I'll Be Back Soon
My study week is nearly over.
The family & I will be traveling to Iowa once again this weekend. It's the 150th anniversary of the church where I interned so many years ago (Polk City EFC, Polk City, Iowa). I'm sure we'll see lots of old, familiar faces (emphasis upon the word "old", without a doubt!).
I should be back on a somewhat regular schedule (depends how much fiber this blog software consumes) next week.
In the mean time, enjoy a bit of humor about blogging...
Still Gone... kind of
1. Sermon planning: I'm going to start preaching through Ephesians this fall and really want to get some good advance work done on this wonderful book of Scripture. I'll dig into commentaries for Intro, Background, etc., etc. I'll also start doing the head-banging work of exegesis with the Greek. Over that past year or so, I've been polishing my Greek, but there are still some rusty spots and this will be another excellent opportunity for me to keep on scrubbing the rust.
2. Reading:
I fell off the
Read the Puritans bandwagon
this
year. But I am jumping on board the
Challies' train with
Edwards' Religious
Affections. I
once wen through this great work with a group of
pastors down in Iowa. I've wanted to read it again
and this is as good an opportunity as any. Who knows,
there may be a study or a sermon series coming out of
it.
3. Reading:
I've also just begun reading When Sinners Say I
Do. I've
read good reviews of it, but I have a far more
pragmatic motivation at heart: my daughter got
engaged over the Fourth of July and I'll have them
each read this work at some time during the next
year. I've already gleaned some good thoughts for the
wedding meditation next June.
4. Ministry
Planning: I'm just
not very good at this. I know the plans I have for
me. I know the plans I have for the church. I know
the plans I have for my elders and deacons. I just
have to convince them all, and of course, God, that
these are the best possible plans for all of us
together. I'll be an easy sell... duh! The church
might not be too difficult, but the elders &
deacons will be a bit harder task. And then there's
God. If He'd just let me rule this little part of the
world for about three minutes! Wow, did any of you
hear that huge clap of thunder? Must be a sudden
storm moving through.
So... it's come to this
A pastor is "selling" himself and his family on ebay.
Deplorable. Despicable. Outrageous. Woeful.
And I think I'll even add sinful.
It would be bad enough for him to "sell" himself and his "services" to the highest bidder. Yet he doesn't stop there... he goes on to add his family to this ignominy. I don't know whether they all agreed to this or not (I'm assuming they did). Beyond this, there are too few details to know what he wants out of this, except he wants a church that is untraditional. Well, look at the pictures he offers of, what? I guessing these are visual aids for his sermons? Untraditional would be one of the least powerful words I would use, but oh well.
Maybe I'm too traditional. Maybe I'm too old. Maybe my mind just won't get "out of the box" to think this way. When I read passages about pastoral ministry, however, I find it difficult to see where "untraditional" is one of the most sought after characteristics to be seen in a pastoral candidate. It's not even there in the Greek text. You do the searching, at least in these two passages:
1 Timothy 3.1-7, ESV
Titus
1.5-9, ESV
Titus
2.1-8, ESV
Oh well.
I've been wrong before and will be again. And I've no
doubt it will get pointed out to me by someone, if I
tag this post appropriately. So get ready for
it.
2Tim.
4.1-5,
ESV I
charge you in the presence of God and of Christ
Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and
by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be
ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke,
and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For
the time is coming when people will not endure sound
teaching, but having itching ears they will
accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own
passions, and will turn away from listening to the
truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always
be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Excitement and Relaxation
I know some "famous" bloggers who never take a day off; in fact, they've set a goal for themselves that they should never take a day off from blogging. Personally, I think this is an unbiblical philosophy of blogging. We all need rest. God created us to rest. And while resting, to rest in fullness of trust that He is God and He can run the world pretty well without our help. That goes for blogging. I think we need a rest from it: from posting and from the reading of blogs. Maybe I'll expand this thought more another day, 'cuz right now, I'm on vacation. I'll be taking a bit of a break from posting serious stuff. If I post, it'll be about vacation stuff. Or more exciting news...
... like my daughter's engagement!
Instead of
taking up the bandwidth here, here's where you can go
to see some of the Fourth of July goings-on that
involved Devon Soule's proposal to our daughter,
Rebecca: My
Gallery
Devon is a
very wonderful Christian young man. I couldn't have
been more privileged when he called me two weeks ago
and asked if he could "get together and talk". Since
I knew where that conversation would go, of course I
said yes. Ann and I consider ourselves to be very
blessed because of this relationship. Making a long
story very short, from where Rebecca had been a year
ago, this is truly a work of God's grace in her life.
To have such a godly young man ask you to marry him
is a gift indeed. We are very excited.
Where Was Christ?
This
was one of the first questions I asked myself
halfway through a funeral I attended recently. I
really didn't know the deceased, but I did know
a couple of the immediate family members. I
can't comment on the young man's faith, or lack
thereof. I simply did not know if he had ever
professed belief in Christ as His Savior and
Lord. I do know this: I sensed a disturbing lack of Christ during the service. From the attendees (decorum and a few words overheard), to the singing, to the liturgy followed, to memories shared and even to the short message, there was a distinct sense that Christ was absent. Oh sure, the reverend spoke of Christ during the prayers clearly read (I'm not against written prayers... if they're read with great heart's passion unto the One to whom we're praying; but when they are read with dread and drab lips, with withered heart that seems not to know how to even pray a liturgical prayer with heart & soul & mind - what the Puritans would have called "affection" - unto God, then I don't have much time for it). He mentioned Christ during his short homily, that Christ was the way, the truth and the life; that Christ died for our sins and that faith in Him was necessary for us all. We even sang "Amazing Grace" as the funeral procession came into the sanctuary.
But memories shared of the deceased were devoid of any Christian testimony. I'll not take away from the obvious: he loved his wife, he loved all those around him unconditionally (really? I can barely do that). I'm sure it was moving that the last sight his sister would ever have of him was him flipping her the "bird" as they parted ways because she knew he loved her. There were obviously special meanings to two recorded songs that were played:
"Good
Riddance (Time Of Your Life)"
by Green
Day
Another
turning point, a fork stuck in the
road
Time
grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to
go
So
make the best of this test, and don't ask
why
It's
not a question, but a lesson learned in
time
It's
something unpredictable, but in the end it's
right.
I
hope you had the time of your
life.
So
take the photographs, and still frames in your
mind
Hang
it on a shelf in good health and good
time
Tattoos
of memories and dead skin on
trial
For
what it's worth it was worth all the
while
It's
something unpredictable, but in the end it's
right.
I
hope you had the time of your
life.
It's
something unpredictable, but in the end it's
right.
I
hope you had the time of your
life.
It's
something unpredictable, but in the end it's
right.
I
hope you had the time of your
life.
And this
one too:
Lonely Day
lyrics
by System
of A Down
Such a
lonely day
And
its mine
The
most loneliest day of my life
Such a
lonely day
Should
be banned
It's
a day that I can't stand
The
most loneliest day of my life
The
most loneliest day of my life
Such a
lonely day
Shouldn't
exist
It's
a day that I'll never miss
Such
a lonely day
And
its mine
The
most loneliest day of my life
And if
you go, I wanna go with you
And
if you die, I wanna die with
you
Take
your hand and walk away
The
most loneliest day of my life
The
most loneliest day of my life
The
most loneliest day of my life
Life
Such a
lonely day
And
its mine
It's
a day that I'm glad I
survived
Apparently,
he loved music (and not to be disrespectful, but
apparently any kind of music, especially that with
really awful lyrics). Probably very moving to some
closest to him, but at a funeral? I don't think
so.
I know
this is probably a dangerous post. Commenting about a
funeral is risky; it's a very sensitive time of life
for those who remain. But if there is going to be a
"celebration of life" (words directed to us in
attendance of how to think of this gathering), then
let's do just that: celebrate the reason any of us
have life, any of us can have eternal life, and
celebrate the One who sustains our very life this
instant. Proclaim Christ, my brother pastor. Proclaim
Christ boldly, with confidence, not with Casper
Milquetoast whispers and emotive phrases that mean
nothing because they're devoid of the Living Word of
God. Proclaim Christ in the songs, in the hymns, in
the prayers. If the one who has passed from this life
really knew Christ, then tell those who have gathered
to remember him that he knew Christ savingly,
lovingly, longingly. If he didn't know Christ; if all
he had ever done was get baptized when he was an
infant, yet never darkened the door of God's Church
again, then still, proclaim Christ. Confess our
righteousness for the dirty, filthy, putrid pile of
rags that it is. Confess our sins, for the
wrath-deserving stuff of the pit they are. Confess
that it is only through the blood and righteousness
of Christ that we are saved. For God's sake, for
Christ's sake, and for the sake of those who
attended, dead even though breathing - proclaim
Christ.
I know it
is highly unlikely that any who attended that funeral
would ever stumble across this blog. However, if you
do and you recognize it from my description, I do ask
two things:
First,
please forgive me if I have caused you hurt and pain.
That was not my intent, but sadly, I have learned
that even the best intentions go
awry.
Second,
allow that hurt to drive you to Christ and His cross.
Look up from the weight of the burden of sin, see Him
who died there for your life and trust Him. Let Him
remove that awful encumbrance from you; know the
lightness of freedom in Christ and rejoice. Then go
tell others.
Couldn't Let This One Pass
“A man is not saved because he believes in Christ; he believes in Christ because he is saved.”
- Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Philadelphia, PA: P&R Publishing, 1965), 101.
It cause me to think of the "Ordo Salutis" (that's "order of salvation" for all you Latin neophytes, like me!)
Well, Duh!
Gene Veith had this excerpt from this article. I don't usually just "copy" from other blogs, but this one really takes the cake. There are times I enjoy the fact that America "sticks it's nose" into other countries' business. Then, there are these doofuses (is that the right plural spelling?) who's noses ought to be put somewhere else. Read it.