Eucatastrophe101

Eucatastrophe101 Has Moved To Wordpress

2008-05-20T11:30:00.003-04:00

I'm now using Wordpress for my blog.

Click here for my new location:
Eucatastrophe101.wordpress.com

P.S.
"I'm sorry, Blogger. It really was you, not me."

The Pastor's Library

2008-05-06T14:52:00.003-04:00

If you're a pastor, you need books. Good books. But if you're going to build a library of good books you need to know at least two things.

What good books should I buy?
With what good bucks may I buy these good books?

Believe or not, The Pastor's Library.Com will help you with both! If you're pastor of any sort, I think you'll find this website very helpful. There's a bunch of helpful hints about setting up (or requesting!) a library budget, the pros and cons of software, and boatload of links for recommended resources and books.

"When I get a little money I buy books: and if any is left I buy food and clothes." Erasmus

Family Vacation

2008-04-20T14:43:00.003-04:00

My family and I are going on vacation for two weeks! Thank God that most of the snow is finally gone now and my friend's camp is no longer snowbound.

Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, work or vacation...do all to the glory of God!

The ESV Study Bible

2008-04-18T10:33:00.003-04:00

If you're thinking about buying a study Bible...WAIT! The ESV Study Bible is due out October 2008 and, from the looks of it, will stand to be one of the most important possessions a Christian could ever own. Why?

Because it's the Bible, God's Word, Holy-Spirit inspired truth. That's enough right there.
Because it's the ESV, the best English translation available for both serious study and daily reading.
Because the mammoth amount and stellar quality of all of the study notes available at your finger tips.
Because the contributors are some of the most oustanding, truth-saturated scholars, pastors, and teachers alive today (J.I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, T. Desmond Alexander, Tom Schreiner, Scott Hafemann, John Piper...)
Because of the trust-worthy endorsements:

“The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Period.”
Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church; President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network


“The ESV Study Bible is the finest study tool I have seen in fifty years of Bible teaching. The notes, articles, maps, and illustrations are all of the highest quality. It is a great achievement!”
Jerry Bridges, speaker, bestselling author of The Pursuit of Holiness

So what are you going to do until October? Keep reading the Bible you've got!

Or...you can begin to read or listen to the ESV online, too.

Need a Christ-Centered Song?

2008-04-11T10:10:00.002-04:00

I encouraged my church over at our blog to check out the story out behind a song we sing often in gathered worship. It's one of my favorites. You should check it out too!

"The Story Behind the Song: "The First Place" by Matthew Westerholm.

The Value of Gathered Worship: an Outline

2008-04-10T16:16:00.003-04:00

The following is an outline of the presentation I delivered at New England Bible College's faculty conference "How Then Shall We Worship." If you were able to attend it'd be great to continue some dialogue or if you had any questions I'd be more than pleased to help answer them!

The Value of Gathered Worship:

Why God’s People Must Worship Together

Gathered worship strengthens and informs scattered worship ^{(and vice versa)}.

“Worship is a subject that should dominate our lives seven days a week. Vitality and meaning will not be restored to Christian gatherings until those who lead and those who participate can recover a biblical perspective on their meetings, seeing them in relation to God’s total plan and purpose for his people.” [1]
By gathering for encouragement. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
By scattering for mission. (Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 10:31)

Gathered worship fuels a God-glorifying passion in all things.

By sharing God’s passion for His glory. (Romans 11:33, 36)
By exposing God’s competitors—our idols.

Gathered worship shapes a Christ-centered, gospel-driven community.

By knowing the gospel.
“We never “get beyond the gospel” in our Christian life to something more “advanced.” The gospel is not the first “step” in a “stairway” of truths, rather, it is more like the “hub” in a “wheel” of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A to Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we make all progress in the kingdom. The main problem, then, in the Christian life is that we have not thought out the deep implications of the gospel, we have not “used” the gospel in and on all parts of our life. [2]
By reading the gospel. (1 Corinthians 15; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-20)
By singing the gospel.
By praying the gospel. (Colossians 1:9-14)
By studying the gospel.
By celebrating the gospel. (1 Corinthians 11:26)

Gathered worship motivates a Spirit-empowered mission.

By being the church instead of merely going to church.
By seeing our mission as a call to worship.
“There can only be one call to worship, and this comes at conversion, when in complete repentance we admit to worshipping falsely, trapped by the inversion and enslaved to false gods before whom we have been dying sacrifices.”[3]

[1] David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship, p. 21.
[2] Tim Keller, “The Centrality of the Gospel”, p. 1-2.
[3] Harold Best, Music through the Eyes of Faith, p. 147.

5 Tips for Clear Writing and Talking

2008-04-09T12:08:00.005-04:00

Thank you C.S. Lewis for showing us how to write and talk clearly. Thank you Pastor John Piper for the reminder.

C. S. Lewis’ advice to children on writing is good advice to pastors on preaching, or anybody on talking.

Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn't mean anything else.
Always prefer the clean direct word to the long, vague one. Don't implement promises, but keep them.
Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean "More people died" don't say "Mortality rose."
In writing, don't use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is "terrible," describe it so that we'll be terrified. Don't say it was "delightful"; make us say "delightful" when we've read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers "Please, will you do my job for me."
Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

(Originally published in Letters to Children, letter from June 26, 1956. Quoted in Wayne Martindale and Jerry Root in The Quotable Lewis, p. 623.)

From Desiring God Blog: "5 Tips for Clear Writing and Talking"

Why don't we sing the good old hymns anymore?

2008-03-13T16:59:00.003-04:00

In all my short years upon this earth, I'm actually astonished how often I've heard these words, "Why don't we sing the good, old hymns anymore?!"

If you're ever blessed to hear someone voice a question like that be sure to follow up with a question like this, "What do you mean by good, old hymns? What songs do you have in mind?"

The responses I usually get are..."You know, songs like...'The Old Rugged Cross', 'Living for Jesus', 'In the Garden', 'Because He Lives'."

Most often, the majority of these old songs turn out to be not quite that old after all. In my experience when people complain about the church not singing the good old songs anymore they usually are referring the songs that they grew up singing and they usually date from about 1880-1980. Hardly old.

My point in this post is not to debate the merits of the so-called "Gospel-Hymn" movement, but to just simply remind ourselves that this is not a new struggle. (I love hymns!!! I just find these not quite as God-centered, Christ-exalting, and truth saturated as some of the OLDER hymns of Watts, Newton, and Wesley.)

117 years ago, Basil Manly, argued that we can't afford to lose the old hymns. Here's a quote from an 1891 hymnal in which he says,

For some years it has been apparent that the rage for novelties in singing, especially in our Sunday-schools has been driving out of use the old, precious, standard hymns. They are not memorized as of old. They are scarcely sung at all. They are not even contained in the undenominational song-books which in many churches have usurped the place of our hymn books.
We cannot afford to lose these old hymns. They are full of the Gospel; they breathe the deepest emotions of pious hearts in the noblest strains of poetry; they have been tested and approved by successive generations of those that loved the Lord; they are the surviving fittest ones from thousands of inferior productions; they are hallowed by abundant usefulness and tenderest memories. But the young people of to-day are unfamiliar with them, and will seldom hear many of them, if the present tendency goes on unchecked.

Thanks to Chip Stam, over at Worship Quote of the Week for this fantastic quote yesterday. Basil is right on, "the young people of to-day are unfamiliar with [old hymns], and will seldom hear many of them, if the present tendency goes on unchecked." But surely this generation needs to much further back than merely the hymns of the previous generation, and much further back than the songs of Bill Gaither (please!!!!). That's why I thank God for Indelible Grace Music. If you're not familiar with this ministry, check their website out. Their newly arranged hymns have been a great tool in reviving many old (and even unknown and forgotten) songs.

Soli Deo Gloria!

How Now Shall We Worship?

2008-03-06T11:07:00.004-05:00

This coming April 6 New England Bible College is sponsoring a worship conference called "How Now Shall We Worship?" The outstanding Gordon-Conwell professor, Gary Parrett, is going to be teaching on "The 9.5 Theses on Worship", a potently condensed overview of the theology and practice of worship. It's a must read for every Christian! It's definitely my "go-to" article for introducing people to what biblical worship looks like. And I'm incredibly honored to be teaching the second session on "The Value of Gathered Worship: Why God's People Need to Worship Together." Some of my thoughts about that can be read here. If you're in the neighborhood, I hope you can make it out. Gary has been, without a doubt, the single most impactive person in my life who challenged and equipped me to think biblically and serve lovingly in the ministry of gathered worship. I hope to see you at the conference!

(In the meantime, be sure to read his article, here!)

WorshipGod 08 Conference

2008-02-27T14:15:00.006-05:00

I am super-encouraged that I'll finally be able to make it to Sovereign Grace's WorshipGod Conference this year!!

Planning and leading gathered worship every week is one of the highest privileges in my life, but I find that I am not often enough lead by others in gathered worship. So this will be a refreshing, equipping weekend for sure. With speakers like Bob Kauflin, Mark Dever, Thabiti Anyabwile, David Powlison, and Donald Whitney I know that my soul will be fed, my hands equipped, my heart challenged, and my mind renewed.

So...will I see you there?

Here's the "press release":

WorshipGod08—Rediscovering the Psalms

July 30–August 2, 2008 Gaithersburg, Maryland

Worship leaders and planners are always on the lookout for ways to serve their churches more effectively. Thank God, we have an increasing number of tools, websites, and books we can turn to. But the most important teaching on modern worship wasn’t written in our lifetime. Thousands of years ago, God gave us the Psalms to inform, inspire, and direct our worship. Every generation has the opportunity to rediscover what he’s said.

That’s what we’ll be doing at WorshipGod08, a conference for anyone who wants to grow in understanding and leading biblical worship. Six main sessions will explore how the Psalms model worship that is God-glorifying, Christ-centered, emotionally engaging, full of faith, relevant, and lived out every day. You’ll also be able to choose five practical seminars that will sharpen your thinking, improve your skills, and refresh your soul. As in past WorshipGod conferences, one of the highlights will simply be meeting and interacting with like-minded Christians who share your passion to glorify God.

Whether you come alone or with your whole team, I hope you’ll join us at WorshipGod08 as we rediscover how the ancient Psalms can transform our worship today.

Bob Kauflin
Sovereign Grace Ministries
Worship Matters

"Rambo 4" Viewers Face 10 Years 20 Lashes

2008-02-15T15:11:00.006-05:00

"Rambo 4" viewers face 10 years 20 lashes for watching Rambo 4...that is of course if you watch it in Myanmar!

Because Stallone's last installment of the adventures of John Rambo reveals the darker and truer side of the practically genocidal treatment of Karen and other tribes at the hands of the Burmese army, the tyrannical military regime is cracking down hard on anyone caught watching or in possession of "Rambo 4."

The word on the street about the movie is that the violence is gratuitous. But having been to Myanmar and having heard stories from refugees who fled the country because of the atrocities done to them and their families, it's probably not that far from reality. At least the violence perpetrated by the junta, not the Hollywood-ized shock-action of Rambo.

While Rambo 4 may help get the word out about the plight of Karen tribes and the horrific conditions in Myanmar, John Rambo and his relentless bloodshed is not the answer. Rather, the blood shed by the true Rescuer is the only hope for the dark land of the Golden Triangle. May the faithful lives of men and women who trust in and follow Jesus shine brightly there.

And may their testimonies, in life and in death, bear fruit in a church that overcomes evil with good. And may men and women risk their lives for that which is infinitely more valuable than than 90 minute of cinema. May it be said of them...

And they have conquered [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Revelation 12:11

Watch Video at CNN.com

Sovereign Grace CDs for Six Bucks

2008-01-28T15:43:00.000-05:00

During the whole month of February you'll be able to buy all the incredible music of Sovereign Grace Ministries for only $6 a CD! Books, too, will be severely discounted. Not to mention free shipping!

Bob Kauflin fills us in on why they've decided to be so ridiculously generous...

Why are we doing this? A few reasons. The primary mission of Sovereign Grace Ministries is to serve Sovereign Grace pastors who are giving their lives to build Gospel-centered local churches. We want to do everything we can to help them serve the people they lead. Providing Christ-exalting, biblically faithful music and books in one of the ways we can do that. We also want to make it as easy as possible for other churches and individuals to have access to what we produce. We figured that lowering the price of everything we’ve done is a step in that direction. We also want more people to hear our music and read our books because we produced them to encourage God-glorifying, Gospel-centered, Spirit-empowered living.Basically, it makes us happy to get our materials out for the lowest price possible.

Zechariah's First Birthday

2008-01-14T22:27:00.000-05:00

Zechariah turned 1 year old, today--January 14, 2008!!! We've had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends and playing with some of his new toys and in the freshly fallen snow. We can hardly believe it's been a year already since Zeke was born, and we are constantly amazed by how much joy God has brought into our life through our son. He's almost walking and is curious about absolutely everything.

Here are some picture that I know will brighten your day. Enjoy!

"This is my first time playing in the snow."

"Me and daddy!"

"Literally, just chillin'."

"Help, I can't get out!"

"That's a beautiful tree...too bad I can't touch it."

"A family portrait. I make them look good."

"Once again, I got in here myself, but I can't get out!"

"Walking...it's not as easy as it looks."

"Mommy's helping open my birthday presents."

"This is so much fun. I like birthdays."

"If i smile, do I get some cake?"

"Hmmm...chocolate."

"I've got to pace myself."

"Who needs a fork when you've got fingers?!"

"Indeed this was finger-licking good."

"Driver, bring me around the house one more time. It's my birthday!"

What I Never Want to Do in 2008

2008-01-07T14:04:00.000-05:00

Bob Kauflin shares what he never wants to do in 2008, here. Here's a small taste:

This morning, as I often do, I read two of the prayers from The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett. I’ve found these prayers help focus my thoughts on the most important issues in life: the greatness of my sin, the sovereignty of God, the saving work of Christ, the needs of the world, and my eternal destination. The first prayer this morning was “The ‘Nevers’ of the Gospel.” The commitments the author expressed offered a wise perspective as we enter a new year.

For my own understanding, I’ve divided the prayer into three sections. I call the first, “Using Truth Rightly.” It has to do with never seeking to know God’s Word in a way that doesn’t affect my life. Biblical knowledge, doctrine, and theology are all vital to my life. But unless my heart changes as a result, I’m only becoming deceived. I’ve updated the language to make it easier to read.

O Lord, may I never fail to come to the knowledge of the truth,
never rest in a system of doctrine, however scriptural,
that does not bring or further salvation,
or teach me to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts,
or help me to live soberly, righteously, godly;

Read the whole thing, here.

John Owen and Gollum: Puritan vs. Hobbit

2008-01-04T09:45:00.001-05:00

Gollum personifies how evil takes hold of you, enslaving and devouring you. And the genius of Tolkien's Gollum is that the evil that destroys the once kind, playful hobbit does not come in an ugly, obvious form of evil. Instead, it seems beautiful and lovely; it is precious! Outwardly, Gollum's "Precious" does not look as dangerous as Saruman's pride, treachery, and manipulation or Sauron's destroy-anything-that-gets-in-my-way-of-absolute-power. And yet, I know of no other literary or cinematic character that so graphically portrays how sin begins so craftily, but ends in destruction.

Well, the other day I came across the most unlikely pairing. Reading through John Owen's Overcoming Sin and Temptation, I found something that made me think that Tolkien just might have ripped off the Puritan when he came up with Gollum and his beloved "Precious." Check this out...

"[Unmortified sin] untunes and unframes the heart itself by entangling its affections. It diverts the heart from the spiritual frame that is required for vigorous communion with God; it lays hold on the affections, rendering its object beloved and desirable, so expelling the love of the Father (1 John 2:15; 3:17); so that the soul cannot say uprightly and truly to God, "You are my portion," having something else it loves. Fear, desire, hope, which are the choice affections of the soul, that should be full of God, will be one way or other entangled with it."

John Owen, Overcoming Sin and Temptation, eds., Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor, 64-65.

Notice how Owen describes sin: "it lays hold on the affections, rendering its object beloved and desirable." Sin is ultimately calling something other than God, "My Precioussss!" It's not merely doing bad things; more fundamentally, it is making good things into god things, as Tim Keller states. And when this happens we become incapable of experiencing or enjoying the love of God because our affections are diverted away from him. Something else has taken his place, and to it we say "You are my portion; you are my Precious!" That something is to us a substitute savior, a damning idol.

And sin, like the ring is not content to be just an add-on in our life: it's desire is to enslave. Remember when Gollum, then Smeagol, acquired the ring? His servitude began right away! It lead him to murder his own cousin. It drove him from the ones he loved. It reduced him to living like an animal, eating raw fish and dwelling in caves. It owned him! It destroyed him.

Together, Owen and Gollum remind us of this central truth: whatever we love, whatever we worship...we will serve. You've got to serve somebody, may you take Jesus at his word and serve him!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10

The Problem with Christmas Music

2007-12-19T12:51:00.000-05:00

Nathan Lawrenson laments "The Problem with Christmas Music" without going all "Bah, humbug!"

Here's a snippet:

Christmas music is such a beautiful and fun part of Americana...no doubt everyone has distinct memories of Christmases past (whether good or bad), and, my guess is that most of us relate many of our Christmas memories with the music of the season.

And, therein lies the problem with Christmas music. I've discovered over the years that, it's very easy for us (Christ followers) to sing our favorite Chrismas carols at church in December and never allow for anything more than that warm nostalgic feeling. We can get so caught up in the warm feelings that worship never really takes place...worship is our primary purpose when we gather together on Sunday mornings, not singing Christmas songs.

Read the rest here.

Peter Jackson to Produce Two Hobbit Movies

2007-12-18T17:02:00.000-05:00

Yep. Peter Jackson, the (formerly) Hobbit-like director of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, has agreed to produce the two new Hobbit movies due out in 2010 and 2011. The most astonishing news is not that New Line Cinema finally caved in to the 'Rings' fans by reluctanly bringing back Jackson. (Apparently he and New Line had an argument about money of all things?!)

Nope. The strange news is that there are TWO Hobbit movies in the making. Ummm...why two? Either they'll split the book into two parts, or make a sequel or prequel. Either way, I'm skeptical.

Michael Lynn, the co-chief executive officer of New Line claims:

The two "Hobbit'' movies will serve as prequels to the "Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, with the second film acting as a bridge to the first installment of "Lord of the Rings."

Even though it would be interesting if one of the films took us further back into Tolkien's greater work, The Silmarillion, I would rather that they make one movie faithful to the text, yet beautifully rendered. We'll have to wait and see.

If you're interested in Hobbit news and gossip go here.

Most Important Worship Resource of 2008?

2007-12-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

Bob Kauflin's book Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God will be available in April 2008. Having been hugely blessed by Bob's blog Worship Matters, his various lectures, and his God-glorifying, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered songs...I am willing to go out on a limb and say that this book is going to be the most important worship resource of 2008!

You can pre-order it here. I hope to share the contents and endorsements as they come out.

For now here's a small taste...

What is our greatest hindrance in worshipping God? We could come up with a number of potential answers.

“Our worship leader isn’t very experienced.”
“The services are too planned/spontaneous.”
“The songs are too complex/simple.”
“The band/orchestra/organist/guitarist sounds bad.”
“There are too many new/old songs.”
“Our church is too big/small.”

Ignoring for a moment that all these statements refer to a meeting context, they reveal a profound misconception about the hindrances to true worship. Contrary to what we might think, our greatest problem doesn’t lie outside us, but within our own hearts. It’s the problem of idolatry.

--from "Worship Services: Idolatry on Sunday Mornings"

Indelible Grace V

2007-11-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

I've been pining for the arrival of my pre-ordered Indelible Grace's newest project, "Wake Thy Slumbering Children." I've been wondering what sort of treasures I'll find in their new collection of soul-stirring, faith-strengthening, Christ-exalting arrangements of sadly forgotten hymns.

No more pining. No more wondering. Almost. Because...we can all hear extended samples of the entire album online, here. Thanks, Corey, for pointing this out to me!

Thank you Kevin Twit and all of the Indelible Grace musicians for another blessing to our church, and more importantly THE Church of Christ.

Here's what they're saying about "Wake Thy Slumbering Children":

"It is a joy to introduce you to this latest collection of hymns with new tunes. These hymns help us express our heart cries in words richer than our own, and open our eyes to see the beauty of a Savior who has promised the blessings we need most. What joy to know that as we cry “Wake Thy slumbering children!” we cry to the Father for His “promised blessing” to revive His church. What comfort to know that even when our hearts are bereaved and lonely, we can be reminded and encouraged: “O watch and wait with patience, and question all you will; His arms of love and mercy are ‘round about thee still.” What power to know that as we cry, “Come, Lord, and wipe away the curse, the sin, the stain, and make this blighted world of ours Thine own fair world again” we actually cry out to the One who died to make this dream a reality. What glory to know that, even in our dying hour, we can plead “abide with me” to the One who has promised to never leave or forsake us. We commend these hymns because we believe they have power to wake us to the reality of our great need for Jesus and open our eyes to see we have a great Jesus for our need."

Fall Photos

2007-10-03T16:08:00.000-04:00

Back by popular demand...more pictures of Zechariah!

He loves shoulder rides, especially patting my head!

Zeke's first guitar lesson.

He's one fast crawler!

The two most beautiful people on earth!

Out for a stroll in Naples.

"Listen to this song I just made up!"

Bob Lamson "When Snow Falls"

2007-10-01T12:57:00.000-04:00

For years I've been blessed by being surrounded by musicians that are far better than me. How much better when an outstanding musician is also my friend! Bob Lamson is just that! His guitar work is poetry. His arrangements and melodic lines are not just good ideas, they're his life, his story. "When Snow Falls" is his first finger-style acoustic instrumental CD. You can hear some of the tracks on Bob's Myspace. The title track "When Snow Falls" steals you away to a cozy evening watching the winter flakes cascading down. "Just Restin' My Eyes" is as comfortable as your favorite sofa. "Sweet Man" celebrates the memory of dear friend.

But you'll have to buy the CD to here one my favorite's "Ode to Otte." I know...it sounds like shameless plug...but the song is stunning. We were jamming away one day on a tune that Bob was working on when I suggested an unfamiliar alternate tuning. It worked great for his song, but one thing led to another and later that day Bob came up with the riff that turned into a song. Inspired by a new tuning!

Give him a listen. You won't be disappointed!

Link:
Hear and buy Bob's Music Online.

Brian Regan..."I eat fig newtons by the sleeve!"

2007-09-19T13:16:00.001-04:00

Brian Regan is one of THE funniest comedians out there! And he does it without cursing every other word. He's original and hilarious. Give a listen.

Free MP3's from Sovereign Grace

2007-08-31T07:49:00.000-04:00

All of Sovereign Grace Ministries MP3 messages, conferences, and sermons are FREE!!!!

You can download 'em here.

If you're trying to avoid IPOD gluttony, Bob Kauflin @ Worship Matters has sifted out a "Top 20" messages on worship: theology, leadership, musicians and tech teams, songwriting, children, and (my fav category) misc.

Download here.

"$3 worth of Gospel, please!"

2007-08-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

From D. A. Carson's Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians, pp. 12-13.

I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.
Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted.

I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.

I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture.

I want ecstasy, not repentance;

I want transcendence, not transformation.

I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races – especially if they smell.

I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged.

I would like about three dollars worth of the gospel, please.

Via: Between Two Worlds.

True Worship = Changed LIves

2007-08-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

Here's this week's Worship Quote of the Week:

TRUE WORSHIP LEADS TO FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE It should be clear by now that true worship leads to a life of faith and obedience. It is the purpose of worship, on the human side, to inspire faith and devotion to the Lord, not just for an hour, but for the whole week and for the whole life. This was the emphasis of the preaching of the prophets and the teaching of Jesus and the apostles; and this emphasis was based on the significance of worship as a covenant renewal, a ritual that not only celebrated the blessings that God has bestowed on his people through Christ but also reminded the people of their own covenant responsibilities.

At the heart of faithful obedience is personal holiness and righteousness. True worship has no place for gossip, slander, malice, envy, strife, control, or any other sin that destroys worship. Our celebration of being at peace with God must issue in living in peace with other believers. Our covenant obligations do not stop with out purging out the leaven from our lives. There is a positive side of righteousness that calls for action. If the church claims to be worshipping but has no interest in helping the poor and the homeless, the widow and the orphan, the oppressed and the foreigner, or in championing justice and equity in society, then the worship is empty. And if the worship does not prompt the work of evangelism and missions, or simply sharing the faith, then the worship has not been led by the Spirit of God. With these and many other serious matters we may test whether worship has fully achieved what God has designed it to achieve.

— Allen P. Ross, RECALLING THE HOPE OF GLORY: BIBLICAL WORSHIP FROM THE GARDEN TO THE NEW CREATION. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2006, p. 467-68. ISBN 0-8254-3578-1.

P.S.
I highly recommend this weekly e-letter, Chip Stam (over at SBTS) gives us gems of truth, culled from some of the best books, old and new. You'll be blessed...I promise!

Andy Mckee " Drifting "

2007-08-14T16:13:00.001-04:00

If you haven't heard this guy, stop whatever you're doing to give him a listen. I've never heard so many sounds come from one guitar. McKee's arrangements are breathtaking!

The Perfect Preacher

2007-08-02T11:34:00.000-04:00

This really helped me today. I take my self too seriously, too often. I struggle with worrying about whether I've made people happy and whether I've met their expectations. This brought me back to earth and up to heaven at the same time. So for today... I'm more encouraged to long for hearing Jesus say "Well done, good and faithful servant" at the end of my life than I am hearing someone from my church family say "Well done, your sermon was good today...not to mention not too long" at the end of a service.

The Perfect Preacher

After hundreds of years, a model preacher has been found to suit everyone. He preaches exactly 20 minutes and then sits down. He condemns sin, but never hurts anyone's feelings.

He works from 8 ^am to 10 ^pm in every type of work from preaching to custodial service. He makes $400 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books regularly, has a nice family, drives a good car and gives $60 a week to the church. He also stands ready to contribute to every good cause that comes along.

He is 26 years old and has been preaching for 30 years. He is short and tall, thin and heavy set, handsome. He has one brown eye and a blue one; hair parted down the middle, left side dark and straight and right side brown and wavy

He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all his time with the older folks.

He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work.

He makes 15 calls a day on church members, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched and is never out of his office.
(How To Survive in the Ministry, Leslie Flynn, p. 16)

Mt. Washington 2007

2007-07-31T16:55:00.000-04:00

I've been looking forward to my (almost) annual hike of Mt. Washington for months. I was seriously bummed that 2006 came and went before I could hike my mountain-fortress of solitude. So it's no surprise that I cashed in some vacation time last week for some serious hiking and some serious downtime with Jesus, the Creator-Redeemer himself.

The forecast was not too promising, saying a chance of showers and cloudy all day. Which is not good news when you're trekking toward the "home of the world's worst weather." But I started off at about 7:30am. I hiked up the Lion's Head trail, ate a fantastic lunch at the summit, took a wrong turn down to Lake of the Clouds, hiked back up to the Bootspur trail via the Camel Path, finally began the long-descent back to Pinkham notch, showered up, enjoyed a fantastic burger at the Muddy Moose while watching Dice-K and the Sox take one from the Tribe.

Here are some of the best pics of the day. I hope you enjoy!

The Road Most Traveled--Tuckerman Ravine Trail.

First view of blue sky, a ridge of Tuckerman Ravine (Bootspur side).

A cairn with wooly-white cloud backdrop.

First view of Lion's Head.

Another view of Lion's Head and Tuckerman Ravine

Atop of Lion's Head.

Another helpful cairn, assuring my safe passage

The deceptive summit of Mt. Washington (objects are NOT closer than they appear!)

Looking back onto Lion's Head.

The path I should have taken later on in the day!

Ah, the summit of Mt. Washington!

I should not have been this close to the Lake of the clouds...missed the connector.

Closeup of the Lake of the Clouds Hut.

Looking back to where I was, wishin' I hadn't been. (nearly a 2 mile detour!)

Things are starting to get a little creepy!

Split Rock. It was like that...I didn't do it.

Blog Profile Pic 2.0

My favorite rock overlooking Tuckerman Ravine.

Recent Sermon: The Meal Jesus Gave Us

2007-07-31T15:42:00.000-04:00

A few weeks a ago I had the privilege of preaching at CenterPoint Church, in Concord, NH. Their lead pastor, Dave Spencer, and I used to serve together in South Portland. It was great time catching up with him and his family, and I was deeply encouraged by the group of Jesus followers that had gathered to worship there in the capitol that morning.

I preached a sermon called "The Meal Jesus Gave Us" (nod to N.T. Wright). In it, I give an overview of what the Lord's Supper is all about, and spent some time explaining two key OT background passages: Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Isaiah 25:6-9. (Pretty hard to do in about 30 minutes!) I cannot tell you how faith-invigorating Isaiah 25 has been to me over the past few years and how fills my heart with expectant joy whenever I drink the cup and eat the bread. If you have a chance to listen, I hope you're encouraged by what you hear.

Listen/download here.

More Zeke!

2007-07-19T11:21:00.000-04:00

Yeah we can't get enough of him either! Here's a bunch of pics of Zechariah. Everything from just relaxing in the lazyboy, to hanging with Grandpa O., to his first feeding of rice cereal...and prunes!

Acadia National Park Trip

2007-07-19T10:12:00.001-04:00

Back in early June, my sister, Phyllis, and her hubby, Ben, finally made it up to Acadia National Park. We joined them for the weekend and drove all over the island, walked around Bar Harbor, heard the crashing of Thunder Hole, ate at the Jordon Pond Carriage House, saw the sunset at Cadillac Mtn. Had a FANTASTIC time. Zeke was the most patient, chill, happy baby even after 5+ hours on the road. Here are some highlights from the trip.

Just the three of us...on Sand Beach (photo by my sister, Phyllis).

The family at Thunder Hole.

My sister, Phyllis, and her husband, Ben.

A view driving up Cadillac Mtn.

Sunset driving up Cadillac Mtn.

Dead tree watching the sunset with us.

Beaver dam near Jordan Pond.

Back at Thunder Hole looking towards Sand Beach.

Yep. Thunder Hole again, looking not towards Sand Beach.

Heidi and Zechariah just chillin'.

Bass Harbor.

Me and my favorite sister.

More Him We Proclaim Resources

2007-07-14T11:05:00.001-04:00

For those of you interested in Dennis Johnson's new book Him We Proclaim, I've got a few more new resources you're gonna want to listen to and read!

For starters, the White Horse Inn recently interviewed Dennis Johnson. In about 1/2 an hour you can get a the skinny on this pretty fat book. My buddy Dave let me know about this...To think I've been living like a pauper when all along I already had this interview podcast in my ITunes! Crazy! You can download the interview here.

Next and last, Colin Adams of Discerning Reader recently gave a very helpful overview and review of Him We Proclaim. Whether you've started reading the book or not, it will help you climb this worthy mountain of a book.

Commentary on the New Testament's Use of the Old

2007-07-14T10:06:00.000-04:00

I heard rumors in the halls of Gordon-Conwell about this book. Finally we've got a pretty solid release date (Nov. 2007) for Beale and Carson's Commentary on the New Testament's Use of the Old Testament. The list of contributors is stellar, and their insights will no doubt bring a fresh breath of air into the commentary world, opening new perspectives into texts that we wrongly thought we had all figured out.

Professors, pastors, small groups leaders, and every Jesus follower should have this book on their shelf ASAP.

If you're wondering what to gift to get me for Christmas, don't bother with this one...I'm pre-ordering it right away. (But if you're really wondering, feel free to drop me a line and I'll send you my Wishlist!)

6 months ago...

2007-07-12T09:31:00.000-04:00

I slept for 8 hours in a row.
I was timing contractions, hoping we'd get to the Birthplace in time.
I fell in love with Heidi all over again as she gave birth to my son.
I saw my son for the first time.
I knew nothing about fatherhood (update: I still know practically nothing).
I never knew the joy of seeing my son smile or laugh for the first time...the gazillionth time.
I couldn't have understood the magnitude of the love that a father has for his child.

That's right, but I would never want to back to 6 months ago. I absolutely love being a dad. Heidi and I have only begun to know the joys and sorrows of parenthood. Yet our love for Zechariah is greater than the fear and frustrations that we've already encountered and will sooner or later. We constantly thank God for supplying us wisdom to know how to love this little guy.

Happy 6 Month Birthday Zechariah!

Him We Proclaim 3.2

2007-07-10T09:10:00.001-04:00

Let's wrap up the Paul's theology of preaching.

5. The price we pay: "suffering …Christ's afflictions…toil, struggling."

Someone once said the Greek word for "pastor" is "toilet." Somedays it feels like that! Paul himself said we are the scum of the earth, the dregs of all things. But to be honest, when I feel this way it usually has little to do with the actual proclamation and defense of Jesus as Lord, as Savior. It usually has to do with my weakness as a leader or my inability to meet someone's expectations. What Paul has in mind in Colossians 1, though, is a visible, physical representation of Jesus on earth today. As preachers we are entrusted with the most profound responsibility: to speak for God, as Jesus would. Yet like Jesus, we too will suffer. In fact everyone who desire to live like Jesus will suffer, just as he did. If Jesus suffered in life and death for trusting in and proclaiming the word, the message of God who are we to think we're off the hook?

"Apostolic preaching is no nine-to-five job at which employees put in the required hours and then leave workplace worries behind at day's end, paychecks in hand, to pursue their 'real lives.' To be entrusted with the treasure of God's gospel is not a responsibility that can be switched 'off' and 'on' at will." (p. 86)

" Paul, however, awakens us from fantasyland [that people always shower preachers with admiration, respect, and appreciation] and introduces us to the real world: those who would practice apostolic preaching must be prepared for both toil and suffering." (p. 90)

If you're thinking of becoming a pastor, read Paul's "job description" in his 2^nd letter to the Corinthians (11:23-33) first.

6. The power on which we rely: "all his energy…within me."

Cool PowerPoint/Media Shout presentations, Swindoll's Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, mimicking Mark Driscoll, studying 20hrs/week, buying sermons online…none of these things will ensure effective preaching. This is not to say that we should abandon creativity, relevant communication, and diligent study. "Apostolic preaching puts no premium on obscurity, disorganization, or indifference to the hearer's level of understanding." (p. 91) But there is something more vital to preaching than homiletical strategy: prayerful dependence. Paul was keenly aware that his ministry effectiveness was dependent upon God's power working in and through him. Read his prayers, pray his prayers, live his prayers: Eph. 1:15-19; 3:14-19; Col. 1:9-12.

"Preachers like Paul, who realize their own desperate need and the Spirit's almighty power, will saturate their ministry of the Word with prayer—for their hearers, themselves, and each other—and will urgently seek the support of others' prayers." (p. 92)

7. The office we fulfill: "minister according to the stewardship from God."

We are stewards, not kings. In the Return of the King, Tolkien graphically portrays the abuse that comes when one forgets his office. Denethor, though just a steward of Gondor, acted as though he were king, and pride clouded his reason, obscured his responsibilities, and fueled his despair. When the time came for him to relinquish the throne for the true King, his trust in his own will was so great that he would not acknowledge the true heir. Anyway…read the book.

In a similar way, Paul says "we are stewards of the great King. Don't forget it!"

"Having been entrusted with his Master's richest treasure, 'the mysteries of God' (the gospel once hidden but now revealed), and having been charged to use it for the Master's purposes, Paul the steward is answerable for the conduct of his trusteeship when the Master 'audits the books.'" (p. 94)

"The preacher speaks in God's name, and he does so not only as one who will some day give an account for his handling of the divine Word (2 Tim. 2:15) but also as one who stands today in the very presence of the God whose word he proclaims." (p. 95)

Discussion Questions:

Prayer is one of the most tangible ways that we can minister (esp. preaching) in the strength God supplies. What are some other ways that we can be reminded of and empowered by God's strength?
How do you maintain a prayerful dependence upon God in your preaching? What are some of your disciplines?
Preaching=Suffering. How has weekly preaching opened your eyes that ministry is not a day at Disneyland?
How does the gospel give you hope in carrying out the humanly-impossible task of preaching?

Him We Proclaim 3.1

2007-07-10T08:51:00.001-04:00

Preaching Christ is preaching grace. They're virtually synonyms. You can't have one without the other.

Last time, we identified 7 interwoven themes that together form an "apostolic theology of preaching." Now let's look at the first four of them a little more in depth.

1. The purpose we pursue: "to present everyone mature in Christ."

THE purpose…THE foundation… THE non-negotiable…of preaching is to be God's mouthpiece in his "Creation Project":

"Through preaching Christ Paul seeks to recreate people into the image of God, so they enjoy God's presence in unashamed purity, serve his will in unreserved love, express God's justice and mercy in relationships with each other." (p. 66)

Notice, Johnson's and Paul's emphasis is in on "people", community rather than individuals. Ours is the day of "me and Jesus" rather than "us and Jesus" so we need to let this sink in. The important themes of "maturity", "the body of Christ", and being "in Christ" point to the fact that God is not rescuing individuals willy-nilly, but is gathering a redeemed community that will live and love like Jesus on earth right now. And it is this community that mirrors in its interrelationships with each other a reflection of the image of the Holy Community, the Triune God himself. And it is preaching that God has ordained as a means of making this happen.

"The same gospel that initially called us to faith is the means that perfects us in faith…..The same gospel, faithfully preached, accomplishes both evangelism leading to conversion and edification leading to sanctification—both individual and corporate renewal together." (p. 68, 69)

2. The listeners we address: "to make known…among the Gentiles."

Apostolic preaching, new covenant preaching is by default missiological preaching. Why? Because God is calling men, women, and children from every nation to abandon their life-bleeding idols and to turn to His life-giving Son, Jesus.

"When God does the diagnosis through his whole Word, he pierces through the surface symptoms all the way to the heart, with the radical cure of God's holy truth exposing our infection in all its ugliness and applying Christ's amazing grace in all its sweetness and strength." (p. 71)

The purpose in preaching is to announce to peoples everywhere that reign of the Redeeming-Creator, Jesus, has begun and that there is no nation, people group, or culture that is exempt from his rule or redemption. The message of our preaching is not tied down to a particular language or geography. Apostolic preachers are missional preachers.

3. The content we preach: "Him we proclaim."

"How can contemporary preachers preach 'nothing but Christ' and at the same time preach the whole Bible as it addresses the whole spectrum of spiritual and ethical issues that confront our readers?" (p. 75)

In other words how can the simple notion of "preaching Jesus" possibly be enough? How can "Jesus" be the answer to all of life's questions, fears, frustrations, pursuits and joys? Is this just preacher talk? I don't think so. Have you ever noticed how much Jesus-talk Paul goes through when he talks to his Christian friends, when he prays for them, when he tells them how to do money, how to do sex, how to do parenting, how do singleness, how to do career, how to do entertainment, how to do conversation,…how to do life? He always calls his friends to orient/re-orient their life to the reality of how God has changed the world through Jesus. Paul demands that they live every aspect of their life in view of the actual death and resurrection of Jesus and the new creation that dawned because of it.

So here are the essentials of "preaching Jesus":

Christ reveals God the Creator with a fullness and clarity unmatched by any other mode of revelation. The goal, or perfection/maturity that God has for his creation is out on public display in Jesus.

Christ's supremacy is clearly seen in his role as the reconciler of God's people. Jesus is the only cure for the lethal sickness of sin and death.

Preaching Christ is preaching the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan for history. We'll never make sense of the OT unless we understand how pointed to and is fulfilled in Jesus. We'll never figure out what it means to follow Jesus unless we believe that he is the hinge-point of history.

4. The communication tasks we perform: "warning and teaching…with all wisdom."

"Preaching not only informs the mind but also employs truth to appeal to emotions and to challenge the will to respond in ways appropriate to the truth revealed in the gospel." (p. 85)

That's a lot to expect out of preaching, out of preacher! But that about sums it up (cf. 1 Timothy 3:16). That's why the 4 approaches in chapter 2 are not all wrong. The first three are just over simplified, emphasizing one aspect over another. Apostolic preaching is dynamic communication.

Well, that's it for now; we'll tackle 5-7 on "Him We Prolcaim 3.2."

Discussion Questions:

If the purpose of preaching is 'maturity in Christ', what does this maturity look like? How do we measure it?
How does viewing our preaching as missional clarify the purpose, content and communication methods of our preaching?
Is there really an insurmountable chasm between "preaching Jesus" and preaching to "felt needs"? Shouldn't "preaching Jesus, and him crucified" address felt needs?

Him We Proclaim 3.O

2007-07-09T16:59:00.001-04:00

Last time we asked something along the lines of "What is effective preaching?" We saw several different approaches, each having significant and biblical strengths. But we never got down to the real question, "What is the effect that preaching is supposed to have?" That's what we're after in our review of chapter 3 of Him We Proclaim.

He starts off by saying,

"We cannot evaluate our strengths and weaknesses in preaching, nor our progress in strengthening strengths and minimizing weaknesses unless we know what preaching is supposed to do, what purpose it is to accomplish." (p. 63)

So the author sets off on the lofty goal of answering what "preaching is supposed to do" by exploring the Apostle Paul's theology of preaching from a paragraph of his letter to the Colossian Christians. (This where the title of the book comes from too!)

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
Colossians 1:28-29

From this text and its surrounding paragraph, Johnson detects 7 interwoven themes that undergirded the Apostle's preaching and should undergird ours as well.

They are…

The purpose we pursue: "to present everyone mature in Christ."
The listeners we address: "to make known…among the Gentiles."
The content we preach: "Him we proclaim."
The communication tasks we perform: "warning and teaching…with all wisdom."
The price we pay: "suffering …Christ's afflictions…toil, struggling."
The power on which we rely: "all his energy…within me."
The office we fulfill: "minister according to the stewardship from God."

This chapter is worth reading, re-reading, and re-reading again. What I love most about it is that our friend doesn't just pull this stuff out of the air, but right from the man himself, the apostle Paul. And he doesn't even have to pull together a bunch of Paul's random thoughts from all of his letters. He piggybacks off of Paul's reflection on his own task as a preacher.

Next time, well take a look at these 7 themes of "apostolic theology of preaching."

Discussion Questions:

What other passages would you go to form a 'biblical theology of preaching'?
What effects should our preaching have: on us, on our listeners? In other words, what should preaching do?
How would you state (in one sentence) the purpose of preaching?

Overdressed

2007-07-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

You can now pre-order the new Caedmon's Call cd, Overdressed, and for a limited time, you'll get two cds for $12! Talk about generosity. This way you can share their truth-saturated music with a friend.

Great album art, huh?!

Him We Proclaim Reading Schedule

2007-07-03T09:24:00.000-04:00

Just to make your life a little easier, I'm posting the reading schedule that we're following this summer. Don't forget! You can simplify your reading avoid browsing the whole blog simply by clicking on the label "Him We Proclaim" either in the post or on the right hand column under "Labels". This will give you access to all of the "Him We Proclaim" posts.

Here we go...

June 10	Chapter 1: Introduction: Preaching Like Peter and Paul, p. 1 Tim Keller’s “Centrality of the Gospel”
June 17	Part 1: The Case for Apostolic, Christocentric Preaching Chapter 2: Priorities and Polarities in Preaching, p. 25
June 24	Chapter 3: Paul’s Theology of Preaching, p. 62
July 1	Chapter 4: The Complication, Chastening, Rejection, and Recovery of Apostolic Preaching in the History of the Church, p. 9
July 8	Chapter 5: Challenges to Apostolic Preaching, p. 126
July 15	Part 2: The Practice of Apostolic, Christocentric Preaching Chapter 6: The Epistle to the Hebrews as an Apostolic Preaching Paradigm, p. 167
July 22	Chapter 7: Theological Foundations of Apostolic Preaching, p. 198
July 29	Chapter 8: Preaching Christ, Head of the New Creation and Mediator of the New Covenant, p. 239
August 5	Chapter 9: Preaching the Promises: Apostolic Preaching of Old Testament Literary Genres, p. 272
August 12	Chapter 10: Preaching the Promise Keeper: Apostolic Preaching of New Testament Literary Genres, p. 331
August 19	Appendix A: From Text to Sermon 397 Appendix B: Sample Sermons in the Trajectory of Apostolic, Christ-Centered Preaching 409
August 26	Wrapping things up!

Him We Proclaim 2.0

2007-06-30T22:38:00.001-04:00

Who are your favorite preachers?

What do you consider good preaching?

What makes a "good" preacher?

When does a preacher "cross the line" from preaching to teaching? From sermon to lecture?

What does a "biblical" preacher look like?

Ok…that's enough. Even if you answered these questions with a concordance in your hand there is a boatload of subjectivity laced throughout your answers. My answers. Now, I've only been in supported ministry for a cumulative 6 years, but it seems to me that if you've got a church of about 150 people you've got at least 200 opinions when it comes to "this is the way a preacher should preach."

That's the reality we have to have in mind as we read Johnson's second chapter of Him We Proclaim. It's called "Priorities and Polarities in Preaching" (pp. 25-61) for good reason. If there's one area a pastor can be tempted relentlessly to cower to the idol called "Fear of Man" or "Foolishly Trying to Meet Everyone's Expectations" it's the area of preaching. Thankfully, Johnson gives some good advice for us to navigate the fluctuating opinions of preaching.

"Because human nature is prone to oversimplification and imbalance, differences of opinion on priorities to be pursued in preaching easily degenerate into polarization." (p. 27)

Of course I've opened up a can of worms, and neither this chapter , or my post, will answer all of the questions about what makes good, biblical preaching. Instead, we're gonna talk about purpose.

Our author identifies three general purposes of preaching are 1. To convert, 2. To edify, and 3. To instruct. Since you have the book (or could buy the book and read along with us) I won't reiterate the chapter. But essentially, Johnson summarizes (at length) the strengths and weaknesses of these three preaching purposes. The 30 pages are well worth reading and will help you work through some very practical issues: felt needs, evangelism vs. edification, theological jargon, value redemptive-historical, the indicative and the imperative, etc.

Then in the last 10 pages, he recommends another purpose. It's really a hybrid of the three (especially #3) and is what the book contends for. He dubs it a very cumbersome, yet meaningful title: "Evangelistic, Edificatory Redemptive-Historical Preaching."Even if you don't read the footnotes (which you should in this case), you'll notice right away his interaction with/reliance upon Tim Keller. In fact if you've heard Tim Keller preach, then you've got an inkling of what Johnson is proposing. He defines this kind of preaching like this:

"Preaching must be Christ-centered, must interpret biblical texts in their redemptive-historical contexts, must aim for change, must proclaim the doctrinal center of the Reformation (grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, God's glory alone) with passion and personal application, and must speak in a language that connects with the unchurched in our culture, shattering their stereotypes of Christianity and bringing them face to face with Christ, who meets sinner's real needs—felt and unfelt." (p. 54)

Keller gives props to his mentor Edmund Clowney and sees his method right in line with Clowney's redemptive-historical approach. He just kicks it up a notch. Here are some foundational characteristics of this "gospel changes everything" kind of preaching.

Biblical Theology, Biblical Theology, Biblical Theology! If that term doesn't mean anything to you, if it doesn't cause your heart to skip an exegetical beat, then you need to repent and get saved…or at least read up a little bit more. Johnson gives a summary that'll do for now: "It emphasizes the unity of the history of redemption—the enactment of God's plan for the rescue, reconciliation, and re-creation of his people, climaxing in the person, obedience, sacrifice, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ, and reaching consummation at his return in glory." (pp.48-49) Biblical Theology (BT) is the discipline that traces all of the promises made in the OT to the promises kept in the NT (thank you, Mark Dever). One key result of BT is that we always see Jesus as the hero of every OT narrative: "The purpose of the Old Testament historical narrative is not to teach moral lessons, but to trace the work of God, the Savior of his people, whose redeeming presence among them reaches it's climatic expression in Christ's incarnation." (p.51)
Believers and unbelievers both need to hear the gospel in preaching. As Keller says, "the gospel is not just the A-B-C's but the A to Z of Christianity."
The root of all sin and misery is idolatry. "Our idols are whatever (other than the triune God) we trust in to gain 'salvation,' however we define it—whatever we believe that we cannot live without." (p. 57)
Preachers and congregations must assume the presence of unbelievers in gathered worship and therefore not always speak in only Christianese. Rather than dumb down the gospel, though, the preacher should take apologetic sidebars that challenge non-Christians with the coherence of biblical truth and its superior ability to address the dilemmas of human life and thought.

Having read on, I'll encourage you that Johnson does a good job explaining how we can preach like this, but for now let's get to some discussion.

Discussion: (pick one and comment)

How would you define biblical preaching? What's it look like? What does "meaty" preaching look like?
Do you think that preaching can be intelligible enough for unbelievers and still remain edifying for believers? Why/not?
What are some challenges that you've faced in preaching in a redemptive-historical fashion?
In what ways is Keller's approach ("Evangelistic, Edificatory Redemptive-Historical Preaching") different from seeker-sensitive preaching?
Have you taught or preached the Bible (esp. the OT) in a moralistic way? How does biblical theology help us move away from that?
How do you combat the "fear of man" and the tyranny of others' expectations when it comes to preaching?

Basic Biblical Theology Resources

2007-06-19T12:27:00.000-04:00

As we're reading through Him We Proclaim I wanted to make sure that we're all on the same page when we're talking about Biblical Theology. So here's a couple quotes and some resources you'll want to have handy.

From the evangelical preacher's point of view, biblical theology involves the quest for the big picture, or the overview of biblical revelation. It is of the nature of biblical theology that it tells a story rather than sets out timeless principles in abstraction. It does contain many timeless principles, but not in abstract. They are given in an historical context of progressive revelation. If we allow the Bible to tell its own story, we find a coherent and meaningful whole.
Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, 22.

To understand the Bible as a single divinely-inspired narrative, a revelation of God’s purpose and plan for humanity that unfolds in time and space, is the task of biblical theology. More than just theology that is biblical, biblical theology attempts to understand God’s revelation as it progressively unfolds in history and culminates in the person of Jesus Christ. It tries to understand how the Old Testament points forward to and prepares us for the New, and how the New Testament is contained in the Old.
Michael Lawrence, "Where is Your Story Written", Nov-Dec 06 9News.

Links:
"What is Biblical Theology?" from Beginning With Moses. Tons of great articles on biblical theology that are especially helpful for sermon preparation.

"Biblical Theology" from Monergism. THE place to go for anything that has to do with Reformed theology. Tons of links and articles covering almost every facet of Biblical Theology.

"Biblical Theology" from 9 Marks. The second mark of a healthy church is one committed to biblical theology. Check out the other 8!

"9News on Biblical Theology" from 9 Marks. An entire 60 page newsletter discussing the "ins" and "outs" of Biblical Theology.

Is Gathered Worship for Edification or Evangelism?

2007-06-12T17:55:00.000-04:00

For a long time, I used to argue that the Gathered Worship (aka, Sunday church services) were primarily for Christians. And to really show that I went to Bible College, I would argue that the main purpose for such meetings is for edification. And if evangelism took place, it would be because non-Christians saw a group of Jesus followers edifying each other well. I'm beginning to see that such a divorce between evangelism and edification is unnecessary and reveals a minimized view of the gospel.

Taking his cue from Tim Keller and summarizing Keller's paper, The Centrality of the Gospel, Mark Driscoll resonates what I too believe is the point of gathered worship.

"My articulation is, Sunday is for the worship and the adoration and the exaltation of Jesus, and if everything is about Jesus, then it works for Christians and non-Christians. Everyone needs Jesus, and the gospel is for Christians, too. It's not just something you believe and then move on with the rest of your life. The gospel of conviction of sin and repentance and trusting in the finished work of Christ is something that every Christian practices every moment of every day, and I think it's a truncated view of the gospel if it's a few laws, or a sales pitch we give to someone, they pray the prayer, and then we've concluded our evangelistic endeavor. I think it's a very reductionistic view of the gospel."

Mark Driscoll, Modern Reformation "Christless Christianity" May/June Vol. 16 No. 3 2007 Pages 39-42

Him We Proclaim 1.0

2007-06-08T10:16:00.000-04:00

So let's talk about the first chapter of Dennis Johnson's book, Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from all the Scriptures. Hopefully you've read it, but if not feel free to comment if you can help spark good dialogue!

Ch. 1 is an introduction, and like any good introduction the author sets the stage for the rest of the book. The book tries to answer the question "How can I preach like the apostles, like Peter and like Paul; how can I preach so that Christ is the hero of every passage, the hope for every need, and the promise for every command?" So Johnson gives the thesis/goal of the book:

"This book tries to answer that question, first by arguing in favor of reuniting insights and disciplines the apostles displayed in harmonious unity but that sadly have become disconnected since then. Then it suggests perspectives and strategies to help ordinary Christians discover their Savior throughout Scripture and to equip ordinary preachers to proclaim their Savior convincingly and powerfully from the diverse panorama of Scripture's genres and eras." (p. 2-3)

After setting this lofty goal, he goes on to briefly discuss some "tragic divorces" that have occurred that make it difficult and/or suspect for us to understand and teach the unity of Bible like the apostles did. So he calls for a re-uniting of three divorced "couples":
we need to reunite...

Old Testament and New Testament,
apostolic doctrine and hermeneutics, &
biblical interpretation and biblical proclamation.

Addressing the the reuniting of OT and NT, Johnson says:

"One major theme, to which this book will return repeatedly, therefore, is the unity of the Old Testament and the New in the person and work of Jesus Christ and consequently, also in the community composed of believing Jews and Gentiles that his Spirit is now assembling." (p. 9)

Pp. 10-12 address the debate of "Can we and should we imitate the apostles in the way that they understand, interpret, and teach Old Testament promise in light of the fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah?" John bluntly warns that he will persuade us that we if we believe the gospel that the apostles proclaimed then we too must proclaim the gospel in the same way.

The third reuniting involves biblical interpretation and proclamation. Seeing how I'm still thawing out from seminary, I found great encouragement in these words:

"Exegesis itself is impoverished when specialization and professional pressures in the academy inculcate into faculty and students a model of biblical interpretation that aborts the process short of application, depriving it of its sweetest fruits." (p.13)

He further goes on to say,

"Application that does not emerge form the purpose for which God himself gave his Word, will in the end, lack credibility and power to motivate hearers who hunger for the truth and mercy that is found nowhere but in Jesus.(p. 14)

In the last section of ch. 1 we introduced to three descriptions of Apostolic Preaching: Redemptive-historical, Missiologically communicated, and grace-driven. One of the fears that is often raised when trying to preach like the apostles is "they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, so they could 'read between the lines of the OT' without error, but we cannot...so we should not." To this charge Johnson responds,

"There is a distinctly apostolic way of being Christ-centered, and it is this hermeneutic that places appropriate checks on the preacher's hyperactive imagination, thereby assuring listeners that the message is revealed by God, not merely generated by human activity." (p. 16)

Finally ch. 1 ends with a survey of the rest of the book.

So...let's talk about it now. Feel free to bring up other issues. This is just to get things rolling.

DISCUSSION

What questions or concerns came to mind as you read ch. 1?
In what ways do you find it difficult to trace the unity of the Scriptures?
Re-read pp.16 (last paragraph)-18 (first paragraph). How helpful to you is the phrase "redemptive-historical"? This is going to be key.
To what extent is the "promise-fulfillment pattern" of redemptive history on your radar screen when reading and teaching the Bible?

Stephen Witmer: Fellow Mainer, recently appointed Gordon-Conwell Professor of NT

2007-05-31T15:33:00.000-04:00

Stephen Witmer, a friend of mine from back in seminary (and a fellow Mainer I must add) was just recently appointed as a professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I cannot speak highly enough of my dear brother. I cannot speak highly enough of this God-centered, Christ-exalting, biblical-theology teaching, brother. So I'll let some others....

I overheard this from my buddy Jonathan, who is a very close friend to Stephen, over at Creation Project:

A great friend and outstanding scholar, Stephen Witmer has been appointed to teach New Testament at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary under a one year contract, with long-term possiblities. Stephen’s keen intellect and sincere heart will be a great addition to the faculty at GCTS. Stephen did his B.A. in Philosophy and History, with a minor in Biblical Studies at Wheaton College, M.Div and Th.M at GCTS, and has just completed his Ph.D in New Testament at Cambridge University, where he recently taught 1Corinthians, the Gospel of John, Acts, and provided oversight to undergraduate students.

A recent GCTS email give him these props:

After graduation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MDiv/ThM 2003), Prof. Stephen Witmer began PhD studies at the University of Cambridge, and will complete his program in New Testament studies in the spring of 2007. During the academic year 2006-2007, he served as a Teaching Associate at the Faculty of Divinity of the University of Cambridge, supervising students and lecturing in New Testament. He will serve a one-year appointment as Visiting Instructor and Adjunct Professor at Gordon-Conwell during the 2007-2008 year. Together with his experience in teaching, Prof. Witmer brings years of ministry experience. A licensed minister with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, he has led college and young adult ministries and has preached all over New England. His numerous publications include articles in Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary (Zondervan) and in the academic journals Novum Testamentum, Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, and New Testament Studies.

Zechariah is a wee little man, and wee little man is he!

2007-05-30T18:02:00.001-04:00

New Post Series: Him We Proclaim

2007-05-30T14:29:00.000-04:00

Over this summer, a few guys from my church (Windham Baptist Church) will be reading through Dennis Johnson's new book Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures. And you are cordially invited to follow along with us and join the discussion.

I'm seriously pumped about this book because it's all about equipping Jesus followers to preach, teach, and understand the entire Bible with Jesus as the Hero of every page. He argues that one of the biggest problems in interpreting and proclaiming the message of God's Word stems from a warped perspective of how the Old Testament and the New Testament work together. His goal is to persuade us that there is a Christ-focused marriage between Old Testament promise and New Testament fulfillment. So basically Him We Proclaim will show us how to preach God-centered, Christ-exalting, gospel-driven, biblical-theological sermons.

One of the most significant things about this book that I've noticed so far is that Johnson shows why biblical theology is important, and when understood correctly, will drive us to Jesus. So naturally, he's going to lean on all of my heroes (and then some!), like Geerhadus Vos, Meredith Kline, Vern Poythress, G.K. Beale, Graeme Goldsworthy, and Tim Keller.

In chapter two, after summarizing and critiquing the most popular approaches to preaching (preaching to convert, preaching to edify, preaching to instruct), Johnson teases us by introducing the method that he will argue for throughout the rest of the book. He calls it "Evangelistic, Edificatory Redemptive-Historical Preaching." Despite the horrible title, it resembles Tim Keller's preaching a lot. And those of you who've been influenced by Tim Keller and especially his Spiritually invigorating emphasis on the Centrality of the Gospel are gonna love this!

Keller says "The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A to Z of Christianity.... The main problem, then, in the Christian life is that we have not thought out the deep implications of the gospel, we have not “used” the gospel in and on all parts of our life. So the key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel."

And since the only way for us to understand the Gospel and proclaim the Gospel is to see and savor Jesus Christ on every page of Scripture and in every act of the drama of redemption Johnson's Him We Proclaim promises to be a valuable read. I hope you join us.

Links:
Sample of Him We Proclaim
9 Marks Review: Him We Proclaim
9 Marks May/June Newsletter "How to Preach"
Monergism Blurb and Buy Him We Proclaim
Tim Keller Resources

Miniature Earth...what if there were only 100 of us?!

2007-05-22T10:39:00.000-04:00

Our perspective always determines how we think, feel, and act. This short video should make your heart grow more tender, your mind think more purposefully, and your hands act more swiftly. You can watch the video, Miniature-Earth, online or download it to your computer.

The strength of this video is bringing mind-numbing, global statistics down to a workable, impactful number: 100. As I watched, I felt more a part of the global community, that there might be something I could do to make a difference, that I've been blessed to be a blessing to others. Watch it and let me know how it impacts you and how it might impact others through you.

Link: Miniature-Earth

Reading the Bible Aloud in Gathered Worship 2.0

2007-05-08T14:29:00.000-04:00

"Reading the Bible aloud is always central to Christian worship. Cutting back on this for whatever reason--trimming readings so that the service doesn't go on too long, changing scripture passages so that they become merely part of a musical performance, or reading only the few verses the preacher intends to preach about--misses the point. The reason we read scripture in worship isn't primarily to inform or remind the congregation about some biblical passage or theme they have forgotten. Likewise, its much more than a peg to hang a sermon on, though preaching from one or more of the readings is often a wise plan. Reading scripture in worship is, first and foremost, the central way of celebrating who God is and what he's done.

....Just as you're insulting a good wine if you drink it from a plastic cup instead of a glass which shows off its color, bouquet, and full flavor, so you're insulting the Bible if, given the opportunity, you don't create a context in which it can be heard and celebrated as what it really is: the rehearsal of the powerful deeds of God the creator and rescuer."

N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 150, 151.

Reading the Bible Aloud in Gathered Worship

2007-05-08T13:57:00.000-04:00

There is so much information coming at us these days. We're not just wired for sound anymore, we're wired(-less) for info, for data, for SPAM, for "late-breaking news about Anna Nicole", for...what?! So it's no wonder that many churches have opted for a "less filling, tastes great" approach to the public reading of Scripture. But in an effort to improve communication and the understanding of that communication, we've unwittingly removed the very Word that needs to be spoken, heard, explained, pondered. By thinking and modeling that "less of the Bible, is actually more" we also run the risk of distorting what the Bible actually is, "the rehearsal of the powerful deeds of God the creator and rescuer." What we're left with is merely another self-help message, another advertisement, another miracle pill...just another voice calling for our attention in the cacophony of life.

So it falls to me every week to help our congregation see that the Bible is not just another voice, but it is THE Voice, the voice of the Living God. In fact, one of our Key Values of Gathered Worship is that our meetings should be "Bible-Saturated." I haven't figured this out all that much yet, but I do know giving a time and place for a larger portion of Scripture to be read is essential.

Periodically, I take about 2-3 minutes to explain different parts of our gatherings: singing, prayer, Scripture readings, affirmation of the gospel, Lord's Supper, etc. This has been very effective. When it comes to our public reading of Scripture, I often will highlight the nature of Scripture, not just the content of the passage.

For example, this past week I read 1 Cor. 10:1-13 and said something along the lines of "Every day you and I are bombarded with messages and information that we find annoying at best and offensive at worst. At least half our snail mail we immediately recycle, and let's not even talk about email SPAM!! But what we're about to read together is entirely different from any other message you'll ever read or come across. These words, penned by the apostle Paul, are not merely his words to his friends in the city of Corinth. They are God's Words. So listen now, let us listen together, to our loving Creator and Redeemer."

No doubt, it could be said better, but I've found it better to actually get on with it than to wait for the perfect way to say something. The point is not that the introduction of the Scripture reading change people, but that it breaks down barriers and heightens anticipation for the very Living Word that can and will change men, women, and children's hearts!

A New Tolkien Book: The Children of Hurin

2007-04-17T17:01:00.000-04:00

Today, I got my (early) birthday present...The Children of Hurin. Ever since J.R.R. Tolkien's death in 1973, his son, Christopher, has done a remarkable job editing and publishing his father's unfinished (or better said, unpublished) writings. The earliest versions of The Children of Hurin go back about 90 years, to the end of WWI, when Tolkien began writing his most beloved epic, much of which was published posthumously as The Silmarillion. Although a portion of the tale was told in The Silmarillion, this new book is the most complete, readable version. I can't wait to dig into this story, and the timing couldn't be any better because I'm currently reading John Garth's biography, Tolkien and the Great War.

A Boston Fan Already!

2007-04-17T16:26:00.000-04:00

Because we don't have NESN, it's nearly impossible to catch a Red Sox game on TV these days. When I was kid, I used to love Saturday games on WSBK, but somewhere along the line the nasty FOX monster bought the rights and now I'm left to the radio most of the time. Which is what made this past Saturday all the more special. Zechariah and I lounged on the couch for the entire afternoon, witnessing the Angels get hammered by our beloved Sox! Schilling was so close to pitching a shutout...oh, well, at least he came out on top. It was a day of good baseball, well-excuted pitching and bats that were alive--it was Zechariah's first Red Sox game!

Hopin' for a good game.

Ortiz drove in a run!

My Little Slugger

"What a game!"

My beautiful wife and son...after taking a walk

Pray with me

2007-04-12T10:24:00.000-04:00

So much in the media and even in my heart suggest that God should fulfill my every desire, my every whim. But that's an upside-down universe, and every day we see it crashing all around us: injustice, broken marriages, addiction, rage, racism, depression, genocide, deception, pride, etc.

As a follower of Jesus, I've been encouraged lately that God has really changed the world in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And that as I gladly submit to his re-creating work in me through his Holy Spirit, new creation continues to spring up in this wilderness-world. This prayer has been on my mind and heart lately.

Almighty God, who alone can bring order to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity: give your people grace so to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, among the many changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

--from the Book of Common Prayer, the collect for the fifth Sunday before Lent.

My Little Irish Leprechaun

2007-03-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

Smile!

2007-03-07T08:16:00.000-05:00

Discovery Channel + Documentary on Jesus' "tomb" = Titanic Disaster!

2007-02-27T11:01:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't heard, the Discovery Channel will be airing a new documentary, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," in early March. In Da Vinci Code fashion, the executive producer, Titanic's James Cameron, and director, Simcha Jacobovici, claim their findings will rattle the foundation of Christianity and probably bringing down the whole house, thus changing history forever. Why? Because the supposed tomb of Jesus has been found, along with the ossuary that contains the bones of Jesus, his mother, brothers, wife, and his child Jude! Who knew?!

Needless to say, this shouldn't rock your faith any more than Dan Brown's fiction. At least Brown was forthright about his work being fictitious. Cameron and Jacobovici's is much worse; it's a farce.

Here are some very helpful links with nods to other great resources you should check out so you can understand what's going on. You never know the conversations you might have. Afterall, Jesus is pretty popular these day!

Pastor John Piper and Staff's Desiring God Blog: God's Unsinkable Ship.

New Testament Scholar, Ben Witherington weighs in: The Jesus Tomb? 'Titanic' Talpiot Tomb Theory Sunk From the Start

Internet Monk, Michael Spencer: Resources and Responses to the "Tomb of Jesus and His Family" Story

Heaven's not the end of the world

2007-02-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

"Heaven is important, but it's not the end of the world."

I haven't been able to get this quote from N.T. Wright out of my head this week! Over the past couple of years I've been experimenting, trying to speak about things the way the Bible really speaks about things. One result is that I have rid my vocabulary of the phrase "dying and going to heaven." The whole concept, let alone the phrase itself, is simply not biblical in that it stops short of what the Bible really says about the end of the world. Instead, I've been trying to remind myself and others that the end, the goal, of creation and redemption is New Creation, the New Heavens and New Earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Rev. 21:1) So when I die someday, I will, along with all of the redeemed, die and go to the New Heavens and New Earth. But not only that, my new life in Jesus that I experience today is the beginning of this new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) that will come in its fullness when he returns!

"HEAVEN IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD; God will make new heavens and new earth, and give us new bodies to live and work and take delight in his new creation. And the ‘good news’ of the Christian gospel is that this new world, this new creation, has already begun: it began when Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead on Easter morning, having faced and beaten the double enemy, sin and death, that has corrupted and defaced God’s lovely creation."

--N.T. Wright, from a sermon entitled "The Road to New Creation."

Takin' the edge off of 3am

2007-02-13T16:09:00.000-05:00

For the most part I'm clueless about parenting. Every first-time dad and mom is bombarded with so many opinions of how to calm a fussing baby, how to not make a fussy baby, how to get your baby on a routine, how to.... But 3am is like kryptonite
to all parental advice. And it also seems that some great ideas have a shelf life of about one week. Yet there are times throughout the day and even during the nearly God-forsaken hours of the morning that take the edge of off a bit. A cute smile, puppy eyes, hilarious crossed-eyes, girgling grunts, or sleeping on mommy or daddy's chest. Children are truly a gift from God himself (Psalm 127:3)!

Three Generations of Ottes

2007-02-13T16:02:00.000-05:00

My Dad, Phil, made the great trek across Maine to come visit his newest grandson. It was pretty cool to have three generations of Ottes under the same roof. There's not too many of us around and it's good to know Zechariah carries on the name.

Zechariah's Friends

2007-02-13T15:08:00.000-05:00

Zechariah turns a month old tomorrow, and already he has bunch of friends!

Alyssa D.
Elisa D.
Kevin D.
Vicki N.
Dave R.

My best buddy Dave H., who get's an honorable mention for driving the furthest to come and see our little boy!
Kalila H.
Megan R.
Tim R.
Kaitlyn G.

A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

2007-01-26T13:46:00.000-05:00

Beautiful. Handsome. Precious. Munchkin. My son. Adorable. Wow. How Cute! Whoa that's a full diaper! Is this for real? What a blessing! Being first-time parents is so much more than we ever dreamed, both the joy and the challenge. But do we ever love this little boy. We're actually starting to find something that looks like a schedule and perhaps a slice of sanity, too. Here's a few more pics.

Zechariah Ivan Otte

2007-01-18T19:57:00.000-05:00

On January 14, 2007 our son Zechariah Ivan Otte was born into this world, safe and sound. He weighed 6 pounds and 13ounces and measured in at 20"! Heidi and I are overcome with love and adoration of him and wanted you to share in the joy with these pictures. Thanks for praying for us and continuing to pray for us as we enter this thing called parenthood!

Baby...already, but not yet!

2007-01-11T15:12:00.000-05:00

Just in case you were wondering, nope, no baby yet! The past month has reinforced my belief in inaugurated eschatology: "I am ALREADY a father, BUT I am NOT YET a father in the fullest sense of the word! The tension can be almost unbearable. At times I'm presently consumed with the joy of talking to my son while he's still in the womb, feeling him kick and turn, and sympathizing with him when he's got the hiccups. Yet, there's more to come, a lot more than I can possibly imagine! Someday, I will see him face to face, and the thought of that makes me tear up, makes me exult in this gift of life that God has entrusted to Heidi and me. Of course, Heidi's not so sentimental about the inaugurated state of motherhood. As painful as the birth pangs will be she want him out! (This is where I tell myself "Self, just shut up. You cannot even begin to understand what she's going through. Tell her you love her and she's doing a great job!")

But as crazy as it sounds, the privilege of loving my son while he's still in the womb balanced by the confident hope of his soon arrival has been a great picture, almost a parable, to help me better understand how Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God at his first coming and how he will consummate it at his second coming. He was vindicated the Messiah, God's King, when he rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God (Romans 1:4); he is King right now! Yet his kingship will not come in its fullness until the King returns, when the last enemy, Death, is destroyed and robbed of its captives, when Satan if vanquished and the presence of sin removed forever (1 Cor 15:20-58).

Of course I'm not equating the coming of Zechariah Ivan Otte to the coming of King Jesus, but I can't help but notice how the arrival of my son is preparing me for the arrival of my Redeemer King!

"Maranatha! ...and while you're at it, Jesus, could you please speed my baby boy along!"

1 Peter 1:8-9
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

An Upside-Down World

2007-01-05T15:55:00.000-05:00

"The question is not, 'Where does God fit into the story of my life?' but, 'Where does my life fit into the story of God's mission?'"

Those words by Christopher J.H. Wright have helped me better understand "mission"/"missions". The article caused me to see afresh the biblical reality that missions is not so much what we do for God and His Kingdom, but what God is up to in the world and how he brings us alongside of his redemptive purposes for his creation. Every Christian and church should ask "What is God's mission?" and "Am I on God's mission?" As a pastor, I am struck with the question "What's the difference between a church with a mission's program and a missional church?" Chris Wright points me to God's mission as the starting point. This article has confirmed in my mind that we serve a God with a mission and that it is in the "DNA" of every Christian to be on mission with God. Anything less is sub-Christian.

Here are some snippets from his article called "An Upside-Down World" that just appeard in Christianity Today, January 2007. (If they post it online, I'll add the link later.)

"The map of global Christianity that our grandparents knew has been turned upside down. At the start of the 20th century, only ten percent of the world's Christians lived in the continents of the south and east. Ninety percent lived in North America and Europe, along with Australia and New Zealand. But at the start of the 21st century, at least 70 percent of the world's Christians live in the non-Western world--more appropriately called the majority world."

"More Christians worship in Anglican churches in Nigeria each week than in all the Episcopal and Anglican churches of Britain, Europe, and North America combined."

"Christianity has never had a territorial center. Our center is the person of Christ, and wherever he is known, there is another potential center of faith and witness."

"Already, 50 percent of all protestant missionaries in the world come from non-Western countries, and the proportion is increasing annually."

"So another piece of unlearning we must do is breaking the habit of using the term mission field to refer to everywhere else in the world excpet our home country in the West."

"The real mission boundary is not between 'Christian countries' and 'the mission field', but between faith and unbelief, and that is a boundary that runs through every land and, indeed, through every local street."

"The whole Bible presents a God of missional activity, from his purposeful, goal-oriented act of Creation to the compeltion of his cosmic mission in the redemption of the whole of Creation--a new heaven and a new earth."

"All mission or missions that we initiate, or into which we invest our vocation, gifts, and energies, flow from the prior mission of God. God is on mission, and we, in that wonderful phrase of Paul, are 'co-workers with God.' This God-centered refocusing of mission turns inside-out our obsession with mission plans, agendas, goals, strategies, and grand schemes. We ask, 'Where does God fit into the story of my life?' when the real question is, 'Where does my life fit into the story of God's mission?'"

Resources:
For an in depth study on the biblical theology of mission check out Christopher Wright's most recent book The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative

And if that book floats your boat, you'll want to get Andreas Kostenberger and Peter T. O'Brien's Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A biblical theology of mission.

And by all means don't forget John Piper's Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions.

Christian Bumper Stickers=False Advertising

2006-12-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

Relevant Magazine exposes Christian Bumper Stickers for the shams they really are. Here's a snippet.

"Real Men Love Jesus" Do we honestly believe that men around the globe who don't love Jesus, or haven't even considered loving Him, will read this and come to the conclusion, "What's that? I'm not a real man!? Well, I better follow that guy to find out how to love Jesus!"

And secondly, the last time I watched the movie Pinocchio; I never saw Gepeto threaten Pinocchio with: "You know son, you'll never be a real boy until you start loving me! [insert evil laugh here]." Jesus doesn’t do that either; so should His followers?

January 7...The Countdown Continues

2006-12-27T09:56:00.000-05:00

Heidi and I are going to our (most likely) last DR's appointment before our baby boy is born! We can't wait. Heidi can't wait the most, though! Funny how God designed a woman to so desire to carry the child in the womb at first, and then towards the end do nearly anything to get that kid out. Interesting....

We had one of our most special Christmases this year. Just the two of us...um, three of us. Unlike the Kranks, we did not boycott Christmas, but we did buck the trend of visiting every living relative and driving hours and hours. So we had a quaint breakfast of blueberry pancakes, opened gifts from family and each other, and then sat down for a home-cooked ham dinner, prepared by yours truly.

Later in the afternoon we drove three houses down our road to have supper and dessert at Heidi's cousin's house and there I was introduced to countless Chute relatives. I got to jam with some incredible musicians. My distant third or fourth cousin removed thrice and then squared once played my favoritest instrument in the world: uilleann pipes. If you're wondering what you could get me for my birthday or Christmas next year, look no further and shop here: Lark in the Morning Store.

Why do elephants have flat feet?

2006-12-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

One of our teens unearthed a 1o1 Elephant Jokes book from our church's quagmire of a library. They are so bad (the jokes, not the teens!) that you can't help but laugh. Here's a sampling.

What do elephants have that no other animal has?
Baby Elephants!

Why do ducks have webbed feet?
To put out forest fires!

Why do elephants have flat feet?
To put out burning ducks!

Why does an elephant never forget?
What's he got to remember?!

Why do elephants drink?
They want to forget.

How do you make an elephant float?
Two scoops of ice cream, soda, and some elephant!

Christmas Escapism?

2006-12-07T08:13:00.000-05:00

“Christmas, then, is not a dream, a moment of escapism. Christmas is the reality, which shows up the rest of ‘reality.’ And for Christmas, here, read Christianity. Either Jesus is the Lord of the world, and all reality makes sense in his light, or he is dangerously irrelevant to the problems and possibilities of today’s world. There is no middle ground. Either Jesus was, and is, the Word of God, or he, and the stories Christians tell about him, are lies.”

N.T. Wright, For All God's Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church, p.2.

A guitar...A worship leader...20 minutes....

2006-11-30T15:31:00.000-05:00

Here's a hilarious spoof on NBC's "The More You Know" public service campaign. Except this is called The Church You Know.

This is my favorite clip. It helps us understand all we "need" to worship God.

The Church You Know: worship video

Wait one apple-pickin' minute!

2006-11-25T13:03:00.000-05:00

Autumn is one my favorite things about New England. One of my favorite things about Autumn is apple picking. We totally struck out when we finally got around to it. I think I counted two apples total in the entire orchard: one was practically petrified and the other was on the business sign. Any way, Heidi, baby Otte (yeah we've decided on a name, but still reserve the right to change it!), and I had a great time just walking around. While we didn't pick any apples that day, we didn't go home empty-handed. We bought a bag of apples and some sort of apple-crisp thingy and then drove around the country side admiring God's beautiful creation!

A New England Breakfast...Thanks Phyllis and Ben

2006-11-25T12:57:00.000-05:00

My sister and her husband visited our new home back in late September. As a thank you for staying at the Hotel Otte, they sent us a genuine New England Breakfast! It was SCRUMPTIOUS! Thanks!!!!

8 more weeks: The Countdown Begins

2006-11-17T17:12:00.000-05:00

Our baby boy is due sometime around January 7. That's going to be a special night either way, because the 6th season of 24 premieres that night. How cool would it be, though, for Heidi and me and our boy to watch Jack Bauer together for the first time?!

So lots of you have been asking me to post some pictures. Confession: I'm a horrible picture-posting blogger. Obviously. So anyhow. I hope to post some pictures of my beautiful wife. Pregnancy agrees with her and she is definitely with child more and more every day.

For now...I do have a great picture I took back in August.

My heart is singing at the top of its lungs!

2006-10-20T09:46:00.000-04:00

David Crowder's new album ("A Collision") is a feast in sound and lyric. I was brought to my knees as I thought about my mortality this morning thanks to his song "Come Awake." Not really sure why. I guess I've been thinking about my father in law who was recently diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma; the hard fact that 10 out of 10 humans die has hit home. Crowder reminded me of the good news that while death is unavoidable, resurrection irreversible! The songs on this cd were literally birthed in the midst of the tagic death of his dear friend and pastor. So he speaks with grief trumped by hope. This morning my heart has sung at the top of its lungs--"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:55,57).

"Come Awake"

Are we left here on our own
Can you feel when your last breath is gone
Night is weighing heavy now
Be quiet and wait
For a voice that will say

Come awake from sleep arise
You were dead become alive
Wake up wake up
Open your eyes
Climb from your grave
Into the light

Bring us back to life
You are not the only one
Who feels like the only one
Night soon will be lifted friend
Just be quiet
And wait for a voice that will say

Rise rise to life to life
Shine Light will shine
Love will rise
Light will shine
Shine shine shine
He's shining on us now

By David Crowder, Jason Solley, & Mike Hogan
2005 worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Inot Music

What's your favorite sermon? Here's mine.

2006-10-12T13:33:00.000-04:00

If you had to choose one sermon out of all of the sermons preached throughout Christian history, what would you choose? No matter what, you're going to be biased and subjective. That's fine. You gotta start somewhere. For me it's Jonathan Edward's The Excellency of Christ. Whenever someone rags on my old homeboy and makes a caricature of him based on their half-hearted reading of Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God, I direct them to this delighful feast of a sermon. Here you will find a man mesmirized by Jesus Christ. The first time I read it was the first time I (began) to understand what it means to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8) and to "believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory" (1 Peter 1:8). The Excellency of Christ continues to feed my soul and I hope it will yours. Spend some time reflecing on the "admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Jesus Christ."

There do meet in Jesus Christ infinite highness and infinite condescension. Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all.

There meet in Jesus Christ, infinite justice and infinite grace.

In the person of Christ do meet together infinite glory and lowest humility.

In the person of Christ do meet together infinite majesty and transcendent meekness.

There meet in the person of Christ the deepest reverence towards God and equality
with God.

There are conjoined in the person of Christ infinite worthiness of good, and the greatest patience under sufferings of evil.

In the person of Christ are conjoined an exceeding spirit of obedience, with supreme dominion over heaven and earth.

In the person of Christ are conjoined absolute sovereignty and perfect resignation.

In Christ do meet together self-sufficiency, and an entire trust and reliance on God, which is another conjunction peculiar to the person of Christ.

Then was Christ in the greatest degree of his humiliation, and yet by that, above all other things, his divine glory appears.

He never in any act gave so great a manifestation of love to God, and yet never so manifested his love to those that were enemies to God, as in that act.
Let the consideration of this wonderful meeting of diverse excellencies in Christ induce you to accept of him, and close with him as your Savior.

What are you afraid of, that you dare not venture your soul upon Christ?

What is there that you can desire should be in a Savior, that is not in Christ?

How much Christ appears as the Lamb of God in his invitations to you to come to him and trust in him.

If you do come to Christ, he will appear as a Lion, in his glorious power and dominion, to defend you.

Let what has been said be improved to induce you to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and choose him for your friend and portion.

Christ will give himself to you, with all those various excellencies that meet in him, to your full and everlasting enjoyment.

By your being united to Christ, you will have a more glorious union with and enjoyment of God the Father, than otherwise could be.
Christ never so eminently appeared for divine justice, and yet never suffered so much from divine justice, as when he offered up himself a sacrifice for our sins.

Christ’s holiness never so illustriously shone forth as it did in his last sufferings, and yet he never was to such a degree treated as guilty.

He never was so dealt with, as unworthy, as in his last sufferings, and yet it is chiefly on account of them that he is accounted worthy.

Christ in his last sufferings suffered most extremely from those towards whom he was then manifesting his greatest act of love.

It was in Christ’s last sufferings, above all, that he was delivered up to the power of his enemies, and yet by these, above all, he obtained victory over his enemies.

Helpful Links:
Official Edwards Page
Monergism: One-stop Shopping for sermons and works by and about Edwards

Shut your open mind...

2006-10-05T11:29:00.000-04:00

Yeah that's right, we all need to SHUT OUR OPEN MINDS...on something solid. There is a great temptation and danger in our postmodern context to so overvalue the journey towards God and truth that all we ever do is have a conversation. Absolute truth exists, we may never have exhaustive knowledge of that truth, but we can and must have certain knowledge: that God exists, that forgiveness of sing come only through Jesus Christ, that the Bible is God's authoritative revelation of Himself to us.

I found this quote by G.K. Chesterton both winsome and convincing:

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid." (Autobiography. Collected Works Vol. 16, p. 212)

Free Seminary Courses!

2006-09-28T12:33:00.000-04:00

Covenant Theological Seminary is offering 21 courses for free as part of their Covenant Worldwide program. What a tremendous blessing and a great example of being generous towards the Kingdom of God around the world. You can download (or podcast) the lectures and study guides.

Here's a listing of the free courses:

Ancient & Medieval Church History
Apologetics & Outreach
Biblical Theology
Calvin's Institutes
Christ-Centered Preaching: Preparation and Delivery of Sermons
Christian Ethics
Christian Worship
Francis A. Schaeffer: The Early Years
Francis A. Schaeffer: The Later Years
God & His Word
God's World Mission
Hebrews to Revelation
Humanity, Christ & Redemption
Life & Letters of Paul
Life & Teachings of Jesus
New Testament History
Old Testament History
Psalms & Wisdom Books
Reformation & Modern Church History
Spirit, Church, & Last Things
Youth Ministry

Link:
Covenant Worldwide

Key Values for Corporate Worship at WBC

2006-09-08T13:24:00.000-04:00

This week's "...Sunday's Coming" is an article I wrote for my church's monthly/semi-monthly newlestter. It's also a condensed version of a larger handout I handed out this summer during a sermon explaining our key convictions and values of corporate worship. Would love your feedback.

“Why We Do What We Do on Sunday Mornings”

We human beings are very skilled at not truly understanding why we do certain things. I remember hearing a story about a newlywed preparing her first Thanksgiving Dinner for her husband. Before putting the ham in the oven, she cut off the end of the ham and threw it out. He wondered why. “Well, that’s the way my mother always did it. It’s a family tradition,” she said. Later on, she asked her mother why she always cut the end of the ham off and her mother simply replied, “Well, Grandma always did it that way.” So mother and daughter continued their quest for the meaning behind this secret recipe and asked grandmother why she always cut off the end of the ham. “Simple,” she said. “That’s the only way I could get it to fit in the pan!”

Sometimes, we ourselves cannot explain our own family traditions, and we find out why we do what we do is just plain silly! But what about our “worship traditions”? Is it possible for us to do things in corporate worship just because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”? You bet it is! Be encouraged! The problem is not tradition, but traditionalism. Here’s the difference: “Tradition is the living faith of those now dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those still living" (Jaroslav Pelikan, The Vindication of Tradition, p. 65, emphasis added). We must constantly affirm and rediscover those traditions that are both biblically-grounded and Spiritually-transforming, while at the same time constantly guard against traditionalism that is both self-centered and spiritually-deadening.

During a sermon this past July, I laid out eight key terms that will help our church family understand why we do what we do on Sunday mornings. Over the months ahead, I will highlight one term, what it means, and how it could help us treasure Jesus Christ during our times of gathered worship. Because what we do here on Sundays is so vital for maintaining our lives-of-worship the rest of the week, I want to re-share with you what shapes our corporate worship.

God-Centered: The entire service should direct our attention and affections to God, not self.
Psalm 148:13; Isaiah 42:8; 45:23; John 17:24; Romans 11:33-36; Revelation 21:23.
Christ-Exalting: Our duty is the delight of reminding each other of the gospel: that we are sinners saved by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
John 1:14; Philippians 2:9-11; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Timothy 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; 10:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 5:9-12.
Bible-Saturated: The content of every part of our worship service must be Word-centered from beginning to end.
Psalm 19:7-11; 138:2; Jeremiah 15:16; Isaiah 66:2; Matthew 4:4; 1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 1:3.
Whole-Hearted: We must strive for a growing, supreme love for God, not just a feeling that says “worship was good today.”
Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 34:8; 51:12; 90:14; Matthew 15:8-9; Ephesians 1:18; Hebrews 11:6; 1 Peter 1:8.
Always-reforming (particularly with music): We will sing a mingling of the God-centered, gospel-focused, and theologically-rich songs of the past and present, allowing for modern expressions of ancient truths.
Psalm 40:3; 96:1; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10; Ephesians 5:19-20; Colossians 3:16; Revelation 5:9.
Mutually-Encouraging: It is the responsibility of every believer to encourage one another, especially in corporate worship.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7; 14:26; Ephesians 2:22; 5:19; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1Peter 2:9.
Undistracting Excellence: Over-the-top excellence or shoddy mediocrity must never draw our attention away from God’s glory and our responsibility to one another.
1 Chronicles 15:22; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 14:40.
Kingdom-Oriented: When we worship God together, we join into the worship of the church around the world, who also proclaims Jesus as Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 12:20-24; Revelation 7:9-10.

UPDATE!!!!!
Two important ministries hugely affected my ideas and phraseology. So I'm big-time in debt to both Bethlehem Baptist Church and Grace for Missouri. Check 'em out!

It's Friday...but Sunday's Coming!

2006-09-02T11:26:00.000-04:00

How many times do we come to the Word of God and it seems like it goes in one ear and out the other. Without the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, preaching can become just a transfer of information. This week, let us together plead with God to plant his word deep into our hearts and minds, into our very soul, so that we may bear the fruit of faithful, obedient lives.

A PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Living God,
help us to hear your Holy Word with open hearts
so that we may truly understand;
and, understanding,
that we may believe;
and, believing,
that we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience,
seeking your honor and glory in all that we do.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

—Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) altered, as collected in The Worship Sourcebook, 3.1.15

FreeDerekWebb.com....Sept. 1

2006-08-31T10:33:00.000-04:00

To further confirm my opinion that Derek Webb is an Indie Folk version of Keith Green, he is offering his entire cd project Mockingbird for free download as of Sept 1. Why's he doing this? In Webb's own words:

as an artist (and often an agitator), this is something i am keenly aware of. my most recent record 'mockingbird' deals with many sensitive issues including poverty, war, and the basic ethics by which we live and deal with others. but i found that music has been an exceptional means by which to get this potentially difficult conversation going. and this is certainly an important moment for dialogue amongst people who disagree about how to best love and take care of people, to get into the nuances of the issues.

one of the things that excites me most about the future of our business is how easy it is becoming to deliver music to people who want to hear it. i heard a story once about keith green caring so much that people were able to hear and engage with his music that he gave it away for free, which was a very difficult and expensive thing to do at that time. it's actually never been as simple as it is today to connect music with music fans. and i want people to have a chance to listen to mockingbird and engage in the conversation.

So check it out FreeDerekWebb.com. If you're new to his music WARNING he'll probably offend you at some point. But cheer up! You probably needed to be offended. He's honest, biblical, creative, obviously generous, and God-centered.

Link:
FreeDerekWebb.com.

It's a......BOY!!!!

2006-08-28T11:42:00.000-04:00

Back by popular demand, here's the next installment of "Otte Family Update"! Despite the fact that most of our friends had us convinced that we were going to have a girl, we are proud to announce that Heidi is carrying a healthy baby boy! The hour plus ultrasound showed that by all appearances, baby boy Otte is doing very well as is his mother. The entire ultrasound was videotaped and (even after the 10th viewing) should prove much more impressive than the rest of the Red Sox season.

It's Friday...but Sunday's Coming!

2006-08-25T15:46:00.000-04:00

Have you considered how praying for both those who lead and those who participate in gathered worship is another powerful way of preparing your own heart and mind to encounter the risen Christ, feast on his word, and fellowship with the redeemed? Here are a few prepared prayers that might stoke some white-hot worship in your own life as you get ready for Sunday.

Almighty God, we pray for your blessing
on the church in this place.
Here may the faithful find salvation,
and the careless be awakened.
Here may the doubting find faith,
and the anxious be encouraged.
Here may the tempted find help,
and the sorrowful find comfort.
Here may the weary find rest,
and the strong be renewed.
Here may the aged find consolation
and the young be inspired;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Worship Source Book, 1.1.3

O God,
we joyously come together to worship,
realizing we need not summon you into our midst,
for you are here.
We need not call you into the secret places of our hearts,
for you are there.
We need our eyes of faith to be opened,
that we may see you;
our ears to be unstopped,
that we may hear you;
our minds to be sensitive,
that we may know you;
our hearts to be tender,
that we may receive you.
Grant each one a blessing, O Lord,
as each has need,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Worship Sourcebook, 1.1.6

Holy God, we pray your blessing
on those who lead us in worship this day,
those who speak and sing and move among us,
those who direct others in singing and playing,
those who have prepared this space with beauty.
We ask that each of them may lead
with a sense of peace and confidence that comes from your Spirit,
so that your truth may be proclaimed faithfully
and we may live up to our calling as the body of Christ.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Worship Sourcebook, 1.1.10

Web Resources on Calvinism/Doctrines of Grace/TULIP

2006-08-24T16:31:00.000-04:00

Monergism: Calvinism. This is THE PLACE to go. Tons and tons of articles from a huge array of theologians and pastors. Articles, sermons (audio and print), book reviews neatly arranged by author and/topic. Piper and Azurdia’s sermon series are stellar!

Monergism: Doctrines of Grace. This part of Monergism's site also has a bunch of goodies.

Desiring God: The Doctrines of Grace (Calvinism & TULIP Theology). Articles, sermons, and products.

Desiring God:What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism."Most recommended for a comprehensive explanation of the doctrines of grace. About 25 pages.

The Calvinist Corner. Not really sure about this one, but what I’ve seen I like. Like anyone who goes by the title “Calvinist”, you or I may not agree on every detail or argument. One example: I still don’t find his argument on infant baptism convincing. What can I say, I’m a good Baptist! In short, I believe the covenant oath sign of the New Covenant is the circumcised heart by the Spirit, not baptism. Nevertheless, this guy is very helpful.

Tim Challies: What It Means to be Reformed. He says quite a bit more but here’s his conclusion: “So what does this all mean? To be Reformed is to adhere to the purist teachings of the Bible - to affirm the doctrine taught by Jesus, Paul and the apostles.”

Spurgeon.org: A Letter from George Whitefield to the Rev. Mr. John Wesley.A blast from the past. Here is a great dialogue between two brothers in Christ who did not agree. Whitefield is an excellent example of how silly it to "logically deduce" that the doctrines of grace squelches evangelism and deadens urgency.

It's Friday (again)...but Sunday's Coming!

2006-08-18T18:17:00.000-04:00

How do you sing in (better said: "with")the church? I'm not asking whether you sing on pitch or not, or even if your voice sounds good. Some of us can only make "a joyful noise". Don't be ashamed, you've got a verse for that (Psalm 100:1)! Rather, who's the audience you're singing to: the people beside you or God? Who's leading you in song: the music leader or the Spirit of God? When do you sing with the most gusto: only songs that you like?

Sometime last year I came across these words from John Wesley that he wrote as a preface to a 1761 hymnal. In case you've forgotten, his brother, Charles, wrote about 6,500 hymns! Consider what he has to say. And may your voice be an instrument of praise as you worship God together with the redeemed this week.

- Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.

- Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.

- Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.

- Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first. ...

- Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

—From John Wesley’s Select Hymns, 1761

It's Friday...but Sunday's Coming!

2006-08-10T16:33:00.000-04:00

PREPARING TO WORSHIP WITH THE CHURCH
Assuming that most of us still worship with fellow Jesus-followers on Sunday, what do you do to prepare for Sunday? Change your alarm clock from 6:30am to 9:50am so that you can be ready to slip into the service by 10:15am? Do you give any thought the night before as to what you might experience when you worship God with your local church?

In a recent sermon, I challenged my friends to think through how they could come ready to hear from God and ready to encourage one another. To help them, I gave everyone a copy of a something that Pastor John Piper prepared for his home church, Bethelhem Baptist Church. It's called Take Heed How You Hear. And even though it directly addresses the question "How can I prepare myself to hear the Word of God preached?" it can be applied to the larger question "How can I prepare myself for the whole experience of gathered worship?"

Here's an excerpt:

3.Purify your mind by turning away from worldly entertainment.
James 12:1, "Putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls." It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch. This makes us small and weak and worldly and inauthentic in worship. Instead, turn off the television on Saturday night and read something true and great and beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Your heart will unshrivel and be able to feel greatness again.

9. Think earnestly about what is sung and prayed and preached.
1 Corinthians 14:20, "Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature". So Paul says to Timothy, "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything" (2 Timothy 2:7). Anything worth hearing is worth thinking about. If you would take heed how you hear, think about what you hear.

SO let's here it: what do you do to get ready for Sunday?

New Weekly Post

2006-08-10T16:06:00.000-04:00

Starting this week, I'll be writing a special weekly post that'll have something to do with gathered worship called "It's Friday...but Sunday's Coming!" I hope that you'll find it very practical, whether you're a pastor, music leader, nursery worker, usher, CEO, tech-geek, body-builder, deer-tracker, burned-out-hypie-turned-Jesus-follower, or whatever. Let's be sure to hear from you, too. Let's hear your questions, frustrations, joys, and ideas. See you Friday!

My beautiful wife and child

2006-08-08T17:56:00.000-04:00

Heidi is now almost half way there! She's so beautiful!!!!! Next week we get to find out whether our child is a boy or girl (if he or she is cooperative). It's fascinating to think that we'll be able to see all of the developing organs of our baby and see how it going in there. So much has gone through my mind and heart as I consider what it means to be a father. As much as I want to show and prove my love to my wife and child, I know that my love is not enough. I must point them both to Christ. They need my love, but they need His love even more still. I've been finding great comfort in these words from the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 49:15-16
"Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Destroy the Image

2006-08-01T16:56:00.000-04:00

"What we've got to do in the music business is destroy the image that has got through... which has [given] God Almighty and Jesus Christ...an image of a weakling. A slightly effeminate image. A sort of Sunday image. A religious image. This is not the case....This is something we're trying in U2 to do something about."

Bono, in a recently released 1981 presentation to a weekend retreat for Christian musicians with fellow band members the Edge and Larry Mullen Jr.

As quoted in Christianity Today: Quotation Marks

Blogavacation: Montreal

2006-07-21T08:52:00.000-04:00

Next week I am taking a blogavacation, serving alongside my buddy Dwight on the streets of Montreal, telling people about Jesus. I'm pumped about this!!! Knowing Dwight this past year and reading about all that God has done in and through this dude the past few months of his street ministry, I can't wait to be challenged, used, humbled, schooled. To be honest, I've always been leery of street evangelists, second-guessing their ministry because of the assumed lack of discipleship that goes on. But the ministry Dwight is connected with is deeply committed to the local church. Plus, I think my mentality is way too text-book. I long to know the urgency that drives the true evangelist. So pray for me and my friends from WBC. Pray for Dwight and his mentor Tony. Pray for Montreal.

By God's grace and for his glory!

"The separation of worship into preference groups is everyone's fault"

2006-07-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

Carl Stam, over at SBTS, offers a weekly email ministry called Worship Quote of the Week. If you don't subscribe at least put this gem in your favorites cause his archives are chock full of great quotes from the giants of the faith, past and present. This week's quote on the foolishness of the "traditional vs. contemporary music" debate.

THE LIMELIGHT OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
Traditionalists have much to answer for in their reluctance to understand that tradition does not mean stasis but change. In their reaction against contemporary styles, they fail to understand that what they have gotten used to was once contemporary and often objectionable. Contemporists likewise fail to understand how blunted their tastes are when only "their music" seems to do the trick and when what they are doing has, ever so quickly, frozen itself into a tradition. So we end up with two kinds of shortsightedness, one supposedly old, the other supposedly new, and both wish fulfilling. The separation of worship into preference groups is everyone's fault, in that narrow musical satisfaction has turned out to be more important than style-proof outpouring. I encourage people of all practices to become intently and intensely curious about each other's ways.

The church desperately needs an artistic reformation that accomplishes two things at once: first, it takes music out of the limelight and puts Christ and his Word back into prominence; and second, it strives creatively for a synthesis of new, old and crosscultural styles. A deep understanding of the arts, coupled to the understanding that at best the music of corporate worship is simple, humble and variegated, would bring something about that would make all churches into worshiping and witnessing churches that happen to sing.

—Harold Best, UNCEASING WORSHIP: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON WORSHIP AND THE ARTS. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003, p. 75. ISBN 0-8308-3229-7

The ESV "To Do" Bible

2006-07-12T12:31:00.000-04:00

To all my friends who worked (or still work) at CBD. I'm sure this is gonna be a best seller!

From my friend, Marc at Purgatorio...

On the heels of its successful ESV Journaling Bible, Crossway has announced a Bible for those of us on the go, the ESV “To Do” Bible. Crossway representative Justin Taylor says “I know when I am reading my Bible, things I need to do pop in my head and because I am immersed in the study of God’s Word, I frequently forget them by the time I’m done. Now, thanks to the “To Do” Bible, I can just jot them down as I go and refer to them later. I think this version of the ESV is going to be very popular.”

"Don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit just give me a new law"

2006-07-05T17:35:00.000-04:00

With all the buzz about the Southern Baptist resolution on alcohol (no link: just google it!) I thought Derek Webb's song here would be quite appropriate. Plus I've been thinking whether or not I really believe that the Spirit of God is a sufficient guide for a life of holiness.

A New Law

(vs. 1)
don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for

don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music

don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus)
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me

(chorus)
i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law

(vs. 2)
don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice

don’t teach me about loving my enemies

don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus/chorus)

(bridge)
what’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
do not be afraid

Links:
New Law Video
Derek Webb Home

Suggestions for Reading Scipture in Gathered Worship

2006-07-05T11:33:00.000-04:00

The reading of God’s Word is one of the most important things Christians do when they worship together. Listen to the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to his friend and young pastor, Timothy: “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching”(1 Timothy 4:13). Below are some thoughts that we use at our church to help readers prepare to read Scripture during our times of corporate worship. Reading God’s Word publicly is as an important ministry as the preaching of God’s Word. It is when we, the people of God, hear from God himself through his Living Word.

1. Examples in Scripture

a. Exodus 24:4-8; Deuteronomy 31:9-13; Joshua 8:30-35; 2 Kings 22:1-20; 23:1-3; 2 Chronicles 34:1-32; Nehemiah 8:1-18; 9:1-3; Jeremiah 36:1-21; Acts 13:13-27; 15:19-21; 2 Corinthians 3:12-15; Colossians 4:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27; Timothy 4:13; Revelation 1:3.

2. Translation

a. Normally, use the translation that is used by the preacher/pastor. (Here at WBC the New American Standard Bible is preferred.)

b. Guest speakers/preachers are also encouraged to also use the same translation normally used at WBC.

c. When different translations are used, the reader ought to tell the congregation which translation is being used.

d. In addition to the NASB, good translations for reading Scripture publicly include the ESV and NIV. Paraphrases such as the Message and interpretative translations such as the NLT ought to be used thoughtfully and sparingly.

3. Script

a. Be sure the Bible you are reading from is easy to read from.

b. Is the text and/or print of the Bible too small, too big?

4. Preparation

a. Read, read, read!

b. Read the text aloud to yourself, your family, your cat or dog!

c. Read the context before the chosen text. Perhaps read the whole chapter that the selected text is found in. This will help you trace the author’s argument.

d. Read several other translations to better understand what the text is really saying.

e. Pray. Ask God to open your heart to his word and his word to your heart.

5. Verbal Cues

a. Before the Scripture reading, prepare the congregation to hear from God, through His living Word. “The authority for [Pastor Mark’s] sermon comes from [Galatians 1:1-6].” or “Please turn in your Bibles to [Book chapter: verse] for this morning’s Scripture reading. Hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches…”

b. After the Scripture reading, remind the congregation that we have just received words of life; we have just encountered the Living God through His living Word. Leader: “This is the Word of God.” People: “Thanks be to God.”

6. Silence

a. After you announce the text to be read, wait until you hear most of the page-rustling stop.

b. Don’t be afraid to endure silence as the congregation turns in their own Bibles to the text that you will read.

7. Gestures

a. Be familiar enough with the Scripture reading that you can look at the congregation while you read. Make eye contact (at least a little).

8. Voice

a. By all means, do not be monotone!

b. Read like we speak. Don’t be mono-paced either.

c. Smile!

d. Put yourself into the text you are reading.

e. Your emotion should match the content and topic of the passage: serious, joyful, encouraging, etc.

Conservative Evangelical Churches Ignore the Bible

2006-06-30T15:31:00.000-04:00

Why is it that most "non-liturgical" churches (i.e. Baptist, non-denominational, etc.) ignore the Bible in their services. We defend inerrancy. We promote expository preaching. We pride ourselves in not being tied down to the lectionary. So we end up reading (at the most) a small paragraph of Scripture, normally the sermon text. Truth be told, on any given Sunday you could walk into nearly any mainline or liberal church and hear way more Scripture read aloud in one service than in most conservative evangelical churches. Don't get me wrong, a traditional use of the lectionary is no replacement for God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered preaching.

The absence of intentional and substantial Scripture readings has created a vacuum that has been quickly filled with the new sacrament called music. So instead of actually hearing from God himself, we spend 15-20 minutes singing about the concept of knowing and hearing from God ("I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice"). If we and our congregations want to know God and want to hear His voice, I've got a idea that I heard from a guy named Paul:

"Give attention to the public reading of Scripture" (1 Timothy 4:13)!

Spurgeon Sabbatical Redux

2006-06-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

I've been blessed not only to attend but also to lead times of gathered worship in song, prayer, and Scripture for Gordon-Conwell's Spurgeon Sabbatical this June 19-29. Last summer I attended as a student, was mentored by 15 or so awesome pastors and instructed by the pastorally-sensitive and theologically-rich teaching of Dr. Scott Hafemann. Last year we studied the letter of 1 Peter and the book On Being a Theologian of the Cross. This year we will be studying 2 Peter "Real Faith and the Reality of Judgment" and Eugene Peterson's book Christ Plays in 10,000 Places.

Please pray for me that I would be used by God to lead times of gathered worship that truly encourage these men to exult in King Jesus and that prepare our hearts and minds for all that God has in store for them during this study sabbatical.

(If I were one of those cool bloggers out there, I might consider doing 'live blogging.' But since I'm not, we don't have to worry about that!)

What I've been up to lately

2006-06-14T10:02:00.000-04:00

Lately, it's felt like I was eight years old again, playing in the mud and pouring rain. The first week of June, I took a 'vacation' and built a huge retaining wall behind our house. My father in law, Ivan, is the man responsible for moving all the boulders with his tractor. We worked rain or shine. Actually, I can't say enough about Ivan. He has been uber generous towards us. It took us almost the entire week to get this 60' wall completed. Why'd we build it? Because the rocks were there. And because we didn't want water running down the hill into our basement.

We've also been fixing the final grade around the house so we can put loam down so that we can then put our grass seed down so that in a few months we can all sit down on our front lawn.

Baby Otte is on the way!

2006-06-14T09:38:00.000-04:00

If you hadn't heard the wonderful news, Heidi and I are expecting our first child!!!! Heidi had her first ultrasound yesterday--what an experience! When we saw our baby's heart beating, we both started crying. Unbelievable! This is quite a good shot (I'm told) for 10 weeks. Baby Otte is just chillin' on his or her back, giving us a good view of face, hands, and belly. What a gift!

I desire that our child will someday pray:

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:13-14

Finally a place to rest my feet...while I watch TV!

2006-05-26T10:28:00.000-04:00

It's taken about two months, but yesterday I put the finishing touches on my coffee table. Ain't she a beauty! Here's some other pics with some exceptional commentary.

Corner view of the coffee table. This is where you could put your feet up if you were sitting on the love seat.

Those black "dots" are called pitch pockets. Don't put your feet on them. They're too pretty.

View from behind our recliner. If you're behind our recliner, you're probably not gonna put your feet up anyway, unless you've got really funny-shaped legs.

More shocking Da Vinci Code secrets revealed

2006-05-25T11:46:00.000-04:00

If you think you uncovered the truth about the Da Vinci Code...you've only scratched the surface. Get the real scoop: Fifteen things you didn't know about The Da Vinci Code.

"My ministry is going to the best, most exciting ever!!!"

2006-05-23T21:05:00.000-04:00

During seminary, my wise professors warned me about 'honeymoon stage' of ministry and the inevitable moment when all the romanticized expectations would meet reality. To all God-centered seminary professors, pastors and leaders, I say "Thank you for your patience with us 'still green', 'stars-in-the-eyes,' fledgling seminary grads." There's so much talk about re-inventing the church, making it so men don't hate going to church, being postmodern, being emergent...being relevant. May we, the younger generation of leaders, repent of and eschew our generational arrogance, thinking that the previous generation had no clue and we are God's gift to the church. Let us stand on their shoulders, learn from their mistakes, be always reforming, and be convinced of the supremacy and excellency of Jesus.

If your still enjoying the honeymoon, here's some advice...

Real ministry does not take place on a romantic balcony but on a spiritual battlefield.

The Kingpin Wrecking Crew

2006-05-18T16:18:00.000-04:00

Back in the day when I played in band called Leap of Faith, there was another band emerging on the scene, The Kingpin Wrecking Crew. I had a hard enough time learning how play blues on my plastique excuse for a guitar (i.e. Ovation) with my band, but I had no clue what to do the first time I hear The Kingpin Wrecking Crew. They were raw-energy, in-your-face, turn-table-sampling crazy brothers. We were more southern rock and classic blues whereas they were eclectic rock, old-school hip-hop, and funky jazz. Despite the fact that they opened for us at one gig, it's telling that while Leap of Faith is extinct, The Kingpin Wrecking Crew is thriving.

Their newest CD release,"Abolition Strategy", is hogging my mp3 player. I cannot stop listening to it. Check out the lyrics to the opening track "Reel to Real":

Drink up while it's warm. A time comes to plead. And give up a painful surrender indeed. "So sorry," said Elated, "so glad," said Forlorn. "I'm willing," said Regret, "I'm ready," said Not Yet. Changes upon changes stack up; so imperceptible. Its when I realize I'm empty; I'll know whow it feels to be full. Like an enemy soldier, brought trembling before a conquering king to be tried. Only to be embraced, and kissed on the face and given a robe, ring and wine."

The craziness never seems to end. Back in the late 90's I met Doug Elder, the Kingpins lead vocalist/guitarist, at UMF. Fastforward to now, and we go to church together! Crazy huh! So needless to say, I know the man behind the music. There's creativity, honesty, and passion in their music that not only makes CCM music look even silier than it really but also rarely found on the radio dial.

I love how Jesse Jordan captures what Kingpin is about in her review "As The Underground Rises":

Having heard a breathtaking new cut called "Burn The Bridges" from their upcoming release, it is evident that the writing is on the wall. The musical underground is about to represent in a major way. More than just another musical fad to be devoured and regurgitated by the corporate rock machine; KingPin invites us into the very catacombs of the musical underground with them to show us where they live and breathe. Don't be afraid of this subterranean journey, you're with friends and they know the way. All you need to bring is everything you believe, feel, fear, and hope. You might just find your own voice for it all there in the process, after all your guides are music makers and dreamers of dreams.

Give 'em a listen. Let me know what you think.

Link:
The Kingpin Wrecking Crew

Informational vs Experiential Preaching

2006-05-11T11:39:00.000-04:00

The “informational” view of preaching conceives of preaching as changing people’s lives after the sermon. They listen to the sermon, take notes, and then apply the Biblical principles during the week. But this assumes that our main problem is a lack of compliance to Biblical principles, when (as we saw above) all our problems are actually due to a lack of joy and belief in the gospel. Our real problem is that Jesus’ salvation is not as real to our hearts as the significance and security our idols promise us. If that’s our real problem, then the purpose of preaching is to make Christ so real to the heart that in the sermon people have an experience of his grace, and the false saviors that drive us lose their power and grip on us on the spot. That’s the “experiential” view of preaching (Jonathan Edwards.)

~Tim Keller (emphasis added)

Link:
"MINISTRY IN THE NEW GLOBAL CULTURE OF MAJOR CITY-CENTERS"(part 2 of 4)
(The quote is found on page 2 of the article.)