The Journal of Family Ministry (re) Launches at SBTS

Under the leadership of the prolific Timothy Paul Jones, the Gheens Center for Christian Family Ministry has re-launched The Journal of Family Ministry. The editorial introducing the new journal recounts in miniature the remarkable changes that have happened at SBTS since the late 1980s.

If you’re thinking about ministering to youth and families, you’ll want to avail yourself of this new resource. I’m honored to have an essay in the first issue. Here’s the table of contents:

2, The Editors, “Acknowledgment: The Gheens Family”

4, Timothy Paul Jones, “Editorial: The Long Journey Back Home”

Featured Articles

10, James M. Hamilton Jr., “That the Coming Generation Might Praise the Lord”

18, Robert L. Plummer, “Bring Them Up in the Discipline and Instruction of the Lord”

28, Andy Stirrup, “From Whom Every Family in Heaven and on Earth is Named”

36, Bryan Nelson with Timothy Paul Jones, “The Problem and the Promise of Family Ministry”

Regular Features

46, Andrew Parker and Brandon Shields, “Research Briefs” (summaries of their dissertations)

48, William Cutrer, “Medical Issues in Family Ministry: When Does Life End?”

52, Lauren Foster, “JFM Forum: Connecting Church and Home Conference 2010″

58, Book Reviews

66, Jay Strother, “Equipping the Generations: Learning to Listen”

This journal represents an important effort to address family issues with rigorous and careful study, submission to the truth of the Scriptures, and love for God and his people. I just got my copy yesterday, and I’m eager to read the whole thing. Here are a couple reasons why:

• Rob Plummer is an insightful interpreter, and glancing through I notice that he has collected a sampling of texts on family ministry issues from the Apostolic Fathers.
• Paging through Andy Stirrup’s essay I note a sketch of Artemis from the Ephesus museum, as well as pictures of coins from the reign of Claudius and Vespasian. What do such artifacts have to do with family ministry? You’ll want to read the essay to find out!

Thanks to the editors for graciously allowing me to post my essay here: James M. Hamilton Jr., “That the Coming Generation Might Praise the Lord,” Journal of Family Ministry 1.1 (2010): 10-17.

In this study I’m looking at the role of family discipleship in the OT. Here’s the outline:

God’s Purpose to Cover the Dry Lands with His Glory

Instructions for Fathers and Kings in Deuteronomy 6 and 17

Instructions for Fathers in Deuteronomy 6
Instructions for Kings in Deuteronomy 17

Solomon’s Example in Proverbs 3

Table: The Influence of Deuteronomy 6 and 17 on Proverbs 3

Conclusion

May we teach the Bible diligently to our children (Deut 6:4-9), that the coming generation might praise the Lord (Ps 102:18).

Praise God for True Religion at Kenwood (James 1:27)

I remember hearing John Hannah say at DTS: There are two things that you need to learn at seminary. First, the Bible is God’s word. Second, the Bible is the tool God uses to conform his people to the image of the Lord Jesus.

To see God’s word at work in the hearts and lives of his people is to see God do miracles. When we see people do what the Bible tells them to do, we should not take it for granted. We should not assume that’s just what people do. We should remember how selfish our own hearts are, contemplate how God by his Spirit has enabled these people to hear his Word, and worship God for the power he exercises in conforming people to the image of Christ, who laid down his life for us. It’s a miracle when a sinner acts like Jesus.

What a blessing and joy to see God’s mighty power at work: Jesus loved us by laying down his life, and I praise God to see the people of Kenwood Baptist Church living out true religion by caring for orphans and widows.

Here’s a beautiful picture of what you normally think of when you think of widows and orphans, and here’s another instance of a man caring for the “orphans” whose parents are alive but don’t protect them (in this instance I’m picking up on the way that Piper spoke of the women and babies affected by abortion as widows and orphans).

You want to see miracles today? Go read this post, and then go read this one, and praise God for his power at work in these lives.

Interview with Dan Born, New Pastor at Believers Church, Hannibal, MO

I first met Dan Born when he was a student at SWBTS Houston, and he and his wife Jenn were also members at Baptist Church of the Redeemer there. He left Houston to study at SBTS, then when the Lord moved the Hamiltons back to Louisville, the Borns were still here. Soon after the Lord opened a door of service for us at Kenwood Baptist Church, the Borns joined and served in a number of ways. Among other things, they revamped the church website.

Dan has recently been called as the pastor of Believers Church in Hannibal, Missouri. I’ve known Dan Born and Ryan Bishop since they began their seminary studies. Both started at SWBTS Houston and continued at SBTS. It’s a special joy to see them both called to pastor in the same summer, and Dan kindly answered some questions about the congregation he now serves.

Tell us about Believers Church: When was it planted, what is the makeup of the congregation, where and when do you guys meet, and what makes it different from other churches in Hannibal?

BC was planted in 2007. We meet on Sunday nights at 6pm in the building of Hannibal’s First Christian Church. At BC, we’re focused on being gospel-centered, missional, and reformed. We’d also say that we’re people-minded instead of programming-minded.

Did you feel a desire to minister in Hannibal in particular? Why?

Yes. I can’t tell you how many times in recent years I’ve thought: “I wish I would have learned this when I was in college.” Well, Hannibal is where I went to college. I’m excited about coming back and getting to pour into students who will go back out all over Missouri, the US, and the world. I’m also ready to plant some more permanent roots and really get involved in a community. Hannibal is a place that I could see us staying for a while. It would have been really hard for us to miss the Lord leading us here.

What do you see as the greatest need at Believers Church?

The gospel. Our greatest need right now is the same as it’s always been – the clear and consistent teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ as he’s revealed in all of Scripture.

What do you see as the greatest need in Hannibal?

The gospel. No matter how big or small the city, no matter its location in the world, it is filled with many people who need to hear the good news of the salvation we have by grace through faith in Christ.

Did the SBTS PhD program prepare you to pastor?

Even though I haven’t finished yet, it has certainly prepared me. One of the most profitable aspects of my education at Southern was that we weren’t simply taught what to think about the Bible. Instead, we were taught how to think biblically. I can’t overestimate how thankful I am to God for my time at Southern. Every aspect of my life, from my devotional reading to how we’ll parent our children, has been deepened and enriched by my time in Louisville.

How can we pray for you?

Pray for my transition from an academic environment to a pastoral ministry, pray for growing confidence in preaching, and pray for our continued trust in and reliance on the Lord for everything no matter what we’ll face in our new ministry.

Danny Akin: There’s a Hell Rushing at You

Nice profile here on SEBTS’s Dr. Danny Akin. Some gems:

“I don’t want to stand before God and say I did very little with what you gave us,” Akin said.

. . . .

Of the many sights he has seen on his travels, one keeps him up at night. On a trip to Thailand with wife Charlotte, he and a couple of missionaries were on their way to a restaurant when their car passed a half-mile-long strip of prostitutes, many who apparently were between the ages of 12 and 15.

“Buddhism isn’t going to do a thing to stop that,” he said. “Hinduism isn’t going to do a thing to stop that. What could change the hearts of the pimps and the men who exploit these girls is the gospel.”

But Akin knew that less than 3 cents of every dollar given to his denomination goes abroad. So he set about to change that. Although the Great Commission Resurgence has no financial mandates for change, its approval set the wheels in motion for more money collected in donations to the Southern Baptist Convention to flow to international missions.

. . . .

“It’s always easier to dig a well than to look someone in the face and say ‘Can I share the Gospel of Jesus Christ?'” Akin said.

. . . .

For Akin, it comes down to the exclusive message of the gospel: “If I believe there is a hell rushing at you, I do you no favor by saying, ‘In the end we’ll get to the same place,’ ” Akin said. “I don’t believe that. My assignment is to help you avoid that crisis in eternity.”

Read the whole thing.

HT: SchreinerPatrick and Nathan Finn

Interview with Jason Skaer: From Pro Basketball to the Pastorate

You never know who is sitting in your class. When I was teaching at SWBTS Houston, I had the privilege of teaching Jason Skaer. It’s been an even greater privilege to see our friendship grow over the last few years, and he was kind enough to answer some questions about his conversion, how basketball (Oklahoma State, Rice, Austria, and the Rockets made the mistake of not keeping him) has helped him in the ministry. Whereas he used to talk trash at Michael Jordan, Jason now pastors The Church at Alden Bridge in The Woodlands, TX.

Fast facts: Jason was second off the bench on the 1995 Oklahoma State team that went to the Final Four, and he was a Rhodes Scholar candidate. His wife was a star basketball player at Rice and a scholar in her own right (if it doesn’t open to page 10, go to page 10 on the linked PDF). The best thing about Jason, though, is that he is a humble man of God who knows that God the Father exalts Jesus by his Spirit through the word.

Could you describe how you came to faith in Jesus?

Not growing up in the church I had very little Bible knowledge and consequently knew close to nothing about the gospel.  However, during my first year playing professional basketball in Europe I decided to read the Bible from cover to cover.  Thus it was quite literally through the power of God’s Word that I came to know Christ.  No tricks, no gimmicks, the gospel was good enough to convict and save.

Are there ways that basketball has helped and/or hurt your approach to the ministry?

Basketball has been immensely helpful.  There’s no “I” in team and that certainly holds true in the church.  It takes everybody working together and utilizing their gifts to grow a healthy congregation.  Stubborn persistence taken from the athletic arena has also served me greatly.  Helping plant and eventually pastor a new church is difficult work.  There will be days when the deck seems stacked against you.  But if you believe God’s called you to the task you can’t give in.  Too many ministers (and church members) throw in the towel during the hard days.  But as we’re experiencing now there is great fulfillment and joy in sailing through the storm and ultimately seeing brighter days.

Tell me about The Church at Alden Bridge.

The Church at Alden Bridge has a simple mission statement:  “Our mission is to be disciples and make disciples of Jesus Christ.”  This means we aim to both know God and make Him known.  Thus we are serious about discipleship and equipping our members while being equally passionate about reaching the lost.  In my experience churches are usually good at one or the other.  Either we’re good at equipping but offer a cold environment, or we’re really welcoming but have no real depth.  My hope and prayer is that TCAAB holds these two important mandates in balance.

What do you find most helpful as you prepare to preach?

The most helpful aspect of my preaching preparation is that I am absolutely committed to and passionate about expository preaching.  We simply march verse by verse through the whole counsel of God’s word.  For instance, we spent the last two semesters in James and this Summer we are working through Psalms 11-21.  I simply don’t have the capacity or creativity to wake up each Monday morning and invent some new catchy sermon series.  We believe that God’s Word is good enough for God’s people and it’s been my experience here that His Word is more relevant and penetrating than anything I could ever invent.  Thus in sticking with the Bible, regardless of how it gets delivered (which I work very hard on), I know for certain that the content is always good.

Tell me about the specific challenges of doing ministry in The Woodlands.

The Woodlands is a pretty affluent community and thus like other similar communities many don’t see a need for God.  We’ve built our identity around job and possessions and family and missed out on the Main Thing.  I will say however that with the recent economic downturn some of our idols have been taken away and many are now asking questions that only the gospel can answer.

What have you most enjoyed seeing God do as you have served The Church at Alden Bridge?

There are few greater joys than witnessing hungry people get fed the things of God.  We get lots of folks who are “tired of seeing the same movie every week” and looking for something deeper and it’s fun to feed them.  We also get lots of unchurched and unbelieving folks who stroll in on a Sunday not knowing what they’re looking for but get turned on to the truth of the gospel and it’s fun to feed them too.  God is building a church in this community that vindicates once more the sufficiency of His Word and it thrills me to no end to have the privilege of serving a work like this.

Thanks for taking the time to serve us with this interview, Jason!

It’s beautiful to see the Lord transform people. Glory to God for his mercy!

I recommend you check out Jason’s sermons here.

So How Did the Annual Meeting of the SBC Go?

Check out these hopeful, helpful, forward looking reflections from Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Akin comments on:

• The adoption of the Great Commission Task Force’s Report
• Johnny Hunt’s presidency and a new chair named in his honor at SEBTS
• The election of the new SBC president, Bryant Wright
• Frank Page’s election as new president of the Executive Committee
• The resolutions made by the SBC this year
• The retirement of Morris Chapman and Jerry Rankin
• His take on the issues that could divide the SBC in the future
• The things that give him hope and about which we can be certain

Read the whole thing here.

May the Lord bless our efforts to make disciples of Jesus for the glory of God by the power of the Spirit.

Trevin Wax on the GCR in a Nutshell

Curious about what’s happening in the Southern Baptist Convention, especially with the Great Commission Resurgence? I’m thinking especially of those of you who might be coming to SBTS from non-SBC backgrounds–and that includes those of you thinking about coming to SBTS but your hesitations about the SBC are in the way.

You really should read Trevin Wax’s great summary of the issues: GCR in a Nutshell. Here’s his conclusion:

At the fundamental level, the GCR Task Force recommendations are about how we can best cooperate in pushing back lostness. Some of the recommendations are missional; others are about SBC culture. Some are about ministry priorities; others are about stewardship and structure. Regardless of one’s point of view, it is our Christian duty to assume the best in our brothers and sisters, seeing in each another the sincere desire for Southern Baptists to be good stewards of God’s money.

The Latest Issue of JBMW

The latest issue of JBMW has appeared.

Tom Schreiner has an important review of Philip Barton Payne’s new book, and a sermon that I preached a few years ago at Northwestern College (Minneapolis, MN) in their Chapel has been published. Every item in the table of the contents looks like an interesting read:

Denny Burk Editorial

JBMW Odds & Ends

R. Albert Mohler Jr. Boys Wearing Skirts to School? What’s Going On?

Jason Hall and Peter R. Schemm Jr. Marriage as It Was Meant to Be Seen: Headship, Submission, and the Gospel

Rob Lister “Husbands, Love Your Wives . . .” A Practical Suggestion and Tool for Husbands to Use in Leading their Marriages for the Glory of God

Owen Strachan Whither Men? A Response to a Recent Barna Study on the Increase of Female Pastors in Protestant Churches

Wayne Walden Galatians 3:28: Grammar, Text, Context, and Translation

James M. Hamilton Jr. Godliness and Gender: Relating Appropriately to All (1 Timothy 2:9–12)

Thomas R. Schreiner Philip Payne on Familiar Ground

Ben Reaoch Two Egalitarian Paths toward the Same Destination

Heath Lambert A Lack of Balance

Owen Strachan Insightful but Flawed Look at Gospel Women

Phillip R. Bethancourt Fatherhood Is No Accident

Interview with Jonathan Leeman on The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love

My friend Jonathan Leeman is the director of communications for 9Marks and edits their eJournal. It has been a blessing to know him for lo these many years now, and I’m excited about the appearance of his first book, The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline.

Jonathan was kind enough to answer a few questions about the book–even giving the inside scoop on the cover:

Can you tell me in one sentence why people should read this book?

I hope it will offer people an opportunity to reconsider wrong ideas they have about God’s love, what God’s love is really like, and what this means for our commitments to our local churches.

Okay now that I’m hooked, can you tell me in one paragraph why people should read this book?

I think that God has unbelievably glorious plans for the local church. He means for it to display the very nature of his holy love to all the world. The problem is, we, even we who are Reformed evangelicals, can have idolatrous conceptions of love and wrong-headed conceptions of holiness and authority that cause us to miss what the bounded, accountable life of the local church should look like as it practices membership and discipline. (In fact, I argue that a lot of the recent popular and academic treatments of the local church miss the boat right here.) So even before we can talk about church membership and discipline, we need to go back and consider our understanding of God’s love and authority. The book is a book about church membership and discipline, but I don’t really begin building the biblical and systematic case for membership and discipline until chapters 4 and 5, because chapters 1 to 3 are spent trying to drastically undermine and then rebuild the worldview universe we’re living in. After several hundred years of individualism, consumerism, commitment-phobia, and skepticism, it’s like we’re living in the wrong universe, and so cannot even begin to consider what our relationships to the local church should be until we first place ourselves in the right universe. In the last two chatpers (6 and 7), I try to be much more practical about what it all actually looks like. What does it mean to really submit yourself to loving that strange, step-on-your-toes group of people down the street called the local church?

I notice the word Love in the title of the book, the titles of all three parts of the book, and in the titles of each chapter. The word Offense is only in the book’s title. So is this going to be a love-fest or are you going to offend me?! My serious question is this: should I expect to find a surprising offense in each discussion of love in this book, or is there only one initial surprising offense, and once I’m past that it’s over?

Chapter 1 examines our idolatrous conceptions of love–a conception of love in which I AM AT THE CENTER.  LOVE MEEEEEE!!!!!  Chapter 2 presents the antidote–the offensive love of God, a love in which GOD IS AT THE CENTER!!!! May I offer a quote from chapter 2?

Since God is the greatest object of God’s love, God’s gospel, in spite of the things that the world might like about it, ultimately offends us. After all, God’s gospel involves applying God’s own righteousness through faith to the sinner, leaving the sinner with nothing to boast in. All glory goes to God with God’s gospel (Rom. 3:21-27). Not to us….And since God is the greatest object of God’s love, God’s church, in spite of the things that the world might like about it, ultimately offends us. After all, the church is the very outpost of people who have capitulated to this offensively self-glorying God. These traitors have been duped into promoting this megalomaniac. They’re supporting his regime. What about our ways and our glory?!

The book’s cover is focused on a fence, with a blurry church in the background. Was this your idea and would you like to comment on it?

The cover was Matt Schmucker’s idea. Matt is my boss and the executive director of 9Marks. The fence is meant to be provocative. Many Christians these days have managed to absorb the culture’s inclusivistic, all-embracing sensibilities. The idea here, I think, is to say to Christians, just as Eden had an inside and an ouside, and Israel had an inside and an outside, so does the local church. Why? Because God’s love in fact has an inside (that which is holy) and an outside (that which is not).

Thanks for the questions, Jim. My hope for the book is not that Christians would learn to be more exclusivistic, but to grow in wonder for God’s holy love, and to see how this wonder should translate into submitting oneself to seeking the good of a concrete group of people called the local church.

———————-

Thank you, Jonathan, and congratulations on the book!

May it be read and discussed by elders, deacons, and small groups everywhere, and may the Lord use it to teach us to know him and love the church he bought with his own blood.

Chris Castaldo’s Holy Ground

There are loads of Roman Catholics here in Louisville. Our neighbors on both sides of us are Roman Catholic, so I’m thrilled to see the publication of Chris Castaldo’s Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Roman Catholic. I would commend this book to anyone interested in seeing the gospel believed by Roman Catholics.

Chris was kind enough to stop by here for a blog tour for the new book, and I trust you’ll benefit from our exchange:

Jim, it has been a pleasure getting to know you over these past several weeks. Thanks for the privilege of this blog tour “visit.”

1.) Do you think Holy Ground would be a good book to hand to a Roman Catholic neighbor still active in the Catholic Church?

Yes, I wrote Holy Ground with Catholics in mind, with a commitment to representing them accurately and fairly. Catholic scholars and laypeople, including some author friends, read the manuscript throughout its composition and offered feedback to ensure that this was the case.

2.) Why did you write Holy Ground?

It’s mostly an outgrowth of my ministry at College Church. Several years ago I noticed some folks from our church were approaching Catholic friends in one of two ways: either attacking them like foaming-at-the-mouth pit bulls or with such open-mindedness that their brains seemed to have fallen out of their heads. Therefore, I taught a class entitled “Perspective on Catholicism” intended to bring more biblically informed balance. With the Lord Jesus as our model, the class sought to maintain the virtues of “grace and truth” in relation to Catholic friends and loved ones (John 1:14). The material eventually became a manuscript and, thanks to Zondervan, Holy Ground was born.

3.) Do you think evangelicals should actively seek to evangelize Catholics?

Yes indeed. And I also think that evangelicals must regularly evangelize evangelicals, and, for that matter, I must constantly evangelize myself. In other words, we need to reflect upon the gospel beyond the point of our personal conversion; every day I must remind myself of Jesus’ death and resurrection and who I am in light of that. Since man looks only on the outward appearance and the Lord looks at the human heart, I don’t presume to know the nature of my Catholic friend’s faith. Yet, precisely because I’m an evangelical—a person whose life is dedicated to embodying and proclaiming Jesus, the Evangel—I’m committed to evangelism, even among Catholic friends and family.

4.) What are the distinct features of Holy Ground that separate it from other such books?

Among evangelical books that address Catholicism, Holy Ground has a couple of features that make it unique. First, many such books convey an unkind attitude. The doctrinal emphasis of these works is commendable, but the irritable tone rings hollow and fails to exhibit the loving character of Jesus. It’s the tone that my seminary professor warned against when he said, “Don’t preach and write as though you have just swallowed embalming fluid. As Christ imparts redemptive life, so should his followers.” This life is communicated in the content of God’s message and also in its manner of presentation. Therefore, I seek to express genuine courtesy toward Catholics, even in disagreement.

Second, most books on Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism emphasize doctrinal tenets without exploring the practical dimensions of personal faith. Important as it is to understand doctrine, the reality is there’s often a vast difference between the content of catechisms and the beliefs of folks who fill our pews. Holy Groundis concerned with understanding the common ideas and experiences of real-life people.

Hopefully, as a result of reading Holy Ground, people will have a deeper grasp of the gospel’s wondrous grace and more ardent commitment to the enterprise of embodying it as a vibrant witness among Catholic loved ones and friends.

Thanks again Jim for the privilege of this exchange. Blessings to you and yours!

Tim Keller in Louisville

Tim Keller will be speaking in Louisville Monday night, November 16.

The details can be found here.

HT: Ross Shannon

Revelation 9-12, Four Recent Sermons

It has been my privilege to be preaching through the book of Revelation, and here are my four most recent sermons at Kenwood Baptist Church:

10-11-2009 – Revelation 12:1-17 The Seed of the Woman Versus the Seed of the Serpent

09-20-2009 – Revelation 11:1-19 Bearing Witness til Kingdom Come

09-13-2009 – Revelation 10:1-11 Eat This Scroll (and prophesy the history of the future)

09-06-2009 – Revelation 9:1-21 Trumpeting the End of the World

May the Lord bless his word!

What I Learned in My First Pastorate

Jesus keeps his promise his way.

The power of the Word of God.

The joy of loving people.

For elaboration, read the whole thing.

SBC Messianic Fellowship

For those coming in early for the SBC this summer, it would be great to have you join me on Saturday, June 20 from 1:25pm to 4:30 for two sessions at the SBC Messianic Fellowship Meeting. Come ready to study the Twelve Prophets! (some of them, anyway).

Tom Schreiner’s Sermon from This Morning

My mentor, Dr. Tom Schreiner, preached a sermon this morning at Kenwood Baptist Church to install me as pastor there. It was a strong word from 1 Timothy 4:10-16. May the Lord seal it to my heart and bless you with it:

1 Timothy 4:10-16, Tom Schreiner: Installation Service for Jim Hamilton

Two Months of Sundays at Kenwood Baptist Church

In God’s mercy and kindness I have been called as the (bi-vocational) preaching pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church here in Louisville. As noted earlier, I’m thinking a lot about the book of Revelation these days, which influences the selection of the sermon series I’ll begin, Lord willing, on Sunday. Below is what can be expected for the next couple of months, and I am so grateful that Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner will preach an installation service at Kenwood on April 19.

May the Lord strengthen his people and summon the lost:

Revelation: Blessed Are Those Who Hear and Keep

April 5 Revelation 1:1–8 The Blessing of the Revelation of Jesus Christ

April 12 Revelation 1:9–20 Jesus Christ Risen and Glorious

April 19 Tom Schreiner Preaching, Installation Service for Jim Hamilton

April 26 Revelation 2:1–7 First Love

May 3 Revelation 2:8–11 Faithful unto Death

May 10 Revelation 2:12–17 Repent of Nicolaitan Teaching

May 17 Revelation 2:18–29 King Jesus Versus Jezebel

May 24 Revelation 3:1–6 Wake Up!

May 31 Revelation 3:7–13 An Open Door No One Can Shut

Logos Scholar’s Gold

I have recently come into possession of the resource rich Logos Gold. As I prepare to travel this weekend, I’m installing the software on my laptop. My suspicion is that most everyone younger than me, along anyone more techno-savvy than me (which includes most people), will prefer digital books to the printed and bound kind. I’m very grateful to have this program available.

Andy Naselli has thoroughly reviewed the product, and I can’t improve on his analysis. I can, though, pass on what might be the best compliment Logos could possibly receive.

The other day in my Hebrew Syntax class students were asking me about the various Bible software programs available. I basically said that if you have a Mac you should use Accordance, which I have never used, but about which people I know who use it are far more excited than I tend to get about computer programs. I can’t begin to summarize the enthusiasm I sense from these people about Accordance, and that informs this compliment that Logos received.

You see, in the back of the class sat a student with his Mac there on the desk in front of him, and as I’m going on and on about how the Mac people love to talk about Accordance, he raises his hand and says: “I’ve got a copy of Accordance that I’m looking to sell on the cheap.” I was in the midst of saying, “Let’s make a deal,” when one of the students in the class beat me to it.

So I said to this student who was dumping Accordance, “I don’t get it, why are you selling Accordance?”

He says: “I’ve got Logos. I love Logos. I heard so many good things about Accordance that I thought I should buy it and try it out. I tried it. Who needs it if you have Logos?”

If you’ve seen as many people as I have jubilate over finally getting a Mac so they can use Accordance, you know that’s a compliment!

Thanks to all the folks at Logos who seek to facilitate the study of the Bible.

May the Lord bless their efforts with fruitful students who put their products to faithful use!

Denton Bible Holding the Line

I am glad to see that Denton Bible Church is standing strong on the complementarian point of view by hosting an important series of messages on Women in Ministry.

If you’re in the Dallas area, I would encourage you to attend the events described below in the letter from Tom Nelson of Denton Bible. May the word of the Lord prosper!

———————–

June 4, 2008

Dear Pastor,

I’ve pastored for 31 years in Denton and have never had a reason to contact other pastors with what Denton Bible was doing—until now.

We are doing a 3-week series at DBC on the egalitarian issue, “Can a woman be in authority over a man in the local church?”“Can they serve as pastors, elders or deacons over a man?”

The teaching of the Bible is “no” (I Tim. 2:9-15; 1 Cor. 14:34);

The example of the Bible is that men lead;

The historic position of the church is that men lead;

Because of these, this has been our position at DBC.

In the last 20 years this has been challenged. Even within my own seminary—Dallas Theological Seminary—this has been challenged. But it is not primarily being challenged because of a difference in the interpretation of a particular verse (lower criticism) but rather a difference of hermeneutic (higher criticism); meaning that the Bible was true then for that time, but not for ours. The hole in the theological dike here is obvious: At what point do we say what is now “outdated”? Something is ended only if Scripture says it is ended.

With this in mind, DBC is doing a 3-week Sunday sermon series on the egalitarian issue from June 15 to June 29. In these three weeks, I and two other men who are tops in their field will address this issue.

On June 15 I will bring the message in the 2 morning services (9:00 and 11:00 AM). Our College Pastor will bring the message in the evening service (5:00 PM).

On June 22 we have invited Dr. Bruce Ware to speak at all three Sunday services (9:00 and 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM). Dr. Ware is Professor of Theology at Southern Baptist Seminary having previously taught at several seminaries most recently at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is a highly esteemed theologian, popular speaker and prolific author. He has spoken and written frequently on a wide variety of gender role issues.

On June 29 Dr. Russell Moore will be speaking at all three Sunday services. Dr. Moore is Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice President of Academic Administration at Southern Seminary. He is also the Executive Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement and Senior Editor of Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity. He too is a frequent speaker and writer on gender issues and matters affecting popular culture.

On June 22 and 29 our 5:00 PM evening service will have the same men preaching to those (the younger crowd) of that service. It is not often that this issue is addressed. If we can be of any service to you men who support this tradition in your churches or to your churches, DBC would simply offer its services.

May God equip you in every good thing to do His will,

Tom Nelson

Senior Pastor

A Wedding Sermon

Yesterday I had the great joy of preaching at a wedding for one of the guys in our church, who is also a student at SWBTS Houston. At the encouragement of a couple friends who were present, I’m posting my remarks here. May the Lord be pleased to bless our marriages that we might be living pictures of the mystery of Christ and the church!

—————

When God gave the woman to the man in the Garden of Eden, the words were pronounced, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). The harmony enjoyed in Eden was soon lost when the couple sinned, and God said to the woman as he pronounced judgment, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Gen 3:16). That curse is the origin of all marital difficulty. That curse is the origin of feminism. That curse is the origin of males who sinfully “rule over” their wives in inappropriate ways. That curse came because of human sin, and that curse threatens to make marriage hopelessly impossible.

What a depressing thing to say at a wedding!

But we aren’t hopeful about your marriage because we can make a joke and lighten the mood. We are hopeful about your marriage because when Jesus came, he died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. His resurrection shows that he has triumphed over the curse. He has opened the way to life.

All who trust in Jesus are justified before God and empowered to live in a new way, a way that is not doomed by the dreadful curse on sin.

A New Ministry: SBTS in the Fall

In God’s great mercy I will be joining the faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall. Here’s the story in the Towers Online.

Here’s what I said when I shared this news with our church family at Baptist Church of the Redeemer:

Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Psalm 139:16 tells us that every day of our lives is written in God’s book before they come to pass. God is sovereign over every day of our lives.

Acts 17:26, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place . . .”

Acts 17:26 is describing nations, and it states that God has determined how long a nation will exist and what its boundaries will be. I think the same is true of individuals: God has determined how long we will live on this earth and what the boundaries of our dwelling place will be.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God has prepared beforehand good works for us to do.

2 Timothy 2:4, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”

2 Timothy 2:4 tells us that Christian ministers are like soldiers. Soldiers receive orders, and they obey, seeking to please their superiors.

The circumstances of our lives have made clear that new orders have been given to me.

It has been a high privilege to serve Southwestern Seminary for the past 5 years. The students have been eager to learn, encouraging to me, and what a joy to see them enter the harvest! The administration has been generous to me, always showing a sincere pastoral love, and God blessed me with dear friends in my faculty colleagues.

It has also been an unexpected, unlooked for joy and privilege to serve at Baptist Church of the Redeemer for the last three years. I never intended to get swept up in a church plant, but God blessed us immensely through this group of families who wanted to plant a church. We are so grateful that we were drawn into this endeavor. We have never been happier at a church than we are at Redeemer. We have learned and continue to learn from our brothers and sisters, and I am spurred on by their godliness and devotion. What a privilege to serve such a people!

I would be a fool to choose to leave.

But it has not ultimately come down to my choice. Months of thinking over and praying through this possibility have made me certain that if The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary invited me to join the faculty, it would be the call of God to leave Houston and move to Louisville to labor in a different section of the Lord’s vineyard.

God has opened this door and has called us to this new ministry. We are sad to leave home, family in Texas, and most of all our church, but at the same time we are excited about what the Lord has for us.

Lord willing, I will take up the post of Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at Southern in the Fall of 2008. I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve in this role. May the Lord prosper his Word!

———–

On a logistical note, if anyone is looking to buy a house in southwest Houston, let’s talk!