On Modern Worship Choruses

Answering an Important O.T. Question

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No Beer Before Noon

On Sunday mornings we frequently drive to friends' homes to gather as the body of Christ. While on the way, our family usually stops at a nearby convenience mart for drinks. For me it's almost always a Coke (hey, I live in Georgia).

A few Sundays ago as I was getting a Coke out of a refrigerator I noticed something odd. The coolers nearby that contain the beer were locked. Specifically, some sort of rod was placed across the handles to keep the coolers closed. No one was allowed to buy alcohol at that time. When I've gone in that store at other times of the week the coolers have appeared to be open (nothing blocking them).

I asked at the counter about this. In our county no alcohol can be bought between midnight and noon on Sundays. Any other day of the week is fine, just not Sundays.

This particular law is one of those blue laws that I'm still amazed exists in the USA. This law is based on the mistaken idea that people should not be drinking, but instead should be in church on Sunday morning. Remember that I live in the Bible Belt.

Laws of this type are a last holdover of Christendom. They are an attempt by some to impose their own Christian-ish morality upon secular society. The intent is to force unbelievers to act like believers (as if buying alcohol or attending worship services has anything to do with biblical Christianity anyway).

As followers of Christ, we are not called to fight culture wars. Jesus never expected the secular world to act like members of his kingdom. Instead, Christ desires people who will give all to follow him. Culture is changed one person at a time through the gospel of Christ. It is gospel, not law, that saves.

All Things To All People

Some people like beards, while others do not. In my own family my wife thinks my beard is a positive, but my kids, well, not so much. In the spirit of the Apostle Paul I shaved off half my beard last night. My hope is that this pleases all people involved. Additionally, I guess this makes me only a half-theologian.

Bingo!

Some of these made me laugh out loud. Enjoy.

Dumb Ways to Die

I'm still on a blogging break, but wanted to share this silly video with you. Don't question. Just enjoy.

A Theology of Pen and Ink

"I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink." 3 John 13

We must be careful in how we interpret scripture. Our goal should always be to determine what the original author meant. We do not bring our own meaning to the text; rather, we strive to know what the Holy Spirit inspired through the person who penned it. There is one meaning. We must find it.

It is possible to make mistakes in this process. One classic way of coming to the wrong conclusion about a text is to look at only one verse at a time devoid of context. Meaning in the bible comes from the paragraph and/or entire book. Single verses certainly carry meaning, but if we look at them in isolation we run a great risk of drawing conclusions that the original author never intended.

Let's look at a silly example for the purposes of illustration. In the epistle of 3 John, the apostle writes, "I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink."

Taken alone we could draw the following erroneous conclusions:

1. John generally preferred not to write with pen and ink.
2. Writing with pen and ink is a sin.
3. We must not write with pen and ink.
4. Writing with pen or ink is fine, but avoid the two together.
5. Writing with something else like pencil is better and safer.

Ridiculous and absurd. However, if we are to look solely at 3 John 13, then these are at least semi-legitimate conclusions. It is only in the broader context that we see how silly they are.

Let's remember that context is always, without fail, key to correctly understanding any bible verse. Even if a single verse supports a doctrine that we hold dear, we cannot yank it out of context for our own selfish purposes. The verse must remain firmly entrenched in the wider paragraph. Only then do we have a chance at accurate interpretation.

Me as a Young, Hip Mega-Church Pastor

Last year I wrote a post outlining the three required characteristics for young, hip mega-church pastors: gelled hair, funky glasses, and facial hair of some sort. Well, I was recently inspired to act out the role myself. In these photos you can see all three characteristics in place (I'll admit to lacking in the "young" department). As a bonus, I'm even wearing the right kind of shirt. Now where's my resume?

Blogging Reality

It's good to be a humble blogger.

My Rapper Moment

Yesterday I tweeted the following:

"Able to teach" does not equal "monologue preach."

I was thinking, of course, about the I Timothy 3 passage dealing with characteristics of overseers. Little did I realize that my tweet rhymes. My brother-in-law commented that I'm a house church rapper. I kind of like that. Although, since I have little rhythm, my rapping would probably look something like the dude at the left.

You Write the Caption

I have no idea what this church sign means. If you have any ideas, please write a caption in the comments. Thanks.

Me Planking

The late, great planking fad finally hit our house last night. Actually, I was just tired from 25 hours of work over the past two days. I lay down on the floor, and then in a brief moment of insanity started to "plank." It lasted just long enough for my wife to snap this photo. I'll probably never do it again, but at least I've had the experience. Note to self and others: don't try this on a tile floor. Additionally, I'm told that my technique is not correct - my head needs to be higher. Oh well, I'm an amateur planker.

I'm Reformed So I Need to Write Something Really Deep Right Now

One thing that bothers me is how political liberals in this country think they're smarter than conservatives. While it may be true in some cases, it still smacks of arrogance.

Sadly, the same can be said of many folks holding up the "Reformed Theology" banner. For whatever reason, many who call themselves Reformed seem to think they are smarter than those who don't embrace those teachings. Even if it's not the case, it still comes across that way (and, remember, I'm writing this and I'm Reformed - at least as far as salvation is concerned).

From experience I can attest that there are a lot of non-Reformed and Arminian people out there. Most of my family can be described that way. Most of them are brighter than I am.

Why is it that Reformed folks always seem to be carrying around about ten books? At least three of those have to be written by guys who are really hard to read - like John Owen. My guess is that most John Owen-book-owners haven't actually read the books (count me in there).

If owning lots of thick theology books gets you to heaven, then the Reformed folks will be the first to get in. If Christ cares more about how we care for the poor, sick, and needy, well..maybe I shouldn't go down that path right now.

So I'm Reformed and I write a blog. I feel this weird pressure to write something really deep about God right now. I could just write what I'm thinking, "I'm amazed that God loves me and doesn't send me to Hell right now." That's the truth. It may not sound very deep, but that's what I'm thinking and feeling.

If I wanted to sound Reformed and really smart at the same time, I suppose I would write something like this, "I am continually astounded that our infinitely holy, triune God stoops down to cast His affections toward me, one who has rebelled and transgressed against God's holy law an infinite and terrible number of times and ways. That He refuses to cast me headlong into the terrors of Hell, reserved for Satan and the fallen angels, each moment stuns me beyond measure. All my deepest affections and loving admirations I place at His feet upon His high and lofty throne. Amen."

That sound silly. God doesn't care how smart we are. I'm sure He's disgusted if we are prideful over how smart we think we are.

Let's stop acting like Reformed smart-pants, and begin loving others sacrificially. That will please God.

I'm sticking with this, "I'm amazed that God loves me and doesn't send me to Hell right now."

If You're Going to Have a Church Sign...

If your church decides to have a sign, please don't use it to trivialize great scriptural truths.

I took this photo in Savannah today with my phone. Yes, it is hot here in the summer - about 95 degrees most days. I suppose the person who put this message on the sign thought he would be cute with the weather. I get it: hell is hot and heaven is cool (both refreshing and hip, rad, the place to be).

Normally I have a sense of humor. In fact, I love puns. However, this sign, which is located on a busy road for everyone to see, seems to relegate heaven and hell to some sort of cartoonish level. As we know, fewer and fewer people believe in hell as the years pass.

The last thing we Christians need to be doing is in any way trivializing the great truths we hold so dear. I know for a fact that the above church believes that the bible is true and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation. In light of that, why be cute about it?

For better or worse, our church also has a sign. This is what the two sides say right now:

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God."

Philippians 1:21 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Life is short. Let's tell it like it is.

St. Patrick?

As we walked Savannah yesterday, we wandered through the local Roman Catholic cathedral. We were greeted by this odd statue of who I presume to be St. Patrick. I especially like the clover in his hand. Sigh.

Just Silly