I encourage the pastors out there to consider attending the Second Annual Miami Pastors' Conference, to be held at Glendale Baptist Church on November 9-11, 2006.

"This year the conference will take up the challenge of preaching a Christ-centered message in the age of too many pulpit fads. All pastors and church leaders are encouraged to come and share in what should prove to be a most challenging and encouraging three days. Joining Pastor Ricky Armstrong in taking up this charge will be Ken Jones, Sherard Burns, Elliott Greene, Sinclair Ferguson, Thabiti Anyabwile, Anthony Carter, and Michael Leach."

For further info, check out the following links:

Randy Newman has written an excellent book entitled Questioning Evangelism.

D. A. Carson writes: "This book reflects both a deep grasp of biblical theology and a penetrating compassion for people. How very much like the Master himself!" J. P. Moreland writes: "This book is must reading for those who want to learn how to bring apologetics into evangelism in a biblical and relationally sensitive sort of way."

If you want to read an excerpt, here's the article that started it all. [HT: New Attitude Blog]

Newman now has a sequel Corner Conversations, which I have not yet seen.

The latest issue of Modern Reformation is now out, focusing on Romans 9-11. You can read a couple of the articles online.

Tim Challies offers some words of wisdom for the blogosphere in light of the fact that Ligonier Ministries is suing a blogger for defamation.

Ray Van Neste has reproduced on his blog an excellent quote cited in the Letters of Geerhardus Vos :

“Now I do not mean to affirm that in all cases there need be the preaching of false doctrine which involves an open and direct denial of the evangelical truth. It is quite possible that both to the intention and the actual performance of the preacher any departure from the historical faith of the church may be entirely foreign. And yet there may be such a failure in the intelligent presentation of the gospel with the proper emphasis upon that which is primary and fundamental as to bring about a result almost equally deplorable as where the principles of the gospel are openly contradicted or denied. There can be a betrayal of the gospel of grace by silence. There can be disloyalty to Christ by omission as well as by positive offence against the message that he has entrusted to our keeping. It is possible, Sabbath after Sabbath and year after year, to preach things of which none can say that they are untrue and none can deny that in their proper place and time they may be important, and yet to forgo telling people plainly and to forgo giving them the distinct impression that they need forgiveness and salvation from sin through the cross of Christ’ (Grace and Glory, 237-238).” (82, footnote 211)

I first read this article by Roger Nicole, entitled How to Deal with Those Who Differ from Us, several years ago and have lately turned to it afresh. It's chock full of sound biblical wisdom from a senior theologian.

He writes: "In order to approach this subject, there are three major questions that we must ask; and I would like to emphasize very strongly that, in my judgement, we need to ask them precisely in the right order: (1) What do I owe the person who differs from me? (2) What can I learn from the person who differs from me? (3) How can I cope with the person who differs from me?"

I encourage you to read the whole thing!

Tim Challies offers a preview and some reflections on the book Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, edited by John Piper and me.

Seminary Leader Rebukes Pastor over Sermon

FORT WORTH -- Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson has issued an unusual rebuke to the Rev. Dwight McKissic, a seminary trustee and prominent Arlington pastor, for acknowledging during a chapel service that he sometimes speaks in tongues when he prays.

After Tuesday's chapel service, Patterson issued a statement that the video of McKissic's sermon will not be posted online or saved in the archives of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as are the sermons of all other chapel speakers.

Patterson withheld McKissic's chapel message from the school's Web site, the statement said, "lest uninformed people believe that Pastor McKissic's view on the gift of tongues and 'ecstatic utterance' is the view of the majority of the people at Southwestern. Read the whole thing.

It may be true that there's no such thing as a free lunch--but there are free music and books!

You can stream the new Jars of Clay alburm here or here.

You can download Derek Webb's latest album at freederekwebb.com.

You can receive John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life for free from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for the month of September. You can only request one copy online, but if you want a few more than that, you can call 1-877-2GRAHAM. (It'd be nice to offer a small donation to help cover the cost of shipping if you do that.) After September 30 it will be off the website, but you can still call and get your free copy as long as they have them in stock.

(HT: Challies)

Columnist Mike Adams recounts the impact that Geisler and Turek's book, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist had on a friend of his.

I recently reread a presidential address by Millard Erickson, delivered at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. Entitled Evangelical Theological Scholarship in the Twenty-First Century, it contains a great deal of wisdom, especially directed at the younger generation of evangelicals. Here is a good quote on the practice of redefining terms:

"My concern extends to increasing precision in the use of language. The same professor who insisted on evidence used to refer to the “coefficient of elasticity of words.” By this he meant the tendency to stretch the use of words to cover broader and broader denotations. Eventually, they come to refer to so much that very little is excluded, and thus very little is actually being expressed by them. Remember, after all, that the word 'definition' involves giving a finite meaning to a term. I am not trying to argue that an idea must continue to be held simply because it is old. I am, however, suggesting that, for the sake of communication, it would be desirable that, when the usage of a term has changed greatly from its original denotation, a different word be used, a modifying adjective be added, or that by some other means the revised meaning be clearly identified. Failure to do so is like moving from one house to a different one some distance away, but continuing to use the original address."

Marvin Olasky points to an update in the WSJ regarding changes in taxes under the Clinton and Bush administrations:

Wall Street Journal: "The Treasury Department will soon release the latest IRS data on who paid how much in taxes in America through 2004.... The new data show that the bottom 50% of Americans in income--U.S. households with an income below the median of $44,389--paid a smaller share of total income taxes in 2004 (3.3%) than in Bill Clinton's last year in office (3.9%). That 3.3% is the lowest share of total income taxes paid by the bottom half of earners in at least 30 years, and probably ever. The majority of American families with an income below $40,000 pay no income tax at all today, and many of them also get a welfare subsidy from the Earned Income Tax Credit that effectively offsets much of what they pay in payroll taxes.

"By contrast, Americans with an income in the top 1% paid 36.9% of all federal income taxes in 2004, down slightly from 37.4% at what was the height of the dot-com boom in 2000. But the top 5% and 10% of earners saw an increase in their tax share over that same period, with the top 5%'s share rising to 57.1% in 2004 from 56.5% in 2000. If this isn't the definition of a highly 'progressive,' aka redistributionist, tax code, we don't know what is."

I haven't posted much on the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson affair, but it's nice to see the Washington Post summarize the situation in this way:


It follows that one of the most sensational charges leveled against the Bush White House -- that it orchestrated the leak of Ms. Plame's identity to ruin her career and thus punish Mr. Wilson -- is untrue. The partisan clamor that followed the raising of that allegation by Mr. Wilson in the summer of 2003 led to the appointment of a special prosecutor, a costly and prolonged investigation, and the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on charges of perjury. . . .

. . . it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame's CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming -- falsely, as it turned out -- that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated to senior administration officials. He ought to have expected that both those officials and journalists such as Mr. Novak would ask why a retired ambassador would have been sent on such a mission and that the answer would point to his wife. He diverted responsibility from himself and his false charges by claiming that President Bush's closest aides had engaged in an illegal conspiracy. It's unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.

Jim Hamilton takes up the issue of whether women can teach men as long as the senior pastor has authorized it and her husband has approved it.

Ligon Duncan (through Martyn Lloyd-Jones) reminds us of the connection between marriage and the cross:

Martyn Lloyd-Jones taught me something about Ephesians 5:25 that I had never before grasped. How many times have I read, and preached, this verse and missed it? Then I read his pastoral words of application: "How many of us have realized that we are always to think of the married state in terms of the doctrine of the atonement? Is that our customary way of thinking of marriage?. . . Where do we find what the books have to say about marriage? Under which section? Under ethics. But it does not belong there. We must consider marriage in terms of the doctrine of the atonement." (Life in the Spirit, 148)

That means, by the way, that every time we hear a sermon on the atonement, we as Christian husbands are being shown and taught by our Lord how to love our wives. Yes, certainly, above all, whenever we hear atonement proclaimed, we are always first to consider the matchless work of God on our behalf. The atonement always and foremost is to evoke in us wonder, love, gratitude and praise for saving grace freely given to us at the cost of the Father’s only and beloved Son. It is about what God is doing for us, for our redemption, outside of us, without any assistance from us, or any input from us, or any contribution from us. For the atonement is the awesome display of the stunningly surprising saving love of God at work on our behalf. It is never a mere example of love. It is never a mere illustration. It is never merely a means of moral influence.

But here in Ephesians 5:25b, Paul bids Christian husbands to look at the cross, to look at how Christ gave himself for his people there, to look at how he gave himself totally, to look at how he gave himself to the uttermost, to look at how he endured the shame and suffering, to look at how he died – all for his bride, all for his people, all for the church.

And then the apostle Paul applies the atonement to Christian husbands. "Men," he says, "Christ lived, suffered and died for the eternal good of his bride – now, you go love your wives like that. Love your wives like Christ loved the church. Love your wives like Christ gave himself for the church. Love your wives in light of the atonement."

So next time you are wishing that the preacher would talk about something practical, and he’s up there again preaching about the cross, preaching about the atonement, just remember the triple practicality of it – (1) he’s not only teaching you about the love of God, a love so deep you’ll never see to the bottom of it in all eternity, (2) he’s not only teaching you about the glorious work of redemption by penal substitution, a work without which you would not and could not have been saved from an eternity in hell, (3) he’s teaching you as a Christian husband how to love your wife – Christ lived, suffered and died for his bride; you live, and if necessary suffer and die for your wife’s good.

In the historic spirit of Christians co-opting pagan holidays, I join Gene Veith in this call to celebrate Vocation Day!

Toward that end I highly recommend Veith's book, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.

You can read online the Contents and the Introduction: The Christian's Calling in the World.

In the historic spirit of Christians co-opting pagan holidays, I join Gene Veith in this call to celebrate Vocation Day!

Toward that end I highly recommend Veith's book, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.

You can read online the Contents and the Introduction: The Christian's Calling in the World.

CT Movies:

Director Charles Sturridge has brought Lassie back to the screen, and it's likely that many moviegoers are rolling their eyes, writing it off as just another disposable kid-flick about wisecracking critters.

But think again. Lassie isn't just better than the other films currently being marketed for all ages. It's a rare work of substance, simplicity, and grace that deserves to be mentioned among the best features crafted for younger viewers in the last twenty years, including Mike Newell's Into the West, John Sayles' The Secret of Roan Inish, Alfonso Cuarón's A Little Princess, Agnieszka Holland's The Secret Garden, Carroll Ballard's Duma, and Andrew Davis's Holes. Some critics are using the word "classic" even though it's only just arrived.

[Read the whole thing.]

'Tis the season for Reformed ministries to relaunch their websites!

Ligonier Ministries has also unveiled their new web redesign this afternoon. Take a look.

Tim Challies is requesting prayer for an exciting new project that is now underway.

From spreadtheword.esv.org:

At Crossway, our vision is bold—we want everyone to have God’s Word.

Everyone in your family. All of your friends and co-workers. Everyone who comes in contact with your church. Everyone in your community. Everyone.

Our passion is to spread God’s Word around the world and to see whole communities affected by the life-changing gospel that is so clearly communicated in it.

That’s why we created the ESV Outreach New Testament that you can purchase and give away for only $.50 a copy!

This limited-time offer is only available through Christian bookstores. Find a Christian bookstore in your area.

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• “What the New Testament Is All About.”
• Introductions to each New Testament book.
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• “What the New Testament Says About…” A guide to key Bible verses and words.
• “Getting Started: A Thirty-Day Reading Plan.” A perfect way for newcomers to dig in.
• “Six-Month New Testament Reading Plan.” Ideal for readers who want to get serious.
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Imagine the people you can reach with this beautiful and meaningful gift. For the cost of a cup of gourmet coffee, you can give copies to six or eight people who need God’s Word. The impact in their lives will be eternal. Think creatively about how you might be able to distribute dozens or even hundreds of copies of the ESV Outreach New Testament:

Neighbors ∙ Friends ∙ Family members ∙ Church Outreach Programs ∙ Church Visitors ∙ Trick-or-Treaters ∙ Military Families ∙ Door-to-Door Visits ∙ People in Hospitals ∙ Nursing Home Residents ∙ Youth Groups ∙ Mission Trips ∙ Counseling Centers ∙ Community Events ∙ Christmas Parties ∙ Christmas Programs ∙ Send with Christmas Cards ∙ Camps and Retreats ∙ Co-workers ∙ Bible Study Groups ∙ Clubs ∙ Sports Teams ∙ Evangelistic Events ∙ Classmates ∙ Thank You Gifts ∙ Waiters/Waitresses ∙ Mail Carriers.

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You’ll see Spread the Word banners (like the ones below) on this and Crossway’s site. Feel free to grab them for your site. Visit spreadtheword.esv.org for more information or to share how you’re spreading the Word. This offer runs through March 31, 2007.

Updates: In answers to questions:

• It's just for the US stores for now.
• If you ask for it in your local Christian bookstore and they don't yet know about the program (it just launched), the ISBN # is 1-58134-835-5. Or they could just call Crossway.
  
• Some codes for banners are copied below.

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<a href="http://spreadtheword.esv.org/"><img src="http://spreadtheword.esv.org/assets/button.png" width="150" height="46" alt="Spread the Word! Get an ESV Outreach New Testament for only $0.50" /></a>

Andreas Kostenberger has done a fine job assembling the latest issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, featuring a number of important debates:

1.1 Corinthians 15:3b-6a, 7 and the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus. Kirk R. MacGregor

2. A Discourse Analysis of the Use of Psalm 8:4-6 in Hebrews 2:5-9. George H. Guthrie and Russell D. Quinn

3. Jonathan Edwards’s End of Creation: An Exposition and Defense. Walter Schultz

4. Jonathan Edward’s “Hermeneutic”: A Case Study of the Sermon “Christian Knowledge.” Ted Rivera

5. Myth, History, and Inspiration: A Review Article of Inspiration and Incarnation by Peter Enns. G.K. Beale

6. Response to G.K. Beale’s Review Article of Inspiration and Incarnation. Peter Enns

7. The Gospel According to Barth: A Review Article of Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman. Daniel B. Wallace

8.Corporate Election in Romans 9: A Reply to Thomas Schreiner. Brian J. Abasciano

9.Response to Brian J. Abasciano on Romans 9. Thomas Schreiner

There's a lot of talk these days among Reformed folks about contextualization and what it should look like. It's interesting--especially in light of the upcoming DG Conference--to explore what David Wells was writing on this topic over 20 years ago. Below are some excerpts from his article on The Nature and Function of Theology.


Biblical revelation was given in a particular cultural context but it is also intended to be heard in our own context. This revelatory trajectory, then, has a point of origination and a point of arrival. It is the fact of inspiration and the contemporary work of the Spirit which secure a consistency between its terminus a quo [end from which; starting point] and its terminus a quem [end to which; ending point]. The work of the Holy Spirit was such that the responsible human agents who were used in the writing of Scripture were able to employ cultural materials and, indeed, to shape the revelation in terms of their own understanding, but what God the Spirit willed should be revealed was exactly what was written, and the content and intent of this revelation were alike transcultural. The biblical revelation, because of its inspired nature, can therefore be captive neither to the culture in which it arose nor to the culture in which it arrives. It was not distorted as it was given, nor need it be distorted as we seek to understand it many centuries later in contexts far removed from those in which it was originally given. . . .

It is the task of theology, then, to discover what God has said in and through Scripture and to clothe that in a conceptuality which is native to our own age. Scripture, at its terminus a quo, needs to be de-contextualized in order to grasp its transcultural content, and it needs to be re-contextualized in order that its content may be meshed with the cognitive assumptions and social patterns of our own time.

. . . Theology is that effort by which what has been crystallized into doctrine becomes anchored in a subsequent age and culture. It is the work of making doctrine incarnate. God's Word is "enfleshed" in a society as its significance is stated in terms of that cultural situation. . . .

. . . Theology differs from doctrine as what is unrevealed does from what is revealed, fallible from what is infallible, derived from what is original, relative from what is certain, culturally determined from what is divinely given. Doctrine cannot change from generation to generation, otherwise Christianity itself would be changing. Theology must change in each succeeding generation, otherwise it will fail to become a part of the thinking processes and life-style of that generation. The attempt to change doctrine imperils Christian faith; the unwillingness to incarnate doctrine in each age by theology imperils the Christian's credibility. In the one case Christianity can no longer be believed; in the other, it is no longer believable. . . .

Contextualization, then, is but another name for describing the servant role of theology. The Son of God assumed the form of a servant to seek and save the lost and theology must do likewise, incarnating itself in the cultural forms of its time without ever losing its identity as Christian theology. God, after all, did not assume the guise of a remote Rabbi who simply declared the principles of eternal truth, but in the Son he compassionately entered into the life of ordinary people and declared to them what God's Word meant to them. But in so doing, the Son never lost his identity as divine. Christian thought is called to do likewise, to retain its identity (doctrine) within its role as servant (theology) within a particular culture.

. . .[R]eformation should not be seen merely as a past event but should always be a contemporary experience. In every generation the Word of God must be heard afresh and obeyed afresh if the God of that Word is to be accorded our obedience at the places where it really counts.

On vacation last month I spent some time reading David Wells's Above All Earthly Pow'rs and Kevin Vanhoozer's The Drama of Doctrine. The thought occurred to me that significant books like this would be great for folks to blog through.

Elijah Layfield, Shannon McKenzie, and Tim Brister must have been thinking the same thing, for they've started a group blog to read through Wells's book. You can check it out at http://aboveallearthlypowers.blogspot.com.

The Desiring God folks have unveiled their new web site.

To find out what's new about it, you can take a full tour here. I'll reprint below the summary: