General Reflections
Lessons from a Child
Category: General Reflections
In the context of giving alms, the Scripture speaks of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. I have always found that to be a curious phrase, but this morning I saw it in action.
I was holding my 21-month old son who was holding very tightly to a plastic saucer with his left hand. Wedged in between his left wrist and his chest was his sippy cup. For some reason he decided that he wanted to hold the saucer with his right hand, so he took hold of the little plate and pulled. When the left hand felt the tug, it instantly tightened its grip, realizing that if it let go, the cup would fall to the ground. When the right hand felt the resistance, it yanked even harder...which caused the left hand to clinch so much that it began to shiver. Back and forth it went. Right there before my very eyes, a tug-of-war was taking place between two limbs that belonged to the same person, each appearing to have a mind of its own, and neither perceiving the true identity of its opponent.
This inner-personal battle raged feverishly, until he spotted his stuffed, floppy-eared, shaggy puppy perched on top of the half wall in our kitchen, at which point both hands released their prize and formed a united effort to reach for the dog. And now, thanks to my young son, I have a deeper understanding of the teaching of my Lord.
Two Wives? Why Not, Your Honor?
Category: General Reflections
It was only a matter of time before this happened. It will be fascinating (troubling?) to see how the courts rule and what their reasons will be. I wonder why the ACLU has not championed the family's cause? Oh, wait! They credit God with ordaining marriage, which, for the ACLU, disqualifies this as a human rights case.
Don't get me wrong, I hope the courts rule against it. But I think all of the previous decisions regarding homosexual rights, easy divorce, couples living together, etc., are going to make it increasingly difficult for our judiciaries to rule out anything.
Vote!
Category: General Reflections
Whether this article is accurate or not with its claim that the opponents of homosexual marriage are less likely to turn out to the polls as the proponents, I urge you to bear y…
Meditations on Pain and Hope
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--
A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
The assertions described on one column of these parallelisms come as naturally as taking a sip of water when one a thirsty. For who needs to be taught that there is an appropriate time for peace? Even two bickering siblings eventually tire of their strife and find a united appeal for cookies to be a more worthy endeavor. But why must there ever be a time to study the strategy of war?
Friends, family, and lovers all sense, instinctively, the pleasure and warmth of an affectionate touch from someone who holds a special place in their heart. So why must there ever come a time when that embrace must be broken or denied?
And what instruction is required to teach a boy to laugh or a young girl to promenade around the room to her own melodious humming? For several things learned by my three children, ages six, four, and not yet two, I may take some credit, but the sweet, innocent, eruption of laughter at a silly mis-hap is surely not one of them. A person's happy experience and joyful response is as innate and involuntary as a goosebump in a chilly breeze or a squinting eye in the bright sun. Not one of my children has come to ask me to teach her how to giggle when she's tickled or how to return a smile when I first smile at her. Yet when the equally-innate response of tears begin to flow, the questions come with intense interest. I said questions, but really there's only one. Why?
A time to heal? Most certainly, for all of us want to be whole. But how do our hearts accept the propriety of killing? How can we explain to any questioning conscience, including our own, the need to extinguish the flame of someone else's life?
Oh joy of joys, the birth of one's first child. And then the next, and the next. The softest skin. The purest blue eyes. The tiny fingernails and small, flexible toes. The glorious fruit of incomprably arduous labor. Human perfection. But the time will come for each one when the breath of life must flee, leaving the empty shell to lie in the dust.
And the question comes--obstinately refusing to leave until it receives an answer--Why? Why must peace give way to hostility? Why must love be abandoned in favor of hatred? Why must doctors move aside to make room for soldiers? Why must the dance be replaced by the dirge? Why must intimacy be lost and absence found? Why must the birth center share a building with the trauma center, and why are there not only obstetricians, but also morticians? Why? Why? Why?
The answer to the question is found in this simple statement, "She took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."
The apostle Paul put it this way, "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin."
All of the pain, all of the strife, all of the suffering, all of the struggles, all of the turmoil, all of the disappointments, all of the sorrow, all of the failures, all of the betrayals, all of the lies, and ultimately all of the deaths of mankind can be attributed to this one, simple thing--sin.
The distress of life goes back to the dire consequences and effects of the fall. Consider the curses of Genesis chapter three:
Work
Men were created to work. God placed Adam into the garden to cultivate it and to keep it. Work was an inherent part of his created purpose. He was expected to tend the garden and produce good fruit by it so that he and his wife would have something to eat. But after sin entered the world, the offended Creator pronounced condemnation upon the dirt. From that point forward the ground would be bound up and hardened, filled with weeds and thorns, so that Adam would not only have to work, but now he would have to work hard. And much of his labor would be in vain because drought, disease, and the debilitating effect of tares would destroy the plants or render them infertile. Adam would sweat and toil and strain if he would have bread to put on the table.
This entanglement was not restricted to Adam, nor to the agrarian vocation. Adam's sons would soon discover that it was also their lot in life to find it difficult to profit from their labors. And his son's sons. And their sons, even to the present day.
In our age, at least in the western world, a man is required to do more than plant a few rows or raise a few pigs and cows. The cost of living--that is, what it takes to maintain a lifestyle which includes house, transportation, food, education, clothing, etc.--demands that he earn enough money to purchase what is necessary to get along in this culture. We call it "earning a living." Today's man must land a job equal to his expenditures. But just as the insect or hailstorm might destroy the farmer's crops at any time, so also an employee nevers knows when the pink slip will accompany what turns out to be his final salary check.
And such uncertainty in the job market creates real stress in the the minds and stomachs of men. Lay-off, firing, corporate bankruptcy, and other threats loom over the worker so that financial security alludes him. The concerns are real, and they weigh heavily on a man's back like a 90-pound sack of fertilizer.
How many of our men and women have experienced, or are currently experiencing, the hardship and anxiety that come as a result of the difficulty and futility of work? How many of us know all too well the reality of this curse? We know what it's like to be afraid that one more hospital bill may deplete our vanishing savings accounts, that one more house or car repair may be the devastating blow.
Sin has brought great trouble upon mankind in the sphere of work.
Marriage
In the garden, sin turned a sublime, harmonious bond between the first man and his wife into a dissonant, cacophony. Adam would no longer be content to be lord over Eve, now he would strive to lord it over her. Dominion would no longer satisfy, now he must be domineering.
Eve, in turn, would chafe at the thought of serving in the ignoble role of helper. Why should she serve him? Why should he have the final say? Nay, contrare. She would not lie still while some male chavunist tried to make her a doormat. She would prove herself equal in dignity and authority. She is woman; hear her roar!
And from that point forward, the relationship that was intended to picture the love of Christ and His bride would appear somewhere between a distorted, unintelligible copy and a seriously-flawed, amatuerish copy. All of us have witnessed the damaging effects of this, now, strained union:
Fathers/husbands who abuse mothers/wives
Absent fathers/husbands
Weak, heartless, effeminate fathers/husbands
Harsh, impudent mothers/wives
Absent mothers/wives
Overbearing, demanding, critical mothers/wives
Divorce, broken homes
Dysfunctional homes
Loveless, chaotic, and violent homes
(leads to:)
Depressed, desparate children
Agressive, violent children
Emotionally unstable children
Kids who just don't know how to relate
(which leads to:)
more ugly marriages and broken homes
War of Seed of Snake/Seed of Woman
Snake will have offspring which will cause problems for the woman's offspring
Evil, fleshly, sinful, wicked, corrupt, men and women
(which lead to:)
Pain & Suffering
Murder, rape, robbery, destruction, genocide, abortion, terrorism, evolution, lying, gossip, holocaust, greed, slander, perversion, betrayal, narcisscism, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, and molestation.
They are consumed with their own happiness, and aggressively oppose anyone who poses a threat to their achieving it. They love the darkness and will seek to destroy anyone who attempts to bring into their surroundings even a glimmer of light.
Devil Himself
Temptation
Accusation
Woman's offspring are those who belong to Christ, the elect who love and obey God. And we suffer the consequences of living in the same world as the children of the devil. Furthermore, we were once his children ourselves. And too often we act as though we still love him and belong to him, thereby bringing some of the same pain and suffering upon ourselves and upon other children of God
Flesh battles the Spirit (Gal. 5)
Snake enctices our flesh
Other Oppressors
Disease/sickness/pain
Depression/anxiety/uncertainty
Lack of significance or purpose
Disobedient, unbelieving children
Strained relationships with family or friends
Divorce
Unbelieving parents/relatives dying (or dead)
Strife among co-workers
Physiological and chemical problems
Death of loved ones
This is not out there. It's everywhere. It's in here. I am not speaking a bunch of generally-accepted truths or abstract universal concepts; I'm speaking from experience, from the awareness of what people in this room are dealing with. It's real pain, and it hurts.
Look around you. Do you see the people in front of you, next to you, behind you? You may not be able to detect it on the surface, but I assure you that if you used the right instrument and knew where to look, you would find that sin has left its indelible mark on each one. All have sinned and lack the glory of God; and we all have scars to prove it.
But, there's hope.
Hope of future things:
Rom. 8:12-25
2 Cor. 4:16-18
Hope for now:
2 Cor. 1:3-10.
God gives comfort to us
We must give comfort to others
Eccl. 3
There is a time for everything, including giving birth, planting, healing, building up, laughing, dancing, embracing, sewing together, loving, and peace. The times for these things do not wait for future glory, they are blessings for this life which give us a small, but real, foretaste of what is coming. We must enjoy them when the time is right.
3:11
God determines what time it is. We must trust Him, take comfort in Him, find our hope in Him.
What is the basis for this hope? How do we endure through the manifold sorrows and afflictions? Where is the source of comfort?
Well, remember what caused the whole mess? Sin. God has provided the cure for this deadly disease. He has begun the work of undoing all of the evil caused by the disobedience of the first Adam. He sent another Adam--His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Be Grateful
Category: General Reflections
What is most offensive to God? Do some sins provoke His holy ire more than others? The answer is an emphatic, Yes! Paul informs us in the first chapter of Romans that the unleashing of God’s wrath comes for two weighty sins, namely, idolatry and ingratitude. The former comes as no surprise; of course, idolatry is abominable to God. What could be more offensive to Him than to ascribe glory and honor to a hunk of wood (or any other created thing), and to call it ‘God’? But the latter is less obvious. If asked to construct a list of the most reprehensible sins, most of us would not include ingratitude (certainly not in the top two!). However, Paul (speaking of sinful mankind) declares that God’s wrath is being poured out because they “did not glorify Him as God, or give thanks” (Rom. 1:21, emphasis mine).
Have you ever noticed the natural inclination to give thanks that men have? Even unbelievers utter words of thanksgiving. Unfortunately, they exchange the true God for a mere abstraction and say “thank goodness,” rather than “thank God.” Or sometimes they use the latter but only as a figure of speech without intending to express gratefulness to the God who is. Nevertheless, we all seem to have an inherent understanding that we are not self-sufficient, but are dependant upon something outside of ourselves for the blessings we enjoy. If God has implanted into the human psyche this proclivity toward giving thanks, and we express gratitude to anything other than God, then we can understand His anger at such dereliction.
In another letter, the same apostle reveals that the will of God for us in Christ is that we give thanks in all things (1 Thess. 5:18). Are you wondering what God's will is for you? Be grateful to God for everything, that's His will for you.
One more thing. I would encourage you to give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ (as opposed to 'God') when speaking publicly. We are not expressing gratitude to just any deity or higher power; rather, we have a very specific God in mind--the sovereign King Jesus who sits on the universal throne. And although Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful time for gathering as families and friends, we who have received His special blessing of salvation ought to be especially thankful everyday, whether it’s a national holiday or not.
But They Have Nice Ducks
Category: General Reflections
Krista and I made it to sunny Orlando for the C&MA General Council. If you so desire, you can watch the business sessions live. Also, I will provide some recaps here this week.
We are staying in The Peabody, an (apparently) prestigious hotel. It's famous for their ducks which parade out of the elevator every morning, across a red carpet to a marble fountain in the foyer where they will stay until they retrace their steps in the evening. Because of the price, I would not usually stay in such a nice place, but because the Alliance is occupying so many rooms, they were able to negotiate a price well below the norm. However, when I consider the every day price and what it includes and compare them to the kinds of hotels that I would normally stay in, I'm left scratching my head a little.
For example, when I arrive at an average hotel, I walk in, check in, and head for the room. When I pull up to the Peabody, there are fourteen nicely dressed young men who, without asking, pull my bags out of the trunk and tell me to have a nice stay, which means, "Hey, I just did 2.7 seconds worth of labor for you, give me some money." Or another example, we arrived in the room to find that there is no coffee anywhere. When I inquired at the desk, a nice young woman informed me that there is complementary coffee served every morning from 5:30 AM to 7:00 AM in the lobby. If I would prefer not to make myself presentable at that hour of the day and trek downstairs and drink the Joe in the loud surroundings of the hotel entryway, I can always order a pot of coffee from room service. (I'm sure it would be less than $20.) In the kinds of hotels that I frequent, there is a coffee maker right there on the counter. Instead of getting dressed and descending six floors, I could just walk six steps and push the on button. Also, my kind of hotels have free shuttle services to Disney World and Universal Studios (I checked), but the Peabody allows you the privilege of paying $17 per person, one way. (But, to be fair, they do throw in a free day's pass for the trolley which takes you to within a mile of the theme park.)
I'm not complaining here so much as observing what an interesting culture we live in. The budget hotels include a number of amenities, while the luxury hotels, which charge 3, 4, maybe 5 times as much, charge you extra for virtually everything. And yet, people will pay.
But, they have nice ducks.
Opening Sessions
Category: General Reflections
Tuesday night, General Council opened with a time of praise and worship let by Kelvin Walker, the campus pastor of Nyack College. (The sound reminded me of the Hosanna CDs from a few years back with Ron Kenoli, sans the horns section). This year, the stage is set up "in the round" with the hope that everything seems more intimate. I am not sure the goal is reached, however, because the speakers/musicians always have their backs to several sections of seats. But, this way the back rows are not nearly as far back as usual.
Rev. John Stumbo gave the opening message. His main point was that in spite of the fact that pastoral ministry is a very taxing vocation, and that "the price tag keeps going up," it is an eternally significant calling. Church ministry matters. At the end, he asked all of the attending retired ministers to come to the stage, and then he invited any pastors who needed prayer and encouragement to come to the front and receive prayer from the retired pastors. It was a good start to Council. (If I had a complaint, it would be that the message was not grounded in any particulate biblical passage.)
Wednesday morning contained the president's report from Dr. Gary Benedict. His main point was that programs and methods are not the keys to success for completing the Great Commission, but that holy, mature Christians are. Basing his words on Colossians 1:25, Dr. Benedict emphasized the need to "present everyone complete in Christ." Since that is the very text and phraseology that we have chosen as our mission statement at FRAC, I was pleased to hear it.
The "current condition" of the C&MA was also reported, and there are some concerns about growth and finances. It seems that although new Alliance churches are appearing, the progress is mitigated by the number of church closings. All in all, the net gain is minimal, and giving trends are not favorable. The stated solution is two-fold: 1) Retaining the second and third generations, that is, keeping our kids and grandkids in the Alliance (many leave the C&MA for other church affiliations) and 2) increased church planting.
The afternoon business session (now called 'Ministry Strategy Sessions') saw the approval of some important decisions. Most impacting was the increased authority given to the president, in conjunction with the Board of Directors, to structure the national office staff in whatever way is most conducive to achieving his purposes. The positions that have formerly been delineated using the title 'Vice President' (ex. Vice President over National Church Ministries) which were elected by General Council will now be appointed positions (and may or may not retain their current titles). Now the president can enlist whatever leadership he deems appropriate (again, with the approval of the Board of Directors) for effective administration of Alliance objectives.
Also, the budget was passed for the next two years, and the Theological Issues Committee was commissioned to evaluate the C&MA Manual to determine how to simplify the governance of the Alliance. The real impact of this will come at the 2009 Council when their findings are brought as recommendations to Council delegates. It may result in much greater power being granted to the local church for polity and doctrinal decisions (and consequently a broadening of the C&MA umbrella).
The evening service included preaching by Jonathan Schaffer who delivered a good reminder that the Holy Spirit of Christ indwells every believer. We were encouraged to remember this sometimes neglected source of strength and to keep the temple of the Holy Spirit (i.e. our bodies) pure and holy. It was a very edifying sermon.
In addition to business and corporate worship, it is a joy to spend time with good friends and former ministry partners. That's it for now.
Does God Ever Say, "What Could Have Been..."
Category: General Reflections
Thursday morning began with a very energetic time of singing followed by a fine message by Ron Morrison. The main encouragement was that we take risks for God. He did not mean by this that we should be presumptuous or reckless, but that we should not be afraid to trust God with our life and ministry. We have been entrusted with only one life to live, and we ought to make the most of it by serving Christ even outside our comfort zones. Laziness is wickedness, and failure to go forward with the kingdom of God out of fear is unacceptable. We should "risk" that God will take care of us in every circumstance, which is not much of a risk.
The afternoon business session included open dialogue about a few issues raised from the floor. (One topic raised that was not discussed was lifting the alcohol prohibition for pastors.) First, the powers that be defended the rationale for taking 15% of contributions made to special projects to cover administration costs. The official justification led to responses from pastors and missionaries either defending the fee or arguing against it. Second, a lot of conversation revolved around whether the long standing missionary tour model is still beneficial and effective or whether we ought to pursue alternative means of interaction with missionaries. No decisions were made, but several suggestions for improvement were offered. Third, fourth, etc., were various and sundry concerns raised by the delegates.
The evening session included a message from pastor Scott Slocum. It was troubling. There were several assumptions behind his exhortations which led to erroneous conclusions.
His first point was that we must be committed to Christ above all else, above family, self, and church. That sounds great at first glance, but it's really a setup for his primary concern which is--all that Christ cares about is saving His lost children (see below). So, being committed to Christ above all else is equal to being committed to saving the lost. If you have any other concern in life then you are not committed to Christ (instead, you are committed to the church or yourself or . . .). Then he changed the image, and, using the Prodigal Son as the basis, argued that the Father's greatest concern is saving His children. Salvation is the 'heart of the Father', and only those who have the same passion for the lost have the Father's heart. Everyone else is like the older brother, living in the Father's house and experiencing His blessings and presence, but completely missing His heart.
At the most basic level, Mr. Slocum believes that all humans are God's children, some are lost children and some are found children, but we are all in the same family. And the Father is so concerned with His lost children that He is filled with anxiety at the thought of not finding them; as he put it, "My theology has room for a frantic God." He told the story of how, many years ago in Florida, his son had been missing for over thirty minutes (he thought his wife had him, and vice versa). When the son's absence was realized, Scott was frantic in his desire to find him. He didn't care about anyone or anything else, only finding his son mattered. In the same way, he argues, the Father is frantic about finding His lost sons and daughters. (By the way, frantic means "distraught with fear or anxiety," so Mr. Slocum is saying that God is distraught with fear about finding His lost children.) Then to close out the sermon, he showed a clip from Schindler's List which shows Mr. Schindler mournful and weeping that he didn't rescue more Jews from death. His admonishment was that some of the tears the Lord will wipe away from our eyes when we see Him will be due to the fact that we didn't save more people. He said, "It will all look different at the end," meaning that we will see all the souls that we could have saved with deep regret.
Some of the implications of this sermon are 1) the church which is not committed, above all, to evangelism is equal to the Pharisees who were denounced by Christ. 2) Anyone who spends time doing anything other than evangelism does not have 'the Father's heart' (which makes one wonder why Mr. Slocum bothers to come to council to preach when he could be out evangelizing and finding God's lost children). 3) That pastors who work hard at preaching and teaching, edifying the body of Christ, equipping the saints for works of service, caring for the souls of believers, managing God's household, and shepherding Christ's sheep, really don't know the will of Christ. Even though these are the things explicitly revealed by Christ in His word that church leaders ought to be concerned with, they shouldn't be the goals of the church because 4) every church must change the way it does music, the way it preaches, the way it looks and feels, so that lesbians, abortion-rights advocates, homosexuals, (which Mr. Slocum called "complex, gray matters") etc., are comfortable to come to our services. These are God's lost children, and if we don't welcome them to our church, then we don't have the Father's heart.
Throughout his rebuke of the modern church (at least of those who are primarily concerned with the edification of believers), Mr. Slocum never mentioned the word (or concept) of repentance. He emphasized that the prodigal son was accepted joyfully by his father. True, but only after the son realized the error of his ways and came back to the father. And, ironically, the father was not frantically pursuing the son in the parable. It seems that the father held up as the example of the 'Father's heart" did not manifest the heart that Slocum was searching for. What the father did manifest was a merciful willingness (delight even) to receive his wayward son back when he returned in remorse.
The last thing I will note is that the Scripture does not regard unbelievers as children of God (lost or not), but as children of the devil. Only believers have been adopted into God's family. To regard unbelievers as God's children who are "lost" is to confuse the terms of a parable with the meaning of a parable; and to compare unbelievers with a man's son who has been lost in the crowd is irresponsible. An unrepentant lesbian is not a member of God's household who has accidently been caught up in the crowd and carried down the street against her will. She is a rebellious hater of God who purposefully runs away from God thumbing her nose at Him as she flees, and she will remain such unless He graciously grants her a new, repentant heart. And neither we, nor God, will weep with regret on the Day of Judgment. God and Mr. Schindler have nothing in common. Schindler had selfish, acquisitive purposes for saving Jews, and only realized after the fact that he could have done more from a benevolent heart. God's purposes in saving sinners reflect His perfectly holy and divine motives, and He rescues precisely who He wants and condemns precisely who He wants. God has no "what could have been" moments.
A Few More Thoughts
For Friday, the Council organizers decided not to schedule any meetings during the day so that delegates could enjoy the Orlando fun. So, I have nothing to report about the day, but I have a few follow up comments to previous posts.
First, I discovered that the trolley passes which I thought had been gratuitously provided by the Peabody hotel were not, in fact, gratuitous. Neither is the "complementary coffee" in the lobby served between 5:30 and 7:00 AM. For these amenities, along with the wireless internet service that I am using to upload this blog, we are paying a daily fee.
Second, we got to see the ducks waddle down the freshly groomed red carpet to assume their daytime home in the lobby fountain today. And, as providence would have it, we were walking through the lobby when they retreated to their suite for the night.
Third, a few more thoughts on Scott Slocum's message. I found it a bit ironic that the worship team from Mr. Slocum's church led us in an extended version of the popular song, How Great Is Our God--which speaks of our King's splendor from which the darkness hides, and the greatness of God which if sung will let everyone know--and then we were told about God's worried and anxious heart frantically, desperately, seeking His lost child like a finite, weak, ignorant, helpless, human father who doesn't know where the kid has wandered off to. That is not a great God worth singing about; that is a being in dire need of someone else's help.
Another point stressed by Pastor Slocum was that Jesus spent time with, and accepted, sinners (implying that He would hang out with lesbians and abortion advocates). This came up several times when he compared the present day church with the Pharisees. As I pointed out earlier, this comparison is highly offensive. It is true that the Pharisees were too caught up in their religious rituals that they missed the Messiah, but it is also true that they were self-righteous unbelievers. Is Mr. Slocum suggesting that the Christians whom he was criticizing are self-righteous unbelievers? That would follow from what he said. If he does not believe that, then he should refrain from making the comparison. Furthermore, the Pharisees were sinners in desperate need of a savior, but Jesus did not have a great concern for them. In fact, He went so far as to praise the Father for hiding the truth of the gospel from them (Luke 10). Instead of frantically seeking lost Pharisees, God actually prevented them from observing the means of salvation. It seems that even God does not possess the "Father's heart".
Jesus did spend time with sinners; in fact, every moment that was not spent alone was spent with sinners. And yes, some of them were prostitutes and adulterers, but He did not make them feel comfortable enough to remain both in their sin and in His presence. He confronted their sin, He exposed it, He called for repentance. The apostle John reveals that sinners don't want to be near the Lord because they love their sin, "t
Well, that's enough for now. It's time to go dream about ducks.
Mission, Women, and the Sufficiency of Christ
This morning included a message from Dennis Episcopo on the need for effective leadership. It was basically a call for church leaders to endure hardship and persevere in our calling because of the responsibilities and rewards of the position. He emphatically rebuked pastors for whining. His underlying presupposition about mission was the same as Scott Slocum--saving the lost. He went so far as to say that he knows the church is supposed to be for Christians, but until 85% of the individual members of the congregation are regularly involved in evangelism, the church must structure itself for the unbeliever rather than the believer.
Now that's a pretty bold claim because presumably if the church is "supposed to be for Christians," the reason for this supposition is the Scriptural mandate. The reason church is supposed to be for Christians is because the Lord says so. However, because (in Mr. Episcopo's estimation) the church is not doing enough evangelism we have an obligation to change church from the way the Lord commanded to make up for this failure. The greatest commandment from the Lord Jesus Christ is to evangelize; everything else is subordinate to it and, therefore, negotiable.
The afternoon meeting included elections for several denominational positions including the board of directors. Also, there was an open forum with President Benedict, vice presidents, directors, and other leaders where delegates were allowed to ask questions regarding virtually any C&MA issue. One such issue was the role of women in worship services. The head of National Church Ministries, John Soper, made an unambiguous declaration that women are free to do anything in the church, including preaching, as long as they are under the authority of the elders (who must be male). John Stumbo (the opening night's speaker and pastor of a large church) was then asked about his church's practice and he described how much of a blessing it is to have women as part of his preaching team. He recognizes that this would not be appropriate for all churches, but it is very beneficial to his. Essentially, he removed the role of women from the arena of principle and placed it into the category of personal (or individual church) conviction. Rather than looking at it through the lens of 1 Timothy 2 and 3 or 1 Corinthians 11 and 14, we should consider it a Romans 14 situation, like eating food sacrificed to idols (my words, not his).
Oswaldo Cruzado preached the evening service in Spanish with an English speaking translator. His burden was to remind pastors and missionaries of the sufficiency of Christ. We should not look to methods, programs, or techniques for ministry success, but to Christ alone. Jesus is sufficient to deal with unbelief, demon possession, financial predicaments, etc. We did not choose our time or place of ministry, the Lord chose it for us, and we must rely upon Him for effectiveness. Mr. Cruzado's message included several personal experiences as evidence of Christ's faithfulness in his ministry.
Such were the significant events of Saturday in Orlando.
What They Really Mean
Category: General Reflections
[Per request here are the calls of the world and my interpretation of them from the graduation ceremony.]
World's call:
Be beautiful (i.e. thin, alluring, and flirty).
Be independent (i.e. disregard authority).
Be a risk-taker (i.e. be stupid and careless).
Be adventurous (i.e. don't worry about the consequences)
Be unique (i.e. ignore the good influences in your life)
Be fun (i.e. irresponsible)
Be current (i.e. clothes are for fashion first, then covering, you must know what celebrity just did what, where, with whom, and you need a new cell phone with cooler ringtones)
Be spontaneous (i.e. there is no need for careful planning or striving to achieve a wisely chosen goal)
Be creative (i.e. tradition is bad, avoid it at all costs)
Be generous (i.e. do something nice for someone, it'll make you feel good)
Be aggressive (i.e. feel free to run over anyone who gets in the way of you getting what you want)
Be tolerant (i.e. accept everyone, everything they do, and everything the believe)
Be nice (i.e. your attitude, motivation, or real feelings don't matter as long as you pretend to like others)
Be good (i.e. nothing is immoral, just try not to hurt anyone; unless you just couldn't help it, and in that case it isn't your fault, it's your mom's or your doctor's or your boss', or your medicine, or ADD or . . .)
Be yourself (i.e. make decisions out of purely selfish motivations)
In His Own Words
Category: General (Council) Reflections
A few weeks ago when Krista and I were in Orlando for the C&MA General Council, I posted daily summaries of the events of each day, and among those recaps were a couple of reviews and responses to one particular sermon by Scott Slocum. Mr. Slocum, the senior pastor of Essex Alliance Church in Essex, Vermont, addressed the entire council during the worship service on Thursday evening, and I was deeply disturbed. (You can read my thoughts here and here.) But, just so you don't take my word for it, I would like to give you the opportunity to hear the message for yourself, and make any remarks you may have in the comments section below this post (right there below the date, just click on "Comment").
(The opening and closing comments are from the president of the C&MA, Dr. Gary Benedict.)
Conspicuous By Its Absence?
Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Seminary, includes a very insightful discussion on Hollywood and abortion on his blog this month. Indeed, the image of God does not scrape off of man easily.
Unless We Become Like Children . . .
Category: General Reflections
For those of you who know the Morellos, please read their latest blog entry and rejoice together with them. For those of you who don't know them, if you like to hear about children who understand their need for a Savior, you may be encouraged by reading it, too. We serve a gracious and loving Lord.
Making God(dess) in Our Image
Category: General Reflections
This is a real life, modern day example of man's utter stupidity and foolishness. But it makes one think . . . how often do we who know the true and living Lord of all creation try to do similar things with Him when He breaks our rules.
The Church as Sore Thumbs
Category: General Reflections
The current of modern Christian leadership flows strong and steady toward adopting worldly principles and practices in order to gain a hearing with the world. Something like, Go to Rome and do what the Romans do in order to get the Roman citizens out of Rome. One problem (among many) with this approach is that if we appear to be Roman citizens ourselves, we lose any hope of convincing the Romans that there is something wrong with being Roman. But, more importantly, it is contrary to the express command of the Lord of the Church. This article by John MacArthur is worth your time to pause and ponder.
May the Lord Jesus grant us the backbone to stick out like sore thumbs in modern Rome.
(Word) Pictures of Forgiveness
Category: General Reflections
[My friend (and missionary) Nate Mirza sent this to me the other day. He has been considering the various metaphors and expressions of the Scripture which communicate God's forgiveness, and I found it to be very edifying. So, I asked if I could post it here for the benefit of others and he graciously gave his permission. I encourage you to pause and ponder the glory of God's grace to us and allow these biblical truths to encourage your head and your heart.]
THE COMPLETENESS OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS
"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses." Acts 13:38, 39
The forgiveness of sins is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is unique compared to other religions in that the cross and the resurrection of Christ provide a complete payment for sin and therefore the receiver of forgiveness can have assurance of sins forgiven.
In every other religious system, there is no full assurance because you never know if you have done enough to earn forgiveness. Have I prayed enough? Have I repented enough? Have I sacrificed enough? Have I done enough penance? Have I made enough offerings? Have I been sincere enough? How can I be sure God is satisfied?
In the gospel, man can never do enough to pay for his sins. Not only was Jesus' sacrifice for our sins complete and sufficient, his ongoing ministry as our eternal high priest is also complete and sufficient:
"Now there were many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives for ever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for sins once for all when he offered himself." Heb.7:23-27
Since God made such a great sacrifice of his own sinless Son, in order to forgive our sins that we may come into a right relationship with him, he lets us know how important our salvation is to him. He uses a variety of word pictures to describe how he has dealt with our sins. They include our sins being:
1. Atoned for – “With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:7; 1John 2:2 (propitiated-satisfied/met his righteous demands); Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 5:6-18; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17;
* By way of blood sacrifice, sins are forgiven, purged, covered, expiated
* The demands of justice have been met. God’s holiness does not allow Him to wink at sin. It has to be judged. But his love leads Him to the radical step of taking the judgment we deserve on himself thereby satisfying his holiness and justice.
2. Blotted out - "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." Isa.43:25
* “ ‘Blotted out’ is an image from an account-book, in which, when a debt is paid, the charge is cancelled or blotted out.” Jameson Fausset and Brown commentary.
* Our sins are deleted from God's memory
* God's forgiveness is based on His mercy, not man's efforts (see context: 43:22-44:5)
3. Cleansed – “I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.” Jer.33:8; Psalm 51:2; Ezk.36:33; Zech.13:1; Ephesians 5:25,26; Heb.10:22; 2Peter 1:9
* God removes what is unclean
* God sees it no more
* God brings renewal and joy through cleansing
* He even cleans up the conscience (Heb.10:22)
4. Covered - "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered."
Psalm 32:1; Psalm 85:2; Romans 4:7
* God sees the offender’s sins no more. As far as God is concerned, they do not exist.
5. Forgiven - "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' - and you forgave the guilt of my sin."
Psalm 32:1,5; Acts 2:38; 3:19; Ephesians 1:7
* Man's part is honest, verbal confession to God (agreeing with God)
* God's part is to forgive - treat us as though we were not guilty
* God takes the pain of the transgression and guilt on himself. Under the Old Covenant this was symbolized by an animal sacrifice being made. Under the new covenant this animal sacrifice was considered a shadow whose reality became evident in the death and resurrection of Christ, the one and final sacrifice for sin. In either case, God took the pain on our behalf as an expression of his unfathomable love for us sinners.
6. Forgotten - "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:34
* As part of the promised new covenant, God erases our sins from his mind.
* Our sins are not brought up to us again.
7. Hurled into the depths of the sea - "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19
* God's forgiveness is comprehensive, covering "all" our sins
* God does not see our sins any more.
* They are dead, buried, and not brought up again.
8. Made white like snow or wool [Non-existent by implication – see “Purified”] - "'Come now, let us reason together' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."' Isaiah 1:18
* God treats our sins as the opposite of what they are
9. Not counted - "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." Psalm 32:2; Job 14:16 (“…not keep track of my sins.” Is this what God actually does or just Job’s musings?)
* The guilty one is considered innocent (justification). His sins do not appear on his record.
* One’s attitude of sincerity; integrity, is highly valued and rewarded by God. This involves admission of guilt rather than cover up or denial of the sin.
10. Paid for – “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:2
* The consequences of sin have been experienced. The purpose of judgment has been accomplished.
* Even when the guilt of our sin is forgiven, restoring our relationship with God, the consequences of our sins are experienced. Even they can be redemptive if we will learn from them, repent and turn away from that lifestyle.
11. Pardoned - "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." Isaiah 55:7
Jeremiah 33:8 (NASB = forgive in NIV); Luke 6:37 (NASB-U = forgiven in NIV)
* Man's part is repentance (turning away from that lifestyle or behavior; renouncing it; changing one’s mind)
* God's forgiveness is free for the sinner but costly to God.
* God does not exact a penalty from us in order to deserve the pardon.
* Pardon is another legal term forgiving someone who has violated the law and deserves to pay for it.
12. Purified – “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3; Isaiah 1:18; Numbers 8:21; Acts 15:9; 1Peter 1:22-23; 1John 1:7
* That which was unclean has been purified making us acceptable to a pure and holy God by the blood of Jesus Christ, “a lamb without blemish or defect” (1Peter 1:19).
* Purification of the “heart by faith” of the Gentiles refers to salvation (Acts 15:9-10; 1Peter 1:22-23 ). Peter also uses it to refer to salvation but puts it in the light of “now that your have purified yourselves,” live out the new birth (life) by loving each other deeply. Purification from sin leads to love because our sins, which kept us from loving, have been removed.
* Purification is also part of the sanctification process as we walk with God (1John 1:7).
13. Put behind his back – “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.”
Isaiah 38:17
* God does not see them
* He is the one that removes them from his sight or from consideration. It is like coming before a judge and no charges are brought against us.
14. Removed - "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12
* Forgiveness has an eternal dimension. The distance between east and west is infinity-immeasurable. Once forgiven, the sin is not accessible.
* Forgiveness is complete, not partial. The infraction is not visited again.
15. Sprinkled - “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22; 9:13-14
* By having our guilty conscience cleaned up, we are able to draw near to a holy God with confidence as there is nothing between us.
* God does not only deal with our sins, but goes beyond the acts to their source, our sinfulness. He deals with us at the heart level, the conscience level, bringing us into the freedom and joy of communion with Him.
* God’s cleansing deals with the whole man-spirit and body. Is this a reference to baptism?
16. Swept away - I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you." Isaiah 44:22
* Clouds or the morning mist are seen for a while then disappear as if someone just swept them away. This is what God does with our sins.
* As far as God is concerned, they don’t exist anymore and therefore are never brought up again.
17. Taken away – “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. [14] But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”
2Samuel 12:13-14 ; Isaiah 6:7; Zechariah 3:4; 1John 2:1-2 (NLT)
* Forgiveness is free. It is not cheap because someone else has paid the price.
* The consequences of sin are costly
* God's reputation is marred by our sin
* To take away is to remove out of sight so that it is not considered anymore
18. Trodden under foot - "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins under foot and hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19
* God conquers our sins.
* Our sins do not have control of us.
19. Washed - "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51:2; 1Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:22; Revelation 7:14
* When He washes away our sin, God does not see it any more. As far He is concerned, it does not exist.
20. Wiped out - "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus." Acts 3:19
* Man's part is repentance-turning away from sin and turning to God and his ways.
* God does not see our sins any more.
* Wiped out equals blotted out in other translations.
* The fruit of repentance and forgiveness is reconciliation, renewal, refreshment, joy.
Observations
• Eighteen out of the twenty pictures cited so far first appear in the Old Testament.
• God's provision for forgiveness, through the death and resurrection of Christ, is so complete and sufficient that it was made once for all.
• God leaves no trace of our sins.
• His forgiveness covers all our sins.
• God deals with both the violation of his standard (legal dimension) as well as the guilt (moral/spiritual dimension) of our sins.
• Forgiveness does not remove the consequences of sin.
• People need to honestly acknowledge & repent of their sins.
In 1996, I got involved in putting on an addition to our house in Lake George, Colorado. For the plumbing, the inspector wanted to see a pressure test to make sure that there are no leaks in the plumbing system so that the people living in that house would not experience any health hazards. To me this is a good picture of how complete God's forgiveness is. God's forgiveness is air-tight. There are no leaks!
How do we respond to such marvelous truth?
1. We praise our wonderful, merciful & compassionate Lord for his love for us and his desire to fellowship with us to the extent that he will provide such a perfect answer to our uncleanness.
2. We thank the Lord for how much our sins cost him even though forgiveness is free for us.
3. We want to be honest about our sins and quickly confess them, appropriating the provision of the blood of Christ, which was shed to wash "all" our iniquity.
4. We repent, turning away from our sinful ways, and turning to the Lord by the power of his victory over sin that we may fulfill his purpose of making us "holy and blameless in his sight."
5. We want to forgive others who sin against us in the same compassionate and complete way that God forgives us. Once we have forgiven, we should never bring up the offense again because God never revisits our forgiven sins.
6. We want to accept the consequences of our sins, make restitution where possible, and not be overcome by them.
7. We want to put past sins and failures behind us and not let them hinder our present life since God has put them behind him.
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:13, 14
Cow Day at Chick-Fil-A
Category: General Reflections
Krista and the kids joined some of their friends for Cow Day at Chick-Fil-A yesterday. And I have to say, if I were to operate a fast food restaurant, I would do it their way. Without question, their employees are the kindest and most competent of any place that we go to on a regular basis. The servers actually give the impression that they realize they are getting paid to serve someone else, and I like their standard response when a customer expresses thanks, they simply say, "My pleasure!" Their stores are clean, well-organized, efficient, and other things which manifest that they care about what they do.
I also admire their steadfast commitment to closing up shop on Sundays. Theologically, I do not believe they are obligated to do so, which in some ways makes it more impressive. They turn down profits to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, and readily admit the reason for doing so. And by being closed on Sundays, their believing employees are not put in a position of temptation with respect to neglecting the gathering of the church and missing corporate worship, teaching of the Word, etc.
Finally, they are generous. No other food establishment that I know of gives away so much food. Whether via coupons (and you can redeem as many as you want at a time; so, for example, if you have enough coupons you can walk away with four free sandwiches) or on the special days like Cow Day where everyone who dresses up like a cow gets free food. Sure, it's marketing and all that, but in this case you actually get something in return for your participation in advertising for them. It's like we all become their (paid) commercials. That's good stewardship (on both accounts) if you ask me.
(And who can deny that the whole cow theme is a stroke of genius. At a recent parade, the Chick-Fil-A cows were doing the Chicken Dance. That's good stuff.)
You Have to Laugh at Yourself Once in a While . . .
Category: General Reflections
[These two jokes "came to me" today and I thought they were funny, so I decided to pass them along.]
Two men crashed in their private plane on a
One of the men brushed himself off and then proceeded to run all over the island to see if they had any chance of survival.
When he returned, he rushed up to the other man and screamed, "This Island is uninhabited, there is no food, and there is no water. We are going to die!"
The other man leaned back against the fuselage of the wrecked plane, folded his arms and responded, "No we're not. I make over $250,000 a week."
The first man grabbed his friend and shook him. "Listen, we are on an uninhabited island. There is no food, no water. We are going to die!"
The other man, unruffled, again responded. "No, I make over $250,000 a week."
Mystified, the first man, taken aback with such an answer again repeated, "For the last time, I'm telling you we ARE doomed. There is NO one else on this island. There is NO food. There is NO water. We are, I repeat, we are going to die a slow death."
Still unfazed, the first man looked the other in the eyes and said, "Do not make me say this again. I make over $250,000 per week......and I tithe. Not to worry, MY PASTOR WILL FIND US!"
-----------------------------------------
An 80 year old woman was arrested for shop lifting.
When she went before the judge in Cincinnati, he asked her, "What did you steal?" She replied, "A can of peaches."
The judge then asked her why she had stolen the can of peaches and she replied that she was hungry. The judge then asked her how many peaches were in the can. She replied six.
The judge then said, "I will then give you 6 days in jail."
Before the judge could actually pronounce the punishment, the woman's husband spoke up and asked the judge if he could say something.
The judge said, "What is it?"
The husband said, "She also stole a can of peas."
Runner Up or First of the Losers?
Well, it's a good thing our eternal destinies are not dependent upon our softball achievements.
The FRAC team did something that I have never witnessed before in slow-pitch, amateur softball--we went seven innings without scoring a single run. After a good, if not great, regular season,
and a strong 4-1 playoff burst, we were the team to beat in the championship. But, alas, it is easy to beat the team to beat when they don't score any runs. Oh well. It was a fun season. Many thanks to Wyatt Miller for all his work in organizing the season, and to our faithful (and vocal) fans who came out Saturday after Saturday. Like the Cubs fans say every fall, "There's always next year!"
On Church and Culture
Category: General Reflections
I think I have found the key ingredients to make my blog better. What do you think?
This is a sobering perspective on the Minnesota bridge collapse that you won't find on CNN.
15 Amazing Years
Category: General Reflections
Fifteen years ago today, I became a married man. No, that's too formal, too objective and distant. Fifteen years ago today, I married Krista Buchmueller, and I wouldn't trade places with any man on the planet. I thought I knew what I was getting into on that warm August day in St. Louis, but I had no clue. That is, I greatly underestimated how much joy, pleasure, and fulfillment we would experience together over the next 15 years. God has lavished His grace upon me in multiple ways, most amazingly in the cross. But second only to that is His granting Krista to be my wife.
A Prior Cause of Current Sin
Category: General Reflections
"In other words, a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on doctrine preceded a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on matters of sexuality."
[Dr. Al Mohler speaking on the acceptance of homosexuality by the Evangelical Lutheran and Presbyterian USA churches.]
Why I Sing
Category: General Reflections
This does not have anything directly to do with the topic of the message tonight at the Workers' Retreat, but it was provoked by it. As many pastors and other church leaders in America abandon the careful exposition and proclamation of God's word, their congregations are left to find some other way to know Christ. The alternative to knowing Him mentally is to know Him experientially. Instead of reading the Word, they strive to feel the Word. Consequently, the gathering of the church is no longer about being disciples who are taught all that our Lord has commanded us (Matt. 28: 18f.), but about experiencing Christ. The music becomes a way of entering the presence of God (an ability the Scriptures do not give it, by the way) so that people can have a visceral encounter with Him.
I find myself singing for a different reason. Rather than a means of encountering Christ, I desire to sing in response to having encountered Him in His word. The truths of His holy character and majestic glory are made known on the pages of Scripture, and after contemplating them, whether studying by myself or listening to the sermon of a spirit-empowered preacher, I am ready to express praise, thanksgiving, wonder, and honor to Him. This is why the great songs of history were inspired by meditations on the truth of Christ revealed in the Scripture (and the same can be said for the great works of all art forms).
The Bible does not teach us to experience Christ, it teaches us to know Him, obey Him, serve Him; in a word, love Him. Our singing is an expression of this love which will become more and more passionate, visceral, and demonstrative as we grow in our knowledge of who He is and what He has done for us. When singing becomes our means of knowing Christ, then we are left to manufacture the emotional response, rather than it flowing naturally from our contemplation of His beautiful Person. It's the difference between a husband who is truly aware of his wife's glowing attributes--her hard work in the home, her devotion to their children, her kindness to others in need, her beauty, the way she generously meets his needs, etc.--and raves about her incessantly, and a husband who doesn't take the time to notice what she does, but wants to feel that she is worth raving about. In the latter case, the raving is not about commending the wife, but about the husband having the experience of raving. So also, worship can become less about lauding the Lord Jesus Christ, and more about the worshipper's experience of lauding. Those two things are not the same (nor are they both worship).
I believe that the impetus to real, passionate, emotional worship of God is the clear, passionate articulation of His character and grace as revealed in His word.
A Double Billing
Category: General Reflections
(A couple of rants I've been storing up:)
It appears that Bill Hybels has recently learned that three decades of Willow Creek-ness have left his congregation spiritually immature, desiring to be fed solid food, and wanting to be challenged in their thinking. And all of God's people said...Duh! You can hear him admit this in his own words here.
However, I think the solution he proposes is as far from the mark as the seeker-sensitive model that got him there in the first place. Encouraging the people to read the Bible more, pray more, serve more, etc., is all good, but the underlying principal he recommends is that they should become "self-feeding." Let me get this straight, Mr. Hybels, you believe that the role of a shepherd is to make the sheep's pasture as inviting as possible to the goats, to try to get as many goats into the pasture as possible, and then tell the sheep that the reason they are weak, feeble, sickly, and hungry is because you haven't taught them how to feed themselves? Where did I get the mistaken impression that shepherds were actually supposed to take care of sheep?
And here's an example of what happens when someone doesn't believe the truthfulness of truth. (And I'm not talking about the atheist.) Bill O'Reilly, I suggest you stick to yelling at Democrats and leave the debate about Jesus to someone who actually believes the gospel.
Thanks Be to God
Category: General Reflections
Remember, it's not, "Thank goodness," or "Thank my lucky stars," or "Thank heavens." It's "Thank God." Every single thing that we have to be thankful for is a gift from the personal, sovereign, generous God. Nothing happens to us by accident, and nothing "just happened to turn out that way." Everything is part of our gracious Lord's plan for us, and all of the blessings are His gifts to us.
Be sure to be specific when you give thanks this holiday season. The Giver is listening.
Praying for Snow
Category: General Reflections
Today, my daughter Sophie (age 7) and I shoveled the driveway together. The snow was not nearly as deep as the conversation. We talked about marriage, death, why people do what they do, why some people don't love God, and why ice and snow exist. It was a wonderful time of working and talking.
Two thoughts linger in my mind. First, why am I amazed at the level of discussion a seven year old is capable of? Do we (I?) underestimate the thinking abilities of children so much that we rob them, and ourselves, of these types of exchanges? Or, are they there all the time, but we miss them because (coming now to the second thought) we don't create opportunities for those kinds of discussions. Are we parents (especially fathers) of young children too busy to talk? I mean, really talk. This kind of interaction between Sophie and me actually occurs quite often, but each time leaves me longing for more.
If you haven't talked with your kids for awhile, maybe you ought to pray for snow.
Rush More Orthodox Than The Archbishop
Category: General Reflections
I'm no Rush Limbaugh junkie, in fact, I am not sure if I even caught five minutes of his show in all of 2007. However, I came across this transcript of one of his recent episodes and I was pleased with what I read. I don't know Rush's spiritual status (though I have my suspicions), but I do appreciate his intellectual honesty and his willingness to point out a church leader who does not seem to have much.
Come On In, Ben, The Water's Fine
Category: General Reflections
Well, I'm batting .500 with my football playoff predictions. And I have a 50/50 chance of being right about the Super Bowl. (I guess that's why nobody is hounding me on the phone to offer me a job as a prognosticator or to ask for my power rankings.) So, here's my prediction: If Brady is healthy, I expect the Patriots to win by 28 points. If Brady is not healthy, I expect them to win by 10. If he doesn't play at all, I expect them to win by 3. And, I expect Manning to be horrible. (None of these are based on my desires, mind you. I'm still bitter at the Patriots for cheating my Rams out of another Lombardi Trophy in 2001. But, I really don't think the Giants have a chance. I hope I'm wrong.)
On a completely different topic, for those of you around these parts, you know Ben Fisk. Well, he has been sucked into the blogging whirlpool and has decided to put his mind on display for the whole world to see. He's an intelligent, thoughtful man; I'm sure he'll have plenty of interesting things to say. (And, he just posted a very funny clip from David Letterman.) Check it out for yourself.
A Giant Victory
Category: General Reflections
How about them Giants! I have never been so happy to be wrong. And with the reports of more video-cheating in the 2002 Super Bowl against the Rams, I must admit I greatly enjoyed seeing the dejection and deflation on the faces of Tom Brady and his coach at the end of the game.
As if that weren't enough, it was actually a good game. And the commercials were relatively tame. And the half-time show was not obscene (dull, maybe, but not profane). My analysis, however, may have been severely impaired by the fever that has plagued me now for several days. (I think fever may be the one true contradiction in life: sweating near a boil and feeling sure that you're about to freeze to death at the same time. Hey, suddenly that line of Oh Susannah makes perfect sense.)
And now America can turn its worship to another idol for awhile. . . .
Why Sunday Morning?
Category: General Reflections
I haven't posted for a few days because I was out of town (in lovely Omaha, NE) for district meetings. I won't recap all that went on there, but one thing stuck out in my mind. The presupposition of the main speaker was that the purpose of the church on earth is evangelism. Sure, there are other purposes like teaching and encouraging one another (and we have to give lip service to them because the NT talks about them on every page), but they really pale in comparison to evangelism and missions. "Yes, Jesus said 'Make disciples' in the Great Commission, and discipleship is largely concerned with current believers and their growth in godliness, but surely no one is a mature believer who is not incessantly concerned about evangelism, right? So, we might as well skip past the rest and get straight to evangelism as our primary focus with the church."
One of the results of this line of thinking is that the purpose of the church gathered is to evangelize unbelievers. If a church is going to have a service for edification and worship by believers (as opposed to worship by unbelievers?) it should be pushed off to a mid-week time so that the Lord's Day can be reserved for people who do not love the Lord. And everything we do on Sunday mornings should make unbelievers feel welcome and comfortable. If you design things for the Bride of Christ, then you are labeled as "ingrown" or "exclusivist" or "unconcerned for the lost." Of course, when this is presented biblically, the appeal is always to the Great Commission passages and the Gospels, never to the epistles of Paul, Peter, and John. There is a reason for this. Paul, Peter, and John are writing for believers in churches, and they emphasize the purpose of the church to be edification, encouragement, building up of one another, singing songs to the Lord together, growing in our understanding of the truth, and so on. The NT epistles do not help the cause of someone trying to argue that we should orchestrate our Sunday services with the unbeliever primarily in mind.
Here is my challenge to you. Search the New Testament for all texts which describe what believers ought to be doing when they are gathered together, and see whether the primary purpose of our church services ought to be geared toward believers and edification or unbelievers and evangelism. And I would be happy to interact with you on the "comments" section below.
King (Queens?) of the Jungle
Category: General Reflections
There are many extraordinary aspects to this scene, but most fascinating to me is that despite the vast size and numerical advantages of the buffalo, they are still intimidated by the fewer and smaller lions. (And this even after one of them gets tossed in the air like pizza dough.)
Something Sad, and Something Fun
Category: General Reflections
First, the sad. Dr. Albert Mohler reflects today on the steep decline of Christianity in England. Once the birth center for great devotion to Christ, Great Britain is losing its greatness. May our Lord graciously shine the light of His gospel afresh on our cousins across the pond.
Now for the fun. If you missed the video announcements for FRAC's new ministry Ignite (or just want to see it again), I have it here for you. Good work gents!
God Blessed America
Category: General Reflections
Last night I sat on a hillside with my wife and children, and my brother and his family, listening to a fantastic band playing some great music, followed by a spectacular fireworks display (accented by an extended version of Amazing Grace), followed by a trip to the local frozen custard shop for a peach concrete, followed by a belly-busting conversation with some longtime friends at Steak-N-Shake until 3AM, and I could not help but think about how much of a blessing it is to live in this time and place in history. Sure, the USA has plenty of enormous problems (sins, to be more accurate), but Jesus Christ is still her Lord whether she acknowledges it or not, and He has certainly showered us with blessings. We should not overlook the problems, but neither should we become so cynical that we miss the wonderful displays of God's grace.
All-Star Prediction
Category: General Reflections
Well, we're back from our trip to hot and humid St. Louis (actually, the Lord was gracious by keeping the temps below 90 most days). I have been hit and miss with blogging for the last three weeks, but should be back to a more regular posting schedule now.
Speaking of hit and miss, that's what I expect from the National League tonight as they will continue their miserable All-Star record of late. Even with my boy Pujols batting cleanup, I don't think the NL has what it takes to spoil the Yankee Stadium party. My prediction is an American League blowout.
(Parting thought...will the next NY stadium be the house that A-Rod built? That is, after destroying the one he lives in and several others.)
Gender Bias in the Olympics?
Category: General Reflections
So, I am sitting here watching the olympics and it occurs to me that all of the competitions are divided into men's and women's events. And I thinks to myself, Where are all the feminist and transsexual protesters? I mean, it seems really sexist and downright offensive to see how gender is used to marginalize these athletes.
I wonder what the IOC will do when a 6'10" man who now wants to be called Ms. tries to compete in women's basketball. Or long jump. Or discus throw.
5 Purposes of Marriage—Picture
Category: Marriage
[We recently reviewed the material from the last two year's of men's ministry, and I thought I would post the outline notes here over the next few days or so.]
Five Purposes of Marriage (Review):
5. Picture
Marriage is a picture of Christ and His bride, the Church:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.” (Eph. 5:31-32)
A bad marriage lies to the world about the character of Jesus. It presents a distorted picture of His love for His bride.
What does a Christ-like marriage look like? The wife submits to her husband as the church submits to Christ (Eph. 5:22). The husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church. He gives himself for her, he cleanses and sanctifies her, in order to present her glorious, without spots and wrinkles. He loves her with the same devotion he has toward his own body. He cherishes and nourishes her (Eph. 5:25-30).
Like Christ, a good husbands sees his wife as a work in progress:
-Wife won't submit
-Wife is not interested in Bible study, fellowship, etc.
-Wife is a gossip or unloving toward others
-Wife is harsh with the kids, or negligent in parenting
-Wife won't meet sexual needs
-Wife is disrespectful
-Wife is anxious to the point of sin
-Wife is bitter and angry
Think not “I have a bad wife, but “I have work to do.”
How can husbands accomplish this:
-Know God’s Word
-Know your wife
-Take a long-term view
-Know your goal (her sanctification, not your headship)
-Be gracious and patient
-Be humble
-Seek the advice of others
-Pray
True Christmas Joy
Category: General Reflections
C.J. Mahaney offers the appropriate perspective of Christmas that every Christian would do well to ponder. Please read it and make whatever adjustments are necessary in your Christmas Eve/Day planning.