Got Questions?

When I've got theology questions about the Bible, I'll usually run them past my Dad, or the pastor, etc, but every now and then I'll pass an obscure question to GotQuestions.org, where in a day or two I'll get an informative reply via email. I've been impressed by the depth of some of the responses that I've received.

Also, simply googling for answers to theology questions is just a little too hit-or-miss for me. In my own experience, sometimes this works, and sometimes it just shoots you off into strange and unhelpful directions. Navigating all of the information on the web to me is akin to drowning.

Anyhow, if you have some Bible questions you'd like answered, GotQuestions? worth checking out.

"Perspectives on Family Ministry"

I just finished "Perspectives on Family Ministry" by Paul Renfro, Brandon Shields and Jay Strother (foreword by Randy Stinson) and thought that this was a fascinating overview of various family ministry models in the church today. I posted a review here on Amazon, but I'm posting it here as well. It's a good book.

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Having just finished reading this book, I was satisfied to find that all three writers in the discussion, Paul Renfro, Brandon Shields and Jay Strother, all presented fair and comprehensive arguments for differing models of what family ministry should be. Yet at the same time, I felt that so much more could have been said and discussed about the issue. There's still plenty of good discussions, responses, and rebuttals, though, to make this a fascinating read.

I thought that Paul Renfro opened up with an excellent presentation and defense of the Family-Integrated model, and indeed there is much good that can be said of this structure of worship. Yet at the same time, as the counter-discussions dig into this model (namely Brandon Shield's counter) the arguments strike that this model doesn't address the community at large, or fractured families. There might be something to this, in the fact that there can be a niche quality some family-integrated churches. Don't get me wrong: as someone personally with a large family, it can be wonderful to be a part of a congregation that is largely family focused and oriented. But at the same time, in this day and culture of fragmented families, the counter-arguments seem to challenge if the family-integrated model does the most to reach those alienated demographics (such as fractured families, singles, etc).

Brandon Shields presents the Family-Based Ministry model, one seemingly more culturally emersed (and at the same time, criticized by some for being too much of the culture.) I did find it commendable that Shield's took time to dig in with a critical view of some of the earlier research as to why children are leaving the church (p. 104) and also, in light of things such as the regulative principle, how Scripture does present non-traditional methods of ministry (p.116). Absent from this model, though, as Renfro points out, is mention of father leadership and the importance thereof - a strong feature of the family integrated model.

Jay Strother followed with a convincing overview of the family-equipping ministry model, which in a nutshell is built around restructuring church roles to work more with parents. One thing noteworthy about Strother's section (as well as with the other writers) was the inclusion of practical examples of the particular ministry model in practice. I think this helped a lot, as sometimes the writers try to describe each individual system, but often what is the most helpful is reading about a realistic example described.

Ultimately the take-away for me was that there are pros and cons to each model of family ministry. I thing that each writer presented a fair case for the different models, as well as a decent challenge to the other viewpoints. While the models of family worship did all have notable differences, it was equally noteworthy to read about the similarities as well (particularly family-based and family-equipping.) The discussions and responses were all cordial and focused on being informative discussions moreso than heavily confrontational, which was greatly appreciated.

One of the things missing, though, that I would have liked to see Paul Renfro take on a little more deeply, was the FIC focus on large families (e.g. families with more than a two kids), and the need to change the child perception paradigm to reflect Biblical principles of children as blessing, instead of the church just mirroring culture's viewpoint that children are a hindrance to material pleasure. To me, large families seem to go hand in hand with the family integrated model, and I would have at least liked to see this addressed (if for no other reason than to verify this conception) and to see how the other models (family-based and family-equipping) approach this view as well. If anything, this seemed to be a sorely missing topic and would have added a richer dimension to the text for me. Renfro would likely have trumped the other two models on this topic, and I can't help but think that addressing the topic of large families, as a key component to the family-integrated model, would have been a fascinating aspect of the debate.

Now slightly off the beaten track, but still noteworthy: what does the cover image of a subway track have to do with this topic? I'm thinking instead that maybe the book should have featured the image of a Sunday School classroom, or a group of school kids, or even a church congregation. So where does the subway come in? Family-based churches that meet on trains? :)

Also, what good does the Latin footnote on pg. 21 do to those who can't read Latin? It looks classy, sure, but means nothing to the monolingual reader.

William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All

I just finished reading William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All by Janet and Geoff Benge, and found this to be an excellent account of the life of William Penn and his work in establishing the Pennsylvania colonies. Penn had a remarkable life, filled with religious persecution, conflicts with his father, the English courts, and numerous struggles over establishing the Pennsylvania colonies, or "the holy experiment", as he referred to it.

The book chronicles Penn's life through his childhood in England, and describes how Penn, at a young age, was affected by hearing an influential Quaker minister speak. Penn himself becomes a Quaker during his lifetime, and experiences firsthand the harsh religious persecution that the Anglican government of England imposed (including unfair convictions, trials and imprisonments.)

Later Penn is given a providentially amazing opportunity to establish the Pennsylvania colonies, and his aim was to establish this land as one of liberty, fairness, and religious freedom. It's a remarkable story and can be a real page-turner during some of the momentous times of Penn's life.

However, William Penn's life wasn't without its troubles. Beyond just the religious persecution that Penn experienced as a Quaker, his family also saw the loss of a number of their own children and, potentially most devastating, was the account of Penn's oldest son who (perhaps from having his father absent so much due to persecution or working on Pennsylvania) turned in much different direction of alcohol addiction and gambling. In fact, the book doesn't go much further into what happened to Penn's son, but this serves as a tragic indicator that Penn, for all his remarkable contributions should have also keep his focus on shepherding his own family with the same level of dedication.

The life of William Penn was an amazing one, and his strong stand for religious freedom, both in England and in the Pennsylvania colonies, serve as an excellent example of a man faithful to God in his life efforts.

The Permanence View of Marriage

Voddie preached a message not long ago on the Permanence view of marriage. Its a fascinating and challenging view that a marriage vow should never be broken under any circumstance, even unfaithfulness. Voddie lays out in detail from scripture the reasoning for this viewpoint. Personally I think this could be difficult, especially in mind of abusive relationships, etc, but at the root of this its all about a solid commitment to the covenant of marriage, even when the partner breaks it. Here's the link:



And in a strange semi-related note, here's a link to a song by Frehley's Comet that I posted in my music blog, with lyrics that curiously (ironically) remind me of the permanence view:

You will never hear me say the words
Never feel the pain that hurts
Never hear me say Its over now

Not sure that Ace Frehley or Todd Howarth had the permanence view in mind when they wrote the song, but it does fit in an odd sort of way.

The Alliance for Church & Family Reformation | Excellent Resource for Family Ministry and Integrated Worship

The Alliance for Church & Family Reformation site offers some excellent resources, including audio sermons and links, related to the subject of family integrated worship. Per the site description:

The Alliance for Church and Family Reformation was born out of a need to help the greater Christian community understand and apply the biblical principles of family discipleship and age-integrated church and to strategically promote both family and church reformation.

Additionally, Grace Family Baptist offers a number of excellent messages by Voddie Baucham.

The King James Only Movement

I've just started researching and digging into the mountain of documentation out there about the KJV-Only "controversy". I wonder if there's really anything to this, or if the KJVO stance is really just based around pastors who didn't want to bother learning Hebrew and Greek in seminary.

Regardless, here's a collection of good links that challenge the KJVO stance.

Dr. Thomas Schreiner on Credobaptism

Here is an excellent mp3 message by Dr. Thomas Schreiner in defense of Credo baptism. Worth checking out, as it's an excellent defense packaged into a 30 minute time frame. Some notes I took from this message:

In the baptist view, believers are clothed with Christ at baptism. Peter's message at Pentecost was "Repent and be baptised". Numerous NT scripture references all cite baptism following belief. In the Presbyterian paedobaptist model, the baptism provides no benefit unless it's followed by later faith. Faith MAY occur later in life, or may never occur at all.

I Cor. 12:13 - All believers are baptised in the body of Christ in one spirit..." All believers drink of the spirit and are equal members at baptism. Have infants received the spirit at baptism? (baptismal regeneration).

Baptism is also described scriptually as a "washing". I Cor. 6:11 - makes it clear that washing of sin and justification take place at the same time, yet justification involves faith. Justification is for those who believe.

"Household baptisms" of scripture (Acts 16) does not support the notion that this included infants. The household is contextually limited to those who could understand and believe. Evidence for this is that the household is described as "rejoicing". This joy implies understanding the significance of what had happened. Those who had rejoiced were those who believed - no compelling evidence that this included infants.

Acts 18 - Belief of the household meaning mental understanding. Maybe children included. Acts 2:39 - Often used in defense of infant baptism. Peter states "The promise is for you and for your children..." A careful reading of this does not include infants. The groups are Peter's listeners, the children, and those far off (the gentiles). It's not all those listeners, but only for those from every group who believe in the Gospel. This is justified by the last clause in the verse, "that is everyone that the Lord has called to himself." How would baptized infants who turn from faith later in life apply to this group?

Baptism as covenental sign (col. 2:12) continuing circumcision. "In him you were circumcised..." The parallel, however, doesn't work for a number of reasons: it lumps the plans of God together. There is one plan of God from scripture, but there is no evidence from scripture that we have one covenant of grace. The Abrahamic covenant is clearly distinguished from the Mosaic covenant. It is also clear that the new covenant and the Abrahamic covenant are not the same. There are elements unique to the Abrahamic covenant. For instance, Ishmael receives the covenental sign of circumcision. There is a genealogical principle to the Abrahamic covenant that does not continue in the new covenant. There is continuity and discontinuity in both covenants. The old covenant was a nation and a church. This is no longer true in the new covenant - the new covenant is composed only of those who believe in Jesus Christ. There is no special chosen nation. Heb. 8-10 make it clear that all members of the new covenant are forgiven of their sin and filled with the Holy Spirit. People from every people group.

The new testament supports a credobaptist position.