Time Wounds All Heels!

Time marches on. Mortals cannot escape the relentless sequence of moments that make up our pilgrimage. The journey of life is 3 score and 10 and if by chance we are granted a little extra, that is pure grace.

I am now on that bonus portion. Today I used one of the first books I purchased for OT Survey at Cedarville - - an ASV 1901 Bible. The spine is beginning to crumble. I got out a role of Library Tape and 'patched' it back to wholeness (sorta). Just like my body (Cancer, Vitamin D, chrondroiton for the creaky joints, etc.) age is showing.

I am very thankful for what is in those years. Painful, sometimes very very long and spiritually dry, but always packed with Wisdom if you are listening and ready to learn and grow in grace. And, when the springs of God's freshness immerse you in His goodness all the sadness and arid dry times are gone!

My heirs will inherit the library (some 4,000 volumes). As my friend Kevin DeYoung says of them, old books are like old friends. I have a navy buddy, he lives in Tampa FL and we talk every day via cell phone. We have been friends for 53 years. What a cherished and valuable person. I was in his wedding. Our children swam in his pool with his. He and his wife visit Peggy & I when they travel.

So cherish those old friends and the old books as well. The binding wears out just like ours but the TRUTH they provide is timeless. God likes old - cf. Lev. 19:32. If He is OK with the wrinkles I surely am!

Dilly Dally and Changing Your Name

Today, February 20, 2012, the Southern Baptist Convention will announce at a meeting in Nashville the proposed 'new name' for the SBC. In light of the global execution of ministry that the SBC enjoys I believe this is a prudent and appropriate action. I affirm this initiative.

Having said that, I agonize over the issues of greater significance that the SBC REFUSES to address. Some of these are:

#1 - Truth telling about the true number of members (16.3 million claimed - - but on the best Sunday of the year there are not 7 million people gathered to worship).

#2 - The causal issues behind that attendance gap. This is driven by a seriously flawed doctrine of Soteriology. People are swept into membership that are simply not redeemed as evidenced by the total absence of progressive sanctification.

#3 - An almost paranoid focus on giving to the Cooperative Program. Failure to give is another indicator of people who are not submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Change the hearts and the contributions will rise dramatically.

#4 - An unrelenting refusal to embrace a Metric for effective ministry that measures transformation rather than mere activity.

So, we can "Dilly Dally" and change the name, % given to this program or that but until the Sovereign of the Ages brings us face to face with our sin, we repent and humble ourselves - - the name change will be just more "Dilly Dally". I welcome your responses to these thoughts.

Pastoral Integrity & Plagurism

Solomon told us there is nothing new under the sun. Using material created by someone else is a legitimate resource for writing articles or preparing sermons. When doing so it is only proper and ethical to display appropriate credit to the author/source. Failure to do so is both a moral and ethical breech.

With the availability of material on the internet the incidence of 'pirated' material has occurred with alarming frequency. The injunction "Thous shall not steal" is alive and well in God's universe. He is dishonored when people who claim to be Christian engage is this thievery with impunity.

Publications of such notoriety as the NY Times and the Boston Globe were wracked by this dubious practice in recent past. Not surprising. To see this same reprehensible evil manifest among Pastors is another matter.

Better to include copious footnotes and citations than to give the impression that you are the author when in fact you are not. Adopt the practice of including proper citations and links for all material not original copy from your hand. DO IT!

Finishing Well & DNF

4th of July. Ideal weather for a 10 K race. 800+ runners milling around mentally reviewing their strategy for the race. Nerves on edge. At this point you are ready or you are not. That simple.

A good friend says of running and winning - - it is not the will to win but the will to prepare to win that matters. Real wisdom.

The runners come to the starting line. Running protocol says that the participants line up according to ability. Those that run a 4:30 mile pace at the front, the plodders, who just hope to finish regardless of the mile time at the ‘back of the pack’.

A young stud, buffed and well tanned, positions himself at the very front of this collection of pulsating testosterone. He does multiple ‘sprint outs’, hoping that the crowd is observing and appreciating his self-affirmed athletic superiority.

BANG! The starter’s gun signals the start of the race. The front-liners seek to establish themselves at or near the lead. This stud is soon hundreds of yards in the lead. As he rounds the first corner he is all alone – for now.

At the 4 mile mark (a 10K is 6.2 miles) I notice the "meat wagon”, runners jargon for the EMT’s with their ambulance on the side of the road, lights flashing. They have a patient on a stretcher loading him up for a ride to the finish in anything less than glory. It is the ‘Stud’. He will receive a DNF = Did Not Finish.

(This runner was a Marine home on leave. He assumed that Marine Corps Training was adequate to succeed in a 10K race. Make sure you prepare for the rigors of your task)

I recorded the best 10 K time of my running career in this race. My time corresponded with my ability and training.

Only 3 in 10 OT Leaders finished well. Go to www.bobbyclinton.com and read his helpful articles on this subject. Many begin with great fan-fare. Few finish strong. The obstacles are many. The parable of the tortise and the hare applies. Serve and lead having prepared well. Stay the course. Measure the rhythms and challenges wisely. Be accountable. Surrender to the LORD of LORDS and King of Kings daily (Luke 9:23).

Watch this video. Make finishing well a top priority .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJolVkw5cOc

Random Arrows & Leadership Selection

Like an archer who wounds everyone,

is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard (Prov. 26:10).

Sin in haste and repent at leisure. That simple statement applies to scores of churches. They call Pastors and Staff with little or no wisdom applied in the screening and selection process. Then, in short order, there is much weeping and wailing because the recently transacted "marriage" was not made in heaven.

In selecting Leaders, whether they function as a Teaching/Preaching Pastor or in the various responsibilities of an Elder, the Scripture provides specific and essential guidelines.

The first and primary consideration is Character. The most frequently applied criteria in selecting a Pastor is verbal skill. While this is certainly important, because a man is a credible speaker is no assurance that he also possesses a godly character.

This is the final post in this BLOG for 2011. I appeal to those who shoulder the responsibility of selecting Leaders to be "wise archers". Avoid random and careless 'shooting'. Do the research. Check multiple reference levels. Speak to a 360 circle of people who know the man. The most accurate indicator of what a man will do in the future is what he has done in the past. Know his history. Honor the facts. Pray much.

Then, celebrate the archery lessons that God has given as you serve with a man that is well suited to lead in the position you have placed him.

God's best in 2012.

Evangelism - Discipleship

This is a challenge to my readers. Find the word evangelism in the Bible. When you locate the number of times and places in which it is used, please send me an e-mail noting the references in which that word was found.

The church for the past two centuries has invested immense human and financial resources pursuing what is known as evangelism. The text of Scripture speaks of making disciples.

I challenge my readers to do a similar search on the concept of disciple making. When both word studies have been completed, compare the references to evangelism and disciple making. Why have I offered this challenge?

My observation as to the reasons for this are as follows:

1. It is much easier to make converts than it is to make disciples.

2. The metric required for evangelism is simply “numbers”.

3. The metric required for disciple making is genuine transformation into the image of Christ.

4. The cost of disciple making. Compared to evangelism is dramatically different. Disciple making requires a costly investment of building relationships with the one being discipled.

5. The culture in the Western world has affirmed evangelism rather than disciple making.

The theological foundation of this in the Western world goes back to Charles Grandeson Finney. This phenomenon was perpetuated the in 20th century by the emergence and operation of the Billy Graham evangelistic Association. This philosophy of “church” has accelerated with the emergence of the mega-church and the emergent church per se.

Each of these entities proclaims a gospel that is man centered and synergistic rather than God centered and monergistic. The metric in this system is numbers pure and simple rather than transformation. More is always better. Larger is superior to smaller. Methods matter more than sound theological postulates.

Please notice that the emergence and operation of this phenomenon covered several centuries. Correcting this anomaly will not be quick, easy or painless.

I offer this challenge in closing. Will the current and future pastors in the United States of America embrace sound theology and disciple making with a gracious but unrelenting pursuit of integrity in the church in America?

You can be one of these shepherd leaders. The question-will you?

Wounded Chaldeans & a Loaf of Bread

I read a chapter in the Book of Jeremiah each morning when I come to my Study. This morning, Chapter 37. This is the account of Jeremiah telling King Zedekiah that the Chaldeans would “burn this city with fire”, Jerusalem.

The King is less than pleased with this report as is always the case when those rebelling against Truth hear it proclaimed with penetrating unflinching audacity and clarity. In the vernacular this is an “in your face” delivery from an incredibly faithfulProphet.

Egypt believed the Prophet – they retreated back south to their own territory. My point – there was not only the word of the Prophet to validate the veracity of his message but the retreat of a dominant power in that region. Rather convincing to anyone except a rebellious presumptuous King.

Jeremiah tells the King that even if the entire army of the Chaldeans were defeated and only wounded men remained, they would “rise up and burn the city (Jerusalem) with fire.” (Jer.37:10) His reward is incarceration and a loaf of bread daily (until “the bread of the city was gone.”) Jer. 37:21).

The Evangelical Church in America is in need of an army of Jeremiahs willing to tell the TRUTH and be content with a loaf of bread and prison as their reward. Want to join this “School of The Prophets”?

Give me a call. We are seeking godly courageous capable and humble Pastors to engage the church in just such a challenge. I personally like Asiago Cheese!!