Community

Doug Wolter passes along these great thoughts on community from Chad Nuss of Christos Church in Jeffersontown, KY:

Church community consists of people that are very different, who sin against each other, who don’t like each other from time to time, who do all kinds of bad, hypocritical things–yet they stick together because the call to Christian community is to learn how to die to ourselves for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of the church, for the sake of community, and for the sake of the glory of God.

Our enjoyment of community does not primarily come from how much we like each other, but from how much we are being rescued from destroying each other by the Gospel! The overflow of joy in the Gospel is joy in each other because we can look at each other and announce the Gospel to each other–the very Gospel that forgives us of sin and helps very different people with very different backgrounds with very different sinful tendencies with very different agendas, frustrations, and preferences come together around a common Savior.

Friday Fun (Bonus Edition)...Icelandic Soccer Celebration

I'm not sure if this is the best celebration ever or the dumbest. Either way, I think it's probably the funniest. Suffice to say, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco have got nothing on these guys.

Friday Fun...Who's on First?

Tomorrow is the trading deadline in Major League baseball, meaning that it is the final day this season that players can be freely traded from one team to another. As a result, there is annually an abundance of trades made on and approaching this day, which I suppose could cause great confusion for fans as to whch players are on their favorite team. Abbott and Costello deal with such a situation in one of the most classic comedy bits of all time.

West Cannon Pastors' Seminar

If you're a pastor in or near Michigan, let me recommend a great conference to you. Each year West Cannon Baptist Church in Grand Rapids puts on a pastors' seminar. I went last year and was greatly edified by both the teaching and the fellowship with other pastors.

This year's theme is Strength for the Inner Man and the speakers will be D.A. Carson & Voddie Baucham. The conference is September 27 & 28 and is very reasonably priced at $50. You can get more information here.

Should a Christian Display a Portrait of Robert E. Lee?

Don’t read this post. That’s right. I don’t want you to read this post. What I’d much rather have you do is click over to Russell Moore’s post today regarding whether a Christian should display a picture of Robert E. Lee in their home.

Dr. Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From time to time on his blog, Moore to the Point, he posts ethical questions he’s received, allows time for readers to give their feedback and then gives his own answer. His answers inevitably display a depth of gospel wisdom that almost makes me wish I was a Baptist.

Today’s post was, in my opinion, the best answer of his that I have read to date. He makes one great point after another. Again, I really would urge you to read the whole article, but if you must have the abridged version, here are some of the highlights:

He argues against the oversimplification of historical figures and warns us against both demonizing those we see as “villains” and canonizing those we see as “heroes.”

The fetishistic use of historical figures is precisely what leads to the kind of “absolute good vs. absolute evil” characterizations we often see among Christians in the way they view current leaders…That’s the kind of hagiography that led to George Washington’s cherry tree inability to tell a lie. Well, George Washington was a great man, but he was also a liar. And so am I, and so are you. Unless there was a star shining over Washington’s birthplace (and there wasn’t), then Romans 3:10-19 applies to him as well as to all of us.

So should a Christian display a picture of Robert E. Lee in their home?

I don’t know. I can’t tell you one way or the other because what’s more important than a single picture is the general ethos of a home…The issue is love of neighbor and the mission of Christ. That’s why the Apostle Paul refuses to lay down simple rules about eating vegetables or eating meat (Rom. 14:1-23). If that picture would hinder your being able to show hospitality and love with your brothers and sisters of every background and race, take it down.

But, if you keep it up on the wall, let it be, like every historical portrait, a warning…(For) a gentleman as devoted to character as Robert E. Lee, who had thought long and hard about the evils of slavery, was so conditioned by his time that he couldn’t see past his blind spot. So what makes me think that I could have escaped a similar blind spot? And what is so common in our culture right now that we can’t even see it, as we think we’re serving the Lord?

Moore concludes with this:

Robert E. Lee was a complicated figure, a sinful rebel (in more ways than one) who bore the image of God. And so are we. Lee was gifted in commendable ways even as he used those gifts sometimes in ways that ought to horrify. So do we. We ought to be honest, in both directions, about Lee and about our neighbors and ourselves. And that ought to cause us to search out our own lives for that hidden sin, that secret hatred, that conforming to the pattern of this age that we don’t see and don’t think to ask about. Ultimately, no matter how we seek to whitewash our heritage or our personal stories, we’ll only conquer it all at the resurrection from the dead. Until then, we watch our hearts, pray for wisdom, work for justice, and love our neighbor.

Deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome some day.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

"It would be a good thing for us all if we had never left off being boys and girls, but had added to all the excellencies of a child the virtues of a man. Surely it is not necessary to kill the child to make the saint." (Come Ye Children, pg. 15)

Book Review: Decisional Regeneration vs. Divine Regeneration

I recently received the book Decisional Regeneration vs. Divine Regenration by James E. Adams as a gift from one of the members of our church who spends his winters in Arizona. While there, he attends the church pastured by Adams. I was excited to receive it as I had been very impressed with the other book by Adams which I had read: War Psalms of the Prince of Peace. I found this second work by Adams (which is actually an updated version of his work from almost 40 years ago) quite helpful as well.

This short, very readable book is not a theological treatise on the level of Calvin's Institutes, but then it is not intended to be. It is very purposefully accessible to all audiences and is very neatly organized into concise, to the point chapters. Adams lays out a clear, biblical argument against the concept of decisional regeneration, beginning with the observation that “the ‘Christian’ segment of our society seems to be much more a reflection of our culture than a light to it.” He suggests that what lies behind this is the fact that many who may call themselves "Christians" have nonetheless never actually experienced the new birth.

What lies even deeper at the heart of this issue is an understanding of how exactly one comes to be born again. Adams speaks against the idea of “Decisional Regeneration,” that is that human beings bring about the new birth through a decision to follow Christ. Instead, he argues, such a decision could never even be made without the regenerating work of God already having taken place in their heart.

Adams does a good job of displaying that this is not just some unimportant theological argument that has no real practical implications. He does this, examining the impact of a theology of decisional regeneration on such areas as our worship, our preaching and our evangelism.

Some of the quotes in the book (especially those of Dr. Martyn Llloyd-Jones) are pure gold and throughout, Adams is tethered to the Gospel of Grace. He reminds us, “The brilliance of God’s power in saving sinners can be appreciated only against the gloomy backdrop of people’s desperate condition, their inability to please God.”

In light of such, he concludes with these words from John 1:12-13: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Gilead and a Parent's Love

Another beautiful point, beautifully made from Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead (p. 136):

"...your mother could not love you more or take greater pride in you. She has watched every moment of your life, almost, and she loves you as God does, to the marrow of your bones. So that is the honoring of a child. You see how it is godlike to love the being of someone. Your existence is a delight to us. I hope you never have to long for a child as I did, but oh, what a splendid thing it has been that you came finally, and what a blessing to enjoy you now for almost seven years."

I suppose only a parent can truly understand this kind of love, or at least its depth. I thought I understood it before I had children, but I did not. Regardless, the point is that it is indeed a reflection of godlike love when, as parents, we love the very existence of our children.

This kind of love is illustrated in a conversation that I’ve had countless times with my children. It goes like this:

Me: “Do you know how much I love you?”

Child: “A million times a billion.” (Truth be told, I love them even more than that, but let’s not quibble over numbers.)

Me: “And do you know why I love you?”

Child: “Because I am your child.”

Me: “How long will you be my child?”

Child: “Forever.”

Me: “So how long will I love you?

Child: “Forever.”

Me: “What if you behave really badly and I get angry?”

Child: “Forever.”

Me: “What if you say or do really mean things to me?”

Child: “Forever.”

Me: “What if you don’t even like me any more?”

Child: “Forever.”

Me: “So how long will I love you?”

Child: “Forever.”

Me: “That’s right. No matter what, you’ll always be my child, so I will always love you. Forever.”

What I am trying to do in this conversation is twofold. Obviously, I am trying to instill in my children a confidence in the steadfastness of my love for them. They can be confident that no matter what, they will not lose the love of their father.

Secondly though, I am trying to model to them the love of God. I am setting before them a pattern of godly love so that they might know that the love of their heavenly father (like the love of their earthly father) is not conditioned upon what they do.

This is the very core of the gospel. God loves us not because we have somehow earned his love, but because, by his grace, he has adopted us in Christ Jesus to be his children. As such we can be confident in his steadfast love, because it is not on account of anything we do, but rather only and always because of what Christ has done.

What It Means to Follow Jesus

Josh Harris posts this humorous cartoon today:


(HT: Vitamin Z)

Friday Fun...Brian Regan

Here is a clip of Brian Regan from Letterman in May, 2009. He is without question one of my favorite stand up comics. I think its becase he's pretty funny, but it might just be because we have aproximately the same level of cell phone competency.

Gilead and Guilt

One of the things I love about Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead is the artful way in which Robinson writes. In reading it I am constantly amazed at how skillfully she is able to paint pictures in my mind. What makes it even better though is the the fact that through her beautiful use of the English language she examines deep and meaningful truths. One example, from page 81:

I got up the courage to ask my father once if my grandfather had done something wrong and he said, “The Good Lord will judge what he did,” which left me believing there had been some kind of crime for sure. There is one photograph of my grandfather around the house somewhere, taken in his old age, that might help you understand why I thought this way. It is a good likeness. It shows a wild-haired, one-eyed, scrawny old fellow with a crooked beard, like a paintbrush left to dry with the lacquer on it, staring down the camera as if it had accused him of something terrible very suddenly, and he is still thinking how to reply and keeping the question at bay with the sheer ferocity of that stare. Of course there is guilt enough in the best life to account for a look like that.

True enough. But even so, especially so, what a wonderful blessing that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1).

Not Just a Cute Church

I really enjoyed the post I saw today by Jared Wilson. He is the pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Spings, VT and the author of the blog, The Gospel-Driven Church. I enjoy his blog for a couple reasons:

1) His postings are almost always insightful, motivated by grace and filled with gospel wisdom.

2) One of my interests is family history, and his church is only about 10 miles from the family farm in Wallingford, VT where my father spent many of his boyhood summers. I have never been there (or to Vermont at all, for that matter), but I have always wanted to visit, and hope to do so some day. Perhaps I will have the opportunity to worship with Jared at Middletown Springs.

In today's post he cites how people often refer to the building where his church meets (pictured above) as "cute" because it is small, old and traditional. He cautions against such short-sightedness in his post, recounting some of the church's history. You should really read the whole thing here (it's not very long), but he concludes with the following:

Our building is just a building, but it's not just a building. It's a symbol of the enduring evangelical presence, small but hearty, in this least-churched state in the nation, and of the endurance of the great salt-of-the-earth people who are the church that gathers in the building for which they're called.

The gates of hell will prevail against espresso bars and KidzTowns. But not our church.

Our church is not cute. It is epic.

Use the Force, Luke...or Your GPS

Apparently TomTom customers will now be able to have their GPS devices voiced by their favorite Star Wars characters. Today in his "Monday Morning Humor" blog entry, Kevin DeYoung posted the following video of Darth Vader's time in the recording studio:



There is also the following video of Yoda's session in the studio:

Are You Too Post-Evangelical/Missional/Post-Emerging?

C. Michael Patton has a good blog entitled Parchment and Pen. He often deals with weighty theological matters, and while I don't agree with his conclusions 100% of the time, I usually do. And even when I don't, I find Patton helpfully hought-provoking.

Sometimes though, he posts thoughts that are a little more on the lighter side of things. One example of this was the other day when he published a list of the Top Ten Signs You Are Taking this Post-Evangelical/Missional/Post-Emerging Thing too Far.

My favorites were:

5. You have yet to read the book of Romans believing Paul was too modern in his thinking.

and

2. When someone calls out your name you get angry saying, “Don’t label me. Labels are completely unhelpful!”

The 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference

If you are interested in such things, please allow me to recommend to you the 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference. I attended the 2009 conference and it was fabulous. I was greatly blessed by both the quality of the teaching and the richness of the fellowship.

This year's conference promises to be even better. It will be held April 12-14 in downtown Chicago and the list of speakers sparkles with such names as Alistair Begg, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, Al Mohler and many others.

Carson and Keller discuss the conference in the video below.

Friday Fun...The Decision

If you're not a sports fan, you might not find this too funny. If you are a Cleveland sports fan, you might find it even less funny (apologies to friends Mike Wittmer and Brian Hendrickson). But Wednesday night on the ESPY Awards, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd spoofed the self-importance of Lebron James' hour-long, made for TV "Decision" to leave the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. I, for one, thought it was pretty funny stuff.