Blog Updates
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Whatever
Maybe after this someone will sue Joel for shipwrecked faith.
World News
If you want to take a break from watching the Olympics the CNN special God’s Warriors looks to be very intriguing. I have watched most of the videos on the website and they have been interesting. I am going to try and record it and then post my thoughts; I would love to hear yours as well.
Blog Updates
Check out the Resources page as I have recently added some new papers. There are more updates on the way and I hope to have the new Links page up and running sometime this month.
Culture
CNN asks “Black and single: Is marriage really for white people?” This article is incredibly interesting and demonstrates how events in culture, such as being black and single, which appear to be normative eventually become accepted as being right. Truth however is not determined by the whims of the polis. Why do you think this is the cultural norm and how does one address such an issue?
In “The Feminization of the American Male From Top to Toe” Dr. Randy L. Stinson reflects on Tony Glenville’s Top to Toe: A Comprehensive Guide to the Grooming of the Modern Male. Such a book would seem trivial at best; however, Dr. Stinson does a fantastic job connecting the philosophy of this book to deadly patterns that have emerged in the church.
From the article:
Men reading Glenville’s book will only be encouraged in their sinful tendency to look out for themselves. If men are focused on such trivial things as dry skin and pampering themselves with long baths, it will be all the more difficult to expect them to lead, provide, and protect. . . . What we need is a church culture that will require boys and men to do hard things, to cultivate toughness, resilience, and courage, top to toe.
Economics
“Exxon posts new profit record:” Nothing new here; it seems that every quarter they are posting record earnings. I don’t typically buy into conspiracy theories but I do remember a time when gas prices rising over $0.90 was outrageous. If you have not begun already then I suggest that you start saving your cash for an electric/hydrogen car.
Theology
John MacArthur has taken a brief look at Martin Luther in a short, but fantastic post, entitled “No Compromise.”
Joe R. Miller has interviewed Eric Bryant about his recent book Peppermint Filled Piñatas: Breaking Through Tolerance and Embracing Love. Check out the interview here.
The Olympics
Foreign Policy has an article up about the real meaning behind the summer Olympic Games. Toss your altruism aside because the Olympics are all about one thing: profit. Take a look at “Prime Numbers: Rings of Gold” for all the dirty details.
In the June 2008 issue of The Briefing, published by Matthias Media, there was a rather interesting article entitled “The Dangers of Valuing Preaching” by William Philip. In the article he describes the recent resurgence of interest and thirst for expository preaching and how this surge mirrors movements of the past that have inevitably lead to a dead orthodoxy where act and science of preaching overshadowed its biblical purpose. From this he shows the reader three possible shifts in preaching that could potentially lead to this deadly error. As the article is not available online I will summarize his points below; however, if you are a pastor I highly recommend that you obtain a copy of the article and study it for the integrity of your ministry and the health of your flock.
“1. A shift from content to form”
The danger here is quite simple and yet it is a massive snare into which many have fallen. Whether you are just stepping into your role as an expositor or a seasoned exegete chances are there is a form of preaching with which you are most comfortable; this can be from the hottest book that is fresh off the press or patterns that have been developed over a lifetime of preaching. The danger is not the comfort but the form of preaching which you impose upon the text of Scripture. Here he points the reader to Luke 24:32, “Did not our hearts burn within us … while he opened the Scriptures?” and he notes that the response of the disciples indicates the focus of Christ’s proclamation, namely the text of Scripture. May we preach in such a way that our preaching would be transparent and the hearts of men be left enamored with the Word of God.
“2. A shift from vertical to horizontal”
I think the danger of this shift is the most subtle of the three. It is at this point that the preacher begins to view preaching as a merely human exercise as he studies the Word, preaches the Word, and the congregation hears the Word. Rather we must preach as men called by and gifted by God to equip the people of God, through the faithful exposition of the living Word of God, in the power and presence of God, so that He might take His Word and use it to accomplish His purposes in the hearts of His people and among the nations.
“3. A shift from the corporate to the individual”
The danger presented here runs rampant throughout churches affected by western culture. This shift occurs in one or both of the following areas preaching either becomes about an egotistical preacher or it becomes about a narcissistic “church member.” Either way the focus shifts from God addressing his gathered people, preacher included, to a man addressing men. This shift is strikingly similar to the one above and in many ways represents the end result of point #2. Once the focus shifts from God to man it will inevitably shift from man, in general, to a particular man; whether or not that particular man is in the congregation or the pulpit the shift is the same. Contrasting this he notes the overwhelming congregational emphasis of Scripture noting the emphasis in Hebrews of the congregation “drawing near” to God. For me I immediately think of the epistle to the church in Ephesus, aka Ephesians, where Paul writes to the church, not an individual, concerning the armor of God, an armor worn not by an individual but by a congregation. I also think of James 5:13-20 where we see the church mutually caring for and protecting itself. We preach in such a way that the church is equipped for and is exhorted to undertake its mission as the called out people of God.
What do you think about Philip’s three deadly shifts? Do you see these as a danger to your ministry? With the recent resurgence of demand for expository preaching do you see these shifts as a current danger in Evangelicalism? What do you propose we do to guard ourselves against this danger?
History and Culture
Pulpit Magazine has a fantastic review of Stephen J. Nichols new book, Jesus, Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to the Passion of the Christ.
Missiology
Ed Stetzer has posted a presentation that he did several weeks ago at Every Nation ministries entitled Movemental Christianity Presentation.
Eric Bryant has posted an outline of a recent teleseminar entitled “Catalyzing Community;” for those of you interested in listening the audio is below.
Both of the above posts are great examples of similar missional paradigms and I would love to hear your thoughts on them.
Seminary
Earlier this year I came across an article written by John M. Frame in 1972 and later published in 1978. The article, “Proposal For A New Seminary” is extremely intriguing, especially coming from an individual such as Dr. Frame. What makes it more interesting are the postscripts from Dr. Frame as he reflects upon his own writing.
Theology
John Piper has received much attention lately on the theme of baptism and has now posted the second installment of a three part series on church membership and baptism. This week’s sermon “What Is Baptism, and How Important Is It?” is particularly insightful on several counts. I am waiting to hear the final sermon in this series and then will likely devote a post to reflecting on it.
I am not sure how many of you read the Lexington Herald Leader but they ran an interesting article last Saturday. The article, “Gay pride event banners hit Lexington streets,” covers the banners for the Lexington Pride Festival which have been placed in downtown Lexington. The Lexington Pride Festival has been held annually for the past twenty years and this is the first time it has been held publicly; until this year it was held on private farms. Not surprisingly the banners have drawn criticism. But how should you respond?
Should you send angry letters or perhaps make a phone call to express your disapproval or should you make signs and join the “pro-Jesus” picketers who will likely protest the event or maybe you should sit at home and pretend that Lexington’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community does not exist?
I hope you respond and I hope the church responds quite differently than the various scenarios listed above. Before I address how you should respond it is appropriate to briefly examine how Jesus reacted to “sinners” in His own day. First, Jesus was broken and filled with compassion: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Second, He befriended them and spent intimate time with them: “And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples” (Matthew 9:10). Third, He developed such close relationships with them that the self-righteous religious outsiders viewed Him as one of them: “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Matthew 11:19a). Finally, denying the religious elite the preeminence which they felt they had earned He directed the whole of His ministry to calling sinners to unite with Him in repentance: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
While that was certainly not an exhaustive examination of Christ’s reaction to such individuals it provides several key principles that should guide your life. First, your reaction to gross immorality and sin must not be anger and rage directed at the individuals involved but brokenness and compassion. Christ saw the crowds as “sheep without a shepherd” as being utterly defenseless before the countless predators devouring them; you too must see the world through the eyes of Christ. Second, you must not withdraw from social outcasts and sinners but spend intentional time cultivating intimate relationships with them. Christ relaxed with, ate with, drank with, and built such relationships with sinners and tax collectors to the degree that He was viewed as one of them. If Christ were to have been born today’s context it seems likely that the religious elite would consider Him to be a “homosexual drunk and a friend of sinners and the worst kinds of social outcasts.” Finally, in the context of broken compassion and in relationship you must lovingly and sincerely call such individuals to repentance. By repentance I do not mean the social gospel repentance of external forms where you tell individuals to stop all behavior that you are not comfortable with but genuine repentance and submission to the Lordship of Christ.
Where do these principles leave you? Maybe you should do something different and spend time meeting people who are not like you and go to the festival. Maybe you should look at the countless individuals that your local church is not reaching and whose lifestyle your political activism will not change. Maybe you should go and see the countless individuals who are like “sheep without a shepherd” and feel compassion for them. Maybe you should look at the countless hate-filled self-righteous protestors and be filled with indignation over their misrepresentation of the gospel and their spirit of antichrist. Maybe you should go and make a friend. Maybe you know someone from Lexington’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community who you have ostracized because of their sexual preference and you need to ask for their forgiveness and seek reconciliation. Maybe you should take your children and teach them how to love individuals who are not like you and explain to them why God killed His only Son so that He could reconcile those individuals to Himself. Maybe you should take your children and teach your children of the inadequacy of social and political reform and explain how and why they should give their lives to living and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“For our sake he made him sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” ― II Corinthians 5:21
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