Seventeen82

  "I am a terrible Christian." This was said to me recently. The person who said it to me is a godly, Bible believing soul. They were not saying this in any facade of 'brokenness' or 'authenticity' which we often do in order to seem more spiritual in certain settings. This was genuine brokenness and authenticity. I know exactly what they mean. I've said it myself. Often times when we examine our life and we see a disconnect between what we say we believe and what we actually do, the weight can make us cry out with the Psalmist, "[N]either  is there any  rest in my bones because of my sin. 4  For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5  My wounds stink  and  are corrupt because of my foolishness. 6  I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7  For my loins are filled with a loathsome  disease: and  there is  no soundness in my flesh. 8  I am feeb...

  Boy howdy that was a year.  This past sixteen months was instructive in many ways. Those of us already distrustful of centralized power became even more so. Those of us who found comfort in existing relationships saw those strengthened. It was a time for clarity. The long term effects of the Covid panic won’t be known for a long time, which is why they are long term. The English language is funny like that. ;) So as most of our nation has returned to its normal wayward and idolatrous self I wanted to spend some time in my post for Seventeen82 thinking through two errors which poked their nose into the tent, ones  that we can go ahead and deal with without needing twenty years-time of reflection. ERASTIANISM How did Elizabeth II affect the Church in America? Well, let me tell you. The governing authorities made decisions for the Church in regards to Covid that they did not have the power to do, and that the people of God were not required to obey in accordance with S...

  My family just returned from a weeklong vacation in Georgia. While it was good to take a week off, the work of the pastor really waits for no man, so this morning began with sermon preparation for the upcoming Lord's Day. I resolved several weeks ago to preach through Psalm 51 this summer. I've wanted to preach through this psalm for quite some time, but for one reason or another had not yet done so. The inspired title of the psalm begins with these words: "For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." Even though the background of the composition of this psalm is well-known, I preached through 2 Samuel 12:1-12 the two weeks prior to my vacation, to "till the ground" or "set the stage" for preaching through Psalm 51. I was struck this morning by a slight difference in the opening words of Psalm 51:1. I typically preach from the New American Stand Bible (1995) translation, which ...

  Between June 14-25, Christian Education Ministries hosted our denomination’s (ARPC) summer conferences for middle and high school students at Bonclarken (the ARP’s conference center). I understand those were two great weeks, and our Lord worked powerfully among the students.    After the conferences were finished, Brad Anderson, the conferences’ director, sent a text to a group of ARP ministers, including me, that read: “We have the next generation of ARPs and need to work on holding on to them. The conferences go well because of everyone that attends and serves. They’re a bright spot in the denomination.” I immediately thanked God for his grace and for the good work of those who led, served, and oversaw the conferences when I received the text.    I also thought about a conversation that Brad and I had with Chip Sherer during our Synod meeting in June. He told us that, as the President of Bonclarken, he believed that Bonclarken’s role in the growth and develo...

  I am an Air Force Brat - although, I often feel like I need to explain that I am not your usual Air Force brat. When most folks think about a military family, they think of a family that moves all over the nation, and even the world, every 3-4 years. My experience wasn’t like that … I was born in Surfside Beach, SC when my mom was stationed at the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, and we moved to Shaw AFB in Sumter, SC when I was 3, and I lived either at Shaw or in Sumter until left for college. So, my experience was different from others.  However, one thing I find that I do share with many other Air Force folks is our experience of July 4th. It’s hard to put into words what Independence Day felt like on a military installation. On one level, it looked like what everyone else was doing - charcoal grills set up in the front yard, cooking up all sorts of hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, wings … kids on bikes, kids playing in the sprinklers, kids playing baseball in the street, kids e...

  (Courtesy of the BBC) I Will Not Leave You As Orphans By Lee Shelnutt (All Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV) No one should be under the pretense that a few days in a country makes one an expert. Far from it – it should make you realize there’s just so much you do not know. Nevertheless, a recent World Witness trip to the beautiful country of Rwanda with Alex Pettett and the Cottens, did make me more aware of something that was a terrible but fleeting news story here in the US back in 1994.  Much had transpired through the decades before 1994, preparing the way for the 100 days of terror. Colonial favoritism. Tribal-racial tensions. Dehumanizing propaganda. European meddling. Political and economic disparities. Genocidal trial runs. And then came the mysterious downing of an airplane carrying the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi. Within hours, young, French-trained, death squads of Hutus, wielding machetes with genocidal furor, were unleashed and in a span ...

  A dear friend and fellow pastor preached my ordination service. In his sermon, he used the illustration of Scylla and Charybdis I write about below. It has stuck with me all these years and has shaped my preaching and my overall ministry.     As Odysseus returned home from the Trojan War, he faced many perils. During his 10-year voyage home, one dilemma he was faced with was how to navigate the Strait of Messina - the narrow passage between Italy and Sicily. On one side was Scylla, a six-headed sea monster with a hunger for sailors. On the other side was Charybdis, another monster who created a giant whirlpool when she swallowed large amounts of water. Homer describes them as being “an arrow-shot apart.” For Odysseus to sail safely away from one, he would have to get dangerously close to the other.      Do you ever feel like that when you’re preaching? (This applies to preaching, but could also apply to living the Christian life in general.) The...