Cultivating A Culture of Life

For all of the violence, death, disease, and destruction that is a daily aspect of existence for billions, it is refreshing to find in some circles a renewed focus on life. January 22nd marked the 35th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Yet despite the defense that this law gets from the left and its media allies, there are a few brave souls who are willing to bring an opposing view into the mainstream of society.

An evidence of this can be found in a recent trend in movies. Films such as Bella, Knocked-Up, Waitress, Juno, and August Rush all have depicted young women as carrying babies to term and either raising them or putting them up for adoption. What used to be derided as antiquated and backward is now being characterised as noble and self-sacrificing. Now while I might not recommend these movies on other grounds, the shift that they represent is highly noteworthy.

Evangelical christians need to seize on such cultural enlightenment and add to it the savory, preserving, salt of truth that comes from living according to God's word. In Genesis 2:15, it states, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of eden to work and keep it." The two Hebrew verbs mentioned in this verse also imply worship and praise. In other words, the very reason for the existence of all life is for the praise and worship of God. When life is snuffed out in the womb, in the test tube, or in the nursing home it robs God of a vessel that He created for His glory. This gives us a sacred context for the sanctity of life and behooves us to preserve it at all costs.

As we contemplate the dreadful, murderous legacy of arguably the worst supreme court decision ever, let us seek to raise the awareness of the dignity of all life. This may mean volunteering at a local crisis pregnancy center for some. For others it may mean sitting with an elderly person who is near death but desperate for company. These are but a couple of ways that we as believers can demonstrate to a watching world that we are serious about cultivating a culture of life.

"The story isn't boring."

I love to read. I find it very therapeutic. However, I am a creature of habit and I don't like trying out authors I've never heard of before, and that is why the book I read this weekend was so strange.

Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin came recommended to me by a close friend (unbeknownst to him). After I ordered the book it was again recommended to me by another close friend (once again, unbeknownst to him). I had never heard of Nate Larkin before, but I trust what these guys read implicitly.

I was anticipating the arrival of the book all week and I was thrilled when it arrived and couldn't wait to begin reading it. The book did not disappoint and I had it finished in about a day. I absolutely could not put this book down.

Samson and the Pirate Monks is a book for men who are struggling. It is a call for men to engage in authentic brotherhood. It is a cry for help and a message that needs to be heard and heeded. It is not a book purely about overcoming sexual struggles, although this book does detail Larkin's own struggles with sexual addiction. This book has a lot to say about so much else as well. For example

"The church, according to the New Testament, is not a loose confederation of individuals. The church is a body- a living, breathing organism whose members are so intimately connected that they can only move together. On any given day, every member of that body needs help, and every member has some help to give."- 73

"God, in His grace, has used addiction to shatter my moralistic understanding of the Christian faith and force me to accept the Gospel. I am not a faithful man. That's why I need a savior. I cannot live victoriously on my own. That's why I need a Helper and brothers. I cannot keep my promises to God- the very act of making them is delusional- but God will keep His promises to me." 132

"When our companions ask for help, our first instinct is probably to offer them our strength, a quick answer, or an inspiring success story. That, indeed, may be what they need, but there is also a paradoxical power in weakness, a strange encouragement that comes from questions echoed and failures shared. Sometimes the greatest gift we can give a brother is to say, "Me too." 163

I hate to even begin quoting anything out of this book for fear of leaving something equally or more important out. In all honesty, I probably have more than 60% of the book underlined. And as much as I learned about overcoming temptation, I learned just as much about the church, the family, brotherhood, honesty, and the list could go on and on.

For those who love to strain a gnat and would get mad if there was nothing critical found from reading a book, here is a paragraph for you. Some will have a problem with the author's view on alcohol and the fact that the brotherhood to which he belongs meets at a pub after their "official" meetings. When telling a story about King David, Larkin uses a little freedom in his telling of the story. For me to even mention that is almost hypocritical, as I am an avid fan of John Eldredge. Larkin also suggests that to fully engage in a brotherhood you have to abandon self-help methods and yet this book is more or less a self-help book.

Once again, the above paragraph is there after having to look hard to find anything to complain about with the book. It will be one that I read over and over again and I give it a ringing endorsement and encourage all men to read it, POST HASTE!

A Beloved Scholar Goes Home

With great sadness, we here at Two Institutions would like to take this opportunity to express our heart-felt condolences to all of the family and friends of Dr. L. Russ Bush. Dean Bush, as he was affectionately known, was a beloved husband, father, and professor. His contributions to Biblical scholarship marked him as one of the key academics behind the conservative resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Dean Bush was also a man of determination and vision. He had the courage to come to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary at a time when we locals jokingly called it Southeastern cemetery and along with Dr. Patterson shape and mold the school into a hotbed of gospel fervor. Many were the times that this blogger sat in Binkley chapel as a student at Southeastern and was comforted by the steady and benevolent leadership of Dean Bush. He has been promoted to heaven but the rich legacy that he leaves behind will forever enshrine him in our hearts.

Dr. Al Mohler has done an outstanding tribute to Dean Bush which can be found here.

The Seminary has posted its official announcement here.

Don't Confuse Me With The Facts (Part Two)

This post is a continuation from Friday January 18th, 2008.

The evangelists mentioned in the Baptist Press article, however, have just cause for concern. If Ed Stetzers research is correct, then evangelism in the SBC is in serious trouble. To blame it on calvinism, however, is not only wrong but is also dangerous. Out of respect for the integrity of these evangelists, I humbly suggest a conspiracy is afoot.

I am convinced that satan will use any means necessary to stop the spread of the gospel. In this case he is doing a great job of distracting us from the real problems namely:

1. A serious distrust of the sufficiency of Scripture
2. A lack of gospel centered expositional preaching
3. A conspicuous absence of church discipline
4. High pressure revivalist tactics that demonstrate no understanding of the doctrine of conversion or the work of the Holy Spirit
5. An egregious absence of integrity in church membership
6. A forsaking of family worship in the home initiated by Dad's
7. Pastors assuming roles not Biblically assigned them instead of lovingly confronting church members to obey Biblical mandate

While this list is not meant to be exhaustive it does cover what I believe to be some of the greatest dangers. Despite the obstacles that we face, I am convinced that reformed and non-reformed alike can be bound together in one spirit to spread the gospel and build His kingdom.

Don't Confuse Me With The Facts (Part One)

There is an old adage that goes, "Some people are like owls, the more light you shine on them, the less they see." Well if that is the case then there is a very vocal contingent of "owls" who are determined that Reformed theology is going to be the death knell of the Southern Baptist Convention. It amazes me how willfully oblivious such persons can be to the salient issue that evangelism is killed by revivalism, shallow theology, easy believism, and a lack of Biblical discipleship not Reformed theology.

This point was quite clearly demonstrated in a recent article on the Baptist Press website entitled, "Evangelists Lament Calvinism, SBC Trends" . Apparently a group of SBC evangelists met in Tennessee to discuss the danger that a rise in sympathy towards calvinism poses for evangelism. I wont beat that dead horse, but what struck me as ironic was their secondary concern which was the "willow creek-non-confrontational" style of evangelism. Upon reading this, I was at a loss for words. Am I jumping the gun in drawing the conclusion that these evangelists are saying that calvinists are proponents and practitioners of this "willow creek-non-confrontational"evangelistic style? If that is true then I'm afraid that they have made a most unfortunate and grossly incorrect assumption. If anything the exact opposite is true. A cursory hearing of any of the calvinist sympathetic speakers from the Building Bridges Conference back last fall can easily dispel this myth. Particularly I would direct any of these gentlemen to the excellent challenge by Pastor Jeff Noblit.

I was especially troubled by one of the comments made by one of the evangelist participants in which he stated...

he currently is working with some young pastors who are "so leaning in this morphed Calvinism that they almost laugh at evangelism. It's almost to the extent that they believe they don't have to do it. So [Calvinism] gives them an excuse not to do evangelism."

I suppose that there may be some young pastors out there who are genuinely like this man described but I have yet to meet one. I would be curious to know who their major influences are. I know for a fact that such attitudes are not fostered by true Reformed theology such as espoused by Calvin, Boyce, Dagg, Broadus, Fuller, Carey, Spurgeon, Piper, Dever, Mohler, and the like. I don't wish to cast a shadow on this comment but it has straw-man written all over it.

This post is the first of a 2-part series...

Dad Is The Pastor

If there has been one consistent theme that I have been sensing among pastors and denominational leaders from all evangelical backgrounds is that we are weak on evangelism. The gospel is being proclaimed from the pulpit, but not from the pew. I think that there are many factors that have contributed to this but one of the greatest is the breakdown of Biblical Christian community in the home.

Billy Graham once said, "If your Christianity does not work at home, don't export it." In that regard, it may be to the credit of many families that they don't bother to evangelize the lost. I believe that one of the best means to improving our evangelistic efforts, however, is to strengthen Christian community in the home. This has to begin with male leadership. I don't know whether it was the dads abrogating their roles or pastors taking it from them that has led us to where we are but both are wrong and must be avoided. Dads need to be taught, encouraged, and held accountable by their fellow male believers that they are to be the pastors for their families first. Dads should be initiating regular family worship and prayer time with their families and discipling their children in Biblical wisdom. Its not a suggestion it is an imperative (Deut. 6). I'd be willing to bet that if our Christianity began to work at home we wouldn't be having discussions as pastors on how to improve our evangelism. But then what do I know, I'm just a modern day puritan.

A godly man promotes religion in his family; he sets up piety in his house as well as in his heart…. A godly man's house is a little church…. A good man makes known the oracles of God to those who are under his roof. He reads the Word and perfumes his house with prayer.
Thomas Watson—A Godly Man's Picture

Behind the times...

It seems I often find myself behind the times. If there is anything news worthy or culturally relevant, you most certainly won't hear it from me first. I am most happy to gain my information 32nd hand and I really don't feel like the last kid picked in dodgeball when I read about something only to find the date on the article is from two years ago.

It is this point precisely that has led me in this new year to be increasingly more aware of trends and traits that may have an impact on the church and Christian faith in general. I have basked in my cultural ignorance for long enough. It used to make sense for me to say I was avoiding culture at all costs. But can we really avoid culture?

What I am finding in my own journey is that the real question is not whether we should be cuturally ignorant or culturally relevant. I feel the real issue has more to do with understanding biblically what is our cultural responsibility, and then we must make sure not to stray from that.

reThink Reviewed In YouthWorker Journal

Finally, one of the greatest books on youth ministry philosophy is getting media recognition. reThink written by Steve Wright and published by InQuest Ministries was reviewed in the January/February edition of YouthWorker Journal. The review was written by editor Larry Lindquist and can be found on the left column of page 77. Be sure to pick up a copy of the journal today. Also reThink can be purchased by clicking HERE.

A message for the church

As you all know we here at Two Institutions are about seeking to find out and educate on the true duties of the family and the church. Yesterday morning our pastor, David Horner delivered a message to the church. Not to our church, but to the church at large. I would encourage you all to listen. It is a message that the church needs to hear over and over again.
http://www.providence-sermons.com/sermons.php

Leaning A Little On The Side of the Reformed

Over the holidays, I have been getting good use of my iphone by listening to several good podcasts. One of my goals for this downtime was to listen and re-listen to the Building Bridges Conference Podcasts.

I was able to do this and to make some poignant observations:

1. Reformed theology and liberalism are totally incompatible.

2. The SBC, historically, has been its healthiest when our theological leadership was thoroughly Reformed

3. Some of the greatest SBC missionaries were decidedly Reformed and some of the greatest times of missionary endeavor in our convention came under their leadership.

4. We have reached an all time low in concern for the Gospel and missions by the average SBC church member.

5. The average SBC church member today has very little understanding of or appreciation for Reformed theology.

Now while these observations may betray a great coincidence in our denomination, I am skeptical. It is ironic that the theological bent that some decry as anti-missional and evangelistic may be the only hope for recovering the Gospel-centered, missional spirit that has been the lifeblood of this convention. If Ed Stetzer's research is right and young seminarians and pastors are breaking decidedly in the direction of the Reformed, then we may yet see revival.

Ancient Words for 2008

The beginning of the New Year is a great time for reflection on what is behind and what lies ahead. Behind us here at Two Institutions are mounds of fond memories and blessings. With that in mind, we are very excited to see what the Lord has in store for 2008.

The historian in me always approaches something new by examining it in the context of something old. King Solomon espouses the wisdom in this in his adage, "...there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecc. 1:9) So lets examine some ancient words that may give us a proper context for commencing this new year.

In Psalm 90:12 we read...

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

These ancient words encourage me that a heart of wisdom is mine for the getting. Most Christians, however, prefer to waste their efforts in talking about wisdom instead of exercising the discipline required to get it. As we start this new year, let us strengthen ourselves, our families, and our churches by being the few that practice the discipline of learning and applying Biblical wisdom.

Ancient words ever true
Changing me, and changing you.
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.
- Michael W. Smith

Happy New Year from Two Institutions.Org