Blessed Subtraction

"Be willing to let people leave the church. And I told you earlier the fact that people are gonna leave the church no matter what you do. But when you define the vision, you're choosing who leaves. You say, "But Rick, yes, they're the pillars of the church." Now, you know what pillars are. Pillars are people who hold things up ... And in your church, you may have to have some blessed subtractions before you have any real additions" - The Purpose Driven Church

This quote by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the bestselling books 'The Purpose Driven Church' and 'The Purpose Driven Life' exemplifies why I left the only church I have attended in the eleven years since embracing Christ as my Savior. I count myself as one of these 'blessed subtractions' for the simple reason that I don't share Warren's vision for the postmodern church. Unfortunately, I appear to be in the minority, as thousands of churches nationwide have adopted the principles he espouses in his books, which many have exalted to near canonical status in laying ecclesiological foundations.

Breaking News: God stripped of His Power and Authority

I don't make this stuff up, people. The modern church is impossible to satire. The truth is much more absurd than fiction. Dr. Albert Mohler in his daily blog discusses a recent article from the Arizona Daily Star about a growing trend among churches to refer to God as anything and everything but 'Lord'. You really must read this to believe it...

I have an opinion on the origin of all these PC gender-neutral terms and hierarchical and patriarchal phobic beliefs - and someday I may be brave enough to post about it. For now, enjoy as Dr. Mohler sinks his teeth into this postmodern rebellion.

Enlarging My Borders

This blog has primarily focused on issues of theology and personal experiences in evangelism, but I will now begin integrating the themes and articles from my discernment blog into this one. Shortly, my other blog shall cease to exist and I will journal onward only as a quite peculiar pilgrim.

Be ye warned! You shall be exposed to heresies, watered down doctrines, false teachers, big teeth and slicked back hair. Please keep barf bags and smelling salts nearby. Things could (and probably will) get a little ugly at times.

For those readers who willingly bring injury to your intellects by digesting both my blogs, I ask for patient endurance as I republish articles from over there. I will continue to post new things interspersed with the discernment articles, so please don't take an extended leave of absence. I have several interesting topics in the skillet - so stay tuned!

Blessed Assurance Through Holiness

I gleaned the following snippets from the article 'The Practical Implications of Calvinism' by Albert N. Martin. I highly recommend reading it in its entirety.

Have you been brought to see your own corruption in sin in such a measure that the first two beatitudes are true of you?’ The only people in the world who are truly blessed are those who have been so wrought upon by the Spirit that they are not strangers to these two things: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted’. How does God make men truly blessed, truly happy? First of all, he makes them sad at the sight and sense of their own impoverishment in a state of sin. What is poverty of spirit? Is it some kind of pseudo-pietistic attempt to convince myself that I am a miserable worm and a wretch? Not at all! Poverty of spirit results from just getting a sight of what you really are, and seeing that you are nothing and have nothing and can do nothing that can commend yourself to the grace and saving favour of God; it results from the conviction that he could make you an eternal monument of his righteous wrath, and let you perish in the eternal burning.  Have you known an inner stripping that has brought you to poverty of spirit? to holy mourning? to the recognition that your sin has been against the Sovereign God? Have you been brought to the place where you hate your sin enough to forsake it and cleave only to Christ?

Dying to Self - The Absurdity of Pride

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Mat 16:24-26)

In my toddler years as a believer I pondered the importance of the doctrine of dying to self. Why would Jesus demand such a radical position of people in order to follow him? Self isn't all that bad. We make mistakes, but surely God doesn't demand for us to throw away our inherent goodness in word, thought and deed in order to be called a true disciple of Christ. After all, God loves us just as we are, right? I puzzled over it for years without coming to any fruitful conclusions. I classified these verses as hyperbole. After I embraced the doctrines of Grace or Calvinism I came to fully understand man's desperate natural condition. Man is radically corrupt in all his character and nature. Not one part of his being seeks to glorify God in any manner whatsoever.

I now realize why Jesus demanded self abandonment.

Spurgeon on Revivalism

Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father’s house, and never making him say, “Father, I have sinned.”

It very often happens that the converts that are born in excitement die when the excitement is over.

–Charles Spurgeon

CS Lewis on Old Books Vs. Modern Books

None of us can fully escape this blindness [of our age], but we shall certainly increase it, and weaken our guard against it, if we read only modern books. Where they are true they will give us truths which we half knew already. Where they are false they will aggravate the error with which we are already dangerously ill. The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books. Not, of course, that there is any magic about the past. People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But not the same mistakes. They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing; and their own errors, being now open and palpable, will not endanger us…. To be sure, the books of the future would be just as good a corrective as the books of the past, but unfortunately we cannot get at them. – CS Lewis

Random Ramblings: Busyness, Pastors.com and Righteous Anger

I can't believe it. I missed Wednesday church last night. In and of itself that is not hard to swallow, but the fact that I just plain forgot about it - that's just unbelievable. I am becoming more and more convinced that the world system has one goal, and one goal only; distract people with activities and responsibilities to keep them occupied in order to prevent them from going about their Father's business. That's it in a nutshell. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced American culture, it is working to perfection.

My (half-hearted) Apology to Jacob Arminius

Dear Mr. Arminius,

I am truly sorry for your loss. Your reputation over the past century has been diminished at the hands of believers everywhere who hold to free-will and Calvinist theology. I, along with multitudes of others, have used your name in vain. We have ascribed the fruits of your theological studies to the works of another man, much more notorious than yourself. Many adherents to modern evangelicalism's methods of bringing souls to Christ by a simple act of the will apart from a work of grace are lumped together in a category of aberrant theology we call Arminianism. I have realized, to my chagrin, this is giving them far more credit than they deserve. To call preachers who ask lost souls to recite a canned sinner's prayer devoid of repentance an Arminian is an insult to your good name. Preachers who teach, either directly or indirectly, man's innate ability to choose Christ contrary to his sinful nature, should not be labeled with your name but with the name of a heretic from ages ago; Pelagius.

Dirt + Spit = Glory to God

Wow...

Phil Johnson of Pyromaniacs has some great insights into John 9:6-7 that I think everyone should read.

Check it out HERE.

My Heart Breaks

On the eve of celebrating our Lord's victory over sin, death and the grave, my heart is heavy. At work yesterday, the two student workers I've been witnessing to decided to make light of God, Christ's resurrection and anything else remotely related to the gospel. I honestly can't recall precisely what all they said. I think I've blocked it from my memory. Every time I would seriously broach the topic they would generally scoff and mock it, making references to TV shows such as South Park, which regularly stomp on the bible's pearls of wisdom. They had some good laughs at my expense.

Random Ramblings - Apologetics, Books and Freemasonry

At the suggestion of a dear friend, I will endeavor on occasion to write about random goings on in my life so I don't remain a mysterious, shadowy figure behind a keyboard spewing rhetoric into the blogosphere every day. So, here goes.

Church Stuff

After Wednesday service ended last night I talked a few moments with my pastor. I asked for wisdom in my witness to my Hindu friend. I briefly told him what I had spoke with him on, and he agreed that my approach was good. He asked if I had invited him to Easter service. I said yes, and that I was very hopeful that he would come.

Pastor then told me I should study apologetics because he thought I had the mind for it. I was surprised. I thought he knew me better than that... I thanked him for the encouragement, but said I was still trying to get my theology straightened out. Apologetics wasn't a big priority at the moment. I gave him my view that while apologetics was important, the preaching of the gospel is what saves souls and that's my main focus. I did defend apologetics, giving him my illustration that apologetics is akin to keeping the fish in the pond so they don't float off down a shallow stream of deceit and die. Apologetics keeps fish in the pond so they can get caught up in the gospel net. Apologetics makes for better fishing! Someday when I have grasped my theology better I will engage this noble ministry more fully.

The Fruit of Free-Will Theology

Just a few short years ago I had come to the end of my rope. I was ready to hang myself in despair. From the time God saved me in 1995 until 2000 when I finished up college, I had experienced marginal spiritual growth as a Christian. From mid-2000 to late 2005 my spiritual life collapsed.

So what happened to wreck my spiritual growth?

The simple answer lies in my efforts to establish my own righteousness after having received grace. I based my assurance on my spiritual performance. The cause of this faulty understanding had much to do with my limited exposure to teachers and preachers of God's word. I swore allegiance to only 2 teachers and my pastor. Coming from a Pentecostal/Charismatic background I was taught early on to only listen to so-called 'spirit-filled' preachers, teachers and prophets.

Translation: I should only perk my ears toward pentecostal types who believed in tongues and spirit baptisms.

I could hardly tolerate any of the TBN preachers and teachers who fit this profile, although I would tune in to John Hagee and Hal Lindsey from time to time. I didn't bother with the so-called 'dried-up non-spirit-filled' teachers, so my options were very limited. My pastor preached messages that were focused more on the happy life than on the scriptures so I wasn't growing in the word much through him.

Note: Little did I know at the time my pastor was following the Church growth/Seeker-sensitive blueprint for manufacturing mega-churches. But that is another story...

Why the World Doesn't Need Superman

The other night I sat down to watch the latest Superhero movie, Superman Returns. I grew up dazzled by the man of steel's heroic exploits. The second movie with General Zod and his cronies was my favorite. I generally don't acknowledge the last two films in the series - for obvious reasons. The people who developed the latest incarnation of the man of steel apparently do not regard them either. Superman Returns takes place after the events of Superman 2, or so I'm informed.

The main thrust of this post is not a review of the film itself but about some concerns I have with its content. Mainly, I'm talking about the ramifications of purposely portraying Superman as a Christ figure. Wikipedia explains the term like this:

A Christ figure is a literary technique that authors use to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.