Monday, October 27, 2008
Sad...
Once again, I have left a bunch of people I dearly love. At least I'm only 4 1/2 hrs. away from B-town...so hopefully I can make some weekend trips. In the meantime, I'll be looking at a lot of eyeballs owned by the brave men who have risked their lives for our freedom. I want to take one more opportunity to mention Paul Washer's sermon "10 Indictments" given at the recent Revival Conference in Atlanta, GA. It is a must for all Christians in this country. See my last post for its link. Also check out this short video of Washer talking about persecution in America.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
A Renewing of My Mind
(I composed this a few months ago and haven't updated my blog due to limited internet access...fyi I have been in back in B-town for 2 1/2 months now and am already getting ready to head off again, this time to Huntington, WV)
In the past few weeks I have been embarking on a journey to rework my understanding of life in Christ and reinterpret my life experiences in light of scripture, which by necessity includes the proper use of Bible words. In one sense I have been on this journey for years, but recently it has been a very conscious, heart and mind-wrenching experience. I suppose it started with me surrounding myself with people (Grace Community Church) who seem to have a prominent concern with whether or not I'm a Calvinist, and then wondering how in the world a church full of Presbyterians and Baptists (and a "third wheel" of a pastor with a Vineyard background) could even remain standing, let alone how I found myself in such a thing (I am of course referring to Church of the Good Shepherd).
On one hand, it has been very exhausting not only to have these conversations, but also sit under sermons where at least half of the time was focused specifically on aspects of Reformed doctrine (which for the past month has been the case). To be honest, I have avoided having the "I'm not Reformed" conversation, because the prospect alone wears me out right now. So why do I keep going back? Well, I know they love Christ, they love the souls under their care, and they handle God's word seriously, even if we reach different conclusions about some doctrines. For the same reason, I will never attend another church in Bloomington other than CGS. They truly love one another and do things rightly. I will always be with people like this, as opposed to finding a church where I "agree" with their "doctrine" but is absolutely dead.
The good thing about all this frustration is that it has caused me to reconsider my understanding and use of words and biblical terminology. In my studying, I came across a discussion mainly between two brothers over at sermonindex.net regarding the distinction between Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fillings with the Holy Spirit. Ron Bailey, both in this discussion and in his teaching series "Having begun in the Spirit" makes mention that Bible words don't have definitions, but histories, and we must track these histories to understand the words. God was very specific in His choosing of words, and used two very detailed languages (unlike English) to express what He wanted to convey to us.
The Bible has very few true synonyms. At its simplest, in any language, if two words meant the exact same thing, there wouldn't be two words for the thing. Even if two words essentially mean the same thing, they often have quite different etymologies, so they bring different emphasis. Add to this that this is God's word, so we must pay close attention to how He uses words. Some may call me a little too pedantic, but in this day of evangelical muck-soup, maybe a little pedantry is what we need.
In college, while involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, I was taught, as literally millions have been since the late 1950s, that one gets "saved" simply by praying a magical prayer. 4 simple laws to agree to, then after a 10 second regurgitation of a written prayer...WHAM! congratulations! Now you can be assured that you are going to heaven! No more worries! While this whole "method" (as well as most of the teaching contained in the little booklet) is completely baseless and unscriptural, I think a lot of the problem is our concept and use of the word "saved." It's so shallow. The Bible use of this word is not to describe a one time event in the life of an individual whereby beforehand he was not saved (which is sloppily equated to "not in heaven") and now he is (which is sloppily equated to "in heaven"). Rather, a person goes through many "salvations", is continuing to progress in salvation, and will eventually have a salvation not yet seen. Salvation is a very broad term with many applications (may I direct you to Paris Reidhead's sermon So Great Salvation for some great insights regarding this concept) leading to one Great Application. Salvation is so much more glorious than the concept most of us have been taught. It encompasses things like conviction, repentance, justification, regeneration, sanctification, glorification...which are all very distinct workings of God in the life of the Christian resulting in conformation to the image of His Son.
In the past few weeks I have been embarking on a journey to rework my understanding of life in Christ and reinterpret my life experiences in light of scripture, which by necessity includes the proper use of Bible words. In one sense I have been on this journey for years, but recently it has been a very conscious, heart and mind-wrenching experience. I suppose it started with me surrounding myself with people (Grace Community Church) who seem to have a prominent concern with whether or not I'm a Calvinist, and then wondering how in the world a church full of Presbyterians and Baptists (and a "third wheel" of a pastor with a Vineyard background) could even remain standing, let alone how I found myself in such a thing (I am of course referring to Church of the Good Shepherd).
On one hand, it has been very exhausting not only to have these conversations, but also sit under sermons where at least half of the time was focused specifically on aspects of Reformed doctrine (which for the past month has been the case). To be honest, I have avoided having the "I'm not Reformed" conversation, because the prospect alone wears me out right now. So why do I keep going back? Well, I know they love Christ, they love the souls under their care, and they handle God's word seriously, even if we reach different conclusions about some doctrines. For the same reason, I will never attend another church in Bloomington other than CGS. They truly love one another and do things rightly. I will always be with people like this, as opposed to finding a church where I "agree" with their "doctrine" but is absolutely dead.
The good thing about all this frustration is that it has caused me to reconsider my understanding and use of words and biblical terminology. In my studying, I came across a discussion mainly between two brothers over at sermonindex.net regarding the distinction between Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fillings with the Holy Spirit. Ron Bailey, both in this discussion and in his teaching series "Having begun in the Spirit" makes mention that Bible words don't have definitions, but histories, and we must track these histories to understand the words. God was very specific in His choosing of words, and used two very detailed languages (unlike English) to express what He wanted to convey to us.
The Bible has very few true synonyms. At its simplest, in any language, if two words meant the exact same thing, there wouldn't be two words for the thing. Even if two words essentially mean the same thing, they often have quite different etymologies, so they bring different emphasis. Add to this that this is God's word, so we must pay close attention to how He uses words. Some may call me a little too pedantic, but in this day of evangelical muck-soup, maybe a little pedantry is what we need.
In college, while involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, I was taught, as literally millions have been since the late 1950s, that one gets "saved" simply by praying a magical prayer. 4 simple laws to agree to, then after a 10 second regurgitation of a written prayer...WHAM! congratulations! Now you can be assured that you are going to heaven! No more worries! While this whole "method" (as well as most of the teaching contained in the little booklet) is completely baseless and unscriptural, I think a lot of the problem is our concept and use of the word "saved." It's so shallow. The Bible use of this word is not to describe a one time event in the life of an individual whereby beforehand he was not saved (which is sloppily equated to "not in heaven") and now he is (which is sloppily equated to "in heaven"). Rather, a person goes through many "salvations", is continuing to progress in salvation, and will eventually have a salvation not yet seen. Salvation is a very broad term with many applications (may I direct you to Paris Reidhead's sermon So Great Salvation for some great insights regarding this concept) leading to one Great Application. Salvation is so much more glorious than the concept most of us have been taught. It encompasses things like conviction, repentance, justification, regeneration, sanctification, glorification...which are all very distinct workings of God in the life of the Christian resulting in conformation to the image of His Son.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A Calvinism I Can Chew on, and Find Tasty (part 1)
Last night at Bible study, Brother Tim Conway (pastor at GCC) was discussing the need to overcome sin, and how the warnings of scripture often go right over the heads of most Reformed folks because of the doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints. He suggested that Jesus wasn't just being hyperbolic in Matthew 5:29. If we don't take sin as seriously as Jesus talks about and mortify the deeds of the flesh, we are in danger of hell. Tim obviously believes that if you are "elect" you have no choice but to overcome; but he acknowledged that the emphasis of scripture is on us thinking that the possibility exists that the Saint might not overcome and enter heaven if we are not violent about it. He recalled a pastor friend of his, whenever asked by a young believer if it was possible to lose salvation, even though his theology would say "of course not," he would instead say with gusto, "You can if you DO."
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A Few Things Learned
It has been 5 months to the day since I last posted. I had no intentions of taking such a long hiatus, but alas, here we are. I hope to post more regularly once again. Last semester was long and rough, but I have finished my classwork and am currently on rotations for the next year. I dearly miss Church of the Good Shepherd and my family there, but I have found a good fellowship here in San Antonio at Grace Community Church. I don't know how I keep winding up in staunchly Calvinist circles, seeing as how I am not one. My friend Lane would tell you it's because God wants me to be one so he puts me (or has predestined me to be) in situations where it's screaming at me. I of course would smile and quip that it was my choice to be here ;-)
On another front, I did not buy the soprano sax I discussed many moons ago. I was in need of a better automobile to make my cross-country journeys so I bought a 2008 Hyundai Elantra, thanks to Lane.
A Few things I have learned in the past few months about manhood both from a dear brother in the Lord and walking through some of my experiences with him:
1. Men make decisions. Hopefully, they are grounded in scripture and supported with a multitude of godly counselors. But they make decisions in faith, without looking back, and face whatever outcome God gives.
2. Men are open and honest in relationships...always. Hiding feelings and emotions while playing games and speculating about what a woman is thinking and feeling is just foolish. No one profits from such things.
Now, I am not suggesting that if a man likes a woman he should immediately pursue her gung ho. Contrary, much prayer and counsel must be sought to see if she is a godly woman and that he is ready to pursue such a woman. Then, and only then, should he pursue.
I will not go any further than this because I still lack much wisdom in such things. So I leave it here, and will continue to seek, in general, as I started in this blog, what it is to be a man.
On another front, I did not buy the soprano sax I discussed many moons ago. I was in need of a better automobile to make my cross-country journeys so I bought a 2008 Hyundai Elantra, thanks to Lane.
A Few things I have learned in the past few months about manhood both from a dear brother in the Lord and walking through some of my experiences with him:
1. Men make decisions. Hopefully, they are grounded in scripture and supported with a multitude of godly counselors. But they make decisions in faith, without looking back, and face whatever outcome God gives.
2. Men are open and honest in relationships...always. Hiding feelings and emotions while playing games and speculating about what a woman is thinking and feeling is just foolish. No one profits from such things.
Now, I am not suggesting that if a man likes a woman he should immediately pursue her gung ho. Contrary, much prayer and counsel must be sought to see if she is a godly woman and that he is ready to pursue such a woman. Then, and only then, should he pursue.
I will not go any further than this because I still lack much wisdom in such things. So I leave it here, and will continue to seek, in general, as I started in this blog, what it is to be a man.
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