August 2008

Who, in your life, needs Christ…but for some reason you have been unwilling to invite them to church…or even begin a conversation with them about Jesus?

Why? What’s holding you back?

I once heard Brad Cooper ask the question,

“If you REALLY believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ then why in the world would you show up at church every single Sunday without a carload of people who need Him?”

–Perry Noble quoting Brad Cooper

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(from FotF’s Pastor’s Weekly Briefing)

Half of Americans Say They Are Underpaid

Gallup Poll results of telephone interviews with 557 American
adults, 18 years and older, employed full- or part-time, conducted Aug.
7-10, 2008, showed that 51 percent of Americans feel they are underpaid
for the work they do. Forty-six percent feel they are paid about the
right amount, while three percent feel they are overpaid.

Middle- and lower-income Americans are more likely to say they are
underpaid. Sixty-two percent of those making less than $75,000 a year
say they are underpaid compared to 38 percent of those making more than
$75,000 a year. Surprisingly, the difference between men and women on
this measure is much smaller, with 47 percent of men and 55 percent of
women saying they are underpaid.

There is little difference by race or by education in perception of
being underpaid. Fifty-one percent of both whites and non-whites say
they feel underpaid. Similarly, 49 percent of those with high school
educations or less say they are underpaid, compared to 52 percent of
those with at least some college education.

________________________________________________

My thoughts:

There are certainly a good number of people who are underpaid. I am uncertain that it is 51%. How often is our perception of “being paid enough” dictated by our spending habits? With a nation in debt - prior to the housing market collapse - how much of this is simply people not being able to make ends meet because of bad financial decisions and thereby thinking they aren’t paid enough? The study doesn’t go into that, but it would be interesting to be able to dig deeper. I would also like to see a split between urban/rural as well as regions of the country.

Still really liking Boston. Great downtown. We went back down to Quincy Market for lunch yesterday and then on down to the Boston Harbor. Honestly, we didn’t realize we were that close to the ocean! I’m in the blue in the photo above.

Been in the classroom the majority of the day all week. Not a lot of chance to explore. Last night I stayed up until 2:00AM talking theology with Tony Rambo. I may have found a kindred spirit in the NACCC. He gets it, and I appreciate that.

We’re doing a walking tour of Boston this afternoon, so maybe I’ll have some more photos. I didn’t bring my good camera, so I am limited to whatever fits in the chintzy lens of my cell phone.

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Sunday I flew from Minneapolis to Boston. I then entered into the adventure that is the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (Boston’s mass-transit). I took the silver line from the airport, to the red line, to the green line, and then 20 stops later at the end of the line found myself discombobulated and somewhat lost. I had directions, but having never been here before they weren’t completely clear to me. After a bit of wondering and sheer dumb luck I ended up on the correct street, where I walked up a hill to where we are staying for the week - the Walker Center.

For the week we are studying Congregationalism and Covenant Theology. The classes are at the Congregational Library at 14 Beacon Street in downtown Boston. Our primary instructor is Dr. Steven Peay. 14 Beacon Street was the “office” for Ally McBeal.

Cool things:
-I’m becoming a pro at the “T” which is what Boston calls its subway system.
-I am sitting 5 feet from a chair from Jonathan Edward’s office. While it’s not a particularly impressive chair, it is cool nonetheless.
-We just looked at one of the first copies of the Eliot Bible - the Eliot Bible was the first Bible printed in the Americas.
-We looked at 1 of the 3 first copies of the Cambridge Platform
-We got to look through the stacks in the rare book room yesterday. We didn’t get to go into the “cage” where the most valuable and rare books are housed. Books dating to the 1500’s are housed in that cage, some of the earliest copies of some of the Pilgrim and Puritan fathers.
-Downtown Boston is pretty cool. Old and new mixed everywhere.
-Had lunch yesterday at Union Oyster House - really good eats! I had some Clam Chowdaah that ranks top 3 of chowder in my life.
-Had the best Mac & Cheese of my life - 4 cheese pasta with white truffle oil over the top - for dinner last night. Can’t remember the name of the place, but it was a sports bar at the Newton Center Station off the Green Line in Boston. Go North, turn left to the end of the block, turn right and go to the Union Street side of the block (1 block North) and you’ll find it just around the corner to the right down an alley.

Uncool things:
-Everyone in Boston smokes. I think I saw a pigeon spark up a heater on the way into downtown this morning. Butts everywhere, smoke everywhere. I feel like I’m in Europe with this many people smoking
-Subway system is undergoing a huge face lift. Currently it is very run down, tired looking, and under repair/replacement all over. Should be done in 2009
-The Walker Center where we are staying is lacking in accommodations, and isn’t the cleanest either (I’d call it dumpy chic - a professor called it New England Shabby).

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My sermon from yesterday is posted on our church’s web site. It was a good sermon. When I asked my wife for constructive criticism, she had none. That’s a first. Maybe I should quit preaching, I’ve reached the mountain top! Or maybe not.

The sermon was on the Parable of the Sower, and I stuck to my text for about 75% of the time. I cut a bit of the ending (as posted) and added some other stuff there and in a few other places, but the posted version will give you the gist of what I was saying.

I will not be preaching the next two weeks. Our church will survive quite well with the incredibly gifted Brenton Balvin filling in for me. Brenton is a better preacher than me, so if you are looking for a good church the next two Sundays, check him out! My philosophy is that I want the best possible person to fill in when I’m gone. Even if they rock it better than me! I want my sheep to hear the Truth, to be challenged with God’s Word, and I trust that will occur.

This coming Sunday I fly out to Boston for a week for a course called The Boston Seminar. Below is the reading list for this course. It’s a boat load! There is one other reading beyond the below that didn’t make it on the list, so you know what I’ll be doing the rest of the week! Every spare moment from now to take off will be consumed with reading. I’ve gotten a good start on it, but will have to remain focused to get it all in.

Boston Seminar Reading List

Downloadable articles

The Cambridge Synod and Platform

The Covenant of Grace and Puritan Thought- Office will mail you a copy upon request

Towards a Ministry of Accountability: Why we should credential ministers and why we are afraid of it

Fellowship: The Neglected Focus of the Congregational Ellipse

Breaking Covenant: The Tensions in American Congregationalism that Resulted in the UCC Merger Conflict

Controversy in American Congregationalism: A Historical Perspective on Theological Issues at Stake in a Twenty-Year Struggle

Professional Code of Practice

From Call to Settlement

We Covenant with the World and With One Another

Books to Purchase- Click on link to take you to the bookstore

The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism

The Shaping of American Congregationalism

Yet More Light and Truth… Congregationalism, Covenant, and Community

Congregationalism: The Church, Local and Universal

The Congregational Way of Life

The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics

A Past with a Future

Symposium V. The Church… Born for a Time Like This

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We ate at Chino Latino tonight with a friend who wanted to take us out for dinner. My first time there, and I was thoroughly impressed with the food. The atmosphere left something to be desired, but the food was totally worth the wait. The waitstaff was helpful and had good recommendations.

We ate:

PESCADO AHUMADO

mesquite-smoked Pacific swordfish tossed in citrus dressing and served with a pile of crunchy tortilla chips and creamy guacamole

ARGENTINE RODIZIO TENDERLOIN

a gaucho-sized portion of spice-rubbed beef tenderloin, Brazilian herb-marinated chicken and spicy chorizo sausage served churrasco style with chimmichurri and molho apimentado.

ELOTE

grilled corn with queso fresco, lime juiceand cayenne pepper

THE THREE-WAY SIDE:

Wok Glazed Green Beans

Pad Thai Noodles

Fried Rice with Guacamole

The Argentine Roizio platter was out of this world. The tenderloin was tender and juicy, and the side of rub that you can add to it made it fantastic. The Chicken was juicy and flavorful. The weak spot of the platter was the Chorizo, and even that was decent, though I’ve had better.

The Elote was so good, that I’m tempted to go back and order a couple just for myself. The Wok Glazed Green Beans are fantastic. I’ve tried for a long time to make green beans in a similar way, and now have found perfection. I will have to abuduct their kitchen staff next time I try to make my similar green beans. Though I would give a bit more of a hot kick to mine.

If you are looking for some interesting and tasty cuisine in the Uptown area of Minneapolis, I reccommend this place whole heartedly. Just know that it is deafingly loud, very crowded on weekends, and the wait for a table can get very long.

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I’m assuming that as I write this that Mark and Grace Driscoll, along with their 5 children, are somewhere over the Pacific Ocean in an airplane. They will be in Australia until September on a combination speaking tour and vacation.

Pastor Driscoll is a brave man, I’m pretty sure I’m not up to the task of 20 hours in flight with 5 children on my plane, let alone 5 of MY children WITH me!

From the Mission & Vision Blog for Mars Hill Church:

So if you think of it, pray for Mark for his speaking that it would powerfully move forward the mission of Jesus in Australia. Pray also for safe and speedy travel, with happy quiet children!

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My newest sermon is posted. If you are ever in the area, come check out our wonderful Waseca Church! We are First Congregational Church of Waseca, MN.

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It’s not too late to get signed up! I expect this conference to be fully sold out, so I might be camping out overnight to get a good seat Below is a message from Dr. John Piper inviting you to the upcoming Desiring God Conference.

The Power of Words and the Wonder of God

An Invitation to
the Desiring God 2008 National Conference
September 26-28
Minneapolis Convention Center

Dear Friends at Bethlehem and Beyond,

I’m writing to invite you to an unusual conference. This Fall’s Desiring
God National Conference is one of the most extraordinary we have
conceived. Our expectations are very high that its effect will be
mind-sharpening, heart-humbling, mouth-seasoning,
backbone-strengthening, and Christ-acclaiming. Our theme is The Power of
Words and the Wonder of God.

This conference is an overflow of our amazement at the significance of
words. Think of it:

* the Son of God is called the Word (John 1:1)

* the universe was created with a word (Hebrews 11:3)

* all things are held in existence by Jesus’ word (Hebrews 1:3)

* God reveals himself to us through his word (1 Samuel 3:21)

* Jesus healed and cast out demons with a word (Matthew 8:16)

* faith is sustained by words (Hebrews 3:13)

* we fellowship with God by the words of prayer

* we worship him through the words of song and confession and preaching

* our relationships are all sustained and nurtured by words

* we speak our love to each other by words; kings rise and fall by their
words

* politics and news and entertainment and business and education and
international relations and families and friendships-all are possible
because of words.

Language is God’s idea. Words are his creation. They belong at the heart
of who he is. They have huge potential for good-and catastrophic
potential for evil.

The tongue, James says, is seemingly untamable. “With it we bless our
Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the
likeness of God” (James 3:9).

Every issue today-political, religious, educational, theological-relates
to the way we use words-thinking them in our heads and speaking them
with our mouths.

What would the world be like-the home, the church, the school, the
public square-if words were used the way Jesus used them? That is not an
easy question. We might be surprised.

We have asked Sinclair Ferguson, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church
of Columbia, South Carolina, to set the stage with an exposition of
James 3:1-12. This text is astonishing in the power it attributes to the
tongue: “No human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:8).

Paul Tripp, who teaches at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia and
counsels at the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, has
written wisely in his book War of Words on the crucial place of the
heart in how we help or hurt each other with our words. “Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). We hope to
love people better with our mouths because of this message.

Daniel Taylor, who teaches English Literature at Bethel University in
St. Paul, Minnesota, is a lover of stories and has written about their
power in his book Tell Me a Story: The Life-Shaping Power of Our
Stories. This power is more pervasive than you may think and touches the
heart of the gospel.

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, has agreed to
tackle the knotty issue of tough and tender words, words in controversy,
words in confrontation, words like Jesus and Paul used when they called
people vipers and said, “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be
accursed” (1 Corinthians 16:22).

Bob Kauflin, a worship pastor with Sovereign Grace Ministries, in
Gaithersburg, Maryland, just wrote the book Worship Matters: Leading
Others to Encounter the Greatness of God. He will help us explore what
happens to words when we put them with music and sing them. Why is the
Western world so filled with singing? Just turn the knob on your radio.
Hundreds of stations. And most of them are singing. What is this power?

The task I have set for myself is the question: “Is There Christian
Eloquence? Clear Words and the Wonder of the Cross.” Paul said, “Christ
did not send me . . . with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of
Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Yet who can deny
the eloquence of Paul and others in the Bible? What is this? Should we
pursue it?

We will worship Christ together. We will think hard. We will pray. We
will meet people who are serious about their minds and their hearts and
their mouths. We will buy books. And I pray we will go home ready to
obey the words, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt”
(Colossians 4:6).

I would love to see you there.

Pastor John,
Preaching & Vision,
with David Mathis,
Executive Pastoral Assistant

More info is available at Desiring God’s Web site:
http://www.desiringGod.org/events

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