POC Blog

The random technotheolosophical blogging of Reid S. Monaghan

Best Reads from 2019

January 8, 2020

Now that all the lists have come and gone, I figured I would share with our friends some of the most enjoyable books I engaged with in 2019. I thought about keeping it to a “top 10” list and then it got too long. So here is my “top 10ish” books from 2019 with a few others linked in.

Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice by David Teems. If you are new to the historical person of William Tyndale this is a great place to start for both believers and non. Teems comes to Tyndale through his English translation of the Bible and its import to the English language. Teems argues that Tyndale’s work belongs next to Shakespeare in shaping the English tongues but is not often acknowledged as such. Teems makes this argument through a helpful biographical sketch that amplifies Tyndale’s own faith without being obnoxious.

The Accursed Tower: The Fall of Acre and the End of the Crusades by Roger Crowley. I am a huge fan of Roger Crowley’s works in creative non-fiction. Crowley’s interests scan the middle ages and center around various engagements with the West and the World of Islam. This book highlights the final battle for the port of Acre in the Levant. Acre was a city that was taken and retaken several times throughout the crusading era. This book focus on the final fall of this stronghold to the rising Islamic power lead by the Seljuk Turks. I recommend all of Crowley’s published works. Start with “Empires of the Sea” for an introduction or head directly to the accursed tower of Acre.

Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injusticeh by Eric Mason. I thought this was a 2018 read for me, but I finished it in January 2019 so it counts for the year. Woke Church is a great book that explains how gospel centrality and a stand for biblical justice go hand and hand. One of my favorite quotes from the work brings a needed clarity for the American church:

You have to be intrinsically changed by God in order for justice to be done. In other words, justice doesn’t come by legislation, because you can legislate things and nothing changes. We can go to the executive branch. We can go to the legislative branch. We can go to the judicial branch. We can put whatever kind of Supreme Court justices we want to put in place. But at the end of the day legislation doesn’t change hearts … only the gospel does.
Eric Mason, Woke Church, 50.

We discussed this book on Episode 39 of the Gospel Underground Podcast. Woke, Too Woke, or Broke? Too often we lack balance in discussions of justice with one’s political bent taking over immediately. We need not be blindly dismissive or excessively political correct in discussing justice. Mason’s book is helpful to Christians throughout a political spectrum.

Vices of the Mind: From the Intellectual to the Political by Quassim Cassam. This work focuses on thinking and the habits of forming beliefs and knowledge. Just are there are intellectual virtues like honesty, integrity, open mindedness, Cassam also argues there are ways of thinking that are vicious. Cassam argues that there are certain ways of thinking that are actually blameworthy. He mentions many such as pride, gullibility, self-satisfaction, excessive dogmatism, and willful stupidity among the vices of the mind. Though some may find his political examples off-putting, Cassam makes a strong case that we ought to be virtuous in our thinking. Now if virtue and vice, good and evil, are “real” this project survives. This project unravels completely when paired with any sort of moral or epistemic relativism.

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. Ok, quick confession. I read this book so I could keep talking to certain friends who were taken in by the Pentagram. Uh, I mean, the Enneagram. Just kidding. I really enjoyed this book and its introduction to what I understand to be tool for gaining self knowledge, conversations, and emotional health. I understand the issues that some have with it and also get why others find it so helpful. For me I found the Enneagram to be a tool that was good for conversations and for engaging how I interact with other people. I don’t ascribe to it any mysticism, omniscience, or divine inspiration. Oh, and I know this is obligatory so I am a 2 with a 3 wing and sometimes showed as a 3 with a 2 wing. Either way, I am loyal, deeply committed, and like to lead. This, of course, is only until things get super stressful.

The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes by Don Hoffman. This book will probably come off a bit odd to most readers. Hoffman is a cognitive psychologist at the University of California, Irvine. He works across the disciplines of Cognitive psychology, Logic and Philosophy of Science, and Computer Science. Hoffman argues that our failure to understand human consciousness, or consciousness broadly, has resulted from our materialistic assumptions. From oddities in quantum mechanics and human experience Hoffman is working on the hypothesis that mind does not emerge from matter but rather, space-time, is the operating system of a universal consciousnesses. Evolution has developed our operating system to make us think the abstraction of space-time is the real world whereas the truth is that all emerges from a broad consciousness. Is he taking a scientific route towards pantheism? Is Hoffman’s conscious realism, or further ideas such as simulationism, worth of my consideration as Christian theist? Here is his Ted Talk, Do we see reality as it is? for a quick view of his ideas.

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough. David McCullough is a beloved writer of American History whose works have been well traveled for decades. His most recent book travels with American settlers as they headed west after the founding of our republic. The title might make one think this is about heading all the way to the west coast but the scope of the work is more narrow. In fact, “West” should be understood as the Ohio territories and the move of settlers in the final decades of the 18th century. Those who want European settlement to be villainized will be disappointed here. McCullough’s telling has the settlers precarious situation and survival in a more heroic light. Furthermore, if your view of Native Americans is pristine as a people only victimized, there are some disturbing stories here as well. I have enjoyed most books by McCullough, particularly those on the Brooklyn Bridge, Panama Canal and the Wright Brothers. Though I did enjoy this work enough to pick up another volume on the Whiskey Rebellion, it was not my favorite David McCullough book thus far.

Leading - Learning form Life and My Years at Manchester United by Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz. This is a book about the life and leadership style of former Manchester United football club manager Alex Ferguson. For any fan of the premier league or world football this book is a delight. Though there is more here than fluff for the rabid football fan. The book also goes into the leadership principles that guided what many argue is the greatest football manager in history. If you want to get something from Sir Alex, I recommend you pick this up. Also, the audio book version has a proper reader with a Scottish accent. Delightful. I also read a great history of the Premier League this year entitled, The Club: How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports. Very very fun read.

In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown by Nathaniel Philbrick. Philbrick is in the midst of a run of books about the American Revolution. I read his previous works Bunker Hill and Valiant Ambition in the last couple of years. This book, like the two previous, was a wonderfully detailed account giving a window in a smaller slice of a well told history. This particular book focuses on the final days of the war and the risks, guess work, British blunders, and statesmanship necessary for the victory in the last great battle of the American Revolution. Philbrick is a masterful story-teller as well as a communicator of history. These gifts come together into a fascinating look at the decision making of Washington and others that led to the birth of a nation.

Christ and Culture Revisited by DA Carson. I’ll just post the conclusion from my full review of this book as my summary:

In the past, I have been thankful for the articles, lectures and books I have read by Dr. Carson. His intellectual rigor along with a devoted biblical commitment to Christ has continued to be a refreshing guide to my own life and faith. I think his evaluation of such an influential work like Christ and Culture is both needed and helpful for our time. His judgment that the five fold typology [of Niehbur] now seems a bit parochial, (Carson 200) I found helpful and his own path forward to be inspiring. In what seemed like a false ending, before a final post script of the book, Carson quotes CS Lewis at length to offer wisdom to our age. I found that quotation to be quite helpful,and will close my review with it as well:

What is the good of telling the ships how to steer so as to avoid collisions if, in fact, they are such crazy old tubs that they cannot be steered at all? What is the good of drawing up, on paper, rules for social behaviour, if we know that, in fact, our greed, cowardice, ill temper, and self-conceit are going to prevent us from keeping them? I do not mean for a moment that we ought not to think, and think hard, about improvements in our social and economic systems. What I do mean is that all that thinking will be mere moonshine unless we realise that nothing but the courage and unselfishness of individuals is ever going to make any system work properly. It is easy enough to remove the particular kinds of graft or bullying that go on under the present system: but as long as men are twisters or bullies they will find some new way of carrying on the old game under the new system. You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society.(Quoted in Carson, 225.Mere Christianity (1952; San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), 73.)

In light of these realities,we must take the truth of the gospel to people in culture and engage the systems and powers that be with the appropriate posture led by the Spirit of God. In doing so, we might manifest the glorious kingdom of Christ right in the midst of our time and culture.To such ends we submit our lives to our sovereign King who is to be forever praised among the nations.

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben MacIntyre. Sometimes the truth is better than fiction and this is almost always the case in the works of Ben MacIntyre. He focuses on true stories of espionage from the 20th century. This is, perhaps, one of the most fascinating. MacIntyre tells the story of KGB agent Oleg Gordievsky and his recruitment as a cold war era spy. I will ruin nothing of this amazing work and just tell you to go an grab it. Exhilarating read! If you get hooked, grab his Spy Among Friends next for a story that tells the greatest defection in the other direction from West to East.

Can Science Answer Everything? by John Lennox. This was my favorite Christian book of 2019 and also a favorite of my middle child. Lennox is a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Oxford University and an active Christian Apologist. Lennox possesses a fine scientific mind that engages ideas with precision. At the same time, he writes (and speaks) like an old Irish uncle that loves to laugh and cares about his reader. He pulls no punches but makes sure you never feel as if he’s throwing a punch at you. The book begins with a treatments of atheistic philosophies claims to be “scientific” and argues how Christian faith actually makes more sense of reality and the scientific enterprise itself. For those who enjoyed Thaxton and Pearcey’s The Soul of Science will love this book. The book ends with a more testimonial and evangelistic tone, commending the gospel to the reader. As such it is a wonderful volume to give to non Christian friends. Our family has given away a few already.

I’m looking forward to another year of engaging reads where I might learn more about God, history, technology, and our interaction with these.

May the Lord meet you in a good book and engulf your mind in his glory in the year to come. Remember, in our reading, let us not lead our focus away from the Scriptures.

11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
- Ecclesiastes 12:11-12

2018 Power of Change Annual Report

October 1, 2018

Greetings friends,

As August came to a close so did our second year of full time service to the Lord through Power of Change. During the month of September we closed our books, collated some data and looked back with a full heart of gratitude to the faithfulness of our Lord.

In this year’s report we invite you to rejoice in the work that has happened through our partnership all over the country, on the podcast airwaves and in and through many lives. We shared the gospel with young people, encouraged pastors and church planters and invested in the training of others for gospel life and mission.

Kasey and I simply send a hearty thank you and we hope that all praise and glory and honor would belong only to our King.

In Jesus,

Reid S. Monaghan

2018 Power of Change Annual Report

Click here or on either image below to load in a new window

Power of Change Update - March 2018

March 13, 2018

This month we have an audio update for our friends, family and ministry partners. May the Lord continue to give us grace to impact and influence the coming generation with the gospel.

Audio Update - March 2018

FCA Breakfast at VHSL 1A/2A State Wrestling Championships

Photos from this event by Grace Studios.

Brown University Trip

Plugged and Unplugged Life at Home

September 16, 2017

Our family is technologically oriented. It probably starts most with Dad. My undergraduate degree is in Applied Science in a computer science track. I've been a heavy user and early adopter of technology as it rolled out over the last few decades. It is my hobby, I listen to podcasts on the tech industry and news. I love it. I remember as a college student using computer software for my calendar and printing it out my day. The Palm Pilot and personal digital assistants were a revelation. They were a precursor to the convergence that would take place with phones, MP3 players and pocket computers. These devices took mainstream flight with the launch of the first iPhone in 2007.

Now smartphones and personal computing devices line our pockets, inhabit our wrists, and ride in our laps for both work and leisure. They are also taking over our lives and the lives of our family. "Screen time" is now a colloquial phrase in parenting and many times kids are handed "devices as baby sitters" at a very young age.

The drawbacks of these technologies are real: disctracted people, texting while driving, walking into telephone poles, looking at screens instead of faces, the rewiring of our brains and smashing of attention spans have all arrived. Yet the benefits to work and play have been enjoyed by millions and personal devices are revolutionizing how we do just about everything. Our devices are here and we need to engage this wisely.

In order to to live both the plugged in and unplugged life our family just took another step together towards our enjoyment of technology while minimizing its ill effects on our relationships, sleep patterns, brains and spiritual lives. The following are a few of the recent tech changes we have made at home along with some house rules we are all working to follow. Each of them includes a technological solution as well as human problem solving to change our flow in our family.

On and Off Times

The internet is always on in many of our homes through the ubiquitous flow of WiFi thoughout the house. But why? There are certain hours where I simply do not want my kids to have wifi signal. Wind down, read something, unplug, pray and talk to each other.

Technology Solution

We use a system of mesh wifi routers from Eero. They are awesome for their ability to spread your wifi through every inch of your home but they also allow you to assign various devices (like every single one used by kids) to profiles and have the Internet completely turned off. So from 10pm-6am none of the kids devices can get on the Internet. So no waking up or staying up late and getting online. Eero also has the ability to assign a custom DNS server so that those who use something like OpenDNS for filtering will be good to go.

Human Solution

Yes, we are aware of work arounds technologically, but we do what we can and trust out kids not to LTE it on their phones. Plus, the phone does not live in the bedroom. We can also turn the profile back on if homework projects are going awesome but it's going to take until 10:30pm to complete the job. Dad says yes to these type of requests.

Charging Station

There are so many times when I'm on my phone around the house and ignore people who matter to me deeply. There are also times we want set aside as no device times with our family. We also can lose devices here and there and have to ping them to trace them down. So recently we have created a new solution that solves many problems at once.

It provides full batteries for our devices
It provides a place to put our devices at dinner time and at bedtime (well, before bed time)
It allows devices to NOT live in our bedrooms, at the bedside table
It allows reading of real books at night and a time where we turn off all screens prior to going to bed
It removes the temptation to grab phones in the middle of the night
It removes the temptation to make the mass of email, texts and social media notifications first thing in the morning
It allows the first movement of the day to be before God and not instantly connected by our alarm clock/smartphones

Enter our new charging station. We created a solution and a set of house rules for its use that is already blessing our family.

Technology Solution

Here is our basic set up with links to the actual products we are using

Two Anker 5 port USB chargers
Ten 12 inch lightning charger cables
1 Mobile Vision holder thingy to tuck it all in
1 mini table commandeered from the living room
1 Power Strip to plug it all in

Power Strip

You have one laying around already, grab it and plug in. Get a surge protected one with some USB ports as well if you don't have something laying around the house already.

Anker USB Chargers

There are actually full multi-device chargers out of the east that do almost all that is involved here. Some of the reviews for them involved shoddy workmanship and even sparking (aka fire hazard). If you are not family with Anker, thank me later. They make some of the best charging accessories out there and are very well made. I thought of using a 10 port Anker but then all the USB plug-in points would be on one side of the charging station. Getting two 5 Port was a bit more pricey but allows the charges to face opposite sides of the station and to use smaller cables to limit clutter. The Ankers are safe, provide great amperage to the devices and even have two fast charge ports each. Put some colored markers on those fast charging cables and make them parent phones only. Lol. Just kidding.

12 Inch Lightening Cables

Though we use PCs for our computers, we are all Apple for mobile devices. So I found 5 packs of 12 inch lightening cables and bought two of them. This gives 10 short cables that go directly from the USB port to a slot in the station without tangles or clutter. If you own Android or other devices grab some micro USB cables and you'll be all set.

Holder thingy

There are lots of these made of many materials on Amazon. I chose a black one that had 10 slots. We don't have ten devices yet but there are five of us and we have some phones and iPads already.

End Table

Commandeering an end table from the house, gave space underneath for the kids to charge their Chromebooks. I don't personally appreciate the Chromebook but our school system gives them to all our kids and they do use them, especially our middle and high schoolers, extensively for school work. They plug into the power strip and live underneath. Out of the room at night so in the evenings there are no devices, no TVs in bedrooms.

Human Solution

Well, phones go on it at night one hour before bed time and they go with them to school in the morning. We keep them plugged in for family connection in the morning for breakfast and prayer before the kids head off to school.
We still have general bed times for our kids. Sometimes it's more like "bed goals" or "bed hopes" for the teenagers. ;-)
I was pleasantly surprised that the roll out did not incur the whining and wrath of our teens, though some apologetics was necessary.
Casualties - Audiobooks at night were a casualty as well as using the phone as alarm clock These changes are VERY difficult for me. My eldest and me will have to adjust the most to these changes. I think we will also benefit the most. And yes, they still sell cheap, old school alarm clocks if you need one.

Look at my Face

One final thing we've added to our family flow is a simple pause and relational examination. If you are looking at a screen when you should be looking at a face, we need to put down the screen. Look at my face! We need to give this sort of attention to one another in our families more and more in our hyper-connected age. And your battery will be full as well! Enjoy your devices, but don't neglect the precious people that are right in front of you each day.

We Have This Ministry - Learning from the Life of Gardner C. Taylor

July 14, 2017

To listen to the Eulogy presented by E. L. Taylor, PhD at Dr. Taylor's funeral you will find it available online here.

Introduction

There are many people who shape our lives both directly and indirectly as pastors and ministers. My own life has been no exception to this pattern. There have been men up close and far away who have made me who I am today as a minister of the gospel. There are ones we know love, encourage, and model things up close for us and then there are those we do not know which come to us through books, sermons, and the recommendation of others. It is good to have both living and dead mentors; the dead kind are especially helpful. Those who have completed the journey from cradle to eternity have much to teach us through lives well lived and works left for posterity. In this essay, I will share a few things I have learned from a recently deceased preacher. Not long ago I asked several pastor friends who they would suggest I look to for wisdom in the black church tradition in America. In that group text message exchange, many names were mentioned. One name was given almost by all: Gardner C. Taylor.

This essay will be a brief look at his life, ministry, and what I have learned and hope to learn from him in the years ahead. I will first give a very brief biographical sketch and then move into a look at aspects of his theological and ministerial vision. I will conclude with an evaluation of what I have learned, and then share what I think are his main contributions to my life and ministry.

Brief Biographical Sketch

Gardner Calvin Taylor was born June 18, 1918 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Baptist minister Washington Monroe Taylor and school teacher Selina Gesell Taylor. Taylor was educated in the segregated public-school system of the early 20th century south. His life was deeply impacted in 1931 when his father died suddenly. At the time, Taylor was a twelve-year-old boy. This left an empty place in his mind and heart and burdened the family deeply.[1] His mother went to work as a public-school teacher to help ends meet, and his aunt Gerty moved in to help the family.[2] Taylor’s keen intellect began to take root after some early struggles in grade school. At the conclusion of his high school career, he graduated valedictorian of his class. He also captained the football team showing his prowess as a scholar-athlete.[3] A sharp mind and strong leadership abilities were on display early in his life. He received degrees from Leland College (1937), an all-black school he attended on a football scholarship. His original desire was to be the first African American attorney to practice law in Louisiana and was even admitted to the law school at the University of Michigan to that end.[4] This noble desire, however, was interrupted by his call to pastoral ministry after a near fatal car accident.[5] After being so shaken by the car accident his calling was clear to move towards preparation for a life of gospel ministry. It would be a school of theology at Oberlin College for Taylor and not Michigan law. He graduated from the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology in 1948.[6] Dr. Taylor considered the car accident, more than anything else, almost a direct summons to the ministry and his life’s work.[7]

Though Oberlin was on the forefront of the antislavery movement and was thought to be quite progressive at the time, Taylor was still only the eighth African American to graduate from the School of Theology.[8] A few important life shaping events happened in during Taylor’s time at Oberlin. First, he met Laura Scott, his first wife of fifty-four years.[9] His wife was, like his mother, a gifted educator[10] and the two faithfully served the Lord together until her untimely death in 1995.[11] Second, it was during his time at the School of Theology that he received his first pastorate upon the call of Bethany Baptist Church in Oberlin.

Taylor would serve two additional churches in Louisiana: Beulah Baptist in New Orleans and Mt. Zion Baptist in Baton Rouge.[12] After these stints, he would receive the call to one of the more influential churches of the time. In 1948, God called him and his wife to The Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn New York. At the age of 30, Taylor assumed the pastorate of a 5000-member church in the Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy) neighborhood. It would grow to almost three times this size under Taylor’s leadership.[13] Concord Baptist church would go on to establish a nursing home, elementary school, a federal credit union, clothing exchange, low income housing, and a fund for youth and community development under Taylor’s guiding hand.[14]

Taylor went on to be an active player in the Civil rights movement, an adjunct professor at several seminaries and divinity schools as well as a member of the New York City school board where he was an advocated for educational equality. In 1996, he married a second time to Phyllis Strong, a woman he had baptized some fifty years early.[15] She would remain by his side until his passing on April 5th, 2015. Taylor died on an Easter Sunday, a fitting departure date for one whose life was dedicated to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just fifteen years earlier, Taylor was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by President William Jefferson Clinton.[16] This is the highest honor and award which can be bestowed upon an American civilian by his country.

Understanding Taylor's Ministry

To live such a long, varied life and ministry creates numerous sermons, in a plethora of circumstances. There is simply quite a treasure trove of content that Taylor produced. Jared E. Alcantara has undertaken the task of understanding Taylor’s ministry in six major categories: Pain, Redemption, Eloquence, Apprenticeship, Context, and Holiness[17]. These were so helpful to understand Taylor, but I felt compelled to break down his work in my own terms. I will discuss his work in three categories: his balance, his person, and his preaching. I do not consider this an improvement on Alcantara, far from it, but an exercise in my own thinking about Taylor’s life and theological vision.

His Balance

Taylor, as an African American preacher of the gospel was constantly balancing the needs of the people here and now with the deep concern for personal faith and piety. He cared about both souls and soles. The hearts of men and the cultural ground they walked upon. Many times in church history this balance has been lacking. There can be an extreme focus on personal salvation, heaven, and the life to come with a neglect of justice, mercy and compassion for other human beings. At the same time, there can be such a focus on shaping a just society that the sin, death and hell defeating gospel is relegated as well. Taylor would have us care for both.

His work in the arenas of justice is seen in his work as a pastor serving and influencing the civil rights movement. His support and friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was well known.[18] Dr. Richard Lischer describes his influence on Dr. King by saying:

What King and many young preachers besides would have learned from Taylor was the genius for channeling evangelical doctrine and the great stories of the Bible into socially progressive and prophetic utterance.[19]

In comparing the two, Lischer also noted the difference between King and Taylor’s approach. Citing Lischer, Timothy George gives this wonderful description.

King’s prophetic witness burned brightly like a meteor against the night while Taylor’s more theological and exegetical approach was shaped by a ministry of preaching and pastoral care sustained over many decades.[20]

Taylor’s work for racial equality and civil rights was a steady, behind the scenes, gospel influence through his person and pulpit. He insisted that his approach to political and social issues rise from the Scriptures. In a chapter entitled, “The Pastor and Political Realities,” he gives a sharp critique who engage in political posturing but unhinged from true biblical concerns. I will quote him at length:

Today, it seems to be in vogue to do political moralizing and call it "prophetic preaching." Pastors must learn to distinguish between the two. Prophetic preaching rises out of the Scriptures; moralizing is self–generated and arises from social mores or personal predilections. Whatever response the minister makes to the political situation (or any life situation) ought to rise up out of the Scriptures. This is not the same as fastening our own biases and predilections on to Scripture. Unfortunately, many people use the Scriptures as a basis for their moralizing. New Testament scholars distinguish between "eisegesis," reading meaning into a text, and "exegesis” bringing out the meaning in a text. This is a very dangerous thing.[21]

Taylor’s desire to be biblical in his approach allowed him to remain a faithful pastor and influence an America around him that so deeply required a prophetic challenge and change. He cared about educational equality in New York City because he cared about people flourishing, equality, and justice. He cared about the family because he cared about people and their wellbeing. He cared about people because it is the transcultural, always relevant Jesus who saves people; and Taylor thought that people did indeed need to be saved. [22]

In summary, Taylor maintained this balance between social action and justice with a personal faith and pious devotion to God. He did so because he saw this is as the biblical course of life. The Scriptures demand that we show kindness and mercy to the poor, and justice to the oppressed. These were and are signs of the Kingdom of God and his Christ (See Proverbs 14:31, 17:5; Isaiah 61:1,2; quoted again by Jesus in Luke 4). The Bible also teaches us that all we need, we have in Christ. Taylor thundered this forth as well.[23]

His Person

It is rare that a person can relate as well with people from all stations of life yet Gardner C. Taylor was just such a man. Ralph Douglas west described Taylor’s deep and personal interest towards “common people” in the foreword to Alcantara’s volume, Learning from a Legend.[24] Taylor was a man who found favor with presidents, civil rights leaders as well as the people in the pew. This was a testimony to his character as a servant of God and man.

In a chapter entitled “The Pastor’s Commission” in the book We Have this Ministry Taylor has a laser focused honesty about a minister’s own weaknesses and temptations. Quoting Thomas Chalmers, he exhorts ministers to be “more than what we are—to exceed who we are. Then by the grace of God we will be delivered of the gospel to a world that is perishing without it.”[25] His hope was not who he was, but who he might become in Christ. This was his key to character in a world in moral decline all around us. Alcantara liked him to the church father Basil, of whom someone once said, “His words were like thunder because his life was like lightening.”[26]

Alcantara summarizes several warnings Taylor gave to other preachers regarding tendencies which would harm their character and witness. First, he warned against trying to be a “Fancy Dan”, an early 20th century term used to describe “showboating” or “hotdogging” in baseball. We should aim to be selfless, not the main attraction of a show. Second, he warned against a self-righteous disposition for preachers so they would not forget they themselves needed the gospel. Finally, he warned against a scholarship in the pulpit that would cool the heart towards God and sacred truth.[27] Preachers should give great care to their own spiritual lives, walks with Jesus, and study. In doing so, they would deepen their own souls and be able to speak from what Taylor called “the depths.”[28]

Finally, Taylor’s own character was shaped in life by suffering. He suffered the loss of a parent at a young age, saw a car accident turn the direction of his life, walked in the rebuilding of a church ruined by fire, endured and fought against he insidious stain of racism and injustice in America, and buried his first wife after she was literally hit by a bus. Like many preachers before him and many who are yet to come, Taylor’s faith was forged in the trials of pain and suffering. In his own words:

We have found our faith in the keeping power of God in flames and trials. Our faith, which holds, is born in the fire. All of us who have won our winning our faith in the fires, which have swept our lives. Those fires that scorch our inmost souls and sear our noblest dreams can declare that we know no other strength but that strength which is from above.[29]

Character is either compromised or hardened by seasons of difficulty and disappointment. God’s word declares and demonstrates this to be true. The hall of faith in Hebrews 11 lists saint after saint who trusted God in terrible fiery ordeals. Jesus himself went to a bloody cross and he learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8,9). He was pleased to raise sinners from the dead and save them to the uttermost, provided we also suffer with him. (Romans 8:12-17). Taylor knew that suffering had its place in a believer’s life, but only in light of the eternal hope we have in Christ. Faith holds on in the fire and hope moves us forward towards full and final victory. These great truths made Taylor into man that was both listened to and emulated. He embodied a faith in the fire in his own person.

His Preaching

If he balanced justice and piety and lived a life worthy of the calling he had received, my final point is this. That calling was to preach; and preach he did. His vocational pulpit ministry spanned over four decades. His awards were numerous and he consistently bridged cultures and traditions with his craft. These are but a few of his awards:[30]

In 1979 he was labeled by Time Magazine as the Dean of Black Preachers.
In both 1984 and 1993 he was listed as first among the fifteen greatest black preachers in America by Ebony.
Baylor University named him one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world.

Yet he was not simply an orator or public speaker. He was not simply a moralistic preacher working for political ends alone. No, he was an orator of the Scriptures, a prophetic preacher of biblical justice, and a person who preached from the holy text. The Rev. Dr. Ralph Douglas West had this to say of Taylor’s sermons:

The Bible undergirded every sermon, the Bible not in some proof-texting cleverness or decontextualized attempt at mere novelty but the Bible in its robust wholeness echoed in each message. Taylor became a mouthpiece not only for the text but for the Book. To borrow a phrase from Spurgeon, his blood was bibline.[31]

In an essay honoring Taylor, Marvin McMickle argues that the sermon should be a substantive work rooted in the biblical text that sets forth its main point early in the message.[32] Taylor’s messages reflect this counsel.

Furthermore, Taylor’s preaching was centered on Jesus Christ. Yes, he applied the gospel to the narrative of his people and contextualized it for them. The gospel he preached was one that saw the sufficiency of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection as central. In his sermon, The Sufficiency of Christ, he makes clear that it is Christ alone the Christian needs over and above any religiously motivated things. I will quote him at length as there simply was not a good stopping point in his rhetoric. I would read this out loud if I were you:

Christian people need no substitutes, no supplements, no boosters. Christ is all we need. We need no blessed handkerchiefs, Christ can wipe away all our tears. We need no consecrated rings. Christ is a ring all around us like the walls are roundabout Jerusalem. We need no holy water, Christ is the "living water, thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live." We need no one to bless a gold or silver cross. The Cross of Calvary cleanses us from all unrighteousness, gives us full rights in the family of God.

Christ is all we need. Christian adoration has strained the language, piled meanings into many figures and metaphors to speak of the "allness" of Christ, His sufficiency, our completeness in Him. And so we call him Prophet, Priest and King, Revealer, Representative and Ruler. Christ is all we need, the Captain of our Salvation, the Head of the Church, the Bridegroom at the final marriage, the Judge of all the world, the Firstborn of the dead, the New and Final Adam, the Captain of the Lords host, the Living Bread, a Fountain opened in the house of Israel, Mary's Baby, Calvary's Hero, Death’s Conqueror, the Grave’s Spoiler.

Christ is all we need. He begins with childhood, and says, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." He continues in adulthood and says, "Come on to me, all ye that labor." He follows the wanderer out through the darkness and says, "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Christ is all we need. He finds us in our sins and kneels and writes with that wondrous finger and says to us, "Go and sin no more." When we are sick, he comes and says, "Wilt thou be made whole?" And assures us that all "Sickness is not unto death." When we must go down to the slippery shores of death, Christ says, "I will come again and get you. In my Father’s house is a place for you."

Christ is all and more than all the world to His people. Christ is all. All our hope, all our strength, all our light, all our life, all our help. "Christ is all, and in all."[33]

This was Taylor’s preaching: full of biblical quotations, full of Jesus Christ in all his revealed glory, full of passion and delivered with oratory zeal. I only wish I could have listened to the one above!

Taylor was involved in various political causes and movements during his life. He did so in a way that was balanced as a preacher of the Bible, lifting up Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Both prophetic calls for justice, personal piety, and faith in God flowed out from his work. His life, character, and person were shaped by his faith in Jesus and the fires and trials of this life under the sun. Finally, his compelling call was to preach. Though he could have ventured into politics[34], he remained a man of the pulpit. As such, his ministry was a person of embodied faith, hope, and love as a leader in his community.

Critical Reflections

To be quite honest I feel a bit shy to offer any sort of critique of a man so well respected in an essay of this sort. Who am I to say anything about this man to whom I have only recently become introduced? Others I have read in preparation for this paper have offered plenty of kind words and adulation. I have found much difficulty to find anyone with much of anything critical to say. Have I come across a bit of hagiography of a recently deceased 96-year-old saint? Or was he simply a wonderful man. I lean towards the latter after my introductory foray into his life. The strengths are many as I have already noted in my summary of his main theological and ministerial contributions. If there are any weaknesses I have observed they were few. One I noted was his use of the pronouns “he or she” when referring to pastors in his sermons. This would strain my own theological convictions about men being pastors[35]. Second, I am not sure that certain schools of thought would consider many of his sermons to be proper expositional preaching. That said, these are the very people who are in great need to learn a thing or two about preaching from men like Taylor. Finally, there was also a hint that Taylor may not have held to what theologians see as the verbal inspiration of the Bible but that he preached and believed as if it were so. In my study, this was inconclusive and I found his view of the Bible was consistently very high.[36]

Why is Taylor a mentor for me?

There are many reasons I think Taylor and his works are of help to me in my ministry. First, his ministry crossed with both black and white churches in America and influenced the discipline of homiletics in both communities.[37] I have personally been involved in multi-ethnic and transcultural ministry for many years and I am always hungry to learn from others in how to do this well. Most recently I had the joy and privilege of leading a transcultural multi-ethnic church plant in New Jersey where I preached before a diverse congregation from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. My small contribution to help others do the same is found online at Power of Change.[38] Jared E. Alcantara’s detailed study of Taylor’s work in Crossover Preaching, Intercultural-Improvisational Homiletics in Conversation with Gardner C. Taylor[39] is a volume I plan on spending more time with in the days ahead to further help me in cross cultural ministry and service.

The second aspect of Taylor’s ministry I want to glean from is how he preached Christ faithfully for almost six decades, 42 years of which in his home church pulpit. His perseverance in ministry and consistent preaching of Jesus is something I want to learn from. His goal in sermons was to "To bring the people before the presence of God and within sight of the heart of Christ. No sermon can do more. None should want to do less."[40] His goal in preaching was not simply to give people information but to introduce them to the person to whom the Word of God guides us. In his book for pastors, he wrote:

The role of the minister involves more than preaching the gospel as a written record; it includes seeking a relationship with the God about whom the Word has dealt and the Christ toward whom it points. In other words, one is not called just to preach the Word, but to preach what the Word seeks to say.[41]

I can personally grow in this in my own preaching and I look forward to reading more sermons from Taylor for my own edification and grow in preaching Christ.

Finally, I want to learn from an excellent orator from recent history to learn how to speak, well, better. I don’t want to find a surely contentment with my own preaching and speaking. I want to improve. I want to find ways to communicate the Scriptures and the gospel of our risen King Jesus in ways that impact and influence. I wish to see others affected by the work of His Spirit, through the Word. I want to do a better job handling the task of preaching the gospel. Paul Tripp writes of the tragedy of Sunday mediocrity in our time in his book, A Dangerous Calling.

I am very concerned about the acceptance of Sunday morning mediocrity, and I am persuaded that it is not primarily a schedule or laziness problem. I am convinced it is a theological problem...If your heart is in functional awe of the glory of God, then there will be no place in your heart for poorly prepared, badly delivered, functional pastoral mediocrity.[42]

I hope to have Gardner C. Taylor’s works around to help my awe of God and to help me learn to be a better orator who is called to speak the very oracles of the Lord.

Concluding Thoughts

As I have grown older and into middle age, my desires in life have grown somewhat simpler. In a time of transition in 2016, I wrote down three things that I want out of the rest of my life.

I want to know Jesus and remain faithful to the end of my life and be saved.
I desire deepening friendship with the wife of my youth.
I want my children to know me in depth and character as a human being including my flaws and virtues.

It was important for me to isolate these from vocation in order to remind me of what really matters. To these I wish to add one more phrase that I happened upon through the title of an essay in honor of Taylor.

I want to be a “Good Man Speaking Well”[43]

It is true that there are none good but God (Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19). It is also true that we are to become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and we are being transformed into the image of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:12-18). When all is said and done I hope that I’ve been changed to be much more like Jesus and I hope that I have learned and practiced speaking well of Him. Yes, even in preaching, loving, and leading well.

Bibliography

To listen to the Eulogy presented at Dr. Taylor's funeral, it is available here.

Alcantara, Jared E. Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2016.

Alcántara, Jared E. Crossover Preaching : Intercultural-Improvisational Homiletics in Conversation with Gardner C. Taylor. Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2015.

Hawkins, B. Denise and Adelle M. Banks. "Gardner C. Taylor, Dean of Black Preachers, Dies at 96." The Religion News Service. Last modified 2015. Accessed July 6, 2017. http://religionnews.com/2015/04/06/gardner-c-taylor-dean-black-preachers-dies-96/.

Monaghan, Reid S. "Planting Multiethnic and Transcultural Churches." Power of Change, February 13, 2017. Accessed 2017. http://www.powerofchange.org/blog/2017/2/12/plantingmultiethnic.

Proctor, Samuel D. and Gardner C. Taylor. We Have This Ministry : The Heart of the Pastor's Vocation. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1996.

Taylor, Gardner C. The Scarlet Thread : Nineteen Sermons. Elgin, IL: Progressive Baptist Pub. House, 1981.

Taylor, Gardner C., Timothy George, James Earl Massey, and Robert Smith. Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor. 1st ed. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2010.

Taylor, Gardner C. and Edward L. Taylor. Faith in the Fire : Wisdom for Life. 1st ed. New York, Carlsbad, CA: SmileyBooks ; distributed by Hay House Inc., 2011.

Tripp, Paul David. Dangerous Calling : Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012.

Endnotes

[1] Jared E. Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching (Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2016), 7.

[2] Ibid., 8.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Gardner C. Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, 1st ed. (Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2010), xiii.

[5] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, 9.

[6] Gardner C. Taylor and Edward L. Taylor, Faith in the Fire : Wisdom for Life, 1st ed. (New York

Carlsbad, CA: SmileyBooks ;

distributed by Hay House Inc., 2011), xii.

[7] Samuel D. Proctor and Gardner C. Taylor, We Have This Ministry : The Heart of the Pastor's Vocation (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1996), 2.

[8] Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, xiv.

[9] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, 9.

[10] Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, xiv.

[11] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, 9.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, xv.

[14] Taylor and Taylor, Faith in the Fire : Wisdom for Life, xiii.

[15] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, 10.

[16] Taylor and Taylor, Faith in the Fire : Wisdom for Life, xiv.

[17] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching. Is structured with each chapter occupying one of these themes. For the observant reader you may not that these headers also are memberoable for they spell out the word P.R.E.A.C.H.

[18] Taylor and Taylor, Faith in the Fire : Wisdom for Life, xvii.

[19] Quoted in Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, xvii.

[20] Ibid., xxix.

[21] Proctor and Taylor, We Have This Ministry : The Heart of the Pastor's Vocation, 128.

[22] See his sermon “The Look that Saves” in Gardner C. Taylor, The Scarlet Thread : Nineteen Sermons (Elgin, IL: Progressive Baptist Pub. House, 1981), 58.

[23] See sermon “The Sufficiency of Christ” in ibid., 121-27.

[24] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, ix.

[25] Proctor and Taylor, We Have This Ministry : The Heart of the Pastor's Vocation, 11.

[26] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, 106.

[27] Ibid., 115-19.

[28] Ibid., 120.

[29] Taylor and Taylor, Faith in the Fire : Wisdom for Life, 210.

[30] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, 2.

[31] Ibid., x.

[32] Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, 108-15.

[33] Taylor, The Scarlet Thread : Nineteen Sermons, 126.

[34] Proctor and Taylor, We Have This Ministry : The Heart of the Pastor's Vocation, 131.

[35] Ibid., 128.

[36] For example, he once confided, “I find myself in the same situation as P.T. Forsyth who said, in his 1907 Lyman Beecher Lectures that although as a scholar he agreed with the historical critics who did not believe in ‘verbal inspiration’ of Scripture,” and yet as a practicing preacher Taylor, along with Forsyth, had often witnessed the fecundity and activity of scripture that is was a constant struggle for him not to believe in the verbal inspiration of scripture. Quoted in Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, 206,07.

[37] See comments by Prof. Richard Lischer in the embedded PBS video at B. Denise Hawkins and Adelle M. Banks, "Gardner C. Taylor, Dean of Black Preachers, Dies at 96," The Religion News Service, accessed July 6, 2017. http://religionnews.com/2015/04/06/gardner-c-taylor-dean-black-preachers-dies-96/.

[38] Reid S. Monaghan, "Planting Multiethnic and Transcultural Churches," Power of Change, February 13, 2017, accessed 2017, http://www.powerofchange.org/blog/2017/2/12/plantingmultiethnic.

[39] Jared E. Alcántara, Crossover Preaching : Intercultural-Improvisational Homiletics in Conversation with Gardner C. Taylor, Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2015).

[40] Alcantara, Learning from a Legend : What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching, 5.

[41] Proctor and Taylor, We Have This Ministry : The Heart of the Pastor's Vocation, 8.

[42] Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling : Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012), 138, 41.

[43] Taylor et al., Our Sufficiency Is of God : Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, 241-59.

CHIP in

June 15, 2017

Here on the blog I am sharing a few things we have done in our household with our kids to help guide them up into their teen years. You can read the intro and something I've called the Bear Grylls River Talk here on the blog.

Today I want share something I scribbled down for our kids about a month ago which has become a bit of an eye-rolling joke and a guiding framework for our family. I've called it CHIP in. For years I have been telling my kids that "boredom is the sign of a lack of creativity and thought and the result of an inactive mind." When kids are bored I tell them to use their creativity, imagination, prayer and thinking to find something helpful and productive to occupy their lives. My kids have seldom been bored.

As our kids have grown up they have the freedom to direct more of their free time and choices themselves. We also encourage one another to use our lives in the service of God and others and not simply be self-absorbed, entertainment driven people. As school ended for our family last month, I scribbled down some thoughts for my kids in the summer months where we have a bit more time margin. It rolled out this way:

When you have time open, CHIP in. With CHIP standing for Chores, Homework, Investment, Pleasure.

CHORES

I picked the word CHORES as it typically refers to assigned household tasks given to kids. We actually do not have chores for our kids and have never really done things that way. Now our children do household tasks and work. These just don't exist on individualized lists for each child. They have not been related to an allowance. These things are good practices, but we have chosen not to do things in that way.

What we try to instill in our kids is this: do what we ask of you, and do things without being asked that need to be done. So for us, CHORES means to look at the house and get things done that you see needs to be done.

Some examples:

If there is laundry that needs to be fold it, fold it. Grab a sibling to help
If there are dishes that need to be put away, do it
If there are dirty dishes, wash them
If a common space in our house is cluttered, pick it up
Your room, your domain - keep it cleaned up

So chipping in means proactively doing these things when asked and doing them on your own before you plop down to watch Netflix.

HOMEWORK

Let me say straight away that homework is not a bad or distasteful word in our home. Our kids like doing homework. They like school. This was caught in the culture of our household at a young age. We love to learn as a family. So even in the summer months, we encourage one another to do homework. In other words, love learning and when you have free time, endeavor to learn something.

Pick up a book and read
Learn something about God and his world
Listen to an audiobook
Do some math exercises on Khan Academy

So chipping in means proactively doing these things to grow intellectually as people before you plop down to watch Netflix.

INVESTMENT

God has placed us in this world as beings in relationship. We have relationships with God and other people. We are a family. You have a brother and a sister. Or in my son's case, two sisters. Take some time to invest in these relationships.

Read Scripture and spiritual books to invest in your relationship with God
Spend some time praying
Spend time with one of your siblings, do something together. Chores, homework, fun things. Don't do these alone, do them together
Call a grand parent
Do something with a friend

So chipping in means seeking out things that invest in your relationships before you plop down to watch Netflix.

PLEASURE

Finally, we are not anti-media, anti-fun or anti-pleasure as a family. We just don't want to default to entertainment and goofing off as the only thing to do with our free time. So yes, you can watch something on Netflix. Yes, we can watch soccer together. Just don't slug out and watch 4 hours of TV in a row today. Chipping in means there are many others things to do with our lives.

And if you do want to plop down and watch Netflix, do so with with a friend, sibling or even dear old Dad.

CHIP in is a bit goofy, my girls do roll their eyes at it in love. I even had this exchange with my middle one, "Dad, don't you just want us to do these things on our own, instead of you chirping 'CHIP in' to us every day?" Yes, sweetie Ky, yes I do. You got it and I'm proud of you. Dad gives dap to daughter and thanks God.

"CHIP in" can be used with kids of all ages young or old. Try it or make up your own deals to help your kids focus on the good, the right and true things of life.

Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.

Psalm 127:1

The Bear Grylls River Talk

June 14, 2017

[7] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. [8] Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, [9] for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. [10] My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Proverbs 1:7-10

Many are familiar today with the British survivalist and adventurist named Bear Grylls. A few years back my kids and I got really into watching seasons of his first breakout show in the states, Man vs. Wild. We love it. Now I know lots of that show is staged and not for the survivalist purist but for what it is, we just love watching Bear. Grylls will eat anything and do just about anything to demonstrate survival techniques to viewers and some of it is just over the top. Eating bugs, snakes, raw yak meat in the mountains and squeezing liquid out of elephant dung in order to get a drink all come to mind.

On one episode, actually more than one, Bear lashed together a raft out of vines, small logs and some left over parachute cording. Bear can go down a river full of boulders, wild rapids and swirling eddies of death hanging on to a stick in the water. Why? Why can he do this? Wisdom.

With my two oldest I created a talk that I've gone through with them to describe the nature of the teenage years and we've used Bear as a guide. You can fashion your own talk along similar lines but perhaps with an illustration you vibe with.

The Bear Grylls River Talk

Dad - do you remember that episode on Man vs. Wild where Bear Grylls goes down the river on a stick. Crazy, right!?
Kid - yeah, awesome
Dad - Do you think we could do that? Why do you think he can do that?
Kid - he knows what he is doing!
Dad - yes, he has wisdom as he's been down rivers before. He knows a flowing bump is likely a skull crushing boulder, He knows a little swirling pool of water could be a suction eddie that will pull you under and drown you. He knows which side of the river is going to be safe, what channels to avoid etc. He's done this before!
Dad - Life is sort of this way. Each of us are heading down a river and there are many dangers, toils, snares, boulders and eddies of despair! It's also an amazing ride!
Dad - As you are moving towards adulthood there is something we need to talk about related to the teenage years. Some in our culture hold to a narrative that goes something like this. Teenagers are supposed to think their parents are stupid and will not want anything to do with Mom and Dad. All they want to do is rebel. Parents are supposed to be hyper controlling, not letting kids do anything and trying to hold them back from growing up. So there is a lot of conflict. Do you want this for our relationship?
Kid - no Dad, we are close and I'd like us to stay this way (this of course, depends on your relationship from birth until this day)
Dad - me either, I love you and I want us to stay close. But you know what, our relationship must evolve and change. God intends for you to grow up and take your place in his world as a servant of the Kingdom and a mature adult. It's like we are going down the river. Until now, you have mostly been in Mom and Dad's raft but now you need to grab your stick and head down the river with us. I want you to go and enjoy the river; go for it. I need to let go a bit so you can do your thing in the world. At the same time I need you to trust me. I've been around a few years and down this river a few times. I'm going to be so proud to watch you go and grow. I also may point out a deadly boulder or two. I want you to listen to me in those times. I also want you to tell me "I got this Dad" when I need to back off. Our relationship will depend on me learning to let go and you still desiring to listen. And for us both to be honest when we feel tension. Let's reject the cultural narrative of the parent vs. teen conflict and continue together because we love each other. Cool?
Kid - cool

I think this also gets right at the essence of problems which plague parents and teens. Parents will not let go or they clamp down too tightly. We can squeeze kids into a rebellion. At the same time teens lack the humility to continue to listen to the trusted and loving voice of parents. Parents, rejected by their teens can withdraw their wisdom and lack courage due to conflicts and drama. The tension is found on these grounds.

As my kids hit puberty and walked into the teen years, I wanted to acknowledge three things about myself to my kids. First, I'm a sinner and I will make mistakes. I will sometimes be too controlling or I will sometimes be too harsh. Forgive me in advance. Second, I do love you ever so deeply. My heart and hopes are for you. I'm not the enemy now or into the future. Third, I do know a few things about this life and life with God. I want you to continue to honor me as your Dad.

There is a quote credited to Mark Twain that is very likely apocryphal. It's attribution to Twain is likely due to its Twainishness but the quote cannot be sourced with accuracy. But nonetheless, it gets at an important truth. It reads something like this:

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.

The point being is that kids tend to go through a temporary amnesia in adolescence but will listen once life beats them up a bit and they get a little earlier. I've shared this quote with my kids as well as a way to remind them to lean on my wisdom.

Has this talk and clarity solved all tensions that me and my teenage girls have with one another? Of course not. Did it prepare us with categories and helpful reminders for the journey that we are now traveling. Absolutely.

Talk about the evolving nature of your relationship with your kids as they come into the flow of the teenage river. In doing so your journey together can be the wild, fun, scary, dangerous and wonderful trip God created it to be.

[7] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. [8] Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, [9] for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. [10] My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Proverbs 1:7-10

Parenting in the teen years

June 14, 2017

I love being a Dad. I love kids. I've loved every phase of fatherhood from the first day until now. This year our kids will turn 16, 11 and 14. We are now teaching our oldest to drive a car. Seriously fun and yet seriously nervy work.

Each phase of parenting has its own focus. There are unique challenges, joys and blessings for Moms and Dads for each stage and season of life our kids travel through. Here are a few of the needs we have observed.

Birth-Waddling - love, feed, poop, talk, read, pray
Waddler-Toddler - discipline, teaching, play, learning, discipline, energy, fun, discipline
School age - learning, co-study, spiritual formation, deeper catechesis
Teens - learning, responsibility, life ownership, deeper discipleship, friendship, clarity
Young Adulthood - ??? I have my ideas but don't want to speak about the roads I've yet to walk
Adulthood - looking forward to this...and if the Lord gives grace, grand babies!!!

Our kids are now in the tween and teenage years. We have never bought into the societal silliness that kids of age XYZ cannot be engaged with ABC. We've taught deeply, engaged socially and walked together with our kids towards maturity. We have done so in ways others might say kids of that age are not yet ready. Silly talk. Our calling is to bring our kids up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-4) and we cannot look to our contemporary culture for cues on how to raise our kids. We have looked to Scripture and examples in history to learn and grow. We have also prayed and thought deeply about being intentional in our parenting. In the teen years there are some distinct challenges and necessities. I'll simply share a few.

Thoughts on Teens

Kids should rightly be moving towards less and less dependence on Mom and Dad.
Kids need to own their worldview, kick the tires of their faith and grow in their walk with God. Obviously what we've done with them prior to this season is absolutely key here.
Kids need to lead themselves, assume deeper responsibilities and learn to serve and lead others as they move towards adulthood.
Kids and parents need to evolve their relationship with one another while fighting to maintain a loving connection. Again, what you've done since birth will matter here. It is easy for teens to not want to be around Mom and Dad if Mom and Dad were never really around and engaged with them.

In light of this, I've used two main tools to guide my teenagers. The Bear Grylls River Talk and a new invention I've entitled CHIP in. My kids loved the first and roll their eyes at the second. Both have been effective. So if you have teens or those who will be some day travel through these years, I hope these are of help to you.

Hope. The final frontier

April 12, 2017

I'll never forget the season of life from early 1998 until September 27th 2001. My wife and I had married quite young and had hoped to start a family.

Our first pregnancy came with the expected joy, rapid family announcements and the fresh hopes of new parenthood. These hopes came quickly crashing down when we lost the first child to miscarriage. Over the course of the next several years we lost four more successively. It became an act of courage for my wife to hope to get pregnant and then hope the child would make it to term. It felt like a bad movie where the same script kept playing over and over.

In that season we thought about many things. My wife and I both wrestled with God’s relation to pain and suffering. Her questions were related to God's care for her and mine were more intellectual, considering if God was real. We also wrestled with the concept of Christian hope and the Lord really met with us in and through this time. God gave us quite a different perspective than we had in our youthful idealism.

The real struggle was with the continual disappointment with our circumstances. We were able to conceive quite readily only to have our hopes come crashing down. As a husband, it really hit me when my wife said, "I've been pregnant or dealing with the aftermath of miscarriage constantly, nonstop for three years and we have no children." Hearing that was heartbreaking. My bride had gone through every miscarriage physically, emotionally and spiritually and she began to really wonder if she wanted to try again. You see, there is a hope that disappoints. Trying again meant facing the unknown once again with a past that grew with disappointment.

One of the passages of scripture that really ministered to us came in the form of rhetorical question from the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8.

24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. - Romans 8:24-25

Who hopes for what he sees? Who hopes for what they already have? Nobody. Hope is a future facing reality whereby we long for something we do not yet have. As such, hope in this life can be a very disappointing thing.

We had hoped for children. Have our family, nice, quick and easy. Disappointment.
We hope that things will go better at our jobs but sometimes they don't. Disappointment.
We hope to accomplish something in a sport and we get injured. Disappointment.
We hope that our relationships will be full of joy and glory. Sometimes they are just made of the stuff of the earth. Disappointment.
Many times we think it is a promise from God to make us healthy, wealthy and wise. Not the case. Disappointment.

It takes courage to have hope in our world. Our expectations vary, are adjusted by reality and sometimes come crashing down. The whole book of Ecclesiastes is about deconstructing and unwinding our earthly hopes. This wonderful book wrecks us for putting our hope in the wrong things. You think wisdom and learning will make life perfect? Wrong. Wealth and achievement? Wrong again. Having pleasure? Nope. Placing our ultimate joy and future on the shaky foundations of this world is a fools errand here under the sun. Vanity, emptiness, a mere chasing after the wind.

Yet the gospel offers such a different foundation for hope in this life. As a human being we hope for something different in our current story. We grow numb and disappointed. But as a Christian, we have hope in God’s promise that all things will turn out to be far more than OK. This sort of hope is such a scarce commodity among the human race.

Hope is described in the New Testament as a hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5). Gospel hope is transcendent because it is based on the promise of eternal life with God. This promise issues forth from one who never lies. (Titus 1:2,3)

Our hope is always future facing so with every earthbound disappointment we renew hope in the promises we have in Christ. His Spirit is in us as a deposit guaranteeing our possession of a glorious future (Ephesians 1:11-14). He has an inheritance for us that will never spoil, fade or perish, kept in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:3-9). The Spirit has poured his love into our hearts so that we have a renewed hope and renewed vision even amidst the darkest of days. This is why our hope in God's promises in Christ are called "a firm anchor of the soul" by the writer of the book of Hebrews.

Hope indeed is the final frontier for human beings. This life filled with sin and death can batter the small hopes of the masses into despair. Yet for those who trust in the promises of Christ, who believe in the resurrection of the dead, who believe in the life to come and his glorious Kingdom have a different story. They will live from hope to hope through every trial and difficulty. Today’s disappointments will one day fully and finally fade into the eternal promises of our God.

This Easter you may perhaps say to one another "He is risen!" And when you reply, "He is risen indeed," remember that you have a hope that will not disappoint and not simply a religious slogan to echo. Your future resurrection with Christ guarantees that you will stand some day in glory with hope fulfilled by sight. Even when you face the final blows of death your hope will transcend that moment where many think all is lost.

If we have placed our hope only in this life we are to be more pitied than all men. (1 Corinthians 15:19). Yet Christ is risen from the dead and he leads us into and over the final frontiers of hope into the Kingdom of Heaven. Bank on it.

Preaching Part 4 - Preaching Should Thoughtfully Engage People in Culture

March 14, 2017

As preaching is always a contemporary exercise, the needs, questions, concerns and beliefs of the hearer must be engaged thoughtfully by the pastor who communicates the Word. In preaching, our desire is to anticipate objections to the text that our hearers may have so that we may meet them with grace and truth in the sermon. There are issues in every age that may be considered to be particularly at odds with the Scriptures. We may call these fault lines[1] for the gospel in culture. A fault line is a place where two massive plates in the earth’s crust collide. When this happens the earth literally quakes. In like manner, there are issues in every age and culture that will clash with the Truth and we should be aware of these.

Major fault lines in contemporary, western, Post-Christendom culture

In our age, human sexuality, freedom, the nature of truth and authority, human autonomy and the creation of our selves are all massive collision points that preachers will encounter. As such, we want to be able to wisely speak to these issues with two things in our hearts and minds. First, an utter faithfulness to God and his revealed Word. Second, a sensitivity to communicate clearly and compassionately when encountering something along a cultural fault line in the text. As a pastor engages with people he ought to make note of their questions about God, theology, culture, and the gospel and address these both directly and indirectly in his preaching. We want to do this with skill, wisdom and courage.

Finally, the church exists for the mission of God. In fact, God has a people for his purposes on the earth. Part the very essence of the church is to make disciples of others by sharing good news and teaching people to follow Jesus. As preachers of the Word, we hope to thoughtfully engage lost people in our pulpit work and ministry. This means addressing lost people and their concerns and questions and spiritual need for a Savior. By this I do not mean simply giving brief alter calls or times of decisions. I mean speaking to the lost people in the room. If there are no lost people present, the preacher can and should speak to congregation as if they were actually there. We do this for two reasons. First, to consider the lost as people and for them to know that we care about their world, their lives and concerns. Second, we want the congregation to care about those far from God and learn from the preacher how to speak to them with grace and truth. In preaching the Word, the hope is to lead the mission of God amongst the people of God. This keeps the focus of our task on the Great Commission clear. This task the church must keep clear in the preaching of the Word. JI Packer describes this well:

Apart from the preaching of the Word, however, the church will never have the resources to do this [witness and give a reason for our hope]; it will constantly tend to forget its identity as the people charged to go and tell, and may actually lose its grip on the contents of its own message, as it has done many times in the past. History tells of no significant church growth and expansion that has taken place without preaching (significant, implying virility and staying power, is the key word there). [2]

[1] I first heard this concept used by Dr. David Mahan, director of the Rivendell Institute for Christian Thought and Learning http://www.rivendellinstitute.org/

[2] JI Packer, “Introduction: Why Preach” in Samuel T. Logan, The Preacher and Preaching : Reviving the Art in the Twentieth Century (Phillipsburg, N.Y.: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co., 1986), 21. Emphasis in original.

Part 3 - Preaching Should Engage the Affections

March 9, 2017

In the first two parts of this series on Preaching in Post-Chrsitian Contexts, we focused on the facts that preaching should be both biblical and contextual. Today we move towards seeing one of the aims of preaching: To raise the affections for Jesus so that we might love, worship and follow him.

The great letter to the Romans has a pause at the end of chapter 11 which reminds us of the purposes of God in creation and the redemption of his people: For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36 ESV) Additionally, Paul writes of Jesus to the Ephesians when he gives purpose to the church:

[20] Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)

All glory in this life belongs to God! The purpose of the church in Christ is to bring glory to God. Along these biblical lines, one of the great historical catechisms of the faith teach us that our purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever[1]. With such aims in view, the goal of preaching should work to raise our love and affections to Jesus so that we love, worship, obey and thereby glorify him with our lives. The puritan pastor and scholar, Jonathan Edwards once described true religion as consisting in the heart; or in the desires or religious affections. His view was that the fervent love for God had many attending effects on people. This portion of his classic work, The Religious Affections, demonstrates the importance of our love for God upon our walk with God.

From a vigorous, affectionate, and fervent love to God, will necessarily arise other religious affections; hence will arise an intense hatred and a fear of sin; a dread of God’s displeasure; gratitude to God for his goodness; complacence and joy in God when he is graciously and sensibly present; grief when he is absent; a joyful hope when a future enjoyment of God is expected; and fervent zeal for the divine glory. In like manner, from a fervent love to men, will arise all other virtuous affections towards them.[2]

Preaching should pursue the hearts of people to lift them high towards God in Jesus Christ. The Lord taught us that if we love him, we will obey him. (John 14:15) Christian preaching must have Jesus at center stage for our highest loves and deepest devotion to be aimed. It is my hope that my own preaching will leave hearts with a desire to love, worship, follow and obey Jesus as Lord of their lives.

Notes

[1] "The Westminter Shorter Catechism," Presbyterian Church in America, accessed February 3, 2017. http://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ShorterCatechismwithScriptureProofs.pdf.

[2] Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1746, 2001), 36, 37.

Preaching Should be Contextual

March 6, 2017

In part one of this series, A Vision for Preaching in Post Christian Contexts, we began with a simply, but essential claim, preaching should be biblical. In any time and place we most keep our preaching vision connected to the Scriptures. If we do not begin with the Bible then everything else will go off the rails as we seek to communicate truth to our context. The prophets, apostles and Jesus Christ must be the content of our preaching as we seek to connect and communicate the gospel to people in culture. With this said, we have further work to do in order to be faithful preachers in our day.

Preaching Should be Contextual

If the key task of the preacher is to keep the content of his preaching biblical, his secondary concern is to preach and teach this content to people who exist in space, time, geography and culture. No church or people exist in the middle of nowhere; we all exist somewhere. All people, and certainly churches, exist in some spatio-temporal-cultural-eschatological reality. 1 In other words, we are preaching to people in a particular life context. We are to preach the Bible to people who gather together in a certain place, who live in a certain time, who have a history, who have current loves, worship and temptations. Furthermore, we preach the transcendent gospel to see an in-breaking Kingdom to THESE people right THERE. As such, we must speak in a language and idiom that is intelligible to the people of the day and location in order to connect and communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to them. If there is no connection, there will be no communication. Many people have used various metaphors for connecting text and context. Building bridges, landing planes, standing between two worlds and translation2 have all be useful. In my ministry, it is my goal to be faithful to the Scriptures while living and preaching these words among a particular people. This means a preacher must also be a missionary seeking to connect to the world in which he lives. He should seek to instruct the Christian while connecting with and inviting in the non-Christian hearer to Christ and Kingdom.3

In practical terms this means I will seek to speak about the Word and their World drawing from the literature, films, art forms of contemporary culture. I will not start with the Bible and then jump out of the text into the world for a nice pep talk. Nor will I simply teach the content of Scripture without seeking to connect with people where they live, work and play. I like to think of a sinusoidal wave that sows together text and context. Going into their world from the Bible and then back into the Bible from appropriate connection points in their world.

In having multiple entry points and exit points it is my hope to connect with various people who are hearing the preaching of the Word. The goal is always working to take people on a journey with and to Jesus to raise their affections for, worship of and obedience to Him. This will be our third aspect of preaching. It should engage the affections for Jesus.

Notes

See my discussion in Gregg R. Allison, Sojourners and Strangers : The Doctrine of the Church, Foundations of Evangelical Theology Series (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012), 149.
Kuruvilla cites Karth Barth who noted this as the translation of theology into the language of the newspaper. Kuruvilla, A Vision for Preaching : Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry, 118.
It should be noted that there was an expectation in the early church that non-believers would be present in church gatherings. Many times, this passage is overlooked because of debates on prophecy and tongues etc. but 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 makes it clear that unbelievers entering a worship gathering should not be an unexpected reality.

A Vision for Preaching in Post Christian Contexts

March 2, 2017

One of the most important task of any leader in the movement of Jesus is to communicate the good news and the truth of biblical revelation to the people under his influence. A vision for the who, the what, the why and how of preaching is a must in every generation until Jesus returns. It is of particular importance in the post-Christian west as we seek to be faithful both to the gospel and to reaching people in culture.

How great the confusion will be left to those who follow if pulpit ministries goes astray! We have observed throughout history that false teachers can have an incredible sway on others. When they occupy the sacred desk of the pastor, how much more the damage may be done.

What will follow here is simply a brief elaboration on my philosophy of the preaching ministry for our day and time. I will unpack this by highlighting some aspects of the preaching task which I feel is essential to this sort of work. In doing so, I hope to give a vision into a passion for mission and how I see responsible pulpit ministry as essential to ministry.

For simplicity, I’ve chosen headers for each section which read “Preaching should…” as these things are my recommendations to any of you who would engage in the preaching task. The first focus follows here and others will flow out on the blog in the week ahead.

Preaching Should be Biblical

In his correspondence with his young apprentice Timothy, the apostle Paul echoes this strong word:

[1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5] As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

These words are contained in Paul’s final letter and contains some strong clarity for young ministers starting out. First, he gives a charge that should clear the head and perk up the ears. He basically says, I challenge you in front of God, Jesus and Kingdom come. Serious stuff here.

His challenge to Timothy was to preach! But not simply preach his opinions, his clever ideas, things he read in blogs, et. al. He tells him to preach the Word. This ministry will involve preaching the Word of another, that of God himself. It is also interesting that the pastor in his preaching of the Word should be ready to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. This list is very similar to and parallels that which Paul says about the “Scriptures” in 2 Timothy 3:16 in the immediate textual neighborhood just a few sentences prior. He is to bring God’s Scriptures to the church in light of the tendency of people to wander away into false teaching, drawn away into myths, to teaching they simply want to hear and a myriad of other worldly ideas.

This preaching and teaching of the Scriptures was also exemplified in the personal ministry of the apostle as well. We read in Acts 20:27 that he did not shrink back from declaring to the Ephesians the whole counsel of God. He discipled them and prepared them for leadership by preaching the Word of God to them. Abraham Kuruvilla, in his work A Vision for Preaching, describes the aim of preaching being biblical in the following helpful manner:

What does it mean to affirm that preaching is biblical? We have seen that Scripture, divine discourse, is to be the source material for sermons in the church, for the Bible is abiding, weighty, and binding upon the people of God for their faith and practice. [1]

There are also exhortations and examples we must look to for the congregation as well. As hearing and heeding the Word of God is not a passive engagement from the church. The ancient church in Thessalonica was said they received the word of God not as the words of men but as the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Furthermore, James exhorted early Jewish believers to be quick to hear and to receive the implanted word with all meekness. This word, James tells us, is able to save souls. The Word needs to be heard but also heeded and obeyed. (See full context by reading James 1:19-25).

Preaching should be biblical in that it should explain the meaning of and application of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Christians should sit under such teaching and eager to hear the Words of God to follow Jesus in life and mission. Far too often the traditions of men get substituted in for the words of God. (Mark 7:1-13) This temptation should be resisted by keeping our Bibles open and our hearts tuned to the words of the Lord.

Up next...Preaching Should be Contextual

Notes

[1]Abraham Kuruvilla, A Vision for Preaching : Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015), 26.

Forgiveness – A word in season from Gardner C. Taylor

January 23, 2017

In our current climate of bitterness, guile and national infighting, I read some fresh words tonight from an old saint. At the recommendation of some dear and gracious brothers, I picked up a volume entitled Faith in the Fire by the late, eminent African-American pastor, preacher and community leader Gardner C. Taylor. These are words that so many of us would do well to take to heart:

Forgiveness is a part of the nature of God. Individuals and our nation can receive this forgiveness. In these trying and difficult days, all should bow to ask God for grace and humility, that forgiveness may be extended. God will not regard us with favor if we are forever flexing our muscles and proclaiming our richness and greatness. We need to admit our failures and confess our faults and ask for understanding as we strive to make up our delinquencies. A glad God will forgive. Therefore, let us also forgive one another. Remember, an ugly look, a harsh word may pour salt into an already aching heart. On the other hand, a kind word may be salve and balm to that poor, broken spirit. God will forgive as we forgive each other. Gardner C. Taylor, Faith in the Fire (SmileyBooks: New York), 3.

Our Lord and the apostles teach us the importance and centrality of forgiveness to the gospel:

7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6:7-15

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. - Ephesians 1:7-10

29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:29-32

If we have experienced the forgiveness of God in Christ, let us indeed bring a kind word tomorrow. A word of good news, a gospel word, full of forgiveness and faith. Thanks Dr. Taylor for showing a good path that is particularly relevant once again in our present day.

We believe in?

January 4, 2017

I still remember sitting in a restaurant years ago speaking with a man who began to share with Kasey and me about the changes in a Christian denomination. He was talking about how they were going back to teaching that the Bible was true and that Jesus rose from the dead visibly and bodily. I remember saying quite nonchalantly, "Man, that's awesome." What followed was a look of shock across his visage. You see, his views were more in line with contemporary "mainline Protestantism" which I learned that day to mean "we no longer believe much of that Bible stuff."

It has always been a profound puzzle to me why people would choose a form of religion yet then deny the central tenets of that faith, the teaching of its founder as well as it's holy book. What's the point in this? I am personally someone who converted to be a follower of Jesus because I believe he rose from the dead, died for our sins, is the sovereign son of God and the hinge point of human history. If I did not believe these things and experience them I certainly would not be a Christian let alone go to some dead church on Sundays.

Today the Washington Post summarized some research over the past year that simply makes sense to me. The churches that are growing actually believe in Jesus, his teaching, his death, burial and resurrection. The pastors and congregations with the most vitality seem to believe in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles as found in the Bible. Shocker right!? Do take a few moments to read the article here.

Long ago, an early leader of the Jesus movement spoke of a social reality with people having "the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. " (2 Timothy 3:5) I also find it interesting that the end of the verse contains the following command "Avoid such people."

My conviction is that if we are going to be a Christian we ought to believe in Jesus, trust his work for us and follow him in the manner laid out for us in the Bible. After all, if you want your church to die out, don't believe any of this nonsense below. If you want your church to thrive and your soul to be alive to God, you just might want to join me in reciting it:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Epidemic

December 24, 2016

A Poem by Kayla Monaghan

He laughs at a short ten seconds

They at the bug eyed bats from a far away land

I stare around at the distracted faces

All of them forgetting...

Forgetting how it feels to hear

How to speak with beauty

How to stand up and lead with civility

Language looks at us sadly and says:

“Humanity loves screens more than me.

Why should I remain, only mocked to be?”

Stay! I want to cry

But my tongue has gone mute

And there is only a small sigh

Because why would Eloquence and Grace

Want to come and play

When nobody can say more than “hey”

How sad we have become

Cute cats and big stars suck our time

Through a smoothie straw

Giving us the brain freeze

Letters, watches, and eyes

Have been tantalized

Lured in, a moth to a flame

A buzz, a ring, a distant call

Have become far too near

Patience has been kicked to the curb

“We don’t need you anymore”

A tear falls from my eye

As the world becomes individualized

The idea of family stamped in the mud, left years behind

I will dig, fingers scraping

Hands frozen as my heart grows warm

I must find that beautiful feeling

Of unity and gentleness

That is only found when we open our mouths

Our eyes must connect

Not just through a text

For a person’s voice can be as tight as a hug

Sweetness seeping in between each syllable

See what beauty comes from a flower like love?

The fever is growing worse

Youngsters’ hands are glued to touchscreens

Eyes locked tight and if they can’t have,they scream

Teens have their hearts shattered

In less time than it takes to breathe

Not all evil intents has Technology

Yet still we grow sicker and sicker

Imagination leaking out faster than

The water in a faucet of an old sink

Ears loose the ability to hear hidden messages

Found in those around them

What can we do?

It races by at the speed of light

Is wifi crucial to survive?

Identify the temptation

So we can find a vaccination

A dose of smiles and human contact might do the trick

Look around and notice the blue sky

A sight we take for granted because it resides in our minds

But its arms can help those in a fix

And we must be careful not to feed this epidemic

How to Pray...Before, During and After Competition

December 19, 2016

Have you ever see an athlete on TV saying the victory was guaranteed...because God? Ever wonder as an athlete how to pray related to your practices and competitions? I have a two part essay on sports and prayer going up over at Athletes in Action's web site this week. I hope these posts would be of benefit to the Christian athlete and sports fan out there. Let's stop all the goofy stuff and truly yield life and sport to the sovereign care of Jesus.

Giving Tuesday

November 28, 2016

In response to the focused commercialization of the holiday season, a recent cultural phenomenon has also emerged known as "Giving Tuesday." After we have tracked down the deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the following Tuesday is designated a day for generosity.

This year, even on Giving Tuesday, would you consider a year end gift to help Power of Change. Our family and ministry is focused on impacting and influencing the coming generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have a special year and match going on to close 2016 and really bee your support. If you'd like to contribute please see this link.

2016 Year End Match

Many Thanks

Followers of Jesus and Educational Choices

October 18, 2016

How should we educate our children? There simply isn't one answer to this question for followers of Jesus. Yet there are principles which can help guide and inform our decisions for our families. The following are just a few principles to lovingly engage around as we educate our children.

First Principle: The holistic education is the responsibility of parents and a duty which centers in imparting our faith to the next generation. Education, from a biblical persepctive, must include the teaching of the gospel to our kids – Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Ephesians 6:1-4.

Second Principle: Education is a shaping of the whole person into the image of Christ and enabling them to see life through the gospel and contribute to the world with skill and wisdom.

Education is not simply job prep or about making money
Education is a shaping of the soul in conformity to the Word of God and the image of Christ. This is for the sake of Kingdom service and mission in the world
Character, Knowledge, Wisdom are all shaped as we educate children

Third Principle: There are many paths to faithfully fulfill that duty.

Though a diversity of paths can help us fulfill our calling as parents, the following will not lead us towards faithfulness:

Entrust public schools to educate children without parental shaping/modeling in the gospel
Entrust private or Christian schools without parental shaping/modeling in the gospel
Believing that home schooling is not without its own risks and difficulties

We must be involved as parents in the education of our kids. God gave us this responsibility. There are many partners in this endeavor including other parents, church community and our schooling choices. Our family has engaged with three different schooling models over the last 11 years. We home schooled our oldest one year, we've had our kids in classical Christian schools and now we are in public school with our daughters. The following are a few warnings and encouragements to help you as parents with walking in your schooling choices.

Some Warnings

Warnings for public schoolers – the complete disconnecting of knowledge from the knowledge of God is a disjunction you must address. Your work must have “integration” of subject matter into a broader Christian conceptual scheme. So your task is to teach your children how “Math” and “God” relate…and many other such subjects. Additionally, you will need to provide some training in worldview, thoughtful engagement and apologetics to help your kids interact with the godless universe they will be presented.
Warnings for private schoolers – there is a temptation when attending elite private schools to completely check out of your children’s educational experience due to the fact that paid professionals, who have a track record of certain kinds of results, are leading your children. Watching for pride, elitism and the idolatry of societal success and position must be addressed in some settings. See also the warning for public schoolers as this is applicable here in many cases as well depending upon the worldview of the private school.
Warnings for Christian schoolers – there is a temptation to think your kids are “safe” from worldly influences being in a Christian school. We must not forget that the imparting of faith must first come from your home and from the household of God (the church) and not simply the school. Additionally, there can be just as much sin in Christian schools as there is in non Christians and having the label “Christian” does not mean the all the kids have a holy agenda 24/7. You also must resist “bubbling off” your kids from our lost world and mission.
Warnings for home schoolers – Home schoolers, have to resist the temptation to see themselves as better, more pure, or prideful pioneers. Grace must be extended to other families who have not chosen “the way” of home school. Additionally, your children must be involved in the mission in your local church and have a regular flow of connecting with a lost world and culture. If not, they may prove ineffective in bringing the gospel to bear to people in culture. Here my warning is about mission, not “socialization” and social awkwardness. I think that’s a silly critique of homeschooling. A well-adjusted home school student may not understand and relate to lost people if not connected with them regularly in church/city. A missional church is a must.

Some Encouragements

Encouragements for public schoolers – your family has a wonderful opportunity to live out gospel witness with teachers, administrators and other parents who need to see and interact with followers of Jesus
Encouragements for private schoolers – the educational dedication of some private schools is fantastic and you too can engage with people in culture as a witness for Jesus.
Encouragements for Christian schoolers – to have Scripture and a biblical worldview be an integrated part of learning at school is a wonderful thing. To have your family and your school cooperating with the same worldview goals is an excellent help establishing your kids in the gospel and having an integrated view of knowledge.
Encouragements for home schoolers – the relationships and context of learning is natural and free flowing as you explore God’s world with your kids. This is something to relish and be thankful for. Your ability to move at the “right pace” for your child is a gift that you can direct with wisdom. Additionally, learning is not institutionalized and can become a natural love and life long process of your children. God has placed you in charge of your child’s education as parents. Relish the flexibility, opportunities and choices that abound for you.

One final word of exhortation. In local churches we must seek to be an encouragement and help to one another as we educate our children, bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. We don't need "schooling wars" even as you go about your responsibilities and educational choices with passion and conviction. Be a blessing and a help to those choosing both similar and different educational paths to your family. We have too many other important battles to fight to go to war about school.

Working the System - Scheduling and Work flow as an Entrepreneur

September 7, 2016

Over the years I have mainly been involved with start ups. We helped start Athletes in Action ministries at the University of Kentucky and Virginia Tech. We started a college and young adult crew at a growing church, we helped plant churches in New Jersey for almost eight years and today we are in the process of starting a new non-profit ministry.

Working in such settings requires a certain kind of motivation, self-discipline and personal organization. It is easy to be lazy and unorganized or its also easy to work all the time. It requires one to prioritize and schedule one's own work life in a way that is both effective and healthy. In such settings if you don't get things done, nothing gets done. In this brief post I want to share a few things about the way I have developed a system to get things done. Still not sure if I've been highly successful or not, but here is the way I do things.

Begin with a block schedule

Block out time each week for the regular tasks, meetings and priorities related to your most central roles. I include things like exercise, devotional time with the Lord as well as things central to your vocation/work. What things are in the must do category each day, each week, each month, each quarter, each year. Block out and reserve the time. I also think it's wise to include specific blocks for correspondence and any necessary administration. For example, don't do your email all day, block out times when you will (and will not) answer emails. Also remember to block in some margin to do some fun things like watching Premier league soccer games early Saturday mornings. :-) Keep in mind that proverb about "all work and no play" and more importantly God's command for us to rest. Block it all in and this will give you bones for the skeleton of your life and schedule.

Find a system of triage that works for you

Triage allows an ER doctor to evaluate a patient and make decisions as to how to prioritize her care and attention. If a guy comes in spurting blood at the neck, a good triage system will put that person ahead of the guy with the sniffles. Triage also needs to be applied to the relationships, tasks and opportunities that you wish to make or come your way. In doing effective triage, I do think some sort of quadrant system of important, unimportant, urgent and non-urgent and is helpful. If something is urgent and important, do it now. If important and non-urgent, schedule it. If not important and urgent, run! Just kidding. Lovingly help that bit of urgent on to someone for whom it can be important. Finally, if not important and non-urgent simply say "no" because ignoring it to death may come across rude and uncaring. Saying no quickly helps us all know what to do next. A system of triage helps you sort through tasks, needs, etc. It also gives you a way of thinking and acting to determine if you are the right person to do something.

Place tasks or to dos into your life and schedule

I personally like to put anything I'm going to do in my actual calendar and forgo complex to-do listing. For me, if I cannot determine when something will be done, I'm not sure it's mine to do. Now I will use a whiteboard or a notepad to map out some short-term tasks but these are usually tasks related to things that I have put in my calendar. Modern calendaring software allows us to schedule both events and the corresponding work for them along with timed reminders. If you love to-do lists by all means go for it. Just make sure things land in your actual life and you triage that list well.

I underestimate my productivity when I calendar things

This may sound strange but this is an important way of doing things for me. What this means is that if something ends up taking me 40 minutes and I have allocated an hour to the task, then I will have time for reflection, minor diversions and a bit of a release from focus. It allows each day to not feel as frenetic in pace. So if I need to do something and I know I can get it done in 50 minutes or so I block off an hour. If I'm not certain how long something will take I block off an hour. I always make time allocations generously but not wastefully. It would be equally unwise to block out an hour for a 10 min task or phone call. Giving myself ample time for my work also makes me feel super victorious on the days where I have high-energy and efficiency and get a whole lot done.

When calendaring anything count the full cost

Whenever you go about accomplishing anything you have to account for the full amount of necessary time for the task. This means blocking out actual preparation time along with any commitment to a project, person, speaking engagement or group meeting. Scheduling in the time for preparation, prayer and focus helps to see what the actual cost of something is to my life. How much energy, prep and focus do I need to do XYZ and to do it right? This also helps with decision-making as to whether something should be on my plate or not or I should say yes to any invitation or not.

And this may be a little ridiculous...but I also record all my actual time

When I deviate from my schedule and do other things during the day I put in my calendar what I actually did that day. This helps me reallocate time for things not yet completed as well as to hold myself accountable for what I'm actually doing each day. Furthermore, this practice also allows others (staff, church elders, boards, wives and family) to know what you do with your time. Remember, we are accountable to God and others for how we make use of our days. Additionally, having mysterious "time sinks" in our lives will hinder our effectiveness. Did I also mention that we are to have time in our life for devotion, thinking and exercise and fun? We don't have to be all work and no play to account for our work and play. :-)

These are just a few principles I use to manage myself day to day in settings where the structure and workflow must come from my own initiative. I'll close with a listing of a few tools I use in my own flow of things.

Tools I use most frequently

Covey's classic work has helped me to try to work within my roles and relationships. Allen's work has helped me triage emails and tasks effectively in order to GTD. Both works I still find helpful for focusing my life and energy.

I use my google calendar and multiple color coded calendars like a crazy person. My calendar, my kids Futbol travel calendars, practice schedules, even the games of my favorite sports teams all make it in to my week view with special colors. Any modern calendaring system can use shared and online calendars. So whether it's Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal or something else, you can implement this. For mobile, I particularly enjoy Readle's Calendars 5 for iOS and an app called Fantastical.

I do use notepads, whiteboards and Evernote to dump and dictate thoughts. I find I think well out loud, so talking and capturing those things with speech to text I find effective although it leads to some typos LOL. Finally, for team work and leadership, collaborative task and communications, applications like Trello and Slack have been helpful of late.

However you skin the cat of your daily workflow and productivity, I do pray that you find focus to love and serve well with the time you have been given. I hope some of the above may help you along the way as well.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15, 16