Thursday, December 12, 2013

Life Together: Confession Together

Several times over the past few months, our worship has included a more structured time of corporate confession, confession of faith and corporate prayer. It is a more “liturgical” practice than has been typical of churches in our evangelical and Reformed family. The conversations I’ve had with folks afterward have all been interesting, and mostly positive.

These “experiments in our corporate worship” grow primarily out of my concern for the lack of deep roots - deep in the Spirit, Scripture, thinking and community - that seems to be the experience of many American believers. I look around and see a very “make it up and figure it out as you go” sort of individualistic faith. Take our rightful emphasis on a “personal relationship with Jesus” place it in a consumer focused culture and slim it down with hectic, overcrowded lives and what is left seems very different than the faith that turned the world upside down as recorded in the Book of Acts.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Missional Ministry Presentations from Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic

Several times each year pastors and elders and interested parties from EPC church in North and South Carolina as well as West Virginia and Virginia gather to meet.  It’s a great time of fellowship, business, worship, planning, prayer and training.  I have always looked forward to this get-together, even when it means travel and expense.

At our September meeting at Trinity EPC in Florence, SC we had a particularly outstanding training time.  Not one, but TWO outstanding presentations that gave me so much inspiration, instruction and good things to ponder, that I want to make them available through my blog to all comers.  Here they are:

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Marketing Fraud!

I love this book!
Anyone who has been at Christ Covenant for more than a few weeks knows how I love the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.  I love it for myself and am glad to share it with everyone – including the intended audience: children.  You can see it on your left here.

But look at the book on the right.  Look similar?  Indeed?  Is it at all similar?  Absolutely NOT!  Think that is a mistake?  Don’t bet on it!

The book to the right - A Jesus Storybook You’ve Never
I wouldn't even put this book in an outhouse!
Heard About: 20 Extra-Biblical Tales From the Untold Story of Jesus’ Childhood – is a marketing fraud of the first order.

It is a “child’s edition” of stories from Gospel of Thomas.  The Gospel of Thomas has been known and been around for centuries.  Most scholars would place it centuries AFTER the life of Jesus and the four Gospels in the New Testament.  It is widely reputed as of no historical reliability.  It was rejected by the early church and the people closest to Jesus not because it was different, but because it was untrue and unreliable.  That happens with other stories to this day!

Healthy Numbers For A Sunday of Ministry


When I go to the Doctor, they always take my pulse and blood pressure.  These are two quick measures that relate to my health.  So what are the measures of church health?  What are the “metrics of ministry?”

Most people look quickly to attendance and giving because they are pretty straightforward to measure and do say something about church health.  But everyone agrees that by themselves, “noses and nickels” are ineffective and incomplete measures of what real health is for the Body of Christ.

Southern Baptists were famous for counting Sunday School attendance rather than membership or worship attendance.  This gets closer to a measure of health, because Sunday School classes typically have a stronger relationship component than the worship service.

If I could get an accurate measure of two things, I would be most interested in each person’s depth of “Interactive Relationship with God” and “Living by Gospel Grace.”  I’m not sure I can aptly measure that in my own life – beware of self-deception – much less the life of anyone else, but you get my picture.  If those two roots are healthy, I’m thinking that a number of other “fruit” – prayer, Bible reading, giving, service, evangelism – would flow from them.

So, I’m not sure I’m closer to an adequate measure of church health for Christ Covenant, but I’ll tell you three numbers that I am celebrating from yesterday, August 18: 3, 29 and 115.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Running The Race Of Your Life

Today, I preached the Gospel of Grace from Hebrews 12:1-3 with a focus on the phrase, “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  The obvious metaphor is that of an endurance race.  In my preparation, I gathered the stories of two families I am close to who each faced a race of faith that was at one point similar, but became very different.  They both involved Down syndrome.

This past Thursday morning, I came across a post on TheGospelCoalition.Org site that pointed me to the ESPN story on the White family.  Though I did not use the entire video in the sermon, it is so moving and connects so well with what I hoped to say, that I want to make it easily available for you.  I’ve included some other resources as well.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Reading With Gospel Eyes: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Lately, I’ve been reading Eric Metaxas’ biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  I was struck to see how deeply his way of reading the Bible and listening for God shaped his life and actions.  Though a well-schooled and brilliant theologian in his own right, Bonhoeffer essentially rejected the critical methods of Bible study taught in his university and seminary classes.  The listening heart had been cultivated in him as child, by his mother and governesses, all of whom were trained and influenced by the life that flowed from the Herrnhutt revivals of the 1720’s that formed the Moravian church.  It sounds much like what I refer to as “reading with Gospel eyes.”

Reading With Gospel Eyes: The Spirit Speaking Through The Word

The Holy Spirit speaking in the Bible is the supreme judge of all religious controversies. - Westminster Confession of Faith – 1:10

Written in 1646, The Westminster Confession of Faith has been the recognized doctrinal standard for orthodox Presbyterians ever since.  As a pastor in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, I have affirmed that I “sincerely receive and adopt it as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.”  So what does it meant to listen for the Holy Spirit speaking in the Bible?

Monday, July 8, 2013

Texas Republicans Propose Abortion Restrictions That Are Too Liberal For France, Germany, Sweden, Russia and Japan

Don’t ever expect to see that headline in the United States.  Not because it isn’t true though, because believe it or not, it is true!  Texas Republicans more liberal than France?!?!?  Indeed.

Texas Senator Wendy Davis recently became a national “abortion rights” icon when she filibustered a bill that would restrict, among other things, abortions in Texas performed after 20 weeks.  She did this even while the case against Dr. Douglas Karpen – “The Kermit Gosnell of Texas” – was developing in Houston.

Curiosity got the best of me as I followed the news though, and I was floored to discover – with the help of Google, of course – that nations all across the world place restrictions on abortion that are far more restrictive that those proposed in Texas and opposed by Senator Davis and her supporters.  Look at the list below to see what I found astonishing.  

Friday, May 31, 2013

Porn In The USA

Porn now affects virtually everyone’s relationships, even if neither partner actively spends time with it. How so? .  .  .   If a critical mass of emerging adult men consume porn regularly—by most estimates we’re there now—it cannot but shape (sexual practices and relationships).  .  .  .  This is new, too. Online porn is a uniquely modern problem in that it—like hooking up—thrives in part because of its speed and because it encourages men (and some women) to compartmentalize sex as a consumer product to be regularly and briefly consumed. Unlike relationships, it doesn’t require work. And our lives, after all, are very busy. Sex has to fit in somehow (since sex is also increasingly considered a need rather than a desire). Thus porn is increasingly fitting into modern relationships—including marriages.
From Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying by Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker.  Oxford University Press, 2011.  Click Here For Amazon.com link
Mark Regnerus is a sociology professor at the University of Texas.  He is just one of a number of social researchers who have begun to identify and measure the sudden and extraordinary impact of pornography on life in the United States.

There is a “New Porn” that has come into existence and influence as a result of high-speed internet connections.  And it is not the Playboy of my own college days "on steroids."  This "New Porn" is as different from that as a nuclear bomb is from a firecracker.  Think computers, iPads and smart phones at work, coffee shop and home.  Think about measurable, enduring changes to brain chemistry and connections.  As I reviewed the research – I was a sociology major in college, so I have some training in this. – I found that those studies that had the best research base were turning up the most frightening impacts.  This is never a good sign.  And the best research is all within the past five years.  This is new.  It is big.  It is pervasive.  It is different.  And it is destructive.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

They Changed Their Minds, Why Don’t We?


We are now living with the consequences of two significant societal changes that have occurred in my life time: no-fault divorce and abortion-on-demand.  Perhaps you were unaware that two people who fought hard for each of these changes have lived to see the consequences of each and were then honest enough to change their minds.  Our nation should understand why they changed and then join them.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Monday, April 22, 2013

The Kermit Gosnell Trial


While I am more than sympathetic to the feeling of burnout from bad news, I think it is important for every American to be aware of a trial currently in process in Philadelphia.  Kermit Gosnell ran an abortion clinic in an impoverished neighborhood of that city for years, until an investigation regarding drug sales turned up a virtual shop of horrors – and prosecutable evidence of eight deaths: one adult and seven different children that were born alive from a botched abortion procedure and then killed on the table.  Gosnell is only being tried in those live abortion deaths because of evidence and records.  Testimony speaks of this as a common practice done “hundreds” of times.

There are two stories here.  One is the man and his crimes.  The second is the virtual blackout by mainstream media.  No links here to NBC, CBS, ABC, NY Times, Washington Post or the like.  Both stories point to evil of dramatic proportions.

Here are links to a number of sources for your own consideration:

Monday, April 15, 2013

Rest In Peace Ragamuffin

I was saddened by the news of Brennan Manning's death this past Friday. He taught me much about the Gospel of Grace through his book Ragamuffin Gospel.  I'm glad to honor his memory by sharing this passage, also referred to in Tullian Tchividjian's wonderful memorial.

Put bluntly, the American church today accepts grace in theory but denies it in practice. We say we believe that the fundamental structure of reality is grace, not works–but our lives refute our faith. By and large, the gospel of grace is neither proclaimed, understood, nor lived. Too many Christians are living in a house of fear and not in the house of love.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Goespel-Centered Resources For Thinking About Same-Sex Marriage

For all the coverage and conversation about the issue of same-sex marriage, there seems to be very little that I would consider Gospel-centered in a way that is consistent with my understanding of the Gospel of Grace.  I'm happy to pass on these resources that I've found helpful.

Let’s Be Honest, Please! You Meant “Marriage Redefinition” When You Said “Marriage Equality” But Didn’t Have What It Takes To Say What You Mean!



My wife is a great cook, but my son and I still remember the day she tried to slip one by us.  “Enjoy the mashed potatoes!” she said.  They looked a little watery, but who’s to complain we thought.  On bite and there was no hiding it though.  What can you say about cauliflower “disguised” and passed off as mashed potatoes.  Sure, it was an experiment, and she wanted to help us eat more vegetables, and cauliflower is good for you and on and on and on.  It didn’t work.

Her “cauliflower mashed potatoes” came to mind listening to all the people “evolve” and now support “marriage equality.”  Give me a break.  Cauliflower mashed potatoes are not about “vegetable equality.”  They’re about redefining food and trying to slip one by unnoticed, just like “marriage equality” is really no more than “redefining marriage” without owning up to it.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

On the (Imagined) Silent Gospel of St Francis


The Roman Catholic Church has a new pope – the first ever to take the name Francis – and American media outlets are filled with people extolling the St Francis – the 13th century figure – for his love of the poor, the environment and this quotation: “Preach the Gospel at all times.  Use words if necessary.”  I guess two out of three is not bad for American media these days.

St. Francis never spoke those words that are so often attributed to him.  It is as simple as that.  Click Here for a great blog post – from July 11, 2012 no less – that deals with this matter.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Welcoming People Well - March Outreach



You will notice a major effort during the month of March to reach out to people in our community and introduce Christ Covenant to them.  I want to remind each of us that consider Christ Covenant home of why we are doing all of this as well as what we are doing:

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Cloud Of Witnesses: Growing Deep In Christ



When I came to faith as a high school student – many, many years ago – I thought that our Youth Group was living the next chapter of Acts to be written.  I’m thankful for the sense of close connection to New Testament life which that represented.  I’m embarrassed by the sophomoric self-righteousness that caused me to think that we had the best handle on God and His Kingdom in the nineteen centuries between the Book of Acts and me.

The Father has been at work extending the Gospel of grace to all nations across those centuries.  That history and accumulated wisdom becomes a rich resource for better understanding and serving Jesus in my own day and setting.  I now look at the church across history as fellow believers who have much to teach me.

Beginning this February, I will be leading a group designed to dig into that rich understanding of Christ and His Kingdom.  Our Steering Committee will be using the Leadership Training Material developed by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church for Elder training and would like to open the opportunity to everyone interested.  Here’s how it will work.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

You Are Equating Voting Rights With What?!?!



Seneca Falls: “We demand that women have the right to vote, like men!”  Stonewall: “We demand that men have the right to dress like women!”  Thank you, President Obama.

I have been stunned by the line in President Obama’s second inauguration speech: "We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still," said Mr. Obama, "just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall."  I’m troubled by those who have supported this assertion of equivalence, and baffled by the many - women and ethnic minorities in particular - who remain silent at the connection of their voting rights with the sexual practices of a few.

Stop and think about what events and outcomes are being equated here.
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