The Problem(s) With a Personal God

In seminary, one of the key concepts which was hammered home was that as Christians, we serve a personal God. He is not “The Force.” He is not cosmic energy. He is not an Absolute, Unchanging, Unfeeling, Unmoving Reality/Idea or Truth. He is a real person, which means He has an ability to think, feel, make choices, laugh, cry, move, feel, and the like.

Recently, I have been thinking more deeply about this concept of a “personal” God. It turns out, there are more problems with it than I previously thought.

I have never met anyone who disliked electricity. Electricity simply “is” and we contour our lives around it. We believe it exists (actually, there are probably some people, somewhere who do not believe electricity exists. They are the electricity atheists!) and we live accordingly. We don’t get offended at electricity, we don’t get excited or grateful towards electricity. Four years ago, electricity almost killed my wife. However, it did not even cross my mind to be angry towards electricity. Rather, I compacted and hurled into the dump our out-dated and poorly-grounded freezer. A non-personal energy-source cannot be liked or disliked. It simply, “is,” and my use or disuse or it, and the benefits or harms received from it reflect only on myself, or on some other rational/personal being.

Sometimes I wish God were like that – and I must say that some Christians (myself included!) certainly act like He is sometimes.

(For example, if we truly believe that we will always get what we want from God – and if we do not receive it, we have not asked loudly, or correctly, or passionately, or informedly enough – do we not demonstrate that we believe God is nothing more than a cosmic electric outlet, into which we can plug our prayers and receive power sufficient to our whims and desires?)

But I know He is not. He is real. He is a person.

When Jesus came, He cried, He laughed, He learned, He suffered, He thought, He reasoned, He asked questions, He made decisions. Jesus is a person – if you wish to follow Jesus, you must follow a person, not an energy source.

But when once we grasp this fact, it opens up a whole new, potentially uncomfortable set of questions. First and foremost: “Do I like God?” This is a simple question. Disconcertingly simple. It is the sort of question a child might ask, which would throw his theologian-daddy for a loop, and send him off thinking for the next two weeks.

“Is Jesus nice?” “Will I like God?” “Do you think Jesus likes to laugh?” “Will we have fun in Heaven?”

These are no no small questions. In fact, they are probably the most important questions we could ever ask.

When our first child came into the world, he came over three weeks late. Through a blur of hospital mix-ups and high-stress situations, our journey was finally coming to an end in a large hospital in Winnipeg. I was beginning to believe that my wife and child might make it through after all – but that was by no means a sure thing (stress tests had shown my child was already suffering from being too long in utero). With my young familys’ life on the line, I quickly and involuntarily developed a system of evaluating whether I liked and trusted the nurses and doctors wizzing in and out of our room. Very quickly, within the first minutes with a new person I would find myself cracking some sort of a joke. Usually something very cheezy. Sometimes nothing more than a sigh and a smile which said, “Isn’t it ridiculous to be three human beings, in this room, under these circumstances?”

A joke, just a joke. But it was deadly serious to me. All I wanted to know was, “Am I real to you? Is my wife real? Are we just a number? Or do you see us as people with real souls, real feelings? Can you laugh with us?”

Most of that gracious and professional staff was kind enough to oblige me with at least a smile and a warming of the eyes. I distinctly remember the primary doctor who birthed us. She was east-indian, young, very professional, petite, obviously intelligent, and she smiled a lot. To this day I am eternally grateful not only for the high-quality work, but so much more – for that bit of humanity she offered us. I still remember one old nurse, however – heavy-set, caucasian, mid-40′s, white tennis shoes, pink/blue flowered scrubs – who not only did not snicker, but would not even acknowledge my attempts at humor and humanity with a nod or a brief eye-contact. She merely soldiered on. Efficient, quick, decisive…and insufferably cold. Words cannot describe how glad I am that we did not have this woman as our doctor! I would have been terrified to have lives in her hands – for a person who cannot laugh can make a cold decision, and at that moment a wrong decision could have been the difference of life or death.

I think God has a sense of humor. I think He smiles every time we crack a joke – even when we joke only to hide the pain. But more importantly – and this really is the important thing – He regards us as people. Individuals. Real, living, breathing, personal beings. With hearts, feelings, emotions. And He loves us.

Not in the vague, etherial sense that many of us imagine when we hear the words “God so loved the world…” But He really, really loves us. Like a mother loves her children, like a shepherd loves his sheep.

(I do not want you to believe that because He loves us, we are not lost. That misses the point ENTIRELY! Jesus speaks of Himself as a shepherd whose sheep have run away, or like a mother-hen whose chicks will not come home. He loves us dearly – and that does not mean that we do not need finding, but rather that He cares so much for us He is willing to pay any price to bring us back to Himself. Only, we must be willing to make that journey of grace along with Him – He neither forces nor brain-washes, and we must be cleansed of our rebellion and sin before we are allowed to enter the Holy City.)

He is God, and so you must believe that He exists. (Psa. 14:1)

He is personal, and so you must learn to trust Him. (Heb. 11:6)

He is loving, and so you can come to know that He is worthy of your trust. (Psalm 34:8)

I distinctly recall a conversation with a troubled friend a number of years back. He had been rejected, abused, taken advantage of…and now, what good could God do for him? After all he had been through, how could my words possibly keep him from falling back into the pit of despair, alcahol, drugs and immorality which had been his cocoon and casket for so long? The climb out seemed so painful, so hard. The pay-off seemed distant and pale. God’s people were fickle and weak. The call to return to his lifestyle of death was oh, so so strong…

I botched the conversation – I know I did. It was a divine appointment, but at the last moment I decided that I could handle this one on my own, and I neglected to bring the Holy Spirit along for back-up. I tried to help in my own strength and whatever I said, I am quite sure I was no help at all.

But after the fact, the Spirit told me what I should have said – and I hope it fits nicely here.

The image of a hunting-dog (with big, floppy lips and ears) came to mind. The dog was on the kitchen table, lights shining brightly in his eyes, owner holding him down. All over, outside and inside of the dog’s mouth were dozens if not hundreds of porcupine quills. The owner had told the dog not to chase it…and when he was stung, he chased again and again…until his strength was gone and the owner had to carry him back, barely able to swallow his own blood and drool, so terrible was the onslaught of quills.

Now, with pliers in hand, the kindly owner’s head was haloed in the bright light of the kitchen lights. The next two or three hours would be sheer agony – and how could a dog understand what was going on?

The decisive question at that moment, for that poor beast is precisely the same question which confronts each one of us on our best and darkest days. “Will you trust me? Will you trust me? Will you trust me?”

It is the cry of a loving God. It is the cry of the personal God.

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.

Do not resist. Do not cry out. Do not accuse Him of malice. Do not lash out in anger.

But howl out your devotion and love and worship to the God who is big enough to love us, even when it hurts, and to care for us even when it stings, and who is committed to our ultimate good, our very best of best, no matter what it will cost us, no matter what it will cost Him.

We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

And because He loved us, we can trust Him.

 

Another New Direction

Every few months, my life changes and so it seems necessary to provide some words of redirection my blog, to keep people up-to-date on what I am thinking, and where this blog is headed.

Here’s a few words, to those who are interested:

A TURNING TO THE CENTER

Several weeks ago, during a rare morning swim, it all became so clear to me. Why had I been so focused on the peripheral matters of Christianity? Gender roles, Pentecostalism, Hell, homosexuality, etc.? As important as these issues are, they are not central. In fact, they are more like the border-line issues, the peripheral issues.

Of course, it was necessary for me to spend time on these. These (and issues like them) are issues which divide Christian from non, and divide the Christians along denominational lines. As I wrote in another post, (Searching For Home in a Post-Denominational Context) being born into a post-denominational context requires that many informed Christians must go through a period of soul-searching, to decide where in the wide world of modern Evangelicalism they fit.

However, I now know that I kind of fit somewhere between the Reformed and Mennonite camps. Although I can’t say I have worked out all the difficulties, I have more or less made peace with this stance (see post here).

Now that I know where I “fit,” and where I stand on Hell, homosexuality, gender-roles, Liberalism, Calvinism, pacifism, etc., why continue to focus on them? They are not my delight, my joy, my aim, my song. They are important, but not central. Only Jesus is central.

Also, there is a danger in focusing too much on these disputed points. Paul warns strongly against a “contentious person”: they are to be “rejected after a second and third warning,” (Titus 3:10). Especially now that I am leading people, I do not want to be responsible for divisions within the body of Christ.

For that reason, I have been feeling God’s leading to leave some of these peripheral, contentious issues behind me and to focus more on the essentials, the things which all Christians agree on. It seems to be more important to focus now on building up the church than to focus on deciding which part of the church I belong in, or to evaluate which portion of the church is right, and which is wrong.

I have felt that this turning to the center has effectively closed out the journey I set out on about eight months ago (see here), to answer the final questions outstanding in my Christian Worldview. Yes, there are still a few minor questions I don’t have a clear position on – but they can wait. I have put them on the shelf until such a time as I have to really deal with them. For now, deciding a position on various debated topics will no longer be my focus.

(This means that I will rewrite the “about” section on this blog, probably in the next couple of weeks)

A TIME TO DO

Several years ago, I wrote a poem which concluded, “No time to talk, it’s time to do.” The irony of this is that this poem was written only halfway through my degree. I still had several years left of talk!

Now, however, it really is a time to do. A bustling house of two energetic boys and a lovely wife keep my days busy and my heart full. Then, as most of you know, we are going to Africa to teach in a Bible school with SIM (see missions blog here). Although I am still working full time, my weekend schedule is filling up with preaching and deputation assignments, and there is a small mountain of work associated with getting ready to go overseas with missions. Aside from all this, I still serve in my local church as worship director, as well as other roles.

The bottom line is that there is just not much time to blog – even though I enjoy it so!

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

In the past, my blog has been the home of all or most of my thoughts and musings about God, life, philosophy, school and politics. However, there are various reasons why this cannot be the case anymore.

1) I finally know what this blog is about! My mission is to “Propagate right knowledge about the only true God.” But having a purpose statement means that I can’t write just whatever comes into my mind. For example, if I come upon a new idea, this idea must be tested first before I can in good conscience put it on my blog, which is supposed to be about leading people to God through the knowledge of the truth.

2) More of a teacher, less of a student. I am almost done my Masters in Theology. And for once, a graduation actually means something to me, because I don’t plan on going back for my PhD anytime soon – so this is it! I am finally (at 28!) leaving school! One of the things that graduation has changed is that I cannot see myself only as a seeker of truth, and a question-asker. People are looking to me for answers, and I must look at myself as someone who is prepared to do the work of finding answers. For this reason, you may have noticed a shift on my blog from searching and wandering to teaching and walking purposefully. Expect more of this.

3) I am busy. I only have time to write maybe 30% of the posts I would like to write.

4) I keep a journal now. It’s really retro. I use a pen, write on paper, then set it on the shelf for my grand-kids to read. I have decided that a lot of material which previously made its way onto the blog belongs in my journals now.

5) People are reading my blog. It used to be just a few friends and family who read my blog. Now many people read my blog before they meet me in person. There are actually hundreds of people who have read one or other post that I have written. This is a great responsibility! I have been gradually taking my blog more and more seriously over the past years, and this has resulted in fewer and more focused posts. I have purposed to always write with the same care and precisions I would use if I were speaking to a packed audience in a lecture-hall or church – because I very well may have that size of an audience listening in, and teachers are subjected to a stricter judgment (Jas. 3:1).

6) I am in “full-time ministry” now. Sometime in the fall God told me I was in “full-time ministry.” Since then, I have been making the mental shifts away from being a student, and towards being a minister of God. Part of this has been thinking about the organizations and churches I represent – or would like to represent – and whether my words would make them look good, or cause a mark on their reputation. I have also considered that Satan often tries to derail a work of God in someone’s life by causing some sort of theological scandal around them. I have tried not to write in a loose or disorganized way, in which Satan – or someone who (knowingly or not) may be “captive to Satan, forced to do his bidding,” (2 Tim. 2:26) – will not have an opportunity to embroil me in some sort of controversy which would be unprofitable to me and hurtful to the body.

For all these reasons and more, you can expect that my blog will now only comprise a few tidbits of my thoughts and writings. I would expect that this will mean that I will post less, but longer and higher-quality and more focused posts.

It also means that I will sometimes be very sad because I have this great post to write, but no time to write it! And by the time I get around to writing it, the fire is gone. But that is life!

THE FORMAT

At this time, I still have more time to dictate than to write, and so you can expect that the podcast will be the location of my more recent and candid thoughts, while the blog will contain only those thoughts which I find time to transpose.

I tend to be quite sporadic in my writing. I would expect this to get worse as my life gets crazier. Really the best way to follow me is to sign up for e-mail updates or subscribe to my blog. That way, when I finally get around to posting – even if it’s the only post that month – you will be able to see it. Also, if I post three times in a week, you can keep track of those and read them gradually, as you have time.

I have a huge back-log of audio posts, and have decided to release a new podcast on my audio site every Monday. If I preach a sermon, I’ll plan on publishing that on my sermons podcast on Friday.

CONCLUSION

I want to conclude by giving my more faithful readers a tip: if you want me to write, tell me my blog is meaningful to you. Blogging is a lonely art – it’s not at all like preaching, where I can see you and almost watch the exact moment when God touches your heart through His Word coming out of my mouth. When I blog, it just “goes out there.” I take a look at the stats and say, “oh. 20 people read what I had to say. That’s nice.” and I go on. When I hear nothing, I assume that my words are falling on deaf ears, and I go about my day, focusing on more exciting matters.

Charles Spurgeon said that he could go a week on one good compliment. I think I am similar. Sam Bates told me three days ago that he was loving my blog, and especially of late was really blessed by what he was reading. And now? Here I am, three days later – three posts written, several more drafts on the way. Excited about blogging.

I’m not fishing for a compliment, and I resent flattery and forced pleasantries. I am perhaps laying out a principle that will be helpful to you in all of Christianity: if you appreciate what someone does, tell them so. They are probably doing if for free, so if they know they are being appreciated, they may do it more!

It’s just good time-management to drop those activities which don’t seem to be appreciated, or useful to the Kingdom, and to focus on those things which really seem to bless people.

So if you are sad that I’m not writing much anymore…send me a compliment! You may just find that when you prime the pump with praise, a flood of posts will come gushing out!

 

 

Drawn to the Flame: Loving the Dangerous God

I concluded my previous post with the following interpretation of Proverbs 9:10:

In this world, the most crucial, the most important, the most central, the most vital point to know is this: you must fear God. Why? Because He is dangerous.

Until you know that, you do not know anything in this strange new world of the Bible.

As I had been discussing in that post, this realization comes out of a greatly different view of God that I had been used to holding. It comes out of my long and difficult journey to really understand the Fear of the Lord – and I do not say that I have yet attained to it!

But as true and Biblical as the above statement is, I believe that it has the potential to really shake someone’s faith, and confuse them about God. “Exactly what sort of a God is this? Is He meniacle? Is He capricious? Is He harsh and judgmental?” and most importantly, “We are commanded to love God. I don’t think I can love a God I fear. Doesn’t perfect love cast out fear? (1 John 4:18) It seems to me that loving a person and fearing a person are directly opposite emotions!”

So how is it, exactly, that we can love a dangerous God?

The answer is nearer at hand than we realize. Is it not in fact true that you love quite a few dangerous things? Some of them – such as most forms of motorized transportation – which we love (or, rather, tolerate) because the danger is unavoidable. This is because we use forms of energy which are powerful. And powerful things can be used for us, but also can turn against us. A combustion engine is very useful. It is also quite dangerous – they have been known to burst into flame when they crash into objects at high speeds!

However, it is also possible to love a thing not in spite of the danger, but precisely because of the danger. How many women have been drawn to “that tall, dark stranger, the kind man of mystery with a dangerous twinkle in his eye”? And how many men feel their hearts melt like wax in part because of the rebellious, fiery strength in their mate?

And how many men and women push through the monotony of life, just to live for the weekend or vacation when they can stare death in the face with a dangerous sport, vacation, past-time or activity? People pay small fortunes to risk their lives safely, running off to have their heart quickened by even the slightest brush with that mysterious love, which is heart-pounding fear, exhilaration and triumph in the very presence of that strange lover of the human soul, which is danger.

And then there is that mysterious love affair that every human I know has with fire. Fire is beautiful, mesmerizing, comforting, sacred even. You may feel very alone, isolated, fearful, out in the woods at night. But light a fire, and you have a friend. You are at peace. You are safe. You are no longer alone.

Fire, it turns out, has a lot in common with God. A fire in its place is comforting, warm, and makes us secure. But a fire our of control is the greatest danger we can experience. Is that why we love fire? Because we fear it so?

Is that why we love our God? For He too is “a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29)?

We all rejoice that God is powerful for us - but there are not a lot of exciting worship songs rejoicing that God’s power is at times turned against us. However, we need to remember that God does, in fact, have an opinion. He is, after all, a personal God not some nebulous force. His power brought down plagues and curses on the Egyptians until Pharaoh let God’s people go – and it is easy to love God for this! But that same God rained down similar curses and plagues on His own people, and finally deported them into captivity when they refused to obey Him. This side of God is harder to love – especially when we admit that this anger may be directed at ourselves, and is almost definitely directed at some people that we know and love.

There is really no way to love the dangerous God other than to meet Him. This is my prayer for you this valentines day – that you would meet the dangerous God, that you would see Him not only for His love and kindness, but also for His power, for His danger. I pray that the great dread of His presence would fill and captivate all your soul and cause you to cling to Him and love Him all the more.

The next best thing you can do is to read C.S. Lewis. Although I feel terribly cliché for doing so, I think I need to quote this famous passage from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to make this point. Please allow me to give you two samples of how Lewis describes a meeting between God and man (and for those of you who don’t know, “Aslan” is Lewis’ name for Jesus in this story):

“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion, the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh,” said Susan, “I thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and make no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king I tell you.”

And that is really the heart of the matter.

So many, many, many people prefer a God who is safe. A God incapable of hurting us. A God with no negative emotion. A God who is always, perpetually, without question, “On Our Side,” and “For Us” and “Tame.”

Let them who will love such a pale, half-brained, squishy-wishy, man-made caricature of God.

For myself, my heart and soul are all ablaze with love for this jealous God, this just God, this wrathful God, this loving God, this merciful God, this redeeming God, this immoderately and surprisingly kind God.

Where else could I go? For He has the words of life.

With one word my heart is stilled: “I am going to prepare a place for you.” And one promise fills all my soul with joy: “And so you will be always with your Lord.”

I am my lover’s and my lover is mine. And I am satisfied!

 

Why the Fear of the Lord is “Smart”

Over the last several years, I have been pondering and chewing on this one phrase, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Job 28:28, Psa. 111:10, Prov. 9:10, 15:33) So simple, so innocuous…yet so elusive. What is the fear of the Lord? Why should we fear the God we love? And why is fearing Him the first, the most important thing? The thing upon which all other knowledge is based (Prov. 1:7)?

Gradually, as I pondered, as I read, as I prayed, the fear of the Lord has begun to shatter me, to remake me, and to re-organize my thinking according to a radically new pattern. Like a building shifting gradually onto a newer, firm foundation…or like a game of Jenga somehow played in reverse, the Fear of the Lord has begun to construct in me a completely different worldview. One alien to, foreign, and opposed to the way of thinking I inherited from birth.

It is on this topic which I would like to speak for the next few posts.

The first thing that I began to realize is that fear is a fundamental aspect of all human life. One cannot function in life – at least not very long, or very well – without some amount of fear. Fear is the belief that a thing has the potential to do harm. In this world, there are a great many things which have the potential to do harm. If you do not have a  realistic view of these things, you simply do not have a sane or workeable view of reality. In layman’s terms, you are either reckless or stupid – and neither is a very safe way to live. Once you know what things are dangerous, you know how to order your life in a way which is safe and productive.

You will notice that I am not speaking here of unreasonable, exaggerated fears. It is not at all helpful to fear things which are innocuous, or to credit a very small danger with a massive fear. Such fears are called “phobias,” and they can hold one captive in their own skin.

But what if one is not afraid of the things which are truly dangerous? This is not freedom, but insanity. Such a one may wander aimlessly onto the busy freeway, get drunk on the rooftop, golf in a lightning storm, walk barefoot in rattlesnake territory, throw food-scraps to a wild bear.

“I have no fear!” Boasts the bleary-eyed, staggering drunk.

“You are a fool, you old drunk!” Yells his wife, desperate to grab the keys from his hand.

Both are right, you know.

You tell me you have no fear? I will tell you that you have no sense. And that will be the truth of the matter.

For you see, the two are intimately related. To fear the things in our world which are dangerous is the beginning of learning about our world. It is the foundation of wisdom, or right knowledge, or “common sense.”

“But wait!” you say, “We fear those things which are dangerous to us. Are you saying that God is dangerous? I thought He was loving!”

Let me quote Jesus on this point:

“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.”

This is comforting, but it is not the end:

“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:5)

You may replace that first line with anything you like. Do not fear the serial killer. Do not fear a charging brown bear. Do not fear SAARS, or rapists or tsunamis or wild dogs or brown recluse spiders. What can they do? Merely harm the body. Rather fear God  - He has the power to “destroy both body and soul in Hell,” (Mat. 10:28)

God is opening my eyes up to a radically new world. A world where He is king. A world where His glory, and His worship are supreme.

In this world, the most crucial, the most important, the most central, the most vital point to know is this: you must fear God. Why? Because He is dangerous.

Until you know that, you do not know anything in this strange new world of the Bible.

 

Whose Fault is it When You Fail?

I have had so many many people influence my life. Some have hurt me, and I have learned to heal. Some have helped me, and I have learned gratitude. All have made me a stronger person and lead me to where I am today.

But what if things were different? What if I had given up? Stopped forgiving? Stopped trying? Rejected help?

No doubt I would speak of many people. People who hurt me, people who failed me, people who broke me. Some kind, but misguided people. Hypocrites, weaklings, control freaks. I would say that it was all someone else’s fault, this mess I was in…but would it be?

I pray often that I can be one of the good influences in someone’s life. But I know I have often been a neutral, or even a negative influence. These are real sins or virtues, for which I will give an account.

But there is one burden I know I cannot bear, for it is a lie. It is not my fault that some of my friends have failed, died, lost love, lost hope, lost the Lord.

Whether I could have done better is one thing – but the decision to live or die, to succeed or fail, to rise or fall, to hope or despair – these are decisions only you can make for yourself.

And all I can do is try to be there for you, then release you to God, and pray that He will give you the freedom to make the right choice.

And my soul, my soul, my soul – you must be free from carrying burdens which are not yours to bear. Weep for the lost, and in weeping pray, and in praying release, and in releasing go in peace.

For it is not in you to bear the sins of the world. They will crush you, if you do not turn them over to the One who alone can bear them!

 

A Free E-Book You Should Read from 1604

Out of the perhaps thousands of books I have read in my life, there are a select few (perhaps 10 or 15 books) which are so influential to me that they affect me almost daily in my thoughts and actions. I recommend them with all my heart.

I have just added another one to this list. Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices is a classic for a reason. All those who hate sin, fear God and love old books should get themselves a copy of this work. It will give fire to your preaching, salve to your counselling and freedom to your soul and legacy for generations to come!

You can get a free online copy of this book here, or purchase a kindle edition for $1 here, buy it used or new from Amazon here.

 

The Good and Bad News of a Bodily Resurrection

There has been much talk and attention given of late to the fact that Christianity has been unduly influenced by Greek, Platonic thought – especially in matters of the resurrection. Plato’s god was a vague intellectual/spiritual entity who was off in a world of perfection, thinking about thinking. To think purer and more sublime thoughts was seen as reaching towards divinity. Heaven was seen as one’s intellect finally breaking free from the shell of mortality to float upwards towards perfect spiritual bliss.

As I say that, many of you realize that this sort of thinking has influenced the church. Especially when you read older books, you will often hear people saying things like, “In the resurrection of the spirits…” or “when we finally shed this mortal coil, and shall be with our Lord forever…” What they are envisioning is something quite a lot like Plato’s spiritual resurrection and eternal, bodyless heaven.

However, this is not how the Jews thought and – thank God! – this is not the resurrection which the Bible teaches. Rather, just as Jesus was resurrected bodily (cf. 1 John 4:1-3, 2 John 1:7, Luke 24:39) will also, by the same power, resurrect each one of us (1 Cor. 6:14). This is tremendously good news!

If you are like me, you often wondered what in the world we will do all day long in Heaven. Won’t we get bored? Of course, the main attraction in Heaven will be Jesus Himself. And in one sense, we will all be engaged in single-minded, whole-hearted worship all the time (Rev. 4:8, 7:15, etc.). However, Heaven is the perfect creation by the same God who created this wonderful place. You must read Revelations carefully. Do our souls float upwards to some vague, glowing, distant star where they will only sing and worship all day long before the spiritual throne? No. Rather, heaven comes down to earth (Rev. 21:2). This will not be the same old earth – neither will it be the same old heaven (!), for those will be cast away, and there will be no place found for them (Rev. 20:11). God says, “Behold, I am making all things new!” (Rev. 21:5). The Bible ends with a new Heaven, descending and new earth (Rev. 21:1). What will this new, final reality of God’s children be like? We cannot begin to imagine what good God has in store for us who have repented and accepted His free gift (Eph. 3:20, Rom. 8:18). Knowing that our bodies will be resurrected, however, we can begin to think of the sorts of pleasures which we will enjoy from the God who says, “In my right hand are pleasures forever,” (Psalm 16:11), and, “Well done good and faithful servant – enter into the joy of your master” (Mat. 25:21).

To some, what I am about to say may seem exceedingly crass – but I think it is just what the Bible plainly teaches. Why will Heaven be amazing? First because Jesus will be there. Secondly, because He will delight to give us physical pleasure. How so? The food will be amazing (Mat. 22). The animals will be tame and cuddly (Isa. 65:25). The laughter of children will fill our ears and lighten our souls (Isa. 11:6). The sun (which is Jesus, Rev. 22:5) will enlighten the whole world and make all things beautiful – the grass will be greener, the trees will have healing fruit (Rev. 22:2). We will meet with departed loved ones (1 Sam. 12:23), and we will rule and reign with God forever (2 Tim. 2:12) judging angels (1 Cor. 6:3) and administering a great, eternal earthly/heavenly kingdom of which Christ is the Head (Rev. 22:5).

…but is all of this only good news? I would love to end it here, to give us Christians all a good dose of the “warm-fuzzies” to go about our day with an extra spring in our step. But how can we rejoice in in-focused rejoicing, when so many walk the broad path to destruction? (Mat. 7:14). For just as clearly as the Bible speaks of Heaven, it speaks also of Hell. And what does it say? Is Hell a vague spiritual place? Is it oblivion, forgetfullness, a place where bad souls go to wander into a dark, vague state of mental emptiness? I am afraid that the Bible – and Jesus in particular – is far more precise on this point than we would like Him to be.

Those outside of Christ, just like those in Christ, will be bodily resurrected (Rev. 20:13). Unlike Christians, who are judged according to the mercy of God in Christ Jesus (Jude 1:21), these ones will be judged according to their works and sins here in this life (Rev. 20:13). Not a single one who relies on their own righteousness will pass the test: all whose names are not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). Like Heaven, this is a place of physical reality. Rather than eternal pleasure, however, there will be (can we comprehend the horror of this?!) eternal torment (Rev. 14:11). There will be no rest from the continual burning (Rev. 14:11). There will be no satisfaction from the insatiable thirst, or abating of the agony (Luke 16:24). Like parasites in tropical regions, there will be worms which will feast continually on living tissue, causing revulsion and pain (Isa. 66:24, Mk. 9:48).

As a result of this, Jesus teaches, we are not to fear any man on this earth – even one who holds a gun to our heads. For what can humanity do to us? Only kill the body. But God can cast both body and soul into Hell (Mat. 10:28). What is the result then? Let us fear. Let us fear lest our love of sin keep us from the life-saving love of God (Mat. 5:30, Mk. 9:43). Let us fear if, while there is still a chance of salvation, while it is still called “today,” someone seems to be falling short of the rest of God in Christ Jesus (Heb. 4:1). And let us fear lest we are too busy, or too insensitive, or too hard-hearted to hear the call of God when He gives us a precious opportunity to warn a fellow sinner of the wrath to come, and the grace which is available. For if we do not warn the one whom God has called us to warn, they will certainly die in their sins, but their blood will be on our heads (Ezek. 18). Could you bear to carry the responsibility for someone’s eternal damnation? What a terrible weight! Better to be able to say, with Paul, “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” (Acts 20:26-27)

Therefore, I conclude – not with a warm fuzzy, but with a sober challenge. Are you ready today? Do you know how you would give an answer to someone who asked you why you are different? (1 Pet. 3:15). Do you know what you would say? How could you begin to declare the purposes of God to your friends, family, neighbors in a way that would be comprehensible, and could save them from the terrible things to come?

Make it your ambition to be, like Paul, someday “Innocent of the blood of all men” – especially those you most love, and are closest to!

 

Win an iPad, and Free Books By Mark Driscoll

Okay, so this is a little bit gimmicky. But if you click here, you can get linked into this contest where Mark Driscoll is giving away six or eight iPads to promote his new book. They come pre-loaded with lots of his books and sermons – cool beans if you’re into him. If not – well, at least there’s the iPad.

Click on the link if you want. It doesn’t hurt anything, and you clicking on my link gives me one more ballot in the pot, for when they draw names!

 

 

What Have We Done Against the Son?

What have we done,
Against the Son,
I scarce can bear to say:

Our sins did bring
To death our King
Which all Hell could not slay.

 

How God Called Me to Missions

My wife and I have decided that it is time to “go public” with the news that we are preparing to go overseas with SIM to teach on the mission field (see here). We will be going to French Africa, so we will do a year of language studies first. I will likely be teaching in an established college or seminary, and we are hoping to get to the mission field as soon as 2014. We do not know how long God wants us to stay in Africa, but our first term will be 3 years.

WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?

For some, this news may come as a bit of a shock. But actually as we look back over out lives, we see that God has been leading us up to this moment all along.

I remember distinctly the moment as a young child (perhaps nine or ten) when God called me to give my life to Him as a missionary. I genuinely struggled with His call. What about the snakes and spiders? What if I got sick? Finally I decided that if God was strong enough to make the snakes and spiders, He would be able to take care of me.

Over the years since then, my desire to serve God full-time has not diminished – however, I began to doubt that early call. Perhaps I was too young and eager. Was I too influenced by the missionary stories I was reading? Perhaps pastoring in Canada would be more up my alley.

About the time I got married at 21, my vision began to focus. I began seeing my gifting as a teacher, and I decided that I would pursue academics, then teach at a Bible School or seminary somewhere. That seemed to clinch it – I would not be a missionary, but a Bible-school teacher.

This past spring, however, as I was in the process of finishing my second-last seminary class, I got a life-changing phone call. My father-in-law wanted me to talk to a missionary friend of his. This friend was actively recruiting seminary grads – preferably with Masters-level or even Doctorates – to serve with his mission. The need? To staff the hundreds of new Bible-schools and seminaries popping up across Africa. At the end of that phone-call I thanked him for his time and said that he had changed my life. In that conversation my early, almost-forgotten call clicked in an instant with my current gifts and desires, and I knew then what direction my life was to take.

Although we did not end of deciding to serve with that particular mission, we have been in discussions with another mission – Serving in Mission, or SIM.

My wife and I have decided to launch a family missions blog called Meyers on Mission. We will keep you updated on the progress of our application, fund-raising, language-learning, and eventually our moving and teaching in this new, exciting work!

 

All My Dirty Little Secrets for Writing Quality Seminary Papers FAST

I still remember my first Seminary Class. I was so exhillirated to be there. The questions were so deep – I could barely follow the conversation. But powerful! And exciting! …then there was the paper. Oh, how I slaved over the paper! Months later, I handed something in…sub-par, but all I could come up with, in the time I had.

Flash forward to the present. My last class I took by correspondence. Finished the reading, lectures, papers and assignments in a week flat. I felt the need to hand in the assignments staggered over a month, just so my teacher thought I was slaving away for all that time.  Incidentally, I got about the same grade on that last class, as for my first.

Now, I’ll have to confess that last class was on a slightly different level from the first one. However, it underscores the point that I have learned a few things along the way which make writing papers a whole heck of a lot easier. In the true spirit of Christmas, I thought I would share a few study tips, that may help other students write their papers faster, and spend more time with their families this Holliday Season!

1) Start With Wikipedia

Seriously. They have good stuff. And it often comes with good links that will get you started. A few things must be said: a) take it with a grain of salt, b) NEVER quote or footnote it. The teachers don’t want to know, and it won’t exactly add weight to your paper to say you cited wikipedia.

Wikipedia may not always be very reliable, but if someone took the time to write the article, they probably know more than you on the topic. Think of it like this: you are sitting down with someone who claims they know something about your topic. Maybe they are full of knowledge, maybe they’re full of something else. Either way, it’s probably worth your time as a first-stop, before beginning the serious study.

2) Browse the Web

Depending on your topic, there are some stops you should make.

Theopedia is the Christian version of wikipedia. Check if it has an article on your topic – their pages also sometimes come with audio resources.

A Puritan’s Mind also has tons of free resources, especially…well…if you’re into Puritan/Reformed stuff.

Also, you can just do a google search for your topic. A few tips: first, select “google scholar” in the drop-down menu. This will eliminate a lot of the fluff, and make sure you mostly see real scholarly articles. Secondly, try typing your topic in, followed by .pdf  For example, “The Atonement .pdf” Chances are, somebody out there has written an article on the atonement, which they are making available in PDF. Most of these can be cited as reputable sources – and even if it is not written by a real scholar, you can still cite it as a source depending on the topic.

You can also print out and use web-pages and blog posts, especially if the person is a scholar or teacher or pastor. If they aren’t a specialist, but they have some really good points, you may also want to cite them – but as an interesting voice, not an expert.

(For example, You would quote an expert thus: “This topic is confusing, but DA Carson explains….” You wouldn’t quote Joe-blow blogger in this way, because his explanation may or may not be credible. However, once the argument has been solved, you may say, “I think Joe-blow’s illustration of _________ is helpful at this point…” Sometimes non-professionals come up with the most unique illustrations and helpful ways of explaining things!)

If you find something good, print it and highlight the quotes. That way, you can go back and find your quotes easily, and you won’t waste hours trying to remember who wrote what where when.

3) Find some Audio Resources

If you have time to listen but not write/read (for example, you work out or have a commute) then you may be interested in audio resources. Download iTunes and go to the iTunes store. Type in your topic, then filter it to only show iTunes U. These will all be genuine college/university/seminary classes – all scott free for your use! I recommend especially Westminster Seminary, Covenant Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary’s materials. You will be able to find an amazing amount of information, and you can cite the teacher/class as a resource in your bibliography. (Just try to have a pen and paper on hand somehow, so you can jot down what they say. Try to get the wording right when you are quoting people!)

You can also do this by simply typing in your topic to Google, followed by .mp3 You’ll be surprised how many resources, sermons, lectures and audio-books will be available on your topic!

Also, stop by John Piper’s website desiringgod.org He has a lot of topical sermons, lectures and blog-posts, and your topic may be covered. The same applies to Bruxy Cavey and Mark Driscoll.

If you are searching for older, primary-source material stuff, Librivox has a huge data-base of open-source audio books, completely free. I listened to Augustine’s City of God and Confessions on there, as well as Josephus and Calvin many others.

Finally, check out the MacLauren institute. If they have your topic, you’re in luck! They have some great audio-lectures on various topics! Again – this material can be cited on your bibliography.

The great thing about listening to people like this talk is that they are usually experts and they will often make candid remarks like, “You know, the best book I’ve read on this topic is…” or “This whole discussion started when so-and-so wrote such-and-such…” STOP THE AUDIO AND WRITE DOWN WHAT THEY SAY!! Now, go and find the books they say are important. This will give you a great head-start on your topic!

4) Move on to the Encyclopedias

The BEST way to get info on a topic is an encyclopedia article. Most libraries have several encyclopedias on various topics, such as The Concise Evangelical Dictionary of Theology or Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch. If you have access to such works, GREAT! Find the appropriate dictionary, and look for appropriate articles.

If not, you may be able to call a library (or, if you are already in a seminary, e-mail the librarian) and hire someone to photo-copy and mail you some articles. The prices are usually under $10.00, and it’ll be worth it to get the paper done!

Again – if you find something good, photo-copy it and highlight the relevant quotes.

4) Look for articles

I don’t know why I saved this ’till fourth – it’s the primary thing I do, and it is just AMAZING!!! If you have access (and I just don’t even know how writing a paper is even possible without this anymore!!) through your school library, log onto jstor, atlas or Routledge. Those are internet databases for storing articles from zillions of scholarly articles.

What is so great about an article is that it is short!! Also, they are usually written specifically on your topic, and they are always written by experts. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to magazines that aren’t peer-reviewed. I’m not talking about the glossy, picture-ladened type of journal. But writing articles in serious, peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Evangelical Theology or the Princeton Theological Review is how the experts test out new ideas. It’s how they talk to one another, debate and work out their theology. It is a mine-field of information, on most of your theological topics!

Best yet, you will often be able to find your way back to the source of the debate. Keep your ears peeled for the words, “Seminal.” When someone says, “In his seminal work, so-and-so says this….and my response to what he says is ….” PAY ATTENTION!! Go and find that work, whatever it is. You will raise your grade by %20 just by finding that book or article – not even reading it! If there is a seminal author on a topic, find some way to slip that into your paper, to prove you know a bit about the current discussions. (e.g. Harnack was the first in modern scholarship to propose that the early Christians were pacifists. I needed to mention his book militia christi in my paper, even though I never read it. Also, E.B. White was the first to propose that Christianity is bad for environmentalism in a famous article which slips my mind at this moment…these sorts of things are very important when writing a major paper!)

The best part of articles is that you will have people on both sides of the debate, so you can say, “So and so says this. But then so and so says this…but I side with this guy on this point, this guy on this point, and I make my own theory in this way.” If you do your work right, your paper will almost write itself, just in quotations!

5) Find Free E-books

If you’re not aware, you can go to google books, and read a significant portion of many books for free. You can even search within a book to find a key-word. It’s difficult to read much of a book like this, but you may be able to get that one key quote you need, so that you can cite it and add it to your bibliography. You can do the same thing with many books on Amazon.com

You can also search for a free copy of a book by typing the name of the book followed by .pdf    Who knows – maybe the author is so excited about their book, they want to give it to the world for free! (This is exactly what Wayne Grudem and Vern Poythress did with their book on the gender-debate.)

6) Buy Logos

This is another one which should be higher on the list. To do it over again, one of the main things I would have done differently is to buy the Logos Library earlier in my seminary. What Logos library is is a database of books you can download onto your computer or mobile device. You can purchase I purchased additional books at a price. I bought the Scholar’s Library over the phone for about $450.00 (students get a discount…then if you ask please they can give you I think another 10% off). That package comes with all the basics, like several very extensive encyclopedias of Christianity.

What is so cool about this is that it is SOOO easy to build a list of quotes. Just copy and paste the relevant quotes into a word document. Then, when you are ready to write, all your quotes are right there.

Also, when you copy, Logos automatically creates a footnote for you! That part is way-cool, and saves a lot of time!

7) Get real books

Yeah. Some people do that still. You can too. If you go to Briercrest, they will mail you out 15 books at a time to study with, all free of charge. You can also go to your library and ask for an inter-library loan for most books…but this is a pain, and they tend to have a hard time locating the types of books needed for theological papers.

Of course, if you are on campus, a trip to the library is an enviable priveledge.

CONCLUSION

Generally, my research is divided into written and audio. I have a notebook I carry with me everywhere. I jot down things said in audio lectures, and all books/articles (and also important names) that I need to look into later. I also print out all the articles, good internet pages, and photo-copied encyclopedia articles I can.

I then sit down, read and re-read, highlight and scribble for a while ’till things start making sense.

If it’s a really big paper, I then go through and cut-and-paste all the best quotes out of my articles onto a seperate document. (You see, I saved all the articles in text as well as printing them off). I then scratch my head over my rough notes until I figure out an outline. WIth an outline in place, I can organize my quotes in approximately the order they appear on my outline. With that done, I can type away and my quotes are all right there.

Well, that ended up being a bigger post than I thought it would, and it is now later than I intended. But I hope this post is helpful to someone out there, who is serving the Lord by pursuing excellence in academics. God bless you and have a happy new-year!

 

Shall I Trust You, Lord?

What should I say? “God, I trust you to keep my family safe”?

But this is not submission, but an ultimatum. What am I really saying? “God, I know better than you. God, I know the definition of trust-worthiness. It is freedom from pain, harm and hardship. Now that we know where we stand, God, the choice is up to you. Will you be trust-worthy? If my family is safe, I will be delighted because you have obeyed me. If any harm befalls us, I will hate you because you have failed me, and disobeyed me.”

This is not trust.

Trust is in the mouth of Paul: “I therefore boast of my weakness (and suffering) because I know that God’s power is made perfect in weakness.” Trust is in the mouth of Job, the fatherless: “Shall we receive good from the Lord and not evil?” and “Though he slay me, yet I will praise Him.”

What is trust? Trust is a dog with porcupine quills – wimpering but still as his master pulls them out. Trust is a patient on the operating table – terrified, but quiet as the doctor puts her to sleep, then cuts her body to heal it. Trust is a child on a boat, in a storm, at night, with his daddy. He buries his face into his Father’s shirt and is at rest, though he trembles.

Trust is believing that God is good. That God is good for you. And that God’s goodness is worth trusting.

Trust is believing that God is a real person, a personal God. And trusting the person of Jesus Christ to always do what is best for us – even if it stings in the short-term.

Give us sickness, give us health
Give us poverty or wealth
Make us fail or make us win
Make us drown or live to swim

Give us cursing, give us praise
Make us die, prolong our days.
Yet we trust, we trust in You
You make all things ever new

Through the rising, blinding flood
Through the chaos, sticks and mud
You with patient kindness stood,
Binding all in peace for good.

 

Beginning a Podcast Series on Pacifism

I preached a sermon on pacifism a few weeks back. Since then, I have been working on a series of podcasts to further explain my position and answer the questions which need to be asked. I recommend it to anyone with questions concerning pacifism, or non-violence.

You may hear my sermon on pacifism here, and subscribe to my podcast on my podcast page, to keep abreast of new podcasts on this and other topics here.

 

God’s Love at the Tower of Babel

The other day during a social evening, someone talked to me about a difficulty they were having teaching some youth the basics of Christianity. The problem was the stories of the Old Testament – particularly, in this case, the Tower of Babel. Why was God so mean? Why did God come and mess everything up? Weren’t things going just fine before God came? Wasn’t God a bully? What gave God the right to do that?

These are the sorts of questions that I think about all day long, so when the conversation went there, I gleefully unloaded what I could:

“You know,” I began, “most of our difficulties surrounding God come from seeing Him as just another human. We all know that you or I wouldn’t have the right to do what God did there, or what He does elsewhere. And so it is easy to say, ‘if I were in God’s place, it wouldn’t be right for me to do this. Herefore, it isn’t right for God to do it either.’ What this misses is that God is fundamentally in anther category from us. He’s not a super-human, He is GOD and from His perspective, these things are right. Those of us who grow up reading the Bible can get a good appreciation for what God  is like, but those who don’t have that ability can struggle.

“I guess we don’t have much of a problem with God so long as He is serving us – you know, creating us, feeding us, helping the poor, righting injustice. But when you actually read the Bible, it becomes clear that God is far more concerned with His worship than with our comfort.”

The window of opportunity was over, and I had already said too much, and so the conversation moved swiftly along. The problem was – from my perspective, that is – that I had not said too much, but not nearly enough. Especially that last line stuck in my head. What kind of a god is God, to demand worship? And how dare He demand it even at the expense of our comfort? Even when it causes us great pain to give it?

I do not know what the other people in the conversation were thinking, but two logical responses to my mini-speech were: 1) What right does God have to demand worship? 2) What right does God have to frustrate human plans, remove pleasures and destroy infrastructure, progress and human unity to achieve His worship (or at least prevent false worship)?

As I lay awake this morning, I thought of a helpful metaphor. Think of children walking in a woods with their parents. Upon coming to a particularly lovely meadow, with a creek running through it, they are determined to stay rather than go home. Their parents entreat them, then finally resort to discipline, then finally pick them up and carry them – kicking and screaming! – all the way home. What right do the parents have? They have every right. In fact, to leave their children exposed to the elements would be criminal negligence.

“But dad,” they may respond, “It is warm and fun and peaceful here. We don’t want to go home. We want to stay here.” They don’t understand that the night is coming, that there are wild animals, that they will soon be hungry and there is no food.

“But the animals will help us! We can eat fish, milk the wild goats, and live on moose-meat!” The ambitious young children do not understand that the animals are not on their side or under their control. The only animals they are likely to see will either flee, or turn and steal what little food they have, destroy what shelter they have, or try to kill and eat them.

“But Dad!” (and here is the real objection) “we are having fun! And we don’t want to go home!” Fun, fun – yes, they are having fun. And certainly they want to stay, rather than returning to the hum-drum of life. But they don’t know what is good for them!

So it is with God, and with us. In our case, the “woods” of the world is crawling with not dozens but billions of lost children. We have all wandered, we have all run away from our creator, God and Father. You do not have to look far to see the devestation, the loss, the pain, the longing of our lonely childish hearts.

But wait – some are not lost! Some are not hurting! Some are not lonely!

Yes, true enough. There are some, for this time, for whom the world is all sun and smiles. It is summer, and it is daytime. They are young, and they are free and healthy – all the world is abuzz with beauty and delight. What need do they have of God? And what will they think of God – except that He is a bully! – when He comes to command them to come, to leave their forest home, to come home to His house, to live by His rules, to submit to Him and to come under His protection?

But they do not understand. It will not always be summer for them. It will not always be daytime. Soon the night comes – when voices in the shadows taunt, test, attack. Soon the fall is coming, and then the winter. Soon, they will be sinned against, and they will sin. Without God, their lives may likely become colder, more distant, more bitter as the years go on.

Perhaps it will not. They may find love, avoid sin, live well, love kindness and mercy and live a very rich and fully life.

But what of after-life? When the ultimate dark falls in the woods? When the dark things come to life, and all safety is gone, and the forest is burned?

Worship is ultimately about a decleration of allegiance. It is saying, “you are my answer to my problems, you are my safe-place, you are my refuge, you are my guide, you are my hope, you are my strength, you are MY GOD.”

In some ways, it is very much like the dependence of a small child on their parents. God knows very well that this world is not a safe place. He knows this far better, and sees it far more clearly than we do. We are so prone to trust others, or to trust ourselves – but God knows best. He knows that all others come only to steal, kill and destroy. He knows that whether we feel it or not, we are lost and alone and without protection in this world. For that reason He has made a way of escape for us.

And for our good He has commanded that we worship only Him. This is why the first three commandments read: 1) Worship no other gods besides me, 2) Make no false-gods in any graven image, 3) Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.

God is passionate about His worship in the same way that a parent is passionate about their child’s allegiance. What do we say to our children?

“Listen to mommy. Don’t run off like that!! Don’t talk to strangers. NEVER get in a car with a stranger. When I call, come here right away. You need to trust me! Yes, I know you don’t understand, but we are still going to do this because I know it is right.”

Is this any different than God?

He is passionate about us not running off to do our own thing – whether that is building a tower to forget about God, or running off to lead a life of fornication and greed. His word is the same: “Stop. Come back to me!”

And what does He do when we do not listen? “Those He loves, He disciplines.”

A child who is not yours you may allow to run away from you – even if they are running towards something that will hurt them. You may allow a strange child to consume volumes of sugar and junk-food in your presence, despite your warnings, but not do anything to stop them. Why? They are not yours, and ultimately (although it is cold, it is true) you do not love them enough to stop them. Nor should you – they are not your responsibility, and their parents would feel justifiably angry if you did try to assume their role.

But for your own children? If you love them, you will do all that you can to stop them. Through words, through depriving them of joys, privileges, pleasures. Perhaps even by physical restraint or punishment.

And this is what God did with the Tower of Babel. He knew His children were running far from Him. Perhaps He had some insight into the society which would be built through Babel. Maybe He knew a one-world society would be too cruel, too repressive of the weak within it. But more importantly, He knew what the tower represented: it was a monument of the people to themselves. They were replacing God with a tall tower made in their own image, to be their name-sake, their rallying point, their security, their identity, their god.

God knew and knows that only in Him will people find rest. Only in Him is life. Only in Him is hope. And so what was God to do? He could have let them go their own way. This is what He does sometimes, as a last-resort and as a judgment on people (Rom. 1). But not here. Here, He is gentle, merciful and generous to humanity. He corrects and disciplines them.

For their own good. To destroy their false-gods. To humble them. To bring them back to Himself.

That is what the story of Babel is ultimately about. Not an angry fire-god of the heavens, demanding that all bow in worship of Him. But a gentle and loving Father who is deeply concerned for His children, wanting them to come back to Him.

Do not despise God’s discipline when it comes. As with a good parent, God’s discipline is always for our good. And it is always love.

 

Truth and Christianity

I just published a new podcast series entitled, “Truth and Christianity.” The podcasts include:

29) What is Truth?

The question of the ages, in Biblical perspective

30) Truth and World Religions

Exploring the scandal of Jesus’ claim to be the only way, truth, and life.

31) Truth and Missionaries

What right do I have to impose my religion on you?

33) Truth and Children

What right do I have to impose my religion on my kids? …or on YOUR kids?

Go over to my podcast site and subscribe on the iTunes link to listen to these and other podcasts.

 

Easy, Free, Meaningful Candle-Light Service

I am pleased to announce that I finally have last-year’s candle-light service online, for all to enjoy and perhaps perform in other churches.

This candle-light service is quite easy to perform. All the lines can be read off a page (although memorization is, of course, preferable) and there is virtually no acting. The songs can be changed for easier ones, and if there is no band, most congregations can sing these songs acapella. We pulled off this performance with only one dress rehearsal!

Although it may be easy, this drama is far from shallow.

The writing of it began when I started my work-day listening to Katie Lang’s rendition of “Hallelujah.” Immersed in the lyrics and tone of the song, I became suddenly aware of the hopelessness, darkness, despair and nameless longing of our world – especially as an undercurrent of this season. Through tears I cried out in desperation to God, “Lord, send your light!”

Composed mostly of Scripture verses, this drama is part of God’s answer to my prayer. I pray that it will bring light to your community this Christmas season just as it brought light to ours last year.

ACCESSING INFORMATION

To access this information, you may download the script here in pdf. To access the audio, please click over to the podcast site to download files or to subscribe in iTunes.

After listening to this program once, you may enjoy muting all the talking podcasts, and enjoying the music sections over and over as congregational-style christmas carols and hymns.

 

Apologetics and Attitude

Some thoughts on sharing the faith without loosing your cool.

Audio here, go to site to subscribe in iTunes here.

 

Why Are the Nice People Wrong, and the Right People Mean?

The name says it all, doesn’t it? Isn’t it annoying how this happens with all your favorite teachers? Here‘s some discussion of why this might be.

 

Why Old Audio Links May Not Work

I just wanted to let you all know that I am using the free account-type on podbean to host my audio. For this reason, I have only 200 MB of storage. I have learned how to shrink down audio to its smallest possible size, but I am still having to delete older files to make room for newer ones. Unfortunately, however, what this means is that if you try to click on an older link, it may not work.

I am sorry for this inconvenience, but I cannot justify paying for an account at this time, since we are tightening our belts, trying to get student loans paid off.

The best way to deal with this inconvenience is to go to my podcast site and sermons site and click on the “subscribe in iTunes” tab. Once you are subscribed in iTunes, you can download all of the files for both podcasts, and listen at your leisure. As I delete older files, they will not disappear from your own computer if you have downloaded them.

Also, if there is a file which you really want, you can ask me directly and I can e-mail it to you.

Sorry for the inconvenience – God bless!

 

A Good (Short!) Video on Inerrancy

Here is a good, short video on inerrancy. Especially helpful is his discussion of what inerrancy is NOT. Carson rightly boils the question down to two questions: 1) Does God speak? 2) Does God speak truth?

The answers to those questions are the most important answers we will ever face.

 

Fixed Audio on Recent Sermon

Hey all! Not sure if anybody has noticed yet, but my audio for last sunday’s sermon had a major glitch in it. That has been resolved. You can now access my sermon on pacifism either on my Church Website or on my personal sermons podcast.

 

Excited About My Pastor’s Blog!

Hey all! Just wanted to alert you to the fact that my pastor has started a blog. Keith has been my pastor, mentor & friend (and also part-time babysitter!) and I have loved his ministry for years. Head over and read what he has to say!

Welcome to the Pastor’s Blog

 

Why I am a Pacifist (Mat. 5:38-48)

For the bold title, this sermon actually has a rather tame ambition. I have no illusions – or even intentions! – of converting anyone in this sermon. I am also not attempting to lay out an entire theology of pacifism, or to answer everyone’s questions on the issue. (For that, see Bruxy Cavey’s series, “Inglorious Pastors“).

As a non-Mennonite, who has come to this position on my own, I frequently meet people who not only disagree with pacifism, but don’t even understand the idea of pacifism. They tend to regard it as superstitious, hockey, silly, and ill-informed. A tiny straw-man, which can be toppled by a few verses or logical arguments.

This sermon is for such friends and fellow Christians.

I hope that as you listen to this, you will not get the impression that as a pacifist, I have all the answers – I don’t! But this sermon may sensitize you to the ways in which Christian pacifism differs from Secular Pacifism, how we come to our beliefs, and why Christian pacifism demands your respect as a valid interpretation of the words of Jesus. Even if you yourself cannot adopt pacifism, I hope this sermon will bring us closer to loving and appreciating one another as we both try to follow and obey our Lord, Master, Saviour and Friend, Jesus Christ!

DOWNLOAD SERMON HERE

(You may also subscribe to my sermons podcast by clicking on the subscribe link on THIS site)

 

Reformed and Mennonite

Menno Simons

John Calvin

Well, after nearly a year of waiting it is finally here. I have taken the time to formulate my thoughts on where I stand denominationally.

As the title suggests, I draw from what I see are the greatest and strongest rivers of Christianity today – the Reformed Church and the Mennonite Church.

It would have been ideal to write my thoughts out in a pristine and well-edited post: but alas, time is never on my side. Rather, I have recorded the following podcats to describe my current position, and how I arrived here.

Reformed and Mennonite: My History

An introduction to the idea of Reformed & Mennonite, as well as a description of how the threads of these two mighty traditions have woven in and out of my life to make me the person I am today.

What the Reformed Can Learn From the Mennonites

A critique of the Reformed Church, and a review of the strengths of the Anabaptists dwelling especially on pacifism, simplicity of life, two-kingdom theology, and the Sermon on the Mount.

What the Mennonites can Learn from the Reformed

A critique of the Anabaptists, and a review of the strengths of the Reformed church. I conclude with an impassioned plea for the Anabaptist church to seek guidance from the Reformed in these troubled days, to find much-needed ammunition for theological and ideological wars their history has left them almost completely unequipped to face.

As always, I encourage you to go to my podcast site, scroll down and subscribe to my podcast in iTunes, since I do not advertise every single podcast I publish over here on my blog. To stay up to date, get it in your iTunes and on your iPod!

 

Church History in 20 Minutes!

As you know, I have been spending less time (almost no time) blogging, and much more time podcasting. Uploading my content has been an additional challenge, but due to a cranky kid waking me up at 2:00 AM, I have a little time to get this up and ready for your edification and enjoyment!

My intention for this series was to teach all of church history (up to about 1700) in 20 minutes. I divided church history into four basic categories: the Eastern Orthodox, the Catholic, the Magisterial Reformation (Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican), and the Anabaptists, or Mennonites.

I had to try several times to get my material down to the time allotted. I finally got it trimmed down – but I had to leave a lot of things out. If you are in a hurry, listen to the five-minute versions. If you have a bit more time, and are interested, I would recommend the slightly longer versions as I was able to take more time and include some really important information.

CHURCH HISTORY
(Longer Versions)

15) Eastern Orthodoxy in 9 Minutes

16) Catholicism in 12 Minutes

17) The Reformation in 20 Minutes

18) Anabaptism in 10 Minutes

CHURCH HISTORY
(Shorter Versions)

19) Eastern Orthodoxy in 5 Minutes

20) Catholicism in 5 Minutes

21) The Reformation in 5 Minutes

22) Anabaptism in 5 Minutes

 

Holiness Gone Wrong: The Pharisees (Sermon)

Continuing in my series on “Holiness Gone Wrong,” this sermon examines the question of what a Pharisee truly is, and why Jesus warned His church so strongly against them.

You may listen here, subscribe to my sermons podcast here (scroll down and click on “add to iTunes), or watch below.

 

Free Class On Worship Leading

After several years of contemplation and development, I have finally produced a class on worship leading. In it, I strive to provide down-to-earth training for worship leaders of small-churches.

In all, I recorded a total of ten lectures on worship for a total 3.8 hours of information on this topic.

As you all know, I’m nobody special and don’t have a head full of technical information on this: my knowledge on worship leading comes from 10 years of experience in my local church – most of it without much supervision, learning the hard way and making lots of mistakes which I hope to help you avoid!

It is this sort of background which I bring to the this class: I know the average worship leader doesn’t care too much about a lengthy theology of worship, or a survey of worship in the Bible, or a panoramic view of worship in Church history. All that is important is, “What in the world should I sing next Sunday, and how can I keep from completely making a fool of myself?” My lectures follow the basic pattern which a worship leader would follow in preparing for a service – from theory, to song-selection, to service preparation, to practice, to service. I have also provided homework assignments and can work through those with worship leaders who are wanting additional input.

I truly believe that anyone with a heart for God and for worship and some musical ability will be able to listen to these lectures and become equipped to successfully lead people into the presence of Jesus.

This class is, of course, absolutely free. You can listen below or click over to my podcast page, to click on the iTunes link and subscribe to it that way.

Please let me know if this resource helps or blesses you in some way!

0) Introduction

About me, my podcast, and what you can get out of it.

1) Am I Qualified to Lead Worship?

Starting with that big question we all fear to ask.

2) What is Worship?

Beginning at the beginning

3) What is the Enemy of Worship?

There is just one – but oh, he is a sneaky one!!

4) Building Your Arsenal of Songs

How to choose which songs work for you and your church.

5) Constructing a Worship Program

Tips and templates for telling a story through song selection and readings.

6) Preparing for the Worship Practice

Probably the most important section of the preparations.

7) Leading a Successful Worship Practice

It’s hard work – but if done right, it can make Sunday Morning heavenly!

8) The Night Before and the Morning After

If the Devil is in the details, now is the time to root him out!

9) The Service

Now that all the work is done, a few tips on how to relax and maximize your enjoyment of worship!

 

Holiness Gone Wrong: Identity

This is a gutsy and very personal sermon in which I lay out one of the major, deep heart issues which make us act like Pharisees, even when we are trying to serve God.

It all comes down to identity: are you secure in your position before God? Are you really secure? Or deep down, do you think you still need to out-compete others, and impress the Father to make Him smile on you?

I knew these concepts were huge when God first brought freedom to my heart. However, I could not have anticipated the layers of growth and wholeness which have flowed from these themes ever since. This truly was one of my most important sermons – even though the audio quality is among the worst recorded.

I hope you soldier through – it’s worth the effort!

You may listen here, subscribe in iTunes here (click on the iTunes button when you get over to the new site) or watch below.

 

Lots More Audio Coming

After some technical glitches, I have my sermons podcast up and running now. I plan to publish a new sermon a week, on Mondays, starting tomorrow. I have about 15 sermons in my archieves: when those are published, I may try to keep up the pace by preaching a sermon a week (whether I can find a live audience or not!) or may simply reduce the pace of the podcast.

I have been very excited about my theology/blog podcast. On that site, I have taken some free time while driving to dicatate all the posts I wish I had time to write here. I actually have so little computer time that the recordings are getting bottle-necked, and still sitting on my recorder, ready to be uploaded. However, I have the following series all ready to go:

1) On prophets, priests and kings, helping to explain some of the differences, potential tensions and giftings of people in the church

2) Church history in 20 minutes, where I divide history into four categories and try to teach through then in 5 minutes each

3) Reformed and Mennonite, where I talk about my journey, and how I try to draw on both of these mighty traditions for different needs.

In other news, I recorded a complete course (9 lectures) for new worship leaders. I will be making that available free soon. It will be called “worship for the rest of us podcast” and will focus on down-to-earth training for worship leaders of small churches. (as opposed to boring, out-of-touch training for worship leaders of mega-churches, which is what a lot of the instruction out there is like)

I am so excited about this course, I thought I may begin recording other courses, including a course on preaching which I will be teaching soon anyways. These courses will comprise the outlines of courses I will teach in the future, and will also be free to anyone who wants to listen now.

If you are annoyed by the audio quality…I apologize. I am looking into a super-cool jawbone bluetooth mike which should eliminate all the driving sounds almost entirely.

So far, I am tremendously enjoying shifting my energies from blogging to podcasting. The only drawback is that I know many of you simply do not have the time to listen, in the same way that you have to read. I apologize for this, but hope you will subscribe to my sermon podcast or blog podcast anyways. Who knows – maybe one topic will catch your eye, and you may yet find the time to listen while on a jog, on a road-trip, or when battling insomnia.

 

Is it Time to Sacramentalize Halloween?

As we all know, Halloween is the holiday of death, fear and darkness. For this reason, we have tended to back off from the Holiday, and even called it “Satan’s Day.” But does it need to be this way? After all, does’t Jesus have an answer to death, fear and darkness?

Maybe it is time to redeem Halloween, just like we have redeemed the mid-winter celebration (Christmas) the spring equinox celebration (Easter) and the harvest festival (Thanksgiving).

Just a thought – audio here. (Subscribe to my iTunes podcast here)

 

What is the Key to Spirit-Filled Preaching? (A Bible-Study)

Introduction

 

 

Q: What do you think the key is to Spirit-filled preaching?

 

John 16:12-15

 

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

 

Q. What is the Spirit’s name here? How is that different from Satan’s name? (John 8:44)

 

Q. As a Christian, do you have the Spirit in you? (see Ephesians 1:13-14)

 

Q. What does Jesus promise the Spirit will do for and in us?

 

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

 

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

 

Q. What does it mean to have the mind of Christ?

 

Q. What is something the Spirit has shown you from the Bible this week?

 

Q. Would a non-Christian (who does not have the Spirit) understand what you mean?

 

1 John 2:26-29

 

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

 

Q. Why is John writing?

 

Q. Who will teach the readers of his letter?

 

Q. How do we know we are born of God?

 

Q. Will the Holy Spirit teach us, if we are not living in righteousness? (see John 15)

 

2 Timothy 2:15-26

 

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

 

Q. How does Paul want Timothy to work? What is his primary job? What do you think it means to “accurately handle” the Bible?

 

Q. How will Timothy avoid shame? If he fails at this task, will he have cause for shame?

 

Q. What did Paul want Timothy to avoid talking about? What sorts of things would this relate to today?

 

Conclusion

 

Q. After what we have studied, what do you now think is the key, and the most important aspect of spirit-filled preaching?

 

Five Podcasts on Calvinism and Arminianism

For those of you who don’t know, my readership is split between Calvinists, Arminians, Dispensationalists, and that last and growing category, “the confused.”

I have much experience with this topic, since I moved from a Baptist church to a Mennonite church in my teens, and have seriously and Biblically held to each of the perspectives at some point in my development.

If time were unlimited, I would write a post on where I now stand on the matter: however, time is quite limited, so I have recorded a series of five podcasts which are available over at my podcast site. I will be rolling these out over the next week. (If you have iTunes, I would recommend you click on the iTunes link, so you can update automatically new content).

You can also access the content directly right here:

1) Calvinism and Arminianism

 

2) Some Practical Notes

 

3) Middle Knowledge, or Molinism

 

4) Eternal Security

I hope that at least some of you make the trek over there and hear what I have to say. You will find it most interesting!

[If you don't mind, please keep discussions of these topics over here, on this blog as I don't plan to check comments or host discussions on my podbean site. Feel free to respond to any of the five podcasts here]

You may also find the book which William Lane Craig contributed to, “Four Views on Divine Providence” to be helpful. As well, take a look at my early seminary paper, “Sovereignty and Free-Will.”

 

New Podcast Version of Blog

Hey, just wanted you all to know that I am launching a new, podcast version of my blog. The idea is that I simply don’t have much time to type, but have lots of time to talk and (safely!) record myself talking while I drive. So, I decided to start simply dictating posts and making a podcast out of them.

I have a good feeling about this one: I think I will end up doing this a lot.

You can subscribe to this podcast here.

 

The Pastor’s Resume: A Bible-Study for Young Pastors

The Pastor’s Résumé

What are the important qualifications of a person in pastoral leadership?

 

Introduction

 

Q: If you were hiring the ideal pastor, what sorts of things would you look for, on his résumé?

Philippians 3:4-8

 

…although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ… (Philippians 3:4-8)

Q. What were Paul’s Qualifications?

- v. 5?

- v. 6?

- (see also Acts 22:3)

Q. Do you think you would hire someone with Paul’s résumé as a pastor?

Q. What importance did Paul place on his education, ethnicity, and religious zeal? Did he think these things qualified him for ministry? (3:7)

Q. What does Paul consider most important? (3:8)

Q. Is this out of reach, or in reach for you?

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Q. Did Paul use his education to preach in Corinth? (2:1)

Q. What did he use to preach with? (2:4)

Q. How does Paul describe his emotions, and his presentation? (2:3)

Q. What does it mean to preach by the Spirit, in power, while not speaking with “superior speech”? What does it mean to preach in the spirit with “weakness and fear and much trembling”?

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. (2 Corinthians 4:5-12)

Q. What does it mean to preach Christ as Lord, and not ourselves? (4:5)

Q. What does it mean for the light of knowledge, and the face of Jesus to shine in our hearts? Do you see and feel Jesus’ face and voice within you? Do you want to share that with others? (4:6)

Q. What does it mean to be “an earthen vessel,” with treasure inside? (4:7)

Q. How does this picture of a plain old pot with treasure inside relate to you as a pastor?

Q. (read 8-9) Which of these conditions do you especially relate to?

Q. How does dying to self demonstrate Christ’s life in us?

Q. How does dying to self produce life in our congregations?

Conclusion

Q. After what we have studied, what do you now think is important, for a pastor to have on his résumé?

 

Truth

It comes down to two questions:

1) Does God have a perspective?

2) Does He make that perspective known to us?

Answer no to either, and all truth is relative.

Answer yes to both, and absolute truth exists.

 

Willian Lane Craig on Emergent, PostModernity, and Current Apologetics

There is nothing more exciting for a researcher than finding that someone they respect greatly has come to the exact same conclusions, while researching independently. For this reason, I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard Craig’s very pointed views on Emergent and Post-Modernity.

I would highly encourage you to take the time to listen to this one podcast – available from his website – and also to compare my own writing, especially The Myth of Post-Modernity. (For new readers, it may be helpful that I write from the perspective of one who formerly considered myself Emergent – and still do, to some extent, although I throw out most of what Brian Maclaren, Rob Bell, and others teach and follow the likes of Mark Driscoll and John Piper who don’t try to change doctrines, but only apply them in relevant and new ways.)

You must keep in mind, first, that Craig is a very sober researcher. He has a sense of humor, true, but he never over-states, or uses bombastic language simply to get a reaction. On the rare occasions when he uses language such that he uses here, what that signifies is that he feels very strongly about an issue. (You must also keep in mind that this is an audio resource, so I have to paraphrase him in my “quotes”)

That being said, I was exhilarated to find him saying that he believes post-modernity to be basically a myth. “After all,” he says, “It’s not like ‘post-moderns’ are relativistic when reading a medicine container. It’s also not like they are relativistic when studying the sciences at school, or getting a job, or making most decisions. In these cases, they hold firmly to logic and propositional truth. It turns out, then, that they only times when they are really ‘relativistic’ is on the matters of religion and ethics. But this isn’t post Modernity. This is what Modernity has taught all along!”

More than a myth, Craig believes that post-modernity is a lie – a lie of the Devil – and it is one of the most powerful weapons which Satan is wielding against the current North American church.

“What are we told to do, in the face of our present culture?” He asks, “To engage our culture, we are told that all the weapons of logic and apologetics developed over the last centuries are now not necessary. We should not think of ourselves as having to defend ourselves rationally. We should not think of ourselves as really having a propositional truth which could be right or wrong. Rather, we are to demonstrate that we are ‘relevant’ and appeal to the religious felt-need of ‘spirituality’ in our culture. What will be the result of this? In another generation, the Church will be nothing more than one more option along the religious landscape of North America, which few with any real education would feel comfortable being associated with.”

What of the Emergent Movement? “It is a movement of over-zealous worship leaders and youth pastors, who simply don’t understand the issues they are engaging, or the negative impact of their movement.”

So what should the church do, in the face of Modern Culture? Craig believes that the best thing we can do is the same sorts of things we have been doing all along: studying the Bible and science to find rational, empirical and reasonable answers to the hope we have inside of us (1 Pet. 3:15).

So, is “post-modernity” relevant at all? Of course, it’s helpful to know where people are at, how they are deceived, so that one can know how to stoop to their level, and what one must do to try to make the Gospel sensible to them. However, one must certainly not let the confusion filling the post-modern mind filter into one’s own thoughts on religion! (Note: see post “Apologetics, The Traitor’s Art“) Although the apologist must present Christianity in a relevant, nuanced and culture-fitting way, Craig believes that at heart, he/she should have a well-structured, well-reasoned, linear and coherent system of believe within their mind which they can then translate down to the level of the average layman.

Thanks Craig – I couldn’t have said it better myself!

 

Cults Like Dandilions

Cults and rival religions are like Dandelions. Well-tended, well-groomed, well-watered, well-fertilized grass will out-compete the most persistent of weeds. But a lawn let go to seed, unwatered, untilled, built on clay and uncared for will open a fertile and tenacious hold to any weeds that ride the air-born currents.

This is like the church. We should not blame the current rise in secularism, false religions and cults on the God of the Bible – for He is greater than the one in the World (1 John 4:4). Neither should we blame the Gospel – for the Gospel is the great power of God (Rom. 1:16). Neither should we blame the power of these other belief systems and religions – for they are but doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1) and all Satanic power has been crushed already by Jesus Christ (Mark 3:27).

The church already has the power to overcome all other religions and cults. But where does the power lie, and what should be our approach?

The direct approach is necessary at times, but only helpful in a limited sense. We must “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) and this will at times mean open debate and confrontation with peoples of other beliefs. It certainly means becoming aware of their thought and wrestling with them on our own time. However, is this how the final victory is to be won?

Like grass, the Church will out-compete the cults and world religions if it is properly cared for. Are you a pastor concerned about the encroachments of false religion? Preach Bible-based sermons, counsel and rebuke your people, and love your church. Are you a church-member, anxious about the coming of Islam? Love God, read your Bible, pray, evangelize, love your wife and family, grow spiritually. When Islam comes, there will be a circle of light around you which the darkness will be hard-pressed to penetrate.

I could go on, but you get the point. The answer is not in political lobbying, immigration protocols, or religious boycotting, but in a passionate pursuit of the true religion that the battle will ultimately be fought against false religion.

 

New Podcast – Yay!

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to finally – after three years of preparing! – launching my sermons podcast. I have been tweaking, re-tweaking, uploading downloading…then, when there’s nothing else to do I just stare at my sermons, framed in blissful hues of blue, white and black in my iTunes browser. Oh, iTunes…how many wonderful sermons have I listened to through your synthetic-brushed-aluminum portal…and now my own sermons are here, really here for all to access….

Okay, I am waking up from the daydream now.

But seriously – I am quite excited!

I have searched my heart, and I don’t think it is only vanity and self-seeking which make this mile-stone so exciting. Well, not only that. Perhaps they play a role – but what I find really exciting is that:

1) Having been blessed immensely by the teaching ministries of Bruxy Cavey, Mark Driscoll and John Piper, I too am able to upload content which will – likely in a far lesser degree – help others on the journey

2) After pouring hours and hours into these sermons – some of them I worked on for months or even a year in some way – the words did not just “die” but are up there for anyone to access and be blessed by

3) On my blog, you get a mixed bag. When I read back over my archieves I realize that some of it is good, some is not. But when I preach, I am very serious about praying carefully, and only saying what I think God wants me to say. Even after three years, and even though some of these sermons were preached during my Emergent phase, I still feel complete peace and joy about sharing them.

I hope you all listen – you will be blessed!

I have uploaded the first four sermons in the set. I will upload more as I find them (some are in the archives of our church’s computer).

Soon, I hope to have a “link” button on this site. But for now, you will have to click over to my podbean page, then click where it says, “subscribe in iTunes” to subscribe to my podcast.

Please let me know if you have a problem accessing the content!!

Soon, I will put all my sermons on here, likely soon after I preach them. But for now, I am going to work my way forwards in chronological order as I find and upload my previous sermons. This way, things will stay in order for future listeners.

I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I am!!

 

How I Learn

The hardened steel of belief is rarely forged on the sunny slopes of rote memory, recital and pleasant conversation. Rather, it is the midnight forge of doubt, the rattle and smash of controversy and the grinding wheels of dissenting opinion which forge the keenest edges of my conviction.

Some do not learn this way.

But for myself, I can testify that there is hardly a truth I own for which I did not fight. And it usually also holds that the darker the battle, the more luminous the prize; the longer the conflict, the more firmly I grasp the hard-won ember; the more I have bled and suffered, the higher and brighter I seek to make this truth shine forth, to the glory of God and the aid of the Brethren.

RELATED POSTS:

Machen Quote

My Barthian Breakdown

The Seas of Confusion

 

What GOD Has Joined Together….REALLY?!

As part of our preaching through Matthew, I am slated to preach on “the divorce and remarriage” passage (Mat. 19:1-10) next week.

Pray for me.

As I was working through this passage today, however, I could not help but let my mouth lift up into a smile as I was struck by the incredulity and improbability of this one phrase: “What God has joined together, let man not separate.”

The more I reflected upon this, the more I felt that this is one of the most powerful, troubling, exciting, mysterious, and rich demonstrations of the tension which we Christians constantly find ourselves stumped by – the tension between “sovereignty” and “free-will.”

God has joined these two together? Really?

As a child, I suppose I had a fairly grand ideal of marriage. My parents were married, and I could not picture them any other way. They were happy together, and we were happy to be their children. The details of their courtship and early years were edited to such a degree that we could imagine them naturally being drawn – through the intractable forces of fate – to realizing that yes, of course, they were made for one another. At that age, it was easy for me to believe that such things were written in the stars.

As I grew older, however, as I watched, interacted with, then actually became stricken by this deadly malady we all know and fear and revere as “love,” my confidence in the orderliness of it all began to fade. How much, I observed, do practical considerations, luck and timing have to do with it all? One cross-country move at a certain juncture in one’s life, for example, could permanently alter one’s possibility of meeting “The One.” What if The One is on the other side of the world? Perhaps a meeting could never take place.

Don’t most people, after all, find the most-compatible match, from the options presented to them?

And what of the motivations? I have never met a man who – considering that the time for marriage was near – retreated up on a mountain for a month of fasting and quiet retreat. Who then descended with steps full of purpose, a face full of serenity and – with all the certainty with which Jesus chose His disciples – knelt confidently and rigidly on the front steps of his Beloved, rung the doorbell and, when she opened the door, declared: “Verily, thou art the one for me. Come, let us wed and enter a life of perfect bliss together!”

I think a sensible father would meet such a man with either peels of laughter or a shotgun: whatever he does, he must certainly not let him have his daughter’s hand! The man needs counseling, not a wife! This is just not how love works.

But how does it work? How much of the energy fiering the engines of romance, of courtship, of dating engagement and marriage is simple hormones, pheromones, beauty, chemical attraction, and daydreams based on puffery, posing and make-believe?

Seriously – who invented this system?! Who decided that the most foolish stage of life should be the stage where the most important decisions should be made? Who decided that mere children should be saddled with this responsibility? Who decided to bathe this season of life in such an intoxicating mix of perfume of hormones and pheromones? Who decided that the heart – most fickle and deceptive and even wicked instrument that it is – should be the guiding light in the decision?

But what is truly the most mind-boggling about this is that nine times out of ten, this process actually works. True enough, our culture is in a marriage crisis because many people do not stick with their spouses and do not do the hard work of “sticking it out.” This is what my sermon will be on this coming Sunday. However, when it comes to finding a compatible match, one cannot help but notice that most of the time, the people which two love-struck youths would pick for each other actually becomes a better match than what their parents, elders, or a local match-maker could make for them.

As Solomon writes:

¹⁸ There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
¹⁹ The way of an eagle in the sky,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
And the way of a man with a maid.

(Prov. 30:18-29)

It’s a crazy system – but hey, it works!

And then we return to the words of Jesus: “What God has joined together…” Seriously, God? You joined them together? But I talked to him right before the wedding. All he could think about was the honeymoon. I talked to her – all she wants is a little baby in her arms. God, seriously – isn’t this all a mistake, a presumption, a misstep?

NO

The answer is final, and firm, and it should strike the fear of God into us.

“let no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter (of marriage/sexual fidelity) because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.” (1 Thess. 4:6)

GOD has joined them together. Woe to the person who presumes to pass judgment on a marriage as immature, or on insufficient basis, or as having irreconcileable differences. Woe indeed to the father, mother, friend, sister, brother, who makes it a personal agenda to attack and weaken and sever and “liberate” a loved one from a “bad” marriage. GOD has joined them together. Let no HUMAN separate them.

It is the great mystery of theology, that God works through human efforts – and even human missteps and sins – to bring about His purposes: “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” (Gen. 50:20) It is the great mystery of life, that God makes good, and forges lasting and life-giving bonds out of the tangled and confusing and mostly-misguided motivations of youthful romance.

I’m on Solomon on this one. I just don’t get it.

But I worship the God who made it. Romance is as beautiful as it is nonsensical, and only the God of the Bible could have invented something so utterly, mysteriously, captivatingly, bafflingly sublime.

It is, after all, a picture of the irrational, illogical, costly, fiery, fragrant and dramatic love-affair which God has with His church, His bride, with me.

It doesn’t make sense that God loves me. But I am glad that He does: and I love Him for it.

POST-SCRIPT:

I cannot end this post without mentioning that the Bible also provides three specific instances where a partner is “free” to leave their spouse: infidelity, abandonment and abuse. I am not implying that a spouse – in particular a wife – has no recourse in an abusive marriage. She is free to leave – indeed she must leave at times, for her safety and that of her children. My only point in this post, however, is that every legitimate attempt should be made to work towards reconciliation and resolution of marriage problems before the radical solution of permanent separation is arrived at.

 

Essential and Non-Essential Theology: Who Decides Which Is Which?

There is a distinction which everyone makes, which is absolutely essential to theology and the Christian life, but nobody (that I know of) has any really good way to draw the line.

Allow me to illustrate. Suppose a very excitable and slightly legalistic Christian comes up to you, just brim-full of excitement, because he just read this book (which you really need to read!!) that tells him that the human is actually a three-part being (body/soul/spirit) instead of just a two-part being (body/soul). This distinction, he tells you, just unlocks all of the mysteries of the human/Christian predicament! Why when we just realize this…oh wait…his voice drops and he turns deadly serious, “You do believe that the human is a three-part being, right? Or are you still stuck in believing we are two-part beings? How could you truly be a Christian if you miss this essential truth…?” Likely, you would end the argument – at least in your own mind – by simply saying, “Look, this isn’t very important. I don’t know what I believe. I don’t care. I think our time would be better spent dealing with matters which actually touch our lives, like sin, hypocrisy and a judgmentalism, don’t you?”

On the other hand, there are many voices today – so many that I hardly need to name them: if you haven’t said it yourself, you have heard someone close to you say it – who are saying, “Look, theology is all so very complicated. I am a simple person. Just me and Jesus can figure out most of life.” This works for a lot of people – the problem with that approach is that it is isolating and non-correcting. This is how cults form, and it is how fathers become cult-leaders of their own families. It gets ugly, friends – trust me.

Fundamentally, this approach is wrong because in the attempt to allow Scriptures to speak for themselves, the person actually speaks on behalf of Scriptures. The claim is that one is basing their beliefs on Scriptures and the Spirit. But if they are completely closed to the voices of other faithful men, speaking through commentaries, or books, or the local church or neighboring concerned churches, then they are really muting the voice of God (who seeks to correct His own through His body through other spirit-filled people – cf. Gal. 6), the voice of the Spirit (who corrects a false word from the “Spirit” through a correct word, through another person, cf. 1 Cor. 14:30) and even the Word of God from the Bible itself (for if someone claims an interpretation of Scripture which nobody else can see, isn’t it obvious they are distorting Scriptures?)

So, somehow, we need to balance between the extremes. On the one hand are those annoying people that have every bit of their theology worked out, to a fine detail, and are willing to excommunicate you on silly and irrelevant issues. On the other hand, there are people who cut themselves off from all correction and rebuke, and ultimately set up their own interpretation of Scriptures as the only way to read Scriptures. Along with these people are the cults, and the mini-cult-leaders, who set up their families as islands (and religions) unto themselves, with the patriarch of the family serving as their own private pope and Authority on all things religious.

How does one strike the balance between “too much” theology, and “not enough”?

Some Helpful metaphors

I have heard several helpful metaphors to this end. Mark Driscoll speaks of “close-handed” doctrines and “open-handed” doctrines. There are some things worth fighting for (and believe me – that Irish Calvinist man loves a good fight!) and there are some things which are not worth getting worked up over. This solution works for Mark, but it has the inherent difficulty of being completely arbitrary. Who gets to choose what is a “close-handed” and what is an “open-handed” doctrine? Apparently, the head pastor does. This works well for someone like Mark who is, I think, pretty good at deciding which issues are important and which are not. However, the cult-leaders and kooks could also apply this method to their own methodology. It is arbitrary, and the metaphor works only as good as the person weilding it.

A less arbitrary metaphor is offered by Bruxy Cavey. He uses the metaphor of an atom. As most of you know, an atom is made up of protons in the middle, with electrons circling that nucleus. The only difference between all of the elements of the world, so they tell me, is the number of electrons circling that nucleus. So, you could take an atom of Hydrogen, and add a few electrons, and it would become an atom of Oxygen. (Don’t shoot me if I just said something stupid – I have no idea whether such a chemical reaction is feasible. But as I understand, it is at least theoretically possible to make those sorts of transitions). You cannot tamper with the core in the same way, however. If you take away a proton, the entire atom will become unstable and begin to decompose – flinging electrons and protons off into space and releasing massive amounts of energy. This is what happens in a nuclear reaction.

In the same way, then, Bruxy argues that there are “central” and “peripheral” issues in Christianity. Add some speaking in tongues and sign gifts and you have pentacostalism. Take that away and add some Calvinism, and you have the Reformed faith. Etc. However, you cannot tamper with the “core” or you depart from the faith. At the core, Bruxy puts the doctrines about Jesus, as defined in the Apostle’s creed, and some other doctrines. If you start messing with that, then “boom!” The whole faith blows up in your face.

Bruxy’s analogy is more helpful, but in the end it comes down to just saying that the Apostle’s creed is the center of the faith – which is not really saying anything new. Also, it is subjective as to which other doctrines he decides to put into the nucleus. You will notice there is no morality in the nucleus – just head-knowledge. Actually, because I know Bruxy, I know that he would be screaming at me (in a very peaceful, non-violent way!) that I am distorting his words, and actually he has a lot of moral instructions in the core – especially the teachings of Christ, and basic moral commands. But again…which commands? Which morals? It is subjective, and it comes down to what the pastor decides is useful.

My Solution

The problem with both of those metaphors is not that they are bad metaphors. A metaphor is meant to be a mental-hook, or to make a complex Spiritual concept clear to a audience. I think both of those metaphors do that well. The problem is that, as I said, it is quite subjective as to what is “essential” and what is “not-essential.” Until we have a good way of telling which is which, a good illustration is not very helpful.

I propose the following as a way of determining which are essential and non-essential doctrines: “Essential doctrines teach that God is God, that Sin is Sin, and make Salvation Possible.” We could also state this negatively: “When Essential Doctrines are corrupted, people will learn of a God who is not God, be taught that sin is not sin, with the result that Salvation will not be possible.”

By contrast, “Non-Essential” doctrines are any doctrines which do not fall under these basic headings. As important as some doctrines may be, if they do not fall under these headings they are not, by my definition “essential,” meaning “essential to salvation.”

Teaching That God is God

We are all aware that “knowing God” is more than just giving mental assent to a set of facts. He wishes to draw us into a love/faith/trust relationship with Him. This is an important point to make, and we need to make it often – especially when we are busy cramming our heads full of theology, and neglecting our souls. It’s not enough to know about God: we need to know God. However, there is an equally important point to be made. One cannot know God, if they do not know about Him. As Paul writes:

 ¹⁴ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO ^[a]BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” (Rom. 10:14-15)

I spoke about this at length in the post What Comes First – Doctrine or Life? (A response to “Beyond Foundationalism” and “Velvet Elvis”). This was a paradigm-shifting post for myself, and it also strikes the death-knell to much of what goes for “theology” in our whispy “postmodern” climate. It’s worth the read, and I won’t retrace my steps here.

Suffice it to say that you do not get “points” with God by being “spiritual.” Praying to the wrong deity is called “idolatry.” That’s a sin, not a virtue. And so we need to pray to the right God. Which one is that? The one who revealed Himself through Scriptures, then incarnated Himself in Jesus Christ, then explained it all in the New Testament and is present with us through the Spirit as (and I cannot stress this enough) we read His Word.

If you knock on the wrong spiritual door, you will get no reply from the True God. If you teach people to “love” and “embrace” and “speak” to God, but then mess up the central doctrines about God, then you are leading people astray.

Okay, I see I need to mention one point from that post (which I want you all to read, but doubt most of you will). In order to have a relationship with a person, you need to know certian basic fundamental facts. For example, in the online world, we would like to know the age/sex/location of the person we are speaking to. We would have a very different conversation with “Alex, 38/M/Kansas” than with “Alex, 14/F/England.” If we don’t really know which one we are speaking to – or we may be speaking to any variation between – then we can’t really get to know the person. They are just a phantom to us – words without a face or a soul.

In the same way, we need to know certain basic facts about God. No, you don’t have to have the trinity all figured out to have a relationship with Him. However, you do need to know that Jesus is Lord if you want to be saved (Rom. 10:9-10). So yes, we need to know some basic things for salvation – no, we don’t have to have all the pieces of the sovereignty/free-will debate figured out, in order to secure our eternal destinies.

Teaching that Sin is Sin

Much of the leg-work for this section has been done in the posts “Sin Lists and Why We (Should) Love Them,” “What Do Homosexuality, Women in the Church & Home, Fornication, Divorce & Remarriage, Emergent & Hell All Have In Common?” and the discussions surrounding the posts on homosexuality and egalitarian/complementarian marriage.

Suffice it to say that much energy in contemporary theology is focused on saying that the Bible doesn’t say what it says. No, homosexuality/fornication/adultery/pornography/lust is not a sin. No, the Bible does not have anything to say against women leaders in the church/home. Etc. We may think we are making “progress.” We may think we are “modern” and “ahead of the times” and “updating the church.”

However, the one who sits in the heavens laughs. He knows that though the nations rage and despise His law (Rom. 8), they cannot throw off His shackles of morality (Psalm 2). In the end, there will only be two categories: those who sinned under the law, and those who sinned without it. Both will be weighed in the ballance and found wanting apart from repentance and grace (Rom. 2). God will indeed come to judge – and at that time there will be many surpises:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[a]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ (Mat. 7:21-23)

Live your life so as not to be surprised.

Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (mat. 5:19)

Teach so as not to be put to shame.

Making Salvation Possible

This is a blanket term which could cover a lot of issues. Usually, however, false religion comes down to a religion of works. I have argued (in sermon and post) that whether Rob Bell is a Christian or not, the religion which he sets forth in Velvet Elvis is a false religion which is basically a spirituality of works. Nobody will be saved by following that path. As Paul said:

“You have been severed from Christ, you who ^[a]are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Gal. 5:4)

The preaching of such a false gospel is the worst of sins (Gal. 1)

Workshopping It

I have about five minutes left. In no particular order, I will demonstrate how this principle should work itself out on the first couple doctrines which come to mind.

Eternal Security

You can have a saving knowledge of God from either an Arminian or Calvinist or Dispensational view of this issue: it is a non-essential doctrine.

Fornication/Adultery/Homosexuality/Pornography

This is sin. Anyone who continues in sin without repentance will loose their salvation, or (if you lean the other way) prove that they were never saved. Cf. Heb. 6 & 10. These are essential doctrines.

Creation Science

Solid Christians can – and regularly do – profess views all over the map on this issue. It doesn’t touch on God’s nature or salvation history or sin. It is a non-essential issue.

Inerrancy

As much as it is very important that we hold Scriptures in the highest regard, there are people who do that, while giving lip-service to the possibility that there are errors in Scripture. So far as this is possible, this is not an essential issue.

The Trinity

If you miss this one, you are dialing the wrong number when you pray. If you agree with lots of people, you are probably in, or are founding a cult. If it’s just you…you’re just wrong. You cannot be saved from your sins by praying to the wrong god, which is really no god at all.

Eschatology

People keep telling me that one’s eschatology effects all of their theology and all of one’s life. I’m not convinced. Whether one is “pre” or “post” trib has absolutely no bearing on God’s nature, sin, or salvation. This is most definitely a non-essential doctrine.

Head Coverings/Foot Washing/Long vs. Short Hair/Rock Music/Church Dress Code

Doesn’t touch on God’s nature, isn’t a sin, doesn’t affect salvation. Not essential issues.

 

Conclusion

No doubt, I have offended at least…all of you. Please allow me to explain. I am not saying that doctrines which are “not-essential” are “not important.” Yes, inerrancy, creation science and even eschatology are “important.” However, they are not “essential.” People can be Christians and disagree on those.

..and this is a very important distinction to make. An “essential” doctrine is worth splitting a church or even a denomination over. A non-essential doctrine isn’t even worth loosing a good friend over.

Now, as I draw this long post to a close, I am wondering two things. First, do you think I have nailed this important distinction? Or, do you think it needs more refinement? I am open to criticism: I want an answer to this more (much, much more!) than I want to be right.

Secondly, how would you rate some of the issues I have mentioned, or some which I haven’t mentioned? For example, how would you rate the following – essential or unessential?

Open Theism
Inerrancy
Homosexuality
Creation Science
Israeology
The Trinity
Non Violent Atonement
Head Coverings
Divorce and Remairriage
Homeschooling
Human – two parts or three parts?

…etc. And many more…

Please – if you are game for it, add whichever doctrines or ideas you have, and tell me whether you think they are “essential to salvation” or “not essential to salvation.”

 

Why Cross-Gender Counseling Among Singles Is Wrong, Part 2 (Answers to Objections)

In my previous post, I made the claim that cross-gender counseling is always wrong among young singles. (It is usually wrong among all other age-groups as well, but there are some exceptions, as will be discussed in a future post). As I said, I have been there. When people began confronting me, I had a lot of reasons why 1) What I was doing was legitimate, and 2) legitimate or not, I was “committed,” and couldn’t just “stop.”

Here is a conversation between the old and the new me, on this important topic.

1) “…but nobody else is helping her! If I leave her, she will just fall away into ____!!”

Listen very carefully: “You….are….not….GOD.” Did you catch that? “You are not God!” God is the one who sees everybody, and takes responsibility for them. Pray to God to send someone to her! And, if there is a way to do so, orchestrate a meeting between her and someone of the same gender, who can help her.

Also, consider that just because you notice someone hurting, that doesn’t automatically mean that you are the one to help. Most of the time, God just wants us to pray for people that He lays on our hearts.

Does she need help? Yes. Are you the one to help her? I think I have made it clear that you will only make things worse if you get too involved.

2) …but she doesn’t seem to “click” with other girls…

In our teens, friends of the opposite gender are sometimes easier. But they rarely make us grow. For example, a man can “confess” his sexual temptations to a girl, and (if she is not completely grossed out) she may be able to comfort/mother him. This may feel good to both parties, and they may think they are making great progress in “counseling” one another. However, nothing will change. On the other hand, if a young-man “man’s up” and seeks out an older, mature man who has actually made real progress in this area, that man will know exactly what he is going through, why it is sin, and how to rebuke/correct/train and mentor him towards righteousness.

It won’t be as fun (which means it won’t feel like it “fits” as well), but it will “work” a whole lot more. Remember – most of the things which are good for us don’t feel the best at first.

A person whose friends are mostly of the opposite gender is likely hiding from something. They would do well to bite the bullet and start working on the more difficult, and more productive friendships with the same gender.

3) …but I tried taking her to youth group and even tried setting her up with the female youth-pastor, but she still just wants to talk to me! What do I do?

Everyone is lazy: we take the path of least resistance. It is obviously easier to talk to you than it is to talk to someone of the same gender, who can actually help. Consider removing yourself from the equation, so that others can step in and actually do some good here.

Also, as hard as this is, we need to remember that some people just don’t want to change. For others, now is not the time. As the old joke goes: “How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light-bulb?” “Only one – but the light-bulb has to want to change.” If you spend your whole ministry/life chasing after people who are not receptive to real change, you will have no time or energy for people who are really wanting to change.

4) …but I am already involved with her. What do I do now? I can’t just drop her, can I?

You need to start treating her as a “sister, in all purity.” (1 tim. 5:2). If you are in a relationship like i have been describing, I would guess that you are going places in each other’s hearts, and feeling things for each other which you would never find appropriate with your sister.

As hard as it may be, you need to adjust your relationship – immediately – to the level of a sister, in all purity. Stop making her problems your problems. Stop singling her out for one-on-one time, and stop looking deeply into her eyes/soul and asking “but how are you really doing?” And you need to find ways to respectfully and graciously turn her away from her when she attempts to do the same to you.

You can guage the situation yourself: perhaps it would be helpful to sit down together (one last time!) and say that you were mistaken, that you were trying to help her without realizing that helping in this way would become inappropriate, and that it is time to back off. Perhaps talking it out would help – I don’t know. I think it will hurt, and it will be messy any way that you do it. And this is only an indication of how deeply you have become involved in something far, far beyond friendship with her.

The bottom line is that if you are caressing a woman’s heart (and allowing her to stroke yours), when you have no romantic intentions, you are living a lie. Whenever that lie becomes exposed, it will be painful for both of you. It will be sort of like breaking up because….well…you have been sort of like dating in a way, haven’t you?

5) How do I know where the boundary is? Do you just want me to avoid women like the plague?

Well, that’s what I did for years. I don’t really have any regrets. My policy is “when confused, be over-cautious.” It has worked for me.

But here’s a more workeable tool: for someone who is married, there is a very clear and defined boundary of “appropriate” and “unappropriate” behaviour towards the opposite sex. For example, it’s absolutely, 100% “inappropriate” for a married man to take another woman aside, look deeply into her eyes and say, “I noticed you have been down lately. Tell me, what is really going on in your life?” As I said above, “Making a woman’s problems your problems is a romantic advance.” In marriage, this line becomes crystal clear.

What I don’t think many people realize is that this line exists for singles. No, you can’t do/say/pray/think/feel just anything just because you are single. Are you interested in a girl? Well, asking her deep questions about her heart is probably a very excellent way to initiate a relationship. Are you not interested in a relationship? Then do not cross that line. Across that line is her heart, and on the door of her heart is a sign, hand-written by God Himself saying: “Romance welcome. Boys need not apply. SERIOUS APPLICANTS ONLY.”

You sin against her, your future spouse, and yourself when you cross that line for any reason – including “ministry” – other than for romance.

To state it another way, just think of being married to a legitimately jealous spouse. At what point would your spouse say, “What are you doing? Why are you saying/doing that? What are your intentions? Are you pursuing her, or me? What are you doing?!” If an action or conversation would make a future spouse jealous, it is probably across that invisible line. As I said above, and again and again – if you are serious about romance, and you feel that God is giving you a green light, then by all means cross that line with boldness.

But if you are not serious about romance – if you are just trying to be “Mr. Fixit with a Bible,” or “the holy handyman of the heart,” or “youth-pastor of the year,” then can I give you some advice?

DON’T. CROSS. THAT. LINE.

 

Why Young Men Should NEVER Counsel/Mentor/Disciple Young Women (Or Vice Versa) Part 1

It is a familiar scenario. A young man and a young woman meet in a church context. Perhaps one of them is a youth-pastor or some sort of spiritual leader. Perhaps one of them is a new Christian, or needy, or struggling in some way. Of course, they are “just friends” – perhaps one or both of them have romantic interests elsewhere. Romance is not in the picture at all, which is why it is all that much easier to become very close friends. They “hang out.” They talk. They pray. They read the Bible together. They share life problems and pursue Christian maturity together. Occasionally they cry together. Always, they are there for one another.

Usually, somewhere along the way, things “get weird.” Maybe his or her boyfriend gets jealous. Or a third-party steps in to warn or challenge one or both parties that perhaps their relationship is not helpful. Or she begins to interpret his interest romantically, and is devastated when he responds with shock and surprise. Or he begins to have confusing dreams and thoughts about her. Or…well, you get the picture. Things “just get weird.”

Quite often, these situations then result in one or the other party backing off – usually suddenly and ungraciously. The confusion and pain which results likely obliterates any good which may or may not have resulted from the shared time of “discipleship” together.

As I said, this is all a common scenario. Sometimes, admittedly, things don’t appear to end badly. In a best-case scenario, sometimes the couple simply becomes officially romantic, and a wonderful marriage blossoms out of the encounter. However, usually the closer one is to such a situation, the more one sees how tangled, messy and “weird” the scenarios are – and sometimes the marriages based on such relationships never come free of the dysfunctionality at their inception.

The question which many a youth-pastor, pastor, college professor and friend has wondered over the years is, “Is this okay? Is it ever okay for a young man to seek out, counsel, help and ‘be there’ for a young woman who is hurting? Or, conversely, is it wrong for a young woman to seek out and help a hurting young man?”

I would like to end the confusion: No, it is not okay. Ever. No, not even in your case.

IT JUST DOESN’T WORK!

I have to admit at the outset that I don’t have a “thou shalt” or “thou shalt not” verse up my sleeve – this is not one of those issues. I have almost exclusively personal experience to go on. But in my humbly opinionated opinion, my personal experience has been pretty conclusive! I haven’t seen a whole lot of anything good come out of this sort of thing, and I have seen a whole whack of badness come out of it.

Here is what I have learned, and what I would like to share on this topic:

WHEN A GIRL ‘MENTORS’ A BOY, SHE BECOMES HIS ‘MOMMY,’ AND NEITHER GROW UP

A young man in his teens is at a critical and tricky stage. All his life, he has had someone – his mommy – pander to his every need. This is a far more universal experience than a constant father-figure: almost everybody has a mother who came running when they fell and skinned their knees. However, sometime before a young man becomes a MAN, he has to learn how to bandage his own knees.

My favorite passage for this is 1 Samuel 30:6. In enemy territory, with his friend and the king of the land publicly disgracing him, David returns home to find his village razed to the ground, and his family taken by raiders. He and his men weep all day. Then it turns ugly: the men blame David, and plan to stone him. Understandably, David is quite distressed.

Then there is that magical phrase: “But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” After that, he stood up, called his men to action, laid out a plan and fought to get their families back.

Now, I’m not saying that a man never cries – David cried all day in this case. I am also not saying that a real man makes all his decisions alone. If his wife or men had been there for him, no doubt he would have talked things over before deciding on a plan of action. But the issue here is what happens at crunch time, when there is nobody? David did not go running home to a woman when he was at a crunch time. He did not lean on a woman’s strength. He became strong, in the presence of God. In the complete absence of a woman – or of any sympathetic voice, David became strong, charted a course of action, and began moving in it.

This is the defining mark of a man: a boy, by contrast, does not know how to function without a “mommy.” If there is no one around to bandage his knees, he just sits on the ground and cries.

Many young men feel a great loss when their own mommies stop listening to them, or they stop talking to them. So they seek out an new, more attractive maternal figure to fill the “mommy role.” Now, when crunch-time comes, they can run to her, cry out their sorrows and get “mothered” through the “crisis.”

Ladies, listen carefully: if you are caught in this sort of thing, the best, most loving thing that you can do is simply to close and lock the door of your heart. Even if that young man beats on your door all night, you will be doing him more good by rejecting him than by letting him in.

Men learn to be men by learning from other men, and from being alone with God: having a surrogate mother is a ticket to Never-Never land, where boys can avoid manhood perpetually.

Before moving on, there is something else to be said here. As I will discuss below, a woman also needs to learn to stand on her own two feet, to strengthen herself before the Lord. A great temptation for women, I believe, is that as long as they are “needed” by someone, they feel that they are being fulfilled.

And so – although I am not very wise to the ways of women – I have observed that women who allow men to seek them out as mother figures also themselves are stuck in a regressive stage of development.

…so neither grow up, even if much “mentoring” and “discipling” seems to be taking place.

WHEN A ‘BOY’ OR ‘MAN’ MENTORS A ‘GIRL,’ IT TURNS ROMANTIC

This is the more common, and the more problematic issue, so I want to dwell on it thoroughly. I will break it down to some component parts to make it more clear:

1) MAKING A WOMAN’S PROBLEMS YOUR PROBLEMS IS A ROMANTIC ADVANCE

Read the above sentence sloooowwwwllllyyy. Men, this could save your career, ministry, marriage, life. Read it carefully, believe it, apply it, live by it. It is true.

Ruth (the one in the Bible) was a woman who had problems. Financial problems, loneliness problems – you know. Those sorts of problems. But there was this “certain guy” who was making her problems his problems. He protected her, provided for her, and talked to her caringly. The hint was taken. Then Ruth responded in kind: she quietly slipped in one night while he was sleeping and pulled his “blankets” (actually, his cloak) over her. When he awoke, she said, “Spread your cloak over me, for you are my kinsmen redeemer.” What that meant (not to get into too many details – you all know the context and the story) is that she saw that he was looking out for her. She assumed this meant that he was romantically interested. She accepted the advance. Now she wanted to make it official. Like, NOW.

Men, are you paying attention? Perhaps you would do well to go up there and read that sentence up there over again. And again. Then go read Ruth. Then read the sentence. Get it straight and get it right: if you make a woman’s problems your problems, if you start noticing when a woman is down, and start finding little ways to help her, and single her out from the other ladies as a “special prayer concern” and find ways to talk to her privately, and start providing for her out of your own pocket, and doing what you can to help her/counsel her/sympathize with her/cry with her/hold her/etc. through her rough patches then don’t be surprised to find her snuggling up to you one day and saying, “Okay, I see where this is going. I accept. When are you going to propose?”

What’s that? You aren’t ready for that moment? That wasn’t your intention? Romance was the furthest thing from your mind?

….

…

Really? Was it really?

Search your heart. Search your heart.

But at any rate, please please understand this:

“Making a woman’s problems your problems is a romantic advance.”

That’s just the truth. And if you don’t realize this, you will break hearts, marriages, ministries and lives.

…of course it goes without saying that if you, as a single young man actually are interested in a girl – especially a girl with real, tangible needs, such as a single mother – then there could be no better way to begin making your intentions known than by caring for her in practical ways.

But again – if this is not your intention, then back off. You are crossing “the line.”

2) BEWARE OF FILLING THE “FATHER FIGURE” HOLE IN A WOMAN’S HEART

On the first pass, I wrote this section with the same confidence that I wrote the rest of the post. I was cautioned that there are legitimate exceptions, and now I am pondering that possibility. All I have is my own experience to go on, so I will share that and let you make up your own mind.

My wife and I had the opportunity several years ago to work very closely with a troubled young girl. I was completely new to this sort of thing, so I sought out Ivan Ramer (my mentor/pastor)’s wise advice. He could not have said any stronger than he did: “Be absolutely sure that you do not become the father figure to her. Your ages are too close. It will become romantic. Do not try to fill this void!”

After pondering this, I concluded that there is a hole in every girl’s heart that only daddy can fill. When this girl reaches her teens and early adulthood, a slight, healthy distancing is normal from her father – she is making room for another man in that compartment. She is looking for her man. Her husband. In an unhealthy relationship, or when the Father is MIA (missing in action), the hole is almost completely empty, and a girl may hit her teens with a great hunger for a man to fill this hole. (notice the “may” – there are exceptions to every rule, and I don’t mean to over-generalize).

Now here is the important thing to note: if you see a young woman/girl who is hurting, and you sense that she is hurting from a missing father, you must not try to step in and fill that hole in her heart unless you are serious about romance. When a man fils (or tries to fill) the father-hole, it is a romantic advance.

Now, I said that Ivan cautioned me that our ages were too close: it would have been interpreted as a romantic advance which either would have weirded her out or gone in a worse direction. I took Ivan’s advice and kept my heart very far from her: my wife did all the counseling/mentoring, and I gave behind-the-scenes support only. We have no regrets, and there are no stains on my reputation from that ministry opportunity.

What I found interesting was that in similar circumstances, a much older man who was married and had grown daughters of his own was in a similar situation. He told me that what this girl needed was a father figure, and he felt the ages were far enough apart that he and his wife could effectively fill that void to some degree. The results were not what he intended. The girl took his advances as a romantic advance and began spreading rumors (which I did not believe) that he tried to kiss her.

Is it ever valid for an old, married, emotionally mature man to fill the father-void in a young girl’s life? Has it happened to you? I have not seen it – would you care to share your story in reply to this post?

…but let us return to the main topic of the post. If you are young, if you are single, if your ages are very close, there is no denying or side-stepping the issue. If you step into the father-figure role, your advance will be interpreted romantically.

Again – romance is not a sin. If you’re single and she’s single and you find her attractive – go for it! But if you don’t have romance in mind, and especially if you are the same age, take my advice and do not ever try to fill the father-figure role in the life of a hurting young girl.

ROMANCE CAN BE A TOOL OF THE DEVIL, TO DERAIL GOD’S WORK IN YOUR LIFE

Yes, I meant that. No, I am not using hyperbole.

I do not care to count the number of times that I or people I am working with have been working with a new/young Christian who is making real progress when suddenly, out of the blue – here comes a romantic interest! …and that’s the end of it. All matters of God are forgotten or put on hold indefinitely: all time and energy which should be invested in pursuing God and renovating one’s tender heart is spent wooing and being wooed by another person.

As Paul said, (to paraphrase) “The man/woman who is single places all their attention on how to please the Lord: but the married person’s interests are divided. Their focus is on how to please their spouse.” (1 Cor. 7:32-34).

Of course, there is a time for one’s interests to be divided. There is a time to bring romance into the equation, and begin walking that fine line of honoring/caring for/cherishing one’s spouse, while still keeping God #1 in one’s life. However, two months after one gets saved, or a week after one dramatically re-commits their life to the Lord, or the summer that one is kicked out of their home, or (to summarize) the season of life when a person really really needs to do business with God is almost always (notice the exception clause) not the time for romance.

Usually – and I believe this strongly! – romance coming into a person’s life at these crucial seasons is a tool of the Devil, meant to derail God’s work in their lives. Romance is not a sin – but if it comes at the wrong time, it can derail a person’s spiritual life just as effectively as a new and lethal addiction.

Are you interested in romance with this woman? Well, have you considered her heart? Have you considered yours? How is your walk with the Lord? Are either of you in the midst of a crisis? Be brutally honest: are either of you (or both of you!) turning to a pseudo-romantic relationship, when you should be turning to the Lord?

In times of crisis, it is common to turn to old vices – cigarettes, porn, ice-cream, hoarding…and love (or pseudo-romance) when we should be turning to One who can really help us, God.

And that leads us to our final section…

THE WOMAN WHOSE HANDS ARE CHAINS

There is a woman who believes that “the right man/relationship will fix all of my problems.” Men are her idol, her addiction, her “solution.” Take my advice: pity the woman, pray for the woman, but men – stay far, far away. As Solomon wrote:

“I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.” Ecclesiastes 7:26

He elsewhere says it even more bluntly: (again, to paraphrase) “One of the most horrible situations on the earth is when an unloved woman finds a husband.” Proverbs 30:23

When a woman with an aching hole of lovelessness does not take her pain to the Lord to be healed and fixed by the Bride and Great Physician, but rather turns to a man…watch out. It is the most horrible of situations!

If you have met this woman, you know exactly what I am talking about.

How does a man get entangled with a woman like this?

“Like one who takes a dog by the ears
Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.” (Prov. 26:17)

This is how it happens – a certain sort of man seeks out strife, calamity and heartache. Then he assumes that it is his responsibility to sort it out. He is always ankle-deep in everyone else’s business…and it is this sort of a person who gets tangled up with the loveless woman.

What is that? What motivates someone to believe they are the answer to every problem that they see – no matter how far away, how unrelated to themselves, or how little the Spirit is leading them?

In my experience, it is usually pride, and a messiah complex. It is the belief that they are God, and they are the answer to the world’s problems.

What is the result?

Far from leading a hurting woman to the Lord, you will inadvertently introduce romance into her life (as I hope I have convinced you that you will, if you make her problems your problems). The result would be the same if you handed her a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of wine. You are telling her, “When you hurt, turn to this as a solution.” Anything she turns to other than God will leave her dry and empty. And now, at that crucial stage when she should be turning to God and not to men, you will come alongside her and fill that void in her soul – if only partially, for a minute. And it will feel sooo goooood. She will want more. And more. And more. And you will enjoy the attention at first (that is the “snare” of it!). But once in, it will become more difficult. Soon, it will drain you. Then she will express frustration when you are not doing enough to fill the void in her soul (only God can fill it! It is infinite!!). “You don’t really love me!” She says, and her chains of guilt wrap tightly around you, motivating you to give it your all. But it will not be enough. It cannot be enough. You cannot fill the god-sized hole in her heart anymore than you could stretch your hand across the universe. She will ask for more…you will want to get out, get air, get free…she will be hurt when she senses your need for freedom from her…she will say, “well, if you don’t like me, just go already!”…the chains of guilt will snap tight like a noose, and you will try to make it up to her…she will express gratitude, and that will feel good…you will feel like you are making progress, when you are really only walking deeper into the trap….soon, you would give anything to be free. Someday, she will make you more miserable than death…

um…suggestion? Just don’t even start!

Avoid this whole cycle from the beginning by not getting into a pseudo-romantic relationship with a woman who is struggling/hurting. She needs a woman or a woman’s ministry to come alongside of her and lead her to Jesus – the last (and I do mean last!) thing that she needs is for some guy to come in and try to fill that void and loneliness with himself.

*  *  *

I write with force and vigor because I am serious. This is real stuff. Souls and hearts are on the line. Don’t mess around. Cross-gender counselling just does not work.

I write with a brutal edge because I have been there. I was the guy counseling girls, and trying to help them and ending up hurting them in the long run, when I was a teen. I regret, regret, regret my folly and my misguided heart. And I so much wish that I had come across an article such as this to set me straight sooner.

In my next post, I will answer some questions and objections which I would have raised to this sort of reasoning.

In the mean time, I would encourage you to write your resonses and feedack. Have you found this true in your experience? How so? Without stating names or places, are there situations where this has been true?

Do you disagree with me? Why? How so? Do you have scriptural or real-life experience to contradict me with?

I would love to hear your feedback. As I said, in my next post, I will respond to objections I know I would have raised: if others raise some serious objections I will try to deal with them also. As always, I am willing to change my beliefs and posts if I am proven wrong.

…just remember, saying “well, I do it, and I’m fine!” isn’t really a proof of anything except that this issue hits you personally and you believe differently than me. That is interesting, but what is really interesting (and worth talking about) is why you believe what you believe. That’s the sort of stuff I would love to hear.

 

I Am Far Too Premodern To Be Postmodern

As some of you know, I went through an “Emergent Phase” in 2008, then made a radical break with Emergent in ’09. (An e-book version of my blog during this time is coming soon).

Recently, I have been flipping through these old posts, wondering what it was that really triggered the break with Emergent? There were many factors which played into it – some of these factors were apparent to me at the time (see post, “No Longer Emergent“). However, as I recently re-read my blog-posts and journals from this time, I realized there was a deeper reason for the break.

Probably the most important post I have ever made, to date, has been the post “Taking My Education into my Own Hands.” In this short post (it’s worth your time to read it!), I expressed my belief that:

1) There is no end to the books being written on theology (Ecc. 12:12)

2) Most of these books are crap, and thankfully disappear without a trace

3) There are a select core of books which:

3.a) Have not disappeared

3.b) Continue to be read, interacted with, enjoyed, and highly regarded

3.c) Continue to influence and shape modern theology

I decided that it would be more important to master these ancient classics than to become an “expert” on the trendy, wispy theology of today.

I began my quest with Augustine. In the summer of ’09, I read Confessions, City of God, The Enchuridion, and excerpts from Letters. (Note: I found all of this free, in audio format at librivox.org)

As I later reflected in A Wise Shepherd of A Wandering Mind, to read Augustine is to be changed by Augustine. You cannot understand him without thinking like him. And to think like a person is to be changed (usually permanently) by that person.

The odd thing is that I actually disagree with Augustine on many significant points. For example, he was a neo-platonist which means that he tended to see matter as bad, and spirit is good. It’s his fault that we still think of heaven as a spirit-place, rather than a place where we have resurrection bodies (Rom. 8:11). It’s his fault that the church got tangled up in politics, and it’s his fault that it cannot become “untangled.” The crusades, witch-burnings, and religious wars are all due to the doctrine of “Just War,” which he pioneered. He also believes in infant bapitsm, and a host of other serious errors, including the belief that sex is always a sin – a doctrine which has lead to celibate clergy and a distorted view of marriage in the Catholic church to this day. Finally, the whole edifice of Catholic ecclesiology is built upon his belief and teaching.

However, even saying all of that, it is his mind and his use of Scripture and his deep commitment to, love of, and worship towards the one true God which held me captive, from the moment I began reading him. And in reading, I have been deeply changed. His blunt exegesis on Hell challenged me on my shallow and passive understanding of the topic (see “What if there is a hell?”). On re-reading him more recently, I made another very significant shift in my thinking, realizing that “Christianity is Not A Religion“

No doubt, if any educated Emergent folks happened upon my mature thoughts on Emergent (see “What is the Emergent Church” and “The Myth of ‘Post’ Modernity“) would think that I am too “Modern.” Influenced unduly by the successors of Hodge, Warfield, Finney, Spurgeon, Edwards and especially Calvin, I am too biased, to shallow, too trusting of what I learned in sunday-school and church, too bound to the near-past to break out into the light of the future, the next evolutionary step, the grand finale of church history which is the Emergent Church.

Now frail and shallow I may be – but Modern I am not. The truth is, I had read none of the above-mentined authors at this time. In fact, I have still read only snippets of Edwards, half of The Institutes, and nothing of the others. The true influence was Augustine.

After breathing deeply of the crisp logic, linear reasoning, solid exegesis and passionate spirituality of Confessions and City of God, I was never again really “at home” in postmodernity, or in Emergent.

True enough, in turning away from the Emergent/PostModern literature, I found my way home. I stopped focusing all my attention on pop-culture and the liberal/news-media culture (I used to listen to the news a LOT), and stopped trying to wrap my mind around contemporary deconstructionism and the like. I stopped listening to “The Relevant Podcast,” “The Emergent Village Podcast,” “The Phoenix Journal,” and even scaled back on listening to Bruxy Cavey quite so much.

But I didn’t simply run home to mommy. I found an old, a trusted, a deeply wise and personal friend who directed me, time and again, to a burning heart, a clear head and the Scriptures. It is through the agency of these working in harmony that I came to be bored, then indifferent, then skeptical, and now hostile to Emergent/Postmodern thought.

Rather than flee from culture, I believe I stepped back from it for a few months. With the aid of Augustine, I was able to become aware of the trendiness, the shallowness, and the hypocrisy of it all.

To put it simply: I just became far too premodern to be postmodern anymore – and that was the beginning of the new direction, which I am still walking to this day…

 

What I Believe: The Essentials

For a missions application, I was asked to “briefly” describe my convictions on a few key issues. Here is what I wrote.

In this section, please briefly describe your beliefs concerning the following questions.
1. What do you believe about the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of the Bible?
	Scriptures are not the product of human opinion, but are the result of human writers being moved of God to write (2 Pet. 1:20-21). They stand apart from and above human thoughts and opinion (Jer. 23:28-29) and are “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). I believe that the original writers wrote without error, but that some errors have crept in over the years through copyists mistakes. These errors touch only minor portions of the Bible, and do not affect doctrine. I do not believe that any modern version (e.g. KJV) is absolutely without error.
2. What is your concept of God?
	God is the creator. He is separate from His creation (He is “holy” or “different”), but He interacts in it in love. He exists and functions both outside of and within time. As a timeless God, He predestines and controls all of history. As working within time, He changes His plans to accommodate human free will, He is at times grieved by human sin, He repents, He relents, and He answers prayer.
3. What is the purpose of Christ in relation to mankind?
	Jesus is the Son of God (John 1), who has come into human history to conquer Satan, sin and death, to be the perfect human that Adam was not, and to thus create a new dynasty of life to replace the dynasty of death created by original sin (Rom. 5 ). In so doing, Jesus forges a “new and living way” to God (Heb. 10:20), by inviting humanity to become children of God by becoming sons (and daughters) of God (Rom. 8 ) through participation in the death and resurrection of Christ (Col. 1:22).
4. What are your views concerning the Holy Spirit’s person, ministry, and gifts?
	All Christians receive the Holy Spirit upon salvation, as a pledge of the full inheritance of redemption in Christ (Eph. 1:14). Through the Spirit, all Christians bear fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) in increasing measure, to the extent which they abide in Christ (John 15:5). In addition, the Spirit gives gifts for the edification (literally “up-building”) of the church (1 Cor. 14:12). I am not a “cessationist,” meaning that I believe that the gifts which were present in the Early Church are still available for the church today: however, Paul cautions that a focus on love is more important than a focus on gifts (1 Cor. 12:31). Although people sometimes receive special gifts or a new level of spiritual infilling at turning-points in their lives, or sometimes when elders lay hands on them and pray for them (2 Tim. 1:6), I do not believe in a post-salvation, secondary “baptism of the Holy Spirit,” and I do not believe that speaking in tongues is a special “sign-gift” authenticating a person’s supposed “spiritual infilling.” (Rather, the fruits mentioned above are the measure of one’s maturity, cf. Mat. 7:16-20) Although I have never been part of a church where prophecy, healing and speaking in tongues are regular parts of the service, I would not condemn churches who practice in this way. Only, I believe that the checks-and-balances (1 Cor. 14:27-29), and the procedures for testing which Scriptures mandate (1 Cor. 12:2, 1 John 4:1) should be applied, if the gifts are to be emphasized. I have never heard of any church which has done this in the way in which Paul mandated.
5. What is the condition of mankind?
	Humans are sinners by nature and by choice. Mankind is born into sin (Psalm 51:5) because of their association through birth with their Federal Head, Adam (Romans 5). Because of this sin nature, all humans will sin as soon as they are given the opportunity. Thus, all of humanity stands condemned already (John 3:18) and stands under the awful wrath of God (John 3:36) apart from the saving work of Christ (John 3:17). However, babies and children who have not yet reached the age of accountability seem to avoid the judgment which they would have incurred, had they an opportunity to sin (cf. 2 Sam. 12:23). This is because we are not judged for our father’s sins (Jer. 31:29-30): however, our father’s sins do incline us to sin, and in this way judgment passes on through the generations of the ungodly (Exod. 20:5).
6. What is the significance of the Church?
	The church is the visible representation of the invisible body of Christ (Rom. 12:5, etc.). The purpose of the church is to worship God, to equip and mature the saints (Eph. 4:11-16), to be a light to the world (Mat. 5:14-16), and to bring God’s message to the world (2 Cor. 5:20). In the same way that not all Israel was “true Israel,” (Rom. 9:6) not all who attend the visible church are true followers of Christ. This being said, one should not abandon the visible gathering of the “church” (Heb. 10:25). One of the main reasons for communal worship are Godly authority (Heb. 13:17) accountability (Jas. 5:16) and access to good teaching (1 Tim. 3:2, 2 Tim. 2:2, 2 Tim. 2:24).
7. What is the Christian’s responsibility to individuals and society?
	A supposed religion which is all talk and no actions is empty and potentially even counterfeit (Jas. 2:18). The “true” religion of a Christian must include compassion and care of needy and lonely people (Jas. 1:27).A Christian is to pray for their government leaders and those in authority over them (1 Tim. 2:1-3). Christians are to be in submission to said leaders in all matters which do not violate their consciences (Rom. 13:1-5). This includes matters which seem onerous, or unnecessary, or seem to be “needless red-tape.” A Christian should be “above reproach” in this matter, so as not to incur the shame of prosecution for breaking a law (1 Pet. 3:17).I do not believe that a Christian can serve in the military, police-force or any government role which has authority over these departments without violating Jesus’ message, especially in the sermon on the mount (cf. Mat. 5:39). However, I recognize that many sincere, devoted Christian people believe differently than me on this point. I do not believe that pacifism is a salvation issue. I have worked, and will continue to work with both pacifists and non-pacifists.
8. What are your beliefs about homosexuality and the church?
	Homosexuality is a sin (Lev. 20:13, Rom. 1:26-32, etc.). It is not compassionate to “waver” on this point, because to do so is to allow people to remain trapped in sin, and ultimately to bar people from salvation (1 Cor. 6:9).This is a water-shed issue in our generation, because it forces people, churches, missions and denominations to decide: 1) Where is truth ultimately found? (In Scriptures, or in contemporary science?) 2) What is the purpose of religion? (To worship the God of the Bible or to satisfy the cravings for self-fulfillment within the human heart?) 3) What is the purpose of ethics? (To satisfy the requirements of a Holy God or to make the greatest number of people as happy as possible?)I could not work with a mission with a weak stance on this issue.
9. Who can go to heaven and how can they get there?
	Only those who enter through the “narrow gate” (Mat. 7:13-14) which is Christ (John 10:7) can be saved. We walk the way to Heaven by coming to and through Jesus (John 14:4-6). It is my purpose in life to lead as many people as possible to do so, by right belief, right profession (Rom. 10:9-10) and the right-living which naturally flows from a true conversion (Rom. 6).When I was younger in the faith, I wrestled with the question “what about those who have never heard of Christ?” At the time I found great comfort in the solution of C.S. Lewis on this question, that although Jesus is the only way to God, perhaps God has other means of saving those who have not heard. Recently, however, I have been shocked, motivated (and a little bit terrified!) by the words of J. Gresham Machen. He asked, in effect, “What if it really is true that all those whom the church has not reached with the Gospel are going to Hell?” One could argue that God is unjust to place the eternal fate of one person in the hands of another. Perhaps. But, is this not exactly what God does with parents? And isn’t this just what Scriptures say? (cf. Mat. 16:9, 18:18, Rom. 10:14-15). Doesn’t God hold His servants accountable, when He commissions them to exhort to repentance, and they do not speak on His behalf? (cf. Ezek. 18) Listening to Machen rather than Lewis on this point has literally “lit a fire under me,” and caused me to turn from academic speculation towards evangelism, down-to-earth gospel preaching and now into missions.
10. Are there other convictions of significance to you?
	I am a complementarian, which means that I believe that God has called men to lead their homes and the church, through Christ-imitating servant-leadership. I can work with people who disagree with me, and would not be opposed to working under female leadership in most circumstances.

 

The Legitimacy of a Prayer-Retreat

It is almost never a waste of time for a leader to get away, get silent, rest, wait and listen carefully before the Lord.

Months, years, even decades and whole lifetimes of frustrations, fruitlessness, “Ishmael’s” and second-bests could easily have been avoided by a few days alone, undistracted, unfettered, unhindered – enrobed by supportive prayer and naked of soul – before the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord of all.

 

The Kindness of Critique

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
(Proverbs 9:8)

In academics, as in the church, as in business, as in the home, there is often no more kind word than a word of rebuke. Rebuke is almost always a sign of love: even if the primary motivation for speaking is annoyance, the fact that you are speaking to the person usually means that you believe that the person can and will change their behavior, so that your relationship can improve. You have not moved away from them in indifference, but towards them in love, seeking to reconcile through correction. This is even more true when our motivation are more pure – love and a desire for the best in another.

In academics, this is generally recognized: it is considered an honor to have one’s book, paper or article critiqued by others. A really, really good piece will be critiqued by not one or two, but several major authors – this is considered a real mark of respect. It means that people are actually reading your words. They think that your work is significant enough to warrant a response, which will in turn encourage more people to read the original piece. It means, ultimately, that another person thinks that your thoughts are important enough to, in some way (either positively or negatively) build their own thoughts on yours – because every review or critique is ultimately a chance for an author to spring-board off of the original piece, into exploring one’s own beliefs, whether they be in the complete opposite, or virtually the same direction, or someplace in-between.

[Of course, it goes without saying that there are also reviews which do not really engage the content of an important work, but simply sling mud and call names. Fortunately, however, these sorts of things rarely make it to print in serious, peer-reviewed journals.]

I have at times found that this appreciation for critical engagement is absent from the non-scholarly community, and I wish there were more of it.

This is probably especially true in the group of people who are trying to find new labels for themselves, now that “Emergent” is going out of style.

There has been a whole rash of people who have recently published new, cutting-edge books. They have stirred up real controversy, asked some tough questions, shot (and BBQ’d for dinner!) some precious sacred cows, kicked sand into the eyes of the “big kids on the beach,” and published best-selling books (earning, no doubt, a pretty penny in the process!). However, when the expected responses, criticisms, critiques and rebuttals came flooding in, said authors (I am not going to name names – if you are thinking of someone, I probably had them in mind too!) do not receive this attention as a compliment, nor do they attempt to defend their arguments with sound, solid, reasonable works such as were sent their way. Rather, many seemed to “play the martyr card,” run home to their congregations/families/mummies and cry about how “everyone is being so mean to me.”

Let’s just get one thing clear: if you are human, you will have your day in court (Heb. 9:27) where you will have to give an account of every idle word spoken (Mat. 12:36). If you are a Christian, you are subject to a stricter judgment, because judgment begins with the house of the Lord (1 Pet. 4:17). If you have the audacity and boldness to take on the position of “Christian teacher,” you are subject to an even higher judgment (James 3:1), because you are in some measure entrusted with the souls of those under your tutelage (Heb. 14:17). And what of those who presume to actually write books, publish articles, blog? We are presuming to not only teach, but teach those who teach – thus bearing the weight of responsibility not only for our own lives, but for all those touched by the ripple-effects of our words, in the decades and centuries to come.

Anyone who does not feel a crushing weight of responsibility, a certain holy dread, and an awesome fear of the Holy One when they pick up the pen or consider publishing has no business writing on behalf of God. Anyone who does feel this weight will ultimately love and appreciate those who critique, refine, discuss, or even outright reject their works, on solid, Scriptural grounds.

If the words are true, they will stand up when defended against the harshest of criticisms: if they are false, then who would want them to stand? They will be nothing but a source of shame to you on the day of judgment.

What better friend could be wished for, before God, than a solid, staunch critic who meticulously and judiciously sorted through what was written, amplified and proclaimed the bits of good here and there, passed over the mundane, and critiqued and rejected the errors? What better friend could one have? What better grace could one pray for than one who will refine and perfect your work through the razor-edge of their own intellect, so that together you can both be sharpened, as iron sharpens iron?

Scholars know this. Wise people know this. It is time that the “formerly-Emergent” community starts realizing that solid critiques – when lived under the shadow of the judgment of Christ – is and should be viewed as a welcome and friendly action.

…and yes, since you asked, I am willing to live with, stand by and hear my own words.

Do you disagree with me? Do you think I am unscriptural? Do you think I am wrong?

Well, be nice about it.

But PLEASE tell me what you think! And if I ever publish a book, please, please – blog and discuss to your heart’s content, and the Father’s glory what you thought was profitable and edifying, and what was crap.

Time permitting, I will respond: if I still think I am right, I will stick to my guns and defend myself. If the discussion reaches a point where it is beyond my expertise, I will humbly say, “You’ve got me, I don’t know” and I may or may not research it further. If I am wrong, I will admit it and change.

The one thing I will not do is try to emotionally manipulate you into stopping the inquest, stopping the discussion, stopping the pursuit of truth, and “being nice to me.”

Truth is bigger than my emotions, and pursuing it will cost me more than a night’s sleep now and then. I struggle with a people-pleasing and man-fearing tendency, so I won’t lie – intellectual rejection hits me right where I hurt: but ultimately, the fear of God is the final corrective of the fear of man.

I want to have something to be proud of, and few things to be ashamed of on the Day of the Lord. If you, in your critiques, can help me arrive at the place that I want to be then I consider you a friend – even if, and perhaps because you are the staunchest of doctrinal opponents and critics.

If our hearts are striving together for the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” then we may embrace one another as “brother, sister, friend,” even while our minds wrestle valiantly, patiently, forcefully, and painfully for the truth which will set us free.

 

Is Liberalism the Same as Christianity?

Somebody on A Christian and An Atheist.com recently asked the above question. After reading through some of the comments, I added my own two cents. You can read my answer to the question here. Last time I posted on this forum I got slammed pretty hard: I’m interested to see how the response will be this time around. It should be interesting to read, at any rate!

 

Postponing Further Inerrancy Posts

If I really caught your attention with my two posts so far on inerrancy, and you are just dying to read the next ones, I apologize. They will not be coming out for a while. Although they are mostly written, they still require some editing, and the concluding posts have not yet been written. A few days ago when I decided to start posting on this topic, I thought I would be able to do my current studies and focus on this topic. However, I am falling behind my self-imposed goals in my Greek independent study, and so I have decided to “cast off everything that hinders” – as usual, that includes blogging.

In just two short weeks, I will be back home in Red Lake, and life will return to “normal.” This is probably when I should have raised this topic: it will be when I will postpone further posts on this topic until. Then I will have time to do the topic justice.

So, a short farewell for now. I’ll post the next article in the series on July 1.

 

Why I Can’t Work With a Mission That Denies Inerrancy

This post is part of a string of posts on inerrancy. Please read my first post in this series before reading this one. This post accurately conveys my starting point, before beginning a week of study on my beliefs on inerrancy.

The decision is made, and it’s non-negotiable: I cannot work for a mission without a firm stance on inerrancy.

It comes down to two things: the authority of Scriptures, and the slippery slope. The two are connected.

At the end of the day, Christianity is about the Bible. If that goes, it all falls apart. Or, more likely, some other belief system or god or petty tyrant will come in and set up shop. An idol to Baal will be placed inside the sanctuary. Or the “traditions of the elders” will be elevated above Scriptures. Or the word of a bishop, pope, pastor or dictator will be placed above Scriptures.

When Scriptures alone are not allowed to speak finally and ultimately, God alone is not allowed to speak: and that is – I believe – always the precursor to God removing His lampstand from a church (Rev. 2:5).

As much as people say that it is possible to honor the Scriptures as God’s word without holding to inerrancy, I just don’t see it happening. Perhaps if I could be shown an organization which had abandoned the infalibility of Scriptures say, fifty or a hundred years ago but was still otherwise conservative and “solid,” I would be convinced. As it is, even missions and teachers who abandoned inerrancy mere decades ago seem already to be slipping.

It’s not a salvation issue: you can be saved and not believe in inerrancy. However, when I think about pouring my life out with some mission, church or denomination, the one thing I am concerned with is permanence. How long will my contribution last? I don’t want to pour out my life into some seminary, for example, only to have my efforts be turned in the next generation into the next Harvard, Yale or Stanford – centers of learning, yes, but bastions of humanism. High places, raised up against the knowledge of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Failures. A complete betrayal of the intentions and sacrifices of the founders.

Therefore, as much as I have many questions unanswered about the doctrine of inerrancy, I am still committed to it. I want to build with costly stones and gold, not straw and wood – I want my work to last through the ages (1 Cor. 3:11-14). The doctrine of inerrancy seems key to ensuring permanence.

Therefore, in searching for a place to call my own and use my gifts, I am consciously dismissing out of hand any church, mission or denomination which does not take a hard stand on inerrancy.