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Thanks!

Management.

How the Spirit Works

Today our church celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, commemorating Jesus’ sending of the Holy Spirit upon the nascent church. I wanted to take a few minutes and help us develop our thinking about the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is incredibly misunderstood today. On the one hand, you have folks who basically ignore Him, or are afraid to mention him (just in case they’d sound Pentecostal). But we must talk about the Holy Spirit, because his work is absolutely vital to what the church does. Without the Holy Spirit, everything we do is useless (see below). We’re Christians, we believe that God is a Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons, one God. So if we neglect the Holy Spirit, we are neglecting God himself. We must talk about the Holy Spirit.

And yet on the other side of things, when the Holy Spirit is spoken about, it’s almost always in terms of our experience/emotions/enthusiasm, etc. But the Holy Spirit is not our experience or our emotions. The Holy Spirit is a Person. Now it’s very rare that I feel or experience another person. In fact, I’ve taken some vows to the effect that I’m basically only allowed to feel one person, my wife. But all the time, we are surrounded by persons, who are real, and active, and engaged. Sometimes we’re more affectively aware of them, but it doesn’t diminish their reality or their when we aren’t. So, rather than the Holy Spirit being understood in terms of our emotions and feelings, the picture we find in the Bible and the Reformed (this isn’t just Reformed, but also catholic in the good sense) tradition (of which we’re a part) is that the Holy Spirit is the one by whom we relate to God. Every time and every way we relate to God the Holy Spirit is at work.

He inspired the Bible. He causes the Bible to be living and active rather than just a dead letter. He works in preaching so that the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. He works in and through the sacraments so that they are more than just empty signs. He mystically unites us with Christ because as John Calvin says, “As long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value to us” (Insitutes of the Christian Religion, 3.1.1). He applies the benefits of Jesus’ redemption to us, opening our hearts to receive Christ and giving us the gift of faith. He empowers our prayer, so that as we speak, we are in communion with God. He bridges the gap between us and God, so that God is present with us in a meaningful way. It’s boring to say that God is with us unless we understand the Holy Spirit. Because God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. It doesn’t tell us anything to say that he’s here apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit brings the reality and the power of God into our lives in a personal and meaningful way. Because he is fully personal and fully God, he doesn’t just bring us information about God, he brings us God himself. It is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus is with us always, objectively, not just when we feel like it or experience it. This is so much better and more profound than the typical understanding that the Holy Spirit sends shivers down our spines. And the Bible teaches in Romans 8.9 and Ephesians 1.13-14 that all Christians are given a share in the Holy Spirit. If you trust in Jesus, you belong to him, and he has given you this power, this Holy Spirit so that you can know him and serve him, and as Acts 1.8 says, be his witness.

So take some time and thank the Father and the Son for sending to us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

True Worship

Worship is a term that gets bandied about a lot, especially in what’s been dubbed “The New Calvinism” (personally, in a lot of ways I prefer the old Calvinism, but that’s another matter). But what is worship?

Recently, my lovely wife and I were contemplating worship over a pizza and sample paddle at the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Greensboro, and I pointed out some of the dangers associated with worship. Some of these dangers are addressed in this (admittedly tongue-in-cheek) video:

Now, for better or worse, most contemporary evangelical churches have embraced this type of worship, which essentially grows out of the charismatic and revivalist traditions. There is a strong emphasis on techniques designed to create a certain emotional experience (which is frequently called “worship”).

Rather than simply criticize this style, I should point out that the emotions are important. God has created us as emotional beings, and, when functioning properly, our emotions and affections can lead us to better knowledge and worship of and obedience to the Holy Trinity. To ignore the emotions is folly.

But it’s also quite dangerous to so emphasize the emotions that people assume: emotional response = worship. What if the band were sick on Sunday, and all we had was a Bible from which to read? Many contemporary evangelicals would leave that service thinking they’d not worshiped because they weren’t made to feel a certain way.

But here’s the thing, if you can’t “worship” to the reading of Scripture, the administration of the sacraments, a “traditional” service, or a real traditional service, then you probably aren’t worshiping during those times of emotional fervor you experience while the band is playing. And if your emotional high doesn’t lead you to live your life any differently after worship is over, you probably aren’t worshiping either.

Now, I have preferences about worship style. And I think that some actually are better than others. You probably do also. But that’s not the point. The point is that we rely far too much on ourselves, our techniques, our preferences, and our experiences in worship.

What matters in and makes worship is an encounter with the Triune God through the work of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit (who should never be confused with our emotions, he’s a Person). And this is not something we can manufacture ourselves. It only happens where and when God condescends to meet with his people in blessing (which is why our church emphasizes Word and Sacrament, the means God has promised to use and bless). We are totally dependent upon God for worship to happen. It’s not something we can work up, even with all our best technology, use of music, and rhetoric.

So, if you attend a church tomorrow, spend time asking God to meet you in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that you can take part in true worship. Anything else is just an emotional exercise in futility.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

Jesus and Death Metal

Fair warning folks, if you didn’t like the posts on Metallica last year, you aren’t going to like this either.

That said, if you know me, you know that I like to do theological readings of culture, especially music. I do this for a few reasons. First, I try to view the world theologically anyway, so these are the categories with which I work. Second, I like to help model how we can discerningly engage with the world around us without rejecting culture (a fundamentalist move) or uncritically accepting it (a liberal move). So we look at songs/television/movies in order to recognize the sorts of statements they are making about us, God, and the world; as well as what the Christian Faith has to say in response.

In recent years, I’ve grown to really appreciate the band Opeth. Their intricate songwriting, strong melodic sensibility, and penchant for epic compositions sort of make them the perfect storm for a musical elitist such as myself.

Below is their song “Burden,” from the album Watershed.

I’m also including the official music video, which, regrettably, cuts about three minutes out of the song (among other things, note the prominence of the crucifix).

I, once upon a time
Carried a burden inside
I sung a last goodbye
A broken rhyme I’d underlined
There’s an ocean of sorrow in you

A sorrow in me

Saw a movement in their eyes
Said I no longer knew the way
Given up the ghost
A passive mind submit to fear
And the wait for redemption at hand

Waiting to fail

Failing again

If death should take me now
Count my mistakes and let me through
Whisper in my ear
You’ve taken more than we’ve received
And the ocean of sorrow is you

Though somewhat surreal and abstract, the lyrics are obviously dealing with sorrow, regret, pain, and loss (Mikael Åkerfeldt has said that they were inspired by a friend of his who committed suicide), characterized as a burden within amounting to an “ocean of sorrow.” This continues into the second verse, where he confesses to not knowing the way, being unsure of where to go or what to do about this burden. There’s also a sense of looking/longing for redemption.

The Bible is well aware of these feelings, and the psalms are replete with cries for relief (e.g., Psalms 42-43; 77; 88) (notice language similar to the ocean of sorrow is used); or expressive of regret (e.g., Psalms 32; 51). God understands what it’s like to live in this broken world. He knows it from experience. As Christians, we believe that the Son of God became man (Incarnation), and that he was tried and tempted as we are in every way (except for without sin). On the cross, Jesus was utterly overwhelmed with the ocean of sorrow, as God’s wrath against human sinfulness was poured out on him in full force. So desperate was his situation that he cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

So far, the Bible and Opeth are tracking together well, but up ahead there’s a dramatic parting of ways. Åkerfeldt ends the song with somewhat of an anticipation of judgment for how life has been lived, a recognition that his mistakes will be counted, that things aren’t balanced especially well, and evidently an expectation that the ocean of sorrow is all that lies ahead. The same is true for all of us if we are judged based on our performance in life.

But, though the ocean of sorrow did come crashing down upon the Son of God, the story doesn’t end there. God has also raised him from the dead, vindicated him, and promised to bring all who trust in him into true and everlasting life, joy, and peace. For those who trust in Christ, the ocean of sorrow is braved and left behind in baptism. And though we still live in a fallen world, we have the sure promise that one day we will be raised from the dead to live in a renewed and perfect world. Though there is true pain in this world and life, those who belong to Christ need not despair (as this song does).

So, how should Christians view songs like this? I suggest a few responses:

1. Thank God that in his common grace beautiful music is being written, even by those who do not know him.
2. Thank him for art which so truly expresses the human condition.
3. Recognize that this is how many view the world (and that without Christ it makes sense to view the world this way).
4. And thank God that this is not the whole story. We don’t have to carry these burdens any more because Jesus has.
5. Let the dissonance between what should/will be and what is build your anticipation for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

Don’t get Comfortable

Yesterday I preached from Genesis 6.9-22. Though it wasn’t my main point, one thing I drew out from the text was that God calls us not merely to avoid more overt acts of sin, but to walk with him and be blameless and holy. Often times even those of us who aren’t strictly speaking legalists still approach the Christian life from a legalistic framework. What I mean is this: a legalist views it as his mission in life to avoid sin, so he keeps lots of rules (which may or may not actually be from the Bible) to be sure he won’t sin. By doing this, he hopes that God will be pleased with him. And yet much of the time the rest of us are likewise content with “avoiding sin.” we aren’t legalists, so we won’t get stressed about a bunch of extra-biblical rules, but we will play games like “figure out how much I can get away with.” We figure out where the “line” is, and then we get as close to the line as we can. But instead, God calls us to get as close to him and as far away from sin as we can. There’s a world of difference. (Now, don’t mishear me. Anything that is not biblically defined as sin can be done. I’m not saying that we should add extra standards to what Scripture says. Instead, I’m talking about our disposition and the inclination of our hearts.)

Anyway, this morning, my wife and I read 1 Peter 5 together. In verse eight, the Apostle gives us this warning, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Peter is warning us that there is danger all about us and we need to be careful. Christians do have an Enemy. The Devil is real. He is not a symbol or a myth. He is a person. And he hates us, and he wants to destroy us. And we need to be watchful. We need to be awake.

We have a tendency to get comfortable and complacent. We tend to go with the flow. The problem, though, is that we live in a world and culture that is opposed to God and inclines away from him. And the natural tendency of our sinful nature is to decline from God. When we go with the flow, we are drawn away from God. Unless we are actually striving towards God (as his Holy Spirit enables us), we are drifting away from him. We’re never at rest. We’re always going somewhere.

The good news, though, is that God has sought us out and through his Son brought us to himself. We are not saved by our ability to keep loyal or strive after God. We are saved by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

But this doesn’t change the fact that there’s danger around us, and that we need to keep a close watch on ourselves, and that we ought to be striving after God. How are you seeking him this day?

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

Divine Forbearance

In the last couple of posts, we’ve seen from Genesis 6.1-8, that humanity is at once worse than we tend to think and better than many of us think. But there’s a last piece of this puzzle that I want us to explore today. God is also more patient than we think.

As we see in verse 7, God comes up with a plan to deal with the situation. He will wipe out humanity from the earth, and with them he’ll take the beasts, birds, and reptiles. Thus we see, our sin doesn’t just affect us. It affects those around us. It even affects the created order. There are no “victimless” crimes. To some, this idea of God wiping away the world is quite disagreeable. Why is God so angry? But note two things. First, he is being greatly provoked. Mankind’s every inclination is only evil all day long. It’s not that he’s wiping out the nice, unsuspecting good guys. He’s wiping out the bad guys. Second, he is incredibly patient. He’s giving them 120 years to repent. That’s longer than most (if not all) of us will live. He’s not a hothead going into a rage. He’s patient. He’s giving opportunities for salvation. He doesn’t want to destroy, but he also can’t let evil go unchecked.

Think of how patient God is to us. How patient he is to not strike down the porn-guy as he lusts in front of images of exploited women on the computer. How patient he is to not unleash his judgment on us when we live our lives as if he doesn’t matter. How patient he must be to hear us sending him prayers that he would give us our idols. The fact that we are not all at this very moment in hell is evidence of the incredible patience of God. So rather than complain about his justice, we should take advantage of his patience and be saved while we can. And we should let others know of the salvation they can have if they will turn to him while there’s still time. God’s patience won’t endure forever. If it would, he wouldn’t be just. He wouldn’t be God. He would be the devil.

God gives all of us space to repent as well. And we would do well to take him up on it. We don’t know that we’ll have 120 years. Probably we won’t. But now we have the chance to turn from our sin, and embrace Christ and be saved. We shouldn’t put this off. We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. And even if we reach tomorrow, we don’t know that we’ll have a repentant heart then. The time to return to God is always now.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

We’re Better than we Think

In our last post, we explored the fact that we are far worse than we think we are. But that picture is incomplete. Today we’ll be looking at things from another angle. It’s true, Genesis 6.5 tells us that every intention of the human heart is always evil. But we must remember that this has come right after Genesis 6.1, which explains that mankind was multiplying on the face of the earth. This shows that they were getting at least part of God’s purpose for them right: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1.28). This shows us a feature of a strong doctrine of creation: there are certain aspects of who we are that just cannot be undone. God has made us certain ways. And though sin does twist and pervert who we are, we are still human.

We’re a church in the Reformed Tradition. Among other things, this means that we agree in large part with the theology of John Calvin. Calvinism is often seen as having a low view of humanity. But that’s just not true, at least not with Calvin, who could write, “We have now to speak of the creation of man, not only because of all the works of God it is the noblest, and most admirable specimen of his justice, wisdom, and goodness, but, as we observed at the outset, we cannot clearly and properly know God unless the knowledge of ourselves be added” (Institutes 1.15.1. See also 1.1.1-3; 1.3.1-3; 1.5.3). Of course, when compared to God, we are quite low. And, of course, sin has brought great ruin to us. But Calvin had an extremely high view of humanity. This highlights the tragedy of the fall. We’re like an ancient ruin: beautiful, yet desolate. Our creation in the imago dei is not undone by sin, but the image is obscured and twisted. There’s nothing wrong with being human. Humanity is wonderful. Sin is bad, not humanity.

This is a far cry from some of the distortions of Calvinism out there, which basically seek to utterly abase humanity and make us feel terrible about ourselves, as though emotional self-flagellation would merit some sort of favor from God. Sin is terrible, and we’re all terrible sinners. But the point of “Total Depravity” (as it’s unhelpfully called) is not to make us feel bad, or to show us how terrible we are. It’s to highlight the wonders of God’s grace, and to teach us to rely on that grace because we certainly can’t make it on our own.

When you address sin in your life, or your church, or the lives of those around you, do you do it to “put people in their place,” or to make them feel bad? Or do you do it so that we’ll more clearly see the wonderful grace of God, heartily embrace it, and find life?

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

We’re worse than we think

This past Sunday, our church began a new series in the Book of Genesis, called “Dead Ends, New Beginnings.” In this series, we’ll explore the stories of Noah and the Flood, and the Tower of Babel, to see how humanity keeps running into dead end after dead end, while God makes a new beginning. Yesterday, Pastor Stephen preached from Genesis 6.1-8, which describes the state of humanity leading up to God’s judgment in the Flood.

Two verses in particular stood out. In Genesis 6.5-6, we read, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”

It’s hard to read that verse and not come away with a fairly dismal view of fallen humanity. Five chapters ago, God looked at everything he had made, and behold it was very good. Now he regrets creating humanity, the crowning achievement of his very good creation. Things are very far gone for it to reach this point. Parents deal with disappointment in their children all the time. But to regret that your children even exist is indicative of an extraordinary problem. Things are really bad when you get to that point. But that’s where God is. And it grieves him to his heart. So often we think that we’re doing God a favor by showing up to church, or by whatever it is that makes us feel like good people. But the fact of the matter is that we are miserable offenders in whom there is no health (to echo the BCP).

And this evil is lodged in the heart, the core of who we are. There’s the rub, because we can often point to good things we’ve done (building houses for habitat, feeding the poor, whatever else). But our problem isn’t so much what we do, it’s why we do. And the Divine Word tells us that every inclination of our hearts is evil. Even our best motives are mixed to some extent with selfishness and sin. As Jeremiah 17.9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Even when we think we know why we’ve done something, we’re only scratching the surface. So, yes, we’re much worse than we think.

That’s why I get so concerned with the new “Gospel-centered” movement. Everyone’s talking about the heart now. “Matters of the heart,” “Heart issues,” “Heart idolatry,” “Heart change,” and so on. Such discourse seems to make a changed heart the solution to our problems. It’s not. The heart is not the solution. It is the problem.  Jesus is the solution. My heart can never change enough to be the solution, or even part of the solution. The only solution is Jesus. Taking matters to the level of the heart doesn’t solve anything, it prepares us for the solution, by taking away any defenses we might have had left. It shows us how desperately we need a Savior. It prepares us to accept grace and the cross as our only hope.

But the good news is that we have a sure hope. Through the cross and resurrection, Jesus has conquered the problem of sin for his people. We can go free, resting in his purity, rather than needing to establish our own.

In our next post, we’ll explore the fact that we’re also better than we think.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Today is Easter, the most joyful and important Feast of the Church’s year.  On this day we mark the fact that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. The resurrection helps us to see that the cross was not a tragic defeat, but a stunning success. The resurrection proclaims that death has been defeated, that reconciliation with God has been effected, that the future is bright, and that we, the church, have a message to proclaim.

But none of this matters unless it really happened. The Apostle Paul wrote that if Jesus was not truly raised, that Christians are the most pathetic fools of all (1 Corinthians 15.19). A popular song says, “You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart!” But let me tell you…that’s the worst reason in the world to believe in the resurrection. It’s a weird mix of pietism and Protestant Liberalism…neither of which are good things. This morning, I urged people to take the claims of the resurrection seriously, to wrestle with them, because this is too important to get wrong because we’re lazy. It’s also too important to leave to the world of subjective feelings.

But there are good reasons for belief in the resurrection. I’ve dealt with them in a series of blog posts (which we’ve also made available as a handout), but recently came across another good summary by Michael Patton. He lists internal (i.e., in the Bible) evidence for the resurrection such as honesty, irrelevant details, harmony, public extraordinary claims, and lack of motivation for fabrication. That information is summarized here.

He also lists external evidence such as preservation of the documents, archaeology, extra-biblical attestation, and survival in a hostile environment. I would urge you to read over this information. If you are not a believer in the resurrection, this might not convince you (ultimately that’s the work of the Holy Spirit anyway), but until you have really considered this with an open mind, you can only pretend that your disbelief is rational.

The truly adventurous might want to check out N.T. Wright’s tome The Resurrection of the Son of God, or his more accessible, Surprised by Hope.

And finally, here’s a reflection on the resurrection that I almost included in my sermon, but decided against for time considerations. It’s superb.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger

New Location!

Dear Friends,

After nearly a year and a half of blood, sweat, and tears, our new meeting location has passed its final inspection. This means, among other things that we’ll be meeting there from now on. Our meeting time has been changed to 10am on Sundays, beginning this Sunday, Easter.

A number of people have worked very hard on making this happen, but I want to take a moment to thank a few in particular. Blake Shotwell, one of our deacons, has owned this project. We thank him for his time, energy, and more on this. We also thank his wife, Angela and children, Kate and Anneliese, for letting us borrow him so much. T.D. Duggins has put in a lot of time for free, doing work most of us don’t know how to do. D.J. Emilson has done our electrical work for free. And Calvary Baptist Church has donated a lot of materials, man-hours etc. Beyond that, though, many people have prayed, made donations, and worked hard. Thanks to all of you, and may God get the glory.

Please join us in praying that we not just get comfortable in this new building, but leverage it as a center for worship, equipping, mission, and service. Jesus is worthy of the worship of all peoples in the world, and in the Triad. Let’s use this building as a means to that end.

We’ll break things in tomorrow (April 2) at 6.30 pm, with our Good Friday Service, and on Sunday at 10 am, we’ll celebrate the Resurrection of Christ in our Easter Celebrations!

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Posted by: Gene Schlesinger