I am sitting in the Cincinnati airport waiting for my final leg of a long month of traveling.
Our trip to the Middle East was an amazing experience that none of us will soon forget. We established what I believe will be lifelong friendships and will one day see a church emerge in the unchurched area of the world we are targeting.
How I thank God for our missionaries and their wonderful families that are dedicating their lives (and life away from American restrooms) to sink deep roots in soil and cultures that so desperately need the gospel!
More on that later.
Remind me next year to not go from a mission trip overseas to the SBC convention!
It is almost impossible for me to maintain interest and to keep my focus. The beam in my eye seems so much bigger when I am sleepy and still trying to shake off the affects of living among people who care more about actually living the gospel than they do about sitting around for hours at a time talking about it.
Don't get me wrong- the convention is of great importance and our missionaries very livelihood and effectiveness is dependent upon what we do. More than one of our missionaries thanked me for my contribution and attention to the issues before the convention. I know how important it is.
I just wish I had had a little down time and a little bit of space for reentry into American comfort before being dropped into the culture shock of well dressed (well fed) relatively homogeneous SBCers discussing the latest gossip and the sin of alcohol consumption while eating their chilly dogs and dippin dots.
I better stop now.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
before greensboro, remember memphis
Before I take off for the Middle Eastern desert for the next 18 days, I thought I would post the Memphis Declaration as a kind of meditation leading up to the convention. I have already given my explanation of why I signed this statement here.
I would ask all who have not read it to carefully consider it - and all who have read it before to carefully reconsider it. I know this document has already recieved plenty of print and attention and I certainly don't need to add to that. I am only putting it out there again as something that will sit on this site for the three weeks leading up to the convention to remind us that it is not about our glory- but HIS.
1. We publicly repent of triumphalism about Southern Baptist causes and narcissism about Southern Baptist ministries which have corrupted our integrity in assessing our denomination bureaucracy, our churches, and our personal witness in light of the sobering exhortations of Scripture.Therefore, we commit ourselves to a renewed pledge to integrity demonstrated by accountability in our denomination, both before God and each other, lest in preaching the meekness of our Lord to others we ourselves will be found guilty of wicked, sinful pride.
2. We publicly repent of an arrogant spirit that has infected our partnership with fellow Christians in the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, without the hearing of which men are incapable of conversion.Therefore, we commit ourselves to a renewed pledge to partner with Great Commission Christians for the glory of Jesus Christ, who is proclaimed with power when his disciples are at peace with one another.
3. We publicly repent of having condemned those without Christ before we have loved them, and that we have acted as judge of those for whom Christ died by failing to live with a redemptive spirit toward them.Therefore, we commit ourselves to engage culture actively at every level by living redemptively as the Body of Christ in the world.
4. We publicly repent of having forsaken opportunities to reason together with those who share our commitment to gospel proclamation yet differ with us on articles of the faith that are not essential to Christian orthodoxy.Therefore, we commit ourselves to building bridges where there have been none, in listening more and talking less, and in extending the hand of fellowship to all who share our confession of Christ and our commitment to extend His Kingdom.
5. We publicly repent of having turned a blind eye to wickedness in our convention, especially when that evil has taken the form of slanderous, unsubstantiated accusations and malicious character assassination against our Christian brothers.Therefore, we commit ourselves to confront lovingly any person in our denomination, regardless of the office or title that person holds, who disparages the name of our Lord by appropriating venomous epithets against our brothers and sisters in Christ, and thus divides our fellowship by careless and unchaste speech.
6. We publicly repent of having misplaced our priorities on the building and sustaining of institutions of secondary and far inferior importance than the local church.Therefore, we renew our pledge to the local church as the primary focus of our ministry and service to advance the Kingdom of God and bring glory to his Son.
7. We publicly repent of having disrespected the sovereign grace of our Lord Jesus Christ by falsely presuming that our strength as a people of God is found in uniformity rather than unity within the parameters of Scriptural authority.Therefore, we commit ourselves to honor our identity as people of one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, whose affirmation of biblical authority does not necessitate absolute uniformity on all matters of doctrine or practice.
8. We publicly repent of our inattentiveness to convention governance by not seeking to hold trustees accountable to the body which elects them to preserve our sacred trust and direct our entities with the guidance, counsel, and correction necessary to maintain the integrity of those entities.Therefore, we covenant with one another to assist in the preservation of our convention's sacred trust and fulfill our biblical responsibility to hold those trustees elected to serve our entities accountable, and to pray for them as they seek to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.
I would ask all who have not read it to carefully consider it - and all who have read it before to carefully reconsider it. I know this document has already recieved plenty of print and attention and I certainly don't need to add to that. I am only putting it out there again as something that will sit on this site for the three weeks leading up to the convention to remind us that it is not about our glory- but HIS.
1. We publicly repent of triumphalism about Southern Baptist causes and narcissism about Southern Baptist ministries which have corrupted our integrity in assessing our denomination bureaucracy, our churches, and our personal witness in light of the sobering exhortations of Scripture.Therefore, we commit ourselves to a renewed pledge to integrity demonstrated by accountability in our denomination, both before God and each other, lest in preaching the meekness of our Lord to others we ourselves will be found guilty of wicked, sinful pride.
2. We publicly repent of an arrogant spirit that has infected our partnership with fellow Christians in the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, without the hearing of which men are incapable of conversion.Therefore, we commit ourselves to a renewed pledge to partner with Great Commission Christians for the glory of Jesus Christ, who is proclaimed with power when his disciples are at peace with one another.
3. We publicly repent of having condemned those without Christ before we have loved them, and that we have acted as judge of those for whom Christ died by failing to live with a redemptive spirit toward them.Therefore, we commit ourselves to engage culture actively at every level by living redemptively as the Body of Christ in the world.
4. We publicly repent of having forsaken opportunities to reason together with those who share our commitment to gospel proclamation yet differ with us on articles of the faith that are not essential to Christian orthodoxy.Therefore, we commit ourselves to building bridges where there have been none, in listening more and talking less, and in extending the hand of fellowship to all who share our confession of Christ and our commitment to extend His Kingdom.
5. We publicly repent of having turned a blind eye to wickedness in our convention, especially when that evil has taken the form of slanderous, unsubstantiated accusations and malicious character assassination against our Christian brothers.Therefore, we commit ourselves to confront lovingly any person in our denomination, regardless of the office or title that person holds, who disparages the name of our Lord by appropriating venomous epithets against our brothers and sisters in Christ, and thus divides our fellowship by careless and unchaste speech.
6. We publicly repent of having misplaced our priorities on the building and sustaining of institutions of secondary and far inferior importance than the local church.Therefore, we renew our pledge to the local church as the primary focus of our ministry and service to advance the Kingdom of God and bring glory to his Son.
7. We publicly repent of having disrespected the sovereign grace of our Lord Jesus Christ by falsely presuming that our strength as a people of God is found in uniformity rather than unity within the parameters of Scriptural authority.Therefore, we commit ourselves to honor our identity as people of one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, whose affirmation of biblical authority does not necessitate absolute uniformity on all matters of doctrine or practice.
8. We publicly repent of our inattentiveness to convention governance by not seeking to hold trustees accountable to the body which elects them to preserve our sacred trust and direct our entities with the guidance, counsel, and correction necessary to maintain the integrity of those entities.Therefore, we covenant with one another to assist in the preservation of our convention's sacred trust and fulfill our biblical responsibility to hold those trustees elected to serve our entities accountable, and to pray for them as they seek to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.
Monday, May 22, 2006
off to the middle east
I am taking a break from blogging for about 3 weeks as several of us go to the Middle East for a mission trip. I can't disclose our whereabouts or the nature of our trip because I dare not compromise the platform of our missionaries there. The couple we are partnering with are some close friends who I met a couple of years ago while serving on the NAME committee of the IMB (NAME is short for North Africa Middle East). We are very excited to be a part of their ministry. This is a dynamic young couple who are in love with Jesus and are totally committed to bring His glory to the nations!
I am excited that my wife and son are going with me. (My 12 year old is staying here with a friend. And for my friend Ray Sanders who tells me I should never say on my blog that I am leaving town because of all the nutcases who may read my blog and want to break into my house, if you are a nutcase and want to break into my house, you need to know that my house is occupied by former military who is trained to kill!) We appreciate your prayers for our daughter as we are away from her.
I also appreciate your prayers for our staff while I am away. I always worry about leaving the church for an extended trip out of the country. Thankfully, we have an incredibly competent staff that I fully trust to handle whatever situation may come up- but we could all use your prayers.
Our team will be working with a people group that is very strategic throughout the middle east. Pray that we will be a HUGE help to our m's there. Pray that God will use us to open doors for them. Our main objective is to be a big blessing and help to them and establish a long term relationship as they implement their strategy.
I regret that I am missing the IMB meeting in Albuquerque this week. I am praying for calm nerves and clear minds in our last meeting leading up to the convention. We will be electing a new chairman of the board in this meeting. I pray that the new chairman will live above the fray and see the perspective of not just elected trustees but will have a broad view of all Southern Baptists and will recognize the dynamics at play with missionaries around the world. I am finding that just as our convention is a broad tent of conservative Baptists - our missionaries are a diverse group as well. They need a board that has big vision and common sense. I am praying that a man will lead our board who is not caught up in convention politics but is passionate only for the name and fame of our Lord.
We need a chairman who:
1. Supports our president
2. Supports new directions
3. Is a big Kingdom guy
4. Wise enough not to obsess over the minors, but majors on the majors.
A board our size can quickly get stuck in quagmire if we are not careful. It is like the fight between brer rabit and the tar baby. The more we punch and swing, the more we get stuck in a mess.
A wise chairman will just leave the tar baby alone.
I will be living in Bedouin tent for a couple of weeks without electricity, so I will not hear read or see news of the convention until I climb out and get on a plane in 18 days. I am somewhat looking forward to that kind of freedom for awhile. I am praying for spiritual renewal and many days in prayer and ministry with people I care for deeply.
I appreciate Neil Franks preaching for me for the next two weeks as we begin our study of the book of Jonah.
I look forward to being back in the pulpit on June 10 to preach a sermon on Jonah chapter 3. It is a story of a weary missionary. A story of second chances. It is a story of genuine repentance and change and of God's great compassion and mercy.
It is a story for all of us.
I am excited that my wife and son are going with me. (My 12 year old is staying here with a friend. And for my friend Ray Sanders who tells me I should never say on my blog that I am leaving town because of all the nutcases who may read my blog and want to break into my house, if you are a nutcase and want to break into my house, you need to know that my house is occupied by former military who is trained to kill!) We appreciate your prayers for our daughter as we are away from her.
I also appreciate your prayers for our staff while I am away. I always worry about leaving the church for an extended trip out of the country. Thankfully, we have an incredibly competent staff that I fully trust to handle whatever situation may come up- but we could all use your prayers.
Our team will be working with a people group that is very strategic throughout the middle east. Pray that we will be a HUGE help to our m's there. Pray that God will use us to open doors for them. Our main objective is to be a big blessing and help to them and establish a long term relationship as they implement their strategy.
I regret that I am missing the IMB meeting in Albuquerque this week. I am praying for calm nerves and clear minds in our last meeting leading up to the convention. We will be electing a new chairman of the board in this meeting. I pray that the new chairman will live above the fray and see the perspective of not just elected trustees but will have a broad view of all Southern Baptists and will recognize the dynamics at play with missionaries around the world. I am finding that just as our convention is a broad tent of conservative Baptists - our missionaries are a diverse group as well. They need a board that has big vision and common sense. I am praying that a man will lead our board who is not caught up in convention politics but is passionate only for the name and fame of our Lord.
We need a chairman who:
1. Supports our president
2. Supports new directions
3. Is a big Kingdom guy
4. Wise enough not to obsess over the minors, but majors on the majors.
A board our size can quickly get stuck in quagmire if we are not careful. It is like the fight between brer rabit and the tar baby. The more we punch and swing, the more we get stuck in a mess.
A wise chairman will just leave the tar baby alone.
I will be living in Bedouin tent for a couple of weeks without electricity, so I will not hear read or see news of the convention until I climb out and get on a plane in 18 days. I am somewhat looking forward to that kind of freedom for awhile. I am praying for spiritual renewal and many days in prayer and ministry with people I care for deeply.
I appreciate Neil Franks preaching for me for the next two weeks as we begin our study of the book of Jonah.
I look forward to being back in the pulpit on June 10 to preach a sermon on Jonah chapter 3. It is a story of a weary missionary. A story of second chances. It is a story of genuine repentance and change and of God's great compassion and mercy.
It is a story for all of us.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
the Lord gives, the Lord takes away
This morning I am reflecting on yesterday.
Yesterday morning Chris Wall called me to tell me about the benefit concert for Lynlee McClure we had at the CUBE Thursday evening. For those who don't know, Lynlee has been awaiting a lung donor, as her fibrostic lungs were only 20%. Thus the concert,raising money to help. Many of Lynlee's family are in our church, including Steve and Georgeanne Duty, who are in our community group. Our group has prayed for Lynn weekly for several months.
Teri and I couldn't make the concert because of Taylor's (incredibly loooong) soccer banquet. We wanted to be at the concert and not at the .... I won't go there. So I was anxious to hear how the night went.
Chris told me God showed up in BIG way. The concert was packed, many different churches participated. Jami Smith and Kristi Starling were incredible. But the kicker- toward the end of the concert during a very special moment of worship, Lyn's beeper went off.
Her donor lungs are on the way to Baptist Hospital.
The crowd gathered around Lynlee, laid hands on her and prayed. She and her family rushed to the hospital. The crowd continued to worship and give Him praise. God in His bountiful mercy and sovereign grace chose the moment when her friends and family were gathered around her in worship to give her this precious gift.
After hanging up with Chris, I went to the bedroom to give Teri a report. I had trouble finishing the story.
Dang that soccer banquet, both of us agreed.
On my way to Baptist to check on Lynlee, I get a tearful call from my mother. Bill Smoot, mom and dad's close friend and small group leader, body racked with cancer, is closing in on death.
Bill is one of the God's choicest servants. Hall of Fame OSU wrestler. Godly father, husband, servant of Jesus. A man's man. Bill is the kind of guy who never complains... loves everyone. He loves his family, his friends, his church. He loves his pastor.
I am not ready for Bill to go.
At the hospital the McClure/Diefenderfer/Duty family is ecstatic. The surgery is a success. She has major hurdles to overcome but so far so good. Lynn's lungs are at 98% capacity! We pray, we rejoice. We give Him praise. The doctor pulls out pictures of the before lungs and the new ones. The contrast is shocking.
The old set of lungs are lumpy, diseased. The shape reminds me of molded caulfower. The new set is healthy and clear. We are in awe. It is a miracle that she made it this far.
Thank you God for your goodness and your timing.
From the hospital I go the see Bill. He is unresponsive- only hours away. I pray with Dewanna and Bills two sons. On the way home I reflect on my conflicted emotions. Bill is ready to go. God is calling him home. The family is lovingly releasing him.
There is another family at the hospital that is holding on and trusting God for His miraculous healing and His will.
There is still another family we don't know who has suffered deep loss, and yet there selfless donation in a time of grief has saved a life.
The LORD your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17).
The song Jami was singing when they got the call was "Wash Over Me":
Wash over me wash over me
Wash over me wash over me
Rain down Your favor on us
Lavish Your love upon us
Pour out Your presence on us
Let me taste Your mercy in the rain
Only You can take this heart
Only You can take this mind
Only You can take this life
And make it look like Jesus
A few minutes ago I got the word that Bill has gone home.
The Lord gives. The Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Yesterday morning Chris Wall called me to tell me about the benefit concert for Lynlee McClure we had at the CUBE Thursday evening. For those who don't know, Lynlee has been awaiting a lung donor, as her fibrostic lungs were only 20%. Thus the concert,raising money to help. Many of Lynlee's family are in our church, including Steve and Georgeanne Duty, who are in our community group. Our group has prayed for Lynn weekly for several months.
Teri and I couldn't make the concert because of Taylor's (incredibly loooong) soccer banquet. We wanted to be at the concert and not at the .... I won't go there. So I was anxious to hear how the night went.
Chris told me God showed up in BIG way. The concert was packed, many different churches participated. Jami Smith and Kristi Starling were incredible. But the kicker- toward the end of the concert during a very special moment of worship, Lyn's beeper went off.
Her donor lungs are on the way to Baptist Hospital.
The crowd gathered around Lynlee, laid hands on her and prayed. She and her family rushed to the hospital. The crowd continued to worship and give Him praise. God in His bountiful mercy and sovereign grace chose the moment when her friends and family were gathered around her in worship to give her this precious gift.
After hanging up with Chris, I went to the bedroom to give Teri a report. I had trouble finishing the story.
Dang that soccer banquet, both of us agreed.
On my way to Baptist to check on Lynlee, I get a tearful call from my mother. Bill Smoot, mom and dad's close friend and small group leader, body racked with cancer, is closing in on death.
Bill is one of the God's choicest servants. Hall of Fame OSU wrestler. Godly father, husband, servant of Jesus. A man's man. Bill is the kind of guy who never complains... loves everyone. He loves his family, his friends, his church. He loves his pastor.
I am not ready for Bill to go.
At the hospital the McClure/Diefenderfer/Duty family is ecstatic. The surgery is a success. She has major hurdles to overcome but so far so good. Lynn's lungs are at 98% capacity! We pray, we rejoice. We give Him praise. The doctor pulls out pictures of the before lungs and the new ones. The contrast is shocking.
The old set of lungs are lumpy, diseased. The shape reminds me of molded caulfower. The new set is healthy and clear. We are in awe. It is a miracle that she made it this far.
Thank you God for your goodness and your timing.
From the hospital I go the see Bill. He is unresponsive- only hours away. I pray with Dewanna and Bills two sons. On the way home I reflect on my conflicted emotions. Bill is ready to go. God is calling him home. The family is lovingly releasing him.
There is another family at the hospital that is holding on and trusting God for His miraculous healing and His will.
There is still another family we don't know who has suffered deep loss, and yet there selfless donation in a time of grief has saved a life.
The LORD your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17).
The song Jami was singing when they got the call was "Wash Over Me":
Wash over me wash over me
Wash over me wash over me
Rain down Your favor on us
Lavish Your love upon us
Pour out Your presence on us
Let me taste Your mercy in the rain
Only You can take this heart
Only You can take this mind
Only You can take this life
And make it look like Jesus
A few minutes ago I got the word that Bill has gone home.
The Lord gives. The Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
hymns that hit the spot
Angela's comment on the last post gave me an idea- post your favorite lines from hymns, anthems or choruses. The ones that really nail it for you.
Here is an example from John Newton that I gave on Sunday:
Our pleasure and our duty
Though opposite before
Since we have seen His beauty
Have joined to part no more.
To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And to hear His pardoned voice
Transforms a slave into a child
And duty into choice.
Here is an example from John Newton that I gave on Sunday:
Our pleasure and our duty
Though opposite before
Since we have seen His beauty
Have joined to part no more.
To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And to hear His pardoned voice
Transforms a slave into a child
And duty into choice.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
spirit and truth
Several of us on staff are at the "Reform and Resurge" conference in Seattle. We have heard some great thinkers including former Southern Seminary professor Ed Stetzer, currently with the North American Mission Board. He has written several great books, including his newest book Breaking the Missional Code. Ed told me he reads my blog so I promise to only say nice things about NAMB from now on.
In all seriousness, Ed gave some powerful lectures that I hope to dialogue with him about in coming weeks. We are very blessed to have talent like this at NAMB. I am also hoping that one day Ed will come to CRBC to lead a conference.
Tim Keller has given some amazing insights in his lectures over the past two days as well. Yesterday he quoted a John Newton hymn I did not recognize- so I looked it up. The words are rich and poiniant. One of the refereshing things for me about the conference has been some of the classic hymns that have been utilized in our worship. Such rich theology!
To all of you young artists out there who are gifted in writing music, consider the theology of Newton and how it informs the believers mind:
Come, my soul, thy suit pre-pare:
Je-sus loves to an-swer prayer;
He Him-self has bid thee pray,
There-fore will not say thee nay.
There-fore will not say thee nay.
Thou art com-ing to a King,
Large pe-ti-tions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ev-er ask too much.
None can ev-er ask too much.
With my bur-den I be-gin:
Lord, re-move this load of sin;
Let Thy blood, for sin-ners spilt,
Set my con-science free from guilt;
Set my con-science free from guilt;
Lord, I come to Thee for rest,
Take pos-ses-sion of my breast;
There Thy blood-bought right main-tain,
And with-out a ri-val reign.
And with-out a ri-val reign.
While I am a pil-grim here,
Let Thy love my spi-rit cheer;
As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
Lead me to my jour-ney's end;
Lead me to my jour-ney's end;
Show me what I have to do,
Ev-ery hour my strength re-new:
Let me live a life of faith,
Let me die Thy peo-ple's death.
Let me die Thy peo-ple's death.
In all seriousness, Ed gave some powerful lectures that I hope to dialogue with him about in coming weeks. We are very blessed to have talent like this at NAMB. I am also hoping that one day Ed will come to CRBC to lead a conference.
Tim Keller has given some amazing insights in his lectures over the past two days as well. Yesterday he quoted a John Newton hymn I did not recognize- so I looked it up. The words are rich and poiniant. One of the refereshing things for me about the conference has been some of the classic hymns that have been utilized in our worship. Such rich theology!
To all of you young artists out there who are gifted in writing music, consider the theology of Newton and how it informs the believers mind:
Come, my soul, thy suit pre-pare:
Je-sus loves to an-swer prayer;
He Him-self has bid thee pray,
There-fore will not say thee nay.
There-fore will not say thee nay.
Thou art com-ing to a King,
Large pe-ti-tions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ev-er ask too much.
None can ev-er ask too much.
With my bur-den I be-gin:
Lord, re-move this load of sin;
Let Thy blood, for sin-ners spilt,
Set my con-science free from guilt;
Set my con-science free from guilt;
Lord, I come to Thee for rest,
Take pos-ses-sion of my breast;
There Thy blood-bought right main-tain,
And with-out a ri-val reign.
And with-out a ri-val reign.
While I am a pil-grim here,
Let Thy love my spi-rit cheer;
As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
Lead me to my jour-ney's end;
Lead me to my jour-ney's end;
Show me what I have to do,
Ev-ery hour my strength re-new:
Let me live a life of faith,
Let me die Thy peo-ple's death.
Let me die Thy peo-ple's death.
Sunday, May 7, 2006
megachurch lampooned
Jayme Thompson sent me a video clip of a recent episode of "King of the Hill". In light of my ongoing posts on membership, I thought it could serve as a humorous interlude.
Although I have never caught a full show before, this one reminds me that sometimes art (I know- I am using the term loosely) can expose spirituality in ways we find difficult to express.
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