Prayer Request for Ben Miller

One of the greatest things about attending Boyce College, aside from the lazer tag fights, sneaking out after midnight to go to Denny's, and sitting in Dr. Brand's classes, is the friendships I developed with some incredible godly people.

Now thanks to my page on Facebook, I've been reunited with many of them. (oh yeah, and I've been advertizing this website like crazy!)

Anyway, I wanted to mention a prayer request. I'm sure we all know someone from Southern who is taking a mession trip this summer. I read somewhere that there are more people involved in missons this summer than ever before in the history of the school, or among all the SBC seminaries, or something to that effect. (So much for the false mantra about Calvinists and evangelism!)

So if there are any other missionaries you know of, lets mention them so we can be praying.

But I wanted to be praying for Ben Miller. He and I lived on the 4th floor together and Ben is one of the funniest, most active believers I've ever met. His faith and love for the gospel continue to encourage me, and I've glad to call him a friend. He is leaving on June 15th for China where he will be spending a year ministering to the lost and edifying the saints in one of the most infamously hostile countries in the world toward evangelical Christianity.

Please pray that God would give him strength and endurance and many sovereign opportunities to throw the Word. Also, may God grant peace to his family, knowing that Ben is following God's will.

These are the Funniest clips EVER! Watch out cat lovers!

If you go to You Tube you can read the comments... they are almost as funny as the clip - some people are just pathetic!

Memorial Day

Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself has said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no minstrels raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim,
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentrated all in self,
Living, shall forfeit far renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whnce he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.
- Sir Walter Scott Breathes There th Man from "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," Canto VI

To everyone, have a good Memorial Day, and may your own heart burn as your feet (and mind) homeward turn. It is always difficult in this particular day that we live in to talk about the war without people automatically assuming certain political stances, but I think it is also inevitable that our minds will conjur up images of those people we personally know who are even now on the other side of the world risking their very lives for the country they believe in. I can think of several, a few who have been very good friends for a long time, who are right now in war. And I pray for them.

Make sure you take a moment to pray for our country, our troops, and thank God for those men and women who have sacrificed there lives for their home and country.

Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead,
Dear is the blood you gave-
No impious footstep here shall tread
The herbage of your grave.
Nor shall your glory be forgot
While fame her record keeps,
Or honor points the hallowed spot
Where valor proudly sleep.
-Theodore O'Hara The Bivouac of the Dead

The Baby Had Other Plans

I thought this was really funny. Expecially the woman's quote. "I thought I was going to make it this time..."

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May23/0,4670,ODDVehicleBirths,00.html

John Wycliffe: An Introduction

John Wycliffe was born in 1320. Virtually nothing is known of his life until 1345 when he entered Oxford University. He eventually attained a doctorate there and remained there as a professor for nearly his entire life. He was a devout Roman Catholic for most of his life. He led a movement for reformation in the Church which, prior to 1378, was supported by a number of Church authorities. But as we shall see, his revolutionary ideas and constant criticism would no longer be tolerated after the Western Schism.

Historians consider Wycliffe a significant and controversial figure in church history as he serves as a “missing link” between medieval and enlightenment Christianity. Most historians who study the Protestant Reformation inevitably look to the example of a certain group of men who are seen as precursors to the reformation, such as the teaching and martyrdom of John Huss, Jerome of Prague, Savonarola and other who came before.

It is a worthy task to relate the beliefs of these influential teachers to the leaders of the reformation. The writings of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and the other reformers are replete with references to the aforementioned theologians and preachers. Yet only one man received the title of the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” The early modern biographies of John Wycliffe are full of “luminary metaphors.”[1] As early as 1525, it was stated of Wycliffe’s influence that, “the sun is shining again, driving back the darkness.”[2] John Bale first referred to Wycliffe as a morning star in 1548. The term “Morning Star of the Reformation” first appeared in the writings of historian Daniel Neal in 1732.[3]

Renowned philosopher Anthony Kenny, who at the time of his writing held the same teaching position at Oxford as Wycliffe, indicates that Wycliffe was a transitional figure, not only in theology, but in medieval philosophy as well by stating that he was both the “Morningstar of the Reformation” and the “Eveningstar of Medieval scholasticism.”[4] Most of Wycliffe’s disagreements with the church arose from a different approach to the authority of scripture, and it was largely Wycliffe’s bold willingness to frequently and publicly disagree with particular elements of official Church dogma in his writing and preaching that set a precedent for the later reformers to follow.

In this series, I will explore some of Wycliffe’s doctrines, his belief in the authority of scripture that led to the Wycliffe English Bible, as well as focus on his main points of conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. My next post, however, will be an examination of Sir Anthony Kenny's biography of Wycliffe. Kenny is an agnostic philosopher who presents an argument that the significance of Wycliffe's beliefs is more a result of his philosophy rather than his theology.

---

[1] Margaret Aston, “John Wycliffe’s Reformation Reputation,” Past and Present 30 (April 1965): 24.

[2] Ibid., 25.

[3] Ibid., 29; Aston quotes from Daniel Neal book, The History of the Puritans or Protestant Non-Conformist, published in 1732.

[4] Anthony Kenny, Wyclif, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), 1.

What Kind of Crossroads Are We At, Anyway?

In an article written in the Washington Post, Alan Cooperman wonders what direction Conservative Evangelicalism will be heading in following the death of Jerry Falwell. Cooperman quotes Frank Page, President of the SBC, on how the face of evangelicalism has changed since the days when a younger Falwell was active in the political world:

"...instead of the caricature of an angry, narrow-minded, Bible beating preacher, we wanted someone who could speak to normal people."

Cooperman also mentions men like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels, David Barton, and Joel Hunter. Each of these men have their own pet projects, so to speak, and make up "the many pastors and political activists tugging conservative Christians in various directions." The focus of these men range from AIDS in Africa to Separation of Church and State to Enviormentalism. Each one of these men, and the many others, represent different organizations within the evangelical world, and, even though the old guard is steadily disappearing, we are reminded that "headless does not mean weak." There are many in the evangelical world who have a deep concern for these issues, and there seems to be a resurging interest in the yonger people within Christianity. Case in point: as we draw nearer to 2008, many evangelicals are flabbergasted as to who among the wasteland of Conservative candidates they will vote for (if you are not flabbergasted, then please enlighten the rest of us). These are the issues that are driving evangelicals. Is that concerning to anyone?

My question is this: should we really be looking for, as Cooperman describes him, a "national evangelical political leader?" Should pastors, theologians and Christians be focusing ourselves and our goals in a political direction? Do we need another Conservative revival in the fashion of Falwell?

If you want to know my answer, then read the introduction to D.A. Carson's A Call to Spiritual Reformation (did I give myself away there?)

A Lesson from Bildad

I’ve been reading from Job recently, and it has been an incredibly rich experience. I had a few thoughts that popped into my mind, and one especially.

Keeping in mind that Job never sinned, in all that he did, it is fascinating to think about what Job’s friends had to say to him. To be perfectly honest, much of what the three say is right to an extent, and of course the whole book is written in a beautiful poetic form. The fault lies in application. What they are saying, true as it might be, does not speak truly to Job’s own situation.

They are making assumptions that should not be made. Bildad, when he speaks, assumes that God killed Job’s children because of sin that they had committed (8:4). Here is a perfect example of why it is so difficult to counsel a person facing tragedy. Perhaps Bildad, if he had been speaking to another man, would have been absolutely correct in pointing this out (although pointing it out a little more lovingly might be nice).

But Bildad could not see into Job’s heart, nor could the other two. Moreover, none of the four men could see into the mind of God. What would they have said had they known that God had allowed the devil free reign? What could they have said? I do not know.

The Genius of the System

Day Two: Blogging still active.

The beauty of the system is that I don't have to write anything today, thanks to John.

I did comment though, so that should count (and I moved our sidebar around. Man, we need a makeover around here!).

I can still say I blogged.

This morning with John Owen

Last week I read a quote by Sinclair Ferguson about John Owen. He basically said that every time he reads Owen, he wonders why he spends so much time reading lesser literature. The only encounter I've had with Owen was selections from The Death of Death, which I read online a long time ago. I was wanting to get a few new books, so I decided to invest in some of Owen's works. I found a good deal at Amazon.com where I got The Glory of Christ, Overcoming Sin and Temptation (which is actually three books in one: Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It, and Indwelling Sin), and they threw in a copy of Luther's Bondage of the Will for a discounted price and I got the shipping for free!

Well, I must say that it will take nearly forever to get through The Glory of Christ! The way Owen illuminates the Scriptures is absolutely beautiful, leading me directly to the passage he is quoting and giving me a fresh perspective on how imperative it is to behold Christ's glory by faith. After two day's worth of reading, I am only up to page 7. Today I read this:

"It is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith that we are spiritually edified and built up in this world, for as we behold his glory, the life and power of faith grow stronger and stronger. It is by faith that we grow to love Christ. So if we desire strong faith and powerful love, which give us rest, peace and satisfaction, we must seek them by diligently beholding the glory of Christ by faith. In this duty I desire to live and to die. On Christ's glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires, and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes and I will be more and more crucified to this world. It will become to me like something dead and putrid, impossible for me to enjoy."

Oh, how this gives me a longing to leave the arrogant assumptions and presumptions of this fallen world. I hope in the glory of Christ to become so great and sweet in the eyes of the Church that she rejects all the dead and putrid lusts that the world has to offer.

The Tentative Turning Over of a New Leaf

I have, in my blogging career, asserted numerous times that I would be devoting myself to the job of blogging more regularly. Each time that I have done so I have let myself, if no one else, down. Hence my tentativeness in making any promises. It is kind of like journaling. I journal in spurts, writing for several days in a row and then forgetting all about it for a few weeks (see the similarities to blogging?).

I am sure that if I were to go back and read the other posts in which I made similar claims I would discover a few similarities. One, they come at the end of a school semester. I finish school, and think that I am suddenly going to have a whole lot of spare time only to discover that my time gets filled with all kinds of other things. Secondly, I commit to blogging when I have a few ideas that I want to blog about. There are usually a few ideas and topics that are bouncing around in my head, and I therefore I want to write on them.

I know that tentativity (is that even a real word?!?) is not very encouraging, but what can I say? I have been humbled by previous failures at blogging, and my own expectations of my blogging commitment have been lowered.

However, this time there are a few things that are different. First, although I have just finished school, I'm going to be just as busy and I know it. So, that's different. Secondly, I have no real topics that I want to talk about right now! So, both of the two things that are similar in all cases that I blog are simply not present this time!

I know, I know. That seems counter-intuitive to my goal, but the other way was not working so...

Blog on.

What's really on my nightstand?

I'm busy this week with a remodeling project so I haven't had a chance to edit my paper on Wycliffe, but I have had a chance to catch up on some much desired reading.

I wanted to list this as a correction to the "What's On John's Nightstand" feature on the sidebar of this website. It currently lists my reading as The Richest Man Who Ever Lived : King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness by Steven K. Scott and Ask and It is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther and Jerry Hicks. About a year ago when Kevin first messed with out reading lists, I thought it was hilarious. Now I feel only despair at the fact that I can't change the sidebar items, so mine is stuck....unless one of you guys can fix it!

What's actually on my desk (I don't have a nightstand, but I have a desk with a small bookshelf right beside my bed) is What was that verse again?: Memory improvement methods for the Christian worker by Ben E Johnson and By His Grace and For His Glory: A Historical, Theological, and Practical Study of the Doctrines of Grace in Baptist Life by Thomas J. Nettles.

The only other thing I wanted to mention is to Steve. What have you heard about Temple Baptist Seminary in Chattanooga? My pastor is a trustee there!

I Think I Just Graduated From College

From the classic film, Tommy Boy:

Tommy: Did you hear I finally graduated?
Richard: Yeah, and just a shade under a decade too, all right.
Tommy: You know a lot of people go to college for seven years.
Richard: I know, they're called doctors.

Yes, I just finished my college career, and in just seven years. That may sound like a lot, but actually, it was spread over 300 miles, from Louisville, to Nashville, to Murfreesboro, and over the last 4 years I was also working full time. As a result, I have no student loans, and to be exact, I owe just $200 more dollars in tuition by the end of May. So that is definitely a blessing.

So the obvious question is "What's next?"

Well, I would love to go on to get my masters, but I'm not sure what I will be doing in the future, so the first thing would be to figure out where God is calling me next. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to some rest. This has been a stressful two years, and with 40+ hours of work, along with 15-18 hours of classes, and all the travelling back and forth to Murfreesboro from Gallatin, I've suffered from a serious lack of Christian fellowship. God has been doing a wonderful work in revival, prayer, and the ministry of the Word at my church, and I'm looking forward to being exposed to that more that I have been recently.

I'm also looking forward to reading and studying what I want to learn! The bad thing about secular institutions is there is a bunch of stuff you have to learn that just simply isn't worthy of the time and effort you must put in to learn it. For example, all the lectures on modernism in jazz and bebop in American culture in the 1920s I endured this past semester in the Intellectual and Cultural History of America class I took were downright boring.

I'm also looking forward to spending more time with my Sunday School class. I have one of the most eccentric groups of 3rd and 4th grade boys you could possibly imagine. We recently finished Genesis (in just under 8 months), and have been in the first part of Exodus for two weeks now. These guys are just now being exposed to accountability in memorizing scripture, and they are getting it from all sides, Sunday morning, Sunday night, and now Wednesday nights in AWANAS. Like I said, God is doing a work in our church, and there is a renewed emphasis on studying and memorizing Scripture as a family, so there are several of the students who are really being challenged in their understanding of Christianity.


Finally, I'm going to start some of my posts on John Wycliffe. My favorite class this semester was an online class on Renaissance and Reformation Europe. I did my paper on Wycliffe, and thoroughly enjoyed studying the pre-Reformer. I looked at the impact of his view of Scripture as the authority of Christian belief and practice as the catalyst for his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, as well as his influence on the Reformers and the doctrine of Sola Scriptura.

By the way, I got an A on the paper.

I'm Not One To Complain But...

Talk about goofy theology. Check this out.

Well John... My Wife Still Works!

John... yes this blog still works (slightly). I can't imagine having Dr. Nettles as my associate pastor (much less Tom Ascol as my pastor!).

Take a look at this article about a mother's salary.

I wish we culd see just a percentage of this salary!