Homeschooling Makes Strange "Link-Fellows"

Three years ago last September my first child was born. From the beginning I was eager to determine what to do about his education, and my wife and I decided we would homeschool him. After a quick perusal of available methods we settled on the classical method. Fast forward to today, and that first boy is three years old (he also has a one year old baby brother). I decided it was high time we start preparing in earnest for his schooling, so I started surfing around to various blogs and other websites. As you will know if you've done any homeschool research online, there are millions of pages out there on the topic. Most of these pages are run by homeschooling mothers, which stands to reason since it is most often the mother who does the teaching (thought fathers seem to be taking a more active role, as I intend to).

Just yesterday I added links to a couple of homeschooling blogs, and I couldn't help but chuckle. I showed a friend of mine a blog that I linked because...well...its design is pretty much the antithesis of what I would choose. Click the "classical education 4 me" link and you'll see what I mean. I'm not really a "cross-stitch" kind of guy (or is it needlepoint?). I would not very often use the phrase "cozy cottage." Pink is not my color.

I don't mean to be insulting to Kris, by the way. She has a lot of great content, and that's why I linked her. It's just interesting the way that homeschooling connects two people with very different tastes.

Anyway, I'm excited. My wife and I are going to order The Well-Trained Mind as soon as we have some money and get our preparation started. My father-in-law also ordered a phonics program for my oldest. It supposed to get your kids reading in three weeks, so we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you posted!

My Idea

I had an idea for something to post last night. But I forgot it.

What Am I Doing?!?!

As you may recall, I attempted to write a novel for NaNoWriMo this past year. I FAILED. Miserably. I don't think I made much progress on the novel at all. I was going for a fantasy novel, and I think my idea is pretty good, but the events of November 2005 conspired against me.

Be that as it may, I decided not to discard my story. After all, I still think the idea is good. What I've realized in the last couple of months is that there is more back story that must go into a good fantasy novel than can be written in a month. Characters need to be given histories. Heck, the whole world needs a history, in my opinion. I've been having a LOT of fun developing backgrounds for the different characters and places I've developed. Basically, I have the opportunity to write a world history from scratch. That might sound daunting, but it's actually quite enjoyable. I'm not filling in every single detail, but I'm trying to be fairly thorough.

I've found that this practice can make a big difference in understanding the mindset of the characters. For instance, how would a Vilagal from Kurjik react if he was asked by outsiders to participate in a war that has not touched his village? With suspicion, I assure you! And exactly what motivates the Linodith? Okay, now I'm just throwing out different names from my story, and that's not helpful. What I want to say is, once you get certain people, cultures, and attitudes established it's almost as though the story writes itself. You get to watch history unfold!

I've debated over writing about my story in this blog. Right now I don't think I'll write much more than the occasional vague reference because I don't want to give everything away. After all, it's sure to be a best seller and I'd hate to ruin the suspense now! [/tongue-in-cheek] You never know, though. I might just share the development in relative detail! Well, I guess it's back to story-crafting to me! God bless.

No Santa=No Fun? No WAY!!

Some of those who visit my blog may know that in my family we don't do the Santa Claus thing for Christmas. I've taken some criticism about this. People think that I'm sucking all the fun out of Christmas for my two little boys. Well, I'm going to set the record straight! We have plenty of fun on Christmas, and I thought I'd tell you exactly what we did this year to prove it!

We started out our Christmas season by decorating our tree. Actually, I decided a tree was too dangerous (it might tip over). After racking my brain for a replacement, I pulled a nice, soft pillow off of my son's bed and laid it in the floor. Voila! The christmas pillow! We then started decorating it our beloved pillow. First we got out the lights, but I decided that plugging it in was too much of a shock hazard. Still the christmas pillow looked quite lovely with the little bulbs wrapped around it. Suddenly I realized that those pretty bulbs were easily breakable, so they had to go too. As I was plucking all of the bulbs out of their little sockets, I noticed that the chord was still a choking hazard. What if one of my sons got that wrapped his neck? I couldn't take that chance, so I threw the chord away too.

Next we brought out the ornaments. The first box was full of glass ornaments, which I of course vetoed. My oldest son (three years old) helped me put them in the trash compacter. Oh, you should've seen the tears of joy streaming down his cheeks as I threw the brightly colored balls and figurines of Santa and Frosty in the trash to be crushed. He was so happy!

The next box contained the plaster handprints my boys had made. Now, everyone realizes what kind of breathing trouble plaster dust can cause, so I bagged those suckers up in a sandwich bag on the double. Then, wearing a surgical mask of course, I backed over them with my car. I sucked up any escaping dust with a shop-vac. Threat eliminated.

I came back inside the house to behold a wonderous sight. There was my whole family staring at our Christmas pillow and weeping. I have never been more proud.

My wife looked at me, pointed to our christmas pillow and said, "What are we supposed to do with this!?!" Then she hurried back to our bedroom for some unknown reason. I pondered her question for about a half hour with no results. Finally, an epiphany!! I knew what to do with our christmas pillow.

My wife emerged from our room, picked up our boys and headed toward the door.

"Sweetheart," I said, "I know what to do with our christmas pillow!!"

"SIT ON IT!!" she screamed as she slammed the door in my face.

And by golly, she was right! That was my idea! She always seemed to be a step ahead of me!

So there I was, by myself with the christmas pillow. I guess my wife and the boys went out for more wrapping paper or something. She should be back any day now...

I've Been a Long Time Away, Let's Talk

It's been over a month since I posted anything here, and it's been even longer on the apologetics blog. I guess it was partly because I was wrapping up my second to last semester at Tri-State Bible College, and partly because I didn't have much to say. Or maybe I just didn't feel like saying anything. Either way, I'm back to blogging. At least I'll get one post in for the month of December!

As I said, I have finished another semester at Tri-State Bible College. Come next June I will officially be a college degreed individual. I must say I'm more excited than I thought I'd be. I guess it's because I've been an undergrad for about TEN YEARS now. It hurts to think about that. Still, I wouldn't change much if I had to do it over again. Indeed, what would I change? I certainly wouldn't change my wonderful marriage (five years have flown by!), nor would I change our decision to have children (two beautiful boys!). A family makes a full time job necessary, so I wouldn't change that decision either. Add to that the fact that God has been shaping me for this entire decade, and I don't see many things I would change at all. I can see how every memorable experience has been valuable in shaping me spiritually.

After that, it's on to seminary at Covenant in St. Louis. I'm excited. The community was great on our visit, and the class I attended was thought provoking. This is probably rehashing some of what I wrote in my last post, though, so I'll move on.

I have a few other things I would like to write about here, so they should be showing up shortly. One, Mary Ann and I saw the Chronicles of Narnia this past weekend so I'd like to talk about that. That might have some apologetic impact, so I might post it on the other blog. The other is on the ever-churning Santa Claus controversy. As Christians, should we tell our kids that Santa is real? I might try to post on that today while I'm in the mood to blog.

Let's see, what else...

Check out Steve Camp's blog for a post on John Owen. Reading about this great man of God moved me today. I particularly love this sentence: "His primary motivation was the growth in holiness of his flock." Most pastors today would say, of course, mine is too! And in a way it is. But for Owen and so many other Puritans this dominated their lives. Not church growth, not cultural relevance, but holiness. The means to getting their flocks to the destination? The Bible. The very Word of God. We are too focused on being like the surrounding culture in order to attract it, in my opinion. I focus on this because of the painful lack of holiness in my own life.

In closing, some prayer requests:

We are running low on funds at this time of the year, so pray that we would be wise with our money and faithful to Christ amidst any arising difficulty.

We are also trying to sell our house in preparation for the move to St. Louis. Pray that we are able to do so quickly. If you know anyone who wants to move into the Huntington, WV area, let me know! I might post some pictures of the house a little later.

Talk to you soon!

St. Louis Bound!!!

Big news!! I was recently informed that I have been accepted to Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. Some of you may know that in the past I had considered going into philosophy for my graduate work, but that has changed. I was considering philosophy because I wanted to make a difference in the the world of ideas, but then I began teaching some Bible classes at my church. As I taught on the epistles of John and then Hosea, I began to realize that I was teaching from the most important text that has ever existed. I also have a passion for reform in the evangelical church, and I think that going to seminary and teaching afterward will be the best way I can effect change in the Church. Cultural change can only come after the Church stops trying so hard to imitate the culture.

Pray for me and my family because this is a big move for us. Almost all of our family lives here in West Virginia. We are leaving behind both sets of grandparents, which will be hard for my two sons. It will also be hard for them, particularly my mom. She could also use your prayers. This will be the first time we would officially be "on our own," so it is both exciting and unnerving. Ultimately we would like to be in St. Louis by July of next year so I can take some summer Greek courses.

We will be going to St. Louis for a visit this weekend, so you can also pray for a safe trip for us. We'll be leaving Thursday after I finish work and stopping at a hotel after traveling for a few hours. Interestingly, the hotel room we reserved is in Evansville, IN, the site of the recent tornado. I don't think the hotel was damaged, but we all know about the loss of life there, so if you want to pray for the folks in Evansville as well, be my guest!

I am very much looking forward to seeing the campus and getting a feel for the city of St. Louis. I realize I won't be able to do much of either over a mere weekend visit, but I'll know more than the nothing I know now. I'm supposed to go to class with my friend Shawn who already attends Covenant, which will be fun. Then I will have a tour of the campus and have an admissions interview (cue forboding music). I'm actually not all that nervous about it. I have no idea what they'll ask me, but I've been envisioning an interview like this for the past three or four years. I'm sure it will be different than the way I've pictured it, but I'm still not nervous. Maybe that's foolhardy, but I'm just so excited to have this opportunity nothing drags me down. I'm thankful that God has given me this chance. I very much want to learn how to how to handle His Word carefully.

The Biblical Nature of Calvinism: A Response to Jacob

About two months ago I wrote a post complaining about people who call themselves “Biblicists” in the debate between monergism (Calvinism) and synergism (Arminianism and other similar positions). I admit it was a rant and the tone of the post wasn’t the best that I’ve written, but it is what it is and I won’t edit it to make it sound more measured (I’m sure it’s pretty tame for some people, but not for me). It actually generated more response than any post I’ve written in a while, which is not surprising considering the subject matter.

The most substantive comment came from Jacob, who then expanded his critique on his own blog, Via Crucis. I surfed around Via Crucis for a while, and I like some of what Jacob has written. I particularly enjoyed "The Sharlet Letter", his analysis of Jeff Sharlet’s article “The Young and the Sexless” that came out in Rolling Stone a few months back. I imagine I’ll go back from time to time for a visit.

I must take issue, however, with some of his comments about my post. He criticizes me for holding that it is wrong to be ignorant of “supra-scriptural ‘theology. The point of my original post, however, was that in holding to Calvinist soteriology I do not believe myself to be holding to a supra-scriptural theology. Calvinism is, in my opinion, scriptural. This point will rear its head again later.

Jacob correctly states that I believe that one can be either a synergist or a monergist with no other option. He then goes on to talk about a phone conversation he had to make a point:

Duncan begins by saying that ”…you can either
be monergistic of synergistic with no third option available”, and for the sake
of proving a point, I contacted a Christian friend of
mine:

Me: Hey, I’ve got a question.

Friend: shoot

Me: Would you classify your beliefs as monergistic or
synergistic?Friend: What does that
mean?

Case in point. Now, you may be asking yourself, “What do these terms mean?” or “Where do my views fit into this?” Therein lies my concern with Duncan’s claim. The importance he places on theological systems implies that ignorance of such systems is in some sense wrong

I’m not certain what this phone conversation is supposed to prove. Is it that one can be a Christian without knowing whether you’re a synergist or monergist, or even what the terms mean? If so, that is something I would grant without debate. A little further in the paragraph below the phone conversation, however, Jacob begins to deliver the meat of his first objection:

The importance he places on theological systems
implies that ignorance of such systems is in some sense wrong.

Here again is the assumption that Calvinist soteriology is “supra-scriptural,” a claim which I deny. I hold that Calvinism is Biblical, and therefore ignorance of it is ignorance of Biblical truth, which is never a good thing. However, the heaviest objection comes next:

To say that ignorance (or avoidance) of such issues is unacceptable is to argue against the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures.

He uses 2 Peter 2:13 as support:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence…

Of course, I disagree quite strongly with Jacob’s point. As I study the Bible, reading verses that pertain to the manner in which God brings salvation, I realize that each verse must be brought into harmony. If the Bible is to be inerrant it must be internally consistent. As a result, I have found that God enacts salvation monergistically; that is, He does all of the work from beginning to end without human assistance. The question is, how can a theology taken directly from the pages of the Bible cut against the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures, as Jacob claims? If Jacob or anyone else does not believe Calvinism is taken directly from the Bible, that is fine. We can discuss that point, but by painting Calvinism as “supra-scriptural” Jacob has short-circuited that discussion.

Jacob later insists that it is possible, contrary to my contention, to not be a part of the debate. To that I say, “yes and no.” It is possible to drop out of the debate by simply refusing to discuss it. However, there is no possible way that anyone who studies the Bible thoroughly cannot hold a position on this topic. Ask any Christian what Ephesians 2:8 means:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God

If the Christian says, “it means that even our faith is given to us by God,” then he or she is likely a monergist. If the Christian says something like, “it means that we exercise faith because of God’s gift of grace,” he or she is likely a synergist. With enough study, we will all arrive at one position or another unless we consciously choose to avoid it. But why should we make such a choice? Why choose not to dig deeper into God’s word to find out just what Paul was saying in Ephesians 2:8?

The rest of Jacob’s response misconstrues some of the things I said in my original post. I think this may have been due to the tone with which I wrote it. First, he questions why I call myself a Calvinist if I do not believe that Calvin was right on everything. He states that “By his name you have either (1) studied any and all of John Calvin’s doctrines and found them to be inerrant, or (2) have not studied all of Calvin’s doctrines but have faith that they are inerrant. Those are the only two options, and both are dangerous.” This is a false dilemma because there are certainly options other than the two Jacob presents. At what point did calling one’s self a Calvinist mean that one held Calvin to be inerrant? I call myself a Calvinist for the sake of discourse (the aforementioned third option). I quite happily confess that I believe everything written in the Bible, but people who disagree with Calvinism make the same claim. Since we both hold ourselves to be “Biblicists” we must find some other means of distinguishing between the positions we take. “Calvinism” and “Arminianism” have worked well for hundreds of years, and no one to my knowledge has ever seriously insisted that either Calvin or Arminius were inerrant.

Next Jacob says, “I call myself a Christian – and a Christian only – because I do not question Biblical teaching. Do you consider that claim “pseudo-humble arrogance”?”

The answer is no. This question also stems from my lack of clarity. Whenever I wrote this post, and particularly this bit about “pseudo-humble arrogance” I had specific individuals in mind. Jacob was not one of them, and he still is not. I should have been clearer regarding the sort of person at whom I leveled this criticism. I was thinking more of the “fighting fundamentalist” types. I am not comfortable naming specific names at this time. I will think on it and I may later if I think it is appropriate.

Moving on, we find what is probably the most fundamental claim underlying this critique. “Simply, the term “Calvinism” would be unnecessary if it did not go beyond what the Scriptures teach.” (emphasis in original) This is certainly false, and I think I can demonstrate why. Let’s look at this sentence, but change a key word:

“Simply, the term “Trinitarian” would be unnecessary if it did not go beyond what the Scriptures teach.”

Obviously this is not what Jacob said, and I suspect he affirms the doctrine of the trinity, but I think it demonstrates a good point. Theological terms often exist to differentiate correct theology from false theology. In my opinion, “Calvinism” and “monergism” are simply words that describe correct theology, just as “trinitarianism” is a word that describes correct theology. So you see, it is not as cut and dried as Jacob makes it out to be. There are causes for the use of theological terms other than the one Jacob asserts.

In his final few paragraphs, Jacob again accuses me of following the teachings of men over the teachings of the Bible via 1 Corinthians 1:10-14:

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that
you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported
to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I
mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I
follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for
you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

As I showed above, calling myself a Calvinist does not demonstrate that I am following a man over Christ. If the Word of God convinced me that Calvinism is false I would abandon it that moment, even if John Calvin himself were sitting in the room with me.

Ultimately, my ire was not directed at all people who claim to stick to the Bible, because that is what I do myself. Rather, my ire was directed at those who, in a caustic spirit of arrogance, deny me the ability to claim that I stick to the Bible. Again, I admit that I was somewhat caustic myself in my original post, and I am sorry for that. In venting my spleen I was ungodly, but I still maintain that I am both a Calvinist and a “Biblicist.”

UPDATE!!!!! Jacob has asked if I would be interested in debating the fact that Calvinism is entirely Biblical, and I accepted. I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but we'll see!

NaNoWriMo Returns!!

I just got my e-mail informing me that NaNoWriMo is starting up again. I participated last year but didn't finish. I did, however, write a lot more than I ever had before, so I'm hoping for a victory this year.

For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month." The idea is that during the month of November you write a short novel. 50,000 words, to be exact. It's that simple! That breaks down to 1,666.67 words a day, though you might want to go ahead and throw that 1,667th word in there just to get ahead of the game.

Last year's novel was a bit of a tragic tale about a man and how he copes with the fact that his wife was left brain damaged in a swimming accident. I enjoyed writing it, and wouldn't mind getting back to it some day. I ended with a paltry 20,188 words, but that's just 4,912 words short of halfway!

My novel this year is going to be TOTALLY different. I'm going to write a fantasy novel. I love the idea of inventing my own little world. I've already got a map drawn up and some ideas with where to take portions of the story. I need to settle on exactly what the larger conflict of the book will be though. But, chin up! I have the rest of October to think of that stuff.

Three cheers for NaNoWriMo!! Whee! I'm already giddy with excitement.

Some advice to first timers:

1. Don't worry if it's not an spectacular. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to hit 50,000 words. You can edit and tweak all you want later.

2. Have a plot in mind. You need a basic idea of where you're going or else you won't know how to get there. Things go a lot more quickly if you're not wandering aimlessly.

3. Have fun! Yeah, yeah, I know it's a lame thing to say, but that's what this is all about. Enjoy your time writing, and when it's all over you can truthfully claim to have written a novel!! And who knows, it might actually be good!

4. Visit NaNoWriMo.org early and often. They can give you much better advice than I can, you can commiserate if the need be, or even look up writers from your area. Plus, visiting the site gets you into that crazy, whimsical NaNoWriMo frame of mind.

By the way, be sure to check out my awesome "NaNoWriMo Participant" pic to your right. Oh yeah. You know you want that pic. Sign up!

New Link

I just added "Dead Christians Society" to my blog links. I have an interest in Church History, so it promises to be a fun blog to read. It's run by Chris Armstrong, Bethel professor and managing editor of Christian History Magazine. Enjoy!

My One Year Anniversary Has Passed!!

I can't believe it! I missed my one year blogging anniversary! On September 10, 2004 I made my initial post on this very blog. Frankly, I didn't think I had the fortitude to keep it up. It's been good for me, though. Hopefully I've been able to hone my writing skills in a year's time, but I'll have to go back through and check that out.

My track record is all the more pleasing when I consider that I've also been posting on The Huntington Apolgetics Team blog since December last year. I don't suppose that I've been all that prolific, though. There are people who write twice as much in a day as I do in a couple of weeks, but I didn't get into this to win some sort word counting contest.

Anyway, happy birthday to me! I'm officially one year old!

Have some virtual ice cream cake.

Back From Vacation

I suppose I should've posted something about this before going on vacation, but I was off of work last week. I took the liberty of vacationing from blogging as well. I had a pretty good week, even though we didn't go anywhere. In fact, it's quite possible that I had a good week because we didn't go anywhere. Heck, I even gave the lawn a good mow/trim/edge and stripped the wax off the kitchen floor. If you know me, you know that's generally not my idea of a good time, but somehow I enjoyed it.

The best part of vacationing at home is that it is a vacation in the truest sense. No stress, no long trip, no financial crunch. I could just relax with my family and enjoy a job-free week. Plus, I avoided the need for a "post-vacation vacation." How many times have you taken a vacation trip only to be more exhausted when you return? Give me the comforts of home over some scorching hot beach anytime.

We also celebrated my son Max's 3rd birthday on Saturday (his actual birthday was Sunday). The party was great, and it was a joy to watch his face as he opened his presents. He got a lightsaber for his birthday, and since he already had one we can now engage in lightsaber duels. He and my brother-in-law Brad, who is a fellow Star Wars fan, were dueling out in the front yard during the party. The best part was when Max used his "force powers" on Brad. He stuck his hand out and "pushed" Brad down several times during the duel.

Another welcome pleasure is the beginning of the semester at Tri-State Bible College. This is my last year as an undergrad! By this time next year I will be a degreed individual. I might post on my grad school prospects after lunch.

Calvinism vs. Arminianism...vs. Biblicism?

As I have indicated in a few recent posts, I am a Calvinist. I have some friendly debates with some friends every once in a while, but generally I'm not an "in your face" type. I'll leave that to James White. He gets a little mean for my taste, though he does have a lot of good information to share. But I digress.

As I said, I'm generally not a confrontational, "in your face" kind of guy, but I have heard something that some non-Calvinists have said that sends me into convulsions. In order to set the scenario, let's say that a Calvinist is dialoguing with non-Calvinist. Often the Calvinist will draw a dichotomy between Calvinism and Arminianism on the grounds that you can either be monergistic of synergistic with no third option available. We'll leave the question of the adequacy of these definitions to the side for now. There is a response to this that kills me, and I've heard it several times now. Some of you other Calvinists may have heard this before as well.

"I'm not a Calvinist or an Arminian. I'm a Biblicist."

GRRRRR!

There are several things that get me fired up when I hear this. First, it's a cop-out that doesn't recognize what the Calvinist is saying. You fall into one of the two camps no matter what. Second, it's insulting to the Calvinist (and to Arminians, I suppose). In essence, the non-Calvinist is saying, "You're following the teachings of some man." Are we supposed to ignore the exegetical work that has been done? Do they think that we venerate Calvin so much that we do not question his teaching? We are Calvinists because we believe in the Bible. Third, it drips of pseudo-humble arrogance. "You can have your fancy theological systems. I'll stick with the Bible." Friend, this "fancy theological system" is derived from the Bible. Please tell me how you've transcended the debate such that neither label applies to you.

Bottom line: You are monergistic or synergistic, end of story. Denying a title because it has a man's name in the title gets you no points.

Phew. I feel better.

One New Link

I just added another link to the blogroll. Idea Soup is the name, and with a guy named "Josh" at the helm it's gotta be good. There was a bit of a delay between his last post and this one, so I was waiting to see if he would post again before I linked him. He did. So I did. Welcome to the blogroll, Josh!

I Want an iPod and YOU can Help!!!

Maybe I'm a doofus, but I've been itchin' to get my hands on an iPod lately, so when I saw a chance to get one for free I decided to go for it. So, if you have an ounce of compassion in your heart :p, click this link:

http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=21463311

and sign up for one of the free offers. You have to click on that link otherwise I won't get credit for referring you. I need five people to sign up for offers, so dive in!


Don't you love people you don't know asking you to sign up for stuff so they can get something for free?

Some Notes on the Music in My Life

I have officially discovered another band...or artist, I guess, since he's really only one guy. If you have a thing for melancholy music with breathy vocals and poetic lyrics (and I know you do), you will love Iron and Wine. Iron and Wine is actually a guy from Miami named Samuel Beam. A lot of his stuff is very simple (at least partly because it was recorded on a 4-track recorder), which I like. It seems that lately he has been doing some more complex stuff, like in the song "Woman King." I didn't care for it at first, but I'm starting to come around. Anyway, Iron and Wine comes highly recommended.

Beyond that, my brother and I are going to form a "band" of sorts. We've actually been working on some songs for over a year, but I kind of...well...quit working on anything. But I'm back on the wagon now, so who knows what sort of greatness we'll achieve!!! We've gone through several "band names" but nothing seems to really grab us, so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to offer them up.

I'm Going to JAIL!!!!

I was sitting at my desk at work, minding my own business when I get this phone call. It seems there is a warrant out for my arrest. Thursday, September 1st, I will be going to jail for an hour in support of the MDA telethon. Who swore out my warrant? Not a clue, but I'll tell you this: I look fantastic in black and white stripes. There will be a website through which people can make donations to "bail me out," so I'll post that link as soon as possible.

Heh. I wonder what made someone pick me? I was under the impression that people usually picked their bosses or department managers for this sort of thing. I have exactly zero employees under me. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I get to assist in MD research, not to mention that I think the whole thing sounds kind of fun.

I'll keep everyone updated.

Totally New Ministry Paradigm!!!!

Brothers and sisters, we are on the cusp of something huge. Once in a generation a new idea comes along that is so innovative, so amazing, that it provides a new ministry paradigm for the Church. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I think I just may have stumbled across such a paradigm, ladies and gentlemen.

You might be thinking, "Is he talking about the Emergent Church?"

Heh. Not even close.

No, this idea is so revolutionary it makes Brian McLaren look like a clone of John R. Rice. It makes Robert Schuller sound like Jerry Falwell. Prepare yourself for the future of Christian ministry, my friends. Let this essay mark the kickoff of the Brass Pole Movement!

I was first alerted to this idea by the estimable theologian and exegete Dr. Jessica Simpson. As many know, Dr. Simpson has quite a distinctive method of outreach. She has been ministering in non-traditional ways for a while, but she really began pushing the envelope in her video entitled, "These Boots Were Made for Walking." Some close-minded Christian organizations began criticizing her, saying that her methods were inappropriate (see this Softpedia article). A prophet is without honor in her hometown, Dr. Simpson.

At first I agreed with the criticisms, but then I read Simpson's devastating biblical defense of her new methodology:

"I think that if they're really good Christians the judgment wouldn't be there."

How can one argue with such resistless logic? Notice how succinct she is in stating her position! Sometimes one sentence is all it takes to show what a clear thinker you are, eh Dr. Simpson? You have revealed to us all exactly how deep your Christian worldview has impacted your thinking. Good for you.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Simpson's new model for outreach has changed the way I will view ministry for the rest of my life. The Brass Pole Movement (hereafter BPM) is a cutting edge way to draw in those who are not interested in traditional church. Every Sunday morning Frat Houses would sit empty, with young college men lining the front rows of our churches. And all because of the new "ushers" on the church's staff! What an opportunity!

Consider also how this could impact fundraising! Do you need to get your youth group to Central America for a summer mission trip? Three words: Bikini Car Wash. In the BPM, which is much more compassionate and far less judgmental, such things are possible! Even encouraged!

Won't you join me in moving toward this groundbreaking paradigm for ministry? It is a sad fact that upbeat music and therapeutic preaching just don't draw in some types of people, friends! We need to push the ministry envelope to draw them in. Otherwise, all we will have left is the Gospel, and we all know that won't work!

A Couple of New Links

I've been adding links at an alarming rate lately! Here are the latest: First I broke down and added James White's Alpha and Omega Ministries. Also, Tom Ascol started a Founders Ministries Blog, and has some excellent series of posts examing an article by Dr. Steve Lemke that conflates Calvinism and Hyper-Calvinism. That error is disturbingly common...

Thoughts on My First Sermon

If you've read my blog over the last week or so you know that last night I delivered my first full length sermon. I preached on 1 John because I had taught on it before and was relatively familiar with the content. The text of my sermon is below, but I thought I'd give you an account of how the evening went down, as well as my impression of how the sermon went.

My wife and I found Kenwood Missionary Baptist Church with no problem. It's a small, semi-rural church in the Ashland/Russell area of Kentucky. We were met by Mark Thompson, a man in his early fifties who had only been a Christian two years. I loved talking to him because I could see a love for God's word in him that few Christians have today. He was hungry. I ended up looking at him for most of the time I spent in the pulpit because I could see his eagerness.

The service itself was a bit of a blast from the past. There were a number of similarities between this church and the church I attended as a boy. Even one of the special songs reminded me of something my grandmother would have loved. Before long, though, it was time for me to speak.

My intention was to go about 25-30 minutes, but I missed that mark a bit. My wife told me it was probably about 45 minutes long. Oops! And here I was worried that I wouldn't have enough material. The people, though, were kind and loving and they didn't seem to mind the sermon's length. I even got a hug from a 3 year old little girl in the audience.

The sermon itself was a mixed bag. Before I continue with my remarks, let me say that I fully believe that God can do whatever He wills with any sermon. I don't mean to indicate my efforts were the most important thing yesterday evening. But let's get on with it. My sermon wasn't as tight as I would have wanted. It didn't flow that well in places, particularly from the introduction to the actual body of the sermon. For some reason in the introduction I focused on others recognizing our Christianity rather than gaining assurance ourselves.

I was fairly happy with the rest of the sermon. I think I got to cover the basics of 1 John fairly well. It just needs some refining. As I said, the text of the sermon is posted below, pretty much as it was preached. The only alteration I made was to replace the King James Biblical citations with English Standard Version ones. I hadn't used my KJV for a long time, but many churches around here still prefer it, so I used it so as not to offend people. I don't think they're King James Only at Kenwood, but it is still used in most churches around here.

Hopefully you'll enjoy reading the sermon below, and I'd welcome your comments.

1 John: A Sermon on Christian Assurance

Bumper stickers. Fish symbols. Sloganeering bracelets. T-Shirts that adapt popular brand names with Christian words. I’ve seen a shirt where the clothing company “Abercrombie & Fitch” becomes “A Breadcrumb and Fish,” referring to the feeding of the 5000. These are the sorts of things that many people use to demonstrate their Christianity. Yet some polls indicate that a great number of self-professed born again Christians do not live differently than non-Christians. I don’t think bumper stickers and bracelets are wrong in and of themselves, but we must admit to ourselves that these are shallow ways to show Christ to people. It’s a sort of “non-committal commitment.” It allows us to soothe our consciences that we are publicly Christian without having to really invest in the lives of other people or say something considered offensive.

But what about things that seem less shallow? How about carrying your Bible to school or work? Or praying over your meal? What about a five minute morning devotion? Surely these are excellent ways to demonstrate you commitment to Christ! Well, though they are commendable on some level, they too fall short of demonstrating one’s Christianity and providing assurance for you personally. It would be easy for a non-Christian to do this, don’t you think? We could probably envision a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness doing these things.

Introducing 1 John and Establishing Context
Since we are running out of options, here, let’s go ahead and turn to the Bible for the true answer to how we demonstrate our Christianity to ourselves and others. Let’s turn to the book of 1 John. It’s my hope that we will be able to cover the book in its entirety tonight. I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but I really like the idea of preaching on a book of the Bible as a whole. When we do that we get a better picture of what the author, be he Paul, John, or whomever, intended to communicate in his writings. I think sometimes we read the Bible as though the verses aren’t connected to each other, and that’s a problem. It is very important to understand the context of a passage before we can fully understand what the human writer and God Himself wanted to say.

Something else I like to do for messages like this one is establish the historical context in which the book was written. What event or events motivated the writer, other than the urging of the Holy Spirit? For instance, we know the book of Philemon was written because Paul had met Onesimus, a slave of Philemon’s, and led him to Christ. Onesimus had wronged Philemon and Paul wanted to make amends. But what motivated John to write his letter? I’ll try to keep my historical remarks brief and then get on to the Word itself.

It is pretty well established that John was writing his first epistle at least partially in response to some false teaching, as well as the conduct of the teachers, who were once part of the church, and were spreading the aforementioned falsehood. These teachers, later called “Gnostics,” believed that anything physical was evil. The spirit, they thought, is good, but anything physical, like a human body, is evil. It doesn’t take long, if you claim to be a Christian, to run into trouble if you believe a physical body is evil. Jesus Himself had a body. For these Gnostic teachers it would be impossible for God to actually have a body, so they denied that He did. Some of them believed that it just seemed as though Jesus had a body.

Not only did they have problems with Jesus’ human body, they had trouble with what to do with their own bodies. “If the body is evil,” some of them thought, “then it doesn’t matter what I do with it!” Some Gnostics took advantage of the opportunity to indulge in their own sins, and John directly attacked the Gnostics on both of these fronts. Without further ado, let’s dive into 1 John.

How Do I Know I Am a Christian?
One major problem that arose from the error of the false teachers is that some people began doubting their salvation. For one thing, these false teachers had strange view of salvation, and since these were people who may have had a great deal of influence and charisma, it caused doubts to creep into the minds of the Christians to whom John was writing. He wanted to reassure them that they could know for certain whether they were truly saved or not. As 5:13 states, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” In fact these teachers who had left the church were demonstrating that they were not saved. John uses their actions as a “how to demonstrate that you’re a non-Christian” so we could know the sorts of actions that should provide assurance for a Christian. John chooses three areas to put his readers’ minds at ease. First, according to John, the Christian must hold to the basic doctrines of the faith. As we said, these false teachers did not believe that Christ came in the flesh. Second, the Christian should love his brothers and sisters in Christ. Finally, we must be obedient to the commands of Christ. Let me stress that John is not saying that these things are prerequisites for salvation, or that you must do these things to keep your salvation. The Bible is clear that we are not saved by works, nor is it our job to “keep our salvation” through our actions. God takes care of that. Incidentally, all three of these ideas are woven into the fabric of 1 John. They don’t appear in just one place, they appear and reappear as John writes, so we’ll be bouncing around in the text a bit.

Upholding the Basic Doctrines of the Faith
As we’ve already pointed out, John was battling against the idea that Christ did not actually have a human body. Dispensing with traditional greetings, he wastes no time in attacking that idea in 1:1-2. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- 2the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us--” John was leaving no doubts in the minds of the readers of this letter; he was there with Jesus, and Jesus really had a physical body. Later, in 4:2-3 John has chilling words about these false teachers.: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

Some of you may be wondering, “what does it matter if Jesus had a physical body or not?” As it turns out, if Jesus was not human like us, then He could not have died for our sins. As Hebrews 2:17-18 states, “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” What this is saying is that it was necessary for Christ to become like us, that is, human, so that He could reconcile us to God. So the denial of Christ’s humanity was no small matter. It means everything to our salvation.

Now let’s take this in a bit of a more general direction. Some people don’t want to bother with doctrine at all. Why not just, “love God,“ they ask. “Doctrine divides,” they say. They think that as Christians we should be unified, and we should, as John will point out. However, it is also vital to note that 1 John, which I think of as one of the most love and unity oriented books of the New Testament, actually encouraged division over essential doctrines. Why? Because when people reject the basic doctrines of Christianity they reveal that they were never a part of the family of God to begin with. Read 1 John 2:22-23: “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” These false teachers denied Christ by trying to strip Him of His humanity. In the process, they lost the father as well.

I don’t mean to indicate that every little disagreement merits a heresy trial. For instance, if we have two hypothetical men, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Jackson, and they disagree over whether pastors should receive a salary from the Church or not, that they should declare each other heretics and never speak to one another again. That would be extreme because the doctrine is not central to the faith. Unfortunately, however, that sort of thing happens in far too many churches. So doctrine, we see, is quite useful in dividing the true Church from the false professors.

Christian Unity and Love
As we read on in 1 John, we begin to discover other things about these false teachers. For instance, their love for this false teaching had caused them to leave the Church. Ultimately, as we saw, their departure was a good thing. I’m going to take a chance and state the obvious here: It is never a good idea to have influential people teaching falsehoods in your Church, especially about the nature of Christ Himself. However, simply focusing on kicking the bad guys out does not reveal the sort of Christian character that can aid in giving us assurance of our own salvation. We can mentally assent to any doctrinal statement without having a truly regenerate heart. Have you ever run across someone who delights in finding reasons to run people out of a church? Such a person is dangerously out of balance in his or her spiritual life. Were I this person I would examine myself closely and carefully to make certain of my salvation, because John indicates a lack of love for Christian brothers and sisters is something to be taken seriously.

John states over and over that love for our family in Christ is an essential component of the Christian life. Chapter 2:9-11 reads, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

If we carry hatred in our hearts for Christian people, John indicates that the reality of our salvation is in doubt. But by the same token, if we love our fellow Christians, we can be sure of our salvation. This is a beautiful truth. Look at 3:10: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” It is manifest that we are God’s children when we love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We’ve spent a decent amount of time talking about the love we should have for our fellow Christians, but we need to address what this love should look like. Should we follow the world’s perception of love and just let everyone fulfill their own desires? John reveals how we are to demonstrate our love in 3:16-19: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;”

These verses can surprise a lot of people. “This is how we show Christian love?” they think. It seems incredibly unspiritual at first glance. Providing for physical needs? Of course John would encourage things like prayer for those in need, but giving to a brother who needs it is, I think, putting your money where your mouth is. Anyone can mouth words to someone, but it takes a real Christian, someone like Barnabas, to give away goods. Do you want to show your Christian brother you love him? Mow his lawn. Buy his dinner. Pay a bill he is late on, as long as that is not a habitual problem. These acts need to grow out of a compassion in your heart that only God can provide. I know, I’ve experienced it. God can put a love in your heart even for that guy who gets on your last nerve.

Our hearts should be moved by stories of our brothers and sisters in need. I think sometimes American Christians, because of the plenty we experience here, forget about the need of Christians around the world. Let me encourage you to forgo buying that latest gadget or beautiful skirt. Search your heart and see if you can find something better to do with that money. I’m not saying don’t buy anything nice for yourself, but if we’re honest we will admit that we have plenty. Open your heart to the needs of your fellow Christians.

The flip side of that is that sometimes we get too prideful to ask for help. Christian, if you are in some sort of difficult situation, don’t try to go it alone. We are called to bear each others’ burdens. Let go of your individualistic pride and give your brother the opportunity to serve you. Not only can this be a confirmation of what John said about Christian love and assurance, but it can also commend Christ to people quite well. We are to be known for our love for each other.

Obedience to the Commands of Christ
John has now provided two ways in which a person can gain assurance of their salvation. Do you believe in sound doctrine? Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? If you said yes on both accounts, that should provide a great degree of assurance in your own heart. There is, however, one final way which John indicates can be an avenue of assurance. Read 2:3-5: “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him:”

How many people do you know that tell you, “Oh, I’m a Christian. I prayed some prayer when I was seven,” or, “I went forward at a revival,” or something else of that nature, but when you take a look at their life they live no differently than they did before their conversion? I’ve seen a lot of that. According to John, that sort of thing should cause us to stop and think. Are such people truly saved? Ultimately we don’t know anyone else’s heart, so we can’t say for certain, but John’s words should be a wakeup call for everyone.

A life characterized by sin is good evidence against someone’s salvation. Listen to what John says to that effect in 3:4-6: “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” When reading these verses we have to be careful because it can sound like a Christian will never sin if we don’t take investigate further. I can hear someone say, “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not? Are you saying that a Christian will never sin?” Of course not, because that would contradict statements John himself made, such as this one in 1:8- “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” What, then, does John mean? In the original languages the word “sinneth” means “a lifestyle of sin.” It is someone who lives continuously in sin.

To be sure of our own salvation, and to demonstrate our salvation to others, we must be obedient to the commands of Christ. Since this is the case, it is only natural that we should go on to discover these commandments. Fortunately, John offers us some help. In 3:24 John says “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.”

Conclusion and Application
How beautiful! John gives us three things; three seemingly separate areas in which we should be able to gain assurance of our salvation. But then he comes and shows us that these three things, doctrine, love for the brethren, and obedience, are really one.

I believe in the power of the Word of God. Whenever we dig into the Bible and ask God to change us to His standard, to make His character our character, these three things will grow in our lives and we will know that, to quote 5:13 again, “that ye have eternal life.” I want you to be encouraged, Christian. In your darkest moments reflect on your life. Is it characterized by sin? No? Be assured. Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? Yes? Be assured. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, both God and man, as your savior? Yes? Then above all else, be assured. Jesus has prepared a place for you in heaven.

Some of you may be thinking, “I don’t have all of these things. Are you saying I’m not a Christian?” That is not something I can know for certain, but I do know what John has said in this epistle, and you should examine your life to make certain of your salvation. This is too important to let pride or stubbornness stand in the way.

Still others of you may say, “I’m not a Christian at all, and I don’t claim to be. What does 1 John say to me?” Well, friend, you still need to take that first step. You need to believe the truth about Jesus. He is the Son of God, and He is truly man. He died to deliver His people from their sins, and this salvation is offered to you tonight.

If you take anything home with you tonight, take this phrase, which I think captures the essence of 1 John. It is our obedience to Christ in loving our brothers, and our love of true doctrine, that will demonstrate our Christianity. To God be the glory.