Dever and Packer on the Importance of Penal Substitution

The following quotations are from the latest Crossway "Book Report" (HT: JT). They include very helpful statements. Of course, these statements only scratch the surface of the topics covered. If you want to read more about the current state of atonement theory and the biblical case for penal substitution as the central motif of New Testament atonement theory, I would heartily recommend both In My Condemned He Stood by Packer and Dever and Pierced for Our Transgressions by Brits Jeffery, Ovey, and Sach. Both were published very recently by Crossway, and both will prove very helpful in understanding contemporary debates and a robust biblical conception of atonement.

Here are the questions and answers from the "Book Report".

Crossway Books: What are some current objections to the doctrine of substitionary atonement?

J. I. Packer (JIP): One stream of thought claims that God’s holy, just nature does not require any form of propitiation at all. Another claims that for God to expose, and indeed direct, his Son to suffer as a substitute for sinners would be divine child abuse.

MD: Many critics have even suggested that we proponents of penal substitution are trashing all other views, or at least ignoring them. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book on the atonement which does that. Their argument is, I think, theological caricature. The truth is that there’s a soundly biblical and logically compelling case for considering various biblical images of the atonement, and that the image of penal substitution is legitimately considered central. That is a more subtle argument, and Jim Packer makes it superbly in this book.

Crossway Books: You coin the term “anti-redemptionism” as that which the church is up against today. What exactly is anti-redemptionism?

JIP: It’s the view that God forgives or ignores our sins without requiring their punishment. It was the Father’s wisdom to make his incarnate Son our representative substitute who endured the punishment due to us. Liberal Christianity regularly denies this.

MD: One simple way to understand it is the view that people are basically okay, and that we don’t have to have anything quite as dramatic as redemption to fix what needs fixing. Because no name exists for the unorthodoxy we have in view in this book, we labeled it anti-redemptionism. Its essence is sidelining—and in some cases actually denying—the work of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, who did all that had to be done to save us from hell, in favor of the idea of Jesus as teacher, model, and pioneer of godliness.

If these quotations pique your interest, and I hope they do, consider purchasing these books, and enhancing your own view of the atonement vis a vis the attacks on penal substitution. You might not know it, but many professing evangelicals today question strongly the idea that penal substitution is the central atonement motif in the New Testament. In such times, we need good resources like those Crossway is providing, both to teach us and to keep the church centered on this most central of scriptural teachings.

Does God, Perhaps, Delight in the Small?

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

--Matthew 7:13-14

I think that God delights in the small.

--Mark Dever, June 2008


Ministry in New England is notoriously difficult. I was recently talking with my father about this. In a place where faithful Christians often see very little fruit produced from their evangelistic and ecclesial efforts, discouragement can come easily. I've been challenged to pray hard for the pastors and churches of New England, knowing that they face a hard road of ministry.

Most churches in New England are very small. Many see very few people come to Christ, even over the span of decades. There's little triumphalism in this region, little sense that if things shift just a little bit, the culture wars will be won. The church is not about to win the culture wars in New England. It is a city on a hill, but it is a city that few choose to visit, and most choose to ignore. It is not that the majority of pastors and churches of the area are strategically challenged, or lacking in passion, or outdated in methodology. Many Christians pour themselves into their churches and give sacrificially of their time and energy to advance the kingdom and preach the gospel. Many Christians pray ardently for their towns and cities and yearn for their families and friends to come to Christ. Most of these Christians see little visible fruit from their efforts, few desired answers to their prayers. To be a Christian in New England is, in short and in general, to live a life of frustration. One must continually go back to the promises of God for encouragement. Otherwise, one will grow discouraged and lose faith and confidence in the power and goodness of God. In New England Christianity, discouragement comes easily.

Some of this discouragement is natural. Some of it, though, comes from a culture within American Christianity in which it is assumed that large congregational size is an unquestionably sure sign of God's blessing. In the same way that many Americans seek grandiose riches and oversized homes as a symbol of fundamental life achievement, many Christian Americans seek massive churches and oversized congregations as a symbol of fundamental providential achievement. Put more simply, we don't want to be small. No one in America wants to be small. We want to be large. Large equals blessing, achievement, status, respect, validation that cannot be taken away. Once our business--or church, or college, or denomination, or home, or wallet, or car, or whatever--gets large, then we'll never have to look stupid and insignificant. We'll never be a nobody again. We'll be someone, and no one will be able to take that away from us. We will win our significance, and we will never lose it.

There's a fundamental biblical problem with such thinking: it's not what God tells us will be the case with Christianity in its cultural forms. There is certainly room for exceptions in passages like Matthew 7:13-14, but the general rule is that Christianity will be marked throughout history as a religion of the few. Now, someone out there is saying that Christianity has had the most adherents of any religion throughout history. That's likely true. But with a few exceptions, the number of truly converted, biblically concerned and faithful Christians in any given culture has been small. Yes, Europe existed in a state of Christendom for hundreds of years, and yes, America was founded in part by Christians, and sure, some countries today have large populations of evangelical Christians, but by and large, Christians are and have been the decided minority in the countries and civilizations of the world. The remnant, not the reigning, has been the rule.

Christ's words in Matthew seven, then, ring very, very true. Though we should believe passionately and actionably in God's desire to save many, yet the fundamental reality of Christianity is that few will believe in it. Few, in the end, will be saved. This idea rubs harshly against our success-obsessed American culture in which size is legitimacy, no, size is existence. So many evangelicals want so desperately to see people saved, a desire that is genuine, but they also want to be culturally significant. We don't want to be weird and small and cultish, like the kid on the playground nobody wants to talk to. We want to see people saved--we earnestly and passionately do--but we also want to be a cool kid. For too many of us, it's not enough that we are accepted by God. We want also to be accepted by man. Our thinking, our methodology, even our understanding of the Bible itself is regularly driven by such a concern.

When a Christian lives in a largely pagan culture, though, such notions--which all of us fall prey to in some form, myself included--are easily scrubbed away. The focus becomes not getting people saved and glorifying God through the life of the church and attaining impressive size and cultural legitimacy, but getting people saved and glorifying God through the life of the church. This is not to idealize the church in New England or any other paganized region. Christians in these places certainly have their struggles and weaknesses, lack of vision and passion sometimes among them. It is to say, though, that in such places the temptation to work hard for cultural legitimacy is strongly diminished. It does not disappear, but it is by necessity diminished. When you labor faithfully in gospel ministry for 25 years and see five people come to Christ, you acquire a different economy of scale in your faith. Of course, it is no bad thing at all to pray for growth and work for growth and think strategically and act with great faith and vision. These are the right things to do. But they must not become ends in themselves. If they do, they will fail in places where God's Spirit is not granting new life to the lost.

This certainly sounds morose and sad. But here's the thing: what if God does not merely tolerate the small, or put up with it while other ecclesial investments flourish? What if God--in a way that is very difficult for our American senses to comprehend--actually delights in the small? What if the thirty-person church in New Hampshire (or South Carolina, or Oregon, or Zaire, or Siberia) actually brings Him great joy? What if, unlike so many of our American peers, God isn't ashamed by the little church, but is delighted by it? Maybe He doesn't look sternly at the pastor of the little church, wondering when he's going to get his act together and grow his church. Maybe He looks lovingly on Him, joyful that he is obeying His Word, evangelizing his area, building up his people in the faith week by week, year by year. I don't claim to speak for God, and I certainly cannot comprehend His mind. But as I search the Scripture, it seems to me that perhaps it is true that God delights in the small.

My mind was led to this track by a comment I heard pastor Mark Dever make a little while back. As I've reflected on Mark's offhand comment, I've considered it in light of my future pastoral ministry, if the Lord does indeed give it. Will I be happy if my church is small and my baptisms are low? Will I grow depressed and angry? Will I snap at my wife and ignore my children and work strenuously to drive up my church's numbers? I pray that I won't. But because I'm a sinner, and an American sinner, I see the potential for such behavior. At this juncture in my life, though, I want to avoid it.

I want to embrace the biblical reality that Christianity will often be small, often marginalized, often ignored, often hated. In spots, it will win huge acceptance. In most, it will not. Some churches will legitimately and by God's grace become very large in number and use this size for God's glory. Most will not. Most New England churches will not, I would guess (though I cannot know). Most New England pastors will labor for year upon year and see few people come to Christ. Most New England congregations will survive budgetarily but rarely flourish. If this is indeed true, is this a sign of failure? It could be, I suppose. But it also could be a reflection of biblical teaching. The hearts of men are hard, and in God's providence and mysterious plan, they are harder in some places than others. New England is such a place at this time.

Yet though our consciences and minds tell us otherwise, perhaps this situation is no stain on God's robe, no embarrassment to His reputation. Perhaps it is, in a way quite inscrutable to us, a joy to Him. Perhaps He loves the little and delights in the small. If so (and I think it is so), what an encouragement to the church of any region and country that is small and struggling. Christians in such places need to work hard and not lose faith. They need to pray for great things and attempt great works for God. But in the midst of difficult and even "unsuccessful" ministry, they need to remember the great love of God, and to find their identity not in their numbers, but in the delight of God which graces their ministries and stamps their lives.

The Week-est Link, June 6, 2008: 9Marks Video and the Coldplay Record

1. Go here to watch the new 9Marks promotional video. Everything 9Marks puts out is provocative, and even their promo videos fit the bill.

2. Speaking of provocative 9Marks material, here's an interesting blog post by Mark Dever on the use of video in worship. Some will disagree, some will agree, all should find some stuff to chew on.

3. Vitamin Z has a link to the new Coldplay album. If you click on it, you can hear the record in its entirety. I've heard a couple of songs, and it sounds unique and inventive.

That's about it for now. The Link is slowing down a bit in the summer, but I'm still here for you, trying to find gems for your summer consumption.

Have a great weekend!

The Week-est Link, May 9, 2008: The Dark Knight, a Theology of Rap, and More

1. Westminster professor Bill Edgar gave a lecture on the theology of rap music a few years back. My friend Andy Naselli tipped me to the lecture, and I think that you will find it positively engrossing and illuminating. Dr. Edgar, simply put, is one of the neatest theologians out there--he tackles topics that other theologians won't touch, and he does so with generosity, clarity, and a bit of appreciation that makes him really interesting to listen to. I've learned a good deal from him, and I think you'll enjoy his material.

2. The preview for the upcoming Batman movie, 'The Dark Knight," is out. This movie looks incredibly dark and cool and enjoyable. Pardon the language on the webpage where the link is found--I don't endorse it, but I do endorse the watching of really cool Batman movies...

3. CJ Mahaney has been publishing helpful words on women and modesty on the Sovereign Grace blog. Read his words--he has some of the most helpful, practical counsel you'll find on matters like this, and he anchors it in stout theology. This is an incredibly thorny issue nowadays, what with the proliferation of tight women's clothing and plunging necklines, and CJ wants to help. Let him.

4. Have you heard about the New Attitude conference? It sounds tremendous. It's evolved into a mini-Together for the Gospel deal. If you're single or a young married couple, truck over to Louisville in a few weeks for the conference, and be prepared to come away knowing a great deal more about how to live a holy life in a darkened world. Speakers include Josh Harris, Mark Dever, John Piper, and Al Mohler.

Have a grace-filled weekend.

Dispatches from T4G: Day Three--Sacrifice and Sayonara

Today's very quick thoughts:

1. One of the hardest things about T4G is the fact that many friends from the past are around. We're talking the type who you never see. This makes it really hard to know what to do in organizing one's schedule. Do you listen to the speaker who's got great things to say or catch up with a long-lost friend for mutual edification? Tough call.

2. John Piper gave a typically stirring talk on the biblical imperative of Christian sacrifice for the sake of God's glory. I found most moving, perhaps, his comments afterwards on how fathers must sacrifice their interests for the betterment of their families. I recommend you find the panel discussion (when it's available) following Piper's talk and listen to the whole thing.

3. Dr. Al Mohler hosted his fellow conference organizers on his radio show today. Dever, Duncan and Mahaney came in for a fun and helpful discussion that will prove helpful to those wondering what on earth I've been talking about the last three days. Give it a listen.

4. To all friends of the past seen at the conference: it was a treasure to be with you. To all friends made at the conference: it was a joy to meet you. To all who hunger for a much fuller fellowship, a fellowship that will include not simply the reformed and conservative but the international, trans-denominational, trans-labels body of Christ united by faith in His death and resurrection: it will be simply unspeakable to taste in full what this conference gave us in a very small part.

See you in 2010.

Dispatches from T4G: Day One--Band of Bloggers and Our Own Pastor-Comedian

I'm writing this at an extremely advanced hour and am nearing my crash point. However, the T4G conference has been so encouraging, so moving, that it's hard not to be energized in body by the refreshment of spirit I've received.

There's much to say, but I'll just give you a numbered list of interesting moments and thoughts from the first day of the conference.

1. It is good fun to watch Mark Dever lead a crowd of people. He's this odd combination of brainy nerve, jovial demeanor, heartfelt piety, contrarian pique, and happy emcee. He manages to move you and make you laugh within the same minute. Even from afar, one can see that he is a naturally gifted leader. Some people just have it.

2. C. J. Mahaney could have been a world-famous comedian. He is able to bring out the humor from even the driest of crowds and speakers. When you're pals with John Piper, John MacArthur and Ligon Duncan, this is a decided benefit, at least to those watching you be pals with the aforementioned men (as the T4G audience does during the panel discussions). C. J. is downright hilarious. I love watching him go after people. He's a decided blend of gentle mockery and outright mockery. The balance is fun to observe.

3. The Band of Bloggers event put on by Timmy Brister was a smash. Despite being a UPS worker and a full-time student, Timmy engineered a terrific mini-conference on Christian blogging. I am repeatedly impressed by Timmy's drive and ability to take on heavy responsibility and succeed, and this event was no exception. If you are not familiar with Band of Bloggers, check out the website. In coming days, there will be an opportunity for bloggers to join a Christian blogging community, which is great for connection to others, exposure, and the like. Check the website in the next several weeks for more information.

4. Great talks today by Ligon Duncan on systematic theology and Thabiti Anyabwile on racial identity. I'm sure you'll be hearing a good deal about them on other blogs. Tomorrow we'll be hearing from John MacArthur, R. C. Sproul, Al Mohler, and Mark Dever. It's a tough life here at the T4G conference.

See you tomorrow for another late-night posting.

T4G Week at Consumed: Coming Up, Dispatches from the Conference

I'm heading off to sunny Louisville, KY with my wife and a friend. I have very little time to blog (none, actually), so I'm writing to let you know to check back in throughout the week. I'll be writing about the Together for the Gospel conference and reflecting on the various talks that will be given by men like Piper, Mahaney, Dever and Mohler.

This is the closest thing to an "on-the-road" feature you're going to get at consumed. Be sure to check in and find out what's going on at a conference that seeks to exalt the gospel and to build a sense of organic evangelical unity around it. Here's the blurb about the conference from the 2006 Statement of Faith--it's a great starting point:

"We are brothers in Christ united in one great cause – to stand together for the Gospel. We are convinced that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and marginalized in many churches and among many who claim the name of Christ. Compromise of the Gospel has led to the preaching of false gospels, the seduction of many minds and movements, and the weakening of the church’s Gospel witness."

See you throughout the week!

The Week-est Link, April 4, 2008: The Lord's Prayer, Rhapsody in August, and the Explanatory Power of Credobaptism

1. My wife showed me this video of a tiny little girl singing the Lord's prayer. It's precious. Out of the mouth of babes...

2. If you have not seen have August Rush, then you have not heard "August's Rhapsody". Therefore, you are impoverished. Listen to this little girl sing--it is nothing short of rapturous! Click the link, listen to the song, and then watch the movie. As I recently wrote, it's not a perfect movie, but it's inspiring and at times quite beautiful.

3. Future Southern Baptist theologian Robbie Sagers publishes a review of an excellent new book on the doctrine of believer's baptism. It's well-written and has a great section on how to approach the doctrine from a christocentric, kingdom-focused perspective. I found that part illuminating, and I think you will, too. (HT: Henry Institute)

4. Is the American newspaper soon to be extinct? Read this exhaustive piece in the New Yorker, and then get back to me. Things don't look good. What does that mean for our society?

5. The scariest photo I think I've ever seen. Dever + Mahaney + theological cooperation=T4G (very good, on the whole). Dever + Mahaney + physical merger=some sort of alien conqueror. (HT: Justin Taylor)

6. Blog gem: Standing on Shoulders. This is a group blog done by several SBTS students, all of whom are sharp, godly guys and friends of mine. Their blog is young but is already quite good, with lots of dense, helpful material on church history and theology. (Not every "Blog Gem" will be a church history blog, I promise). Check out their blog, and prepare for edification.

Have a great weekend, all. Christ is risen!

One of the Most Helpful Posts on Guidance I've Read: Dever on Subjectivism

Update on 2/21/08: Apparently I linked to the wrong blog yesterday. Thankfully, Mark Dever caught my error and corrected it, as you can see in the comments. I'm pretty sure that this is the first time he's ever seen this blog, so I'll have to err more often.

I came across a very helpful little piece on guidance today. It's by Mark Dever and it can be found at the Together for the Gospel blog." (HT: Justin Taylor) The post is titled "The Bondage of "Guidance" and it is well worth the five minutes it takes to read it. Here's a helpful excerpt from it:

"I do believe that God's Spirit will sometimes lead us subjectively. So, for instance, I am choosing to spend my life here on Capitol Hill because my wife & I sensed in 1993 that that is what God wanted us to do. However, I realized then (and now) that I could be wrong about that supposition. Scripture is NEVER wrong. I was free in 1993 to stay in England, or teach at a seminary, either of which would have been delightful opportunities. I understand that I was free to make those choices. But I chose, consulting Scripture, friends, wisdom, and my own subjective sense of the Lord's will, to come to DC. And even if I were wrong about that, I had (and have) that freedom in Christ to act in a way that is not sin. And I understand my pastoring here not to be sin. So I am free. Regardless of the sense of leading I had."

And here's another:

"A subjective sense of leading--when we've asked for it (as in James 1:5 we ask for wisdom) and when God freely gives it--is wonderful. The desire for such a subjective sense of leading, however, is too often, in contemporary evangelical piety, binding our brothers and sisters in Christ, paralyzing them from enjoying the good choices that God may provide, and causing them to wait wrongly before acting."

This is great stuff. I've encountered a good many Christians who are genuinely confused about this question. In fact, I've been one of those Christians (and still am, sometimes). Those of us who tie ourselves up in knots over the issue of discovering God's will go beyond the Scripture, I think. That is to say, the Bible does not expect us, I think, to perfectly know God's will for every decision we make in our lives. It is no bad desire to want such leading--in fact, I think it shows a healthy respect for the sovereign will of God as applied to our lives--but the Bible does not prescribe any sort of process by which we may automatically discern what it is that God wants for us. We are to pray, clearly, and we are to take counsel, and search the Word, and use wisdom conformed to biblical thought patterns, but beyond these things, as Dever writes, we are free to make what we believe to be the godly choice. This is a strange concept for some of us, this idea of freedom, but we must remember that this is a gift that Christ has graciously given to us. We must remind ourselves of the scriptural truth that the blood of Christ has not subjected to us a decisional bondage, but liberated us to live freely and joyfully under the reign of Christ. Hopefully, we'll be able to remember this truth as we live, and so free ourselves from a paralysis of will that, however well-intended, ultimately loses sight of the Christ-given gift of freedom.

The Week-est Link, February 1, 2008

1. Read the comment by Reid Monaghan from yesterday's post. Click on the comments at the bottom of the post. Great stuff.

2. Very interesting stuff about the cozy relationship between InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Catholicism. I am particularly concerned by this article on one evangelical's conversion to Catholicism, which appeared in the IVCF email newsletter. Why was this article featured in an evangelical newsletter? I pray with many others that IVCF will hew to a scripturally faithful path in the future and not compromise its evangelical witness on many college campuses. As a former IVCF leader, I am concerned about this matter, and hopeful that the gospel will not be muddled and confused by a desire for ecumenism. I may disagree with them on (very) significant theological matters, but I respect Catholics who practice a strong brand of their religion rather than a watered-down version. It bothers me when both sides of this question--whether evangelicals or Catholics--pretend as if significant theological disagreements do not exist between us. We have much in common, and there is much to admire about Catholicism's stance on key scriptural doctrines including social and theological ethics, but at the end of the day, we have two very different understandings of salvation. This makes all the difference. This is not to say that a Catholic cannot be born again, that some Catholics are not born again even as they attend a Catholic assembly, and that evangelicals and Catholics cannot be friends and cultural co-conspirators. I hope that we will be. (Update: I will be blogging on the above article on conversion to Catholicism next week.)

3. A fun post by Mike McKinley over at the 9Marks blog. We just had quite a week here in Deerfield. Mark Driscoll and Mark Dever were both in town, and Dever spoke at an Acts 29 event. For those who don't know what this means, it's significant, because Acts 29 and 9Marks (Dever's parachurch outfit) put forth pretty different models for ministry. It was great to see the two come together. Hopefully, they'll each pick up helpful material from the other. See also this post on the trip. I really appreciated Driscoll's Tuesday chapel address, which I've heard was a bit controversial in certain TEDS circles.

4. A very sad and beautiful song by Tracy Chapman. It's old (by current standards) but I could care less. I can listen to this all day. Trust me, I wouldn't put it up here if it wasn't worth five minutes of your time.

5. First Things also linked to a talk by Alvin Plantinga at my alma mater, Southern Seminary. Interesting that they would find this, though I guess Plantinga draws a crowd, for good reasons.

Have a nice weekend, all.

The New 9Marks eJournal: Corporate Prayer

If you don't check the 9Marks site for its bimonthly offerings (all free!), you should. It is like taking a course in whatever subject the site is examining. It's amazing that it is free, because there are multiple contributors each issue who offer choice insights and expert analysis. Though I have a book review in this issue, I am decidedly not including myself in that group. However, I do hope that my review of Dallas Seminary professor Aubrey Malphurs's book is helpful.

The new issue, Jan/Feb 2008, is on corporate prayer. I would highly encourage you to take a look at it and read a few articles. For example, the sample corporate prayers will give you a good idea of how to pray before a congregation in a "big" way, that is, in such a way that one magnifies God and the work of His people on His earth. That's just one example, of course. The whole thing is very well done as it is led by a godly man named Jonathan Leeman. Jonathan is a very talented editor and thinker and his work is quite valuable. I would encourage you to pass on the eJournal to someone who doesn't know about it or link to it on your blog. Even if you don't agree with all that you read, I think that you'll still find some good material to mull over.

Here's a quotation from my review that gives you a taste of it:

"Malphurs encourages the church to evaluate itself, which in itself is a healthy idea. His form of measurement, however, is concerning.

Evaluation takes place according to "PIs," performance indicators that reveal the church’s progress toward its goals. For example, one might evaluate the effectiveness of a "seeker service" by the number of baptisms, or the effectiveness of personal evangelism by the number of professions of faith (307).

While numbers may reflect the blessing of God on our ministry, they may also reflect other realities. Our numbers may be high because our doctrine is shallow and easy to stomach. Our evangelism may appear fruitful because our evangelistic program goes soft on hell and perseverance. Isn’t it better to evaluate one’s church according to its faithfulness to Scripture?"

The Week-est Link, Dec. 21

Okay, so it's not actually December 21, but I was out of town the past few days taking care of job stuff so I'm giving you my links a couple of days after they were originally scheduled to hit. The "Spiritual ambition" stuff picks back up tomorrow.

1. I highly recommend this strange and at times hilarious video depicting the internship program at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. I did this internship under Dr. Mark Dever, and I can only say that the interns are a good deal more technologically savvy than my group I ever was. If you've ever wondered what the CHBC internship is like, you won't find out in this video. You will, however, watch something very funny, and that's worth your time. Funniest line: Mark Dever saying, "Where did you get the idea I would answer that question?"

2. I just read God's Harvard by reporter and writer Hanna Rosin. Rosin is a liberal Jew. Her book is about Patrick Henry College, the home-school haven in Virginia. It's an academically challenging school and has a young but tumultuous history. Rosin's work is valuable primarily because it allows evangelicals to see how liberals view them. Rosin makes some good points along the way, and some of her critiques land, even if she is as heavy-handed as she accuses evangelicals of being. I'm hoping to write a fuller review of this book on this blog. Fascinating stuff if you like pop sociology as I do.

3. If you don't have Michael Buble's "Let It Snow" Christmas ep, you have a couple of days to buy it and enjoy it. Our family gave it to Bethany and me, and we play it constantly, in part because it's only six songs long and in part because Buble makes every room warm with his rich voice.

That's it for now--I'll be back tomorrow, and hope that everyone has a nice Sunday.

The Gospel Growth Conference

I've mentioned this once before on this blog, but I want to do so again. Matthias Media and 9Marks Ministries are hosting the "Gospel Growth" conference in about a month's time. If you are interested in going, all you need to do is click on this link and read about the conference. Here is a blurb from the website:

"It's hard for pastors not to be mesmerized by church growth. Who doesn't want their congregation to grow? Who doesn't want to see numbers and budgets increasing year by year? And who isn't greatly interested when the latest growth model comes along, the latest research, the latest insight that promises us the key to such growth?

But there's growth and there's growth.

Understanding what the New Testament means by growth, and how that growth happens, sets us free. It liberates us from anxiety and self-doubt, and from the slavery of chasing the latest program."

I might also note for my extensive seminary audience (all six and a half of you) that you get a reduced rate, as do pastors of small churches (this is true). If you are a seminary student and also a small church pastor, then 9Marks actually pays you to come, and gives you a gift bag full of hard-to-find nicknacks--a used J.I. Packer sock, a piece of lint from Charles Spurgeon's coat, and a quill from Richard Sibbes's pen. Okay, I'm kidding about this last benefit, though it would not surprise if one were to find at least one of the trinkets in the neo-Puritan halls of Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

In all seriousness (and there's not much left here as we head into fall break, bless its name), you should go to the conference. It is on a great topic, and it will I'm sure be an enriching and challenging opportunity to think hard about the motives and methods of evangelical ministry.

The Final T4G Ad: Dever as 70s Hipster

Here is the fourth and final "ad" for T4G 2008. This is a picture of a young Mark Dever. It's a good picture. I must say, he was a pretty cool guy back in the day. As the ad implies, the years have been, um, challenging. (Fact: when in a verbal bind, the word "challenging" can get you out of all kinds of trouble.) I am of course jesting. Mark is now large and in charge, which is no bad thing. He used to be thin and insouciant, so the tradeoff on the whole isn't that bad. In case you're still reading, I'm not sure what any of the above writing really means. With that, this strange paragraph ends.

As I close out the week, I want to thank Terry for his very kind comment left yesterday. The little series on vocational decision was all-too-brief, but I am very glad to hear that it proved even a little helpful for someone. These are big questions we face in life and they are not often easy to handle. One does so with care and prayer. I am always thankful to receive feedback on this blog, and encouragement is always welcome, and so thanks, Terry, for your words. Hope everyone has a good weekend, and remember to give the T4G website a look if you haven't.

New 9Marks Conference on Church Growth

One of my least favorite ecclesiastical ideas is that of church growth.

I personally see the very idea of church growth as a pragmatic invention of the twentieth century by which pastors and church leaders focus more on numbers and programs than on individuals and piety. There is very little of the church growth movement that is remotely positive. It's had a harmful effect on the local church, and will be judged in history as a worldly shift in the church's thinking.

With that said, how welcome is the following banner: "Gospel Growth vs. Church Growth". This is also the name of a conference to be held at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC in late October. The conference is co-sponsored by 9Marks Ministries and Matthias Media. Speakers at the event include Tony Payne, Phillip Jensen, and Mark Dever. As a former CHBC intern and a current contributing writer to 9Marks, I cannot encourage you more to attend this conference. It is confusing to try and figure out how much of a church growth focus is appropriate. I have found the ministry of Mark Dever to be no less than illuminating on this point. If you are a pastor, or if you know a pastor who is struggling, or leading a small church, or merely in need of instruction on this issue, tell them of this conference. If you are a blogger, I encourage you to link to this conference as I have. Let's get the word out in hopes that the health of the church might spread.