Entries from January 2006 ↓

Grace is a power . . . not just leniency.
- John Piper

(post-post note: This is long and rambly and vainly autobiographical. Just the way blogs should be.)

I’m a baptist stuck in a presbyterian (church) body, and that’s okay. God put me here.

I’ve been doing some thinking about the fact that my family and I will soon be joining a Presbyterian church, and how that fits in with my self-identification as a “reformed baptist” (and if it even matters). Through high school and especially in college, I was one of those adamant “just a Christian”-type Christians, valiantly refusing to be shackled to a denominational label. Why, then, did being a “baptist” suddenly matter so much to me? Do I really care that much about congregational governance? How much study have I really put into baptism?

I grew up going to Christian & Missionary Alliance churches. The Alliance is a very missions-oriented denomination that leans slightly toward an Arminian and dispensationalist mindset (though they’re officially neither), has a credobaptistic understanding of baptism, and a Zwinglian view of the Lord’s Supper. (Ironically enough, it was founded by a renowned Presbyterian minister named A. B. Simpson.) Despite my non-denominational lip service, I internally thought that I was going to be a lifetime C&MA guy. I loved (and still love) their committment to the Great Commission.

After I moved to Jackson, TN in 2002, Amy and I (before we were married) decided to look for a church after months and months of utter heathenry. Since she grew up in the C&MA as well, we naturally looked for an Alliance church first. The closest one was over an hour away in Memphis, though, so that idea quickly went by the wayside. We searched for a few weeks and settled on a church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . . . not a difficult thing to find, since the city was home to Union, one of the nation’s fastest growing Baptist universities (where Amy was a student). The church we started attending, and eventually joined after we married, had some of the SBC’s most prominent scholars as pastors. We were growing in our faith, experiencing better “community” than we ever had, and being taught truth by some of the best around. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had a growing affinity for Baptist identity and history. At the same time, I was being introduced to reformed theology; its fidelity to Scripture opened my eyes to truths I’d never even considered. I was reading the Bible in a new way, hearing sermons with new ears, and praying with renewed fervor, and communing with Jesus in a way I hadn’t in years.

Fast-forward to 2005: our world had been turned upside-down by unemployment, forcing a move to Columbus, Ohio. As a couple, the first thing on our agenda toward again finding stability was to quickly find a good church to commit to. Along with the base requirements of believing and teaching the Bible, I wanted to find a church that believed and taught the reformed doctrines of grace (or that was at least reformed-friendly). After months of conversation, prayer, and visits here and there — some good, some bad — we settled on an urban church plant of the Presbyterian Church in America. We quickly fell in love with the liturgy, the people, and the vision of this church. I knew the entire time that our joining a presbyterian church was a possibility, as presbyterianism is largely an across-the-board reformed movement. I also knew that if such a thing happened, I’d end up having issues with the big pillar of reformed theology that I hadn’t yet come to agree with: infant baptism. As time went on, the long-dormant call to ministry that I first sensed in high school crept back, and the opportunity to do seminary-level education through the PCA arose . . . but I felt a tinge of betrayal toward the baptist heritage that I’d assumed during the last few years.

After letting that guilt eat at me for a while, I just last week realized something that I’d known all along . . . my committment is to Christ, not to the Southern Baptist Convention, not to congregational government, not to credobaptism. The main reason I’d become so committed to those things was convenience and proximity to all things SBC; not earnest study of scripture, prayer, and reasoning. Realizing this was like the clichéd “weight lifting from my shoulders”. Serving and learning and possibly pursuing ministry in the PCA was something I could freely do now without hiding from all of my baptist friends or qualifying everything with “but I dunno about the whole baby-sprinkling thing”. I mean, I still don’t know about it, but I can also honestly say that I equally don’t know if it should be withheld from the children of believers either. What had been almost a shameful thing has become a freedom to learn and explore.

So, I remain teachable. For now, I’ll call myself a “credobaptistic Presbyterian” and struggle with the issue in due time. Maybe I’ll continue to insist on believers-only immersion; maybe I’ll become a covenantal paedobaptist. I don’t know, and right now, it’s not a concern. I just want to serve Christ and his church, and now without the **BAPTISM** weight on my brain, I can more readily do so.

If you made it all the way through that, congrats. Worst. writing. evar.

Starbucks asks: Coffee, Tea, or MP3
I can’t decide whether I love or hate this idea.

(Tags: Starbucks, digital audio, convergence)

Hoo boy. Tagged by both Richard and Danielle, I must comply.

Four jobs I’ve had
- Barista/coffee shop manager
- Athletic footwear sales assoc.
- Computer technician
- Systems administrator

Four movies I could watch over and over
- The American President
- Spaceballs
-
-
(Yep, only two. I’m not much of a movie person.)

Four books I could read over and over
- Macbeth - Wm. Shakespeare
- Don’t Waste Your Life - John Piper
- Girl Meets God - Lauren Winner
- Twelfth Night - Wm. Shakespeare

Four places I have lived
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Oxford, New Jersey
- Coral Springs, Florida
- Jackson, Tennessee
(obviously, other than my current place of residence)

Four TV shows I watch
- Arrested Development
- Law & Order SVU
- Religion & Ethics Newsweekly
- WWE RAW (shut up)

Four places I have been on vacation
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Chicago, Illinois
- Naples, Florida
- New York, New York

Four websites I visit daily other than email
- ByFaith Online (web magazine of the PCA)
- FeedLounge (web-based feed reader)
- The Vagrant Café
- The .Net

Four favorite foods
- Burrito bol from Chipotle w/ carnitas, black beans, hot salsa, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce
- Fried shrimp
- Dirty rice w/ beef & peppers
- Chicken Alfredo

Four places I’d like to be right now
- my house
- Birmingham
- Jackson
- my bed

Four bloggers I’m tagging (sorry, guys.)
- ‘Shua
- Greg
- Sue and/or Katrina
- Travis S.

As I’m sure a good number of you have seen, The Church Report has issued its annual list of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America. This is just my personal opinion and observation, but I’d say that maybe . . . ten of those (being generous) are doctrinally sound and biblically faithful. What kind of influence are the rest of these folks exerting?

Joe Carter has an interesting breakdown of the list over at the Evangelical Outpost.

First, a couple of new(-ish) blogs from pastors w/ Jackson, TN connections . . .

Oversight of Souls - Thoughts and conversation on pastoral ministry from Dr. Ray Van Neste, Associate Professor of Christian Studies and director of the R. C. Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University (and a pastor at Cornerstone Community Church, a great Reformed SBC church, in Jackson)

Blind Man’s Fancy - Great pastoral musings from Barry Maxwell, pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Copperas Cove, TX (and a former pastor at my old church, Northbrook).

And now for a few that have nothing to do with Jackson, TN, but are still worth reading . . .

Funky Presbyterian - aka: Greg Blosser, my pastor at Grace Central. I probably mention Greg’s blog more then even he’d like me to, but it’s that darn good. Great thoughts on art, music, theology, ministry, and various other things.

The Resurgence - Mark Driscoll, from Mars Hill Church in Seattle has finally started blogging. About flippin’ time. Only two entries thus far (it only opened last week), but I have high hopes for this one.

Episcoblog - Father Bishop (!) Leo Michael, rector (that’s Anglican-ese for “pastor”) of St. Gabriel’s United Episcopal Church in Springdale, AR. Thoughtful writings from one of the rare doctrinally sound Anglican pastors in the blogosphere.

Josh Harris Blogs - Not the most creative title in the list, but that’s alright. Josh Harris, the guy who kissed dating goodbye ten or some such years ago, is now the senior pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. I wish he’d blog more often . . . his entries are great when they show up. Guess he’s busy being the international evangelical sensation that he is.
Anyone have other good pastoral blogs? Share ‘em in the comments!

Below in the “Navigation” section, I’ve included a little tutorial on how to navigate this blog while I’m using the Hemingway theme. It can be a bit confusing at first, but it’s easy to catch on.

Phone rang a little bit after I got home. Caller ID said “WESTMINSTER THEO…” Naturally I thought “who in the world is calling me from Westminster Seminary“. Lo and behold, it was Mark “the Sage” Traphagen, calling to confirm something on an order I’d placed from the seminary’s bookstore . . . and to exchange pleasantries, of course. It was a good (albeit short) conversation.

Pray for me, if you remember, folks. There’s a great ministry opportunity possibly opening up for me in the not-too-distant future. Discernment and wisdom are in high demand.

How much would I love to go to this? Four of my favorite preacher-bloggers addressing church leaders on mercy, culture, and theology? Pshyeah!!
(HT: JT)

Reform & Resurge 2006
Tuesday May 9 – Thursday May 11

This is a conference that exists to provide encouragement, guidance, and instruction for the church and its leadership. Topics will address issues such as:
- Preaching the Christian Gospel to a secular audience
- The role of mercy ministry in cultural transformation
- Methods for engaging and decoding culture
- Practical tips for pastors
- Emerging theological errors in need of correction

Register and see the schedule here. Among the speakers: Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, Josh Harris, and Anthony Bradley.

The use of the word “emerging” in front of “theological errors” is soooo not unintentional (yep, a double negative).

(Tags: reform and resurge, reform & resurge)

Travis says that Joel Osteen’s ever-popular message makes him an enemy of the Gospel of Christ.

I agree.

What do you think?