Tried With Fire

I listened to How to Think by Alan Jacobs again. If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend it. If you have read it, it's worth rereading because we're still learning how to think well. At the very end, Jacobs gives the reader  The Thinking Person's Checklist, which includes this: "5. If you do have to respond to what everyone else is responding to in order to signal your virtue and right-mindedness, or else lose your status in your community, then you should realize that it's not a community but rather an Inner Ring." The Inner Ring Jacobs is referring to is described in an address by C.S. Lewis in which he warns his hearers of the pull of the Inner Ring, the inner circle, the people in-the-know and the ones who really matter.  It may not be the visible authorities, but it is the power behind the throne, as it were. The main draw is the desire to belong to this select group, and its seductive power may cause us to do unethical things to gain and ...

My pastor has started preaching through 1 Corinthians. They were certainly a messy group of believers, but lest I point the finger, they don't sound that different from the  21st century American church. But even with their warts (and there are some big, ugly ones), Paul makes the point of calling them saints. He is choosing to take the long view, knowing full well that this church has a lot of struggles ahead of it. But they will make it in the end, not because they figured it out and pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, but because God has the power to change and keep them. This Sunday, Pastor Ryan preached on 1 Cor. 1:10-17. The Corinthian church was dealing with division in their midst. They were aligning themselves to this teacher or that teacher. Some even thought they were taking the high ground saying they followed "Christ," but this wasn't about defending the faith. There is appropriate separation over doctrinal issues and sin, but this was about feeli...

We watched the Calvinist documentary last night. For being only 90 minutes, the film covers quite a bit of ground. There's a very brief history of the Reformation and the 5 points of Calvinism. It also addresses the Young, Restless, Reformed movement at the end of the 20th century and future challenges to be faced. Given the number of confessional guys who were interviewed, I appreciated the shout-out to the historic confessions and that being reformed is more than TULIP alone. The film ends by encouraging believers that our faith is to be lived in the context of the local church. Overall I liked  Calvinist  because it was a walk down memory lane. I didn't fit the YRR demographic, but 10 years ago, I was searching for answers that my current theology could not give. I found those answers in the sovereignty of God and TULIP. John Piper was my gateway drug to reformed theology, and I spent time in the cage stage. I even have a modest collection of Christian hip-hop and dea...

Several years ago, I would have been thrilled to attend Together 4 the Gospel. I had no pretensions to being a pastor. I would have been happy just working in the bookstore. I was not young or restless, more middle-aged and sedentary, but I was caught up in the excitement of this new movement and would have loved to bask in the reflected glory of the leaders I admired. The thought of being with so many Calvinists, all talking the same talk was very heady stuff. And this was cool and doctrinally "right" to boot. Having come through a few difficult church situations, I was idealistic enough to believe that selfish ambition and putting an organization ahead of people would never happen. After all, we were Calvinists, and a good solid doctrinal foundation would guard us against such things. But as events have played out over the years and even this week , this has not been the case, and I have been grieved to tears. It's true that elders must be able to teach, but that is...

In small group, we've been reading through Ordinary by Michael Horton. It's been a thought-provoking book that has led to some good discussion. We're also reading it after a sermon series on the ordinary means of grace - preaching of the Word, the sacraments, prayer, and fasting. You know, the things Christ Himself has instituted for the growth and health of the church that she often overlooks for what is a bit flashier and more touchy-feely. Tonight we will be discussing chapter 6, Practicing what we preach: No more super-apostles , which covers the issue of idolizing our leaders. I am trying to gather my thoughts about the chapter and the problem of the Christian celebrity culture for fear that I will embark on a lengthy rant in small group. If there is an edge to my writing "voice", you've read it right. On the one hand, I could chose to ignore my social media feed and avoid reports about the latest scandals. If this is your stance, I fully respect your ...

There seems to be a standard cast of characters when a scandal breaks involving a celebrity Christian leader. This isn't about one particular situation but a general observation. (Of course, it isn't saying very much for the state of Christendom when you can take your pick of scandals.) 1. The celebrity. 2. The king or queen makers who endorsed in the past and those who continue to promote the celebrity. These may or may not be the same set of people. 3. The fan base. 4. The critics who have a platform, maybe not at the level of the celebrity but some name recognition. 5. The little people. These are the folks who were thrown under the bus whether by the direct action or inaction, e.g. covering up impropriety, of the celebrity. Whose voice should be heard the most and whose needs should be addressed first? In theory, it should be group 5 . In reality, it seems more like group 2 has the loudest voice and the celebrity's needs are addressed first. If my observat...

Imago dei has been rather life changing for me especially in terms of my identity. In his sermon No Little People , I appreciated Francis Schaeffer's brief discourse on this doctrine's importance in how we relate to humanity as a whole and to fellow believers. I am also reading Ordinary   by Michael Horton   with my small group. One of the problems Ordinary addresses is celebrity Christianity, so I found it interesting how Schaeffer relates a right understanding of imago dei to leadership and warns what may happen when we forget this common ground: Our attitude toward all men should be that of equality because we are common creatures. We are of one blood and kind. As I look across all the world, I must see every man as a fellow creature and I must be careful to have a sense of our equality on the basis of this common status. We must be careful in our thinking not to try to stand in the place of God to other men. We are fellow creatures. And when I step from the creat...

The cult of celebrity in the modern West has infiltrated the church, so much so that we can seem to be presuming that the Lord is obliged to work or invariably will work when the right person or persons are present: get someone prominent to preach and people are bound to listen! But this is to forget, if not to ignore, that the Lord is not bound in this way... All too often there is mere capitulation at this point, a failure to ask what these men stand for, what they carry with them by way of endorsement or conviction (even if not openly stated in a particular environment) and - sometimes at least as importantly - what they will open the door to by way of association... [I]t is all too easy to suspend our own rational faculties when a word is perceived to have been spoke ex cathedra , wherever that seat of power may be. Christians in any [many?] circles readily go beyond the respect which ought to be legitimately afforded to proven men and become nothing more than children led a...

" I'm glad I'm a nobody because I'm less likely to be tempted by something I know I will never have." This was a statement from my daughter while we were discussing celebrity culture in the church and recent events in evangelicalism. I think she's right. The lure of visibility and popularity is so strong. Plus it's easier to gain notice nowadays with thousands being reached by the click of a mouse. But with success comes potential grave danger. We're all prone to pride and/or idolatry, which fuels this fire. The celebrity begins to feel that he is above any criticism or correction because numbers become the proof, not fidelity to the word of God. This is exacerbated by the fan base. Their hero or heroine may become infallible in their eyes, though they would be hard pressed to admit it. Therefore, any valid criticism will be received with a deaf ear, because deep down its a reflection on their own spirituality. Thank God, Jesus said that He will ...