Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

In light of that, I am curious to know what options you have taken or benefited from, or those options would plan on pursuing in the future.  If you click “other,” please explain in the comments section.  Thanks!

So I want you to consider the responses as I juxtapose them here for the purpose of showing how biblically illiterate and theologically incompetent we are today to address old heresies in contemporary garb.

FOR: 700 Club

“When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of ‘The Shack.’ This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ did for his. It’s that good!” –Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.

“The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God.” – Michael W. Smith

“Love it for lots of reasons. First of all, I love books that touch the emotions and inspire the imagination. This book does that. But it also has an amazing storyline that is really gripping.” – Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church

“Alright, I have to admit- I am usually a major critic of Christian fiction books. They just usually don’t deliver on expectations. But I recently came across a gem- The Shack by William Paul Young. You have to check it out. It will change your perspective and stretch your spiritual paradigm, especially as it relates to the Trinity and God’s desire for relationship with us humans.” – Brad Lomenick, Director of Catalyst Conference

AGAINST: Mark Driscoll

“This book includes undiluted heresy.” – Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

See also Tim Challies’ 17-page critique.

While the potpourri of heresies in recent years has generated considerable push back by the evangelical world (such as The Da Vinci Code and Gospel of Thomas), one has to wonder if the scent of this fictional book has enough attraction to delude many believers whose theology is no deeper than the front shelves of their local bookstore. Is this not a clear case of our need for a Blue Collar Theology today?!

I briefly mentioned the disconnect between seminary and the local church last fall–a disconnect that has spawned the pursuit of theological education in the local church and the development of a blue collar theology. I have been looking at how different churches and ministries address this problem, such as The Pastor’s College (Sovereign Grace), TBI (Bethlehem Baptist), Internship and Weekenders (Capitol Hill Baptist), Internship and Extension (Lakeview Baptist), and elsewhere; but even with the encouraging and promising efforts made by the growth of church-based theological education, the fact remains that the majority of seminary students graduating are leaving with a diploma in their hands and little to no experience under the belts.

The lack of “field training” and experience is evidenced on a continual basis. Furthermore, students are assessed and placed on the basis of educational accomplishment and whatever else a short resume can reveal. Missionaries, however, are given much greater scrutiny and examination. Their theology is examined, their family and personal life assessed, and several years of on-the-field training are provided through a well-integrated program called 2+2/2+3. The first two years are completed at the seminary and includes the core curricula; the second-half of the program is field-based education that emphasizes an ongoing practicum for the remainder of their degree. You can read more about what this program looks like by going here.

SBC President Frank Page recently argued that the SBC could like shrink by half by 2030, and with the reality that many pastors will retire or die without a successor, one has to wonder who and how (and if) they will be succeeded. If we can be so committed to the Great Commission overseas to train and equip missionaries with field-based missiological education, then why can’t we be equally committed to the Great Commission here in the homeland to train and equip ministers with church-based ecclesiological education?

It would be great to see a 2+2 program made available for pastors.  Together with my four years of college, I have now completed eight years of academic training. Fortunately for me, sandwiched in the middle of those eight years was four years of serving on staff at local churches, but even those years were spent in the “school of hard knocks” and trial-and-error, not having the know-how prior to that tenure.  So much that is required for ministerial effectiveness can never be learned at seminary or Bible college, but at the same time, there are many things that the seminary can effectively teach that many local churches simply cannot provide.  Having said that, it is my hope that something can be developed for ministers in a pastoral context where they can experience both excellence in education as well as competence in training so that our churches can succeed and communities better reached with the gospel.

A couple of months ago, John Piper again held a TBI Seminar on TULIP, and Desiring God has made the messages available in text, audio, and video format.   I want to recommend this seminar to all Blue-Collar Christians because I believe it is one of the most helpful, accessible, and instructive ways of understanding the doctrines of grace.  Here is the links to each session of the TULIP seminar:

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Assumptions – Irresistible Grace
Part 3: Irresistible Grace – Total Depravity
Part 4: Total Depravity – Unconditional Election
Part 5: Unconditional Election
Part 6: Unconditional Election
Part 7: Limited Atonement
Part 8: Perseverance of the Saints
Part 9: Ten Effects of Believing the Five Points of Calvinism

Unfortunately, the majority of what lay people in churches hear these days regarding Calvinism is by those who are vehemently against it, and rarely if ever are the truths accurately and fairly presented.  As a result, those who disagree with the doctrines of grace are not so much disagreeing with the truths so much as they are disagreeing with the caricatures wherein they have been so poorly packaged.  If you want to know what Calvinists believe, listen and read from the Calvinists, such as this seminar by John Piper.  You still might not agree, but at least you will know that your disagreements are with the facts and not with a false representation of them.  For those of you who do believe in the doctrines of grace, you will find this seminar incredibly enriching and encouraging as scores of Scriptures are unfolded for you.  Calvinist and non-Calvinist alike should appreciate the balanced, humble, and accurate approach Piper takes on TULIP.

Desiring God also has two booklets that might be of interest to you (both are $4).  They are:

* What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism

* TULIP: The Pursuit of God’s Glory in Salvation (the seminar in booklet form)

There’s plenty of material out there on living the Christian life. But there’s not so much, from what we can tell, on living together as a church.

To help with that deficit, 9Marks is using this issue to present pastors and churches with what we believe is a useful tool, a short class on living together as a local church. If you’ve never provided your congregation with an opportunity to meditate together on what it means to live together as a church, we hope you’ll take a look at this material. Teach it yourself; let a young man you’re discipling teach it; or let it prompt you to write your own class.

Below are the lessons:

Volume 1

Memoir of John Bunyan
Grace Abounding to Chief of Sinners
Relation of Bunyan’s Imprisonment
Continuation of Bunyan’s Life
Bunyan’s Dying Sayings
Bunyan’s Prison Meditations
The Jerusalem Sinner Saved
The Greatness of the Soul
The Work of Christ as an Advocate
Christ a Complete Savior
Come and Welcome to Christ
Justification by Imputed Righteousness
Saved by Grace
The Strait Gate
Light for Those who Sit in Darkness
Treatise on the Fear of God
Doctrine of Law and Grace
Israel’s Hope Encouraged
A Discourse Touching Prayer
The Saint’s Privilege and Profit
The Acceptable Sacrifice
Paul’s Departure and Crown
The Desire of the Righteous Granted

Volume 2

Saint’s Knowledge of Christ’s Love
Of Antichrist and His Ruin
The Resurrection of the Dead
Some Gospel Truths Opened
Vindication of Gospel Truths Opened
Discourse on Pharisee and Publican
Defence of Doctrine of Justification
Reprobation Asserted
Questions About Seventh-Day Sabbath
Of the Trinity and a Christian / Of the Law and a Christian
Scriptural Poems
Exposition of Genesis 1-10
A Holy Life the Beauty of Christianity
Christian Behavior
Caution to Watch Against Sin
Discourse of the Building of God’s House
A Confession of my Faith and Practice
Differences About Water Baptism
Peaceable Principles and True / On the Love of Christ
A Case of Conscience Resolved
John Bunyan’s Catechism
Seasonable Counsel
An Exhortation to Peace and Unity
Bunyan’s Last Sermon

Volume 3

Pilgrim’s Progress – Introduction – Editor
Pilgrim’s Progress – Synopsis – Editor
Pilgrim’s Progress – Part I
Pilgrim’s Progress – Part II
The Holy War
A Map of the Order of Salvation
The Heavenly Footman
The Holy City, or The New Jeusalem
Solomon’s Temple Spiritualized
Discourse of the House of the Forest of Lebanon
The Water of Life
The Barren Fig Tree
The Life and Death of Mr. Badman
A Few Sighs From Hell
One Thing is Needful / Ebal and Gerizim
A Book for Boys and Girls
The Struggler (and Chronological Listing of Bunyan’s Works)

Several of these works have been modernized and included in the Puritan Paperback series published by Banner of Truth (including The Jerusalem Sinner Saved, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ, The Acceptable Sacrifice, Prayer, and All Loves Excelling. Also, Soli Deo Gloria has also published several editions as well. For more information about John Bunyan in general and a list of reprinted works, check out the Meet the Puritans entry.

And yet, despite all the good that study Bibles bring to the table, there is a real danger of becoming a second-hander when it comes to personal study, interpretation, and wrestling with the biblical texts. It is tempting to simply look at what a commentator had said below the line and assume it is just as valid as the inspired text. There is a danger of bypassing what Spirit says and what the human author said to find out what ____________ said.

Nevertheless, personal study Bibles do have an important role to play in the spiritual and doctrinal development of believers today, and the best ones provide the resources and tools necessary to do the hard work of going deep with God in His Word. From what I can tell so far, the ESV Study Bible does just that and perhaps better than anything available today. The ESV does not spoon-feed you commentary for a sound-byte generation or drive-by devotional; rather, it provides you with more than 2,750 pages of meaty resources, including:

* 25,000-plus notes—focusing especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues.
* Over 50 articles—including articles on the Bible’s authority, reliability, and interpretation; on biblical archaeology, theology, worship, prayer, and personal application.
* Over 200 full-color maps—created with the latest digital technology, satellite images, and archaeological research; printed in full color, throughout the Bible.
* 200-plus charts—offering key insights and in-depth analysis in clear, concise outline form; located throughout the Bible.
* 80,000 cross-references—to encourage easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes.
* More than 40 new full-color illustrations—including historically accurate reconstructions of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, the city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time and throughout the history of Israel, and many more.

The ESV editorial team, under the leadership of Justin Taylor, has done a fantastic job of putting together 93 first-class biblical scholars to contribute with articles and resources what would be the equivalent of a 20-volume resource library. To have these resources readily accessible in one volume will do much to further the vision of a Blue Collar Theology, and I am happy to commend the ESV Study Bible to you for your consideration.

A final note should be made here. We live in a biblically illiterate age where there are more Bibles, more sermons, more articles, more journals, more magazines, and more books available than ever before, and yet we are suffering from spiritual anemia today. You can have the genuine leather edition of the best study Bible in the world, but if you do not read it, it will be worthless to you. The Bibles we have are not to be living room decoration; our lives should rather be a showroom of the inward transformation that comes from those who “day and night” meditate on the law of the Lord. I know it sounds like I am preaching to the choir, but the point needs to be made that we should treasure God’s Word regardless if it comes with the bells and whistles. It is my hope and prayer that the vision of BCT will encourage all Christians to treasure and apply the Word of God in their lives. Indeed, it is my prayer that the ESV might re-introduce believers to the life-changing revelation of God preserved and handed-down to us.

Every Christian is a theologian.  We don’t need a beard, a pipe and a library to think about God.  In fact, everyone has a theology.  Some people think God doesn’t exist–that’s a theology.  Others think if He did exist we couldn’t know Him–that’s a theology too.  Every action is based on a theology.  At the end of the day, our theology of God exists for our relationship with God.  Our thoughts about God lead us into a deeper worship of God.  And a day is coming when the Great King will separate wheat from chaff, sheep from goats, saved from lost.  But those who love God with head and heart will be ushered into eternity.

If we are to pursue true holiness, the object that we pursue must be true. That may seem obvious enough, but so many people do not act accordingly.  In an age where “spirituality” is defined by ethereal experience and some kind of nebulous deity, holiness is a foreign word. In some people’s religion, it is a four-letter word. Paul exhorted Timothy to pay close attention to his life and his doctrine. These two cannot be divorced. As A.W. Tozer said, what we believe about God is the most important thing about us. While we pursue holiness as the people of God, we must include, with our questions regarding ethics, questions also pertaining to our doctrine. When we ask if we have looked at something we should not have, instead of including only pornography, we should also include theology that is not considered orthodox. Pornography is not the only moral issue in our lives. We need to remember that wrong views of God (theology) are also sinful. For those that are not as discerning in what they read, we could make the question broader to be: “What have you read over the past week?”

This may seem like a silly issue to even write about when we speak of theology for all people, but it is an underlying problem in every accountability group that is not asking questions related to theology. I am not arguing for a mere group of puffed up minds. Rather, I am pushing on us to become a community of believers, who believe what it true, noble, and pure. If a group of armchair theologians get together for the fun of debate, this is not accountability.

I have been the instigator of too many conversations that merely puffed up. I have touted the latest esoteric book I just finished with no attempt to speak about its conviction in my life. I have tried to glean as much knowledge from people I interact with without seeking to have my life changedAccountability is going further than talking about the sovereignty of God. It is asking what you believe to be limits of God’s rule in your life. Once that is explicated, we then move on to how this has affected you over the past week. Did you go to a website you should not have? Did you think about God’s omnipresent, sovereign rule while you were clicking away?

What I am arguing for is that as community-dwellers, we begin to enter into discussions about theology in such a way that it is not mere academia. If we stop with theology without delving into the depths of the moral implications, we will be clanging cymbals.

If we speak about our ethic without making explicit the theology grounding it, we will become hypocrites.

Our theology must be tested through the fires of community.In the next post I will talk about how we can begin to wed the two – life and doctrine.