(considering) 8:28

Implications of the Sovereignty of God

recent posts

  • Testing produces perseverance

    Hi All,

    Just on a strange note, in the cafe I sit in there are 3 laptops running, all macs. Just though I’d share. I love Montreal. :-)

    So, if you look back, you’ll remember the awesome way in which the Lord dealt with my developing bitterness over a talk that seemed to deny almost everything I believe about my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I have to admit, that in that case the understanding I had was only by implication, and so it was quite correct of my brother from the west to question my anger.

    Tonight, however, I am left with a similar response of anger. Remember that the topic of the conference I’m attending is “Stewards of Creation: Theology and Sustainability”. Thus I’m sure many of you would’ve shared my surprise that this evening’s keynote lecture was essentially about promoting sustainability by challenging (and one would assume eliminating) patriarchal models of leadership in the Church. (Can someone comment on what this has to do with the topic I came to discuss?)

    Now, most of you know that I have an opinion on that topic, and not one that would generally be in agreement. The problem is that the majority of conference goers here are women seeking ordination. The speaker allowed for a short breakout session in which we were asked to name patriarchal symbology and come up with ways to question it. Floating my complementarian position among the group, I was met with questions like “So do you believe that leadership in the church should be determined by whether you have a penis or a vagina”. I really didn’t feel safe to speak after that in either the small group, or the general large group. That was even after some people floated the openly modalist (an early heresy) rephrasing of the trinity, and as a poor girl spoke up in favor of at least a moderate sense of chivalry. I had to apologize to her afterwards, as I can’t help but think I was being unchivalrous of letting her take the flak. I even didn’t comment when a man got up and said “I open doors for everybody, whether they be male, female, or transgendered”. The clear rhetorical aim of the statement could not be missed, and it was clearly not to provide a safe space for our disagreements.

    I’d like to say that I stayed silent because I was patient, but I have to confess, it was because I was very, very angry. The kind of anger that leaves me absolutely stone cold silent. I am not proud of that, as honestly, these people didn’t really deserve my anger. They probably didn’t realize just where some of the conference participants were on the continuum of Christian belief. I don’t believe that I sinned, but I have to admit, that it was only barely. God drew out into my mind the need to bear with adversity with patience, to listen to those who disagree with me, and later, that in my anger I should not sin. Indeed, the adversity of this evening may produce some benefit, as I hope I learned a little of how to hear people who really disagree with me, and I learned that God had a good plan in making my highest form of anger a silent one. In this case it kept me from saying hurtful things I would not mean.

    All of that said, I am still at this conference tomorrow, and until Friday. I am still unclear as to how I should be faithful to my Lord, Jesus Christ, in this context. I also need to deal with a clear self-centered streak that made me far angrier to face attack on “my faith”, rather than anger at the seeming desire to ignore Jesus (he was mentioned once in the opening keynote, twice during the seminar session, and if he was mentioned tonight, I wasn’t counting since I had lost perspective.

    In any case, thanks to all of you who are praying for this weak vessel of a Christian. Your prayers are felt, but I feel like I am clearly at the front lines of a spiritual battle. On praise, I had an opportunity to witness openly to someone about my own sinfulness, and the way Christ saved (and continues to save) me from my own evil. I got to discuss environmentalism with some evangelicals who are affiliated with A Rocha (they’re delegates, not really speakers), and I have been able to speak some to a roommate who seems even more isolated here than I am. Pray that I’d be faithful, pray that God would give me opportunities to speak lovingly and humbly, and use me in those opportunities. Pray most especially that God would grant that his will be done as they choose a national planning committee for the next conference. I’m left wondering where a Christian is to knock the dust from their feet, and where are they to be salt and light to lost people. Should I be working to see that some real believers get on the NPC, or should I just work to tell people about Jesus and when I come home forget all about these things?

    Again, thanks to anybody reading, and an even greater thanks to those who choose to pray for this conference, and the people here (especially those who confess Jesus Christ). In all things, may He be glorified above all!

    In Him,
    – Steve

  • Love, Sin and Prophetic Witness (From Rue St. Denis, Montreal)

    Again, let me restate my liking for Montreal. This is an awesome city, and the people seem quite interesting (even if the cute girl behind the counter didn’t seem to know much about Newfoundland).

    Anyway, today was a quite full day. As you know, I was on my way to Church here when I last wrote. I went to the People’s Church of Montreal, a moderate sized independant evangelical Church (English congregation). I really enjoyed the welcome we got, and I enjoyed greatly the ability to sing some great old hymns of the faith to the top of my lungs. I was also pleased to note their wall of supported missionaries in the basement. Unfortunately, some of my companions had a more negative experience of the Church. Admittedly, there was some warrant, as the pastor clearly seemed unable to come to a point in his sermon. I guess this was a side effect of what he called exegetical preaching, but among a group of people with differing faith perspectives, coming to a point, even as you exegete scripture, would be beneficial.

    That said, as I left I noted that a young man was asking about being baptized. In many of the Churches represented at the conference, that would be rare, though apparently this church has a class for baptism running every couple of months.

    I also got a chance to discuss emergent with some girl at the conference who’s presently reading “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. Erik, if you’re reading, I can’t thank you enough for sending me that one (even if I disagree) it meant I could at least hear some of what she said.

    The afternoon was nice, we went to a cabane a sucre. Nice and all, but I think I shall be on a sugar high for a week.

    The evening session was the first keynote by Dr. Jenney Plane Te Paa. She’s a bigwig theologian in the Anglican communion, from New Zealand. Needless to say, since she’s a speaker at a largely ecumenical conference, her position is slightly different from my own. The talk left me a little disturbed (I will repond to it directly after I have heard all she has to say).

    Afterwards, I was mad, and not in the kind of righteous anger that stays away from sin. God knows what he’s doing, however, and in his providence sent a brother in Christ. There is a couple here from Regent College (who seem to know Russell and Cara, BTW). Now, I’m not sure how well they like talking to me (as I get bombastic when I’m nervous), but the husband, was a credit to his college and his Lord as he simply listened to my concerns about the talk, and gently turned away my judgement and bitterness, while still building up what he saw as appropriate. Christian community preceeds me, as it’s based on Christ, not on my own ability. It also makes me feel bad that I didn’t choose to attend Regent if it produces pastoral people like that.

    Through the experience I’m learning the way in which my heart, still sinful in many ways, can often turn a good understanding of something, and use it to place bitterness in my heart. It reasserts to me, how much I am still in need of Jesus, to be my righteousness, and to sanctify me into a better person than I could be by myself. When the Bible says that we should speak the truth in love (Eph 4:16, Phil 1:14-16), I think it’s noting that some of us (me) can use the truth as a method if getting judgemental, bitter and self-righteous. While that doesn’t change the truth, the resulting heart it produces in the truth teller is deadly. So as we speak prophetically (which we must do, silence of the truth and justice is not an option), we must be careful that we do not sin, and so do it in love for the person you speak to, and about.

    Perhaps the best wording of it comes from Dr. Te Paa herself, in her talk of this evening: “Live on earth as you would in heaven”. As I imagine heaven to be a place of love, where we speak the truth of God’s greatness to one another, I can only say “Amen”.

  • A Coffeeshop on St.-Denis

    Hey Everybody,

    Another in a long list of “travellog” blog posts. This Sunday I’m sitting in a 24 hour coffee shop down the street from the Hostel we’re staying in for the conference.

    A few words on the conference. I enjoyed last evening, where a couple of us, after the sessions were done sat down to talk about the difficulties in the Angican Church (Me, a guy from Emmanuel-St. Chad, and a delegate from Vancouver School of Theology). I gotta say, all the trouble getting here and the possibility I’m going to have to sit through some pretty objectionable Theology, and the strange dismissive looks some people give to conservatives (not to mention strange arguments concerning the sinfulness of the marriage of hermaphrodites), if I get a bunch of conversations like that one. There’s something to be said for the fellowship that comes from honestly and openly talking to each other, and possibly disagreeing.

    Montreal is an amazing city too, by the way. It’s beautiful here, but I keep thinking they need more churches. Maybe this would be a great place to plant one someday. I’d just have to get back to speaking French better. One of the other delegates (who’s actually from Ville de Quebec, but spends a lot of time here) was wearing a kuffiah and a bullet belt last evening (political quite a liberal guy), but had a lot of questions about the Bible and what conservative Christians believe. It was an awesome conversation, but it broke my heart a little more for a city this great with (seemingly) very little Christian witness. I’ll have a better idea by tonight’s entry, as I’m going to a nearby evangelical Church tonight.

    Anyway, those of you who are into praying, could you pray a little for Montreal, and that Jesus Christ find this city in a big way?

  • all things work together (CTSC part I, St. John’s Airport)

    G’day all,

    Today I fly to Montreal to attend the annual conference of the Canadian Theological Students Association. I’m the rep for Queen’s College. Interestingly enough, since there was a major storm up in central Canada, I’ve already had a bit of an adventure. The flight to Halifax was cancelled (originally I was going to fly through there), so I obviously couldn’t catch my connector. I found this out in the line-up for the flight (mental note: Check flights before going to the airport).

    In a strange twist, while many are bashing Air Canada, I’m quite pleased with their service. The staff member behind the desk got me onto a flight to Montreal, and was willing to do the work for me while I went out for breakfast with the friends who had brought me to the airport (who had come up after I called them to say my flight was cancelled). Interestingly enough, I had called just before they sat down to breakfast themselves. We got to talk about a lot of things I needed reaffirmation on, including my odd and growing interest in Christian environmentalism (Though from a decidedly different perspective than most, I still have serious questions about Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”), and my personal lack of a romantic attachment. Indeed, it was important to be reassured about the fact that Christians I respect and trust are also environmentally conscious while still being very clearly believers in Jesus Christ as their personal and communal savior from sin. The conference I’m going to seems a little……… left-leaning.

    Many of these things (the questions I have, the cancelled flight, and the reaffirmation) could be seen as bad luck, though strangely, I can see how God is working providentially through it. I’m excited to know what else God will do through things that may seem like bad luck. Romans 8:28 seems to be true, in all cases, and especially in the things that seem bad.

    Prayers are appreciated as I do this conference thing. I’ll try to blog daily about it.

  • A grain of wheat


    Tonight I’ve been listening to John Piper’s talk on the life of Andrew Fuller at the Pastor’s Conference in Minneapolis. It’s a good talk and can be heard here.

    Oddly enough, what has struck me most clearly is how he points out, early in the talk, that sometimes the greatest triumphs in life for the Gospel are underscored by major losses. In the life of Andrew Fuller, the foundation of the Baptist missionary society was placed next to the death of his own wife of 16 years. It’s like there’s an apposition placed on the statement of God’s mighty act in the founding of a missionary society and the reminder that the triumphs are ultimately not for this world, if they are said to be triumphs.

    The statement of God’s act through godly people is modified by a statement that our glory is like grass, but the word of the Lord lasts forever (cf. Isaiah 40:8)

    Dr. Piper then quotes John 12:24 (surrounding verses added for context).

    And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

    John 12:23-25

    Is it strange for me to take hope in that?

    Reading the news these days, as well as noting the apparent problems in institutions once faithful to the Gospel (such as the Anglican Church), and the way in which radical anti-Christian voices seem ascendant, whether from radical Islam, or radical secularism, and the way in which even those who call on the name of Christ move away from scriptural truth to satisfy modern pluralism, or naive realism; I wonder if believers are being offered the cross. Are we being offered figurative (and maybe more than figurative) death?

    Throughout scripture we are told that God does things for His glory, and that His power is made manifest in weakness, yet if my own heart is any indication, weakness is the last thing I want. I desire to speak from power, to convince people by the strength of my arguments, and the value of my rhetoric; to impress with the breadth of my knowledge. Weakness is the furthest thing from my mind, and in so doing I remain alone, a single grain of wheat.

    I say this because Jesus points out that it is God that gives growth, even as we provide the possibility for growth in planting and watering. (see 1 Cor.3:7) I take that to mean that my calling is to be faithful, to do the general work of an evangelist, and as someone strengthening the believers, but that God will give growth. That growth will come from God’s action, not centrally because of my faithfulness, but because of His. And as He promised, growth will come from death (and no, I don’t mean suicidal death-cultism, I mean simple acceptance of what faithfulness entails).

    Will we Christians in the west see a decline in Godliness, an increase in persecution, and the downfall of many institutions we have trusted? Maybe. Maybe God will do His awesome will before any of that happens, but it is clear that we will be moved away from reliance in ourselves, whether that means catastrophic death of everything that vies for the place God should hold in our lives, or whether that simply refers to wholesale repentance on our part (and a death of idols in our hearts). God will be glorified, and it will be accompanied by the death of all that would take His glory.

    So when we see decrease in all we have trusted that is not God, and the death of things we’ve seen as good, perhaps we should look with expectation on what God will bring to pass through it. After all, if a grain of wheat remains safe and unplanted, it also remains alone. If a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, well, then it bears much fruit.

    As said by the band, Third Day:

    Please take from me my life
    when I don’t have the strength
    to give it away to you,
    Jesus

    Amen.