It was a great honor and joy to once again work with 9Marks and Crossway Books in writing Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons.  Honestly, I can think of tons of brothers better-suited to write a book on finding and being solid elders and deacons.  But it was a blessing to attempt to distill some of the practical things the Lord has taught over the last fifteen years serving as an elder in three different settings.  I hope the book blesses the Lord’s Church.  I’ve been most encouraged by some of the early comments from folks at my own church but also from some reviews around the blogosphere.  Here are three blog reviews for the interested:

Matt Smethurst at The Gospel Coalition concludes:

Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons isn’t a magic bullet solution to the problem of under-qualified leadership that may exist in your church. You won’t find “a ten-step process for turning spiritual duds into elder studs” (13). You will, however, find an accessible, practical, and altogether helpful resource for raising up reliable men to lead the blood-bought bride of Christ (Acts 20:28).

Carl Trueman offered an encouraging commendation in “Three Great Books“.

Also, Frank Turk at Pyromaniacs offered some words of recommendation:

This is careful and simple book, expressly about the call and qualification of the servants of the church who are also its leaders, and I credit Thabiti for writing it to the church rather than to fellow theologians.

Let me say this about the books in the 9Marks series: Mark Dever’s fingerprints are all over these books, and that’s not at all a bad thing. Dever’s fatherly love for the local congregation comes out from all of these books, but in this book especially. It’s funny how much Thabiti doesn’t say about the local pastor in this book: there’s no chapter on white boarding; there’s no chapter on productivity or time management; there are no references to secular business practices. There are no suggestions about how to hear what God’s own voice is telling you to do.  Selah.

Instead, Thabiti takes Paul’s directions for calling Deacons, Elders, and Pastors, and lays them out for us real people to take seriously as God’s plan for leading the local church. It’s not even 150 pages long, which is to its credit: there is no fluff in here. This is the vernacular theology of how those called to be, as Thabiti says, the waiters in God’s church ought to be trained up, and called out, and then serve and see their own service.

Well, that’s enough shameless self-promotion.  I hope you’ll read the book and perhaps share it with many in your church’s leadership, prospective leadership, or young men who hope to grow in godliness.  I pray it’ll be a blessing.

Christian Century has an engaging article reviewing three recent works by African-Americans giving a theological account and critique of traditional theology and “race.” I mentioned one of those works yesterday: J. Kameron Carter’s Race: A Theological Account. But the article also reviews two other important books along these lines: Brian Bantum’s Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race and Christian Hybridity (Baylor University Press, 2010) and Willie J. Jennings’ The Christian Imagi­nation: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale University Press, 2010).  The article, “The New Black Theology: Retrieving Ancient Sources to Challenge Racism,” is well worth the read.

One of the things that caught my attention and encouraged me was the review’s highlighting of the fact that each of these authors reach back into pre-Enlightenment Christian tradition for resources to reformulate “race” and challenge racism.  That methodology is encouraging in its own right, but it’s all the more heartening since each of these men stand somewhat close to Cone’s school of Black Theology.  Hence the reviewer’s speculation about the emergence of a “new Black Theology.”  Such an emergence, representing a re-appropriation of classic Christian sources rather than a rejection of them (a la Cone), would be a huge move toward theological health.  I suspect there would still be tendencies and conclusions we’d all differ on at places, but re-centering Christian dogmatics and tradition significantly improves the viability of “Black Theology” as unqualified theology.

If you’re interested in thinking more along these lines, I’d encourage a read of the article/review.  Here are the final three paragraphs:

In other words, black theology is reclaiming the theological tradition as its own and, under the banner of orthodoxy, taking on all comers. By rethinking the Enlightenment’s promises of enlightenment and rearticulating racial existence in the language of the church’s most sacred doctrines, black theology is now (or once again) making a case that cannot be denied. The debate is no longer fixed on racial identity politics (a quagmire from which none can escape); rather, it takes place on the level playing field of orthodoxy.

The new theology reminds us that it was a mistake to call black theology “black theology” in the first place. Consistency at least would have required that European theology equally bear the burden of qualifications (“colonizing theology”). To be sure, patronizing name-calling allowed black theology to develop its own voice in its own time, just as the segregated black church developed its own styles, saints and stories. But because the margins were managed by white theologians, those voices were heard by whites, and when heard they were regarded as less than equal and so were not allowed to challenge white hegemony and help white theology be anything other than white theology.

Accordingly, the new black theology is best described as the new theology, no (dis)qualifying adjective necessary. In it we see Christian theology at long last incarnating the material conditions whereby the good news becomes good news.

Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore is offering 50% off 9Marks titles. Check it here.

Dr. Anthony B. Bradley is proving himself to be a frequent commentator on Christianity, theology, race and politics. In the last couple years, we’ve received three books from the keyboard of Dr. Bradley:

Liberating Black Theology: The Bible and the Black Experience in America (Crossway, 2010)–a review here.

Black and Tired: Essays on Race, Politics, Culture, and International Development (Wipf & Stock, 2011).

And in his newest edited volume, Keep Your Head Up: America’s New Black Christian Leaders, Social Consciousness, and the Cosby Conversation, Bradley assembles a collection of African Americans to join the debate about the responsibilities and roles of African Americans and the Black Church in addressing the social ills of the community. It’s an important conversation generated, in this case, by controversial remarks made by Bill Cosby and the ensuing push-back offered by Michael Eric Dyson. Each of the contributors in some way interacts with these two voices on the African-American right and left. Though Keep Your Head Up comes to the party a bit late, it provides a much needed emphasis that neither Cosby nor Dyson provide: the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

After providing a brief introductory chapter, Bradley and team offer the following commentaries:

1. Vincent Bacote, “More Than Victims: The Benefits of a Theological Vision”
2. Bruce Fields, “The Black Family: The Hope of ‘True Religion’”
3. Howard Brown, “Sexuality in the Black Community”
4. Ralph C. Watkins, “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It: What’s Really Going On?”
5. Eric M. Mason, “Black Men and Masculinity”
6. Lance Lewis, “The Church and the Community”
7. Anthony B. Bradley, “Redeemed and Healed for Mission”
8. Anthony Carter, “The Black Church and Orthodoxy”
9. Ken Jones, “The Prosperity Gospel”
10. Craig Mitchell, “Rev. Michael Eric Dyson: An Analysis”

General Comments

The chapters seem to flow from the more personal complex of issues involving identity and family outward toward church, community, and mission. The arrangement is effective and the reader flows readily from one level of analysis to the other.

Most of the writers attempt a summary of either Cosby and Pouissant’s book, Come On, People! as an introduction to their topic. That gives the book a somewhat repetitive feel. Perhaps the volume would have been helped with one general introduction, thus freeing the contributors to give more attention to their subjects. But having said that, the repetition does not hinder the volume’s effectiveness.

Another source of repetitiveness were the sections of most chapters that outlined the gospel. Who can complain about repetition of that message? I think there’s value in the restating of this most basic message. However, I found myself wondering if the volume as a whole might have been more effective if one early chapter defined and expanded the gospel for the entire book, leaving the chapter writers free to apply the gospel in specific pastoral ways to their subjects. That application appeared unevenly throughout the book.

Specific Appreciations

While I enjoyed all the contributions, there were a couple that emerged as favorites for me. First, I appreciated Vincent Bacote’s wrestling with the question of Black identity. Bacote set for himself the goal of presenting “a theological path toward a more whole, positive, and responsible identity.” No small task, but Bacote gives the reader much to think about. I couldn’t help drifting back to my days in graduate school researching and writing about the psychological development of racial identity attitudes. Bacote’s chapter stirred that same curiosity and excitement–with one crucial difference: Bacote writes as an evangelical Christian and sets Black identity firmly within a biblical and gospel-centered framework. In fact, Bacote’s chapter directly challenges the assumptions underpinning my field of study and most conversations about Black identity. He asks:

“Is it enough to replace the lies [of white supremacy] with some version of another cultural history? How do we affirm our cultural uniqueness and our common humanity and resist the siren song that would exalt essential or ontological blackness as the answer to the norms of whiteness? Our cultural stories alone will not suffice. A theological vision can help us have a deeper sense of identity the incorporates the gifts of our culture without requiring us to go on an expedition for a mythical conception of blackness” (p. 32).

Amen. As true as that paragraph is, it won’t earn Bacote many friends in an African-American community that’s been on “an expedition for a mythical conception of blackness” so long that to question the expedition may get you exiled along the way. Bacote’s piece calls the correct questions and points the way forward from myth to Bible.

I also really enjoyed Bruce Fields’ meditation on the Black family. Fields takes an unusual approach, beginning his discussion with two quotes from Augustine. If you’re not accustomed to seeing Augustine cited in discussions of the Black family, you may be interested to read Fields’ justification and to see how Augustine’s conception of “true religion” informs Fields’ prescription for Black family renewal. Fields’ discussion was passionate, pastoral, appropriately personal, and the clearest meditation on the Lord’s cross and redemption in the volume. Most of the chapters make some reference to the gospel, but Fields brought the cross into sharp relief for the reader. As gospel-centered as Fields’ chapter was, I found it curious that he would end the essay with a quote from a Native American “holy woman.” A curious close to an otherwise stellar meditation on the Black family.

Lance Lewis offered what I considered the most eloquent and at points most forceful chapter. Lewis’ chapter on “The Church and the Community” began with a short history of the Civil Rights movement, calling attention to some unintended consequences. Then Lewis begins exhorting the church and the reader to “cultivate a desire for a satisfaction greater than the life of prosperity, comfort, and convenience…, be devoted to a mission more significant and permanent than lifting black folks… and determine to seek a place more beautiful, pristine, bountiful, and secure than the suburbs…” (p. 126). Consider Lewis in his own words:

Christ’s stated mission for His church is cultural transformation to the extent that whole people groups reorient their existence around obeying, worshiping, serving, loving, and delighting in the living God through a worshiping relationship with Jesus Christ. Embracing this mission will move us from the notion that maintaining the military, political, and economic dominance of the United States is somehow God’s will or must at least be a part of His plan. It also affirms the truth that it is not His express will to raise black folks into the middle income levels of American society so they can enjoy the ‘blessings of liberty.’ Finally, we must grasp the truth that we can no longer regard the black church as our black church simply on the basis that it arose from our shared history and struggle, so that we now shape its content, mission, and direction for the temporal fortunes of our people. Rather, the black church is black to the extent that it calls black people to drop the African-American idols, take up the cross of Jesus Christ, and become active followers of Jesus Christ (p. 128-129).

Lewis concludes with some preliminary steps forward. Overall, his essay was insightful and full of sermonic force.

Anthony Carter provides a cogent call to orthodox theology in the Black church. He reminds us, “There are infinite ways to lose your soul. There is only one way to save it” (p. 161). Though winsome as always, Carter is not naive about the dividing and clarifying nature of orthodoxy. “Orthodoxy by definition is opinionated,” he tells us. Stalwart theological opinion is indeed lacking in too much African-American Christian life and practice. Carter gives us the bottom line:

Today, some are calling for a new theology, while others are proclaiming that God is doing a “new thing.” On the contrary, we do not need a new theology; we need to recover the orthodoxy that has already been delivered to the church by the Spirit of God. The test of orthodoxy is to place it in differing contexts and not have it change, but rather watch as it changes people. It will produce voices unique to its time, decrying the evils of its day, yet never denouncing or denying the source from which it springs–namely, the Bible, the inspired, all-sufficient Word of God–or the message and mission of that source–namely, Jesus Christ and eternal life through Him. The world is waiting (pp. 174-175).

Finally, Ken Jones turns in an effective survey of the prosperity gospel and some of its main proponents. These were among my favorite contributions in the volume.

A Friendly Critique

Chapters 3-5 needed more clarity to be effective, in my opinion. For example, Harold Brown’s contribution on Black sexuality–a very important topic–had very helpful things to say in support of marriage but also contended that marriage in itself was not the answer to sexual brokenness and that feeling ashamed over such brokenness is what actually drives people to sexual dysfunction. A clearer statement at these points along with a clearer articulation of the gospel would have helped this chapter.

Likewise, Watkins’ chapter on gangster rap made only a cursory allusion to the gospel at the end of the chapter and failed to interact as critic of the genre. Watkins took the church to task for not engaging hip hop and the hip hop generation. It’s a charge we often hear and it has some force. But I found his almost heroic treatment of Ice Cube puzzling. Cube was my man back in the day, but I think it’s a significant stretch to recast Cube as social commentator and critic of the church. The music is more crass than that. Watkins would have done well to give at least a few paragraphs critiquing the genre just as he critiqued the church. I also found myself hoping Watkins would have put gangsta rap as one sub-genre of rap in conversation with some of the holy hip hop offerings available. The brothers in holy hip hop have provided a viable alternative to secular and gangsta rap, and indeed the holy hip hop crowd represents one wing of the Black church that is in conversation with and critique of the misogyny, materialism, violence, and twisted views of manhood and womanhood in gangsta rap.

Finally, Eric Mason’s chapter provided some insightful commentary on black masculinity. Mason opens by questioning the appropriateness of some white evangelical material on manhood, then continues with his own summary and categorization of African-American history of manhood. The final sections include some pragmatic considerations for cultivating manhood and masculinity. Mason writes, “For the most part, the Bible does not define what a man is, but it does give vivid portraits of manhood and characteristics of masculinity” (p. 108). I’m not sure I’d agree that the Bible lacks a definition of manhood. For example, Titus 2 provides a definition that stresses the characteristics of both mature manhood and younger men.  The chapter might have been helped by commenting on that passage and others like it that describe mature manhood/masculinity (1 Tim. 3, for another example).

One other critique to mention: some of the writers seem to sometimes equate the Black Church with the Black community.  It’s difficult to sometimes identify whether the critiques and descriptions apply to Christians or to non-Christians in the community.  The assumption that the church’s concern as well as its membership is co-terminous with the community makes for some problematic conclusions.

Main Contribution

Keep Your Head Up joins an important discussion already well underway between the conservative Cosby types who argue that African Americans need to accept and exercise more personal responsbility in addressing social problems and the liberal-progressive Dyson types who do not deny the need for personal responsibility but argue Cosby and his ilk overlook the more pervasive and debilitating effects of structural racism.  Both Cosby and Dyson would criticize the Black Church for failing to play an effective role in resolving these social ills.

Keep Your Head Up speaks up to the church and for the church.  The book really doesn’t break new ground, depending largely on the data and analysis already provided by Cosby and Dyson.  The book’s main contribution is the insertion of the gospel in these discussions about African-American progress.  If it did nothing else but repeatedly make known the Good News that the Lord Jesus Christ redeems sinners from their sin and brokennes, making them new, removing their guilt, and giving eternal life and everlasting hope through His death, burial, and resurrection, then it would have done a lot.

Perhaps it’s best to think of Keep Your Head Up as an early comment from evangelical Black Christians.  There’s more that needs and certainly will be said.  We can look forward to that.  Read Keep Your Head Up for a start.

This week Crossway published my new book, Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons.  I had the privilege of writing this as a contribution to the 9Marks imprint at Crossway.

Today, Jonathan Leeman posted a short interview about the book and church officers at the 9Marks blog.  I pray the book provides a helpful, brief meditation on what it looks like to meet the biblical qualifications for church office and subsequently how and elder should carry out his duties.  I hope the book might be helpful for training potential elders and deacons, assisting search committees as they prepare for pastor churches, and helping congregations know what to look for in leaders and how to pray for the gifted persons the Lord has provided to watch their souls.

Uppermost in my mind while writing the book were the scripture (1 Timothy 3 and 4) and the faithful men I’ve had the privilege of serving with over the years.  Most of these men would be unknown beyond their local churches and communities.  But they were and are pillars of godliness in the local church.  The book is dedicated to one such brother, Dr. Philip Pedley, who served First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman with a rare blend of tremendous intellect (a layman with expertise in Greek), theological discernment and conviction (when courting his wife, every Wednesday night they would read through Berkhoff!), vision, gentleness, and selflessness.  He worked professionally in the government of the Cayman Islands, first as a school teacher, then as the pioneering director of the country’s archives, and finally as a chief policy advisor.  The Lord’s fingerprints were all over the country due to His faithful use of Philip.  This book is written with an untold number of men like Philip in mind, whose lives count for time and eternity.

I hope you’ll read the book or perhaps give a copy to an aspiring pastor, elder, deacon, or search committee.  Here’s what a few others have said:

“Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons offers the sort of meditations from the Pastoral Epistles that would-be elders and deacons-in-training need. Yet, pastors and laymen alike will find these chapters to be insightful and poignant, for they are faithful to Scripture, culturally contextualized, and able to be implemented immediately. I am encouraged to think that there are thousands of well-meaning churches peddling along with mediocre religious practice that could be transformed into vibrant, Christ-pleasing, soul-winning, community-transforming churches if the officers of their congregations would humbly embrace the simple exhortations of this gracious work.”
—Eric C. Redmond, Senior Pastor, Reformation Alive Baptist Church, Temple Hills, Maryland

“Thabiti Anyabwile’s book has been a great reminder to me of the basics that can easily be forgotten in the race for ecclesiastical progress—namely, that we need faithful elders and deacons. Although this book is meant to help those looking for church officers to know what to look for, I found the questions to be a good tonic to my soul and a mirror exposing the areas in which I need to shape up as a church pastor.”
—Conrad Mbewe, Pastor, Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia; author, Foundations for the Flock

“As a member of a pastoral team that is always at some point in the process of identifying, developing, and affirming elders and deacons, I welcome this very helpful book by Thabiti Anyabwile. Right from the start, with the simple clarity and conviction of the opening sentences, this book is marked by sound biblical teaching. The consistent transition into the practical counsel at the end of each chapter, however, is where this book really proves its worth. Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons will be a most useful primer for all those who are committed to doing church leadership by the Bible.”
—Mike Bullmore, Senior Pastor, Crossway Community Church, Bristol, Wisconsin

“Choosing men who will lead your church is serious work. I commend this valuable resource to you from my friend and partner in the gospel, Thabiti Anyabwile. It is both thoughtful and practical. His insights in this book will help you recruit, enlist, and reproduce faithful leaders in your church.”
—James MacDonald, Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Chicagoland Area; radio teacher, Walk in the Word

“Out of an obvious love for the local church, Pastor Thabiti takes biblical leadership very seriously. He takes it so seriously that he has written a book designed to be both biblical and accessible to the people of the church—clearly explaining the Bible’s teaching on the qualifications for leadership and so much more. After a careful exposition of every leadership qualification, he includes a list of helpful questions for the aspiring leader to ask one’s self and for those who will be interviewing such aspiring leaders. Thank you, Thabiti, for helping me to reflect more deeply on my calling as an elder and in my effort to raise up God-glorifying and people-loving leaders in Christ’s church for the next generation!”
—Tom Steller, Pastor for Leadership Development, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dean, Bethlehem College and Seminary

“How do we identify, pick, and train the leaders we so desperately need? Pastor Thabiti has written a very practical and theologically faithful book that addresses this critical issue, leaving no stone left unturned. Thabiti’s questions on each and every quality are some of the best I have seen. It is the kind of book you will want to keep on hand and refer to as you consider potential deacons and elders for the ministry. The book is down to earth, relevant, and very thought provoking.”
—Dave Kraft, pastor, Mars Hill Church; author, Leaders Who Last

“This is a great book. On the surface, it’s an extended meditation on the biblical qualities of elders and deacons that causes you to think carefully about what God intends for his leaders. What should churches look for? Are you that kind of person? But underneath, it’s a radical reorientation of what leadership in the church is. Church leadership does not depend on academic or professional success, but on godliness. This book will help change the way church members and leaders think of leadership, what we value, what we cultivate. Leaders and members both will benefit.”
—Jonathan Leeman, Editorial Director, 9Marks; author, Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love and Reverberation

This morning D.G. Hart published a post called “The Gospel Coalition Goes Racial.”  Hart, no fan of groups outside denominational and confessional lines, often has interesting and provocative things to say.  He beats that drum regularly and loudly, but he keeps a pretty steady rhythm.  Usually.

Today, Hart takes issue with what he sees as a sloppy and ill-defined conversation about “race” coming from two Gospel Coalition members in particular–John Piper and lil’ ol’ me.

Piper and Bloodlines

Hart spends the bulk of his time criticizing Piper’s recent book, Bloodlines and a recent CT article based on excerpts from the book. He summarizes Piper’s memoir thus:

It chronicles Piper’s life, from his southern youth where he presumed the superiority of whites to blacks, to his days at Wheaton College where he was confronted at an InterVarsity Fellowship conference to consider the legitimacy of inter-racial marriage, to his studies in Germany which allowed him to visit concentration camps designed by the “master” Aryan race, to his decision as a middle-aged man to adopt an African-American child. Along the way, Piper employs tropes and taps sentiments designed to show the wickedness of racism, all the while he avoids a technical definition of the concept. And without a definite idea of what constitutes racism, readers don’t know if Piper really was a racist or whether his self-absolved declaration of innocence is justified.  (italics added)

Really?  Are we to believe that being a former racist is now so respectable that someone who admits it might be exaggerating the case or just plain wrong about themselves–on the order of former Muslim-turned-Christian professors claiming apologetic debates they never had or Milli Vanilli lip-synching?  A man walks us through his life’s history, confessing his sin and blindness, and we’re supposed to respond, “Yeah, but you didn’t define ‘racism’ so I don’t know and you don’t know if it’s true”?  Seriously?  We can simply reject the man’s memory of his own life?

For Hart, Piper’s writing suffers too much sentimentality.  Piper’s offending paragraphs?

I was, in those years, manifestly racist. As a child and a teenager my attitudes and actions assumed the superiority of my race in almost every way without knowing or wanting to know anybody who was black, except Lucy. Lucy came to our house on Saturdays to help my mother clean. I liked Lucy, but the whole structure of the relationship was demeaning. Those who defend the noble spirit of Southern slaveholders by pointing to how nice they were to their slaves, and how deep the affections were, and how they even attended each other’s personal celebrations, seem to be naïve about what makes a relationship degrading.

No, she was not a slave. But the point still stands. Of course, we were nice. Of course, we loved Lucy. Of course, she was invited to my sister’s wedding. As long as she and her family “knew their place.” Being nice to, and having strong affections for, and including in our lives is what we do for our dogs too. It doesn’t say much about honor and respect and equality before God. My affections for Lucy did not provide the slightest restraint on my racist mouth when I was with my friends. . . .

Dr. Hart objects to likening Lucy to a dog and racists to slaveholders.  He counters that Whites teaching Blacks the Bible was evidence of Whites having higher regard for Blacks and their souls.  He doesn’t like the associations, for if slavery was akin to the holocaust then that makes Whites Nazis.  I don’t like associations of this sort either (here, here, and here), but a personal dislike for the association doesn’t constitute a rebuttal to the actual problem/situation described by the association.

In an interesting way, Hart himself plays on sentiment here.  He’s trusting the sentiments of those who already feel nervous, hurt, fearful, or angry about their own botched experiences with “race” and discussions of “race” or racism.  He’s strumming the sentimental cord, “Wait, let’s not talk about these things.”  That’s a little too hauntingly “old life” for me.  But Dr. King told us 40 years ago from a Birmingham jail why we can’t wait.  King’s letter and the book along with Piper’s Bloodlines would repay careful reflection.

There is one point, however, where I agree with Hart’s assessment of Bloodlines.  It’s this sentence: “If evangelicals read and adopt this book as a clear and incisive statement on race, they will surely be surprised the next time they enter a discussion or read a news item which reveals how deep and contested are the politics of identity.” Well said.  We can’t expect any book–excepting the Bible itself, rightly read and applied–to provide us a “clear and incisive statement on race” sufficient for the varied and troublesome identity politics “race” provokes.  But in fairness to Piper, I don’t think Bloodlines claims to be such a statement.  The evangelical that reads the book thinking they’ve read the final word on the subject surely must be naive.  But that’s a problem with the reader, not the book or Piper–who does with this book what not a single other white evangelical pastor has done in print–admit he’s been a racist.

I’ve offered my own critique of some a Piper sermon dealing with “race,” holocaust, and abortion elsewhere.  Despite Hart’s complaints, Piper’s stock goes up in my account for the courage of not only writing Bloodlines and confessing his racist past, attempting to launch conversations about the topic, but yearly for the last two decades faithfully bringing his church’s attention to the issues of “race,” racism, culture, and ethnicity from the Bible.  On that Great Day, I think the Master will say, “Well done” when it comes to this aspect of our brother’s life.

Me and T.D. Jakes

As for Hart’s complaint with me, well I dared mention my concern for the African-American church when I objected to the invitation of T.D. Jakes to the Elephant Room.  Here, I think Dr. Hart simply mischaracterizes things when he writes “The problem was particularly the mixed message that MacDonald (and by extension) the Gospel Coalition would send to the black church about the doctrine of the Trinity.” No, Dr. Hart, the problem was particularly the heretical view of the Trinity Jakes has maintained or not distanced himself from to date and the false ‘prosperity gospel’ he preaches regularly.  As I stated in the post, I was simply adding a not-yet stated perspective.  Others had already written compellingly on the core issue of the Trinity.

Hart complains that we assume the White church has a sound doctrine of the Trinity and then critiques The Gospel Coalitions’ doctrinal statement.  Just for the record: I don’t assume all White churches are sound theologically on the Trinity or a host of other matters.  Truth be told, there would be no T.D. Jakes (at least not at the level of popularity he’s reached) if there were no Paul and Jan Crouch, Kenneth Copeland, or Kenneth Hagin.  We may observe error and theological culprits all around the ethnic spectrum.  I’ve written about those guys as well.  Why Hart thinks my criticism of the Jakes invitation injects a fuzzy charge of racism or TGC is “going racial” is beyond me.

While Jakes’ reach is multi-ethnic, his starting point and perhaps his largest base is African American.  Beyond his own congregation, he is celebrated most energetically in African-American churches.  Pointing out the collateral damage was, imo, simply the responsible thing to do.  Based on his post, it would seem Hart thinks the responsible thing to do is not to speak of ethnic and “racial” issues because “Race… is almost as foggy as evangelicalism.”  I’m of the opinion that from time-to-time we must turn on the lights and drive through the fog.

Conclusion

I guess the gist of Hart’s post is “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  Don’t admit your racist past or point out a false teacher’s effect on a particular community unless you (a) define racism and (b) show an awareness of other communities with theological problems.  He manages to argue that position while (a) not defining race or racism and (b) stating his ignorance of Jakes and the wider African-American church.  Stunning.  Now ain’t that the pot calling the kettle black?

For anyone who’d care to know, here’s an address I had the privilege of giving at T4G ’08 on how I define and think about “race” and ethnicity.

Piper’s work in Bloodlines and his yearly effort in his church to stir meaningful discussion, confession, and repentance on matters of race and racism are commendable.  Hart astutely manages to avoid the discussion while stirring the easily stoked fires of hesitating fear and resentment in others.  It seems his post suffers from the same weaknesses he points out in others.

I’d hoped for more.  But honestly, Mr. Hart, I’d settle for your having enough sensitivity to spell this Black man’s name correctly.  I’m just saying.

Counseling might be the area of pastoral ministry that most quickly produces feelings of inadequacy for pastors.  The pitfalls are man.  Needs are varied and often complex.  The tendency toward self-reliance gets amplified when people come to you in need of answers.  Yet, the resources can be few or too difficult to digest in short order.  Even pastors who love counseling find themselves emotionally and spiritually drained and in need of help.

Bob Kellemen has come along with a very welcome and promising resource, Equipping Counselors for Your Church.  You can read a host of endorsements here.  Below are video and written Q&A with Bob about the book.

Question: “Bob, what’s the big idea behind Equipping Counselors for Your Church? What would you like readers to take away from the book?”

BK: “I had two assumptions as I wrote the book. First, pastors, counselors, and educators are passionate about equipping God’s people for every-member ministry as biblical counselors. Second, they are tired of seeing great effort expended on ‘programs’ that don’t launch, don’t last, or don’t result in leaving a legacy of loving leaders. So am I. That’s why in Equipping Counselors for Your Church I offer a biblical, field-tested, best-practice approach to equipping God’s people for biblical counseling. As a result of reading the book, readers will be able to apply to their unique setting the ’4E’ ministry training strategy of envisioning God’s ministry, enlisting God’s ministers for ministers, equipping godly ministers, and empowering godly ministers for ministry.”

Question: “What motivated you to write Equipping Counselors for Your Church?”

BK: “By God’s grace, I’ve had the joy of launching and leading biblical counseling equipping ministries in three very diverse churches. Then, for the past fifteen years I’ve had the privilege of teaching pastors and counselors the ’4E’ process as a professor at Capital Bible Seminary. Additionally, for the last decade I’ve consulted with scores of churches about the launch process. In each situation, people kept saying, ‘Dr. Kellemen, you need to turn this material into a book. There’s nothing else out there like this that provides a practical map without becoming a one-size-fits-all strait-jacket.’ So, it was really pastors, church leaders, biblical counselors, and students who motivated me to write Equipping Counselors for Your Church.”

Question: “Is the book only for equipping ‘biblical counselors,’ or is there a larger, broader focus? Who should read Equipping Counselors for Your Church?”

BK: “In my classes and consulting, I’ve had students and church leaders use these ’4E’ principles to plant churches, to launch small group ministries, to start women’s ministries, to begin para-church organizations, and more. The comprehensive, field-tested, best practice principles fit for anyone who wants to move from any ministry launch to ongoing ministry leadership. While the focus is on ‘biblical counseling,’ the broader emphasis is on equipping for one-another ministry so that every member is not only a minister, but a disciple-maker. Anyone interested in applying the 2 Timothy 2:2 process in their ministry would be the right ‘audience’ for the book.”

Question: “You note that in one sense you did not write this book alone, but with twenty-four best practice church partners. Tell us about how these two dozen leading churches impacted the book.”

BK: “I’m convinced that no one person can possibly outline a comprehensive approach to church equipping. So, I enlisted twenty-four friends to share their insights—in a multitude of counselors there is great wisdom. Among these two dozen churches are ‘mega-churches’ and ‘average size churches,’ and ‘small churches.’ There are churches that are predominantly Caucasian, African American, Asian American, and multi-cultural churches. I included urban, suburban, and rural churches. In every chapter I weave in their diverse insights that provide readers with a robust, relational GPS. In this way each church can apply the ’4E’ principles in a way that uniquely fits their specific calling in their particular congregation and community.”

Question: “You’re not writing out of academic theory, but out of real-life pastoral experience. How has your experience equipping believers in three churches impacted your writing of the book?”

BK: “Mainly I’m seeking to help readers not to make the same mistakes I made! For example, my first church was a ‘mega-church’ of over 3,000 in an urban setting with a long history of extensive equipping ministries. My second church was a smaller rural church with little history of equipping the laity. Initially I made the huge rookie mistake of trying to plop down the ‘mega-church’ model on my second church. I quickly had to backpedal. That’s why in the book I teach ‘relational change management and biblical conflict resolution.’ Big picture—this is not a pie-in-the-sky book. I know personally the struggles and joys, the downs and ups of launching and leading equipping ministries—in three very different churches. I’m trying to share that ‘wisdom’ with my readers.”

Question: “Big picture: what are the ’4Es’ and could you briefly summarize what happens if any one of them is neglected?”

BK: “God ‘wired’ my brain with a focus on being comprehensive and ‘both/and.’ I’ve found how important this is when launching and leading biblical counseling ministries. In fact, in my consulting, I’m often asked to help churches to re-launch their ministries because something just didn’t ‘take.’ Once we start interacting, inevitably we discover that at least one of the 4Es was missing or minimized. Those 4Es are: 1.) Envisioning God’s Ministry: Jointly creating mission, vision, passion, and commission (MVP-C) statements that nourish the compassion, conviction, and connection needed to launch flourishing biblical counseling ministries.” 2.) Enlisting God’s Ministers for Ministry: Mobilizing ministers by nurturing a family and building a team prepared for change, skilled in conflict resolution, and connected to the MVP-C Statement. 3.) Equipping Godly Ministers for Ministry: Applying transformational transformational training strategies that comprehensively address the “4Cs” of biblical content, Christ-like character, counseling competence, and Christian community. 4.) Empowering Godly Ministers for Ministry: Overseeing the ongoing ‘organizing of the organism’ by leading ministries that are built to last, that grow from good to great, and that leave a legacy of loving leaders.”

Question: “Equipping Counselors for Your Church has a built-in discussion-application guide. How do you envision churches using the book?”

BK: “I like to say, ‘This is not your father’s equipping manual!’ Past approaches tend to be too academic (not written from the ‘trenches’ of real-life ministry), too uniformed (not written with the realization that every church and community is unique), and too ‘secular’ (not written from a biblical theology of equipping). Thus, I envision churches using Equipping Counselors for Your Church as a workbook that a ministry leadership team walks through together. Launching and leading ministries is a relational process that God’s people share in a collegial way. The discussion-application guide helps ministry teams to interact in relational, practical ways so that they experience one-another community as they launch a one-another ministry.”

Question: “Equipping Counselors for Your Church has an extensive Appendix with dozens of practical, user-friendly resources. Introduce our listeners to some of those resources.”

BK: “People who have reviewed and recommended the book have made the proverbial comment more than once, ‘The Appendix is worth the price of the book!’ It is extensive: over 125 pages! It is practical: sample Mission-Vision-Passion-Commission Statements, sample Congregational Analysis Forms, sample Informed Consent Forms, sample Confidentiality Statements, sample Church Discipline Statements, and much more. While I’m convinced that every church must apply biblical equipping principles to their unique setting, I’m also convinced that there’s no reason to ‘reinvent the wheel.’ The extensive Appendix provides ministry leaders with the head start that I wish I had in my three church equipping ministries.”

Question: “How can people learn more about Equipping Counselors for Your Church?”

BK: “They can visit P & R Publishing. They can order the book at all the typical online sites such as Amazon and CBD. They can download a free sample chapter, read reviews and recommendations, watch the video book trailer, download materials from the Appendix (after the book is released in September 2011), and they can order the book at the RPM Ministries Equipping Counselors page.”

No, that’s not a typo.

David Bergmark is the pastor of Immanuelskyrkan in Tranås, Sweden. A few years back David and the congregation studied What Is a Healthy Church Member? together.  He summarized the 10 marks into Swedish for those not comfortable reading English.  I don’t know how many Swedish folks read this blog or if any of you have Swedish folks in your congregations, but here’s a link to the posts David has written with his summaries.

A two part 9Marks interview:

Part 1: In view of their new book, Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert discuss the mission of the church, social justice, and the gospel.

Part 2: Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert, authors of the new book What is the Mission of the Church?, examine key biblical passages on mission, the poor, and the kingdom of God.

Thanks to C.E. Moore for this kind review of The Decline of African American Theology.  Here’s Moore’s opening paragraph:

Thabiti Anyabwile’s The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity is a triumph. Let’s admit it—theology isn’t a very sexy topic. When you couple the subject of theology with the subject of history, you’re likely in for a mind-numbing experience. But,The Decline was a book I couldn’t put down. As far as I know, there are no books about this topic in the popular market. Anyabwile has helped fill that void and hopefully this book will spark some much-needed dialogue on such an important matter.  Read the entire review.

If you’re not familiar with cogito/credo, you might want to check out their site.  Some very helpful and interesting things offered there.