"People of the ook"

There is a saying that Southern Baptists (of which I am one) are "people of the book." The claim is that Baptists are people who live by the bible. I'm guessing that it is Southern Baptists who most often refer to us this way.

When I think about this claim, I wonder what basis we use to say this. Do we really believe that we have things so figured out that we can say that we live by the book, and at least imply that others do not? For example, are we absolutely certain that we are correct about baptism and others (such as bible-believing Presbyterians) are not? Are they not trying to live by scripture as well?

Additionally, and more troubling, there are many areas where we as Southern Baptists as a group fall short of biblical standards. One of the most glaring areas is our ecclesiology. The more time I spend in Southern Baptist churches, the more I realize that the way we live as the church of God is often driven much more by tradition than by scripture.

In the bible, we see the church as a united body of believers in Jesus Christ living together, sharing their lives together, caring for the poor and hurting, and boldly and lovingly proclaiming the gospel to the lost. When we look at many (not all) of our Southern Baptist churches, we see people who love each other, but do not necessarily share life together. We see people who gather more for worship than for edification. We see much ceremony, but often times little substance. We see expository preaching, but lack of reaching out to the poor and hurting. We see our folks learning step-by-step plans of salvation instead of just living out a lifestyle of evangelism.

I realize these are generalizations. There are some SBC local churches that are really trying to be biblical. They are striving to follow not just what is commanded in scripture, but also what is modeled.

Regrettably, most churches within our convention appear to be unwilling to even ask hard questions of themselves. They just won't change to be biblical in practice because it would be too uncomfortable.

Since this is the case, we need to not be so fast to proclaim ourselves to be "people of the book." It seems that we are trying to live by the parts of the bible we choose. We are living by only segments of the book.

Maybe we should instead call ourselves just "people of the ook."

Helpful Instructional Video (Just for Fun)

Study Says Women More Spiritual Than Men

The Pew Forum has data that shows what we probably already know: women are, at least statistically speaking, more spiritual than men. The numbers are clear in each category. So here's the question I have: Why are women more spiritual than men? What do you think?



To visit the Pew Forum site, click here.

Deacons Being Deacons

This past Sunday our church family was blessed to be led in our worship service by Simple Grace (the Hitch family musicians). After the service, the Hitches wanted to get back on the road to head home to Nebraska. One problem: they had a serious transmission fluid leak in their van. Since it was Sunday, it looked like they would have to wait until at least Monday to begin the long trip back to the Midwest. This would have been no big deal, but several of the Hitches are flying this coming Sunday to Haiti on a mission trip. They needed to get home as soon as possible.

In stepped one of our deacons. I'll omit his name; he wouldn't want me to post it. For the sake of this post, I'll refer to him as "John." He acted out being a deacon.

After the service I walked outside to look at the van situation. All I could see of John was the lower section of his legs. The rest of his body was under the van. He was trying to get a 5 foot long hose/pipe off the bottom of the vehicle. It did not look pleasant. In fact, it liked downright dirty.

After a while, I went home to rest a bit and prepare for the evening. John remained at the van. I'm told that after he removed the hose/pipe, he contacted someone he knew, and persuaded him to make a new one right then. John also even managed to get the hose/pipe maker to just charge his normal rate for the new part instead asking more because it was the weekend.

In all, John sacrificed about seven hours of his Sunday in order to help the Hitches get back on the road. After talking to him about it, I could tell that he was pleased to do it.

John was a deacon being a deacon. His example is a good one for all of us. May we all serve one another to build up the body of Christ. May we all be deacons to one another.

Sonic Flood in India - "Cry Holy"

Click here to watch Sonic Flood perform "Cry Holy" while in various parts of India. I love this video because of all the different scenes within India itself.

Wouldn't it be amazing if one day we would see many of the billion souls in India come to Christ? Let's pray that we see that day. If it can happen in China (and it is), then it can happen in India as well.

More Evolutionary Nonsense

Here we go again. The BBC today is reporting the following, "The earliest footprints showing evidence of modern human foot anatomy and gait have been unearthed in Kenya." These footprints are reported to be 1.5 million-years-old.

At least the report was honest about one thing, saying, "Exactly how that more ape-like foot developed into its modern version has remained unclear." As with the rest of evolutionary theory, much remains unclear. This is, of course, because it's not true.

To read this "news," click here.

Helpful Creationism Resource

If you or anyone in your family or church body has questions related to creationism, evolution, intelligent design, science, etc., there is a helpful place to look for answers. Answers in Genesis is a Christian ministry that holds to a literal interpretation of the creation account of the bible. AIG has a helpful link on its website called simply Get Answers. I encourage you to check it out.

Evolution Leads to a Meaningless Life

In this 200th year after the birth of Charles Darwin, it is helpful to ask what evolution, if it were true, would lead us to. If life is nothing more than random chance, natural selection, survival of the fittest, and a series of meaningless biochemical interactions, then what do we have to live for?

If Darwin's theory is correct, then we are absolutely alone in this universe. If he is correct, then life has no higher meaning. If Darwin had life figured out, then life has no meaning whatsoever. We are a mistake that begins when we are conceived and ends when we die. Our lives have no significance at all.

If Darwin is right and life is meaningless, where does this leave us? When our circumstances are going well and life is relatively easy, then we might be able to ignore the insignificance of our existence. But what about when things go badly?

When our lives take a turn for the worse and we lose our job, a loved one dies, we get sick, our spouse runs away with someone else, we go bankrupt, etc., what then? If Darwin was right, then we have no hope outside this world. Evolution automatically demands that we are living a meaningless life. This is a life that has no hope of getting any better based on the influence of any higher power. Therefore, at the most basic level, when things go badly for us we have no hope of things getting better unless someone here rescues us. What do we do if we have no one here who is powerful enough to help?

The combination of the meaninglessness of life and the lack of hope should logically lead to abject despair. Abject despair ought to logically lead to suicide. This may sound like an overstatement to some readers, but it appears to me to be the logical endgame of evolution.

Evolution is part of a worldview that has no hope.

As Christians, we have hope. This hope is based not on desire or dreams, but on fact. The fact is the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our hope also rests in the fact that Jesus is going to return. Titus 2:13 tells us, "...waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."

Let us continue the discussion with evolutionists. May we proclaim the truth in love. We have the facts on our side.

We also have hope.

Powerful Video on the Persecution of Christians in India

In August 2008, terrible persecution broke out against Christians in the Orissa state of India. Despite being innocent of any wrongdoing, the Christians in Orissa have faced the wrath of radical Hindus.

Watch this short, powerful video to see what happened and how the Christians there are dealing with it.

Let's remember to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Christ who face persecution as part of their daily lives. "Remember the prisoners as if chained with them -- those who are mistreated -- since you yourselves are in the body also." Hebrews 13:3

Missionary Knows His Former Religion is "Absurd"

When we lived in India, we knew many devout followers of the Hindu faith. Despite their sincerity and devotion, their religion seemed empty, impersonal, and ridiculous to me.

One missionary in New England, who is a former Hindu, agrees with me. In fact, in this article he refers to Hinduism as absurd. Now that he knows Jesus as Lord and Savior, his goal is to share Christ with Hindus (and Muslims) in the Boston area.

Simply Blessed

Yesterday as our church family gathered for worship and edification, we were greatly blessed by the Hitch family of Martell, Nebraska. The Hitches are an extremely talented family of musicians who travel the country proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in song.

Jim and Kathy Hitch's family ministry is named Simple Grace. This is an appropriate moniker for this godly family of two parents and eight children. Five of their kids (Avery, Lucas, Sterling, Havilah, and Bristol) still travel with the family.

The aspect of the Hitch ministry that impresses me the most is not the talent (although that is impressive), but is instead this family's humility. Even as they showed us just how good they are musically, their focus was steadfastly on Jesus Christ. They also put their money where their mouth is by trusting in the Lord to provide for their needs.

To visit the Simple Grace Ministries website, click here.

We thank God for the Hitch family's visit to our church, and look forward to it again next year.

Absurd, Sad, and Scary: Obama More Popular than Jesus

In a recent poll, President Obama came in ahead of Jesus in popularity. I realize Obama is new and hip, but can he save people from their sins, too?

This is just another sign of the downward spiritual and moral direction this country is headed.

Even more troubling is that God (who this poll differentiated from Jesus) placed 11th. This falls below the likes of John McCain, John F. Kennedy, U.S. Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger, and Mother Teresa.

Death Before Sin?

With this being the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, there will undoubtedly be much discussion this year (there already is) of his impact upon modern society. Since 2009 is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, Darwin will be difficult to ignore.

It does not surprise me that secularists in general and atheists in particular believe in evolution. It only makes sense that people who do not know Jesus Christ will also hold faulty views about the beginnings of the universe.

It does surprise and trouble me that some Christians believe that God used evolutionary methods to bring His creation into existence. I've heard this many times from people who I have no doubt are followers of Jesus Christ. I believe that these Christians mean well. They are trying to in some way reconcile the differences between Christian theism and secular-naturalistic beliefs about the beginnings of the world.

Despite their good intentions, Christians who believe in some sort of evolution (macroevolution, not microevolution) have a big theological problem on their hands. The big problem is this: in their view, death MUST come before sin. If plants and animals existed for millions of years prior to the first humans, then there must have been a great deal of death before any humans walked the earth.

Romans 5:12 makes this clear. Paul writes, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..." (ESV)

The bible tells us that death is a consequence of sin. Death comes from sin. In fact, this is what we see when we give a literal reading to Genesis 1-2.

A related problem for Christians who hold to evolution is this: if death comes before sin in Genesis 1-2, then to be consistent it seems that death must still exist in Revelation 21-22. Is the Christian/evolutionist ready to say that death will exist after sin is done away with by Christ? We certainly can't believe that this will be the case.

It saddens me that many Christians are willing to sacrifice theological truth on the altar of secular scientific theory. Christians must realize that evolution today is pushed and promoted by secularists. It is secular scientists who are trying to force their beliefs on our culture. On the other hand, many scientists who are also Christians believe that the objective scientific data corresponds closely with a literal reading of Genesis 1-2.

It is a great biblical truth that death only came after sin. We also know that after sin is gone, death will be gone as well.

I have never once heard a good answer from a Christian/evolutionist as to how death can come before sin.

I'm still waiting.


(For a great deal of excellent information on Creationism, go to AnswersinGenesis.org.)

What is the Future of the SBC?

Tom Ascol has written an excellent article looking at competing visions for the future of the SBC. I agree with Dr. Ascol that Southern Baptists must seek to be a part of a Great Commission Resurgence. This includes working heartily with non-Baptist, gospel-centered Christians.

Personal View of Pastoral Ministry

Pastors serve primarily within the church, so it is important to clarify what a church is and does. A church is a group of people who are followers of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This group comes together on a regular basis to proclaim the Word of God and to celebrate the ordinances (Heb. 10:24-25). When the church gathers, it worships the triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and edifies one another through teaching, prayer, ministry, accountability and fellowship. When the church is not gathered together, the members have the responsibility to both live holy lives in the world and to share the gospel with the lost. Acts 2:42 is a key verse for what the church does, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

As for pastoral ministry, my primary focus is to magnify the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in all I do. By “the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,” I am referring to the sum total of all His perfections.

How do pastors do this? I believe pastors get their “marching orders” from Ephesians 4:11-16. In this passage, Paul writes, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

A pastor’s primary responsibility is, according to this passage, to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” The goal of this equipping is maturity in Jesus Christ for the entire church body. It is important to realize that a pastor’s primary duty is not ministry (although he will certainly do that), but to equip the church to do ministry.

How does a pastor do this? He does it through various responsibilities he has. A pastor leads, feeds, guides, and protects the flock (Acts 6:4, 20:28-31; Heb. 13:7, 17; I Peter 5:1-3). He ought to model his ministry after that of our Lord Jesus, who was the ultimate servant-leader (Mark 10:45). He will be wise to follow the biblical model of being one of a multiplicity of pastor/elders.

A pastor’s source of authority in all he does must be the bible. If he does not follow the bible, then he is not fit for the pastorate. A pastor’s first question should always be, “What does the bible say about this?” He should lead the church to obey all the commands of Christ and to model itself after the church found in the New Testament.

A pastor leads the church by magnifying the glory of the Lord in all he does. He points to the vision of the church and attempts to meet that vision in all his efforts. A pastor feeds the body by the teaching of scripture. A pastor guides by shepherding the body and individuals within the body through important life decisions. A pastor protects the body from false teachers.

On a practical level, a pastor leads the church by preaching in an expository manner, by leading the church to devote itself to prayer and fasting, by setting an example in ministering to the poor and needy within and outside the body, and by witnessing on a regular basis about the saving grace of the Lord Jesus.

A pastor should teach the church that worship of God is both what occurs in all of life and what happens when the body gathers. Paul makes it clear that Christians should present their bodies as “a living sacrifice” in whatever they are doing (Rom. 12:1-2). This is worship. However, the church also gathers for group worship when more specific things occur such as preaching/teaching, scripture reading, prayer, music, the giving of tithes and offerings, the ordinances, etc.

Personal responsibility is something that all Christians have to each other. The N.T. writers in particular emphasize the “one anothers” of the Christian life. These are verses that instruct members of the church to love one another, encourage one another, help one another, confess sins to one another, comfort one another, etc. The existence of programs within a church does not take away personal responsibility from any of its members.

Membership within the local church should be meaningful, including active membership and participation. I believe in a meaningful church covenant and membership process. I encourage the body to practice biblical church discipline with the goal always being the repentance and restoration of the sinning member.

Regarding families, I am a strong proponent of churches keeping families together when the church gathers (when this is possible). Families are the foundational unit in the bible and in society. Therefore, the church has the responsibility to strengthen families. Children should be with their parents when the body gathers for worship. I realize that when Sunday School classes meet, children and parents are usually not together. Because of this, my desire is that families sit together throughout the entire worship service.

Pastors should teach husbands and fathers what the Lord expects of them. As for youth ministry, it should support the strengthening of families. Youth ministry should not be its own separate church-within-the-church, but rather should encourage youth to be involved in the entire body life. Youth ministry should primarily be discipleship, not simply fun-time.

As for church growth, spiritual growth is much more important than numerical growth. Pastors must exhort each member to have a growing and thriving relationship with Jesus. This requires personal times of prayer and bible study. As stated above, my goal as pastor is to equip the saints for ministry with the goal being spiritual maturity for the entire church. I am convinced that when a church is growing closer to the Lord spiritually, He will eventually add to its number. Evangelism is most effective when it is the outflow of a changed life. When non-Christians see someone who has been changed by the Lord, they will be much more willing to listen to a gospel presentation. All Christians should obey the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20).

Regarding international missions, as pastor I strongly encourage the church to give generously to works overseas. I also encourage the church to take mission trips to various parts of the world, with the goal being to assist missionaries who are already on the field. Regarding missions in the USA, the church should try to be involved locally, at the state level, and nationally (Acts 1:8).

Finally, pastors should stress unity within the church body. Christ prayed specifically for the unity of His church (John 17). In light of this, I try to be very careful and methodical in dealing with issues that often cause disharmony. For example, since money issues can lead to problems, I emphasize good stewardship of the money and building(s) the Lord has given to the church. As for buildings, I am not a proponent of constructing new ones. Most of the time, creative use of time and space is what is needed, not new buildings. The church’s money should be given toward ministry, not more edifices. After all, the early church met in houses.

Pastors have been given a great gift and a great responsibility. They must follow scripture in all they do. Their primary focus should be to magnify the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in all things. Pastors primarily do this by following Eph. 4, where Paul writes that pastor/teachers are given for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.

As for a statement of faith, I prefer the Second London Baptist Confession.

What is a Pilgrim?

When we as Americans hear the word "pilgrim," we may think of the brave souls who ventured across the Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower in 1620. After all, a pilgrim is someone who is traveling through a place and is on his way somewhere else. This could certainly apply to those on the Mayflower.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are all pilgrims. This world is not our home. Paul tells us this in Philippians 3:20. Peter also makes this clear as he begins his first letter. In I Peter 1:1, Peter writes (NKJV), "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." Other translations use "exiles," "aliens," "strangers," "sojourners," and "temporary residents." Peter's point is that this world is not our home. As Christians, we should not feel at home here. Considering the persecution the recipients of this letter were facing, we can guess that they were not too comfortable here.

What about us? How comfortable are we in this world? If this world feels very welcoming and pleasant to us, what does that say about our walk with Christ?

The title of this blog (A Pilgrim's Progress) was inspired by John Bunyan's classic novel The Pilgrim's Progress. As Christian in that story was not comfortable in this world, may we not be comfortable here either.

Back to Blogger

A few months ago I stopped using Blogger because our church began a new website. I wanted to incorporate where I blogged with that site. Well, it turns out that the blog function connected to the church website is limited in what it can do. Blogger can do much more. Therefore, I'm back to Blogger.