In the Blogosophere

Prince Caspian releases today. Here are my hopes for the movie.

68 Benefits from Doing Children’s Ministry

Some of the world’s top religious leaders respond to the “Evangelical Manifesto”

The blogger’s code of conduct

Tony Kummer asks us to weigh in on the question about the primary purpose of Sunday School

45 Ways to Waste your Theological Education.

Justin Taylor summarizes some exhortations from Kirk Wellum at Toronto Baptist Seminary for the young and Reformed

Top Post this Week at Kingdom People: My Interview with N.T. Wright on Surprised by Hope

Preparing for a Mission Team

Several weeks after I arrived back in Romania in early 2001, my home church sent 40 people to Romania to do an evangelistic/medical mission trip. Much of the work took place in the village I had been working in over the past few months. The team was the largest one that my church had ever sent out, and I had not been involved with a team of that size before. Both my home church and my church in Romania were relying on me to do a lot of organizational work before the team arrived.

We had split up the team into different groups, a Pediatric wing, a General medicine/Pharmacy wing, evangelistic teams, and preaching teams. The weeks leading up to their arrival were spent in constant preparation, getting translators lined up and storing resources for the team.

The month of preparation was difficult for me because I was still not fluent in Romanian. Also, because I had only been in Romania for four months, I was still pretty “needy” as far as organizational plans went. I needed help from the nationals in getting details resolved because I was not yet able to act as independently as I wanted.

I was naïve to take on that much responsibility so early in my Romanian stay. But because the trip involved a team coming from my own church, I had a heart to help out wherever I could.  

The big day finally arrived! After a month of intense preparation, the team from my church arrived in Romania. My parents and brothers and sister came with the team during this time. Being with my entire family in Romania was a wonderful experience, and only one of two times that this took place (the other occasion was my wedding). Knowing that we were together helped me to feel whole.

When I went home for Christmas after spending three months in Romania, I felt as if a part of my heart was still overseas. But then, back in Romania, I felt like a part of me was still in America. When my entire family (not to mention so many church members and friends) were all in Romania with me, I no longer felt divided.

Still, it was often strange to see these two worlds mixing. I found that several times during the week, I needed to just take a break, not only because of the amount of work that I was doing, but because of the enormous emotional expense of having to hold these two worlds together.

I was the contact man for both sides, and unfortunately I hadn’t arrived at a stage in my Romanian language or understanding of Romanian culture to be able to feel like I was doing this well. Some additional troubles came up during that week too… but I’ll get to that later.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Interview with Michael Kelley

Today I have the privilege of interviewing Michael Kelley, an editor at Lifeway Christian Resources and author of the Threads Bible Studies The Tough Sayings of Jesus 1 & 2. 

Trevin Wax: Tell us a little about your background and how Lifeway’s Threads Bible studies came about.

Michael Kelley: The Threads Bible studies rose out of a pretty extensive research project that Lifeway did, born from the simple fact that alot of young adults were disenfranchised with the church. So based on that research, 4 key values seemed to come to the top that a ministry to young adults would need to focus on. These are things like depth, community, responsibility, and connection with other generations. So all of the Threads studies try and promote these values.

As for me, I’m a lowly Texas boy, raised in the vast nothingness around Amarillo. Lots of tumbleweeds, tornadoes and cows around there. I did my graduate work at Beeson Divinity School, and served in churches in Texas and Tennessee before starting to write and speak on the road.

Trevin Wax: What has drawn you to writing about the ”tough” sayings of Jesus?

Michael Kelley: It’s interesting to me how many times in my church experience that I’ve heard sermon series that skip or gloss over some of the difficult passages of Scripture.

Like how many times have I heard that we’re doing a sketch of Romans, and we hear a talk about the victory of Romans 8 and then I turn around and we’re offering our bodies as living sacrifices in Romans 12? What? It’s like Paul didn’t intend to write those 3 chapters in between.

Same thing with the gospels, I think. We like a picture of Jesus where among other things, He’s “nice.” So we gravitate towards those passages. But that leaves us with an incomplete and mishapen view of Jesus and doesn’t allow us to examine the fullness of what He taught and lived.

Trevin Wax: You’re right. I’ve been going to church all my life. I can probably think back to 20 or more sermons I’ve heard on the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. And yet, I can’t remember one sermon about the Parable of the Shrewd Manager in Luke 16. Why have we avoided this passage?

Michael Kelley: Same here, Trevin. I think the answer is there’s no waiting father in Luke 16. No loving embrace. No welcome home. Instead, we find Jesus doing something we find to be completely contrary to that - actually commending the guy in His own story for that guy’s questionable character. What can Jesus mean by that?

Trevin Wax: You talk about the difference between “flash”and “substance.” I agree that many churches have spent way too much time on the “flash” without offering enough “substance.” And yet, your Threads Bible studies have a certain amount of “flashiness” even as they contain substantive teaching. How do you think churches should move forward in offering more “substance,” while at the same time continuing to do so with excellence?

Michael Kelley: This is a good question and a tricky issue. It’s hard for all of us to definitively know the difference. When is “flash” just flash and when does it actually serve a purpose? Tough to know.

But in terms of church, I am beginning to think the more things change the more they stay the same. That is, I think the road to substance is found in the same old thing - an unwavering commitment to Scripture. And not Scripture for the sake of “having a better and more productive life,” but encountering Scripture in a deep, understandable way that embraces the inherent difficulty and mystery of faith.

Or maybe this - I have real trouble with a teacher who smiles all the time. Jesus didn’t. And church shouldn’t be a sitcom where there is an introduction, then a conflict, and everything tied up neatly at the end.

Trevin Wax: You say we need to picture Jesus as a General and ourselves in a wartime mentality. How does seeing ourselves in a battle help us have a more accurate view of Jesus?

Michael Kelley: That’s in the session about the death and resurrection of Lazarus in John 11. I think this passage puts into tension two sides of Christ. There is the side that is in a war and focuses on the ultimate victory. Jesus knew what He was moving towards, and He was willing to sacrifice Himself for the victory. That’s war-time mentality.

But I also think that we can get so caught up in that mentality that we forget that this General, so focused on the end, took time to weep with the sisters. So there’s a tension there between the war for the glory of God in the universe, and the genuine sadness at the casualties of that war.

Trevin Wax: I like how the DVD segments are short and optional - serving as supplements to the Threads study instead of being the main focus. Was this intentional? Have you found that our generation would rather have intense discussion than watch a video?

Michael Kelley: Yeah, completely intentional. I think there’s alot of groups who actually wouldn’t use the video pieces simply because they are more familiar with each other already. On the other hand, many groups may need a spark to stimulate conversation. But the goal in either case is an interactive learning environment. This, I think, is a better model for our generation - it’s a discovery style of teaching and leading. It’s participatory, where everyone goes on a journey together.

Check out Michael Kelley’s Threads Bible Studies:
Tough Sayings of Jesus 1
Tough Sayings of Jesus 2

Interview with Michael Kelley  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Book Review: Wide Awake

I am probably one of the few young, evangelical ministers in the United States to have never read a book by Erwin McManus. Having heard good things about McManus from a wide spectrum of people, I happily agreed to read the advanced preview copy of his forthcoming book, Wide Awake: The Future is Waiting Within You. On the back cover of the preview copy, McManus is described as a “husband, father, writer, futurist, activist, artist, and spiritual and cultural leader.” After reading such a flattering litany of titles, I dove into the content of his new book with high hopes. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed.

 

If you could sum up Wide Awake in two words, it would be something like this: “Wake up!” People are going through life with unfulfilled dreams, experiencing a “little bit of sadness” every morning (xii). McManus wants to “awaken humanity.” He believes that in every person there is a hero “waiting to be awakened.” He looks at every human as “pre-great” (xiii). The little bit of sadness we face in the morning is our “soul searching for its hero (xv).”

 

How can people be awakened? McManus turns to eight essential attributes that characterize people who live their dreams (Dream, Discover, Adapt, Expect, Focus, Create, Enjoy, Invest) and every one of the attributes is something that people must discover from within. Each chapter unpacks one of the eight attributes, usually with illustrations that help readers picture the kind of life that McManus is describing.

 

Wide Awake contains some helpful advice. McManus doesn’t sacrifice character in order to emphasize the principle of adaptability. He emphasizes the importance of integrity and the necessity of living according to firm principles. Occasionally, he offers good insight into certain stories from Scripture. For example, in the story of Peter walking on water, McManus points out the fact that Peter was distracted by something he couldn’t see (the wind) instead of firm in his belief in Someone he could see (Jesus) (128). Preachers will benefit from some of his memorable illustrations, like this one that compares coconuts and peaches:

“Some of us are more like coconuts – hard on the outside and hollow on the center. But we need to be more like peaches – soft and fuzzy on the outside but solid as a rock in the middle.” (77)

But even McManus’ good insights are often mixed with theological affirmations that leave the reader perplexed. In the space of just two paragraphs, McManus can say something terrific (like “The way God changes your life is by changing you”) and then something out in left field (“The only future you will give yourself to is the one you believe can happen”) (95).

 

The main problem with Wide Awake is that it bounces back and forth between pastoral counseling and motivational lingo that borders on Gnosticism (your power is within, etc.). The problem McManus’ readers are dealing with is not sin and depravity. In fact, McManus thinks the church talks too much about sin  and guilt (143). The main problem is unfulfillment and sadness (22, 28). Salvation and satisfaction are found in your living out your story (160).

 

McManus’ writes much about the importance of dreams, but he leaves them undefined. Wide Awake needs more eschatology. The “dreams” that McManus wants to awaken within us are not grounded in anything other than our own minds. The dreams we have are of “a life, a world, a future so beautiful that it takes your breath away” (116). Yes. Our vision of the coming Kingdom should inform our dreams for today, but McManus never links our dreams to the Kingdom of God. Readers will pour whatever meaning they want into his vague category of “dreams” and “a beautiful future.”

 

My advice to pastors and church leaders? Skip Wide Awake. If you’re looking for motivational thoughts to push you ahead in the direction you already want to go, then Wide Awake will do the trick. If you’re looking for challenging biblical teaching that will ground your dreams in Kingdom reality, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

 

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Guest Post: Why a Carpenter?

This post is written by my brother, Weston Wax, who is graduating from high school this week and planning to attend Union University in the fall.

Wood. Nails. Hammers. Frustration. Smashed thumbs.

Jesus would have spent hours working with wood, gradually sculpting the raw material into masterpieces. The Divine would have built homes, fences, and other necessities for every day life in the first century. His job for the day might have varied, but his resources did not. Wood. Nails. Hammers.

Ever stop to think that the soldiers who crucified Christ had the very same list of tools at their disposal? Crosses of wood. Long cold nails. And heavy cumbersome hammers. Their purpose however, was not to build a seat for a neighbor, or a trough for a Jewish farmer, but to destroy and pierce the flesh of the King of Kings.

Surely Jesus had to have thought, while striking the nails into his timber, that one day men would be doing the same, but with his own palm between the cold iron and wood. Surely he passed the tip of one of his spikes over his fingertips and grimaced in the solemn realization of what awaited him.

He was a carpenter. He was God in the flesh. He was well aware of the Father’s plan. So why then did God choose this profession? God easily could have chosen another occupation for his Son, one that wouldn’t require his child to be constantly reminded of his coming sacrifice.

An interesting question… but answered or unanswered, the fact remains. Jesus was a carpenter, stuck with wood, nails, and hammers. And because of this simple work, Jesus was reminded every day of his greater work. He was forced to focus on his task, his purpose, his mission. The tools of the carpenter must have screamed at him everyday, must have been awful symbols of his coming pain, but Jesus could hear something over the deafening cry of his instruments.

He heard your whisper. He heard my whisper. He heard our prayer for salvation and redemption. He heard the child on his knees at the alter, the father broken and lost, the mother tired and weary, the elderly aged and wrinkled. Jesus ultimately felt the splintery wood and thought not of his bloodied back, but of you, and the task that his Father had appointed Him. He felt the pointed end of the nails and didn’t think of his hand, but of your heart, and the very heart of God. He witnessed the strength that went into driving each nail into the thick wood, and He thought of you and of glorifying his Father.

So, why a carpenter? I believe it was a reminder, not just to him, but to us. Every day Jesus worked, he was reminded of me and you, and all he would do for us. And when we keep that in mind, we’re reminded of how much you and I should do for Him.

written by Weston Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Gospel Definitions: Richard Sibbes

“What is the gospel itself but a merciful moderation, in which Christ’s obedience is esteemed ours, and our sins laid upon him, wherein God, from being a judge, becomes our Father, pardoning our sins and accepting our obedience, though feeble and blemished? We are now brought to heaven under the covenant of grace by a way of love and mercy.”

- Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed

New Life for New Tasks

“Receive the Holy Spirit.”
- the Risen Jesus, to the disciples (John 20:22)

Birds flapped their wings. Fish filled the seas. Animals roamed the land. The freshly created dry ground was sprouting the first signs of green life. The sun, moon and stars had just announced the arrival of a new day. The world was now ready for God’s crowning achievement – the creation of the human being in His image.

God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, but the man’s body remained only a lifeless form, until the crucial moment when God breathed into Adam’s nostrils “the breath of life.” At once, the human race was born! The breath of God brought Adam to life and enabled him to begin fulfilling the purposes that God gave him in the world that he inhabited.

In the evening of the first day of the week, the Risen Jesus met with His disciples behind closed doors. It was the first day of the New Creation – the day of Resurrection, when death was defeated and the universe, on its road towards utter darkness, suddenly turned the corner towards the light. The Risen Jesus met with His startled and confused disciples and commanded them to take His message to the world. But how could the frightened disciples fulfill God’s plan for His world? Where would they find the power to proclaim Jesus as Lord?

The Apostle John tells us that after Jesus commissioned the disciples, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This is the birth of a new human race - a new humanity that includes all who have been “born again” and have received the life-giving Breath of God (His Spirit), the One who enables us to spread the news of Jesus Christ.

Often, we feel powerless to live the Christian life and to be part of God’s saving plan for His world. In those moments of discouragement, we take heart in knowing that God has chosen us, has given us His Spirit to guide and empower us, and that we too, are part of His new creation.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

A Prayer for Pentecost

Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life:
At the beginning of time you moved over the face of the waters;
you breathe into every living being, the breath of life.
Come, Creator Spirit, and renew the whole creation.

Holy Spirit, voice of the prophets:
You enflame men and women with a passion for your truth,
and through them call your people to the ways of justice and compassion.
Come, Spirit of Righteousness, and burn in our hearts.

Holy Spirit, Spirit of Jesus:
By your power Jesus came to bring good news to the poor
and release to those held captive.
Come, Liberating Spirit, and free us from the powers of sin and death.

Holy Spirit, Advocate, Teacher:
You speak to us of our Lord,
and show us the depth of his love.
Come, Spirit of Truth, abide in us and lead us in the way of Jesus Christ.

Holy Spirit, wind and flame:
You filled disciples with joy and courage,
empowering them to preach your word and to share your good news.
Come, Spirit of Power, make us bold witnesses of your redeeming love.

Holy Spirit, Spirit of Peace:
You break down barriers of language, race, and culture,
and heal the divisions that separate us.
Come, Reconciling Spirit, and unite us all in the love of Christ.

Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life:
At the close of the age
all creation will be renewed to sing your praises.
Come, Creator Spirit, and make us new creations in Jesus Christ.

-from the Reformed Church in America

The Gospel as a Victory Proclamation

“The gospel of the kingdom is preached not only in terms of individual forgiveness of sins found through the shed blood of Christ, but also in terms of a resurrected Christ who as defeated the principalities and powers and who reigns triumphant at the right hand of the Father…

“The preached gospel comes as an invitation, but an invitation with an authority because the one giving it is a King (Matt 22:8-10). It also comes with a sense of urgency, for ‘everything is ready’ (Matt. 22:8-10). The gospel is a victory proclamation, knowing that what Christ has accomplished in the past will be consummated in the future. By its very nature, the Kingdom is to be made available to all men, and all men may enter into it granted they respond in obedience by faith in Christ. The good news is an invitation to partake in fellowship not only with King Jesus but with other subjects of his Kingdom in the church (1 John 1:3). The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom is to bring men and women to salvation in Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:15), urging people to repent of sin to be part of the Kingdom now even as the church prays for God’s Kingdom to come (Matt. 6:10).”

- Russell Moore & Robert Sagers, The Kingdom of God and the Church: A Baptist Reassessment

In the Blogosphere

Tony Kummer isn’t looking for a hill to die on, but people to die for.

A terrific contribution from Russ Moore and Robert Sagers about the Baptist understanding of the relationship between the Kingdom and the Church.

An interview with Os Guinness about the recently-released “Evangelical Manifesto.” HT - JT

Ted Traylor writes some kind things about my recent article in Baptist Press about the decline of the SBC.

Tullian writes about how we are redeemed to redeem

Thom Rainer on Pastoral Malpractice

Top Post this Week at Kingdom People: Should Christians Be Ecumenical?

Earth Day or Easter? Mother’s Day or Pentecost?

Imagine the following scenario. The year is 2068. The Western Church is preparing to celebrate Easter.

In this particular year, Easter Sunday happens to coincide with the April 22 celebration of Earth Day, a holiday that has been increasing in popularity since it was first observed a hundred years before. In order to best participate in the culture in which they have been placed, many evangelical churches choose to forego their Easter celebrations and to celebrate Earth Day instead.

Not surprisingly, other evangelicals take these churches to task for replacing Easter with Earth Day.

“Why shouldn’t we?” the churches answer back. “After all, we should be looking for points of contact with our neighbors. We would seem out of touch with society if we celebrated Easter and did nothing special for Earth Day.”

“Can’t you see how you have been co-opted by the culture?” other evangelicals ask. “You’re allowing the culture to dictate your church celebrations!”

“We are never commanded to celebrate Easter,” reply the church leaders. “Paul even says to avoid legalism when choosing to celebrate one day over another.”

Now let’s rewind back 60 years to 2008. Many evangelicals who follow the traditional church calendar are in a quandary. Pentecost and Mother’s Day fall on the same date this year (May 11). While most evangelicals in the West (though not the case worldwide) have long jettisoned the celebration of Pentecost, many evangelicals outside the U.S. embrace the history of celebrating the church’s major feast days.

So what to do on Mother’s Day?

For many in the U.S., this question will seem odd. After all, most evangelical churches do not follow a specifically Christian church calendar, except for perhaps Christmas and Easter. For my father-in-law (a Romanian Baptist pastor), the answer is clear. You celebrate Pentecost and make mention of Mother’s Day as well. Of course, he, like my other Romanian friends, is still wondering why in the world we do not celebrate Pentecost here.

A few thoughts…

Every church has a calendar. Whether the church chooses to follow the traditional calendar of the Church and preach according to the readings in a lectionary does not change the fact that every church has a way of ordering time.

The question is not, Will we follow a calendar? but Whose calendar will we follow? In other words, does our church’s ordering of time follow the wisdom of the ancient church or the whims of the consumerist American culture?

Many of our churches have a list of unofficial celebrations that order our congregational time.

• New Year’s Day.
• Valentine’s Day.
• Mother’s Day.
• Father’s Day.
• Fourth of July.
• Memorial Day.
• Halloween.
• Veteran’s Day.

By rejecting the traditional church calendar, we did not reduce the number of our celebrations; we merely replaced them with the celebrations of the culture at large.

Granted, churches do well to emphasize many of these celebrations. We can benefit from using the cultural opportunity to speak to the biblical vision of motherhood and fatherhood, etc.

But we should be willing to listen to the tough questions from those outside our culture about what our church calendars represent.

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?

Listening to these tough questions may make us uncomfortable. (They make me uncomfortable too. My current solution is to celebrate Pentecost with our Sunday School class and then celebrate Mother’s Day with the rest of the church.)

As evangelicals, we do well at seeking points of contact with our culture. It would be foolish to celebrate Pentecost on Mother’s Day without ever mentioning our mothers. Our goal should not be to adopt a “we’re proud to be out of touch” mentality that harms our witness.

I am sure that evangelicals will come down on different sides of the issue of ordering time. We should refrain from dogmatism on this matter. After all, the Scriptures do give us freedom in ordering our time and celebrations.

But surely we should wrestle through these decisions. To blindly go forward without giving thought to how our time is ordered is to prepare the foundation for the imaginary scenario I described earlier, where Earth Day takes over Easter. I hope I never see that day.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Book Review: Why I Am a Baptist

Search for books called Why I Am a Baptist and you will find titles going back for more than a century. One of the more recent books to claim this title explores the reasons for Baptist identity by drawing from the personal experiences of a variety of Baptist leaders.

Russell Moore and Tom Nettles (both of Southern Seminary) have done conservative Baptists a service by editing a book that describes Baptist doctrinal distinctives in the context of personal testimony. This readable collection of essays will be an encouragement to Baptists who may not know why they are Baptist, aside from their upbringing.

Why I Am a Baptist contains essays from Baptist forefathers (Isaac Backus, Ann Judson, F.H. Kerfoot), from current Baptist leaders (such as Jimmy Draper, Paige Patterson, and Al Mohler), European Baptists (Erroll Hulse, etc.), pastors (Mark Dever, Al Meredith, etc.), pastors’ wives, professors, and other Baptist evangelical leaders (Carl Henry, Wayne Grudem, etc.). 

Baptist distinctives are clearly articulated in this book, especially the doctrine of believer’s baptism as the key to Baptist identity. The contributors emphasize the trustworthiness of Scripture and the autonomy of the local church.

The only complaint I have with this collection is that the majority of the writers lean to the Reformed side of Baptist life. This fact is most clearly seen in many of the authors’ journeys between Presbyterian and Baptist churches. Several of the essays could have just as well been titled “Why I Am No Longer a Presbyterian.” While I enjoyed these essays, I would have rather heard from a broader spectrum of Baptist theology.

Still, Why I Am a Baptist is a worthy addition to the library of anyone interested in Baptist belief and practice. The distinctiveness of Baptist belief is presented in the form of testimony, leading to a deep appreciation for the Holy Spirit’s guidance of Baptists throughout the centuries.

written by Trevin Wax. copyright © 2008 Kingdom People Blog.

Should Christians Be Ecumenical?

Ecumenism.

Depending on your background and your experiences, that word may cause your heart to beat faster with hope at what possibilities for unity in the Christian Church might exist. Or it may cause your beat faster because of the alarm bells going off in your mind. 

Recently, Charles Colson, in promoting his new book The Faith, answered a probing question by Tim Challies regarding his involvement with Evangelicals and Catholics Together and the importance of “justification by faith alone” as integral to the gospel. Challies pointed out that the doctrine is considered anathema by official Roman Catholic teaching. 

Colson defended his work with Evangelicals and Catholics Together, claiming that his ecumenical pursuits reveal how many Catholic leaders align closely with the Protestant position. Colson asked for patience as the structure of the Roman Church eventually came to reflect the beliefs of some of its prominent spokespersons.

I put a similar question to N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham in November of last year. Bishop Wright answered similarly to Colson, claiming that it is difficult to perceive just what Catholics actually teach on this issue. He related his own experience of a Catholic theologian articulating his position in such a way that any Protestant would have been satisfied. 

Can evangelicals and Catholics truly be together?

Is there any kind of consensus on the doctrine of justification by faith alone?

What kind of unity can evangelicals and Catholics share?

It seems to me that there are three ways to answer this question, and we evangelicals need to recognize each of these avenues in order that we might talk to each other instead of past each other.

1. Evangelical Christians can set aside the ecumenical task completely, arguing that even if the Roman Church were to change its official teaching on justification, there are too many other hurdles to overcome. For this group, ecumenism is equal to compromise. Therefore, it should not be pursued.
2. Evangelical Christians can only pursue unity with Roman Catholics once the official teaching of the church reflects the truth about the doctrine of justification. Tim Challies and R. Scott Clark (in his thoughts on Colson’s answer to Challies) take this road. Official teaching is binding on all Roman Catholics. Therefore, because the Protestant position is anathema in the eyes of Rome, there can be no unity, however much we might try to pursue it. The catechism says it all.
3. Evangelical Christians at the local level can actively pursue unity with Roman Catholics because of the variety of beliefs within the Catholic Church. This seems to be the road that Colson, J.I. Packer, Richard Land, and N.T. Wright are advocating and seeking to represent with their various documents. Regardless of the doctrinal stance pronounced at the Council of Trent, there are many Catholics who believe and can articulate well the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Anathemas aside, some unity (at the grassroots level) can exist and we ought to work for more.

Here are my thoughts on each position.

The first position is untenable to me. Jesus’ prayer for unity in the Body obligates me to see the ecumenical task as important for Christianity. Christians are not given a choice here. Of course, the first position rightly observes the common pitfalls of ecumenism, namely: reducing Christianity to the “lowest common denominator,” compromising Christian essentials on the altar of “false peace,” and acting as if major doctrinal disagreements are really no disagreements at all. Evangelical Christians should heed the warnings of those in Camp #1, even if we don’t wind up in this camp.

Camp #2 also makes good points. If we compare the official teaching of Protestant confessions and Roman Catholic dogma and see these confessions as binding on our ecumenical task, there can be no unity. R. Scott Clark, Tim Challies, and others are right to see that the divide is, at least officially, “unbridgeable” at this point. The Protestant understanding of salvation has been anathematized by the Roman Church. We should not take this lightly.

Yet, I see a mysterious double standard here. Can we share Christian fellowship with our Lutheran brothers and sisters? What about Reformed with Baptist? Presbyterian with Lutheran?

Those in Camp #2 would, no doubt, say “yes.” But consider this:

• The Lutheran Book of Concord (1580), a doctrinally normative book of confessions that pastors and church workers must pledge allegiance to, contains the Augsburg Confession. Here, Lutherans strongly “condemn” those who “reject the baptism of children and say that children are saved without baptism.” So much for us Baptists.
• The “Epitome of the Formula of Concord” consigns to the “just judgment of God” the Reformed understanding of the Lord’s Supper.
• The Scots Confession of Faith from 1560, still authoritative for the Scottish Reformed Church “utterly condemns” those who affirm the sacraments to be “naked and bare signs.”
• The Belgic Confession of the Netherlands in 1566 (another Reformed Church) calls down “a solemn curse” on those who “not only have not been content in receiving Baptism once and for all, but who also damn the Baptism of the children from the faithful.” Ouch! Do my Scottish Reformed brothers believe that I, as a Baptist, am under God’s curse?

The gentlemen who make up the panel of the White Horse Inn radio program have confessions in their history that anathematize one another. And yet, there is great unity among the panel.

How is this so? It seems that there is a disconnect between what the confessions say and what people actually believe. 

Although a Lutheran believes infant baptism to be correct, most Lutherans today would not agree with the curses from heaven on Baptists. Though a Reformed pastor believes his view of the Lord’s Supper to be true, most Reformed men would not condemn their memorialist brothers and sisters to God’s just judgment.

The people who occupy Camp #2 believe that Roman Catholics and evangelicals can have no unity because of the official teachings of the churches. Yet, most in Camp #2 have no trouble pursuing unity with those within Protestantism, whose churches have officially condemned one another.

This pushes me into Camp #3, although I am somewhat more reserved in my enthusiasm than Colson, Wright, Packer and others. The signers of Evangelicals and Catholics Together tend to overstate the importance of their ecumenical documents, investing them with significance that does not translate into actual change. (I also wonder what sort of true unity comes about by signing joint statements.) I am, however, grateful to these men for taking up the difficult task of trying to bring about unity.

Perhaps evangelicals can also learn from the editors of Touchstone magazine. These are men who hold tightly to their own doctrinal commitments and viewpoints. And yet, their collaboration and ecumenical efforts have resulted in commentary that is highly beneficial to thoughtful, conservative Christians everywhere.

Instead of receiving the scoffing, sarcastic remarks of some in the Reformed blogosphere, the men involved in ECT or Touchstone deserve our respect, even if we may sometimes disagree. We could humbly learn from their example, as well as from their mistakes and oversights.

Can evangelicals and Catholics be together?

It depends on which evangelicals and which Catholics.

One day, God’s Kingdom won’t be divided up into denominations. We should be thankful for those whose ecumenical work is anticipating that Day.

written by Trevin Wax. copyright © 2008 Kingdom People Blog.

Gospel Definitions: R.C. Sproul

“There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the Gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your life’, or that ‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the Gospel.

The Gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness – or lack of it – or the righteousness of another.

The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.

The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the Gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did.

And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him – and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.”

- R.C. Sproul

Book Review: The Reason for God

Go to the nearest Barnes and Noble and take a stroll through the section of Bestsellers. You might be surprised to see so many books that are hostile towards Christianity (or theism in general). Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great (among others) are flying off the shelves, telling readers that “religion poisons everything.”

Thankfully, today you might find Timothy Keller’s new book on the shelf as well: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.

Keller pastors Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, one of the strongest church-planting congregations in the United States. The subtleness of Keller’s preaching style translates well into book form. The Reason for God exudes warmth in its simple and understated style, a manner of writing that stands in stark contrast to the exaggerated antics of Keller’s atheistic foes.

The Reason for God is divided into two halves. In the first part (provocatively titled “The Leap of Doubt”), Keller takes six common objections to Christianity and unmasks the hidden assumptions behind each. For example, in the chapter on religious exclusivity, Keller takes the criticism that “there can’t be just one true religion” and shows how the hidden assumption behind this criticism is actually exclusive and arrogant. Keller charts a similar path with other common objections (the problem of evil, the injustice of the church, the compatibility of religion and science, hell, etc.).

In the second half of the book (“The Reasons for Faith”), Keller makes his case for Christianity. He explains with how we can know God, he defines sin, and he lays out the differences he sees between “religion” and “the gospel.” Particularly helpful are his chapters on the cross and resurrection. The result is a terrific case for the importance of faith in our world today.

The Reason for God is bound to upset many people. The radical atheists will most likely respond with harsh invectives towards Keller and his reasoning. Some Christians will shudder at the ecumenical “mere Christianity” that Keller advocates in the book. Others will not appreciate the way he wears his Protestantism on his sleeve, especially in the chapter on the cross.

In making his case for Christianity, Keller walks a fine line between avoiding denominationalism altogether and promoting his own denominational distinctives. Personally, I think he avoids both extremes quite well. In the final chapter, Keller encourages people to join the church (which he compares to the ocean – enormous and diverse). Some may quibble with the fact that Keller does not make the case for conservative Protestantism, but perhaps Keller’s Reformed theology is coming through here, as he trusts in the sovereignty of a God who will lead his people to right belief and practice.

I look forward to using The Reason for God as a reference in my conversations with skeptics, in my teaching a class of 20-somethings, and in my own personal struggles with faith and doubt. The Reason for God will most likely be judged a “classic,” a book that resembles Mere Christianity and other apologetic works that have impacted the Christian church. Pick up this book and read it. Better yet, buy several copies and start giving them away. You won’t be disappointed.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

My Shoebox Story: Seeing “the Poor” as People

When I arrived back on Romanian soil in January 2001 (after spending a couple of weeks back in the United States for the holidays), I had a paradigm-shifting experience. I returned to the home of my village family.

When I walked in the door, the six-year-old girl greeted me, told me to wait, and then dashed back into the house for something. A couple seconds later, she reappeared, holding a shoebox filled to the brim with Christmas gifts. They had saved some gifts for me!

Just weeks earlier, I had finished a book by Franklin Graham about his Samaritan’s Purse organization. In that moment, it dawned on me that this family was just one of many that benefit! Suddenly, I remembered where I was and my eyes were reopened to the conditions of the country in which I was living.

I had begun to overlook the poverty and only see the people. And here I was in Romania, coming to grips with the fact that my Romanian family had saved a shoebox for me!

The shoebox incident showed me that I had begun seeing people for who they were, not where they lived. Before, I had always thought of Samaritan’s Purse and World Vision as doing work in Africa and in places poorer than Romania. When I imagined the people that benefited from those charitable organizations, I thought of the faces on the television commercials: the little boy with flies buzzing around, the mother holding her skinny baby to her breast, the emaciated teenager leading a baby brother. Although the television images are meant to shock us out of our complacency, they can easily desensitize us to the needs, because even if we see the faces, we do not know those people. We choose to help, looking past who they are to what they need.

On the day of the shoe-box incident, I saw things the other way around for the first time. Instead of seeing a face on TV, I saw the faces of the family I had lived with in Romania. I saw the faces of people I knew. People who laughed, loved, and cried. People who worked so hard, doing whatever was necessary to survive. People not so different than me. People belonging to another culture, people speaking a different language, but people essentially just like me in so many ways, especially regarding our common faith in Jesus.

From this point on, I viewed relief organizations differently. I began to think of the people they helped as people, not just as statistics or a picture on the television screen.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Who Do People Say that I Am?

“Who do people say that I am?”
- Jesus, to the disciples (Mark 8:27)

Ever since Jesus first put this question to His disciples 2000 years ago, people have been steadily coming up with various beliefs about the identity of the mysterious Galilean whose actions and teachings turned the world upside down. Even in Jesus’ day, the disciples revealed how diverse the opinions were.

Some labeled Him a prophet, another miracle-working Elijah, or a new repentance-preaching John the Baptist. Today, the diverse selection of answers to Jesus’ own question has only grown.

People who reject the portions of the Gospels they believe to be historically inaccurate can create virtually any portrait of Jesus they desire. Lately, that has largely been the case in Jesus scholarship.

Some have seen Him as a wandering Greek cynic, completely divorced from His Jewish background.

Others have seen Him as an apocalyptic prophet believing in the imminent end to the physical world, only to be proved wrong by the cross.

Even in the church, some deny His humanity in one way or another, making Him out to be a Superman of the 1st century.

Others throw out His claims to divinity, demoting Him to the position of a marginal only-human teacher about which little historical evidence can be retrieved.

Some scholars throw up their hands in surrender, affirming that we will never know much about the historical Jesus and had just better put our faith in the doctrines of the later church and forget the historical search altogether.

We, as Christians, however, must take seriously Jesus’ question about what others are saying about Him. The fact that He asked implies that the subject was important to Him, whether or not the newest ideas were true or not. Our faith in His God-man identity does not exist in some void, unapproachable to modern skepticism. Faith is not separated from history.

We believe in the actual Person who walked the shores of Galilee 2000 years ago. Our compass lies in the God-inspired Jesus biographies written by the witnesses to His glory. And this same Jesus calls us to evaluate the other opinions regarding His life.

written by Trevin Wax. copyright © 2008 Kingdom People Blog.

Related Articles:
Why the Search for the Historical Jesus Matters 1
Why the Search for the Historical Jesus Matters 2
Book Review: The Gospel of Thomas

Gospel Definitions: Lorraine Boettner

The Gospel is the good news about the great salvation purchased by Jesus Christ, by which He reconciled sinful men to a holy God.

- Lorraine Boettner

Send Us Your Holy Spirit

O God, the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
Do not leave us comfortless,
but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us,
and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, in glory everlasting.
Amen.

- The Book of Common Prayer

Do You Have a Stepford God?

“If you don’t trust the Bible enough to let it challenge and correct your thinking, how could you ever have a personal relationship with God? In any truly personal relationship, the other person has to be able to contradict you.

“For example, if a wife is not allowed to contradict her husband, they won’t have an intimate relationship. Remember the (two!) movies The Stepford Wives? The husbands of Stepford, Connecticut, decide to have their wives turned into robots who never cross the wills of their husbands. A Stepford wife was wonderfully compliant and beautiful, but no one would describe such a marriage as intimate or personal.

“Now, what happens if you eliminate anything from the Bible that offends your sensibility and crosses your will? If you pick and choose what you want to believe and reject the rest, how will you ever have a God who can contradict you? You won’t! You’ll have a Stepford God! A God, essentially, of your own making, and not a God with whom you can have a relationship and genuine interaction.

“Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know that you have gotten hold of a real God and not a figment of your imagination.

“So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it.”

- Tim Keller, The Reason for God, pages 113-114

In the Blogosphere

Collin Hansen and Tony Jones talk about the Reformed Resurgence and Emerging Church movements.

Baptist Press picks up my article on “Finger Pointing and the SBC Decline”

What’s the Ascension all about, anyway? Doug Wilson provides some context.

How do you seek humility? John Piper gives some insight here. (HT: Justin Taylor)

Are Southern Baptists “Slow-Train Sexual Revolutionaries?”

Zach Nielsen lists some of the positive benefits that come from blogging.

This is by far the most sophisticated and plausible explanation of the island in Lost.

Michael Bird reviews Scot McKnight’s A Community Called Atonement.

Bart Ehrman and N.T. Wright debate the problem of evil:

     Bart Ehrman: How the Problem of Pain Ruined My Faith   

     N.T. Wright: God’s Plan to Rescue Us

     Bart Ehrman: What About the Actual Suffering?

     N.T. Wright: What it Looks Like When God Runs the World

     Bart Ehrman: God’s Kingdom Has Not Come

     N.T. Wright: The Bible Does Answer the Problem–Here’s How

Top Post this Week at Kingdom People: Finger Pointing and the SBC Decline

Gospel Definitions: Derek Thomas

“The gospel is not ‘God loves us,’ but ‘God loves us at the cost of his Son.’”

- Derek Thomas

Interview with Christian George

Yesterday, I reviewed Christian George’s new book, Sex, Sushi, and Salvation. As a follow-up to that review, I am presenting an interview with Christian regarding his book, his pilgrimages, and his hopes for the future generation of Christians.

Trevin Wax: Christian, you have written before about the importance of pilgrimages. Many of your stories in Sex, Sushi, and Salvation are taken from your travels. What are some of the benefits of traveling? How have your travels helped you spiritually?

Christian George: These days, technology allows us to trek across the world. Twentysomethings are traveling today more than any generation prior. And by traveling to sites where God has actively intervened (sacred places), we are discovering the forgotten art of pilgrimage.

The Apostle Peter told the Christians living in Asia Minor that they were pilgrims in this world (I Peter 2:11). We are not nomads, aimlessly wandering in the wilderness. We are not tourists, living for the entertainment of the city. Christians are pilgrims who have their eyes set on a city whose architect and Maker is God.

So whether it’s to a mossy castle or a musty cathedral, traveling increases our view of God. It stretches our faith and moves us out of our comfort zones. It opens our hearts to those suffering in other countries. When we see God’s hand at work in other cultures and countries, our perspective of him changes. Our worship deepens, our prayers lengthen, and we discover that God is internationally involved. I suppose you could say pilgrimage is a discipline for the sole and the soul.

Trevin Wax: Some people might wonder where the title comes from. Why Sex? Why Sushi? And Why Salvation? Briefly, tell us how these three things go together and what you’re seeking to communicate.

Christian George: As I travel and speak in colleges this Spring, I’m discovering that a revival is brewing in my generation. We are hungry a raw faith (a sushi faith) that takes seriously our need for Jesus Christ.

I picked the title for Sex, Sushi, and Salvation because I wanted to communicate the three basic needs of the human heart: intimacy, community, and eternity. Only the God who has given us these three hungers can perfectly satisfy them with Himself. Of course, I’m finding that most people like one of these three things in the title and it’s usually not the sushi.

Trevin Wax: You write about the younger generation that seems to want the meat of the Word and not just the milk. Why do you think this is the case?

Christian George: My generation has seen the failure of the modern church to communicate the essence of the Gospel and we are going back to the Scriptures to see what God has to say. It’s a reformation, so to speak. We are realizing that God’s Word cuts like a samurai sword, and there’s no guard against it. It slices through joints and sinews, even to the very core of us. So we are feasting on preachers like John Piper who are letting the Bible speak for itself, and we are helping ourselves to a raw cut of Christological cuisine.

Trevin Wax: Do you see our generation as full of promise or peril? How do you explain the rise of such disparate movements such as the Reformed Resurgence on the one hand and the Emerging Church on the other?

Christian George: I am optimistic about our generation. But I believe we must proceed with caution. I am encouraged by both the Reformed Resurgence and the Emerging/Emergent Church. The Reformed Resurgence recognizes and broadcasts a bigger view of God, a God who controls the universe and our very lives. That’s beautiful, and biblical.

But I encourage my reformed friends not to make the mistake of early twentieth century religious rut movements that exchanged evangelism for theology. A good theology, a biblical theology, should fuel evangelism, not quench it. And reformed pastors from Martin Luther to Charles Spurgeon have always sought to win the lost for Christ.

I am also optimistic about several venues of the Emerging/Emergent Church movement. I like their questions. Questions like “How does the church live missionally in a postmodern world?” And “What is a Christian’s responsibility to the poor?” These are excellent questions and I believe many in this movement are finding biblical answers.

But I also am rather suspicious of those in this movement who replace theology for personal experience. We don’t need to neglect the mysteries of the Bible - mysteries like the atonement of Christ, the doctrine of heaven, the reality of hell, the call to live holy lives, etc. These are the core elements of the Christian faith, and when we neglect them or underemphasize them, we run the risk of losing our church to the world in order to draw our world into the church.

Trevin Wax: You write about your recent suffering through kidney stones, not to mention a bleeding disorder you had for several years. What has God taught you through suffering?

Christian George: Suffering is the reality of our mortality. Yet, in God’s mysterious system, He uses our pain to draw us to Himself. I hope you never have to pass a kidney stone. It’s like having a baby through a straw. But in those hellish moments, those agonizing, passing out moments, I discovered that God was right with me there in the pain.

It brought me back to the mystery of the incarnation, when God became a man. When the Creator became the creation. Wow! To think that God would experience the throb of a headache and the sneeze of a cold. That the One who spoke planets into orbit would puke up the left-overs of a bad meal. That God would have diarrhea. Well, that is certainly beyond me. But during those bitter moments, it blessed me to know that the sufferings of earth were not below our Savior.

Trevin Wax: You have spoken about the church in the West and the need for us to either “revive or rot.” What steps can pastors and lay people take to see that the Church in the West revives?

Christian George: I’m currently writing a book about why knowing God changes our lives. It should be out in a year or so. It is no secret that Christianity is sinking into the global south. North America is going the way of Europe (a dehydrated Christianity) while Africa and South America are being splashed with revival.

I believe pastors and lay people in this country can revive by going back to the Scriptures, by practicing spiritual disciplines like prayer, silence, and solitude, and by living radical lives for Christ. We are ordinary people, but we don’t worship an ordinary God. And he is calling us to cultivate a worship that revolve less around ourselves and more around him. Songs like “In Christ Alone” and “Were it not for Grace” teach us how modern songs and hymns can be written in a way that elevates God to his face.

The United States of America is a land of sedated saints. But I am encouraged to see my generation waking up and getting ready to take a leap of faith. Hope is on the horizon.

Interview with Christian George  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Book Review: Sex, Sushi & Salvation

Have you ever found yourself enjoying the edgy writing style of Rob Bell or Shaine Claiborne while simultaneously shaking your head at some of their theology? If you have, I suggest you pick up Sex, Sushi & Salvation. Christian George’s new book engages readers with fresh stories and comparisons, and yet he maintains a solid, biblical understanding of Christian theology.

In Sex, Sushi and Salvation, Christian shows us how God alone can quench the hunger of our souls - a hunger that demonstrates itself in our desire for intimacy (sex), community (sushi bars), and eternity (salvation). Christian’s passion is to see the Church in the West revive rather than “rot,” and he is doing everything he can to wake us up from our slumber of complacency.

Rather than turning to the next fad, Christian takes us back into time, showing us the passion of men like Francis of Assissi and Jonathan Edwards. As one who considers himself “a pilgrim,” Christian recounts his adventures in Celtic lands, Transylvania (now Romania), Greece and Italy.

Christian’s self-deprecating humor shines in every chapter. His innovative metaphors (”God walmarted himself” to describe the accessibility of Jesus” or “Christians are God’s boomerangs… He bends us back to himself”) make his book immensely entertaining and highly informative. There are a few moments or lines of this book which will make you laugh out loud.

But never does Christian’s humor stop readers from understanding his deep appreciation for the Church and the importance of having a relationship Jesus Christ. More than anything, this emphasis on relationship stands out. Not wanting merely to know about God and God’s people, Christian wants to experience these realities fully.

I highly recommend Sex, Sushi and Salvation. I plan on passing it on to some of the 20-somethings in my Sunday School class. Finally! A book that creatively engages the post-boomer generation without abandoning the truths of the gospel.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Finger Pointing and the SBC Decline

The Thirty Years’ War over religion devastated much of Europe in the mid 1600’s. By 1648, the war had degenerated into skirmishes and local battles. War had become so entrenched in the national psyche that the fights continued, often without anyone remembering why.

We should not miss the parallels between the the Southern Baptist Convention and the Thirty Years’ War. As we approach the 30th anniversary of the events which set in motion the Conservative Resurgence (a battle for the Bible that the conservatives fought and won), we continue to fight one another, often over non-essential matters that threaten our cooperation.

No one was surprised at the recent news from LifeWay’s research showing the Southern Baptist Convention in decline. In recent years, many have warned about the falling number of baptisms. But now our membership numbers are reflecting the decline (and it’s not because we have reformed in the area of regenerate church membership).

How will we react to the news of our decline? I fear that the already-battling factions of the SBC will now point the finger at one another. The younger generation will blame the older leaders for being stuck in a time warp… the older generation will blame the younger leaders for deserting the Convention and expecting unearned places at the table. Some will point the finger at the Calvinists who are “killing evangelism,” while the Calvinists will blame the non-Calvinists for unfettered revivalism. The traditionalists will speak out against the seeker-friendly churches for watering down the gospel, while the contemporary church leaders will blame the traditionalists for clinging to old methods. Throw in the resentment of small churches toward the mega-church pastors, and we have a veritable stew of angry bitterness that will probably result in even more bickering, back-biting and personal attacks.

But what if our Convention is declining at least partly because of our tendency to point the finger? If it is true that the world will know we are disciples by our love, we should look intently into the mirror and ask ourselves if we truly love one another. Our lack of love at the local level has become fodder for church jokes about the “successful” church-plants that come from our many splits. Magnify the tension in local churches and we find warring factions at the associational level, in our state conventions, and on the national scene.

It almost sounds like a cliché to call one another to love. Perhaps that’s part of the problem. We find it easy to love the people who agree with us, who pat us on the back, and who have caught our vision for the SBC. But do Calvinists and non-Calvinists truly love one another? Old and young truly care for each other’s good? Contemporary advocates and traditionalists truly feel brotherly affection for one another?

What good is it if we only love those who are easy to love? We are called to do more than tolerate each other under the big tent that is the SBC. What about loving our Southern Baptist brothers and sisters with whom we disagree?

Our blame-game must stop if the Southern Baptist Convention is to continue to have a role to play in God’s Kingdom. We must all repent. We have turned against one another. We are warring against each other over non-essentials and are losing our unity in the gospel we are called to proclaim.

What happened to Europe after the Thirty Years’ War? The way was prepared for liberalism and secularism. The populations grew so weary of the religious fighting that many in Europe abandoned religion altogether. I pray that our Southern Baptist battles will not aid the rise of secularism and liberalism.

Let’s end the fighting, reunite around the gospel, love those with whom we disagree, and continue to cooperate. May the world look to the Southern Baptist Convention, be drawn to Christ, and say as the pagans did of the early Christians, Look how they love one another.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

When “Thank You” Means “You Win, Lord”

“Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?”
- Jesus, to the Samaritan who returned to thank Him (Luke 17:17)

The account of such flagrant ungratefulness on behalf of nine lepers, healed graciously by Jesus, seems shocking to us today. How could only one of ten come back and say “Thank you?”

Yet, in Jesus’ day, the absence of vocal thanksgiving was not uncommon at all. In fact, thanking someone for hospitality or for an act of kindness could actually be considered an affront to the host!

If a person in Jesus’ day received a gift from his neighbor, he would not dare thank the neighbor verbally. Instead, he would begin thinking of how he could return the neighbor’s graciousness by doing something above and beyond that which had been done for him. The culture of honor and shame created a climate leading each person to try to “outshine” the other in acts of generosity. Relegating gratitude to simply saying “thank you” essentially implied that one would not return the favor, thus ending the “give-and-take” relationship.

Understanding this ancient mentality opens up a deeper meaning to the Samaritan’s action of thanksgiving. Instead of clinging to his cultural pride, the healed leper renounced the game of “outshining” the other’s honor and threw himself at Jesus’ feet in worship. He was announcing his utter weakness in trying to repay the Master for the gift of healing. More than showing recognition for his healing, the Samaritan was recognizing that Jesus had “won” - the honor was His! It was pointless to try to return so great a favor, senseless to seek to uphold personal honor.

When we come before God with thanksgiving, we are doing much more than showing Him gratitude for certain gifts and blessings He has bestowed on us. More importantly, we are renouncing the game of seeking our own honor, humbly acknowledging that God has given us more than we could ever repay! He is the only one worthy of praise and nothing we will do can ever compare with His amazing grace.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog

Gospel Definitions: Gilbert Beebe

Like so many Bible terms, the word GOSPEL has been given various definitions contrary to its original and proper meaning.

The word has its origin “in Christ before the foundation of the world.” This was contained in the “promise” God made before the foundation of the world. (Tit. 1:2) The “gospel,” the “good news” or “good tidings” is the declared fulfilment of that promise.

In Isaiah 61:1-3 is found the outstanding proclamation made by the Sum and Substance of the good tidings, — Jesus Christ Himself:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the meek, He has sent Me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn. To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”

The Redeemer repeated this same proclamation of Himself in the synagogue.

While this prophetical statement is often quoted, its full significance is rarely understood. In this one sweeping declaration, there is encouched - not the beginning of the gospel, not a part of its fulfilment, - the grand total of what the Son of Man declared on the cross: “IT IS FINISHED”!

The Greek word “evanggelion” is translated “gospel” in the King James Version. This word, together with its rendering of “good tidings,” glad tidings” and “preach the gospel” occurs some one hundred and eight times in the New Testament, none of which intimate anything less than “finished redemption” in Christ.

- Gilbert Beebe, 1846

A Prayer before Blogging

O Creator of the universe,
who has set the stars in the heavens
and causes the sun to rise and set,
shed the light of your wisdom into the darkness of my mind.
Fill my thoughts with the loving knowledge of you,
that I may bring your light to others.
Just as you can make even babies speak your truth,
instruct my tongue and guide my pen
to convey the wonderful glory of the gospel.
Make my intellect sharp,
my memory clear,
and my words eloquent,
so that I may faithfully interpret the mysteries which you have revealed.

- Thomas Aquinas, (1225-1274)

Family Pride

“What is called family pride is often founded upon an illusion of self-love. A man wishes to perpetuate and immortalize himself, as it were, in his great-grandchildren. Where family pride ceases to act, individual selfishness comes into play. When the idea of family becomes vague, indeterminate, and uncertain, a man thinks of his present convenience; he provides for the establishment of his next succeeding generation, and no more.”

- Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pg. 51

In the Blogosphere

A Christian TV host announces his homosexuality and is surprised at the amount of support he has received from the Church. (HT - Tullian)

Richard Mouw of Fuller Seminary looks at the singing of “Shout to the Lord” on American Idol and celebrates the inspiration that comes from Christian music.

It’s official. The Southern Baptist Convention is now declining.

I enjoyed meeting Jared Wilson this week at N.T. Wright’s lecture in Nashville. Jared recaps the event here.

Is there more common ground between the Emerging Church and the Reformed Resurgence than we realize?

Owen Strachan asks terribly uncomfortable, but necessary questions about the amount of television we watch.

Is C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian?

Top Post this Week at Kingdom People: Interview with N.T. Wright on Surprised by Hope