Our Missing Element In Worship

The theme of the 134th Annual Tennessee Baptist Convention was "Exalting Jesus Through Worship". This got me thinking about the first mention of worship in the Bible. Biblical hermeneutics refers to methods of interpreting the Bible. One of the principles of Biblical hermeneutics is called the First Mention Principle. The First Mention Principle states that: "God indicates in the first mention of a subject the truth with which that subject stands connected in the mind of God."

We find the first mentioning of the word "Worship"... "שׁחה, shâchâh or shaw-khaw" in Genesis 22:5. There Abraham says to the young men with him... "Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder, and worship, and come again to you." Of course we know from the context, that Abraham is on his way to sacrifice Isaac. Thus, from the first mentioning of the word worship, we understand that true worship involves a sacrifice.

Then, in verse number 7 of Genesis 22 Isaac speaks. He asks a question about a missing element of their worship. He says father... "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" In Isaac's mind there were at least 3 elements needed to worship on the mountain. They needed fire, wood, and a lamb. They were missing the lamb. The lamb was the missing element of their worship.

It seems today that Southern Baptists also have an element missing in our worship. I would argue that we have the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. I would argue that we have the wood, the preaching of the Cross. But where oh where is the fire in our worship?! It seems that every couple of months we hear about another "How To" initiative from our convention (GPS, 5 on the way, etc). Now, I am not throwing off on these initiatives. However, I think we have plenty of "How To's". What we need in our convention, in our churches, in our lives, and in our worship is not more "How To". We need more "Want To"! We just need some fire. We have the Lamb, we have the Cross, but where is the Fire for our Worship of the Lord God Almighty?

What can cure the decline in numbers in the SBC? John Wesley said... "When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn."

Exalting Jesus Through Worship

We have just returned home from the 134th Annual Session of the Tennessee Baptist Convention; held Nov. 11-12, 2008, at First Baptist Church, Hendersonville. The theme of this year’s convention was "Exalting Jesus Through Worship"! There were many interesting topics announced/discussed at this year’s convention. We learned that for the first time in 13 years we actually met the goal for the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions. We also learned that we came up 1.4 million dollars short in last year's budget. We were asked to begin a season of 40 days of prayer and fasting beginning Jan. 1 for a replacement of Dr. Porch, the current Executive Director who is retiring. We were introduced to Dr. Randall O'Brien, the new President of Carson Newman College. We also heard one of the shortest reports ever given at a convention from Michael Anderson, Chairman of the Historical Committee. His report was as follows... "We find no material weaknesses." This was done, no doubt, to put the schedule of the convention back on track. Overall, I believe the Convention was a success and Dr. McCoy did a good job as Moderator. He also preached a great sermon Tuesday night.

My small part in this year’s convention came Tuesday morning at 11:30am. When the miscellaneous business time began, I stepped to microphone number 5 and made the following Motion...

"I move that this convention request that the Executive Board and/or those responsible for the Tennessee Baptist Convention website (www.tnbaptist.org) make available the viewing of the 2009 Tennessee Baptist Convention and all subsequent conventions to the general public on the World Wide Web via live streaming."

After my motion was ruled in order, I was given some time to speak to the motion. I said... "Thank you Mr. President. Each year only a small percentage of churches send messengers to the annual convention. And, most churches being served by bi-vocational pastors (of which I am one), and small churches are not able to financially send messengers across the state. And, as messengers may already register for the annual convention online. And, as the SBC annual meeting is already being live-streamed on the world wide web... the technology exists to allow for easy viewing of our convention to lay leaders, ministers, and those over seas. Thank You."

Not surprisingly, the first question that was asked about the motion was one to clarify if I wanted online viewing or voting. Viewing was our response. We understand that a child must first learn to crawl before running (although I did not say that). The second question involved the cost. I suggested that they might consult one of the pastors at the convention who streams his church service weekly or someone at the SBC for the cost, but I did not imagine it to be significant. Indeed, a little later it was acknowledged by the "IT man" of the convention that the price would be minimal. The next question/concern was about the ability to broadcast to the web from the various locations (many TBC conventions take place at large churches). I suggested that this ability should be taken into consideration as future locations are selected. Eventually, the motion was amended and then approved overwhelmingly to allow for a "feasibility study and report" to be given at the 2009 meeting in Jackson.

I am hopeful that soon web streaming of our convention will become a reality. I am also convinced that it will be beneficial in increasing awareness and interest.

John 3:16 to the World!

I have just returned from the John 3:16 Conference hosted by Jerry Vines Ministries at First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Georgia. Dr. Vines said the Conference was intended to be "a theological assessment of, and response to, five-point Calvinism" and that it would not be a "let's bash the Calvinists" conference. True to his word, that is exactly (with just one or two exceptions) what the conference was.

DAY 1...

The first conference speaker was Dr. Johnny Hunt, the Pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock and current President of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Hunt was not speaking directly to the T.U.L.I.P. In fact, he preached a sermon from Psalm 119:33-40 entitled "Leading with the end in mind." His sermon was a passionate appeal to evangelize the world for Jesus. The money quote from his sermon (in my opinion) was... "Teach me to do, not teach me to debate." Dr. Hunt's sermon seemed to be generally well received and was personally very encouraging to me.

Next up was Dr. Jerry Vines the conference host. He preached for over an hour on John 3:16. Dr. Vines sermon was very deep, and explored every word, tense, and meaning in the verse. There was 4 main points that he emphasized. First, God's love is Global. Here he explained that it was for the human race. Second, God's love is seen as Sacrificial. Dr. Vines said... "You can give and not love, but you cannot love and not give." AMEN! Third, God's love is Personal. He said the word "whosoever" in the Greek is the word "Pas" which means "anyone, anywhere, anytime." Fourth, God's love is Eternal. Dr. Vines sermon was the highlight of the conference for me.

The last person to speak on Thursday night was Dr. Paige Patterson, President of Southwestern Baptist Seminary. Dr. Patterson's task was to speak to the "T" in the TULIP, Total Depravity. It should be noted that Dr. Patterson began his sermon with praise for what he called "his Calvinist brothers" for their "love and preaching of the Bible". His sermon sought to answer 3 questions. First, what does depravity mean? Second, how did we become depraved? Third, what can a dead man do? Dr. Patterson's sermon was good and faithful to the text of Romans 1 and 3, and Ephesians 2. The crux of his argument was that "dead men" can do some things, and that ultimately it was an analogy that "breaks down when pressed as all analogies do". The sermon was good, not great, but gave one some truths to ponder. It was delivered with the right spirit, and was generally well received even by the Calvinists in attendance.

Day 2...

Day 2 began with breakfast; eggs, sausage, bacon, and gravy. The meals at the J316C were wonderful. The first speaker of the morning was Dr. Richard Land, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), the public policy entity of the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States. Dr. Land's task was to speak to the "U" in the TULIP, "Unconditional Election". Dr. Land began with a reminder that this is a debate amongst brothers, and that "brethren should behave like brethren and not like in-laws". He also said that he believed "all of 'P', none of 'L', and fractions of the others". His sermon was titled, "Congruent Election - Understanding Salvation from an Eternal Now Perspective". His major points were that divine election is consistent with the free agency of man, there are 2 types of election in the Bible (Abrahamic and Salvific), and that election takes place in the eternal now. He drew a distinction between "must be saved and will be saved, and can't be saved and won't be saved". In his view of election, "God is often disappointed but He is never surprised." Dr. Land said, "Time does not have cognitive content for God". Thus, his main argument was that election cannot be viewed on a linear slide, but must be viewed from an eternal now perspective. It was an excellent presentation, complete with some interesting PowerPoint slides.

Next up was Dr. David Allen. Dr. Allen is the Professor of Preaching, Director of the Southwestern Center for Expository Preaching, George W. Truett Chair of Ministry, and Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern. He was speaking to the "L" in the TULIP, "Limited Atonement". Dr. Allen began by presenting a question... "What 2 things to these men have in common?" He then read what seemed to be an endless list of Calvinist preachers. The list included Martin Luther and John Calvin. His answer was that none of them believed in Limited Atonement like today's reformers do. He issued a challenge for Calvinists to read Calvin and the actual minutes of Dort. Dr. Allen said the atonement must be viewed in Intent, Extent, and Application. One quote that I particularly liked was that... "Knowledge of God's revealed will should be our motivation for evangelism, not our ignorance of His secret will". It seemed that Dr. Allen came with enough information to speak for 4 or 5 hours, unfortunately he only had 1. This resulted in his presentation being rushed, him skipping over many things, and him continually pointing us to 2 websites for information. However, his case was made in a very convincing fashion as one truly felt he had the goods. His parting shot was... "A move toward 5 point Calvinism is not a move toward the gospel, but away from the gospel."

The speaker to the 'I' in the TULIP, Irresistible Grace, was Dr. Steve Lemke. Dr, Lemke is the Provost Professor of Philosophy and Ethics at the new Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Lemke began with a quote that "the grace of God is absolutely needed in order for a sinner to think, will, or do any good before God; only God can renew our understanding, our thinking and our willing". He noted that that was a pretty good Calvinists statement, only to reveal that it was actually a quote from one of the Remonstrants. Dr. Lemke continued... "What does the Bible say about Irresistible grace? Not a lot. Irresistible grace is not in your concordance." To be fair, Dr. Lemke acknowledged that the word Trinity is not in the concordance either. However, to demonstrate that grace can be resisted, Dr. Lemke sites Acts 7:51 and Luke 7:30. At this point, I must confess, I lost some interest in Dr. Lemke's presentation and he seemed to wander aimlessly for a while and was on some points condescending (my opinion). Finally, he came back on subject with some Theological concerns about Irresistible Grace. First, Irresistible grace can undermine the doctrine of conversion. Second, Irresistible grace reverses the biblical order of salvation. (Which comes first, regeneration or faith?) Thirdly, Irresistible grace weakens missions and evangelism. All in all, this was a fair, not good, not great presentation. I felt much more on this subject could have been said.

At this point we had a break for lunch...

After lunch, Dr. Vines walked on stage and said... "We have come now to 'P'" (great laughter). Dr. Vines then followed that up by introducing Dr. Ken Keathley as the Dean of Southeastern, only to have Dr. Keathley say Dean of Graduate Studies (laughter). Then Dr. Vines continued... "and he is the Professor of... ...Church History?" No, Professor of Theology (more laughter). Dr. Vines continued... "What day is it? Where are we?" (Thunderous laugher and applause)

Dr. Ken Keathley is the Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Theology at Southeastern. His task was to speak to the 'P' in TULIP, Perseverance of the Saints. This was the first time that I have ever heard Dr. Keathley speak. He did not disappoint. His text was 2 Timothy 2:12 on the 2 components of assurance:
1. Certainty that one is saved.
2. Certainty that one in a state of grace will remain in this state.

The question was asked... "What is the basis of assurance?" The Puritans difficulty with assurance was especially noted. A PowerPoint of William Perkins’ chart from The Golden Chain, in which the reprobates are given false faith, only discernible from genuine faith after life is shown. Dr. Keathley said that "Perkins almost drove his congregants “nuts”- to the point of near-suicide- with questioning their own salvation." Bunyan’s Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners is also said to be a "miserable book", with Bunyan struggling for years on the question of his salvation. Dr. Keathley deduced that the problem comes from basing one's assurance on sanctification, rather than on justification. At this point Dr. Keathley discusses that both Augustine and the Arminians taught that apostasy is possible; one may be saved and later lost. Karl Barth taught that apostasy is impossible through an implicit universalism. The Calvinist and Dispensationalist view is once saved, always saved. There are also some mediating views: Apostasy is genuinely threatened but not possible. Dr. Tom Schreiner and A.B. Canneday teach that perseverance is the means by which we are saved. These warnings do not merely threaten believers with loss of rewards, but threaten Hell. The warning passages, however, only speak of conceivable, but not actual consequences. They also believe that these threats of damnation produce assurance and confidence. Schreiner and Canneday say that perseverance is the basis of justification. Dr. Keathley offers a rather strong critique of this view (rightly so). Dr. Keathley emphatically declares, "This is not close to Trent, this is Trent!" Dr. Keathley concludes with what he calls a "Modest Proposal". First, the only basis for assurance is the objective work of Christ. Any model that begins with Christ but ends with man is doomed to failure; Christ alone is the basis for assurance. Second, assurance is the essence of saving faith. Works provide warrant, but not a basis for assurance. Thirdly, saving faith perseveres or remains until the day when it gives way to sight. Perseverance should be viewed more as a promise than a requirement, and indifference concerning godliness is more of a “red flag” than weakness. Here Dr. Keathley notes that "The indwelling Holy Spirit assures that there is no such thing as a happy backslider." AMEN! Ultimately, assurance comes from Christ alone. This was one of the highlights of the conference for me, along with Dr. Vines' sermon on John 3:16.

The last speaker of the conference was Dr. Charles Stanley, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta and President of In Touch Ministries. Dr. Vines announced that he has asked Dr. Stanley to share how he has proclaimed the gospel throughout the world, and that Dr. Stanley is not just bragging. Dr. Stanley begins by noting that the church has only one mission, the Great Commission. He also said that many preaching magazines emphasis making great leaders, rather than prayer and the Holy Spirit. Dr. Stanley said... “The message that the world is looking for is a message of assurance that our God is a God of love.” Dr. Stanley also drew a contrast between Christianity and Islam saying... "We have a war coming." Dr. Stanley also related the importance of obedience saying... "Obey God and leave the consequences with God." and "Obey God and watch him work." He concluded his message by saying that “These theological things are a vital part of our belief system. God equips us with these things not to keep, but to share.”

Unfortunately, because of time constraints I was not able to stay for the Q & A. My overall sense of the conference was that it was a great encouragement to evangelize and take the gospel to the world. As promised it did not "bash" the Calvinists, but was it an answer to 5 Point Calvinism? For a Non-Calvinist, yes. For a person with Calvinist leanings, possibly. For a 5 pointer, highly doubtful.

New Leadership, Same Management

"...a new dawn of American leadership is at hand." ...Barack Hussein Obama II in Grant Park, IL

"That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else."...the Lord God Almighty in Isaiah 45:6

The John 3:16 Conference

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I am going to the J316C on November 6, 7 at FBC Woodstock.

Did Jesus die on the cross for every person? Are believers eternally secure? Can grace be resisted? These and many other questions will be addressed.

This conference is not going to be a "Let's bash the Calvinists" conference. This conference is going to be a biblical and theological assessment of and response to 5-point Calvinism. It will be helpful for lay people as well as preachers.

This conference is sponsored by: Jerry Vines Ministries, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Luther Rice Seminary and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Here is the schedule of speakers and subjects...

November 6 -

12:00 - 4:00 - Registration

4:30 - 6:00 - Supper (for those registered)

6:30 - 7:15 - Dr. Johnny Hunt - Conference welcome and message

7:15 - 8:00 - Dr. Jerry Vines - John 3:16

8:00 - 8:45 - Dr. Paige Patterson - Total Depravity

November 7 -

8:00 - 9:15 - Breakfast (for those registered)

9:30 - 10:30 - Dr. Richard Land - Unconditional Election

10:30 - 11:30 - Dr. David Allen - Limited Atonement

11:30 - 12:30 - Dr. Steve Lemke - Irresistible Grace

12:30 - 2:00 - Lunch break (lunch not provided)

2:00 - 3:00 - Dr. Ken Keathley - Perseverance of the Saints

3:00 - 4:00 - Dr. Charles Stanley - John 3:16 to the entire world

4:00 - 5:00 - 60 minute Q &A

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