Process, results, and Mark Driscoll

In my last sermon, I opened with a bit about "destination people" versus "journey people." It wasn't meant to be serious, or to provoke much serious thought. It was mostly to help people to relax and engage with the text of Exodus, which is a book about Israel's spiritual journey out of slavery and toward their destination of the Promised Land. So it was fascinating to me that after the service, as people were making their way out and greeting me (as is still tradition in our church), that a friend stopped me with a serious comment about this illustration.

He told me that journey vs. destination is another way of talking about "process orientation" vs "results orientation." Which is true. Some people don't care about how something is done, only that it is done. For others, how you get there is at least equal in importance as that you arrive. This led to a further discussion about politics and also about church ministry. My friend told me that he is usually more process than results oriented. I lean the other way.

The conversation was sharpening for me in light of recent events involving Pastor Mark Driscoll. I have read much of what Mark has written and found much of it beneficial and helpful (esp. Doctrine) and enjoyed a few of his sermons. Moreover, I respect the fact that his church, Mars Hill, has been able to effectively share the Gospel with so many people (esp. young men) in a city as aggressively secular as Seattle. I did have questions, as many did, about various comments he made or actions he took, but somehow, through a combination of my own spiritual immaturity and results orientation, I largely ignored the warning lights.

Now the warning lights have given way to smoke pouring out of the engine. I have no desire to join in what has become a generalized internet pile-on. Yet, I do think that pastors (like me!), who tend toward seeking results above all do well to pay attention to what has occurred. Too many of us were willing to ignore evidence of immature and ungodly behavior in Mark because his ministry was going so well. There really were lots of people coming to faith in Jesus. There were churches being planted. And that's what many of us pastors (again, including me!) hope will one day happen in our churches too. At our best, we want to see those things happen not out of some megalomaniac desire to build a monument to ourselves, but because we really do believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the dividing line between heaven and hell and that life is only found knowing Him. So out of love for others, we greatly desire to see as many as possible know and love and follow Jesus.

Yet it is apparently easy for that good desire to transmogrify into ugly self-exaltation. May I and my fellow pastors never be granted influence that outruns our character, nor allow ministerial results to so overrule the process of obtaining them that we discredit the Gospel message we so earnestly desire to spread.

A sharp sword

Like most men, I have found that maintaining my "covenant with my
eyes" (Job 31:1) is a difficult fight, at least at times. Our culture confronts me (and us) daily with opportunities to see and sinfully enjoy that which I (and we) should not. Our culture's movies, TV, news sites, advertising, and yes, our neighbors provide virtually endless sources of temptation. Yet our temptation need not become sin. It is possible, in spite of temptations, to live in a holy way.

A while back, I read parts of Kevin DeYoung's The Good News We Almost Forgot. I don't remember a lot of the book, but one beautiful little nugget has implanted itself deeply into my brain. He refers to Matthew 5:8 ("Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God") as "a sword for the fight against lust." So it has proved. For the past few years, whenever I have been tempted, I have recited that verse to myself as part of my efforts to "take every thought captive" (2 Cor. 10:5, my emphasis). It reminds me that my desire to find satisfaction through what I can see is not simply wrong; it is also misdirected. It's not that I want too much, but too little. The pure in heart will see God Himself, and the sight of Him will make all else pale in comparison. Nothing and no one in all the world is so desirable or beautiful that they are worth missing out on seeing God in all His glory and greatness.

Abortion, cohabiting and our moral intuition

Two recent incidents in my own life illustrate the reality that we all possess moral intuitions, and whether we want to admit it or not, our own hearts convict us:
 
Incident #1 involved a recent online "conversation" which reminded me why I tend not engage in many of them. It was about abortion and the forms of contraception (like Plan B, for example) that sometimes "work" by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg (aka an embryo or early stage human) and I was, as gently as possible, offering the opinion that abortion, whether surgical or chemical, is morally wrong. In reply, I was told in no uncertain terms that I should shut up because I was a man, and religious besides (apparently that adds up to three strikes!). Wisely or unwisely, I persisted for a while, until my highly agitated conversation partner told me that all I really wanted to do was control women's lives with my religious dogma and besides, she wanted to reduce abortions, which is why she recommended Plan B and its compatriots.I found that last bit revealing. It reminded me of Hilary Clinton's famous line that she wanted to keep abortion "safe, legal, and rare." (To know much about the abortion industry is to conclude that its practitioners have evidently concluded 'one out of three ain't bad', but I digress). The bigger question is "Why 'rare'?" Why should my internet interlocutor feel compelled to tell me she wanted to reduce abortion?

Incident #2 involved a couple from a while back who told me that they are cohabiting, but keeping it quiet from their children until their upcoming wedding. Again, why should they respond that way? If there is nothing of which to be ashamed, why keep the fact that you are sleeping over a lot from your children?

The answer is obvious: because in your deep heart you know that there's something not quite holy about what you have decided to do. Moreover, you are trying to convince yourself that it is good in spite of your moral intuition to the contrary. The Scripture unsurprisingly proves itself true. We are adept at "suppressing the truth," (Rom. 1:18), but it relentlessly pops up again like a beach ball held under the ocean, condemning us with our own lips (Rom. 3:15). This is an example of common grace, meant to drive us toward finding the repentance and forgiveness we innately know that we desperately need. May we all find freedom from all our sin and shame in Christ Jesus.

On means and ends

One of the things I have been learning in my walk with God has been to stop confusing means and ends. What I mean is this: there have been long periods in my Christian life where I looked to God more for what I wanted Him to do for me rather than simply wanting to be in relationship with Him. The things I wanted were not bad things. I wanted freedom from sins I found oppressive to my soul and that I knew were offensive to God. I wanted healing from Crohn’s, a chronic disease that has limited me in a variety of ways since I was a teenager. I wanted my kids to be not just good kids, but godly ones, who sought the Lord on their own and in whose hearts Jesus was very real. I wanted to see our church grow in both depth and attendance. And I still want those things and I still believe that it is entirely right to pray and seek the Lord for them. But I am learning that in pursuing these (and other) desires that I was missing out on authentically loving and worshiping Jesus simply because He is worthy of it quite apart from what He can (and may yet!) do for me. I was at risk of loving the gifts of God more than their Giver, of treating my Heavenly Father more as a means for achieving my life goals than as the Chief End and Purpose and Goal of life Himself. 

Recognizing and then repenting of this idolatrous pursuit has been something of a process. As I said, it is something I am learning to do, not something I have learned. Yet I am learning to rightly order the desires of my heart, to put loving and worshiping Christ first and last and far above any outcome or goal as I realize more and more how unbelievably gracious God has already been to me. I am learning to want God Himself far more than any benefits or blessing He might, in His amazing grace, confer. And in this, I am, I think, learning to truly worship God.

Something worthy of posting

The story is told that Albert Einstein was once scheduled to speak at an event, but showed up and told the assembled crowd, "I have nothing to say. If in the future, I feel I have something to say, I will return and say it." He later did return and make a speech, when he felt he had something to contribute.Not that I have Einstein's intellect, but I have struggled to have something worth saying in this space for the last little bit. I've wanted to have something to contribute which would be uplifting and encouraging when the darkness seems to be spreading across our culture. I've been busy and thus tired and thus tending to depressive for too long. So rather than broadcast that, it seemed better to just be quiet.

But even when I feel pretty dark, God has been and will continue to work, both in me and in others. He is not limited by my moods, my schedule, or my energy level. Which encourages me. If life and godliness depends upon me, I am already lost. Thank God it does not!

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of baptizing my eldest son, John. He has shared his testimony with me and the church family and I believe his faith is both real and deep. Being baptized was simply the next step in his spiritual growth, but it was one I was blessed as both his dad and his pastor to be able to participate in. How good and gracious God has been to me!

Here's the video:

The Privilege to Preach

When I was a seminary student, my favorite classes were those with J. Scott Horrell and John Hannah. Dr. Horrell taught systematic theology and became a dear friend and mentor to me. He took Karen and me on our first missions trip (to Mozambique!), hosted us in his home, hired me as his grader, and generally loved me like Jesus. Of such men, the world is in woefully short supply. Dr. Hannah taught us all about ministry under the guise of teaching Church history. He and I were not friends, though I loved to listen to him and respected him deeply (and still do). There is so much that you are shoveling into your brain in those years, that it actually takes a few afterward to sort through it all. But one of the things that stands out in my memory is Dr. Hannah's comment: "Gentlemen, remember that preaching the Gospel is not just your responsibility. It is also your privilege."

I've turned that over and over in my mind in the years since, trying always to bear in mind that what I get to do as a pastor is a rare gift to be treasured, not a job, not a burden, nor something I do for which others should feel pity. I was reminded once again of the privilege this past weekend as I shared the Gospel at a Wild Game Feast in Buckeye, Arizona and then returned on a late night flight to preach 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 at home. What right do I have to stand before God's people and have them listen to me? None. What standing do I have that they should listen? None. And yet... And yet... God has called, I have obeyed, and He has blessed me with opportunities I could not imagine.

Here therefore is my prayer: "Lord, help me to remember the privilege, even on days when I am tired or frustrated, or depressed or even just bored. Help me remember that this is something I not only have to do, but something I get to do as well. Amen."

Sleep Sound in Jesus

I try to work my way through the whole Bible every year. I'm more successful some years than others, and I find it much easier to wade through Matthew, for example, than the more confrontational passages of, say, Isaiah or Ezekiel. But I know that is more of a problem with me than with the Word, because even when I read the long-familiar I find fresh words there (I wonder how much I would know of God's holiness if the prophets were as familiar as the Gospels?). It never ceases to amaze me that the Word is always new for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

I must have had both as I read Psalm 3 a few weeks back, because it struck me then and I have been chewing on it since. It's a Psalm written by King David as he is quite literally fleeing for his life. His kingdom and all that he has built is burning down around him as his son Absalom overthrows him and sleeps with his wives, Shimei curses and throws rocks, and the man "after God's own heart" is back where he spent the last years of Saul's kingship-as an outlaw on the run. Yet David, like Paul and Silas years later, decides to sing to the Lord:

O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God.

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill.

I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

~Psalm 3:1-6 ESV

What struck me most was verse 5: "I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me." In that act of sleeping, David demonstrates his faith. When I am filled with anxiety and fear, the one thing I don't do is sleep, or least, not well. Yet David sees in both his sleep and his awakening the Lord's care and protection. I confess that I spent too much of my pastoral life worrying and too little of it praying and then sleeping on it. Here is another area passage that I will have to grow into, because I know that if I really trusted the Lord as I exhort myself and others to do, that is exactly what my response would be-to seek the Lord in prayer and through the Word, and then to sleep soundly, knowing it He who keeps watch over me. And if David can do it when thousands literally were seeking his life, surely I, filled with the Holy Spirit, can do it when no one is?

What is sin? A Meditation.

This may seem a quite basic question, and you may think this particular pastor has spent a bit too much time in his office. Doesn't everybody, even non-Christians, have a pretty solid idea what sin is? I mean, a whole lot could list at least 4 of the 10 commandments, and that would get you started at least, wouldn't it? That's true, but the question I'm asking is less "What kinds of things are sin?" and more "What makes sin sinful?"

A lot of people, including a lot of Christians, think of sin as being roughly equivalent to "breaking a rule." That is, life is something like a baseball game with God as Cosmic Umpire. Everybody knows the rules, knows that there are penalties for breaking them and, if they believe the Bible, understands the penalties for rule-breaking are ultimately severe. But there is a great sense that God's "rules," like the rules of baseball, are finally arbitrary, rooted in not much other than God's personal preferences. For example: There is no particular reason why a base runner should have to "tag up," why the strike zone should be where it is, why the distance between bases is precisely 90 feet and not, say, 150 feet, why there are three outs per team, per inning, or 9 innings in a standard game. The reasons are located in the essentially arbritrary decisions of Mr. Doubleday back when, added to 150 plus years of baseball tradition since. Likewise, many people think, there is no good reason beyond God's personal preferences why non-marital sex in all its forms,  drunkenness, coarse talk, pride, taking what isn't yours instead of working, rage, "and things like these" are all sinful instead of acceptable.

But such thoughts are off base in more ways than one. First, and most subtly, it is the very influence of sin upon us that leads us to think that God's moral laws are abritarily, rather than transcendantly, founded. We think "Well, I know I shouldn't, but since 'nobody's perfect,' isn't all this wrath and judgment business over my little indiscretions really all a bit much? Why is God so worked up about things?" But God's moral laws are not, in the final analysis, arbitrary. They are rooted in His character, in the kind of being He is and in the manner in which He as the Triune God exists and relates between the Persons. His moral law is based not on arbritary decisions: e.g., "I think I'll declare non-marital sex sinful instead of holy." Instead it is based on the facts of God's own character; the way that He behaves and the kind of being He is requires those specific commands be given to creatures who, after all, are made in His image to be like Him and partake of His nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).

Moreover, because sin is not simply the breaking of some arbritary rule, we need to see it for what it is: An attempt to declare revolution, dethroning God and putting us in His place. When we sin what we are saying is that we are sufficient bases to determine the true, the right, and the good, that our character exceeds that of God, and that we, rather than God should ultimately be followed and obeyed. It is, in all of its varieties an attempt (to borrow a phrase from D. A. Carson) to "de-God God." It's not just rule-breaking; it's rebellion, treason, sedition, a miniature revolt against our Creator in whose image we are made. Thus when we sin we aren't simply choosing to do other than God would want; we are setting ourselves up as God and telling the real one to shuffle off. That act of traitorous war-making on God, which we repeat every. single. time that we sin is really sinful and why its just penalty is death.

Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?

It's time to take over the world!

I've been pondering Pinky and the Brain lately for a couple reasons. One, we bought the complete 3rd season for our family entertainment on our way to Florida. And two, I have lately been seeing a lot of the Brain in my children. Two of them in particular have developed the attitude of "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall!" And in their minds, justice always involves their vindication as being right and life, from the distribution of Power-Ade to the age at which a person can be compensated for mowing the grass must come out perfectly fair, lest the parental unit be accused of injustice. Moreover, since life is inherently unequal, the cry "It's not fair!" has become a relative constant at our house. Thus the similarity to the Brain, who thinks that all would be right with the world, if only he were King over it. My kids really do think that and long for the day "When I am grown up..." so that life will always bend their direction.

On further reflection though, I find the same dynamic at work in most of us. It's an election year, which means we are in the process of choosing which particular megalomaniac we like best, and which world altering vision we find most compatible with our own. Closer to home, we think that if only our vision for our homes, or our churches could be fully enacted, then all would be right and good. The problem is that all of us are like Kramer and George playing Risk in the classic Seinfeld episode: "Two people playing a game of world domination who can't even run their own lives." None of us is really capable of being fair or has any real sense of justice. Instead, what we are really after is a way of regularly tilting life our direction, of taking the world over and remaking it so that it pleases us.

But what's funny in a cartoon or a sitcom is frustrating and sad when I see it in my children and terrifying when given free reign in a government. Indeed, the desire for that kind of power goes back to the Garden and the Serpent's original lie: "You will be like the Most High." For that reason we must put to death the pride within us that drives us to make life bend our way and instead bend the knee to the only One who is truly just, and who set each person in the place He designed, according to his gracious and loving, but not fully "fair," plan and purpose.

Finishing the race

I finished my first 1/2 marathon on May 5th. It was the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis, which is the largest half-marathon in the country with over 35,000 runners. I finished in the middle of the mob, not the fastest, but neither was I among the very slowest. But when you run for over two hours (again, I was not among the fleet of foot!), you get a lot of time to think. Some random thoughts:

1.  It's not an accident that running is used as a metaphor for the Christian life. Both are marked by pain, trials, training, and being pushed beyond what you think you can endure. Both are also battles which are primarily fought in your mind even more than in your body. Moreover, there is great reward and a sense of godly pride (if such a thing exists!) which characterizes finishing well (1 Cor. 9:24; Heb. 12:1). And finally, there is extra baggage which must be shed to run well, a bit more 'round the middle physically, and a lot more in my heart spiritually.
2. Success or failure for most of us doesn't come down to who came across the line first, but who came across the line still hittin' it. I'll never be a slim-hipped Kenyan who jogs across in just over an hour breathing about as hard as a me watching Swamp People on my couch. If I work really hard and get a whole lot sleeker (say 40 lbs. or so), I might get to where I could finish in 1:40. Likewise, from a spiritual perspective, I'd say I'm not a five talent pastor, but probably a two talent guy on my best days (Matt. 25:14-30). Recognizing that, I'm going to do my best to earn the Master a good return while not being envious of those to whom He has entrusted more since I don't have more for the same reason my running isn't not sponsored by Nike: lack of capability.
3. There is value in learning to say "No" to what your body desires. Just before the race, I visted by GI doc, who told me that my liver enzymes and blood pressure are down, my kidney function is up, and he didn't need to see me again for 6 months. As a Crohn's patient, finding out that my health has turned around is nothing short of miraculous. Yet even now, many times when I am running, I want nothing so much as to quit. But quitting does not help me become a more healthy person. In the same way, indulging every desire we have does not help us become more spiritually healthy. In fact, it does the opposite, plunging us further into slavery and death.

Slow martyrs

When I sat in the crowd at the latest Together for the Gospel (T4G) conference in Louisville a few weeks ago, my heart was filled with conviction and joy listening to David Platt talk about God's sovereignty and death-defying missions. He made the thoroughly biblical point that, if we really believe in God's sovereignty, then we ought to have more courage as we confront difficult and even dangerous situations. We ought to willingly face down the prospect of martyrdom with both confidence and joy no matter the outcome. And I couldn't agree more. In fact, as I sat in that stadium, I was ready, not simply on an emotional high, but actually ready, I think, to lay my life down for the cause of Christ and the spread of the Gospel.

Not gonna happen.

Oh, it's not that I know the future. I am neither a prophet nor a prophet's son. But living as I do in the United States, and being called to pastoral ministry here, I think the odds are not in my favor. I won't, in all probability, have one of those great do-or-die, renounce-Jesus-and-go-free-or-stay-faithful-and-lose-your-head moments that make for such inspiring reading later and which serve as pungent testimony to the reality of one's faith. I probably won't have the words of my sermons sealed in blood to be read and heard by future generations of the faithful.

You probably won't either.

Instead, what will most likely happen to me is that I will face, like most of you, a different set of challenges in being faithful. It won't be renounce Jesus or die, it will be the smaller, daily challenge of being faithful to Jesus in renouncing sin and pursuing Him. Of trusting Jesus not to stand with me as the fire is kindled, but to stand with me as I go through chronic disease, disappointing and painful relationship conflicts, raise my children to (hopefully!) fear God and love Him with all their hearts, keep preaching though I wonder on many Mondays whether it works, keep loving dear Karen sacrificially even when we are in conflict, and so on until death or Jesus comes. It's not fast martyrdom, in other words, but slow martyrdom, learning to daily put to death the deeds of darkness and my old man, put on the new self created to be like Christ, and trust Jesus to work in and through me to make me wholly his. This too, is a sacrifice, this too, a form of dying for Jesus, albeit a more normal, less spectacular one. But still, it is a sacrifice, and one I pray that God finds acceptable in His sight and glorifying to Him.

The End of a Ministry

I got the official word today. The rumors are true. Another husband and wife team whose ministry I respected and from which I benefited greatly are separated and probably headed to divorce court. That theirs was a marriage and family ministry only makes it worse. And I am sad. I'm not shocked. It no longer surprises me when seemingly great marriages flame out or crash on the rocks of sin and rebellion. But I am still grieved. I am grieved because I hope that Spirit empowered love and romance will conquer sin, betrayal, lust, and foolishness. Yet more times than I'd like to count, seemingly "good examples" fall and fail. I can count the examples of people I personally know in the church and only have a couple fingers left. Among them are people who taught me, mentored me, and served as pastor to me.

Sadness therefore grips me again today, reminding me of old scars even as fresh ones are inflicted. Yet from these things, I also gain a warning and renewed commitment. The warning echoes back through time, from an older man who taught me about David (and later fell into David's sin) that "Satan is willing to wait 50 years if he has to, in order to take a man down." Our Enemy is indeed patient, and unrepentant, private, "little" sins and darkened corners of the heart have a way of revealing themselves publicly if the wait is long enough. I remember too what the Scriptures say: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall." And I tremble with fear, knowing that many better men than I have fallen victim to selfishness, pride, and sin. So I, like Billy Graham said, "run scared" and try never to put myself in a situation where temptation can run wildly into life destroying sin. And I also renew my commitment, both to my bride and my Lord and King. There is no greener grass, and I will rejoice in the wife of my youth until the day we die, till we are no longer young, till we can't see, hear, or eat with our own teeth. By God's power and through His great grace, we will make it, loving each other before the Lord until the last breath.

Fairness and the Cross-a meditation

"It's not fair!"If I have heard that charge come forth from one or another of my children's lips once, I have heard it 500 million times (I exaggerate only slightly!). Each time, I have had two standard responses: 1) "Life ain't fair, so buck up and get used to it" or if I'm feeling more patient, 2) Extended explanation of how such-and-such circumstance the offended party was involved in was favorable to him/her and thus this circumstance brings the universe into rough parity. I'm getting more inclined toward Option #1, because somehow, Option #2 never seems to quite satisfy, for no matter how eminently reasonable my explanation is, one's child never feels they have received justice.

I'm sure that every parent out there can empathize with my exasperation, trying to reconcile a child's sense of justice with a world that is fundamentally unfair. It's an impossible task, at least partly I think, because part of being made as humans in God's image is precisely the awareness of right and wrong, fair and not, and the deep sense that things in this world aren't the way they are supposed to be. Moreover, who among us hasn't similarly cried out "It's not fair!" about many more serious problems in our adult world? Thus, one of the lessons we try to impart to our children is precisely that truth, that this world ain't fair and you better tighten your chinstrap and get used to it, because that's life.

On the other hand, I think a certain "unfairness" is also at the very heart of the Gospel. It certainly isn't "fair" that God laid the sins of deeply sinful people on His only begotten Son, enabled those who believed in the Son to trade their sins for the Son's righteousness, and by the Spirit's power to be adopted as sons into God's own family. It isn't fair that Jesus was flogged and we were healed. It isn't fair that Jesus bled and we were cleansed. It isn't fair that He was crowned with thorns that God might reverse the curse that brought forth thorns. It isn't fair that the Innocent died in place of the guilty, or that the Creator died instead of the creature. It isn't fair that He cried out "I thirst!" so that none of us would have to cry "I thirst" from Hell.

It isn't fair. But it is grace. And it is ironic and unexpected, but nevertheless gloriously true that God is using the supreme act of unfairness to put this unfair world full of unjust people back to right. And there is coming a day when "justice will flow down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream..." Until then, I rejoice in the fact that God has not been fair with me and does not treat me like I deserve.

Hypocrisy

I had breakfast the other day with a friend who is a new Christian. One of the things which greatly bothers him and hindered his own coming to faith is the hypocrisy he sees among Christians. I assured him that the problem is not news. In fact, it's worse than he knows: It's been my experience that all Christians (including this one most assuredly!), are hypocrites. We all profess to believe better than we live. But I hardly think this is discrediting as much as some people seem to think. In fact, I think it affirms one of the central truths of the Gospel--that all humans are sinners in need of forgiveness and salvation. Thus, the issue then is not whether people will be hypocrites, but whether their hypocrisy will be forgiven by God along with their other sins.

That being said, there are a number of warnings against hypocrisy in the Scriptures and seven biblical reasons why a professing Christian might be guilty of it:

1. False Profession. In the American church, we tend to think that anyone who claims to be a Christian is one. Yet biblical warnings against false profession abound as do warnings that those who claim to be Christians should examine themselves to ensure that is indeed the case. (Cf. Matt. 7:21-23; 13:24-30; 22:11-14; 2 Cor. 13:5; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; 2:20-22; 1 Jn 3:8-10).
2. Rebellion. Though it does not speak well of them or the depth of their Christian faith, it is nevertheless true that even true sons sometimes wander from their Father and need to repent (Cf. Jas 1:13-15; 1 Jn. 2:15-17; Heb. 12:10; Lk. 15:4-7; 11-32).
3. Treating Sin As If It Isn't Serious. We sometimes act as if sin isn't that big a deal because, after all, our sins and their penalty were already paid at the Cross. Yet this is a serious presumption on the grace of God and abuse of the Savior whose blood paid that price. It is so serious that God sometimes judged even his own people with premature death for engaging in it (Cf. Matt. 5:27-30; 1 Cor. 10:5-13; Heb. 12:4; 1 Jn. 5:16). 
4. Failure to Confess. Though I don't affirm the Roman Catholic sacrament of confession as a "means of grace," confessing sin to each other is a biblical practice and I personally know no one who has overcome serious sin who has done it solo (Cf. Jas. 5:15-16, 19-20; Gal. 6:1-2).
5. Failure to Repent. True repentance includes confession, but many Christians "confess," and do not repent, and thus continue in the same sin(s) they were entangled in before (Cf. Ezek. 33:10-11; Zech. 1:3; 2 Cor. 7:10; 12:21; Jas. 1:22-24). 
6. Weak Faith. Sometimes sin is committed unintentionally simply because someone new or weak in their knowledge of Christ was deceived and led astray (Cf. Eph. 4;13-14; 1 Jn. 3:7). 
7. God Allows Sin to Persist to Serve His Purposes.  I have the hardest time with this one, but it is true. God could (and one day will!) eliminate the sin nature immediately from all who trust in Christ. Yet He chooses not to do so, that He might be glorified even through our struggle to trust, obey, and follow (Cf. Rom. 7:21-25; 11:32; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Rev. 22:14-15).

Live quietly and get a job!

For about the past six months, I've been a subscriber to gotandem, a ministry of "Back to the Bible". They send me daily devotions to read through my email or phone and I've found a number of them thought provoking and encouraging for my daily walk with Jesus. Here's a selection from one of messages I got today:

I've been just as guilty at times of equating and encouraging enthusiasm and initiative as evidence of a genuine heart for Jesus. I have urged people to find a way to "change the world," to "be on fire for God," and to "give 110 percent." (Okay, I've never said that last one. It's just mathematically impossible.)

Maybe it's a noble impulse to give our lives for Christ with some kind of all-or-nothing initiative to convert continents or get an ad on the Super Bowl or "storm the gates of hell," but this verse always brings me down to the earth I think God means for us to walk on as we follow Jesus:

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others" (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

Wow, that's counter-intuitive when you're on fire for God and trying to change the world. It won't look very good on the inspirational posters we're hoping to sell down at the Christian bookstore: "Live quiet!" "Leave people alone!" "Get a job!"

It's a long-term strategy: Live like Jesus for years in your neighborhood, being a respectable citizen, and people will notice over time.

It might not sound as exciting, but it's as real as it gets.

Agreed. Too many of those who want to "change the world for Jesus" can't get moved out of their mothers' basements. And even more have Christian lives which don't evidence much maturity or long-term faithfulness. So live quietly, get a job, leave people alone, and live like Jesus in your neighborhood is as timely a set of instructions as ever.

Repentance or retirement?

I ran across this idea from Jay Nordlinger, who writes "Impromptus" for National Review Online. Writing about Newt Gingrich, who apparently asked his 2nd wife for an "open marriage" so he could pursue his relationship with his current wife Callista with less guilt, Nordlinger wondered whether Newt had truly repented  of his past evil ways (as he has claimed), or simply retired, having decided that he's too old to chase another skirt. Who knows which is true in that case? I surely don't.

But I bring it up because I think that the same dynamic is at work in a lot of us Christians. We don't really mature so much as simply get too old and tired to sin in the same ways. We aren't less angry, we just don't have the energy to spend expressing it like we used to. We aren't less lustful, we just had our testosterone levels drop. We aren't less greedy, it's just that we already have most of what we want, and don't see a good opportunity to be truly rich and get the rest of it.

Oh gracious Lord, preserve me from confusing repentance with retirement, turning from sin with contentment at our current level of it. Help us to truly change our hearts. Amen.

Comforting Fictions

The human heart is desperately sinful. And one of the implications of that truth is that each of us comes fully equipped with a magnificent capacity for self-deception, believing what we wish were true rather than what is. Consider the following comforting fictions, which sooner or later will be revealed for what they are:

• The United States can borrow more money than any nation ever has, while promising benefits to future generations of Americans that will require more than the sum total of world GDP to satisfy. Yet the US will never go bankrupt, nor will anyone get left holding the bag when it all finally collapses.
• An Iranian nuke will not be a problem, even though their current President believes that the coming of the 12th Imam (The Mahdi) necessitates world war and Iran is currently the world's leading terrorism sponsor. 
• Illegal immigration can continue unabated with no ill effects on our nation's existing poor and their ability to find and keep jobs. 
• Homosexual marriage will not be devastating socially, nor will it be a Trojan horse for those wishing to drive the Church and its teachings from the public square. 
• Scaling back American defense spending won't ever lead to instability and an increase in warfare. Nor will cutting back aid to Israel, Taiwan, and South Korea. 
• Negotiations and, failing that, economic sanctions always serve to contain rogue states. 
• The rising number of Muslims in Sweden, France, Holland, and England, will never lead to Islamic revolutions in those countries. 

Comforting fictions, all. Without a change in direction, all of these things will one day lead to disaster in one form or another. Yet it is not only in the realms of politics and foreign relations that pretty lies are hawked as truth. We all also tell pretty lies to ourselves in our spiritual lives. Consider these:

• "No one will ever know." Yet God will, and you will. And the Holy Spirit within in you will fill your heart with guilt until you repent. Moreover, it's still true that "truth will out," and even the secret things have a way of becoming public. 
• "Everybody sins." This is true, but too often this is not a recognition of what the Bible says, but an excuse for my behavior of which I'm unwilling to really repent.
• "You're young. I thought that back when I was young too." This is insidious, because while there really are passions and ideas we mature out of as we grow in the faith, it's also true that sometimes our supposed "maturity" is really spiritual coldness masquerading as such.
• "I can do this, and it won't hurt me." This is the driving idea behind prayerlessness, absence of Bible reading, refusal to attend church, and similar ideas. We do them and wonder why our spiritual life soon is as dry as the Sahara.
• "I'm the exception." I hear this one expressed, usually implicitly, but sometimes explicitly by people in premarital counseling all the time as professing Christian men and women try to explain why they are okay with living and sleeping with their affianced. Yet it is a lie. God is not mocked, his commands are given for our good and His glory, and ignored to our destruction. 

I'm sure there are more. Maybe some of you can supply some others. But the point is not to simply recognize the lies we tell ourselves, but having seen them, to flee and live in the truth. What pretty lies are you living under?

Fear Not

This video really hits home. As a pastor, I spend far too much time worrying what people think and too little worrying what God thinks, too much time worrying that my sermons are not good and not enough worrying whether they are of God. What about you? Do you fear the right things?

What I'm Reading...

I believe it was Erasmus who said, "When I get a little money, I buy books. If I have some left over, I buy food and clothing." Apart from the occasional firearms purchase, I can fully relate to that brother. I dearly love books and never seem to have enough time to read. And as is typical, I've got several going at the same time. Here's what on the stack and newly added to the Kindle that I'm chomping through:

• The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I'm 2/3 of the way through Mockingjay, the last book in the series. It's pretty dark, taking place in a dystopian future, but as someone who doesn't read much fiction, I'm enjoying the author's exploration of warfare, morality, freedom and government through its pages. Also it's a ripping good tale!
• Don't Call It A Comeback by Kevin DeYoung, Colin Smith and friends. Offers Reformation influenced theology in modern, accessible language. Great stuff for high school and college students.
• Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell. I finished this some time ago, but as I'm leading the Elders at our church through a discussion on preaching this weekend, it was worth picking up again for a review of the first couple chapters. This is a very practical book, not only for those seeking to develop their preaching gift, but for those of us who are trying to preach Christ from all the Scriptures.
• Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders. This is my 4th or 5th trip through this little book, but I keep coming back to it every time I need to meet with men who want to be leaders. This book, probably more than any other I've read, comes closest to describing what it means to actually live and embody the qualities of spiritual leadership.
• The NIV Application Commentary: Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephenaih. I'm currently preaching a series on Habakkuk. This is what I'm using to make sure what I think and say is in line with what the text actually means. Good stuff that's not overly technical, written so that well-informed laymen can get their arms around it.
• Geneis in Space and Time by Francis Schaeffer. Not started yet, but I was taught, once upon a time, by one of Schaeffer's students and this book greatly influenced his thinking on some things, so I'm looking forward to it. Summer is coming, so perhaps then.
• The Genesis Flood by John C. Whitcomb and Henry Morris and The Genesis Record by Henry Morris. I'm a historic creationist. That is, I believe in an old earth, prepared for a young humanity in six literal days at a point in time less than 30,000 years ago. But these books were given to me by a dear brother who is a young earth creationist. I intend to read them, as they seem to be the most comprehensive of the young earth books out there. Perhaps I will change my mind. Perhaps not, but it's always healthy to read others' best arguments as you shape your position.
• Creation and Blessing by Allen P. Ross. I'm finishing up Genesis (chapter 25-50) this year and this should help, as it comes highly recommended by my old friend and mentor, Steve Benton.
• God with Us: Divine Condescension and the Attributes of God by K. Scott Oliphant. This is one I haven't started through yet, but is about how Jesus is the complete revelation of God and God's complete explanation of his character and relationship with us.
• The Bible Story Handbook by John H. Walton and Kim E. Walton. This is a book about how to teach kids each one of 175 Bible stories, not just as a story, but giving each story's focus, theme, application, place in the Bible, and mistakes to avoid. Since a lot of kids in Sunday School learn the Bible's stories as episodic incidents, divorced from both context and all but the most moralistic application, I'm hoping this gives me some good ideas toward a different approach I can use with my own kids and perhaps recommend reading to the Children's Ministry Team here at CBC.
• The Cross of Christ by John Stott. I've never had the opportunity to read this, but since I'm starting a new series on the Cross next week, I'm going to be reading it to sharpen my own thinking and enrich my own preaching of the Cross.

This will probably keep me busy for a few months. But then on to others, still unread. Maybe if I get a sabbatical in a few years, I can read (and write!) as much as I want to. Till then, I fit these in as I am able. Maybe there's a few of you, dear readers, who might like to chomp through one of these with me and offer me your thoughts?

Things worth celebrating

In the words of the great theologian Ferris Bueller, "Life goes by pretty fast sometimes. If you don't slow down once in a while, you might miss it." In that spirit, I've decided that this morning, I should slow down and think about some of the great things God is doing in my life right now. Here's a partial list:

1. Pastoring. I'm entering my 11th year of life as a pastor and finding that the opportunities for ministry are just growing by the day. Every day brings fresh opportunities to share the gospel, build into the life of a younger believer, give counsel to those needing advice, encouragement to the beat down, and provide leadership to God's flock. Most days I wonder how and why God chose me (of all people!) to do these things, but I feel blessed to have the privilege.
2. Ordination. I got ordained the first time back in '04, three years into my first pastorate at an independent Bible church. Now I'm seeking ordination from the EFCA, the denomination to which my church belongs and the one I've decided to make my theological home. Since the processes are not the same, I've found myself having to do a significant amount of writing from scratch on the paper, but praise God, I've had time and space to think and write. Very often, I find the demands of life provide too little of either, so this is a true blessing. 15 pages in, 25 more remain till I hit the absolute limit they will accept.
3. Fathering. I got into Cub Scouts two years ago so I'd have an organized, planned, regular time to spend with the boys doing things I'd like to do with them anyway. Pinewood derby races are upon me, and I am frantically finishing up their cars, but it has produced a lot of good interaction along the way. The girls are reading and discovering fantasy literature, one of my semi-geeky fascinations and as they are growing up (way too soon, in my view. Time to oil the shotgun!), we're having really good talks, especially at night as we pray together and I tuck them in.
4. Husband. Karen the Fair and I seem to be entering into that stage of marriage I've heard other old married couples talk about, where you're content just to be in each other's presence and sharing life together. It's very good. She knows me as fully as anyone ever did, and still loves me, warts and all.

It's a blessed life. I'm glad I get to live it.