July 2007

(by Tim) When I was about nineteen, I went over to a guy's house for what at the time was called a jam session. The guy lived with his parents in Wheaton, and they'd given him a room in their basement where he and his band practiced. I'd come with a friend who was also a guitarist and I hung out while the two of them traded licks for a while. It was a good time, in large part because no one there was sniffing glue or getting stoned or drunk. The times were drug-infested and jam sessions without drugs or too much alcohol were the exception to the rule.

Decades later, I found out that young man was now a famous Christian musician--and reformed, to boot. Then, I heard he was speaking out against the crass materialism of the contemporary Christian music scene as only a son of Wheaton could or would. His name is Steve Camp and my respect for him has deepened over the years.There's another CCM guitarist I respect a great deal...

(by Tim) Our dear brother, Pastor Erik Braun, comments on what he terms "the rather scathing assesment of Rudy Giuliani's political career by Kevin Baker in the latest Harper's." Pastor Braun notes this quote from the Harper's piece:

In the new politics the candidate is everything. The post ideological party distinguishes itself from its rivals not through any particular program or deep moral conviction so much as by the character and charisma of its particular leader - its Sarkozy, or its Berlusconi, or its Clinton - and by its brand selling strategies.

Pastor Braun goes on to point out the parallels between the way politicians and evangelical leaders are sold to the masses, writing "It is interesting how such a statement stands may stand as an indictment of the current state of evangelical Christianity as well."

Continue reading here...

(by Tim) Here are the fearless leaders seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, responding to the question, "Should women (also) register for the draft?" Sen. Clinton's new look, the self-promotion, the fawning applause are only slightly less nauseating than the actual respsonses. But don't let your revulsion tempt you to turn it off until you've heard the clip's final three words...

That about sums up the state of the sexual union today, doesn't it? Speaking not of sex, but of the current lineup of presidential candidates, I think, my dear friend, David Talcott, responds, "What's the difference, indeed?"

Turning from the Democrats to the Republicans, if there's any follower of Christ who still thinks he could close his eyes, hold his nose, and vote for Mayor Giuliani, he needs to read this article from the latest Harper's. It's amazing how far this guy has flown on his own blustery mists and vapors! Clearly, Giuliani's election would cause some of us to pine for the good old days of President William Jefferson Clinton.

(by Tim) A brother who used to be what we of Church of the Good Shepherd call a "Bobbite" recently sent this short E-mail to a present Bobbite who, in turn, passed it on to me. It's a fascinating glimpse into one small part of the Muslim world and provides clues concerning the commitment of young men to this Christian heresy. As we peer into this Muslim community, I'm reminded of Romans 10:2:

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

And I ask myself, where are similar communities of Christians whose family life resembles anything even approximating this Muslim brotherhood? Or what we see all through the New Testament? No, too many reformed churches today are merely preaching stations with the Sacraments and a little bonhomie before and after worship thrown in each Lord's Day. When's the last time someone said about our church, "See how they love one another!"

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Hi Guys,

I've got a bit of an adventure to tell you about -

My friend K. asked me several weeks ago if I would be willing to come with him to visit a "bookstore-like" place and talk with some of his friends. On Thursday night I agreed to go and met him at 7 in the heart of the old part of the Istanbul near where many of the tourist places are. I assumed we were going someplace nearby. After sharing a corn-on-the-cob with him we jumped on the tram and took it to a part of town I have never been in before. From there an older friend of his from his village picked us up in his car and took us another hour away - by then I had no idea where I was...

Note from Tim: A couple months ago, a dear friend who is a former member of Church of the Good Shepherd but now attends a PCA church in the southeast wrote this letter to his pastor and sent me a copy. Reading what he’d written, I appreciated my friend’s wisdom and asked his permission to pass his letter on to our readers. He graciously agreed.

These past few years, the session of Church of the Good Shepherd has worked hard to protect the unity of the body as we labored through changes in different aspects of our corporate worship. The Lord has been kind to us and our unity is intact. But it was a lot of heavy lifting.

Looking back, it’s clear there were times when some had trouble catching a vision for what appeared to be a very low goal; namely, everyone in the congregation being equally unhappy over matters of preference. But in this letter, our brother gives an excellent apology for this discipline within the Body of Christ and the spiritual fruit we may expect it to produce.

At times, our session was on the verge of splitting our services into two cultures, one highbrow and the other midbrow. (The order of worship would not have changed.) But thank God, we decided not to abandon the discipline of considering others better than ourselves and have kept our two services identical. That’s made all the difference.

I don’t mean to say I think any church that aims services at different demographic groups is sinning. Yet I suspect there are many other churches that could benefit a great deal from reading this letter and thinking through their rationale for what they're planning or have already done.

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Dear Pastor,

Thank you for your “Reflections on Worship” paper. If Calvin’s rule (“if we let love be our guide, all will be safe”) were consistently applied in all the intramural debates of our church, what joy you would have as the pastor! Even the sharpest disagreements can be sweetened when the “fight” is joined with mutual commitment, in the safety of the family living room. If here I express concerns about the splitting of our church services into different styles of worship, please know that I do it without seeking to be divisive or unloving.

I agree with the three main arguments you present in your paper. Having grown up with a father who spent his missionary career pastoring small evangelical churches in Austria, I resonate with your point about Europe’s cathedrals having become museums when they’ve refused to reform and contextualize. Calvin’s comment in the second chapter of the Institutes—“wherever there is great ostentation of ceremonies, sincerity of heart is rare indeed”—describes so well the hardening of the big European state churches in their loss of gospel preaching, witness, and worship in the last centuries. All that is left in the gothic buttresses of the great cathedrals is the hollowed-out skeleton of external religion; the heart of faith has long since stopped beating...