Twitter and the Southern Baptist Convention

The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is wrapping up today. I was not able to attend, but thanks to the internet I hardly feel like I've missed it. This year's meeting will probably be remembered most for Tuesday night's landslide victory in favor of appointing a "Great Commission Resurgence Task Force", which was essentially a vote to implement the GCR Statement. But the second most significant aspect of the convention seems to have been the rise of Twitter in alerting the world to every ugly detail of the proceedings.

This year everyone and their mother brought their Twitter-activated cell phones into the convention hall, and people watching the live internet feed signed up for Twitter accounts as well. As thousands of "tweets" (I hate that word) went out yesterday with the hash tag #SBC2009, the whole world was watching. Unfortunately, the founders of the SBC did not have Twitter in mind in 1845, and the meeting is no more twit-friendly today than it was then.

I should explain something about the Southern Baptist Convention to those of you who are unfamiliar. Unlike many denominations who are ruled from the top down by appointed priests or elders, the SBC is ruled from the bottom up by its churches. Each church in the denomination can send a maximum of ten messengers (essentially delegates) to the annual meeting, and these messengers are the ones who have the power to vote, introduce motions, etc. This year there were nearly 9,000 registered messengers. Because the power is in the hands of the messengers, the churches are in charge of the bureaucracy and not the other way around. This democratic structure is what allowed the SBC to reverse its drift toward liberalism 30 years ago while many other denominations could not be rescued. It is a beautiful thing in my opinion.

Part of the beauty of our Baptist democracy is freedom of speech, in that any messenger can introduce any motion that they wish. When you put out open mics for a group of 9,000 people, it's impossible to avoid hearing some very strange and embarrassing statements coming through the loud speakers. As far as I know, someone has said something crazy every year since 1845. Usually the crazy motions contain a technical flaw related to the rules of order and are thrown out, and even if they manage to go to a vote they get dismissed by the other messengers.

But when the democratic proceedings of the SBC hit Twitter yesterday, the world did not understand. The vast majority of the tweets had to do with the off-the-wall motions that were brought up during the open mic time. Many of those watching from outside got the impression that if something was said at a microphone, then surely it must be the voice of the denomination. In addition to Twitter, videos of the open mic times have been posted to YouTube and promoted on a number of blogs. Thanks to these user generated media, rumors are spreading all over the internet that the Southern Baptist Convention is going to boycott Pepsi, ban Mark Driscoll's books from Lifeway stores, do other terrible things to Mark Driscoll, ban all secular music, and start using only the King James Version of the Bible. All of these were made as motions by who-knows-who, but none will happen.

As the tweets went out from the convention, outsiders' responses ranged from cries of sadness by members of other denominations to cries of "I told you so" by liberal critics. What none of them understood was that everything was proceeding as usual, that the strange motions are individual opinions, and that the denomination as a whole is as strong as ever. The truth finally came to light Tuesday night when the very forward-looking GCR Task Force (see first paragraph) was approved by a vote of 95% to 5%. Once that motion was approved the Twitterverse got quiet very quickly, as it tends to do when there is a lack of things to criticize.

This year's convention will bring changes to the denomination. The GCR Task Force will likely recommend some significant changes, some fresh new leaders will start taking the reigns (David Platt is the most obvious), and some of the old leaders may even step down as a result of their opposition to the will of the messengers. But one needed change that I doubt anyone foresaw is a shift toward a style of meeting that does not lend itself to the huge misperceptions that were broadcast this year on Twitter. I do not have any ideas of how to accomplish this, and it might not be possible at all if we're to preserve our democratic structure. Either way, next year the SBC will have no choice but to acknowledge that Twitter has power to change the world's perceptions about issues much bigger than what a celebrity had for breakfast.

Top 10 Bad Bible Teachings

I accidentally started thinking about this when I was writing one of those silly, narcissistic facebook notes where you answer questions about yourself. I answered a question about pet peeves, and now I can't stop answering that question.

These are ten of the most common errors in biblical interpretation that I hear taught in various places. All of these are taught with good intentions, and most even have truth somewhere in them. That's why they're common, but that's also why we have to be more careful. My hope in posting these errors is that some people who teach the Bible will read this and be driven to invest even more time and study in their preparation to teach.

Here's the list:

10. The practice of 'claiming' promises that are in the Bible
Some of the promises God makes in the Bible are intended for us and some are not. For example, I once heard someone 'claim' the promise of Joshua 1:3, "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you." This was a promise made to Joshua and the Israelites, and I seriously doubt that God intended it to mean He would give land to every person who reads this verse. There are legitimate applications of this promise for Christians in that we will receive an eternal inheritance from God, but to use that verse to demand something from God in this life is irresponsible. Also, there are lots of promises in the Bible that none of us would ever want to claim. If you doubt this, go read Nahum 3:5-6.

9. Using a commandment from the Law of Moses as an ethical imperative
Huge portions of the New Testament are dedicated to the teaching that Jesus fulfilled the Law and that we are no longer bound by it. Yet, it is still common to hear someone quote a verse in Leviticus as proof that something they don't like is sinful. For example, it's common to hear someone quote Leviticus 19:28 as evidence that it's a sin to get a tattoo. There's just no way to get that kind of teaching to fit with what the New Testament says about the Law. From a Christian perspective, ethical imperatives can only come from the New Testament.

8. Dismissing a commandment from the Law of Moses as unimportant
On the flip side of #9, we have to remember that the entire Bible is still the Word of God. Just because the Law is not binding on followers of Christ doesn't mean it's unimportant. After all, why would the Son of God fulfill every word of an irrelevant document? Even when certain commands in the Old Testament are explicitly reversed by the New Testament, there are still principles in those verses that can teach us important truths about God an how He wants us to live. For example, many of the dietary laws of the Old Testament had to do with avoiding the pagan practices of the culture around them. If the Israelites weren't supposed to boil a goat in its mother's milk, then maybe we shouldn't behave the same way as the culture around us either.

7. Using Proverbs 29:18 to prove that "casting a vision" is important
Yes, it's important for leaders to have an idea of where they want to go in the future. That's true. What's not true is that you can prove that point by tossing around the line, "Where there is no vision the people perish" (KJV). It's funny to me that Christian leadership gurus who would never dare preach from the King James Version in their churches suddenly adore it when it comes to this verse. Check a modern translation and you'll find out why. The "vision" that the Bible is talking about has nothing to do with modern leadership principles. It's talking about the literal sort of vision that God would give to a prophet and use to reveal truth to His people. In other words, it's the Word of God that keeps us from perishing, not the vision-casting abilities of a pastor.

6. Using Philippians 4:13 to say we can literally do anything
The verse reads, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." This is truly a great verse--in context. If you read the two verses that come before it you can see what Paul means by it. He has been through many hardships, and by the power of Christ he can endure them all. This shows us that by trusting Christ we can face any situation God brings into our lives. It does not mean that if you had just a little more faith in Jesus you could bench press an extra 20 pounds, or levitate, or make all your wildest dreams come true.

5. Drawing distinctions between the different Greek words for "love"
All of us who've been around Christian culture for a while have heard that there are several words for "love" in Greek and that each word refers to a specific kind of love. Usually the crowning moment of this lesson is that 'agape' is the kind of love God has for us and is the best love of all. I hate to be the one to burst the bubble, but this is just not true. Some of the Greek words that have made it into this teaching are never found in the Bible at all. The ones that are in the Bible are used interchangeably in a variety of contexts. In fact, there is one instance in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) when 'agape' actually means 'rape'. When you're trying to figure out what a Greek word for 'love' really means, the context of the verse is the best way to find out. Usually it just means love.

4. Using John 3:16 to say God loved the world "so much"
John 3:16 is certainly one of the greatest verses in the Bible about the astonishing love that God has shown in giving us His Son. But, the word "so" in that verse does not mean "so much". It would actually be better translated "thusly" or "in this way". John 3:16 is not about the amount of love that God has for the world but the way in which He shows that love. That doesn't mean God loves us any less than we've always thought, it just means that the verse isn't talking about the amount of love.

3. Using Revelation 3:20 to say that Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart
In this verse Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock..." I think we can say from Scripture that the Lord legitimately offers a call to be saved to everyone who hears the gospel. But, this verse is not about that. This verse is addressed to a local church that has essentially shut Jesus out of their congregation. Jesus is knocking on the door of the church in this verse, not the door of someone's heart.

2. Taking Jeremiah 29:11 out of context
I know I'm messing with a lot of people's favorite verse here, but you need to know what it's really about if it's going to be your favorite verse. Here it is: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" This verse gets claimed pretty often in the fashion of #10 on this list. But before you claim it, read the verses and chapters that surround it. All of the false prophets are telling the people of Judah that everything is going to be fine, but Jeremiah is delivering an unpopular message from God that their nation will be destroyed and that they will become slaves in a foreign land. First of all, this verse is addressed only to the people of God, so it applies today only to people who know and trust God. Secondly, it is given as a message of hope as the people are about to be carried off into exile for 70 years. What it means is that even though God takes His people through some incredibily difficult times, He has a plan that is bigger and better than we understand.

1. Saying that the Great Commission really means "As you go"
The verse says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matt. 28:19). The mistaken teaching is that if we knew Greek we'd know that it really means "as you go" instead of "go". I've written about this before, so I won't go into too much detail. The basic truth is that if you knew Greek you would find out that it still means "go". The Greek is a little weird, but I dare you to find a translation of the Bible that says "as you go". The reason you won't find one is that even in Greek it really is a command, not a passive suggestion. How are you going to reach all nations "as you go" anyway? Jesus' words tell us that we really should go out of our way to share the good news.

That's all. I hope this makes you want to study your Bible more.

What's the Point of Going to Heaven?

I am more conservative than most guys my age. I like being a Southern Baptist, driving a Grand Marquis, and wearing sweaters. Even as a teenager I enjoyed old hymns more than the praise and worship sets at youth camp, which at the time usually made scratching “a back next to ya” a prerequisite to glorifying God. One of the popular songs during those years--which I have since come to appreciate--was I Could Sing of Your Love Forever. Often during this song the worship leaders would pause to tell us over the sound of gentle guitar strums that this was what we would one day be doing in heaven for all eternity. As they went on to repeat the chorus several more times, I secretly became a little less excited about heaven. “But hey,” I thought, “singing a really long praise song sure beats going to hell.”

I was glad when I later learned that eternity is not what the 1990’s worship leaders said it was. Singing will certainly be a part of what we do, but the Bible tells us that the eternal existence of believers will be a fully functional, multi-faceted life that’s lived in physically resurrected bodies inside a perfect city called New Jerusalem (Rev. 20-22). Personally, this sounds much better to me than a never-ending song service.

Still, the guys at camp did get the most important thing right, which is that the central focus of heaven is the presence and glory of God. Ever since Adam and Eve were banished from Eden, God began revealing His plan to bring us back into His presence. The signs were increasingly clear: Noah’s ark, Mt. Sinai, the tabernacle, the temple, the incarnation of Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit all point forward to a time when “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Rev. 21:3). In fact, Jesus’ definition of eternal life is, “that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent,” and, “to see my glory” (John 17:3, 24). Heaven may be more than singing, but it is all about worship.

The 17th century theologian John Owen wrote, “Many will say with confidence that they desire to be with Christ and to behold his glory. But when asked, they can give no reason for this desire, except that it would be better than going to hell.” Jesus is the point of having eternal life, not just a means to it. Without understanding this even people who consider themselves Christians are likely one day to hear Him say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23). The way to eternal life is not just to know that heaven is good but to trust in and worship Christ as the reason for living eternally.

Is the Church Relevant?

**A note of business: Lately I've been posting notes on Facebook rather than blogging since what I write is much more likely to get read there than here. This time I have double posted as an experiment to see whether anyone cares about this blog. If you want the blog to keep existing, make a comment so that I know someone reads it.**

Recently one of the students at our Thursday night College Bible Study submitted the discussion question, “Do you think the church is relevant in today’s culture?” This is a great question. How can an institution based on ideas that are thousands of years old be relevant to a culture that is increasingly bored with organized religion and obsessed with whatever is new? The ongoing debate about this issue has made relevant one of the biggest buzz words in American Christianity. But what does it truly mean to be relevant?

The world defines relevance in its own way. In the last two centuries or so the idea has arisen that whatever is newer is better. Our consistent progress in technology has led to the assumption that all changes in culture are also forms of progress. This results in constant pressure on churches to reflect whatever is the latest trend and to concentrate on whatever people are feeling “right now”. Ironically, churches that give in to this pressure often find themselves in an embarrassing situation years later when they are still basing their ministry on the trends of decades past and are unable to attract younger generations. Battles ensue, new trends replace old ones, and the cycle repeats.

The most defining element of any true church, however, is that its central message is the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is certainly not a new or trend-setting issue, nor do most people perceive this message as important to their lives. In fact, the Bible itself tells us plainly that the lost world around us will never think our message is relevant. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,” and, “we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” But Paul also tells us in this same passage that even though the gospel is irrelevant in the eyes of the world, “to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” This is possible because “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

God has ordained the church to be the institution that preserves and preaches the gospel. Our message means the difference between eternal life and death for every human being. It is easily the most relevant issue of all time, but no one can grasp its relevance until they believe it and are born again. Although the world does not understand it, the church is relevant to everyone because the gospel is relevant to everyone. The church only becomes irrelevant when the gospel stops being its focus.

Go West, Young Man

As of last night I am free to let everyone know that Micah and I are moving to Colorado in a few weeks. I've accepted a call from Vista Grande Baptist Church in Colorado Springs to become their Minister to Singles. As we make the transition I want to comment a bit about what this means.

The place we are leaving
We are walking away from a wonderful church, which is a hard thing to do. There is nothing about Sand Spring that makes us want to leave it. We have been constantly encouraged by the members, pastor, and staff. The greatest blessing has been the students we have worked with as we have seen so many of them go from unbelief to salvation to maturity. My goal all along has been to help them stand on Christ as their foundation. As I remove myself from the structure of their faith, I am praying that they will rest solidly on Him as the cornerstone and not be moved. I am also praying that they will understand the value of their church and remain dedicated to it during the time between leaders. I know that God has someone in mind to take over in my place, and there is untold potential for what can happen when that person comes.

The place where we are going
Micah and I have felt the Lord leading us out of the South for quite some time. We know that the Gospel is needed everywhere, but the needs are much greater outside the "Bible Belt". Despite being home to a number of large Christian organizations like Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs has a very different spiritual landscape than Kentucky. The Colorado Springs metro area has three times fewer churches per capita than were we live now and nine times fewer Baptist churches. Fewer than 20% of the people there have a church background. Also, there are more than 200,000 single adults in the area but only a handful of churches with ministries targeting them. Single adults are perhaps the most commonly neglected group of people in churches today, and the Lord has laid their needs heavily on our hearts.

Not only are we going to fertile ground for the Gospel, we are also getting to serve in a phenomenal church. In our two visits we have been extremely impressed with the pastor, the staff, the lay leaders, and the members. We can tell that Vista Grande is a church that loves the Lord with heart, soul, mind, and strength. We couldn't be more excited to get to be a part of what God is doing there.

We are confident of the Lord's leading as we go. Whether you are someone we are having to say goodbye to, someone that we will soon serve alongside, or someone else, I hope that you will join us in praying for both of these churches and communities.

A Youth Minister's Take on Bristol Palin

Sometime yesterday in the middle of a hurricane most of us heard the news about Bristol Palin, daughter of John McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin. The picture on the left is of Bristol holding her baby brother Trig. Bristol, who is 17 years old, is now five months pregnant. Some people feel that this is a disgrace to the Palin family. I disagree.

The sad truth is that teen pregnancy in America is not rare at all. We are living in a culture that glamorizes sexual immorality, and no one is more drawn to glamorous things than teenagers. Teenagers of all races and religious backgrounds are giving in to temptation and finding themselves with unplanned pregnancies.

The even sadder truth, however, is that only the workers at abortion clinics understand just how common teen pregnancies really are. The option of abortion is an attractive one to these girls and their families. All they have to do is end the pregnancy and forget anything ever happened. No shame, no gossip, no responsibility. That is why we never learn about the majority of teen pregnancies. This is true even in churches. I heard someone say that the doors of abortion clinics are kept open by Baptist deacons who take their daughters across state lines under the cover of night. This is more true than we realize.

Knowing the horrific truth about the unborn children who are killed every day to preserve their familys' pride and comfort, I can't help but to respect young women like Bristol Palin who decide to grant life to their sons and daughters. This is not to say that I condone the behavior that got Bristol into this situation in the first place, but I'm sure she has already shed enough tears over what has happened that she does not need to hear a lecture from someone like me at this point. From the perspective that every life is precious in the eyes of God and in light of the grim reality of the decision that most teen mothers make, I rejoice with the Palins as they welcome a new child to their family.

Use Your Words!

I can't remember where I was a few weeks ago when I got this little card. I think it was handed to me along with my receipt at a Christian bookstore. Here's what it looks like:

When I saw it, my first inclination was to scream, but that would not have been appropriate. Instead I smirked like I was better than everyone around me, but then I realized that was not appropriate either. So instead I carried it home with absolutely no expression on my face (I might have coughed--I'm not sure), scanned it into the computer, and waited a long time to write something about it under the pseudonym of Boring Dan.

There are two big problems with what is written on this card. The first is the main quote from Francis of Assisi. It is one of the most popular quotes from Christian history, but it has a serious flaw. Part of the message of this quote is good, which is that we should live out our faith through our actions toward other people. The implication, though, is that it is usually not necessary to use words to preach the gospel. But what is the gospel? By definition it is "good news". How does one learn good news if not through words?

Suppose that all of the violence ended in Iraq, that I did not know about it, and that someone wanted me to know this good news. If they hugged me and smiled, I would not know why. If they brought me to a gas station where the prices had fallen dramatically, I would not know why they had fallen. If they invited me to a party where everyone in the room was celebrating the good news but never brought it up, I would not understand the celebration. They only way I would ever get the message is through words that told it, whether written or spoken. In the same way, the only way anyone can ever comprehend the good news of God's grace is through words. It is always necessary to use words.

The Bible demonstrates this truth beautifully. First of all, there is the fact that the Bible itself is a book of words. Apart from the words of the Bible we might have a vague understanding of God's existence as Creator, but we would never truly know Him. The words of the Bible also tell us explicitly that no one can come to a saving knowledge of God apart from the gospel being given to them through human language. Read this passage from the tenth chapter of Romans, which makes a far better case than I ever could about how necessary words are:

For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Words are more important than we realize. Jesus is called the Word of God; it was with words that God created the universe out of nothing; God made humans in His image, which is defined in part by the spoken language that sets us apart from all other creatures on earth; God revealed himself for thousands of years through prophets who spoke His words, and it is through a book of these words that He continues to reveal Himself today; Jesus said that "by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned;" and the passage above tells us that it is only through hearing a message of words that sinners like me can have any hope for eternal life. If you are a believer in Jesus as your Savior, I don't need to go any further in proving this point about words than to ask you to consider how you came to believe. No matter what other circumstances were involved, you believed because you heard (or read) words that explained who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

The second big problem with this card is that the word words is crossed out and replaced with a list of various media as though these could actually replace words in the telling of the gospel. Granted, some of these media (chat rooms, blogs, messages, vlogs, ...) are legitimate ways that words could be used to tell the gospel. But how are art and photographs, for example, going to bring someone to faith in Jesus? The answer is that they are not. Perhaps they could play a role of softening the emotions in order that someone would go on to believe the verbal message of the gospel, but without the verbal message they are useless. The same is true for music, videos, and events. If someone understands the gospel through those media it will be because of the words they contain and not because of the media themselves.

I would even go as far as to say that the new trend of emphasizing visual media in Christianity borders on idolatry. An idol is essentially something that can be seen that is honored above or alongside our God, who is unseen. Nearly every time I go to a youth ministry conference or read a recent book on church ministry I'm told that the new generation is a visual generation who cannot adequately understand God apart from visual imagery. To me this seems a little too much like what happened when the Israelites had just come out of Egypt. They knew that a great God had brought them out of Egypt, and they had grown up in a culture of visible gods, so they decided to try to represent God visibly. They fashioned a golden calf and bowed down to it and proclaimed that this was the God who had brought them out of Egypt. God's response to this was not, "Thank you for worshiping me in a way that helps make it so real to you." Instead, He was so angry that He nearly destroyed them on the spot.

Please don't misunderstand me. I don't have a problem with the existence of Christian visual media. I even make my own videos from time to time to help illustrate biblical principles. What I do have a problem with is when worship centers on the visual rather than the verbal and when the spoken gospel message is clouded over by visual media and other distractions. I admit that I am very impressed by the technology and showmanship that I have seen at many worship services, but I'm sure the Israelites were even more impressed by a beautifully crafted calf made of pure, shimmering gold.

We worship a God who is greater than anything this world has to offer, yet we have never seen Him. That's why we are to set our minds "on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth," and why "we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen." Just as Jesus said to Thomas, who had doubted that Jesus had been raised from the dead, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." It is for this reason that we are told to "walk by faith, not by sight." And where does this faith come from? Art? Videos? Kind deeds done by strangers? No. Instead, "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

UPDATE: As it turns out, the theme of John Piper's Desiring God Conference next month will be The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. It looks like it will be along the same lines as what I've written here, except much better. I probably won't get to go.