Top Ten Reasons to Love Minnesota

10.  In Minnesota, people there have really cool accents.

9.  In Minnesota, all four seasons are noticeable and somewhat gradual (although the winter is very cold) 

8.  In Minnesota, there is a great potential for growth as businesses such as Target, Pillsbury, General Mills, Best Buy and others are based there.

7.  In Minnesota, there are great sport teams like the Twins, the Vikings, and the Timberwolves.

6.  Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 lakes and so there is plenty of fishing there as well as hunting and outdoor activities.

5.  Minnesota has an agricultural system such that you can actually get fresh fruit and vegetables that are delicious in their grocery stores (unlike places like Louisville Kentucky where it incomparable).

4.  Minnesota is now considered an important mid-western swing state and is gradually becoming more politically conservative with Governor Tim Pawlenty and Senator Norm Coleman.

3.  Minnesota was rated the healthiest nation in the union this year for the second or third year in a row.

2.  Minnesota was rated 3rd in the nation by the 2007 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test for driver's knowledge.

1.  Minnesota is home to Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and is pastored by John Piper.

What are the reasons that you love your state?

My Philosophy of Ministry

Well, this isn't everything, but just met a requirement for a class, so here it goes...

Introduction

            The tendency in modern culture is to view any job or a vocation as just a job or a vocation.  Wallowing within the walls of a cubicle, many men and women view what they do as a stepping stone to retirement, and nothing else.  “Freedom is just beyond the hurdle,” they say, and in the meantime they go about their work with a complete disdain and irreverence for their labor.  Even Christians have this leaning.  Whether it is in the boardroom conducting business or the bathroom connecting the ducts for plumbing, believers in the faith, because of their sinful nature, always are tempted in this regard.  Sadly, it is not limited to the secular vocations of the church either.  This problem hits home to many ministers of the faith.  The preachers of the good news of the gospel can become so frustrated in their work and so laboriously hurt by the reaction of others, that they come to a state of apathy and possibly give up.  Coming in a church with the best of intentions, they become weak and view their calling as a crisis because of their lack of joy.  Their philosophy becomes apathy, whereas the godly minister's philosophy is a joy in humility which is marked by diligence in personal interaction, and the faithful exposition of the Word of God.

Ministry Involves Joy in Humility

            I am, by God’s grace, a man who is called by God for salvation.  According to His good purpose, He saw fit to bring me to faith and call me out of darkness into his glorious light.  He delivered me from my sins and transferred me into the kingdom of his son, and now in all joy I approach him in gratefulness and in hopeful expectation that in the future he will be gracious to me as I rest on His promises.  I believe that he will strengthen me and uphold me by His righteous right hand, and I know that His grace is sufficient for me and is made perfect in my weaknesses.  Therefore, I can come into the ministry and approach the concept of ministry with boldness because my Lord Jesus Christ has changed my heart.  He has taken out a heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh that loves the things that He loves and takes joy and care in the things that He takes joy and care in.

            This includes the ministry.  First Corinthians 10:31 says that, “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all for the glory of God.”  Before I became saved, everything that I accomplished and labored for was an immature version of retirement.  It was either for my own success or my own pleasure.  Now I have come to realize that life is not about me.  The work that I do is not primarily about providing for my family or for my own pleasure.  It is mainly about my pleasure in God and finding my joy in Him.  “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5).  What is inherent in this verse is a sense of glory being given to God, not the one who is preaching or ministering.  There is the necessity to make everything that we have be about God and about Jesus as the Savior who gives life to all and who sustains the very world in its existence.  How dare I or anyone else approach this lightly and think that I am anything in this vocation.  “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit.  For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:5). 

            So then, it is clear that I ought to approach the pulpit, the counseling session, and the nursing home with an appropriate amount of humility, for my sufficiency and competency is only real insofar as the Spirit moves to make it so in my life.  How else can I minister effectively and with a sense of seriousness?

            And what should result from all of this? Joy!  My ministry if it is not characterized by joy is nothing.  This emotion is commanded all over the Bible, and rightly so.  If I do not have a sense of joy in my work, or lose it because of the hard labor and drains that result, then I have lost the very reason why Christ has sent me to preach.  For if Christ was sent to preach only for deliverance from hell, then his name is not glorified, the deliverance is glorified and he is merely a means to an end.  “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).  Joy in the glory of God is what salvation is about, and joy in the glory of God is what ministry is about.

            This is the foundation.  It is upon the foundation of joy in humility that I can truly minister and minister effectively.  Nobody wants to see a joyless pastor.  Nobody wants to see a pastor who does not plead with God every Sunday to come and shine about the congregation’s hearts so that they might see the gospel of the glory of God.  The pastor is in a dangerous position when he begins to look more like a Pharisee than a faithful teacher of the Bible.  These men were the poster children of pride in Jesus mind.  And what does the Scripture say about pride?  “God rejects the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  It is clear from the Scriptures that the prideful man will not be blessed, especially in ministry.

Ministry Involves Diligence

            The ministry is not a place for lazy men.  It is a shame on the pastorate position at large that men approach the pulpit with a sense of frivolity.  And many people do.  They study very little, they jam pack their schedules with family events, they approach the pulpit as a speech, and they address people as means to getting closer to the end of their day.  This is not a proper view of the ministry, it is not a proper view of the pulpit, and it is not a proper view of the congregation.

            We as pastors should make it our aim to be an example for our congregation and practice what we preach.  We do not preach, “Be lazy!”   We preach, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecc. 9:10).   This includes ministry to people and ministry to the Word of God.  Because in both cases we are approaching the work that we will be held accountable for and will one day answer the Lord for.

            Therefore, this is my aim in ministry: to so live and act and work and think that my people come to realize that diligence pays off and is pleasing in the sight of God.  Not only that I want the people in the church that I minister to see that I care about them and want to serve them and sacrifice everything that I have to see them happy in God.  If that means diligence (which it surely does), I will not waste my time or approach tasks as if they are unimportant and not worthy of my fullest and most intense devotion.

            And more than anything else, this premise that diligence is fruitful is applied to the ministry of the Scriptures.  There are so many pastors who look at the pulpit as a stage in which to proclaim what they feel and think in their experiences.   This is not the job of the minister!  His job is to diligently seek to preach the Word (2 Tim. 4).  His job is to look at a text and approach it with a proper hermeneutic, gazing at the context, and literary and historic backgrounds in order that he may see finally the intent of the original author.  That is preaching!  And to accomplish this type of preaching, I will need more than an hour glance over a passage.  I will need hours and hours devoted to proclaiming accurately and forthrightly the Bible.  My duty is sure: diligence is fruitful and therefore I will approach the ministry in all diligence so that Christ might be honored in all that I do.

Ministry Involves Proper Personal Interaction

            Without relating to others in a proper way, the minister will fail in his calling.  To be sure, this involves proper interaction with those in his church, as well as those outside of the culture.  There is no excuse for the minister who has a short fuse, who cannot handle criticism, and who has children and a family that is unruly.  If this is the case, a minister of the gospel proves himself unqualified and will only get the disdain for others.

            Thus, this must be included in my personal philosophy of ministry.  In fact, one of the main passages that speak on the qualifications of ministry speaks very loudly on personal interaction and relation with others.  First Timothy chapter three is clear on this inescapable reality: “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”

            So it is not a matter of negotiation.  Being respectable and above reproach means relating to others in an appropriate manner.  Practically, this means that when I approach counseling situations, for example, my mind should be set on the appropriate nature that I deal with toward the opposite sex so that we are guarded from sin.  This entails no private meetings with females without someone else present so that there is no question that the devil is not using this for evil sexually.

            Also, Paul states that, “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?...Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”  So the apostle speaks on two relations here: one with the family and one with outsiders.  The one with the family ought to be characterized by orderliness, and submission, not chaos and disobedience.  And believe it or not, it is my opinion that many churches overlook this matter because it is so common in our culture.  Nevertheless, Paul even states it as a logical conclusion that if one is unable to manage the household, he is unable to manage the church. 

The question becomes how can I promote and sustain this orderliness and obedience in the home.  First, it these characteristics are promoted and sustained by humble submission ourselves to the Word of God and to prayer.  I must make it my aim to approach God and ask for His guidance on the best action to take in every situation.  And it is precisely because there are so many situations and my heart is so sinful that I need to do this.  Second, by family devotions, the atmosphere of the home becomes one of that same humble reliance on our Lord and aids our family in proper obedience.  Deuteronomy speaks to this when the Word of God becomes so ingrained in the family that it is like it is posted on the doors of the house and in the hearts of the members.  And finally, accountability and openness is central to this reality as well because the family itself just like individuals cannot be lone rangers who are independent, or they will fail miserably.

In addition how I relate to the outside world is really how I am, and if I cannot control my temper or my patience with unbelievers, this will question my worthiness even more than it already does by my own sinfulness.  Unbelievers are constantly watching to if our attitudes and actions are just like their own so that they can point the finger at our own hypocrisy.  “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you, for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).  Unbelievers will not ask us if there is nothing to defend.  They will not ask us if we hope in the same things they do.  And therefore “friendship with the world is enmity towards God.”

Ministry Involves the Faithful Exposition of the Word of God

There is nothing more important than the Word of God.  It is the foundation of life, and it is the foundation of the character of the minister.  And just as it is essential for the minister to be a man of character, it is essential for the minister to be a man of the Word.  Peter makes his argument from Scripture that two put away evil things and to do what is good, the man of God must long for the pure milk of the Word: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3).  And again, in Ephesians when Paul speaks of the armor of God that the Christian must wear to quench the fiery darts of the evil one, he says that the believer must have the sword of the Spirit (an instrument of offense and defense), which is the Word of God.

Not only is it essential for the minister’s character, the Bible is essential for preaching and preaching well.  What separates average preaching from excellent preaching is the faithful exposition of the Scriptures.  For if God’s Word is taken lightly, the only substance that will be proclaimed will be light substance.  Therefore I make it my aim to not only live the Word of God but to proclaim it faithfully.  I cannot rely on my own wisdom here.  It is not my job to stand up and tell stories, or my opinion regarding what God wants.  The people of God need more than 21^st century, culturally appropriate messages; otherwise, we become like great orators and our work is just like a political messenger: trying to convince others of something I do not know that they will be convinced of.

And oh, how sad it is if I settle for reading my own presuppositions into every text.  For if I do so, only my words will come out of the Bible, not God’s.  It is only when the Word of God is faithfully expounded can I receive the commendation of my Lord whom I am attempting to please in everything.  “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers that suit their own passions” (2 Tim. 4:2-3).

Conclusion

Frivolity is not in my vocabulary, except for this paper.  At least, it should be brought down to a state which I no can even see in my life, so far as it depends on me.  Only God can do this work and so the work in the ministry that I accomplish is owing to Him and not to me.  But hopefully it can be so that everything that is said above is a characteristic of my ministry in the future. 

It is not my aim to be like so many other pastors who have the wealth, have the prestige, write the bestsellers, but who do not preach faithfully the Word of God.  It is not my goal to become a friend of the world and slowly but surely love the things that they love and be materialistic, if not prideful in the ministry.  It is my aim to become one who truly loves the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and therefore diligently pursues a proper relationship with others, a faithful presentation of the Word of God, and joy in humility.  From beginning to end, it is my prayer that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart are acceptable to the Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Prayerfully, I will be one who in the end has a tombstone that does not speak of my accomplishments, but speaks of God’s grace within me.

What is Your Favorite Spurgeon Quote?

So it has been a while since I have had Spurgeon on here, so what is your favorite Spurgeon quote?  What insights have you found to be most helpful and comforting in your Christian life from him?

Mine? 

"We cannot help pouring out our heart in affection for our Lord who inclines his ear from the highest glory, and puts it to the lip of the dying sinner, whose failing heart longs after reconciliation.  How can we but love Him when we know that he numbers the very hairs of our heads, marks our path, and orders our ways?  Specially is this great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how attentive He is, not merely to the temporal interests of His creatures, but to their spiritual concerns.  Though leagues of distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite Creator, yet there are links uniting both.  When a tear is wept by thee, think not that God doth not behold; for, 'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.'  Thy sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; thy whisper can incline His ear unto thee; thy prayer can stay His hand; thy faith can move His arm.  Think not that God sits on high taking no account of thee.  Remember that however poor and needy thou art, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee.  For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards Him. 

Oh! then repeat the truth that never tires;/No God is like the God my soul desires;/He at whose voice heaven trembles, even He,/Great as He is, knows how to stoop to me."

(Based on devotion: "The Lord looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men" [Psalm 33:13])

The Name Calling Side

At a time when the United States is once again considering the candidates for president, war is on between the Left and the Right.  It is a war of words, which includes an inordinate amount of name-calling and irrationality.

Amidst the war in Iraq, which is continuing to drag on, the Democrats are issuing timetables on how the war should end, which would, in the words of the president, "handcuff our generals" and send a message to our enemies that we can be defeated in the War on Terror.  And as this has happened, Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader from Nevada, says the "war is lost," and continues to push for a bill that would do just that: cause the war to end.  The Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Reid for using this kind of language and giving inaccurate information regarding the Iraq war and for doing so, this is what Reid said:

"The president sends out his attack dog often, also known as Dick Cheney, and he was here again today attacking not only me, but the Democratic Caucus," he said.  Later adding, "I am not going to get in a name-calling match with someone who has a 9 percent approval rating."

I am not sure if he was making this statement to be a little ironic, but how can anyone argue this way.  For those of you who are in philosophy classes and take courses that discuss argumentation: Is this a good demonstration of rationality?  Instead of pointing to cold-hard facts based upon Democrat's own presuppositional view that terrorism needs to be combated, they rather say Republicans are attack dogs for calling them out on viewpoints.   It seems to me this points to the fact that people on the Left use ad-hominem argumentation sometimes and straw men argumentation more often.  They point to the irrelevant as being relevant and emotions as being paramount in politics. 

I hope that our country never heads in this kind of a direction, because it already has in very large measure.  This is true insofar as we are sinners, changing with the ebb and flow of popularity and basing decisions on what will be most prudent in the eyes of others.  This is dangerous in a world that changes because our decisions will then constantly change, and the result politically, anyway, will be terrorists finding the way to change the world in order to manipulate decisions.  For example, if the Iraq war is lost, once again that country will be a hotbed for terrorists and will continue to encourage them in their fight against freedom.  But Democratic leadership does not see this as the issue.  They see men and women dying there and this casts a poor light, to some, on leadership, including themselves if they support the war.  So what will they do to maintain their voting base?  Get out of there!  Thus, their popularity and pleasing their party line is ultimate for them, not what the generals say, or their duty to protect the United States.  No wonder they look at the polls so much...

If the war is still winable, then we should make it our aim to complete that war and complete another front on the War on Terror.  Our options in political elections and so forth is due, in large measure to Principles vs. Popularity.  Which one is wiser and more rational?

I would have to say that this Democratic leadership is just getting more and more irrational in their thinking and argumentation.  Wouldn't you agree?

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070425-121949-8014r.htm

The Pastor and Church Discipline

                                                            Introduction

Few people within the membership of a church realize the importance of church discipline to the body of Christ.  This is a tragedy, and partly due to the negligence of pastors.  It must be of utmost importance to those leaders in the church and part of their biblical theology, such that they are overflowing with a standard of holiness that is impeccable.  When pastor’s minds are filled with this doctrine and its importance just as much as any other doctrine, they will make it an important aim to be clear and concise to the members of the body when they sign a covenant.  At the same time, members will be strengthened in the faith and encouraged even further in their quest for personal holiness.

                                                                Theology of Church Discipline

It is a struggle within every person to live holy.  Indeed, there is no person without sin (Rom. 3).  At the same time, God demands holiness from his people.  He says, “Be holy, because I am holy.”  It is a standard for our Lord because it is essential to his character, and as being united to him in faith, we ought to live holy lives for His glory and for others' joy.

This is precisely where church discipline is such a vital asset.  The doctrine of church discipline has at its root the purity of the church as a whole because God demands his people to be set apart from the world, which is always impure.  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).  Here it is!  God’s people are holy, set apart, a people belonging to God, for the expressed purpose of declaring the praises of God to others, especially those outside of the faith.  Yes believers can sin, but they must be a people who desire to live as their expressed calling states.

And there is also a difference between sinning occasionally and sinning as habit without repentance.  If those individuals who claim to be a part of the members of such a body do act like those outside of the body, they need to be disciplined and reproved.  Christians persevere to the end and are saved.  Christians “let their light shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify their Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).  But those supposed Christians who do not consistently live in a manner worthy of their calling and refuse to repent from their sins, need discipline that goes beyond saying, “Repent and be restored,” for the five hundredth time.  They need church discipline.

Practice of Church Discipline 

Church discipline is ordained and instituted by God, and this is clear from the Scriptures. 

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.  But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector” (Matt. 18:15-17).

“Though this passage should be treated as a statement of principle regarding the handling of sin within the church rather than a detailed regulatory manual, it nonetheless outlines a specific step-by-step process that should guide the church in its discipline practice” (Armstrong, 2001, p. 220).  Because God has created believers to be a part of a body and not isolated, this should be the norm.  Indeed, it is outlined in 1 Corinthians 5 as well as being a specific unfortunate situation that the Apostle Paul had to confront as well.

So, now that we have seen that the doctrine of church discipline ought to be established in every church body, what are the practical ways in which to implement it?  Again, Joseph Flatt’s article on this subject in Reforming Pastoral Ministry is helpful in this regard.  First, men in leadership should follow as close as possible the Matthew 18 principle.  That is, an individual church member ought to be confronted first privately by one, then by two, then publically in front of all, and then public action should be used by all.  Second, church bodies should have constitutions and order of operations so that those who write under such membership are clear on the principles and practices of the church and in nowise can sue or seek “resignation” against the church.  Third, such discipline should be given only in those cases in which repentance is refused by the member in question.  And this should be obvious from the text of Scripture that were just mentioned.  Fourth, Flatt addresses the manner in which it should be ministered, namely through compassion.  “But this charge always serves as a reminder that we need to constantly cultivate a background of compassion in the church.  To this end, great care should be taken to avoid any unguarded private or public statements that would unnecessarily injure the erring party” (Armstrong, 2001, p. 228).  It is in this spirit that the ultimate goal is in mind, namely the restoration of the unbeliever and 1 Corinthians 5:5 is clear in this regard.

Church discipline is not easy, and no one said that it would be.  But this does not take away from the importance of this doctrine and practice within the local body of believers.  In order to fulfill the mandate of Christ, in order to complete believers in their faith, and in order to strengthen and put a safeguard between believers and this world, church discipline is a must.  Indeed, it is a must for the glory of God, because our Lord Jesus Christ demands a completely holy people.