In Praise of Churches

I finished Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck's new book, "Why We Love the Church," this afternoon. It's written primarily to those who are quitting church in favor of more informal meetings--gathering with a few Christian friends at Starbucks or on the Golf Course. It's a good read overall.

The authors quote J.C. Ryle on the need to take the church more seriously on page 101:

"Let me warn all careless members of churches to beware lest they trifle their souls into hell. You live on year after year as if there was no battle to be fought with sin, the world, and the devil. You pass through life a smiling, laughing, gentlemanlike or ladylike person, and behave as if there was no devil, no heaven, and no hell. Oh careless, churchman, or careless dissenter, careless Episcopalian, careless Presbyterian, careless Independent, careless Baptist, awake to see eternal realities in their true light! Awake and put on the armor of God! Awake and fight hard for life! Tremble, tremble and repent!"

Then the authors make their own point by way of follow-up:

"Church isn't boring because we're not showing enough film clips, or because we play the organ instead of the guitar. It's boring because we neuter it of its importance." (pg. 102)

In other words, the problem with church, for many people, doesn't actually reside with the church institution; rather it's a problem with their own perception of the church's value in God's plan to redeem us. If they understood its importance, nothing about it would be boring.

Spurgeon Sabbatical Part 2

It's now Saturday night, and we've had a full five days of class work and reflection. We finished up Romans chapter 2 this morning. One of the more interesting issues raised in our study is the doctrine of imputation of Christ's righteousness and what that means. This is a pretty hot topic in certain quarters of Christendom these days. If you'd like to read more about it, you could click here for an overview.

The conversation with fellow pastors continues to be really good. It's been good to see that the "problems" we face aren't all that unusual. I'm also encouraged by the caliber of pastor's here--it's hopeful for the church.

We had some time off tonight and more tomorrow. I ate over at Woodmans in Essex this evening, which is one of the area's best for seafood. I had a plate of fried sea scallops with fries and onion rings. You just can't find places like this in Hardin County!

Spurgeon Sabbatical

I arrived in Boston on Monday to attend the Spurgeon Sabbatical at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (my alma mater). It's Thursday, so I'm at the start of the third full day. We're meeting for worship each morning at 8:45 and then moving into a study of Romans from about 9:30 - noon. So far we've covered about the first 7 verses.

We're working through a lot of the material in Greek and it's been really invigorating and exciting to study at this level again. It's about 30 hours of content altogether, so it's like a full seminary course (but without the grading and papers!).

So far one of the more interesting issues has been how to understand the phrase "obedience of faith" in vs. 5. The theme of obedience creeps up in Romans more than you'd think at first glance. We've been talking a lot about how obedience is an organic expression of our faith.

After class, we meet for lunch and a pastor will take a turn sharing some of his life story and then we pray for him. We have time off in the afternoons then reconvene around 5:30 for dinner followed by more pastoral reflections about issues in our churches. Then we conclude with worship in the evening by about 9:30.

I made it over to Manchester, MA yesterday afternoon, which was where Deb and I lived when we were here. Took a walk on singing beach, which is a great little place to see the ocean here.

The weather however has been typical New England stuff. I haven't seen the sun yet. It's been foggy, drizzly, and cool since I got here. Yesterday, the car was telling me the temperature was 59 as I was driving around.

For Father's Day

I recently reread an article by Doug Wilson called Spanking Stories. It's a funny look at how children who have been lovingly disciplined through spankings look back on the times of discipline with affection and warmth.

The scriptures give some rather clear instructions for fathers on the task of discipline. Ephesians 6:4 says: "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." The word "training" in this verse refers to training received through correction and discipline.

Unfortunately, we men tend to let the weight fall on the "do not exasperate" side of things, allowing our children to follow the desires of their hearts. Perhaps we are afraid to lose their affections, and so we think they will love us more if we let them do what they want. Ironically, we are then surprised when they grow up and rebel when we (too late) try to exercise authority over serious matters (like dating), having failed to exercise authority over minor matters (like throwing a fit).

The paradox that we fathers need to embrace is that discipline, lovingly applied, will win the hearts and respect of our children. Failure at discipline will drive them away. Proverbs 29:17 "Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul." The flip side is also true: Failure to discipline will bring strife and sorrow to your soul.

Is Teen Rebellion Inevitable?

I recently watched the movie Astronaut Farmer staring Billy Bob Thorton.



Thorton plays an eccentric farmer who builds a rocket in his barn on his rural farm and dreams of flying into space. He has a family, and the amazing thing about the movie is the way his family supports him in his craziness. He has a teenage son who worships him. In nearly every other "family" movie I watch, the teenage children hate their parents or are embarrassed by them. Here, when the father pulls his children out of school to help with the project, they support their dad and want to be part of what he's doing.

The most memorable line in the movie comes from his father-in-law, who complains that when he was growing up, he could barely get his family to eat together, but he (Thorton) has his family dreaming together. The movie has one or two sexual references that may not be appropriate for younger children (but they'd probably go over their heads). It's definitely one of the more pro-family movies I've seen out of Hollywood.

There is a sense, even among Christians, that children will naturally rebel and dislike their parents. It doesn't have to be that way. In fact, the whole teenage experience is a recent social creation. See Mardi Keyes excellent article for more on this point.

The Examen

In Puritan New England, pastors often connected New Year's Day to a time of self-examination. In the Handbook of Spiritual Disciplines, the following questions are used to help jump start this discipline:

- What was the most life giving part of my day? What was the most life-thwarting part of my day?

- When today did I have the deepest sense of connection with God, others and myself? When today did I have the least sense of connection?

- Where was I aware of living out of the fruit of the Spirit? Where was there an absence of the fruit of the Spirit?

- Where did I experience "desolation"? Where did I experience "consolation"?

David's prayer at the end of Psalm 139 is highly appropriate for the practice of The Examen: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

A Poem for the Rural Homestead

I came across this poem recently--hope you enjoy it as much as my family did.

Farm Country
by Mary Oliver

I have sharpened my knives, I have
Put on the heavy apron.

Maybe you think life is chicken soup, served
In blue willow-pattern bowls.

I have put on my boots and opened
The kitchen door and stepped out

Into the sunshine. I have crossed the lawn,
I have entered

The hen house.