"By this is my Father Glorified, that you bear MUCH fruit and so prove to be my disciple." John 15:8

A simple search of blog world will reveal how vehemently I was opposed and attacked for the past two posts which were one article on a Christianity Today blog. Some of the opposition was appropriate and insightful, i.e. fair and right. But . . .

Well, here is the second part of that 2-year old article I did for Christianity Today's blog, Out of Ur. My thinking really hasn't changed that much and a lot of people ask me my perspective on this, so, here are last two reasons I decided not to participate in the emerging church, conversation, movement, community, or whatever the emerging police are allowing us to call it today, LOL.

Well, it's more than two years now since I wrote my now infamous, "Why I Am Not Emerging," article for a Christianity Today blog called "Out of Ur." I have had many conversations since with people who wonder where I stand. I resonate more deeply than ever with the emerging churches critique of the weak and often worldly western church AND I am more convinced than ever that in spite of good intentions, the emerging church as a movement is swimming in the waters of doctrinal compromise in a misguided attempt to be relevant and 'unchurchy.' Here is my original article, with no edits. I believe every word of it and only wish those who shred it would interact with the content of the objections. I am not in any way defending church as it exists, I am just not excited about the direction of what is being offered as the solution in the emerging church. OK??

People often ask me if I have a life verse.

If I do, it is Jeremiah 15:16, "Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart." It's kind of my testimony. I was going nowhere in a hurry and I found this book God wrote and began to feast on it like a soldier devouring his last meal. When the Word of God is absent from my life my heart is hungry. When I feast on the Bread of Life, my heart overflows with joy.
I love the vivid pictures with which the Bible describes itself, adding such insight into how God uses it in our lives.

Sovereignty has gotten a bad rap lately.
Let's say tragedy strikes--something big like what happened on September 11, 2001. Maybe someone you love is taken very suddenly or test results indicate you're the one scheduled for the early exit. Then before the impact of the tragedy has even gotten from your head to your heart some goody-two shoes, wanna-be theologian wraps their overly familiar arm around your shoulders. . .

My life verse is Jeremiah 15:16: Your words were found unto me and I did eat them, and theybecame in me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

A large burgundy, Scofield reference Bible. I purchased it at a bookstore I can't remember the name of at a mall I can't remember the name of about a mile from the house I lived in for my first 19 years. I walked to the store, took out my very own hard-earned, and somewhat scarce cash and plunked it down so the cashier would release me to leave with my very own Bible. I took it home, and sat at a table in a quiet corner of an upstairs bedroom and began to pour over the pages. I had NEVER done it before--not like that, not for myself, to feed my soul and satisfy my longing. I love God's Word. I love the truth I find there. Truth, ( I am fond of saying) that has satisfied the greatest minds in human history. Truth that has stood the test of time and been supernaturally preserved by God Himself.

Hey:
I hope you are having a great week. I have been too busy--which in this case was not really avoidable. I was in Nashville and then Nebraska and now back in Chicago with a day of meetings. Up early and in God's Word, I was reminded of a passage of Scripture from John 11 that always kind of rattles my windows. :)

Are you thinking about how to honor your parents? Last time we talked about why we should; this time we're going after the practical how. I offer you the challenge of writing a tribute to your parents.

In this written tribute, you can acknowledge all the good that your parents have done for you. Tell them how thankful you are to be their son or daughter. Express your love for them and recognize their sacrifices on your behalf.

I wrote a tribute each to my mom and dad (far below) but I didn't think it would be that big of a deal since they already knew how I felt. I have always had a great relationship with them, and I really didn't think they would find much impact in my tribute. Wow, was I wrong!

We never outgrow the command to honor our parents. If you have parents, you are to honor them no matter how old you may be. Regardless of your parents' success rating, regardless of how you may feel about it, God commands all of His people everywhere, "Honor your father and mother."

This is such a big deal that God put it in His top-ten list. If you recall back in Exodus 20, God presented the first four commandments with no reason or rationale for any of them. Basically He said, "I am God, and you're not--do it!' But then in the fifth commandment, things changed--"Honor your father and mother that your days may be long."

Did you see that this top-ten command is the first to come with a condition? God's Word is very clear that if you choose to sin, you choose to suffer, so it shouldn't surprise any of us that a person who pursues obedience at every level is healthier, happier, and lives longer. But if we look a little deeper, God is also promising something about your legacy.

It's great to read your comments about your parents and how they blessed you in the past and how others who didn't have that blessing are committed to beginning a new chain in their families for the future.

Today, let's talk about how we can regularly and powerfully communicate blessing to the children in our lives--to our own kids, as well as children the Lord has placed under our influence.

How Can We Communicate the Blessing?

Deep within the heart of every person is a longing for parental approval. We search for it our whole lives. If we don't get it from our parents, we look for it elsewhere. Until we receive it, our hearts are restless. When we get it, however, we experience a level of fulfillment and security we can't get any other way.

What exactly is a parental "blessing"? What are we talking about?

I Want the Whole Gospel

Every single ounce of truth; give it to me straight just like it is in the Bible.

I want the whole gospel:
Don't dilute the living water--it might not quench my thirsty soul.

I want the whole gospel:
Turn on the light of Jesus Christ and don't shield my view--I need every beam of His radiant glory to dispel the darkness in me.

I want the whole gospel:
Don't block the door, or I might not get through.

I want the whole gospel:
I need an accurate map to the narrow road, because only a few are finding it.

I want the whole gospel:
Because I am wholly lost, God's verdict is wholly just, and my damnation is wholly certain.
My heart is wholly depraved and my sin is wholly mine.
My efforts are wholly futile and my escapes are wholly hopeless.
I need a whole Savior, whose whole suffering, wholly satisfies a holy God.

Please, please don't cut the corners. It's appointed unto man once to die and I have to be sure I get it right.

I have to have the whole gospel--give it to me straight. Nothing else will do!

My oldest son Luke, now married, :) sent me a link the other day that quoted A.W. Tozer and James Kennedy (both wonderful Christian leaders in their day). Both men believed that many, if not most, professing believers they encountered around the country were not actually saved. They were deeply troubled by the distortions of the gospel that were the result of trying to get the gospel to more people. Well intentioned yes, but eternally dangerous for the souls of men and woman who had not heard the whole message. The article prompted me to look back in my file for something I remembered writing a while back. Here it is . . . What gospel have you heard and believed?

Well, I have made a vow. God helping me, I am going to spend at least one hour per day this month, alone with the Lord in prayer and in His Word. My goal is to reach a "new high watermark" in my relationship with God. I am asking the Spirit to guide me through a fierce moral and spiritual inventory. I am going to review every component of my walk with God for a lapse into 'form without function.' Why am I doing this????

Hey, I'm really ready to move on to a new topic, like our exciting 10-city bus tour that begins tomorrow, but I will finish this up with some Scripture. The fact that the role of the messenger and his method has taken precedence over the power of the message during our time is not a refutable point. It is a conscious or in some instances, subconscious resurgence of Arminianism. Following then are some Scriptures to show why I believe this overemphasis on the role of human persuasion in evangelism is unbiblical. First, three reminders as to why we should care.

OK, let's cut to the chase on this discussion that seems to never end.
When you emphasize something, it's because you think it's important, even essential. If I keep telling my children to look before they cross the street, it's because I believe the consequences of failing to heed that counsel will be very grave. In the same way, those who constantly babble on about cultural awareness, contextualizing the message, relevancy and the postmodern mindset are doing so because they believe so much is at stake if they are not heard. They are wrong! Let's start with what they believe is at stake, then cover why they are wrong from the perspective of what God's Word actually says about how a person is saved.

Youth brings many advantages and disadvantages. It brings the blessing of fresh thinking, and enthusiasm, and freedom from attachments to dead forms and plenty of idealism that holds out for God's highest and best in a given discussion. Youth also brings with it the naivety of thinking that they are in the first chapter of the discussion, frequent ignorance of the history that brings us to today, and sometimes an overconfidence in the things that are of man but not of God. I think that's all I need to say about the dialogue of the past week. I see the strengths and the weakness of youth in many of the comments posted.

I think the single ingredient missing in much of the pro-contextualization discussion on this blog and in our world today is a theological ingredient. And I have a fairly clear picture of how we got here. Let's start with a quick, overview of some of the big moves that got us to this discussion.

Wow, there was so much response to the post last week about Mars Hill and Postmodern evangelism. I loved the discussion and the different views presented but I need to weigh in on the often-repeated axiom, all truth is God's truth. This concept originated with a book written by Christian philosopher Arthur F. Holmes and published in 1977. In this work, Holmes argues that because God made the universe, any truth we discover in any field of study is ultimately "God's truth." Holmes reviews many disciplines in his attempt to prove his thesis. But is his thesis really true, or to put it another way, is the statement all truth is God's truth, part of God's truth :) ??

When I was told that someone was attacking my preaching of the gospel on the internet, I thought, "Well, no big deal." When several weeks later I got a chance to read what he had written, I thought, "Wow is this guy ever 'straining the gnat and swallowing the camel.'" :) Still I said nothing as each of us certainly has the right to teach as we believe the Scriptures do. This weekend at church however I had a great opportunity to present a fuller statement on what I do believe and teach about the atonement. To hear the whole message on Acts 17 click here. Preaching on Paul's preaching about Christ gave me a chance to make a fuller statement than I normally can under the time constraints of a typical weekend service. Be sure to follow the links to the two articles on this subject (below) which are much stronger and more complete than my own.

The Christian life is like an anvil in your backpack, just a heavy weight with no desire or delight, just duty and drudgery that weighs you down with sorrow, like an anvil in your backpack. The Christian life is just like that . . . if you're not living it.

We had the most amazing Easter service this past week. Over 12k in attendance--but that is the smallest part. A dear friend of mine, Chip Ingram, Bible teacher on "Living on the Edge," came to the service with his wife and commented to me that they had agreed it was 'the most powerful Easter service they had ever attended.' Quite an assessment coming from such a fruitful pastor! What made it so?? What do Christians mean when they say that such and such was a 'powerful' meeting? I think they mean that God really showed up in some obvious ways. But why is that true at some times and not at others? Is there nothing we can do to affect the manifest presence of God in our church services???