Incarnational Apologetics

I don’t think I have ever heard the term used before, but I like it. It basically means that as Christians the way we live is as much a part of the defense of the faith as the knowledge we can pour forth. I was working on my assignments for a class this week and had to submit a discussion board post on this topic. I offer it here for my loyal readers as food for thought (the blue text below).

Incarnational apologetics is a good way to describe the heart of the Christian life. We are told to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15) and we are also commanded to live in such a way that others will see it and give glory to God (Matthew 5:16). Both of these concepts are addressed in the article on incarnational apologetics.

Speaking from a personal perspective, the power of informational apologetics is extremely limited. I have long held a passion and a love for informational apologetics and I can give a lot of the answers that people are seeking. But right answers don’t result in a lot of changed lives in my experience. What I have noticed is exactly what Wheeler pointed out; people take note of lives lived in such a way that you know they are genuine in their beliefs. It reminds me of the quote I have heard, which is attributed to Brennan Manning, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

It is little wonder that evangelism finds so few people who believe us anymore. If we are people who draw near to God with our lips, but not with our lives; we will never convince the world that there is a God who loves them and sent His Son to die for them or for us.

What do you think?

The Real Deal

I have had some more discussions with some atheists and skeptics around the net and one of the issues that I have tried to hammer home is the fact that Jesus was a real human being.  He really lived and died and rose again.  The funny thing is that some people who consider themselves intelligent and may actually be smart about a great many things can be so foolish when it comes to the historicity of Jesus Christ.  For that reason, I wanted to offer a great article I came across a week or two ago regarding the historical Jesus.  I can’t remember how I first linked to it, but the article is great.  Here is a snippet of it, but you can read the whole thing by following the above link:

Even though this article is about the theory that Jesus never existed, I have begun with this digression on Shakespeare to illustrate that there is nothing unique about any conspiracy theory. They are all made up of similar elements and thrive in the same environments. All three of the reasons Jonathan Bate suggested in his book for the popularity of conspiracies about Shakespeare are present in the Christ Myth. For instance, there is no direct contemporary evidence for Jesus and we do not possess the original manuscripts of any of the Gospels. Christ Myth theorists are amateurs to whom professional scholars pay little attention. And finally, Jesus is worshipped as God. But the problem is the same as with Shakespeare – how could a religion be started by a Galilean peasant whose message spread around the world. There must, say the conspiracy theorists, be another explanation.

The similarities do not end there. The nature of the evidence brought forward by conspiracy theories is much the same whatever the subject. There is a false belief that we have relatively little contemporary evidence for the life of Shakespeare or Jesus. In fact, we know far more about both of them than almost any other personage of their times, barring military heroes and royalty. Likewise, the theorists tend to present contrived readings of the relevant texts, claiming they provide clues that simply do not stack up to careful analysis. Furthermore, the perfectly good testimony we do have for the orthodox view is rejected by the conspiracy theorist for bogus reasons. For Shakespeare we are told that all his fellow actors were in on the deception. While with Jesus, we are told we cannot trust any Christian text. In other words, the people most interested in both Jesus and Shakespeare, their followers and colleagues respectively, should be debarred from giving evidence.

I don’t think many athiests realize how silly it is for them to call the existence of Christ into question, but I offer this humble submission for their benefit and knowledge.  The other reason for offering this is because it is on Jesus that the knowledge of God rests.  People want to know how they can know which religion is true or what is true; Jesus said that He is the way the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).  It starts with knowing about Jesus and understanding that He is who He claimed to be: God’s Son.  Being able to understand the evidence supporting Christ’s resurrection, starts with acknowledging that He actually walked the earth.  Jesus is the Real Deal.

A Fun Nugget from the Bible

Who says that the genealogies are boring?  OK, I will admit that I have said it a time or two, but I love seeing this kind of thing.  I haven’t had the time to track down these Hebrew words in my lexicon as a doublecheck, but I have found this guy to be pretty reliable with these kind of things and I couldn’t resist passing it on.  Check out the message that God has given in the genealogy from Adam to Terah.  I am pasting it below in the form I got it from El Shaddai Ministries pastor Mark Biltz.

If you take the first letter of every name in the begats from Adam to Terah, (Abraham’s father), it forms an acrostic that becomes an exciting revelation of God’s redemptive plan!

A Very Busy Month

I think I may start to sound like a broken record, but this month is absolutely crazy.  I had a feeling it would be tough to squeeze everything in and I guess I was right.  We started the month with a great Bible study conference at the church and I thoroughly enjoyed the time with Bro. Mike both in study and in fellowship as well.  After he left, I had a week to recover and focus some on my classwork for a book study in Isaiah before my parents and sister and her boyfriend came to visit us for a week.  They arrived a week ago Saturday and Sunday night we did a concert at the church right off the bat.  Monday we went to see friends who have just moved to Devils’ Lake and Tuesday we took the kids for a special treat to Grand Forks.  Plus we squeezed in the usual ball games and other activities and made a full week out of it.

Now, I have the realization that I have a paper to complete for my class on Isaiah that has very little work completed so far and I also have two other classes that start this week as well.  I have two weeks of overlap that contain three classes, so I don’t imagine I will catch up on the blog posts that I am really itching to do and have saved links and stories for so far in the last few weeks.  If I get ahead on the paper, I will try and post some comments in the discussion on the Rapture paper from my last class and you can also look for a post on the latest blow to evolutionary “science” and perhaps some musings on the historicity of Jesus Christ as well.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of those who come by and read regularly at the blog and apologize for the lack of content and interaction the last few weeks.  God bless.

Ministry: Calling or Career?

I know where I stand on this issue, but I would like to throw some thoughts out there for everyone else who wanders by here to read from time to time and get some feedback.  The impetous for this post comes from a story on FoxNews online: Harsh Job Market Has Students Flocking to Religious Education Graduate Programs.  I saw the headline and it troubled me a little bit, but reading the story proved to be more disturbing yet:

The explanation resonates strongly with Stephen Blackmer, who will begin studying for a master of divinity at YDS this fall. Blackmer, 53, had worked in conservation and sustainable development for nearly 30 years before answering a call to join the ministry.

This sounds good so far, but then he explains his “calling” and I started to wonder:

Blackmer said his experience has taught him that the main obstacle to slowing climate change is not technological or economic, but spiritual.

“Climate change is in effect a spiritual problem, because we’ve developed the technologies to protect the world from climate change, but not the wisdom to use them,” he said.

Blackmer, who said he hopes to join an “environmental ministry” after graduating, said the slumping economy made his decision to attend divinity school easier.

“If things were going gangbusters and there were opportunities all over the place, I might not have looked to the ministry at this time,” Blackmer said.

What in the world is an “environmental ministry” anyway?  Have we gotten so off the tracks here in America that we are ministering to things instead of people?  Even more bothersome is the direct admission that this guy is going to school for “ministry” because he couldn’t find anything else to do.  Somehow, I don’t think that is exactly what was meant by the quote, “if you can’t do anything else, preach.”  The drumbeat continues however:

But for other students, the impact of the economy has been more direct. Smoot Carter, 23, will enroll at YDS right out of college after rejections from business schools stymied his career plans. He hopes that after his two-year program, he’ll be able to pursue a career in public service.

“The reason I applied to divinity school was because the market wasn’t providing the opportunities to enter into the business field, while at the same time the business schools were pursuing students with more experience,” Carter said. “I was kind of stuck in the middle.”

Like Blackmer, Carter said the economy ripened a desire he had to pursue a religious education, which had been an interest of his for some time but had not been considered a serious option.

If this is the attitude of even a quarter of seminary students who are heading into ministry in a local church or a mission field somewhere, the body of Christ is in serious jeopardy of losing its heart and soul for real Great Commission work.  I understand that the economy may cause more people to look for answers, but I didn’t expect that it would get people to try “being a minister” to see if it might be a good career fit for them.

Listen.  I am a minister of the Gospel and not by my own choosing.  God chose me for this and has made me what I am.  Honestly, I would do what I do with or without a paycheck and I have prooved that time and time again.  I am priviledged to be able to minister full time to a small church and community here in the northland of the country and support my family at the same time.  I didn’t go into ministry because of the “job opportunities”; I was drawn into ministry by the one who saved me and gave me life.  Frankly, this cavalier attitude toward ministry as a career path makes me sick.  Paul cautioned against it in his writings and I can understand why.  What do you think?

Liberty in Law

These days the thought sounds contradictory to most anyone I would venture.  Yet it comes directly from Scripture.  “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” – James 1:25.  How many of us truly believe this anymore?  Everywhere we look now, it seems the world is turning itself upside down.  What is the problem?  What lies at the root?

The real root of the problem is the complete loss of objective law or standards in modern society.  In a sense, modern and postmodern man has become a “law unto himself.”  We live in a day much like the period of the Judges of the Old Testament where everyone does what is right in his own eyes.  I have lost track of the number of times I have heard things like, “well that might be true for you” or some modern variation of Pilate’s age-old question, “What is Truth?”  Science wants to define truth based on observation and consensus, but it can’t resolve the matter of objective truth.  All sorts of religions talk about truth, but so many of them say that we are all going in the same direction even when people are demonstrably heading down opposite paths.  Christianity however is based on One who claims to “be” Truth. 

What a week it has been

I have been a very bad blogger, and I am not going to offer any lame excuses for it this time.  I just want to fill you all in on the amazing things that God has done.  School has been interesting and I am only taking one class at the moment because I expect this first part of the summer to be a little crazy.  I have not been disappointed.  This past weekend was graduation weekend here in Langdon, which is always a busy time.  It was also the time to celebrate an early 50th birthday for one of our church members.  We had a very busy Saturday, but it was a lot of fun hanging out and fellowshipping with our family in Christ here in Langdon.  Sunday, I preached a message from Leviticus 19, but an uncooperative microphone rendered the message indecipherable so I couldn’t post it at all.  Leviticus isn’t the most popular preaching material for most preachers, but this was a God ordained thing.  I am between books and we have Bro. Mike coming this Sunday to start a series of Bible studies this coming week, so I didn’t want to start a new book and that is where God led me to go.

Jesse is on the left and Ricky is on the right

I had no way to know what all God had in store for Sunday though.  This past Sunday, we had a great group of folks in our worship service and quite a few guests.  We also had a couple of guests from way out of town.  An evangelist who is traveling through America by bicycle to proclaim the gospel had found his way to Langdon and wandered by our church on foot the night before.  We were blessed to have Jesse Boyd and Ricky Springer in our midst that morning.  Jesse is part of Full Proof Gospel Ministries and you can read more about his trip and his minstry at these links.  After the service Sunday morning, one of our church members offered to have Jesse and Ricky out to her home for lunch and I volunteered to give them a ride out there.  I stayed out there to enjoy the fellowship and decided to offer a place for these brothers to stay for the night.  They were camping in the city park, but the weather was supposed to turn cold and rainy and I knew it wouldn’t be any fun to camp in it at all.  Besides, with rain in the forecast for the entire day Monday, they weren’t going to get back on the road.  They agreed to stay with us Sunday night and also Monday night when the weather turned out as bad as promised.  We were blessed to have the time to fellowship and share with these guys as they are just starting this leg of the journey.  Please pray for Jesse as he continues to cycle the northern plains and heads for Cananda and Alaska.  We got a picture of them with me and the kids before they headed out on Tuesday morning.Tuesday, we went to Grand Forks and got great news on Jonathan’s eyes.  They are reducing his prescription yet again and are pleased with his progress.  It was a long day though and we didn’t get home until almost 10 PM.

One other note, is that Monday was the thirteenth anniversary for Amelia and me.  I surprised her with a quiet candlelight dinner at the church and 13 red roses.  I also cooked all of the food (mozzarella sticks, chicken alfredo and breadsticks) and she didn’t have to lift a finger.  We had a babysitter for a while yet and spent the rest of our time that night bowling, which was a lot of fun.

Tonight, the city had a remembrance service for five people who were killed in a tornado that devestated much of the town in 1909 on this date.  It was a really well done service and a neat occaision.  I was honored to be asked to participate by saying a prayer at one of the cememtaries where wreaths were laid on the graves of the victims (one of which was a 5-week old baby).  They also put up a plaque in town on the square.

Unconditional Love

My wife is the most amazing person I know.  She has repeatedly blown my mind with her love and acceptance and grace and wisdom and beauty.  I am so blessed that God sent her into my life and has allowed us thirteen years of married bliss so far.  Thirteen years ago today, I said I do and it is still just as true today.  In fact, it is more true today, because it has been tested by time and trial and hard times and temptations and all of those things that life can dish out.  I can say that I love my wife more today than I did then, and I never would have thought that was possible on that day.  My wife knows more about me than anyone else alive and she loves me anyway.  It is a powerful picture to me of the love that God has for each of us.  The love that caused Him to send Jesus Christ to die in our place so that we could be His sons and daughters through faith and show that love to others. (1 John 4:7-12)

I just wanted to take a few moments today to let the whole world (at least the dozen or two that read this blog) what a blessing she is to me every day.  I am constantly reminded as I watch her care for our kids and care for me and give to others from herself and her talents, that she is an incredible woman and a blessing from God.

The Rapture Files

Well, the paper has been graded and I got a favorable response and critique from the professor.  I am actually quite happy, as I have managed to earn A’s in all four of my classes from this spring.  That is no small feat and I feel very blessed at the return on all of the hard work that has been put in so far.  I am just over halfway now to my MA in Religion and I am now starting a class that is an intensive study of the book of Isaiah.  I love it already.

In any event, some have asked about the paper that I did for my theology class regarding the rapture.  I have converted the paper to a PDF file using OpenOffice so that anyone should be able to read it at will.  The Rapture of the Church Research Paper.  Just click on the link and enjoy.  I will say that I am aware of a few shortcomings in the paper already.  It was not as comprehensive as I would have like to be due to time and space contraints, but I think it makes for an interesting discussion starter.  Let me know what you think in the comments and we can have a friendly discussion about the return of the Lord and the rapture of His people.

Church Hopping, Faith Shopping or Pretense Dropping

Just a few short weeks ago, the InternetMonk made a name for himself and got a whole lot of attention with a few posts about the coming Evangelical collapse (those are two posts, but there are more on his site).  It was intriguing reading and much of what he said made a lot of sense, but I think there may be more to the story.   A recent story and survey about America as a nation of religious drifters caught my eye a few days ago and I am just now able to get around to writing my thoughts on it.  The article seems to indicate that those who are “religiously unaffiliated” or were reported as such, are not flocking to godlessness or atheism as some suspected.  In fact, some of those people end up coming right back to where they started.

I found these paragraphs very interesting:

The 2007 survey estimated that 44 percent of U.S. adults had left their childhood religious affiliation.

But the re-interviews found the extent of religion-swapping is likely much greater. The new survey revealed that one in six Americans who belong to their childhood faith are “reverts” _ people who left the faith, only to return later.

Roughly two-thirds of those raised Catholic or Protestant who now claim no religious affiliation say they have changed faiths at least twice. Thirty-two percent of unaffiliated ex-Protestants said they’ve changed three times or more.

Age is another factor. Most people who left their childhood faith did so before turning 24, and a majority joined their current religion before 36.

In all of my years as a youth pastor, much was made about the rate that young adults drop out of the church after high school.  It is apparent that many of them return sometime later in life.  I have seen this trend up close and personal as many young people who walked away from the faith at some point in life are starting to return to it now that life has knocked them around a bit.  In fact, most of those who leave the church don’t leave their faith in God behind as much as they leave their faith in His servants:

“A lot of the unaffiliated seem to be OK with religion in the abstract,” Green said. “It’s just the religion they were involved in bothered them or they disagreed with it.”

The unaffiliated category is not just a destination. It’s also a departure point: a slight majority of those raised unaffiliated eventually join a faith tradition.

Those who do cite several reasons: attraction of religious services and worship (74 percent), feeling unfulfilled spiritually (51 percent) or feeling called by God (55 percent).

This has some implications for us as the body of Christ.  Recently, I have been preaching through 1 Corinthians and we just covered chapter 13 a couple of weeks ago.  Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians is one that every Christian should have burned into their brains and spirits.  (You can go here to take a listen to the sermon if you want.)  The point that I made then and that I think we all need to get now is that everything about us needs to be filled with love.  We need to operate in love in every area of life and everything we do.  Most of the church hopping and faith shopping comes from people hurt by a lack of love.

It doesn’t matter if you have the best programs, or the best building, or the greatest praise and worship band, or the best parking lot or the best looking pastor or anything else at all.  If you don’t have love, you have nothing!

We all want to believe that our church is open and warm and loving, and I would bet that many of them really are.  But if that is always true, why are we losing so many for so long?  Do people really flee from unconditional love in word and deed?  What do you think?