"Have yourself a Merry little Christmas..."
The strains of the holiday tune fill the air in stores and malls, in cars and concerts. The concluding paragraph of the original is of particular interest--
"Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow
Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now."
Yup...nothing like hoping your current lousy circumstances will change in the hopefully not-too-distant future (providing the blind work of fate pulls through for you) but, until it does, just hang in there, grit your teeth, and bear it. And hey--Have a Merry Christmas while you're at it.
But more than my perplexity at such an oxymoronic song is my concern that we as Christians have been infected by a similar pessimistic worldview, and that we have settled in our movements, our churches, and our own lives for "muddling through some how."
There is a decidedly negative perspective about our current state within Fundamentalism today. I am not sure where it came from, nor where to lay the blame, but I wonder if an overemphasis in eschatology and an underemphasis on sovereignty have led us to an essentially fatalistic perspective.
See, if the world is coming to an end, and we're in the last days, and men are waxing worse and worse, and there is no hope of revival or any substantial work of God, and that's all that is emphasized, pessimism is a logical consequence.
If Christianity is rapidly becoming more and more limp and lifeless, and persecution is only mounting, and evil is triumphing, then it makes perfect sense to lose hope.
We expect our churches to dwindle, our Christian testimony to slowly fade out, and our mission to be inherently defensive. Our view of "waiting for the Lord" takes all the meaning of "hold on to the Alamo," with the same expectation of eventual defeat. We content ourselves with holding on to any personal vestige of Christianity, while expecting our witness to have no affect on our neighbors and coworkers.
In effect, we claim God's Word is powerful while denying it could possibly work in our day and age.
We tend to dismiss signs of church growth out of hand, or at least approach them with some serious misgivings. We become skeptical of any church that is "successful," because of course any church that is growing and vibrant is an oddity and, in fact, must have sold out to some serious compromise.
We tend to give Satan and evil more credit than God and truth, as if somehow he and his minions will "win," until at last God is forced to strategically withdraw, pulling out His few remaining, shot-up, wounded, and ailing soldiers in a rapture, followed by a tribulation that will compensate for all the past sufferings of God's people and culminate in God's winning back the ground He lost in the church age and finally emerging victorious, which we thought He would but weren't totally positive about.
My concern is that, in these viewpoints, we demonstrate an inner malady of our spirits. While mixed with some truth, our woeful expressions of "hang in there, brother" and our self-focused bracing for impending persecution belie more doubt of God than belief and more despair than hope.
Can God really do a work in this century? Is it even possible for the Church to have a meaningful impact on today's society? Or is every minister doomed for a ministry of Jeremiah, to a people who will never listen, let alone heed?
Biblical truth says there is hope. Matthew 16:16-19 says there is hope. The entire doctrine of God's sovereignty says there is hope. The power of God's Word says there is hope. The true purpose of eschatology (whatever yours happens to be)--to state yet again God's victorious, sovereign, and wondrously designed plans and incur a response of worship--says there is hope.
Historical perspective says there is hope. We aren't the first Christians to wholeheartedly believe we lived in the last days. (those began with Christ's ascension.) We agree with Paul's condemnation of the Corinthians who sold all they had and sat on a hillside waiting for the Lord's return, yet sometimes it appears that we actually have the same mentality--there's either no more work to be done, or no more work that can be done. And a look at books like 1 Peter reveal that God's people have always struggled to cheerfully labor on in God's work in the midst of difficulty.
But God's truth intervenes for His discouraged, listless people, and so it must for us. We must identify attitudes of despair for what they are--unbelief, doubt, sin. We must strive for a daily balance in our perspective, decrying idealism and this penchant for pessimism as equally unbiblical.
God's Church--just muddling through? God forbid.
As the new year quickly approaches, I think now is a good time to consider some spiritual goals and make some definite plans of attack. In particular, I think there is great value in using a schedule to read through the Bible in a year.
Perhaps you've tried this before and only got frustrated, or perhaps you've never tried it and it looks daunting, or maybe you're planning on it and are looking for a schedule. I'd like to recommend the schedule put together by Robert Murray McCheyne.
McCheyne's schedule will take you through the whole Bible, plus Psalms and the New Testament twice. Reading through a schedule like this isn't designed for scrupulous analyzation of individual passages; rather, it exposes you to the entire Work of revelation in the course of the year. A broader grasp of the whole of Scripture, discovery of big-picture themes, and the habit-forming discipline of the daily work strike me as the greatest benefits of a schedule like this. It's not meant to replace personal study of specific portions but to augment it.
The first page has introductory material, the rest the actual schedule. My mom introduced me to this schedule but other than that I don't know who produced it. You can click on the link to open the page, then save the picture (right click, save picture as) and put it into a Word file (insert, picture, from file). Then you can fold into a handy little booklet.
(i'm sure there may be a better way than that, so if anyone wants to tell me i'm open for suggestions.)
Do you have the time for this? I think you don't have the time not to.
Is it the only way? No, but it's a good way, and I recommend it to you.
Will God really change my life as I read His Word? Yes.
Sites of seminaries I believe have valuable and enduring philosophical, systematic theology, or informational contributions.
I believe we live in an expansive evangelical world, and one way (albeit small) to grasp some of the boundaries, assess where current groups are, and just get a general feel for what's out there and what's being said (or not said) is to visit seminaries' web sites. I think there is value and insight in getting a bigger picture than what we're used to and, even if we do not like some of the extremes of that picture, it is good to realize that true Christianity is bigger than our daily sphere of contact and comfort.
This is the second blog with links to pages I think are valuable. In the future, you can find this blog in the "Seminary Sites" link on my sidebar under "Sites of Interest." Please comment any other recommendations to me.
(there are many sites on the internet that are home to great links pages. the reasons i am adding another are multiple. i like the idea of getting all of my own links in one place, of getting your input, and of cataloging what these sites have to offer)
The Master's Seminary
The highlights include a masterfully worded and rock solid statement of faith, a great letter to the prospective student by Pastor John MacArthur that is good advice for looking at any seminary, and some great links to web and seminary resources. A good way to become acquainted with the heartbeat, belief, and history of The Master's Seminary, the site also provides an occasional message good for catching a glimpse of the seminary.
People I know there: Adam Bailie, Brad Norman
Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Virginia Beach
Read their doctrinal statement--with verses linked to gospelcom.net--and mission statement. You can listen to sermons by Dan Davey, president of the seminary and pastor of Colonial Baptist Church. There is a great page on Colonial, listing their distinctives, doctrine, ministries, and missions that is good philosophy and church ministry stuff. They also have some neat, extensive PDF files of PowerPoint slides on Hebrew grammar (the alphabet, syllables, vowels, nouns, articles, prepositions, adjectives, pronouns, suffixes, construct, numbers, verb intro, qal perfect, and review and parsing sheets) and Hermeneutics.
People I know there: Will Lee
Reformed Theological Seminary
Relates the founding, distinctives, and purpose of this non-denominational, Reformed seminary. Find out about the distance-learning options of the "Virtual Campus," as well as the degrees, courses, and faculty of the five campuses--Jackson, Miss; Orlando, FL; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Washington, DC. You can also find their online store and subscribe for free to their quarterly magazine, Reformed Quarterly.
People I know there: Cristy Atkins (marriage and family therapy), Jason Cornwall (mdiv, i think)
Bob Jones University Seminary
Couched within the BJU website, there are several pages on the mission, faculty, and programs offered.
People I know there: me, scores+
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Located in Louisville, KT, the mission statement of the seminary is, "Under the lordship of Jesus Christ, the mission of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is to be totally committed to the Bible as the Word of God and to be a servant of the churchesof the Southern Baptist Convention by training, educating, and preparing ministers of the gospel for more faithful service." The site offers two excellent documents (both available in PDF and a quick way to collect some systematic theology), one the school's Abstract of Principles and the other the confession of the SBC called Baptist Faith and Message, as well as Al Mohler's presentation of the "core values" of the seminary and some philosophy scattered throughout the site. Some other good resources are found in the publications link, such as The Southern Seminary Magazine (free subscription and PDF downloads), select articles from The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, and a list of 600 books deemed "must haves" for a theological library. Site also contains the usual description of classes, distance ed, and online possibilities, as well as the school handbook.
Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary
Read their statement of faith, visit the church's web site, and check out the healthy amount of resources ranging from PDF's of the seminary journal, mp3's of assorted sermons, and a newsletter you can subscribe to.
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
The only exposure I have to Trinity is from some of their current professors by way of books and sermons; however, what I've experienced has been extremely positive. They offer some distance opportunities that could make it possible to get those teachers, from the likes of Kaiser, Moo, and D.A Carson.
Not gracefully or beautifully, not peacefully or cheerfully, but at least completely and finally, another semester ends.
Now it's just Media Center and....hey, I can actually use my nights for something besides the paper that's due the next day and the Hebrew and the....
Extremely interesting site of a group I'd never heard of before. An entirely different way to do church, so it seems to me. You'll have to check it out.
Despite what you think about the philosophy, there are some free biblical resources that look extremely good so far.
Thanks to Ev and, originally, Michael Osborne.
I overhead a girl in the lab say, "I have the best friends in the world."
I disagree. :-)
Thanks to all for a grand time.
(the mad photographer in me strikes again)
The last time I had this stuff it was ground into the carpet...
This essay is a response to the common attitude of "you can't prove to me that CCM is wrong, so how dare you try to tell me I shouldn't listen to it!" as well as the attitude of "you have to appeal to the tastes of modern Christians in order to attract them to your church."
While the Bible is not clear about what styles of music are right or wrong or appropriate for church, the Christian should avoid the position that certain styles of music are "needed" for true worship (or evangelism) to take place.
Those who reach the conclusion that CCM is "ok" Biblically, tend to fall to the temptation that CCM is needed. Could it be that CCM is not wrong in any way, but not needed in the church or believer's life? Could it be that CCM is "ok", but better avoided?
Those who condemn all CCM and its followers tend to think that "classically styled" music is needed for worship to take place. Could it be that true worship could take place to CCM? Could it be that a service without CCM could lack true worship?
The answer to all of these questions is, "yes!" To think that any certain style of music is needed for true worship to take place is to supplant the Gospel with man's creation. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
Neither CCM music nor any other style of music is necessary for true Biblical evangelism.
Neither CCM nor any other style of music is needed to fill a church building.
Neither CCM nor any other style of music is necessary to grow a person in Christlikeness.
The faithful and accurate proclamation of God's Word is all that is necessary to win a soul to Christ, to fill a church (with faithful Christians), and to grow a person in Christlikeness. Certain styles of music will encourage or detract from these goals; however, no single style is necessary to fulfill these goals.
I like to say, "When it rains, it pours." In fact, that's my life motto...Anyway, it's not really always so, but it is right now.
Exciting pour #1: I was denied special permission to substitute Old Testament Theology for a two credit class that nobody takes extremely seriously. I was told the only exception is an managerial mandated, work-related excuse. Since there are three of us GA's in the Media Center, I immediately discounted that possibility and was sad. However, on Friday I got an email that there was a time on TTH that all of us were working. I was the only one that could move my class, and the only time it was offered was....you guessed it. So I was officially excused from the two credit class and am now excited to be taking Old Testament Theology (another Dr. Bell class) instead. Praise!
Exciting pour #2: The move. And we just love our new apartment. My favorite part? Probably our coffee table. Click "more..." to see pictures from the momentous event.
This perspective is from a class lecture on music from Fred Coleman. It is an attempt to give some kind of guideline for making choices about church music, but, as he even mentioned in class, it's also a way to look at life and a variety of choices. (dress, personal music, etc.) I like to call it the Coleman Ziggurat.
Click here
to see it.
Click on More... to see some explanation.
(i have done my best to present this as he did, but there's a chance i may present something slightly differently than he would and obviously i cannot defend what he has said for him. this is my best understanding of what he presented.)
All music- rather obviously, this means every type of music known to man.
Right music--of all the music possible, only some of it is right. this category could also be labelled "moral." Coleman states that the major method of identifying "right music" is by observation of the responses certain music causes. instead of demanding that only the music elite or PhD's can explain what makes music wrong, Coleman asserts that anyone who can judge responses can identify wrong music.
responses can be divided into two groups--learned (cultural) and universal. if music causes a learned wrong response, that music is still wrong for the Christian. responses can be judged biblically in a way notes, chords, etc. cannot.
Appropriate music--of all the right music possible, only some of it is appropriate. appropriateness is a matter of purpose. it is determined by knowing your culture and your people. "take me out to the ballgame" is a perfectly acceptable song, but it is not appropriate for worship in a culture whose only assocition with it is the seventh inning stretch.
Expedient music--of all the appropriate music possible, only some of it is expedient. expedience is a matter of wisdom. it is usually applied in the context of association to music that is perfectly fine, but that contains so much baggage it would not be wisest to use it. (all music has baggage. look at any era, piece, or composer, and you'll find some baggage somewhere. which simply goes to reinforce something we already know--humans are sinners, and sin pollutes.) music that distracts from the worship defeats its own purpose.
we need to be willing to disagree about stuff that is on the edge. much of the ziggurat leaves room for subjective appraisal (which i appreciate), because that's realistic. do your best to evaluate music for yourself and be charitable when you disagree with someone else's conclusions.
Not to jump on the "i want a table on my blog" bandwagon, but here's the schedule (hopefully) for next semester for any who are interested. 9 credits. Beale, Bell, Bell, and Hankins.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | History of Fundamentalism | Hist. of Fund. | Preacher Boys | ||
| 11 | |||||
| 12 | Biblical Hermeneutics | Biblical Hermeneutics | |||
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | Old Testament Introduction | OTI | |||
| 3 | Exposition of Minor Prophets | Expos. of Minor Prophets | Expos. of Minor Prophets | ||
| 4 |
Music. The word itself is powerfully charged right now.
Blogs about music.
The idea is almost distasteful, scary, unwanted. But for the last days, weeks, and months, I have been unable to escape considering, hearing arguments, and being faced with ideas about music. So, despite my misgivings and feelings of almost...juvenilishness, I guess I'll start here.
Well, actually, I guess I have to back up. I would like to start with the biblical theology, but I suppose we need some background first.
Nothing can stir a discussion...an argument...a conflagration like music. Web forums were recently created at Bob Jones University. A student posted a one-liner to the effect of, "I hear CCM is a big deal here. What do you think?" In two short days, the number of posts easily outnumbered those in any of the other forums, and I think the guy didn't even come close to getting his question answered. (or perhaps he did...)
Why should I add to the volumns of debate? Why enter the fray? Aren't there enough books, ideas, opinions out there?
I've weighed those thoughts before. I've had posts that danced on the edge of getting into it, I've visited blogs that went on and on and round and round, and I've shied away from my share of discussions. But it seems that now is the time to break at least some of that reticent silence.
Why? Because I need to come to some conclusions. I believe God desires for us to do the hard work of thoroughly investigating, thinking, and studying through issues that aren't clear to us. There are no grey areas to God, but there are to me. I can glorify God by doing my best to find out what would please Him most.
And so I begin. I hope you might possibly be edified along the way, and that you can edify me. A reader recently mentioned his disappointment at clicking the "A theology of music" link only to find a bitty quote my Luther. I hope we can all profit from this experience, that this won't degenerate into mindless rants, but that there will be beneficial interaction. I'm sure the experience of writing, cataloging, and weighing what I've been thinking will be helpful to me. I can only pray it is to you.
This blog begins where every discussion ought--considering the biblical data. Have you ever done that? Ever put all the books and preconcieved notions and prior mindsets down so you could focus only on the biblical data? I know it's not quite possible to dispel all prior thoughts, but spiritual maturity demands the ability to be intellectually honest.
My plan of attack is 1. find the relevant biblical data
2. determine the relevant biblical principles
and 3. evaluate the extra-biblical arguments.
One night I and three of my best friends sat down with Bible Works and 572 verses. This is a survey of that data.
Genesis 31:27
Validity of secular music.
Exodus 15:1
Songs can celebrate specific works of God (see Deuteronomy 31, 32; Judges 5; I Samuel 22:1). Yahweh is his song. Women participate in public worship.
Exodus 32:1-7
There is a raucous, confusing sound that is better suited to accompany drunken orgies than the worship of God.
Deuteronomy 31:16; 32
Music is memorable, can be didactic, is a witness, holds accountable, and can testify against. Truth can be preserved in music.
I Samuel 16:16ff
Music itself has power to affect emotion and spirit.
I Samuel 18:10; 19:9
Music is limited in its effect, does not have unlimited power, can’t control a person, and can’t sanctify.
I Samuel 22
Balance of personal experience and doctrine in David’s song.
I Kings 1:41
Celebratory music was loud (uproar, noise).
II Kings 3:15
Music itself may be used to quiet worshippers before God.
I Chronicles 6:31
Music is a ministry to the people.
I Chronicles 13:8
Songs and musical instruments are to be used to celebrate before God.
I Chronicles 15:28
Music was loud and with shouting.
I Chronicles 15-16
Asaph’s inauguration
I Chronicles 25
Singing with accompaniment.
II Chronicles 5:13; 20:21
God responds to worshipful singing.
II Chronicles 23:18
David established a system for musical worship.
II Chronicles 29:26
Good description of music in OT worship
Nehemiah 11:21
Singers are from priestly line; we now are priests.
Job 21:9
Music is used by the wicked – common grace
Job 33:27; Ps. 13:1,6
Testimonial song
Psalm 18:1
Music speaks to God.
Psalm 28:7
Songs used for thanksgiving
Psalm 33:3
New song – something fresh, not as opposed to old (see Rev. 5:9). We should produce new songs.
Psalm 45:1
Songs of love
Psalm 69:12; 78:63; Ecc. 7:5; 33:32; Isa. 14; Rev. 18:22
Songs of drunkard, weddings, etc.
Psalm 149:5
Singing is to be used in private worship.
Proverbs 25:20
Songs that are out of touch with reality are not welcome.
Isaiah 23:15
Song of the harlot
Daniel 3
Music was distinctive.
Amos 5:23
Worship without obedience is repulsive to God.
Matthew 11:17
Music does not compel a reaction, but there is an expected natural response.
Matthew 26:30; Mk. 14
Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn after the Lord’s Supper.
Acts 16:25
Evangelism is a natural by-product of the combined force of testimony and true worship. Music is natural for Christians; it’s part of being a Christian and is what God expects (Rom. 15:7-11 and Ps. 18 – not just Jewish)
I Corinthians 14:15
Music must be spiritual and intelligent. If the musical tones are haphazard, then the music is meaningless. We are to sing the same way we pray. Our songs will not be chosen without regard for theology.
Ephesians 5:19
“Psalms” – stringed instruments; “Hymns” – teach doctrine; poetic in praise of divinity with stringed instruments; “Spiritual Songs” – testimony
“to give latitude for all kinds of musical expression to exalt the Lord.” - John MacArthur
As a result of our filling with the Spirit, we are to sing various kinds of music (psalms, and songs of joy and praise).
Colossians 3:16
Music is to be used as a means of teaching and admonishing one another.
James 5:13
It is okay to sing when happy.
Just in case you haven't heard, Cathy and I are leaving our cozy little B-101 for a similar palatial palace on Rutherford. Friday, Lordwilling. :-)
Reasons being, in brief, new church philosophy, financial similarity to current rent, and we had to go in May so we might as well go now.
(pertinent 'new church philosophy' in brief--God intends His church to build up other believers and evangelize the lost. we've been attempting to do the edification thing better, so that wasn't a huge factor in the move. but (in my opinion) normal, biblical evangelism happens most often and most effectively in daily relationships, like jobs and with neighbors. so let's see...coworkers...hmmm, working at the Media Center. how 'bout neighbors? hmm...living in CVA. other contact? i guess if buying gas and a few groceries counts for community contact...so there you have it. in sum.)