Category Archives: Church

January 30, 2025 · 1:29 pm

Nine reasons why I joined the ELCA

I was brought up conservative, Republican, Reformed, complementarian, patriarchal, postmillennial, theonomic. I have rejected most of that and have joined First English Lutheran Church of Faribault, MN. I am very thankful to my heritage for the confessions of the Reformed Churches – the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt – but I no longer consider myself Reformed. It sometimes catches me off guard to find myself in what I would have considered a “liberal, godless” church just a few years ago. So here are nine reasons why I have made First English my church home.

1. They have been so welcoming to my daughter. They don’t try to fix her. They don’t criticize us or hint that we have somehow morally failed her and that is why she is disabled. And they have never, ever rebuked us for asking for prayer for her. Yes, in the Reformed church I was rebuked for asking for prayer for my daughter.

2. They are thoroughly Trinitarian and understand the nuances of classical trinitarianism better than do conservative circles. I have never heard a hint of Wayne Grudem’s abhorrent theology. When I spoke to the pastor about ESS, he said, “That’s weird, isn’t it?” Yes. Yes it is.

3. They have never heard of Doug Wilson and do not have his books on the book table.

4. Christ is proclaimed every Sunday and the liturgy is beautiful and uplifting.

5. I have never had to fear “giving the wrong answer”, and have never felt like I was being tested. I can simply speak from my heart and I listen to others speak from theirs. The fear of failing the test and being rejected is very, very real in conservative circles, as so many of you know. No more.

6. There is more scripture read in a typical service than anything I have seen in my background. The rhythms of the liturgical year are soothing.

7. I have never heard the word “libtard” or “demoncrat” or “Ovomit” or “Let’s go brandon” in any fellowship time.

8. We are active in our community, providing school supplies, food, shelter housing, and comfort to all who are in need, as much as we are able.

9. They define “neighbor” as Jesus did: All who are in need. It is a congregation where anyone who walks in the door is welcome, loved and invited into the bosom of Jesus.

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January 23, 2025 · 3:13 pm

Complementarianism and Abuse

In which I come out as fully egalitarian and plead with you. In which I make the case that abuse and complementarianism necessarily go hand in hand. And a plea to men to finally begin to listen to their wives.

I used to consider myself in the complementarian camp. I even attempted to make an argument that women cannot serve as pastors or elders in a church – which I regret. I am now fully egalitarian.

The main reason that I am fully egalitarian is that I do not find any of the scriptures used by complementarianism to subjugate women to be compelling. (If you take this as permission to mansplain to me why I am wrong, save your writing. I’ve heard all the arguments and the exegesis is poor, the hermeneutic is poorer and the scholarship is poorer still.)

Quite simply, the gospel makes no distinction between male and female – neither ontologically, as image-bearers of God, nor in “role”. But that isn’t why I’m posting this.

I’m posting this for the SECOND reason why I am fully egalitarian. Jesus said that you will know false teaching by the fruit. And the fruit of complementarianism is ugly and rotten to the core. A simple glance at the response of the complementarianism to Bishop Budde, or simply listening to what our sisters have endured in complementarian churches is enough to demonstrate the stench of the rotten fruit.

Abuse, degradation, silencing, ridicule, threats, bullying, excommunications and other forms of spiritual and physical abuse have been thoroughly documented in complementarian churches for those who wish to see it.

At this point, I know that there are many of you who will say, “not my church” – and if that is actually the case, I am thankful.

But there is a deeper problem. Before I get there, I want to define complementarianism:

Complementarianism and egalitarianism are theological views on the relationship between men and women, especially in marriage and in ministry. Complementarianism stresses that although men and women are equal in personhood, they are created for different roles. Egalitarianism also agrees that men and women are equal in personhood but holds that there are no gender-based limitations on the roles of men and women (Christianity.com)

If you are complementarian, you need to define what those “roles” are, and that is where it gets sticky. One role is “silence in church.” Complementarians believe that women are forbidden by God to teach or govern in the church.

And then they need to justify that belief. I know, I used to be there myself. Some soft complementarians, like I was, believe that women and men are equally gifted, equally human, but for reasons inscrutable, God has forbidden women from holding office. But, if they are like me, they cannot hold that position for long because it is troublesome. I can only say, “ummm – for reasons…” for so long before I have to abandon that position.

Others come up with reasons for positing different roles using poor exegesis and analytical skills. They say,

“Women are more emotional than men”

“Women are called to stay home and submit to their husbands”

“Women simply cause trouble and if you give them power, they want to take over everything”

“Someone has to be in charge, and God gave that position to men”

“Because men are rational, masculine, god-like, non-emotional – and…reasons”

These are all the arguments I heard growing up. I never accepted any of them. It just took me years to realize that my rejection of those arguments were really a rejection of complementarianism.

So this is my “coming out” if you will.

I ask all of your forgiveness for my previous statements that women cannot hold office in the church. There is nothing either in the scripture or in the confessions of the church that mandate such a position.

But why is it that holding a complementarian position is not only unbiblical, but dangerous to women? Why is the almost universal climate in complementarian churches an unsafe climate for women?

And here is the answer: When a man abuses, degrades, or assaults a woman, he never does it in front of witnesses.

And complementarianism teaches that women are unreliable, untrustworthy and too emotional to witness the truth – at least not to the extent that a MAN can.

Any argument that one uses to keep women out of the pulpit ALSO keeps them out of the discussion as reliable witnesses.

Bishop Budde was rejected, ridiculed and shut down by Denny Burk simply BECAUSE she is a woman, NOT because she was wrong, and this is important for us men to understand.

When a woman seeks to complain that a sermon made her uncomfortable, that she feels unsafe at church, that something about the pastor is off – complementarian husbands generally will listen – if they love their wives – but deep inside there is a place where they will discount her experience because she is emotional, irrational, of just didn’t hear it right. Just as Burk and so many others shut down the Bishop – she is wrong because she is a woman, and women cannot teach men – so also even good men in a complementarian environment tend to shut down their wives. If they listen, then they have been taught by a woman. And everything that they hear in church is that it is WRONG for a woman to teach a man, especially her husband.

My wife went to the hardware store to buy a water heater this week. She did the research and asked the man at the store if he could explain the difference between the 45000 BTU and the 30000 BTU heater. He gaped at her. Patted the machine and said, “This is a WATER HEATER” in his best mansplaining voice.

Expected in a hardware store. An absolute crisis when it happens in the church.

Barak was only given one choice. Listen to the woman or die.

Josiah only had one choice. Listen to Huldah or die.

The wise woman who threw Sheba’s head over the wall saved the city – Joab listened to her.

Abraham was commanded to listen to his wife.

Lydia brought the gospel to Philippi.

The women brought the good news of the gospel to the men.

And we wouldn’t know anything about the virgin birth if we do not hear Mary’s voice.

We wouldn’t have Romans if Phoebe wasn’t a brave, capable godly woman.

Because when it comes down to it, whether the voice is male or female doesn’t matter. Is it true? is the only question that matters.

Brothers, your sisters have been telling you for decades that they are not safe in complementarian churches.

They are telling you that they are not safe in complementarian circles.

They are not safe in the current political climate.

We haven’t listened, and we are being overrun by the chariots of Sisera. Baal worship is filling the temple of God and we have erected our orange idol in the Holy of Holies, because he promised us power.

The state of the evangelical church is dismal. It is buried under the bones of our sisters, as was every temple of Baal.

The victims are clawing at the threshold, dying at our doorsteps but our religion forbids us to hear them, to rescue them, to even listen to them. We would rather die and rot than be “taught by a woman”.

That is the fatal flaw in complementarianism. In order to protect ourselves from the imaginary witch of feminism, we have thrown Jesus outside the church and made it a safe place for the worst sort of scum and villainy. In order to make ourselves “safe” from the opinions and thoughts of women, we threw them out of the Holy Place and into the kitchen and when they tried to be heard over our self-congratulations, we called them “Jezebels” and cast them out completely.

And now the sheep are gone, and only the wolves remain.

The church has become a den of thieves, a safe-haven for criminals.

We were warned. And the women who warned us over and over again were cast out.

So forgive me if you say, “Not all complementarian churches”. If you WERE a danger to women, how would you know when you won’t allow them to speak except to a room full of abusive men who have already decided that women are too emotional, too deceived and too irrational to be believed?

For you men out there who truly love your wives and daughters, please ask them that question and be open to their responses:

When was the first time that they were sexualized at church?

When was the first time they didn’t feel safe in Sunday school?

When was the first time they were dismissed and silenced?

When was the first time they felt as if a man was shunning them as if they were unclean?

And ask them this question – if they were assaulted by a leader in your church, would she go to the pastor or to the other elders for help?

And please listen to her.

If she is not safe at church, it doesn’t matter how “orthodox” they are. You will know them by their fruit.

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August 29, 2024 · 7:51 am

Walking each other home

My wife has a quote on her wall that goes something like this:

“We are all just walking each other home.”

I like that. It is a great perspective.

I have spoken enough of my experiences in Reformed Churches. I still believe that the creeds of the reformation were excellent for their times. They did what any of the best human documents can do – point to Christ in the culture they were written in – and they did it excellently.

I haven’t changed my classical theology, and I am grateful for it.

But somewhere along the way, conservative churches lost track of the gospel. They forgot about walking the wounded home to Christ, and made it their goal to tell everyone what was wrong with them. They took the doctrine of inerrancy and fashioned it into a club to beat one another into submission. The object of their worship became power instead of Christ.

There are reasons for that, which I will get into another time.

I ask forgiveness for the part I played in that. It did no good at all. No one has ever been shamed into the kingdom of God.

One step further – I believe in the Holy Spirit. I was recently accused of “going rogue” since I left the RCUS because I didn’t have any “brothers” to reign me in.

My first response is that I never had that to begin with. I had evil and twisted false witnesses making up accusations and finding reasons to dis-fellowship me, but I never once had an engagement with a “brother”. Not one of my accusers ever spoke to me nor did my former denomination ever correspond with me at all, before or after my trial.

So the impression that I left behind concerned brothers is not a correct impression, and I needed to correct it.

That being said, I still have a few wonderful friends in my former denomination, who have expressed concern for my welfare and I thank God for them, and do not at all wish to downplay their Christ-like behavior. There were a handful who worked hard to try to preserve my good name, make sure I was provided for, and gave me prayerful support and help.

Since I have moved to Faribault, I have visited several churches and met many wonderful people. I will always remember them fondly and keep them in my prayers. I am thankful for the opportunity to minister to them, and for their ministry to me.

So all of that out of the way – here is my announcement:

My family and I have found a church home! The three of us all came to that conclusion separately, without any pressure from one another. The Holy Spirit led us to our new church home.

The lead pastor spoke of his belief in the conscience and the power of the Holy Spirit, so he does not feel the need to acts as a busybody over the affairs of others.

The sermons have been fantastic. The hymns are moving and wonderful (mostly old Reformation Hymns, with some more modern ones) and we love the liturgy. The scripture reading, the creeds, the sacraments, the prayers, the responses.

I met with the pastors with some questions for myself. They believe that the new theology of “eternal subordination” is weird, and have never heard it before. Their Christology is orthodox and Nicean, unlike most modern conservative churches influenced by Complementarianism.

They have never heard of Doug Wilson, don’t give a fig what MacArthur has to say and don’t promote “Biblical Counseling” or threaten excommunication for those who seek therapists.

And this was a big one for me – they are active in the community. We just put together school bags for children who are needing supplies. We actively support food banks, shelters, and all the other things that would cause me to be accused of being “woke”.

I don’t care. If “woke” means compassionate, empathetic, respectful and loving, safeguarding the dignity of all human beings and their stories, then I proudly embrace it. My daughter is embraced (not physically, because she can’t deal with physical touch) and welcomed. The church is right across the street and she walks over for Bible studies, and group meetings or just to sit and sing and pray and she is welcomed, and no one has ever told her what she should be like.

So today I carried our papers to the church office and Susan and I officially became members of First English Lutheran (a member of the ELCA).

For those of you who are now concerned about the affirming and egalitarian position of the ELCA, I appreciate your concern. Most likely you belong to a church where women can’t vote in congregational meetings or read the Bible in church, so follow your conscience and I will follow mine. I will always side with liberty of conscience and the power of the Holy Spirit and the dignity of men and women.

I have just lost the urge to continually tell others what to believe or how to think. I want the world to know Jesus.

I want the world to know that “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

And if it is a choice between the ugly, hateful cauldron that the conservative, complementarian churches have become, and proclaiming the love of God to everyone who walks through the door, I will choose love and leave correction (if needed) in the hands of the Holy Spirit who knows far more that I do.

He knows about your abuse, your background, your family dynamics, your brokenness, your sin, your gifts, your beauty, your excellent qualities and the cancers that eat away in this sin-filled world.

He is far better equipped to cure the cancer, drive out the demons, and heal our tumultuous emotions and loves and hates without destroying our humanity, our imago dei, our will, our beauty and our gifts.

So I am OK leaving it with Him.

And instead of a political position, I will eat the bread and drink the wine of the Lord’s Table, and confess to the world:

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and was buried. He descended to the dead.

On the third day He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit. The holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting

Amen.

So instead of throwing stones at one another, and continually telling everyone what is wrong with them, let’s just walk each other home, to where Jesus is, sitting and reigning at the right hand of God.

He’s got this. Walk with me, won’t you?

For those who are now overwhelmed with the urge to tell me everything that is wrong with me, believe me, I know better than you do, so please just save your words.

Thanks for listening.

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July 18, 2024 · 3:26 pm

Dressing with dignity

I am almost finished with a remarkable book, the Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse. It was published in 1991, which made me sad and a little defeated. If people have been saying this for over 30 years now, why are things worse and not better? And what can my voice add?

Anyway – like all great books, it gets one’s mind whirling and meditating. The authors have a passage on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead that stopped me in my tracks. I’ve been meditating on it ever since.

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 11:38–44.

The first question that the authors ask of the text is this: “Why didn’t Jesus use his almighty power to roll away the stone himself?”

And the second, “And why didn’t he just bring Lazarus OUT of his graveclothes himself?”

The answer to these questions speak of something very important in the life of the Church (not the outward corporation that has gotten so corrupt, but the people of God wherever they are found – usually in exile and hiding). In Ephesians 1:31, the people of God are called the “fullness” of Christ. The Son of God considers himself incomplete without his bride, his body, his people. We are so united to Jesus that his death is ours, his resurrection is ours, and his glory is ours. This is the point of Ephesians.

It also answers the questions so many people have about the Psalms. Are they about David, Jesus, or the people of God? And the answer is “Yes”. David was the type. Jesus was the reality. And we all, as his members, experience the same things in this life and the life to come. We suffer. We rise. We are glorified. We reign. We go to the abyss. We are rescued from the abyss. We long for God. We were born for another world. We are sinners. We are righteous. We are loved. We grieve our sins. We feel abandoned. We feel God’s love.

And we wait for the salvation of God. These realities are ours, and also belong to Jesus. And also to David in shadows.

But I digress.

Do you remember in Genesis where it was promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent? We know that ultimately that crushing belongs to Jesus. But it also belongs to us, his bride.

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  Rom. 16:20.

Here is another example of our union with Christ our head (the head of our body, not our CEO – those are different concepts). He crushes Satan’s head on the cross. We crush Satan’s head taking up that same cross.

But I’m digressing again.

Jesus gives his people the astounding privilege of serving with him in his kingdom. He could, of course, have simply rolled away the stone. But he commissions his people to take their part in setting Lazarus free.

Only the Eternal, begotten Son of God can raise the dead. We can’t do that. But we CAN roll away the stone. We can remove the barriers. We can take away our own blinders, our prejudices, our hatreds and grudges – we can make sure that when the world stumbles, it is on the cross, not politics or laws or culture or gender wars or ANYTHING other that the voice of the Son of God who speaks and raises the dead.

Take away the stone and set the prisoners free.

And yes, they are still in their grave clothes. They are gross and they stink. We are all wrapped with the rags of all of those things that were our comfort in the tomb.

When you are dead, (using spiritual language) you still have the clothing of the dead. That clothing has brought your comfort. You thought that it would take away your shame and your disgrace. You thought that you could find significance, security and strength – and you hold really tightly to all of those things. It is terrifying to think of losing your graveclothes (still speaking in metaphor, people).

Before the voice of Jesus called you and made you alive, you tried to find dignity in the brokenness of this present evil age, and it wasn’t there. But it is even scarier to let those things go.

Remember C.S. Lewis in the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” when he “undresses” the dragon skin off of Eustice? Eustice recounts that losing his skin was the most painful thing he could imagine, but that it also felt good watching it tear away like a scab.

This is what it is like to lose the grave clothes. And it is even worse when those called out of the tomb are ridiculed for their clothes. Shamed because of it. Excluded and disgraced because they didn’t get rid of them fast enough.

And how shameful it is when those called by God to “loose him and let him go” just stand by and say to themselves “I thank God I am not like that poor guy.”

The scribes and the Pharisees stood by and watched, then plotted to kill Jesus.

And when Lazarus and Abel and Jacob and Amos and Zechariah and Zacchaeus and Mary Magdalene and Bathsheba and Ruth and Junia and all the rest are called from the tomb, there will always be the scoffers, refusing to soil their hands helping a terrified loved one of Jesus remove their graveclothes.

But that brings me to the concept in the book that floored me. When Jesus rose from the dead, he left his grave clothes behind. He could have done the same thing with Lazarus. So why didn’t he?

Because Lazarus would have had to walk out of the tomb exposed and naked in front of everyone.

Wow.

By telling his people to “loose him and let him go”, he is preserving Lazarus’s dignity. The people of God can get him changed without exposing him to the ridicule and shame of the passersby, and that is huge.

Shame has never changed a soul. Reviling and disgracing anyone has never saved anyone. Jesus came that we might have life, and to restore the dignity with which we were created – human beings, image-bearers of God.

Men and women, slave and free, rich and poor – clothed with Christ, the grave clothes come off easily. But it still hurts. It still is terrifying. It is still a long process.

We need compassion and the people of God need that compassion – the same compassion that Jesus had when HE was stripped naked and crucified so that We might be clothed.

 

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April 16, 2024 · 5:39 pm

9 things about the whole Howerton/Driscoll/debacle

  • To be honest, it wasn’t a stripper. He was a sword swallower and a daredevil. Taking off one’s shirt doesn’t make one a stripper.
  • Just to be clear, just because something arouses Mark Driscoll doesn’t mean that it is Jezebel. It really needs to be said, because the next step is to start burning at the stakes.
  • The sword swallower was the most honest thing about the whole mess. A pox on all the rest.
  • In the whole of scripture, there is no command anywhere about “not saying anything negative about God’s anointed”. In fact, the opposite is true. One who declares himself to be a teacher is to be rebuked before all so that others might fear.
  • Elton John once sang about “tryna find gold in a silver mine, tryna find whiskey in a bottle of wine…” as difficult as both scenarios are, they are nothing compared to trying to find one of “God’s Anointed Ones” at whatever that disgusting display was.
  • A testosterone fueled, ape-chest-beating, grunting display of he-man one-upmanship isn’t Christianity. But it is the logical end result of the evangelical obsession with power, chest thumping and braggadocio.
  • None of it had anything to do with Matthew 18, Christianity, virtue, ethics, Jezebel or manliness.
  • To me, the biggest shame of the whole mess was that there are thousands and thousands of people who think that this is Christianity, give all of these morons a platform and allow them to thrive. I weep for what we have become.

And nine is a big one. So follow me here.

Many years ago, I was a corporate trainer, responsible for training hundreds of people. I went to many, many training conferences and saw many incredibly talented and energetic motivational speakers.

Many of us trainers went back to our companies and started using that material. It was powerful and effective.

But it wasn’t preaching.

The biggest problem with all of these people is that they masquerade as preachers of the gospel. They go to conferences, share material, take notes, learn how to get the laughs, and the amens, and the oohs and aahs. They surround themselves with people who know how to say, “MMM mmm mmm. Meaty. Meaty.”

And when people get bored, they bring out tanks, sword swallowers, guns, bigger lunatics – and even start shouting at each other. All in the name of Christ. They learned from Oral Roberts, Jack van Impe, and Chuck Norris. And they watch the money roll in.

And the thing that flows through my mind is “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

Did Christ really redeem a people for himself so that these strutting morons can play “mine is bigger”  and continue to fleece God’s people?

Seriously, wake up. Scripture continues to be fulfilled right in front of us. (This isn’t an “end times prophesy”. Christ could come tomorrow, or in another 2000 years, but the scripture is still being fulfilled:

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. (Jude 11-13)

Next time, I will speak of things that are beautiful, lovely, pure, and wise.

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October 27, 2022 · 4:10 pm

“Christianity has a masculine feel…”

Thus spake John Piper, the wise. It makes me sad. There is a new religion that has entered through the American revivalists over the decades, and it isn’t Christianity. It is a religion of power, authority, money, influence and control. Its ugly babies are abuse, rape, violence, racism, and oppression.

This “religion” has a “masculine feel” – which is now defined as Christians taking dominion, conquering wives, controlling children, taking over counties, states, and eventually countries. (I believe that masculinity is a gift of God that can be used for much good, but that is another subject.)

It snuck in stealthily and some of us didn’t really wake up to it recently. And many, like me, have asked since “What happened to Christianity? How did it turn in to power and politics and hatred and blustering. How did it turn into abuse and oppression and coverup? How did the dynamic of authority and submission come to take the place of the gospel? What happened to the good news that the church was commissioned to proclaim?”

How could we have gotten it so wrong? Many have written on it and have done well. Most of them have been cast out of their churches, received death threats and suffered all sorts of abuse. All that does is prove the validity of the question. “When did Christianity turn into something so unlike itself?”

This is a blog. It isn’t a book. It is a short commentary designed to encourage thought. So I would like to simply modify Piper’s statement to something a little more Biblical, and leave it at that. If you like, you can compare these statements to Piper’s statement and determine for yourself, if you are willing to do so. Perhaps the answer to the question, “How did we get here?” might spring up in your mind.

Instead of saying, “Christianity has a masculine feel”, look at these nine more biblical alternatives:

“Christianity has a lover’s embrace feel” (Song of Songs)

“Christianity has a mothering hen and sheltering chicks feel” (Matthew 23:37)

“Christianity has a begging widow feel” (Luke 18:1-8)

“Christianity has a dying beggar feel” (Luke 16:20-21)

“Christianity has a babies and nursing infants feel” (Matthew 11:25; Matthew 21:16)

“Christianity has a big, warm, lying in each other’s arms feel” (Luke 15:20; John 13:23)

“Christianity has a desperate, helpless sinner feel” (Luke 18:13)

“Christianity has a hopeless prisoner, outcast, despised, mourning, fringe kind of feel” (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19).

“Christianity has a safe, belonging, peaceful, nourishing, apron-wearing, serving one another kind of feel” (so, so, so many passages John 13; Romans 8; Revelation 20-21; Isaiah 2; Zephaniah 3)

There are probably many more, and the difference is crucial. There are those who have power, who are masculine in every cultural sense of the word; there are those who are in charge, who have money, who sit on thrones, who rule their houses, who have resources, time, authority and status…

But that isn’t Christianity. If you have those things, you must consider them all to be dung, be willing to give them all away, learn to wear an apron, become as a nursing child or begging widow, or you are, quite honestly, not worthy of Christ’s name. Nor are you worthy to use any of the power that God has given you until you first learn to lay it aside and take up an apron.

But on the other hand, those on the fringes, those who are unclean, those who are weak, beggars, cast-aways, despised, hated, thirsty, longing for love and for embrace and for belonging and safety, Jesus is speaking to YOU.

“Come unto me, and I will give you rest.”

Not “and I will teach you to be manly”

Not “and I will teach you how to have power over people”

Not “and I will teach you what you have to do to earn favor with God”

But “I will give you rest.”

I have heard that according to Babylonian mythology, the gods created humans because they needed workers.

God did not create us because he needed workers in his kingdom. He created us to rest in his bosom. He created us free to create, to plant, to reap, to sing, to dance, to rejoice in the love of the Holy Trinity, into which we have been sweetly drawn in by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When we turn it into a “masculine feel” of conquest, authority, power, control, we always end up in some truly ugly places.

Stop the idolatry of Babel, resurrected as Christian nationalism. Learn to rest in the bosom of the shepherd.

James 3:17–18 (NKJV)
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

That can only happen when we learn how to rest in God’s love and stop trying to control everyone or make them our servants. Learn to wear the apron. Learn to rest in the embrace. Long for the lover’s voice. This is Christianity.

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April 8, 2022 · 8:47 am

The marks of the church and social media

As God is more and more exposing the rot and corruption at the heart of what passes for Christianity these days; as one famous church after another is embroiled with scandal; as the weak are driven away and the wicked are exalted, there is a question that is on the lips of many, many faithful Christians who no longer have a home:

How can I find a safe church? How can I find a congregation that is faithful to the gospel and a safe place for the sheep?

I understand the question. How can you “not forsake the gathering together” when false churches and dangerous cults abound. Weird authoritarian doctrine, abusive patriarchy, heretical teaching on Christ and the Trinity, are so pervasive that it is no longer sufficient to simply look at the creeds that they say they hold or the denomination of which they are a part.

The Reformers 500 years ago were at a similar place. Being in the local church was one of the most dangerous places to be. If you professed that Christ was not physically present in the Lord’s Supper you could be burned alive.

But they did not abandon the idea of gathering themselves together. Whether it was in homes, or in fields, or in the woods, God’s people gathered together.

So the question – how do you find a safe church – needs an answer.

Our fathers answered it with the now famous formula: If the word of God is faithfully preached; if the sacraments are administered according to the word of God; and if church discipline is administered according to the word of God.

Since this is a blog and not a book, I would like to focus on the last one – discipline.

This means something different than simply practicing excommunication. Rome in the Middle Ages practiced excommunication. In fact, the Reformers that put together this formula were all excommunicated from Rome.

Rather, it means this: The sheep are led to green pastures, and the wolves are driven away.

And you think to yourself: But how can I tell if the church is serious about driving away wolves and protecting sheep?

And here is where social media is actually helpful. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if wolves wore signs announcing that they were wolves? Often times they do.

If they call the rape of a toddler “sexual satisfaction”…

If they defend those who call the rape of a toddler “sexual satisfaction”

If they blame the rape of the toddler on the refusal of the wife to have intercourse…

If they defend those who blame the rape of the toddler on the refusal of the wife to have intercourse…

If they call the abuse and silencing of women “Biblical manhood and womanhood”…

If they call sexual assault “inappropriate conduct”…

If they deny that marital rape is a sin and extreme wickedness…

If they believe that calling the police is “getting the unbeliever involved” and will not report crimes against women and children.

If “Battling feminism” is far, far more important than loving your neighbor and sitting with the wounded.

If battling feminism is more important than the dignity and welfare of their wives and children.

If they absolutely refuse to change their views on these things, and reject all compassion at every opportunity in order to uphold their system.

If their system is more important than the lives of the sheep.

To me, these are, at a minimum, a failure on the part of the church to hold the third mark. Sheep are abused, and wolves are set free on the congregation to prey to their heart’s content.

Jay Adams opened the door and the churches that followed his method became the most dangerous place for the sheep.

There are other signs that a church should be avoided as potentially unsafe:

If Doug Wilson is on the book table.

If they view crying as weakness and manipulation.

If they don’t have a Child Safety Policy in place and enforced.

If the pastor makes “The old ball and chain” jokes, or “You know how women are” jokes.

If the kids all look scared to be in church.

If they continually preach about the “sin” of divorce and never speak of the wickedness of the covenant breaking the leads to divorce.

If it is more important to enforce their view of divorce than to protect the sheep.

These are all red flags. Maybe we should put together a list….

So by all means, check the doctrinal statements. Look at what creeds and confessions they hold to. But don’t neglect the third mark of the true church.

This is where many fail. Check the social media feeds of the elders and pastors and other leaders. Who do they follow? What groups do they belong to?

Can they tell the difference between wolves and sheep? Do they cast away the beaten women and embrace the man who did the beating?

Do they raise funds for the defense of the man who destroyed his family?

Take your time. Look not only at the congregation and the doctrinal correctness of the preaching, but check some of these things as well.

These things are far, far more important than whether you like the music or enjoy the coffee fellowship. A handful of people singing Psalms together in safety is far better than singing with a praise band of wolves.

It is better to meet outside or in your home with the sheep than gather together at the table of the wolves.

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September 11, 2020 · 9:17 am

Meeting together

I’m reading through 2 Chronicles again. It strikes me again how alluring Baal worship was to God’s people. Jeroboam and his calves; Ahab and Jezebel. Over and over again, God allured, threatened, spoke, invited, exhorted his people back to him and his covenant promises.

The reason that it was so alluring was Baal promised a god that could be somewhat controlled with the proper ceremonies, rites, rituals, sacrifices. Baal was more of a power to be tapped into, rather than a personal God who covenants with his people.

A personal God makes promises, chooses to reveal himself, loves, redeems, delivers – but he isn’t controlled, and that makes him scary, especially when the future is uncertain. Why not just offer to a golden calf just to cover your bases?

We have the same temptations today. I believe that the reason that we are so restless and filled with turmoil is that we really don’t believe in the personal, triune God. We confess him with our mouths, but do we really believe what he said, that he cares for us, that he loves us, that he will never, ever forsake us?

Recently, a very public pastor made a very public tweet. He said, “We’re under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ #CHURCHISESSENTIAL. Church isn’t a building it is the fellowshipping of believer’s around the teaching of God’s Word. That fellowship can’t happen online or across dozens of outdoor, distanced services.”

In other words, I believe that his position is that God cannot bless his people unless the ritual is properly followed. On the one hand the church isn’t a building, but on the other hand, it can’t happen online or in small groups. It can only happen on the terms of the Pastor in Charge. To me, this seems more similar to Baal worship. We can only have “Church” on our terms. In a huge building with thousands of people.

Now, I believe in the means of grace – God gives his grace through the means that he has appointed – the preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments. But the “fellowship” is not a means of grace. It is a side-effect, that flows from hearts made alive by the means of grace, but itself it is NOT a means of grace. Lots of organizations have fellowship, but God is not there. But he IS present wherever his word and sacraments are, whether large or small, indoors or out, in homes or in caves.

And God is personal. He is not a power to be tapped into. He doesn’t say, “Well, since Governor Newsom has forbidden the churches to gather together, I guess I won’t be able to bless anyone with faith and hope and patience. How I wish someone would come along to stand up to that guy!”

This is not the God of scripture. He who spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?

Be at peace, everyone. God is not restricted to large gatherings in large buildings with large budgets. Ordinarily, it is true that one ought to get up, go to church, physically be present with God’s people. But these aren’t ordinary times, are they?

He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. His grace is given, not tapped into. His grace is his favor towards us in Christ, proclaimed to us in his word and sealed with the sacraments.

The church throughout the world meets in yards and caves, stables and catacombs, valleys and meadows. Sometimes there are 5 people. Sometimes there are 100 people. Rarely there are even more.

But God’s grace is not tapped into with large buildings and large budgets and famous pastors. Perhaps now would be the time to humble ourselves.

Church is essential. I agree completely. But let’s be clear as to what the church is. If the church can be stopped by a decree from the state, then it isn’t the church.

Since God gives grace to the humble, instead of making ourselves stink in the nostrils of the state, forcing it to take legal action, we should follow the example of the martyrs that have gone before:  strive to be obedient citizens, humbling ourselves instead of exalting ourselves, and continue to preach and administer the sacraments wherever God has placed us, in service, community and love.

Like Isaac and his wells, if the Canaanites dispute, move somewhere else. And God will make room for you. He is personal and he loves his people.

Jesus, where’er Thy people meet,
  There they behold Thy mercy-seat;
Where’er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
  With grace and mercy to abound.

For Thou, within no walls confined,
  Inhabitest the humble mind;
Such ever bring Thee where they come,
  And going, take Thee to their home.

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March 23, 2020 · 4:45 pm

Who carries whom?

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity.
3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:
4 Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
(Isaiah. 46:1-4)

One of the greatest things you can do in times of distress and uncertainty is to learn who God is. And one of the best passages for that endeavor is chapters 40- 55 of Isaiah.

In the context, God has shown his prophet that Babylon will take Israel into captivity and scatter them throughout the world. But, God goes on to say, it will not be the end of his promises. God will provide a highway in the desert, a return to the land and he will bring judgment on his enemies. And then God gives his people assurances of his promise by reminding them of his almighty, everywhere-present power.

In the ancient world, a war was a battle between the gods of the nations. The context would be between Yahweh, the God of Israel, and Bel and Nebo, gods of Babylon.

That is the context of Isaiah 46. God shows Isaiah that this is no contest at all.

Bel and Nebo have to be carried from place to place. They not only are incapable of delivering their people when they go into captivity, THEY will go into captivity themselves. But they won’t even be able to walk into captivity. They will be loaded onto the carts and become a burden to the beasts who will struggle to pull them from place to place.

What good are gods that you have to help get from place to place? What good are gods that are powerless to save? What good are gods that require your sacrifice, and your efforts and your wisdom! What good are gods that require you to defend their honor, to fight their battles?

What good are gods that have to be carried from place to place?

In contrast, the true God, the God of Israel, the God who has become OUR God through Jesus Christ, carries US. We don’t carry him. He carries us.

He carries us from birth. He lifts us up through the hard times. He bears us when we are at our full strength. He carries us when we are young and strong. He carries us when we are old and grey.

He doesn’t decide we are too old to be valuable to him. He doesn’t decide that we can do this on our own now, for he knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.

He KNOWS that we are like flowers of the field. Strong one day. Fading and blowing away the next.

13 As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
  14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
  15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
  16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more.
  17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, (Ps. 103:13-17)

And still, he carries us. We don’t die for him. He dies for us. We don’t carry him. He carries us. We don’t defend him. He defends us.

This is the God we serve. He is our God and we are his people.

Learning more about who he is will go a long ways towards our comfort.

As the old hymn says,

“E’en down to old age all my people shall prove

My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;

And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,

Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.”

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September 19, 2019 · 9:43 pm

Opening cards

Today is a good day!
Three weeks ago, we didn’t know if she would live or die. All we could do was cry out to God, and most of the time we didn’t even have the words for that.

Today, we’ve been talking all morning. She’s been wandering around her room waiting for her turn in the shower. She put together her bag with all of her clothes and toiletries. She washed her face, she brushed her teeth. We’ve had meaningful conversations.

Yesterday, she wrote her name.

This morning, she got a big envelope with a bunch of handwritten cards from Illinois. She read each one.

She said, “Dad, I don’t know who these people are”
I said, “I know, but they’ve been praying for you each day. In fact, there are hundreds of people all over the world that have been praying for you, sending cards and notes and messages…”

She said, “Why? I’m nothing…”

And we learned a little bit more about the communion of the saints and the fellowship of the Spirit.

It is a matter of perspective. I think that there are those who don’t understand the importance of a simple note, or a simple message – even just a note across the world on Facebook…a card in the mail…

You think to yourself, “What good is that?”
But when you can show one girl who is alive from the dead, who has suffered so many things, who has had so much pain – who knows what it is to struggle with knowing a name, or speaking her thoughts, that she IS NOT NOTHING – that is everything.
You might think you are just sending a note. But to her, you are saying that the body of Christ matters, and that she isn’t nothing.

So here is a thought. When someone on your friends list is suffering, say a prayer, send a note, write a message. They probably won’t be able to respond. They might not have the time or even know what to say…

But you are telling them, “You aren’t nobody. You aren’t nothing. You are a member of the body of Christ and even though we might not have ever met, when one member suffers, all suffer.”

There is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism – and one church of God.
We are honored to call you our fellow members, joined together by what each joint supplies.

I told you she shines. She still shines. And everyone that knows her can’t help but shine as well.
It’s what the body of Christ does.

Update… I wrote this three days ago. She continues to improve. We were discharged this morning and are now home.

Continue reading →

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