I have commented several times here about the importance and impact of corporate worship. I am convinced this is a truth we need to recover. Eric Smith has written a moving account of how God rescued him at a significant crossroads in his life through the corporate singing of a local body. I commend his post to you.
Ortlund on Pride vs. Christ
Ray Ortlund’s post “I am nothing” is another helpful shot at our man-centered thinking. It is brief, but I encourage you to read it. He cites a statement from an Assyrian king:
“I am royal, I am lordly, I am mighty, I am honored, I am exalted, I am glorified, I am powerful, I am all-powerful, I am brilliant, I am lion-brave, I am manly, I am supreme, I am noble.”
He contrasts this with Christ. What hit me was how the Assyrian quote parallels how we are often encouraged to think of leadership and pastoral ministry. May we be Christlike.
Conference: “Shepherding God’s Flock”
I have the privilege of ministering alongside John Thornbury, Tom Ascol and Joseph Braden February 23-24 at a conference with the theme, “Pastoral Ministry: Shepherding God’s Flock.” I am particularly excited about the conference theme, which is the theme of this blog. These other men bring years of faithful experience in the pastorate.
The Schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, February 23
12 noon- Registration
1:30 p.m. Joseph Braden -“Our Shepherd God”
3:30 p.m. John Thornbury- “The World’s Greatest Job”
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:30 p.m. Tom Ascol- “Gospel Saturated Preaching”
Wednesday, February 24
9:00 a.m. Ray Van Neste- “Oversight of Souls: The Heart of Pastoral Ministry”
10:30 a.m. John Thornbury- “Pastoral Pitfalls”
12 noon- Lunch
1:30 p.m. Tom Ascol- “Gospel Shaped Ministry”
3:30 p.m. Ray Van Neste- “Shepherding a Rebellious People”
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:30 p.m. John Thornbury- “Jesus Christ, the Pastor’s Message”
Just for clarity (especially for my own church members) my address, “Shepherding a Rebellious People,” is not autobiographical but is a study of Moses as a pastoral example. 🙂
The conference is the 2010 Southern Baptist Founders’ Conference Midwest and will meet at First Baptist Church, St. Peters, Missouri. Information on registration, housing, etc. can be found here.
Love Bade Me Welcome
Here is George Herbert’s wonderful poetic portrayal of justification by faith:
LOVE
LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.
‘A guest,’ I answer’d, ‘worthy to be here:’
Love said, ‘You shall be he.’
‘I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on Thee.’
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
‘Who made the eyes but I?’
‘Truth, Lord; but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.’
‘And know you not,’ says Love, ‘Who bore the blame?’ 15
‘My dear, then I will serve.’
‘You must sit down,’ says Love, ‘and taste my meat.’
So I did sit and eat.
– George Herbert. 1593-1632
Give Us Songs Men Can Sing
Here is another interesting quote from Gaines Dobbins’ The Churchbook 
“Our church songbooks contain some splendid hymns, and also some which kill a congregation’s enthusiasm. From the psychological angle, a good song is one which has harmony and a stirring rhythm which lends itself to untrained male voices, as well as to graduates of conservatories of music.
Recently, I have been visiting various churches for the purpose of observing their music. Just from my listening to the half-hearted singing in many of them, I have felt sorry for the congregation, since many of the men were really trying to participate in the music but couldn’t because it was so difficult or so lacking in a strong, essential rhythm. It would be a great boon if our churches limited themselves to a few dozen of the good old hymns in which people can really participate. For church music should be sung with delight and gusto, so that the very walls almost burst outward with the hearty music. Churches need more men’s music.”
Effeminate hymns, too often employed today, handicap the clergyman, kill the interest of the congregation…” (163-64)
Value of Worship at Home
In some of my work on Baptist theology and practice I came across this quote from Gaines Dobbins’, The churchbook: A treasury of materials and methods
“Children who have learned to worship at home will not find it difficult to worship in the church. Children from worship-less homes cannot be led easily to appreciate the meaning and the value of church worship. A mark of the decadence of our civilization is the decline of family worship. Its revival would be one of the most significant signs of spiritual recovery. The use of one of the popular aids to family devotions, with suggestions for daily Bible readings and prayer, would prove of inestimable value in the promotion of worship in the home, where the best of all training in worship may be received.” (157).
Solid Ground Sale on Baptist Classics
My friends at Solid Ground Christian Books are offering a sale on 11 Baptist classics with a plan for reading them through the year. I have already taken advantage of the offer and wanted to pass along the news. The titles with descriptions are listed below. You can view the titles and place an order here.
JANUARY – Benjamin Keach The Travels of True Godliness This is a work, written in the style of The Pilgrim’s Progress, tracing the growth, struggles and temptations faced by ‘True Godliness.’ It is an enjoyable journey depicting the path of growth in holiness.
FEBRUARY – Andrew Fuller: A Heart for Missions (Pearce Bio) One of the best Christian biographies ever written! Samuel Pearce was the Baptist version of Robert Murray McCheyne–a young pastor known for godliness and zeal whose life was brief but impact was profound.
MARCH – Hercules Collins Devoted to the Service of the Temple A mighty man of God, Hercules Collins was a pastor of a very large London Congregation during the 17th century. This little book very helpfully collects some of his wonderful doctrinal and devotional writings.
APRIL – Adoniram Judson On Christian Baptism The Congregational Missionary Society was shocked when its first missionary, Adoniram Judson, adopted credobaptist views while on his way to serve in India. In this book, Judson demonstrates the nature of Christian baptism.
MAY – Southern Baptist Sermons on Sovereignty and Responsibility American Baptist history is full of great preachers. Here is a collection of sermons by Southern worthies, expounding vital topics; by Basil Manly, Sr., W.B. Johnson, R.B.C. Howell & Richard Fuller.
JUNE – John Broadus: Jesus of Nazareth Our Lord Jesus is wonderfully presented by another great Southern preacher, John Broadus.
JULY/AUGUST – Benjamin Beddome’s Exposition of the Baptist Catechism Here is a gem, long out of print, but recently reprinted. Theology is made practical by this pastor from the village of Bourton-on-the-Water in the English Cotswolds.
SEPTEMBER – Andrew Fuller: The Backslider Christians struggle with sin–this is a fact. We need to consider this truth, learn about its dangers, and find the right method of recovery. This book will help.
OCTOBER – John Bunyan: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ We can’t neglect Bunyan! In this book, he calls us to find our full satisfaction in Jesus Christ.
NOVEMBER – Benjamin Keach: The Marrow of True Justification We live in a day when the doctrine of justification by faith alone is under attack. One of our fathers, Benjamin Keach, ably explains this doctrine here. This is the heart of the gospel.
DECEMBER – Charles Spurgeon: Sermons on Men or Women of the Bible What a great way to conclude the year! As always, Spurgeon shows us how the men and women of the Bible point us to Jesus Christ.
Think and Act Locally
Barry Maxwell has a great post on the centrality of the local church in the Christian life. He particularly critiques the temptation to focus on big names and distant issues rather than focusing on personal relationships with the people with whom you are covenanted.
Here is an excerpt:
In no way minimizing the gift these pastoral and theological giants are to the church, the primary field in which our soul’s graze is our local church. It is to our local brothers and sisters we owe primary attention. It is with them we must work out God’s word and share common convictions and confession. What Piper, MacArthur, Driscoll, Sproul or you-name-him thinks about an issue is important, but not nearly as important as what our local church thinks about it. Unless we’re members of Bethlehem Baptist Church John Piper is not commanded to keep my brothers and sisters from evil, unbelieving hearts that fall away from the living God, nor we him (Heb 3.12). We as members of our local church are commanded to do so for our brothers and sisters with whom we’re covenantally committed.
Rather than immediately wonder what Piper might think, we would benefit far more by asking what our brothers and sisters might think. If I’m commanded to help my brother hold fast his confession then I’d better know what he confesses! How will Bill work out this week’s text in his marriage? In what way did Bonnie see Christ in the text this week? How do we as a church work through Jesus’ teaching on divorce or Paul’s teaching on communion? Do we insist on independence and autonomous self-study (hyper-priesthood of the believer) or do we want to work out and share convictions within the biblical community?
It matters what “those” guys think in the big picture scheme of things, but not nearly as much what “these” guys in my life think. These guys with whom I share the same cup and loaf. These guys who know my children and cry when we’re hurting. These guys who see me sin and fumble the faith. These guys who know the right ways to encourage and confront me. These guys are the theologians from and about whom I should most want to learn.
Read the whole thing.
Our Need of the Church
I recently read this quote from Gresham Machen posted by Darryl Hart. I found myself saying, “Yes!” and “Thank you Lord for my church!”
. . . whatever the solution there may be, one thing is clear. There must be somewhere groups of redeemed men and women who can gather together humbly in the name of Christ, to give thanks to Him for his unspeakable gift and to worship the Father through Him. Such groups alone can satisfy the needs of the soul. At the present time, there is one longing of the human heart which is often forgotten – it is the deep, pathetic longing of the Christian for fellowship with his brethren. One hears much, it is true, about Christian union and harmony and co-operation. But the union that is meant is often a union with the world against the Lord, or at best a forced union of machinery and tyrannical committees. How different is the true unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace! Sometimes, it is true, the longing for Christian fellowship is satisfied. There are congregations, even in the present age of conflict, that are really gathered around the table of the crucified Lord; there are pastors that are pastors indeed. But such congregations, in many cities, are difficult to find. Weary with the conflicts of the world, one goes into the Church to seek refreshment for the soul. And what does one find? Alas, too often, one finds only the turmoil of the world. The preacher comes forward, not out of a secret place of meditation and power, not with the authority of God’s Word permeating his message, not with human wisdom pushed far into the background by the glory of the Cross, but with human opinions about the social problems of the hour or easy solutions of the vast problem of sin. Such is the sermon. And then perhaps the service is closed by one of those hymns breathing out the angry passions of 1861, which are to be found in the back part of the hymnals. Thus the warfare of the world has entered even into the house of God. And sad indeed is the heart of the man who has come seeking peace.
Is there no refuge from strife? Is there no place of refreshing where a man can prepare for the battle of life? Is there no place where two or three can gather in Jesus’ name, to forget for the moment all those things that divide nation from nation and race from race, to forget human pride, to forget the passions of war, to forget the puzzling problems of industrial strife, and to unite in overflowing gratitude at the foot of the Cross? If there be such a place, then that is the house of God and that the gate of heaven. And from under the threshold of that house will go forth a river that will revive the weary world. (Christianity and Liberalism
[1923], 180-81)
Mountain Born
, Elizabeth Yates(Troll Books, 1943), pb., 118 pp.
Ages 5+
This book won a Newbery Honor Award in 1944, and it is well deserving of such an honor. I had known nothing about the book, but was looking for a brief simple read for us and found it on our shelves. It is a story about the love of a boy for an animal, growing up, gaining wisdom and responsibility, and realizing the brevity of life. It is nicely done.
The book portrays simple agrarian life with a family raising sheep and crops. The main character, a 7 year old boy named Peter, takes in a weak lamb from their flock and raises it as a pet. Along the way he is encouraged in growing to manhood by his father and an older worker named Benj. In his interaction with the sheep Peter learns responsibility, respect for the land and animals, the necessity of defense, the passing of time, and the value of work. Many good lessons come up in the book, including Benj’s references to the Bible.
This is not fine literature, but is wonderful children’s literature in the tradition of Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows. We warmly commend it.