Archive for 2011

On October 2nd, 1999, a preacher in Minneapolis, Minnesota wrote an editorial for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In this editorial he argued that it was a loving thing for Christians to speak the gospel of Jesus Christ to Jewish people because of what it says in 1 John 5:12: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” In response several Christian clergy members wrote to the paper saying things like, " Unfortunately, arrogant is the right word to describe any efforts by Christians to ‘win over’ their Jewish brothers and sisters. Thoughtful Christians will disassociate themselves from any such effort.”

We live in a society of relativism. Relativism says there is no such thing as objective and/or absolute truth. What's true for you isn't necessarily true for me. In fact, our culture has been so infiltrated by the philosophy of relativism that Christian ministers would actually call sharing the gospel an arrogant thing to do.

In 1908... well ahead of his time... G.K. Chesterton wrote, “What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place… A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man, that a man does assert, is exactly the part he ought not to assert – himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt – the Divine Reason… We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.”

That's relativism. The world says, "follow your heart," but the Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9) The world says, "What's true for you is not necessarily true for me," but the Bible says, "Your word is truth," (John 17:17) and Jesus himself says, "I tell you the truth," 30 times in the book of Matthew alone!

If all truth is relative, what happens when my truth says yours is a lie?

Christians believe the Bible contains the very words of God himself, the creator of everything. And that book says things like, "He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:12) And also, "I (Jesus) am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) If we believe these statements it's not arrogant to try to get others to believe them... it's loving.

The best way I've ever heard it explained actually came from an atheist...

It can't be arrogant to believe what the Bible says and share it with other people. As you just saw... if Christians take the advice of those clergy members who responded to the editorial they would beunloving, not thoughtful.

The end of this week marks the end of my 4th week as a youth minister. This is my first full-time ministry job and I'm already learning a lot of great lessons. Here are a few.

1. Prayer is the foundation of every ministry...

Prayer is so crucial because some of the things God calls us to do as ministers are absolutely impossible without the Holy Spirit going ahead of us and laying the groundwork. Bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is something I have no power to do in myself. I need God to open people's hearts as he did Lydia in Acts 16:14. Then I need him to speak powerful words through me that will cut to the hearts of the people. Only God knows what others need to hear. Furthermore, God will work for you when you pray and trust him to help provide volunteers, raise up leaders, lead a congregation, and give you solid ideas. Without dependence on God I would most certainly over-work myself.

2. Keeping family first is crucial...

My roles as a husband and father always come before my role as a youth minister. I've quickly learned that, even though it's ordered like that in my head, my wife and little boy need my actions to line up with that so that they feel like they come before ministry. The key to this so far has been planning. When I plan well and communicate well with my wife, she feels she is important. When I fail to do so, it's easy for her to feel like she's getting my "leftover" time... and rightfully so.

3. The body of Christ is a wonderful blessing...

I can't express the generosity we've already felt from those at our new church home only four weeks in. It seems like every week someone new comes up and tells us what they're trying to get done to make our lives easier. Our church has so many people with unique gifts from God that have influence all over the local community... and not only that but they are generous with their gifts and talents. We've been very humbled by all the people in the congregation who've treated us like family from the moment we stepped in the door. We feel so very blessed to be a part of this particular local church.

4. Jesus really does love the little children...

I know this seems very obvious, but being in youth ministry reenforces it all the more. Children are so special in God's eyes because of their innocence and the fact that they are so influential. More than that, they give me so much joy. Singing songs and telling Bible stories to children is something that I forgot how much I enjoyed. In Mark 10:14 Jesus rebuked his disciples who were trying to get some kids to leave Jesus alone and he said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Yes adult, college, and high school ministry might be more glorious, or fun, or rewarding... but, according to Jesus, it's a spiritual mistake to neglect children's ministry.

Well...

I have not posted in quite a while, mainly because I've been concentrated on many more important things in life. One is learning how to be a dad and getting to know my boy, but the other has been landing a youth ministry job at the church where I grew up located in Owensboro, KY. God has allowed us to go through a lot of uncertainty this past year and it's been immensely stressful at times but it seems like for once we feel calm and happy about something.

I start work May 31st, but we will wait to move until a couple weeks later as Jen has to finish out the school year at her current job. I'm super excited to finally be able to spend 40hrs a week doing ministry - something I've prayed for for almost 6 years. And we're thrilled as a family to be able to raise our little boy Owen in the same city as his grandparents and near other aunts, uncles, and cousins. Can't wait to see what God does in our lives through this transition!

At the same time we're sad to leave our home here in Lexington. I wanted to write this blog to thank all of our friends we've made in Lexington over the past 8 years. I won't mention names for fear of leaving someone out and having someone get upset, but you know who you are. Our families have often commented on how surprised and blown away they are at the level of commitment and love our friends in Lexington have shown us and they are 100% correct.

God has truly blessed us with genuine, deep fellowship with some very godly men and women here. We're actually quite nervous that we won't ever to be able to find friends in Owensboro that we can be this close to - friends who are willing to love us, care for us, rebuke us, challenge us, pray for us, be honest with us, and encourage us. Also since we've lived here my wife and I have consistently felt as if we weren't loving and giving as much to our friends as they were to us. We had an extra family.

In Matthew 12:48-50, Jesus says, "'Who is my mother and who are my brothers?' Pointing to his disciples he said, 'Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'" Jesus is teaching us that in many ways our brothers and sisters in Christ are closer than our immediate family. Thankfully my immediate family are also my brothers and sisters in Christ, but I'm reminded of this passage when I think of our closest friends we've made in Lexington.

It will always feel like we took so much more from our friends in Lexington than we gave, because they were all so generous and selfless. God has given us so very much through all of you guys... so look forward to your rewards in heaven from God our Father because of the blessing you were to us.

It's been a week since our son was born and I've learned so much. Here are a couple reflections from the past week that have stood out in my mind.

1. My prayers have changed.

When I was young I prayed for God to keep me safe when I was afraid of the dark. When I was in high school I prayed for God to give me some friends - and maybe a date. When I was in college I prayed for the salvation of an entire campus. When I was working right out of college I prayed for my marriage and the salvation of my co-workers. When I started seminary I prayed for the souls of all those I would one day minister to. This week I prayed for Owen to have a bowel movement. Things are different... but they're great.

2. I still love my wife first... yes, even before my son.

One thing that's been amazing is all the people who insinuated - but not explicitly said - that I would love my son more than my wife. I heard things like, "You love your wife but you would die for your son," or, "he'll be the apple of your eye." It's quite obvious... there are many wives and husbands out there who have children and immediately love their children more than their spouse. This is unbiblical and detrimental to marriages AND TO CHILDREN.

Ever wondered how couples can stay together for years and years and then all of a sudden get divorced? Often it's because they stayed together for the children, and once their children were grown and gone they had no more marriage. God calls me to love Him first and foremost, and next is my wife - even before my children. When I love those three people in that order all receive the greatest benefit. But when I love any of those three out of order everyone, including myself, suffers.

Husbands: love your wives before your children. God calls you to be a husband before he calls you to be a father. And I use the word before to signify both time and priority.

3. The kind of love I have for my son is much the same as the love I have for my wife... but for my wife it's much different.

A couple days ago Jen asked me if I felt loved Owen differently than I loved her - because for her it felt so different. But I had to answer that it wasn't much different at all, and the reason stems from my God-given role as a husband/father and Jen's God-given role as a wife/mother. God's roles for men as husbands and men as fathers are much the same - protectors, providers, leaders. But God's roles for women as wives and women as mothers are much different. As a wife Jen is called to be my helper and encourager. But as a mother she is called to be Owen's nurturer - the one who provides care, love, and sensitive wisdom. I thought that was very interesting but I never thought of it until the other day.

Well it's official. At 2:00 am yesterday morning (3/11/11) our little boy Owen was born. He was four weeks early but fully developed and healthy and already 7 lbs 8 oz. What a blessing from God!

There are a couple things I've done that I thank God for being so gracious and giving me the alertness to remember in a crazy time like this...

I started journaling Wed. night about the whole process and have made multiple entires daily. I know we all will love reading these 20 years from now.
We were very blessed to get a digital camera with video recording for Christmas. I captured a video of the little guy crying about a minute after he was born! I'll cherish that forever.
We've been taking a picture of every person that comes to visit holding the little guy (we got this idea from two friends of ours who had a little girl in December). We'll always remember our friends sharing in this crazy but joyful few days!

More than that there have been a few moments that have just been so precious I think they'll stick out in my mind forever...

Jen had to have a C-section so she was out when the docs were working on her. She couldn't feel a thing and was sleeping through it. But when Owen came he cried and she instinctively woke up and became alert. Right away I locked eyes with my beautiful wife and we both, for the first time, realized God had blessed us with a baby boy of our own. I cried... a lot. This has been my favorite moment so far.
Yesterday evening the little guy opened his eyes for the first time and I got to spend the next 30 minutes just holding him while we looked at each other. That was special for this new dad.
At 5 am this morning Jen and I finally had some time where we prayed over Owen. We prayed for his life, his salvation, his future wife (Lord willing), and his future calling. We prayed for grace as God and Owen teach us how to be parents. And we prayed that God would help us to spend regular time with Owen in prayer and in the Word. Then I got to read the first 5 Psalms to him. That put him to sleep.

BTW... I've included one infant picture of both my wife and myself and one of Owen!

If you open your Bible to John 7:53-8:11 you'll find something interesting. The story about the woman caught in adultery is widely held to be a later addition to the Gospel account of John and is believed to have been written by someone other than the Apostle John himself. The NIV sections this part off with a comment, as does the ESV. The RSV goes so far as to relegate it to a footnote. MOST (not just many) trustworthy, conservative New Testament scholars agree that this was not part of the originally inspired text of the book of John.

Mention this in almost any evangelical church in America today and you will probably upset at least one person (although they might not mention it to you). More than likely you'll upset plenty. It's not because they are blind bigots or liberal theologians but because they have grown up to love this story and cherish it as part of what they always believed was the inspired, inerrant Word of God. It's hard to hear that one of the most touching stories of Jesus' love and grace to a sinner was not actually intended to be in the Bible.

Now let me mention, as an aside, that this does not mean the story isn't true or didn't happen! The story is very likely a factual account of an actual occurrence in Jesus' ministry. We can still learn a great lesson from it. We can still read it during our devotional time when we come to this point in the book of John.

But as seekers of the truth we must open our hearts to the hard and honest work of textual critics and NT scholars that seem to all but prove this text is not original. Why? Because as believers in the authority and transforming power of the Bible, the Word of God, we need to get it as accurate as possible. As Protestants we don't believe the Apocrypha should be included in the canon of Scripture we call The Bible. If that's the case we need to distinguish passages that have historically been included but now - with older and more accurate manuscripts being discovered - are being found to be unoriginal to the inspired text.

As Christians we can't be afraid of textual criticism because we can't be afraid of the truth. Don't worry and fret... conservative evangelicals will sort out the liberals and revisionists who try to take out parts of Scripture to suit their own theological agenda. But that's not what's happening with John 7:53-8:11. We can't be afraid of the truth... and even more, we should embrace it! God's originally inspired Word is different from any other writing or collection of writings in history - even other accounts of Jesus' ministry - because it was overseen by God Himself and inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself. Only those words have the power to pierce our hearts, divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and to judge the thoughts and attitudes of our heart (Hebrews 4:12). So let's get it right.

I've included a video below that presents some extremely interesting (at least to me) facts about textual criticism and the process of getting the NT as accurate as possible. Say what you will about John Piper, but this video just includes facts and he's studied this stuff more than most.

Recently on the Stand To Reason Blog (which I would highly recommend you bookmarking) I ran across an interesting piece of news. During a recent bit of "expert" testimony presented to the Canadian Parliament Dr. Hubert Van Gijseghem asserted that Pedophilia is just another sexual orientation comparable to heterosexuality or homosexuality.

Stop. At first this statement seems SHOCKING but it should not be in today's society.

The STR blog astutely pointed out that this is no surprise after the shift of language used to refer to homosexuality as an innate orientation rather than a choice, preference, or even predisposition. Once we've started down the slippery slope of equating homosexuality with identity we must also grant that those who struggle with sexual perversions (and by that word I simply mean a deviation from God's intended norm) such as pedophilia are also simply following their innate genetic identity and cannot be punished or "discriminated against" for doing so.

There are three thoughts I'd like to give on these developments regarding their relationship to God, the Bible, and Christianity...

1. This line of thought originates in evolutionary theory - a la Charles Darwin

Evolutionary theory suggests we are nothing but products of our genetic make-up and therefore a survival of the fittest worldview makes sense. However we see the fallacy in such a view when we see the ridiculous conclusions evolutionists are forced to come to to remain consistent with their position.

Evolutionists first affirm we are products of our genetic make-up. Therefore homosexual behavior cannot be frowned upon or condemned in any way because it is simply a response to the way someone was born. Therefore it would logically follow that an adult who is sexually attracted to young children should also not be punished or condemned because such behavior is simply a following of his/her genetic make-up.

The logical conclusion of this line of thinking (and all evolutionary theory) is that there are no moral absolutes. Any horrible act of sin can be rationalized, justified, and explained away because in the end human beings just act as they are genetically programmed to act.

2. Homosexuality was once as shocking and abnormal to society as pedophilia is today

While genocide (The Holocaust), infanticide (abortion), and racism all prove that history cannot prove morality, this fact speaks volumes to the current sexuality debate. Until 1973 the American Psychiatric Association included homosexuality in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Al Mohler notes that, "The very notion of homosexuals as a category of persons constituted by sexual identity is a recent invention." (Desire & Deceit, 64) And many non-Christian biblical scholars agree that the Apostle Paul in his writings on homosexuality (especially Romans 1:25-27) had no concept of multiple options when it came to sexual orientation. Indeed every biblical author has no such concept in mind.

As mentioned above, there are horrific human acts that have occurred in the past that we in the present view as barbaric, senseless, and the product of an uneducated and undeveloped society. In fact many in the homosexual community liken the liberation and acceptance of homosexuals to the civil rights movement for African Americans led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Nearly every human being agrees that a black person has not done anything wrong by being black. So it's easy to see the homosexual movement's desire to gain acceptance for the language of orientation and identity over preference and even predisposition.

Which leads me to my final thought...

3. Sinful struggles such as pedophilia and homosexuality are not always chosen...

Yes... homosexuality is a sin. The Bible is clear on this issue. Yes... pedophilia is a sin. The Bible is also clear on this issue. Yes... every sinful act of homosexuality or pedophilia is a choice for sin. But not all those who are attracted to the same sex or attracted sexually to children have chosen this attraction. Some have indeed turned to these things in sinful reactions to sinful things done to them. But others, through no choice of their own whatsoever, naturally struggle with an attraction to the same sex or children.

Why must I refer to it as a struggle? First of all because I believe the Bible is God's self-revelation to his creatures and therefore it is authoritative on all ethical matters. Therefore when God calls something a sin, I call it a sin. Second, because the proper, God-honoring response to a natural predisposition to sin is to struggle against it your whole life.

One of the most wise pieces of counsel I've ever heard on this issue was given by Rick Warren to Today Show correspondent Ann Curry. Here Warren points out that even if homosexuality is biological and "natural" for some, they must still struggle against it because saying no to "natural" desires is part of what maturity means. Warren stated that it might be his own natural desire to have sex with every beautiful woman he sees but no one would agree that this is good for himself or his family.

The point is that the fall in Genesis ch. 3 meant that the entirety of God's good creation were affected negatively. Therefore there are now some human beings who - without any environmental conditioning - struggle with same sex attraction or sexual attraction to children. But just because these predispositions exist does not make them morally acceptable. The Biblical worldview explains this. The Evolutionist worldview cannot and therefore must accept both.

Three days ago at the Iowa State Wrestling Championships, 35-4 Joel Northrup forfeited his first match because he was pitted against a female.

No doubt Northrup had a sizable chance to win the entire tournament judging by his stellar record in previous matches. No doubt any of us would have relished the chance to be considered the best in the entire state at our respective sport. No doubt Northrup found it hard to give up on what might have been a dream - a state title.

But Joel Northrup made a choice for God's glory over his own. Northrup stated, "As a matter of my conscience and my faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner." Northrup chose to give up a shot at personal glory to honor God. He chose to deny himself and follow Jesus (yes, Northrup is a Christian).

The nature of wrestling as a sport should have enlightened the directors of the tournament that matches should be limited to same sex opponents. If you've ever seen a wrestling match you know that this much physical contact with anyone other than your spouse is unbiblical, immoral, and disrespectful. Another factor in this decision is that wrestling is an inherently violent sport. People can get hurt and it's disrespectful for any man to inflict pain upon a woman. Real men don't fight girls.

But undoubtedly including girls in a men's wrestling tournament was a concession to the feminist agenda that for years has screamed for women and men to be equal in every way in every situation (there were actually two girls in the tournament). But when we look at the Bible we don't see males and females as the same in every way except for anatomy. We see that God intended men and women to complement each other - to complete one another - with their inherent differences. We see that Eve was created as a "suitable helper" to Adam (Gen. 2:18). We see that men are to lead their wives by giving themselves up as Christ died for the church (Eph. 5:25-29). We see that wives are to be home-oriented nurturers (Titus 2:4-5). Furthermore we see that females as a whole are weaker than males (1 Peter 3:7) and men should treat them considerately with respect and gentleness.

These differences do not mean males are more valuable than females - or vise versa - but simply that they are different and have different God-given roles intended to maximize our joy as human beings.

Joel Northrup seems as though he understands this. He certainly understands that males and females are created with inherent differences and those differences are Godly boundaries meant to be respected not oppressive walls meant to be torn down. More than that he understands that God's glory is more important than his own - and he will be rewarded for it in eternity.

When I was in college I was in a small men's discipleship group. There were three of us and we met every week and were led by our Resident Advisor in the dorms. We studied Scripture together, prayed together, memorized the Word with each other, held each other accountable for sins and spiritual disciplines, and strategized on how to reach our fellow dorm-mates for Jesus.

One evening our group leader couldn't make it to the Bible Study so he had one of the campus ministers come over and teach us instead. This was a real treat. Dan (the campus minister) was a little bit older and more experienced and we used the opportunity to ask him questions about ministry and the Christian life.

During the session we got on the topic of how important it is to spend regular one-on-one time with God (what I call a quiet time). So I asked Dan, "How long has it been since you've missed a quiet time?" I'll never forget his answer...

"I can't remember," he replied. I was confused and asked for clarification, "You mean you just can't remember the exact day or what?" And he said, "No, it's been so long I honestly can't remember the last time I went a day without having one. It has to have been a couple years at least." I was shocked. We all were.

The three of us proceeded to question him on how he could stay so disciplined as to not miss one day alone with God for such a long period of time. He told us that our question was a little misguided. He told us it wasn't so much about will-power or discipline as much as it was about realizing that he just couldn't go without it. For him it seemed like going a day without food... he just needed it so badly.

I've been a Christian for 13 years now and I still have to admit I'm not there yet. But I'm very pleased to encourage you that I can actually tell I'm getting there. When I go for a couple days without spending time with God I can feel sin crouching right at my door. I'm not as strong in resisting Satan's temptations and schemes. What I've learned is that alone I'm not strong at all. Alone I'm pathetically weak and fall easily to temptation. That's why I have to remain close to God day-by-day. When I stay close to him I'm relying on his power instead of my own. His power is what fends off the attacks of Satan.

That's what Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me... For when I am weak, then I am strong." God refused to take Paul's thorn in the flesh away from him so he would learn to depend on God for strength. That's what we're doing when we have daily time with God. We're not checking it off the to-do list to make God happy with us. We're placing ourselves at the feet of him who can sanctify us, make us pure, change our hearts, and give us the strength we need to fight Satan and his demons.

Assuming you read often (and I hope you do!) you probably have one of the following two strategies for choosing books on Christianity - either you choose only authors that you trust OR you choose what's new/popular and hope it's biblical.

Beware of both!

I typically find myself using the first strategy. I know which authors are biblical and which ones are not so I choose books based upon authors I can trust. The problem with this is everything I end up reading is usually stuff I already agree with. That means I'm not challenging myself to respond to erroneous views of Scripture or the Christian life. I'm (in a sense) surrounding myself with other people just like me and in the process I'm not growing.

On the other hand when I read an article or a book that I disagree with it forces me to get my facts straight and understand why the things those authors claim are not the truth. It forces me to learn... it forces me to grow. It may not be the most fun kind of reading but it's some of the most beneficial.

One very important caveat needs to be mentioned here however: to do this well you need to be skilled at reading critically. There was a point in my life where it would have been dangerous for me to read a book by an intellectual atheist. I might have begun to believe what he/she was writing without questioning it. No matter how much you think you can trust the author you're reading, always read critically. Don't take everything they say as gospel. You have to be skilled at this before you can move on to reading things you know you'll disagree with.

To help you get a practical hold on what I'm talking about, here are some suggestions on things you could read that would almost certainly be outside your realm of agreement:

The Quran
Anything by Richard Dawkins (world-renowned atheist)
Books on theology/doctrine by authors of different denominations than your own
The Book of Mormon
The Apocrypha

Again, reading material you don't agree with will help you to understand the arguments of those you are trying to reach for Christ. I would venture to say Muslims don't have very much respect for Christians trying to evangelize to them who also have a false understanding of Muslim teachings.

The second strategy or habit people fall into when choosing books is simply picking out the popular book at the time hoping that what's said inside is biblical. This can be extremely dangerous as well... especially if you're not skilled at reading critically. There have been more than a few wildly popular Christian books come out in recent years that have contained messages that were clearly unbiblical. Just because a book is labeled "Christian" at the bookstore doesn't mean it's sound doctrinally.

Furthermore when you read only the latest and most popular books you miss out great books and authors that have proven themselves to be classics over the years. How many of Rob Bell's books will be remembered in 10 years? Compare that with those of a C.S Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, or Augustine. There's nothing wrong with new and popular books. Mere Christianity was new and popular at one time. The point is you increase your chances of a great read if you choose those books that have already withstood the test of time.

On Wednesday Joel Osteen and his wife were guests on the Piers Morgan talk show on CNN. Many of you may know Joel Osteen for a number of reasons... pastor of the largest church in America... most well-known proponent of the prosperity gospel (heath & wealth... God wants you to be materially wealthy)... his avoidance of preaching on negative topics such as sin... etc.

But while I am strongly against the idea of our "best life now" I want to join other Christian leaders and bloggers in commending Osteen for his response to being put on the spot by Morgan during the interview.

When Morgan asked Osteen if he believed homosexuality to be a sin he responded by saying, "Yes I've always believed, Piers, the Scripture shows that homosexuality is a sin."

Not surprisingly Morgan was flabbergasted and immediately jumped into accusing Osteen of being judgmental.

Accurate or not, Christians are constantly accused of being judgmental. Whether it's our stance on homosexuality, headship & submission in marriage, women's roles in the church, or Jesus as the only way to God, the tag gets put on us all the time.

We must admit that sometimes the accusation is accurate. Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged," (Matt. 7:1) and went on to speak of the danger of becoming hypocrites. If we're honest we should all admit that we've been guilty of this before.

But here Jesus is not saying 'Do not make any moral judgments whatsoever.' Otherwise how could we take statements such as, "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right," (Luke 12:57) or, "Stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment," (John 7:24)? How could we stand our ground on things that were wrong versus things that were pure and holy?

I think the good lesson we can learn from Joel Osteen's response to Piers Morgan is that we should let the Word of God speak for itself and then stand behind it. In doing so we allow God to bear the responsibility of the moral judgment. And when others are offended we can simply reply that we are only following the words of God.

Do I wish every person ever born would go to heaven? Yes. Will it happen? God's Word says, "No." We need not worry what others think about us when we stand behind the Word of God. The only thing that concerns us is how God, the ultimate judge, will judge us on whether or not we remained true to what He has revealed to us in the Bible.

I'll leave you with a quote from Al Mohler that I thought was clarifying and enlightening on the issue...

"To Morgan, making any moral judgment amounts to judgmentalism. Of course, this leads logically to total moral insanity, since the only way to avoid being identified with judgmentalism is to make no moral judgments whatsoever — which no sane person can do."

This past week at church our preaching minister used a technique I've always found to be helpful and effective. He talked at length of the fact that we consistently judge others and use the phrase "those people." Then he ran down a laundry list of who "those people" might be - non-Christians, addicts, the sexually immoral, atheists, etc. He made the point that God loves all of these people and cares for them just the same. Then came the technique... he told us, "You are those people."

When he was speaking of "those people" before he turned it around most (if not all) of us were thinking about other people... not ourselves. But when he turned it around it hit everyone in the face and we all knew it was true.

In light of this I though it might be beneficial to share some suggestions that have helped me become better at listening to sermons. Hopefully they will help some of you.

1. Pray before the sermon

Not out loud... but just a silent, short prayer. Ask God to give you an open heart to understand and open eyes to see the truth. Ask the Holy Spirit to help enlighten you to the mystery of the gospel and the depth of teaching in the Word. Ask God to keep you humble - so that you're willing to admit your sins - so that you aren't tempted to think you know it all already - so that you can acknowledge your weaknesses and strive to become better.

2. When you hear the preacher talk about sin... always examine yourself... don't think about others.

We're all guilty of this one. The minute the preacher or pastor starts talking about judging others we start thinking about that one person we know who's the worst at that. When they talk about gossip a list of acquaintances pops up in our minds. It takes discipline, but each time you hear anything about sin try hard not to think of others and try even harder to apply it to yourself. No matter how confident you feel in your ability to avoid that sin there's still probably room for growth if you search your heart deep enough.

3. Say small prayers when you feel convicted

If you're heart is soft and the preacher is preaching the Word, this will likely happen every sermon. You'll feel convicted about something in your life... a nagging sin, an issue with a brother or sister in Christ, a friend who needs the gospel. When you feel this, say a short prayer asking God, right then and there, to work in that situation for his glory.

4. Take some notes but not a ton

Taking notes is good. In fact it's great, especially if you go back later and search through Scripture to find more verses on a topic, or if you write yourself a reminder about something in your life to change, or if you want to talk to a friend or spouse about what was said after the service. But incessant note-taking during the sermon can rob you of a worship experience. That's right... listening to a sermon is a worship experience! It's a chance for you to learn something new about our amazing God and to marvel at Him for it. This not only takes paying attention, but also investing your emotions into what is being said. You will miss out on this if your head is down and you're writing the entire sermon.

5. Listen critically

Hopefully you go to a church where the preacher is committed to the authority of Scripture and refuses to speak any words that would go against God's inspired word. But human beings are fallible. I'm not trying to talk you into losing trust in your minister or pastor. I'm simply challenging you to become like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who, "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Luke calls this "noble character" and it is something we should practice as well.

6. Turn "distractions" into thanksgiving

Many people hate when babies start to cry during a sermon, or when a child behind you is acting up and a parent is trying to deal with them. In these moments don't let Satan use these moments to draw you away from God. Instead use them to draw near to God in thanksgiving. Thank God in your heart for babies being present in your congregation and the fact that they are healthy enough to cry. Thank God for children and parents who are persevering through the battle of parenthood trying to shape their child in the will of God.

I've thought this way in the past. Maybe you have too. Maybe you think this way now. This post is not a rebuke but a challenge and an encouragement.

I've known many people (and this includes myself) who have thought that apologetics (defending the faith) was just "not for them" so they didn't spend time seeking out knowledge for defending the claims of the Bible to others. That is, until they had a close friend, co-worker, or family member challenge them with a question they couldn't answer. Then apologetics quickly become something they were very interested in. And rightfully so.

Situations like these have a way of allowing us to see the practical and very important reasons that apologetics are vitally important. When someone poses a tough question that we can't answer it makes us wonder why anyone believes it the way we do. It helps us to understand that atheists, Buddhists, Mormons, Muslims, and others won't be attracted to the Bible unless we can give them strong reasons to be.

Recently I read a blog post titled What If Richard Dawkins Showed Up To Sunday School? [Richard Dawkins is a renowned atheist known for vehemently opposing Christianity, and a very intelligent man in many respects.] In the article the author gave numerous examples of common questions Dawkins poses to Christians to try and disprove the Bible. While the author noted that all of the questions are answerable if only we take the time to study up, I must admit reading some of them made me feel quite nervous.

What if someone asked me that question and I couldn't answer? This is a very real and valid concern. But the solution is not to throw our hands up in the air and simply say, "Oh we just have faith." God never asks us to have faith without giving us valid reasons to put our trust in him. And this kind of answer surely won't convince the intellectual atheist questioning our faith. The solution is to do the leg-work, study our Bibles, do some research, and find the answers to the tough questions. Then we will "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15)

So as a Christian, don't wait until that situation arises where someone stumps you with a question. Don't put off learning about apologetics until you're forced to. Study now. Read the whole Bible. Wrestle with the hard parts. Search out answers to your lingering questions. Read good books by people like William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, and Josh McDowell. Start getting prepared now so that when the time comes you will be able to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15). After all, that verse is a commandment from God, isn't it?

As a Christian in a culture that is morally declining more and more each day it seems, it is now more crucial than ever for us to seek to see culture events through the eyes of God. This means understanding long-term moral consequences of decisions made today. This week I read about two such decisions and the moral ramifications are frightening.

This past week an article printed in The Columbus Dispatch announced that the Student Council at Ohio State University wants to prohibit religious groups on campus (such as campus ministries) from excluding homosexuals from leadership positions. Here’s a quote from the article…

“This week, an advisory council that includes representatives of the undergraduate, professional and graduate student governments will ask Javaune Adams-Gaston, vice president for Student Life, to drop an exemption that allows certain groups to deny membership to those who don't share their ‘sincerely held religious beliefs.’”

What this means is that if someone who openly practiced homosexuality wanted to be a leader in your organization and you excluded them from that position on the basis of sexual orientation alone your group would be punished by the University. This is extremely disheartening on multiple levels.

First the University itself is acting discriminatory if they enforce this decision because they are essentially saying only groups who have no leadership qualifications regarding morals can be University organizations. Caitly Nestleroth, president of OSU’s Christian Legal Society wisely noted that forcing a group to allow anyone to lead would be like forcing “College Democrats to accept Republican members or allowing a carnivore to lead a group of vegetarians.”

The second reason this is disheartening is brought forth in the second decision I read about.
This week on his blog, Al Mohler wrote a story about a couple in Great Britain who own a bed and breakfast. Here’s a quote from his blog on the situation…

“Peter and Hazelmary Bull own a bed and breakfast hotel in Cornwall. In September of 2008, a homosexual couple requested a single bed and was denied that accommodation by the Bulls. The couple sued, and this week a judge found the Bulls guilty of discrimination under Britain’s Equality Act of 2007.”

This situation is very similar to that of the decision forthcoming at OSU. Only this time the judgment has been made, and the comments of Judge Andrew Rutherford are very concerning.

“These laws have come into being because of changes in social attitudes.” He continues, “It is a very clear example of how social attitudes have changed over the years for it is not so very long ago that these beliefs of the defendants (the Bulls) would have been those accepted as normal by society at large. Now it is the other way around.”

What scares me about these comments is the idea that it’s perfectly acceptable to change established laws simply because culture changes their “social attitudes.” So if culture slowly decides to morally accept murder, as they have homosexuality and gay marriage, laws will change accordingly to allow murder! Don’t believe me? It’s already happened with abortion. It is very sad that the following things are happening right now in our culture (with no sign of turning back)…

1. All morals are becoming relative – there’s no outside standard (like the Bible) to say what is wrong or right
2. Government is basing their laws not on what is right or wrong, but on what culture decides

This is an extremely scary one-two punch that we must fight as Christians.

This upcoming semester at seminary I'm enrolled in Sexuality & Marriage, a class where we will examine the Bible's view on things such as sex, gender, having children, marriage, etc.

To gain my Master's degree in Theology from seminary I'm required to do what's known as a Course Embedded Research Project (CERP) which is basically a mini-thesis. This is an in-depth research paper on a topic of my choosing related to a course that I'm taking.

I've finally decided that I will be writing this paper in my Sexuality & Marriage class on the topic of birth control and family planning. This is a topic that hits close to home as my wife and I are expecting our first child in April and we have many other friends our age that have just recently been married and are making personal decisions on birth control.

My goal in the paper is two-fold. First I want to analyze whether or not family planning of any kind is biblical. We always hear of people who think it's wrong to use any form of birth control or even decide when to have children. I want to make an honest and objective attempt to see what the Bible has to say about the issue and if indeed we can make a case one way or the other. Second I want to analyze each popular form of birth control to see if there would be ethical concerns as to the science behind their performance - particularly in regards to abortion.

I feel I'm in a very interesting position to go through this study at this stage in my life because I honestly don't feel I'm predisposed to desire the outcomes of my study to be one way or the other - and this leads to the main point I want to get across in this post.

It is a sad reality but many times when we study the Bible for an answer to a particular question we come into our study already desiring one outcome over another. For example an extreme animal rights activist (notice I said 'extreme'... I don't think being an animal rights activist is a bad thing) might interpret the creation story in a way that equates human beings with animals in God's created order because they don't want to give any grounds to those who would mistreat animals in any way.

These preconceived ideas and existent desires often cause us to commit the error of eisogesis - reading your preconceived beliefs into the Bible rather than objectively pulling the existent truth out of the passage you're reading (exegesis). The best Bible interpreters are the ones who minimize eisogesis and consistently practice disciplined exegesis.

Here are some practical tips to keep yourself from committing the error of eisogesis:

Interpret using context. Don't lift a verse out of Scripture by itself.
Compare the passage you are interpreting to everything else the Bible has to say on the subject. Then try to harmonize.
Don't interpret alone... that's dangerous. Interpreting Scripture in community allows others to correct errors you couldn't see yourself (this happens to all of us!).
Consult friends/ministers/commentators of different denominations for help... aka get out of your bubble.
Pray for humility.
Never be more committed to a denomination or philosophy than you are to God and His Word!

BTW... sorry but I'm not giving a committed stance on birth control or family planning in this post. I do however plan to share my findings at the end of the semester after I've done the research for my CERP paper. So keep your eyes open if you're interested... and remind me if I forget!

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