GOD

There is one God who exists eternally in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All persons share the same essence, glory, and power, but they are distinct from each other.  God knows all things—past, present, and future.  He transcends creation, but has acted in it as well.  God has power over all things and can do anything that can be done.

THE FATHER

The first person of the Godhead is he who created and ordered the subsequent work of salvation for humankind.  The Father’s will is supreme.

THE SON

The person referred to as ‘the Son’ is the incarnation of God.  In the historical person known as Jesus Christ, God took on human flesh and thus carried both human and divine natures.  After having lived a sinless life, Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.  On the third day he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

The third person of the Godhead exists as the empowering presence of God, by which he acts in creation.  The Spirit of God reached his culminating work in the birth of the church, when he began permanently indwelling believers.  The Holy Spirit convicts, baptizes, regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers believers for ministry through wisdom and the plenary gifts recorded in the New Testament.

CREATION

God originally created everything good but with the potential to become enslaved to sin therefore ruining its perfect beauty and order.  Nonetheless, creation retains part of its original order and is entrusted to us as stewards, as Adam was told to do in the Garden of Eden.  When he returns, Jesus will restore the heavens and the earth.

HUMANITY

Humankind has intrinsic value because all people, tracing their heritage back to a historical Adam and Eve, were created in the image of God.  Humankind is made up of both body and soul—material and immaterial.  Upon being deceived by Satan, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and consequently sin entered into our world. This acquired sin nature is passed on to every person, and has inclined us all to sin.  The consequence of sin is spiritual separation from God and makes his standard of holiness humanly unattainable.

SALVATION

Salvation refers to the act of becoming reconciled to God.  It consists of various stages and dimensions, including but not limited to election, justification, sanctification, and glorification. When a person responds positively to the call of the Holy Spirit by putting their faith in Jesus Christ, God deems them justified in a legal sense.  Then according to the measure that a person allows himself or herself, the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ—this  is called sanctification.  Finally, at the second coming of Jesus, all Christians will be resurrected in their bodies and will spend an eternity with God.

THE BIBLE

The Bible is the inspired word of God and inerrant in its original autographs.  It has final authority on issues of faith and practice and is to be interpreted using the historical-grammatical approach, with due attention given to the literary genre of each book and passage.

END TIMES

There is a time yet to come when Jesus will return to earth in all his glory.  During this time he will judge the world, reward his church with imperishable bodies, and restore the earth and heavens to glory.

GO TO THE NEWS, DON’T LET IT COME TO YOU.

Cutting out the distraction of social media and advertising becomes so much easier when you act like a master!  Facebook targets users with ads based on information you provide in your profile.  Pandora also seems to target listeners with ads based on musical preferences (not confirmed).  RSS feeds bring the news you follow into your application every day.  Twitter lets you get updates from followers on your mobile phone.

One of the easy ways to cut off distractions is to disallow as many of these media strategies as possible!  Keep information on your social media sites low.  Don’t have your mobile updates setting turned on for Twitter.  Don’t use a RSS reader; go to the particular sites/blogs when you need to.

The news is trying to get to you, advertisers are trying to get to you.  Be in control of what happens before your eyes, or else you’ll find yourself going down rabbit holes you didn’t have to go down.  This way, you’ll have more time for worship, discipleship, community, evangelism, service, mission, etc.  Media, like many other things, is a great servant but a terrible master to have.  I hope you happened upon this article intentionally, and I hope it helps accomplish disengagement from all unnecessary distractions as you pursue your life-calling.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13a (NIV)

At first glance you figure Paul saves the best group for last; those who say they “follow Christ” are the ones who really get it.  But that’s not what he’s doing.  His rebuke is for those who say they follow Christ as much as it is for those who follow another.  This is clear by the words “still another”, and Paul’s lack of positive approval.

So why did they get it wrong too?  I believe it’s because their proclamation was encouraging continued division. You see, it’s one thing to say of yourself “I follow Christ”, it’s quite another to help someone discover that they too should be following Christ.  The spiritual party in Corinth considered themselves right, and they were.  They were supposed to be following Christ.  But once you figure that out for yourself, you need to take that message to the world!  And if you haven’t taken it to your church yet, don’t try to take it to the world.  When someone in the church is following someone else, you only fuel division by not helping them discover that their identity is in Christ also.  Those in Corinth were all in Christ. What a mistake it was for one group of people to horde that truth to themselves, i.e. claim it for themselves and not for others as well.

Spiritual pride is huge today– we’re all victims of it at some point.  One of the ways to overcome it is to realize that what’s ours in Christ isn’t just a personal keepsake.  Don’t sit complacent in your discipleship as those around you are following something or someone other than Christ.  Stop pointing your finger, share your spiritual gifts, and help your church discover that we’re all created to be followers of Jesus.  This is key to unity in the churh.

As you excitedly rush to cash in on your gift card, don’t make the mistake of entering this foreign world without the proper manners. Below are some simple rules of etiquette that may save you some embarrassment and help garnish your reputation:

1. It’s fashionable to not take longer than 3 seconds to decide what “your drink will be.”
2. Realize some places have charming ways of saying “small, medium, large”. Memorize them quickly, and don’t confuse the terms between different shops!
3. Ask your barista (server) to clarify drink variations. Most of them are friendly.
4. Hang your coat over your chair to cover the crack those low-rider jeans might reveal.
5. If you absolutely must rearrange furniture, pick it UP, don’t drag it across the floor.
6. Don’t use a chair to hold your book-bag or briefcase if the place is crowded. This is a sure way to annoy people.

The above may help you avoid awkward social situations as you ease your way into the coffee shop scene. Get used to them—they’re useful for meeting people, whether it be for work or for pleasure. Am I missing anything?

Don Miller, Blue Like Jazz, 84

In high school I used to think of poverty as a type of virtue.  Given the music and lifestyle I was into, this makes sense.  My preferred lyrics taught me that society was so stratified because the well-to-do, and middle class even, had its values totally mixed up.  Conformity, comfort, and the like was not something I celebrated.  Dressing differently (even if ever so slightly) would be what set me apart.  I mean, who would want to look like the people who take things for granted?  I believed that poverty is where real life is.  People who could actually afford a savings account apparently had no clue.  For some reason, I envied the renegades who would have to scuffle around for food, hang out underneath bridges in hordes, and frequent the local music venues and bars.  Picture that type of romanticized lifestyle.  This would bring a person validation; only this type of story would be worth writing a biography about.

I don’t view the world through this lens anymore.  For a time in my life I bounced to the opposite extreme, feeling a sense of entitlement education and milieu gave me.  Today I stand taught, rebuked, and corrected by the Word and Spirit of God.  He does not desire poverty for the world, but neither is he pleased by excess.

I’ve never actually been poor.  I don’t know what it feels like to live paycheck to paycheck with the anxiety that I may no longer be able to afford the shelter over my head (and not have family that would take me in).  I don’t know what it’s like to be probed by curious eyes, save the time in high school when I preferred it that way.  But imagine that everywhere you went, your car, clothes, smell, whatever, gave you away.  Imagine having to use the currency of poverty, while those behind you in line look you over so as to confirm that you match their notion of a poor person.  Or worse, their eyes hold you accountable by checking to see if you filled your cart with efficient means of living.  Don Miller spoke of dignity.  When we judge the poor, we take away their dignity.  Some people think it necessary to exercise their God-given skills of observation by seeking to affirm labels.  “Must keep our empirical selves sharp!” I can hear them say.  And still, they hardly ever reach inside their wallets or give resources to organizations that help the poor.

Most of us don’t live in poverty.  Though it doesn’t necessarily make life more real, poverty is a real problem.  Nonetheless, humankind retains its dignity because it was created by God.  No matter where a person’s at in life, they deserve a sense of dignity and respect.  Let’s not allow our curious eyes to turn us into robbers.

Hansen, Collin. Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists.  Wheaton: Crossway, 2008.

The title reveals that the movement is characterized by a younger generation who has grown restless with the various forms of Christianity that supposedly now lack appeal.  Allow me to say from the beginning that I really enjoyed the read–it helped bring clarity to the growing trend many in the church have already noticed.  Generally, Hansen–an admitted Calvinist–merely sought to report what was happening, so this kind of work shouldn’t upset anyone on the other side of the spectrum (notice the subtitle, “A journalist’s journey with the New Calvinists”).  Still, at some parts in the work it was hard to tell whether the point being made was an objective presentation of a fact or a wonderfully composed paragraph to persuade its readers.  Whatever his intention, in the end the ambiguity may simply further demonstrate his ability as a writer, i.e. very sneaky work!

Some of the points I would like to focus on are the following:

1. Certain characteristics he presented as unique to Calvinism which in fact are not, misleading the reader to believe Calvinism/Reformed theology has a monopoly on certain “sound doctrines.”
2. Provide a very brief critique of some Calvinism’s main points.
3. Emphasize the implications of some of Reformed theology’s points, which will impact how you do ministry.

I won’t cover it all, or offer a full review.  I want to focus on just some of the points that are significant.  Here it goes.

• Pg. 15-17: John Piper’s famous quote “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” is not unique to Calvinism, nor is his point that the glory of God is the ultimate theme of preaching and the focus of worship music, nor his point that God’s glory and sovereignty should be the subject of worship songs.  All evangelicals affirm this.  There is simply a different understanding of what God’s sovereignty entails, and how God receives glory.  Worship songs that praise God for what he is doing in the lives of his people is just as much God-glorifying as those which treat the Godhead more directly.  This comports well with the picture we have in the Psalms.
• Pg. 22: He quotes Joshua Harris who talks about how some Christians who discover Reformed theology like to speak of experiencing a type of second rebirth.  Let’s be fair–if this is true about those people, it’s probably because they never understood the Gospel or were never saved to start.
• Pg. 22-24: He speaks of “moralistic therapeutic deism” in American evangelicalism as if its the only alternative to Reformed theology.  This is a terrible false dilemma.  Consider the theology of John Wesley, Pentecostalism/Charismatics, Free Will Baptists, various Pietist, Holiness, and mainline Protestant denominations and what you’ll discover is that these are no pop-psychology type theologies.  There’s also the nondenominational community churches that are staying true to the Gospel message.
• Pg. 29: In quoting J. I. Packer, who is speaking of John Piper’s ministry, it says “He gives them the sense that passionate thinking is at the essence of real life.”  This would be an unfortunate concession.  I thought the essence of real life is love.  I’m surprised that those in such an anti-humanistic ideology (Reformed theology) would have such high praise for thinking.
• Pg. 35-37: Hansen gets into an exposition of sorts on the doctrine of total depravity.  Unfortunately, his presentation suffers from inconsistencies, jumps in logic, and quotes from Calvinist pastors that should be rightfully considered offensive to non-Calvinists.  His treatment of Ephesians 2:1 doesn’t answer what we’re incapable of doing, while dead in our trespasses.  Gen. 6:5, Gen. 8:2, and Rom. 7:18, which describe man’s depravity are pieced together with passages like Isa. 64:6, and then concludes that man is incapable of doing any good.    Even the quote used from Isa. 64:6 states that man can perform righteous acts.  Does Scripture contradict itself, then?  This goes to prove that often times we read Scripture very shallowly, ignoring contextual and literary complexities.  Finally, consider the assertion made by Andrew Knight (a minister at Bethleem Baptist Church): “You may never feel the weight, you will never feel the wonder of grace until you finally relinquish your claim to have any part in your salvation.  It has to be unconditional.”  Arminians must be deceived, then!  I think it rather presumptuous to make such a statement, as if a person can measure the awe for God another Christian stores in her heart.
• Pg. 42-44: He quotes a young lady, “…Never, ever in the Bible do people initiate a relationship with God.”  To be fair, never, ever in Arminian theology do people initiate a relationship with God either!  ”It was the most freeing thing to realize that their salvation is not dependent on me spending enough time with them or me explaining the gospel in the best way or me being an expert in the language.  It freed me up to love being there even if I wasn’t seeing fruit.”  However you feel about such an approach to evangelism, do realize the implications it has.  Unfortunately, this is a complex issue and we would have to clarify what we mean by “salvation being dependent on”, so we can’t do justice to it here.  But do notice that in the ministry of both Jesus and Paul, at least to some degree, “salvation was dependent” on how they presented the Gospel message.  See Acts 17:2 “As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures” and 2 Cor. 2:4 “For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.”  This doesn’t sound like what the person Hansen quotes is celebrating.  Consider especially the strenuous, persistent, passionate, often tense relationships Paul had with the churches he planted.  To deny this is to fall into a relaxed approach to evangelism and shrug off our moral (spiritual) duty to fulfill the Great Commission.  Granted, the connection between unconditional election and evangelism has long been explored and debated.  I am simply submitting that we should recognize how a theology can affect our approach to evangelism.  In other words, theology matters–the stakes are high.
• Pg. 73: On discussing Albert Mohler’s role in restoring the doctrine of inerrancy to SBTS, one of the ideas inserted back into the seminary’s Abstract of Principles is “God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and all events.”  The issue here is Determinism.  Calvinists have a hard time avoiding the conclusion of fatalism–which states that God caused/willed everything to happen (including evil, the fall etc.).  Here’s the problem: the way the proposition in the Abstract of Principles is constructed makes it extremely ambiguous and ultimately uncontroversial.  The conditions “or permits” and “perpetually” causes the statement to simply contradict itself at worse, and say nothing that would make it unique from Arminianism or Deism at best.  The New Calvinists want to avoid double predestination (also referred to as supralapsarianism) and fatalism, but find it hard to do so while remaining consistent in their theology.

I realize these are very sensitive and complex issues, so I don’t want the hub of this post to focus on critiquing Calvinism or Reformed theology per se.  I simply wanted to expose how the book does not fairly reflect important details about opposing viewpoints, doesn’t develop some of the logical implications of the people Hansen quotes, and fails to show the connection between theology and praxis, all the while painting New Calvinism in a rather favorable light from a considerably nonobjective perspective.

To be continued.

And so happens on the scene a reporter from CBC News–that’s Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for those less familiar with Canadian media.  As I listened to the news hour Monday I caught a brief report a Canadian had from the Auto Show.  The way he presented the information left quite the impression of the American auto industry trajectory; a bad impression.  He painted a picture of gloom, disparity, and it left me wondering if he had even managed to kick around some tumble weeds at Cobo Hall.  I hope that this be a simple exercise in demonstrating that facts do not speak for themselves.  The way something is reported can have impacting effects on how a historical event is perceived.

What the reporter chose to emphasize was the huge contrast between the Auto Show now and what it used to be several years ago.  He talked about how barely a year ago both Chrysler and General Motors–two of the world’s formerly largest car companies–filed bankruptcy in 2009.  He added detail about how both companies are slow to recover.  Chrysler is entirely absent from this year’s show since it is still working on car designs since its recovery.  GM isn’t too far ahead–they barely have a few car models scattered around the convention hall, and even those are modest exhibits of small, fuel-efficient cars.  I mean, who cares about those type of cars, right?  You’d think a Canadian would be a little more sympathetic to this idea!  The impression I was left with was a sad one.  Not only did it paint a picture of gloom about Detroit’s auto industry, but it made the Auto Show the last thing on my list that I would want to visit in the next couple of weeks.  In a sense, this shouldn’t surprise us since the culture of our friends to north teaches them that they should relish the idea of big corporations failing.  Or maybe they just suffer from a little bit of an inferiority complex.

Now imagine this: another reporter attends the exact same show.  And in the ABC News slot they begin by talking about how though GM and Chrysler tanked last year they are on their way to recovery, heading back to the drawing boards to think through designs more pragmatically from now on.  They may even begin by reporting that GM has actually begun hiring again.  Then they shift to what’s actually being exhibited at the Auto Show, highlighting several interesting brands or makes that are making a splash with viewers.  Next, they focus on how GM is jumping in right by focusing on fuel-efficient models–something today’s consumers are looking for.  So with a positive tone she admits that while considerably smaller than before, the 2010 Auto Show is still worth seeing, especially as an exciting glimpse into how the American auto industry is recovering from the effects of the poor economy.

In a way, I resent CBC’s take on this event.  It seemed like a drive-by critique shrouded in ridicule.  But the point is this: facts don’t speak for themselves for those who weren’t around to witness an event.  The reporter, writer, historian brings their interpretive lens to every story they cover.  Though both CBC and ABC may not have reported anything contradictory, it almost seemed like they were talking about two different phenomenon.  They may have different underlying purposes in reporting, but that does not mean the events they are reporting on are not historical. Consider how this might apply to our historical investigation of the Resurrection, the life of Jesus, and the early church.   Understand that the New Testament authors did have an agenda (see John 20:30-31; Luke 1:1-4), but that does not mean the events which they investigated and reported on did not happen.  Consider this as you read the varying New Testament accounts.

2010 North American International Auto Show

The Gospel transcends time.  Its relevance penetrates the soul and in its beautiful irony it puts all other ideologies to shame.  And yet God chose the church as his agent of truth.  1 Timothy 3:15 honors us while obliging us to something.  We’re called the pillar of truth–that ancient architectural element that supports structures.  We the church are commissioned to be the foundation that upholds, honors, and leads the way in the truth enterprise.  It seems the Gospel message has been entrusted to a people who are less than perfect and who are notorious for being lazy in our evangelism and missions, i.e. keeping God ourselves.  And still our greatest mistake may soon come to be not our inactivity but our complacency in how we view God.  I consider that the Gospel message will suffer most when the church has a lesser view of God than rightfully belongs to him.  Here’s the unpacking: we think we can fully wrap our minds around an infinite God who is wholly different from us.  Furthermore, we bind him in paradigm that lets us sit back in comfort as we think to ourselves, “Ah yes, we’ve sorted this matter out.  Nothing further.”  Confessions, creeds, and theologies of  a different era are mistakenly considered sufficient for engaging our world today, and our teachers crouch behind systematic theologies that are thought to settle the score once and for all.

We think the world isn’t worth exploring and that it has nothing to tell us about God, even though Scripture clearly tells us otherwise (Rom. 1:19-20).  We cower in fear as the “secular disciplines” rear their ugly heads.  Sociology, anthropology, psychology and the like are changing the way people understand the world because they reveal so much about who we are.  So it makes sense that something like anthropology and theology proper should be in constant conversation.  The design says much about the designer!  The more we understand ourselves and the world we live in, the more we should understand God.  The Gospel message suffers when theology doesn’t keeping up.  The Gospel message suffers when the church retreats instead of engaging.

We live in the Information Age– an age of specialization, where Masters degrees are becoming the norm for landing a job.  The young adult freshly graduated from college can often stump the middle-aged believer with her simple palette of dilemmas she learned in certain 101 classes.  Part of the reason is because the church has created a ghetto for itself, one based on a misunderstanding of what it means to be a people of faith.  And this happens in Christian academia as well, largely due to the problem of fear or slippery slope arguments.

What I’m submitting is that the popular understanding of sola Scriptura is not enough (and itself not found in Scripture).  A contextual study of Luther’s circumstances will reveal he never intended it to be so narrowly understood either.  He demanded that Canon Law be considered null in the soteriological debates of the time because the truth taught in the Bible and stood in clear contrast to it.  For us today, while Scripture should remain primary in our theological method, it is a naive myth to think it is the sole source for our theology.  Our assumptions influence our worldviews so much that when honed properly and submitted to the primacy of Scripture, the scientific disciplines can help us ferret out our presuppositions and offer context, clarity, and correction to our beliefs.  When an apparent contradiction between our sources surfaces, it is due either to our misunderstanding of a particular Bible passage or to our misunderstanding of nature.

We render ourselves irrelevant when we become illiterate.  Let us engage the developments of the secular sciences.  Let us be learned.  Let us not so narrowly understand the gift of Scripture that we miss the beauty and usefulness of God’s general revelation.

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As I drew near to Kitchener the road was hit with a blizzard-like experience.  It’s as if the weather waited patiently all the way from Sarnia and past London just so that it could give me all its worth as I entered Kitchener.  Traffic slowed from 64 mph to about 35 on one of Canada’s largest highways.  That’s 100/56 kilometers for those reading from beyond the border.  The roads were bad and I became nervous.  But the good Lord carried me through to my final destination.  My cousin advised me that getting “winter tires” (from Canadian Tire, maybe?) would be a wise decision on my part.  I was wondering what was wrong with all of the cars that were missing their rims/hubcaps!  Apparently, people invest in winter tires for better traction, and not having the mechanic transfer the rims saves money.

So I payed many visits to friends and family. Fondue parties and the like.  I was impressed that Canadians haven’t lost their enthusiasm for Ketchup Chips!  You read right.  Canada makes this mouth-watering flavor of chips, and it’s still a house-party favorite.  My friends had their fingers all over the chip bowl, and then proceeded to lick their fingers once they had their full share (or was that just me?).

On Sunday night I spoke at a church.  I talked about Christmas and the Incarnation.  God totally came through (not that he ever doesn’t) and put me in the zone as I preached.  But, for some reason I totally botched the devotional I did with their praise band before the service.  No one had anything to share before we went in prayer, so I offered.  I was so nervous before these folk that once used to be my church family that the ideas just weren’t coming out of my mouth right.  Thankfully, they were full of grace, and even better- God doesn’t work based on how good we perform.  The worship was great.

Canadians are so lawful.  When speed limits change on highways, they actually brake to slow down…exactly where the signs are posted.  Americans, at best, release the gas pedal just enough to slow them down a mile or so down the road.  This is good on behalf of Canadians.  The general slower-pace was such a nice break for me.  Next time I’ll know that brake lights don’t mean they see a police officer with radar up ahead, they mean the speed is changing.

I met a guy named Gabriel who went to Bible College in Portland.  He’s gifted, and he’s making inroads into people’s lives over there.  I pray that God opens doors for him to minister full time.

On my way back home the currency exchange drive-thru was closed as the border.  This was such an inconvenience.  I had to actually get out of my car and walk inside.  Just teasing- there weren’t many people so the the exchange was fast, professional, and almost personal!  Oh, and, I left the keys in the ignition while I was inside.  Canadians are nice and don’t steal as much.  I trusted that my car would still be there when I return.

Don’t take my word for it.  Visit Canada, and share your personal ruminations!