Monthly Archives: December 2009

Paying attention to the world

At one point in time I remember reading that living prophetically as a Christian is having a Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other. Well, both are readily available online, so maybe our hands are freed up to raise them to God in intercession.

But we MUST pay attention to our world. There are things happening where we have opportunities to hear from the Spirit. It’s not just about politics. Reading the news is often about prayer.

One place I recommend HIGHLY for world opinion is The New York Times, and specifically Thomas Friedman. He has a grasp on the Middle East like no one’s business. This column is incredible, and we need to pay attention.

Also, for another pulse on cultural issues, go over to Ben Witherington’s blog post on gay marriage and an evangelical perspective. Read the comments as well. This man is not afraid!

Let us engage our culture prayerfully. But above all, let us pray.

Why the Old Testament?

In preparation for my Old Testament survey course I teach in the spring, I want to express my thanks for those who have given me wonderful ideas for OT passages to memorize.

Now, the question I propose is this: WHY do we pay attention to the Old Testament? As a believer, not one who is taking a required course, WHY do we read and STUDY the Old Testament? I’d love your thoughts.

Resolved

New Year’s resolutions are tough. Yet, there are some spiritual exercises I want to increase in my life.

1. Increase in prayer.

We will open the new year with a week of prayer. We will have a silent retreat in February. The Lord is challenging me in fasting and prayer. I need to call out on God in a more intense way this next year.

2. Preaching and study.

It’s tough, but I am going to try to stick to one translation. The HCSB hasn’t been a favorite. Despite not liking how they handle the gender issue, I am going to give it a go and see if I can use it on a regular basis. At church, I will be preaching through Thessalonians, and then possibly the Gospel of John. I long for a return to expository preaching and keeping at that discipline for a time.

There are so many more areas, but I want to be RESOLVED in my walk with the Lord. This past semester as I have taught Ephesians, I have had a deeper desire to grab hold of the vast riches of the Kingdom of God. It takes intentionality! Be resolved!

Essential

I am wrapping up a semester of teaching basic theology to students. I am taking them through an exercise where they are developing their own statement of faith. Interestingly enough, I have come across posts about essential theology.

T.C. links to Pen and Parchment for the discussion. There are some good thoughts.

One thing to be reminded of is this: It’s not a set of beliefs that SAVES you. It’s Jesus that saves. But there is RIGHT THINKING. Paul talks about how we learn Christ in Ephesians. There are essentials to the faith. Quite honestly, I think the essentials are FEW. We can get long-winded on a lot of things, but those are secondary issues. What is primary in your faith? What is essential theology in your belief system?

I like the list compiled as essential:

  • Belief in God (there is no such thing as an atheistic Christian)
    All issues pertaining to the person and work of Christ:
  • Belief in Christ’s deity and humanity (1 John 4:2-3; Rom. 10:9)
  • Belief that you are a sinner in need of God’s mercy (1 John 1:10)
  • Belief that Christ died on the cross and rose bodily from the grave (1 Cor 15:3-4)
  • Belief that faith in Christ is necessary (John 3:16)

The orthodox belief goes further in many areas, but these are good essentials.

Is Jesus THE Way?

A recent post over at ScriptureZealot stirred my thinking. Some of the more incendiary comments have since been edited out, but it stirs me nonetheless.

It raised the specter of hard-line Calvinism simply saying, “If you don’t believe in TULIP (and some very specific tenets of Calvinism) then you are preaching another gospel.” That’s the subtle undertone of the piece by Horton. I do not accuse Jeff on his blog of raising such a division!

But when I read of our postmodern “emergent” (or whatever they’re calling it these days) struggles with the uniqueness of Christ, I think, “Why do we have to split hairs between Calvinism and Arminianism? We have bigger problems!”

A recent posting on Christianity Today demonstrates this issue. This new working out of theology and evangelism is scary. When the author of the article tried to bring the leaders of the seminar to a point of demonstrating the uniqueness of Christ and the proposition of Christ, they just wouldn’t declare what Jesus himself declared: He IS the way, the truth and the life!

Consider this disturbing passage:

On the last day, the discussion focused on Christian engagement with other religions. I resonated with much of what was said: the need for respectful dialogue, the willingness to listen and learn, and the intent to promote peace and understanding. But I also experienced a growing sense of unease. As my concern crystallized, I asked our distinguished guests: As those who self-identified with the Christian tradition, how did they understand the uniqueness of Jesus Christ?

Their response was that of course Jesus is unique. But, they continued, so are the leaders of the other world religions. While it was certainly true that Jesus is unique and different from other religious leaders, they said, it is also true that they are unique in relation to him. The uniqueness of Jesus was no different from that of any other important religious figure. Only in this way, they suggested, is equality among religions established as a basis for interreligious dialogue.

Those last two sentences should raise flags, set off alarms, and cause us to fall to our knees in repentance. To me, this isn’t laid at the feet of Calvin or Arminius. And it’s far beyond the problem of holding to some TULIP formula.

We have problems, friends. And it goes FAR beyond some debate between J.I. Packer and N.T. Wright. Neither of those men is preaching another gospel. (Horton, it seems, or maybe Packer, or both, seem to think Wright is proclaiming another gospel.) My contention is Wright is down-right ORTHODOX compared to the horrible theology presented in the last two lines of the quoted passage above.

Jesus is the Savior. Not just MY Savior. He is THE Savior. THE way. THE truth. THE life. No one… NO ONE… comes to the Father except by him.

Learning Christ

Eph. 4:20 — “That is not the way you learned Christ.”

There IS a way to learn Christ. We are taught in him. As I am reflecting over this passage for a class I am teaching, I am reminded of many people who taught me in Christ. Some were personal. Others through books and other media.

My parents taught me serving Christ and giving. My pastor, John Skinner, taught me about prayer. Doug Lowenberg taught me about ministry. Don Meyer discipled me in Bible study. Deborah Gill discipled me in Greek and ministry. Lois Malcolm discipled me in theology. Walter Sundberg discipled me in history. Larry Hale discipled me in ministry.

Richard Foster and Dallas Willard teach me spiritual formation.

I have learned Christ. I am being taught in him. I am deeply grateful for those who have helped me learn Christ!

Tags and Memes

I have no idea how to do this, so it may just flop. In my post on Icons, I mentioned our own Protestant “icons.” Bitsy invited me to start a “meme” on your five favorite Protestant Icons.

So, I will tag Bitsy, Brian, Jeff, Gary and TC. Your turn. Who are your Protestant icons?

So… how do these people know they are “tagged?” Is this fun yet? :)

Love for the Church

I am working through Acts 20 for the class I am teaching. As usual, I am so humbled by Paul’s incredible heart for the church. He pours out his heart to the Ephesian elders and lets them know the high price of pastoring.

My question is this: In today’s church environment are we training church leaders or pastors? Have we moved so far to the position of teaching leadership skills, we have neglected the necessity of pastoring people? Are we more focused on skills and less focused on truly LOVING the Church? Just some thoughts.