Albert Mohler serves as the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention. A leader among American evangelicals, Dr. Mohler was listed in a TIME magazine cover story as one of its "50 for the Future" and Christianity Today described Dr. Mohler as one of forty emerging evangelical leaders. Read more…

Reformation Day 2006

by amohler

With gratefulness to God we celebrate the 489th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting of his famous 95 Theses, calling for reformation in the church.  The young Augustinian monk put his life on the line and we now know that a great Reformation was begun -- a reformation that would lead to a recovery of Gospel and truth.

We should remember that the Reformation was also, in one sense, a band of brothers -- men brought into friendship and fellowship by a common commitment to Reformation truth -- the Gospel of Christ.

Thus, they were Together for the Gospel -- Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria.  May we follow in their faithful example.

It is indeed a day to celebrate and an anniversary to remember.  Happy Reformation Day 2006.

Posted on October 31, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

C.J. at Southern Seminary

by amohler

C.J. came to Southern Seminary and Boyce College this week and took the campus by storm.  You can download or listen to his excellent messages here.  As always, C.J. brought his heart and passion to the proclamation of biblical truth.  I was so glad to introduce this dear friend to the Southern Seminary family.

Of course, the big question of the week was this -- What will C.J. wear?  I did not worry about it, but my dear friend was concerned that he be a good guest.  Frankly, I thought I would have to sneak into a funeral in Maryland to see C.J. in a coat and tie.

Nope.  He appeared in Alumni Chapel in sartorial splendor.  Here is proof.  What a friend.  What a preacher. What a servant.  What else can I say?

Enjoy the messages.  I can assure you that we did.

I can only hope and pray that my students will come to know friends in ministry like I have come to know in Mark, Lig, and C.J.. 

Thanks C.J.!  And thanks to Bob Kauflin for leading us in God-centered worship through music during the week.  What a gift to have Bob and C.J. together.  There is something magnificant about the way Bob leads from the piano. 

Photo credits: Top photo, Andrew Rawls.  Bottom photo, John Gill.

Posted on October 29, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

The Cutting Edge Has No Edge

by amohler

Looking back farther than I would like to remember, I recall as a seminary student reading an article by Richard John Neuhaus (back when he was still a Lutheran) on the issue of relevance in ministry.  In essence, Neuhaus argued that the churches most determined to be relative at all costs were destined to be the churches which were actually least relevant of all.  Making an idol of relevance is a form of self delusion.  Authentic relevance is represented by the transforming Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the faithful witness of the church throughout time.

Mark, I really appreciated your words concerning “assumptions and pursuits.”  I think you are absolutely right in suggesting that the big division among evangelical pastors today is between those who pursue faithfulness, assuming that faithfulness will produce relevance; and those who pursue relevance, hoping that faithfulness will emerge out of that quest.  You have provided a wonderful description of how this is realized in the ministry of the local church.

So many of the issues we deal with today seem to be focused on those who, in their own way, argue that we should pursue relevance by putting ourselves and our churches out on the “cutting edge” of ministry.  If this means taking every opportunity to extend faithful witness and ministry in the name of Christ, then count me in. 

Regrettably, it often becomes a rationale for something very different in the end.  Repeating that slogan, many pastors and churches, along with an array of parachurch ministries, push themselves into modes of ministry that are based more on cultural analysis and pragmatism than in a clear biblical and theological understanding of the nature and purpose of the church – and the integrity of the Gospel. 

The other problem with the “cutting edge” is that it really has no edge.  The culture is moving at warp speed in so many different directions that absolute relevance is a mirage.  Faithfulness to the Gospel produces the only relevance that matters.  Of course, we use forms of language and mechanisms of communication that others can understand, but the basic structure of our ministry and the substance of our beliefs are unchanged and unchanging – and still ever relevant. 

Those who push themselves ever onward toward the cutting edge will find themselves falling off the edge.

Mark, thanks also for your beautiful testimony, “Why I Am a Southern Baptist.”  It really is a wonderful piece that reflects your heart and witness.  Lig, thanks for taking time out of your summer travels to join me on yesterday’s edition of the radio program.  Thank you for your bold witness concerning the recent General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA).    

Posted on June 30, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

The Glory of God and the Question of Gender

by amohler

Thanks, Mark and Lig for two outstanding posts on the issue of complementarianism.  Let me deal with the gender question Mark raised for a moment.  He made a generalization, of course.  Nevertheless, I agree with Mark and I believe the generalization to be generally true.  Younger complementarians seem to be more concerned to contend for complementarianism than (some . . most?) older complementarians.

I see this as part of the larger pattern visible in the church today.  I can see it in the students at the seminary and I can sense it among younger, seriously-minded pastors.  Put bluntly, this younger generation has been, of necessity, ready to assume a counter-cultural posture and then to find a way to contend for their convictions in the context of hostility, derision, and worse.  In a very real sense, this generation has been swimming upstream all their lives.  They know nothing of the cultural Christianity their parents took for granted.  Even in pockets like the deep South, where cultural Christianity still remains a factor, young Christians soon find themselves facing a very different context when they go to the university, move to a large city, or enter the professional world. 

Their parents, on the other hand, may find a counter-cultural posture to be strange and difficult.  They may share the same convictions concerning God's gift of gender and sexuality, but they are less enthusiastic about standing apart from the dominant culture.  When they went to seminary and graduate school, egalitarianism appeared to be ascendant. 

A couple of additional suggestions would involve marriage, parenthood, and theological vision.  Many younger pastors are in the midst of getting married, establishing a household, producing and raising children, and all that comes with this season of life.  Given the shape of the larger culture, these young complementarians have had to think through all the issues and then forge their own way.  Having forged their convictions in the midst of an adversarial culture, they understand that young couples need explicit and clear support and encouragement in order to obey Scripture and establish marriages and homes that reflect these commitments.

Further, they have heard and read all the (aging) arguments on behalf of egalitarianism, and they grow frustrated with what they (correctly) see as a pattern of exegetical and theological corner-cutting.  They are convinced that complementarianism is the winning argument.  They are not interested in playing defense.

Finally, younger pastors have had the encouragement of those who have been pointing evangelical Christians to a comprehensive vision of the glory of God in all things -- and this produces a commitment to complementarianism that goes far beyond just "getting it right."  They want to display God's glory in their marriages and in their churches on these very issues, knowing that nothing less is at stake.

Once again, they are right.  Our belief that this is a watershed issue explains why an explicit affirmation of complementarianism appears in our statement.

Posted on June 9, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Welcome to Louisville

by amohler

Greetings all, and welcome to Louisville.  For those of you who are here, welcome in person.  For those unable to attend "Together for the Gospel," we hope you will be with us in prayer.  We are so encouraged to see so many pastors arriving here. 

Here's a personal request from the Louisvillian among the T4TG Band of Brothers:  Please leave a good impression for the Gospel by your presence here.  Be kind to all, including the waiters and waitresses, hotel staff, and others.  We should be ashamed, brothers, to know that service personnel often cringe to see pastors arrive.  Thank you in advance for your good witness through kindness.

Our hope is that you will all be fed, strengthened, challenged, and encouraged by your time at T4TG.  We are expecting great days together.

A couple of short notes:

[1]  Mark, what did you get, the world's dinkiest iPod?  You have listed a paltry selection of (very fine) classical music.  Get with it.  Where is Bach's "St. Matthew Passion," Mozart's 'Requiem" and "Jupiter," Gorecki's Third Symphony ("Sorrowful Songs") or anything by Biber or Gabrielli?  Where is Haydn's "Creation," Handel's "Judas Maccabaeus" or Bach's magnificent organ music?  Beethoven's Sixth Symphony?  Handel's "Saul?"  That poor iPod cries out for these and so much more.  Feed it, lest it die of embarrassment.

[2]  CJ, at my Weblog today I posted a series of links to maps detailing the concentration of Christian denominations (and other groups) across the United States.  Here is the link to my posting.  Here, for example, is the map of Baptists in the U.S., who have congregated together in a clump, and here are the Presbyterians, who were predestined to be more evenly dispersed.  Where are the Sovereign Grace churches?  I want a map.  Get your people right on this.

Posted on April 26, 2006 in General | Link to this Post | Comments

Dever on the Atonement

by amohler

Don't miss Mark's article, "Nothing But the Blood," in the current edition of Christianity Today.  Mark has done a great job of laying out the objections to the substitutionary character of Christ's atonement, and then of answering these objections with solid argument.  At the same time, he acknowledges that no single metaphor or model is sufficient to describe Christ's atonement for sin.  The issue is the indispensability and centrality of substitution as a biblical theme.

Thanks for your faithfulness, Mark. 

I will be in Sandestin, Florida this week for a meeting of large-church pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention.  More later.

Posted on April 17, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

The Meaning of the Gospel

by amohler

I write this early in the morning of Resurrection Sunday, a Lord's Day like every other, lived and celebrated in the light of the glorious resurrection of Christ from the dead.  What a time to consider the meaning of the Gospel.

C. J. raised this question, and it is so vast that it defies summarization.  And yet, if we cannot summarize the Gospel, we surely do not understand it, and cannot effectively share it.

Here is one complication:  We talk about the Gospel while, in one sense, meaning a summation of all that the Bible teaches.  We know of Gospel churches and Gospel messages and Gospel tracts -- meaning that these are self-consciously intended as centered in evangelism, the heralding of the good news of salvation through Christ Jesus.

Yet, in this other sense, the Gospel refers broadly to the comprehensiveness of the Christian truth claim, for the truths that comprise the Gospel depend upon the totality of revealed truth.  One cannot truly affirm the Gospel, for example, without recognizing the background of God's work of creation and the eschatological promise of a new heaven and a new earth.  Similarly, the entire enterprise of the Gospel is dependent upon the grace of God in revelation, especially the Bible.

But, more to the point, C. J., I would define the Gospel as the good news that God saves sinners through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ [1 Cor. 15:3-4].  This good news tells us that we are sinners, who deserve only death and cannot save ourselves.  The Gospel points to the cross of Christ as the propitiation for our sins, the substitutionary sacrifice for our transgressions [Romans 3:21-26] and to the empty tomb as the promise of our resurrection unto eternal life [1 Cor. 15].  This Gospel is God's gift, as is the faith that justifies sinners.  Salvation is all of grace, so that no sinner can boast of his salvation.  Saving faith is made visible in those who confess with their lips that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead [Romans 10:9].

So much more could and surely should be said, but I cannot believe that anything can be taken away from this without doing great injury to the Gospel.

C. J., thanks for asking the question.  I'll post more in coming days.  In the meantime, let me point to my commentary on the resurrection posted Friday.

Posted on April 16, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Father Ligon?

by amohler

Ok, so I have been out of town for a few days, but no one told me that Ligon was going "home to Rome" or following the new "Canterbury trail."  Alas, who among us remains stalwart as a defender of Reformation truth?  I am distressed in extremis to see Lig dressed in up-to-date trendy clerical garb in the photo from the Twin Lakes Fellowship [see here].  Isn't that a fashionable clerical shirt Lig is wearing, with a dangling crucifix?  Wait ... no that's a lanyard for a conference name tag -- our new evagelical fashion accessory.  OK, crisis over.  Never mind.

Posted on April 6, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Catching Up

by amohler

I am finally back in Louisville for a few days after a flurry of travel.  This has been the most difficult season of travel I have ever endured, but I am thankful for every opportunity.

Just a couple of weeks ago I delivered the Day-Higgenbotham lectures at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas and plenary addresses to the Evangelical Theological Society's Southwest Region Annual Meeting.  The theme was, "Reading the Bible in Postmodern Times -- Lectures on The Sufficiency of Scripture."  Preparing and delivering these lectures brought up a host of related issues and developments in today's church.  I hope we can talk about several of these in coming days.

Last week, I participated in an event at Columbia University on "Religion in the Public Square."  I was the designated evangelical participant and it was a most interesting context.  The discussion was moderated by Columbia's president Lee Bollinger and held in the beautiful rotunda of the university's Low Library.  I look forward to processing all that took place there. 

I flew directly from New York to Florida for seminary events and a couple of days of family time.  Christopher and I went fishing.  I caught one bass and one very angry turtle.  The weather was incredible. 

I will answer C.J.'s question right away.  In the meantime, congrats C.J. on the victory of the University of Maryland's women's basketball team.  Mark, thanks for the word about Henry VIII (several worthy new books on Henry, the Tudors, and the church out recently, by the way).  Interesting that you should be watching A Man for All Seasons as you framed these thoughts.  The movie (based on the play of the same title by Robert Bolt) is a truly magnificent film.  It deals with one man's crisis of conscience against the background of political corruption in all its venality.  it is a rgeta movie to watch with friends in order to discuss these issues.  Missing from the story, of course, is More's persecution of William Tyndale, whose right of conscience More was quick to deny.   Still, this is a reminder that even a film or book like this can raise really big questions in a helpful way.  Back soon.

Posted on April 6, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Now I Get It, Maybe

by amohler

I have been worried about C.J.'s obsession with Duke basketball.  I am worried that he is more happy for Duke to lose than for his beloved Maryland to win.  This is neither good nor godly.  What can explain it?

Maybe I have found the answer -- fear of the Devil.  It must be Duke's mascot theme, the Blue Devils.  Perhaps C.J. is just like Martin Luther, ready to expose the Devil and his nefarious ways, his evil deeds, and his conspiracy to rob God of His glory.  I am comforted by this thought of my brother, waging a war of wills against the Evil One -- a war extended to any athletic team that would claim his name, wear his imagined image, and cheer his victory.  Maybe this is all about theology.

If so, C.J. can take courage from Luther, who knew how to oppose the Devil.  Consider these statements from our German brother:

The devil, too, can quote Scripture and deceive men with it.  But his use of Scripture is defective.  He does not quote it completely but only so much as it serves his purpose.  The rest he silently omits. [LW 52:175]

_________

At all hours the devil is seeking to kill us all.  After you have been baptized, he will not let you have any rest.  If he could kill you in your mother's body, he would do it.  He is not satisfied to let us have one kernel of grain on the field, one fish or piece of bread, or anything good. Far less does he spare us who are exposing his shame, who rebuke him to his face, and preach what we should -- God's grace and the works of the devil. He would now rather break my neck than let me stand here and preach and storm his kingdom.  [LW, 33:408]

Martin Luther said much more about the devil, of course, and about devils too (many of these statements are not for the faint-hearted or the olefactory-sensitive).  Luther even spoke of "white" devils who appear beautiful in their deception, though I can find no Luther references to devils in any shade of blue.   

But, maybe for C.J this is really about resisting the devil and all who would serve him.  Maybe its really about theology.  Then again, maybe not.   

Posted on March 15, 2006 in General | Link to this Post | Comments

OK, C.J., It Wasn't a Harp

by amohler

C.J., you finally break me down.  I wanted to play the trumpet or trombone, but my orthodontist made me play a woodwind that did not require a mouthpiece on the teeth. So, I played the clarinet.  It is not a matter of great pride, because my heart was not fully in it.  At first, my playing sounded like a nauseated duck.  I progressed to a somewhat healthier duck sound. 

Happy now? 

Can we talk theology again now?  Sheesh. 

Posted on March 2, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Call C.J., Right Now

by amohler

C.J. is too busy to do my radio program tomorrow.  I'm not buying it.  If you think he should do the program, call him.

Posted on March 2, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

On Denominational Meetings

by amohler

Well, friends, I have been in Nashville for meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee and related events.  This happens twice a year as the work of the denomination and its agencies is coordinated, funded, budgeted, etc.  I am tired.  Meeting after meeting after meeting.  I serve as chairman of the Council of Seminary Presidents and was just elected chairman of the Great Commission Council.  More meetings.

It is tempting to complain and feel like it is all a bureaucratic drain of energy and time.  But, instead I am thankful for men and women -- men who are busy pastors and others who are busy church members -- who give so generously of their time in order to ensure denominational accountability and oversight.  And I genuinely enjoy working with my colleagues in ministry and denominational leadership.  We have a great time together.  This too is God's gift.

I detected a great deal of passion for evangelism, missions, and the local church -- as well as much support for what we are doing in theological education.  So, I will rest thankful and get ready for more meetings. 

This too shall pass away -- no budget meetings in heaven.

I'll pick up on my reading series with a new post very soon. 

Posted on February 21, 2006 in Church | Link to this Post | Comments

Revisiting the Revolution

by amohler

Mark asked for responses to George Barna's latest book, Revolution.  I promised to do so and I have now published a full review, available here.  It may spark some further discussion -- at least I hope so.  In one sense, the book is something of a poison pill for evangelical Christianity.  Oddly enough, some denominational publishing houses (insert great SBC embarrassment here) have even advertised the book prominently, causing me to paraphrase Vladimir Lenin to the effect that when it comes time to hang the evangelicals, the evangelicals will fight over the contract for the rope.

Almost everything Barna says about the shortcomings and failures of evangelical churches is accurate.  Superficiality and worse mark so many churches, and it is no wonder that so many believers never develop into mature Christians and so many churches never experience the power and glory of God in congregational life.  Unfortunately, Barna's approach is even worse -- abandoning the local church altogether as the normative context for Christian involvement.

I say much more in the review, so I will leave it there.  But there is something seriously and tragically wrong with a book that includes just this one sentence alone:  There is nothing inherently wrong with being involved in a local church.

Posted on February 13, 2006 in Church | Link to this Post | Comments

So, I Guess L.A.'s the Place?

by amohler

I am glad to hear that Lig and C.J. are in Los Angeles for the CBMW board meeting.  I thank God for the work of CBMW and pray God's blessings on your meeting.  Randy Stinson does a great job as executive director and Lig as chairman.  Readers should check out the CBMW Web site for a Fort Knox of resources on biblical manhood and womanhood.

I am in Dallas, Texas in order to preach in a couple of hours for the state Baptist convention here [SBTC] and I am scheduled to be in L.A. later today in order to serve as the "Distinguished Speaker Series" preacher/lecturer at Biola University for the remainder of the week.  I will do my best to be distinguished for the Gospel.

Over the weekend, I was at the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida for its annual Pastors Conference, which has over 10,000 registered this year.  I preached Sunday night on Acts 20:17-38, the text in which the Apostle Paul offers his defense of his ministry in Ephesus.  It seemed a fitting text as Dr. Jerry Vines, the pastor of that congregation, retired from the pastorate after 50 years of service as a pastor -- 23 years at this church.  I was convicted all over again about the absolute centrality of expository preaching to the life of the church.  "I kept back nothing," Paul insisted, but preached the whole counsel of God.  I was also reminded all over again that God honors long service in one place.  The fruit of a long and faithful pulpit ministry is evident in the congregation's maturity, passion, and faithfulness.

C.J. and Lig:  Perhaps we should have a southern California impromptu meeting somewhere?  Just no sushi, please. 

Posted on February 7, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Responding to Readers on Reading

by amohler

Thanks to all those who sent comments and questions on my earlier post, "Some Thoughts on the Reading of Books."  I really respect your thoughtful questions, and I will attempt to respond in kind.

What About Reading Fiction?

I believe that literature and the fictive imagination are among God's gifts.  I read a great deal of fiction, and try to keep up on what the culture is reading.  That does not mean that I always have to read what the world is reading, but I do read enough to know what is shaping the minds of those around me. Beyond that, I truly enjoy losing myself in a story.  I am a big fan of authors such as Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy, and I read quite a bit of contemporary fiction.  Of course, one must choose carefully here, and fiction is recreational reading -- not study. 

One of the main values of reading fiction and great literature is that it develops the imagination and enhances literary style.  Just admit that you like fiction, if you do -- but keep it in its place.  I keep a literary project going at all times, but it falls last in priority.  Plunder the Egyptians, and read the classics of literature. 

What About Reading Bad Theology?

That is perhaps an inelegant way of putting the issue, but that's the way it was asked.  Fair enough.  In one sense, the answer to this question depends upon your ministry and theological vocation.  Most persons should read very little bad theology, period.  That is, given the stewardship of time and attention (as well as the stewardship of mind and heart), most persons should devote themselves to reading Bishop J.C. Ryle, not Bishop J. S. Spong.  Those who will teach theology, debate theological issues, and delve into deep study in these areas will have to read a great deal of awful stuff. 

Pastors should certainly read enough to know what is going on at the level of popular theology (be brave and go into a Christian bookstore) and in the cultural conversation.  My library has an entire collection of various heretical writings, ranging from the heresies of the ancients to the heresies of the present day.  I read them in order to understand them, to confront them, and to correct their heresies with the truth.

How will you understand Augustine if you do not understand Pelagius (whose writings are mostly lost)?  How can you understand Calvin without knowing about Servetus?  Machen without Fosdick?  Mahaney without Jakes?  Oops, that last one was as yet a dream.

I have hundreds of books in Roman Catholic theology -- and these make me all the more committed to the Reformation.  I can't teach theological method to Ph.D. students without being conversant and knowledgeable in this area.  Yet, I wouldn't put these books in my church library.  Time and place, people.

Similarly, I wrote my dissertation on the evangelical response to Karl Barth.  Barth was sub-orthodox in his general system and in the outworking of his theology, and it is important for evangelicals to know why.  So I require my doctoral students to read Barth, but I wouldn't hand Barth to a layman looking for a book on doctrine.

Evangelical scholars have a double duty in scholarship.  We have to read the liberals' books as well as the works of evangelical scholarship.  The liberals, on the other hand, generally do not bother to read the evangelicals.  Orthodox doctrine just doesn't interest them, and they see us as hopelessly wedded to a dead and oppressive tradition.  We must outread the opposition.

What About Reading Big Projects?

When I talk about big reading project, I mean big.  Set the goal of reading through great theologians.  Get the works of Edwards and start reading.  Read Luther and Calvin and Bunyan and the Puritans.  Buy sets (amazingly inexpensive these days, often many times less than our forefathers would have paid, adjusted for inflation).  Don't try to read through Luther in a month.  Set yourself a project that may take a couple of years.  Just think of what you can read in a lifetime.  I find myself constantly remembering what I have read in these great projects, because reading in a disciplined and cumulative fashion really aids memory and recollection.

What About Little Reading Projects?

Plan ahead for several smaller reading projects each year. Right now, start collecting books on a few topics for next year.  These might be projects on specific doctrines or theological issues, or on developments like the emerging church or a question related to the family.  Ask for book recommendations in these areas and create shelf space (or stacks on the floor) to collect the books together.  Then, go for it.  You can do several of these a year if you plan well and read regularly.  You will learn more, I believe, by reading this way than by reading more randomly -- even if some of the same books are read. 

What About Writing in Books?

I decide what kind of marking system I will use for each book.  Books read for immediate concern that are not likely to have prize space in my library a few years from now are generally marked with pen, yellow highlighter, and 3M reading flags.  Books of lasting value are most often marked in pencil with reading flags.  The flags are made of light adhesive and mark a page for immediate future reference.  Books of great inherent value, special editions, and antiquarian volumes are not marked at all.  Forbid the thought. 

As far as markings, just develop your own.  I mark off statements and paragraphs of special interest and I even argue with books in the margins.  I often write key words at the bottom right corner of a page.

How Much Time Should I Give to Reading?

That question is impossible to answer on its face.  A disciplined program of reading (beyond sermon preparation) that averages two hours a day will accumulate to great riches.  You will lose some days in other urgencies and will find more than two hours on other days.  Think long term.  Also, different stages of life bring demand different patterns.  Don't expect to get a great deal of reading done right after the birth of a baby in the family.  Take hold of the time you have and make the most of it.  Read Carl Henry's God, Revelation and Authority aloud to your babies as they are rocked to sleep.  Henry's penchant for elaborate compound nouns will work wonders on the baby.  The theological arguments will be good for your soul.  See . . . a win-win for good reading.

More to come.  Thanks for the good questions.  Your interest in these notes in reading encourages me.

Speaking of encouragement, I was really encouraged by C.J.'s posting, "A Passion form Reading and Learning."  Thank for listing Calvin and Hobbes, C.J..  Christopher and I are big fans.

Mark, I will be publishing a full review of Barna's Revolution in about a week.  I'll try to drop some comments before then. 

C.J., here is my Super Bowl prediction:  The winner will be either the Seattle Seahawks or the Pittsburg Steelers.  I heard that inside scoop on TBN.  Just call it a word of knowledge.

Back to reading.  Tonight I am reading Bernard-Henri Levy's, American Vertigo.  Levy, a French philosopher (and atheist) retraces the steps of Alexis de Tocqueville (and then some).  Best lines thus far:  The banks in America look like churches.  But here is a church that looks like a bank."  (On Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago.)

Posted on February 5, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

The Sorrow of a Harmless Shade

by amohler

Thank you for so many kindnesses, dear friends.  Mary's dad was a wonderful Christian man who was himself a witness to the Gospel of Christ.  His death came at the end of many years of illness, but was unexpected in its suddenness.  This is the first of our parents to die, and the first taste of close death for our children.  God's mercy is evident in so many details, but the sorrow is great.  We are encouraged to know that Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus, even knowing that Lazarus would soon be called from the grave.  The saints do grieve, but it is not the grief of despair.  Instead, it is the grief of knowing a separation that, though temporary, is real. 

The New England Puritan Edward Taylor, colleague of Increase Mather and correspondent with Richard Baxter, expressed the Christian view of death in these words:

How sweet is this: my Death lies buried / Within thy Grave, my Lord, deep under ground,
It is unskin'd, as Carrion rotten Dead: For Grace's hand gave Death its deadly wound.
Deaths no such terrour on th'Saints blesst Coast. Its but a harmless Shade: No walking Ghost

A harmless shade.  That's a fitting metaphor for the Christian understanding of death.  The sorrow of a harmless shade still hurts -- but this shade will not last.

Lig, thank you for being so very gracious during this time.  I was looking forward to being with you and your wonderful congregation, as well as the other planned events.  C. J. and Mark, thank you for your kind prayers and encouragement. 

Posted on January 28, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Some Thoughts on the Reading of Books

by amohler

I cannot really remember when I did not love to read books.  I do know that I was very eager to learn to read, and that I quickly found myself immersed in the world of books and literature.  It may have been a seduction of sorts, and the Christian disciple must always be on guard to guide the eyes to books worthy of a disciple's attention -- and there are so many.

As Solomon warned, "Of making many books there is no end" [Ecclesiastes: 12:12].  There is no way to read everything, and not everything deserves to be read.  I say that in order to confront the notion that anyone, anywhere, can master all that could be read with profit.  I read a great deal, and a large portion of my waking hours are devoted to reading.  Devotional reading for spiritual profit is an important part of the day, and that begins with the reading of Scripture.  In terms of timing, I am somewhat unorthodox.  My best time for spending time in the Word is late at night, when all is calm and quiet and I am mentally alert and awake.  That is not the case when I first get up in the mornings, when I struggle to find each word on the page (or anything else, for that matter).

In the course of any given week, I will read several books.  I know how much I thrive on this learning and the intellectual stimulation I get from reading.  As my wife and family would be first to tell you, I can read almost anytime, anywhere, under almost any kind of conditions.  I have a book with me virtually all the time, and have been known to snatch a few moments for reading at stop lights.  No, I do not read while driving (though I must admit that it has been a temptation at times).  C.J., I took books to high school athletic events when I played in the band.  [Heap coals of scorn and nerdliness here.]  I remember the books -- do you remember the games? 

A few initial suggestions: 

1.  Maintain regular reading projects.  I strategize my reading in six main categories:  Theology, Biblical Studies, Church Life, History, Cultural Studies, and Literature.  I have some project from each of these categories going at all times.  I collect and gather books for each project, and read them over a determined period of time.  This helps to discipline my reading, and also keeps me working across several disciplines.

2.  Work through major sections of Scripture.  I am just completing an expository series, preaching verse by verse through the book of Romans.  I have preached and taught several books of the Bible in recent years, and I plan my reading to stay ahead.  I am turning next to Matthew, so I am gathering and reading ahead -- not yet planning specific messages, but reading to gain as much as possible from worthy works on the first gospel.  I am constantly reading works in biblical theology as well as exegetical studies.

3. Read all the titles written by some authors.  Choose carefully here, but identify some authors whose books demand your attention.  Read all they have written and watch their minds at work and their thought in development.  No author can complete his thoughts in one book, no matter how large.

4.  Get some big sets and read them through.  Yes, invest in the works of Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, and others.  Set a project for yourself to read through the entire set, and give yourself time.  You will be surprised how far you will get in less time than you think.

5.  Allow yourself some fun reading, and learn how to enjoy reading by reading enjoyable books.  I like books across the fields of literature, but I really love to read historical biographies and historical works in general.  In addition, I really enjoy quality fiction and worthy works of literature.  As a boy, I probably discovered my love for reading in these categories of books.  I allow some time each day, when possible, to such reading.  It doesn't have to be much.  Stay in touch with the thrill.  [Feel the adrenalin surge, C.J.?]

6.  Write in your books; mark them up and make them yours.  Books are to be read and used, not collected and coddled.  [Make an exception here for those rare antiquarian books that are treasured for their antiquity.  Mark not thy pen on the ancient page, and highlight not upon the manuscript.]  Invent your own system or borrow from another, but learn to have a conversation with the book, pen in hand.

I would write more for this post, but I must go read. More later.  For now: Tolle! Lege!

Posted on January 26, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

The Journeys of Mark the Disciple

by amohler

It has been great to keep up with Mark as he ministers in Great Britain, along with Archbishop Peter Jensen and others.  Mark, I'm glad your discussion on church membership was "amicable and interesting."  That is a good start, of course.  You mentioned that the Anglicans, functioning as an established church, are "curious of how to make it work."  That's an honest observation, and honest believers in the gathered churches must admit that "making it work" requires both grace and constant learning.  Nevertheless, I am more convinced every day that this is the means of our rescue from the cult of personal autonomy and the travesty of cheap grace.   

May God bless your travels and ministry in England.  I leave you a favorite quote from a most quotable British source, C. S. Lewis:  "He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast in his heart."    

Posted on January 26, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

OK, C J, Enough About Sports

by amohler

It just had to happen.  And, in a strange sort of way, it even helps to make the point.  All over the world people gather together because of what animates, excites, and unites them.  Just look at the World Cup, Super Bowl, and Olympic crowds -- rock concerts, political rallies, and movie openings.  But we are together for the Gospel.  Which is the ultimate point, after all.  And it's a really good thing in so many ways.  If we were coming together about sports, I'd be left out.  C J would be in, but in his current state of limping, it would be more theoretical than physical.  Together for the Gospel, C J, in the church of Christ where we all love by God's grace.  Proud to be limping with you, my faithful friend.

Posted on January 20, 2006 | Link to this Post | Comments

Together for What?

by amohler

I think the title of this conference says it all -- "Together for the Gospel."  I am incredibly thankful for my friendship with Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, and C J Mahaney.  In recent years, I have come to a new and deeper understanding of what these friends mean to me.  It may well be that reaching middle age has something to do with this realization, for I have come to prize most highly those friendships that can last a lifetime.

Yet, I am confident that something deeper and more important is at work here.  The friendship that binds us together is a friendship that is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Here we have found our shared redemption, our shared identity, our shared calling, our shared commission, and our shared passion.  Of course, this means that we also share concerns about how the Gospel is being misunderstood and misconstrued in our postmodern times.  We are together . . .  in and for the Gospel.

I can't wait to join with our friends John MacArthur, John Piper, and R C Sproul at the T4G conference in April.  We hope to see pastors from all over the country here to be together with us . . . for the Gospel.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  [Romans 15:5-6]

Posted on January 18, 2006 in Gospel | Link to this Post | Comments