The Necessity of a Simple Life for Ministers...

This summer I am blessed with the opportunity to be going on a mission trip to Gaspe, Quebec. In order to prepare for the trip it has been suggested that those going read several books. The one I'm currently reading is an autobiography of J. Hudson Taylor. It has been immensely encouraging and challenging. As someone who has a desire to be used of God when I read about these men and what God did through them I am humbled by my own laziness and lack of faith that God can, does, and will continue to do amazing things through his people.

One part of the book that I found quite challenging was a section where Taylor described his way of living as he prepared for the mission field. He knew that life would not be easy on the field so he took the years before he left for China to ready himself. One of his aims was to give as much of his income away as he could and still live. At one point he lived off of only bread and water.

Upon first reading this my reaction was one of scoffing. I found myself saying "Surely this man knows that he can eat? Surely he knows it is not wrong to consume good food and drink?" But the more I thought about it the more I saw just how connected the idea of sacrifice is with those of us who have been called to serve Jesus Christ. The pleasures that the world contains are not afforded us. The striving after material goods is futile. All things pale when compared with the vast riches we have obtained in Christ Jesus.

Well, that same problem rises up from the flesh. I know these things to be true but yet I still pursue that harlot the world like she was worth something. I am adulterous and my heart longs to be filled with anything but Christ. This is why the simple life is better. I need to keep telling myself that because it is true. It is better to pursue God than the life that I would want for myself. The glories of Christ are far greater than anything else.

So I will end with this little quote from Taylor that describes what he did so that he would be found a good steward of what God had given him. Here he reflected on the truth and certainty of the Lord's return:

I learned too that the period of His return for His people was not revealed, and that it was their privilege, from day to day and from hour to hour, to live as men who wait for the Lord; that thus living it was immaterial, so to speak, whether He should or should not come at any particular hour, the important thing being so ready for Him as to be able, whenever He might appear, to give an account of one's stewardship with joy, and not with grief.

Thinking on this brought him to begin practicing simplifying his life. Here he talks about what the hope affected in his life:

The effect of this blessed hope was a thoroughly practical one. It led me to look carefully through my little library to see if there were any books there that were not needed or likely to be of further service, and to examine my small wardrobe, to be quite sure that it contained nothing that I should be sorry to give an account of should the Master come at once...I believe we are all in danger of accumulating-it may be from thoughtlessness, or from pressure of occupation-things which would be useful to others, while not needed by ourselves, and the retention of which entails loss of blessing. If the whole resources of the Church of God were well utilized, how much more might be accomplished! How many poor might be fed, and naked clothed, and to how many of those as yet unreached the gospel might be carried! Let me advise this line of things as a constant habit of the mind, and a profitable course to be practically adopted whenever circumstances permit.

Developments in the Florida Baptist Convention...

Earlier this year there was considerable stink caused in the Florida Baptist Convention over a proposal to make belief in total abstinence from alcohol (Res. #5 for those of you in the know) a requirement of all those who would serve on the various boards of denominational leadership.

Now, I bring this up not to re-open old wounds but to highlight that those crazy Florida Baptists are at it again. Just today I read on Tom Ascol's blog that the executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention was involved in sending a "care package" to pastors in that state. Included in the package were a series of sermons by Jerry Vines called "Baptist Battles." In that series there is a sermon entitled "Calvinism: A Baptist and His Election" which is quite forceful in its anti-Calvinist rhetoric.

The fact that Jerry Vines preached a sermon and some people listened to it is not the issue for me. What really gets me is the fact that the Executive Director of the Florida Baptist Convention was directly involved with sending this out. The state convention's money was used in this endeavor. I find myself asking the question of whether or not the state convention would send out sermons to pastors from a different viewpoint.

It is this sort of thing that really frustrates me about the SBC. I feel a bit of heat going to my cheeks when I hear about things like this but when I sit down and think about it I get more sad than angry. The consistent opposition to the theological tradition of the founders of the denomination just boggles the mind. There is either ignorance of this fact or some sort of historical revisionism is going on.

Although I am both saddened and angered by this, I am also resolved in my mind that I will not yet abandon the denomination to this type of thinking. It is up to those of us who remain to stand for the truth of Scripture in the midst of those who would deny it and sell our rich heritage for something shallow and false. Keep the faith and fight the good fight!

Some thoughts on dying to the flesh...

Mortification, plucking out one's eye, cutting off one's own hand, dying to the flesh, being dead to sin. These are all ways of describing what should be happening in the believer's life as they progress down the Pilgrim's way. We all have unique struggles and weaknesses in the flesh that we deal with from day to day. The idea that one is crucified with Christ and is now dead to sin, and alive by the power of the resurrection is an amazing truth to rest our hope on. However, there is practical trouble living out our lives in resurrection power. It is tough to live in the Spirit according to the commands of Christ, and sometimes we get bogged down in the mire of our own sin.

The Puritan John Owen had a great number of things to say about what sin does to the believer as well as how one should fight sin. For example, he says “The vigor and power and comfort of our spiritual life depends on our mortification of deeds of the flesh.” This means that more we die to our fleshly desires the greater our Spiritual vitality; the two things are directly correlated.

Elsewhere he says “The custom of sinning takes away the sense of it, the course of the world takes away the shame of it.” Sinning is like a downward spiral in the sense that the more we do it without putting it to death the easier it becomes to live in it. I find this to be true in my own life. The less seriously I take an area of sin in my life the less shame I have about it, and it ends up eating away at me, stealing my joy in the Lord.

The daily mortification of sin is something I have never taken very seriously and it has been to my detriment. My character has suffered because I have not taken time to pull up the weeds of sin that so easily take root in my life. Doug Wilson says that a man must take time to weed out sin and the lusts of the flesh every day so that they will not take root. Much in the same way we see that we must catch the little foxes before they ruin the vineyard.

Here is another helpful quote from John Owen that illustrates the importance of this daily practice. “Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.” We know that our hearts our exceedingly sinful and wicked and we are so easily convinced into thinking that all is well in our hearts. The good news is that Jesus Christ loved us even while we were sinners and gave himself for us so that we might have eternal life. He has also given us His Spirit and it is that very Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which enables us to live according to the commands of our Captain and Savior.

So as you live your life in Christ do not forget to die...do not forget to catch the little foxes in your vineyard that so easily ruin the fruits that God is working in your life. Put your faith in Christ; that the work which he began in you he will bring to fruition. Cast off the hindrances of your life and run the race with endurance. Fight sin daily remembering that we have been crucified with our Savior and now live in the power of his resurrection.

Hey Ya......

Shake this like a polaroid picture.

Can music from the middle of Ohio be any good?

Yes, yes it can. In fact it can be downright glorious.

I have recently had the pleasure of being turned onto the Ohio based band Bel Auburn. This group of guys love things like music from Iceland (Sigur Ros, I'm sure) and houses with porches. However, these seemingly home town fellows can produce some of the most emotion filled rock I've heard in a long time.

A friend of mine showed me their 2006 album, which is entitled "Lullabies in A & C." It is an album filled with rich melodic themes along with stunning effects that catch hold of your ear and don't let it go for quite some time. If you are a fan of melodic rock of any sort this might be just the thing for you.

There is a beauty and depth in their music that surpasses much of the shallow rock that is put out today. It's almost like they use every thing from their instruments to guitar effects to sweeping vocal refrains to paint a beautiful picture for your ears. It's not face melting guitar rock but it's not sleepy navel-gazing rock either. These guys know how to build a song to climax. With all the purpose and feeling great artists posses, they have put together one great album.

Some of my favorite tracks on the album are "Blind Ward," which features some great guitar effects which seem to echo after the vocals; "Good Night", which combines haunting vocals with driving rythms from the bass and drums. All of the songs are notable and good but another favorite has to be "Burn Unit."

Overall, this is an impressive second album for the group. I can't wait to get my hands on their debut album. If you want to give their music a listen they have their current album available for streaming here. So if you want a sample of what good indie-rock can taste like take a lick....I mean a look. I hope you enjoy what you find. Let the music speak to your soul as it did to mine.

Is Modern Youth Ministry Biblically Valid or is That Even the Right Question?

Something has been bothering me as of late and I'm not exactly sure what to think or do about it. The thing that has really gotten under my skin is what some people are calling "age-segregated worship," how it has affected our churches, and specifically how it relates to youth ministry(even more specifically my involvement with our churches youth ministry).

Now let me start by saying that I have the privilege and honor of being married to a woman who is always challenging me to become a better man, not because she tells me I need to be but because she has near genius-level intelligence and a keen eye for discerning certain issues. In this instance it was her insatiable appetite for research and her own struggles and frustrations with church that led her to stumble across this issue. So I credit my own internal distress to her. Thanks, Jenn! Anyway, I should get to the rub.

The problem is this: evolutionary thought has so enslaved our culture and invaded our minds that it now affects the way that we do church, and more specifically how the church leans towards ministering to the varying age groups individually. Some, probably most, would not even see this as a problem because it is what we are used to doing. However, more than a few people have highlighted the fact that much of American Christianity is weak and ineffectual and they claim that it is partially due to the fact that we no longer have a biblical paradigm for the way we do community in church.

Now before I go off on some "family worship" tangent let me focus in on an area in particular. I was given a copy of this in pamphlet form for Christmas this year. The gist of the article is that fathers have abdicated their roles as the primary teachers in the home. The article takes the view that Scripture lays out the father as the primary teacher in the home with regard to all things both practical and spiritual. This means that he is tasked with both teaching doctrine to his children alongside teaching them how to live Christ-centered God-glorifying lives. The author of the article contrasts this biblical vision of fatherhood and family over against what we see in our churches today, especially in modern youth ministry.

As I've mentioned I have vested interest in the answer to this question because I am involved with the youth ministry at my church. I taught Sunday School for over two years and am currently co-leading another aspect of the youth ministry, so the conclusions I come to on this will affect how I proceed in those endeavors.

Upon reading the article I noticed how similar my concerns were to the concerns of the author. I tend to ask myself quite often during youth functions, "Where are the parents? Why are they not here?" On another occasion I was involved in a meeting that was specifically for the parents. I can tell you that I was severly disappointed with the lack of interest shown by the parents.

Now, I'm not going to get into this futher but I need to highlight my main concern with modern youth ministry; lack of parental involvment. This is paramount because the pattern we discern from Scripture is one where the father is the physical/spiritual head of the household. He is charged with the education and preparation of his children to make a difference for Christ in the world. In modern youth ministry their responsibility is abdicated so that the youth can be taught and mentored by people hardly older than they are.

I see this pattern in my own church, with young, relatively immature college students tasked with being "leaders" to students in junior high and high school. Often I find myself wondering what kind of wisdom these college students can provide to the youth. On what level have they experienced life? Have they even grown up yet? For the most part I think they haven't grown up. One encouraging note about my own situation, however, is the fact that those who hold positions with teaching responsibility are people who have families of their own. Although, even in those instances I'm sure there are parents of these youth who could offer much more wisdom on both a practical and spiritual level.

I guess what it comes down to is what we are teaching our youth to be. In many instances it seems we are teaching them an only slightly varied message to what the world is teaching them. "Hold on to youth as long as you can." "Stay young, stay immature, except love Jesus while doing it." I think the real goal of so-called "youth ministry" should be training our young people towards adulthood. We should be training them to be godly husbands and wives. We should be training them to perpetuate the mission of the church in their own families.

It is my prayer that God will use me in my own situation and circumstances to affect change so that the ministry of my church is biblically sound. I pray that God will use me in the context of my own family to bring my children to the knowledge of the truth, but also in the context of the church that these families can know the joy of having teenagers that glory in their adoptions as sons and daughters into the family of God.

But who knows, I may not even be asking the right question.....

So this is freedom...

So, I'm not real sure what to think after that. I did just throw up a little in my mouth, though. The music is almost as bad as the theology. I know it's really hard to take something like this seriously. However, we need to realize that we are going to run into this type of thinking everywhere in our churches. Be sure you either watch the whole thing or at least fast-forward to the end to hear the pastors thoughts about the song.