In My Opinion

Re:Following Me

2010-03-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

I noticed today that 180 people visited this blog this week, and I feel bad because I have not written since October 2009. This is because I have been busy with family stuff and Village Church. If you would like to follow me in any way search for me on Twitter, and see the links below.

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Thanks!

Where the Wild Things Aren’t

2009-10-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to see Where the Wild Things Are. It was not a great a movie. It wasn't even that good in my opinion. At any rate while I was watching it I thought deeply on the themes of kids, imaginations, and the existence of evil. Today I read this article from The Gospel Coalition blog about how these stories help kids connect to the gospel.

This past Saturday I took my three oldest sons to see the movie Where the Wild Things Are. Some Christians are all exercised about the fact that the movie might be too frightening for children. They’re wrong. The movie is not a great one, but that’s not the reason why. As a matter of fact, Where the Wild Things Are fails because it’s not scary enough for your kids.
And there’s something there Chrisians can learn about children, horror, and the gospel.
From the time my sons were babies I’ve read to them the Maurice Sendack classic picture book. They love it, and so do I. They’d sit attentively through Goodnight Moon, but they’d squeal “Let the wild rumpus start!” whenever we’d journey with Max to the place of the wild things.
Children, it turns out, aren’t as naive about evil as we assume they are. Children of every culture, and in every place, seem to have a built-in craving for monsters and dragons and “wild things.” The Maurice Sendak book appeals to kids because it tells them something about what they intuitively know is true. The world around them is scary. There’s a wildness out there. The Sendak book shows the terror of a little boy who is frightened by his own lack of self-control, and who conquers it through self-control, by becoming king of all the wild things.
The Sendak book, with its muted words but fantastic drawings, achieves this sense of wonder and wildness. The movie doesn’t. That’s because the movie tames the wild things too much. It’s not that they’re too scary for children. It’s that they’re not believable as scary. The dialogue sounds like it was lifted from an old episode of Thirtysomething, as the beasts talk through their psychodramas and jealousies and interpersonal offenses with one another. Kids will be entertained because the special effects are good. But they won’t “get it” deep inside like they do the book.
I’m amazed though by the way some Christians react to things like this. They furrow their brow because the Max character screams at this mother, and bites her, even though this is hardly glorified in the movie. They wag their heads at how “dark” the idea of this wild world is. Of course it is “dark.” The universe is dark; that’s why we need the Light of Galilee.
Where the Wild Things Are isn’t going to be a classic movie the way it is a classic book. But the Christian discomfort with wildness will be with us for a while. And it’s the reason too many of our children find Maurice Sendak more realistic than Sunday school.
Too many of our Bible study curricula for children declaw the Bible, excising all the snakes and dragons and wildness. We reduce the Bible to a set of ethical guidelines and a text on how gentle and kind Jesus is. The problem is, our kids know there are monsters out there. God put that awareness in them. They’re looking for a sheep-herding dragon-slayer, the One who can put all the wild things under His feet.
Your kids might be bored by the Wild Things movie. They won’t be bored by the Wild Things book. It’s their story, and mine. But read them the story of Max and his monsters, and then show them the Story they were knit together to love.
And let the wild rumpus start.
Dr. Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. He also serves as a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church.

"Is Everything Sad going to Come Untrue"?

2009-09-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got to preach something that inspires me every time I have the privilege to study, think and then speak about: the hope Jesus offers the world in the face of its pain. Let me share some of those thoughts that seemed to challenge and encourage many people yesterday.

One of the most profound resources Christianity offers the world is its unique message of hope. Unlike Secularist theory, that there is nothing beyond death or history, nor like some Eastern mysticism which speaks of our individuality being swallowed up in the All-Soul, or even the religions that speak of a consolation in Paradise. The hope Jesus offers is different. Its unique. That God is one day going to reverse the pain, and more than consolation he is going to bring about restoration.

He is one day going to take the pain, death, drowning, loneliness, hurt, doubt, and fear of our lives, and will reverse it all. Unlike those who perpetrate a prosperity gospel the Bible never says we will always be happy, protected, healthy and wise. The Bible says that those things are not necessarily God's ideal for us, but that when that is our experience we are to take comfort in the fact that they are happening under the sovereignty and lordship of Jesus. He is in control. The Lamb is on the throne (Rev. 5).

In the final book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, the hobbit Samwise Gamgee sees that Gandalf the Wizard is not dead when he thought he was, and he says to him "Your alive! Is everything sad going to come untrue?" Its a great question. A profound one. And the answer Christianity gives to that question is “Yes!" God is going make everything sad come untrue. One day he will wipe the tear from our eyes, there will be no more pain, sickness, sadness, or death (Rev. 21.4).

But more than just reversal of fortunes the Bible speaks to a deeper mystery here. The death and resurrection of Jesus points to a profound reality: that the eventual glory of that day of reversal, and the eternal experience of those who trust in Christ will somehow be greater for having once experienced brokeness and lostness in this life. "For the sufferings of this present time" Paul says "are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom. 8.18). The hurt, pain, and suffering we face will somehow be put into context in the new creation and make sense in a way which we cannot right now even fathom.

My wife often has bad dreams about me, in fact she informed me this morning that she had another one last night. Sometimes, in the dream, I get hurt, or even die. She experience a profound sense of loss and pain. Then she wakes up and sees me sleeping beside her, and she is overwhelmed with a profound sense of relief and appreciation. When that happens she tends to appreciate me more (at least for a little while!). Why? Because her joy, and love for me as been enriched by her nightmare; it makes me all the more glorious (so to speak). This is the promise and hope Jesus offers to those who entrust their life to Him. Glory on the other side which will do more than console us about the life we never got to live, but restore us to the life we were always intended to.

All of which is why the Apostle Paul says, in 1 Thess 4, that though we mourn in this life, we do not Mourn like those who have not hope. It is a different kind of mourning, a cruciform mourning with anticipation attached to it. An anticipation of something coming.

Which is the reason at least one lady I heard of, buried beneath a large 150-year-old Oak Tree in rural Louisiana, has only one word carved on her tombstone: "Waiting."

That is the difference Jesus makes.

Discipleship of the Mind

2009-08-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12.2)

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12.30)

If we want to reach and change the world we must reach their minds. Not many Christians are saying this today but I believe it is essential. People are what they think. And the gospel must change the heart, yes, the soul, yes, and the strength, yes - but it must change the mind or else it will not stick or change the life of a person.

In 1980, Charles Malik came to speak at Wheaton College about evangelism at the grand opening of the Billy Graham Center. He said this:

"At the heart of all the problems facing Western civilization—the manifold perversions of personal character; problems of the family; problems of economics and politics; problems of the media; problems affecting the school itself and the church itself—at the heart of the crisis in Western civilization lies the state of the mind… The true the task of the evangelical world is not only to win souls, for if you win the whole world and lose the mind of the world, you will soon discover you have not won the world. Indeed it may turn out that you have actually lost the world.”

The Gospel is not about one aspect of a persons life (i.e., their "soul") but offers a new mind as well - because it is all connected, God is redeeming it all - body, soul, mind - everything you are. He promises to do nothing less.

This is why it is so important to know, teach and hold to sound doctrine. Paul says to Titus "teach sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it" (Titus 1.9). Why is this necessary? Because we are teaching people how to think, we are constructing a new worldview for them and that is a very serious, fragile job, especially because both outside and inside the church doctrine is always under attack. It is amazing therefore that evangelicalism, while certainly being aware of the so-called 'culture war' has marginalized the mind so much. It says 'doctrine is under attack!' and yet it does not focus on discipleship of the mind. What it does focus on, often times, is a discipleship of the heart (which usually expresses itself in sentimental sermons, studies, and leaders), or the soul (which expresses itself in sentimental evangelism) or the strength (which expresses itself in an emphasis on 'works').

One could say that nothing the church does is more important than teaching doctrine, theology, and the Bible. Some say, 'No the most important thing the church does is helping others.' But, we don't know how or why to help others unless the Bible is first explained. If the Bible is clearly and properly explained, helping others will naturally flow from what our minds are being trained to do.

Mark Noll begins his excellent book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, by saying "The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind." He

goes on to rightly critique the church for abandoning the universities, the arts, and other realms of 'high' culture. But it wasn't always this way, he says. "Most of the original protestant traditions (Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican) either developed a vigorous intellectual life or worked out theological principles that could and often did sustain penetrating Christian intellectual endeavor. The Puritans, the leaders of the nineteenth-century evangelical awakenings like John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards (who Noll calls 'the greatest evangelical mind in American history with no intellectual predecessor') all held that rigorous, diligent, intellectual life was a way to glorify God, certainly not the only way, but an important way precisely because they were evangelical Christians."

One of the reasons for the shriveling of the Evangelical Mind, I submit, is, sectarianism. We are so afraid of the culture we live in, that we run from it, and dare I say, hide from it. We have trouble effecting and influencing the not-yet-Christian culture around us (being salt and light) because we are busy creating our own Christian sub-cultures among already-Christians. Schooling our children in Christian schools and home schools and protecting ourselves from the gates of Hell; meanwhile the imagery of the gates of Hell not prevailing against the church is meant to convey the fact that Hell is playing defense against the church, not the other way around!

These subcultures we create are not particularly intellectually or artistically stimulating (i.e., Christian Book stores are filled with junk, Christian music is again sentimental and one-dimensional). On the education front men such as Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson, despite the absence of formal educational credentials, establish Christian universities. This is not to say what happens at these Universities is not good, needed or used by God unto his glory, or that Christian schools or home-schooling is bad (see here for the latest numbers on home-schooling education vs. public school education) - much that happens here is great, I just think they serve as examples of how the Evangelical Mind has arrived in the present state.

What Do We Do?

We must focus on nurturing the life of the mind. Making disciples is what Jesus told us to do, which literally means "learners" - so in this context we are commissioned to teach (Mat. 28.16-20). Doctrine is important, so the church must not abandon theology and doctrine for fluffy stories and principles. We must not shoot for the lowest common denominator, while at the same time we must be sensible to non-Christians who are seeking and asking questions. But we must not be afraid to have as one of our goals to teach people how to think and what to think. Again this is what Paul calls Titus and Timothy, and every Pastor since, to do: Preach the word, teach doctrine! And when people, like someone I met recently, react negatively toward that concept (calling it 'brainwashing') we must remind them that brainwashing and indoctrination is what is inescapable - it is what rational discourse is. People convincing, and influencing others to think and act in a particular way for a particular reason. It is happening all the time, everywhere we go: every song, every billboard, magazine, classroom, book, internet site - its all unashamedly preaching a worldview; a set of assumptions, beliefs, values and convictions about the world. So why wouldn't the church unashamedly do the same? It is not bad to try to indoctrinate someone, it is the very nature of all discourse and conversation. We must embrace this and seek to train up the life of the mind in people toward the glory of God in Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we should start reading and making more prominent not only evangelical fiction (i.e., Left Behind and not only because I disagree with the theology, which I do, and the Ezekiel Option) but start listening to, reading, and engaging the amazing thinkers within evangelicalism that are developing the life of the mind and bringing credibility to the church through their scholarship: J.I. Packer, John Piper, C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Donald Bloesch, Ronald Sider, N.T. Wright, John Polkinghorne, Alvin Plantinga and these are just a few within the last 60 years or so!

I know popular and more simplistic writing is easier to consume for the masses, and I am not condemning it, but I do wonder about the future of Christian thought if Christians are exposed to this kind of writing and thought exclusively. I wonder about Christian scholarship sometimes, and whether preachers, teachers, and congregations will be able to handle such a thing after a generation has gone through a church-cycle which never developed the life of the mind, but only catered to the heart and left people unchallenged and thus unchanged.

Reflections (so far) on Revelation 1-3

2009-07-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

Last week we started a new series at DSF (the evening service at South Delta Baptist Church) - The Jesus Letters: Revelation 1-3. This section of scripture is so interesting and intriguing on so many level. I intended the series to cover one church, of the seven, per night/sermon but realized as I worked on the material that there is too much rich theology and practical instruction here; that we need to take our time on these letters. So the first message was, The Cosmic Jesus, covered Revelation 1.9-20 - the amazing presentation of Jesus Christ as the Son of Man.

Among the many things that came out of this (watch here / listen here) - was the idea that this presentation of who Jesus is (the son of man dressed in a robe, a golden sash, fiery eyes, white hair, feet of bronze, two-edged sword, face like the sun) is the presentation of who Jesus is now. That in John's situation of pressure and tribulation and persecution and temptation the Jesus of the Gospels would have been helpful: the one who change water into wine, and calmed the seas etc., - but that is not what God gives him here - that in addition to that portrait of Jesus, he, and we, need something else - So when God pulls the curtain back to reveal reality as it now is in the heavenly/spiritual we see Jesus in this amazing vision and we realize that this is Jesus Christ as he is now.

Cosmic Jesus: Continuity/Discontinuity

Jesus is different now than he was, but in many ways, he is of course the same. The continuity is that he is the same person, and that he will now be human forever, limited in that sense, which is important when we think of the eternal cost of the incarnation. He will, many think, still have the marks of the crucifixion on his hands and side when we see him in glory (though that is not mentioned here, reflection on Revelation 4 may hint at it). But there is a discontinuity between this Jesus and the one who ministered around Galilee as well. Here he is fully sovereign (holding the seven stars in his right hand), he is resting in his finished work (sash around his chest), his eyes are blazing fire. In fact there is a scandal here as well: the images and description of YHWH and the Son of Man from the Old Testament get fused together and applied to Jesus here. In Dan. 7 YHWH has white hair but now "the son of man... his head and hair were white like wool, white as snow" (Rev. 1.14). This is Jesus as he now is: triumphant Jesus, the cosmic ruler of the universe - this is what the church needs to hear both in John's day and ours.

Wicked Men

As I read, prepared for and preached Revelation 2.1-3, in the second message of this series, I was struck by one encouragement to the church in Ephesus in particular: "you cannot tolerate wicked men" (v.3). Jesus is congratulating them that there lives and heart and minds are progressively more and more saddened and frustrated and grieved by the evil actions of the world around them, and that this is a sure sign of their sanctification; their growing in Christian purity and maturity. Can we cry out with the Psalmist: "My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law" (Ps. 119.136). He is pained by the disconnect of God and humankind. He is so close to God that when someone works against God and his purposes it pains him, like if someone offends a spouse or friend we are pained. Is this our experience?

The flip side is true as well however: if we do not find ourselves becoming more and more upset, and saddened, and maddened by the evil around us, the sin, the idolatry; then maybe we are not growing at all. If we are not more bereaved now then we were two years ago, than maybe we are not becoming more holy, more other, more set apart unto God and his purposes in our lives, but we are staying the same. This is not good. This is not what we were meant for as humans - we are never static, we are always growing one way or the other. There is no neutral ground, Lewis pointed out, and its true.

The balance to keep is this: be upset by the evil, be upset and saddened by the sin - but we have to find ways to engage it - we can't leave it unto itself to just continue being evil - evil men are evil because they have not been touched by the light. Followers of Jesus can never forget this. As John Stott pointed out years ago you never blame a room for being dark - when you walk in to a dark room you ask one question: Where is the light?

Sent: The Missional God

2009-06-25T09:52:00.001-07:00

God sent because we needed him to. The God expressed most fully and finally in Jesus of Nazareth is not the god of deism who sits back and watches as we live our lives, uninvolved. He is not the god of Graeco-Roman mythology, waiting to punish us if we mess up in life, which we do everyday, which is not to say He has no wrath or anger, He does, which would be expected if He were real - with the injustice and perversion of a world like ours, where, for instance children are raped, kidnapped and sold into a sex-trade which is more pervasive than any of us wants to admit. Where genocide still flourishes, where poverty still kills millions, where wealth is so unequally distributed. God is angry about all of this be sure.

But instead of just dealing out death and judgment to each of us who is guilty and deserving of it, this God, the one true God, full of grace and truth (John 1.14), does something else: He satisfies his wrath and anger by sending his Son - Why did he send him? To die in our place; because of us, for us and instead of us, so that if we come under that sacrifice by faith the just condemnation no longer gets applied to us, meted out on us, precisely because it was applied to him. This is why 'it pleased the Lord to crush him' (Isa. 53)l not because God oves to punish and hurt his Son, but because He knew what that punishment was actually accomplishing. Salvation for the world. 'God has sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through him...this is love: that God loved us and sent his Son, and whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him' (1 John 4.9-15).

God rescued us, we did not rescue ourselves, no matter what the 'myth of progress' preaches at us everyday from internet, TV, and film-screen. God is the ultimate missionary, the first mover, the Father running out to embrace the prodigal. We live because he died and rose again in our place. Al of this because He sent. He got involved. he became part of this mess. Death by love.

The missionary/sending nature of God is central in to his character.

This is seen amazingly in the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel begins with the incarnation, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1.14), in John 3:16-17 the Father sends the Son, and the book ends with Jesus sending his disciples in John 20:21. Beyond these three passages Jesus sees himself as one “sent by the Father” astonishingly more than twenty-five times:

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, so that whomever should believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

John 3:34
“For he whom God has sent utters the words of God.”

John 5:23
“He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”

John 5:24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life.”

John 5:30
“I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

John 5:36-38
“These very words which I am doing, bear witness that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness to me.”

John 6:38
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”

John 6:44
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

John 7:28-29
“But I have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I came from him, and he sent me.”

John 7:33
“I shall be with you a little longer, and then I go to him who sent me.”

John 8:18
“I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me.”

John 8:26
“He who sent me is true.”

John 8:29
“And he who sent me is with me.”

John 8:42
“I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”

John 9:4
“We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day.”

John 12:44-45
“He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And he who sees me sees him who sent me.”

John 12:49
“The Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment what to say and what to speak.”

John 13:20
“He who receives me receives him who sent me.”

John 14:24
“The word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”

John 14:26
“The Counselor will teach you everything and will cause you to remember all that I told you. This Counselor is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.”

John 16:7
“If I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

John 17:3
“And they have believed that you have sent me.”

John 17:18
“As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

John 17:25
“They know that you have sent me.”

John 20.21
"As the Father sent me, now I send you"

So, we must listen, and embrace the Son that God sent for us, by faith in his finished work on our behalf, and then embrace our own sent-ness - our own missional calling, sent by God to love, care for and minster to people from a gospel-centered life. This is a sending that is not for super-disciples, not only for those traditionally called "missionaries", but for every follower of Jesus. Send to love and proclaim in our work-place, our schools, our relationships, our families. Sent to and for the ones you live and move beside.

If you are a follower of Jesus, one who has believed and confesses him as the Son of God who died for the sins of the world, you've been sent.

If this is you the question is: 'Am i embracing my sent-ness' ? Am I acting sent?'

Up: An Adventure for the History Books

2009-06-17T22:54:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while a movie comes along, that is so good that it is hard to explain it to people. Up is one of those movies. People ask me about it, and I find it hard to contain my excitement. It is just brilliant on every level. It looks great (colorful, bright, graphically stunning), but more than that, the story is great. It reminds us that nothing can trump a good story.

Not all the graphics in the world can trump good writing and stories that transcend and touch all people. As we will see later this summer when Transformers comes out (already breaking box office records with pre-sales) and is full non-stop, mind blowing visual effects, but is completely void of any story whatsoever (not surprisingly confirmed by Empire Magazine who has seen the film and wonders if it was shot by a 13 year old boy because of its gratuitous obsession with Megan Fox's torso (see here), among other problems.

Up though never looses itself in effects (even though it is Disney 3-D); they are a supporting role to the story. Classic Pixar. Characters we love, adventure and action, funny and above all applicable and touching. It is about the human experience; never getting to go and do the things you and your spouse always promised to do, and then it being too late because life has a way of just getting in the way. Finding love and caring in the most unlikely places. And living so as not to regret. Up is the direction ones heart soars while watching this movie, through the pain and sadness it opens with right on through the laughter to the humbling ending.

When I last checked the film was rated 88/100 on Metacritic, the highest rated mainstream film of the year, and it deserves it.

Why Plant Churches?

2009-06-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in following the development of the church campus we are starting in South Surrey we have started a blog that I will update - the site is http://southsurreychurchcampus.blogspot.com/

It includes community news links, and church planting resources as well. Below is the latest article I have written, which comes from the strategic plan the Church Planting Development Team put together in early 2008.

__________________

The following is a list of the 6 reasons[1] that SDBC’s leadership (Pastors, Directors and Elders) decided to make church planting a central part of The Mission of our church in January 2008.

It is Biblical: In the Great Commission Jesus lists several tasks relating to congregations: going, baptizing, and teaching. These are the ways, Jesus says, that the church is going to make disciples. The “earliest church believed they were fulfilling the Great Commission by planting new congregations. The Great Commission calls us to evangelize and to congregationalize.”[2] Also, the church in Antioch committed itself to sending leaders from their congregation to plant churches in other geographic areas (Acts 13-14). This is why church planting authority Ed Stetzer says “The New Testament points to the fact that new churches and church planting are direct and inevitable consequences of believer’s involvement in witnessing and proclamation.”

To reach the lost: Studies show that “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches.”[3] It has been shown that established churches make greater progress in kingdom evangelism by initiating new daughter churches. “New churches are more effective than large churches, particularly in evangelism. On a per-capita basis, new churches win more people to Christ than established churches.”

Bruce McNichol explains the findings of his research in Interest Magazine:

- Churches under three years of age win an average of ten people to Christ per year for every one hundred church members.

- Churches three to fifteen years of age win an average of five people per year for every one hundred church members.

- Church over fifteen years of age win an average of three people per year for every one hundred church members.[4]

Tim Keller, lead pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, known all over North America as an inspiring model of a church that plants churches, says “no single church, no matter how large and active, can all by itself change an entire area. We must saturate areas with gospel-centered new churches. This is the only way to truly insure the transformation of our cities that we so much desire.”[5]

To develop new leaders: Like Jesus developed the twelve and like Paul developed Timothy, Titus and other Elders and Pastors, new churches have the opportunity to develop people who would not otherwise have stepped up to lead, serve or minister because those roles are already filled.[6] This helps SDBC to accomplish one of our other main goals which central to The Mission: to train and develop new leaders for the Church within Canada. Central to this is the idea that we train and send more and more people to plant churches in our immediate area and beyond, our “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1.8) – a paradigmatic text for both Acts and for the church in general. Our vision to be an Antioch church, which is not afraid to send our best (Paul and Barnabas).

To grow the Kingdom of God: Ed Stetzer says, “A maturing kingdom awareness is more important than a local church mentality…Leaders who are unwilling to make organizational sacrifices for the benefit of the kingdom become stunted in both growth and in understanding God’s larger purpose.” This kingdom mentality has always been central to SDBC, and is seen in our global mission focus; this will help us direct those efforts toward a local mission focus. This is why one of the visions of the book Discipling Our Nation: Equipping the Canadian Church for its Mission, published by Outreach Canada, is that each local church plants “at least two daughter churches: first to replace itself and second to extend the Kingdom.”[7] There is great wisdom is such vision for the local church.

Growth and Health of SDBC: Studies show that Mother Churches often experience a surge of energy and excitement from the existing congregation when they plant a church because they see God’s people sacrificing and multiplying and because they are seeing the kingdom grow. Tim Keller points out that planting new churches is “perhaps the best way to renew and re-vitalize older churches and enhance all ministries.” He says, “The mother church usually experiences a surge of high-esteem and an influx of new enthusiastic leaders and members. There is usually an increase in numbers and confidence.”[8]

Churches who have church planting as part of their DNA attract leaders. There is a church in Vancouver which began about 4 years ago with 20 or so people which always had church planting at its heart. It is now over 600 people, and there are multiple church planters who intern at the church to be sent out. This church also hosts a gathering of church planters once a month for teaching, equipping and prayer.

Part of that growth and health comes back to the priority of leaving a lasting legacy: Our lead Pastor (Paul Johnson) often says that planting new churches will “help our church have a legacy long after we are dead and gone. A hundred years from now there could be churches existing all over BC because of our efforts.” We can be a part of stamping Canada and reaching beyond the geographic boundaries of where our local churches exist.

To increase the number of evangelical, Gospel-centered churches: In an age of bad doctrine, and theological challenges to the historic Christian faith, our denomination (Fellowship Baptist), and our church specifically, need’s to extend its influence. We are responsible for what we do with who and what we have, and cannot assume that other churches are preaching the Gospel and doing Gospel-centered ministry.

This is the aforementioned reasons The Fellowship now has church multiplication as a top priority. The director of the Fellowship, Dr. Jon Kaiser said in his 2007 address to the Fellowship: “What is the best contribution we can make? I believe each region should see it’s calling as growing and multiplying healthy churches. We should be involved in leadership development, community outreach, and church multiplication.” The more churches that carry the gospel into different areas the better. This is why it is necessary that “the local church DNA comes to believe that every church should plant churches.”[9] In this sense we can set the tone and inspire many other churches in The Fellowship to follow our lead as we follow the lead of Dr. Kaiser and others.

[1] More reasons can be explored in Paul Beker and Mark Williams, The Dynamic Daughter Church Planting Handbook.

[2] Ed Stetzer, Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age, 33.

[3] C. Peter Wagner, Church Planting for Greater Harvest, 11. See also Tim Keller, Advancing the Gospel into the 21^st Century, 3: “New Churches are by far the best way to reach (1) new generations, (2) new residents, and (3) new people groups. Studies show that newer churches attract new groups about 6-10 times better and faster then older, established churches do.”

[4] Cited in Aubrey Malphrus, Planting Growing Churches for the 21^st Century, 44.

[5] Tim Keller, http://www.redeemer2.com/rupc/rupc/index.cfm.

[6] See Ed Stetzer, Planting New Churches, 322; Tim Keller, Advancing the Gospel into the 21^st Century, 3.

[7] Murray Moerman, “Discipling Canada and the Nations” in Murray Moerman ed., Discipling Our Nation: Equipping the Canadian Church for its Mission, 7; see also Murray Moerman and Lorne Hunter, “Saturation Church Planting: Current Needs & Recent Progress,” 20: “Every church, in fact, must contribute to these emerging church planting movements by planting at least two new congregations while it is able” one to replace itself, because, like humans, no congregation lives forever, and a second to extend the Kingdom” (14). He goes on to point out that at the end of 2003 evangelical churches in Canada existed at the ration of 1 for every 3, 189 Canadians.

[8] Tim Keller, Advancing the Gospel into the 21^st Century, 3: “I know of a small congregation in our area who had filled 100 seats twice to max 4 years in a row. Finally they sent 50 people out to a new town to form a new church. Just two years later there were 350 people coming to the daughter church and the mother church had filled its seats back up in three weeks.

[9] Murray Moerman and Lorne Hunter, “Saturation Church Planting: Current Needs & Recent Progress,” 17.

DSF Live - Internet Stream

2009-05-25T15:29:00.001-07:00

Many people are connected to the SDBC/DSF community around the world via media such as Podcasts and internet downloads - as many as 6,000 downloads a year for DSF sermons alone! As a gift to whoever is interested in it, we are now steaming DSF live for the benefit of those who can't join us on a Sunday night in Delta. Both those who are not a part of our church community and those who are but who are in far off in places like the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Chile, Bolivia, Germany, Wisconsin, and beyond.

The DSF service (every Sunday night at 7pm) will be live over the internet at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dsf-stream - please join us! By God's grace we use this medium in the spirit of 1 Cor. 9 - that we would use all means necessary to reach as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus.

The Regular Joe Missionary

2009-05-18T10:17:00.001-07:00

How do we cultivate Christian communities that see themselves as full-time missionaries where ever God has placed people? We have a problem in the Western church - our people do not view themselves as missionaries. This must change. A flurry of books in the last decade have been sounding the alarm about this trying to get church leaders to emphasize the need to cultivate a missionary-spirit in their people but is it helping?

I am not someone, as some people do, who sees "programs" as always a bad word but we do tend to rely to heavily on them as churches - they become the go to plan when it feels like we aren't "doing enough" as the church. But of course the reason we don't feel like we are doing enough is because often we are not seeing life transformation or conversions among us thus we need to keep the Christians we have busy and feeling like things are happening. Is the sin here a lack of trust in God that if we strip the church down to a few simple things we will loose people? Maybe.

Here is the shift I am thoroughly convinced needs to happen in the church and the present difficult situation we find ourselves in: idolatry - a good thing (Christian ministry) has become an ultimate thing (what we get our value and significance from). The problem that stems from this idol is that the Christians in the church are staying way to busy doing Christian ministry and being together and not enough (if any!) time with the unchurched. We are not hanging out with our non-Christians family and friends to show them the love of God in Jesus. We are not spending time in our communities, instead we create Christian subcultures that keep us from the culture (both the good and bad) among us.

This is a functional rejection of something central to Christian life and practice: incarnational ministry. The word Incarnation is the word to describe God becoming human in Jesus - coming to us in all our sin and ridiculousness - to love us, to call us out, to live among us, die in our place for the forgiveness of sins and rise again to save us. He became one of us - "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1.14). As C.S. Lewis said it would be like becoming a crab or slug for us. Why? Because we are more than that - we are higher beings. Such is the scandal. Do we live this out in our lives? Do we spend enough time bringing the church to the world. Living out our calling among the nations - being missional in every way? Or are we spending our time in Christian communities exclusively? Doing Christian ministry, staying busy ministering to the already saved?

One way we cultivate this in our Christian communities is to highlight, talk about/to and emphasize not only the lives of super saints like formal "full-time missionaries" to other cultures and countries but to focus on the lives and mission of the regular Joe - people in their everyday lives; nurses, teachers, business owners, pipe-fitters - the followers of Jesus who are living out their faith in the marketplace (the Agora; Acts 17). We must learn how to tell their stories so people stop waiting to "do missions" or to "begin ministry" at some point in their lives - it one way to show that such lives and mission is actually worthwhile. One of my teachers, and more importantly a respected missiologist around the world, Charles Ringma, in his book Catch the Wind, says this:

Why is not thought given to establish what church members are already doing in their neighborhood and places of work. No attempt is made, for example, to identify the medical practitioner who has changed the approach to patients by providing counseling and practical support rather than just curative care. No attempt is made to identify the local public official in the congregation who is tackling certain important quality of life social issues in the community. No attempt is made tp support the lady who is conducting an informal neighborhood Bible study group. No attempt is made to support prayerfully the teacher who has just started work in an inner-city school with many pupils from broken families. And no attempt is made to see one family's care for their disabled child as a ministry worthy of the church's support of prayers.

The mission is where God has you be it China, or an office in Vancouver or New York or even raising a family - the church must get that reaching their friends, family in their local places of life is their mission - it is their Jerusalem (Acts 1.8), their immediate place of influence and if they are not spending time in the places of normal life where regular people hang out, spend time and who are distant from Jesus than we will never be effective in our mission.

We must organize church so that we don't suck up all our people's time doing "ministry" that takes people away from these places, people and experiences - we have been sent on to reach as many as possible with the gospel of Jesus (1 Cor. 9)

The Gospel: Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing (Part 2)

2009-04-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

D. A. Carson gave the first plenary address to the Gospel Coalition conference under the rubric, “What is the Gospel?” This is a summary outline of his talk, which is available online here:

http://www.theresurgence.com/don_carson_2007-05-23_audio_what_is_the_gospel

Mistaken approaches to the Gospel. The Gospel is not:

A narrow set of teachings about Jesus, his death and resurrection that “tip people into the kingdom,” after which theology and other things come later.
The first and second great commandments (Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; Love your neighbor as yourself.) They are central, but they’re not the Gospel.
The ethical teaching of Jesus. But abstracted from his passion and resurrection rests on two mistakes:
- In the first century there was not the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, etc. It was “The Gospel” according to Matthew, “The Gospel,” according to Mark. One gospel, various perspectives.
- Studying Jesus’s teaching while making the cross peripheral reduces the gospel to mere obedience and duty. This is catastrophic.
4. Assuming the gospel while concentrating on other issues:marriage, theology, whatever.Note that people are most likely to learn what the teacher is excited about. If the gospel is merely assumed while relatively peripheral issues ignite our passion, we will teach a new generation to downplay the gospel and focus on the periphery, be those matters of evangelism, justice, confronting Islam, or what have you.“It’s easy to sound prophetic from the margins, but harder to be prophetic from the center.”

The gospel by which you are saved is bound up in the fact that Christ died for our sins, was buried, raised on the third day and appeared to many people - the apostles and others.

Eight summarizing words. The Gospel is:

Christological.
- Not a bland theism or general pantheism.
- Only Jesus is the name by which we can be saved. Jesus alone reconciles us to God.
- “The gospel is not preached if Christ is not preached,” but not just the person of Christ, but his atoning death and resurrection.
Theological.
- God raised Christ Jesus from the dead.
- God’s purpose was for Christ to die and rise, not mere death, but that he died for our sins,
  and rose for our justification
- God’s wrath against sin. Our sin problem is personal. God pronounces the sentence of death against sin.
- God is the one whom we have offended, who must be appeased. And what makes God most angry is idolatry, the “de-godding” of God, the putting of something else in God’s place. God is still jealous. Repentance is necessary because the coming of the king brings judgment as well as blessing.
Biblical. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was raised according to the Scriptures.
Apostolic. Listen to the sequence of pronouns Paul uses in 1Cor 15:11 “Whether it was I (an apostle) or they (the apostles) this is what we (the apostles) preach, and this is what you believed. I, we, they, you. This Gospel is apostolic (Carson credits J.R.W. Stott for this sequence of pronouns)
Historical.
- 1Cor 15 specifies both Jesus’s burial (death) and resurrection. Jesus’s death and resurrection are tied together in history. Any approach that attempts to pit them against one another is silly.
- The manner in which we access the events of Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection is the same as we have with any historical event: the remains and writings of those who were there. This is why the matter of being witnesses was so important.
- The central Christian claims are irreducibly historical.Unlike all other religions, the historical uniqueness of Christ is non-negotiable, not just the historicity of the man Jesus, but the historical claims of his death for our sins, his burial and resurrection. God does not give a revelation to Jesus which Jesus passes on, rather Jesus is the revelation of God. The revelation cannot be separated from Christ. To attempt to do so is incoherent. This is a historical revelation, and there are historical events that cannot be separated, chiefly his death for our sins, burial and resurrection. These are truths of history.
- The word “historical” is sometimes slippery. Some think that it means those events which have causes that are located only in natural things. Such a definition excludes the miraculous. We insist that historical means events that took place in history, whether from natural causes or through God’s supernatural intervention in power, operating in history.
Personal. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are not merely historical events, or merely theological precepts. They set forth a way of personal salvation. Paul says this is the gospel which you received and on
which you take your stand. This is not an abstract. It is personal.
Universal. The gospel is a comprehensive vision of a new humanity drawn from every tribe and nation. It is not universal in that it includes everyone without exception; but it is universal in the sense that it is for all ethnic and other groups.
Eschatological. Some of the blessings Christians receive are blessings of the last day brought into our time. Among these are justification – we are justified (fait accompli) and we will be justified. We look forward
to an eschatological fulfillment of the transformation that has already begun in us. We cannot focus only on the
blessings those who are in Christ enjoy in this age, but there are greater fulfillments yet to come.

Five clarifying sentences

This gospel is normally disseminated in proclamation (preaching, heraldic ministry). The good news must be
announced, heralded, explained.
This gospel is fruitfully received in authentic, persevering faith, faith that continues and brings forth results.
This gospel is properly disclosed in a context of personal self-humiliation. People respond to it by becoming aware of their own insufficiency and helplessness. “I am not what I want to be, nor what I ought to be, nor what I will be, but by the grace of God I am what I am.” John Newton. Humility. Gratitude. Dependence on Christ, contrition – these
are the attitudes of the truly converted. “Proud Christian” is an unthinkable oxymoron.
This gospel is rightly asserted to be the confession of the whole church. Of course what the whole church, or all the churches are doing, is not necessarily right. Otherwise there would be no need for an Athanasius or a Luther. Hidebound tradition is not the gospel. But also be suspicious of churches who proudly flaunt how different they are from what has gone before.
This gospel is boldly advancing under the contested reign and inevitable victory of Jesus the king. All of God’s sovereignty is mediated through kind Jesus: All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth… the name that is above every name… he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. There is still resistance, but one day the final enemy, death itself, will die, and God will be all in all. Therefore, stand firm, let nothing move you, always give yourselves fully to the Lord, knowing that your work for him is not in vain.

One evocative summary: The gospel is not exclusively cognitive. It is also affective and active. The word of the cross is not only God’s wisdom which the world considers folly, but it is God’s power, which the word considers weakness. This gospel transforms us – not by attempting to abstract social principles from the gospel, not by imposing new levels of rules, still less by focus on the periphery in the vain attempt to sound prophetic, but precisely by preaching and teaching the blessed gospel of our glorious redeemer.

Catching up with Jesus: South Surrey

2009-04-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

God has guided myself and Erin (my wife) to many different places in life - growing up in Ajax Ontario, moving out to Vancouver BC in 2004 to do a Masters degree at Regent College - at that time I started interning at South Delta Baptist Church - during my time in the awesome community I have met some of the most amazing, gifted and wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

I have had the pleasure to serve the people of SDBC as pastor: preaching, teaching, shepherding, leading and living side by side with them through some amazing and at times challenging years. The church has now entered a new phase which has brought with it a new phase for most people who work at the church - with the arrival of our new lead pastor Paul Johnson God brought a capacity for a new vision - which includes, among other great and

extremely faith-based ventures, church planting.

After much prayer, and conversation with friends, fellow staff and members of the SDBC church family, Erin and I have step out in faith toward the next phase God has for us as a missionary couple serving Jesus in the world - that I would lead a church campus in South Surrey BC, a town 25 minutes drive away from the main campus of SDBC (Tsawwassen) - The church leadership and members of the congregation have been developing a plan over the last year (which included a team to develop the plan and proposal for the campus, Church Planting Assessment that Erin and I went through in September) that was rolled out to the larger church community three weeks ago which had amazing support from the congregation!

That was Erin and I's last major thing to wait for before moving out to South Surrey - as missionaries to a culture it is important that pastors and church planters live in the community they are shepherding and trying to reach with the gospel of Jesus - and it is important to live in the community for as long as possible before one thinks about launching a campus there - for

me this was a non-negotiable form the start - something you don't even think about - and as much as Erin and I love Tsawwassen if we were going to be doing a campus in Surrey then that needed to be where we lived as soon as possible -

The decision to do this was not easy - Over the last year I wrestled with it- I love the ministry I am privileged to lead at SDBC - I get to teach and preach every week sometimes at both church services, I work in a beautiful office that has a view to the mountains, in a small town where everyone really does know my name (whether I know theirs or not!) - but most of all I get to minister to and beside the most amazing and encouraging (yet challenging) group of Young Adults I have ever been exposed to in my life - So when I felt God two and half years ago nudge me in this direction I questioned, waited and looked for other confirmations - Over the last years I have talked extensively and prayed through it with those I love, trust and respect - and even in times of doubt I could not get away from one thing: the calling. God has called me to do this - and as pastors have reminded me as I looked them in the face after years of pain and hardship in ministry - sometimes all you have is the call.

I will blog about the experiences I have as a team (Core Launch Team) and I plan, prepare, pray and position ourselves to follow and join Jesus on the mission he is on in South Surrey - the plan is that we publically launch the church by March or so of 2010 but there is so much work to be done before then - we will be a campus of SDBC (with an incarnational name specific to South Surrey) which will exist under the eldership of SDBC - we will be one family - sharing stories, resource, people and leaders - doing our best to expand the kingdom of God around the GVA in communities of love, faith and hope - faithfully preaching and living for the fame and glory of the name of Jesus to the glory of God!

I write this as I sit in my new (rented) living room in South Surrey, in our beautiful new townhouse (never been lived in before) boxes and stuff everywhere - a week of moving, frustration and many ups and downs - but now here we sit, already having met many wide-eyed neighbors (all young families!) who are really looking for community - a great and wonderful part of the gospel message of Jesus which the church is about - gospel-centered community - a family, a house, a temple, a body - all images which are communal from start to finish and our great hope is that Jesus uses us - sinful messed up, mistake ridden people to reach some of theses wonderful people by any means necessary for his glory (1 Cor. 9).

The slogan for the city seems fitting for our church, for Erin and I's life - the slogan is "The City of Surrey: the future lives here."

Some Facts about Surrey

It is BC'a second-largest city by population after the city of Vancouver. The six "town centres" comprising the City of Surrey are: Fleetwood, Whalley/City Centre, Guildford, Newton, Cloverdale, and South Surrey.^[2]

Surrey’s name came from Queen Victoria. She had named New Westminster, thus it is called the Royal City. In England, across the Thames from Westminster is the County of Surrey. It seemed appropriate that across the river from New Westminster there should also be a Surrey. Surrey was named by the first Clerk of the Municipal Council, Mr. H. J. Brewer, around 1880. "Due to the geographic similarity of this district to that of County Surrey in England, in relation to Westminster, I suggest it be named Surrey, British Columbia."

In 2007, the population of Surrey was counted as 423,935 a 17 percent increase from the 2001 population - Vancouver itself boasts of a population of 611,869 - Surrey, many believe, will bypass Vancouver in population in the next five years - it is the second largest city in BC and the fastest growing in the province.

Religious affiliation

25.8% No religious affiliation
19.2% Sikh
16.2% Roman Catholic
11.0% Protestant
6.4% Other Christian
2.9% Muslim
2.8% Hindu
1.9% Buddhist

Pastors & Money (Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary)

2009-04-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

At a recent gathering of theological educators, I heard a series of three talks on “Money, Sex and Power.” All three presentations were excellent, but it struck me: money is the topic we pay the least attention to in our seminary programs. In the evangelical world where I spend most of my time, we certainly spend a lot of time talking about sex. We argue about it in our denominations and we preach about sexual patterns in our society. We have also become more sensitive to power topics: in recent decades we have become adept at organizing “moral majorities” and “Christian coalitions” to exercise political clout in the public arena.

Money, however, is not a favorite topic. Studies have shown that pastors do not like preaching about financial matters. Nor have they been encouraged to take these issues on by their theological mentors.

There are some obvious reasons for this. Seminary students spend their graduate school years hanging around with people who do not have much money. When they enter ministry they are often still struggling in their own lives to catch up financially, and they do not feel very confident talking about money to their parishioners. And often they come into their ministries after several years in an academic setting where simple-minded comments about “rich capitalists” occur much too frequently.

As a result, preaching about money is often been limited to the periodic sermon about the need to support church programs—so that church members come away with the impression that as long as they make their church pledges they have done their duty as good stewards.

So it is, that during this desperate time people are asking those of us who represent the church, “Where is your God in all of this? Why are you not telling us more about how we can make it through this economic storm? Isn’t it your job to speak truths about the basic issues of life?”

We need to hear these complaints. Thirty years ago, I heard a pastor preach about Jonah. Here we have a prophet of the God of Israel on a ship that has run into a dangerous storm. The prophet is having an intense religious discussion with the vessel’s crew of pagan sailors. We would expect, the preacher said, that the prophet is speaking the truth to folks who are religiously confused. But in this case, the sailors have the best of the argument. They tell the prophet, correctly, that he is being disobedient to the will of God. The preacher’s punchline: sometimes the world preaches important messages to the church.

I’ve been thinking about that punchline as the economic situation has gone from bad to worse in recent months. It isn’t just that churches are not saying enough about the present economic crisis. We have shied away from posing the basic questions about finances in general. Getting Christians to talk to each other about their spending priorities, the things they buy and sell, their attitudes toward possessions, what the Bible says about “the love of money”—in too many churches these have been the taboo topics.

A young Christian business leader told me recently that he and his friends—Christian and non-Christian—are realizing that they had gotten accustomed to putting their trust in progress and growth. They had learned to love luxury. Now all of this was coming apart, and they are being forced to think about what really gives meaning and purpose to their lives.

Those of us who are theologically trained may not be experts on economic systems and personal financial management, but we do know some important things about the underlying issues. The myth of inevitable progress is just that—a myth, and a dangerous one at that. Economic strength can be a false god; we must not give it our ultimate allegiance. Greed destroys souls. The quest for luxury cannot satisfy the deepest longings of the human spirit.

The Jonah story points to a good outcome for the church today. The prophet admitted that he’d abdicated his prophetic role and led the ship into angry waters. We should confess that we are not as prepared as we should be to offer guidance in the “money” dimension of life.

Our failure to speak at length about these matters during our long, past season of prosperity has contributed to the deep distress triggered by this present crisis. The recognition of our shortcomings, though, can be the occasion for an opportunity to new obedience. When people ask us, “Where is your God in all of this mess?” we are given a precious moment to speak words of comfort and guidance to a world that is looking for a place of true safety in the midst of the storm. We should be ready.

The Gospel: Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

2009-03-11T23:16:00.000-07:00

"The Gospel is the power of God for salvation" (Romans 1.16)

Someone told me today that their father was into Joel Rosenberg. Now I know of Joel Rosenberg, I have read one of his books, and some people swear by him - I will not talk about him in this blog, though I do have serious concerns about someone using Bible prophecy to inform foreign policy when it comes to passages that have historic referents having nothing to do with the 21st Century - but this guys father said "No one today is going to believe in Christ unless you can show them that Bible prophecy is real and happening today - that is what Joel does!" Really? Is this how shallow evangelicalism is today? No one will come to know Jesus unless they can see present-day Bible prophecy happening in the Middle East!

To this I say there needs to be repentance. There is one way and one way only that people get changed, become born-anew, and are saved and it is not through showing them that biblical prophecy is "happening" (whatever that means!) today. It is instead quite plainly, through the gospel. It is the gospel, and it alone is the power of God - the means God uses to bring people to salvation.

That of course leaves us with a question. What exactly is the gospel? Paul gives a good summary of it in 1 Corinthians 15.1-4:

The gospel [is that] which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you...I delivered to you as of first importance...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."

The gospel therefore is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Its important to point something out in this regard. Older evangelicals are really good at the message of sin, Hell, repentance, God's wrath etc., but do not focus too much on Jesus message of the Kingdom. Newer evangelicals, in reaction, are really good at the Kingdom stuff and not very hip to the preaching sin, depravity, repentance, Hell and God's wrath. We must be a people that keeps all of this in view without neglecting either God's program of the establishing of God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, or the fact of human depravity and Hell.

It must also be said as Tim Keller has pointed out that there is both a "means" of salvation and a "trajectory" of salvation which helps to keep the balance here. The means is clearly God's work in Jesus Christ. The trajectory is the renewal of God's creation (Rom.8.18ff.) One of these elements was at the heart of the older gospel messages, namely, salvation is by grace not works. It was the last element that was usually missing, namely that grace restores nature.

Simon Gathercole distills a three-point outline that both Paul and the Gospel writers held in common. He writes that Paul's good news was, first, that Jesus was the promised Messianic King and Son of God come to earth as a servant, in human form. (Rom. 1:3-4; Phil. 2:4ff.)

Second, by his death and resurrection, Jesus atoned for our sin and secured our justification by grace, not by our works (1 Cor. 15:3ff.) Third, on the cross Jesus broke the dominion of sin and evil over us (Col. 2:13-15) and at his return he will complete what he began by the renewal of the entire material creation and the resurrection of our bodies (Rom 8:18ff.)

Gathercole then traces these same three aspects in the Synoptics' teaching that Jesus, the Messiah, is the divine Son of God (Mark 1:1) who died as a substitutionary ransom for the many (Mark 10:45), who has conquered the demonic present age with its sin and evil (Mark 1:14-2:10) and will return to regenerate the material world (Matt. 19:28.)

Keller says, "If I had to put this outline in a single statement, I might do it like this: Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation for us, rescuing us from judgment for sin into fellowship with him, and then restores the creation in which we can enjoy our new life together with him forever."

This is about gospel-forms. Often we think the gospel need only to be preached to the unreligious, secular, "lost" people - but this is simply not true. The gospel needs to be preached to religious people - Often that is who Jesus was actually preaching to. We need to as well. People need to repent of religion of trying to work their way to God, as well as non-religion - because they both end up placing functional saviors above Jesus - they are both idolatry - just expressed differently.

It is like the older and younger brothers in the Prodigal Sons story: one is very religious, one is not at all - the story is told to critique both in their comfort and make both realize they are in need of the gospel - the rebellious "prodigal" son and the son who stayed home who gets angry that his father has so much grace - he had all the theological answers, he had all of religion figured out.

We need to preach to both at the same time - make it clear that people have a sin problem for sure - but that problem is expressed in ways they may not understand - by way of idolatry - Again Keller is helpful here: "Kierkagaard defines sin as building your identity-your self-worth and happiness-on anything other than God. That is, I use the biblical definition of sin as idolatry. That puts the emphasis not as much on "doing bad things" but on "making good things into ultimate things."

"Instead of people they are sinning because they are doing this wrong or that wrong - I tell them that they are sinning because they are looking to their romances to give their lives meaning, to justify and save them, to give them what they should be looking for from God. This idolatry leads to anxiety, obsessiveness, envy, and resentment. I have found that when you describe their lives in terms of idolatry, postmodern people do not give much resistance. Then Christ and his salvation can be presented not (at this point) so much as their only hope for forgiveness, but as their only hope for freedom. This is my "gospel for the uncircumcised" - the rebellious brother.

We must make sure the gospel has changed us first. That we do not use Jesus but have been changed by him at the core of our being. The gospel, Paul says is "concerning God's son" (Rom 1.3) - the gospel is Jesus. Do you know him? Have you been changed by him? If so, tell others - its really that simple.

In a Christian world trying to make all the latest stuff the "main thing" let's keep the gospel the main thing.

Slumdog Millionaire: Best Movie of the Year

2009-02-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Oscars this year are a bit of a bore. I mean the movies nominated for best picture are so, well Oscary. They are the kinds of movies that always get nominated as if they know when they are making them - Movies like The Reader, Frost/Nixon, Benjamin Button and Revolutionary Road - I am not saying these are not good movies (I have seen Benjamin Button and that was great!) - But still...Oscary.

I would have loved to have seen The Dark Knight nominated for best picture - that would have at least created some interest in the Oscars this year - and it would say that "If you make a good movie, even if it is not a genre that usually gets nominated, it can win Best Picture." Like The Return of the King in 2004 - It would say "We don't only nominate depressing, artsy, Holocaust movies that people like but rarely see more than once."

Not that I am original in saying this but there really is no debate about the best movie of the year. I have to even say that as much as I loved the Dark Knight, Slumdog is better. I do not here want to really even engage the debate about whether it is "slum-porn", exploitative, etc., I think such arguments are founded on the premise that every movie set in a poor setting must by default be a social commentary on the issues - as if no story can transcend -

The movie is brilliant in every way: story-telling, acting, writing, music and directing. The movie is original and risky in a sense - as it does expose some of the realities behind the poverty, which I have seen firsthand in my journey through India two years ago. It highlights the massive flattening of the world through globalization and the movement toward India of many tech companies etc., (Read Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat" and the story which opens it which takes place in India and has to do with golf and IBM) - anyway it is about love, determinism (hinting that there maybe someone or something writing our stories for us, and obviously its a kind of rags to riches as well)...

It is the most creative way I have seen to tell a story in a while, reminded me of a Usual Suspects, or a Memento (though not quite as good or original as either of those films) - it was similar in its original way of telling the main protagonists story...I look forward to seeing it a second time with my wife - who didn't see it with me the first time.

When it comes out on video.

Christian Hedonism: A Concept to Live By

2009-02-03T21:44:00.001-08:00

Years ago I read John Piper's book Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. It is a great book, the introduction itself is worth reading it. The concept of the book has been often misunderstood by people. Here is a good article by Piper about the book, but more importantly about the concept behind the book: finding our greatest joys in life rooted in Jesus.

What Is Christian Hedonism?

My shortest summary of Christian Hedonism is: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

We all make a god out of what we take the most pleasure in. Christian Hedonists want to make God their God by seeking after the greatest pleasure—pleasure in him.

By Christian Hedonism, we do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. We mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end. We should pursue this happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy you cannot love man or please God.

The Difference Between Worldly and Christian Hedonism

Some people are inclined to believe that Christians are supposed to seek God’s will as opposed to pursuing their own pleasure. But what makes Biblical morality different than worldly hedonism is not that Biblical morality is disinterested and duty-driven, but that it is interested in vastly greater and purer things. Christian Hedonism is Biblical morality because it recognizes that obeying God is the only route to final and lasting happiness. Here are some examples of this from the Bible:

Luke 6:35 says, "Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great." It is clear when Jesus says “expect nothing in return” that we should not be motivated by worldly aggrandizement, but we are given strength to suffer loss by the promise of a future reward.

Again, in Luke 14:12-14: "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor . . . and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." That is, don't do good deeds for worldly advantage; rather, do them for spiritual, heavenly benefits.

Should Duty Be Our Main Motivation?

But some will say, "No, no. These texts only describe what reward will result if you act disinterestedly. They do not teach us to actually seek the reward."

Two answers to this objection:

1) It would be foolish to say, "If you take this pill, I’ll give you a nickel," if you expect the desire for the nickel to ruin the pill. But Jesus was not foolish. He would not offer blessing to those who obey him and then hold it against us if these blessings motivated our obedience.

2) Even more importantly, there are texts that not only commend that we do good in the hope of future blessing, but command it.

Luke 12:33 says, "Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail." The connection here between alms and having eternal treasure in heaven is not a chance result—it is the explicit purpose: "Make it your aim to have treasure in heaven, and the way to do this is to sell your possessions and give alms."

And again, Luke 16:9 says, "Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal habitations." Luke does not say that the result of using possessions properly is to receive eternal habitations. He says, "Make it your aim to secure an eternal habitation by the way you use your possessions."

Therefore, a resounding NO to the belief that morality should be inspired more by duty than delight.

Don’t Be Too Easily Satisfied

Hebrews 11:6 teaches, "Without faith it is impossible to please [God]. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” You cannot please God if you do not come to him looking for reward.Therefore, faith that pleases God is the hedonistic pursuit of God.

As Christian Hedonists we know that everyone longs for happiness. And we will never tell them to deny or repress that desire. It is never a problem to want to be satisfied. The problem is being satisfied too easily. We believe that everyone who longs for satisfaction should no longer seek it from money or power or lust, but should come glut their soul-hunger on the grace of God. We will bend all our effort, by the Holy Spirit, to persuade people

that they can be happier in giving than receiving (Acts 20:35);

that they should count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus their Lord (Philippians 3:8);

that the aim of all of Jesus' commandments is that their joy be full (John 15:11);

that if they delight themselves in the Lord he will give them the desire of their heart (Psalm 37:4);

that there is great gain in godliness with contentment (1 Timothy 6:6);

and that the joy of the Lord is their strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

We will not try to motivate anyone with appeals to mere duty. We will tell them that in God’s presence is full and lasting joy (Psalm 16:11) and our only duty is to come to him, seeking this pleasure.

The Problem of Evil

2009-02-03T16:00:00.000-08:00

The chief objection to the Christian belief in a God who is all powerful, all knowing, and benevolent is the presence of evil and suffering in the world. This is not a mere intellectual question. We have felt pain in our own lives. We have watched news reports or read history of atrocities and asked, “Why?.”

Here is a general introduction of Christianity's response to the 'problem' of evil.

Two Affirmations

I will begin by making my own position clear with two affirmations. In order to understand the compatibility of a belief in a good, omnipotent, and omniscient God with the reality of evil and suffering, we need to recognize two key confessional elements:

1) God desires relationship with humanity.

2) Through God’s grace as demonstrated definitively in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, suffering is not the final word and suffering itself may be redemptive on this side of eternity.

Typology of Evil

We need to understand evil in terms of two categories: Moral and Natural. Moral evil is the consequence of the actions of people that go against God’s intentions for Creation. In other words, much of the evil present in the world is the result of human sin. A sub-category of this would be satanic/demonic evil. The Bible clearly indicates the presence of a being who epitomizes evil. Natural evil involves pain and suffering from the result of natural disasters: floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. Thinkers are divided over whether or not the perfect Creation described in Genesis 1:1-2:25 included such things as floods, tsunamis, earthquakes or whether these are indicative of the Creation in the post-Genesis 3 reality in which we find ourselves.

Toward an Answer

1) God permits the possibility of evil because of his desire for authentic and genuine relationship and fellowship with His Creation.

God created humanity as the pinnacle of his creation to serve in community with God and one another (male and female) as God’s regents and ambassadors to all creation by reflecting and embodying his character. God did not coerce this. God set up generous boundaries in which humanity was free to live. But humanity was not content with this. Genesis 3-11 reports the infestation of Creation by sin in the aftermath of humanity’s breaching of relationship. In the world as it now exists, all humans and all human institutions are infested and permeated with sin. This has resulted in the fracture of creation itself and perhaps Natural Evil can be understood to be the result of humanity’s sin.

From Genesis 3 onwards, God has shifted his mission to redeem this lost humanity as well as move history to the day when Creation as a whole would be redeemed. Paul looks to the day when God will act to redeem not only human suffering but also the fractures of Creation.

Romans 8:18: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Revelation offers a similar portrait in its deployment of the language of New Creation:

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

2) Through God’s grace as demonstrated definitively in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, suffering is not the final word and suffering itself may be redemptive on this side of eternity.

Jesus’ death on the cross proclaims the victory of God over sin and the forces of evil. The life, death, and resurrection offers the hope, healing, and restoration of God’s love in the face of evil.

Jesus’ Life, Death, and Resurrection as a Demonstration of God’s Love

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

A Life in Jesus Subverts Suffering and Transforms It into Soul Development

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

The Way Forward

Christian Community. Followers of Jesus Christ are to be known by love by insiders to the faith and by outsiders to whom they manifest God’s love. In the face of evil, intentional acts of love by Christ followers can make tangible the love of God in Jesus Christ. Many persons have found great comfort in the community of God’s people. The reality of evil amplifies the critical role that community plays in God’s intentions for humanity.

Prayer. Prayer is a gift from God. The book of Psalms models for God’s people a variety of responses to God including praise, lament, and thanksgiving. During times of crisis, the psalmists deploy the lament psalm in which all sorts of emotions are lifted up to God. In the face of evil, followers of Christ are invited to pray fervently to a God who listens.

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God

2009-01-18T09:04:00.000-08:00

Lately I have had some good conversations around the theology of the sovereignty of God and prayer. The Sovereignty of God is a term which means that all things are under God's rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11). His purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted (see Isa. 46:11); nothing takes Him by surprise. The sovereignty of God is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things, but that He does so, always and without exception. In other words, God is not merely sovereign de jure (in principle), but sovereign de facto (in practice).

People struggle with this, I struggle with this, because sometimes it seems like no one is in control of anything. But the Scriptural evidence is convincing: God is in control of everything that happens. There are a tone of issues that people have with this, and the reason for this post is not to address any of them accept how it relates to prayer.

Someone said to me the other day: "If people are elect and predestined before the beginning of time to be Christians [Eph. 1.1-11; Rom. 9) what is the point of laboring to tell the world about Jesus, or even praying for people?" It is a great and weighty question - that needs both a complex and simple answer. Let me offer the thoughts of John Piper to answer both, a man who has written on, thought and preached more about this issue than any other, and who is thus disliked by many in the Christian world - but I think his thoughts here are worth sharing and at thinking about:

The assumption of the idea that prayer is pointless if God determines all things is that if prayer is to be effective at all man must have the power of self-determination. That is, all man's decisions must ultimately belong to himself, not God. For otherwise he is determined by God and all his decisions are really fixed in God's eternal counsel.

1. "Why pray for anyone's conversion if God has chosen before the foundation of the world who will be his sons?" A person in need of conversion is "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1); he is "enslaved to sin" (Romans 6:17; John 8:34); "the god of this world has blinded his mind that he might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (II Corinthians. 4:4); his heart is hardened against God (Ephesians 4:18) so that he is hostile to God and in rebellion against God's will (Romans 8:7).

Now I would like to turn the question back to my questioner: If you insist that this man must have the power of ultimate self-determination, what is the point of praying for him? What do you want God to do for Him? You can't ask that God overcome the man's rebellion, for rebellion is precisely what the man is now choosing, so that would mean God overcame his choice and took away his power of self-determination. But how can God save this man unless he act so as to change the man's heart from hard hostility to tender trust?

Will you pray that God enlighten his mind so that he truly see the beauty of Christ and believe? If you pray this, you are in effect asking God no longer to leave the determination of the man's will in his own power. You are asking God to do something within the man's mind (or heart) so that he will surely see and believe. That is, you are conceding that the ultimate determination of the man's decision to trust Christ is God's, not merely his.

What I am saying is that it is not the doctrine of God's sovereignty which thwarts prayer for the conversion of sinners. On the contrary, it is the unbiblical notion of self-determination which would consistently put an end to all prayers for the lost. Prayer is a request that God do something. But the only thing God can do to save a lost sinner is to overcome his resistance to God. If you insist that he retain his self-determination, then you are insisting that he remain without Christ. For "no one can come to Christ unless it is given him from the Father" (John 6:65,44).

PRAYERLESS vs. PRAYERFUL

Prayerless: I understand that you believe in the providence of God. Is that right?

Prayerful: Yes.

Prayerless: Does that mean you believe, like the Heidelberg Catechism says, that nothing comes about by chance but only by God's design and plan?

Prayerful: Yes, I believe that's what the Bible teaches.

Prayerless: Then why do you pray?

Prayerful: I don't see the problem. Why shouldn't we pray?

Prayerless: Well, if God ordains and controls everything, then what he plans from of old will come to pass, right?

Prayerful: Yes.

Prayerless: So it's going to come to pass whether you pray or not, right.

Prayerful: That depends on whether God ordained for it to come to pass in answer to prayer. If God predestined that something happen in answer to prayer, it won't happen without prayer.

Prayerless: Wait a minute, this is confusing. Are you saying that every answer to prayer is predestined or not?

Prayerful: Yes, it is. It's predestined as an answer to prayer.

Prayerless: So if the prayer doesn't happen, the answer doesn't happen?

Prayerful: That's right.

Prayerless: So the event is contingent on our praying for it to happen?

Prayerful: Yes. I take it that by contingent you mean prayer is a real reason that the event happens, and without the prayer the event would not happen.

Prayerless: Yes that's what I mean. But how can an event be contingent on my prayer and still be eternally fixed and predestined by God?

Prayerful: Because your prayer is as fixed as the predestined answer.

Prayerless: Explain.

Prayerful: It's not complicated. God providentially ordains all events. God never ordains an event without a cause. The cause is also an event. Therefore, the cause is also foreordained. So you cannot say that the event will happen if the cause doesn't because God has ordained otherwise. The event will happen if the cause happens.

Prayerless: So what you are saying is that answers to prayer are always ordained as effects of prayer which is one of the causes, and that God predestined the answer only as an effect of the cause.

Prayerful: That's right. And since both the cause and the effect are ordained together you can't say that the effect will happen even if the cause doesn't because God doesn't ordain effects without causes.

Prayerless: Can you give some illustrations?

Prayerful: Sure. If God predestines that I die of a bullet wound, then I will not die if no bullet is fired. If God predestines that I be healed by surgery, then if there is no surgery, I will not be healed. If God predestines heat to fill my home by fire in the furnace, then if there is no fire, there will be no heat. Would you say, "Since God predestines that the sun be bright, it will be bright whether there is fire in the sun or not"?

Prayerless: No.

Prayerful: I agree. Why not?

Prayerless: Because the brightness of the sun comes from the fire.

Prayerful: Right. That's the way I think about the answers to prayer. They are the brightness, and prayer is the fire. God has established the universe so that in larger measure it runs by prayer, the same way he has established brightness so that in larger measure it happens by fire. Doesn't that make sense?

Prayerless: I think it does.

Prayerful: Then let's stop thinking up problems and go with what the Scriptures say. Ask and you will receive. You have not because you ask not.

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The point here is that the preaching of the gospel, and the praying that empowers it forward are just as predestined as is the believing of the gospel because as Paul says: "we are co-laborers with God" (1 Cor. 3.9) - God invites us, demands us to join in the missio dei (the mission of God).

God has promised to respond to prayer, and his response is just as contingent upon our prayer as our prayer is in accordance with his will. "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (I John 5:14). When we don't know how to pray according to God's will but desire it earnestly, "the Spirit of God intercedes for us according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27).

I find great comfort in the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. The book of Revelation gives a great image of this. In chapter five when the lamb who was slain (Jesus) walks up to the one on the throne and takes the scroll of history in his hand. The readers are supposed to understand, that while the world around them looks chaotic, and everyone is questioning control. Things are not a they seem. There is a lamb holding, controlling and directing history - He is sovereign, and everything that happens, including the Fall of humankind, is in accordance with his will (Eph. 1.11).

As many questions as this raises, in the end it is biblical, and it is comforting in times of struggle.

Blessings to all those who need to hear that God is sovereign.

Benjamin Button on New Years Eve

2009-01-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

It just dawned on me this morning; how ironic it was seeing Benjamin Button yesterday (Dec. 31). It is a movie all about time, growing old, regrets, forgiveness, life. Its is about the fact that a life is not summed up simply by adding up its number of years, so much more than just the ticking of time's clock, even the clock in the New Orleans train station which was deliberately set up to run backwards. The film is not meant to be believed in its scientific proposal that this could actually happen--though coming out on Christmas surely does allude to another amazing birth that defies science as well--it is meant as a metaphor for growing old and the tensions and struggles that come with it.

The movie really only has one gimmick, and that is Benjamin growing younger as everyone else grows older. It doesn't mean he lives longer than anyone else, it doesn't mean that is special in any ways beyond that--he doesn't invent something, meet presidents, or change history. It is a normal story of a life, love, pain, growing old, and of course one of its major themes is death. In the movie death is something that happens to all of us, its just a matter of time, and it is painful, but it is meant to be. As one character says to Benjamin "Death happens to those we love so we can appreciate how much they mean to us."

I felt that even bigger than the theme of death though was the theme of change. Throughout the movie the pain, struggle comes as a result of change--"Why does everything have to change, why can't it just stay just like this"; "I hate growing old"--things like that. Sentiments that are surely universal, and hit me hard.

There is also the theme of forgiveness. People throughout the movie are encouraged to forgive those who wronged them: "Even if you are as mad as a mad dog, in the end you just have to let go"... Beautiful and true.

There are a few parallels here to Forrest Gump (same writer), but this movie is not trying to do the same thing at all. Where Forrest was a vehicle through which the audience experienced history, Button is a vehicle through which we are faced with the deepest questions of life, at the center of which is relationships.

This is a good movie. Its long and could have been a little shorter but not much--maybe 15 mins--but its brilliantly executed from start to finish. Every frame is thought through and beautiful. In that way it reminded me of No Country for Old Men. You can just tell the director (David Fincher) casts a vision, and a team thought through every angle, color and background. I appreciate movies like this.

Seeing this on New Years Eve was interesting; thinking about time, a clean slate, opportunities ahead, and ones missed in the past. It made me want to be a better husband, and better father. As I think about life and where its going my hope is that Jesus help me in doing what he himself commanded: to love God and love neighbor to the best of my ability to God's glory Matthew 22.37-39).

So rings true the words of Edith Lovejoy Pierce "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them. The book is called Opportunity, its first chapter is New Year's Day."

The ESV Study Bible

2008-12-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

The other day I bought myself an ESV Study Bible - The one I got was $87.00, but if there is something I will pay good money for it is a Bible. This is a translation which I first was exposed to in 2003 (the year it was first published). My friend Brad and I were working at the annual gathering of the ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) in Toronto - we were working for InterVarsity Press (Free books and 10 bucks an hour you can't go wrong!) - It had just come out in a bland hard copy version -

Interested in what it had to offer, we bought it and neither of us has regretted it. It has been helpful over the years - and has been becoming more and more a part of my study as the years have gone on. It is a great translation with many theologians and linguist at the helm which I respect including J.I Packer, Wayne Grudem, William Mounce, Greg Beale, and Craig Blomberg. The study notes are written by great biblical scholars such as Frank S. Thielman, Clinton Arnold, and Thomas R. Schreiner. Also three teachers from my school (Regent College) are responsible for the notes: V. Phillips Long (Joshua), Iain Provan (1 and 2 Kings) and J.I Packer who was the theological editor for the entire Study Bible.

On that note, J.I. Packer has said about his involvement with the Study Bible: "I find myself suspecting very strongly that this was the most important thing that I have ever done for the Kingdom" - This is a big statement from the person who wrote "Knowing God" one of the all time best selling, most read, most beloved Christian books of all time - and a classic in every right. (A must read for anyone reading this who has not bee blessed by its pages)

Also, Pastors such as James Macdonald, Mark Driscoll and John Piper have officially changed their preaching Bible to the ESV which says alot. It is a good translation that balances linguistic faithfulness and contemporary readability. It is a good balance of being a "word for word" translation (think NASB) with meaning for meaning flow (think NIV, NLT) - with much needed corrections and updates to the NIV ("righteousness from God" in Romans? Where did the NIV derive such a concept? Its the "righteousness of God"!)
About a month ago they released the ESV Study Bible. I am excited, and in the words of Merry and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings "I'm getting one!" Well, as mentioned above I already got one. I found a list someone had written; 10 reasons why the ESV Study Bible is great. I thought I would share it with you as I agree with each point he makes:

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1. It’s based on the English Standard Version, which is one of the finest and most faithful translations available today. While it’s always good to consult various translations for study, the ESV does a great job recognizing variants in translation in the footnotes.

2. The introductory notes to each book are informative and helpful, and don’t overwhelm you with interesting but non-essential background information.

3. The notes are extensive and answer questions I actually have about the text, without avoiding difficult passages.

4. The notes cover material that is not only helpful, but pastoral, aimed at helping me understand God’s Word better and as a result in growing in Christian faith.

5. The notes are well laid out. I’ve found them easy to follow along with the text.

6. The treatment of the first few chapters of Genesis is very even-handed and well-researched. The notes aim to give us an appreciation for the interplay of science and the Bible without giving ground on the ultimate authority of Scripture.

7. The focus is always Gospel-centered. The notes seek to answer the question, “Where does this section of the Bible fit into the larger story of God sending Jesus to redeem a people for his glory?”

8. The articles in the back of the Bible are almost a book in themselves (I’d love to see Crossway publish these separately), and address many significant issues clearly, briefly, and effectively. They include Biblical Doctrine, Biblical Ethics, Reading the Bible, The Reliability of Bible Manuscripts, The Bible and World Religions, and the History of Salvation in the Old Testament. In addition there are several additional articles between the Old and New Testaments that shed light on the inter-testamental period.

9. The maps and illustrations actually contain the cities, areas, and details I want to know about, and are placed close to the passages they refer to.

10. The notes don’t go beyond what the text says. They affirm what is clear, and plainly present different views when a word, phrase, or passage is unclear.

The only negative comment I’d make at this point is that the Bible is so big it’s hard to imagine carrying it around a lot. Unless I also want to use it as part of my exercise program.

But it’s a Study Bible, especially useful for personal devotions. I’m so eager to read through the ESV Study Bible that I’m setting a goal to read through the entire Bible with text notes by the end of 2009. It’s an ambitious goal, at least for me. The Bible and text notes come in at almost 2500 pages. Over 14 months, that’s about six pages a day, without missing a day. Like I said…it’s ambitious. But I’d rather aim high and fall short of my goal than aim low and miss it. I’ve found that I do better when I attempt a Bible reading plan that necessitates God’s grace than one that I can accomplish on my own.

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Here is a list of endorsements from Christian leaders, Pastors and Theologians:

“I was privileged to act as General Editor of the English Standard Version, and now that I look back on what we did in producing that version, I find myself suspecting very strongly that this was the most important thing that I have ever done for the Kingdom, and that the product of our labors is perhaps the biggest milestone in Bible translation in certainly the last half century at least, and perhaps more. And now, as Theological Editor of the ESV Study Bible, I believe that the work we have done together on this project has set an altogether new standard in study Bibles.”
J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, Canada

“The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God.”
John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN

“The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Period.”
Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA; President, Acts 29 Church Planting Network

“The definitive clarity and beauty of the ESV Study Bible is extraordinary. In a world where words are distorted to mean anything, it is wonderful to have complete confidence in the reliability and truth of the Bible—so clearly and persuasively demonstrated by this world-class team of Bible scholars and teachers. For everyone who wants to understand God’s Word in a deeper way, the ESV Study Bible is an outstanding resource. I will be an avid user!”
Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder, JAF International Disability Center, Agoura Hills, CA

“Outstanding! The ESV Study Bible is a treasure—a beautiful volume, filled with a wealth of resources. It will be just as useful for the seminarian and long-time pastor as it will be accessible to the brand-new Christian.”
R. Albert Mohler Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

“Wow! Concise, lucid, enlightening—the ESV Study Bible is an amazing resource. With its textual fidelity, doctrinal substance, and artistic beauty, the ESV Study Bible will be an immense help to all who hunger for God-breathed Scripture. I wholeheartedly recommend this exceptional resource.”
Randy Alcorn, bestselling author of Heaven and Money, Possessions, and Eternity

Christmas Theology: The Virgin Conception

2008-12-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

One of the seminal miracles in all of the Bible, is the virgin birth, and it bears some close scrutiny especially at this time of year. In fact, the miracle of Christmas has several components, but none more crucial than the miracle of the virginal conception which presents us with an explanation as to how the Incarnation happened. Several preliminary points need to be stressed.

Firstly, there are no real parallels to this story, despite the ‘Zeitgeist-ites’ contentions to the contrary. Mary of Nazareth was a historical person, unlike stories about Isis which are pure myths about mythological deities, not mere mortals. Furthermore, the mythological stories about the divine rape of a mortal woman by some male deity (cf. the story in Gen. 6.1-4 about wicked angels) are very different than the story of the virginal conception which stresses there was no intercourse with any kind of male, whether terrestrial or celestial. Then too, the stories about Caesar or other Emperors having divine origins besides being imperial propaganda (which even Romans recognized as pure P.R.) do not involve virginal conceptions. Finally, there are no comparable earlier Jewish stories. For example the stories about Moses’ origins (either canonical or extra canonical) do not include the notion of a virginal conception.

Secondly, it needs to be stressed that Isaiah 7.14 while patient of the interpretation that it refers to a virginal conception, was never interpreted that way before the time of Mary of Nazareth. Why not, because a literal rendering of the Hebrew there is as follows “an almah will conceive and give birth to a child…..”. The normal translation of almah is ‘a young nubile woman of marriageable age. Now, in an honor and shame culture, this would normally include the conception of the virginity of the woman, and thus we should not conclude that the translation of almah is incorrect, when it renders the word as parthenos ("virgin"). The latter is a term with a more limited semantic field, focusing more clearly on the virginity of the woman.

Even so, what Is. 7.14 and in particular “a virgin will conceive and give birth to a child” seems to have been understood to mean in early Judaism was that a woman who was a virgin would conceive by the normal means and give birth to a king. In short, no one seems to have been looking for a virginally conceived messiah in early Judaism. And this leads to an important conclusion—it was the unexpected event in the life of Mary that led latter Christian interpreters to search the OT and interpret Is. 7.14 as they did (see Mt. 1-2).

ASIDE: A guy once called me and challenged me on this interpretation, "Mark, the Hebrew Bible only pictures a young maiden and thus Mary was not a Virgin!" I pointed out that he should not base the whole argument about her virginity on the Isa. text but on Matthew, who twice tells us that Joseph never had sex with Mary until after Jesus was born (1.18, 25) - I asked if he was willing to believe the alternative, that Mary was sleeping around with other men then Joseph. He was not.

The claims that the story of the virginal conception is an example of prophecy historicized, rather than being a reflection on an actual historical event, won’t work because Jews did not read that prophecy that way. On the contrary, it was the actual historical event that led to the re-evaluation of OT prophecies, including in particular Is. 7.14.

There are further problems with the contention that this story is not historical, namely in an honor and shame culture like early Judaism, and when we are talking about a religion that was evangelistic in character, no one in their right mind would make up a story about a virginally conceived messiah, because the skeptical would immediately conclude that what the real story was that Jesus was illegitimate, and in fact we know that that was the rebuttal in second century Judaism, with the suggestion being made that Mary was impregnated by a Roman soldier named Pantera or Panthera.

We can see the difficulties of explanation that were presented to a Gospel writer like the Jewish Christian who wrote Matthew almost immediately. How in the world does one squeeze Jesus into Joseph’s genealogy, as is done in Mt. 1, whilst maintaining that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus? The genealogy in Mt. 1 is a patrilineal genealogy, a genealogy of begats, basically, which means you are tracing the line through the male descendents of King David and even before that of Abraham. The answer is--- you put Mary into Joseph’s genealogy!

And you prepare for that little surprise by mentioning in passing other women who had surprising or irregular unions with Jewish males from Israel’s past--- women like Tamar, or Rahab, or Bathsheba. Notice how the genealogy concludes---- ‘Joseph, whose wife was Mary, who bore Jesus….’ And then the author goes on to explain that if Joseph had not been alerted in a visionary dream to marry Mary even though she was already pregnant, Jesus might never have been part of a patrilineal genealogy going back to David at all. In other words, the actually historical occurrence of the virginal conception is what causes all remarkable these genealogical gymnastics. The story of the virginal conception is a story too improbable not to be true, as an ambitious evangelical religion in an honor and shame world would not make up a story prone to all sorts of negative alternative appraisals. The possible punishment for pregnancy out of wedlock by a betrothed virgin was stoning. The virginal conception imperiled Mary’s very life, and it is no wonder that she took a little trip to see her cousin for various months immediately after the shock of becoming pregnant in a highly irregular manner.

The Tipping Point & The Gospel

2008-11-27T10:45:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. Its a great book. Its a book about a lot of things. Its helps us realize a basic biblical principle as well: little things matter because they lead to big things. Its why God took away the kingship from Saul (because he didn't wait for Samuel). Its why God didn't let Moses go into the Promised Land (because he hit a rock with a staff instead of speaking to it). Its the little things. The little things are everything.

The Tipping Point revolves around the little things as they relate to social epidemics. Gladwell defines the Tipping Point this way:

It's the name given to that moment in an epidemic when a virus reaches critical mass. It's the boiling point. It's the moment on the graph when the line starts to shoot straight upwards. AIDS tipped in 1982, when it went from a rare disease affecting a few gay men to a worldwide epidemic. Crime in New York City tipped in the mid 1990's, when the murder rate suddenly plummeted. When I heard that phrase for the first time I remember thinking--wow. What if everything has a Tipping Point?

He says there are three things that cause something to 'tip':

(1) The Law of the Few: "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social skills." Gladwell describes these people in the following ways:

Connectors are the people who "link us up with the world ... people with a special gift for bringing the world together." To illustrate, Gladwell cites the midnight ride of Paul Revere, Milgram's experiments in the small world problem, Dallas businessman Roger Horchow, the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" trivia game, and Chicagoan Lois Weisberg.

Mavens are "information specialists", or "people we rely upon to connect us with new information." They accumulate knowledge, especially about the marketplace, and know how to share it with others.

Salesmen are "persuaders", charismatic people with powerful negotiation skills. They tend to have an indefinable trait that goes beyond what they say, that makes others want to agree with them. Gladwell's examples include California businessman Tom Gau and news anchor Peter Jennings, and he cites several studies about how people are persuaded.

(2) The Stickiness Factor: the specific content of a message that makes it memorable and have impact. The children's television programs Sesame Street and Blue's Clues are specific instances of enhancing stickiness and systematically engineering stickiness into a message.

(3) The Power of Context: Human behavior is sensitive to and strongly influenced by its environment. As Gladwell says, "Epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur." For example, "zero tolerance" efforts to combat minor crimes such as fare-beating and vandalism on the New York subway led to a decline in more violent crimes city-wide. Gladwell describes the bystander effect, and explains how Dunbar's number plays into the tipping point, using Rebecca Wells' novel Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, evangelist John Wesley, and the high-tech firm Gore Associates.

For a Christian and a Pastor I think this book works in a number of important ways. The most important social epidemic in history is the Gospel of Jesus. I read this book asking: How do we use these basic principles of a spreading epidemic (obviously under the Lordship and Sovereignty of God) to spread the Gospel? How do we use the Law of the Few--focused on connectors? How do we use the stickiness of the message and the methodology of Gospel-centered living? How do we use the power of context including church communities and their personalities, attitudes, and behavior for the spreading of the message of Jesus?

Such is the challenge to the Church. How do we make the Gospel the fastest growing epidemic to effect change for the glory of God?

saints and SINNERS

2008-11-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we, as a church community, starting a study in 1 & 2 Samuel (at DSF, our churches evening service) - the story of the life of David. I knew I wanted to do this series for awhile, I just didn't know what angle to come at it from. I prayed and thought around the text for some time, thinking about a series title that would capture what 1 & 2 Samuel is about, but something directly applicable to our lives. The series title, and angle, dawned on me one day while driving. It is an idea so elemental to being human: the biblical fact that we are both fundamentally saints and sinners. I did not really realize at the time how deep this title was, and how it would go on to shape so much of what I and others would be living through as we have been studying the text together.

We live schizophrenic lives as human beings. We have great moments where we act like we were intended: helping, serving, loving, worshiping. But at the same time, in the same day, hour or minute we do the most evil, selfish things. The week we started the series someone dropped cookies off telling me how much I blessed them, and the next day I got a call from a friend who was, with good reason, angry at me because I had shared something with someone that I should not have. I was reminded that being human is hard work, and that I am a saint and a sinner.

How are we saints? We are made in the image of God (Gen 1.16-28). We have attributes that are like God: Goodness, Love, Justice, Creativity. Theologians call these the Communicable Attributes of God. Attributes communicated to humans. This is the only reason we are capable of any thing that remotely resembles goodness. This is due to the common grace of God. There are also Incommunicable Attributes of God: Perfection, Unchangeableness, Omnipresence. The Bible reminds is that while we are made in his image, we are not him.

How are we sinners? We fell (Gen 3). We are deeply effected in every part of ourselves by sin and death. We are totally depraved. Capable of no good and pure thing (Rom 3.10-18). We are corrupt in the deepest parts of ourselves. This is important to understand. Total depravity is often a misunderstood doctrine, as if it is saying that human beings are as bad as they possibly could be. But this is not true. The doctrine indicates the extent of evil in our lives; that evil has touched, and harmed, every part of us: "our moral natures, rationality, sexuality--our very view of the world and our most fundamental motives" (John G. Stackhouse Jr., Making the Best of It, 49)

Bring these two aspects of ourselves together and you get a person who is subject to the ways of the fallen world and somehow connected to something that transcends himself. In his book The Nature and Destiny of Man, celebrated theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, says:

“The obvious fact is that man is a child of nature, subject to its ways, compelled by it necessity, driven by impulses, and confined within the brevity of the years which nature permits its varied organic forms. The other less obvious fact is that man is a spirit who stands outside of nature, life, himself, his reason and the world. In its purest form the Christian view of man regards man as a unity of God-likeness and creature-liness in which he remains a creature even in the highest spiritual dimensions of his existence.”

Life is about living in the midst of the tension this reality creates. We live between these two poles. Two weeks ago I started the sermon with a clip of Gollum/Smeagol arguing with himself and said that of all the LOTR characters, the Bible tells us we should most immediately identify with him. We are Smeagol, God's creation, beautiful and full of potential. But all of that potential has been corrupted by our sinfulness. We are deeply messed up people. Deeply sinful. Liberals tend to focus on the saint part, and ignore the sinner part of ourselves. Fundamentalists tend to focus on the sinner part and marginalize the saint part of ourselves.

As I reflect on the Bible, think about my life, and the lives of those I pastor I have come to conclude two disturbing but liberating truths about being human. First, our default position is never Jesus. Because we are born into sin, our natural proclivity is toward sin, and the father of all lies, Satan. Our nature is to be turned in on ourselves. That is why the Reformer Martin Luther defined sin as Homo incurvatus - mankind turned in on himself. Our heart is curved away from God. "There are none who seeks for God" (Rom 3.11). We begin not where Adam started but where he finished. Disobedient, selfish, sinful, disconnected from God.

Second, we all have the potential to be the next murderer, thief or adulterer. I am not sure we believe this. I am not sure we have all come to terms with the fact that we all have the potential to be the next Hitler, Pol Pot or Stalin. What makes them different than you? Were they born twisting their mustache's hatching plots to destroy the world? No. They were once helpless babies dependent on their mothers; playing with friends and siblings; asking the same questions we all ask, feeling the same pain we all feel. The reality is, they were sinners, just like all of us, and the same weakness that ran through their veins runs through each one of us. Two use a cowboy image, there are no white hats and black hats. There are only black hats. The only white hat to ever have entered the earth was that worn by Jesus.

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn put it this:

"If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

The potential for great sinfulness runs through the hearts of every human being. We are all guilty before a holy God. Still, I don't think you believe me. You don't really believe you could be the next murderer do you? If you don't believe that, than you have missed the message of the Bible. Last night I preached about Saul. He ended poorly. We all have that potential. Many connect Saul with Judas - betrayer, suicide etc., What makes you better than either of these men?

We all have the potential to be Judas. In a sense we are already Judas... every day. Some of us every hour.

Listen to the story Jesus told about people who think they are not Judas or Saul or evil at all:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18.9-14)

Do you view yourself as utterly sinful before a holy God, no more righteous than anyone on the earth?

This is the only way to come into the Kingdom. As a child. Humble. Not boasting of any good thing. Asking God to forgive you and apply to you the righteousness of Jesus, because you have no righteousness of your own to offer.

Believe it.

Not to be overly dramatic but the reality is living in light of this is the only way to move forward and makes sense of your life.

SELAH: Remembering...

2008-11-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

One of the key roles Torah (the five books of Moses) played in Israel's history was to help them practice dense memory while living in pagan cultures--to remember. While living in Babylonian exile they would read Genesis and Exodus to remind themselves that those surrounding narratives were not true, and that they served the one true God of all the world; YHWH, who had made them and liberated them from Egypt. One of its key roles was the role of helping Israel to remembering.

Remembering is integral to what it means to be human. To stop and remember and to dwell deeply on the past, to put the present into context and help us move forward into the future. The Hebrews have a great word that captures the idea of stopping and contemplating something deeply--SELAH. We read it in the Psalms many times. SELAH is a liturgico-musical mark--an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen". This word occurs seventy-one times in thirty-nine of the Psalms, and three times in Habakkuk 3. Its a beautiful concept that we in the West have to be forced into sometimes. Days like today are good reminders. A forced and instructed SELAH--"stop and listen"--in the context of a Canadian Stat Holiday. Add to this the idea of Torah (remembering).

What are we remembering? The selfless sacrifice of those generations that fought and died in two horrific wars to allow us to help others. They fought against oppression and fascism, and for Canadian freedom and democracy--ideals that continue to be fought for around the world today. This day is about remembering the fallen. It is not about using this day on either side of the present political debate about whether we agree, or disagree with present wars, or even whether we agree or disagree with WWI and WWII (there are those who think these wars were illegitimately fought by the West, though I disagree). But this day is not about that, it is about remembering the fallen, who fought and died for the freedoms and blessings we enjoy today, including many of our grandparents.

Why is Remembrance Day continuously important? Because, one day in the not so distant future all those who lived through, and fought these wars will be dead. All those who lived through the Holocaust will be gone. All those who lived through Nazi Germany will be gone. All those who landed in Normandy will be gone, and all we will have is stories, pictures, film and memories. All we will have is the will to remember. All we will have is a forced stop and listen, a SELAH of Remembrance. And that is what this day is about.

Two Great Books!

2008-11-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with a mother whose child is dating a real thinker, and a skeptic. She regretted that he did not attend my lasted sermon series Skeptics Forum (available online or Podcast) where I covered the following questions:

1. Does God Exist?

2. Can There Be Just One True Religion?

3. Has Science Disproved Christianity?

4. Why Would a Good God Allow Evil and Suffering?

5. Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?

This mothers said "I want to buy him a book or two for Christmas (he said he would be open to it), what should I buy him?" I did not even have to hesitate. The two books I would most highly recommend to anyone who is seeking answers to difficult questions of faith are the two best books I have read this year, and I commend them both to you as you think about what to read or buy next.

First, Dinesh D'Souza's What's So Great About Christianity? This is the most well argued, articulate, relevant book I have read in a long time. It explores philosophy, theology, science, and history in an engaging way that presents Christianity as a legitimate world view, even in an age of skepticism.

The book tackles arguments from science and philosophy about why belief in God, is legitimate and reasonable. A great read to strengthen your faith, and challenge your inner skeptic.

Secondly is the beautifully written The Reason for God by one of the great preachers and church planters alive today, Timothy Keller; the man that Newsweek called "a C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century."

This book is written in the spirit of Mere Christianity with updated and (post)modern ways of explanation. It is extremely accessible and pastoral in its approach to questions about Hell, the existence of God, science, suffering, and the Bible. This book comes out of Keller's experience of pastoring in Manhattan for twenty years and the questions, struggles of many in that city in regard to faith, life, Christianity and reason.

I would commend these books to anyone who is interested in Christianity, or interested in strengthening their faith in the way that Scripture exhorts us to: "always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3.15).

The Bible in a Minute

2008-10-31T09:32:00.001-07:00

King Solomon's Mine Found?

2008-10-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON — Legend has it that King Solomon's mines held a treasure of gold and diamonds, but archeologists say the real mines may have supplied the ancient king with copper.

Researchers led by Thomas Levy of the University of California, San Diego, and Mohammad Najjar of Jordan's Friends of Archaeology, discovered a copper-production center in southern Jordan that dates to the 10th century B.C., the time of Solomon's reign.

The discovery occurred at Khirbat en-Nahas, which means “ruins of copper” in Arabic. Located south of the Dead Sea, the region was known in the Old Testament as Edom.

Research at the site in the 1970s and 1980s indicated that metalworking began there in the 7th century B.C., long after Solomon.

“We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us,” Dr. Levy said in a statement. “But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible.”

Their findings are reported in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Christian Martyrdom: Happening Now

2008-10-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

"45 million Christians were martyred in the twentieth century."
-- Oxford's World Christian Encyclopedia.

This week I got an email from someone I know in the Muslim world who reported something that the NY Times, almost exclusively, reported, because the mainstream media is busy with other things. There is a kind of genocide that is happening in India right now (a beautiful country that I visited two summers ago). There is presently a kind of religious genocide happening to our Christian brothers and sisters there. Here is the link.

Christians are forced to renounce their faith in exchange for safety, or else face marytrdom. This has been going on for weeks in India. This ought to be stunning to us since India is the world's largest democracy and officially a tolerant secular state. Hindus make up the majority of citizens in India, whilst Christians are only about 2% of the population or so.

The eastern state of Orissa, "in Kandhamal, the district that has seen the greatest violence, more than 30 people have been killed, 3,000 homes burned and over 130 churches destroyed, including the tin-roofed Baptist prayer hall where the Digals worshiped. Today it is a heap of rubble on an empty field, where cows blithely graze."

The private email I got speaks of dozens of Christians tribes being slaughtered.

"In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in a house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children."

"More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen."

"This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed."

We really do find it hard to connect with this as Western Christians whose biggest problems revolve around not being able to build 20 million dollar add ons to our massive church structures, and people not making us the center of attention and serving my needs. But we must try to reflect on these things. We must allow our hearts to break, to cry out on behalf of these amazingly beautiful people.

One potent and deep Scripture comes to mind when I think of these people facing persecution today, as I sit in my heated office complaining about my cough-due-to-cold.

Describing men and women in the past who suffered martyrdom for their faith, the writer of Hebrews says:

"They were stoned, sawn in two, put to death with the sword, being destitute, afflicted people of whom the world was not worthy" (Heb. 11.37-38).

That last line is important. People who get killed who remain faithful to Jesus, Scripture is saying, are more valuable then the world could ever understand. The world in all of its confusion, upside down values, and systems of thought and practice. It is no longer worthy to host the kinds of people God decided to take through martyrdom. They are that loved by God and valuable in his sight.

Discipleship of the Mind

2008-10-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.
(Mark 12.30)

I have always felt a calling to it, but I never had a name for it before. I do now. Discipleship of the Mind. I have always felt that this was my passion; my role within the church. Some people are called to disciple the heart, others the soul, still others the strength. My passion is to disciple the mind. Not as a separate reality from the rest, it is all connected of course.

Why does the discipleship of the mind matter? Well, because ultimately our behavioral patterns follow our thinking patterns -- we do what we think. So, we may mourn the destructive patterns that our family and friends are living in, and we may try to help them stop acting that way, but the reality is, Scripture says, they need a renewal. A renewal of what? A renewal of the mind. That is the only way they will be transformed. Paul says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12.2).

Often people look at this in the context of people who are already Christians. "Yes, teach Christians the basics of the Bible, and theology -- that's important" they may say.
They would agree with A.W. Tozer, as I would that

The gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most important fact about any person is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like…That our concept of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance… A right conception of God is basic not only to theology but to practical Christian living… I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to wrong thinking about God.

But I want to push things further than that. I want to propose that discipleship of the mind is something we need to focus on as a point of our mission, our evangelism -- its is central to how the gospel impacts and changes a people. This is why, when Jesus gave the Great Commission, he said that the disciples were to do two things as they went: baptize and teach (Matthew 28.16-20). According to Jesus, teaching people was part of the mission. You must teach people how to think, and what to think. Think about what? Everything: God, Humanity, Sin, Death, Life, Salvation, Origins, Meaning, Value, Destiny -- this is about constructing a worldview for people.

1980, Charles Malik came to speak at Wheaton College about evangelism, at the opening of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He said this:

At the heart of all the problems facing Western civilization—the manifold perversions of personal character; problems of the family; problems of economics and politics; problems of the media; problems affecting the school itself and the church itself—at the heart of the crisis in Western civilization lies the state of the mind… The true the task of the evangelical world is not only to win souls, for if you win the whole world and lose the mind of the world, you will soon discover you have not won the world. Indeed it may turn out that you have actually lost the world.

Our message to those outside the church is that the gospel is not about one aspect of your lives (some private corner of your heart, in some sentimental way), no, the gospel offers you a new Mind -- a different way to view everything!

As Ravi Zacharias often says: “God not only changes what we do, he changes what we want to do.”

There is so much more to say... but this is enough for now.

Television & Elections: Has the One Destroyed the Other?

2008-10-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's election time in both Canada and the U.S. and that means attacks ads, political commercials and televised debates. I have heard so much discussion lately around Harper's knit-sweaters, Dion's glasses (not to mention Palin's), and how the TV hurts and helps both candidates in the U.S. Every night when my wife turns on Showbiz Tonight there is a segment, a long segment, called the Palin Factor--which talks about her latest clothes, hair-do and glass. When I hear the discourse of our culture revolving around such things it makes me laugh, and then it makes me kind of sad, and then scared pitless. During these times I always think back to a book I read years ago, which though published in 1984, before the invention of the Internet, still carries with it a great reminder to our culture about the ramifications of having our public discourse--whether it be about politics, religion or news--centered around such trivial things.

The book is Neil Postman's (1931-2003) celebrated and oft-quoted book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business wherein he argues that political philosophy cannot (and thus should not) be done on television. "Its form" he says "works against the content." Here are four points he makes. And I do not make these points in regard to one candidate over another (in either country)--because one could argue that television has helped and hurt all candidates.

First he says "Because we live in an image-centered culture it would appear that fat people are now effectively excluded from running for high profile office. Probably bald people as well. Indeed we may have reached the point where cosmetics has replaced ideology as the field of expertise over which a politician must have competent control... Someone like our twenty-seventh President, the multi-chinned, three-hundred pound William Howard Taft, couldn't be put forward as a presidential candidate in today's world. In reality the shape of a mans body is largely irrelevant to the shape of his ideas. But it is quite relevant on television. Television gives us a conversation in images not words."

Secondly he says "Public figures were known largely by their written words, for example, not by their looks or even their oratory. It is quite likely that most of the first fifteen presidents of the United States would not have been recognizable had they passed by the average citizen in the street... To think about these men was to think about what they had written, to judge them by their public positions, their arguments, their knowledge. Think of Richard Nixon or Jimmy Carter or Billy Graham or Albert Einstein what will likely come to your mind is an image, a picture of a face. Of words, almost nothing will come to mind. This is the difference between thinking in a word-centered culture and thinking in an image-centered culture."

Thirdly, he says in our move away from a print-based epistemology to an image-based epistemology much has been lost: "Under the governance of the printing press, discourse in America was generally coherent, serious and rational; but under the governance of television, it has become shriveled and absurd.... This shift in epistemology has had grave consequences for public life; we are getting sillier by the minute."

Postman believed that this leads to a kind of cultural death: "When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when a people become an audience, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility."

Fourthly, he makes a suggestion about political commercials: "I am particularly fond of John Lindsay's suggestions that political commercials be banned from television as we now ban cigarette and liquor commercials. I would gladly testify before the Federal Communications Commission as to the manifold merits of this excellent idea. To those who would say such a ban is a clear violation of the First Amendment I would offer a compromise: Require all political commercials to be preceded by a short statement to the effect that common sense has determined that watching political commercials is hazardous to the intellectual health of the community...Television serves us most usefully when presenting junk-entertainment; it serves us most ill when it co-opts serious modes of discourse--new, politics, science, education, religion--and turns them into entertainments packages. We would all be better off if television got worse not better. "The A-Team" and "Cheers" are no threat to our public health. "60 Minutes," "Eye-Witness News" and "Sesame Street" are."

The reality is that we are an image-driven culture at every level -- the question is: has this helped us or hurt us in regard to the most important parts of our civilization?

Its Not Death to Die

2008-09-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

Pastor Terry Stauffer's (Edson, Alberta) daughter was murdered this past week. I went on his blog and read his response to this terrible event (see here).

Interestingly enough (in relation to my last blog entry about the importance of John Piper, he said this: John Piper (and others) stress the need for Christians to build a foundation in good theology in preparation for suffering, for suffering will indeed come. Juanita and I have lived an easy life in so many ways - blessed with healthy children, a great church and a sweet marriage. God was good then, and God is good now.

As I prepare this week to speak to the deep and meaningful question of evil and suffering in the world this Sunday, I pray that God will keep realities such as this before me. I agree with Terry; the question that is raised in the midst of a world such as this is about God's goodness. Which is why Terry's only hope is to say it outright: God is good...God is good -- it is this very thing that is brought into question at times like this.

A foundation of good theology, he said, is necessary. Such a good perspective to have. Theology is the stuff of life, it is not something other than life, something academics do so they don't have to work real jobs, something pastors do to pass the time -- theology sets up how you deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly in life. That is partly why it is important -- a proper view of God, Ourselves, and the World is everything including practical!

Terry shared the lyics to a meaningful song that has helped his family the last couple days, from a worship album they bought a short time ago. These are the lyrics - they are deep with meaning and put into perspective that those who have faith in Christ weep, and mourn, but not like those who have no hope -- we know that we move on to meet with Jesus forever and that gives our lives, not to mention our deaths, meaning at every level.

It Is Not Death to Die
It is not death to die
To leave this weary road
And join the saints who dwell on high
Who’ve found their home with God

It is not death to close
The eyes long dimmed by tears
And wake in joy before Your throne
Delivered from our fears

O Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You
Will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die

It is not death to fling
Aside this earthly dust
And rise with strong and noble wing
To live among the just

It is not death to hear
The key unlock the door
That sets us free from mortal years
To praise You evermore

O Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You
Will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die

This song affirms that the Christian story is the greatest offer of hope that any worldview has to offer. It is not ultimately about becoming a spirit-being and floating around in heaven for ever. It is about having our humanness restored in the reality of the Resurrection. It is true, and glorious, that we go and be with God in spirit for a time, when we die, as we await the dawning and birth of the New Creation. Paul says that when we are away from the body we will be "at home with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5.8). My friends mother is in the process of dying right before her eyes right now. She said she had a conversation with Jesus the other day about whether she was ready to come home. People are often skeptical about things like that, saying it must be the Morphine -- but I strongly disagree; I think God speaks to us even more intimately in our sufferings. As C.S. Lewis once said, suffering is God's megaphone to get our attention. We hear him most clearly in the midst of it.

But this going to be with the Lord in spirit for a time, while glorious, is not the End. There is life after " life after death." There is a second phase: Resurrection. The Bible says "The Lord Jesus will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory" (Philippians 3.20-21). Again, "We shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15.51-52). Where will we live? The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, tells us: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth...coming down out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21.1-2). Yes, the final state will be thoroughly physical. We will be with God in a way never experienced before, even by Adam and Eve in Eden. It will be more glorious than that.

That is the hope. New Life, in a New Creation. And the promise that comes next is one of the most important promises in all of history, that I hold on to closely: "and He shall wipe every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any death; there shall be no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain..." (Revelation 21.4).

Amen.

Why I Love John Piper (By Mark Clark...& Mark Driscoll)

2008-09-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

This week my wife and I went through a grueling Church Planting Boot Camp which tested us at every level to see if others would confirm our calling to church planting, in unity with our present church. Two people that have inspired me (and thousands of other young pastors) in relation to church planting are Mark Driscoll (Marshill Church, Seattle) and John Piper (Bethlehem Baptist Church).

For years I have been inspired and learned from John Piper as a preacher. He is the most passionate preacher that I know of -- and is one of the best in the world. Recently I ran across Pastor Mark Driscoll's blog, who knows him well, which spoke of this very thing. Here it is. For an interview Driscoll did with Piper see here.

______________________________

Soon I (Mark Driscoll) will be heading out to speak at a Desiring God Conference for Dr. John Piper. He has asked me to speak on Christ, controversy, and cutting remarks, or something like that. Basically, the gist is that no matter what I say, the critics who forget the whole plank-speck thing Jesus talked about will make every effort to turn it into controversy with their cutting remarks. Should be fun.

Admittedly, the topic is not my first choice because it’s enough rope from which to either swing or hang depending upon how the session goes. But I took the invitation in large part to get some hang time with Dr. John Piper. To be honest, he’s even better off the stage than he is on. I mean that in no disrespectful way because he is one of the greatest preachers on the planet and I think he could hold my attention reading the phone book. But as a man off the stage over a meal when the crowds are gone and the microphones are off, I have found him to be even more enjoyable, encouraging, helpful, passionate, and compelling. As an example, we recently posted a long interview I did with him at the Resurgence and in it he was so genuine and honest that at points the interview is somewhat raw. I sent him the finished interview to get his permission before posting it out of respect, and true to form he edited nothing out. So, out of love for a man I consider a great mentor and friend, I thought it would be fun to share four reasons why I truly and deeply appreciate John Piper, before I head out to speak at his conference.

1. He is the most passionate guy I think I’ve ever met.

Of course, he is first and foremost passionate for the glory of God. But he is pretty much passionate about everything. For example, the first time we had him preach at Mars Hill Church the nuts we had out were unsalted. I learned that he is passionate about salted nuts.

2. He does not seem to really care about his approval ratings.

He does not own a television, and I would bet he spends less time checking what people say about him through Technorati and Google than he does watching television.

3. He has a father’s heart.

Unlike so many older men who are threatened by, competitive with, or critical of young men, I have repeatedly seen Dr. Piper have a father’s heart to encourage, exhort, and empower young men. The few times we’ve been able to sit down together have been incredibly transforming. On a few occasions he has been gracious enough to sit down with the young church planters in our Acts 29 Network with no microphones and very honestly answer the painful questions about life, ministry, and family. In those moments, from his heart and off the cuff comes pure gold that my brothers in Acts 29 still talk about. Especially noteworthy was the question from Jonathan McIntosh at The Journey Church in St. Louis, who asked what he would have to offer as final wisdom to young pastors. Piper buried his face in his hands to think and pray for a few minutes while the rest of us held our breath and waited. He then lifted his head and forcefully encouraged us to gouge out our eyes before looking at a woman lustfully (other than desiring our wives, of course) and chop off our hand before touching a woman other than our wife. Personally, I will never forget the time he told us about holding his stillborn grandchild around Christmastime as tears rolled down his face, describing how he prayed for God to resurrect the baby from death. As I looked around the room I saw dozens of young pastors, myself included, fighting back buckets of tears.

4. By not trying to be cool . . . he’s cool.

I cannot confirm it, but I think Dr. Piper may only have one jacket. I see him preach in it all the time and it’s a tweed coat with more than a few years of faithful service. I also think he may own one belt because I’ve only ever seen one. He drives a simple car, lives a simple life, does not have a tattoo (at least that I’ve seen), does not skateboard, and likes to read stuff by dead guys a lot. But by trying to just be himself rather than being cool, he has curiously become cool because he’s about Christ and that’s always cool.

Richmond Jones and the Hidden Kingdom

2008-09-11T00:06:00.000-07:00

This is my latest film: Richmond Jones and the Hidden Kingdom

It is a project for a school that my friend Jason (Richmond Jones) teaches at, and goes along with a series of messages that he is doing at the school about seeking the kingdom of God.

Part II will be "written" and shot soon. Jason and his son Eli (the violent hunter) did a great job. And look for me in a stellar black and white cameo as well -- I'm kind of like Hitchcock like that.

Enjoy!

The Dumbest Generation & C.S. Lewis

2008-08-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

On my birthday (August 15) I did what I love to do. I went to the bookstore and spent time browsing. I bought a book called "The Dumbest Generation". It is unfortunately about my generation--the generation raised on TV, the generation who was introduced to Internet in our teen years, the generation with by far the most knowledge at our fingertips then any generation in history, but which does not show that we any smarter or better off than previous generations. The book explores the perplexing question of how this could possibly be the case.

The author (Mark Bauerlein) points out study after study that shows my generation (which watches an average of 5 1/2 hours of television per day!) does not know basic knowledge such as the significance of 1776 (its an American book), who the British Priminister (its Gordon Brown, by the way) and who made the first electric light-bulb (I am not going to help you with this one).

Bauerlein states the paradox this way:

We have entered the Information Age, traveled the Information Superhighway, spawned a Knowledge Economy, undergone the Digital Revolution, converted manual workers into knowledge workers, and promoted a Creative Class and we anticipate a Conceptual Age to be. However overhyped those grand social metaphors, they signify a rising premium on knowledge...a knowledge economy. Any yet while teens and young adults have absorbed digital tools into their lives young [people] today are no more learned and skillful than their predecessors, no more knowledgeable, fluent, up-to-date, or inquisitive, except in the materials of youth culture. They don't know any more history or civics, economics or science, literature or current events. They also read less on their own. (Mark Bauerlein, The Dumbest Generation, [New York: Penguin Books, 2008], 8-9).

Much could be said about how scary all of this is. I think his point about youth culture is important. Our generation does know and do more about this specific reality, which, though some may argue against this, I can categorically say, is, in the large scheme of things, less important to know about, and at times even destructive to our thinking, living and acting.

Youth culture is at times culture created to be consumed at a mass scale and thus shoots for the lowest common denominator. Think of movies directed to this audience: poo jokes, penis jokes, more poo jokes; music videos: half-naked girls dancing in the desert, cut to boat no one can afford, party scene, chains, watches; and these are the moguls which then want to shape voting (Remember P. Diddy's "Vote or Die") world views. I am all for artist being political and offering prophetic critique to a culture that has lost its way, but not artist that convey such ridiculousness on a day to day basis.

To conclude my thoughts on this I though I would hold up as an example of what I am talking about an extreme example of brilliance, but I am not sure that he was a complete anomaly in his time. C.S. Lewis. Here is an excerpt from a letter that he wrote to his best friend when he was 17-year-old:

12 October 1915

"You ask me how I spend my time, and though I am more interested in thoughts and feelings, we’ll come down to facts. I am awakened up in the morning by Kirk splashing in his bath, about 20 minutes after which I get up myself and come down. After breakfast & a short walk we start work on Thucydides a desperately dull and tedious Greek historian (I daresay tho’, you’d find him interesting) and on Homer whom I worship. After quarter of an hour’s rest we go on with Tacitus till lunch at 1.
I am then free till tea at 4.30: of course I am always anxious at this meal to see if Mrs K. is out, for Kirk never takes it. If she is I lounge in an arm chair with my book by the fire, reading over a leisurely and bountiful meal. If she’s in, or worse still has ’some people’ to tea, it means sitting on a right angled chair and sipping a meagre allowance of tea and making intelligent remarks about the war, the parish and the shortcomings of everyones servants. At 5, we do Plato and Horace, who are both charming, till supper at 7.30, after which comes German and French till about 9. Then I am free to go to bed whenever I like which is usually about 10.20.

As soon as my bed room door is shut I get into my dressing gown, draw up a chair to my table and produce, like Louis Moore, note book and pencil. Here I write up my diary for the day, and then turning to the other end of the book devote myself to poetry, either new stuff or polishing the old. If I am not in the mood for that I draw faces and hands and feet etc for practice. This is the best part of the day of course, and I am usually in a very happy frame of mind by the time I slip into bed.

So glad you too like the ‘Faerie Queen’, isn’t it great? I have been reading a horrible book of Jack London’s called ‘The Jacket’. If you come across [it] anywhere, don’t read it." (The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves (1914-1963) , ed Walter Hooper (NY: Collier Books, 1979), pp. 84-86.

This, I hope the experience of more and more young people, not to mention my own children, as we move forward in our world. My hope is they work to bring the healing power of Jesus to a lost and hurting people. That by saturating themselves in Scripture, prayer, Christian community and even by expanding their mind by reading good cultural expressions that they would "appear as lights in the world to a crooked and perverse generation" (Philippians 2.15).

Captain Formidable! (A film by Mark Clark)

2008-08-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Since I was a kid I have always made movies. I also have written multiple scripts (including a sequel to Titanic!). My best friend and I would shoot movies of all kinds of different stories and then spend hours in his editing suite editing them. He went on to live in Hollywood and now works on TV shows and with MTV, I on the other hand ended up in BC as a Pastor).

This year I took on a film project for our church. It was supposed to be a kind of training video for a mission trip (to an island in BC called Saltspring), but I shot it in the form of an epic movie.

I loved directing, editing and even having a cameo in this movie and I am thankful to all those who spent time being involved in this project especially Chris Finch, Britney Broadhead, Jordan Scott and Paul Johnson.

This is the link: Captain Formidable movie

Enjoy!

Rick Warren & The President(s)

2008-08-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

"Now we believe in the separation of church and state but we do not believe in the separation of faith and politics."

--Rick Warren

On Saturday night Pastor Rick Warren held a civil forum at his church in California (Saddleback). He interviewed the two presidential nominees Barak Obama and John McCain. He did it in a different, but, I think, a very effective way: he interviewed Barak first for one hour and then interviewed McCain, asking the same questions. McCain was isolated so that he could not hear the questions or Obama's answers, in what Warren called a "cone of silence". There is a bit of controversy stirring around this actually (for more on this) -- supposedly Larry King will address this question tonight (August 18) on his show.

The point of these interviews was to expose the candidates to the evangelical Christian community. Which, of course, is hugely important for both candidates as this is a huge voting block (estimated at between 20-40 million people). The issues that were discussed were those which have become extremely important to evangelicals over the last 20 years:personal faith, abortion, evil, morality, supreme court justices, and gay marriage.

Here is a sample of what they said on a few of these issues.

Christian Faith
Explaining what it meant to him to be a Christian, Obama, a long time member of Trinity United Church of Christ, in Chicago, said he works on

walking humbly with our God...I know that I don't walk alone, and I know that if I can get myself out of the way, that I can maybe carry out in some small way what he intends.

He also paraphrased a line from the New Testament to answer Warren's question about what had been America's greatest moral failure saying:

We still don't abide by that basic precept of Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.

McCain, an Episcopalian who attends a Baptist church in Phoenix, when asked what it meant to be a Christian, said:

It means I'm saved and forgiven.

Abortion
Obama said,

I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.

He then offered an explanation of his views, saying he supports the landmark abortion-rights decision Roe vs. Wade, adding to that a stress upon his commitment to reducing the number of abortions.

McCain, when asked by Warren "At what point does a baby get human rights?" immediately responded that a baby's rights begin at conception. Adding also, in light of his recently criticized comments that he's open to a running mate who favors abortion rights:

I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies.

Moral Failure
Obama's greatest moral failure, he said, was his use of drugs and alcohol as a youth.

McCain said his greatest moral failure was "the failure of my first marriage," alluding to his 1980 divorce from his wife Carol McCain, of fourteen years, because of admitted affairs after returning from Vietnam, and the meeting of his present wife Cindy.

Gay Marriage
Obama called marriage "a sacred union," drawing laughter and applause when he added, "God is in the mix." But he also said he did not support a constitutional amendment to ban Gay Marriage, a position he shares with McCain, who believes it is an issue best left to the state.

Obama did express support for civil unions, which McCain does not support. Obama said:

...historically, we have not defined marriage in our constitution. It's been a matter of state law. That has been our tradition. I mean, let's break it down. The reason that people think there needs to be a constitutional amendment, some people believe, is because of the concern about same-sex marriage. I am not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage, but I do believe in civil unions. I do believe that we should not — that for gay partners to want to visit each other in the hospital for the state to say, you know what, that's all right, I don't think that in any way inhibits my core beliefs about what marriage is. I think my faith is strong enough and my marriage is strong enough that I can afford those civil rights to others even if I have a different perspective.

When asked to define marriage McCain said

Union - a union between man and a woman, between one man and one woman. That's my definition of marriage.

Warren then asked McCain about California's Proposition 8, which hopes to overturn this year's gay marriage win. Saying he believes the state's Supreme Court made the wrong decision, McCain reiterated his support for federalism - the state's right to determine its same-sex fate.

In my state, I hope we will make that decision, and other states, they have to recognize the unique status between man and woman. And that doesn't mean that people can't enter into legal agreements. That doesn't mean that they don't have the rights of all citizens. I'm not saying that. I am saying that we should preserve the unique status of marriage between one man and one woman. And if a federal court — if a federal court decided that my state of Arizona had to observe what the state of Massachusetts decided, then I would favor a constitutional amendment. Until then, I believe the states should make the decisions within their own states.

Conclusion
At the beginning of the debate Warren made it clear that its purpose was to promote dialogue and discussion without a systematic demonization of candidates. I think this is a great goal. And one to keep in mind as the debates and discussions move forward from here to November and beyond, both on a national and personal level. Especially in the midst of our Christian communities.

We as Christians have things that we value and care about, some of which were included in this discussion, and many that were absent, or which were not discussed as much (war, the environment, social justice, AIDS relief, and so on) -- and because we care we must be engaged in the democratic process of discussion, questioning, accountability and voting. And in this way we live out the teachings of Jesus and proactively "give to Caesar that which is Caesar's". Existing as good citizens in both the City of God and the City of Men as St. Augustine said, to the glory of God.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1918-2008

2008-08-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

The world learned recently of the sad passing of who many consider to be the greatest writer of Twentieth century, a Russia and a genuine prophet: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Humanity will forever be in his debt for exposing the horror of Soviet totalitariainism and the moral bankruptcy of Marxist-Leninism.

Here is a link to one of many obituaries to come. It contains a wonderful quote comes from the Russian writer Aleksandr Genis, who described the Solzhenitsyn as "the last remaining prophet in the abandoned temple of absolute truth".

Solzhenitsyn was a devout Christian and a critic of evil wherever he saw it. He was a dissident Russian writer and Nobel laureate whose portrayals of Josef Stalins labour camps and political oppression helped undermine the Soviet grip on power. He was 89.

He died of heart failure. Solzhenitsyn revealed to the Western world the inner workings of the gulag, the network of prisons and camps that held as many as 20 million people during Stalins reign of terror and killed at least 1.5 million. He became a thorn in the side of Soviet authorities and was an icon for Russian intellectuals, helping trigger the demise of the communist regime with his calls for social conscience and historical justice.

He criticized the West for its godlessness, hedonism, moral relativism and shallow consumerism. Here is a link to his famous Harvard Commencement Address "A World Split Apart," which caused him to fall out of favor with Western liberal intellectuals.

My favorite quote from this speech:

"It would be retrogression to attach oneself today to the ossified formulas of the Enlightenment. Social dogmatism leaves us completely helpless in front of the trials of our times."

He rejected both of the great religions to emerge out of the European Enlightenment as replacements for Christianity: Capitalism and Marxism. He was a prophet. He will be missed but never forgotten and his writings live on.

source Craig Carter

Dark Knight Curse?

2008-08-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

There is talk of a Dark Knight curse. Some may say "Curse? The movie has made 400 million dollars in 17 days. That is anything but a curse!"

To put that in perspective Titanic made 1.5 million dollars in the same amount of time -- it is this bloggers opinion that The Dark Knight will become the biggest domestic grossing film of all time; Titanic is presently the biggest with 600 million dollars; yet I think Titianic will remain the largest international grosser with 1.8 billion dollars.

The talk of curse comes from elsewhere, however. I was in the grocery store two days ago and saw the front of the National Enquirer and its title read Dark Knight Curse. The article was about the fact that both of the big stars of the film have undergone bad experiences: Heath Ledger, of course, dying of an accidental drug overdose in January and Christian Bale's recent arrest and accustion of assault on his own mother and sister. Both stars suffering tragedy.

And then something strange happened. I came home today from a town parade, sat down on my couch and turned on CNN, and the first thing that came up was the following story:

Hollywood Actor Morgan Freeman Seriously Hurt in Car Accident:

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman said to be in a serious condition after the car he was driving flipped over several times late on Sunday. Freeman was driving near his home in Charleston, Mississippi, at the time of the accident. The actor and a female companion were cut free by emergency workers before being airlifted to a hospital 90 miles away in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kathy Stringer, a spokeswoman for the regional medical centre in Memphis, described the 71-year-old actor's condition as "serious".
The editor of the Charleston Sun Sentinel newspaper, who arrived at the scene shortly after the accident, said Freeman had been conscious and talking to rescuers. "They had to use the jaws of life [hydraulic cutters] to extract him from the vehicle."

Don't get me wrong I don't think there is curse. But I hope that this bad run for the cast of this film stops.

I hope and pray that Morgan Freeman is alright.