Biblical Theology by Michael Lawrence

This is neither a new idea, nor a new book, nor a new idea about a new book.

Biblical Theology by Michael Lawrence was released in 2010 as a 9Marks product (Crossway: Wheaton IL, 2010). Many others have proposed to blog through a book as they read it, so my attempt to do so is not a novelty.

So, there is nothing new to see here, except for my take on things, so if I haven't successfully persuaded you to stop reading and go to a better-looking site with a younger, hipper blogger, then read on, my friend.

Lawrence writes generally to propose how biblical theology leads directly to effective -- some might say "faithful" -- pastoral ministry in the church. He even proposed that he is writing a "how-to" book, and that learning "to do biblical theology will help you learn how to pastor well" (p15).

Expanding on this idea, Lawrence says "our theology determines the shape and character of our ministry. Theology is how we move from the text of Scripture to how we should live our lives today. This is a book about theology. But it's really a book about ministry, because I'm convinced that if we want our ministry to have a lasting impact and our churches to be healthy we must first do our theology well."

Lawrence refers to this approach as "word-centered ministry."

Indeed, for any congregation of Christ-followers, ministry should be nothing but word-centered. As Lawrence suggests, a gospel minister isn't simply reciting a washing machine manual, but is delivering the life-giving, life-changing Word of God.

This Word is powerful to actually change people. I fear that in some respect we as believers have forgotten this, or don't truly believe it. I must confess that though I engage in ministry with a Word-centered frame of reference, and trust God's Word to accomplish his purpose in changing the lives of men, I am still -- in my sinful and doubtful condition -- surprised when I observe that what God promised and what I profess to believe actually happens.

Yet it is better to be pleasantly surprised at the efficacy of God's Word than to avoid opportunity for God's Word to be efficacious.

Hopefully, Lawrence's book will be a much-needed corrective to ministry centered on things other than the Word.

Join me in finding out.

Making Labels (Smoking Out Calvinists, Pt 2)

In several of the older churches in my association, a room just off the foyer to the sanctuary is dedicated to a display of the church’s formative documents. Minutes of the organizational meeting include a list of all the members, who the pastor was, who served as deacons, and who served as elders. The Statements of Faith for these churches closely track the Philadelphia Confession (1742), the Second London Confession (1689), or at least affirm doctrines of grace, with copious favorable references to “election” and “predestination.”

Despite the fact that many contemporary members – should they venture into these rooms and read the documents in them – would stroke out at the notion that their church once had elders and once approved such “Calvinistic” concepts – these documents accurately reflect the truth that Southern Baptist life has been characterized by a strong Reformed, Calvinist, Doctrines-of-Grace element from its inception.

On the other hand, there have also been faithful believers in the SBC who have not accepted all of the Five Points of Calvinism (or Reformed doctrine, or the Doctrines of Grace), who have nevertheless engaged the church’s mission to proclaim God’s glory through making disciples of all nations right alongside Five-Pointers and others who not only tip-toe through, but frolic in, the T.U.L.I.P.s. For example, I worked with a friend in college ministry and on mission trips who claimed to be a 1-Point Calvinist (Perseverance, I think), with no adverse effects on the ministry and no after-hours fisticuffs.

Given this historical context, it is somewhat surprising that there would arise such acrimony against all things Calvinistic. (See “Smoking Out Calvinists” in this site and Tom Ascol’s article.) There are, to be sure, church members and pastors who hold to Calvinism and who haven’t quite left the “cage stage” of their understanding of the Doctrines of Grace. Real and significant problems have attended their congregations and pulpits where charity has not tempered their zeal.

Yet the lack of charity is not a malady exclusive to Reformed circles. Arminians and semi-Pelagians can be just as hostile and unyielding. A thoroughly Arminian Sunday school department leader adamantly refused to go along with anything proposed by the Director because he was (so she thought) “a Calvinist”, hindering the function of the group even in matters not dealing with the disputed doctrine. An official state SBC conference speaker referred to Calvin as a “shade tree theologian” only interested in peddling his Institutes and presumably considered him a greater threat to evangelical Christianity than Islam and false converts.

A church search committee has every reason to avoid calling a pastor who will “split the church.” Yet it is avoiding its “sacred duty” when it supposes that it can check off a few boxes on a “watch list”, or ask a prospective pastor “Yes or No: Are you Calvinist?” and justifiably label him a church-splitter to be studiously avoided.

The problem for churches and pastors today is that both sides of the soteriological divide have been characterized by such inaccurate stereotypes. Not all Calvinists preach from a T.U.L.I.P. soapbox, seeking to browbeat and arm-twist every congregant to his brand of soteriology. Not all Arminians or Wesleyans picture Jesus wringing his hands and fretting over his impotence to save men without their cooperation.

What can a church and its pastor search committee do to ensure they address their legitimate concerns fairly and appropriately? I address that next in “Checking Under the Hood (Smoking Out Calvinists, Pt 3).”

Smoking Out Calvinists

I’ve heard for several years that among the various Directors of Missions for local Southern Baptist Associations there were some who took it upon themselves to weed out “Calvinists”, keeping them from consideration for pulpit supply or for open ministerial positions.

I’ve also heard for several years that consultants from state Baptist conventions help train pastor search committees to avoid hiring “Calvinists.” One Director of Missions suggested to me that because of what school I attended (The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), I should include on my resume my understanding of the “Five Points of Calvinism.”

Now I hear it reported that at least some Tennessee Baptists have taken up the cause of culling Calvinists in organized fashion, creating written guidelines and conducting training sessions. Tom Ascol, of Founders Ministries, has written about it here. In his article Ascol reprints the documents supposedly used to root out hidden Calvinist preachers. These documents are obviously full of stereotypes, simplistic assessments, and mischaracterizations of Calvinism, Reformed doctrine, and the Doctrines of Grace.

I agree with one thing that “Reformed Red flags” says: pastor search committees act according to the “sacred duty their church entrusted to them.” However, a search committee’s duty is not ultimately to the church that charges it with finding a new pastor, but instead its duty is to serve God and find the man that He has called.

It is, indeed, a serious matter to call a pastor. So I agree, for the most part, with churches seeking to explore a prospective preacher’s doctrinal bent before he walks into the pulpit. In my work as a church consultant, I have grown to lament the fact that search committees are not concerned enough to explore a prospective pastor’s theological leaning, and, perhaps as important, how those leanings actually tend to affect his practical ministry.

Can search committees ask a prospective pastor about his “Calvinism”? Sure. Are “Reformed Red flags” and other tools valid for applying a label to a man and rejecting him? I’ll address that next, in “Making Labels (Smoking Out Calvinists, Pt 2)”.