October 31, 2009
New Ligonier Website Unveiled
A sleek new Ligonier Ministries website is apparently being unveiled today (on Reformation Day, at 15:17 Wittenberg time, no less). Now that's careful planning!
October 30, 2009
A Shot Back on Feminism and Happiness
I previously posted on a study which seemed to suggest that while feminism's professional triumphs are undeniable (and, for many, a correction to an unbiblical diminishing of talents and skills through a distorted perspective grounded in male oppression) it has not come without its ill consequences. Greater societal expectations for juggling work and family have, for many, caused greater stress (not to mention a greater sense of fatigue and failure for not being able to "do it all" and "do it all well").
Writing for the Seattle Times, syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman shoots back on the conclusion that feminism's progress has been coupled with a greater level of unhappiness. But oddly, while combative, she seems to accept the basic premise. Her conclusion:
Going forward to the past won't bring a grin to our lips — excuse me, a self-reported sense of well-being to our database. Happiness is a pretty elusive state and an even more elusive research subject. We are, as they say, happy as our least happy child, worried as the idea of Iran with a nuclear weapon, and insecure as our retirement fund. As for linking happiness and social history, today's flight attendant isn't going to wake up every morning and assess her own well-being in comparison to her 1970s predecessor any more than I wake up grateful not to walk four miles in the snow to school. It doesn't work that way.Huh? Perhaps I'm missing something, but she seems to be acknowledging the point, and instead redefining happiness as the willing, glad preference of the current status quo. What would she say to women who feel more of a burden to be breadwinners because their husbands are less committed to providing? What would she say to women who feel pressure to advance professionally, even though their deepest longings center around having and caring for a family? What would she say about today's crass sexual objectifying and exploitation of women in the media and entertainment industry? Read it for yourself.Feminism made me happy? Not, I assure you in a permanent state of good cheer. It opened doors. It opened our eyes — to everything including what still needs to be done. The women's movement never promised us a rose garden or a warm bath of contentment. It offered a new way to understand the world, a lens on injustice and a tool to use in the pursuit of happiness. It's a work in progress.
That's happiness? Close enough.
October 29, 2009
The Reality That God Casts Some Into Eternal Hell
John Piper offers a helpful, necessary correction for C.S. Lewis' mistakenly truncated and distorted theology of hell. It is noteworthy that Lewis may have been heavily influenced in this regard by George MacDonald, an outstanding writer who penned gripping novels with stunningly authentic, righteousness-seeking lead characters, but who was sadly a universalist. An excerpt from Piper:
The misery of hell will be so great that no one will want to be there. They will be weeping and gnashing their teeth (Matthew 8:12). Between their sobs, they will not speak the words, “I want this.” They will not be able to say amid the flames of the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14), “I want this.” “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:11). No one wants this.Read the whole thing.When there are only two choices, and you choose against one, it does not mean that you want the other, if you are ignorant of the outcome of both. Unbelieving people know neither God nor hell. This ignorance is not innocent. Apart from regenerating grace, all people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).
The person who rejects God does not know the real horrors of hell. This may be because he does not believe hell exists, or it may be because he convinces himself that it would be tolerably preferable to heaven.
What Christopher Hitchens Has Learned From Christians
Interesting piece by atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens in Slate in which he discusses his many conversations and debates with Christians over the last few years. An encouraging observation:
I haven't yet run into an argument that has made me want to change my mind. After all, a believing religious person, however brilliant or however good in debate, is compelled to stick fairly closely to a "script" that is known in advance, and known to me, too. However, I have discovered that the so-called Christian right is much less monolithic, and very much more polite and hospitable, than I would once have thought, or than most liberals believe. I haven't been asked to Bob Jones University yet, but I have been invited to Jerry Falwell's old Liberty University campus in Virginia, even though we haven't yet agreed on the terms.Read the rest.Wilson isn't one of those evasive Christians who mumble apologetically about how some of the Bible stories are really just "metaphors." He is willing to maintain very staunchly that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and that his sacrifice redeems our state of sin, which in turn is the outcome of our rebellion against God. He doesn't waffle when asked why God allows so much evil and suffering—of course he "allows" it since it is the inescapable state of rebellious sinners. I much prefer this sincerity to the vague and Python-esque witterings of the interfaith and ecumenical groups who barely respect their own traditions and who look upon faith as just another word for community organizing.
HT: Michael McKinley
God is Sovereign, Wise, and Good
Justin Buzzard, a young adult pastor in the Bay Area of northern CA (who I enjoyed having lunch with a year ago when we were living in Berkeley), is back to blogging, with a solid post on God's sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness:
Forget your past. Forget how you used to operate, how you used to be a prisoner to your circumstances and feelings. Build your life on the truth. Preach more gospel to yourself. Tell yourself every hour that God is sovereign, wise, and good. The truth will set you free. Your emotions will begin to come in line with the truth.Read the whole thing.Doubt your old doubts and saturate yourself in the Scriptures. Be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Read and meditate on and pray through your Bible with this threefold lens, always on the hunt for indications of God’s sovereignty, wisdom, and love. Meditate on Romans 8 or Matthew 6 or Psalm 139. Soak in a book like Jerry Bridges’ Trusting God.
October 25, 2009
Good Sermon On Work - Tim Keller
Keller makes an excellent contrast between our society's view of work and the biblical model. We work not for money or for status or for ourselves (personal fulfillment). We work for God's sake, for people's sake, and for the work's sake. The irony is that losing ourselves (working for God's sake, not ours) is the path to true fulfillment (quietness, and true rest). Keller also explains how working to please God is very different from working to appease God. We don't do things for God (i.e., to get things from him), but simply because we want to live in a way that is pleasing to Him (in response to the rest He has given us in Christ, and in the strength that He supplies). Check it out.
HT: Steve McCoy
A.J. Hamilton's Story
A great story on how God can redeem terrible circumstances:
HT: Josh Harris
October 24, 2009
Dr. Mohler To Speak At Missions/Suffering Conference
To Every Tribe has announced that Dr. Albert Mohler will speak at the October 31, 9 AM session of their upcoming missions conference entitled The Privilege of Suffering: Jesus is Worth It. The conference will be held October 29-31 in the Northwest Georgia Trade & Convention Center in Dalton, Georgia. Registration is free.
October 23, 2009
The Triumphs and Tribulations of Feminism
Nancy Gibbs writes an interesting cover story on feminism's remarkable transformation of the workplace and the culture:
College campuses used to be almost 60-40 male; now the ratio has reversed, and close to half of law and medical degrees go to women, up from fewer than 10% in 1970. Half the Ivy League presidents are women, and two of the three network anchors soon will be; three of the four most recent Secretaries of State have been women. There are more than 145 foundations designed to empower women around the world, in the belief that this is the greatest possible weapon against poverty and disease; there was only one major foundation (the Ms. Foundation) for women in 1972. For the first time, five women have won Nobel Prizes in the same year (for Medicine, Chemistry, Economics and Literature). We just came through an election year in which Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Tina Fey and Katie Couric were lead players, not the supporting cast. And the President of the United States was raised by a single mother and married a lawyer who outranked and outearned him.Gibbs also acknowledges the following:
Among the most confounding changes of all is the evidence, tracked by numerous surveys, that as women have gained more freedom, more education and more economic power, they have become less happy.The cause of this trend is a subject of much disagreement. Feminist Susan Fauldi, for example, has observed that the feminism movement wasn't really about making women happier.
It seems to me it was about making women more successful by means of academic, professional, and economic metrics, regardless of what impact such advances might have on women's subjective sense of well-being. Maureen Dowd, in an op-ed piece in the New York times, writes:
When women stepped into male- dominated realms, they put more demands — and stress — on themselves. If they once judged themselves on looks, kids, hubbies, gardens and dinner parties, now they judge themselves on looks, kids, hubbies, gardens, dinner parties — and grad school, work, office deadlines and meshing a two-career marriage.The sense that one must do all these things--and to all these things well--creates a mountain of stress. Dr. Albert Mohler sums up the matter this way:
In reality, feminism was never only about opening doors for women. In order to make the case for the vast social transformation that feminism has produced, the feminist movement aspired to nothing short of a total social, moral, and cultural revolution. Along the way, feminism redefined womanhood, marriage, motherhood, and the roles for both men and women.Nevertheless, it appears that most women are uncomfortable with this total package. Instead of producing a vast expansion of happiness among women, the feminist movement must now answer for the fact that women, by their own evaluation, appear to be less happy than before the revolution.
The reason for this is probably quite simple. Women are in the best position to evaluate, not only what feminism has gained, but what it has lost. Maybe Susan Faludi is right -- The women's movement wasn't about happiness.
Should Christians Aim To Convert Others?
John Piper reflects on the question: Should Christians Say That Their Aim Is to Convert Others to Faith in Christ? He raises this issue for three reasons:
1. Because in our delicate and dangerous setting of global religious pluralism, how we speak about our aims can get us kicked out of a country or worse.Piper concludes that Christians should say that conversion is their aim, because although God solely grants the new birth (which alone gives rise to human faith in Christ), He ordains us to be His messengers (His means) to accomplish His supernatural ends. His main points are:
2. Because we want to follow Paul’s pattern of honesty: "But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2).
3. Because we need biblical clarity about our role in converting others to Christ, lest we shrink back from the aim of conversion for mistaken reasons.
1. Christian conversion involves spiritually blind people being able to see the glory of Christ.Read the whole thing.
2. Christian conversion involves winning people from treasuring anything above Christ to full devotion to Christ.
3. Christian conversion involves bringing people back from the path of sin and destruction.
4. Christian conversion involves turning the heart toward the true God [and] away from wrong ideas about God and wrong affections for what is not God.
5. Christian conversion involves being born again.
October 21, 2009
Counterfeit Gods - Tim Keller
Tim Keller's new (soon to be best-selling) book is out: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
I came across this post of Tim Keller telling a little bit of his own story with counterfeit gods. Here's an excerpt:
I often get asked how I personally became acquainted with the pervasive influence of idolatry in the human heart.Read the whole thing.Like many younger ministers I worked far too many hours, never saying "no" to anyone's request for my pastoral services. When salary increases were offered to me, I turned them down. When administrative help was offered to me, I declined. I was quite proud of being the kind of person who worked very hard, never complained, and never asked for any help. This regularly brought me into conflict with my wife, who rightly contended that I was neglecting my relationships to her and to my young sons. It also led to health problems, although I was only in my early thirties.
Individual copies of Counterfeit Gods are available from WTS Books for 40% off and in cases of 12 for 45% off.
October 20, 2009
Hitchens & Wilson On The Huffington Post
Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson have debated the existence of God at many Christian establishments (like King's College and Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia), but the movie COLLISION
If the atheist is right, then I am not a Christian because I have mistaken beliefs, but am rather a Christian because that is what these chemicals would always do in this arrangement and at this temperature. The problem is that this atheistic assumption does the very same thing to the atheist's case for atheism. The atheist gives us an account of all things which makes it impossible for us to believe that any account of all things could possibly be true. But no account of things can be tenable unless it provides us with the preconditions that make it possible for our "accounting" to represent genuine insight. Atheism fails to do this, and the failure is a spectacular one. Nor does atheism allow us to have any fixed ethical standard, or the possibility of beauty.HT: Abraham PiperIt does no good to appeal to the discoveries made by science and reason, for one of the things that reason has apparently brought us is atheism. Right? And not content to let sleeping dogs lie, reason also brings us the inexorable consequences of atheism, which includes the unpalatable but necessary conclusion that random neuron firings do not amount to any "truth" that corresponds to anything outside our heads. This, ironically enough, includes atheism, and so we find ourselves falling out of the tree, saw in one hand and branch in the other.
Was It Possible for Jesus to Sin?
John Piper tackles one of my favorite theological twisters: Was it possible for Jesus to sin? He helpfully distinguishes between natural ability and moral ability.
October 19, 2009
Interview with Marvin Olasky
Trevin Wax has begun an interview with Marvin Olasky (and will be posting part 2 tomorrow). In this first installment, they discuss Olasky's former attraction to Marxism, his conversion to Christianity, capitalism, socialism, and health care.
A Conversation With Mark Dever
Denny Burk links to a very good conversation with Mark Dever on multi-site churches, whether a church should make a millennial position required for membership, and a host of other interesting questions related to polity, ministry, and church life in general. A 50 minute of stimulating, free-flowing, interchange between Mark Dever, Denny Burk, and the students of Boyce College.
October 18, 2009
Obama Foolishly Going After FOX News
David Carr has an even-handed NY Times Op-Ed assessment of the Obama Administration's decision to go after FOX News. Carr argues that Obama risks looking unpresidential. Moreover, it is a fight that (politically speaking) he will more than likely lose.
Separation of Church and Sports?
Sam Cook, a sports journalist with the Fort-Meyers, FL News-Press, writes:
I don't know how many more "God bless" comments I can stand from the 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.Cook approvingly quotes USA Today religion writer Tom Krattenmaker who has been very critical of Tim Tebow's involvement with his father's evangelistic association. Krattenmaker has also authored a book entitled Onward Christian Athletes: Turning Ballparks into Pulpits and Players into PreachersReligion - except for the "Hail Mary" pass - has no place in sports.
In Tebow's case, he should play football and forget about us sinners for 31/2 hours every Saturday.
Somehow, we'll survive without him displaying a "John 3:16" Bible verse under his eyes. We separate church and state. Why not church and sports?
.
Dr. Albert Mohler responds, correctly identifying the exclusivity of the Christian gospel as the main offense for Cook and Krattenmaker:
Both Sam Cook and Tom Krattenmaker identify the exclusivity of the Gospel as the key issue of their concern when it comes to Tim Tebow and any number of other prominent sports figures. Krattenmaker repeatedly stresses that he believes athletes should be free to express their faith. Nevertheless, he argues that belief in the exclusivity of the Gospel of Christ is out of bounds for such expression.Cook and Krattenmaker's main concern is not so much with Tebow as it is with Jesus Christ Himself, whose jarring claims got Him and His first followers killed. As Mohler notes, "The belief that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation is now at the very center of secular outrage."What we face here is undoubtedly a sign of things to come. The belief that Jesus is the only Savior and that salvation comes only to those who come to Christ by faith is essential to Biblical Christianity. As Krattenmaker rightly observes in his book, when it comes to historic Christianity this belief is "hardly fringe or half-baked." Yet, it is precisely this doctrine that is so odious and inconceivable to the postmodern mind.
October 15, 2009
Academic Dishonesty and Grade Inflation
An excellent, hard-hitting, and concise article by Walter E. Williams which argues that grade inflation at colleges and universities is part of a broader scheme of academic dishonesty. The opening:
College education is a costly proposition with tuition, room and board at some colleges topping $50,000 a year. Is it worth it? Increasing evidence suggests that it's not. Since the 1960s, academic achievement scores have plummeted, but student college grade point averages (GPA) have skyrocketed.Williams writes that a few years ago 91% of Harvard students graduated "with honors," 80 percent of the grades given at the University of Illinois are A's and B's, and only 6% of the grades assigned to undergraduates at Stanford were as low as a C. Williams observes:
In the 1930s, the average GPA at American colleges and universities was 2.35, about a C plus; today the national average GPA is 3.2, more than a B......Today's college students are generally dumber than their predecessors. An article in the Wall Street Journal (1/30/97) reported that a "bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 may not be the equal of a graduation certificate from an academic high school in 1947."Read the whole thing, as Williams goes on to make the connection between grade inflation and academic dishonesty (a problem we professors normally associate only with students).
HT: Kit Joos
R.C. Sproul - The Righteous Shall Live By Faith
R.C. Sproul has just published (via Crossway) a new 520-page commentary on the book of Romans. I believe it is the first release in the new St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary series, an adaptation of Dr. Sproul's sermons into a collection of chapters, 58 in this case. Though he tries to touch on each verse, Dr. Sproul focuses on the key themes and ideas in each of the passages unpacked. With only the occasional Greek word, the material is quite accessible for layman and pastor alike. The next commentary (on John) is due out later this year from Reformation Trust.
Some of the endorsements:
"'R. C. Sproul,' someone said to me in the 1970s, 'is the finest communicator in the Reformed world.' Now, three decades later, his skills honed by long practice, his understanding deepened by years of prayer, meditation, and testing (as Martin Luther counseled), R. C. shares the fruit of what has become perhaps his greatest love: feeding and nourishing his own congregation at St. Andrew's from the Word of God and building them up in faith and fellowship and in Christian living and serving. The St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary will be welcomed throughout the world. It promises to have all R. C.'s hallmarks: clarity and liveliness, humor and pathos, always expressed in application to the mind, will, and affections. R. C.'s ability to focus on the 'the big picture,' his genius of never saying too much, leaving his hearers satisfied yet wanting more, never making the Word dull, are all present in these expositions. They are his gift to the wider church. May they nourish God's people well and serve as models of the kind of ministry for which we continue to hunger."
- Sinclair B. Ferguson, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina
"R. C. Sproul is the premier theologian of our day, an extraordinary instrument in the hand of the Lord. Possessed with penetrating insight into the text of Scripture, Dr. Sproul is a gifted expositor and world-class teacher, endowed with a strategic grasp and command of the inspired Word. Since stepping into the pulpit of St. Andrew's and committing himself to the weekly discipline of biblical exposition, this noted preacher has demonstrated a rare ability to explicate and apply God's Word. I wholeheartedly recommend the St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary to all who long to know the truth better and experience it more deeply in a life-changing fashion. Here is an indispensable tool for digging deeper into God's Word. This is a must-read for every Christian."
- Steven J. Lawson, Senior Pastor, Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, Mobile, Alabama
"John Wesley once said of a colleague that Scripture so thoroughly pulsed through his spiritual veins that he 'bled Bibline.' The same could be said without exaggeration of R. C. Sproul. More specifically, one could easily say that he 'bleeds Pauline.' The theology of the Apostle to the Gentiles courses through Dr. Sproul's veins in all of his work. Therefore, it is a special privilege to be able to read his sermons on Paul's Letter to the Romans. Romans has turned the world upside down for two millennia. Not only did it lead to Augustine's conversion; it was a primary source for his defense of the gospel against Pelagius. This epistle was the catalyst for the Reformation and shaped the minds and hearts of many leaders of the modern missionary movement. Romans continues its revolution to the present day and each of R. C. Sproul's expositions reminds us why. Read this book and, by God's grace, you'll never be the same."
- Michael S. Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California
October 14, 2009
30 years ago today: John Piper called to the pastorate
Justin Taylor has posted a lengthy and very moving account of how, thirty years ago today, John Piper was called to the pastoral ministry. An excerpt:
The decisive night of wrestling was on Monday, October 14, 1979—30 years ago today. His wife and two young sons were asleep. But Piper was up past midnight, writing in his journal, recording the direction God was irresistibly drawing him to.
The journal entry for that evening begins in this way:
I am closer tonight to actually deciding to resign at Bethel and take a pastorate than I have ever been. . . .The urge is almost overwhelming. It takes this form: I am enthralled by the reality of God and the power of his Word to create authentic people.
In effect the Lord was saying to him:
I will not simply be analyzed; I will be adored.The calling to preach and pastor had become irresistible.I will not simply be pondered; I will be proclaimed.
My sovereignty is not simply to be scrutinized; it is to be heralded.
It is not grist for the mill of controversy; it is gospel for sinners who know that their only hope is the sovereign triumph of God’s grace over their rebellious will.
Read the whole thing.
October 13, 2009
Candice Watters and Carolyn McCulley
Candice Watters and Carolyn McCulley are co-guests on a pair of episodes of the Focus on The Family radio program with Dr. James Dobson. Each has written a provocative and helpful book on singleness and the process toward marriage (should God bring it to pass). Their conversation with Dr. Dobson is stimulating and insightful as to how single women can (a) pursue mature and fruitful femininity (irrespective of their marital state), (b) help make marriage happen, and (c) not live as if their lives are on hold.
I tried to walk the fine line in a Boundless article I wrote a few months ago. Here was my conclusion:
An essential aspect of loving singles is being open to helping them in the process toward marriage, while recognizing:* our relationship with Christ is more important than our marital state
* some singles are uniquely gifted to remain single for greater kingdom effectiveness
* many singles struggle profoundly with loneliness, lust, fornication, and the like, and welcome (or should welcome) loving, gracious, and balanced input on the process toward marriage from Christians who care about their souls and their bodies
* for most, marriage will be a means of profound sanctification, and they ought to responsibly (and diligently) move in this direction even as they embrace other adult responsibilities
* just as God ordains the ends, He ordains the means. The means may include overcoming your fear and telling a girl how you feel. They may include giving a guy a chance, even though you grew up seeing your parents go through a divorce, and you've closed your heart like a shell.
October 12, 2009
The Elisha Foundation - Justin Reimer - Part 2
This is part II of an interview with Mr. Justin Reimer about a ministry he and his wife launched called The Elisha Foundation. Part I of the interview can be found here.
Describe your ministry a bit. What is your vision? Scope? Mission?
Our overriding mission is to encourage families of people with special needs (kids and adults) to a more intimate faith in Christ, lived out with passion and love. In our experience we have seen that relational intimacy, faith, passion and real love all commonly suffer in the lives of those affected by a disability or other complication. As the focus shifts from a mate or child to a disability, so goes the intimacy of those relationships. Focus goes from Christ for strength, to self. Focus goes from love to duty and passion for life can be lost altogether. We want to encourage that those focuses be redirected so that much is made of Christ in all things.
Our primary vehicle for this, at this point, is through hosting Family Retreats for these special families. We are also working on developing more of a community presence as it relates to providing child care once a month for families so they can go out, plug families in with churches in their area, provide counseling resources,etc. Working with the local churches to help meet the needs of these families is our immediate concern and is beginning to take shape.
Our vision is to provide resources for the local churches to build awareness of the special needs community and to be a supporting organization to that. Never far from our hearts is providing some international outreach opportunities as well, be that through orphan ministries or family ministries but all orchestrated through indigenous churches.
Our Board and counsel ultimately want to keep the brevity of life in mind (Eccles. 12), making much of Christ through all things (John 9) while being faithful to and purposed for and by the Gospel (1 Cor 9).
What forms does The Elisha Foundation's partnership with local churches take? Do you partner with ministries like Joni and Friends, or do you see your venture as somewhat different?
Our goal is to simply have a point of contact at the local churches so that we can reference them specifically if we have a family that is seeking a fellowship or is in the area of that church. We want to know that a person will be enfolded when they walk in the door of the church; whatever we can do to facilitate a church in doing that, we will.
Prior to our first couple of Retreats the director of our region for JAF stayed in touch with me about what we are doing and was very helpful in providing resources and encouragement. The small and intimate environment is different than the conferences they hold and JAF appreciated and encouraged the differences. Joni and Friends is an excellent ministry and Joni has impacted our lives greatly - we would love to partner with them!
What suggestions might you have for how Christians could assist your ministry and/or people in their midst who have special needs, particularly children? What mistakes do Christians commonly make in this regard?
The most common mistake Christians make is that since they don’t know what to say or are uncomfortable upon seeing someone with special needs they chose to do nothing at all. These days we do this with “normal” people and pass on opportunities to share the gospel even. I would challenge Christians, even urge them, to simply approach that child or adult or their parents and ask what they can do to help. That’s it, just ask! They may or may not tell you but it means a lot to them to even be asked.
As for how Christians can assist us, the best and most affective assistance for our ministry is prayer. We are in the midst of some very important steps for the ministry and could use some prayers concentrated on our behalf.
Describe for us a typical Family Retreat. Where do these retreats occur?
A typical Family Retreat consists of a balanced schedule of teaching/worship, resources and free time for the families running over three days and three nights. We aim for a small intimate environment where we serve 6-8 families at a time with around 20+ full time volunteers tending to their needs - each family has at least one volunteer completely designated to them.
Each evening and morning we have a time of teaching and worship along with a program for the kids. The teaching at our last Retreat was on the book of Job and was excellent. The kids had an international missions theme.
Some of the resources we have had are educational consultants, music therapy and round table discussions for parents. We also arrange for a tea for the moms, we have the kids and dads do flower arrangements for the moms, a candle light dinner for the parents, a treasure hunt for the kids and other enjoyable activities. In an effort to keep the family focus going we allow for a lot of free time with nothing on the “schedule” to encourage the families to interact with each other or grow in that regard.
We utilize a corporate guest ranch here in Central Oregon for our Retreats. The ranch has private cabins for each family and sits on 40 acres of beautiful country with the Cascade mountains as a backdrop. A full complement of chef prepared meals each day and snacks in between is a favorite of the kids - and adults. On the grounds of the ranch you can fish, hike, play tennis, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong, etc.
Does your ministry currently serve primarily Christian families? Is there an explicit evangelistic component to your ministry, and if so, what does it look like?
Christian families are definitely more drawn to what we provide but we do not want to be exclusively Christian in our servicing these families. This is a major challenge to achieve balance on. At each of our Retreats we have had at least one family of non-Christians. We put up flyers in varying locations in our area and we are clear that we are “faith-based” but that we encourage anyone to come and be a part of what we are doing.
The teaching times are an obvious evangelistic component but we feel that our staff of volunteers are a very strong “component” as well. Our volunteers that are assigned to specific families are in a unique position to really bond with these families and it has been very rewarding to hear of the conversations that have taken place or to hear non-Christian families comment on the unity of our team. Or even hear things like “I don’t know about all this Jesus stuff?” I love to hear that as they are encountered with the Gospel.
Looking at the broader culture for a moment, many of us are concerned at indications that unborn children diagnosed with Down Syndrome are more likely to be aborted. What do you think is happening here, and is this a specific concern for your ministry?
Al Mohler covered this topic well as did Joni Erickson Tada last year. I don’t fully have the capacity to restrain emotive discussion on these developments but will try.
It is a concern of ours to understand what we can do to be used to counter this type of “medicine” and be used more directly. We have had discussions about how we could help the local Crisis Pregnancy Centers or even on how we could be an influence in the local/state medical community. Our local health care professionals have very little experience with pediatric or neonatal disabilities, as experienced by our friends recently. Could that be because the latest tests are being utilized more frequently in our state to prevent these births? I don’t know but it does concern me deeply.
Spend just 5 minutes with Elisha and you will wonder why they don’t have children like him part of their genetic counseling teams in the medical community. He lights up the room and is full of love for most anyone he meets, especially an uncanny and deep love for Jesus. A love that now, unfortunately, many parents will never experience from their own child with special needs because of the advice of these professionals.
COLLISION: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson
Last week my wife and I were able to view the film COLLISION: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson
Somewhat surprisingly to me, Hitchens' main arguments are that religion is not necessary for morality (in fact, he says, it degrades it, as it is more commendable to love one's neighbor in the absence of divine instruction rather than because of God's commandment) and that the doctrine of vicarious substitution is perverse and wicked (because of the idea that one person, an innocent person, can bear the blame for another). As expected, Hitchens repeatedly mentions the Old Testament slaughtering of whole nation-states (men, women, and children).
Wilson presses hard on the lack of any basis for morality in Hitchens' atheistic worldview. His accusation is not that Hitchens is himself overtly immoral but that Hitchens has no basis for morality. Thus Hitchens, in strenuously claiming certainty, precisely about ethical matters, is borrowing Christian concepts while denying the Christian framework which validates those concepts.
All in all, a great film. Just a teaser: The interaction at the end is very interesting and surprising. Watch the movie, and then check out this 15-minute conversation that John Piper and Doug Wilson had about it.
Here's a two-minute trailer:
Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, & the Future of Denominationalism
Trevin Wax live-blogged Union University's conference entitled Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism. Here is a round-up of his posts.
1. Ed Stetzer: “Denominationalism – Is There a Future?”
2. Jim Patterson: “Reflections on 400 Years of Baptist Movement”
3. Hal Poe: “The Gospel and Its Meaning”
4. Timothy George: “The Faith, My Faith, The Church’s Faith”
5. Duane Litfin: “The Future of American Evangelicalism”
6. Ray Van Neste: “Pastoral Ministry in SBC Life”
7. Robert Smith: “The Church’s One Foundation”
8. Mark DeVine: “Emergent or Emerging”
9. Danny Akin: “The Future of the SBC”
10. Michael Lindsay: “Denominationalism in a Changing America”
11. Jerry Tidwell: “Missions and Evangelism”
12. David Dockery: “So Many Denominations…”
13. Panel Discussion
14. Nathan Finn: “Passing On the Faith”
15. Albert Mohler: “Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism”
Hey Trevin, I've live-blogged a bunch of conferences, but I don't think I've ever produced fifteen posts at one. Now that's some serious live-blogging!
October 10, 2009
Obama's Nobel Prize: A Wicked and Ignorant Award
That's Peggy Noonan's take:
...the giving of the peace prize to President Obama is absurd. He doesn't have a body of work; he's a young man; he's been president less than nine months. He hopes to accomplish much, and so far--nine months!--has accomplished little. Is this a life of heroic self-denial, of the sacrifice of self for something greater, of huge and historic consequence, of sustained vision? No it's not. Is this a life marked by a vivid and calculable contribution to the peace of the world? No, it's not.Read the whole thing.This is an award for not being George W. Bush. This is an award for not making the world nervous. This is an award for sharing the basic political sentiments and assumptions of the members of the committee. It is for what Barack Obama may do, not what he has done. He hasn't done anything.
In one mindless stroke, the committee has rendered the Nobel Peace Prize a laughingstock, perhaps for as long as a generation.
HT: Denny Burk
October 09, 2009
Tim Keller on Counterfeit Gods
Tim Keller's new book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters, is releasing October 20. I previously posted a series of excerpts from Chapter 1, which is outstanding. Here's just one:
"Each one has its shrines—whether office towers, spas and gyms, studios, or stadiums—where sacrifices must be made in order to procure the blessings of the good life and ward off disaster. What are the gods of beauty, power, money, and achievement but these same things that have assumed mythic proportions in our individual lives and in our society? We may not physically kneel before the statue of Aphrodite, but many young women today are driven into depression and eating disorders by an obsessive concern over their body image. We may not actually burn incense to Artemis, but when money and career are raised to cosmic proportions, we perform a kind of child sacrifice, neglecting family and community to achieve a higher place in business and gain more wealth and prestige."And here's a two minute video of Keller explaining why he wrote the book:
October 08, 2009
Roman Polanski, Hollywood, and Misplaced Outrage
Carson Holloway, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, writes an excellent, insightful reflection on Hollywood's strange indignation at the arrest and possible prosecution of Roman Polanski for raping a girl. Holloway explains that "the embrace of sexual liberation necessarily diminishes our horror for rape." Since Hollywood has wholeheartedly embraced sexual liberation, they must now (logically) stand with Polanski lest they too be guilty:
If Polanski is guilty of some terribly immoral act, then Hollywood has itself been guilty of an unseemly (at least) moral complacency. And since there appears to be no way to deny that he actually committed the crime in question, Hollywood's only way to maintain its sense of self-respect is to act as if what he did is not that serious—and accordingly to act as if an effort to prosecute him must be a monstrous injustice.Another excerpt:
Our horror for rape depends to a large extent on a presupposition that was also the basis for the traditional sexual morality that authorized society to regulate even sexual acts between consenting adults: the sense that human sexuality possesses an intrinsic moral dignity—even a sanctity—that no one should degrade. More specifically, it was believed that sex was properly understood as a way of communicating life to new human beings and of communicating a permanent loving commitment between spouses in marriage. The belief in these lofty purposes was the core of the sense of the sanctity of human sexuality. And it was this sense of sanctity that justified both societal disapproval when consenting people wrongly degraded sex from such an act of love to a mere source of pleasure and society's even greater horror for those who perverted sex so far as to turn it into a means of pleasure through violence.Read the whole thing.
HT: JT
October 07, 2009
FOTF Radio Theatre: The Screwtape Letters
This looks really good. Play the Intro video (7:18). The synopsis:
In his enduringly popular masterpiece, C.S. Lewis re-imagines Hell as a gruesome bureaucracy. With spiritual insight and wry wit, Radio Theatre's The Screwtape Letters centers on the senior demon Screwtape (Andy Serkis) as he shares correspondence with his apprentice Wormwood. The younger spirit's assignment is terrorizing a man in London during the tumultuous days of World War II.Andy Serkis (an atheist) has an amazing voice -- he played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, among many other theatrical productions. Serkis is currently working with Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg on the Tintin feature film scheduled for release in 2011 and preparing for two upcoming movies based on The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Brian Godawa on A Theology of the Arts
Brian Godawa, award winning screenwriter of To End All Wars
The full audio of the message is available.
Interview with Matt Perman on Desiring God
Tim Challies interviews Matt Perman, Director of Strategy at Desiring God. An excerpt:
Why do you post everything online for free?Read the whole thing for a great introduction to Christian hedonism and how it relates to the organizational history and principles of Desiring God.When you asked about how Desiring God could serve the readers of this site, I pointed to our website. So it makes sense for me to talk a little bit more about why we post everything for free and how this relates to our view of serving.
The call to be God-centered entails a call to serve others before yourself. The two greatest commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40). Jesus said that he came “not to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). And Paul said “let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 4:4) and pointed to Jesus as an example (4:5ff).
It can be easy to think that this applies only to us as individuals—that individuals should put others first, but organizations are different. They should focus on survival.
But that’s not how we think. We want to follow the example of Christ organizationally as well as individually. We want the grace and mercy of Christ to be reflected as fully as possibly in what we say and in what we do.
So Desiring God is here first of all to serve. Survival is not our first priority. We do not exist to exist. We exist to be of use to others in the building up of their faith. And so we will do this even at cost to ourselves.
The Elisha Foundation - Justin Reimer
The Elisha Foundation is an outstanding ministry to children with special needs. To help readers get a better understanding of this ministry, I'm re-posting an interview with Justin Reimer, who together with his wife Tamara established The Elisha Foundation in December 2005. Here is part I of our interview:
Can you please tell us how the Lord called you to Himself?
I grew up in a Christian home with two parents who love the Lord and raised us in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We were immersed in Christianity. I remember kneeling next to my bed at the age of 4 full of fear that hell was real and asking Jesus to save me. At the age of 16 I found myself really challenged to evaluate what exactly I believed and why. My oldest brother, Matt, would have me visit him while he attended The Master’s College and inevitably I would end up cornered by 4 or 5 youth ministry majors “encouraging” me to read the Word and know Jesus more intimately. By the age of 18, through much time in the Word, there was a turning point in my life of going from some form of uninformed yet convicted obedience to a joyful, Christ-enamored intimate obedience as an act of worship and delight.
To answer your question, I don’t have a specific event/experience to look back to but a present and supremely sweet reality of Christ in my life moved by the Holy Spirit.
How did you come to meet your wife?
Here is the short version...
Although I never officially attended The Master’s College I spent enough time there to apparently warrant being afforded the opportunity to be part of a summer missions trip to Provideniya, Russia. My bride to be attended Master’s and was on that trip but I hadn’t met her prior to the trip. We met in Alaska on the way to Russia and 14 months and one more trip to Russia later we were married and moved to Alaska.
Before your son Elisha was born, did you ever think you would work with a ministry for special needs children?
I didn’t but Tamara had an “inkling” we would as she was a special education major in college and worked in the special needs Sunday school program at Grace Community Church in California. I grew up as a missionary kid in Africa and always thought I would end up back on the mission field. Tamara and I had our sights set on going back to Russia as missionaries in some capacity.
What work were you pursuing when Elisha was born? Talk to us a bit about any redirecting God did in your lives.
We were living in a remote Alaskan village where I was working as an apprentice aircraft mechanic and we helped with the ministry that took us to Russia as opportunities presented themselves.
About 45 minutes after Elisha was born he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and a couple hours later he was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit due to medical complications. During the early hours of this new and blessed addition to our family we were overcome with the moment. God saw fit to make us stewards of such a wondrous and enigmatic blessing of a special needs child. The enormity of this responsibility was only made more sweet by the grace of God. The only tears we shed that morning were brief and were solely tears of experiencing the rich blessing of this stewardship all through His Grace.
This was a defining moment in our young lives with profound impact on our faith, goals and dreams. He redirected us in such a tangible way - a child. We knew in a very short period of time that this blessing was purposeful and that our calling was to a new field, that of the special needs community. It has not been without challenge and real lessons of patience but it has been a merciful bounty of spiritual lessons.
What has God taught you personally through having a special needs child in your family?
That is an excellent question that is hard to succinctly answer. It has brought more reality to those attributes of God we hold so dear, sovereignty being the key to our comfort. The most immediate affect on me personally has been patience. I have always tended to be a really on-time and ready-to-go kind of person but with Elisha things happen more slowly. He learns at a different rate. He moves at a different pace. His body, early on, was very fragile and travel was difficult. It slowed me down and caused me to see some sin in my life and to invest that nervous energy in Eli’s growth and development or to just simply sit still and listen. There have been many other things the Lord has taught us as well that are deep and treasured.
How would you comfort and/or counsel someone who has just learned their child has a severe disability?
It depends on the situation, sometimes you simply listen while other times you speak to the specifics of the disability. But at some point it should always come back to the Word and prayer and usually a combination of all these things. A foundational principle to understanding the scope of any disability/need is to understand that that person is no less created in the image of God than you or I. It is a difficult concept but is essential to a God-honoring perspective. Equally important is that whatever the situation, circumstance, challenge, need, etc. much is to be made of Christ in and through them. John 9 is particularly helpful with this as a quick reference.
Let me share this brief story. Just a couple of months ago I received a call late at night from a friend whose wife just gave birth to a baby girl with Down Syndrome that morning and the familiar voice on the other end said, ”I don’t understand what is going on and why God would do this to us? I would run away if I could right now. I am angry at God, why would he do this?!”
I will tell you that no matter how close you are to understanding the plight of a person with special needs you are never prepared for how it affects people so deeply and how suffering can so spiritually distract and reek havoc on a soul that is under attack. I was taken aback for a second but the Lord gave me the words to say as I talked with this Brother while driving to the hospital to be with he and his wife. Our home Bible study had just started going through 2 Corinthians and Chapter 1:3-7 came alive and I was able to share the God of ALL comfort and purposeful comfort with this Brother. Three hours and a lot of Psalms and prayer later this Brother embraced me and had been encouraged and strengthened to what extent he could be in his exhausted state - all by the Word and soul searching/baring prayer.
Update: Part 2 of this interview.
Idolatry is a Stealthy Hunter
Greg Dutcher:
If a woman cannot find God's presence and power sufficient to sustain her through the day, then idolatry has hunted her down. If that student's Xbox fantasies shift from fun entertainment to ceaseless obsession, then idolatry has slipped through the back door and made itself at home. And when a husband stops seeing his wife as a God-given life partner and treats her only as an object for his own pleasure, then idolatry has done a good day's work. None of these victims may realize how deep in the throes of God-substitutes they actually are, but that's just fine with idolatry. Idolatry is a stealthy hunter.From You Are The Treasure That I Seek...: But There's a Lot Of Cool Stuff Out There, Lord
October 06, 2009
Eschatology Roundtable: Piper, Wilson, Storms, Hamilton
John Piper hosted "An Evening of Eschatology," with Jim Hamilton representing the historic pre-millennial view, Sam Storms representing the amillennial view, Doug Wilson representing the post-millennial view, and John Piper moderating. The audio and video are now available, courtesy Desiring God.
God, Wrath, Sin, Kingdom, Judgment
Mike Horton:
In the 1950s, Yale's H. Richard Niebuhr described the so-called "gospel" of Protestant liberalism poignantly: "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross." Each clause is telling. First, more like Mr. Rogers than the judge of all the earth, the sentimental deity of many Americans is incapable of wrath. Since he exists for us and our happiness, this heavenly friend may be disappointed and sad when we hurt ourselves, but he never sees sin as an offense primarily against himself and his perfect justice. Second, we may make mistakes--pretty bad ones, from time to time--but it would be wrong to call ourselves sinners, much less to imagine that we were captive to sin, helpless to do anything to will or work our way out of the mess. So, third, God brings us basically good people into a kingdom without judgment, since there is no law that could condemn and no gospel that could justify. And finally, for this sort of religious therapy you don't need a vicarious, atoning sacrifice if you are basically a nice person; what you really need is a good example.From The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World (Baker, 2009)
October 04, 2009
Retirement and Investing in the Next Generation
Ligonier has posted my Generation to Generation column from the October issue of Tabletalk. The opening:
You may have heard that retirement can kill you. Men and women die of boredom, for lack of intellectual challenge, or from the deafening silence that can accompany a spouse’s death. Depressed saving accounts may represent another motivation to stay gainfully employed. Even if times were better, you might simply prefer staying active in your career, maintaining a position of influence that you’ve worked hard to reach.If you are interested, you can read the rest.It is lawful to seek fruitfulness with one’s skills and talents. Yet there are better reasons than financial stability and longevity for remaining engaged with the world.
October 01, 2009
Wait, God. I Need To Check My E-Mail.
Josh Harris humorously illustrates a convicting message:
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