Category: Theological Thoughts

Dear friend,

I thought I’d start the week by delving into a topic that most Christians would not dare touch for fear of sounding puritanical or an archaic ogre. I touch on it because I have a daughter and have the kinds of concerns that daddies have when they see their beautiful girls growing up. So, while I expect these principles to fail the perfection test, they are principles for my daughter which may be of interest to other parents out there trying to figure out this modesty business. For what it’s worth, I am of the Latin variety, which means that any pre-conceived notion that these principles come from some westernized attempt to impose Elizabethan, blah, blah, blah. But I digress. I suppose I am going against the presuppositions of my own cultural upbringing.

You see, I grew up in a tropical country where views on modesty went out the window before any conversation ever started. Anything was allowed because after all the sun will drain us of life unless we wear fewer things or reveal more things. And the people trying to think through modesty when I was growing up were exceedingly rigid and failed to convey their principles winsomely. They lost that battle. I firmly believe these are conversations that dads need to have with their daughters and one reason they are not happening is that we have allowed the entertainment industry to set the agenda for our girls.

Many years ago I came across the principles a Christian financial/business expert by the name of Michael Hyatt gave to his daughters growing up. They were concise and to the point. I don’t think I need a letter explaining human biology nor the biblical ethic of female modesty, so I am assuming a fairly knowledgeable readership. So, here are Hyatt’s four principles:

a) If you have trouble getting into it or out of it, it is probably not modest.
b) If you have to be careful when you sit down or bend over, it is probably not modest.
c) If people look at any part of your body before looking at your face, it is probably not modest.
d) If you can see your most private body parts or an outline of your undergarments through the fabric, it is probably not modest.

Again, these are not perfect principles and there is room for further conversation, however, I do think they are principles for the beginning of a good conversation that few want to tackle.

I know, I know. Why did I have to go there? Honestly, my answer is that our daughters belong to God and God does care about what we convey with our bodies and clothes.

Sincerely, a concerned dad.
Uri

I am only now thinking more carefully about potential titles for my doctoral project. The title above is probably a small reflection on the many reflections and readings I’ve had in the last few months. The title will likely be edited, but what it brings to mind is my desire to provide a model that brings to the forefront a way of thinking of pastoral ministry. It combines the tangible dimension of pastoral care which is caring for souls (Baxterian) and doing it with a smile on your face (Peterson).

Too much pastoral work is done with a sense of fear. This does not set the stage for long-term endurance. The concept of longevity is rarely discussed in pastoral theologies but needs to be grasped, especially by those new to the work of the church. Questions like, What does longevity look like? What can we learn from those who walked faithfully the life of the ministry? Are we capable of determining our limitations? Why have so many forsaken the pastoral call? Why have congregations destroyed pastors? What allowed pastors to be easily manipulated? are to be contemplated, but are often replaced with questions pertaining to numbers and strategies for growth, etc.

The question of longevity deserves attention. There are, of course, extraordinary situations in which ministers step down, but ordinarily, pastors step down for a host of self-imposed afflictions. I believe that is certain lessons are learned, they can provide a better perspective in the years ahead. The matter of longevity is not a matter of how not to suffer, but how to suffer well and with a purpose in pastoral work.

Another trend is how pastors contemplate the role of their families as secondary or a necessary evil to the primacy of their own flock. When Paul speaks (I Tim. 3:4) of managing our households well as a qualification for the pastorate, he uses it as analogical. The oikos is a picture of the ecclesia. Too often pastoral theology is done backward. The reason the oikos is first is that it is a group of individuals we can guide with greater firmness; an institution where the head of a home can direct with imperatives and love; a place where our shepherding muscles are flexed. It is more manageable. The precise connection is that pastors are only accountable to those acts in church life that are ordinarily under his care. He is not responsible for things outside his authority. Therefore, the house functions as a daily mini-pastoral training seminar. if the oikos is not functioning in some kind of order, it’s unlikely the ecclesia will.

Finally, the title above provides the impetus and the motivation behind the work. If pastoral work is burdensome, it will not endure. We need to be driven by joy instead of survival instincts. For a minister to thrive in the pastoral field, he needs to plant sees with joy knowing that his labors are not in vain,

Ben Patterson offers some guides on how to know we are imbalanced in our pastoral work:

a) The bathroom scale tips you off. ‘Weight gain is a good indicator that I’m under stress and that my life is out of control.”

b) Anger. “Sudden explosions toward my family broadcasts to me that I am under pressure.”

c) When discipline is unhealthy: “If my discipline is reasonable, and they (the children) become annoyed with me anyway, that’s a clue my family missed their dad.”

d) When you don’t take time to engage activities that refresh you. “For me, leading a balanced life means I engage activities that refresh me.”

e) When you don’t know your limitations. “I try to concentrate on what I do well. And that unclutters my calendar while maximizing what I do best.”

f) Unhealthy family and marriage. “In the long run, I contribute to the church most by being a man with a good marriage and a reasonably healthy marriage.”

g) Scheduling Family Time. “The amount of intimacy with my wife or family is directly related to the time spent with them…so, I find that special moments with my family cannot be orchestrated; I must regularly be accessible to them during unscheduled times.”

I was in a theology class on September 11, 2001. A frantic young lady rushed into the room and informed the classroom that something terrible had happened in New York City. We sat there speechless. Our professor, a godly man, led us in prayer for protection. We did not know what had happened and how what happened would affect us. That uncertainty followed us for the next hour until lunchtime when we entered the cafeteria and watched that dreadful scene again and again and again on TV. Something powerful had happened; powerful enough to shake a nation and push our emotions to places it had not gone before.

In a very tangible way, evil showed up with all its might and fury. In a very objective way, evil was incarnated in devilish men. So much has transpired since that day, but we memorialize that ill-famed day as a day when the corporate reality of a nation shook at its very core; when we awoke from our slumber to see that the opposite of the good was alive and well. We mourn and remember. That’s what we are created to do. We mourn and remember because we are ritualized beings. Let us never forget. Let us never cease to be amazed at the ways of evil men. Let us never stop to pray for their ultimate destruction! Arise, O Lord, defend us! Arise, O Lord, and we will be saved!

Bad Theology

Bad theology has severe consequences in our culture. The statistics tell the truth: young men and women are leaving the Church after they leave home. They have been fed a steady diet of pizza and party theology. In his 2005 book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, Christian Smith writes:

The majority of teenagers are incredibly inarticulate about their faith, religious beliefs and practices, and its place in their lives. The de facto dominant religion among contemporary U.S. teenagers is what they call ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’: A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth; God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions; the central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself; God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem; and good people go to heaven when they die.

This description doesn’t simply lead to bad theology, but to disastrous personal and corporate consequences. The worldview described is informed by the latest trends, and not by the text. Their authority is not the voice of Yahweh (Psalm 29), but the voice of man-made reason.

In order to avoid this, parents and parishioners need not think of theology as a scary word, rather we need to embrace our role as theologians and seek to think more deeply and consistently about the world God made and our responsibilities in it.

One Agenda of Theology

Where do we begin to do the important task of theology? If you pursue a seminary education, you may be overwhelmed by the many types of theologies available to study. There are departments of Biblical Theology, Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, Pastoral Theology, Liturgical Theology, Sacramental Theology, and so on. The list continues to increase because the Bible is so vast and God’s revelation is so glorious that there will be always new areas to pursue as an academic.

But for our purposes, since most of you will not pursue the pastorate or the goal of being a seminary professor, we want to consider theology at its most basic level. And I say basic not because it is easy, but because we are dealing with the fundamentals of our faith.

There are levels of importance when it comes to discussing theology. One writer summarized it best:

In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.

In other words, there are things that are of primary importance. These are issues worth fighting and even dying for in our day. They are essentials: The Trinity, the death, burial, and physical resurrection of Jesus, and other matters contained in our great creeds are essential issues. But there are also issues of secondary importance. And because they are secondary does not mean we should not discuss them and have vigorous debates over them, but it does mean that we should allow a certain amount of liberty on these topics. A classic example of this is the debated topic of eschatology. Do you subscribe to a dispensational view of the end of the world or a covenantal view? There is no doubt that these issues will have an effect on how you think about the world and the future, but these are not salvific issues. No one will be saved because of his belief in postmillennialism unless he is also trusting in Christ alone for his salvation.

Dear friend,

You shared with me that your college boyfriend is pressuring you to have sex. He doesn’t do so explicitly, but his questions and tone leave no doubt in your mind. He is constantly looking for opportunities to be alone with you in his dorm room. You know this is wrong, but you “like him too much to end your relationship with him.” It’s likely you will not be persuaded by me or anyone else at this point that you ought to leave him for someone who actually wants your well-being. But you know what is true. Sex is good and right, but when you remove it from the marital bed it’s deceiving and fleeting.

Let’s assume for a moment that you love Jesus, but at the same time, a multitude of counselors are saying “Stay away! Stay away!” But you succumb to the temptation and have sex with him. As a Spirit-indwelt person, you will wake up the next morning with something called shame or guilt. It’s the way redeemed humanity function when they act against their Lord, and even more so when it comes to the sin of giving your body to someone who is not your spouse. At that point, you have two options: either to wake up from your slumber and come back home to the affection of your parents and friends (there is still redemption; in fact, lots of people have come back home when things seemed impossible. Prodigals still come back home, but not all prodigals do) or you dig deeper into your sin and one night of sex becomes lots of nights. If you choose the latter, the more you give yourself away the less likely you are to find refuge in Jesus; the more you will look for refuge look-alikes.

And there is more: if you don’t listen to the wise voices around you, you will be imprisoned to the only voice who tells you what you want to hear and that voice is from the man who has already used you, which means he will not speak truth into your life. Furthermore, if he was able to persuade you to violate the sacredness of your body, then he will persuade you to forsake what you know to be true, good, and beautiful.

In sum, if he wants your body now, he will want your soul and your feelings and your desires and everything else.

I beg you: Come home! Let’s talk and meet and think through a better way. Jesus is greater than your fears and more lovely than the man you think loves you.

Sincerely,
Pastor Uriesou Brito

We can talk about the Father, we can speak of the Son, but the Spirit is often left out of the equation as a mystical presence reserved for special occasions when we are feeling extra emotional. At that point, we say, “Yes, the Spirit is in this place.” One famous scholar observed humorously, “The Catholics have the Father, the Presbyterians have the Son, and the Charismatics have the Spirit, and none are letting go of their God.” Well, thankfully the Triune Godhead is not bound to denominational labels.

We need to liberate the Spirit from self-imposed denominational boundaries. The reason Reformed theology is not regarded as a tradition that is Spirit-filled is that we fear that if we talk about the Spirit, we will suddenly start speaking in tongues or forsake the Christo-centric nature of our theology. But the Reformation never operated under such assumptions.

The Reformed writings of John Calvin would probably shock many Calvinists. Arminian writer, Roger Olsen concluded:

Calvin was no charismatic, but he was closer to it than some Reformed people readily admit.

Calvin was known as the theologian of the Spirit. He spoke clearly of the work of the Spirit in the life of the church, in the means of grace and His indwelling power in each believer. Let me urge you not to allow abuses to dictate how the Spirit operates. Let God be God. Let the Spirit be Spirit. Believe in Him, trust in him, pray in his name, commit your labors to him, depend on him, lean on him, be satisfied in him and let him be your guide to heaven this morning for Christ is only known by the power of the Spirit.

Fatherhood functions best when it is served in Trinitarian style.

Our Father in heaven is the great Maestro, guiding the world with compassion; earthly fathers are called to lead their children with a compassionate spirit; to musicalize the home by tuning their children to the tune of heaven.

But earthly fathers also need the sacrificial life of Jesus. Healthy and honorable fathers sacrifice for their own; they give of themselves when there is little left to give; they cherish a life of faith when no one around them is seeking the welfare of the city. Fatherhood is Christocentric. It gives and gives and gives.

Finally, earthly fathers function best when they are abiding; being present in the life of those around them. Fathers who imitate the Spirit are more concerned about intentional being, than just being. Our presence, men, must daily reflect the presence of the Spirit in our lives who is unchanging. When our children say, “We’re never here,” it’s an indictment on our Un-Trinitarian ways.

Be like the Trinity, Fathers! Orchestrate, sacrifice, and abide.