Break Camp

My posts will be few and far between until we are settled in Ohio.

We break camp next week when the movers show and then we'll put Georgia in the rear-view mirror.

A Call to Be a Computer Geek?

Dumbfounded by the Air Force's decision to send me to school for a computer science degree, something alien to my background, perhaps God is now letting me in on a little of His plan...

This week I heard that missionary-candidates in the '70s and '80s were trained in agriculture so they could sow the gospel seed with unreached people while also teaching them to farm. That's now passe, in part because the big food conglomerates, like ADF, have moved in. And a small missionary team can't compete with something that big.

These days more and more candidates are brushing up on their calculus and computer skills. Many of the unreached people groups need and want these skills in order to move to a city and find steady work. So perhaps the missionary spark that God has lit in our hearts will be fanned into flame through something as mundane as differential equations and Java.

After all, it is His math.

God Bless You

"Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!" (Gen 27: 29)

One of the themes my pastor has traced through Genesis is the passing of the "blessing-bearer" torch from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob. God dealt with others based on how they dealt with his blessing-bearer. For instance, when Pharaoh took Sarai, all the wombs of his household were closed. Lot parts from Abraham and ends up in Sodom.

Ultimately the blessing-bearer torch belongs to Abraham's seed, Jesus. It stops with him. Whoever blesses him will be blessed; whoever doesn't will be cursed.

People want their house to be blessed, their children to be blessed, their job to be blessed. But they don't bless Christ, meaning they don't live in a way that honors Him. If we want the blessing of God we must bless Jesus, the blessing-bearer.

Every Idle Word

A collage of interesting things I heard throughout the day...

Farewell Speech from a Captain
My friend's farewell luncheon was today; it was well attended. He's a PCA guy and has done well at work. His farewell remarks were polished and moving. But I was a little disappointed that he didn't work any gospel into his remarks. That does take some guts and more discretion.

I'll have my chance in a couple of weeks. I've been told that when God gives you a canon, you fire it. That's what I plan to do.

Commander's Call
The new General on base remarked, "My priorities are faith, family, Air Force. You might be surprised to hear a General Officer put service to his nation in third place. But if my top two priorities aren't right, then #3 can't be done well."

"I make tough choices on these priorities every day. Friday I had to choose between going to my son's baseball game or attending a gathering of 600 volunteers on our base. This time I chose to be with my son. He says I don't do that enough."

[I liked his point. Saying you have priorities is easy, but they're proven through tough choices that pit one priority against the others. But, I wished he would have proven that faith is his first priority with an example of it bumping everything else.]

Two Men on a Bus
Man 1: "Now that we have super churches there's a lot more offered. There are courses on Finances, Marriage...so many things the small churches haven't had."
Man 2: "What do the big churches use?"
Man 1: "They buy the books for you. The little churches can't do that. They just teach from the Bible."
Man 2: "I guess there's a place for that, too."
Man 1: "Yeah, there is a time for that. But the books have direct quotes from the Bible. Plus they also have really helpful thoughts on all kinds of topics, too."

Urban Legends of Evangelicalism

17. One way to share the Gospel is to say, "ask Jesus into your heart".
FALSE!
This is a sub-Christian euphemism, foreign to the Scriptures. Better would be: "today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."

18. God's love is unconditional
FALSE!
Unconditional love is a farce. God's love is completely conditioned upon Christ.

19. God loves you just the way you are
FALSE!
God loves you the way Christ is. We please God by relying on His grace to make us like His Son.

Graduation Celebration

In recognition of Eli finishing kindergarten in a couple of weeks, I'm planning his first camping trip. We'll spend one night deep in the woods of Georgia with some other fathers and sons from the church. The next day we'll catch a Ranger (as in US Army Ranger) demonstration.

The Ranger demo sounds exciting: patrol insertion from a Blackhawk, rappelling, climbing, mountain rescue, hand-to-hand combat, and free-fall parachute jumping. Static displays include helicopters, night-vision devices, weapons, and parachutes.

Tents, campfires, and handgrenades; what could be more exciting?

Stranger in a Strange Land

It's no surprise that we swim against the tide of pop culture. We are the "called out" ones. However, it is startling to look up from your swim-lane and find you're on a dramatically different course than most of the church around you.

Let's face it, just affirming covenant baptism and rejecting Left Behind puts you in a statistically-insignificant group. Then throw in worship convictions, education convictions, etc. That's one more reason why I like blogs--they help connect me to others in some meaningful way.

Although the path of sanctification has taken some surprising turns over the last year, I feel good about it. In my less-reformed past the teaching was milky, so much so it was easy to become somewhat of an expert milkman. Now I see so much to be learned I don't feel qualified to teach on much at all. Before, my leisure time largely mirrored the world's; now much richer things captivate me. Before, the gospel seemed like the ABCs; now it's the A-Z.

What Do I Do Now?

My colonel retired Friday. His charisma was unmatchable; think "most popular guy in high school" and that's him at 40-something. He'd motivate you from a top the conference room table during staff meeting. He'd cut a flip on the way to the podium just to "set the stage". His wit and charm earned him the tite, "Mr. Hollywood". He's a powerful leader. But he's also honestly mistaken. During officer calls he'd boldly and repeatedly state that family (his wife and two kids) has not been first; the Air Force is. It wasn't a confession but a proclamation. He echoed this during his retirement reception, with his wife sitting in the front row.

At least he's honest, many men say that family is first but their life proves otherwise. For my colonel, now that he's retired, it'd be interesting to know how his family adjusts to his re-entry after 26 years. But, like most "successful" men, it probably won't take long for him to find something else to make first.

Speaking of "what do I do now", after a cram-packed year I finished my last Air Command and Staff College exam today! My evenings are free again! Well, that is, until I become a full-time student in June for a year.

I, like Jacob in Esau's Garment

After a powerful sermon today from Genesis 27:1-29, where Jacob deceives his father and receives the blessing intended for Esau, I think a highly unusual foray into poetry may be in order.


I, like Jacob in Esau's garment
went into my Father's room.

He smelled the smell of my elder brother
that covered my stench of doom.

Dressed in the garb of Father's favorite
I receive what I am not due.

O rightful Son of the Father,
blessed be everyone who blesses you!

Mrs. Wrestling Mat Goes to the Laundry Mat
By Kristin, earlier this week

Of all the things to do today I dreaded having to do laundry! Did I forget to mention that the man came to repair the washer on Monday and ended up taking it back to the shop with him? Worse than he thought--Thursday is the projected date of return. I drove by a run down laundry mat on the way to library story hour and cringed. UGH! No way did I want to do that!

At the library, Hope, my new friend that homeschools and has kids in gymnastics class with us at the YMCA, mentioned that she saw a new laundry mat by Hwy 96 when I was bemoaning that I didn't want to, but after 5 days, I had to do laundry.

You would have thought it was CHUCK E CHEESE or something. All 3 of the kiddos had a blast. The laundry place was nice, clean, and....fun. It had regular washers, washers for double loads, and giant washers for doing a triple sized load!

We did a double load of whites and a (OH BOY!) triple load of darks. The kids had a blast loading the washers with clothes and then QUARTERs! Eli did not want to leave to get lunch! But I loaded the kids back into the car, went through the golden arches drive thru, returned to finish watching the clothes spin (Isaiah reported if there were bubbles or just water), and urged the kids to please eat their lunch so we could go home. Then I buckled the younger two in the van and had Eli be my door holder. He asked if we could come back again. I said hopefully not as the washer will be back on Thursday. Both he and Grace said they thought their clothes would really need washing as they really wanted to come back.

Out of Egypt

My favorite summation of the gospel was: God's sovereignty, Man's sinfulness, Christ's sufficiency. Nothing wrong with that, but I've been won over to the way my pastor preaches the gospel to believers, it goes something like this:

We're all born in Egypt, not the place, but the condition--in slavery to sin. God intervened and delivered us from that bondage and oppression. He's taking us to the Promised Land, which is the New Heavens and New Earth. But for now we're in the wilderness. It's a hard place. The temptation is to go back to Egypt, or to stay and gut it out here in the wilderness. But we're called to believe God's promises. He's proactively out for our good. He won't count our sins against us. He'll defeat all His and our enemies. He will finish the job.

No surprise that this pastor is most at home preaching from the "Older Testament", as he calls it. You can't swing a dead cat in there without hitting the gospel.

Me and My Bible

So many important things that I've never heard before come from my pastor these days. I hope to record a few here in upcoming posts.

He says we properly understand Scripture through three lenses: the text, historical understanding of the text (e.g. creeds, catechisms), and our present community (e.g. our particular church, the era and culture we live in, etc). If we minimize historical understanding, as so many do these days, we're bound to goof up the meaning of the text.

I've been part of churches that strived to be "Sola Scriptura", but in actuality I think were closer to "me and my Bible". There's a big difference between the two. These churches (and I) failed to account for the affect that our cultural presuppositions have on our comprehension of the text. This is why historical understanding is so important. We need 2,000 years worth of Christian thought to properly balance and guide our understanding of Scripture safely through our own time and culture.

Why I Write

Today is the first anniversary of this blog. Seems like a good time to think through why I write.

I write for myself. Blogging is a good forcing function for meditating on the Scriptures and life "under the sun". It helps me capture a fleeting thought. Writing forces the thought to take shape. My 6-year old son isn't content to watch butterflies flitter across our yard. Net in hand, he runs off intent to catch and understand them. Likewise, the Scriptures shouldn't just "walk by" me during a morning devotion, it's better that I wrestle them throughout the day. A morning devotion starts the match, the evening blog entry ends the bout.

I write for others. We're called to edify, and I see a need for this in the blogosphere. Most blogs about discipling a family belong to the ladies (and my wife and I profit greatly from them). As far as I can find, the majority of blogging men focus on theological, cultural, or political hot buttons. There's a place for that, but we could use more manly blogs that reflect a father's heart turned towards his family. I try to contribute to that need.

Humbled by Adversity, We Learn the Deception

At work I have my cross to bear--difficult people, broken processes, broken people, and difficult processes. At home, my wife bears a heavier cross--difficult neighbors, broken appliances, a broken body, and difficult children. And some days they all misfire at once.

Yet the heaviest cross is mine, and it's that I cannot take Kristin's cross from her. But what I should do, and a good head of home will do, is ensure that she is bearing only the cross God gives. Neither I, nor anyone else, should add to it. But I must call her to take up her cross and follow Christ.

Calvin is especially strong here. Here are powerful reasons for bearing your cross, excerpted from his Institutes (Book 3).

REASON 1: Our Cross Conforms Us to Christ
"Though the Son was dear to the Father above all others, the Son in whom he was "well pleased," yet we see, that far from being treated gently and indulgently, we may say his whole life was nothing else than a kind of perpetual cross. Why then should we exempt ourselves from that condition to which Christ our Head behoved to submit? It affords us great consolation in hard and difficult circumstances, which men deem evil and adverse, to think that we are holding fellowship with the sufferings of Christ; that as he passed to celestial glory through a labyrinth of many woes, so we too are conducted thither through various tribulations.

REASON 2: Our Cross Rids Us of Self-Confidence
"Since we indulge a stupid and empty confidence in the flesh, God visits us with disgrace, or poverty, or bereavement, or disease, or other afflictions. Feeling altogether unable to support them, we forthwith, in so far as regards ourselves, give way, and thus humbled learn to invoke his strength, which alone can enable us to bear up under a weight of affliction. Humbled by adversity, we learn the deception. It is surely plain how necessary it is for us to bear the cross. It is of no little importance to be rid of your self-love, and made fully conscious of your weakness; so impressed with a sense of your weakness as to learn to distrust yourself so as to transfer your confidence to God, reclining on him with such heartfelt confidence as to trust in his aid, and continue invincible to the end, standing by his grace so as to perceive that he is true to his promises, and so assured of the certainty of his promises as to be strong in hope.

REASON 3: Our Cross Frees Us From Half-Hearted Joy
"God well knows how strongly we are inclined by nature to a slavish love of this world, in order to prevent us from clinging too strongly to it, he employs the fittest reason for calling us back, and shaking off our lethargy. Our stupidity! Our minds are so dazzled with the glare of wealth, power, and honours, that they can see no farther. The heart also, engrossed with avarice, ambition, and lust, is weighed down and cannot rise above them. In short, the whole soul,
ensnared by the allurements of the flesh, seeks its happiness on the earth. To meet this disease, the Lord makes his people sensible of the vanity of the present life, by a constant proof of its miseries."

We have a tendancy to want to throw-off our cross, thinking we'll then enjoy a better life. But, how useful and beneficial our crosses are to the good life! "We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 24:22)

Contrasts

To Our Children at Sunrise (joyfully): "He is risen. He is risen indeed!!!!"

To Our Children at Sunset (sternly): "Pick out your [chocolate] bunny NOW!@#!"

The "already and not yet" of the Gospel...I need it today as much as any other.

Easter Presents

- Justification! (Rom 4:25)
- Our faith is not in vain (1 Cor 15:17)
- Preaching is not in vain (1 Cor 15:14)
- The power of sin is DEAD! (Rom 6:11)
- Born again to a living hope... (1 Pet 1:3-5)
-- to an inheritance that is unfading!
-- kept for us in heaven, guarded by God
- Seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6)
- Promised to appear with Him in glory! (Col 3:4)
- Those who fall asleep in Christ have not perished! (1 Cor 15:18)
- Our lowly bodies will be transformed like His glorious body! (Phil 3:20)

(based on Heidelberg Catechism #45, "How does Christ's resurrection benefit us?")

The City That is to Come

We're back from the Dayton house-hunting trip. The highlight of the week was clearly the Lord's Day. We enjoyed worship at Covenant OPC, met many new folks, and had dinner & family worship with some new friends. I hope our kind hosts won't mind me recounting a little event that particularly impressed Kristin and me. We're gathered around the piano singing Psalm 4. The wife is playing and singing. The husband is singing in harmony. (Kristin and I are trying to hit a note here and there as we're able). I understand little about music, but I believe the wife wrote the tune that we sang, which to me is an inscrutable skill. But what really impressed us was her ability while playing her own tune on the piano and singing harmony with her husband, to also make quick yet subtle use of her elbows, effectively keeping her littlest children's fingers from sneaking onto the keyboard. That's real mommy-talent.

The house-hunting was hectic--200+ Majors all reporting on the same day, combing the few available rentals. But God was kind to us, and in the end we signed a lease on a fine house in Fairborn, very close to the base. Interestingly, there's 2 other homeschooling families on our street.

To ease our nerves after the first day of fruitless searching, we found this, "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come" (Heb 13:14). The magazines from Dayton's department of tourism make the town look like a great place, yet we're reminded that the closest we can be to our true home is the visible church. And we can rest assured that God will richly provide this for us.

We're Off to See the Wizard...er...Scarecrow

Tomorrow we'll start our house-hunting trip to Dayton, Ohio. First stop will be Birmingham, AL to drop off the children with Kristin's parents! This will be the first time in six years that Kristin and I have been together without our little ones. What an awkward feeling this will be! No interstate exit-hunts for a McDonalds with a playland! No crowded hotel-room! No hours of kiddie-music!

Lord willing (...and we remember to change the clock!) we'll worship at Covenant OPC this Lord's Day. We also look forward to meeting Barb and making some new friends.

Fruit Trees

Tonight my pastor taught me a great deal about the gospel, in about 15 seconds. It's no quick fix. It's no magic formula. My struggle against sin is not all over in a day. Instead, the gospel chips away at my sinful nature. It molds me. Shapes me. Little by little.

This encourages me in my wrestling match against pride, anger, slander, lust, etc, etc; for I am corrupt in all of my being, just as the children's catechism says. To flee, cling, and rest on God is all I can do. And through my trials, God will sustain me, sinful nature and all, while He slowly perfects and renders fruit of holiness out of me.

"God is a gardener; He grows trees. He doesn't sell canned fruit. What He produces takes time and He is glorified by the process often more than the product." Russel Kelfer

Chesteron remarked, "You can easily imagine trees not growing fruit; you can imagine them growing golden candlesticks or tigers hanging on by the tail. A tree grows fruit because it is a magic tree."

While I'm more apt to produce tigers-by-the-tail, God can bring even fruit of holiness out of me.

The Easy Life

School registration opened yesterday. Several co-workers, parents of pre-K children, actually camped out in the public school parking lot over the weekend to ensure their 4 year old got a slot. Meanwhile, we're struggling with our 4-year old, who has been especially difficult lately. The easy life calls.

My colonel's retirement golf outing was also yesterday. Nice, large houses and new cars surrounded me for several hours. Conversation centered on the refined swing, the best golf clubs, and the right country clubs. The easy life calls.

I have the means to lead my family to an easy life. We could spend more on ourselves while posturing to spend retirement collecting seashells in Florida. I could make my wife's life especially easier right away by freeing her of homeschool duties.

But the things that people say will make us all happier I don't think really will. Big houses, expensive cars, kids off to school, double-income--if this is the easy life, it's only so for a while.

There's the importance of delayed gratification. Not gratification in fine houses and possessions, but in wisdom that only comes through tribulations and gratification in godly children, well-raised.

Gone Fishin'
by Kristin

Once again Tim took the older kids fishing after dinner. Sunday night they went to Luna Lake, and Isaiah and I played on the playground while they fished. This time they went to Duck Lake. Isaiah and I went to the commissary (milk, oatmeal, and raisins) and then stopped by to see what they had caught.
They had caught nothing, but were having a grand time. The little boat Eli made was sailing fine. Eli wanted to do something with it so he asked if Isaiah could hold his fishing pole. After about a second of holding it, the bob went down. Isaiah started to reel it in. Then I helped him reel in his first fish! He was so excited! It was a little brim. I wished I had a camera! The kids were so excited for him.
Grace is determined to catch one next time. She keeps feeding them her worms--loses the fish as she reels it in.

(Isaiah is 22 months old)

Exit Strategy

Those who exit a worship service before it's over for no obvious reason puzzle me. Today our pastor gave a passionate plea (his word) for baptized believers to participate in the Lord's Supper. Oddly enough, as soon he finished his remarks several folks slipped out. Were his words just empty platitudes? I didn't think so. And "slipped out" is too mild. They gathered their purses and things and, in some cases, walked the length of the sanctuary. Quite distracting.

True, they could have good, yet discrete, reason for doing so. But for all I know they were hustling out to grab lunch and get to the Cherry Blossom festival or a soccer match. In any case, it's hard to imagine another event beating out the Lord's Supper. Here is Jesus, with us like no other place this side of eternity, giving us the strength to make it. What could pull them away?

A few more folks head out at the start of the last hymn. I think too beat the rush, which is what I do at most sporting events. But this too is distracting and reflects that they've had enough worship.

Many more get ansy at the benediction. Sit in the back of the sanctuary and you'll get a good view of "the benediction shuffle". Upper bodies bob down to get Bibles and purses. Heads nod in silent agreement about which way to exit the pew. Keys make a muffled jingle.

A recent Basement Tape recommended a remedy to the shuffle. Grab your children's or spouse's hand and raise it so that you're focused on receiving the blessing of the benediction.

If we can't wait to the end of a worship service, how well can we wait on God the rest of the time?

Leader’s Guide

As one who is slowly seeing the folly of my evangelical lifestyle, developing proper convictions is a most difficult task. And leading my family to understand them is tougher still.

Oodles of choices frequently present themselves as convictions for us to either affirm or reject: educational approaches, military commitment, large family, transracial adoption, paedocommunion (and a host of other worship issues), political parties, etc.

I sense danger on all sides. I could spend my hours naval-gazing yet deciding nothing. But convictions adopted in haste are sure to turn me into a thunder-puppy, wasting my hours shouting down thunder puppies of the opposing pack.

One thing is clear. Before adopting a conviction I should know its place in the gospel. If I can’t explain why I believe something in a way that shows it is part of the gospel then I don’t understand it or the gospel well enough. The less essential a conviction is to the gospel the less valuable it is. My life’s focus must be on believing the right gospel, without stopping short of its fullness or going too far.

This is also the guide for leading a family. A fast, but wrong, way to attempt change in a family is through a kind of gospel-less law. “You will homeschool”. “You will submit to me”, etc, etc. But rather than domination, I am to lead by the gospel, teaching my wife and children how our convictions fit into our gospel understanding.

Treasure Trove

Today is the blogathon at Buried Treasure in support of the Highlands Study Center. There'll be a new post every half hour!

Spring in the Swampland

We’re enjoying a gentle Spring in Georgia. But with it come the snakes and mosquitoes. While I coached from my office phone, Kristin gathered up her courage, and a tree shovel, and crushed the head of the serpent that had slithered into her flower bed. And we’re back to coating ourselves with bug spray. I don’t mean to sound like a sourpuss; really, I like Spring. But it also gives me the chance to answer a common question from the children, “Why did God make pests like snakes and mosquitoes?”

I won’t go for an exhaustive answer, but here’s what I emphasize. As much as we enjoy the beauty of God’s creation this time of year, the pests, allergies, and other annoyances remind us that God is even more enjoyable, more beautiful, and more delightful than the finest Spring day. Creation, as it now stands, is spoiled. But our Creator remains unspoiled and full of delight!

"The Son breaks out in glory when he shows himself as one who outshines all creation." (Valley of Vision, pg 26)

A Slip of the Tongue

At a military social last week I asked about a group joke that I didn't get. It dealt with the Austin Powers movies which I haven't seen. I then made my mistake. Some self-righteous sounding quip escaped off my tongue. Since then my brief remark has led some co-workers to view me as one of those "holier-than-thou Fundamentalists". And some rather nasty slander has gotten back to me.

It's surprising how a year's worth of effort to avoid this stereotype was so easily erased by a little slip of the tongue.

The Power of Sympathy

Great encouragement came this morning by meditating on a remark in Hebrew 4:15 that Christ "sympathizes with our weaknesses". Calvin, and others, comment that weaknesses include the feelings of the soul, such as fear, sorrow, dread, and similar things.

Calvin adds:

"Whenever we labor under the infirmities of our flesh, let us remember that the Son of God experienced the same, in order that he might by his power raise us up, so that we may not be overwhelmed by them."

"These infirmities Christ of his own accord undertook, and he willingly contended with them, not only that he might attain a victory over them for us, but also that we may feel assured that he is present with us whenever we are tried by them."

In my weaknesses, Christ raises me up, attains victory over them for me, and is present with me through them! I rejoice to be under the care of one too tender to crush, too kind to injure, too powerful to leave me to wallow in my weaknesses.

Maledictory Monday

Jesus' maledictions often worry me when I reflect on discipling my family.

Are we going to great lengths ("crossing sea and land") to homeschool our children, only to make them twice as much children of hell as they would otherwise be? Am I tying-up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and laying them on my wife's shoulders without lifting a finger to help? What if, having driven one unclean spirit from my house, seven others enter in and dwell here?

These are fears of the future. When the seeds that I'm planting now sprout, what will they be? Thorns & Thistles!?!

How I need the gospel! God is proactively out for my good. His promises are for me and my children, "the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children!. (Ps 103:17)

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits!" (Ps 103:2)

Half-Berean

Our senior pastor is out of town, so our new assistant pastor has this week's teaching and preaching responsibilities. On Wednesday he taught on "the unbiblical idea of seeking God's will". Even before he introduced his first point someone objected. And after his lesson more emotive objections were voiced.

Public rejection of teaching is sometimes necessary. But I've been in many churches where the rejection is often premature. Most of the time it takes place in a small group setting where submission to an authority's teaching is intentionally minimized or even ridiculed. This attitude is often justified as being "Berean".

The Bereans were commended for two reasons. We all know the part about "examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were correct." But it seems we have collective-amnesia, forgetting that first they, "received the word with all eagerness." (Acts 17:11)

When listening to the teaching of a God-ordained authority is my attitude full of eagerness in what I am receiving? True, there are times when I'm hungry for bread, but I get a stone instead. But how many times have I been offered bread, yet was too skeptical to receive it? The truth is that, at best, many of us are only half-Berean.

Adventures in Babysitting

Our babysitter is a nice, quiet, homeschooled girl with 7 siblings. But despite all she's seen in her household, she's adding some stunning experiences thanks to our children:

Tonight at the park our 4-yr old slid down a slide so fast it made her poop in her pants. A first for daughter.

Last time, my 20 month old son planted his head in the sand after falling off the top of said slide. A first for youngest son.

Also last time, they all got locked out of our house. A first for this house.

A previous time our dog drew blood from my 6 year old's arm through an overly playful nip. A first for dog and son.

Hmmm...it's a wonder she comes back. It's scary that we still leave.

A Mess in the Manger

Reading Proverbs to Eli last night, we read,

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest" (14:4)

Here's a choice for my family. Do we want a clean manger or an abundant harvest?

Or, in other words, do we want a comfortable, easy lifestyle, or one with Kingdom purpose? I used to think both were possible. Our home, car, clothes, etc could look like magazine-covers, and we'd have faithful children, too. In our affluent culture the wealth comes easy enough. But the comforts of wealth lead many to fail on the faithful family part. Isn't this reminiscent of the "personal peace and affluence" trap that Schaeffer described?

I'll stick with the abundant harvest. Raising godly children doesn't come easily; there's hard ground to plow and messes in the manger. We'll have to give up on the perfectly appointed dream-home, the BMW roadster, etc. But if our treasure is in Christ, we won't miss them.

Rest in Peace

Our house is cursed. By that I mean the effects of the Fall are felt here. I've mentioned before that we struggle with anger. We get frustrated at our children easily, try harder not to, and then a little later, we get really frustrated! We've proven true that line, "if we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing". My pastor calls this "gutting it out", instead of believing the gospel.

Not that God promises us that our 6-year old will peacefully cooperate with his mother during his studies. Nor that he will get along with his sister. Peace is a big need in our home.

But thankfully, part of the gospel is a promise of peace. God is at peace with us because of who Christ is and what He has done, I don't want to minimize that. But the promise of peace doesn't end there. God also promises peace in our life that we're unable to generate ourselves. It's a fruit of the Spirit. The best we can do is trust and rest in His promise of peace to us.

Christ is faithful. He will finish the job, in us and in our children. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...you were called to peace" (Col 3:15).

A Song of Ascents for Lord's Day Morning

I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go up to the house of the Lord!"

We are going to the house of prayer,
pour upon us a spirit of grace and supplication.

We are going to the house of praise,
awaken in us every grateful and cheerful emotion.

For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place, saying:

"Here will I dwell, for I have desired it;
I will satisfy her poor with bread."

Let Israel now say:

"Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool!"


(A harmony from the Psalms and Valley of Vision)

Reforming a Church

The church we recently joined is about 15 years old. For approximately the first 13 years it was as "contemporary" as one can be; I'm told it didn't even have an order of worship. About two years ago, just before it was about to bankrupt, the Session called a new pastor, purportedly without knowing him too well.

The Session was open to change. Man, did they get it. A prescribed Order of Worship. Redemptive-Historical preaching. Weekly Lord's Supper. But most of all, the fetters that had held back the fullness of the gospel were unbound. Like the proverbial iceberg, the application of the gospel gradually got bigger and bigger.

I've been listening to recordings of the first sermons the pastor preached here. The nervousness in the congregation can be subtly detected. I get the sense they weren't sure what to think; it was all so different. But they must have been pleased that so many new people were showing up. Still, I'm told some complained, "why preach about the gospel so much to Christians?"

I'd like to say I was wiser than that. But months later when we found the church, I wondered why this reformed pastor didn't take some action about the way the teen-agers dressed, the women-dominated committees, the American flag in the sanctuary, etc, etc. If I were pastor, I would have convinced the Session to correct all the things I saw at once.

But now I see that lasting change comes by teaching the congregation to bring the gospel to bear on all areas of their life; not by a coerced mandate from the Session. When Christians sit under the preached Word and Sacraments we are gradually tranformed into what God created us to be. As our church realizes the fullness of the gospel we're also developing a greater desire for it. Reformation is coming.

A Complaint

While reading Exodus this morning it stood out that when the Israelites in the wilderness complain about their situation to their leaders they are actually complaining against the Lord (Ex 16:2,7).

Where has complaining ever gotten me? A recent sermon point stuck with me. Complaining betrays a lack of belief that God cares for me and is in-control. But prayer is its photo-negative. Prayer shows that I believe God actually cares for me and has made promises that He'll keep.

Rather than grumble, murmur, and gripe to myself and my leaders, I should believe the gospel, pray, and wait.

To my wife, on her birthday

You're not the kind to make a big deal out of your birthday. You don't want folks to "make much of you". Still, I expect you may have mixed feelings about your new age. 32--you've caught up with me again.

I'm not old enough for people to view me as wise and no longer young enough to be admired as youthful. It's easier to judge the growth of my bald spot than detect any progress in wisdom. I suspect you may also struggle to see the benefits that attend another birthday. As the one charged to tend to your maturity, there are a few things I'd like to point out.

You want the gospel more now than ever since I've known you. You are moved by the preached Word like never before; you have discovered sublime satisfaction in the Supper. You are bringing the gospel to bear in all areas of your life. To God be the glory.

You deny being a beautiful woman. But if beauty is a gentle and quiet spirit, you have no defense against my claim to the contrary. In fact, not only has beauty attended you all along, but each year it envelopes you more. To God be the praise.

The past year of your life has been more difficult than we anticipated. Being a stay-at-home mom is tough. Homeschooling young children while safeguarding a toddler is tougher still. Struggles with debilitating sickness, disrespect, disobedience, and doubts have worn you down. But wisdom says this is good. You please God more now than before, because you have been forced to rely more on His grace and not on your many strengths. You have always been intelligent and industrious, now you have been made wise. To God be thanks.

Celebrate your birthday for what He has done in your life. It's only going to get better!

Mission Conference 2004

This weekend was our church's annual missions conference. A couple of things are worth pointing out:

1. 23 churches in 3 months. The couple that we spent the most time with is supported by 23 churches plus other individuals. Their missions organization allots them 3 months furlough every three years. Of course they spend much of that time visiting supporters. There's got to be a better way.

2. Military to Missionary. We thought Kristin's diabetes would keep us off the mission field after my military career is over. But this weekend we realized that even in our situation the military is great preparation for missions. To meet our medical needs we could do our mission work near any overseas US military installation. For example, we could church-plant among Muslims in London, Spain, Germany, etc. Anywhere there's a decent US military hospital. Also, the frequent moves that are part of the military lifestyle are providing us with a network of churches and friends that could be potential supporters. Plus, we're used to a transitory lifestyle. What's another move or two? The last point I'll mention is that the retirement pay would help offset the support needed.

For years I've wondered what I should do after the military. Kristin and I are excited to think that missions may be right for us.

The Death of the Protestant Work Ethic?

This week there were several challenges in doing my job with excellence, i.e. unto the Lord. As a supervisor it isn't enough that I do my work with excellence, I also need to enforce a standard of excellence from those that work for me. This isn't always possible with a few of my notorious folks. So when my boss exhorted me to work on their poor performance I was strongly tempted to get upset; but just before I completely lost my head, I realized that part of doing my job with excellence is agreeing that there are improvements to be made. "He who hates reproof is stupid." (Prov 12:1b, ESV)

Also this week a previous employee said that I was the best supervisor he'd ever had, and that, "you got more work out of me than anybody". I returned his compliment with praise to God who does all things well.

There's a significant need for Christians today to develop a strong work ethic. Doing their work unto the Lord, means in part, doing it with excellence. I remember several years ago Kristin and I went to a Ragamuffin concert; it was their first tour after Rich Mullins died. They didn't know the lyrics to several of the songs they played and, overall, gave a poor performance. They showed no shame for their sub-standard act; it didn't seem to matter to them. I think many Christians have a similar view towards their work. They fail to do it with excellence and therefore fail to reflect God's excellencies to those they serve.

Follow-Ups

Some updates from earlier posts:

1. The rodeo was a great time. Saw the latest in cowboy fashion. The night after we attended a bull jumped 6 feet vertically into the stands after bucking the cowboy. Ten people were injured; most by the stampede of fleeing spectators. It took 15 minutes to get the bull down. Guess there were no real cowboys in the stands.

2. I ate the meatloaf. Still alive; still don't like it. But I didn't hide any in my glass of milk like I used to.

3. Some old neighbors were back in town for a visit yesterday. Their base house down the street is still empty, and their son wanted to know if his toads were still there. Eli stretched his arm down into a hole and pulled out three hibernating toads. The boys were ecstatic; the frogs were not.

Chocolate Bunnies and Ju-Ju Beans
An Apology for Skipping "The Movie"

Many people I respect have seen Passion. It's important to note that I consider them more mature in the faith than me. I've enjoyed their reviews of the movie. It's obviously a reverent and powerful film. At the same time, I don't think it'd be beneficial to me. Here are my reasons for skipping "The Movie":

#1. Chocolate Bunnies. I can hardly read the book of Daniel without thinking of dancing chocolate bunnies. This mental residue is left over from watching the VeggieTale video Rack, Shack and Benny. And Goliath is a giant pickle. The image associations I'd pick up from Passion probably wouldn't be so ludicrous, but when I read of the death of Christ I'd rather not think of a movie.

#2. Ju-Ju Beans. Have you heard the vintage Bill Cosby tale about how as a boy he'd get so scared at movies that he'd slide out of his seat and hide on the theater floor? At the end of the movie someone would have to pick the black Ju-Ju beans off his back, because we all know that no one eats the black ones! Besides making some scared, the Passion story is also sacred. Isn't it irreverent to chomp on popcorn and slurp your Big Gulp while watching the sufferings and death of an innocent Man? If I went to the movie, I'm afraid the folks around me wouldn't think so. A sacred story deserves a more sacred setting.

These may just be my strange hang-ups. But when I learned from the current Mars Hill Audio Journal that the average American college student has seen nearly 100 movies for every book he has read, perhaps my hang-ups aren't so bad.

The High Cost of Discipleship!

Church is tonight. I dread it. At least the dinner part. Meat Loaf! Yuck, yuck, yuck! For over 20 years I've successfully averted all meals involving this ketchup-slathered concoction.

But if I want to learn about tonight's topic, the joys of the New Earth (and I really do), then I'll have to choke-down a little sorrow from this old one. Oh, the high cost of discipleship!

Little Things To Love a Lot

The way my daughter says "daddy"

Wrestling with the boys

My wife's cookies

A good mail day

A sanctuary filled with singing

A like-minded brother

Repairing the Ruins

During a men's dinner this weekend I saw God's covenantal faithfulness to multiple generations. One man there was a sixth generation Christian. His family Bible is a second edition King James printed in 1633! I'd like to start a tradition like this in my family, but the mass-produced Bibles of today don't seem like heirloom material.

Another man, our host, is a young father with Covenanters' blood on both sides of the family. As might be expected, he is passionate about the church. He takes seriously his parents' expectation to build upon the faith passed down to him. It's good to see God's faithfulness to His promises. Yet, there is much to be done.

I think it was a Basement Tape that pointed out that our parents' generation just didn't see the danger in sending covenant children to government schools. Thankfully, many of their grown children have seen that error and taken action. But I wonder...what blind spots of ours will our children see and fix?

We labor today to regain what was lost in 1973 when abortion restrictions were struck down. Thirty years from now, will our children single-out 2004 as the year that marriage was struck down?

Enjoying the Beauty of Two Books

I've heard that Puritans thought of creation and revelation as two books to know God by. The past two Sundays we've enjoyed both together. Two beauty-filled redemptive-historical sermons on Isaac and Rebekah combined with balmy afternoons at the sand-filled park across the street have been doubly-nice.

Even beauty contained in something as commonplace as pine trees is worth trying to capture in words. Pines here are about 4-stories tall. The bottom 3-stories are long branchless trunks, thin and straight as arrows. They are capped by a few scraggly branches. A close-knit group of pines will frightenly bend and sway in the wind like a wheat field ripe for harvest.

At night, our neighborhood is so dark that moonlight is only lightly screened through their thin layer of needles. I can almost read by it. Tonight there is a glowing half-moon. And every clear night, the star field is crisp and gleaming.

"Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge." Psalm 19:2

The Songs We Sing

My dad played piano by ear, a little. I remember he liked the tune to Old Danny Boy. Besides that the only music I remember was from an old paint-specked, mono radio. He'd listen to the country music of that day, like Conway Twitty, while he built our house on the farm. I'd usually spend the day playing in the dirt, or practicing hammering a nail straight.

I enjoy the memories of my childhood. At the same time I'm hoping to leave indelible marks on my children by the songs we sing. So far our young group can belt out the first verse of the following songs from memory:

Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (and other Christmas Carols)
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Be Thou My Vision
O Worship the King
Rejoice the Lord is King
Come Christians, Join to Sing
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Holy, Holy, Holy
A Might Fortress is Our God

Is it sinful...

...for parents to send their children to public school?
...for Dad to stay at home with the children so Mom can work?
...if a married couple decides not to have children?

In a sense everything we do is tainted with sin, for our righteousness is as filthy rags. However, I see issues like those above as wisdom and glory issues, not as scandalous sin. Sending your children to government schools shows a lack of wisdom. A stay-at-home Dad and a working mom reflect God's glory poorly, as do most married couples that decide against children. These are generalizations, there can be exceptions, but they are not the rule.

Some say that churches should restrict the privileges of members who do such things. However, seems to me punitive actions are to be reserved for scandalous sin (such as adultery, divorce, etc). I'd rather the elders model a wise and God-glorifying lifestyle, let their convictions be known in all the church, and leave room for their sheep to follow over time.

Kids Have More Fun

The rodeo is in town. We're pumped. Last time they let the children into the arena to chase a calf. This was pretty daring for my sandal-clad daughter (...road apples!).

For me, the fun of life really began once we had children, not "BC" as pop culture believes. Kids know how to have a good time, and help their ol' fogey parents enjoy zoos, circuses, carnivals, rodeos, parks, woods, lakes, etc. Before children I'd drive around these places all the time, but seldom did any of it. Now it's load up the van and let's go!

Business-Based Friends

Got a voice mail today from a neighbor inviting my wife to another "party". This time it was for Longaberger. Seems odd that neighbors today only open their home when there's a good chance we'll buy something while we're there. Kristin gets more invites for home-business "parties" than she does for playgroups, baby showers, coffee/teas, and meals all put together. It shouldn't take a sales pitch for neighborhood moms to get together.

The workplace has emptied the neighborhood of many potential friends for my wife. There is a deep and important need for friendship among stay-at-home moms. It's for this reason that I have mixed feelings about home-based businesses. It's just too easy to unintentionally exploit a young mom's need for friendship while picking up a few orders and making some bucks. Even well-intentioned ladies must be very careful if they want to mix business with pleasure in order to avoid being a faux-friend.

Home-based businesses are fine; but business-based friends are not.

Church Abuse

Part of my workday was spent hearing a sales pitch from a corporation seeking to provide engineering services to my office. There's nothing unusual about that. What was unique was this corporation's tie to the church.

As a branch of a local baptist university, they qualify as a non-profit organization. And because they are a non-profit, we can award them government contracts without having to go through the usual amount of red-tape.

They were professional, but not openly Christian. Association with the church is important to them only because it gives them advantages over their profit-oriented competitors.

It's too bad that so many of the "Christian" universities have become unorthodox strongholds. It would have been great today if the pitch I heard was from an unashamedly-Christian, dominion-seeking, bunch of engineer geeks.

Help for Little Children

While reading Proverbs to my six-year old son last night, three times we read that the mouth of the fool comes to ruin. With a contrite expression Eli interjected, "Like mine". I responded to this unexpected confession by commending his softened heart. Next time I'll be ready to also urge him to rely on God's grace to change him.

The gospel is for children, not just for the mature. When my children disobey, I shouldn't encourage them to try harder to obey. Since Jesus was made like his brothers in every way, He is able to help little girls and boys when they are tempted to disobey. To please God (and me), our children don't need to try harder; instead they need to know to rely on God's grace.

Seed Sown Along the Path

During our unit's PT (Physical Training) session this week I talked to a lieutenant about Jesus as we ran the mile and a half. I'm thankful for the opportunity to exalt Jesus to those who know me but not Him, and for the ease with which this conversation began. But I wimped out and omitted an essential part of the message: the external call to repent and believe. This omission reduced the call and it became instead just my personal testimony.

As an attempt to improve in this area, I re-familiarized myself with the external calls given in the Gospels and Acts. I guess it has been awhile; this was my first time reading these texts and appreciating that the call to repent and believe is not a one-time "conversion" thing; but something to be done continually.

Books Read in 2003

The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God; Piper
Pilgrim's Progress; Bunyan
Little Women; Alcott
Federal Husband; Wilson
Stepping Heavenward; Prentiss
The Gospel for Real Life; Bridges
Future Men; Wilson
In Freedom's Cause; Henty
A Scientific Theology; McGrath (unfinished)
The Defense of the Faith; Van Til (unfinished)
God's Passion for His Glory; Piper/Edwards
Never Too Early; Claggett
King Lear; Shakespeare
Back to Basics; Hagopian (ed.)
Cantebury Tales; Chaucer
Reforming Marriage; Wilson
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Baum
Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt-Manipulators; Chilton
The Hundred Days; O'Brian
(plus some Air Command and Staff College readings)

The books I list as unfinished were fine, and I learned some good points out of them. I'm just not ready for them yet. But they did stretch me, which is good. The favorite for the year (and my wife's, too) was Stepping Heavenward. But only because I've read Pilgrim's Progress before.

Thank Who?

I'm slowly seeing that even my cubicle-dwelling job is a calling from God. If I do my work in an excellent manner, not only do I reflect God's excellencies, but I also have more and better opportunities to speak of His excellencies to others.

But here's a temptation to be aware of. More people will appreciate my work if it's done in an excellent manner and some will kindly express that appreciation to me. Especially my bosses; people that I naturally want to please. The temptation here is towards self-glory. I can simply say "Thank you", which is appropriate, but seems to give too big a share of the glory to me.

I know a fine man that, when complimented, responds with an appreciative-sounding "Praise God". This seems to come closer to the mark. Here are a couple of quotes that brought this thought to mind:

"Thou are the author and finisher of faith...every good work or thought found in me is the effect of thy power and grace"
- Valley of Vision, page 4.

"May the Word of Christ dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour,
so that all may see I triumph only through His power"
- from a 1925 hymn by Katie B. Wilkinson (#644 in Trinity Hymnal)

First Words

Isaiah, my 20 month old son, answers the catechism:

Q. Who made you?
A. GAAA!!!


Q. What else did God make?
A. AWWWW TEEENGS!!!


Q. Why did God make you and all things?
A. GLLLOOREEEE!!! YEAY! (clap, clap, clap)

What to do about "Adam and Steve"?

I feel like there's something I should do about the same-sex marriage mess. But I don't know what.

I certainly don't want to give any credence to the notion that the state should be involved with defining marriage. That is clearly outside their sphere of authority. They should simply defer to the historic, orthordox position of the church. However, I am saddened to see pop culture and now the state move farther into licentiousness.

And I hate to see another good word hijacked. "Marriage" will join other abducted terms, such as "Presbyterian", "Evangelical", and "Christian". We'll soon have to qualify the word in order to use it. Here's an example.

To keep from confusing my church with the majority of Presbyterians, I have to describe it as part of a Bible-believing Presbyterian denomination. "Presbyterian" has baggage I have to discard before I can use it. And so now will "Marriage". Soon I'll have to describe my marriage as being "heterosexual". How strange this should sound!

One thing to do seems obvious--pray for repentance. That marital adultery in the church would end. And moreso, spiritual adultery. The church has weakened marriage; the state thinks it can do better.

The Gospel According to the Bible Belt

Living in rural Georgia brings with it some unique aspects of Southern culture. Besides confederate flags, monster trucks, R.C. Cola and Moon Pies, the South is also famous for being the Bible Belt.

The military has stationed us in several different regions of the country (Northeast, Mid-west, South Texas, Deep South). Each has its own unique sub-culture. Here in the Bible belt-buckle, it's my observation that religion influences much more of the population than the other regions we've lived in. Churches are as numerous as gas stations. Very few people are unchurched.

But sadly, the gospel here is starved and shrunken. Its sole tenant: Jesus died for sinners. Its only application: Get Saved! Its fruit: No cursing and no drinking.

When our love for Christ only penetrates our speech and beverage selection, what we have is a diminished gospel. When the message stops with "Get Saved", we should realize this is a man-centered faith.

How much more robust is the reformed faith! It's a God-centered gospel, in full-bloom, affecting and giving meaning to every area of life. Salvation, Worship, Family, Vocation all align under a common purpose to glorify God. Far from being a platitude, "to glorify God" gives direction and inspiration to all of life's difficulties and delights.

Regrettably, this gospel is seldom heard in the Bible-belt. Which reminds me of something else the military has taught me. Belts make great tourniquets.

Refusing the Milk

Reality Check: a majority of pastors in America can't stomach the milk of God's Word.

Here are the dismal statistics from Barna showing what small percentage of clergy hold basic orthodox beliefs (see WORLD, 7 Feb, pg 25):

44% of Pentecostal and Charismatic Clergy
27% of Methodist Clergy
35% of black pastors
15% of female pastors

If so many pastors reject basic Christian truth, it's no surprise that most American Christians are ignorant. What a sad state the American church is in.

How should the reformed church respond? One, praise God for keeping us faithful. Second, we should pick better targets. Instead of feuding amongst ourselves, why don't we aim our well-worn canons at the real wolves in shepherds' clothing? Where are the books, statements, etc specifically calling these groups to task and pleading for the lost sheep to come out from among them?

Bring on the Grief and Pain!?!

This ties into my post from Thursday. During worship today I was struck by the third stanza of Elizabeth Prentiss' hymn, More Love to Thee, O Christ:

Let sorrow do its work,
send grief and pain;
sweet are thy messengers,
sweet their refrain,
when they can sing with me,
more love, O Christ, to thee,
more love to thee, more love to thee!

Calvin on Our Fathers

As one who believes that Christians today underappreciate the historic orthodoxy of their faith, Calvin reminds me it's also important not to overcorrect:

"They were foolishly inflated on account of the glory of their race, they often imitated the vices of their fathers as though they were virtues, and defended themselves by their examples...

"Hence may be learnt a general truth, that we are not to defer too much to the authority of the fathers lest it should draw us away from God; for if any fathers have ever been worthy of honor, no doubt the Jews possessed that preeminence; and yet David distinctly commanded their children to beware of being like them." (Calvin's Commentary on Hebrews 3:8)

Pray Like a Believer

At our previous assignment our church didn't have many older people. Our church prayer list was not usually about health issues. One of the adjustments we've made since being back in a PCA church is the older folks. And with that seems to come prayer lists almost exclusively about health problems.

Good health is certainly something to thank God for each day; but I see room for improvement in the way we pray for those who are suffering. The prayers are not done out of faith. I'm not saying we should "claim the healing" or anything like that. Our prayers for those who suffer should be for them to believe God's promises throughout their illness. And for them to rest confident in the fact that the difficulty is of the Lord and for a beneficial purpose. This glorifies God and seeks the person's best. We should want godliness more than good health. Instead, our prayers are mostly faithless pleas to God to heal the person as soon as it's His will, completely ignoring His purpose in the pain.

Also speaking of prayer, today I read and enjoyed Jeffrey Meyer's article "Formal Corporate Prayer". Here's an excerpt that's relevant to my comments above.

"You know very well what happens when there is no guidance or direction to the prayers. Prayers become tedious: "I just want to thank you, Lord. . . and I just want to ask. . . and I just want. . ." Or they become trivial and down right silly: "O Lord, help us to be all that we can be" (the Army Prayer) or "Lord, help us to reach out and touch somebody this week" (the AT&T prayer)

"...here’s the important point: if the child never grows up and learns how to pray biblically, if the content of his prayers remain the same, then it’s not so cute anymore. God may be pleased with a childlike prayer, but he is not satisfied with it either. He expects us to grow up and learn how to pray like adults, to inform our prayers more and more to the models He has given us in the Scriptures.

"Some churches never get beyond praying for sick people and saying grace at the table. That’s fine as far as it goes, but have you ever noticed that the Bible doesn’t contain a whole lot of prayers for sick people and pretty much assumes that we know how to give thanks for our food? Again, I’m not talking here about a fancy, flowing style. My concern centers on the content of the prayers: confession of sin; thanking God for creation and providence; thanking God for the person and work of Christ; praying for strength in the midst of temptation; praying that His kingdom would be protected from all its enemies and extended throughout the world. These are petitions that do not come "naturally" to us. We need to be trained."

After leading a three-day long meeting of about 20 people, I'm exhausted. I guess if Myers-Briggs Type Indicator stuff is right, I'm not much of an extrovert.

Our goal was to move broke aircraft at the field into the depot for repair faster. We scrutinized each part of our process looking for improvement. The behavior of the women on my team puzzled me. Each of these women are known to be hard-working and reliable "make it happen" kind of employees. But when we began to scrutinize processes in their area, they became very defensive and reacted as if we were personally insulting them. A lot of emotions were flying around the room, none were "gentle and quiet". In the end, theirs was the only area left unimproved.

Perhaps it was the three-day long session getting to them. But I can't rule out that it may be an issue of improper roles. The question is not "can a woman do anything a man can?", but, should they? After today's session, I'm all the more thankful for my submissive-embracing wife.

From Pole to Pole, That Wars May Cease

Today I took the fourth in a series of military tests aimed at making me a better warfighter. I think I passed.

In the past I've crammed the weekend before the test, but this time I prepared differently. I decided to enjoy the Sabbath by doing my best to live that day as if the kingdom had fully come. Since all wars will then have ceased, instead of studying for war on the Sabbath I enjoyed a peaceful day.

Crown Him the Lord of peace!

I'm no John G. Paton

I read John Paton's autobiography recently. Both Vision Forum and John Piper speak very highly of the book. He was a Scottish Presbyterian raised in a covenant family to be a missionary to Cannibals. The shadow of a bloody death loomed over him for many years on the Islands of the South Pacific, but his trust in God's Providence made him fearless in the face of savagery. In his lifetime God used him to usher in whole islands to the kingdom of Christ.

I'm no John Paton. Tonight I stammered and was shifty as I spoke to my inquiring, unbelieving brother-in-law about Jesus. God has used stammerers before (Abraham, Moses, perhaps Paul), but it was courage that was lacking tonight.

There was something else besides Paton's boldness that would be very out of place in the churches I've seen in Georgia. He was an ardent Sabbatarian. He'd be shocked to find it commonplace for churches to hire people to work the nursery on the Sabbath. Given our history, it does seem rather a strange thing to find in Presbyterian circles.

Speaking of churches, mine now has their web site up and running. In less than two years, this church has progressed from Happy/Clappy worship to enjoying God through liturgical worship and weekly Communion. And, by the way, it's doubled in size.

Covenant Community vs. American Dream

I spent the day as part of a panel interviewing people for promotion. In-between interviews we chatted about the fun of traveling. One lady on the panel was representative of the women that I work with. She was vocal about her trust in the Lord. She was professional in appearance and demeanor. She began working when her children hit school-age and looks forward to world-travel once the children are out of the house. Cruises, RVs, exotic vacations will fill-up her future.

I'm convinced churches that lack an understanding of the Covenant Community will find their members living out the American dream instead of Titus 2. We need to consider our responsibilities to the other families in the church and not just take off once our professional career ends.

I, too, look forward to enjoying the adventures of world travel. But I'll hold-off until the New Earth; that'll be worth seeing!

Whites Only

Kristin and I went to our first adoption appointment today. We're trying to decide whether to start our home study now or wait until we move to Ohio in May. Either way, I think we'll be involved with this particular adoption agency since they're one of the few it seems that place bi-racial or minority babies.

It's surprising to learn that there are so few adoptive parents interested in transracial adoption. They'd rather wait in the "whites only" line for years while numerous black and bi-racial babies languish in foster care (often the waiting room for prison). What should our reasons for adopting children be? If the litmus test for choosing a baby to bring into our loving home is race instead of need, are we not racist?

Do we not realize that the eternal kingdom Christ has ransomed is made up of people from every tribe and language and people and nation? I long for my family to reflect that truth; in doing so we will reflect God's glory.

Children: Signs of Judgment

A recent devotional in Tabletalk pointed out that the prophet Isaiah's children were signs of judgment against an apostate nation (see Isa 8).

Our children serve as signs of judgment by revealing to the world the hidden wretchedness of their parents' life. From Daddy they learn new ways to be selfish, and aren't ashamed to demonstrate this to their playmates. From Mommy they figure out how to burst with unrighteous indignation, but they don't mind if the folks in the grocery store see.

Gladly, my failures as a parent will be largely overcome (where sin increases, grace abounds all the more!). And by that grace my children will always love Christ, His church and, in turn, raise more godly children. But most children today are being raised for less noble purposes. If their parents sow anger, apathy, or avarice into them, our nation shouldn't be surprised at what it reaps.

The Lord, with his strong hand upon Isaiah, warns him and us not to walk in the way of this people. I and the children the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel. (vss 11, 18)

A Sabbath Walk

There's a limit on how far an Orthodox Jew can walk on the Sabbath. One walk that I haven't reached the end of yet is the Christian understanding of this day. Because of a certain situation in my life since moving to Georgia, I wrestle with the meaning of the Sabbath frequently.

In childhood the Sabbath meant the blue-laws of the South and my father's prohibition against the local pop radio station. After my conversion, I came to see the Sabbath in terms of works of necessity and works of mercy. Later I discovered joy, realizing that Christ is our Sabbath-rest. He made peace with God for us; things are as they ought to be.

I've thought of the Sabbath in these redemptive terms for some time, while also wrestling with its creational meaning. New light was shed on this subject while reading Vos' Biblical Theology. If asked what the world to come would be like, he would answer that it should resemble the Sabbath. To him the Sabbath is to be an expression of our eschatology. We are to learn from the weekly Sabbath that life is not an aimless existence, that a goal lies beyond. Some day all things will be as they ought to be.

This sounds great! But now the task is to figure out how a young family is to enjoy the Sabbath in this way.

Read and Do

Kristin became ill and was up most of the night, so I stayed home today. I was able to teach homeschool, serve meals (nothing fancy), and chop down the laundry pile by a couple of loads.

In phonics the children are learning about the consonant blend -dr-. To illustrate this blend we looked at the verse where Jesus teaches that to offer a drink to the least of the brothers is, in reality, serving Christ Himself. How clear the connection was between our lesson and godliness--just down the hall was mother, needy and thirsty from her sickness!

I am so pleased to be able to educate my children in such a way, that they not only learn to read the Word of God, but are also able to immediately live it out.

Not As Strong As They Think We Are

It's uncanny how many times people have commented to us that they don't have the patience to homeschool. Like a character out of The Wizard of Oz, if only they had "patience" then all would be well.

What's worse is they seem to think that WE have patience! As if educating our children at home just comes easy for people like us! To twist a title from a Rich Mullins' song, we are not as strong as they think we are. My wife and I have come face-to-face with our utter sinfulness as we try our patience everyday with our children.

Both wheat and tares are growing out of our homeschooling experience. The wheat is that my wife is becoming ever more beautiful. The difficulties of our first full year of homeschooling have been instruments in God's hand to sanctify her. Yes, some days there are tears, and ashamedly, some days there are fits of rage. But more and more (it is undeniable!) God is honoring our decision by bringing forth fruits of the Spirit in my wife.

On the other hand, tares come from when we do "loose it" with our children. It scares us to see our oldest son angry more often. You reap what you sow (Gal 6:7).

But I, as responsible to God for my wife and children, remain convinced that we are on the right course. To say it bluntly, getting rid of the children is not getting rid of your "patience" problem. The problem lies within us, it's not external to us. We need to accept the difficulties of child-rearing as tools in God's hand, and although we are weak, He is strong.

Sibling Rivalry

Our two oldest children, 6 and 4, seem to have gotten over a long-running, bad case of sibling rivalry. They still have flare-ups, but more often now it's just general buffoonery between them. We prefer this to quarrelling, but Miss Manners would find our table behavior lacking.

Wouldn't it be great if the sibling rivalry between reformed leaders would also run out of wind? I found R.C. Sproul Jr.'s squib largely refreshing. But not enough reformed leaders have swallowed this medicine. I listened to the public debate today between Doug Wilson and his secular opponents in Moscow, Idaho and was saddened to hear that one reformed leader had published an article against Doug Wilson in the town's newspaper prior to the debate. That article was used by the secularists to further discredit Christ Church and Christian schools in general. I've loosely followed the blows exchanged between these reformed leaders, and know that matters remain unresolved. But publishing a hit piece in the city newspaper seems just plain spiteful.

A Daughter of Sarah

Worldview Academy has a good ad in WORLD (31 Jan 04, pg 33). Pictured is a female college advisor described as beautiful and sincerely desiring your daughter to be free of the shackles of useless religion. When it comes to college and our daughter, Kristin and I are considering it, but we don't want to send our girl away from home. Perhaps education in a subject like nursing would help her be a better home-keeper? We're really hoping that by the time our daughter is ready for college there will be better options.

But getting back to the ad, what is the definition of a beautiful woman? In Scripture we read that Sarah was a beautiful woman. Does this refer to her appearance? It's clear that men were attracted to her. But consider what God prized about Sarah. Her gentle and quiet spirit is cited as very valuable in His sight and became the pattern for all godly women. And this is emphatically called beauty (1 Pet 3).

As a young man I wasn't trained to think of beauty this way. It's still hard to think this way.

George Whitefield, while commending Jonathan Edwards' wife, Sarah, said he longed to marry a daughter of Abraham like her. In addition to being a daughter of Abraham, our girls should also be a daughter of Sarah. They are to make themselves beautiful the way the holy women of the past have.

Where are the Men?

It's common knowledge that men have largely abdicated their family leadership responsibility. And the women have picked it up. It's also well established that men have withdrawn from church leadership. And the women have picked it up.

As I walked into work today, some other observations came to mind: "There sure are a lot of women here; more women than men, easily". "A lot of the men that are here don't do much". "I've had a female boss for three straight assignments".

Maybe it's just me, but it appears men have abdicated their leadership role at work, too. And the women have picked it up.

Working for Uncle Laban

The most commonly voiced ailment among men I know is doubt about their career choice. Some friends are chasing contentment by repeatedly changing careers. Others though remind me of Jacob. They continue in their toil for 'Uncle Laban' because he offers them 'Rachel'. Contentment will be realized, they believe, when they receive Laban's promise.

At a young age I entered into an agreement with a similiar uncle. The 'Rachel' of his deal was leadership and an exciting lifestyle. Other men choose different uncles to find the Rachel of their ambitions. But we share this in common. When we reach the point in our career where we expect to have Rachel but instead receive Leah, we wonder whether we picked the wrong uncle. We question whether we should quit this uncle's service. Most of us don't. Since our obligation for Rachel remains partly paid, and usually our wages are changed in a way we like, many of us settle for Leah now while still hoping for Rachel later.

After reading Back to Basics I've realized my Uncle Laban has no Rachel to offer. And what pseudo-contentment he does offer, I don't need. Rather, my vocation is a vehicle to serve God in a priestly and kingly role now...today and everyday. I am to proclaim His excellencies (priestly function) and reign upon the earth to His glory (kingly function). I am to do all things in an excellent manner unto the Lord. And in doing this I find the leadership and lifestyle that I originally longed for.

If you're about to decide on a career or you're re-thinking the one you have now, my advice to you is don't let the decision consume you. If you are in a lawful vocation, able to proclaim God's excellencies and do your work in an excellent manner, be content with what you have.

The Way Things Ought To Be

I'm not a seminarian, but I've heard that one of the difficulties of a seminary education is finding an unexplored topic of doctrine for your final thesis. Some of the titles for the papers I've seen are arcane and seem of little use for the minister's future service in the church.

Why not think and write on things much more instructive and important? Why not describe the way things ought to be in the church? For example, if it's true that the state has wrongly assumed much of the church's responsibilities, perhaps we need thesis papers like:

- If abortion were to end, or greatly diminish, how should a church be prepared to respond?
- How should the church address the woes of the foster care system?

Am I saying that doctrine is unimportant? By no means! I am not for diminishing a proper understanding of orthodoxy. At the same time, I see a great need for the church to understand more about orthopraxy.

3 hours, 40 minutes with a Mormon

I sat next to a friendly Mormon couple on my flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City this week.

Besides discussing Jesus, the Trinity, and the gospel, I was also able to learn about their missionary preparation and upbringing. My fellow passenger did his two years as a missionary to South Africa in the mid-90s. During that time he made 7 notches on his Book of Mormon.

As we entered into our conversation he mentioned being rusty on apologetics. This gave me the impression that a Mormon's zeal for the lost runs dry when the two year trip is over. However, later I saw how their doctrine of baptism for the dead empties them of any evangelistic zeal. Why should he worry if I reject his presentation of the Mormon faith? A hundred years from now if any of my ancestors embrace it, they can be baptized for dead-me. And somehow, in the Mormon's view of the afterlife, I would once again have the chance to accept this faith and be saved.

I'm surprised at how thoroughly wacky the Mormon faith is. It's not even monotheistic. Christians have more in common with Muslims than Mormons.

Random Thoughts on Leading a Family

Ways I've tried to teach my young children the faith:

During bathtime (which is after family worship), I take advantage of the captive audience and go more in depth in explaining the parts of the Creed and other memory work. This not only allows Family Worship to progress with the whole family in mind, but also ensures my children understand what they're saying.

Another crazy idea for young children is the candy game. It's pretty simple, for every catechism question answered correctly they get an M&M or something. I've also seen the catechism incorporated into freeze-tag.

Ways I've tried to disciple my wife:

One of her biggest needs is an occassional get-away break. I call this giving her a sabbatical. A night and a day in a nice hotel or a B&B where she can catch up on crafts, a new book, etc, goes a long way towards rejuvenation. Also, one night away from the children is enough to remind you how special this time of their life is.

When she goes for a lengthy drive by herself (to a women's meeting, etc), I give her a good message on CD to listen to on the way. I try to ensure she hears the best of all the stuff that I've been listening to.

Last year we read the Bible through on the same plan. This year, I've decided that we'll follow Tabletalk's study of Hebrews but add Calvin's commentary and a weekly Heidelberg catechism question and memory verse.

Dear Agnostic

I was pleased to receive a response to my Razormouth Article from a young agnostic. It seems that God is calling her to Himself. She wrote to tell me that she wants to believe and find a good church! Praise God!

Duped No More

Don't confuse the blessing of God with the craft of Satan.

How many times have we heard somebody thank God for something that was clearly, straight out of a pit in hell? Here are several clear examples: acceptance speeches by entertainers; political addresses; ordination rites for homosexuals.

At the same time, there may be more wily ways that we are missing the craft of Satan by thinking it's the blessing of God. Look what's happened to the family and church. Our country has no shortages of churches, but we don't see Titus 2 lived out. Parents praise an active youth ministry, but don't disciple their own children. We enjoy contemporary worship music and yet we wonder why the world is in the church. Hmmm.

Count your blessings one by one, but just make sure you're paying attention.

Who's your Tax-Collector?

Any first-grade Sunday-schooler knows that tax collectors were despised by their fellow Jews in the Gospels. My question: which occupation today is spit upon by God's covenant people?

Within my circles, several come to mind. First is that minister-of-cool, the youth pastor! Next is probably that dumbed-down servant of the state, the public school teacher. But third is of most interest to me, because it's about me, in third place is the US military.

I remember at Vision Forum's Uniting Church and Home Conference, I sat by a lady who was quite repulsed to be sharing table space with a "soldier". Her main objection seemed to be that the US military is controlled by the UN. Another objection I hear is that we're oath-breakers. Since we take an oath to support the Constitution, and the Constitution says that only Congress can declare war, and since Congress hasn't declared war for any conflict in recent history, then the US military has broken their oath and is engaged in unauthorized combat.

I guess my only response is to look at John the Baptist. When a Roman guard asked him what should he do, John didn't say "get out, for it's wrong to obey an imperialist head of state". Surprisingly, his harshest words weren't for the military or the tax collectors, but for those sons of Satan, the religiously self-righteous.

Play that fundamentalist music, white boy!

After reading Ken Myers', All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes, I saw the emptiness of pop music and had newfound interest in folk and classical.

I've purchased several bluegrass CDs over the last year. I enjoy the instrumentation, but for the most part, the lyrics I can do without. I think my problem is that I'm picking the bluegrass out of the "Gospel" section. This may explain why there's so much fundamentalist theology.

Big Government

Tonight's family devotion was taken from Isaiah 9:7. I focused on the fact that the kingdom of Christ is growing. It's larger than it was a 1,000 years ago, 10 years ago, and just last year. Larger still will it be next year and the years to come.

The kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever. (Rev 11:15)

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Hab 2:3)

It is a fact that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea! (Hab 2:14)

Another working-mom

A secretary here returned to work today 6-weeks after her first child. She described how odd if felt to drop off the infant at a day-care with no one she knows. Of course, she was quickly reassured by the other working moms here that what she's feeling is "normal" and what she has done is fine. I doubt her salary even covers the expense of the day-care. I just don't understand.

An Apology to the Elect yet to be Converted

To those who will one day name the name of Christ for the first time, on behalf of the saints in middle Georgia, I apologize.

I lament what you've seen of the church, especially those that have spent their life in this area. The churches, in general, have done a poor job representing what Christianity is. What you've experienced of American Christianity is more American than it is Christian. This is not the way it should be.

I'm sorry that the church wraps itself so much in the nation's flag; boasting over a president instead of grieving over its own leaders. I regret that all you've seen of its people is contentment in their knowledge of God and complacency with their lifestyles. You have yet to see a "Titus 2" older woman. Or a younger woman who is zealous to raise godly seed. You've yet to see a husband who washes his wife with the Word. You've yet to see youth with an undistracted devotion to the Lord.

But don't give up, not all churches are this way, not even here. Look hard, ask tough questions. While you can't find a healthy church, you can find one that is committed to becoming healthy.

Needless to say, the greatest apology is owed to the Bridegroom. We are blemished, spotted, and wrinkled. O Christ, wash us and make us glorious, for You are worthy of great reward.

And I Quote: "Military Men seldom seem inclined to religion..."

Matthew Henry expressing his surprise that soldiers asked John the Baptist, "What must we do?". (Luke 3:14)

On Christmas:

Christmas is full of new wonders and insights this year.

Here's a summary of the preached Word from my pastor:
Just as the prophets of old, we should long for Christ. Approach advent from the Older Testament perspective. The prophet's "foreshortening" saw a complete coming of Christ where He fixes all things. We should long for this still. Christmas is as much about sin and judgment as it is about the Babe in the manger.

And from several articles in "Every Thought Captive" of the Highlands Study Center:
To celebrate Christmas only as a memorial is to be guilty in a manner not unlike those who believe the Lord's Supper is just a memorial. We most definitely are engaged in remembering a past event, but at the same time we are declaring that Christ is reigning and ruling now. We look forward with expectancy, hope, comfort and joy to a future event--the consummation of His kingdom.

In Response:

Here's my Pastor's response to Dr. Payton's teachings on the purpose of worship music (See previous post):

One of the items I believe is touched upon very well is the nature of style. Is style neutral or relative? I believe the answer has to be ‘No.’ Payton does a good job pointing this out with the Shine Jesus Shine/Sweet Caroline segment. For the church to be not conformed to the world, which is an explicit command, our music should not be conformed to the world either. It may be that the world would conform to the church’s music, which did happen in much of the baroque and classical period, but the converse must never be true. Unless one can say that there is nothing wrong with the pastor wearing a clown costume to the worship service, he cannot argue that style is neutral.

"Dr. Payton does an excellent job with this subject. It is very easy to criticize work you haven’t done. Still, I feel that something needs to be mentioned. I believe Dr. Payton grants undue weight to the Levitical tradition. I am, after all, a Calvinist, and we Calvinists agree whole-heartedly with Hebrews 7 (especially v. 18), that worship under the law (which was no doubt the Levitical tradition) is “weak and useless”. Maybe Calvin went too far to one direction, but Payton goes too far in the other. He has left Presbyterianism and become a Lutheran (literally), in spite of the fact that there are obvious Christological problems in Lutheran theology. Apparently he feels that historical worship practice is more important than biblical orthodoxy. I believe worship practice must grow out of biblical orthodoxy, not historical practice."

Why Do We Sing in Church?

Leonard Payton's lectures Worship Music in a Discordant Age was recommended by my pastor.

This was my first exposure to critical thinking about the "why" of worship music.

Dr Payton sheds historical light by pointing out that God's covenantal people were originally led in memorized song by Levitical musicians. They were described as next to Solomon in their wisdom. Music was memorized and used as a means of teaching. Interestingly, the Reformers failed to recover this. Luther did to some degree but it was soon lost. Calvin and Zwingli's cultural situations and backgrounds caused them, and hence the Reformed faith, to minimize worship music. Today neither the "Traditional" or "Contemporary" camps understand the "why" of worship music, but war over the "what" and "how".

He emphasizes that Colossians 3:16 commands us to use song as the way for the Word to dwell richly in us. We should have a core of doctrinally dense, aesthetically sound Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that over time are memorized. These serve to catechize God's covenant people.

Thanksgiving Day 2003--Missed Opportunity

This day turned out differently than expected. Due to injury and illness we spent the day at our house without enjoying the company of extended family. Since we're moving out of the area again in the summer, today was an easy opportunity for the children to spend the holiday with family.

My deeper concern is this. Do I want to be with extended family? And vice versa? Are we willing to give up our personal schedules and comforts to get together? On my side of the family there is a weakness in this area. Growing up, the Baileys were not close as an extended family. I think over my childhood and adolescence I've developed an aversion to maintaining long-distance, yet kindred, relationships. I fear the implications this may have upon my children when they're grown.

Partial Vision

Just as I fail to realize how sinful I am but only discern and confess a certain sliver of my depravity while the rest goes on unchecked, so do I only grasp a slice of who God is. Although He has revealed Himself so fully in the Scriptures I'm only able to bring to mind a piece or two of Him at a time. This all affects my joy in Him, for I see Him less than He is.

We Bare All

Here's a first. A church friend of ours was approached at a home-schooling ballet class that meets in a church by a, get this, female stripper. This lady of a different kind of dance was passing out business cards.

Our friend was disappointed with her reaction to the solicitation, which was disgust, she thought of how Jesus spent time with similarly-employed ladies. But I tend to think that disgust is exactly the right reaction. A woman, presuming she's sane, who can walk around inside a church building and pass out business cards for her stripper serivces is obviously unrepentant--she has no sense of shame whatsoever.

The rebuke must come first, and if repentance follows then you welcome her inside the real church.

Tearing Down Foundations

I can't get away from Bible-belt Christianity. Unbelievers assume that since I'm open about being a Christian that I must also be a tee-totaler prude, a fan of the 700 club, basically a close-minded fundamentalist.

On the other hand, the local Christians assume that because I'm open about being a Christian I must like "Purpose-Drive" this and that, know who's hot on the contemporary Christian music charts, be all for prayer in schools, etc.

In the South, the foundation erected on the cornerstone of Christ has neglected the Apostles and prophets and instead tacked on their own here today, gone tomorrow teachers. I can't compete with the mass of Bible-belt Christians to win the role of defining what Christianity is to the public. What's needed is a demolition crew to teardown the monstrosity that's been cobbled together.