Kingdom of Men or Kingdom of God: How Your View of Diversity Defines Your Kindgodm

I remember my pro black days. Back when I was reading books like "From Niggas to Gods" or "Message to the Black Man", and even books like "Psychic Trauma". All of these books expressed one idea. The idea of ethnocentricity. It was a social awakening. Coming from a drug infested family, in a drug infested community, even myself being involved heavily in dealing crack cocain and heroine this books gave me a purpose of "self" a purpose of "identity" and even helped me view "black" people as an important part of not only America but the black conscience throughout the world. Especially with the history of Egypt and its contritubtions to the world.

I remember feeling proud of my African heritage, I even felt most races to be inferior to my own race. The white man was the devil. Had perpertrated all types of evil while the black man, before slavery that is, had brought knowledge, peace and the beauty of blackness to the entire eastern hemisphere.

Its funny where life takes you. I give you a short background that leads up to this quote by Dr. Greg Boyd:

As we learn to think, feel and act under God's rule, we learn how to get our
worth, significance, and security from Christ alone. We learn how to be freed
from our addiction to futilely trying to acquire worth, significance, and
security for ourselves. We learn how to walk in freedom from violence,
self-centeredness, materialism, nationalism, racism
and all other false ways of getting life

As I read this quote my mind ran back over all the reasons for slavery, wars, segregation, Jim Crow and Civil Wars. I find a common thread through them all. They all have to do with ethnocentricity, which is a direct result of having a Kingdom of the World mentality versus the Kingdom of God. What makes one superior to the other is my own value and worth in something I really have no control over.

You see we say "my birthright makes me superior to you, and since I am superior my view of God and culture are correct". However, Jesus says this "because I created all cultures distinct and unique and placed infinite value and the Imago Dei in each of them EVERY culture has value to bring to the table". Not only that as Christians we understand the central point, of all history is Jesus the Christ and He is the substance of all things, and as Paul says in Colossians "all things were created by Him and for Him". Thus the only thing that is superior is the Gospel and the only race that counts is Christian and God in His goodness has allowed for us to keep our distinct cultures as long as they do not intrude upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You see as Dr. Boyd so eloquently put it this is a Kingdom Issue.

So when somone says this is the right way to worship God and it is influenced heavily by one's culture and not the Gospel what they do in essence is reduce God to an idol! They take the infinite God and mold an image of Him, but clothe Him in theological jargon. Our value doesn't come from God, regardless of how well our seminaries and theological books tell us, our value comes from our cultural view of God and we say "you must come through our paticular culture if you want to have a REAL relationship with God". This is exactly what those who refuse to filter culture through the cross say.

I close with this, those who refuse to accept diversity and even pursue say to God "we don't care that you created these other cultures because ours is correct". Many will shake their head at such a statement while simultaneously only inviting their paticular culture and way of doing church to the table. Others must submit to this culture or find themselves as univited guest to the theological banquet. Others may think they are getting a voice there because they use a little slang or may have a different complexion to their skin; however, they sound like, talk like, and read the same books that the superior culture tells them to read. To read anything else is to read inferior works, to think differently about Jesus and the Church is woefully inadequate and to say we too have a right view of God is to invite a theological rebuke.

The reason why diversity does not exist is because the Kingdom of God has been redefined and replaced with the Kingdom of Men, yes the bible is used, and yes many would disagree but at the end of the day when we tell others our view of God and the Church is correct while yours is wrong by filtering the Church through ones on culture we only perpetuate a problem that plagues the Body of Christ!

Phase Out

Over the next month I would like to phase this site out. The blogs posted here will be moved to

www.blackandreformedministries.com

Tyris Blog is here: www.thinkchristians.blogspot.com

Lionels Blog is here: www.anunveiledface.wordpress.com


Please check them out. Thanks for your understanding and patience!

One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism. Piper sets the Record Straight

There is a current movement that is attempting to bridge the gap between Islam and Christianity. We have to understand that there is not a shred of compatability. We are not brothers and we don't serve the same God.

Christians have to be bold to stand on the truth of the Gospel.

Any thoughts on this Video?

Premature Judging

My sister in Christ Jenn has done us Christians a great favor by writing her latest post. It is simply outrageous and gut wrenching convicting. I literally had to stop and repent after reading it and really check my heart and theology. As I thought about the beautiful and liberating doctrine of "Justification by Grace through Faith" I literally shuttered as I thought over the last few weeks and how judgemental I had become. I would say they can't be of the faith because they: listened to that, or watched this, or wore that, or talked like that or did this, or acted like that. I so easily forgot that we are not moralist and our salvation nor righteousness can, will, or ever has rested in ourselves. Our righteousness is found in another man. His name is Jesus Christ and He lived the life, died the death, and beared the sin, that I could not and maybe would not even if I could. God became a man and took on the wrath that was stored up for us.

I forget sometimes that my salvation is in a person. As long as He stands I stand and since it is impossible for Him to fall, then my standing is secure and so is the person stuggling with lying, stealing, sexual immorality, lust, impatience, rudeness, self-righteousness, selfishness and other such sins. We are all guilty ourselves and as Jennifer says "what about the tree in my eye". I would add the tree that I am busy hitting people over the head with trying to help them get the splinter out of their eyes.

Please read her post here. Please contribute to conversation as we grow in this critical area of our relationship with Christ. .

Here is an excerpt:

Yesterday, during a conversation with a sister in Christ, I was checked on
something that has been on my mind for the past few days. In the past, up til
now, I have been too quick to use snapshots to determine the authenticity of a
person’s relationship with Jesus Christ. This sister and I were discussing a
coworker who has a penchant for filthy language.
Her - You know, he cusses a
lot. I don’t like that.Me - I KNEW there was something that made me think he
wasn’t a Christian.Her - That doesn’t mean he isn’t a Christian. There ARE
Christians who cuss.
It made me think - Yes, all believers are in different
levels of their sanctification, and while we are called to be perfect and holy, we’re not, and we very much so fall
short. And what if someone were to look at snapshots of MY life ? There are
many moments where my behaviors don’t reflect the Lord Jesus. I am in no way
proud of it, but it’s true. I have had moments of anger and various other sinful
behaviors, where if someone were to see me in those moments, they’d probably
assume I was one who didn’t know the Lord! In this, I’m convicted, especially in
light of the Matthew 7 Scripture I referenced above.

Some Great Posts I read this morning.

Church Membership
Check out why Chruch Membership is not only beneficial but biblical. Pastor Thabati gives one of the clearest and biblically centered approaches here!

Vision for your Family
Check out my man Quicy at Truth in the Innermost as he discusses a biblical vision for your children. This is simply amazing. You have to also read Tony Carter's response as he adds a point of making that vision rest on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read it here


The Primary Purpose of the Church
Check out John MacArthur over at Pulpit Magazine as he discusses what people look for in a church and what the primary goal of the church is here.

I think you will be edified by each of these. Why reinvent the wheel when you can just help it roll faster?

Holistic Outreach: Is it bringing people into a sinking ship?

I had a very good conversation with someone today and wanted to share some afterthoughts on this. Amongst Urban Evangelicals the conviction for community outreach, has become a growing concern. As young Christians move from the ministry philosophy of many of their parents which they feel was the “if you want to know Jesus come to my church” philosophy to the “church without walls” philosophy I wonder if some things have been lost in the transition.

We first have to understand that the human race is always and I do mean always in danger of going from one extreme to the other. For example a person who thinks that reaching the lost is critical, will employ any and all methods to reach the lost or the unchurched thus the birth of the “Seeker Sensitive” model. Or the person who may have a Calvinistic evangelistic mindset may never do any type of invitation and thus miss opportunities to “biblically” evangelize. Another example is the fact of holiness and how legalism becomes the compass of “true Christianity” while on the other hand liberty takes the form of a lack of biblical church discipline. I can think of many instances in my life from everything from cessasionism to other positions that I took as I left the Charismatic arena in which my pendulum swung so far that I almost couldn’t identify the Holy Spirit if He sat next to me at lunch. So once again extremes lurksin the shadows for many of us.

I want to focus on the perspective of outreach in this short exhortation. I am not a pastor, nor do I understand (practically, not theoretically) the life of a Shepherd. So I am not throwing stones just engaging. As we wrestle with reaching the community that we worship in Corporately what should be the health of the church before such an exploration takes place. If marriages are crumbling, congregants are involved in all types of sin, the majority of the congregation has a low view of God and a high view of man, and if the church doesn’t understand the high calling of biblical church membership (which some people disagree with) should we be attempting to “reach out” without first reaching in? Is God displeased if we took a year or two off to help build the local fellowship and invest in families and biblical faithfulness and then go out to try to help others?

A picture came to my mind as I was talking with the individual. It would be like you pulling people into a ship that is sinking. Is our witness before the community and the world primarily how we live out the Gospel in our lives or reaching out to the community abroad with programs? What is funny is that as I read through Acts and the Epistles and even the Gospels, Jesus, nor the Apostles main focus was not holistic outreach but holistic in-reach. I think we are challenged to provide for the widow and orphan, but I think the primary widow and orphan are those within the Body of Christ. We can see that as Paul addresses widow care in his epistle to Timothy. I think we can do more harm than damage to the body if we focus our energy, time and resources in building the community abroad without first using the resources to build the community within.

That may seem “four wallish” but I think I can make a biblical case for it. As Paul is raising funds for the poor in Jerusalem it was for the poor believers, as people sold their goods in Acts it wasn’t so that the community abroad could have “all things in common” but that the believers could have “all things in common”. The Apostle Paul did not exhort the Churches he wrote to to reach out, but to love each other within. I think we can easily lose focus on what and for whom Christ died. It wasn’t for holistic ministry but for reconciliation. I am not saying churches should not reach out and if the resources are available, especially for mega-churches, then go for it. But I don’t think that the local body should get the scraps from the table while we invest in schools and community outreach programs. I don’t think we should charge those who give frequently for a marriage conference when we take those same dollars to help buy books for the community. That is only my opinion but I think there is some validity there.

If we spend our time rebuilding the city while simultaneously ignoring those within our local fellowship, I think we will continue the trend of nominal Christianity. People aren’t being properly discipled because they are busy painting houses and not being ministered to. Many pastors and leaders aren’t even equipped to deal with the major problems many Christians face within their congregtions Christ has granted them charge over, so we substitute keeping busy for biblical ministry. Many of our brothers are struggling with pornography, don’t have a clue how to disciple their families (I wrestle with this in my own life greatly) and have no clue about biblical manhood, but they are busy working within the body. Many of our women don’t understand their roles as women in a Christian marriage, can’t really reproduce other Godly women and are struggling relating to their teenage daughters, but they are busy organizing outreach events.

This isn’t the case for all churches but I know what I have seen across many ethnic and socioeconomic ministries. We are failing at succeeding at what God calls us to do, in the name of reaching the community, which I can’t find biblical where God spends a bunch of time discussing in the scriptures. I think if we want holistic ministries they must start from within. As the brother I talked to said “Get the families inside healthy, then they can aid in getting those outside healthy”. God bless.

Recapturing the Doctrine of the Priesthood of Believers!!!!

As I read the Between Two Worlds blog, my heart was moved to write this blog. This specific post was about Tim Challies and his new book. Follow the thread and you will see what I mean. Phrases such as “what qualifies him” and other such phrases were cast at will. I started to wonder about the spirit of the pre-reformation and there wasn’t much difference here. One quote from someone was “does a man need a doctorate degree to write a book, it isn’t like he is an accountant writing on biology”. This is my sentiments exactly. When did we lose the doctrine of the “Priesthood of ALL Believers”? I thought the veil was torn about 2000 years ago and I also thought the heart and soul of the Reformation was for “every man to have a bible in his/her hand”. Has what our forefathers of the faith died become vain? Here is a quote from Tim Challies blogger (here) and the author of the book “Discipline of Discernment”:

“Yet it is a strange contradiction that those who identity most closely with the Protestant Reformation seem often to be those who are most prone to forgetting about the priesthood of all believers. This idea, that God offers His truth to all believers through His Word, is a defining characteristic of Protestantism but one that continues to make Christians uncomfortable. Though many give it verbal assent, it is still easier to simply find and trust certain teachers, always giving them the benefit of the doubt. “I am of Paul! I am of Apollos!” can become “I am of MacArthur! I am of McLaren!” We can take comfort in another person’s position, believing that only a truly godly man could rise to become the Senior Pastor of a large church, or we can take comfort in another person’s credentials, assuming that a man with so many degrees and accolades must be right. Yet all the while the Bible commands each of us to do the hard work of discernment and to realize that we are all called to pursue and obey the truth.” We must ask ourselves some serious questions if this isn’t our heart! Are we not able to question those in “authority” anymore, can a laymen write a book , start a church, or do we need 10 years of Seminary and another 2 in church planting? Is Tim not qualified to write a book but qualified to start a bible study, lead a home group, or even disciple his family? Which has greater weight? Listen very carefully, if we don’t stop this hogwash, we will soon find ourselves in the same position of those who were oppressed by Rome!

Now what I am not saying is that seminary isn’t important. I think there are tools gained (especially the languages and hermeneutics) that are invaluable to any pastor on the planet. However, they are not, BY ANY BIBLICAL STANDARD, prerequisites. It really chaps my hide when I hear the same individuals screaming “Sola Scriptura” from the rooftops but in the same breath they are saying “Westminster plus your bible, or Fuller plus your bible, or Southern plus your bible, or DTS plus your bible”. For me this flies in the face of the 5 Solas! Peter says it very clearly in 1 Peter 2: 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Nowhere does it say “you need a formal education to proclaim these Excellencies”. So I wonder are churches not preparing their members to be dropped on an Island with their bible and start a movement. If every member (at least those who have been around for at least a year) can’t be in a plane crash on a remote Island and plant a church, that means there is something wrong with the leadership there. If that person has to wait until someone with a seminary degree comes along to plant a church there we are in serious trouble. This is why I think the book is important and not only that, even historical. A blogger writes a book! That should be a motivation for all bloggers (though, I don’t even know proper sentence structure half the time so don’t count me in). But this isn’t about a book this is about, your right to question anything coming from anybody! This is about JV versus Varsity Christianity where now we are beginning to become top heavy again. Where laymen are overlooked and pastors are esteemed. Where education comes before wisdom and a passion for the “Glory of God in all things”. We have lost our footing along the way. We have begun to esteem the very things that Christ and the Apostles spoke against. We are doing it all in the name of “qualification”. Each member of the body is fully capable of starting a movement as long as their motive is pure and they have a good grasp of the scriptures and how they fit together and point to Christ. I am thoroughly upset that this isn’t the heart of the Church! I pray that this doesn’t continue because if it does, we may need another reformation in the near future!

The Gospel?

This is the stuff that brings shame to the Gospel.



I have this book in my library and I think I might read it tonight-enjoy.

Mark Driscoll

Free Inserts for Christmas Cards

My Pastor Jim Elliff and some of his associates have some great Biblical materials for free. I plan on printing some of these out and putting them in Christmas Cards when I send them. Very good material-God Bless

Here is the Link

The New Phariseeical Movement

This is a gut checking blog to write, due to the fact that I too once was on the New Pharisee team. The truth be told the majority of us have a little Pharisee within us, and it is not all that bad. My pastor Dhati Lewis always says “it is better to err on legalism than sin”. So for those of us who struggle with the tension of holiness and sanctification we are always dancing on thin ice. My problem isn’t so much with personal legalism because as Paul says in Romans 14 “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin”. So, once again, this is not an attack on the conscious of others, but a response to an ongoing epidemic of a different kind of legalism.

The legalism that I am addressing is doctrinal legalism. It is a growing epidemic among us and especially in the blogosphere. There are many blogs, whose entire premise or existence is to police the doctrine of others. I am all for correct doctrine, and for the most part, I think I have a pretty good grasp on some points, but in other areas I am “Semper Reformanda” (or always reforming). I hold to a reformed and New Covenant (sort of) perspective and for the most part I think I am right; however, others do not and they, as I do, believe themselves to be correct. I think these things can be debated, but as I always say “the end goal is edification”. When it gets to the point where harsh words, strawman assumptions, and self-righteousness takes precedent of mutual edification, the line has officially been crossed and sin has begun to take root. The problem is that most can’t recognize that this type of Doctrinal Witch Hunt is SIN. The other problem lies, in the fact, that most people (especially bloggers) don’t want to establish a relationship, they just want you to believe like they believe and then they are off to the next person to “correct” their theology. What happens in the process, is that feelings our hurt, people get upset, and those who practice such “Doctrinal Elitism” are wreaking more havoc than they know.

Think of this scenario. Just say a world class physician, decides he wants to go and help cure diseases in Sub-Sahara Africa. There is a disease that is killing 20-25% of these villages and this doctor has found the cure. So he goes to the villages enthused that he has the cure and eager to help cure their epidemic. So he goes from village to village treating everybody and not only that he has the anti-bodies to prevent others from getting it. Everyone is excited, he is on CNN, FOX News, Dr. Phil, Oprah, and gets a key to every city he visits. The problem is 1 year later all the people in that area have died. There is uproar, the doctor is confused. He checks his medicine everything looks good, the anti-bodies and medicine has been approved by FDA and is on the market in the U.S and everyone is taking the vaccination. They found one last person who has escaped the death but he is about to die also, doctors rush to find out what has caused the deaths, and they found out, that is a common cold! So the doctor, though he helped one epidemic caused even greater fatality by a common cold! This is what is going on today, in many churches, and by many bloggers. We fixed the doctrinal epidemic but we are killing people with our arrogance, self-righteousness, and lack of desire to establish significant relationships, all in the name “correcting theology”

Though, I said this was new, it really isn’t new at all. I just thought the title was catchy. This is a problem that has existed for over 2000 years. Let’s see what happened in Jesus’ day:

Matthew 1515:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

We all know the story. The Pharisees spent there time trying to find some crack in Jesus’ theology. This is how Luke puts it in Luke 11:

53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

I see the same attitude and desire in many of blogs today and blog searchers. They wait “to catch” someone in doctrinal error. This should not be our goal. I have come to the conclusion that the only person I totally agree with on every point of doctrine, is myself, and I have corrected myself many of times. Things that I said three years ago, I wouldn’t dare say today. Positions that I held to as stone have become like sand between my fingers. Things I would debate with great passion, are now the same truths I embrace with like passion. We make mistakes, we say dumb things, and other times we just don’t know what the heck we are talking about. The problem is WE ALL have been that way. But the same grace Jesus has extended us in progressively revealing His word to us, we refuse to extend to others. There were things that I rejected that I now fully embrace and Jesus was merciful to me. He sent people into my life, that built relationships with me (B.J, Shannon, Calvin Clark, Dhati, Keynon) and helped me through my error. They weren’t rough or hard, and they even let me have the last word. It wasn’t “believe this today” they understood my hang ups and when I was ready to accept it, they taught me again, like I never heard it before.

 

That isn’t the goal today for many. They can find everything wrong and nothing right. Just as the Pharisses only agreed with their “traditions” so many of us, put greater emphasis on doctrinal truth rather than a passion for the Glory of Jesus Christ, this shouldn’t be. You see, if we get the correct perspective of grace, the cross, and redemption, these other truths will follow closely behind. If we are more concerned with “our doctrinal truth” than we are God’s glory, we have lost the meaning of redemption. Listen closely. GOD DOES NOT TREAT US THIS WAY. He takes us, all jacked up and slowly conforms us to the image of His Son. Christ or the Holy Spirit, does not wait with a bat in Their hands ready to beat us, because we don’t fully understand soteriology, pnuematology, eschatology, trinitarianism, bibliology, hamartiology, ecclesiology, or even Christology. What God does is “demonstrates, His love towards us, while we were yet sinners”. God is patient with our progression and conformity and guess why, because He is the one who conforms us!

 

If you are reading this and this seems like you, impatient, unkind, always finding fault, you may want to evaluate your own progression. How long did you sit under “bad theology”? How long was it before you were convinced on truths you now hold as gold? What about certain sin areas? How long did you struggle with lust, envy, unforgiveness, or impatience before you got it right. Paul penned it beautifully in 2 Corinthians 13 when he said “examine YOURSELVES”. It is funny that Paul didn’t say examine others. Paul also says “who are you to pass judgment on another man’s servant” in Romans 14.

 

Finally we must ask, what is the goal of my correction of others? Is it to help them have a better understanding of the truth of the gospel, or the win an argument? Is it to establish a relationship with someone in order to help them be conformed to the image of Christ? People use Paul as an example, but as my good friend Gabriel always points out is “Paul had a relationship with the majority of the people he wrote”. These were responses to churches he had planted, and you can tell by the fatherly love he permeates by his letters. The Pharisees, only wanted to put yokes of bondage on their followers. Jesus says “my yoke is easy”. What a contrast of yokes. You must examine your motives and if the end goal isn’t that of Christ, what you are doing is sinning against your brother.

Free Books

Lionel graciously bought some books from John Piper's ministry. I have a couple of copies left from the stash he sent me. If anyone would like a free copy. Please email me or him with your address and I will send you a copy. God Bless in Christ




tlhorton80@hotmail.com

Eddie James Ministries singing I AM

Now these brothers are a bit Charismatic, but boy we sing this song at our church and it is beautifully penned. It is John 8:58 at its finest! What a Christ Centered song. The brother even properly took the type of Christ and the Ram for Abraham. Whoa!

Should Churches Have Armed Guards?

 

I really didn’t want to join this conversation but my heart is torn. So instead of giving you a theological treatise, I would really like to know what you think of the entire matter. Here is my problem; the early church lost their lives in droves, at the hands of angry mobs, and governments that hated Christians. As I read through the New Testament (church age) I see a conflicting position than that of today. So here are my thoughts in bullet format for and against having armed guards.

Against

1. As I read through the New Testament, not once do I see Jesus, the Apostles or anyone else trying to protect their lives as a matter fact they rejoiced that they were able to suffer like Christ (Acts 5:41)

1. I think it is hypocritical in two ways. 1. We pray and esteem those who die for the faith and use them as pillars for the faith (including the Apostles and the early Church martyrs). We teach it to our children to get them all hyped and preach it from the pulpit but then we hire security guards to protect our own lives. 2. We don’t send our missionaries armed when we send them out. We understand that there may be a lost of life, but we send them and want them to risk their lives, but once again we protect ours. That seems to be a bit flaky to me.

1. It gives mixed signals to the lost. We talk about Christ suffering in one breath and in the other, we don’t want to suffer. If I were a non-believer I would mock Christianity for such hypocrisy. Either we are willing to die for this hope like our King or we are not. If we are not, we might as well shut our doors, because we have decided the life of this world versus the promised one to come is more important.

1. I think it is a slap in the face to all of those who went before us. They never, ever defended their lives, but laid it down, we might as well stop reading Christian history and stop making fun of Joel Olsteen. At least he is being honest; we will be proven to be frauds!

For

1. I thought I would have some but the more I thought about it, the less biblical I became. So I only have against. Sorry.

So those are my thoughts. I would love to hear your perspective. This may be a bit heated, but I think it something we really need to wrestle through, especially in light of being pleasing to our Master and faithful to the hope we proclaim.

A Frequent Blog: The Old Black Church

Hey Ann Brock writes some pretty good stuff. I ask that you check her out. It isn't heavey theology, but they are all pretty provocoative. There hasn't been anything there that I have not wanted to comment on. Very good stuff check her out at

www.theoldblackchurch.blogspot.com

New Site

Lionel and I decided to put some foot work to our words. The intent of the site is to point those of us blacks who absolutely cannot find any solid black churches in our area. Our aim is to point us to Biblically sound churches regardless of the nationality & regardless of race. We will feature sound churches at least one a week in which Lionel or I will call and speak to the pastors of these churches personally and see if they are sound. Once completed we will put them on our Good Churches list and build from there. We also would like to give out free materials to all people that will help better equip the entire body of Christ. Please let us know if you have any information or would like to assist in equipping the Body of Christ. Thanks.

New Site listed Here.

The Lonely Pursuit of Truth in a Postmodern Culture

Pilate asked this question to Jesus “what is truth” a question that he never found an answer to from what I can find in scripture. Everybody knows the postmodern debate (for the most part) especially amongst those with even a superficial knowledge of the Emergent Church. Today I am not going to attempt to define or even defend truth directly. This is an overflow of the deep despair of my heart due to the lonely pursuit of truth. I believe with every fiber of me that Truth can not be attained apart from Christ. Not that Christ speaks the truth but he fully embodies all that even is true. So Christ is the essence of Truth. The funny thing is that engaging someone for this pursuit and having others join you to help defend and explain it becomes a daunting task. The majority of this problem is birthed out of the fact we live in a non-confrontational era. Where many of the previous societies openly debated and even encouraged such intellectual dialogue today we have pushed all aside for “unity”. Ahh, Unity! What a very tricky and elusive word. What exactly does it look like, on what should we unite for and for what issues do we say, unity is not possible because truth becomes a lifeless victim? Should we unite? The obvious answer is yes, the Apostle Paul makes it clear, in Colossians. Love is the bond of such unity, but what about truth? Does unity and love take precedent over truth; do we slay truth in the great names of love and unity?

This is where I start to struggle. Naturally I am confrontational and I am an extrovert. Coupled together and sprinkled with passion (some say obnoxious) this can be a real recipe for disaster. So there are times where I may go overboard and times where I may just should chalk things up as a lost for the moment and come back at a future time. However, I handle conflict verbally and I process things verbally and I wear my emotions on my sleeve (as they say) so I am usually engaged in some type of theological discussion. I tend to think that this isn’t as bad as most think it is, I was just born 2000 years too late. I think if I were Paul’s homeboy when he debated the philosophers at Mars Hill, how I would have love to sneak a couple of catchy clichés in, or how I would have stood with the great Apollos and Stephen as they debated in the synagogues with the Jews. However, I was not born in those days. I was born in America in an era where everyone’s opinion is truth and the consequences are eternal. Due to this I usually find myself alone; sometimes by choice and other times by exclusion.

I attempt not to get into these discussions in crowed venues. I have learned that people really don’t like to discuss issues pertaining to eternal life at the family gatherings, basketball games, and even in small groups. We would rather play it safe and talk about things I deem to be fairly irrelevant to life, such as: who is going to win the National Championship (if I knew I would have bet my savings on such knowledge), Kanye West’s mothers dying (very sad, but doesn’t matter for us), or which entertainer or entertaining preachers are getting divorced. The truth is I don’t really care. But I do care about the greatest question ever asked “what must I do to be saved”. Most of the pertinent News becomes secondary in light of the Cross and what I want to discuss is the wonderful truths of scripture and their application to life transformation. I want to know, do you know for sure where you will spend eternity and how. I also want to know how this salvation is obtained; and that is when I figure out that Britney Spears and K-Fed or Tyler Perry is much more important. Typically I find myself disengaged from the conversations at most dinner tables, even with gathering Christians. I read Acts 2:42 and wonder why they were so in love with this new found faith and we are so disinterested in it. I wonder why they purposely got together to fellowship and intentionally encourage one another in the great truths of the Christian faith and we would rather talk about Lebron James or Michael Vick.

Why is Jesus such off limits and why is scripture always secondary? It is because of our newly found enemy truth! He has become a problem, a major party pooper, a thorn in the flesh. Most people just want to live never confronting, never addressing the seriousness of his existence and the responsibility to respond to him (truth that is). So now we say “unity at all cost, truth is impossible”. All the while hell is filling up with the souls (and eventually bodies) of people we would rather unite with versus discuss truth. As I stated this occurs in my small groups. Christians would rather stay away from scripture and truth as if now they are saying “I can finally let my hair down and relax”. Maybe I am too concerned with this “stuff”. I tell you what one thing about barber shops that I love is the platform to discuss current ideas. It is the perfect opportunity to philosophize about current events, life, death, and the after-life. It is funny that I get more theological discussion out of a barber shop visit than I can in small groups and Christian gatherings. The sole purpose of fellowship should be to discuss “Truth” namely Jesus Christ. Sorry about the rambling.

So I say all of that to say this. If God has given you an appetite for His truth, pursue it recklessly. As the man who sold all he had to buy the parcel of land. We should have the same mindset. It may be lonely and you may be ignored, I promise you one thing you definitely will not be popular. But so what, a thirsty soul is infinitely worse. Most times a good book a couple of hours with the Lord and articulating that truth brings me the greatest joy. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing someone have an “ah ha” moment. Nothing is more rewarding than being prepared to defend Truth even if you are mocked for such a truth and nothing is more rewarding than “drinking from the well that never runs dry”. Our reward is the truth. While so many are “ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth” God has graciously revealed His truth to us and given us an unsatisfiable thirst for more of Him. “What else there besides you oh, Lord” should be our heart and whatever comfort we forfeit in this life will be given with great interest in the life to come. Truth is a gracious gift from God; pursue it as an invaluable treasure!

How Christian Couples Can Prevent Dissension in Our Homes: Marriage Series Part 1

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This was a very helpful article for me, it was written over 300 years (isn't it amazing the wisdom God gave the puritans). Way too many Christian Marriages are ending in divorce, way too many Christian Couples despise one another, and way too many Chrisitan marriages are doing the Body of Christ and the testimony of our faith great harm. Read this with a humble heart and wherever it addresses you respond accordingly. God bless

Directives for avoiding dissension in the home
by Richard Baxter
It is a great duty of husbands and wives to live in quietness and peace, and avoid all occasions of wrath and discord. Because this is a duty of so great importance, I shall first open to you the great NECESSITY of it, and then give you more particular directions to perform it.

(1) Your discord will be your pain, and the vexation of our lives. Like a disease, or wound, or fracture in your own bodies, which will pain you until it is cured; you will hardly keep peace in your minds, when peace is broken so near you in your family. As you would take heed of hurting yourselves, and as you would hasten the cure when you are hurt; so should you take heed of any breach of peace, and quickly seek to heal it when it is broken.

(2) Dissension tends to cool your love; frequent dissension tends to leave a habit of distaste and averseness on the mind. Wounding is separating; and to be tied together by any outward bonds, when your hearts are separated, is but to be tormented; and to have the insides of adversaries, while you have marital outsides. As the difference between my 'home' and my 'prison' is that I willingly and with delight dwell in the one, but am unwillingly confined to the other; such will be the difference between a quiet and an unquiet life, in your married state; it turns your dwelling and delight into a prison, where you are chained to those calamities, which in a free condition you might flee.

(3) Dissension between the husband and the wife, disorders all other family affairs. They are like oxen unequally yoked--which can perform no work, because they are always striving with one another.

(4) It exceedingly unfits you for the worship of God; you are not fit to pray together, nor to confer together of heavenly things, nor to be helpers to each other's souls. I need not tell you this, you feel it by experience. Wrath and bitterness will not allow you so much exercise of love and holy composedness of mind, as every one of those duties requires.

(5) Dissension disables you to govern your families aright. Your children will take example by you; or think they are at liberty to do what they desire, when they find you taken up with such animosity between yourselves. They will think you unfit to reprove them for their faults--when they see you guilty of such faults and folly of your own. Nay, you will become the shame and secret derision of your children, and bring yourselves into contempt.

(6) Your dissensions will expose you to the malice of Satan, and give him advantage for manifold temptations. A house divided cannot stand; an army divided is easily conquered, and made a prey to the enemy. You cannot foresee what abundance of sin you put yourselves in danger of. By all these reasons, you may see what dissensions between husband and wife do tend to.


DIRECTIVES for avoiding dissension in the home (1) Keep up your marital love in a constant heat and vigor. Love will suppress wrath. You cannot become bitter upon small provocations, against those whom you dearly love; much less can you proceed to reviling words, or to averseness and estrangedness, or any abuse of one another. Or if a breach and wound be unhappily made, the balsamic quality of love will heal it. But when love once cools, small matters exasperate and breed antipathy.

(2) Both husband and wife must mortify their pride and passion, which are the causes of impatience; and must pray and labor for a humble, meek, and quiet spirit. A proud heart is troubled and provoked by every word or action that seems to tend to their undervaluing. A peevish, proud mind is like a sore and ulcerated member--which will be pained if it be touched. He that must live near such a sore, diseased, impatient, proud mind--must live even as the nurse does with the child, that makes it her business to rock it, and lull, and sing it quiet when it cries; for to be angry with it, will do no good. And if you have married one of such a sick or childish temper, you must resolve to bear and use them accordingly. But no Christian should bear with such a malady in themselves; nor be patient with such impatience, pride and haughtiness in themselves. Once get the victory over yourselves, and the cure of your own impatience, and you will easily keep peace with one another.

(3) Agree together beforehand, that when one is in a tempestuous, angry fit, the other shall silently and gently bear it--until it be past and you have come to your senses again. Do not both be angry at the same time. When the fire is kindled, quench it with gentle words and demeanor, and do not cast on more fuel, by answering provokingly and sharply, or by multiplying words, and by answering wrath with wrath.

(4) If you cannot quickly quench the anger in your heart--yet at least refrain your tongues! Speak no reproachful or provoking words. Talking hotly and angrily does blow the fire, and increase the flame. Be but silent, and you will the sooner return to your serenity and peace. Foul words tend to more displeasure. As Socrates said when his wife first railed at him, and next threw a vessel of foul water upon him, "I thought when I heard the thunder, there would come rain"; so you may foretell worse following, when foul, unseeming words begin. If you cannot easily allay your wrath, you may hold your tongues, if you are truly willing.

(5) Let the sober party condescend to speak gently and to entreat the other. Say to your angry wife or husband, 'You know this should not be between us; love must allay it, and it must be repented of. God does not approve it, and we shall not approve it when this heated argument is over. This frame of mind is contrary to a praying frame, and this language contrary to a praying language; we must pray together soon; let us do nothing contrary to prayer now. Sweet water and bitter come not from one spring,' etc. Some calm and humble words of reason, may stop the torrent, and revive the reason which passion had overcome.

(6) Confess your fault to one another, when angry passion has prevailed against you; and ask forgiveness of each other, and join in prayer to God for pardon. This will lay a greater engagement on you the next time, to refrain from argument. You will surely be ashamed to do that which you have so confessed and asked forgiveness for--of God and each other.If you will but practice these directives, your family peace may be preserved.

What Should a Carnal Christian and Non-believer Have in Common?

They both should fear hell! This may be a very unpopular post due to the huge movement of the “carnal” Christian, who by every standard of scripture is a “non-believing” Christian. This doctrine does the local church and those who live the “carnal Christian” life a great harm. It gives them assurance that they shouldn’t have and it weakens the sanctification and ongoing pursuit of practical holiness in the local church. It has no bearing on the Universal Church, because she is made up of the regenerate and have no fear of hell, because of the finished work of her husband, namely Jesus the Christ. However, those who live in opposition to God’s word as a lifestyle must only be assured of one thing, that they are ENEMIES of God, never given a new heart, and that the wrath of God remains upon them. My good buddy Tyris and I have been spending some time studying the book of Hebrews and the book has proven to be a book of warnings. The warnings start in Chapter 2 and work their way out throughout the rest of the book. Hitting high points in Chapter 6 and Chapter 10, lets look at Chapter 10:



26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

These are common verses used by Armenians to reject the Doctrine of Eternal Security. I can see how Armenians have such a huge problem with this doctrine. OSAS has become a foundation to defend the very dangerous teaching of Carnal Christianity! I believe however that the Armenians have it wrong. They are under the assumption that the individual described here are the regenerate of God. I disagree. The true mark of a Christian is one who perseveres, grows in holiness, loves the body, and lives a life of repentance and brokenness before his Master! But that is a different argument. I want to dialogue with those who hold to this carnal Christian position.

The writer makes it clear that those who deliberately sin after understanding the gospel have only one thing to expect “JUDGMENT AND A FURY OF CONSUMING FIRE”. These individuals are put in the same category as an adversary (enemy). The true believer is called a child and in John 5:24 Christ makes clear that “they will never come under judgment”. Listen to me carefully, the carnal Christian is the person, who wants nothing to do with Christ as it comes to his life, he only wants a “get out of hell free” card or what we call Fire Insurance. The only problem is they don’t want to pay the premium. Relationship, reproof, admonishment, discipline, and obedience are far off. He wants to take God on his own terms and God does not bargain! This individual makes a mockery of Christ and his accomplished work on the cross. It is hard for me to read 1 John, Galatians 5, Ephesians 3-4, Colossians 4, Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 5, 2 Thessalonians 1, Revelation and James and not get a clear view that God will deal with those who enjoy disobeying him. How someone can say “well they believe the gospel, but they just don’t want to make him Lord” is very puzzling to me. In Romans 6 Paul says:

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I think this comes from a very bad view of Romans 7. Most believe Romans 7 to be the life of a Christian struggling with sin. I disagree with this wholeheartedly. The language in Romans 6 as it relates to freedom and Romans 8 as it relates to not being under the flesh, seems to be clear that Paul is not talking about someone who is a believer, but one trying to live by the law through his own power (the whole argument of Paul from 3-8). But that is also another blog. What I am saying is this. There is not a lick of evidence of a carnal Christian in scripture. Paul tells the Corinthians to examine themselves and he warns the others that those who live in opposition to obedience will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 1 John scores the winning run with a Grand Slam in which the Apostle clarifies what the marks of a true Christian are. I pray that you will read the verses provided and to approach the scripture without your theological presuppositions. The carnal Christian is a common view held among many great teachers, but one I believe is very misleading.


Final thoughts and Exhortaion

If you read this and your life is defined by rebellion against the commands of God, please know that judgment is on the horizon. If your heart is hard against the sweetness of God’s commands, or the commands of God are bitter upon your tongue, it is most likely that you have been given a new heart and that you are not of the family of God. If you teach this doctrine, please search the scriptures before you write me off. No Christian is going to live perfectly but those who have been born again, pursue holiness with reckless abandon! Carrying our cross becomes a daily pursuit and a love for the world becomes hate. God has given us His Spirit and the Spirit is not powerless in our lives. He comes to do more than seal us; He also comes to conform us. There are many warnings in scripture and this one rings loud throughout its pages. I believe the picture above is false teaching based off the clear teaching of scripture. God bless.