are you cool?

the emergent church, with their unhindered fascination with aestetics is trying to show the world that christianity is not old, stoic, rule centered, and unloving. Their trying to make christianity cool.

lets remember what Ravi says,

"Jesus did not come to make bad(religious or unloving) people good(cool), but the make dead men alive."

"wake up oh sleeper and rise from the dead." -a man who was sawed in half(from scalp to scrotum)

art for arts sake...caution...windy curves ahead

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" -Exodus 20:4

The common thing amongst our generation is that of rebellion and questioning authority. When confronted with sin the postmodern mind says, “What is your definition of sin?” And my mind when I was confronted with the Presbyterian view of the covenant, which is rough, rigid, serious, and strong like and iron beam holding up a skyscraper, I was a bit disillusioned, asking, “Why so serious? Why that definition of the law?” They take the law very seriously, like so serious that moms make sure there are no images in the house of anything representing Christ because that would break one of the ten commandments. They desire to obey him sincerely and accurately and in that they can seem legalistic, doing the right thing because it’s the right thing. Morality for the sake of good morality.

So I was in the category of thinking that the Presbyterian view of the law is, “A little strict, I mean come on. Wheres the grace? Just chill, don you know your turning people off to the gospel by being so legalistic?” I thought they were too stiff, taking things way to seriously, until yesterday. Yesterday the stone fell upon me and broke me to pieces.

I was in my local tattoo shop hanging out with my friend who works there, and I was scanning the walls taking in all the art. Then I realized a couple of things, First, there was a lot of vulgar racy art. Second, there was a lot of pictures of Christ mostly from catholic origin. Third, they all misrepresented Christ, his perfect sinless life, his perfect sacrifice and the anchor of our souls, his resurrection. Fourth, this misrepresentation was a mockery to God.

The picture that set this snowball in motion was picturing a catholic Christ with the sacred heart and peace sign fingers, then next to it was praying hands to a glorified virgin Mary, asking for the forgiveness of sin. It was art that was a graven image, because it belittled the work of Christ, making him only a cartoon, a fairy tale, a myth of the old world. The images were worshipped by those in the tattoo shop because that is what they spend the most time looking to, to be better at art, for their own sake, for their own glory, not Gods. They were making graven images. The images suppress God and his eternal attributes because they misrepresent him, they box him in. Its like talking crap on someone, when it aint true. Those images were talking crap on Christ and belittling his work. Graven images mock him because they suppress him. The image did not listen to the law of God but to the culture of man. Gods law is his culture it is his boast, it is his glory, especially and explicitly when Christ fulfills it (Matt 5:17, Rom 8:3,4).

God needs nothing to show his power, on the entire universe, he is not served by human hands, only his perfect triune being in which he is perfectly content.

Im realizing that my slackness in observing the law, is leading to a slack in giving glory to God. I need to be way more careful in what and how I think about God and what that leads me to do.

Im not against art or culture, im not against tattoos, but I am against idolatry.

One Young Consistent Lawyer

The following article is a review of the book, "The Expository Genius of John Calvin" by Stephen Lawson.

I sometimes meander my thoughts along the lines of why things are the way they are. For example, what puts the buzz in coffee, or the vibrancy in shotgun blasts, or better yet what is the bang in a NOS system in a rice rocket? These thoughts can be summarized by one question, what in essence gives things their power? Because we know that some things are more effective than others. But why?

So what makes one preacher better than another? Obviously William Farrell knew something of this sort, when he gripped Calvin by the terror of God with his witch crooked finger one winter night in Geneva. The young author of The Institutes was only passing through yet this night, solidified a young John Calvin to come up from the gave of the study and herald the shattering truth of Christ to the common people in the crisp, cold Genevan air. To labor like Christ in laying down his life for the sheep of the reformation who were wandering, bruised, beaten, desperate for truth in a spiritual famine. This famine was ended like Joseph opening up grain stores in Egypt when Calvin took the pulpit, not only for that generation so far removed, but for ever preceding one that would join in the crystal clear, God centered, Christ exalting exposition of Gods word through the man John Calvin. So then what put the buzz, vibrancy, or bang in the life of John Calvin and his preaching? Or why is Calvin better than, lets say, Joel Olsteen? This is the question that Steve Lawson takes up in his book, The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Why John and not Joel.

What is the book about? well, lets let him tell us because, I simply cant say it any better, “the aim of this book is to raise the bar for a new generation of expositors. The method is to see what a commitment to biblical preaching looks like by examining the work of a man who was sold out to this sacred duty” (p xiv).

To be about the book. Line by line. Verse by verse.

So this book sets sail with 32 distinctives of Calvin's preaching. These came from the man whom the German reformer Philip Melanchthon labeled as simply, “’the theologian,” which was, as Lawson says, “an indication of the respect Calvin was accorded for his abilities as an interpreter of Scripture” (p 3). Here we see that the new world of the reformation was looking to this man as the theological leader, a mind so rigorously disciplined through scholastic training to attack the text, and bring forth the truth. And how can this effect us? How does the past break into our present? Let us continue with a personal thought.

This book was exceedingly exciting to read because of the viscous content therein. Not because it was a new experience to add to my globtrotting, or an intellectual heroin from which I could selfishly enjoy, or even just to read it as a slight social commentary for future discussion at the coffee shop. It was exciting because it was a swift kick in the rear, to stand up, be strong, be biblical, and to do it for the long haul. This message is desperately needed in for young men in our time whose high octane emotion will only be corralled by the consistency of Gods word. We are truly saplings in he world of redwoods when we consider the men of the past on whose shoulders we so truly ride upon. Yes even America is still profiting from the thoughts of John Calvin, the Frenchman, and we need to pay our thanks.

This book, as a whole, inspires me not to be a man of my culture, not to be a man of history, not to be a man dedicated to my work or my family foremost, but simply to be a man of the book, a man dedicated in season and out of season to the text. For as Thabiti Anyabwile said to R.C. Sproul before his preaching, “Bring the book” so Calvin brought the book through his entire ministry at Geneva.

The book is not long, but it makes up for it in intensity, if I might just share a few quotes to inspire you to read it:

“The church is always looking for better methods in order to reach the world. But God is looking for better men who will devote themselves to His biblically mandated method for advancing His kingdom, namely, preaching—and not just any kind of preaching, but
expository preaching” (p 18,19).

“Calvin rises to expound the biblical text. Hearts are astounded; souls are arrested. Under the conviction and challenge of his expository preaching, the Huguenots (who were slaughtered by the thousands in France by the Catholics in the 16th century) are galvanized in their faith” (p 23).

“This former Roman Catholic bastion is now a fortress of biblical truth. It has become a house of Reformed worship—a place where the exposition of Scripture is preeminent” (p 22).

Lawsons writing is incredible, so fluid and free, clear, concise, bringing out all of the greatness of our God and his work of grace in this man.. It is as if we were walking into the cathedral in Geneva, smelling the cold stone and hard pews, but warmed by the stupendous preaching we are translated to this world by Steve Lawson, and then brought to the realities of our own with a strength to change it and the convictions like that of structural steel organized and engineered, will not bend in submission to the worlds demands.

Let us then as men and women of the book be galvanized in our faith, able to withstand any rust of sin this world can bring, through any season.

High Hopes Deferred by High Octane Emotion

What excites you? How does your blood pump faster? What makes adrenalin seep out of the middle of your back with every breath? What brings forth emotion? Does being involved in God’s kingdom just bring shivers to your bones with the coming ambition of seeing the gospel being realized in some ones eyes? How about helping the poor? Going to ‘do’ something for the gospel? Well, I get excited about those things. And if you do too, then keep reading.

Being myself singularly prone to wide varieties of ‘things to be done for the kingdom,’ I see my ambition coupled with the catalyst of zeal. We have all had those bursts of emotion or intolerance leading to action, but eventually these fizzle out like the end of a candle This then leading to trying to do everything and then accomplishing nothing. This flaw most prominently gets blamed on my Italian pedigree and the geography of my adolescence instead of the deceitfulness of my indwelling sin. I see myself vacillating like the waves in a bathtub that I get into. I control them by my movements. But eventually they get out of control, bouncing off the walls and slamming into each other, causing more chaos than it does good. And so my life is similar because I try to control the ministry I get into. I try and control the works that I do by being excited about them, but eventually it becomes too much for me because emotion does not last. But a committed labor of unconditional love knows no fatigue. Fatigue ensues because I can’t be committed to a sole issue for a long time because I am only committed on an emotional level, not the level of the will. It’s always, ‘lets go volunteer at the homeless shelter!’ for one day, or ‘Lets go on a mission trip!’ for a week instead of a lifetime. See the distinction. One is only doing works, the other is following Christ, because his entire life was on mission. He was called out of heaven from the virgin birth to the ascension. He had one purpose, not his will, but the Father’s. It takes years to build friendships, a lifetime to build trust, and hours of prayer to be submitted to God, and thus involved in his kingdom.

This is a recurring pattern in my life: that when I get excited about something it only lasts for about the time of a bath. But by contrast, in the Bible we see a lasting consistency in the fathers of our faith through the continual obedience to God’s word. The halls of faith are lined with a work of faith, a labor of love, and steadfastness of hope (1 Thes 1:3), they hold to it, and are kept in it. Case in point: Moses. In Hebrews 11:23-28 we see about 80 years covered, and it was all the same faith, continually for the same work, the salvation of Israel. Ouch. Breathe. We have been given the same faith. Go.

I lack the commitment to anything for a long period of time to consistently follow things to the end, especially if it hurts or gets in the way of my schedule. I am not like the godly man in Psalm 15:4 who “swears to his own hurt.” He takes an oath so strong that even when the double edge of that sword pierces his own agenda he keeps to it. Being committed is not a signature at a car dealer forcing you into exorbitant interest with menacing threats of bad credit if you don’t pay. But a vow, an oath, simply, an ‘I’ll cover you bro’ or, ‘yeah man I got you’ and following it out to the end, no matter the cost, no matter the cell phone minutes or gas wasted. But being there, without complaint. Thinking of others instead of yourself, as Christ thought of our great insult and drank his cup, willingly. Are you willing to drink the same? Even if they insult you? How about if they rob your house, steal your ipod, or steal your identity?

We followers of Christ here in the States, who see the truth, who labor to defend his righteousness, and love and hold onto the gospel often wonder why the world is so blind to the reality of Christ. Why are they so ignorant of his graciousness, and so headlong into their sin, calling Christians hypocrites as they plummet down the rabbit hole of idolatry. Could this chasm between our understanding of Christ and their view of the church be because we as believers don’t keep our word? We don’t follow through with what we say? And we don’t really know how to be committed friends to both people in the world and in the body of Christ?

I see this in my own life and in others so clearly in this single anecdote. I have more than a few Christian friends who when I call them don’t call me back. When I leave messages for them to call me back ASAP, they wait a week. And when they call me out of the blue, they don’t leave messages, because, well, I guess they don’t have time to leave a message for me. And when you don’t have time for something, it’s not a priority to you, and if something is not a priority for you, you don’t care about it. And thus in this situation they don’t care about people, because they don’t take the time for them.


This is one solitary symptom, but not a lynchpin, showing us how deep sin really goes. We see what Christ is talking about in Matt 5:47, “And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” We tend to think, ‘yeah, the world only does that, I go out of my way to talk to people.” To which I respond: when was the last time any of us invited even one of our closer non-Christian to a friend’s Bible study or church? When was the last time you helped someone move? When was the last time you reorganized your agenda to share the gospel? When did you last consider what pleases God? How many orphans and widows have you been taking care of? Or better yet, what did you last buy for yourself and how does that help you reflect the glory of God? Did you keep all your promises or did you slip out of them because something more fun came up? It’s not that the opportunities are not there, it’s that we don’t have flexible agendas and schedules to serve others. Its that we don’t care about the schedule of the wind, the schedule of the spirit, which only God knows where it goes.

But the point is this: we don’t even greet our own brothers. We don’t take the time to leave them messages using technology for the glory of God. We wait to call people, even our Christian friends. So the lack of care, concern, and value of even the body of Christ shows that the world does not know who we serve because we don’t love each other. Because we don’t take the time to be involved in each others lives.

It seems that this gas tank of emotion runs dry quickly because it was pushed to redline RPM’s too quickly and then overheated because of over commitment. The redline danger I have found here is in too much vacillation and lack of long term commitment, varied and false expectations leading to a false hope for the future, and an always present discontentment by always trying to be on the greener side of the grass.

I see us in danger of wanting to do so much in for the future of this world that we forget the ‘grace of the now.’ That we are invincible in the moment and put exactly where we are by the great architect of the universe to work by his love for his glory. Do not be dismayed by how seemingly tedious and boring the current job or task at hand. God is watching with intricate design, love, and care at all things that are happening (Prov 15:3). Be about the grace of the now: You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” (Tit 2:1). This is the gospel of the now: “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). The breathing, living God is with you.