Henry Center Travelogue, Day Three: Evangelical Identity and Ringo Starr

I'm in Hong Kong with the Henry Center, my employer, as we're hosting an international conference on evangelical identity. I'll be blogging about the conference on the Henry Center blog and will cross-post here.

The conference has now started in earnest. We're at the YMCA International House on Waterloo Street, right in the middle of bustling Hong Kong. Come join us if you're up for the fifteen-hour flight.

This morning, historians Doug Sweeney of TEDS and Kevin Yao of China Graduate School of Theology discussed the nature of evangelical identity as related to history. Sweeney's talk, "Modern Evangelicalism and Global Christian Identity: Promise and Peril as Seen Through the Eyes of a North American Church Historian", surveyed definitions of evangelicalism, suggested one that emphasized the fact that evangelicalism is founded upon an eighteenth century "twist", and then encouraged Christians of all stripes to simultaneously preserve the indigenous nature of the faith as expressed in their culture and to link arms with the global and historical church.

This was an important message for Christians of both East and West to hear. No group of Christians is immune to the danger of narrowed vision. Indeed, in America, we saw time and time again efforts and organizations pop up with great motives but no confessional and ecclesiastical connection. What great need, then, for Christians to simultaneously take the faith to their culture while connecting themselves, however awkwardly, to the church of all ages and cultures. Our faith must be both horizontal, linked to those who claim Christ across the world, and vertical, linked to the church of ages past and, God willing, of ages to come.

Yao gave a strong talk titled "Chinese Evangelicals and Social Concerns: A Historical and Comparative Review" on the nature of Chinese approach to government and society. Surveying the Christian heritage of China, he noted that in the past, believers took an apolitical position. Now, however, they are rethinking this position, and it seems best to Yao for the church to " to witness to Christian faith through teaching basic Christian values, charity and dialogue with the authority." I found this a provocative insight.

Following a panel discussion between Sweeney, Yao, and moderator Andrew Lam of Evangel Seminary, Old Testament scholars K. Lawson Younger of TEDS and Timothy Wu of China Evangelical Seminary spoke. Younger's talk, "The Old Testament in its Cultural Context: Implications of "Contextual Criticism" for Chinese and North American Christian Identity", propounded a forceful case for the need to analyze three primary environments in teaching and preaching the Scripture: literary (textual) environment, material cultural (archaeological) environment, and geographic (topological) environment. Younger gave examples of ways in which these methods buttressed and enhanced study of Scripture. Though the talk performed few exegetical feats, it gave a stirring call for close, careful study of the Bible. It is easy for students of God's Word to get distracted by various disciplines and endeavors. Ideally, we should use philosophy, theology, history, and so on to enrich our study of the Word, but all our preaching and teaching should be founded upon an attempt to get to the very heart of the text.

I remember well a great lesson from a class on Isaiah at Southern Seminary. I wrote a long paper on chapter 55, attempting to get to the marrow of every clause, every word, but I missed a crucial point (the background for the "dogs" that Isaiah condemns) and my professor excoriated me for not doing so. At the time, that stung a little bit. Ever since then, however, I've remembered my professor's point, and I've agreed with it completely. Bringing out the importance of that term would not have revolutionized my preaching of that text, but it surely would have enriched it, and fed the saints a richer meal. Younger's talk corroborated that experience and encouraged me to work very hard to understand the text, and feed the saints the fullness of God's Word.

Timothy Wu then spoke on "The Renewal of Culture: The De-Focus and Re-Focus After "Paradise Lost". Wu surveyed Genesis 1-11 from a canonical standpoint and sought to show how these chapters provide a model for the pattern of human history. After declension (fall) comes renewal and transformation (Abraham). It was very interesting to synthesize the two OT talks, as they together made the case for careful exegesis and biblical theology.

There are more talks to go in the day. I'm on my dinner break and have to go, although I must say that I'm not that hungry because our hosts are feeding us constantly and deliciously. On one of our "coffee breaks", which also provide us with little cheesecakes and scrumptious noodles (I can't tell you how well this strange mix works), I bumped into a waiter named "Ringo". I asked him if he was named after the Beatle. What ensued was an utterly hilarious conversation in which, I'm pretty sure, he thought that I was asking him if he played bass guitar. I'm sure I was explaining myself with a complete and utter lack of clarity, despite numerous gesticulations, re-clarifications, and, at one point, a citation of Yoko Ono. Oh well. Such is life in a foreign environment. It's a good thing our speakers are a great deal clearer than my attempts at connection!

By the way, all of the conference talks will be published in a forthcoming volume. The Center Blog will have more about that in the future. Speaking of the future, I'll be back tomorrow for more reportage and stories of self-humiliation.

Get to Know a Puritan: The Puritan Reading Challenge

I have been meaning to tell readers of this blog about a great program going on over at my friend Timmy Brister's blog, Provocations & Pantings. Timmy is an MDiv student at Southern Seminary with a great passion for church health, evangelism, and the glorification of God. He's a good friend and an encouragement to me. His program is called the Puritan Reading Challenge. Basically, Timmy has come up with the idea of reading one paperback by one Puritan each month of this year. He's invited people to join with him in reading the paperback and in discussing the work together. He's got the whole thing worked out so that those who participate in the Challenge receive a massive discount from a couple of booksellers. He's also got interviews with men like Mark Dever on the Puritans. I highly encourage you to check the Challenge out over at Timmy's blog.

I'm excited about this program because it is designed to acquaint people with the Puritans, authors of a treasure trove of literature that is largely undiscovered in many Christian circles today. The Puritans have a wide variety of reputations, with some saying that they're detached prudes, others saying that they're legalist doctrinaires, but in the end, they were godly people who lived with a big view of their Lord and who sought to honor Him on a daily basis. They were not perfect, but they did have a healthy view of God, man, and the Christian life, and for this reason I would encourage most anyone to pick up a Puritan paperback and read it. The books in Timmy's series aren't that long, and they're full of rich doctrinal meditation and searching practical application.

I'll close with the blurb from the Challenge project blog, answering why one should study the Puritans:

First, the Puritans had a relentless pursuit of God. In their writings you will find believers who knew their God deeply through a rich God-centeredness that affected every area of their lives. We are living in a day where it is hard to find folks who know their God well. Second, the Puritans were physicians of souls. These men studied themselves and had a real, experimental knowledge of Christianity. Nowhere will you find more “uses” and applications for your life than in their writings. Not only did they know God well, they knew the minds, hearts, and consciences of men well. Third, the Puritans possessed genuine piety because they knew how to fight the fight of faith. These men took direct aim at indwelling sin and fought hard for their personal sanctification. Their writings are incredibly pastoral and at the same time intimately convicting. Fourth, the Puritans were pacesetters in church history. They ran in such a way to win, and whether it is their study of Scripture, commitment to family worship, personal devotion to prayer, or caring for the souls in their community, these men ran and ran hard. Fifthly, reading the Puritans will provide you a healthy perspective so as to prevent chronological snobbery. Let’s face it. It is tempting to read only what is novel, trendy, and popular. Yet it is worthwhile to read books 100 years or older to understand how Christians lived, face struggles, dealt with issues (doctrinal, ecclesiological, ethical, etc.), and experienced God. Frankly speaking, you will not find anything close to Owen, Watson, Brooks, and Baxter on the front shelves of your local bookstore.

If you're interested, leave a comment for Timmy at his blog and he'll get back to you with more info.

A Short List of Important History Biographies: 1-3

In the spirit of the lists posted by historians Sean Lucas and Michael Haykin, I offer my own humble little list of my favorite history biographies.

1. George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards--If you haven't read this, you are missing out on a masterpiece of readable, richly textured history. Marsden sets Edwards's context as well as one can. He brings you into the world of Edwards, even as he brings the character and theology of Edwards to life. A masterpiece, and my favorite book, period (excepting, of course, the Good one). Works on both the popular and academic levels, which is a feat in its own right.

2. D. G. Hart, Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America--Again, a great historical work. This is a more tightly focused argument than you will find in some biographies, as it is clearly academic history, but there is rich material for all students of historical theology to discover here. Though Hart sympathizes with much of Machen's theology, he writes in a remarkably balanced, non-hagiographic manner. There are points to quibble with here and there, but this is an excellent critical biography of a great man.

3. Rudolph Nelson, The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind--This is a sensational biography of a fascinating and tragic evangelical figure, E. J. Carnell. Nelson is a former evangelical who still manages to approach his subject with fairness, though his work is decidedly slanted toward psychology. I couldn't agree with significant parts of his analysis of Carnell, but I found his biography engrossing and filled with rich detail from the life and thought of this neo-evangelical. If you are interested in the neo-evangelicals, as I very much am, I would encourage you to buy this book and read it. I could not put it down.

More of this tomorrow. What are some of your favorites?