Younger, Restlesser, Reformeder

Much has been made in recent years of Reformed Theology's increasing place in the evangelical community.  I suppose this was most prominently highlighted by Time’s 2009 list of “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now” with their inclusion (at #3!) of “The New Calvinism.”   This followed on the heals of Collin Hansen’s book on the Reformed resurgence, Young, Restless, Reformed and his 2006 article in Christianity Today by the same title.

Who better to comment on this boom than the people who brought you Kinda Christianity: A Generous, Fair, Organic, Free-Range Guide to Authentic Realness?  You’ll recall that Kinda Christianity was a sardonic look by Ted Kluck and Zach Bartels at the emergent church, styled after Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity.  Well, now they've aimed their satirical wit in a new direction with the latest offering from Gut Check Press: Younger, Restlesser, Reformeder, a self-described "Good-Natured Roast" of the New Calvinist movement.

Ted and Zach are friends of mine.  Ted and I met at a conference a couple years ago and though Zach and I have never actually met, we’re friends on facebook.  That counts, right?  Anyway, I’m going to give you basically the same type of advice I gave when I reviewed Kinda Christianity.  There are plenty of people who won’t like this book.  You might be one of them if you:

• Don’t like satire
• Don’t have a sense of humor
• Can’t stand to have someone point out many of your own idiosyncrasies and foibles

If these words decribe you, you can stop reading right here.  Certainly don’t waste their time by reading the book.  You’ll note I said don’t waste their time.  The reason I say their time is, I know what will happen if you are the aforementioned type of person and you read it.  You will get upset.  You will write Ted and Zach a nasty letter or write a terrible review on your blog.  Nice guys that they are, they will feel compelled to respond, and you will have wasted their time.

On the other hand, there are some of you who are Reformed in your theology and willing to have a hearty laugh (no, those are not mutually exclusive categories).  If you are among this number, and are still willing to laugh even if you’re the butt of the joke, then you might want to check out Younger, Restlesser, Reformeder.

In this book they make fun of us young Calvinsts (okay, so maybe I’m not quite so young anymore) in ways that could often be labeled “over-the-top generalizations” (read: good satire).  As I read the book and considered their jabs, I vascilated between two reactions.  At times, I would somewhat condemningly chuckle to myself, “That’s so true.”  At other times, I would find myself painfully admitting, “That’s so true about me!”

They lampoon the teachers we learn from, the books we read and the conferences we attend.  The media we take in and our use of the internet are also fair game, as are our attitudes toward politics, pyramid schemes and anyone who thinks differently than we do (i.e., the right way).

Take this example from their section on being obnoxious, which far too often is a descriptor that fits us Calvinists to a “T.” (Though Kluck and Bartels insightfully point out that “New Calvinists” are not nearly as obnoxious as new Calvinists.)

"Here’s the thing: Once you’ve come right out and said that God himself has chosen who will be saved, nothing else you could say could be more offensive, from the world’s perspective, so go ahead and celebrate the Crusades, justify the Salem witch trials, and hand out anathemas like they’re Bit O’ Honey bars left over from when you used to celebrate Halloween.  What have you got to lose?  Really, how innocent are doves?"

In the end, if you are young, reformed and especially if you live in Michigan, this isn’t just the book for you…it’s the book about you.  Don’t take yourself so seriously.  Sit down, take an hour and read it, and have a laugh at your own expense.

You Are the Salt of the Earth

In 2011 I've had the pleasure of teaching an adult Sunday School class on The Sermon on the Mount.  One of my favorite parts of teaching is all the learning that I get to do.  In my preparations for class, I try to glean insights from a number of scholars who are far more learned than I am (there's no shortage!).  To this end I have loved studying a number of fine commentaries on The Sermon on the Mount (Carson, Doriani, Ferguson, Stott) in addition to commentaries on Matthew from my two favorite sets by Calvin and Hendriksen.

Another commentary on Matthew that was recently introduced to me by a friend is Frederick Dale Bruner's Matthew: A Commentary. Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1-12.  I've only had the commentary for a couple weeks and I can't speak to all of Bruner's theology.  What I can say though, is I have already been richly blessed by the devotional nature of his writing and some of the insights he offers on Matthew 5.  Included in this would be the following words I came across today preparing for this week's lesson on being "the salt of the earth":

"Blessing is given to believers so that they will be blessings -- to the world (cf. especially the seminal promise of Gen 12:1-3: "I will bless you and make you a blessing; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed"); salt is made salt in order to be salty in food.  We are put on notice that while it is from nothing (gratis) that we have been made salt, it is not for nothing (frustra).  We are to live for other people.  Christians, we learn here for the first time explicitly, are in danger if they do not live as Christians.  This is what is meant by the warning's sad conclusion, "It is absolutely useless except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."  Here is deserved persecution.  In the world this "persecution" often takes the form of simple contempt or of complete disinterest."

May we always remember how very blessed we are to have found favor in the eyes of God in spite of our sin. And may we also remember that we, like Abraham, are blessed that we might be a blessing.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever say, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"

John Piper

The Theological Implications of Christina Aguilera

I was riding home Sunday evening right before the Super Bowl, listening to Christina Aguilera sing the Star Spangled Banner (kind of).  I noticed immediately when she missed some of the words and I wondered if the radio announcers would make note of it.

As soon as she finished, Kevin Harlan started talking about the 60 yard long video screen above the field, and how close ups on it of many of the players showed them to be quite emotional.  Without missing a beat, Boomer Esiason responded, "Maybe they're emotional because she forgot all the words!"

Where am I going with this?  Well, J B Boren makes some good points in a post today.  The popular reaction to this particular rendition of our national anthem has been overwhelmingly negative.  Boren notes what makes this interesting is the fact that this is in a relativistic culture that often claims what matters is not so much the content of what you believe, but rather how passionately you believe it.

"Now, if we judge Ms. Aguilera's performance on passion alone, she was perfect. You couldn't ask for more passion than what she put into that song. But she didn't get the content right."

This, he points out, is analogous to how we view the gospel.  The gospel is not just an opinion on how you should live your life.  Rather, it  is the proclamation of certain events which took place in time and space, namely, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This same Jesus Christ who proclaimed in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."

As such, it matters not only how passionately we believe.  The content of what we believe matters immensely as well.  Boren goes on to sum up his thoughts pretty well in his closing comment:

"So next time you are interested in having a lot of passion for what you believe (and there's nothing wrong with that), take a cue from Christina...make sure you get the words right first."

Click here to read the entire post.

No Cross = No Gospel

I mentioned elsewhere that I recently got the book Don't Call it a Comeback. It is essentially a compilation of articles written by various pastors, authors and theologians, each chapter dealing with a different facet of evangelicalism.

As the author of What is the Gospel?, Greg Gilbert displayed a love for the gospel and a realization of the need for the cross to be at its center. It is these same things that he brings to his chapter, "The Gospel: God's Self-Substitution for Sinners."

Gilbert doesn't mince words, often dealing with unpopular truths. Many people want to believe in a feel-good "gospel" that primarily promises them comfort, ease and affluence. The message of the Bible is nowhere near this pleasant though.

"In the face of the worst cultural prejudice imaginable, (Paul) fixed the entire gospel squarely and immovably on the fact that Jesus was tacked to a stauros and left to die. If he had been trying to find a surefire way to turn first-century people off from his 'good news,' he couldn't have done better than that.

"So why did he do it? It's simple. He did it because he knew that leaving the cross out, or running past it with a glance, or making it peripheral to the gospel, or allowing anything else to displace it at the center of the gospel would make it, finally, no gospel at all."

The reason that a real gospel must have the cross at its center is the fact that each one of us is unmistakably a sinner. And when Gilbert speaks of sin, unlike many, he doesn't minimize what that actually means:

"Throughout Scripture, sin is not simply falling short of one's true meaning or purpose, nor is it merely a broken relationship or external systemic corruption. Rather, it is a personal, blameworthy transgression of the law of God and a rejection of his authority as Creator and King."

In light of this truth, I found quite Gilbert's treatment of "the gospel of the kingdom" to be especially helpful. So many today seem to want to separate "the gospel of the kingdom" from the "gospel of the cross." We are told that "the gospel" is primarily about the coming of Christ and the inauguration of his kingdom, over which he will rule with all righteousness. Gilbert pleads with readers not to follow in the footsteps of those who would make such a stark division, pointing out that the only way into the kingdom is through the cross.

"So by all means, preach about the kingdom, talk about Jesus' conquest of evil, write about his coming reign. But don't pretend that all those things are glorious good news all by themselves. They're not. The bare fact that Jesus is going to rule the world with perfect righteousness is not good news to me; it's terrifying news, because I am not righteous! I'm one of the enemies he's coming to crush! The coming kingdom becomes good news only when I realize that the coming King is also a Savior who forgives sin and makes people righteous--and he does that through his death on the cross."

A Word for Preachers

"Seek (the Holy Spirit) always.  But go beyond seeking Him; expect Him.  Do you expect anything to happen when you get up to preach in a pulpit?  Or do you just say to yourself, 'Well, I have prepared my address, I am going to give them this address; some of them will appreciate it and some will not'?  Are you expecting it to be the turning point in someone's life...?  That is what preaching is meant to do...Seek this power, expect this power, yearn for this power; and when the power comes, yield to Him."

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Friday Fun...Star Wars and "The Talk"

Yesterday, I posted on Star Wars and Fatherhood. While we're on the topic, it is worth pointing out that every father knows the day will come when we need to sit down with our child and have "the talk."



(HT: Paul McCain)

A Christian View of the President

Today President Obama spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast, which caused me to consider how we Americans (and especially evangelical Christian Americans)  tend to handle our thoughts about the faith of our Presidents.  As I contemplated this, it occurred to me that either we're not being honest with others or we're not being honest with ourselves.

The Christian Right championed George W. Bush, largely because he publicly  proclaimed that he trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  They then by-and-large gave him a pass when he said distinctly non-evangelical things like the Bible is not literally true, Muslims and Christians worship the same God, and we all go to heaven.

Yet when President Obama speaks (as he did today) about how, "I came to know Jesus Christ for myself and to embrace Him as my Lord and Savior," it is assumed by many of those same people who supported President Bush that President Obama must be lying about his faith.  And whenever he says anything that is even vaguely conciliatory toward Islam, he is branded as being a closet Muslim.

The purpose of this post is not to suggest what either man actually believes -- frankly, I have no idea.  Nor is its purpose to convince you that you should like Barack Obama's policies as President.  He certainly (like President Bush) has political positions to which I take great exception.

It is just to point out that perhaps we are too quick to claim someone is in our religious camp because he shares our political viewpoints, or to separate from them because they don't.  Perhaps a better attitude toward our Presidents (Democrat or Republican, Christian or non-Christian) would simply be to honor them (1 Peter 2:17), to submit to governing authorities, realizing that all authority comes from God (Romans 13:1) and to offer supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for them (1 Timothy 2:1). That, I think, would be a truly Christian way to act.

Star Wars and Fatherhood

Now this is a good dad.

Training in Godliness vs. Irreverent, Silly Myths

Matt Chandler demonstrates the difference between training in godliness as opposed to irreverent, silly myths (1 Timothy 4:7).


(HT: Justin Taylor)

Desiring God Pastors' Conference Audio

One of the great blessings of living in the 21st century is the vast array of wonderful biblical teachers alive today. Another one of the great blessings is the fact that with the advent of the internet, much of this great teaching is readily available to us at any given time.

This week, Desiring God Ministries held their annual pastors' conference, and while I was not able to attend, I am able to listen to each one of the messages, as DG has made them available online.  I've already commented briefly on Francis Chan's message which I took in Tuesday.  The Speaker Panel Q&A was good throughout, with moments of brutal honesty and profound brilliance.  I look forward to hearing the rest of the messages.  Here are the links to them all:

Session One: Joel Beeke, "Cultivating Private Prayer as a Pastor"

Session Two: Paul Miller, "Helping Your People Discover the Praying Life"

Session Three: Francis Chan, "Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love: A Personal Journey"

Session Four: John Piper, "Robert Murray M'Cheyne"

Session Five: Joel Beeke, "Leading Family Worship"

Session Six: Jerry Rankin, "Unreached Peoples and the Power of Prayer"

Session Seven: Speaker Panel Q and A

A Too Small Gospel

Saw this quote today over at Jared Wilson's blog, The Gospel-Driven Church,

A gospel which is only about the moment of conversion but does not extend to every moment of life in Christ is too small. A gospel that gets your sins forgiven but offers no power for transformation is too small. A gospel that isolates one of the benefits of union with Christ and ignores all the others is too small. A gospel that must be measured by your own moral conduct, social conscience, or religious experience is too small. A gospel that rearranges the components of your life but does not put you personally in the presence of God is too small. 

Fred Sanders, The Deep Things of God

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

"It is very hard, but biblically necessary, not to judge others because of their disagreement with our judgment regarding scripturally uncertain issues.  An 'Aha! moment' occurred for me in ministry when I learned to ask a key question about advising others:  Is it more wrong to allow what God prohibits, or to prohibit what God allows?  This is actually a trick question because both alternatives are equally wrong.  Either alternative would put me in the position of the Lawgiver.  God allows only himself the prerogative to determine holy standards."

Bryan Chapell

How Will I Use This Day?

Robert Murray M'Cheyne's diary entry for February 2, 1832 read as follows:

"Not a trait worth remembering and yet these 4 & 20 hours must be accounted for."

How often could it be said of my days that there was "not a trait worth remembering," and even so, how often do I fail to recognize that each day is entrusted to me by the Lord and I am accountable to him as to how I have used it?  May this and all my days be lived fully to his glory!

Francis Chan on Prayer

During lunchtime today I watched the live stream of Francis Chan's message on prayer at the Desiring God Pastors' Conference.  Many great points were made as Chan challenged us to consider "Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love."

Of all the wonderful points he made though, I was most impacted and convicted by a question he posed.  He essentially asked, "If I were to look at a transcript of your prayers for the last month, what one thing would it be that I'd see that you kept asking for?"

Quite honestly, it hasn't always been this way in the past, but it is my hope and prayer that from this point forward I could answer this question with the words of David in Psalm 27:4: "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple."

What an amazingly merciful gift it is that God offers this opportunity to us.  And what a tragic thing that we so commonly neglect it.

Free Audiobook - Adopted for Life

Each month Christianaudio.com offers a premium audiobook for free download.  This month's selection is Russell Moore's Adopted for Life.  Click here to take advantage of this wonderful offer.

You can also click here to gain access to many other free resources from christianaudio.com.