Interview With Bob Kauflin

Great interview with a great man: Bob Kauflin.

Required watching for everyone involved in music ministry.

Ribs, Travel, and Family

I've been out for a bit. First we had a Harvest staff retreat in Michigan. We had a wonderful time with a fantastic group of people, complete with two broken ribs. There's a man on our staff named Ed Boness who is . . . um . . . very large. I'm going to guess . . . three or four spins. Anyway, he fell onto Jeff Donaldson. And while Jeff is not small, he's not made of titanium.

Next, I got back to Chicago late (11:30) Wednesday night and flew out first thing Thursday morning to North Carolina for Meredith Andrews and Jacob Sooter's wedding. It's zany out here. Lots of music to be done, and people involved, and details that have to be ironed out, but there's nothing a generous helping of SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY can't fix quite easily.

Seeing the strength and love of the Sooter and Andrews families makes me miss my family all the more. I'm flying back Saturday morning.

Westerholm Kids' Summer Bible Curriculum

My boys (Ethan, almost 6 and Owen, almost 4) are getting done with school and are going to be home for a 13-week summer vacation. My wife and I sat down last night and came up with a plan for some summer bible teaching.

The Books:

Big Picture Story Bible - by David R. Helm (Author), Gail Schoonmaker (Illustrator)
Big Book of Questions and Answers - by Sinclair Ferguson
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name - by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Author), Jago (Illustrator)

The Plan:

Week 1: Creation- Memory verse Genesis 1:1
Day 1-Big Picture Bible; Part 1
Day 2-Big Picture Bible; part 2
Day 3-Big Book of Questions & Answers #5 (Why did God create the world?)
Day 4-Jesus Storybook Bible; The Beginning
Day 5-Jesus Storybook Bible; The Terrible Lie

Week 2: Flood and sin- Memory verse Psalm 1:6
Day 1-BPB; Part 3
Day 2-JSB; The New Beginning
Day 3-BBoQ&A #10 (What is Sin?)
Day 4- BBoQ&A #11 (What happens to us because of sin?)
Day 5- BBoQ&A #12 (What does our sin deserve?)

Week 3: Abraham’s faith & Joseph’s forgiveness- Memory verse Prov. 3:5, Rom. 12:17a
Day 1-BPB; part 4
Day 2-JSB; Son of Laughter
Day 3-JSB; The Present
Day 4-BPB; Part 5
Day 5-JSB; The Forgiving Prince

Week 4: Moses and God’s Commands- Memory verse Deut. 6:5
Day 1- BPB; part 6,7
Day 2-JSB; God to the Rescue
Day 3-JSB; God Makes a Way
Day 4-JSB; 10 ways to be perfect, BBQ&A #41 What is the first commandment?
Day 5-BBQ&A #51 How Does God help me keep his commandments?

Week 5: David- Memory verse Phil. 4:13
Day 1-BPB; Part 8
Day 2-BPB; Part 9
Day 3-JSB; Teeny Weenie… True King
Day 4-JSB; Young Hero and Horrible Giant
Day 5-JSB; The Good Shepherd

Week 6: Prophets- Memory verse Matt 6:24
Day 1- BPB; Part 10, BBQ&A #42 What is the second commandment?
Day 2-JSB; Daniel and the scary sleepover
Day 3-JSB; Operation no more tears, BBQ&A #15 How did God prepare the way for the Savior?
Day 4- JSB; Get Ready
Day 5- BPB; Part 11

Week 7: The Nativity- Memory verse Phil 2:7
Day 1-BPB; part 12,13
Day 2-BBQ&A; #17 How did Jesus come into the world?
Day 3-BPB; part 14
Day 4-JSB; He’s Here
Day 5-JSB; Light of the World, King of all Kings

Week 8: Jesus’ Teachings/ Prayer- Memory verse Matt 7:7
Day 1-BPB; part 17,
Day 2- JSB; The Singer, Treasure Hunt
Day 3-JSB; Running Away, The Servant King
Day 4-JSB; How to Pray, BBQ&A; #55 What is Prayer?, #56 How can we learn to pray?
Day 5-BBQ&A; #63 How can I be sure that God hears my prayers?, #64 Will God always answer me when I pray?

Week 9: Jesus’ Miracles- Memory verse Luke 18:27
Day 1- BPB; part 18
Day 2- BPB; part 19
Day 3- JSB; Little girl…
Day 4- JSB; Captian of the Storm
Day 5- JSB; Filled full

Week 10: The Cross- Memory verse 1 Tim. 1:15
Day 1-JSB; Sun Stops Shining,
Day 2- BBQ&A; #21 What was the most important thing that Jesus came to do
Day 3- BPB; part 20
Day 4- BPB; part 21
Day 5-BBQ&A; #22 How does Jesus save us?

Week 11: The Resurrection and Ascension- Memory verse 1 Cor. 15:22
Day 1-BBQ&A; #23 Is Jesus Still Dead?
Day 2-BPB; Part 22, 23
Day 3-JSB; God’s Wonderful Surprise
Day 4-BBQ&A; #24 Where is Jesus Now?, JSB; Going Home
Day 5-BBQ&A; #26 Can Jesus be my Savior?

Week 12: Apostles and Early Church- Memory verse 2 Cor. 4:5
Day 1-BPB; part 24
Day 2-BPB; part 25
Day 3-JSB; God Sends Help
Day 4-JSB; A New Way to See
Day 5-BBQ&A; #65 What is church?, #66 What is church for?

Week 13: Jesus Coming Again- Memory verse John 14:3
Day 1-BPB; part 26
Day 2-BBQ&A; #75 What will happen when Jesus comes back?
Day 3-JSB; A Dream of Heaven
Day 4-BBQ&A; #77 What will it be like to be with Jesus forever?
Day 5-

What's Cooler than Jazz Hand Whistle?

One man's attempt:

Recommended Reading: T4G

I recently came across this list of books that was sold during that fantastic Together For The Gospel conference. I really respect a bookstore that's dedicated to ministry, and not to profiteering.

Save Money! Slow Down!

CNN says:

In a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon.

Read the whole thing here.

Some of you remember my post about my friend Joel Noland, who is going back to active duty with the Marines.

He's set up a blog to keep people in the loop, at joelnoland.com.

Ethan: His New Book

Context: My wife, Lisa, reads a book to my five-year-old, Ethan, at night.

Daddy, Mommy let me pick the new book.

Which one did you pick, Ethan?

Well, I just finished "The Voyage of The Dawn Treader" and I picked another Narnia book.

Which book?

"The Nuhgician's Matthew".

"They are the same thing, aren't they?"

A fun and thought-provoking story from a Harvest University attender.

I asked one of the hotel staff if she knew where Harvest Bible Chapel was. She did not but went to ask her manager. Upon returning the manager said she did not know the location but with radio in hand contacted one of the shuttle drivers. She then proceeded to ask the driver if he knew where Willow Creek was. I, as a good Canadian and not wanting to offend my American Harvest friends, promptly corrected her and said, "no not Willow Creek but Harvest Bible Chapel". Her response was a Master Card moment, "priceless". She said, "they are the same thing aren't they?"

The blogger went on with this insightful comment:

For most who are not into church the two mega churches are just really the same thing. They don't care to know or don't see the philosophical or theological differences.

Let me speak for myself here. As an employee of Harvest Bible Chapel, I have done a lot of thinking about what our church should be about. We have tried to grow biblically, minister carefully, and steward wisely the people who have looked to learn from our church. Obviously, having a church as large, intentional and influencial as Willow Creek nearby has been a great stimulus to my thinking.

But I'd love to know the hotel's answer to this question: Is there a group of people in this town who have two things in common: 1) they love Jesus Christ, and 2) they love this city.

I hope she could correctly identify someone. Harvest, Willow, somebody else? Fine with me.

In the end, the only people who like "large" churches are pastors. "Intentional" is only good if you have good intentions, and no one in heaven is going to hear "well done, good and influencial servant."

Thyroid Update! April, 08

To read previous posts about my thyroid, click here.

Well, good news / band news.

Thank you to the many of you who prayed for my radiation treatment to kill off part of my thyroid. However it appears, [sarcasm] too many of you prayed, [/sarcasm] and too much of my thyroid died.

It's a pretty common problem that's treated with medication. So right now, I alternate between crazy periods of extreme energy and crazy times of fatigue. (Here's a little game! See if you can guess which period each of my upcoming posts come from!) I'm taking a nap almost every day right after work, and usually falling asleep by 9:pm - 9:30.

The good news is that the Lord has been unusually close to me in this time. He has been especially gracious, near, and tender with me. When I pick up the bible in the morning, I feel like I'm wearing 3D glasses: the truth just jumps off the page!

My heart is especially tender to the things of God, and I see His hand quite clearly in all of this. As strange as this is to type, the Lord knows it's true: I am thrilled to be in the middle of this.

Study Bible BATTLE! Part 1: Editorial Boards

Last week, Crossway publishers announced they would release a new study bible for the ESV. Ligonier Ministry released their Reformation Study Bible in 2005.

There's been a lot (o.k. -- maybe just some) people looking to judge which study bible is better. Well, there's several months before we know for sure, so [Now entering extremely absurd sarcasm] LET'S SPECULATE!!!

Let's start (and perhaps finish) with the Editorial Boards!

All pairing are listed in ESVSB vs. RSB order.

<><><><><><><><><>

Executive Editors: Lane Dennis vs. NONE
Advantage: none.
NOTES: There is no advantage in an executive editor. As long as someone is generally editing the study bible, things should stay on course. Which brings us to . . .

General Editors: Wayne Grudem vs. R. C. Sproul
Advantage: draw.
NOTES: Sure, Grudem has degrees from Harvard and Cambridge on his resume. But Sproul taught at Gordon AND Conwell seperately before they joined to form . . . Voltron.

Theological Editors: J.I. Packer vs. NONE
Advantage: ESVSB
NOTES: J.I. Packer is almost always better than nobody.

Old Testament Editors: C. John Collins vs. Bruce Waltke
Advantage: RSB
NOTES: C. John Collins isn't even the most decorated Old Testament scholar NAMED John Collins. And let me ask you this, which Bruce Waltke knows the Old Testament better than Bruce Waltke? This just in: I just received a list of the translators for the NIV, and it appears . . . TIMES UP!

New Testament Editors: Moise Silva vs. Thomas R. Schreiner
Advantage: ESVSB
NOTES: Intially, I was at a loss to compare these two fantastic New Testament scholars. Then I thought, ANAGRAM WAR! Dr. Silva's anagram is "Massive Soil" while Thomas R. Schreiner's anagram is "Sir North Cashmire". Schreiner wins hands down!

Associate Editors: NONE vs. James Boice/Edmund Clowney/Roger Nicole/J.I.Packer
Advantage: RSB
NOTES: You would hope that the ESVSB would be able to defeat a team of people consisting of three deceased theologians, but to again follow the airtight logic of our previous thoughts, J.I. Packer is almost always better than nobody.

Managing Editor/Assitant Editors: Justin Taylor vs. William Evans and John Mason
Advantage: ESVSB
NOTES: No contest. When I saw Justin Taylor has a discreet adoption fund, I thought "if any child would be deeply blessed to have that man as his father, how much more would he be blessed to have that man as the Managing Editor of his study bible."

<><><><><><><><><>

NEXT: a comparison of articles and features!

"Servant of Jesus Christ"

A quote from a much smarter Westerholm:

If human existence is an accident, if the functioning of the cosmos is merely mechanical, if the language of right and wrong is rooted in nothing deeper than human convention, if the world is but the indifferent stage on which we give shape to our lives, then we may as well resent any attempt to curtail our freedom and self-determination.

If, on the other hand, human existence is a gift of love, if the functioning of the cosmos is providential, if language of right and wrong reflects our appropriate and inappropriate responses to reality, and human existence--indeed, all creation--has been cursed by human self-assertion; and if, moreover, Jesus Christ represents God's refusal to abandon his willful creatures to their sin; if Christ demonstrates the goodness of a life lived in obedience to God, his self-sacrificial death atones for human wrongdoing, and his resurrection makes possible eternal life in communion with God as a member of his redeemed people: if all these basic convictions of Paul are true, then (perhaps even people today would agree) there can be no prouder title than that claimed by the apostle--a "servant of Jesus Christ.

Steven Westerholm, Preface to the Study of Paul, Eerdmans 1997; p. 162

(ht: srt)

Worship Matters: videos

Many of you know of my deep respect and admiration for the ministry and life of Bob Kauflin, the director of worship for Sovereign Grace Ministry.

He has a brand-new book out that I consider must reading. I have my copy sitting on my desk. It will be the next book I read -- and if you serve your church in worship, it should be the next book you read as well. And a panel of endorsers as diverse as Matt Redman and D.A. Carson agree.

I'll be writing a full review soon, but till then, allow these videos to whet your appetite.









P.S. - After viewing these videos, in addition to admiring the "ministry" and "life" of Bob Kauflin, I'd also like to add "wardrobe".

GASP! ESV STUDY BIBLE!

Looks amazing.

Thank you, Justin Taylor. And Jesus. Not in that order.

Westminster, pt. 3: The Orthodox Response

Read pt. 1 and pt. 2.

J. Gresham Machen wrote:

If the proposed ... dissolution of the present Board of Directors is finally carried out ... [and] the control of the Seminary passes into entirely different hands—then Princeton Theological Seminary as it has been so long and so honorably known, will be dead, and we shall have at Princeton a new institution of radically different type.

As we saw at the end of part two, the PCUSA did dissolve that Board of Directors in 1929, and Machen was left with a choice.

(1) He could stay at a well-known, well-established, and stable institution. Or, (2) he could be true to his convictions about Scripture and attempt something radical and daring.

To be fair, Machen was never personally in financial danger. He had inherited $50,000 from his grandfather when he was 21 (his starting salary at Princeton was $2,000 a year). Between his teaching and book sales, he died with personal assets valued at over $250,000. However, do not let us think that this is the source of Machen's confidence.

Instead, J. Gresham Machen and some of his fellow faculty members left Princeton, forming Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929.

(This blog's text has been freely adopted from Wikipedia articles on Machen, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, as well as the DG biography of Machen.)

The new ESV Study Bible is "Filthy and Sick"

You have to read the whole thing to understand.

ht: jt

Ministry in North Carolina

Short trip to North Carolina for an event with Walk In The Word. Please pray? Thanks.

More Westminster to come. :-)

Westminster: pt. 2: The Rise of Liberalism

While there had been a thirty year controversy between Fundamentalist and Modernist viewpoints, the leadership of the Presbyterian Church (USA) had stood by its orthodox roots in many key doctrinal positions.
In 1910, 1916, and again in 1923, the General Assembly declared that every candidate seeking ordination ought to be able to affirm these "Five Fundamentals":

1. Inerrancy of the Scriptures
2. The virgin birth (and the deity of Jesus)
3. The doctrine of substitutionary atonement
4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus
5. The authenticity of Christ's miracles

In 1924, in response to this, an eleven-member Conference Committee drafted the Auburn Affirmation which 1274 ministers signed. Besides these signatories, the document claimed the support of "hundreds of ministers who agree with and approve of the Affirmation, though they have refrained from signing it."

The Affirmation's more controversial portions can be summarized as:

1. The Bible is not inerrant. The supreme guide of scripture interpretation is the Spirit of God to the individual believer and not ecclesiastical authority. Thus, “liberty of conscience” is elevated.
2. None of the five essential doctrines should be used as a test of ordination. Alternated “theories” of these doctrines are permissible.
3. Liberty of thought and teaching, within the bounds of evangelical Christianity is necessary.
4. Division is deplored, unity and freedom are commended.

They wrote:

Some of us regard the particular theories contained in the deliverance of the General Assembly of 1923 as satisfactory explanations of these facts and doctrines. But we are united in believing that these are not the only theories allowed by the Scriptures and our standards as explanations of these facts and doctrines of our religion, and that all who hold to these facts and doctrines, whatever theories they may employ to explain them, are worthy of all confidence and fellowship.

Between 1924 and 1925, relations among the Princeton faculty, divided along Fundamentalist and Liberalist lines, further deteriorated when their newspaper, The Presbyterian, questioned if there were two different parties on the faculty. In the 1926 General Assembly, moderates succeeded in securing a committee to study how to reconcile the two parties at Princeton.

The committee reported back at the General Assembly of 1927, where the Robert E. Speer was elected as moderator. Their report concluded that the source of the difficulties at Princeton was that some of the Princeton faculty (i.e. Machen) were trying to keep Princeton in the service of a certain party in the church rather than doing what was in the best interest of the denomination as a whole. They recommended re-organization of the seminary. General Assembly renewed the committee's mandate and ordered them to study how to re-organize the seminary.

The 1929 liberal General Assembly voted to reorganize Princeton Seminary and appointed two of the Auburn Affirmation signatories as trustees.

NEXT: What Machen and his orthodox friends did about it!

(This blog's text has been freely adopted from Wikipedia articles on Machen, Auburn Affirmation, fundamentalist-modernist controversy, as well as the DG biography of Machen.)

Westminster: pt. 1

This begins a series of posts about the creation of Westminster Seminary.

To say it in a paragraph:

Princeton Seminary was a main institution for biblical training for many years and had been the academic home of noted bible teachers like Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield. Professor of New Testament, John Gresham Machen, led a conservative revolt against a growing movement toward modernistic theology that denied basic elements of orthodox Christianity. In 1929, he left his position at Princeton and, with several other men, founded Westminster Theological Seminary.

Our series is going to learn about the men behind this paragraph and inspire ourselves to live boldly and without compromise today.

NEW SERIES: starts with new header

the new series I'm doing this next week was so important, it demanded a new header.

Can you guess? Can you guess?