Spurgeon on Missionaries Teaching Christ to the Natives

Hey, all. I took this from Wade Burleson's blog (with permission, bien sur) because I think it reminds us to focus on what's important. This month, I want to remember that nothing is more beautiful or worthy of cultivating than the Gospel. Our focus must be on the Gospel and its power to bring lost, spiritually dead, doomed people to a saving relationship with the Messiah. I hope you all are keeping up with Wade's blog and with Marty Duren as well, and that you are praying that God's peace will reign in the hearts of every believer caught up in the dispute, and that the Enemy's schemes for division would be utterly thwarted in the face of a renewed commitment to the Gospel. That, brothers and sisters, would be a beautiful thing.

Let Spurgeon teach us from across the years:

I do not know whether all our missionaries have caught the idea of Christ — “Go ye and teach all nations,” but many of them have, and these have been honored with many conversions.

The more fully they have been simple teachers, not philosophers of the Western philosophy, not eager disputants concerning some English dogma, I say the more plainly they have gone forth as teachers sent from God to teach the world, the more successful have they been.

“Go ye, therefore, and teach.” Some may think, perhaps, there is less difficulty in teaching the learned than in teaching the uncivilized and barbarous. There is the same duty to the one as to the other: “Go and teach.”

“But they brandish the tomahawk.” Teach them, and lie down and sleep in their hut, and they shall marvel at your fearlessness and spare your life.

“But they feed on the blood of their fellows, they make a bloody feast about the cauldron in which a man’s body is the horrible viand.” Teach them and they shall empty their war-kettle, and they shall bury their swords, and bow before you, and acknowledge King Jesus.

“But they are brutalised, they have scarce a language — a few clicking sounds make up all that they can say.” Teach them, and they shall speak the language of Canaan, and sing the songs of heaven.

The fact has been proved, brethren, that there are no nations incapable of being taught, nay, that there are no nations incapable afterwards of teaching others. The Negro slave has perished under the lash, rather than dishonor his Master.

The Esquimaux has climbed his barren steeps, and borne his toil, while he has recollected the burden which Jesus bore. The Hindoo has patiently submitted to the loss of all things, because he loved Christ better than all. Feeble Malagasay women have been prepared to suffer and to die, and have taken joyfully suffering for Christ’s sake. There has been heroism in every land for Christ; men of every color and of every race have died for him; upon his altar has been found the blood of all kindreds that be upon the face of the earth.

Oh! tell me not they cannot be taught. Sirs, they can be taught to die for Christ; and this is more than some of you have learned. They can rehearse the very highest lesson of the Christian religion — that self sacrifice which knows not itself but gives up all for him.

At this day there are Karen missionaries preaching among the Karens with as fervid an eloquence as ever was known by Whitfield, there are Chinese teaching in Borneo, Sumatra, and Australia, with as much earnestness as Morison or Milne first taught in China. There are Hindoo evangelists who are not ashamed to have given up the Brahminical thread, and to eat with the Pariah, and to preach with him the riches of Christ. There have been men found of every class and kind, not only able to be taught, but able to become teachers themselves, and the most mighty teachers too, of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well was that command warranted by future facts, when Christ said, “Go ye, teach all nations.”


Excerpt from "NO. 383
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING,
APRIL 21ST, 1861,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON"

A sermon preached by Charles Haddon Spurgeon 145 years ago today.

From "Long Ago In Oregon"

by Claudia Lewis

The Nelsons

I

In the early mornings
Mr. Nelson passed our house
on his walk,
in his neat dark suit
and coat, open and
flying a bit;
white hair,
sideburns,
stepping along
swinging umbrella for a cane.
When Mr. Nelson walked,
he walked,
enjoying the air
and the morning

Everyone knew
his big store
was the best in town
Always at Christmas
a Santa there
had gifts for children

When I was very small
we lived close by
Mrs. Nelson, plump and cozy
like a grandma,
would invite us in on days
when she made marshmallows.
Marshmallows! Not like
the puffs we bought in boxes
but trembling, glistening white,
arranged in fragile pieces
on a tray.

And her grown-up boys
and girls would play with us,
swing and toss us
in the yard
all around the snowball tree.

Far in the back of my mind
as time passed
I remembered once in a while--
almost not at all--
that the Nelsons were Catholics.
Mother had told us
any church in town
was all right for us--
except the Catholic.
"Why not the Catholic?"
"...Well, in that church
they worship images."

What did this have to do
with the snowball tree
with cozy marshmallow grandma,
and the jaunty man--
the gentleman--
who walked in the morning?

I never even tried
to fit these pieces together.

II
One day I realized
I hadn't seen him lately,
passing by.
"Mother, where is Mr. Nelson?"

"Oh, I meant to tell you.
We won't see him anymore--
He was old, very old,
...He has died..."

(Meant to tell me?
I don't think you did.)

Died--
I glimpse a great darkness
in spite of angels.

Dying?
I've heard snatches
of sad talk.
Now I know--

Death
is Mr. Nelson
striding along
alone
in the morning
toward something black and far
in the night.

Cultivate Beauty

In honor of Kill Your TV / Cultivate Beauty / National Poetry Month, I'll be posting some original poems (eek!) and some by my favorite poets throughout the month. To start things off right, settle into a metaphysical mindset (or mind/bodyset) and enjoy this delectable offering from one of my favorite poets, Li-Young Lee, an Indonesian-born Chinese-American poet. His writing is so gorgeous that it hurts my brain. Enjoy.


A Story

Sad is the man who is asked for a story
and can't come up with one.

His five-year-old son waits in his lap.
Not the same story, Baba. A new one.
The man rubs his chin, scratches his ear.

In a room full of books in a world
of stories, he can recall
not one, and soon, he thinks, the boy
will give up on his father.

Already the man lives far ahead, he sees
the day this boy will go. Don't go!
Hear the alligator story! The angel story once more!
You love the spider story. You laugh at the spider.
Let me tell it!

But the boy is packing his shirts,
he is looking for his keys. Are you a god,
the man screams, that I sit mute before you?
Am I a god that I should never disappoint?

But the boy is here. Please, Baba, a story?
It is an emotional rather than logical equation,
an earthly rather than heavenly one,
which posits that a boy's supplications
and a father's love add up to silence.

-- Li-Young Lee

March Madness, Indeed!

My friend Miss Swartz (huh, that's a character from Vanity Fair, too) and I have been planning on a March Madness party since the beginning of February, so I took a planned hiatus from the hiatus tonight while a bunch of us gathered at her casa to hang out and eat chips and lament the sad state of offensive rebounding in the NCAA and yell at that idiot Texas player who went for five 3-pointers (easy, kids, I'm talkin' basketball, not theology) in overtime even though he hadn't hit a single one in the whole stinking game.

And did you see that commercial they kept playing over and over? It looks like a beer commercial to begin with because it's a scantily dressed woman gyrating in a club, but then it turns out to be for Old Spice!?!? What!? It wasn't just that commercial, it was EVERY commercial. Going without TV for a few weeks makes every sexually-driven ad all that much more scandalous to me! I know I already live in a Bible Bubble, going to seminary and hanging outHere's what shocked me. Did y'all see that stupid Old Spice deodorant commercial they kept with my friends from church and stuff, but living in virtual media starvation even amps up the isolation. And I don't mean that in a bad way -- I mean, why do we (I, I mean) feel like we (I) need to be desensitized to this whole sex-sells, consumer-driven, godless culture? I know I never batted an eye about trashy commercials or skimpy outfits before I started doing this... I guess one more reason to thank God for Lent, right?

It reminds me of something a homeschooling proponent said: "People always ask me about socialization. And I say, look at our society! Do you really want your kids to be socialized into THAT?"

On a lighter (though not on the caloric side) note, I went for the first time into the (new) Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen today, a place with a cumbersome name and a heavenly purpose: to provide absolute, childlike joy and bliss to customers of all ages, in the form of toothsome sweets of every possible variety. As Lindie said tonight, "I tried to die." A 20-foot-long case full of creative homemade ice cream flavors and no less than 25 kinds of pie, plus county-fair-blue-ribbon-prize-deserving cake, and positively enormous cookies. Good heavens. I was grinning so much that I thought my teeth were going to fall out of my head, and that was BEFORE I sunk said teeth into a slice of coconut cream pie. Divine. The prices are reasonable, too. I fear that I may have to resign myself to a career in a sideshow now that I've found the place -- come one, come all, see the fat lady who'll eat any kind of pie you put in front of her! I do love pie. And they have sweet potato, and banana cream, and pecan, and 4 kinds of apple, and, and, and... oh, heaven.

Do you think there'll be pie in the resurrection?

Why I'm Such a Cry-Baby

Many of my friends, and anyone in my family, can attest to the fact that I am a cry-baby. I prefer to say that my heart is easily touched, because it sounds better, but the truth is, it's not hard to make me cry. In fact, all you really have to do to make me cry is talk about "the Nations," and I'm a goner. So the reading I've been doing for school has been pretty rough on me the last week or so. First, I've been reading a book for Missiology called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. It sounds pretty dry, and some of the readings are, but others are so full of passion and tenderness for the lost people of the world that I can't help being moved. Second, I just finished a Faithful Witness: the Life and Mission of William Carey. Carey is the father of Baptist Missions, and the story of his struggle and success in India should be known to every believer. Third, I'm in the middle of reading Let the Nations Be Glad! by John Piper, which every believer really must read. The section on suffering... it was crushing. Let me give you an example of one true story that broke my heart.

An African man named Joseph heard the Gospel on a dusty road one day, and was so filled with joy and excitement that he couldn't wait to share his newfound Savior with his own village. When he did, he was shocked to discover that they did not share his excitement; in fact, the men of the village held him down while the women beat him with barbed wire, then dragged him out into the bush to die. Somehow he survived, and days later came back to the village and pleaded with his kinsmen to come to the crucified and risen Christ. Again they beat him, and left him for dead. By a miracle of God, he survived this beating too, and after lying unconscious for several days, came again to the village to share this message of Christ's forgiveness. The women beat him a third time, but, as he was losing consciousness, he saw the women beginning to weep. The next time he awoke, the same women were around his own bed, tending his terrible wounds and nursing him back to health. The entire village had come to Christ.

This is just one story in a series from the chapter on suffering. How small my own faith is! How little is my own trust in the sovereignty of God! How unwillingly I give up even the smallest convenience for the sake of the Gospel! How fearfully I approach evangelism, even when I know that my life and health are safe no matter how bold I might be!

I spent a lot of time crying as I read through that chapter, as I cried out to God for a faith so bold that pain would be a joy when compared to silence. And if that means I'm a cry-baby, I guess I'll take the title!

Isaiah 58: 6-12

Since I've been thinking about Lent, which has historically been a time of fasting, I thought it was interesting that God worked it out so this passage would be part of my Scripture reading time this morning.

Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him? ... Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Stepping out of the loop

My television gets two channels. I thought I was doing pretty well to cancel my expensive subscription to Dish Network and put giant rabbit ears (or as 7-year-old Ben calls them, "antenners") on top of my tv. But I still have DVDs numbering in the dozens, some of which, I'm a bit embarrassed to say, I've seen 20 times. This is a stewardship issue.

I get anxious when my apartment is quiet. Partly it's a coping mechanism, because having a fan running or music playing blocks out, at least in part, the madness that is my downstairs neighbor's stereo. But partly I've trained myself to have ADHD. I struggle to sit still long enough to finish 5 or 6 chapters of my daily Bible reading. I listen to music and watch tv and cook supper and clean my apartment all at the same time, bouncing from one half-finished project to the next. This is a discipline issue.

I check my email obsessively, and have a list of blogs I visit daily. I read news, opinion, and gossip on MSN, Slate, MSNBC, and a host of other sites. I surf for all sorts of information, ranging from airline ticket prices to financial advice to the current situation in India. I play Spider Solitaire every day. This is both a stewardship and a discipline issue.

I'm behind on my school work. I haven't kept up with the reading assignments for a single class, though I've begun them all. Luckily enough for me, the class in which I have to turn in reading reports required a book that sold out in the bookstore, so I got a temporary reprieve from my professor. This is also both a stewardship and a discipline issue.

I overspend every month. My parents have been very kind to me, recognizing that there's only so much a person can do with ten dollars left over after I pay my rent, but I struggle to say no to little purchases: five dollars here, three dollars there, a movie rental, a new candle, gourmet something or other. I plan my finances poorly. Now that I've gotten a new job (Praise God!), I should actually have enough money to make ends meet every month, but only just. My new budget does not include little splurges that I justify, since they're only a few dollars. This is also a stewardship and a discipline issue.

So why have I confessed all this on my blog, publishing my sins in the areas of stewardship and discipline for all to see?

Well, it's because I want you all to know that, in keeping with the tradition of Christians for centuries, I'm taking Lent, which begins on March 1st this year, as an opportunity to step out of the loop. I'm replacing entertainment and aimlessness with edification and focus. So, to accomplish that, tv is out. So are movies. So are internet and computer, with the exception of things related to school and family, and an accountability update on this blog. They'll be replaced with books, first Scripture, then textbooks, and then literature. Good stewardship and discipline will be the goal, with God's help.

I have to admit that the idea of giving up tv and movies sends a little wave of terror through me, but it's that very chill of fear that makes this venture all the more necessary.

So here we go, kids. Beginning Wednesday I'll post an update regularly.

Join me, or pray for me, or both.

Forty days of being out of the loop. What do you think might happen?

Gerard Manley Hopkins

God's Grandeur

THE WORLD is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Persecution

Over my computer is a poster, a map of the world with certain countries highlighted to indicate "Hostile Areas" and "Restricted Nations." It's only a map, a piece of paper with some photos and outlines and letters on it, but it represents hundreds of thousands of believers whose daily lives involve facing torture, imprisonment, and death because they bear the name of Christ.

Algeria
Afghanistan
Azerbaijan

Belarus
Bhutan
Brunei
Bangladesh

Chechnya
Chiapas, Mexico
Cyprus
Colombia
Cuba
China
Comoroa

Egypt
Ethiopia
Eritrea

Gaza

Iraq
India
Iran
Indonesia

Kuwait

Laos
Lebanon
Libya

Mindanao, Philippines
Malaysia
Myanmar
Mauritania
Morocco
Maldives

North Korea
Nepal
Nigeria

Oman

Pakistan

Qatar

Sudan
Sri Lanka
Somalia
Saudi Arabia
Syria

Tunisia
Tibet
Turkmenistan
Turkey
Tajikistan

United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Yemen

The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed...

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." -- Tertullian

I will write more on this topic later, but for now, pray. I was shaken and sickened as I read through the latest issue of "Voice of the Martyrs" magazine, which came today. Well, I'm sure you know how I feel if you've ever taken the time to find out the situations of believers around the world . . . beaten, tortured, raped, jailed, kidnapped, killed.

Pray. Pray for me as I wait for God's next instruction. Pray for yourself that you might be driven to as strong a sense of urgency about spreading the priceless treasure of the Gospel as our persecuted brothers and sisters. Pray for God's church in the West, that it might be shaken out of its sleep and selfish complacency. And most of all, pray that the blood of the martyrs will not have been spilled in vain, that the Gospel will go out with even more power than ever before as the Enemy tries to rein it in with terror and anguish.

". . . and you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me. . ."

Ramblings on Marriage

Two things happened in the last couple of weeks that motivated this post. First, I was awakened at 9:35 last Sunday morning by my cell phone playing the little salsa tune that means Nikki is calling me (personalized rings -- where would my life be without them?). She recently got married, so of course just before we got off the phone, she (being in the throes of newlywed bliss) made an adorable comment about her "hot pastor husband." Aww... It's so great to listen to her talk about him.

The second thing wasn't nearly as delightful. I went to the grocery store the same morning (my church meets at night, people!) to pick up a few things, and as I was standing in the aisle comparing B-complex vitamin prices, I overheard something that made me want to cry and pull my hair out at the same time. In fact, if I pulled my hair out, I'm sure I would cry. Moving on.

A middle aged couple couple was standing in the pharmacy section of Kroger. I probably wouldn't even have noticed them had the woman not begun lecturing her husband loudly and angrily, even going so far as to shake her finger at him! Her eyes were narrowed, her voice pinched and full of disgust, and her body language screamed her distaste for this man. To his credit, he answered her quietly, offering his help. But I could hear the sorrow and fear in his voice. I can only imagine his thoughts -- then again, maybe I don't really want to! Was he thinking back on the woman he fell in love with, wondering where she had gone? Was he calculating how many days it would be before she spoke kindly to him again?

Now, lest you think I'm too quick to judge, let me say that it was probably nothing. For all I know, she just got fired from her job, and suffers from insomnia, and is taking a new medication that makes her irritable. For all I know, this was the first time they've ever fought like that, and she went home and tearfully apologized to her husband, promising never to treat him so abominably again.

But all I could think was, what a contrast! Talking to Nikki, whose genuine respect and admiration for her husband is so apparent, was a testament to the grace of God. I have been so fortunate to be able to listen to her talk about him and hear how deeply she wants to serve, support, and honor him. In every pre-marital disagreement (and they were few and minor), Nikki always expressed her desire to submit to JD and to follow his godly leadership. I can only imagine her horror at the idea of scolding and chastising her husband like a child -- much less in public! Such a thought goes against every godly impulse of a covenant wife, and flies in the face of God's plan for marriage.

And yet so many single Christians are setting themselves up for a relationship just like the grocery store couple's! Single Christian men refuse to become true men of godly boldness and pure character that will let them fulfill their God-given responsibility to someday be the head of a home. Rather than cultivating maturity and leadership, they settle for being "modern men," surrounding themselves with girl friends and believing that being modern means giving her the lead -- nice, supportive, benign boys who will wonder someday why they never made a difference for the Kingdom. Or they live for self, misleading young women with their flirtatiousness, and seeking to satisfy their own pleasures -- boys whose god is their appetite for skin, which must be satisfied.

And single Christian women -- this is a demographic I'm pretty familiar with -- reject the freedom in the path God has made for us and believe the lie of the world that says we have to take the lead, do all the work, make up for the "stupidity" of men! We become the pursuers, lapping up magazine articles that tell us how to perfect the techniques of seduction and manipulation to ensnare men. We buy into the world's pattern for marriage: smart, cute woman marries big dumb animal of a man (who is probably also lazy, clueless, sex-obsessed, and generally a total caveman), henpecks and browbeats him into silent submission, and he whines slightly, making monosyllabic excuses for his idiotic behavior, as he hands over his credit card to the goddess of the house. (See "King of Queens," "According to Jim," "Everybody Loves Raymond," etc., for examples of this pattern.) The only difference in the minds of many Christian girls is that they'll also go to church on Sundays, by golly, even if she has to drag his sorry behind out of bed every week!

I don't want to be the woman who scolds her husband in the aisle of Kroger. I don't want to marry a man who refuses to take the lead. I want to become the kind of woman who someday will admire her husband's godly character, respect his God-given position of leadership, and work hard to support and honor him in everything. And I want to encourage my single brothers in Christ to become the kind of men that God wants them to be, so that someday they can lead their wives and families with boldness and fervor.

So there you have it. I've jumped on the bandwagon and put in my two cents about that blissful state into which Paul encouraged single folks not to venture. And that's all I have to say.

Praying for Revival

Right now what is on my heart is revival.

I'm exhausted with the politics, and controversy, and maneuvering, and compromise, and fear of change, and factionalism, and apathy, and misdirected zeal that all seem at one time or another to characterize the American church. For pretty good examples of some of these things, check out Wade Burleson's blog or Marty Duren's website for the rundown on the tragically divisive and ungodly controversy swirling in the IMB.

It all makes me wonder.

What if -- what if every Christian leader -- hey, I'd settle for every leader in the SBC -- would stop lobbying for public opinion, stop seeking political gain, stop trying to toe the line of typical Christian (or Southern Baptist) ideology, and started focusing on Scripture and training believers and preaching the Gospel? What would happen if the Holy Spirit moved in a new and unexpected way and pastors all over the nation began to get serious about confronting people with the cross of Christ and all that His bloody death entails for those He bought? What if churches got smaller and more plentiful, and we re-examined every way we "do church," rejecting everything that gets in the way of the Gospel, without the fear that usually accompanies doing things differently?

How would our communities of faith look different if we quit thinking that every minister of the Gospel has to be a married, teetotaling, suit-wearing, clean-shaven, good-ol'-boy, cessationist, five-point, thirty-plus, Christian-lingo-using, glad-handing denominational yes-man? If we stopped leaving Gospel tracts instead of tips and started telling our neighbors about Christ? If we retired our "God hates fags" signs and our "Baby killers" banners and made the truth of Scripture be our only weapon and our first defense against sin? If we stopped letting truth and freedom be shut down in fear in our denominations, churches, and seminaries? If we got so focused on the fame of Christ that we forgot what it was like to let our petty, sinful squabbles escalate into huge rifts and walk-outs?

I think I'm going to go spend some time praying. I'm going to ask God for revival in the SBC, among Baptist churches, and in the American church. Please, I would ask you to do the same.

Loved Until Threadbare

Just for fun, here are a few pictures of my favorite stuffed animal from my childhood, including a couple of attempted self portraits (she's not a very good photographer), and a couple that I was trying to take of myself that she just kept jumping into. She got a major time out for that one. She is 21 years old (legal! Whoop, whoop!) and her name is Snuggles D. Bear. She's a little threadbare from going everywhere with me clear through junior high. That stylin' sweater she is sporting is from Noah's Ark in Estes Park, Colorado, which is actually an Ark, and is full of teddy bears and accessories. Some family friends bought it for Snuggles when we stayed with them one weekend while mom and dad were at a conference. She's been a part of my life forever! As such, of course, she has some pretty cool experiences under her little teddy bear belt.

For instance, at the Denver Zoo, there is a cool underwater viewing area for the polar bear habitat, so you go down underneath the walkways and can watch the polar bears swim around and play. Once when I was a kid, my family took a trip to the zoo, and of course I brought Snuggles along. I thought she would enjoy the polar bears, since she's related to them, and so we went to take a look. I stood up on the cement frame of the window and put Snuggles's nose up against the glass. Well, wouldn't you know it, a HUGE male polar bear saw her and got curious, and came over to look. He pressed his nose right on the other side of the glass from hers, and wouldn't break contact. I moved her to the right, and he followed, treading water with his enormous, furry paws. I moved her around in circles, traced designs with her nose, ran from side to side, and he kept right up, with his nose on the glass the entire time. By this point a crowd had begun to gather. My parents decided it was time to move along, so they nudged me toward the ramp. I reluctantly pulled Snuggles away from the glass, and the polar bear... well, he was Not Pleased. At first, he didn't move, but when I put Snuggles behind my back and began to walk away, he reared back, swimming 5 or 6 feet from the glass, and then flew towards me, slamming full-force into the pane with his black claws, mouth open wide in an underwater roar. Needless to say, I ran the rest of the way out.

What Makes A Christian? Part 3

Well, everyone, I'm finally back from the Thanksgiving- finals- packing- travel- home- Christmas- shopping- New Years- travel- wedding- travel insanity that has been my last few weeks. Yowza! The wedding part was amazing... my dear friend Nikki got married Saturday, and the wedding was so wonderful, undoubtedly the best I've ever attended, much less been a part of. The whole atmosphere was so worshipful and Christ-focused, but celebratory as well -- Nikki was actually bouncing with excitement for part of the ceremony. And it really got me thinking about the church. Why, you ask? Lemme 'splain. No. There is too much. Lemme sum up:

Last Fall, a speaker here on campus said something that really stuck with me. He said that it's impossible to love Christ truly but hate His body -- in other words, there's reason to question the commitment of folks who call themselves Christians and say that they love the Lord but refuse to incorporate themselves into the Church. After all, Christ's purpose was to redeem a people for Himself, not to sell fire insurance to a bunch of tunnel-visioned isolationists!

Ephesians 5:22-32 (The first scripture read at Nikki and JD's wedding) says, "Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh, but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of His body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the Church."

See what I mean? Paul is writing to instruct the believers in Ephesus about relationships between husbands and wives, and he finishes by saying that he is talking about Christ and the Church! As Dr. Russell Moore has said, Paul wasn't searching for a metaphor for marriage: "Hmm, let's see. The relationship between a husband and his wife is like... The sun and the moon? No... The Earth and the sky? No... I've got it! Christ and the Church!" What this passage tells us is that God created marriage itself to display the relationship between Christ and the Church!

Now the implications for marriage are heavy-duty enough to merit another post (hm, percolating that one), but what about the implications for those of us who call ourselves by Christ's name? When God accomplished the work of salvation in my heart, I became incorporated into Christ; I became a member of His body, the Church -- His bride! Christ is my husband -- but not just mine, as if Christianity were an individual, private thing. Christ is my husband because I am a part of His Church!

Let's look at it like this: my friend Nikki got married on Saturday. She fell in love, and that love blossomed into a desire to know JD more, and then to make a commitment -- soberly and advisedly, but with joy and fervor as well. When she made her vows, she promised to be subject to her husband, and to devote herself entirely to him. To show that she is now under her husband's authority, she gave up her maiden name and took his name as her own. See any parallels to how our lives as a Church are meant to be? Our love for our Savior should motivate us to commit deeply to Him, seeking to know Him more, and to strive for more commitment to Him, both soberly and joyfully. We should devote ourselves as a Body to Christ, and be subject to His leading. We should give up the authority (the "name") of our sinful nature, and take on the authority (the "name") of our Anointed King.

So to tie this all together, both with the subject of the post and the subject of the blog, I'd like to ask you all a question: when was the last time you had a conversation with your Husband about submitting to His authority and joyfully serving Him? When did you last seek direction from your Groom about how to deepen your intimacy and commitment?

I'll close with a couple of verses from a great hymn, one that we sang at Nikki and JD's wedding, The Church's One Foundation:

The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord
She is His new creation by Spirit and the Word
From Heaven He came and sought her to be His holy Bride
With His own blood He bought her and for her life He died

Elect from every nation, yet one over all the Earth
Her charter of salvation: One Lord, one faith, one birth
One holy Name she blesses, partakes one holy food
And to one hope she presses with every grace endued

Though with a scornful wonder we see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.

Amid toil and tribulation and tumult of her war
She waits the consummation of peace forevermore
Till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest
And the great Church victorious shall be the church at rest

Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.

Christmas Quiz

1. Joseph and Mary were from which of the following places?
A. Bethlehem
B. Egypt
C. Jerusalem
D. Athens, Georgia
E. Nazareth
F. Atlantis

2. When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, what happened?
A. They went to Herod for advice
B. God told them to go to Bethlehem.
C. Joseph wanted to end the engagement
D. They registered at Baby Gap
E. Mary left town for three months
F. Both B and C

3. Who told Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem?
A. Andrew Greeley
B. An angel
C. God
D. Mary's mother
E. Caesar Augustus
F. Herod

4. Why did Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem?
A. To get married.
B. To register in a census & pay taxes
C. For a vacation
D. To visit Mary's cousin Elizabeth
E. To escape from Herod.
F. To look for work in a larger town

5. What did the innkeeper say to Mary and Joseph?
A. "There is no room in the inn."
B. "You hicks can sleep in the barn"
C. "I have a stable you can use."
D. "Go away, kids. You bother me."
E. "Come back after the Christmas rush."
F. No one knows.

6. Jesus was born in which of the following?
A. Stable
B. Barn
C. Manger
D. House
E. Cave
F. No one knows

7. Which animals does the Bible say were present at Jesus' birth?
A. Cows, sheep and goats
B. Unspecified farm animals
C. Cows, donkeys and sheep
D. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
E. Sheep and goats only
F. None of the above

8. When the angels came to the shepherds, what were they singing?
A. "Glory to God in the highest"
B. "Baby Baby"
C. "Peace on earth, good will to men"
D. "R – E – S – P – E – C – T"
E. "White Christmas"
F. None of the above

9. When the angels came to the shepherds, what were they playing?

A. Gin rummy
B. Trumpets
C. Harps of gold
D. Lutes and lyres
E. Little drums
F. None of the above

10. What sign were the shepherds told to look for?
A. "This way to baby Jesus"
B. A house with a Christmas tree
C. A star over Bethlehem
D. A baby in a stable
E. A baby that doesn't cry
F. A baby in a manger

11. The baby Jesus cried . . .
A. ...and you would, too, if your first visitors smelled like sheep
B. Probably just like other babies
C. Seldom or never
D. Because the cows scared Him
E. When the doctor spanked Him
F. When the little drummer boy started banging on his drum.

12. When the shepherds finished their visit to Jesus, what did they do?
A. They just settled down for a long winter's nap
B. They saw three ships come sailing in
C. They met the little drummer boy
D. They had an impromptu worship service
E. They asked Herod for further information.
F. None of the above

13. Who saw the star in the east?
A. The Shepherds
B. Herod.
C. Mary and Joseph
D. Both A and C
E. Three kings of orient
F. None of the above

14. The wise men stopped in Jerusalem to do what?
A. Inform Herod about Jesus
B. Get some Christmas gifts for Jesus.
C. Ask about the star they saw.
D. Buy gas.
E. Find out where the king of the Jews was to be born
F. None of the above

15. What were the names of the wise men?
A. Crosby, Stills and Nash
B. Caspar, Melchior and Belthasar
C. Peter, Paul and Mary
D. Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod
E. Larry, Moe and Curly
F. None of the above

16. The wise men brought their gifts to Jesus while He was in . . .
A. a manger
B. a Holiday Inn
C. a stable
D. a good mood
E. a house
F. No one knows

17. What gifts did the wise men bring to Jesus?

A. Silver and gold
B. A pillow to lay His head on
C. A coat of many colors
D. Gold, incense and mirth
E. Myrrh, gold and frankincense
F. No one knows

18. How many wise men came to see Jesus?

A. Seven
B. A multitude
C. Three
D. No one knows
E. Twelve
F. None of the above

19. Joseph took the baby Jesus to Egypt . . .

A. to show Him the pyramids.
B. because he dreamed about it.
C. to teach Him the wisdom of the pharaohs
D. to register for a census and be taxed.
E. to put him in a basket in the Nile
F. to do none of the above.

20. How were Jesus and John the Baptist related?

A. They were not related
B. First cousins, once removed
C. Jesus was John's uncle
D. Second cousins
E. John was Jesus' uncle
F. No one knows for sure

World AIDS Day

Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles . . . James 1:27




More than 35 million people in the world are infected with HIV/AIDS.
Every day, AIDS kills 6600 people in Africa alone.
Every day, 1400 innocent African newborns are infected with AIDS through childbirth or their mothers' breastmilk.

By the end of this decade, there will be 18 million orphans of AIDS in Africa.

Our most important weapon is prayer. We must pray that the Gospel will spread, and with it, the understanding of the joy of God's design for men and women. We must pray that the Gospel will spread even to the highest positions in the governments of AIDS-stricken nations, and with it, the desire to show compassion on those already afflicted. We must pray that the Gospel will spread to the farthest outposts of rural nations, where ignorance and illiteracy keep the people enslaved, and with it education -- the truth that sets people free.

But just as God has chosen to accomplish His will through our prayers, He has chosen to accomplish His will through our action, in answer to the prayers of millions of people -- the 20% of His world's population suffering in abject poverty, facing disease and starvation every day. What can YOU do? Write letters to your congressmen. Write letters to the president. Sign the ONE campaign's declaration.

But don't stop there. As the saying goes, "Put your money where your mouth is." If you believe the plight of impoverished HIV/AIDS victims to be important, why not prove it? Sponsoring a child will set you back between $20 and $40 a month -- about a dollar a day. If you can't afford that on your own, get together with friends and pitch in a dollar or two a week. Stop making excuses. Hundreds of reputable Christian organizations provide a way for you to give so you can have confidence that your money is actually getting to the place it is supposed to go. Your money will make a difference in someone's life. Just as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the journey of a million dollars begins with a single check.

Then consider this: there are thousands of opportunities through hundreds of organizations to GO to these AIDS-affected nations and work. Ask God if this is an option for your summer next year.

I sponsor a child. His name is Mbagnick Faye, and he's from Senegal. My $30 a month provides him with food, clothing, and education. He also now has an opportunity to hear the Gospel and experience the love of Christ. I pray that someday in heaven I'll get a chance to meet Mbagnick. God willing, if I do, I think I will find that the experience is worth $30 a month.

For more information about how you can pray, give, or go, visit www.one.org, www.worldvision.org, www.data.org, or www.worldaidsday.org

The Cutest Kids Ever!

Ok, people, here are some more adorable shots of the adorable kids that I nanny for. I took them today and some of them turned out really well! Awww...
IMPORTANT NOTE: I've added a "comment approval" thing to my blog so I don't get random jerks saying dumb stuff like some of my friends have had, so please don't worry that your comment didn't show up right away. It goes to my email first and then I approve or reject it -- and I won't reject it unless you curse or slander or something like that!

Recent Pictures -- Something Else To Keep You Occupied

This post serves 3 purposes, which I will outline as follows:

1. To placate Lindsay, who thinks my challenge has been forgotten, and that the kids she nannies are cuter than the kids I nanny (in your face, Lindsay)!
2. To gripe about the general suckiness of the pictures I took at the Nickel Creek concert. Stupid long exposure required to take pictures in the dark but with bright lights on stage grr grr grr... Not even one decent shot all night.
3. To have something to post since I may finally have real time to sit down and write something meaningful sometime around mid-December.

So here. First a couple of shots of Will playing air hockey, and then some fuzzy blobs on a stage that bear some resemblance to Nickel Creek.






Now, who can tell that those people are really Nickel Creek? I mean, if you didn't already know, would you say, "Oh sure, that's Sara Watkins on the left fiddling her little heart out, and the band's Incredible Virtuoso Amazing Clogging Bassist, and Chris Thile in the middle wailin' on the mandolin, and Sean Watkins on the right, virtually obscured by that guy's huge head but still recognizable"? Would this count in a court of law as an alibi?

A Little Something to Keep You Folks Occupied

This may be the least-prayer-related blog post I've ever done, but with the end of classes still two weeks away, I'm struggling to keep my head above water... so a random post seemed like a good idea. Here goes:


Today I was sitting in New Testament waiting for class to start, when I see that Dr. Plummer has brought a CD player to class. He sits it on the podium and explains that today, we will be doing some activities to help keep us awake since it's so close to the end of classes. He hands out a photocopy of a lyric booklet from a cd. He tells us the story behind what we're about to do. An acquaintance of his was making a Christmas CD and asked Dr. Plummer to do a paraphrase of the first part of John 1 from the Greek, something compelling and free-form. Then they recorded the translation over Alex O'Nan's cool, spacey electronic music, resulting in a pretty awesome little Bible experience, if I do say so myself.

Well, the interesting thing is, before we start listening, Dr. Plummer confesses that he has no idea what kind of music it is. "I don't know. Emo? I've heard of that before. It might be emo..." So that got me going on Emo. Then I looked down at our notes for that day's lecture and my eyes came to rest on the phrase "Universal Redemptive Concepts" (a prominent theme in John's Gospel, for those of you who are interested). What a great name for an Emo band! I thought.

And then I was done. With apologies to Dr. Plummer, I don't know if I heard half of what he said for the rest of the class, because I was too busy looking around the room searching for "found" emo band names.

So here is a challenge: look around you right now and "find" emo band names. You can't just make them up, they have to be inspired by actual objects or words that you see.

My list:

1. Universal Redemptive Concepts
2. Five Shelves
3. Space Heater
4. Commemorative Edition
5. Foil
6. Blue Ink
7. Maybe Mountain

... get the idea? Any actual Emo bands can feel free to use any of these names. I call "Foil" for my new Emo band. Kidding.