How I Disappointed Mr. T

Watch about a minute of this:

Hopefully you didn't watch much more than a minute. If you did you’re likely tearing through your house looking for scratch & sniff stickers, Hulk Hogan T-shirts, and stonewashing your jeans—anything to magically transfer you back to the wonderful world of the 80’s. The 80’s were amazing.

And also deadly.

Mr. T’s message here isn’t as bad as it could be. Actually Mr. T could be helpful as he says, “you don’t have to be famous to be somebody”. Unfortunately, that message was drowned out by the pervasive narcissism of the 80’s. Us children of the 80’s grew up hearing this type of stuff everywhere.

Over time, “be somebody” equated to “be famous”; and this contrary to Mr. T’s intentions. I thought of T after watching that Mark Driscoll* video that people were discussing last week. At some point in that video Driscoll mentioned a pastor that had been invited to the President’s prayer breakfast. And he said these words, “He’s somebody”. Immediately I thought of Mr. T’s song.

“Be somebody!”

Smokey the Bear came to my school when I was six and informed me that “only I could prevent forest fires”. Captain Planet told me that with his help I could be used to take pollution down to zero. But the most influential to me were Bo Jackson, Wayne Gretzky, and Michael Jordan. These three ProStars told me that I could be anything that I wanted to be if I set my mind towards it and worked really hard. I could be a somebody…just like them.

So this tiny kid with big ears from a small town in Missouri set out to become a professional baseball player. I worked hard. Practiced hours every night after school. Studied pitchers deliveries. I set my mind to it and I worked hard.

And I never even played one game of minor league baseball.

I was a nobody…

Then I got saved.

Maybe this will do it. I may not make it to the major leagues but I’ve discovered what really matters. If I’m a better follower of Jesus and a better pastor and writer and husband and daddy and all of these things, then maybe I’ll be somebody. So, I found my niche.

“This is how I’ll be somebody. I’m doing it Mr. T!”

And so I compete with other people in my niche. Forget those suckas out there in the world trying to be ball players and stuff. I’m doing what really matters. And I’m going to excel at this. I’ll sacrifice more than any of you guys. You want “radical” I’ve got your radical! And so I pursue being radical as a means to my ultimate end; namely, pleasing Mr. T.

Rather than actually being “gospel-centered” I turn being gospel-centered into a drive to “be somebody!” I’ll be the most gospely gospel-filled writer and pastor. I’ll be drenched in the gospel of being gospel-centered. And then I’ll “be somebody!”

Or maybe I’ll buck all those trends and chart out my own course. I’ll write something about how “radical” is just a fad and being gospel-centered is just a movement. And I’ll show my superiority by being above these movements and seeing right through them. And then I’ll “be somebody"!”

Inwardly I become restless. I despair when I’m not noticed, prideful if I am. Mr. T’s approval seems to be fickle. Maybe I’m somebody and maybe I’m not. And so my relationships start to suffer. People become a means to an end. Unity with other people is centered upon me and my desire to “be somebody!” And my preaching is only a means to show my awesomeness. I might even come across as humble. But that’s only to show that I’m somebody—a humble somebody—the bestest most humblest somebody’s of all the body’s that has ever been.

And I destroy churches and my own soul. Maybe I am a somebody, but it’s not a good somebody! Being somebody wrecks churches and souls.

The solution

You might think that the solution is to say, “I’m a somebody in Jesus”. I don’t think it is. That’s what got this whole mess started. I’m convinced that the only solution to no longer being a disciple of Mr. T is to be an actual disciple of Jesus. To really meditate on the Cross and be slain by it. I mean really slain. Not just slain so that I can parade myself around as one that has been slain. Really slain.

The solution is to fix our eyes on Jesus. His bigness. His power. His infinite worth. His love. His power. His humility. His everything. And so somehow my boasting slowly becomes in the Lord and not myself.

Be somebody?!?!?

No thanks! Jesus is the only Somebody. I’m just thankful for the grace to be included in His kingdom. No, I’m not a nobody. Nor am I a somebody. I’m just His. And that has me joyously content.

Sorry to disappoint you Mr. T!

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*If you think this article is a creative way to talk about or critique Mark Driscoll you’ve missed the message. This article is about an epidemic within our culture that has invaded our church and is killing us. It’s about what is going on in my own soul. To think that this is somehow about Mark Driscoll shows the truthfulness of what I am saying—we view everything through the lens of celebrity.

You Deserve This Post

Finally. After 31 years of trying to convince people someone finally gets it. I am awesome and I deserve awesome things. This was confirmed to me in an email sent by Marriott, the luxurious* hotel chain. According to these dudes I’m entitled to a spa, a weekend stay, chocolates, and a bunch of other goodies. The subject of the email was simple: YOU DESERVE THIS.

Darn right, I do, Marriott. And I deserve one of those sweet cozy bath robes too.

Of course the jokers said at the bottom of the email that it would cost a few dead presidents for me to obtain the reward for my awesomeness. Nevertheless, I am feeling pretty good about myself after reading this email. Now two people—the secretary for Marriott’s CEO and my wife—agree that I’m pretty amazing.

Actually this is not a new message. I have been hearing this message since I was old enough to hear messages. I was told that I deserved A’s in school. And I got awards just for showing up. My cartoon shows told me that I could be anything that I wanted to be. I deserve success. Whilst pounding down McNuggets in the late 80’s I was reassured by Ronald that “I deserve a break today…” The health clinic down the road tells me that I also deserve to be healthy. I deserve an amazing house. Apparently I deserve that Camaro down the street (and not apparently my 2000 Oldsmobile Alero).

Thank you world, for recognizing what I’ve known all along! I’m amazing simply because I suck air.

I know that you are wondering what my next amazing trick is going to be. So I will tell you. Why? Because YOU deserve it, that’s why! My next trick will be to reinterpret this verse:

Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’.

Not cool, Jesus. I deserve to be thanked. I deserve to be applauded. Doesn’t he understand that if I have such a negative view of myself (unworthy servant) that I will not be able to do all of my awesome stuff? How can I possibly love other people if I’m not enamored with myself first?

This verse has to go.

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Keep in mind that “luxurious” to an associate pastor raised in a town with a population of less than 1,000 will tend to be different than those of you that have actually experienced luxury.

Why We’ve All But Lost the Gay Marriage Debate

Back in 2011, Focus on the Family conceded that “we’ve probably lost” the gay marriage debate. Two years later “probably” would be an understatement. We have all but lost this debate. I am making the argument in this piece that this happened years ago when we swallowed certain cultural virtues instead of confronting them.

In their book, The Narcissism Epidemic, authors Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell make the argument that narcissism is on a relentless rise in our culture. Starting in the 1960s, “Americans core cultural ideas slowly became more focused on self-admiration and self-expression”. We raise our children to believe that they are special simply because they were born. Somewhere along the way our “specialness” was tied to our imago Homo (image of man) instead of the imago Dei (image of God). The pervasive belief in our culture is that we are special simply because we are human and not because humanity was created in the image of God.

If I am special “just for being me” it is only logical to conclude that the most important virtue is for me to be “true to myself”. It would be supremely unloving and even harmful for someone to try to change me. It would be a suicidal step away from greatness. The most loving thing that I can do for myself is express me—whatever me is.

Twenge and Campbell note that in generations past, religion kept a check on such narcissism. Not anymore. In fact, for many Americans, God exists to make them happy. Not happy in Him, mind you—but happy in our own flesh. Rather than being a deterrent to such self-centeredness the god of many Americans actually gives us a “thumbs-up” in our quest to be positively awesome.

In sum, our culture believes that every person is amazing simply by existing, the most important virtue is to be true to yourself, and God is passionate about the same thing that we are; namely, me.

How the Church Swallowed This

This is a humorous video but it captures our narcissism:

In some instances these cultural “virtues” have not been swallowed whole. But instead efforts have been made to redeem them. Rather than confronting the unbelieving assumption that I am positively awesome, much of our evangelism material starts with affirming that. We then encourage people to become truly awesome by accepting Jesus.

By and large we have not confronted these “virtues” we have just tried to Christianize them. And it is killing us.

Why this is causing us to lose this debate

How does all of this relate to the current debate over gay marriage? Honestly, you could substitute the phrase “gay marriage” with “culture of divorce” and a host of other issues the church is facing. My argument is that accepting our cultural narcissism has provided a breeding ground for normalizing many things the Lord defines as sin.

Think with me for a moment.

When I assume that I am awesome simply because I exist, will I be prone to be governed by anything external? If I am the standard of awesome why would I listen to what a 2,000 year old book has to say? Why would I care about God’s law? It does not define me.

One of the most common arguments in favor of gay marriage is that “it is who I am” therefore it would be supremely unloving to deprive people of simply expressing themselves. It is denying a freedom that is given by our constitution.

This argument can even be Christianized. God wants me to be happy. Happiness comes through me being true to my desires. Therefore, God would not call people to do something that was making them miserable?

What is the church’s response to these claims?

For years we thought that screaming “stop it” loud enough and long enough would do the trick. We thought that if we simply reminded people of what the Bible says and what the Lord thinks about homosexuality then people would be convinced. Yet we never confronted the core problem—that people have rejected the external message of God as definitive. (See this by Dan Phillips)

Then we tried saying, “You can change”. We confronted the idea that “it is who I am” arguments with a message that said, “You can change”. While that is true, it was ineffective because again we never confronted the underlying belief. When we said “you can change” we were met with an angry response of “why would I want to”. No wonder. If being “true to myself” is the highest virtue wouldn’t it be wrong to try to change?

Furthermore, such a change might cause suffering. It’s who I am. Would God really want me to have to suffer through something like this? Does God really want me to stifle desires? Does a loving God really not want me to express love? Wouldn’t it be supremely unloving for God to make me be somebody that I am not.

What does a church that believes God is primarily focused on our happiness say to such a thing? “You know what you might just have a point!” And so it slowly becomes more and more acceptable within the church. Because by and large we’ve swallowed the same virtues that the culture has.

Our Only Hope is the Gospel

Saying that our only hope is the gospel is quite common. And I agree with the statement. But I want to extend it a bit. When many say, “our only hope is the gospel” what they are really saying is, “Jesus can take a homosexual and change his desires and make him no longer gay”. While, I do believe in the power of redemption and change, and I do not want to minimize that, I believe it is aiming too low.

It’s not just homosexuality that needs to be confronted. It’s an entire mindset. The gospel directly confronts these “virtues” and defines them as the vices they really are. What we need in our day is a robust gospel. One that has God at the center instead of man. One that is willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. One that has it’s identity grounded in Christ and His work and not our own innate awesomeness. One that believes our greatest virtue is conformity to Christ and not some “being true to myself” hogwash.

This is what is needed. And the gospel really does have the power to rock mindsets and transform entire cultures. Yes, I believe that we’ve all but lost this debate on gay marriage. But I don’t believe it’s over. Nor do I believe that it is the central issue. It’s just a symptom—as divorces, abortion, etc.—is a symptom of our larger cultural problem of having abandoned the gospel.

I believe if the church focuses on what we really ought to focus on—making disciples—then eventually our culture will change. And maybe my children’s children will one day look at institutions like gay marriage and say, “Wait, a minute this isn’t what is best for us because this is an attempt to find happiness outside of God.” And maybe the gospel will have so penetrated our culture that righteousness becomes the new normal.

Or maybe it won’t. And maybe we and our children’s children will have to suffer; not because of our stance on gay marriage but because we aren’t drinking the Kool-aid that has man at the center of everything. And maybe we’ll be so passionate about Jesus that we’ll be willing to kiss the Cross if it means glorifying him and winning a few people to the unchangeable truth of Christ.

Why I Am Thankful For Cincinnati Reds Pitcher Mike Leake

In more than one place it has been recommended that writers ought to frequently “Google” themselves.  I do not do that.  First of all, it just sounds weird and not something that a follower of Jesus ought to be doing.  Secondly, I don’t benefit from “Googling” myself.  You know why?  Because for the first hundred or so pages I have to read about a Cincinnati Reds pitcher that stole my name. 

Apparently there is a feature on that Google machine where you can type in your name, your website, or really any keyword search and then get email updates every time somebody posts something to Al Gore’s internet with those words.  That would frustrate me to no end.  I would get double digit updates every day of someone writing an article on Reds pitching or stealing clothes from Macy’s.  So this little feature that is supposed to help writers would do very little for me if I searched for my own name. 

And for that I am very grateful. 

I know my own heart.  I know that I can become far more conscious of how the world views me, than how the world views Jesus.  Every time I got an email update about some chap interacting with something I wrote, my head would either swell with pride or my ego would be dashed by their criticism.  Left unchecked my heart has a tendency to “think more highly of myself than I ought”.  Which of course is firmly opposed to Paul’s exhortation to “not think more highly of yourselves than you ought”. 

The fact that I am the lesser Mike Leake is very beneficial to my soul.  Of course I would prefer that more people were concerned about articles lifting up Jesus instead of rambling on about a guy throwing a fastball or his slider getting rocked.  But I’m okay if that happens apart from my name—as it inevitably will.  I am glad that I cannot constantly monitor what the internets think about my writing.  This way I can just faithfully plod along and hopefully have a heart more like Paul’s that was far more concerned about the kingdom and mission of Jesus than he was about counting his own baptism numbers. 

So, thank you other Mike Leake.  Keep rockin’ that fastball.  Or not.  It really doesn’t matter because as long as you are playing in the MLB and I’m just faithfully preaching the gospel the world will value you far more.  And that’s cool with me because my treasure is secured elsewhere.  Of course, I think it’d be awesome if Christ captivated your heart and that way the greater Mike Leake and the lesser Mike Leake would both be representing Christ to the world.  You through your fastball and me through my writing and preaching.  But until that day I remain grateful that you keep my heart in check by your Google domination. 

Converting the Gospel

…it is your indispensable duty to preaching Christ and not yourself, that is, with sincerity and ardor to aim at displaying the glories of His person and the riches of His grace, the spirituality of His kingdom and the excellence of His government—not your own ingenuity or eloquence, your parts or learning. 

Guard then, my brothers, against the most pernicious evil; guard, as for your very life, against converting the gospel ministry into a vehicle to exhibit your own excellence, against prostituting the doctrine of Christ crucified to the gratification of your pride or that it may be a pander to your praise.    -Abraham Booth

Lessons From a Dusty Stack of Papers

I had to do something rather painful last night.  It is something that I am certain that I will have to do again at some point, though I will dread it.  What am I talking about? 

While doing some Fall cleaning I discovered a dusty old stack of papers that needed to be gone through.  This stack of papers was the happy home of old papers I had written in my freshman year of college.  Yesterday, I had to go through them and read some of them. 

Ouch.

At the time I wrote them they were really good.  They were well written treatises explaining the intricacies of the Christian faith (that I had mastered in after only being a believer for a little over a year).  Not only did I explain for all to understand the mysteries of the relationship between free-will and divine sovereignty; but I also had a paper that was certain to destroy every last vestige of popery while simultaneously sticking a dagger in the heart of Anglicanism.  My papers were awesome. 

WERE.

But over the years sitting in that stale file cabinet they acquired a good amount of ignorance.  They were brilliant when written, finely edited, and without an error.  But now they held on their pages a good amount of error; like calling “the Cross” a Catholic sacrament.  Apparently error flowing forth from an arrogant pen takes a few years to ripen. 

As I read these papers I felt a strange sympathy for their author.  It was the same feeling I feel for Michael Scott when I watch the Office.  Part of you really dislikes the guy, but the other part feels sorry for him.  He seems to be so happily confident in his awesomeness, but the rest of the world views him as a complete goon. 

How could someone be so arrogant and yet so painfully unaware of his ignorance? 

And that scares me.  I’m pretty confident that right now I do not have any glaring errors like I did when I was 19.  I can look back and laugh (painfully, laugh) at my ignorant views of the Catholic church, and my weak understanding of the gospel.  I’m deeper now.  I know more.  I have a better grasp on the gospel.  Right?!?!? 

What will I feel when I look back at the stuff I wrote at age 30?  I only hope that where there is regret it’s covered by a deeper experience of grace.  I know that the only thing in what I write will be that which rightly speaks to the eternal and presents Christ as the only boast of this generation.  I want to write in such a way as not to be ashamed.  The only way I can do that is by not writing a ton of “opinions” but remaining as close as I can to the unchanging Word. 

I stand today quite thankful that grace is more amazing than a foolish and arrogant young student.  I’m thankful that those papers were locked up in the file cabinet of a shed in a small town in Indiana and not posted some place for all to read.  Not only for my own sake but also for the sake of the gospel.  I made Jesus look foolish.  I pray for a great reversal.  May I be used to magnify the greatness of Jesus and make myself look foolish. 

And it will probably be best to write humbly…

The Root of Church Defection

…those who more boldly than others incite defection from the church, and are like standard-bearers, have for the most part no other reason than their contempt of all to show they are better than the others. (John Calvin, Institutes, 1030)

Ripping on the church has become a national past-time.  It is not uncommon for people to get so fed up with the brokenness of the church that they decide their relationship with Jesus could be just as easily cultivated at home. 

There is also the other type of person that hops from church gathering to church gathering but never firmly plants within a body.  There is nothing wrong with trying to find a church home.  But there is something wrong with NEVER planting.  And I question someone that is just “following where the Spirit leads” but never commits himself/herself to a local manifestation of the body that Christ died for. 

I understand there is more to this than the simple John Calvin quote. I understand there is much debate about what constitutes a “church” and that many are moving away from an institutional variety and embracing a more organic house church model. 

I simply want to make one point.  Make certain that you aren’t “defecting” out of pride and a sense of having it all together.  Do you love the church?  If your heart is not beating for the church of God then I doubt it truly longs for Jesus.  You can’t love Jesus and dis’ his wife. 

The Explosion of Pride and Popularity

It is easy for me to advise you to be humble, and for you to acknowledge the propriety of the advice; but, while human nature remains in its present state, there will be almost the same connection between popularity and pride—as between fire and gunpowder: they cannot meet without an explosion, at least not unless the gunpowder is kept very damp. So, unless the Lord is constantly moistening our hearts (if I may so speak) by the influences of his Spirit, popularity will soon set us in a blaze! You will hardly find a person, who has been exposed to this fiery trial, without suffering loss.  -John Newton

If you are a minister of the gospel then it is almost a necessity that you read this letter in full. 

I love reading biography.  There is one thing that I notice in the lives of many men and women that were “great” men and women of God: they fought pride.  These men and women understood, with Newton, that pride and popularity will cause a ruinous explosion if not dealt with. 

In our day and age I fear that pride is often disguised as a “healthy self-esteem”.  It is quite possible to think that Christ is being honored through the use of our gifts, when it is the gift and not the Giver that is receiving the worship.  Newton continues with his exhortation:

Beware, my friend, of mistaking the exercise of gifts for the exercise of grace. The minister may be assisted in public for the sake of his hearers; and there is something in the nature of our public work, when surrounded by a concourse of people, which is suited to draw forth the exertion of our abilities, and to engage our attention in the outward services—when the frame of the heart may be far from being right in the sight of the Lord.

May the Lord be so kind as to constantly moisten my heart.  I pray that I never confuse the exercise of gifts for the exercise of grace.  May my heart be willing to sacrifice for eternity the exercise of gifts if it means for eternity I am allowed to enjoy the exercise of grace. 

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 2/28-03/02

I doubt these would actually work, but Michael Patton gives us 20 Theological Pick Up Lines. My favorite is this one: “I could not help but notice you were exegeting me instead of the text during the sermon.” Check out the rest...

In the latest Pulpit Magazine article, John MacArthur considers election.

Tim Challies interviews one of my favorite authors, Os Guinness. You can read it here.

Jared from Gospel-Driven Church points us to a list of pastoral pitfalls given by Art Azurdia. By the way, an excellent work is Azurdia's Spirit Empowered Preaching. Seriously, if you are a pastor you really need to buy and read this great book. About the best 9 bucks you can spend.

Great article by Stephen Altrogge, Pride and Arrogance 101. Unfortunately I'm not sure I need to take the entry level course, I might qualify for the upper level courses...wait...was that prideful?

Trouble with Frank Page, part four is provided by the Reformed Mafia. The conclusion is well put: "The bottom line is that Dr. Page’s heralded, supposedly reformational, Scriptural soteriology is merely the five articles of the Remonstrance, with the last one replaced by Eternal Security, which both sides at the Synod of Dort would have found strange."

Nathan Busenitz wraps up his discussion on the Law. In case you missed each link, this particular article can link you to all 8 posts on the topic. It is a very helpful discussion. His resolution post can be found here. Part 2 of Appealing to the Law can be found here.

Unfortunately Timmy Brister never blogspotted The Mystery of Providence. But he does provide an open thread.

Phil Johnson continues his excellent series on Depravity. His latest question: Is There an Antidote to Our Depravity?

Timmy Brister has a thoughtful post on the ridiculous things we in the SBC use as Evangelism. Here is his concluding statement: "The truth is, the sinners in Paul’s day were no more sinful than sinners in our day, and if we are going to experience the power of the gospel in our lives and ministries, we must preach Christ and Him crucified. The resurrection of Christ is no mere illusion, and we should not evangelize like it either."

In closing...HOW ABOUT THOSE BROWNIES IN FREE AGENCY!!! We have no draft picks in April but Donte Stallworth, Shaun Rogers, and Corey Williams are huge helps for our team. My only concern is the lack of a shut-down cornerback. Check out the Browns website for the latest.