A New Testament Church?

There seems to be a recent trend making it’s way through the evangelical community in regards to “house churches.” Maybe it’s not recent, but I’ve run across this subject a number of times in recent weeks, whether through blogs, books, or discussions. While I’m sure there is a variation as to why a house church is preferable to a, uh, church church (?), one of the basic reasons is that the New Testament church met in houses, so we should try to get back to that model. Even among large churches there seems to be an emphasis on small groups or community groups as the more meaningful worship experience.

I recently heard an interview with a guy who is a full-on regulative principle proponent. Basically, the regulative principle states that the church’s worship must be based ONLY on what is commanded/recorded in the Bible (specifically the New Testament). So, for instance, the NT doesn’t record musical instruments, so they’re not to be used nowadays. This guy was pretty strict, but I noticed he didn’t say anything about meeting in a church, even though the church only met in houses in the NT. On the flip side, many who subscribe to the house church model seem to be pretty free with their worship style. I found that to be a pretty amusing observation that probably has nothing to do with each other…. anyways…..

The main point I want to make here is that just because the NT church met in houses does not mean that we should be doing that today (this goes for the regulative principle as well). One of the characteristics of the church is maturity. When we read the Old Testament, we notice that worship began in a garden. From there it matured into altars, then to a tabernacle, and then to a glorious temple. The same can be said of the worshippers as well. There is a pointed maturing from Adam to David (and beyond). This maturing not only brings more wisdom (as the term “maturing” implies), but it also refers to glory and to size. Just as the worship place became bigger and more glorious, so the worshippers became wiser, more numerous, and more glorious.

This brings us to the New Testament. Here we see the church meeting in houses. First, we should not forget that meeting in houses just made sense back then. Christians were being persecuted and they had smaller numbers (Sure, there were 3000 saved at Pentecost – which, incidently, would have been a big honkin’ house – but they certainly went back to where they came from after Pentecost). As Christianity continued to grow, though, the numbers got bigger (obviously), the church became wiser (look at the early church fathers and the heresies they fought to overcome through various councils and creeds), and the church – and churches – became more glorious. This is what the church does – it matures. Part of that maturing entails building bigger and more beautiful churches that hold more people. Part of that maturing also entails developing more beautiful and helpful liturgies that assist in making the church wiser. These are things that would most surely be lost if the church reverted back to meeting in houses. Of course, sometimes a house church is necessary, but it should never be the end goal. The end goal is to see the whole community worship Christ… and you’re gonna need a bigger church for that!

Currently Reading

God and Government – Gary DeMar

To A Thousand Generations – Douglas Wilson

Primeval Saints – James B. Jordan

The Power and the Glory – Graham Greene

Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis

Currently Reading

Great Reading – Terry Glaspey

The Everlasting Man – G.K. Chesterton

Children of Men – P.D. James

Believer’s Baptism – Thomas Schreiner & Shawn Wright (editors)

Reforming Marriage – Doug Wilson

Still reading Exodus for Family Worship

Somewhere Over the Rainbow, God Will Judge….

The other day I was driving behind a car that had a rainbow bumper sticker that said “We Are Everywhere.” Which got me wondering, “Why is the rainbow a symbol of gay pride?” Honestly, I’m not really sure, but if I had to guess, it would be because the rainbow is thought of as a non-judgmental symbol: God gave the rainbow as a sign that He would not judge the earth with a flood anymore. But is this really the case?
Genesis 9:12-17
12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;
13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
14 “It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud,
15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 “When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

OK, we’re all familiar with this story. But what else does the Bible have to say about rainbows?

Ezekiel 1:28
As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

The context of this passage is when God appeared before Ezekiel (No, it was NOT a UFO) to ordain him as a prophet. Ezekiel was already in exile with many other Israelites, and his prophecies would be foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem to those exiled in Babylon.

Revelation 4:1-3
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

This takes place immediately after the letters to the seven churches, when John is taken into heaven and witnesses the worship of God.

Revelation 10:1
1 I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;

It’s interesting to compare the Ezekiel passage (and the following verses) with this verse (and the following verses). There are a lot of similarities between John and Ezekiel. While this would be an interesting study for another time, for the purposes of this post I will state what I think is the most striking similarity between the two passages: Ezekiel prophecies the coming destruction of Jerusalem at 586 B.C. John prophecies the coming destruction of Jerusalem at 70 A.D.

So it appears that from the preceding passages, the rainbow surrounds either God or his messenger – particularly in times of judgment. I mentioned this in the Ezekiel passage and the Revelation 10 passage, but I also think this applies to the Revelation 4 passage. Here, John is being caught up into heaven to witness – or participate in – a worship service. And in fact, this is what worship is – a judgment. Many of us tend to relate judgment with bad people – the evil will be judged – but judgment goes both ways. God also judges the righteous and sees that they are in Christ and judges accordingly. This is what worship is – a judgment. We approach God to worship Him, and the only way we are able to do so is through His Son. We are judged, counted righteous, and admitted into the throne room with the angels… just like John. This is also what happens at the final judgment. Both the righteous and the unrighteous will be judged – not just the unrighteous. And speaking of the final judgment….

Revelation 21:19-20
19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

Sort of reminds you of a rainbow, doesn’t it? This beautiful city that is being described here is not really a city at all, but the bride of Christ. Go back and read the whole chapter. God had created the new heaven and new earth and Christ is descending with His beautifully adorned bride to judge the righteous and the unrighteous (vs. 8). In some sense, I believe, the people of God are His rainbow (or warbow as it is sometimes referred to). There are 12 colors, corresponding to the 12 tribes, the 12 apostles, the representation of His people… The Church. So if the rainbow represents the Church, why does God surround himself with a rainbow, as we saw in the Ezekiel and the other Revelation passages? And for that matter, what does this have to do with the covenant God made with Noah? Let’s go back and see what God really said to Noah in Genesis 9.

Genesis 9:8-17
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,
9 “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you;
10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.
11 “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;
13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
14 “It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud,
15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 “When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

God’s desire from the very beginning was that the whole earth would worship Him and enjoy Him forever. After Adam sinned, things quickly went south. Because of man’s extreme sinfulness, God killed every last one, except for Noah and his family. After the flood, God made a promise to Noah that He would not destroy man with a flood ever again. This is indeed true, but we tend to emphasize the flood part and miss this part: “all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood.” It’s not that man will never be killed by a flood again, it’s that ALL of mankind will never be destroyed again. God is making a gracious promise to Noah. And indeed, that’s what happened. Not long after the flood we come to the plains of Shinar, where man is reveling in its evil and building the tower of Babel. But this time, God does not destroy them. He scatters them and the next thing we read is: “The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Instead of destroying the earth, God makes a plan to redeem it – through Abram. And we all know what happened next. Yes, it’s wonderful that we don’t have to worry about another worldwide flood, but its even more wonderful that God chose to save us.

So what about the rainbow? When we think of the rainbow, we think of the rain and clouds, the sun breaking through and the joy and security of God’s promise seen in that colorful sign. But there’s not always a rainbow after it rains. And there’s usually more than one cloud in a rain storm, isn’t there? Sure, I think God did create the rainbow for our assurance – a beautiful sign for our comfort and enjoyment. But look at what He really said: “I set My bow in the cloud.” “…when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud.” Notice the singular: cloud. Now think about the passages in Ezekiel and Revelation. When God reveals Himself, He is surrounded by a cloud – a glory cloud. Not only in the passages above, but also in places like the exodus – a pillar of cloud/a pillar of fire (which also is described in the passages above). God’s messenger in Revelation 10 is clothed in a cloud. And His bow is seen in the cloud. It surrounds Him.

In light of passages above, it appears to me that when God comes in judgment, He no longer comes in total destruction, but He comes in mercy, saving many – while also destroying the wicked. But even then, He is patient with the wicked – as is seen through out the Scriptures. And why is He gracious? He surrounds Himself with His rainbow – His people. The rainbow is a memorial – just like the Lord’s Supper. But it’s not just a reminder for us – it’s a reminder for Him. Not that He ever forgets, but this is the pattern through Scripture – God establishes memorials for His sake – He remembers His covenant – and these memorials are like lines in the sand. It’s arrogant to presume that God will not judge – regardless of your sin – but even worse, it’s scary to think that many of us are reminded of God’s lovingkindness everyday by the symbols that we see (or eat, or drink, or unite under), yet continue to throw His mercy back in His face. Let us thank God for His grace and repent of our rebellion.

Currently Reading

The Everlasting Man – G.K. Chesterton

End Times Fiction – Gary Demar

Church Architecture: Building and Renovating for Christian Worship – James F. White and Susan J. White

The Homeschooling Father – Michael P. Farris

Reforming Marriage – Douglas Wilson

Still Reading Exodus for Family Worship

Hail Miley Full of Fluff

I probably shouldn’t say this
But at times I get so scared
When I think about the previous
Relationship we shared

It was awesome but we lost it
It’s not possible for me not to care
And now we’re standing in the rain
But nothing’s ever gonna change
Until you hear, my dear

The 7 things I hate about you!
The 7 things I hate about you, oh you
You’re vain, your games, you’re insecure
You love me, you like her
You make me laugh, you make me cry
I don’t know which side to buy

Your friends, they’re jerks
When you act like them, just know it hurts
I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I hate the most that you do
You make me love you

It’s awkward and silent
As I wait for you to say
What I need to hear now
Your sincere apology

When you mean it, I’ll believe it
If you text it, I’ll delete it
Let’s be clear
Oh, I’m not coming back
You’re taking 7 steps here

The 7 things I hate about you!
You’re vain, your games, you’re insecure
You love me, you like her
You make me laugh, you make me cry
I don’t know which side to buy

Your friends, they’re jerks
When you act like them, just know it hurts
I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I hate the most that you do
You make me love you

And compared to all the great things
That would take too long to write
I probably should mention the 7 that I like

The 7 things I like about you!
Your hair, your eyes, your old Levi’s
When we kiss I’m hypnotized
You make me laugh, you make me cry
But I guess that’s both I’ll have to buy

Your hands in mine
When we’re intertwined, everything’s alright
I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I like most that you do
You make me love you, you do

Miley Cyrus
“7 Things” – from the album “Breakout”

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Mary, the mother of Jesus
“The Magnificat” – from the Bible

You can have today’s pop teen princess, I’ll take the original.

Well, there goes half our pastors….

In 1 Timothy 3, Paul writes about the requirements for elders and deacons. One of the requirements is that an elder must have faithful children.

“4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”

Now, you might be thinking “it doesn’t say that the children must be faithful, only that the elder must manage the household well.” Well, if I only had these verses to go off of, I would agree that it seems that way, but I could still make the obvious conclusion that an elder must be Christian, therefore, his household must be Christian. Fortunately, though, Paul tells us exactly what an elder’s children should look like in Ephesians 6.

“1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

If a Christian father’s duty is to raise Christian children, then how much more for an elder and his children? Now, we could take the scenic route on this explanation by saying that a child who is consistently unruly and a disruption in his household is obviously not saved, because he is not displaying the fruits of his salvation – which is due either to his flat out rejection of his father’s teaching, or else due to his father’s neglect at training his child. Either way, that father should not be an elder. But it seems pretty basic to me – Fathers, if you wish to be an elder, you must have faithful children.

Now, notice it doesn’t say anything about fathers keeping his children submissive (having faithful children), when they reach the age of accountability. When Paul is writing to fathers in Ephesians and potential elder fathers in 1 Timothy, it is implied that their children are Christians, because he is writing to Christians in both cases. The implication is that the children of believers are believers too. After all, the passage does say “Children obey your parents IN THE LORD.” Some may want to speculate here, and try to say that these particular children were of the age of accountability… oh, say 7 or 12 (who knows?), but that’s not in the text. The obvious implication is that the children are old enough to hear instruction. There is not one case of a child coming to a mature moment of conversion in the Bible, but there are numerous accounts of salvific blessings for the believer and his children. In fact, I would point to Ephesians 6 as a clear example of this implication. The command is not “Children, once you make a profession of faith and are baptized, obey your father and mother…” Their faith is already implied.

So what am I getting at here? Well, my point is that there are many pastors out there who are disobeying this command. They are elders in the church, but their children are not Christians. First, you have the baptistic pastor who has not had his child baptized yet, because he hasn’t made a mature profession of faith yet. He has little pagans running around his house. That’s an unruly household, if you ask me. Then there’s the paedobaptist pastor who did have his child baptized, but refuses to give them communion. Refusal to the Lord’s table is nothing less than excommunication – church discipline – for the baptized. So he doesn’t just have little pagans running around his house… he has little apostates running around.

Now, I say this a little tongue-in-cheek, because I know that the Bible teaches that our children are believers, and in most cases, the above mentioned pastors practice this in actuality – if not doctrinally. They are inconsistent, though. And the scary thing is that there are some out there who try to be consistent. I’ve heard of one pastor who discourages his flock from teaching their children the Lord’s Prayer because God doesn’t hear the prayers of the unrighteous children. And I had a friend in seminary who refused to teach his little boy the song “I Am A C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N” because he was afraid he would be teaching his son to lie. Ugh!

So pastors, get with the program and either have a Christian household – according to God – or step down and wait till you have a Christian household – according to you!

Currently Reading

I’m an avid reader. In fact, I’m usually reading about 4 or 5 books at a time. The reason for this is that I like to have a book handy where ever I may be, so I have books placed strategically throughout the places I might be on any given day. For instance, I have a book in the bathroom, one or two by my bedside, one downstairs, one on my dresser that I put in my pants or coat pocket, and one in each of the cars. Of course this varies from time to time, depending on how “into” the book I am, but the point is that I like to always have a book handy. One of the problems with this, though, is that I tend to forget where I put books and I don’t finish them. I’ve recently found a couple of books throughout the house that I started, but forgot about. In order to keep track of the books I’m reading, and thereby (hopefully) completing them, I’ve decided to keep a journal of what I’m reading on my blog. Another added advantage of this is that I may peak your interest with one of my selections, or, even better, may be reading something that you have read and would like to discuss…. just make sure I’m done if it’s a work of fiction

Currently Reading:

That Hideous Strength – C.S. Lewis

Christian Culture in a Multicultural Age – Steve Schlissel

The Homeschooling Father – Michael P. Farris

In the Vineyard of the Lord: The Life, Faith, and Teachings of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI – Marco Bardazzi

The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection – Robert Farrar Capon

Also, I usually read through a book of the Bible for our family worship. Right now we’re reading through Exodus. My morning devotions usually consist of me reading the passage that I’m going to read that night with one or two commentaries as a help.

John Calvin – Calvin’s Commentaries

H.L. Ellison – The Daily Study Bible Series

If anyone has any suggestions for a good Exodus commentary, feel free to comment!

The Times They Aren’t A-Changing

Romans 1:28-32
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

There’s a lot of bad stuff in this passage, but what I find interesting is the last line. It appears that giving approval to these evil deeds are worse than doing them. That seems strange, doesn’t it? After all, isn’t murdering someone worse than not murdering them, but giving your approval? Not according to Paul. Why is this? Well, the answer is simple enough, but in order to answer adequately, we need a little background.

Genesis 3:1-6
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

There was one tree in the garden that Adam and Eve could not eat from – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. There are a lot of things to unpack in this passage, but let’s tackle Satan’s deception first. The Serpent lied to Eve about not dying, but the real deception is found in the last part: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” What does this mean? Does this mean she would be omniscient like God? No. Only God is omniscient and Eve could never attain this. But she could be “like” God in the same way that God is The Creator and we are little image-bearing creators. While knowing good and evil certainly refers to the ability to discern between good and evil, ultimately it carries with it the notion of judgment and authority. By eating the forbidden fruit, Eve was usurping the ultimate authority and judgment of God and claiming it for herself. She was “like” God in her ability to decide what was right and wrong, but that is where the similarities end. Unlike God, Who decides what is right and wrong by declaring it so, she could only distort the truth – which is what happened when she ate the fruit and then tempted Adam with it.

So what if this had never happened. What if Adam – who was standing there when the serpent deceived Eve – had taken a rock and crushed the Serpent’s head, thereby protecting his wife? Or what if Adam, after realizing that Eve was sinning against God, refused the fruit, banished Eve from his presence, and humbly asked God for a new wife that was obedient? Adam, as the representative of man – the federal head – could have done this and it is quite possible that he would have eventually been able to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After all, the point of the tree was that it bestowed judgment and authority when eaten. This was God’s design for man. We see it in later administrations of the covenant. Noah is given the authority to enact the death penalty; God consults Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah; God gives authority to judges and kings, etc. If Adam had waited, God would have given him permission to eat of the tree at the right time, and he would have exacted judgment and authority in a righteous way. Instead, Adam gave in to Eve, ate the fruit, and the rest is history.

So what does this have to do with Romans? Well, it appears that Paul says the approval of evil is worse than the evil action itself. I believe this is true. There is always going to be evil deeds – it’s really a matter of how many. In a God-fearing nation, evil deeds will be punished, thereby limiting them. In a God-mocking nation, evil deeds will be approved, thereby multiplying them. Take Ancient Israel for instance. When Israel was at the height of its faithfulness, the sins mentioned in Romans were met with severe punishment – usually stoning. Evil was not tolerated. When Israel was at the height of its unfaithfulness, King Ahaz was sacrificing his children to a pagan god,and the people did likewise (2 Kings 16 & 17).

Which brings us to today. America is quickly (if not already) becoming a nation that gives approval to evil. We are rejecting what God has declared right and wrong for our own version. We are a nation that murders millions of babies every year when God has declared that murder is evil and that life begins at conception. Homosexual unions are considered normal and we are well on the way to legalizing gay marriage even though God has declared that marriage is between a man and a woman and that homosexual acts are sinful. We are known world wide (and proud) for being greedy, corrupt, power hungry, and gluttonous, when God has said that we are to be selfless, giving, caring, self-controlled, and faithful. And Christians idly sit and watch it happen… passive approval. In fact, we make things worse, because we believe in the god of Conservatism and Liberalism, the god of patriotism and the god of tolerance. We ship our children off to public schools to be shaped by the ungodly state, and we leave their “Christian” education up to youth programs that pop up on every corner of this country. Paul says the approval of evil is worse than the act itself because we are spitting on what God has declared to be right and wrong and creating our own law. And that leads to destruction.

A Life of Hope

I recently bought a used book for $5 called “An Eschatology of Hope” by J. Marcellus Kik. It’s  a study of eschatology (end times stuff) – specifically the millenial reign – from a postmillenial perspective. I’ve been a postmillenialist for about 7 years now, so I didn’t need any convincing, but I bought it none the less. Boy, am I glad I did. It’s a wonderful read… very insightful and full of scripture. It also got me thinking again about the overwhelmingly popular and opposing view of premillenialism – specifically dispensationalism. My point here, though, is not to discuss the differences between the two views, but rather to approach it from another direction.

One of the most frustrating things to me is contemporary Christian culture – in the sense that Christianity (at least in the West) has created it’s own huge world complete with architecture, music, art, film, literature, apparel, etc… The frustrating part is that most of it is poor. Very poor. Embarrassingly poor. Especially compared to secular culture. Why is this? I admit, I’ve been stumped, but I may now have an answer… well, at least a partial one: Dispensationalism. 

Without going into too much detail, dispensationalism takes the position that all the Christians are going to be raptured to heaven… soon. The world is a bad place, and it’s getting worse. And if you think it’s bad now, wait till the Antichrist comes. Needless to say, it’s not a very hopeful view of things to come, unless your hope is solely of the spiritual kind. I believe this belief has greatly influenced Christianity, thereby creating the “Christian culture” we have today. 

First of all, let me say that it’s a shame that we have a “Christian culture” – in the sense that it is separatist from pop culture. At one time there was such a thing as a Christian culture that was also pop culture. Christians were the usually the best at everything: art, literature, music, poetry, math, business, marketing, architecture, farming, etc… They set the standard for what was great. Truth is Beauty and it showed. Part of their truth, though, was the belief that they were to be stewards of the world, taking part in the renewing of creation, striving for heaven on earth. After all, that is what God promises. They believed that as they created beautiful things, more people would be drawn to that beauty, that the good news would be spread, Christianity would grow, and the nations would be blessed. They had no concept of a rapture, of leaving the corrupt earth behind to live forever in heaven. 

Alas, things have changed. And the majority of Christians believe differently. As Frankenstein would say, “Earth bad. Heaven good.” And we’ve created a monster… a hideous monster that is killing the creator. We no longer make art that lasts, because, well, what’s the point? Why should we make music that transcends generations – as Bach did – when we need to be about the business of making songs that bring about conversion? Why should we build beautiful structures that reflect our creativeness when what we really need are big boxes that can hold lots of people? Why should we encourage our youth to work hard at math, geography, and history and become valuable leaders in the community when what we really need are more pastors, professional youth leaders, worship leaders, and associate pastors?* But this is what dispensationalism does – it completely changes the churches priorities. There is no need for greatness, because there is no time for it. Who cares if you are the next Milton – we don’t need another Paradise Lost, we need more tracts. The gospel used to be shared in cathedrals, symphonies, literature, and sculpture. Now it’s shared on our t-shirts and direct to dvd movies.

It’s one thing to say “we need to be great” and it’s another thing to do it. It’s hard. Francis Schaeffer was mildly successful at it, and there’s been a few others. But there’s a big difference between tacking “the arts are important” onto the end of your theology and actually living it out daily. I’m sure there are many ways to do this, but for the purposes of this post, I have one suggestion: Let’s get our theology right!!!

 

*Now, don’t get me wrong. There is definately a place, and a need, for ministers. It just seems to me that when a young person shows an aptitude for theology, a joy of reading the Bible, and a desire to serve his church, the automatic assumption is to send him to Bible school.