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In Memory

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For Pat

We gather here today to remember our beloved brother in Christ, Pat Murray. We come to celebrate a man who fought the good fight and finished his race, all the while keeping the faith. So there is joy. But there is also loss. A tender husband is no longer here; a faithful father has gone to his true home; a cherished son, brother, and friend is now in the midst of heaven’s host. We come then with hearts of gladness and grief. My hope in these few minutes is to raise our minds to consider the Lord Jesus, who is the reason of gladness and the refuge for grief. To help us see this we turn to Philippians 1.

Here the apostle makes one of the most remarkable statements you can ever hear a Christian make. He says in 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I want to briefly meditate on how Pat Murray embodied this passion in life and assurance in death.

To Live Is Christ

I first met Pat not long after he was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2012. It wasn’t long after that the Murrays began to visit our new church plant in January 2013. For the last two and a half years Pat and Ronda have been cherished attenders, and then members, of Imago Dei Church.

What struck me about Pat was that he was a man of joy; for Him, to live was Christ. I saw Pat delight in shepherding young CPAs to be faithful in their labor during the pains of tax season. I heard Pat eagerly encourage young husbands and fathers to remain rooted in God’s word as they shepherded their family. I observed Pat speak with glowing adoration of his wife and daughters. I watched Pat don the colors of his alma mater and cheer for the Bears to sic’ ‘em. I saw a gleam in his eye when he talked about the great game of golf. I heard of a hunger in his soul for God’s word and the fellowship of his people. I sang next to him and heard a heart raised in praise to God. I’m sure every one of you who knew him well have untold stories of Pat that upon reflection can’t help but stir your soul and bring a smile to your face.

Now, I know Pat, he wouldn’t like all this talk about himself. But I would tell my dear brother not to fret, for to honor him in this way is to honor the God he loved. Why could he find happiness in every stage and station? Why didn’t the curse of cancer rock the boat of his life and crash him onto the rocks of despair and doubt? Here’s my answer: he was a man alive to joy, because he was a man made alive in Christ. This kind of life and joy are not possible through any other means or any other person.

The Bible says we are all born dead in sin, we are by nature children of wrath, and thus deserve nothing less than eternal judgment from God. No amount of self-striving or self-righteousness can make our dead hearts begin to truly beat. God knows this and so He sent His Son to do what we should have done, but did not do: He lived a life of perfect obedience, obeying where we failed; He died on the cross in the place of sinners, satisfying God’s wrath against any who would believe on Him; three days later He rose from the dead conquering sin, Satan, and death and now the King Who Lives now calls out to dead sinners, “Come alive! Turn from your sin and trust in me and so live with me forever.”

To live is Christ, and oh how Pat was really alive. Where do you find life? In what or whom do you find ultimate, life-giving joy? Life is found only in the Lord Jesus.

God opened Pat’s eyes to this life at an early age and set his course to model the truth that to live is Christ. Little did Pat, or any of us, know just where that course would eventually lead.

To Die is Gain

When Pat’s life turned down the dark alley marked “Life-Threatening Cancer” what we saw was not a threat to Pat’s faith, but a reason for Pat to give thanks. He once wrote to his prayer partners, “[I] thank God for all of His incredible blessings, including the cancer which has completely changed my life forever!” See here a peculiar kindness of God, to open Pat’s eyes to his majesty and splendor amidst terrible pain. He once told me, “As the physical part gets harder, God’s mercy becomes even greater.”

As the weeks after the initial diagnosis turned into months and the months turned into a couple years, Pat began to reflect the second half of Paul’s stunning statement, “To die is gain.” He knew death would soon come knocking on the door, but one thing I never heard from Pat was fear. There was no doubt where he was going. He was assured of God’s love, He was assured of God’s beauty in Christ, and knew nothing in this life can compare to the glory of seeing His savior face to face.

And so let us grieve because our dear brother is gone, but let us grieve with gladness for of this I’m assured: Pat stands in the presence of the King and his soul rests in perfect holiness and happiness.

Crossing Into the Promised Land

Several months ago I introduced an old hymn at our church named “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks.” I did so because I trusted it would encourage Pat Murray in his final days (it’s forever known as “Pat’s Hymn” in my mind). I know from Ronda that Pat listened to this song about two hours before he went home on Saturday. Consider these words as we close:

No chilling winds or poisonous breath
Can reach that healthful shore
Where sickness sorrow pain and death
Are felt and feared now more

When shall I reach that happy place
And be forever blessed
When shall I see my Father’s face
And in His presence rest

I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the Promised Land

To live is Christ, and to die is gain, for death in Christ leads to the Promised Land. Our brother was bound for and is now found in the Promised Land.

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Book to Look For: The Imperfect Pastor

9781433549335Zack Eswine is a pastor and author with a style all his own (could we call it “contemplative?”) and a unique experience in the academy and ministry. He is someone worth listening to.

His previous books related to ordinary ministry are:

Eswine’s latest book is The Imperfect Pastor: Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus.

The Imperfect Pastor

Crossway says,

Pastors aren’t superheroes—they have fears and limitations just like everyone else. Zack Eswine knows this from personal experience and has a wealth of wisdom to offer those who feel like they don’t measure up. Written in a compelling memoir style, The Imperfect Pastor is full of insightful stories and theological truths that show how God works unexpectedly through flawed people. By talking honestly about the failure, burnout, pain, and complexities that come along with church ministry, Eswine helps pastors accept their human limitations and experience the freedom of trusting God’s plan for their church and life.

The Imperfect Pastor lands, Lord willing, September 30th.

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Why Study Hudson Taylor?

Hudson Taylor

This post is adapted from my recent sermon, “The Life and Ministry of Hudson Taylor.”

He arrives in China, finds a rebellion in full force, currency in great inflation, and much of the missionary community looking down on him for they had little respect for the Chinese Evangelization Society. Taylor only added fuel to their scornful fire when he made the decision to dress in Chinese clothes and grow a pigtail like the Chinese men wore; respectable Europeans would never steep so low—including the missionaries. Taylor had little money, terrible communications with London (it would take at least four months to send a letter and get a reply), but he wasn’t deterred. In the six months it took him to learn the language he found himself separating from, what he deemed, the “worldly” missionary culture saturating China. Almost all the missionaries were living in one of the five “treaty ports,” spending most of their time with English businessmen or diplomats who needed their translation services.

Preaching The Gospel in Unreached Places

So, much like the apostle Paul, Taylor struck out on a series of ten extended evangelistic journeys to the interior, taking the gospel to places where it had never been heard. All this last about four years. On January 20, 1858, he married another missionary Maria Dyer. They were married for twelve years. When Maria died at age 33, she had given birth to eight children. Three died at birth, two in childhood and those that lived to adulthood all became missionaries with the mission their father had founded, the China Inland Mission. I did the math on this. From age 26-38 every 1.5 years Hudson Taylor has a child and every 2 years a child or his wife dies. Can you imagine the pain? Here’s what he said about suffering:

It is in the path of obedience and self-denying service that God reveals Himself most intimately to His children. When it costs most we find the greatest joy. We find the darkest hours the brightest, and the greatest loss the highest gain. While the sorrow is short lived, and will soon pass away, the joy is far more exceeding, and it is eternal.

In 1860 Taylor came down with what probably was hepatitis, and he and his family set sail for England. This medical sojourn was one that deeply grieved Taylor, believing it to be a major setback to the work he’d begun in China. Yet, in God’s providence it would bring the most “decisive event” in his life. Which is a wonderful reminder for us. Perceived setbacks are often the occasions for God’s unusual providential mercy. During this four-year respite Taylor translated the Bible into Mandarin, studied to become a midwife, and urged greater awareness for God’s work in China.

What then is the decisive event? Over the course of the same period in which our country was fighting the Civil War, the Spirit was putting in Taylor’s a vision that would change the history of the largest nation on earth. Here’s how Taylor wrote about the event:

On Sunday, June 25th, 1865, unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christian people rejoicing in their own security, while millions were perishing for lack of knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone, in great spiritual agony; and there the LORD conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to GOD for this service (the founding of the China Inland Mission). I told Him that all the responsibility as to issues and consequences must rest with Him; that as His servant, it was mine to obey and to follow Him — His, to direct, to care for, and to guide me and those who might labour with me.

This was the birthplace of the China Inland Mission. Taylor was 33 years old. On May 26, the following year (1866) Hudson, Maria, and their children sailed with the largest group of missionaries that had ever sailed to China—sixteen besides themselves. Overnight the mission force in China expanded 25%.

Four years later (1870) Taylor’s son Samuel died, then daughter Noel died, and on July 23 his wife Maria died of cholera. She was 33, and he was 38. A year later, Taylor sailed for England again, and while he was there he married Jennie Faulding, they would be married for 33 years until her death in 1904. In 1900 the brutal Boxer Rebellion raged against all Christians and foreigners in China. 58 adults and 21 children of the China Inland Mission were killed, more than any other agency. Five years later Taylor died at the age of 73, buried at Zhenjiang by the side of Maria and his four children who had died in China.

The Legacy of Hudson Taylor

At the time of Hudson Taylor’s death, the China Inland Mission was an international body with 825 missionaries living in all eighteen provinces of China with more than 300 mission stations, more than 500 local Chinese helpers, and 25,000 Christian converts. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the mission Hudson Taylor founded. In 1900, there were 100,000 Christians in China, and today there are probably around 150,000,000.

Full of Faith and Powerful in Prayer

I choose this year to think about Hudson Taylor for two reasons. First, he is a man unlike us. He’s from outside our tradition and with whom we would probably have some significant disagreements—particularly as it relates to sanctification. But he’s nevertheless a man we can lean much from. It’s surely a mark of maturity and humility that people you don’t totally agree with can still teach your mind and transform your heart. Secondly, he is a man like us. This fact struck me powerfully throughout my recent study of Taylor’s life. He was not like his friend Charles Spurgeon, who had a photographic memory and a command of rhetoric the envy of every preaching. He was not like the great evangelist George Whitefield, so gifted in oratory it was said he could make crowds weep simply with how he said the word, “Mesopotamia.” Nor was he like William Carey, the founder of the modern missions movement, a polyglot who translated the Bible into some 29 different regional dialects.

No, Hudson Taylor was remarkably ordinary in his gifting. He had no formal education, but he did have a deep love for the Lord. He had no unusual mental faculties, but he did have a passion for God’s word. He had no unusual power in preaching, but he did have supreme trust in His God. Why then, under God’s providence, was this man so enormously effective? Here’s my answer: he was a man full of faith and persistent in prayer. These two are distinct, but they go hand in hand.

The Faith Missions Movement

Taylor is perhaps most famous for giving birth to the faith missions movement. Much like his personal hero George Mueller he never solicited funds for his mission work. Convicted in his conscience that he should never ask for money, but instead trust in God’s provision alone through prayer, he lived a life of untold number of occasions where God’s generosity flowed in just in time and in greater abundance than necessary. He famously said, “Depend upon it, GOD’S work done in GOD’S way will never lack GOD’S supplies,” he meant every kind of needed supply, both money and health and faith and peace and strength. Lest we think he had something like a gift of faith, Taylor was actually adamant that he didn’t.

Taylor’s faith was even what precipitated his break with the China Evangelization Society, who was borrowing money to fund its missionaries. And so when he founded the China Inland Mission he required that the missionaries would have no guaranteed salaries, they were not to appeal for funds, and they were to adopt Chinese dress and press the gospel to the interior. He believed mission efforts should be directed on the field, not from a far off place like London, and thus Taylor was to be the leader and settle all disputes. Not everyone appreciated his leadership and the demands he made on himself and everyone else. One missionary in that early group accused him of tyranny and had to be dismissed.

We must remember that rigorous devotion to convictions of conscience (where in the Bible does it say you can’t ask for money?) can often disrupt Christian unity. Might there be any place in your life where your convictions of conscience might be prone to distraction or disruption?

So he was a man full of faith and totally persistent in prayer. From the time he felt called to China until the end of his life he woke at 5am to pray. He said later in his life, “For as long as I’ve been alive the sun has never risen in China without finding me in prayer.” We often view prayer as a duty, but for Hudson Taylor it was a necessity. It was as necessary for his soul as breathing was for his body. His private prayer life was doubtless reflected in his public prayers. Someone present at a meeting Taylor led wrote, “His appearance did not impress me. He was slightly built, and spoke in a gentle voice. Like most young men, I suppose I associated power with noise, and looked for great physical presence in a leader. But when he said, ‘Let us pray,’ and proceeded to lead the meeting in prayer, my ideas underwent a change. I had never heard any one pray like that. There was a simplicity, a tenderness, a boldness, a power that hushed and subdued one, and made it clear that God had admitted him into the inner circle of His friendship. He spoke with God face to face, as a man talk[s] with his friend.”

Here then is the main point I want us to see from Hudson Taylor as Mission Month 2015 come to a close: full faith and persistent prayer give supernatural power to disciple-making. Taylor’s life was a living testimony to that truth. I pray this brief glimpse of his life and ministry would lead us to imitate the same. May God give us a fullness of faith and persistence in prayer in our efforts to make disciples of all nations.

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Going Silent . . . Again

I’m back at The Institution (SBTS) this week for a PhD seminar on 20th Century Spirituality with Dr. Nathan Finn. Due to twelve hour days in liberal spirituality and various weighty matters at IDC, the blog will go silent this week. I hope to return next Monday.

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Recent Reads

I love to read. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

PPatrick of Ireland: His Life and Impact by Michael Haykin. More than just being the patron saint of a holiday in March, St. Patrick of Ireland was a man of fierce orthodoxy and evangelistic zeal. In this little book Haykin gives an overview of Patrick’s life and ministry. It reads somewhat like an academic paper, but don’t let that deter you from picking up a copy. What I found most interesting was Patrick’s eschatology; in taking the gospel to Ireland he believed he was evangelizing the last people group on earth and so ushering in the coming of Christ. Other interesting historical and theological tidbits abound, which is typical of Haykin’s work—he is indeed a master scholar.

HTHudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor. Lord willing, tomorrow night I will preach a biographical sermon at IDC on Hudson Taylor, so this famous work on his life was required reading for the week. Six years ago when I first read the book I found it stirring and challenging. This time around I found myself a bit disappointed at its hagiographical nature (Taylor’s son wrote the book and emphasized on the good about his father’s ministry). I wanted more critical interaction with his ministry in China and various decision he made along the way. Nevertheless, Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret is an edifying and informative read.

AHAfter Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s by Robert Wuthnow. What a fascinating book! In After Heaven Wuthnow analyzes the development of spirituality in America since the 1950s. He argues that American spirituality has moved from “a traditional spirituality of inhabiting sacred places has given way to a new spirituality of seeking.” I found his thesis convincing and his cultural analysis piercing. He walks through each decade from the 1950s-1990s and shows how American spirituality changed from and reacted against what came before. For Wuthnow the proper approach to spirituality is a “practice-oriented” one, which sounds to me like an ordinary-means-shaped piety. It’s a solution I can heartily agree with.

SLSpirituality of Liberation: Toward Political Holiness by Jon Sobrino. Oh my, what a turgid read this one was. In the 1970s Liberation Theology grabbed a hold of Roman Catholic practice in Latin American countries and Sobrino was one of the movement’s major thinkers. Liberation Theology believed that because God is most revealed in the poor and that Christ is liberator of the poor, true spirituality is practiced among the poor. It’s practiced among the poor so that the poor might find liberation in “reign of God,” which is not much more than the poor escaping their socioeconomic captivity. Thus, liberation theology inevitably became concerned with social and political structures required for liberation (hence the emphasis on “political holiness”). Sobrino captures all of this in Spirituality of Liberation and if this movement sounds stimulating—dive on in. If not, just move along.

PSThe Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. Sometime late in his life Nouwen, a Catholic priest, became enamored with Rembrandt’s painting The Return of the Prodigal Son. The truths he discovered in meditating on the painting changed his spiritual life and are recounted in this book. All in all, the book is a wonderful meditation on the parable of the prodigal son as Rembrandt depicted it. There are few points where Nouwen goes astray theologically, but on the whole this book will feed the soul. Nouwen helpfully shows how we all struggle to run away from God (like the prodigal) and let our complaints rob us of joy (like the elder brother). What we need, Nouwen concludes, is a fresh awareness of how God’s overflowing love leads to everlasting joy. The Return of the Prodigal Son is a masterful representation of how long meditation on a familiar story can bring out fresh truth for the heart.

BTThe Bone Tree by Greg Iles. I loved Iles’ Natchez Burning so much that I named it my favorite fiction book of 2014. Natchez was the first book in a trilogy and ever since reading it I’ve tried to temper my expectations for its sequel, The Bone Tree. I am delighted to say there was no need for such tempering, The Bone Tree is excellent! Iles picks up right where the narrative left off and for 800 pages, with unrelenting force, he never lets the reader go. The pages fly as Penn Cage tries to save his father, uncover the truth about Kennedy’s assassination, and take justice into his own hands when he loses a loved one. I was shocked to see just how many loose ends Iles tied up from Natchez, while simultaneously opening up new ones that will make any reader ravenous to read the trilogy’s final entry. Tolle lege!

Click here to find other entries in the Recent Reads series.

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Media for Ordinary Pastors

Coming-Home-Legacy-Page-Header-2

Every TGC National Conference churns out an astonishing amount of useful media for pastors, church leaders, and church members. I’ve worked through much of the media from this year’s conference and here are a five workshops I think will be of unusual benefit for ordinary pastors:

  • Tim Keller on “Preaching to the Heart”: In this workshop we will discuss how you can ensure your sermons are neither a lecture nor a rant, but rather how preaching can change people on the spot during the sermon.
  • 9Marks panel on “Church Polity? Really?”: There is no shortage of books and conferences and blogs and even movements on the church. But how often do we hear talk of church polity? If anything, many avoid the topic. After all, church government is said to divide Christians, not unite them. Why pay any heed to it at all? Is it that important for the average Christian and for Christian discipleship? If so, how? Does the Bible speak decisively in this area? And if we think it does, how firmly should we hold our convictions when other Christians disagree?
  • Ray Ortland on “How to Grow a Gospel Culture in Your Church”: Every church will be more convincing as a witness for Jesus if its doctrine and its culture converge as one. But without a gospel culture, even with glorious gospel doctrine, people will not listen. So much is at stake in the culture and relationships and feel and vibe of our churches! This seminar will equip pastors and church leaders for building this vital dimension in their churches.
  • Erik Raymond on “Everyday Evangelism”: As Christians we are commissioned by Jesus to reach our neighbors and the nations with the gospel. We also know that heaven will be populated with a great multitude of people from every nation. In view of the commission and the promise, how do we develop a culture of evangelism in our churches that zealously and faithfully pursue the lost? This session will highlight some practical ways to cultivate and sustain effective evangelism in the church.  
  • Michael Kruger on “How Do We Know the Bible is God’s Word? Recovering the Doctrine of a Self-Authenticating Scripture”: There are few questions more fundamental to the intellectual integrity of Christianity than the question of how we know whether the Bible is really God’s Word. Many answers have been given to this question, ranging from historical evidences to the testimony of the church. However, often overlooked in such discussions is the answer given by the Reformers themselves: that the Scriptures testify to their own divine origins. This workshop will explore the forgotten doctrine of a self-authenticating Scripture.
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Give Them Heroes

Heroes

In Philippians 3:17 Paul makes an altogether stunning command when he writes, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” What’s so stunning about that?

In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul says to imitate him as he imitates Christ, but Philippians 3:17 expands the to command by calling Christians to pay attention to anyone who walks according to the apostolic example in spirit and truth. Here then is a principle for life: wherever you see a life lived in the ­power of Christ, according to the word of Christ, for the glory of Christ, keep your eyes on that life.

I believe with all my heart that we are a people not only made to imitate, but also to admire—we are made to have heroes. The question is will your heroes or heroines lead you to deeper imitation of Jesus? It seems to me that one great unspoken labor of pastoral ministry is helping our people have godly heroes.

Helping Them Find Christ-Honoring Heroes

Over the last few years I’ve thought often how to best go about this work. So far, I’ve come up with four ordinary ways pastors and church leaders can shepherd unto appropriate, biblical imitation of heroes.

Devote your life to personal holiness . . . and so be worthy of imitation. I do think this is the place to start. The Bible seems to assume that pastors and elders will be worthy of imitation. 1 Peter 5:2-3 says, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” The author to the Hebrews even commands it in 13:17, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Faithfulness in ministry thus means being worthy of imitation—being heroic.

Preach biographical sermons on mighty figures in church history. One reason why I love chursh history so much is that godly heroes saturate its pages and await imitation if we would but look. Most of our people probably wont’ peruse the centuries gone by for personal heroes, so you can help them by every so often preaching a biographical sermon. Piper has modeled this kind of preaching for years at the Desiring God Pastors Conference. One of our traditions at IDC is to preach a biographical sermon to conclude Missions Month each year. Lord willing, this weekend I will preach on the great Hudson Taylor and, who knows, maybe someone will find Taylor heroic and worthy of imitation.

Talk about your personal heroes. Be wise one where and when to do this, but it’s helpful for your church to know that you have heroes. Maybe it’s a quote in a sermon or just part of casual conversation, don’t underestimate how many church members might do further investigation on your own heroes.

Have some great books on godly heroes in your church’s bookstore. Grab Dallimore’s short biography of Spurgeon, Marsden’s short life of Edwards, or the diary of Brainerd or M’Cheyne and pray they will stir souls in your church. We’ve sold several different titles in Reformation Trust’s Long Line of Godly Men series at our church. They are short and cheap—two characteristics loved by church members.

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Recent Reads

I love to read. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

0830826173mHearing God’s Words by Peter Adam. I had high expectations for Adam’s entry in the fabulous New Testament Studies in Biblical Theology series. A book that seeks to ground our understanding and practice of spirituality in the Bible itself? Yes please. However, when I closed the book after reading I found myself disappointed. Adam wanders about for the bulk of the book, with not much discernible trajectory or unity in argument. I must mention that he does have some very helpful sections on how a spirituality of the Word should overflow into ordinary Christian life. If you are already convinced about the centrality of Scripture for piety, then you probably only need to read the first and last chapters—for, in my mind at least, that’s where Adam’s best instruction lies.

9781433547843Praying the Bible by Don Whitney. Short, concise, and practical, I could see Whitney’s latest book offering wisdom many church members—and church leaders—are looking for. In Praying the Bible Whitney says, “If . . . mind-wandering boredom describes your experience in prayer, I would argue that if you are indwelled by the Holy Spirit—if you are born again—then the problem is not you; it is your method.” I think he’s right, especially when you understand the method he has in mind. The is method is praying through Scripture, particularly the Psalms. He’s spot on to say that such a method of prayer gives structure, purpose, and longevity. Whitney’s book is brief, just under 100 pages, so when it comes out you’ll want to buy some copies for your church. This one could transform your people’s prayer life.

AFThe Apostolic Fathers edited by Michael Holmes. Here is a treasure trove of primary source material from the church fathers. The first edition came out way back in 1891 and Baker Publishing is to be commended for keeping this volume, under a new editor, in print. The Apostolic Fathers includes many texts integral to our understanding of the period from men like Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, as well as The Didache. If you aren’t interested in patristic studies, which you probably aren’t, don’t shy away from this gem. You’ll likely be surprised how instructive and encouraging the fathers are—I know I was.

PMPseudo-Macarius: The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the Great Letter. Macarius was a Syrian monk in the fourth century who has generated no small amount of scholarly interest of the years due to his interpretation of Scripture and articulation of the Christian life. Even John Wesley was smitten with his work! The book’s homilies are quite catechetical in nature and full of metaphors. Some his interpretations won’t find widespread agreement today, but I appreciate his emphasis on the Christian life as one of fighting, struggle, and perseverance. His focus on the pursuit of purity and devotion to prayer is also commendable.

LDALight from Dark Ages? An Evangelical Critique of Celtic Spirituality by Marian Raikes. Only recently have I been made aware that Celtic spirituality is making a comeback in some arenas of evangelicalism. As it is appropriated today, Celtic spirituality seems to have much to offer for contemporary culture: the Celts are said to be about tolerance, ecumenism, environmentalism, and holistic ministry. Raikes effectively demolishes this modern adaptation, proving it to be unfaithful to the real tradition. Celtic spirituality does indeed have much to offer to us today, just for different and more ordinary reasons. The strengths of Celtic spirituality lie in earnest discipleship, love of the scriptures, commitment to prayer, costly evangelism and the pursuit of holiness. Will such interests set our modern culture on spiritual fire? I hope so.

OSThe Earliest Christian Hymnbook: Odes of Solomon. For those of you who love history and reading old hymns this book is for you. These odes, or hymns, were probably written around 100 A.D. and thus contain some wonderful insights into the spirituality of the church during the closing of the apostolic age. A couple of the odes are a bit strange, but, on the whole, the project bursts forth with joy. If you happen to know someone gifted in crafting congregational melody, give him or her this book. Maybe they’ll be inspired to put the odes to music and today’s church can sing some of the earliest Christian songs.

Click here to find other entries in the Recent Reads series.

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Let It Be Said of Us

“Even more influential . . . was his personal religion, evinced especially in his famous Sunday afternoon conference addresses. He real and vital apprehension of the love of God in Christ, wrought his most characteristic work upon students.” – Said of Charles Hodges, quoted in Adam, Hearing God’s Words, 36.

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Songs to Sing

If you aren’t familiar with the work of Indelible Grace Music, then you, my friend, are missing out. Indelible Grace grew out of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF)—the PCA’s ministry to college students. As these students began to taste more of the depth of the gospel and the richness of the hymn tradition, many began to join the music of their culture with the words of our forefathers (and mothers!), and a movement was born.

Ever since Indelible Grace has churned out reworked hymns year after year. I confess that I’m not always keen on their musical arrangements, but the melodies offer a wonderful template on which to build. Case in point: “Go to Dark Gethsemane” and “For all the Saints.” The melodies are congregational and the words are wonderful. If you don’t like the musical accompaniment, have no fear, just put your creative skills to work as each song is quite malleable.

Listen below and see if you don’t agree.

Lyrics to “Go to Dark Gethsemane”

1. Go to dark Gethsemane,
ye that feel the tempter’s power;
your Redeemer’s conflict see,
watch with him one bitter hour.
Turn not from his griefs away;
learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

2. See him at the judgment hall,
beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned;
O the wormwood and the gall!
O the pangs his soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;
learn of Christ to bear the cross.

3. Calvary’s mournful mountain climb;
there, adoring at his feet,
mark that miracle of time,
God’s own sacrifice complete.
“It is finished!” hear him cry;
learn of Jesus Christ to die.

4. Early hasten to the tomb
where they laid his breathless clay;
all is solitude and gloom.
Who has taken him away?
Christ is risen! He meets our eyes;
Savior, teach us so to rise.

Lyrics to “For All the Saints”

1. For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confess,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

2. Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

3. Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

4. O blest communion, fellowship divine,
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

5. And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

6. But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Check out all the Indelible Grace music here on Bandcamp.