The ELCA Misstep

1 09 2009

I grew up as a pastor’s kid, with my father being in the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). I have many fond memories of my formative years in the Lutheran heritage. My father and mother love Jesus and love the history and liturgy of the Lutheran Church. They taught me to love God and revere the Scriptures. Most of my deepest convictions about life, work, family, and God were formed by these two precious saints. I went to church every week and, due to the high church style of my dad’s churches, I learned by heart the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, the Lord’s Prayer, and Luther’s shorter treatise on baptism. Now, that’s not bad upbringing.

But the ELCA that I grew up in has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. Like a tiny leak in the upstairs bathroom that, unattended, will cause the ceiling to cave in, the ELCA has gradually and slowly been moving further and further from the Bible that Luther so loved. As of a week ago, the slow theological leak has now become a flood. A week ago the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) during its national convention in Minneapolis voted to allow practicing gay and lesbian pastors to be ordained. The following are excerpts from the Bishop Julian Gordy, the bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, explaining the new policy on homosexual clergy.

This past Friday, after hours of heart wrenching discussion and debate, our church, meeting in Assembly in Minneapolis, voted to ease limits on gay clergy and to allow congregations which wish to do so to recognize committed, life-long, publicly accountable same-sex relationships. It was a time for dancing for some, a time for mourning for others.

Some feel that they are finally included fully in the life of our church. The day for which they have worked and prayed for years has arrived.

Others find this change to be deeply troubling. They view the actions of the Assembly as contrary to the Bible and Lutheran teaching and practice.

During the weeks and months to come, I hope that both those groups and all those who find themselves somewhere in between will be able to talk with one another as we continue to discern the Spirit’s direction for us and for our church.

The implications of the Assembly’s actions will unfold more fully over time. Over the coming months, processes to implement the Assembly’s decisions will be worked out by church-wide leaders and staff, in consultation with the Conference of Bishops. This will not happen right away, but will take some months.

We know this much for sure: Whereas persons in committed same-sex relationships formerly were barred from serving on any of the official ministry rosters of our church, a way is now being opened for such persons to serve in rostered ministries, but only if they are otherwise qualified, as determined by the synod’s candidacy committee, and if a congregation chooses to call them. The call process will operate in the same way that it has since the beginning of our church, with congregations free to call that person to whom the Spirit directs them…

In Galatians, St. Paul admonishes us to “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” This mutual burden bearing is one of the things that separate the church of Jesus from the world in which we are each required and expected to bear our own burdens.

Playing on the ELCA tag line, “God’s work. Our hands,” Dr. Ishmael Noko, a Tanzanian pastor and the outgoing executive director of the Lutheran World Federation reminded the Assembly that unity is a work of God. Our hands are called to serve that unity. The church of Jesus Christ is not ours to dismember. I am convinced that no church in the world has put the gospel into practice any better than the ELCA. We are bound to do all that we can to preserve its God-given unity and health.

Thank you for your prayers and for your support.

Julian Gordy
Bishop
ELCA Southeastern Synod

I believe the ELCA has made a profound theological and missiological misstep with this decision. Like the Presbyterians and Episcopalians before them, this decision will lead to more disunity than the denomination ever bargained for. Disunity is most pronounced when churches have no plumb line for determining truth and unity. When the hermeneutic for truth, life, and vision is surrendered to majority vote, a denomination is in deep trouble.

The culture is changing. Never has a nation so quickly abandoned the ideals, foundations, and mission as America in the past 40 years. The disunity of our nation politically, spiritually, and culturally is evidence of a nation that is anchorless. Even the mainline churches that once stood strong as a “light on a hill” have now abandoned their source for truth, the Bible. The Bible has become a dusty old historical book that, like the so called “progressives” in Congress and their view of our constitution that it is a living document that is open to anyone’s interpretation based on the wants and whims of the culture. Praise God this was not Moses’ view of the Law when he returned from Mt. Sinai.

It is true that methods for proclamation of the gospel must change to fit our landscape, but our message remains rock solid, based on the foundations of truth through a literal historical hermeneutic of God’s holy writ. Contextualization means just that. We study to understand our changing context, so that we can present the ageless truths that never change. If we abandon our foundations and traditional convictions, upheld with blood through the centuries, we abandon the anchor for truth.

I’m disappointed by the ELCA’s decision but I am not surprised. I told my dad five years ago that I saw this coming to the Lutherans. Now the ELCA has joined the ranks of most of the mainline denominations who bought into Barthian, neoorthodox, slightly less liberal theology of the 40’s and 50’s that has now proverbially become the chicken that has come home to roost. I’m sad to say that God will not be mocked and the Bible is still inerrant and infallible.

So, the great heritage of biblical commitment of Luther and Melancthon will gradually fade away in the ELCA. These are the gasps of a dying denomination. It will not happen overnight because there are still many of the Builder generation and late Baby Boomers who love the liturgy and the style of Lutheranism, but the younger generation will not be impressed. They are not persuaded; and this decision will continue the trend in the ELCA of young people leaving the church. Why? Because the ELCA (and all of the more liberal denominations) are looking more and more like the culture they have grown up in. The standards being lowered only lowers the commitment and faith of the adherents, and there will be fewer and fewer to be found.

I do hope that some Bible-centered evangelicals that are left within the pastoral ranks of the ELCA will choose to stay and fight, but I would not blame them if this is the last sign on a winding theological road that spells “exit.” For many the vestiges of a biblical standard for judging culture, the nature of man and the mission of God, will seem to have faded away in a momentous vote in Minneapolis that will leave them frustrated and depressed. And they will leave in droves.

The good news is that new denominations and new relational church networks will be formed. This is already happening within the Presbyterian and Episcopal evangelical churches, and it will certainly happen within the ranks of the ELCA. And Jesus will still be Lord and He will still continue to build His church and the gates of hell will still not prevail against her!

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,
Steve


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Categories : Church News, Misc.

India 2009 – An Adventure to Remember

17 08 2009

Entering into the sultry heat of Mumbai, India never prepared us for the adventure God had laid out for our team.  Over a brief five day ministry trip, the Holy Spirit gave us a full course taste of India that will be difficult to erase from our memories.  From the lecture hall of the Master’s College where we taught on church leadership four to five times daily to feeding homeless lepers in the slums at 2 am, no one had much time for rest and relaxation.

Our first night in India was the beginning of the adventure.  We exited the hotel to the screams of every taxi driver, hotel owner, and rickshaw driver in Mumbai.  Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration—but not by much.  But praise the Lord, we had prepaid hotel rooms…right?  Right.  We soon learned that nothing is guaranteed in India.  I called the hotel only to find out that our dates were off by one day and we had no rooms.   Wonderful. 

With no hotel lined up we had to negotiate, barter, and bluff our way through a people who have honed those skills way past our civilized western protocol.  I felt a little bit like Crocodile Dundee in the city as I tried a combination of kindness, “Hey I’m the dumbest guy ever” routine, and common sense (which is not as common in certain parts of the world) to figure out where we could sleep.  As we were given rides by a family of Indians who called everyone they knew to get our business, we found ourselves debating the price for our rooms in the Mumbai slums as everyone was falling asleep through sheer exhaustion.  We secured five rooms and God gave us grace and sleep after 25 hours of travel.

Each day began with Randy Welch, Rick Rupert, and myself teaching over 200 Indian church planters and 50 Bible School students at the Masters Home, College and Seminary in Vizag on such topics as leadership, discipleship, and building strong churches.  Randy is a former pastor and businessman in our church.  Rick is an old friend from California who is now serving as a missionary in Malaysia.  Each one of us taught on different topics; it was truly amazing to watch as the Holy Spirit caused our messages to weave a beautiful tapestry of themes that were powerful and used of God.

The rest of our team led a VBS to the orphanage children each day.  Nicole, Hannah, Josh, Daniel, Tawnie, Joyanne, Ian, Allison, and Naomi ministered through songs, Bible stories, and games to the children of the Master’s School.  The joy and laughter of the children was a testimony to the impact they made.  Twelve children indicated they prayed to receive Christ during the VBS.  On the final day there was a special assembly, Josh spoke to several hundred combined schools and dozens raised their hands to receive Christ.

In the midst of our 12 hour days of ministry, Rick, the radical Malaysian Missionary in our group, kept coming up with new and novel methods for evangelism in the city.  Rick, who I might add has a propensity for hip shooting, storytelling, last minute, no plan, no sleep, middle of the night ideas, kept everyone guessing…and excited.

One night as we headed back to our hotel we came across thousands of people involved in a local Hindu festival.  Stages were set up and hundreds were gathered at each stage watching dancers and singers perform.  Rick came up with the idea of a kind of Kingdom raid on the festival.  At the hotel we dressed up in our blue shirts (every mission trip at MSC has to have a free T-shirt and we were no exception), Josh grabbed his guitar, and we practiced the worship song “Rain Down,” and were ready. 

Upon crashing the party in downtown Vizag, the crowd suddenly went wild and pushed us to the stage!  We were rock stars in five minutes. And with all the skill of 11 Americans who can’t speak the language, don’t have a clue about the culture, and can barely sing one worship song, we looked really cool (?).  After a few cheesy dance moves, they realized we weren’t exactly Bruce Springsteen or Brittany Spears, and we were politely escorted off the stage.

But the adventure wasn’t over.  In the crowd, there was one India wannabe promoter who could see the latent talent and opportunity in this motley crew, and we were practically dragged, pushed, and shoved to another stage.  God opened the door and we were able to sing “Rain Down” to a crowd of several hundred.  Our prayer was that maybe just maybe, our short message of God’s love to the Indian people, might have touched a few hearts. It was fun to be His instrument.    

Our group had the opportunity to visit a Compassion Project and minister in a widow’s home and saw firsthand the ravages of poverty but the hope of the Gospel.  It was exciting to see the impact Jesus and the church can make in some of the most depressing, humiliating, and hopeless situations of our world.  All of us counted it rare privilege to show the love of Jesus in practical ways at these and other places.

One night Rick and the group came up with an idea of going into the slums and ministering to the homeless and the lepers of Vizag.  So, at 10pm the group entered some of the darkest parts of the city with food and compassion.  They encountered old men to little children who were abandoned by society and their families.  Our group moved through the abandoned apartments and alleyways giving away food, praying for people, and sharing the gospel as God opened up opportunities.

There were so many more adventures I could share: like the night several of our group stayed up till 3am sharing the gospel with a beautiful young Hindu woman who, in the end, with tears running down her face, gave her heart to Jesus.  Or, when we had the opportunity to pray over 25 Tribal Indian pastors who are literally risking their lives to preach the gospel in the remote hill country of eastern India.  Or, the countless chances we all had to share our story of Jesus to people we met in the hotel, in the airport, and on the plane.  Or, our narrow escape through armed guards in Mumbai who would not let us leave the airport.  Or, the food!  Yes the curry, curry, and more curry, and rice!  But we loved every part and won’t forget all that God did.

Thanks so much for the hundreds of people who prayed for us.  Your prayers made this a joyful, challenging, and visionary trip that none of us will forget. It was most definitely an adventure to remember. 

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Pastor Steve


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Categories : Traveling

Is the Bible Trustworthy? Part 2

10 06 2009

Ever since Satan challenged God’s promises and Eve succumbed (Gen. 3:1-7), the enemy of our souls has been attacking God’s Word with his own version of what God means.  As soon as Jesus made His first move toward His mission, Lucifer was ready to challenge His every word.  During Jesus’ time of fasting and prayer for forty days, Satan came to contradict the words of Jesus with his own interpretation of Scripture.  And as a result, for thousands of years, men have been tempted to distrust, doubt, and deny the validity of God’s holy Word. 

As a missionary and pastor I have heard just about every conceivable question and interpretation of the Bible that man has to offer.  While some of them have bordered on the ridiculous, many comments are simply based out of ignorance and are sincerely asked in a search for truth.  It is with such people in mind, and the many at Mountain Springs who regularly ask me thought-provoking questions, that I write this article.

I would refer any reader to my sermon in the doctrine series, The Bible: God Speaks, given April 24th, 2009, for further elaboration on the topic of the Bible in general.

This is part two in my blog on Bible translations.  If you would like to understand the context of the last blog, let me encourage you to read part one first.

God’s Publishing Process

How did we get our current Bible? Is the English translation that you are using reliable?  Can you have confidence that the Bible you are holding is anything like the manuscripts written by the first authors?  These are excellent questions.  The Bible purports to have divine qualities.  But does it really?  And if so, how were these qualities passed down through the generations to make up our English version of the Bible?

There is a divine process that has been used by God to give us our current Bible.  This process can be summed up in a five part process:  Revelationà Inspirationà Canonicityà Preservation à Transmission. In part one, we concerned ourselves with revelation and inspiration.  In part two, we will continue our look at God’s publishing process.

Canonicity

John MacArthur writes, “We must understand that the Bible is actually one book with one Divine Author, though it was written over a period of 1,500 years through the pens of 40 human writers.  The Bible began with the creation account of Genesis 1, 2 written by Moses about 1405 B.C., and extends to the eternity future account of Revelation 21, 22, written by the Apostle John about A.D. 95.  During this time, God progressively revealed Himself and His purposes in the inspired Scriptures.” (Study Bible p. xiv)

This raises a significant question: “How did the church know which books ought to be recognized as canonical or authoritative?  Which writings should be included and excluded?”  We find three ways that the early church fathers determined the authenticity of a book for the Bible.

  1. Conformity to “the rule of faith.” Did the book in question conform with orthodoxy?  Christian truth recognized as normative in the churches?
  2. Apostolicity. Was the writer of the book an apostle or did the writer of the book have immediate contact with the apostles? For example, Mark’s gospel was tied to Peter and Luke’s to Paul.
  3. Catholicity. For a document to be considered canonical it must have had widespread and continuous acceptance and usage by churches everywhere.

Thus, when the various councils in church history met to determine the authenticity of a book, they did not vote for canonicity, rather they recognized what the churches had come to determine as authoritative.  Much like ordination in our church, we are not ordaining anyone but simply publically recognizing someone who God is already ordaining through the life they live and witness of their ministry.  In a similar way, the church fathers and theologians who came together recognized the twenty-seven books that became the New Testament as being authoritative based on the criteria above and the consensus of the church.  In simplistic form, the church already believed these books to be the canon of Scripture and the councils confirmed what was already common knowledge.

In regard to the Old Testament, MacArthur writes, “With regard to the Old Testament, by the time of Christ, all of the Old Testament had been written and accepted in the Jewish community.  The last book, Malachi, had been completed about 430 B.C.  Not only does the Old Testament canon conform to the Old Testament which has since been used throughout the centuries, but it does not contain the uninspired and spurious Apocrypha, that group of 14 rogue writings which were written after Malachi and attached to the Old Testament about 200-150 B.C. in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament called the Septuagint (LXX), appearing to the very day in some versions of the Bible.  However, not one passage from the Apocrypha is cited by any New Testament writer, nor did Jesus affirm any of it as He recognized the Old Testament canon of His era (cf. Luke 24:27,44).” (ibid, p. xv)

Carson and Moo write, “The fact that substantially the whole church came to recognize the same twenty-seven books as canonical is remarkable when it is remembered that the result was not contrived. All that the several churches throughout the Empire could do was to witness to their own experience with the documents and share whatever knowledge they might have about their origin and character. When consideration is given to the diversity in cultural backgrounds and in orientation to the essentials of the Christian faith within the churches, their common agreement about which books belonged to the New Testament serves to suggest that this final decision did not originate solely at the human level.” (Barker, Lane, and Michaels, The New Testament Speaks, p. 29; qtd. in Carson, Moo, and Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 736).

The completed Bible was formulated early in the history of the church.  By the end of the second century all but seven books (Hebrews, 2 and 3 John, 2 Peter, Jude, James, and Revelation) were recognized as apostolic, and by the end of the fourth century all twenty-seven books in our present canon were recognized by all the churches of the West.

F. F. Bruce writes: “One thing must be emphatically stated. The New Testament books did not become authoritative for the Church because they were formally included in a canonical list; on the contrary, the Church included them in her canon because she already regarded them as divinely inspired, recognizing their innate worth and generally apostolic authority, direct or indirect. The first ecclesiastical councils to classify the canonical books were both held in North Africa—at Hippo Regius in 393 and at Carthage in 397—but what these councils did was not to impose something new upon the Christian communities but to codify what was already the general practice of these communities” (F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, p. 27).


Preservation

How do we know for sure that the Bible that was first written down by the original authors has been preserved and handed down to us accurately?  How do we know for sure that the Bible you are holding is truly the inspired, written Word of God?

Critics of the accuracy of the Bible routinely claim that it is in fact a series of fables and legends that have developed over hundreds of years because there are not enough copies of ancient manuscripts to alleviate their skepticism. However, a simple shepherd boy dealt a death blow to their criticisms in 1947. He wandered into a cave in the Middle East and discovered large pottery jars filled with leather scrolls that had been wrapped in linen cloth.

Amazingly, the ancient copies of the books of the Bible were in good condition despite their age and the harsh climate.  This was due to the fact that they had been well sealed for nearly nineteen hundred years. What are now known as “The Dead Sea Scrolls” are made up of some forty thousand inscribed ancient fragments.  From these fragments, more than five hundred books have been reconstructed, including some Old Testament books such as a complete copy of Isaiah.

I have visited on several occasions the Dead Sea Museum and viewed for myself the entire book of Isaiah.  The amazing thing is that the fragments found, the book of Isaiah in particular, are word for word the same as the Old Testament that we use today.

If someone seeks to eliminate the trustworthiness of the New Testament, then to be consistent they would also have to dismiss virtually the entire canon of Western literature and pull everything from Homer to Plato to Aristotle off of bookstore shelves and out of classroom discussions. The transmission process of Scripture is, by God’s providential grace, without peer.

The Bible says thus about itself in Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”   With increased archeological discoveries, the truth of this statement become more and more clear.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  (Isaiah 55:11)

Transmission

The Bible has been translated into over 3000 languages.  How can we be sure that these translations are accurate?  How can we be confident that our English Bible reads the same as the original autographs written by Paul and Peter?  Let’s look now at transmission through the centuries. 

Transmission occurred when the autographa was carefully copied by trained scribes so that other copies could be made available for people to read. While these handwritten copies have the occasional minor error (e.g., spelling or punctuation):

  • They were accepted as accurate and authoritative by God’s people (e.g., Deuteronomy 17:18 cf. 1 Kings 2:3; Ezra 7:14; Nehemiah 8:8). For example, the apostles, who were the senior leaders in the early church, taught from copies of the books of the Bible. (Acts 17:2; 18:8)
  • The early church tested all teachings against the existing scrolls. (Acts 17:11)
  • Furthermore, Jesus Himself taught from copies of the books, not the autographa, and treated them as authoritative. (e.g., Matthew 12:3–5; 21:16, 42; Luke 4:16–21; 10:26)
  • In conclusion, God’s people have always relied on manuscripts, and these writings have proven to be accurate and trustworthy. Jesus’ own perfect example assures us of their trustworthiness.

Tragically, opponents of Scripture have attacked the Bible’s trustworthiness by falsely stating that our current English translations are built upon poorly transmitted copies. However, the bibliographical test of Scripture flatly refutes this false argument. The bibliographical test seeks to determine the historicity of an ancient text by analyzing the quantity and quality of copied manuscripts, as well as how far removed they are from the time of the originals.

The quantity of New Testament manuscripts is unparalleled in ancient literature. There are more than five thousand Greek manuscripts, about eight thousand Latin manuscripts, and another one thousand manuscripts in other languages (Syriac, Coptic, etc.). Both the number of transmitted manuscripts we possess of Scripture and their proximity in date to the autographa are astounding and unparalleled in the canon of Western literature. Moreover, the Scripture quoted in the works of the early Christian writers (mostly AD 95–150) are so extensive that virtually the entire New Testament can be reconstructed, except for eleven verses, mostly from 2 and 3 John.

Our English Bible

The translation of a full English Bible began with John Wycliffe (ca. A.D. 1330-1384), who made the first translation of the whole of Scripture (Old and New Testament).  Later, William Tyndale was associated with the first New Testament translation of the Bible in A.D. 1526.  Myles Coverdale followed in A.D. 1535, by delivering the first complete Bible printed in English.  In 1611, the King James Version (KJV) had been completed.  Since then, there have been many translations printed from the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures.  In my next blog we will look at each of the major translations and analyze their strengths and weaknesses.

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Steve


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Categories : The Bible

Bible Translations – Are They Trustworthy?

19 05 2009

Part I
Ever since Satan challenged God’s promises and Eve succumbed to temptation (Gen. 3:1-7), the enemy of our souls has been attacking God’s Word with his own version of what God means.  As soon as Jesus made His first move toward His mission, Lucifer was ready to challenge His every word.  During Jesus’ time of fasting and prayer for forty days, Satan came to contradict the words of Jesus with his own interpretation of Scripture.  And as a result, for thousands of years men have been tempted to distrust, doubt, and deny the validity of God’s holy Word. 

As a missionary and pastor I have heard just about every conceivable question and interpretation of the Bible that man has to offer.  While some of them have bordered on the ridiculous, many comments are simply based out of ignorance and are sincerely asked in a search for truth.  It is with such people in mind, and the many at Mountain Springs who regularly ask me thought-provoking questions, that I write this article.

I would refer any reader to my sermon in the doctrine series, The Bible: God Speaks, given April 24th, 2009, (sermons.mountainsprings.org) for further elaboration on the topic of the Bible in general.

If I were the Devil…
If I were the Devil (please no comment), I would do everything in my power to keep people from digging into and loving God’s Word, the Bible.  I would especially attack the “inspiration” part of God’s publishing process.  If I could attack the very inspiration, “God-breathed” part of heaven’s transmission to mankind, I could potentially win the battle for the validity of the Bible.

If I were the Devil, I would do everything possible to distort the Bible’s accuracy. If I were the Devil, I would do everything possible to create doubts in the minds of people about it’s authenticity.  I would do all I could to create confusion over it’s meaning.  I would send out my minions to distort and lie about its purpose.

I would broadcast through the media and governments of the world that the Bible has no bearing on real life issues like marriage, family, and happiness.  I would broadcast through the educational system that it is archaic and old fashioned.  If I were Satan, I would do everything possible to get the Bible out of the schools, out of government, and out of mainstream society.

Wow, I guess I would do just what he’s already doing!

Reformation Legacy
Two of the greatest legacies of the Reformation in the 16th Century were that of the Bible being translated into the vernacular (language) of the people and, secondly, that anyone could privately interpret the Bible for his/her own life.

While under the questioning of the imperial authorities about his writings, Luther’s famous reply at the Diet of Worms was, “Unless I am convinced by Sacred Scripture or by evident reason, I cannot recant. For my conscience is held captive by the Word of God and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe.  Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me.”

Luther believed that the Pope and councils could err and his only true source of truth was the Bible because the Bible never errs!  The gift of the reformation is that God wants all of us to have His Word in our hands, written in a way that we can easily understand.  And that each one of us can use reason, good sense, and an understanding of doctrine to hear God’s voice.

God speaks!  God speaks today!  God speaks today to every believer.  God speaks today to every believer through the Scriptures.  God’s Word to us is the Bible.  Someone says, “you mean you read the Bible literally” and my response is “Of course I do!”  There’s no other way to read it.  Who in their right mind wouldn’t?

The Bible should be interpreted in its literal sense.  This was Luther’s principle of interpreting the Bible, sensus literalis.  Literalis means in Latin that we interpret it as literature according to the normal rules of grammar, syntax, and context.  In other words, we interpret poetry as poetry, history as historical fact, idiom as idiom, etc.  To not read any piece of literature literally is to distort it’s intent and meaning.  So, to be true to the general rules of reading literature, yes we always read and believe the Bible literally!

To begin our journey into how we have arrived at the current translations of the Bible we must begin with the book itself and what it says.

The Bible’s Self-Disclosure Clause
What does the Bible say about itself?  If you pick up and read the Bible for every long you quickly realize that it often speaks about itself.  Over 2,000 times the Bible in the Old Testament alone claims to be God’s Word spoken to man.  The phrase “the Word of God” occurs over 40 times in the New Testament.  In brief, here are a few choice passages of statements from Scripture about Scripture:

• Inspired Word of God Almighty — 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19–21

• Able to develop a person fully — 2 Timothy 3:17

• The very words of God — 1 Thessalonians 2:13

• Without error — Ps. 12:6; 119:140; 30:5a

• All we need to know about God — Luke 16:29, 31

• A perfect guide for life — Proverbs 6:23

• Pure — Psalm 12:6; 119:140

• True — Psalm 119:160; John 17:17

• Trustworthy — Proverbs 30:5–6

• Perfect — Psalm 19:7

• Effective — Isaiah 55:11

• Powerful — Hebrews 4:12

• Nothing to be taken from or added to — Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32

• For everyone — Romans 16:25–27

• To be obeyed — James 1:22

Some poetic images from Scripture about Scripture:
• Sweet like honey — Psalm19:10

• A lamp to guide our life — Psalm 119:105

• Food for our soul — Jeremiah 15:16

• A fire that purifies and a hammer that breaks us — Jeremiah 23:29

• A sword — Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12

• A seed for salvation planted in us — James 1:21

• Milk that nourishes us — 1 Peter 2:2

By its own declaration, the importance of Scripture can hardly be overstated. Psalms 19 and 119, plus Proverbs 30:5-6 make incredible statements about the innate power and life of God’s Word.  Let me encourage you to read these passages and ask God to speak to your heart concerning the Word of God.

Jesus Affirms the Bible
Jesus said that He came to fulfill everything in the Scriptures.  By His claims, Jesus endorsed and gave authority to the Bible.  Many times in conversations about the Bible I have asked people, “Do you believe that Jesus was a good man?  Do you think He would lie?” The answer is always is a resounding “yes” or “no.” It is from that vantage point that I present what Jesus believed about the Bible.  Here are a few of His proclamations about the Scriptures:

Luke 24:27  “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Luke 24:44-47  He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

Matthew 5:17  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

John 5:39  “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me.”

Jesus clearly articulates his prophetic fulfillment of the Scripture.  By His very words, Jesus affirms the supernatural nature of the Bible.

What is the Bible?
The Bible is the bestselling book of all time, and is now available in nearly three thousand languages.  The Bible is made up of 66 individual books written over a period of 1500 years, written by kings, peasants, shepherds, law givers, law breakers, fishermen, historians, prophets, tax collectors, missionaries, and poets.  The Scriptures were written in palaces, caves, houses, and prisons.  They were written in three languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.

In light of this, the Bible is really more of a library of books rather than a single book. I like to say, “Old Testament concealed; New Testament revealed,” meaning that the Bible makes promises and prophetic predictions in the Old Testament that are concealed from our understanding until we read the New Testament.  The New Testament is the revealer and fulfiller of the Old.  Hence there is great unity between the two testaments.

This point is illustrated by the fact that the New Testament has roughly three hundred explicit Old Testament quotations, as well as upwards of four thousand Old Testament allusions. In many ways, the Old Testament is a series of promises that God makes and the New Testament is the record of the fulfillment of those promises.

A lecturer at the University of Paris created the Bible’s chapter divisions in the early 1200s, which accounts for our current 1,189 chapter divisions. Its current 31,173 verse divisions were not fully developed until 1551, in an effort to provide addresses (not unlike those on our homes) that would help us find particular sections.

God’s Publishing Process
But how did we get our current Bible? Is the English translation that you are using reliable?  Can you have confidence that the Bible you are holding is anything like the manuscripts written by the first authors?  These are excellent questions.  The Bible purports to have divine qualities.  But does it really?  And if so, how were these qualities passed down through the generations to make up our English version of the Bible?
There is a divine process that has been used by God to give us our current Bible.  This process can be summed up in five part process: 
1.) Revelation
2,) Inspiration
3.)  Canonicity
4.) Preservation
5.) Transmission

Revelation
God has chosen to lift the fog of human speculation with divine revelation. Whereas speculation is the human attempt to comprehend God, revelation is God’s communication to humanity with clarity that is otherwise impossible. Revelation is the miraculous event whereby God revealed Himself and His Truth to someone and inspired them, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to write down what He had to say—perfectly. This original copy is called the autographa.

It is important that we understand that there are two kinds of Revelation:

1. General Revelation (Ps. 19:1–4; 94:8–10; Rom. 1:19–21): the personal act of God by which He makes Himself known to humanity in general through his creation, providence, and conscience so that they might come into relationship with Him.

John Calvin on general revelation: “God not only has sowed in our minds that seed of religion but revealed Himself and daily discloses Himself in the whole creation and preservation of the universe. As a result, humans can not open their eyes without being compelled to see God.” (Inst. I, V, 1)

2. Special Revelation (2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:1): the personal act of God by which He makes Himself known to many people by His redemptive word-work so that they might come into relationship with Him.

We read in Hebrews, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1)  The means may have varied throughout Biblical history.  At times God spoke through visions, dreams, prophetic sermons, etc. but God’s unequivocal standard has always been the bedrock of His divine Word.  God has taken the initiative to reveal Himself to man.  The revealed and written Word of God is the only revelation of God for all time.  God’s special revelation is most specific, most powerful, and most trustworthy revelation is through the 66 books of the finished canon, the Bible.

Inspiration
We read in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”  The Greek translation for “inspiration” is Theopnest, meaning “God breathed” or “breathed out by God,” This talks about the Word of God, the Bible speaks out to us!  God is the One who is speaking, even as He uses human agents to write down His words—but make no mistake about it, God is the One who is speaking. 

The belief that God wrote Scripture in concert with human authors whom He inspired to perfectly record His words is called verbal (the very words of the Bible) plenary (every part of the Bible) inspiration (are divinely inspired revelation). Very simply, this means that God the Holy Spirit inspired not just the thoughts of Scripture, but also the very details and exact words that were perfectly recorded for us as Scripture.
This doctrine is inextricably tied to the character of God Himself. God is a truthful God who does not lie (Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2). Therefore, because God is ultimately the author of Scripture, it is perfect, unlike every other uninspired writing and utterance.

Peter says that “no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20–21).

Christians believe that Scripture is our highest authority, or metaphorical Supreme Court, by which all other lesser authorities are tested. Practically, this means that lesser courts of reason, tradition, and culture are under the highest court of truth, which is divinely-inspired Scripture.

During the Protestant Reformation, the slogan sola scriptura (and sometimes prima scriptura) became popular to summarize this conviction; it means Scripture alone is our highest authority. This should not be confused with solo scriptura, which is the erroneous belief that truth is only to be found in Scripture and nowhere else. Scripture itself tells us that God reveals truth to us in such things as creation and our conscience, but that the beliefs we may subscribe to from such forms of lesser revelation are to be tested by Scripture.

In part two, I will take up a further discussion of God’s publishing process as we look at the further development of the Bible that we currently have in our possession.  I will also begin to look at the different translations of the English Bible and how they differ. 

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Steve


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Theology on Fire

20 04 2009

In the 24-page summary of the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey, one reads that in the past two decades the percentage of identified Christians in America has dropped 10 points.  The number of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent.  Al Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary takes note, “A remarkable culture shift has taken place around us.  The most basic contours of American culture have been radically altered.  The so-called Judeo-Christian consensus of the last millennium has given way to a post-modern, post-Christian, post-Western cultural crisis which threatens the very heart of our culture.”  I couldn’t agree more. 

Christians in America are morally exhausted.  After one political and cultural fight after another has ended in defeat, the church is tired.  With a family structure that is not just crumbling, but is in a moral free fall (this year over 40% of the babies born will be out-of-wedlock).  With a constant emphasis on trying to change the culture through political change, and with many evangelical presidents for the past 25 years, it is increasingly obvious that the occupier of the oval office has little power to change the hearts and minds of the American populace.  Don’t get me wrong, I still believe very strongly in trying to influence the culture through the political arena.  But there’s more to the story than politics.

It seems that the pulpit in America is theologically exhausted.  With an increased ambiguity among pastors about what exactly they believe and adhere their convictions toward, the evangelical church is battling for her very spiritual soul.  Just last week, one of the most prominent evangelical pastors in America, Rick Warren, made a public apology for his involvement in Proposition 8, a California bill last November that defined marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.  If we as pastors are now feeling compelled to apologize for the most basic of our biblical beliefs, we are in big trouble.

But do we even know our basic core beliefs anymore?  George Orwell wrote in 1939, “We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.”  This might well be written to the evangelical church in America.  As Chuck Colson has recently written in a column entitled, “Doctrine bears repeating,” he concludes, “The greatest challenge for serious Christians today is not reinventing Christianity, but rediscovering its core teaching.” (CT April 2009, p. 72) I believe the church is entering a time in which we must really know what we believe, not just how we should vote in elections. 

If there was ever a time in the history of the Western Church to know what our foundations of faith are, and why, it is now!  J.I. Packer on his 80th birthday said that the greatest challenge facing evangelicalism is to re-catechize our churches.  More than ever, Christ followers must be able to speak intelligently and with passion about what they believe.  We must have hearts and heads on fire for God!  The Dogma is the Drama!

We quite simply must have a theology on fire.  John D. Woodbridge and Thomas McComisky writes, “A church that neither is interested in theology nor has the capacity to think theologically is a church that will be rapidly submerged beneath the waves of modernity.” Doctrine and Theology is the “study of God” and it’s this endeavor that separates us, the church, from all other institutions.

Last June, the Pew Foundation on Religion and Public Life survey discovered that American Christians don’t really know what they believe.  Fifty seven percent of evangelicals believed people who follow other religions other than Christianity can enjoy eternal life!  Almost half believed that everyone, including atheists will go to heaven when they die.  Hello?

The prophet Jeremiah in his ministry of calling the Israelites back from their apostacy wrote,

Thus says the LORD:
“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
(Jeremiah 6:16)

The old ways are still the new ways if they are God’s ways.  God has shown us The Way.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  (John 14:6)  His way is still the right way, even when all the other ways oppose it.  The early church grasped this at the risk of their own lives.  As they proclaimed a “One Way God” to a many ways culture, they “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) and rocked the religious, political, and social culture of the Roman Empire.  It is interesting that Luke, in compiling his history of the early church, chose to mention first in his list of the characteristics of the early church, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine…” (Acts 2:42a).  Foremost to the historian Luke was the doctrine they taught.

So, I am compelled to repeat the obvious.  It is a time in our history to return to the fundamentals and deep theological truths that have laid the foundations of our Faith. We have foundations laid and it’s the cornerstone, Jesus, that holds it all together.  A return to Jesus and His ways is the answer for the 21st century.  The ways of Jesus are the great theological truths found in the Scriptures. 

I certainly can’t speak for other pastors, but I want to be a pastor whose heart and head are on fire for Jesus.  I want to continue to build a church of heart en-fired and head en-fired people. I am feeling compelled these days to restudy Luke and Acts to observe the truths and actions of Jesus and the early church found there.  Simultaneously, I’m restudying the great doctrines of Christianity.  Join me as we retool and reinvigorate our head and hearts for the kingdom of God.  We can certainly do less, but we can’t do more than have a theology on fire for Jesus!

If you are a member of Mountain Springs, join us over the next two months as we study the great doctrines of our Faith.

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,
Pastor Steve


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Ted Haggard Aftershocks and the Seismic Shift

27 01 2009

God is shaking the church in Colorado Springs…again.  It’s brutal to be going through the controversies of Ted Haggard all over again.  I hate to see our wonderful city and our many great churches subjected again to the feeding frenzy of the media. The aftershocks of the earthquake that occurred two years ago are still being felt.

You need to know something.  I really love our city.  I love the people of Colorado Springs.  I love the beauty of the mountains rising so majestically that any window looking west can see them.  I like that we care about our families so much that we constantly vote for pro-family policies.  I like that we are blessed with one of the lowest crime rates in the country for cities of comparable size. 

Liz and I moved our family here 14 years ago to plant Mountain Springs Church.  During that time we have seen a lot of churches rise and fall.  As a pastor, I have gained life-long pastoral friends and seen others leave their churches.  Some of our experiences have been really sad; most really joyful.  Probably one of the most shocking and distressing experiences of my pastoral life was the revelation that my friend and fellow pastor, Ted Haggard, had been having an ongoing sexual relationship with a prostitute in Denver.  It rocked the city; it rocked the church; it rocked my life.  It was a moral and spiritual earthquake for our city and for our churches.

The tremors of the aftershock are being felt once again.  On Saturday the story of another allegation against Ted Haggard hit the newsstands.  I was with the new senior pastor of New Life Church, Brady Boyd, drinking coffee as the story was breaking.  He was leaving our meeting to field questions from the press. 

This coming week will not get any better.  This Thursday night, Ted Haggard will be on Larry King and has already recorded an Oprah Winfrey Show.  He is promoting an HBO documentary of his fall, airing on the same night.  And once again, our city and our churches will be subjected to the litany of questions and demeaning remarks that reflect a skeptical public and a weary pastorate. 

As a pastor of a church in Colorado Springs, I’m experiencing mixed emotions.  On the one hand, my heart goes out to Ted, who was always a good friend to me.  When I was starting MSC, I could always depend on him to help with a word of advice or encouragement.  That’s why I was ready to defend him to the press on that fateful day in November, 2006.  I was dressed and ready to leave my house and hold a press conference when the news came from Ted, “Don’t defend me.”  I broke down and wept.  Even to this day, Ted has a special place in my heart and I often pray for his complete healing. 

But I’m conflicted because I’m also really ashamed.  I’m ashamed for the Church.  I’m hurting for the evangelical Church.  I’m saddened that the Church allows this kind of sin into her midst.  It’s not even this story, but the many spiritual earthquakes that keep rocking the Church.  Controversies of sin and rebellion within the Body of Christ abound.  The lack of accountability; the lack of holiness; the lack of true Biblical scrutiny is, quite frankly, discouraging.  It is sobering and frustrating.  As a pastor, I want to learn everything that can be learned from this event.

I find myself being led back to the scriptures, to the apocalyptic letter of John—the Revelation.  For solace and instruction from my Lord and Savior, I meditate upon Jesus’ words to the Laodicean church:

“Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’–and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked– I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”  Revelation 3:17-20

God’s view is so different from our own.  Here was a church that had everything—wealth and material blessing with no outward needs.  This was a “full” church; an obese church.  This must have been a church with a bottom line in the black.  Yet God saw things differently.  God said that the Laodicean church was “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”  God saw poverty, when the Laodiceans saw wealth.  When the church of Laodicea looked in the mirror they saw a stylin’ wardrobe; when Jesus looked in, He saw nakedness. Jesus just doesn’t cooperate with our tastes in style.  

Jesus’ way of thinking is a seismic shift from our own.  Seeing as Jesus saw has never been easy.  Loving as Jesus loved has never been natural.  It was not easy in the first century, and it isn’t any easier today.  God doesn’t ask us for our opinion.  He tells us what He thinks and He invites us to join Him in His vision and plan.

God’s uncommon view is almost always the opposite of ours…in everything.  To see as Jesus saw is a paradigm shift from anything that comes from the world.  We look at things externally and God looks internally. We look at budgets and spread sheets; God looks at motives and content.  We hype and promote our agenda and God looks for humility and tenderness.

Imagine Jesus as a counselor.  In our passage Jesus gives us a glimpse into His heart for the Church, the “called out” ones. This is the Chief Counselor counseling His beloved people.  His words echo through the centuries and are as apropos today as they were then. 

First, Jesus says to us in verse 18, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”  Jesus is not sending them to the streams of Pactolus, nor to the mines of Potosi, but He invites us to Himself, the pearl of great price.  He says that we must buy His gold.  It is the best gold, the refined stuff.  This is the stuff that has been through fire and come out gleaming and splendid.  Jesus is the refined One who went to Calvary, died, and rose again—He is the pure gold we all long for.

But how do we get it?  It is the gold that Isaiah cries out for, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1)  The first seismic shift of Jesus’ counsel to His beloved followers is to “come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden.” Jesus wants His people to come to Him and buy of Him.  He is our gold; He is our garment.  He is our covering and our true riches.  Jesus wants to once again be Lord over His Church!

Secondly, Jesus gives further counsel in verse 19, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”  Repentance means to turn around, a 180 degree seismic shift from our old ways, our natural ways, our forsaken ways.  Jesus wants our hearts to change with a new attitude and new lifestyle.  Repent from sin and be zealous for good works.  This is not about a belief sized up by platitudes and religious sounding creeds, but a real walk of love and compassion.  Jesus intercedes for a church zealous to do good works.  Jesus cries out to His people longing for hearts that are completely turned over to Him.  Jesus wants us to forgive and care for the broken, but be balanced with holiness and integrity.  He is on the move looking for leaders whose hearts are for Him.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
(2 Chronicles 16:9a)

This is the heart of God for the Church and her leaders.  This is the people and the pastorate Jesus longs to comfort and empower!  This is my prayer for pastors—that we would set our hearts on being the most holy and loyal men of God possible.  This is the main prayer for my life.

Thirdly, Jesus knocks at the door of His Church, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)  Imagine Jesus being outside of his Church.  Jesus has been shut out of much of His Church today and He’s hungry for fellowship with us again.  He wants to enter the sermons, worship times, and even the board meetings.  He is knocking on the door of the youth and children’s ministry, wanting to come in.

We were created by God to deeply know and intimately love Him.  God loves you and me and created us for relationship, for intimacy.  This is the purpose of the Church.  We are a people called by His name to have an intimate, growing, ever deepening friendship with God.  This is the heart of God and this is why He knocks.

So, my prayers are heartfelt today.  I love this city and I love Ted Haggard, and I love the Church.  We will weather these aftershocks, but let us learn from them too.  It is time for us to wake up and love; it is time for us to wake up and change.  Jesus is calling all of us to buy His gold, repent, and open the doors of our hearts to Him once again.  May this be our prayer.

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,
Steve Holt


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Gymnastics and the Kingdom of God Part 3

10 10 2008

From the 9th grade until my senior year in high school, I lived, ate, drank, and dreamed gymnastics.  I was as crazy as my coach.  He was a fanatic about perfection in every routine that we worked so tirelessly to execute.  His disease for perfection and winning rubbed off on me.  Gymnastics was all that I thought about during the day and it was my last fleeting thought at night.  I imagined and dreamed gymnastics glory.  I could see in my mind the perfect catch and release on high bar, the flawless dismount off of rings, and the smoothly timed execution of a highly difficult trick in a floor exercise routine.  But such visions of perfection were not to remain just in my head.  They had to be worked out in my experience.  It took daily training.

Each day after class was a discipline of rigorous mental and physical training.  The constant pressures to improve were pressed into every movement and decision at practice.  The physical pain of breaking down the body to exert greater strength and flexibility was matched only by the mental anxiety of cerebral self control in learning a new “trick” (a gymnastics term used for the particular maneuver on an apparatus).  I came home at night with both my body aching and my mind exhausted from the day’s work out.

I can so vividly recall jumping up to grab the rings to perform yet another attempt at a difficult trick.  I had failed on every attempt.  I had fallen off the rings several times, coming close to major injury twice.  And as I jumped to grasp hold of the rings yet another time, I felt a warm tingling sensation on my arms—from my hands to my elbows, streams of blood were rolling down like rivers across my arms.  The blood flowed freely from the calluses in my hands that were  torn and ripped.  It was a vivid reminder of the price to be paid for gold.

Yet the end product was a flawless routine.  The pain paid off.  The blood wiped off, and the victories came.  The price was worth the admission to perfection. 

The roar of the crowd would dissipate.  But the sense of self accomplishment was a deep confidence and satisfaction that all the work, practice, and struggle had been worth it.  This goal being temperal; it prepared me to understand the uniqueness of seeking God for an eternal goal.

The Apostle Paul, in talking about his zeal for an eternal crown, said it this way,  “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.  But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)  Paul is comparing the runner to the Christian.  His challenge to the Corinthians is that every runner, who really runs, runs for victory.  And every runner who cares about winning, must discipline his body with training in order to get the advantage.  And so it is for the follower of Christ.  We “fight” he says in order to win!

Fighting to win?  That’s what Paul says.  We must fight, we must run with a holy pursuit that brings our life into subjection to a higher good, a higher passion.  The Christ follower is a passionate fighter for the imperishable gold—the victory that is awarded by Christ at the culmination of a life well lived.

Like the runner who runs daily to prepare his legs and heart for the coming competition.  Like myself, with blood running down my arms, the Jesus disciple must learn to be “temperate in all things” and train in such a way that he or she may attain the glory of God.   

We are disciples!  Fighting disciples.  A disciple by his or her very character is a disciplined follower.  As disciples of Christ, we are passionate seekers and finders of the kingdom of God.  We have found the kingdom through giving our heart to Jesus.  Simultaneously, we are lifelong seekers of Jesus that never completely arrive in our full knowledge of His marvelous, unending, and ever exploding wisdom and love!  As we choose to seek God, discipline is involved.

As a gymnast I had to leave behind certain activities to obtain a higher goal.  I had to give up, quit, and not even look at certain things—foods, drugs, and drink—because I needed my body to be in the best condition possible.  It was the only route to the winners stand.  As a disciplined seeker of God, I have to temper my appetites, my activities, and my passions for the higher calling.  And it is a constant fight, yes a real fight.

Today, I’m in a hotel room taking a day to fast and pray and seek the Lord.  I do this every month; I steal myself away from work, family, and the constant busyness of my life.  I pull away and pray.  I get real quiet and listen.  I read God’s Word for hours.  I put the activity and “go” of my life on “pause”.  Yet, I push “play” in going after God!  But I can’t push “play” on one track, if I don’t push “pause” on another.  Discipline is like that.  To go for God, we have to say no to other stuff.  I am talking about “go” and “no.”  There are certain things in our lives that just can’t go unless we choose no.

Look at your life today.  What are those activities, choices, attitudes, and even relationships that are hindering your becoming a passionate disciple of Jesus and His kingdom?  Are their lower feelings blocking the higher passions?  Are there relationships hindering The relationship?  All of us who really want to know Christ must ask these question continually.  We all tend to drift off the mark.  We all tend to shift our focus and miss God’s deeper work in our hearts.

So, let me challenge you to “no” and “go.”  Say no to three things today that are hindering your zealous pursuit of God and His kingdom!  Don’t hesitate.  Don’t second guess.  Jump up on the rings of your life and train yourself for the higher joy, the deeper love, and the greater cause.  There is a gold awaiting you—yes, it is the gold that Jesus will present to you personally.  That’s a victory worth living for.  Say no and then go!


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Inklings on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Interview of Me

9 09 2008

Several weeks ago I was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for a national TV special on the upcoming presidential election in America.  The program centered around the shifting trends among the religious right away from just voting a one party ticket, especially as it related to the upcoming presidential election.  I was specifically asked questions related to the religious faith of Barack Obama and John McCain and how this might impact the upcoming presidential election.  I answered as truthfully as I could at the time.  Though the interview took over three hours, only a few minutes were used for the broadcast. 

I have just viewed the telecast that aired a few days ago in Australia.  After reviewing the program, I felt it necessary to prepare a few of my inklings and thoughts to more fully share my position as it relates to faith and politics.

Though I still do not know about John McCain’s faith, which I clearly stated in the interview, be assured that I do know about his political convictions, which was not the question.  In 30 years of voting, I have never voted in an election based largely on a candidates personal faith in God.  I vote to elect a politician who holds my viewpoints on political issues.  Romans 13 is very clear that God raises up “ministers” (mentioned 3 times) in the civil/political realm as much as He raises up ministers in the spiritual realm.  In the Romans 13 passage, the Greek word, diakonos is used, which can be translated “minister.”  But what is interesting is that Paul never indicates that this civil minister has any need for personal faith in God, but rather that God has personally placed him in that position for God’s purposes.  Indeed when Paul was writing, Nero, one of the most deranged emperors of all time, was in power in Rome.  So personal faith in God is not nearly as important to me as whether the candidate will legislate, vote, and work for laws that uphold my convictions.  As Martin Luther, the father of the reformation, once said, “I would rather vote for a good pagan than a bad Christian.”

As a minister in the spiritual realm, I look for “ministers” in the political realm who will uphold, vote for, and legislate what I believe, in my understanding of the Bible and my worship of God, to be the most consistent with the Holy Scriptures. I believe that the stark difference between the candidates (Obama and McCain) on such issues as the right to life for the unborn and marriage, which are clearly spelled out in the Scriptures, makes the decision for president a very easy one.  The contrasts could not be more stark nor more clear.

So, the issue before every thoughtful follower of Christ in America is not what John McCain or Barak Obama personally believes about God, that is his personal faith question between him and God, but rather, how will John McCain or Barak Obama, lead our country through the laws and ordinances that his administration will promote.  The Bible is certainly not clear on many political issues, and thus each believer must seek the Lord and develop his or her own political convictions, but, and I do mean but—the Bible is very clear on some issues.  Namely that life begins at conception (Ps 139; Jeremiah 1, etc.) and that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24 and Ephesians 5:22-33, etc.).  The two candidates stand as polar opposites on legislation on just these two issues alone.  So, as an addendum to the ABC program, let me be very clear that though I don’t consider the personal faith of a candidate as primary  in my decision of how to vote, my personal faith in what the Bible teaches does play a vital part in how I would vote for a candidate.

I hope this is helpful in relation to those who have seen the program and have further questions related to my personal convictions as they relate to religion and politics in our upcoming election. 

Pastor Steve Holt


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Gymnastics and the Kingdom of God Part 1

11 08 2008

When I was a 9th grader in high school, I watched the summer Olympics on TV.  I began watching the basketball, weight lifting, and track and field; all the same competitions that I had watched in the previous years.  But, one night I missed a listing and ended up seeing the gymnastics competition.  I had never seen a gymnastics meet before.  I was mesmerized and awestruck by the combination of such beauty, grace, and power.  The raw strength synergized with the elegant flow of the body in such graceful movements to produce such stunning beauty captured my heart.  My heart was moved and challenged by the controlled athleticism of these gymnasts. 

A few weeks later, there was an announcement in our high school news of the forming of a boy’s gymnastics team.  I went out for the team and the path of my sports career dramatically changed from that day forward.  Never again would I set foot on a baseball diamond or football field again.  My heart was hooked on gymnastics and my life was forever altered by that choice.

You might say that gymnastics changed my life.  For the next eight years, throughout high school and into college I competed as a gymnast.  Those years brought some of the most exciting and painful times of my life.  I experienced great triumph and deep agony as I struggled to be the best at a sport that is both terrifically rewarding when a routine is perfected, but tortuously unforgiving with even the slightest imperfection.

My life was altered by gymnastics, not only because of the victories and defeats of the sport itself, but also by an injury that I thought at the time would end my career.  It was my freshman year at the University of Georgia, and I was the first male gymnast in the history of the school to win a full athletic scholarship—so the personal pressure was immense.  In just the second week of practice, while completing a full twist back somersault on the floor exercise, I landed slightly off and severely dislocated my left knee.  It would take weeks to examine and figure out what had happened to the knee, but in the meantime I was on crutches and fearful of the future.

It was during this time of anxiety that a campus minister shared with me about the potential of a personal love relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  He shared with me that Jesus Christ loved me and had an incredible plan for my life.  He showed me from the Bible that if I would surrender my life into the loving arms of Jesus, He would take it and transform me from the inside out with the Kingdom of God.  And just like that first viewing of the gymnasts in the Olympics many years before, my heart was captured.  I was fascinated by the forgiving, uncompromising, and eternal love of God.  The stunning reality of what Jesus did for me on the cross—laying down His life for me, to forgive me of my sin, and form His life within me, revolutionized my thinking and enraptured my heart.

As I surrendered my life to Christ and His kingdom, it was like God was taking me through heart surgery—with me as the patient and He as the Physician.  Like a patient on the operating table, the Holy Spirit opened up my sin damaged heart and began to heal it with His loving hands.  It was as if God took the scalpel of His Word and began to cut into the sin and selfishness of my life.  I could feel the hands of the Great Physician simultaneously cutting and healing my heart. It seemed that I was regularly broken up over my arrogance and joyful over His forgiveness.

I can still recall walking to biology class one day and being suddenly overwhelmed by the love of the Father.  Like some kind of liquid love, God just poured into me an experience of His agape (sacrificial, caring) love that revolutionized my heart.  Like honey from heaven, I could feel His unconditional love being released into my spirit.  As I looked around at the trees, flowers, sky, and people all around me, I found myself just wanting to leap for joy and shout to anyone who would listen, that “God loves me!”

And so began my journey into the kingdom of God and gymnastics.  As I took those embryonic steps into the kingdom, my gymnastics career continued.  But the flame for my sport that I had once known as primary, was soon relegated to a secondary position.  My passion for Jesus had taken over and I found myself in a new journey of desire that fascinated my heart and inflamed my spirit.  Gymnastics would never again have the same appeal.  It had been replaced by a new life and a new purpose.

But now, as I look back upon those earlier times, what did God teach me about Himself and His kingdom through gymnastics?  Why did the Lord give me both a passion for this sport and a passion for Him? I can see in retrospect many powerful truths about the kingdom of God learned through the sport of gymnastics.  These truths and passions from gymnastics helped form the kingdom of God in my heart…

Watch for Steve’s next “inkling” in a week:  The Kingdom of God and Gymnastics part II


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Categories : Misc.

Created to Crave

29 07 2008

You were created by God to crave.  Advertisers know it.  Hollywood knows it.  The self help industry knows it.  Every magazine and periodical cover is designed to create a craving within you. The world we live in is constantly attempting to arrest a desire for some got-to-have-it thing that will finally make us happier than we were.

This desire did not originate with the 20th century.  God placed it within our hearts.  God placed a craving in all of us.  This craving is a desire, a desire for love, for acceptance.  A desire for adventure.

It is this unmet desire that drives some people to chase after adventure in ways that can never satisfy.  This deep thirst for fascination and beauty drives men and women to daring acts and longings of the heart that are seemingly unreachable.  Thomas Dubay, in his book, The Evidential Power of Beauty, explains it this way:

You and I, each and every one of us without exception, can be defined as an aching need for the infinite.  Some people realize this; some do not.  But even the latter illustrate this inner ache when, not having God deeply, they incessantly spill themselves out into excitements and experiences licit and illicit.  They are trying to fill their inner emptiness, but they never succeed, which is why the search is incessant.  Though worldly pleasure seeking never fulfills and satisfies in a continuing way, it may tend momentarily to distract and to dull the profound pain of the inner void.  If these people allow themselves a moment of reflective silence (which they seldom do), they notice a still, small voice whispering. Is this all there is?  They begin to sense a thirst to love with abandon, without limit, without end, without lingering aftertastes of bitterness.  In other words, their inner spirit is clamoring, even if confusedly, for unending beauty.  How they and we respond to this inner outreach rooted in our deep spiritual soul is the most basic set of decisions we can make; they have eternal consequences.

Solomon understood this when he wrote, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also He has put eternity in their hearts.” (Eccl. 3:11)  Everyone is searching for eternity in their hearts—the churched, the unchurched, the saved and unsaved.  I have traveled to over 20 nations of the world and I have rarely met a person who is not searching, hungering, and longing with deep desire for an eternal purpose to their lives.

Spiritual hunger is driving people of all ages to experiment with virtually any religion or pleasure to find a way to quench this deep passion.  Right now Islam is the fast growing religion in America.  Hinduism and other eastern religions are growing quickly in the west.   It seems that we are living in an age where spiritual hunger is at all time high and people are willing to search for anything that will at least pacify temporarily this hunger.

I have been a missionary and pastor for the past twenty-five years.  As a missionary I spent time observing and conversing with Buddhist monks and the people who considered themselves followers of Buddha.  In virtually every situation and conversation I found a person who was lonely, frustrated, and unfulfilled in their search for meaning.

The other day I was in a coffee shop in Colorado Springs and I met a young woman who told me that she often listened to my radio broadcast.  She said she liked it because it seemed that I really believed what I was talking about.  I then asked her, “What is it I believe that I’m always talking about?” She looked confused and then got it.  “Oh, you believe the Bible!” What was it about the Bible that I believed, I asked her.  She wasn’t sure.

A lot of us are unsure of what we are listening to and what we really crave.  I believe we are all searching for beauty and eternal fascination.  Even Jesus understood this.  He used passion and desire to draw people in.  In Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  This man found something that so satisfied his cravings that he was willing to sell everything he had in order to get it.  He was consumed by a treasure.  This treasure captivated his heart.

When I was a freshman in college a campus minister sat down on a lawn with me and shared that Jesus passionately loved me so much that He willingly left heaven and came to this earth and let Himself be shamed, tortured, and killed for me.  The man told me that even if I was the only person on the earth,  Jesus would have done this for just for me.  At the time I was finding great adventure in being a champion gymnast and all the allurements that accompanied such a lifestyle.

But that day, a new craving began to grow.  It was small, very small, like a little treasure in a field.  I chose to pursuit that desire and that decision has changed my life for the past thirty years.

Are you searching for beauty?  Are you searching for the fascination?  In our next blog installment I look forward to sharing with two hero’s of mine who found the cravings of their heart.
 

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Pastor Steve


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Categories : Love, Theology

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