The personal blog of Stephen Jones (We have moved. Please visit "Pinch of Clay" for my latest posts)
Friday, November 28, 2008
Fishing with finesse
The Sola Panel is doing an interesting series right now on the challenges of personal evangelism. Here's an excerpt which captures the dilemma Christians face:
We want to tell people of the gracious loving Father who has given up his Son to make them his children, but evangelists are perceived as narrow-minded, bigoted, moralistic ratbags who infringe upon other’s civil rights.
Later, they observe,
Fishing requires a certain subtlety and finesse. We could blast the river with a few kilos of nitro, but that’s not exactly fishing.
Read the whole thing here.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thankful for God's amazing grace
This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for the boundless grace of God. My sin is like a deep abyss. It's an infinite debt I cannot begin to repay. It's an incomprehensible offense against a holy God. Yet I know God has poured out His infinite grace upon me through His Son.
A.W. Tozer writes,
We can never know the enormity of our sin, neither is it necessary that we should. What we can know is that 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' To 'abound' in sin: that is the worst and the most we could or can do. The word abound defines the limit of our finite abilities; and although we feel our iniquities rise over us like a mountain, the mountain, nevertheless, has definable boundaries: it is so large, so high, it weighs only this certain amount and no more. But who shall define the limitless grace of God? Its 'much more' plunges our thoughts into infinitude and confounds them there. All thanks be to God for grace abounding. (The Knowledge of the Holy, pp. 95-96)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A call to love God
I've already written on the importance of a clearly defined ministry goal and the definition of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Now we'll move along to the marks of a genuine disciple.
There are two distinguishing marks of a disciple of Jesus. One is a love for God. The other is a love for people. If you claim to be a Christian, these two things should increasingly characterize your life.
Above all, a disciple must have a love for God. All other Christian virtues, emotions, and duties stem from this root of love. When a religious leader asked Jesus, "Which is the great commandment in the Law?" Jesus answered without hesitation that it is a love for God. He said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37). This is a genuine, all-consuming, love for God that is so strong that all other relationships, by comparison, are viewed with contempt (Matt. 10:37).
Jonathan Edwards calls love "the chief of all affections, and fountain of all other affections" and believes "the essence of all true religion lies in holy love." He goes on to say,
From a vigorous, affectionate, and fervent love to God, will necessarily arise other religious affections; hence will arise an intense hatred and abhorrence of sin, fear of sin, and a dread of God’s displeasure, gratitude to God for his goodness, complacence and joy in God, when God is graciously and sensibly present, and grief when he is absent, and a joyful hope when a future enjoyment of God is expected, and fervent zeal for the glory of God. (Religious Affections)Likewise, Alexander Strauch writes,
Above all things, we should seek to increase our knowledge and enjoyment of Christ and deepen our love for him (Phil. 3:8-14). After all, the deeper our love for him the more we will become like him in love and the more we will be able to teach others to love. (Leading With Love, 30)Love of God is the greatest commandment, the essence of true religion, the fountain of religious affection, and the mark of a true disciple. How is your love for God? Is it growing or waning? Have you, like the Ephesians, begun to leave your first love (Rev. 2:4)? Consider the following questions:
- Are you growing in your knowledge of God? We can't expect to love Someone we don't know.
- Are you growing in your fellowship with God? We can't expect to love Someone we don't spend time with.
- Are you growing in your obedience to God? We can't expect to love Someone we ignore.
- Are you growing in your disdain for sin? We can't expect to love Someone who we enjoy rejecting and offending.
- Are you growing in your appreciation for the cross? We can't expect to love Someone if we forget their greatest demonstration of love toward us (Rom. 5:8).
- Are you sure that you are a Christian? We can't expect to love God unless He has first loved us (1 Jn. 4:19).
Monday, November 24, 2008
Bruce Ware becomes president of ETS
Bruce Ware, professor of Christian Theology at Southern Seminary, took the reigns as president of ETS this week at the organization's annual meeting in Rhode Island. Ware is the first member of the Southern Seminary faculty to serve as ETS president...
Ware was elected vice president of ETS by a unanimous vote of fellow scholars at the 58th annual ETS meeting in Washington, D.C. in 2006. After one year of serving as vice president and one year as president-elect, Ware began his term as president during the 60th annual meeting of ETS this week at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. Read complete story.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Report card on President Bush
Unfortunately, Bush's domestic policy never got very far. In his first year, he enjoyed a Republican majority in the House and an evenly divided Senate, yet he squandered this opportunity to make some serious reform. (What ever happened to "Compassionate Conservatism," anyway?). Of course, Bush's priorities radically changed after September 11, 2001, and his domestic policy never recovered.
Marvin Olasky recently interviewed co-authors Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam in World Magazine, asking where Bush went wrong in his policy. I found their answer a painful, yet accurate, assessment of the last eight years:
There was always a strain of anti-intellectualism running through the Bush administration, which undercut Bush's policy agenda. And after 9/11, he seemed to lose interest in domestic policy entirely (understandably!), and the result was drift and corruption, as a series of bad bills (especially on energy and transportation) and bad actors (from Tom DeLay to Jack Abramoff) came to define the GOP agenda, and the biggest issues facing middle America, from rising health-care costs to growing socioeconomic immobility, went unaddressed. The Bush administration's push for Social Security reform was a disaster. Their proposals weren't bad as policy, but they massively misjudged the political climate, and Bush squandered all of his second-term capital on a reform that never even came up for a vote.On the other hand, I believe Bush's foreign policy proved quite strong in the areas that were most needed. To see just how effective Bush's response to 9/11 was, check out this article. It catalogues all the known terrorist plots that were thwarted by the U.S. government since 9/11. Here's just a sampling:
December 2001, Richard Reid: British citizen attempted to ignite shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.
June 2003, Virginia Jihad Network: Eleven men from Alexandria, Va., trained for jihad against American soldiers, convicted of violating the Neutrality Act, conspiracy.
August 2005, Los Angeles homegrown terrorists plotted to attack National Guard, LAX, two synagogues and Israeli consulate.
June 2007, JFK Plot: Four men are accused of plotting to blow up fuel arteries that run through residential neighborhoods at JFK Airport in New York.
So, while George Bush's domestic policy was largely a failure, and probably helped evoke the pendulum swing to the far left in the 2008 election, his foreign policy has proven quite effective since 9/11. Certainly, there are many disappointments, but there are also many reasons to be thankful for the leadership Bush has given this country over the last eight years.
Photo credit: Paul Morse
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Please sign the FOCA petition
This would eradicate state and federal laws that the majority of Americans support, such as:
- Bans on Partial Birth Abortion
- Requirements that women be given information about the risks of getting an abortion
- Only licensed physicians can perform abortions
- Parents must be informed and give consent to their minor daughter's abortion
Please voice your opposition to FOCA by clicking here to sign your name to the official petition. This petition will be sent to key Members of Congress upon the re-introduction of the Freedom of Choice Act in the 111th Congress, and to President-Elect Obama.
HT: Justin Taylor
2008 CSBC Annual Meeting
One of the nice things about this year's convention was that my family was able to tag along with me. Natalie had to babysit Dylan and Heidi during the Pastor's Conference on Monday night and Tuesday morning, but then we were all able to attend the Annual Meeting together on Tuesday and Wednesday. The kids went into child care while Natalie and I attended the main sessions together. Our schedule was very busy, but it was so nice to spend this time with them.
The theme of this year's meeting was "Celebrating the King and His Kingdom." The business meeting portions ran very smoothly, and were the most peaceful of the three years I've attended. Several positive reports were also given, including one about the NAMB church-planting initiative: Vision San Diego.
My wife and I were encouraged by the preaching this year, which was consistently good throughout both the Pastor's Conference and Annual Meeting. On Monday night, David Jeremiah urged pastors to be faithful to "preach the word" and avoid other tantalizing, yet inferior, methods of church growth. On Tuesday, Executive Director Fermin Whittaker called us to keep pursuing our goal of reaching "every man, woman, boy, and girl" in the state of California for Jesus Christ. He reminded us of the tremendous power of God to change lives. On Wednesday, State Convention President Paul Wilkerson urged pastors to shepherd and love their people, then National Convention President Johnny Hunt gave a passionate exposition from Psalm 119.
Paul Wilkerson has now concluded his two-year term as President of the CSBC, and Walter Price from Fellowship of the Pass has been elected as the next President. Walter is a very godly man and theologically conservative pastor. I'm excited to see him serve as our next President.
May God continue to bless our state convention in the year to come.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Book Review: Respectable Sins
Why devote a whole book to the subject of sin? "The motivation for this book stems from a growing conviction that those of us whom I call conservative evangelicals may have become so preoccupied with some of the major sins of society around us that we have lost sight of the need to deal with our own more 'refined' or subtle sins" (p. 9).
In Respectable Sins, Bridges first deals with general principles of sin, forgiveness, and obedience. Then, beginning in Chapter 7, he looks as common sins that believers tolerate like anxiety, unthankfulness, pride, selfishness, impatience, judgmentalism, and sins of the tongue. The author concludes with a chapter on worldliness and then some practical help on where to go from here.
Having already written several Christian classics like the Pursuit of Holiness and Trusting God, Bridges has done it again with Respectable Sins. I found this to be a very fresh and convicting book. Every chapter gives a brutally honest exposure of my own sin. Bridges deals with issues in a practical way, sometimes giving personal examples of struggles in his own life. Most chapters were short and easy to read. The only drawback is that the Study Guide does not follow the same chapter order as the book. But whether you buy the study guide or use this as a stand-alone book, Respectable Sins is highly recommended.
Friday, November 14, 2008
The journal journey
I've been a fan of the Journal Library for several years, and have been purchasing each new volume as they become available. I have used it many times to do searches by Scripture reference, but also feel like I've barely begun to tap into its full potential.
To help change this, I have an idea for a new reading club called the "Journal Journey." I will select one article from a theological journal each month to read and discuss on this blog. For our first month together, we'll read the following:
Mare, W. Harold. "Guiding Principles for Historical Grammatical Exegesis." Grace Journal 14/3 (Fall 1973): 14-25.
This article by Professor Mare is listed on Dr. Bill Barrick's "Past Periodical Punch" reading list, and since it deals with basic principles of Bible study and exegesis, I think it's the perfect place to start. Just read the article in the next few weeks, and I will blog on it the first week in December.
If you would like to obtain a copy of this article to read along and join the discussion, there are several ways you can get it:
- Buy the entire 10 volume Theological Journal Library for $340.
- Buy only the 14 volumes of Grace Journal for $50
- Go to a local seminary library and read the print edition for free!
- Ashland Theological Journal (Volumes 1-37)
- Bibliotheca Sacra (Volumes 91-163)
- Bible and Spade (Volumes 1-12, 1-13)
- Chafer Theological Seminary Journal (Volumes 1-12)
- Christian Apologetics Journal (Volumes 1-5)
- Conservative Theological Journal (Volumes 1-10)
- Conspectus (Volumes 1-3)
- Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal (Volumes 1-11)
- Emmaus Journal (Volumes 1-14)
- Faith and Mission (Volumes 1-23)
- Global Journal (Volumes 1-2)
- Grace Journal (Volumes 1-14)
- Grace Theological Journal (Volumes 1-12)
- Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Volumes 1-11)
- Journal of Christian Apologetics (Volumes 1-2)
- Journal of Dispensational Theology (Volume 10)
- Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (Volumes 9-49)
- Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society (Volumes 1-19)
- Journal of Ministry and Theology (Volumes 1-10)
- Masters Seminary Journal (Volumes 1-15)
- Michigan Theological Journal (Volumes 1-5)
- Reformation and Revival (Volumes 1-13)
- Reformed Baptist Theological Review (Volumes 1-3)
- Review and Expositor (Volumes 70-103)
- Southern Baptist Journal of Theology (Volumes 1-10)
- Trinity Journal (Volumes 1-26)
- Westminster Theological Journal (Volumes 1-68)
A practical thinker
The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.Hey! I guess church life is pretty fun, adventurous, and risky stuff! Being a pastor is a high and challenging calling, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.
It's also interesting to see how some of my favorite bloggers rate in the Typealyzer test:
Al Mohler - a thinker (no surprise there!)
Justin Taylor - a thinker
Tim Challies - a thinker
Logos blog - a guardian
Michael Hyatt - a mechanic
Walter Price - an idealist
David Sqyres - an idealist
Bret Capranica - a duty fulfiller
Jessica Pham - a performer
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Benefits of a recession
- It causes you to get more creative.
- It forces you to make the tough decisions.
- It thins out the competition.
- It makes you realize you can’t take anything for granted.
- It reminds you that real wealth isn’t about the stuff you own.
- It fosters out-of-the-box thinking.
- It makes it easier to abandon business-as-usual.
- It brings you back to the basics.
- It accelerates change.
- It causes you to be less wasteful.
Several of these benefits apply to the church as well. While I don't "enjoy" these tough economic times, it has caused our church to become better stewards of what we have, and to think creatively about how to do ministry in the most effective way possible. For example, we switched from color bulletins to black-and-white, and installed window unit air conditioners in our offices that saved us hundreds of dollars this summer. If our budget hadn't been tight, we may not have made these simple, cost effective changes.
Monday, November 10, 2008
In God we do not trust
Here's an excerpt:
People are longing for Jesus, and tragically left voting for mere presidential candidates. For those whose candidate wins today there will be some months of groundless euphoric faith in that candidate and the atoning salvation that their kingdom will bring. But, in time, their supporters will see that no matter who wins the presidency, they are mere mortals prone to sin, folly, and self-interest just like all the other sons of Adam and daughters of Eve...
The conclusion for pastors:
...I would encourage all preachers to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and repentance of personal sin. He alone can truly atone for our sins. He alone can deliver us from a real hell. He alone is our sinless and great King. And, he alone has a Shalom kingdom to offer.
You can read the whole article here.
HT: Luke MacDonald
Friday, November 7, 2008
Inland Empire Meeting
Meetings, like every other aspect of church ministry, are an opportunity to worship God. They should be conducted joyfully, peacefully, and for the purpose of edification. And I believe this was accomplished at the Inland Empire Association annual meeting last week.
On Tuesday, Oct. 28, I and another family from our church attended the annual meeting for our Southern Baptist region. Here are three things I appreciated:
- Hospitality. This year's meeting was hosted by First Baptist Church (Primera Iglesia Bautista) of Moreno Valley. This church did a fantastic job of showing Christian hospitality. Young and old were working side-by-side to serve all the guests. No detail was overlooked. Parking lot attendants waved flashlights, greeting people and offering directions. A delicious Mexican meal was catered, complete with chips and salsa at every table. Tables were set up outside in the courtyard to create a nice 'alfresco' dining experience. Servers were standing by, offering coffee, and taking our plates as soon as we were finished. The whole atmosphere was relaxing and conducive for fellowship, which brings me to the second point.
- Relationships. If our association just wanted to give an annual update, they could save a lot of time and money by e-mailing everyone the Book of Reports. But that would miss one of the most vital elements of ministry: building relationships. One of the highlights of last week's meeting was carpooling with the Poes from our church, then visiting with Pastor Pete and his assistant Doug during dinner. Pete is a pastor in Ontario, and it was a delight to learn about his church and his passion for VBS and prison ministry. It was also nice to briefly see Walter Price from Fellowship in the Pass, David Sqyres from Palms Baptist Church, Tony Brown from One Eighty Ministries in Joshua Tree, and Rex Shaver and his assistant Michael from Wonder Valley Community Church.
- Organization. The meeting had a tight schedule, and for the most part, they did a good job sticking to it. From what I could tell, every report was limited to 3 minutes. These were interspersed with some congregational singing and a video presentation. The music was appropriately upbeat, though I would have appreciated a more cross-centered emphasis in the lyrics. Reports were pre-printed in the book, along with a calendar of events for the upcoming year. It was all sort of a whirlwind, but I think it was just enough to give us a sampling of what God is doing across the region. Some of the reports were repetitive from last year, which might discourage people from attending year after year, but thankfully the meeting only lasted two hours total. I wouldn't agree philosophically with everything these churches are doing, but it did illustrate the diversity of the Body of Christ and the importance of engaging the lost in each community.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Is door-to-door evangelism still effective?
After showing the chart, Stetzer writes,
These stats tell an important story--many people are open to an invitation to your church and some are open to hearing about heaven. Even 40 percent of the most unchurched are open to an invitation to your church, which is something that the whole church can do-- something that's much less scary for the typical believer and takes less training. It is helpful to know that many people are open to a church event invitation where, perhaps, they can hear the gospel in an understandable way. Imagine how many more houses your church group could visit if every person could be convinced to make one visit and one simple invitation.
But this method still has its shortcomings:
The fact remains the unchurched are far less interested in being invited to church by someone they don't know knocking on their door. Only 39 percent of those surveyed who attend church rarely, on holidays, or never would be okay with someone coming to their door and inviting them to church, according to the survey. The numbers are consistently worse when asked about "counseling" for "heaven," or what we would call personal witnessing. In other words, the very people we say we want to get into our churches the most are the people least likely to be impacted by one of our favorite outreach strategies.
While door-to-door evangelism may have its place, our most effective strategy for evangelism is still to build personal relationships with unbelievers, to repeatedly sow and water the gospel into their lives, and to pray for God to bring them to repentance and a saving knowledge of the truth.
On a personal note, I can remember a few years ago being part of a team that canvassed a whole neighborhood and passed out over a thousand flyers inviting them to a 6-week Christianity Explained Bible Study at a home in their area. Not a single person responded. Perhaps this was due to a couple reasons: (1) it was in a very upscale part of Valencia, California, where people love their privacy and have little time for religion. (2) the length of the study and sense of commitment involved may have put some people off.
Our church is currently targeting an area in our neighborhood to focus our prayer and outreach over the next year, and we do plan to designate some days for door-to-door outreach. Stetzer's research confirms there is still value in this method. It may not work for everyone, but it is still one of the best ways of reaching people who live close to the church, and who we would otherwise never meet personally.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
MacArthur sermons now free
40 years of preaching. 3500 sermons. Dozens of Q&A sessions. All yours for free in the audio archive. This is a permanent change to the Grace to You ministry. Special thanks to John MacArthur and the Grace to You staff for this generous gift to the church.
Here are a few other preachers I enjoy listening to who offer their sermons online for free:
Kent Hughes at College Church
John Piper at Bethlehem Baptist Church
Steve Lawson at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Providence and the presidency
Thankfully, all things - including democratic elections - are guided by the provident hand of God. Wayne Grudem defines providence this way: "God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes." (Systematic Theology, p. 315)
Three times in the past four days, God has reminded me of His providence:
- As Abraham led his beloved Isaac up Mount Moriah to be a sacrifice, he reassured him, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (Gen. 22:8). I was encouraged by this on Saturday in a message by R. C. Sproul.
- As Joseph recalled the betrayal of his brothers and the years spent as a slave and prisoner in Egypt, he told his brothers "Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God...you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Gen. 46:8; 50:20). I was reminded of this yesterday in a sermon by Dr. Will Varner.
- And just earlier today, I read this quote from Spuregon posted by the Sola Panel: "I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes—that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit as well as the sun in the heavens—that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence—the fall of sear leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche."
Ten prayer requests for election day
- That God will bless America with leaders better than we deserve
- That Americans will be motivated to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship, yet also that we will be stripped of an unhealthy and idolatrous confidence in the power of government to save us
- that Americans will vote by conscience, not merely on the basis of celebrity or emotion
- That Americans will vote to defend the least among us -- and especially those who have no vote
- That God will prick the conscience of the nation on issues of morality, righteousness, and respect for marriage as the central institution of human civilization
- That God will protect these candidates and their families
- That the election is conducted with honor, civility, respect, and justice
- That Americans will be prepared to accept the results of the election with respect and kindness
- That this election would lead to even greater opportunities to preach the Gospel, and that the freedom of the church will be respected, honored, and protected
- That the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be strengthened in the truth, grounded in the faith, and empowered for witness and ministry
New Blog
Today I'm closing up shop and launching a new blog called Pinch of Clay. You can visit it by clicking here . Please stop by and...
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I must admit, I still get confused by all those Herods mentioned in the New Testament. To keep them straight, I find it helpful to read the ...
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It's been a busy and encouraging year in our state and national Southern Baptist Convention. Reprinted below is an article by Baptist Tw...
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Today I'm closing up shop and launching a new blog called Pinch of Clay. You can visit it by clicking here . Please stop by and...