by saying that men are born for games, and
that everybody, even children, know that "play is nobler than work." If
that is true, says the judge, then what changes the quality of the game
but the stakes? And what could be a more valuable stake than your
life? So war, the game you play with your life, is the greatest of human
endeavors.

In that same argument the judge says that "war is God" because
it is the test of wills between two parties. Moral law is subjective, and
man must submit before the "higher court," which will provide a conclusive
decision. In a fight, the truth will out.

When I read this , it really bothered me , and I spent a few minutes
reading and rereading the argument. And then I saw the fatal flaw
in the judge's logic, and read on with an easy mind.

I do not believe that men were meant for games, that that is their
highest purpose. Work is nobler than play. I believe that men were
meant for work, that their highest calling is to build, not destroy or
even protect. Learning to fight, trying to embody the virtues of the
hunter and warrior-these things are useful and important, even
essential. But don't be content with being a warrior, be a builder as well.
Make something. The true calling of man, real manhood, is about creation,
not destruction, and everyone secretly knows it.

- Sam Sheridan
"A Fighters Heart"
Atlantic Monthly Press
2007

In this great book about one man's quest to travel the world and understand the inner make-up of a modern warrior through his adventures in Muay Thai, MMA, Boxing, and Dogfighting...I was shocked to read this, his last sentence.  It was so powerful that it made me cry.

 I love martial arts and the sport of the fight.  I served in the Marines and trained to do what was necessary in combat.  I have felt the glory of downing an opponent in a street fight more than once.  None of that compares to the feeling I got when my children were born.  God did not make man to be a destroyer.  He made us to be tiny images of himself, givers of life to new creations.  We fell in the garden and our nature has been marred by a desire to tear down the things around us ever since.

I am not opposed to the art of fighting or to people practicing boxing, MMA, etc...I think that we men must find a healthy outlet to express the genetic nature that we have, right or wrong.  I just hope that all warriors out there can remember to be warrior-poets...men who fight well, but who remember that fighting takes a second place to building and creating.

Random Thoughts...

A few things floating around...

Deontlogical                

I know that I have a major weakness.  I can be very driven to “do the right thing” out of a sense of duty and not out of joy.  I can remember reading about this duty-bound mentality as it relates to the faith when I was in undergrad philosophy studying Immanuel Kant.  This feeling probably comes from my days in the Marine Corps.  Back in the military I did things because I was supposed to, not because I wanted to.  I have to be careful that I don’t let that thinking come into my relationship with God.  I cannot simply believe in God, worship and obey him; out of a sense of duty…I must fight against all the sin of this world, and within me, to glorify God out of the supreme joy that just knowing him gives my heart.  It’s hard for me not to be duty-obsessed sometimes.

Religion?

Speaking of relationships with God…how many times have I heard “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship.”  I understand the sentiment behind this statement; people were concerned that unbelievers would think that salvation comes from a system of rituals and rules rather than from the personal saving work of Christ and God’s adoption, through grace, of us as his children.  Unfortunately, the quote is used too frequently and with less contextualization than is necessary.  I am afraid that lots of people hear that sentence and think about saving faith as a quick sinners prayer and get out of hell free card…”I just have to love Jesus and he will love me.”  Sure, salvation is essentially a relational act…God elects his spiritual family as the sovereign Father and no moral code or list of action items that we establish has any influence over his decision, but there are many theological points and practices that might fall under “religion” and still be very, very useful!  Knowing what the Bible says about Jesus (aka doctrine) is more religion than relationship, but it is vital if we want to be sure and worship the Christ of Scripture and not the heretical Jesus of Islam or Jehovah’s Witnesses.  The Lords Supper and Baptism could be seen as “religious ritual” and while neither is salvific, they are important to the Christian faith.  I just think we should abandon the easy, cheesy slogans and focus on having real and meaningful conversations with people about the tenets of our relational faith.

A big body…

My wife was recovering from surgery this Sunday and my oldest boy asked if we could go back and visit our old PCA church.  I thought that was a good idea and we stopped in the 10am service.  After the first song, the pastor prayed.  That’s not too unusual I guess, but the topic of his prayer was unique.  Matthew prayed for the other churches across our county meeting that morning.  I was stunned.  It was the first time I had even heard that.  Too often we forget that we are part of a big body of believers and that we are called to pray for all of our brethren, not just those of our local congregation or of our denomination.  Our course there are heretical and heterodox churches out there, but maybe they are the ones needing the most prayer.  I once listened to a sermon from a United Methodist preacher as he railed to his congregation on how evil the Doctrines of Grace are.  He viciously attacked the Reformed view and never once did he pray for those in what he thought were misguided churches.  In stark contrast was Matthew this past Sunday…a confessional Reformed pastor praying for God to be present and working in the lives of all the churches across our county, even mentioning a UMC by name.  Kudos.  The stereotype is being broken and that makes me smile.

A Hymn

I love this hymn…

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Severed Head Shennanigans

 

I made a palpable difference in my community last week. 

 

There is a house just outside the McDonough square that does some intense Halloween decorating in their front yard.  They have been doing this for the past 3 years and every year it gets more elaborate.  This year, in addition to the pumpkins, tombstones, ghost sheets, and black cats, they displayed an evil zombie rising from the ground.  Its gets worse...the zombie was holding a severed head and another severed head was laying nearby.  There were also some severed limbs in the vicinity.  These detached body parts look quite real and they were disturbing even to me.

 

The zombie and the heads terrified my kids each time we drove by, which ends up being dozens of times a week.  After 2 weeks of frightened toddlers, I decided to act.  I looked up the address on the Tax Assessors webpage and I realized that the man who owned the house did not live there, it was a rental house.  I called the owner and we spoke long enough for him to tell me that he had not seen the offending decorations, but he sympathized with me and he promised to ask the tenets to move the zombie/ heads out of the front yard.

 

When we drove by on Sunday, the scary stuff was gone, replaced by a few more black cats.

 

I am a big advocate of free speech, but sometimes the public displays that a occupant puts in front of their home can be inappropriate for public consumption.  In that case they should be examined and removed as necessary.  I can't see how severed heads and demonic zombies are innocent Halloween fun.  They are not traditional Halloween decorations, they seem to be the result of a culture that increasingly produces movies like Saw.  I mean who would think that real severed heads are cool...serial killers and Islamic terrorists come to mind and thats about it.

 

I am glad that the owner understood where I was coming from and I am happy that the tenets agreed to do the right thing.  Its a victory for the eyes and minds of toddlers throughout Henry County in my opinion.

 

 

Unspoken Prayer Requests

Whats up with all the unspoken prayer requests on facebook?

Now, for those of you who did not grow up in the Bible Belt, an unspoken prayer request is usually a deeply personal request that the requestee feels is too personal to say out loud in a group setting.

I don’t know how it got started, but I know why. People want to be prayed for but do not want to get vulnerable with their brothers and sisters in Christ.

But, where does this leave the person who has been asked to be praying? They pray for something of which they don’t know how to pray and the people listening to those prayers said out loud are not edified by them at all. We can’t help this brother/sister. We can’t empathize with them. We don’t know if things are progressing the way they should (other than taking that person’s word for it). We can’t give that person advice. It leaves us totally impotent in impacting our fellow believer’s life.  In fact, for all we know, we may end up praying for something ungodly or sinful.

Furthermore, what typically happens is that these unspoken prayer requests are treated more seriously than the ones that are spoken. This makes the group an unwitting participant in a practice that comes off as arrogant. And since these are treated more seriously, it becomes trendy to give an unspoken request. I have literally seen many more unspoken prayer requests on FB than spoken ones. Plus, think of how silly it seems for someone who didn’t grow up in the faith to look at believers and and hear someone give an unspoken request. That observer probably is thinking the thought we should all be thinking: “If it is unspoken then why speak it??!”

Giving an unspoken request is just like the person who says, “I have a secret, but I can’t tell you what it is.” If you can’t tell us, then why did you say you had a secret? That kind of stuff should drive people nuts, but in the case of the unspoken request, we see the opposite as true.

The question is: Why?

 It’s simple, really. People don’t want people knowing their ‘binness and other people don’t want them telling them their ‘binness. But, is this the way Christians should act? Let’s consider James 5:16

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

This verse is a slam-dunk against the practice of unspoken prayer requests. There are no levels of confession mentioned here. The finality of it leads me to believe that we are to be open with each other or not be open at all. And why are we to confess? Because the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  In other words, we will more easily see God at work in our lives when other, more mature believers are praying for us.

Now, let’s let the unspoken request go unspoken and let’s bring each other’s burdens to the Lord in prayer.

Adapted from HERE.

Prepare your church for suffering...

T4G 2010 -- Session 8 -- Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Invite Jesus into your heart...

Should we use use the phrase "Invite Jesus into your heart" when trying to present the gospel to children or even to adults?  I say emphatically - NO!  Let me explain...

I was recently present a baptism where the pastor asked the child "Have you invited Jesus into your heart?"  The 6 year old responded in the affirmative and then the pastor declared "Based upon your invitation of Jesus into your heart, I baptize you..."

Whats wrong with that situation you ask.  Why am I being so picky you might wonder?  Isn't this just semantics?

Let me start by saying that I feel assured that the pastor in that situation is a believer.  I fell confident that he understands the gospel message clearly.  I simply think that he fell into the trap of non-scriptural based Christian buzzwords and lingo which plague the current American evangelical climate.

Also, let me say that there may be many people who came to faith and remember such a phrase as a part of their conversion experience.  I am not saying here that God can't use such terminology to affect regeneration, I am simply arguing that it isn't the best way for us to go about our gospel-proclaiming work as instruments in His hands.

So, whats wrong with the phrase "Invite Jesus into your heart?"

________________________________________________

1)  Its not in the Bible.

There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that resembles this statement.  Rev 3:20 is occassionally used as support, but a contextual reading makes clear that the situation there revolves around a church that is seemingly good to go due to material prosperity, yet is devoid of the presence of Christ in their spiritual lives - it is not a comment on salvation.

Don't worry though...Scripture does tell us what we must do to be saved:

John the Baptist says that we must "Repent and believe in the gospel" - Mark 1:15

Paul tell us that we must "Confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is resurrected Lord" - Romans 10:9

Johns says "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" - John 1:12

The Bible clearly outlines the process of salvation.  The grace of God comes to us as an act of His mercy and a gift of faith is given to us which then enables us to receive and trust upon the finished work of penal substitutionary atonement made upon the cross by Christ.  Our spirits are then imputed with the righteousness of Christ and made new, born again as adopted sons of God. (see Eph 2:8-9, Eph 1:5, and 2 Cor 5:21)

I think that using such simple and potentially misleading phrase as "Invite Jesus into your heart" does disservice to the rich truth that is the gospel message.

2)  It confuses children

Children do not grasp the abstract until around age 7.  When we talk with our kids about Jesus and our heart before that age, we get confused children who often think that Jesus is somehow inside their actual heart.  There are even example of kids using stethoscopes to try and hear Jesus inside them.

This world is confusing and hard enough without parents adding a new layer of fog to the mind of a child, especially regarding such important matters.  Just because its easy to use or it sounds sentimental and cute, isn't a good reason to use "invite Jesus into your heart" with young ones.

3)  It promotes easy-believeism

Much like the sinners prayer and altar calls (both of which were 19th century inventions), the use of such phrases does not adequately address the theological doctrines necessary to trust in Christ.  Where is the mention of sin and on-going sanctification?  We should not promote salvation as a one-time "get out of hell free" event.

Certainly, regeneration is a singular experience.  Our dead spirits are only quickened once, but after that event comes a lifetime of war against ones-self, this world, and the enemy.  I would hope to see a potential convert to the faith come to fully grasp what the Christian walk entails at the hands of a mature believer who can guide them on that road instead of nominal Christians telling others to just "Invite Jesus into their hearts" and everything will be ok.

There is no "magic formula" to salvation.  We must be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that a certain phrase or prayer will automatically make someone born again.  Through careful presentation of the Gospel and on-going love we can hope to see true conversion that does not hinge upon ungenuine platitudes and effect speedy departures from the faith.

4)  It makes God subordinate.

God is sovereign.  He rules over us.  He does as he pleases.  We don't dictate to Him.

Using terms like "Invite Jesus in" makes us the active agent and God the passive one waiting for us to come and find him.  We must be careful about the words we choose to use.  Words have meaning.  

It would be better to acknowledge what scripture says "its is not of our own doing, lest we should boast" - Eph 2
_______________________________________________

So...here is what I would say if I was a pastor doing a baptism (off the top of my head):

"Do you believe in the holy God of all creation who is absolutely perfect and can abide no sin?"

"Do you recognize that your sin seperates you from the presence of this holy God and condems you to eternal damnation?"

"Do you acknowledge that the only means to reconciliation with God comes through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross, God himself paying our penalty?"

"Have you been given the gift of faith by the grace of God, without any of your own effort or merit, that allows you to receive this truth, making you an adopted child of God?"

"Are you then asking to be baptized as a public profession of your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, having submitting yourself to a lifetime of continuous sanctification by the power of the God's Spirit?"

'Having answered yes to all of these questions, we celebrate the new nature of your spirit and I now baptize you in the name of the Faither, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for all to be edified."

I would hope of course, that the person had come to grasp the basics of each of those points in the process of their conversion, thus the formality of the questions would really be more for those in attendance as spectators than for the participant.

By using questions like those, even non-believers in the audience would get a clear picture of what the gospel was and how salvation occurred.  Also, believers would be reminded and affirmed of the clear truths of our faith.

When we use catch phrases like "Invite Jesus into your heart" we mislead the unregenerate in the audience and we dumb down our fellow brothers in the faith.

But, what about kids you say?  Those questions are too much for a kid to grasp you might think...

I certainly hope that the concepts are not too difficult to grasp or else the kid isn't really saved.  If a child does not understand those basic principles and assent to them, their "belief" in Jesus is no more than the belief they have in Santa Claus.

We can simplify the terms if words like "abide, reconciliation, merit, or edified" end up being over their head.  I am sure that more kid-friendly synonyms exist which still capture the truth of each concept.

If we are careful  in communicating the truth of the gospel to children, we might be able to avoid long periods of time in people’s lives when they aren’t sure of their salvation or when they feel that they have to keep making professions of faith to be sure.

Now...I do think it’s important that if a child wants to express faith in Christ, we should encourage it—each and every time that desire occurs. At some point along the way, true faith will likely be expressed and assurance will come. We cannot see their hearts and must not put any stumbling blocks in their spiritual journey...including unbiblical buzzwords like "Invite Jesus into your heart."

Finally,  let me address those who will think I am just being too detailed.  I often can be too obsessed with the details in theology and, to my own grief, I have a tendency to be far too intellectual and far, far less practical with my faith than I should be.  However, that personal fact should not color whether or not my thoughts on this issue are me being too nit-picky.

I would ask you to think about the need for accuracy in communicating truth.  God chose to reveal his whole redemptive plan for us in words.  We use words to explain the gospel to others.  Charles Ryrie says "a correct choice of words is important, even essential, in stating the Gospel well" and I agree.

But, is Gospel clarity really that big of a deal? Yes, according to Paul …"if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." - Gal. 1:8-9

There is a verse in 1 Corinthians, that can be extrapolated as illustrative of this principle…

"For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" - 1 Cor 14:8

War is upon us and our fight is for the eternal souls of men.  If the trumpet sound is muted or unclear and it is not understood by the army, the soldiers cannot know what is required of them. 

What happened to thinking?

This past weekend I found myself in a mini-van with 4 other guys en route to a side-job that I sometimes do for extra money.

3 of the 4 other guys are believers.  At some point in the conversation one of them, Chad (fake names) made a comment that caused another guy (Greg) to ask him "What are you a Calvinist?"

The subsequent interaction between Chad and Greg brought me and the other believer in the car, Adam, into the conversation.

As we drove along (about 30 minutes) Greg was adamant that the God of Calvinism wasn't the God of the Bible.  He went so far as saying this exact quote:

"There are like 10 verses in Bible that speak about predestination and hundreds that speak aganist it."

Of course that can't be.  The Scriptures don't conradict, they don't advocate different theologies at different times.  I then asked if he had ever done any study on Reformed theology.

Greg said he had looked into it but that it didn't match what the Bible said.  Of course, I wholeheartedly disagree but I did not have time to debate the fine points right then.

The more important aspect of the conversation was that Adam had no knowledge of Reformed theology.  I tried to summarize the tenets for him quickly and he immediately responded with disgust and anger.

He was pretty upset.  He kept saying that God wouldn't act like that.  He was concrete on our libertarian free-will choice for salvation.  The other Calvinist, Chad, and I were consciously humble in telling Adam that we didn't want to argue with a brother in the faith about the issue - but we did hope that he would do some research into Reformed thinking for himself.

Adam refused.  He simply said that he would not even consider it.  He actually said "I believe what I believe and I ain't gonna change."

At this point I highlighted a deeper division between Adam and I.  While I seek to find the truth through investigation of the Word and the extra-biblical writings of Spirit-filled men, Adam chooses to stick to his beliefs without any willingness to look into other viewpoints.

Seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, Chad and I dropped the conversation with Adam.  Chad and Greg kept talking as we reached our destination and unloaded.  They certainly disagreed, but it was ultimately cordial.

Throughout the early evening, Adam came over and tried to broach the subject with Chad and I again.  I refused to debate the merits of Calvinism with him, even though he made several digs and comments in an attempt to stir up some animosity about the issue.

I did try and reengage him in his deeper presupposition, the idea that there is no need to look into counterpoints when one is content in their faith.  I asked him if he put very much thought into purchasing the two houses that he bought over the past 5 years?

My hope was that he would admit to putting much research and effort into house-hunting, at that point I could explain how much more important theology is than a home.

He blew me away by answering that he put no real thought into his purchases, he simply acted on gut feeling.  I was at a loss.

He tried to turn the tables by asking why we needed to put so much effort into studying deep issues.  He said that it was only important that we love Jesus.

I agreed with him about the importance of Christ-centered theology, but I suggested that without deep study one might be confused about the Jesus that they worship (see Mormons) and be bound for Hell.

He continued to say that the deep things were unimportant and that Chad and I took our faith too far.  I decided to end the conversation because it was so fruitless.

This might seem like a sad and unusual incident, but I would bet that it is the way that most American Evangelicals think.

How do we get people to be willing to think about deep issues, heck to think at all anymore?

Statement of Faith

I believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God's truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.

I believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I believe that all men are sinners and totally unable to save themselves from God's displeasure, except by His mercy.

I believe that salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those He will save. I believe His choice is based on His grace, not on any human individual merit, or foreseen faith.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through His perfect life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who will trust in Him, alone, for salvation.

I believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God's people and gives them the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him.

I believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself.

We believe that all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

7 Things I'm Thinking On...

1)  Ergun Caner should be ashamed.  To gain prominence within evangelical circles he lied about his past and his experience.  Additionally, Liberty University should be ashamed that they don't do better background checks before they hire new senior leadership.  We all need to pray for this situation and the many people who will revel in another Christian scandel or who will be disillusioned by the fall of a talking head within the faith.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/walid-zafar/ex-muslim-evangelical-exp_b_582225.html

2)  The Catholic claim that Jesus handed Peter the reins to the church via Matthew 16: 13-20 is not accurate in my reading of the passage and, at best, a questionable thing to build so much extra-scriptural doctrine on.

It seems most likely that Jesus was refering to Peter's statement "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" as the thing that will build the foundation of the church.

If Peter was suppossed to be "tha man" - why did he get called "Satan" by Jesus in the next few verses...why did he deny Christ at the hour of his trial...why was James the head of the Jerusalem Council and not he...why was he in such error that Paul had to rebuke him in the early church scene?  If his seat as Bishop of Rome was to be supreme, why was the subsequent Bishop of Rome not even present at the Council of Nicea?

There is too little in these few verses to base so much  doctrine and tradition on.  Seems odd to me.

http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matthew+16

3)  The toughest apologetical question for me to answer in my conversations with my Muslim co-worker this past week was "How do you know that the Bible was inspired?"

Maybe I am not well versed enough on this one, but all I had was "The sheer number of different books and different authors over 2500 years all telling the same story of redemption is too much to be coincidental & the profound impact that the book has had on millions of people across the ages."

Anybody got anything better?  I know that no answer will be sufficient without the inner working of the Holy Spirit in this co-worker's life, but I want to be prepared to give an answer nonetheless as I pray for that supernatural regeneration to take place.

4)  Once I was thinking of writing a book titled:

Did Adam Fart Before the Fall?
100 Humorous Theological Ponderings

I often wonder if I still should some day.  I don't wite well, but I doubt that I would have to be terribly proper in my grammar and syntax as I am putting that book together.

5)  At work recently we took down 2 large framed prints of the Constitution, which were hanging in our public area, to make room for some new images...the official portraits of President Obama and VP Biden - draw your own conclusions.

6)  I think that the Republican party of the late 70s and early 80s made a deliberate attempt to pander to Christians and paint themselves as the "party of values"

I think that in reality they were committed to their capitalist economic platform and could have largely cared less about social issies, but they needed more voters to secure their dominance and so they created a facade of virtue.

I think that unthinking believers bought into the claims 100% and got taken on a ride. Not to say that the Dems are the party of values by any means, just bringing this up for discussion.

Also...this is just my gut, no research.  Maybe one day I'll look into it more.

7)  Gods Battallions...Rodney Stark—the eminent sociologist and historian of religion—has a new book out, God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades, making the case that the Crusaders were not “greedy, colonizing, brutal barbarians” but rather that the Crusades were just, defensive wars designed to repel the Islamic conquest of Byzantium and to prevent the Holy Land from being destroyed.

That should prove to be interesting and controversial.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/05/20/but-what-about-the-crusades/

Evangelism

The past several days at work has landed me the chance to speak with a Muslim and an atheist for upwards of 12 hours about matters of faith.

I spoke with the Muslim co-worker for about 6 hours alone and then we were joined on our project by the atheist for another 6 hours or so.

We talked about all sorts of things and I prayerfully tried to maintain a few things in the conversation...

1 - Christ and the Gospel

2 - Scripture References

3 - Humility

4 - Clarity

In our conversations I constantly tried to steer the topic back to our need for salvation and God's rescue plan in Christ.  I stressed that salvation was by grace thru faith and not of works.  I tried to point back to the Bible for the foundation of my points at every turn.  I tried to remain sympathetic, humble, and always ready to either give a clear answer or be honest about not knowing - while vowing to get the answer for them.

This is common at work.  We have Muslims, Atheists, 7th Day Adventists, Charismaniacs, Catholics, and all manner of in-between faiths.  We used to have a Bhuddist, she quit...the only major religion we are missing is Hindu.

Yet, despite the frequency of these conversations and regardless of my attempts to lovingly interact with these individuals - I have seen no progress in anyone coming to trust Christ.

Why?

I understand that God is ultimately the one who draws people and we are simply called upon to preach the Word.  I understand that some people plant seeds and others water them...we aren't always there when a plant blooms.  I get the fact that most people don't have personal experience in being a major player for bringing others to know Jesus...however...

I know people who have "brought" dozens of people to Christ.  I know youth leaders who can claim to have been instrumental in seeing others come to faith multiple times a year for year upon year.

Why don't I see that kind of break-thru?  Constructive criticism welcome.

Headship and Submission

When sin entered the world it ruined the harmony of marriage not because it brought headship and submission into existence, but because it twisted man’s humble, loving headship into hostile domination in some men and lazy indifference in others. And it twisted woman’s intelligent, willing submission into manipulative obsequiousness in some women and brazen insubordination in others. Sin didn’t create headship and submission; it ruined them and distorted them and made them ugly and destructive.
-John Piper

*Might I add that only be continuous trust in Christ and disciplined obedience to the movement of the Spirit (things that I often fail at) can we ever hope to see the beauty of headship and submission as it was intended.

Musical Worship in Evangelicalism

After my last post I saw this...hilarious!


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

The Way of the Mean in Worship...

In Greek philosophy there was an idea proposed by Aristotle that there is a desirable middle between the two extremes, that of excess and that of deficiency, which we should all strive for. For example courage, which is a virtue, if taken to excess would manifest itself as recklessness and if observed as deficient it would appear as cowardice.

I really like this idea and I think that we can apply it in so many places.  One of those places is the Sunday morning worship musical experience of modern American Christianity.  Be aware that I write this off the top of my head without any ability or training in music - just observation after attending a charismatic church, a Southern Baptist church, and a Presbyterian church (PCA).

When God first saved me (around 1005) I began attending a neo-pentecostal church.  The musical worship there centered on a band with acoustic/ electric guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums.  The lead pastor sang every Sunday and he had 2-3 girls who sand backup.  It was always either a  lively or a somber worship experience.  We would switch between upbeat and slow songs by contemporary artists like Jonathan Stockstill, Chris Tomlin, or Hillsong.  People would raise their hands, weep openly, bounce with excitement, and shout Amen.  I often took off my flip-flops (as did Moses on the mountain) in reverence to the "holy ground" as I swayed and danced to the music.  We weren't overly wacko - there was no rolling in the floor or being slain in the spirit, thank God! 

- The musical worship at this neo-pentecostal church was wildly emotional and you could feel the notes and the energy like it was a physical thing - however the lyrics were shallow and repetative for the most part.

As we left that church, over doctrinal and ecclesiological issues, we began to attend a So. Baptist church.  In contrast to the 150+ members of our charismatic church, this SBC church had 2000 people on Sunday mornings.  They had an amazingly varied musical worship experience.  There was both a band and a choir - there was a quartet and solo singers - there were guest musicians and banjo days...It was very entertaining, like a concert, we all watched and clapped, but that was about it.  No crying, no dancing, not much hand-raising.  The songs ranged from traditional hymms to  Chris Tomlin style contemporary.

- The musical worship at this SBC church was very ecclectic and always entertaining - however it never seemed participatory nor very touching.  The lyrics were varied between solid hymnal theology and 7-11 repeats as a general rule.

At our current Presbyterian church (PCA) the musical worship is typically done by one or two guys on stage with acoustic guitars.  We are a small congregation (less than 100) and occasionally others will help out, but it is usually the same two fellows.  They play a mix of old hymms set to modern arrangments, traditional hymms, and a few more contemporary works.  No one claps, no one raises hands, no one dances for sure.  The songs are beautiful and rich and they often are quite touching but there is little expression of that feeling.

-  The musical worship at the PCA church we attend now is highly Christ-exalting with very good theological undertones.  It is beautifully composed and it has the potential to stir much emotion, even though that isn't typically apparent.

...so, I am trying to say that the charismatic church and the Presbyterian church are at opposites sides of the spectrum as the Golden Mean applies.

The charismatics are overly emotional with a lack of depth in their song choice  while the Presbyterians have the right kind of songs devoid of any emotion.

What is needed is a middle ground, a place where theologically solid songs are sung in worship AND where the worshippers themselves bring their whole heart to the experience.

I wish I could say that the So. Baptist church had gotten it right - no dice.  They did have solid songs for the most part, but there was little emotion displayed in worship.  I think that their size was a real hinderance, when a church gets too big the Sunday morning worship becomes entertainment for man and not an act of glorifying God.

There is a black Reformed church downtown that I bet has some killer worship.   In fact, Sho Baraka of the Reformed Rap group 116 Clique is on staff there.  I wish it was a local church for us, oh well.

I hope that this post has given you a simple introduction to the Way of the Mean (the Golden Mean) and I hope it has given you something to think about as you read the thoughts of a completely non-musical guy who was just considering the different facets of musical worship.

An image...

Read what this is all about HERE.  Touching.

Why Seminary?

I have had some conversations with fellow believers in the past who expressed their thoughts on the necessity of seminary training for a pastor.  I have heard many times that going to seminary isn't a requirement to be a preacher in the Bible or that seminary is only for scholars with their heads stuck in books.  Musing over those ideas this morning gave rise to a few thoughts...

1)  Sure, Paul didn't go to seminary.  However he was a well-versed Jew who would have had the equivalent to seminary schooling prior to his conversion.  So lets set him aside, what about the other early church leaders - they didn't have the status of Paul and they didn't go to seminary.  They did just fine, doesn't that prove that seminary is unnecessary?  Short answer, no - the didn't go to seminary because there was no seminary.  Remember that the Bible is relevant to our lives today in many ways...yet, it also must be read in context.  Just because seminary isn't mentioned in Scripture does not mean it is unbiblical.  There were no cool audio/ visual powerpoint worship band experiences in the early church either - don't see a lot of people hating on that advancement.

2)  Would you hire a lawyer who didn't have his law degree (J.D.) based on the fact that lawyers in the 16th century didn't necessarily go to law school, they were often self-taught or mentored?  Of course not.  Law is a complicated and deep subject that requires years of study to properly practice, much less teach to others.  Why do we think that we can trust pastors who are devoid of higher education to preach truth instead of a false gospel?  I'm speaking generally of course, there are always some exceptions.

3)  If seminary exists today, why not go?  Doesn't a high-school football star stand a much better chance of doing well in the pros if he heads to college to refine his game for awhile?  Our young leaders should do the same.  If one feels a calling to pastorship and that call is confirmed, I believe that God will open the financial and logistical doors necessary for the person to seek seminary training.  Pastors who are against seminary training often tend towards a warped view of the gospel that they came up with.  A truth that no one in 2000 years of Christianity ever stood on before.  I believe that you will find a huge portion of pastors in today's most damaging false gospel, the prosperity gospel, to be without degree.

4)  On the flip side, a degree itself isn't saying much if it comes from some fruity liberal seminary - and they are everywhere.  One must be careful in choosing which seminary to attend.  A high view of Christ, the Bible, and the Gospel must be foremost in determining where to get an education. 

5)  Last point - I am only speaking in this blog of head pastors or teaching elders or whatever designation is given to the speaking head of the local church.  He is the person responsible for the decisions about sermon prep and what people hear on Sunday morning.  I think it would be great if all the staff and elders at a church had seminary training, but it seems like a good compromise and a fair requirement to mandate the preacher at least be accredited.  As for seminary being for bookworms...I believe that every pastor should be a theologian and every theologian should be a pastor.  Some people are more inclined towards academics and the like.  Others are more geared for practical ministry measures.  We should never elevate or degrade one from the other - both are essential elements of a good leader for Christ.  Without foundational truth, ministry is nothing but secular charity...without ministry, truth is dead head-knowledge.  Embrace both.

In summary, I think that our lead/ head/ teaching pastors in modern Christianity should be graduates of at least a Masters degree program in theology from an established seminary with solid-beliefs.  A seminary education can only assist the young man in his desire and his admonishment to meet the requirements of James 3:1, 1 Timothy 3 and Titus, particularly to:

"...hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sounddoctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."

Thoughts?

Epiphany

Theology isn't ministry.

This simple statement came to me the other day after I spent an afternoon with an urban church planter. 

I am often so focused on getting my theology correct that I (and many others) end up with a massive deficiency in our own outworking of those foundational beliefs.

I am essentially insulated in my little bubble of work and family everyday.  I do pretty well ministering to my own family, and they ARE my first ministry priority, but I fail horribly at self-sacrificial works of love and mercy towards my own circle of friends, much less strangers.

I am being steadyily convicted about this idea that I am hiding in an ivory tower of thought instead of taking up my own cross on dusty roads to both share the gospel and to show others the grace that Jesus has given me.

My prayer is that God would work in the hearts of my family to begin breaking us out of our own little world and that he will move is us to take big steps in faith towards more personal ministry in our community.

Homeschooling

Over the weekend a friend of Tiff's from college that she had not seen in years came to visit us.  He is now an assistant pastor in Midtown for a large Baptist church.  During the visit by him, his wife, and his precious 10 month old - I was challenged in some of my thinking about education and the gospel.

For a few years I have been thinking about how to educate my children.  Tiff and I have discussed the issue and we had come to some agreement that we didn't want our boys going to public school.  I think that Tiff working in the school system made her very aware of how pitiful public education is.  Plus we worried about the impact that all those heathen children would have on our kids...lol

We talked about home-school alot.  Everyone at our church seems to advocate it, our pediatrician does it, its sorta the new fad...now that we know you can be both home-schooled and not weird...thanks to the external social clubs/ athletics that home-schoolers now participate in.

We decided that homeschooling elementary was not going to be the best option however since we would have multiple kids at different ages in the home (and some other factors).  Thus, we abandoned our first choice.  Still intent on staying away from govt-funded education, we decided that we needed to find a way to pay for private school.  I mean, kids in Christian school turn out better right?

Those private schools are expensive and I was stressing in my thoughts about how to pay for such a thing until Tiff's friend said something very true and very biblical this weekend.

When confronted with the question of what he and his wife intended to do with their kids, he said:

"We live in the city, we love the city, we seek to minister to those in the city, my kids will go to public school in the city."

Wow - what a novel idea.  Isn't that the real purpose mission anyway? - To be in the world but not of the world?

I know, I know...the standard objections came up in my head:

- What about the poor defenseless children, their minds will be so polluted by bad morality that they will be ruined for any ministry purposes.
- Pushing religion aside, the kids will get a horrid education...there goes college...
- The liberal teachers in public ed will certainly warp my childs understanding of the world...they might even convince the kids that SUVs really are a bad idea - oh no!

But, as hard as I tried - I could not come up with a single GOOD objection to what this friend said...certainly not a biblical one.

His statement says alot to me.  It says that:

- We are the principal instructors of our child's heart.  A kids morality is largely systemic of their parents guidance.
- College and big money are not the most important things out there..."he who gains everything, but loses his soul..."
- A worldview isn't the creation of isolated influence from educators - it comes from a lifetime of interaction with family, friends, church, and faith.

Have we (the young reformed) bought back into a fundamentalist philosophy of culture.  Are we seeking to circle the wagons and make nice little Christian cliques where we all drive mini-vans, wear polos buttoned all the way up, and drink homeschool kool-aid OR are we willing to lay it all out there (including the idols that are our kids) and trust God to accomplish his purposes of bringing light to a dark world through the message of Christ delivered on the lips and in the lives of believers?

I'm leaning towards public-school these days...

You're Probably Fat

A person cannot call themselves spiritually fit if they excuse the fact that they are fat! If you are fat, regardless of the reason, your fat is a poor testimony of what Christ is accomplishing in and through your life.

A provoking statement and a interesting article...HERE

Word of Faith

I am increasingly convinced that there is a heresy within American Christianity that began in the not too distant past with parts of Penetecostalism and that is now rooting itself in the minds of average evangelical believers across the nation.  I was under its influence for awhile, people very close to me struggle with the harmful effects of its teaching, and I have many good friends in Christ who are being swayed by it in varying degrees.  The teachings of the Word of Faith movement are unbiblical and dangerous and I hope that you will take some time to read what I say here and then research the issue yourself. 

Lets start with "what is the Word of Faith movement or WofF?"  It is essentially the belief that if one believes the word of God, speaks and confesses the word, never doubts, and tells others about this premise - the person will receive whatever they spoke and confessed.  Yes...whatever.  Confess and have faith in your financial improvement (along with tithing of course) and blamo - God provides.  State with no doubt that you will be healed from cancer and God is obligated to take the disease away.  Ask God to improve family communication within your home and have 100% faith that he will - marital improvement will follow with absolute certainty.

WofF teaching makes God our personal slot machine.  Put a faith quarter in, pull the handle the right way, and JACKPOT - God provides.

Originally put forward by EW Kenyon, the teaching claims that miracles and supernatural acts common in regular Pentecostalism should not be viewed as random outpourings of God - instead they are covenantal guarantees to us by God that can happen at our command IF, as Ken Hagin says...

"say it, do it, receive it, tell it"


WofF teachers misuse Scriptures like Mark 11 and to support their theology. They regard Isaiah 53:5 to mean that complete bodily healing is avaliable now to those who have full faith and that physical sickness is a failure of the Christian to belief, thereby allowing Satan to ron us of our divine right to health.

The WofF crew also likes to teach the odd doctrine that Jesus was wealthy based on statements about him having a treasurer (Judas) and how he did not work during his 3 year ministry. Such teaching obviously influences believers to seek for material fortune, through a process of tithing that ends up being compulsory in direct contradiction to Pauls New Testament decree. How they get around the red letters of the Bible which are so abundently clear that "the love of money is the root of many evils" - I don't understand.

Of course, the primary tenet of WofF belief is in the "positive" and "negative" confession. Falsely based on Proverbs 18:21, the teachings holds to the idea that humans are endowed with the same verbal creative ability that God used to begin our universe. God spoke things into existence and so can we. Belief and confession creates power and likewise, negativity and doubt breed helplessness.

The "name it/ claim it" philosophy of WofF belief is based far more on the New Age Spiritualism and Eastern concepts that came to America in the last 150 years than on any biblical footing. The extraordinary nature of such ideas and the general lack of much Scripture that can even be possibly used to support them should give pause - much less the fact that no major figures in church history attested to such beliefs.

While the practices above are certainly heterodox, they have not yet demonstrated heresy. But, it doesn't take much digging to unearth the theological foundations on which WofF rests. Key to the movement is the premise of being "little gods"...

Ken Hagin notes that by being "born again" we are as much an incarnation of God as Jesus was. He also warps the traditional view of the Holy Spirit by claiming that "You don't have God in you - You are one." His views are founded in yet another misunderstanding of bible verse, this time Psalms 82:6.

Atlanta pastor, Creflo Dollar, teaches his congregation that they are not just the image of God - they are "little g gods." "You're not human" he says "The only human part of you is the flesh you are wearing."

As Hank Hannegraff says: Word of Faith teaching demotes God and Christ and deifys man and Satan.

I hope that these short comments have sparked you interest in looking more closely into the teaching of this dangerous movement that destroys the faith of those whom it fails and that breeds pride in the hearts of sinful men.

Ahead of the game...

At first, the scientific world believe that the universe was eternal. Then in 1978, the director of NASA’s Goddard Space Center, Dr. Robert Jastrow, published a piece in the New York Times Magazine outlining the overwhelming evidence that our universe inexplicably burst into existence, and concluded saying:

“This is an exceedingly strange development, unexpected by all but the theologians. They have always accepted the word of the Bible: In the beginning God created heaven and earth… For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

- Yup 

How to know you are of the elect...

"How may I know I'm elect? 

First, by the Word of God having come in divine power to the soul so that my self-complacency is shattered and my self-righteousness is renounced. 

Second, by the Holy Spirit convicting me of my woeful, guilty, and lost condition. 

Third, by having had revealed to me the suitability and sufficiency of Christ to meet my desperate case and by a divinely given faith causing me to lay hold of and rest upon Him as my only hope. 

Fourth, by the marks of the new nature within me - a love for God; an appetite for spiritual things; a longing for holiness; a seeking after conformity to Christ. 

Fifth, by the resistance which the new nature makes to the old, causing me to hate sin and loathe myself for it. 

Sixth, by avoiding everything which is condemned by God's Word and by sincerely repenting of and humbly confessing every transgression. Failure at this point will surely bring a dark cloud over our assurance causing the Spirit to withhold His witness. 

Seventh, by giving all diligence to cultivate the Christian graces and using all diligence to this end. 

Thus the knowledge of election is cumulative."

- A .W. Pink, The Doctrines of Election and Justification [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974], pp. 140-41.