Church Planting: Christ’s Strategy
“To remove the strategy of church planting from the New Testament would in effect remove all Scripture beyond the Gospels. The disciples and apostles mad church planting their strategy to penetrate first century society. The design of Christ’s strategy soon became very clear. His strategy was to plant churches…to establish communities of believers…throughout all the nations of the world. The Apostles saw the expansion of new churches in the world as the pivotal cog through which the life transforming power of God would be transferred to the world.”
-William C. Tinsley
American Idol Gives Back?
Did anyone else catch American Idol last night? What did you think?
Here’s what I thought. On the one hand, I’m thankful that American Idol is raising awareness of and seeking to help the poverty problem in both Africa and America. The common grace foundations of my theology give me great cause to celebrate this. But, on the other hand, I was sickened over much of what I saw last night. The whole show, especially the forced-towards-tears interviews with the poor, seemed to exploit the poor and laud wealthy sponsors rather than extend compassion and hope to those in need.
It was striking to me how during one of the teary Africa interviews Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell had nothing to say to a young African boy shrouded in suffering. They could offer no hope. None. They didn’t know what to say. All they did say was something to the effect of “let it out…cry it out.” They helped the poor boy cry, but they gave him no hope.
And, how could Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell, and American Idol give words of hope to such a boy if they don’t know the God of hope? They may be able to raise some money and put a few dollars in that boy’s hands (and that would be quite helpful), but what that poor boy needs most of all is to be told words of hope–to be told about the God who has entered into human suffering in order to experience the worst suffering of all. The transforming hope that the world’s poor need is this news of the God who understands their suffering because he once plunged his beloved Son into the pit of suffering so that he could welcome many into a rich eternity.
“If You’re Called to Lead, You’re Called to Read.”
“If you’re called to lead you’re called to read.”
-Dave Harvey
Agreed? Leaders, how much time do you devote to reading during the average week?
T4G Video
The promo video for next year’s Together For the Gospel Conference is now available. I went to this conference last year and benefitted tremendously. I plan to go in 2008. Check out the video to see what this conference is all about.
Easter Baptism
On Easter we had the joy of celebrating many baptisms here at CPC. This included the baptisms of 3 of my favorite guys from our twenties group. I loved how these guys articulated the gospel before we dunked them and I was moved by the joy they expressed upon coming up out of the water. Here’s some more pictures (click to enlarge):
Are You Too Introspective?
Remember how I said that I missed David Powlison’s session at the Sovereign Grace Leadership Conference? Well, it sounds like I missed a message that I really need to hear as, apparently, Powlison spoke of the dangers of over introspection. I just read Mark Lauterbach’s reflections on Powlison’s message and, man, how freeing it is to turn from introspection and look up at our Savior. I’m way too introspective–wait, there I go again, looking at myself. I’d encourage you to take 3 minutes and read Mark’s reflections.
Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics
So far, chapter 3 is my favorite chapter of Goldswothy’s Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics. I hope some of you have bought and begun to study this book for yourself as a result of these posts. Here’s some of the thick, juicy meat I enjoyed from chapter 3:
“The Bible makes a very radical idea inescapable: not only is the gospel the interpretative norm for the whole Bible, but there is an important sense in which Jesus Christ is the mediator of the meaning of everything that exists. In other words, the gospel is the hermeneutical norm for the whole of reality.”
“It cannot be stressed too much that to confuse the gospel with certain important things that go hand and hand with it is to invite theological, hermeneutical and spiritual confusion. Such ingredients of preaching and teaching that we might want to link with the gospel would include the need for the gospel (sin and judgment), the means of receiving the benefits of the gospel (faith and repentance), the results or fruit of the gospel (regeneration, conversion, sanctification, glorification) and the results of rejecting it (wrath, judgment, hell). These, however we define and proclaim them, are not in themselves the gospel. If something is not what God did in and through the historical Jesus two thousand years ago, it is not the gospel. Thus Christians cannot ‘live the gospel’, as they are often exhorted to do. They can only believe it, proclaim it and seek to live consistently with it. Only Jesus lived (and died) the gospel. It is a once-for-all finished and perfect event done for us by another.”
“When we confuse the fruit of the gospel in the Christian life for the gospel itself, hermeneutical confusion is introduced. The focus easily turns to the life of the believer and the experience of the Christian life. These can then become the norms by which Scripture is interpreted. Instead of interpreting our experience by the word, we start to interpret the word by our experience.”
“If Jesus is the one mediator between God and man, then he must mediate the meaning of the whole of God’s communication to us.”
Jerry Bridges on the Gospel
“The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living in it.”
“I believe part of our problem is our tendency to give an unbeliever just enough of the gospel to get him or her to pray a prayer to receive Christ. Then we immediately put the gospel on the shelf, so to speak, and go on to the duties of discipleship. As a result, Christians are not instructed in the gospel. And because they do not fully understand the riches and glory of the gospel, they cannot preach it to themselves, nor live by it in their daily lives.”
-Jerry Bridges
