Inauguration, 2013

I just finished watching the inauguration of our President, Barak Hussein Obama.  Several thoughts came to mind as I watched.  

Jeremiah 2:8; Ezekiel 13:3

First, throughout the inauguration, we asked God to bless America.  And that request was juxtaposed with our newfound insistance that homosexuals be openly embraced in our country.  So, we asked God to bless us, even as we promote those things that God hates.  We thumbed our collective national noses at God and still insisted that He bless us.  None were more audacious than Luis Leon, who in his benediction prayed that we would be blessed, that we would be ruled in righteousness, and that homosexuals would be accepted. 

And secondly, having watched the inauguration and listened to the "prayers" and speeches of those involved, I have seen with my own eyes the way men honor God with their lips, but their heart is far from Him. 

And having said these things, I expect that in a future inauguration, I too will be formally uninvited from delivering the benediction.  Oh well.  Another un-dream gone out the window.  But in the event that I am uninvited, I think I will simply cut and paste this press release. 

A Note to Missionaries Seeking Support

More and more, we are disappointed to discover the duplicity of churches that practice "closed" communion.  We have always been glad to support missionaries from those churches who practice "closed" communion.  However, we are learning that many of these churches will take our support but would not consider supporting a missionary from a church that, like ours, practices "close" communion.  We believe this to be disengenuous and wrong. 

As a result, we have added the following to our church website, which you can also browse here.  I am including the text on my blog in order to allow missionaries and pastors an opportunity to comment.

  We receive requests for support from missionaries on almost a weekly basis, and we praise the Lord that so many have answered God's call to the mission field, rejoicing in your willingness to go. We desire to be a help to you in any way that we can, while at the same time we acknowledge our inability to support every good cause. We trust that God will bless and enable every gospel-preaching evangelist to successfully preach the gospel in the place where God sends, that God will send every called and equipped evangelist to preach in the place He has prepared, and that God will send preachers to every end of the earth. Truly the feet of those who preach the gospel are "beautiful upon the mountain."


As we cannot support every potential work for Christ, we have determined to identify those we will consider supporting. We believe that this will save you time and prevent the unfortunate conversations that can be necessary when pastors do not clearly communicate their standards. With that in mind, please observe the following:

1. We are delighted to support local church missions. It is our conviction that God has ordained churches, as opposed to individuals or para-church organizations, to establish other New Testament churches. For this reason, we have written a clear philosophy of Local Church missions, which we can e-mail to you upon request. Before requesting a meeting and/or asking to speak to our pastor, please read through our Mission's Philosophy and be sure you can agree to it.
2. Before we schedule a meeting, we need to know about you. Please send us an e-mail to include your personal testimony, statement of faith, sending church information, and a brief statement of why you believe that God has called you to your particular mission field.
3. Assuming that your statement of faith includes all the "fundamentals" that Independent Baptists generally hold in common, we want to be clear on two issues that have become an issue with us.

• First, our church practices "close" communion. We require that those who come to the table with us be baptized members in good standing of a New Testament Baptist Church of like faith and practice with ours. This has been our practice for many years now.
  
  We understand that more than a few who seek missions support from us disagree with this stand, and practice a "closed" communion position instead. Nearly half of the missionaries we support hold this same "closed" position, and do not approach this issue as a "separating" issue. However, more than a few churches who are "closed" in their communion do treat this as a separating issue. Unfortunately, many such churches are dishonest in their treatment of it as a separating issue. They separate from churches that are "close" in their communion when it comes time to give support. But when it comes time to receive support, they treat this as if it were a non-issue. We believe this to be disengenuous.
  
  If your sending church practices "closed" communion, we will be happy to allow you to present your ministry in our church, so long as your sending church would do the same for us. If, however, your sending church separates from churches that are "close" in their communion, please do not ask us to schedule you for a meeting. If, as a matter of policy, your sending church would not consider supporting a missionary that is sent from a church that practices "close" communion, then we will not consider supporting you.

• Secondly, as a church, we believe that Christians should maintain Biblical standards of dress, including standards of modesty and gender distinction. For most Christians, these positions are not controversial until it comes to the question of pants on ladies. As a matter of conviction, we believe that in order to maintain the gender distinctions required in Scripture, ladies must not wear pants or garments that look like pants (Deuteronomy 22:5). Those who serve in church ministries are expected to maintain these standards while they serve. Those who serve in a position of leadership in the church, or who minister on the platform (including singing in the choir), must share our convictions regarding dress.
  
  We believe that it is necessary that the missionaries we support also share our convictions regarding dress standards. If you share our convictions regarding modesty and gender distinctions, we will be happy to consider your ministry.

Naturally, you are encouraged to call Pastor Mallinak with any questions. If you would like to present your ministry in our church, and you feel that none of the things mentioned above will prevent that, please call us so that we can schedule a time!

Thoughts on the John Price Affair

Last week, I posted a link to the Brazil Times listing of Civil matters, one of which included the filing in civil court of John Price divorcing his wife. For those unfamiliar with this blog, John Price was my pastor in junior high and high school. Part of the work of this blog has included exposing some of his crimes against young people, mainly in order to prevent his securing a future pulpit ministry. The Internet has enabled us to prevent a predator from taking a pulpit, thus denying him access to young people. For that matter, we have successfully kept him from accessing God's people in such a spiritually authoritative way. And for that, we are grateful.

I have allowed several comments on my previous post, but I do have some thoughts on those comments. I know that this issues raises the hackles of many who were deeply affected and even offended by John Price's conduct. I am not at liberty to share the e-mails and phone calls and other correspondence that I have had with those who grew up with me, with adults who were at Freedom Baptist Church in Terre Haute at the time, and with those associated with John in more recent years. I will only say that there are many, many people who were deeply hurt. So I do understand the desire to dance on his grave a bit.

However, I want to caution those who comment here. The Bible still instructs us to act in love. And in case we were wondering what love would look like in a case like this, the Bible is very clear: Christian charity

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth (1 Corinthians
13:6).

The real work of love is in loving your enemies.

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

No true believer rejoices in this sort of thing. We mourn, not the fall of a so-called "great man," which I deny should ever be applied to John Price, but the unrepentant sin and ultimate demise of one who professed to be a child of God. Every regenerate reader of this blog who knows or who knew John Price should pray that he would repent of his sin in the style of 2 Corinthians 7:9-11.

No doubt Terry needs our prayers and (when possible) our support right now, and no doubt there are reasons why we can be glad for her. But we must also remember that her heart is breaking even now. Let our comments and discussions be moderated by these thoughts. And may God grant healing and repentance all around.

John Price Revisited

http://www.thebraziltimes.com/story/1817759.html

God Finishes What He Starts

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6)

No doubt we have all used this verse to argue for assurance of salvation. And to be sure, we find in the verse an excellently concise statement of eternal security. We have confidence, which is a sign of faith. We have Christ, which is salvation. We have an important promise - "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." All the elements from which we can be assured that Christ does not lose a Christian.

But eternal security is not Paul's point in this verse. The book of Philippians is an extended "thank you note." Paul is writing to thank the Philippians for a gift they recently sent.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you... For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3, 5)

Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. (Philippians 4:14-16)

In Philippians 1:6, Paul is in the middle of telling these believers how he thanks God for them. He says, "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing..."

And he goes on to express his confidence, that "he which hath begun a good work in you..." --- that is, the good work of generosity in supporting him and contributing to his "necessity" --- "...will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

So then, Paul is not speaking of salvation in this verse. He is speaking of their generous hearts, of their fellowship with him in the gospel. Paul attributes this good work, not to their natural disposition or propensity to be charitable, but to the Lord, Who began this good work in them.

Paul is confident that their generosity and fellowship with him in the gospel will continue, because the same Lord Who began this good work in them will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He had confidence that this would not be a passing or a fading virtue. They would not turn back from it or faint in the day of adversity. Well begun is half done, but they would continue in that good work. And he had this confidence, not because he knew their character, but because he knew Who propelled them to do this.

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."(Philippians 2:13)

By implication, we can and rightly do apply this to eternal security. If their spirit of generosity would not fail because it was God working in them, then surely their salvation would not fail either. Christ began that good work in them, the good work of generosity, because Christ had begun a more important work in them - the work of salvation. Christ would perform the one because He will perform the other.

And thus, Philippians 1:6 strengthens our conviction that the believer's security is both sure and eternal.

Exposing Their Inner Fundies

I rarely browse the blogs any more. But I was searching for something yesterday, and I encountered a blog entitled "Purpose Drivel." The title sufficiently aroused my curiosity, and curiosity being the driver of the blog-wagon, I clicked.

What greeted me surprised me. The site is dedicated to refuting "the drivel being proclaimed in the name of Christ." A number of interesting articles appeared on the front page. I did not browse the archives, because the immediate articles were enough to take up the limited time I allow for blogging.

The article that especially caught my attention is called "How to Minimize Damage When Resigning From a Mark Driscoll-like Church (Wartburg Watch)." Fascinating.

This ties together with a number of very interesting recent developments in the Evangelical Orbit that have captivated my attention, short as its span might be. Thanks to the Elephant Room, we now have prominent Evangelicals using words like "separation" and stuff. Now we have blog posts written on how to leave a "Mark Driscoll-like Church." The article referenced from the Wartburg Watch links to another article entitled "Mark Driscoll's Top Ten Manliest Ways to Die."

So apparently, evangelicals have their own Fundamentalist tendencies. Next thing, I expect to see a blog/forum called "Stuff EeVees Like." Then, we can expect to see a blog called "Evangelically Reformed," with a prominently featured "My Story" and constant references to "my time in hyper-evangelicalism," just in case anyone forgot "My Story." Why, James McDonald even rejects criticisms because the critic didn't approach him privately first. To which the hyper-Evangelicals scavenge classic Fundamentalist arguments in order to refute.

What interesting times in which we do live. The whole world exposing their inner Fundies.

Of Hair and Hair Products

Melville might be on to something...

In common life we esteem but meanly and contemptibly a fellow who anoints his hair, and palpably smells of that anointing. In truth, a mature man who uses hair-oil, unless medicinally, that man has probably got a quoggy spot in him somewhere. As a general rule, he can't amount to much in his totality.

---Herman Melville in Moby Dick, chapter 25 "Postscript."

It Took Very Little...

...to get me to stop blogging. Like, say, I had other things to do, such as driving back and forth between my house and the grocery store, and stopping on the way home to pick a dandelion.

But then, a dandelion burned my hand. Left a scar, too. It hurt.

Pardon my thievery --- I recently enjoyed reading Dandelion Fire to my kids. And the other two.

It is taking a lot to get me back into the mood to blog. But, that lot just might push me back over the edge.

Who knows.

But then, if click on the "publish post" button, I guess that would be my answer, huh.

Burn Out or Rust Out?

I feel compelled to make the following comments. Most of what I say is to both my surprise and chagrin.

It seems that in trying to correct some possible pastoral abuses of the past, seminaries are exposing their students to a recurring theme: don't burn out... be sure to get your day(s) off... marriage first, ministry second." These refrains may all be quite true, but they come with such repetitive force that I fear that the pendulum has swung from those who jeopardized their families in the name of "ministry" to men who think that they have something coming to them because they are "in the ministry." We now have men who are so thoroughly warned of sacrificing their families that they sacrifice nothing!

I say this from my own experience. After my first six months of ministry I was shocked to discover that my biggest danger was not burn out but rusting out. I was lazy! I assumed that I was putting in my forty-plus hours of the ministry, being careful to guard my "time off." But, when I added up my hours I was short of forty. How could this be true of "hardworking Jonathan?"

Fortunately it is not now true of "hardworking Jonathan." His letter was a de facto testimony to his handling of the problem.

But his letter does point to a real, ongoing problem with many in the ministry. No one keeps track of a pastor's time. There are not clocks to punch or time cards to turn in. So if a man is not a self-starter, it is so easy to come in late and go home early. It is also very easy to let prayer and sermon preparation slip, and, generally, to imagine that extraneous interests are "ministry." There is more sloth in the pastoral ministry than we like to admit.

--- Kent and Barbara Hughes, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, pp. 41-42

How to Have Revival

To publish the doctrine of a reconciled God, to tell men that the Lord has laid help upon Jesus by punishing him instead of us; to proclaim that there is life in a look at the Crucified One, to tell them that the Holy Ghost creates men new creatures in Christ Jesus, to give a full and comprehensive view of the doctrines of grace; this is one of the surest ways, under God, of promoting a revival of religion.

--- C.H. Spurgeon in Sermon #725 "A Message from God to His Church and People"

Hell is a Humorless Place

For humour involves a sense of proportion and a power of seeing yourself from the outside. Whatever else we attribute to beings who sinned through pride, we must not attribute this. Satan, said Chesterton, fell through force of gravity. We must picture Hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment.

--- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, in his "Preface to the 1961 Edition

God Knows, God Cares, God Acts

Omniscience is not ignorant; God knows. Love is not indifferent; He cares. Omnipotence is not powerless; He acts.

--- H. C. Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 88

It's Not Just My Interpretation

Some of us compartmentalize our lives. We imagine that obedience to God's Word in one area means we have obeyed in other areas. Others of us rationalize. For example, one common rationalization is the "many-interpretation" theory - that Scripture is subject to so many interpretations we cannot really know what it means. This is especially convenient when we do not like what it says! But, the fact is God's Word is generally clear. Usually, it's painfully clear. As Mark Twain once said, "It's not what I don't understand about the Bible that bothers me; it's what I do understand!"

Success, then, comes when we faithfully study God's Word and faithfully obey it, applying what we understand to all areas of our lives under the direction of the Holy Spirit. A growing knowledge of the Bible matched by a growing obedience is the path to faithfulness and success.

--- Kent and Barbara Hughes in Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, p. 40

A Passage for the Sword of the Lord

I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

Lessons of Revival

What is taught to us by a revival? I think it is just this, - that God is absolute monarch of the hearts of men.

--- C. H. Spurgeon, Sermon #296 "A Revival"

(he goes on to say, "Divine Omnipotence is the doctrine of a revival. We may not see it in ordinary days, by reason of the coldness of our hearts; but we must see it when these extraordinary works of grace are wrought."

- and then -

"So, brethren, when we see the church gradually built up and converted, we lose the sense perhaps of a present God; but when the Lord causes the tree suddenly to grow from a sapling to a strong tall monarch of the forest, then we say, 'This is God.'")

Stupid Questions

If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?

--- Scott Adams

A Blessed Farewell

We received a phone call on Friday night at around 11:30. My 92-year-old grandmother was in a car accident earlier that evening. My aunt was calling to tell me that after needing about an hour to extract her from the vehicle, they had rushed her to the hospital, life-flighted her to yet another, and rushed her into surgery. She was awake leading up to the surgery, and, according to the doctor, came through the surgery fine. But, as she was 92 years old, they said that there was a very good chance that she would not survive the night. While my aunt was explaining this to me, she received a phone call from the doctor, urging her to return to the hospital immediately.

My wife and I waited in bed, talking and reflecting. She lived a full, rich life, and was very special to us. Around 12:30, my wife said, "I think she's gone now." I called my cousin to see. She had gone on to her reward about five minutes earlier.

She was a grand old lady. I count myself blessed beyond degree to have known her, to have been able to introduce her to all five of my children, to have had the privilege of having her around for so late into my life.

When my grandfather died, some three or four years ago now, my grandmother began to look forward to the day when she could see him again in eternity. My grandfather was a godly man, and one of the great influences in my life, as well as in my ministry. Grandpa showed his piety in his love for the Word of God, in his constant references to God and to God's goodness. But my grandmother was different. Grandpa showed his piety in his zeal for the Lord. Grandma showed her piety at home. She was faithful to my grandfather. For the last several years of his life, he was unable to walk, and was unable to care for himself. My grandma cared for him. Because of his condition, she had to do everything for him... and she did these things without complaint. For those years, she was bound to him, and would not leave his side. He was everything to her.

When he died, my grandmother grieved for a long time. She wanted to go to be with him right away. But she understood that this was in God's hand. And so, she went back to living. I am very grateful for the opportunities that my grandmother had in these last years of her life. In the last couple of years, she has been able to travel to Disney, to Texas, on a Caribbean Cruise, on an Alaskan Cruise, and to spend a few months with my cousin down in Florida. I am very thankful that she was able to do so much in her last days.

But most of all, I would like to praise our Great God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, for His marvelous works on her behalf. When a loved one is taken so suddenly, so tragically, what is there to praise the Lord for? My family and I gathered together on Saturday night, as has been our custom for several years now, and listed out all the things that we had to be thankful for from the week that was then finishing. Among those things that were named, we thanked the Lord for taking my grandmother home. We thanked God because, although she was old, she remained healthy until the very end. She did not spend her last days in bed, dependent on others for her care. She was healthy right up to her final hours. In fact, the day that she died was taken up with doctor visits, shopping, and running around with my aunt. She even put in an order for a new set of teeth on that day.

We thanked God that, although we would miss her, she was even then reunited with her husband of over 65 years, and with her son (my father) who died thirty-some years earlier. We thanked God that, although we were sorry to see her go, that we could be sure of a reunion some day, when God calls each one of us home to be with Him. We thanked God that she is even now enjoying God forever. We thanked God for the wonderful assurance that He gives us, that we can know Him, and that we can know that we have eternal life.

There is so much more to say. My grandmother left us a legacy, and a great basket full of memories to cherish. I am very grateful to God for having brought us together, for giving me to her as a grandson. I will miss her. We all will miss her. But we are thankful that we can say with full assurance, that we'll not miss her forever. We'll see her again. As her faith rested fully and completely on Jesus Christ alone for salvation, we'll see her again. As surely as we will see Christ in that day, we will see her with Christ. Praise be to God!

Blessings on her memory.

Molten Blessing

Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!

More on the Obama Presidency

The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.

--- C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters, in his preface to the 1961 Edition

Endless Possibilities

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.

--- Elbert Hubbard