Links to Help Your Grip (4.20.2013)

The Marathoner’s Fragile Glory (David Niblack)

But when I walked out of the restaurant, I stepped into a world that had changed. Suddenly our achievements, our medals, and even whether we had finished the race became astonishingly trivial. The near-sacred enchantment of the Boston Marathon vanished before my eyes; our medals became mere pieces of metal around our necks, the finish line was only a band of colored paint, and we found ourselves in a new race to discover if our friends were safe amid the confusion and sadness. This race had an urgency the marathon never did. Death and evil openly entered the equation, and they changed the atmosphere completely.

A Focus on the Personal as Britons Bid Thatcher Farewell, New York Times (John F Burns and Alan Cowell)

Since dying of a stroke last week at 87, Britain’s longest-serving prime minister in 150 years — and the only woman to hold the office — continued to stir intense passions. At issue were the elaborate ceremony and estimated $15 million cost of a funeral in whose planning she had a major voice, as well as the socially disruptive consequences of her no-turning-back battles in the 1980s to shake Britain from its long postwar slump.

Kermit Gosnell and the Politics of Abortion (Ross Douthat, New York Times)

… if you want to hear honest talk about the realities of abortion, go speak with those abortion counselors and providers. Even the most radically pro-choice will tell you that the political discourse they hear about the subject, with its easy dichotomies and bumper-sticker boilerplate, has little correspondence to the messy, intricate stories of her patients. They hear about peace and guilt, relief and sin. And it is they who will acknowledge, whether we like it or not, that the rhetoric and imagery of the pro-life movement can touch on some basic emotional truths.

I Hate Flying, But I Love Jesus (Joe Thorn)

The only place I can find real comfort and peace is in the character of God and the hope of the gospel. It is not just that God is sovereign, but that he is good, and because of Jesus his work in my life is for his glory and my good.

Iranian pastor told to recant his faith, or else remain in prison (Baptist Press)

“The reality of Christian living is that difficulties or problems do arise in our lives,” Abedini wrote. “Persecution and difficulties are not new occurrences, but are seen often in the Christian life. It is through the suffering and tribulations that we are to enter the Kingdom of God.”

7 Wastes of Energy for Leaders (Ron Edmundson)

Wasting time and energy may be one of my biggest pet peeves as a leader. Some days I leave work and feel I never got off the treadmill. It’s physically and mentally draining.

Links to Help Your Gospel Grip (5/19/2012)

Five Reasons Christians Should Continue to Oppose Gay Marriage (Kevin DeYoung):  “The temptation, then, is for Christians go silent and give up the marriage fight: ‘It’s no use staying in this battle,’ we think to ourselves. ‘We don’t have to change our personal position. We’ll keep speaking the truth and upholding the Bible in our churches, but getting worked up over gay marriage in the public square is counter productive. It’s a waste of time. It makes us look bad. It ruins our witness. And we’ve already lost. Time to throw in the towel.’ I understand that temptation. It is an easier way. But I do not think it is the right way, the God glorifying way, or the way of love.”

4 Reasons to Backslide and How to Backslide in 9 Easy Steps (Tim Challies): Tim gleans some insight into this subject during his Reading Classic Together series on John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. 

Joe Thorn has a series on his helpful blog about his journey in “Getting Healthy.”  Worth the read for all ministers who are stretching themselves too thin because they believe it all depends on them.

• My Hardest Year
• How Bad Was It?
• What I Was Doing Wrong
• The People Who Helped
• Adjusting the Workload
• Fighting Spiritually
• Is a Wholistic Thing
• Counsel

Are Cell Phones Bad for Parenting? (Pete Wilson):  “I’ve learned it’s possible to be present with your family and not really be PRESENT with your family.  One of the best decisions I’ve made in the past two years was taking email off my phone. I’ve never missed it once and while I believe it’s made me a more attentive husband and father it hasn’t once made me a less effective pastor.  Listen, I’m not trying to make anyone guilty, but I do think we need to take the time to think about how technology is impacting our families.”

Motherhood as a Mission Field (Desiring God via Gender Blog):  “As someone once said, “Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.” When you are a mother at home with your children, the church is not clamoring for monthly ministry updates. When you talk to other believers, there is not any kind of awe about what you are sacrificing for the gospel. People are not pressing you for needs you might have, how they can pray for you. It does not feel intriguing, or glamorous. Your work is normal, because it is as close to home as you can possibly be. You have actually gone so far as to become home.”

Outlines of Theology (.pdf) (A.A. Hodge): His systematic theology (all 541 pages) in PDF format.

Links to Help Your Grip (Monday 11.30.09)

My sermon from Sunday, November 29, 2009 is up:  “Got Those Highway ‘4D’ Blues?  4 D’s of a Missions-Active Church.”  This sermon is from Romans 10:1-17 and kicked off our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering which emphasizes giving, praying, and going to International missions. 

Trevin Wax writes an excellent article regarding low expectations:

In recent years, we have seen a number of TV dramas that eschew the traditional formula that leads to a neat resolution by the end of each episode. Instead, shows like Lost and 24 demand that the viewer stick with the program for its entire run.

Plot lines have become complicated, introducing dozens of main characters and a story line that taxes the memory and the stamina of the viewer. And yet, these shows are rated highly each year and have garnered millions of fans.

Is it not odd that the entertainment industry (whether through board games or television shows) is seeing success when it places high demands on the consumer? Fans of Lost talk about how nice it is to watch a show that actually expects something of the audience. Fans of Catan talk about how much more satisfying it is to win such a difficult game.

What can the church learn from this?

Kevin DeYoung brings to light the differences between the “old gospel” and the “new gospel” being put forth by contemporary evangelicals. 

The New Gospel generally has four parts to it.

It usually starts with an apology: “I’m sorry for my fellow Christians. I understand why you hate Christianity.  It’s like that thing Ghandi said, ‘why can’t the Christians be more like their Christ?’  Christians are hypocritical, judgmental, and self-righteous.  I know we screwed up with the Crusades, slavery, and the Witch Trials.  All I can say is: I apologize.  We’ve not give you a reason to believe.”

Then there is an appeal to God as love: “I know you’ve seen the preachers with the sandwich boards and bullhorns saying ‘Repent or Die.’ But I’m here to tell you God is love. Look at Jesus.  He hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors.  He loved unconditionally.  There is so much brokenness in the world, but the good news of the Bible is that God came to live right in the middle of our brokenness. He’s a messy God and his mission is love.  ‘I did not come into the world to condemn the world,’ that’s what Jesus said (John 3:17).  He loved everyone, no matter who you were or what you had done. That’s what got him killed.”

Zach Nielsen questions how helpful the Focus on the Family’s “Stand for Christmas” boycott really is to the cause of Christ:

This kind of stuff only hurts our mission to communicate the truth of the Gospel. If you think people using the word Christmas somehow makes our materialistic holiday extravaganza more pure you are probably not paying attention very well. Boycotting secular businesses that do not exhibit the kind of behavior that we think they should is the last thing that an unbelieving world needs to see.

Joe Thorn led a session at the Acts 29 Bootcamp in Louisville, Kentucky a few weeks ago on “How Theology Can Kill Your Church” (audio available here) (no, it does not go in the direction you may think).  Thorn values theology (after all, he led the “Pastor as Resident Theologian” breakout session at the Bootcamp). 

1. Your Theology is Under-developed
Under-developed theology leaves your church defenseless against false doctrine and heresy, and corrupts the spiritual growth of the body. We need a robust theological confession and culture in our churches.

2. Your Theology is Over-valued
Theology is over-valued when we find our identity more in a system than in the Savior. The dangers here are often pride and pugnacity. Good theology will always give a clear picture of God and self, which promotes strong convictions and humble hearts.

3. Your Theology is Compartmentalized
Compartmentalized theology is a purely academic discipline removed from Christian experience. The danger here is being satisfied with knowledge over transformation. We need “experimental Calvinists” who are not content to be right, but desire to be made right by the Spirit of God in conjunction with the truth of God.

4. Your Theology is Disconnected
When our theology is disconnected from the gospel, all of the above dangers are likely, and additionally our preaching will be little more than moralism. Imperatives apart from the gospel tell people to “do this,” and doctrinal preaching divorced from the gospel tell people to “know this.” In both cases people are not led to the grace of God in Christ, but to their own attainments. We need theologians who can show the connection between doctrines like sin, creation, the Trinity, etc. and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

In short, I was aiming at encouraging our men to be passionate, convinced, humble, experiential, gospel-centered theologians.