mark driscoll and his controversial remarks about pastors wives

andrew jones does one of his great around-the-rooms ab the recent controversy surrounding mark driscoll.

our longing for jesus - out longing for heaven

A friend has asked me to mentor him in his theological education and spiritual formation. This morning we met and discussed two of Wayne Grudem's chapters on eschatology in his fine Systematic Theology.

Grudem writes about the Christian longing for Jesus' return:

"John's response at the end of Revelation should characterize Christian's hearts in all ages: 'Amen. Come Lord Jesus!' (Rev 22:20). True Christianity trains us 'to live sober, upright, and godly lives in the world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ' (Titus 2:12-13)" (emphasis his, p. 1092).

Grudem comments, "To some extent, then, the degree to which we actually long for Christ's return is a measure of the spiritual condition of our own lives at the moment" (p. 1093).

I think that CS Lewis somewhere wrote that when we experience deep longing for something, we are really longing for heaven. I believe that in the Christian heart, the longing for Jesus and the longing for heaven is co-mingled.

These comments and thoughts led me to think of one of my favorite passages from Malcolm Muggeridge's biography Chronicles of Wasted Time.

Malcolm Muggeridge led an interesting life. He was the British journalist who popularized Mother Teresa in his Something Beautiful for God. He was a journalist in England for the Manchester Guardian. He was with the British intelligence unit serving as an operative during WWII with MI5. He went on to become an editor of the famous British satirical journal Punch. I believe he became a Catholic while in his 70’s.

In this passage, Muggeridge notes how, counterintuitively, an appreciation and perspective on our eternal destiny increases the value we place on our temporal surroundings.

How can I ever explain to those who insist that we must believe in the world to love it that it is because I disbelieve in the world that I love every breath I take, look forward with ever-greater delight to the coming of each spring, rejoice ever more in the companionship of my fellow-humans, to no single one of whom – searching my heart – do I wish ill, and from no single one of whom do I wish to separate myself, in word or thought or deed, or in the prospect of some other existence beyond the ticking of the clocks, the vista of the hills, the bounds and dimensions of our earthly hopes and desires? To accept this world as a destination rather than a staging-post, and the experience of living in it as expressing life’s full significance, would seem to me to reduce life to something too banal and trivial to be taken seriously or held in esteem.

…

In other words, the Christian proposition that he that loves his life in this world shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world shall see it projected and glorified into eternity, is for living, not for dying. After all, it was a St Francis who truly loved the world he so gaily abjured, as his enchanting prayers and canticles convey; not a Pere Goriot who so cherished its commodities. It is misers and Don Juans who moan; spendthrifts and saints are always laughing.

….

All I can claim to have learnt from the years I have spent in this world is that the only happiness is love, which is attained by giving, not receiving; and that the world itself only becomes the dear and habitable dwelling place it is when we who inhabit it know we are migrants, due when the time comes to fly away to other more commodious skies. "

the emerging church and evangelism

On Thursday 26 October 2006, Scot McKnight gave a talk @ Westminster Theological Seminary's Emerging Church Forum entitled, "What is the Emerging Church?"

There he said in one of the most passionate sections of the talk (this really comes thru in the audio of his presentation):

"The emerging church is not known for [evangelism] - and I wish it were known more for it. I believe it is right here that we are staring at a very serious issue for the emerging movement itself: any kind of Christianity and any kind of Christian ... that is not evangelistic is woefully inadequate. Unless you proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, there is no good news at all; and if there is no good news, there is no Christianity - emerging or Reformed.

...I offer here a warning to you and to the emerging movement: any movement that is not evangelistic is failing the Lord. We may be humble about what we believe and we may be careful to make the gospel and its commitment clear, but we better have a goal in mind - the goal of summoning everyone to follow Jesus Christ and to discover the redemptive work of God in Christ through the Spirit of God" [emphasis Scot's].

- as recorded in the PDF of his talk

And so I have some questions and I welcome answers in the comments.

I do not assume that these questions aren't being asked and answered anywhere in the emerging church. But we are perceived as being unconcerned with these issues.

Are we concerned?

Who in the emerging church conversation is doing the best job at addressing below? It would be great if we could capture some of the best thinking on below by links in comments or your comments.

• What does it mean to be "saved" in the New Testament? Is anyone in trouble and needing to be saved?
  
  
• What does it mean to be "born again" in the New Testament?
  
  
• Why don't we talk about sin?
  
  
• Who is talking about fulfilling the Great Commission?
  
  
• There is a lot of talk about expanding our understanding of the atonement beyond penal substitution, and it seems that few in the emerging church who are doing this are denying penal substitution. So if, then, we do believe in penal substitution, are we talking about judgment? Do we need to warn anyone about anything?
  
  
• Are we afraid that if we talk about these things that we will be labeled fundamentalist?
  
  
• Are we allowing a past exclusive emphasis of some on our eternal destiny after we die to drive us to the opposite extreme of an almost exclusive focus on issues of justice today?
  
  
• Why does this have to be an either/or; why can't it be a both/and?
  
  
• And, finally, if you can't point to any links or books where emergers are talking about these matters, what do you think?
  

Can we afford to ignore matters that seem to be such a prominent part of the New Testament documents?

who is this person?

"Once upon a time there was a gifted young scholar whose star was rising in the academic world. The young man had gone to premier schools, and he had even traveled to Germany to pursue a doctorate in the fatherland. He studied with the finest scholars, and his work was of the finest quality. His dissertation was published in a prestigious academic series. He landed a teaching job. He began to churn out scholarly books and articles.

And then something happened. That young scholar became more and more convinced that teaching the truths he was trading in was not enough. Such things had to be proclaimed, heralded, exposited. He had to preach.

So the rising young evangelical scholar who had written his dissertation in the field of New Testament, specializing in Jesus studies, left the lectern for the pulpit. He took his precise, academic training and sought to apply it to non-academic Christians.

For nearly thirty years his soul was refined by the Bible, the afflictions of life, the pains of the pastorate. For nearly thirty years he labored for language that would convince the mind and compel the heart. For nearly thirty years he preached and prayed, read and wrote, wept and rejoiced as a shepherd of the flock of God, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed him an overseer.

For nearly thirty years academic scholarship on Jesus continued to be produced. Learned and precise it was, but not always connected to the reality about Jesus. Quagmired in discussions of which Gospel was written first, which saying of Jesus was authentic, how and whether the Gospels can be shown to be historically reliable, and how Jesus really subverts or supports some modern political agenda, academic scholarship on Jesus often seems to miss the Messiah altogether. For nearly thirty years non-academic writing about Jesus continued as well, and in most cases it wasn’t any better. These non-academic books were intended to be devotional, but often they were painfully ignorant of historical realities, resulting in a distorted, modern, sentimental, not very Jewish and not very helpful portrait of Jesus.

The brilliant young scholar is now an aged pastor, and in him are conjoined the sensibilities of the historian and the wisdom of one who has been with the sheep. "

- find out who from jim hamilton. I didn't know this!

I just received the book jim mentions for my birthday. it looks interesting and i'm looking forward to diving in.

on charles spurgeon

adrian warnock posts interesting excerpts from a john piper talk on spurgeon.

Did Evangelicals Abandon the Republicans?

"Some liberal religious advocates proclaimed yesterday that the Democratic sweep showed that their party had succeeded in closing what they called the God Gap. But the results are more mixed than that, according to experts who analyze trends among religious voters.

Defying predictions of widespread disillusionment, white evangelical and born-again Christians did not desert Republican Congressional candidates and they did not stay home, nationwide exit polls show."

- The New York Times article

Also, Terry Mattingly does an around-the-room about how different news outlets are covering the topic of religion and the 2006 mid-term elections

Habermas: "Dealing with Doubt"

Habermas entire book: Dealing with Doubt

ht: roger overton

writing on the side

"If a person wants to write, nearly always it has to be a way of life. Some do manage to write on the side, but the vast majority write every day, all the time, and they begin the day in the mind wondering how best to express a thought.

The biggest mistake I see in young professors is the (almost always) mistaken notion that they will write during the summer break full-time or they’ll wait until the Chrstmas break or over the Spring Break. No analogies work completely, but to me that is about like saying, “I’ll not train all year long, and try running competitively over break.” Like running, writing is something that takes constant practice.

And here’s the second mistake I often see: some think they can begin a writing career by writing a book. Instead, it is easier to begin by writing book reviews, magazine articles, and journal articles."

- great post by scot mcknight on writing

sermonizing on ted haggard

From the right brain ("right" as opposite to "left," not "right" as opposite "wrong."):

I have now gotten to the point where I just can't read any more blogged conclusions about Ted Haggard.

I wonder if we need to pray more - for Ted, for his family, for his accusers, for his church and, perhaps especially, for us - and conclude less about how his fall is a red light on the dashboard about what's wrong with ________.

My response to reading all I've read has been to want to stop blogging for a time.

It's made me question why I blog.

Am I just looking for profound things to say so that I can sound deep and get folks to think I'm cool and spiritual? I don't want that. I want this blog to be an expression of my love for God and for others in response to what Jesus has done for me. God help me.

I'm not saying conclusions can't be drawn about the state of [fill in the blank]. It just all seems too fast, too soon. It's almost like that this was all so quick and so dramatic that it's provided a litmus test of us and what we think and who we are.

You are likely the best judge of your motives; so if this fits, put it on. If it doesn't, just kick it to the curb and keep on blogging. Maybe this post says more about me than about you.

It's mostly a feeling, I guess.

a customized emerging church google search engine

c. wess daniels writes:

" I spent a couple hours this morning creating a customized emerging church search engine using Google’s new Co-op feature. I’ve added tons and tons of websites and blogs that deal with emerging church issues. My sources for this list came from Scot McKnight, Ryan Bolger, The Daily Scribe, Andrew Jones, Jordon Cooper, Adam Cleaveland and Steve Taylor. This is a working project and I will be tweaking it as I receive feedback and what-not. I am sorry if I missed anyone, you can contact me if you’d like to be added."

- the emerging church google search engine

*all* have sinned - including Christians

"About 25 Christian students yesterday took turns confessing their sins on Nyumburu Cultural Center's amphitheater stage to counter the message three evangelical Christian preachers espoused on the same stage Tuesday - that "real Christians don't sin."

"One by one, we are going to come up [on stage], say our name and acknowledge that we have sinned," said Ryan Penley, the campus director of Campus Crusade for Christ, who organized the event.

...

Penley, who organized yesterday's event by sending an e-mail to various Christian groups on campus, also invited members of the Pride Alliance, the campus group that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students that organized Tuesday's counter demonstration.

Penley said it was important to reach out to the Pride Alliance because they had been shown the most hate by Soulwinners Ministries, and hatred toward campus community members was one of the main things Campus Crusade was trying to challenge and diminish. Although Campus Crusade doesn't condone homosexual activity, it also doesn't condone hatred toward homosexuals, and that distinction was worth emphasizing, Penley said."

- link to this University of Maryland newspaper - the Diamondback - story

Ryan Penley contributed an editorial to the Diamondback, which they printed. It says - in part

"They were furious and raging about this "Christian" on the campus and his preaching about homosexuals going to hell. It piqued my curiosity, to say the least, so I asked them what was going on. They pointed me to the ampitheater, and that's when I saw it for myself.

As a Christian who works full-time in ministry with students at this university, I was embarrassed and ashamed. Time and time again, people like this show up and display our ignorance.

There were many things that frustrated me about this guy. I just could not believe he called himself a Christian and then on the back of his "Fear God" shirt, it read "Christians do not sin." I just wanted to go up and punch this guy and beat him with his own sign. Therein lies proof Christians do sin, because that desire probably didn't please God.

...

So yes, according to the Bible, homosexuality, drunkenness and sex outside of marriage are "sins," but so are lying (oops), jealousy (oops again), pride (are you serious?), selfishness (oh crap, I'm definitely screwed!), etc. Sin is sin in God's eyes. What I mean is that my selfishness is just as displeasing to God as someone else's homosexual actions. Yet for some reason these people come on the campus and point the finger at people's homosexuality and not at my selfishness. That's just wrong."

- entire editorial

Ryan and Jenny Penley's were a part of the church Beth and I attend which supports them in their ministry to University of Maryland students.

Ted Haggard Apologizes to His Church

The Associated Press released this a few minutes ago. This from a letter read to New Life this morning:

"I am so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment for all of you," he said, adding that he had confused the situation by giving inconsistent remarks to reporters denying the scandal.

"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality, and I take responsibility for the entire problem.

I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life.

...

...the accusations that have been leveled against me are not all true, but enough of them are true that I have been appropriately and lovingly removed from ministry."

UPDATES:

• the entire letter and the text of letter from Gayle Haggard to New Life (from the Denver Post)
• Denver Post story about New Life services this morning
• Colorado Springs Gazette story about New Life services this morning (New Life is in Colorado Springs)
  

Let's pray for New Life and for Ted, Gayle, his family, and for everyone involved in this tragic matter.

Michael Polanyi

This marvelous and insightful audio summary of the brilliant philosopher-scientist Michael Polanyi is now available on MP3 from Mars Hill Audio.

I posted some of my own reflections on Polanyi some time ago.

Also, Mars Hill has started a podcast!

I've intermittently subscribed to the Mars Hill Audio Journal (not the podcast - it's been around for years and started on cassette) for the last few years and it's not infrequently thought provoking.

a great around the room on Westminster Theological Seminary's recent Emerging Church Conference

courtesy of tony stiff.

tony links to audio, written text , and summaries of various of the talks.

the two-dimensionalization of those not present

The blogosphere is now exploding with comment about Ted Haggard's troubles. Here's what Haggard has to say, where he admits that some of the allegations are true.

On the now defunct faithmaps discussion group, we used to have a policy of respect for those present and respect for those not present - even if they were public figures.

I'd like to caution everyone who might be tempted to pontificate on this situation that we need to wait until all the facts are out before we draw conclusions and make broad sweeping statements. We need to maintain respect and not two-dimensionalize anyone involved in this sad affair. We mustn't collapse Haggard down to our suspicions or his confessions. We mustn't collapse Mike Jones down to the fact that he's a "former self-described male prostitute."

I'm not saying that hard choices won't need to be made or consequences might not need to be experienced. But just because we live in an age in which we can quickly get information, that information doesn't come down to us with either a guarantee of accuracy or the assurance of instantaneous proper perspective.

That can take some time.

And what if it this were about someone you loved?

a view into souls

AP: Letters to God End Up in Ocean, Unread

"Many more were written by anguished spouses, children or widows, pouring out their hearts to God, asking for help with relatives who were using drugs, gambling or cheating on them. One man wrote from prison, saying he was innocent and wanted to be back home with his family. A woman wrote that her boyfriend was now closing the door to her daughter's bedroom each night when it used to stay open, and wondered why.

A teenager poured out her heart on yellow-lined paper in the curlicue pencil handwriting of a schoolgirl, begging God to forgive her and asking for a second chance.

"Lord, I know that I have had an abortion and I killed one of your angels," she wrote. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about the mistake I made.""

On Communicating Clearly

I know. Another post pointing to Jesus Creed. I'm really not trying to be "all Scot, all the time."

It's just that his recent talk to that bastion of Reformed Theology - Westminster Theological Seminary - has precipitated a burst of comment, much of it his! (And I just ordered all the Horton, Franke and Mcknight talks given @ WTS' Emerging Church Forum).

Scot posts some important thoughts today about the importance of communicating effectively to people who don't know theological nomenclature.

It took me a looooong time to come to the same conclusion.

I enjoy multi-syllabic words. I really thrill to be reading along, find a word I don't know, and check AHD online or grab the closest dictionary. (As evidence of my wonkish ways: just a couple of days ago, I bought a compact dictionary to put in my backpack because I'm finding Barbara Tuchman uses lots of words in her Guns of August - also, of course, in my backpack - that I don't know ). I take great joy in writing extended, complicated sentences cascading down the page with endless dependent clauses.

But just in the last couple of years, I've realized that - for me at least - a lot of this was pride, some of it was thoughtlessness, and perhaps even a bit of laziness. And so I've tried to communicate more clearly in my writing, though I know I still have much room for improvement.

Thanks Scot.

Words fueled by love will always find their mark.

Audio of Talks now Available for Purchase from WTS' Emerging Church Forum

Including talks by John Franke, Scot McKnight, Michael Horton, and others

You can get them here.

Westminster Theological Seminary is to be commended for bringing in two leading emerging church conversationalists to participate in this forum as opposed to just evaluating it from a distance.

ht: Bob Robinson

Reformed Conferences

If you're looking for conferences with a Reformed flavor, Tim Challies is keeping a Directory.

Anybody know if anyone is doing this for emerging church confabs (within and without emergent village)?

ht: andrew jackson

Scot McKnight on Disagreeing Christianly

"Most of the schools, and also some of the churches, are clearly aware of their doctrinal distinctives. None more so than Westminster. In spite of theological differences, Christians welcome other Christians — which is to say we really do try to live out our creedal confession of the communion of the saints and the unity of the Church. I surely experienced this at WTS."

• Scot's entire post
  
  
• Scot's 1st post on his experience @ Westminster
  
  
• the PDF transcript of Scot's talk there
  
  
• the audio of his talk
  
  
• toward a praxis of theological disagreement, part 1
  
  
• toward a praxis of theological disagreement, part 2
  
  
• dealing with conflict