I have learned that I am one who learns best from outlines. Perhaps not in all subjects, but I think certainly when it comes to learning history. I can often recall many of the stories, but I am sometimes slow to remember how things played out and how things connect. Outlines helps to remind me of the the bigger picture, the broader narrative, which is vital to understanding.
The denomination in which I serve, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), is approaching the 50th anniversary of its founding. Through these years God has blessed this expression of His Church, and it has been a privilege for me to have been part of it. The sailing has not always been smooth. There have been some storms that have their genesis from both inside and outside of the church. We are not without our faults, our failures, or our sins. But through it all, I believe, the PCA has been well-tethered to the motto:
Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith, and Obedient to the Great Commission
From its inception, the PCA has been somewhat of a “Big Tent” denomination, at least relatively speaking. Though not an especially large denomination, the tent is big enough in that it encompasses an array of churches holding to both the authority of Scripture and to the Reformed understanding of the Christian Faith. (The Great Commission part sometimes seems like it is generally and widely true, but the actuality, or the level of engagement, may be measured more on a church to church basis. That said, some may also reasonably suggest the same about the fidelity to the Reformed Tradition.) As with any Big Tent denomination – and perhaps especially so with any theologically “conservative” Big Tent – the PCA has had – and still has – its share of “camps” and conflicts. Through the years some from fringes of the church have departed for other denominations, or into independency; and they have done so because they respectively believe: 1) The PCA is too “liberal” and permissive, or 2) The PCA is too “conservative” and uptight. But the vast majority, like me, have found a home and felt at home, and the PCA continues to grow even as most other denominations are experiencing decline.
For a variety of reasons, the PCA has been engaged in some prolonged intense debates for the past few years – some sounding like new verses of old songs; others sounding like entirely new tunes. Some, with differing visions, are even aiming to chart a new course for the PCA. And while I listen to the discussions and the proposed directions, trying to both figure out where I fit in and where I believe our denomination should go, in my mind I am wondering if maybe our best future may be found by resurrecting discussions from our past.
In 1994 a group of church leaders, collectively known as the PCA Consensus Group, hosted an informal gathering at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. (PERSONAL NOTE: At the time I was in the first year of my pastoral ministry, serving a church outside of Chattanooga. Cedar Springs had been my home church, beginning my Sophomore year of college; it is the church where my wife had grown up; and it was the church that sent us out into pastoral ministry.) This informal gathering was widely attended by church leaders from throughout the PCA, with several hundred, if not even a thousand, in attendance. The purpose of this gathering would be for the PCA Consensus group to present and discuss, what I consider, a well-thought out statement of affirmations and denials, published in a document titled A Statement of Identity for the Presbyterian Church in America.
What I have posted below is the substance of that Statement, or rather the revised version, subsequently re-published in 1998. I post this because I believe many of these propositions are worthy of reconsideration at this time, in the PCA’s present discussions and debates.
Dallas Willard on the importance and centrality of the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be Your Name”:
“This request is based upon the deepest need of the human world. Human life is not about human life. Nothing will go right in it until the goodness and greatness of its Creator and Sustainer is adequately grasped. His very name is then to be held in the highest regard. Until that is so, the human compass will always be pointing in the wrong direction … and individual lives, as well as history as a whole, will suffer from constant and fluctuating disorientation.”
The first petition of the model prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray was “hallowed be your Name”. We are instructed to pray that God would act in such a way that his name would be recognized, revered, valued, and celebrated by Peoples throughout the whole world.
In the first request (“hallowed be your name”) we pray that God will enable us and others to glorify Him in everything He uses to make Himself known and that He will work out everything to His own glory.
“Hallowed be your name” means: Help us to truly know you, to honor, glorify, and praise you for all your works and for all that shines forth from them: your almighty power, wisdom, kindness, justice, mercy, and truth. And it means, Help us to direct all our living – what we think, say, and do – so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honored and praised.
Only recently, as I was preparing for a series of messages from the Lord’s Prayer, did I notice that in Psalm 8 King David provides a wonderful example of what it looks like to have the hallowing of God’s name as a heartfelt passion and priority. Notably we see through Psalm 8 several aspects of David that are essential characteristics of anyone who hallows God’s name:
An awareness of how unfathomably awesome Our Father in Heaven truly is;
An appreciation for the transcendent beauty of all of God’s Creation;
A personal humility rooted in an awareness of his own nature, especially in comparison with the incomparable holiness of God;
An awareness that his hope and significance come only from God;
A thankfulness for God’s gracious promises and provision;
A consequential desire that God’s name be glorified throughout the earth.
“O Lord, Our Lord, How majestic is you name in all the earth!“
“Through my sixty years of working for justice, I offer four admonishments to the next generation of justice seekers.”
First, Start With God!
God is bigger than we can imagine. We have to align ourselves with his purpose, his will, his mission to let justice roll down, and bring forgiveness and love to everyone on earth. The problem of injustice is a God-sized problem. If we don’t start with him first, whatever we are seeking, it ain’t justice.
Second, Be One In Christ!
Christian brothers and sisters – black, white, brown, rich, and poor – we are family. We are one blood. We are adopted by the same Father, served by the same Son, filled with the same Spirit. In John 17 Jesus prays for everyone who would believe in him, that people from every tongue, tribe, and nation would be one. That oneness is how the world will know who Jesus is. If we give a foothold to any kind of tribalism that could tear down that unity, then we aren’t bringing God’s justice.
Third, Preach the Gospel!
The gospel of Jesus’ incarnation, his perfect life, his death as our substitute, and his triumph over sin and death is good news for everyone. It is multi-cultural good news. in the blood of Jesus, we are to truly see ourselves as one race, one blood. We’ve got to stop playing the race game. Christ alone can break down the barriers of prejudice and hate we all struggle with. There is no power greater than God’s love expressed in Jesus. That’s where we all find human dignity. If we replace the gospel with this or that man-made political agenda, then we ain’t doing biblical justice.
Fourth, Teach Truth!
Without truth, there can be no justice. And what is the ultimate standard of truth? It is not our feelings. It is not popular opinion. It is not what presidents or politicians say. God’s Word is the standard of truth. If we’re trying harder to align with the rising opinions of our day than with the Bible, then we ain’t doing real justice.
Finally, Perkins wraps us his admonitions with this unfortunate assessment:
“Sadly, many Christian brothers and sisters are trying to fight this fight with man-made solutions. These solutions promise justice but deliver division and idolatry.”
“The condition of mankind is such that one may well ask what it is that made the men of past generations so great and the men of the present generation so small. In the midst of all the material achievements of modern life, one may well ask the question whether in gaining the whole world we have not lost our own soul.”
Certainly a question worth at least some consideration.
Machen goes on to ask:
“Is there some lost secret, which if rediscovered will restore to mankind something of the glories of the past?”
To which, Machen then answers his own question:
“Such a secret the writer of this little book would discover in the Christian religion.”
And I’d have to concur, if by “the Christian religion” Machen means a holistic biblical Christianity of both Word and Deed, properly (although not equally) balanced upon fulfilling both of the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord” AND “Love your neighbors”.
While preparing for my Summer series of sermons, which I will begin this coming Sunday, I stumbled upon – or re-discovered – Dallas Willard‘s paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer. While it is a paraphrase, and therefore may be slightly skewed here and there toward the author’s personal perspective, nevertheless Willard’s was an informed perspective and his expression has both a ring of faithfulness and a refreshing simplicity.
Dear Father always near us, may your name be treasured and loved, may your rule be completed in us – may your will be done here on earth in just the way it is done in heaven. Give us today the things we need today, and forgive us our sins and impositions on you as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us. Please don’t put us through trials, but deliver us from everything bad. Because you are the one is charge, and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever- which is just the way we want it!
According to legend, The London Times once sent out an inquiry to famous authors, asking the question: “What’s wrong with the world today?” Among those asked to write up short essays in reply was the noted G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton’s reported reply:
Though Chesterton may have never actually penned that pithy reply, (although, maybe he did,) what the story reflects is nevertheless valid. There is much wrong in this world. We all know it. Not the least of what is wrong in this world, according to Romans 1, is me – and you.
Over at The Gospel Coalition, writer/blogger Justin Taylor has penned a semi-fictional interview with the Apostle Paul, asking the question: What is Wrong With Us? I call it semi-fictional because, though no interview has actually taken place, Taylor interacts with Paul’s actual words from Romans 1, which describe the individual contributions we each contribute to what is wrong in this world. It is a penetrating perspective from which to read Romans 1. It is well worth the read: An Interview With Paul on What’s Wrong With Us.
“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”
Collin Marshall & Tony Payne touch on the essence of discipleship in their book, The Vine Project, (a helpful sequel to their excellent first book, The Trellis & The Vine). Here’s what Marshall & Payne have to say:
Disciple-making is really about calling people to faith and hope in Jesus Christ in the midst of this present evil age, with all its pressures.
For those who want to explore more of the meaning and the mechanics of making disciples, Steve Childers, of Pathway Learning, has published a helpful series of short audios he has titled “How to Make Disciples”. (NOTE: A transcript of each audio is available at the bottom of the posts, for those who prefer reading.)
“As He was saying these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus said to the Christians living in the USA who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
“We are descendants of democracy,” they answered Him, “and we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. We aren’t enslaved to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus responded, “I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.
“I know you are descendants of democracy, but you are trying to explain my teachings away because My word is not welcome among you.”
Kinda hits home, doesn’t it?
In sharing this I have no desire to denigrate our country – especially not right after Memorial Day. As Americans we have much to be thankful for. Among that for which I am thankful are our civil liberties, and for those who have served to preserve them. On Memorial Day we especially give thanks for those who “gave the last full measure of devotion”. As a country we have been greatly blessed. But, as a country, we also have more than a few things for which we need repent – both from our past and in our present. What I think Fred hits on is the confusion and compromise that sometimes – perhaps even all too often – occurs in the church, because of an unhealthy mixture of allegiances to country and to Christ. If you are an American, be thankful! But always remember: To God alone belongs glory. (Isaiah 42.8)
“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you.”
We all have this experience. For some it is nearly debilitating. The weight of guilt from past transgressions or inactions drains the emotional bank account. The result, as Lloyd-Jones says, is “unhappiness”. Discouragement. And whenever discouragement is left untreated, there is always the risk that it metastasizes into full blown depression.
The issue is not that these thoughts are necessarily wrong. We all have regrets of things we have done and of things we have left undone. What is wrong is how these feelings warp our sense of identity, and consequently our emotional health. What is wrong is how these things rob us of our connection with the greater truths of God’s Promises, often making the one “listening” to these mental accusations feel unworthy, and therefore disconnected from God himself.
The answer is not to simply ignore these mental accusations. There is a very real sense that we are “guilty”, and that we are “unworthy” to enjoy God’s presence. As Paul reminds us in Romans 3.23, “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”. John concurs with Paul, reminding us in 1 John 1.8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” and again in v. 10, “If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and God’s word is not in us.”
The solution to our unhappiness is found in what John writes in between, in v. 9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In other words, the remedy to our unhappiness begins by owning whatever part of the accusations are true. We own it, then “confess it” to God. (NOTE: However, we must take care to not embrace what is untrue.)
Lloyd-Jones, who was a medical doctor before entering into pastoral ministry, prescribes that we “talk to ourselves” as medicine for our souls. After “confession”, which is talking to God, we are to “talk to ourselves.” We are to remind ourselves of the promises of the gospel, such as the promises of 1 John 1.9, or any of the many similar promises that are laced throughout the Scriptures. These promises are “greater truths” than whatever is true of our guilt; greater because they are God’s truths, God’s promises to those who rest in his grace, through faith in Christ.
What would such a conversation look like? What might we say to “ourselves” when our minds feel flooded with accusation? The video above provides a powerful example. In this video, actor Joseph Fiennes plays Martin Luther in the 2003 biopic, Luther. In the scene, Luther declares:
“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: “I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”
This is what is called “preaching the gospel to yourself”!
As Luther ostensibly said at another time:
“Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.”
“The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor the old Roman Catholicism or the new Roman Catholicism, nor the threat of communism, nor even the threat of rationalism and the monolithic consensus which surrounds us. All these are dangerous but not the primary threat. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.”
Edward Payson (D.D. 1783-1827), a 19th Century Congregationalist minister, was a popular long-time pastor in Portland, Maine, where he was dubbed with the moniker “Praying Payson of Portland”. Portland’s Payson Park is named to commemorate his tremendous influence and legacy.
Among many insights preserved in his writing, Payson mused over the meaning of true Christianity:
True Christianity consists of a proper mixture of fear of God, and of hope in his mercy; and wherever either of these is entirely wanting, there can be no true Faith. God has joined these things, and we ought by no means to put them asunder.
He cannot take pleasure in those who fear him with a slavish fear, without hoping in his mercy, because they seem to consider him a cruel and tyrannical being, who has no mercy or goodness in his nature. And, besides, they implicitly charge him with falsehood, by refusing to believe and hope in his invitations and offers of mercy.
On the other hand, he cannot be pleased with those who pretend to hope in his mercy without fearing him. For they insult him by supposing there is nothing in him which ought to be feared. And in addition to this, they make him a liar, by disbelieving his awful threatenings denounced against sinners, and call in question his authority, by refusing to obey him.
Those only who both fear him and hope in his mercy, give him the honor that is due to his name.
On May 21, 1922 – 100 years ago today – a minister noted for exceptional eloquence ascended the steps into the pulpit to deliver his message. His name was Harry Emerson Fosdick. Though Fosdick was a Baptist, he had for several years served as pastor of the historic First Presbyterian Church in New York City. On this particular Sunday, Fosdick fired a shot that has reverberated for generations. His sermon title: Shall the Fundamentalists Win? And in this message, Fosdick winsomely and systematically hammered away at nearly every distinctly Christian doctrine, musing aloud why Christians must hold to such ideas as the Trinity, the Virgin Birth of Christ, Jesus bodily resurrection, etc. To Fosdick’s mind, those so-called Fundamentalists were too rigid and narrow minded. He proposed that the Church should make room for both those who held to these historic and fundamental doctrines, and for those who held to a more evolved “liberal” or “modernist” view.
It is important to understand that the word “Fundamentalist” had a different connotation then than it does today. In those days of the early 20th Century, a “Fundamentalist” was essentially anyone who held to the fundamental doctrines historically held by Christians of all orthodox traditions. The idea of separation from the world and from anyone who associated with the “worldly”; the prohibitions against dance, drink, card playing, etc. that are most commonly associate with Fundamentalist Christianity today had yet to develop, at least it had not so developed to the degree that these were universally considered distinguishing marks, as they have been since the middle of the 20th Century.
But Fosdick’s message caused quite the stir. It is considered, by some, to have been the beginning of the Modernist vs Fundamentalist Divide that still exists to this day between Mainline and Evangelical Christians, though the roots of the theological liberalism that Fosdick espoused had been growing increasingly evident for years before this landmark message.
On this 100th year anniversary of Fosdick’s message, The Gospel Coalition has published a series of articles, both revisiting Fosdick and his message and exploring the effects still felt today:
In addition to the articles in TGC, Reformed Faith & Practice, the journal of Reformed Theological Seminary, (the seminary from which I earned my Master of Divinity,) has dedicated the present issue, Volume 7.1, to explore the origins and continuing impact of the Fundamentalist vs Liberal debate and divide. There are ten excellent articles, reflecting both historic and theological perspectives.
Finally, for those interested in this subject, I commend the audio book of J. Gresham Machen’s classic Christianity & Liberalism, published in 1923, in the wake of this debate. The audio book has 7 chapters, and is found on YouTube: Christianity & Liberalism.
GRACE & PEACE 