"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.

Book Reveiws Out of My Ears

Well...not quite out of my ears. It's not like I'm reviewing eight books or something. However, I am going to do two short reviews. Recently, Justin Taylor of "Between Two Worlds", put out a generous offer. To anyone who so desired, he would send pdf files (that means Adobe Acrobat) of two upcoming releases from Crossway Books for that person to read and review a few chapters. Subsequently, if that person posted a review on his/her blog and on Amazon.com, then Crossway would send them a free copy of both books when they came out. So, I took part in it and thus...this blog. The books were "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God" - the book format of the 2006 Desiring God National Conference - and "Overcoming Sin and Temptation" by John Owen (edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic).

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God Review

-Sobering. As we live in a culture in which we get lost in the minutiae of every day, this book makes one stop and think. To read about God’s plan for pain is jolting; which, if you think about it, it is quite unbiblical that suffering be such a shock. Jesus came in order to suffer; the Son of Man was a martyr for his Father’s plan. After Jesus blinded Saul on the road to Damascus, he sent Ananias to heal his eyes and told him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Nothing about the life of the apostles seemed easy. We are even guaranteed that if we desire to live godly lives in Christ, we will suffer. Therefore, the church in America can not continue on the path it has taken; that is, being - and becoming more - detached from suffering. This book, bucking the trend of contemporary society, grabs hold of timeless truths from God’s Word and confronts the issue of suffering and death. It brings to its readers the comfort of knowing that in death and in suffering God remains in sovereign control.

Overcoming Sin and Temptation Review

-“If vain spending of time, idleness, unprofitableness in men’s places, envy, strife, variance, emulations, wrath, pride, worldliness, selfishness be badges of Christians, we have them on us and among us in abundance…The good Lord send out a spirit of mortification to cure our distempers, or we are in a sad condition!” -Owen. Reading John Owen on sin feels as though he has tapped into my own mind’s infirmities. His reflections on the subject of sin and temptation make me know that not only does he know what the Bible says particularly about sin, but also that he is honest with his own thought-life and applies the Word. I feel as though I waste time hacking at the fruits of sin, while Owen swings a mighty axe at the root; severing anything that might dare spring up and flower. What’s more, is that this particular book is – I feel – more accessible than some of Owen’s other readings due to the faithful work of its editors. Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic do a great job of analyzing Owen and giving suggestions on how to read and think about the man behind the writing as well as the writing itself.

So, there you have it. I would especially encourage anyone in my generation to read these books, as they are written by older saints who have gone before us and who have remained faithful in the ministry of the gospel.

Reformation Day....Oct. 31st

It's time to celebrate. However, instead of the normally promoted "Halloween", or as some old school witch doctors say "All-Hallow's-Eve", why not celebrate a movement in which the gospel of Jesus Christ was pushed back to the forefront of Christendom? I'd say that's something to celebrate. Who knows where we'd be if the Reformation had not happened? There has been a suggestion for the blog world as to how to commemorate such a great move of God by Justin Taylor. I think I'm in on it as far as posting a blog about it (but not the contest part).

So...mark your calendars, and remember some of our fellow saints who have gone before us and handed down the faith "that was once for all delivered to the saints".