Taking God Seriously

J.I. Packer: Taking God Seriously from Crossway on Vimeo.

In Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know, J. I. Packer writes:

As the years go by, I am increasingly burdened by the sense that the more conservative church people in the West, Protestant and Roman Catholic alike, are, if not starving, at least grievously undernourished for lack of a particular pastoral ministry that was a staple item in the church life of the first Christian centuries and also of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation era in Western Europe, but has largely fallen out of use in recent days. That ministry is called catechesis. It consists of intentional, orderly instruction in the truths that Christians are called to live by, linked with equally intentional and orderly instruction on how they are to do this.

In the video above, Packer reflects on this “undernourishment” that many Christians suffer from, challenging us to take our faith and God’s Word seriously.

From Crossway Books

Fuller Theological Seminary To Offer Course In Tap Dancing | The Sacred Sandwich

Here's some interesting news: Fuller Theological Seminary To Offer Course In Tap Dancing

Fuller Theological Seminary announced today that a course in tap dancing will be added to the curriculum of their Master of Divinity program this spring. Don Ohlson, a spokesperson for Fuller, explained the reason behind the new addition: “We believe that in this postmodern climate of tolerance and political civility it is important to train our future pastors to be able to dance around biblical issues when necessary.”...

After a little discussion about Rick Warren's need for this training, the article goes on to say:

The new Fuller class, Pastoral Tap Dance, will be held off-campus at Little Miss Starlet Dance Academy and Tanning Salon, with instruction by former Rockette,
Tammi Lynn Marple. Marple, who has taught the academy’s “Beginning Tap for our
Year Olds and Up” class for twenty years, suggests that the Fuller seminary students who enroll should bring a juice box for break time and have their mommies or daddies drop them off five minutes early so they have time to warm up.

It's a joke, people. Lighten Up!
(Love that Sacred Sandwich)

Scholarly Pastors

Can I give a big shout out and Amen to this opinion expressed by Gerald Hiestand at "Straight Up" Pastor? Scholar? Why Choose?

Athanasius, Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Wesley, Edwards—men whose enduring legacies have shaped the landscape of contemporary theological thought. Their reflection was deep, their intellect profound, their passion remarkable, and their influence vast. And these great thinkers not only impacted the intellectuals of their day, but were followed and admired by the laity as well. What was it about these men that established them as such significant theologians? What made them so effective in sparking revival, bolstering faith, and reforming the Church?

Though diverse in their theologies, all of these men shared a common and significant mark of distinction—they were churchmen. They were bishops and preachers, pastors and founders of denominations, shepherd of souls. Though not all of them were formally pastors in the sense we understand today, their social, theological, and intellectual life was inseparably woven into the fabric of parish ministry. They were practitioners as much as theologians. Living among the people for whom they wrote and thought, the press and weight of parish life drove the questions that their theology sought to answer. And they were loved by their people because they resided among them, and because the questions that panged the heart of their parishioners, panged also their own. They were churchmen first, and theologians second, and the former gave birth to the latter.

The legacy of such great men teaches us the value of uniting the role of pastor with that of theologian; yet a resounding absence of such a union marks the church today. Our most significant theologians now reside almost exclusively in the academy. To be sure, the rise of the academy requires thoughtful academic theologians who live and move in that environment. But is it best that virtually all of our theologians have moved to the academy? There is a need for a renaissance of the pastor-theologian, pastors who endeavor to do theology from the pastor’s study and not solely the professor’s lectern. Not every pastor is called to a life of scholarship. Nor is every professor called to the pastorate. But many young people today feel the pull between a life of scholarship and the life of the church. It is to our detriment if we force such individuals to choose between these two callings.

The application for this short reflection is simple: if you find yourself to be that unique sort of person who longs to produce thoughtful scholarship on the one hand, and yet feels called into pastoral ministry on the other, don’t choose between the two. Bring these two passions together. The evangelical academy needs you in the church, producing scholarship that speaks immediately and directly to ecclesial concerns. After all, the most significant task of the evangelical divinity school is training future pastors; who better to write theology for training pastors than pastor-scholars?

I agree. Consider yourself Amened!

80% of New Preachers Will Leave The Ministry Within 5 Years

The Southern Baptist Seminary blog site "Said at Southern" reports 80% Will Leave The Ministry Within 5 Years

80% of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.

People Skills = Godliness + Peacemaking

The failure point seem to be “people skills” and more specifically dealing with sinful people. So if you want to beat the odds, become a peacemaker.

Good advice; much easier said than done and much more often said than done. Let's all pray for our pastors and leaders; they need God's grace every day.

Gospel-Centered Assimilation

Pastor Joe Thorn has an interesting concept on his blog called Gospel-Centered Assimilation.
His concept is to tie all stages and aspects of assimilation of non-believers into new Christians and on into church membership and following Jesus under the Gospel message. He lists four stages:

Gospel Encounter
The first sphere is a gospel encounter. At every event, in all our gatherings and ministries, and in even our homes as we practice hospitality, we expect visitors to encounter the gospel in word and/or deed. This is something we are completely in control of. While we cannot ensure that an individual will embrace the gospel, we can ensure the gospel is demonstrated through works of mercy, preached in our worship gatherings, seen in our parenting, fellowship and dialog with the world.

The unchurched, non-Christian and the mature believer who has walked with Christ for decades will both encounter the gospel. A gospel encounter is not dependent on a particular program, but can use them as appropriate. The point is that in every point of entry to the body (worship gathering, mercy ministry, etc.) the gospel is exalted and people are in some way confronted with it.

Gospel Experience
The second stage of assimilation for us is experiencing the gospel. This is out of our control, but is the aim of all our ministry. By gospel experience I mean people are not only confronted with the gospel, but are in some way affected by it. Conviction of sin, seeking God, and eventually faith and repentance (conversion) are progressive goals. There is overlap between the gospel encounter and gospel experience, for some will have been prepared for this in advance, and some will be Christian. Therefore, some who come into our midst will encounter and experience the gospel immediately. Others will experience it later as they continue with us.

For many of our visitors, the first two stages of assimilation focus on the gospel and them as individuals and families. People are more the recipients of the gospel, rather than the servants of it.

Gospel Service
The second stage in assimilating into the church is gospel service - where people begin to see the gospel as something not just for them, but for everyone. Consequently they begin participating and serving with the church in her mission. It is our goal and expectation that everyone at Redeemer will participate in and serve both the body and the community with the gospel. At some point in this stage covenant membership is expected. How a church moves forward with membership varies greatly, but I like the idea of a class or classes to help in this aspect of assimilation.

Gospel Calling
As believers are growing in grace the church must work to help individuals identify their spiritual gift, mature as followers of Christ, be able to reproduce themselves via discipleship, lead in whatever capacity God has equipped them, and determine what God has called them to (in church life, family, vocation, etc.).

I like Joe's thinking - and also his cool hand-drawn diagrams! This post ties to his earlier one on his Full Church Paradigm ( again with a diagram!) which I wrote about here.

It's about time we all realized that the message of the cross is not just how we get into the Kingdom but where and how we live in the Kingdom. The church is the community of the Cross. The Gospel of the Cross is not just a bridge we cross over but a bridge between heaven and earth where we live.

Seven Reasons To Study Church History

I've been a fan and proponent of the study of church history most of my life- even taught a class in the subject 26 years ago. Therefore, I was glad to see this post at Tim Challies' blog, Seven Reasons To Study the Church's Past. Tim Says:

As I’ve read about the first-century church, I’ve been struck by the blessedness of living in this generation—our generation. As I study the very early Christians I begin to see again just what a legacy we have as Christ followers. The faith as we know it today was not simply handed to us, but was painstakingly developed over hundreds and thousands of years. The Scriptures have been closely studied through all of those years and the general pattern has been incremental steps forward and often large steps backward. Sometimes God sees fit to allow the church to take a giant step forward, as in the days of the Reformation, but more often the church has slowly and deliberately developed doctrine that accords to Scripture. Today we have unprecedented access to the Scripture and to resources dealing with the Bible. For this we ought to be profoundly grateful.

The seven reasons to study church history Tim presents are:

1. God Tells Us To
2. To Understand Today
3. To Understand Tomorrow
4. To Understand Providence
5. To Understand Error
6. To Understand People
7. To Understand Endurance

Every believer should have at least some knowledge of the history of the church. Irenaeus, Augustine, Athanasius, Boniface, Benedict, Francis, Hus, Wycliffe, Luther, Wesley and Spurgeon are part of the heritage of us all. Let's get better acquainted!

Speaking of Christian History, Ben Witherington has been traveling in Turkey and posting some great pictures of early Christian sites. Wednesday he had photos of the Church of St. Nicholas at Pirene here. Earlier he posted lovely pictures of Nicea, site of the first great Ecumenical Council in 325 AD.

Update: See Article at The Christian Century on the abysmal ignorance of church history among American Christians.

I Recommend: Theological Word of the Day

Interested in improving your theological knowledge? Want to learn some new vocabulary?

Check out the Theological Word of the Day Learn some new words and terms like "Natural Revelation," "Epistemology," "Ontology," etc. Learn about great events and people in the history and development of Christian Theology, such as the "Council of Chalcedon,"or "John Wycliffe." All of the above and so much more is presented in short daily entries that someone without a seminary education can understand.

Words matter! Let's all learn some new ones.

Spirituality: Scholarship Applied to the Heart

Jonathan Leeman at Church Matters: The 9Marks Blog writes about and reveals something i had not known about one of my Theological mentors, George Eldon Ladd. Dr. Ladd's writings helped form my understanding of Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of God, from the time I first read him 30 years ago in college to my recent reading of his A Theology of the New Testament.

A new biography of Ladd by John D'Elia reveals that Ladd, in the words of Leeman, sank "into depression and alcoholism because he could not gain the mainstream academy’s approval." How sad! What a warning to all of us that Biblical and Theological knowledge does not, in and of itself, exempt us from the possibility of sinful and self destructive behaviors. Leeman writes:

What a tragedy—to know God’s freeing truth in Christ in your scholarship so well, but to fail to apply that freedom to you own heart!

Leeman goes on to challenge all Seminary professors, that one of them needs to write a book for theological students on the dangers of seeking academic approval over Christian spirituality.

In your booklet, tell them that, as scholars and pastors, we should seek eternal credentials and accolades, not temporal ones. Tell them that the mystique of the academy is a trap and a lie.

Remind them that Elijah never sent Elisha off to the Assyrian academies, and Paul presumably never considered funding Timothy through the schools of Athens, in order to fit such men for the ministry. The thought is unimaginable. No, remind them that the scholarship they will do should only seek to clarify further a message that’s considered foolish and a stumbling block. If they intend to follow their Savior, their path is persecution, not praise. So challenge them to join you in suffering for the gospel, like Paul explicitly challenged Timothy.

Suggest to them that if, by God’s strange providence, one of them finds himself training in an institution which happens to garner worldly respectability, like Daniel and the three Hebrew boys in the palaces and academies of Babylon, that they would do well to abstain from eating at the king’s table and cozying up to the king’s banter. It’s a danger zone; it’s enemy territory; so keep praying in the direction of the Holy City.

Encourage them to ground themselves in the ministry of the local church. There’s nothing like the challenges of living and ministering together with fellow sinners in “real life” to bring the Bible’s claims into life-or-death reality. Also, you might encourage them to place themselves beneath a pastor or professor who demonstrates an indifference to the praise of people, the kind of man of whom the world is not worthy. How often does it seem like the young man who wanders off, enticed by the guild’s adulterous call to lie down in her Ivy perfumed sheets, is the pitiable one who has never been loved and nurtured by an older, wiser shepherd.

Brothers, will one of you write this booklet? Consider the possibility that it might be used to save a sheep from wandering off into a ravine and, what’s more, bring a whole flock with him. I’m tired of hearing those stories. Every one grieves my heart. Indeed, I know the temptations to hear the praise of men myself. That’s why we need one of you to write such a booklet, one that will remind us all with the words of Luther, “There are two days on my calendar, today and that day."

Amen. I'd read it. God help me to live it.