Blogging Theologically

Theology for real life

Links I like (7/27)

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Links I like

Church, Slow Down The Video Crew

Jeff Medders:

Everyone loves a good story of redemption. Our joy swells when we hear how someone came to believe in Jesus. Add some candid footage, spacey guitar riffs, and it’s gold. I love it. I’m sure you do too. But I have one bit of counsel when it comes to the video crew.

Slow them down.

Fresh sprouted stories come with a higher risk profile. It could derail before you know it. The story could be dead by next year. I’ve seen it firsthand.

Three Problems with the Claim, “God Is Like a Mountain”

JD Greear:

The point is pretty clear. We’re the blind men groping in the dark, and God is the elephant. We’ve got to stop being so narrow-minded and dogmatic and open up our minds a little bit.

Respectfully, as the saying goes, “It’s good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out.” I worry that many of the well-intentioned “wise” of our day may have loosened the hinges on their mind a little too much.

Study Guide for The Imperfect Disciple

Go download a copy of this study guide, and a copy of The Imperfect Disciple if you haven’t already.

C.S. Lewis Warned Us About Non-Denominationalism

Aaron Earls:

While most branches of American Christianity are shrinking, one strand continues to grow—non-denominationalism. But is that the most healthy situation for the faith?

According to a newly released Gallup poll, the percentage of Americans who identify with a Protestant denomination has fallen 20 percentage points in just 16 years, from 50 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2016.

Loneliness is Killing us

David Murray:

We all know loneliness is not a good thing. At the very beginning, God told us that it is not good to be alone (Gen. 2:18). But perhaps it is beyond “not good,” – harmful, detrimental even.

That’s what Billy Baker from the Boston Globe discovered as he researched the effects of loneliness in his article, The biggest threat facing middle-age men isn’t smoking or obesity. It’s loneliness.

Two Views a Pastor Must Have

Casey Lewis:

What do all businesses, schools, non-profits, and churches have in common? They all have leaders. Leaders are important. They are the ones who determine the vision and set the direction for the future. They are also the ones making sure everyone is equipped to play their part in the organization. Without leaders, organizations flail. They meander around until they disappear. Good leaders are important.

A key point we miss in defending the faith

A favorite from the archives:

One of the classic texts for apologetics is 1 Peter 3:15, where we read that we should always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you”. Certainly this is true, but we’re missing something kind of important. I was reminded of this afresh as we studied this text together at church on Sunday, and our local missions pastor made an important point:

The primary action in this text is not to make a defense, but to honor Christ in our hearts. Remember, the verse in full reads, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (emphasis added).

Links I like (7/25)

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Links I like

Superhero movie trailers from SDCC 2017

This past comic book fans, gamers, and media enthusiasts from around the world convened in San Diego for Comic Con, where a couple of pretty rad new movie trailers were released:

First, Justice League:

Second, Thor: Ragnarok:

As far as trailers are concerned, both are excellent. Hopefully the movies will be, too.

The One Place Where All Leadership Principles Fall Apart

Michael Kelley:

Long before Hal Moore embodied this and certainly before the principle was recorded in book form or dramatized in film, Jesus showed us the same philosophy. Consider if you would the parting words of the Son of God before He ascended into heaven, the words we now call the Great Commission.

From Selling Drugs to Selling Bibles

Brandon Smith:

If I told you this show was loosely based on my life story, you wouldn’t believe it. And you shouldn’t—mine isn’t near as eventful. Ten years ago, though, I was selling marijuana and prescription pills. My client base was mostly other 20-something guys like myself. I’d make deals that were $30 here, $5 there. And I wasn’t doing so for some faux-altruistic cause like battling medical bills or trying to feed my family. There were no police standoffs or territorial drug wars; I just liked making a little extra money. Becoming a two-bit drug dealer in my neighborhood wasn’t too difficult, either.

The Gospel is Like an Old Hymn

Jared Wilson:

The gospel is an old hymn. The gospel is sheet music printed in antiquarian typeface on a yellowed page in a dusty book. It’s the “old, old story” and the “old rugged cross.” It is four verses–and please don’t skip the third verse to expedite the invitation! The gospel is an invitation to a bygone time that feels new again, even in our age of ever-dawning progress and modernity. The gospel gets “dug up” and “trotted out” and sung ironically and apologized for by leaders too clever for their own good. But then it lands in the ears of those led as sweetly familiar, warms their souls like celestial comfort food, and it always gets sung louder than those Jesus-is-my-boyfriend ditties.

A Brief History of the Altar Call

Thomas Kidd:

By the mid-20th century, altar calls had become a staple of evangelical and Baptist life in America, especially in the South. Many evangelical and Reformed-leaning churches in recent years have stopped doing altar calls, for a variety of reasons. Critics of altar calls have pointed out that they have no strong biblical basis, and that they were part of the “New Measures” introduced by Charles Finney in the later stages of the Second Great Awakening.

When Serving The Local Church Isn’t Fun

Bethany Mathis:

I am going to be very honest here: I’m not a fan of serving in the children’s ministry. I dislike that I miss the service. I leave worn out and with a renewed thankfulness I didn’t choose to go into education like I had planned! God bless the women and men who teach our little ones every day!

The only truly good sermon you will ever hear

A favorite from the archives:

Truly, there is no worse sermon than one that misses Jesus. By that, I don’t mean ham-fisted attempts to force him into the message, or a tacked-on memorized gospel presentation at the end of the message. What I mean is to always show the connection to Christ.

God’s truly true Word

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An open Bible being read

If there’s one thing that makes people uncomfortable, it’s the idea that the Bible is actually true. And not just sort of true, or true in parts—like, true as far as spiritual realities, but not about anything else—but really true.

Truly true, if you will.

(And if I still had comments on the blog, I’m sure there’d be many a straw man coming my way right about now.)

What you and I need to know is that there are good reasons to believe this is true, this doctrine which goes by the name “inerrancy”. Christians, historically, have believed that the Bible is free from error of any kind. That no falsehood or deceit can be found in its pages. Every word is inspired by God.

It is truly true.

On a practical level, the “truly true”-ness of Scripture helps us to read, study, and live it as God meant for us to:

  • It reminds us that context matters. Time, place and culture play a huge role in understanding exactly what was going on, as well as the purpose of why the books were written in the first place. If we ignore a text’s context, we risk misapplying it and injuring ourselves and those around us.
  • It demands we honor literary devices and genres. We always read poetry as poetry, history as history and so on. The most ridiculous arguments against the Bible’s trustworthiness come from literalistic readings; that is, ignoring literary devices like phenomenological language, meaning descriptions of natural events as they appear to the human eye (think sunrise and sunset).
  • It protects us from overturning Scripture in favor of modern science and culture. We should respect scientific study, of course. But Scripture holds our interpretation and acceptance of scientific findings in check, accepting what aligns with the Bible’s testimony, rejecting what does not, and being silent where silence is required.

This is a very simple rendering of this doctrine, of course. And it doesn’t stand alone. Inerrancy rests in God’s inspiration of Scripture, his preservation of Scripture, and in Scripture’s authority itself. All of these work together to help us understand the nature of Scripture. Does it make people uncomfortable? Sure. But if the Scriptures contain the good news we say it does, let’s never be afraid to call it what it is. God’s Word is true. In everything it teaches, it is always true. And that is great news for the us all.

When you’re feeling frustrated with your growth in holiness, remember this

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Sunset

When I was a young boy, I was often frustrated when I couldn’t figure out how to do something right the first time. Doesn’t matter if it was drawing, writing, or creating something delicious in my kitchen, I always wanted it to be right from day one. However, it rarely went that well. Instead, I would try something and fail. Then fail again. And again. And so on. Eventually, I started to learn that developing skills requires that. It takes time. Failing forward, as some might say.

But when I first became a Christian, I found myself frustrated again, for the same reasons. Although I (sort of) knew better, I kept thinking I should be growing as a believer faster. Prayer should be a snap. Bible reading, no problem. Witnessing, easy-peasy. Go forth, sin no more, and enjoy every day like it was a Friday.

But it didn’t work that way either. Instead, I slowly came to realize, growing in holiness took time, too. JC Ryle put it well in his book, Holiness:

Gradual growth in grace, growth in knowledge, growth in faith, growth in love, growth in holiness, growth in humility, growth in spiritual-mindedness—all this I see clearly taught and urged in Scripture, and clearly exemplified in the lives of many of God’s saints. But sudden, instantaneous leaps from conversion to consecration I fail to see in the Bible.

If you’ve been discouraged at your progress in the faith, be of good cheer. You are not alone. You may not see the kind of exponential growth you may hope for, but, by God’s grace, you are still seeing growth. And no matter how gradual that growth may be, you are becoming more like Christ, and every step in Christlikeness is still cause for celebration.

Weekend reading (7/22)

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Weekend Reading

Why Our Church Only Has a $300 Advertising Budget and I Celebrate That

Mike Leake:

I continue to be amazed at the growth in our children’s and youth ministry. We shattered our churches previous records for VBS this year with 185 unique children coming through our doors. (Take that word “unique” however you want). We continue to see around 150 kids on Wednesday evenings as well. One of the reasons I am amazed to see this is that we do zero advertising for our children’s and youth ministry. And I intend to keep it this way.

Don’t Hide Behind a Smiling Emoji

Kristen Hatton:

Fun emojis and perfect social media presences have a way of convincing us everyone else is doing great and fully succeeding in life, love, and happiness. Of course, this is rarely the case. But when we compare our actual reality to others’ online reality, we feel worse about ourselves, and we strive all the harder to keep up.

You Have No Heart

Joshua Jenkins:

“You have no heart! You are heartless!”

These are phrases we often hear in response to someone who has just done or said something we consider to be quite inhumane or inconsiderate of another human being. The phrase is meant to convey the idea that the human heart is loving, kind, compassionate, and considerate. So, if someone acts in a way that is contrary to those things, they are considered to be without a heart.

The 5 C’s of Preaching

Jared Wilson:

How do you know you’re preaching a Christian sermon and not simply giving a religious or spiritual lecture?

While I think gospel-centered expository proclamation is the best approach to fulfilling the biblical call to preach, this exercise could probably use some more filling out. And since preachers like alliteration and lists, I thought I might suggest a checklist reflecting what I propose to be the irreducible complexity of true Christian preaching. Next time you’re preparing a sermon, maybe keep these questions in mind. Or, after the next time you preach, share this list with your fellow elders or another team of trusted advisers and ask them to apply the questions to your delivered message.

3 Things You Might Be Mistaking for Love

Michael Kelley:

I’m not arguing that we need to discontinue using the word. I am arguing, however, that the context in which we use it might show us what we really believe love is. And to go further, it’s likely, given our prolific use of the word, that we might have at best a misunderstanding and at worst a dilution of what “love” actually means.

Remember the Rural: Does Modern Church Planting Overemphasize the City?

Michael Kruger:

Most church planters, it seems, want to go urban, not rural. There are many positives about this focus on cities. Certainly, and most obviously, cities are filled with lots of people, and for that reason alone make a good target for church plants. There are also strategic considerations: targeting leaders and influencers—many of whom are located in major cities—makes a lot of sense.

Changing opinions on abortion when legislation isn’t an option

A favorite from the archives:

In the hospitals where our children took their first breaths, innumerable were (and are) never given the chance to take theirs. Christians and all Canadians who are opposed to abortion have no ability to challenge our government to reconsider. We are forced to live with death. We might not be happy about it. We might accompany a small group of people and hold up a sign, but we also recognize that doing so won’t change the fact that there’s (currently) nothing we can do to change the legal situation.

So where does that leave us?

Links I like (7/20)

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Links I like

Doers and Delegators

Tim Challies:

Successful Christian churches, ministries, businesses, and organizations are dependent upon people who are willing to serve. They thrive when people humble themselves to carry out whatever tasks need to be done. The high-powered lawyer and the struggling small business owner unite when they step into the church and serve shoulder-to-shoulder to brew the coffee and mop the floors. Their actions prove them to be leaders in godly character.

We need this kind of leadership, this leading by doing. No church or other organization can last long without it. We are right to honor those who exemplify it.

Learning to Talk About Disability

Lucy Crabtree:

We, as a Church, are just now learning to talk about disability, and like children with limited vocabularies, we sometimes stumble over our words. When children do it, it’s adorable. Like when my nephew started calling me Tutu instead of Auntie Lu, as I originally dubbed myself. But when we are clumsy with our words in discussions about disability, the stakes are much higher. What we say or write can either build up the Church by drawing in a person with a disability or weaken our unity by pushing someone (or their family) with a disability away. Even when we intend to be kind, our inexperience may lead us to say things that actually do more harm than good.

While preparing that sermon or drafting that article, here are four things to keep in mind when talking about disability.

Brother Must Trump Boss

Eric Geiger:

When it comes to issues of integrity, the family of God must trump an org chart. On issues of character, being a brother must weigh more than being or not being the boss. When it comes to integrity, the commands in Scripture must trump the channels of communication in an organization.

Bosses who are in sin need brothers to confront them.

Yes, it is risky. To initiate the awkward conversation feels like you are putting friendship and even more on the line.

Pray for Forgetfulness

Brandon Freeman:

There is a kind of forgetfulness, however, that should be pursued and prayed for: self-forgetfulness. This is not to say that any self-reflection before, during, or after the sermon is to be completely avoided. In fact, sermon reviews done well can be extremely beneficial and humbling. It is to say though that the most God-honoring, people-serving preaching is preaching absorbed with God and Bible-expounded truth, not the preacher himself.

Insecure and the Need for More Authentic Friendships

This was an interesting piece by Kathryn Freeman.

4 Essentials for Spiritual Maturity

R.Kent Hughes:

When the New Testament addresses spiritual maturity, it uses the common Greek word teleios, which means “perfect” or “complete.” When it is applied to Christian growth, it indicates spiritual maturity in contrast to childlike immaturity as, for example, in this command from Paul: “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature (teleioi).” (1 Cor. 14:20; see also Heb.5:13–6:1). Sometimes it indicates perfection, as in Jesus’ summary command in the Sermon on the Mount: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect” (Matt.5:48). Spiritually, it always references solid, biblically informed understanding and conduct in Christ—spiritual adulthood.

It’s not home anymore

A favorite from the archives:

We’d spent the last five years in that townhouse. Like London, it wasn’t perfect, but it was home (or at least as close to it as either of us have ever felt). It was where we landed after selling our home. Where we waited for God to send us to wherever we thought we were supposed to go. We brought Hudson home to this house. It was the only one he and Hannah ever really knew. Where Abigail lost her first tooth. Where we saw God work through us and in us in some pretty cool (and often painful) ways.

We laughed, we fought, we told silly stories, we cried…

Sure, we made fun of it a lot. Even so, it was home.

Then, in an instant, it wasn’t.

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