DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed

UPDATE: We have our free book winners. Thank you to everyone who emailed. I'm hoping to put the "why I love my church" responses into a blog post so folks can read about all the good things churches are doing.

I now have my copy of Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion. The book is in stock at Amazon and should be available at bookstores everywhere (probably, not really everywhere, but you get the drift). Read through to the end of the post to find how to get a free copy of Why We Love the Church.

One more excerpt, this one is from my introduction.

*****

If decapitation, from the Latin word caput, means to cut off the head, then it stands to reason that decorpulation, from the Latin word corpus, should refer to cutting off the body. It’s the perfect word to describe the content of this book. If our editors had been asleep at the wheel, we could have called it Recent Trends in Decorpulation. There is a growing movement among self-proclaimed evangelicals and in the broader culture to get spirituality without religion, to find a relationship without rules, and have God without the church. More and more, people are looking for a decorpulated Christianity.

Judging by the popularity of recent books like George Barna’s Revolution and William P. Young’s The Shack and the example of prominent Christians like John Eldredge, there are a lot of Christians who feel like current versions of church just don’t cut it. More than a few have already left their churches, and the number of the disaffected seems to be growing. At the very least the “we want God, not an institution” mantra has struck a chord with many formal, informal, and former churchgoers. So we have books like Life After Church, Divine Nobodies, Dear Church, Quitting Church, and So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore, not to mention Frank Viola’s church-as-we-know-it-is-all-wrong book Pagan Christianity and volumes like UnChristian and They Like Jesus but Not the Church, which explore why outsiders are turned off by the church.

The narrative is becoming so commonplace, you could Mad Lib it:

The institutional church is so (pejorative adjective). When I go to church I feel completely (negative emotion). The leadership is totally (adjective you would use to describe Richard Nixon) and the people are (noun that starts with un-). The services are (adjective you might use to describe going to the dentist), the music is (adjective you would use to describe the singing on Barney), and the whole congregation is (choose among: “passive,” “comatose,” “hypocritical,” or “Rush Limbaugh Republicans”). The whole thing makes me (medical term).

I had no choice but to leave the church. My relationship with (spiritual noun) is better than ever. Now I meet regularly with my (relational noun, pl.) and talk about (noun that could be the focus of a liberal arts degree) and Jesus. We really care for each other. Sometimes we even (choose among: “pray for each other,” “feed the homeless together,” or “share power tools”). This is church like it was meant to be. After all, (insert: “Where two or three are gathered, there I am in the midst of you,” or “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life,” or “we don’t have to go to church, we are the church”). I’m not saying everyone needs to do what I’ve done, but if you are tired of (compound phrase that begins with “institutional” or ends with “as-we-know-it”), I invite you to join the (noun with political overtones) and experience (spiritual noun) like you never will by sitting in a (choose among the following architectural put-downs: “wooden pew,” “steepled graveyard,” “stained-glassed mausoleum,” or “glorified concert hall”) week after week. When will the (biblical noun) starting being the (same biblical noun)?

*****
The first five people to email me at pastor@urc-msu.org will get a free copy of Why We Love the Church. Just include your name and mailing address and one thing you love about your local church; put "Free Book" in the subject line. Sorry, international emailers (with the exception of Canada) are not be eligible. I love you folks, but the post ain't as cheap as email.

If you've won a free copy, we'll email you and let you know. If you don't get a response, it means you need to get up earlier. But remember, even if you don't get a free copy, there's always Amazon.

I went to the Dentist at the beginning of June. He said I had a cavity (two of them) and needed a crown (not the heavenly kind). So I went back two weeks later to get the temporary crown. The thing is basically aluminum foil glued to your tooth. It started falling apart. So I have to go back today to get it fixed. Then next week, two fillings and the permanent tooth-colored crown.

At least there will always be this to cheer me:



Somehow with all our technological advances in the world, going to the dentist in 2009 is exactly like going to the dentist as Bill Cosby described it in 1983.

This is part of an occasional series on "regular" people from my church who are serving God and ministering to people in their "regular" lives. This week's interview is with Althea LeBlanc, a 47 year old woman who works at a local coffee shop. Althea and her husband, Dennis, are active in ministering to internationals especially through our ESL classes at URC.

1. Where did you grow up?
I was born in Chicago, then my family moved to North Dakota where my dad finished college and then he moved us to Washington state.

2. Tell us about your family—the family you came from and the family you have now.
My dad is ethnically Hawaiian and my mom is a descendant of German pioneers in the Dakotas. When my parents met in Chicago, my dad had just gotten out of the military and started college and met my mom on a blind date. They soon married and after I was born, headed to Grand Forks where Dad earned an electrical engineering degree and my brother and sister were born. After we moved to eastern WA state, my youngest sister was born. When I was in college, my older half sister who was born to my mom and placed in adoption before my mom met my dad initiated a search and reunited with her. I met Dennis in college through a collegiate Navigator ministry. We've been married 20 years after being just friends for four years. No kids, but are open to adoption.

3. How did you become a Christian?
I was in high school and as a 16 year old, was depressed enough to think about and plan a suicide. A fellow classmate gave me a hug, and told me, eye to eye, that God loved me. She didn't know it but she shook me up to reconsider my plan. I also started to pray to God, be concerned for my family and contemplate what true love and faith were. I also was feeling enormous pressure about the anger and hateful attitude I had towards people. The parish priest shared the gospel how Jesus was God, and solved our problem of sin and going to hell by dying for us on a cross because He loved us and so that we could be with Him eternally. I believed that sermon and it has guided me ever since.

4. Describe your current vocation and why you decided to do what you are doing.
I work for a coffee shop and I decided to apply for the position because I liked coffee, a barista (I was her "regular") recommended me to her boss and I needed something I liked to do to keep me busy.

5. What are some of the blessings of your vocation?
I love talking with people, getting to know them and engaging in spiritual discussions when possible. I like my high profile company's benefit plan for part time workers as well as stock opportunities. I also have been able to transfer within the company to different stores around the nation while my husband's military career moved us around to Atlanta, Denver and here. And I learn about the world and people through how coffee is cultivated and processed, I can tell the difference between most coffees by tasting them, thereby using a little of my food science degree. The part time schedule allows me to work 20 hours and then have time to devote to home and international students.

6. What are some of the challenges?
When the company is up, everyone is up and when it is down, everyone struggles even though your particular store is doing well. I am on my feet a lot and I invest in good work shoes and try to protect my back. When I am not feeling well, this can be hard because it means I am throwing off the schedule if I call in sick. It is a very physical job. And customers aren't always nice, especially if they are affected by a bad economy and I am just a stranger to them. I try to make a connection anyway but it is way more difficult if they never knew me before they had financial problems.

7. How is your commitment to Christ challenged, strengthened, and exercised in your vocation?
In my character development, I am often humbled by how God uses my job to confront me about my sin. When I was a supervisor, I affected my co-workers if I did not handle negative emotions by trusting in Christ and gaining His perspective over what made me angry or stressed. It made for a difficult work environment where people work closely together under pressure during peak service times. Having a sense of His strength often made a difficult situation easier and helped me gain a sense of humor, especially when I realized that it wouldn't matter 10 minutes, 10 hours, or 10,000 million years from now.

8. How has your life and/or vocation been affected by the downturn in the economy?
I stepped down from being a shift supervisor and away from looking at other career opportunities within the company, because people were getting laid off and stores were closing. And the pressure was getting to me and affecting my store. And my marriage. I now am a barista, and I enjoy that more because it actually enhances what I do best, connect with customers and drive up sales which makes our store profitable and able to stay open. I know more customers' names and get to listen to their problems that they are having with the economy. There are some I haven't seen for months, and when they walk in I'm able to recall their names, drinks and where we left off at our last conversation. And have running inside jokes with them. They feel normal again. But it is harder with customers who feel displaced because their neighborhood store got closed and they have to start all over again at my store with baristas they don't know. It really is more than just the caffeine addiction.

9. What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?
I can't make everyone happy, not even myself. But that's alright, because that's not what God intends for my life anyway. I am a sinner saved by grace, mercy and love and my purpose is to glorify Him.

10. Any good books you are currently reading or would recommend to others?
The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman

The former slave-trader turned Christian in a letter to his brother-in-law, the worldly John Catlett:

"If you were to send me an inventory of your pleasures, how charmingly your time runs on, and how dexterously it is divided between the coffee-houses, play-house, the card-table, and tavern, with intervals of balls, concerts, etc. I could answer that most of these I have tried and tried again, and know the utmost they can yield, and have seen enough of the rest most heartily to despise them all. Setting religion entirely out of the question, I profess I had rather be a worm to crawl upon the ground, than to bear the name of MAN upon the poor terms of whiling my life in an insipid round of such insignificant and unmanly trifles" (Letters of John Newton, 33-34).

I would have liked to have seen John Newton show up in a Jane Austen novel.

You don’t have to be an oracle to figure that when a Governor disappears for a week, something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Car keys disappear. Loose change disappear. Even dogs may disappear. But people usually don’t. When they do it’s probably not a good sign. And when high ranking officials disappear, and no one seems to be too concerned, that’s a doubly bad sign.

So it didn’t come as a shock to me when I heard that Mark Sanford, the Republican Governor of South Carolina, confessed to an extramarital affair on Wednesday. From what I can tell, he has real regret. Only time will tell if the regret translates in fruit-bearing repentance. The statement from his wife was honest and impressive, couched in several biblical references and allusions. She sounds serious about trying to forgive her husband and repair their torn marriage. We should pray for them.

But what can we learn about this latest in a long line of political sex scandals? Here are a few thoughts:

1. The best of men are men at best. I don’t know if politicians are always (or often) the best of men, but they certainly are among the most powerful. We look to them for leadership. We want them to voice our ideas and ideals. We want them to be strong, yet humble, personal, yet unaffected by the common stuff of life. We expect a lot from our leaders. They rarely deliver. They often fail miserably. Both parties have had their share of sex scandals in recent years. Neither one has a monopoly on holiness. I don’t think many of our politicians have even passed GO. And I’m sure there is plenty of infidelity we don’t even hear about, not to mention the back room deals, lies, slander, pride, and greed that take place all the time. Some trust in presidents and some in governors, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

2. None of us is immune to sin. I was talking with another pastor a couple weeks ago when he told me the story of his wife’s affair. She was the last person anyone ever expected to commit adultery. Because of her sin, he resigned from the church he was then serving. Today their marriage is strong and they often share their story, a sad but remarkable story of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

One of the lessons they learned is that anyone–I mean anyone–is capable of adultery. The person who thinks they are immune for the temptation, should read up on Romans 7. The flesh will sell us out in a heartbeat. Why do powerful politicians and pastors and pastor’s wives throw everything away for a few minutes of pleasure? Why did Esau sell his birthright for a mess of pottage? Because we are sinners, worse than we think, more capable of wickedness and stupidity than we imagine. You can have all the hedges of protection in the world, but without the gospel and the transforming power of Christ that comes through the word of God and prayer, we still have the same heart. “Lead me not in temptation, but deliver me from evil”–pray it every day. We all have the ability to be moral morons.

3. Sin can be forgiven and sin has consequences. An affair may mean the end of Mark Sanford’s term as Governor. It should not mean the end of his life. We hope it will not mean the end of his marriage. Jesus’ blood is stronger than sexual immorality. The Lord can lead him to repentance and lead his wife to forgiveness. The Lord can use this to strengthen their family, not destroy it. Mark Sanford need not always be “that guy who cheated on his wife.” By God’s grace, he could be remembered as a man after God’s own heart.

But sin has consequences. David’s family was screwed up after the King’s rendezvous with the woman on the roof. The Sanford’s family is going to be a little screwy too, at least for awhile. The Governor’s political career may be over too. (If he really wants to do what is best for the GOP, his state, and his family, he should resign.) God cannot be mocked. We reap what we sow.

4. The law of God is written on their hearts. It amazes me that every time we have one of these sex scandals it makes front page news for several days, if not weeks. On one level this is not surprising. Sex sells. People like to hear about other people’s problems. Politicians love to score points off of other people’s problems. So of course we are going to hear about sex scandals.

But we don’t just hear about them, we hear moral outrage about them. I bet you could find nary a person in South Carolina who doesn’t think what their Governor did was wrong. Not just wrong for him mind you, but flat out wrong. Husbands shouldn’t cheat on their wives with Argentinian women: people across the political spectrum agree on that much.

Maybe it’s the whole speck and plank thing, but Americans have no problem believing in moral standards for their politicians. No matter what the courts say or how people get confused at the polls, people don’t really think marriage can be whatever you want it to be. One man and one woman plus another woman from Argentina is not a marriage. It is a violation of marriage. People still think some sex can be sin. They still think marriage matters. They still believe breaking a vow is a big deal. People in this country still have a moral conscience. It’s a shame they only listen to it when governors disappear to South America.

Christians should not only believe what the Bible teaches, they should like what the Bible teaches. All Scripture is not just tolerable, but profitable and breathed out by God (2 Tim. 3:16).The law should be our delight (Psalm 1:2; 119:77; Rom. 7:2). We should love the commandments of God (Psalm 119:47; 1 John 5:3).

This means perfunctory obedience is not the goal. We don't want to submit to our husbands out of duty, or sacrifice for our wives because we have to do, or refrain from sex because God's a meanie and he must be listened to, but because we want to. God wants more than begrudging obedience or external conformity, he wants us to delight in the law of God in our inner being. So pay attention not just to your wills, but to your affections.

This also means that we should do away with the pseudo-spiritual language of "I don't like what the Bible says about this, but I still believe it." Poppycock. While I suppose, all things considered, its better that someone embrace complementarianism kicking and screaming rather than not at all, why are you kicking and screaming at God's word in the first place? I understand that we may all have periods of struggle where we wrestle to fully understand and embrace some element of biblical teaching. But as an indefinite attitude, begrudging acceptance is not a good option. Don't we trust that God is good? Is not the law of the Lord our delight?

Believing but not liking what the Bible says is also a common refrain when it comes to the doctrine of hell. Obviously, none of us should be gleeful to think of sinners suffering in eternal torment. After all, Paul was pretty torn up about the plight of his kinsmen according to the flesh. But anguish over the souls of the lost is different than wholesale ambivalence about the existence of hell. When we say things like "If it were up to me I wouldn't have a hell, but God's word teaches it so I believe it" we are not being extra pious, only extra insulting.

First of all, it's not about to us. It never has been and never will be, so let's get that off the table. Second, when we put things this way it sounds like we consider ourselves better than God, like we're trying to be "good cop" to God's "bad cop." Third, and most importantly, we are missing the point of hell. God is glorified in the judgment of the wicked. That's a big gulp for postmodern (or modern) ears, but it's true. Were it not for hell, God's justice would not be upheld and the glory of his name would not be vindicated. If we accept the doctrine of hell only begrudgingly, we have not learned to delight in the glory of God above all else. We have not yet learned to pray as our first and foremost request, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."

The Bible is true and the Bible is good. When we accept its truth without actually liking it, we have only come half way to mature faith. We are like kids saying "I'm sorry" while rolling our eyes, like a husband getting flowers so his wife won't be ticked, like a lover skimming through a letter from her beloved when she should be cherishing every word and every truth in her heart. Read the Bible. Believe the Bible. Delight in all that it affirms. Anything less is not good for your soul.

Last Sunday night at our church, Eric Washington, Assistant Professor of African-American and African History at Calvin College, spoke to our congregation on "The African-American Church Experience". Eric and his family live in our area and attend our church often on Sunday evenings. They will be moving to Grand Rapids soon, so I asked if he would teach at our church before he left. I learned a lot from him on Sunday night. The lecture is definitely worth listening to (this new link really should work).

Eric framed the discussion around the doctrine of providence. Without mitigating at all the discrimination and oppression African-Americans have endured at the hands of whites in this country, Eric nevertheless claimed that the story of the African-American church is the story of God’s providence. To that end, he began his talk with a quotation from Absalom Jones, the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church. Jones, who pastored the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, had this to say during a sermon on January 1, 1808, the day that marked the end of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade in the United States:

There’s always been a mystery why the impartial Father of the human race should have permitted the transportation of so many millions of our fellow creatures to this country to endure all of the miseries of slavery. Perhaps his design was that a knowledge of the gospel might be acquired by some of their descendants in order that they might become qualified to be messengers of it to the land of their fathers.

Eric probes these themes of providence and suffering in more detail in his talk.

If my notes are correct, Eric’s outline looks like this:

I. Slavery and the Church
II. Independence Movements
III. Civil Rights Movement and Social Justice
IV. Concerns for the African-American church today
V. Signs of Hope in the African-American Church
VI. Lessons to be Learned

At the end of the Q/A, Eric mentioned several books for those who are interested in reading more about African-American Church History or reading good books by contemporary African-American Christians. I've read the last three books and highly recommend them. The first two books look interesting as well.

Albert Raboteau. African-American Religion.

Milton C. Sernett. African-American Religious History: A Documentary Witness.

Thabiti Anyabwile. The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity.

Thabiti Anyabwile. The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors.

Anthony Carter. On Being Black and Reformed: A New Perspective on the African-American Christian Experience.

Listen to the whole talk. Eric is a good scholar, a committed evangelical, reformed Christian, and an all around nice guy.

I’ve been slowly working my way through N.T. Wright’s latest on Justification. I hope to comment more on the book in the near future. But let me make a related comment for the time being.

I was reading through Acts last week and came across 15:1 “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the command of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Everyone who knows anything about the New Perspective(s) on Paul knows that the advocates of NPP argue that the Reformers got Paul wrong in seeing him as a crusader against works righteousness. First century Judaism, they say, was gracious, not legalistic. As Richard Longenecker puts it in his commentary on Galatians, E.P. Sanders has taught us that “the ‘covenantal nomism’ of first-century Judaism understood Torah observance not as merit-amassing, but as a gladsome response to a loving God who had acted on his people’s behalf and who asked that they in turn identify themselves as his people by keeping his ordinances” (86). First century Judaism was not a form of Pelagianism by which people pulled themselves up by their moral bootstraps. “Keeping the Jewish law was the human response to God’s covenantal initiative” (N.T. Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 19). Wright makes the same point many times in his new book too. Seeing himself as Calvin’s heir (instead of Luther’s), Wright argues that law-keeping was not a means to procure salvation, but the proper response to God’s gracious deliverance and election.

To which I say, “Amen!” This is how the law was supposed to function in Israel. God didn’t give Moses the Law before he set them free from Egypt. First he saved them, then he told them what to do as their obedient response to this grace. But there’s a reason "supposed" is in italics in the sentence above. Judaism didn’t always function like Judaism was supposed to. Wright probably thinks people like me are still missing his Copernican revolution, but I confess I still don’t get it. It seems obvious to me from the New Testament that some (not all, I’m sure) of the Jews thought they were saved by keeping the law. They boasted in a righteousness “of my own that comes from the law” instead of a righteousness “from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9).

And who frankly cares if they thought they were saved by keeping the big parts of the law or the small parts of the ethnic boundary marker parts? The point is some of the Jews trusted in themselves for their righteousness (Luke 18:9). They thought Jewishness (which in the first century cannot really be distinguished from law keeping) saved, “but” says Peter in response to the men from Judea in Acts 15:1, “we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (15:11). Grace, for Peter in this speech, is put opposite the work of circumcision. These men from Judea were not covenantal nomists, trying to express gratitude to God by keeping Torah. They had put the custom of Moses over against the grace of the Lord Jesus. They had misunderstood, not just what marks out the people of God, but how the people, not yet of God, were to be saved.

The New Perspective, then, can help remind us of what the Jews were supposed to believe, but the Old Perspective helps us see first century Judaism as it often was–boastful, morally self-assured, and determined to be good enough for God. Which, not so incidentally, are tendencies in human nature that have a habit of showing up rather frequently. So don’t throw out Luther's Commentary on Galatians quite yet. You may just find your heart strangely warmed.

A few weeks ago I started an occasional series on "regular" people from my church who are serving God and ministering to people in their "regular" lives. This week's interview is with Donald Hageman, a 67 year old man who has spent a lifetime in missions and missionary support and who now is battling the effects of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Don and Marge are absolute gems. Their faith and dependence on God in the midst of Don's illness have ministered to me and many in our congregation.

Lou Gehrig was a hero to many, not least of all for his humility and strength through weakness (which is why I embedded his farewell speech below). Don is to hero to many who know him for the very same virtues, and most importantly, a deep love for Jesus Christ.

1. Where did you grow up and how did you become a Christian?
I was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey. My parents were believers and I attended church at an early age. As a 12 year old, I was attending a Christian camp in New York when the message convicted me. I was not sure that I was a believer. My camp counselor recognized my struggle. He suggested that I pray that if I had never before accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, I would do that now. This prayer gave me new found peace and began a life long process of learning more and more about my lovely Savior.

2. Tell us about your vocations and how you decided to do what you did.
I left home at age 18 for college. I studied sociology and psychology at Wheaton. Then I received my Masters in psychiatric social work from the University of Chicago. I worked as a social worker for the next 10 years, ending as director of a 60 bed state of Illinois emergency childcare center.

At that point, God worked on my heart to desire to use my training and experience in overseas mission work. My wife and I, with our two daughters, became members of SEND International. Our first assignment was Okinawa Japan where we worked at the Okinawa Christian School. After our first term, we were asked to return to the United States to become Director of our US mission office in Farmington, MI. Later I was asked to serve as the international personnel director which gave me opportunity to travel to 30 countries to invite other international believers to become cross-cultural missionaries with SEND International. I ended my 35 years of missionary work as a mobilization-recruiter on 15 Christian college campuses. All of this has been a wonderful ministry.

3. Tell us more about your vocation?
There are no halos on the heads of missionaries. All have warts and blemishes just like everyone else. Getting along with coworkers takes work and grace. Although I never used my professional training formally in missions, my social work training was helpful to me personally but also helpful to others as well.

Working with missionaries, nationals from other countries, and counseling young Americans to consider missionary work has been rewarding. Through the lives of others, I have seen the Church of Jesus Christ being built around the world. Encouraging non-North American believers to join our teams has been challenging. Multinational teams require more work and effort to understand one another and to work together in unity. The blessing is that the churches established by these teams are healthier and fit better with the host culture. Our mission outreach has grown because of this. SEND now serves in 20 countries.

4. What are some of your current challenges?
After 35 years of work with SEND, I retired when I received the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Lou Gehrig’s disease has no cure… average life span after diagnosis is 3-5 years. I've always just faced things head on. I have two married daughters and 8 grand children. They know “grandpa” as their ‘camping and recreation director” who has creatively engineered ‘back yard mechanic’ toys and machines for them to enjoy. Now they are beginning to see me in a different role, one that is increasing limited in activities and energy.



I continue to deal with ALS the same way—creatively trying to handle tasks that were easy before with mechanical solutions. I also try to "do my homework" and be an informed patient and participant in my own care team. All that said, being an older guy with ALS presents constant struggles for how to adjust to daily changes. I get tired and frustrated at times. I try to take each day as a gift from God. My faith in Jesus Christ sustains me through these difficult times, and I am constantly seeing God's provision and care.

5. Share with us some of your current blessings.
I enjoy spring and summer best. Spring is a time when I wonder at creation and remember the blessings of new life. I am blessed to see the wonders of creation up close. Spring is a reminder that, although my outer man is decaying, my inner man is being renewed day by day. It reminds me that though I may be entering dormancy, I have the hope of new life. Since my diagnosis I have been particularly aware of the suffering that I see around me. I see the suffering of the afflicted and the handicapped in a whole new light and am reminded that no matter how hard we try, we are all deeply impoverished and in need of spiritual rebirth. Whether in good health or in poor, we are all stricken with the human condition. This disease has also awakened me to this profound message of my faith: God does not merely observe our suffering from afar as a disinterested spectator, but He stoops to our weakness and suffers along side of us. Then He offers hope.

I am so thankful for a good professional team in Lansing that provide help and encouragement as my neuro-muscle disease progresses. But what has really been amazing has been all of the compassion and help provided by members of University Reform Church. Some of the men help with outings on Saturdays. Others have helped with ramp construction and electrical problems. Some come to sit, talk, or read to me. Pastor Tom Stark comes weekly to read Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven. Sometimes I am frustrated that there is no concise, detailed single description of heaven. The author follows the many tiny references concerning heaven found throughout Scripture and builds a picture of intermediate heaven and the new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem.

Death is a reality for all of us. With ALS, this reality has become a daily reality. I have assurance that death will not be the end, but truly the beginning, and I am anticipating the reunion with friends and family that have passed on before me. It will be such a joy to see them in their resurrected bodies, whole, healed, and giving thanks to Jesus. I am increasingly content to trust God's promise that Jesus Christ is preparing a wonderful place for us... a place where we will be with God and his lovely Son, a place of peace and security where pain and suffering no longer reigns.

Bob Tobey [a member of our church] shared a song written for a little boy who was slipping away with terminal cancer… the Chorus goes like this: And the King still has one more move!
And we know His love will see us through,
We'll believe in spite of our unbelief
And His Spirit will comfort and bring us relief,
And faith will reveal what we cannot see,
That the King still has one more move!

I am ready for that last move… only God knows the timing. PTL!

How often have we heard in hard economic times about our patriotic duty to spend more money? If only we would all go out and buy things, anything really, we could pull out of this recession. On the one hand, we want to commend paying down debt and saving. On the other hand, if all we do is save our economy will stall out. It's called the paradox of thrift. Frugality may be good for us, but it is bound to be bad for everyone else.

I've heard this kind of reasoning often. And it has always struck me as morally and economically dubious. Is the private virtue of thrift really a public vice? Not at all, argues David Blankenhorn in an article entitled "There is No 'Paradox of Thrift'". He gives five reasons why thrift is not bad for the economy. He lists them in ascending order of importance.

5. Saved money is likely to be productive money. Americans are not in danger of saving too much. We are saving more, but even if the saving rate reaches 7 or 8 percent by the end of the year, this is roughly the same rate we've averaged since 1930. By the same token, economists universally agree that racking up debt and saving nothing is a recipe for long term, wide-spread economic disaster. Right now Americans have too much debt. Paying down this debt in the short term may seem harmful to the economy, but will help the whole country in the long term. Those who have fewer debts and more savings are in the position to invest in new business ideas and ventures. And investment, not consumption, is the lifeblood of the economy.

Along these lines (and this is a point Blankenhorn doesn't make), we need to remember that people today don't tend to save money by hiding it under their mattress. We put it in a bank or buy stocks or bonds, or entrust out assets to a financial adviser who invests the money for us. In other words, our saved money is usually invested somewhere else. It's being spent even as we are saving it. That's the genuis of a (healthy) credit system and free market capitalism.

4. For individuals and families, it's always wise to live within your means. We aren't helped, and the country isn't either in the long run, when people spend recklessly. When people stay within their means and save, they usually get richer. And rich people spend and invest more than poor people. Families getting their financial houses in order are not the problem; they are the solution.

3. Governments, not individuals or families, are responsible for any deficit spending needed to moderate economic downturns. How much deficit spending is responsible is always the question, but most economists agree that a small amount in lean years can be justified, and governments should do it before individuals. Governments can borrow at a lower rate than individuals (as low as 2 or 3 percent) and do so more effectively.

2. Assuming that there is a paradox of thrift encourages waste. The story is told that Keynes, in a fancy hotel, once dramatically pushed a stack of towels on the floor because he believed it would stimulate the economy. The thought being, "I just created more work for people" (he was serious). But this is not job creation by entrepreneurial activity. This is waste, plain and simple. Not every dollar spent is real enterprise. Spending our money wisely is better for productivity and does more to cause the whole economic pie to grow.

1. Properly understood, "thrift" means the ethic and practice of wise use. Thrift is more than simple abstinence. Etymologically, the thrifty person is the thriving person (sounds like Proverbs doesn't it?). When we are wise with our money, careful, and conservative, we tend to make the best use of the resources we have, whether that be time, money, health, possessions, or oil and coal. And when we maximize the effectiveness of what we have, we increase productivity. And this is how economies grow; they get more production for less. The economy doesn't grow by paying people to dig holes and fill them back in again. The economy grows when the needed ditch digger figures out how to build better ditches, in a faster time, for less money. That's called thrift. And it's not a bad thing.

So don't worry about being frugal, saving money, being careful about your purchases and getting out of debt. You'll be better off if you do these things, and in the long run, the country will too.

Here’s another excerpt from Why We Love the Church. This is from Ted’s chapter where he writes a letter to his young son, Tristan, about the church. This is my favorite chapter.

P.S. I had this queued up before the baby came!

*****

I pray that one day you’ll be able to ask your pastor about free will versus predestination. I hope you’ll ask him about the Trinity. About infant versus believer’s baptism. Not because these are things that divide, but because it will be evidence that you care about your faith and hold it dear. Nothing would make me happier, Son. I pray that one day you’ll be able to articulate what it is that you believe, not because you’ll want to use it to win arguments, but because you’ll be passionate about sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And out of this good news I pray that God will use you somehow. I pray that you’ll always be kind. That you’ll have a heart for those less fortunate than you, and will always be moved by the struggles of others. I pray that you’ll be bold in professing your faith before men.

I pray that you’ll meet your friends in church. You know that I’ve met friends in a variety of crazy places—boxing gyms, football fields, bars, coffee shops, workplaces, etc.—but you can also tell that the majority of my real friends in life, the people who will be with me through good times and bad, come from church. These are the people who pray for us, and with whom we “do life.” It’s a privilege.

And along those lines, I want to tell you that church is more than the soap opera that your mom and I make it sometimes. Doing life with people isn’t always pretty. People don’t always agree and sometimes those disagreements can be unpleasant. You’re not going to like everybody in your church. But my prayer for you, and for us, is that our shared commitment to Christ will overcome this too, and we’ll grow in love and respect for everyone in our congregation.

I pray that one day you’ll profess your love for a special girl in front of a church full of your friends and those you worship with. I pray that you’ll commit, in front of these friends and God, to lead her spiritually, and that your young family will be a vibrant part of the body of Christ. Love her with all your heart, like I’ve tried to love your mom.

I pray that God would surround you with people who challenge you to die to yourself and your sins, and I pray that if I am that person at some point in your life, that our relationship would be strong enough to weather it. And I pray that your relationship with your wife will look a lot like the one that Mimi and Poppy have had all these years. As I type this they’ve been married for thirty-eight years, and are still going strong and the church has played a huge role in their lives. They’ve changed churches a few times over the years, for various reasons, but they’ve always been committed to a body, and that commitment, I’m convinced, is one reason why they’re still happily married. Marriages like theirs don’t just happen in our culture.

I also hope that, at some point, you’ll get a chance to experience the body of Christ through hard times. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of church involvement, it’s that hard things happen to everybody. There’s sin in this world, and as a result, our bodies are in a constant state of decay, and our lives are almost always, it seems, in turmoil. Nearly every family in our church has dealt with job losses, cancer, heart disease, marital discord, infertility, the death of a child, or a myriad of other tough circumstances. Through that, I’ve seen the body of Christ work in wonderful ways. I’ve seen people give sacrificially with their money and their time. I’ve been prayed with and prayed for. We’ve had Scripture show up in our mailbox every day for a month. I’ve had the privilege of trying to pray others through their hard times as well.

I’ve seen great men crippled by disease—these were men who were the picture of health, intellect, and athleticism in their healthy years. But worshiping with them in sickness, as their usefulness in this world wanes, is a privilege. Seeing them makes me proud of our church, and proud to know the Lord.

Church isn’t a magic pill that you take, that punches your ticket for heaven. Nor is it a glorified social/country club you attend to be around people who talk/think/look/act like you do. It’s a place to go each week to hear the Word of God spoken, taught, and affirmed. It’s a place to sing praises to our God, even if those songs do sometimes feel a bit awkward. It’s a place to serve others. It’s a place to be challenged. Sometimes you’ll feel uncomfortable with those challenges, because sometimes your life will need to change. This has been the case with me.

Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward."

Praise the Lord for his many blessings! What a God-wrought miracle every child is. Thanks to all our friends and family for praying.

Paul Adoniram DeYoung was born at 7:20 this morning. Mom and baby are doing fine. Paul checked into the world at 6 pounds 8 ounces, just under 20 inches long. His first name is after Paul from the Bible (maybe you've heard of him). Adoniram is also a biblical name (1 Kings 4:16; 5:14). More importantly in our thinking, Adoniram Judson was the first foreign missionary from America. The last name just comes along for the ride.





(The raised right hand indicates how many points of Calvinism he embraces.)

Over the past few months there have been a number of internet posts–from friend and foe–claiming that the emergent church movement is some combination of dead or dying (or at least has checked into the ecclesiastical nursing home). Personally, I think the movement has splintered, the publishing has slowed down, the buzz has waned, the sides have been drawn, and the organization has been decentralized. I don’t think we’ll be talking about the emergent church in five years, but some of the ideas and some of the authors will still be popular. And many churches will still be affected.

Since Why We’re Not Emergent came out over a year ago, I’ve have had a number of people ask me–by phone, in person, and by email–what they should do now that their church is drifting emergent. I received one such email just last week (so emergent’s not dead yet!). Here’s what I try to tell people (if I can remember it all) when they finish their “Help, my church is going emergent” story.

1. Search your own heart. Ask God to show you your sin. Are you bitter? Are you being unfair? Have you been divisive? Is your concern motivated by love for the truth, love for the gospel, and love for the church, or love for controversy?

2. Talk to another trusted, mature brother or sister in your congregation to see if your on track with your concerns. Don’t talk to ten people; talk to one. Don’t bash the pastor or the church. Approach the conversation wanting to learn and figure out if your concerns are justified. Maybe you heard the word “journey” and overreacted. Or maybe they lit a candle for Advent and you flipped out.

3. If it seems that your concerns are justified, go with another brother or sister and ask the pastor if you could talk to a few of the leaders about some questions you have. These are your spiritual leaders. You owe them a conversation before you do anything else. (This is different than responding to public blogs or books with other public blogs or books. No emergent fan has an obligation to talk to me first before he pans my book. But members of my church who are seriously upset with me should come talk to me–as they have on occasion!). Be up front with your concerns. I’d rather know as a pastor what I’m getting into than be wondering for two weeks what these “concerns” are about. I think a small group is better than a large group, and a small group is better than one on one for this sort of meeting. If the group is too big, it can feel stilted, not a genuine conversation. If it is just you and your pastor, that could work, but he may feel defensive and you may end up with “he said-she said” from such a meeting.

4. In this meeting, be calm and humble. Don’t go on the warpath. Come ready to share specific examples. Don’t say “it feels different.” Say, “I’m concerned that our small groups are doing Velvet Elvis because of what he says on pages....” Be ready to listen. Ask important questions like “What is the gospel?” “What is our view of Scripture?” “What did the cross accomplish?” Without seeming like a hard-nosed lawyer, you may want to highlight your church’s statement of faith or confessional standards. Usually, the theology on the books is still good even when the theology from the pulpit starts going south. Pointing out inconsistencies may be helpful.

5. At this point several things may happen. 1) The leaders may say, “You’ve misunderstood things. We still believe what you want us to believe.” If their explanation makes sense, move on and let them know you’ll be praying for them. If you’re not quite convinced, ask if it would be alright to have a follow up conversation in 6 months. 2) The leaders may welcome your feedback and have their eyes opened to some dangers down the road they are taking. This would be God’ grace. 3) The leaders may tell you you’re too propositional, or mean, or narrow, or something to the effect of “We are not changing our course. We think you are wrong.” Saying "we're going a different direction" is not bad in itself. I’ve said things to that effect to people in my church before (hopefully in a kind, gentle way). Clarity is better than obfuscation. So if they are intent on going down a theological path you don’t agree with, you’ll have some decisions to make.

6. You could stay in the church. If you do, you should not be forming a church within a church. Don’t make it your life’s goal to purge every last emergent idea from your church. If you have a voice to make constructive comments or change, use it. If the errors are not of a central nature but are more stylistic or related to the way they talk about things, you may want to stay. But if the leaders are excited about every author you find troubling and they dislike everything about the gospel you find most important, then this is probably not the place for you anymore.

7. You could leave the church. If the church is no longer preaching the gospel, you should leave. Short of that, you still may leave, but only after much prayer, and honest soul-searching. People leave churches all the time. It happens, to and from my church too. But we should be thoughtful about our reasons for leaving. It may be helpful to kindly explain to your leaders why you are leaving. But don’t do this if you are just going to write an angry, vindictive letter.

8. If you leave, you may be asked by others why you left. Give an honest answer, but refuse taking ad hominem shots at the church or leadership. Explain your reasons frankly and matter-of-factly.

9. Pray for your leaders, the church, and your own heart. Then move on. Unless you are the pastor/elder, you are not the overseer of souls in your old church. (If you an elder and you are out-voted, the blame for not guarding the flock lies with the whole board; if you think the board's decisions are serious sinful, you should probably resign). Don’t assume responsibility for responsibilities you haven’t been given. Find a good church for you and your family–that is your responsibility. Don’t live in the past. Don’t become a crank. Love the gospel, love God, and love people more than you despise bad theology. Keep doing ministry and doing it joyfully.

Oh, and feel free to pass out copies of Why We're Not Emergent along the way.

Last week, the Reformed Church in America, at our General Synod, approved adding the Belhar Confession as a fourth confessional standard (it still needs to be approved by two-thirds of our Classes). The passage of the Belhar prompted this reflection, which I posted yesterday at The Church Herald blog.

*****

So the Belhar Confession passed the General Synod and is on its way to the Classes. It will have a harder time getting approved in 31 Classes than getting a majority at Synod, but I think it probably will make it. If that is the case, though I have my reservations, I will be thankful for the themes of unity, justice, and reconciliation and pray that they are understood and applied correctly.

I also hope that our confession of the Belhar will precipitate a more robust confession of our current Standards. If I’m talking to someone in the RCA who loves the Belhar, but is also passionately committed to the truths of the Belgic, Heidelberg, and Canons, and loves these truths and preaches them joyfully and earnestly, I feel much better than when I’m talking to someone who begrudging accepts out three Standards or barely knows what they say or deep down doesn’t believe much of what they affirm. I’m all for talking about unity, justice, and reconciliation, so long as we still talk about faith, repentance, providence, heaven, hell, the wrath of God, a penal substitutionary atonement, and the cross of Christ. If the RCA confesses Belhar, I hope we will also reaffirm what we may have forgotten from the Belgic, Heidelberg, and Canons.

I hope every RCA church will accept the Scriptures as holy and divine (BC 3), and “believe without a doubt all things contained in them” (BC 5)–every miracle, every demonic possession, every “I am” statement, every prophecy of Isaiah no matter how remarkable they may seem. I hope we will affirm that the teaching of the Scriptures is “perfect and complete in all respects” and no human writing, custom, council, decree, or majority opinion stands equal to the divine writings (BC 7). I hope we will have the guts to say we believe the Scriptures to be without error, and “reject with all our hearts everything that does not agree with this infallible rule” (BC 7).

I hope we will not lose our passion for the message of the gospel, even as we try to better live out the implications of the gospel. I hope the message of Christ’s wrath-sustaining, curse-bearing death for sinners will resound from every RCA pulpit (BC 20, 21). I hope we will trumpet the good news of Jesus Christ and his righteousness imputed to us through faith (BC 22). I hope we will help the hurting and care for the needy and also tell them that “our blessedness lies in the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus Christ” and that “God grants this righteousness apart from works” (BC 23).

I hope that as we talk about the unity of the church, we will equally affirm that the church is to be “a holy congregation” (BC 27) and for the church to be the church it must engage in the pure preaching of the gospel, the pure administration of the sacraments, and practice church discipline (BC 29). I hope we will continue to believe that “our children ought to be baptized and sealed with the sign of the covenant” (BC 34), and that we will practice what we profess to believe in this matter and in every other area of possible doctrinal slippage.

I hope that every ordained minister and professor of theology, and anyone who has taken a vow to uphold the Standards, will not only rejoice in the "gracious reward the Lord" will give the faithful and elect, a glory such as the heart of men could never imagine, but will also confess that the wicked and unbelieving “shall be made immortal–but only to be tormented in the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”(BC 37).

I hope every RCA preacher will teach the absolute necessity of being born again (HC 8). I hope that the glorious logic of propitiation and penal substitution laid out in HC 12-19 will be understood, affirmed, gladly proclaimed, and sung at full voice in our churches and at General Synod. I hope we will find comfort in the truth that God does not merely allow hard things to come into our lives, but that all things–good and bad–come to us from his good, fatherly hand (HC 27). I hope we will declare, winsomely and boldly, to a dying world that only through faith in Christ and subsequent union with him can anyone be saved (HC 20). I hope all the pastors in the RCA will teach their congregations to believe in the virgin birth (HC 35), justification by faith along (HC 60, 61), and the reality of eternal life and eternal condemnation (HC 84). I hope we will affirm that not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but we will confess that “Those who, though called Christians, profess unchristian teachings or live unchristian lives, and after repeated and loving counsel refuse to abandon their errors and wickedness, and after being reported to the church, that is, to its officers, fail to respond also to their admonition–such persons the officers exclude from the Christian fellowship by withholding the sacraments from them, and God himself excludes from the kingdom of Christ” (HC 85). I hope every elder board, Classis, and regional synod really believes this and will practice what we confess to believe. I hope we will remember that Christ has commanded us to call God “our Father” and not “our Mother” (HC 120).

I hope we will not be embarrassed by the Canon’s teaching on election and reprobation, but we will see, as Paul did, the glory of God revealed in his sovereign, free choice. I hope we will not be ashamed of limited atonement and total depravity. I hope we will encourage our people with the good news of the preservation of the saints and preach the gospel to all nations, believing that God’s irresistible grace will be effectual in the elect. This is but a small sampling of the doctrinal, devotional, scriptural riches in our Standards. I hope from the bottom of my heart that everyone who has vowed their assent to the Standards embraces these truths and gladly declares them to others.

Our confessional heritage is as good as any out there. Perhaps the practical outworkings of Belhar will make a great thing even better. I don’t know if Belhar will pass the Classes or how the RCA will be different if it does. Only time will tell. But I do know this: Belhar isn’t worth confessing if we don’t really confess the Standards we already have.

Here's a memorable scene to whet your appetite for one of the best B-grade comedies of all time.




Don't forget to check out the post on Monday Morning Ministers just below.

Last week I started an occasional series on "regular" people from my church who are serving God and ministering to people in their "regular" lives. This week's interview is with Christine Durrett, a 31 year old mom who also works part-time as a clinical psychologist (read Q/A 7 for her helpful analysis of this field). Christine and her husband Tim are super nice. wicked smart, and passionate about reformed theology.

1. Where did you grow up?
Minneapolis, MN/Madison, WI

2. Tell us about your family.
My husband Tim is a biochemist and we have two small children: George (2) and Helen (7 months). I am very blessed with not only my immediate family- mom, sister and brother-in-law- but a huge extended family of whom nearly all are believers.

3. How did you become a Christian?
I grew up in a Christian home although my faith was fairly nominal until college. The churches I attended as a child and teen were pretty shallow in terms of theology. I went to church every week but that was about it; I'm not sure I could even have articulated the gospel in any clear way. During my freshman year of college a friend invited me to a PCA church and there I was introduced to a living, authentic, intellectually substantial faith- this was revolutionary to me. I've been passionate about reformed theology ever since.

4. Describe your current vocation and why you decided to do what you are doing.
I'm a clinical psychologist, currently spending much of my time doing neuropsychology which is conducting evaluations of people who have had head injuries, brain tumors, strokes, or other conditions causing cognitive problems such as dementia or MS. I also do psychotherapy. I didn't exactly set out to do this work, it is best described as the net result of various opportunities that came my way over time. My first counseling position came when I accompanied a friend to an interview for a volunteer crisis line. I interviewed as well to kill the time while I was there, and was offered the position over my friend (oops). I should immediately add that I very much love what I do!

5. What are some of the blessings of your vocation?
In the best case scenario, my job is simply to disciple. It is very easy to have a sense of meaning and purpose in my line of work, and to see how it contributes to building God's kingdom.

6. What are some of the challenges?
In the worst case scenario, I run into all kinds of ethical challenges, when certain behavioral or social issues come up in therapy with a nonbeliever (for example, a homosexual pair wanting couples counseling). Guilt over past behavior is also a very tricky one when working with someone who doesn't believe in the concept of sin, or who wants to somehow salve his conscience without confession and repentance.

7. How is your commitment to Christ challenged, strengthened, and exercised in your vocation?
There are few professions with a historical and theoretical underpinning so antithetical to Christianity. Look at psychology's founding fathers: Freud, Adler, Skinner, Ellis. All outspoken atheists. For that reason there are also relatively few Christians who enter the discipline. This is unfortunate because psychology, especially the science of psychology, has so much to offer the church and we ought not to fear it or dismiss it too easily. There is certainly a precarious intersection between psychology and faith that requires some very careful thinking, but when done properly the result can be to the benefit of the church. In my work, I find that I must constantly hold up what I have read and learned in graduate school against the measure of Scripture, keeping the good and the helpful, discarding the rest. It keeps me accountable and constantly growing in my faith. I also constantly witness the healing power of Christ, when in my work my believing clients do turn to their faith for strength.

8. How has your life and/or vocation been affected by the downturn in the economy?
Actually my practice has become unusually busy, it seems the economic problems have translated into increased depression and anxiety and thus more therapy referrals.

9. What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?
Only one?! Well, referring back to earlier comments, I wish someone had not assumed I was only capable of watered down versions of bible stories such as Noah and Daniel, and given me a catechism at, say, 10 or 12. That would have grabbed my attention far better than the various events sponsored by my youth group, generally involving lots of junk food, screaming, and getting dirty. Some of you who grew up in the western MI reformed culture are probably rolling your eyes at me right now.

10. Any good books you are currently reading or would recommend to others?
I used to be a voracious reader of all sorts of fiction but my spare time is so limited these days. I've just finished Revolutionary Parenting by George Barna and Everyday Talk: Talking Freely and Naturally about God with Your Children by John Younts, both were terrific.

I was very interested to read, and very helped by, John Piper’s article on Hero Worship v. Holy Emulation. It got me thinking about a number of related, if not coherently organized, thoughts about the possibilities and pitfalls of evangelical celebrity culture.

1. We ought to give thanks for the men and women in our lives who have taught us the Scriptures and helped us see more of God. I’ve often thought when at a big-time conference, "I am incredibly blessed to sit under this teaching." Not only are these men gifted communicators and intellectually and theologically sharp, they are also, by God’s grace, mature, godly men. We are privileged to have men like John Piper, R.C. Sproul, D.A. Carson, Jerry Bridges, J.I. Packer, John MacArthur (I could go on with the names of other men, and women too) who have been examples to the church in word and deed for more than a generation.

2. I doubt church celebrities are new. The internet has sped up communication and flattened our world in tremendous ways, but are we really to think Chrysostom wasn’t a big deal in his day or Whitefield wasn’t in his? And do we really think this just happens in North American evangelicalism? I’m sure there are lots of “big men” in Africa with big followings too. There will always be famous people in the church (even if they are only famous in our circles) and we’ll never escape the dangers of hero worship and self-exaltation.

3. God works through great men and women. There’s no way of knowing whom God uses more–the famous author or the homebound prayer warrior. So I’m not making a case that the well known people are the most important. But if we look at church history God has always done great things through great leaders, great minds, and great preachers–Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, and on and on. Moreover, it’s not wrong that we would feel a deep personal affection for those who have taught us so much about the gospel. For example, I know dozens and dozens of men and women who would drive through the night just to shake Piper’s hand and say thank you. Does this mean they are celebrity stalkers or that they are "of Piper”? Well, perhaps in some cases. But most of the folks I know simply want to convey their deep gratitude for the work God has done in their lives through one of his servants.

4. We should pray for “evangelical superstars.” The higher they rise, the harder they fall. So let’s ask God to give them wisdom in discerning priorities, grace to overcome their sins, courage in the face of opposition, and humility in the face of affirmation. Let’s pray that the older generation of leaders finishes well, without rancor or bitterness, without compromise, without distraction from what matters most.

5. Learning from a great teacher does not eliminate the need to think for ourselves. We need to make sure we are really convinced of the things we espouse, that we don’t simply believe what the men and women we respect believe. Don’t make the “celebrities” into a new magisterium. Respect their wisdom and experience, but always go back to the Scriptures. And don’t expect them to settle all your issues, because they haven’t faced all your issues. And besides, the men we look up to don’t always agree with each other on how to tackle certain issues.

6. Remember that famous people are still people. We all have clay feet. If our “superstars” have an ounce of humility, they will be the first to say, “I’m not everything you may imagine me to be.” I remember doing the panel discussion at Next with Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, Sinclair Ferguson, Justin Taylor, and Joshua Harris. The whole time I was up there I was thinking, “Don’t be overimpressed with us. At least not with me! A year ago I wouldn’t have imagined being up here. And now that I am, I can tell you I’m not a whole holier than I was a year ago! A year ago none of you would have thought to talk to me, now a bunch of you will wait in line to talk to me. I wasn’t really a loser a year ago, and I’m not all that special right now!” No matter how holy or fruitful our heroes may be, they will always be more like us than they are like God.

7. While it’s true that God blesses godly, gifted, humble servants of Christ with fruitfulness in ministry, always keep in mind that becoming a ministry “success” is a weird deal. I have thought about this often in the past year or so. Just because I wrote a book doesn’t mean I’m a better writer or thinker than all the people who haven’t. A couple people at Moody really liked Why We’re Not Emergent, while a whole bunch of other publishers didn’t. If those two people at Moody (thanks Dave and Tracey) weren’t sold on the book, most of you wouldn’t be reading this blog right now. There are a lot of bad books that get published, and good books that don’t. Some bestsellers are terrible and some tremendous books never make a blip. I guess what I’m saying is that even if we could measure success (and we know we can’t), there would still be no way to figure out why some get it and some don’t. Am I worse pastor than every pastor with more than 400 people on a Sunday and better than every pastor who has fewer than 400? God works in mysterious ways, the causes of “success” are impossible to determine, and influence is hard to quantify.

8. Don’t let others’ passion be a substitute for your own. Sometimes we preach or teach more than we really feel. We admire the intensity of others and make it our own. But it never really is our own. Or if it is, we haven’t figured out how to make it true to our personality.

9. Even with the proliferation of blogs, twitter, and iPods, the people in your life still need real live people in their lives. The most important pastor is the one in your local church. The most important teacher is the one raising your kids. The most important mentor is the one who meets with you for coffee every week.

10. This is my final thought, and maybe sums up all the others: don’t like someone just because others do, and don’t dislike someone just because others like him. Both are dangers in a celebrity culture. Some people wait on the corner just looking for bandwagons they can hop on. Others–the too cool for school crowd–have a dire fear of being a part of something popular. These folks decide to dislike an author or pastor or speaker or band or movie just because all their friends rave about them. I understand the reaction, but you don’t have to be a groupie to be edified. Don’t like Calvinism or Piper or Driscoll or whatever because it’s cool. And don’t be the cynical I-hate-labels, why-are-Christians-such-lemmings person either. Give thanks for godliness where you see it, the gospel where you hear it, and good examples when you can find them.

There are two books I’d recommend for bolstering a pro-life apologetic. Francis Beckwith’s Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice is the best scholarly, pro-life defense written in recent years. It’s only 296 pages, but filled with the latest science and devastating logic. For a more user-friendly book (Beckwith is pretty readable too), I recommend The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture by Scott Klusendorf. The book is still dense with arguments, but they are presented with a few less footnotes and a few more illustrations. You can’t go wrong with either book.

There are so many good points in The Case for Life that I can’t repeat (or remember!) them all. But a few points stand out.

• It isn’t enough to feel pity for the unborn. We must act on behalf of the unborn. The Good Samaritan was not praised for feeling sorry for the man on the side of the road, but for stopping to help (9).
• Simplify the issue. Bring the issue back to the central question: is the fetus a human person? To bring this point home, ask if a particular justification for abortion also works as a justification for killing toddlers (25).
• Use the acronym SLED. Size: are big people more human than small people? Level of Development: Does self-awareness make us human? Are older children more valuable than infants? Are those with dementia less valuable? Environment: Do your surroundings determine your humanity? How can a journey eight inches down the birth canal change the essential nature of the child? Degree of Dependency: Does viability make us human? Are newborns or those who need dialysis not deserving of human rights? (28)
• Embryology textbooks uniformly state that new human life comes into existence upon completion of fertilization. This is scientific fact, not a theological belief (49).
• The claim that 5000-10,000 women died a year from botched abortions prior to Roe is “unmitigated nonsense” (to quote a statistician featured in Planned Parenthood publications in the 60s and 70s). A total of 45,000 American women of reproductive age die each year of all causes. A better estimate is that 500 women died annually from illegal abortions in the years leading up to Roe (160).
  

Like I said, there are plenty more arguments and responses. In fact, I bet every objection pro-lifers have ever heard (at least in popular discourse) is addressed in this book. Buy it. Underline it. Take it to heart. Communicate its ideas confidently and winsomely.

This is no time to fight murder with murder (there is no time for that). But neither is this the time for pro-lifers to slacken in their efforts from fetus fatigue. Between 1973 and 2005 American women procured an estimated 48, 589, 993 abortions. The bloodiest single-day battle in American history was at Antietam in 1862, where 23,000 Americans lost their lives. It was an mind-boggling loss of life. Now imagine another Antietam every five or six says for 32 straight years. That’s how many unborn children died from 1973 to 2005. And they died not for the abolition of slavery, nor for the preservation of the Union, but for choice.

(What follows is adapted from the end of the talk on the "Life of Christ" I gave at the Next 2009 Conference)

The greatness of God is most clearly displayed in his Son. And the glory of the gospel is only made evident in his Son. That’s why Jesus’ question to his disciples is so important: “Who do you say that I am?”

The question is doubly crucial in our day because not every Jesus is the real Jesus. Almost no one is as popular in this country as Jesus. Hardly anyone would dare to say a bad word about him. Just look at what a super-fly friendly dude he is over there. But how many people know the real Jesus?

There’s the Republican Jesus who is against tax increases and activists judges, for family values and owning firearms.

There’s Democrat Jesus who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.

There’s Therapist Jesus who helps us cope with life’s problems, heals our past, tells us how valuable we are and not to be so hard on ourselves.

There’s Starbucks Jesus who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid and goes to film festivals.

There’s Open-minded Jesus who loves everyone all the time no matter what, except for people who are not as open-minded as you.

There’s Touchdown Jesus who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.

There’s Martyr Jesus, a good man who died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him

There’s Gentle Jesus who was meek and mild, with high cheek bones, flowing hair, and walks around barefoot, wearing a sash and looks very German.

There’s Hippie Jesus who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagine a world without religion, and helps us remember all you need is love.

There’s Yuppie Jesus who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.

There’s Spirituality Jesus who hates religion, churches, pastors, priests, and doctrine; and would rather have people out in nature, finding the god within and listening to ambiguously spiritual musical.

There’s Platitude Jesus, good for Christmas specials, greeting cards, and bad sermons; he inspires people to believe in themselves, and lifts us up so we can walk on mountains.

There’s Revolutionary Jesus who teaches us to rebel against the status quo, stick it to the man, and blame things on the “system.”

There’s Guru Jesus, a wise, inspirational teacher who believes in you and helps you find your center.

There’s Boyfriend Jesus who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love in our secret place.

There’s Good Example Jesus who shows you how to help people, change the planet, and become a better you.

And then there’s Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Not just another prophet. Not just another Rabbi. Not just another wonder-worker. He was the one they had been waiting for: the Son of David and Abraham’s chosen seed, the one to deliver us from captivity, the goal of the Mosaic law, Yahweh in the flesh, the one to establish God’s reign and rule, the one to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, freedom to the prisoners and proclaim good news to the poor, the lamb of God come to take away the sins of the world.

This Jesus was the Creator come to earth and the beginning of a new creation. He embodied the covenant, fulfilled the commandments, and reversed the curse. This Jesus is the Christ that God spoke of to the serpent, the Christ prefigured to Noah in the flood, the Christ promised to Abraham, the Christ prophesied through Balaam before the Moabites, the Christ guaranteed to Moses before he died, the Christ promised to David when he was king, the Christ revealed to Isaiah as a suffering servant, the Christ predicted through the prophets and prepared for through John the Baptist.

This Christ is not a reflection of the current mood or the projection of our own desires. He is our Lord and God. He is the Father’s Son, Savior of the world, and substitute for our sins–more loving, more holy, and more wonderfully terrifying than we ever thought possible.

Why We Love the Church should be released by the end of the month. In the past month I've given a couple excerpts from the book. They've been from my chapters. Ted Kluck wrote the other half of the chapters. Ted is a gifted writer and I'm so thankful to have worked with him on another project.

Here's a few paragraphs from Ted's chapter "Turn the Page."

*****

Perhaps I’m just sick of revolutionaries. I am thirty-two years old, and am a part of the generation that has probably purchased more Che Guevara posters than any other generation in history. You know the poster. It’s the one that shows Che bearded, in his beret, looking larger than life. It is often accompanied on the wall by a Bob Marley poster, or the John Belushi poster in which he wears a sweatshirt emblazoned with the word “College.” We’re big on revolutionaries. We’re big on changing the world. We’re big, also, on not being ordinary.

A search on a popular Christian bookseller’s Web site revealed no less than sixty-two items with the word manifesto in the title and hundreds containing the term revolutionary. There are revolutionary books for teens. Ditto for stay-at-home moms. There’s a book about how Jesus was a revolutionary communicator, and how you can use His revolutionary communication skills in your home/business/church. The question then becomes, If we’re all revolutionaries, are any of us an actual revolutionary? Being a revolutionary used to mean that you overthrew a government; now it means that you’re a courageous enough visionary to have church on a golf course or in someone’s living room.

My point in all of this is not to make not-so-subtle jabs at revolutionary culture (maybe a little bit); rather, it is to encourage the scores of nonrevolutionaries in our midst, of which I am one. I want to encourage those of us who try really hard to pray for our families and friends, try to read our Bibles consistently, and share the gospel with those around us. Those of us who aren’t ready to chuck centuries worth of church history, and years of unglamorous but God-glorifying growth in the name of revolution.

I’m also a part of the generation that has produced more memoirs before the age of thirty-five than any other in history. We’re crazy about Christian narrative nonfiction, especially those “on the road” stories, no matter how trite or contrived they may be. We’re journeyers. We’re wanderers. We still haven’t found what we’re looking for. Jack Kerouac’s (or Donald Miller’s...or Lauren Winner’s) wayward children are all over the Christian book landscape.

These narrative titles all follow a similar pattern, in that in them experiences are had (a cross-country road trip, a self-finding excursion through Europe, a documentary chronicling the lameness of American Christians, a chronicle on how the author dropped out of church and subsequently “found” Jesus), and then those experiences are shared in book form. Many of these books are supposed to tell us that “community” is the answer, and individualism is bad, but at the end of the day these books are largely about the individual and his or her discoveries.

I'm starting a new blog series today that will run periodically throughout the summer. I'm calling the intermittent series "Monday Morning Ministers." I'm blessed as a pastor to have many faithful and mature "ordinary" people in our congregation. I learn from them and benefit from their service to Christ in their respective professions. I'll be asking various people from my church about how their regular life and Christian faith intersect. Posting these interviews will give people from our congregation a chance to get to know their fellow members (if they read my blog!). And perhaps hearing how these faithful brothers and sisters walk their Christian walk will be an encourage to all the other remarkable "ordinary" folks out there.

Today I'd like to introduce you to Sean Duffy (43 years old). He is an engineer at GM, a good musician, has a wonderful family, and is an all around great guy.

1. Where did you grow up?
I was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, when I was in kindergarten. We moved to Ohio for three years during elementary school but we moved back to Stone Mountain when I was in seventh grade. My parents and sister’s family as well as my in-laws live in Georgia and I consider it home.

2. Tell us about your family—the family you came from and the family you have now.
I grew up in a family of four with one sister who’s two years younger than I am. My dad worked as a public accountant and at several colleges. He’s one of the most honest and hardworking people I’ve ever known. My mother was a high school French teacher until I was born when she opted to become a stay-at-home mom. She took great care of us growing up.

I married my wife, Christy, in 1992. We knew of each other in high school but didn’t start to date until I had graduated from college. I quickly fell in love with her (and her beautiful blue eyes) and like a typical engineer I called every Wednesday to ask her out the following Friday. She has always taken her faith very seriously and played a big part in me becoming a believer. We have three wonderful kids: Michael (15), Amy (12), and Rebecca (9).

3. How did you become a Christian?
I grew up going to church every Sunday but didn’t really know the Lord until much later. It wasn’t until I attended a summer music festival and heard – and understood – the gospel for the first time. Over the next year I understood what it meant to have Jesus as my Savior, joined a Bible study, changed churches and learned the difference between performing and leading in worship on Sunday.

4. Describe your current vocation and why you decided to do what you are doing.
I have always loved cars and enjoyed math and science so I decided to study engineering. I earned my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from GMI Engineering and Management Institute (now Kettering University in Flint) while working as a co-op student at General Motors’ Doraville, Georgia, assembly plant. I was hired in full time after graduation and worked at the Doraville plant in various roles for 20+ years before being given the opportunity to move to Lansing and launch the new plant here.

My current position is the Manufacturing Engineering Manager at GM’s newest North American facility, the Lansing Delta Township assembly plant. I manage a group of controls and mechanical engineers who support production operations and plan future model change activities. We build the Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook, and GMC Acadia for sale worldwide.

5. What are some of the blessings of your vocation?
I love new cars and can get a whiff of “new car smell” every day! I also get to drive and evaluate a different company car every six months – that’s a huge perk for a car guy. It’s great seeing a car or truck on the street knowing that I had a part in building it. I also love to show people around the plant. No one can fathom how amazing it is to take 10,000 parts and turn them into a car that starts up at the end of the line – until they see it themselves.

I also love working in the manufacturing sector in general. Our nation’s economy cannot survive or hope to thrive only by pushing paper or providing services. The current economic downturn has walloped all manufacturers with incredible drops in demand almost overnight. I’m excited to be a part of repositioning and reworking the company, and in turn, the country. (Not to sound like a sore loser, but even the foreign car companies like Toyota are struggling – not just the American ones. The media regularly fail to report that.)

6. What are some of the challenges?
The constant pressure is sometimes hard to handle. We have to make production, meet quality standards with fewer engineers, smaller budgets and ever-increasing environmental and government regulations all while satisfying the customer. I get up before 4:30 am each morning to be at work before the line starts at 6:00 am. And my day is long – even with the early start. I usually get home around 6 in the evening.

7. How is your commitment to Christ challenged, strengthened, and exercised in your vocation?
The language used in any manufacturing facility can be coarse. My testimony is often that my strongest curse word is, “Dadgumit.” Now, that doesn’t exactly point to Jesus but it opens the door for people to ask why I behave the way I do. And there my faith is challenged: am I going to tell the truth? Will they treat me differently if I talk about Jesus?

8. How has your life and/or vocation been affected by the downturn in the economy?
Well, I work for GM… need I say more? As I write this I’m waiting for the announcement that GM will declare bankruptcy. It is a difficult time as morale is certainly suffering and it seems no one knows who will be let go next; I’d built an excellent team of engineers and have had to let many of them go. However it’s a great opportunity to trust in the Lord and remember who’s ultimately in charge.

9. What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?
My value is not in what other people think of me; my value comes from what Christ has done for me. And it’s okay to be wrong sometimes because I can’t always be right (even though I’d like to be!).

10. Any good books you are currently reading or would recommend to others?
I just finished Why GM Matters by William Holstein. It’s an excellent look into the way our American life and economy is intertwined with the auto industry and manufacturing in general.

The book I’m using during my private devotional time is The One Year Book of Hymns that my mother–in-law gave me. It’s the text of a different hymn each day with corresponding scripture and commentary. I find myself meditating on the words all day. There’s so much truth in the hymns.

Of course, my son Michael and I pour over Car and Driver and Motor Trend each month – I highly recommend them over Consumer’s Reports!