Byron Nelson

I was sadded to learn of the death yesterday of the great golfer, Bryon Nelson. Lord Byron will be remembered for his accomplishments as a golfer, but many more will remember him for the Christian life that he led. Every time I heard him interviewed, I was impressed with his character. For more on his life:

http://www.wfaa.com


I'm sure he has heard a "Well done" from the Lord.

Founder's Day

Today was Founders Day at NGU. It is the day that the history of the university is celebrated. It was my first official/formal function at the university as the faculty dressed in academic regalia. It was a bit trying to find my place in the recession, but I finally found the person I was to stand behind and all went well. The speaker was Dan Cathy, president/CEO of Chick-fil-A. He did an excellent job, and I was impressed by his company's Christian commitment. As you know part of that commitment is that they are closed on Sunday. I've done my part today--I had chicken for lunch and dinner!

Fairview

Well we finally joined a church last Sunday. We have been visiting churches through the summer, but we finally settled on Fairview Baptist in Greer. Dr. Steve Crouse, campus minister at NGU is the interim. If you'd like to check the place out the web address is:

http://www.fairviewgreer.net/index.php

Insults with Style

You'll like this from "Preaching Now"....

Insults with style

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." (Winston Churchill)

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." (Winston Churchill)

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." (Clarence Darrow)

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." (William Faulkner, about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" (Ernest Hemingway, about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." (Moses Hadas)

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." (Abraham Lincoln)

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." (Groucho Marx)

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." (Mark Twain)

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." (Oscar Wilde)

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play. Bring a friend . . . if you have one." (George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill)

"Cannot possibly attend first night. Will attend second . . . if there is one." (Winston Churchill, in reply)

Preaching to Felt Needs

Here is an insightful blog post on the danger to preaching to felt needs.

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=773

IMB Commissioning Service

My family and I had the privilege of attending an International Mission Board Commissioning Service last night at North Spartanburg First Baptist Church. To say that it was inspiring is an understatement. The service from start to finish was a true worship experience. It was gratifying to see one of my former Southwestern students and his wife commissioned. If you have never been to a commissioning service, by all means go to the next one close to you. You really won't be the same.

I was sad that Gordon Fort was not able to attend. He was on the program but was not there. Gordon's wife, Leann, grew up at my last church--Riverside in Ft. Worth. I was hoping to touch base with him but of course was not able to do so. Other than that, it was great night.

Tongues & Baptists

The recent flap over the Dwight McKissic sermon at Southwestern again brings to the forefront the subject of Baptists and tongues, or the politically correct term "private prayer language." That's the term Baptists like to use to make sure they are not getting mixed up with the tongue speakers in Pentecostal/charismatic groups. In essence, that is still what we're talking about. McKissic was highly critical of the International Mission Board of Trustees over its decision to not appoint missionaries who claim to speak in tongues. Are they right in doing so?

The idea of a private prayer language comes from 1 Corinthians 14 where Paul attempts to set in some kind of order the confusion brought out by the use tongues in worship. In 14:2 Paul wrote: "For the person who speaks in [another] language is not speaking to men but to God, since no one understands him; however, he speaks mysteries in the Spirit." In 1 Cor 14:14 Paul writes: "For if I pray in [another] language, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful" [HCSB]. The term translated "another language" in the HCSB is "tongue." Do these verses demand the idea of a private prayer language. In both cases the answer is no. In v. 2 all Paul is saying is that when one speaks in tongues only God can understand him/her [if an interpreter is not present]. In v. 14 the apostle seems to only be saying that when one prays in tongues he/she cannot understand what is being said. Neither of these verses require the idea of a private prayer language.

Clearly in 1 Cor 12-14 tongues are seen by Paul as a spiritual gift. In chapters 12 and 14 he is clear that tongues are to be used to glorify God and build up the church. Spiritual gifts are not individual-centered but corporate-centered. In other words, they are not for the building up of the individual [although they do that] but for the building up of the church. Spiritual gifts are not a "private" matter but a "corporate" matter.

All of our experiences must be examined in light of Scripture. Is there such a thing then as a "private" prayer language? I would like to see an example of it in Scripture to be convinced. I don't find that example. Although I at first was critical of the IMB position, I believe now that the trustees were correct.

Osteen

You'll likely be interested in this report about Joel Osteen's recent Boston visit.

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=766

This reminds me of his appearance on Larry King in which he danced around the reality of hell.

Preaching and Technology

One of the things mentioned in Al Mohler's take on contemporary preaching [posted recently here] was his concern that the preacher is becoming too enamored with technology. I agree. Based on my experience this summer of being in several different churches for worship, I would say that preachers have become "PowerPoint crazy." It is almost overwhelming when almost everything the preacher says is projected on the screen. People are not as tuned into the preacher when that happens and are more worried about what is going up next. Besides, when too much is projected, you feel like you're in a classroom lecture. I don't want to feel like I'm in school when I'm at church. Also, when too much of the sermon is on PowerPoint, the preacher may feel enslaved to the presentation and not go "off script" should the Spirit demand it.

Not every point and subpoint needs to be projected on the screen. You don't need a lot of animation. I have reminded my preaching class that "less is more." Use technology but don't become a slave to it. Remember the best preaching is still done verbally!

FBC Marietta

I had my first preaching opportunity since coming to South Carolina on Sunday at Marietta First Baptist Church. Lesa and I had a great time in the two morning services. The church has a sweet spirit, and it is obvious that God is blessing that congregation. The church is a bit unusual in that it has a bigger congregation for the earlier service than in the second one. It is also unusual in that both service have the same order of worship. Thanks to Pastor Bennie Durham for giving me the opportunity to fellowship with his great church!

State of Preaching Today

Al Mohler has written a commentary entitled, "The State of Preaching Today." It is well worth the read.

http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-08-28

More SWBTS Chapel

Here's the latest from Baptist Press on the SWBTS chapel service on Tuesday.

http://www.bpnews.org/bpnews.asp?ID=23889

I mentioned to a friend the other day that probably Dwight McKissic spoke as he did because he is used to doing so in his pulpit within the African-American church climate. That is exactly what Bro. McKissic says in the above article:

McKissic had stated in his letter to Patterson, "If addressing the [IMB] policy violated SWBTS chapel protocol, and apparently it did, I deeply apologize for having done so. Please forgive me; I was unaware of this protocol. I was speaking from my faith tradition (National Baptist Convention) and cultural background that encourages addressing unbiblical and discriminatory issues prophetically and publicly. However, I do believe in submission to authority and I will submit to SWBTS protocol in the future to the extent that I am aware of it." He offered to submit an advance manuscript of his message if he is invited again as a chapel speaker [BP].

I don't know if the above statement gives Bro. McKissic a pass. It seems to me he should have been more sensitive to the issue of speaking so strongly against an IMB policy in the chapel at Southwestern and at least given Dr. Patterson the courtesy of a "heads-up" on what he was going to say. That could have prevented this fiasco. Whether one agrees with the IMB policy or not or agrees with Dr. Patterson's stance against tongues or not, a preacher being invited by the president of Southwestern has the obligation to at least give a private warning before releasing a bomb. Bro. McKissic says that he desires to submit to authority. When you preach in another's pulpit, you are under authority. Submission requires giving warning when something super controversial is coming in the sermon.

SWBTS Chapel Service

Well the dust still hasn't really cleared from yesterday's chapel service at Southwestern. Read this from Baptist Press:

http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23882

Read the seminary news release in its entirety at www.swbts.edu

I'll have some reflections of my own on the IMB and "private prayer language" later in the week.

Success in Ministry

You no doubt will benefit from reading Ben Witherington's post on success in ministry. You'll stop to think.

http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/

Plagerism in the Pulpit

I've been thinking some lately about plagerism in the pulpit. A New York Times article recently reported that a pastor had admitted preaching other guys' sermons that he downloaded from the internet. We were visting with friends earlier this summer who believed the same thing about their pastor. We have all borrowed from each other in the homiletical arena, and "there is nothing new under the sun," but when does a preacher cross the line into plagerism?

• When his outline is someone else's and he doesn't give credit
• When one of those cute "turns of the phrase" that is not his is not credited to the one who really turned it
• When another's experience is related as his own [that's also lying!]
• When quotes are lifted from books or sermons without giving credit

I'm sure I'm missing some things here, but this is a start. I tell students when writing papers that if the thought is not your thought footnote. I would say to preachers--If the thought is not really yours give credit. Your credibility and integrity will then never be questioned.

What about background material gained from study? When you simply summarize background material as you explain a text in the sermon, you don't have to give credit. When you define biblical terms, I don't think it is necessary to quote the source; your congregation will assume you looked that definition up anyway. However, if you find something really great that you want to use and you do so word-for-word, give credit.

I have used outlines of others, quotes from others, etc. in the past--we all have. But I have attempted each time to make sure the proper person gets credit for it. That's only right. If I might twist a verse just a bit--"Give credit to whom credit is due!"

New York SS Teacher

Well much has been said in the press this week about the New York state Sunday School teacher who was "fired" from her ministry in a Baptist church in New York state [I'm glad to say not an SBC church]. Someone asked a question about it during the Wedneday night prayer meeting I attended, and I've read several blog entries. All I can say is that church will have a tough time getting ministry done without the women. If it had not been for women SS teachers in the churches I pastored, we wouldn't have had very many. I shudder to think what my churches would have done if we had to rely on men teachers.

Top 10 for Worship

You might be interested in this Top Ten from Jim Shaddix on worship.

http://www.baptistcourier.com/785.article

Pharaoh's Heart

I've been looking over the latest edition of edition of the New American Commentary: Exodus by Douglas K. Stuart. This is going to be one of the better volumes of the series, no doubt about it. There are many exegetical conundrums in Exodus. One of which is the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, which is found several times in the book [4:21; 9:12; 10:20, 27 just to name a few]. In his Excursus on this matter Stuart wrote in part:

His [Yahweh's] purpose in preventing Pharaoh from giving in too easily and too early was, as
will be seen in subsequent parts of the narrative, to allow himself fully to demonstrate his sovereignty over Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the land of Egypt itself, and the gods to which Pharaoh and the Egyptians trusted. . .The Egyptian Pharaoh was supposed to be a pure person, a divine manifestation of the gods,a nd one whose sovereignty over the people was credentialized in part by the purity of his 'ib [Egyptian for 'heart'] . The idea that Yahweh could do whatever he wanted with Pharaoh's heart, and specifically could "harden" it, therefore, was both an evidence of Yahweh's control of all things including the mightiest monarch of the day and also evidence that Yahweh had done what the Egyptians thought the "gods" would usually do--weigh the heart and decide whether the owner was worthy of eternal life or not. In effect, then, each time Yahweh is decribed as hardening Pharaoh's heart, the alert reader is reminded that Yahweh had, as it were, weighed Pharaoh and found him wanting . . . In terms of the classical theological-philosophical issue of free will versus determination, none of the references to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart is decisive. That is because God's causing Pharaoh to be stubborn is simply not presented in the narrative as a general permanent phenomenon (eternal election or rejection) but rather as an ad hoc action of God, temporary in nature . . . and limited to the special purpose of humiliating the Egyptians and their false religion [149-50].

A cogent discussion of a topic that bothers many folks in church when this subject comes up. By the way, Stuart is best known by many seminary students as the co-author with Gordon Fee of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. His work on Exodus, just released by Broadman and Holman, will be well worth the purchase for anyone preaching and teaching in Exodus. I may have more quotes from the commentary later on.

Revivals

Do revivals still work? I believe they will. Is there a time more important than now in America for churches to emphasize revival and spiritual renewal? Read these two articles from Baptist Press.

http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23819

http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23818

The second article above deals with what old fashioned evangelism did in a church that had not had a baptism in TWENTY years! Praise the Lord.

I would pray that churches would have at least one and even more than one revival during the year. We just finished attending the North Greenville Crusade this week at NGU; it was a blessing, and many people were saved. Revivals still work, but they take lots of prayer and lots of preparation.

Christians and Muslims

The Florida Baptist Witness is publishing a series of articles by Dr. Mark Rathel of the Baptist College of Florida comparing Islam and Christianity. The latest can be found at:

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/6268.article

I would urge you to read these.