Sorry for the delay this week.  Even though the links are late, the ritual is the same.  Click on the bold type to visit the story.

• A Sweedish Pastor sues a dating site after he loses his church for making fun of people on said site.
• Vatican Archeologists find the oldest known portrait of Paul.
• Penny Young Nance, writing for the Baltimore Sun, calls the president to task for his stance on the right to life.
• Nearly half of all Americans still dispute Evolution.  USA Today carries an op-ed piece by some Christians who are scientists.
• Dr. Mohler warns of a new sexual revolution.
• A girl who recently converted from being a Muslim says that her family wants to kill her.
• So, how did gambling work for England.

While some may accuse these next links of gloating, I have grieved for Rick Pitino and his family this past week.  Regardless of what has happened I believe that these events will create a dialogue concerning the public’s view of abortion.  What is sad is that in all the torrid details what seems to be lost is that an helpless life was apparantly taken.  Both profess to be “faithful Catholics” it will be interesting to see if the church addresses this controversy.

• Some Pro-Life Advocates have called for Pitino’s job
• Pitino was scheduled to speak at Samford University’s Law School (Samford identifies themselves as Baptist), but the engagement has been canceled.
  

On a personal note I wish to congratulate my Father-in-Law, Mike Hancock on his appointment as the acting Secretary of Transportation for the State of Kentucky. Mike is one of the hardest workers I know, and he loves what he does.  More than that he is a man whose character and love for his Savior and family I admire and hope to emulate.

I have found a good number of links this week.  Don’t forget that as always you may click on the bold print to visit the link.

• Muslims attack a Christian settlement in Pakistan.   It is easy to grow complacent in the United States and to forget the persecution of the church around the world, but Jesus says that this is what would happen during the Tribulation (and yes, I did intend to use a capitol “T”).   We need to pray for Christians around the world that they would be strengthened in the midst of persecution, but we also need to pray that we do not grow lackadaisical about our faith in Christ.
• Dr. Ergun Caner offers his perspective on the firing of a Christian wrestling coach by a Muslim Principle in Michigan.
• Staying in Michigan, The Detroit News tells the story of a man who drove children to church, but who hid his life as a Klansman.  Just another illustration that church attendance and service does not regenerate a person and reconcile them to a holy God.  Tragically, churches are some of the most fertile mission fields in the world.
• It is stuff like this that causes me to have such trouble stomaching the “health and wealth gospel” and “word of faith” Pentecostalism:  A Father watched his daughter die because he was praying for God to heal her instead of taking her to the doctor. I genuinely believe that this man did what he thought was good and right, but I also believe that he was genuinely misguided.  He says that to take his daughter to the doctor would be to place the doctor before God, as it would be to trust the doctor to do something God said he would do.  By that logic we could not buy clothes or food since Jesus says that God would meet those needs (Matthew 6).   This is another example of how our doctrine affects our actions, and how the effect of bad (even well-intentioned) theology can cause harm to the name of Christ.
• A Catholic nurse forced to assist in an abortion sues the hospital.
• The London Times offers some interesting facts about Mormons.
• A town in England seeks to hire a witch to haunt their caves.
• The Pope signs a deal to release an album on Geffen Records.
• Mark Regenerus wrote an article for Christianity Today that has generated a great deal of conversation about the priority of marriage.
• Dr. Albert Mohler gives his take on the issue.
• In Newsweek and the Washington Post’s collaborative website, On Faith, contributors debate whether marriage is a sacred rite or civil right.
• Dr. Mohler republished an article about the shape of missions in the 21st Century.
• Last week I posted an article linking to the axioms of the Great Commission Resurgence.  This week the Task Force charged with studying the logistics of such an undertaking has established a website where you can learn more about the GCR and you can commit to pray for the team and the convention.
• Dr. David Adams always says, “Know the culture, to use the culture, to reach the culture.”  I try to stay up on the taste of the culture and television, music, and movies are a way to study the values of a culture.  NPR’s All Songs Considered published their Best Music of 2009 (so far) poll results.  I cannot vouch for the appropriateness of everything on their, but it would do you well to familiarize yourself with what the soundtrack for our culture.

I am no economic guru, but it seems that people will spend money on what they need (or at least believe they need) and what they value.  Somewhere in there other’s needs have been neglected. And what greater need is there than the need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Last year the IMB suffered a $30 million shortfall from their goal for the Lottie Moon offering (about an 18% dropoff).  While the economic figures may compare the ramifications do not.  If a casino loses 17% of revenue the pyrotechnics for Donnie and Marie will not be as grand, but an 18% income loss means that the IMB cannot send missionaries to the field.    Right now there are people upon whom the hand of God rests and who are pursing his call with everything they have, but they cannot go because we have been unfaithful.

I am so thankful that my church gave a record gift to Lottie Moon last year, but I am not satisfied.  According to the video if every Southern Baptist gives $2 we will make up the shortfall.  We all know that while our records may say 16 million Southern Baptists exists, we all must acknowledge that the number of people who actually attend Southern Baptist churches is a fraction of that.  I realize that the readership of this blog is minuscule, but I can only reach those whom God has given me and so to those few who will read this my challenge to you is to give $5 per member of your family.  Let us be the ones to take the place of the ones who have lapsed in their faithfulness.  Encourage those around you to give as well.  If you are a pastor have a special offering, if you are not a pastor encourage your pastor to do so.  At Lancaster Baptist we will be having a special offering the last Sunday of August.  Also, don’t forget start saving now for the 2009 Lottie Moon offering later this year.  The Lottie Moon offering accounts for about half of the income of the IMB.  God may never call us to go, but if God has saved us we are called to enable others to go and to pray for them.

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15).

Update: I have had people ask me how they can give.  The IMB encourages people to give through their local church, but if you click on the above picture it will take you to the Christmas in August website which provides information about how to give.  I would strongly reccommend that you try to get your whole church involved instead of just you giving.  Remember, the pastor is not the only one who can and should mobilize and energize the congregation about giving and missions.

• A helpful guide to the works of G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis (HT: Dr. Moore)
• A Recent Study says Unborn Babies develop memories.
• I think that churches can learn a thing or two from Toyota’s Outreach Program
• The Courier-Journal’s Peter Smith writes about the rise of generic Christians in America
• Someone sued a company for manufacturing “WWJD” merchandise, claiming that it was “harassing.”  The courts dismissed the suit. (HT: Scott Blue)
• A Man in Louisiana fell asleep while trying to rob a church
• An Ontario church celebrates the “Theology of Twitter”
• On Mondays in August the Buck Run Baptist Church has a great lineup of preachers and Musicians, be sure to check them out.
• Be sure to visit the website of West Amazon Missions. You can see pictures of the work we did at Nova Igregia Baptista Chapada and their first Sunday in their new building.  More than anything please pray for this work and the people of Brazil

Southern Baptists have been in the news for two things recently of which I wanted to make you aware.

1.  You may have seen that Jimmy Carter is leaving the denomination.  Well . . . this is the second time he is doing this.  Dr. Mohler sums up the issue quite well.

2.  At this past Annual Meeting Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly to appoint a Great Commision Resurgance Task Force to explore how Southern Baptists may more effectively reach this world for our Savior.  Dr. Johnny Hunt has done, and is doing, a tremendous job heading this up.  I am very excited to see where God will lead this denomination next.  Dr. Danny Akin has written a document outlining the ten axioms of a Great Commission Resurgence.  Please read it.

Now for the links associated with the possibility of slots at racetracks

• The Herald-Leader admits that the horse industry does have problems, but they have little to do with purse sizes (as the Governor keeps indicating) and thus slots are not the answer.
• Attorney General, Jack Conway, released his opinion this morning that a constitutional amendment is not needed to add slots to racetracks.  He is the second of six state attorney generals (Greg Stumbo being the other) who believe that such an amendment is not necessary.
• In nearby states, racinos bring in money and many problems with it.
• This count of 100,000 workers in the horse industry that the governor’s office keeps talking about is completely false.
• Tomorrow (June 16) at noon at the capitol there will be a rally against expanded gambling.  Pray for the events of this and for my father and others who will be speaking.  Be sure and watch the videos on this page.
• Here are some more videos to watch about the issues involved.  Especially note the video with David Williams.

• In Louisville a church has an odd plan for a high-attendance Sunday, a bring you gun to church service.  There was also a followup with the pastor’s response to objections.
• Sadly, some church strategies extend beyond goofy to actually harm the name of Christ.  A religious society (James P. Boyce’s terminology when he did not want to refer to something as a church) in Billings, Montana offers beer on tap at the pub in which they hold services.
• A columnist from the Wall Street Journal studies the macabre turn that young-adult fiction has taken.  It is a sad symptom of society when literature is popular for its brooding nature rather than its beauty.

One of the most pressing concerns for the state of Kentucky right now is the possibility of slots at racetracks being placed on the agenda for the upcoming special legislative session.  I will regularly post stories and resources about this.

• Here is a post explaining the issues and what is going on with slots at the race tracks.  In another story, Senate president, David Williams says that it would take $4.6 Billion to create $70 million in purses.  Obviously this is needed in a recession!
• Even the Herald-Leader acknowledges that pushing slots through in the legislature is unconstitutional and calls for them to be removed from the agenda.
• Martin Cothran, an analyst for the Family Foundation of Kentucky, writes a great piece about how slots will not help the commonwealth, simply the corporations.
• Say No to Casinos is an excellent resource during this time to stay abreast of the news and read helpful commentary.  Be sure to contact your representative and let him know what you think, and that slots at the racetracks are unconstitutional.

This has been the year of the sky falling.  Swine flu was thought to be an apocalyptic pandemic.  The recession has dominated the news, and today with GM filing for bankruptcy it looks as if there may be more fallout.  Christians have been fretting over the decisions of courts and of court appointments, acting as if the country has just plummeted into a bottomless pit.  Some have been cramming suggestions down people’s throats  of binding our carbon footprints to avoid global calamity.

Concerns about such matters littered my inbox.  They dominated conversations.   But sadly, not one time in the last week have I heard a prayer request concerned with a need greater than all of those.  I did not see one Facebook status or cause invitation about a greatly more dire danger facing this world right now.

Recently the IMB announced that it was going to have to scale-back missionary appointments.  Currently the IMB has over 5,600 missionaries, but he chairman of the board-of-trustees, Paul Chitwood, says that without money to send new missionaries and replace some who are completing their assignment the numbers will soon drop.

The IMB is the greatest missions agency in the world, but it has one flaw, it has to rely on the faithfulness of people like me and you to support its missionaries.  I believe that Southern Baptists should be ashamed, but simultaneously  motivated by this.  I cannot do anything about what a judge decides in Idaho or New Hampshire.  My opinion does not matter to Barak Obame about whom he should appoint to the Supreme Court.  I cannot go back in time and make people listen to me to be more careful with their money or companies to be wiser with their diversifications and expansions.  What I can do is give of what I have to help send missionaries to the field.  I can pray that God will burden the hearts of his people with a passion for the gospel.  I can start saving up to give more to Lottie Moon this year than I ever have.  I can encourage those around me to do the same.  I can go without so that others may have eternal life.  I can be faithful with what I have and where I am to do what I can for God’s Kingdom.

There may be many sad and dangerous things in the world that are occurring right now, but none of them break my heart as much or are as costly as the fact that right now there are called and qualified men and women aching to go share the gospel with people who have never before heard the name Jesus, but the IMB cannot afford to send them.  I do not want to minimize any of the difficulties people face, but I can assure you that none of them will last into eternity, and none of them are as grave as the eternal separation from God that many are entering into as I type this and no one has told them about the perfect life, the death, and the resurrection of our Savior.

I realize that some reading this may have greater financial and personal difficulties than they have ever had in their life.  Let me encourage you with this, if you take away everything we as believers have – jobs, education, families, homes, bank accounts, etc. – we still have Christ.  Not everyone can say that, and not everyone has had the chance to say that.

I pray that as we all make choices and decisions concerning what we have and what we are entrusted with, we remember others before we consider ourselves.  I pray that our love for the gospel is seen in our giving and our generosity.  I pray we agonize over the fact that our disobedience is so costly for others.  I pray we trust completely in God’s sovereignty in those matters that are beyond our control and set our faces like flint towards our obedience and faithfulness.  I pray that everyone who stumbles across this lives a life consumed with the Gospel, and that as we support missions around the world we never neglect our responsibilities to tell those around us the good news of Jesus Christ.  I pray that we get concerned about something that truly matters.

• NPR has done a study of the affect of faith on the brain.  (This is obviously biased, but it is interesting, and may be helpful to aquaint yourself with)
• A columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the British Newspaper, The Guardian, calls out atheists takes them to task.
• A professor at the University of Colorado has claimed that dogs have emotions and are moral creatures.  I may weigh in on this topic later, but let it suffice to say that no animal possesses a soul, emotions, or moral capacity.  All three of these are part of what Theologians refer to as the Imago Dei (“Image of God”).  When God created humans he gave us some of his communicable attributes (the ability to love, to reason, to think, etc.).  No other of his creation of earth possesses these attributes, not even the angels possess all of these atributes.  It does not bother me that a secular professor has attributed a soul to animals, what bothers me is the “Christian theologians” in the article that seem to agree with him.
• A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the ACLU (who else?) calling for the abolition of the “National Day of Prayer.”  I must be honest and say that this does not trouble me in the same way, or to the degree that it troubles some.  First, America has never been, nor probably will ever be, a Christian nation.  Regardless of whether or not our government sits aside a day for prayer that does not change my behavior.  By the same token, just because there is a “National Day of Prayer” does not mean that this country is in right standing before God.  What many Christians seem to forget when it comes to moral legislation and politics is that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  The Bible says that he holds the hearts of the kings in his hand.  It was God who steeled Pharoah’s heart.  God is soverign over the government and my hope is in Him and my trust is in Him.  My resovle is pointed to his service, and to let nothing dissuade me from the full pursuit of him.  To paraphase Martin Luther “the government is God’s government.”  I am not advicating passively standing by, but I am saying that what happens does not shake my faith or change my actions.
• While in the political arena, new polls say that the opposition of “gay marriage” are increasing.
• Kentucky native, Kenny Perry, says that there is far more to life than losing the Masters.

At one end are those who feel that they could never understand the truths in the book.  These people worry about the depths of material contained in such a book and assume they will drown.  The problem is that a systematic theology is a compendium of the doctrines of the Bible.  This is not mere philosophy or a concise encyclopedia – this is a book that serves as commentary to aid its reader in the understanding of the Bible.  Are there parts of a systematic theology that are dense and difficult?  Absolutely!  However, every one of these parts is derived from Scripture, and though even Peter admitted that parts of God’s Word are difficult, understanding them is possible and beneficial.  We are finite humans and as such we have finite minds that do not have limitless understanding, but we have a perfect helper who dwells in us that will enable us to understand God’s perfect Word.

The other end of the spectrum is populated by those who feel that a systematic theology contains too much information.  They are content with their level of knowledge, and believe that certain doctrines are above their pay grade.  I will be the first to admit that there are debates that occur in the halls of academia that may be superfluous, but, to shun a whole discipline based on the questionable nature of the necessity of some doctrines is foolish.  I have heard many say, “Who cares whether or not Jesus could sin [he could not by the way], the point is that he did not.”  “Who cares what the book of Revelation means, Jesus is coming back and that is all that matters.”  Paul tells us in 2 Timothy that all of God’s Word is inspired and to deny parts of Scripture questions the logic of God for including them in Scripture.  If God put it in the Bible I believe that it is the responsibility and joy of the follower of Christ to seek to understand it.  Perhaps the most condemning assumption of such

So the question is begged, “What are the benefits of a systematic theology?”

1. A systematic theology provides answers to many questions that you are asking.
2. A systematic theology teaches you how to think about biblical issues.  So many Christians and Denominations are guilty of taking a verse that at face value may make a certain claim and building a practice or dogma on it.  A good theology shows how to understand a verse in its immediate context and how to balance it against the context of the entire Scriptures.
3. A systematic theology deepens your relationship with God.  The more I understand about God and the way that he works, the more I fall in love with our Savior.
4. A systematic theology enhances your appreciation of the Scriptures.  As you study the depth of these truths and the unity of Scriptures you cannot help but believe that the Bible is a work of Divine superintendence.
5. A systematic theology aids in your sanctification.  The more I have studied God’s Word the more evident my sinfulness has become and the greater my desire for righteousness has been.
6. A systematic theology trains you in your faith.  By knowing God’s Word you are better equipped to answer the questions of your friends and family.  I love helping people understand the Bible, but it was never God’s plan for Christians to use their ministers as a crutch.  I am not here to answer all your questions, I am here to help you understand how to answer them for yourself, and this is a way to do that.

These are just some benefits of a systematic theology, and if you take the time and make the effort to read one and to truly imbibe the doctrines therein, you will find many benefits too.

What are some good theologies?  I should preface this by saying that of these volumes I do not agree with everything in any of them.  Please do not take my recommendation of these as a recommendation of everything in them.  I greatly respect all of these men, but you must still read them with discretion and weigh what they say against the Word of God.  You may click on the titles of the book to purchase them.

The two which I agree with the most would be James P. Boyce’s Abstract of Systematic Theology (available online) and James M. Pendleton’s Christian Doctrine.  Dr. Boyce was the founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and President of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1872-1879 and 1888.  Pendleton was a pastor and baptist theologian who grew up in Christian Co. Kentucky and pastored in Hopkinsville and Bowling Green.  The books are excellent in their quality and verity, but due to their age are not able to address some of the issues that have arisen in the past 100 years.  Having said that, I highly recommend them. It doesn’t hurt to note that the two best baptist theologies had their genesis in Kentucky.

Louis Berkhof’s Systematic Theology has the best treatment of the doctrine of salvation, it is magisterial.  I will issue a strong disclaimer that my greatest issue with this book is that he is thoroughly Presbyterian.  I do not agree with some of his view of the church, and I totally disagree with his understanding of baptism [he does not require immersion], but he does a passable job explaining the Baptist view of baptism. Though I have my disagreements this is probably the one that I have found most helpful and affecting.

A Theology for the Church edited by Dr. Danny Akin.  This is a theology written by a number of leading Southern Baptist scholars.  It is helpful in that it allows the reader to get a good number of perspectives.

Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology and the subsequent Bible Doctrine which serves as an abridged version.  Both are great in their structure and the questions at the end of the chapters.  I am not particularly fond of his discussion of the church and spiritual gifts, but overall this is great.  This book is probably the most used in colleges and seminaries.  While it is not my favorite, I would recommend one of these two books as the ones to purchase if you are only going to read one, as they are the most thorough and the organization helps for frequent reference.

Millard Erickson too has a proper book, Christian Theology, and a later abridgement, Introducing Bible Doctrine.  Erickson’s book is likely the second most used book.  Erickson does not differentiate between the roles of men and women (a position referred to as egalitarianism).

Any or all of these books are excellent.  If I can help you further in your selection of a book for you please leave a comment.