SBC

Let’s Reach California

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We have several critical board openings in our California SBC state convention. These include:

  • Committee on Convention Operations (program committee). This committee wins the prize for coolest nickname — COCO.
  • Committee on Board Nominations (nominates people to serve on the boards of California Baptist University, California Baptist Foundation, and the CSBC Executive Board)
  • Committee on Resolutions, Credentials and Membership (which deals with resolutions and reviews church applications for membership)

While these committees may sound “bureaucratic” in nature, think of it as democracy at work.

Congregationalism (local church autonomy with some level of authority vested in the individual members) is a long-standing distinctive of Baptist life. But the only way congregational churches can partner together on mission is if the churches themselves send delegates to make decisions on behalf of the whole.

Functionally, our convention is divided into nine geographic areas.

All nine of these regions must be represented on every committee. Just like our country’s electoral college, this ensures that both high and low population areas will have representation. But it creates a problem when we can’t find enough qualified individuals to serve, especially from our more rural areas.

The CSBC has immediate vacancies in regions 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9. It won’t be long before the other regions have vacancies too.

If you are a member of a Southern Baptist Church in California, and have a heart to spread the gospel and establish more healthy churches in California, you should consider serving on a board.

Pastors fill many of these positions, but the committees are not made up exclusively of pastors. In fact, at least three members of each committee must be laypersons.

I’d be happy to get some of you started on the nomination process. Just email or Facebook me with the following info:

Your full name
Address
Phone
Email
Occupation
Name of church
Your role/title at church
Why you want to serve
Skills and experience that would qualify you to serve

Please note, not everyone who is nominated will be asked to serve. That’s up to the Committee on Committees. But your nomination form will be held for at least three years for future consideration, and can always be submitted later.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Writing

Are Blogs Disposable Media?

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I first began blogging with Myspace, then migrated to Google Blogger, and eventually here at WordPress. I’ve always enjoyed this medium, and have been blessed by power bloggers such as Tim Challies and Justin Taylor. I’ve also had some great conversations with friends right here on this blog. But I think my greatest roadblock to blogging more frequently is that I’m afraid it might not be polished enough.

I wonder if this fear runs against the very purpose of a blog (web log), which according to Google, is “A regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.”

My creative side wants to blog more, but my perfectionist side wants to polish a post so much that, frankly, I don’t end up blogging very often. Would I write more if I was less concerned about polish?

Last October, I attended a technology seminar by Carlos Whittaker at the CSBC who described social media phenomena such as Instagram and Snapchat as “disposable media.” They are like styrofoam cups, which were never intended to be kept, but rather were designed to be consumed, then thrown away.

Instagram and Snapchat are certainly different media than a blog, which is a more permanent record stored somewhere out there in the world wide web. Nevertheless, a blog is still meant to be different from a book or periodical. Now, some bloggers are professional writers and their blogs are full blown websites. But for most of us, blogs are meant to be just plain, ordinary journals, with nothing particularly power or profound. If I’m not mistaken, they are supposed to be instant and disposable. Or as Google says in the definition above, “informal or conversational.”

And I think that’s where I’ve gone wrong. I’ve treated a blog too much like a formal publication, rather than disposable media. In today’s post, I limited myself to writing this post in just ten minutes, then going back and editing it for another ten minutes.

I wonder, is it better to write better, content-rich posts less frequently (more like an article)? Or rougher, stream-of-consciousness style posts more frequently (more like a journal)? I suppose it depends on the author and his or her industry or platform. But for most of us, blogging should represent quick thoughts from the heart. I’ll see if I can do a better job in the year ahead.

So now, even though I could no doubt do more to editing, expanding, and refining, I’m going to click “publish” on this post. Let’s take this thing live…

Theology

Top Reasons for (and Against) Premillennialism

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Yesterday during the sermon, I shared why I am still convinced premillennialism is the best understanding of our Christian hope.

Here are what I consider the most persuasive arguments both for and against premillennialism. What would you add to the list? Which of these do you find most or least convincing?

Arguments for Premillennialism:

*The irrevocable nature of the Abrahamic & Davidic Covenants (Gen. 12; 15; 2 Sam. 7; Jer. 31:35-37)
*Timeline of Daniel’s 70 weeks (Daniel 9:24-27 )
*Consistent Judgment/Restoration Theme of Israel in OT prophets
*Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutic – The key is authorial intent. What did the original author intend his audience to understand?
*Progressive Revelation – the proper reading of scripture is from “left to right,” not “right to left.” Although we see further explanation and application in the NT, the person and work of Christ should not be imposed back onto the OT using a Christological hermeneutic that supplants the original reading of the text
*Romans 9-11 – God is not done with ethnic Israel, the original recipients of the Abrahamic covenant. A partial hardening of Israel has occurred until the fullness of Gentiles come in
*Jesus speaks of a destruction of Jerusalem but also a subsequent rebuilding after “the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24)
*The Church (one people of God composed of both Jew and Gentile) is a “mystery” phase of the kingdom previously unrevealed in Scripture (Eph. 3:9-11)
*Kingdom Motif in Scripture – Messiah will reign over this present earth in peace and righteousness
*Satan as present ruler of this world – he will not be bound until millennium (Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 2:2)
*Book of Revelation – speaks of future things (Rev. 4:1) and makes good sense when interpreted at face value, with a consistent grammatical-historical hermeneutic while still taking into consideration its apocalyptic form
*Christians will be spared from God’s wrath – this includes escape from the Great Tribulation (Rom. 8:1; Jn. 5:24; Rev. 3:10; 4:4)
*The two-phase advent of Christ shows it is possible to have a two-phase parousia (appearance and second coming of Christ)
*Harmonizing all NT passages on kingdom, resurrection, judgment, Christ’s return points to a two-phase return and multiple judgments.
*Bible foresees a period when Messiah and resurrected saints will rule in a world where sin/death still exist (preceding the eternal state) (Isaiah 11)
*Church History – Many of the Early Church Fathers expected Christ to return and reign for 1,000 years. It was not until the allegorical method of interpretation took hold of the church that a millennial hope was lost or re-defined.
*God’s providential (even miraculous) preservation of the people of Israel since the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 and recent return to the land is one of the great historical wonders of the world. Could it be God is even now preparing Israel for Jacob’s Trouble followed by a glorious restoration (Jer. 30:7)?

Arguments against Premillennialism :

(Obviously, I disagree with these points and can offer rebuttals to each. But I’ve have heard many of these arguments and find them at least worth considering.)

*The appeal of a simple eschatological system – one return, one resurrection, one judgment
*All remaining kingdom promises could be fulfilled in the new heavens and new earth
*NT Use of OT – spiritual/typological/Christological fulfillment of OT promises
*”My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36)
*”The Kingdom of God is at hand, in your midst” (Mark 1:15)
*Curse of fig tree represents judgment on Israel (Mark 11:12-14)
*No clear evidence for a rapture
*Church is equated with “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16)
*The Millennium is only mentioned one chapter in the Bible (this one really irks me!)
*Two different “brides” of God/Christ? (Eph. 6)
*Return to Judaism would be a huge step backward
*Dispensationalism is a recent development/aberration in church history

Suffering

Are You Prepared for the Next Earthquake?

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Are you prepared for the next earthquake, or other natural disaster?

Yesterday morning, I attended an emergency preparedness workshop at our local Community Center. About forty leaders from local churches and non profits came together to learn how we can partner in time of disaster.

Whether an earthquake, flood, fire, or terrorist attack, there’s a good chance we’ll face at least one major disaster in our lifetime. God doesn’t want us to panic, but he does want us to prepare. (Remember how Joseph prepared Egypt for a devastating 7-year famine).

A few of our church members were around back in 1992 for the Landers earthquake, a magnitude 7.3. To this day, you can see where the earth shifted along Reche Rd. If an event of this scale (or larger) ever struck in a more urban area of Southern California in the middle of the day, it could result in thousands of lost lives; downed power, gas, and water lines; crippled freeways and railways; lost communication; and billions of dollars in damage. The high desert could be isolated for days, or even weeks.

Yesterday, Cheryl Nagy from the San Bernardino County Fire/Office of Emergency Services visited Yucca Valley and gave an excellent presentation. It was just an introduction, but she conveyed the importance of emergency preparedness, and the benefits of creating a local network here in the Morongo Basin. We learned about the four phases of an Emergency: Prepare, Respond, Recover, and Mitigate. It was the first of what we hope will become a basin-wide movement to prepare for disaster.

What can you do? Well, as the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If you don’t have one already, please create a 72 hour Emergency Kit for your family. Start stocking basic supplies over the next couple months, and keep a small kit in your car. Here is a sample list and downloadable checklist from FEMA. Lord willing, you’ll never need it. But better to be prepared, than to suddenly realize it’s too late.

You should also consider adding earthquake coverage to your Homeowner’s Insurance policy. My family had been without earthquake insurance for years. But after taking Dave Ramsey’s course and evaluating our insurance needs, we did some research and discovered a policy with Geico would only set us back about 50 bucks a month.  That’s a small price to pay compared to the risk of bankruptcy in one minute of disaster.

Wow, how’s that for an encouraging post? If I could leave you with one positive thought, it is that God is control — even over natural disasters. Psalm 135:7 says, “He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” God is still personally involved in his creation. No wonder they used to call natural disasters “acts of God.”

Pray for God’s protection, take preventative measures, then live every day as a gift from God, free of worry, knowing God is on his throne!

Photo credit: Brian Lopez

Christian Living

God Has You Right Where He Wants You

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Normally, when we hear the word “contentment,” we immediately think of material wealth. We know we ought to be happy with that rusty car and last year’s cell phone model.

Certainly, God wants us to be grateful for our possessions. But He wants something more. God wants us to be satisfied not only with our stuff, but also with our situation in life — With the unique place He has put us right now. This may be even harder than being content with our stuff.

Are you content in Christ today? Do you recognize you have been treated far better than you deserve? Can you sing with sincerity, “Hallelujah! All I have is Christ! Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!”

In 1 Corinthians 7:17, while discussing marriage, the Apostle Paul makes an incredible statement on contentment: “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.”

Every Christian sovereignly summoned by the will of God has also been sovereignly assigned a unique place to serve. Paul says we have been “assigned” or appointed to this. The Greek word is merizo, meaning to divide into parts, to deal or distribute out. To put it bluntly, God wants us to play the cards we have been dealt.

Just think. The God of the universe ordained you to be exactly where you are at this moment. You aren’t there by accident, or some cruel twist of fate. It may feel at times like life is spinning out of control, or that poor choices drove you to where we are today. But rest assured. Nothing happens by accident! Even Joseph’s years in a filthy dungeon, and Jonah’s three day vacation in the belly of a fish were all part of God’s itinerary.

Pause for a moment and realize that God has sovereignly and lovingly chosen you to be exactly where you are today.

Paul instructs us to be content where we are, and to bloom where we are planted. This is so different from how we usually think. Teenagers look at the opportunities stretched before them and can’t wait to finish high school. Single adults can’t wait to find that special someone and get married. Newlyweds can’t wait to have children. New parents can’t wait for a full night’s sleep. Parents of teenagers can’t wait for some peace and quiet around the home. Empty nesters can’t wait to retire. And then, after all of that looking to the future, senior citizens look back and say, “Oh to be 20 again!” Do you see this vicious cycle? Everybody wants to be someone else, somewhere else, instead of where God has them today.

The Apostle Paul, however, exhorts us to accept our current situation as a gift from God. Instead of looking off to the horizon, we are to be content and thankful for today. We aren’t to compare ourselves to others and think, “Oh, I wish I was there,” or “I wish I had that.”

Paul knows contentment was not an isolated problem in Corinth, so he says, “This is my rule in all the churches” (1 Cor. 7:17). It is a command given to everybody, including us. Just a few verses later, he repeats, “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called” (v. 20). Then again in verse 24, he says, “in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.”

Now, it may be that one day, God will call us to a new situation (e.g. a single person to get married). But we can’t rush God’s timetable or grumble over the lot we’ve been given.

So stop right there. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving and contentment. God has you right where he wants you.

Thoughts on Life and Leadership