Ordinary Pastors

We watched the following video for our TriState Fellowship Ministerium meeting.

T4G 2010 -- Session 9 -- C.J. Mahaney from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

After the video, we also discussed the following questions:

1. How can a comfort with being called to the ordinary not lead to complacency or laziness in ministry?

2. Though CJ Mahaney refers to himself as an "ordinary pastor," none of us would probably refer to him as one. How do you think he maintains a genuine humility in regard to his ministry?

3. How can we keep from comparing ourselves (either favorably, or unfavorably) with other pastors/churches within our district?

4. Who do you have in your life who can assess whether you are being patient toward the sheep God has entrusted to you?

This timely article also came out on the Gospel Coalition.

Take a look, I think it will bless you.

Fun Family Event

Grace will be hosting John Begley this Sunday evening at 6:30pm.

Should be a fun time for the whole family...would love to see you there!

Interesting Interview

I found this interview quite edifying as you watch Harris, Driscoll and Chan work through different issues, but with respect and concern for one another:

What's Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

Christ Glorified in Jocks and Nerds

Just the other day, I listened to a keynote panel (audio/video) from the Resolved Conference including CJ Mahaney, Steve Lawson, John MacArthur, and Rick Holland. During the discussion, CJ made the following observation:

"These men have a voracious appetite to read, because they have a voracious appetite to learn, because these men have a voracious appetite to grow in their knowledge of, and love for, God."

After he shared this observation, each man took their turn sharing how they once were not interested in academics, but spent much of their youth pursuing athletics. A couple of these men had great success in the athletic arena, and any reading or school work was simply completed for the sake of maintaining eligibility. However, each man shared how either at their conversion, or upon the call from God into ministry, they began to develop a new love for reading. They shared how this was such a radical change in their life that it was obvious it must have been wrought from God. CJ even shared (who experienced this change right at conversion) that it served initially as an evidence of grace in his life. Each man proclaimed that their love for reading had no other source than the love and grace of God.

But there was one other man on the panel.

Al Mohler does not share their testimony. Mohler joked that while the other members of the panel were outside playing with balls, he was inside reading books. Mixing his near-sightedness with athletic endeavors, Mohler quickly discovered, "This isn't working." Mohler explains the distinction:

I think we can make a virtue out of reading that can be an end in itself. But reading is not an end in itself, growth into godliness is the end; being conformed into the image of Christ. That's going to happen by Scripture, it's going to come by the teaching and preaching of the Word of God and it's going to happen by reading. So reading is not "the thing," it's not the end in itself. It is the way God has chosen to help His people grow, and it's been that way from the beginning. The Jews were dependent upon the scrolls. Paul says to Timothy, "Bring the books and the parchments in a hurry." It's just important and we realize we're not going to grow if we're not reading and studying.

I praise God for the testimony of both. The "reading jocks" remind us that you must read to be able to truly grow. But the "nerds" remind us that reading is not glorious if growth in godliness is not the goal. Without each other, neither message would be as clear.

Personally, I've never been smart enough to qualify as a "nerd" and certainly lack the athleticism to be a "jock." However, I will read, and call the sheep at Grace to read, because I trust in a sovereign God--for no other reason than to show His divine glory and mercy--delights in conforming His children into the image of His Son through His Word.

Gospel Centered Surprise

Last night, QT and I joined our JOY Club (Seniors' Ministry) for a hymn-sing. We sang many favorites which I haven't sung in a long time. Someone suggested I Love to Tell the Story. I remembered this one from church growing up, and always thought it was a song about evangelism. But it's about much more than that! I found the final verse particularly encouraging:

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

Refrain
I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems
Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.
I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;
And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.

Refrain

I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat
What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.

Refrain

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

Perhaps the Amillennialists Are Right?

C'mon, Keith Shearer, you gotta admit that this makes you wonder if we aren't experiencing more of the Kingdom than we anticipated!

Christian Patriotism?

The following video is a great way to consider our role as Christians who live in the United States:

A couple quick notes:

1. This is not an assessment of the individual faith of the "founding fathers." Every single founding father could have been a believer (they were not), and yet the United States would not be a Christian nation.
2. This does not in any way mean that we do not enjoy incredible freedoms here in our country, all of which are a grace from God. We experience a lot of liberties here which allow us to freely pursue Christ. This is a gift for which we should all be thankful.3. A common grace God has given for us so that we can experience these liberties has been seen in the lives of soldiers who have served (or are serving) as well as those who have lost their lives protecting these liberties. These sacrifices cannot save a soul, but they are a glorious display of loyalty and sacrifice.



Why does this matter? Couldn't this issue simply be left for opinion? Why does this issue seem to rile me up so much at times?

In a nutshell, I think the crusade to "reclaim" the United States as a Christian nation confuses and distorts the gospel.

1. It reduces the essentials of saving faith. I've heard people state, "Look, the Declaration of Independence mentions a Creator God, this proves many founding fathers were Christian." Such a statement ignores that simply being a Theistic Creationist does not mean one has saving faith. I've also heard people exclaim, "But did you know that a majority of the founding fathers were pastors?" Again, this misses that salvation does not come by an office held within the church. (In fact, Gilbert Tennent preached On the Danger of an Unconverted Ministry in 1739.) I've met a disturbing number of pastors who do not know Jesus Christ, and it seems Pastor Tennent had met a number of them too...right around the time of the Revolution.

When we want to claim our nation as Christian because the founding fathers made some vague comments about God, we distort the gospel on two fronts. One, we make it seem like the gospel is simply to believe that God is a Creator and we eliminate the news of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We somehow imagine a Christianity that does not require the gospel. And two, we obscure what it means to be a genuine witness. We begin to assume we are taking a major stand by saying God exists and He made everything. Instead, we need to speak of Jesus, and how salvation is only found in Him.

2. It confuses our mission. A recently heard a pastor state, "Pastors have to start preaching to their people that this nation was founded on Christian principles or we'll never see this country turn around." But Christ's kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). He will build His Church (Matthew 16:18). Surely this should be the focus of every disciple and pastor. The pastor who focuses on building this nation will a) find himself neglecting the proclamation of the gospel, for the gospel cannot be spread (or received) through political movement, and b) ignoring the fact that there are still 1.9 billion people who have not heard the name of Jesus, most of whom do not live in the United States. Our mission is to see God build a nation, not a country.

3. It does not call people to hope. Even if the United States had been founded as a Christian nation, such knowledge will not return people to those roots. Hope is not placed in the past (Romans 8:24). Such an effort falls victim to the naive assumption that the time of the Revolution was the glory days for our country.

Let's get this straight: Black people were slaves. Women were not given the liberty to vote. The Catholic church and corrupted Church of England were running rampant. People ignored Romans 13:1-7 and began to murder other people. And some people want to think of that era as the "glory days?"

The message of the gospel is set in the past, at what Christ did for us. But the hope of the gospel is set ahead of us. That we will be with Him some day! If this is as good as it gets, that's not "good news." If Resurrection Morning is as good as it gets, that's not "good news." The good news is good because in hope, I wait for the day that God will call me home and I will enjoy being in the presence of Christ for all eternity...freed from presence of sin and the curse placed upon creation for it. This hope is what can motivate people to proclaim His gospel and see His church built.

Independence Day is a day to celebrate. (There's double celebration in our family, as it is also my parents' anniversary.) Watch fireworks, go to a cookout, pray and thank God for our country...however you choose to celebrate. However, also remember that political and religious freedom is not true freedom. Freedom from sin and its punishment is the only true freedom there is.

And that's a message for every person, of every country.