Blogging Theologically

Theology for real life

Links I like (8/11)

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Links I like

Today is the last day to take advantage of Zondervan Academic’s ebook sale featuring a number of great commentaries. Be sure to also consider these books from Christian Focus:

What we can learn from a controversial article

I appreciate this discussion between these three men on Gaye Clark’s unintentionally controversial article. Thabiti also shares his appreciation for Gaye’s desire to further a needed conversation, and how she responded to the criticism that came her way.

California Lawmaker Drops Controversial Proposal to Regulate Religious Colleges

This is big news for California-based religious schools.

The Spiritual Warfare of Boring Preaching

Russell Moore:

Satanic preaching is boring because the goal isn’t to engage people with preaching. It’s to leave the “desires of the flesh” alone, so that the hearers may continue in their captivity to the prince of the power of this air.

5 Ways to Lose Your Ministry

Eric Geiger:

It is deeply tragic when ministry leaders lose their ministry, when sin sidelines them for a season. Not only is it painful for the leader, but also it is painful for the people who have been impacted and influenced through their leadership. Because sin is always crouching at the door and because Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking to devour, we shouldn’t be surprised when great leaders implode. We should grieve, pray, and love, but we shouldn’t think ourselves better. In fact, here are five ways to lose our own ministries.

Celebrating Distinction

Why You Should “Wait” Before You “Go”

Mark Dance:

Most of my pastor friends are driven leaders too, which is how God designed them. The original Disciples were no different, which is why they were likely frustrated when they were called to COME, GO, and then WAIT for the Holy Spirit.

3 Ways to Steward Your Own Failure

Michael Kelley:

That hurts. And it hurts over and over again. Failure is a heavy emotional weight, but it can also be a very good teacher. Maybe, in fact, the best teacher.

Long preaching isn’t always good preaching

A favorite post of mine from 2015:

Over time, I grew less enamored with some of those preachers (or at least their preaching). As I listened, I increasingly realized that the guys that seemed to be able to get up and had little more than a post-it for notes weren’t actually saying much of anything. They were using a great many words to say very little.

least-to-say (1)

Links I like (7/15)

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Links I like

Where Evangelicals Stand on Transgender Morality

Interesting findings from LifeWay Research.

Jesus is a Better Advocate Than I Am

Michael Kelley:

It’s amazing how deeply how compulsion at self-justification runs, and it comes out in big and small ways. It’s that tendency that keeps me from truly listening to what someone else is saying because I’m trying to think of how I will justify my place in the conversation with my next retort. It comes out when I know that I’ve sinned against another, and yet instead of truly and humbly apologizing and asking for forgiveness, I look for the loophole to slip in just to make sure the person on the other side knows he or she has something to be sorry for too, or perhaps that my actions were a result of their actions first. It appears when even before we don’t accomplish something we’ve set out to do we are already preparing the mental reasons why we failed.

Ten Key Questions for Sermon Preparation

Darryl Dash:

There are many ways to prepare a sermon. When preparing a sermon on a passage of Scripture, though, I’ve found that there are ten questions that every preacher must answer. Not every answer will show up in the sermon, but every answer is important to the shape that the sermon takes.

Be a Church With Small Groups, Not a Church of Small Groups

Sam Allberry challenges the conventional wisdom. Whether you agree or not, it’s worth reading:

Many churches run some kind of small-group ministry. Groups of this sort of size (typically ten or so believers) tend to be one of the best contexts for discussion of Scripture, and for sharing needs for support and prayer. During a main Sunday gathering there might not be the same kind of opportunity to interact at this level. Small groups tend to be where some of the most vital “one another” ministry takes place. Relationships are deepened, insights are shared, and problems and difficulties in life are discussed and addressed.

Because of all this, it can be easy for such a group to become the main focus of its members’ spiritual lives. The group becomes, in effect, church.

While this is understandable, it is not desirable.

He’s a Good Father, Even in Our Suffering

Garrett Kell:

While the problem of suffering and evil cannot be resolved in this brief piece (or in any of the massive volumes that have attempted to do so), I want to share a few truths I was reminded of as I held my son during his introduction to the pain of our world.

3 Warning Signs of an Exaggerated Resume

Pay attention, résumé writers.

The Evangelical Gender Crack-Up

Jake Meador:

Though it (rightly) hasn’t been discussed as much as the actual trinitarian issues themselves, the current trinitarian debate does suggest some interesting things about how evangelicals are beginning to approach questions of gender. The consensus that has existed amongst most conservative evangelicals for some time is beginning to fracture—and in more than one direction.

Links I like (7/07)

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Links I like

Kindle deals for Christian readers

Lots of books on sale, starting with a number of titles from Zondervan on theology (note: some are more heavily academic than others):

Showing the fruit of the Spirit online

Is Solomon the Hero of the Song of Songs?

Iain Duguid:

Many fine commentators think so, both among those who follow the allegorical or typological model and among those who follow the literal model. The opening superscription might seem to point clearly in that direction. [1] Isn’t the greatest Davidic king the ideal person to speak about love and marriage, and thus foreshadow Christ? But that identification seems difficult to reconcile with the historical Solomon that we know from the rest of the Bible—a famous collector of a thousand wives and concubines (1 Kings 11:3). He hardly seems like a model of an exclusive, lifelong, “till death do us part” marriage relationship, the kind extolled in the Song!

Assisted suicide: a quadriplegic’s perspective

Joni Eareckson Tada:

As a quadriplegic who has been married for thirty-four years, I can say for certain that my husband, Ken, and I have a deep and satisfying relationship, mostly because of—not in spite of—my severe disability. It teaches us patience and self-sacrifice, endurance, respect and joy, even when—and especially when—times are hard. The Bible says God’s power shows up best in weakness, so any marriage that has a disability can potentially be a powerful blessing to both spouses (2 Cor. 12:9).

Regardless of the context, the taking of one’s own life or enabling a loved one with a disability to do so is never the answer. All life is created in the image of God and worth our greatest efforts to preserve and protect, and He alone is the One who should order the length of our days.

21 Thoughts on Preaching

Jared Wilson shares “some reflections, musings, and bits of advice on the noble task of preaching the Word of God.”

#HowIGotFired

This is really funny:

It Can Wait: Our Impatient World Needs Our Patience

Aaron Earls:

Patience is a virtue with which we should be familiar. It is a fruit of the Spirit and a character trait we often want others to display toward us. But have Christians so adopted the cultural demand for now that we are no longer seeking to live out the characteristic of a Spirit-filled life?

You Can’t Sell What Isn’t Yours

Mike Leake:

Even the uncomfortable truths about holiness and forsaking the darling sins of our culture. We are not the owners of the Bible’s truth. It belongs to Jesus Christ; Truth incarnate. We cannot sell what is not ours. We cannot pretend like the Scriptures are ours to bend and twist to suit our pleasures. This goes for not bending truth for culture and it also means we cannot bend the truth to suit ourselves. We must surrender and submit to the Word even when it rebukes us.

Weekend reading (7/02)

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Weekend Reading at Blogging Theologically

Happy long weekend, Canadian and American readers! The Armstrong army is using the time to enjoy a little getaway in a land not our own, hang out with some friends and waiting expectantly for people to start wearing flag pants. Now, on to some reading:

My first five years in ministry

Matt Svoboda shares a few lessons he’s learned since entering vocational ministry.

Ask Jesus into Your Heart

I learned something new in this article from Thomas Kidd:

The phrase “ask Jesus into your heart” is not in the Bible, although there are similar phrases there (“ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord,” Col. 2.6 KJV). So where did this prayer come from?

It turns out that Anglo-American Puritans and evangelicals in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries used the phrase “receive Christ into your heart,” or something like it, with some regularity.

The Priority of Confirming Your Call

Dave Harvey:

One of the most pressing issues in Spurgeon’s mind was the reality that many men who were pastors actually weren’t called to ministry. As Spurgeon surveyed the religious landscape of his day, he came to the conclusion that many churches were failing primarily because the men leading them weren’t called by God to be pastors.

‘Curator’: The New Line on Your Pastor’s Job Description?

Dan Darling:

In many ways, pastors and other church leaders act as gatekeepers. Church members assume their leaders are filtering out the very best kind of Christian resources and regularly making those things available. Of course, Christian content can be found in a variety of sources outside the church walls: Christian radio, the Internet, bookstores. But for the most part, church members are busy living their lives—busy with kids, careers, and finances. They depend on pastors, elders, deacons, and other mentors to be curators, to sort through the stacks of Christian content, choosing good resources and discouraging resources that confuse or distort the truth.

9 Traits of Truly Curious People

Good stuff from Barnabas Piper.

Help! I Struggle With My Pastor’s Preaching

Kyle Borg:

Unfortunately, I have sometimes heard leadership answer that question in terms of “Put up and shut up.” Perhaps not that bold but certainly in that spirit. Now, I agree with Martyn Lloyd-Jones who wrote: “I would lay it down as being axiomatic that the pew is never to dictate to, or control, the pulpit.” But the pulpit needs to reach the pew. A preacher needs to effectively communicate so far as he can with those who are directly in front of him. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if he was able to communicate with his seminary professors, a Presbytery, a former church, his fellow peers and friends, or even his mother for that matter. He needs to communicate with the pew. If that isn’t happening a gag order isn’t the answer, but the careful work of shepherding is. So how might I begin to answer that question. Here’s a few suggestions.

Do You See the Fatherless, or Are You Not Looking?

Joel Littlefield:

…orphanages are a reminder to me that there is deep-rooted corruption in our world. They remind me of the cold disregard that people have for the things which God loves and cares about most. Plain and simple, an orphanage means there are orphans inside; young boys and girls who probably have never known the love of a parent or seen much of the light of the sun. Some arrive by way of abandonment; simply unwanted by the very person who should want them most in this world. Others get there because disease plagues their homeland and before they grow up their parents were dead.

Links I like (7/01)

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Links I like

Welcome to July! Today is Canada Day in my home and native land. Here are a few facts you might enjoy about us on this momentous day, the 34th anniversary of the establishment of our constitution (and our 149th year as a semi-independent nation). In honor of the day, enjoy our national anthem:

Book lovers, you may find something interesting in Amazon’s monthly Kindle deals, which features hundreds of titles across all genres for $3.99 or less. Be sure to also check out Christian Audio for their free audiobook of the month, and the free resource for Logos users.

Why I Am Not Egalitarian

Tim Challies shares his perspective:

I am not egalitarian and never have been, but that is not to say that I have not been challenged by the strengths of the position or the excesses of some definitions of complementarianism. I have carefully examined what I believe about manhood and womanhood. I have read widely and, as much as possible, with an open mind and open Bible. I have worked carefully through the relevant biblical texts. As I have done all of this, I have become more and more persuaded by the complementarian position but also more and more concerned about those who misuse or full-out abuse it. In that way I have not only had to define myself as complementarian but to define what kind of complementarian I am.

Gather with All Ages

Ryan Higginbottom:

A decade ago, my wife and I moved to a new city. We were three years into our marriage and didn’t yet have children.

After months of visiting, we decided to attend a large Bible church and wanted to get involved in Sunday school. We picked a class, asked directions in the lobby, and found the classroom.

God says “Let’s Start Over”

David Murray:

Three times in two verses, the Lord says, “I will betroth you to me.” Some commentators believe that this reflects the involvement and commitment of each Person of the Godhead in this betrothal. In other words, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are each saying, “I will betroth you to me.” It is, however, more likely that the threefold repetition of “I will betroth you” is for emphasis. It emphasizes the eagerness of the Lord to unite with those who have divorced Him and are now separated from Him. Israel did the separating, but God does the uniting.

10 Pointers for Preaching a Touchy Issue

Peter Mead shares some sound advice.

A Different Kind of Hypocrite

Mike Leake:

You’ve likely heard it said that Christians are hypocrites. It’s such a common thing to hear that I’ve got a neat little joke that gets a laugh about every time. If someone objects to coming to church because it is “full of hypocrites”, I usually tell them, “Don’t worry, we’ve got room for one more.” This little quip isn’t original with me. But I’ve used it because it is an effective way of saying we are all hypocrites in some way. Yet, there is a way in which a Christian is a different kind of hypocrite from an unbeliever.

Why Can’t We Christians Laugh Anymore?

Leslie Leyland Fields:

What’s happening to us? We seem to have lost not only our sense of tolerance and civility, but worse, our sense of humor. When I first noticed the phenomenon, I thought we Christians were creating our own lonely dystopia, but now I think we’ve simply joined the larger culture’s misery. There’s little mystery why we’re so unhappy. We’re all caught up in a particularly vicious election cycle. We’re depressed by mass shootings and gun violence. Terrorism can strike at any time. Heat waves and wildfires are raging, the environment is degrading, and a hundred other ills unfold before us every day in the media.

Links I like (6/15)

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Links I like

Kindle deals for Christian readers

Peace at Wit’s End

Barnabas Piper:

When we arrive at wit’s end we can be sure of one thing: we have exhausted every means of solving a problem that we know. We could not turn the business around. We could not restore our marriage. We could not save that loved one’s soul. We could not right the ship of a sinking church. We could not fix whatever it was despite all our efforts. It is a helpless feeling.

It is called ‘wit’s end” because every ounce of wit and wisdom we hold has been poured out. Life has out witted us. Sin has out witted us. It is beyond our capacity to resolve or solve.

Leadership Lessons from Billy Graham

Kevin DeYoung shares some insights from Grant Wacker’s new book on Billy Graham.

Podcasts Have Commoditized Preaching: How Does This Affect the Local Church?

Chris Martin:

Whether we like it or not, the Word of God preached has been commoditized. The Christian does not need to go to his or her local church in order to hear the Bible preached anymore. This is a blessing in one sense because we have the opportunity to listen to the preaching of pastors around the world or listen to our pastor’s preaching when we’re away from home. However, the commoditization comes with many negative effects, namely, that many Christians feel they can skip the worship service and listen to a podcast later on the way to work the next day.

This is the reality, however much we love it or resent it. The question is this: “How do we adapt to it?”

Even Grace Can Lead to Legalism

Trillia Newbell:

We know that it is by grace that we are saved — it is a free gift of God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8–10).

As you taste the preciousness of this gift of salvation by grace alone — knowing that you are completely undeserving — you want everyone to taste and savor this truth, too.

Southern Baptists and the Confederate Flag

Russell Moore:

Like James Merritt, I’m a descendant of Confederate veterans too. But my family history is more complicated than just that. I’m a part of another family now, a bigger family that spans heaven and earth, a people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language. The gospel frees us from scrapping for our “heritage” at the expense of others. The gospel frees us, as the Bible says, to “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Rom. 14:19). The gospel calls us to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). What hurts one part of the Body hurts us all.

Why Knowing Your Flock is Critical for Meaningful Preaching

Jared Wilson:

The ministry of preaching cannot be divorced from the ministry of soul care; in fact, preaching is actually an extension of soul care. There are a host of reasons why it is important for pastors who want to preach meaningfully to know their flocks as well as they can, but here are three of the most important.

Greater Threat to the Church: From the Outside or Inside?

Collin Hansen:

Throughout church history, external pressure has exacerbated internal divisions. That’s why we’re tempted to confuse the source of our suffering. We think the world’s opposition means we’ve done or believed something wrong. Not necessarily. In the New Testament, internal divisions are common and external opposition is normative. We’re told to seek peace in the church, not with the world. Only Jesus brings perfect justice and peace when he returns to rule (Rev. 22:12).

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