Youth Ministry + Jesus – Fun = Biblical?

Josh Cousineau published a post on the Gospel Coalition website this morning entitled “The Only Foundation for Youth Ministry” that’s getting some traction. That’s a good thing.  I thought it was a pretty strong article.  BUT, reading the comments on these type of posts can be frustrating.  I even linked it up on my Facebook and had a good back-and-forth with one of my biggest youth ministry mentors over whether or not it was actually a good article or not. 

So if you haven’t read it, use the link above and read it first, then continue reading…

Be Consistent in Critiques

 
I usually can’t stand these types of articles because I believe they take cheap shots against Youth Ministry that they don’t take against other areas of church-ministry.  What pitfall within the field of YM is not found elsewhere in the church: an over-reliance on “relevance”, replacing biblical teaching/preaching with good moralistic advice, or an unhealthy desire to draw a large crowd through fun/events/flashiness?  Isn’t that something that every church wrestles through?  If your pastor/church doesn’t wrestle with those things, then maybe they aren’t passionate about seeing God’s Word transform real people’s lives?  (yes, I really mean that… but that’s a subject for another post)

Maybe it’s just because I am a youth pastor, but it seems that whenever Youth Ministry is brought up on sites like The Gospel Coalition or Desiring God or other similar sites (both of which I read very regularly and highly respect, which is probably why it’s so frustrating to me) it seems there’s very little recognition that maybe… just maybe… Youth Ministry isn’t all about fun.  Continue at Pastor Mike

Young, Restless, and Reformed — Five Years Later

Five years ago this month journalist Collin Hansen published his first book: Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists (Crossway, 2008). True to its title, the book is a travelogue of Collin’s journey across the country documenting a surging movement called New Calvinism by some, and Young, Restless and Reformed (YRR) by others, a title he coined himself. Collin’s hunches about the new movement were confirmed in 2009 when Time Magazine named “New Calvinism” as one of its “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now.”

But it’s been five years since the release of his book, and YRR has undergone quite a lot of change in those years. What have been the biggest changes and the biggest surprises? Where is the movement now? And what dangers lie ahead?

We put Collin Hansen on the line to ask him those questions and more. He lives in Birmingham and serves as the editorial director for The Gospel Coalition. In the midst of preparing for the TGC National Conference in Orlando this month, he took time for this 30-minute interview.

To listen to our conversation, subscribe to the Authors on the Line podcast in iTunes here. Download the mp3 here (21.9 MB). Or listen from the resource page through the following link:

Young, Restless, and Reformed Five Years Later: An Interview with Collin Hansen (30 Minutes)   HT: Desiring God

W.E.B DuBois Would Not Vote in This Election

I know. I was surprised at the notion myself. A tireless champion of Civil Rights, a participant of the Niagra Movement and one of the founders of the NAACP, one would expect DuBois to argue the moral responsibility of voting–particularly for a people recently disenfranchised.

But in a piece entitled, “Why I Won’t Vote,” delivered on October 20, 1956, DuBois made an eloquent case for not voting at all.  The entire speech really should be read; it’s haunting in its description themes and tensions in 1956 that could as easily apply to 2012. DuBois begins with a kind of biography of his voting record:

Since I was twenty-one in 1889, I have in theory followed the voting plan strongly advocated by Sidney Lens in The Nation of August 4, i.e., voting for a third party even when its chances were hopeless, if the main parties were unsatisfactory; or, in absence of a third choice, voting for the lesser of two evils. My action, however, had to be limited by the candidates’ attitude toward Negroes. Of my adult life, I have spent twenty-three years living and teaching in the South, where my voting choice was not asked. I was disfranchised by law or administration. In the North I lived in all thirty-two years, covering eight Presidential elections. In 1912 I wanted to support Theodore Roosevelt, but his Bull Moose convention dodged the Negro problem and I tried to help elect Wilson as a liberal Southerner. Under Wilson came the worst attempt at Jim Crow legislation and discrimination in civil service that we had experienced since the Civil War. In 1916 I took Hughes as the lesser of two evils. He promised Negroes nothing and kept his word. In 1920, I supported Harding because of his promise to liberate Haiti. In 1924, I voted for La Follette, although I knew he could not be elected. In 1928, Negroes faced absolute dilemma.   Continue at Gospel Coalition

See also:  John MacArthur Rebukes Democratic Platform

“There Is No Demilitarized Zone in the Issue of Homosexuality”

All the participants of the panel on homosexuality at The Gospel Coalition Council meetings agreed that we have entered one of the most difficult challenges to a gospel-centered approach to evangelism. The reason is not that the center of the Christian gospel has changed, but the center of the cultural gospel has changed. That center for many is the freedom to be GLBT and to be approved.

Which means that whether we want to make this a frontline issue or not, increasingly it is. As one of the panelists said, “There is no demilitarized zone in the homosexual debate.” Pastors must address it. In fact, virtually everyone who communicates with mainstream cultural folk must address it. 

The argument against Christianity today is not epistemological but moral. Christianity is rejected not because it is badly argued, or untrue, but because it is evil. And it is evil because it opposes homosexual practice. The panelists agreed that, at least in major metropolitan areas, the issue of homosexuality ranks near the top of the reasons people reject Christianity, along with the problem of suffering and the exclusive claim that Jesus is the only way of salvation.

It is almost impossible to express a compassionate disapproval of homosexual practice without being demonized. But this is not an entirely new situation for the church. On the one hand the state of our culture seems to have changed with lightening speed. On the other hand it may not be as new as it seems. Continue at John Piper

See also:

When Homosexuality Became a Man

A Newspaper Misrepresents John Piper

Quebec launches taxpayer-funded anonymous registry of homophobic acts

Emotionalism: The Gay Agenda’s Favorite Weapon

 

The State of the Church in Canada

The Gospel Coalition's regional chapters aim to foster the same cooperation and encouragement on a local level that our council strives to embody on a North American level. So we're thankful for the leaders behind TGC's Ontario Chapter, who will convene their second regional conference, May 29 to 31 at Heritage College & Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario.

Plenary speakers Don Carson, John Neufeld, and Stephen Um will address "The Priority of the Gospel" by expositing Philippians 1 to 4. But the conference also features 16 breakout sessions featuring speakers from throughout Canada. Organizers are particularly excited to welcome David Short to tell the remarkable story of St. John's in Vancouver, the congregational home of J. I. Packer. The church dissented when the Anglican Church of Canada blessed same-sex relationships and consequently lost their property by order of the British Columbia Supreme Court.

The Canada conference aims to help pastors faithfully exemplify gospel-centered ministry. But all are welcome to attend. Early bird registration ($175) ends April 1. The first 50 students can register for $100.

I corresponded with chapter leader and TGC Council member John Mahaffey, senior pastor of West Highland Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario. We discussed his hopes for the conference but also explored the overall state of the church in Canada, especially the rapidly changing demographics. After reading the interview, check out his short video on leading a multi-ethnic church and listen to him address "Building Gospel-Centered, Intentionally Multicultural Churches."  Continue at State of the Church

Herding the Elephants

With all the digital ink that’s been spilled surrounding The Elephant Room 2, it’s been difficult (and a bit wearisome!) trying to keep up with everything. I thought that I would give it my best shot to corral some of the most helpful, and some of the most telling, commentary on the whole situation into a single spot.

Because of the scope of the event, this post will be quite lengthy. Nevertheless, I hope it will be a benefit to those interested in the issues.

In Anticipation

• Pretty soon after MacDonald came out endorsing “manifestations” as classical Trinitarian language (which comments have since been revised), Carl Trueman got the ball rolling by asking, “Is Nicene Christianity Important?” Surely not a sign of good things to come.

• A few days later The Cripplegate’s own Nathan Busenitz wrote about the history of the modalist heresy and the history of Jakes’ involvement with modalism.

• Challies followed up the next day with a round-up of where the issues stood at that point. He asked poignant questions that unfortunately would have to be answered in the negative: “Will these men be willing to ask him very difficult, very nuanced, very penetrating questions? … And I don’t mean for the other participants to ask a question that essentially says, ‘You’re not a modalist, right?’ but an honest, searching, penetrating series of questions that will address this concern head-on and will not stop until it is settled. Jakes has given us legitimate cause to be concerned, cause enough to go no further until answers are given. Until that question is settled, nothing else really matters.”  Continue at Mike Riccardi

James MacDonald, Modalist and Word-Faith Preacher T. D. Jakes

Today's sally is brought to you courtesy of James MacDonald. You'll forgive me for letting you do your own research for links and specifics; we at Pyro (but not we alone) have been pretty much on top of the situation, and sometimes ahead of the curve. Two of my favorite Tree Falling in the Forest posts were on the topic (this and this).

But anyway, James MacDonald decided to feature well-known modalist and word-faith preacher T. D. Jakes as a "Christian leader" on his Elephant Room show. A firestorm of very appropriate concern and criticism arose. MacDonald responded alternately by chest-thumping, backtracking, then more chest-thumping. Many wondered how this guy could be associated with The Gospel Coalition while seeming to be relatively unconcerned about, you know, the gospel.

As usual, Phil Johnson put it best: "The collective leadership of TGC are going to have to decide which is more important: the Gospel, or the Coalition."

Well no, it turns out, they won't.

In a solution that solves nothing, James MacDonald has resigned from TGC leadership, as that leadership has acknowledged.  In making this acknowledgement, however, they only compliment the departing brother, and make no direct reference to his hosting a heretic as a Christian leader. So that problem is unsolved.

What does MacDonald himself say? Oh, this and that, about what you might expect. He's making his priorities pretty clear to everyone, I daresay, and I hope the effect is salutary.

My focus is this bit from MacDonald's post:  Read the rest at Dan Phillips

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The Coming Catholic Ad Blitz

It is coming. Among the largest religious media blitzes in U.S. history---scheduled to air more than 400 times during a three-week run---these commercials will depict humanity's experience of hopelessness before presenting redemption in Jesus Christ as the answer. Millions will view them on major television networks from December 16 through January 8. The program is called Catholics Come Home.

The primary audience---men and women who grew up Catholic, and are now inactive or "lapsed"---is 27.5 million strong, according to the Pew Forum. They constitute roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population, making them the second-largest religious demographic in America behind Roman Catholics at 77.7 million and ahead of the Southern Baptist Convention (at 16 million plus). These former Catholics are among your church's elders, nursery workers, and often compose a sizable portion of your congregation.

The Message of Catholics Come Home

If you have watched one of the commercials or visited the website, you were probably impressed by the "evangelical" tone. It is unmistakably warm and inviting with a refreshingly clear focus on the person of Jesus. These programs are the fruit of the Second Vatican Council's vision for mobilizing the laity for outreach (see the encyclical, Evangelii Nuntiandi, by Pope Paul VI), along with recent statements such as John Paul II's Redemptoris missio and the current agency dedicated to evangelism.  Keep Reading >>>

Mission Critical

Your church cannot do everything that everyone wants it to do. Some requests are simply impossible to fulfill; others would be inappropriate. Church leaders turn to God's Word as our guide in prioritizing how we spend limited time, treasure, and talent.

This is some of what I've learned while discussing these issues with Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert, authors of What Is the Mission of the Church? It's also what I've seen while serving in churches seeking to do good in their communities. In my experience, churches unclear about their mission from God spend much time talking about everything they should do and exasperate over how little they can actually accomplish.

Even so, healthy churches will disagree about how exactly to serve their different communities, and some may engage in activities that make others uncomfortable. At least within The Gospel Coalition's fellowship of churches, that's a healthy debate we're happy to facilitate. TGC's Theological Vision for Ministry, a consensus document for Council members, explains their unswerving commitment to seek justice while leaving room for diverse applications.  Keep Reading>>>

The Next Big Thing

The debate over the book on The Mission of the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert [here and here] over at the Gospel Coalition and beyond is fascinating, both for its content and because it is likely a premonition of battles to come.  I have not yet read the book but the debate has pushed it to the top of my reading list and the reviews - negative and positive - lead me to believe that as of this moment I am very much with the authors not their critics on the matter of the church.

The debate reflects a number of tensions within the broader "gospel centered" scene, not least that between pastor-exegetes and leader-sociologists.   Part of the problem is that the current revival in reformed theology is not actually a revival in Reformed theology. Adherence to five or, more frequently, four points of Calvinism is that which qualifies one as reformed these days and thus as part of the movement.  Yet such adherence leaves massive and important areas of theology and church life undecided. A movement built on such minimal agreement is a movement whose strength and unity depends to a large degree on sleight of hand or at least on pretending that much else can be filed under `Agree to differ.'

The Gospel Coalition represents this in a number of ways. Its constituency enjoys consensus on a few important areas but much else is left open: some high-profile adherents regard multi-site as the wave of the future, others regard it as of the Devil; some regard T D Jakes as a Christian brother and a leader, others are horrified by him and his theology.  I suspect there is also disagreement over the issue of cultural transformation.   Keep Reading >>>

Open Letter to D.A. Carson & Tim Keller

Dear Dr. Carson & Dr. Keller --

As I begin to write this, I do so with a personal sense of indebtedness to both of you.  I am not merely grateful for your books and lectures and sermons which have taught me so much: I am grateful for the spirit with which you have done it all.  That is to say: while I am well-known through a reputation of being quite a pill for the sake of the Gospel, you both are known as fatherly men who have a graciousness I am certain I lack, and it is that spirit from which I learn much all the time.

Recently, you have both penned a detailed statement about the nature of the Gospel Coalition, and about its duties or relationship to its readers and also its council members.  I found this essay instructive, and useful, and clarifying in the context it was coming from, but in my view, it misses the point of the concerns of almost all the critics of the dust-up over the Elephant Room.  I wanted to offer to you an outsider's perspective on what just happened and why it is not enough merely to say what you have said so far.    Keep Reading >>>

Church Size: The Fault Line in the Movement

It can be good to have a "tribe" (e.g., Acts 29, 9Marks, SGM, the PCA)  where you resonate with the philosophy of ministry and get good resources for your work.  I'm also glad for what God is doing to bring people together across Reformed "tribes" through movements like T4G and The Gospel Coalition. Part of what God seems to be doing is forging trust and partnerships between groups that do things differently.

 

But from my observation (at conferences and in personal conversations), there seems to be still be a fault line running through us: church size.  I've sat in conferences where the speakers talk as if you aren't a good pastor until your church hits 2,000 people in attendance.  I've also heard small church pastors who seem to assume that large crowds always indicate that the message is being watered down.

A few suggestions on the matter:

• Drop the "better than" language.
  

Large churches aren't better than small.  And vice versa.  I don't care what your surveys say, you can easily find examples and statistics to show the superiority of whatever it is that you happen to be doing.  The fact is, some churches grow big because the ministry is faithful and the Lord is blessing.  Others grow big because the itching ears of the masses are being appeased.  Some small churches are doing great work in difficult places.  Others are small because they are lame and ineffective.  Most churches (big and small) do some things well and other things less well.     Keep Reading >>>

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Themelios 36.2

The Gospel Coalition just released the latest issue of Themelios. It is available as a 199-page PDF and in HTML.

1. D. A. Carson | Editorial: Generational Conflict in Ministry
2. Carl Trueman | Minority Report: A Word to the Conscience
3. Scott M. Manetsch | Is the Reformation Over? John Calvin, Roman Catholicism, and Contemporary Ecumenical Conversations
4. John C. Peckham | Intrinsic Canonicity and the Inadequacy of the Community Approach to Canon-Determination
5. Mark R. Saucy | Canon as Tradition: The New Covenant and the Hermeneutical Question
6. Dan Strange | Not Ashamed! The Sufficiency of Scripture for Public Theology
7. Sinclair B. Ferguson | A Preacher’s Decalogue
8. Book Reviews
   1. Old Testament | 2 reviews
   2. New Testament | 16 reviews
   3. history and historical theology | 6 reviews
   4. systematic theology and bioethics | 12 reviews
   5. ethics and pastoralia | 5 reviews
   6. missions and culture | 12 reviews
   
   Gospel Coalition 
   

Eschatological Essentials

Sam Storms, The Restoration of All Things (The Gospel Coalition Booklets; Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), pp. 7–8 (numbering added):

The eschatological hope of the Christian is summarized well in the thirteenth and final article of The Gospel Coalition’s Confessional Statement. This statement does not address the variety of end-time scenarios present in the evangelical world but is designed to identify those essential elements of our eschatological hope that are embraced by all who affirm the authority of the inspired text. It is, therefore, a broadly evangelical statement that avoids the denominational and sectarian distinctives that have so often marred the discussion of God’s end-time purposes. It reads as follows:

1. We believe in the personal, glorious, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ with his holy angels,
2. when he will exercise his role as final Judge,
3. and his kingdom will be consummated.
4. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust—the unjust to judgment and eternal conscious punishment in hell, as our Lord himself taught,
5. and the just to eternal blessedness in the presence of him who sits on the throne and of the Lamb, in the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness.
6. On that day the church will be presented faultless before God by the obedience, suffering, and triumph of Christ, all sin purged and its wretched effects forever banished.
7. God will be all in all and his people will be enthralled by the immediacy of his ineffable holiness, and everything will be to the praise of his glorious grace.

HT: Andy Naselli

What You Do In Your Hotel Room Gives Witness: A Warning for Conference-Goers

Jason Helopoulos offers a wise warning for those attending the upcoming Gospel Coalition Conference, and for attendees of any conference really, and you should read it. I'd like to renew a different sort of caution of my own from the lead-up to last year's T4G:

A word of warning for the thousands entering Chicago next month for The Gospel Coalition Conference: what you do in the privacy of your hotel room can be a witness against the gospel. Think this is unwarranted?

From Steve Farrar's Finishing Strong:

A number of years ago a national conference for church youth directors was held at a major hotel in a city in the mid-west. Youth pastors by the hundreds flooded into that hotel and took nearly every room. At the conclusion of the conference, the hotel manager told the conference administrator that the number of guests who tuned into the adult movie channel broke the previous record, far and away outdoing any other convention in the history of the hotel.

My friend Justin Holcomb helped me in looking into this phenomenon, recalling from his own research in an email to me: Read it HERE

Five Concerns about the Merging of Charismatic and Calvinistic Doctrine

There has been an attempt in recent days by some to merge Calvinism and the charismatic movement. Several factors have influenced this trend. Here are three:

First, movements and ministries like “Together for the Gospel” and “the Gospel Coalition” have commended charismatic ministers, churches, and their practices to young Calvinistic ministers and their churches.

Second, the merging of charismatic and Calvinistic theology has been promoted among young ministers by the widespread use and influence of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology in various evangelical schools and seminaries. Although there is much to commend in the devotional quality of Grudem’s work and in his generally Calvinistic Baptist perspective, reformed readers will not be able to affirm his advocacy of charismatic practices in the church.

Third, and perhaps most significantly, charismatic influenced “third wave” contemporary Christian music has largely replaced “traditional” worship liturgies in most evangelical and conservative Protestant churches, and now many of the lyrics for the newest songs are being influenced by the doctrinal resurgence of Calvinism.
Why should one be wary of this merging of charismatic and Calvinistic theology? Here are five specific concerns: Read them HERE