Influential & respected evangelical leader Chuck Colson dies at age 80 & he is now with Jesus. May his influence multiply here on earth through the work he begun and through others that follow.
Psalm 116:15.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/aprilweb-only/chuck-colson-dead.html
Yesterday I had the chance to talk with some Grace University seniors that are just a few weeks away from graduation, some of whom are actively considering seminary/graduate school as they enter the next phase of their lives. I was asked to speak for 20-25 minutes about going to seminary – why I found it helpful, how I’d define “success” in seminary, etc, and then we had some great Q&A as the students brought up questions that were on their minds.
As Brookside continues to raise up leaders for the church through our particular local church, one of the things this means is that there will be those involved in our congregation who may be asking some of these same questions, and considering further theological education for themselves. With this in mind, then, here’s a synopsis of what I shared with the Grace seniors:
Why read commentaries? Lots of reasons. But one reason is for gems such as these that are especially fitting as we consider this Easter weekend, both mined from D.A. Carson’s Gospel According to John (Eerdmans, 1991) in the Pillar New Testament Commentary series:
On March 24, 2012 a “Reason Rally” will be held in Washington D.C. drawing “non-theists”/atheists from around the country to (according to the “about” page of their website) “unify, energize, and embolden secular people nationwide, while dispelling the negative opinions held by so much of American society…”
In an article describing this rally, event organizer David Silverman, president of American Atheists, further clarifies the purpose of this rally: “…the main point of the rally, Silverman says, is not to tweak the faithful. It’s to encourage closeted atheists to take heart. ’The message is that if you can come out, you can out come out,’ he says. ‘And if you can’t come out, at least you’ll know you’re not alone, and maybe sometime soon you’ll be able to come out of the closet to your family.’”
The sense I get from these sorts of purpose statements is that ”coming out of the closet” and identifying oneself as an atheist will be liberating for the individual. Maybe it will be. Maybe it will liberate this “closet atheist” to finally start living a certain way, unriddled by the guilt they feel has been imposed on them by whatever beliefs about God/believers/religion they’re rejecting (or never believed in in the first place). Maybe it will be liberating to finally answer the questions they’ve been asking with responses they (for whatever reason) are more satisfied with.
Mabye…but not necessarily.
Recently Al Mohler (president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky) posted an entry on his blog that addressed both (1) his hope for the church because of the young ministers entering and preparing for ministry, and (2) challenges/issues that are on the (near) horizon that demand careful response and attention by the church.
This article was one of those pieces of writing that kept me thinking for a while even after I read it, so I figured it was worth referring along. Here are some (brief) excerpts from Mohler’s post that will give you a sense of what he’s covering (and hopefully whet your appetite to reading his whole article – we’ve provided a link to it at the end):
This year, as a church we’re leaning into Lent in a more intentional way than we have in the past. We’re holding an Ash Wednesday service on Wed, Feb 22 at 7am in The Hub at Brookside. Our Sunday morning sermons will be built around passages in the Gospel of John leading up to the arrest, death and resurrection of Jesus. We’ll be making an additional resource available with weekly readings and prayers as we prepare our hearts – individually and as a church – for Easter weekend. Our prayer in all of this is that God will use this Lenten Season in such a way that the full impact of Easter (including the events leading up to it and the implications flowing out from it) lands with a fresh weight in our lives as we follow Jesus Christ – our Lord and Savior who was crucified for us and was raised again on the third day.
As a pastor in an Evangelical Free Church (that’s the denomination Brookside is a part of), however, I’m aware that observing Lent may be new(er) to many in our congregation who may not have grown up in some of the more formally-liturgical churches (both Protestant and Catholic) that do follow the church calendar. Over the last few days, I’ve had the opportunity to point people towards the rich history Lent has in the Christian church and the ways it can be a means to form us as followers of Jesus.
To help all of us “wrap our arms” around Lent as we approach Easter in April, then, let me simply point you towards three resources written from an evangelical Protestant perspective that can help us appreciate the history and opportunity of Lent. Click on the links below to get re-directed to the articles.
I’m in the middle of teaching a class at Brookside called “Fuel for Faith: An Important Class about Christian Theology.” Each week for 8 weeks we cover a category (or two) of systematic theology and learn from God’s Word (primarily), our class textbook (Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine) and each other.
Last week we had some great interaction about the Christian doctrine of the Trinity – I’m grateful for a class that’s willing to ask some tough questions, think deeply, and be formed by God’s Word. One of the things we had the chance to discuss was whether or not the doctrine of the Trinity is really that big of a deal. Does it really make a difference whether we worship God as “one God in three Persons” (the traditional understanding), as “one God in three manifestations” (an early heresy commonly known as modalism) or as three aligned but ultimately independent gods (tritheism)? Are the differences between these views really big enough to impact the way we live and how we worship? And most importantly, what’s the clearest way to formulate how the God of the Bible reveals himself?
