Tunes on Tuesday

Decemberists:  The Crane Wife 3

A Word to New Christians

J.I. Packer speaks to new Christians.HT: Resurgence

more about "A Word to New Christians", posted with vodpod

Church Planting

I was doing a little research on Acts 29 and church planting.  Here are 20 good questions if someone is thinking about planting.

1. Am I a Christian?
2. Am I passionately in love with Jesus?
3. Do I believe His word and does it affect my life deeply?
4. Am I Spirit-filled, Spirit-directed, Spirit-led and Spirit-controlled?
5. Am I qualified as an Elder?
6. Do I love the local church as the expression of a gospel community?
7. Am I a missionary to the city?
8. Do I have a clear vision for this new work?
9. Am I willing to pour myself out in obedience to the vision?
10. Am I healthy? Physically, emotionally, financially, relationally?
11. Am I the kind of leader many people will follow?
12. Can I preach effectively?
13. Can I guard the doctrinal door with Biblical clarity?
14. Can I architect a new work with entrepreneurial skill?
15. Am I called to plant a church at this time and in this place?
16. Have my church leaders commended me for this calling?
17. Am I a hard worker? Am I persevering?
18. Am I adaptable to new people, places and concepts?
19. Can I raise the funds needed for my family’s needs?
20. Am I humble enough to learn from others?

Read the whole article by Scott Thomas here where he explains each question in more detail.

Zotero

I have recently started to use Zotero.  It is a FREE, open source extension for Firefox browser that lets you collect, organize, and easilty use citations.  They label it as the next generation research tool.  It is great for Seminary/research papers.  All you do is plug in all the information and then Zotero formats it for you.  There are thousands of format options and the great thing about it is when you put the book, article, document, etc in you have it forever.  You can also share sources.  So if you are a nerd and sit down and put all your books in, let me know so I can have them too.

Southern’s Ph.D. Program Biblical Spirituality in the News

Southern Seminaries new PhD program Biblical Spirituality has hit the press.  Here is an Associated Press Article also picked up by USA Today.  A friend, Garrett Wishall, also wrote an article about it for the Towers in December.

HT:  Andrew Fuller Center

Does Satan Exist?

Mark Driscoll was on Nightline tonight debating “Does Satan Exist.”  I did not watch the entire thing, just bits and pieces, but one thing happened that I think is worth noting.  Driscoll shared the gospel immediately. He barely even answered the first question.  He just went ahead and did it, while weaving the theme of Satan into it.  It was clearly intentional.  Driscoll seized the opportunity and told everyone who was watching the good news!  I have seen so many “famous” Christians get on T.V. without sharing the gospel, and that is a tragedy.

Click here to watch.

P.S.  It is in the first video. You only have to watch four minutes to see it.  Great example for all of us.

What is our greatest need in the church?

We need to be God-centered people.

J.I. Packer, Knowing God (p. 20-28)

In the church, the fundamental problem is that God rests too inconsequentially upon the church.

David Wells, God in the Wasteland

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are is a children’s book that I read regularly growing up.  I am excited they are making it into a movie.  I especially enjoyed the artwork in the book.  It had this fake, two dimentional, fantasy feel to it.  The movie looks like it tried to recreate that feel.  It is directed by Spike Jonze, and comes out October 16.

Click HERE to watch trailer.

Local Church/Universal Church/Balance/ParaChurch/Young Guns

With every doctrine there is danger.  There is the danger of going to extremes.  Aristotle called this the doctrine of the Golden Mean.  Is there any danger in emphasizing the doctrine of the local church?

I think there is.  In rightly having a resurgence of emphasis on the local church we may have lost our emphasis on the universal church.  Let me begin with a few clarifying points because this could easily be taken in the wrong way.

1. Christians should be involved in the local church.  The local church is primary in God’s salvation plan.
2. It is wrong for Christians to only be involved in a para church (ex. Campus Crusade, Seminary, BCM ect…)
3. I cannot be more excited with the renewed emphasis upon the local church.

Having said that I have found myself somewhat frustrated and discouraged by seeing Young Guns in particular make rash and unhelpful statements about the para-church.  The para-church should not be looked down upon if it is viewed rightly.  It does not replace the local church, but it is still accomplishing work for the kingdom.  Although I think it is true that the local church should train pastors, the church can not reproduce what a Seminary provides.  Seminaries may be training people to go into academic fields to be a missionary in the context of a secular university.  This is something that the local church cannot provide.  And the Campus ministries are reaching out to students in their own context.  Yes, the local church may have failed here, but could we be forgetting that all the Sons of the Light are walking together?  The local churches practically separate us, but one day we will all bow before the Throne of the Lamb, from every tongue tribe and nation.

Tunes on Tuesday

I have been kicking it back and listening to some old Moby.  Moby has some incredible songs.  Here are two of them.

Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad:  Classic

Flower:  Has a old timey gospel feel to it.

Also been listening to The Album Leaf.  They mainly have instrumental music.

Here is Twenty Two Fourteen:

Onion News Story

Funny video from Onion news, but sad because it is true.

more about “Onion News Story“, posted with vodpod

HT:  Kevin DeYoung

Helping the Poor Intelligently

I am looking forward to reading (sometime in the future) Marvin Olasky’s book The Tragedy of American Compassion. Here is the summary from Publishers Weekly:

This is a richly documented, controversial history of the welfare state as seen from a conservative political perspective. The system is generous with money but stingy on human involvement, argues Olasky, a University of Texas journalism professor: compassion means tough love in which those who give must demand self-help from those who receive. But Olasky adds a proviso that the giver too must be personally involved. He holds up the example of 19th-century charity workers, whose religious beliefs made them compassionate and willing to deal intimately with the poor, rather than dispensing money to them through government agencies. There’s plenty of social history here–from Horace Greeley, soup kitchens and orphan asylums to today’s homeless impasse. Olasky does not blame the system for poverty. He faults the poor, along with social workers back to Jane Addams and the founders of the settlement house movement.

I have heard that he argues that throwing money to the poor does not help them, but debilitates them.  We need to equip them to provide for themselves so that they are not always looking for a handout.

Here is an article about Jorge Munoz, who lives in Queens, NY.  He spends $400 of his $700 paycheck to help feed the poor.

High School Basketball Cont…

Elliot County is still in it!  I had a link earlier to an article by Pat Forde about them.  Last night they beat Anderson County (read here) and they are now playing in the final four.  I partially know this because my sister has been going to the games to root for Eastern High School (who is also still playing).  If you didn’t realize, Eastern is where Rajon Rondo played.  There is a possibility that Eastern could meet Elliot County in the state championship game.  If that happens I might have to go.

Western Wins!

My alma mater, Western Kentucky University beat Illinois tonight for the biggest upset of the day.

Remember last year.  Ty Roger’s shot vs. Drake.  Here it is.

Don Carson on the Slippery Slope

Don Carson once commented that the first generation fights for orthodoxy, the second generation assumes orthodoxy, and the third generation abandons orthodoxy.

Delay of Marriage

Albert Mohler has an good post linking to Bradford Wilcox’s article, God Will Provide—Unless the Government Gets There First.  Here is the argument:

His argument, put simply, is that the expansion of the government sector to offer cradle-to-grave social services contributes to the secularization of the society.

The most powerful force driving religious participation down is the nation’s recent retreat from marriage, Mr. Wuthnow notes. Nothing brings women and especially men into the pews like marriage and parenthood, as they seek out the religious, moral and social support provided by a congregation upon starting a family of their own. But because growing numbers of young adults are now postponing or avoiding marriage and childbearing, they are also much less likely to end up in church on any given Sunday.

Comment: I found the article interesting and I do think it is true that people are generally getting married later.  I work at Starbucks and many of the workers there are surprised to see the ring on my finger.  Having said that, I think we always need to be careful about what “brings” people into the church.  The Lord surely uses means but we also should not fret too much over the state of the church.  I say that carefully, realizing that most of Paul’s letters were directed towards his concerns about the church.  What I mean is that ultimately the church wins.  God is going to continue to save people, whether they are married early or not.  It is interesting to see the connection between the lack of church attendance and marriage.  But we also must remember that God is powerful enough to draw any to himself.  Knowing Mohler, I am sure he would agree, but it is always a good reminder that the decisive battle has already been won upon the cross.  We are simply finishing the skirmishes, and pointing people to the coming kingdom.

Quote: Leonard Bernstein

Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time… The wait is simply too long.

- Leonard Bernstein

Tunes on Tuesday

I know it is Monday night, but its hard to find the time Tuesday to do this, so here is what I have been listening to.

The Flaming Lips, I know they are weird, but this song has a White Stripes feel to it.  It also has hilarious lyrics.  It is called “Free Radicals.  Click here to listen.

Also, Thom Yorke off his solo album The Eraser.  The song “The Clock”  (Again a weird video but good song)

Links

Deepak Reju has a list of 17 things that Seminary never taught him.  His point:  Best training for pastorate is in the local church.

Owen Strachan has good advice for young pastors called, “Dude, Your Not Mark Driscoll.“  I remember in college when I first started preaching my Dad would tell me that many guys “fail” at preaching because they try to be someone they are not.  His advice:  Be yourself.

Russell Moore has a little historcal sketch of who St. Patrick was.

Charismatic Movement

J.I. Packer has some helpful observations on the charasmatic movement in his book Keep in Step with the Spirit. Here are a list of the positive and negatives of the movement.

1.    Positive
a.    They stress the activity of the Holy Spirit and the need to be filled with the Spirit.
b.    They recognize the importance of emotions in the Christian life, in Christian  speech and song.
c.    They stress the importance of a vital prayer life.
d.    They insist on the involvement of every Christian in worship.
e.    Missionary zeal.
f.    Emphasis on fellowship in small groups/community living.
g.    Emphasis is on childlike openness and warmth/spontaneity.
h.    Reality of Satan and Demons.
I.    Christianity is supernatural.

2.    Negative
a.     Elitism—spiritual aristocracy and pride.
b.    Sectarianism—only read charismatic books.
c.    Anti-intellectualism—results in naïveté and imbalance/too simplistic at times. Importance of theology slighted.
d.    Claims to revelation which cannot be supported.
e.    Charismatic—spirituality measured by gifts.
f.    Super-supernaturalism—always expecting miracles; never see God acting through normal processes (Proverbs).
g.    Health-Wealth gospel.
h.    Demon obsession/Territorial spirits.
I.    Conformism—group pressure.
j.    Measure spirituality by experience: tongue-speaking, holy laughter, slaying in the spirit.

Source:  Tom Schreiner’s class notes.

Brooks Ritter/Jeff Venable

Jeff Venable, a friend from WKU, who is majoring in production, put together this video about Brooks Ritter (another friend from WKU.)  Brooks just recently came out with his first album, The Horse Fell Lame.  He also sings at Sojourn here in Louisville and is featured on Before the Throne.   Here is the video.

Brooks Ritter EPK from Jeff Venable on Vimeo.

And my favorite song: Bones From the Ground

Bones From the Ground- Brooks Ritter from Jeff Venable on Vimeo.

Why Johnny Can’t Preach

Kevin DeYoung has a good summary of a book called “Why Johnny Can’t Preach” by T. David Gordon.  Here is a quote from the book.

Ministers [in our culture] are not at home with what is significant; ministers whose attention span is less than that of a four-year-old in the 1940s, who race around like the rest of us, constantly distracted by sounds and images of inconsequential trivialities, and out of touch with what is weighty. It is not surprising that their sermons, and the alleged worship that surrounds them, are often trifling, thoughtless, uninspiring, and mundane…The great seriousness of the reality of being human, the dreadful seriousness of the coming judgment of God, the sheer insignificance of the present in light of eternity–realities that once were the subtext of virtually every sermon–have now disappeared, and have been replaced by one triviality after another (58-59).

Hymns

A project called Page CXVI is letting you download some free hymns.  Here is their mission statement:

Page CXVI is a project started with the idea of making hymns accessible and known again.They are some of the richest, most meaningful, and moving pieces of music ever written.

Click here to download.

Quote: Stephen King

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.

- Stephen King

Preaching and Communication

Ed Stetzer has had some interesting discussions on communication from the pulpit with Andy Stanley.  Especially concerning Andy’s comment about verse-by-verse preaching.  Here is what Andy said.

Question: What do you think about preaching verse-by-verse messages through books of the Bible?

Andy: Guys that preach verse-by-verse through books of the Bible– that is just cheating. It’s cheating because that would be easy, first of all. That isn’t how you grow people. No one in the Scripture modeled that. There’s not one example of that. All Scripture is equally inspired, but not all Scripture is equally applicable or relevant to every stage of life. My challenge is to read culture and to read an audience and ask: What is the felt need? Or perhaps what is more important, what is an unfelt need they need to feel that I can address? Because if they don’t feel it, then they won’t address it.

Read Andy Stanley on Communication Part 1, part 2, and then Stetzer’s “Responding to Stanley.”

Here is what Stetzer said about a lot of the comments.

Some agreed and thought the interview was great. Thanks for coming by and commenting. I think many disagreed in a gracious and thoughtful way. That’s good as well. But, many just make their typical drive-by comments and never took the time to learn from Andy. And, having listened to much of what is called “expository preaching” today but is really running commentary, some need to listen to Andy’s ideas on communication.

I am disappointed that some people cannot dialogue about issues. I am not saying that about everyone’s comments, but I will tell you it is amazing how quickly some decide they cannot learn from another because they disagree. I’ve already blogged on this, so let me just say I believe that we have a lot to learn from each other in the church.

Apple’s Smallest iPod

Apple introduces the new shuffle, which talks to you.  It starts at $79.  Click here to watch video, or here to go to the website and watch the full video.

Calvinism and Controversy

CT has an article concerning possible layoff allegations at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary concerning Calvinism.  Read the article here.

Colin Hansen also has a good article on blogs being a window to our souls.

HT:  In Light of the Gospel

Cat Stevens

Tunes on Tuesday:

I bought this CD a couple of months ago and it has quickly hit my 10 Ten List. (I do not know the others on the list but this one is up there, maybe even number 1).  Every song has a different feel, but they are all good.  Here are some of the more popular ones.  (Also could that be my dad with long hair and a beard below?)

What He Must Be

If He Wants To Marry My Daughter….

That is the title of Voddie Baucham’s new book.  Thabiti Anyabwile has a post about it.  Here is a summary.

Baucham: “We cannot expect young men in our culture to turn up as ready-made husbands. Our culture is broken. As a result, young men are broken. They do not have the tools they need. This is not always due to a lack of spiritual commitment. It is usually a result of a lack of teaching and discipleship. They just don’t know what they don’t know. As a result, fathers have to consider the possibility that they may, in a very real way, have to build their own son-in-law.”

My wife and I have lived with that realization for a few years now. Baucham has put words to our angst. As we look at our daughters, we wonder out loud, “Who will they marry?” The question isnt rooted in a romantic idealizing about Prince Charming, it’s rooted in the harrowing reality that so few young men seem really to be prepared for manhood at all. I think it was Mohler who coined a term for the problem: “adultolesence.”

The problem first came home as over the years we’ve considered the plight of African-American families, where staggering percentages of children grow up without their fathers. I know the haunting spectre of father absence in my own life. Entering manhood without the teaching, nurturing, correction, and pushing of a father tends to leave a young man bewildered, insecure, and unreliable.

Voddie’s challenge: “build your own son-in-law.”

Louisville Wins Big East

Not only did Louisville win the Big East this year, but they did it in the best conference that college basketball has ever seen.  Am I exageratting?  I don’t think so.

I say that not only because I think it, but I have heard multiple sports analysts say it.  Two teams that are ranked 10 and 11 in the Big East were in the top 10 overall this season at some point (Notre Dame and Georgetown).  Also the number two and three teams in the big East (Pitt and Conn) both had the #1 spot this season.  And I think both teams have a good chance at the title.  So why is no one talking about U of L being a number one seed in the tournament?  Cuz they are haters.  Anyways my rant is over.  Here is an article about U of L winning the Big East title outright.

Public Enemies Trailer

Here is the trailer for the upcoming movie, Public Enemies.  It stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and is directed by Michael Mann.  It is about a bank robber from 30’s named John Dillinger.  Some thought of him as a dangerous criminal others thought of him as a modern day Robin Hood.  He was nicknamed “Jackrabbit” for his graceful movements during heists such as jumping over counters.

Pastor Killed in Illinois Church Shooting

A Pastor was shot to death by a gunman while preaching in Illinois this morning.  CNN and CBS have brief reports on it.

Please pray for his family and the congregation.

Thom Rainer, President and CEO of Lifeway has a statement about it here.

A few moments ago I received the tragic news that Fred Winters, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois, was shot and killed while preaching in the church’s 8:15 service. Fred was my former student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was also a friend and co-laborer in ministry. I am grateful that I got to spend time with Fred on February 24, where I was speaking at a meeting in Naples, Florida for large church pastors. We spoke one-on-one for several minutes, and I could tell that he was rejoicing in his ministry and life. My heart breaks for Fred’s family, and I am already praying for them in this time of shock and grief. We also pray for First Baptist Church of Maryville. They have lost a great pastor and a dear friend.

Listening to Scripture

I recently learned how to take the audio of the ESV off the ESV online website and put it on my iPod.  Bryan McWhite tells you how to here.

What a blessing this has been already.  I bring my iPod with me everywhere, while I am in the shower, doing dishes, waking up etc…So far I just downloaded Philippians on Thursday.  I have been going through the New Testament reading the books in one sitting to get a feel for them as a whole.  In the past couple of days I have had the chance to listen to Philippians over 6 times all the way through.  Listening to it makes you slow down and hear every word.  It also makes sure you don’t skim the parts you know really well.

Psa. 119:10-16

With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all criches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your eways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

Photo Friday: Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography. He helped develop the “street photography” style that has influenced generations of photographers that followed.

Daring to Dream: Highschool Basketball

Pat Forde has a good (and long) article on The Lions out of Elliot County KY.  Here is an excerpt:

Elliott County, the only high school in a poor, obscure county of about 7,000, would qualify as a modern-day Milan. The school with only 325 students in grades 9-12, ranking 211th in enrollment of the 279 schools listed on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Web site, will battle next month for the state title against the big boys from Louisville, Lexington and greater Cincinnati.

Only 38 public schools are smaller than Elliott County. The school’s senior class numbers 74, with 42 of them boys.
Read it all here.

Book Review: The Drama of Scripture

The Drama of Scripture:  Finding our Place in the Biblical Storyline

by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen

Summary: Do we look at the Bible as a story?  Do we see ourselves as a part of that story?  Bartholomew and Goheen (B&G) in The Drama of Scripture provide us with the biblical story of redemption as a unified narrative.  They highlight three basic things.  First, the comprehensive scope of God’s redemptive work in creation.  Second, believers own place in this story.  And third, the centrality of mission within the biblical story.

Strengths: B&G do a marvelous job of tying the whole Bible together into a unified story.  Many come to the Bible thinking it is disjointed, but B&G show that this story is going somewhere, every part fits together.  They see the OT through the window of “covenant” and the NT through the window of “kingdom.”  They interact clearly with critical issues surrounding the covenant passages in the OT.  They also rightly argue that Christ is coming back to redeem the entire creation, not merely humans.  For too long Christians have thought of heaven as somewhere they can escape to.  But B&G rightly point out the biblical emphasis on the physical restoration.  It was also helpful for B&G to interact with some of the history in the intertestamental period.  I personally found this helpful in setting the scene for Christ (but that is b/c it is my first introduction to it).  Overall the book was well written and a good introduction to Biblical Theology, especially if you are looking for another book like Graeme Goldsworthy’s According to Plan.  But before I stop I must give a couple of warnings.

Warnings: My warnings concern their emphasis.  Clearly this book responds to some popular Christian thought, and rightly so.  However in doing this, it seems as if they down play the biblical emphasis of mankind being the crown of creation.  This is played out in several ways.  First there was very little emphasis upon Christ’s atonement for our sins.  There was some, but you could tell that they really wanted to talk more about creation than man.  Second, with the mission emphasis they seemed to focus heavily on the cultural mandate.  Christians are to show the world what Christ’s kingdom will look like.  But they had too little emphasis on evangelism.  The only way people will ever be a part of the this kingdom is if they repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.

Conclusion: B&G masterfully pulled together all the strings of the Bible into one coherent story.  They also biblicaly reacted against the escapist mindset that some Christians have adopted.  The bible emphasizes that the coming age will be one of restoration.  But in doing so they have pushed the pendulum too far.  What we need is a happy medium.

Encouragement to Study Greek and Hebrew

“Do I understand Greek and Hebrew? Otherwise, how can I undertake, as every Minister does, not only to explain books which are written therein but to defend them against all opponents? Am I not at the mercy of everyone who does understand, or even pretends to understand, the original? For which way can I confute his pretense? Do I understand the language of the Old Testament? critically? at all? Can I read into English one of David’s Psalms, or even the first chapter of Genesis? Do I understand the language of the New Testament? Am I a critical master of it? Have I enough of it even to read into English the first chapter of St. Luke? If not, how many years did I spend at school? How many at the University? And what was I doing all those years? Ought not shame to cover my face?”

John Wesley, “An Address to the Clergy,” in Works X:491.

Hit: Ray Ortlund

Minnesota Twins

Tim Kurkjian has a really good article on the Minnesota Twins team-first attitude.  Here is the beginning of the article:

When Twins manager Ron Gardenhire returned to his office after his team’s first exhibition of the season Wednesday, he saw a note on his desk from first baseman Justin Morneau. It read: “Gardy, I forgot to do my sprints after the workout today. So I am fining myself $100.”

Gardenhire laughed. “That’s entertaining,” he said.

Then he stopped laughing. “That’s leadership,” he said.

Read the rest here.

SNL Digital Short: Hero Song

more about “SNL Digital Short: Hero Song“, posted with vodpod

World’s Ugliest Cat

This ugly cat is becoming somewhat of a celeberity in N.H. according to CBS.  Yuck.

Watch a video of the cat here.

Tunes on Tuesday (Josh Ritter)

Josh Ritter performing “Monster Ballads.”  Not great quality, song sounds much better on CD, wait who buys CD’s anymore, I mean Mp3.

T-Will, Life of Louisville

Pat Forde has a good article on Terrance Williams.  Here is an excerpt:

The Terrence Williams Variety Show had just concluded the on-court portion of the day’s presentation with a typical smorgasbord line: 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one W.

Now it was time for the postgame entertainment. The Louisville senior forward, natural ham and runaway fan favorite, removed his adidas high-tops and hollered to a team manager for a Sharpie. He signed the heels of both shoes and tossed them into the Freedom Hall stands.

“Two more games here — one more now,” Williams said after leading the surging Cardinals past gutty Marquette 62-58. “I get to see the fans up close. Why not leave them with something?”

Read it all here.

Animation of Hudson River Landing

This is an amazing video of the Hudson River landing with the audio from the airplane.

HT:  Justin Taylor

Open or Closed Communion?

Scott McNight has some of the answers that JI Packer gave to the the questions of open or closed communion.  If you follow the link you can read Packer’s response.  I am going to try to answer the questions myself.

Q:  Do you believe that access to the Lord’s Table should be restricted, and if so, how does the church do that in a way that’s inoffensive? [I would add this: If you were the person distributing the bread or wine, would you pass someone by or would you let them make the decision?

A:  Yes, access to the Lord's table should be restricted to believers only. The Lord's Supper is about "remembering" the Lord's death.  Unbelievers do not see anything significant about the Lord's death, so they have nothing to remember.  That may sound offensive, but the gospel is offensive (2 Cor 2:16). As a Baptist I would add that the believers must be baptized to participate.    That may seem strict, but if we believe that baptism is an act of obedience, then refusal to be baptized would be an act of disobedience.  Having said that I would almost never make the decision for someone.  The way to do that in good conscience is to "guard" or "fence" the table before it is served.  You explain who can and who cannot come to the table.  After that, you leave it up to them.  (The tough question comes when someone asks if you would let a Presbyterian who you know is believer come to the table.  Again I would leave it up to their conscience.  Baptists believe that they are being disobedient to the command to be baptized but this is not "willful" disobedience in our understanding, but a lack of good interpretation.)

Q:  If you were the one teaching, would you say this is open to anyone, to Christians only, or to seekers as well? How would you discriminate between folks? JI Packer answers as follows ... do you agree with him or not?]

A:  Packer spoke of those who were under the discipline of the church but I will not address that here.  I think that those who are under discipline should be told in private beforehand that they should abstain from the table that week if necessary.  The table is not for seekers, but believers.  How are they participating in the Lord’s Supper if they do not believe that Jesus has died for their sins and rose again on the third day?  The way to discriminate is to guard the table before it is served.  By “guard” I mean explain.  I have grown up in churches who practice this by saying the following things.

• They read 1 Cor 11
• They explain what we are doing
• They explain that only those who have been baptized and are in good standing with a church should come to the table (This allows not only members of your church to come but also believers from other churches to participate.  I think this is helpful because we believe that the church is not only local but universal.)

• They explain that those who are not believers should let the plate pass by however that the elders would love to talk to them about a relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Then they also speak to those who are living in willful sin and plead with them to examine their hearts to see if they are confessing their sins before God.

P.S.  I heard Matt Chandler do this as well but he is a little less formal and I liked how he started off explaining that this was a “family” thing and that if you were not a part of the “family” of Christ then this meal was not for you.

Young Guns, Part 3

Minutes after I read the second part of “Young Guns” I ran across this article in the NYT.  It is about a boy who is a minister at the age of 11 in his church in Fort Lauderdale.

Here is an excerpt:

Five years later, Terry is an ordained minister who preaches almost every Sunday at True Gospel Deliverance Ministry, a 20-seat nondenominational storefront church that his grandmother founded in 2000.

“They say, ‘How can you be a preacher when you’re so young?’ ” said Terry, now 11. “But when they listen to me, they’re shocked.”

“God just put his Spirit upon me,” said Terry, who wore a baby blue suit with matching snakeskin shoes, the kind of outfit he usually wears on Sundays. “He said, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.’ But he didn’t say how old you had to be or anything like that.”

During the week, Terry attends fifth grade at Liberty Elementary School, plays Uno with his friends and attends choir practice. Terry, who said he earns A’s and B’s in school, reads the Bible every day in addition to studying theology through classes offered by an online university.

But Terry said he was happiest when preaching.

“When I’m in the pulpit, it’s like something turns over me,” he said, “and I just turn into a man of God. And when I’m out of the pulpit, I just turn into a speechless kid.”

Terry sat in a living room decorated with three posters of him in his Sunday clothes and bearing the words “Little Man of God.” Sitting on a large red and gold couch, he tapped his shoes against the floor and explained how he prepared for his sermons.

He does not write anything down, he said. He simply reads the Bible the day before the service and waits for the Spirit to move him. “I don’t plan to say those things,” he said, “but when God gives them to me, I say them right away to be obedient.”

Turning the pulpit over to a youthful minister like Terry is not unusual in black churches not overseen by a central body, said Prof. Christine Gudorf, chairwoman of the religion department at Florida International University.

In these churches, she said, age is not an issue, and seminary training is not necessary.

Read the whole article.

Young Guns, Part 2

Resurgence continues their post about young men in the ministry.

Throughout church history God has chosen to use young people for significant kingdom work. The following are a few more examples that have greatly encouraged me, and I pray they do likewise for you.

D.L. Moody

D.L. Moody was one of the greatest evangelists in the history of America. His legacy today includes the renowned Moody Church, Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers. Moody began his ministry with a ragtag group of rowdy young boys who had been kicked out of other Sunday school classes. Before becoming a pastor, Moody was denied church membership because he failed the oral doctrine exam. During his life he traveled one million miles and preached to over one hundred million people. At the Chicago World’s Fair he preached to 130,000 people in one day. Moody began his life of ministry at the young age of twenty-one and went into full time ministry at the age of twenty-four.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the most well-known pastors of the 20th century. He opposed the Nazi church in Germany and built an underground seminary to train pastors to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and not bend their knees to Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazis in 1945 at the age of thirty-nine after writing, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die.” Bonhoeffer began his life of ministry at the young age of twenty-five.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon is among the finest preachers in the history of the church, though he was not formally educated for the task. He pastored the world’s first megachurch, where thousands would come to hear him preach the gospel upwards of ten times a week. Over 100,000 people attended his funeral. Spurgeon took his first pulpit at the young age of nineteen.

Billy Graham

Billy Graham is easily the most influential Protestant Christian leader of the 20th century and for me personally one of the most inspiring men who has ever lived. Graham has preached the gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history—over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through television, video, film, and webcasts. Graham began publicly preaching the gospel at the young age of nineteen.

Various Revivals

In addition to God working miraculously through the young, he is also prone to work miraculously on the young. Three revivals in particular primarily affected young people. The college student revivals under Jonathan Edward’s grandson, Timothy Dwight, brought many young Christians into church leadership. The Second Great Awakening (1776-1810) was largely fueled by college revivals. The Puritans in Britain were often scoffed at for being “merely children” because so many of them were in their early and mid twenties. Lastly, the great Scottish revival is reported to have been mainly young people, as a reported 60 percent of the mass conversions were among people between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five.