...and I finally cried.

To say that this has been a difficult week would be a massive understatement.  The circumstances of my life are still raging around me and I have been stunned this week by not one, but two deaths.  A college friend of mine passed away just a few days ago.  We haven't spoke in a few years, since at least graduation, but I will always remember that he was good for a good conversation.  Unfortunately, he left behind a wife and two small children. 

And now I just received this in my email:

"ATS Alumni,

With great sadness I share with you that Professor Emeritus, Dr. Luke Lee Keefer, Jr. passed away last Friday, December 10.

"Dr. Keefer was a highly respected and beloved member of our community. Following is a compilation of sentiments shared by many. If you would like to express your own sentiments to the family, you may do so via the funeral home web page here: Hoover-Boyer Funeral Home
Service information is as follows:

"Visiting hours will be Friday, December 17, 2010 from 5-8 PM at Hoover-Boyer Funeral Home, 118 South Market Street, Millersburg, PA 17061. The funeral service (with burial following) will be at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 18, 2010, at Free Grace Brethren in Christ Church, 2134 Route 209, Millersburg, PA 17061. There will be an hour of visitation prior to the service beginning at 10 AM.

John C. Shultz, President, Ashland Theological Seminary

Tribute to Dr. Luke Keefer, Jr. Professor Emeritus, Ashland Theological Seminary

"Ashland Theological Seminary lost an invaluable member of our community with the death of Professor Emeritus, Dr. Luke Lee Keefer Jr. Dr. Keefer was employed as Professor of Church History and Theology from 1987 until his retirement in 2008. As a former pastor, teacher/principal in the mission field and college professor, he brought a depth of understanding and breadth of perspective that continues to impact his former students and seminary colleagues.

"Luke’s students describe him as kind, knowledgeable, organized, supportive and always concerned that they be developing critical thinking skills. They continue to comment on his passion and abilities as professor, mentor and friend. In addition to his obvious living out of the fruits of the Spirit, some have called him the wisest man they have ever known. He modeled sensitivity and grace whenever students would ask a question or assert a point that demonstrated their tendency toward self-assurance without foundation. He never shamed anyone, or shot down the ideas of others, but would quietly challenge class members to consider the weight of their words and to follow through on the effects of their stated beliefs.

"His seminary colleagues valued him as a true man of God, gentle and passionate to his core. He had a God-tuned sense of justice that led him to speak to principle. He brought a singular voice of reason, tempered with compassion, sharpened with intellectual inquiry and grounded in unwavering faith. His insights into the kingdom of God were profound. His contributions in various meetings were always received with the greatest attention and deepest respect; because we knew that he spoke carefully and scripturally. Luke was a servant-leader who modeled obedience of the two great commands in a noticeable and impactful way. He loved God with all his heart and he cared for others in genuine and meaningful ways.

"It is difficult to imagine what activities he’s currently participating in…he may be discussing the back story of the Asbury revival with the Holy Spirit or reviewing the fine points of theology with the Wesley brothers or catching up with all the Messiah/Brethren in Christ/Ashland Theological Seminary friends who have gone on before. These choices and many more are surely a thrill to him in his new home. Whatever are his rewards, we are relieved that his suffering is over forever. At the same time we grieve deeply with all those whose hearts have been broken with the departure of a committed husband and father, a true friend and an inspiration to all who knew him. May we all honor his life by loving God and others as our friend, Dr. Luke Keefer, Jr. sought to do."

Dr. Keefer was one of my most wise men I have ever known.  He was extremely kind and unassuming.  He always drove a red pickup truck to class and had an infectious grin.  He had a knowledge and perspective of church history that helped me further develop my passion for historical theology.  He was just an incredible man and I know who is enjoying sitting and chatting with the saints of God. His impact on me has just simply been immense. 

Welcome home, Dr. Keefer.  Thank you for a life well lived and the legacy you left behind.  You will be missed.

Listed below is his obituary:

Luke Lee Keefer Jr., 70, of Ashland, Ohio passed away Friday, December 10, 2010 at Cleveland Clinic after his long-term illness became more aggressive during the past eight months.
He was born September 22, 1940 to Luke L. Sr. and Martha (nee Melhorn) Keefer in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. They both preceded him in death.
Luke graduated from Millersburg High School in 1957. He attended Messiah College where he received a B.A. degree in 1962 and a B.Th. in 1963. He received a Masters of Divinity in 1971 from Asbury Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in 1982 from Temple University.
His past experiences include pastor of several churches, teacher and principal at Navajo Mission, New Mexico and Millersburg, Pennsylvania. He was a Professor of Bible and Religion at Messiah College for 15 years and retired in 2008 after 21 years as Professor of Church History and Theology at Ashland Theological Seminary.
Luke was a devoted member of the Ashland Brethren in Christ Church where he was a Sunday School teacher, occasional music leader and pulpit supply. He was also an evangelist; speaker for Bible conferences, retreats, and camp meetings; and served on many boards within the Brethren in Christ Church denomination. He was also author and editor of numerous books and articles.
He enjoyed traveling and led numerous tour groups abroad, most frequently to England. At home he enjoyed reading, Yankees baseball, Penn State football, hunting, table games, movies, and ice cream.
Luke's life was an inspiration to many, not because of what he accomplished but because he tried to emulate Christ in all he did. He was ready to transition from this world to his eternal life in heaven. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Doris (nee Bowman) Keefer of Ashland; three children, Brian Keefer of San Mateo, California, Dale (Aimee) Keefer of Webster, New York, and Barbara (Ian) Graham of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; five grandchildren, Elizabeth, David, and Annemarie Graham and Kallisto and Mason Keefer; and four sisters, Geraldine (Ed) Keiter of Halifax, Pennsylvania, Martha (Ray) Lauver of Millersburg, Pennsylvania, Anna Carr of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Nancy (Donald) Prowell of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania.
Funeral services will be held, Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. in the Ashland Brethren in Christ Church, 2750 Mifflin Avenue, Ashland, OH 44805 with Pastor Keith Tyson and Revered Dr. Matthew Lewis officiating. Friends may call Wednesday, December 15, 2010 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Denbow-Primm-Kemery Funeral Home, 313 Center Street, Ashland, OH 44805 and one hour prior to the service at the church from 10:00-11:00 a.m.
An additional funeral service will be held, Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. in the Free Grace Brethren in Christ Church, 2134 Route 209, Millersburg, PA 17061 with Pastor Keith Tyson and Reverend Dr. Matthew Lewis officiating. Interment will be in the Free Grace Brethren in Christ Cemetery. Friends may call the evening prior at the church, Friday, December 17, 2010 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and one hour prior to the service from 10:00 -11:00 a.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to: West Milton Christian Center, PO Box 69, West Milton, OH 45383 or Brethren in Christ World Missions, 431 Grantham Road, PO Box 390, Grantham, PA 17027-0390.
For those who may not be able to attend, online condolences may be shared on the funeral home's website at http://www.dpkfh.com/
Denbow-Primm-Kemery Funeral Home is handing the arrangements. Hoover-Boyer Funeral Home in Millersburg is handling local arrangements.

Time and The Order of Salvation

"Time, why you punish me?
Like a wave bashing into the shore
You wash away my dreams.
"Time, why you walk away?
Like a friend with somewhere to go
You left me crying
"Can you teach me about tommorrow
And all the pain and sorrow
Running free?
"Cause tomorrow's just another day
And I don't believe in time"

Hootie and the Blowfish
"Time"
Cracked Rear View

As in my previous two posts, I still am requesting much prayer.

            I also have been thinking about something that I do not think is quite fully developed yet, but nevertheless, would like to get it out there.  In reformed theology, much emphasis is put on the ordo salutis, also known as the “order of salvation.”  It is very important for Calvinists to place regeneration before the moment salvation to preserve the sovereignty of God.  As a matter of fact, in the whole system of Calvinism, it is important to note that God elected believers from the foundations of the world.  It is important because the emphasis in reformed theology is grace alone through faith alone.

            To be honest, I do not know a lot about Arminianism other than that I am probably not one.  Roger Olson’s book on Arminianism is on my “to read” list, but I just haven’t got there yet.  (By the way, I just finished the 11^th and final book of Harry Turtledove’s TL-191 series.  I’m finally setting aside Turtledove for some other reading.) In Arminianism, it seems that the emphasis is on the free will of man and if I understand the theology correctly, it places the regeneration of the Holy Spirit after the initial act of salvation.

For the past few years, I have described myself as a “questioning Calvinist” with the emphasis much more on the questioning part.  It is not that I have slipped from my belief in the sovereignty of God; on the contrary, it has become stronger.  As a matter of fact, if forced into a corner, I will often err on the side of the sovereignty of God.  But it is not the only important theological issue.  In other words, is God sovereign in salvation?  I believe the Bible does teach that.  Do we come to God on our own free will?  I also believe the Bible also teaches that…

…which brings me to my thought.  I am beginning to believe that time is a created thing.  On the surface, this seems like a no-brainer.  But if time is a created thing, then there was a time (pardon the pun, but language is limited for this) that God did not exist within a time and space continuum.  Therefore, God exists outside of time, so is there really a need to talk about the order of salvation?  Think about it this way: If God stands outside of space and time, then our concept of time, i.e. past, present, and future, is all already known to God.  So, to God, everything is happening right now. Even saying the words “right now” can be a stretch to a God who stands outside of time.  Things just are.

As it turns out, in my limited research of this issue, I am not the first to try and tackle it.  St. Augustine of Hippo also tacked this issue all the way back in the fourth century.  It seems that I stand in good company.  If my research is correct, he thought that God viewed things as the “eternal present,” which is essentially what I am saying above.  I need to do some more research on this (if I can ever find the time, again, no pun intended), but if this is true, then why is it necessary to talk about the order of salvation?

My overly simplistic answer is that since time is a created thing by God and God the Father chose to insert God the Son, Jesus Christ, into this space/time continuum in the form of a human, then even if time is a created thing, God has chosen to work within it.  The only answer that my finite brain has come up with is that God has to try and help us understand the concept of salvation and what it means. 

Think about the repercussions of that, too. If God employed the use of time to help us understand salvation, then does that mean that salvation is a far greater thing than we can understand?  I think it does.  And then what do we do with the arguments of Paul in Romans?  Was the idea of justification as Paul explained it just a method to try and explain something much bigger that he was?  I’ll let you answer that one for yourself. 

I think there is a temptation here to view things as black and white and simply rely on the Scriptures for the information that we need and I am not saying that is a wrong way to approach it.  The Scriptures are what we have to help us understand the things of God; we are to view them as the infallible inspired words of God, but this goes beyond the mere question of the Scriptures being fallible or infallible and goes directly to the limits of our human understanding about who God is and just what exactly He did to save us.  Frankly, it all makes my head hurt. 

My point in all of this is that I think we should be less focused on the ins and outs of the order of salvation and more focused on helping someone come to faith in Christ and helping them to live out that faith.  I have grown very weary of those who want to argue about this issue when I think it is so much less important than what I in the past have made it out to me.  The question for me is what am I and what are you doing right now to live as saints of God? 

An Update and An Article

First of all, thank you all for the kind prayers and support you have given me and my family through this very difficult time.  As I have said before, your prayers and kind words mean more to me than most of you will ever know, especially to those people who have swooped in to help me when I am at my worst.  God bless all of you.
Second of all, for those of you that have emailed me or left me voicemails regarding how I am doing, please be patient with me returning those.  There are times when I just cannot talk about what is going on with anyone because mentally, I just cannot continue to rehash it.  It is nothing personal to you; it really has much more to do with me. 
Third of all, some of you reading STILL don't know what's going on and some of you may never know.  As I have said before on Facebook and other places, just pray.  Pray for me and my family right now.  When I feel the need to disclose what is going on, you'll know.  Until then, just pray for us.
Fourth and last, I found this great article on Relevant Magazine's website  that I would like to pass on.  I try not to cut and paste much anymore, but they have no Twitter or Facebook links to share it so this is how I am going to do it.  I'll post a link to the article as well.  Relevant Magazine people, if it's a problem, I'll take it down.  Until then, enjoy this article on those Crazy Christians:

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23609-dealing-with-crazy-christians

Dealing with Crazy Christians

Christy Gualtieri

Tuesday, 23 November 2010 09:57

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When you want to say, "I'm a Christian, but not like them."

Tell me if this has happened to you: you're going along, trying your best to live a Christian life, reading the Bible regularly and going to church, when you come upon a person (or group of people) who share your beliefs. You think pretty much the same things, you come from the same backgrounds, but the only difference between you and them when it comes to their faith is ... they're extremely frustrating. And it's driving you nuts.

I'm sure you know who I'm talking about: folks who are exceptionally loud, usually whiny and highly judgmental. And, because they're Christians, they're ruining it for everybody else.

Recently, I was talking to a few friends—really faithful folks who attend church regularly and who, above all other things, self-identify as Christians—about the subject of unemployment. They immediately shared their distaste for those out of work, labeling them all as lazy. “They're all just unemployed because they don't want to work,” said one. “If they really wanted a job, they would get one. These sad, greedy people are not more deserving than me for my hard-earned pay. It's ridiculous.”

(I wisely refrained from sharing I had only recently found a part-time job after being unemployed for nearly six months and my mother was still unemployed after two, trying to make ends meet with the benefits she receives. For the record, I do not consider either of us inherently lazy, greedy and manipulative of the system. )

I was baffled when another friend announced she would never support any organization that promotes breast cancer research, as she believed most of them also advocate abortion. When pointed out to her that those who suffer from breast cancer are also in need of care, she argued that the unborn are far more defenseless. Although I am also pro-life, I was baffled by the absoluteness of her argument—as a Christian, can't we find a way to care for all of those who are weak among us?

But wait a minute, I thought. Aren't we supposed to be on the same side? Am I alone in being frustrated? And perhaps most importantly, what am I called to do about it?

Like most things under the sun, contentious relationships like these are nothing new. In Jesus' day, the Jewish faith was governed by the Pharisees, pious followers of the law who placed the tenets of their religion above all else. They were prideful, fearful men, bent on making life miserable not only for those who fell short of following God's law to the extent that they did, but also for Jesus. Baffled that Jesus would dare spend His time with common sinners—tax collectors! Women accused of adultery!—and that He would dare to heal people on the Sabbath day, they chalked up His actions to evil. “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons," they said (Matthew 9:34, NIV).

These men, the ones who supposedly were followers of the same faith Jesus was, tested Him in public and berated Him, denouncing His reputation, but Jesus had none of it. On multiple occasions He addressed them directly, telling them in no uncertain terms where they fell short: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You have neglected the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). He also says: “Woe to you! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:14-16).

Pretty strong words. Why was He so angry? Was it because He understood the damage the Pharisees were doing in misrepresenting the character of the God they worshiped? Was it because His level of frustration was reaching its max? Both?

The thing is, like the Pharisees, most of today's frustrating Christians are really trying to do the right thing. In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Himself says that “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). There are consequences for those who break God's law (5:19), and many Christians are trying to walk the path of righteousness, which is, as Jesus told us, a very narrow one. So it becomes easier to understand that some Christians believe that in order to represent the fullness of the Gospel, they must need to place limits on those to whom they preach.

But it's exactly that message, the message of, “You are not welcome,” that becomes so frustrating. Many Christians are so set on judging others that they lose sight of the heart of Jesus—His love—and His message of unconditional love and mercy becomes twisted into an ugly stereotype.

So what are we called to do about it? First and foremost, we need to be honest with ourselves. Are we the kind of Christian who judges first, then loves afterward? We need to follow Jesus' example, and love and minister to everybody—including the Christians who annoy us—with patience and without complaint. Just as Jesus healed those who were outcast, including Samaritans, lepers and women, we need to welcome and serve—without judgment, since Jesus certainly didn't give any and that alone is up to God—all who are present in our lives: the gay co-worker, our grandparent suffering from Alzheimer's, the homeless man on the street corner, the liberal or Tea Party voters next door. To ignore them publicly and judge them privately, while at the same time proclaiming to be a follower of God, is a disservice to your Christian brothers and sisters struggling to proclaim God's Good News to the world. And there is nothing good about self-righteousness and phony piety. We also need to reevaluate our relationships with God and find out if we have lost sight of that balance between walking in God's grace and doing what we can to serve Him here on earth.

The truth is, none of us have it all together. We all struggle with something, and it's hard enough as it is to be a loyal Christian and follow a path of lifelong righteousness. When we're tempted to point our fingers and complain to God that our fellow Christians are “doing it wrong,” it’s best to take a lesson from what really matters.

At the end of John's Gospel, after Jesus' resurrection, He is seated with the apostles. Peter is very concerned about the “one Jesus loves,” and is anxious about what will happen to him. Jesus looks at Peter and tells him some of the wisest words found in the New Testament.

“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me” (John 21:22).

So follow Him. Keep loving. The non-Christians who know you will be drawn to you; and through your prayer and your example many will come to know Jesus—the real Jesus, the God of love and compassion for all.

Untitled Poem

Felt the need to write today and was trying to post this on Facebook, but my work computer won't let me.  I will post it later on there, too, but until then, here it is, as yet, untitled:

When your paradigm of being a good person is shattered and flipped on its head and you see yourself in the mirror and realize just how disgusting you are…

When you have lost all ability to defend your actions, when you realize how others see you and maybe more importantly, you realize why they see you that way…

When you have been treated badly and realized that you fully deserved it and probably much more…

When your spirit is heavily wounded, covered in blood, and infected…

When you are tired, beaten, broken, your spirit completely destroyed, your side’s sore from the sobbing, your eyes heavy from lack of sleep, and you feel like you are wasting away inside…

When you can make no more demands…

When you approach God with that “thousand yard stare”…

…and fall

…and with the last scream of agony, you let go of your life and descend into the darkness.

….small is the light.

…slow is the morning

…subtle is the peace

When you begin to slowly rise to try and look the world in the eye…

...and find the olive branch amidst the flood

...and the rest is a little easier

…and the tears begin to dry

…and the wounds begin to heal

…and the light is a little stronger

…and the sun is a little brighter

…and the peace is stronger than angst

Now the journey begins…

The Aftermath

Those of you that are close to me know about the past few weeks and what has been going on.  If you don’t know at this point, you will probably not know because the nature of what is happening is so intensely personal that I have only chosen to share it with certain people in the hopes that they will continue to pray.

My first inclination is to call it a storm, but I was thinking this morning that it is not so much a storm as it is the aftermath of the storm.  I remember as a seventh grader, looking out my window on the morning of September 22, 1989, as the remnants of Hurricane Hugo, at that time a tropical storm, ripped through my county with 60 mph sustained winds.  My mother woke me up, scared because our mobile home was rocking. The power went out and all we could really do was wait for it to come back on  .I remember walking outside after it was all over and seeing mobile home under-skirting missing, siding hanging off of mobile homes and houses,  and downed power lines.  When the power came back on three days later (we were lucky), we learned that our county was among the counties declared a federal disaster area.  Images poured across the screen of the extensive damage to the Carolina coast that Hugo had done.  Often people would wander around in shock looking at what used to be their home and even more sadly, looking for loved ones that were missing or perhaps dead.  “Hurricane Hugo caused 56 fatalities, left nearly 100,000 homeless, and resulted in over $10 billion (1989 USD, $17.5 billion 2010 USD) in damage overall, making it the most damaging hurricane ever recorded at that particular time. The hurricane caused $7 billion ($16.3 billion in 2006 USD) in damages within the mainland United States alone, the costliest hurricane in American history at the time, but was later surpassed by Hurricane Andrew three years later, the record amount of damage was broken several more occasions within the next 20 years, and now Hurricane Hugo now ranks eighth highest for the costliest hurricane in the United States.”[1]  These images have always stuck with me.  For most of you, the images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 will stick with you.

I am standing in the aftermath among the ruins of my life.  I am trying to pick out the things that are salvageable and discard the things that have been destroyed.  I know that I will never be the same again.  Perhaps this seems a bit dramatic, especially for those of you that do not know the details, but I do not think it is being overly-dramatic at all.  What I, and other members of my family are going through, is akin to the death of a loved one.  Having had only one person that I was very close to pass away, my father in 1986 when I was only ten, I do not really have anything else to compare it to. 

But this morning, as I write, I want to ease the minds of you who know the details.  The pieces are being picked back up.  The clean-up process has begun.  I am confident that new structures will be put in place.  The process of repentance and forgiveness has begun. For some, this may seem like the sky is falling, but after much reflection, I am seeing this not so much as the end of an era, but as the beginning of healing.  For the past three years, going on four years, God has been whittling away things in my life that I knew should not be there, things that I was scared to let go of, things that some would say were sin, things that may have compromised my faith.  Some things were easy to let go of, but most of them my stubborn heart and flesh just did not want to turn loose.  I was too busy pointing fingers at others while never stopping to point the finger at me.  While I would admit to some of the blame, I would never admit to it all. 

Throughout this past week, there have been moments of anger, moments of fear, moments of grief, moments of hopelessness and moments of extreme sadness.  But thankfully enough, for me, there have also been moments of repentance and moments of forgiveness and maybe even more strangely enough, there have also been moments of serenity and moments of peace.  There is a new confidence in my heart, a strange sense of purpose, and a still small voice that says that despite my feelings and opinions that everything is crashing down around me, the only thing I really need is God. 

            I was struck hard this week by this passage in Matthew that talks about Jesus calming the storm.  The disciples in the midst of the storm said to Jesus, “Save us, Lord. We are perishing” (Matthew 8:25), but Jesus rebukes the winds and the sea and everything was calm.  What struck me is not the incredible power of Christ to calm the storm; what struck me is that the disciples thought they were perishing.  I would have loved to have seen the look on Christ’s face when they said to Him “we are perishing.”  The reality of the situation was that they weren’t perishing.  I’m sure it sure felt like they were.  It looked like their world was crashing down around them and they were not sure they were going to see another day, but the reality was that Jesus was in the boat with them.  What I took from this is that when I looked at God so many times in the past three years, in the past six weeks, and even more specifically, in the past week, and said to Him, “I am dying! Help me!” the truth was that I was never really dying at all, that my life was also safe and secure as long as I had Jesus with me in the boat, that what was really happening is that He was using circumstances in my life to draw me closer to Him.

            I certainly do not want to make this sound trite.  If you excuse my bluntness, what I and my family are going through hurts like hell and this is certainly not all about me, but we are not dying.  I am safe and secure despite everything going on around me and I have no doubt that no matter the outcome of the aftermath, I will be right where God wants me, if I keep in mind that I am His covenant child and nothing, not even the gates of hell, can change that.

            For those of my friends and family that do not know what is going on, I can only ask of you that you pray.  Simply pray for me and my family.  For those of my friends and family that do know, please also pray.  Your support and your very presence mean so much to me right now that mere words cannot contain my gratitude.  Your love and support have been the hands of Christ that have held me during this time.

            I do not know what the full outcome of the aftermath will be, but perhaps unbelievably to some of you, I am actually grateful for the clarity that God has given me in the past week.  All the things that I thought were so important…they just aren’t. What is important is that my life is on the altar…once again…for God to use however He wants to.

---

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hugo

A Brief Analysis of Narrative Theology

It is no secret that as you look at my theological history, I am a bit of a mutt.  I grew up Southern Baptist and when I moved north to Michigan, ended up moving around to several different churches until having a charismatic experience and ending up in an Assemblies of God church.  After being asked to leave (essentially) because of my reformed leanings, I ended up churchless for almost three years until I moved to Ashland, Ohio to attend seminary and began working with an Evangelical Free Church Plant.  The seminary that I graduated from is from a Brethren tradition and is an approved seminary for the United Methodist Church.  Indeed, my influences are very diverse.  I have found that this can be both a weakness for me and a strength.  As a weakness, it makes my theology look too ecumenical and flighty, but as a strength, it helps me appreciate the different contributions that theologians have made to the study of God despite my disagreement with them.

            I recently ran across some writings of Scot McKnight, a theologian who has influenced my thinking as I have read some of his writings on his blog.  I have a deep respect for him after hearing him speak at my seminary last fall on the importance of the resurrection and how it needs to be included in presentations of the gospel.  Despite my misgivings about some of his issues on Marian theology (but in all fairness, I have not read the book, just reviews of the book), I am very impressed by his grasp of the whole of the Bible, meaning that he understands that the Bible is telling a story.  This view is called “narrative theology.”  I label this cautiously because I know that some may have a knee-jerk reaction to that label because this type of theology is embraced by emergent church leaders such as Rob Bell.

            I once told a co-worker, who was also a believer, that I liked some of Rob Bell’s stuff.  He said, “Are you serious?”  I said, “Yeah.  I don’t agree with everything [I haven’t ever found a theologian I 100% agree with], but some of his stuff is good.”

“Seriously?” He asked again.  Apparently, he was having a hard time understanding how any good “evangelical” wanna-be pastor could ever embrace anything Rob Bell has written.  A few days later, he gave me a sheet of paper with notes on it, mostly with regard to how to interpret Scripture.  It must have also escaped him that I was very familiar with hermeneutical methods, probably even more familiar that he was, but nevertheless, I accepted the paper and promised to look it over.  I kept my promise, but it was primarily information about a very literal method that I was very already quite familiar with.  As I told him, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”  It always astounds me when people who have very little or no formal theological education want to take on people who have doctorates and are very well-versed in their beliefs and the arguments for them.  I had a professor that I took for the book of Acts that I highly disagreed with who ascribed to some form of modified liberation theology, but he had done his homework and earned his degree and I wasn’t about to disagree with him openly in class.  Ask questions, yes.  Openly debate him…no.  But I digress.

            I think the issue with narrative theology is that while their method is good *as an overall hermeneutic*, they throw the baby out with the bathwater.  It is like a wide-angle camera lens versus a telescopic lens.  Narrative theology and its approach to hermeneutics helps us see the big picture, that God does indeed have a story of redemption that He wants to tell us, the wide-angle lens if you will, but it makes for a very poor telescopic lens.  If you look at every passage closely in the context of narrative theology, you will fail to see that you can systematically see some doctrines in Scripture. You will inevitably get a blurry picture. 

With all due respect to Rob Bell and others, just because the Bible is telling a story does not mean that we cannot learn something concrete in the telling of that story.   I ran across an interesting site that says this very well:

Narrative theology has also been misused when people determine that the narrative does not have an underlying systematic theology, or that its underlying theology cannot be known. In such cases, it is implied that the lessons of narratives can be understood apart from the worldviews of the original writers or           authors of the text itself. Basically, this results in false teaching with some proponents of narrative theology moving straight from story to application and doing away with more reasoned analysis of the Scriptures. But in reality, this can’t be done. Perhaps the most obvious influence of narrative theology is found in the emerging church with its distrust and relatively low regard for systematic theology.

Another point that this article makes (and I am paraphrasing) is that even though loyal followers to systematic theology may cringe at the application of narrative theology, if they do not employ it at some level, they move away from a “more reasoned analysis of the Scriptures.”  Narrative theology has as one of its strengths the belief that there is a unity in the sixty-six books of the Bible and if systematic theologians choose to trumpet a skewed view of one theology presented in a particular area of Scripture at the expense of another passage that might balance that view, they are doing a great disservice.

            In summary, do not throw the baby of the unity of Scripture out with the dirty bathwater of bad hermeneutics.  Use narrative theology, but keep it in its place at a wide angle and do not use the apparent mysteries of some areas of Scriptures as an excuse to not draw a line where Scripture clearly draws a line.

Stop Calling Terry Jones an Evangelical!

The recent controversy regarding the Florida pastor, Terry Jones who wants to burn the Koran has got me thinking about how important it is for us to define our theological terms. The media likes to lump all Christians who believe in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as “evangelical.” The problem with this is that it is not theologically or culturally accurate.


Theologically speaking, fundamentalism began in the late 19th century as a reaction to Protestant Liberalism which upheld Darwinian Evolution and generally denied any supernatural element to Christianity, in particular to the life and ministry of Christ. It placed an emphasis on the teachings of Jesus rather than the relationship that we can have with Christ through belief if His atoning work on the cross. You can find a very good explanation of liberalism here. Fundamentalism was a good and necessary reaction against this that defined true Christianity as adhering to a set of “fundamentals,” hence the name “fundamentalism.” It was also primarily characterized by a separation from culture, particularly elements of the culture deemed evil or sinful. It resulted in the creation of separate colleges and universities such as the infamous Bob Jones University founded in 1927. The result was that Christianity, particularly its American form, was not very influential on the culture in general throughout the beginning of the 20th century.

Decades later, in the mid-20th century, a renewed theological effort was made to re-engage culture. This movement is generally called “evangelicalism.” The defining moment for this shift was the founding of Fuller Theological Seminary in 1947. (On a coincidental note, my father was born the same year that Bob Jones was founded and my mother was born the same year that Fuller was founded). This represented a rejection of the separation of culture and an attempt to re-engage the culture.

In the last half of the 20th century, both movements grew and had divisions in each one, so much so that it is often hard to tell one from another. Primarily, modern-day fundamentalist Christians, while still embracing the belief in the atoning work of Christ, are primarily known for being dispensational, pre-millennial, and separatistic. Evangelicals, on the other hand, are primarily known for their emphasis on the relationship that we can have with Christ through His atoning death, burial and resurrection. Where it becomes hard to tell the difference is that there are many evangelicals who are dispensational, pre-millennial, but not separatistic (Examples of these would be Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins, authors of the Left Behind series) and there are those that seem to have lived in both worlds. For example, what do you with the late Jerry Falwell? He was indeed a man who seemed to exist in both worlds and at different times throughout his life, he was villianized by both sides.

Although it is often difficult to define exactly where the line is explicitly drawn, generally speaking, the line has been drawn with the belief in separatism. Generally, fundamentalists believe in separation from culture; evangelicals believe in engagement, and, in some cases, acceptance of the culture. Even with this definition, it is still sometimes very hard to tell the difference. Within fundamentalism, there are “open fundamentalists,” those that are a bit more open to culture but still cautiously separatistic (this is the camp that Falwell usually falls in) and “closed fundamentalists” such as those represented by the leadership of Bob Jones University (It is tempting to put Fred Phelps in this category, but with all due respect to fundamentalism, he seems to be a breed all of his own).

This past week, I was able to get on the Dove World Outreach Center’s website, but today, probably because of the international outcry all over the world, I am not able to access that site. However, even without access to the website, it is safe to say that Terry Jones is not an evangelical. Evangelicals have accepted the fact (whether we like it or not) that Islam is becoming part of the American culture. Evangelicals do not agree with Islamic theology, but they understand that deliberately antagonizing Muslims is certainly not the way to argue for a religion that should be known primarily by love. Since Jones rejects this belief (obviously), it is safe to say that he is not an evangelical. I know quite a few of open fundamentalists and I have not heard one of them support this action, so it is quite safe to say that he is not an open fundamentalist. He has completely rejected culture, so much so that he refuses to not do something that is so antagonistic to the religion of Islam and, it seems, to the whole world. Since this is even a bold step for closed fundamentalists, I have placed him in the camp of what I call “hyper-fundamentalism,” an extreme form of closed fundamentalism that, fortunately, does not usually have such a world-wide stage.

With all of that being said, Jones is not an evangelical and I urge all of you to call people out, including the media, who say that he is. He does not represent me or my beliefs. As I said on my Facebook page, he is a “right-wing hyper-fundamentalist.” I doubt he will read this page before Saturday, but I am appealing to him not to burn those Korans. This will incite hatred toward Christianity in general, further hatred of Americans, and unfortunately, as so many world leaders have already said, will probably be answered with violence.

I also urge evangelical Christians who believe in the radical love of God, as I do, to use this as an opportunity to explain to our friends and family who are not believers the difference between the love of God and the hate of Terry Jones. Use this as an opportunity to not just jump on the bandwagon condemning this action, but to explain what you believe and why you believe it. Let’s help the world see the difference between the love of Christ and the hate of Muslims.

True Worship: Community, Church, and Service Structure

I had an epiphany yesterday while in the shower. Okay, “epiphany” may be a strong word, but I did come to a…shall we say…a conclusion. I was listening to a sermon by Sam Storms, one of my favorite speakers and pastors, the Senior Pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. Storms is a wonderful speaker and it dawned on me just how many wonderful speakers that I can listen to right at the touch of my fingertips. I can download podcasts and sermons from some of the best speakers in the world, particularly American speakers. There is literally so much free biblical content out on the web, it is amazing. As far as biblical knowledge is concerned, there has never been a time in the history of the world when so much knowledge is available at the touch of a button. Why is it then that America continues down a moral slide that seems to show no bottom? While I do believe that some of the statistics and other historical facts may be skewed from the past as to how “moral” of a society we once were and if we were really founded as a Christian nation, any good student of history knows that America at one time was at least one of the most religiously civilized countries in the history of the world. But yet we continue to spiral downward. The answer I think comes from a flawed misunderstanding of what the church is and how it should be.


I was not able to attend church services this past week due to having some family in town. It’s the first week I’ve missed in a while, mainly because I have been the one preaching. One thing that struck me this week is how much I missed church. And honestly, it wasn’t the preaching that I missed, although the church we have been attending has great preaching (and I’m not talking about me). It wasn’t even the music that I missed, although that is good also. It was the sense of community.

I watched part of a documentary this weekend on serial killers. Criminologists are trying to figure out what causes these men and women to want to kill numerous people and why this phenomenon, while being present in other times and cultures, really increased during the mid-20th century. One of the criminologists said he believed it was because of a lack of community. There was no community, in many cases for many of these people, no family even, to solve problems in that context. Instead, they pushed down whatever it was, and eventually, it drove them to kill numerous people. That’s a startling statement. The 20th century trend of fatherless and motherless households lead people to begin to withdraw from many social networks, like church and community organizations, and eventually drove some of them to such a radical individualness, that they sought to solve their own perceived and perverted needs through violence. In one startling statement a criminologist who was an expert on serial killers estimated that there were 200 active serial killers right now!

I live in a small town that is connected to a larger town that is connected to an even larger town. For those of you keeping score, I live in the town of Navarre, Ohio, population about 1400 people. We are right next to a larger city, Massillon, Ohio, population just over 30,000. Massillon is connected to a much larger city, Canton, Ohio, population about 80,000. To be very honest with you, I love Navarre. It is a quaint little place with a small-town feel to it, but with the convenience of living next to a larger city. On Fridays, when I go to the bank, I know almost all of the tellers there. When I drive up the street and pick up a pizza for dinner, I know the owner (at least by face). On Sunday mornings, when my wife and I stop at McDonald’s for breakfast before church, we know most of the workers (again, at least by face). I even have family that own a coffee and candle shop in town and if I am there on a Saturday morning, I usually know most of the people in there, too. It is not unusual to drive around town, for whatever reason, and see people that you know and wave to them. It’s even not unusual to see people you know at Walmart as you buy your groceries. To be honest, especially as I am officially now in my mid-30’s, I like that. On Sunday, I missed the opportunity to connect with people that I share what is the most important part of my life with, my relationship with Christ. I didn’t get greeted at the door. I didn’t get to check in with people to see how they’re doing or sing any songs as a community of believers. And I missed that. Monday morning, in the shower, I felt a little bit sad and even a little disconnected as I began my work week. It is indeed a wonderful and blessed thing to be able to share with other people your hopes, fears, praises, prayer requests, tears, and laughter knowing that they are going to share theirs, too.

I am not saying that if you do not go to church, you will turn into a serial killer. What I am saying is that it is time we turn our attention in a greater way toward community, and I mean intentional community. The radical individualness of the 20th century turned many of our churches into mega-churches which were sometimes cookie-cutter versions of saccharin Christianity. It is very possible for a single person to walk into one of these mega-churches and sing the songs and listen to the sermon and walk out and never speak to a single soul. I know this because I have done it. Again, hear what I am not saying. I am not saying that all mega-churches are bad. I have belonged to at least two of them and my experiences have been mixed, but mostly good, and the mostly good part was because I took the time to find where it was that I should serve, based upon my spiritual gifts and natural talents. Indeed, many mega-churches are very biblically-based and do actually engage their community which may be part of why they have experienced such explosive growth. However, I am beginning to wonder why churches are so intent on gathering thousands of people to a given location, usually in the suburbs, and why they are not trying to intentionally sending those people out to plant other churches in urban areas, in other suburbs, and even in rural areas, right here in America. Our whole American church structure seems to have fallen victim to the American culture which is much more about being entertained than about actually worshipping God. Worshipping God is not all about coming to a church to sing great songs and listen to a great speaker. Francis Chan references this in Forgotten God. Often, people will leave a church service and talk about how good the singing was and how good the pastor’s sermon was but never encounter or worship God. Perhaps it is time we re-examine how we are doing church. While preaching is important, indeed vitally important, to how we worship as a community, it is certainly not the only thing and it does us no good if we do not take a moment to help our church community engage what they have just heard. Are we really willing to walk alongside someone, for example, who was just convicted by the preaching of the Word that they are living in a relationship that is not pleasing to God and/or that violates Scripture? Are we willing to walk alongside that person, as a community of believers, and help them do what is necessary to rid their lives of sin and to begin the often tough walk of being a living sacrifice?

The answer to this, as radical as it might sound, is to limit the sizes of our churches. Again, hear me out. I am not saying that we deny people the ability to know Christ. Heaven forbid. If your church is preaching the gospel and has experienced phenomenal growth because of it, praise God! Keep ‘em coming! However, it may be time for you to think about the community aspect of your church. Some churches that never grow beyond, say 200 or so people will not struggle much with this, but others, as they grow into 500+ people will have to have a way to connect. What are you doing to foster community? For a church to have a “community feel” to it, you have to somehow break it up into smaller groups. You could use the term “small groups,” “community groups,” “life groups,” or another term. It doesn’t really matter what you call them. But you need to have a place where a member of your church community can pray, praise, laugh, cry, celebrate, or mourn with a group around them offering mutual support. If you don’t have this, and your church is larger, say 500+ members, you need to ask yourself what is keeping the people there? Is it the personality of the pastor? Are they being entertained? Are they only coming for the “programs” that might keep their kids out of their hair for a few moments? Generally, the way to identify this is to think if your church ceased to have this thing, whatever it is, would the church stay afloat? For example, if the pastor resigned, would people stick around for awhile or would they just leave to find the next entertaining pastor? I use this example because I know of a church a decade or so ago that lost their pastor and almost immediately, church attendance fell to half and then the church split. Apparently, the church was built on the personality of the pastor. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having an entertaining, passionate, articulate and well-spoken pastor, but if that is all your church has and the majority of the people come just to hear the pastor speak, you are not being a biblical church. Awesome worship music is great, but it isn’t true worship if it doesn’t lead you to lay your life down for God. Programs are pointless unless they are fostering community and spiritual growth.

But when I say “limit the size of our churches,” I think it may mean an even more radical step. How about taking a portion of your church, say 25-50 people, who may be in another part of town and driving out to your church, and let them leave and start another church? Or simply another campus? I am encouraged by the latest trend of satellite churches which offer a pastor speaking from a centralized location that is beamed via satellite to other campuses that are spread out in other areas, some in the suburbs and some in the other parts of the city. Mark Driscoll’s Mars Hill Church, in the Seattle area, recently became the first church (to my knowledge) to become a multi-state satellite church, having planted a church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In turn, each of these churches generally have what is called a “campus pastor” that is able to walk people through their responses to the sermon and help them engage them. In addition to that, each of these satellite campuses offers their own times for worship that include allowing the campus pastor to speak on issues that may be for that congregation only. While I say I am encouraged by this, I think that maybe this is not being done quick enough. Now, I have very limited ministry experience, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but instead of setting up another campus when your church reaches 2500 people, how about thinking about it when the church gets to be around 200-300 people? Are there 25 people in a church of 300 that are willing to commit to leaving to start another congregation in another part of town or even another town altogether in order to reach other people, to foster community, and to help grow people spiritually? The only time I have ever seen this done is in a small independent, fundamentalist Baptist congregation in Michigan. They intentionally had a relatively large group of people (in comparison to the size of their church) leave to start a new congregation in another part of their metro area.

One more aspect of this that I think has not been lost on some of the satellite church leaders but may have been lost on some of the smaller church leaders is that it may be time to think about changing up the traditional order of service. Many of the larger satellite churches will have start with one or two songs, go into the sermon time, and then have an extended worship set that will allow the church community to respond to what they have just heard. This way, the service climaxes with an extended time or our response to God’s Word rather than an invitation that is tacked on to the end of a service and it gives the church community a chance to identify people who need special ministry time and offer it to them. As a preacher, I do not like to give a sermon unless I give the people that are listening a chance to respond. Perhaps it is because of the tradition that I grew up in where you would give an invitation to just about anything; I’m not really sure, but I feel uncomfortable in simply preaching and leaving and sometimes even the one song that we sing for the “invitation” or “ministry time” just doesn’t feel like enough time for a person to really engage what they have just heard.

Okay, I have to confess-I didn’t get all of that from an “aha!” moment in the shower; it is something that I have been thinking about for awhile. What struck me different this time was the aspect of church attendance that I missed, that particular aspect of community. Again, I’m just a guy with limited ministry experience, so perhaps I am being too idealistic or something. Feel free to comment and tell me so. Am I on to something or did I completely miss the boat?

The Sound of Theos is now Living Justified

The blog formerly known as "The Sound of Theos" has now been moved to a new blog, Living Justified.  This is an effort to avoid any confusion as to how the blog may be related to the podcast.  As of now, The Sound of Theos is a podcast only, with the option to add a blog later, if warranted.  "Living Justified" is the new look and feel of my blog and all posts have been archives since the beginning days, way back in 2003.  What a journey!  Thanks for stopping by and feel free to come by often for updated content.

God bless,

David McDowell

When Does Theology Go Bad? Part 1--Defining Correct Theology

I was theologizing this morning in the shower (the best place to theologize). My thought was, “When does theology become bad?” To say that is becomes bad simply because it is incorrect is not going far enough because so-called good theology can become bad when it is applied wrongly. It is true that incorrect theology will lead to bad theology. So maybe it is best to define our terms at this point.

How does one define correct theology? I think there are at least three ways to determine this:

1. For theology to be correct, it must be correct biblically. In other words, the theology must not violate Scripture. I also that this is the most important criteria for determining correct theology.

2. For theology to be correct, it must also be historically accurate. In other words, is this how the church has historically defined this issue? This can be a tricky one, because many denominations have historically defined some doctrinal issues differently, but on the essentials of Christianity (I define the essentials as those listed in the Apostles’ Creed) the church has generally had one historic interpretation. An example of where theology can go wrong historically is the doctrine of the Trinity. Historically, the Trinity has been defined as one God in three persons, but certain sects of Christianity, Oneness Pentecostals for example, teach that it is God in three forms, not persons. This is historically incorrect and thus leads to incorrect theology.

3.

For theology to be correct, it should generally fit neatly into your system of theology. I have often viewed theology as a head of hair (ironic, don’t you think?). On one extreme, you can have George McFly hair, flawless and slicked back. At the other extreme, your theology can be like Alfalfa from Our Gang with that one large portion of hair sticking straight up in the air. It is not necessary that your theology fit into a neat box. Pre-packaged Christianity is not what we are after. Even the best theologians can be rough around the edges. But if part of your theology sticks out as inconsistent with the rest of your theology, it is most likely incorrect and can become very bad if you do not address it.

I'm Still Making Changes

Hey everyone. I'm still making changes to the blog to make it easier. This will serve as a notice that this blog is always a work in progress and a test to see if the new sharing function is truly working. Peace...in Him.

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The Legacy of Clark Pinnock

I learned today of the death of a great, but controversial theologian, particularly those of us from a Southern Baptist background.  Christianity Today announced it this way, “Clark H. Pinnock's life journey is over. The influential and often controversial evangelical theologian died unexpectedly August 15 of a heart attack. He was 73. In March, the long-time professor of systematic theology at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, had announced he was withdrawing from public life and revealed that he was battling Alzheimer's disease.”  The article goes on to describe some of Pinnock’s contributions: “Pinnock came to the United States in 1965 and taught at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he became an influential figure in the Southern Baptist Convention's battles over biblical inerrancy. From 1969-1974 he taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and from 1974-1977 at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.”

            The article elaborates further on what Pinnock became primarily known for:  “The trajectory of his thinking also took him from a Reformed to a neo-Arminian view of salvation. Early on he had maintained ‘that Calvinism was just scriptural evangelicalism in its purest expression.’ But by the late 1990s theologians like R.C. Sproul and J.I. Packer were denouncing him. Pinnock kept pushing the envelope, championing the concept of ‘open theism,’ which emphasizes God's self-limitation in dealing with humans, including his vulnerability. He argued that God could be surprised by events and persuaded to change a decision.

“This positioning was anathema to many in the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), who insisted God knows and has even planned the entire future, and that open theism undermines confidence in God. The controversy bubbled along for nearly a decade, and came to a head in 2002 when Pinnock was nearly expelled from the ETS. His membership situation was satisfactorily resolved a year later. Even his opponents acknowledged that Pinnock considered the Bible the primary source for theology, and that his arguments were anchored in Scripture.”

I remember when Open Theism was the big hot topic right around my senior year at William Tyndale College.  I also remember being very much appalled by it.  At the time, I openly (no pun intended) called it heresy.  I was much more dogmatic in my theology back then.  I take a bit more lenient view now and try to temper my arguments with love and grace in response to my own weird spiritual journey, but I can say at this point, that I do not embrace this theology.  Perhaps I will write more on that later.

Although I was aware of Pinnock’s beliefs on open theism, I was sadly not aware of his contributions earlier on during the inerrancy debates of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.  Even though in his later years, Pinnock moved away from some of his inerrancy positions, he was a major contributor in favor of biblical inerrancy.  Russell Moore says this about Pinnock: “A list of his former students during that time is amazing to anyone with any grasp of the history of Southern Baptists and the inerrancy controversy: Paige Patterson, Jerry Vines, Adrian Rogers, and on and on. I cannot think of a single figure of crucial importance in the conservative resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention who is more than two steps away from Pinnock’s direct influence.” I have had the privilege of hearing all the men listed above preach in person.  The influence that he had on Southern Baptists is immense.

I trace my own salvation back to an autumn day in 1994 when I drove off of the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia and up Candler’s Mountain Road to smoke a cigarette.  I popped a tape in that my mother had sent me of Evangelist Bailey Smith, a one-time President of the SBC.  As I pulled back into the gravel pit parking lot at Liberty, I felt the Holy Spirit tugging on my heart and I bowed my head and gave my life to Christ.   If there ever is a Southern Baptist Hall of Fame, you would put Bailey Smith’s name in there.  My point is that if you can trace Pinnock’s influence to the men listed above, and surely those men have influenced their contemporaries like Smith, then I have Clark Pinnock to partially thank for leading me to Christ. 

It is strange indeed that a man that so many on the far right consider a heretic had such a major influence on fundamental and evangelical theology.   Christianity Today acknowledges this theological slide and the vitriol that surrounded it, but still places him among a school of theologians that left an indelible mark on theology today.  Pinnock’s unique look at this is worth of note.  According to the article, he is quoted as saying, “Not only am I often not listened to, I am also made to feel stranded theologically: being too much of a free thinker to be accepted by the evangelical establishment and too much of a conservative to be accepted by the liberal mainline."  I can relate as I have often described myself as too conservative for my evangelical friends and too liberal for my fundamentalist friends.  It’s a tough line to walk.

I think it is sad that while we cannot ignore the teachings of Pinnock that we disagree with, some people will insist on reviling him.  One of the comments on Moore’s blog said (and I have not edited any of the typos):

It is nonsense like this that explain the decrepit condition of modern American Christianity. True Christians have NOTHING to be thankful for regarding this false teacher.

By Biblical standards, Clark Pinnock was an apostate, a blasphemer, and an idotalter. He spat in the face of the God of the Bible, and endeavored to create his own pathetic “god” out of the imaginiations of his depraved heart. And then he did everythign he could to pullute the church with his vile teachings.

There are people burning in hell today because they forsook the Word of God to follow the Satan-inspired nonsense of Clark Pinnock. And now he has received his just due reserved for all of those of such ilk.

It is blatant ignorance on this responder’s part not to recognize that he could not take the stand that he does on the inerrancy of the Word of God if it was not for Pinnock.  Thankfully, someone reminded this anonymous blogger named Tom (he cowardly left out his last name) about David’s response when he heard of the death of Saul:

Dr. Moore’s article reminds me of David’s lament for Saul (and Jonathan) in 2 Samuel 1. I am sure many in David’s army thought that David’s words about Saul were nonsense. Saul’s disobedience was serious; so serious, God rejected him as King. Yet, when David learned that Saul had died, he wrote his gracious lament that the mighty had fallen and focused on the good that Saul had done. A lesser man than David (or a man of lesser faith than David) could not have written that lament. I don’t know Dr. Moore, but it seems to me that the gracious faith that moved David so long ago helped Dr. Moore write this article yesterday.

Below is that lament from the New International Version and I think it is appropriate to remember the legacy of Pinnock this way.  He was a great theologian that I did not always agree with, but I believe he was simply a believer trying to reconcile the irreconcilable.  Some vilified him for it and some praised him for it, but he was left stuck in the middle.  Theology may just be the most overlooked and dangerous profession of them all.

"Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights.
       How the mighty have fallen!

  "Tell it not in Gath,
       proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
       lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
       lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.

  "O mountains of Gilboa,
       may you have neither dew nor rain,
       nor fields that yield offerings of grain .
       For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
       the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.

  "From the blood of the slain,
       from the flesh of the mighty,
       the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
       the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.

  "Saul and Jonathan—
       in life they were loved and gracious,
       and in death they were not parted.
       They were swifter than eagles,
       they were stronger than lions.

  "O daughters of Israel,
       weep for Saul,
       who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
       who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.

  "How the mighty have fallen in battle!
       Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

  "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
       you were very dear to me.
       Your love for me was wonderful,
       more wonderful than that of women.

  "How the mighty have fallen!
       The weapons of war have perished!"

Why I Read

Now that I am no longer participating in a major online group, I thought I would try and turn my attention once again to putting up more blogs. Since I graduated from seminary, I can now read what I want. Left to my own devices, I would probably just read fiction and escape into a world that doesn’t offer as much stress, but I have found that I need to read non-fiction also and keep up with my own intellectual growth. What works for me is to rotate fiction and non-fiction. Today, I would like to introduce to you a tool that I have been using for a while now that helps me keep track of the books that I want to read. I have posted a new link on my blog will take you to Google Books. The link is under "Blogroll" (although I might move it later) and says ""My Google Library." Google Books has allowed me to stay more organized in regards to books that I hear about and want to check out. Here is the problem for me: I only have so much time and I am quite convinced that if I read every book recommended to me that I would not have enough time left in the rest of my life, even if I quit my job. I always have people tell me, “You need to read this; it’s a good book!” Well, there are lots of good books and I am not interested in reading good books. I am interested in reading the best books.  That's really all the time that I have.

As far as fiction goes, I have on order the ninth book in the eleven-book Timeline 191 series by Harry Turtledove. According to the Wikipedia article, “Timeline-191 is a fan name given to a series of Harry Turtledove alternate history novels, including How Few Remain as well as the Great War, American Empire, and Settling Accounts series. The name is derived from Robert E. Lee's Special Order 191, which detailed the Army of Northern Virginia's invasion of the Union in September 1862 during the American Civil War. The divergence occurs when Union forces do not find a copy of Special Order 191, on September 10, 1862. The novels detail the consequences of this up until 1944 in the alternate world.” The ninth book in the series is the second book in the tetralogy, Settling Accounts and it is entitled, Settling Accounts: Drive To The East. After I finish my current read, I will be delving into this book and hope to have the entire series finished by the end of the year. I have been reading this series since 2007! As I said, seminary never really let me read what I wanted to so while I was in class, so I stopped reading fiction and pretty much only read assigned books with a few exceptions. After I finish the “191” series, I hope to read the two books that I have not read yet by John Grisham, who is, without a doubt, my favorite author. The two I have not yet read are Ford County, which is a collection of short stories, and his new upcoming book, The Confession.

As far as non-fiction goes, I have two loves/interests. The first, of course, is theology. I want to keep up my interest and keep myself informed and balanced on this subject. This is the book I am currently reading called The Christian Atheist. It was given to me by a friend for graduation. So far it is very good. I also have on order Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs which was also recommended to me by a friend. This book would fall into one those “exception” categories I was talking about. Every now and then, a book comes along that I just want to read more than what my system will allow. Because of the nature of this book being in short chapters, I will probably read it on the side while I am reading other books. Generally, I only read one book at a time, unless they are two very distinctly different books. I once tried reading two fiction books at the same time and ended up getting the stories crossed.

The other love/interest is history, particularly American history. Because of this, I have set a goal of reading a book on each of the Presidents of the United States…yes, even the bad ones! I have currently read one on Washington, Adams, and Jefferson and will be reading one on James Madison after I finish Drive To The East.

As you can see, my reading list keeps me quite busy. I am hoping that, at some point in my life, I will enjoy reading more than television, but that has not happened…yet. I would encourage all of you to be veracious readers, most importantly, of God’s Word, but also, of other books as well. I have met Christians who will not read anything other than Christian non-fiction. Not to be critical, but generally speaking, these have been some of the most unimaginative people I have ever met. Reading fiction really keeps my imagination in the right place and it also helps me escape to a world that is unfamiliar and engaging. Like I said, fiction is my favorite. Another thing that I would suggest is to read books that you know you will probably disagree with. If you click on the link, you will see that one of the books on my list is Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities by Roger Olson. I heard Olson interviewed on “Converse With Scholars” a while back and was very impressed with his knowledge of this subject and made a point to read him, even though I know I will probably not agree with him. How else can I engage in a conversation with someone of a more-Arminian persuasion if I do not know anything about the subject? Reading something you disagree with also fires up your own imagination and helps you to continue to think critically. So check out my Google Books library and let me know what you think.

Biblical Lessons from Lebron and Lindsay

            So all of Ohio is buzzing about Lebron James’ decision to not return to the Cavaliers.  Dan Gilbert has posted an online letter blasting Lebron which just seems to show a severe lack of professionalism.  It really is just symptomatic of what truly is the issue here.  On my way out to lunch a couple of days ago, I caught the opening of Rush Limbaugh when he said with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek that no one seemed to be reporting that Lindsay Lohan had obscenities written on her fingernails during her recent court appearance where she was sentenced to 90 days in jail.  Of course, Limbaugh was being facetious.  It seems that the news has been buzzing non-stop about Lebron and Lindsay.

            Why are we so shocked as a nation when our heroes let us down?  We lift them up like demi-gods and expect them to do no wrong and when they eventually screw up, we chastise them for their behavior.  Our expectations are so high when it comes to the cult of celebrity in our culture that when their shiny façade is shattered, so is our trust in all of humanity.  It’s time for a gut check here, people.  The only good inside of us is the good that God placed there. We cannot be flabbergasted when unbelievers do sinful things.  It’s in their nature.  For that matter, we cannot be shocked when believers do sinful things.  We will, of course, be more disappointed when one of our own fumbles, but we are still only human and we will all eventually do some really stupid and sinful things that we are ashamed of.  It might not be as public and humiliating as, say Ted Haggard for instance, but at some point in our life and even some point in our Christian life, we will let somebody down.

            Psalm 9:9-10 says, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”  If you trusted in Lindsay Lohan’s squeaky-clean childhood image to get her through life, you have been severely disappointed. If Ohioans put their trust in Lebron to stay in Ohio, they were severely disappointed last night.  Gilbert went so far as to say that Lebron “deserted” the Cavaliers.[1]  Here is a blessed and biblical truth: God will never desert you. He will never forsake you.  He will never leave you.  He is the only one…let me write it again ‘cause I’m getting excited and wish I could shout this from a pulpit right now…He is the only One who we can always trust and will never let us down!

            So put down your People, your US Weekly, and any other celebrity-worshipping magazine and pick up your Bible and read the words of a God who will always do what He says, no matter what.  He’s proven it in the past and you can read all about it.  He will do it again and you can read all about that, too.  He’s the God who is loyal to the end, regardless of the circumstances and he won’t leave you for a better contract or the chance to win a championship.  He’s already won!

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[1] http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/07/gilberts_letter_to_fans_james.html

Why I Am No Longer Charismatic

Yesterday, I posted a blog about why I am no longer reformed.  Today, I want to talk about something else I am not.  I am no longer charismatic.  I need to take a moment here and define these terms so that you know what I am saying. 

At one point in my life, I used to consider myself a Pentecostal.  I had an experience in 1999 where I professed to have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.  Pentecostals, historically and theologically coming out of the Methodist/Holiness movement, believe that all believers can have this second blessing and that if you have this blessing, you will speak in tongues.  For Pentecostals, this is a staple in their theology.  Theologically, speaking in tongues, for the Pentecostal, is not an option; it is a command for all believers to pursue.  Like I said, I used to define myself as a Pentecostal, but I do not think that I ever fully believed this.  I had to categorize my experience and at the time, that is where I chose to categorize it.  Later on, I moved into what is now traditionally known as charismatic theology.  I believed that certain believers were given the gift of tongues, but others were not.  Historically speaking, charismatic believers rose out of mainline denominations in the 50's and 60's during what is known as the Charismatic Renewal.  For the majority of the last decade, this was my stance on this issue. 

There is another category, mostly for historic purposes, called the Third Wave.  If you wanted to pigeon-hole me, I would be the closest to this category, but what I have found is that as my beliefs have evolved, my emphasis has become less on having one particular manifestation of a gift on a person and more on generally allowing the Holy Spirit to move the way that He wills.  Because of this, I now believe that tongues will manifest themselves at the Spirit's enablement and I do not really get into people seeking after them.  I believe that believers need to know that all gifts are relevant today, but per Corinthians, I would much rather see people excel in gifts that build up the church.  As such, I de-emphasize tongues to make it even with the other gifts and as such, I do not believe that I could be called a charismatic.  Perhaps I am wrong about that, but while at one point in my life, I would have major issues belonging to a church that did not "practice the gifts," I no longer have those qualms.  My concern is that people have a general openness to whatever the Holy Spirit wants to do in their lives.

The beauty of about growing theologically is that it is like an onion; you just keep peeling off layers and layers until you get underneath all of it.  My opinions on being charismatic may change again, but right now, this is where I’m at and I’m very grateful to be here.