Only Three Days

I know I shouldn't be this excited, but I AM! ONLY THREE MORE DAYS 'TIL WE LEAVE FOR THE BANNER!!!

I'm Not Lovin' It

As reported first on Pyromaniacs on the McDonald's sponsored Kidzworld site there are some rather troubling things. I would have expected that they would have a nice site with good safe things for kids, but on that site they have many things that are at best questionable, and at worst downright destructive. There is a whole section on Goth and by following the links in that section one very quickly ends up in sections dealing with the not so good parts of the web. Ok, the downright evil parts of the web. McDonald's is even so helpful as to have whole sections on Wicca seeking to debunk the myths about the evil of witchcraft. However, search for Christian and you find links on celebrities like Christian Bale or Christian Kane. As you scroll down there are some more things that I in the broad scope of Christian, but no explanation of what Christians believe. Even searching for Christianity only gets the following results:

• Pledge of Allegiance Debate | Kidz Submits | Kidzworld's Members Feedback | United States
  

• Pledge of Allegiance Debate | Under God | United States | Politics | Supreme Court | Feedback
  

• St. Patrick's Day | History | Ireland | Picture | Legend | Story | Shamrock | Green | Parade | Irish | March 17, 2006
  Why is it that on March 17th, everyone goes crazy with shamrocks, the color green and leprechauns? You can find out here!

I must admit I like McDonald's food, especially their toasted Deli Sandwiches, but I am not sure I want my dollars supporting a corporation such as this.

The Doctrine of Justification

My reading has taken a definite serious turn. From fiction novels to good solid theology. So, I have turned my mind to study the doctrine on which the church hinges, Justification. To do so I decided to re-start reading a book I started to read a while back, but got too busy with other things to complete. Now I try to read a chapter or so a day, and that seems to be working well. The book is The Doctrine of Justification by James Buchanan--subtitled An Outline of its History in the Church and of its Exposition from Scripture J.I. Packer had this to say about this book, "The doctrine of justification by faith is like Atlas: it bears a world on its shoulders, the entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace. The doctrines of election, of effectual calling, regeneration, and repentance, of adoption, of prayer, of the church, the ministry, and the sacraments, have all to be interpreted and understood in the light of justification by faith. When justification falls, all true knowledge of the grace of God in human life falls with it, and then as Luther said, the church itself falls. The value of Buchanan's book today is that it will help us to understand this message better, and so to preach it in the full and comprehensive way in which the modern world need to hear it. This is still the best textbook on this subject, from the standpoint of the classic covenant theology." There were two things that I found fascinating in the introduction. Remember that this book was originally published in 1867. Buchanan states, "looking at the character of our current literature, may it not be said that, to a large class of minds in the present age, nothing could well be more new than the old Theology of the Reformation?" What caught my eye here is how true that was not just then, but still is today. The doctrines of the Reformation seem to have been lost even in many Reformed denominations. Second, what caught my eye is his guiding principle, "that the only effective refutation of error is the establishment of truth. Truth is one, error is multiform; and truth, once firmly established, overthrows all the errors that either have been, or may yet be, opposed to it. He who exposes and expels an error, does well; but it will only return in another form, unless the truth has been so lodged in the heart as to shut it out for ever." This serves as a good reminder that as a pastor my task is not merely to reveal and correct error, but much more importantly to proclaim the truth in such a way that believers are filled with it and error is cast out. So far this book has been fascinating. I am looking forward to the rest of it.

Interesting Survey Results

I receive an e-mail update from canadianchristianity.com and in the most recent one there was an article concerning the results of a survey of pastors that has some concerning results. I thought I would post the article in total in my blog, so here it is:

Clergy spiritually exhausted, stressed out

by Amy Cameron

FORGET the demise of the church. Look closer. Our ministers, according to a new study, are spiritually exhausted, stressed out, have few friends and little support. In short, Christian ministry in Canada is, in the words of the author of a recent report, "in crisis."

'Clergy Well-Being: Seeking Wholeness with Integrity,' a report compiled by Andrew Irvine of Knox College,shows that 77 percent of the surveyed clergy felt they were more like a CEO than a pastor; 18 percent could not identify a close friend in church or their community; and 80 percent felt guilty if caught taking time off during the week even though most work a 50-hour week.

"There is a big disconnect between the call to ministry and what they actually do," says Irvine."There were major issues around things like identity, relationships and competition among clergy."

Irvine was recently appointed director of the Centre for Clergy Care and Congregational Health,officially launched in February. Jointly sponsored by Emmanuel College and Knox, both at the University of Toronto, the centre will focus on helping clergy deal with the stressors identified in the study. "How do we use this data redemptively to bring change to the church and those who serve it?" asks Irvine. "We see it as being a crisis."

The study, begun in 2003and funded by the Beatty Ryckman Trust, drew on responses from the clergy in six major denominations in Ontario: United, Presbyterian,Anglican, Evangelical Lutheran, Baptist and Pentecostal. Initially,questionnaires were sent to a sample group representing 30 percent of the clergy. With a 27 percent response rate, the data was then used to focus questions in direct interviews with men and women in ministry.

"Eighty-three percent saw a call to minister in a traditional sense. I am called of God," says Irvine, who also acts as coordinator of theological field education at Knox College and is the author of Between Two Worlds: Understanding and Managing Clergy Stress.

"But then when you ask them about the job, more than 80 percent said that it is more that of a CEO than a pastor."

And with the almost constant barrage of speculation about the demise of the church, adds Irvine,ministers are forced into a position of being more concerned about the survival of the church and its fiscal operation than spiritual leadership.

The issue of clergy health has come up often in the past several years. In 2001, the Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod declared clergy wellness a top priority and formed a task force to look at ways to support ministers.Pilot studies were started in three Ontario communities, and in 2005the clergy in the Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island diocese formed a professional association to offer continuing education, support and information to their members.

On a cold evening in February 2005, hundreds of people gathered in a funky downtown Toronto nightclub for the launch of a new book. All ages and stations were represented at the event, including a local minister and his wife. A well-meaning friend introduced the man to a group of people using his formal title. "Please don't," he stopped her. "Announcing that I'm a minister kills the conversation."

This story, when related to Irvine, elicits a sigh of recognition. "That's very true," he agrees.When he was a minister in the Church of Scotland, Irvine was commonly introduced as "our minister" or "the minister" but rarely, if ever, as"Andrew".

Conversations in social settings inevitably died. "We don't admit to our sins because the holy person is here," he explains. "It is an identity that you can never getaway from. A priest or minister, even when they're at home, remains a priest or minister."

In the past, professional ethics dictated that clergy should avoid forming personal relationships with members of the congregation or community. Any show of favoritism or the whiff of indiscretion could jeopardize a minister's position.

But this strict view has stifled the very human need to make and maintain close relationships."Many clergy could not identify a close friend in the church or the community," says Irvine of those surveyed in the study.

The high level of competition among clergy in the same denomination make even relationships between peers very strained. Many ministers, in fact,could only name their spouse as a close friend which, says the professor, brings up a whole host of other issues around marriage and ministry. "Clergy have been seen as either superhuman who needed no friends or subhuman who could exist without them, but certainly not human."

Isolation, balancing family with the church and fulfilling a minister's spiritual needs are among the issues that Irvine and the centre are examining in their clergy workshops across the country. By bringing together ministers from different denominations but in similar positions (rural vs. urban, for example), the workshops provide a safe and comfortable forum for men and women to discuss their problems and, most important, work toward some solutions.

"Clergy are looking to back away from the heat of the parish to work with their calling and their personal life. These are good people who want, in all sincerity, to serve God and the world in any way they can," says Irvine. "What I believe is that there lies within clergy and each one of us the means to move to recovery and health. We're now being proactive."

The centre, which is still working on a fee structure for its services (though funding will be available to those who need it, assures Irvine), will continue to research the issues surrounding ministry and will work with congregations to establish a vision for the future and help answer the question: what does it mean to be a church in the 21st century?

The ultimate goal, says Irvine, is to eventually offer online courses to clergy on issues not taught in seminary. One course, for example, could be 'How to Deal with the Antagonist in Your Midst.' "There's one or two in every congregation," laughs Irvine.

-- courtesy of Presbyterian Record

Eagle Chicks

While the original Eagle's nest sadly had infertile eggs, the people who provided the eagle cam have put in on another next with two baby eagles. It is fascinating to watch them, especially when they are being fed by their parents.

Where will it end?

More and more I am starting to wonder if the RCA has gone to far in its slide into the theologically liberal wasteland. On the RCA web-site they have on this page a section on Earth Day promoting having churches do an Earth Day Sunday. It reads as follows:

Earth Day Sunday

Praising the beauty of God's creation is an essential part of our ongoing faith journey and worship experience and each year we dedicate one Sunday to lift up creation stewardship as a focus through a Earth Day celebration.Each year, the National Council of Churches' Eco-Justice Working Group focuses on a particular environmental theme and highlights a number of ways individuals and congregations can celebrate and protect God's creation. We hope these ideas inspire further thoughts, conversations,and actions in answering God's call to be faithful stewards of creation.

You may not see what is wrong with this at first glance, but notice that the first line calls for Christians to praise the beauty of God's creation. This is directly against God's commands to praise him and him only. Only God is worthy of our praise and worship, and to praise the creation in a worship service is to place an idol on the throne of God. This call is to outright disobedience to God in the name of being socially active Christians. Yet, things get worse. For not only do we have that line, but if you follow the link in the news alert to the "resources" for celebrating Earth day, you are linked to the National Council of Churches web-site there you will find such helpful headings as: Sacred Oceans and Seas Life-Giving Breath of God: Protecting Precious Air Resources Waters of Life: Enough for All Notice how the language used for each of these use terms that, intentionally or not, deify the creation. This is done by using terms that refer to our triune God to refer to the aspects of his creation that is being "praised." This is simply creation worship under the guise of Christianity. I would have looked at the resources themselves, but to do so I would need to register which I have no desire to do. People wonder why the RCA is consistently loosing members. They think that neat programs like 'NCD' and 'Purpose Driven' will make a difference while the real problem is that we as a denomination are in disobedience to our Lord and his revealed will in the scriptures. The problems are not simply the lack of discipline of those ministers, classies and congregations who are 'marrying' and lobbying for the ordination of practicing homosexuals. It is a fundamental abandonment of scripture as our guiding authority.

Interesting Take on the Mega-Church from 'King of the Hill'

I ran into this on another blog, and found it an interesting take on Christianity and the Mega-church by the creator of King of the Hill Mike Judge who as far as I know is and unbeliever. King of The Hill

More Happenings From a "partner" in the Formula of Agreeement

I probably should have posted on this before, as I had read about it elsewhere, but this commentary by Al Mohler reminded me of it. A congregation in the PCUSA has accepted into their membership a professed Atheist. He denies the existence of God, that Jesus is the Son of God, and all the other basics of the Christian faith, joining as a political move. It seems that there is a request for the Presbytery to deal with this, but I bears watching as if the PCUSA does not do anything to discipline the Session and Minister in this situation, and the Synod follows suite, then we can officially state that the PCUSA has become a false church, and all ties must be severed. As I said this needs to be watched by us as it unfolds further. Edit May 3, 2006: Here is the link to the article by atheist who joined this PCUSA congregation.

Same Process Going On

I was reading the following op-ed piece by David Kupelian, the author of The Marketing of Evil, and it struck me that a very similar process seems to be being used in the RCA. It is not as overt, but it certainly seems to be there. First there is the desensitization by the constant unwillingness to deal with one of our partners in the Formula of Agreement concerning their practice of not only ordaining practicing homosexuals, but of encouraging all the churches in their fellowship to do so. Again and again when overtures come seeking something to be done about this, nothing is done because we can't divide over an issue of Christian practice. Now we have the 3 year dialogue. Even the language used for those congregations that have abandoned the clear teaching of scripture, "Open and Affirming" is perjoritive. I guess that means all the churches that seek to be true to the Biblical injunctions against homosexual practice are "Closed and Demeaning!" The only thing we don't have yet is diversity seminars. Next we have the 'jamming' of those who are against the push toward being "Open and Affirming." As mentioned we are apparently close minded biggots to call for someone to show a change in lifestyle following conversion. We are charged with being "single issue" people who don't care for the poor the downtrodden and the oppressed, because GLBT people are the oppressed aren't they. Finally we have what Kupelian calls "Conversion" where people's views on homosexual practice are re-educated to break down the stereotypes that homosexual practice is wrong. We are not there yet, and I pray we never will be. I have not yet read Kupelian's book, but it is on the list of books I want to get out of the library. Hopefully our small town library will soon have a copy.

Going To the Banner In May

As I have mentioned before, I am planning to attend the Banner of Truth Minister's Conference. Well, I am now all registered and ready to go. It is still a month away, but I am very much looking forward to the teaching and fellowship with other ministers who share in the amazing doctrines of grace. At this point it sounds like we have a large group coming from our area of Ontario, although I have not heard the exact numbers, but I was told that we have a 'busload' of people. I would guess that was speaking figuatively, but one never knows. One of the things I enjoy almost as much as the conference is the time of fellowship and conversation during the long trip down and back again. If you are a minister or elder consider attending this conference. It is well worth your time.

Scottish Theologian

You scored as James Orr. You are James Orr. You are not afraid of Scholarship, but you know that scholarship is not necessarily objective. James Orr 95% Thomas Boston 90% John Knox 75% James Denney 70% Thomas Chalmers 65% Which Scottish Theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

My New Laptop

I finally reached the last straw with my old laptop. It was getting a little long in the tooth anyway (about 7-8 years old), but it constant tendency to have the power go off with no warning and not being able to get it to power back up again finally pushed me over the edge. So I bit the bullet and purchased a new laptop. Now I am the happy owner of a Toshiba A100-LE1. It is a nice little beastie, with a DVD writer, built in wireless and wired networking, 80Gig HD, 512Mb memory, and a nice Celeron M 390. Certainly a big step up from my old Toshiba Satellite 2100cads running at 400mhz. Well, that is my new work partner. So far I don't mind Windows XP, but it still seems like most windows versions I have used, ok but full of aggravation :)

Da Vinci Code

With the Da Vinci Code movie scheduled to be released May 19th, I thought that the opening article of the Solid Ground from Stand to Reason would be helpful to some of you. It is a good response to Dan Brown's book, and has some helpful questions to ask people who my confront you based on that book. Check it out at Solid Ground.

Sad But Not Surprising

Kim Riddlebarger posted yet another example of more biblical ignorance among Christians. A survey done among regular church attenders in the UK showed they could not put key Biblical events in chronological order. I wonder first how well my congregation would do, but this also makes me wonder what have churches been teaching to leave people with no idea about even big events in the Bible.

Oh The Times They Are A Changing

As I was browsing through some of my favorite blogs tonight, I found an entry in my friend Michael Haykin's blog pointing to yet another blog that has been added to my subscriptions. It is Denny Burk's blog, and I suggest you check it out. What prompted this post was a post by Denny Burk concerning the fact that although in the past a general consensus could be found throughout evanglicalism, that consensus is not really there any longer. In fact many of the things the Carl Henry wrote about liberalism can now be found in some parts (popular parts at that) of evangelicalism. It seems times have changed and the group that was known for standing against liberal theology, has lost its grounding. Check out Denny Burk: Could Carl Henry Be Wrong?

Our Obsession With Numbers

Today as I was reading some of the blogs I frequent, I read this article posted on Doxoblogy. The article by Steve Green points out how our obsession with numbers (attendance, baptisms, etc) can be a great danger, because it can easily miss that God uses what is weak, powerless and despised by this world to achieve his goals. Numbers are not always the best way to determine the effectiveness of a ministry. As a pastor of a small congregation in a small town where there are already several large congregations, it is good to be reminded that numbers are not everything. Yes, I would love to see many more people come in, but as I have served here, I have seen other changes and other growth in the members of this congregation that cannot be boiled down to numbers, and those things are at least as important although not as easy to quantify.

Cookies!

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Now Even Cats Can Be Terrorists

Reports in the Connecticut Post Online, A ferocious feline terrorized a quiet Fairfield neighborhood, to the point that residents are seeking help from the law to stop the so-called "Terrorist of Sunset Circle." Lewis, a 5-year-old, black-and-white long haired cat, attacked at least a half-dozen people on the cul-de-sac and even took on the local Avon lady, neighbors say. "He looks like Felix the Cat and has six toes on each foot each with a long claw," Sunset Circle resident Janet Kettman said. "They are formidable weapons." I always knew there was a reason I didn't trust cats. To read the whole story you can find it here. This link will work for 14 days, after that you will have to search for it using their search engine.

Abdul Rahman

With the charges dropped by the court in Afghanistan because of lack of evidence and a belief that Rahman is not mentally competent, he has been freed. However, the story is not over. Apparently the Parliament of Afghanistan is now saying that he should not be allowed to leave the country even though he has been offered asylum in Italy.

Eagle Nest

Tim Challies posted this link on his blog, and I found it rather amazing. I have always considered Eagles to be beautiful birds, and to be able to watch a streaming video feed of an Eagles nest is fascinating. Check out Eagles Nest Video.