The SBC this week approved as expected the formation of the Great Commission Task Force. It looks like a pretty good group, although I wonder if it is truly representative of the entire SBC. A couple of thoughts come to mind when I look over the list. First, there is no one from the mid-west (I don't think Kentucky is considered mid-west). Ronnie Floyd is as close as you get in Springdale, Arkansas. There are five members from Florida!
As usual, the super-church/very large church is represented the most. As far as I can tell (and I could be wrong), Mike Orr of First Baptist Chipley, Florida, is the only pastor of what I would call a medium size Baptist Church. By the way, I don't know Mike but I know FBC. I served in the Chipley area for over five years and FBC is a good congregation. There are no small churches represented as far as I can tell. I'm not sure of the membership/attendance of St. Andrew's in Panama City, but I know it wouldn't be termed small. Five of the members are denominational and three are educators.
I'm not sure what this group will be able to do, but I'm looking forward to hearing from them.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Sanford "Affair"
You can't go anywhere today without hearing about the Sanford "affair." For those not from SC, you've probably heard the story about our governor; it's all over the news. I've reflected on all this from a biblical perspective and here are some random thoughts.
- We live in a fallen world and people sin, and sin always has terrible consequences.
- Integrity matters--always. A good name is better than riches [Prov 22:1].
- Believers must always have a heart of compassion and forgiveness [Matthew 18].
- Believers must never put too much trust in politics or politicians--our citizenship is in heaven and only our Lord is perfect!
- Believers have a responsibility to pray for our leaders [1 Timoth 2:1-3]. One thought that crossed my mind this morning was--if Christians prayed more for leaders, praying for a spiritual mind, a submissive spirit, and protection from the evil one, would this happen less frequently? God convicted me to be less critical and more prayerful.
I think too I must be consistent with this. When President Clinton was caught in his affair with Monica Lewinski, I believed strongly that he broke the public's trust and should resign. Contrary to his supporters, I believed then that his affair showed a basic flaw in character that inhibits sound decision making. I believe that now about Governor Sanford. He should resign. There's a problem deep down in his soul that also inhibits sound decision making. Besides, he should concern himself now with healing himself and his family.
I've committed myself to pray for the governor and his family. I hope you'll join me.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Steph's Blog
Stephanie is on mission this summer in Florence, SC. She is working with the Florence Baptist Association through the North American Mission Board. She has set up a blog to share some of her experiences. Lesa and I are extremely proud of what she's doing. I know Steph would appreciate your prayers as she continues the work through the end of July.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Need for Silence
Al Mohler's always insightful blog has an entry today about the need for silence. Primarily he discusses children but the need is just as real for adults.
Similarly, I've just begun the book A Praying Life by Paul Miller. I read this only a couple of hours before Mohler's blog. He writes:
American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray. We prize accomplishments, production. But prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless, as if we are wasting time. Every bone in our bodies screams, 'Get to work.'
When we aren't working, we are used to being entertained. Television, the Internet, video games, and cell phones make free time as busy as work. When we do slow down, we slip into a stupor. Exhausted by the pace of life, we veg out in front of a screen or with earplugs.
If we try to be quiet, we are assaulted by what C.S. Lewis called 'the Kingdom of Noise.' Everywhere we go we hear the background noise. If the noise isn't provided for us, we can bring our own via iPod.
How true. I've become more and more enamored with silence. To use a quote from a recent blog entry, I've been working on 'ruthlessly eliminating hurry.' That would include having to have noise all the time.
I've never been able to truly study with noise or read with any kind of comprehension when there is something else going on. My staff here at Fairview laugh because I've always got a fan going [even in winter]. It is used primarily to drown out any extemporaneous noise. I'm applying that more and more to my spiritual life with increasing benefits. Try silence. You'll like it.
"Be still and know I am God" [Psalm 46:10].
Similarly, I've just begun the book A Praying Life by Paul Miller. I read this only a couple of hours before Mohler's blog. He writes:
American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray. We prize accomplishments, production. But prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless, as if we are wasting time. Every bone in our bodies screams, 'Get to work.'
When we aren't working, we are used to being entertained. Television, the Internet, video games, and cell phones make free time as busy as work. When we do slow down, we slip into a stupor. Exhausted by the pace of life, we veg out in front of a screen or with earplugs.
If we try to be quiet, we are assaulted by what C.S. Lewis called 'the Kingdom of Noise.' Everywhere we go we hear the background noise. If the noise isn't provided for us, we can bring our own via iPod.
How true. I've become more and more enamored with silence. To use a quote from a recent blog entry, I've been working on 'ruthlessly eliminating hurry.' That would include having to have noise all the time.
I've never been able to truly study with noise or read with any kind of comprehension when there is something else going on. My staff here at Fairview laugh because I've always got a fan going [even in winter]. It is used primarily to drown out any extemporaneous noise. I'm applying that more and more to my spiritual life with increasing benefits. Try silence. You'll like it.
"Be still and know I am God" [Psalm 46:10].
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Spiritual Leadership
This is from the latest "Preaching Now" newsletter.
An unclear understanding of spiritual maturity may be an underlying reason why there is so little progress in seeing people develop spiritually in the United States, despite overwhelming access to churches and unlimited products and resources, The Barna Group says."America has a spiritual depth problem partly because the faith community does not have a robust definition of its spiritual goals," David Kinnaman, Barna's president, said. "The study shows the need for new types of spiritual metrics."Barna found that most Christians equate spiritual maturity with following the rules described in the Bible.
Also, many churchgoers were unable to identify how their church defines spiritual maturity. Most Christians, Barna said, offer one-dimensional views of personal spiritual maturity, giving answers such as having a relationship with Jesus, living a moral lifestyle or applying the Bible.Most pastors struggle with articulating a specific set of objectives for spirituality and instead list activities over attitudes, the study said.
Pastors are willing to acknowledge that a lack of spiritual maturity is one of the largest problems in the nation, but few of them say spiritual immaturity is a problem in their church.When Barna asked the 600-plus pastors who were part of the survey to identify biblical references to chart spiritual maturity, most gave generic responses such as "the whole Bible," "the gospels" or "the New Testament." Just 2 percent mentioned the Galatians 5 passage listing the fruit of the Spirit."
One new metric might be a renewed effort on the part of leaders to articulate the outcomes of spiritual growth. Another might be the relational engagement and accountability that people maintain," Kinnaman said. "Of course, spirituality is neither a science nor a business, so there is a natural resistance to ascribing scientific or operational standards to what most people believe is an organic process."Yet, the process of spiritual growth is neither simplistic nor without guidelines, so hard work and solid thinking in this arena is needed."
(Baptist Press, 6-1-09; click here to read the full story.)
My own view is that spiritual maturity can be clearly guaged by Galatians 5. Is the fruit of the Spirit recognizable in an individual's life? I guage my own spiritual growth by sifting my life through that passage. Spiritual maturity is not measured in activities but in fruit.
An unclear understanding of spiritual maturity may be an underlying reason why there is so little progress in seeing people develop spiritually in the United States, despite overwhelming access to churches and unlimited products and resources, The Barna Group says."America has a spiritual depth problem partly because the faith community does not have a robust definition of its spiritual goals," David Kinnaman, Barna's president, said. "The study shows the need for new types of spiritual metrics."Barna found that most Christians equate spiritual maturity with following the rules described in the Bible.
Also, many churchgoers were unable to identify how their church defines spiritual maturity. Most Christians, Barna said, offer one-dimensional views of personal spiritual maturity, giving answers such as having a relationship with Jesus, living a moral lifestyle or applying the Bible.Most pastors struggle with articulating a specific set of objectives for spirituality and instead list activities over attitudes, the study said.
Pastors are willing to acknowledge that a lack of spiritual maturity is one of the largest problems in the nation, but few of them say spiritual immaturity is a problem in their church.When Barna asked the 600-plus pastors who were part of the survey to identify biblical references to chart spiritual maturity, most gave generic responses such as "the whole Bible," "the gospels" or "the New Testament." Just 2 percent mentioned the Galatians 5 passage listing the fruit of the Spirit."
One new metric might be a renewed effort on the part of leaders to articulate the outcomes of spiritual growth. Another might be the relational engagement and accountability that people maintain," Kinnaman said. "Of course, spirituality is neither a science nor a business, so there is a natural resistance to ascribing scientific or operational standards to what most people believe is an organic process."Yet, the process of spiritual growth is neither simplistic nor without guidelines, so hard work and solid thinking in this arena is needed."
(Baptist Press, 6-1-09; click here to read the full story.)
My own view is that spiritual maturity can be clearly guaged by Galatians 5. Is the fruit of the Spirit recognizable in an individual's life? I guage my own spiritual growth by sifting my life through that passage. Spiritual maturity is not measured in activities but in fruit.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Speaking Your Mind
Every once in a while someone will hurt another and rationalize it by saying, "I always speak my mind." I was reminded today reading David Jeremiah's devotional that speaking one's mind is not always the right and loving thing to do. Let's be reminded of the following Scriptures:
- A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man holds it in check. [Prov 29:11]
- My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger [James 1:19]
- The one who guards his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin [Prov 13:3]
- No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear. [Eph 4:29]
Remember all things, especially your speech, should be done in love. Most of the time "speaking my mind" means I'm going to say something hurtful. That's not the job of the believer. The job of the believer is to lift people up, not tear them down.
Just musing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)