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?"

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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
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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.

Quote: Rutherford on Loss

A friend from church sent us a snippet of her devotional this morning.  It included this quote from Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) that speaks to my heart.  He wrote it to a mother who lost her child very early in life.

'Grace rooteth not out the affections of a mother, but putteth them on His wheel who maketh all things new, that they may be refined; therefore sorrow for a dead child is allowed to you, though by measure and ounceweights; the redeemed of the Lord have not a dominion or lordship over their sorrow and other affections, to lavish out Christ's goods at their pleasure.... He commandeth you to weep; and that princely One took up to heaven with Him a man's heart to be a compassionate High Priest. The cup ye drink was at the lip of sweet Jesus, and He drank of it.... Ye are not to think it a bad bargain for your beloved daughter that she died--she hath gold for copper and brass, eternity for time. All the knot must be that she died too soon, too young, in the morning of her life; but sovereignty must silence your thoughts. I was in your condition: I had but two children, and both are dead since I came hither. The supreme and absolute Former of all things giveth not an account of any of His matters. The good Husbandman may pluck His roses and gather His lilies at midsummer, and, for ought I dare say, in the beginning of the first summer month; and he may transplant young trees out of the lower ground to the higher, where they may have more of the sun and a more free air, at any season of the year. The goods are His own. The Creator of time and winds did a merciful injury (if I may borrow the word) to nature in landing the passenger so early.'

White House Easter Prayer Breakfast

President Obama said: 

I can’t shed light on centuries of scriptural interpretation or bring any new understandings to those of you who reflect on Easter’s meaning each and every year and each and every day.  But what I can do is tell you what draws me to this holy day and what lesson I take from Christ’s sacrifice and what inspires me about the story of the resurrection.

For even after the passage of 2,000 years, we can still picture the moment in our mind’s eye. The young man from Nazareth marched through Jerusalem; object of scorn and derision and abuse and torture by an empire.  The agony of crucifixion amid the cries of thieves. The discovery, just three days later, that would forever alter our world -- that the Son of Man was not to be found in His tomb and that Jesus Christ had risen. 

We are awed by the grace He showed even to those who would have killed Him.  We are thankful for the sacrifice He gave for the sins of humanity.  And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection.

And such a promise is one of life’s great blessings, because, as I am continually learning, we are, each of us, imperfect. Each of us errs -- by accident or by design.  Each of us falls short of how we ought to live.  And selfishness and pride are vices that afflict us all.

It’s not easy to purge these afflictions, to achieve redemption.  But as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered -- by faith in Jesus Christ.  And the possibility of redemption can make straight the crookedness of a character; make whole the incompleteness of a soul.  Redemption makes life, however fleeting here on Earth, resound with eternal hope.

Of all the stories passed down through the gospels, this one in particular speaks to me during this season.  And I think of hanging -- watching Christ hang from the cross, enduring the final seconds of His passion.  He summoned what remained of His strength to utter a few last words before He breathed His last breath.

“Father,” He said, “into your hands I commit my spirit.” Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.  These words were spoken by our Lord and Savior, but they can just as truly be spoken by every one of us here today.  Their meaning can just as truly be lived out by all of God’s children. 

So, on this day, let us commit our spirit to the pursuit of a life that is true, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord.  And when we falter, as we will, let redemption -- through commitment and through perseverance and through faith -- be our abiding hope and fervent prayer.

Wow-thats a pretty decent expression of belief in the deity of Christ and the truth of the empty tomb.  Of course, the President's stance on many social issues seems to be outside the bounds of biblical morality - but I can't judge his heart.  I was sad to read  from a partial list of attendees:

Pastor Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church, IL
Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Bishop, A.M.E. Church
Elder Nancy Wilson, Metropolitan Community Church
Commissioner Israel Gaither, National Commander, Salvation Army
Pastor Joel Osteen, Pastor, Lakewood Church
Hyepin Im, Korean Christian Community Development
Dr. Arturo Chavez, President, Mexican American Catholic College
Rev. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Fr. Larry Snyder, President, Catholic Charities
Rev. Peg Chemberlin, President, National Council of Churches
Dr. Julius Scruggs, President, National Baptist Convention of America
Sister Carol Keehan, President, Catholic Health Association
Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, Senior Pastor, Windsor Village United Methodist Church

With so many denominations and sects in attendance, where was the Reformed representative?  Did any OPC or PCA person get invited?  Oh well, its a partial list I guess.

Even if his views on many issues seem out of step with Scripture and despite the fact that his guest list isn't the most solid grouping of Gospel-advocates, I find hope in the President's words and a renewal in my mind of the admonision that I so often forget:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Baby Glover

Although you had not yet a name,
our hearts loved you deeply all the same.
We were so ready to be your mom and dad,
then fell the day you came.

For you did not come as we presumed,
your place at home was being groomed,
yet other plans our Sovereign had,
you went to heaven from the womb.

Life is never ill-conceived,
though in your death we are so grieved,
and even as our hearts now linger sad,
we know whom we’ve believed.

The God who numbers all our days,
no less deserves our endless praise,
he means this thing which hurts so bad,
to point towards heaven’s rays.

He’s teaching us to trust his grace,
while yet we cannot see his face.
In righteousness you now are clad,
held tight in our Father's embrace.

Baby Glover, your life does hence,
accomplish God's holy intents,
to make these saints in loss be glad,
for the Lord's mercy and providence.

-  I am not so creative on my own.  Thanks to John Piper for the basic format of this poem.  He wrote it after his daughter-in-law had a miscarriage several years ago.  I changed many words to fit our own personal situation.

Why no "Holy Week-Sunday?"

You may have noticed that I did not conclude the week with a "Holy Week-Sunday" post.  My apologies, I spent much of Resurrection Day at the hospital with my wife.

It was a bittersweet Easter weekend for us. We lost our baby yesterday at 12 weeks to miscarriage. It was very rough for my wife with 7 hrs of labor before the OB had to do surgery.

In the midst of such sadness we cling to the hope that comes from knowing that "He is Risen!"

As we head into this week we mourn for sure - but we are strengthened in knowing that we shall yet see our precious child in the presence of our heavenly Father.

Thank you all for your prayers in this difficult time and thanks to God that he loved us so much that he sent his Son to die for us and rise again that our sins would be washed away and that we might become his adopted heirs.

Holy Week - Friday

"It is finished..."

Learn the rest of what happened on Good Friday HERE

Holy Week - Thursday

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,

“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 

Read the rest HERE

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, sometimes abbreviated MTD^, is a term coined by authors Christian Smith at the Notre Dame and Lisa Pearce at UNC Chapel Hill, to describe the common religious beliefs among American youth^.  Their research project, titled the National Study of Youth and Religion, was funded by the Lily Endowment, a private organization known for its support of Christianity. The pair found that many young people believed in several moral statutes not exclusive to any of the major world religions:

1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

These points of belief were compiled from interviews with approximately 3,000 young teenagers.

-  How many people do you know who believe this and call it Christianity?  Are you actively working to share the real Gospel with them?

Holy Week - Wednesday

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.  He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

See the rest HERE.

Holy Week- Tuesday

Did you know that this went down on Tuesday of Holy Week?

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And he said to him,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 Learn about all of the other things we see in Scripture that occurred on Holy Week Tuesday, thanks to Justin Taylor and the ESV Study Bible HERE.

I will continue to post a snippet and a link for every day this week!

RSC on Redeemer and NT Wright

Robert Scott Clark on the upcoming invitation by Tim Keller's Redeemer network to have NT Wright speak.

http://heidelblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/n-t-wright-to-speak-at-redeemer-nyc/

Elders

I've attended both Baptists churches where everyone has an equal vote on important issues and church matters.  I have also attended a neo-Charismatic church where the "overseer" had supreme, almost dictatorial, authority.

When I came to attend my current PCA church I was introduced to what I believe is the appropriate and biblical model for church leadership.   

The PCA maintains the historic polity of Presbyterian governance set forth in The Book of Church Order, namely rule by presbyters (or elders) and the graded assemblies or courts.  These courts are the session , governing the local church; the presbytery, for regional matters; and the general assembly, at the national level.  It has taken seriously the position of the parity of elders, making a distinction between the two classes of elders, teaching and ruling.  It has self-consciously taken a more democratic position (rule from the grass roots up) on presbyterian governance in contrast to a more prelatical form (rule from the top assemblies down).

 John MacArthur,a reformed Baptist who believes in the elder model, says:

"Because of its heritage of democratic values and its long history of congregational church government, modern American evangelicalism often views the concept of elder rule with suspicion. The clear teaching of Scripture, however, demonstrates that the biblical norm for church leadership is a plurality of God-ordained elders, and only by following this biblical pattern will the church maximize its fruitfulness to the glory of God."

Read more of  thoughts on this in Chapter 8 of the PCA's Book of Church Order or at MacArthurs webpage...Both have useful and thought-provoking material for you to digest.

The Pelagianism of LOST

OK, so I really want to get this off my chest before I even start talking seriously about LOST...

"How does a wooden ship destroy 80% of a giant stone statue?"

Thanks
_____________________________

This weeks episode of LOST was really good.  We finally learned what some of the mystery surrounding Richard Alpert is all about - why he doesn't age, how come he speaks for Jacob, etc...

More importantly, we learned some very interesting things about the island and the motives of both Jacob and the Man-In-Black.

When Richard meets Jacob the two sit on the beach and share some wine and conversation.  From that talk we learned that Jacob did bring the Black Rock to the island, as he also seems to have brought Flight 815 to the island.

Then, Jacob told Richard to think of the wine in his bottle as hell, or malevolence, evil, or darkness. That is the MIB.  The wine swirls in the bottle and yet can't get out, "because if it did, it would spread." He said the cork is the island. He put the cork into the bottle and flipped it upside down, showing how the cork (the island) "is the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs."

Jacob said The Man in Black believes people are corruptible because it's in their nature to sin, and Jacob brings people to the island to prove him wrong, "and when they get here, their past doesn't matter." Richard asked what happened to the others he'd brought to the island before him. "They're all dead," Jacob told him. He said he didn't help them because he wanted them to help themselves, "to know the difference between right or wrong without me having to tell them." He said it was meaningless if he had to tell them, if he had to step in.

WOW!  Lots of info to digest.  Assuming that Jacob isn't talking a load of horse manure - we just got some great insight into where things are going and how the writers and producers of the show see the world, or at least the world of LOST.

I was immediately struck by the Pelagian tone of the comments that Jacob made.  Pelagianism was a Christian heresy in the early 400s that taught several odd things, primarily the idea that "Original Sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil by the exercise of rational thought and without any special Divine aid."

It is basically super-free will.  We are blank slates, neither good nor evil in our core until we choose to be one or the other.  It makes man the supreme decider of his fate.  Mike Horton says "According to Pelagius, Adam was merely a bad example, not the father of our sinful condition-we are sinners because we sin-rather than vice versa. Consequently, of course, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, was a good example. Salvation is a matter chiefly of following Christ instead of Adam, rather than being transferred from the condemnation and corruption of Adam's race and placed "in Christ," clothed in his righteousness and made alive by his gracious gift. What men and women need is moral direction, not a new birth; therefore, Pelagius saw salvation in purely naturalistic terms-the progress of human nature from sinful behavior to holy behavior, by following the example of Christ."

I think we can see strong biblical evidence that Pelagianism is not the theology of Christianity at even a cursory glance of the Scriptures...

We are by nature sinners (Eph. 2:3; Psalm 51:5).  We all have sinned because sin entered the world through Adam:  "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12).  Furthermore, Romans 3:10-12 says, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”  Therefore, we are unable to do God's will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14).

We were affected by the fall of Adam, contrary to what Pelagius taught and Jacob espouses.  Nevertheless, these developments should make for a great storyline as the last several episodes of my favorite TV show play out!

The Shack revisited...

I know that the Shack is "old news" these days - but not really.  I still hear reconmendations of it from people I know and it is currently #12 on the NYT Paperback Trade Fiction list.

To be fair I must admit that I have only read bits and pieces of the work itself - not the whole thing.  However after reading over some reviews in the past year or so from people whose opinions I trust, I decided that it wouldn't serve any purpose for me to read the novel.

I am still concerned though for those who have read it and been duped by it.  I just ran across Tim Challies awesome review of the book and I wanted to post a link to that document HERE.

If you have read The Shack or if you know people who have I would suggest reading this review.  It can help correct the theological mistakes that you will have encountered in a reading and/ or it will prepare you to discuss those issues with others who may be confused.

Don't Waste Your Cancer

As someone who has a very close relative dealing with much the same thing, this video made me tear up.  Praise God for his faithfulness to us and for the spirit of some with cancer to remain faithful to him no matter what.  The testimony of men like Zac Smith is of great benefit to us all.


The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.