Mark Moore's Blog

Surprised by Hope

I've been reading N.T. Wright's new book Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it. Early in the book he comments on the historicity of the resurrection and I thought his comments were excellent and worth posting (perhaps to entice you to read the book).

I am convinced that the climate of skepticism, which for the last two hundred years has made it unfashionable and even embarrassing to suggest that Jesus's resurrection really happened, was never and is not now itself a neutral thing, sociologically or politically. The intellectual coup d'etat by which the Enlightenment convinced so many that "we now know that dead people don't rise," as though this was a modern discovery rather than simply the reaffirmation of what Homer and Aeschylus had taken for granted, goes hand in hand with the Enlightenment's other proposals, not least that we have now come of age, that God can be kicked upstairs, that we can get on with running the world however we want to, carving it up to our advantage without outside interference. To that extent, the totalitarianisms of the last century were simply among the varied manifestations of a larger totalitarianism of thought and culture against which postmodernity has now, and rightly in my view, rebelled. Who, after all, was it who didn't want the dead to be raised? Not simply the intellectually timid or the rationalists. It was, and is, those in power, the social and intellectual tyrants and bullies; the Caesars who would be threatened by a Lord of the world who had defeated the tyrant's last weapon, death itself; the Herods who would be horrified at the postmortem validation of the true King of the Jews. And this is the point where believing in the resurrection of Jesus suddenly ceases to be a matter of inquiring about an odd event in the first century and becomes a matter of rediscovering hope in the twenty-first century. Hope is what you get when you suddenly realize that a different worldview is possible, a worldview in which the rich, the powerful, and the unscrupulous do not after all have the last word. The same worldview shift that is demanded by the resurrection of Jesus is the shift that will enable us to transform the world.

Technorati Tags: n.t. wright, resurrection

Piper's New Book for $5

I'm a huge fan of John Piper. I'm also a huge fan of N.T. Wright. I have gained a tremendous amount of insight into the Scriptures from both of these men. I do not agree with everything that either of them say (I'll leave it to you to figure out what that stuff may be). One place where these guys are at odds is on the subject of justification (this would include the subject of imputation). John Piper has written a new book entitled The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright, which is set to be released this month.

N.T. Wright, a world-renowned New Testament scholar and bishop of Durham in the Church of England, has spent years studying the apostle Paul’s writings and has offered a “fresh perspective” on Paul’s theology. Among his conclusions are that “the discussions of justification in much of the history of the church—certainly since Augustine—got off on the wrong foot, at least in terms of understanding Paul—and they have stayed there ever since.”
Wright’s confidence that the church has gotten it wrong for 1,500 years, given his enormous influence, has set off warning bells for Christian leaders such as John Piper. If Wright’s framework for interpreting the New Testament text and his understanding of justification find a home in the church, not only could the doctrine of justification be distorted for generations to come, but the New Testament writers’ original intent could be silenced. So Piper is sounding a crucial warning in this book, reminding all Christians to exercise great caution regarding “fresh” interpretations of the Bible and to hold fast to the biblical view of justification.

I've been looking forward to this book for quite some time and was elated when I read this announcement on the Desiring God Blog today:

The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright is now available for pre-order and will be on sale for $5 through the end of October.

The list price is $14.99. The Amazon price is $10.19. The DG regular price will be $9.75. Five bucks! Wow! This price is only good if you order before October 31st, so don't wait. Click here to order.

Technorati Tags: john piper, n.t. wright, new perspective on paul

RTS Offers Free Course Lectures

One of the greatest educational resources on the web is Covenant Worldwide, which offers free downloads of Covenant Theological Seminary's courses "in order to serve and equip God's people throughout the world." I have enjoyed many of their course offering, specifically the ones related to one of my all-time heroes--Francis Schaeffer.

Today, I learned from my good friend, David Fairchild, that Reformed Theological Seminary was now doing something similar. Although they do not have as many to choose from as Covenant, RTS is now offering free downloads of several of their courses via iTunes. They also have certain seminars and various other events, such as chapel services, available for download as well.

Some of the courses that caught my eye are:

> History and Theology of the Puritans -- J.I. Packer

> Christian Apologetics -- John Frame

> Pastoral & Social Ethics -- John Frame

> History of Philosophy & Christian Thought -- John Frame

> C.S. Lewis -- Knox Chamblin

I hope you enjoy this resource as much as I will. I also hope to see other seminaries begin to share their materials in the same way that Covenant and RTS are now doing. As our culture is changing, I believe there will continue to be more bi-vocational pastors who are not able to invest the time and money into seminary education for the sake of having a degree. However, that does not mean that there is any less need amongst God's people to have well trained leaders who understand theology well. These schools have set a good precedent that I hope to see others follow.

Technorati Tags: j.i. packer, john frame, covenant seminary, reformed theological seminary

Biblical Theology - A Good Place to Start

I have had several discussions this week, with various people, about the nature of biblical theology. In light of those discussions, I thought I'd let you know that I recommend Graeme Goldsworthy's book "According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible" as a great introduction to biblical theology. If you are unsure about the differences between biblical theology, systematic theology, historical theology, etc., then I definitely recommend this book. For those of you who are interested, here is a quote from Goldsworthy to perhaps whet your appetite.

Theology is not just knowing about God, but knowing him. To know him we need to be restored to friendship with him. In other words, we do biblical theology as Christians, not as neutral observers. Through the preaching of the gospel we have been brought to faith in jesus Christ. Christ conquers our rebellious hearts and minds so that we worship him as Lord. Our only knowledge of Christ comes through Scriptures, and they give a united testimony to him. Christ is proclaimed as the one who reveals God to us; he is the Word of God. The Bible is the book about Christ that is inspired by the Holy Spirit. God has ensured that the Bible gives an infallible testimony to Christ. Biblical theology thus centers on Jesus Christ as the revealer and savior. To understand the Bible, we begin at the point where we first came to know God. We begin with Jesus Christ and we see every part of the Bible in relationship to him and his saving work. This is as true of the Old Testament as it is of the New.

Technorati Tags: biblical theology, graeme goldsworthy, theology

N.T. Wright & Justification

Greetings to all of you who found this blog through searching Google for information on N.T. Wright's view of justification. I'm sure that many of you who found this are Reformed guys looking for ammo to blast N.T. Wright. Word of advice: Go read N.T. Wright and quit reading guys who are writing about N.T. Wright. I'm also sure that others of you are sympathetic to Wright saying, "Reformed guys just don't understand. They just don't get him." Whether it is Wright's view on justification or his view on penal substitutionary atonement, he is never far away from the discussion amongst those who are concerned for New Testament theology. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you cannot be serious about New Testament scholarship and theology without engaging N.T. Wright.

In the past week, the blogging world has been abuzz over statements made by N.T. Wright related to penal substitutionary atonement. Does he affirm it? Does he deny it? What is it with this guy? And of course never far from the conversation is Wright's view on justification within the broad category of New Perspectives on Paul (NPP). It even appears this week that there is talk of the PCA considering excluding followers of N.T. Wright. In light of all this, I thought it appropriate to comment on the subject because I am a Reformed guy (of the John Piper variety) and yet have benefitted from Wright more than most other authors that I have read. As a matter of fact, if I were to name the most influential men who have impacted my thinking, there is no doubt that Wright would be in my top five (interestingly enough that list would also include John Piper). As a matter of fact, I have 19 books by N.T. Wright and have read just about all of them (yes, this includes the "big ones"). I have also listened to numerous lectures, watched a video series, attended a conference in which he was the keynote, etc. I really am not interested in impressing you with the fact that I have thought a lot about Wright's work, nor do I claim by any means to be an expert--honestly I shake my head and say, "You've got to be kidding me..." as much as the next guy. I say all of this simply to say that I think that there is immense value in his work and that we must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water.

One of the things I find most people struggle with when reading Wright is understanding his overall theological framework. Understanding this framework is vital to reading Wright correctly. A couple of years ago I came across an excellent resource that aided me tremendously in this process. It is from the Center for Christian Studies and is a lecture series by Bill Wilder called The Doctrine of Justification in the Work of N.T. Wright. I think it is a "fair and balanced" assessment of Wright's thinking and to that end I recommend it highly. If you are trying to make sense of Wright, I think there is no better place to start. I recommend that you take the time to print off the power point slides, pour a cup of strong coffee, grab your Bible, and then settle in for some meaty theology. I think at the end you will walk away feeling as if you have a good grasp of the overall framework of Wright's reading of Scripture and be able to accurately interact with his writing and thinking.

Have fun.

Technorati Tags: n.t. wright, new perspective on paul, theology

Children's Ministry

What do you get when John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and C.J. Mahaney all speak at the same conference? A conference on children's ministry.

Last night, two of our children's ministry leaders left for Minneapolis for the Children Desiring God Conference, which looks to be phenomenal. The theme of the conference is Standing on the Truth: How Great a Salvation. Check out the topics of the presenters:

> John Piper, God is the Gospel

> Wayne Grudem, Teaching the Richness of the Entire Gospel (Part 1 & 2)

> C.J. Mahaney, How Great a Salvation

> David and Sally Michael, Pursuing the Souls of the Next Generation

Just reading the above list of speakers and topics reminds me why I love John Piper so much. The church for the most part has no concept of "ministering the gospel" to children. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of concepts of "children's ministry". Instead of catechizing kids we cater to kids. Instead of teaching children how great God is, we teach them how great Moses is. Instead of pointing our kids to the gospel, we point them to time out. Instead of believing that our children are inherently sinful and in need of grace, we believe that they are inherently good and in need of positive reinforcement. Thus our children's ministry programs are a reflection of these things and so are our children's ministry conferences.

The most prominent children's ministry conference, to go unnamed, highlights eleven features of their conference. Guess what? All eleven of them are pragmatic and not one is theological. Eleven features of the conference are highlighted and the word gospel is never used once. Furthermore, there is a page on their website that has reviews/comments from thirty people who have attended the conference this year. Of the thirty reviews, the words God, Jesus, and Bible, are not used once.

Please understand, my purpose is not to point out the shortcomings of another conference, but rather to highlight the shortcomings in the church's commitment to children. Of course we are committed to the presentation of our children's ministries for the most part, but why is that? For the most part it is because we understand that parents who are looking for a church will typically base their final decision on their children. If the children's ministry is fun, exciting, energetic, and the kids are happy, then when the next Sunday rolls around and the parents are debating on where to go to church, they often default to their child who is in the background begging "please, please, please, can we go back to the church that was like Disneyland!?" In the end, our conferences are based on pragmatism (how to make it exciting and work), because our children's ministries are based on pragmatism (how to make it exciting and work), because our churches our based on pragmatism (how to get people back so that we have numbers).

When we misunderstand the radical nature of the church as a gospel community whose sole purpose is the mission of God for the sake of the gospel, we quickly lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing. Why are we ministering to children? Is it not for the same reason that we are ministering to adults? Why are we ministering to adults? Because they are humans created in the image of God who are desperately in need of the grace of the gospel. Is not the same true of children? Children too are humans created in the image of God who are desperately in need of the grace of the gospel. Should we have fun, exciting, energetic children's ministry? Yes. But let it be said of our children's ministry that it is gospel-centered and that our children leave church on Sunday thinking how great Jesus is.

I'm so thankful that a conference exists to train children's ministry leaders the importance of gospel-centered ministry to children. Furthermore, I'm thankful that John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and C.J. Mahaney did not see this conference as secondary and beneath them because it was to a group of children's ministry leaders rather than pastors and theologians. Perhaps if more people would feel that way more of our children would grow up to become pastors and theologians.

Technorati Tags: c.j. mahaney, children's ministry, gospel, john piper, wayne grudem

The Cross: Division in the UK

During the first century, families were divided over the cross. Roman sons would step into the waters of baptism declaring "Jesus is Lord" and upon doing so divide themselves from their pagan families whose declaration was "Caesar is Lord". The Christian declaration was a response to the gospel message. The son of a poor Jewish carpenter had been crucified on a Roman cross and had risen from the dead, turning out to be Israel's Messiah and therefore Lord of all the earth. At the center of this gospel message stood the cross. The cross was so central to the gospel message that it actually gave new meaning to the cross as a symbol. The cross once stood as a symbol of torture, shame, power, and dominance. Now the cross stands as the symbol of the greatest act of sacrificial love. Crosses adorn churches, are worn as jewelry, and mark medical relief teams throughout the world. For Christians, the cross ultimately stands as a symbol of reconciliation. The cross is the place where man was reconciled to God through the death of Jesus for man's sin.

The symbol of reconciliation, tragically, has become a place of division for Christians.

This morning I received an email from my friend in London, Adrian Warnock, asking me if I would point out his recent post on a group of evangelicals in the UK who have split over the atonement. In Adrian's email to me I could sense his sadness and frustration. Once again the issue is penal substitutionary atonement. Did Jesus really die in our place, as a substitute for our sin, receiving unto himself the penalty for our sin? Or, does this view make God out to be a "cosmic child abuser" as some have said? I encourage you to check out Adrian's current blog series on the atonement, which is very good.

Above all, let us pray for the church throughout the world that God would reconcile us, the church to one another, through the death of us Son for our sin. The importance of this for the sake of the mission of the gospel cannot be overstated. Jesus said (emphasis added):

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

The world is watching. Instead of being reconciled by the cross, we are divided by the cross. The result...the world is left to wonder whether the Father the sent the Son and whether the Father loves his children as he loved his Son.

*****UPDATE*****

I have added a few recent sermons that I have preached in my church, which I feel are relevant to the subject.

Missional Living: Gospel Proclamation

True missional living should result in both gospel proclamation and in gospel incarnation. In this message the aspect of gospel proclamation is examined. Gospel proclamation liberates from sin by liberating from both the penalty of sin and the power of sin. Sin's penalty is characterized by separation; the gospel is characterized by reconciliation. Sin's power is characterized by idolatry; the gospel is characterized by worship.

War and Peace
The world is a place of conflict and is in desperate need of peace. Men, women, boys, and girls are all characterized by their desire to fulfill their own agendas using their power to serve that end. Jesus is different. He came to serve the agenda of his Father and used His power to serve others. Only in the gospel do we find lasting peace because on the cross the power of war was exhausted in the death of Christ.

The Garden
All of history comes down to two gardens and two trees. Every war that has ever been fought and every tear that has ever been shed is a result of the first garden and the first tree. The fact that there will one day be no more wars and no more tears is the result of the second garden and the second tree.

Technorati Tags: adrian warnock, atonement, cross, gospel, sermon audio, theology

Seven-Point Calvinism

I ran across an interesting article the other day at Desiring God. The article was actually written in January 2006, but is currently on their home page listed as "this week's question." The question is, "What does Piper mean when he says he's a seven-point Calvinist?" Many of you may have seen this before, or heard him talk about this before; regardless, here is another look at it.

When John Piper says he is a "seven point Calvinist," he does so half jokingly and half seriously. Historically, there are five points of Calvinism, not seven. Piper isn't seeking to add two more points, but is simply calling attention to his belief in the traditional five points (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints) in a way that also points toward two additional "Calvinistic" truths that follow from them: double predestination and the best-of-all-possible worlds. (more)

Technorati Tags: calvinism, john piper, theology

It's the "C" word in Time Magazine

Time magazine recently did an interview with Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, on his recent brush with death due to pulmonary embolisms. The article is called A Calvinist Faces Death and is worth reading.

Technorati Tags: calvinism, theology

Beer and the Bible

Earlier this week, a story was run on one of my friends, and fellow Acts 29 church planter, Darrin Patrick called Beer and the Bible. Darrin's church, The Journey, is in St. Louis and hosts a recurring event called Theology at the Bottleworks. This event has caused certain Baptist leaders to to freak out and question Darrin and the Journey. I am never amazed at the way that religion operates in opposition of the gospel. Religious people ate with the "right people" in the "right places" in Jesus' day, while Jesus ate in the "wrong places" with the "wrong people." Same story new day. I love Darrin and thank God for what he and The Journey are doing in their city.

After you've had a chance to read the article, be sure and watch Darrin's interview on MSNBC as he does such a great job of conveying the missional nature of Jesus.

Technorati Tags: acts 29, culture, mission, theology