This is a great exhortation for all of us members of First Southern:
“The ultimate concern of most church members is not the worship and service of Christ in evangelistic mission and social compassion, but rather survival and success in their secular vocation. The church is a spoke on the wheel of life connected to a secular hub. It is a departmental subconcern, not the organizing center of all other concerns. Church members who have been conditioned all their lives to devote themselves to building their own kingdom and whose flesh naturally gravitates in that direction anyway find it hard to invest much energy in the kingdom of God. They go to church once or twice a week and punch the clock, so to speak, fulfilling their ‘church obligation’ by sitting passively and listening critically or approvingly to the pastor’s teaching.
[ . . .] Since their understanding of justification is marginal or unreal–anchored not to Christ, but to some conversion experience in the past or to an imagined present state of goodness in their lives–they know little of the dynamic of justification. Their understanding of sin focuses on behavioral externals which they can eliminate from their lives by a little will power and ignores the great submerged continents of pride, covetousness and hostility beneath the surface. Thus their pharisaism defends them both against full involvement in the church’s mission and against full subjection of their inner lives to the authority of Christ.”
Here’s a panel discussion about Brian McLaren’s new book called A New Kind of Christianity. It’s a long discussion, but very insightful and helpful. Enjoy…
When Paul says, ‘Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve…,’ may I graciously say that doesn’t this mean what it says? I struggle taking an egalitarian view-point when the Bible seems to be so clear.
That’s what I thought when I heard, yet this video gives a ‘defense’ from Piper as to why he did what he did. I definitely don’t think Piper is ’spinning out of control,’ folks. Piper is not an idiot; he incessantly thinks about what he is going to do. To say that he is not thinking is silly. Watch the video and tell me what you think…
Last Sunday for our members meeting, First Southern, for the first time in its 50 year history, appointed Travis Melton and Randy Jamison as biblical elders/pastors! They also appointed Michael Mathews and Daniel Bartsch as biblical deacons! What a great day!
