Happy New Year!

I haven't posted for a while. We've been having internet connection problems. It works fine and then it doesn't. Right now (obviously) it's working, but who knows for how long. Next step: They're sending us a new modem....

A random quote from the past year:

"Economies can blossom and grow only if people are deluded into believing that the production of wealth will make them happy … Economies thrive when individuals strive, but because individuals will strive only for their own happiness, it is essential that they mistakenly believe that producing and consuming are routes to personal well-being" (Daniel Gilbert, quoted in Newsweek, Oct 15, 2007).

[Update: I posted this quote without much reason or any comment. I want to add a comment: If we believe that the making of wealth itself will make us ultimately happy, then we are deluded. But I think there is a sense in which the production of wealth does/should make us happy. Our problem is that our thinking is divorced from a Christ-centric view of work and wealth and consumption.]

Human Rights

Glenn Penner explains Why (He) Believes in Human Rights. Here's a tidbit:

Human rights, rather than being opposed to a biblical worldview are a fruit of one. As Paul Marshall has pointed out in his book, Religious Liberty in the World Today, it is no accident that countries that have historically been influenced by a strong Christian worldview have consistently maintained the highest levels of religious liberty for its citizens. There is a reason why we believe that human beings should be treated with respect; they are created in image of God (cf. Genesis 9:6; James 3:9).

Who Is the Church?

Here's a blog entry by Justin Taylor at the Humble Orthodoxy site on The Church: The Who and the Why.

If Christ is the foundational cornerstone, then the church is his temple. If Christ is the savior, then the church is the saved. If Christ is the sanctifier, then the church is the sanctified. If Christ is the head, then we are his body (Eph. 1:22-23; 3:6; 4:4, 16; 5:23, 30)

And his conclusion:

If you love Christ, you will love his word. If you love Christ's word, you will love his church. We dare not mock or treat as dispensable that for which Christ died. As the church, we are the bride of Christ. Let us labor, therefore, to make it our own, since Christ himself has made us his own (Phil. 3:12).

The Financial Support of a Pastor

I left my pastoral position about a year ago in order to plant a church. In a couple of weeks, I'll likely post some of my reflections on the past year.

Part of our decision in this new adventure was to find work instead of receiving financial support. Let me say here that I appreciate those pastors who are paid to study the Bible and pray and lead. In the past, I've posted on the need for such men and their ministries. But as Kirk Wellum points out, there's also a growing need for bi-vocational ministries (emphasis added):

The challenge, however, will be to prepare students to think like this. It may mean that learning a trade will be a necessary part of preparation for Christian ministry as we look to the future. Certainly there is a shortage of skilled labor in the land. Or it may mean picking up some other skills or finding ways to use the interesting array of gifts that church planters must possess if they are going to be successful to supplement their incomes. As someone who has planted a church I know that having adequate financing is a big part of the equation. I also know that God can supply our needs in all kinds of ways. But I also know that our present way of doing things is not working very well. It is too slow and cumbersome. There are too many layers of ecclesiastical bureaucracy that are occupied by people who have no vision for what needs to be done and too many money brokers who are more interested in their land acquisitions than laying up for themselves treasure in heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt and where thieves do not break in and steal. As we attempt to go forward from here we may discover that a recovery of biblical doctrine may need to be joined to a fresh look at how things were done in those early days of the Christian church when a small and socially insignificant group of believers turned the world upside down!

Going Public

Brian Thornton has a good suggestion: "Do more things in public with your church body so that the world will see you together with one another."

What does the world see of the church, the visible church? What is the extent of your church’s witness, visibility, and influence in the public’s eye? I have heard it said that we (as believers) gather together on Sundays to get equipped/energized so that we can then go out into the world to be a witness for Christ. And I agree with that. But, so often, once we depart from being together with our brothers and sisters within the confines of the four walls of the church building, we become soloists. Granted, when we go to work we are by ourselves, and unless we live next door to some of our fellow church members, we are also on our own when it comes to what our neighbors see of our church. In other words, the world doesn’t really see the church together, in public, interacting with one another.

I recall singing a hymn when I was younger called, They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love, but how will they know this by our love if they never see us together in public?

The Lord Jesus Christ said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another“, but how will all people know this if the only place you express love for your brothers and sisters is inside the walls of your church?

I fear that the visible church is only visible on Sundays and Wednesdays, and even then it is not the church which is visible, but rather just the gathering of cars in a parking lot!

How Should We Work?

I find it interesting that when Paul calls us to do everything for the glory of God, he highlighted two very ordinary activities (instead of drawing attention to, say, great sacrifices, risky enterprises, or powerful acts): "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). For that reason I think knowing how to live as a follower of Jesus in the ordinary is essential. Work certainly falls into that category. Few things are more everyday, and for some, mundane. Jonathan Dodson has a good article on How Should We Then Work?

If we are to live all of life before God, how shall we then work? At the very least, work that honors God's sovereignty over all creation is work that is excellent, ethical, evangelistic, and theologically integrative. However, with the great promise of this fourfold approach to work, there remain several pitfalls.

As noted above, work-as-excellence can lead to competition-driven, Christ-belittling work. Ethical work can easily devolve into moralistic work in which we secretly congratulate ourselves for squeaky clean employment, regardless of the quality of our output. An evangelistic approach to work can be awfully narrow, neglecting our important role in contributing to the whole of society. And work as vocational essence — the attempt to theologically integrate the nature of our work with the nature of God — can lead to intellectualism, especially when it isn't coupled with centurion-like faith.

Willy Loman, the salesman and central character in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, boasted of a successful sales career while secretly living off of loans from friends. One evening Willy was confronted by his son, Biff. Biff called his father out, to which Willy replied: "One day you will see how successful I am. When I die, there will be thousands at my funeral." The next day Willy committed suicide. Only five people showed up to his funeral.

Finding our worth in our work, however excellent, ethical, evangelistic, or theologically integrative, is spiritual suicide. Willy Loman built his worth on his work, its failure and success. Acceptance by others and significance based on their perception of our work does not satisfy. In fact, it displaces Jesus from his rightful place as our Lord.

How shall we then work? In order to avoid the pitfalls of these approaches to work, and to participate in their promise, we must work from our acceptance in Christ, not for our acceptance in Christ.

Mormonism

Mormon missionaries are quite active on our local university campus, especially (it seems) among students from mainland China.

Baptist Press has a helpful comparison of Christian, Mormon doctrinal differences (HT: Jim Hamilton).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon church) professes to be a Christian church. However, a careful comparison of basic doctrinal positions of that church to those of historical, biblical Christianity reveal many radical differences. This comparison utilizes Mormon doctrines as stated in LDS authoritative primary sources and those of historic Christianity as derived solely from the Bible.

Planting House Churches

Guy Muses lists the Top 10 Reasons for Planting House Churches from Rad Zdero's book The Global House Church Movement.

Risking Much in Missions

Ed Stetzer writes on Missions and Violence. In the post he refers to Keith Eitel's book, Missions in the Contexts of Violence.

Keith Eitel quotes martyred missionary Karen Watson, who wrote a letter before she was killed along with three other missionaries in an ambush in Iraq. She wrote a letter before she left that would have profound significance after her death.

Keith reports that she told her pastor to put the letter in a safe place in case she did not return. She did not.

Karen's letter included this credo:

The Missionary Heart
Cares more than some think is wise.
Risks more than some think is safe.
Dreams more than some think is practical.
Expects more than some think is possible.

Courage in Witnessing

J. P. Moreland writes on Witnessing as a Spiritual Discipline.

If you want to make it your aim to grow in the courage to stand up for your faith in threatening situations, including sharing the gospel with unbelievers, you need to learn why you believe what you believe (see I Peter 3:15).... But this is not enough. You need to practice taking a stand and sharing your faith in increasingly more threatening situations. Just as one who is learning to play golf starts with simple swings and as he/she gets better, moves on to more difficult strokes (for example, getting out of a sand trap), so one should approach the development of the virtue of courage. Start with situations that are just a little threatening, for example, by identifying yourself as a Christian with someone who is not. And once you learn to be comfortable with that, move on to practicing slightly more difficult behaviors. Be kind to yourself—don’t force yourself to do something that is so far outside your safetly zone that you will get discouraged and stop making progress. On the other hand, continue to stretch yourself. As you do, remember that you are approaching this area of life as a spiritual discipline. Practice over and over again the level of courageousness you are at until it becomes a habit. Then move on to the next level and repeat. And remember, Jesus is our coach and he said that he would never leave us or forsake us (Matthew 28:18-20).

The Church as the Body of Christ

Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “And God placed all things under [Christ’s] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” When it says here that Christ is filling everything in every way, I take it to mean that he is asserting his rule over everything everywhere in every way (cf. verse 22). Since the church as the body of Christ is this fullness, it means that the rule of Christ over all things is meant to be accomplished and demonstrated through the church as the embodiment of the Son.

The Bible has these things to say about the church as the body of Christ:

1. “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior” (Ephesians 5:23). The body does not exist apart from the head. They are inseparably connected. Christ is the head of the church, which he redeemed for himself by his death on the cross. Thus the church functions as the body of Christ – his fullness, or the embodiment of his rule – when we are submitted to his authority and leadership.

2. “After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of his body” (Ephesians 5:29-30). As the body of Christ, the church belongs to Christ and is loved by him. He supplies what we need and watches over us. Thus the church functions as the body of Christ – his fullness – when we depend upon his provision and protection.

3. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). Christ is our peace (cf. Ephesians 2:14-16), who unites us together in one body. Thus the church functions as the body of Christ – his fullness – when we practice the peace or unity of Christ.

4. “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body (1 Corinthians 12:18-20). The church is one body, but has many parts. God designed the church to be diverse, with a variety of spiritual gifts. Thus the church functions as the body of Christ – his fullness – when we accept and appreciate this diversity.

5. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:4-5). The church is one body with many members; therefore, we need one another. In fact, we belong to each other, which is to say that in the church, I am a part of you and you are a part of me. We have a mutual responsibility to one another. Thus the church functions as the body of Christ – his fullness – when we love one another.

Ephesians 4:15-16 tells us what happens when the church acts like the body of Christ that it is: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:15-16). In other words, we will grow, be built up and become mature: “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). The church is the fullness of Christ - in which the rule of Christ over all things is accomplished and demonstrated. One day it will attain to what it is; the whole measure of Christ’s fullness will be seen in his body.

Heaven

Randy Alcorn in Heaven (p. 394) quoting Mark Buchanan in Things Unseen:

Why won't we be bored in heaven? Because it's the one place where both impulses - to go beyond, to go home - are perfectly joined and totally satisfied. It's the one place where we're constantly discovering - where everything is always fresh and the possessing of a thing is as good as the pursuing of it - and yet where we are fully at home - where everything is as it ought to be and where we find, undiminished, that mysterious something we never found down here.... And this lifelong melancholy that hangs on us, this wishing we were someone else somewhere else, vanishes too. Our craving to go beyond is always and fully realized. Our yearning for home is once and for all fulfilled. The ahh! of deep satisfaction and the aha! of delighted surprise meet, and they kiss.

Mohler on The Golden Compass

A recent news report says that a complaint about the children's novel The Golden Compass has led to a review by the Halton Catholic school board (Ontario). I had not heard of the novel before and saw the trailer for the upcoming movie version without paying much notice.

Albert Mohler provides helpful information about The Golden Compass (and the rest of Philip Pullman's trilogy). Sometimes Christians overreact to books and movies, with bans and boycotts. I appreciate Mohler's measured and thoughtful response.

A good first step would be to take a deep breath. The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books.

This is about the battle of ideas and worldviews. While Christians will not celebrate the release of this film, we should recognize the mixture of challenge and opportunity that comes with millions of persons watching this film and talking about the issues it raises. When the movie is mentioned in the workplace, in school, on the playground, or in the college campus, this is a great opportunity to show that Christians are not afraid of the battle of ideas.

Definition of the Trinity

I listened this week to Bruce Ware's lecture on the Trinity at Biblical Training (you have to register to listen to the lecture). He gives a definition of the Trinity that is based on his study of Augustine's work: “God's whole and undivided essence belongs equally, simultaneously, and fully to each of the three persons of the Godhead.”

See also: Justin Taylor on Trinity 101 at the Desiring God blog.

In Time for Christmas

Al Hsu writes about Desiring Less:

My favorite quote on the topic of simplicity is from G. K. Chesterton: “There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”

I first came across this quote during grad school while reading Richard Foster's lesser-known-but-still-classic book Freedom of Simplicity. It was a life-organizing principle for me then, and I try to come back to this notion of desiring less whenever I find myself wanting things I don't really need.

The Appeal of House Churches

Jim Elliff's article Should I Say More About Meeting in Homes? encourages others to "see the value in going this way [house churches] if they have a high view of truth and biblical leadership." There are many positive experiences he shares. He says this about participation in the meetings:

Our model isn't about the "performance" sort of Christianity that has become so predictable in our current period. In fact, the congregations come to welcome what the least among us can say or do. So, instead of becoming more "presentational" (have I coined a word?), we are becoming more excited about first steps and blundering attempts. We can fail in the congregational meetings. Things don't have to be perfect. But as most auditorium settings, professionalism almost always comes with enlargement, squashing the real participation of the new believer or those least glib and talented among them.

And this about preaching:

Interestingly, my preaching is very different for this model and has its real pluses in my mind. In the past, I had to work more at oratory. I hope I didn't over-emphasized this, but it was there-how well is my message polished for presentation, etc.? There's a place for the audience/stage preaching, of course. I still do that as I travel, and we have that in the "gatherings" every six weeks when all our congregations come together. I have seen much blessing in it. But my weekly preaching is more dialogical. I don't mean by this that my approach is like a Sunday School class with an unprepared teacher, or the sharing of opinions without holding people to the truth (as preachers must do). Nor do I mean an abdication of responsibility to hold forth absolute truth in a convincing way like some liberal pastors might fall into. But now my weekly exposition is more about the text and less about polish. I can be interrupted. I can ask questions myself, and invite discussion. I think that I depend on God in a greater way than I used to when I relied on more homiletically perfected presentations. I don't mean that I speak without study-far from it. But this somewhat more dialogical kind of teaching is more relaxing for the speaker by allowing me to be burdened about the text more than the arrangement and appearance of the message. Examples of Jesus and Paul entertaining dialogue abound in Scripture. Also, I think the somewhat more casual and informal atmosphere engenders better learning. So I'm just having more enjoyment preaching than I ever have.