Teen Mission Trip 2007 - South Dakota

Tomorrow, Bible Baptist Youth Group will be leaving for South Dakota. When I get back, I'll be making some posts regarding the day to day activities of the trip. In the meantime, please pray for us. There are many things that need to be changed in each of the lives of all who are going (I include myself in this). Pray for us that God would not only use us to be a blessing to the missionaries (The Pikes) in Mclaughlin, SD and to those on The Reservation, but that He would also do a work in each of our hearts, allowing us to make Him more of our treasure. Be back in a week!

Young Missionaries- ARIBA Program Summer 2007

Many of you may have heard of the ARIBA program, hosted by the Baptist Mid-Missions mission board. In Lima, Peru, there is a "missionary home base" that allows for college students, like Titus and Amy, to gain first experience while truly seeing what foreign missions is all about. As you'll see if you visit their blogs, they are attending language school, as well as taking additional Bible classes (not sure if this is through the Seminary or not), and they work with local church planting missionaries. They will be delaying graduation by at least a year by doing all of this. What's the point, you ask? Simple: to understand first hand what foreign missionaries must go through to take the task of tending God's harvest field on foreign soil (as well as to find out what God's Will might be for them regarding future life time missions endeavors). Pray for them that not only God would use them on the mission field there in Lima to be a blessing to the pastors and witness to the communities they are in, but also pray that God would show them direction regarding their lifes' work.

A Study and Plan for Biblical Discipline in the Home

A Study and Plan for Biblical Discipline in the Home

*This paper was originally written for the class GBC 537 Marriage and Family Counseling at Maranatha Baptist Bible College's Graduate School of Theology. For a copy of the paper which includes the footnotes please email photojon01@aol.com.

Most parents would agree that children are as different and complex as any adult. Children have different features, traits, attitudes, talents, learning styles, personalities, and temperaments. Learning to interact with, challenge, and rear children is a difficult, yet rewarding task. However, the challenge is complicated by the sinful nature of both the parent and child. The world's system has been inundated by ideas and concepts which are only inadvertently related to Scripture. In times of difficulty and stress the Christian parent must realize that the Bible, not psychology and Dr. Phil, truly is their only reliable source for parental practice.

This paper will seek to develop in its reader a Biblical understanding of discipline by examining the Biblical texts and the various "systems" of discipline and by developing a theology of discipline and a plan for implementing the theology. The reader should, therefore, understand that such principles will only be successful if they have begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and are actively cultivating the said relationship.

What does the Bible say about discipline?

When the Christian is confronted with a conflict or a problem he ought first to ask of himself, "what does the Bible say?" It is in knowing what the Bible says that one can accurately know what God says and wants His people to know about life and its challenges. In order to know what the Bible says about discipline, one will need to know what the Bible says about parents, children, obedience, and discipline.

Family: Parents and Children

The Bible, within its first chapters, begins to describe the Biblical home and its structure. Genesis 2:21-25 describes both the creation of woman and the creation of the marriage bond and family life. The section follows an explanation of Adam's work upon the earth. Adam has just finished investigating and naming the creatures that God had created. Adam obviously was not of caveman-like intelligence, as evolution would suggest, but he intuitively knew and questioned why God had not presented him with his help-meet. Adam here realized, as Moses explains, that he was incomplete even within his sinless state.

God presented this situation to make a point to all mankind regarding the importance of the marriage bond and its supportive nature. This is evidenced within verse 24, as noted by David McCloud; the verse acts as a parenthetical remark and, therefore, is applicable to every marriage. This parenthetical remark delineates that marriage and the family is an "exclusive," "permanent," "God-sealed relationship." The family is here laid out as the institute through which God desires for man to live and interact with God.

Furthermore, God has ordained that the focal point of the family ought to be the father and mother. Within the marriage bond, the husband has been ordained by God to be the head of the home, but the woman is to be the help-meet who has near equal authority and input into the decisions and discipline of the home. This is evidenced in passages such as Genesis 2:15, 20; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 13; 14:34-35; Ephesians 5:21, 22, 24; Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:11–14; 3:4-5; and Titus 2:5. All of these above passages outline a number of key principles for the family relationship. First, the husband is the one whom God views as ultimately responsible for the decisions of the family. Men, especially those desiring an office in the church, are expected to exercise their authority over the family "well." Second, wives are viewed as those who should submit to their husbands, yet they are to be respected, loved, and appreciated. The wife is not one who should simply follow orders but is one who should be allowed to participate in the ordering of the home. Both husband and wife ought, therefore, to rule over their home well and set forth guiding principles for the children. Clearly Scripture emphasizes the importance of a proper husband and wife relationship in the disciplining of children.

In relationship to parental roles, the parents, especially the father, find that his example is to be found in the Lord. This is especially evidenced in Ephesians 3:14-15 where Paul explains that all families ultimately derive their names from God the Father. "God is the Father of all fatherhood. The very idea of fatherhood is found in the divine nature. Every human father is an imperfect reflection of our perfect heavenly Father." Truly the Bible proclaims that the husband and wife ought to look towards God for their direction in the instruction and discipline of their children.

Children, however, are not neglected from being a blessed and intricate part of the family relationship. While Scripture views children to hold a significantly different role from the parents, as will be examined in the section to follow, they are an important and God-given part of the family. Throughout the entirety of the Bible children are viewed as a blessing from the Lord. Gen. 1:27–28 contains God's instruction to Adam and Eve that they are now blessed of God and that they should be fruitful and multiply. Psalms contains a great wealth of information regarding the value of children, in passages such as Psalms 113:9; 127:3-5; and 139: 13-15. These passages in Psalms proclaim how that children are both a blessing from the Lord and how that God has intricately made them from their very conception. Mark 10:14 is of special importance to the relevance and importance of the spirituality of children. Within Mark 10:14 we hear the words of Jesus saying "suffer the little children to come unto me." Clearly Jesus noted and valued children and their ability to understand spiritual things.

Obedience, Discipline, and Discipleship

Though children are to be viewed as a blessing from God and as able to participate in spiritual things, they should not be viewed as equals or as more important members than that of the father and mother. The Scriptural priority lies with that of husband and wife as being the most important relationship of the family. God desires that the husband and wife live in harmony with one another, but God also clearly desires that children live in harmony with their parents. Childhood should be a time of great joy for both parent and child. In today's culture child-rearing has become more of a necessary evil than a "necessary good." Parents and children fight and bicker, each vying for the control of the other. It is society's rejection of God's plan which has led to much of the strife and contention among today's families.

The first step to understand God's plan for anything is to understand God's simple commands regarding life. In regards to the family and children, God's simple plan is that children are to obey their father and mother. This simple command is found throughout Scripture, though it is specifically stated in Exodus 12:20; Deuteronomy 5:16; Ephesians 6:1-2; and Colossians 3:20. The Lord obviously desires that children be able to comprehend such passages, as each passage proclaims a clear and simple reason for why children ought to obey: "for this is right." "This is the motivation for children to obey their parents. It is the right thing to do before the Lord."

Though the child's role is simple, the parents have been given a much greater responsibility. God's simple plan for parents is that they act as disciplers of their children. The parents are those who are to bring up their children in the way of the Lord. Discipline is a necessary part of every family, yet it includes much more than mere punishment. Biblical discipline includes the teaching and correction of children. To be a parent one must also be a counselor.

In fact, the Hebrew word מוּסר musar, commonly translated as "discipline" in the OT, has a wide range of meanings that suggests various levels of discipline, including on one end of the spectrum "teaching or instruction" (Prov 1:2, 3, 7; 4:13), then progressing to "exhortation or warning" (Ezek 5:15; Job 20:3), and climaxing with "discipline or chastening" (Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13).

Throughout the Bible, parents are told that they should be raising children who know and understand the commandments of God. The Bible begins to describe that parents ought to teach their children things of the Lord in passages such as Deuteronomy 4:10; 6:7, 10-25; and 11:19. These passages sight that the curiosity of children ought to be an impetuous to learning the Lord's Word and that at every step of the day parents ought to be instructing their children.

Proverbs also describes numerous times that a parent ought first to be a discipler of their children. Proverbs 1:8-9 and 22:6 describe how that a wise child will hear the instruction of their parents and will not forsake to follow those instructions. These passages proclaim that the son who pursues the instruction of his mother and father will be greatly blessed. Furthermore, Proverbs 22:6 exhorts parents not to neglect the teaching and educating of their children in the way of the Lord. These passages proclaim the value of parental discipleship.

Unfortunately all of humanity possesses a sin nature which complicates the following of God's plan. Psalm 51:5 and Proverbs 22:15 describe how that both sinfulness and foolishness are a part of the very nature of children. For this reason it is necessary that parents discipline their children. Hebrews 12:7-10 describes how that parental discipline is more excellently described and accomplished by God.

Parental discipline is modeled after the way God disciplines His adopted children. If you want to know what it means to be a good father, it is essential that you look at the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. How does He relate with His only begotten Son? How does He deal with His adopted children?

What does the Bible teach regarding discipline? Does the Bible teach that Christian parents ought to spank their children? A proper understanding of passages such as Proverbs 13:24; 22:15; and 23:13-14 advocate that corporeal discipline is a necessity of proper discipline. Though some would teach that such passages are only advocating the necessity of discipline, inerrancy and a literal interpretation of Scripture require that one understand these to be teachings regarding one proper method of discipline, namely corporeal punishment through spanking. Furthermore, the Bible describes how that the Lord "chastens" His own children in passages such as Proverbs 3:11; 1 Corinthians 5; Hebrews 12:5; and Revelation 3:19. 1 Corinthians 5:5 describes how that a church is to hand one over to Satan should he refuse to submit to the discipline of the church. Clearly Scripture delineates a need for discipline, and that discipline may not always be a pleasant experience. A wise parent will gently use many forms of Scriptural discipline, realizing that a child would be better off learning now then he would as an adult.

Advocated Means of Discipline

Perhaps the most difficult means of parenting is in choosing the proper way in which children are to be disciplined. Within both evangelicalism, religion, and the world there is a vast array of advice vying for the attention of today's parents. Advice ranges from those holding that there should be absolutely no spanking of children to some who advocate that spanking is the only form of discipline one should employ. Which ever method of discipline parents choose to use, they must first realize that the mother and father have a Biblical responsibility to agree to support one another in their decisions to discipline.

The parents must also understand that in any form of discipline the safety and concern for their child should never be neglected. If scholarship agrees in anything, it is that when parents become overly aggressive and angry with their children they are more prone to abuse their children rather than merely disciplining their children. Parents must decide that they will not discipline out of anger before they ever encounter a discipline situation.

Opponents to spanking outline a number of studies and concepts which they believe clearly show that spanking is detrimental to the overall development and well-being of a child. It is both helpful and necessary that one consider such worldly insights, keeping in mind the Biblical commands, before agreeing upon a disciplinary plan. Opponents of spanking mention, first of all, that spanking is ineffective at achieving long term behavioral change in the life of the child. Most sources sight that spanking is very effective at changing short-term behaviors in children. The Christian should take this into consideration when spanking a child. The Bible does not teach Christians that one should merely spank their child without instruction or direction. In the studies noted, none of them mention whether a child was confronted with any form of Scriptural or non-Scriptural teaching concerning the wrong committed. The Christian would be wise to realize that spanking is not enough to evoke change in the child but that wise counsel is also needed.

Opponents to spanking note that spanking could trigger criminal or anti-social behavior simply because abusive situations have been proven to cause such behavior. This premise is truly mere speculation on the part of anti-spanking advocates. Some advocates note studies that appear to show that spanking produces children who have a higher likelihood of exhibiting depressive or psychological problems. However, this too should be viewed with the consideration that the study groups of such studies do not include only those who discipline according to the Biblical command. One could expect that mere punishment without counsel could lead to such problems.

Some also point out the possibility or tendency of some to allow spanking to escalate into abuse. They note that if one gets hit in an ear an eardrum could burst or if someone is hit too hard near a bone or muscle serious muscle problems could result. However, these ideas and studies should encourage the Christian to act properly, rather than to abandon certain disciplinary techniques all together.

Opponents of spanking do promote a number of disciplinary plans, steps, and techniques which are valuable. They note that parents should first be committed to discipline. Parents cannot simply discipline when they feel like it, but they should be consistent in their actions to their child. Parents also should be realistic in their expectations of the child. Parents should try to understand what their child is doing by trying to see things through the eyes of their child. Some techniques that are promoted are positive reinforcement, redirecting the child to appropriate behavior, verbal instruction, time-outs, the establishment of specific rules, grounding, and the withholding of privileges. All of these ideas are valuable and have their place.

Most proponents of spanking note that spanking is not an end-all. Other techniques and guideline must be established in order to produce Christ-like behavior in children. Dr. James Dobson notes six guidelines to discipline throughout many of his books on the subject. He notes that parents should "define boundaries before they are enforced," "when defiantly challenged respond with confident decisiveness," "distinguish between willful defiance and childish irresponsibility," "reassure and teach after the confrontation," "avoid impossible demands," and "let love be your guide." These guidelines also are valuable when considering an adequate method of discipline.

A Suggested Biblical Method of Discipline

A Biblical method of discipline will take into consideration as much information as possible when making a determination as to the rearing of a child. Christians ought to be the most learned people on all topics of life, as we ought to consider all of our actions carefully in seeking to honor the Lord. The following are, therefore, suggested as guidelines for Biblical discipline:

1. The Christian couple must make their marriage relationship the primary and most important relationship of the family. A couple committed to marriage will likely be more successful parents.
   
2. The Christian couple ought to consider and seek wise counsel in regards to the discipline of their children. A couple would be wise to lay out their methods of discipline before marriage and more seriously before the delivery of the child.
   
3. A wise couple will talk constantly in consideration of their child's actions, always seeking to revise and improve their disciplinary methods for their child.
   
4. Parents must determine the boundaries of appropriate discipline and make plans to protect themselves from anger and violence.
   
5. Christian couples should realize that children often make mistakes. Parents should be willing to recognize that not every mistake must be punished but that every mistake should be confronted with loving counsel.
   
6. Parents should develop a system of discipline that considers the Word of the Lord.
   
7. The Christian couple ought always to realize that their disciplinary strategy must be made, and consistently enacted, in love.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Colijn, Brenda B. "Family in the Bible: A Brief Survey." Ashland Theological Journal 36 (2004): 73-84.

Dobson, James. The Strong-Willed Child. Wheaton: Tyndale, 1978.

Hoehner, Harold W. Ephesians: And Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002.

McCloud, David J. "The Problem of Divorce, Part 2." Emmaus Journal 2 (1993): 23-42.

McGraw, Phil. "Age-Appropriate Discipline Techniques." http://www.drphil.com/articles/249/ (April 27, 2007).

________. "Five Steps to Disciplining Your Kids." http://www.drphil.com/articles/248/ (April 27, 2007).

________. "Spanking Research." http://www.drphil.com/articles/256/ (April 27, 2007).

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. "Child Corporal Punishment: Spanking, The Anti-spanking Position,"August 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin4.htm (April 27, 2007).

Stitzinger, Michael F. "Genesis 1-3 and the Male/Female Role Relationship." Grace Theological Journal 2 (1981): 23-44.

Wegner, David. "Reflection on Fatherhood." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 3 (1998).

Wegner, Paul D. "Discipline in the Book of Proverbs: 'To Spank or not to Spank?'" Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48 (2005): 715-732.

Congrats to Jon and the blessings of God

Well, for those that do read this blog, you should make it a point to congratulate Jon. He's now graduated with his Master's from MBBC. He has a Master's degree before I've even completed my undergrad (given we came in together as Freshmen, this is quite hilarious to us all of us here). :-)

During Memorial Day weekend, Jon and his wife moved to MN, where he will be attending Seminary at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Needless to say, I'm excited as his friend to see how God is going to use this next step of training in his future ministry. His aunt and uncle came over Friday morning to help us load up the truck. They've moved a few times over the years, and their experience was very helpful in making sure that we had everything packed in the truck nicely. Loading up the truck took us just under 2.5 hours. They were a great help in the process.

Mutual friends of ours who live in the apartment above Jon and his wife drove over with us to MN to help them move in, also. It was great being able to spend some time with Aaron and his wife. I haven't been able to talk with Aaron to any great depth at all in at least a year, so it was good to catch back up with him and hear about some of what God is doing in his life.

The traveling was safe. The only complaint to be had was that the cruise control on the moving truck didn't work. Otherwise, situation normal the whole way there. Certainly, this was not to be taken for granted.

We got there about an hour or so before some people were supposed to arrive from the Seminary to help us move them in. I was expecting maybe 3 or so more people to show up. Thanks to Pastor Gottzman (Jon's youth pastor back when he was a little tike) and his family, as well as the Bauders (yes, as in THE Bauders, at least his wife and their son were able to make it that afternoon, which was really cool meeting them for the first time), the Browns (Dr. Brown, if I remember rightly, teaches the practical theology classes), and the Kings, as well as a student from the Seminary named Chris, all came to help. The truck was unloaded efficiently in no more than 30 minutes. Thanks to everyone for all the help!

Last, but certainly not least, Jon's wife's best friend was there also (she and her mother attend Fourth Baptist) to help unpack (and she brought items to make rootbeer floats as refreshment was desperately needed while we unpacked). Mrs. Gottzman and one of their daughters (who attends MBBC, also) also stayed to help unpack. Jon, Aaron, and I took care of trying to get all the furniture in place, which was fun working around all the boxes. lol In all seriousness, it was a blast helping them move in. Tiring, but way better than a normal day's work!

I stayed with a family from Fourth Baptist in the evening (there was no room in the "inn"; there was barely room for the air mattress that Aaron and his wife used, from what I heard and saw the next day). The Steeles were a lot of fun getting to know. If the Symphonic Band ever goes to Fourth again before I graduate and I get to somehow pick who I can stay with, it will be a hard choice between either them or the Mohanani's. Also, thanks to Ben (a Seminary student that Jon met while on a mission's trip to Nova Scotia several years ago) and his wife for opening up their apartment to us and providing Papa Murphey's for us for dinner.

Sunday morning, we were unable to get directions to the church that Jon wanted to go to, but that was all right, because despite it's size, Fourth Baptist is one of the friendliest churches I have ever been in (Aaron and his wife drove home Sunday morning so they could be back for services here. As I didn't hear otherwise, I would assume that they were provided with uneventful travels on the way back). We were invited over for lunch with Jon's wife's friend and her mom. The chicken was very good, and I don't remember the recipe for the coleslaw, but that's some of the only coleslaw I've ever had that I liked! After lunch, we did some shopping to get a few items for the apartment, and then returned thinking about getting a small nap before church. Instead, we got right back to unpacking. Evening service at Fourth Baptist was good, also. The Bauders invited us over for ice cream afterwards, but due to tiredness and a desire to finish unpacking the 5 or so boxes that were left, we had to decline (If you're in town, I do hope to take you up on that the next time I visit, though!). When we went to bed in the evening, they were unpacked. A few items needed to be moved around before Jon and his wife would be thoroughly satisfied with their placements, but it was good enough. They had no unpacking to look forward to when they came back once his wife was done teaching.

Monday, we finished moving a few things around and drove back home. It was a gorgeous day for driving and once again, God provided us with safety coming back.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Thanks guys for letting me tag along to help you move. I only wish I could've had some time to spend with you guys during this year that I was out of school. I will definitely have to make it a point to come and visit you (during the summers while you're not taking classes, of course). ;-)

God is good all the time. This weekend it was VERY easy to see that. Sorry for no pictures, neither of us thought to bring our cameras along (well, Jon's was there, but packed...somewhere). Hopefully we'll get some shots once they've completely moved in and gotten stuff hung up.

Ten Thousand Angels

Ten Thousand Angels- Ray Overholt


They bound the hands of Jesus
in the garden where he prayed
They led Him thro' the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Savior
so pure and free from sin.
They said crucify Him;
He's to blame.

He could have called ten thousand angels
to destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels,
but He died alone for you and me.

Upon His precious head
they placed a crown of thorns;
They laughed and said "Behold the King!"
They struck Him and tey cursed Him
and mocked His Holy Name.
All alone He suffered everything.

He could have called ten thousand angels
to destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels,
but He died alone for you and me.

When they nailed Him to the cross,
His mother stood nearby
He said, "Woman, behold thy son!"
He cried, "I thirst for water,"
but they gave Him none to drink.
Then the sinful work of man was done.

He could have called ten thousand angels
to destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels,
but He died alone for you and me.

To the howling mob He yielded;
He did not for mercy cry.
The cross of shame He took alone.
And when He cried, "It's finished,"
He gave Himself to die.
Salvations wondrous plan was done.

He could have called ten thousand angels
to destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels,
but He died alone for you and me.

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"- Matthew 27:46
"I will never leave you, nor forsake you."- Hebrews 13:6

God is good, amen?

If You Do Not Believe, You Will Not Last

If You Do Not Believe, You Will Not Last

Check out this post from the Desiring God blog. Reminded me of the message I heard at my church yesterday, "Death Before Disobedience."

Dating Game- How to Date After the Vows

The Dating Game: How to Date after the vows

I found this article on the MBBC website in our new edition of Sunesis. This is a good article for those looking forward to marriage and especially for those who are married. Enjoy!

Don't Waste Your Life!

Don't Waste Your Life is a book I've been wanting to read by John Piper for quite a long time. Among other books of his, you'll find a link to the book here. Also, I highly recommend that you read and/or listen to his sermon with the same title.

Just Making Up Faith as We Go Along

Yeah, that's what Steve Camp thought about a new conference that's being held in the Dallas area soon. He had some pretty harsh, and true words to say about this so called spiritual leadership conference. Read what his blog has to say about the "Creative Church Conference" or C3 at Camp On This.

Sermon on Leadership

So, I was browsing the MBBC online Sermon Library a couple of weeks back, and- lo and behold! I found a message from my good and friend and your's, Jon Wass (aka- the head author of this blog). Check out this link to listen to and/or download the sermon on Leadership from Ezekiel 34:1-10.

Feeding the Flesh

Joshua Harris examines Romans 13:14 with practical applications for the Christian who desires to overcome sin in his or her life.

Feeding the Flesh

Desiring God Pastors Conference

For any and all interested, the Desiring God Pastor's Conference is now entirely posted online. Transcripts and online listening are all available in one convenient list on the Desiring God blog at:

Pastor's Conference Recap

When Hearts are Better Than Heads

Check out this blog post Noah found. It has some great content and devotional thoughts.

"When Hearts Are Better than Heads, and Vice Versa."

Change of Address

Noah and I will likely be moving our blog from http://metamorpho.blogsome.com to this blog. Although we may move some of the old posts from the old Metamorpho to the new Metamorpho we likely will leave most of the old posts on the old site for now.

For anyone who has read any of our stuff from the old site you are probably well aware of the problems we had at the old site. The old site was difficult to customize and had a few glitches. Some of the "junk links" would cover up our posting history and made the site unattractive. Although we liked our customized graphics, we simply could not put up with the dysfunctionality of the site. Hopefully blogger will be more user and designer friendly.

Born to Die

Perhaps, this post may sound a bit cliche, but I cannot escape this thought at the moment as I look back on what Christ did for me and all those who have believed on His Name, and even those who have yet to do so.

In my online journeys (and at work), I have encountered many people who either are asking about the true meaning of Christmas, or have given up on it all together. The latter of those two groups simply see Christmas as yet another day in which capitalism reigns supreme and selfishness seems to be the ultimate motivation for the celebration. Sadly, those of US (I include myself here) in America who claim to represent Biblical Christianity are just as guilty in presenting this selfish picture of Christmas.

However, if we consider what The Bible teaches, we see something very different. We find the true meaning of Christmas. The hymn quoted below summarizes the 4 Gospels best with the line, “Born to die that man might live.” Jesus Christ was born not to be a good example, not to be a great prophet, but He was born so that He might die and pay the price for our sins. Thankfully, it doesn’t end there. He was also born so that He might rise again from the dead, proving that He has the victory over sin, death, and Hell; that He is indeed The Son of God (Romans 1:3-4).

What is your motivation for celebrating The Savior’s birth this year? Is it simply to give presents in the selfish hopes that you’ll get something in return? Or is it to meditate on what your Savior did for you? If this lost world were to view how Christmas was celebrated in your home, would they see selfish capitalism, or would they see Jesus Christ?

“Ring the Bells”
Harry Bollback

Ring the bells! Ring the bells!
Let the whole world know;
Christ was born in Bethlehem;
Many years ago.

Born to die that man might live;
Came to earth new life to give;
Born of Mary born so low;
Many years ago.

God the Father gave His Son;
Gave His Own Beloved One;
To this wicked, sinful earth;
To bring mankind His love, new birth.

Ring the bells! Ring the bells!
Let the whole world know.
Christ the Savior lives today;
As He did so long ago!

In My Weakness

This may sound ridiculously simple, but to me this was a very profound (and greatly encouraging) thought that God has been teaching me this whole semester while I’ve been out of school.

I’ve been meditating on the song, “In My Weakness” (if you don’t know it, listen to Christy Galkin’s CD, which is a Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team CD featuring Christy) and also read the related Scripture passage, 2 Corinthians 12. Normally, when we consider the thought of God’s strength being perfect in our weakness, our first thought is that He is greater than our weaknesses. No doubt, this is certainly true. Our second, and slightly deeper application of this truth is that God is able to overcome our weaknesses and work in our lives in spite of them. I believe this to be the immediate application of the 2 Corinthians 12 passage. However, in the whole context of Scripture, I came to discover and understand for myself an even richer and 3rd application of the truth of how God’s strength is perfect in my weakness. God is not only greater than my weaknesses and able to work in spite of them, but He can make my weaknesses my strengths. How this came to be understood is through a series of events that have happened this semester (which, unfortunately, due to the nature of those events and for the sake of those involved, I cannot give details; but I will suffice to say that they were situations in which I was struggling to “Count it all joy (James 1:2).”) in which I was unable to do anything. In utter complete helplessness, I leaned on Christ to do a work that I knew from the start only He could do, but hoped that He would accomplish through me. My weakness- in this case inability- became a strength- dependance and trust in God. As we consider the lives of men like Peter, Paul, Timothy, and others, we see how God took their weaknesses and made those weaknesses their greatest assets. I think particularly of Peter- the apostle with the foot-shaped mouth- and how God took Peter’s pride of self and turned it into boldness for Christ. God can do this in any and all areas of our lives, and I believe that it is desire to do so, if we will but let Him.

I praise God for allowing the both good and hard circumstances that have come my way. If for nothing else, I praise Him for this because He strengthened my resolve to continue fighting the good fight of faith, and to let God show how He could take my weakest moments in life and make them into my strongest moments.

When living life for Jesus Christ
becomes too hard a task;
When obedience means sacrifice
that seems too much to ask,
that’s when I learn that my own strength
isn’t really strength at all.
And, I find rest in humbleness
when He becomes my all.

In my weakness, He is strong.
In my need, He leads me on.
When I come to the end
of all that I am
and place my trust in Him,
that’s when His strength begins
in my weakness.

When failures in my human strength
have weakened all my pride;
When ruined hopes and fallen dreams
have crumbled me inside,
that’s when I learn to finally see
the strength of Jesus Christ.
It’s then I see His strength in me,
when weakness fills my life.

In my weakness, He is strong.
In my need, He leads me on.
When I come to the end
of all that I am
and place my trust in Him,
that’s when His strength begins
in my weakness.

In my weakness,
He is strong

God's Blessings

In my most recent post, I made mention of the fact that I’ve been working 40-50+ hours a week. While I haven’t been in school, I’ve been in a bit of a quandry. As many of you that read this blog know, I am a Music Education major with my proficiency on bassoon (and I even look kind of like my instrument…or so I’m told). For the 4 1/2 years that I’ve been playing bassoon, I have been using the school’s instrument. However, now that I’m not a student, I haven’t been able to practice (part of it is school policy- completely understandable- and part of it is practicality; you can’t have two people playing the same instrument- it just isn’t sanitary!). So, with the hard earned money that I’ve been making, I decided that it was better I try to get my own instrument now, rather than after I’ve finished school. After much searching, I found the answer to my problem right underneath my nose, almost. Where I could not work something out with companies like Woodwinds and Brasswinds and other music companies that sell bassoons to do a rent-to-own on the instrument as I don’t have a credit card or the full amount of the selling price (this was mainly due to the rarity of orders placed on the instrument; unlike saxophones, trumpets, flutes, and clarinets, it’s not every day that someone orders a bassoon), White House of Music was willing to work a deal with me where I could go on their Pro-Lease plan (a rent-to-own program where a student can rent a professional level instrument while making monthly payments on the instrument). Because of the nature of the instrument, I was asked to put a $1,300 down payment on the bassoon before they could order it. Two weeks after we had talked about it, I had the money for them (and enough to continue covering my own expenses). For the last month, though, it was a struggle to decide which bassoon I actually wanted to go with. Once I was able to talk to my teacher about it, the answer became simple. So, two weeks ago, I placed the order. I wasn’t supposed to get the bassoon until January. However, Friday, White House of Music gave me a call and told me that they had the bassoon for me, ready to go; all I had to do was come in and fill out the paper work. What you see below is a bassoon that is worth $9,100 (list price). I’m getting it for $5,800. ISN’T GOD GOOD?! If I had been in school, I am convinced I would’ve never been able to own an instrument like this. It is a Fox Renard 220, and after having played on it since Sunday, I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking to get a nice bassoon. Well, here’s some pictures of it. Amazing how I took for granted the ability to practice. Enjoy sharing with me in God’s blessing!

Spiritual Leadership Conference

You will notice a huge gap in our blogging. This is mainly because of my working 40-50 hours a week (Sorry, but Sunday School and Wednesday nights are kind of priority over this :-) ) and Jon’s trying to complete a lot of grad work this semester. Pray for both of us as we are involved in ministries in our respective churches and desire to be used of God to see souls saved, and believers discipled and built up in the faith.



Saturday, a good friend from school (he also goes to my church on extension) and I both got up incredibly early so that we could go down from Watertown, WI to Bethel Baptist Church’s first Spiritual Leadership Conference. With speakers lined up such as Rand Hummel (The WILDS), Dr. Chuck Phelps (Trinity Baptist Church; Concord, NH), Dr. Sam Horn (Brookside Baptist Church; Brookfield, WI), and many others from around the area and Bethel Baptist’s own church staff, we were very excited about the prospect of getting to be in a conference where we could sit under the teaching of men of God who have labored for many years within Baptist Fundamentalism and have had very successful ministries as they have labored in love for their congregations.

The opening general session was preached by Dr. Chuck Phelps. He preached about a Worry-filled life or a Word-filled life. This was an excellent message to hear about the sin of worry/ anxiety. Not only did he rehearse all that I had read in the past from MacArthur’s book, Anxiety Attacked, but he also brought to light some passages that illustrated these truths for us from the Gospel of John.

The first workshop we went to was titled, “Public school, Christian school, or Home school- Which is right?” I very much appreciated Dr. Phelps’ presentation on the need for Christian schools, not as reformers for those who’ve been kicked out of public schools or other Christian schools, but rather as a tool to help build up a local church as an aid to the parents, not the end all raising of the children for the parents. I very much appreciated how he shared with us how their Christian school was run, as well as the dynamic of having over 200 Christian school children, about 60 children in public schools, and about 60 children that were homeschooled. To keep such things harmonious within a church’s youth group, he shared some things that I thought were incredibly helpful. The first thing he shared was the youth pastor was not involved in any of the discipline that took place within the Christian school. For some, this may sound like a radical idea, but I appreciated the wisdom in this as it keeps the youth pastor with a “white hat” so to speak whenever the children see him. Though he might be informed about discipline matters, when the kids come to youth group on Wednesday night or sit in his Sunday School class, there is no need for a child to worry about whether or not the youth pastor’s view of him or her is skewed by his involvement with discipline that was needed for the child. One other thing I liked was that he said that in church, he doesn’t push any of the activities of the Christian school. He only announces activities for the Christian school twice a year- Free Day Trial (where parents and children who do not attend are allowed to sit in on classes and see what the school is like) and graduation. Otherwise, he leaves it up the Parent/Teacher/ Student bulletins that those involved in the Christian school get every Friday to take care of Christian school activity announcements. One last thing he does, demonstrating the importance of the church’s youth pastor, is that the youth pastor is in charge of the church/ school calendar. So, if a sports event is submitted on a day when the youth pastor is wanting to plan a retreat for the kids, he wins out EVERY TIME. At first I thought that perhaps this was bad as someone could very much abuse it, but any privlege can be abused, if not careful. This would certainly be best for a church with the schooled dynamics that they have so that the youth pastor isn’t wondering how many of the youth group might be able to attend something due to a sporting event, etc.

The second workshop that we went to was done by one of the pastors at Bethel Baptist Church who oversees much of the counseling ministry that the church has. The workshop was titled “The ABC’s of Counseling.” This was very helpful to me as it helped me to see some ways that I could improve my counseling ministry with the teens at my church and stay focused on the things that really matter in counseling situations.

Lunch was excellent. With a giant tortilla on the plate, we were able to design our own wraps with the various meats and lettuce, cheeses, and other toppings to our own liking.

After lunch, was the third workshop time, in which we went to hear about a ministry called “Reformer’s Unanimous”, which is headed up by a man named Steve Currington. His testimony is phenominal in how the Lord took him out of a life of alcohol dependancy and gave him a ministry in helping unsaved people break addictive problems and Christians break “stubborn habits” (”Afterall,” he sarcastically stated, “Christians don’t have addictions, do we? We have what we prefer to call ’stubborn habits,’ which are really just various forms of other addictions.”). He shared with us the ten biblical principles that his ministry uses in helping to break sinful addictions and “stubborn” habits.

After this workshop, we got to hear Dr. Sam Horn exposite the word on the subject of Grace and how Grace is not a liberty for sinful living, but a liberty for godly living.

All in all, I can’t wait to go down there again next year. It was too bad that my pastor and his son were unable to go down with us as my pastor was in need for a funeral service on Saturday. However, I’m looking forward, Lord willing, to being able to go down with them next year. Hopefully, they will keep this conference open and unthemed, just letting each of the men involved in the speaking taking what God lays on their hearts to help those of us who are lay leaders in ministry.

Separation: A Fundamental?

Dr. Kevin Bauder, of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote on this subject in this week's "In the Nick of Time" Newsletter. If you didn't receive this, here is the link to it on Sharper Iron. There have been many discussions here in the dorms at MBBC about this subject, and I bet it's probably discussed at the other Bible colleges, as well. Thanks Dr. Bauder for presenting this article on how biblical seperation is a proper response to those who reject the fundamentals of the faith.

This will be my last post for the week now that Fine Arts Camp is officially in session.

Psalm 40

This afternoon and evening we had our training for Fine Arts Camp at Maranatha Baptist Bible College.

This afternoon we were taught biblical truths on how to deal with conflict. Galatians 6:1-10 kept coming to mind over and over again as I consider our motives for confrontation. The motive is always in love, humility, and truth.

However, most needed was a short devotional after dinner from Psalm 40 by Dr. David Ledgerwood, the chair of the Fine Arts Department (after church here in town tonight, we went to the Ledgerwoods for dinner). I’ll be honest, I wish I’d had my computer and microphone with me so that I could’ve recorded his comments, but this one sticks out in my mind the most as this has always been my take on Camp Ministry (he has expressed this every year since he started heading up Fine Arts Camp 3 years ago, but it was refreshing to hear it again):

“Though, yes, we want each of the campers to walk away from this camp being better trained and more able to play and perform on their instruments, that isn’t what this camp is all about. This camp is about seeing lives changed for Jesus Christ. This camp is about seeing campers wholly surrender their hearts and their lives to Jesus Christ one step at a time and you [the counselors] being used by God to help them make that step.”
- Dr. David Ledgerwood

Please pray for us and the 90 campers who will be here this week studying instrumental, strings, voice, and speech & drama. Pray that:
1) Every camper would walk away knowing for sure that they will spend eternity in heaven with God as their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, indeed.
2) That every camper would surrender some area of change that needs to be made wholly and completely to God and let Him work in that area of their lives.
3) That every counselor would surrender their lives to wholly loving and serving God with all their hearts, that they might be clean and unblocked channels to be used by God this week of camp.

I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.
How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.
Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”
I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, You know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.
You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me.
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; Make haste, O LORD, to help me.
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together Who seek my life to destroy it; Let those be turned back and dishonored Who delight in my hurt.
Let those be appalled because of their shame Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!”
Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.
- Psalm 40:1-17 NASB