Meet the Vicar of Baghdad...

I highly recommend Timothy George's very interesting article over at First Things introducing the Vicar of Baghdad, the Reverend Canon Dr. Andrew White.  The article begins with this intriguing sentence:

If Jesus came back to the Middle East today, I think he would look a lot like the Reverend Canon Dr. Andrew White, the Anglican Chaplain in Iraq and Vicar of St. George’s Church.

This is not hyperbole. If you are intrigued, you can read the rest here.  If you are not intrigued, believe me, you should be.  Of this man it may truly be said, "blessed are the peace makers."

The grace of Proverbs 31

There is real gospel grace and encouragement in Proverbs 31 for wives and mothers who have always viewed this over-quoted and sometimes misunderstood chapter of Scripture as a weight of duty around their necks or an impossible checklist to live up to.  Check out David Prince's very good thoughts on the Proverbs 31 mom here. 

Prince does not say all there is to say about Proverbs 31.  It is, after all, also an example of Christian fruitfulness for wives and mothers.  Proverbs 31 is prescriptive of Christian fruitfulness as well as descriptive of a God-honouring and God-fearing example of everyday life.  But Prince is right:  Proverbs 31 is not a list of things to do in order for wives and mothers to commend themselves to God or to earn his or their family's love.  Rather, as they go about their fruitful and busy lives, loving their families and working hard for their households, all they do is done in the fear, obedience, grace and love of their Lord and Saviour.  This is definitely a much needed corrective and balance to the "checklist" mentality many teachers approach Proverbs 31 with.

The current, largescale persecution of Christians

This article in Christianity Today speaks of the current situation facing Christians in Iraq as ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) takes over the nation. 

"Things are so bad now in Iraq, the worst they have ever been," writes Canon Andrew White, vicar of St. George's Anglican Church in Baghdad.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Iraq and perhaps talk/write a letter to your MP about Canada voicing its opposition to this religious persecution in the strongest possible way. 

And here are two recent books, briefly reviewed by Mark Noll at Books and Culture, that promise to open reader's eyes to the everyday suffering of Christians and churches around the world as they are specifically targeted by hostile governments and organizations for brutal and regular persecution. 

As brothers and sisters to those being persecuted, as members of the same church, which is the body of Christ, we may not forget them in our regular prayers.  Don't pray for them in such a way as to check the prayer-for-the-persecuted-church box.  Pray for them with tears, fast, cry out for God's mercy, for repentance for their persecutors, for strength and a sense of God's real presence with them, for boldness that comes from the Spirit's filling, for faith and hope to know this is a light momentary affliction in the light of eternity (2 Cor. 4:17), for steadfastness of faith, for Christ-honouring confession in word and deed, for justice and reprieve and release and freedom.  The Apostle Paul asked for the churches to remember his chains (Col. 4:18) and we must never forget the chains of our brothers and sisters being persecuted.  Pray for them in such a way that you take some of the weight of their burden upon yourself (Gal. 6:2).  Pray for them as though it were your own family being tortured, jailed and killed...because it is.

Martin Luther tweets a selfie...

Here's a fun thought experiment: 

Imagine Martin Luther defending his 95 Theses before the church courts and in the middle of his famous, "I can not and will not recant" speech, he pauses for a quick selfie, scarlet clad cardinals in the background.  He quickly tweets it.

Imagine John Calvin defending the sacredness of the sacraments and the seriousness of church discipline and fencing the Lord's Table from men who have threatened to take communion by force, no matter what their debauched weekly lifestyles entail.  Just at the point of conflict, as his opponents approach and he physically bars the table with his outstretched arms, he snaps a quick selfie with the i-phone in his hand.

Imagine Jonathan Edwards preaching his famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.  People are cut to the heart, callused consciences are pricked and repentance spreads through the congregation like a grass fire on a windy day.  Afterward, Edwards invites the people to stand up and he turns his back to them in the pulpit, holds up his Blackberry and snaps a selfie with the whole congregation in the back ground. 

Seems pretty ridiculous to even imagine any of the actors in the above historical scenarios thinking of themselves at the climax of such God-centered, Christ-exalting, gospel-defined and truth-focused moments.  Yet, how often do we approach worship with ourselves as our chief concern?  We often prioritize our own preferences and experiences in worship even though worship is the quintessential Godward-oriented aspect of the Christian life.

Our culture is not only self-centered and self-oriented, we seem to be on an ever increasing trajectory in that direction.  This is true of much of today's church as well.  Stephen Miller over at the Desiring God blog has some good thoughts about the orientation of our worship.  In the midst of the "selfie culture", Miller reminds us that worship is not about us.  You can read his thoughts here. 

A long worshipping obedience in the same direction...

Worship is more than music, but worship in song is a biblical and integral part of private, family and corporate worship.  While the songs we sing should primarily be seen as an offering which we lift up to God (not to commend ourselves to him but to glorify him and magnify all he is and does for us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit), there are other ways worship works in the Church.  One such way is that biblically faithful and theologically rich worship helps us to hide God's Word and doctrinal truths in our hearts.  It should not surprise us that Godward worship sincerely, reverently and joyfully offered would be a blessing to the worshipper as well.  Worship is a conversation between God and his people, after all.  We speak to God in our songs and prayers, we speak to each other also in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and God speaks to us through the Scriptures read, sung and faithfully preached.  What is more, as we do this together as the church, we grow not only closer to God but to each other.

Matthew Westerholm at Desiring God has some good thoughts about the common and misdirected desire for immediate and emotionally powerful effects of and responses to worship music.  He advocates trading this mindset for a longer, steadier, more "ordinary" vision of the transformative power of worship for God's people.  His reflection is not only for worship leaders but for every Christian and every church.  It can be found here. 

Preaching as a two way street

Trevin Wax links to this article on the two way relationship of preaching between the pastor and the congregation.  I found these reflections encouraging, challenging and very wise.  Also, as a bi-vocational co-pastor/elder who regularly both preaches and listens to my fellow elders preach, and who is always on the look-out for wisdom from other preachers, I appreciate the depth of experience that these observations grow out of (and the accompanying picture is pretty funny).  This is a good exhortation for me as both a preacher and one who is often in the pew.

Keep praying for Mariam Ibrahim...

Russell Moore has some thoughts on the struggle of Mariam Ibrahim here.  Pray for her release; pray for her strength in the midst of suffering for the sake of the gospel; pray for God's mercy and comfort; pray for repentance for her captors; pray for her children, in prison with her; pray for her husband and her church; pray for ourselves, that we would have the faith of Mariam.