The Gospel Coalition

Here are some notes on two books I have read recently:

Cross-cultural Partnerships:
Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission

Mary T. Lederleitner
InterVarsity, 2010
My Rating: ****

“Good intentions are not enough to ensure good outcomes in cross-cultural partnerships,” says Mary Lederleitner, a cross-cultural consultant with Wycliffe. Unfortunately, most churches engage in missions with well-intentioned hearts but unprepared minds for the cultural challenges of communication, partnership, and financial accountability.

This book is timely. I know what it’s like to be the middle man – the bilingual go-between American living on the field helping short-term mission teams build partnerships. It is hard work trying to help these cultures collide with as little friction as possible. I nodded my head all the way through this book. I also learned a lot about mistakes I’ve made (without knowing it!). Lederleitner unpacks our cultural baggage so we can see ourselves through other eyes and better serve our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.

The Cruelty of Heresy:
An Affirmation of Christian Orthodoxy

C. FitzSimons Allison
Morehouse, 1994
My Rating: ****

Heresy isn’t cool, bold, and novel. Actually, it’s ancient, lazy, and cruel.

C. FitzSimons Allison, a retired Episcopalian Bishop, takes readers on a tour of the ‘great’ heresies of the Christian Church, demonstrating not only why the teachings were deemed heretical, but also how they wither the soul and distort the beauty of genuine Christianity. From Adoptionism to Eutychianism, Allison guides us through the heretical minefield, educating us in the truth and passionately condemning the counterfeits. Much food for thought in these pages!

Suggestions on how to write an awful worship song. (These two are my favorites, but click through to see the rest…):

• Make the Song All About You
  The main point of your song should be your experiences and how God makes you feel. Don’t bother with objective truth about God. I would suggest that you use the words “I” or “me” at least 12-15 times. For example, “I feel like singing, yes I feel like spinning, because You make me feel so good inside. Like it’s my birthday, but more awesome.”
• Be Incredibly Poetic
  If you can, muddy the waters with poetic phrases that don’t make much sense. Example: “Your love is like a warm summer’s breeze, washing over my heart like a crystal river.”

The secret of appreciating church:

Stop shopping for a church. Stop sampling. Don’t fall for all the hype of a Disneyworld experience with a Christian aura around it. Don’t chase after a superstar preacher. You can hear that on your iPod. Feel free to contribute to that ministry. But find a church where you can be part of a community of people who know each other and will help one another live the Christian life, sometimes as helpers and sometimes by being in need and providing an opportunity for others to help.

Justin Taylor on why imperatives without indicatives make for impossibilities:

The problem with the typical evangelical motivation toward radical or sacrificial living is that “imperatives divorced from indicatives become impossibilities” (to quote Tullian Tchividjian). Or another way that Tullian puts it: “gospel obligations must be based on gospel declarations.”

This “become what you are” way of speaking is strange for many us us. It seems precisely backward. But we must adjust our mental compass in order to walk this biblical path and recalibrate in order to speak this biblical language.

J.C. Ryle’s seven thoughts on reading the Bible (Here’s a sampling):

1) Read the Bible with an earnest desire to understand it.

2) Read the Scriptures with a simple, childlike faith and humility.

3) Read the Word with a spirit of obedience and self-application.

The Southern Baptist Convention is divided on multiple issues, but Calvinism seems to stir up the most passionate debate. Some Southern Baptists would like to see the Convention properly Calvinized. Others would like to run Calvinists off the plantation altogether.

In their most entrenched forms, these two camps appear to vacillate between a martyr complex and a puzzling triumphalism. Non-Calvinists sometimes write as if the Calvinist resurgence is about to sweep away everything precious in recent SBC history, and yet they constantly remind others that the majority of Southern Baptists are decidedly not Calvinistic. On the other side, Calvinists often feel like a beleaguered minority within the Convention, and yet they marshal the Calvinist beliefs of many early Southern Baptists or the rising number of young Calvinists today as proof of their legitimacy.

Historians debate our roots, some pointing us to the Charleston (cerebral Calvinist) stream while others look back to Sandy Creek (emotional revivalism). Some trace our lineage back to the Reformation, particularly the Particular Baptists. Others see a direct line to the Anabaptists.

Being forced to decide which stream I belong to – Charleston or Sandy Creek – is like someone asking me to take sides in Grandpa and Grandma’s divorce. I’m an intellectually-inclined high church guy who loves aspects of Grandpa Charles, but I’ve been nurtured by Grandma Sandy’s distinct version of piety too. I love them both, and I want them to stay married. Keeping them together makes for a stronger Southern Baptist family.

I generally steer clear of the debate about Calvinism in the SBC, not because I don’t have strong opinions on the matter, but because most blog conversations that I have seen tend to produce much more heat than light, and because the tiresome nature of the debate can distract us from our bigger task of fulfilling the Great Commission. But I am making an exception today, in order to review a recent book that makes a contribution to the discussion.

In November 2008, First Baptist Church, Woodstock hosted several notable Southern Baptist leaders for a conference intended to critique Calvinism. I was largely unaware of what took place at the “John 3:16 Conference” because the audio and video were not made public online. (I have written elsewhere about the need for resources to be made public free of charge, so I won’t rehash my thoughts on that here.) Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism (Broadman & Holman, 2010) is the book of essays that resulted from the conference.

What can one say about Whosoever Will? For starters, the tone of the book was more conciliatory than I expected. That’s not to say that the contributors don’t take firm stands and make strong points. To the contrary, they do. But they do so in a way that doesn’t belittle the intentions and the piety of the Calvinists they critique. The book begins with a foreword, a preface, and an introduction – all before you get to Chapter 1. It appears that the editors spent much time up front seeking to set a positive, Christ-like tone.

The book itself is a mix of popular works and scholarly essays. For example, Vines’ sermon on John 3:16 and Paige Patterson’s essay combines interesting anecdotes, exegetical argument, and pastoral reflection.

For time’s sake, I will refrain from commenting on each essay, but I would like to make some comments on a few of them.

Land on Election

Richard Land’s contribution seeks to establish a middle way between unconditional election and conditional election by appealing to God being outside of time. This “congruent election” proposal is fascinating, but I still am not sure how it resolves the biggest point of contention between Calvinists and non-Calvinists – namely, is God’s choice of us the ultimate cause of our salvation or is it our response to God’s choice? The question of predestination and foreknowledge is less about time, and more about purpose.

Allen on the Atonement

Longtime readers of this blog know that I do not adhere to the doctrine of Limited Atonement, so it’s no surprise that I found David Allen’s essay to be helpful, primarily because of the way he uses Calvinist authors to make the case against the infamous “L” in Calvinism’s Tulip. Kevin Kennedy’s follow-up essay on Calvin’s view of the atonement’s extent adds to the preponderance of evidence that Calvin either did not promote the view of Limited Atonement, or that he was at the very least conflicted and unsettled in his view.

Still, I do not grant Allen’s conclusion that Limited Atonement necessarily causes problems in evangelism. Nor do I think it’s a major point of contention for groups like Together for the Gospel. There are plenty of Reformed-leaning guys like me who may not adhere to the whole system, but who are able to get along just fine with those who do.

Keathley on Perseverance

Kenneth Keathley’s chapter on perseverance of the saints makes a case for total assurance, arguing against Puritan introspection that can become pathological. It’s true that the Puritans were prone to introspection that could lead them to be as self-centered as those who never thought about their sins. But false assurance is also very dangerous.

Which is the greater danger we are facing today? I hardly think the evangelical church is suffering from too much introspection, whereas it appears we are drowning in a sea of false assurance and fruitlessness. Keathley’s chapter is helpful in some respects (though I still find the Schreiner/Canaday view of perseverance to be the most exegetically plausible), but it might have been boosted by acknowledging the excesses of those who take total assurance to an unhealthy extreme.

Yarnell on Calvinist Tendencies

Malcolm Yarnell contributes an essay that seeks to warn churches of the tendencies that accompany Calvinism. The first concerns an Augustinian view of the church, which can lead to a de-emphasis on the purity of the local church and an improper focus on the church universal. In my experience, Baptist Calvinists tend to be more preoccupied with church purity than non-Calvinists. Some non-Calvinist Baptists use Augustinian arguments (such as the Wheat and Tares) as an argument against church discipline.

Next, Yarnell warns about the possibility of aristocratic elitism, seen primarily in the presbyterian form of church government. While this polity may indeed be a tendency for some Calvinist Baptists, I’ve been encouraged to see Southern Baptist church planters countering the Acts 29 elder-rule polity by insisting on congregational authority. But Yarnell is correct to see elitism as a potential problem, though I believe it will be more likely in temperament than in polity. Some Calvinists are elitist theologically, acting as though the people who disagree with them simply have less theological expertise.

Finally, Yarnell focuses on the possible antinomian (lawless) tendencies within the resurgence of Calvinism. I believe this warning is perhaps the most relevant to the discussion. As the younger generation reacts strongly against the moralistic excesses of our past, we should indeed be on the look out for a rise in antinomian tendency. This is why it is helpful to listen to those who are not in our theological camp. Others may see warning signs that we are oblivious to.

Streett on the Invitation

R. Alan Streett devotes a chapter to the public invitation. I was disappointed that this chapter didn’t make any distinctions between invitations and altar calls. While I believe whole-heartedly in calling people publicly to faith in Christ, I do not believe that an altar call is the only legitimate form of issuing this invitation. (By the way, this is not merely a Calvinist discussion. Plenty of non-Calvinists in other parts of the world have no experience with the altar call, either because they are unfamiliar with it or uncomfortable with the American excesses they may have witnessed.)

Conclusion

In all, Whosoever Will is a helpful addition to the discussion on Calvinism within the SBC. The book would have been stronger had the contributors engaged in some healthy self-criticism of the pitfalls and tendencies of the non-Calvinist position. But even as it is, it deserves a hearing from Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike. You may disagree with the point of view presented here, and that’s fine. But at least you will have listened to the arguments from others who love the Lord and seek the good of his church.

We could soon have a Supreme Court with no Protestants:

For most of American history, a Supreme Court with no Protestant Christian judges would have been unthinkable. Nearly three quarters of all justices who’ve ever served on the nation’s high court have been Protestant. And roughly half of all Americans identify themselves as Protestant today.

Justin Taylor provides a great quote from GK Chesterton. Here’s a sample:

It is easy to be a madman: it is easy to be a heretic.

It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one’s own.

It is always easy to be a modernist; as it is easy to be a snob. To have fallen into any of those open traps of error and exaggeration which fashion after fashion and sect after sect set along the historic path of Christendom—that would indeed have been simple.

The final report of the Great Commission Task Force for the SBC is now available for reading online.

C.S. Lewis’ idea of “sneaking past watchful dragons”:

Lewis wonders what would happen if, when a non-Christians was looking for information on a given subject, he found that “the best work on the market was always by a Christian.” By application, we could extend that question to any field: What if a non-Christian constantly discovered that the best engineer, the best doctor, the best teacher, the best musician, the best janitor, etc. he knew were all Christians? How would that work to overcome his society-induced prejudice against Christianity? How might their striving for excellence “sneak past those watchful dragons” and prepare his heart to receive the gospel seed?

The Orthodox church across the street from our apartment in Romania

It was 2005, and I was wrapping up the last of my five years in Romania. Friends kept telling me that I shouldn’t leave Romania without having attended an Orthodox Easter vigil. So, with Corina agreeing to stay home with our son, I decided that I would stay up until midnight on the Saturday before Easter and attend the service outside the Orthodox church building across the street from our apartment.

Participating at a Romanian Orthodox Easter vigil was a new experience for me. I had been with Corina to Orthodox church services, but apart from some of the Orthodox theologians we had been acquainted with at my university, the Easter tradition of Romanian Orthodox Christians remained a mystery (except for those elements that had been adopted by evangelicals).

Just a few minutes before midnight, I headed out to the Orthodox church across the street (see picture on the right). People were already gathering outside the church, many of them holding long, unlit yellow candles. Others were entering the church to buy candles and then returning outside to the swelling crowd. To make sure I didn’t miss any of the action, I moved up next to the outside steps at the entrance of the church. It was chilly outside, so I was thankful for my light jacket.

At midnight, the church bells began to ring triumphantly, their sound pealing through the crisp evening air. Someone came out of the church with a candle already lit, and one by one, each candle was lit until a yellow glow surrounded the church.

Moments later, the main priest, dressed in bright vestments, came out of the church holding a large cross. Several banners waved behind him.

When the priest came down into the crowd, he turned and faced the church building, and the doors were solemnly closed. He then took a large Book into his hands and began reading from Matthew 28. After several moments of chanting and spreading the aroma of incense into the crowd, the priest shouted: “Glory to the holy, life-creating and undivided Trinity always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages!” Then the classic Romanian Easter song began – the voices of the crowd raised in one accord in celebration:

Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and to those in the tombs
bestowing life!

Moments later, the priest walked to the doors of the church and began to beat on them, shouting: “Open your gates for the King of Glory!” The doors were opened, and the bells began to ring again. Then, the entire crowd outside, with candles lit, began to walk up the steps and into the church. Being in the corner near the stairs, I was swept up into the church with the crowd. Since everyone around me had lighted candles, I was afraid to try to leave, since it would have been easy for my jacket to brush up against a candle and catch fire!

The sanctuary was packed with people. All open spaces in the sanctuary were filled. I managed to make my way to the middle of the church, standing in the aisle between dozens of others. The priest continued to sing of the Resurrection. A few moments later, he announced, “Christ is risen!” And the entire church replied with a thundering, “He is risen indeed!”

The liturgy inside the church continued for another hour. One by one, the candles around me began to go out, until I felt safe enough to make my way through the crowd and head back home. It was 1:35 in the morning by this time, and the service was coming to a close.

Reflections

Many thoughts went through my mind during and after the Orthodox Easter vigil. I appreciated the strong emphasis that the Orthodox Christians placed on Jesus’ Resurrection. The added touch of candles being lit at midnight reiterated the importance of the new creation that dawned that Easter morning. The triumphant sound of church bells, the spine-tingling command to “make way for the King of Glory,” and the early-church announcement “Christ is risen” were edifying and celebratory features of the event.

At the same time, much of what I saw was disturbing. Some Orthodox Christians who arrived late, after the candles had been lit, wanted to go up into the church and buy candles so they could participate. The people around me did not want to be bothered by them traipsing clumsily through the crowd, so they lied and said that there were no more candles, this despite the fact that people will still exiting the church with lit candles!

The church service featured a beautiful liturgy, but except for the singing of the classic Easter song and the occasional reference to the Trinity (to which all the attendees cross themselves), there was little participation from the crowd. Most of the people around me seemed to be there out of obligation. The liturgy expressed beautifully the transcendence of our God, but left little for the crowd to experience of his immanence. (In many evangelical churches, we tend toward the opposite error – an expression of God’s closeness without an awe-inspiring vision of his “otherness.”)

I also wondered if those around me truly believed that Christ had risen bodily from the dead at a given time in history. Since the Romanian Orthodox church is so strongly tied to Romanian culture and history, it would be easy to go through the traditional formalities once a year in celebration of Easter, without ever really believing that the events celebrated had any bearing on today’s world or personal salvation.

Overall, the Easter vigil widened my perspective of Christian tradition and celebration, offering me a glimpse at a vastly different segment of Christianity. Still, I was happy to be back in evangelical church services for Easter services the next day, where I heard a powerful message about the meaning of Christ’s death for sinners and his resurrection to new life.

I’ve always thought of flooding that happened somewhere else, as Middle Tennessee isn’t known for floods. That’s changed since this weekend. Please be in prayer for those affected. (See pictures here.)

Scotty Smith (in Nashville) posts a prayer about flooding, sovereignty and servanthood:

Father, I don’t ask, “Why this crisis?… Why us?”, for I know the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous, even as the sun rises on the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45). And I know the present world will never be destroyed again by floodwaters. But there are two things I do ask for… two things you have promised—strength and peace.

Russell Moore on the Gulf of Mexico and the care of creation:

We need the creation around us, including the waters and all they contain, because we are not gods. We are creatures who thrive when we live as we were made to live. We exercise dominion over the creation not only when we use it, but also when we conserve it for the generations who will come after.

So pray for the Gulf Coast, that the oil wouldn’t devastate a people and a land already devastated by so much. As you do, remember: real conservatives protect what God loves.

How to pray for an awakening in your church.

Faithful Father,
We praise you for your almighty and ever present power.
We trust in the power of your hand,
which upholds heaven and earth and all creatures.
We trust in the goodness of your rule
over leaf and blade,
rain and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food and drink,
health and sickness,
prosperity and poverty
knowing that all things come to us
not by chance but from your fatherly hand.

Help us to be patient when things go against us,
thankful when things go well,
and confident for the future,
knowing that nothing will separate us from your love.

- Trevin Wax (adapted from the Heidelberg Catechism)

It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t.

And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can’t.

But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like his.

And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like his.

- William Temple