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On November 1, 2020 By In Church

All Saints’ Day Challenge

Our challenge on this All Saints’ Day is the challenge of believing what God actually says about us and to live in a such a way that we trust in God’s words. But I know human nature too well. I know that God’s words can dress us as warriors, but deep inside too often we feel naked like Adam and Eve desperately trying to find refuge in fig leaves. We too often forget that God has already given us his righteousness in His Son. We have forgotten that the Resurrection of Jesus has already clothed us with new life. But we are forgetful saints.

One reason you don’t grasp our status as saints of the Most High God is that you still have not bought into this business of being a saint. Of course, you have Christ and his benefits, but there is little gratitude. You see, it’s likely that some of you take this church and communion business so lightly that your armor can be easily perforated by the slightest touch. And then someone comes to you offering an alternative Gospel and they say, “Look, this Christian business is too heavy for you. Why do you have to wear this armor and carry these swords? Follow us, and all you have to do is be yourself!” When you take the faith lightly, don’t be surprised if you have no idea who you are or what God says about you.

But another reason you don’t grasp God’s delight in you or how God views you is that you are divorced from the life of the body. Imagine if the Apostle Paul, Thomas Cramer, Jan Hus, Nate Saint, martyrs in the presence of God who gave everything, including their lives for this cause were to hear the American rationale for not going to church, for not being involved with God’s people, for not engaging the Bible, and for not fellowshipping. Imagine if they heard, “Oh, but sports are so important for my children.” Imagine if they heard: “Oh, but I just have so many other things to do, and I can’t engage the life of the body or the Word of God.” Imagine if they heard, “But I need to finish up some work on Sunday that I didn’t finish on Saturday.” What vile words those must be if the martyrs could hear them! The men and women who gave everything for the cause of Christ.

For the sake of all the saints, for the sons and daughters of God who go forth to war on behalf of Christ and his Church, will you follow in their train or will choose to let the world define you and the bribery of false sons to speak on your behalf? The truth of All Saints’ Day is that God delights in you! His words are the only ones which ultimately matter! Believe this and rejoice!

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On November 1, 2020 By In Church, Culture, Politics, Theology

The Politics of All Saints Day

From the earliest days of history, there has been a war going on; sometimes with more visible intensity and sometimes with less, but it is always there, churning underneath friendships, marriages, and geopolitical relationships. This war is the war between the woman and the serpent, between her seed and his seed established by God just after the fall, declared plainly to us in Genesis 3.15. From the beginning, it has been a bloody battle. Cain, the seed of the serpent, killed his righteous brother, Abel, the seed of the woman, because Abel’s deeds were righteous and Cain’s were wicked (1Jn 3.12).

The battle has continued through the ages, both before and after the coming of Christ Jesus. Those opposed to God and his way of ordering life have sought to eradicate the righteous, whether they were the prophets of the old creation, Jesus himself, or his apostles. The war continues even after that first generation after Jesus’ resurrection. The early church tells us of men such as Polycarp and Justin, women such as Perpetua and Blandina along with many others. The cruel ways in which all of these died cannot be matched, but the numbers of modern-day martyrs far exceed the numbers of our early church. One author says that 2019 was one of the bloodiest years in church history. We hear of eleven Christians beheaded in Nigeria in December of 2019, and this is followed up by over 1,200 being killed in Nigeria in the first six months of 2020. Then there is the Middle East where there is what some are saying is coming close to Christian genocide. North Korea, China, Sri Lanka, and many other countries are targeting Christians for persecution and death.

The war has never stopped. While we know that there is a war, the question must be asked, What are we fighting for? Is this war merely the fact that these individuals over here don’t like the individuals on the other side of the line? No. This is a political war, and the feast of All Saints is all about politics.

The feast of All Saints began in some form or fashion early in the church. Though it is celebrated at different times in different branches of the church, there is a time in churches all around the world that the church commemorates the lives of all of the unnamed martyrs along with those loved ones we have personally known who have borne faithful witness to Christ throughout their lives and have now, having fought a good fight, have gone to their rest. Many saints’ lives are celebrated by name throughout the year. All Saints is the day for the millions of others who have no special day, giving the church a time to reflect upon those unsung heroes, as we might say, or those whom we knew personally, who encouraged us and left us an example to follow. This follows the pattern of Hebrews 11 of remembering and being encouraged by the departed faithful.

When we think about the martyrs and celebrating their lives, we probably recall the courage of a Polycarp or Thomas Cranmer who faced the flames, or Ignatius, who was torn to pieces by lions in a Roman arena. Their courage rooted in faith was exemplary and is to be emulated by all of us in our daily lives. But their deaths witnessed to more than just personal courage rooted in their own convictions. Their deaths were a proclamation to the world, and particularly their persecutors, that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.

In Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection, the nature of his kingdom was revealed as one that had power over death itself. Being that this was the greatest power of any government over its people, a power that kept people subservient through fear of death, Jesus Christ and his people declared through their willingness to die that all political systems, all governments, were ultimately subservient to Jesus’ lordship and would, eventually, be subjugated by him. The Christian faith threatened to undo all of the political systems based on the fear of death. Martyrs were and are the ultimate witness to the principalities and powers that their time is short.

We have a hard time in America understanding martyrdom because we view religion as a private commitment that is not to interfere with politics. As Amy Coney Barrett proudly proclaimed, her personal religious beliefs would not interfere with judgments about the law. And that’s the way it ought to be. Don’t bring religion into politics. There should be a wall of separation between the church and the state, right?

When we think like this, we yield the field, forsake our mission, and are poor stewards of the inheritance left to us by the martyrs. The Christian mission has always been political because the purpose of man is political; that is, we were created to take dominion, build a kingdom, build the city, the polis, of God so that every area of life images the life of God’s heaven. There is no “secular” space in this sense; some sort of neutral space where God does not claim absolute rule. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus was granted all authority in heaven and on earth by the Father (Matt 28.18; cf. also Phil 2.5-11). Through the blood of his cross, Jesus reconciled the world to himself, putting everything under his lordship, visible or invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities or powers (Col 1.15-20).

The word gospel itself, as it was used in the first century, was a political announcement. It was used to speak of the birthday or the conquest of a king. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the announcement that Jesus is Lord; that he reigns, having received the nations as his inheritance, just as the Father promised. All kings must come and bow and kiss the Son lest he be angry (cf. Pss 2; 72). As we proclaim the gospel, the church is a threat to the political systems in rebellion against the Christ of God.

As we worship, offering up our prayers, God shakes up the geopolitical landscape (cf. Revelation, esp. 8.1-4). Worship is a political action.

The martyrs did not give their lives because they had personal disputes about private, interior religion. They were killed because the church’s existence and her proclamation that Jesus is Lord threatened to undo all of the kingdoms of the world–the political systems. They could courageously give their lives because death had been conquered, stripping every satanic kingdom of its greatest weapon: fear of death (Heb 2.14-15).

We may not give our lives as many of our fathers and mothers did or as many of our brothers and sisters are doing even now. But we must live with the bold faith of the martyrs, pressing the crown rights of King Jesus through every square inch of the world.

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On September 29, 2020 By In Church

Lord of All or Lord at All?

I just turned 41, but my records also inform me that I am on my 20th Reformed anniversary. Somewhere in the year 2000, I came into contact with a dangerous cargo filled with contrarian literature. I ate it all so quickly that the only questions I had afterwards were some variation of “What’s for dinner?” and “May I have more, please?” I still keep eating contrarian literature, and I really hope that the end result is not that I become a curmudgeon, but that I find creative ways to inculcate those blessings into my community.

So, while we are at it, let me undo speculations among some two-kingdom scholars. They consistently claim that while Jesus’ has authority over all things, that his authority does not provide or is intended to provide a tangible change in the cultural ethos. I, as a lovable contrarian assert the exact opposite: that the kingdom of Jesus is comprehensive and whatever it touches, it changes. It is not limited to one sphere, nor are things heavenly to be severely differentiated from things earthly. And again, not to repeat the obvious, but the earthly city is not Babylon, nor do we live in this perpetual sense of exile and pilgrimage simply existing seeking a city that shall come. We affirm that the people of God are headed somewhere to take something and claim Someone as Lord over the nations (Rom. 4:13), and that the city has come. Our agenda is to get people to see the ads and RSVP ASAP.

While the Reformers affirm the distinct polities of each sphere and even state without equivocation that there are distinct ends for governmental and ecclesiastical spheres, these ends do not end in wildly strange territories. They serve the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ who has all authority and power in heaven and on earth. Jesus’ earthly authority does not void his heavenly power. They find harmony as one expressive manifestation of Lordship.

So too, you need to notice that when two-kingdom advocates say, “Don’t cause any trouble, let the local officials do their job, because…ya know, Romans 13 and I Peter 4, etc.,” what they are truly implying is that history is static and unmovable. The same texts that state government officials are deacons for righteousness also state that they are under one Ruler who is progressively moving history towards a goal.

Jesus’ overturning the tables was not some act of overt rebellion, it was an act of subversive faithfulness. When the temple does not do what it ought–worship rightly–Jesus has the right to shake things up, and when unfaithfulness endures, he has the right to send armies to tear the whole place down (Lk. 21:24). When Jesus sees a government functioning like a whore, he has the right to tell his people to surround it and sing for seven days and seven nights.

It really is an impious thing for a certain theologian in California (howdy, Scotty) to assert that Christians are pilgrims, and therefore should stop making a mess of things on our way to heaven or that they should stop singing in the public square, or that they should stop opining about unfathomably stupid mask mandates in a city with no COVID death, or that they should stop the pre-planned activities simply because attention from local officials violate the pernicious division between kingdoms. As the kids say, “LOL, ROFL!”

This form of sophistry is the demonstrable failure of an expression of theology that sees the worship of the church solely functional for the sake of the church. How brave it must be to sit quietly in Puritan piety without having to lift a finger in righteous anger towards blunt violations of heaven’s laws first and American laws second, but simply exert Augustinian language as a clear-cut-case for why Christians should not engage the political process as Christians.

Let’s even assume that Calvin’s language of “contrived empire” is applied straightforwardly to us–postmillennial dreamers–to imply that we too quickly make friends of government and church, are we then to simply sit back and wait for defeat as the ideal telos of the church? If the Great Commission does not imply a complete investment in earthly and heavenly things, then our Reformed forefathers failed us in attempting to write letters to pagan kings and to urge them to read fine pieces of theology, and to express their disapproval of government actions.

I submit that the Great Commission speaks directly to all spheres; that government officials should be catechized in the language of Scripture and that once in a while we should use our voices to bring their walls down. If Christendom is merely a catch-phrase for the isolation of the Church from culture, then Jesus should have remained only a great high-priest, but as we know quite well, he is also our great high-king and our great-high prophet. Like that crazy postmil missionary, Hudson Taylor used to say, “Christ is either Lord of all, or is not Lord at all”. I happily join his insanity.

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On August 18, 2020 By In Church, Discipleship

The Case for Keeping Children in Worship, Part 2

Introduction

Part 1

The goal of this discussion is to foster conversation on a topic that is too neglected in evangelical churches. And speaking of evangelicals, I am one of those who proudly affirm the “evangel” and if the “icals” were a team I’d cheer them on as well. So, I am trying to speak from a place of wild familiarity.

I also don’t want to shame anyone into keeping their kids through the whole service when they haven’t thought carefully about it and are simply acting out of guilt. Guilt-based decisions have the durability of an ice cream cone left out in the Florida sun. Making decisions that are not common in various congregations (and in this case the majority) need to be done discerningly. One of my answers to people about children and schooling and other related subjects is that I love my children much more than your ideal scenario. In other words, if a Church practices something that I am not comfortable with regarding my children, my children will always take precedence over the Church’s ideals.

So, if a Church has a suggested policy (if such policies are mandated we have a whole other problem) that children go to children’s church during “adult” worship” and you decide that it is best that your children stay, and you do it peacefully without causing a scene, the leaders of the church should understand. And if they get into a habit of making ugly faces at you every Sunday and sending you dissertations about how your child is only holy if he/she goes to that children’s church down the hall, then it may be time for you to have a more serious conversation as a family about how a) to continue dealing gracefully with such an uncomfortable situation, or b) how to properly inform the leaders that what they are doing is not kosher and needs to stop, or c) begin to discuss how to graciously and honorably leave that body.

So, it should be clear that this is not an attempt at revolution or causing havoc in a local congregation. What I am trying to do is to bring to your attention a different way to view children whether in the local Baptist or Presbyterian or “insert cool name” Church.

First Argument Against Children in Church

One of the more common arguments made against keeping children in Church–from beginning to end—is: “I can’t keep my children quiet during worship, therefore I don’t see the need to keep them with me.” The argument posits that the demands of disciplining and watching over little ones during the worship service ultimately does not bear any benefits.

This is a legitimate concern. You are in Church to worship on the Lord’s Day and the last thing you want is to add additional tasks to your time. After all, weren’t you just in the process of changing a diaper, disciplining, correcting, breaking up a fight right before Church? Why bring that whole business into the house of the Lord?

The first response is that there is no place you can go where some level of authority structure is not set into place. If you walk into the local Wal-Mart with your little one (s), you are still expected to navigate difficult scenarios. In other words, you cannot escape your authority. Whether a dad or mom, your authority needs to be exercised–always preferably lovingly–at all times and in all places. The nurture and admonition of the Lord does not take a Sabbath on the Sabbath (Lord’s Day), rather it should be accentuated.

There are two things that matter to the Christian: a) the worship of the Triune God, b) and how that worship fleshes itself out during the week.The worship of God most powerfully manifested on the Lord’s Day proves to be the most sober opportunity you will have to train your little ones (we will discuss some practical steps down the line). Of course, you could let Sister Sally watch your little ones during Church, and I am certain she will be saying some nice things and even instructing your child well, but Sister Sally does not speak as an ordained minister, Sister Sally cannot speak on behalf of the Church, Sister Sally cannot do for your children what you can do, because while Sister Sally may have a general love for your child, only you (dad and mom) know the needs, understand the hearts, and see the week after week struggles of your child to properly train your child.

Remember, worship is not the academy, it’s not a classroom, it’s a living experience of the Triune God in a sacred space taking place by the power of the Spirit in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). Read that sentence three more times.

Yes, your child will struggle to stay quiet and he/she will be distracting; and yes, it will demand a little more of you each Sunday. And, you may miss that really great hymn/song while you are changing a diaper or Johnny throws a fit over something. But I can guarantee you that the more you do it the more you will begin to see little victories and with each little victory you will discover that the joys of corporate worship are always more filling when you are together with your little ones during the worship of heaven. Like any glorious thing, the benefits come when you persevere in this holy task.

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On August 17, 2020 By In Church, Family and Children

The Case for Keeping Children in Worship, Part 1

Read Introduction

The Bible and Children

I wanted to begin this series by offering a quick biblical rationale for the importance of children. It doesn’t seem necessary, since their cuteness speaks for itself, but it seems that establishing this foundation will set the stage for more difficult conversations later.

The Bible speaks of children over 1,100 times and in most cases as something to be desired (Ps. 128), other times in the context of sadness for not being able to bear (Gen.11:30), and other times as promises (Gen. 17), and then in the New Testament as those who are objects of wrath from tyrants (Mat. 2:13) and then later as recipients of Jesus’ love (Mat. 19). Sometimes they are a grief (Gen. 4), but in most cases they are signs of blessings (Ps. 102:28).

When I was a pastoral intern, I remember someone approaching me after a service and confessing that she simply couldn’t tolerate little children in worship because of their noises. “They were a distraction,” she said angrily. I often think this is the way many evangelicals view children: as distractions. They are distractions at home, so we find ways to entertain them rather than engage them. They are a distraction at church, so we find ways to keep them busy outside the gathered assembly. As we will note, there are other concerns in mind, but the evangelical church has unwittingly affirmed the premise that children are a distraction and something needs to be done about it during the worship service.

In the Gospels, the disciples rebuked our Lord because they believed that the children were a distraction to Jesus’ “real” ministry (Mat. 19:13). But Jesus rebuked the disciples and said his ministry is to draw little children to him and to build a kingdom through the faith of those little disciples.

The Fruitfulness of Parenting

Being a parent is one of the hardest tasks ever given to men. It is also one of the areas where the Spirit speaks most decisively in giving detailed instruction (Deut. 6). Idealistic parents quickly fall into reality that first week when they take their new-born home. I remember that scene when I pulled up the van, and my wife was carefully wheeled to the van where I picked up my little girl, and meticulously plugged her into the baby car seat. I never drove so slow and so tense in my life. I literally had this thought as I drove off: “I have a human being in the car that is fully dependent on me. I don’t know if I am ready!” But that child was entrusted to these parents, and since that is the case, we now have a distinct duty to train her in the education of God (Eph. 6:4).

Like anything we are called to steward and love, it will demand our soul. Children are a blessing from the Lord, which means that we need to view them as such. They are not vipers in diapers (to quote a famous author), they are worshipers in diapers, then they are worshipers who can potty on their own, sit on their own, sing on their own, raise their hands on their own, eat on their own, confess on their own, and then one day, produce a new cycle of worshipers in diapers.

When we send our children to another gathering away from Jesus’ central gathering in worship, we are creating a separate class within Jesus’ earthly kingdom. Even though our intentions may be pure, we may be thinking as the disciples did and thereby missing the opportunity for Jesus to place his hands upon them and bless them with His love (Mat. 19:15). The journey is not meant to be easy, but like any faith-journey, it will be rewarding. I propose that keeping children in the worship service from beginning to the benediction is the most biblically satisfying and fruitful task you can embrace as a parent on the Lord’s Day.

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On August 7, 2020 By In Church, Culture

Does God Hurt? Trump and His Theology

Note: What follows is a lengthy conversation on impassibility/classical theism and a host of other related subjects which I touch only in a small scale. These posts come from my facebook page where I engage hundreds of people daily on a host of topics. If you are looking for patristic debates on patripassionism, you are not going to find it here, but you will find some introductory words on what I view as important to frame our political thinking. Additionally, I added some additional comments made by some fine theologians and thinkers that corroborate my original proposal.

I am not one to defend the president’s theological quandaries. In fact, if our 45th president has any theological background, it stems from the mainline PCUSA church which, with minor exceptions, has been smelling like putrid fish for at least 50 years.

So, when the president talks about “Two Corinthians,” which incidentally is a thing in a certain European island , or when he can’t quote a New Testament verse when asked, or a host of things that make Trumpianism so abrasive and simultaneously comical, I am not looking to gain theological insights. I have 16 years of formal theological training and keep a fairly good company of friends to consult in times of inquisition. But let’s get one thing clear, leftism (contrary to classic liberalism) is a scourge. J. Gresham Machen was making this case long ago and I think that we can all agree that the Democratic platform no longer loves Kennedy and Carter. Your grandmomma’s Democratic party is now owned by the ANTIFA kid sitting next to you in your local community college criticizing grammar for being an expression of white privilege. Well, ain’t that sweet!

Leftism without hesitation wishes to cancel Christ from culture; there is still within the system a modicum of sanity that realizes that the biblical Christ will ruin their agenda. Make no mistake: political battles are deeply theological battles and leftism as an ideology has chosen the way of death for unborn humans, secularism for its curriculum, and they are constantly berating the value of people like me in their kingdom. Oh, please don’t get me wrong, leftists are deeply shaped by religious ideals, but not the “Jesus is Lord” kind, the one that dethrones Jesus and puts Caesar on the throne.

All of this leads me to Trump’s controversial and viral statement that a Biden presidency would hurt the Bible and hurt God. The liberal media had a stroke followed by several minor convulsive episodes. “But Biden is a Catholic!” Yes, I am sure he is, but any Catholic priest worth his Vatican wouldn’t allow Biden to take communion and some clearly have not. The implication is that how dare Trump claim a Biden presidency would hurt the Bible and God since Biden was raised in that religion thing and claims to have his faith as “the bedrock foundation of his life.”

Without delving too much on the virtues and vices of another Trump term, we should note that if Trump’s assumptions about a general reality where Christendom does play a free role is correct, and if Biden’s four years is a variation of Nancy Pelosi meets AOC, then, our 45th is not too far from the truth. Yes, a Biden presidency would hurt the Bible; no, not physically or spiritually or in whatever dimension Biden lives, but in the clear sense that truths of the Bible would be clearly mocked on national television from midnight to midnight under a Biden presidency and the Church would be constantly sued for all sorts of ethical positions. On that point, I have no doubt. Of course, Trump would do well to pick up that accurate book and meditate on it day and night, but at least, the man breathes some level of common grace oxygen that keeps him on our side of the fight for most issues.

(more…)

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On August 6, 2020 By In Church, Worship

Sleep In On Sunday

My family hops into the van (sometimes rather frantically) on Sunday mornings and buckle up for the ride through our small city to church. On the way down our street and around the corner we see knocked over trash cans, random articles of clothing, and maybe a stray pit-bull roaming the back alleys. Our town is in desperate need of renovation. The kids have a hard time comprehending the state of our city, but my wife and I know that the blue, brick house we just passed was busted last night for drugs, the boarded up duplex was once a meth lab, and the neighborhood barber shop near Queen St. closed its doors for good just a week or two ago. But every other Sunday I will holler to the back of the van, “Where are we going?” My son replies, “To heaven.”

Israel’s return to Jerusalem after her captivity is recorded in Psalm 126, a psalm of ascent. These psalms of ascent were often sung as the people of Israel made their walk up to the temple mount to worship the Lord. In the first verse of this psalm (126) the Psalmist says, “We were like those who dream.” Have you ever tried to picture what that looked like? I imagine the puffy, red eyes of my sons as I look in the rearview mirror on that Sunday drive. They still glimmer with the dreams from just a few hours ago. Jacob’s dream at Bethel in Genesis 28 has come to mind many times as my family has stumbled into the van on Sunday mornings. What did Jacob say after he took his nap on the rock at Bethel? “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” Surely the Lord is in this city, but do we know it? Does this city know it?

If you’ve read the bible at all, you’d know that dreams are rather important and are often prophetic (Gen. 37; Dan. 2; Acts 2:17). Jacob’s dream is no different in this respect. He arrives at a city named Luz on his way to Haran and stops because the sun had set. He grabs a rock as a pillow and begins to sleep. Jacob dreams of a ladder between heaven and earth, the angels of God ascending and descending on it, and a voice from the Lord above saying that He will grant Jacob descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth – the whole earth will be blessed through him. The Lord had met with Jacob at Bethel; He had made that place a portal to heaven itself. So, it would make sense for Jacob to name it “house of God”. You’d expect to find God in His own house. And it would also make sense that Jacob would be forever changed by that experience. I can imagine him rubbing his sleepy, wearied eyes in the morning eventually revealing a face glowing with excitement. It is quite the dream after all.

Many-a-theologian have pointed out that the ladder in Jacob’s dream is a picture of our Lord Jesus, the bridge between man and God (earth and heaven). This is true, of course. But it is also true that Jacob is a picture of Jesus. It is no coincidence that Jacob lays his head on a rock, that he rests, and that his dream shows a portal between heaven and earth. Jesus’s tomb, in which He rested His wearied head in death, was hewn out of rock and covered with a stone (Matt. 27:60). The rocky mountain in Jerusalem was the site of the Lord’s House built by Solomon (1 Chron. 28). Jesus said that no stone would be left unturned in this temple’s destruction and that He’d raise it up in three days (John 2). Jesus is the Temple built on a rock; He is the rock itself (the chief cornerstone). He is the source of our rest from labor and weariness (Matt. 11:28). In Him we awake from our slumber of death. In Him we ascend into the heavenly places and sit at the right hand of God the Father (Eph. 2:6). He is the portal between heaven and earth. And if Christ is the true Jacob, surely His body is as well.

The fourth commandment requires the Church to rest on the Sabbath and to keep it holy. Have you ever thought of that command in this light? Our Lord commands that you rest in the worship of the Church. He not only commands you to rest, but He wants you to dream. Every week our Lord calls us into His house to sleep, to rest from our troubles. He puts us to sleep with the confession of sin – putting to death the old man and creating you anew. He speaks to you from the heavenly places in His Word and declares the promise that this whole earth will be covered with the blessing of His salvation. Just as he promised Jacob, He gives you bread to eat (Gen. 28:20); He serves you heavenly food. And He awakens you to a new life in which you know God even more. The worship of God’s people is a heavenly dream.

As we leave the heavenly domain of the liturgy, we often rub our eyes, give a good stretch (maybe a yawn), and forget what we just dreamed. We are a forgetful bunch. We get our families packed back in our vans and head down main street. Back to earth we go. We pass the knocked over trash cans, the empty shopping carts, and the same drug addicts on their stoops. Do we remember the voice of our Lord? Do we remember His words? Can we still see the dream? Heaven meeting earth, descendants spreading throughout the world, all families being blessed, an earth calling for redemption – for rest. Your neighbors need to see those puffy, red eyes of one who just saw heaven. They need hope. They need rest from their weary lives of sin and death. The sun may have set in our city, but there are still those who dream. There are still those who meet with God. God is most certainly in our city, but there are still those who don’t know it yet.

This heavenly dream that you enter each week is not just meant for you. It is meant for your street, your block, your city. This dream should be proclaimed in the town square, in board meetings, at homeschool co-ops, and city council meetings. Our lives should be marked with the rest of God. So, when you load up to head home from church on Sunday, crack your back, fix your hair, and live like you believe that heavenly vision. Because one day this whole earth, your city included, will be God’s house of rest and dreams.

My son yells from the back of the van, “Where are we going now, dad?” The correct answer is, “Back to earth, son. But we’re taking heaven with us.”

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On July 28, 2020 By In Church

In Praise of the Small-Church Pastor

Half of the American churches have less than 75 people. In fact, some of the pastors I most respect are in very small churches doing the work of the Lord with little recognition. I am fully aware there are leaders in small churches who take advantage of the church’s volatility and offer little positive impulse to see the church grow numerically, and who spend little time preparing for sermons and teaching, and thus place the church in an unending coma until the money runs dry and they are forced to close the doors altogether. But my experience is that that scenario is far from the norm.

The more common scenario is the pastor of a small church who goes above and beyond; who visits parishioners, eats with his people, seeks the well-being of the flock, prepares attentively to the text of Scriptures and loves his parish. In some cases, he is bi-vocational attending to his financial needs in whatever profession God called him to exercise and then using his remaining energy to serve small flocks who hunger for truth and the application of the Bible in their lives.

These men are honorable! They fight the good fight sometimes in rural places knowing that their congregations will likely not grow much due to its locale, but they still press on faithfully in the call of the Gospel to equip the saints (Eph. 4:12). They are not moved by sexy advertisements or flashy models of leadership; they simply plod along with the stamina given them by God, rather than the applause of men.

To these pastors during this pandemic, I want to encourage you to serve with joyful hearts and to not allow the discouragement of even smaller numbers on Sundays to keep you from your cause. I want you to remember that if you are faithful to your call in these times of uncertainty, God will reward you. Do not grow weary in well-doing, but grow firmly in doing good to the people of God.

The world, even the Christian world, will pay little attention to what you have to say or do during this time, but our Lord sees you. So, stay in the fight, continue to exhort and to lift up your voices for in the desert of the Lord even the flowers blossom and the manna falls from heaven.

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On July 27, 2020 By In Church

When Dispensationalists Acts Like Reformers!

The 81-year-old John MacArthur is no stranger to controversy. Several decades ago, he penned a few books on Lordship that became best-sellers. Little did he know that evangelicals were interested in deep theology. Back then, he was concerned that Christians were taking the Gospel call to discipleship too flippantly. He noted that “the gospel call to faith presupposes that sinners must repent of their sin and yield to Christ’s authority.” The proposition was simple, but the opposition was massive.

Fast forward three decades, the octogenarian is still preaching each Sunday at Grace Community Church in California on the Lordship of Jesus. My differences with John MacArthur over the years have been significant, though what I find as I get older is that my admiration for pastors who have fought the good find for over 50 years increases. Adding to the list of controversies in MacArthur’s history is his now nationally recognized position that Jesus is Lord over governments and it is the duty of ecclesiastical bodies to disobey the government when it forbids worship (see Saturday’s post).

As a result of this decision to keep the church doors open, there are some indications that the local governments plan to shut down electricity should this happen again. This may be a mere threat as a way of discouraging gatherings. I would find that appalling, but California has been appalling for a long time.

MacArthur’s decision has been met with mixed reviews. Those who acquiesce to the status quo and say that MacArthur has no right to defy the government on the matter of worship and that we should submit to it willingly are mistaken, and I confess at this point, have only fragments of my respect. Others, more coherent voices, have articulated that there are some additional options that MacArthur has not contemplated and that he should do so as a way of setting a good example to other churches. It should be noted that these same voices are also cheering on the decision of J.D. Greer to cancel corporate gathering until 2021 and establish “house church” models until then. I cannot even begin to tell you the danger of such an approach, especially considering the after effects of decisions like these to the ecclesiastical ethos of modern evangelicals. These decisions assume that evangelicals in this country have a high ecclesiology. This can be the point of no-return for many large churches.

One response to MacArthur that caught my attention is that the elders of Grace Community Church should consider that this is not the right battle for our time. The real battle is the LGBT community and that the church should save energy to exercise those muscles on that issue instead of “spending down our capital on pandemics.”

But it has been over 150 days since the pandemic started! When is it time to say enough?! The problem is not exercising our muscles on this issue, the problem is not exercising strongly enough! We have caved into the either-or dilemma. The Christian church possesses the keys of heaven and hell (Mat. 16:19), therefore she does not have to wait to exercise anything at a future date, she should be ready to exercise her authority whenever she deems right.

The LGBT issue will come, but if the church cannot establish the centrality of worshiping as one now–with whatever protocols necessary for the protection of the saints–she will have no stamina or logic or grace to take on other pressing matters later. Once again, the proposition is simple and the opposition will surely be massive.

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On July 26, 2020 By In Church, Culture, Theology, Wisdom

A Wedding Song: Psalm 45

In the beginning, there was an infant king, naked and alone. From his side God created his bride and brought her to him, blessed them, and commanded them to take dominion over the creation, shaping the earth after the image of heaven. They were placed in a garden on a mountain that had a river running through it that flowed from the top of the mountain, through the garden, and then split into four, symbolically flowing to the four corners of the earth. Downriver were all sorts of treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones waiting to be unearthed, purified, and shaped into beautiful adornments for the garden, the woman, and the man himself.

When the man and the woman fell into sin, they were exiled from the garden. They were restored by God and reissued the dominion mandate, but they would now have to fight the curse of sin. They would have to get back into the garden bringing with them the glories of creation. Reentrance required that the man take the lead, enduring the flaming swords of the cherubim, die, be resurrected, and then retrieve his bride from exile along with all of the treasures of creation. There creation’s king and queen would be united in a new, resurrection marriage, adorned with the splendors of creation.

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