This article by Piper is so good, and so well expresses my own thoughts about this mysterious life we live under the sun, that I just have to pass it along.

The Sovereign God of “Elfland” (Why Chesterton’s Anti-Calvinism Doesn’t Put Me Off)

Ever since my days at Wheaton College, when I followed Clyde Kilby’s advice to read G. K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy, it has been one of my favorite books. I think it’s the only book I have read more than twice (except for the Bible).

This is strange. Not only was Chesterton a Roman Catholic, he also hated Calvinism. So what’s up with me and Orthodoxy? I still think at least half a dozen Roman Catholic distinctives are harmful to true Christian faith (e.g., papal authority, baptismal regeneration, transubstantiation, justification as impartation, purgatory, the veneration of Mary). And I think “the doctrines of grace” (“Reformed theology,” “Calvinism”) are a precious and healthy expression of biblical doctrine.

Common Ground (“Elfland”)

But I keep coming back to Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. The reason is that we see the world so similarly, and the Calvinism he hates is not the Calvinism I love. Read the rest of this entry »

Christ’s Body is both ancient and ever new. She is as diverse as every time, place, race, language and culture. She is at once free in her worship, and oppressed and persecuted. She is at peace, and yet struggles within and without. But she is one body, having one Spirit, one hope of her calling; “one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in [us] all” (Eph. 4:1-6).

How is it that Christ has permitted His body, at once Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant to become three separate churches or branches Christians, all having innumerable sects and subdivisions? A mystery to be sure! And yet, it has pleased our great Savior and Lord to allow it, for good and ill. In some way, this division of Christ’s Body, the Church, redounds to His glory still.

Too often we think of our own tradition, church or denomination as being the best representation of Christianity, past or present. Don’t get me wrong: our own traditions, churches or denominations are wonderful blessings from the Lord.  Read the rest of this entry »

Amy's Forthcoming Book

My dear wife has written a fantastic book to help Christian brides to plan their wedding. Nancy Wilson has written a forward to the book, which we are very grateful for! In part she writes:

“This wedding planner walks the bride through all the preparations and keeps her focused on the important things, like staying in fellowship with her groom and her parents. It’s full of suggestions and ideas, with a strict time-line to keep the bride on task. I know I will recommend this helpful guide to all those planning weddings, and I think we’ll keep one in the church office for check out.“

It is being published by Doorpost, and should be shipping in February. It is available now for pre-order now at the Dooposts website. Doorposts has also created a website just for this book.

All Things Are Ready is a new wedding planner book that will help you organize a beautiful wedding. Unlike most wedding planners available today, this planner looks at weddings from a distinctly Christian, Bible-based viewpoint.

We’ve celebrated four weddings in our family (so far), so we were excited when Amy Hayes (who coordinated at three of our weddings), asked us to help publish her book. Amy is a pastor’s wife in our church, and she has considerable experience as a wedding coordinator and organizer.

Amy wrote this planner with two basic questions in mind: “What do you need in order to plan a wedding efficiently and joyfully?” and “What does the Bible say about weddings?”

Answering those two questions led to three basic assumptions on which this planner is based:

• Planning your wedding doesn’t have to take very long (unless you want it to).
• The cost of your wedding should not exceed what your family can afford.
• A Christian wedding is all about rejoicing in what the Lord has done in the lives of 2 people and their families.

All Things Are Ready is full of to-do lists, planning resources, tips, budgeting and timeline tools, options for personalizing your wedding, ideas for portraying biblical themes, and devotions to keep your focus on the Lord and the work He is doing in your life through marriage.

Spread the word that the difinitive book for planning weddings has now been written and is available!

Religion, including the religion of Christians, is always accompanied by rituals, symbols, traditions and specialized language that both communicate to and order the lives of the faithful. These provide a sense of transcendence (i.e. that we are doing something out of the ordinary and significant) and imminence (i.e. that we are mutually participating in the life of God and other believers in ways that seem nature and good) – without even having to think much about it. And yet, when we do think about our theology, our worship and the practices of the Church we are more richly able to live our religion. Thus, in some cases the very fact that we do things over and over again, ritually, it has a way of impacting us and transforming us unconsciously. At other times, when we are meditative and thoughtful about these things we can see them in fresh new ways, and be impacted all the more.

Sometimes it is helpful for us to be exposed to our religion in ways that are initially unconventional and even uncomfortable for us. While some people thrive on poetry, others can be bored to tears by it. The same can be said with recitations of the Bible and theological discourse. The video is an example of something religious that is for some people very appealing and edifying, and to others less so. But notice – it is not everyday speech. It is a theological reflection artistically presented that could make us stop and meditate on the truths presented in a new and stimulating way. Contextualizing the Christian message for various tastes, manners of speaking and cultural backgrounds can not only be appealing and effective for unbelievers and new Christians, it can also provide a innovative way of communicating the truth for mature and faithful believers. In the Church, we need to be open to what God is doing in and through all kinds of people as they faithfully articulate the truths once delivered to the saints in the Bible.

Actual Holiday Service Schedule of A Newberg Church

There seems be something going on in the Church that is disturbingly new (at least in my memory), which I find staggeringly ill-informed biblically and irreverently profane. It’s new in the wider sense that it would have been unthinkable through most of the Church’s history; and new even to Evangelicalism in recent times. What I am referring to is the trend of not having worship services on Christmas Day. Read the rest of this entry »