The Human Condition

Now that I have a little more free time on my hands, I have had a chance to catch up on some movies. I recently finished watching There Will be Blood. If you have objections to watching R rated movies or struggle with violence I would not recommend the movie. We do need to watch what media diet we are on. I read the cover of the DVD and reviews on line and thought that it would not be a stumbling block for me - and I watched it alone.

The story moves slowly and is very thoughtfully done. I was surprised to see the depth of humankind's darkness displayed in this movie. A greedy oil man vs. a charismatic preacher - good stuff! People have been raving about this movie and I can see why. It is well made and spins the noggin' a bit. Although people really like it, I found it interesting that in a culture that seems to deny the doctrine of total depravity this movie was a hit. Even the very end of the movie the audience sees humankind's depravity.I don't want to ruin the end of a movie for anyone, but I will say this movie shows that humankind does indeed need blood.

From Whence Cometh my Assurance?

What provides assurance of salvation? For too many years of my life I was terrified that I was not truly a Christian. Youth ministers and preachers would say things like, "If you don't know that date and time you were saved, you're not saved. You should have it written inside your Bible so you remember." I had no date. I had no time. I had no monumental experience upon which I could reflect. To this day I have no idea when I was actually saved. It had to have been between the ages of 8 and 16, but that is a pretty broad time span.
Eventually I found assurance in two things, the affirmation of my beliefs and the works that accompanied my faith. I affirmed the essential Christian doctrines. I tried vigorously to obey God. Today I am quite certain of my salvation. I have no fears that one day the Lord will tell me that he never knew me. My assurance has grown in the absence of an experience upon which I can reflect for comfort.
This brings me to the question I really want to ask: should we as ministers counsel people to reflect upon an experience for assurance of their salvation. It seems altogether possible that encouraging people to reflect upon such experiences could give assurance to the unsaved and doubt to the elect. An emotional experience is not the substance of salvation. Perhaps what is called for is the de-emphasis of the experience and the re-emphasis of faith and works. I think we should encourage those who need assurance to compare their beliefs with orthodox Christian beliefs. Next, I think we should encourage them to examine their own lives and see if there be any evidence of sanctification. This may sound subjective, but it is better than asking if has ever been emotionally moved enough to respond to an invitation, right?

Further revelation?

I recently heard of a "revival" going on in Florida and have been asked what I think about it. I am always skeptical of things like revivals and individuals that seem to sensationalize Christianity. Sometimes, perhaps I am too skeptical. I have faith that God CAN do anything - I do not want to limit God. But I wonder DOES God do things like mass healings, speaking in tongues, prophetic words, etc as often as He used to? I believe that, since the closing of the cannon of Scripture, the sign gifts have been... less obviously manifested (to put it nicely and optimistically.)

I do have some concern when some brothers and sisters claim that God is still revealing himself to His people in limitless ways.

I read this quote and raised an eyebrow "We recognize that God is continually restoring truth and light to His Church. Therefore, we place no limit on further revelation; however, each must be substantiated according to the Scriptures." Other non-Christian cults claim to receive extra-biblical revelation and compare it against the Bible.

If we believe that the Bible is complete, and lacking nothing, do we NEED any more revelation from God? If we truly believe that the Bible is God's full revelation, we should question why He is still revealing new truth to the world. And if He is revealing new truth to the world, why only certain people? Why not everyone?

I remain a healthy skeptic. God CAN do anything, but I believe He has revealed everything to His people that needs to be revealed. We as a body of believers should be more focused on fulfilling the commission in Matt 28 than seeking after the gifts of 1 Cor. 14.

A lesson from What-a-burger

My second year of Seminary I learned a valuable lesson that will always stick with me: I didn't know the gospel clearly. I had been driving to seminary and saw a homeless woman asking for food. I pulled into a local hamburger joint and walked over to her. As we walked into the restaurant I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to share the gospel with her.

Sitting at that What-a-burger restaurant with a captive (and hungry) audience I was struck by how difficult it was for me to condense the gospel into the basic elements a "pre-Christian" needs to know. I found myself starting with Adam and Eve and talking about original sin, then I moved to the account of Noah and the Ark. As I took bites of greasy burger in between sentences, I had the feeling that I was rambling. She was listening to what I was saying, the only problem was I was not making much sense. Thankfully God can, and does, use our rambling - but we should make the use out of every encounter we have!

How much does one need to know in order to trust in Christ? Do they need to know the story of the WHOLE Bible? Do they need to know one verse? What are the fundamental elements of the gospel? That rambling at what-a-burger sent me on a quest to be clearer and more accurate every time I share the gospel.

I recently read of a group of Christians who were trying to condense the gospel into a twitter feed (only 140 characters long!) As I read through them, some were pretty good, and others were lacking in their depth and accuracy. So I have taken the challenge to do something similar. I have tried to keep the characters to a minimum. I only hacked mine down to 190 - I could not compete with the twitter feed folks.

I wanted to include a Trinitarian view of God, the lostness of humankind, the wages of sin, and keep the theological jargon to a minimum. If you have ways to improve this or add your own, please post it in the comments!

190 character gospel presentation:
Because humans are incapable of avoiding the consequences of sin, God sent His incarnate, divine son Jesus to live, die, and be resurrected as a payment for sin and offers eternal life to those who, through the Spirit, trust Him.

Starting something new

I am brand new to blogging. I have fought the urge to start a blog because I prefer to exchange ideas in person. Call me old-school, but that is just how I work. I like to sit over a nice hot Chai Latte and discuss issues in person. But busy schedules and long distances inhibit a personal, face-to-face interaction.

My vision for this page is to surface and discuss current issues facing today's ministry servants. I do not see a perfect, organized conversation but instead an organic and helpful place we can exchange ideas. All points of view are encouraged, so spread the word. Church outreach ideas, theology, leadership, effective counseling tools, education, and preaching are just some areas I would be interested in.

What are some current issues that you think would be of interest to our group?