what happens when your poster boys for truth, doctrine and all that is good in the world begin to live a purpose driven life? Well, you have “no choice but to issue this warning to the body of Christ” [link added] Looks like Greg Laurie is joining forces with Rick Warren, and the ODMs are not too happy. This is one crazy case of guilt by association.

story submitted on our submissions page by Richard Abanes

I couldn’t begin to count how many times it’s happened.  I’ve been discussing a certain issue with someone, and eventually to prove his point, the phrase “well this is what the Bible says” comes up – usually followed by a long, poorly edited, copied and pasted passage from BibleGateway.com.  In the person’s mind this passage is the end of the argument, the last hurrah, the final amen.  It is the trump card of debate, and the checkmate of discussion.  The howitzer of the Bible has been pointed squarely at me, and I am a casualty of theological disagreement.

I’ve often wondered where the practice of referring to the Bible as a weapon came from.  I remember in Children’s Church when we have “sword drills“.  The teacher would open her Bible, pick a verse at random, and the student who found the verse in the least amount of time won.  Not to boast or anything, but I remember winning more than my fair share of these battles.  Perhaps growing up in a pastor’s house where I was surrounded by Bibles had given me some sort of innate ability to thumb through the pages of Scripture quickly…

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Well, who’s that man who thinks He’s a prophet?
Well, I wonder if He’s got something up His sleeve
Where’s He from?
Who is His daddy?
There’s rumors He even thinks Himself a king

Of a kingdom of paupers
Simpletons and rogues
The whores all seem to love Him
And the drunks propose a toast

And they say, “Surely God is with us.
Well, surely God is with us.”
They say, “Surely God is with us today!”

Who’s that man who says He’s a preacher?
Well, He must be, He’s disturbing all our peace
Where’s He get off, and what is He hiding
And every word He says those fools believe

Who could move a mountain
Who would love their enemy
Who could rejoice in pain
And turn the other cheek

And still say, “Surely God is with us, Well, surely God is with us,”
Who’ll say, “Surely God is with us today, today!”
They say, “Surely God is with us Well, surely God is with us”
They say, “Surely God is with us”

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Heaven belongs to them Blessed are those who make peace
They are God’s children I Am the Bread of Life, and the Way”
You hear that Man, believe what He says!

Tell me, who’s that Man, they made Him a prisoner
They tortured Him and nailed Him to a tree
Well if He’s so bad, who did He threaten?
Did He deserve to die between two thieves?

See the scars and touch His wounds
He’s risen flesh and bone
Now the sinners have become the saints
And the lost have all come home

And they say, “Surely God is with us (Surely God is with us)
Well, surely God is with us,”
They say, “Surely God is with us today!” (Today!)
They say, “Surely God is with us Well, surely God is with us”
They say, “Surely God is with us today”

My Grandfather used to say “Have mercy” or “mercy” a lot when we would visit (four rowdy kids barging through the door all at once is probably reason enough). It was just another expression of mild woe similar to the Yiddish “oy vey” or a “sheesh” or a “oh my.” I never really thought much of it, other than it was pretty neat because nobody used it anymore. At least not in that way. I said it a lot as a kid. Sort of. When an older brother is smothering you and there’s nothing to do but give in, some sort of phrase calling for mercy was necessary.

Unfortunately, many Christians treat mercy the way my older brothers did. I’m right, you’re wrong, and I’ll beat you up until you give in. They look at mercy as something that is given when the other person submits to them. I suppose you could argue that that is ultimately how it works with God. When we submit ourselves to Him, He gives us mercy. His mercy is offered before we submit, but still contingent on a submission of our will to His.

At first I was going to compare our view of mercy with the use of the word for a generation as slang. But after thinking about it for awhile, maybe they had it right. Maybe our calls for mercy should permeate our daily lives. When we are tempted to roll our eyes and get disgusted, angered, or feel empty pity, we should call for mercy.

I believe that we should judge the sin of our brothers (so that we can restore them), but mercy is more important than judgment. (Note that mercy given is not equal to ignoring or allowing sin.) In fact, mercy is so much more important than judgment that James says to “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (2:12-13 NIV)

What do you know, mercy wins.

So for everybody that writes for, comments on, or reads articles posted on this website: “Have mercy!”

Have mercy for each other when another says something condemnable (especially when you’ve probably done it too or wanted to do it.) Can we correct? Yes. But do it gently with a loving heart. If you are angry, perturbed, or whatever, just don’t type. A number of us have shown that we have trouble not sinning in our anger.

I’m sure this post could have been written better. I’m sure I should have said something more, I’m sure that at times I say things I shouldn’t. But please, have mercy.

Tags: anger, correction, love, mercy, sin

Here is a quote from a “pastor”:

“I was frightened and thought I was dreaming, it was such a thunder clap, such a great, horrid f@rt did the papal @ss let go here! He certainly pressed with great might to let out such a thunderous f@rt – it is a wonder that it did not tear his h*le and belly apart!”

This quote reflects the heart and church philosophy of this pastor all those who have followed after him. This pastor needs prayer, and so does the church family he “ministers” to. This pastor and the rest of those who are just like him in their lack of understanding, remind me of what Jude wrote: “For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ…These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame…These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts (sensual); and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage…mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”

The most amazing thing about these is that they are unable to detect their own behavior through and see themselves in the word of God and gain repentance. They will continue to do what they do because their eyes are blind to the truth that would save them.

Martin Luther, Wittenberg Germany, I do pray for you. Repent and trust the Savior before it is too late.

The importance of standing close to the world as illustrated by Samuel Shoemaker.

I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door – the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands
And put it on the latch – the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man’s own touch.

Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it – live because they have not found it.

Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.

Go in great saints; go all the way in -
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics.
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in.
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia
And want to get out. ‘Let me out!’ they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled.
For the old life, they have seen too much:
One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving – preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door
But would like to run away. So for them too,
I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door.
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply and stay in too long
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there too.

Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them.
But – more important for me -
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.

‘I had rather be a door-keeper
So I stand by the door.

That if you:

A. confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”

B. believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

-The Scriptures

Rick Warren’s Gospel presentation from PDL:

First believe God loved you and made you for His purposes. Believe that God has chosen to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you. Receive Jesus into your life as your lord and savior. Receive his forgiveness for your sins. So I invite you to bow your heads and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity. “Jesus, I believe in You, and I receive You.”

John MacArthur’s required additions to the gospel presentation for salvation

* Repentance
* Know who the family of God is
* A sense of eternal judgment
* A discussion on hell
* Self-denial
* Laying down the law of God against which the sinner is broken
* A sense of guilt in the person
* Sense of condemnation in the person
* A fear of eternal torment in the person
* An understanding of God’s wrath
* The sinner should be crushed under the weight of his violation of the law of God

One might be guilty of laying it on a little light, the other just might be guilty of turning the already narrow road into a tiny beaten path. Let the crusades continue.

Verum Serum has a great article posted a few days ago about the decline of the SBC, however, its as suited to the entire church in America as it is to that particular denomination.

Check out the whole thing, but here’s some quotes:

Of course I don’t believe the real problem is the culture or the effort level. I believe it’s the menu. Not the main dish, but all the side items we’ve saddled it with. Even today, surprisingly few people are put off by Jesus and his message. Richard Dawkins, in his jeremiad against faith titled The God Delusion, largely ignores Jesus, as if he were peripheral to Christianity. This seemed very strange to me, but the more I thought about it I began to feel he was, inadvertently, on to something.

It’s the twenty-first century, and with the exception of flying cars, our world has exceeed what many of our own grandfathers could have imagined. So when a large portion of the populace balks at young-earth creationism and the imminent rapture, well, perhaps we should stop being surprised. When did these things get added to the menu in the first place? Perhaps this is one case where we need to stop offering the combo. Stop upselling the Gospel into the “Biggie Size” monstrosity many evangelical churches are offering. This is what’s so ironic about the current declines at the conservative SBC. Some genuine “fundamentalism” would be a vast improvement.

And the clincher:

Unfortunately for the SBC, what looks like standing strong for the faith among those dutifully manning the parapets looks a lot like ignorance abetted by arrogance to much of the rest of the world. The result is, well…the figures speak for themselves. Clearly a moment of reflection is in order. I suppose it could yet occur to the someone in charge that the problem and it’s solution aren’t methodological after all. Perhaps this is what you get when you try to purge all diversity of thought from the body. Is it really helping the church when accomplished people like Howard Van Till and, more recently, Peter Enns, are hounded out of work because they don’t toe a particular theological line? Didn’t we just have a movie about this sort of thing called Expelled?

One high-profile member of my old church said of those of us who’d left that God was “spitting out the salt.” I’ve often thought this little theological malapropism had a lot of truth to it. And what’s true on the small scale is, I suspect, true of the SBC as a whole. If the numbers are any indication, the denomination appears to have lost a lot of flavor in recent years. The SBC response seems to be to crank up the effort. But to return to my already over-extended menu metaphor, I think the solution to this problem sounds a lot less like gearing up for another round of ideological purging and more like…

Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!

So, Amazon sent me Coldplay’s new album, Viva la Vida on Tuesday, and I got to really listen to it yesterday.  Now I normally wouldn’t post about a “secular” band’s album here, but listening to the title track, I was struck by how fitting it was to the current predicament a lot of the institutional church finds itself in.  The song, Viva la Vida, is told from the perspective of a king who has lost his power.  His once great standing in the world is gone, and he’s left with only memories of the golden years.

I wonder sometimes if that isn’t why we see the sort of reaction we do from some people in the church.  It is not an easy thing to lose power and influence.  As humans, we naturally crave it.  Evangelicals have held a lot of sway in America for the last 50 years or so, and I think we are now arriving at a place where a lot that power has left or is the process of leaving.  The question becomes, how will the respond?  Will we grasp for power, or we embrace our lack of power and serve others?  Will we be content with “sweeping the streets”?

Here are the lyrics:

Viva la Vida

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
“Now the old king is dead, long live the king!”

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn’t believe what I’d become

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string (Ooooh)
Ah, who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

By the way, this is the song that is on the new Itunes commercial, and, yes I do realize there is some level of irony in Apple using a song about the loss of one’s power in an ad.

Like many conversations, there are certain subjects which rise to the surface from time-to-time, often (and hopefully) becoming clearer over time. One such subject that probably bears another go is that of the language we use – words and sentences.

Setting the Stage

As part of the baseline for this discussion, I would like to borrow and briefly touch on some concepts from this article last fall. Specifically, there are three ways of classifying behavioral beliefs:

Absolutes – those things which are cross-cultural truths, which are demanded or forbidden. To do (or not do) such things is sinful, regardless of the cultural context.

Convictions – those things which are personally convicting, actions which a person believes they should (or should not) do. To do (or not do) such things would be sinning against one’s conscience, and therefore would be sinful. However, convictions are limited to the person or faith community (as with binding and loosing) and cannot be demanded cross-culturally.

Preferences – those things which are personally preferred, based on traditions or likes and dislikes.

Legalism occurs when Preferences or Convictions are raised to the level of Absolutes. This is the sin of the Pharisees. Relativism occurs when Absolutes are lowered to Convictions or Preferences. This is the sin of the Pagans and Hedonists.

Both are to be avoided.

The Words We Use

The Bible has a number of things to say about the words we use. Just a few relevant examples:

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