Author: Uri Brito

Posted on

In Honor of Ravi Zacharias

I grew up in an evangelical environment prone to altar calls and conversionism. The Church’s primary function was evangelization which meant I was not steeped in theological discourse/dialogues in my early years. It was, however, sometime in my late teens that I began to think deeply about the faith. By that time, my father had died, and I was in a foreign country. In the evenings, I retreated to a room in a Pennsylvania home built in the 1920s.

The owner of the house was a delightful older woman who often went to bed around 8 pm, leaving my curious mind to pursue the only form of technology available to me, an old radio. I looked forward to those evenings because of two constant voices. The first was from a native of the same state by the name of Robert Charles Sproul, and the other was the inimitable voice of a man born in the southern city of Chennai and raised in the northern city of Delhi by the name of Ravi Zacharias.

I loved R.C. and had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions and sharing with him how beneficial those evening lectures were to me as a young thinker. On the other hand, I never had the joy of meeting Ravi to tell him just how beautiful his words were to me, how salient his exhortations were, and how his stories affected me at a personal level.

As the years went by, I lost touch with his ministry, but any moment his name popped on some headline, I was quick to peruse. When Ben Shapiro interviewed him, I couldn’t wait to hear his prose and eloquent patterned speech. He was a powerful force in the kingdom of Jesus.

In some ways, he was the more eloquent continuation of Walter Martin’s legacy going to Mormon tabernacles and hostile university settings to proclaim Jesus. Ravi was charming in his delivery but dogmatic in his proclamation of Jesus. I recall watching a video where an obtuse young man stepped up to the microphone. He belabored the point and couldn’t conceive why Christians like Ravi were so concerned about objective truth. “What are you afraid of subjective moral reasoning?” he asked pompously. Ravi got up from his chair and simply asked, “Do you lock your doors at night?” The audience immediately grasped the power of that question. We take action because it has objective consequences. And Ravi was a master of making the objective clear.

“The gospel is a story. It is a true story. It is for the world…It celebrates my origin and points me to my destiny,” he once wrote. Now, Ravi has reached his destination. He now sees face to face the One to whom the story pointed. Well done, Ravi! Rest in peace.

Posted on

Sermon Snippets: The Story of Rest

For we who have believed enter that rest…

To worship God rightly is to enter into a story of rest. We worship because God’s story is a genuine place of refuge for the Christian. It’s our story and our song of Sabbath. To praise the Triune God is the Christian’s greatest evangelistic tool. Indeed our worship is an invitation to this restless world that they need the story of God whose Son came to give us rest.

Posted on

California’s Domesticated Gods

California State University is cancelling in-person classes not for the rest of this semester (somewhat reasonable), not for the summer (somewhat absurd), but for the fall semester (wholly pathetic). They will continue virtual teaching until 2021 when they will analyze facts and make a decision.There is no need to offer a detailed analysis of the importance of learning in a personalized environment. However, we can state unequivocally, that the cognitive, emotional and behavioral form three aspects of healthy education, none of which can be analyzed through the lens of a screen. We should also be grateful that the in-person indoctrination from these bastions of political correctness will at least be partly retired.

I am not a resident scholar of California policies, but the facts state that “less than half of California students from third grade to fifth grade have met statewide literacy standards since 2015.” The news of the Californian education situation is ubiquitous. In a state where 10% of college students think Judge Judy is a member of the Supreme Court, we find ground zero for the COVID-hysteria propaganda.

L.A. County is expected to extend its stay-at-home mandate until August. Other counties may follow the same pattern. Stricter regulations in selected counties will follow as a large portion of the country begins to ease down restrictions and businesses resume the long road towards economic stability. But California continues in the same trajectory, even as Gov. Newsom offered some hope of sanity yesterday.

The end goal is the certainty of a vaccine which will end all our woes and give us the peace we need. The reality is that the absolute certainty of a vaccine can only ameliorate the conditions of a people if they are already willing to take some risk. If not, a vaccine will only offer temporary relief to a risk-averse generation. States like California who has worked continuously to oppose the Christian God creates in His place a golden calf of protection. In the end, this golden calf is weaker than the ones made by the rebel Israelites who at least could dance freely outside. For many Californians, their god is a domesticated toy. They will have to wait a while before worshiping him outdoors.

Posted on

When Productivity is Not Biblical

Someone once asked R.C. Sproul–author of over 40 books and thousands of lectures–what he most regretted in his ministry. Sproul replied: “How much time I wasted!” When I heard him say that, I did not know how to relate to it at any level. Here is the world’s premier defender of Reformed orthodoxy who up to his last years of life was being productive and fruitful in the kingdom saying that he was ashamed of how much time he wasted.

Now, Sproul was no gnostic. He understood the importance of rest and relaxation. He was an avid movie watcher, golfer and a fanatical Steelers’ fan. In fact, the few memories I have of talking with him in a larger group was hearing his detailed analysis of the Steelers’ chances for the next NFL season. As a soccer fan, I did my best to act interested in the conversation because it was after all R.C. Sproul. I relate those facts because R.C. still believed he wasted time though his labors will probably live on for centuries.

As an adult Christian I have read a myriad of books on productivity. I consider myself someone who is always looking for the next project. There are things I am currently working on that folks will never know until it is completed. I have a goal to write around 500 words a day whether on an FB post or an article or a dissertation. It’s a habit I’ve had for years. Some of these things will never see the light of day, but it’s a fruitful activity nevertheless.

I have familial goals; husbandry goals and even keep a journal of my comings and goings to keep myself in check. On most days I try to get up before everyone else so I can get ahead of the world. It’s an annoying aspect of my personality that my family is grown accustomed. Yet, what I discover about myself daily is that I do not have a healthy theology of work.

What I mean is that often I don’t view work as the Bible views it. In Douglas Wilson‘s new book, “Ploductivity”, he elaborates on the nature of doing work. Quoting Peter Drucker, Wilson observes that there is a distinction between “efficiency” which is doing things right and “effectiveness” which is doing the right things. The efficient person has a mechanical dimension to him. He produces like a printing machine designed to print words on paper all day long. It does its job efficiently. But the Christian is called to a higher calling. As Psalm 1 says, he is like a tree planted by streams of living waters. We are to be effective. Work and productivity serve the purpose of fruitfulness. We work not merely to produce like machines, but we work to bear good fruit which serves as a benediction to others.

In many ways, the missing element of productivity ought to be its accompanying thankfulness. When productiveness is divorced from gratitude, we are no better than the pagans. If we are given the ability and capacity to produce, but yet treat our labors as a manufactured side-effect of our productivity we have missed the point altogether. But if our work is the acceptance of wealth as a gift; if, as Wilson notes, we treat the blessings of technology with fullness (technofulness), we are better prepared to view our labors unto the Lord.

Too often we work without purpose. It is too common to labor and produce without bathing our typing and accounting in thankfulness. I too regret and repent wasting time. Ultimately, I repent of being productive without God, which ultimately bears no fruit.

Posted on

What Are Your Teens Watching?

Dear Parents of Teens,

Do not be complacent in this season, especially as it pertains to what your young teens watch. A recent Parents Television Council (PTC) Report analyzed 255 NETFLIX titles that are deemed “appropriate for teens.” Over 120 of those titles included “harsh profanities” and other disturbing content. The “f-word” appeared in the vast majority of those titles which means one can count on it in most “appropriate for teens” shows/movies.

We can become overwhelmed and allow teens to watch shows assuming the best. But we need to remember that the movie industry–in general–has no interest in preserving ideals of purity. The goal is to provide a philosophy where profanity and sexiness are the new normal. In the long term, this slowly removes the powerful admonitions against homosexuality and other forms of impure and sinful relationships. We begin to see these things in society as normal because we have been catechized by a system that made the obscene an artistic expression.

My recommendations would be three-fold:

First, to look up every movie before giving the green light. Common Sense Media is a great option. Some parental review websites will tell you explicitly the appearance of “positive messages,” “language,” “sex,” and other essential components for parents to know.

Second, when possible watch with them. It is true that when a parent shares in any positive activity with teenagers, there is a psychological bonding that occurs, especially at an intellectual level.

Third, consider other options like VidAngel, Minno, or even Disney Plus for more wholesome alternatives.

Remember that the concern is not so much exposure to the bad. They will be eventually confronted with these realities whether language or sexuality. The concern is with the continual desensitizing to these realities. Too much of something often enough will form new habits and thinking. A steady diet of conversations with your teens about the role of purity and beauty in the Christian life is a matter of life and death.

Sincerely,
Pastor Uriesou Brito

Posted on

Keep the Feast!

Pascal once said that we all seek happiness. C.S. Lewis wrote that we are all too easily satisfied. Which is it? Are we happiness seekers or easy pleasers? Both are true. If we seek Christ as the center we will be truly happy. But if we find pleasure in mud pies rather than a holiday at the sea, we are gullible for cheap pleasures.

The biblical concept of festivity is where we find true joy. Festivities were appointed by God to satiate our need for happiness and pleasure. There we find God’s people experiencing true joy not because they have great riches, but because Jesus is their greatest treasure. The Christian feast is the place where we practice for that eternal feast at the Last Day and where the Supper of Lamb is ever before us. We feast because we are not content with mud pies or crackers and juice. We feast as those who take Christ’s invitation with serious joy. We feast because Christ is all sufficient. Keep the feast! Keep the Feast!

Posted on

Domesticating Jesus

The problem with not giving thanks is that we domesticate Jesus. We treat Him like a random artwork in our home when He should be the directing influence on how all our gifts are used. The result of ingratitude leads to trust in our gifts, whether our ability to communicate, to get good grades, to make lots of money; whatever gifts we have, when we don’t give thanks, we make Jesus a household idol.

When we trust in our own gifts, why trust in the Second Person of the Godhead? Therefore, the Apostle Paul says that Jesus is the answer; not like a mantra, but as a Person who speaks into our lives and reminds us who we are and who we are called to be. The way to give thanks is to remind yourself that we are fully dependent creatures.

Luther spoke of this when he acknowledged that his dependence stemmed from the freedom of God to not depend on us. In short, to give thanks is to accept our frailty and the freedom of God to supply all we need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. We domesticate Jesus if we don’t place Jesus above all our domesticity. He is the giver of everything that is good.