Today in Blogworld 06.07.13

Mike Leake

How Our Elders and Deacons Work Together

Articles like this are important for our church right now as we transition to an elder/deacon model.

6 Things We Need to Learn from Youth About Preaching

I’ve thought for awhile that future preachers ought to start by spending some time preaching the gospel to teens. Here are six lessons one could learn from doing that.

Confession as Idle, Lustful Babbling: 5 Errors

Here are 5 ways we might exploit and pervert the confessional act

22 Maps Showing How Different Americans Speak

Of course the soda/pop/coke divide was on there.

I’m not sure what is more amazing, that someone was able to do this or that someone actually took the time to do this:

An Open Letter to @LifeWay

Mike Leake 1 Comment

Dearest LifeWay,

I want to begin by saying that I am very pleased with LifeWay. Southern Baptists are blessed to be served by such a great organization. For the most part I believe that you are successful in your mission to be “the best provider of relevant, high quality, high value Christian products and services.”

I am writing you today to discuss one area of curriculum that I believe is lacking; namely, the gospel presentation for VBS. For as long as I can remember LifeWay has used the ABC’s as a gospel presentation. And every year there is a song encouraging kids to admit, believe, and confess.

As the parent of a little boy (5) and little girl (2) I deeply appreciate the simplicity of this gospel presentation. Such a gospel presentation is helpful for my son. The Lord is working on His little heart, and he largely understands the gospel message, but at times he is tripped up on the “what must I do to be saved” part. The ABC’s answer that question.

The ABC’s are a fair and biblical response to the question, “Brothers, what must I do to be saved”. For those asking this question it is helpful for them to even have a memorable song that lays out for them how someone becomes a Christian.

However, I believe the ABC’s by themselves are an inadequate whole gospel presentation. I understand that the “admitting” and “believing” attempts to help children see that they are sinners and that belief in Jesus is necessary. I appreciate this, but it seems forced and minimalistic.

When I share the gospel with children I front load it with gospel proclamation (i.e. God-Man-Christ or Creation-Fall-Redemption). I want children to know who God is, what He requires of us, what sin is and its consequences, and how Christ frees us from sin and restores us to God. That is the good news of the gospel. Admit, believe, and confess is not the gospel. It is the only fitting response to the gospel but is not the gospel itself.  When people understand the gospel and are then asking “what do I do to be saved” that is when I would share with them something like the ABC’s.

It seems that about every year the ABC’s lesson is during the middle of the week. It is assumed that in the material the gospel story will be presented throughout the week in the teaching segments. That is good. However, it reads as if everything is driving towards the response. This should be done. But only if the gospel message has been emphasized.

As it stands, only one part of the gospel—our necessary response—is presented as the gospel. When children and teachers think about the gospel message in VBS they naturally think of the ABC’s. That is what stands out in the VBS material. In my opinion that is backwards. Explaining to people the necessary response to the gospel isn’t the gospel and doesn’t have the promises of gospel power (Romans 1:16) attached to it.

My suggestion is that instead of emphasizing the ABC’s as presentation emphasize the gospel story and train leaders how to use the ABC’s to answer the response question. In other words transfer a Gospel Project method to your VBS literature.

I look forward to seeing how God continues to use LifeWay material for the furtherance of His kingdom.

In-Christ,

Mike Leake

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A good chunk of this letter is a tweak from this article.

Today in Blogworld 06.06.13

Mike Leake

Singing to Silence the Enemy

I was blessed by reading this.

“Radical” Three Years Later

It’s been three years since Radical hit the shelves. David Platt reflects upon the last three years.

The 3 Worst Qualities of the Gospel-Centered Movement

Yep.

Everything I Know About Pastoral Ministry I Learned Riding with Pastors

This article shows the importance of influence and also has several gems for our own use.

I found this interesting:

The Question that Haunts Men, Young and Old

Mike Leake

Somewhere an awkward boy is asked THE question. The question that causes every gawky young man to squirm and feel a little squeamish. It’s a question that will slowly shape his identity:

“You been gettin’ any…”

Here, with budding hormones raging, his sexual identity is slowly shaped. He learns the lesson: those that are “getting” sex are the ones of value. It is from these words that the inept lad will begin his quest to be everything but inept—he’ll be somebody and he will do it by means of sexual conquest.

The next time he gets the awkward question he can puff his chest and say, “yep, I’ve been gettin’ some”. Now he’s part of the “in” crowd. Inept no more, now he’s a man. Or so he thinks…

In Christ

At some point this awkward boy will be drawn into a relationship with Jesus. Through his new found love for the Lord he will discovery that his sexuality has to change. No more illicit sex. He will get tips for battling pornography and help with not having sex with his girlfriend.

Still the question remains in the background. “You been gettin’ any…” This time, though, with puffed chest he gives a negative answer. “Nope, I haven’t. I’ve been 45 days porn and sex free.” Yet, inwardly he is burning. He can’t wait to get a ring on his girlfriend’s finger so he can finally have an outlet.

Marriage

He’ll get married. He’ll have children. His marriage will go through ups and downs. He will have times of being a good husband. Times of being a dolt. There will be times when the sex is vibrant and frequent—and others when he’s in a parched desert of sexual lack.

Eventually he and his dear wife will attend a marriage conference. Nervous laughs will fill the room as spouses talk about their differences in gender. Finally, the men and women will break apart and have individual sex talks. They’ll be transported back to junior high and the question will be asked again:

“You been gettin’ any?”

It won’t be that crass, of course. But it’s there. Underneath all the tips and pointers. This session will stand out for this man; who somewhere down deep is still that bumbling-hormone-raging-little boy. It will be in this session that he will learn how to change that sexual desert into a lively oasis.

He will go home and apply the principles. They’ll work for a season. And with puffed chest he’ll once again be able to answer that haunting question with a proud affirmative. That is until the facade wears off and his wife discovers that those romantic dinners are only a means to an end. The flames will flicker, the oasis will wither, and he’s back to being the awkward boy that has to sheepishly confess that “he’s not gettin’ any”.

Your Church

This little boy is in your church. He might be a pre-pubescent teen or he might be a fifty year old deacon. He is driven by this question. His identity is wrapped up in his sexuality.

Will your preaching and marriage conferences confront this false identity? Or will you foster it? Will you be bold enough to confront his idol? Will you tell him that his identity is to be found in Jesus Christ and not in his sexuality? Or will you give him tips to help him be a more successful idolater?

I pray that as churches navigate the choppy waters of 21st century sexuality we realize that our answer is in the calmed waters of a sovereign Messiah. It is He that gives identity. And until our identity (sexual and all) is firmly placed in Him we’ll struggle with jacked up sexuality.

I urge you don’t counsel this little boy with a list of do’s and don’t. Confront the question that is haunting his soul and show him how the conquering Lamb obliterates and exposes that question as a foolish foundation.