Our religion ought to inform our politics as it ought to inform our whole life. There are some political issues we should not be silent on (abortion comes to mind). However, the “culture wars” in America have duped Christians into enlisting in causes that have nothing to do with their religion. Worse still, it makes our religion into simply one aspect of a larger subsuming culture complete with its own schools, dress, music, television shows and diets. It doesn’t take a large jump before those things all become of similar importance, and Christ takes his place in the pantheon between Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck (or Obama and Al Franken, as the case may be). It’s the devil’s old bait-and-switch. Christ didn’t have a problem with the Pharisee’s actual righteousness, he had a problem with assuming that adherence to arbitrary cultural conventions was righteousness. Christianity is not a culture, it is trans-cultural. When we engage in evangelism, it should not be to make people more like us, but rather more like Christ.

- Justin Longacre, “Five Things“

Here is a summary of the messages from the SBFC-SW 2009, as well as a collection of photos from the conference and a video I took of the attendees singing “Be Thou My Vision”.

“Devotional Psalm (Psalm 130)” – Pastor Jeff Young

“Preaching Christ from the Old Testament” – Pastor Fred Malone

“Preaching Christ from the New Testament” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“Redemptive-Historical Preaching: Pros and Cons” – Pastor Steve Garrick

“Summary of Founders Ministries” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“The Lost Element of Theology in Preaching” – Pastor Fred Malone

“Q&A Session (Moderated by Larry Vincent)” – Pastor Earl Blackburn, Pastor Tom Ascol, Pastor Steve Garrick and Pastor Fred Malone

“A Critique of Contemporary Models of Preaching” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“Preaching Christ to the Christian” – Pastor Fred Malone

“Preaching Christ to the Natural Man” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“Unction in Preaching” – preached by Pastor Earl Blackburn

“Finally, I worry that a movement built on megachurches, megaconferences, and megaleaders, does the church a disservice in one very important way that is often missed amid all the pizzazz and excitement: it creates the idea that church life is always going to be big, loud, and exhilarating and thus gives church members and ministerial candidates unrealistic expectations of the normal Christian life.  In the real world, many, perhaps most,  of us worship and work in churches of 100 people or less; life is not loud and exciting; big things do not happen every Sunday;  budgets are incredibly tight and barely provide enough for a pastor’s modest salary; each Lord’s Day we go through the same routines of worship services, of hearing the gospel proclaimed, of taking the Lord’s Supper, of teaching Sunday School; perhaps several times a year we do leaflet drops in the neighbourhood with very few results; at Christmas time we carol sing in the high street and hand out invitations to church and maybe two or three people actually come along as a result; but no matter — we keep going, giving, and praying as we can; we try to be faithful in the little entrusted to us.  It’s boring, it’s routine, and it’s the same, year in, year out.   Therefore, in a world where excitement, celebrity, and cultural power are the ideal, it is tempting amidst the circumstances of ordinary church life to forget that this, the routine of the ordinary, the boring, the plodding, is actually the norm for church life and has been so throughout most places for most of the history of the church; that mega-whatevers are the exception, not the rule; and that the church has survived throughout the ages not just – or even primarily – because of the high profile firework displays of the great and the good, but because of the day to day faithfulness of the mundane, anonymous, non-descript  people who constitute most of the church, and who do the grunt work and the tedious jobs that need to be done [emphasis added].  History does not generally record their names; but the likelihood is that you worship in a church which owes everything, humanly speaking, to such people.”

- Carl Trueman

“I think sometimes we get so focused on getting the message out that we forget that the person we’re interacting with is a fellow human being made in the image of God with all the wondrous design and complexity that entails.  We need to treat them with respect as per 1 Peter 3:15 by listening to what they say.   We need to pray that God would aid our ears to help us discern how to apply Gospel first aid.    Jesus did that and with remarkable effectiveness cut to the heart of the problem -  Jesus was talking to a man who had no idea that he was anything else but a human rabbi.  In listening to him, Jesus discerned that the man’s (somewhat fawning) pious talk needed to be dealt with immediately.  Jesus was after the self-righteousness that thinks you can make yourself “good” and acceptable to God.  He is seeking to challenge this man’s whole concept of moral goodness.[Tim Keller's Study Guide on Mark]“
– Christopher Powell

Below are some links to some thoughts from the SBC 2009.

Of interest is the list of things that Michael Spencer notes over at Internet Monk.  Of those, item #6 stands out:

“The patient teaching of the Gospel and church-centered theology by the Founders Ministries and 9Marks has paid off in more fruit than can be put in a basket. Hundreds and hundreds of young people, hungry to hear how to build a Gospel centered, God honoring, missionary focused church. It is astonishing. It may not be revival, but it is a solid outcome that will make a huge difference for a small number of churches.”

Nothing effects change (in terms of human understanding) than faithful, patient, plodding, grinding, constant persistence.  Now, may the change that has been effected by Founders and IX Marks be Spirit-directed, Christ-focused and God-honoring.

More thoughts:

Tom Ascol (Overall Reflections HERE)

Daniel Akin

SBC Voices

Tim Brister (10 Highlights) (10 Lowlights)

Baptist Press News

The Baptist Standard

Biblical Recorder

SBCImpact

Ed Stetzer

James Galyon

Owen Strachan

Wade Burleson

Alvin Reid

Micah Fries

Shawn Bergen

Thom Rainer

Peter Lumpkins

Alan Cross

A new website has been created with an online petition calling for a Great Commission Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention.  The Declaration looks pretty good.  If you wish, you can go HERE to sign it.

There is a Hand that is Steady and Sure, and behind the Hand there is a Mind that has an idea for the Perfect Masterpiece

There are many brushes for the Mind to choose from, many exceedingly beautiful, with exquisitely chiseled handles, and perfectly aligned bristles, but oddly enough the Mind chooses the ugliest brush, with a handle of balsa wood, and a head of bristles that point in every which direction. The Hand then takes the ugly Brush and promptly, yet gently, dips it into the paint, and begins the Work.

The Brush at first strains against the Hand, its bristles attempting to run entirely contrary to the direction of the Strokes, but the Hand is Steady and Sure, and continues with the Strokes. The Brush wonders at this, for the Strokes are against its nature, but it will soon realize that its bristles are even then being reshaped by the Hand, to achieve the Mind’s Purpose.

It is with much patience that the Hand makes the Strokes. Often times the bristles do not conform easily, but the Mind is indeed patient, and pays especially minute attention to detail, using each and every bristle for every stroke. To the Brush, the strokes seem unordered, more chaotic than anything. Then water is spilled onto the Painting, blurring the previous work, and the brush moans that all is lost. Then the Piece gets scratched, disrupting the continuity of the Painting, and the Brush despairs at the time spent on that very continuity. But still the Hand keeps making Strokes with the Brush. And still the Brush is made more beautiful and straight, bristle by bristle, Stroke by Stroke. Every so often the Brush is lifted from one spot of the Painting to another, to be used as the Mind sees fit. And every so often the Brush is re-dipped into different colors of paint that the Mind uses for the different parts of His Masterpiece. At these times the Brush notices that the Strokes do seem to be coming together, yet still the Final Product is veiled.

So it continues: the Brush is swept back and forth, dipped and re-dipped in a variety of paints, all the while the bristles are coming in line with the Purpose of the Mind.

Finally, the strokes cease, the Brush stops, the Hand lifts the Brush into the air, and then the Brush sees the Masterpiece. And suddenly the Brush realizes why the Hand allowed, and orchestrated, the scratches, spills, and wild bristles. It was all a part of the Masterpiece, all coming together to show beautifully the Purpose of the Piece, and all coming together to wonderfully express the Mind behind the Purpose.

And the Brush is filled with gratitude because the Mind would choose the Brush, and the Hand would use it for such a glorious Purpose. Then the Hand places the Brush back into a case, but not into the old case, now it is in the Master’s Case, filled with beautiful, sculpted, perfect Brushes, all having been used by the Master, all made perfect by the Mind in their own corresponding Masterpiece. And suddenly, the Brush understands.

The crowd was at the edge of seats, their ears were straining forth
“Do you repent, you foolish monk, retract your evil words!”
Von Eck then paused, and said again, “My sir, you must recant”
Then Luther said, “To Christ I’m bound, and to His Holy Writ”

Chorus:
Here I stand, I can do no other
Here I stand, I can do no other
I stand in Christ, through His blood
By His grace, in His Love
I Trust the Word of God above
Here I stand, I can do no other

They bundled stacks of wood around as she stood at the stake
And doused her with a putrid fuel that soon would rise in flame
The flame leapt up and all could see how close she was to death
“Recant”, they screamed, she shook her head, and said with final breath:

Chorus

He stood before an angry crowd, the lions growled and roared
If he’d deny his God above they’d kill him quick, with sword
He shook his head, the lions charged, he did a strangest thing
For as they charged his waiting frame, the man began to sing:

Chorus

The gun was pressed against her head, the metal harsh and cold
“Deny your God” the gunman spat “Or I will shoot your skull”
As thoughts of Christ her sovereign Lord were filling up her head
She looked into the gunman’s eyes and then with boldness said:

Chorus

Lord, when I’m asked what I believe, or when they ask me why
Or when they tell me to recant and to Your Truth deny
Lord when the gun’s pressed to my head, or when I feel the flames
Please give me strength to boldly speak, and with Your courage say:

Worship: Business

Meeting: