Planning Worship – A Time Analysis

May 31, 2008

trebleclefAs an eclectic Christian, I have learned to appreciate several different types of worship. Admittedly most of my exposure has been in the Protestant stream of Christianity, but I still learned to enjoy what I would categorize as Classical, Traditional, and Contemporary worship.

It has also been my privilege to lead worship in a variety of churches, denominations, and para-church settings. I have been doing this for most of the last 27 years. One of the things that I find most important in doing what we do at church, is having a commitment to quality. The things that we are doing we are doing “to the glory of God”. God expects us to do our best at the tasks that he has given us.

For me, this commitment to quality means that on the Sundays that I am leading worship, many hours of preparation would have gone into planning in the previous week. Here is how the breakdown looks. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | music, Uncategorized, worship | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Great Sermons Online – Great Books Too – An Index by Nigel Barham

May 28, 2008

Nigel BarhamNigel Barham has compiled a list of what he believes are some of the best sermons available online.

He has categorized them by Bible Teaching, Missions, Thinking, Evangelism, Revival & Prayer.
While they may not all appeal to you, it will certainly give you a starting point for some great listening.

He has also has a interesting new post on ideas for prayer. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off | books, creative writing, Nigel Barham, prayer, sermons | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Learning from a Papal visit

May 25, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI
A couple of weeks ago my Pastor wrote an excellent post about the recent Papal Visit to the United States. He noted that there were several positive thing that he observed during the visit. Among them he noted that the Pope was theologically engaging, showed humility, denounced evil, encouraged young people to follow Christ, and in his final mass ” much of what the pope said there could just as well have been said by Billy Graham.”

Pastor Dieter also noted that the while the Pope spoke of unity, he spoke of it within the bounds of scripture and tradition.

Catholics believe that the declaration of what is truth and what is correct teaching is a privilege reserved to the “Magisterium” i.e. the teaching authority of the church. In other words , individual catholics do not have the right to decide for themselves what is sound doctrine and what is not. And truth is determined not only from Scripture, but Scripture AND tradition, which takes into account the body of teaching of the church, as handed down from generation to generation. So when the pope says that unity can take place only in the context of truth, the question arises, truth by whose standard?

Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off | Bible, catholic, tradition | Permalink
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What does it mean to have a Jesus shaped spirituality?

May 17, 2008

A.B. Simpson

What does it mean to have a Jesus shaped spirituality?

Albert Benjamin Simpson (1843-1919) the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance was a leader of the church during the early days of the Pentecostal movement. As a result many of the big debates in the church were around the topics of holiness, sanctification, and the charismatic gifts of the Spirit like speaking in tongues or healing. In the middle of those debates he spoke very clearly. The Christian journey is not about seeking after new experiences, it is about seeking Christ “Himself”. Simpson wrote both a sermon and a hymn on the topic. Both are reproduced in their entirety below.

Himself

I wish to speak to you about Jesus, and Jesus only.

I often hear people say, “I wish I could get hold of Divine Healing, but I cannot.”

Sometimes they say, “I have got it.”

If I ask them, “What have you got?” the answer is sometimes, “I have got the blessing”, sometimes it is, “I have got the theory”; sometimes it is, “I have got the healing”; sometimes, “I have got the sanctification.”

But I thank God we have been taught that it is not the blessing, it is not the healing, it is not the sanctification, it is not the thing, it is not the it that you want, but it is something better. It is “the Christ”; it is Himself. Read the rest of this entry »

6 Comments | A.B. Simpson, jesus shaped spirituality | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

How does a Baptist define heresy?

May 13, 2008

A recent post on a catholic site asked how Baptists would define heresy. I thought I would take a crack at responding. Here are my thoughts on the issue.

Although the Baptist cry is “sola scriptura” (the bible only), the fact remains that many Baptists are interested in the Church Fathers because they have an interest in what the church looked like in the early days.

Historically, because of persecution, there has been a distrust of the state sponsored church, so when a Baptist looks at the early church, the role of the emperor Constantine appears to be a dividing line for what they will accept as uncorrupted theology.

So for a Baptist, scripture plus the first 300 years of the church largely defines what we have in common with other types of churches. What the church believed is summarized by the Apostles creed and the Nicene creed (both the 325 and 381 versions), all of which I have heard recited in Baptist, or baptistic churches. Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | apostles creed, catholic, church fathers, heresy, nicene creed, patristics | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Unity in Communion?

May 13, 2008

communionRecently, over at The Internet Monk, Michael Spencer asked a question about how communion relates to unity with Christ. He wrote:

All Christians are united with Christ by the sovereign, gracious work of God himself. All the benefits of salvation come to us because of union with Christ. So how does union with Christ relate to your understanding of the sacrament of
the Lord’s Supper?

Growing up that I had been taught that one of the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants was whether Christ was physically present in the bread and the wine, or whether he was just spiritually present. I also knew that there were a variety of opinions on the topic. As I discovered in reading the comments to Michael Spencer’s post, these opinions were quite varied, and held quite fervently. So fervently in fact that I found two things happening.

  1. People were less than charitable in describing each others positions.
  2. A number of people would not take communion with you unless you shared their opinion.

Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | communion, crucifixion | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Alcohol – Abstain or Moderation

May 7, 2008

A.B. Simpson
The Criswell Theological Journal (Volume 5, Issue 2) has devoted their latest issue to that of Christians and Alcohol. Three of the articles are available online. Together they are an amazing resource for what the bible says about alcohol.

Ken Gentry argues for the moderation approach, while Richard Land and Barrett Duke along with Norman Geisler argue for abstaining.

I think that both sides have some good points. It seems to be more of a North American debate, with a strong cultural element. My own German Baptist church is made up of members who would definitely be on the moderation side of the argument.

From my own experience, and the experience of others that I have witnessed, I have seen the value of setting guidelines for our children. One of these guidelines is the principal of moderation. God has made many good things for us, but these things whether food or alcohol, if abused can lead to many poor outcomes. If I only say to my child, “Don’t drink alcohol”, and my child disagrees, have I taught them any good lessons about how to handle it safely?

I encourage you to read the articles and formulate your own opinions on the topics.  I would also encourage Christians to show generosity to other Christians whose views on the topic do not line up with their own.

1 Comment | alcohol, Kenneth Gentry, Norman Geisler | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

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