Summer Reading and Community

I'm not a book club guy. I don't sit down with a group of like-minded bibliophiles and discuss the plotlines, themes and denouement of various pieces of literature. Not that it's a bad thing. I just don't do it.

However, I do believe that when reading books which deal with things like leadership philosophy, Christian issues or theology in general, doing it in community is hard to beat. This summer I'll be walking through Bob Kauflin's Worship Matters (my last post) with a group of people. Additionally I'm planning on reading Jonathan Edwards' The Religious Affections with guy home from college for the summer. It was a book I'd heard he wanted to read and thought, "Here's my chance to walk through Edwards' classic with somebody!"

Here are some benefits to reading books in community:

1. You see what they might miss, they see what you might miss. That's the power of more "eyes" on the same pages.
2. You've also added more brains to further dissect, ruminate and assimilate the ideas of the text. Some people think creatively, others linearly and still others may think in a way that defies definition - but the more "different thinkers" you have - the better potential there is for really breaking down a book's contents.
   
3. You multiply the potential applications that get put on the table to think through. Instead of one life pressed up against the matrix of a book, you have multiple situations that are intersecting with what you're reading.
   
4. There is better accountability to keep plugging through the text when it gets dry or dense, knowing you've got to meet with someone in a few days to talk about what you don't want to read at the present. That 7AM meeting tomorrow morning at the local coffee shop with your reading buddies may be the only thing that keeps your nose in the book at times...and that's a good thing.
   
5. Now you get the added blessing of how the Holy Spirit chooses to use the truth of what you're reading to affect more than just you. For example, maybe the conviction someone in your group begins to work through will be something you need to ponder in your own heart. Community can be a great instrument for the grace of sanctification.
   

Summer usually means hot days, swimming pools and for many, reading books. Consider the benefits of reading a solid Christian book with a group this summer, then make the commitment by grabbing a friend or two (or seven) and read! Surely you have some names of people that pop into your head who would be excited to do it?!?! I believe reading in community will not only enhance your reading but also your relationships...both with God and your friends.

Worship Matters: A Brief Review

One of the reasons I like to read books on matters concerning the faith is that periodically I find an author who has so well articulated what I believe about said topic (but I haven't articulated well) that I not only find myself overjoyed and grateful for coming across his work but keep it in my staple of books I eagerly recommend when the appropriate time arises. Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin is one of those books.

For quite some time I've lamented the current day worship scene (see my posts "Flying A Little Lower" and "'Christian' Music"). I cringe at music leaders who have a propensity to focus on "catchiness" of congregational music at the expense of both theological accuracy and Gospel clarity. I also can't stand when someone walks to the mic after the music is over and says to the effect, "Now that worship is over our pastor is going to come and teach." When did worship become confined to only singing songs? Likely the music leader doesn't realize what he is saying, but that's half the problem. I've always thought, outside the teaching team, those who lead music need to be as theologically astute as anyone else who leads the church. Why? Songs teach. They always have and always will. And if you are at a church where the music minister/leader/pastor selects the songs, having someone who can discern the best music that is good both musically and lyrically is critical. Oh to have a reformation in corporate worship where both artistry and doctrine aren't on different sides of the spectrum.

Okay, I can see this is turning into more of a rant than a post...sorry for the digression...back to Kauflin's book.

I don't know if I've read a book of recent that excited me with every page turned as Worship Matters did. Kauflin, the director for worship development for Sovereign Grace Ministries, breaks down his book into three sections: the leader, the task and healthy tensions - each of them chock-full of insightful, gracious and most importantly, biblical teaching about worship. From explaining why the Cross is crucial to worship to how to choose the right songs, Kauflin excels both theologically and practically (can those really be separate anyhow?) when it comes to leading corporate worship. After each section I found myself saying how grateful I was for Worship Matters. Unlike many books, I don't believe there was one wasted chapter. No filler or fluff. One will likely get the feeling that this book has been years in the making for Kauflin and the Western, contemporary church (of which I'm a part) will be richer for it.

I don't know what excites me more, knowing there is a book which so well addresses the issues involved with corporate worship or that each of those on our music team have a copy and will be reading it as a team over the summer (some have already finished it and gratefully felt reaffirmed by it). If you're a pastor (like me), get this book not only for your music team, get it for yourself. Believe me, it's at the same time encouraging and convicting. You may not agree with every conclusion he comes to (e.g., use of prophetic gifts in congregational worship) but I think most of your disagreements will lie on the periphery. If you're planting a church use it as both a touchstone and educational piece for those you might consider adding to your music staff.

Years ago I was asked by Good News Publishers if I would publicly endorse a Bible translation which I and our elders had chosen to use for all adult church services. I didn't hesitate because I think the English Standard Version is the best translation around. No question. (I'll leave exactly why for another future post) For what it's worth (which admittedly isn't much), I feel the same way about Bob Kauflin's Worship Matters. It's simply the best book I've ever read which so aptly addresses the current state of church worship with biblical fidelity, theological clarity and pastoral insight. I warmly and highly endorse it! Thanks Bob for a great and needful contribution to today's Church! May God continue to bless you and the ministry he is working through you.

Need I say more? Get this book.

Every sin?

Last week I briefly skimmed through a book I had read (at least part of it I'd read) about a year ago just to see if I could grab a nugget of wisdom or two. Within a few moments of turning the pages I was brought face to face with a sentence that put an exclamation point on something I believe the Holy Spirit has been nudging me about for months.

For some time I've struggled with (or rebelled against to be more accurate) the sinfulness of owning music that really isn't mine. Yes, that's right, I'm talking about having copied mp3's. You probably know what legal issue I'm talking about. It's that funny little emblem on all CD's which informs you that unauthorized duplication is breaking the law.

Like most sins I struggle with, I've tried to rationalize having them a thousand different ways. In fact, I know some music groups have no problem with their fans having copied mp3's. However, I didn't really seem to care about any band's convictions when it came to listening to a certain track - I just knew I wanted that mp3 now. Somehow the illegal and stealing aspects of my actions got minimized in the process. Go figure.

Yet for a long season my conscience has been pricked on this issue. For reasons I can't finger, the burden has been heavier on me of late. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back arrived with the words of a man who lived roughly 400 years before the iPod was ever invented. His name was John Owen, a English Puritan pastor who wrote a little diddy entitled On the Mortification of Sin. I read it a year or two ago in The Works of John Owen, Vol. 6.

For some reason (again, go figure) I decided to reread some of my initial highlights just to catch up with what Owens was saying in dealing with sin and temptation. Almost immediately I read this sentence marked in green highlighter:

Without sincerity and diligence in a universality of obedience,
there is no mortification of any one perplexing lust to be obtained. (Owen, 40)

In essence, if I'm to really see sin killed (mortified) in my life to any degree I need to have my heart set with "sincerity and diligence in a universality of obedience" - I must desire to obey Christ in every aspect of my life. That did it for me! It was inescapable for the next steps I needed to take. Jerry Bridges writes about "respectable sins" concerning those areas of disobedience that we tolerate. I haven't read the book, but on my list is stealing music. It had to go.

So I'm trying to repent of it. I spent well over an hour trying to clean up my computer, iPhone and iTunes from all the illegal stuff I've kept. Yup, it was a lot...Gigs of music. And yet now I sense a clearer conscience and greater peace, one that I'd like to think the Holy Spirit is using in this all-too-grey area of my life. I'm not putting this on anyone else. I just know for me, most of the music I copied played a different tune in my heart than the one in my ears. It was anything but a melody for my soul.

Maybe this will be a harbinger of things to come. Maybe I'll have the courage to repent of other "respectable sins" I tolerate. For now, my music (which now is really mine) has come under the desire for universality of obedience. May other areas in my life follow for there is no question there is more of them. I guess I'm not as universal as I thought.

Just a question: Do you read this and feel any conviction? Yeah, me too.

What a Wonderful...

“The reason men worship God in a slight way is because they do not see God in His glory.”
- Jeremiah Burroughs, 17th Century Puritan pastor

This past week one of the worship leaders at our church recommended a message by C.J. Mahaney given at the 1999 conference on worship for what is now Sovereign Grace Ministries. It was a wonderful message on Cross-centered worship and the need for church leadership and worship ministries to reject cultural models and methods that obscure the Cross and for that leadership to resolve to build exclusively on the Cross.

Mahaney closed with a wonderful story about the well-known English pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon to highlight the truth that in a world given to churches which prop up methodology over theology (and the Cross at its center), we should devote ourselves to having services preoccupied with preaching Christ and him crucified (cf., 1 Cor. 2):

During the 1880s a group of American ministers visited England, prompted especially by a desire to hear some of the celebrated preachers of that land. On a Sunday morning they attended the City Temple where Dr. Joseph Parker was the pastor. Some 2000 people filled the building, and Parker's forceful personality dominated the service. His voice was commanding, his language descriptive, his imagination lively, and his manner animated. The sermon was Scriptural, the congregation hung upon his words, and the Americans came away saying, "What a wonderful preacher is Joseph Parker.

In the evening they went to hear Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The building was much larger than the City Temple, and the congregation was more that twice it's size. Spurgeon's voice was much more expressive and moving and his oratory noticably superior. But they soon forgot all about the great building, the immense congregation, and the magnificent voice. They even overlooked their intention to compare the various features of the two preachers, and when the service was over they found themselves saying, "What a wonderful Savior is Jesus Christ." (Arnold Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography)

May our churches and those who lead them through preaching, singing and others elements of the service work hard to clearly reveal Christ and his glory without reservation so that people find themselves saying as they exit, "What a wonderful Savior is Jesus Christ."

Form and Function

Ever get to be a part of a group that has the ability to see beyond the form as they seek to grasp the function? I do and am very, very grateful for it.

Let me explain.

The past couple of months for me has been full of weighty thoughts and deep conversations about the way we do what we do as a church. It's been completely refreshing because they've happened at the highest levels of leadership. Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves you must know that we are simply dialogging about what is and what should be. The future could range from radically different to no difference at all. The point is: we are talking about how we best maximize our redemptive potential. I think that's a critical question to repeatedly ask over time as people lead a local church.

Unfortunately, many churches get all too enamored with some model (of church) they saw operate with great effectiveness and adopted it, never to look back. At first, maybe even for decades it worked well for them and the context they lived in...but then something changed. Maybe it was the leadership, maybe it was the context, maybe it was everything in between but something changed that made their current model less effective for reaching and discipling people in their neck of the woods. But they don't change. They like the form (the model). It gives them comfort because of its familiarity, its easier because all your systems revolve around it and most of all it takes less courage to change (I mean, think of all the people you might lose if you shifted gears now).

The only problem is the function of the church has left them with little more than a crowd who comes to be either entertained or feel better about checking the "I went to church" box for the month. Disciples...real ones...are hard to find. That scenario necessitates the need to discover a better way to function - and that takes courage to ask the tough questions about form because it just very well may be the major player in the inability to "produce" better disciples for Jesus. It might not, but it might be.

In some churches the form/model is sacrosanct. Not in mine. I didn't say it was easily exchangeable, just that it wasn't created out of granite. One of the most invigorating aspects of my ministry at the church I serve is the fact that we're asking the questions about form and function. Will things change? Maybe, maybe not. But the fact that we're asking the question brings me much hope for today...and the days to come.

Church leader, look in the mirror and ask yourself,
"Is the way we do church maximizing our redemptive potential in the area God has placed us?"

What's the answer?
What do you need to do about it?
Who do you need to dialogue with?

A Very Brief Review: Tim Keller's "The Reason for God"

I like books on apologetics because not only do they serve me in evangelism but also build up my faith on a personal level. It's nice to read the fruit of someone's labor when that labor is given to sharing compelling reasons why a person should give their life to Jesus Christ. Toward that endeavor, there are fewer books I've read that are as good as Tim Keller's The Reason for God. In fact, I would say only C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity would prevail in a apologetics arm-wrestling contest...and TK would most assuredly give Clive Staples a run for his money with 21st Century audiences. Thankfully they're both on the same team (incidentally, Keller rightfully quotes Lewis often).

In The Reason for God Keller is characteristically disarming, intellectually engaging and easily accessible. It deals with the "big" issues like suffering, eternal torment and science like other apologetical works but it's done in such a fresh contemporary fashion that the Christian reader may feel he's never heard this stuff before. Yes (all you who've read people like Ravi Zacharias, Hank Hanegraaff, etc.), it's that good!

While reading the book leaves one with the impression that Keller is incredibly well-read if not brilliant it more so highlights the truth that, outside of Jesus the Christ, there is no name under heaven by which men may be saved.

[Okay, I just finished the book and wanted to post something quickly before I teach tonight. Sorry this isn't very in depth or thorough. I'll leave that to the big boys.]

Today is World Autism Day

10 years ago: 1 in 10,000

5 years ago: 1 in 1,000
Today: 1 in 150
Got your attention?

Many people have a "cause" which is close to their hearts for obvious reasons. I'm no exception. I have a son with an Autism Spectrum Disorder called Asperger's Syndrome. I've blogged about it before and simply wanted to throw my hat in the national ring on World Autism Day reminding people this is a real issue for many families (1.5 million Americans have some form of autism). In fact, the entire month of April is given to Autism awareness. For example, among other businesses and corporations joining the emphasis, CNN will be highlight stories about autism on both television and internet the entire week.

For more info on this condition and the issues surrounding it click here or watch this brief video.

Can't vouch for HBO's part in this with their showing of "Autism: The Musical" (because I haven't seen it) but it looks like it might be worth watching...

Fandango 2008

For the past five years I have annually gathered with a group of my college buddies (see above photo from last year's trip to Banff, Canada) for a handful of days. We call it Fandango. There's a long story behind it that I'll save for another time. Suffice it to say, Fandango is one of the highlights of my year. I get to spend some real time with real friends - men I have known for twenty years.

This year we will be spending Fandango in St. Louis, home to one of our 'Dango crew. I've never been to the 'Lou but am so looking forward to it. My excitement flows from not only visiting a new city but reconnecting with old friends. Frankly, we could have this in Backwater, U.S.A. and I'd still have the best of times simply by hanging out with these brothers.

I leave this Monday and return, God-willing, on Friday. Hopefully I'll have some stories to tell when I get back. I pray God's grace will be rich to me and my 'Dango boys as we share koinonia throughout the week.

Jesus for the World

I stumbled across this video (Brooke Fraser's Shadowfeet) and this passage came to mind...

"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals, for you were slain,
and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth."
- Revelation 5:9b-10 (ESV)

Using a Teaching Team

This week our church received the invitation from a good friend and former staff member, who happens to be one of the top-notch church leadership consultants in the country, about speaking with another congregation interested in applying the team concept to preaching. When we were a very young church (age 4) the Senior Pastor decided to add me as the Teaching Pastor so the teaching load would be both shared and expanded (to our current system of a midweek worship service and weekend seeker services).

What’s astonishing is that there was only a handful of full-time staff and yet our lead guy decided to pull the trigger early-on for another teaching pastor. I personally don’t know of another congregation where the teaching reins were shared that soon in a church’s life. It would seem most lead pastors would’ve filled other positions of need but we decided almost from the beginning that teaching/preaching would be done by more than one man. And I think that’s paid off.

Let me briefly give reasons why I think that’s the case…

1. It keeps us away from being a personality-driven church. It’s not all about one guy with his face and name plastered everywhere, so when he leaves, dies, gets raptured, etc., the church doesn’t go into a tailspin not knowing where to turn. I bet you can count on both hands how many churches you think would be in deep trouble if the Senior Pastor all of a sudden left the picture. Team-taught churches are less exposed to the Achilles' Heel of personality-driven congregations.

2. Our congregation has learned to appreciate different styles of teaching. One teacher is a fork, the other a spoon, the other a knife…you get the picture. It’s natural for people pick their favorite teacher but they’re reminded early and often through our teaching schedule that you may be “served” God’s Word by someone else any given Wednesday or Sunday. Hopefully in the end, we’re highlighting that what matters most from the teaching perspective is that God’s Word is being expounded with passion and excellence – the focus is on the “what” and not so much the “who”.

3. A teaching team has a sharpening effect on each other. Just imagine having other teachers along side you doing exactly what you do – joys, struggles, and everything in between. Who better to help you do what you do with loving evaluation, closed-door gripe sessions/confessions and the very common “Hey, do you have a second to listen to what I’ve got so far for this weekend sermon-wise?”spot. I can’t imagine how much weaker I would be as a preacher/teacher if I didn’t have godly and gifted teachers journeying with me. Many preachers go to conferences to meet up with guys who do what they do. I walk down the hall.

4. We don’t stress about getting sick or…yes, even a little burned out. Teachers are real people. That means they get fatigued and in need of a season of rest. When you have a teaching team other men can carry the load when you’re in need of a break. What a great thought knowing you’ve got backup if you feel a fever coming on and it’s Thursday. Just make a call to the bullpen so your boy can get warmed up as best he can. You stay home. He breaks open the Word of Life. Church goes on as normal. No last minute calls to friends hoping they can not only spell you but do a decent enough job that you won’t worsen your condition worrying about their ability in the pulpit.

5. Teaching rotations provide better rhythm for the life of a teacher. This is closely tied to point four but is focused more on the preventative. Teaching week after week can take a lot out of a pastor. Now imagine (you pastors out there) what your life would look like if you were regularly on for six weeks and off for three. Mix up the numbers a little but you get the point. How much better of a church leader would you be? I’m always amazed how much leadership work I’m able to accomplish the weeks I don’t speak. It’s like I can do about 5X the work. Seriously! How much better of a husband would you be? Father? Neighbor? Human being? Teaching rotations enable the individual teacher to take periodic breaks increasing both his health and pastoral effectiveness.

I’m sure I could say more but I’ll stop for the time being. Just know this all you younger (and older) pastors out there doing all the teaching all the time; consider multiplying yourself for not only the sake of your church…but for your sake as well.

Getting "Reviewed" In The Chron

This morning I was alerted to the fact that I (and my church) made our city's local rag, the Houston Chronicle. They've got a pastor from a Unitarian Universalist church who is visiting different congregations (temples, mosques, churches) in the area during his sabbatical and "reviewing" them in addition to other topics he posts on the paper's religion section blog . This past Sunday he happened to attend my church where I was preaching.

After reading his post, I thought the gentleman's tone to be congenial and honest. My assumption is that he's a very nice guy. It didn't appear he had an axe to grind or agenda to push. But when it was all said and done, he just simply didn't agree with what I said.

Here's a couple of quotes:

What I heard over and over during the 30+ minute sermon was that people shouldn't listen to those scholars or "other preachers" who are trying to promote a new Jesus--that there is only one gospel and one Jesus (the son and savior), and the rest is just an attempt to deceive. He even quoted Galatians 1:6-8, stating that anyone preaching a message other than the one Paul preached, should be cursed....
.......
Ultimately, I left with a feeling that he was telling his congregation that revelation was sealed. He said more than once that there was only one gospel--that there was only one truth.

Wow! Some have asked if his "review" irks me? It doesn't. I was a little bummed because I believe he misunderstood some lesser parts of my message but when it came to the heart of it, I think he pretty much nailed it. So, instead of being upset I'm quite excited that a UU minister walked into my church on a Sunday and heard exactly what I was attempting to say: there is one Gospel, one Jesus, one truth.

And better yet, he told his readers that I "even" used a Scripture to support my stance. Yup, I look to the Bible as the final authority for what I believe. Heck, he even got my interpretation of Galatians 1:6-8 down pat! Yes, Paul said if someone else comes preaching a different Gospel then he is anathema. Dude, my preaching professors from seminary should be rewriting my grades as we speak! The audience-in-question understood (though didn't agree) exactly the big idea I was trying to communicate.

In the end, if a guy from a background that denies the salvific uniqueness of Jesus and the Gospel doesn't agree with my conclusions then that's probably a very good sign I'm on the right track.

Ain't that right, Paul?

The gentleman concluded saying: So, I thank [GLP]for his message, and the entire amazing group of ministers and volunteers at [GLP's church] for the honesty of their message, the quality of their worship experience, and for reminding me how important my convictions are to me....

Mine too.

Keller & Google - Rockin' the House

I don't know if there are a bunch of Followers of Jesus at Google but they had Tim Keller, a brilliant pastor from New York City, speak there as a part of their Authors@Google program. Keller is promoting his new book The Reason for God which many are saying is a 21st Century Mere Christianity. While I personally wouldn't get too far ahead of myself with that type of hype, I do think Keller's got it goin' on!

Much props to Google (like I even need to link Google) for having TK come and talk! Way to go for the best search engine on the face of the planet! Much love to all the Followers of Jesus there!

I also need to give a "hat tip" to Chuck Land for informing me of Justin Buzzard's reporting of this event. Check out Buzzard Blog here.

I am so getting this book!

UPDATE: Grabbed it at Borders today (3/7/08).

Opening Day X

Scored tickets for Opening Day! I haven't missed one since I moved to Houston ten years ago. I simply love America's pastime and the Astros are my favorite team! My wife and I will attend the game with another couple who are friends of ours. Jerseys will be worn, hot dogs will be consumed and our lungs will be tired from yelling so much - I can't wait!

We open at home with the St. Louis Cardinals after a couple away series. I think this is at least the second or third Opening Day where we've played the Cards in recent history, and if memory serves me correctly we haven't won those openers.

Here's to breaking with history...

Go 'Stros!!!

An Evening with Piper

One of the wonderful things about my time in Seattle was getting to spend an evening (about fifty of us total were there) with a man who I’ve looked up to for quite some time. His name is John Piper. He is a pastor in Minneapolis and has written many books that have profoundly impacted my walk with Jesus. His passion for Christ is unparalleled and his mind concerning how that faith is to be understood and lived out is a gift to the church.

With great thanks to Darrin Patrick, our church crew was invited to an Acts 29 Network Church Planters get together which included dinner. It provided us a chance to speak with the leadership of this great church planting network to see if there might be a possibility of a future partnership. We had a great time talking with Scott Thomas and Tyler Powell discovering more about who they are and what they do. Wow! It seems that A29 is chock-full of great leaders!

Towards what seemed to be the end of the meeting Darrin invited us to stay for dinner. We had eaten earlier due to the fact that A29 hadn’t initially planned on us coming and we didn't want to burden them by taking up three more plates. We just wanted to attend so we could get to meet as many of the guys we could. Little did we know that the dinner was to be with John Piper. Mark Driscoll, who had Dr. Piper as a guest speaker for the conference, had graciously arranged it so the man, who has impacted many if not an entire generation (or two) for Jesus, could spend an evening pouring himself into these church planters. For the next two hours he fielded questions and was a combination of being graciously admonishing, intensely passionate and painfully transparent - qualities I've admired in him for quite some time. While I’d like to share what was said, the private and personal nature of the gathering guides me to refrain but rest assured, from my humble vantage point, there is no duplicity between who John Piper is publically and who he is privately.

Needless to say, it was a memorable evening and I'm grateful for Acts 29 and DP for allowing us to be a part of it.

Back from Seattle

I’ve returned from the beautiful mosaic of industrial buildings, patchwork neighborhoods, dizzying roadways and clear waters of Puget Sound that is Seattle. The conference is over but my thoughts have only just begun. When I return from a conference I usually try to review what I learned and circle a few things to apply and work through. This conference has been different for me in that instead of writing down bullet point after bullet point I simply listened more for my heart instead of my head. This season I’m in has been one of deep stirrings, questions and thoughts that mostly have yet to surface. In other words, I don’t know what I’m thinking/feeling, I just know it comes from the depths of who I am.

I wouldn’t read too much into that because I can’t. Frankly, it’s another story for another time, a story whose plot has yet to materialize. There’s some cooking which still needs to be done.

However, I would say this, The Resurgence Conference was good for my soul. The theme was preaching but outside the initial message given by Mark Driscoll very little was said about preaching in my opinion. Like most conferences, the men who came to speak addressed what they wanted to address. For the most part, each did a great job! I was glad and blessed to hear what each had to say. But that wasn’t what made the conference for me. Like my last post alluded to – it focused mainly around relationships.

• I got to meet and hear men I deeply respect – C.J. Mahaney (I want to hang out with this man!), John Piper (a huge influence on my life), Mark Driscoll (I so appreciate both his boldness and sincerity).
  
• I hung out with guys I deeply appreciate – Bruce and Greg (fellow staffers and good friends), Chuck Land and Brandon Baca (sorry we missed you Tim, but Chuck and Brandon were blessings to be around), Darrin Patrick (you never know what a breakfast can turn into – here’s to hoping a partnership may be in the future by God’s grace – no matter how God lays out the future, I’m blessed to know you), and my brother Scott James (thanks for time, albeit brief, that you allowed me to have with you – seeing you made the trip for me).

The conversations, the laughs, the discussions – all of it was food for my spirit. Spending time with men like you makes the trip all worth it. It's fellowship I not only want…it’s fellowship I need. In the coming days and weeks I’ll blog more about the different things I’ve learned but I wanted to begin breaking down my experience by writing about what mattered most to me - people.

More thoughts from my trip to follow…

Old Friends, Friends, New Friends and Friends Yet To Be

This Sunday after preaching I will fly to Seattle to be a part of a preaching conference put on by The Resurgence which is a "movement that resources multiple generations to live for Jesus so that they can effectively reach their cities with the gospel by staying culturally accessible and biblically faithful" or you can simply know it as the ministry led by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church and Acts 29 Network.

While there's no question I can improve my preaching and will learn about doing so at this conference, I'm most excited about being able to take a break from what I do, come up for air from the rigors of ministry and spend time with friends. Actually, it's the "friends" part I'm most pumped about!

I've got planned (at least on paper) to get some time with all different kinds of friends...

• Older Friends: I've got a cherished older friend named Scott who I hope to see. He's "older" not because of his age but because of how long I've known him - since college to be exact - which makes that close to twenty years (man, I am getting old). He has always inspired me with how his life has followed his mission. His mission statement? Help others while having fun. Hey, you may like the way he has decided to help others and want to help too. His job/ministry/mission is Fair Trade Sports.

• Friends: These are the guys I see and hang out with all the time. I so look forward to hanging out with Bruce and Greg who are a part of our leadership team. All of us preach at the church we serve and I can't think of any better men to do it with. I don't just like them as pastor-teachers but more so as guys who are trying to follow Jesus. They're fun and lighthearted but also serious about what's serious. If I didn't see anyone else but just hung out with them it would still be worth going. Add Chuck Land and his crew to the mix and my smile just broadens knowing these guys are coming too. Chuck (plus buddy Tim Barosh) has moved from the new friend to friend stage as time has passed and I'm very grateful for it!
  

• New Friends: This conference gives me a chance to spend some time with Darrin Patrick, a person who I'm developing a friendship with...at least as much of a friendship you can develop when you both serve as pastors at different churches. We've got a breakfast scheduled with each other during the conference, and I'll preach a couple of times at his church this summer so hopefully we'll get to know each other even more. My old college roommate attends his church and for years has prodded me to get to know DP telling me how much we are alike. So I was able to catch up with him when he came to Houston a year or so ago and was glad I followed my ex-roomie's advice. Darrin's a great guy and I look forward to hanging out with him too.

• Friends Yet To Be: This conference is put together by people who I respect and admire both pastorally and personally, so I assume that I may find many kindred spirits there among the attendees. Thus I hope God allows me to meet future friends whose company and fellowship I can enjoy for years to come as we seek to share the Gospel to the world.

Needless to say, I can't wait to leave.

May God in his grace watch over us as we leave, attend and return to our families. Amen.

Looking For The Real God

To know something like this came from a well-known secular TV show is quite amazing, adding to my wonder is how well the writers have put together a stinging indictment on the hollowness of liberal theology which seeks to give people a "one-size-fits-all" god that's not really worth following...or fearing.

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

Study the Bible? Arrrggghhhh!!!!

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
- Psalm 119:105 (ESV)

This past week I began a seminar on how to study the Bible. I was super excited to see we had 14 small groups sign up and attend. It didn't take long for me to get the message that this is something we definitely needed to do. As groups would huddle together to complete various exercises phrases like, "I'm stuck," "We're not sure what to do," and "Boy, this is hard," permeated the evening. Contrary to what some may think, the frustration was a good sign because it highlighted the fact that we were teaching people to use tools which maybe some, if not most, hadn't really used before - and yet these tools were for the most foundational of spiritual disciplines, the study of the Bible. In a culture that is increasingly becoming more and more post-Christian, I would think seminars like this would be essential for spiritual formation. Just another reason that frustration and learning how the study the Bible go hand-in-hand.

Bible study done well takes work. It is usually measured in long hours not short minutes. It forces us to be an active thinker instead of a passive recipient. It demands concentration, and sometimes that's a tall order for generations who've been raised by ADD television programming which pounds our brains with a thousand images a minute. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise us that struggle and difficulties arise after someone puts a passage of Scripture before us and says, "Study this text. Observe, interpret and apply what you read."

Again, the discomfort vocalized last evening only served to remind me that we're doing a good work. We're trying to get Followers of Jesus to learn to feed themselves - to cook their own food, properly handle utensils and enjoy the feast God has for them in his Word. Frankly, I know of nothing more important for a person's spiritual growth than that! So I'll lead another session Thursday night and remind myself that in helping people overcome their fears and frustrations of Bible study by giving them tools for that very work and being patient with the entire process, we're putting people in a position to receive God's grace in a way they may never have experienced before.

And that's definitely something worth working through.

Appreciating Tradition? A Lesson from Church History 101

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
-George Santayana

While I like learning history in general, the story of the church through the ages has especially captured my attention. I can remember in college taking church history courses as electives and sitting there furiously writing notes and listening as best I could, fascinated with how the church has become the church today. It always humors me when I hear others pshaw the past ignorantly celebrating the vain perception that their orthodox beliefs about God are completely self-originating. "All I believe is simply a product of the Bible and me," they proclaim as if, like a duck's feathers to water, their doctrine (and it's development) is impervious to any penetration from sources and influences outside the Scripture.

Yeah, right...and I learned reading, writing and arithmetic from Day 1 because they're so incredibly intuitive.

The truth is what we believe has been influenced greatly by those who have come before us. Dare I say, there is a place where tradition comes into play? Now before I'm raked over the coals and my Protestant card pulled, let me explain what I mean. The word tradition comes from the Latin tradit which means "to entrust" or "to hand down". It's the same word used in the Vulgate (the Latin-translated Bible) when Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:2, "...what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." In other words, "Hey Timothy, take the biblical, orthodox truth I shared with you and pass that down to others, and let those pass it down to the next generation, etc." Tradition.

And church history is really about how faithful (or at times, how faithless) the church has been at handing down the traditions begun by Jesus and the apostles. Admittedly, talking about tradition tends to bug the Protestant in me, but my adverse reaction isn't so much a response to tradition (if it's simply the biblical truth being passed down in ways the church can learn and grow from it) but traditionalism. Traditionalism celebrates the form not the function, the husk not the heart, the ceremony for ceremony sake without any justification from God's Word. Traditionalism sometimes makes tradition equal to Scripture, sometimes (in practice) over Scripture and sometimes departing from Scripture altogether. I have no stomach for traditionalism.

However, learning about tradition, at least in the 2 Timothy 2:2 sake, is something one will cherish as they study church history - how did the church keep its fidelity to Jesus and his Word throughout the centuries? The list is long of the those who faithfully carried the baton: Ignatius, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Athanasius, The Cappadocian Fathers, Ambrose, Leo, Augustine and so on. These men kept to the heart of 2 Timothy 2:2 by developing the traditions for the church which would keep her faithful to Jesus and the Gospel, things such as formulations on the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the Creeds (e.g., Nicene). These traditions were essential for the survival of a church continually attacked doctrinally from both outside and in.

Maybe that's why I see church history as so important today. Once again the Church finds herself plagued with the enemies of orthodoxy (another word for biblical fidelity). It is amazing how much is passed off as solid, evangelical teaching only to be material which takes people further away from the God and Gospel revealed in the pages of Holy Writ. What's the Church to do? I humbly suggest that a good step would be to reengage the study of church history, to reexamine the traditions handed down by the church fathers. I'd bet that most of the heretical and heterodoxical attacks we see today were dealt with by the Church well over a millennia ago. When I study early church history two things impress me: first is how brilliant and exacting these men were in formulating the biblical understanding of the issues of their day. Secondly, I was blown away with how the church fathers fastidiously appealed to the Scriptures to defend and articulate their position - which is a good thing if you're arguing for orthodoxy!

Now that's a tradition I can get behind.

P.S. - The genesis of this post comes from my completion last week of a wonderful little book on the history of the early church by Stephen J. Nichols entitled For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church. I highly recommend it for those who want a brief glimpse into what was going on in the Church during first four centuries after the apostles had passed away...and passed down their traditions. So take a chance and temporarily set aside a book enjoying its 15 minutes of evangelical fame for the story of those whose writings will demonstrate their relevance long after others have been forgotten.

Hope on the Hardwoods

I know this makes three of my last five posts dealing with my son Thatcher but hey, it is what it is...

My son has Asperger's Syndrome. It's somewhat mysterious in that doctors aren't sure how it happens or even how to classify this neurological disorder. Most experts lump it in with autism labeling it an "autistic spectrum disorder" because children who have it display autistic tendencies like underdeveloped social interaction, motor clumsiness and acute fixations that go well beyond normal. Bottom line, my kid is the one with quirks that make him stand out as weird and awkward to other kids his age. Throw in the fact that he's clinically ADHD and you've got a lot on your hands as a parent who trying to find places where his son can fit.

Like basketball.

I come from a family of athletes. My father had the opportunity to play in the NBA, my mother was a tennis player and regional director for the USTA, my middle brother a tennis standout and my youngest brother went to the state tournament in basketball. I, like the rest of my siblings, played every sport under the sun. My father coached me in basketball until junior high. Up to that point we had gone to the championship every year. I cherish the fact I played basketball as a little child growing up. I developed relationships, improved my abilities and generally loved hitting the hardwoods. When I was on the court I felt at home.

Until my son started to play basketball.

We're three weeks into the season now and I can easily see the difference between Thatcher and the rest of his teammates. What takes them relatively no effort to do with blossoming skills he slowly labors with results that, at their best, are half as productive as his peers. They run through layups, he still has a coach guiding him to the basket. They shoot from fifteen feet out, he barely draws iron at four. They pass it to everyone on the team, Thatcher runs up and down the court without ever touching leather.

His teammates know Thatcher is different. Practices come with giggles and teasing at his expense. Little pushes, pokes in the side and the occasional basketball punched out from his hands as he stands in line are par for the course for a child whose impulsive behavior leads him into more trouble than praise. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to notice. Needless to say it's very tough for a dad with my kind of history, but something happened tonight to put things into perspective.

Thatcher's two coaches huddled the team on the floor at the end of practice, a practice in which he'd been teased...again, held everybody up in their drills...again, and run several laps for his behavior...again. But circle-up time showed Thatcher's prowess on a different "court". Thatcher is in a church basketball league where the coaches at some point in the season sit the kids down to share the Gospel with them. So with tracts and a script in hand, his coaches spent the better half of 15-20 minutes talking about Jesus and his work at the Cross. I was watching from a distance when I saw my son raise his hand. One of the coaches said something to him and then the most interesting thing happened.

He began to talk for a few moments...just him...to them...to all of them, coaches and kids. I was too far away to hear but I knew it was something special because each and every kid looked at Thatcher with mouths agape and eyes wide open. They were still. They were riveted. They were in awe. His coaches smiled in bewilderment. It was this "I can't believe this kid can do this" kind of smile. The smile fathers dream their sons would create in others. When Thatcher, who was completely still and reserved during the entire episode, had finished talking, kids were turning to look at each other in amazement and both coaches were giving my son pats on the back and loads of encouragement.

After practice was over I asked one of the them what happened. With a big smile he said, "We started talking about the Gospel and your son volunteered to recite John 3:16 - and he quoted it to us!" The other coach overhearing our conversation excitedly chimed in, "Yeah, and Thatcher didn't miss a word! Not only that but he quoted other Scriptures we used to share the Gospel."

Whoosh! Nothing but net.

When you put it all together, basketball practice becomes quite a large mountain to climb. I know unless something dramatically changes, he'll probably never win MVP of his team or even make the team for that matter. But what Thatcher demonstrated tonight with a group of his peers far outstrips any of his father's lost dreams on the hardwoods. Tonight reminded me that I have been given a great grace and blessing in a son who's received that which is most important. He has the Gospel, not only in his mind but in his heart, and I would gladly trade a thousand dreams for the reality I experience in him.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
- John 3:16 (NIV - Thatch's translation)