How many things are necessary for thee to know,
that thou, enjoying this comfort,
mayest live and die happily?

Three;
the first, how great my sins and miseries are;
the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries;
the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.

--Heidelberg Catechism

Maybe Something Not So Serious

1. If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.... *wipes tears* No, seriously, have you seen a star in the East?

2. When was the last time you flew in a plane?
On my way home from Christmas.

3. What did the last text message you sent say?
That is actually confidential.

4. What features do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
You really expect me to answer that? My parents read this blog!

5. What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future?
Near? Answering all these questions. Set the bar low, that's my motto.

6. Shoe size?
Skis. 9.

7. Been to Mexico?
Juarez, in high school, for a mission trip where we built a house for a family in a barrio who were basically living in a glorified cardboard box with a dirt floor, and one of the girls on the trip started going out with the oldest son of the family we built the house for. Like the third day we were there. That boy was a flirt! He poured on the charming eyes every time a girl from our group came around, and he had some of them in quite a tizzy. Play on, playa! Anyways, Romeo and Juliet kept sneaking off to another street in the barrio to... have deep conversations or something? -- she didn't speak a word of Spanish and he didn't speak a word of English. But the leaders only caught them snogging once... weird. I haven't thought about that in kind of a while. Next!

8. When is the last time you had a massage?
Hmmm... it's been awhile. I'm not really a fan. This question was kind of a downer compared to the last one. I don't have any good massage stories.

9. What was the last TV show you watched?
Oh, America's Test Kitchen, just like I do every Saturday morning.

10. What are your plans for the weekend?
Finishing up my dadgum laundry. It's a disease. I can get it washed, dried, and folded, but I'll be darned if I can get it put away.

11. If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY what would you say?
"Yes. Hang on, who are you?"

12. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Never you mind.

13. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Cracka please. I was sleeping.

14. If you could marry any celebrity today who would it be?
Your mom.

15. Have you ever been to a strip club?
That is the most awesomely random question ever. How many men really do these things, especially strip-club-aged men? Seriously, I'll bet 99% of these waste of time surveys are filled out by people aged 12-17, and women. Which... strip club? Come on.

16. What is the best ice cream flavor?
I'm a pretty big fan of Chunky Monkey, but Graeter's pumpkin spice I was pretty obsessed with over the holidays -- Carrie Yager could give me a witness. Good gravy, that stuff was awesome. Oh, and Haagen-Dazs mango sorbet.

17. What is the last sporting event you watched?
Went to a Denver Nuggets game when I was home for Christmas. It was AWESOME.

18. Ever go camping?
What? No way. I'm pretty addicted to running water and, like, electricity and stuff.

19. Last phone call?
From Kelsey, returning my call, all distracted because she was fixin' to go pick up her husband. He had been out of town for 3 1/2 days, and it was the longest they'd ever been apart in five years of marriage. She was so excited!!

20. Are you allergic to anything?
(See #14)

21. What is one thing you have learned about life recently?
That God is completely faithful. That His word comes alive when I realize have nothing else to cling to. That His purposes will prevail. That He is committed to my sanctification. That my identity in Christ is who I really am.

22. What do you do at work?
Chaos abatement.

23. What is your mom's name?
Debbie. Isn't that so cute? She totally matches her name. I have the cutest mom.

24. Ever cried for no reason?
Depends on how you define "no reason." I always feel like there's a reason. But I'm definitely a crier. I'm such a crier, I'm like John Cryer.

25. Can you do the Crank Dat dance?
I have no blessed idea what you are talking about.

26. What is your favorite color to wear?
Turquoise. Something in the cool bluish family. Or black. I'm, like, so emo.

27. What is the longest plane ride you have ever been on?
San Fransisco to Hong Kong. 15 and 1/2 hours. Holy crap, you guys.

28. What is the longest road trip you have ever taken?
I drove from Louisville to Sterling in two days, by myself. But we used to drive from Sterling to Indianapolis once or twice a year when I was a kid, so...

29. What are your turn-offs?
Dishonesty. Taking yourself too seriously. That hipster ironic detachment crap so many people in my generation seem to think is, like, SO painfully cool. Manipulation. Smugness.

30. What was your last alcoholic beverage?
An Avery 13. Don't mess with the beer snob.

31. What are you craving right now?
Should I be real spiritual and say the return of Christ? That's actually pretty true.

O Lord, please do anything but leave me here.
Let me run again, or help me fly, or somehow make it right.
But Lord, please don't leave me here.
--Rebecca Dennison, Crippled Soul

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
-- Psalm 84:8-12

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
--Psalm 56:8

Short Answer: No, There Is No Such Thing as a Coincidence

1. God is the only god:

"The Lord he is God; there is none else besides him." "He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else" (Deut. 4:35, 39). "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. 6:4). "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me" (Deut. 32:39). "Thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth" (2 Kings 19:15).

2. God created all things:

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Ps. 33:6), "For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast" (33:9).

3. Because God created all things out of nothing, he rules over them:

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (Ps. 24:1).

4. God's rule is accomplished by what's called "antecedent (or prior) decree" -- he said x would happen, and x happens:

"Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (Isa. 14:24) "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isa. 26:10).

5. No purpose of God's can be turned aside (this is the "negative" way to state #4):

"For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27). "He makes the devices of the people of none effect" (Ps. 33:10). "He does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" (Dan. 4:35).

6. God is omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time):

"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me" (Ps. 139:7-10).

7. God's power extends to every aspect of earthly existence:

Natural phenomena: "He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills" (Ps. 147:8).

Governments and leaders, even evil ones: "This is what the Lord says -- the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty" (Is. 45:11-13).

Even evil falls under his control: "What, shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10).

8. God's purposes are mysterious and often hidden from our understanding:

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Rom. 11:33)

9. God uses means (human actions, cause and effect, the laws of physics, human prayers, human emotions) to accomplish his purposes:

"For Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Rom 10:13-14) "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Phil 2:12-13).

Discipline

There's been a bit of a dust-up over on Boundless Line lately, regarding a pretty great summary of Mark Dever's view of church discipline. The usual comments ensued -- you can't kick people out of church for sinning! We wouldn't have a church! Doesn't the Bible say, Judge not, lest you be judged? Who are you to say what is a bad enough sin to kick people out? Since when is "membership" a biblical concept anyway? Etc. etc.

It seems to me, in my experience with these kinds of discussions, that people's misunderstandings about church discipline fall into a few categories:

1. They don't understand the nature of the Church.

2. They don't understand the nature of church membership.

3. They don't understand the seriousness of sin.

4. They don't understand the nature of church discipline.

Let's start with the first one. People who get their knickers in a twist about church discipline often seem to view "church" as an activity for people who call themselves Christians -- something they do on Sundays and Wednesday nights, a group they're a part of by choice, but nonetheless and organization that doesn't necessarily have the right to make any claims on their lives -- maybe slightly more that their book club or union or Facebook group, but not much more. They come to Sunday services to get blessed or "be fed" spiritually.

But what is the Church, really? Two things: 1) the Church is true followers of Christ everywhere, at all times throughout history, and 2) the Church is the local gathering of Christians in particular times and places. Paul's letters, for example, are written to both groups -- the church at Rome in the 1st Century A.D. and by extension to all believers everywhere at all times. Let me emphasize what I think is an extremely important point: if you are a Christian -- a genuine follower of Christ, not just a "Christian" by default -- you are, by necessity, a member of the first group. All believers at all times in all places are members of the first group. But the first and second categories were never meant to be thought of separately. Read Paul's letters and see if you think that the pioneer of the early church had any category in his mind for a person who was a Christian but not a part of any local church. (I'll give you a tip to save you a little time: he didn't.) It's not optional for a follower of Christ to be consistently out of fellowship with a local body. In fact (brace yourself, people, this is pretty serious), I would go so far as to say that if you steadfastly refuse to join yourself with a local congregation of believers, you are in serious danger of revealing that you are not a follower of Christ at all. And now I'm just going to back away... slowly... slowly...

That leads to the second misunderstanding. There is a whole group of folks in the church, as I mentioned in my previous post, who glance through their Bibles, don't see the word "membership," and conclude that any formal affiliation with a church is unnecessary at best and unbiblical at worst. First, I have bad news for those people -- the word "trinity" isn't in the Bible, either. Ruh-roh, Raggy.

Second, there is substantial evidence throughout the New Testament that the pastors of the early churches kept very precise, formal records of the believers they had charge of. I would basically defy anyone to do a careful study of the Jerusalem church in the book of Acts, the job description of an Elder in the pastoral epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus), and Hebrews 13 and come away with the idea that it's cool for a believer to sorta hang out on the fringes of a church and never commit to it.

Side note: one of our teaching pastors, Daniel, tells a pretty great little story at the beginning of our membership classes about a guy who falls in love with this amazing, beautiful girl, spends all his time with her, can't shut up about her... and then three years later, they're still dating, but not married or even engaged. Of course she's frustrated, all his friends are saying, "What are you waiting for, dude?" but he keeps telling her, "We don't need to get married to prove I love you, right, baby?" Well, obviously the story is about us and the church. Of course we don't "need" to join a church to prove we love it, but we also can't reap the benefits of commitment unless we're actually committed!

Well, what are the benefits of commitment to a church, i.e. formal membership? First off, when a church admits you to membership, they're saying, "We testify to your salvation. We believe and acknowledge that you are a Christian." (Incidentally, this is one of the reasons why walk-the-aisle, sign-the-card "Baptist" membership is so pernicious -- if your pastors don't examine you and make sure you're actually saved, how on Earth can they be accountable before God for your soul?) What a precious testimony this has been in seasons of doubt! I have often countered the lies of the enemy and of my sinful heart about my salvation by saying, "No! 417 other people, including my pastors, daily witness to my salvation! They see fruit in my life! They believe I am a Christian!" Second, formal membership provides a structure of accountability in a way that mere attendance cannot. You are consciously, intentionally placing yourself under the authority of your pastors, and humbly opening yourself up to be held accountable to a life worthy of the gospel. You're also taking on the responsibility of bearing the burdens of your brothers and sisters in the church and being willing to call them out when they sin as well.

Speaking of sin... Sin. I'm always surprised to read the "Dear Boundless" letters that deal with couples having sex or living together outside marriage -- the writers almost always characterize their behavior as "mistakes" or "slip-ups" or "crossing the line" or some other such convenient phrases; rarely does anyone write in and say, My boyfriend and I have been violating the standards of a holy God every Friday night for three months. We've also been dragging the name of Jesus through the mud by our behavior, and we'd like some advice on how to stop being an offense to the Gospel...

But that's just what sin is -- defiance against the rightful Ruler of the universe. Listen, I don't know if you know this, but God, as the Creator of all things, has the right to rule the universe as he wishes. You don't go to Iran, dance around on a picture of Muhammad in a town square in a bikini, and then think you're going to get away with it by calling it a "slip-up" when somebody throws your butt in jail. Sin is a serious, serious matter -- why would we look at our brothers and sisters in the church falling into persistent sin and look the other way? We should feel shame at the thought of standing idly by while those who bear the name of Christ deny him with their actions when we could do something about it!

And that's just what church discipline is, people. Church discipline, at heart, is the Body of Christ refusing to allow the beloved children of God continue in sin unchecked. It is a reminder to those who have ignored the Spirit's whispers that danger lies ahead.

99% of the time, church discipline does not involve "excommunication." Usually, the preaching of the Word, worship, the sacraments, and community life are the means the Lord uses to discipline his people. Occasionally, a brother or sister will have to call you out for a particular sin. Less often, someone will have to be confronted in love by the pastors if they continue to live in unrepentant sin. Usually, that person will repent in the course of one of those events. If not -- if that person continues to refuse reconciliation and ignore the pleas of his brothers and sisters, acting like he is not a believer -- then the church is to treat him in the way he is acting! The problem is, people see Paul's command to the Corinthian church to treat the adulterous man in their midst "as an unbeliever" and think that means they kicked him out. But doesn't your church welcome unbelievers? Don't you pray that unbelievers will show up? Don't you invite unbelievers to your services?

Church discipline is a beautiful ministry of the local body; I for one am blessed to be a part of a congregation that has the structures for church discipline in place -- it reminds me of both the grace and the judgment of God. I pray that I never have to be placed under formal discipline by my church, but I know that my fellowship with them is part of what ensures that I never will!

Hitting the Nail on the Head. AGAIN.

Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile, whose posts over at Pure Church are invariably full of interesting, often surprising, insights into the nature of the church, has hit one out of the park (ahem... "mixaphorically speaking") with his latest.

Ever felt frustrated by the folks in your church who claim they can't see the need, biblically or otherwise, to be joined to the local body? Pastor T advises:

At bottom mutual belonging in a family (or, local church membership if you will) rests on three things:

1. Recognition of a person's new humanity (being a part of the universal church[...]) by a credible testimony of faith and conversion;

2. Recognition by the family (the local church) of a desire, responsibility, and commitment to care for an individual as one of its own in a continuing relationship; and

3. Recognition by the individual of a desire, responsibility, and commitment to care for and participate in the life of the entire family (the local church).

When these things are present, we can say the "switch" of mutual belonging has been flipped.

He goes on:

The critical thing is how explicit the [membership] process is in aiding the three recognitions we mentioned earlier: credible profession of faith; commitment of the church to the individual; and commitment of the individual to the church.

Being unclear at any of those points will have weakening effects on the local church and perhaps the individual. This is why claimants who say "we can do these same things with our friends down the street and not join the church" almost always drift toward spiritual decay rather than spiritual vibrancy.

But being careful and clear, helps each member of the family to grow in its relationships with the other members and with Christ Jesus.

I can hardly express what a helpful, insightful blog Pastor Thabiti's is. Please, do yourself a favor and bookmark it for your ongoing edification!! And allow your reading to build your anticipation of hearing his heart in person at the upcoming Together for the Gospel conference.

OK, I'm Getting to be as Bad as Christine Now...

...in my neglect of this blog, that is. Sorry for the long absence... er, uh... both of you who remain. Boy, speaking of both of you, does either one of you remember the days when this now-languishing blog had comments that ran into the dozens? Yeah, those were good times. Excuse me while I sing a little chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" and cry into my tea cup. Ahem.

Anyway, I'm going to do a sorta cop-out and link to someone else's blog, but it's a good link, you two, I swear! I don't know why I'm trying to be funny. I feel a little like Rodney Dangerfield pulling at my tie, hoping a few more people will walk into the club and listen to the bad jokes for awhile. Have another G&T, willya? I get no respect.

So, back to the link, Mike (maybe later this week since he's at Aborigine camp-whatsit) and... let's see, who else will read this? Oh, dad. Hi, dad! How are ya? Did church go all right today?

I'm really focusing now, I swear. Tom Ascol's stuff over at Founders Blog consistently exemplifies both strength of conviction and grace; where other bloggers feel they have the "right" to express their opinions with sarcasm or mean-spiritedness, Tom has never stooped to name-calling or caricatures. Take a look at this, his introduction to an extended quote from John Newton:

Too often zeal for truth is used as a license to be harsh, condescending or downright mean. [...] Anyone who uses commitment to his Lord's doctrines as an excuse to violate his Lord's commandments reveals that he holds neither gospel nor law as fervently as he thinks.

The same Master who teaches us the [doctrines of grace] also commands us to love the brethren ("A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another," John 13:34) and even our enemies ("But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," Matthew 5:44). And Paul explains that love is "patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude ... it is not irritable or resentful" (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).

What kind of devotion is it that excuses sin in the name of truth? Uninformed and immature at best and blind and deluded at worst.

You see what I mean? Head over to the Founders Blog, if for no other reason than to absorb a lesson in gentleness without weakness.

DAAAAAANG!!

OK, seriously, seriously, people. RUN, do not walk, over to Pulpit-Pimps.org right now. Melvin Jones, site-owner, former Word of Faith/Prosperity church member and, from what I can tell, all-around incisive theological black-belt, is mad as Hell and he is really, no for rilz, not gonna take it anymore. His excellent site is dedicated to exposing the heinous lies, distortions, and perversions of the Gospel that characterize the "ministries" of Word of Faith preachers. Get your heinies over there and read up. You'll learn, you'll mourn, you'll be amazed. Lord willing, you'll repent and be strengthened in the Gospel. You will definitely be motivated and equipped to kick some righteous tail (metaphorically speaking) the next time somebody suggests that Creflo Dollar and Benny Hinn are ok dudes.

Just a note: those with no sense of humor or appreciation for satire will probably find it offensive. But send the link to your TBN-watchin' friends anyway. ;)

Look, I gotta include an excerpt from a comments thread. Just imagine. If the comments are this salient, this on point, this compelling, what must the posts themselves be?

Christians in the Sudan are getting tortured and killed by Muslims in the 100s of thousands. Christians in China are forced to go underground because of the tyrannical government. Christian persecution is very alive and well in the world. My question is where is their dominion? Why does the Pastor in the underground Chinese Church only have tattered clothes and MAYBE a complete bible seeing that most are confiscated?

When the Sudanese Christian cries out to the Lord Jesus while his head is getting severed by a Muslim why doesn’t God give him a way out?

Why are Churches NOT speaking out against Homosexuality, abortion, murder, and drug use. Why are the Churches NOT teaching fear of the Lord, repentance of sin, crucifying the flesh, and giving to less fortunate Christians? How many Sudanese Christians could have been sponsored and allowed to come to America with the 10s of millions of dollars spent on the mega churches?

How many Bibles could have been made and sent to China for 10 million dollars instead of the purchase of a new plane? How many Christian mouths could have been fed with the Bentley Paula White purchased for TD Jakes? How many people in American churches may actually sincerely repent if they heard the word of God rather than a feel good whooping and hollering dance session.

When was the last time people left a Church and left with tears of conviction of their sins? When was the last time you felt the awe of such a righteous God in light of your sinful flesh? What are the young in Churches today doing on the weekends? Answer: Living just like the world.

When was the last time a preacher said NO! to sinful behavior and YES! to living a righteous life? When was the last time you taught God was God versus YOU are a little God (Blasphemy)? When was the last time a preacher said that worldly possessions are idols and that these idols of Big homes, cars, planes, and fine suits will one day vanish. When will a Preacher speak up against this vanity which will rot and decay just like our mortal bodies will some day. When?

Well, what are you waiting for? Get over there!!

Daggonit!!

If you don't already know, Sojourn is dually affiliated with Acts 29, Mark Driscoll's outstanding church planting network, and the Kentucky (Southern) Baptist Convention. We've been extremely blessed in our cooperation with the KBC, who have supported us without reservation with finances and countless other intangible resources. Both Mike and Daniel, our longest-standing elders, have nothing but glowing praise to say about the support the KBC has given us. They've attached no strings to the Cooperative Program money we've received, despite the fact that we've done some pretty, um... let's say "unconventional" things over the years.

Our brethren in Missouri, as of today, can say quite the opposite.

Apparently, this week, the Missouri Baptist Convention's executive board passed the following motion:

MOTION:

Effective Jan 1, The Acts 29 Network is an organization which the MBC Exec Bd. Staff will not be working with, supporting, or endorsing in any manner at anytime.

Amendment:
While recognizing the autonomous nature of all areas of MBC life beyond that of the Executive Board Staff, the MBC Executive Board directs the Church Planting Department and other ministry departments to NOT provide CP dollars toward those affiliated with the Acts 29 Network.

Motion as amended passed by a vote of 28-10

Good grief, y'all. Seriously. What have we come to as believers when we shun the partnership in the Gospel that we have with careful, theologically-minded, passionate church planting organizations like Acts 29?

Honestly, I'm pretty fired up about this. For the love of God, are there not even pragmatists enough in the ranks of the Executive Board to see the folly of cutting off partnership with one of the most successful church planting groups in the nation? According to NAMB statistics, fewer than 70% of NAMB church plants are still around four years later. Compare that with A29's record: only one church of its hundreds of plants does not exist today, and only because it merged with another regional A29 plant.

There's been some suggestion that MBC churches who disagree with this resolution ought to pull their CP dollars and fund dually-aligned A29/MBC plants directly. I consider this the wisest course of action, since it kills two birds with one stone. Obviously, the primary concern is funding the preaching of the Gospel, which is certainly taking place in A29 churches! But the ripple effect of direct, inter-church support is that it sends a loud message to the MBC: we don't like what you're doing, and you didn't give us a chance to let our voices be heard, so we're voting with our wallets.

One blogger today prayed that the Lord wouldn't remove his hand from the MBC because of their refusal to partner with other believers in the work of the Gospel. I pray the same.

(HT: Timmy Brister, Tom Ascol)

Yet Another Reason to Love Bob Kauflin

Most of us young reformed types are pretty familiar with Bob Kauflin, one of the worship leaders at Covenant Life Church, who now also heads up Worship Development for all the Sovereign Grace Churches. He's written a lot of helpful and insightful material over the years. Check out this snippet from a recent article on his website (ht:PureChurch), based on the command in Scripture to sing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another:

Practices that Hinder Horizontal Awareness in Worship

Over the years, most of us have developed a few practices that can hinder any benefit we might receive from addressing one another as we sing.

1. Singing songs that lack biblical substance or doctrinal depth. If the songs we’re singing are primarily subjective, and focused on how we feel, what we’re doing, or some other subjective element, we’re not going to have much to say to each other.

2. Thinking that “worship” means closing my eyes, raising my hands, and blocking out everyone else around me. I’ve had many profound moments like that, as I’ve focused in an undistracted way on the words I’m singing and the Savior I’m singing to. But being Spirit-filled should actually make us more aware of others, not less. Many of the songs we sing aren’t even directed towards God. Crown Him with Many Crowns, Before the Throne of God Above, and Amazing Grace, are a few that come to mind. So when I lead I probably have my eyes open more than half the time. I’m looking around, addressing others, celebrating the fact that we can glory in Jesus Christ together. I do that even when I’m not leading, sometimes turning to someone beside me to rejoice in God’s grace. I want to benefit from the fact that I’m with the people of God.

3. Singing alone. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with praising God on my own. But in the age of iPods, earphones, and Internet downloads, it’s easy to lose our appreciation for singing with the church. The Spirit intends us to join our hearts to each other as well as to Christ when we sing.

After I preached the message this past Sunday, I wanted to apply the message in a memorable way. So I had everyone stand up and told them we were going to sing Amazing Grace a cappella. Only I didn’t want anyone closing their eyes. I wanted people to look around the room as they sang, rejoicing at God’s mercy in each other’s lives. It was a little awkward at first, but eventually we were singing with all our hearts, unashamedly “addressing one another” in song, reminding ourselves of how amazing God’s grace truly is, to save wretches like us.

Why Why Why

...do I have the greatest friends in the universe?

Listen, let him who boasts boast in the Lord, and I'm fixin' to -- the Lord is so gracious, so generous, so merciful, to give me friends like my friends. I just don't deserve them. He provided everything I need in Christ! He wasn't obligated to provide me with a loving family. He reached down into darkness and saved me from the death I deserved for my sin. He didn't have to bless me beyond measure with people who love me despite my flaws.

Sometimes my heart just wants to explode. I was praying with one of my friends tonight and started to cry thinking about the joy we look forward to -- the joy of being in unbroken fellowship with our brothers and sisters, working together in the presence of God when our Savior returns to make all things new. Imagine! Relationships unmarred by sin! Love perfectly reflecting the Father's love for his bride! Oh Lord, speed that day!

The Sum of Their Parts

Wow. Wow. This op-ed in The Australian is so insightful that it gave me chills (ht:Craig). Check it out:

Too many girls are trying to imitate half-starved celebrities and airbrushed models in a quest to be hot and sexy. We have allowed the objectification and sexualisation of girls in a culture that is becoming increasingly pornographic. The embedding of sexualised images of women in society has become so mainstream, it is hardly noticed. Everywhere a girl looks, she sees sexualised images of her gender. She's expected to be a walking billboard for the brands of the global sex industry.

But while redolent of truth about sin working itself out on our young women growing up in an over-sexualized culture, the article turns to the wrong place for its solution. The author suggests:

Positive body image programs in schools should be mandatory, teaching media literacy skills that help young people recognise damaging messages from popular culture.

Unfortunately, no school program could ever hope to address the underlying issue of sinful hearts. We live in a world so fallen that our very culture is an emissary of darkness, and our only hope of restoration comes on the whip-torn back of a bruised and bloody Savior, the God-Man who stood in our place, dying to purchase his bride and rising to conquer sin.

When our Warrior-King returns to set His world right, there will be no need for "body image programs" or campaigns against Botox and crash dieting. Come, Lord Jesus, and restore your perfect Bride!

EDIT: Here's a link to a video entitled "Evolution" that shows in a pretty fascinating way the deceptive nature of the "beauty industry."

The End of a Good/Weird, Weird/Good Day

It's official. As of 9:04 pm, I am 26 years old.

Today was both good and strange. I went to work this morning, where we had a productive (if long) meeting, our monthly "strategic planning" time. The minutes we spent in prayer were especially sweet. It feels like we haven't been together as a staff for months -- and, indeed, we were missing someone today, John Dostal, whose pregnant wife just got out of the hospital where she had spent a few days being treated for pneumonia!! (Which reminds me of Dr. House: "I know we have a word for that... what is it? Moo-nonia? Noo-mania?")

Millie was decorating the office when we finished the meeting, so I busted out the Christmas Cocktails CD, which is the BEST for decorating. Peggy Lee! Dean Martin! Nat King Cole! That "Man With the Bag" song from that Macy's ad two years ago! How can you not feel festive when that stuff's playing? I helped Millie for two minutes but couldn't take too long a break... no complaints, though; I really enjoy it when the office is bustling, the phone is ringing, and I'm busy with projects.

Most everybody wished me happy birthday, which was super nice. It's also Mike and Sarah Cospers 8th (can you believe it? They're my age) anniversary today, and I also almost had an excitement-induced stroke thinking about little D's first Christmas. She's so precious... The folks who stuck around after 3:30 or so stood in the main office and sang to me. It was great.

At the end of the work-day, Jenn, my sweet sister-in-law whom I love SO much I can hardly stand it, called me up, and she and the kiddos sang happy birthday to me over the phone, with Jacob in his sweet little boy soprano in perfect pitch, and Jenn singing wildly off-key at the end to be silly... And then I had the most delightful little conversation with Jacob. He really is getting so big. I can't believe he's five and a half already! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family -- Lord, may I never take them for granted!

Anne and Angela took me out to dinner at Ramsi's, where we had good food and good wine and a really lovely chat. It's nice to spend time with the girls, just the three of us. The funniest part was picking up my phone after dinner and finding that I had five voicemails! Angela said I'm the most popular girl she knows. Eat that, Stacie Plank from elementary school! ;)

After we had spent a few minutes wandering around the fairly posh "Old Town Liquors" (on your old street, Sarah!!) looking for a nice gift for Angela's supervisor at Whole Foods, we came home, and I went over to Scott and Carrie's... now, let me tell you, that was a bad birthday present. They decided all of a sudden that they were going to move back to Arkansas at the friggin' end of the week. Well, Carrie and the kids are; Scott's staying behind to pack the place up. Pray for them. It's a time of transition in a BIG way. Plus, crazy Carrie got freaked out about some numbness in her neck and drove herself to the ER tonight... in the middle of House... while I was on the phone with my grandma... Weird.

And now I'm sitting in my pajamas, kinda watching Law and Order: SVU, reflecting on this good day. I'm grateful for God's faithfulness -- his amazing, inconceivable, stubborn faithfulness over the last year. He has blessed me beyond my ability to imagine, blessed me creatively and abundantly, with more than I could ever ask. Most of all, when I have been faithless -- and, God forgive me, those times have far outnumbered the obedient times -- when I have been rebellious, fleshly, bitter, fruitless, untrusting, and selfish, God has refused to violate his word to me through his Son, who has promised that no one will snatch me out of his hand. Praise God!


The love of Christ who died for me
is more than mind can know,
His mercy measureless and free
to meet the debt I owe.

He came my sinful cause to plead,
He laid His glories by,
for me a homeless life to lead,
a shameful death to die.

My sins I only see in part,
my self-regarding ways;
the secret places of my heart
lie bare before His gaze.

For me the price of sin He paid;
my sins beyond recall
are all alike on Jesus laid,
He died to bear them all.

O living Lord of life, for whom
the heavens held their breath,
to see, triumphant from the tomb,
a love that conquers death.

Possess my heart that it may be
Your kingdom without end,
O Christ who died for love of me
and lives to be my friend.

OK, More Linkage

Pastor Lance, a black Reformed minister in West Philadelphia (born and raised!), has written an appropriately scathing critique of what he calls The Baal Network (TBN). Seriously, welding helmets and HazMat suits need to be in place before you read the full article. Just a taste:

And why did the Lord of glory endure such grievous pain and death? So that you could sow your seed offering, claim your blessing and have yet one more thing to put in your Public Storage locker.

Folks, enough is enough. These people aren’t in error, misguided or confused. They’re deliberately prostituting scripture, the cross and Jesus Christ to engorge their own debauched greed.

Pour it on, brother, pour it on.

"...of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh."

Michael Jensen has written a pretty hilarious post on the "writing of many books" over on his blog... I feel his frustration. Check it out:

Further, this tendency [to write and publish capacious, encyclopedic commentaries] heightens the impression (long fostered by those in the field of biblical studies) that expert knowledge is utterly indispensible for any comprehension at all. It is just impossible for a non-specialist to get accross it all - you could give a life time just to reading commentaries on the book of Romans written since 1980! In addition, the experts are under pressure to come up with some new way of reading in order to make their name professionally and so get a nice job and some recognition.

[snip]

And to preachers: stop purchasing the things! They aren't helping your sermon preparation - and they certainly aren't helping your sermons. They are high-cost high redundancy items. Find the absolute classics in each book and stick with those. Buy some theology instead, or read a novel or two, or a biography, or philosophy. Make your Greek better and read the text for yourself! Spend more time in prayer even...

Go on over and read the entire article, why dontcha?

The Rumblings of Reformation

I have been so encouraged by Thabiti Anyabwile's blog, and I'm looking forward to reading his new book, just released by IVP. Pastor Thabiti will be one of the speakers at next spring's Together for the Gospel conference.

The Chief of Sinners

Dave Harvey, author of the acclaimed book, When Sinners Say "I DO," gives this beautiful perspective on the sinfulness of our hearts, in a July 2007 interview with Discerning Reader.

I actually borrowed [this phrase] from the apostle Paul in his words to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:15). But it applies to all of us. Yes, really.

Paul didn’t say ‘I was.’ He said ‘I am’—the ‘present-tense’ apostle Paul saw himself as the chief of sinners. [...] And I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he knew he was capable—given the right circumstances—of the worst of sins and the vilest of motives. Paul was a realist. He wanted to see God and himself truly. No hiding behind a facade of pleasantness or religiosity for him. It’s almost as if Paul is saying, “Look, I know my sin. And what I’ve seen in my own heart is darker and more awful; it’s more proud, selfish, and self-exalting; and it’s more consistently and regularly in rebellion against You than anything I have glimpsed in the heart of anyone else. As far as I can see, the biggest sinner I know is me.”

But in the very next verse Paul says, “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”

With the passing of each day, two things grew larger for Paul: his sinfulness in light of the holiness of God, and God’s mercy in the face of it. Knowing both God and himself accurately was not at all discouraging or depressing. Rather, it deepened his gratitude for the vastness of God’s mercy in redeeming him, and the patience of Christ in continuing to love and identify with him in his daily struggle against sin.

Paul’s confession to Timothy presents us with a stunning example of moral honesty and theological maturity: Paul’s acute, even painful awareness of his own sinfulness caused him to magnify the glory of the Savior!

As I’ve studied Paul’s example, I’ve found it to be true in my own life as well.

(ht: Pure Church)

...And Books

Why are the books from Westminster Bookstore so much cheaper than from Lifeway or Amazon? Whatever the reason, I plan on taking full advantage of their bargain prices to cross a few names off my Christmas list.

...And Bread

I love making bread. I had the baking itch Friday night and decided to start my favorite bread, a really rustic, grainy, kind of gnarly looking bread called a Cocodrillo. I modified it from a recipe in Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Baking, which is a gorgeous book full of big, full-color photos, and to which I jokingly refer as my "Food Porn." Seriously, the pictures, of brownies and cakes on deliberately messy, shabby-chic, flour-covered counters, or of someone's arms elbow-deep in a pillow of yeasty dough, are Pavlovian-reaction-inducing. Anyway, the recipe is a bit drawn out, but simple (it's really only 30 or 40 minutes of hands-on work spread out over an evening and a morning), and turns out two absolutely beautiful loaves of artisanal bread with so much flavor and the most amazing crust. I've passed it on to two first-time bakers and they had just as much success as I've had with it. You could sneak these onto the shelf at Whole Foods between the Ancient Grains Sourdough and the French Levain, and nobody would suspect that they didn't belong; they'd just ask the bakery dude to slice 'em. For real.

Side note: if you love baking or are just giving it a go for the first time, I'd strongly encourage you to pick up Essentials of Baking. My cake-loving roommate Angela has made a couple of the cakes with great results (I'm not much of a cake person, but Angela has a serious knack for them, ahem, single guys? Anybody? Anybody?), and I can also vouch for the deliciousness of the cookies and pies found therein. Really, it's a miracle I don't weigh 400 pounds.

I'm also in charge of the rolls for Thanksgiving, and was searching around for something unique. Well, I found it: a potato-dough bread that you can keep in the fridge for up to five days before you bake the rolls!! ACK! Amazing! So the dough's in my refrigerator right now, but I stole enough to make 8 little rolls just to test them, I swear.

My baking technique, while I'm on a roll here (HA!), is symptomatic of my fickleness. I told my friend Leesa that I have a disease called, "I can never, ever make a recipe as it's written or make anything the same way twice, even if it worked perfectly the first time." The old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," clearly means nothing to me. I prefer to characterize that as a quest for excellence, but let's be real, people. It's totally just fickleness.

... And Beowulf

Best. Review. Ever.