Don't Waste Your Pulpit

This 4 minute 21 second video clip by John Piper is insightful and a great reminder to the pastor and our responsibility. Be saturated by God.

Happy New Year!

Autonomous or Independent

I received a game for my birthday back in October called Zobmondo!! Would You Rather? (don't take my link to mean 'endorsement') Simply put you read a 'would you rather' question from the box and then defend your answer to the others.

For example: Would you rather preach to angry Southern Baptists in a church without air conditioning in August or preach to angry Southern Baptists in a church building where someone removed their seat cushions? It's a given that both groups need a message on peacemaking and long suffering.

I've been considering an issue in my mind lately about whether I would want to be a pastor of an autonomous church or independent church. I ask myself: Why do we call ourselves autonomous churches rather than independent churches? I'll start with defining the adjective (I prefer Merriam Webster's Dictionary.)Would you rather be part of an autonomous church or an independent church?

Autonomous:

1. (a) having the right or power of self-government (b) undertaken or carried on without outside control
2. capable of existing, responding, reacting or developing independently of the whole

Independent:

1. not dependent: not subject to control by others not affiliated with a larger controlling unit
   
2. not requiring or relying on something else
3. not looking to others for one's opinions or for guidance in conduct
4. not requiring or relying on others (as for care or livelihood)
   

I'm sure there may be grounds for defending that Southern Baptist Churches are both independent and autonomous. I'm even in agreement that there is a hint of both that does define a Southern Baptist Church. I often hear these words used to define our unique relationship to each other, our associations and convention.

I find that the spirit of the word autonomous defines us best however. One could argue that the reason we are a convention of autonomous churches rather than Independent Baptists is because we believe in the value of faithful cooperation. Isn't that what the concept of the Cooperative Program is all about? Faithful cooperation. If God wants to use us together to do something, then we have just been invited by God to faithfully cooperate to that end.

What do you think? Would you rather?

KBYU

I have this thought that I'm still fleshing out... so be patient.

Earlier this week I had the privilege of traveling to Salt Lake City. I was blessed to sit with a mom and dad while their son endured back surgery to correct a spinal curve. (I don't appreciate this like I should because I have never had to wait through a 7 hour surgery for one of my children.)

On Tuesday morning before returning home I spent about an hour in our UISBC state convention office with the state staff during their weekly chapel time. I was encouraged to listen to those serving the churches of Utah and Idaho. I'm thankful for them all.

This is not the reason for my post this week though. I'm posting because of what God showed me during the 4 hour trip to SLC and the 4 hour trip home. In the eight hours of trave,l I listened to KBYU radio (Mormon radio). This was an eye opening experience even though I would never encourage any follower of Christ to make KBYU a main investment for your ears, nor should this be interpreted by anyone as me endorsing KBYU radio (because I'm not.)

This is the short of what I heard.

• nearly 4 hours of complete 'talks' (I don't know if they are called sermons or not, I don't use the word 'talk' to belittle the sermon, I just honestly don't know what to call it.)
• nearly 3 hours of Christmas music (just like the ones you and I sing in church.)
• an hour or so of miscellaneous talk and advertisement (all conservative and family friendly related topics.)

The LDS church has been attempting to look and sound more evangelical over the past 20 years, but especially the last 12, should come as no surprise to anyone in the Utah/Idaho region. What caught me off guard (other than the fact that there was no expository teaching going on at all, it was all topical and on very interesting topics) was that it wasn't until I heard the call letters of the radio station before I knew that I was not listening to an LDS radio station. After this moment I continued listening, expecting to hear something that I might be in disagreement with - imagine a long moment of awkward silence here - there was not one thing in the 8 hours of that I could disagree with in what I heard on the radio.

At this moment I may have many readers concerned about where I'm going with this. Stay with me. I'm not endorsing or am I suggesting that I am in agreement with Mormon doctrine. This is not a post about this kind of topic. In fact, let me state clearly for the record; there is no common foundational ground with Mormonism and (true) Christianity.

Back to the reason for this posting...

If pastors don't preach biblical doctrine and churches don't hold their pastor accountable to preach biblical doctrine then we sound just like the cultic teachers I heard on the radio who sounded just like preachers I've heard preach in 'evangelical' churches. This should cause great concern.

This posting is a call to the pastor to preach doctrine (the things that prove we are not building on the same foundation.) This posting is a call to the church to not settle for a motivational speaker. Preach the Word in season and out of season. Preach the Word when it's popular and especially when it's not popular. Preach the Word of God!

Flesh this out with me will you? What is going on in the American church that an LDS 'talk' sounds just like so many 'evangelical' sermons?

Go!

You know the commission. GO! (Matthew 28, Acts 1:8, Hebrews 13, and many other Scriptures) Do you ever think about this [God-sized] commission. It's huge, it's risky, it's dangerous, but we've been promised that He Himself (Heb. 13:5-6) will NEVER desert us or EVER forsake us. WOW

In his book, Roaring Lambs, Bob Briner talks about how the churches influence in culture is quenched when she stays quiet in the mainstream (meaning all forms of music, theatre, arts, printed media, local school board and TV and radio; i.e. the marketplace.)

I recently moved into this risky place (outside the camp) and agreed to an interview for my local paper. I didn't like the final result at all and now finding myself wishing I had stayed inside the camp (but resolved that I must not.) So I thought I would open up for some thoughts from others with suggestions and thoughts about being a "Roaring Lamb" in the mainstream of our culture.

"It's time for believers to confidently carry their faith with them into the marketplace so that our very culture feels (and hears) the difference." Bob Briner (Added emphasis, because they must hear the gospel for it to be good news.)