Blogging Theologically

Books, Theology, and Gospel-Centered Living

Church

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Links I like (1/25)

We Can’t Save Our Kids

Jamie Ivey:

As a parent, I sometimes fall into that trap of scaring my children into salvation. I mean, what Christian parent doesn’t want their children to follow Jesus?  We all do, and if we’re honest we would save them if we could. But we can’t. As much as I want to make my children good disciples of Jesus, the truth is that I can’t. Only God can call their names. I can’t get them on the guest list, or have them say enough of the right words, or even have them pray a prayer that will get them salvation. It’s out of my hands

How Can I Leave My Church Well?

Tim Challies:

If God is Not In Control of Your Pain

Kris Sinclair:

Although there isn’t a book, sermon, or blog post that can single-handedly address each of these issues, I believe there is a certain sentence that applies to any kind of pain and suffering. There are seven words that, when viewed correctly through the lens of Scripture, can bring hope, peace, and purpose to any situation, no matter how severe. For the terminally ill cancer patient, for the lonely single mother, for the bullied child and the heartbroken couple, for the Syrian refugee and the paraplegic, you should know: God is in control of your pain.

The Time I Went Under Church Discipline

Jeff Medders:

Church discipline isn’t just the final stage we often think of—removing from membership, fellowship, and so on. I went under church discipline in the booth of The Nook Cafe. It didn’t go all the way to the end because my brothers helped me. Our Lord loved me.

How Do Churches End Up with Domineering Bullies for Pastors?

Sam Allberry:

We are, sadly, familiar with pastors having to leave the ministry because of sexual impropriety. These incidents seem to occur with such frequency as to be barely newsworthy to a watching world.

But another, equally sad trend has developed in recent years: Pastors having to leave for bullying.

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Links I like (3/27)

Links I like (2018 edition)

Podcast: On the latest episode of The Hero of the Story, Brian and I discuss gospel-motivated generosity, what it is and what it isn’t, from 2 Corinthians 8-9. This was a fun and challenging episode for us. I hope you’ll check it out.

What Counts as a “Gospel Issue?”

Tim Challies:

As I searched my library and Google Ngram Viewer, I found the phrase “gospel issue” has been used quite often over time, but that its meaning has shifted. In the past, it was used in at least four ways: 1) Authors would teach how the gospel issues in obedience (e.g. “Unless the gospel issues in new lifestyle it means very little.”); 2) periodicals would sometimes announce a gospel issue dealing with the gospel of Jesus Christ; 3) magazines would release a gospel issue focused on gospel music; 4) missionaries would tell how the message of the gospel issues forth through their labor (e.g. “From hence may the gospel issue and pervade all India.”).

Yet none of those quite captures how it is used today, and that always makes me just a tad cautious. I want to be careful adding new terms to our collective lexicon, and especially when we are assigning them a lot of importance (e.g. “gospel-centered”).

Deep Darkness Before Dawn

Trevin Wax:

The prophetic books of the Old Testament don’t always lend themselves to easy application. When I preach, I try to set these ancient prophecies in context, explain their meaning, and show how some have already been fulfilled in Christ.

The prophets are illuminating, yes. But immediately applicable? Not always . . . unless we broaden our view of application and consider the story behind the symbols.

A World to Work and Watch

Rachel Rose:

Last year, my husband and I were sent on a trip to the Holy Land. It felt surreal to walk along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, knowing that Jesus might have walked in the same spot a few thousand years ago. I found myself envisioning Jesus everywhere we went, trying to figure out what it would have been like to be there with Him or to know what He was thinking when He visited those places. The landscapes of Israel are absolutely breathtaking. Did Jesus also find the Sea of Galilee beautiful? Or did He view it in a utilitarian way, to be used for survival, ministry, and miracles?

U.S. Church Attendance May be Declining, But Not Among Evangelicals

Aaron Earls:

Many have spoken as if evangelicals are disappearing from the American religious landscape. According to analysis of the data from the General Social Survey, however, the share of Americans who attend an evangelical Protestant church has been consistent for the past 20 years.

It’s Time to Reckon with Celebrity Power

Andy Crouch:

Celebrities embody who we aspire to become and invite us—so it seems—into the inner circle of their lives. We are their kitchen cabinet, we are so close to being in their Inner Ring. They are so disarmingly transparent with us. They tell us so much of the truth. They live in our own imaginations, their faces more familiar to us than our neighbors’ or even some of those we call, loosely, in the American way, our friends. They inspire us, ordinary in their extraordinariness, assuring us that they are people like us and thus that we can be people like them. Above all, they beckon us to come closer.

The Gospel From Womb to Tomb

David Murray:

Every age and stage of life has its own special trials and temptations. The young are called to flee youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22). The middle-aged are warned about the choking cares of this life (Mark 4:19).

Even seniors have their own age-specific temptations.

Seven words you should never say to creatives

A favorite from the archives:

For years, I worked as a graphic designer. And even though I stopped working as one almost eight years ago, I still work with graphic designers. And I work with writers and videographers. And the one thing I learned very early on was there are some things you should just never, ever say to any sort of creative individual.

If you say, for example, “This is what you’re giving me? I could’ve done that,” you’re likely not going to have a good day. And the person working for you will no longer be there within three months. But there are worse, although most are too crass to publish on a Christian blog. However, among the worst things you can say to any sort of creative individual are the following seven words.

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Links I like (3/20)

Links I like (2018 edition)

Podcast: On The Hero of the Story, Brian and I are answering the question, “What do we mean by ‘gospel culture’?” This was a fun one for us to do. I hope you’ll give it a listen (and if you’d be so kind as to give us a review on iTunes, that’d be fantastic).

Don’t Title People “Pastor” If They Aren’t An Elder

This is an interesting point from Jeff Medders:

For example, if the Pastor for Counseling isn’t also an elder, then he shouldn’t be titled as a pastor. If the Worship Pastor doesn’t have the same responsibility, authority, and function as a part of the plurality of elders, then it’s a misuse of the word pastor.

There’s the ditch on the other side too. If elders don’t pastor, then they aren’t really elders. Elders pastor because they are pastors. And pastors are elders because they oversee and shepherd the flock of God.

8 Blogs You May Not Be Following But Should

I love posts like this (and not because this blog is on the list). If you’re looking for some new blogs to add to or replace in your feed, try some of these.

How Not to Read the Parables

Jared Wilson:

The parables Jesus tells in the four Gospels are peculiar kinds of stories that too many readers read very wrongly. It’s important, then, to clear up some common misconceptions about these important stories. I want to share with you what the parables are, but first, it is helpful to establish what they are not.

3 Spiritual Reasons Why You Should Take Control of Your Calendar

Michael Kelley:

For most of us, using a calendar is a necessity because of the amount of things we have going on at a given moment. If you’re a parent, compound that a few times because you’re not only keeping track of your stuff, but you’re keeping track of their stuff, too. Once upon a time parents looked forward to the day when a kid would turn 16 so they wouldn’t have to drive them to all their stuff any more; I suspect that we are getting close to the point when that sense of parental freedom comes when a child gets their own personal calendar rather than a driver’s license. That way they can keep up with all their stuff on their own.

How a Humble Evangelist Changed Christianity As We Know It

Michael S. Hamilton:

Dwight Moody’s appeal is harder to figure. Of grandfatherly mien, he was portly and genial. He preached less about sin and more about love. All the old drawings of him in the pulpit give the impression he must have been stolid and ponderous. Yet it was Moody—more than Whitefield, Finney, and Sunday put together—who was Billy Graham’s true predecessor. It was Moody whom Graham admired; Moody who, in fact, made it possible for Graham to do what he did. For “Crazy” Moody was the architect who drew up the plans and laid the foundation for 20th-century evangelicalism. Then Billy Graham took over the project and built it to dimensions beyond any of Moody’s craziest dreams. By the start of the 21st century, the Moody-Graham project had reshaped the skyline of American Christianity and had launched a new kind of ecumenical movement that reached into every corner of the globe.

Racial Reconciliation and Cultural Diversity in the SBC

JD Greear:

For those of us in the majority culture, this process has begun with  a posture of listening, not talking. The definition of a blind spot, after all, is a weakness that we don’t know that we have. Historically, the most insidious blind spots result from positions of privilege and power. If we are serious about discovering these blind spots, it means committing ourselves to uncomfortable conversations where we seek more to understand that we do to be understood.

We can work and we can wait, for Christ will reveal all in the end

A favorite from the archives:

Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you’ve read an evangelism book and agreed with what’s said, but by the time you were done, you felt less motivated than you did when you started. You felt less effective than ever. And so, you continued to feel like a failure when it comes to sharing the gospel.

So often, there’s an expectation in these books—whether spoken or unspoken—that you’re going to see immediate results. That you should be able to draw a line from someone who comes to faith in Christ to yourself. And I’m not always so sure that’s true. I agree that we should be able to point to clear fruit in our lives of our growth as disciples, which includes playing our part in making others disciples.