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Congregational Camaraderie

Worship God

One of the most common shepherding issues ordinary pastors face today is the matter of nominal attendance. What percentage of your congregation is absent on an average week?

Chances are it’s higher than it should be and greater than you want it to be.

PUT IT IN THE RIGHT LIGHT

The worst thing we can do in attempting to address the matter is minimize it. Some might say, “Faithful attendance is just a relic of days gone by.” “There are just too many competing activities and events today. I’m just happy if my flock is there half the time,” another might say. In the last decade or so I’ve heard an increasing number of people posit a “small groups are where church really happens” doctrine. This subtle shift sounds pious enough, but it only serves to perpetuate what is the common Christian view of our time: attendance at corporate worship as optional. “It’s great if you can make it, but it’s really not a big deal if you do something else.”

If we cater to this kind of a culture we are putting the souls of our people in danger. For congregational attendance is not a matter of personal convenience or preference, but one of obedience. God commands His people to “not [neglect] to meet together, as is the habit of some” (Heb. 10:25). It’s not possible to truly love God and not also love His people (1 John 4:20-21). Just like any relationship, gathering together is a clear evidence of love.

Faithfully gathering with the church is a way we show our love for the church. Loving Jesus means loving His body by gathering with His body.

What can we pastors do to shepherd our nominal attendees to greater faithfulness and obedience in this joining the body for the corporate worship of God? The following three things would be a good place to begin.

3 SHEPHERDING STRATEGIES

Teach. It all starts here. I should mention it doesn’t seem wise, once you’ve noticed there’s a problem in this area, to go preach a sermon on Hebrews 10:25. You could probably do worse, but you can also do better. You must teach your people to treasure the Lord Jesus Christ and show them in the matchless love He has for His church. Teach them how blessed it is when God’s people dwell together in unity and how faithful attendance is a boon to congregational unity. Help them see that God has deposited His ordinary means of grace in His church and that these means are regularly (some exclusively) offered in gathered worship. Let them gain a biblical understanding of the joys of communion with Christ and how the corporate meeting is communion with Christ. Teach them that a local church is a colony of heaven and that every time she gathers to hear the Word preached and sacraments administered, heaven comes down to earth.

Let the thrust of our teaching on this issue not be, “You must gather for worship!” but rather, “See the satisfying joy of corporate worship! What delight awaits the people of God in their meeting with God. Why would you want to miss this heavenly assembly?” Aim for raising their affections, not mere or rote obedience.

Track. You will never be able to effectively shepherd your people who are regularly absent if you don’t know they are regularly absent. For smaller churches this will be pretty easy, but for larger churches you will likely have to get more creative. I know a church that has all their members pick up name tags when they arrive, so they know who missed the gathering based on what name tags are left on the shelf. Another church simply has an elder in the sound booth who marks down attendance at the beginning of each service. Another church I know of leans heavily on their child check-in system to see which families were present (this doesn’t, of course, account for singles or families without kids).

Once you track the attendance then you must prayerfully decide as elders at what point non-attendance becomes a concern. We must banish rigidity from our minds on this matter. There is no hard line number the Bible gives us in defining what “not neglect” consists of; we simply want our people to continually grow in their devotion to gathered worship.

Train. Throughout my time at IDC I’ve had quite a few members come up to me and say, “Have you seen So-And-So? I haven’t seen them in quite some time?” A training moments awaits if we seize it. What I like to do is respond with something like, “I’m sure they’d appreciate it if you’d reach out to them. Give ’em a call or shoot ’em an email to let them know they’re missed. Maybe invite them over to dinner to hang out and see how they’re doing.” It will mean something altogether different when pastors and church members are concerned about a member’s pattern of absence.

Another thing you can do is train your small group leaders to always be on the lookout if a particular church member from their group is gone for several weeks in a row. Part of the training needs to include matters of wisdom and warmth. We don’t want our members to feel as though the rest of the congregation is breathing down their neck like a hawkish teacher taking the class roll. Rather, we want our small group leaders to be able to clearly and humbly exhort their group to greater faithfulness in this area.

HAVE PATIENCE

As we’ve put these things into practice at IDC I’ve noticed a couple things. First, God seems to bless patient labor. I rejoice even now thinking about certain members who have increased their devotion to gathered worship and how the Spirit has brought forth clear fruit from the ordinary means. Second, don’t be surprised if things ebb and flow. Just when we seem to gather momentum things unexpectedly slow down or taper off. Part of me, or maybe a lot of me, thinks this is God reminding us that He is sovereign over His sheep. Our shepherding system doesn’t guarantee anything.

Put your own wise creativity to work in how you shepherd your sheep. Be faithful in your exhortation and trust God will use it to edify His people.

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Books to Look For From DeYoung

Every once in a while an author comes along with that rare, and envious, mixture of authorial mastery: wisdom, wit, and warmth. Were those “W’s of Writing” are present you can almost assuredly count on the work being useful.

One of the few authors in our evangelical landscape who has those attributes in spades is Kevin DeYoung.

I have follow his publishing career from he and Ted Kluck’s timely addressing of “The Theological/Philosophical Fad of the Moment” in Why We’re Not Emergent By Two Guys Who Should Be to the recent masterpiece on Scripture, Taking God at His Word.

If DeYoung writes it, I will read it. And [much] more often than not I find myself writing things like “amen,” “good point,” or “challenging” in the margin of his works.

From what I can see, he’s slated to publish two books next year well worth our attention, for drastically different reasons. The first seeks to offer clarity on the cultural issue most pressing on the church at the moment, while the second looks like it will be a fun family read around the dinner table. And we always need wisdom, wit, and warmth in both those categories. Here are the respective titles, both from the good folks at Crossway.

9781433549373What Does the Bible Really Say About Homosexuality? In just a few short years, massive shifts in public opinion have radically reshaped society’s views on homosexuality. Feeling the pressure to forsake long-held beliefs about sex and marriage, some argue that Christians have historically misunderstood the Bible’s teaching on this issue. But does this approach do justice to what the Bible really teaches about homosexuality? In this timely book, award-winning author Kevin DeYoung challenges each of us—the skeptic, the seeker, the certain, and the confused—to take a humble look at God’s Word. Examining key biblical passages in both the Old and New Testaments and the Bible’s overarching teaching regarding sexuality, DeYoung responds to popular objections raised by Christians and non-Christians alike—offering readers an indispensable resource for thinking through one of the most pressing issues of our day. Publication Date: April 30, 2015.

9781433542442The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden. The burning bush. David and Goliath. Joseph and the coat of many colors. The Bible is full of classic stories that fill children with awe and wonder. But kids need to know how all those beloved stories connect to Scripture’s overarching message about God’s love for the world. In The Biggest Story, best-selling author and father of six, Kevin DeYoung, leads readers on an exciting journey through the Bible, connecting the dots from the garden of Eden to the return of Christ. Short and extremely readable, this imaginative retelling of the biblical narrative can be read in one sitting and features action-packed illustrations that will bring the message of the Bible to life for the whole family. Publication Date: August 31, 2015.

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Man’s Limit

Job Podcast

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,
Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

As he sat among the ash heap with his friends a fierce storm blows across the landscape and out of it pours forth the voice of God. Job has repeatedly said he wants to come to God’s courtroom to speak with the Lord, but the arrival of the whirlwind reminds us that God meets and speaks with man on his own terms.

Job has spoken confident words as if he knows the fullness of God’s governance with the world. He’s said in 12:22 that God brings “deep darkness to light” and in 9:5-6 that God brings disorder where there ought to be order. And so God challenges Job to a confrontation over words and knowledge, look at 38:3,

Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.

The language here is taken from the world of wrestling. My boys are in the stage where they like to wrestle with daddy and it’s not uncommon for one of the to cry if the wrestling match doesn’t go their way. I often will say something like, “If you want to wrestle you’ve got to tough it up.” And in many ways that’s what God is saying here to Job, “You want an answer from me? You want to teach me? Well then, man up, for here I come.”

BEHOLD THE MYSTERIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

Look at what God says in 38:4-5,

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

 Let’s not miss how stunning God’s answer is. He doesn’t offer an explanation for why Job suffers, he doesn’t give some justification for His sovereign dealings in Job’s life, instead He summons Job to an interrogation. In chapters 38-39 God asks Job a series of 43 rhetorical questions. The barrage of questions that come now in chapters 38-39 function as something like a jackhammer to Job’s soul. A spiritual jackhammer was not what Job expected to hear; God is often mysterious in speech towards men. The words from the whirlwind are not what Job wanted to hear, but what he needed to hear. Might something similar be true of your life? Could God even be speaking to you now on what you need to hear, but you are missing it because it’s not what you want to hear?

God’s 43 questions can be broken down into something like seventeen short subsections. Because we don’t have time to look at all seventeen I’m just going to break up God’s speech into it’s two basic and more general parts. The two main points Job needs to hear: 1) God is sovereign over the inanimate world (in other words, the parts of creation that don’t breathe). Notice what he says in 38:8-11,

“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

Did you notice the stunning word picture of how God controls the sea and darkness, two common ANE symbols of evil and chaos? He controls it like a mother controls a baby. He lets the sea burst from the womb, He wraps up the darkness in swaddling clothes, and “prescribed limits for it.” God is saying, “If I order evil in this way, do you not think I do the same with your suffering Job?” As one commentator says, “In some mysterious way even darkness is necessary to show forth the light of God’s goodness.” I wonder if you will trust God sovereignty even when evil and suffering seem to rule on this earth. Will you condemn him as impotent? Decry him as cruel? Or cling to His mysterious goodness?

God goes on to talk about his control of the morning, seas, and recesses of the deep. And notice now the questions of 38:18-21,

Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.

Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!

Here then is a key implication from the first part of God’s interrogation of Job: Man’s knowledge is limited. It’s a dangerous thing to presume to know what God is doing in any given situation, our knowledge is so limited, yet God knows the expanses of all the inanimate world. There is incredible mystery in this speech. And it is not cowardly to get to a point when thinking about God and say, “I’m not sure how that all works out.” The great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck said, “Mystery is the lifeblood of dogmatics.” An infinite, incomprehensible God cannot be fully comprehended by finite minds. And that is what Job is discovering.

He goes on to say He reigns sovereign over the snow (38:22-23), rain and lightning (38:24-28), ice (38:29-30), planets and constellations (38:31-33), clouds (38:34), and then look at the amazing question of 38:35,

Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?

What an incredible picture! God is saying, “Do the lightning bolts report to you each day and say, ‘Here we are, where will you send us today Job?’ No, but I give every bolt its intending destination.” There is no one like our God.

Several years ago the BBC and Discovery Channel spent five years on the most expensive nature documentary ever commissioned: Planet Earth. I’m sure many of you have seen it. The series comprises eleven episodes, each of which features a global overview of a different biome or habitat on Earth. And the images and videos are simply stunning? The animal world is more majestic and wild than anything we can imagine.

And that is exactly the point God makes in the remainder of his interrogation.

BEHOLD GOD’S MAJESTIC POWER

 

For God is not only sovereign over the inanimate world, but 2) God is sovereign over the animate world. And this world is wild.

In 38:39-41 God says the wild is full of predators and prey, and notice now what he says in 39:5-6,

 

“Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
to whom I have given the arid plain for his home
and the salt land for his dwelling place?

 

Skip down to 39:9-10,

 

“Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your manger?
Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?

 

Now look at 39:19-20,

 

“Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrifying.

 

Finally, see 38:26-27,

 

“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his nest on high?

 

The animal world is wildly majestic and who controls all of it? The sovereign God who speaks to Job in the whirlwind. Which leads to a couple other implications for Job and us: Man’s power is limited. When compared to God’s power over all creation our power is just a drop of water in the ocean of God’s omnipotence. John Calvin wrote at the beginning of his Institutes that true knowledge of who we are only comes when we have a true knowledge of who God is. “We are led to acknowledge our frailty only when we have measured ourselves against the majesty of God,” he wrote. The question for Job, and for us, is which power will you cling to? The power that struggles to even climb a small mountain, or the power made the mountain with a word?

We also need to see from God’s interrogation that man’s wisdom is limited. Look back at 38:36-37,

 

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
or given understanding to the mind?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

 

The wisdom of God is matchless compared to the wisdom of men. So, there is another question God means to storm forward in our minds: Whose wisdom will you follow?

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Let the Singing Begin

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Christmas is near and that means Advent songs are here.

The nostalgia of Christmas carols is nearly intoxicating to me. From today through December 25th a Christmas tune will never be far from earshot.

While my favorite Christmas carol varies from year to year my favorite band never wavers, I always tip my hat to the men of Future of Forestry. Their three Advent EPs (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3) are well worth your money and attention. To whet your appetite for their creative mastery and subtle brilliance check out a couple offerings below: an ancient anthem and a contemporary chorus.

JESU JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING

Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe (Jesu, joy of man’s desiring)
wie feste halt’ ich ihn (Holy wisdom, love most bright)
daß er mir mein Herze labe (Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring)
wenn ich krank und traurig bin (Soar to uncreated light)

Jesum hab’ ich, der mich liebet (Word of God, our flesh that fashioned)
und sich mir zu eigen giebet (With the fire of life impassioned)
ach drum laß’ ich Jesum nicht (Striving still to truth unknown)
wenn mir gleich mein Herze bricht (Soaring, dying round Thy throne)

THE EARTH STOOD STILL

A teenage girl and her soon-to-be
A simple trip far as they could see
The sky was clear and the hour serene
But did they know what the night would bring

Lonely hearts strung across the land
They’ve been waiting long for a healing hand
My heart was there and I felt the chill
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still

Shepherds stirred under starry skies
Tasting grace that would change their lives
The angels trembled and the demons did too
For they knew very well what pure grace would do.

The hope of the world and a baby boy
I remember Him well like I was there that night
My heart was there and I felt the chill
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still

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Thankful for Surprises

Thankful

Back in early June I spent a couple days at a cabin in the middle of Nowhere, TX for a period of what Spurgeon called “holy inaction and consecrated leisure.”

I’m not sure it’s a good thing to have measureables for holy inaction (is it truly “inaction” at that point?), but I nevertheless walked into the cabin with several goals in mind. One of them was settling the preaching calendar for the remainder of 2014.

CRUNCH TIME WAS COMING

At any given moment I usually have the next twelve months of sermons at IDC planned. We were due to finish the gospel of Mark at the end of June and the existing plan called for a series of summer sermons in Proverbs before turning to Genesis in the fall. For well over a year I was preparing those respective series, but as time went by I increasingly felt as though the Lord was leading elsewhere. My restlessness was largely due to shepherding conversations I’d had. Proverbs and Genesis would undoubtedly be profitable for us (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16), but I sensed they wouldn’t directly address the issues our congregation was facing at that moment.

My problem – and hence the indecision after months of pondering – was that I seemed incapable of articulating exactly what those very issues were. It was a strange place to be sure.

Clarity then came in an unexpected way.

A SOVEREIGN SURPRISE

JobOn my second morning in the middle of Nowhere I pulled up Feedly to read the morning’s blog posts and was immediately summoned to a post from Justin Taylor entitled, “The Richest, Most Moving, Most Deeply Cross-Centered and God-Glorifying Treatment of Job I Have Ever Read.” The post simply listed the endorsements from Christopher Ash’s forthcoming commentary on Job. The smashing and superlatives statements contained in the various endorsements steeled my gaze in a most certain way: I knew Job was the next book of the Bible we needed to study.

It was one of those moments of rare, immediate, and unexpected Spirit-wrought certainty.

As I prayed and meditated on the matter I realized what those “impossible to articulate” congregational matters were: 1) the sovereignty of God and 2) the suffering of God’s people. Our congregation was (and is) full of people falling headlong into one or both of these issues. Some were learning and leaning into the application of God’s sovereignty to their lives, others were going through seasons of pronounced difficult and pain.

Studies in Proverbs and Genesis would no doubt apply to those issues, but Job confronts them with peculiar power.

And so we’ve spent the last few months studying Job and his story of suffering has indeed confronted us with peculiar power. I’ve never before received consistency of comments like, “That was exactly what I needed to hear,” and, “I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a sermon series.” Job has been a sovereign word for multiple seasons of suffering.

And so I’m thankful for sovereign surprises.

How has God surprised you with His sovereign care this year?

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3 Cautions About Illustrations

Illustrations in Preaching

Two weeks ago I ransacked some well-known preaching books to see what they had to say about sermon illustrations. My summary conviction was: illustrations are dangerously valuable. It’s a paradox preachers need to feel.

That sermon illustrations are valuable is a point which needs little convincing. Preachers and congregations alike know how powerful and helpful a well-timed illustration can be. When delivered rightly and thoughtfully illustrations amplify the truth of Scripture and bring it home to the hearers hearts.

Yet, I’m not sure many of us preachers give due consideration to the dangerous nature of illustration. How many stories and anecdotes can you remember from sermons of days gone by? Probably quite a few. But can you remember what given truth the illustration was illuminating? I can’t, and I’m pretty sure my experience isn’t unique. Martyn Lloyd-Jones captured this dangerous nature well when he said, “Stories and illustrations are only meant to illustrate truth, not to call attention to themselves.” He’s absolutely right, but making good on his counsel is dangerously difficult.

As I’ve thought about this dangerous value over the years I’ve settled on three cautionary statements to guide the preacher’s approach to illustration in preaching.

3 GUIDELINES AND GUARDRAILS

Don’t overillustrate. Last fall, for a seminary class on preaching, I had to review a series of sermons from several popular preachers. Among the many things that stood out to me was how many of the sermons felt bloated with illustrations. To make sure it wasn’t just my faulty perception I used an “Illustration Timer” to see how many minutes of the sermon was occupied with illustration. What I found was the average preacher was spending 45-55% of his sermon sharing stories or anecdotes. Now, I don’t think it’s wise to stipulate a certain percentage of a sermon that total illustration time can’t cross. But I think we can all agree that a 40 minute sermon ought not have 22 minutes of illustration. At that point we are asking our congregation’s soul to survive on Illustrative Cool Whip and not the red meat of God’s word.

Don’t overcomplicate. By overcomplicate I mean that our illustrations ought to get to the point clearly and quickly. It doesn’t seem wise to give a five minute story filled with many humorous – yet ultimately meaningless – puns before getting to the actual illustrative point. Such overcomplication runs the risk of overclouding not only the biblical truth to be amplified but also the illustrative connection as well. Let’s trim the illustrative fat from our stories.

This is one thing we can learn from Jesus’ tactics in illustration. His illustrations are regularly pithy and pointed. “But,” one might say, “what about the parables? Aren’t many of them examples of Jesus offering a long story to make a short, simple biblical point?” We would do well here to remember Jesus had a unique, prophecy fulfilling, purpose in teaching through parables: to harden already hard hearts (cf. Matt. 13:10-17; Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10). As our Lord said in Matthew 13:13, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

One group of preachers I think we can glean much from on this point are the Puritans. Many people don’t realize how keen the Puritans were on illustration – plain illustration. They were masters of scattering short similes and metaphors throughout their sermons, and the simplicity never derails the exposition. I’ve spent a good portion of this year with George Swinnock and he embodies the Puritan model of plain simplicity in illustration. Spurgeon said of Swinnock, “[He] had the gift of illustration largely developed, as his works prove . . . they served his purpose, and made his teaching attractive.” Thomas Watson and Thomas Brooks are also wonderful, and probably more accessible, examples of not overcomplicating illustration.

Don’t overestimate. This one, for me at least, is the most important. We dare not overestimate the power contained in illustration. There is no inherent supernatural, soul-shaping power in our stories. But there is power in the gospel as it is the “power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). There is power in every word of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:14-17) as it is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). We would do well to return to the apostolic model and, like Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:2-5, decide “to know nothing among our flock except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Let us be with our people “in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and our speech and our message be not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that their faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” Not overestimating the power of illustration is helped when we don’t underestimate the power of God’s Spirit working through God’s word.

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Recent Reads

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. 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.

9780525954149mPrayer: Experience Awe and Intimacy with God by Tim Keller. The Manhattan Man once said, “If you wait to write until you are older, the writing will go much faster, because you will have reams of material and many layers of thought about a lot of subjects and texts. Writing a book in your 50s will go twice as fast and be twice as good as if you try the same book in your 30s. It’s just good stewardship to wait.” Keller has modeled his own wisdom and his books are always the “twice as good” for it. He published Ministries of Mercy in the late 80s and waited twenty years to publish a second book. Now, the man is a machine, annually churning out substantial volume. And the Keller machine just produced one of the best books on prayer you can read.

Based on early reviews and commendations my expectations for Prayer were sky high. I was a bit fearful that my hopes were unrealistic and would inevitably be somewhat dashed. But, God be praised, I wasn’t even close to being disappointed. Keller has done something almost magical in this book as he manages to strike all the right balances on the timeless subject at hand. He is forcefully clear about the duty of prayer, joyfully winsome about the privilege of prayer, reverently affectionate about the awe-filled experience of prayer, and immanently useful on the daily practice of prayer. The work abounds with piercing insights from Keller and all the saints of old upon which he calls. One needs only to read the chapter on praising God in prayer to see how Keller enlivens a most basic – and often assumed – aspect of communion with God. This may just be the best book I’ve read all year.

EJECEncountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture: Reading the Bible Critically in Faith by David Crump. David Crump, a professor in the Religion Department of Calvin College, has a simple purpose in this volume: “My goal in this book is to secure thorough integration of heart, mind, and soul by keeping first things first. . . . the basic issues in this arena are epistemological and spiritual. How can a person come to know God?” While that purposeful question has universal application, Crump’s volume is almost exclusively aimed at scholars wrestling with the implications of higher criticism. Crump wants Christians scholars to see that they don’t need to surrender intellectual curiosity or critical thinking in study, but they must “perceive and evaluate academic subjectivity in light of the subjectivity of faith.” A deep affinity for Kierkegaardian existentialism, sympathies for the New Perspective on Paul, catering to higher criticism of the gospel narratives, and a near absence of focus on the Spirit’s role in faith make this a curious book. For I agree with his destination – faith must govern our academic study, not the other way around – but I find those winding roads on which he travels are ones I would not trod.

9781939946713mMindscape: What to Think About Instead of Worrying by Tim Witmer. David Powlison says there are three problems “so characteristic of human nature, and come in so many variants, that if we learn to face them in our own lives and in the lives of others, we will cover the majority of ministry needs.” Those three problems are: anxiety, anger, and escapism. You don’t have to minister to others very long before you see how wise Powlison is on this point. In my church, anxiety is one of the most prevalent “respectable sins.” Tim Witmer’s Mindscape aims to answer the issue of worry a simple two-fold structure: 1) briefly outline the problem of worry, and 2) show how Philippians 4:8 provides a new “operating system” for the mind. The reader is wisely exhorted to put the mind’s attention on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” I wish Witmer gave a more sustained diagnosis of the spiritual roots undergirding worry, and the book could – and probably should – be significantly shorter (the content often feels redundant). Nevertheless, this is one worth meditative reading for anyone who struggles to slay the sin of worry.

9780802840073mThe Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World by David Wells. For over fifteen years Wells was occupied with a publishing project deconstructing western evangelicalism. Al Mohler called Wells’ No Place for Truth (1993) “the bomb that exploded on the evangelical playground.” That book was followed by God in the Wasteland (1994), Losing Our Virtue (1998), and Above All Earthly Powers (2005). Running through these winsome, yet devastating, critiques were five main doctrinal themes: truth, God, self, Christ, and the church. Published in 2008, The Courage to Be Protestant represents Wells’ attempt to summarize the previous four works and their main doctrinal themes. Therefore, anyone familiar with Wells and his evangelical critique won’t find anything new, just a fresh recapturing of his sobering assessment. If you haven’t encountered Well before this may just be the best place to start.

1579102573mPerspectives on the Word of God: An Introduction to Christian Ethics by John Frame. In 1988 Trinity Evangelical Divinity School invited John Frame to deliver that year’s Kenneth Kantzer Lectures. The previous year saw Frame publish The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, the first volume in his Theology of Lordship Series. Frame’s three Kantzer lectures presented a few main theses from the eventual Lordship volumes on The Doctrine of the Word of God and The Doctrine of the Christian Life. So Perspectives functions as something like super-short study guide on Frame’s theological method (tri-perspectivalism) and how he applies it to the word of God and ethics. If you’ve ever wanted a quick introduction to Frame’s love of triads this is a good place to start.

9780976758266mWhen Sinners Say “I Do”: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey. My wife and I just wrapped up premarital counseling with a young couple in our church and When Sinners Say “I Do” was a small part of our weekly discussion. Harvey does a good job applying the gospel to all matters of marriage, but he often spends the majority of each chapter in telling stories and anecdotes. So I wonder if the book wouldn’t be served by cutting some of those in order to more clearly amplify the rich biblical teaching he offers. His final chapter (“When Sinners Say Goodbye”) on marriage in light of eternity is superb. All in all, When Sinners Say “I Do” is a solid resource to make available in your church.

SRSycamore Row by John Grisham. The first “grown up” author I read as a young teenager was John Grisham. His southern-set legal thrillers filled many late night moments. In time I moved on to other authors and genres, but Grisham has always maintained something of a sentimental place in my heart. When I heard one of his recent novels was a sequel to the blockbuster A Time to Kill I knew it was time to return to Ford County, Mississippi after an absence of almost two decades. Set three years after the Carl Lee Hailey trial, Sycamore Row finds lawyer Jake Brigance caught up in another tense, racially-charged trial. This one isn’t about murder, but Jake’s probation of a holographic will written by a rich local citizen named Seth Hubbard. Just before he committed suicide Hubbard sent Jake the will and left 90% of his estate to his black housekeeper. The ensuing thrills are somewhat predictable, but oh so satisfying.

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

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Clinging Contentment

Sufficient Word

In his excellent introduction to the doctrine of Scripture Kevin DeYoung suggests the group most likely to struggle with or reject the sufficiency of Scripture is the church. I think he’s right on.Whether it’s traditionalism, individualism, pragmatism, or experientalism, there are innumerable threats to our belief that God’s word is enough.

Is God’s word sufficient for your life and ministry in Christ?

Just yesterday I was with a group of godly pastors in my county thinking about the sufficient of Scripture. Much of the conversation revolve around practical implications for our ministries if we confess God’s word to be true. Two immediately came to my mind:

  1. Because God’s word is enough we cling to it.
  2. Because God’s word is enough we are content with it.

WE CLING TO GOD’S WORD

Every passing decade impresses a dominant passing fad of pastoral power on gospel ministers. The seeker-sensitive movement gave us Christianized worldliness to attract the world, forgetting the world has never loved the King over this world (1 John 3:13). If we offered enough programs, events, and excellence in buildings and on-stage performance, then we would have real power in witness. The post-modern Emergents swung back the pendulum of power in their promotion of story, community, and dialogical preaching. The real power would come when pastors were “authentic.” Remove any remaining remnants of institutionalism, lower the lights, and bring in some couches. Sit down rather than stand when you ascend to the sacred desk and, armed with a Bible and requisite cup of java, converse with your people about struggles and doubt, not sound doctrine.

The latest fad of all things “gospel-centered” has a peculiar power to it. After all, the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation.” But one wonders if we’ve emptied “gospel” of its biblical meaning in our proliferation of its adjectival use that the word itself now often functions as a “shibboleth” in modern evangelicalism. As long as you say “gospel” or “gospel-centered” enough, whether or not you should do so from the given text, you have a ticket for power.

Each of these movements undoubtedly has aspects of wisdom and is worthy of emulation . . . to a point. It seems to me that our tendency to love movements more than local churches creates pastors who are linked to 7,500-watt portable generator. The seeker-sensitive and Emergent movements have all but petered out. Will it happen to the “gospel-centered” generation? Probably. Movements, like portable generators, only last for a time and can only power so much. All the while a hydroelectric power station lies at our very fingertips: the word of God.

From whence does pastoral power come? The Lord Jesus Christ. As the great apostle said the to Colossians in 1:28-29, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (emphasis added). And how does he powerfully work His energy into His men? Through His word and Spirit.

And so united to Christ by faith, men in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, we cling to God’s word in our praying, preaching, and pastoring. There is no power without it. We keep the Spirit’s sword always by our side, but we don’t merely leave it in the scabbard. We regularly and relentlessly wield the word of God as we do the work of God in making disciples of all nations.

WE ARE CONTENT WITH GOD’S WORD

Because Christ is all, the word of Christ must mean everything to the church of Christ. It is our very life. And so we are content with it’s sufficient power.

All through the Bible we see that when God gives life, He does so through the power of his word. In Genesis 1 we find God creating, giving life to all things, by speaking them into existence with his powerful word. Later on in Exodus 20 we find God, through His word, speaking the nation of Israel into existence. Then there is the stunning vision in Ezekiel 37 of God giving new life to his people after their exile in Babylon. The prophet sees bones lying in the dust and God tells him to speak. Ezekiel then says:

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone . . . and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (Ezekiel 37:7, 10)

God’s word, spoken through Ezekiel, brings dead bones to life. The Old Testament is clear: God’s people receive life through God’s word.

We see the same thing in the New Testament. Indeed Scripture’s teaching about God’s life-giving Word finds its consummation in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. John writes at the beginning of his gospel,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life. (John 1:1, 3-4)

In the Word was life! It is through Jesus Christ – the incarnate Word of God – that we are brought from death to life and “born again” by God’s power. Paul makes the same point in Romans 10: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” he says (Romans 10:17). And Hebrews 1 says, “he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The Bible continually announces that God’s Word brings life to everything; that is a theme on which our soul is lifted from the dust of this world in which we live.

Notice how prevalent this idea is in Psalm 119:

  • 119:37 – “Give me life in your ways.”
  • 19:50 – “Your promise gives me life.”
  • 119:93 – “Your precepts . . . have given me life.”
  • 119:107 – “Give me life, O Lord, according to your word!”
  • 119:54 – “Give me life according to your promise!”
  • 119:56 – “Give me life according to your rules.”

It is our life. Thus, it is enough.

And so may we love it with contented delight, desire, and dependence. Cling to and be content with God’s sufficient word, for it will do all. Luther’s famous and eloquent depiction of the sufficient power of God’s word is an appropriate way to finish the meditation. He wrote,

Take me, for example. I opposed indulgences and all papists, but never by force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s Word: otherwise I did nothing. And then, while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip of Amsdorf the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing: the Word did it all. Had I wanted to start trouble…. I could have started such a little game at Worms that even the emperor wouldn’t have been safe. But what would it have been? A mug’s game. I did nothing: I left it to the Word.

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Preaching Sanctification

As I’m sure you know, over the last few years a largely constructive debate on sanctification has taken place in the broader New Calvinism sub-culture of American evangelicalism.

Many helpful articles, blog posts, and books have considered the issue biblically, historically, and practically for church members. But if anything has received small mention I think it would be discussion on how pastors should wisely labor for the holiness of their congregation.

At this year’s Together for the Gospel conference one panel decided to take up the matter of “Preaching Sanctification.” The lively dialogue is full of wisdom and warmth. Here is the video with timestamps of some pertinent questions underneath. Not only is this a helpful conversation, it’s also a model of a panel done well.

CHOICE QUESTIONS

  • What are the biblical motivations for pursuing holiness? (2:20)
  • What do you do when a church member is struggling with pornography? (10:00)
  • How can pastors walk in discernment when counseling church members unto sanctification? (11:36)
  • Why is it that duty, obligation, and “effortful progressive sanctification” is now immediately viewed as legalistic? (14:10)
  • How has antinomianism crept up on the church in the past? How is it doing so now? (23:38)
  • How would you define legalism? (25:20)
  • How much effort can you give to bearing fruit before it becomes legalism? (26:34)

CHOICE QUOTES

  • “I kind of want have a moratorium that we can only use the word ‘legalism’ once a month and then we’ve got to get it right.” – Thomas
  • “Legalism is a problem . . . but the answer to legalism isn’t antinomianism. The answer to legalism is Christ. The answer to antinomianism is Christ.” – Thomas
  • “There seems to be a lost ethic of hard work [in our culture today].” – Chandler
  • “Grace is [now] felt mainly as leniency.” – Piper
  • “You don’t become a good tree by bearing good fruit. That would be legalism. Start bearing good fruit and He’ll admit you into the tree heaven. That’s legalism. You were made a good tree by sovereign grace in Christ alone through faith alone. ” – Piper
  • “Do you think sometimes when people use the word legalism they just mean, ‘That’s inconvenient?'” – Thomas
    • “I totally do. In fact, I think that’s why people break the speed limit.” – Piper
    • “Now we’re gettin’ real.” – DeYoung
  • “Anyone who is indifferent to sanctification is indifferent to Christ.” – DeYoung
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The Heart of Prayer

The Heart of Prayer

Question 185: How are we to pray? Answer: We are to pray with an awful apprehension of the majesty of God, and deep sense of our own unworthiness, necessities, and sins; with penitent, thankful, and enlarged hearts; with understanding, faith, sincerity, fervency, love, and perseverance, waiting upon him, with humble submission to his will.

So goes The Larger Catechism’s, well, rather large answer to a simple question. But it is oh so good.

I long to have that kind of heart in prayer.

HEARING THE HEART IN PRAYER

The Scriptures are full of examples of what faithful prayer looks like in content, but the distance of innumerable centuries means we don’t know what those prayers sounded like. Sure, we can hypothesize. The Westminster Assembly give a good thesis above. How I would love to hear the heart of the great apostle, the prophets and kings of old, and our Lord Jesus as they prayed to the Father. What warmth we would have heard.

More important than what is prayed is how one prays. The Pharisees surely could have cleaned the floors of righteousness with their prayers of dogmatic eloquence. Yet, I’m sure what we would have heard was cold dogmatism emanating from their cold heart.

How’s your heart in prayer? Warm in God or cold towards God?

In his recent book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God Tim Keller offers numerous stories to illustrate how Christians throughout the centuries have struggled and succeeded in prayer. Three anecdotes in particular stood out and challenged me to consider my heart’s ordinary disposition in prayer.

WHAT JOHN MILLER SAID

The first offers a sagacious and long lasting aside from Jack Miller. Keller writes,

A pastor and friend of mine, Jack Miller, once said he could tell a great deal about a person’s relationship with God by listening to him or her pray. ‘You can tell if a man or woman is really on speaking terms with God,’ he said. My first response was to make a mental note to never pray aloud near Jack again. I’ve had years to test out Jack’s thesis. It is quite possible to become florid, theologically sound, and earnest in your public prayers without cultivating a rich, private prayer life. You can’t manufacture the unmistakable note of reality that only comes from speaking not toward God but with him. The depths of private prayer and public prayer grow together. (23-24)

I wonder how often I pray toward God but not with God.

HOW JOHN MURRAY PRAYED

A second story about John Murray illuminates the power of sincere and reverent prayer. Keller says,

A teacher of mind, Edmund P. Clowney, once told me that he went to one of his own teachers, John Murray, to discuss a private matter. Murray offered to pray for him, and when he did, the power of the prayer was stunning. Murray’s address combined intimate familiarity with a sense of God’s absolute majesty. The presence of God was instantly palpable. It was clear that Murray knew both the nearness of God as well has his transcendence. . . . As encouraging as this experience was for Ed, it was also deeply convicting. Just hearing Murray pray to God revealed to him that his own prayers were wooden, formal, mechanical. He knew little of familiar conversation with God in his presence. (73-74)

Have you ever heard such awe-filled familiarity at the throne of grace? I long to have a soul saturated with fearful confidence in taking hold of God. How easy it is to resort to the meaningless drivel of common forms and familiar patterns.

WHAT LUTHER’S FRIEND HEARD

The final anecdote involves the legendary prayer life of Martin Luther.

Veit Dietrich, one of Luther’s friends, wrote: ‘There is not a day on which he does not devote at least three hours, the very ones most suitable for [work], to prayer. Once I was fortunate to overhear his prayer. Good God, what faith in his words! He speaks with the great reverence of one who speaks to his God, and with the trust and hope of one who speaks with his father and friend.’ (89)

May they say the same of us! God, give us faith and fear to come to You, our Father and Friend, during the best hours of our day.

If someone listened to your prayers, what would they hear about your heart?