Now This Is What I Call Need Oriented Evangelism

Moore Thoughts and Views » One Holy Plasma.

Historia ecclesiastica: BIRMINGHAM CHRISTIAN UNION & STANDING FAST FOR CHRISTIAN CONVICTIONS

The Christian Union in Birmingham University, England, has been banned from meeting and its bank account frozen because it rightly refused to give way to the Birmingham University Guild of Students’ demand that the Union include politically correct statements about lesbians, gays, bisexuals and those who are transgendered in their constitution.

Historia ecclesiastica: BIRMINGHAM CHRISTIAN UNION & STANDING FAST FOR CHRISTIAN CONVICTIONS.

This seems to be the pattern for how “tolerance” works: what we are required to accept today we are required to support tomorrow.

The news story itself can be found on the Times Onine.

Common Grounds Online: Corey Widmer, A Little Lesson from Lesslie

It is good to have a collection of heroes. One of mine is the British missionary Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), who after serving as a missionary in India for many years returned to Britain, only to find that he needed to be a missionary there as well. Newbigin was convinced that the most effective way a secular, pluralistic culture can be reached with the gospel is through the local congregation. "The only hermenuetic of the gospel,” he wrote, “is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it." He means that the local church, like the one you are a part of, should be "interpreting" the gospel and its significance for the world.

Common Grounds Online: Corey Widmer, A Little Lesson from Lesslie.

 When I first read the list of 6 practical things this means for the church, I was put out by #3, The church is a community for others. Later on he mentions #4, 4. The church is a community of priests but that only refers to building up church members to go back out into the communitee.

I'm a little bothered by this. Yes, we as a (church) community have a responsibility to the community in which we reside, but we have an even greater responsibility to one another. The apostles' letters are full of exhortations for us to support and help our brothers/sisters. We are called on to be hospitable to all, but especially to other Christians. (This was especially critical in times when visiting apostles and lay brothers stayed in people's homes as they travelled.)

As Christians we are called on to love everyone we meet. But especially those of the Bride of Christ, the other members of our own body. 

Together for the Gospel on church membership

Church membership either turns you into a servant, or proves to you that you’re not one.

Together for the Gospel.

My pastor and I talked about this when I was in training to be a Ruling elder at my church. Now days, with so many Protestant churches offering open communion and other services. There is really very little you get out of being a church member. People become members now only when they want to commit to a group, and to give back (both to God and their church.)

Catholic priest to bless Hooters (restaurant)

Please bless these overly revealing orange shorts, and all who wear them while serving me cheese fries.

FOXNews.com - Foxlife: Entertainment and Lifestyle News - Out There - Sweet Hooters Most Holy.

A Monsignor in Waco Texas plans to bless a new Hooters restaurant in a private opening ceremony.

Bad News For Authors (wanting to get money out of me)

The title of this post is invidious if it suggests that theology and spirituality are two separate disciplines. For theology is spirituality in articulate expression, while spirituality is theology on its knees—and, of course, on its feet too! When theology is “thin,” it is often because it is not steeped in prayer; and when spirituality is “lite,” it is usually because it is theologically vacuous.

Faith and Theology: Essential spiritual and devotional writings for theologians.

Some times I think I’ll actually get caught up on my “books to read” list. Then something like the above article comes along and I find a lot more books. Then common sense reminds me that since it took over 2000 years to write my book list, there’s a really good chance I won’t read everything in my lifetime.

C H Spurgeon On Books

"He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He has had wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up in the third heaven, and had heard things unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He has written a major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!

"The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every Christian, 'Give thyself to reading.' The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves he has no brains of his own."

The Rebelution: Give Thyself To Reading: A Conversation.

Reformation Theology: Logic and John 6:44

the illogical nature of Arminianism almost caused him to reject the Christian faith altogether

Reformation Theology: Logic and John 6:44.

The quote is from an article that points to a PDF file on interpreting Jesus statement:

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."

Part of my Reformed beliefs is that it is the Holy Spirit working within those chosen by God that causes people to respond to the Gospel. Still. It’s nice to know that I have theological soundness as well.

White Horse Inn - Romans Revolution (3) - The State of the Church

Some Random notes from the White Horse Inn episode The State of the Church.

Evangelicalism has become become big business

• Is the “customer” king, or Christ?
• The “seeker” is the customer, but we seek them as consumers.
• Bringing people into the church becomes an end to itself.
• Barna: the audience, not the message, matters.
• If the church is a human creation, we can do what we want with it, including discarding it.
  If the church is God’s creation, we don’t have the right or authority to tamper with it.
• Jesus calls the church “my church.”
  Jesus asks of Saul “why are you persecuting me.”

Picking and choosing what we believe

• There is a crisis of authority in the church.
• This leads to churches that are program driven.
• Doctrine is dumbed down.
• There is no Biblical definition of a Christian who isn’t in a church, just as there is no definition of an unbaptized Christian.
• People have a tension between wanting to belong and not wanting to be accountable.

Seekers vs tourists vs pilgrims

• Tourists have no desire to stay and settle in.
• Seekers stay, tourists move on to the next site.
• We confuse non-believers with un-churched people.
• We are pilgrims, not tourists.
  Pilgrims pass through a place, but they know where they are going.
  Tourists are just site-seeing.

Emergent Church

• The search matters, not the joining.
• Their use of older liturgies might be more nostalgia than anything else.
• People are more into having discussions than reaching answers.
• Good diagnoses, but no answers.
• Emergent churches are more willing to talk theology than “Boomers”, but they don’t want to come to answers.
  There is no understanding of definitive answers given to us by God.
  Theology has become a parlor game.
• Should visitors be welcomed or accepted?
• Emergent churches require a cause.
  They can’t just present the Gospel by itself, it has to be tied to something.
• There is a emphasis on Christ as example.
  People can be followers of Jesus without becoming Christians.
  The redemptive force of the cross is gone.
• Truth is replaced with sincerity.

American Reliqueries

An online casino has a piece of Capt. Kirk. Actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25,000, with the money going to a housing charity, it was announced Tuesday. Shatner reached agreement Monday to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com.

Shatner Sells Kidney Stone for Charity

The introduction to Jonathan Wright's history of the Jesuits, God's Soldiers starts with this sentence:

In 1554, so the story goes, a Portuguese noble-woman bit the fifth toe off the right foot of Francis Xavier's corpse.

I wonder where that puts us. At least the "noble-woman" waited until Xavier was dead before she began to harvest his body parts.

Getting Serious About Bible Study

Could devotional reading of the Bible hinder the maturity of Christians? If devotionals become the pietistic substitution of devotion for serious study of the Bible, I believe categorically the answer to be yes.

Daily Devotionals or Bible Studies? - Apologia Christi.

Daniel’s article has started me seriously thinking about my own Bible reading.

As Daniel points out:

I confess, though, that the difference between "devotional Bible reading" and serious Bible studying is hard to define.

Most of my experience with anything approaching serious Bible study has been taking the Precept courses a member of my former church gave on the books of 1 Corinthians and Hebrews. Unfortunately, she went back to a “real” teaching job and the remaining Precept teachers in the area only offer night courses (which I can’t attend because I work second shift.)

But I did like the courses however. I liked going over the same passages every day and finding the subject break points myself. I liked looking up the Greek words used in the letters and finding their meanings.

So I have decided to get serious about my Bible reading. (Which in all honesty, I can’t call “Bible study.”) Not a “quit-my-job-and-go-to-seminary” kind of getting serious, but a “way-to-into-his-hobby” seriousness. I’m sort of modeling what I’ll be doing on the way “serious amateurs” approach hobbies like astronomy or photography.

As I see it, if I were a serious amateur astronomer I would be doing the following:

1. Spending a lot of money on equipment that I probably shouldn’t.
2. Subscribe to any useful journals/magazines on the market.
3. Look for any books that I can find on the topic.
4. Learn the jargon so I could understand the journals/magazines/books I was reading.
5. Locate and hang out with other people who share my same passion for astronomy.
6. Attending conferences, lectures, etc. geared toward serious hobbyists.
7. Building up an impressive (and possibly boring) knowledge base of what I know.

Accept for the first item, I’m pretty sure that a serious amateur Bible scholar would do all of the other items on the list. Perhaps specialty software could be substituted for equipment on the list. I had planned to learn New Testament Greek this year, so that might also be considered another item for the list.

My first step on this journey will be to see about identifying journals and magazines on the topic. One thing I’ve learned is that journals are a great asset in learning something new. They keep you up to date with what’s happening right now and they help point you to other resources. They also give you a better feeling that what you are involved in is a living community the way books can’t.

 

On Being Specific During Confessions

“How often, in our own prayer lives, have we simply asked God to forgive us from our sin yet we rarely mention specific sins?”

The Parchment - Naming our Sin: The Nature of True Confession.

Part of my daily devotional time is spent on a morning and (time permitting) evening prayer service that includes both a prayer of confession and a prayer of thanksgiving. I always make it a point of confessing specific sins committed against specific people.

I find a lot of benefits in doing this:

1. Being specific can show me as being more sinful. If I have been short tempered with 3 people, that’s 3 confessions instead of 1.
2. Confessing the same sin over and over again helps to identify besetting sins.
3. Being specific means identifying who I have to make amends to. I can confess and apologize to the person I offended as well as to God.

I also find that it helps to be as specific as possible when giving thanks to God. Not only does it give the LORD His due, but it reinforces within me exactly how much He has given me.

Some tips to being specific:

1. Confess and give thanks as often as possible. It’s easier for me to remember what God has done for me (or the sins I have committed) in the last few hours than the last few days.
   Some people find that noon and evening work best.
2. Get in the habit of remembering specific sins or acts of Providence from God.
   When my mother was alive we would talk on the phone every Sunday evening. I was always in the habit of saying to myself “I have to remember to tell Mom about that.”
   Asking God’s forgiveness or offering up a thanksgiving on the spot should be done as well, but having an actual sit-down with God can be more beneficial in the long run.
3. Don’t try to use this to gauge your sanctification. Sins will always crop up. We aren’t perfect and we won’t be in this life. Even if we completely conquer 1 sin, another is waiting in the wing.
4. If you can remember any incidents where you restrained from sinning, give thanks to the LORD for giving you the strength you used.

Of course, the final thing to remember is not to confuse Sin with sins. It’s easy enough to have a “slow” day where I can’t remember anything to confess. There’s a real danger of seeing myself as having a relatively righteous day. When this happens I apologize to the LORD for not remembering where I have gone wrong, and ask the Holy Spirit to show me the sins I committed that my nature didn’t observe.

Romans Revolution (2)

The latest edition of The White Horse Inn show is out. Called “A Sentimental Journey”, it points to how the emasculation of Christianity has turned men off of church. The guest speaker was David Morrow, author of the book Why Men Hate Going To Church.

Some rough notes of what I heard:

Why Men Hate Going To Church

• www.churchformen.com
• Men don’t hate God or Jesus Christ.
• What men hate is the culture that has grown up around the church.
  We have emasculated Christianity.
• Modern church architecture attract women but turn off men.
  Modern Evangelical architecture is based on the theater.
  When men see this, they instinctively expect to be manipulated (as in a theater), and they don’t want that on Sunday.
  We have replaced wood and marble with pastel colors.
• Protestant Churches today are “spiritual sorority clubs.”
  Most church employees are female.
  Female clergy will outnumber male clergy within a generation.
  Congregations are 65% female.
• Men want objectives.
  A “Take this hill” attitude instead of making everyone feel welcome.
• In Evangelicalism, “Jesus has become the bearded woman” instead of a man.
  We strip Him of His confrontational.
• “I feel” has replaced “I think” and “I believe.”

5 reasons why men hate church

• Emphasis on nurture, singing, etc.
• Jesus’ command “follow me” is turned into having a personal relationship with Jesus.
• Music: our songs use words “from the pages of a romance novel.”
  Men need to relate to Jesus as men toward a man.
  Evangelical praise songs tend to be “Jesus is my boy friend.”
• Challenges need to come from other men in smaller groups instead of from the pulpit.
• Churches try to avoid conflict in discussions. Men like give & take and being honest.

Fixes that don’t work

• Men’s Ministries don’t work.
• Men’s Ministries are actually Women’s Ministries For Men.
• They attract older (50+) men only.

Misc.

• 90% of boys going to church will abandon the church by their 20’s.
• American black men are attracted to Islam because Mosques are the only place where black males can get respect.
• A father who goes to church has a bigger effect on his childrens’ church going than a mother who goes to church.

Unmatchable Moral Flexibility

Bill Dembski shows us what could become the biggest church of the future: 

Uncommon Descent » [Offtopic:] Mammon as a ” Spiritual Provider”

I Am Not A Heretic

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451. Chalcedon compliant 100% Nestorianism 50% Monophysitism 33% Apollanarian 25% Pelagianism 17% Adoptionist 8% Gnosticism 8% Albigensianism 0% Monarchianism 0% Arianism 0% Docetism 0% Socinianism 0% Donatism 0% Modalism 0% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

 

Via: Magic Statistics.

John Piper on The Sovereignty of God and Prayer

Common questions asked of Reformed believers is why pray if everything is predestined by God? Why evangelize if God has already determined who He will save? Piper reverses the question and asks:

Now I would like to turn the question back to my questioner: If you insist that this man must have the power of ultimate self-determination, what is the point of praying for him? What do you want God to do for Him? You can't ask that God overcome the man's rebellion, for rebellion is precisely what the man is now choosing, so that would mean God overcame his choice and took away his power of self-determination. But how can God save this man unless he act so as to change the man's heart from hard hostility to tender trust?

The full article is here: The Sovereignty of God and Prayer

What is love?

From Ponderings of a Crazy Calvinist:

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

My favorites:

As an example of selflessness
Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy - age 6

How to love our enemies
If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate. Nikka - age 6

As an example of looking toward our Father for encouragement and strength
During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore. Cindy - age 8

Best definition of "hallowed by Your name"
When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth. Billy - age 4

Random Notes From White Horse Inn "Romans Revolution" Series Premiere

Here, in a semi-organized grouping, is what I picked up from the first installation of The White Horse Inn’s “Romans Revolution” series: “Understanding American Evangelicalism.”

Why Romans:

1. Romans is part of every revolution and used to defeat every heresy.
2. Without Romans, our default theology is Pelagianism.

Modern Evangelicals and Romans:

1. Evangelicals stress “I love Jesus”
   Romans stresses “Jesus loves me”
2. People today want to know how to fix their lives, not learn theology.
3. People stress “heart knowledge” over “head knowledge.”
4. Theology is seen as being against spiritualism.
5. Without theology or doctrine, we can’t defend Christianity against other philosophies.
6. People minimize and atomize sins. “Sin” is replaced by “sins”, a mental check list of things to do/not do.
   This leads to people become modern Pharisees.
   Ted Haggard: “People don’t need to repent every day because they don’t sin every day.”
7. Ted Haggard reported that only 30 people have ever asked to see their church’s statement of belief.
   A question asked by the hosts: why don’t they show perspective members the statement anyway?
   In contrast, Nigerian churches spend 3 years catechizing new (adult) believers, before accepting them as members.
8. One minister: “We are Bible based not Christ based.”
   “We don’t need to preach Christ and the cross every week. That would be repetitive.”

The modern church:

1. Modern ministers use small snatches of Bible verses to set up their diatribes.
2. Preaching is about ourselves instead of Christ.
3. Sermons are about “how” instead of “who.”
4. Modern churches use “Purpose Driven” type books to replace Scripture as the source of their sermons.
5. Worship: God calls us into His presence to give us His Son.
6. The modern church “performances” bear a lot of similarities to the practices of pagan religions.

“Deeds Not Creeds”:

1. Churches that stress this a “breeding the next generation of unbelievers.”
2. It leads to a rejection of Grace in favor of works.

White Horse Inn Starts " Romans Revolution" Series

Modern Reformation’s radio show The White Horse Inn has started a new series called “The Romans Revolution” today. Their first show is described as:

Understanding American Evangelicalism
Welcome to the first White Horse Inn program of the "Romans Revolution" series for 2006! The hosts begin to set the context for this series by discussing the state of American Evangelicalism and help us to get a better grasp of the beliefs and practices of American Evangelicals today.

Upcoming shows promise:

January 15, 2006
A Sentimental Journey
As we continue to set the context for our new year-long series in the Book of Romans, the hosts examine how and why sentiment has replaced doctrine in contemporary Christianity, and the impact this has had on the church. They also converse with David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church.

January 22, 2006
The State of the Church
In this edition, the hosts evaluate the various new trends in church options, such as mega-churches, micro-churches, emergent churches, and yes, even traditional churches. What are the dangers and problems with this new "food court" spirituality?

January 29, 2006
Self-Help Salvation
In what ways do many of today's best-selling Christian books and sermons resemble the language and messages heard in the category called "Self-Help?" Is it true that "God helps those who help themselves?" How is a person actually saved? Don't miss this edition of The White Horse Inn!

I just finished listening to their first show. I’ll put what I heard into a separate post.

wooQ: The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism

For those who know what WCF means:

I have previously posted a satirical article A Modern Evangelical Shorter Catechism. Well, here is another one, which pokes fun at Arminians and dispensationalists.

wooQ: The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism.

Pray for John Piper and Don Whitney

John Piper of Desiring God Ministries has sent a letter to his congregation telling them he has prostate cancer.

Also, Don Whitney at Spiritual Disciplines has an update on his health problems.

Choosing a Major

As an ex-Software Developer, there's no real suprise here.

You scored as Mathematics. You should be a Math major! Like Pythagoras, you are analytical, rational, and when are always ready to tackle the problem head-on! Engineering 83% Mathematics 83% Philosophy 83% English 75% Linguistics 67% Biology 58% Journalism 58% Chemistry 42% Psychology 25% Theater 25% Anthropology 25% Sociology 17% Art 17% Dance 17% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com

TulipGirl: Choosing a Major

John Owen website

Reformation 21 has a post pointing to a website devoted to John Owen. I'm trying to get in more reading on works by Puritan theologians like Owen, Jonathan Edwards and Thomas Watson.

While most adhere to orthodox Reformed viewpoints, there's no way to generalize about their writing (except to call it universally good.) Watson's "The Art of Divine Contentment" is a lot easier to read than Edwards' "Religious Affections." Part of that is simply that Edwards is looking at something more deep than Watson is, but there is also a great difference in writing styles.

One thing that always amazes me is to read books like "Charity And Its Fruits" and to realize that the chapters are actually sermons given by the authors. "Charity And Its Fruits" was originally a 16 part sermon series on 1 Corinthians 13 (the "love chapter".) "The Art of Divine Contentment" was based on 1 verse of the Bible (Philippians 4:11.)

Equally amazing is the amount of theology the writers/preachers expected their parishioners to have. How many of us in church today know the difference between mediate and immediate revelations?

p.s.

One nice benefit of reading "Dead Theologians" is that you can get a lot of their material for free from places like the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Who'd a thunk it.

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 70% Hulk 65% Spider-Man 65% Robin 55% Green Lantern 55% Supergirl 51% Catwoman 45% Iron Man 45% Batman 40% Wonder Woman 26% The Flash 20%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Found via: The High Places

Reading the Bible in a Year

Laura (not that) Bush at Words Behind Me has a good post on the "Read a Bible in a Year" plans that can be found on the internet.For the past 3 years I have been using the plans available at Discipleship Journal. This year however, I'm going with the MCheyne plan. Part of the reason is that it fits in with my current private worhip practices, which involve using the 1928 edition of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.

The M'Cheyne plan involves 4 separate readings, 2 chapters from the Old Testament and 2 from the New Testament. I plan to follow Laura's practice of doing 1 chapter from each Testament in the morning, and the second in the evening. Because of my 48 year old eyesight, I'm using the printed plans here.

This year will be the first time I've read through the entire Bible using the ESV version. Last year I started with the NASB and switched to the ESV. My thinking right now is to follow the practice I have heard that others use: reading through the Bible once per year using a different version each year.