Christlessly Annoying

I was usually standing by his side when he'd tell fellow seminarians, "It's my desire to find a pastorate in the Midwest due to the lack of Reformed teaching there."  I thought I understood what Brian meant at that time, but I really had no clue.  It's only now, two and a half years into our ministry in rural Iowa, that I understand (and grieve over) the lack of Reformed tradition here in the Midwest.

How do I know that I'm finally "getting it"?  One way I know that I "get" what it means to be Reformed is because I cringe when other sources (Christian magazines, sermons, speakers, books, etc.) aren't Reformed.

For example, I subscribe to a magazine for pastor's wives edited by Jill Briscoe called "Just Between Us" and the primary authors reside in the Midwest.  At first, I really enjoyed it and now it just drives me crazy.  In this season's issue, there's an article titled "Help! I'm Burning Out!" by Amy Nappa.  Her suggestions for avoiding burnout at home and in ministry are helpful (such as communicate more, delegate tasks, encourage one another with kind notes/emails, etc.)  However, not once does she mention anything Christian until the last paragraph: 

Especially as you look forward to a new year, why don't you carve out a chunk of time and sit down with your schedule...Decide how you're going to intentionally avoid burnout so you can enjoy the life God intends for you to live and enjoy the people He's given you to love both at home and in your ministry.

That's fine and true, right?  So why are my undies in a bunch?  Because it's so man-centered.  It's all about me - my schedule, my homelife, my priorities, my vision, my my my.  When we lose focus of Christ - who He is and what He has done - that's when we go astray.  I wish she'd encourage us to spend time in God's Word and seeking Him in prayer as we reevaluate our lives to avoid burnout.  You see, all of her suggestions are fine - and some of them probably work - but Christ needs to be at the forefront of a Christian's life - including her schedule, priorities, vision, communication, etc.  I know that I can't succeed on my own, not even to keep myself from burning out.  That's what ministry women need to hear; you can't do it on your own.  Yes, plan; yes, schedule; yes, reevaluate.

But put Christ first because He's the One through which you will avoid burnout.

I'm reading Michael Horton's Christless Christianity now, and it's incredibly eye-opening to see American evangelicalism disappear from before our eyes.  A quote in Horton's book from George Barna states:

In short, the spirituality of America is Christian in name only...We desire experience more than knowledge.  We prefer choices to absolutes.  We embrace preferences rather than truths.  We seek comfort rather than growth.  Faith must come on our terms or we reject it.  We have enthroned ourselves as the final arbiters of righteousness, the ultimate rulers of our own experience and destiny.  We are the Pharisees of the new millennium.

It's so pervasive - Christless Christianity is everywhere.  Even in so-called "ministry" magazines.  It drives me crazy.  I'm praying for a Modern Reformation!  ;)

Eggheads?

"I don't want to hear any big words during a sermon."

"Doctrine?  That's just for pastors or scholars."

"I don't need to know anything academic - I just need the Bible."

"I know God loves me.  And that's all that I need to know."

 Quotes like this make my temperature rise and my face blush red.  I bite my tongue.  Dr. Horton once said that you can't separate doctrine and faith.  It truly forms what you believe and why you believe it and how, then, you live.

The article "Is Reformation Christianity Just for Eggheads?" in this month's ModernReformation magazine is helpful for those who have a tendency to neglect doctrine.

 

The author begins with the following quote:

"Man, this is a lot of stuff [the examination process for a membership candidate in a United Reformed Church (URC)].  Do you ever worry that the Reformed Church is just for smart people?"

Short answer: No.

"My first thought was to decry the anti-intellectualism of our age and the church's capitulation to it...Reformation Christianity may seem overly intellectual, but compared to what?"

I enjoy the way author Brian Lee goes on to explain his answer.

 "The justification for a robustly confessional Christianity must be grounded first in the character of our covenant-making God, a God who speaks truth into a world under the sway of the deceiver."

Here are some other main points:

Literate God

Fact: the Bible exists.  God speaks and writes (through inspired men).  He gave Moses the 10 commandments written on stone tablets.  Although we don't know the exact stats, it's likely that few Hebrews could actually read these laws of Yahweh.  Moses wrote five books and probably had to spend a lot of time teaching others to read so these books could be understood.  "God's revelation demands literacy of his people."  For some, this can be a steep learning curve.

Instruments of Reform

Beyond the fact that the Bible exists, God called and raised up learned leaders to instruct His people in faith.  Moses, David ("whose literary production in the Psalter portrays poetry and learning of the royal court well beyond his rustic origins"), Solomon, the prophets ("trained not only as covenantal lawyers, but as poets and historians), twelve apostles, and the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. 

"The child Jesus grew strong and was filled with wisdom...the authority with which he debated the Pharisees flowed not only from his person, but also from his superior knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures."  And Paul preached the Gospel in a manner through which people of all backgrounds and education could understand because, as he correctly understood, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (through preachers).  So, yes, God worked through brilliant and inspired men, but faith comes by hearing the preached Word - therefore, common people can obtain true faith.

When Luther's 95 Theses became the catalyst for the Reformation, the ideas were first received by a literate group of academics.  However, the ideas soon spread as the academics taught others.  Now, it was no longer only for the literate, but for the common man.  It came by hearing.

"The churches of the Reformation bore fruit in the form of well-catechized and educated laity.  For generations, simple farmers and tradesman were versed in the Scriptures and catechized to a degree that would make today's college graduates blush.  While a great deal of this education took place at home, much occured on the Lord's Day through the reading and preaching of Scripture, the singing of Psalms, and the instruction in the catechism.

"Reformation Christianity and worship - properly understood - shouldn't appeal only to smart people.  We are all sinners, and sinners need the gospel in its clarity.  Rather, it should make them smart, or more precisely, make them wise in the things of the Lord, kindling in them a hunger and thirst for the true food of God's Word."

I loved this article and appreciated his emphasis on the importance of growing in knowledge (II Peter 3:18) in order to deepen our faith.  Yes, knowledge can "puff up", but it's not about just being smarter or being "Reformed"; it's about knowing in greater clarity who Jesus is and what He has done so that we can fall deeper in love with Him.

"Ignoti nulla cupido."

(Ignorance does not breed love.)

Reformation Midwest

“Seek fellowship among those who share your [theological] vision of the renewal that the Christian world needs, even the evangelical world. Recognize that spiritual truth and spiritual renewal are the primary things, and that ecclesiastical matters come second. Then, the Lord will be with you, will bless you, and use you. So may it be. Amen.”

J.I. Packer (in an interview with Carl Trueman)

When asked in seminary where he hoped to minister, Brian always responded with, "The Midwest".

No, it wasn't primarily because that's where our families are located.

It was primarily because he sensed the need for a "Reformation" in the Midwest.

I didn't fully understand what Brian meant until he took his first pastorate in northern Iowa - the Midwest.

Now I understand that there is a lack of Reformed Christians in the Midwest.

It's sad.

 While my tendency is to run back to where it's "safe" (a richly Reformed area), Brian's is one of perseverance.  Like a salesman, he desires to stay to convince others that the product he's "selling" is the Truth.  Reformed doctrine is not man-centered.  It's Christ-centered.  Reformed doctrine isn't watered down.  It's like a glass of dark, red wine while American evangelicalism is dark, red wine  diluted with 3/4 water.  Reformed doctrine satisfies the longings of the soul through Christ.  Reformed Christians strive to cherish Jesus above all things.

One of the reasons I love my husband, in addition to his persevering nature, is because he has brilliant ideas.  As of late, Brian is working to spread a passion for Christ by training local pastors and church leaders in Reformed theology.  He's even created a FB page, blog, and a Twitter account for Reformation Midwest.  We long for Midwest fellowship as stated in the Packer quote above.  I pray that through Reformation Midwest, his preaching and teaching, and conversations with Christians, the Holy Spirit will change hearts & minds for a Reformation Midwest!

Won't you, too, pray for a Reformation Midwest!?

Reformed Theology

The church Brian pastors is Zion Evangelical & Reformed Church.

And Reformed?

What?!

Most people, including too many in our congregation, have no idea what makes a church Reformed.

I remember thinking we were Reformed when we moved to Cali, but our time at Westminster led me to a much deeper understanding of what it means to live as a Reformed Christian.

I'm going to try to unpack what it means to be truly Reformed.

(With the help of my educated husband and the exceptional magazine Modern Reformation (Vol. 21, No. 1, Jan-Feb 2012)).

The Reformation began in 1517 and "involved deeper illumination into the revelation of scripture and the glorious news of what Jesus had done for his people, the church," (Allen, pg 26).  It was a time when the people of the church were led to a greater understanding of the truth of the gospel and and their need for the Bible.  The Reformation established three great truths:

sola fide (by faith alone)

sola gratia (by grace alone)

sola scriptura (scripture alone)

sola fide

A German monk, Martin Luther, grew up adhering to a system of religious piety and activity to bring pardon from God.  Gaining insight into Paul's letter to the Romans, Luther realized that Christ was given up for him - sent to die on the cross in his place! - and that this was to be received only by faith.  Luther understood that he couldn't earn God's favor, and that God doesn't wait for him to clean up his act, but he pursues those who are dead in their sins (Romans 5:6).  God descended, in the human form of Christ, to us sinners!  We are united to God, through Christ's perfect blood that was shed on the cross, the moment we put our trust in Him.  It was nothing we could earn.  We were totally dead in our sins and Christ gave us life.  We weren't half dead, wounded and crying out; we were dead and Christ gave us breath.

Many Christian denominations would agree with most of that.  But what differentiates Reformed theology is that this faith alone isn't just a gateway to heaven; it transforms our daily lives.  If we live each day by faith alone, we take each trouble and trial that is sent our way as having come from the hands of a Sovereign, loving, heavenly Father who is working everything for our good (Romans 8:28).  He is the One who gives us hope, comfort and the strength to persevere in all things.  We lean on Him for everything and never would want to offend Him - everything is done in faith!

Let me give you an example from Dr. Horton:

He wrote in Putting Amazing Back into Grace that if a couple donates a million dollars to an organization without faith, then it is done in SIN!  Our whole lives, every act, is to be done in faith in our Savior.  We need this awesome gift of faith to transform all areas of life.

sola gratia

 To prevent some from saying that even faith is a work, the Reformers taught that faith is a gift of God (For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God... Ephesians 2:8).  "We do believe, but only because he grants us grace to do so.  We do love, but only because he first loved us," (pg. 27).  This is such awesome news for all of us who fell with the first Adam (which is every human!).  We are blessed with new life in Christ by no merit of our own.  

"The Holy Spirit creates it [faith] in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it by the use of the holy sacraments" (Heidelberg Catechism Question 65).

I've loved my The Promised One: Seeing Jesus in Genesis bible study and am reminded of Noah and Abraham as we discuss this topic of grace alone.  God chose them - they didn't do anything special; they weren't even good men (as one of Aidan's children's bibles states).  It was completely by God's grace alone that He saved Noah's family from the waters and chose to make Abraham's descendents as numerous as sands on the seashore (the line of Christ).  This makes me want to jump and shout for joy, knowing that Christ has chosen and revealed Himself to sinful me based on nothing I've done - by grace alone.  sola gratia

sola scriptura

 This is an essential concept in our Post-Modern world that now accepts all theology and all thinking just simply because "I thought it..."  Our culture accepts, "If I feel this way, then it must be truth."  and "If that's what I think, then that's truth."  UGH.  We have lost our respect for the authority of God's Word.  Before the Reformation, scripture was greatly respected, but only higher authorities (i.e. the pope) were allowed to interpret it - sometimes even in languages that the congregations couldn't understand!  Luther believed that all were subservient to the Bible's authority, including those higher authorities.  The Bible is the only authority and its principles are the only ones we should live by.

A Reformed Christian places their all in Christ, knowing they are saved by grace alone through faith alone revealed in scripture alone for the glory of God alone. 

[Modern Reformation is a publication of White Horse Inn Media (on the Westminster Seminary California campus).  Subscribe today to begin reading more about Reformed theology and joining others in praying for a Modern Reformation.]