Linds and I with Chuck E.
The Tanners on the rail cart game.
Mr. Wright playing Pod-Racer.
I even had the classic Chuck E Cheese experience of picking up someone else's drink and drinking out of it. Yuck!
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Chuck E Cheese
Well, for my 7th birthday about 20-25 of us adults went to Chuck E Cheese. I don't think it was awkward for anyone else, but it was at first for me. After a while though we warmed up and were having an awesome time! Here are a few pics;) Enjoy!
Linds and I with Chuck E.
The Tanners on the rail cart game.
Mr. Wright playing Pod-Racer.
I even had the classic Chuck E Cheese experience of picking up someone else's drink and drinking out of it. Yuck!
Linds and I with Chuck E.
The Tanners on the rail cart game.
Mr. Wright playing Pod-Racer.
I even had the classic Chuck E Cheese experience of picking up someone else's drink and drinking out of it. Yuck!
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Emerging Brilliance!!! Kurt Rosenwinkel
For my birthday last night over twenty of us went to Chuck E Cheeses'. Whenever people would ask me what I thought of it before we went I said, "I think it will be awkwardly fun." Well, it was a blast...in total we accumulated approximately 2,500 tickets!!! Wow.
Well, I'm not so much into the Emerging Church, but I am into the "Emerging Brilliance" of Kurt Rosenwinkel!
Today Linds and I are headed to NYC for a fun day there. Tonight we are going to go to the Village Vanguard to see Kurt Rosenwinkel play! Awesome!!
Here's a quick clip of him playing (in order for the soloing at the beginning to make sense you may want to watch it twice):
Then tomorrow morning we are going to Redeemer Presbyterian to hear the Word preached. Promises to be a great weekend!!
I'm still planning on posting something on unity...it's just been a busy couple of weeks.
Well, I'm not so much into the Emerging Church, but I am into the "Emerging Brilliance" of Kurt Rosenwinkel!
Today Linds and I are headed to NYC for a fun day there. Tonight we are going to go to the Village Vanguard to see Kurt Rosenwinkel play! Awesome!!
Here's a quick clip of him playing (in order for the soloing at the beginning to make sense you may want to watch it twice):
Then tomorrow morning we are going to Redeemer Presbyterian to hear the Word preached. Promises to be a great weekend!!
I'm still planning on posting something on unity...it's just been a busy couple of weeks.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Bob Fu Recipient of the 2007 John Leland Religious Liberty Award!
The organization I work for, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, awarded the 2007 John Leland Religious Liberty Award to a brother in Christ named Bob Fu. I was able to attend the ceremony yesterday at the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building in one of the members' of Congress rooms. There were approximately 70 people there. The 2006 award was given to George W. Bush in the oval office. It was a blessing to learn more about Mr. Fu's organization China Aid Association.
[At the right is a picture of Richard Land with Bob Fu]
Dr. Richard Land presented the award, and Congressman Trent Franks co-hosted the event. Bob Fu spoke for approximately an hour and he gave a moving testimony. It was a sobering call to all of us to fight for religious freedom. Here are a few excerpts from his speech:
He described later in his talk that he was not a Christian yet, and that when he was a university student he was actively involved in the student's democratic movement in 1989. During this time he was considering a suicide campaign to kill those in the government who betrayed him; however he said, "one night in the classroom, I was given a small booklet which was smuggled in from Hong Kong by my American English teacher. It was a testimony of a pastor. I was fascinated and finished reading it with one breath." He could remember the following passage the most:
He described that he hadn't received a Bible until a year later and, yet he became a believer in the authority of the Bible because he knew somehow that these words were from the Bible. Next he described his motivation for much of what they do in the China Aid Association.
This was a heavy comment to make emotionally. This man loves the people of China. It was moving... His emotion stopped him for long periods of time as he said the following words:
He further remarked about how the official TSPM churches are not signs of true religious freedom as they are controlled by the Chinese government and they are not trusted by over 60-80 million Chinese Christians. Further, how China Aid is wrongly seen as hostile to the Chinese government, because Christianity and other peaceful religious groups do not need to be "controlled" and are not a threat to the government, but rather, are one of the needed building blocks for stability and can provide much needed help for promoting non-violence during the current time of transition in China's history.
He pointed out an example of this in the problems that the cultic group "Eastern Lightening" poses to the Chinese government:
He argued that the Christian community can provide much needed social services as well. He said, "This would be a win-win scenario for the Chinese government."
He then gave a brief history of China and Christianity, pointed out that there is a shortsightedness in some house churches and that they need to face their problems honestly. Lastly, he said at the end, "May God continue to bless China and America!"
It was an excellent presentation and I pray that the Lord will bless their ministry to bring the gospel to many people. The only critique I would have of the afternoon is that the gospel was not as clearly presented as I would have liked it to have been. That God is perfect, unmade, holy. That all mankind has fallen into sin and deserves eternal punishment in the presence of God's righteous wrath. That Jesus Christ came into the world as being fully God and fully man and died as a substitute for those who would repent and believe in the gospel. He came to earth...lived, died and rose again after three days. We must repent and believe in this the gospel!
There really was much more to the speech...you can check it out here. Further, you can download a copy of their 2007 persecution report here. I consider it an honor to have learned about China Aid Association and the wonderful work that God is doing through them. May Christ be magnified in bringing His sheep to him through the China Aid Association's preaching of the gospel!
[At the right is a picture of Richard Land with Bob Fu]
Dr. Richard Land presented the award, and Congressman Trent Franks co-hosted the event. Bob Fu spoke for approximately an hour and he gave a moving testimony. It was a sobering call to all of us to fight for religious freedom. Here are a few excerpts from his speech:
"I was born and grew up in China. My mom met my dad when she was begging [for] food in his village because of extreme poverty in [the] 1950's. I remember, as a young boy living in [the] Shandong province in northeast China, as my mother was slowly dying of her lung disease caused by starvation, I begged a local doctor, even offering myself as his bond servant for life if he would just help provide medicine for my mother to get well. As he shut the door on me and I walked away with a broken heart, I remember falling on the ground behind a barn in my home yard and in the only way I knew how, praying to a higher power to help me and to help my mother. I prayed that one day my poor mom and I could get some equal status with my other fellow villagers, no matter how poor or rich."
He described later in his talk that he was not a Christian yet, and that when he was a university student he was actively involved in the student's democratic movement in 1989. During this time he was considering a suicide campaign to kill those in the government who betrayed him; however he said, "one night in the classroom, I was given a small booklet which was smuggled in from Hong Kong by my American English teacher. It was a testimony of a pastor. I was fascinated and finished reading it with one breath." He could remember the following passage the most:
2 Corinthians 2:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (ESV)."
He described that he hadn't received a Bible until a year later and, yet he became a believer in the authority of the Bible because he knew somehow that these words were from the Bible. Next he described his motivation for much of what they do in the China Aid Association.
"I was totally convicted that I was as depraved as those I wanted to kill. How could I expect myself to be treated equal by others if I wanted to kill them? 'Yes,' I decided, 'I want to become a new creation.' I couldn't help but surrender myself to my Creator. Later I knelt down on the floor with my American teacher at his dorm and accept[ed] Christ into my life. I realized the very freedom of conscience that the Creator endowed in my heart is far more precious and fundamental than any other rights. The very next day, I found everything was renewed and I even started having compassion and respect toward my betrayers and my enemies. I suddenly realized that, although as a small boy I did not know who God was, He knew and loved me, just like He knows and loves the 1.3 billion people I left behind in China some 12 years ago when President Clinton intervened for me, my new infant son and my wonderful wife Heidi (you can read the Christianity Today article on this from September 1, 1997)."
This was a heavy comment to make emotionally. This man loves the people of China. It was moving... His emotion stopped him for long periods of time as he said the following words:
"I am and always will be, Chinese in my heart. I miss China very much and pray for her future. I sincerely want China's future to be one of prosperity and stability and I believe that this can only be realized as true religious freedom is fully embraced in China and protected by the rule of law. This objective is the motivation behind all my efforts and the purpose of China Aid Association."
He further remarked about how the official TSPM churches are not signs of true religious freedom as they are controlled by the Chinese government and they are not trusted by over 60-80 million Chinese Christians. Further, how China Aid is wrongly seen as hostile to the Chinese government, because Christianity and other peaceful religious groups do not need to be "controlled" and are not a threat to the government, but rather, are one of the needed building blocks for stability and can provide much needed help for promoting non-violence during the current time of transition in China's history.
He pointed out an example of this in the problems that the cultic group "Eastern Lightening" poses to the Chinese government:
"If the house churches were free to assemble and publish the truth of Christianity, orthodoxy, and also free to instruct their congregations, especially their children, the truly dangerous cults would be more easily identified and less likely to victimize the ignorant as the Chinese government fears."
He argued that the Christian community can provide much needed social services as well. He said, "This would be a win-win scenario for the Chinese government."
He then gave a brief history of China and Christianity, pointed out that there is a shortsightedness in some house churches and that they need to face their problems honestly. Lastly, he said at the end, "May God continue to bless China and America!"
It was an excellent presentation and I pray that the Lord will bless their ministry to bring the gospel to many people. The only critique I would have of the afternoon is that the gospel was not as clearly presented as I would have liked it to have been. That God is perfect, unmade, holy. That all mankind has fallen into sin and deserves eternal punishment in the presence of God's righteous wrath. That Jesus Christ came into the world as being fully God and fully man and died as a substitute for those who would repent and believe in the gospel. He came to earth...lived, died and rose again after three days. We must repent and believe in this the gospel!
There really was much more to the speech...you can check it out here. Further, you can download a copy of their 2007 persecution report here. I consider it an honor to have learned about China Aid Association and the wonderful work that God is doing through them. May Christ be magnified in bringing His sheep to him through the China Aid Association's preaching of the gospel!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Talkin' in the City
Just a quick vent...
We live on the corner pretty close to a school, a bus stop, etc. in Wash DC. Its really a pretty busy street, but its really surprisingly quiet in our place. We hear police sirens and firetrucks quite a bit. None of that is really distracting or annoying though.
What is distracting is high school kids walking home from school, folks walking home from work, and people walking home late at night from wherever they are coming from. Its not that they are annoying because they are talking, but most of the time they are SHOUTING! Lol...
It always cracks us up to hear some folks walking down the street two to five feet from each other and they are literally shouting, not in anger, in normal conversation. Second to public displays of affection this shouting in normal conversation ranks as one of the more annoying things in a city;)
We live on the corner pretty close to a school, a bus stop, etc. in Wash DC. Its really a pretty busy street, but its really surprisingly quiet in our place. We hear police sirens and firetrucks quite a bit. None of that is really distracting or annoying though.
What is distracting is high school kids walking home from school, folks walking home from work, and people walking home late at night from wherever they are coming from. Its not that they are annoying because they are talking, but most of the time they are SHOUTING! Lol...
It always cracks us up to hear some folks walking down the street two to five feet from each other and they are literally shouting, not in anger, in normal conversation. Second to public displays of affection this shouting in normal conversation ranks as one of the more annoying things in a city;)
Monday, February 04, 2008
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
Just an update...
I have accepted a position and am working for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission on Captiol Hill.
Should be a great place to work. Check out their website sometime;)
In Christ,
Noah
I have accepted a position and am working for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission on Captiol Hill.
Should be a great place to work. Check out their website sometime;)
In Christ,
Noah
Friday, February 01, 2008
Reaction 2: Isolation
Proverbs 18:1 “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.”
There is no such thing as a perfect church before glory, because Christians are not yet perfect (Phil 3:12). This is a representation of the tension between the “already” and the “not yet” of the Christian life. True believers are made perfect in Christ, yet they are being made perfect (Heb 10:14). Even a church that practices a “regenerate church membership” has to recognize that despite their best attempt to maintain a believer’s church some folks will not truly be believers, and those that are have not been fully sanctified. Despite the sin we all commit Christians are called to live in a community with other believers.
One of the other reactions that I have seen to the problems that sin creates in local churches is to isolate from the church. The temptation is to isolate from a visible local community of believers. In order to show the kingdom of God to the world we are to be a city on a hill, a light to the world (Matt 5:14). I know its basic, but a city is composed of people with relationships. Here’s a natural example of what I am trying to point out. One of the problems in our society today is that people try to live in isolation within cities. Many cities simply do not have a concept of community. Christ’s disciples are called to redeem what true community looks like, and they will show Jesus Christ to the world by the way that they love one another publicly (John 13:34-35). It seems that we are somehow to make the relationships that we have among other believers public! It’s a commandment from Christ for us to love fellow Christians (1 John 4:20). If we don’t we simply may not be true Christians. If we want to live obediently to what the Bible teaches we would see that it is really a book about relationships: God within the Trinity, God and man, husband and wife, parent and child, friends, employer and employee, brother and sister (biologically and in Christ). However, relationships are difficult.
Relationships are one of the means by which God sanctifies us (Ecc 4:12). At the same time it is through relationships that God displays his glory to the world. My pastor wrote about a conversation that he had with a friend that worked for a campus Christian ministry years ago:
One examples of this reaction of isolation, which I can remember from my own life, was from my English teacher in my freshman year of high school. I remembered praying with our church for his family (when we were members of that church), but I couldn’t ever remember seeing him at the church meetings. I knew that they were members of the church, though. So one day I caught him in the halls at school and asked him if he was still a member of that church and if he still did not attend. He replied, “Yes.” I asked him why he never went and he told me that He did not believe that he needed to go to church to be a Christian. Further, he also said that he felt that he could worship God better by himself in the presence of God’s creation.
At the time I remember thinking, “Good enough.” Now, though, I can see how this view could be detrimental to a Christian walk. Yeah, you don’t have to attend a fellowship of believers to be a Christian, but you must ask yourself if you are truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ if you do not. How can you love God whom you cannot see if you cannot love your brother whom you can see (1 John 4:20)? “God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone (Gen 2:18).’” I know that your thinking, “But, that verse is saying that Adam should not be without a wife.” Well, yeah, but this passage is setting up a general biblical principle that humans need help. We need other people to help point us to Scripture, and we need people to help us identify sin in our lives. You cannot do this Christian life alone. Mankind is not meant to live in isolation. I have quoted this before, but it’s worth repeating:
If you are not happy with the music, the relationships, the structure, etc. of your church that doesn’t mean you should live in isolation. This is not a solution to the problems in churches. Join one that most closely reflects your biblical convictions and be a blessing to that congregation. If you do not want to be a part of a fellowship of believers ask yourself why. Then ask yourself how you might go about changing this.
There is no such thing as a perfect church before glory, because Christians are not yet perfect (Phil 3:12). This is a representation of the tension between the “already” and the “not yet” of the Christian life. True believers are made perfect in Christ, yet they are being made perfect (Heb 10:14). Even a church that practices a “regenerate church membership” has to recognize that despite their best attempt to maintain a believer’s church some folks will not truly be believers, and those that are have not been fully sanctified. Despite the sin we all commit Christians are called to live in a community with other believers.
One of the other reactions that I have seen to the problems that sin creates in local churches is to isolate from the church. The temptation is to isolate from a visible local community of believers. In order to show the kingdom of God to the world we are to be a city on a hill, a light to the world (Matt 5:14). I know its basic, but a city is composed of people with relationships. Here’s a natural example of what I am trying to point out. One of the problems in our society today is that people try to live in isolation within cities. Many cities simply do not have a concept of community. Christ’s disciples are called to redeem what true community looks like, and they will show Jesus Christ to the world by the way that they love one another publicly (John 13:34-35). It seems that we are somehow to make the relationships that we have among other believers public! It’s a commandment from Christ for us to love fellow Christians (1 John 4:20). If we don’t we simply may not be true Christians. If we want to live obediently to what the Bible teaches we would see that it is really a book about relationships: God within the Trinity, God and man, husband and wife, parent and child, friends, employer and employee, brother and sister (biologically and in Christ). However, relationships are difficult.
Relationships are one of the means by which God sanctifies us (Ecc 4:12). At the same time it is through relationships that God displays his glory to the world. My pastor wrote about a conversation that he had with a friend that worked for a campus Christian ministry years ago:
“He would always slip in right after the hymns, sit there for the sermon, and then leave. I asked him one day why he didn’t come for the whole service. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I don’t get anything out of the rest of it.’ ‘Have you ever thought about joining the church?’ [Mark] responded. He thought that was just an absurd comment. He said, ‘why would I join the church? If I join them, I think they would just slow me down spiritually.’ [Mark] asked, ‘Have you ever considered that maybe God wants you to link arms with those other people, and that perhaps even though they might slow you down a little, you might help to speed them up - and that that’s part of God’s plan for how we’re supposed to live as Christians together?’” [Dever, Mark, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church (Wheaton: Crossway, 2004), 155-156]
One examples of this reaction of isolation, which I can remember from my own life, was from my English teacher in my freshman year of high school. I remembered praying with our church for his family (when we were members of that church), but I couldn’t ever remember seeing him at the church meetings. I knew that they were members of the church, though. So one day I caught him in the halls at school and asked him if he was still a member of that church and if he still did not attend. He replied, “Yes.” I asked him why he never went and he told me that He did not believe that he needed to go to church to be a Christian. Further, he also said that he felt that he could worship God better by himself in the presence of God’s creation.
At the time I remember thinking, “Good enough.” Now, though, I can see how this view could be detrimental to a Christian walk. Yeah, you don’t have to attend a fellowship of believers to be a Christian, but you must ask yourself if you are truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ if you do not. How can you love God whom you cannot see if you cannot love your brother whom you can see (1 John 4:20)? “God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone (Gen 2:18).’” I know that your thinking, “But, that verse is saying that Adam should not be without a wife.” Well, yeah, but this passage is setting up a general biblical principle that humans need help. We need other people to help point us to Scripture, and we need people to help us identify sin in our lives. You cannot do this Christian life alone. Mankind is not meant to live in isolation. I have quoted this before, but it’s worth repeating:
“Separation from the church is the denial of God and Christ. Hence, we must even more avoid so wicked separation. For when with all our might we are attempting to overthrow of God’s truth, we deserve to have him hurl the whole thunderbolt of his wrath to crush us…Therefore, those who more boldly than others incite defection from the church…have for the most part no other reason than by their contempt of all to show they are better than others….For because God willed that the communion of his church be maintained in this outward society, he who out of hatred of the wicked breaks the token of that society treads a path that slopes to fall from the communion of saints.” [Calvin, John, The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1960), 1024-25 & 1030-31.]
If you are not happy with the music, the relationships, the structure, etc. of your church that doesn’t mean you should live in isolation. This is not a solution to the problems in churches. Join one that most closely reflects your biblical convictions and be a blessing to that congregation. If you do not want to be a part of a fellowship of believers ask yourself why. Then ask yourself how you might go about changing this.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Hory Fog???
Before I get posting on the series I started a long time ago I thought I would post this.
Over Christmas when we were in Iowa we were driving on I-80 between Des Moines and Davenport and Lindsey's mom said something to the extent of, "Look at the beautiful hory (sp?) fog." Eric (Lindsey's bro), Lindsey and I looked at each other with confusion, "Did she just say 'hory'?" Well, after looking on the internet I am convinced that this is an adjective from the Newman family only (I looked up hory, horey, horry, horrey, whory, whorey, whorry, whorrey, etc.). If you can help me with the spelling of this elusive word that would be great.
Anyway, as we counted over 135 cars in the ditch between Des Moines and Davenport we all thought, "Yeah, it is pretty." Actually, it was very pretty. The fog left a thin layer of frost on all the trees. Little did Lindsey and I know that this catch phrase of Christmas weekend, "hory mist", was a design of God to slow us down the following weekend!
Fast forward to the following weekend. Lindsey and I went down to Maryville, Missouri for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. It was excellent! Upon our return home we learned that the next day's forecast, when Linds and I were planning to drive the 26 foot U-haul truck with all our earthly possessions to Washington D.C., was predicting snow storms in the evening. We were a little bummed, but decided to try to get to Champaign, Illinois to clip off about 6 or so hours of our 18ish hour trip. So we left at approximately 10:00pm.
Well, as we were about an hour into our journey we encountered the elusive "hory fog". It was really not a good situation. We could see only two checkered lines in front of us on the interstate, and we couldn't read the signs once we were passed Williamsburg, Iowa. I couldn't even see the exit for Iowa City, or the I-80 truck stop, the self-proclaimed largest truck stop in the world. So Lindsey and I decided to stop in Bettendorf to stay with her grandma...by this time it was about 2:30am. God was gracious to us in fact that Lindsey had a wireless card for her laptop...at the exit we turned on we were able to read a sign of a business...and from that address on Lindsey's computer we were able to get directions to her grandmother's. We arrived there around 3:00am. God has been gracious to give us a grandmother that is more than hospitable to let us crash there on such short notice at the earliest time you could imagine. Below are a few pictures of the effects of the "hory fog" on our truck. These pics are from the morning after...but you can see how the "fog" was completely freezing our truck over.
Over Christmas when we were in Iowa we were driving on I-80 between Des Moines and Davenport and Lindsey's mom said something to the extent of, "Look at the beautiful hory (sp?) fog." Eric (Lindsey's bro), Lindsey and I looked at each other with confusion, "Did she just say 'hory'?" Well, after looking on the internet I am convinced that this is an adjective from the Newman family only (I looked up hory, horey, horry, horrey, whory, whorey, whorry, whorrey, etc.). If you can help me with the spelling of this elusive word that would be great.
Anyway, as we counted over 135 cars in the ditch between Des Moines and Davenport we all thought, "Yeah, it is pretty." Actually, it was very pretty. The fog left a thin layer of frost on all the trees. Little did Lindsey and I know that this catch phrase of Christmas weekend, "hory mist", was a design of God to slow us down the following weekend!
Fast forward to the following weekend. Lindsey and I went down to Maryville, Missouri for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. It was excellent! Upon our return home we learned that the next day's forecast, when Linds and I were planning to drive the 26 foot U-haul truck with all our earthly possessions to Washington D.C., was predicting snow storms in the evening. We were a little bummed, but decided to try to get to Champaign, Illinois to clip off about 6 or so hours of our 18ish hour trip. So we left at approximately 10:00pm.
Well, as we were about an hour into our journey we encountered the elusive "hory fog". It was really not a good situation. We could see only two checkered lines in front of us on the interstate, and we couldn't read the signs once we were passed Williamsburg, Iowa. I couldn't even see the exit for Iowa City, or the I-80 truck stop, the self-proclaimed largest truck stop in the world. So Lindsey and I decided to stop in Bettendorf to stay with her grandma...by this time it was about 2:30am. God was gracious to us in fact that Lindsey had a wireless card for her laptop...at the exit we turned on we were able to read a sign of a business...and from that address on Lindsey's computer we were able to get directions to her grandmother's. We arrived there around 3:00am. God has been gracious to give us a grandmother that is more than hospitable to let us crash there on such short notice at the earliest time you could imagine. Below are a few pictures of the effects of the "hory fog" on our truck. These pics are from the morning after...but you can see how the "fog" was completely freezing our truck over.
Monday, January 28, 2008
It's been a while...
I'm finishing up projects for J-terms this week... Lord willing next week I will be working part time... And this week I am starting another class at Southern...
I hope to get back to blogging through where I left off. May the Lord bless you and keep you!
In Christ,
Noah
I hope to get back to blogging through where I left off. May the Lord bless you and keep you!
In Christ,
Noah
Thursday, January 10, 2008
In Louisville...
Just an fyi...
I have been in Louisville, KY all week and I will be here next week too. I came down for a few classes at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: (1) Sermon on the Mount (with Dr. Jonathan Pennington), and (2) History of the Baptists (with Dr. Shawn Wright). I have my final in the first class tomorrow and then on to a lot more reading about Baptist history.
I'm also down here with two friends from Capitol Hill Baptist Church. We are having a great time;^) Man there is a ton to learn...
In Christ,
Noah
I have been in Louisville, KY all week and I will be here next week too. I came down for a few classes at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: (1) Sermon on the Mount (with Dr. Jonathan Pennington), and (2) History of the Baptists (with Dr. Shawn Wright). I have my final in the first class tomorrow and then on to a lot more reading about Baptist history.
I'm also down here with two friends from Capitol Hill Baptist Church. We are having a great time;^) Man there is a ton to learn...
In Christ,
Noah
Friday, January 04, 2008
Thursday, December 20, 2007
CHBC Internship
Well, it has been leaked. Here's a short video that my intern class made as a reflection of our time at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Enjoy;)
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Back to Iowa from 12/17/07 to 1/1/08
Lindsey and I will be coming back to Iowa for a few weeks for Christmas. Let me know if you would like to get together.
I'm looking forward to seeing family, friends, my cat, reading some books for fun and some for my upcoming j-term classes. Shoot me an email if you'll be around. I would love to catch up.
In Christ,
Noah
I'm looking forward to seeing family, friends, my cat, reading some books for fun and some for my upcoming j-term classes. Shoot me an email if you'll be around. I would love to catch up.
In Christ,
Noah
Reaction 1: Nominalism/Unbelief
I'm putting these two descriptions together because in most cases what is understood as "nominal Christianity" is actually "unbelief". So these are the kind of folks that don't believe what the Bible teaches about God, man, history, worldview, etc. and continue to maintain that they are actually Christians.
This reminds me of a conversation I had recently. The young man I was talking with said that he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and worships Him. As the conversation carried on he explained how he views God as an entity that will just give him whatever he wants.
For example he said that he thinks that if he would pray for a car God would give it to him. I asked him if God ever has given him a car in response to a prayer like that, and he answered, "No." I then told him that this is not how the Bible represents the Lord, and he understood that; however, he said the this is how he is going to continue to approach God, because it makes him feel better.
So as we continued to talk I explained that just because something makes you feel better for a time does not mean that it is based in truth and is good. We can easily deceive ourselves. Our perception often times is different from reality. We also discussed how he likes to think about Jesus. From a lot of what he said it was clear that he was worshipping an idol that he had made Jesus out to be, not who Jesus Christ is in reality (according to the Bible). Also, he is pretty proud of some of the sins that he has committed in his life...because ultimately God used those sins to bring about good. He didn't understand, though, that this did not make the sins a good thing...but in God's common grace He will often use bad things or circumstances for good.
I explained then that if he is worshipping a man-made idea of who Jesus is (in contrast with who Scripture reveals Jesus to be) and he is not willing to repent of his sins...that his life is not consistent with what the Bible teaches a Christian is. He completely understood, and he said, then, that he is not a Christian. But he said that he is going to continue to call himself a Christian because it makes him feel better. I asked him if he were to die that night where he thinks he would go, and he told me that he would be going to hell. I explained who the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is and described that all he needs to do is to enter into a life of repentance and belief...but he was not willing to do that. Although, he insists on calling himself a Christian because he said it feels good.
The reason I spent so much time writing about this circumstance is because this is a classic case of nominalism or someone who calls themself a Christian, conforms themself to the morality of Christianity, yet they do not believe in what revelation teaches about God or repentance and belief.
I have listed this as a reaction to the problems in the church because folks like this are scattered everywhere in our churches. People who falsely believe that they are Christians. If the gospel is not clearly preached from the pulpit, if the gospel is not clearly displayed and spoken of in the lives of those in the local church then people may be seeking shelter in a church because it makes them "feel better." K. P. Yohannen (founder of Gospel for Asia) has a sobering quote that is very true in this regard, "Feeding a man without sharing the Gospel with him is like giving a sandwich to a man on his way to the electric chair…it is, in essence, simply making him more comfortable on his way to hell."
When churches do not embrace a biblical approach to discipleship of all of it's people (those that covenant with the congregation in membership), and allow non-Christians to shelter as if they were Christians (in membership or even attendance) that is a major problem in the church. So you can see how nominalism and unbelief can be supported by the local church.
The young man in the conversation that I wrote about above is regularly attending a church. In the way that the church functions he has never been confronted with his unbelief or the fact that he is not a Christian. This is a problem...and while the church has not caused his nominalism or unbelief it has not helped him see it, thereby contributing to his continuance in unbelief. Hence, his reaction to that basic problem of discipleship in that specific local church has been to continue in nominalism/unbelief.
This reminds me of a conversation I had recently. The young man I was talking with said that he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and worships Him. As the conversation carried on he explained how he views God as an entity that will just give him whatever he wants.
For example he said that he thinks that if he would pray for a car God would give it to him. I asked him if God ever has given him a car in response to a prayer like that, and he answered, "No." I then told him that this is not how the Bible represents the Lord, and he understood that; however, he said the this is how he is going to continue to approach God, because it makes him feel better.
So as we continued to talk I explained that just because something makes you feel better for a time does not mean that it is based in truth and is good. We can easily deceive ourselves. Our perception often times is different from reality. We also discussed how he likes to think about Jesus. From a lot of what he said it was clear that he was worshipping an idol that he had made Jesus out to be, not who Jesus Christ is in reality (according to the Bible). Also, he is pretty proud of some of the sins that he has committed in his life...because ultimately God used those sins to bring about good. He didn't understand, though, that this did not make the sins a good thing...but in God's common grace He will often use bad things or circumstances for good.
I explained then that if he is worshipping a man-made idea of who Jesus is (in contrast with who Scripture reveals Jesus to be) and he is not willing to repent of his sins...that his life is not consistent with what the Bible teaches a Christian is. He completely understood, and he said, then, that he is not a Christian. But he said that he is going to continue to call himself a Christian because it makes him feel better. I asked him if he were to die that night where he thinks he would go, and he told me that he would be going to hell. I explained who the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is and described that all he needs to do is to enter into a life of repentance and belief...but he was not willing to do that. Although, he insists on calling himself a Christian because he said it feels good.
The reason I spent so much time writing about this circumstance is because this is a classic case of nominalism or someone who calls themself a Christian, conforms themself to the morality of Christianity, yet they do not believe in what revelation teaches about God or repentance and belief.
I have listed this as a reaction to the problems in the church because folks like this are scattered everywhere in our churches. People who falsely believe that they are Christians. If the gospel is not clearly preached from the pulpit, if the gospel is not clearly displayed and spoken of in the lives of those in the local church then people may be seeking shelter in a church because it makes them "feel better." K. P. Yohannen (founder of Gospel for Asia) has a sobering quote that is very true in this regard, "Feeding a man without sharing the Gospel with him is like giving a sandwich to a man on his way to the electric chair…it is, in essence, simply making him more comfortable on his way to hell."
When churches do not embrace a biblical approach to discipleship of all of it's people (those that covenant with the congregation in membership), and allow non-Christians to shelter as if they were Christians (in membership or even attendance) that is a major problem in the church. So you can see how nominalism and unbelief can be supported by the local church.
The young man in the conversation that I wrote about above is regularly attending a church. In the way that the church functions he has never been confronted with his unbelief or the fact that he is not a Christian. This is a problem...and while the church has not caused his nominalism or unbelief it has not helped him see it, thereby contributing to his continuance in unbelief. Hence, his reaction to that basic problem of discipleship in that specific local church has been to continue in nominalism/unbelief.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Reactions to Problems in Churches
While writing a paper about discipleship the other day I started to think about the different models of how people respond to problems in churches that I have seen throughout my life. I could think of at least six different responses and I'll briefly outline them here.
I should give a disclaimer...I don't have everything figured out. I'm trying to think through these things in a public way...so if you have ideas or suggestions please feel free to post a response here.
Also, when I am talking about what a Christian is I am talking about those who have an understanding of the gospel and believe it! Another word for the gospel is "evangel" which consists of an understanding and wholehearted belief of the following:
This great gospel or "good news" is the fact that those who are saved are justified before God by faith alone, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Works are indicative of the gift of faith that God gives to us. Our works have no merit...Aquinas was wrong! William Tyndale described the joy of the gospel as follows:
So... Here's the list of different reactions I have seen to problems that exist in churches. I'm hoping to blog through each of these and describe a bit how it appears that each of them function.
I should give a disclaimer...I don't have everything figured out. I'm trying to think through these things in a public way...so if you have ideas or suggestions please feel free to post a response here.
Also, when I am talking about what a Christian is I am talking about those who have an understanding of the gospel and believe it! Another word for the gospel is "evangel" which consists of an understanding and wholehearted belief of the following:
(1) There is one true and living God who always was, Uncreated, Eternal, Triune, Holy and Perfect who created all things and made a covenant with mankind. (2) This man, made from the dust, sinned by not keeping the covenant God made with him by doing what he wanted to do and not doing what God wanted him to do...therefore incurring God's right wrath against him. (3) The Lord Jesus Christ...God became man, fully God and fully man (the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity) and died as a substitute for sin. This substitute worked atonement on the cross making it possible for men and women to have a personal relationship with God. He took God's right wrath against us...in our place. (4) Lastly, response...Jesus was a substitute for all the sin of those who will repent of their sin and believe on Jesus Christ. This believing in and on Jesus Christ positively is a belief in who Scripture says that Jesus Christ is...if we believe in who we like to think Jesus is...we could be worshipping an idol. Belief in Jesus as he truly is consists of a stepping into a life of worship of who Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is in both word and deed. So there is a cost to us, but the good news is that Jesus saved us from God's wrath. God paid the price for our sin if we will repent and believe.
This great gospel or "good news" is the fact that those who are saved are justified before God by faith alone, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Works are indicative of the gift of faith that God gives to us. Our works have no merit...Aquinas was wrong! William Tyndale described the joy of the gospel as follows:
Evangelion (that we call the gospel) is a Greek word; and signifieth good, merry, glad and joyful tidings, that maketh a man's heart glad, and maketh him sing, dance and leap for joy.
So... Here's the list of different reactions I have seen to problems that exist in churches. I'm hoping to blog through each of these and describe a bit how it appears that each of them function.
(1) Nominalism/Unbelief
(2) Isolation
(3) False Unity
(4) Schism based on an attempt to Biblical fidelity.
(5) Reformation based on "cultural contextualization"
(6) Reformation based on Biblical principles and what the church has had biblically correct in the history of Christianity
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Reflection 12/04/07
Wow, it's been a busy, full, and awesome last four months. As I'm sure you have noticed I haven't been blogging very much. Hopefully someday I can resume more regularly.
For now though I'll just write a little reflection on how things are going. When I was in college I wrote a song called Things Changing. Since it was a jazz tune it didn't have any lyrics, but it was really an expression of how I was feeling at the time. Friends were getting married, graduating from college and leaving, getting jobs keeping them from having the flexibility to get together. I also knew that soon I would be graduating and getting married myself. I was feeling the combination of feelings of being a little scared and excited at the same time about what was about to happen.
Well, last year was a time that I started to have some of these feelings again...the only difference was that I had now been married for about four years, and I had been working for The Principal Financial Group for about three years. I was feeling an increasing desire to give my life to full time Christian ministry, I had taken about 20 credits toward a 94(ish) credit Mdiv program, and was waiting to sell our house...quit my job...and move to Washington D.C. to participate in Capitol Hill Baptist Church's (CHBC) internship program.
Well, the internship is bearing to an end and I'm feeling some of the same stuff I was feeling approaching the internship. A little scared and excited wrapped into one. We are putting our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that it would be best for our growth in grace to stay at CHBC while I finish seminary through correspondence at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I believe wholeheartedly that a theological education is one of the necessities for effective Christian ministry...not that theological education has to be acheived through a seminary...but somewhere and somehow. I believe that the biblical model for training pastors is in the context of the local church. What good would a seminary education be if one isn't heavily involved with a local church...and what good would involvement in a church be unless one is growing in a knowledge of the Bible, knowledge of theology, and love/knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? How much more is this true in regard to those who are called to lead, love, teach, exhort, rebuke, sacrifice-self, serve, delight in, shepherd, and pastor a flock of the Lord's sheep.
So there it is! Lord willing, Lindsey and I are going to be staying in D. C. for a few more years. We would appreciate it if any of you could pray for us: (1) that we would grow in humility before the Lord, (2) that the Lord would reveal Himself to us more fully and that we might love His people more, and (3) that in all things Christ would be magnified in our lives. I have learned so much, and I have so much more to learn.
I'm excited to get back to posting. Only one more week of the internship. Crazy!
In Christ,
Noah
For now though I'll just write a little reflection on how things are going. When I was in college I wrote a song called Things Changing. Since it was a jazz tune it didn't have any lyrics, but it was really an expression of how I was feeling at the time. Friends were getting married, graduating from college and leaving, getting jobs keeping them from having the flexibility to get together. I also knew that soon I would be graduating and getting married myself. I was feeling the combination of feelings of being a little scared and excited at the same time about what was about to happen.
Well, last year was a time that I started to have some of these feelings again...the only difference was that I had now been married for about four years, and I had been working for The Principal Financial Group for about three years. I was feeling an increasing desire to give my life to full time Christian ministry, I had taken about 20 credits toward a 94(ish) credit Mdiv program, and was waiting to sell our house...quit my job...and move to Washington D.C. to participate in Capitol Hill Baptist Church's (CHBC) internship program.
Well, the internship is bearing to an end and I'm feeling some of the same stuff I was feeling approaching the internship. A little scared and excited wrapped into one. We are putting our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that it would be best for our growth in grace to stay at CHBC while I finish seminary through correspondence at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I believe wholeheartedly that a theological education is one of the necessities for effective Christian ministry...not that theological education has to be acheived through a seminary...but somewhere and somehow. I believe that the biblical model for training pastors is in the context of the local church. What good would a seminary education be if one isn't heavily involved with a local church...and what good would involvement in a church be unless one is growing in a knowledge of the Bible, knowledge of theology, and love/knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? How much more is this true in regard to those who are called to lead, love, teach, exhort, rebuke, sacrifice-self, serve, delight in, shepherd, and pastor a flock of the Lord's sheep.
So there it is! Lord willing, Lindsey and I are going to be staying in D. C. for a few more years. We would appreciate it if any of you could pray for us: (1) that we would grow in humility before the Lord, (2) that the Lord would reveal Himself to us more fully and that we might love His people more, and (3) that in all things Christ would be magnified in our lives. I have learned so much, and I have so much more to learn.
I'm excited to get back to posting. Only one more week of the internship. Crazy!
In Christ,
Noah
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Gospel Growth Conference: Wrap Up
Here is a compilation of the posts I did for the conference.
Gospel Growth vs. Church Growth Conference
I. Gospel Growth Conference: Introduction [Mark Dever]
II. The Beginnings of Gospel Growth [Tony Payne]
III. Church Growth Paralysis [Phillip Jensen]
IV. Behind the Scenes
V. Evangelism "What it IS, and what it ISN'T" [Mark Dever]
VI. A Fresh Understanding of Church [Phillip Jensen]
VII. A Fresh Understanding of Gospel Growth [Phillip Jensen]
VIII. Resources for Gospel Growth [Tony Payne]
IX. Living in the Last Days [Phillip Jensen]
X. Panel Discussion [Mark Dever, Tony Payne, & Phillip Jensen]
XI. Gospel Growth Day by Day [Tony Payne]
XII. The Task, The Tactics, And The Telos [Phillip Jensen]
XIII. Final Word [my quick reflection and some pictures]
Friday, November 02, 2007
Gospel Growth Conference: Final Word...
This was really a good conference, not a perfect conference but a good one. These guys expose the Scriptures a little differently than I have heard before. The other thing about conference that I also enjoy is getting exposed to ministries that I'm not very familiar with and learning about their passion for spreading a passion for the supremacy of Christ and His gospel in the world. That is definitely what Matthias Media is about. I was also able to pick up a few books that I'm really excited to read. I hope that I didn't misrepresent or butcher the talks too bad. Thanks for following along on the "almost live-blogging". As an intern at CHBC I have reading assignments, papers to write, hospitality to tend to, set-up and clean-up responsibilities...so my apologies that these didn't all get out here as the conference was going. I'll do a post at the latest tomorrow of a wrap up of posts from the conference. Thanks again for reading!
Grace and peace!
Here's a pic of me with Phillip Jensen
Here's a pic of me with Tony Payne
These last pics are of what was left of the bookstore. Compare these pics to the ones from the first day.
Gospel Growth Conference: Day III, Session II
Session III: Phillip Jensen "The Task, The Tactics, and the Telos"
[11/1/07 10:30am]
Preface and Clarification:
Phillip started by talking about how it’s hard for them to communicate from the outskirts of a culture to the center of it. In communicating as Christians…this is the difficulty, because they are in a different position from what we are exposed to in reading and other forms of communication. He talked about how Matthias Media has doubled its sales since they have had an American agent who does translation work and understands our cultural perspective. They are helped enormously by us, but we never send missionaries there...and they could certainly use some [it seemed].
He then talked about how the Q & A last night showed them that the cross cultural thing was coming into our conversations with regard to their fighting different battles in Australia as opposed to here. The 2 ways to live doesn’t say much about the incarnation…and they got in trouble quite a bit of controversy a while ago over that. Phillip’s has no problem with the incarnation, but it’s not spoken of much in the New Testament, and in Acts in their sharing of the gospel the incarnation is not something that is said spoken of [in the New Testament accounts]. At a conference a while back they were battling this topic. Since the material didn’t cover this then the cross cultural transfer wasn’t occurring well.
Specifically in regard to last night's Q & A...they had conversations afterwards and there was a misunderstanding of where they are coming from with church membership. Mainly in how the Emerging church philosophies of church had an impact on this thinking…he clarified that two Christian people on a golfcourse is not a church. He’s for people being in two or three churches…he’s a churchman [where I would think that people would need to be a member of one particular regular gathering or assembly coming to hear the Word of God]. They run three or four churches a week. Because he defines it by the separate assemblies. Two different congregations means that there are two different churches. So if a certain ministry has three services...each service then, in Phillip's view, would be churches [I agree with this, which is why I don't think that a local ministry should have more than one service...so that they are one assembly/congregation/church. He said that everyone, Christian, should be committed absolutely to the church they are in. His concern with membership is that it’s not strong enough and that people should be called partners...so instead of membership he wants to use the word partnership [read some of the 9Marks material on membership to get a well rounded view on this topic so you can see how different folks think about this].
He talked about how In the 1950’s 30-40% of the population of Sydney came to church…many weren’t Christians. Now the people they have are "all boots in". They are solidly committed to church that they are in. He then said that since their culture is a fair bit more secularized than ours, "They fought this battle a long time ago and lost." He called this period the great pruning…because God has pruned them back to the bare bones of believers. They are praying for growth…but they aren’t dealing with the large population of culturized Christians. He’s sorry for confusing the issue with ours.
The advantage of being an outsider is that you see things more clearly. But the disadvantage is that you are not smart. Outsiders ask obvious questions that look dumb…but it gets to the heart of your issues [I have found this to be true in many areas].
The Lecture: The Task, The Tactics, The Telos
Growing in Christian maturity in Christlikeness in character.
1 Corinthians 8:1-11
Paul taught us to teach and preach according to expounding the Scriptures. First, in explicating this passage he wondered “What do we do with food offered to idols?” This doesn't really happen in Australia other than food to the idol of our belly. Then he became conscious that a quarter of his congregation were Chinese and they were offering food to idols of the family. “Do I bow to my ancestors or not?” was a legitimate question which this suddenly had a lot of relevance to. The doctrine of Christian liberty is essential to doctrine of justification by faith alone. Having the minister not being the pope is very important.
1 Corinthians 10:31 "The task of ministry"
I. To glorify God
We are to be imitators of Paul as he is an imitator of Christ. This passage has the greatest command to us for every member evangelize. Much more even than Matthew 28. Because if I am to grow like Christ I am going to do the things of Christ. We need this model of Jesus Christ so that we can be a model that others should follow in a manner that we aren't to please everyone in everything for our advantage, but so that they might be saved. Our chief end and purpose of evangelism is the same as the chief end and purpose of man. Not to save souls but to glorify God. The secondary category then is saving souls…primary is to glorify God. This means faithfulness is the true test of evangelism…not success. This is a big albatross to get off of our necks. To the glory of God, but not in deliberate offensiveness to unbelievers.
In this way Phillip is a "man pleaser", not for his own benefit, but for the salvation of others. He will cause offense if the purpose is against those that will not support what the Bible teaches. Men are macho in Australia and the last thing they want to do is to listen to the gospel, he will cause offense for things of that matter. We need to have Christian liberty with people in this because it is difficult to discern where the line is.a. WWJD: To be like Christ Many people say, "if I was Jesus I would do this, so I’m going to do this..." WWJD means that we must do what Jesus did. We must bring the gospel of salvation of other people because we are imitating Christ. Jesus Christ pu aside His own self interest to become a human, not only a human but a servant, not only a servant but to be a servant who died a death on a cross. What is it that we would refuse to do to save another? Jensen then said, “I’ll put on a dress if that’s what it means.”
b. The heart of a man is evil. "I don’t know If I really know my own heart," he said. The judgemnet is the jdugement of God one day. What is required of me is trustworthiness, faithfulness…not success. At one level it is terrificly liberating, but on another level it’s extremely difficult because, “I have to do the right thing.” It also liberates from competitiveness. Frees from temptation to play fast and loose from the Word of God. This frees him from feeling like he has to go to conferences trying figure out how to “sex-up” church life.
II. The Fundamental Strategy of God
It’s his strategy but we participate in it by His will. The builder of the church is Christ (in the Trinity) Matthew 16:18. It is His church, His activity I’m involved in. I’m not the church builder, but He is the builder through me. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 uses a metaphor of a field...an agricultural metaphor. We are the field and God is the grower. When talking about how to grow the church it’s like saying I must be born again. It’s not our work but God’s work. 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 says that we are the building…god’s holy building. We are fellow workers with God.
A. The EvangelistIn 1 Peter 1:10-12 Peter alludes to the fact that Paul is difficult to understand (e.g. Ephesians 1:3-10). Paul has so many subordinate clauses. Like Paul, Peter here in verse 12 is tricky. The evangelist is the Holy Spirit and this work happens through people. Ephesians 1:8-10 says there is no two stage Christian experience. This is talking about how the gentiles have been sealed. The plan of God from the beginning was to include the gentiles and it was done by “hearing the word of truth”.
So what about our actions? His plan includes our actions. It’s extraordinary grace, real grace. We should pray prayers like 2 Thessalonians 3:1…we aren’t fatalists…we know it’s going to be happen (that "the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified"), but we ask God to do that which is His plan. Paul in Ephesians 6 wanted people to pray that he would have the boldness to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. He said then that it's nice to know that apostles were normal men dependent on God.
B. ProclamationIn Romans 10 faith comes from hearing the word of God. Tell people to just come to church and listen. Phillip then recalled a tim that he tried to argue an atheist into the kingdom…but all that his friend needed was to hear the word of God. Another circumstance that he recalled an atheist read the Bible and after reading he told Jensen he became a Christian, "He was reading the Bible and he was asking himself if he believed this stuff or not, and he thought, 'yeah, I do'." Phillip asked this man what he was reading and he said it was Leviticus. Yet another reason why we must faithfully, and rightly dividing the entire counsel of God.
C. People In Matthew 9 it speaks of “sheep without a shepherd”. Phillip also discused the kind of music to we use…"you use the kind of music that the kind of people that you are trying to reach like." Because all that music is about is ambiance and emotion. People are what matter…not music. Become all things to all people that we might save some.
III. The Tactics
According to 2 Timthy 2:7-10 Christian tactics always involve suffering and hard work.
The science of organizing and manoeuvring forces in battle to achieve a limited or immediate aim.- They always would try to get the "newcomer" to come→
- Then they tried to establish them in a church…(Phillip did all that work by himself and after three years he almost had a nervous breakdown)→
- Then Cole Marshalll came along and said you’ve got it all wrong or in Australian, “stop being stupid”→
- Then Phillip started to develop 2 Ways to Live and training people in ministry (The only way you can train people to do it is to get them involved in the work)→
- Just train one person properly→
- Then you train a few people properly→
- The only way you can do this →
- Then the people Phillip trained were then looking after more people (newcomers) than he ever could→
- They look fo self-starter so that when they leave they will continue, they will then join a church and start ministry by themselves→
- The objective is to teach people to train other members for ministry→
- It’s the people that teach it that know how to do it→
- This is about church growth…not gospel growth, then after figuring out all of these steps they found out about gospel growth.
“Blokes worth watching”These are the folks that have a capacity for teaching the Word of God uniquely well. They identfy them and put these men into a ministry called the Ministry Training Strategy for 2 years. This is a training of people in ministry and training self-starters. Then they send them to theological school (Moore College)…and then they send them out into the world.[As you can see in the picture that Phillip drew there are two columns three categories in each... the first on the left is the lay movement (1) New Comers "NC", (2) Training people for Ministry "TM", (3) Self Starters "SS". To the right in this picture is their "professional" plan (1) Blokes Worth Watching "BWW", (2) Ministry Training Strategy "MTS" two year apprenticeship, (3) Moore College. Notice all the arrows in between the two tracks...they feed into and off of each other to grow healthy God glorifying churches. Then they do church plants sending out vocational ministers that have been through the "professional" track and lay leaders that have been through the lay track. Oftentimes they will even move people that have reached the bottom of the lay track over to the first stage of the "professional" track.]
So there is a lay movement, and a “professional” movement. If they would have held on to these people their church would have gotten very big…but they sent them out…intentionally to the effect of diminishing the ministry of their church for the cause of taking the gospel into all of the world. He said though that God is gracious, because the more they sent “blokes out” the more “blokes” God kept giving.
IV. The Strategy for the Present
These are sinful days as 2 Timothy 3 indicates. Therefore, our strategy comes from the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:10 forward lays out their aim...to follow the Apostle Paul as he imitated the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "Never be surpised that you are opposed and persecuted. Go ahead with one fight or another. These are the normal consequences of Christian ministry." This is the science of art of planning and conducting a war or a military campaign.
The 3 C’s are what they look for in the "Blokes Worth Watching"1. Character
2. Convictions…out of convictions will come caracter (these first two are the important ones) if you haven’t got a character shaped by convictions then you won’t read the Word of God right.
3. Competency(s) with a “Bloke worth watching” the most important thing is not his skills…but his character and conviction. You have to have certain people skills to teach people the word of God…but this is not as important.
The church growth is all about tactics, but it’s not what the ministry is about. But there is only one strategy…prayer, proclamation, people. Gospel growth is about:1. 2 Tim 4:1-5 “Faithfulness to the task of prayerful preaching of the Word to people.”
2. 2 Timothy 2:2 "entrust to faithful men."
This is what we look for in the “blokes worth watching.”
V. Questions…
Phillip then took a few minutes to answer any questions people might have.
Question: "Explain strategy of Bible exposition?"
Jensen:He tries to subsume his mind and agenda to the word of God by allowing the Bible to be determing preaching rather than his mind. Isaiah 30...let it determine the agenda of the preaching. Last night (Wednesday evening) he was showing us how he preaches. It’s not an oral commentary…rather it is an explanation of what the passage is itself saying to us now...“explicating” the Word of God. He gives up on the phrase expository preaching because even those without opening the Bible do it. So he explicates. The word of God controls the agenda rather than his mind…he tends to love his mind, and his ideas. Frankly, that’s not what we need to hear from the pulpit.
Question (by Dever in the pic above): "What are your thoughts of pastors moving from one pastorate to another? Are there some that are more strategic than others?"
Jensen: There are no reasons...which means he’s an Anglican (jokingly). There is no more important ministry other than the one that you are in. Some men have to move because they cannot lead a flock anywhere else other than what he has already done. Survey’s have shown that in the first 1-5 years pastors tend to be positive, years 5-10 pastors tend to be negative, then 10 years plus pastors tend to generally be positive. Tactics…culture moves from the center outward. So there are certain places from which you can influence peole far greater than other places. So a city, or a University would be a strategic place. By the year 2020 a large percentage of people are going to be born outside of Sydney that live in Sydney. So he looks for people that have feet in two worlds culturally speaking. Strategically the "latch" onto people. They haven’t found enough bi-cultural workers like a factory worker to reach different folks in that culture.
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