Charismatic Questions Spontaneity!

Bob Kauflin, tall, humble & happy, classicly-trained worship czar of Sovereign Grace ministries has been behind much good for Christ’s church.  (Get and listen to Sovereign Grace’s new CD’s Valley of Vision and Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man.)  Bob is now in the process of writing a new book on worship which promises to be good, readable, helpful, even by the standards of this regulative-principle, Calvinistic, hymn-loving Baptist reader.   Bob is one of the best, most well-read, most pastorally-senstive conversation partners on the whole topic of worship that God has ever given me.  I have learned and do continue to try to learn from him.

Here’s one good quotation in which Bob is typically clear-headed and carefully reasoned:  "I’m a spontaneous guy and love to hear people share freely from their hearts.  However, I’ve learned that in most cases having people read their testimonies is preferable to having them speak without notes.  The drawback is that people can sound a little impersonal or stiff.  But the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.  People don’t head down rabbit trails, they stay within their allotted time, their thoughts can be edited in advance for clarity and content, and they are less anxious.  Written notes also allow them to deviate briefly when appropriate, but give them something to return to."

Bob goes on to give cautions about being too planned.  His logic is ours at Capitol Hill Baptist Church for asking our baptismal candidates to write out their testimonies before they are baptized, and really for me writing out my sermons ahead of time! 

In these comments, as elsewhere, Bob shows himself to be my kind of "decently-and-in-order" charismatic brother!

Thankful for elders

Yesterday morning we had a wonderful time together as a congregation.  One of the high points was a moment that is fairly rare in our church’s life–all our elders came up front in the service.  Our new elders were taking vows, as was the congregation, and we were praying for them.  Having the elders there together, with the congregation pledging their prayers and support was moving.  A number of members commented to me afterwards about how much they appreciated the ministry of the elders in our congregation.  They were encouraged to see all these men standing there, from diverse backgrounds, committed to Christ and to our congregation.

Some readers may think this is strange stuff for a Baptist to write, but here’s what the faithful London pastor John Gill wrote in his commentary on III John 10:  “the pastor, and though there is a pre-eminence, which of right belongs to such an officer, as to preside over the church, to govern, guide, and direct, according to the laws of Christ, he being set over the church, as a ruler, governor, and guide; yet this may be carried too far, as it was by this man, who coveted more than was his due, and lorded it over God’s heritage, ruled the flock with force and cruelty, and usurped a tyrannical power over them; whereas every thing in a church ought to be done, by pastor and people, in love, meekness, and with mutual consent. And it may be also, that he sought to have the pre-eminence over the rest of the elders of the church, for in those large churches there were oftentimes more elders and pastors than one (see Acts 20:17, 28; Phil. 1:1)."

Deceptive Prosperity

It can be true of us as individuals.  It can be true of our churches.  It is the danger of deception, deception which comes with evident prosperity.  What if there is prosperity in our life, but also sin?  What if there is prosperity in our life right now, but sin God hates?  What if there is prosperity in our life, but the sin–hateful to God–is practically invisible to us?  We’ve become accustomed to it.  We don’t want to "see" it. 

And yet sin’s invisibility to us only increases its danger for us.  As Edmund Calamy said to his congregation in his final sermon, when some of them may have been pitying Calamy for his ejection from his pastorate, Calamy, acting even as a shepherd in his last sermon to his flock, was alerting them to the dangers inherent in their own prosperity.  A timely word for us.

"May be some will say, I have committed many . . . sins, but am not brought into any strait. Remember, it was nine months after David had numbered the people before he was in this strait; but as sure as God is in heaven, sin will bring straits sooner or later; though one sin a hundred years, yet shall he be accursed; may be thy prosperity makes way for thy damnation; and this is thy greatest distress, that thou goest on in sin and prosperity."
Edmund Calamy in his "Farewell Sermon," [Farewell Sermons, p. 11].

Confront or Adapt

Reading through recent mailouts of upcoming pastors conferences, knowing some of the speakers’ books and churches, reading the topics to be addressed, I’m struck again by the carefulness with which a faithful pastor must consider the issue of adapting the unchanging Gospel to his current context.  Of course contextualization always takes place, whether acknowledged or unacknowledged.  To acknowledge it is better, because then we are more self-aware of choices we’re making, and we are also better able to be examined by others on those choices.  Such awareness of our contextualizing also encourages humility, and hinders us from claiming alone to be the "I am of Christ" kind of party that Paul warned the Corinthians about.

And yet, contextualization presumes either positive or at least neutral cultural images or ways of communication which can be used by the Gospel.  Are there any cultural images or ways of communicating that can’t be used for Gospel purposes?  The answer would have to be "Yes", (though we might disagree about what those are). 

And what happens when a certain image or mode of communicating is inextricably linked with an anti-Christian worldview?  David Wells summarizes the issue:  “To put the matter succinctly: those who see only the contemporaneity of this spirituality—and who, typically, yearn to be seen as being contemporary—usually make tactical maneuvers to win a hearing for their Christian views; those who see its underlying worldview will not. . . . When rival worldviews are in play, it is not adaptation that is called for but confrontation.”David Wells, Above All Earthly Pow’rs (2005), pp. 155-156.

To find out more of what David specifically uses as an example, you’ll need to turn to that section of his book.  But in all our concern for evangelism and contextualization (excellent, Christ-like concerns) we should not be blind to implications of our decisions.

In a decision you’re making right now about your own congregation, could you imagine a situation in which your intention is simply to adapt becoming a situation in which you would have no option but to confront?  It’s worth thinking about.