Reading goals for 2010

In reviewing the books I read last year for my "best of" post the other day, I saw some holes in my reading that I want to accommodate better in 2010.

In the course of a year, I read a lot of books-- probably between 50 and 75-- and I cover a wide range of subjects. Last year, I read a good number of books on prayer (naturally, since it was the Ministry Focus for the year at my church), church ministry, preaching, counseling, and Bible exegesis (especially Luke). I was low, so to speak, on a few subject that I want to purposefully read more of this year:

• Biography/history-- I've never been a big fan of either, but I'm slowly learning how to find more value in it. I'm looking forward to starting with a biography about one of my heroes, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Lloyd-Jones: Messenger of Grace by Iain Murray.
• Systematic/Biblical Theology-- As much as I love to think about, write about, and discuss theology, I haven't spent a lot of time reading it lately, at least not in books. Last year, I read only a couple of theology titles; this year, I intend to read at least six or seven, starting with Christian Focus's recent republication of The Marrow of Divinity by Edward Fisher.
• Philosophy/Ethics-- I was a philosophy major in college, and love to read it; but it has been years since I read any substantial amount of philosophy. I aim to pick up at least a few titles in the ethics category this year, maybe starting with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Ethics.

There are a couple of other categories that I intend to read heavily in during 2010:

• Worship-- since it is the Ministry Focus for this year, I plan to spend a lot of time on this subject. Right now I'm reading The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister; two on the short stack are Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship (celebrating the legacy of James Montgomery Boice), edited by Philip Graham Ryken, Derek W. Thomas, and J. Ligon Duncan, III; and The Lord's Service: The Grace of Covenant Renewal Worship by Jeffrey Meyers.
• Bible exegesis (especially Genesis and Acts)-- I start a new sermon series on the first part of Genesis this week; when it is done (probably in mid-summer), I'll start into the first section of Acts, and ping-pong back and forth between Genesis and Acts all the way through both. I've got Dennis E. Johnson's Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ Through All of Scripture on my table at home, and I'll be digging into the nine different commentaries I have on Genesis more and more through the coming months.

What are you planning to read this year?

"Prosperity" Abounds...

...or, Brit Hume and Christianity, part two.

As I mentioned in a recent post, the web has been abuzz with Fox News anchor Brit Hume's public encouragement to Tiger Woods to seek hope in Christianity.

I'll say again that I am grateful for Mr. Hume's public witness to the hope of Christianity, and I'm grateful for his boldness in doing so. And I'll say again that I am, in no way, calling into question the authenticity of Mr. Hume's faith nor am I accusing him of purposefully presenting anything other than the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But I'll also say again that some of Mr. Hume's words were as troubling to me as they were encouraging.

I mentioned in my previous post that we must understand that Christ alone (and not "Christianity") can offer forgiveness and redemption. Now I'd like to take up a subject that I've actually been thinking about a good bit lately. This has come up in at least three different conversations I've had in the last two weeks, and now I find it present also in Mr. Hume's comments:

We all believe the "prosperity gospel" to a certain degree.

I know that when I say "prosperity gospel" then everyone has a different idea. Some will think of the scandals of the TV evangelists in the 80s and 90s, when Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert got rich off of donors before the greed and lust caught up with them. Others will think of more contemporary examples like Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, and Joel Osteen, whose teachings (mis)lead people to believe that their financial prosperity are inherently tied to their faith.

Some of these are pitched under the guise of Bible teachings, others under the broader blanket of Christianity, while some are related to Christianity only by association. All of them are adulterations of the teachings of the Bible-- and many of us assume that we're safe from them, simply because we don't attend "that kind of church" or listen to those folks on TV or the radio.

But as I said above, we all believe the "prosperity gospel" to a certain degree. So does Brit Hume-- at least, if his comments on the aforementioned video are any indication. Here's how I know: he said two things that are a direct, if covert, result of prosperity gospel teaching:

• "The extent to which [Tiger Woods] can recover depends on his faith..."
• "Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery..."

We may not believe, if we send $100 a week to So-and-so's ministry, that God will make us rich. In essence, however, we all believe something close to what Mr. Hume articulated: if we're really Christians, bad things won't happen to us. If we truly turn to "the Christian faith" then our problems will get better or disappear. If we are authentic believers, we won't struggle the way that we do. In other words, our faith might not make us financially rich but it will keep us from being financially poor.

In short, when we face difficulty in life, our knee-jerk reaction is to assume that it is because of our lack of faith-- we've lost the victory, we lack the faith, or we haven't gotten the blessing. We're all prosperity-gospel-believers when we face struggles.

Contrast this, however, to what the Scripture actually says about struggles (emphasis added):

• "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ~John 16.33
• "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" ~Romans 8:35
• "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." ~2 Corinthians 1:3-4
• "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~2 Corinthians 12:10
• "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him..." ~Philippians 1:29
• "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." ~James 1:2-3
• "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray." ~James 5:13
• "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." ~1 Peter 4:12-13

And contrast that, too with what Scripture says about blessings, and how they are present realities out of God's grace, NOT out of our acts of faith or obedience, nor are they withheld from Christians because of our lack of faith or obedience:
"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16
David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” ~Romans 4:6-8
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." ~Ephesians 1:3

Friends, watch out for the "prosperity gospel"-- for it is no true gospel.

Worship 1: Ministry Focus 2010

Toward the end of 2008, our Session decided that we would select a "Ministry Focus" for each year: one aspect of spiritual formation, and/or one spiritual discipline, that we would focus on for the coming year. Last year's Ministry Focus was Prayer.

This year (2010) our Ministry Focus will be Worship. Specifically, we'll focus on corporate worship.

As I think about the topics under this category that I want to consider, some of them are:

• How does God meet with us in worship? And how do we meet with Him in worship?
• Why do we use the different elements of worship that we do?
• What is the importance of the different seasons of the church's calendar (e.g., Advent, Lent, Easter, etc.)?
• How does our cumulative experience of worship (week by week, season by season, year by year) shape our spiritual lives?
• What are some ways that we can engage more fully in corporate worship?
• How can congregations involve whole families in worship (especially children)?

I'm looking forward to this focus on Worship. Like last year, I will post reflections, links, suggested resources, and other things related to our Ministry Focus throughout the year.

Beard-volution

I took snapshot of my mug, using my MacBook's built-in camera, every week for the last 10 weeks (11 weeks after starting to grow my beard). Here's the beard evolution (or "beard-volution)...

Brit Hume, Tiger Woods, and the hope of the Christian faith

Brit Hume, one of the newscasters for the Fox News network, commented on his sense about how Tiger Woods should seek a "spiritual recovery" in the wake of the recent events and scandals. Mr. Hume's comments have been making their way around the internet tubes, mostly through YouTube video clips:


I'm pleasantly surprised to see someone so openly appeal to Christianity as a source of hope and transformation, over and against other religions (Buddhism is specifically named). Even on the overtly-conservative Fox News Network, this is an uncommon find, and I applaud Mr. Hume for his bravery and his candor.

I'm not, in any way, attacking Mr. Hume nor am I claiming that his beliefs are in any way questionable or unorthodox. I understand that Mr. Hume has come under a lot of fire for his comments, which is both lamentable and unsurprising (as he himself has said). And I'll say this, outright: Mr. Hume has offered further clarification on this topic (check my friend James Grant's blog post for more on this), and on his comments, that to a certain degree mitigate my concerns (which are something of an aside from the topic at hand).

Furthermore, I agree with Mr. Hume completely in this way: the hope of the Gospel is the only hope that Tiger Woods, Brit Hume, Ed Eubanks, or anyone else may look to for true, lasting, and eternal hope.

That said, there are two concerns I have with the way Mr. Hume presented Christianity in the video clip above, and I feel they deserve to be addressed (especially given their common acceptance in our world, even among Christians). I'll take one of them up in this post, and follow up with the second in a later post.

First, Mr. Hume said that Tiger Woods should "turn to the Christian faith" to find the redemption and forgiveness that he needs (and, one might assume, that he seeks). We must be very careful to understand what we appeal to when we urge someone to "turn to Christianity".

Christianity is a religion, a religious belief system. Included within that system is the idea of salvation through faith alone-- something that no other religion promotes or claims. Contrary to common assumption, Christianity is NOT just like all the other religions-- it is unique in that point, among others.

But here's the rub: even Christianity cannot save you. We cannot turn to ANY religion-- even Christianity-- for salvation. There is no forgiveness to be gained through religious observance, nor any redemption to be found in a religion itself.

It is only Christ Who saves. For Tiger Woods, Ed Eubanks, or anyone else to find the forgiveness and redemption that we desperately need, we must seek it in Christ-- and through His grace alone. We cannot find it anywhere else, even in the trappings of "Christianity."

There is a sense that I'm splitting hairs here, because the essence of Christianity itself is this very truth. But when our culture and world speak of Christianity, they often overlook that; indeed, when many Christians speak of Christianity, they often overlook it. And I dare say, when Mr. Hume spoke of Christianity in the above video, his representation of it overlooked it.

This is the very reason why most people assume that Christianity is just another religion. It was the mistake of the formalistic worshipers of the Old Testament, and the error of the Pharisees in the New Testament. It was the end-game of the devolution of the faith in the middle ages, which was the seed-bed for the Reformation-- reclaiming this very distinction. And it must be OUR distinction today, or we surely perish.

Best Books for 2009

Well, I did a poor job of cataloging and rating my books read for 2009. I set out to do essentially the same as I did in 2008, but I failed pretty miserably at that.

So, instead of presenting a comprehensive list (like I did last year), I thought I would do my best to recap what some of the best books I read in 2009 were. Here's that list:

• Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Worship by Hughes Oliphant Old. I found this one to be an invaluable resource and guide to how prayer "fits" into the worship service. I look forward to reading more of Old's writings on worship in the coming year.
• The Living Church by Donald J. MacNair. A superb book on church health, and how to pastor a church with an eye toward sustaining healthy practices.
• The Pastor as Minor Poet by M. Craig Barnes. A very helpful approach to thinking about pastoral ministry.
• Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the Bible by Jay E. Adams. This is a thorough examination on a difficult subject, and it is well-handled and thought-provoking.
• A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson. An excellent work on the prayers of Paul and how we might learn the discipline of prayer from them.
• Why Johnny Can't Preach by T. David Gordon. This one gives a great challenge to what the problem with much of contemporary preaching is, as well as a look at how to begin to fix it.
• Fasting by Scot McKnight. A great introduction to a difficult topic, and one that is hard to find good material on. McKnight is biblical and practical in his approach.
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. One of my favorite writers, and I'm always glad for another book by him. This one looks at what makes exceptional people and circumstances possible.
• Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell. One of the best books I've read on worship, considering the biblical and historical precedent for why and how we do worship as we do.
• The Christian Counselor's Manual by Jay E. Adams. While I disagreed with some of what Adams concludes about how to approach certain subjects, I love the fundamental points about principles and purpose in counseling here exposited.
• Luke volumes 1 & 2 by Philip Graham Ryken. By far, this was my favorite commentary on Luke as I preached through the whole book; Ryken is a great blend of exposition, theology, illustration, context, and application in every commentary I've read of his, and Luke is no exception.

So, those are the best. I read a lot of others, but if I were recommending, these would be the list.

Biggest changes in Christianity in the last decade...

Christianity Today Online recently compiled a bunch of answers to the question, "what was the most significant change to Christianity in the last decade?"

There are some great take-aways from this collection. A few of my favorites are:"Evangelical angst about its current state and future prospects. Evangelicals are trying to figure out who they are and who they should be. We see that in the 'Evangelical Manifesto,' the Gospel Coalition, in This We Believe. There are all these movements trying to define who evangelicals are and what evangelicals should be. Since evangelicalism is the only growing segment of American Christianity, its angst and future will matter deeply to the church in North America."
Ed Stetzer, editor, president, LifeWay Research

"A widespread abandonment of Christian doctrinal commitment — even doctrinal knowledge. Forget the rising number of people with no religious identity; the news to me is the vast number of self-identified Christians who have no real knowledge of, or deep commitment to, a specific Christian faith. You could say they were watering down Christianity's teachings, but I question if they even know those core teachings."
Cathy Lynn Grossman, religion reporter, USA TODAY

As for MY answer (CT didn't ask me-- oh well...)-- when I heard about the thesis of the article, I put my thoughts down on paper before I read the rest (I didn't want my take to be influenced by the others). My answer is...

The shift of center in Christianity. Until the late 90s, the United States was the current seat of Christianity world-wide, with that seat having shifted to the U.S. from Europe following the Renaissance/Reformation/Enlightenment era (it shifted to Europe from the Middle East during the medieval period/middle ages). In the last 10 or so years, however, the center has shifted away from the U.S. to Asia and parts of Africa. In the last 10 years, the number of Christians in China has grown from approximately 15 million to about 54 million. The Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea has more than 837,000 members-- yes, that's in one congregation (by way of comparison, that is more than double the membership of the entire denomination that I minister in, the PCA, with almost 341,000 members). Christians in Africa represent almost a quarter of all Christians, and they have been sending missionaries to the U.S. in earnest over the last 10 years. Americans tend to still think of ourselves as the center of Christianity, and we therefore conclude that our faith is under threat because the church in the U.S. is losing steam; this shift clearly demonstrates that that isn't so, and that the correlation between U.S. Christianity and world Christianity is not so strong. (Note: J. Lee Grady, of Charisma magazine, noted this change in a similar way in the CT piece.)

A close second would be the growing individualism of American Christianity. In fact, if the first were not true then I would quickly conclude that this were the most significant change. The United States is built and founded upon principles of rugged individualism, and that inevitably shapes everything that we think and do. Nevertheless, the growing trend in the church for "consumerism" in the practice of faith is striking; almost every decision that the average Christian makes about the practice of his/her faith is now based on some metric of "what do I get out of it?" This change, so contrary to biblical Christianity, is a serious threat to orthodoxy and to the long-term viability of the church in the U.S. History looks back on the decline of Christianity in Europe and attributes it to the philosophies of Descartes, Kant, Hume, Nietzsche; these were those who set up what became the atheistic, modern/post-modern culture that is common in Europe today. If the trend toward individualism within the American church continues, I predict that history will look back on the decline of Christianity in the U.S. and attribute it to the philosophies of Jefferson, Jay, Adams, Locke-- the men who set forth the foundations of our nation and culture on a bed of personal liberty and autonomy.

Surgery cancelled

Abbey's surgery has been cancelled-- well, postponed, actually. It's now scheduled for late February.

Please pray for us. We are frustrated and disappointed. We are ready for Abbey to have this behind her, and not to have the obstacles to development (speech, eating, etc.) that she has. We're stressed out by the build-up to this event, and by the let-down as well. Pray for God's grace to quiet our hearts.

Abbey's surgery...

One of my twins, Abbey, was born with a cleft palate; that means that the roof of her mouth isn't a solid bit of tissue as most of ours are. Last March, we traveled to Chicago for an initial visit with the Shriners' Hospital, who will be performing the surgery and follow-up treatment to repair this cleft.

They told us then that they would likely do the surgery in August or September. Over the summer, though, it was scheduled for the very end of October-- however, she had a cold and was not able to go through with the surgery then. So they rescheduled it for this Thursday, January 7.

But she caught another cold last week, and while she is better now, she still has a little bit o' sniffles. We will be calling later this morning to find out if they still want us to come. If so, then both Marcie's mom and mine will come (later today, in fact) and keep the other three kids while Marcie and I drive to Chicago on Tuesday, check in on Wednesday, sit through the surgery on Thursday, wait for recovery on Friday, and (D.V.) travel home on Saturday.

Assuming this goes through, I'll take much of the next week off to be home with Abbey (and the rest of the clan). My good friend Doug Barcroft is preaching for me for the next two weeks, and my Session will cover the large majority of the pastoral needs for the next two weeks.

If they say NOT to come, then a lot of that is off; our moms will turn around (they drove to Atlanta last night and are waiting there for word), and we'll be back to waiting for the next surgery date.

Please pray for us as we await word from the Shriners, and as all involved take the various steps and actions required. We don't want to have to wait again, but neither do we want to move ahead with a surgery that would be imprudent to have at this point.

I'll provide updates today and through the week as I am able; otherwise, I'll be somewhat out-of-pocket this week, blog-wise and otherwise!

Augmented Reality

HT: ProfHacker