I disagree, professor!

One of the most important issues in choosing a seminary is the institution’s stance relative to various theological issues. You obviously don’t want to feel as though you are swimming against the doctrinal current of your school. However, the fact is, no matter how well defined your own positions are and how carefully you choose your seminary, you will at least at some point find yourself at variance with those around you. Sometimes those disagreements may be serious enough for you to consider transferring to another institution. Most times, though, it probably just means you get the opportunity to learn to interact in Christian way with those you disagree with.

So, what is the Christian way? How do we disagree with our brothers and sisters, our teachers, our seminary?

1.     Never quarrel. The Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome, Paul told Timothy. In the context, Paul was addressing situations in which a church leader would have to oppose a false teacher. If the apostle told his protégé he must not be quarrelsome in this situation, how much more should a seminary student avoid quarreling when those on “the other side” are his brothers and sisters in the Lord?

2.     Work harder than everyone else in class. If you are going to disagree with your prof, you better not be sloppy. You are going to have to understand thoroughly both sides of the argument (and others besides). This means, among other things, reading outside of the course list and finding support for your position from reputable persons. If you are going to take a stand, know where you are standing.

3.     Have a broken heart over our differences. As much as it is a reality until glory, we ought never to be content with theological differences between believers. We should long to be unified, and that by the truth.

4.     Don’t be over-zealous to “convert” those around you. This point needs to come after the last one. Sometimes we feel as if it were up to us to change the minds of everyone with whom we disagree, and in our passion we can put others in an awkward position. Of course, if we have done our homework well and our conscience is clear, we should not shy away from presenting our views. Only let us do so with grace and respect.

5.     Take differences as an opportunity to build theological friendships. There are two sides to this. The first side is that we ought to form friendships with those we differ with as a display of our unity in Christ.  All of us should be able to admit that we are still in the development phase of our Christian life- and shall be until glory- and therefore none of us should consider those with whom we disagree with as our opponents. The other side of this is that we should seek out others with whom we do agree and lean on them for support. Seminary can be a lonely place, especially if we find ourselves out of step doctrinally with those around us- we need friends.

From the Archive: The Soul's Perception Magnified

Grace is put into proper perspective by the severity of the Lord's judgments on wayward sinners. If anyone would doubt the terrifying fury of God's wrath upon iniquity, the Word shall bring correction, as concerning the wicked nation Ammon He spoke: "I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath; and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled in destruction. You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken" (Ezek. 21:31-32). Such awaits, too, all who persist in ungodliness. But for those who turn from sin, for those whom He calls into communion with Jesus Christ, no such fate looms, but rather, a neverending flow of mercy and blessing, sweet and sure! For just as Ammon's blood was "in the midst of the land" (that is, they themselves bore the punishment for their guilt), so too has Christ's blood been poured out for those who are His (that is, He Himself bore the punishment for our guilt). Has your sensitivity grown numb to the wonders of His forgiveness? Has "grace" come to be regarded in your heart as common? Remember, Christian, Ammon's fate, and then consider your own. Then shall your soul's perception of His mercy be magnified, and your comprehension of His grace's completeness be enhanced, resulting in the praise of His glory!

from the archive: 2/20/08

Psalm 18:17 “He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.”

David’s plight was very grave. Elsewhere in this same psalm he makes known that his enemies had in view nothing short of bringing his life to an end: “the cords of death encompassed me” and “the cords of Sheol surrounded me.” For his part, this man after God’s own heart saw no human means of escape, his adversaries being “too mighty.” Yet, he deemed, what is that to God? And so he called upon his Rock and his Deliverer, who rushed to his rescue. And how great and terrible was the deliverance wrought! For God was as a mighty Warrior on David’s behalf. The very earth was in tumult on account of God’s wrath, and He Himself came down from His high place in the heavens, “with thick darkness under His feet” as “He sent out His arrows,” routing His anointed one’s foes.

David’s God is our God. He came down also for us, as Jesus Christ, and won a victory greater even than that described in this psalm, inasmuch as it was over greater and more terrifying enemies. For on the cross Christ did not merely vanquish temporal foes, but rendered death itself powerless, conquering over sin and the grave. These adversaries were “too mighty” for us, yet we might call on our Great Deliverer and say with David the opening lines of this song:

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and am saved from my enemies.”

More on the priority of the Gospel

From D.A. Carson's and Tim Keller's chapter, "Gospel-Centered Ministry" in The Gospel As Center:Renewing Our Faith and Reforming Our Ministry Practices (Crossway, 2012). Note especially the last line (read the full chapter here: http://static.crossway.org/excerpt/the-gospel-as-center/the-gospel-as-center-download.pdf).

"Over the last few years there has been a major push to abandon expository preaching for what is loosely called “narrative” preaching. The diagnosis goes something like this:

These are postmodern times, marked by the collapse of confidence in the Enlightenment project and a rational certainty about “truth.” So now hearers are more intuitive than logical; they are reached more through images and stories than through propositions and principles. They are also allergic to authoritarian declarations. We must adapt to the less rational, nonauthoritarian, narrative-hungry sensibilities of our time.

In our understanding, it is a great mistake to jettison expository preaching in this way. But in some quarters, the response goes something like this: “Because postmodern people don’t like our kind of preaching, we are going to give them more of it than ever.” They are unwilling to admit that much conventional use of the expository method has tended to be pretty abstract, quite wooden, and not related to life. It is also true that many traditional expository preachers like the “neatness” of preaching through the Epistles instead of the vivid visions and narratives of the Old Testament. But most importantly, expository preaching fails if it does not tie every text, even the most discursive, into the great story of the gospel and mission of Jesus Christ."

Global Theology

One of the realities that is slowly dawning on me, one that I trust will have a profound and positive impact in my life, is that Christianity is a global religion. By this I do not mean only that Christianity is theoretically for the whole world. This of course is certainly true. But more than that, I mean that Christianity is in actuality increasingly represented, not by Westerners only, but also by those throughout our world. By all measures, over the last century the "center of gravity"for our faith has shifted from the global West and North to the global East and South. And while this shift in many ways signals the decline of Christianity in our own culture (a most lamentable fact), I submit that this new development is overall a positive thing that we ought to rejoice concerning.

That being said, such titanic global shifts carry with them some (if not many) challenges. One such challenge is articulated well by Tite Tiénou, Professor of Theology of Mission, as well as Senior Vice President of Education and Dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In his "Christian Theology in an Era of Global Christianity" (from Globalizing Theology, edited by Craig Ott and Harold A. Netland. Baker Academic, 2006), Tiénou argues essentially that those in the West who undertake the task of theology need to take into consideration the vast numbers of Christians outside of the West, where theology typically has developed. More than that, the West needs to humbly listen to non-Westerners and not resist their taking full part in the theological task in this generation and in the generations to come. In short, Tiénou urges us to realize that theology is a task for the global church.

To all of this, I say Amen! Let us welcome our brothers and sisters throughout the world, as Christ has welcomed us (Romans 15:7). 

But let us do so in more than just words. Let us show them that we truly welcome them by reading their works, by even learning their languages that we might do so, and by ceasing to arrogantly see ourselves as the standard of all theology (e.g. labeling ours "systematic theology" while theirs is "African" or "Chinese" systematic theology). To be sure, let us rejoice that for centuries and even now God has used the men and women of the North and West to bring His truth to light. But let us not think that those men and women alone have been or are God's instruments. Or is God the God of the Westerners only?

I've been looking for information lately about the different ways various churches provide internships for aspiring pastors. I'm always interested in the role of the local church in raising up pastors. Here is a blog post I found that gives a list of a few different churches with links to their particular internship programs. I've mentioned the Capitol Hill one before here on the blog, but the others were new to me. I'd be interested in hearing about other internships that anyone is aware of (thanks Tyler and Dave for the links you sent me). Someday maybe I'll compile all of these and others I find along the way in one place.

http://saidatsouthern.com/training-pastors-in-the-local-church-internships-part-3-of-7/

The Priority of the Gospel

I am slowly and sporadically trying to make good on my promise to elaborate on (though not fully) the "principles of pastoral ministry" I outlined some time ago. Tonight I comment on the priority of the gospel.

There are many ways to preach the Bible. There is, however, only way to biblically preach the Bible. That way is the Gospel-centered way. This was the way of Jesus our Lord, who from beginning to end made the good news of salvation his sermons’ theme. This was the way of the apostles, too, who from first to last centered on Christ- His person and work- and showed how this message was the only hope of the world and the joy and strength of every believer. No matter their text or context, the Gospel was of first importance to them. And we could go on: the great men of church history from the Fathers through to the present- all who were most faithful from the pulpit uttered forth the old, old story.

We today must not give up on the great saga of salvation. We must not give in to mere moralizing or simplistic principalizing in our preaching, having the appearance of being biblical, but falling short thereof. Neither must we give in to that oh-so-common error of suggesting that the New Testament portion of Scripture speaks of gospel while the Old Testament portion is silent on this matter, as if the Law depicted none at all Christ’s glory and the prophets sang forth nothing of the good news. And again, let us not err in giving men and women the impression that they may begin with the Gospel, but afterwards must go on to the "deeper things." No, let us be Gospel-centered, from beginning to end, from Old Testament to New, from new birth to glory. In this does our stewardship chiefly consist.

Stupendous Evidence of God's Grace

I was reading this morning from a sermon on Isaiah 6 entitled "Preparation for Service" by G. Campbell Morgan. The following lines struck me:

"I do not know how you all feel, my brethren, but the most stupendous evidence to my heart, every day growing, of the grace of God is not that He saves me. That is a great evidence of grace, amazing grace! But the most stupendous evidence of God's grace is that when He saves me He consents to use me. And, my brethren, one of the first qualifications for being ready is to have stood in the presence of His glory, and to have found out how unworthy I am to utter His message. God almighty is my witness that I am not speaking to you idly. Every day I am more astonished that God should use me at all."

May this ever be the posture of my heart.