Ian Hall won one month’s free advertising for his blog, The Evangelists, on SD News.  Congratulations Ian!

We have a great contest that will be coming up sometime next month.  Stay tuned.

Given by Ben Miller, pastor at the Franklin Square OPC, to on September 13, 2009, at the ordination and installation of a new deacon. This is the outline.

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” – 2 Timothy 2:3–7

Join in suffering hardship: until Christ returns, kingdom of God is kingdom at war (“church militant”) – follows that those who labor for this kingdom (including deacons) will be constantly confronted with hardships of warfare (suffering) – Paul says, “Join in!”

Three models show us how to succeed in this hard kingdom work: will specifically apply these to kingdom work of deaconing…

A. A Model of Dedicated Work: The Soldier

Soldier doesn’t run off base anytime he pleases to enjoy luxuries of civilian life; his life dedicated, consecrated (set apart) to objectives set by his superiors – this is not miserable, it is an honor (enlisted); but does mean frequently saying “no” to things good in themselves in order to discharge what he has been enlisted to do

Jesus Christ has enlisted you as a deacon in His church: this means you have work to do that will necessarily trump other things – will often have to choose between doing duty as a dedicated (set apart) officer in Christ’s church, and doing other things you may prefer – there will even be times when dedication to this service will begin to crowd other callings (e.g., family): great wisdom will be needed to know, do what pleases Him who called you (to both!) – I charge you never to swerve from dedication to your King and His calling, even above personal wishes and interests; keep your priorities clear and firm (pleasing your King); let nothing distract or entangle you

B. A Model of Regulated Work: The Athlete

Relativism has always had quite frosty reception in athletics: entire structure of athletic competition depends upon firm rules! – it is no different in the sphere of church office: there are ethical standards (regulations) to which you will be firmly held, for Christ’s honor
You are, for example, to keep within the lines of dignity, sincerity, honesty, self-control, and biblically informed orthodoxy

Embrace the rules that govern your office: know them well, rejoice in them, adhere scrupulously to them; give not even an appearance of laxity in obedience – as kingdom resources are entrusted to you, go an extra mile to be above reproach, providing what is honorable not only in God’s sight but also in man’s sight

I charge you never to swerve from “playing by the rules,” from the precepts of righteousness, the dictates of honor and good faith: and remember that one who runs by the rules may expect the crown

C. A Model of Motivated Work: The Farmer

Why does the farmer get up at 4:00 AM to get out on his fields in the springtime? Why does he plow and disk and plant late into the night for weeks on end? Why does he endure the beating sun, the dust in his mouth and eyes, and lonely communion with the earth? Because he who so toils will rejoice in time of harvest!

You, my brother, are called by the Lord of the church to bear with Him the burdens of His people: to answer their calls and emails, to visit them in afflictions, to struggle with them through decisions, to open to them the wisdom of the scriptures, to call them to repent of their sins. You are called to steward the resources of the kingdom, and to dispense these resources to the needy inside and outside the church in such a way that they experience the compassion of Jesus Himself. There will be days when you will strain under this yoke; but you will press forward with courage and joy, because a day is coming in which you will stand before Jesus Christ to give account of your deaconship – and this One who called you will say, “Well done, my good and faithful deacon; inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me”

I charge you never to swerve from your toil because it is hard, but to refresh and motivate yourself constantly in the sure hope that he who sows in tears will reap in joy – “Think over what I say…”

We’ve been working on rolling out some new features for SD News, and to celebrate we’re offering a free month of advertising for your blog or product on SD News.  All you have to do is re-tweet this tweet (say that ten times fast!).  We will randomly choose a winner by midnight (Eastern time) Friday, September 18th.  Your ad will run from October 1st to October 31st, free of charge.

Your ad has to be 125×125, and it can be animated.  Check out SD News for examples of the sponsors we currently have (and visit them, too!).

We reserve the right to disqualify any blog or product we deem not relevant to the interests of out readers.  Thanks!

I hesitated to make this an official SDP post, but I have a new post up over at my personal blog on the contrast between the city and the country, based on a recent vacation I took.

Take it for what it’s worth.

I first purchased Francis Schaeffer’s The God Who Is There when I was in a freshman in college.   I had taken an Honors philosophy of the mind course and I was very interested in the Christian response to the philosophers and ideas I had been presented with.  At the time, Schaeffer was the only person I knew who was engaging ancient and modern philosophy from a Christian perspective (obviously, now I realize there are many, many other gifted men who came before and after him).  I started to read the book and got about 100 pages in before losing interest.  This happened 2 or 3 more times, before I put the book back on the shelf, for another day.

Well, that day came a few months ago.  I promised myself I would start and finish The God Who Is There, no matter how long it took.  And I am glad I did.

In my mind, there are two parts of the book.  In the first part, Schaeffer deals with the history of philosophy from Kierkeggaard down to the existentialists like Camus and Sartre (although Camus didn’t consider himself an existentialist).  He introduces us to the concept of the “line of despair”, which is basically the dividing line between those who embraced the idea of antithesis, and those who rejected it.  Our age is “under” the line, while the age before Kierkeggaard, Hegel, etc. was “above” the line, since people generally believed in antithesis and absolute truth (even if they did so for romantic reasons).  Schaeffer then explains how philosophy is manifested in art, music, literature, and theology.  It’s almost like a trickle-down effect: the philosophers lead the way, and their ideas affect these other areas over the course of time.  When you see an art exhibit or listen to modern music, you are hearing an artistic manifestation of what is going on philosophically at the time.

I wouldn’t describe this section as academic but it is at times a little technical for someone without experience with philosophy.  But Schaeffer is an excellent communicator and for the most part he makes these complex ideas very simple, pointing out where these ideas conflict with historic Christianity and also giving a human element to those who believe in them.

The “second half” of the book focuses more on application: the Christian’s response to the philosophical milieu of the modern culture.  Here, Schaeffer is masterful.  He doesn’t present answers to common questions the unbeliever might ask, but lays out more of a mindset that we need to adopt when evangelizing.  I could sum his approach up as this: we are all, believers and unbelievers, God’s children, created in His image.  We should therefore approach the evangelistic task not mechanically, as if relaying some secret formula will cause the unbeliever’s eyes to be open, but in love.  Love is the overarching theme of the “second half”: love for the unbeliever as one created in the image of God, and love for each other, because as Jesus said, they will know we are His disciples when we love one another.

The other, more intellectual points Schaeffer makes regard approach.  Again, instead of a formula, there is a broad principle to be followed:

Every man, therefore, irrespective of his system, is caught.  As he tries intellectually to extend his position in a logical way and then live within it, he is caught by the two things which, as it were, slap him across the face.  Without indicating that his psychology or philosophy is correct, Carl Gustav Jung has correctly observed that two things cut across every man’s will – the external world with it’s structure, and those things which well up from inside himself.  Non-Christian presuppositions simply do not fit into what God has made, including what man is.  This being so, every man is in a place of tension.  Man cannot make his own universe and then live in it.

We find the “point of tension”, that area in a man’s thinking where his ideas and life don’t match up, and we show the inconsistency in his worldview.

I would heartily recommend this book.  In my opinion, any thinking Christian, serious about engaging modern man where he is philosophically, should read this book.  Though it was written over 40 years ago, the ideas and approach are as relevant as ever.

Great article over at ardentcries.com about Calvin’s idea of the “sensus divinitatis”.  He says:

Men of sound judgment will always be sure that a sense of divinity which can never be effaced is engraved upon men’s minds.

I have been spending a ton of time lately thinking about the contours of spiritual reformation in the 21st century.  Let me suggest that there are four main areas of human life in which the church in every age (family by family, and also as a communal whole) is called to work out reformation.

(1) Contemplation: This is the sphere of human thinking, of homo sapiens. As individuals, as households, and as a whole church, we need to be engaged in deep reflection/meditation on our scriptures, on our theological and ecclesiastical traditions, and on contemporary theological and ideological trajectories, as well as on the works of our God in nature and history.

(2) Consecration: This is the sphere of human worshipping, of homo adorans. As individuals and households daily, and as a whole church weekly, we need to be engaged in worship that is both vibrant and “formed” (liturgical).

(3) Cultivation: This is the sphere of human building, of homo faber. As individuals, as households, and as a whole church, we need in everyday life to fully embody and enact the gospel (the metanarrative of redemptive history). The rule (kingdom) of God takes shape in every sphere of human living; it is always worked out, manifested, instantiated. This involves both constructive elements (culture building, dominion taking) and defensive elements (vigilance against defilements).

(4) Confrontation: This is the sphere of engagement with the “world” (human life in rebellion against God). Here our work is both missional and militant; it involves robust interaction with ideas and cultures, both for purpose of bringing others into the sphere of God’s kingdom (here we must learn how to communicate the gospel in an idiom accessible to the unbeliever), and for the purpose of throwing down high places of evil and deception.

I must admit that The God Who Is There by Francis Schaeffer is a surprising book.  It’s not I was unaware of Schaeffer’s reputation as a great apologist (a description he would be uncomfortable with; he thought of himself as an evangelist first), it’s just that the first half of the book does not prepare you for what’s to come in the second half.  I plan on writing a review of the book in the next week that will elaborate on this idea, but until then, I wanted to cite this paragraph where Schaeffer introduces a phrase that will stick with me for the rest of my life: the “final apologetic”.

The world has a right to look upon us and make a judgment.  We are told by Jesus that as we love one another the world will judge, not only whether we are his disciples, but whether the Father sent the Son.  The final apologetic, along with the rational, logical presentation, is what the world sees in the individual Christian and in our corporate relationships together.  The command that we should love one another surely means something much richer than merely organizational relationship.  Not that we should minimize proper organizational relationship. But one may look at those bound together in an organized group called a church and see nothing of a substantial healing of the division between people in the present life.

It is all too easy to read a passage like this and think of how it applies to that favorite of Reformed straw-men: the one who reads theology all day, can quote Scripture at length, and can wax poetic on the finer points of systematic theology, yet shows little of the fruits of the Spirit, especially love.  But don’t do that.  Instead take a look at yourself.  Have you become so wrapped up in the academic side of learning and defending the faith that you have neglected Christ’s command that we love one another?

I believe Schaeffer is spot on here: the most powerful testimony we can have to a watching world is that we love one another, and put on display in our own lives and relationships the outworking of the healing that Christ made possible in our relationship with the Father.