Evangelism, Ordinary Folks, and the Intelligentsia of the Proletariat -

‘You get up every morning 'fore the sun comes up. Toss a lunchbox into a pickup truck.’

-       Aaron Tippen, Workin’ Man’s PhD

‘I'm not big on social graces

Think I'll slip on down to the oasis

Oh, I've got friends in low places’

-       Garth Brooks, Friends in Low Places

‘For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.’

-       1 Cor. 1:26

This past week I was reading through C.S. Lewis’ lecture ‘God in the Dock’ and something caught my eye.  Perhaps unintentional, but I usually read Lewis with an attention to detail.  Here Lewis mentioned something important in passing. The lecture is about the inclination of our putting God on trial, but at the outset he prefaces the lecture by talking about his audience.  He is talking about addressing members of the Royal Air Force and the particular challenges of making an apologetic appeal to ordinary folks.  Lewis calls them the ‘Intelligentsia of the Proletariat,’ in other words, ’…mechanics, electricians, and wireless operators’…those we encounter every day that have their worldviews framed by an admixture of psychology, pop-culture, and religious half-truths.    Lewis gives a fair amount of consideration as to how to make a gospel appeal to those involved in the everyday work world.  He painstakingly analyzes their influences with an eye on to how to make a gospel appeal.

Most of us are ordinary folks with ordinary callings.  And yet what we have as Christians is an extraordinary message…if we could only articulate it.  It would do us well to consider those we come in contact with in everyday life.  There is no doubt that those who consider themselves Christ’s disciples must live with an eye toward gospel proclamation.  What this means for evangelism is that we must also be students of our audience.  In the amazing providence of God, He has placed us in relationships with others, and these with a plethora of opportunities for gospel proclamation.  The question is…what will we say?  How will we answer the questions raised by the Bill Mahers and Penn Gillettes of the world?  These are the modern prophets of this generation.  Can our apologetic withstand the assault of the neo-atheist?  Do we know enough to be able to offer a thoughtful defense of Christianity?  We’re in a war of worldviews and I’m afraid most of us are unprepared for the battlefield. 

This is an appeal to enter the fray.  As believers God has called us to engage and not to retreat.  Christianity is a legitimate voice in the arena of ideas.  How can we engage the intelligentsia of the proletariat if we don’t even know the questions they are asking?  It makes sense to take a lesson from Lewis and to consider how the Christian faith can be a reasonable answer to the myriad of alternative voices.  In fact...we have a responsibility to do so.  By default we’re already acting according to our worldview.  The question is, will we love our neighbors, family members, and co-workers enough to study them, understand their worldview, answer their questions, and give them an opportunity to hear our extraordinary message? 

-DJM

June 2014 

Of Ministry and Millstones -

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

-Jesus in John 10:11

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

-Jesus in Matthew 19:14

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

-Jesus in Matthew 18:5b-6

This blog has been rolling around in my head for a few weeks, but it was only today that things began to finally come together.  This afternoon at 2:47pm Gilbert Boone entered the world with a shrill and punctuated announcement of his arrival.  He’s our tenth grandchild and is beautiful, healthy, dark-haired, and all 9 pounds 11 ounces of boy.  Both Judy and I found ourselves overwhelmed by emotion at his arrival.  He's quickly made a place for himself in our hearts.  I managed to get an opportunity to hold him and as I held him close for the first time I began to pray for him and the life set out before him.  As I prayed I found myself wondering…what will his life be like? 

And then, on my way home from the hospital I found myself remembering three other young boys….

Of late, Sovereign Grace Ministries has been embroiled in controversy after recent revelations of sexual abuse connected to the one-time SGM flagship Covenant Life Church[1], the trial of ministry volunteer Nathaniel Morales, and the appearance of a cover-up of a sexual predator.  The local news has reported, 

‘Nathaniel "Nate" Morales, 56, of Las Vegas, Nev., was found guilty on three counts of sexual abuse of a minor and two more counts of sexual offense in the second degree, officials said. Morales was accused of abusing three boys from 1983-1991, preying on the young members of the Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg at group sleepovers and in their homes.’[2]

And last week, after a recent Facebook comment regarding the Sovereign Grace Ministries’ child sexual abuse scandal a friend private-messaged me,

‘I was molested by a youth leader (who was married with 3 kids) when I was 11 years old. Later in my 30s I went back and told the senior pastor what had happened. He said he was aware of some other boys who had a similar experience. He told me the man still attended the church but his hands were tied and said that he was helpless to do anything. I reminded him he was a shepherd of the flock of God and is charged with protecting the flock.  He told me the elders had approached the man to discipline him but the man refused to leave the church.’ (Quote used with permission)

While not connected to abuse within Sovereign Grace Ministries, my friend, now in his fifties, still remembers the pain, confusion, and broken trust he experienced at the hands of a leader in the church.  The damage done by this perpetrator has caused far-reaching harm.  Child abuse is a monstrous evil, and the covering of abuse is wickedness compounded.  In my friend’s case and in the cases involving Nathaniel Morales there are real victims with real names and real faces; most importantly, they were children, not unlike my own grandchildren, that were sinned against.  They were vulnerable, trusting, and deserving of protection by those in positions of authority.  They were lambs entrusted to an under-shepherd that chose to violate them rather than protect and care for them.  And while I don’t know all of the facts as they relate to these recent scandals…it still remains that anyone involved in ministry that will not care for and protect the most vulnerable member of his congregation has no place in ministry.  Ministry priorities include selfless service, defending the weak and powerless, and protecting the well being of others at great personal cost.  For one in ministry to commit heinous acts of sin towards one of Christ’s vulnerable lambs is to invite the wrath of the Chief Shepherd Himself.  In stark hyperbole Jesus likens such impending judgment to a man fitted with a three hundred pound necktie and then forced to take a plunge into deep water (Mt. 18:5b-6).

Having had ordination credentials issued by Sovereign Grace Ministries almost 8 years ago this is especially difficult.  I know some of the people involved.  And having had ordination credentials in two denominations prior I learned long ago that many times pastoral ministry looks an awful lot like a death sentence.  To love and serve the lambs of Christ is costly, precisely because that’s what the love of Christ looks like (Jn. 10:11).  Pastoral ministry is a spectacle where one’s life is laid down and where warfare is fought for the souls of men, women, boys, and girls.  We are on task by the Chief Shepherd to steward and finally give an account of those we’ve been called to care for (He. 13:17).  To turn this sacred charge into personal gratification by wicked acts toward others, or to hide the soul-damaging sins of others is to mock and destroy the work to which God has called us, and ultimately it is to invite His sore displeasure.  Those in ministry have a responsibility to expose the deeds of darkness (Ep. 5:11,12), and sexual abuse committed under the guise of religious authority is profoundly dark.  It is wicked to abuse another for personal gratification, and it is wicked to conceal the abusive behavior of others.  To that end ministry must not have even a hint of predation, nor can it be the refuge of the coward.

Over the years, and in differing church contexts, Judy and I have had the victims of abuse stay in our home…both those who have suffered sexual abuse and those who have suffered spousal abuse.  When abuse happens the safest place and the place of secure protection should be the place of faithful ministry.  Pastors, elders, deacons, and church leaders must be able to be trusted by those who are most vulnerable.  Every legal means must be employed to guarantee the protection of the innocent and the prosecution of the guilty.  The implementation and enforcement of child protection policies must be carried out, so much so that every congregational member has familiarity with these policies and is aware of how to report abuse.

Tonight I’m praying for my new grandson and asking God to keep him safe in a dangerous world, but I’m also praying for my friend, and for the three other young boys that have now become men.  How I wished I could have kept them far away from the abusers that have cloaked themselves with the mantle of ministry.  I would have wanted for them to see a glimpse of the Chief Shepherd’s love by the faithful and protective love of those that truly care for the 'least of these' (Mt. 25:40). 

For my dear friend and for the victims of Nathaniel Morales the church has done too little too late.  May God give those of us in ministry grace, conviction, and backbone to not let it happen again.

-DJM

May 27^th, 2014 

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[1] Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland is no longer affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries

[2] http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2014/05/15/covenant-life-church-nathaniel-morales-abuse/9132799/

A Mother’s Day Note to Two Mothers I’ve Never Met –

This Mother’s Day I’ve been reminded of two special women I’ve never met.  These are women that have made incredible sacrifice and endured profound difficulty and suffering for the good of others.  They have counted the welfare of their children more important than their own convenience.  They have loved at great cost to themselves.   They endured temporary shame for long-term good.  They have done the heroic when a myriad of voices have counseled otherwise.  They resisted the opposing tide and pressed forward knowing what they were doing was far better.

These women have not been forgotten.  Our family often thinks of them and prays for them.  Because of their sacrifices our lives have been richer and our family has been blessed beyond measure.  In truth, I cannot imagine what our lives would look like without them.

As very young and unmarried women these two mothers placed their babies for adoption...one a chubby and sweet little boy, and the other a beautiful little girl with amazing hair.  In their commitment to life and their desire for something better these two young women gave something of immeasurable value to us.  

Each time we became adoptive parents we've wept.  We wept both for our joy and for their sorrow.  We knew that our gladness would be had at each mother’s loss.  We knew that they would never forget their child and that we would be the long-term beneficiaries of their sacrifice and pain.  What they sowed in tears, we reaped in joy.  They were making investments in a future they would likely never see.

This Mother’s Day I’m glad to honor these two brave and selfless women.  They have done the unimaginably difficult thing and are worthy of utmost respect.  I am deeply humbled by them and in many ways consider myself unworthy of their precious gifts, and at the same time I am increasingly grateful for what they’ve done. 

The chubby little boy isn't chubby any more, but he's still as sweet.  The little girl is now stunningly beautiful and her hair is still amazing.  These two mothers would be pleased at who their babies have become.  Their investments have paid rich dividends.

Thank you, and God bless these two mothers I have never met.

-DJM

Mother's Day 2014

Redeeming Love - Anne Steele

1. Come heavenly love, inspire my song With thy immortal flame,
And teach my heart, and teach my tongue The Savior’s lovely name.

2. The Savior! 0 what endless charms Dwell in the blissful sound!
Its influence every fear disarms, And spreads sweet comfort round.

3. Here pardon, life, and joys divine In rich effusion flow,
For guilty rebels lost in sin, And doomed to endless woe.

4. In our first parent’s crime we fell; Our blood, our vital breath,
Deep tinged with all the seeds of ill, Sad heirs to sin and death.

5. Black o’er our wrath-devoted heads Avenging justice frowned
While hell disclosed her deepest shades And horrors rose around.

6. Wrapt in the gloom of dark despair, We helpless, hopeless lay:
But sovereign mercy reached us there, And smiled despair away.

7. God’s only son, (stupendous grace!) Forsook his throne above;
And swift to save our wretched race, He flew on wings of love.

8. Th’ Almighty former of the skies Stooped to our vile abode;
While angels viewed with wondering eyes, And hailed the incarnate God.

9. The God in heavenly strains they sung, Arrayed in human clay:
Mysterious love ! what angel tongue Thy wonders can display?

10. Mysterious love, in every scene, Through all his life appears:
His spotless life exposed to pain, And miseries and tears.

11. What blessings on a thankless race? His bounteous hand bestowed!
And from his tongue what wondrous grace, What rich instruction flowed!

12. The dumb, the deaf, the lame, the blind Confessed his healing power;
Disease and death their prey resigned, And grief complained no more.

13. Infernal legions trembling fled, Awed by his powerful word;
And winds and seas his voice obeyed, And owned their sovereign Lord.

14. But man, vile man, his love abused Blind to the noblest good
Blasphemed his power, his word refused, And sought his sacred blood.

15. Still his unwearied love pursued Salvation’s glorious plan;
And firm the approaching horrors viewed Deserved by guilty man.

16. What pain, what soul-oppressing pain, The great Redeemer bore;
While bloody sweat, like drops of rain, Distilled from every pore!

17. And ere the dreadful storm descends Full on his guiltless head,
See him by his familiar friends Deserted and betrayed!

18. While ruffian bands the Lord surround, Relentless, murderous foes;
Meek, as a lamb for slaughter bound, The patient sufferer goes

19. Arraigned at Pilate’s impious bar, (Unparralled disgrace!)
See spotless innocence appear In guilt’s detested place!

20. When perjury fails to stain his name, The mob’s envenomed breath
Extorts his sentence, “Public shame And painful lingering death.”

21. Patient, the cruel scourge he bore; The innocent, the kind!
Then to the rabble’s lawless power And rudest taunts consigned

22. With thorns they crown that awful brow, Whose frown can shake the globe;
And on their king in scorn bestow The reed and purple robe.

23. Ah! see the fatal cross appears, Heart-wounding, dreadful scene
His sacred flesh rude iron tears, With agonizing pain.

24. Exposed with thieves, to public view Could nature bear the sight?
The blushing sun his beams withdrew, And wrapped the globe in night!

25. Then, Oh! what loads of wrath unknown The glorious sufferer felt;
For crimes unnumbered to atone, To expiate mortal guilt!

26. The Father’s blissful smile withdrawn, In that tremendous hour;
Yet still the God sustained the man With his almighty power,

27. ‘Tis finished,’ now aloud he cries, ‘No more the law requires’
And now, (amazing sacrifice!) The Lord of life expires.

28. Earth’s firm foundation felt the shock, With universal dread;
Trembled the mountain, rent the rock, And waked the sleeping dead!

29. Now breathless in the silent tomb, His sacred body lies:
Thither his loved disciples come, With sorrow-streaming eyes.

30. But see the promised morn appear Their joy revives again;
The Savior lives; adieu to fear, To every anxious pain.

31. His kindest words their doubts remove, Confirm their wavering faith;
He bids them teach the world his love, Salvation by his death.

32. Triumphant he ascends on high, The glorious work complete
Sin, death, and hell, low vanquished lie Beneath his awful feet.

33. There, with eternal glory crowned, The Lord, the conqueror, reigns;
His praise the heavenly choirs resound In their immortal strains.

34. Amid the splendors of his throne, Unchanging love appears;
The names he purchased for his own, Still on his heart he bears

35. Still with prevailing power he pleads Their cause for whom he died;
His Spirit’s sacred influence sheds, Their comforter and guide.

36. For them, reserves a radiant crown, Bought with his dying blood;
And worlds of light, and joys unknown, For ever near their God.

37. 0 the rich depths of love divine! Of bliss, a boundless store:
Dear Savior, let me call thee mine; I cannot wish for more.

38. I yield to thy dear conquering arms, I yield my captive soul:
0 let thy all-subduing charms My inmost powers control!

39. On thee alone my hope relies: Beneath thy cross I fall,
My Lord, my life, my sacrifice, My Savior and my all

- Redeeming Love, Anne Steele (1717-1778)

Post Tenebras Lux Redux

Post Tenebras Lux Redux

"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

-       Mark 16:6

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.”

-       1 Corinthians 15:20-21

  

“He alone has made a solid proficiency in the gospel who has been accustomed to continual meditation on the blessed resurrection.”

-       John Calvin, Institutes, III:xxv.I

“The issue (of the resurrection) is non-negotiable for Paul. The consequences of denying Christ’s resurrection are massive – for then Paul’s preaching is mistaken, their faith is vain, their sins remain unforgiven, and those who have died have perished.”

-       Thomas Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ, p. 457

  

“The resurrection of Christ is the beginning of the new and final world-order, an order described as spiritual and heavenly. It is the dawn of the new creation the start of the eschatological age. In terms of the conceptual framework with which Paul views the whole of history, it is the commencement of the ‘age to come.’”

-       Richard Gaffin, Resurrection and Redemption, pps. 89-90

“Post Tenebras Lux” was used as a motto during the time of the Protestant Reformation. In Latin it simply means, “After darkness, light.” It has also been used during the Easter season in association with Good Friday. Even today some Lutheran churches have Good Friday services that they describe as a ‘tenebras’ service, where reflection is made upon sin that brought darkness, and then the following Easter Sunday is described as ‘lux’ or light. For the Christian the resurrection is that historical, and momentous event when the long-ensconced darkness is finally overcome by light.  Man, fast-bound by sin, sees lash and leash begin to relinquish its tenacious hold.   

In the comprehensiveness of Christ’s redemptive act Puritan John Owen called it the ‘death of death’, and John Calvin called the resurrection, ‘…the most important article of our faith’(John II:247). The resurrection is no small appendage to our theological understanding. It is pivotal and it is necessary because the cross alone is insufficient.  Without the historical and bodily resurrection of Christ we are left without hope, we remain in our sins, our faith is in vain, and we die facing immediate corruption and finality. Sadly many churches that call themselves Christian emphasize the cross and minimize the resurrection. For them it is much easier to believe Jesus was crucified than that He was resurrected. The historical and corporeal (bodily) resurrection is too much for them. How glad I am for the resurrection. In it Jesus has became the first to conquer death, sin, hell and the grave, and in His resurrection we are guaranteed the same. And if that weren’t enough, the resurrected and ascended Christ has bestowed the greatest of all gifts to His church in the giving of the Spirit (Acts 2:31-33 and Eph. 4:8).

In our celebration of Easter the resurrection is the light after the darkness of the cross. May we truly comprehend what has been done, and then rejoice in the resurrection of our sin-bearer.  Because of Him we are no longer children of darkness, but He has made us children of light.

-DJM