Thinking Through ‘The Deliberate Church’: Introduction

Mike Leake 4 Comments

If you missed our discussion on the Foreword it is here. Also, I might mention that the entire point of having an online discussion is to…wait for it…DISCUSS!!! That means that it could be a good idea to write some comments on the blog. I know its scary; but God is powerful. You can do it. If you have yet to buy the book you can do so for only $8.99 here. deliberatechurch

Quick Summary:

Before you start building something it is vital that you know exactly what you are building. Because the church is not a Fortune 500 club or just another social gathering it is important that we know what a healthy church is supposed to look like; there is no secular model from which we can take our cues.

What is a local church? Dever gives a few pointers. 1) It is a corporate display of His glory and wisdom, both to unbelievers and to unseen spiritual powers. 2) we are a corporate dwelling place for God’s Spirit, the organic body of Christ in which He magnifies His glory. Summary definition: The church is God’s vehicle for displaying His glory to His creation. (26)

Furthermore, the church is unique because of her message; namely, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And therefore, the distinguishing marks of a church are the “right preaching of the Gospel and the right administration of the biblical ordinances that dramatize it. (26)” The church then is God-centered and outward-looking. It is a ministry of magnification where “we are building a corporate, organic structure that will accurately magnify God’s glory and faithfully communicate His Gospel.” Jesus is the One who is ultimately building His church.

Now that we know what a healthy church is we have to ask, “how do you build it?” There are numerous options and diverse answers to that question throughout evangelicalism. Dever gives a four quick points to help govern the relationship between the Gospel and the method of its ministers:

  1. Theology drives method
  2. God’s methods determine ours
  3. The Gospel both enables and informs our participation in God’s purposes
  4. Faithfulness to the Gospel must be our measure of success, not results

Quotables:

“No matter how beautiful the facade, the structure will crumble if we build on a sandy foundation or with shoddy materials.” (25)

“Ignoring God’s plan for the church and replacing it with your own will ensure the eternal futility of your work.” (25)

“Our power is in our unique message—The Gospel—not in our innovations.” (27)

Questions:

How would you answer the question, “What is a local church”? Do you like Dever’s summary definition?

These are Dever’s:

What’s driving your church—the content of the message, or the uniqueness of the presentation?

Is your ministry method driven by biblical theology, or by what works?

Do you measure success by results, or by faithfulness to God’s Word?

Monday’s Ministry Musing: Worship in Different Styles

Mike Leake 4 Comments

I was having a tough time figuring out what to write today.  Thankfully a discussion at Abraham Piper’s blog 22 Words sparked some thought.  Recently some dear brothers had a rap concert at Bethlehem Baptist Church.  Abraham’s thought was—Amen, now lets get a metal band.  Then, Frank Turk (of Pyromaniac fame) entered the discussion with this:

No. No to the first half, and no to the second half. Liberty is one thing, and vulgar abuse of liberty (which is not necessarily hinged on vulgar language — only vulgar materialism) is another.

Just no. There should be no belly dancing in church, either; no clowns; no slide whistles; no fireworks or sparklers. Some things are not meant for worship, and we should just face facts.

axe I’ve heard this discussion before.  Awhile back I had this discussion with a group of brothers.  Initially their comment was that there are some forms of music that are simply too pagan in origin and are not redeemable; like rap, metal, and other uncomfortable forms of music.

I have a few students (actually former students) that I love like my own sons.  They are in a metal band.  I say that just so you know.  Also, I am not a huge fan of metal music (especially the screamo kind—which my former students band is).  My biggest problem is an inability to hear the words.  Yet, I also know that some that listen end up getting the words and singing along with the bands they love. 

Now that you know that, let’s move on to the discussion.  Should there be rap and metal music in a church service?  Is there a style of music that is inherently evil or worldly? 

My initial response to Frank was simply this:

Rap or metal is not the same as belly dancing, clowns, slide whistles, fireworks, or sparklers. You are right that some things are not meant for worship…but can you really find me a text that says that the form of music such as rap or metal for that matter can not be used for worship through song?

God has created us with a ton of diversity, and he is redeeming people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language.  People of different cultures have different forms of music.  What may seem evil to one culture is the common expression of another culture.  Deep drum beats are typical in African culture—but to someone in the Deep South it signifies gangsta rap. 

My take is that certain expressions can be very helpful within a worship setting.  Rap tends to make you feel like it’s subject is amazing.  The beats just confirm the awesomeness of the subject being rapped about.  There is some Christian music…I won’t mention any names…T-Bone that seem to use this to display how amazing they are for being Christians.  Kind of like a “eat that world…see Christians are amazing”.  But other rappers like Flame, Lecrae, those from Reach Records featured at Bethlehem use this genre to say Jesus is absolutely amazing.  It’s worship. 

Now think about metal music.  Metal music (especially screamo) is a good genre for displaying angst, struggle, and explosions.  It can be used to say I’m in pain.  It can be used to buck the authorities.  It can be used to curse God.  It can be used to generate an unholy expression for anger.  But it can also be a cry out to God that says, “I’m in pain God”.  It can be used to say to God “I hate this sin”.  It can be used by God to passionately express dedication.  It can be used to musically symbolize a violent casting off of the world.  It can be used to worship. 

Therefore, lets embrace all styles of music provided that everything within the song (music and lyrics) are centered around exalting God and His beautiful Gospel.

This Week in Blogworld 5/29

Mike Leake 1 Comment

Who do I credit for this one?  JT, links to Tony Reinke, who quotes David Powlison: 3 Questions to Spark Substantive Conversation with Your Spouse. 

Josh Harris asks a very important question.  Should we use Twitter in church?  Piper also weighs in.  Also Richard Clark give us an Ecclesiology of Twitter

The next installment of Reading the Classics Together at Challies’ blog will be The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.  If you’ve never read this book I’d suggest buying it and joining the conversation. 

JT plugs a new album from Voice: A Theist.  I’ve heard good stuff so far…but am personally unfamiliar.  Rhapsody is yet to carry his music. 

Great article by Challies on confession. 

I’m not sure what my Arminian brothers think of this but you’ve got to respect a guy rapping about Particular Redemption:  (HT: John)

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Dr. Moore discusses the “Pro-Life Majority”

I liked this:

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  (HT: Guy M)

Face Melting Quote on the Effects of the Cross

Mike Leake

“Ultimately all that will be there in the new, redeemed creation will be there  because of the cross.  And conversely, all that will not be there (suffering, tears, sin, Satan, sickness, oppression, corruption, decay and death) will not be there because they will have been defeated and destroyed by the cross.  That is the length, breadth, height and depth of God’s idea of redemption.  It is exceedingly good news.  It is the font of all our mission.

So it is my passionate conviction that holistic mission must have a holistic theology of the cross.  That includes the conviction that the cross must be as a central to our social engagement as it is to our evangelism.  There is no other power, no other resource, no other name through which we can offer the whole Gospel to the whole person and to the whole world than Jesus Christ crucified and risen.”  (Christopher J.H. Wright, The Mission of God, pages 315-316)

Wow.  I mean seriously.  Wow.  How dare we center our life and mission around anything but the Cross.

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