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Responding to the Cyclone in Myanmar

rlew — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:10:14 +0000

John Piper writes up 6 responses to the recent cyclone in Myanmar and the devastation in its wake. As usual, Piper is particularly sharp when encouraging Biblical prayer. Some excerpts:

…
2. Pray for the followers of Christ in Myanmar:

That they would be still and know that God is God (
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 100:3
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_7633', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">Psalm 46:10; 100:3).

That they would be awakened from the illusion that this life is long or sure or the main point of eternal existence (14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_7040', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">James 4:14).…

3. Pray for the millions of unbelievers near the calamity and far from it:

That they would see the helplessness of man before the Power that rules the world and fly to Christ who alone delivers from the final cyclone of God’s wrath (10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_5987', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">1 Thessalonians 1:10).…

4. Pray for those of us who live in the seeming security and prosperity of America:

That we would see what is about to break over us in due time—either collectively as God removes the hand of his providential restraint, or individually as one by one we are whisked to the hospital, then wheeled to the nursing home, and then carried to the funeral home (27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_214', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">Hebrews 9:27).

That millions would be made to see this and repent from the adultery of treasuring anything more than Christ (4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_8811', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">James 4:4).…

Read the whole post from Piper.

I’m also greatly encouraged that our denomination has been working hard on getting immediate relief into the country, especially when there are so many political obstacles. Some details from our denomination:

Under the direction of the EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response team, ReachGlobal staff in Asia and our ministry partners in Myanmar, we are making preparations to assist those most severely affected by this devastating event. The immediate need is funding to begin the process of rebuilding lives in this area of the world. We want to show compassion to those most in need and through the efforts of our ministry partners and the generous support of our churches here in the United States, lives will be transformed.

God has shown favor to ReachGlobal by allowing us to develop an exciting ministry partnership with the Evangelical Free Church of Myanmar. This partnership has positioned us well for responding to this disaster with people in-country who can effectively meet the needs of their fellow citizens.…

We have established the Myanmar Disaster Relief fund and are accepting donations. Please send checks to:
Myanmar Disaster Relief Fund #21709–3989
901 E 78th Street
Minneapolis MN 55420

And finally, if you’re worshiping with us locally, CEFC will also help channel relief help through TouchGlobal to partner churches in Myanmar. I am especially moved that we can help empower local people to meet local needs. May God have mercy on us all.

Encouragement to Preach the One Gospel

rlew — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:46:11 +0000

A true quote from Justin Childers quoting C.J. Mahaney quoting C.H. Spurgeon:
“Whitefield and Wesley might preach the gospel better, but they cannot preach a better gospel.” (I suspect a more direct quote can be found here.)

Childers goes on to say, “Prepare your heart to hear THE GOSPEL this Sunday, proclaimed by a man who cares deeply about your soul, even if his gifting is below average.” It is, after all, the Holy Spirit and the Gospel that moves hearts, not a preacher.

Tired: Good or Bad?

rlew — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:32:25 +0000

When asked “How are you doing?” the most common answer I hear is “Fine” or “Pretty good.” Can you guess what is the second-most common answer is? People say, “Tired.” Part of the reason I think is that there is a bit of virtue in being tired: “I’ve been working hard” or even “I’m really busy and, therefore, a productive person.”

In response to people saying “Tired,” I’ve been asking recently: Is that a “good tired” or a “bad tired”? After a bit of a pause, the other usually responds, “What’s the difference?”

I think there is a big difference. C.J. Mahaney writes a little about the difference:

There is a difference between being tired and weary. If I am tired, then sleep will bring appropriate refreshment and restore my strength. But if I am weary, sleep will be insufficient.

Mahaney is talking about pastors and ministry, but I’d suggest this is applicable for any believer. “Good tired” comes with a sense of accomplishment and being a part of something larger we think is ultimately worthwhile. “Bad tired” comes from a lack of direction or purpose and cynicism toward ultimate ends. “Bad tired” leads to a circling-of-the-wagons attitude: protect my time and energy at all costs against anything or anyone that would sap it while I do the bare minimum to get my job done.

To discern between between being tired (i.e. “good tired”) and weary (i.e. “bad tired”), Mahaney says (regarding pastors):

So if I was interacting with a pastor, I would want to draw him out about the present state of his soul, the presence or absence of affections and passion for the Savior. And I would want to talk to him about whether ministry is a joy for him at present, or a burden. Is his soul glad, or is his soul weighed down and weary?

For lay persons, I think it is similar. It is about the joy of work and the joy of ministry and cultivating a passion for God’s glory in the midst of it. (To bring work and ministry together, we’ll have to await a more detailed discussion about vocation, work and calling.) In the meantime, I’m a big fan of what Bill Hamel wrote in EFCA Today, Sum 2005 (.pdf):

…I constantly meet believers whose lives are dull, flat and without much spiritual influence. This tells me they have not yet found the joy and intense satisfaction of meaningful ministry. One of the greatest gifts, then, that church leaders can give members of their congregation is helping them discover, test drive and grow in their area of gifting. In fact, the job of pastors is to give ministry away to faithful, gifted people. …In the end, it is about releasing God’s gifts.

How to Pray for Preachers

rlew — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 07:59:49 +0000

Justin Childers suggests how to pray for preachers:

During the week, pray for God to reveal the burden of the text to him.

During the week, pray that God would grip the preacher’s heart with His glory revealed in the text.

On Sunday morning, pray that God would free him from distractions.

On Sunday morning, pray that he would proclaim the truth boldly and clearly.

On Sunday morning, pray for God to powerfully speak through him.

On Sunday morning, pray that Christ would be treasured by all gathered.

It would be worth considering how to pray for hearers of preaching. That could be an interesting list. Afterall, preaching involves both speaking and listening. I’d probably start that list with a mediation on 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_7266', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">Mk 4:9.

“The Absent are Safe Here”

rlew — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:05:35 +0000

“The Absent are Safe Here” declares a plaque on the living room wall of Robertson McQuilkin, so the story is told by Haddon Robinson (and written about by Ray Pritchard). To deter himself and guests from speaking ill of others behind their back, McQuilkin put the plaque on display to look to when words drifted astray. I especially admire the list of types of negative talk Pritchard gives to avoid:

No cheap shots
No sharing of gossip
No repeating of rumors
No judging of motives
No sharing of details that should remain private
No trash talk
No insinuations
No angry invectives
No making yourself look good at the expense of others
No maximizing the sins of others
No adding aggravating details to make the absent look worse
No dismissing an unkind remark by saying, “I was only joking.”

If we all watched our speech with these rules, I think we’d go quite a way in building a community of trust and grace. I don’t know what McQuilkin’s plaque looked like, but I made a version for my cubicle. If you’d like a .pdf file, let me know.

“Am I Happy?”

rlew — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:40:53 +0000

For this past weekend’s Easter service, I was thrilled that Acts of Worship put together a drama. For those not present, it was an encounter between “Justin” and “Michelle”—two contrasting characters bearing a slight resemblance to the sisters Martha and Mary (38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,

', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_4013', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">Lk 10:38–41) except with a few twists to increase both the ambiguity and challenge.

Both are believers, though Justin only nominally so (or at worst, a hedonist). Michelle is a faithful believer, committed to serving (slaving?) at church. By the end of the encounter, Justin declares that he is happy while Michelle is left wondering, “Am I happy?”

While it’s easy to say Justin is misguided—we’ve heard plenty of sermons about that—I’m just as passionate in saying Michelle is misguided as well. (

11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.

', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_1000', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">Isa 1:11 echoes here.) Justin seeking pleasure in the world misses his true and lasting joy. Michelle serving the church and yet wondering about happiness also misses her true and lasting joy.

The trick to the drama is the person we don’t see. The missing character in the drama is actually ever-present. Because he is not depicted does not mean he is not there. And because we don’t see him, we open the door to wonder about happiness and joy.

I’m speaking of God, of course. God is the “all-satisfying Object“[1] who, if we lose sight of then questions about happiness or “Is it worth it?” creep in. Losing sight of God or thinking he isn’t in the story drains our joy and hollows out our service. In Martha and Mary’s story, Jesus stands right there and it is plain as day who is in the right place. His presence is all-satisfying and awe-inspiring. We are to bask in him, soak in him and then serve to make him known to anyone with the ears to hear.

This, then, is what this website is all about: To seek a God-entranced Vision of All Things. To lift my dull eyes to see God at the beginning, middle and end of all things. Anything less is just not worth the time.

______
[1] John Piper quoting C.S. Lewis in Desiring God.

Reading to Guard the Heart

rlew — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:59:26 +0000

From a CJ Mahaney interview (emphasis mine):

…I view reading and study as one of the most important ways I can serve the church. So it is not a selfish act for me to set aside this time. It is really the most effective way I can serve this church, by tending to my soul and by preparing for the various forms and expressions of ministry. The best way I can serve a church is by responding to the command to watch your life and watch your doctrine (16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (ESV)
', 0, 0, 'tippy_tip1328523532_6109', event);" onmouseout="Tippy.fadeTippyOut();">1 Tim 4:16). It is the example of a pastor over a period of years and decades that will make a difference in the life of a congregation. And therefore I want to guard my heart from growing familiar with the pastoral world, growing familiar with God’s Word, growing familiar with corporate worship, growing familiar when I am listening to preaching, growing familiar when I am taking communion, growing familiar with God. I want to guard my heart from that. And the best way I can do that is by attending to his Word and applying his Word to my heart on a daily basis. I think that is the most effective way I can serve those I care for and those I have been called to serve and lead.

Lord’s Supper and the Hungry

rlew — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:37:20 +0000

“For there to be a new creation, the old self must know its weakness and die to its own prejudices, tastes, class structures, and personal desires. How can we share this eschatological feast if we don’t participate in displaying God’s future, in which all will be equally fed and we will all join together in universal praise? It seems to me that if we eat the body and blood of Christ in expensive churches without care for the hungry, the sacrament is no longer a foretaste of the feast to come, but a trivialized picnic to which not everyone is invited.” —Marva Dawn

Does music get in the way of your worship?

rlew — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:44:39 +0000

Reflective list of leading questions on worship from Greg Gilbert:

Do you get bored when someone reads a longish passage of Scripture in your church? Do you start wishing they’d get on with the music?
Do you need music playing in the background for the reading of Scripture to affect your emotions?
Does a prayer seem too “plain” or “stark” to you if it doesn’t have music playing behind it?
Do you feel depressed a few weeks after a worship conference because you haven’t felt close to God in a long time?
Do you desperately look forward to the next conference you’re going to attend because you know that, finally, you’ll be able to feel close to God again?
If you’re in a big church with great music, are you able to worship when you visit your parents’ small rural church?
Do you ever feel worshipful in the middle of the week, at work, at school, etc. just because of thinking about God and his grace? Or does that only happen when the music’s playing?
Do you tend to feel closer to God when you’re alone with your iPOD than you do when you’re gathered with God’s people in your church?
Do you feel like you just can’t connect with other believers who haven’t had the same “worship experiences” that you have? Can you only connect with other believers who “know what it feels like to really worship?”
Is your sense of spiritual well-being based more on feeling close to God, or knowing that you are close to God because of Jesus Christ?