head4thehills.org Blog

Having read a lot of the discussion about the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board’s decision to refuse new missionaries who have a private prayer language or were baptized in a church which does not believe in perserverance of the saints resulted in these thoughts:

Well, it’s you isn’t it?  I hope you didn’t really say that because you surely realize that it’s me, not you!   Is not the Southern Baptist Convention the greatest in the Kingdom?  No, the Assembly of God, you say?  The Pentecostals?  The Calvinists?  CBF?  I could go on and on.  There may be some sense in which some organization or even individuals could claim to be the greatest, but what are the standards upon which such an opinion could be based?  Which is most important – biggest budget, most missionaries, or most nations reached (I know, people-groups or some such are the current targets of mission work)?  Most baptisms?  Those who most closely followed God’s direction?  The latter would probably be those who are the greatest, but who would know except God?  They wouldn’t even know themselves!

We look at the original disciples’ apparent regular focus on ‘greatness’ with disdain, maybe even a wry and knowing chuckle.  But, tell me, how has it changed since then?  Isn’t the question raised constantly today even as we profess our own humility?  I know many people who say, “I am (Baptist, Assembly, etc) because they are closest to the Bible in what they believe!”  What is that opinion actually based on?  Would those who are most concerned about seeking God, waiting on God, walking in the Spirit, and all those things that would make one great in the kingdom be making such comparisons? 

Everyone thinks they have the “greatest” interpretation of scripture, but where do they get it?  The three most likely places are tradition, scholars, and their own logical analysis.  Interpreters often say things like, “the Bible clearly says such and such” even though some of the most brilliant thinkers in history have taken the opposite view (that would be true of almost any doctrinal point being argued from any side).  Who do they think they are that they have suddenly (or even after a lifetime of study) seen clearly that about which the church as a whole has never before been clear?

Nothing about God’s word is obvious to any man regardless of his native intelligence, education, or involvement in good works.  If any man properly understands anything about any scripture it is solely because God graciously provided the correct understanding and since there is no private interpretation of the scripture is it not incumbent on us to gather and seek God’s grace to understand?

If the church (universal) was really interested in what God intended in His word then the various bodies with differing opinions would appoint some faithful men full of the Spirit to get together not to debate or even make arguments for their positions, but to seek God and wait for God to answer.  They would be of one mind and one accord because their eye would be single in looking to the one goal that would be to hear from God Himself.    Of course, this will never happen as long as most are interested even partially in being the greatest rather than serving with the strength God provides.  If there is no private interpretation of scripture would that include the privacy of a single self-styled group or would true interpretation of scripture require the entire church to avoid the result being as though private? 

Who, then, gets included as part of the church?  Churches are under the ministry of Jesus Christ who reserves the right to minister judgment and removal.  Let all come who would come and let Jesus judge!   Who would ‘take the lead’?  The Holy Spirit alone – He is the teacher is He not, the interpreter of Christ’s words and work?

Jesus said that the greatest man was John the Baptist.  How do the current contenders even compare to him, much less to the least in the Kingdom who Jesus says is greater than John?  Well, they compare mighty well if you look at size of the organization.  John had a few disciples, but most or all of them ended up following Jesus.  Of course, that very fact is one of the great successes of John’s ministry since that was his goal all along, to make disciples for Jesus.  John’s long-term goal was to become less.  Think that’s the plan of anyone today who might want to contend for the title of greatest?  No, I don’t think so. 

I think the greatest mission-sending organization might look something like the church with 20 faithful members who send a large percentage of their money to support one missionary that they know is absolutely following God’s call.  If they themselves have one called from among them and they sacrifice mightily in the power that God provides to help send that one… they get my vote.

Moses was the most humble man who ever lived. Is it any wonder that none of our leaders today can move us out of the morass that is “the problem with the church today”?  If it was humility that was the chief characteristic required to move Israel from slavery to Canaan, then where is the humble man to lead the church from slavery in the patterns of this world into the liberty where the Spirit is? 

If Jesus saves a soul in a particular church what is it to me if that person happens to be baptized in that church?  Why I expect anything else?  If Jesus gifts His servant to speak in tongues, what is that to me?  If Jesus does not so gift me, what is that to you – since I am a servant of Jesus and no other? 

Who did Jesus say WAS the greatest?  The one who believed certain doctrines or the tongues speaker or the non-tongues speaker?  It was certainly not the one who came as a bully casting accusations about the inferiority of others or the insufficiency of their doctrine or their gifts.  No, it was the one who came as a child.  The one who will see the Kingdom of God as opposed to those who come in any way other than in the meekness of a child who will not see that Kingdom.

We all can be the greatest then.   We only have to become the last, serve Christ by serving all – especially the least, and become like a child.  Easy!  Except for giving up being first, being served by the least or anyway being looked up to by them, and our sophistication – especially our theological sophistication.

Here is the first ‘Weekly Post’ we made on the THBC site back in 2003: 

The idea that we Christians should define the good life for ourselves is prevalent today,  and many of us define it pretty much the same way as everybody else.  We want plenty of money to provide us with plenty of the necessities (as in the latest entertainment, clothes that are at the very least not out of date, and a ride that’ll go places the driver  never intends to go), no pain, excitement without risk, and so on.  When talking about such things I have heard this from many Christians, “I don’t want to be rich, just comfortable.”  And they often add, “I just don’t want to do without.”.  Oh, and we do want people to think we are okay – okay in the sense of being cool, with-it, or whatever it might be called to be among those who are somehow succeeding.  We are really talking about one’s personal location in one of the many available pecking orders here..  Right. 
Well, God has told us the consistence of the good life, but His list is not the same as ours.  He wants us to have plenty of money to help those who need true necessities, enough pain to have to continue to look to Him, and to desire that His name be respected above all things.  In fact, he wants us to find our place through our association with Him, not through anything about ourselves.  If you don’t like this list, you should remember that God promised complete and eternal satisfaction for those who would live according to His definition of the good life.
Such promises don’t matter much unless you believe them.  If you are spending very much time looking at websites of small churches, you are very likely to say you do believe everything that God says.  But do you?  How do you prove what you really believe?  By what you do, of course.  Just for example, if you would say you believe it is more satisfying to help the hungry than to enjoy food yourself then hit the scales and get back to me.

Okay, maybe I didn’t figure out how to work this in more often!  We closed our Sunday services yesterday due to the weather, so, I’m really looking forward to Wednesday.  We will begin a new class this week at 6 p.m. geared toward folks with young children (though anyone is welcome who finds the earlier time more convenieint).  A class for the kids will be provided which we think they’ll like too!  I’m going to try to post an old essay today, so take a look.

Dale

It took me a long time to get around to posting, but I think I have figured out a way to work it in a little more often (2 in one day today!).  If my posts always seem sermonish, I guess that it is difficult for me to get out of that mode.  However, I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs about the things posted – or maybe you’ll leave a comment to get a conversation started.  I hope so!  I plan to post some of my old essays from the website here as well in the hopes that some of you will comment on them. 

So, love God with all your heart and pray for the glory of his name to spread like wildfire!

Dale

Nothing!  I have heard otherwise many times from the pulpit and in advice from Christians.  If you do thus and so, then, God MUST respond in such and such a way.  That is not a Biblical view of God the way I see it.  I think I know what they are trying to say, but there is a grave danger if it goes deeper.  To believe that God must do something is to turn God into a genii or some kind of magic.  God is gloirously and magnificently free.  He is free to do what ever he wants to do in every case.  God is not constrained by anything that man might do or say.  God’s liberty is infinite.

But the Bible says that God cannot lie – isn’t that a constraint on God?  No, there is no power outside of God that prevents or forbids his lying.  He cannot lie because of his very nature.  God is Truth and whatever he speaks is truth by definition.  Could God not change reality by speaking?  Yes, God spoke reality into the existence it has.  God will never mis-speak, though, because he is infinitely trustworthy and will keep all promises that he has ever spoken.  He will not change the rules because of who he is.  That is the God that we trust!

What about salvation?  If someone believes and repents does God not have to save him?  I do not believe God is constrained to save that person, but I trust that God will choose to save that person every time.  God is infinitely good, therefore, he will always choose to do what he has promised to do.  Salvation is based on that kind of trust not on saying certain words or anything else that forces God’s hand.  God will never dishonor Christ’s work on the cross because, being the God he is, he will always choose to honor that magnificent work but nothing in that work forces God’s hand.  The difference may seem minor, but I think the difference is huge.  It is the difference between belief in magic and belief in God.  It is the difference between believing we can somehow control God and believing in a God who controls all things.
God is infinitely good and God is infinitely free.  These facts should not inspire fear they should inspire worship.
 

I don’t know how these bloggers find the time to do all this blogging and carry on a normal life.  I suspect many leave off the normal life part, but  most of the ones I enjoy reading regularly are written by people who seem to have plenty of stuff going on – full time pastors and such.  I haven’t ran across any written by bi-vocational pastors yet.  I’d be interested if anyone knows of any.  Besides me, of course.  We surely should make sure we are not wasting the time of our lives.  When I say things like that I’m afraid many think I’m saying they should get their nose to the spiritual grindstone and get with it because there is no time for anything but Kingdom Work!  While I do think most of don’t put in the time we could (and should) on Kingdom work I don’t think that means we have to leave off everything we enjoy.  In fact, if we don’t enjoy Kingdom work, then how much of it are we really going to do, anyway?  That’s why we should be so afraid of wasting time – because we do not enjoy the things of God and it doesn’t bother us we are destined to avoid those things and become involved in things we do enjoy.  That’s going to equal wasted time and enough of that’s going to equal wasted lives.  Enough Christians wasting lives is going to mean lives lost.  Our lives are so important.  Because his job is so important, no one thinks the president of the USA should take it easy.  In fact, most presidents take a lot of criticism for taking too many trips to Camp David, home, or other ‘vacation’ time.  If we believe that people’s eternity hangs in the balance depending on how they see Jesus, and we are called to show them Jesus, how important is that?

I got my annual retirement accounting a few days ago.  Now, there is not very much in there, really.  I’ve been salting away a small amount monthly for a long time.  Even though it’s not much I enjoyed looking at the total and I got to thinking about the possibilities if it were doubled.  That led to thinking about the greater possibilities if it was a lot more even than that.  I realized that I was savoring that account way more than I should be.  Since I have Christ I don’t really have much use for that account when you get right down to it.  Not only that, since everything I have is supposed to be at God’s disposal it shouldn’t surprise me that as soon as I get my hands on the actual money represented by that statement God may have some plan for it that I haven’t considered - like spending it on anything other than my own good pleasure.   I have to work on this, but I’ve come to be glad God brought it to mind.  It made a pretty good sermon illustration this morning, too. 
Dale

Okay, Dana has been blogging for over a week and it hasn’t looked so hard so here I am.  I don’t think this is anything like internet pornography like some trustees of the International Missions Board seem to think according to board member Wade Burleson, pastor of Enid, OK Emmanuel (see links to his blog at www.head4thehills.org in the articles list).  It does smack of self-pimping, though, which is probably a little too close for comfort.  Be that as it may, my plan is to honor Christ here and everywhere.  If we eat and drink to God’s glory surely blogging can be handled similarly – we’ll see, I guess.   If we have trouble in that regard in every other area of life, though (and we do), then how much more something that might remind me a little of vanity poetry contests.  But, it looks like fun and on the chance that I can control my vanity and honor Christ I’m going to try it. 

Dale