Ray Ortlund writes:
How to wreck your church in three weeks
Week One: Walk into church today and think about how long you’ve been a member, how much you’ve sacrificed, how under-appreciated you are. Take note of every way you’re dissatisfied with your church now. Take note of every person who displeases you.
Meet for coffee this week with another member and “share your heart.” Discuss how your church is changing, how you are being left out. Ask your friend who else in the church has “concerns.” Agree together that you must “pray about it.”
Week Two: Send an email to a few other “concerned” members. Inform them that a groundswell of grievance is surfacing in your church. Problems have gone unaddressed for too long. Ask them to keep the matter to themselves “for the sake of the body.”
As complaints come in, form them into a petition to demand an accounting from the leaders of the church. Circulate the petition quietly. Gathering support will be easy. Even happy members can be used if you appeal to their sense of fairness – that your side deserves a hearing. Be sure to proceed in a way that conforms to your church constitution, so that your petition is procedurally correct.
Week Three: When the growing moral fervor, ill-defined but powerful, reaches critical mass, confront the elders with your demands. Inform them of all the woundedness in the church, which leaves you with no choice but to put your petition forward. Inform them that, for the sake of reconciliation, the concerns of the body must be satisfied.
Whatever happens from this point on, you have won. You have changed the subject in your church from gospel advance to your own grievances. To some degree, you will get your way. Your church will need three or four years for recovery. But at any future time, you can do it all again. It only takes three weeks.
Just one question. Even if you are being wronged, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).
“Christianity will indeed accomplish many useful things in this world, but if it is accepted in order to accomplish those useful things it is not Christianity. Christianity will combat Bolshevism; but if it is accepted in order to combat Bolshevism, it is not Christianity: Christianity will produce a unified nation, in a slow but satisfactory way; but if it is accepted in order to produce a unified nation, it is not Christianity: Christianity will produce a healthy community; but if it is accepted in order to produce a healthy community, it is not Christianity: Christianity will promote international peace; but if it is accepted in order to promote international peace, it is not Christianity. Our Lord said: ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’ But if you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in order that all those other things may be added unto you, you will miss both those other things and the Kingdom of God as well.”
- J. Gresham Machen from Christianity and Liberalism
At the risk of getting myself in trouble……I’ll add my own: “Christianity will help you govern well; but if it is accepted to get you elected, it is not Christianity.”
MOST SUGAR-PACKED COFFEE DRINK
Starbucks Tazo Green Tea Frappuccino Blended Crème with Whipped Cream (20 ounces)
97 g sugars
650 calories
15 g fat (8 g saturated, 0 g trans)
SUGAR EQUIVALENT: 11 York Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Patties
While green tea has myriad health benefits, presentation is key—and this green tea concoction has been so nutritionally sullied that any potential benefits are utterly lost. Not only does this one drink contain over a quarter of your day’s calories, it also packs nearly half a day’s worth of saturated fat—and, as we mention above, as much sugar as you’ll find in 11 Peppermint Patties. Your best bet when ordering at a coffee chain is to skip the fancy drinks altogether. Order a regular green tea, without all the trimmings.
Drink This Instead!
Tazo Tea (Venti)
0 g sugars
0 calories
0 g fat
This, and other sugar-packed superlatives can be found HERE.
Week One couldn’t have gone worse for my picks, but I’m confident that week two will be much better.
Saints vs Cardinals – Saints
Colts vs Ravens – Colts
Vikings vs Cowboys – Cowboys (this is my road win upset special)
Chargers vs Jets – Chargers
Round One:
Jets @ Bengals – Bengals*
Eagles @ Cowboys – Eagles
Ravens @ Patriots – Patriots
Packers @ Cardinals – Packers
* – I have to caveat this pick by saying that I’m posting this while the game is under way and the Bengals have already scored, but I still would have picked them.
Genesis 3:11-13 – “He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”
Genesis 4:9 – “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’”
In case we forget that sinful hearts are not inclined to repentance we see two reminders very early in scripture where God even asks leading questions and man chooses to either blame someone else for their sin or to be outright defiant. Adam points the finger at Eve for his sin and Eve points the finger at the serpent for her sin. Cain answers God as if God were being a nuisance in asking about Abel.
While the damage had already been done to man’s relationship with God, we see that the heart of sinful man is not inclined to ask God to forgive us for our rebellion, but to remain in it. Were it not for God’s gracious intervention in sending Christ, we would still be pointing fingers and giving smart alec answers. Praise God for the imposing his grace on our hearts. The Father sent the Son to save us from our sin. The Son lived a perfect life of righteousness, died vicariously for us (because we deserved it), and resurrected from the grave so we can live vicariously through him (even though we don’t deserve it). And the Spirit of God reveals this beautiful truth to our hearts when we are incapable of grasping it.
I’m thankful that while I spent my life being rebellious to God and blaming others for my sin, he imposed his grace on my heart. I don’t deserve it. I’m nothing but a finger-pointing smart alec.
Here’s my best albums of 2009. There are a couple that I wish I had’ve listened to more, and if I had’ve they might have made the list (ie: David Crowder’s Church Music, or Thad Cockrell’s To Be Loved…Cockrell’s album is well worth checking out!). But here are my top 6 albums of the year in no particular order:
The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
Rain City Hymnal, Vol. 1 – Mars Hill Church (available from resound.org)
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus
Thrice – Beggars
U2 – No Line on the Horizon
If I were going to give “Album of the Year” to one of the above, it would either go to Thrice or U2. “In Exile” by Thrice would be my “Song of the Year”.
Here’s my best of the decade list. There could probably be more, but these are the ones that tended to get a lot of play over an extended period of time. There’s no 2009 albums on here because they haven’t been around long enough to have staying power. They’ll be on a list of their own.
Bleu – Redhead
Bruce Springsteen – Magic
David Crowder Band – A Collision
Derek Webb – The Ringing Bell
Lecrae – Rebel
The Format – Dog Problems
Guster – Keep it Together
Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light
The Killers – Sam’s Town
Mark Knopfler – Shangri-La
Old 97’s – Satellite Rides
The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
Sigur Ros – Takk…
U2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
I had recorded a great video of me drawing the winning name for the copy of Calvin’s Institues. It would have been life changing. However, my laptop’s internal microphone is turned off and you can’t hear anything.
The winner, however, was Rob Lamarre, and he will be handed his prize on New Years Eve with much pomp and circumstance.
From time to time I end up with two copies of the same book, and I enjoy the opportunity to give the extra copy away. This time I have an extra copy of Institues of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, a $16 value. The link takes you to the edition I’m giving away and it’s brand new.
All you have to do to enter to win the book is leave a comment on this post by 4pm on Friday, December 11. I’ll choose a winner at random and will notify them by e-mail.
I’m using this give away as a catalyst to restart my blog. I’m going to commit to writing at least one substantive post per week. And maybe more give-aways in the future! So if you like what you see add me to your google reader or find me at My Twitter Feed. I look forward to getting to know you! There’s no strings attached. I’ll pay the postage. I’m not collecting e-mail addresses. I’m just trying to give away a book.