Malcolm Gladwell started an educational firestorm when he compared two universities in his popular Revisionist History podcast. Gladwell compared the food offered in the cafeteria at Bowdoin College with the …read more
From:: Eric Geiger
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Links I like (6/01)
Seattle Reboot: Life After Mars Hill
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra:
The collapse of Mars Hill released a tidal wave of hurt, disillusioned people. Many quit Mars Hill; some quit church or Christianity altogether. Hundreds limped into other area churches, asking about church bylaws and pastoral pay structures before even introducing themselves.
SBC 2017: Guide to Phoenix
This is helpful. I will undoubtedly be checking out at least a few of these places.
What We Need Most
Kevin DeYoung:
Our main problem is not lack of time or resources or the annoying people in our lives. Your main problem and my main problem is that we do not see enough the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We are not amazed. We do not stand in awe. We are not rendered speechless in his presence.
The Danger of Small Group Systems
Jeff Medders:
We have small groups at our church. They are a good way to help foster the biblical call to community and fellowship. Small group systems are a way of seeing this happen in a local church, they aren’t the only way. Small groups can help pursue the goal of community, and if they do, we should do them. If they don’t? Renovate, recalibrate, restructure, rethink, re-something.
In ‘Alien: Covenant,’ the March of Progress Ends in Death
Matthew Loftus offers an intriguing analysis of Ridley Scott’s latest movie.
Christians, Repent (Yes, Repent) of Spreading Conspiracy Theories and Fake News—It’s Bearing False Witness
Ed makes a good point.
What If Unbelievers Aren’t Miserable?
Mike Leake:
If you know my testimony you’ve heard the many ways that Christ has redeemed me and is continuing to redeem me. (This is a decent summary here). I was absolutely miserable as a lost person. But this isn’t true of every person who doesn’t know Jesus. And if I’m not careful I’ll end up sharing a truncated gospel which is founded in my own personal experience rather the Bible.
Look for new freebies from Christian Audio and Logos Bible Software today.
Barnabas Piper, Curiosity and Holden Caulfield
Today’s favorite from the archives also happens to be from Barnabas Piper’s first time on Reading Writers. Hopefully y’all will enjoy our banter about Catcher in the Rye.
The post Links I like (6/01) appeared first on Blogging Theologically.
The Briefing 06-01-17
New Illinois policies mandate foster parents and staff be "LGBTQ-affirming," "facilitate" exploration
Is "Drag Queen Story Hour" coming to a public library near you?
Our changing moral landscape: When gambling is within driving distance of virtually every American
Christ-haunted culture: "Redemption," "salvation," and "a fallen world" in the pages of the NYTimes
The post The Briefing 06-01-17 appeared first on AlbertMohler.com.
Six Ways to Keep Your Church’s Momentum Going This Summer
By Jonathan Howe
Summer often means vacation time and travel for many church members. It also means lower attendance and participation numbers in many churches.
While you’ll likely experience some summer lull, you can help minimize this by utilizing one or more of these tips for engaging your church members this summer.
- Create a weekly prayer emphasis. Summer is a busy time for most student ministries and children’s ministries. You likely have camps, mission trips, and Vacation Bible School going throughout the summer. Highlight these events with a weekly prayer emphasis spotlight in the service and in your church newsletter.
- Report on the results of your summer activities. After your church has prayed for an event, be sure to celebrate how God answered those prayers. These reports can help carry ministry momentum through the summer into the fall when you kick things off again.
- Consider hosting special events each month and emphasize inviting others. Maybe you have a potluck at church or an ice cream social at a local park. Outside, summer-themed events can easily be used to invite friends and neighbors to church-related events.
- Participate in summer community events. Nearly every town in America does something for July 4 (or July 1 for our Canadian readers). It’s great that some churches have the resources to host a community celebration, but 99% can’t. If you’re in the 99%, make an attempt to be involved in the local community gathering this summer.
- Try something new. Use the summer as a test kitchen for something you’d like to implement on an ongoing basis. Maybe it’s a a more casual dress code or style change. Maybe it’s some new songs or stage setup. By telling your congregation that it’s only for the summer, you’ll have more acceptance of something new. I wouldn’t necessarily use the summer to change something core to the identity of the church. Start with fringe ideas and work toward bigger change down the road.
- Focus on social media. Because the summer is typically busier, use social media to keep the congregation updated. Next week, I’ll focus more on this item, but brainstorm a few creative uses for Instagram, Facebook Live, Twitter, and blogs for your church to try out.
Summer doesn’t have to be a dry spell in a church. In many instances, it’s the busiest part of the year. Use that to your advantage and keep the momentum going.
What else would you add to this list?
Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources as well as the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.
The Briefing 06-01-17
New Illinois policies mandate foster parents and staff be "LGBTQ-affirming," "facilitate" exploration
Is "Drag Queen Story Hour" coming to a public library near you?
Our changing moral landscape: When gambling is within driving distance of virtually every American
Christ-haunted culture: "Redemption," "salvation," and "a fallen world" in the pages of the NYTimes
The post The Briefing 06-01-17 appeared first on AlbertMohler.com.
3 reasons Revelation 12:5 describes the pre-triublational rapture
Proponents of the pre-tribulational rapture usually defend their view from John 14:3, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, and Revelation 3:10. But often left out of the typical pre-triublation defense is the passage that perhaps started it all—Revelation 12:1-6.
While it is an exaggeration to claim that the pre-tribulational view was invented by John Darby in the 1800’s, it is true that he is largely responsible for bringing the doctrine into mainstream evangelicalism. It is also true that the passage most responsible for his rapture view is overlooked in eschatology discussions today. Here is Revelation 12:1-6:
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
This passage has fallen out of favor with those who defend the pretribulational rapture likely because it is complicated. After all, those other verses (John 14:3, 1 Cor 15:51-53, 1 Thess 4:15-17, and Rev 3:10) are clear-cut enough. Some might even argue that using Revelation 12 to defend the pre-trib rapture actually weakens the case by injecting a degree of difficulty into an otherwise straight-forward discussion. In other words, Revelation 12 is tough to put into one of Larkin’s charts, and—if I can indulge in hyperbole—the amillennial view has largely succeeded in casting sufficient doubt that anything in Revelation is capable of being understood.
But the dispensationalist in me refuses to give up on Revelation 12, and when properly interpreted, Revelation 12:5 provides still another confirmation of the pre-tribulational rapture.
First, our cast of characters. There is a woman, dressed with the sun, reigning over the moon, and crowned with twelve stars. There is a dragon with seven heads and ten horns. And there is a child, who rules the nations.
Each of these three are called “signs” because they point to a person behind them. The woman points to the twelve-tribes, the dragon points to the devil, and child points to Jesus. Some interpreters start sweating when Revelation describes signs, but it doesn’t have to be hard. When you see a sign that says “I-95, you understand that the sign itself is not I-95, but that it points to I-95. The same is true here. The woman is not the twelve-tribes, but she points to them.
How do we know that she points to the twelve tribes of Israel? Because John describes her by quoting Genesis 37:9-11, which is Joseph’s dream concerning the twelve tribes. If Jacob could rightly interpret this as his twelve sons, so can we.
There is actually very little debate about the signs of the dragon or the child (although I did read one amillennial commentator who argues that the child is Israel and the woman is Jesus, but that seems pretty silly).
Once we have figured out the people behind the signs, the plot here is straight forward. Israel produces the Messiah, but at the time of Jesus’ birth, the devil and his demons (“1/3 of the stars of heaven”) tried to destroy the Savior. But the Savior is protected, flees to the wilderness, then returns to Israel where he launches his new nation. After this, the child is “caught up to God and his throne” (12:5), and the devil strikes out at the woman Israel again. Now it is the woman’s turn to flee into the wilderness, where she will be protected for 1,260 days, or three-and-a-half years. In the meantime, the dragon finds himself expelled from heaven (12:13) to attack Israel for “a short time” (vs. 12). The rest of Revelation 12 follows the devil’s attempts to destroy Israel.
So how is this a pre-tribulational passage? Note particularly verse 5: “And she [Israel] gave birth to a son, a male, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.”
Now, I grant that at first reading, this seems to simply be describing the ascension of Christ after his resurrection. But this doesn’t make sense of some very unusual phrases in the verse. Namely, why does John say “a son, a male”? Isn’t that redundant? And can the ascension rightly be described as Jesus being “caught up to God”? Here are three reasons why I take this passage to reference the rapture of the church:
The sings point to people, who point to nations.
John isn’t content to just give three signs pointing to three people. In the passage, each of the signs actually point beyond the person to the nations which come from them. The twelve-tribes are seen in the nation Israel, and the devil is seen as working through the ten nations that make up the anti-Christ’s empire (cf. 13:1, 17:3, 7, 12, 16).
Yet this leaves a question: what nation is Jesus working through? If you answered “The United States of America,” then you are hereby banned from reading the Cripplegate for one-year. The correct answer is, of course, the church. Which gives us this chart:
How do I know I’m right here? Because of the second reason:
A son, a male.
Its not that John lived in a gender-fluid society, so he felt the need to point out that the son also happens to be male. Revelation is nowhere near that PC. Instead, John uses this turn of phrase to draw the reader to Isaiah 66:7: “Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.” As Isaiah continues, the context makes it clear that the baby boy is not an individual, but a nation:
Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
In other words, Isaiah describes the birth of new nation from the child delivered by Israel. Here is Michael Svigel on this:
There is no question that John’s use of “bad grammar” in Revelation 12:5 is intended to point the reader back to the images of Isaiah 66:7…The point of the parallel is that the male son is not an individual, and should be interpreted as a corporate body (“What Child is This? A Forgotten Argument for the Pretribulation Rapture”).
In other words, the baby is a sign pointing to Jesus, and then Jesus leads us to the church.
Raptured
The word translated “caught up” in verse 5 is actually the word from which we get the English word rapture (harpazo). It is the same word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where it is obviously describing the rapture. The word has a connotation of being rescued at the last possible minute from imminent danger. This most certainly does not describe the ascension of Christ after his resurrection. It makes the best sense of the limited use of this word to see John as making a deliberate description of the rescue of the church before the dragon seeks to attack Israel.
Now, I understand why this would not be persuasive to an amillennialist, or to a preterist. If someone doesn’t see a future demonic attack on Israel described in Revelation 12, then they are certainly not going to see the rapture of the church in verse 5.
But for premillennialists and those who see that Revelation (along with the Olivet Discourse) does describe the devil using the anti-Christ to attack Israel, then verse 5 puts the rapture immediately before that attack. In other words, if you have a straight-forward understanding of Revelation, then you should find the pretribulational rapture confirmed in Revelation 12:5.
If you want a longer and more detailed presentation of this view, you should check out Evidence for the Rapture: A Biblical Case for Pretribulationism, particularly chapter 9—“What Child is This?” by Michael Svigel.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
How to Show Your Life to a Younger Believer
Article by: Kim Ransleben
The first time an older woman invited me to meet with her, I was so grateful. She helped me learn about life as a new Christian.
A couple years later she asked if I’d be willing to lead a Bible study for her—I wept that she thought I could. Coming alongside her as she modeled teaching and leading women taught me so much.
But what taught me the most was walking with her through the death of her son. As the biblical truths she’d been passing on to me shined through her life, I saw firsthand what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.
Many are familiar with the list of men and women in Hebrews 11, who long ago lived by faith in a God they couldn’t see. They conquered lands and shut the mouths of lions. Some were saved from the sword, and others—by that same, strong faith—died by the sword.
Frankly, it’s not a group we’d always want to join. Their families were messy. Their failures and struggles are recorded for all to read. But they also give us hope by showing a loving God who perseveres with weak sinners. Mostly, I viewed the heroes of Hebrews 11 from a distance—until the day I encountered Hebrews 13:7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.”
Show Your Life
I realized the author is talking about regular people like you and me, who lead and teach others. Perhaps you’re the one leading Bible studies and discipling young believers. Maybe little ones are sitting at your feet on Sunday morning while you tell them of those men and women of faith. Or, maybe you’re at the Little League game next to someone who opens up to you about her marital struggles. Younger believers look to older believers and Hebrews 13:7 provides an important reminder: “Consider the outcome of their life and imitate their faith.”
Those who follow our lead need more than tips and techniques. They are watching our lives. They want to see if we’ve ever faced what’s causing them frustration, or if we too got lost in the chaos of choices for our kids. They struggle with past shame and future fears. And though they have God’s Word as a testimony of those who’ve gone before, they’re wondering if they can believe it for themselves today.
This is where we come into their story. We bridge the gap between long ago and just a few years back. We show them God strengthens his people today just as he did in ancient times. We share specific ways we’ve seen him work in the past. But we also do something more.
Show Your Struggles
We must allow younger believers to see our current struggles, too. This means acknowledging the sinful desires that still wage war against our soul, as well as the fears that threaten to overwhelm us as dreams for tomorrow fade. When we shed tears of grief over loved ones’ choices—yet with a glimmer of hope in our eyes—we demonstrate that walking by faith is a daily reality, not a final destination.
Walking by faith is a daily reality, not a final destination.
It’d be a lot less risky to show others only the cleaned-up version of our families, to let them think we’ve found the magic formula for successful marriages and ministries to people who never cause us pain. But to do so would prevent them from obeying that simple command: imitate their faith. To do that, they have to see the places where faith is all we have.
Show Your Savior
Ultimately, our lives of faith help the next generation to see that “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). The God of Moses still uses broken people and stuttering mouths to reveal his character. Faith is still the substance of things hoped for, and will sustain the church long after we’re gone. The hope for every generation will always be: Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today and forever.
So open up your lives, older men and women. Show the younger generation that by faith, there’s nothing to fear. Show them how to crawl out of the boat to walk where it would seem foolish, or how to lie down by the Savior’s side and simply ride out the storm. Let them see your todays as well as your yesterdays, so they might trust him through whom all our tomorrows come.
Like that precious older woman did for me, leave those around you with their own hall of faithful men and women, strangers and exiles here who saw the promises of God and greeted them from afar. As you march by faith toward that far better land, show them your life . . . all of your life . . . so they can imitate your faith.
Kim Ransleben is a curriculum writer and Bible study teacher from central Texas. She and her husband have three grown daughters, the oldest of which is aiming at serving long-term in Ukraine, where their family has served on short-term summer trips for the last eight years, and from where they are currently trying to adopt a fourth daughter. You can follow her on Twitter.
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