Church Constitutions and Covenants

OK, it's been over a month since I posted last, and I don't understand why it is so hard to be more consistent! So, our church is planning to work on a new constitution and covenant this summer and I am trying to find some good examples. Here are a few that I have come across:

• Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC - Constitution, Covenant, Statement of Faith
• Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN - Constitution (and By-Laws), Covenant, Elder Affirmation of Faith, Congregational Affirmation of Faith , Pastors' Covenant
  
• Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA - Doctrinal Statement, Bylaws, and Distinctives
• Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral, FL - Constitution, Bylaws, Covenant, Articles of Faith
• Parkside Church (Not Baptist), Chagrin Falls, OH (outside Cleveland) - Constitution
• Clifton Baptist Church, Louisville, KY - Constitution, Covenant, Core Values, Statement of Faith

If you know of other Reformed Baptist churches that have exemplary church constitutions and/or covenants, etc., please post a comment with the name, location, and website.

Looking forward to this big challenge,

Todd

Where Our Tax Dollars Go

Check out this great interactive chart detailing how U. S. tax dollars are divvied up.

I think I need a refund.

Todd

An Interesting Experiment on Gun Control

I am not normally interested in political debate, simply because it turns ugly too fast. I would prefer to discuss topics in a civil manner. That being said, I just found an interesting article that seems to give some interesting evidence to support the peoples' right to bear arms.

The article compares two cities in the U. S. One city, Kennesaw, GA, requires "each head of household to own and maintain a gun." The other city, Morton Grove, IL, banned all firearms in the city except for police officers.

You will have to read the article for the results of the experiment.

Thinking about moving to Kennesaw...

Todd

"Most Influential Books" -- Russell Moore

Recently I had the opportunity to communicate with Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, executive director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute, and a former professor:

Me: "Dr. Moore, what books would you consider most influential in your life?"

Dr. Moore:

• Irenaeus, On the Apostolic Preaching
• Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew
• C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
• Tom Nettles and Russ Bush, Baptists and the Bible
• George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel and the Kingdom
• Carl F.H. Henry, Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism
• Walker Percy, Love in the Ruins
• Wendell Berry, Life is a Miracle

Thank you Dr. Moore; we look forward to reading these!

"Top Ten Great Christian Biographies"

I recently posted the book list Dr. Michael Haykin sent me in response to my question, "Which books have been most influential in your life?" Dr. Mohler has recently posted ten of the top great Christian Biographies on his blog, including biographies on the lives of Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Lloyd-Jones.

In addition, I recently received book recommendations from several of my professors, and I plan to post these soon.

Looks like it's time to get reading...

Todd

Disgusting Media

So, am I the only one who feels disgusted at how the media is handling this Virginia Tech shooting? Part of me feels like I did when the WTC towers were destroyed, starving for more information, trying to understand why and how such a thing might happen, but the media is constantly forcing my attention to how the campus authorities should have handled the situation better, or how this shooting might impact gun control laws. It makes me sick! They are like attack dogs, trying to find the slightest angle to accuse someone for wrong-doing, placing blame on someone for such a terrible crime.

How about we place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the murderer? Of course he was troubled, and I'm sure he was terribly impacted by his environment, but why do we think we must blame all this on anything else but the person who committed the crime?

I personally see quite clearly the logic behind the decisions of the campus authorities to not shut down the school; murders happen (grievously) on a regular basis, and when they are tied to a domestic disturbance, there is usually not additional aftermath like the VT shootings. I read the VT description of the events and decisions as they took place, and I don't think I have any criticisms.

But then I wouldn't be a very good reporter, would I?

Grieving the loss of invaluable lives,

Todd

Christ-Centered Bioethics

So, last night at church, we were planning to dive back into a study on the book of Kings, but due to technical difficulties we decided to have an "Ask Anything Sunday" service (kinda like Dr. Mohler's "Ask Anything Wednesday" radio show, only not on the radio, and not with Dr. Mohler).

One question that caused many of us to stop and think was, "Is it right to use birth control to decide how many and when we have children, or should we simply trust God with the number and timing?" This question hit home with me because recently my wife asked me the same question after reading a book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. In the book entitled Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free!, DeMoss claims that one lie women believe is that they should have any deciding role in family planning. She argues that family planning should be God's prerogative.

So, I was thankful that we were able to approach this question thoughtfully last night. No one, however, had solid logical, fully biblical, and convincing arguments for or against non-abortive birth control. We moved on from the question leaving the choice up to the personal conviction of the family.

Thankfully, brother Justin found this great article on John Piper's web site. "John Piper and most of the pastors on staff believe that non-abortive forms of birth control are permissible," and they make several great points to support their position. First, they argue that just because children are good gifts from the Lord we should not necessarily seek as many of these good gifts as possible, just like a wife is a good gift from the Lord (Proverbs 18:22), but it is not necessarily wrong to stay single. If we are focused on kingdom purposes, we are free to manage the resources God gives us.

Second, they argue, birth control is no guarantee that a couple will not have a child. We don't shun haircuts so God can determine the length of our hair, and farmers don't necessarily cultivate every acre of land that they own (especially if they have lots of land). God actually desires for us to manage his creation for his glory. "God very often causes us to plan as the means towards improving our lives and advancing His kingdom purposes."

There are other very good arguments in this article that support the view that birth control is permissible and may even be considered a blessing from God if used for the right reasons.

Thankful for freedom in Christ and God's sovereign rule over this world,

Todd

Book Recommendations by Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin

I recently requested a list of books from my current professor of Personal Spiritual Disciplines, and he provided me the following list:

15 Key Books in Christian Spirituality
(arranged chronologically)

• The Letter to Diognetus
• Augustine's Confessions
• Confession of St. Patrick
• On Spiritual Friendship by Ailred of Rievaulx
• The Book of Common Prayer by Thomas Cranmer
• On the Mortification of Sin in Believers by John Owen
• On Religious Affections by Jonathon Edwards
• The Hymns of Charles Wesley
• The Olney Hymns by John Newton and William Cowper
• Letters by John Newton
• The Hymns and Letters of Ann Griffiths
• The Memoirs of Samuel Pearce by Andrew Fuller
• Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis
• Desiring God by John Piper

Puritan Interpretation - Six Questions to Ask of the Text

J. I. Packer, in his book A Quest for Godliness, suggests six questions one must ask the text in order to interpret the text faithfully (like the Puritans):

1. What do these words actually mean?
2. What light do other Scriptures throw on this text? Where and how does it fit into the total biblical revelation?
3. What truths does it teach about God, and about man in relation to God?
4. How are these truths related to the saving work of Christ, and what light does the gospel of Christ throw upon them?
5. What experiences do these truths delineate, or explain, or seek to create or cure? For what practical purpose do they stand in Scripture?
6. How do they apply to myself and others in our own actual situation? To what present human condition do they speak, and what are they telling us to believe and do?

These are important questions for the faithful preacher or teacher to answer; may God grant us to be more like the redwoods.

May we all be more influenced by the Puritans,

Todd

Entirely For Us

I listened to a sermon this morning by John Piper on Romans 8:28-32, and once again God helped me understand clearly that he is "entirely for us":

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God is entirely for us, and never against us. None of our sicknesses is a judgment from a condemning judge. None of our broken cars or failed appliances is a punishment from God. None of our marital strife is a sign of his wrath. None of our lost jobs is a penalty for sin. None of our wayward children is a crack of the whip of God’s retribution. If we are in Christ. No. God is for us, not against, in and through all things – all ease and all pain.

What a blessing! If God is for us, who can ultimately prevail against us?!?!

Enjoying God,

Todd

The Gospel: Puritan Style

I am reading a book by J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness; The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, and I wanted to post an interesting statement reflecting the views of the Puritans regarding the gospel:

The Puritan position was that only God, by his Spirit, through his word, can bring sinners to faith, and that he does this, not to our order, but according to his own free purpose. Our evangelistic practice, the Puritans would say, must be in accord with this truth. Modes of action which imply another doctrine cannot be approved.

The Puritan position seems [undoubtedly] biblical, and ... its implications are of great importance for the reforming of inherited evangelistic traditions today. It implies, to start with, that all devices for exerting psychological pressure in order to precipitate 'decisions' must be [avoided], as being in truth presumptuous attempts to intrude into the province of the Holy Ghost. It means, further, that to [renounce] such devices is no loss, since their use can contribute nothing whatever to the effectiveness of evangelistic preaching. Indeed, it will in the long run detract from it; for while psychological pressures, skillfully handled, may produce the outward form of 'decision', they cannot bring about regeneration and a change of heart, and when the 'decisions' wear off those who registered them will be found 'gospel-hardened' and antagonistic. Such forcing of tactics can only do damage, perhaps incalculable damage, to men's souls. It follows, therefore, that high-speed evangelism is not a valid option. Evangelism must rather be conceived as a long-term enterprise of patient teaching and instruction, in which God's servants seek simply to be faithful in delivering the gospel message and applying it to human lives, and leave it to God's Spirit to draw men to faith through this message in his own way and at his own speed.

How does the Spirit work? Does he authentically work through our begging people to walk an aisle, or does he work most powerfully through the preaching of God's word? "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).

What do you mean I’m Jewish?

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the most famous preachers in England. He was a pastor in London from 1854 until he died in 1892. Spurgeon was the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, a church some call the first modern “megachurch.” Not only did he preach several sermons per week, he also was a prolific writer. In 1865, he began editing a magazine called The Sword and the Trowel. The title of the magazine refers to the way Nehemiah instructed the people of Israel to both stand guard and work to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. I often wondered why they chose that title, until I realized that believers are Jewish.

“Funny,” you might say, “I don’t remember being Jewish.” Well, if you are a believer you are. Romans 2:28-29 tells us, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” So, believers in Christ are born again into his family, the true Israel.

“Ok, so I’m Jewish. What’s the point?” Well, like Abraham, God rescued us from idolatry (Genesis 11:27-31; Abram was Chaldean, a people known to worship a moon goddess named Sin) and made a covenant with us so that we would be his people and he would be our God. And the sign of this new covenant was circumcision of the heart instead of physical circumcision. The point of all this is that the Jewish people in the Old Testament weren’t the people of God; they were a foreshadowing of what God would do through Jesus Christ. And we have a much better covenant than the first Israel.

So now we can read the Old Testament in a new light!

Actually, The Takamine EG461SC

I posted about a guitar I was targeting last month, the Takamine EG361SC; I have since selected that guitar's sibling, the EG461SC. The 461 is made from the same materials but has quite a different (and even more attractive) shape, and produces a similar and more balanced sound.

I began to learn to play on a friend's Epiphone (thanks Jeff), and while his guitar had a decent sound, it helped me to appreciate the ease of playing a better guitar. The strings on the Epiphone were quite difficult to fret, and the difference between his guitar and my new Takamine is a welcome change.

I have been "playing" now for about two months, and I have made great strides! I have progressed far beyond what I thought possible in this time period; that being said, however, I still cannot play the silly thing well enough to play in front of an audience. I still take much too long to change between chords. But I am making progress; if it used to take me five seconds to change between chords, maybe it takes me two or three now. Hopefully I will be able to contribute with this guitar in worship before too long.

Speaking of contributing in worship, it looks like I might get to participate with a different instrument; a bass guitar. Our church recently purchased a Yamaha RBX170 electric bass because our bass player is joining the military. I have practiced a little with the new bass, and I am able to apply the very little I know about the guitar to the bass and contribute in a significant way! I am really excited to be able to play in the band! Here's a pic of the RBX170:

An Appraoch to the Extended Memorization of Scripture

Dr. Andy Davis spoke at a chapel service at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary this past semester, and he brought with him a box full of booklets he had written on "An Approach to the Extended Memorization of Scripture." Rumor has it that Dr. Davis has memorized the entire New Testament, and is working on portions of the Old Testament.

I am amazed by this extensive exercise, but at the same time I am terribly shamed. I have often struggled in my adult life to memorize Bible verses, and I often struggle to remember the words to a song I might be singing, and yet David lets us in on a secret to combating sin in Psalm 119:11; "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

May God have mercy on us for our laziness and toleration of sin.

The Takamine EG361SC

Well, I think I have found the guitar for me. I never knew all the variables involved in producing great, rich sound from a guitar! Rosewood, apparently, is the Cadillac wood of guitars, and the sound it produces is much deeper and louder than most others. I think the Takamine EG361SC is my best bet for the money, and I have not played a guitar in its price range that comes close to the beautiful sound this guitar produces.

I have been practicing the guitar for almost two weeks. A good friend at work let me borrow a guitar that he learned on, and I've been playing almost every day. My fingers are starting to become calloused, but my inability to put together the chords fast enough to play a song really irks me! The guitar I am playing on is a bit difficult to play, and I am really looking forward to practicing on this guitar!

One Way Christianity Is Different

I am reading a compilation of three of John Owen's works entitled Overcoming Sin & Temptation, edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor. Owen, in the first work, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, contrasts the work of the Spirit in "killing sin" with the normal way by which most of us try to be better Christians:

Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in the world.

Are you trying to be a better Christian by making yourself better? This is not biblical. Romans 8 tells us that the Spirit will do this in our lives.

Now, I have an idea that Bible intake and meditation play a big part in this, but I'll have to keep reading.

Two More Classes Down

I just completed two more classes on my way to a Masters degree from Southern Seminary. This was possibly one of the most difficult semesters I have taken. By the grace of God, I completed Elementary Greek and Church History I. Hopefully, I will have more time now to blog occasionally.

Esteeming Others More Highly...

"Try to be patient in bearing with the failings and weaknesses of other people, whatever they may be. You too have many faults, which others have to endure. If you cannot make yourself the kind of person that you wish, how can you expect to have someone else to your liking? We want perfection in other people, and yet we do not put right our own failings. It is clear how rarely we apply to our neighbors the same standards as to ourselves."
-- Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 1.16

Forgive us, Heavenly Father.

Modern Hymns - "Oh To See the Dawn" or "The Power of the Cross"

Keith Getty and Stewart Townsend have written many modern hymns, incorporating sound biblical theology and new tunes. Many people recognize the Getty/Townsend song, "In Christ Alone"; here are the words to another awesome, truth-filled hymn:

Oh to see the dawn
Of the darkest day
Christ on the road to Calvary
Tried by sinful men
Torn and beaten then
Nailed to a cross of wood

CHORUS:
This the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross

Oh to see the pain
Written on Your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin
Every bitter thought
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow

Now the daylight flees
Now the groun beneath
Quakes as it's Maker bows His head
Curtain torn in two
Dead are raised to life
Finished the victory cry

Oh to see my name
Written in the wounds
For through Your suffering I am free
Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live
Won through Your selfless love

FINAL CHORUS:
This the power of the cross
Son of god slain for us
What a love What a cost
We stand forgiven at the cross

What an incredible testimony to the torture and death of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. With his obedience from birth to unjust death, Christ earned the right to sit on the throne of heaven and rule for all eternity, and by the power of the cross we too will reign with Christ for all eternity!!!

What Was Said To The Rose?

I have been listening to some of David Crowder's music (a Christian artist), and I have noticed that his music seems to reflect some great reformation influence. One line I wanted to share is this:

And what was said to the rose to make it unfold
was said to me here in my chest so be quiet now and rest...

I cannot think of any other way to interpret this line, especially in the context of the song, Here Is Our King:

Here is our King, here is our Lord, here is our God who's come to bring us
back to Him;
He is the one, He is Jesus.
He is our King, He is our Lord, He is our God who's come to bring us back
to Him;
He is the one, He is Jesus.

Another section from another song (Wholly Yours) from the same album (A Collision) also points to reformation theology:

I am full of earth, you are heaven's worth,
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity
And you are everything that is bright and clean, the antonym of me, you are
divinity
But the certain sign of grace is this,
That from the broken earth, flowers come, pushing through the dirt...

I praise God for lyrics like this on the radio! May God be praised among the nations!

When He Returns

Check out these lyrics:

The iron hand it ain't no match for the iron rod,
The strongest wall will crumble and fall to a mighty God.
For all those who have eyes and all those who have ears
It is only He who can reduce me to tears.
Don't you cry and don't you die and don't you burn
For like a thief in the night, He'll replace wrong with right
When He returns.

Truth is an arrow and the gate is narrow that it passes through,
He unleashed His power at an unknown hour that no one knew.
How long can I listen to the lies of prejudice?
How long can I stay drunk on fear out in the wilderness?
Can I cast it aside, all this loyalty and this pride?
Will I ever learn that there'll be no peace, that the war won't cease
Until He returns?

Surrender your crown on this blood-stained ground, take off your mask,
He sees your deeds, He knows your needs even before you ask.
How long can you falsify and deny what is real?
How long can you hate yourself for the weakness you conceal?
Of every earthly plan that be known to man, He is unconcerned,
He's got plans of His own to set up His throne
When He returns.

I first heard these in a song by Kevin Max, but guess who wrote the lyrics? Bob Dylan, 1979.

Art For God's Sake

I subscribe to Chip Stam's Worship Quote of the Week, and this weeks quote made me stop and think. How do we view and understand the art?

There are many reasons why some churches have a negative view of the arts. Art trades in images, and images easily lend themselves to idolatry. Artists know this from their own experience. In their work they encounter the glory at the foundation of things, and they feel its power over the heart. . . .

Yet even Christians who are dismissive of art continue to use it. Doing so is inescapable. Every time we build a sanctuary, arrange furniture in a room, or produce a brochure, we are making artistic decisions. Even if we are not artists in our primary vocation, there is an inescapable artistic aspect to our daily experience. The question becomes, therefore, whether as Christians we will aspire to high aesthetic standards. All too often we settle for something that is functional, but not beautiful. We gravitate toward what is familiar, popular, or commercial, with little regard for the enduring values of artistic excellence. Sometimes what we produce can be describe only as KITSCH—tacky artwork of poor quality that appeals to low tastes. The average Christian bookstore is full of the stuff, as the real artist will tell us, if only we will listen.

Ultimately this kind of art dishonors God because it is not in keeping with the truth and beauty of his character. It also undermines the church's gospel message of salvation in Christ. Art has tremendous power to shape culture and touch the human heart. Its artifacts embody the ideas and desires of the coming generation. This means that what is happening in the arts today is prophetic of what will happen in our culture tomorrow. It also means that when Christians abandon the artistic community, we lose a significant opportunity to communicate Christ to our culture. Furthermore, when we settle for trivial expressions of the truth in worship and art, we ourselves are diminished, as we suffer a loss of transcendence. What we need to recover (or possibly discover for the first time) is a full biblical understanding of the arts—not for art's sake, but for God's sake. Then we will be able to produce better art that more effectively testifies to the truth about God and his grace. This goal is important and not just for artists, but for everyone else made in God's image and in need of redemption.

—Philip Graham Ryken, ART FOR GOD'S SAKE: A CALL TO RECOVER THE ARTS. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006, p. 11, 13-14. ISBN10: 1-59638-007-1. The author looks at a biblical view of art by examining Exodus 31 where God calls Bezalel and Oholiab as artists to work on the tabernacle.

I hope you have a different perspective on that "artwork" hanging in your church.

"Called" in Romans

I am reading through Romans 1-3 every day for the month of August, and I noticed how Romans 1 describes our salvation as an act initiated by God:

• 1:1 - "Paul, ... called to be an apostle"
• 1:6 - "you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ"
• 1:7 - "To all those ... called to be saints"

Why does Paul describe our salvation in terms of God's calling us? While it is completely true that we must answer the general gospel call to repent and believe the gospel, we must recognize the unbeliever's complete inability to do so without a "change of heart." Like Lazarus, an unbeliever cannot stir himself to life, or cry out for help, or say a prayer. Unless we are called by God out of our tombs, we cannot even cry out to God for rescue! Read the words to Amazing Grace again for the first time.

The Watchmaker

Check out this animated story called "The Watchmaker." If you believe in atheistic evolution, this is at best a troubling analogy.

A Different Kind of Violence

A brother just sent me a quote by Thomas Watson (the Puritan, not the golfer):

The exercises of the worship of God are contrary to nature; therefore, there must be a provoking of ourselves to them. The movement of the soul toward sin is natural, but its movement toward heaven is violent. The stone moves easily to the center. It has an innate propensity downward, but to draw up a millstone into the air is done by violence because it is against nature. So to lift up the heart to heaven in duty is done by violence and we must provoke ourselves to it. What is it to provoke ourselves to duty? It is to awaken ourselves and shake off spiritual slothfulness. Let us then examine whether we put forth this holy violence for heaven. Do we set time apart to call ourselves to account and to try our evidences for heaven? "My spirit made diligent search" (Ps. 77:6). Do we take our hearts, as a watch, all in pieces to see what is amiss and to mend it? Are we curiously inquisitive into the state of our souls? Are we afraid of artificial grace, as we are of artificial happiness? Do we use violence in prayer? Is there fire in our sacrifice? Is the wind of the Spirit filling our sails, causing unutterable groans (Rom. 8:26)? Do we pray in the morning as if we were to die at night? Do we thirst for the living God? Are our souls enlarged with holy desires? "There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee" (Ps. 73:25). Do we desire holiness as well as heaven? Do we desire as much to look like Christ as to live with Christ? Is our desire constant? Is this spiritual pulse ever beating?

Are we skilled in self-denial? Can we deny our ease, our aims, our interests? Can we cross our own will to fulfill God's? Can we behead our beloved sin? To pluck out the right eye requires violence. (Matt. 18:9). Are we lovers of God? It is not how much we do, but how much we love. Does love command the castle of our hearts? Does Christ's beauty and sweetness constrain us? (2 Cor. 5:14). Do we love God more than we fear hell? Do we keep our spiritual watch? Do we set spies in every place, watching our thoughts, our eyes, our tongues? When we, have prayed against sin, do we watch against temptation? Do we press after further degrees of sanctity? "Reaching forth unto those things which are before" (Phil. 3:13). A good Christian is a wonder; he is the most contented yet the least satisfied. He is contented with a little of the world, but not satisfied with a little grace.

How violent Christ was about our salvation! He was in agony; He "continued all night in prayer" (Luke 6:12). He wept, He fasted, He died a violent death; He rose violently out of the grave. Was Christ so violent for our salvation, and does it not become us to be violent who are so intimately concerned in it? Christ's violence was not only satisfactory, but exemplary. It was not only to appease God, but to teach us. Christ was violent in dying to teach us to be violent in believing.

Let us also be violent in our quest for heaven!