Beyond Apology

Friends and blog-readers, I am now posting some personal testimony in the related spheres of evangelism and simple apologetics over at Beyond Apology.

I hope that in future days, I will be able to post some audio/ video of evangelism and practical apologetics, both done without apology in today’s marketplaces.

Christian Philosophers Coming Out of the Closet?

If you’ve seen the Princess Bride, you know the line, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Perhaps the following from Philosophical Foundations of a Christian Worldview does not correspond exactly to the interchange between Inigo Montoya and Vizzini, but nonetheless, it demonstrates an unusual usage of a common phrase. 

Since the late 1960’s Christian philosophers have been coming out of the closet and defending the truth of the Christian worldview with philosophically sophisticated arguments in the finest scholarly journals and professional societies.  

Church Mad Lib

I’ve just picked up and started reading Why We Love the Church: in Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. As I read the first chapter, I burst out laughing in a public place when I read the following “Mad Lib” about the church: 

The institutional church is (pejorative adjective). When I go to church I feel completely (negative emotion). The leadership is totally (adjective you would use to describe Richard Nixon) and the people are (noun that starts with un-). The services are (adjective you might use to describe going to the dentist), the music is (adjective you would use to describe the singing on Barney), and the whole congregation is (chose among: ‘passive,’ ‘comatose,’ ‘hypocrtical,’ or ‘Rush Limbaugh Republicans’). The whole thing makes me (medical term). I had no choice but to leave the church. My relationship with (spiritual noun) is better than ever. Now I meet regularly with my (relational noun) and talk about (noun that could be the focus of a liberal arts degree) and Jesus. We really care for each other. Sometimes we even (chose among: ‘pray for each other,’ ‘feed the homeless together,’ or ’share power tools’). This is the church like it was meant to be. After all, (insert: ‘where two or three are gathered, there I am in the midst of you,’ or ‘the letter kills but the Spirit gives life,’ or ‘we don’t have to go to church, we are the church’). I’m not saying everyone needs to do what I’ve done, but if you are tired of (compound phrase that begins with ‘institutional’ or ends with ‘as we know it’), I invite you to join the (noun with political overtones) and experience (spiritual noun) like you ever will sitting in a (choose among the following architectural put-downs: ‘wooden pew,’ ’steepled graveyard,’ ’stained-glassed mausoleum ,’ or ‘glorified concert hall’) week after week. When will the (biblical noun) start being the (same biblical noun)? 

That quote was worth $11 I spent on the book.

Church Services, for the Believer

Last night I was having a discussion with a couple new friends over a great dinner. I expressed (to their agreement) that a true church service should really not be designed for unbelievers primarily, but for the building and equipping of the saints. While I do try to make the gospel clear to unbelievers each week, the primary purpose of our gathering is to edify believers and to equip them to go out from our assembly to do the work of evangelism. 

Ironically, I just read the following paragraph from The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. They write, 

The Sunday morning service is the main feeding time. As such, biblical exposition is primary. It is popular to view this service primarily as an evangelistic time. As a result, many churches are calibrating these services to the musical and cultural preferences of their target audiences. According to 1 Corinthians 14, though, the purpose of the main weekly gathering of the church is not evangelism, but edification. It seems wise, then, to calibrate these services not to the preferences of unbelievers, but to the scriptural parameters given to us for the mutual edification of believers. 

Lakewood Baptist Church

For over a year now, my wife and I, along with several other believers from Lake Country have been praying and working towards the establishment of a local church in Delafield, WI. God has shown himself powerful to open each door as He builds his Church for his glory. This Sunday, we look forward to the beginning of a brand new local body, Lakewood Baptist Church. In an area where the preaching of the Word is often not the priority on Sunday and where the gospel has been muddled by seeker-programs and liturgical ritualism, we are praying that God will shine his gospel light brightly through this new and imperfect body that is simply seeking to be faithful to the teaching of Scripture while maintaining a vibrant evangelistic presence in the community. 

The preparations for this day have been long and stretching. We began meeting for Wednesday Bible studies about one year ago. After several months of study and prayer, it became apparent through some difficult circumstances that it was not yet God’s timing for this work to begin. So, we took a step back and re-evaluated the timeline and the method and then regrouped. When we launched our team-building phase on April 8th of this year, about 20 believers began studying the book of Philippians together at a local hotel conference room, all the while praying that God would take our small Bible study and turn it into a local body for the sake of his glory in our community. 

One week into June, sensing that God was indeed working through us, we launched our outreach phase in which we: 

• Made 18,000 phone calls with the help of our mother church (Calvary Baptist in Watertown) 
• Held a Cola War with the help of the youth groups from Calvary Baptist and Brookside Baptist 
• Sent 3 bulk mailings to the 1,300 people on our mailing list 

This week, we will be following-up with each of the 1,300 on our mailing list and preparing for our first Sunday morning worship service this Sunday at Cushing Elementary School in the City of Delafield at 10:00 AM. We are praying that God would: 

• Be glorified through the ministry of our church (Ephesians 3:21) 
• Continue to raise up believers in this community who are in need of a place for their families to grow (Ephesians 4)
• Continue to open doors for faithful gospel witness (Ephesians 6:19) 

I ask for your prayers!

Satisfaction in Doing

With the rising popularity of John Piper’s Desiring God as well his overall emphasis of being satisfied in God, my generation has been moved to seek satisfaction in our relationships with God. In Psalm 17:15, the psalmist passionately declares:

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. 

This emphasis is right and proper. In an age when individuals are incessantly tempted to be distracted by what is shiniest, Christians, as they progress in sanctification, should be increasingly satisfied in God and decreasingly satisfied by stuff. 

Sadly, however, what I’ve seen on occasion and what I’ve known experientially is not complete satisfaction from God. Sipping a mint mocha frappe at Starbuck’s while reading Mortification of Sin or Valley of Vision is not the purposed end of deep and sustaining satisfaction in God. 

I fear that too many Christians are only finding half of the satisfaction that God intended for us. If we only search for satisfaction in God, and never put our hands to the plough in working for God, then we will not gain the whole of the satisfaction that God designed for us. 

That was Jesus’ point in John 4. While the disciples were in the city buying food for them and for Jesus, an immoral Samaritan woman approaches Jacob’s well. You know the story; our Lord lovingly confronts the sin of her heart, convicting her of sin. When the Lord, then, reveals his messianic identity, the woman runs to her home proclaiming that Jesus is some sort of prophet sent from God. The disciples stumbled upon this scene and said something like this in their hearts, 

Master, why are you speaking to a woman? Why this woman? How could you defile yourself like this, Lord? Why aren’t you reading the Puritans…

But none of them said a word. Instead, they told Jesus that he must eat. Naturally, they would think that Jesus needed something to sustain and satisfy him amidst their long journeying. Jesus answered, 

I have meat to eat that you don’t know about…My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work. 

Here, Jesus reveals that there is satisfaction in doing, in accomplishing – in working. Usually, when we think about being satisfied in our Christian life, we think of satisfaction primarily in terms of our relationship with God. Here, Jesus explains that there is satisfaction in our work for God. 

What is this satisfying work? 

The context is clear. Immediately preceding, Jesus has a spiritual encounter with the Samaritan woman that leads to confrontation and conviction of personal sin. Immediately after this scene, Jesus says, “Lift up your eyes and look unto the fields, for they are white already to harvest.” The work that our Lord speaks of is a gospel, disciple-making work. 

The great commission is not an option from peer to peer; it is a command from the King to his servants. Here, however, Jesus is reminding us that there is delight to be found in our service to the King.

Corinthian Chiasm

2 Corinthians 5:6-10: 

 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

A. Home in the body 

            B. Away from the Lord

                        C. We walk by faith not by sight

            B’. Away from the body 

A’. Home with the Lord

It seems then that “we walk by faith not by sight” and “we make it our aim to please Him” are roughly equivalent with a motivating factor coming in verse 10.

I Can Do All Things (Like What?) Through Christ

As I prepared for Bible study this week on Philippians 4:10-13, I was surprised by the differences in perspective on Philippians 4:13. 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Norman Vincent Peale offered this advice to a man with problems (found here): 

As you walk down the streets tonight I suggest that you repeat certain words which I shall give you. Say them over several times after you get into bed. When you awaken tomorrow, repeat them three times before rising. On the way to your important appointment three additional times. Do this with an attitude of faith and you will receive sufficient strength and ability to deal with this problem. Later, if you wish, we can go into an analysis of your basic problem, but whatever we come up with following that study, the formula which I am now going to give you can be a large factor in the eventual cure.

Folowing is the affirmation which I gave him- “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

In a 140 character tweet, John Piper says: 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13), like go hungry, get cancer, be killed and go home.

Philippians 4:13 is so much deeper than a mantra to be repeated in order to dunk a basketball, win the lottery, receive a scholarship, or take the Stanley Cup. It is a gentle assurance that we can make it through any trial to which God has called us because we are in Christ and carried along by his grace. That’s why Paul can say that he knows how to be at the bottom and at the top, because through Christ he can patiently endure any trial.

Consistency in Hymn Selection

I recently had a conversation with a pastor who suggested that we should get some guys together and go through the hymnal (Majesty Hymns), discarding songs that don’t reflect our theology as well as songs whose melodies should really be buried in a large hole and then covered vigorously with dirt, lots of it.

The first one on my list is The Church’s One Foundation. One of the last verses mentions the Church’s “mystic sweet communion.” I’m really not sure what this meant at the time of writing, but am pretty sure I don’t believe what it means now!

How about you, which songs would be on your list and why? Be sure to include the perspectives you’re writing from (Dispensational, Covenant, Arminian, Calvinistic, etc).

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor, an Interesting Read for Fundamentalists

I just finished Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor (free .pdf here) via the Amazon Kindle application for my ipod touch. I simply couldn’t put this book down. I was drawn to the book because I had never heard of Tom Carson and because being “ordinary” resonates with just about every heart. 

Most of the book highlighted Tom Carson’s (DA Carson’s father) struggles as a church-planter in francophone Canada. The man was a militant witness in a highly Catholic atmosphere, often spending significant time in personal correspondence as well as visitation, passionately pleading with men and women to abandon the false teaching of the Catholic church and embrace Jesus Christ alone for salvation. His family sacrificed significantly in the financial realm, but was never characterized by a spirit of complaint or worry. Even towards the end of his life when his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, Tom Carson remained faithful to Jesus Christ and never abandoned his calling as a minister of the gospel. 

Of special interest to me as a fundamentalist…

Being a part of Baptist Fundamentalism myself, I was intrigued to read about T.T. Shields of Toronto and the Baptist Union of that time. Having studied a little bit about the debates and controversy there, it was interesting to hear the episodes again from Tom Carson’s point of view, as well as how DA Carson interpreted the happenings through his more broadly evangelical perspective (he believes it unfortunate that Shields was so offensive and that he didn’t heed the warning of Martin Lloyd-Jones). Interestingly, Tom Carson disagreed with Shields on an issue (trying to force a pastor to take a church if I remember correctly) and ended up losing financial support for a mission-church in french-speaking Quebec. 

Also of note was Tom Carson’s apparent concern for DA in his pursuit of higher education. Shortly after returning from his PhD studies in England, DA Carson was asked to provide his viewpoint on the atonement in an edition of Christianity Today. Carson boldly defended the penal substitutionary view as being the paradigm through which we can understand all the other angles on the atonement. His father was pleased with the article and wrote a note, rejoicing that DA hadn’t shown any signs of liberalism from his training in England. 

Regarding Billy Graham and his campaigns, in one of his journal entries, he didn’t expound much, but indicated that he believed Graham was Jehoshaphat with Ahab.

Have you read this book? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts as well.

NT Wright on Hell

Dan Phillips has an excellent post this morning on NT Wright and his view of hell and eternal judgment.

For several years now, many in the Emerging Church have been looking to Bishop Wright to draw up some trickery for their Emerging-play-book.

Some of Wrights comments about hell sound eerily similar to some of Rob Bell’s. See here and here. Is Coach Wright calling the plays in from the sidelines?

Safety in Repetition

How many times have I rolled my eyes in my heart when I heard a familiar text announced from the pulpit? Have I grown tired of hearing the same doctrines explained over and over? Do I find myself skimming when an author cites a familiar verse?

I often forget that there is safety in hearing over and over again the warning of God’s Words. 

Philippians 3:1 

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble for me, but it is safe for you. 

Paul goes on in that text to warn the believers again (he had probably done this while present with them) about the Judaizers — the dogs, evil workers, the mutilators of flesh, the teachers of a false gospel (3:2). Warning against false teaching and warning about the dangers of sin should never get old, should never be viewed as obscurantist, outdated, unfashionable, or uninformed. 

The fact is, repetition of biblical truth is not boring but safe. Reiterated spiritual warning is not overbearing but caring.

God’s Word will never be hidden in our hearts unless its truths are repeated over the course of years. Furthermore, many will continue in a child-like state, and will continue to be carried about by every wind of doctrine and by the deception of false teachers, until in wisdom the warnings that have been repeated over and over again are heeded.

There is wisdom in repetition — OT saints were “to bind them [God's Words] upon their fingers and to write them upon the table of their hearts.” Parents were instructed to teach the Word to their children dilligently — when they arose, when it was bed-time, when they were out and about, and when they were sitting in their house (Deut. 6:7).

I need incessant reminders of biblical truth because sin is too appealing, because false teaching is too prevalent, and because I’m not glorified yet. 

Repetition may seem lame, but God says it’s safe. Next time the pastor announces a familiar text, don’t respond in pride — be wise, and rest in the safety that repitition brings.

Intimidation, Accommodation, and Creation

A while back, I pointed out that I was disgusted with Rob Bell’s calling Genesis 1 a “creation poem.”

I took flack for that — for being on a witch-hunt against Rob Bell. I just want to clarify that this is wrong teaching, coming from either side of the aisle. If emerging folks teach this nonsense, it’s wrong. If fundamentalists do (really big “if” here), it’s wrong still. If this heresy comes from the Mecca of reformed-conservative-evangelicalism, it’s wrong.

So it makes sense that in like manner, I was disgusted by the study notes in the ESV Study Bible in that they sent the clear message that six-day creationism was just one choice among “faithful” interpretations. I am equally disappointed that in a recent Christianity Today article, Tim Keller is put on record as identifying Genesis 1 as a poem, indicating that “its six ‘days’ may be poetically long.”

I’ve yet to see it demonstrated cogently that these divergent views arise from faithful exegesis and not from a spirit of accommodation that arose out of modernism and so-called “science.” As I read Genesis 1, the only way I can arrive at a non-literal approach is by reading it through an “intimidated” heremeneutical lens, an unhealthy fear of man that wonders what the intellectual community will think of my interpreations.

In this regard, I was thrilled to hear that John MacArthur’s opening session at this year’s Shepherd’s Conference was entitled “Why Every Self-respecting Evangelical Should Affirm Literal Six-day Creationsim.”  

Like MacArthur, we should not back down on this issue. By definition, science is limited to that which is repeatable and observable. Since evolutionary theories are based upon neither, we should not be bullied by pseudo-scientific rhetoric that is foundationally ill-equipped to weigh-in on this issue. It’s time for evangelicals who supposedly believe that the Bible is inspired and inerrant to stand up on this issue, even if it’s not popular in our intellectual communities.

Rob Bell: Dangerous with Hebrew

Christopher Cowan writes an excellent critique of Rob Bell’s Nooma video, entitled, “She.” 

Cowan concludes that Bell’s view is simply feminism repackaged with cool graphics and that Bell’s knowledge of Hebrew equips him with just enough to be dangerous.

HT: Justin Taylor

Tip of the Day: Evangelism (10)

People are astonished when you remember their names, especially in the fast-paced suburban areas of our world. We live in a world where people rarely stop to meet each other, much less allow such a meeting to have a significant impact upon their lives. That’s why I keep one of these in the glove-box of my car.  It’s just a simple journal-like notebook, but it allows me to jot down the names of each person I meet throughout my week.

Here’s how it works:

• Each establishment I frequent gets a page in the journal.
• On each page, I write down the person’s name that I met, along with any pertinent information, such as — believer or unbeliever — the date when we met — any mutual friends — any particular matter we “connected” on.
• I then review the names the next time I go to that restaurant, coffee shop, store, gas station, fishing spot, etc.
• I pray through the list regularly, asking God to open their hearts to the gospel and to give me more opportunities to share it with them.

This method helps me to follow the example of Paul in Acts 17:16-17, daily meeting people in the marketplace and then enjoying ongoing relationships that lead to gospel-focused conversations.