We had to come to America for paperwork and since being here, we’ve had opportunities to visit some excellent Bible conferences. As missionaries, we are able to travel more freely throughout an American year than most pastors are, so I have narrowed down a list of three conferences that I recommend attending (though we personally go to more than these when we are Stateside).[Read More]
missiology
Theological Survey: Was Bingo the Dog… or the Farmer?
We all know the song:
There was a farmer who had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-o.
The question is, “Whose name is Bingo?” Is it the dog or the farmer? We asked theologians of different traditions for their answers.[Read More]
Church Growth Patty Cake: An Allegory
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (Col 1:28)
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2)
To my Islamic brother here from Italy, I would say I’m not really interested in inter-faith dialogue; I’m interested in inter-faith projects… we brought in three imams, we brought in three Catholic priests, we brought in three evangelical pastors, and we brought in three Rabbis and we said, “What can we do about AIDS?” And we started on some common ground on those issues; what can we do that we all care about? (Rick Warren)1
It is the middle of the third quarter at the Home Team Football Stadium. The score is tied at 32 and the audience is tense as it could be anyone’s game at this point. Perhaps a new strategy could tip the odds in Home Team’s favor.
Away Team has the ball. The center snaps, the quarterback tries to pitch the ball to the halfback but Outside Linebacker clobbers him into a fumble, which Safety recovers and runs in for a touchdown followed by a successful extra point. High-fives abound as the scoreboard now reads 39-32. There is a kickoff and Home Team is back on defense.
In Home Team’s huddle, the players discuss devising a new strategy. “Wow! That was great!” says Cornerback. “Did you see all of the high-fives? It feels so good to give high-fives. And look at the scoreboard. We’re winning! Isn’t it interesting that the more successful we are, the more high-fives we give? Maybe we need to adjust our strategy to focus more on high-fives.”
Safety responds, “I agree that high-fives are nice, but let’s not forget that the reason for the high-fives was that Outside Linebacker caused a fumble and I scored a touchdown. If we can keep this up, then high-fives will be inevitable.”
Defensive End says, “I like what Cornerback is saying. I tell you what, on the next play, everyone will do the normal thing, but he and I will high-five each other the whole time. Let’s see how that goes.”
Away Team tries for a pass, but does not succeed. Back in the huddle, Defensive End and Cornerback are excited.
“Wow! We were able to high-five each other twelve times and Away Team didn’t move a single inch!”
“That would be because Away Team didn’t catch the ball. Haven’t you ever read the Rule Book?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. We can’t keep going by some old Rule Book, especially if we have a new way to do things that clearly works! Come join us, Outside Linebacker.”
They line back up, but this time after the ball is in motion, Outside Linebacker joins Defensive End and Cornerback in high-fiving each other while the rest of Home Team is left to fend for themselves. Away Team takes advantage of the weakness and runs the ball past the high-fivers. Safety manages to tackle the carrier after a 15-yard loss. First down.
“What happened?”
“We only did 10 high fives this time, where were you, Outside Linebacker?”
“We need another adjustment. It takes two people to high five and if we have three, then we will end up getting in each other’s way. Let’s bring in more people to do high-fives, but this time we will stand in a circle and concentrate on each other instead of the read of the game. Let’s try singing ‘Patty Cake’ to keep the rhythm going.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” interrupts Safety, “you are departing from the Rule Book. Let’s play this game the right way as we always have. The Rules say that at the end of the game, it is the scoreboard that matters, not high-fives.”
Cornerback responds, “You know, Safety, you are such a hypocrite. You yourself admitted to enjoying high-fives and now you want to prevent others from enjoying them. I think that if you search your feelings, then you would know that you can’t take this Rule Book literally. But don’t take my word for it: after the last play, I overheard some guys from Away Team say that they were glad that we are doing the high fives. It’s bad enough that you choose some silly Rule Book over your feelings and your own teammates even, but here is outside confirmation that our way is better.”
Home Team returns to the line of scrimmage and upon the hike of the ball, the left defensive tackle and guard join in the group high-fives as Away Team carries the ball into the end zone without a scratch. The Away Team fans rejoice as their team runs in a two-pointer.
The score is now 39-40.
There is confusion on the Home Team sideline as the defense delivers their news to the rest of the team. “It was great! Do you hear all of that cheering? We high-fived 63 times!”
Right Guard asks, “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, we don’t go by the Rule Book anymore. We play Patty Cake now. Here, have some Kool-Aid.”
Left Offensive Tackle takes the squirt bottle and after taking a drink says, “Oh that sounds awesome! I read some of the Rule Book back in High School. It was a drag. This new system sounds much better. I mean, it’s working, right? Let’s do it!”
As the game continues, more and more players from Home Team join the movement to play Patty Cake as the others play football around them. What started as an extreme idea by a defensive Cornerback slowly eats away at the entire left. Then the center. Then slowly into the right. The Right Guard and the Safety, formerly the protector of the ball and the last line of defense, are now seen as a fundamentalist minority that is hung up on some silly old Rule Book.
It is now the fourth quarter. The scoreboard reads 39-236, but Home Team boasts of 2,378 high-fives. Both Away Team and Home Team’s Patty Cake circle are equally convinced that they are winning. If success is measured by an organization’s ability to achieve its own goals, then one could say that they are both winning. But, then again, if success is measured by a Rule Book that is supreme, then Home Team is going to look silly at the end of the game when only the scoreboard is considered.
Fortunately, the minority members of Home Team who persevere will finally be recognized. It will not be pleasant in the meantime, but the more bitter it is now, the sweeter it will be then.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. (1 Cor 9:24)
Mormonproof your worldview like a Berean
In the not-too-distant past, I have had some theological exchanges with representatives from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and the Church of the Almighty God. You are probably familiar with LDS; that’s the group that adheres to the Book of Mormon, which they believe contains information that’s additional to the Old and New Testament. The Church of the Almighty God, also known as the Eastern Lightning Movement, is a bit more obscure to Westerners. In 1989, a woman named Yang Xiangbin entered the House Church Movement scene in China and claimed to be Christ, the incarnate God. In the following years, she delivered some messages that the Church of the Almighty God accepts as authoritative. These “utterances” have been compiled into a book called The Word Appears in the Flesh.
[Read More]
Book Review: So The Next Generation Will Know
Here is a stark reality: if we do not consciously equip young Christians with a biblical worldview, they will unconsciously absorb the ideas of today’s culture. (pg. 76)
Those who know my story will know that I came out of the 90s/2000s American youth group culture that was characterized by apostasy en masse. It wasn’t until my early 20s, when I started studying apologetics from the inside of a jail cell that I came to my senses about Christianity. One book in particular that stands out among those that helped me return to Christianity was More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell, which was later updated by his son, Sean McDowell. So, when I saw that Sean had co-written a book specifically about “Preparing Young Christians for a Challenging World,” and was looking for reviewers, I volunteered with enthusiasm.
[Read More]
Explaining Titus 1:6 in the Most Redneck Way Possible
I was in Mississippi the other day and a friend told me a story that seems rather characteristic of the Southern United States. He said that when his sons were young, he would tell them that they could play with snakes out in the yard, so long as they weren’t venomous snakes. After he issued the rule, whenever his sons would find a snake, they would pick it up, take it to him, and ask, “Is this one venomous?”
For some reason, it seems that in the South we have better snake stories that in other parts of the world. I remember sitting around a table at Whataburger in Texas with some old guys and they had some great snake stories to tell… But, we aren’t here to exchange snake tales today.
We’ve recently received an inquiry about the qualifications of overseers in Titus 1:5–9:
The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. For the overseer must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain. Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.
This is a controversial passage, because we see things like “the husband of one wife” and “faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion.” Wait a minute, isn’t this verse about choosing an overseer to serve in local church leadership? Why are we examining his divorce record and children instead of only examining the candidate himself?
Let’s return to the snake analogy. All snakes are good and have some role in their environment. For example, the harmless prairie kingsnake helps control the rodent population. Rattlesnakes are beautiful (at least in my backwoods redneck mind, anyway), but since they are venomous, they are dangerous for children to play with.
If the rule is, “Don’t touch venomous snakes,” then a child is likely to pick up a rattlesnake to take to dad and ask, “Is this one venomous?” and perhaps be bitten in the process. If instead the rule is, “Don’t touch any snakes,” then the child may miss out on playing with a kingsnake, but he won’t be bitten by a rattlesnake in the meantime.
God doesn’t want venomous personalities in authority over the local church. Just as an old redneck can look at a snake’s head and tell if it is venomous, God can look at a man’s heart and tell if he’s venomous, but the ones who actually need to make the discernment do not have the insight that the father/Father has, so simplified rules provide a safety net from the venomous ones. The guidelines set in Titus 1:5–9 protect the church by barring those who have divorces or rebellious children from serving in this capacity.
This does not mean that every man who has had a divorce is a bad husband, or that every man with a rebellious child is a bad father. There could be a host of reasons for the problems at home. Just as forbidding a child to play with any snake protects him even if it forbids playing with harmless snakes, forbidding any divorcé from serving in leadership protects the church even if it forbids some potentially great leaders in the meantime.
Several years ago, I heard of an unfortunate example of a church playing with a venomous snake. A manipulative man had just run his second marriage into the ground and alienated his children. He then moved to a different city where he threw a pity party for himself and gained the trust of a local church and was given a position of leadership over a ministry committee.1 It was not long before this man had caused a schism within the committee and alienated several church members from the ministries where they had been so cheerfully serving. It is a trend with this man: he splits his family, he splits God’s family; he alienates his children, he alienates God’s children.
In retrospect, it seems apparent that the man is a rattlesnake, but at the time, perhaps it was difficult to discern whether he was dangerous or not (after all, a good manipulator will be able to fool those around him). Perhaps a better thing to do would have been to put the man in a less authoritative position, perhaps as a committee member, rather than committee leader. By no means should being divorced or having rebellious children prevent someone from serving in the local church. We are all broken and have ugly pasts. It’s just that men in this particular category are restricted in their service from being in the role of overseer.
Regardless of your past, there is a way you can be serving right now.