Grabbing Twitter by the Ears

Mike Leake

Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

I’m convinced that Twitter has left many people smarting from wicked dog bites. Most of its ever flowing content is nothing more than a passing dog. Many, myself included, have tugged on this old passing dogs ears and gotten bit in response.

That’s the thing with grabbing a dogs ears.

You can really give yourself the impression that you’ve got this pit-bull mastered. You might even have a pretty sweet ride for a moment. But eventually he’s going to wiggle those ears free and he’s going to be ticked off enough to bite you.

With Twitter all it takes is holding down the Shift button and a strike of the @ button to convince yourself that you are significant.

But beware when you enter into a quarrel that’s not your own. You might ride it with joy for awhile but eventually your soul is going to get bitten. It might breed in your heart factionalism. Perhaps pride. Or if we’re lucky, God in His grace, will expose us for the posers that we are.

Of course this isn’t to say that there aren’t rabid dogs that ought to be grabbed by the ears and wrestled to the ground. But let’s be honest with ourselves, a good chunk of what we spend our time arguing about is nothing more significant than a passing dog. It only becomes a big deal because we were dumb enough to grab it by the ears to have a little fun or make a name for ourselves.

Next time you enter into a quarrel—even a little spat on Twitter—ask yourself whether or not it’s really a dog worth fighting*.

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*That’s not a shout-out to @MichaelVick.

Today in Blogworld 01.31.13

Mike Leake

When Christians Let Us Down and Get Us Down

Great words here from David Murray on Christians and hypocrisy.

Illustrated Puritans

I am very excited about this project. The Bruised Reed will be the first selection in this new illustrated Puritans series.

Pastor Selling His Library

Jared Moore is selling over 350 books at a pretty decent rate. Check out his books and buy a few to help this brother out.

Which came first the chicken or the egg? Here is one explanation:

Please Stop Banging Out Only One Gospel Note

Mike Leake 1 Comment

There’s a great quote by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. He had a church that he was the pastor of and some came to him and said, “Pastor, why is it that week after week after week all you ever preach to us is the gospel?” – implying that “we’re ready to move on to something else. Certainly we know this by now.” Luther’s response was, “Well, because week after week you forget it, because week after week you walk in here looking like a people who don’t believe the gospel. And until you walk in looking like people who are truly liberated by the truth of the gospel, I’m going to continue to preach it to you.” And, until his dying day, he did.

That’s a quote from a Derek Webb house show. Here’s another similar Luther quote:

“So essential is it, that we must first know it well ourselves, preach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.”

These words from Luther are great justification for preaching the gospel continually. It is true, we never move away from the gospel. I appreciate the gospel emphasis of such men like Jared Wilson. He always finds ways to strike different chords but essentially proclaim the gospel.

But I have to be honest. There are some popular blogs that I’ve largely stopped reading. I know they are pretty solid. The article I skip will certainly be something good about the gospel. But if I am being honest I am bored.

I’m bored because they are beating the gospel into our heads continually but they are only playing one note. “Jesus saves us from the law!” “Jesus gives us freedom from works”. “Jesus is better than religion”. It’s the same note. Over and over and over again. It’s a good note. A necessary note in the beautiful gospel tapestry. But by itself it’s incomplete.

I agree with Luther that we need to bang the gospel in our heads continually. But the gospel is more than one note. Let’s be certain that we are playing all of the notes. The gospel is multi-faceted. There is an eternity in Jesus for us to exult in. The gospel is not only that Jesus frees us from the law. There is not a legalist under every bush. Nor is the gospel’s sole task to rescue us from legalism.

Forgive me if I sound like a big Sponge-Bob Grouchy-Pants. My main intention in writing this is to encourage a generation of gospel-centered writers and preachers to intentionally bang the drum on every gospel note.

Please.

We are cheapening the beauty of the gospel if we only emphasize one particle of it. There is enough in Jesus for you and I to write a world full of books. No need to be fixated on one aspect.

Let’s get to work playing the full gospel song.

UPDATE:

After a conversation with a dear friend I realized that I ought to clarify a bit. I’m not intending to say here that there aren’t seasons when we need to emphasize a particular point of the gospel that is being neglected. What I am saying is that even in those times we have to be cautious not to make everything about that one-note.

What I am against is diminishing the multi-faceted gospel into that one issue.