I’m tired tonight! After a weekend trying to keep up with the youth at the Creation Museum and now trying to keep up with my three young kids the last couple days here in Louisville, I am tired. But I am also excited!
Today has been the best day in my experiences at Southern Baptist annual conventions. It got off to a rocky start with a crazy report from the Executive Committee that was just irresponsible. Despite theological disagreement with someone, I have to be honest with their position and represent it well. Needless to say that didn’t happen for of my brothers and sisters this morning.
Things got worse as Mark Driscoll apparently became the anti-Christ and all of those those associated with him became vilified to the point of needing to have them investigated. As I have said before, I do not agree with everything that comes out of “that fella’s” mouth (sorry, had to be there today!). Nevertheless, my disagreements are on secondary issues. I can wholeheartedly affirm Driscoll’s grasp of the gospel and the passion with which he reaches the lost. But many apparently can’t because of sins he’s already publicly confessed and repented of. 
With a fear of what the rest of the convention would hold, I drove to Sojourn Community Church. There I had to move a stack free books to sit down and eat a Chick-Fil-A lunch purchased by Dr Johnny Hunt himself. As I ate the best chicken sandwich in the world, I listened to Daniel Montgomery, Daniel Akin, Ed Statzer, Albert Mohler, Mark Dever and David Platt talk about the future of the SBC. It was here that my fear turned to hope. Here were humble men who clearly loved Southern Baptists, but loved God more. So much more that they would do almost anything for his Church – the one for which his Son died.
The practical wisdom and evident concern for God and his will caused me to long for something better for my life, my church, and the SBC.
After more odd resolutions were presented for all manner of things (like officially adopting the Christian flag as some sort of denominational banner), I was still holding my breath for the evening vote. It was then that that we would discuss and vote on the motion concerning the Great Commission Resurgence. This is the call issued by our convention president and seminary president, Daniel Akin, for our convention to look at better focusing our efforts at winning the world for Christ.
Would the SBC continue to be business as usual, while we decline in reaching the lost, perhaps being bad stewards of Cooperative program dollars in the process? Or would they trust the leadership of godly men who were calling for a Great Commission Resurgence that would help inspire lay people to share Christ and better serve our missionaries around the world? After one vitriolic “against” and other less intense arguments for and against, we voted.
This year the Southern Baptists overwhelmingly said we cannot continue to do business as usual and approved the motion for a Great Commission Resurgence task force to be appointed by President Hunt.
There is much work to be done, and no one knows exactly what will become of this Great Commission Resurgence. Nevertheless, today I was proud to be a Southern Baptist.
Just got back from a visit with our church’s youth to the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky. I’m now sitting in Louisville getting ready for the SBC tomorrow. Here’s some pics of our trip.
Everyone is posting about their summer reading right now. Truth be told, I don’t have time for much extra reading in the summer! However, I will be on a “working vacation” (at the national SBC part of the time) and plan to get some extra reading done in a week and a half. Here’s what is on the list.
I may not get through them all, but it will be fun trying without the pressing need to prepare for preaching and teaching.
As June is now upon us, Southern Baptists are thinking about many things, including the national Southern Baptist Convention. Every year there seems to be a major issue that everyone is buzzing about. This year I believe that issue concerns the call for a Great Commission Resurgence.
For all of my SB friends and pastors out there, I would ask you to consider this issue before you head to the Convention this year.
(For background to this discussion and call for a resurgenc, see Timmy Brister’s excellent post).
Relevance is the holy grail sought by many pastors today. In a recent interview, Tullian Tchividjian spoke about the key to achieving a ‘relevant’ ministry in today’s world.
I would say that to be truly relevant you have to say things that are timeless, not trendy. That’s what I would say. I address this in the book, that in order to be truly relevant you have to be otherworldly. You have to operate according to a different ethic, that there is a deep relevance to being irrelevant, so to speak.
When we try too hard to fit in we actually become irrelevant because we’re not saying anything different. I mean it’s almost like we lose our voice. We lose our unique niche, the church does, when we’re trying too hard to fit in. We become indistinguishable from a world that desperately wants something different.
If you just look around at the world today, and you read a quote which piggybacks on what I’m about to say, but if you look around at the world today, the world is desperately crying out for something otherworldly. I mean the fascination with sort of pop spirituality, angels, aliens, all those sorts of things indicate that there is a deep longing in the human soul that craves something beyond this world. Well, when Christians put their greatest tool up on the shelf in the name of being relevant, we end up becoming really, really irrelevant. And, I have to wonder sometimes about whether or not Christians and pastors who try so hard to fit in and be relevant are really doing it because they have a deep passion to reach the world or if they have a deep passion to be accepted. And I know that’s a struggle that I find. I can try so hard to be fashionable and be cool and fit in and do it under the guise of I’m trying to reach the world, but I know what’s going on in my heart. I know what’s really going on. What’s really going on is I just want the world to think I’m cool. I don’t want people around me to think I’m odd and unfashionable and strange. I want them to think I’m like them. Like I can be cool, too. Christians can be cool, too.
Read more of Ed Stetzer’s interview with Tchividjian about culture and ministry here. Buy the book Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different.
Earlier today, Justin Taylor posted a quote from a forthcoming book by Douglas Sweeney entitled, Jonathan Edwards and the 
Ministry of the Word: A Model of Faith and Thought. It highlights one of the points Sweeney makes from the life of Edwards; namely, that theology should be done in the context of the church, namely pastors. Here’s the quote:
In the early twenty-first century, when many pastors have abdicated their responsibilities as theologians, and many theologians do their work in a way that is lost on the people of God, we need to recover Edwards’ model of Christian ministry. Most best theologians in the history of the church were parish pastors. Obviously, however, this is not the case today. Is it any wonder, then, that many struggle to think about their daily lives theologically, and often fail to understand the basics of the faith? I want to be realistic here. A certain amount of specialization is inevitable in complex, market-driven economies. And the specialization of roles within God’s kingdom can enhance our Christian ministries. But when our pastors spend the bulk of their time on organizational matters, and professors spend the bulk of their time on intramural academics, no one is left to do the crucial work of shaping God’s people with the Word. Perhaps our pastors and professors, Christian activists and thinkers, need to collaborate more regularly in ministry. Perhaps the laity need to give their pastors time to think and write–for their local congregations and the larger kingdom of God.
I thought it was important to re-post this quote, rather than simply point to it because this is the very thing that caused the creation of this blog in the first place. My desire is to be like the apostle Paul and so many other pastors and churchmen throughout history – a man who is fully devoted to the service of Christ’s Church, who ministers with the mind of a theologian and the heart of a pastor.
This kind of pastor-theologian is, unfortunately, rare these days. But I regularly pray that God will not only mold me into that pattern, but that he would raise up other pastor-theologians as well. Too often pastors renounce study and learning and the pursuit of precision in their understanding of the Bible’s theology in the name of ministering to people – as if you could somehow separate the two! The truth is, a minister is only able to care for his people as God intends if he has grasped intensely and embraced deeply the great truths of the Bible. It’s the lovingly and passionately proclaimed doctrines of the Scriptures – in the pulpit, in counseling sessions, and in homes – that brings hope to despairing hearts and joy to grieving souls. This is not only what the Bible itself says but has been my own experience, seeing doctrines like justification by grace alone, in Christ alone bring healing to marriages.
Therefore, as pastors let us be men of the book! Let us drink deeply of the great theological truths God has given us. Let us be found in hospital rooms, counseling sessions, and in the study. Let us be pastor-theologians for the good of God’s Church and the glory of his name.
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. . . . For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” (Psalm 84:1-2; 10-12)
Can you imagine how much different our lives would be if we lived as if we really believed this was true!
UPDATE: Video fixed!
I just switched to a new theme so the place may reflect some cyber dust as I remodel over the next day or two. Blessings!
Having recently preached a series on the doctrine of salvation (from original sin to glorification), I read through several books in a short amount of time. While there are many great books out there on specific aspects of salvation and salvation in general, these are the one that I found to be the quickest to repay my time reading them.
These are the best of the best, as it were. They not only filled my head with excellent biblical theology, they also moved my heart me to passionate, Christ-centered doxology.
Incidentally, these are not just great for sermon preparation, they would also make excellent reading for any Christian who would desire to better appreciate the Bible’s teaching on the salvation God has graciously given his people in Christ.
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The Cross of Christ by John Stott
This book is considered a classic and it’s easy to see why. Stott was right on target on all matters related to the atonement itself (doctrines like propitiation, justification, redemption). He not only provided clear exegesis but also presented the doctrines with an apologetic dimension that was also helpful give the amount of books critiquing biblical views of the atonement these days.
Finally Alive by John Piper
This was a excellent read on the under-served doctrine of regeneration. The chapters of this book began as a series of sermons, which only adds to the book’s value. Piper writes with a theologian’s mind and a pastor’s heart. The book somehow felt both like vintage Piper and a fresh work all at the same time.
Knowing God by J. I. Packer
Another book considered a classic. That reputation is well-deserved; this book should be on every book shelf. While there is much of value in this work about salvation, as far as this series goes, though, Packer was a superb help on the doctrine of adoption. There is nothing else that so presents the glories of God’s adopting love towards his people.
The Mortification of Sin by John Owen
Another classic (there’s a reason they’e called that). This was surprisingly easy to read and offered both biblical understanding as well as practical help on the matter of sanctification. Packer also leaves his mark on this work, providing an introduction for this edition that was biogrpahical in nature and amazingly helpful.
The Hope of Future Glory by Tom Barnes
This was a surprise treat, as I had never heard of Barnes as an author before coming across this book. He has clealy done his work, providing an amazing amount of biblical information in an easily digestable way. He presents the doctrine of glorification in such a way that he hopes Christians will be built up in their faith by knowing it better. Excellent for writing a sermon on the “hope of glory.”
The Message of Salvation by Philip Ryken, and 
The Cross and Salvation by Bruce Demarest
Both of these book were great as “catch-alls” picking up on themes and elements of salvation not covered in the other books listed (e.g. election, justification, etc). Though both cover the doctrines of salvation, they approach it 
different and provide a great supplimkent to each other. What Ryken does from a pastoral perspective (the chapters feel like sermons), Demarest does from a theologians perspective. Demarest presents the general idea of the doctrine, followed by different historical understanding of it, ending with his exegesis of the relvant passage to provide his summary of the Bible’s teaching on the matter. Both of these books became standard works for me.
