A Bald Youth Pastor

If you have watched any of the news this week you have probably heard of the uprising in Tunisia over political repression and severe economic issues. Some have taken it so far as to completely burn themselves in order to be heard. Tunisia is one of several countries in Northern Africa with less than 1% evangelicals and more than 99% of the population is considered Muslim. The radical action of the Tunisian people is a common factor in the Muslim world. Their willingness to sacrifice themselves for Islam is shocking. From suicide bombers in Iraq to rioters in Tunisia, the dedication is outrageous.

When I see this dedication I am reminded of Elijah and the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. 2 Kings 18:28-29 says of the prophets, “They cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.” Here we see tremendous dedication and self sacrifice to a god that does not exist. After their dancing and worship there was no response. Not because their god was asleep but because he was dead.

The nations are crying out for salvation but their god is dead. They are screaming to be heard but no one will listen. Their sacrifices are tremendous but have no value. When we see the nations crying out it should split us to our core. But does it? Are we broken by their desperation? Listen to Elijah’s prayer later in chapter 18. “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” Can you hear the brokenness in Elijah’s voice? Can you feel his desperation?

As we know God answered Elijah’s prayer. Fire fell from heaven and consumed the altar and the people cried out, “The Lord He is God, the Lord He is God.” The people of Tunisia are crying out. They are longing to be heard. Let us pray with desperation for God to draw these people to Himself. May their cry turn from upheaval to praise.

Cruisin' World

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97

In November of 2008, I went on my first cruise. If you’ve been on a cruise you know one of the first things you do is the emergency test. The best part of the test for me was the life jacket. Each person on the ship is assigned a life jacket and this is no grandpa’s old boat life jacket. This jacket is intense. It has whistles and flashers and possibly even GPS. As we stood there on the ship with everyone in their life jackets waiting for the test to end, I was intrigued. Everyone was so calm and happy. Why? Because it was only a test. We were about to take off on an amazing voyage. We were standing on one of the most beautiful ships in the world.

During the test the life jacket is important. You trust the life jacket and you believe in its significance but it is just a means to an end. If the ship began to sink you would still see the jacket as important. You would believe in it and trust it just as you had before. But it would take on a whole new meaning. It would be your survival. It would be your hope. It would be everything to you.

How do we feel about God’s word? Are we desperate for it for survival, or is it a just the norm for our “Christian life cruise.” Often times I see the comforts of our life keeping us from desperation. Christians in the darkest parts of the world put their lives at stake by simply meeting to hear the word of God read and it is enough for them. Christians in America demand a show but leave that show unsatisfied. There is a difference between depending on something for life and holding on to something for comfort.

Labels

These coke bottles are from the early 1900's. The one on the right has its original label while the one on the left has a reproduction label. Both bottles came from the same year but one had its label added later. To Coke enthusiast there is great significance to both labels as they both tell very unique stories. Labels tell us lots of stuff. If the Coke bottle says "cherry" on it you know it's not a normal Coke but a cherry flavored one. When it comes to food and drinks and many other things, labels are very important.

But what about in Christian life? Is it alright for us to have labels? Labels like Baptist or Methodist, amillennial or premillennial, Calvinist or Armenian. I think the answer is yes. You'll hear people say things like, "I don't like to put labels on my beliefs." What motivates this type of statement? I think it is one of two things. First it is motivated by the division these labels can bring and rightfully so. No one likes division. Historically, where there is division in the church, labels are involved. There is healthy division (the Reformation) and there is unhealthy division (carpet color). Healthy division, though unfortunate, is necessary. Ecclesia semper reformanda est is one of the basic tenets of the protestant reformation meaning "the church must always be reforming." Usually, labels come out of healthy reform and therefore should not cause us frustration over them.

For example, early in church history we see the Creed of Nicaea which dealt with a division in the church. On one side you had the teachings of Arius who said Christ was not at creation but was a created being. On the other side you had those who believed Christ was fully God and fully man. The Creed of Nicaea stated Arianism as heresy and gave a firm definition of the Godhead. Obviously there were those who disagreed and would continue to teach Arianism but out of this division came a strengthened theology for the church as a whole. This reform, or correction of error, is one of many that has taken place throughout the history of the church and for the greater good.

There are obviously times when brothers and sisters in Christ allow labels to cause strife. This is unacceptable. Differing views on creation, atonement, etc., as long as they are not heretical, should not cause strife. Because others have become hostile over labels does not mean we should avoid them.

Second it is motivated by a lack of understanding. Simply put, if a person does not understand what a label means, they want to avoid any discussion of it. Ignorance is bliss and to live in a blissful, division free church is ideal but not reality. There are divisions in theology and those divisions are healthy as they make our faith stronger. 2 Timothy 2:15 say, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." Clearly we are charged to know the truth of God's word. It is our responsibility to know what scripture says about creation, redemption, end times, etc. When we come to our conclusions on what scripture proclaims we will find these conclusions are nothing new. Great theologians who have gone before us have come to these very same conclusions. These conclusions have a label tagged to them simply because the dead guy wrote about it first. So if your findings in scripture line up with Luther and people call you a Lutheran, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is something to be proud of.

The broadest form of label would have to be denominations; churches who historically have stood on particular beliefs. A person will most likely join a church that holds similar beliefs. The beauty of any denomination is there are numerous beliefs inside them. This is nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of or something to cause strife. I would argue that denominations are a healthy form of Ecclesia semper reformanda est.

To conclude this post I would like to address two final thoughts on labels. First, I don't think they are something to avoid or be ashamed of because we see them in scripture. John the Baptist, John the son of Zebedee, Herod the tetrarch, and Jesus the Messiah. All were significant to tell who the person was. More specifically though we see labels used as warning markers against false teachings. Philippians 3:2-3, Acts 15:10-11, Galatians 2:12, Ephesians 2:11-12. If anything, even in scripture, we see labels bringing clarity to the truth.

Finally, the greatest label we carry is that of Christian. The name Christian means "little Christ." Our ultimate objective as the redeemed is to adhere to that label. If we love any other label more than the label of Christ, we are walking down a slippery slope. Never should we desire to see more Calvinist or more Baptist. Our ultimate agenda is to see lost found in Christ. The banner we wave is that of Christ and Christ alone. Let us all strive to fall more in love with him every day. If we pick a few labels on the way, good.

In Christ

Interesting

Great conversation. For me, when I finally got serious about studying God's Word from front to back, realized my convictions, and looked for someone who was saying what I was seeing, it was the reformed preachers. As they say in the video, my generation has grown up in a very secular culture. We've seen it creeping into the church, this secularism, and we are tired of it. Reformed theology calls us away from the cultures way of thinking in the church to truly rely on the sovereignty of God. The best part is what Dr. Mohler says at 6:25. If you aren't familiar with him he is the president of Southern Baptist Seminary. What Ligon Duncan says at 7:22 is pretty good too. If your not familiar with lingo like PCA, Acts 29, etc., I encourage you to do some research. Enjoy!