Praying With the Psalms

Praying with and through the Psalms is certainly not a new idea; in fact, it goes all the way back to the time when the various psalmists were recording each psalm for generations of God's people to come.  And by praying with the Psalms, we can enter into a rich, robust prayer life that will serve to deeply grow our relationship with the Living God. 

If you have never prayed with the Psalms, I would like to challenge you to start.  Pick up your Bible and either turn to your favorite psalm or psalm or wherever and start reading.  Then, when you're ready, start praying.

Lord, Help My Unfaithfulness!

Mark 9:14-29 shares a account of a father who takes his demon possessed son to Jesus for a healing. At one point, the man says to Jesus, "But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" (Mark 9:22b, ESV).  In the next verse Jesus responds, "If you can! All things are possible for one who believes." And we are left with a picture of doubt and hope.

Prayer, at times, might also look like an act of doubt and hope.  At times, as we pray, we may find ourselves wondering, "God, if you hear me. . . "  What a statement!  Based on the picture in Mark, I suspect God's response is "If I hear you!"  But the amazing statement from the man with the demon possessed son should be our model in these moments of doubt in prayer.  That man responded, "I believe, help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24b, ESV).

In our moments of doubt in prayer, we should cry out in prayer, "God, I have faith, help my lack of faith!" 

Community in Prayer

Prayer is amazing in how much it shapes our lives and communities. Prayer in fact, has an aspect of community built into it by God's design.  It's called intercession.  As we interceded for others in prayer, we grow toward our attitude toward others.

As we see that Moses stood in the gap for others in Psalm 106, we get a picture of just how important praying for others really can be; but throughout the New Testament, we see how natural this is within Christian community.  James 5 actually gives us a command to ask for prayer, pray for others, and pray together.

Community is found as one aspect of our prayers.  

Praying Boldly

If God were to grant you all of your prayer requests, what would change for God's Kingdom?  Would lost people get found?  Would a broken world be redeemed?  Would God's glory be seen in mighty ways?  How boldly are you praying?  

I'd like to encourage you to pray boldly, for the glory of God!  

Filling the Bucket: How to Research for a Paper (or Sermon or Lecture)

I've posted portions of many of my papers on this website as I was marching my way through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.  As a result, I now see specific spikes in traffic on certain pages, suggesting that somewhere in the world a Bible college or seminary professor has assigned a similar paper.  I wonder how many attempts are made to plagiarize from this sight?  I hope instead, students are simply looking to see what others have done and find sources and points they might not have previously considered.

Occasionally I get questions about writing papers or finding resources.  Living in Salt Lake City, resources are a little more difficult to come by.  BYU has the closest library of religion but the materials I needed from BYU could only be found on the comparative religion shelves next to the rows and rows of LDS materials. (By no means are they shelved together; and in fact, they're separated by all the other religions of the world.)

I also receive questions about doing well in seminary and having any kind of life. Therefore, I thought I would share the method I found most helpful while living with limited resource books, under crushing deadlines.

If you're in seminary, you're working full-time, and you have a wife and two kids, you've got to find methods to work fast or you'll go down in flames.  It would be nice to have ample time to fully read and re-read many books on whatever topic you're writing on, survey every piece of material ever written, request library loans from other parts of the country, travel to rare manuscript museums, and thoughtfully compare everything you find.  That, however, is called a dissertation and you should keep in mind people take years to write them.  You are most likely writing a 6 to 25 page paper and you'll have 5 more this semester alone.  You don't have the luxury to mosey through your topic or deal with it as thoroughly as you'd probably like.  If writing a seminary paper were archeology, you'd be working like Indiana Jones. 

The key to a good paper is getting a full bucket of information and then finding the exact right thimble's worth to print.  The same is true for a sermon, lecture, or discussion lesson.  But filling the bucket can be very time consuming.  Here's how I did it in seminary (and often still do it for sermon or class preparation):

1. Start with a healthy amount of prayer.

2.  Find every passage of Scripture on the topic you are dealing with, in favor or not. (If you're writing or preaching on a specific Scripture passage, you've just saved yourself some time!)  It often helps to scan systematic theologies for passages you might not have thought of.  Use cross references and take rabbit trails from the texts you have to those you don't yet have.  Write down a list of all relevant Scripture you find.  Keep it organized and close by.   Also, if you find anything in those systematic theologies related to your topic jot a brief summary note of what you found, where it's located, and the title. Put a sticky note to mark the page and start an organized pile on your desk, kitchen table, or some other place where you can work. Pray about what you've found thus far.

3.  Pray as you start step 3.  Search the academic journals (I had access through the Liberty library to a huge amount of resources and digital articles.)  Look for other papers on your topic and also search your list of Scriptures to see if anybody used the same text to deal with your paper subject.  If there's anything remotely dealing with your topic or the Scriptures, skim it to see if it has any gems that will contribute to or argue against your thesis.  Sometimes a larger paper on the passage doesn't have anything to do with your topic but might still have something that contributes in a helpful way.  Quickly read the section you found to get a feel for what you've got.  Bookmark, download, or print the article if it may be usable.  Jot a brief summary note of what you find, the title, and where you found it. Keep your summary notes organized!  If you print the articles, start more organized piles. Pray about what you've found thus far.

4.  Pray as you start step 4.  Look through every introduction, biblical encyclopedia, and dictionary you can get your hands on. If you find anything interesting at all, put a sticky note in the page and add it to the appropriate pile.  Jot a brief summary note of what you find, the title, and where you found it.  Keep an eye out for any additional relevant Scripture passages to add to you list. Pray about what you've found thus far.

5.  Pray as you start step 5.  If there were any relevant words in the Scripture that were cause for debate or simply left you curious, go to the lexicons.  As many as you can get your hands on.  If you are able, look at the original languages.  If you find anything interesting at all, put a sticky note in the page and add it to the appropriate pile.  Jot a brief summary note of what you found, the title, and where you found it. Pray about what you've found thus far.

6. Pray as you start step 6.  If there's anything historical that may have something to do with your topic, look at the historical events. Who were the players?  Did they write anything? Did they make any arguments?  What were the outcomes?  Are the events significant, strange, interesting?  (For example, if you're writing on works vs. grace, you probably should read about how that thing with Augustine and Pelagius went down.  If you're writing on specific spiritual gifts, it might help to look at stuff like Azusa Street. What's up with the two Great Awakenings?  How did Edwards read his sermons in such a boring fashion and yet people were getting radically saved?  Might Spurgeon's salvation story be relevant to your topic on providence or the work of the Holy Spirit?)  This stuff may help with your argument but more often than not, it adds some points of interest that make the paper interesting.  Of course, be sure to add something to the effect of, "While this story is but a single instance it should cause us to wonder how. . . "  (Academically, it's wise to concede that it's merely anecdotal evidence.)  Also, look for any additional mentions of Scriptures you may have missed.  Jot a brief summary note of what you find, the title, and where you found it. Put a sticky note in the page and put the book in its appropriate organized pile. Pray about what you've found thus far.

7.  Pray as you start step 7.  Go through every commentary you can get your hands on for all of the Scriptures in your list.  If you find anything interesting or relevant, put a sticky note in the book and jot a quick note.  It is also helpful to start noting where scholars are in disagreement.  Keep an eye out for additional Scriptures, theological arguments, and interesting or debated original language items you may have missed.  Lay the commentaries out on a table or floor in organized piles.  Agree, disagree, or supporting info in other areas.  Do whatever helps you to visually organize what you've got.  Also, get a wide breath of commentaries from newer to older, liberal to conservative.  Based on what I could get my hands on, I often had an occasional obscure commentary from the early 1800 or 1900's that I could connect the dots between differing ideas, saying something to the effect of, "However, so-in-so's later scholarship lends greater credit to/ or discredits. . . ." It's also nice to take a view through other faith positions such as the Catholic and Jewish commentaries.  I recommend checking out www.bestcommentaries.com for some additional ideas.  Sometimes these will allow you to present a wider range of information as you narrow your topic or argue against some counter-positions.  Unfortunately, you may not have access to all these commentaries so you need to go with what you can get.  Don't hesitate to ask local area pastors what they may have in their libraries. And you might need to make a personal investment.  Jot a brief summary note of what you find, the title, and where you found it. Put a sticky note in the page and put the book in its appropriate organized pile. Pray about what you've found thus far.

8.  Pray as you start step 8.   Go back through the systematic theologies, introductions, histories, and other resources, looking in the Scripture index for all the Scriptures on your list.  (Most Christian books have and index of Scriptures mentioned. That's your new best friend!)  Determine if any of these Scriptures were used in a discussion helpful to your topic.  Is there anything you missed?   Also look through the table of context for your topic as you now understand it, more formed and specific.   Skim every thing you find to see if it has anything to do with what you're dealing with.  If so, jot a brief summary note of what you find, the title, and where you found it.   Don't forget the sticky note so you can come back to the page fast.  Put the book in the pile. Pray about what you've found thus far. Thank God for what he's shown you up to this point and ask for energy to keep going. 

9.  Pray as you start step 9.  Based on all the information you've looked at, you now probably have some buzz words that run through the arguments.  You've seen them often.  Google the buzz words.  But by all means, DO NOT TRUST what people write on the internet unless it's absolutely credible and truly helpful for your argument.  This even includes www.SaltyBeliever.com.  (Only on very rare occasion, might it be helpful to use something just point out how people may understand something or how nutty the fringe views might be, but that's it.)  Instead, look at what they quote on the topics.  Check their footnotes.  See if they use anything you've missed and then see if you can find that resource.  Did they mention any Scripture you missed and should check out?  But don't jot a note yet. You really aught not quote what you found on the internet unless it is absolutely necessary.  Look at the resources and Scriptures first.  If the stuff you found on the internet was correct and used in the proper context, go the corresponding section above and follow those directions for the original sources.   Then jot a note.  Pray about what you've found thus far.  

10. At this point, these resources and commentaries may have provided you additional Scriptures along the way.  Look through your Scripture list.  Do you have any that have not been run through this process?  If so, repeat steps 1-8 for your new finds. Pray for perseverance; you're almost done! If you don't have any more Scriptures to explore, it's probably time to move to the next step.

11.  Thank God for everything he has shown you.  You've made it to the outline and writing phase. Pray you'll find the right thimble to take from this huge bucket.

Now your bucket is so full and the pile of books on your table is so large you're paper is about to write itself.  You should have a ridiculous amount of resources based on what you could find AND it's all centered around the Scriptures.  In addition, you'll have some resources that nobody found and that should be refreshing to the professor.  (I'm sure they get really tired of Matthew Henry!)

Pray again.  Re-read all the Scriptures on your Scripture list.  Go back through all your notes.  Reread the places where you've put sticky notes.  Are there any books you can remove from the table?  Do you see the various sides of the arguments?  Are you starting to come to conclusions yourself?  Are there counter-arguments against your thesis that you can't account for?  How will you deal with them?  Start asking yourself as many questions as you can think of.  Pray.  If you were teaching a class, what would people ask you?  If you were asked to sit in on a debate, what would your counter-parts bring to the discussion?  What would you bring?  How would you summarize your thesis for a closing statement?  Who would win the debate?  As you lay all this out, start creating your outline. Start narrowing.  Find your thimble.  Pray some more.  Once you're outline is done, it's time to start writing.

Now you'll need to do the hard work of figuring how to turn your thimble into a paper.  You'll probably have a hard time getting under the maximum page limit, but that's much better than stretching to reach the minimum.  This is because your thimble is still too big.  Keep working at it. Get the best in and don't worry about the rest.

You certainly won't use everything you found as you start writing.  Even if it seems good, compelling, or witty, if it's not relevant toss it out.  Only use what really deals with your topic well.  And by all means, don't just create a laundry list of quotes.  The quotes come along to support the logical direction of where you're going and what you're arguing.  You did the research, now write a paper that shows of the very best of what you found.  Be happy to leave the crap on the cutting room floor.  Take control of the material.  Pray about what stays and what gets cut.  

Researching is fun if you think like Indiana Jones (if you need to, get a good hat).  If you learn to enjoy the process, you will likely learn and remember a great deal that will help you long after you finish school.  And you may earn good grades AND have a life too!

How Much Should I Pray?

How much should I pray?  Should my morning prayer time be 30 minutes or an hour?  How much is enough prayer?  There are books that try to answer this question as if there's a special formula, but the book that we should use as a guide is the Bible.  The funny thing however, is that these are not the questions the Bible answers because these are the wrong questions.

There is no formula.  It's not about time or quantity or fulfilling a requirement of length or brevity.  It's about a natural relationship and a longing to spend personal time with our Creator.

So as you examine your prayer life, it may be best to examine your relationship with God first. Then the rest of the questions will probably answer themselves.

The Sovereignity of Grace by Arthur C. Custance

Custance, Arthur C. The Sovereignty of Grace. Grand Rapids, Mich: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co. with Baker Book House, 1979 [2nd ed., on-line. Corrected, edited, and reformatted.] 

Arthur Custance (1910-1985) was a name foreign to me until only recently.  None of his books were required reading in seminary; never did his name appear in a citation.  While The Sovereignty of Grace is now available to read for free on-line, it appears in few public libraries, if any.  It's basically out of print and out of circulation.  Yet, when a respected friend told me Custance was among his favorite authors and he had two copies of this particular book but couldn't bring himself to read it for fear of being convinced of his argument, my interest in Custance was born. 

As it turns out, Author Custance has written a few books on a wide range of topics.  Some of his other titles include Two Men Called Adam, Seed of the Woman, Without Form and Void, Journey Out of Time, and Mysterious Matter of Mind.  The Doorway Papers is a 10-volume collection of other scholarly writings on science and religion.  Redeemer University College is home to the Arthur Custance Centre and a website, www.custance.org is dedicated to preserving his memory and selling his books.  Some are available to be read on-line, which is how I journeyed through The Sovereignty of Grace.

While many of Custance's titles appear to hold a strong scientific-theological marriage, The Sovereignty of Grace is far from that relationship.  Instead, Custance explores the theological topic of the order of salvation through a historical and biblical trek, the likes few have of done so thoroughly.  Rather than beginning from a foundation of the more recent 'Armenianism v. Calvinism' debates, he begins with Scripture.  Then he revisits Scripture with serious examination and the theology associated with it through a historical path starting with Paul, moving through the ideas of Augustin, and then on by way of many, many theologians, eventually getting to John Calvin.  By the time Calvin is reached, one is left with the impression that Calvinism is mistakenly credited to the wrong man.

The Sovereignty of Grace Abstract opens with the line, "In this study ELECTION and PREDESTINATION are not cold, austere doctrines but the vibrant heart of the Gospel."[1] Everything that follows stands in complete agreement with this opening proclamation.  While many who disagree with Custance's detailed argument may find offense and the mastery of his thesis and the bold stand which he takes upon his convictions of Scripture, there is nothing in Custance's words that intentionally attack his opponents themselves or demonstrate a lack of respect.  His target remains keenly focused on the theological matter before him and his convictions are clearly demonstrated.  Yet, even I who agree with his argument on the order of salvation and understanding of election and predestination at one point felt offended by his boldness, feeling sympathy for my Christian brothers and sisters holding the very theological position being utterly destroyed by the evidence.  However, as I continued to read and grew even more convinced by Scripture, I began to wonder why we don't feel this same sympathy for those to stand with Pelagius and works-based salvation, or for those who claim that Jesus is but one way to salvation? (Rather than the only way.)  It is a complicated matter, but through Custance thorough handling of Scripture as well as his research though history, I believe it is okay to take a stand against what Custance argues is an unbiblical position, without being mean or disrespectful to those who hold the position.  After all, Custance's overarching point of the entire book is that we must depend upon God's Word to dictate the truth rather than our desired outcomes driven from deep within our hope to hold on to misunderstood 'freedoms.'

Custance structures his book in six parts although Part VI is really more of a single-chapter conclusion and could have been set up as such, like the introduction was. Part I is an extensive journey from the New Testament writing to the Reformation.  Chapter-after-chapter this section is loaded with Scripture and lengthy quotes from the Church Fathers, philosophers, and various theologians.  The reader should greatly appreciate the size of the quotes, leaving the reader feeling that the primary matter was not taken out of context.  Some block quotes ran for an entire page or more.  Additionally, Custance did not shy away from the Scriptures that could be used to argue against his thesis or an examination of how these biblical passages have been understood throughout pre-reformation and reformation history.  His historical starting point is informative and enjoyable, but it also helps provide remarkable background before he ever introduces the infamous "TULIP."  And while it wasn't actually Calvin that articulated this acronym he did articulated the theological position as he saw it in the Bible.  That being said, it is clear that the doctrine was articulated long before Calvin, and had not Calvin been the front-man, Custance's historical survey makes it obvious that surely there would have been another championing this doctrine.  Part I, in and of itself is so convincing, one may not need to venture into Part II.  

Part II is a lengthy examination of the theology of grace.  It works through TULIP in structure but most points get multiple chapters.  While Part I likely could have been a stand-alone monogram, surely Part II would have been more than sufficient to stand alone as a book on the shelf.  It is extremely detailed, sometimes getting too bogged down in the minutia of the human condition, sin, and theological philosophy.  Part II is equally as loaded with Scripture as Part I, if not more so; and it may be that the extensive material was included for those who found doubt in what Custance so clearly presented from Scripture.  Custance is clear but gracious as he works through each of the 5-points of Calvinism.  He concedes the more difficult areas and confesses that the point of limited atonement depends less on Scripture than do the other points (although he does argue that with the Scripture of the other points, logic suggests that the atonement of Christ must be limited).    Parts I and II together could rival any book of the many I have on my shelf that cover this topic, some from very respected theologians.  By the conclusion of Part II, Custance's brilliance and wisdom clearly shine.

Parts III, IV, and V run a little shorter in length but serve to answer the practical questions that logically must come after Parts I and II.  Part III deals with the practical life application of this doctrine.  Significantly, one should find comfort in understanding this doctrine and see God's grace even more magnificently in light of it.  What then becomes or responsibility?  Custance dedicates and entire chapter to this question.  He also examines how we are to understand our Spiritual gifts within the Church in light of God's will.  Part V tackles the sticky questions of election and evangelism.  While Custance quotes extensively from J. I. Packer's little book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, I feel Custance answered this question better than Packer, and in greater detail (although he may have also used more pages to do so).  Part V deals with the fate of the non-elect.  In three chapters, Custance deals with hell and punishment.

My greatest criticism of The Sovereignty of Grace is Part V.  Custance concedes that he had very little conviction in this area and was still working it out himself.  As a result however, a book that stands so firmly on Scripture and bold proclamation all but concludes something that almost nearly explains away an eternal hell and punishment with the use of lexicons rather than Scripture.  What should catch the reader's attention immediately is how little Scripture appears in Part V compared to the previous four parts.  It was almost as if some biblical texts were intentionally avoided.  While I deeply respect Custance's desire to work this out, I am disappointed by Part V based on what I read in the previous four parts.  It should have been entirely left out of the work until Custance could stand as firmly on his argument and as boldly on his convictions as he does with the rest of the book, even if he would have come to positions and convictions I might disagree with.  (It is not his soft conclusions I am disappointed with, but the fact that he did not work through Part V with the same methodology as he did in the remainder of the work.)

A second criticism I have has nothing to do with Custance, but with the delivery method and marketing of the "out of print" work.  It can be purchased on the website and even read and quasi-downloaded for reading electronically, yet is is hidden away in a dusty corner of the internet and available in antiquated technology.  Had it not been for the caliber and wisdom of the man who introduced me to Aurthur Custance, I would not have searched him out and I certainly would not have got through the effort to read this book electronically as I did.  As easy and cheap as print-on-demand is today, as well as it's availability, this book should, no, this book must be made available by these means and maybe available on Kindle too.

This is a remarkable book and well worth the read if you can get your hands on a hard copy.  I highly recommend it!     



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1. The abnormal way this book was made available on-line makes it difficult to cite properly. Therefore, the reference may only point the reader to the 2001 edition of the on-line material title heading.

More on Ordination

Some time ago, I wrote on ordination.  Recent events and additional study has afforded me more opportunity to think about the topic and add some additional comments.

Although the practice of commissioning, setting apart, or ordaining is found in both the Old and New Testaments, I believe that the best understanding for Church operation today is found in the New Testament. There is a long tradition of ordination within many Christian denominations, yet the Bible must be our authority above tradition.  And interestingly enough, I don't think many of our traditions hold closely to what we find in the Bible, which is why I can use commissioning, setting apart, and ordaining as interchangeable words, whereas many traditions cannot. 

In Mark 3:13-19, Jesus choose and appointed twelve servants to do a number of tasks including preaching and casting out demons. Acts chapter 6 shows that seven servants were chosen to minister to the Church as deacons. Once identified, they were presented to the Apostles. The Apostles then “prayed and laid their hands on them” (Acts 6:6, ESV). An event recorded in Acts 13 shows that after worshiping and fasting, the Apostles were instructed by the Holy Spirit to “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2, ESV). Here, God called and set apart two individuals for His appointed tasks. The Acts 13 passage continues, “Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:3, ESV). We see that prayer and fasting came after God’s call but before sending Barnabas and Saul off to do the work for which they were called. A picture of submission to God’s call for Barnabas and Saul, unity among the body, and communal support, prayer, and encouragement is presented as the leaders laid hands on those called to a specific God-appointed task.

Therefore, it seems that a commissioning, setting apart, or ordination of a team or individual is a public recognition of God’s choice and calling for a specific ministry purpose, varying in qualifications, scope, duration, and authority. As we find in the Bible, this purpose may be as diverse as going ahead of Jesus and proclaiming the gospel in every town, leading as an elder, distributing bread, or embarking upon a missionary-church planting journey. Each of these callings served the church in different ways, for differing periods of times, requiring different qualifications, with different levels of necessary authority. And each of these tasks, some being more specifically defined while others less so, held criteria and qualifications that were to be met within the individual, primarily dealing with character. However, in every case, it is clear that ordination is nothing more than acknowledging a calling already set by God.

We often seek a single qualification for the role of ordination.  We ask questions like, "Who can be ordained?"  Often conversation turns toward the question, "Does this church or that church ordain women?"  The difficulty with these single issue questions is how much broad-brush thinking they require.  We need to take a deeper look at our definitions and the qualifications set for the various callings.  And within the proper definitions and qualifications, understand the reasons necessary for ordination.

The ministry of a deacon, for example, greatly varies from that of the elder, as does the ministry of many other ministers within specific Church related service. By God’s design, the qualifications and responsibilities are as equally diverse as the various callings. It is my understanding that called men and women of godly character may serve as commissioned ministers within the Church, still working under the leadership of the elders. Godly men and women who meet the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3:8-13 may serve the Church as deacons. And called, godly men who meet the qualifications 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-16 may serve in the leadership office of elder. All of the Lord’s faithful servants are equal in value, regardless calling, although he or she may be called to different ministries for the benefit of the Church and glory of God.  And when we view ordination in this light, it helps us solidly answer many of the questions that seem so divisive lately.


* The photo of "Ordination of a Bishop" was taken by M. Bastien is registered under a creative commons license and is used by permission.

Pray and Watch - Colossians 4:2

What's my evangelism plan?  How do we engage in evangelism at Risen Life Church where I'm a minister?  We Pray and Watch.  We pray specific prayers for the lost and watch for the opportunities God may provide. In general, we encourage people to pray for five people with whom they have some kind of contact, whether it's a family member, co-worker, neighbor, the lady poring your coffee, or whoever.  Then when those opportunities are presented, we faithfully and boldy act in ways appropriately called for with confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That's it; nothing fancy.

Many people hear this and say, "It's too simple."  They argue that there should be complex planning and training and books and tracts and so-on.  "Evangelism means we do hard stuff," they say.  "If we don't roll up or sleeves and get to work, people will go to hell," some even shout, trying to guilt God's people into doing the work God says he does.  It's interesting how often people would prefer to go under the power of their own steam rather than trusting God. It's our default position. (I find myself battling this thinking often as I tend to have the same desires.) It's amazing how little weight some 'evangelism programs' give to prayer.

But the Bible shows us how amazing prayer is.  We see that we are called to partner with God, not do the job apart from him.  Jesus builds his Church while we are asked to be faithful.  So we should be faithful and we must trust that he will build his Church.

I would like to encourage you to pray and watch.

Prayer is Relational

The Bible is full of prayers. Herbert Lockyer says, "Exclusive of the Psalms, which form a prayer-book on their own, the Bible records no fewer than 650 definite prayers, of which no less than 450 have recorded answers."[1] As early as Genesis 4:26 we read that "people began to call upon the name of the LORD." Recorded prayers allow the student of the Bible a glimpse of the prayers of others, at times providing the specific words and at other times only demonstrating that the individual engaged in prayer of some sort. Even communication between the Godhead—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is made available to us in the written Word. Biblical instructions include praying often (without ceasing in fact), with faithfulness and hope, for others and ourselves, in line with God's will, with and without words, and by divine help. We're given specifics for which to pray. The prayers of the Pharisees are condemned, and we hear warnings about wrongful prayer. We even read about disciples learning directly from our Savior specifically about how to pray. Yet in a book loaded with prayers, there is no clear and obvious definition of what prayer actually is.

For centuries theologians have attempted to define prayer. They diligently examine the various prayers contained within the Canon as well as the instruction and teaching on prayer. Through their findings, they've come to an understanding of prayer and attempt a definition. For example, Wayne Grudem says, "Prayer is personal communication with God."[2] Millard Erickson argues that "Prayer is in large part, a matter of creating in ourselves a right attitude with respect to God’s will."[3] Appealing to Psalm 27:8, John Mueller suggests the definition is, "the communion of a believing heart with God."[4] And John Calvin, while not providing a clear definition of prayer, still says it is, "a kind of intercourse between God and men."[5] As varied as all of these definitions are, they all seem to get at the same thing: a relationship between God and man.

God desires to be in relationship with his creation. Nothing in the Bible could be clearer. In fact, the Bible itself—God's Word—is a merciful revelation intended as a mechanism of communication that draws us into a relationship with its divine Author. God is reaching out to us, calling us into a relationship with himself. Prayer is an important aspect of this relationship.

Jesus teaching was purposed to draw all men into a salvific relationship with the Trinity. Notice that Jesus proclaims, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:8); but James 4:2 says, "You do not have, because you do not ask" and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs that we should "pray without ceasing." Is this some kind of contradiction? Why would God want us to pray if he already knows our needs? Because he wants a relationship with us! Jesus paints a beautiful picture of this relationship in Luke 11:9-13:

"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Do you see the relational factors in Jesus' plea? “Ask!” he says, as if almost begging. And look at the question and answer that follows. Father, children, good gifts. Jesus desperately wants his disciples to enter into this relationship and he wants them to pray.

Prayer is about a relationship with God.

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1. Herbert Lockyer, All the Prayers of the Bible: A Devotional and Expositional Classic (Grand Rapids: Mich, Zondervan, 1959), Publisher’s Forward.  
2. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Mich, Zondervan, 1994), 376. 
3. Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Mich, Baker Academics, 1998), 431.
4. John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics (St. Louis: Miss, Concordia, 1934), 428-429.
5. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Peabody: Mass, Hendrickson, 2008), 564.

Prayer is Partnering with God

God asks us to ask him for the things we need, yet he already knows what we need before we ask him. (James 4:2, Matthew 6:8 for example.)  This seems paradoxical.  Yet, God's desire is for us to partner with him; not because he needs us, but because we need him. 

When we pray, we are partnering with God. Prayer helps us join in God's mission and will. We see this in Genesis with guys like Noah, Abraham, and others.  How about the partnership with Moses in Exodus? Nehemiah? The disciples in the Acts?  God brought his people into his plan for their own good even though he did not need to.  Even today, God brings you into his plans as a partnership for your good. But it is important to remember that this is the most unequal partnership we could imagine.  We bring nothing to the table and God brings everything.  It's almost shocking that we hesitate to partner with God.  

Prayer is entering into a partnership with God. Be praying!

Christian Suffering 1 Peter 4:12-19

The Christian life is no bed of roses.  From time to time, followers of Jesus Christ face fiery trials and in these trials we sometimes find ourselves confused.  We ask questions like, "How can God let me suffer like this?" or, "Doesn't God even care that I'm suffering?" or maybe even, "Am I suffering because God is punishing me for something?"  In our times of difficulty, these questions become more than questions, they often become our way of inditing God.  But before we throw down accusations, we really aught to re-think Christian suffering.  

What often troubles us is why Christians suffer.  It's a serious questions and one worth wrestling through.  1 Peter 4:12-19 is one of the great texts that helps us come to a better understanding of God's will and purpose in our fiery trials. 

I recently preached on this topic at Risen Life Church in Salt Lake City.  If you're a Christian, you've likely suffered, are suffering right now, or will suffer sometime in your future.  If this is you, it is my hope that this sermon may be helpful to you. 

Christian Suffering -- 1 Peter 4:12-19

How Does the Kingdom Grow?

Books on missions and evangelism could fill libraries and bookstores, pastor's shelves and recycle bins.  Many of these books are very good, but I've found most the ones that I've read are more focused on a new plan.  Do we need a new plan?  These books talk a lot about Kingdom growth, but how does God's Kingdom grow?  The Jesus often discussed Kingdom growth and used illustration like light, seeds, and yeast.  He seemed to teach that the Kingdom grows one person at a time as God's people bring the light into dark places.

The above example is how the Kingdom could grow in Salt Lake City, Utah, but the idea applies everywhere in the world.  We are called to be light in dark places.  Our relationship with Christ should be spilling over everywhere we go.  Be filled with Christ and let your relationship with him overflow into all the places you go and wherever you find yourself.

Book Giveaway: Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

[Update: Jason Benson is our winner!  Thanks for participating.] 

Salty Believer Unscripted, the podcast, is giving one lucky winner a free copy of the newly expanded and revised, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry by John Piper.

This book is not limited to pastors, or just for brothers for that matter.  Many the chapters have great application for the Christian life.  You may read a review here or purchase a copy (if you don't win) here.

The winner will be chosen from the entries at random on March 5th, 2013, notified, and announced on a later podcast of Salty Believer Unscripted.  B&H Publishing Group will send a new paperback copy directly to the winner.  (The winner will be required to privately supply a mailing address upon notification.)

Contestants may enter by completing one or more of the 6 entry methods below.  Completing each individual method will count as one entry, but completing the same option multiple times will still only count at a single entry.  Completing multiple entry methods will increase your chances of winning.  Good luck!

To enter, complete one or more of the following:

1.  Visit SaltyBeliever.com and contact Bryan Catherman via the Contact Me form.  Let him know you'd like to be included in this book giveaway contest. 

2.  Visit EntrustedWithTheGospel.com and contact Jared Jenkins via the Contact Me form.  Let him know you'd like to be included in this book giveaway contest.

3. Share this book giveaway contest on Twitter. Click here to Tweet this contest on Twitter.

4. Share this giveaway contest on Facebook. Click here share this contest on Facebook.

5. Share a link on Twitter to the Salty Believer Unscripted podcast. Click here to Tweet a link to the podcast.

6. Share a link on Facebook to the Salty Believer Unscripted podcast. Click here share a link to the subscribe to the podcast on Facebook.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

Piper, John. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry. Nashville, Tenn: B&H Publishing Group, 2013.

John Piper has penned more than 50 books to include, Desiring God, Don't  Waste Your Life, and The Future of Justification.  He is the pastor of preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church, served as the a professor of Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is the founder of Desiring God Ministries.  He holds a Doctorate of Theology from the University of Munich and is presently the chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary.  Often called 'A pastor to pastors' Piper has re-released his 2002 publication, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, now updated and expanded. 

John Piper discusses the re-release of Brothers, We Are Not Professionals:

In addition to some revisions, Piper added six more chapters.  Chapter 4, 'Brothers, God Does Make Much of Us,' and Chapter 6, 'Brothers, God Is the Gospel' were added for theological reasons. In his pursuit of being a better preacher, he added Chapter 13, 'Brothers, Be Bible-Oriented--Not Entertainment Oriented Preachers' and Chapter 18, 'Brothers, Pursue the Tone of the Text.'  For family reasons relating to his sanctification, he added Chapter 22, 'Brothers, Help Them Act the Miracle.'  And for personal reasons, he added Chapter 27, 'Brothers, Bodily Training is of Some Value' (xi). 

Piper opens with a charge against today's pastorate: "[...] the pressure to 'professionalize' the pastorate has morphed and strengthened" (ix).  He goes on to ask, 

"Is there professional praying? Professional musing on the depths of revelation? Professional treasuring the riches of Christ? Professional walking by the Spirit? Professional exercise of spiritual gifts? Professional dealing with demons? Professional pleading with backsliders? Professional perseverance in a hard marriage? Professional playing with children? Professional courage in the face of persecution? Professional patience with everyone?" (ix-x)

His questions are good.  Ministry does, he argues, have a side of professionalism, but these are in "areas of competency where the life of faith and the life of unbelief overlap" (x).  Professionalism in other areas need not be compartmentalized.  "These are not marginal activities in the pastoral life;" writes Piper, "They are central.  They are the essence" (x).   Therefore, Piper sets out to make two primary arguments with this book.  The first is, "professionalism should always be marginal, not central; optional, not crucial" (x).  The second is like it.  "The pursuit of professionalism" he argues, "will push the supernatural center more and more into the corner while ministry becomes a set of secular competencies with a religious veneer" (x).  Thirty-six short chapters follow to fill out the details of his thesis. 

Most pastors today are likely dealing with the very issues Piper sets out to reshape.  That being the case, this book is a helpful tool for pastors.  One gets the feeling while reading Brothers, We are Not Professionals, that Piper is simply putting all the aspects of ministry that interest him on paper to help the next generation.  But this is not to say that this book is limited to pastors alone, or just for brothers for that matter.  Many (but not all) the chapters have great application for the Christian life.  Those in positions like worship leaders, teachers, small group hosts, or other ministry areas will benefit from this book.  Men leading in their homes will find this book compelling.  And women will have just as many areas of application as the men, although Chapter 35, 'Brothers, Love Your Wife' may need some adaptation. 

Piper is honest about his own walk in ministry, which is most likely why this book is as compelling as it is.  There is not one single word that is not backed by his emotion, passion, and service to the Kingdom.

One criticism however, might be that a small selection of the chapters are 'Piper specific,' that is, rather specific to his ministry.   For example, "Brothers, Sever the Root of Racism" and "Brothers, Blow the Trumpet for the Unborn."  While both of these issues are extremely important and obviously a passion of Piper's, they provide very little instruction for issues to which other pastors may be called in other times, cultures, and places. Racism and abortion must be ended, but what about those serving to eradicate issues of poverty, the sex-trade, illiteracy, child labor, violence, drug addiction, or many other ills in our fallen world today? While I appreciate Piper's call to the two above mentioned issues, understanding better tools to fulfill other passionate callings may have been helpful for those in circumstances where additional matters must be addressed.

Apart from this fairly insignificant criticism,  Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, is a fantastic work and well worth the time to read.  It is a must read for pastors and I also highly recommend it to those not serving in the paid pastorate.

ATTENTION: In partnership with B&H Publishing Group, Salty Believer Unscripted, our podcast, is giving away a copy of this book.  Here's more info. 

For other book recommendations, please visit the SaltyBeliever.com resource page. 

* A copy of this book was provided in exchange for a review; however, the content and quality of the review were completely as my discretion.

Saul Consults a Necromancer? - 1 Samuel 28

Christians in the West are often slow to credit any kind of spiritual power behind witchcraft or mediums or necromancers or the like.  While this credit belongs not with God and is certainly not positive, it is power even if demonic power.   It almost seems as if we say, "these things hold no power, demonic or otherwise," so as to undercut the legs of the spiritual warfare happening around us.  But when we do this we're wrong!  Saying there's nothing behind the medium, witchdoctor, or practitioner of the demonic is not to see the situation for what it is.  Saying there's nothing behind the practice neglects the words of Paul to the Corinthians when he writes, "I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons" (1 Corinthians 10:20, ESV).  There is indeed a demonic power of some sort behind these practices today just as the pagan sacrifices  in Corinth were demonic.

In light of our feelings surrounding witchcraft and talking with the dead, we tend to be a bit shocked when we come across 1 Samuel 28.  Here, Saul consults a medium in an effort to hear the Word of the Lord through Samuel, who had passed away.   Saul is in direct disobedience to God's Law that says explicitly not to consult mediums (Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:10-12).  In addition, in 1 Samuel 28:3 we see that Saul himself had put the mediums out of the land and even had to travel by night to En-dor in disguise because he knew he was doing wrong.

The necromancer is concerned that she will be in trouble by practicing this evil behavior for Saul, but Saul assures her that it will be okay and then emphatically pleads with her to raise Samuel so he can talk with him.  At one point in the chapter, it seems that Samuel is raised, although the text really only demonstrates that Saul believed he was talking with Samuel.  (Scholars disagree as to whether this character was actually Samuel, some kind of demon, or some sort of messenger of God.)

The point of this chapter however, is not to get into the hows and whys of witchcraft, but instead demonstrate the distress Saul is in and his subsequent misbehavior as he demanded to hear from God concerning his own glory and well-being.  It only stands to further show the depths of Saul's rebellion and even provides support for God's tearing the kingdom from Saul and giving it to David, a man after God's own heart. As is always the case, it is important to see this text in light of the context and primary point.  That being said, I'd like to encourage you to pick up your Bible and check out 1 Samuel 28.  In addition, Jared Jenkins and I discuss this particular text as one of our "Tough Text" series topics.  You can listen to that 20-minute podcast or subscribe to Salty Believer Unscripted for many other unscripted discussions.

*Photo of Lassa witch doctors was taken and used by the CDC.  It is presently in the public domain.

Two More Book Recommendations

It's my preference to offer more comprehensive book reviews; however, on occasion all I can do is provide a recommendation due to time constraints or my lack of availability to the physical copy of the book.   Today, I'd like to recommend R. C. Sproul's Holiness of God and Dallas Willard's Hearing God.

Sproul, R. C. The Holiness of God. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 1985. 

Willard, Dallas. Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1999. 

I listened to both of these great books in a narrated audio version while  conducting other tasks.  The upside to listening to books is how the book can be enjoyed at times when reading would not normally be possible.  The downside is being unable to return to the book later for additional study or for the purposes writing a review.   (I've encountered this audio book issue before when I recommended Piper's Don't Waste Your Life.)

I enjoyed both of these book enough to order hard copies for future study and so I can lend them to others. 

R. C. Sproul looks at how remarkable and holy our God really is in his rapidly-becoming-a-classic, The Holiness of God.  His work, much like Piper's Desiring God or J.I. Packer's Knowing God takes the reader through an enjoyable tour of something so present but often so overlooked.  There is no "how to" aspect of this book, yet it is practical in its teaching and accessible to those with little to no theological background.  That being said, even the educated theologian will benefit from Sproul's observations.   I highly recommend this book to anybody wanting to see God in a life changing way and be transformed by knowing God better and loving him more.

Dallas Willard on the other hand, offers a practical book on how to converse better with God.  Are your prayers one-way?  Do you spend your time talking at God but give no time to hearing from him?  Do you long to hear from God?  How would having a conversational relationship with the Creator of the Universe change the way you live?  Willard deals with these questions and so much more in his book Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God.  In this book, Willard guides his reads through some easy and realistic ways to develop ears to hear from God.  This book, if put into practice, will change lives as well as relationships with God, that that, I believe, will change the world.  I highly recommend it.

I picked up both of these book as well as a few others from ChristianAudio.com.  If you're looking for audio books, ChristianAudio.com is worth checking out.  Their prices are good and they run specials often.  In addition, if you create a free account, you will be eligible to download their free monthly offering (where, I admit, I got both of these great books). Most books come in many different audio formats and the downloading and purchasing process is easy.  ChristianAudio.com comes highly recommended too.


*I have no connection, material or otherwise to any of the books recommend in this post.  I receive no financial gain or special gifts by mentioning ChristianAudio.com. 

Seminary vs. the Pastorate

I get many questions about attending seminary from potential students and pastors trying to weigh out the options.  Which seminary? On campus or on-line? What courses should I take and where should I put the bulk of my attention?  In the end however, the answers all depend upon calling and circumstances.

I selected to remain in the mission field and attend seminary through distance education options, partly so I could remain in ministry where I'd be serving post-seminary.  It worked well for me, but this is not to say that it's the best answer for everybody.  I selected Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (LBTS) primarily because at the time they had the best distance education options, but this is changing at a rapid rate and now there are many good seminaries embracing the value of distance education for ministers.

Jared Jenkins, a friend I work with, went to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) on campus.  One of the earliest Salty Believer Unscripted episodes was about our seminary experiences. He had just graduated and entered the pastorate with me in Salt Lake.  At the time of the video, I had a single semester remaining and had been on staff for a little over a year (a part-time intern for about 9 months and 3 months full-time working officially on staff with Risen Life Church.) You can listen to that podcast here or watch the video below.

 

A year later, we recorded another podcast about seminary and the pastorate. After working with people, teaching, preaching, and serving in the ministry setting far removed from seminary, our thoughts were a bit different.  In what areas do we feel we were unprepared?  What might we have done differently?  What surprised us or did we not expect?  If you're in seminary or thinking about attending, or even if you're simply a "man or woman in the pew" and curious, I think this is worth listening to:  Salty Believer Unscripted - Seminary vs. the Pastorate One Year Later. 

I'm happy to chat with you about seminary.  If you're considering attending and have some questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.  In addition, here are some related posts that may help you pick a seminary or guide you along your journey while in your formal studies:

Choosing a Seminary
LBTS, Post Dr. Jerry Falwell
Thinking of Enrolling in Seminary? 


Subscribe to the Salty Believer iTunes Podcasts: Video | Audio
(Non iTunes: Video | Audio)
* While there may be some overlap, the content of the Video and Audio Podcasts are not the same. 

*Photo by Mbiama Assogo Roger is registered under a creative commons license and is used by permission. 

American Genocide - Planned Parrenthood Killed 333,964 in 365 Days

Planned Parenthood has published their 2011-2012 Annual Report.

From October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011, Planned Parenthood provided 10,864,959 services to women and men that included screening for sexually transmitted diseases, cancer screenings, pregnancy tests, distributing birth control, and a number of other services.  Normally this would be celebrated if not for the dark shadow cast over it all.  3% of these services were abortions, totaling 333,964.  Nearly 11 million women and men, girls and boys, entered a Planned Parenthood clinic to receive services; but of them, 333,964 girls and boys were summary executed in the name of becoming "the healthiest generation ever."  That's one murder ever 94.4 seconds preformed by Planned Parenthood, and they are but one institution that conducts these organized executions. (The Gospel Coalition reports that, "In 2009, 784,507 legal induced abortions were reported to the Centers for Disease Control from 48 reporting areas.")

If the death of 333,964 lives were not enough, there's at least a third of a million women who will live the rest of their lives with this black stain, this year, if not more.  There's probably another another quarter of a million men who must live with this blood on their hands, this year.  How many relationships where ripped to pieces or suffered great difficulty because their baby was an unwanted burden, collateral damage from their sexual fun?

Of the 1 billion dollars of annual revenue, $542,400,000 is listed under the "Government Health Services Grants and Reimbursements" column.  Although Planned Parenthood offers many services, it should still be shocking that the American people were willing to give over 500 million dollars to an organization that openly kills babies.  This same organization, interestingly enough, only spent 41.5 million dollars on sexual education.  That's 15 million dollars less than they spent on fundraising and 10 million dollars less than they spent on lobbying law makers to shape public policy in their favor and defend their practices from political attack.   Even the opening letter and message from Cecilia Boone, the Chair and Cecile Richards, the President gives more words to politics than it does to anything else.

How much is life worth at Planned Parenthood?  What is the real cost of becoming the healthiest generation?  Another way to look at the services rendered at Planned Parenthood is to measure them against the cost of the lives taken.  10,530,885 health services to include STD testing, cancer screenings, and preventive care were provided and it only cost the life of one child per 31.5 visits.  Maybe we should look at the daily operating cost of each clinic.  If 63 people were to walk though to doors to get free or low cost cancer screenings or birth control, only 2 human beings have to give up their rights to a healthy life; only 2 human beings have to give up their future potential; only two human beings have to die for today's health services rendered. Is this how we should place value on human life?

I wonder how much more good Planned Parenthood could do with much less political involvement and costly lobbying if they simply stopped contributing to this genocide?  After all, it only accounted for 3% of the services they render.

[Jared Jenkins of EntrustedWithTheGospel.com does a really nice job expanding what this report should mean to us in light of our worldview and understanding of the Gospel.  It's well worth reading.] 


* With exception to the Gospel Coalition quote, all information cited in this post came directly from the 2011-2012 Planned Parenthood Report. 
** Photo by Flickr user longtrekhome, is registered under a creative commons license and is used by permission. 

Post Church?

Revisiting a group of writer-friends and their affiliated publication, I was reminded of the growing group of jaded Christians who no longer worship in any kind of church setting.  They call themselves "post-Church" as if they have somehow evolved beyond Christ's institution for his people.  "The Nones" is another name they like, taking it from the check box they would self-identify to the question of religious affiliation on a census questionnaire-- None. 

This post-Church crowd will argue that they just weren't getting what they wanted or needed from their local church community.  It wasn't a satisfying experience and the church leaders weren't providing them with the faith journey they desired.  So, they divorced their community for a different mistress, maybe a group who shares their affinity for popular issues of social justice, artistic expression, politics, dietary fads, some kind of on-line connection, or a gang with similar level of anger toward Christ's Bride.  Interestingly, these post-Christians don't seek a different local church community where they might find opportunities to connect with, grow in, and serve Christ, but instead cast off Church, big-C Church all together.  They would argue that they are still part of the Church but just hate local church.  They "love Jesus, just hate Christians."  But the truth is Jesus indwells his people and the local church is a part of the big-C Church; therefore, Jesus and his Church get tossed out too.

I've read of these new post-church communities meeting in coffee shops or homes for shared meals where a communal fellowship is touted but there is decidedly a void of any worship, teaching, Bible reading, or anything that may look like "church."  Jesus is typically intentionally or unintentionally uninvited.  Some of these gatherings will pray, but that's often the extent of it. (I wonder how God might receive the prayer of those who reject God's people as well as the institution he set up for them?)  I am familiar with a single group that sits on the post-church precipice which does, on occasion, discuss Scripture, but generally is void of any deeper study or application because in fact, they are lacking any kind of shepherd.

Indeed there is a time to divorce a fellowship.  When irreconcilable differences surface in the essential theological matters one should talk with the leaders to consider if finding a different local church, breaking fellowship, or some kind of further study may be appropriate.  Cases of egregious unrepentant sin among the leadership may also be a time to break fellowship, after the appropriate course of action has taken place.  (See Matthew 18:15-18.)    False teaching too.  But to toss up your hands and say your are done with any kind of Christian gathering only to trade it in for a cult community of your own making because you don't prefer what's offered is a very different thing.

Nowhere does the Bible speak of a Christian who rejects Christ's Bride, the Church.  It's quite the opposite in fact.

For example, Paul opens his letter to the Philippians as follows: "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons" (Philippians 1:1b, ESV, italics added for emphasis.) Paul says these saints are with the leaders and servants, not consumers of the goods and services the leaders provide or members of their social club.  The saints are in community together.  Many of Paul's letters open with this picture of community centered around the gospel called the local church.  He also talks about the necessity of being part of the body, one body with many parts.  His explanation of communion and his rebuke for the local church that shows favoritism toward the rich show Paul's concern and care for community within the local church.  John's third letter is to an individual and yet it still seems to suggest that Gaius is part of a larger community.  John's second letter is also to an individual and here he's calling this lady to hold fast to the teaching of Christ.  Christ didn't ever tell anybody to be a solitary loaner or gather in a community that is held together with bonds other than the love of Christ.  Christ is building his Church and the local churches are a part if they hold to Christ and his teachings.  Christ is so serious about the Church that we often see the Church called the Bride of Christ, that is, Christ's special love.  Men are called to love their wives as Christ loves the Church, the Church Jesus died for (Ephesians 5:25).  There are many accounts of the believers eating and praying together, and being sanctified into Christ's likeness through those with whom they are in community.  And these groups don't appear to be splinter groups rejecting the Church.  

This post-Church movement raises a number of questions. 

Were these disgruntled individuals actually Christians, or were they simply members of a social club for social reasons?  Or maybe they were moralists and what they walked away from is not what they think they rejected because they were never truly a part of the Body in the first place?

Do these "post-Church" gatherings bring about sanctification and Christ-likeness or are these groups more about filling the community void?

How much does a member of the Nones hear from God and speak to him, read from his Word, worship, and grow?  The Bible is the only book that reads us.  From within it's pages we should experience transformation and sometimes that transformation is difficult and even painful.  Is the post-Church experience bringing about gospel-centered change or is it all just a happy bed of roses that eventually leads to self-worship?

Is the exodus from the local church about pride?  Is there a lack of humility?  Is there fear to talk with with leadership about a problem?  If the leadership did not listen, was there any self-reflection to see if personal repentance was necessary? And if personal repentance or pride are not the issue and it may be a legitimate time to break fellowship, is there a fear or laziness or cowardice to find the healthy local church body God may be calling them to?

What is the end result of the post-Church movement?  Is it drawing people closer to Christ or further away?

If you are reading this because you are post-Church, call yourself a None, or are concerned about a friend or family member, I know that there are local churches that hurt people, and that is tragic!  If you have been hurt by fellow Christians, I'd like to recommend a book called The Exquisite Agony (originally titled Crucified by Christians) by Gene Edwards.  I hope that at some point you can find healing from this pain as well as find a fantastic body of believers with which to fellowship and grow.  If it is not about a hurt, might it be about pride?  If so, is this pride really helping you or is it self destructive?  If you do still call yourself a Christian but struggle with the local church, pray about where to connect.  Ask Jesus to show you his Bride in a new way.  And by all means, don't give up!  God has a great fellowship of believers out there for you.  Hang in there and keep praying!


If this article connected with you in any way, encouraged you, or made you angry, you are more than welcome to contact me to share your story, ask questions, complain, or seek help finding a local body.  Or if you don't call yourself a Christian but would like to find out more about becoming one, you can contact me too.  Click here.