How To Preach About Hell

by mdever

Here's how Charles Spurgeon did it on Oct. 30, 1859 as a 24-year-old preacher.  He was talking about the many crowns of Christ (from Rev. 19:12) and he was speaking of crowns of dominions and victorys and thankfulnesses.  And in the crowns of dominion, he extolled Christ's crowns of dominion in heaven, hell and earth.  And this is how he talked about Christ's reign in Hell:

“It is the iron crown of hell, for Christ reigneth there supreme.  Not only in the dazzling brightness of heaven, but in the black impenetrable darkness of hell is his omnipotence felt, and his sovereignty acknowledged; the chains which bind damned spirits are the chains of his strength; the fires which burn are the fires of his vengeance; the burning rays that scorch through their eyeballs, and melt their very heart, are flashed from his vindictive eye.  There is no power in hell besides his.  The very devils show his might.  He chaineth the great dragon.  If he give him a temporary liberty, yet is the chain in his hand, and he can draw him back lest he go beyond his limit.  Hell trembles at him.  The very howlings of lost spirits are but deep bass notes of his praise .  While in heaven the glorious notes shout forth his goodness; in hell the deep growlings resound his justice, and his certain victory over all his foes.  Thus his empire is higher than the highest heaven, and deeper than the lowest hell.”  C. H. Spurgeon, “The Savior’s Many Crowns” Oct. 30, 1859, printed in New Park Street Pulpit, vol. 5, p. 450.

Posted on July 3, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

Triperspectival Leadership

by Michael Mckinley

You know I'm a sucker for polysyllabic words... so when I heard about triperspectivalism, my first thought was, "Now, there is an ecclesiological principle I can get behind!"  But it's more than just a wonderfully pretentious name.  It's also a pretty helpful way of thinking about church leadership.

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To over-simplify, the insight is that church leaders tend to be prophets, priests, or kings.  Prophets love to proclaim the word of God and dream about where God is leading the church.  Kings love to put systems in place to make it happen.  Priests make sure that everyone is cared for and feels God's love along the way. 

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Understanding your church leadership in light of those strengths (and attending weaknesses) can help you identify blind-spots and make good decisions about staffing and new leaders.  I have found this really helpful as our church incorporates new elders and thinks through how we can do things better.

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If you're interested in more information: 

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Here is a longish primer on triperspectivalism by John Frame.  It speaks to church leadership on pages 8 and 9.

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Also, two helpful talks from a 2008 Acts 29 boot camp:  Triperspectival Leadership and Prophet, Priest, and King by David Fairchild. 

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For those with limited attention spans: here's a chart summarizing the some of the key ideas.

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I haven't read it, but I've been told that chapter 14 of Leading With a Limp by Dan Allender addresses this issue.  

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Also, Mark Driscoll gave a very practical message on this topic at the 2008 CCEF National Conference, particularly applying triperspectival leadership to ministering to addicts in your church.  You can listen to it here.

Categories: Leadership

Posted on July 3, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (1)

Are Christians Learning to Agree and Disagree?

by Thabiti Anyabwile

Brothers, from a safe Caribbean distance, I've been very thankful to hear the reports of the recent SBC meeting.  It seems the place was awash in a spirit of "friendly cooperation."  The report of the death of the Arminian-Calvinist tension, I pray it's not premature, sounds like a very healthy thing.  I can't help but wonder if the discussion between Dr. Mohler and Dr. Patterson at the Greensboro convention in 2006 might have been a turning point.  Many were dismayed that the gloves didn't come off in that discussion, and some predicted the doom and ruin of the convention.  But it seems those two men were wiser than most in modeling how to engage and disagree as Christians giving honor to the other. 

Now to hear the reflections coming, frankly, from rather a rather cantankerous and easily disagreeing lot... well, that's just flat out hope-giving.  Perhaps we're learning to agree and disagree--even Southern Baptists.

And tonight, I listened to the discussion on ordaining women as deacons between our brothers Tim Keller and Ligon Duncan (HT: Ref21)  That certainly has the potential for being a divisive discussion.  But like Mohler and Patterson in 2006, Keller and Duncan demonstrated remarkable charity, joyful agreement, and gracious disagreement.  I pray it yields marvelous fruit throughout the PCA.

In fact, it seems that the Lord is graciously creating among His people wider, deeper, more joyful and energetic unity across denominations, ministry styles, generations, etc.  Witness the participation of pastors and churches in The Gospel Coalition and the cross-generational and largely young assembly of pastors at T4G. 

And one sweet aspect of all of this is that the deepening, widening unity does not come at the expense of truth.  Men like Lloyd-Jones and Spurgeon witnessed their generations flirtations with false unities and downgrades.  Those were hollow cries for unity--hollow because the bone and marrow of truth had been withdrawn.  But in God's kindness, the efforts at cooperation focus on the gospel and missions and build upon Scripture and protect inerrancy. 

What will be the effect of Christians learning to joyful agree and disagree and continue focused on the main thing? 

Categories: Leadership

Posted on July 2, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

Conrad Mbewe on poor churchmanship among missionaries

by Jonathan Leeman

The new 9Marks eJournal on missions was just released. Click here for the table of contents. One of my favorite articles was Conrad Mbewe's "How American Christians Can Help Christians in Zambia."

Here's his challenging third suggestion for how Western Christians can help:

3) DEMONSTRATE BIBLICAL CHURCHMANSHIP

Western Christians entering Zambia as missionaries are generally very good examples to us with respect to their personal and domestic lives. In these two areas, we see a very clear difference between them and their non-Christian counterparts from the Western world.

However, where we see no difference is in their commitment to the local church. Their church attendance is scanty to say the least. They do not join a local church. We do not know where they give their tithes and offerings. They are not involved in any local church ministries (except to preach when they are asked to do so), and so on.

As a result, our young professional Christians believe that this is enlightened Christianity. They also end up having a very loose relationship with the church. I really think that this has been the Achilles' heel of the work of Western missionaries in Zambia today. They are not good examples of biblical churchmanship!

We need to find a way in which Western missionaries can maintain relationships with their sending churches and at the same time exhibit biblical accountability to local churches where they labor, so that they can be good examples in this area to those whom they win to Christ.

Posted on July 1, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (1)

RE: Prayer for the SBC

by Greg Gilbert

There are certainly more important matters than these I'm about to mention (missions, church planting, evangelism, etc, come to mind), but here are some prayer matters that I think are fairly unique to this convention:

1) Pray for the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force.  The men on that committee have a rare opportunity to make some needed and far-reaching recommendations for the future of the SBC.  I think hopes have been set pretty high for them, so we should pray for them to have insight, boldness, and wisdom.

2) Pray for the leaders of the SBC.  President Johnny Hunt, Al Mohler, and Danny Akin come specifically to mind as men who were front-and-center at this year's convention.  There is a younger generation looking to them for leadership.  Pray that God would help them to lead well, protect them from sin, and give them great joy in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3) Pray for the continued ministry of 9Marks within the SBC.  Though the SBC is perhaps our most obvious target-audience, I would guess that about 60% of the people I talked with at the booth had never heard of us at all, and another 20% had only heard our name.  But we gave away 10,000 books, and had about 600 people attending 9@9.  It was a fantastic week, and we pray the Lord will use it now and many years into the future to help his pastors think biblically about what the church is supposed to be.

Posted on June 30, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (1)

Praying for the SBC

by Thabiti Anyabwile

For all you guys who were able to attend and enjoy this year's SBC meeting, what three things would you commend to us as prayer items following the convention?

Categories: Current Affairs

Posted on June 29, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (1)

A Book Plug

by Thabiti Anyabwile

While it sounds like everyone was  having a truly wonderful, Spirit-filled time at SBC, I had the joy of gathering with the saints of New Life Fellowship Church for their annual Bible conference.  It's some of the sweetest fellowship on earth, as the word is opened and voices lifted in praise to God.

This year, it was a joy to see the Lord continuing to answer prayers for fruitful expansion of the kingdom and biblical theology among predominantly African-American churches.  One of the clearest ways that was on display was in the publication of a couple books I pray will be influential among African Americans.

The first was edited by Anthony Carter, lead pastor of East Point Church in the Atlanta, Georgia area.  Entitled Glory Road: The Journey of Ten African Americans into Reformed Theology, the book is a collection of ten personal testimonies from African-American pastors recalling both their conversion to Christ and their embrace of the doctrines of grace.  I think this book has more potential for spreading and encouraging biblical truth to a predominantly African-American audience than any one I can think of.  The testimonies are rich, the experiences wonderfully diverse, and the glory of God shining from each story.  The testimonies introduce the doctrines of grace in as warm, friendly, and inviting a manner as possible.  It's theologically clear and driven without being dense and alien.

You read this book and you feel like you get to know these men and their God.  You also grasp something of their love for the church, their hope for her future, and love for the gospel. 

Truth in advertising: It was a pleasure to be one of the contributors to the volume.

Here are some other plugs:

“This book is a wonderful encouragement to those who love the doctrines of grace. The ten men described are African Americans—but quite frankly, what their ethnicity is does not matter nearly as much as their common delight in Christ and his gospel. Their stories are sufficiently diverse that they cannot be reduced to a simplistic mold; they have enough similarity that together they bring us back to God’s sovereign goodness in the cross of his Son. Read this book and rejoice.”
D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“Here we have readable, compelling personal histories that, at the same time, teach us more about God, Christ, and the Bible and give accounts of these men coming to Christ. I love reading people’s testimonies of conversion! What more do we want in a book? To be encouraged, instructed, and edified, read these stories.”
Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

“A reading of Glory Road is a journey of sober rejoicing. The joy is in the taste of future glory where men and women from every tribe and language and people and nation will together worship the Lamb. We rejoice in the first fruits of that glory evident in the testimonies of these gifted African-Americans now in Reformed churches. We also weep that their testimonies are so few due to these churches’ long blindness to gospel priorities despite their historic commitment to doctrinal orthodoxy. May Glory Road lead to a new dawn, greeted with tears but leading to songs of joy before the day is done.”
Bryan Chapell, President, Covenant Theological Seminary

“I’m very grateful for Anthony Carter’s passion for writing. I bought a case of his first book—On Being Black and Reformed, to distribute at conferences and events. My plan is to do the same thing with Glory Road, an amazing collection of testimonies. The consistent message from all the contributors is the paucity of Reformed teaching in the black community. I share with Carl Ellis the vision of seeing an indigenous Reformed movement in the African-American community. Books like Glory Road will help to facilitate this movement.”
Wy Plummer, African American Ministries Coordinator, Mission to North America, Presbyterian Church in America

“History is good for us all, but when you see it occurring right before your eyes, well that’s just about as good as it gets. To the chorus of ‘Dead White Men,’ we now add these voices of Living Color. Together we’ll all be singing praises to our sovereign God and all-sufficient Savior.”
Stephen J. Nichols, Research Professor of Christianity and Culture, Lancaster Bible College 

“As a first-generation preacher of Reformed Theology in Antigua and Barbuda and the eastern Caribbean, I am confident and encouraged that these personal testimonies from our African-American brothers will work for a wider propagation of the message of the supremacy of God in all things throughout the global African Diaspora. The common themes of being disillusioned with the religious status quo, struggling with the inadequacy of man-centered views that were strongly defended for years, facing the loneliness and ostracism of taking a stand on an island of truth in a sea of pluralism, and the surprising discovery that the Lord had all along ‘reserved . . . seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal,’ are all compelling and refreshing in the narrative of each experience.”
Hensworth W. C. Jonas, Executive Director, East Caribbean Baptist Mission, St. John’s, Antigua & Barbuda

Categories: Books

Posted on June 27, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

Mohler, McCall, Truth, and History

by Greg Gilbert

On Wednesday afternoon, Southern Seminary held a special worship service celebrating its 150th anniversary.  As part of that commemoration, the seminary dedicated a new welcome pavilion, naming it after Duke K. McCall, Southern's seventh and longest-serving president.

Some people have raised concern about that in the last few days, wondering why President Albert Mohler, a staunch inerrantist evangelical who returned Southern to its inerrantist and evangelical roots, would name a campus building after a man who played a significant role in putting the seminary into the straits from which Mohler had to rescue it.

I can certainly understand where the concern comes from.  Duke McCall was not a theological conservative. He was a theological moderate who thought that the issues on which the Conservative Resurgence advanced were not worth dividing over.  So he resisted it.  Even in his acceptance remarks at the dedication, McCall talked about how different presidents in the seminary's history "tacked to port or starboard" as their times demanded, a statement that was met with stony silence by the two or three thousand gathered to hear him.  McCall was and is wrong about that; the Conservative Resurgence was not about tacking to port or starboard.  It was about faithfulness to the inerrant and inspired Word of God, and we can all thank God for raising up Dr. Mohler to return the seminary to that core conviction.

Nevertheless, none of that makes me think that it was wrong to name the pavilion for Dr. McCall.  That act was simply one of respect for a man who led Southern Seminary for over 30 years---more than a fifth of its entire lifespan. I was at the dedication, and Dr. Mohler was painstakingly careful not to blur the theological differences between himself and Dr. McCall, even as he honored him for his long presidency of the school.

Besides, McCall's legacy is more complex than some are giving it credit for. We should certainly lament the theological trajectory he set for Southern, but we should also praise his boldness in other areas, particularly in standing up for civil rights in the early 1960s, even at the risk of losing financial support from segregationist churches and donors.  McCall fought hard against Jim Crow, and he deserves commendation for that.

Duke McCall is still the longest serving president in Southern Seminary's history, and there are buildings all over campus named for other presidents. Institutionally speaking, it's just a matter of respect and history to have a building named after him somewhere on campus.  Honestly, I don't expect future students will be drawn away into liberalism by the McCall Pavilion any more frequently than current ones are by the Honeycutt Student Center or Edgar's Men's Store (i.e., Mullins).

One other thing demands to be said:  It seems to me that Albert Mohler is a man to whom even the most dedicated separationist should want to give the benefit of their doubt.  Southern Seminary is what it is today---and not just another failing liberal school---because of Al Mohler's faithfulness and unflagging dedication to turn it back to its biblical, evangelical roots.  I have heard the stories of how Mohler was ridiculed and threatened, how people whispered insults about him to his children, and how he and Mrs. Mohler wept and prayed together in a dark room of their home when the pressure became nearly unbearable.  Having worked with him for several years, I also personally know Dr. Mohler to be a man of profound faithfulness to the truth of the gospel.  I am overjoyed that when my boys visited Louisville with me this week, one of the first things they said was, "We want to go see Dr. Mohler."  I'm glad they look up to him, and I'm glad that Christian leadership is associated in their minds with him.

With all that in my mind, I am a bit dismayed that this moment of carefully celebrating 150 years of a seminary's checkered history has been turned by some into an opportunity to carp at Albert Mohler. Mohler is not subtly giving ground to liberalism by naming the pavilion after Duke McCall.  He is acting as any good president of a Christian institution should---acknowledging the entire history of his school at its sesquicentennial, honoring its longest-serving president, and yet still maintaining firmly in his mind and in his public words the convictions that set him apart from that man.

When you walk into the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion, one of the first things you notice, emblazoned on the wall in three-foot-high gold letters, is the word "TRUTH."  You can bet your bottom dollar that wouldn't be the case if Albert Mohler hadn't done what he did.

Posted on June 26, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (9)

Most Encouraging Convention I've Attended

by Greg Gilbert

I agree with you guys about the palpable difference in the spirit of the Southern Baptist Convention this year.  If I remember correctly this is the ninth convention I've attended, and it most certainly seemed to have a different spirit about it than the others.

Posted on June 26, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

What's going on in the SBC? A shift in trust?

by mdever

Great meeting this week.  Wonderful displays of unity around the gospel and fulfilling the Great Commission.  Good leadership by Johnny Hunt, Danny Akin & Al Mohler.  Wonderful sermons by J. D. Greear and David Platt.  God is being kinder to us than we deserve--in ways old and new!  The celebration of God's kindness through 150 years of history at Southern Seminary and the new lunch sponsored by Baptist 21 and the 9Marks and 9 events AND the 9Marks booth were all huge encouragements to me.

There were certainly still stresses and strains evident in the convention.  I assume good motives on all sides.  I wonder if there aren't two different views of the SBC's money.  What I would call the older perspective understands that the SBC functions at the generous gift of the state conventions that pass Cooperative Program monies along to the national level.  What I would call the newer perspective senses that through the inerrancy controversies many churches came to have more confidence in the national convention than in their state conventions.  The current giving agreements between the Executive Committee and the state conventions, therefore, perhaps reflect more of the older perspective than the newer perspective.

I don't know which perspective is the case.  I have no objective data.  And I thank God for good work being done in both state and national entities.  But I do wonder if what we're seeing is a shift in trust.  Either way, I pray that God will use us all to His glory.

Posted on June 25, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

Missions Driven By Theology

by Michael Mckinley

Categories: Evangelism , Theology

Posted on June 24, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

Seven Reflections from the SBC

by Aaron Menikoff

Thanks for the visual, Mike, and for participating in the 9Marks at 9 discussion last night. It was very helpful and encouraging. Mark, I appreciate you putting it together and winsomely helping us think more about cooperation. For those of you following the SBC, yesterday was a significant day with the approval of a motion to establish a task force to address the issues raised by the GCR declaration. Here are a few observations I have as one young pastor, in no particular order:

Categories: Leadership

Posted on June 24, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

At the SBC

by Michael Mckinley

The 9Marks at Nine event went really well last night.  There was a big crowd, and it was great to have David Platt with us on the panel discussion.  His message at the pastors' conference last night was courageous and prophetic.

Posted on June 23, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

Coming Up . . . The SBC

by Aaron Menikoff

Growing up in a non-Christian home in the pacific northwest, when I heard "Southern Baptist" I thought black gospel choir. That says more about me than the SBC, I know. Now the words "in friendly cooperation with and contributing toward the causes of" flow easily off of my lips. I am the recipient of not just one, but two degrees from a Southern Baptist seminary and am very grateful for the support of Southern Baptists in subsidizing my education. I pastor a church just north of Atlanta that has been Southern Baptist from its beginning. I am a Southern Baptist.

Categories: Leadership

Posted on June 20, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (4)

Quality control for guest preachers

by Jonathan Leeman

A pastor friend wrote with the following question:

My question is about guarding the pulpit. We are moving away from the purpose driven model (under previous leadership) towards a more 9 marks model. There are many preachers who want to preach in our pulpit and have been given the floor before. What steps do you take to make sure your congregations are faithfully cared for/protected? The congregation remembers some speakers fondly and don't fully understand when I don't invite everyone they suggest.  Is it fair for me to ask for the sermon ahead of time or at least an indepth outline? Am I being too rigid? Just this week I had someone ridicule me saying that no one would ever come to speak with that kind of stipulation and that he would pray for me because my church would never grow like this. I want to be faithful, and I dont want to be ridiculous or legalistic. Would love to hear your thoughts.

What do you guys do about "quality control" for guest preachers?

Posted on June 17, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (11)

An answer to "a just question"

by mdever

I didn't just sit around and read.  And I didn't announce how many books I was going to read ahead of time.  I took even more books that I didn't get to read.  I had planned simply to read however many I got around to.  I only blogged about the reading portion of the vacation in order to guard our family's privacy.  I did a lot of other things, and hope you do, too, on family vacations!  Thanks for the voiced concerns.

Posted on June 16, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (1)

If you're in New Jersey...

by Matt Schmucker

My friend and pastor of Ocean City Baptist Church in Ocean City, NJ, Kevin O'Brien, is hosting the Ocean City Bible Conference this year with speakers Philip Ryken and Steve Lawson to name a few.  For all of you especially on the east coast who complain about the limited number of good conferences, I'd encourage you to take a look and consider joining them in September.  

Two of the bloggers on this site regularly vacation in Ocean City (McKinley and me!).  It's a fine place.  But "America's Greatest Family Resort"???  Mike, do you want to defend the claim?

Posted on June 16, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (1)

On Intros

by Greg Gilbert

Seriously, I am with Mike----I don't really approach intros as attention-getters for non-Christians.  I do use them, though, even if they're somewhat cursory.

Posted on June 15, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

More on Intros...

by Thabiti Anyabwile

Dee,

Thanks for the good question on introductions.  Mike and Mike, thanks for keeping it hizzle (that's "hot" in Ebonics) by bringing the edifizzle ("edifying" comments).

Now you guys have me thinking about introductions more than I normally do, which probably explains why I'm not that good at them.  Often my introductions are questions that point to the application or the main theme.  So, a couple Sundays ago, we were in Proverbs 5 and I asked questions related to the trajectory of marriage in the Cayman Islands.  The questions traded on the recent passage of a constitutional referendum defining marriage as between one man and one woman.  It was a victory, but the real work of marriage has to do with us heterosexual Christians really loving and serving our spouses as though revealing Christ and the gospel might somehow be connected to marriage.  For those with an hour, the sermon is here. 

About the only time I've scrapped an introduction has been in response to something happening in the service... say the Lord using a song before the sermon in a particularly poignant or powerful way.  Then I might try to extemporaneously bridge what just took place in the singing with the beginning of the sermon.  Tried that here.  When that happens, it's usually a gospel appeal of some sort.

But all this talk of introductions reminds me of two reasons for introductions that I don't think anyone has said yet.  First, I, the preacher, need the introduction.  It helps me settle down into what I'm doing.  It brings me from the participation I've just been experiencing with the prayer or the singing to the participation I'm about the share with the word.  Not everyone would need that "lead time," I'm sure.  But it focuses me in helpful ways.  Second, usually the introduction helps me to remember that I'm speaking to a people and that the sermon (though not a dialogue) has an audience I need to communicate with.  The sermon introduction reminds me of that.

So, I like them.  I don't think I'm particularly good at them.  Could use even more help with conclusions, labeling the main points in short pithy statements, and illustrating.  Pretty much the whole shooting match.  But these exchanges have been helpful on the front end.  Fa' rizzle. 

Categories: Preaching

Posted on June 15, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

On Intros

by Greg Gilbert

I'm with Mike.

Posted on June 15, 2009 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)