I journeyed to London, to the timekept City,
Where the River flows, with foreign flotations.
There I was told: we have too many churches,
And too few chop-houses. There I was told:
Let the vicars retire. Men do not need the Church
In the place where they work, but where they spend their
Sundays.
In the City, we need no bells:
Let them waken the suburbs.
I journeyed to the suburbs, and there I was told:
We toil for six days, on the seventh we must motor
To Hindhead, or Maidenhead.
If the weather is foul we stay at home and read the papers.
In industrial districts, there I was told
Of economic laws.
In the pleasant countryside, there it seemed
That the country now is only fit for picnics.
And the Church does not seem to be wanted
In country or in suburbs; and in the town
Only for important weddings.
CHORUS LEADER: Silence! and preserve respectful distance.
For I perceive approaching
The Rock. Who will perhaps answer our doubtings.
The Rock. The Watcher. The Stranger.
He who has seen what has happened.
And who sees what is to happen.
The Witness. The Critic. The Stranger.
The God-shaken, in whom is the truth inborn.
Enter the ROCK, led by a BOY:
THE ROCK: The lot of man is ceaseless labour,
Or ceaseless idleness, which is still harder,
Or irregular labour, which is not pleasant.
I have trodden the winepress alone, and I know
That it is hard to be really useful, resigning
The things that men count for happiness, seeking
The good deeds that lead to obscurity, accepting
With equal face those that bring ignominy,
The applause of all or the love of none.
All men are ready to invest their money
But most expect dividends.
I say to you: Make perfect your will.
I say: take no thought of the harvest,
But only of proper sowing.
The world turns and the world changes,
But one thing does not change.
In all of my years, one thing does not change.
However you disguise it, this thing does not change:
The perpetual struggle of Good and Evil.
Forgetful, you neglect your shrines and churches;
The men you are in these times deride
What has been done of good, you find explanations
To satisfy the rational and enlightened mind.
Second, you neglect and belittle the desert.
The desert is not remote in southern tropics,
The desert is not only around the corner,
The desert is squeezed in the tube-train next to you.
The desert is in the heart of your brother.
The good man is the builder, if he build what is good.
I will show you the things that are now being done,
And some of the things that were long ago done,
That you may take heart. Make perfect your will.
Let me show you the work of the humble. Listen.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Politics 101 - Part One
The political season is a bit like the golf season - it never ends.
Which leads to the issue of how we conduct ourselves in God's House when it comes to political life and discourse. I'm going to outline a few suggestions for wise behavior in the Church before the water really gets boiling with the dawn of January 2012.
Our cultural obsession with the political realm is just one more manifestation of our equally incessant idolatry: we are still looking for a Savior and often invest in candidates and movements Messianic expectations; not surprisingly the recipients of this worship fail to deliver. Of course candidates and governments are more than happy to oblige as possible Messiah, promising deliverance from whatever oppression of the month ails the populace - or at least the voting populace. Sadly many elected officials seem to have forgotten that they serve people as God permits (Pontius Pilate please call you office), and in the American Republic at least the electorate holds authority over the office holders they permit to serve them in ways prescribed and limited by a written Constitution. It goes without saying that the increase in our belief in salvation by government - and it is an idolatry espoused as much by the so-called left as by the so-called right - has marched hand in hand with our cultural abandonment of God alone as Savior and our juridical excommunication of the Most-High from what is commonly referred to as the Public Square. Of course, 'he who sits in the heavens laughs' (Psalm 2), for only a 'god' could be truly expunged from any realm of life; God, on the other hand, can't be, for in him we live and move and have our being. Without him, the Square ceases to exist at all.
1. Elections and Governments will not Save. Don't buy into the overheated rhetoric of the election cycle and the dark screaming voices demanding we pledge our souls to someone other than the One to whom we already belong, or who promise to answer every problem, or who demonize anyone who disagrees. These 'enemies' will be playing golf together weeks after the election, so keep things in perspective.
2. Pastors and Politics:I'm an Independent with no party affiliation, and don't I wish to have one. Occasionally political and legislative agendas intersect with Biblical imperatives; some people imagine then that when someone who's supposed to speak on Scriptural truths and uphold them addresses one of those intersecting issues then he or she is speaking politically, or endorsing/condemning a particular candidate or party. This is not the case. The culture is in rebellion against God and this is manifest in a whole host of ways; but my task is not culture saving or even culture building - I am way too busy with the job of sheep tending. That also means I'm watching for dangers to the sheep, and these can come from all quarters - including the political, governmental, and ideological realm: institutional persecution of the Church, whether passive or aggressive in nature, isn't exactly new. In addition to persecution, the political apparatus can also seek to dominate through ideology that is contrary to the Church's teaching. Again, addressing false and misleading ideologies isn't political - except in the eyes of the political class who view all of life through the lens of political agendas, losses, and gains; on the contrary, it is theological and it has to be done. Yes, theology may well have political implications, but that's a different issue altogether.
3. Leave the Bumper Stickers in the Parking Lot: A person may be deeply convinced that his or her candidate (for whatever office is at stake) is THE only legitimate option to consider. Do we realize that people may see things a little differently - maybe a LOT differently? Suppose there really was only one legitimate candidate for a certain office a Christian should rightly consider voting for (hard to imagine, but I'm just saying). A group of Church members are standing around the welcome area talking excitedly about their chosen one (back to Messianic politics again) and denigrating the opposition, when in walks a person who isn't a Christian at all, or is perhaps rather new to the Faith. Neither has much of an idea about what Paul calls 'renewing the mind' and so doesn't exactly think like all the Christians (why would a non-Christian think like a Christian anyway?). What do they hear? They hear politics, not Gospel; they hear people denigrated rather than respected. They get a good dose of either left or right talking heads - more like shouting heads these days - instead of a warm greeting that is going to direct them to Christ and his word. Support the candidates you believe are going to do the job they are seeking to be elected to do, but don't bring the electioneering into the Church.
4. Debate the issues: Christians must engage the process like everyone else - we are citizens too, including the clergy. So have the debates; get together with friends and colleagues and examine the issues. Just remember that political affiliation is no basis for fellowship in Christ, and disagreements over political policies must not be allowed to become sources of bitterness and unresolved anger between brothers and sisters. Remember how often one has been wrong before, and in that knowledge walk humbly. Living and working in countries other than the US has meant I have cared for, worked with, and been helped by lefty and righty Christians (in terms of economic policy, as that is popularly considered); we cannot let tax policy determine the shape of the Church. I've also served with Christians laboring under horrendous persecution from Marxist-Stalinist style tyrants. They were especially bemused to hear Americans moan about the horrid anti-Christian government Americans had to suffer under - until the next election! I'm not saying it can't be bad here - even really bad - but if you think its bad here, you need to get out a little more.
5. Vote.
Which leads to the issue of how we conduct ourselves in God's House when it comes to political life and discourse. I'm going to outline a few suggestions for wise behavior in the Church before the water really gets boiling with the dawn of January 2012.
Our cultural obsession with the political realm is just one more manifestation of our equally incessant idolatry: we are still looking for a Savior and often invest in candidates and movements Messianic expectations; not surprisingly the recipients of this worship fail to deliver. Of course candidates and governments are more than happy to oblige as possible Messiah, promising deliverance from whatever oppression of the month ails the populace - or at least the voting populace. Sadly many elected officials seem to have forgotten that they serve people as God permits (Pontius Pilate please call you office), and in the American Republic at least the electorate holds authority over the office holders they permit to serve them in ways prescribed and limited by a written Constitution. It goes without saying that the increase in our belief in salvation by government - and it is an idolatry espoused as much by the so-called left as by the so-called right - has marched hand in hand with our cultural abandonment of God alone as Savior and our juridical excommunication of the Most-High from what is commonly referred to as the Public Square. Of course, 'he who sits in the heavens laughs' (Psalm 2), for only a 'god' could be truly expunged from any realm of life; God, on the other hand, can't be, for in him we live and move and have our being. Without him, the Square ceases to exist at all.
1. Elections and Governments will not Save. Don't buy into the overheated rhetoric of the election cycle and the dark screaming voices demanding we pledge our souls to someone other than the One to whom we already belong, or who promise to answer every problem, or who demonize anyone who disagrees. These 'enemies' will be playing golf together weeks after the election, so keep things in perspective.
2. Pastors and Politics:I'm an Independent with no party affiliation, and don't I wish to have one. Occasionally political and legislative agendas intersect with Biblical imperatives; some people imagine then that when someone who's supposed to speak on Scriptural truths and uphold them addresses one of those intersecting issues then he or she is speaking politically, or endorsing/condemning a particular candidate or party. This is not the case. The culture is in rebellion against God and this is manifest in a whole host of ways; but my task is not culture saving or even culture building - I am way too busy with the job of sheep tending. That also means I'm watching for dangers to the sheep, and these can come from all quarters - including the political, governmental, and ideological realm: institutional persecution of the Church, whether passive or aggressive in nature, isn't exactly new. In addition to persecution, the political apparatus can also seek to dominate through ideology that is contrary to the Church's teaching. Again, addressing false and misleading ideologies isn't political - except in the eyes of the political class who view all of life through the lens of political agendas, losses, and gains; on the contrary, it is theological and it has to be done. Yes, theology may well have political implications, but that's a different issue altogether.
3. Leave the Bumper Stickers in the Parking Lot: A person may be deeply convinced that his or her candidate (for whatever office is at stake) is THE only legitimate option to consider. Do we realize that people may see things a little differently - maybe a LOT differently? Suppose there really was only one legitimate candidate for a certain office a Christian should rightly consider voting for (hard to imagine, but I'm just saying). A group of Church members are standing around the welcome area talking excitedly about their chosen one (back to Messianic politics again) and denigrating the opposition, when in walks a person who isn't a Christian at all, or is perhaps rather new to the Faith. Neither has much of an idea about what Paul calls 'renewing the mind' and so doesn't exactly think like all the Christians (why would a non-Christian think like a Christian anyway?). What do they hear? They hear politics, not Gospel; they hear people denigrated rather than respected. They get a good dose of either left or right talking heads - more like shouting heads these days - instead of a warm greeting that is going to direct them to Christ and his word. Support the candidates you believe are going to do the job they are seeking to be elected to do, but don't bring the electioneering into the Church.
4. Debate the issues: Christians must engage the process like everyone else - we are citizens too, including the clergy. So have the debates; get together with friends and colleagues and examine the issues. Just remember that political affiliation is no basis for fellowship in Christ, and disagreements over political policies must not be allowed to become sources of bitterness and unresolved anger between brothers and sisters. Remember how often one has been wrong before, and in that knowledge walk humbly. Living and working in countries other than the US has meant I have cared for, worked with, and been helped by lefty and righty Christians (in terms of economic policy, as that is popularly considered); we cannot let tax policy determine the shape of the Church. I've also served with Christians laboring under horrendous persecution from Marxist-Stalinist style tyrants. They were especially bemused to hear Americans moan about the horrid anti-Christian government Americans had to suffer under - until the next election! I'm not saying it can't be bad here - even really bad - but if you think its bad here, you need to get out a little more.
5. Vote.
TS Eliot: Choruses from the Rock
Every summer I spend some time with TS Eliot's remarkable poem 'Choruses from the Rock' as one element of my reading for personal reflection and renewal. I will offer a selection from that poem here each day this week, and hope that some readers might likewise profit from a fresh consideration of the poet's challenging words.
Choruses from the Rock
The Eagle soars in the summit of Heaven,
The Hunter with his dogs pursues his circuit.
O perpetual revolution of configured stars,
O perpetual recurrence of determined seasons,
O world of spring and autumn, birth and dying!
The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of The Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Brings us farther from God and nearer to the Dust.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Some Notes on 'The Sum of Thy Word is Truth' - Psalm 119:160
There's only so much one can cover and uncover in a single message, so I wanted to make just a couple of additional points here that I won't be able to touch on with the sermon on this text - though one could preach countless sermons on these lovely and powerful words of praise for God's word.
1. The word for 'sum' can be translated as 'head', but the idea the word conveys is 'head number', or 'sum-total'. In other words, if the Psalmist 'reckons up the word of God in its separate parts, and as a whole, truth is the denominator of the whole, truth is the sum total' (Keil-Delitzsch; Psalms; Eerdmans).
- This underscores the significance both a narrative-Biblical theology and Systematic theology (the latter often downplayed in favor of the former). Scripture must be taken as a whole, with 'truth' arising from the sum of the parts and revealed as a whole. This is true from a narrative standpoint, seen in something as simple as the commands regarding sacrifice for sin and in worship culminating in their fulfillment in Christ; it is seen from a Systematic Theology perspective, the meaning of a particular doctrine (say the Trinity or the Two Natures of Christ) being derived from all that is said rather than from one or two verses separated from their context and/or from other texts which speak to the same doctrine. In both cases, the 'sum' is true, and the part - while true in itself - would left to itself lead to confusion or falsehood.
- Cults and sects of every kind are notorious for ignoring the sum in favor of the part, building bizarre teachings and doctrines out of texts isolated from their literary and historical context, with the interpreters uninformed by the theology in the text, under the text, and arising from the text. It is also true that many individual Christians sometimes disdain theology as unimportant - as though the Scriptures cannot and do not offer us a sum of truth - not realizing that such an approach is itself a theological statement.
2. I have just started reading John Frame's new book "The Doctrine of the Word of God", and wish I'd finished it long before I started preparing for this sermon! if you don't have that volume I commend it to you and your study. There are of course numerous books on the subject, as well as on the history of the text itself. Next week I will try to publish a brief list for interested readers.
3. Finally, while I won't be quoting directly from the first chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith, that section of the Confession certainly is at the root of all I will be saying. In fact, I commend that single section of the Confession to your study more than any other particular work as a starting place. The Westminster Confession has many wonderful summaries of the truth of Scripture, but the chapter of the Doctrine of Scripture is, in my opinion at least, the single finest chapter of the entire confession. Before you spend a lot of money on other books related to the subject, simply work with the WCF, commit it to memory, and make it the foundation for your further study.
1. The word for 'sum' can be translated as 'head', but the idea the word conveys is 'head number', or 'sum-total'. In other words, if the Psalmist 'reckons up the word of God in its separate parts, and as a whole, truth is the denominator of the whole, truth is the sum total' (Keil-Delitzsch; Psalms; Eerdmans).
- This underscores the significance both a narrative-Biblical theology and Systematic theology (the latter often downplayed in favor of the former). Scripture must be taken as a whole, with 'truth' arising from the sum of the parts and revealed as a whole. This is true from a narrative standpoint, seen in something as simple as the commands regarding sacrifice for sin and in worship culminating in their fulfillment in Christ; it is seen from a Systematic Theology perspective, the meaning of a particular doctrine (say the Trinity or the Two Natures of Christ) being derived from all that is said rather than from one or two verses separated from their context and/or from other texts which speak to the same doctrine. In both cases, the 'sum' is true, and the part - while true in itself - would left to itself lead to confusion or falsehood.
- Cults and sects of every kind are notorious for ignoring the sum in favor of the part, building bizarre teachings and doctrines out of texts isolated from their literary and historical context, with the interpreters uninformed by the theology in the text, under the text, and arising from the text. It is also true that many individual Christians sometimes disdain theology as unimportant - as though the Scriptures cannot and do not offer us a sum of truth - not realizing that such an approach is itself a theological statement.
2. I have just started reading John Frame's new book "The Doctrine of the Word of God", and wish I'd finished it long before I started preparing for this sermon! if you don't have that volume I commend it to you and your study. There are of course numerous books on the subject, as well as on the history of the text itself. Next week I will try to publish a brief list for interested readers.
3. Finally, while I won't be quoting directly from the first chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith, that section of the Confession certainly is at the root of all I will be saying. In fact, I commend that single section of the Confession to your study more than any other particular work as a starting place. The Westminster Confession has many wonderful summaries of the truth of Scripture, but the chapter of the Doctrine of Scripture is, in my opinion at least, the single finest chapter of the entire confession. Before you spend a lot of money on other books related to the subject, simply work with the WCF, commit it to memory, and make it the foundation for your further study.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Sermon Notes for Second Sunday after Pentecost
Can I Still Trust the Bible?
Psalm 119:160; 1 Corinthians 9:8-10
Second Sunday after Pentecost
June 26, 2011
When Christians seek to share the Gospel with others we often face an objection with regard to the reliability and authority of the Scriptures. Pop culture antagonism and degradation of the Bible on the one hand, coupled with a disrespectful and tone deaf approach to unbelievers by some Christians on the other hand, has led to our current situation in which the withering attack on the Bible as God’s Word has shaken the faith of some and muted the boldness of others.
Very obviously, the Bible does not have the place in American public life that it once held, and I have no doubt this is due in large part to the fact that it ceased to have the right place in many Christian churches. Disregard for the Scriptures was a lesson the Church taught a society very eager to have a reason to disregard the command to follow Jesus. The culture has since turned around and through various academic, judicial, and media ventures largely eradicated from the landscape the idea of Authoritative Revealed Truth from the Infinite-Personal God, replacing it with the infinitely more attractive and seductive faith of Personally Autonomous Spirituality and Authority. As a result, North Americans are not less spiritual today than they were forty years ago – they are just as religious as ever; what’s happened is that they have exchanged the religion of the Bible for the gods of this age and ages past. Central to this exchange is what Paul called the ‘suppression of the truth’, and this is seen today especially when it comes to the Bible itself. This is so much the case, in fact, that I regularly meet many Christians who wonder whether or not they can still trust the Bible to be the word of God.
• The Intellectual Issue and the Volitional Issue – “If I could persuade you beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus Christ is exactly who the Scriptures say that he is, would you turn to him as Savior and follow him right now?
• “It’s not the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that bother me; it’s the parts that I do understand.” – Mark Twain
I. Three Popular Objections to the Bible
A. Language – Language is a purely human construct evolving with mankind; the Bible is a language document and thus, as a human product, cannot be a vehicle for something beyond what is human. This is a closed system, and ‘god’, if she, he, it, or they exist, is beyond us and our comprehension. The Bible may be interesting as a cultural artifact for study by anthropologists, but it is not a revelation from beyond that is eternal or binding upon every generation of humankind. This really isn’t an objection to the Bible but rather an assertion about reality as self-existent and God as non-existent or irrelevant.
B. Authority – Because the Biblical text is riddled with contradictions, and because the Church is rife with divisions arising from its failure to agree on what the Bible teaches, it is clear that the Bible possesses no real lasting authority, being historically unreliable, and therefore at best a collection of myths which help us understand better the human situation, or an aid to personal spiritual enhancement (not unlike a good course on meditation or any other so-called holy book), but cannot be received as authoritative by persons, communities, or society. In fact, people who ascribe that kind of authority to a book are dangerous. This is usually a claim arising from an incorrect understanding of the text and the claims it makes for itself, as well as a failure to grasp the huge differences between the so-called holy books.
C. History – The Bible is a collection of works chosen by the Church to control groups that threatened its power base, eliminating heretics while securing its structures. The Bible is especially a tool of misogynists who view women as the primary threat to a paternalistic societal model. This is the Dan Brown approach to Church history, where a small grain of truth is mutated in his lab into a mustard tree of laughable lies. Trusting Dan Brown’s stuff on Church history is like getting your view of aquamarine life from Sponge Bob Square Pants: points of convergence do not an accurate portrayal make!
II. Three Proposed Responses for the Bible: Psalm 119:160
A. God is the Word – “The sum of Thy word…”
1. The God of the Bible is a Speaking God
- John 1:1; Genesis 1:1-3
2. The Speech of God is Powerful
- Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 8:8; Mark 4:41
3. The Speech of God is Comprehensible
- Acts 28:25; 1 Corinthians 9:8-10 – “Does not the Law say these things? It is written in the Law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while he is threshing.’ God is not concerned about an ox is he? Or is He speaking for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written…”
4. The Speech of God when Written is Infallible and Authoritative because it is His Word, flowing from the Perfections of God’s Being
- Psalm 19:7-14; Matthew 22:31
B. God’s Word is a Covenant for His People – “The sum of Thy word is Truth.”
1. The Covenant Document is Given to a People not an individual
Scriptures are understood in a community not an academy or in isolation: 2 Peter 1:19-20
2. Inspiration and Infallibility for the Whole
Read and Hear Scripture as it was Given not according to modern assumptions (CSBI, Article XII); 2 Timothy 3:16
3. Sectarians choose an isolated text, but Truth demands the sum of the parts
Most Christian disagreements are not about the substance of the revelation but about the implementation of the revelation
C. God’s Written Revelation Follows God’s Redeeming Acts – “The sum of Thy word is Truth”
1. The Church Does Not Create the Bible’s Authenticity or Give to the Bible its Authority
2. The Church Does Recognize the Bible’s Authenticity and Authority - and Submits to it.
a. John 10:5-6; 17:17
b. Of course, certain texts were rejected as inauthentic – that’s not political, but truthful and prudent.
History text book evaluation
3. The Word Acting both by Speech and Power Creates the Church, and then by His Written Word Nourishes the Church, Cleanses the Church, and Adds to the Church.
a. The Savior Promised he would send us writers to communicate his word: Matthew 23:34
b. The Apostles were conscious that they were writing Scripture and recognized the writings of other Apostolic authors as Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Peter 3:15; 1 Timothy 5:18 (Luke 10:7)
III. Why We Must Trust the Bible
A. Because Jesus Christ Trusted in and Proclaimed the Scriptures: Matthew 22:31; Luke 4:16-21
o Do we claim a higher wisdom and intelligence than Jesus Christ?
B. Because Jesus Christ Promised to send us Writers who would be led by the Spirit to perfectly recall and record his words, his Apostles who are the foundation of the Church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth: Ephesians 2:20; 1 Timothy 3:15
o Do we claim to be wiser than the Apostles sent by Jesus Christ, possessed of a new and greater insight than theirs, so that we may dismiss what they have given to us as the Faith ‘once and for all delivered to the saints’?
C. Because the Scriptures Proclaim Jesus Christ and Trust in Him: John 5:39; Luke 24:44; John 20:30-31
o Where is the salvation of mankind spoken of? Where is the Savior revealed? In the Book! Why do people want the Savior of the Book but not the Book of the Savior?
No, this book has the revelation of the Man God sent to save us, his Son, Jesus Christ who is ‘the Word made flesh’. He is the Word of the Father, but we could never have known him were it not for the gift of this written revelation. To love Him is to love His Word; to despise His Word – His very voice! – is to despise Him. Let us come to Him as He is revealed and hear His voice speaking in what He has caused to be written and delivered to us, being as the Thessalonians who ‘received the word of God…and accepted it, not as the word of men, but for what it really is – the word of God, which performs its work in you who believe’ (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Quotable: Safety and Danger
"When the mission of the Church is safe, the Church is a dangerous place to be; when the mission of the Church is dangerous, the Church is a safe place to be."
- Josh Eby
- Josh Eby
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
A Church it is; a Cathedral it isn't.
Sometimes someone will ask me why Redeemer is planning to build a 'Cathedral' and the only response I can sanely offer is, "We are planning no such thing."
We most certainly are planning to construct a sanctuary, when God permits and as God provides. But a Cathedral? Seriously? I've seen Cathedrals and what is planned here is certainly no Cathedral. It will be a large parish church, and in fact what is envisioned is much smaller by comparison than many churches built for the same purpose all over the country in previous decades. But a Cathedral? A Cathedral is Washington National Cathedral. A cathedral is Ely, or Winchester, or - at least by name - the crystal structure built in California by Robert Schuller. Hey, we're no mega church either, looking for a massive warehouse, or a an arena to convert. We're a largish congregation, serving Christ, one another, and our neighbors, personally and together. We will build a sanctuary that furthers that work, and one that will have the capacity to bless generations to come.
"But won't the money for that take away from the vision to plant churches?"
Um, no. One could make the same argument for ANY building proposed. In fact, correctly done, new church buildings strengthen congregations and expand their capacity to serve in a whole variety of ways - just like the one we're in right now. Its a false dichotomy, or at least a badly informed one, that pits one against the other, presupposing that money spent on facilities takes away from money that serves the mission. It is especially sinister when ministry in mercy to man is juxtaposed against ministry to God in worship. I remember exactly which apostle raised that false comparison when Jesus' was anointed with costly perfume. Pouring on Christ in worship what is costly in the eyes of man does not take away from our capacity to pour on needy people the sweetness of the Gospel. It makes it even more possible. Just as our current structure can be home not only for this congregation but numerous community meetings, educational endeavors, and even the seminary, so also future buildings will only add to that capacity.
Oh sure, one can be foolish and needlessly luxurious in defining what is beautiful; but minimalist visions of church where what is 'needed' (as defined by whom?) is set over against what is beautiful (again, defined by whom?) will never serve the church's internal mission to show forth the glories of heaven on earth, and strengthen its soul for her external mission of proclaiming the saving Gospel of Christ which alone can save and take men from earth to heaven.
I don't know where and when all this chattering about 'Cathedral' got started. Maybe someone in their zeal used that word to describe the glory of what they hoped to see. However it started, it needs to stop, because its not only inaccurate, its also a lie. Its even become a pejorative expression used to denigrate a legitimate vision, an exaggerated slander meant to prejudice the discussion.
I don't want to build a Cathedral either. I do want to see us build a glorious church SANCTUARY where God is worshipped, the Church is edified, and from where we go into the world God loves with his kindness and mercy for all.
* By the way, the picture at the top of this article is a Parish Church - in South Leith, and not too far off the size envisioned here; the picture at the top of this web page is a Cathedral - Westminster Abbey. Please note the difference. By the way, technically, what makes a cathedral a cathedral is not its size but the presence of the 'cathedra' - the Bishop's Chair/Throne, from where he preaches. Since we're Presbyterians (!) you can be pretty sure there won't be a cathedra in any church we construct. Even a HUGE Presbyterian Church can't be a Cathedral.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The Great Co-Mission for Austin
Just to reiterate the words from this morning - the days of our area PCA congregations acting as if we are competitors for members rather than co-laborors in the harvest fields is long past. The time has come for a new approach because the need for workers in the harvest is so acute. We have been summoned by Christ to his Great Co-Mission:
* Imagine the Austin City Presbyterian Partnership -
- We give up the right to plant 'our' churches and work together to plant HIS!
- We share our resources of leadership, wisdom, and finance to strengthen existing congregations
- We devote ourselves to developing the seminary and other leadership equipping initiatives to raise the next generation of pioneer pastors and servants for the House of the Lord.
What could happen:
- 10 new area congregations in the next 10 years (and maybe sooner than that, should God choose to grant his blessing).
- Raising up in the House of Faith right here, and Recruiting from around the country, gifted and called men and women to serve in the Gospel
- A Consortium of Blessed Business Leaders purchasing ten five acre plots around Austin, or existing buildings, for use by new congregations over the next 10 years.
Think about planting not only geographically but ethnically; think about Gospel work at UT and among the massive student population here from all over the world; think about the need for coordinated mercy ministry all over the city. Ladies this means you too have to re-think your labors - yes there must be fellowship, study, discipleship and instruction along the lines of Titus 2, and prayer; but you are also summoned to take the Gospel beyond the walls of the Church through a whole range of possible ministries, and serve alongside Deacons as their assistants (just as the PCA's Book of Church Order says!) to help the broken and distressed.
Our congregations can be multiplied as disciple making communities all over this area. As I said, it will be messy at times; but lets get in the kitchen and get to work so that in the end, no matter how messy it may be, the loaves are baked and the hungry are fed.
This approach is suffused with the Gospel Spirit of Jesus Christ, who humbled himself and made himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a servant and being willing to die, in order to win the world he'd been sent to save. Is our heart to preserve our status and protect our boundaries or is it to promote the Kingdom and equip the saints? Are we here to polish a monument or pursue the cause of the Kingdom?
The mission of discipleship IN our homes must continue.
The mission of making disciples FROM our homes must be taken up with fresh zeal.
Is There a Father in the House?
"You have many teachers; you do not have many fathers..."
- Paul, 1 Corinthians 4
Instruction is certainly one important dimension of being father, but as Paul notes in his letter to the Corinthians being a father is a whole lot more than being a teacher. Teachers abound; fathers are few.
That comment does not denigrate teaching or teachers, especially in the Household of Faith. It does however elevate fatherhood. It is essential that church members are catechized - instructed - but it is even more vital that this takes place in the context of spiritual fathering (and mothering too). Fathers sacrifice themselves for their children, admonish their unruly behavior, direct their steps towards godliness, and enlarge the scope of their world to see beyond self. Fathers in the Faith set down paths in which future generations can walk, but also apply truth wisely to real-life situations. A teacher may well be able to explain the intricacies of a Christological debate, but a father, while affirming all the teacher says, grounds the teaching in terms of its implication for wise and loving relationships shaped by mercy and grace. Fathers are then both tough as truth tellers and tender as truth appliers. The truth can hurt and so it needs to be spoken in love. Supremely fathers proclaim and live the Gospel.
In the end, a man is a spiritual father because God gives him spiritual sons - Paul became the father of the Corinthians through the Gospel, and he was a father to young Timothy as well. He was acquainted with Timothy's weaknesses, temptations, and suffering; he refused to allow Timothy the luxury of self-pity, placing squarely on Timothy's shoulders the responsibility for how he conducted himself before others and the treatment he received as a result. Paul knew well the sins of the Corinthians but he did not shrink from expressing his pride in them, his love for them, and his devotion to them; in fact, he calls them the seal of his apostleship.
Just as we need older women to teach younger women (titus 2), so also we desperately need ecclesiastical fathers who will shape whole communities in grace and shape the next generation of godly servants in the Gospel. Yes, we need church planters and pioneers; yes, we need teachers; looking around, however, we must have fathers as well to the end that new communities can be shaped by grace, new leaders raised up, and the nations discipled. We need Elijahs for our Elishas; we need Pauls for our Timothys; we need Davids for our Solomons.
This is true of every generation, but I should mention one last matter about our ecclesiastical fathers in closing. After the Apostles came the age of the Fathers - the Patristics - and their astonishing contribution to the life of the Church. That generation of men, from Justin Martyr to John of Damascus, from Athanaisus to Ambrose to Augustine, from Basil and the two Gregorys to Cyril and Cyprian, are fathers to us as well. We would do well to cease our endless prattling about how this new generation can discover new methods for an ancient message, and realize afresh that these men knew not only what they were talking about, but also what they were doing; I'd be fine with John Chrysostom as my father in the House!
Is there a father in the House? Historically speaking, yes, without doubt, and we do well to repent of our youthful pride and go sit down at their feet for a season. Speaking about the contemporary context, however, the answer may appear far less certain; may God grant us more fathers in his House through the Gospel for a generation of orphaned sons desperate for more than any classroom can offer.
- Paul, 1 Corinthians 4
Instruction is certainly one important dimension of being father, but as Paul notes in his letter to the Corinthians being a father is a whole lot more than being a teacher. Teachers abound; fathers are few.
That comment does not denigrate teaching or teachers, especially in the Household of Faith. It does however elevate fatherhood. It is essential that church members are catechized - instructed - but it is even more vital that this takes place in the context of spiritual fathering (and mothering too). Fathers sacrifice themselves for their children, admonish their unruly behavior, direct their steps towards godliness, and enlarge the scope of their world to see beyond self. Fathers in the Faith set down paths in which future generations can walk, but also apply truth wisely to real-life situations. A teacher may well be able to explain the intricacies of a Christological debate, but a father, while affirming all the teacher says, grounds the teaching in terms of its implication for wise and loving relationships shaped by mercy and grace. Fathers are then both tough as truth tellers and tender as truth appliers. The truth can hurt and so it needs to be spoken in love. Supremely fathers proclaim and live the Gospel.
In the end, a man is a spiritual father because God gives him spiritual sons - Paul became the father of the Corinthians through the Gospel, and he was a father to young Timothy as well. He was acquainted with Timothy's weaknesses, temptations, and suffering; he refused to allow Timothy the luxury of self-pity, placing squarely on Timothy's shoulders the responsibility for how he conducted himself before others and the treatment he received as a result. Paul knew well the sins of the Corinthians but he did not shrink from expressing his pride in them, his love for them, and his devotion to them; in fact, he calls them the seal of his apostleship.
Just as we need older women to teach younger women (titus 2), so also we desperately need ecclesiastical fathers who will shape whole communities in grace and shape the next generation of godly servants in the Gospel. Yes, we need church planters and pioneers; yes, we need teachers; looking around, however, we must have fathers as well to the end that new communities can be shaped by grace, new leaders raised up, and the nations discipled. We need Elijahs for our Elishas; we need Pauls for our Timothys; we need Davids for our Solomons.
This is true of every generation, but I should mention one last matter about our ecclesiastical fathers in closing. After the Apostles came the age of the Fathers - the Patristics - and their astonishing contribution to the life of the Church. That generation of men, from Justin Martyr to John of Damascus, from Athanaisus to Ambrose to Augustine, from Basil and the two Gregorys to Cyril and Cyprian, are fathers to us as well. We would do well to cease our endless prattling about how this new generation can discover new methods for an ancient message, and realize afresh that these men knew not only what they were talking about, but also what they were doing; I'd be fine with John Chrysostom as my father in the House!
Is there a father in the House? Historically speaking, yes, without doubt, and we do well to repent of our youthful pride and go sit down at their feet for a season. Speaking about the contemporary context, however, the answer may appear far less certain; may God grant us more fathers in his House through the Gospel for a generation of orphaned sons desperate for more than any classroom can offer.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Sermon Notes for Sixth Sunday of Easter
These notes are from a few weeks back; my apologies for failing to post them until now.
Facing Temptation
1 Corinthians 9:24- 10:13
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 29, 2011
Read 9:24 – 10:5, 12-13
As we come to the reading this morning, lets recall some of the issues Paul is addressing in his letter to the Corinthian Christians –
• Boastful Arrogance
• Spiritual Negligence
• Rampant Immorality
• Religious Compromise
Nothing new there! It was true for them and it’s true for us – just as it was true for Israel long before Christ came. Every one of these issues are temptations we face that can make us stumble, lose our way, and suffer injury, hurt others, and cast a shadow across the bright light of the Gospel.
• Now that I’m a foodie, I get to be Tempter rather than merely tempted!
Yet before Paul turns his attention to the congregation and their battle with temptation, he does something every Pastor had better do: he preachers to himself! He does this using two athletic metaphors that would be very familiar to the Corinthians. He envisions our battle here as a competition for the highest and greatest prize of all, one worthy of our full attention, dedication, and every necessary sacrifice.
I. The Champion’s Crown – 9:24-27
A. The Isthmian Games
• A Wreath of Withered Celery!
• An Imperishable Crown of Glory!
B. Two Athletes
1. Boxer
2. Runner
- Facing the Fight from within – the Runner
- Facing the Fight from another – The Boxer
- Love this – Chariots of Fire and Rocky
- “When I run, I feel his pleasure”; “You’re going to be a very dangerous poisen (person).”
• Both are great Christian movies!
- Victory in the test arises from the position of the heart
II. The Champion’s Challenges
• Israel’s Story is Our Story – 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (our fathers)
• This was a period of testing for them – they turned an eleven day journey into a forty year disaster
- Between the Promise and the Provision is the Problem
- Temptation arises to bring us to maturity and cast us on God’s mercy and grace – on Christ alone – as our life.
A. Idolatry – 10:6-7
• Whatever we treat as the source of our life, that to which we dedicate our life, and for which we would sacrifice all.
• They sat down to eat and drink before their idol and rose up to play; we too sit down to eat and drink, but before the Living God! What will we rise up to do? Rise and Serve!
B. Immorality – 10:8
• Out of their Idol worship came their immorality: Moabites
- Danger was compromise; same today – just go along
- Being against the abuse of the thing is not the same thing as being against the thing itself; on the contrary, saying no to its abuse is recovering that thing for its true purpose and glory.
C. Ingratitude – 10:9
• “Why did you bring us out here to die? All we have is this miserable food. Lets go back!”
III. The Champion’s Confession – 10:12-13
A. I’m a sinful person and I’m in the fight of my life.
• “Is it I?”
B. By the grace of Christ – his life in me – I will finish the race and gain the crown.
• 9:27 – “I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ who loved me and gave himself for me…”
The moment when the Champion is crowned: “How’s it feel? How’d you do it?”
Facing Temptation
1 Corinthians 9:24- 10:13
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 29, 2011
Read 9:24 – 10:5, 12-13
As we come to the reading this morning, lets recall some of the issues Paul is addressing in his letter to the Corinthian Christians –
• Boastful Arrogance
• Spiritual Negligence
• Rampant Immorality
• Religious Compromise
Nothing new there! It was true for them and it’s true for us – just as it was true for Israel long before Christ came. Every one of these issues are temptations we face that can make us stumble, lose our way, and suffer injury, hurt others, and cast a shadow across the bright light of the Gospel.
• Now that I’m a foodie, I get to be Tempter rather than merely tempted!
Yet before Paul turns his attention to the congregation and their battle with temptation, he does something every Pastor had better do: he preachers to himself! He does this using two athletic metaphors that would be very familiar to the Corinthians. He envisions our battle here as a competition for the highest and greatest prize of all, one worthy of our full attention, dedication, and every necessary sacrifice.
I. The Champion’s Crown – 9:24-27
A. The Isthmian Games
• A Wreath of Withered Celery!
• An Imperishable Crown of Glory!
B. Two Athletes
1. Boxer
2. Runner
- Facing the Fight from within – the Runner
- Facing the Fight from another – The Boxer
- Love this – Chariots of Fire and Rocky
- “When I run, I feel his pleasure”; “You’re going to be a very dangerous poisen (person).”
• Both are great Christian movies!
- Victory in the test arises from the position of the heart
II. The Champion’s Challenges
• Israel’s Story is Our Story – 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (our fathers)
• This was a period of testing for them – they turned an eleven day journey into a forty year disaster
- Between the Promise and the Provision is the Problem
- Temptation arises to bring us to maturity and cast us on God’s mercy and grace – on Christ alone – as our life.
A. Idolatry – 10:6-7
• Whatever we treat as the source of our life, that to which we dedicate our life, and for which we would sacrifice all.
• They sat down to eat and drink before their idol and rose up to play; we too sit down to eat and drink, but before the Living God! What will we rise up to do? Rise and Serve!
B. Immorality – 10:8
• Out of their Idol worship came their immorality: Moabites
- Danger was compromise; same today – just go along
- Being against the abuse of the thing is not the same thing as being against the thing itself; on the contrary, saying no to its abuse is recovering that thing for its true purpose and glory.
C. Ingratitude – 10:9
• “Why did you bring us out here to die? All we have is this miserable food. Lets go back!”
III. The Champion’s Confession – 10:12-13
A. I’m a sinful person and I’m in the fight of my life.
• “Is it I?”
B. By the grace of Christ – his life in me – I will finish the race and gain the crown.
• 9:27 – “I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ who loved me and gave himself for me…”
The moment when the Champion is crowned: “How’s it feel? How’d you do it?”
Sermon Notes for Trinity Sunday 2011
Creating a Great Commission Culture
1 Corinthians 10:1-5; Matthew 28:18-20
Trinity Sunday
June 19, 2011
The basic question confronting the Church today is whether we are available to Christ and his cause or committed to Christ and his cause. He defined this cause for us by his life and death, provided for us to pursue his cause through his resurrection and ascension, and guarantees the fulfillment of his cause through us by his promise to return. That cause is called ‘making disciples of all nations’.
Too often the Church today seems by its strategy to hold to the strange belief that Jesus knew what he was talking about, but didn’t know what he was doing - that we have better methods than he had, that we are wiser now and can take some shortcuts to the fruitful pursuit of his cause. Jesus didn’t offer a very compelling glitzy strategy for us to pursue: he said to make disciples; that his own disciples needed to go and do for others what he had just spent three years doing with them. He did not say ‘Go and get decisions’, but rather ‘Go and make disciples’. To do this we need to obey one huge imperative that is defined by two key activities. The imperative, the command, is “Go”; that’s the mission perspective of the Church. The goal is making disciples of Jesus. How? Here are the two activities - baptizing and teaching. The first is the act of initiation into Christ and the life of being a disciple and the second is the act of transferring to others spiritual formation to the end that they become as the Master.
Disciple - mathetes
Nations - not lines on a map, but peoples not yet united to the Savior
People Sent Together - Matthew 28
One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
Delivered Deliverers and Wounded Physicians
Nations also means Generations
Catechizing is Evangelizing
Worshipping is Instructing
Babies, Children, and Adults - all baptized, all joined, all moving together
People Joined Together - 1 Corinthians 10
Personally born Anew, Communally Made Whole
Evangelism MUST be Church Planting
It is baptizing
It is teaching
Both presuppose and create community
MUST have churches as outcome of evangelism and method of evangelism because disciple making isn’t just personal but congregational.
People Working Together
The Austin Mission
Our current situation and embarrassment
“Any plan for cultivation should recognize that the church has shrunk dramatically in the US in the past century, relative to growth. In 1900 there were 28 churches per 10,000 people. In 2000, there were 12. In Austin there are 4.75 (This is based on 2000 census reports and includes Evangelical Protestant, Mainline, Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. In the PCA, there are 4 churches within the city limits. By comparison, Chattanooga TN a city of 167,000 has 9 PCA churches. This number does not include PCA churches on Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain or other surrounding suburbs).
If Austin were to stop growing tomorrow it would take years if not decades for all the churches in Austin, all aggressively planting new churches, to reach the national average.
But Austin isn’t going to stop growing tomorrow. The latest census report shows that the metro area grew by about 500,000 to 1.7 million, an increase of 35% in the last decade. The city grew to just under 800,000, up from 656,000. Demographers estimate that the metro area will grow to about 2.7 million by 2025. This makes Austin the 5th fastest growing region in the nation and the fastest growing one in Texas. Latinos and Asians accounted for 71% of the growth in the last decade in Austin and demographers predict that they are the two ethnic groups that will continue to experience the greatest growth.”
Our current need to repent and believe
The Trinitarian Way in Mission - Self-Giving Humility and Love
The Father’s Desire
The Son’s Love
The Spirit’s Presence
The Needed Response: A New Network that sees the Mission as Greater than our Congregational Turf
We cannot do this alone and We have to do it together
That has to start with those with whom we share the most
A City Church for a World Mission
Obeying the Great Commission and Being a Great Church are not mutually exclusive ends but rather mutually dependent realities. Lets get on with it.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Quotable: Famous Last Words
Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.
Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.
I have tried prudent planning long enough.
From now on, I'll be mad.
~ Rumi
Yes, well, as has been noted, talk is cheap. Those words sound brave, but when the heat is on, experience suggests people head the direction of prudent safety rather than courageous madness.
Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.
I have tried prudent planning long enough.
From now on, I'll be mad.
~ Rumi
Yes, well, as has been noted, talk is cheap. Those words sound brave, but when the heat is on, experience suggests people head the direction of prudent safety rather than courageous madness.
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