Jim Elliot Quote

This is taken directly from Tim Challies blog (one worth following if you ask me). I do not really know the social etiquette rules regarding posting something that another blogger has posted so let me just give you the quote and point out that it has originated elsewhere. The reason I want to post this quote is because I have never heard it before. It is from Jim Elliot.

We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the twentieth century does not reckon with. But we are “harmless,” and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are “sideliners” — coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!

May God make us dangerous.

Preaching that Ruins Souls

I am a pastor. It is not the only thing that I am or the most important (a follower of Christ, a husband, and dad are) but it is something that defines me nonetheless because it something that God has called me (both subjectively and objectively) to be and to do. And so I am passionate about that calling. But something that I recognized early on (due to the wisdom and example of other good pastors) is that a pastor has nothing to say except what he can show that God says from the revealed word of God. God created by his word. He upholds all things by his word. He redeems a people for his name through the work of his supreme Word. And he calls to people through the preaching of his word and by his word he directs his people. All of life is wrapped in what God has already revealed in his word.

That seems clear enough. But apparently it isn’t.

As I listened to a sermon recently (not from my pastor) I was reminded how often preachers give scant attention to God’s word. What makes this so astonishing, if not surprising, is that at the very time and place where God’s word is supposed to be held in high esteem among God’s people it wasn’t. Now don’t get me wrong, the preacher was given a pulpit at the front and center of his audience. He took with him a copy of God’s word and even did the honor of reading it. But what he spoke on and what the text actually said could not have been more incongruous. It is not that he said anything really unbiblical. Indeed much of what he said was good maybe even helpful. But that was kind of the problem – it was about what he said not what God’s word says. It was filled with the kind of generalizations, moralism, and therapeutic God-talk that often passes for preaching (at least everyone around me seemed to think it was just fine). But it wasn’t filled with Christ. It didn’t draw our attention to God. It didn’t declare what God’s word said and meant. In short almost all of what was said could have been given by a Jew or a moralistic agnostic. There was nothing distinctly Christian about the sermon.

7 Misconceptions about Submission

As a man I am taking a big risk here on this post. But as a brother in Christ I care for the women that God has put in my life and sphere of ministry.

Because of that love I cannot help but pass this along. I know women struggle with submission (just like men struggle with leadership) from Genesis 3 if nothing else. So please allow me to pass onto you this post from Girls Gone Wise, a great blog for young and more mature women, on 7 misconceptions about submission for women. These are not the only ones but they are good to keep in mind (for men as well as women).

Misconception #1: Submission is universal—the directive applies to all women, even those outside of the faith community.

Misconception #2: Submission is gender-exclusive—it’s just for women.

Misconception #3: Submission is generic—every woman submits to every man.

The Surprising Need of the World (and what to do about it)

Yes, we urgently need more and better evangelism. But we must candidly come to grips with several alarming facts. To what extent do those who profess faith at world-class evangelistic meetings actually persevere, over a period of five years from their initial profession of faith? When careful studies have been undertaken the most commonly agreed range is 2 percent to 4 percent; that is, of faith at such meetings are actually persevering in the faith five years later, as measured by such external criteria as attendance at church, regular Bible reading, or the like.

Even such frightening statistics do not disclose the immensity of the problem. Many who profess faith seem to think that Christianity is something to add to their already busy lives, not something that controls, constrains, and shapes their vision and all their goals. The Princeton Religion Research Center, which studies religion in America, has demonstrated that the slight increase during the last ten years in Americans attending church must be set against the marked decline in professing American Christians who think that there is an essential connection between Christianity and morality. The sad truth is that much American Christianity is returning to raw paganism: the ordinary pagan can be ever so religious without any necessary entailment in ethics, morality, self-sacrifice, or integrity.

In short evangelism – at least the evangelism that has dominated much of the Western world – does not seem powerful enough to address our declension.

Perhaps what we most urgently need, then, is disciplined, biblical thinking. We need more Bible colleges and seminaries, more theologians, more lay training, more expository preaching. How else are we going to train a whole generation of Christians to think God’s thoughts after him, other than by teaching them to think through Scripture, to learn the Scriptures well?

I am scarcely in a position to criticize expository preaching and seminaries: I have given my life to such ministry. Yet I would be among the first to acknowledge that some students at the institution where I teach, and some faculty too, can devote thousands of hours to the diligent study of Scripture and yet still somehow display an extraordinarily shallow knowledge of God. Biblical knowledge can be merely academic and rigorous, but somehow not edifying, not life-giving, not devout, not guileless.

Weed Your Lawn

It all started innocently enough. My son picked up a lone dandelion after the flower had gone from vibrant yellow to those long white things (yeah, I don’t know what they are) and blew on it. I was going to tell him to stop because I didn’t want them all over the lawn but when I bent down to explain to him why we couldn’t do that he blew on the flower and those long stemmed seeds (you know, the white things) blew away in the breeze. It was then that he shouted “look daddy” and I couldn’t help but find great joy in the joy of my son. So I did the only loving/ridiculous thing I could – I picked up a dandelion and blew on it. Needless to say that my son was hooked and from that time on whenever he saw a dandelion he picked it and blew the seeds all across my back lawn.

But at some point during the summer I noticed that the dandelions were beginning to take over and I knew I needed to do something before the situation turned into something out of a Hitchcock film (and you thought “Birds” was terrifying). So I did the only irrational thing left to me. I began to pick them. By hand. On my knees. In the hot sun. Needless to say I was less joyful that day than when my son and I had began this mess innocently enough by picking one flower. It only made things worse when my son came up and asked “what you doin’ daddy?” What was I doing? I was weeding my lawn. And as ridiculous as that sounds I realized that we all need to weed our lawns.

Blindspots

I recently took up bus driving as a second job. Because I am going through the initial training period the amount of time I can spend in the office and on this site has been reduced significantly. But the training I am receiving on some of these crazy back roads has given me a new found respect for all bus drivers everywhere. And after I finish training this week and get my license I will be responsible for the safe passage of little (and not so little) kids between school and home (this scares me actually – and it probably should you as well since I am currently working on how I can equip my bus with rockets like the bus to the left).

The primary part of this training is having me out on the road and driving around.  As I have been doing so over the last week I have become more and more comfortable behind the wheel. Tight turns that at first intimidated me now don’t worry me as much. Narrow roads that initially worried me  now pose no real need for concern. But no matter how much I drive there is always something that bothers me – the blindspots. And for a big yellow bus, they are many.

Trailer: Awaiting A Savior

A few days ago I reviewed the new book Awaiting A Savior: The Gospel, The New Creation and the End of Poverty by Aaron Armstrong. It is a powerful book that will help you think through the root causes of poverty and how we can, as Christians, act to help those who are suffering in it. This powerful little book is now available through Amazon.

Here is a trailer for the book.

Learning to Read from Uncle Tom

This past summer I wanted to do some reading of some classic literature. One of those books was Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I have never read this book before (nor have I met many who have) though everyone seems to know of the book. I thought I knew what to expect when I picked it up and I was partly right but I was also deeply surprised by the book. I was surprised by how much I loved it. It jerked me around on different levels and gave me a different perspective on some things facing our culture. I was also surprised by how much I connected with some of the characters. Even more so I was surprised by how much I loved Uncle Tom.

There is much that can be said about Uncle Tom. Indeed his name is often thrown around negatively by many. But lost in the discussion is Uncle Tom’s deep and abiding faith.