Another Celebrity Pastor Disqualifies Himself. How, Why, and Now What?

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http://www.christiantoday.com/article/billy.grahams.grandson.tullian.tchividjian.resigns.as.pastor.after.admitting.affair/56838.htm

This past week Tullian Tchividjian stepped down from his Florida megachurch after admitting he had an extramarital affair and that he had therefore disqualified himself from pastoral ministry.  As with Mark Driscoll it was another sad day for the evangelical church in America. 

In light of a few public statements I have spent time this week praying for Coral Ridge Church as well as asking God to mend the Tchividjian's broken marriage.  I have also spent some time meditating on the sober warning in 1 Corinthians 10:12, Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  "But for the grace of God there go I."

As most of you know I have posted a few articles highlighting the theological trajectory of Pastor Tullian and Elyse Fitzpatrick; (If you need a quick recap on the issues surrounding the sanctification/hyper-grace controversy you can click here and here).  Some people have suggested that Tullian's "Antinomian tendencies" had absolutely nothing to do with this recent adultery/affair announcement.  I have responded by saying none of us know for certain how much or how little Tullian's hyper-grace sanctification paradigm impacted his recent behavior and sinful choices.

The Scriptures do teach us however that what someone believes (or does not believe) should and often does impact our everyday living. Biblical examples of this thinking/behavior connection include Platonic Dualism, Gnosticism, the hyper-realized eschatology problem in Thessalonica, and of course, heretical Libertine theology (as described in 2 Peter/Jude).  Orthodoxy and orthopraxy are inseparably connected!  Or you might say that unbiblical theology and sin are often partners in crime. 

At the 2015 Shepherd's Conference Dr. Ligon Duncan also reminded a room full of pastors that immoral living often leads to bad theology.  In other words, bad theology is often created in order to justify sinful behavior (note for example the open and affirming church movement in America).  Before you write me off I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about the implications of these observations.  I believe Lig Duncan made this insightful statement about 'sin and erroneous theology' during this exposition of 2 Timothy 4. 

A Retrospective Analysis of the First Ten Years

The past decade of pastoral ministry has been very sanctifying and for that I thank the Lord (Rom. 8:28-30).  In faith I am holding on to the promise of Philippians 1:6.  "Who I am is in between of who I want to be and what I am." I am highlighting of course the already/not yet component of sanctification/glorification (note Rom. 6-7).  As I have said before, I had no idea how challenging church revitalization would be when I graduated from seminary back in 2005.  That one would have to be willing to suffer loss of health, reputation, friendships, and worldly success/accolades in effort to build Christ's church God's way (2 Tim. 2; 3:12).   Surely this battering accounts for some of the staggering numbers related to the high dropout rate among ministers.

I humbly admit that I also did not realize how much my sinful flesh desired the approval of men.  Part of my internal agony and pastoral burden over the years is a reflection of how I wanted both the favor of God and the applause of men.   In other words, if a shepherd is trying to establish a Word-driven ministry (from top to bottom) he will find out rather quickly that their are many occasions when you cannot "have your cake and eat it too."   A reoccurring test that I have encountered during the first decade of pastoral ministry is this: What's more important, biblical fidelity and the approval of God, or nickels and noses?  Am I more interested in building a pure church that is truly Christ-centered or in telling people that I pastor a large and "successful" church?

Why 'Verse-by-Verse' Expository Preaching?

 

Their was a season fifteen or so years ago when preaching through books of the Bible, verse-by-verse and chapter by chapter, was quite trendy.  We all know how much American Evangelicalism loves trends so naturally lots of churches started doing this (at least many attempted to do this).  I recently checked out a number of church websites in our community and realized that those days are long gone.  Expository preaching is no longer en vogue.   So why am I so committed to this "not so popular" (passé) method of teaching?

A missionary friend of mine (Jonathan Moorehead) provided a very helpful explanation this week as to why sequential exposition is the preferred method of preaching for most TMS graduates.  This is not to say that faithful Bible exposition demands Lectio Continua but many of us are convinced that it is the safest way of insuring that the authorial intent of each passage is declared in every sermon. Mark Dever rightly describes Bible exposition as “Preaching that takes for the point of a sermon the point of a particular passage of Scripture.  

Why does accuracy and authorial intent matter? 2 Timothy 2:15 reminds us that those "workmen" who "rightly divide the Word of truth" have no need to be "ashamed" as they preach the Word of God in season and out (2 Timothy 3:15-4:5).  To twist or distort the true meaning of holy Scripture is no small thing even when it is done intentionally. See for example my sermon, "Faulty Interpretation. Wrong Applications. Serious Problems."

Acknowledging Former Church Members in Celebration of 170 years!

This year marks the 170th Anniversary of the First Baptist Church of Freeport.  That means of course that every founding member has gone on to glory long ago.  As we prepare to celebrate the faithfulness of God and the provision of our Savior over 17 decades we felt it was also important for us to try and acknowledge the faithful ministry service of former church members who now serve the Lord in new contexts.  This letter will be sent out this week.

Dear friend(s) of First Baptist Church,

As many of you know 2015 marks the 170th anniversary of First Baptist, Freeport. In order to commemorate the faithfulness of God and His enduring Word Tim Zimmerman and the King’s Brass will be with us on July 1st at 7pm. Following a special concert of praise we will gather in the fellowship hall for a dessert fellowship. In view of this, we want to personally invite you and your family to join us for this milestone occasion.

Celebrating 170 Years of God's Faithfulness

"Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Better To Fight For Something Esp. If That 'Something' Is God's Truth (Jude 3-25)

Especially if that something is the Divine "truth" (1 Timothy 3:15) and "the faith" (Jude 3-25)!

"Ruining Our Witness" & "Worship that Displeases God": A Few Considerations.

For anyone who is regular reader of Elyse Fitzpatrick or Tullian Tchividjian I would highly encourage you to read Daniel I. Block's, "For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship." In it you will find helpful insights like this, "In chapter 3 we established that while the call to salvation is unconditional, the call to worship is conditional and subject to the spiritual and moral conditions of the worshiper."Just because we have experienced the grace of Christ in salvation does not mean that New Testament believers should be casual about worship (nor should we be nonchalant about our witness).

"For many, Sunday morning is just as hectic as any other day. By the time we arrive at the church, we are out of breath, our tempers are short, and we have scarcely had worship on our minds. But, blissfully, we imagine all we need to do is show up in church and God will be impressed. So we take pride in being in the services on Sunday morning, and if we are involved in various youth activities, in campus charities, or in Bible studies (midweek), we are obviously exceptionally spiritual. However, this scarcely fits the picture painted in Hebrew 10 and 12."

I believe hyper-grace advocates would heartily AMEN the second quote but I do not think the first quote would be posted in very many Twitter feeds.  As with most things, biblical balance is desperately needed in this area of theology/practice.  

So how can we elevate the free grace of justification without minimizing the various imperatives related to our progressive sanctification?  Or as Kevin DeYoung puts it, how can we glory in the indicatives while insisting on the imperatives?  How do we avoid the ditch of Legalism (Col. 2:16-17) without falling prey to hyper-grace Antinomianism?

In this vein, how do we balance New Testament warnings like 1 Peter 3:7 without becoming Pharisaic legalists? “You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered”