RCC

 

It became official this past week, I have accepted the call for the youth pastor position at Rothbury Community Church in Rothbury, MI.  I have been in talks with the leadership of the church since November, have traveled to MI twice in the past few months, and could not be more assured that this is the place for me.  Meggan and I are very excited for the opportunity and look forward to our move!

My starting date will not be until July so we are going to take an extended vacation as a family.  We have been going hard at it for almost 4 years now and relish the thought of an extended break.  It looks like we will be spending a few months in MN after graduation, so we look forward to getting caught up with many of you!

Thank you very much for your prayers during this process, and please continue to pray as we make the transition to full-time ministry in MI.

bry

Balances and Certainty

Epistemic humility is in vogue.  Objectivity was a mirage wrongly pursued by those of the modernist mindset.  Nowadays, the way to assert truth is by first acknowledging your own subjectivity and inability to rid oneself of some biases.  Is this true?  Of course it is.  In our sinful and limited state we are unable to view anything from a purely objective angle.  So called “modernists” thought this was a bad thing and at most, an unfortunate reality.  In contrast to that, so called “postmodernists” today see it as a good thing, something to be celebrated.

I have two thoughts on this issue that affect both how I think and act.  First, I have found that I often succumb to the  idea of “if I’m going to err on one side, I’m going to err on this side.”  I use phrases like that all of the time.  It helps in the sense that it acknowledges my own shortcomings, but it can also act as a copout.  Why does my aim need to be on a certain side?  Why can’t it be right in the middle which, in all the uses of that phrase is the “sweet spot”?  When it comes to truth, why should I be satisfied with aiming for the subjective when the objective should be my goal?

Let me try to illustrate.  The Bible is full of balances.  Truth and love.  Mercy and justice.  Being in the world but not of it.  Churches constantly strive for balances.  “Doing” church in an excellent yet an accessible way.  Preaching evangelistically yet for edification.  Is it right of us to just admit that we are going to err and pick the side on which to err?  It seems to me that while we ought to freely admit that we are going to miss the target, we still need to aim for the “sweet spot.”  In fact, our eyes should never be off that “sweet spot”.  While we may never hit the absolute correct position, shouldn’t we still try?

My second thought is more of a reaction against those who think they can indeed hit that “sweet spot”.  While they may say it isn’t so, they seem to act as if it is so.  When we read the Bible we see some truths presented with 100% certainty.  For instance, Jesus is God.  The Bible leaves no room for doubt on that issue.  However, we all know there are other issues in the Bible that we cannot hold with as much certainty.  When will the rapture occur?  Are the charismatic gifts still in operation today?  Issues like those, while one can come to a conclusion with a degree of certainty, do not come even close to the level of certainty as we have with Jesus’ divinity. 

This thought is nothing new, but what I struggle with is how do I express the differing levels of certainty?  Specifically, for me, how do I do so in the pulpit?  Do I simply not teach on those issues that I am not 100% certain on?  Do I teach on what all of the views are and leave the laymen to decide for themselves?  Do I teach all my doctrinal conclusions on the same level of certainty?  It seems that wisdom will dictate what to do in each situation, but how do I guard myself from the extremes?

I leave this post with more questions than answers.  These thoughts are usually sparked by books I read and professors I listen to, so don’t think that anything is original.  In the end it makes me look forward to glory when I won’t have to think of such things.

bry

Pride Cometh

Pride has been called the root of all sin, and rightly so.  The first sin (if we can even talk about the concept of time in this instance) occurred when Satan, exalted in pride, tried to overcome God himself.  There is a biblical difference between wrong pride (self-exalting pride) and right pride (others-exalting pride). 

A Father’s pride in his daughter when she does well in school.  An American’s pride in his nation when he hears of a hero in the service over seas.  Paul took great pride in the Corinthian church (cf. 2 Cor. 7:4).  What could we say was in John’s mind other than pride when he said that he had “no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 Jn. 4)?  There is a sense in which pride can be a good thing.

Contrasted against that right pride, we are all aware of wrong pride.  Its what turns us off of sports stars.  Its what makes us hate the bad guys in the movies.  We love to quote Proverbs 16:18, and always in the flowery language of the KJV, “Pride cometh before the fall.”  The prophets constantly berate against the pride of the various nations – look it up in a concordance sometime, it’s surprising!  This is the type of pride that comes to mind when we first think of the word.  This is the wrong kind of pride.

I write this because I have a question.  This morning I jokingly wrote in a tweet that since I was getting fitted for a tux today for my brother’s wedding in August I would have to maintain my incredible muscular build until then which, unfortunately, is a lie.  As long as I keep eating popcorn and cookies each day I should have no problem maintaining my shape.

Now, I don’t feel particularly guilty about being sarcastic and poking fun at myself, but if we analyze that type of joke (which occur all the time around us) what it breaks down to being is a presentation of false pride.  Perhaps at its root it is a way to humble oneself as you admit your own faults, but is that all it is?  Or does it fit into the category of wrong pride?

What is further interesting about this question is that it can’t be answered by one of those WWJD questions.  There certainly was a category for sarcasm in Jesus’ day (cf. Gal. 5:12), but self-deprecating humor would have been unrecognizable in his culture.  Even today if you were to travel outside of North America you would see that this type of humor generally does not exist to the degree that it does on our turf.

So, what’s the answer?  Is this wrongful pride, or does this type of humor defy the categories I’ve created?

bry

Mohler Question

I sent a tweet to Albert Mohler during his weekly question and answer radio program yesterday and he actually answered it!  I asked for him to define what the synoptic problem is and how big of a deal it really is.  The “synoptic problem” basically deals with the theories of Matthew, Mark, and/or Luke some how depending upon each other when writing their Gospels.  It sounds complicated, but Dr. Mohler does a great job explaining what it is.  If you are interested you can either download it or stream it.  My question is answered just after the 21:00 mark.

bry

Windows 7

I know I’m a wanna-be geek, I can’t deny it.  I think a more accurate picture would be that I’m a poor man’s geek.  I like to keep up on the tech industry, especially on the consumer side, but rarely do I actually indulge in the geekery since I usually can’t afford it.

A little over a month ago I installed the (free) Windows 7 Beta.  I’ve been using it as my main operating system since then and I am impressed.  Granted, this is the first beta of an operating system that I’ve used, but based on the stories I’ve heard, I should not be having such a smooth time.  I have had next to no problems with it.  In fact, my laptop came with Vista on it, but Windows 7 runs better than Vista ever did!

I could give you a preview of all the features and whatnot, but for those of you who care it is enough to merely say that Windows 7 is Vista done right.  My advice for you is if you are going to be in the market for a PC in the near future, hold off until Windows 7 comes out – it is worth it.  Most people are expecting it to be released this year, probably during the summer.  Wait if you can, you won’t regret it.

bry

Dry Orthodoxy

The existence of dead, dry orthodoxy has been used as reason for the rise of many movements in the Church.  To counteract the perceived staleness appeals to parachurch prayer gatherings, to the seeking of charismatic gifts, to the promotion of ancient and modern mystics, and more have been prescribed.  Those things may sometimes have their merits but they have usually proved to be worse than placebos, leaving the Church in more dire straits than previously.  Why is this?  I came across a great quote from John MacArthur on why this is and I thought I would pass it along to you.

Lifeless, dry orthodoxy is the inevitable result of isolating objective truth from vibrant experience.  But the answer to dead orthodoxy is not to build a theology on experience.  Genuine experience must grow out of sound doctrine.  We are not to base what we believe on what we have experienced.  The reverse is true.  Our experiences will grow out of what we believe.

(Quoted from Charismatic Chaos, p. 13 in Truth Endures, p. 53)

bry

More Acronyms

Today’s B.C. cartoon reminds me of my annoyance!

bry

Photo Pet Peeve

Do you want to know another annoyance of mine?  Well… too bad, because you are going to.  This pet peeve is stock photos.  Actually, it’s a little more specific: stock photos of people.

In the audio world there are databases of sound effects, which should be expected.  If you need to include the sound of a 22 rifle being fired, it makes sense to have someone just record it once and then allow others to use it.  But if you were going to advertise your rock band on the radio, you better be sure it was your band’s music that was used in the commercial.  There are integrity issues there, but going further, why would you want to advertise your band with someone else’s recordings?  What are you saying about yourself?

This is where the parallel is for me:  I am bugged when I open up a church website or even a church bulletin to find generic pictures of people I don’t even know!  Who is that guy smiling at me, telling me that he is happy with this worship folder?  Should I know that family playing volleyball together?  That kid sure is cute, but I’m pretty sure that’s the Rockies in the background and you are in Wisconsin.  Who are these people?  Why can’t you find nice pictures of your own people so you can accurately reflect who you are instead of who you wish you could be?

Again, probably me over-magnifying.  And again, I’ll probably be using stock photos in my church bulletin next year.  Don’t get me wrong, stock photos can be helpful, like the ones I usually attach to a blog post.  But when it comes to promoting your church, how about actually using some pictures from your church?

bry

Family Pictures

For those of you who did not see them on facebook, we posted some pictures over the weekend of the family.  In theory, you should be able to see them through this link.  Let me know if there are any problems.

bry

Acronym Annoyance

One of my pet peeves in life is abused acronyms.  Just a few days ago some Republicans starting pushing for the “Internet SAFETY Act,” which conveniently stands for “Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today’s Youth Act.”  Gee, that really helps me remember it.  Think of the poor person who had to dream that one up, and then imagine the excitement they experienced when they realized they had done it!

What really bugs me about acronyms is when they are used to express some comprehensive concept.  Businesses and churches do this all the time with mission statements.  I remember walking into a Pizza Hut a few months ago and seeing their mission statement.  It was a 6 point statement that just happened to spell “P.E.A.R.L.S”.  I won’t take the time to dispel what they all stand for, but one example will suffice.  The “S” stands for, “Think Safety First”.  Now, shouldn’t that letter be a T?  What makes it so the F is left out?  I think we would be hard pressed to find a Pizza Hut employee who actually knows their mission statement, let alone the acronym!

I guess what gets me is that it is thought that since these letters fit in an acronym, it must be comprehensive and true.  I can respect that Pizza Hut acronym in that it at least seems that they came up with their mission first, and then squeezed an acronym out of it.  The one’s that really bug me are the ones that start with the letters and then find their mission statement from that.  It seems to me that is doing the process backwards and you are just forcing yourself to work within the confined space of a particular word.

I don’t no, maybe I make too much of this, but that’s what pet peeve’s are for, right?  Just watch, a year from now I’ll find myself dreaming up some acronym for the mission statement I’ve made.  Or worse, I’ll be doing it the other way around.

bry