Blog https://www.fbalcoa.org Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:19:32 -0400 http://churchplantmedia.com/ Why a Membership Class? https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/why-a-membership-class https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/why-a-membership-class#comments Tue, 08 Aug 2023 12:42:30 -0400 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/why-a-membership-class We are about to start a membership class this fall. We have these classes occasionally to allow people who have been attending our church to learn more about our church, understand why membership in a church matters, and have the opportunity to pursue membership at the end of the class. It’s just one of a few steps in joining our church family.

Here are five reasons we have a membership class at FBA. 

1. We believe in regenerate church membership.

As Baptists, we affirm that local churches should be made up of “baptized believers” (see Article VI of the Baptist Faith & Message of 2000). They aren’t social clubs or community centers. We want our members to be social and have a good sense of community, but that’s not the point of the church. We are a people called out by God to bring him glory together, to make disciples together, and to care for our neighbors together. We want our membership to best reflect the true membership of God’s universal church in heaven. Therefore, we want people to know the gospel well before joining our church so that we can have confidence that they are making a genuine profession of faith and have followed it with baptism.

2. We believe in congregational governance.

Those who are regenerate and join our church actually govern the church on Christ’s behalf. As our statement of faith says in Article VI on The Church, “Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes.” Although our church identifies two biblical offices—(1) pastor/elder/overseer, and (2) deacon—those recognized by the church for these roles only have authority insofar as they represent the congregation on behalf of Christ through their leading and teaching (for elders) and serving (for deacons). We want people to possess a true conversion and regeneration, but we also want them to possess an understanding of their responsibility as church members. Because of this awesome authority, every member has the ability to influence the church for good or ill. Therefore, we want to make sure every member understands the gospel, agrees with our statement of faith, and accepts our constitution and bylaws. They won’t be able to function as effective, unifying church members unless they do.

3. We believe that every member is a missionary.

“It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations” (Article XI of the Baptist Faith & Message of 2000). We are commanded to make disciples, and as those saved by sheer grace, we ought to tell everyone about the amazing, transforming power of Christ’s Spirit. If we are going to be good witnesses outside the church, then we need to do our best to make sure our members know the gospel, know the Trinitarian God revealed fully in Jesus Christ, and know that Jesus is the only way to salvation. In the class, these truths will be clearly taught, but we will also give people opportunity to think about how they can accomplish the church’s mission in their lives.

4. We believe that every member is a minister.

Jesus Christ gave us the example of service with his life and his death. He said that he came not to be served by others but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). When Jesus calls us into his redeemed family, we are called to be servants. A minister is a servant. Our Membership Class gives participants time to consider how they might use their gifts, their experiences, their time to serve God’s kingdom in and through and for his church.

5. We believe that every member should love the church they join.

In our Membership Class, we aim to be clear about what members can expect at our church. What are the benefits of church membership? What are the challenges of church membership? Should I join the church even though it’s not perfect? Should I join the church even if I disagree with some things? We want to help every potential member navigate these questions before they join. Once they’re a member, they should love their church. If there are clear roadblocks to you loving the church, then you probably shouldn’t join. So, our Membership Class makes a real effort to be honest about who we are and where we are going.

Our fall membership class will run for lunch after our Sunday service on August 27, September 3, and September 10.

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We are about to start a membership class this fall. We have these classes occasionally to allow people who have been attending our church to learn more about our church, understand why membership in a church matters, and have the opportunity to pursue membership at the end of the class. It’s just one of a few steps in joining our church family.

Here are five reasons we have a membership class at FBA. 

1. We believe in regenerate church membership.

As Baptists, we affirm that local churches should be made up of “baptized believers” (see Article VI of the Baptist Faith & Message of 2000). They aren’t social clubs or community centers. We want our members to be social and have a good sense of community, but that’s not the point of the church. We are a people called out by God to bring him glory together, to make disciples together, and to care for our neighbors together. We want our membership to best reflect the true membership of God’s universal church in heaven. Therefore, we want people to know the gospel well before joining our church so that we can have confidence that they are making a genuine profession of faith and have followed it with baptism.

2. We believe in congregational governance.

Those who are regenerate and join our church actually govern the church on Christ’s behalf. As our statement of faith says in Article VI on The Church, “Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes.” Although our church identifies two biblical offices—(1) pastor/elder/overseer, and (2) deacon—those recognized by the church for these roles only have authority insofar as they represent the congregation on behalf of Christ through their leading and teaching (for elders) and serving (for deacons). We want people to possess a true conversion and regeneration, but we also want them to possess an understanding of their responsibility as church members. Because of this awesome authority, every member has the ability to influence the church for good or ill. Therefore, we want to make sure every member understands the gospel, agrees with our statement of faith, and accepts our constitution and bylaws. They won’t be able to function as effective, unifying church members unless they do.

3. We believe that every member is a missionary.

“It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations” (Article XI of the Baptist Faith & Message of 2000). We are commanded to make disciples, and as those saved by sheer grace, we ought to tell everyone about the amazing, transforming power of Christ’s Spirit. If we are going to be good witnesses outside the church, then we need to do our best to make sure our members know the gospel, know the Trinitarian God revealed fully in Jesus Christ, and know that Jesus is the only way to salvation. In the class, these truths will be clearly taught, but we will also give people opportunity to think about how they can accomplish the church’s mission in their lives.

4. We believe that every member is a minister.

Jesus Christ gave us the example of service with his life and his death. He said that he came not to be served by others but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). When Jesus calls us into his redeemed family, we are called to be servants. A minister is a servant. Our Membership Class gives participants time to consider how they might use their gifts, their experiences, their time to serve God’s kingdom in and through and for his church.

5. We believe that every member should love the church they join.

In our Membership Class, we aim to be clear about what members can expect at our church. What are the benefits of church membership? What are the challenges of church membership? Should I join the church even though it’s not perfect? Should I join the church even if I disagree with some things? We want to help every potential member navigate these questions before they join. Once they’re a member, they should love their church. If there are clear roadblocks to you loving the church, then you probably shouldn’t join. So, our Membership Class makes a real effort to be honest about who we are and where we are going.

Our fall membership class will run for lunch after our Sunday service on August 27, September 3, and September 10.

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Meet the Speakers: Rhyne Putman https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-rhyne-putman https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-rhyne-putman#comments Tue, 09 May 2023 11:00:00 -0400 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-rhyne-putman Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Rhyne Putman.

The morning of May 21, Dr. Putman will be joining us at FBA for a churchwide Sunday school class on worldview before preaching the Sunday service that morning. We wanted to give you an opportunity to learn a little bit about him and his background before he visits us later this month.

Dr. Putman received his PhD from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and serves as associate vice president of academic affairs at Williams Baptist University. He is also an associate professor of theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including When Doctrine Divides the People of God and The Method of Christian Theology: A Basic Introduction.

Below is our conversation with him!

Hey, Dr. Putman. I hope the semester is ending well for you. Tell me a little about Williams Baptist University, what you do there, and how you ended up there.

Williams Baptist University is the Christian liberal arts university in rural northeast Arkansas where I went to school. We are in the process of becoming the first work college in the SBC. This means that students can graduate debt-free, or at least with a very small debt if they work various jobs on or off campus. We have a farm, a meat processing plant, a store, a chicken-egg operation, and other community partnerships with hotels, hospitals, and engineering firms.

In addition to having a Christ-centered worldview education, we believe we can also teach a Christian work ethic. I serve as the academic dean there, and I get to lead our faculty and speak into how a Christian worldview shapes every facet of our curriculum.

Your book The Method of Christian Theology is one of my favorite introductions to theology I've ever read. It's accessible, but it's still informative and precise. Tell me a little about what you wanted to do when you wrote that book, how it has been received, and your favorite sections of it.

As a professor, I've always been interested in the connection between the Bible and theology. As a pastor, I wanted to connect theology with the life of the local church and the Great Commission. This meant exploring some questions about how we study theology and how it impacts our walk with Christ. So, this work represents my attempt at presenting these concepts in a way that would be accessible to undergraduates, first-year seminary students, and interested lay people.

Speaking of your books on theology, you also wrote one about the concept of "theological diversity." What kinds of issues do you see Christians divided over, and what kinds of issues should Christians divide over? Is there ever a good time to divide?

We should always divide with those who reject the gospel of Jesus's death, burial, resurrection, and glorious second coming, as well as those things which are core orthodox beliefs (e.g., biblical authority, the deity of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, salvation by grace through faith, etc.). There are also doctrinal beliefs that make our churches our churches, such as Baptist views on baptism or church governance. These aren't heaven-hell issues, but they are significant enough to form congregations around or to break close fellowship over.

That being said, there are a number of other issues that otherwise like-minded Christians fight over that I believe shouldn't be sources of contention: the timetable of the Lord's return, the nature of predestination, and the like. Discernment about when we should go our separate ways and when we should come together requires submission to the Word of God, the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and the wise council of the church and tradition.

If there's anything I know about you, it's that you're Baptist to your core. Talk a little about your background in the Baptist tradition and the Southern Baptist Convention.

To quote the twentieth-century Bellevue pastor R. G. Lee, "I was Baptist born and Baptist bred. When I die, I'll be Baptist dead." I grew up the son of an SBC pastor. As a small child, I was in Mission Friends and the Royal Ambassadors. (I'm showing my age now.) I competed in Bible drills and Pinewood Derbies. Baptist churches taught me how to love my Bible, share my faith, and support missionary efforts.

As I have grown older, I have come to love and understand my Baptist tradition in deeper and more meaningful ways. I love pastoring my SBC church. I love our high view of Scripture's authority and inerrancy. I love our evangelistic focus. I love the way we train pastors and missionaries. I love cooperative effort. 

Okay, last few questions for you: have you ever been to East Tennessee? We need to know the best way to show you hospitality while you're here. What are you looking forward to the most about getting to come up for a weekend?

Yes, I have ancestral roots in East Tennessee, though most of my growing-up years were in West Tennessee. I ring cowbells; so I don't sing Rocky Top. However, I will hit up McKays and grab some local food fare.

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Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Rhyne Putman.

The morning of May 21, Dr. Putman will be joining us at FBA for a churchwide Sunday school class on worldview before preaching the Sunday service that morning. We wanted to give you an opportunity to learn a little bit about him and his background before he visits us later this month.

Dr. Putman received his PhD from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and serves as associate vice president of academic affairs at Williams Baptist University. He is also an associate professor of theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including When Doctrine Divides the People of God and The Method of Christian Theology: A Basic Introduction.

Below is our conversation with him!

Hey, Dr. Putman. I hope the semester is ending well for you. Tell me a little about Williams Baptist University, what you do there, and how you ended up there.

Williams Baptist University is the Christian liberal arts university in rural northeast Arkansas where I went to school. We are in the process of becoming the first work college in the SBC. This means that students can graduate debt-free, or at least with a very small debt if they work various jobs on or off campus. We have a farm, a meat processing plant, a store, a chicken-egg operation, and other community partnerships with hotels, hospitals, and engineering firms.

In addition to having a Christ-centered worldview education, we believe we can also teach a Christian work ethic. I serve as the academic dean there, and I get to lead our faculty and speak into how a Christian worldview shapes every facet of our curriculum.

Your book The Method of Christian Theology is one of my favorite introductions to theology I've ever read. It's accessible, but it's still informative and precise. Tell me a little about what you wanted to do when you wrote that book, how it has been received, and your favorite sections of it.

As a professor, I've always been interested in the connection between the Bible and theology. As a pastor, I wanted to connect theology with the life of the local church and the Great Commission. This meant exploring some questions about how we study theology and how it impacts our walk with Christ. So, this work represents my attempt at presenting these concepts in a way that would be accessible to undergraduates, first-year seminary students, and interested lay people.

Speaking of your books on theology, you also wrote one about the concept of "theological diversity." What kinds of issues do you see Christians divided over, and what kinds of issues should Christians divide over? Is there ever a good time to divide?

We should always divide with those who reject the gospel of Jesus's death, burial, resurrection, and glorious second coming, as well as those things which are core orthodox beliefs (e.g., biblical authority, the deity of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, salvation by grace through faith, etc.). There are also doctrinal beliefs that make our churches our churches, such as Baptist views on baptism or church governance. These aren't heaven-hell issues, but they are significant enough to form congregations around or to break close fellowship over.

That being said, there are a number of other issues that otherwise like-minded Christians fight over that I believe shouldn't be sources of contention: the timetable of the Lord's return, the nature of predestination, and the like. Discernment about when we should go our separate ways and when we should come together requires submission to the Word of God, the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and the wise council of the church and tradition.

If there's anything I know about you, it's that you're Baptist to your core. Talk a little about your background in the Baptist tradition and the Southern Baptist Convention.

To quote the twentieth-century Bellevue pastor R. G. Lee, "I was Baptist born and Baptist bred. When I die, I'll be Baptist dead." I grew up the son of an SBC pastor. As a small child, I was in Mission Friends and the Royal Ambassadors. (I'm showing my age now.) I competed in Bible drills and Pinewood Derbies. Baptist churches taught me how to love my Bible, share my faith, and support missionary efforts.

As I have grown older, I have come to love and understand my Baptist tradition in deeper and more meaningful ways. I love pastoring my SBC church. I love our high view of Scripture's authority and inerrancy. I love our evangelistic focus. I love the way we train pastors and missionaries. I love cooperative effort. 

Okay, last few questions for you: have you ever been to East Tennessee? We need to know the best way to show you hospitality while you're here. What are you looking forward to the most about getting to come up for a weekend?

Yes, I have ancestral roots in East Tennessee, though most of my growing-up years were in West Tennessee. I ring cowbells; so I don't sing Rocky Top. However, I will hit up McKays and grab some local food fare.

]]>
What Does it Mean to Pray the Bible? https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/what-does-it-mean-to-pray-the-bible https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/what-does-it-mean-to-pray-the-bible#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2023 17:00:00 -0500 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/what-does-it-mean-to-pray-the-bible "Talk to God about the words you read in the Bible, and you’ll never again pray the same old things about the same old things.”[1]

Spiritual disciplines are hard habits to cultivate. Bible reading plans can be hard to stick to, and a few minutes of prayer can feel like an eternity when you don’t know what to say. I get it.

Let me introduce you to one of the things that has helped transform my own prayer life: praying the Bible. It’s a practice professor Don Whitney writes about in his book (appropriately titled Praying the Bible). We’ve had this book on our book table at FBA before, and I’m sure we will have more copies of it on there soon.

I want to give you an example of the practice, but I also want you to make sure you read all the way until the end because there’s an event coming up with Don Whitney in the Knoxville area. Registration is cheap, and it will definitely be worth your time. Details are at the bottom of this post. 

Praying the Bible

Here’s the gist of the practice: you open your Bible, read a passage, and pray what comes to mind as you reflect on the passage. Because the Bible is inspired and God-authored, “praying the Bible” is merely bringing the text of Scripture into your heart, letting it circulate, and returning it back to God in prayer. 

I’ll write out an example of this with a random Psalm—I’ll pick Psalm 61. I’ve put each main section of Psalm 61 in the lefthand column, and then I put my own prayer in the righthand column. As you’ll see, the prayer isn’t an interpretation of the passage, and it isn’t a commentary on the Psalm. Instead, it’s just praying what comes to mind as I read the text, including some “rabbit trails” that the Psalmist reminds me of, my own circumstances, and whatever the text makes me think of. 

“Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.”

 

God, I know you hear me as I call out to You. You have promised me to listen when I cry out to You, and I thank you for that. I pray that You would make my heart long to pray to You when I am in difficult times, when I face struggles, or when my heart is faint. Help me realize that no matter where I am on the earth, no matter what I have done, or no matter how I may have sinned against You, You hear me in my suffering and faintness. The words of the Psalmist remind me of the difficulty of my own struggles against depression and anxiety—and, God, I pray that You would preserve my soul in the face of emotional uncertainty. I thank You for bringing me this far in life, and I pray You continue to keep me, holding me fast in Your arms.

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!”

 

I thank You for those times You have been my refuge. When trials have come my way, You have time and time again provided me with shelter—not just from the enemies of this world, but also most explicitly from the enemy of sin and death. Thank You for sending Your Son to die and provide me this strong tower of safety. I pray that You would keep me in Your hold forever, keeping me beneath Your wings.

“For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.”

 

 

 

I pray, now, that You would help me be a man of my word: that You would show me how to uphold the promises I have made. I pray You shape me to carry on the legacy of my father as a faithful follower of You, and I pray that if I have children in the future I will pass Your name down to them by training them in Your Word and statutes.

I pray, now, for those in leadership over me, both in the country and in my church. I pray for government leaders, like the President and Vice President, our senators and congresspeople, and our local governing bodies—that You would stir their affections for You and that they would rule in a way that honors Your design for the world. I know that our culture is hostile toward You, God, and for this I pray for change.

I also pray for my elders in the church—that You would give them wisdom, that You would offer them good counsel, and that You would guide their steps. Help them continue to be men of integrity as they seek to faithfully lead Your church.
I pray, lastly, that you would cultivate a heart of prayer and obedience to Your name every day, remembering always the gospel of Your Son. In the name of Christ, Amen.

One of the things that is worth noting is how much flexibility there is in this method of praying. In the third section, especially, things get a little more personalized. Though it almost certainly isn’t what the Psalmist had in mind when he wrote Psalm 61, the language of vows and heritage made me think about wedding vows and family lineage. So, I ended up praying about my own life: even though I’m not married, I do have promises or “vows” I make—to work faithfully, to uphold integrity in my job, to pay off my student loans, and so on—and I hope to one day have children, so I prayed over that as well. And, although the Psalmist’s context was the nation of Israel, his prayers for the king made me think about our own politics in the United States. So, I prayed for that, too.Though you might think praying the Bible would constrain you, it’s, in fact, freeing: since you aren’t preaching a sermon or teaching a class or performing exegesis of a passage, you can pray whatever it is that comes to mind. There are no rules in prayer, which is the point of the whole practice!

An Invitation to Don Whitney’s Workshop

As a final word, it’s worth pointing your attention to an event happening at another local church in Fountain City. Don Whitney is putting on a workshop in our area about his book Praying the Bible, and the church hosting it has invited us to bring a group. Dinner and childcare are provided with registration.

If you’d like to go, you can register via this link. If there’s enough interest, we would love to carpool to the event together! It would be a great evening of fellowship, learning, and eating together. There are a few other churches taking groups, so it’s also a good opportunity to meet fellow believers from other congregations and see some familiar faces from our area.

[1] Don Whitney, Praying the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015), 42.

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"Talk to God about the words you read in the Bible, and you’ll never again pray the same old things about the same old things.”[1]

Spiritual disciplines are hard habits to cultivate. Bible reading plans can be hard to stick to, and a few minutes of prayer can feel like an eternity when you don’t know what to say. I get it.

Let me introduce you to one of the things that has helped transform my own prayer life: praying the Bible. It’s a practice professor Don Whitney writes about in his book (appropriately titled Praying the Bible). We’ve had this book on our book table at FBA before, and I’m sure we will have more copies of it on there soon.

I want to give you an example of the practice, but I also want you to make sure you read all the way until the end because there’s an event coming up with Don Whitney in the Knoxville area. Registration is cheap, and it will definitely be worth your time. Details are at the bottom of this post. 

Praying the Bible

Here’s the gist of the practice: you open your Bible, read a passage, and pray what comes to mind as you reflect on the passage. Because the Bible is inspired and God-authored, “praying the Bible” is merely bringing the text of Scripture into your heart, letting it circulate, and returning it back to God in prayer. 

I’ll write out an example of this with a random Psalm—I’ll pick Psalm 61. I’ve put each main section of Psalm 61 in the lefthand column, and then I put my own prayer in the righthand column. As you’ll see, the prayer isn’t an interpretation of the passage, and it isn’t a commentary on the Psalm. Instead, it’s just praying what comes to mind as I read the text, including some “rabbit trails” that the Psalmist reminds me of, my own circumstances, and whatever the text makes me think of. 

“Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.”

 

God, I know you hear me as I call out to You. You have promised me to listen when I cry out to You, and I thank you for that. I pray that You would make my heart long to pray to You when I am in difficult times, when I face struggles, or when my heart is faint. Help me realize that no matter where I am on the earth, no matter what I have done, or no matter how I may have sinned against You, You hear me in my suffering and faintness. The words of the Psalmist remind me of the difficulty of my own struggles against depression and anxiety—and, God, I pray that You would preserve my soul in the face of emotional uncertainty. I thank You for bringing me this far in life, and I pray You continue to keep me, holding me fast in Your arms.

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!”

 

I thank You for those times You have been my refuge. When trials have come my way, You have time and time again provided me with shelter—not just from the enemies of this world, but also most explicitly from the enemy of sin and death. Thank You for sending Your Son to die and provide me this strong tower of safety. I pray that You would keep me in Your hold forever, keeping me beneath Your wings.

“For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.”

 

 

 

I pray, now, that You would help me be a man of my word: that You would show me how to uphold the promises I have made. I pray You shape me to carry on the legacy of my father as a faithful follower of You, and I pray that if I have children in the future I will pass Your name down to them by training them in Your Word and statutes.

I pray, now, for those in leadership over me, both in the country and in my church. I pray for government leaders, like the President and Vice President, our senators and congresspeople, and our local governing bodies—that You would stir their affections for You and that they would rule in a way that honors Your design for the world. I know that our culture is hostile toward You, God, and for this I pray for change.

I also pray for my elders in the church—that You would give them wisdom, that You would offer them good counsel, and that You would guide their steps. Help them continue to be men of integrity as they seek to faithfully lead Your church.
I pray, lastly, that you would cultivate a heart of prayer and obedience to Your name every day, remembering always the gospel of Your Son. In the name of Christ, Amen.

One of the things that is worth noting is how much flexibility there is in this method of praying. In the third section, especially, things get a little more personalized. Though it almost certainly isn’t what the Psalmist had in mind when he wrote Psalm 61, the language of vows and heritage made me think about wedding vows and family lineage. So, I ended up praying about my own life: even though I’m not married, I do have promises or “vows” I make—to work faithfully, to uphold integrity in my job, to pay off my student loans, and so on—and I hope to one day have children, so I prayed over that as well. And, although the Psalmist’s context was the nation of Israel, his prayers for the king made me think about our own politics in the United States. So, I prayed for that, too.Though you might think praying the Bible would constrain you, it’s, in fact, freeing: since you aren’t preaching a sermon or teaching a class or performing exegesis of a passage, you can pray whatever it is that comes to mind. There are no rules in prayer, which is the point of the whole practice!

An Invitation to Don Whitney’s Workshop

As a final word, it’s worth pointing your attention to an event happening at another local church in Fountain City. Don Whitney is putting on a workshop in our area about his book Praying the Bible, and the church hosting it has invited us to bring a group. Dinner and childcare are provided with registration.

If you’d like to go, you can register via this link. If there’s enough interest, we would love to carpool to the event together! It would be a great evening of fellowship, learning, and eating together. There are a few other churches taking groups, so it’s also a good opportunity to meet fellow believers from other congregations and see some familiar faces from our area.

[1] Don Whitney, Praying the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015), 42.

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Meet the Speakers: Fred Sanders https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-fred-sanders https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-fred-sanders#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2022 14:00:00 -0500 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-fred-sanders Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Fred Sanders.

Dr. Sanders is one of the speakers for our 2022 Spring Theology Conference on the Trinity. If you haven't registered yet, make sure you do so by clicking this link—it's free!

For the last several years of my life, I've made a rule: if Fred Sanders says it about the Trinity, you should take it seriously. He is a picture of a theologian who loves the local church, and I am so excited to bring him to FBA. He has written several excellent books and is one of my absolute favorite theologians in the evangelical world today. I hope you enjoy our chat with him!

Interview

Dr. Sanders, thanks for talking to me! It's hard to put into words how excited I am you are part of this conference. Could you share a little about your background, especially as it pertains to your research and work on the doctrine of the Trinity?

I grew up Pentecostal in Southern California, but got saved in a Methodist youth group revival in Kentucky at age sixteen. From the very beginning of my Christian life, I knew I wanted to study the Bible and maybe even teach it. In fact, a deep hunger for God's word was one of the first clear signs of regeneration in my life. But the only people I knew who worked with the Bible full-time were pastors, and even at a young age I could tell that pastoring was not a good vocational fit for me. So I continued to study the Bible privately while pursuing art (drawing and printmaking) in college (Murray State University). I was a first-generation college student with no academic or professional network to draw on, so I was a little disoriented for a while. Here's the thing: I didn't even know there was such a thing as theology! As soon as I learned that theologians existed, I knew I wanted to try to be one. 

In the meantime, the more I read the Bible, the clearer it became to me that the one God behind salvation was somehow simultaneously Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that this threeness in God explained why the gospel was what it was. I barely knew how to talk about it at the time, but I increasingly saw it as the main point of Ephesians, Hebrews, and the Gospel of John. To be honest, I sometimes worried that my private Bible reading was turning  me into a weirdo who was inventing strange, new doctrines. Imagine my relief to read people like C.S. Lewis and J.I. Packer, and discover that my strange, new doctrine was in fact plain old normal Christian belief. I sometimes say that one reason I am so committed to the doctrine of the Trinity is that I invented it myself in high school. But in all seriousness, the fact that I found the Trinity in Scripture with pretty minimal guidance from traditional authorities does tend to make me pretty skeptical when somebody claims the Trinity isn't scriptural. I really do think I found it there. (I freely admit that I recited the Apostles' Creed at church and sang hymns by Charles Wesley, so I can't pretend there was no theology at all getting pumped into my thought life.)

Seminary training (at Asbury Theological Seminary) cleared up a lot of confusion for me, and gave me a chance to explore just how central the doctrine of the Trinity is: central both in the history of the church, and in the structure of Christian faith. I don't claim that all roads in theology lead to the Trinity, but I will definitely say that from the Trinity there are roads out into every part of Christian theology. From that insight, my path as a theologian has been very clear: I got a PhD on the topic in Berkeley and have been studying and teaching it ever since.

Relatedly, fill us in on how you got to Biola and what all you do there.

Biola was my first job after grad school, and I've stayed here since being hired in 1999. My full-time teaching  position is in our Honors College, which means that I teach undergraduates at the general education level. My students are getting majors in every field at the university, but they come together to read a common curriculum on the Great Books model: Homer,  Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and so on. It's an unusual job for a systematic theologian, and it means there's a pretty big gap between what I do in my day job and what I write about as a scholar, but I love the breadth of  it, and I've been formed by getting to spend all this time with classic texts and sharp college students. Our class sessions are three-hour group discussions of great books, in which we professors are supposed to lead Socratically, that is, by only asking questions. We like to say the books are the teachers (so come study with Plato and Aristotle and Moses and Paul) and the faculty are the guides or tutors who help the students engage with those classic texts. I also helped design the M.A. in Classical Theology at Biola's Talbot School of Theology, and I teach in that program as well. It's a short master's degree that basically applies our Honors College approach to seminary work: classic primary texts, processed in group discussions, focused on grasping the organic unity of all theology.

Tying in to the conference theme, you'll be speaking on the Trinity and Salvation. I know it's a broad topic, but how do you see the doctrine of the Trinity specifically relating to the ways we think about the idea of "salvation?"

My life message is that the Trinity and the gospel go together. If I could do one thing to help people understand the doctrine of the Trinity, it would be to get inside their minds where the habits of associative thinking are rooted, and make them associate Trinity and gospel so closely that every time they think of one, they immediately think of the other. Everything we believe about salvation makes so much more sense when we consider what it has to do with the Father (who so loved the world that he gave his Son, John 3:16), the Son (who loved me and gave himself for me, Gal 2:20), and the Holy Spirit (who we received so that we may understand what God has freely given us, I Cor 2:12). When I say salvation makes more sense in Trinitarian terms, what I mean is that what you already understand is true so far as it goes, but that when you let trinitarian theology illuminate it, your understanding of salvation deepens; it takes on greater depth.

Outside of your theological work (and your top-tier social media game), what do you spend your time doing? Tell us a little about yourself, your family, your church life, etc.

I read for fun, which includes reading all sorts of theology: my wife points out that it's a very good thing I am employed doing what I would do even if it weren't my job. But I also read P.G. Wodehouse and comics, especially vintage newspaper comics (Krazy Kat, 1930's Popeye) and the great Disney duck artist, Carl Barks. I like to visit art museums (I have really missed being able to do this during the pandemic), and I get a lot of energy from being in the presence of great visual art. I can probably outlast anybody on a museum day; no brag just fact. I don't watch much TV or follow sports, so comic books and art are kind of my equivalent.

My wife Susan and I met when we were 11 years old, and have been married for 31 years. She's a math teacher and is the director of children's ministries at our home church, Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada. Grace has been our home since we moved to southern California, and while I don't want to suggest that it's perfect or anything, being involved in a good, Bible-teaching church is the main thing that has kept me sane and balanced in this wild twenty-first century. We have two adult kids, both in college and both living at home with us. And a variety of pets indoor and out; it's complicated.

Last, what is something that excites or encourages you about the theology conference we're putting together here at FBA?

I'm looking forward to meeting the people who come to a church-based theology conference on the Trinity: these are bound to be my kind of people. It'll be great to be in Tennessee for a bit. And I'm a fan and admirer of both Madison Pierce and Brandon Smith, so it's an honor to get to collaborate with them on an event like this. Thanks for putting it together!

You can register for our Spring Theology Conference for free via our Church Center registrations page. Hope to see you there!

]]>
Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Fred Sanders.

Dr. Sanders is one of the speakers for our 2022 Spring Theology Conference on the Trinity. If you haven't registered yet, make sure you do so by clicking this link—it's free!

For the last several years of my life, I've made a rule: if Fred Sanders says it about the Trinity, you should take it seriously. He is a picture of a theologian who loves the local church, and I am so excited to bring him to FBA. He has written several excellent books and is one of my absolute favorite theologians in the evangelical world today. I hope you enjoy our chat with him!

Interview

Dr. Sanders, thanks for talking to me! It's hard to put into words how excited I am you are part of this conference. Could you share a little about your background, especially as it pertains to your research and work on the doctrine of the Trinity?

I grew up Pentecostal in Southern California, but got saved in a Methodist youth group revival in Kentucky at age sixteen. From the very beginning of my Christian life, I knew I wanted to study the Bible and maybe even teach it. In fact, a deep hunger for God's word was one of the first clear signs of regeneration in my life. But the only people I knew who worked with the Bible full-time were pastors, and even at a young age I could tell that pastoring was not a good vocational fit for me. So I continued to study the Bible privately while pursuing art (drawing and printmaking) in college (Murray State University). I was a first-generation college student with no academic or professional network to draw on, so I was a little disoriented for a while. Here's the thing: I didn't even know there was such a thing as theology! As soon as I learned that theologians existed, I knew I wanted to try to be one. 

In the meantime, the more I read the Bible, the clearer it became to me that the one God behind salvation was somehow simultaneously Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that this threeness in God explained why the gospel was what it was. I barely knew how to talk about it at the time, but I increasingly saw it as the main point of Ephesians, Hebrews, and the Gospel of John. To be honest, I sometimes worried that my private Bible reading was turning  me into a weirdo who was inventing strange, new doctrines. Imagine my relief to read people like C.S. Lewis and J.I. Packer, and discover that my strange, new doctrine was in fact plain old normal Christian belief. I sometimes say that one reason I am so committed to the doctrine of the Trinity is that I invented it myself in high school. But in all seriousness, the fact that I found the Trinity in Scripture with pretty minimal guidance from traditional authorities does tend to make me pretty skeptical when somebody claims the Trinity isn't scriptural. I really do think I found it there. (I freely admit that I recited the Apostles' Creed at church and sang hymns by Charles Wesley, so I can't pretend there was no theology at all getting pumped into my thought life.)

Seminary training (at Asbury Theological Seminary) cleared up a lot of confusion for me, and gave me a chance to explore just how central the doctrine of the Trinity is: central both in the history of the church, and in the structure of Christian faith. I don't claim that all roads in theology lead to the Trinity, but I will definitely say that from the Trinity there are roads out into every part of Christian theology. From that insight, my path as a theologian has been very clear: I got a PhD on the topic in Berkeley and have been studying and teaching it ever since.

Relatedly, fill us in on how you got to Biola and what all you do there.

Biola was my first job after grad school, and I've stayed here since being hired in 1999. My full-time teaching  position is in our Honors College, which means that I teach undergraduates at the general education level. My students are getting majors in every field at the university, but they come together to read a common curriculum on the Great Books model: Homer,  Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and so on. It's an unusual job for a systematic theologian, and it means there's a pretty big gap between what I do in my day job and what I write about as a scholar, but I love the breadth of  it, and I've been formed by getting to spend all this time with classic texts and sharp college students. Our class sessions are three-hour group discussions of great books, in which we professors are supposed to lead Socratically, that is, by only asking questions. We like to say the books are the teachers (so come study with Plato and Aristotle and Moses and Paul) and the faculty are the guides or tutors who help the students engage with those classic texts. I also helped design the M.A. in Classical Theology at Biola's Talbot School of Theology, and I teach in that program as well. It's a short master's degree that basically applies our Honors College approach to seminary work: classic primary texts, processed in group discussions, focused on grasping the organic unity of all theology.

Tying in to the conference theme, you'll be speaking on the Trinity and Salvation. I know it's a broad topic, but how do you see the doctrine of the Trinity specifically relating to the ways we think about the idea of "salvation?"

My life message is that the Trinity and the gospel go together. If I could do one thing to help people understand the doctrine of the Trinity, it would be to get inside their minds where the habits of associative thinking are rooted, and make them associate Trinity and gospel so closely that every time they think of one, they immediately think of the other. Everything we believe about salvation makes so much more sense when we consider what it has to do with the Father (who so loved the world that he gave his Son, John 3:16), the Son (who loved me and gave himself for me, Gal 2:20), and the Holy Spirit (who we received so that we may understand what God has freely given us, I Cor 2:12). When I say salvation makes more sense in Trinitarian terms, what I mean is that what you already understand is true so far as it goes, but that when you let trinitarian theology illuminate it, your understanding of salvation deepens; it takes on greater depth.

Outside of your theological work (and your top-tier social media game), what do you spend your time doing? Tell us a little about yourself, your family, your church life, etc.

I read for fun, which includes reading all sorts of theology: my wife points out that it's a very good thing I am employed doing what I would do even if it weren't my job. But I also read P.G. Wodehouse and comics, especially vintage newspaper comics (Krazy Kat, 1930's Popeye) and the great Disney duck artist, Carl Barks. I like to visit art museums (I have really missed being able to do this during the pandemic), and I get a lot of energy from being in the presence of great visual art. I can probably outlast anybody on a museum day; no brag just fact. I don't watch much TV or follow sports, so comic books and art are kind of my equivalent.

My wife Susan and I met when we were 11 years old, and have been married for 31 years. She's a math teacher and is the director of children's ministries at our home church, Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada. Grace has been our home since we moved to southern California, and while I don't want to suggest that it's perfect or anything, being involved in a good, Bible-teaching church is the main thing that has kept me sane and balanced in this wild twenty-first century. We have two adult kids, both in college and both living at home with us. And a variety of pets indoor and out; it's complicated.

Last, what is something that excites or encourages you about the theology conference we're putting together here at FBA?

I'm looking forward to meeting the people who come to a church-based theology conference on the Trinity: these are bound to be my kind of people. It'll be great to be in Tennessee for a bit. And I'm a fan and admirer of both Madison Pierce and Brandon Smith, so it's an honor to get to collaborate with them on an event like this. Thanks for putting it together!

You can register for our Spring Theology Conference for free via our Church Center registrations page. Hope to see you there!

]]>
Meet the Speakers: Madison Pierce https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-madison-pierce https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-madison-pierce#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2022 13:00:00 -0500 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-madison-pierce Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Madison Pierce.

Dr. Pierce is one of the speakers for our 2022 Spring Theology Conference on the Trinity. If you haven't registered yet, make sure you do so by clicking this link—it's free!

It was a joy to get to Zoom with Dr. Pierce to talk about her background, her research, and her family. I hold a deep respect for her work, and she has always been generous with her time and kindness toward me, particularly as I have navigated being an early doctoral student. She has made an impact on the way I read Scripture, and I hope that when you hear her talk at the conference you'll be able to say the same!

Interview

Dr. Pierce! It’s great to get to talk. I know you are a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and you went to Durham, but tell us a little more about yourself. How did you get into doing theological work? 

I felt called to teach when I was really young. I realized as a teenager that I loved teaching people—and I loved theology—so I thought, “I have to find a way to keep doing this.” I went to Trinity for my Masters program, where they encouraged me to look overseas, and I ended up at Durham.
Durham is a really special place because it’s very comfortable for those who are confessional but also very open for those studying theology without a faith commitment. There, I also met Lewis Ayres and Francis Watson, who taught me to read Scripture with a Trinitarian lens. 

Your dissertation, which was later published as a book, offered something of a Trinitarian reading of the book of Hebrews. Could you explain a little bit about what your research area is and how you read Hebrews? 

My research primarily has two different focal points.
The first is the Book of Hebrews—"all Hebrews, all the time!" I’ve done a range of work on themes in Hebrews or theology in Hebrews.
The second could be thought of as “the use of scripture”—either texts that different communities saw as sacred or, of course, how we would typically understand Scripture as the Word of God. 

My book really lies at the intersection of the two. The author of Hebrews frames and presents quotations of scripture as the speech of God. But what’s really interesting is that, by doing that, the author of Hebrews helps us understand that these quotations are the speech of God.

So, obviously our conference at FBA is focused on the Trinity and the local church. The topic you’re dealing with is the Trinity and Scripture. How do you see those two topics interacting? 

All Scripture is Trinitarian because it points to a Triune God, but not all Scripture teaches the Trinity in the same way. Sometimes, if we don’t see a specific Trinitarian formula in the text—if it doesn’t mention Father, Son, Spirit or have a threefold structure—we assume a text isn’t Trinitarian. And, relatedly, we need to be sure to ask what a text is teaching about the Trinity instead of being content to just affirm that it is a Christian teaching. 

Something I’m really thrilled to do is bring some of my favorite people to Tennessee and let them meet the people at our church. What’s something that people might want to know about you and your family? 

I don’t remember if I told you this, but my husband Curtis really loves Nashville! 

As a family, we love to be outdoors—we kayak, go on walks. Curtis and I love to play board games. Isla (our child) technically thinks she plays board games, but . . . she does not. We do have a dog, Izzy, too, who is important to us.

Last question: what is most encouraging or exciting about being part of the conference at FBA? 

I’m super excited to hang out with Brandon and Fred—they are some of my favorite theologians. But, aside from that, it’s always exciting to me to be able to teach doctrine in the local church. All theology is practical, so I think going into a church and teaching the Trinity is showing how it’s practical. I’m really excited about that.

You can register for our Spring Theology Conference for free via our Church Center registrations page. Hope to see you there!

 

]]>
Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Madison Pierce.

Dr. Pierce is one of the speakers for our 2022 Spring Theology Conference on the Trinity. If you haven't registered yet, make sure you do so by clicking this link—it's free!

It was a joy to get to Zoom with Dr. Pierce to talk about her background, her research, and her family. I hold a deep respect for her work, and she has always been generous with her time and kindness toward me, particularly as I have navigated being an early doctoral student. She has made an impact on the way I read Scripture, and I hope that when you hear her talk at the conference you'll be able to say the same!

Interview

Dr. Pierce! It’s great to get to talk. I know you are a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and you went to Durham, but tell us a little more about yourself. How did you get into doing theological work? 

I felt called to teach when I was really young. I realized as a teenager that I loved teaching people—and I loved theology—so I thought, “I have to find a way to keep doing this.” I went to Trinity for my Masters program, where they encouraged me to look overseas, and I ended up at Durham.
Durham is a really special place because it’s very comfortable for those who are confessional but also very open for those studying theology without a faith commitment. There, I also met Lewis Ayres and Francis Watson, who taught me to read Scripture with a Trinitarian lens. 

Your dissertation, which was later published as a book, offered something of a Trinitarian reading of the book of Hebrews. Could you explain a little bit about what your research area is and how you read Hebrews? 

My research primarily has two different focal points.
The first is the Book of Hebrews—"all Hebrews, all the time!" I’ve done a range of work on themes in Hebrews or theology in Hebrews.
The second could be thought of as “the use of scripture”—either texts that different communities saw as sacred or, of course, how we would typically understand Scripture as the Word of God. 

My book really lies at the intersection of the two. The author of Hebrews frames and presents quotations of scripture as the speech of God. But what’s really interesting is that, by doing that, the author of Hebrews helps us understand that these quotations are the speech of God.

So, obviously our conference at FBA is focused on the Trinity and the local church. The topic you’re dealing with is the Trinity and Scripture. How do you see those two topics interacting? 

All Scripture is Trinitarian because it points to a Triune God, but not all Scripture teaches the Trinity in the same way. Sometimes, if we don’t see a specific Trinitarian formula in the text—if it doesn’t mention Father, Son, Spirit or have a threefold structure—we assume a text isn’t Trinitarian. And, relatedly, we need to be sure to ask what a text is teaching about the Trinity instead of being content to just affirm that it is a Christian teaching. 

Something I’m really thrilled to do is bring some of my favorite people to Tennessee and let them meet the people at our church. What’s something that people might want to know about you and your family? 

I don’t remember if I told you this, but my husband Curtis really loves Nashville! 

As a family, we love to be outdoors—we kayak, go on walks. Curtis and I love to play board games. Isla (our child) technically thinks she plays board games, but . . . she does not. We do have a dog, Izzy, too, who is important to us.

Last question: what is most encouraging or exciting about being part of the conference at FBA? 

I’m super excited to hang out with Brandon and Fred—they are some of my favorite theologians. But, aside from that, it’s always exciting to me to be able to teach doctrine in the local church. All theology is practical, so I think going into a church and teaching the Trinity is showing how it’s practical. I’m really excited about that.

You can register for our Spring Theology Conference for free via our Church Center registrations page. Hope to see you there!

 

]]>
Meet the Speakers: Brandon Smith https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-brandon-smith https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-brandon-smith#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2022 13:00:00 -0500 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/meet-the-speakers-brandon-smith

Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Brandon Smith.

Dr. Smith is one of the speakers for our 2022 Spring Theology Conference on the Trinity. If you haven't registered yet, make sure you do so by clicking this link—it's free!

Dr. Smith has been a close friend of mine for years now, and I'm very much excited to introduce him to our family at FBA. Of all the people I know, he is maybe the best example of excellent and humble scholarship in the service of the local church. He is a mentor and role model for me, and I think you'll enjoy getting to hear from him.

Interview

Dr. Smith, so good to chat. I'm using this series to introduce our church to the speakers in advance of our conference, so could you share a little bit about yourself—how you ended up studying at Ridley, your background, and more about your position at Cedarville?

I didn't grow up in a Christian home, but was saved in my teen years. After some prodigal wandering in my early 20s, I felt called to ministry and pretty quickly felt like academic ministry was where I wanted to be. I pastored and worked in other ministry settings for over a decade as I worked my way through school in preparation for academic ministry. 

In order to be a professor, it's all but required to earn a PhD. After I finished my master's work, I was looking for a program that would be outside my comfort zone (denominationally, geographically, etc.) and one that would challenge me as an academic. I ended up at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia because it checked all of those boxes, and I was able to study with a world-class scholar as my supervisor. 

About a year before graduating, Cedarville University contacted me about an open teaching position. Cedarville was already one of my dream scenarios and, after much prayer and consulting with mentors and friends, we moved here in 2019. At Cedarville, I mostly teach theology, church history, and hermeneutics courses. The majority of my classes are filled with students from across the spectrum of degree programs—from pharmacy to engineering to computer programming—so I get to teach theology to laypeople most of my day, which allows me to have a pastoral presence and not merely be sequestered off into an ivory tower.

Your doctoral work (and soon to be book!) was primarily focused on a Trinitarian reading of the book of Revelation. Tell us a little about what you tried to say in it.

The big picture idea was to argue that beyond all the debates Revelation brings out—the "end times," the "Antichrist," etc.—the main point is the triune God's redemption of all things. In short, I argue that a Trinitarian reading of Revelation brings coherence and clarity to the book, and that we should first read Revelation in light of who God is long before we begin debates about eschatology. 

The topic you're tackling at the conference is the Trinity and the Christian life. What can we take away practically from the doctrine of the Trinity? Does it have implications for how we live our lives?

The doctrine of the Trinity just is the Christian doctrine of God. Since this is true, the doctrine of the Trinity is the most practical doctrine in Christianity because it's the most foundational. Who God is, and who we are in relation to him, shapes how we view the world and how we live within it. Knowing and loving our triune God and the salvation he offers is the orienting principle of the Christian life. 

I know you've mentioned a few projects you're working on. What can the folks at FBA stay tuned and look forward to seeing from you soon?

I've also recently submitted the manuscript for a short book on how to see the Trinity in the biblical storyline, focusing on 16 passages. This book will likely be around 150 pages and is hopefully written accessibly for pastors and thoughtful laypeople. 

Last question: what encourages you or excites you about being part of our theology conference this year?

I love the university and seminary settings, but the local church is the hub of Christian life and community, so there's no better place for a theology conference than in the local church, for the local church. I'm also excited to spend this time with my friends Drs. Pierce and Sanders, both of whom have taught me much about knowing and loving the triune God!

You can register for our Spring Theology Conference for free via our Church Center registrations page. Hope to see you there!

]]>

Today, we're sitting down to talk with Dr. Brandon Smith.

Dr. Smith is one of the speakers for our 2022 Spring Theology Conference on the Trinity. If you haven't registered yet, make sure you do so by clicking this link—it's free!

Dr. Smith has been a close friend of mine for years now, and I'm very much excited to introduce him to our family at FBA. Of all the people I know, he is maybe the best example of excellent and humble scholarship in the service of the local church. He is a mentor and role model for me, and I think you'll enjoy getting to hear from him.

Interview

Dr. Smith, so good to chat. I'm using this series to introduce our church to the speakers in advance of our conference, so could you share a little bit about yourself—how you ended up studying at Ridley, your background, and more about your position at Cedarville?

I didn't grow up in a Christian home, but was saved in my teen years. After some prodigal wandering in my early 20s, I felt called to ministry and pretty quickly felt like academic ministry was where I wanted to be. I pastored and worked in other ministry settings for over a decade as I worked my way through school in preparation for academic ministry. 

In order to be a professor, it's all but required to earn a PhD. After I finished my master's work, I was looking for a program that would be outside my comfort zone (denominationally, geographically, etc.) and one that would challenge me as an academic. I ended up at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia because it checked all of those boxes, and I was able to study with a world-class scholar as my supervisor. 

About a year before graduating, Cedarville University contacted me about an open teaching position. Cedarville was already one of my dream scenarios and, after much prayer and consulting with mentors and friends, we moved here in 2019. At Cedarville, I mostly teach theology, church history, and hermeneutics courses. The majority of my classes are filled with students from across the spectrum of degree programs—from pharmacy to engineering to computer programming—so I get to teach theology to laypeople most of my day, which allows me to have a pastoral presence and not merely be sequestered off into an ivory tower.

Your doctoral work (and soon to be book!) was primarily focused on a Trinitarian reading of the book of Revelation. Tell us a little about what you tried to say in it.

The big picture idea was to argue that beyond all the debates Revelation brings out—the "end times," the "Antichrist," etc.—the main point is the triune God's redemption of all things. In short, I argue that a Trinitarian reading of Revelation brings coherence and clarity to the book, and that we should first read Revelation in light of who God is long before we begin debates about eschatology. 

The topic you're tackling at the conference is the Trinity and the Christian life. What can we take away practically from the doctrine of the Trinity? Does it have implications for how we live our lives?

The doctrine of the Trinity just is the Christian doctrine of God. Since this is true, the doctrine of the Trinity is the most practical doctrine in Christianity because it's the most foundational. Who God is, and who we are in relation to him, shapes how we view the world and how we live within it. Knowing and loving our triune God and the salvation he offers is the orienting principle of the Christian life. 

I know you've mentioned a few projects you're working on. What can the folks at FBA stay tuned and look forward to seeing from you soon?

I've also recently submitted the manuscript for a short book on how to see the Trinity in the biblical storyline, focusing on 16 passages. This book will likely be around 150 pages and is hopefully written accessibly for pastors and thoughtful laypeople. 

Last question: what encourages you or excites you about being part of our theology conference this year?

I love the university and seminary settings, but the local church is the hub of Christian life and community, so there's no better place for a theology conference than in the local church, for the local church. I'm also excited to spend this time with my friends Drs. Pierce and Sanders, both of whom have taught me much about knowing and loving the triune God!

You can register for our Spring Theology Conference for free via our Church Center registrations page. Hope to see you there!

]]>
Criticisms of Expository Preaching (Part Three) https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/criticisms-of- https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/criticisms-of-#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2021 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/criticisms-of- Every preaching or teaching style or philosophy will certainly have its detractors.

This post will address two points that some give in opposition to expository preaching. They are that it is often too intellectual and that it is too Western in its approach. What I will show is that these arguments have validity, but only when the preaching is poorly done. Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix address this:

One of the facts of life is that people react against shoddy work. The majority of the criticisms raised against expository preaching are not justified with regard to the approach itself, but they are justified with regard to the approach poorly done. People do not disdain expository preaching; they disdain poor expository preaching. Some preachers have fallen prey to certain dangers in expository preaching and have, consequently, abused the approach. These abuses have caused expository preaching to fall into disrepute along the way. Like the careful driver on a well-travelled highway, the pastor will do well to avoid certain potholes along the road to exposition.[1]

Plenty of men go into the pulpit with a great deal of knowledge, correct theology, and solid motives, only to put people to sleep. Expository preaching that is focused on the gospel and teaches the church sound doctrine should never be boring.

The first common complaint that preachers hear is that expository preaching is often too intellectual. Vines and Shaddix write that simply using exegetical research in the pulpit will frustrate the church. They add, “You cannot afford to take your Bible bullets and toss them at your congregation. You must organize them and then systematically fire them. If you structure your sermon well, you will be far ahead in your attempt to get the biblical message across to a contemporary audience.”[2]

In Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art, Henry Mitchell writes that one of the main reasons white pastors have such a struggle connecting with black Christians one needs to look at the history of the church. He writes, “It might now be asked why audible response or dialogue disappeared from mainline Protestant patterns of worship. One guess is that the preaching material soared beyond the intellectual reach of the congregation.” He notes that worship in white churches and black churches were very similar in the Great Awakenings in the United States, but the intellectual pursuits took white churches beyond where black churches were comfortable going. Mitchell continues:

This occurred, perhaps, because Protestant seminaries had engaged in a contest of one-upmanship with the graduate division of the liberal arts colleges, creating scholars instead of professionals skilled in reaching people. With such standard conditioning in the theological schools, the preacher might well be expected to be intellectual in concerns rather than interested in the day-to-day issues of ordinary people.[3]

Lenora Tubbs Tisdale, a mainline Protestant like Mitchell, claims that many seminary courses in preaching give far more attention to exegesis of the biblical text than they do to the exegesis of the congregations and contests. She notes, “The assumption is (erroneously) made that while students need well-defined procedures for exegeting the Scriptures, they can rely on intuition and instinct alone for exegeting congregations.”[4] Knowing both the congregation and the community is essential if the preacher wants to avoid being too scholarly.

Jim Scott Orrick, a conservative Baptist, tells a story he heard of an older preacher teaching a younger preacher:

The older preacher was a southern gentleman, and the younger preacher was what they sometimes call a “boy preacher.” Apparently, this boy preacher had a pretty sharp mind but did not know how to use it discreetly in the pulpit. The older gentleman said to him, “Boy preacher, you is one of the finest doctrinal preacher I has ever heard. But you are giving the people too much meat. You are going to leave them constipated. You need to throw in a little boonana pudding.” For years this story has reminded me to throw in something a little lighter, a little more digestible, a story or a proverb, to help the doctrine “go down.”[5]

Putting the “cookies on the bottom shelf” is not dumbing down the text. The skill of being a good expositor is finding the balance between exegesis of the text and exegesis of the people. When these are in the right place, the sermon is challenging and accessible all at the same time.

The second common complaint is that expository preaching is too Western in its approach. In other words, expository preaching has a long history of white, European influence. The explanation for the differences between black and white preaching can be found in music. Preaching has a musical quality about it: the tone of voice, rhyme, and cadence all work together to create a harmonious sermon. The difference, however, comes in the very different styles of music that underscore the respective homiletical delivery.

More than a few authors have described the differences in preaching style the same way that jazz is different from classical. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes preaching as a symphony:

I maintain that a sermon should have form in the sense that a musical symphony has form. A symphony always has form, it has its parts and its portions. The divisions are clear, and are recognized, and can be described; and yet a symphony is a whole. You can divide it into parts, and yet you always realize that they are parts of a whole, and that the whole is more than the mere summation or aggregate of the parts. One should always think of a sermon as a construction, a work which is in that way comparable to a symphony. In other words a sermon is not a mere meandering through a number of verses; it is not a mere collection or series of excellent and true statements and remarks. All those should be found in the sermon, but they do not constitute a sermon. What makes a sermon a sermon is that it has this particular “form” which differentiates it from everything else.[6]

A listener of a well-crafted and well-delivered sermon can see what Lloyd-Jones means. The sermon is composed of many different points, yet it comes to its crescendo in Christ. Each story and illustration work together like the different instruments in a symphony, all working together to form something organized and harmonious.

In my next post, I will attempt to show that studying one’s congregation is essential to communicate well through a sermon.

 

[1] Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Delivery Expository Sermons (Chicago: Moody, 1999), 37.

[2] Vines and Shaddix, 143.

[3] Henry H. Mitchell, Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990), 104.

[4] Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1997), 22-23.

[5] Jim Scott Orrick, Brian Payne, and Ryan Fullerton, Encountering God Through Expository Preaching: Connecting God’s People to God’s Presence Through God’s Word (Nashville: B&H, 2017), 17.

[6] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching & Preachers, 40th Anniversary Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 83.

]]>
Every preaching or teaching style or philosophy will certainly have its detractors.

This post will address two points that some give in opposition to expository preaching. They are that it is often too intellectual and that it is too Western in its approach. What I will show is that these arguments have validity, but only when the preaching is poorly done. Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix address this:

One of the facts of life is that people react against shoddy work. The majority of the criticisms raised against expository preaching are not justified with regard to the approach itself, but they are justified with regard to the approach poorly done. People do not disdain expository preaching; they disdain poor expository preaching. Some preachers have fallen prey to certain dangers in expository preaching and have, consequently, abused the approach. These abuses have caused expository preaching to fall into disrepute along the way. Like the careful driver on a well-travelled highway, the pastor will do well to avoid certain potholes along the road to exposition.[1]

Plenty of men go into the pulpit with a great deal of knowledge, correct theology, and solid motives, only to put people to sleep. Expository preaching that is focused on the gospel and teaches the church sound doctrine should never be boring.

The first common complaint that preachers hear is that expository preaching is often too intellectual. Vines and Shaddix write that simply using exegetical research in the pulpit will frustrate the church. They add, “You cannot afford to take your Bible bullets and toss them at your congregation. You must organize them and then systematically fire them. If you structure your sermon well, you will be far ahead in your attempt to get the biblical message across to a contemporary audience.”[2]

In Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art, Henry Mitchell writes that one of the main reasons white pastors have such a struggle connecting with black Christians one needs to look at the history of the church. He writes, “It might now be asked why audible response or dialogue disappeared from mainline Protestant patterns of worship. One guess is that the preaching material soared beyond the intellectual reach of the congregation.” He notes that worship in white churches and black churches were very similar in the Great Awakenings in the United States, but the intellectual pursuits took white churches beyond where black churches were comfortable going. Mitchell continues:

This occurred, perhaps, because Protestant seminaries had engaged in a contest of one-upmanship with the graduate division of the liberal arts colleges, creating scholars instead of professionals skilled in reaching people. With such standard conditioning in the theological schools, the preacher might well be expected to be intellectual in concerns rather than interested in the day-to-day issues of ordinary people.[3]

Lenora Tubbs Tisdale, a mainline Protestant like Mitchell, claims that many seminary courses in preaching give far more attention to exegesis of the biblical text than they do to the exegesis of the congregations and contests. She notes, “The assumption is (erroneously) made that while students need well-defined procedures for exegeting the Scriptures, they can rely on intuition and instinct alone for exegeting congregations.”[4] Knowing both the congregation and the community is essential if the preacher wants to avoid being too scholarly.

Jim Scott Orrick, a conservative Baptist, tells a story he heard of an older preacher teaching a younger preacher:

The older preacher was a southern gentleman, and the younger preacher was what they sometimes call a “boy preacher.” Apparently, this boy preacher had a pretty sharp mind but did not know how to use it discreetly in the pulpit. The older gentleman said to him, “Boy preacher, you is one of the finest doctrinal preacher I has ever heard. But you are giving the people too much meat. You are going to leave them constipated. You need to throw in a little boonana pudding.” For years this story has reminded me to throw in something a little lighter, a little more digestible, a story or a proverb, to help the doctrine “go down.”[5]

Putting the “cookies on the bottom shelf” is not dumbing down the text. The skill of being a good expositor is finding the balance between exegesis of the text and exegesis of the people. When these are in the right place, the sermon is challenging and accessible all at the same time.

The second common complaint is that expository preaching is too Western in its approach. In other words, expository preaching has a long history of white, European influence. The explanation for the differences between black and white preaching can be found in music. Preaching has a musical quality about it: the tone of voice, rhyme, and cadence all work together to create a harmonious sermon. The difference, however, comes in the very different styles of music that underscore the respective homiletical delivery.

More than a few authors have described the differences in preaching style the same way that jazz is different from classical. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes preaching as a symphony:

I maintain that a sermon should have form in the sense that a musical symphony has form. A symphony always has form, it has its parts and its portions. The divisions are clear, and are recognized, and can be described; and yet a symphony is a whole. You can divide it into parts, and yet you always realize that they are parts of a whole, and that the whole is more than the mere summation or aggregate of the parts. One should always think of a sermon as a construction, a work which is in that way comparable to a symphony. In other words a sermon is not a mere meandering through a number of verses; it is not a mere collection or series of excellent and true statements and remarks. All those should be found in the sermon, but they do not constitute a sermon. What makes a sermon a sermon is that it has this particular “form” which differentiates it from everything else.[6]

A listener of a well-crafted and well-delivered sermon can see what Lloyd-Jones means. The sermon is composed of many different points, yet it comes to its crescendo in Christ. Each story and illustration work together like the different instruments in a symphony, all working together to form something organized and harmonious.

In my next post, I will attempt to show that studying one’s congregation is essential to communicate well through a sermon.

 

[1] Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Delivery Expository Sermons (Chicago: Moody, 1999), 37.

[2] Vines and Shaddix, 143.

[3] Henry H. Mitchell, Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990), 104.

[4] Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1997), 22-23.

[5] Jim Scott Orrick, Brian Payne, and Ryan Fullerton, Encountering God Through Expository Preaching: Connecting God’s People to God’s Presence Through God’s Word (Nashville: B&H, 2017), 17.

[6] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching & Preachers, 40th Anniversary Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 83.

]]>
Is Expository Preaching Too Scholarly? (Part Two) https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/is-expository-preaching-too-scholarly--part-two- https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/is-expository-preaching-too-scholarly--part-two-#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2021 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/is-expository-preaching-too-scholarly--part-two- As much as expository preaching exalts Jesus Christ, there are risks.

To be sure, most of these risks are mitigated by being prepared before stepping into the pulpit and being passionate about the text. The criticisms that preachers sometimes hear do, however, carry some weight. The first complaint that I hear is that expository preaching is often too scholarly or intellectual. I’m certainly not an expert theologian, but I’ve often said that I could confuse my church rather easily by simply not defining theological terms. Robert Smith writes:

People come off the streets who have never picked up a Bible. They are often bombarded with these theological words—justification, sanctification, propitiation, glorification, and the like. They do not understand these terms. We must not jettison or discard traditional theological terms. They must be rebaptized in the solution of contemporary relevance. The traditional theological dictionary must remain the same while the contemporary relevant vocabulary and terminology correspond to the precise meaning of the biblical and theological terms.[1]

Any preacher who is well-read can use big theological words, but they would only impress those who are either seminary trained or those who have spent a lot of time studying. The overwhelming majority of church members and attendees would be confused, making it difficult to follow the rest of the sermon.

The Sunday morning sermon is not a Ph.D. seminar or a demonstration of the preacher’s intellectual capacity. There is certainly truth in the old saying that preachers need to “keep the cookies on the bottom shelf,” meaning that the sermon should be accessible to all who are listening, not just the educated or intellectual. Stott aptly notes: “To preach…over people’s head, is to forget who they are. As Spurgeon once commented, ‘Christ said, ‘Feed my sheep…Feed my lambs.’’ Some preachers, however, put the food so high that neither lambs nor sheep can reach it. They seem to have the read the text, ‘Feed my giraffes.’”[2] A pastor once told me that he thought about a certain person in his church every time he prepared to preach because that person was neither educated nor of high intellect. She loved Jesus, though, and his responsibility to her was to make sure that she learned about Jesus and how to apply the gospel through his preaching. Tony Merida warns against using overly academic language in our preaching: “The overall truth to remember in explaining is to avoid overly academic language. Luther said that when he preached, he aimed at the youth in the church, not the highly educated. Refrain from trying to impress people with your personal study. Make the text plain and understandable, so that you teach the text to all of the listeners.”[3]

In connecting with the people, the preacher can quickly become consumed with keeping things so simple that he fails to challenge his listeners, thus stunting their growth. I believe that the primary way a church is discipled is through the regular preaching each week, so there must be intellectual challenges for the audience. In other words, the cookies need to be accessible, but they can’t stay there. Stott argues:

Although we must not overestimate our congregation’s intellectual capacity, we must not underestimate it either. My plea is that we treat them as real people with real questions; that we grapple in our sermons with real issues; and that we build bridges into the real world in which they live and love, work and play, laugh and weep, struggle and suffer, grow old and die. We have to provoke them to think about their life in all its moods, to challenge them to make Jesus Christ the Lord of every area of it, and to demonstrate his contemporary relevance.[4]

The task of every preacher is to know the Bible with enough knowledge to keep people engaged and to know the people enough to speak to the challenges and difficulties they face.

[1] Robert Smith Jr., Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life (Nashville: B&H, 2008), 86.

[2] John Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), 146-147.

[3] Tony Merida, The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers (Nashville: B&H, 2016), 180.

[4] Stott, 147.

]]>
As much as expository preaching exalts Jesus Christ, there are risks.

To be sure, most of these risks are mitigated by being prepared before stepping into the pulpit and being passionate about the text. The criticisms that preachers sometimes hear do, however, carry some weight. The first complaint that I hear is that expository preaching is often too scholarly or intellectual. I’m certainly not an expert theologian, but I’ve often said that I could confuse my church rather easily by simply not defining theological terms. Robert Smith writes:

People come off the streets who have never picked up a Bible. They are often bombarded with these theological words—justification, sanctification, propitiation, glorification, and the like. They do not understand these terms. We must not jettison or discard traditional theological terms. They must be rebaptized in the solution of contemporary relevance. The traditional theological dictionary must remain the same while the contemporary relevant vocabulary and terminology correspond to the precise meaning of the biblical and theological terms.[1]

Any preacher who is well-read can use big theological words, but they would only impress those who are either seminary trained or those who have spent a lot of time studying. The overwhelming majority of church members and attendees would be confused, making it difficult to follow the rest of the sermon.

The Sunday morning sermon is not a Ph.D. seminar or a demonstration of the preacher’s intellectual capacity. There is certainly truth in the old saying that preachers need to “keep the cookies on the bottom shelf,” meaning that the sermon should be accessible to all who are listening, not just the educated or intellectual. Stott aptly notes: “To preach…over people’s head, is to forget who they are. As Spurgeon once commented, ‘Christ said, ‘Feed my sheep…Feed my lambs.’’ Some preachers, however, put the food so high that neither lambs nor sheep can reach it. They seem to have the read the text, ‘Feed my giraffes.’”[2] A pastor once told me that he thought about a certain person in his church every time he prepared to preach because that person was neither educated nor of high intellect. She loved Jesus, though, and his responsibility to her was to make sure that she learned about Jesus and how to apply the gospel through his preaching. Tony Merida warns against using overly academic language in our preaching: “The overall truth to remember in explaining is to avoid overly academic language. Luther said that when he preached, he aimed at the youth in the church, not the highly educated. Refrain from trying to impress people with your personal study. Make the text plain and understandable, so that you teach the text to all of the listeners.”[3]

In connecting with the people, the preacher can quickly become consumed with keeping things so simple that he fails to challenge his listeners, thus stunting their growth. I believe that the primary way a church is discipled is through the regular preaching each week, so there must be intellectual challenges for the audience. In other words, the cookies need to be accessible, but they can’t stay there. Stott argues:

Although we must not overestimate our congregation’s intellectual capacity, we must not underestimate it either. My plea is that we treat them as real people with real questions; that we grapple in our sermons with real issues; and that we build bridges into the real world in which they live and love, work and play, laugh and weep, struggle and suffer, grow old and die. We have to provoke them to think about their life in all its moods, to challenge them to make Jesus Christ the Lord of every area of it, and to demonstrate his contemporary relevance.[4]

The task of every preacher is to know the Bible with enough knowledge to keep people engaged and to know the people enough to speak to the challenges and difficulties they face.

[1] Robert Smith Jr., Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life (Nashville: B&H, 2008), 86.

[2] John Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), 146-147.

[3] Tony Merida, The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers (Nashville: B&H, 2016), 180.

[4] Stott, 147.

]]>
What is Expository Preaching? (Part One) https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/what-is-expository-preaching--part-one- https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/what-is-expository-preaching--part-one-#comments Wed, 22 Sep 2021 10:00:00 -0400 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/what-is-expository-preaching--part-one- Expository preaching is a term that is widely used but there are some variations in its usage and definition.

The definition I have used throughout my ministry is that an expository sermon will make the main idea of the passage the main idea of the sermon. A sermon can be one verse or an entire book of the Bible as long as the focus of the biblical passage is the main focus of the sermon. This is the main goal of expository preaching: to expose what the Bible says to the church.

Doing this is more than just a preferred method or style of communication. An expositor chooses to do the hard work of working through difficult books and passages because he has a high view of Scripture. He sees the worth of God’s Word as infinitely more valuable than his own ideas or creativity. David Helm writes, “Expositional preaching is empowered preaching that rightfully submits the shape and emphasis of the sermon to the shape and emphasis of a biblical text.”[1] In other words, the practice of expository preaching is a tangible way to show how the preacher values the Bible because he allows it to drive his sermons. Tim Keller notes, “Expository preaching is the best method for displaying and conveying your conviction that the whole Bible is true. This approach testifies that you believe every part of the Bible to be God’s Word, not just particular themes and not just the parts you feel comfortable agreeing with.”[2]

A preacher who has a high view of Scripture should be drawn to expository preaching because it values God’s Word above all human wisdom. Tony Merida explains, “Preaching, then, is about making God’s Word known publicly to a particular audience. More specifically, faithful preaching involves explaining what God has said in his Word, declaring what God has done in his Son, and applying this message to the hearts of people. The best approach for accomplishing this agenda is expository preaching.”[3] The Word must dictate and direct how we preach and what we preach. Haddon Robinson observes:

If expository preaching—which is biblical preaching—is the most relevant message we can offer to our hearers, then what do we mean by expository preaching? In the broadest sense, it is preaching that draws its substance from the Scriptures. Actually, true exposition is more of an attitude than a method. It is the honest answer to the questions, “Do I subject my thought to the Scriptures, or do I subject the Scriptures to my thought?” Those are not the same questions as, “Is my sermon theologically orthodox?” (Many orthodox sermons assert a proposition without grounding it in biblical revelation.) Or the question, “Do my sermons contain an assortment of Bible verses?” Or “Is my sermon perceived as coming from the Bible?” It is to ask, “When I approach the Scriptures for a message to preach do I allow the Bible to shape my sermon, or do I let what I have already decided to say determine what I take from the Bible?” Before we stand to speak do we sit and listen to what a passage actually says?[4]

An expository sermon should always have the biblical text guide the flow of the sermon.

For those who have a high view of Scripture, there is a danger in delivering a sermon that is nothing more than a running commentary. In the next post, I will address a few of those concerns and why some avoid expository preaching, but the truth is that exposition should never be boring. A running commentary is boring to most people as is a bland, dry sermon. A good sermon should showcase the gospel (never boring) but it must also connect to the listeners so they can apply the timeless words of Scripture to the problems and difficulties they face. This requires knowing the audience of the biblical text as well as the culture of the modern-day audience. The preacher must be able to build the bridge that spans thousands of years so that the listeners will have something that is relevant and applicable. Anything less does a disservice to both the listener and the Bible because it reduces both to nothing more than an academic talk with no real answers for our problems.

The preacher must contextualize the passage of Scripture to his audience and culture, but that cannot happen without the preacher first exegeting Scripture. Helm reasons:

All preaching must begin with exegesis. To put it differently: contextualization, theological reflection, and matters of today are held at bay—we should be committed to a process of preparation that keeps first things first. By this I mean that a faithful preacher starts the sermon preparation process by paying attention to a biblical text’s original audience and a text’s purposes for those readers. And he makes this first audience his first concern in three different ways. In one fashion or another, he:

1. Gives the biblical context (rather than his own context) control over the meaning of the text.
2. Listens intently until he knows how the text fits within the overall message of the book.
3. Sees the structure and emphasis of the text.

Did you notice how nothing in the above list deals with contextualization? Contextualization is important…but good biblical expositors train themselves to hold off that step until later in the process.[5]

 These two things (scriptural and cultural exegesis) must work in tandem if the preacher is to be faithful to the text and connect with his audience. Matthew Kim agrees:

When we think about tailoring the message for a particular cultural group, some preachers start with people and then try to adapt or modify God’s Word to fit the values and perspectives of that cultural context. The danger is that following this model forces the preacher to dart too quickly to application. We are trying to apply the meaning of a passage that we do not understand. In contrast to this view, the starting place in sermon preparation should always be God’s Word. We suspend application by first determining the meaning of the text in its context. Once we properly understand what Scripture means, we can then apply it to our varied listeners.[6] 

Kim notes that the preacher must begin with hermeneutics and not with the values of the cultural context. He observes, “If we start with understanding humans today, our preaching and teaching are susceptible to eisegesis—reading into the text what is not there, based on our specific cultural lens.” According to Kim, the most appropriate thing a preacher can do is begin with God’s Word and then apply it to a specific context.[7]

Future posts in this series will focus on risks inherent in committing to expository preaching as well as some common criticisms.

 

[1] David Helm, Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Word Today (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 13.

[2] Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Penguin Books, 2015), 32.

[3] Tony Merida, The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers (Nashville: B&H, 2016), 9 (Merida's italics).

[4] Haddon W. Robinson, “The Relevance of Expository Preaching,” in Preaching to a Shifting Culture: 12 Perspectives on Communicating That Connects (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004), 82.

[5] Helm, 40 (Helm's italics).

[6] Matthew D. Kim, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017), 33-34.

[7] Ibid (Kim’s italics).

]]>
Expository preaching is a term that is widely used but there are some variations in its usage and definition.

The definition I have used throughout my ministry is that an expository sermon will make the main idea of the passage the main idea of the sermon. A sermon can be one verse or an entire book of the Bible as long as the focus of the biblical passage is the main focus of the sermon. This is the main goal of expository preaching: to expose what the Bible says to the church.

Doing this is more than just a preferred method or style of communication. An expositor chooses to do the hard work of working through difficult books and passages because he has a high view of Scripture. He sees the worth of God’s Word as infinitely more valuable than his own ideas or creativity. David Helm writes, “Expositional preaching is empowered preaching that rightfully submits the shape and emphasis of the sermon to the shape and emphasis of a biblical text.”[1] In other words, the practice of expository preaching is a tangible way to show how the preacher values the Bible because he allows it to drive his sermons. Tim Keller notes, “Expository preaching is the best method for displaying and conveying your conviction that the whole Bible is true. This approach testifies that you believe every part of the Bible to be God’s Word, not just particular themes and not just the parts you feel comfortable agreeing with.”[2]

A preacher who has a high view of Scripture should be drawn to expository preaching because it values God’s Word above all human wisdom. Tony Merida explains, “Preaching, then, is about making God’s Word known publicly to a particular audience. More specifically, faithful preaching involves explaining what God has said in his Word, declaring what God has done in his Son, and applying this message to the hearts of people. The best approach for accomplishing this agenda is expository preaching.”[3] The Word must dictate and direct how we preach and what we preach. Haddon Robinson observes:

If expository preaching—which is biblical preaching—is the most relevant message we can offer to our hearers, then what do we mean by expository preaching? In the broadest sense, it is preaching that draws its substance from the Scriptures. Actually, true exposition is more of an attitude than a method. It is the honest answer to the questions, “Do I subject my thought to the Scriptures, or do I subject the Scriptures to my thought?” Those are not the same questions as, “Is my sermon theologically orthodox?” (Many orthodox sermons assert a proposition without grounding it in biblical revelation.) Or the question, “Do my sermons contain an assortment of Bible verses?” Or “Is my sermon perceived as coming from the Bible?” It is to ask, “When I approach the Scriptures for a message to preach do I allow the Bible to shape my sermon, or do I let what I have already decided to say determine what I take from the Bible?” Before we stand to speak do we sit and listen to what a passage actually says?[4]

An expository sermon should always have the biblical text guide the flow of the sermon.

For those who have a high view of Scripture, there is a danger in delivering a sermon that is nothing more than a running commentary. In the next post, I will address a few of those concerns and why some avoid expository preaching, but the truth is that exposition should never be boring. A running commentary is boring to most people as is a bland, dry sermon. A good sermon should showcase the gospel (never boring) but it must also connect to the listeners so they can apply the timeless words of Scripture to the problems and difficulties they face. This requires knowing the audience of the biblical text as well as the culture of the modern-day audience. The preacher must be able to build the bridge that spans thousands of years so that the listeners will have something that is relevant and applicable. Anything less does a disservice to both the listener and the Bible because it reduces both to nothing more than an academic talk with no real answers for our problems.

The preacher must contextualize the passage of Scripture to his audience and culture, but that cannot happen without the preacher first exegeting Scripture. Helm reasons:

All preaching must begin with exegesis. To put it differently: contextualization, theological reflection, and matters of today are held at bay—we should be committed to a process of preparation that keeps first things first. By this I mean that a faithful preacher starts the sermon preparation process by paying attention to a biblical text’s original audience and a text’s purposes for those readers. And he makes this first audience his first concern in three different ways. In one fashion or another, he:

1. Gives the biblical context (rather than his own context) control over the meaning of the text.
2. Listens intently until he knows how the text fits within the overall message of the book.
3. Sees the structure and emphasis of the text.

Did you notice how nothing in the above list deals with contextualization? Contextualization is important…but good biblical expositors train themselves to hold off that step until later in the process.[5]

 These two things (scriptural and cultural exegesis) must work in tandem if the preacher is to be faithful to the text and connect with his audience. Matthew Kim agrees:

When we think about tailoring the message for a particular cultural group, some preachers start with people and then try to adapt or modify God’s Word to fit the values and perspectives of that cultural context. The danger is that following this model forces the preacher to dart too quickly to application. We are trying to apply the meaning of a passage that we do not understand. In contrast to this view, the starting place in sermon preparation should always be God’s Word. We suspend application by first determining the meaning of the text in its context. Once we properly understand what Scripture means, we can then apply it to our varied listeners.[6] 

Kim notes that the preacher must begin with hermeneutics and not with the values of the cultural context. He observes, “If we start with understanding humans today, our preaching and teaching are susceptible to eisegesis—reading into the text what is not there, based on our specific cultural lens.” According to Kim, the most appropriate thing a preacher can do is begin with God’s Word and then apply it to a specific context.[7]

Future posts in this series will focus on risks inherent in committing to expository preaching as well as some common criticisms.

 

[1] David Helm, Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Word Today (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 13.

[2] Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Penguin Books, 2015), 32.

[3] Tony Merida, The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers (Nashville: B&H, 2016), 9 (Merida's italics).

[4] Haddon W. Robinson, “The Relevance of Expository Preaching,” in Preaching to a Shifting Culture: 12 Perspectives on Communicating That Connects (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004), 82.

[5] Helm, 40 (Helm's italics).

[6] Matthew D. Kim, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017), 33-34.

[7] Ibid (Kim’s italics).

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Church is Not a Business https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/church-is-not-a-business https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/church-is-not-a-business#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2021 11:00:00 -0400 https://www.fbalcoa.org/blog/post/church-is-not-a-business Nothing feels better than success.

Seeing a church grow in number, welcoming new visitors each Sunday, building new state-of-the-art buildings, having an exciting and dynamic worship atmosphere, hearing about constant “decisions” to follow Christ, and many other facets are how the modern day church often times determines success. But here is the gospel reality: none of these are at the heart of what the church is supposed to be. In fact, successful church, as defined by Scripture, wouldn’t necessitate any of these. Far too often, we determine success according to a business model rather than a biblical model. Businesses define success according to profits, employees are oftentimes treated as only parts to a machine, and power reflected in leadership is wielded with a me-centered mentality.

There is nowhere in Scripture that defines success as a top priority of the church. Let me take a brief pause to say that this does not mean the church should shy away from gospel effectiveness. But even gospel effectiveness is not measured by what man can see. Church membership, conversions, and baptisms are all wonderful gifts that can indicate gospel effectiveness, but when church membership is treated like country club membership, when conversions are unauthentic as a result of easy-believism, and when baptisms are spontaneous with little to no meaning, this is anything but gospel effectiveness. It is a mirage of gospel effectiveness.

The Dangers of “Successful” Church

Treating the church as a business has never been a biblical model. Businesses are all about profits, marketing, advertising, and being innovative. If anything, this is the total opposite of what the church is meant to be because the business mentality is man-centered and the church is God-centered. For business, customer is king. For church, Christ is King. This means the church is wholly different than any business, even a “Christian” one. It is my pleasure to say that Chick-fil-A has a business model—not a church model. And they should, because they are not the church. Sadly, the church frequently adopts a business mindset, and there are several dangers that accompany this mindset.

Fear of Man Over Fear of God

There is such danger in valuing what man says, or how man will respond, over what God has already said. Proverbs 29:25 says, “the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” Psalm 119:120 says, “My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.” King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:24 says, “I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” Or, perhaps the clearest example is John 12:42-43 that says, “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” 

When we are more concerned about man’s response rather than worship of our God, we are ignoring God’s Word completely. Church leadership that is guilty of reactionary leadership is holding the fear of man as supreme. Reacting out of fear of what man will think is not church leadership at all; however, responsive leadership that does not merely tell people what they want to hear loves both God and His church. Responsive leadership glorifies God and at the same time doesn’t ignore the members. Also, fear of man places no value in humble confrontation of sin. Church members are called to hold one another accountable. Church members have the responsibility to represent the gospel in their relationships with one another. The fear of man always shies away from this responsibility because man’s opinion is most important. We must quit bringing a business-like fear of man into the church.

Numbers Over Depth

Jesus’s miracles attracted crowds. But at the end of Jesus’s miracles, He reveals that many in the crowd did not actually believe in Him. Towards the end of Jesus’s ministry, He led his disciples toward Caesarea Philippi. It would have been extremely dangerous for anyone to follow Him to this region. The crowds dwindled more and more until only the twelve were following Him. There in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus clearly told His disciples for the first time that He was going to die. Jesus knew the cost of following Him and continually expressed this cost.  He was not concerned with the crowds that followed because “he himself knew what was in man (John 2:25).” For the church to be consumed with numbers rather than depth is being less Christ-like and being more business-like. 

Yes, church, we desire for people to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, but we also desire for them to mature in that relationship and continually put to death the works of the flesh and walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). This is the opposite of a numbers focus.  Valuing depth over numbers also means holding high church membership. Church membership is more important than church attendance. Church membership opens the door for depth in relationships rather than just the surface level relationships of non-committal attendance. 

Entertainment Over Discipleship

Having an attractional ministry has become the norm in churches today. Doing life together is less appealing to people than creating a fun and entertaining environment. When looking in Acts 2, entertainment and fun are nowhere to be found. Commitment to one another, commitment to worshipping together in unity, and a commitment to giving, are all at the forefront. This mentality of getting people in the door with something other than the gospel in order to tell them about Jesus is not biblical. A bait and switch is a business trick that we should not employ in the church. It displays a lack of faith in the gospel itself. The popular phrase, “what you win them with, is what you win them to,” is overused but helpful. Do we really think the gospel isn’t good enough so we need to add bells and whistles?

We should care more about theology than we do a dynamic worship experience. We should care more about worship than we do relevance. We should care more about discipleship than entertainment. Not one person should walk into a church without walking out knowing more about what it means to be a follower of Christ. There should always be a worshipful response from a church focused on making disciples of Christ. The same cannot be said about a church focused on entertainment. 

The church cannot continue to misrepresent the Church by looking more like a business. The Church exists for worship. We must hold high corporate worship. We must display the significance of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. While a business would say people are merely numbers, tools, or consumers, the local church must say they are image bearers of God, made to be like Him, and offered restoration only through the death and resurrection of His Son. May the church uphold the gospel because that is her call.

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Nothing feels better than success.

Seeing a church grow in number, welcoming new visitors each Sunday, building new state-of-the-art buildings, having an exciting and dynamic worship atmosphere, hearing about constant “decisions” to follow Christ, and many other facets are how the modern day church often times determines success. But here is the gospel reality: none of these are at the heart of what the church is supposed to be. In fact, successful church, as defined by Scripture, wouldn’t necessitate any of these. Far too often, we determine success according to a business model rather than a biblical model. Businesses define success according to profits, employees are oftentimes treated as only parts to a machine, and power reflected in leadership is wielded with a me-centered mentality.

There is nowhere in Scripture that defines success as a top priority of the church. Let me take a brief pause to say that this does not mean the church should shy away from gospel effectiveness. But even gospel effectiveness is not measured by what man can see. Church membership, conversions, and baptisms are all wonderful gifts that can indicate gospel effectiveness, but when church membership is treated like country club membership, when conversions are unauthentic as a result of easy-believism, and when baptisms are spontaneous with little to no meaning, this is anything but gospel effectiveness. It is a mirage of gospel effectiveness.

The Dangers of “Successful” Church

Treating the church as a business has never been a biblical model. Businesses are all about profits, marketing, advertising, and being innovative. If anything, this is the total opposite of what the church is meant to be because the business mentality is man-centered and the church is God-centered. For business, customer is king. For church, Christ is King. This means the church is wholly different than any business, even a “Christian” one. It is my pleasure to say that Chick-fil-A has a business model—not a church model. And they should, because they are not the church. Sadly, the church frequently adopts a business mindset, and there are several dangers that accompany this mindset.

Fear of Man Over Fear of God

There is such danger in valuing what man says, or how man will respond, over what God has already said. Proverbs 29:25 says, “the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” Psalm 119:120 says, “My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.” King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:24 says, “I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” Or, perhaps the clearest example is John 12:42-43 that says, “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” 

When we are more concerned about man’s response rather than worship of our God, we are ignoring God’s Word completely. Church leadership that is guilty of reactionary leadership is holding the fear of man as supreme. Reacting out of fear of what man will think is not church leadership at all; however, responsive leadership that does not merely tell people what they want to hear loves both God and His church. Responsive leadership glorifies God and at the same time doesn’t ignore the members. Also, fear of man places no value in humble confrontation of sin. Church members are called to hold one another accountable. Church members have the responsibility to represent the gospel in their relationships with one another. The fear of man always shies away from this responsibility because man’s opinion is most important. We must quit bringing a business-like fear of man into the church.

Numbers Over Depth

Jesus’s miracles attracted crowds. But at the end of Jesus’s miracles, He reveals that many in the crowd did not actually believe in Him. Towards the end of Jesus’s ministry, He led his disciples toward Caesarea Philippi. It would have been extremely dangerous for anyone to follow Him to this region. The crowds dwindled more and more until only the twelve were following Him. There in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus clearly told His disciples for the first time that He was going to die. Jesus knew the cost of following Him and continually expressed this cost.  He was not concerned with the crowds that followed because “he himself knew what was in man (John 2:25).” For the church to be consumed with numbers rather than depth is being less Christ-like and being more business-like. 

Yes, church, we desire for people to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, but we also desire for them to mature in that relationship and continually put to death the works of the flesh and walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). This is the opposite of a numbers focus.  Valuing depth over numbers also means holding high church membership. Church membership is more important than church attendance. Church membership opens the door for depth in relationships rather than just the surface level relationships of non-committal attendance. 

Entertainment Over Discipleship

Having an attractional ministry has become the norm in churches today. Doing life together is less appealing to people than creating a fun and entertaining environment. When looking in Acts 2, entertainment and fun are nowhere to be found. Commitment to one another, commitment to worshipping together in unity, and a commitment to giving, are all at the forefront. This mentality of getting people in the door with something other than the gospel in order to tell them about Jesus is not biblical. A bait and switch is a business trick that we should not employ in the church. It displays a lack of faith in the gospel itself. The popular phrase, “what you win them with, is what you win them to,” is overused but helpful. Do we really think the gospel isn’t good enough so we need to add bells and whistles?

We should care more about theology than we do a dynamic worship experience. We should care more about worship than we do relevance. We should care more about discipleship than entertainment. Not one person should walk into a church without walking out knowing more about what it means to be a follower of Christ. There should always be a worshipful response from a church focused on making disciples of Christ. The same cannot be said about a church focused on entertainment. 

The church cannot continue to misrepresent the Church by looking more like a business. The Church exists for worship. We must hold high corporate worship. We must display the significance of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. While a business would say people are merely numbers, tools, or consumers, the local church must say they are image bearers of God, made to be like Him, and offered restoration only through the death and resurrection of His Son. May the church uphold the gospel because that is her call.

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