Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology MP3s

For those who have Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, you can find the MP3 series by Wayne based on this Systematic Theology, here.

Using words of grace

Paul Tripp gives us food for thought on the words we use.

Formerly gay

Related to my earlier post on Ray Boltz coming 'out,' declaring that he is gay, visit the formers:

"a place of fellowship for those who have found healing from same-sex attraction -- or are on that journey -- and their supporters."

It is a

"haven where you will find encouragement and where we can share thoughts, testimonies and concerns. As iron sharpens iron, let us strengthen and edify one another as we face the day-to-day challenges of living in a world that is growing increasingly hostile to those who stand on the truth of God's Word, which says that homosexual acts are sinful."

New Covenant Journal website

A new online journal has seen the light:

"New Covenant Journal is devoted to proclaiming the excellencies of the Lord Jesus Christ and the New Covenant in His blood. Its ambition is to express how Jesus Christ is the story of sacred Scripture, and how His sovereignty and grace should shape our beliefs and behaviors. Specifically, we desire to persuade Christians that what has come to be called New Covenant Theology (NCT) is the best way to understand the Scriptures (indeed, the way the Bible interprets itself)."

You can visit the New Covenant Journal here.

Ray Boltz reveals he is gay!

An article on 12 September in the Washington Blade, an LGBT newspaper, revealed that Ray Boltz, singer of Christian hits such as 'Thank you,' 'Watch the Lamb' and many more is gay. Boltz's divorce from his wife was finalised earlier this year.

Boltz, in the article said that he does not "want to be a poster boy for gay Christians." I have one question on that statement. Would we ever talk of being poster boys for fornicating Christians, or perhaps for adulterous Christians?

Go figure!

HT: Justin Taylor

Update:
Tim Challies has written a very good short commentary on this issue. He writes:

"There are essentially two ways that humans can understand the world. The first way is the way we all understand the world until the Holy Spirit intervenes in our lives and gives us new eyes to see. This worldview is I-centered. I am the center of my own universe and the arbiter of all truth. I may not vocalize things in just this way and may not even think them quite like this, but it is ultimately what I believe. I believe that I am capable of looking at the world and understanding the way it works—who God is, who I am, the relationship between us, and so on.

"The other way of seeing the world is God-centered. Here I acknowledge God as the center of all that exists and the arbiter of all truth. Everything that is true and everything that is knowable has its source in Him. Thus I can only interpret the world properly by rightly acknowledging God. This is, obviously, the biblical worldview. It is God who tells me who He is, God who tells me who I am and God who declares the terms of the relationship between us."

Read more about what Tim wrote here.

Western Christianity

Stephen J. Nichols wrote a book called "Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to the Passion of the Christ." The book opens up American, and indeed Western, Christianity, and shows that even while it runs very wide across American society, it actually is only an inch deep.

Collin Hansen wrote a review of the book here.

As a foretaste, here is an excerpt from the review:

"'Today's American evangelicals may be quick to speak of their love for Jesus, even wearing their devotion on their sleeve, literally in the case of WWJD bracelets,' Nichols writes. 'But they may not be so quick to articulate an orthodox view of the object of their devotion. Their devotion is commendable, but the lack of a rigorous theology behind it means that a generation of contemporary evangelicals is living off of borrowed capital.'

"Nichols's declension narrative begins with kind words for the Puritans. He shows how Jonathan Edwards, the Connecticut pastor who preached 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' in 1741, paired deep devotion to Jesus Christ with meticulous theology. He introduces readers to Edward Taylor, another Puritan pastor serving on the colonial American frontier. In between raids by neighboring Native Americans, Taylor wrote breathtaking poetry extolling his love for Christ in rich theological language. As Nichols's story unfolds, Westminster Theological Seminary founder J. Gresham Machen emerges as another hero who defended the historic creeds as they testified to Jesus."

R.C. Sproul has also written an article about the condition of the modern church in America, and of course the whole of the western church.

Sproul wrote:

"I've often wondered if Luther were alive today and came to our culture and looked, not at the liberal church community, but at evangelical churches, what would he have to say? Of course I can't answer that question with any kind of definitive authority, but my guess is this: If Martin Luther lived today and picked up his pen to write, the book he would write in our time would be entitled The Pelagian Captivity of the Evangelical Church.

"Luther saw the doctrine of justification as fueled by a deeper theological problem. He writes about this extensively in The Bondage of the Will. When we look at the Reformation and we see the solas of the Reformation-sola Scriptura, sola fide, solus Christus, soli Deo gloria, sola gratia-Luther was convinced that the real issue of the Reformation was the issue of grace; and that underlying the doctrine of sola fide, justification by faith alone, was the prior commitment to sola gratia, the concept of justification by grace alone."

You can read Sproul's article, "The Pelagian Captivity of the Church" here.

Baby preacher

Babies and toddlers can sometimes be so cute. Yet, sometimes, there hides something deeper, underneath all the cuteness, in situations like the one below.

What seems cute, may actually be more of a commentary of how things stand, than have anything to do with a baby's cuteness.

Kids learn from adults, and if this kid learnt from the preachers at this church, then I can just imagine what is being preached there. Lots of shouting and emoting, but probably no real content.

Anyhow, depending on who watches the video, it could either be cute and funny, or tragic.

Lakeland Revival: Not so much!

The Lakeland Revival has been going for a while with Todd Bentley at the helm.

Well, it seems that all is not well in paradise, so to speak! Todd and his wife are having marital problems and are separating.

From an article by Marsha West:

"What did Fresh Fire Ministries know and when did they know it? I'm talking about Todd Bentley's marriage, which is in shambles. According to the statement posted on the Fresh Fire website it would appear that the board of directors have known for quite sometime:

"'Undoubtedly the pressures and the burden of the Outpouring, which approaches 144 days on August 23rd, have helped to create an atmosphere of fatigue and stress that has exacerbated existing issues in their relationship (emphasis added). We wish to stress however, that the Outpouring is not 'to blame' for the current chain of events and that in effect we have no interest in blaming anyone, but rather we deeply covet your prayers for Todd and Shonnah and for Fresh Fire Ministries during this time.'"

Continue reading Marsha's article here.

Bill Randles has written a very probing PDF article on Todd Bentley and the "revival."

"What we are seeing in the so-called Lakeland revival, did not come like 'a rushing mighty wind' out of heaven (cf. Acts 2:2). Rather it is the direct result of several 'streams' that have converged over the last twenty years. The roots of Todd Bentley's experienced based revival, are manifold. They include the Kansas City Prophets of the late 1980's and early nineties, John Wimber's Vineyard movement, South African Evangelist Rodney Howard Browne, the Toronto Blessing, and the subsequent Pensacola Revival which led directly to Lakeland Florida and Todd Bentley. A major common denominator, which runs through all of these streams, is an emphasis on an experience called spiritual drunkenness!

"There can be no denying that Bentley is a direct result of the so called Kansas City Prophets. He himself defers directly to two of these prophets openly, in spite of the moral collapses of both of them. Bentley calls a Bob Jones a mentor, and a seer. Jones had to leave the ministry after having to confess to using his prophetic office to disrobe women. But to Bentley, Jones is a spiritual father. It was Jones' teaching that encouraged false prophecies in the church by encouraging 'young prophets' that they need not be 100% accurate, and that it was a good thing that the accuracy was so low, otherwise there would be a whole lot of Ananias's and Saphirra's!"

Continue reading Bill's article here.

You can also read more about Todd and the Lakeland Revival expose here.

Finally, here is a humorous, yet sad account of what is going on at Lakeland.

Update:
28 Aug 2008 - Do we desperately need closure from Tod Bentley? Jan Markell thinks so! ( I do too!)

The Shack: putting God in the dock

The book by William Young, The Shack, is selling like hot cake. Yet, is that a good thing?

Read this review by Gary Thomas.

The strength of Christ in a time of grieving

Join New Apologetics blog

For those that are keen apologists, here is your chance to join an apologetics blog and to put your brilliant thinking to work. However, you will have to read the requirements first.

Go to The Biblical Thinker Blog and see if you will fit in!

Illegitimate Totality Transfer

At Theological Word of the Day, they have a phrase called Illegitimate Totality Transfer.

The meaning is given as:

"In biblical interpretation, this refers to the illegitimate transfer of a word’s total possible meaning, with all its variations and nuances, and forcing them all into a particular context. For example, if one were to do a word study on the Greek word phile, one would find that it could mean “affection, friendship, love, or kiss.” The context must decide. The illegitimate totality transfer occurs when one forces all of these meanings into one passage, without consideration of which nuance best fits the context. This is a common interpretive fallacy."

This even appears in Bible translations. A specific translation comes to mind... the Amplified Bible. I have another name for it... the Multiple Choice Bible.

Less marriage, less church

Interesting study on the relation between marriage and church attendance:

"Brad Wilcox, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, said the biggest factor driving the decline in church attendance is delayed marriage.

"'Marriage is a gateway into family life, and family life, in turn, is often a gateway into church attendance,' he said. 'The longer people postpone marriage, the less likely they are to attend church at a given age, and also the less likely they are to attend church down the road.'"

Continue reading Devon Williams' article, "As Marriage Declines, Church Attendance Falls", here.

Son of top Hamas leader converts to Christianity

"Masab Yousef, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheik Hassan Yousef, revealed for the first time in an exclusive interview with Haaretz newspaper that he has left Islam and is now a Christian. Prior to the interview’s publication last Thursday, Yousef’s family did not know of his faith conversion even though he is in regular contact with them.

'[T]his interview will open many people's eyes, it will shake Islam from the roots, and I'm not exaggerating,' Yousef, who now resides in the United States, said. 'What other case do you know where a son of a Hamas leader, who was raised on the tenets of extremist Islam, comes out against it?'"

To find out more, continue reading here.

Worship Matters: A Review

When it comes to book reviews, you will soon realise that I am no professional book reviewer.

The book I am reviewing here is:
TITLE: Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God
AUTHOR: Bob Kauflin
PUBLISHER: Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois
YEAR: 2008; first printing 2008.
ISBN-10: 1-58134-824-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-58134-824-8

After reading Bob's blog post Free Copy of Worship Matters for Twenty Bloggers, I decided to "apply" for this rare opportunity to read a book about worship from a Reformed-Charismatic perspective. I have read my share of worship books from the ordinary, run-of-the-mill, charismatic authors, but never one by a reformed worship leader. Well, Bob chose me as one of the reviewers for his new book, and I hope that I do his book justice.

Worship Matters is divided into four parts:
Part One: The Leader
Part Two: The Task
Part Three: Healthy Tensions
Part Four: Right Relationships

Throughout the book Bob gives practical examples from his own life and his ministry in worship. His examples do not only include the good stuff, but also point out how, in his own life, he at times messed up in his worship ministry, and how he, through the work of the Lord in his life, got things back on track.

What I do like about this book, is the fact that it is not a manual on how to get the people in the pews all hyped up so that they could feel like they are praising and worshipping God. Bob brings the concept of worship back to basics. For too long the modern church has made singing on Sundays the only barometer of a person's or a church's level of worship. Bob uses the Bible to show that singing is only a part of worship. Worship is far broader than that! Worship includes everything in our lives, from the time we wake up till the time we go back to sleep. True worship is doing all things to the glory of God. Worship is not really about getting, but about giving. Giving glory to God!

In Part One: The Leader, Bob handles everything about the worship leader. His heart, mind, hands and life. What does the worship leader love? Is it reputation, control, acclaim? Or does the worship leader love God? "Here's my sobering discovery. I learned that I could lead others in worshiping God and be worshiping something else in my own heart." p25.

Apart from the usual emphasis on the heart of the worship leader, Bob also puts emphasis on his mind. A worship leader must also look after his doctrine. "The better (i.e., the more accurately) we know God through his Word, the more genuine our worship will be. In fact, the moment we veer from what is true about God, we're engaging in idolatry." p28. A worship leader should be studying the Bible without making the mistake that it is an easy task to study the Bible. Yet, the Bible is the foundation of what we believe about God.

Bob moves on to the skill of the worship leader. Bob contrasts the two opposing ideas about skill in worship leaders. Some would like a worship leader to simply have the heart for the job, while others want the person to have the right skill. Both sides are relevant to leading worship. While skill will not make our worship more acceptable to God, it does help us to focus on God and to serve the church better. Skill should be developed, and that developed skill will benefit the church as well as the worship leader. Bob suggests a few areas in which skills need to be developed: leadership, musicianship, communication and technology.

Next, we look at the worship leader's life. What kind of life does he model? "In my experience, this is rarely the emphasis among worship leaders. Godly example is too often assumed or ignored, while public gifting is highlighted and exalted. But Paul can't imagine a leader whose personal life doesn't commend his message." p44. The worship leader should set an example, not just while leading the singing but also in all of life, speech, conduct, love, faith and purity.

In Part Two: The Task, Bob answers the question, "So what does a worship leader do?" In chapter 6, with this same title, Bob builds up a working definition of a worship leader. He came up with the following:

A faithful worship leader
magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit
by skillfully combining God's Word with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the gospel,
to cherish God's presence,
and to live for God's glory.

Then, to answer the question above, Bob unpacks this definition, line by line, phrase by phrase, into a further eleven chapters in Part Two.

I am not going to handle each of these chapters in this review, since the review will become a small book in itself. In starting to unpack his definition in chapter 7, A faithful worship leader..., Bob stresses the fact that a worship leader must be faithful in leading the congregation towards true worship. "If our leadership focuses on musical experiences, we'll reap a desire for better sounds, cooler progressions, and more creative arrangements. If we sow to immediate feelings, we'll reap meetings driven by the pursuit of emotional highs. If we lead in such a way that we're the center of attention, we'll reap a man-centered focus, shallow compliments, and ungodly comparisons." p60.

In worship, it is primarily God's greatness that must be emphasised. In worship we explore God's nature and His works. It is for this reason that theology is important in worship. In exploring God's greatness in worship, we need to be constantly reminded that Jesus Christ is our mediator. And,... Jesus is our mediator exactly because of His substitutionary death on the cross.

From this point Worship Matters takes us into the much disputed waters of the Holy Spirit. Even though chapter 10, ...through the power of the Holy Spirit..., is a short chapter, it is refreshing to see a reformed worship leader come forward with a solid explanation of our dependence on the Holy Spirit in worship. I think sometimes that reformed circles have an overbearing Christology, and not a solid enough doctrine of the Trinity that includes a strong Pneumatology. Bob Kauflin points us to that end.

Bob then lays down the crux of the matter in chapter 11, ...skillfully combining God's Word..., by saying, "Our churches can't be Spirit-led unless they're Word-fed." p89. This has been a theme right through Worship Matters. Our foundation for matters of faith and life, is the Bible. In order to ensure that our worship is Word-centered, we need to treasure God's Word, sing God's Word, read God's Word, show God's Word and pray God's Word.

Chapter 12 and 13 handle music in Sunday worship. This has been a hot potato for many years. Should we use contemporary worship songs or hymns? Bob sums this up by saying that "being emotionally affected by music and actually worshiping God aren't the same thing..." p97. Music can affect us in all kinds of settings, yet most of those settings cannot remotely be called worship. These are very practical chapters. It explains how music helps us, how music should serve the lyrics, and how music should display variety. Chapter 13 is practical in the sense that it helps us plan Sunday's songs.

Chapter 14 deals with the worship leader and how he motivates the church to worship. Worship cannot be demanded by the worship leader. He can only encourage and motivate. There are 3 ways worship leaders should not handle this. Don't demand worship. Don't manipulate people into worship. Don't project false guilt onto the church.

In chapter 15 we discover one of the main reasons for worship. "...to proclaim the gospel..." As Bob explains, "Biblical worship involves proclamation and leads to proclaiming truth with our lives. We're doing more than emoting or having 'worship experience.' We're declaring why God is so great, what he has accomplished, and all that he has promised. We all need to be reminded, and proclamation helps us remember." p129. This chapter is very central to the book, since one of the premises by the book is that worship depends on the proclamation of the truth. The gospel is central to Christian truth and therefore cannot be divorced from true Christian worship.

The worship leader must teach the church and model the idea of cherishing God's presence (chapter 16) and living for God's glory (chapter 17). In chapter 17 we read that worship should "make us humble," "make us secure," "make us grateful," "make us holy," "make us loving," "make us mission-minded" and change our lives.

Part Three: Healthy Tensions has 10 chapters. In life we continually deal with false opposites. Take the last sunset you saw. A false opposite would be to ask "Was it a beautiful sunset or was it just the sun's rays interacting with the atmosphere and dust particles that made it look that way?" This is the wrong question! It doesn't matter why the sunset looked beautiful. Just because someone can explain why the sunset looks like it does, does not mean that it is not beautiful anymore. Why do we have to choose between beauty and science in this case? Surely there are other alternatives. In the same way, there are certain tensions in worship leading that sometimes seem at odds with one another. However, they are not opposing tensions, they are complimentary tensions.

Tensions such as God's transcendence or immanence. Is worship an issue of the head or the heart? Is worship about the internal or the external? Is worship a vertical or horizontal matter? Should our worship be planned or spontaneous? Should our worship be rooted in history or should it be relevant? Should it be skilled or authentic? Should it be geared towards believers or unbelievers? Should worship be an event (Sundays) or is it for everyday? These are all questions that are skillfully answered in the 10 chapters that make up part 3. Bob writes, "With deep respect for those who've gone before us, in our church we attempt to follow three principles for ordering our services:
1. Do what God clearly demands.
2. Don't do what God clearly forbids.
3. Use scriptural wisdom for everything else.
We recognize that God hasn't given us a prescribed order of service that defines biblical worship. But we seek to faithfully apply biblical precepts and examples." p155.

Part Four: Rights Relationships, deals with the relationship of the worship leader with people in general, the church, the worship team and the pastor. Worship is not just about leading songs. It includes how we treat others, and that is just as important to God as our songs of praise are to Him. Worship leaders should not just love leading people in song, they should also love the people they lead in song.

A worship leader has to handle the people in his church with wisdom and love. How does a worship leader handle encouragement, correction or criticism from those in his church? These types of issues are handled in chapter 29. I appreciate how Bob even brings this subject back to the cross. How do we respond to criticism? Why do worship leaders resent criticism? Bob answers, "I don't believe what God has said about me in the cross. I think there must be some aspect of my life, however small or pitiful, that's praiseworthy meritorious, and beyond inspection." p223. Compliments and criticisms can be for the same type of elements in worship leading. Song choice, musical arrangements, length of the singing time, etc. If we are complimented, do we become proud, or when we are criticised, do we become defensive?

Chapter 30 deals with the worship team itself. It deals especially with the establishment of the team. Roles, standards, and commitment are discussed. It also handles the equipping of the team which includes areas such as theological growth, musical growth and rehearsals.

Chapter 31, Your Pastor, handles the often sticky relationship with the pastor. Many times worship leaders think that they perform a more essential service to the church than the pastor does. Yet, it is brought to our attention quite clearly that worship leaders serve as those under authority. A worship leader needs to listen to his pastor. This is where he will find out what the pastor prefers. How are disagreements to be handled between the pastor and worship leader?

The final chapter is a chapter written for the pastor. The book was written primarily for worship leaders, but in this last chapter, the pastor is addressed essentially as the one with overall oversight, even of worship. Here a pastor can learn what to look for in a worship leader. Qualities such as humility, Godly character, love for good theology, a gift for leadership and musical skill.

In conclusion, I appreciated Bob's constant pointing to the essentials. Not just essentials for worship leaders, but essentials of the gospel. The reminder is to have a good theology in front of us to remind us of the truth of God, in order for us to worship God truly. This book is a must read for every worship leader and pastor. It once again reminds us that worship leading is not just a repetition of songs, but the declaration of the gospel and wondrous acts of God in the midst of His people. God, and God alone deserves the glory!