I'm Done With Blogger.com

Beta-blogger greatly discouraged me...

Because of the pain, I am switching to Wordpress blogs.

From this point forth, I have combined our married-persons blog and my blog into one and you can find it here: largerneedle.wordpress.com

Eipscop-Alien Gospel and The Need For "Fences"

Upon reading a blog post by Mark Driscoll on TheResurgence, I learned that the Episcopal (Anglican) Church has elected a female leader for their denomination in Katharine Jefferts-Schori. The pro-feminism, pro-homosexual marriage Jefferts-Schori is the first female leader of the denomination which has been in existence for approximately 500 years. If you want to read a bit more on her, you can check out the link I provided above.

However, if you do check out the post Driscoll, you may want to also check out another link provided in the "comments" section of that blog, of an article on Jefferts-Schori by Time Magazine. (Note: I am no longer typing the "Jefferts-" part of her last name...considering her hyphenation is probably some feminist attempt to remain independent of her husband.) In said article, there is some very revealing information when Schori answers questions asked of her by the journalist. I will post the ones that I think are most alarming:

• Question: What will be your focus as head of the U.S. church?
  Answer: Our focus needs to be on feeding people who go to bed hungry, on providing primary education to girls and boys, on healing people with AIDS, on addressing tuberculosis and malaria, on sustainable development. That ought to be the primary focus.
• Question: The issue of gay bishops has been so divisive. The diocese of Newark, N.J., has named a gay man as one of its candidates for bishop. Is now the time to elect another gay bishop?
  Answer: Dioceses, when they are faithful, call the person who is best suited to lead them. I believe every diocese does the best job it's capable of in discerning who it is calling to leadership.
• Question: Many Anglicans in the developing world say such choices in the U.S. church have hurt their work.
  Answer: That's been important for the church here to hear. We've heard in ways we hadn't heard before the problematic nature of our decisions. Especially in places where Christians are functioning in the face of Islamic culture and mores, evangelism is a real challenge. [But] these decisions were made because we believe that's where the Gospel has been calling us. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has come to a reasonable conclusion and consensus that gay and lesbian Christians are full members of this church and that our ministry to and with gay and lesbian Christians should be part of the fullness of our life.
• Question: What is your view on intelligent design?
• Answer: I firmly believe that evolution ought to be taught in the schools as the best witness of what modern science has taught us. To try to read the Bible literalistically about such issues disinvites us from using the best of recent scholarship.
• Question: Is belief in Jesus the only way to get to heaven?
  Answer: We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box.
• Question: What is your prayer for the church today?
  Answer: That we remember the centrality of our mission is to love each other. That means caring for our neighbors. And it does not mean bickering about fine points of doctrine.

Though she claims Isaiah 61 is her favorite passage of the Bible, I don't know that Schori has read the rest of Holy Scripture.

Her primary...PRIMARY...focus is to feed the hungry, heal diseases, and provide education. These are good things for Christians to practice, but are they our primary focus? What happened to the worship of Jesus? Is it not the desire for Jesus to be worshiped and for his glory to be known - through the gospel - that Christians take action in the world? Without our foundation, there will be no fire that sends us out to do good works, that people might see them and "give glory to our Father who is in Heaven", Christians become humanists rather than Jesus-lovers, and the renown of Christ is belittled.

If a diocese elects a gay bishop, then their so called "discernment" is nullified and no one should submit to their leadership. Yet, according to Schori, there is no discrepancy between a diocese being "faithful" and their election of a gay bishop.

If gays and lesbians are indeed full members of the church of Jesus, well...then we have been deceived by the Bible: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. 6:9-10. The funny thing is...Paul says in that passage "do not be deceived"...thus, we know Schori is out of bounds in saying just the opposite.

If reading the Bible "literalistically" (I thought it was just "literally", evidently we must add "istical") disinvites us from scholarship...so be it. We are not here to reject the literal teachings of the Bible for the sake of being invited into a scholarly fraternity.

Here's the one that burns me (and Jesus) the most: To say that Jesus is the only way to God is to put God in an "awfully small box." To make little of the sovereign plan of God - in which he crucified his own Son to appease the wrath he had against us, adopting us into the family of God, securing for us an eternity spent with him - by calling it a "small box" is indeed blasphemous. Katharine Schori looks at Jesus and says, "What you have done is not big enough for me."

And to sum up her prayers for the church, she says that she would have us remember that the centrality..CENTRALITY...is to love each other. All this time...2000 some-odd years...and the church has been centered around the wrong thing. Thank you, Katharine Schori, for clearing that up. Our center is no longer Jesus. Our center is no longer the gospel. Our center is no longer the hope of having Christ as your portion forever. Nope...our center is a vague definition of love (see this post).

I plead with all who read this: Build fences around the gospel of Jesus Christ, who bore your sins. Protect it by establishing truths from the Bible. Draw lines when it comes to doctine. And over time, those who would call you unloving for doing so will no longer have a gospel. They will have their "feet firmly planted in mid-air". Be careful that your passion for unity does not truncate your REASON for unity: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mind you...we are watching as the Episcopal denomination has declared itself higher than the very Word of God. Remind you of anything.....?....

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?

"But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'

"...she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."

- Gen. 3:1,5,6

"Truth loves the light, and is most beautiful when most naked."

- Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor

Book Review: No Place for Truth (Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology)

I am so stoked that I actually found a big picture of a book.

Anyways...I'm not sure I can do a brief book review for this one. It covers way too many topics; so much so that it's hard to believe that David Wells stuck it all inside this relatively small book. Nonetheless, I shall do my best.

I think maybe the best route would be to do a bulleted list of some of the things he covers, and then I'll say a few words (as if they matter).

-The decline of the church as the center of communities.
-The decline of communities.
-The effects of modernism on society.
-The effects of modernism on the church.

-The disappearance of theology (and thinking for that matter) from the church.
-The rise of "businessmen-as-pastors" and the decline of real shepherds.
-The predicament of our "advancing" society and the type of person it produces.
-Shallowness in the understanding of God in the church (see bullet #5 from above).
-Several ironies:
a) America's people beg for more options (in everything), yet the options leave them overwhelmed and less-productive.
b) The de-emphasis of theology in order to focus on evangelism; yet the de-emphasis of theology makes evangelism disappear (because evangelism is rooted in good theology).
c) The incorporation of secular management techniques in churches that condemn the practices of secular culture.

The list could go on. When I read this book, I felt as though I had a bird's-eye-view of what is going on with the American church. Wells is verbose; but if one takes the book slowly (a must) and follow his lines of thought, his crystal-clear conclusions come into view, leaving the reader dumbfounded at what is going on in everyday life. Sometimes we are so rooted in culture, we are not able to diagnose its maladies. I am thankful for Wells, as he untangles the knots of complication that are the trends of the American church. This book is the first in a four-part series. Be looking for book reviews of the other in the future, and hopefully I can tie them all together.

The Necessity of The Minister's Self-Watch

By now many of you have heard of the controversy surrounding former president of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of the 14,000 member New Life Church, Ted Haggard. He was accused of paying for sex from a homosexual male prostitute (which he denies). However, what has surfaced is that he did pay to receive massages from him and purchased methamphetamines from him. All of these discoveries were made after he denied even knowing his accuser. It is a horrible, horrible situation and I can't imagine what his wife and five kids are going through.

However, this blog post is not to rant about that, but to point you to a recent blog post by Mark Driscoll on the dangers of pastoring and a bulleted list of practical helps that ministers should pay heed to in order to flee from sin and temptation. I learned much by reading it and I think it's profitable for anyone planning on doing faithful ministry.

Also, a reminder to anyone who chooses to exalt himself over Haggard as though they have a better ability to resist sin...I quote you Allen Duty: "The only difference between us and him is inches...we are all only inches away from temptation and sin all the time." We are not good people; and we sure as heck do not have any power in and of ourselves to resist sin. We must press into Christ to know him and love him more; building a hatred for sin and an intense love for holiness.

The NBA and The Son of Man

You don't expect to read an article like this when you're rummaging through ESPN.com. Well, at least if you're me. Needless to say it caught my attention for a good while.

For those of you who clicked on the above link, saw the article, and decided you did not have time to read the whole thing...here's the skinny. Lamar Odom, a forward for the Las Angeles Lakers, has had some recent suffering in his life. His offseason included burying his infant son Jayden, the death of his aunt, and a robbery at gunpoint in Queens, NY (he was shot at as the robber fled the scene). Thus, Mr. Odom has been sobered. Apparently - and rightfully so - the death of his infant son has done the most to awaken him to reality. According to the article, he has been thinking much about death, evil, etc. All of which is enough to make a human question what is going on in the world.

However, his response is quite intriguing. He is coming out with his own line of clothes. What will they look like, you ask? Well, for an example one can view the above image on this blog post. The clothing line is called "Son of Man" and the clothes will exhibit pictures of Jesus as Odom interprets them from the Bible. The one above, as you can tell, is the Jesus who is coming back "not too happy" as Mr. Odom would say. He hopes that his clothing will make a statement about Jesus being a real role-model/icon for youngsters to look up to, as opposed to current day rappers and athletes who do not do such a good job of the aforementioned. Though outerwear is involved in his response, do not dismiss Odom's thinking as merely skin deep. His pain is real and he is clamoring for something.

The article goes on to talk about how the recent tragedies have turned him back to his roots as he was raised going to church. However, he also mentions something about the Quran - as though he is interested in it as well - and he has hired a Muslim cleric to teach him about Islam. What does this all mean? Beats the heck out of me. It seems though that death has Odom thinking about eternity so much that he is reaching in different directions trying to find something. So, I posted this for several reasons. 1) If you remember, pray Jesus would speak to Odom as he rummages through the Bible, and that he would be drawn to Jesus and not Mohammad. 2) Pray Jesus would be seen as more than just a role model. 3) Be on the lookout for these clothes...what a great conversation starter! 4) I just thought it was incredibly interesting.

(P.S. - I say "Son of Man" is way better than "Jesus is My Homeboy")

The Goose and the Gospel

Jan Hus, 1380-1415

He's not the most popular reformer out there. In fact, his memory lives in the shadow of his own successors Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. Some may not even wish to call him a "reformer" seeing as how he died a century before anything sparked the movement we know as the Reformation. Yet, I hope that a brief recounting of his story will show a couple of things in light of this year's Reformation Day:

1) God keeps people for himself in every generation, despite the dark clouds that well up and try to blot out the glory of the gospel in some eras.

2) The sovereignty of God in bringing about the Reformation.

Jan Hus was born a Bohemian (modern-day Czech Republic) in 1371 [Important: "Hus" is the Bohemian word for "goose", and he referred to himself as such, as did his friends]. Though he was born a peasant, he pursued a path in higher education and enrolled at the University of Prague where he received a masters degree in 1396, became professor of theology in 1398, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1400. This time period was actually quite messy for the Roman Catholic church, for this is when "The Great Schism" took place.

The schism describes a split in the authority of Roman Catholicism. Under pressure from the King of France, the seat of the Popes was moved the Avignon France where it remained for 70 years (now called the "Babylonian Captivity" of the church, referring to the 70 years that the Jews were enslaved to the Babylonians). In 1376, the pope returned to Rome and died. Thus, his accompanying French cardinals were pressed to elect another pope. However, feeling the pressure from the citizens of Rome, they elected an Italian pope. Afterward, they fled and denounced their decision claiming they were under pressure; therefore, their papal election was void. From France, they then elected another pope who was French. Now there were two popes, and to settle the matter they arranged the Council of Constance. At the council, they elected another pope...hoping the other two would step down (which they did not do). Therefore, the successor of the third pope - Pope John XXIII - decided to subdue his rivals by force. In order to do this, he would have to raise money for a war effort to supply his men with weapons, armor, etc. He chose as his fundraising method the selling of indulgences; that is, if one pays enough money, he/she can buy spiritual blessings. The selling of indulgences was rampant and Hus was not about to tolerate it.

(During this time it is important to note that Hus had been greatly affected by the writings of John Wycliffe...another pre-Reformation reformer). Hus spoke out against the indulgences and other Roman Catholic practices, such as the belief that the pope was God's divinely appointed head of the church. Being he was a respected professor and well-loved priest, his audience was not small. His decryings of the pope's evils made so much noise that he himself was summoned to appear before the Council of Constance to give an account for his "blasphemous" teachings. They granted him safe passage even if he was found guilty; thus, he came before the Council.

However, his enemies lied and when he would not recant, they chained him up, and paraded him through the streets as a heretic. Shortly thereafter, Jan Hus was burned at the stake for his teachings.
But before his captors could shut him up with the fire, as he was singing hymns, he also made this prophetic announcement (as quoted by one of his onlooking opposers):

"You are now going to burn a 'goose', but in a century you will have a swan, which you can neither roast nor boil." The year...1415.

One hundred and two years later, Martin Luther nailed up his 95 theses in Wittenburg, Germany...sparking the Reformation. For many, the swan spoken of by Hus is Martin Luther; one who the authorities could not silence.

Whether or not Hus was prophetic is not the point. The point is, Christ has kept for himself believers in every generation, using them to strengthen and teach one another (i.e. - Wycliffe and Hus, Hus and Luther). And how God willed the burning of a 'goose' that led to the singing of a 'swan'. Thank God that he preserves his gospel throughout history in order to save those whom the Father has given to the Son.

Happy Reformation Day.