Christ demands that we put people over prestige or pulpits or publications. Do others really know that we love them? By our deeds and not just by our words? I suppose this is why Jesus never walked up to anyone and said, “I love you.” You see, if you have to tell people that you love them, they tend to suspect your genuineness. Evangelicals, let’s stop just saying that we love the nations. They can judge whether we love them or not.
Last year’s 20/20 Conference was hugely influential in the lives of many Southeastern students and visitors, and it’s coming again next February. Here’s what SEBTS has to say about it:
God’s church always finds herself in the midst of a broader human culture. Though the church is a part of that culture, she also bears witness to a Reality greater than the culture. For this reason, we as believers have the great privilege and responsibility of finding ways—in our colleges, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities—to display the truth, goodness, and beauty of God and his gospel. Come and join us as we explore ways of bearing witness to God and his gospel in the midst of a skeptical, morally confused culture.
The 2010 20/20 Collegiate Conference, A City Within a City, will be held February 5-6 on the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The cost of the conference is $35. Southeastern students may attend for a discounted price of $30.
Speakers will include: Danny Akin, Matt Chandler, JD Greear, Clayton King, David Platt, Dave Owen and more
I just finished up Graeme Goldsworthy’s Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture. I highly recommend it–great book! It really focuses on interpreting the Scriptures through biblical theology rather than systematic theology and highlights the importance of salvation history throughout.
Here are a few notable quotes:
“We must proclaim the message of what God has done for them in Christ. We follow the New Testament in calling on people to live out the implications of the gospel, but we cannot urge people to actually live the gospel, for that was the unique work of Christ. This distinction between the gospel and its fruit in our lives is crucial…the ethical example of Christ is secondary to and dependent upon the primary and unique work of Christ for us” (4).
“The soundest methodological starting point is the gospel since the person of Jesus is proclaimed as the final and fullest expression of God’s revelation of his kingdom. Jesus is the goal and fulfillment of the whole Old Testament and, as the embodiment of the truth of God, he is the interpretative key to the Bible” (25).
“Show me a church without a good appreciation of the Old Testament and biblical theology and I’ll show you a church with a weak understanding of the gospel” (52).
“If eternal life is not the reward for meritorious living but the gift of grace, then all ethical imperatives are given as implications of the gospel and should be clearly seen as such. The alternative is to preach law and to leave the impression that the essence of Christianity is what we do rather than what God has done. Legalism easily creeps in even when we think we have avoided it. The preacher may well understand the relationship of law and grace, but the structure of the sermon program may undermine it in the thinking of many in the congregation” (59).
It’s Thursday morning and as I write this article I’m bouncing back and forth on the train to Manhattan. I almost always find riding the subways interesting, but crossing the Manhattan Bridge has certainly been the highlight of my morning commute for the last few days. I think I enjoy this part of the daily ride the most because—even if for just for a few moments—we are all offered an escape from the dark, empty tunnels and given a grandiose view of the city itself. The sky is enlarged. The sun is exposed. There is something to actually gaze upon.
As I sit here on the Broadway Express, though, I can’t help but notice the countenance of those individuals surrounding me. In almost every direction I notice exhausted eyes and fatigued faces. They’re tired.
As we’ve served the Gallery Church this week, it seems that each of us has had at least one great, encouraging story to share with the group. A story that moved a New Yorker out of the dark, empty tunnels and into the light—even if just for a few moments—as the greatest Story of all was told. A Story of Exposure.
Over the past several years God has been preparing me (in many ways) to be an urban church planter. This has certainly been a journey—one that can be measured by several marks and milestones—yet I am continually amazed at how God exposes more and more of his plan for my life. Opportunities like this week inevitably contribute to an increasing zeal to reach the world through the great cities. As I witness the Gallery’s efforts to expand the kingdom of God, I rejoice in the spread of God’s fame—and become increasingly excited about expanding the Church to other great cities, as well.
Following graduation this May, I will begin a new phase in the journey as a church planter. Together with seven other teammates (3 seminarians, a nurse, a computer pro, a horse trainer, and a 2 year-old), we will be transplanting to Denver, Colorado as missionaries for Jesus Christ. As we prepare for the coming step, I consider opportunities to learn from planters such as Aaron Coe, Jeff Getz, Freddy Wyatt, and Ellis Prince absolutely invaluable. Hearing words of encouragement, warnings and cautions, practical wisdom, and spiritual guidance has been both a blessing and a challenge. I think more than anything this week we’ve all witnessed at least a peek into the daily lives of church planters…and I continue to thank God for the privilege of participating in such a mission.
I guess at some point in time the Manhattan Bridge loses its flair amongst the natives. The familiar becomes ordinary. And the ordinary…well, more or less disappears. No one looks up. No one opens his eyes. It’s just one more stretch of the morning commute. One more stop closer to the destination, really. When I think of the story of God, I don’t want it to be like the Manhattan Bridge to those who have crossed it a thousand times. A familiar sight…an ordinary stretch. I want it to be like a view of the city seen by a first-timer. A view where the sky is enlarged. A Story where the Son is exposed.
I’ve blogged about New Testament hymns in the past, and I recently discovered another one in Titus 3:4-7. You won’t pick up on any hymnic qualities in most English versions (and, admittedly, I only realized it after looking at the ISV), but I sure did appreciate its sound and clarity. I’ve “tweaked” it a bit from the ISV—hopefully staying true to authorial intent!
In grace our Savior God appeared,
His love for mankind to make clear.
‘Twas not for deeds that we had done,
But only by his merciful love.
He saved us through a second birth,
Renewed us by the Spirit’s work,
And poured him out upon us, too,
Through Jesus Christ our Savior true.
Made righteous heirs by his own grace,
Eternal life, our hope and embrace.
I listened to an interview between Mark Driscoll and Matt Chandler tonight discussing current issues in church planting and pastoring. Admittedly, it’s a little awkward for a few different reasons, but it still handles several important questions most planters are asking (e.g. defeating pride, balancing family, managing growth, operating multi-site, handling critics, etc.).
Here are 3 snippets from throughout:
• Driscoll: I’ve been telling guys that there’s really there major teams: there’s a sort of mega church team where the guys get systems, policies, procedures, technology–even simple things like databases…And then there’s [the] reformed, those are the theological…good Bible teacher guys. And then the emerging guys who are having the missional conversation, how to reach culture, how to engage. And those three worlds tend really not to like each other…and you’ve gotta pick one. But what you are saying is you’re trying to learn from each and do what God’s called you to do.
• Driscoll: What was the biggest mistake you think you’ve made in ministry–the one you say, “Man, if I could go back…”
Chandler: We early on at the Village didn’t have some things defined that needed to be defined.
Driscoll: Such as?
Chandler: Processes of sanctification, discipleship, (i.e. how are we going to do that?)
Driscoll: So a lot of Christian words that don’t have theological definition.
Chandler: That’s right. Or even how are we going to do that? How are we going to do that here? How’s that going to look? How’s that going to work? The buzz word for the first two years–when our hair was on fire–was “connection.” How do we connect them? How do we connect them? How do we connect them? And it wasn’t how to disciple them, how to mature them, how to keep them accountable, how to engage them, how we’re going to do discipline. It was all…how do we connect these people and get them connected? And then you wake up and you’re like, what are they connected to? I wish I would have had some of those things built out.
• Chandler: I could tell you what I didn’t like about church.
Driscoll: Most church planters, that’s about where they start…[With] most church planters, you say [to them] “Ok, what are you gonna do?” and they give you a list of all the things they are not gonna do. And you’re like, “Alright, you’re bitter. We got that figured out.”
There’s a new series up at Unlikely Christians called “On Community”. Bryan and Mark have both added some great thoughts, and I’ve put in my two cents, as well. Enjoy!
T-minus 5 days until my final year of seminary training begins. How exciting! Taking the summer off from class provided a wonderful time of relaxation and refreshment, but I am more than ready to begin again. Looks like the course line up will certainly be rewarding, and I’m looking forward to diving in!
Here’s what we’ve got:
New Testament Theology – Dave Black
Questions to be answered this semester:
• What is the primary message of the New Testament?
• How should we study the New Testament writings?
• What are the steps in going from text to teaching/preaching outline?
• How is the New Testament both a human and divine book?
• Can modern critical methods be “evangelicalized”?
• What are the different levels of meaning in the text?
• What are the main themes of each of the New Testament books?
In short, this course explores the various approaches to New Testament theology and describes the basic principles and practice of recovering the theme of each New Testament writing. It examines the full range of models of reading and interpretation and evaluates both the foundations on which they stand and their practical implications for biblical texts, focusing on the New Testament.
The theme of “transformation” will provide the unifying center. The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation. A book endued with such power cannot be passively received. It can, however, be forced to serve the prior needs of its readers and even impose that reading on others in the name of the Holy Spirit. Hence the primary and indispensable need to be faithful to the meaning of the biblical text!
New Testament 1 Survey – David Lanier
This course is designed to be an introduction to the books of the New Testament, as well as a study of the intertestamental period, the New Testament world, and the life of Christ. Designed as a comprehensive survey course, it treats the cultural and historical background, occasion for writing, authorship and dating, major critical approaches, organization, and content of each book covered (the four Gospels).
Christian Faith and World Religions – Anthony Greenham
Course Objectives:
To establish briefly the essence of Christian faith
To examine contemporary world religions from the standpoint of Christian faith
To explore briefly how select adherents of different religions come to faith in Christ
Sermon Delivery – Greg Heisler
The course serves as an introduction to vocal production, articulation, projection, oral interpretation, and communication with particular application to the presentation of sermons.
So I’ve been asked to be a contributing author for a new blog with Bryan Barley and Mark Turner, two guys I really appreciate and respect. The title of the blog is Unlikely Christians: Theology, Culture, and the Gospel and can be found HERE.
I’ve never been a part of this sort of endeavor, but the opportunity seems both intriguing and worthwhile. There’s always a sense of careful consciousness (for me, at least) that goes along with publishing written material online, knowing that others may read it and that I will be held accountable by the public (despite how little of an audience I maintain) for what I say and write. That, however, is one of the primary reasons why I blog; knowing that I must be careful in how I articulate what I’m thinking is a great discipline that I want to constantly exercise. I believe it forces me to be intellectually responsible and fairly reasonable as I think through certain–sometimes difficult–issues.
With Unlikely Christians, however, I will be representing the opinions of more than just myself (to some degree). Needless to say, the pressure to be compelling, relevant, and, well…right…will be a little greater! Evenso, I’m looking forward to writing with these guys and sparking some interesting theological conversations that will hopefully provide a resource for many others. I will, of course, continue this blog just the same. Hope you enjoy!
Traveling home to Tennessee tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing some of the family, as well as addressing the Morristown West Senior Class Honor Students at their annual banquet. The theme I’ve been given to speak on comes from Luke 12:48 – “From everyone who has been given much, much is demanded.”
Preparing a speech based on a biblical theme for a secular audience has been interesting, but hopefully it will prove to be worthwhile come tomorrow. I’ve decided to speak on the life of William “Bill” Wallace (not the Scottish hero, but the Chinese missionary). Hopefully his life of sacrifice will in some way influence these students–as well as their parents–to give their own lives to something great…namely Christ!
Please pray that all goes well and that hearts are open to hear truth.
