Different discussions you see and hear about church government as Baptists assume a type of congregationalism. Yet it’s rare in such discussions that anyone presents a definition and defense of congregationalism. I want to address that issue. Certainly in church life, Jesus stands as the sole authority over his church (as Dr. Russ Moore says, “the church is not a democracy by a Christocracy”); but Jesus has vested the final earthly authority under him to the congregation as a whole. But what does this look like, practically speaking? Biblical congregationalism is about a priesthood … [Read more...] about What is Congregationalism, Biblically Speaking?
I Was a Public School Brat (a non-horror story)
If not for my public education, I would not be a pastor. There—how’s that for an opening line? I didn’t have time to get involved in the discussion, but in a recent post on church planting where the author recommended public schooling your (read: a church planter’s) children, a lively discussion ensued in the comment stream. This is certainly something about which people have strong opinions. I have personally been in the midst of all of that discussion. I don’t have children of my own (yet), but I was raised going to public schools, went to public universities, and spent two years as … [Read more...] about I Was a Public School Brat (a non-horror story)
the sanctification of the church
This post originally appeared on my blog August 25, 2010. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.—2 Corinthians 3:18 Sanctification. Big word. Basically, it means that we are in the process of becoming holy—becoming more like Jesus. When we are justified from our sins we are also sanctified and look forward to being glorified. But there is a process here in our individual lives. It’s a struggle that starts the day we are born (born … [Read more...] about the sanctification of the church
It Ain’t About the Benjamins
The nation’s economy is in a crunch. Unemployment rates are high, gas is high, utilities are high, the dollar is falling…translate this to church and the SBC: giving is down and the Cooperative Program is down. Many churches are having to slash budgets (including mine—our budget year ends the last day of June and it looks like we are going to have a 20%+ budget shortfall). And now come the calls that we need to give more—pastors do it from the pulpit, deacons do it (I personally know of one church from my past where a different deacon is now getting up in front of the congregation each … [Read more...] about It Ain’t About the Benjamins
It’s My Party (I can cry if I want to…)
We love our drama. We love putting other people down and raising ourselves up—it is a part of our sick, corrupt, twisted, and less-than-human (the way God created us, at least) nature. I talked to an ex-student of mine. She told me about all the soap-opera like events going on at the school ranging from personal conflict to extreme favoritism. She said it was better when I was in the administration there and I need to come back. I smiled and shook my head and said, “People complained about the exact same stuff when I was there.” It’s the same ol’ song and dance with the cards shuffled … [Read more...] about It’s My Party (I can cry if I want to…)
What is the Great Tribulation?
This is a follow-up to some of the discussion in my Something Old, Something New post. I posited that my position on the relationship between Israel and the Church does not lend to a pre-tribulation rapture. This brought up the common notion of the tribulation being the wrath of God poured out upon the earth. This, of course, is a main tenant of dispensational pre-tribulation theology (and the other day I even watched a rerun of Adrian Rogers preaching that tribulation is God’s wrath, talk about timing). I grew up in a church that assumed dispensationalism, and matured in a church that … [Read more...] about What is the Great Tribulation?
Something Old, Something New (a theological discussion on the relationship between Israel and the church, and why it matters)
Throughout the entire story of redemptive history, the children of Abraham were, are, and always shall be the only and singular chosen people of God. The Bible starts with a rapid succession of events spanning from creation to sometime after the flood. While in the first two chapters everything is good and very good, from chapters 3 to 11 the main event seems to be the extent of sin’s corruption. During this time God did not so much work through a people but through families—the family of Adam, the family of Noah, and the family of Terah in particular. In fact, as the story of the flood … [Read more...] about Something Old, Something New (a theological discussion on the relationship between Israel and the church, and why it matters)
Joy… a struggle, a hope, and what I learned from a piece of chocolate
Confession of the day—I tend to be a natural cynic and a pessimist. Okay, that’s really not a confession to those who know me. Once when I worked as an administrator at a private school I ate a Dove chocolate and found an “inspirational” message I actually enjoyed—“A pessimist is simply an optimist with experience.” If you ask the question, “Is the glass half empty or half full?” I respond by drinking what’s left in the glass and tell you to stop asking silly questions. And again: this is my natural tendency—my fleshly one… so that means it’s not good. It also means that I tend to have … [Read more...] about Joy… a struggle, a hope, and what I learned from a piece of chocolate
The Worth of Friends
This was originally posted on my blog on June 15, 2010: John 15:15, Jesus: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” The pastor at the church I visited this past Sunday made a good point: “It’s said that friends are people who accept you just the way you are. Well, the guy at the drive-thru accepts you just the way you are because he really doesn’t care about your life. A friend is the person who challenges you to do better in … [Read more...] about The Worth of Friends
This He Set Aside (a Good Friday meditation on Colossians 2:13-15)
Every church I’ve been a part of has them—even if it’s just a side comment now and then about being afraid to stand before God at the judgment—Christians who fear that when Jesus returns we will have to hear our long list of sins recounted by an angry Father before Jesus as our gracious lawyer interjects, “I’ve taken care of them.” It’s that fear of revisiting the past and having the secret things of our heart exposed for all creation to hear. Yet the biblical idea of the judgment seat for the Christian is anything but frightful. Colossians 2:13-15 reads: And you, who were dead in your … [Read more...] about This He Set Aside (a Good Friday meditation on Colossians 2:13-15)