A Sorrow leading unto Joy

It has been a difficult week for my beloved church. We had to see a dear friend in ministry resign because of moral failure. It has saddened us greatly. For those who don't know our history at Providence, we are a new church that started after a painful seperation from a mother church which for all intensive purposes would not be led. Some now are asking the question "WHY?" Why did this happen? Did we listen to God's voice? Should be have left? Is God in this? There is anger and there is sadness, but I believe we must look for joy in the sorrow!

These questions are not easily answered, but I will try to bring some hope in light of this great tragedy. First, the Bible is clear that all men are hopelessly corrupted by sin. Save the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, man is capable of the grossest embodiment of sin. This should not lead us to think that a saved mean or woman is not capable of sin. That would be foolish. It simply means that men are capable of "Hitler" sized sin. This should bring us great pause and instill in us a deep sense of humility.

Second, we should not measure the corpus of a man's life through the siv of his sin. Again, that would be foolish. We are all found in rebellion at times and should remember that all sin is measured equal in the eyes of God. So to say that all the work of any man or woman is wrong because they are found in sin is unbiblical and arrogant. God is grieved, but never taken off guard.

Third, we should not question the outcome of a man's leadership because of his failure. God is capable and will use the failures of man to unfold his perfect plan. How could Jesus have chosen Judas and not known he would betray Him. Was God mocked or surprised? Surely not! No, God was working sovereignly the entire time and He will continue to do so in our time. To deny this is to believe that God is not intimately and sovereignly involved in the lives of men!

I don't know about you, but I am ever more amazed by the mysterious strong hand of my God each and every day.

To God be the glory!

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Contemplating Cool

With the onslaught of demanding seminary work, my time has been limited in posting, but I ran across this article from our friends over at 9 Marks and got a hearty chuckle out of it...enjoy!

By Mike McKinley
Show me a grown man with a goatee and I’ll show you a major league baseball player. Show me a grown man with a goatee wearing sandals and I’ll show you a youth pastor.
When I was a kid, I remember that the youth pastor at our church was totally different than any other pastor I’d ever seen. He quoted rock bands and wore blue jeans to church. He was cool in a way that the other adults in my life were not. I was proud to invite my friends to church and see their negative stereotypes of Christians get blown up. The youth group thrived and "unchurched" kids were reached. The one thing that distinguished our group from others was that our pastor was cool.
As the youth pastors and youth of the 1990s become the head pastors and congregants of the 2000s, it seems like the phenomenon has only grown. It is now an unexamined assumption in many quarters: the best way to reach people is to be like them. In order to reach our culture, we must embody what the culture defines as acceptable and valuable. We must be as "cool" as we can possibly be while still retaining the gospel. That way, people will see us and not be turned off by us. Maybe they’ll even want to be us.
This shows up in both the private lives of pastors (you missional guys, I’m talking about you and your emo eyeglasses) and in the church’s corporate worship, where we seek to remove everything that might seem foreign to the unchurched visitor.
In some ways, I think being connected to the culture around us is helpful. But there are ways in which a commitment to being cool can ultimately conflict with the call of a pastor. As the resident cool guy on the 9Marks docket (which is roughly like being the ladies’ man at a Star Trek convention—damning with faint praise), here are a few thoughts:
1. Being connected to the culture is a double-edged sword.
In a sense, we all carry a set of unique interests, talents, characteristics, and strengths around with us. These can both serve the proclamation of the gospel and hinder it. So, for example, yesterday the copier repairman stopped by the church which I serve. He is a young guy who is into cage-fighting. We built a connection over that fact (one of the guys in our church also does MMA—mixed martial arts), and he was pleasantly surprised to find that a pastor could be heavily tattooed.* I shared Christ with him, and he asked for a Bible. Score one for enculturation.
But there are other ways that my appearance might be a hindrance to the gospel. I have been sharing Christ with a strict Muslim man that I see in the sauna at the gym once or twice a week. We have built a friendship and talked about spiritual matters quite often. I have little doubt that the fact that I have a large weasel tattooed on my bicep does not make him more attracted to the faith. Score one for not having tattoos. This is why I wear sleeves on Sunday mornings. In one situation my ink serves me well; in another it can make things more difficult.
2. We must always be on guard against pride.
How much of a pastor’s desire to be perceived as cool or connected to the culture is motivated by vanity or pride? Knowing the depth of our depravity and self-deception and pride, we must examine ourselves. Am I motivated to dress a certain way or listen to certain music for good reasons? Or does part of me at least want to avoid being the butt of Ned Flanders jokes? We must beware that our quest for cool doesn’t feed the vanity and pride which we need to be choking to death every day.
In fact, I fear (and here I am speaking from what I see in my own heart) that oftentimes we are at least partially motivated to reach people by pride. How much of our desire to be cool is a desire to reach people, not only for the gospel, but also for our own glory? Here’s a diagnostic question for everyone who is a pastor: if the Lord called you to shepherd sixty uncool saints until they were safely home, with no spectacular revival or ministry explosion, would you consider that beneath you? Would it seem unworthy of your gifts and a waste of your life? If so, you are being motivated by pride.
3. Much pastoral ministry is profoundly uncool.
Don’t sign up to be a pastor if you want to sound reasonable to most people or if you want to affect a cool detachment from people and ideas. The preaching of the cross is foolishness and a stumbling block to your average art community hipster. We must love the Savior more than we love the respect of others.
Also, the ironic detachment that cool requires finds little place in the work of a pastor. At times, you must be embarrassingly earnest and enthusiastic. You must love difficult and extremely mockable people with a real and true love that never seeks a laugh at their expense. You need to cry with people when they suffer unspeakable tragedy. Much of being a pastor is profoundly uncool.
4. We must never despise our brothers and sisters.
There is a real danger in becoming so puffed-up over our freedom in Christ to wear black t-shirts that we begin to look down on the Ned Flanders-style Christians who love the Lord and have served him faithfully for years. In fact, it may be that the Lord is more pleased with their humble walk (though not as sophisticated) than he is with yours. The fact is, love for other Christians is a hallmark of a true believer (1 John 2:10). Even more it must be the mark of a pastor. We have more in common with a believer in Myanmar and a believer in Duluth (even if they don’t know a pilsner from a stout or Operation Ivy from Crimpshine) than we do with the people we’re trying to reach for Christ.
The fact is, we can’t choose who will be in our flock, nor should we try. Should churches go after the "manly man" with gimmicks and mocking disdain for the average wussy church going guy? If I read Ephesians properly, the church should consist of all kinds of people: cool and square, macho and sensitive, punk rock and emo. Frankly, in my experience a sensitive guy who is not trying to be cool is about ten times more likely to fit the biblical profile of a man, even if he doesn’t ride a Harley and watch contact sports on television. Pastor your people, thank God for the diversity in the body, and love people who aren’t like you.
5. With a few exceptions, Christians who try to be cool are terrible at it.
When I was in middle school, a well meaning youth worker attempted to perform what came to be known infamously in Radnor Junior High School lore as "the Jesus rap." These were the earlier days of hip-hop, and the genre was still trying to find its sound. Well, this youth worker, a slightly pudgy white guy of about 28 years, put the effort back ten years in five excruciating minutes. I later came to find that this well-meaning man hadn’t written this material himself (thank heavens!) but that it was later recorded as part of a song called "Addicted to Love" by a man named Carman.
The point is this: not many Christians can pull it off. A few can, but you probably can’t. Seriously, ask your wife. She’ll tell you the truth. Don’t try to be something that you’re not for the sake of impressing unbelievers. It’s bad theology and it will fool no one. It’s this kind of thinking that has gotten us Christian rock music. Please, stop it. No, really. Now. I insist.
6. Being like the culture can make it hard to see the gospel.
The more we understand the world (and its definition of what is compelling and cool), the less attractive we should find it. In fact, in a society that is increasingly morally and spiritually bankrupt, it may be our incongruity with the culture that serves to highlight the gospel. David Wells says this much better than I could in his book God in the Wasteland:
By this late date, evangelicals should be hungering for a genuine revival of the church, aching to see it once again become a place of seriousness where a vivid otherworldliness is cultivated because the world is understood in deeper and truer ways, where worship is stripped of everything extraneous, where God's Word is heard afresh, where the desolate and broken can find sanctuary [emphasis mine].
Let’s pray that our churches recover that quality of vivid otherworldliness, even if it is not cool.
The conclusion of the matter is this: be who God made you to be. If you lean hipster, run with it. Be a hipster to the glory of God. If you lean in another direction, that’s great too. But Christ must be central to all who will pursue the calling of a pastor. That means putting to death our pride and scorn for others who are not like us. That means evangelizing across the boundaries of taste and preference. In the long run, it might even mean that we’re not cool.


Michael McKinley is the pastor of Guilford Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia, and the 9Marks lead writer on church membership.
* If a member of my church is reading this and just got a shock, sorry about that. But take comfort, the fact that I have tattoos is nowhere near the worst thing about me!

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Age of Accountability...Revisited (by Joseph Stegall)


The issue of God's sovereignty has many implication that are sometimes disturbing at first glance. None more than the issue of the eternal destiny of children who die early in life. Joe is a colleage of mine at Providence Baptist Fellowship and has some comforting words regarding this issue. One note from the beginning. We know that some may still be unsatisfied with his explanation, but I appreciate his honesty and desire to think through this critically and I hope you will too! Tom

The issue of what happens to infants and the mentally disabled when they die is a difficult and sensitive issue. It is difficult because nowhere in Scripture can we find a verse that plainly teaches whether or not infants and the mentally handicapped go to heaven or hell when they die. The Scripture simply does not plainly speak to this. It is a sensitive issue because of the huge amount of emotional longing for the salvation of our loved ones that all believers have for their family members. This longing is a good and right longing for all parents and family members to have! So approaching this topic should be done with humility, grace, and compassion.

In light of this, we must be humble enough to say that since the Scripture does not speak plainly on this issue, we cannot say with 100% assurance one way or the other. However, though Scripture doesn’t speak clearly to the point, I do think that there are Scriptural principals that seem to point to an understanding of great hope for the salvation of infants and the mentally handicapped. Thus it is my strong conviction from everything I understand about Scripture and the nature of our great God that all infants and all those who are mentally handicapped will join believers in heaven. Furthermore I believe that all young children who have not reached an age of moral accountability will also join believers in heaven.

It must be noted that any answer to the question “must take into account that all of us are born sinful and thus worthy of judgment. The consistent New Testament emphasis upon the need for a second birth indicates that our natural state is that of sin, not innocence (John 3:1-12; Ephesians 2:1-5; cf. Psalm 51:5). We are "by nature children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3). If we are all born under sin, and salvation is by faith in Christ (which those in question do not seem to have the mental capacity to exercise), then it might at first seem that no infants can be saved.”[1]

But it is apparent in Scripture that there have at least been some babies who were in a saving relationship with the Lord from Birth. These include David and John the Baptist (though an argument for the prophet Jeremiah could possibly also be made). Of David the Scriptures read "Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God." (Psalm 22:9-10). Of John the Baptist the Scriptures record that “John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit while yet in his mother's womb (Luke 1:15). In Luke's theology, being filled with the Spirit is consistently seen as an aspect of the Spirit's work among those who are regenerate (Luke 1:41, 67; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 9:17; 11:24).”[2] These verses seem to indicate that at least these two Old Testament saints had a saving relationship with God from birth, and therefore it seems very unlikely that all infants who die are lost.
Let us be clear as the guys over at Desiring God Ministries have written, “God is not saving infants because they are innocent. They are not innocent, but guilty. He is saving them because, although they are sinful, in his mercy he desires that compassion be exercised upon those who are sinful and yet lack the capacity to grasp the truth revealed about Him in nature and to the human heart.”

They continue, “It should also be emphasized that the salvation of all who die in infancy is not inconsistent with unconditional election (the view that God chooses whom to save of His own will, apart from anything in the individual). As Spurgeon pointed out, it is not that God chooses someone to salvation because they are going to die in infancy. Rather, He has ordained that only those who have been chosen for salvation will be allowed to die in infancy. God's justice in condemnation will be most clearly seen by allowing those who will not be saved to demonstrate their inherent sinfulness through willful, knowing transgression.”[3]

There are several other reasons for great hope concerning the salvation of young children and the mentally handicapped. This is because the Scriptures taken as a whole do seem to point to an understanding of an age of moral accountability.

It is true that the phrase “Age of Accountability” is nowhere found in the Bible. But what does that prove? Nothing! The age of accountability is just a phrase we use to describe a principle that I believe we find in the Word of God. If we went by the logic that “If the word is not in the Bible, that thus means it is not true”, then we would have to throw out the Word “Trinity” as well because that word is not in the Scriptures, even though it is overtly obvious the principle is. In no way am I saying that the Age of Accountability is anywhere in the realm of being as clearly spoken of and taught as the Trinity is in Scripture, or that it is in any way as remotely as important as the Doctrine of the Trinity. Our whole theology rises and falls with the Trinity! Rather, my point is only that one cannot use the argument that if the “word” is not in the Bible it must not be true. Obviously issues concerning the death of young children or those who are mentally handicapped, etc, are much, much more ambiguous, but I do believe that the Scriptures teach something like an age of accountability. I admit that I could be wrong, but I do believe that if any of my young children died today, that they would go to heaven! I rest in the truthfulness of God’s Word —"Thou art good and doest good." (Psalm 119:68)

Additionally, recall the narrative of the wandering of the nation of Israel in the desert for 40 years. It was only the adults who were barred entrance into the Promised Land because of their idolatrous sin. The children of Israel, (along with the faithful spies Joshua and Caleb) were not rendered guilty and after the forty years, once all of the other adults had passed away, then these now grown children were allowed to entered the Promised land.
Furthermore, recall the story of the death of David’s son born out of adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:15b-23). Admittedly, the construction of the Hebrew is such that we cannot draw firm conclusions, however the phrase “shall go to him” seems to point to a personal reunion of David and his dead baby boy.
In Matthew 19:14 Jesus states “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Concerning this verse John MacArthur writes:
“These children were too young to have exercised personal faith. See Luke 18:15 where Luke refers to them as “infants.” Therefore, it is all the more significant that Christ used them as an illustration of those who make up “the kingdom of heaven”. Mark 10:16 also says He “blessed them.” God often shows a special mercy to those who because of age or mental deficiency are incapable of either faith or willful unbelief (Jonah 4:11). They are called “innocents” in Jer. 19:4. This does not mean they are free from the inherited guilt and moral corruption of Adam’s sin, but rather that they are not culpable in the same sense as those whose sins are premeditated and deliberate. Jesus’ words here suggest that God’s mercy is graciously extended to infants and young children so that those who die are sovereignly regenerated (they still need redemption for their inherited sin, and this is still only accomplished by Christ’s sacrificial atonement) and granted entrance into the kingdom – not because they are deserving of heaven, but because God in His grace chooses to redeem them.”[4]
The reference MacArthur gives to Jonah 4:11, is where God inquires of Jonah “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?” At the very least this shows the huge concern that God has for young children and the mentally challenged, those who do not know their right from their left hand.
Another text for consideration is Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.” Here Paul is dealing with people who have not heard the gospel because they have no access to it, but who can clearly see that there is a God through “natural revelation”, that is what they can simply see in creation around them. As Paul states, this “natural revelation” leaves them without excuse. However if a person cannot recognize this natural revelation whether by age or mental disabilities it seems as if Paul implies that they would have an excuse. Again, Desiring God Ministries is helpful here, “The point for us is that even though we human beings are under the penalty of everlasting judgment and death because of the fall of our race into sin and the sinful nature that we all have, nevertheless God only executes this judgment on those who have the natural capacity to see his glory and understand his will, and refuse to embrace it as their treasure. Infants, I believe, do not yet have that capacity; and therefore, in God's inscrutable way, he brings them under the forgiving blood of his Son.”[5]

But by far the strongest argument for the salvation of infants and the mentally-handicapped comes from the worship around the throne of the lamb for all of eternity. Revelation 7:9 clearly points to the fact that around the throne there is a “great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” worshipping and giving glory to God (emphasis mine). Notice the text reads “every nations, and all tribes and peoples and tongues.” Not one nation, not one tribe, not one people group, not one subset of people with a different dialect/ language will be left out! However, there are obviously people groups who once were, and have ceased to exist who never heard the Gospel, yet the Bible is explicit that God’s people come from every nation, and all tribes and all peoples and all tongues. How is this possible when these people never heard the Gospel? How will they be “represented” among God’s people? It is by all their young children who died and all their mentally handicapped. These are the ones from those tribes who are numbered among God’s people; those who passed on before reaching the age of moral accountability.

Because of all of the above, I firmly believe that every single child who is killed by abortion, or dies in miscarriage, birth, or childhood before the age of moral accountability is numbered among God’s chosen and will enjoy the presence of Christ forever in Heaven. This is true also of all who are mentally handicapped and/or suffer from mental retardation. How this exactly works, I admit is a mystery, I do know that our Heavenly Father is just, fair, and exceedingly good, and I rest in Him.

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In Capitalism we trust!


I am extremely concerned about some of the mantra coming out of the evangelical camp these days. With the election of Barrack Obama as our president elect, conservatives are coming out of the woodwork acting as if now that the liberal left has gained control of our government that now we are on course for the second coming of Christ! God is not taken off guard by the election of Obama as president, in fact, it was by his design!

Now I know this bothers some people and let me say from the outset, I am a heart and soul conservative. But we must never forget that our agenda as the church is build God's kingdom in whatever circumstance He deems necessary. Some of you know that I am not discouraged at all by Barrack Obama being our president. Why you may ask? Because I believe God has ordained it as an opportunity to point people to the true hope found only in Christ, not in politics, economics, conservatism, liberalism, or any other "ism." When people realize that no matter who is in charge of the government (republican, democrat, constitutionalists, or independent), they will realize that government is no place to find redemption. They will realize that government is no place to find renewal! Government is no place to expect lasting change! The only place for lasting change is the unchangeable, immutable, renewing, and redemptive God of glory!

I know that this sounds a little hard to hear, but when I read Romans 13:1-7, I awestruck at the hope I find in a God who frustrates the works of man and ordains ALL who lead in the magistrate. God wills what he wills, so apparently we wishes that our great nation be led under this leadership for such a time as this. As Christians, we must be more concerned about the spread of the Gospel than the spread of conservatism and capitalism.

Jesus is not the least bit concerned about the party platforms of politics! Here is the message Jesus has for the church...BUILD MY KINGDOM! God is in the heavens and He does what he pleases! Nothing will thwart that cause! We, as His church, must be about this cause and no other! Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

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Don't be so open minded


I spent some time perusing through the humanities department of my Alma Mater a couple weeks ago. The Humanities hall houses the Religion and Philosophy departments at Carson Newman. Now let me say from the outset, I am a proud Carson Newman Eagle as am I a proud graduate of those those departments at Carson Newman, but as I walked up and down those hallways, I was struck by the level of close mindedness that was masked with a piety of "openness." The walls were filled with the same quotes and books that were there when I attended CNC. One display reflects Baptist's involvement in the "separation of church and state." Indeed, Baptists did champion separation during those days, but for the purposes of restricting "state" from manipulating the religious freedom and establishing a "state" church. Baptists were pivotal in the movement but we must not think they had any other motives beyond that. Some would have us believe that the long held conviction of "priesthood of the believer" was a Baptist doctrine of tolerance toward many views and interpretations of the scripture. Nothing could be further from the truth. Priesthood of the believer is a reformed conviction set forth by Martin Luther where by they fought for the write of every believer to have his or her own bible in a readable language. The fact is that Luther saw this a point of discipleship not a point of personal freedom. He was repulsed by the manipulation of the Bible by the Catholic church. Luther would have dismissed some of these silly ideas being set forth today by some so called "theologians" as pure jibberish!

Does this not have a contemporary ring to it? There at those who find Christians who are vocal about their political involvement repugnant. Certainly, some have sold their allegiances to one party as if that party is a savior for biblical values. This of course is lunacy! But lets make a clear distinction, every believer must be fully engaged in life and be so affected by the scriptures that it causes a deep passion to well up in them for the glory of God! This means being passionately involved in every area of life...including politics. The distortion of Church/State issues and the human bend toward unbalanced tolerance is causing some to privatize their Christian values and convictions. This is truly sad! Yes, Baptists fought hard for religious freedom and yes they believed that a truly believed that every faith should have freedom to carry out their religious convictions as they wished. But a resounding no must be said to a conviction that a society must be completely pluralistic in order to be free. Ideas are only as good as our ability to set forth some as good and others as bad. To echo the mantra of our day that no one has an exclusive right to truth is simple irrational and right down silly. If that statement is true, our society would not be where it is today. Pluralism does not equate to a dismissal of conviction. We must not be duped into thinking that the modern definition of tolerance is accurate. Tolerance is not what our world wants. They want affirmation. They want us to say "I'm OK, your OK...now lets get some pie!

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Is Our Gospel Too Small?




I find having a conversation with many brothers and sisters in Christ about the topic of the Gospel too boring! I know! I know! I am being a little harsh by making such a blanket statement. But lets' be honest for minute. Have you ever had one of those conversations with a precious brother or sister in Christ and just felt like your conversation with them was little more than frivolous dribble. Again, I know I am being harsh. I first recognize that I have been one of the soul contributors to this "dribble." Recently, I have been thinking deeply about the nature and extent of the Gospel and how it relates to everyday living for the average Harry and Mary. I don't know about you, but there has to be more than some of the modern reflections of the Gospel that is displayed in the church. All to often we become one dimensional in our understanding of the Gospel. Paul tells his Corinthian brothers and sisters that everything he does, he does "for the sake of the Gospel." In the opening words of his first letter to the Thessalonians, he tells them that the nature of his letter to them is rooted in God's entrusting him with the Gospel. Do we have this ame sense of urgency with the Gospel? Have we thought out all the practical implications of the Gospel for the world we live in?

The Gospel as Redeeming Man's Soul
Let's take a moment and think about some of the practical extensions of the Gospel. First and foremost, the Gospel is the good news of the God's provision for sinful man. In other words, we must never forget that the Gospel is primarily the redemptive story of Jesus coming and dying to rescue mankind from the shackles of sin and death. Our pastor noted this past Sunday that if Adam and Eve fell while living in the garden, how much more are we fallen now that we have been expelled from the Garden? Quite a sobering thought! What glorious good news we find in the Gospel. Helpless mankind finds peace and rest outside of himself in the loving arms of Jesus. For the glory of God, this is the most fundamental purpose of the Gospel. All other extensions of the Gospel should lead one back to this amazing truth.

The Gospel as Reconciliation and Rational in Culture/Society
If indeed the Gospel stands as the core of revealed Truth, then it must also speak to all of creation. God has created all that we know and see. He is the great creative force behind all of creation. He upholds all of creation by his righteous right hand. If these are true (and they are), we must see the Gospel as a source of reconciliation and reason with in culture. God desires to redeem culture so long as we live in this day. Culture is reeling from the effects of hopelessness, anger, death and evil. This is simply amazing to me in light of the fact that society has gotten its wish. For the most part, God has been eradicated from the public square. Society has freed itself from the shackles of "religious terrony" as they call it. But there is a problem. With all of its advancements and enlightenments, no one seems to know how to explain the pervading sense of hopelessness in our culture nor explain the presence of evil. Human advancement through rational thinking should have produced a "utopian" type of culture by now. That has not happened. Why? Because we have abandoned reason at its core. Christians extend the Gospel to an unregenerate culture by means of being a force of reconciliation between peoples and a voice of reason with in a culture of absurdity!

The Gospel as Restoration of Beauty
Christians are so afraid of beauty. We are afraid that it will taint the Truth. Nothing could be further from the minds of the first century church nor the early church fathers. Art was a way of reflecting and giving thanks to our God who makes everything beautiful in its own time. We serve a God of infinite creativity and beauty. If thus, the church should be a force of restoration. We noted above that no manner of advancement has been about to shake the hopelessness that rapes the soul because of the effects of sin. By restoring the beauty of God in creation through art, culture, music and the like, we enable people to see the gloriousness of the Gospel and the God that stands behind it.

Again, all of the truth of the Gospel is found in these simple words, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died" to take away our sin! One of the greatest ways we connect people to God's redemptive agenda is through the means of reconciliation, reason and restoration! To God be the glory for ever and ever!

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True Spirituality and the Dangers of Legalism Part 2

In my last blog, I made the proposal that a fully informed theology is vital for robust Christian living. I want to take the opportunity to expand on that notion. C.J. Mahaney in a recent interview on the topic raising up godly men notes that if we don't have an informed theology then we will be conformed by sin. The primary issue is not that people don't have a theology it is that most don't have a good one. David Wells wrote rightly "Let us not think that we really have a choice between having a theology and not having one. We all have our theologies, for we all have a way fo putting things together in our mown minds that has a shape that arises from our knowledge of God and his Word...the question at issue, then is not whether we will have a theology but whether it will be a good or bad one...whether we will learn to bring all of our thoughts into obedience to Christ or not."

See, many of us have this notion that theology is for the "learned." It is a discipline left to the people working in universities and seminaries. Sadly, this idea demonstrates how far we have been driven from the heart of Christ revealed in Scripture over the past two hunderd years. Theology is for the Church...the people of God! The heart of the church today seems to want to reduce Scripture down to a manual for successful living. Unfortunately, use of Scripture divorced from its unifying themes of redemption and grace is of no use at all! David Wells again notes that "theology is a knowledge that belongs first and foremost to the people of God and the proper and primary audience for theology is therefore the Church." Any desire to dismiss this notion only serves to show the depths of sin in our hearts.

So what does this have to do with the average family out there? The short answer is everything! Theology is intensely practical. It is not left to the "learned guild." There is no shortage of people in our church who wouldn't readily affirm the authority of Scripture. That seems to be where we draw the line. Our belief in the authority of the Bible must lead to a desire to properly understand it. This is theology! Moms and dads have the dutiful privilege to teach their kids theology.

Let me say briefly that theology impacts true spiritualty and does battle against legalism. As we understand properly the Scriptures, we will properly systematize its precepts which will lead to a robust pastoral theology. In other words, pastoral theology is the outworkings of our theology in everyday life. When we become who Christ wishes us to be, we will flea the trap of legalism.

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True Spirituality and the Dangers of Legalism Part 1

Recently, I have been reading True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer. This book has been challenging me to think through the reality of my Christian witness while engaging culture. We would all agree that there are numerous challenges to living for the glory of God in our modern day. Every where we turn, we find ourselves thrust into a new arena which requires us to discern how to think "Christianly." Albert Mohler said it well when he told my Systematic Theology class at Southern Seminary that the greatest charge for Christian ministers in our day is to help our congregations think theologically. At first glance, this may sound high and lofty. The word "theology" alone sounds stuffy and out of touch with the daily lives of Christians, but Mohler is absolutely right in his assessment. Sadly, we have more a than few ministers who lead local congregations who are more than willing to marginalize the necessity of helping their people think theologically. The result is that we have a generation of so called Christians who are merely living out a caricature of the Christian life and who know little of true spirituality.

Sadly, the caricatures are too numerous to list, but lets look at one. You have those who live out what I call the "picture perfect" caricature. This type of Christianity exists with in a vacuum. It seperates itself from the world and begins to create a "Christian" version of the culture which is "safer" for themselves and their families. I wonder if you can follow my train of thought here. In their minds, God exists to make our lives better so long as we live seperated from the world. So we create "Christian" music, shirts, trips, movies, politics and the like all for the sake of trying keep people in the church as if we have created an alternative to the world or mainstream culture. Don't misunderstand me here, there is nothing wrong with any of these things, but the danger is that we lose sight of what it means to be Christian. We have equated obedience to God with our ability to create an "acceptable" Christian world. Instead, we need discerning Christians engaging a broken culture setting a new paradigm for life that can be found in Christ. See the difference?

If we are not careful, all we do once becoming a Christian is trade one list for another. Prior to coming to Christ, we live out a list which we believe ultimately give us the life we want. Sadly, we do the same thing after accepting Christ hoping for the same results. So we go to all the church events and push for more. Depending on what denomination you find yourself in, you will adapt not only the convictions to led to the distinction between them and other Christian denomination, but their cultural trappings as well. This ulimately blurs the lines between what is biblical and what is simply cultural.

Francis Schaeffer found himself struggling with this phenomenon in 40's, 50's and 60's. Disturbed with the effects of theological liberalism on his beloved denomination, he found himself in a fight to preserve it. Sadly, he found himself discontent with some his conservative colleages as he sensed a lack of true spirituality grounded in the Gospel. He was fearful that too many Christians moved beyond the Gospel to some caricature of Christian living. Seeing the power plays of some Christian leaders with in culture and politics discouraged him so much that he founded the L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. Through L'Abri, Schaeffer remained faithful to the Gospel witness by helping people, believer or unbeliever, think biblically (theologically) about the world we live in.

Certainly, Schaeffer continued to fight the cultural battles that affected the Christian witness with in mainstream culture, but he was also concerned with the lack of love and mercy that was being demonstrated in the process. We must remember that all of culture is corrupted by the effects of sin and that no portion of it remains unaffected including media, education, and politics. We must shed the "easy believism" of our day and begin to think critically about the mission God has for the church in culture. We are to be vessels of redemption and grace redeeming culture not merely creating our own "Christian" culture. This is the essence of battle between true Christian spirituality and and legalism.

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A mind is a terrible thing to waste...

I have the privilege of being a child of the great state of Virginia. My brother and I arrogantly refer to it has the colony that begat all others! One of the most notable beacons of my home state is the University of Virginia. Though not the first state funded academic institution (The University of North Carolina holds that honor), it stands as the gold standard in the eyes of many as what a true "public" institution should be. Founded by Thomas Jefferson and inspired by the values of the enlightenment, the vision for UVa was that it would be a truly secular institution driven by the fundamentals of rationalism. Rationalism is the belief that human reason is the ultimate source of knowledge and that the material world is all that matters. In other words, the supernatural or divine are of no avail compared to reason and science. Jefferson took this so seriously that even the original campus was designed to send a message. With the Rotunda housing the library strategically placed at the helm of the original pavilion, (ironically where most chapels would be placed in other institutions) it is lined on each side with both faculty and student housing representing the desire for UVa to be an authentic learning community. The end opposite of the Rotunda was intentionally left open with no buildings as to represent the openness of the human mind as the chief end of man.

We have journeyed many miles as a people since those days. I was recently watching an interview with the daughter of a prominent political dignitary who happens to have strong feminist convictions. There was some discussion regarding Governor Sarah Palin and some of her conservative values. The question was asked as to whether or not Palin potentially being elected as Vice President was a step forward or a step back for women. After attempting to ignore the question for several minutes, she finally admitted that she felt that Palin was not beneficial for women's rights. Sarah Palin being the first woman elected to the second highest office in our land is not a step forward for women? The reason? Could it be because she is a devoted wife and mother of five and she is prolife? These values fly in the face of the majority of modern feminists even though Palin's story rings true for the pioneers of historical feminism and women's suffrage.

So let me get this straight, Palin successfully proving that a woman can devote herself to her family and faith and yet transcend culture and become a successful business woman and elected official sends women back to the inquisition? Wendy Doniger, Professor of History of Religions at the University of Chicago, even went so far as to say that Palin was not a woman because she is not in tune with the real needs of women. Not a woman? Seems to me that she is performing the basic organic and biological functions of a woman yet superseding them.

Now let me ask you, how open is the modern mind? How free is our culture to think openly about truth? Is this even about feminism or something else all together? Ironically, if you were to tour the old campus of UVa today, you find something very astonishing. A walk through the original Academic pavilion would uncover that a building now stands closing off the adjacent end of the common grounds. This building is Cabel Hall which houses a significant portion of the School of Arts and Sciences for the university. I wonder if this represents the "closing of the modern mind?" Is feminism even about women anymore or about destroying what is left of traditional family values. I stand amazed at the depths of our modern culture to ignore its own mantra of freedom and autonomy in thinking and belief while at the same time working so hard to restrict others same freedoms. In the immortal words of Doc Holiday from the classic movie Tombstone, "Tis funny, my hypocrisy knows no bounds."

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Every Home is a Classroom...what are you teaching?

The past several weeks have been extremely draining for the Agnew household. Eight weeks ago we started a new church called Providence Baptist Fellowship. With all the excitement of starting a new church, we had to travel to Virginia to celebrate the life of a woman who has been a spiritual hero of mine since I was child...my Grandma Geneva. She passed away this past weekend at the ripe old age of 91! Though she lived a very simple life, not wanting much, her life spoke volumes to me! Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to spend as much time with her as I would have liked. As I was driving up the mountain to Floyd county, I looked across the landscape and tons of memories flooded my mind. There were the many Agnew family Christmas', hundreds of furniture hunting expeditions and the William's family reunions that the family had off the Blue Ridge Parkway. But there is one memory that I will never forget...my grandma's faith. There was no mistaking in whom she placed here trust. I remember walking into her house and displayed on walls were the many missionaries she help support over seas. She lived the Gospel as well as anyone I knew. It was one of the sweetest funerals I have every participated in.

Driving back to my mom's house after the funeral, my mind went to wondering. When did life get so complicated? When did busyness become the motto of the day? What memories will I instill in the lives my children as they grow up? Will these memories help build a Gospel saturated life style? Of course I came to the momentary conclusion that I needed to move my family back to Virginia to reclaim that sense of simplicity. Later I realized how foolish that idea was and that my children don't need my childhood to grow up in Christian maturity. They do not need to run up and down Goose Creek or go to Colonial Baptist Church to be Christ centered. They need parents who will apply the Bible to every area of life no matter how hard it is to do so.

I found myself guilty of reflecting on only part of the story. Life was just as complicated back then as it is today, but I guess I didn't realize it like my parents did. During my childhood, I witnessed divorce and moved more times before age 18 than I can count, yet some how, God in His divine providence saw fit to equip me with everything I needed for life and godliness.

Life was not so easy for Grandma Geneva either. She saw three of her five children die before they turned forty and the other two found themselves in marriages that would ultimately fail. I realize now what it was that kept her going? It was her faith...her trust in Christ and him alone that saw her through those trying times. Through all the cracks in the pavement of life, God drew me to Himself and showed me how to live.

I guess I realize now that my grandmother was not living in some fairy tale story land as I like to imagine it sometimes. No, she lived the reality of life everyday. She knew what pain, suffering, joy and peace were all about. She lived her faith within the framework of life...all of it. Her life stands in stark contradiction to many "Christian" homes where parents work feverously to build a nice Christian bubble but only find that it will burst when they send their kids off to college. Ironically, as my family and I were driving back to Tennessee, a sign on a church captured both my and Amanda's eye. It said, "Every home is a classroom...What are you teaching?"

Normally, I have a very critical disposition toward tacky church "one-liners." This time it was different. This statement had truth at its core. What am I teaching my son (and future son or daughter) about life? How do you deal with pain and suffering? How do you live with joy? What is joy anyway? How do I prepare them for life's battles?

I know one thing, I don't ever want to teach them to pretend that life is not hard. If I learned one thing from by Grandma Geneva, I want to teach my children to engage all of life, the good and the bad, with the grit of the Gospel.

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