Church

A Man’s Spiritual Toolbox

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

A few weeks back, I had the privilege of speaking to the men of Terrace Lake Community Church, a sister SBC church, in our association.  We had a great time considering what Scripture teaches about manhood, and I wanted to lay out a few books, resources, and websites that would help them (and anyone else) continue to grow in masculine godliness.  Consider it a Man’s Spiritual Toolbox.

MANHOOD

# 1 : Manly Dominion (book)

Don’t be a passive, purple 4-ball!  In a world of chaos and disorder, Pastor Mark Chanski challenges men from Scripture (specifically, Genesis 1:26-28) to live with the God-given mandate to take dominion in their spheres of influence.  He addresses a variety of subjects, ranging from decision-making, to vocation, to the pursuit of romance.  We are using this book in our monthly men’s breakfast our church (Calvary BC in Seymour, IN).  If 1 Corinthians 16:13grips you– “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong”– than this is a great book to motivate you to forsake passivity and pursue manly dominion under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

# 2 : Masculine Mandate (book)

Richard Phillips is a gifted exegete and author who continues to write books for the edification of the church.  This book, however, did not come from his pulpit ministry, but from a passion to reach men.  He takes his “masculine mandate” from Genesis 2:15, which instructs Adam to cultivate and guard the garden.  By extension, he argues from Scripture that men are to embrace this work of cultivation in everything they do, especially in the home, in the workplace, and in the church.  This book is similar to Manly Dominion, but has enough biblical exposition and different material that it is worth reading, as well.

# 3 : The Council For Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (website)

This ministry promotes the biblical view that men and women are made equally in the image of God, but with different roles.  This “complementarian” view of men and women is expressed most fully in the Danvers Statement, drafted in 1988 to counter the rise of evangelical feminism permeating North American churches.  CBMW’s website has countless biblical resources and practical guides for cultivating a complementarian view of men and women in the church and Christian homes.

MARRIAGE, WORK, CHILDREN

# 4 : Married For God (book)

A few years ago, in a research project, I read through about 20 different books on marriage.  There are many good books out there on marriage (John Piper’s This Momentary Marriage, Geoffrey Bromiley’s God and Marriage, and Dave Harvey’s When Sinners Say I Do are at the top of the list), but Christopher Ash’s was, in my opinion, the best.  It takes many of the Edenic principles laid out in Genesis 1-2 and shows how marriage is not an end in itself.  It is not simply designed to ameliorate loneliness or quench the burn or youthful desires–though it does both of these–rather it is designed by God to radiate his glory and to catalyze his gospel.  Be fruitful and multiply undergirds the Great Commission mandate to “Go and disciples” and Ash’s books shows from Scripture how husbands and wives can live for something bigger than their own marriage–namely the glory of God–and thus in the process their are more united and satisfied in their own nuptial union.

# 5 : A Biblical Theology of Work (blog post)

Justin Taylor, as always, provides a bevy of resources to motivate men to work hard for the glory of God.  Piper’s chapter from Don’t Waste Your Life is the place I would begin, and then to look at all the other resources to show how a man’s work is not disconnected from the work of God in the world.  Another resource for Christian businessmen is Wayne Grudem’s Business for the Glory of God. For anyone who devotes minimally 40 hours a week to a job, and more likely the number is like 50-60 hours, it is vitally important to understand how to pursue your vocation in a way that please God and pushes you towards Christ, not away.

# 6 : Shepherding A Child’s Heart & Instructing a Child’s Heart (books)

In these two books, Tedd Tripp outlines a number of biblical strategies for raising children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  They contain both biblical truths which will renew your mind and practical tips to help implement things like discipline.  They have age graded sections as well to help shepherd children in all phases of life.  Stuart Scott and Martha Peace’s book The Faithful Parent is another excellent resource.  See my review of that book at TGCReviews.

WARRIOR-SHEPHERDS WHO WIELD THE SWORD WELL

Finally, in our weekend retreat, we talked about the need to think biblically and intelligently about events that are occurring all around us.  For instance, how should one think about the recent slew of homosexual teenagers who killed themselves because of harassment and bullying?.  Parents, particularly fathers, must be able to help lead their families to think “Christianly” about such things.  Pastors have the burden of helping their congregations interpret the world, but so do fathers.  Every father is the pastor in his own home.  Too many men have abdicated this role, but men who take seriously their masculine mandate will not just be strong providers or able defenders, they will also be warrior who ably wield the sword to defend their families from Satanic error, and gentle shepherds who know how to feed their families the promises of God’s word.

It is with this image of a warrior-shepherd that I include the 4 final tools for the toolbox.

# 7 : ESV Study Bible (book)

More than any other single resource today, the ESV Study Bible is a wonderful tool and study guide to help you understand the Bible better.  It has excellent study notes on every chapter of the Bible, compiled by many of today’s best evangelical scholars.  It has an online feature that is second-to-none.  You can adjust the settings to how you like them, you can store your personal study notes online, you do advanced searches in each book of the Bible or across the whole Bible, and all of its articles on doctrine, archaeology, ethics, and dozens more are available online.  It is a must-have for every serious churchman (and pastor).

# 8 : New Bible Commentary (book)

Going one step beyond the Study Bible, this single-volume commentary is a resource worth owning.  It provides solid exegetical commentary from an evangelical position.  The comments are not lengthy, but are illuminating.  It would be a worthwhile addition to your personal library–something every Christian man should develop over time for the sake of his family.  Listen to Rick Warren as he talks about building a Christian library in his Desiring God National Conference talk, “The Battle For The Mind” (less than 3 minutes from -37:30 to -35:00).

# 9 : Systematic Theology or Bible Doctrine (books)

Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology is a modern classic in theological and devotional literature, but despite its daunting size, it is not beyond the reach of any maturing Christian.  Rather, it is simply phase 2 spiritual training.  It is for those mature men (and women) who already possess an established pattern of Bible Reading.  If that describes you, than this book is for you!

Reading a volume of systematic theology is like preparing for a marathon or losing 75 pounds.  It takes planning and a Spirit-empowered determination to conquer the opposing challenge–if this is a problem (see # 1-2 above).  To be honest, Grudem’s book is a massive undertaking.  Still, its biblically-saturated contents are worth the investment.  They will take you through every major doctrine in the Bible and present you with a systematic presentation of the Bible that will help you navigate circumstances in life with a more thorough grasp of God’s word.

The facts:  Systematic Theology is 57 chapters in length, broken into 7 sections, which include sections on the Word of God, God (Theology Proper), Humanity and Sin, Christ and the Holy Spirit, Salvation, the Church, and the Future.  A simple reading plan could be 1 chapter a week for 57 weeks.  In 13 months, you could finish this book that would open your eyes to behold the wisdom and beauty of God stored in his word.  Don’t read it alone; recruit 3 or 4 or 30 likeminded brothers and challenge each other to read it together.  Just like working out with football team in high school, this biblical workout will strengthen your faith and trim the fat of your theological error– Yes!  Right now, you and I have theological error crouching in our hearts and minds that need biblical excision.  If the 1100+ page Systematic Theology is too much, check out Grudem’s slimmer version, Bible Doctrine (34 chapters and less than 500 pages).

# 10 : Albert Mohler and his Daily Briefing (podcast / website)

Albert Mohler is the president of Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.  He is committed to the inerrancy of Scripture and to interpreting the world in light of the Bible.  Among all the things that he does, sometime in wee hours of the morning, he records a 10-15 podcast that provides cultural commentary from a Christian perspective.  I try to make this a regular stop each day, to listen to his reflections on the political, cultural, educational, legal, and other social fronts that are regularly endanger the church and Christian families.  Mohler’s “Daily Briefing,” along with other resources on his webpage, AlbertMohler.com, would be a weekly stop  to help you think biblically about issues that you and your family will face.

There are so many other resources available and things that could be on this list (maybe, that should be on this list), but this is a start.  If someone takes seriously their “masculine mandate,” they will sacrifice to get such resource.  Acquiring these resources means intentionality and investment (time and money), but ask yourself: “What is more important?”

I would posit that there is nothing more important.  Some day, we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor 3:1-5; 2 Cor 5:10), and every word we ever spoke will be examined by our great King (Matthew 12:36).  In that moment, what will matter is the time we spent getting to know Jesus and the time we spent learning to walk in a manner worthy of his calling and sharing his good news with others.

For men, devoting yourself to a lifetime of growth in godliness as a husband, father, grandfather, employee, employer, company president… whatever, requires that you pursue it by the renewing of your mind.  God calls us to excellence and he provides us with everything we need for life and godliness.  Too many men, make up their masculinity as they go, instead of learning from the wisdom (and mistakes) of others– others who have learned from the Scriptures and will help us better apply God’s truth to our lives.

These resources will serve you well as men, husbands, fathers, and laborers for Christ. I pray God will make you strong and fruitful men, who do everything in the love of Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Southern Baptists: An Unfinished Denomination

/ davidsschrock

Yesterday, I posted an article on the SBC : “Southern Baptists: An Unregenerate Denomination.”  If left to that singular reflection, it might be assumed that by my assessment, the Southern Baptist Convention is in great peril or that I am a cantankerous critic.  However, I think there is great reason for hope in our convention.  And in spite of the millions of missing Southern Baptists, I think God has mercifully provided for the SBC and revealed once again that he loves those who do not deserve it.

Let me mention just a few of the encouraging things that I see (from my myopically-small point of view) which should be indicators of encouragement, or as C.J. Mahaney likes to call them, “evidences of grace.”

First, before taking my post as pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Seymour, IN, I had the wonderful privilege of helping coordinate the graduation ceremonies at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY.  It was like I got to plan a party for a thousand people three times a year.  Fun!  However, the real joy was in seeing more than 500 graduates sent out into the convention and to the nations each year.  The graduation of these God-called and trained ministers means that God is replenishing his churches.  As these graduates have had the privilege of sitting under some of the best Christian scholars in the world, they are now going out ready to minister, by God’s grace, to a lost and dying world.  And Southern is only one of six Southern Baptist Seminaries that are graduating faithful and equipped men and women.  While this does not assure success, because not every graduate is uniformly committed to God’s call; it is an encouraging as we look to the near future.

May God be pleased to use such institutions now, as he has in the past (for an excellent testimony of how God uses solidly-evangelical seminaries, read the first two chapters of The Puritan Hope by Iain Murray).

Second, the ministry of Mark Dever (IX Marks) among Southern Baptist churches and ministers has been a salubrious antidote to the bloated results of too many church growth strategies.  It is not by accident that Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC is now bursting at the seems with young Christians and has trained and sent out dozens of young men who are committed to the centrality and the purity of the church.  In time and by God’s grace, these pastors-to-be will have a powerful effect on revitalizing “dead” churches.  9 Marks books, conferences, weekenders, and online resources have influenced thousands of pastors to take seriously the role of the church.

Calling attention to 9 biblical, but oft neglected, marks of a healthy church– expositional preaching, biblical theology, biblical conversion, biblical evangelism, biblical leadership, biblical discipleship, church discipline, rightly defining and proclaiming the gospel, and church membership–will surely meet opposition in Sardis-like churches (Rev 3:1), but they are key ingredients to seeing God’s glory in the local church again (Eph 3:8-10).  Joining his ranks are the ministries of Tom Ascol, Johnny Hunt, and countless unnamed church leaders who have invested in training pastors to cherish disciple-making more than numbers inflation.

Third, this years Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, Florida was filled with hope-giving activity.  For starters, the Great Commission Resurgence was received and passed with overwhelming support (75-80%).  While all the details of this will be worked out in the following years, it means that Southern Baptists are wanting to put their money where their mouth is–namely the Great Commission.  The strong support of this motion indicates self-sacrifice and a willingness to reevaluate the ways we are doing ministry today.

Additionally, at the SBC, the list of resolutions that were passed by the convention were very encouraging.  The first resolution was “On the Centrality of the Gospel,” the second emphasized the need for greater “Family Worship,” and the third addressed the “Scandal of Southern Baptist Divorce.”  Each of the reflect the heart of SBC pastors to lead their churches towards greater gospel-centrality, greater family discipleship, and greater accountability to Scripture.  May God be pleased to bring these resolutions to reality.

Fourth, and finally, I am encouraged by the leading spokesmen of our convention, those who possess great conviction and commitment to the gospel.  Younger pastors like David Platt and Matt Chandler are pressing Baptists young and old to suffer joyfully for the sake of the gospel; while seasoned pastors and theologians like Johnny Hunt, Albert Mohler, Russell Moore, and Danny Akin, are leading our denomination towards greater gospel precision and more fervent great commission vision. I pray that new SBC President Bryant Wright will have the same vision and commitment to the gospel.

For all these reasons and more, I believe that the Southern Baptist Convention is an UNFINISHED DENOMINATION.  It is not perfect, but it is petitioning God to work in us, and there are evidences that Christ is answering prayer.   This is why I am glad to be called a Southern Baptist.

Going forward, I hope and pray and believe that the Conservative Resurgence of the last three decades has great potential to cause a Great Commission Resurgence and Gospel Advance in the years ahead.  Still, it won’t just be the leaders in denominational offices that will bring change in local churches; it will be the bi-vocational pastors in small churches faithfully preaching the word of God and the lay leaders who sacrifice their time to invest in the lives of others.  It will be the result of the Spirit of God to grip our hearts to do what Paul said so long ago, “to entrust [the gospel] to faithful men [and women] who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2).  It will take a grass-roots movement of gospel-breathing people, living for the sake of Christ’s name, at the expense of their own.  May God be pleased to do that in our generation!

May we who preach the word do so with boldness and consistency, and may we all hear the word with openness and anticipation of what God can do in a people radically surrendered to him.  May we not simply point fingers at others, may we examine our hearts (2 Cor 13:5) and show ourselves to be approved before God.

Lord Christ, galvanize your churches in the Southern Baptist Convention and throughout the world.  Unify us as a cooperative army of gospel-centered churches, wherein the grace of God is proclaimed and the glory of God is displayed.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Southern Baptists: An Unregenerate Denomination?

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

In Major League Baseball, 38% is outstanding.  If you can hit .380, you will be an All-Star and if you can do it year-after-year, you’ll be a Hall-of-Famer.  Sadly, the same may be true in the church. If your church brings in 38% out of its members every week, as the average SBC church does–according to the “SBC 2008 Annual Church Profile Summary”–it may be regarded as a thriving mega-church and the pastor a successful soul-winner.  Yet beneath the active veneer (or trendy website), something more pernicious may be at work.

Revelation 3:1 warns, “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead,” and in his article, “Southern Baptists, an Unregenerate Denomination,” Jim Elliff explains why this warning to Sardis applies to the churches of the SBC.

Elliff writes honestly about the condition of our Southern Baptist Churches, and calls for churches to stop playing number games and to find the millions that are missing.  Appealing to the New Testament church, not the neo-evangelical church, he shows from Scripture how every author of the New Testament warns of false conversion and spiritual deception.  He makes the case that if a church is healthy and regenerate, attendance should outnumber membership.  And he points to our baptists forefathers as prime examples.  Citing the work of Greg Wills, he writes:

In the Philadelphia Baptist Association Minutes, our first association, our initial American statistical record shows that five times as many people attended the association’s churches as were on their rolls. Greg Wills in Democratic Religion in the South (Oxford University Press, 1997, p.14) reports that three times the number on the rolls attended Baptist churches, then located mostly along the eastern seaboard when surveyed in 1791 by John Ashlund. In 1835, the Christian Index of Georgia recorded that “not less than twice the number” of members were in attendance.

Today, in rough numbers, it takes 300 people on our rolls to have 100 attenders. In the 1790s, it took only 33. Or, to put it in larger figures, it now takes nearly 3000 people, supposedly won to Christ and baptized, to result in a church attendance of 1000. Then, it took only 333. Our potency has diminished to such an extent that we must “win” and “baptize” over 2,000 more people to get to the same 1000 to attend.

Churches today, who possess the same Holy Spirit, should expect nothing less.  And in truth, we should long to follow in the wake of these Great Awakening churches.

While his article points out a number of depressing features about the health of churches in the SBC, he also points out the possibility for great recovery if we will be honest about the problem and return to preaching the Word of God and applying its principles of church discipline and evaluating sinners according to biblical standards, not decision cards.

Consider, for instance, Elliff’s comments about preaching on regeneration:

It was the preaching of regeneration, with an explanation of its discernible marks, that was the heart of the Great Awakening. J. C. Ryle, in writing of the eighteenth century revival preachers, said that they never for a moment believed that there was any true conversion if it was not accompanied by increasing personal holiness. Such content was the staple of the greatest of awakening preaching throughout the history of revival. Only such a powerful cannon blast of truth could rock the bed of those asleep in Zion.

Love for the brethren, longing for the Word, and desire to serve others are necessary marks of the genuinely converted.  Failure to assemble is a mark of God’s judgment (cf. Heb 10:25-39).  Thus 38% attendance bespeaks of our great need for humility to be honest about our numbers and the condition of our churches.  Only once we properly assess the problem, can we petition God for the solution — a fresh outpouring of his Spirit and a harvest of lasting fruit.

Though it is a bitter pill to swallow, Jim Elliff’s argument points us in the right direction, as he points us to the mirror of God’s word.  The glory of Christ’s church is at stake, as well as the souls of millions of missing “believers.”  May we labor with contrition and confidence for the sake of Christ’s church.

To read the whole thing, see his CCW article “Southern Baptists, an Unregenerate Denomination.” For more on the nature of a healthy church see Mark Dever’s Nine Marks of a Healthy Church and Thabiti Anyabwile’s What is a Healthy Church Member?

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

A Display of Glory: The Wizard of Westwood, The Wisdom of God, and The Witness of Your Church

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

On June 4 of this year, coaching legend John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood died at the age of 99. He holds the unique place in college basketball history as the only coach to win 10 National Titles–including 7 in a row– and 4 undefeated seasons. At one point, his UCLA Bruins won 88 games straight.  He is hailed as college basketball’s greatest coach. No one has accomplished on the hardwood what John Wooden did.

But here is what is interesting: All of his exploits were accomplished by other people. As a coach, he never once, stepped on the floor, picked up the ball, or checked into the game. As a coach, he never had a triple-double, made a game-winning shot, or came through with a clutch free throw (though he could have: in his playing days, he once made 134 in a row). As a coach, he called the plays and led his team, but his authority was from the sidelines. So, his achievements, indeed his glory, was accomplished by and through others.

So it is in the church. God’s glory is not seen directly. We do not come to church to see God descend in a cloud or pillar of fire. We do not look for a mystical vision to experience God, nor do we anticipate a voice from heaven splitting the sky. That is not how God reveals himself in our age. Rather, when we speak of seeing God’s glory, Scripture calls us to see it in the life and ministry of the church.

This was Paul’s point in Ephesians 3:8-10. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gives us some amazing insight into God’s intention for the church. And the first thing he says about the church is that it exists to display the grace and the wisdom of God.

In Ephesians 3:8, Paul says that grace was given to him as an apostle, so that he would preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. In this singular statement, you can see three keys elements of biblical theology–grace, the gospel, and glory.  Grace to proclaim God’s message, the message of the gospel, the gospel of God’s glorious riches in Christ. Paul continues and says that the reason why he was to preach the gospel of Christ was “to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.”

Here Paul uses a term that he uses only in a couple places. The term is “Mystery” and it means something that was once hidden but now is revealed. It is not something mysterious or unknowable. The word should not be associated with a Whodunit novel or the “mystery meat” at your school cafeteria. Rather, it has to do with God’s plan of redemption which has finally been revealed in Christ and the church.

Ephesians 3:10 says, “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places.” In other words, God’s purpose for the church is to broadcast his grace, wisdom, and power into the world. And not only to the world but to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places. In other words, angels subscribe to TBN, or at least the church channel. As 1 Peter 1:12 tells us, “angels long to look into these things.” They are watching what Christ is doing in his Church, and they are learning about God’s glory.  Because remember: Angels cover their faces in the presence of God (cf Isaiah 6:1-8). In their sinless perfection, they cannot stand to behold his glory; it is too great. And for the those fallen angels, their appreciation is even less acute.  So “rulers and authorities” watch in amazement the church, some in awe, others in honor, but all watch to see the unfolding mystery of God’s wisdom in the church, a wisdom that reflects the glory and grace of God.

Therefore, as Christ’s church, we are called to live life as though we are in the display window of Christ’s department store. How we live will determine whether or not the world and our children want anything to do with Christ or not. This is no small matter!  How we constitute, assemble, and participate in our churches is not a peripheral item on God’s agenda.

God intends for us to display his glory and wisdom in our local assemblies, so we ought to do all we can, in the power of the Spirit, to be High-Definition, 3-D Wide Screens of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and not a Black & White TV’s, with Rabbit Ears, and bad reception. Because the problem is not in the message of the gospel (cf Rom 1:16), but it may be how we receive it and display it on a weekly basis.

Here is the bottom line, if we are going to reach the lost, it means living more radical lives for Christ. And radical doesn’t mean bigger, cooler, and more events, programs, or activities. It doesn’t mean changing formats or improving advertising. It means picking up our cross daily and following after Christ– loving one another, doing life together, and carrying the message of the salvation to everyone we meet, losing our lives so that others might gain life in Christ.

If we do that, we will display the wisdom of God as all of our daily activities testify to the gospel of Christ and give off the pleasing aroma of his grace.

May God be pleased to purify his bride in our generation, as we seek to display his grace and wisdom to a watching world!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Why Should I Read My Bible?

/ davidsschrock

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. It is composed of 22, 8 verse stanzas. In the original Hebrew, the Psalm follows the Hebrew alphabet, so that verses 1-8 all begin with “A” (or aleph), verses 9-16 begin with “B” (bet), and so one. All together, Psalm 119 contains 176 verses extolling the wisdom, wonder, and pleasure of knowing God’s word. The Psalmist has drunk deeply from the well of God, and he resounds with praise for God’s gracious revelation.

It is interesting, over twenty times, the Psalmist comments on the joy-producing character of God’s Law. He is not simply reading “the Bible” because it is the thing to do. He genuinely loves it and his heart overflows with a pleasing theme. Hear a few of his jubilant words:

  • In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches (v. 14).
  • I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word (v. 16).
  • Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors (v. 24).
  • I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love (v. 47).
  • I delight in your law. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces (v. 70-72).
  • Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight (v. 77).
  • How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (v. 103)
  • Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart (v. 111).
  • I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law (v. 162-63).
  • I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight (v. 174).

Would you describe God’s as the Psalmist does? In comparison to all created things, the Psalmist describes God’s word as more delightful than riches, more wise than learned counselors, sweeter than the finest delicacy, and more wonderful than the rarest treasure. Such a description gives us a vision of what knowing God is like.

In fact, creation which overflows with wonder and delight was made for this very purpose–to lead us to God. As Psalm 119:64 tells us, “the earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!” Creation is designed to stir within us a desire to know and delight in God through his word. Sadly, we have taken this invitation and prostituted ourselves with the messenger, instead making preparation to see the King (see Rom. 1:18-32). Creation is but a shadow of God’s substance; it cannot tell us who God is and how we can know him personally. Thus creation can never ultimately satisfy us.

We must take up God’s book and read to know God and to enjoy him forever. Augustine once said our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee. And rest, peace, and joy are available not in lavish vacations or accumulating created goods, but in knowing God through his word. Then and only then, can we rightly delight in God’s creation.

Getting back to the original question: Why should I read my Bible? It is not simply to be “good” people or even “good Christians,” it is not because the pastor said so, or because we simply like reading the world’s best seller. We read our Bible’s to know God and to take pleasure in him. It is true, that what we find in the Bible often makes us uncomfortable and uneasy–because the light of God’s word exposes our darkness. Nevertheless, such conviction of sin is a genuine marker that you are on the right path to faith in God’s grace and everlasting Spiritual joy.

Why should I read my Bible? Because in it we find God in the glorious revelation of Jesus Christ, which is the means to our greatest happiness. One of Satan’s greatest ploys is to keep us out of the Bible. Why? Because Satan is a miserable person, and he hates God and all those who share his image. He hates God’s word and the joy that it brings, and he wants to kill, steal, and destroy your eternal, abundant joy in God. How does he do it? By replacing joy in God with trifling, temporary pleasures in this world. This is how the world, which is under his temporary rule, runs (1 John 2:15). Don’t be deceived! Pick up your Bible and read, for in it is a world of joy! Just read Psalm 119.

Feeding on the word with you,
Pastor David

[This post was taken from my weekly devotional at http://www.cbcseymour.org called “Feeding on the Word.”]

Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: An Interview with Michael Lawrence

/ davidsschrock

John Starke interviews Michael Lawrence at TGC Reviews, senior pastor (to-be) of Hinson Church (Portland, OR) about his newly published book, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide to Ministry.

In the interview, Michael helpfully defines biblical theology as a mediating discipline, which helps properly interpret and apply the Bible.  Thus, he sees biblical theology as a necessary step between understanding what the Bible meant and what it means today, and as the subtitle suggests, this is an essential part of the minister’s task.

I encourage you to check out the interview, and pick up the book.  I just got my copy and look forward to reading it and helping our church see the value of biblical theology.

John’s interview with Michael is one of many resources on TGC Reviews.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

What does it mean to be a member?

/ davidsschrock

What does it mean to be a member of a local church?

John Piper gives a succinct answer that pushes against our Western individualistic impulses.  Here is how he begins:

What I mean by “member” is somebody who, whether by a signature or a word of commitment or promise, says, “I’m committed to a people, a people who hear the word of God preached, a people who perform the ordinances that Jesus gave to his church (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), and a people who commit to the ‘one another’ commandments (love each other, exhort each other, admonish each other, hold each other accountable).”

Those commitments are what membership is. And I think something is wrong if you resist putting your name on the line for that.

If you want to say, “OK, I believe the New Testament says, ‘Be a part of a community, give yourself to ministering there and receiving ministry there, and advancing the cause of the gospel there, and upholding the name of Jesus there, and doing mission there,’ and I’m a part of that,” then to resist putting your name on the line for that is probably not a biblical conviction. It’s probably an American, independent, give-me-elbow-room, don’t-get-in-my-face-too-often conviction, which I don’t think is biblical.

You can read the rest of Pastor John’s answer to the question: Is it important for me to become a member of my local church?

I am thankful for the way God has been breaking down my sinful individualism since the day I joined Woodland Park Baptist Church.  I am prayerful that God will continue to conform me into the image of Christ as I do life with the members of his local church.

Being saved from self-centeredness by submitting myself to my brothers and sisters in Christ’s local church, dss

Beware of “Do-It-Yourself Christianity”

/ davidsschrock

Yesterday I preached on Galatians 2:17-21, and in my sermon I emphasized  the dangers of “Do-It-Yourself Christianity.”  I described it as the kind of Christianity that arises from a debtor’s ethic, one where someone  saved by grace tries to ‘repay’ God for his grace.  Paul adamantly opposed to this grace-nullifying kind of Christianity (Gal 2:21) and warned the Galatians and us to beware of working out in the flesh what God gives only by faith and the power of the Spirit.

Wonder if you suffer from Do-It-Yourself Christianity?  Here are ten symptoms which might indicate an emphasis on living the Christian life in the power of the flesh.

  1. If you ever pray, “God help me to be the best Christian I can be.”
  2. If you take pride that you are not like those other people.
  3. If you believe Christ died and rose again, but you do not know how those events impact your daily life.
  4. If “What Would Jesus Do?” summarizes your understanding of the Bible and Christianity.
  5. If you base your Christian faith on the “decision” you made and/or the “aisle you walked,” instead of the death Jesus died and the life he gives you by faith in him.
  6. If prayerlessness marks your daily life.
  7. If, in the words of Robert Fulghum, you learned all you needed to know about God, the Bible, and Jesus in VBS and Sunday School.
  8. If putting to death the deeds of the flesh means simply continuing to maintain the manmade barriers–no smoking, no drinking, no cussing, no long hair, etc.– instead of learning to walk by faith and love the unloveable (among other things) in the power of the Spirit.
  9. If confessing sin sounds something like this, “God forgive me for the things I have done, whatever they are.”  When the Spirit convicts, He pinpoints specific areas of sin and disobedience.
  10. If fear of doing wrong moves you to separate from ‘sinners’ and establish greater barriers to protect you from sin, instead of walking in the Spirit, praying for the lost and asking God to make you a Spirit-filled vessel whom God can use to shine light into the darkness (cf Gal 5:16).

Bottom line, do-it-yourself Christianity is trusting in yourself to continue what Christ has begun.  When you compare that mindset to that of the Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ, you will soon realize that such thinking is bankrupt of the gospel.  Gospel living is a life marked by daily repentance and fresh faith in the living and active word of God.  Salvation is not marked by checking a box, but is marked out by Spirit-produced fruit (cf Gal 5:22-23).  Sadly, American Christianity is rife with do-it-yourself Christianity.  It is a kind of religion that confesses Jesus, but denies his power.

May we repent of our self-reliance and learn to walk by faith in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

In need of the gospel more today than yesterday, dss

Holy Subversion in Your Worship Service

/ davidsschrock

Trevin Wax offers some provocative thoughts on how we should order our worship services.  He considers the place of national holidays for God’s multi-national church and ‘hallmark’ holidays for the people marked out by God.  His comments arise from a recent article in Christianity Today, which offered a variety of opinions on Mother’s Day.

He concludes his thoughts with a number of perceptive questions:

Why should the consumerist culture of the United States dictate what we celebrate as a church?

Why is it that so many American churches celebrate with great fanfare the birth of their nation (July 4) without even so much as mentioning the birth of the church (Pentecost)?

Does the way we order our time shape us as the unique, called-out people of God or merely reinforce our nationalist, consumer-shaped identity?

Trevin’s considerations challenge status quo evangelicalism, but that is why his thoughts are worth considering.  We should always be willing to examine our church practices by the light of Scripture.  Asking whether our church reflects or reshapes the culture around us, is an important prophylactic against watered-down Christianity.  For more on the subject, see  Trevin’s book, Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals.

May we be Salt and Light churches refracting the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all that we do.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Providence & Peace(making)

/ davidsschrock

Providence and peace go together.  Providence makes peace possible; and peace is the fruit of a genuine trust in God’s providence.  In truth, I would venture to say that an insufficient and/or underestimated view of God’s providence will in time undermine your peace.  Or to say it another way, your peace in the midst of conflict and adversity is proportionate to your view of God’s providence.  Peace that passes all understanding must take root in the bedrock of God’s exhaustive and meticulous providence–to borrow Bruce Ware’s terminology (God’s Greater Glory).

In his book on the subject, Ken Sande spends an entire chapter connecting the dots between God’s providence and our peace.  He shows from Scripture and from personal testimony, how Christians who have found peace in the greatest trials are the ones with the most unflappable assurance in God’s goodness and sovereignty.  This is what Sande writes,

God’s sovereignty is so complete that he exercises ultimate control even over painful and unjust events (Exod 4:10-12; Job 1:6-12; 42:11; Ps 71:20-22; Isa 45:5-7; Lam 3:37-38; Amos 3:6; 1 Peter 3:17). This is difficult for us to understand and accept, because we tend to judge God’s actions accoridng to our notions of what is right.  Whether consciously or subconsciously, we say to ouselves, “If I were God and could control everything in the world, I wouldn’t allow some one to suffer this way.”  Such thoughts show how little we understand and respect God…. Even when sinful and painful things are happening, God is somehow exercising ultimate control and working things out for his good purposes–[like in the case of Joseph, see Ps 105:16-25].  Moreover, at the right time God administers justice and rights all wrongs…Knowing that [God] has personally tailored the events of our lives and is looking out for us at every moment should dramatically affect the way we respond to conflict (Ken Sande, The Peacemaker, 61-62).

Understanding what the Bible teaches about God’s providence does not make us automatic peacemakers, but it is the first step.  We cannot make peace with others until we have made peace with God, or to put it more appropriately, more ‘Godwardly,’ until we have received his peace (cf. Eph 2:11-22).  Without this cornerstone of confidence–that is a settled belief that no sparrow falls to the ground apart from God’s supervision (Matt 10:29), that no step is taken apart from God’s oversight (Prov 16:4, 9), and that no sin is committed apart from God’s mysterious permission (Job 1-2; Isa 45:7; Lam 3:37-38)–lasting peace will always suffer from this nagging doubt: “it could have been different.”  However, as soon as Scripture weighs in on the matter and persuades you of God’s complete and faultless providence, the peace which passes understanding is shortly to follow.

For amazingly, providence and peace-making have been on the mind of God from before the foundation of the earth.  Consider Peter’s words in Acts 3:23-24, “this Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” God’s peacemaking strategy  hinged on his definite and preordained plan to allow lawless men to arrest, try, and crucify his son, but for the divine purpose of atoning for the sins of the world and reconciling himself to his people (cf Acts 4:26-27).  In the cross, we must take heart and learn that the greatest affliction and horrors in this world can be redeemed by a God who loves his children and controls all things (Rom. 8:28).  He promises his children that our lives can and will be marked by suffering but also with comfort (2 Cor 1).  Thus we can have confidence that everything we experience in life has passed the inscrutable (and unsearchable) hands of God, and thus we can have peace in the God who upholds us and loves us.  Thus in a word: His providence secures our peace, which leads to the ability to make peace with others, even those who are the source of our pain.

As our church studies the principles of peacemaking, I was reminded that the bedrock of that process of reconciliation is the God who upholds all things and who gave his son into the hands of wicked men in order to save people from all nations.  May such an amazing vision of God’s sovereignty and sacrifice press us to be peacemakers.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss