Our Mission: Heavenize Earth!

Brothers,
I have the priviledge of conferencing each Friday with Bishop Mikler and Boyd Morris. The relational fellowship is edifying and the conversation is theologically invigorating.

 As an introduction to Boyd, you guys will certainly be edified by this excerpt from a message where  he advocates Christendom over the religion of Christianity.

Boyd Morris is an ordained presbyter of the BASILEIA ABBEY, a regional community of the BASILEIA ALLIANCE.The mission of the Alliance is to heavenize earth by replacing the fallen world system with the kingdom of God.

[rgh]


"Jesus did not preach Christianity. He preached the kingdom of God. The apostles did not preach Christianity either.They also preached the kingdom of God. The apostolic Church of the first three centuries did not preach Christianity, but gave rise to an alternative form of civilization called Christendom, right in the middle of the RomanEmpire, much to the consternation of most of Rome’s Emperors.

Nor did the Celtic Church of the fifth through the eighth centuries preach Christianity, but instead formed the first expression of Christian culture, that is, Christendom, outside of the Roman Empire. Examples could be multiplied, but they all in the end illustrate one point: Jesus did not give His flesh “for the life of the world” to start a religion called Christianity."

Sex Offenders: A Test For The Church

Brothers,

Christianity Today recently published another article addressing the issue of Sex Offenders in the pews.Though the challenges associated with the task are more than monumental,we must think through the implications for the local church so as to jealously guard the weak and vulnerable among the flock of God.

[rgh]

In April 2010, Christianity Today International conducted a survey of 2,864 people, including ordained church leaders (15 percent), church staff (20 percent), lay leader and members (43 percent), and other active Christians (22 percent).

Respondents were drawn from the readers of CTI publications and websites, including Leadership.

The purpose of the "Sex Offenders in the Church" survey was to explore attitudes and beliefs on whether to allow sex offenders to participate in faith communities. The survey explored what practices churches use to keep their congregations safe when sex offenders are welcomed.

....8 in 10 respondents indicated that registered offenders should be allowed to attend church, although under continuous supervision and with appropriate limitations


Do They Belong?

In your opinion, do convicted sex offenders who have been released from prison belong in a church?

*  79% Yes, as attenders, under supervision, and subject to appropriate limitations
*  24% No, if one or more of the offender's victims attend the same church
*  21% Yes, as a member
*  5% Yes, as an attender (no limitations, no supervisions required)
*  4% Yes, as a leader
*  3% No, convicted sex offenders do not belong in church


http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/discipleship/sexoffenders.html?start=1

Reading Translates Into Leading

 Brothers,

This is a follow up to the post regarding books I highly recommend.
Thought you might enjoy subscribing to the follwing resources that
come to me via email and thus are perused regularly and often.

Not only is reading a grace-based spiritual discipline, but it is a ministers
 personal investment toward  "staying current" regarding substantive
 issues facing the church.

 Remember, ignorance is not a Kingdom virtue!

Shout!


[rgh]


9 Marks E Journal  http://www.9marks.org/ejournal/pastoring-women

Ed Stetzer Lifeway Research http://www.edstetzer.com/

Leadership Weekly   http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/

Christian News Headlines http://www.delicious.com/christianheadlines/topheadlines?page=1

Dr. Cal Baisner http://www.cornwallalliance.org/newsletter/

CBMW Blog    http://www.cbmw.org/Blog

Catalyst Leadership  http://christianitytoday.imirus.com/

Barna Research  http://www.barna.org/

Beggining With Moses http://beginningwithmoses.org/home

Reformation 21 http://www.reformation21.org/blog/

Best Christian Blogs http://mychristianblogs.com/

Theological Word of the Day http://wordoftheday.reclaimingthemind.org/blogs/

Christianity Today online http://www.christianitytoday.com/

Religion News  http://www.religionnewsblog.com/

Sola Dei Gloria  http://pjmiller.wordpress.com/

Christian Ethics Can Be Problematic

"Here I Blog" is a site that frequently poses ethical dilemmas  for us to consider. Bear in mind that many of these scenarios are based on  real life issues. Today's example deals with the lottery. Other topics have included church discipline and cohabitation.
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What would you guys do?

While away visiting relatives in another state one of your friends from church bought a $1 lottery ticket at the influence of his cousin. He never plays the lottery and hasn’t thought much about it. He figured that it was only $1 so what could it hurt?

It turns out that your friend ended up winning $5 million!


He comes to you for advice on what to do. He’s not sure how the folks at your church may react. He’s not sure if he should tell anyone or not. One of the first things he wants to do is tithe to the church. Then he wants to pay off all of his debts and just sit on the money so that it does not take over his life in any way.


He wonders if a large lump sum donation would spur conversation in the church. And he wonders if church leadership will ask where the money came from. He also does not know if he should tell anyone else in the church besides you. (Of course, his spouse knows.)


What would you do?
>Tell him to tithe and say nothing.
>Tell him to give all the money away since it’s lottery money.
>Seek your pastor for advice?
>Help find someone to manage it for him?
>Rebuke him for playing the lottery?
>Ask for a personal love offering?

Related posts:

Ethics: Cohabitation In the Church
Ethics: Excluding A Single Parent from Church Membership
Ethics: Immodest Dress In Church
Ethics: A Yoga Class Starting at Church
Ethics: Resign Church Membership To Avoid Discipline

http://hereiblog.com/church-member-wins-lottery

Should We Give "Altar Calls?"

Greetings Brothers,

Please consider subscribing to http://www.confluenceblog.com/confluence which is a  new "Reformed-Continuationist" blog.  You will be edified with very relevant discussions and substantive articles being posted.

The one I am forwarding is but one great example. Check it out!

[rgh]


Allow the Spirit to convict

Well, it is difficult to answer this in a brief compass without being misunderstood. Let me answer it like this: The history of this invitation system is one with which you people ought to be more familiar than anyone else, because it began in America. It began in the 1820s; the real originator of it was Charles G. Finney. It led to a great controversy. Asahel Nettleton, a great Calvinist and successful evangelist, never issued an “altar call” nor asked people to come to the “anxious seat.” These new methods in the 182Os and were condemned for many reasons by all who took the Reformed position.

History speaks


One reason is that there is no evidence that this was done in New Testament times, because then they trusted to the power of the Spirit. Peter preaching on the Day of Pentecost under the power of the Spirit, for instance, had no need to call people forward in decision because, as you remember, the people were so moved and affected by the power of the Word and Spirit that they actually interrupted the preacher, crying out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” That has been the traditional Reformed attitude towards this particular matter. The moment you begin to introduce this other element, you are bringing a psychological element. The invitation should be in the message. We believe the Spirit applies the message, so we trust in the power of the Spirit...I have never called people forward at the end for this reason; there is a grave danger of people coming forward before they are ready to come forward. We do believe in the work of the Spirit, that He convicts and converts, and He will do His work. There is a danger in bringing people to a “birth,” as it were, before they are ready for it.


The Puritans in particular were afraid of what they would call “a temporary faith” or “a false profession.” There was a great Puritan, Thomas Shepard, who published a famous series of sermons on The Ten Virgins. The great point of that book was to deal with this problem of a false profession. The foolish virgins thought they were all right. This is a very great danger.


Trust in the power of the gospel

I can sum it up by putting it like this: I feel that this pressure which is put upon people to come forward in decision ultimately is due to a lack of faith in the work and operation of the Holy Spirit. We are to preach the Word, and if we do it properly, there will be a call to a decision that comes in the message, and then we leave it to the Spirit to act upon people And of course He does. Some may come immediately at the close of the service to see the minister. I think there should always be an indication that the minister will be glad to see anybody who wants to put questions to him or wants further help. But that is a very different thing from putting pressure upon people to come forward. I feel it is wrong to put pressure directly on the will. The order in Scripture seems to be this – the truth is presented to the mind, which moves the heart, and that in turn moves the will.”



Article: Dr. Lloyd-Jones on the Altar Call (http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles)

http://www.confluenceblog.com/dear-dr-are-we-to-give-alter-calls?

Why You Should Know Dr. Al Mohler

Dr.Al Mohler is one of the most influential evangelicals of our day. He's a conservative and a complementarian. If you receive CT Magazine, you know they just did a front cover article on him. I personally peruse his blog on a regular basis.

With all that in mind, I am posting the following  information from firstthings.com so you guys can familiarize yourself with this excellent theologian and cultural apologist.
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R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Why you should know him: Oft-quoted for his views on cultural and religious issues. Time.com called Dr. Mohler the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S.”

Denomination: Southern Baptist

Position: President and Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world; Editor-in-Chief of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology

Previous: Editor of The Christian Index; Associate Editor of Preaching; Host of “The Albert Mohler Program,” a daily radio show distributed nationwide by Salem Communications.

Education:

B.A. Samford University

M. Div. Southern Seminary

PhD Southern Seminary (in systematic and historical theology)

Postgraduate study/research at the St. Meinrad School of Theology and Oxford University (England)

Area of expertise/interest: Evangelical theology; Southern Baptist doctrine; cultural issues

Books: Published five books, including Atheism Remixed; contributed chapters to several books including Here We Stand: A Call From Confessing Evangelicals and The Coming Evangelical Crisis.

Other writings: The Washington Post’s On Faith religion column; maintains a blog at AlbertMohler.com.

Assessment: Dr. Mohler is a prime example of the type of evangelical leader who has a profound impact on our country while remaining relatively unknown outside of Christian circles. He was one of the key figures in the conservative resurgence within the Southern Baptist Convention, a monumental change that affected the largest Protestant denomination in America.

As bold as he is intelligent, Mohler often takes positions that are politically incorrect (e.g., his claim that Jews and Muslims dont worship the “same God” as Christians) or that would raise the eyebrows of his fellow Baptists (i.e., his view that couple who choose “deliberate childlessness” are in violation of God’s moral order). He is also an ridiculously prolific writer, producing a quality article on culture and society for his blog almost every weekday.

Anyone who wants to know the direction that conservative evangelicalism will take in America would do well to keep track of this influential theologian.

http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2010/10/know-your-evangelicals-albert-mohler/

http://www.firstthings.com/masthead

The Reformation Of The Supper

Brothers,
Justin Taylor did this recent post regarding The Covenant Meal. I forward this so that we all can "stay current" on such doctrinal topics which have significant implications for our ministries and churches. Click on the site below to read the essay in PDF format.
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Here is a thoughtful, helpful essay from Kim Riddlebarger, entitled “The Reformation of the Supper” (PDF)....The essay looks at three issues related to how often the Lord’s Supper should be celebrated, and how one’s theology of the Supper can impact the answer to that question:


>The Biblical Evidence for the Frequent Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

>The Historical Evidence for Frequent Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
>Some Pastoral and Theological Implications of Frequent Celebration


http://www.wscal.edu/alwaysreformed/11-Riddlebarger.pdf

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/10/18/how-often-should-we-observe-the-lords-supper/

The Gospel Of God's Righteous Wrath

"M]odern evangelism begins with, “God loves you and wants to make you happy.” Read the literature of the user-friendly movement and you’ll notice a preoccupation with conveying every message in a positive tone…

[But] there is no way to synthesize the truth about God’s wrath with a positive-only presentation of the gospel. There is no way to declare the truth about God’s wrath to an unbelieving sinner in an “optimistic” tone.

As a result, the gospel preached in these [seeker-sensitive] churches is often truncated—and the point that is most deliberately censored is the very place Paul began his gospel presentation—the reality of divine wrath!

Those who feel they must be forever optimistic are forced to ignore crucial sections of Scripture, including most of Romans 1, Luke 16, all the Hebrews warning passages, much of the core of Old Testament truth, and about half of Jesus’ teaching. And so the philosophy shapes the message."

John MacArthur

http://apprising.org/2010/10/14/without-gods-wrath-his-love-loses-its-meaning/

Gospel Doctrine Creates A Gospel Culture

Brothers,
It's been our joy to exegete the book of Romans over the last few months here in laGrange. Paul the Apostle was theologically brilliant as he logically  presented his gospel in this majestic book.

Dr Ray Ortlund frames the significance of doctrinal exposition and the culture it is intended to create within our Gospel oriented communities. His precision is astounding.

[rgh]


"Gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. The doctrines of grace create a culture of grace, healing, revival, because Jesus himself touches us through his truths. Without the doctrines, the culture alone is fragile. Without the culture, the doctrines alone appear pointless.

.The doctrine of regeneration creates a culture of humility (Ephesians 2:1-9).

The doctrine of justification creates a culture of inclusion (Galatians 2:11-16).

The doctrine of reconciliation creates a culture of peace (Ephesians 2:14-16).

The doctrine of sanctification creates a culture of life (Romans 6:20-23).

The doctrine of glorification creates a culture of hope (Romans 5:2).

If we want this culture to thrive, we can’t take doctrinal short cuts. If we want this doctrine to be credible, we can’t disregard the culture. But churches where the doctrine and culture converge bear living witness to the power of Jesus."

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/rayortlund/2010/10/11/gospel-doctrine-gospel-culture-2/

What Have You Been Reading?

John's Wesleys rebuke below of a young minister should be sufficient challenge for each of us to devote ourselves to the discipline of reading.

 I was reviewing my library today and began to jot down titles of books that I have enjoyed reading in recent history and can  highly recommend to you brothers.

>Humility................................................................................by C.J. Mahaney
>Paul on Trial......................................................................... by John W. Mauck
>When Shall These Things Be.............................................. by Keith Matheison
>The Faith............................................................................... by Chuck Colson
>Galatians............................................................................... by Gorden Fee
>The Shape of Sola Scriptura.................................................by Keith Matheison
>God of Promise................................................................... by Mishael Horton
>Being The Body....................................................................by Chuck Colson


"What has exceedingly hurt you in time past, nay, and I fear, to this day, is want of reading. I scarce ever knew a preacher who read so little. And perhaps, by neglecting it, you have lost the taste for it. Hence your talent in preaching does not increase. It is just the same as it was seven years ago. It is lively, but not deep; there is little variety; there is no compass of thought. Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer. You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this. You can never be a deep preacher without it, any more than a thorough Christian. Oh begin to fix it!.... Whether you like it or no, read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way; else you will be a trifler all your days, and a pretty, superficial preacher."

John Wesley, writing to a young preacher, quoted in D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, Letters Along The Way, page 169.

Just what Is "Bad Preaching?"

Brothers,
Have you ever wondered if you were guilty of "bad preaching?" Jeff Keeney shares," contrary to popular opinion, bad preaching isn’t when the preacher reads his sermon, mumbles or bores his audience.... that is merely bad delivery..."

Check out his  post about the Good, Bad, and the Ugly of contemporary preaching. Jeff's thoughts on what classifies as even worse  "Worse" Preaching" is more than thought provoking. May I kindly suggest you read the entire post.
[rgh]


Worse Preaching:
Today’s preachers are finding new ways NOT to preach the Gospel. There are some sermons that are worse than bad. While even a bad sermon contains the bare elements of the Gospel, these sermons have no Gospel at all.

1. The Golawspel Sermon
•This is a classic example of confusing Law and Gospel, so that neither is clearly preached. Golawspel preaching neither wounds nor heals, neither kills nor makes alive, neither accuses nor absolves.

2. The Gospel–Assumption Sermon.
•In this kind of sermon, the preacher almost preaches the Gospel. He might refer to Jesus as Savior; he might talk about God’s love, forgiveness, and mercy.

3. The God–Loves–You–Anyway Sermon.
•Pioneered by Robert Schuller and perfected by Joel Osteen, this kind of sermon presents what I have called “a gospel without sin.” In this kind of sermon, your problem is not sin, it is failing to reach your potential. But don’t worry, be happy,and keep trying, God loves you anyway.

4. The Little–Engine–That–Could Sermon.
•In this kind of sermon the preacher talks a lot about how hard your life is. Stress, not sin, is your problem. Instead of Jesus on the cross to save you, the preacher proclaims Jesus in your heart to empower and encourage you to keep trying.

5. The Sinners–Someplace–Else Sermon.
•The preacher proclaims the Law, but not to his audience. He preaches against the sins of sinners someplace else: politicians, homosexuals, abortionists, secular humanists, Hollywood, and all the other sinners “out there.” Everyone goes home secure, thanking God they aren’t like other men—but not justified.

6. The “Life–Application” Sermon.
•This is the classic example of preaching the Christian instead of the Christ. Promoted by Rick Warren and others, these sermons are by far the most common kind of worse preaching. In this case, the preacher is convinced that the ultimate goal of preaching is to teach people how to LIVE. In the “Life–Application” sermon, Jesus becomes just anotherparadigm for you to live by.

Not Christian Preaching at All:
.There are sermons being preached from Christian pulpits that cannot be called Christian in any sense of the word; they can hardly he called sermons. They have neither Law nor Gospel, neither sin nor grace. They fall into the category of what the Bible calls “smooth talk and flattery,” “empty words,” “godless chatter” and “hollow philosophy.”

http://gospelcentric.org/2010/09/20/the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-contemporary-preaching/

http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/