Charles Haddon Spurgeon, preaching on John 3:18, 17 February 1861, rightly states:
“The gate of Mercy is opened, and over the door it is written, ‘This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.‘ Between that word ‘save’ and the next word ‘sinners,’ there is no adjective. It does not say, ‘penitent sinners,’ ‘awakened sinners,’ ‘sensible sinners,’ ‘grieving sinners’ or ‘alarmed sinners.’ No, it only says, ‘sinners.’ And I know this, that when I come, I come to Christ today, for I feel it is as much a necessity of my life to come to the cross of Christ today as it was to come ten years ago—when I come to him, I dare not come as a conscious sinner or an awakened sinner, but I have to come still as a sinner with nothing in my hands.”
A powerful video here from Darrin Patrick and Re:Lit related to the new book Church Planter:
More info on the book—including a related Acts29 boot camp—here. Here are a few blurbs from pastors about the book:
“Darrin Patrick has done an amazing job detailing out what we are called to not only as church planters but as pastors and men of God. Whether you are considering planting a church or have been a pastor for decades I couldn’t more highly recommend this book to you.”
—Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor, The Village Church, Highland Village, Texas
“Now here is a clever idea—ask an experienced church-planting pastor how church planting should be done. In Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission by Darrin Patrick, an experienced church planter speaks from deep theological conviction, pastoral experience, and missiological vision. Church planting is one of the most important movements of our era—and one that follows the pattern set by the apostles. This book will be welcomed by all who celebrate the renaissance of church planting in this generation.”
—R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“I like being pushed, and Darrin Patrick is a careful thinker and a hard-working pastor. Here he has written a clear, carefully considered, well-illustrated introduction to the pastor and his ministry. In reading it, I’ve been challenged, provoked and encouraged. I disagree with some things, like Darrin’s correlation between the resurrection of Christ and the transformation of cities, but this book has been exciting and helpful and I appreciate a great deal. I happily commend this book to you, and pray that God will use it to help establish churches that take the gospel of Christ to the end of the world.”
—Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC; President, 9Marks
“Darrin Patrick is a friend to church planters. He is widely known as a strong leader and good thinker in church planting today. In this book, Darrin brings together his biblical understanding, theological insight, and pastoral wisdom on what it takes to plant a missional church. For those who are planting or thinking about it, this book will help you to see if you are prepared—with the message and for the mission.”
—Ed Stetzer, President, LifeWay Research
“Church Planter: The Man, the Message, and the Mission is a superb work. Darren Patrick combines the mind of a careful theologian, the heart of a compassionate pastor, and the passion of a missional Christian. As someone heavily invested in training church planters in a seminary, this will be a must-read for those we teach and send out to penetrate lostness in the unreached and underserved cities of our nation and the world. Thank you Darren for this labor of love. You have rendered a valuable service to the body of Christ.”
—Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Church Planter comes from the heart of a real man sharing the real gospel from real experience leading Christ’s church. Powerful, helpful, hopeful!”
—Bryan Chapell, President, Covenant Theological Seminary
“If you are called to church planting, Darrin Patrick gets you. More importantly, he understands what it takes to connect you to the gospel, the gospel to the church, and the church to the mission. This book is packed with insight; it’s a boot-camp-in-print. If God has enlisted you, then read it and let the training begin!”
—Dave Harvey, church care and church planting, Sovereign Grace Ministries
“Darrin Patrick gets ministry. He understands it’s not a career for those of us trying to do something for God. It’s a calling that can only be fulfilled faithfully when built upon the foundation of scriptural norms. This is not only a great book for anyone involved in church planting—it’s also a great book for anyone involved in pastoral ministry. It will help you (and your team) keep your life, message, and mission aligned with God’s vision and calling.”
—Larry Osborne, Pastor and Author, North Coast Church, Vista, CA
“If I were beginning the journey of starting a church, and I could only choose two books to take with me. They would be the Bible, and Church Planter by Darrin Patrick.”
—Matt Carter, Lead Pastor, The Austin Stone Community Church, Austin, Texas
“This book is a weapon. Church Planter is one of the more important pieces of equipment that a church planter (or a man aspiring to any level of church leadership) can own. Darrin Patrick writes out of biblical conviction and proven experience, not preference or pragmatics. I trust Darrin. I trust what he’s written here. I hope this book is placed in the hands of men all over the world.”
—Justin Buzzard, Pastor, Central Peninsula Church, San Francisco Bay Area; author, BuzzardBlog.com
“Darrin does a great job describing the challenges of planting and directing the planter toward gospel solutions. Whether you’re in the midst of planting or thinking about planting page 25 alone is worth the cost of the book.”
—Eric Simmons, Pastor, Redeemer Church of Arlington, Arlington, VA
This Friday, Bethlehem Baptist Church and Desiring God will be showing the film premiere of “Don’t Waste Your Life Sentence” in Minneapolis August 20 at 7:30pm CT), Desiring God will also be streaming the whole thing live on the Don’t Waste Your Life Sentence webpage.
If you are confused as to what is going on and what “Don’t Waste Your Life Sentence” is all about then here is a short summary from DG’s site:
The Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, is the largest, and historically, one of the bloodiest maximum-security prisons in the
United States.
In 2009, John Piper and Desiring God were invited to Angola to learn about prison life, hear from men who have been radically changed by the gospel and minister to many of the 5,000 inmates.
In “Don’t Waste Your Life Sentence,” meet men who have lost their lives of freedom but seem to have a greater grasp on the concept of eternity than those on the outside.
The “Don’t Waste Your Life Sentence” premiere will be held at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN on August 20 at 7:30pm. After the screening, well host a live Q & A with crew members and production staff, offer refreshments, and invite you to connect with groups and individuals who are interested in local prison ministry.
Since my dad is a Prison Warden in Georgia, my family and I are really excited about the premiere of this film and I ask that you continue to pray and get involved in helping spread the gospel in your local prison!
Every Christian struggles with the reality of this question. The aim of that question has never been to deny that God wants us to be happy. He does. The aim has been to help people relocate the bottom of their joy—the decisive foundation of their joy—from self to God. Therefore, our happiness is found in Chrst for his glory. Mark Altrogge posted today great insight into this question, “God Wants Me To Be Happy Doesn’t He?”
Well, yes and no.
In an ultimate sense, yes.
All God does is for his glory and our joy. So God has our ultimate happiness in him in mind as he works in our lives to make us like Christ.
But in an immediate sense, not always.
He wants us to be holy, rather than happy. He wants us to be obedient and trust him, rather than fulfill our every immediate desire.
Years ago, a woman in our church started dating a divorced man. When I questioned him he told me he’d divorced his wife against her wishes. There had been no adultery and she had not remarried. In other words, he was not free to remarry.
They visited a number of other pastors until they found one who told them what they wanted to hear. I got a call from him. He was planning to marry them. When I told him they weren’t free to be married, he said, “But God wants them to be happy, doesn’t he?”
“God wants them to be obedient,” I said.
Sin makes us “happy” for a season.
God is opposed to this kind of “happiness.” God wants us to be happy in him, by obeying him. Often we must crucify our flesh – which will squeal and scream, “This doesn’t make me happy!” The same Savior who said, “I give you my joy,” also said, “Take up your cross and deny yourself.” Self-denial, not self-gratification, is the way to joy.
God wants us to experience maximum happiness in him – which comes from obeying his Word, though it cost us everything in this world.
The pursuit of our soul’s satisfaction, which is our joy and delight and happiness, is not sin. Sin is the exact opposite. Pursuing happiness in sin is where no lasting happiness can be found. Examining Jeremiah 2:12-13 we see clearly how we will choose disgusting things of this world in hopes of finding true happiness.
“Be appalled, O heaven, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13 ESV
In Jeremiah’s image, not only have the Israelites traded the best of water supplies for the worst, but their cistern is broken, with all its water leaked out and nothing but sludge remaining. Their covenant infidelity is not just ungrateful and unnatural; it is also foolish.
This provides great imagery to our life when we choose sin rather than God. We run towards sin trying to quench our unquenchable soul-thirst and we neglect to run to God. Therefore, we fail to receive true joy and happiness in God. Pursuing delight and joy in God is not something we may do halfheartedly, if we realize who we are pursuing and what is at stake then we would put down the broken cisterns and run to the continuos fountain of living water.
Today a parody trailer for a movie titled “The Video Website,” which you guessed it — is a highly fictionalized/dramatized telling of the story of YouTube.
The trailer was created mocking the highly anticipated film, The Social Network, which follows the Harvard-based founding of Facebook and the legal wrangling that ensued over ownership of the mega-site. Watch the faux trailer now for “The Video Website.”:
“God purposefully blesses us with weaknesses for the sake of our joy.”
Do you believe that? I would plead with you too!
Jon Bloom shares some encouraging words from 2 Corinthians 11-12 where Paul describes one of the most difficult things for us to grasp and believe is about the life of faith during times of weakness.
Test yourself. When you read of Paul’s lashings, beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, danger, hunger, exposure, and mind-blowing revelations, what are you tempted to think? If you’re like me, you might think, “This man had faith, brains, guts, endurance, and a work ethic second-to-none. I’m a sorry excuse for a Christian compared to him.”
And that is the danger Paul feared. Because in that moment we are tempted to look away from the cross of Christ and the sufficiency of his grace to our achievements for our justification.
Here’s what I mean. Our fallen nature craves self-glory. We seek the admiration of others. We love the myth of the superhero because we want to be one. So we want our successes to be known and our failures hidden. And since people who achieve remarkable things earn the favor of others, we are tempted to believe that they earn the favor of God as well.
That’s the last thing Paul wants us to believe.
Paul knew better than most that it is not human achievements that showcase the grace of God. It is human helplessness.
In closing, Bloom identifies how when it is when we are weak that God’s grace is most evident.
The more aware you are of God’s grace, the more humble, prayerful, thankful, patient, gracious, content and joyful you will be. And you are more aware of God’s grace when you are weak. But thank God for your weaknesses, because it is there that God’s strength is often most clearly displayed.
Good article HERE by Justin Taylor, Kevin DeYoung, and Collin Hansen on the Future of the Evangelical Reformed Movement. This article was written at the invitation of Patheos for its Future of Evangelicalism series.
About five years ago, something strange happened in the Christian world: Reformed theology made a comeback. Once perceived as the bright but slightly eccentric and often ignored kid in the corner of the classroom, Calvinism became the new cool kid on the block. To be fair, a significant number of American evangelicals have always believed the doctrines of grace—that God graciously regenerates sinners who would not otherwise choose to follow him. But for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, those evangelicals tended to congregate in relatively small Presbyterian denominations.
In the 1990s, in a relatively quiet and unassuming way, various churches and ministries began to expand in influence throughout the United States—all influenced in one way or another by the Reformed vision of a great and glorious God. In addition to the Reformed seminaries, there was Sovereign Grace Ministries (Gaithersburg, Maryland), 9Marks (Washington, D.C.), Desiring God (Minneapolis), Ligonier Ministries (Orlando), Grace to You (Sun Valley, California), and Acts29 (Seattle). Added to this was the Southern Baptist Convention’s flagship seminary, where president Albert Mohler led a conservative resurgence to recover the founders’ Reformational principles. Each ministry—valuable in its own right—operated independently from one another. But through intentional relational networking—as seen, for example, in Together for the Gospel (first conference, 2006)—there was newfound camaraderie as it seemed that a fresh work of God was underway.
We write this article not to relive the past, however, but to consider the future. We write not as formative leaders of the movement but first and foremost as grateful beneficiaries. As convinced Calvinists ourselves, we can’t help but be thankful for the work God seems to be doing in our generation to renew churches, re-energize preaching, recover the beauty of robust doctrinal engagement, and re-establish the glory of God and the wonder of the gospel in the heads and hearts of his people. Only God could have raised up such a diverse collection of churches and ministries at this time of both great opportunity and also peril.
The Opportunity Before Us
Where some Christians fret over the loss of Christian consensus in America and the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated, we see great opportunity. The demise of nominal Christianity opens new possibilities for genuine discipleship. If people nowadays are going to follow Christ, they want the strong stuff. They want robust theology, a big Christ, a deep gospel, and they aren’t afraid of serious demands. It is no coincidence that this movement of evangelical Calvinists thrives in pockets of America where church attendance has eroded. Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Mark Dever at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan have three very different personalities and styles, and they represent three age brackets. But each, in his own way, has inspired many young pastors to pour their lives into dying churches and start new ones in cities considered skeptical toward evangelicals.
The meaty theology of Calvinism has other aspects that bode well for its future. For one, the intellectual nature of the Reformed faith means that it tends to exert a disproportionate influence on Christian thinking and institutions through writing, scholarship, and formal theologizing. Second, the accent on God’s providential care over all encourages Christians to count the cost of discipleship in an increasingly hostile culture and trust God for the outcome. Throughout the centuries, missionaries such as William Carey and Adoniram Judson have found encouragement to persevere from the promise of God’s sovereignty. If the future holds further erosion of nominal Christianity, evangelical Calvinists are equipped to endure. Finally, a firm commitment to the full trustworthiness and authority of Scripture—along with a settled conviction in substitutionary atonement and justification by Christ’s righteousness through faith alone—are historic and essential rail guards to keep evangelicalism on a biblically faithful path.
The Peril Ahead
At the same time, we see peril. In the wider evangelical movement the richness of the biblical gospel is often marginalized, sometimes unwittingly. The gospel becomes a bullet-point summary with little power, simply a stepping stone to social activism, or the gateway to what really matters—effective parenting, marital bliss, and financial rewards.
In this perilous and divided situation, evangelical Calvinists are often perceived as one more partisan voice clamoring for attention and market share. Worse, we are caricaturized as mean-spirited doctrine police known more for what (and whom) we areagainst than what we celebrate. Still others think the new Calvinists are faddish disciples of dead Puritans or groupie-like Piperazzi. By God’s grace we will not live up (or is it down?) to these stereotypes. If God uses the movement for his glory in the days and decades ahead it will be because he has given us the grace to be clear-headed and warm-hearted, doctrinal and devotional, discerning in spirit and ecumenical in our affections. If God uses us it will be because he has kept us focused squarely on the gospel and its massive implications flowing from Christ the center. So long as the evangelical Reformed movement offers a means of supporting gospel-centered unity, doctrine, worship, and action, we suspect it will prosper and leaven the broader church.
Still, we understand from history that movements come and go. Coalitions change when the scene shifts. So in that sense, we are not concerned for the future of this Reformed resurgence. God doesn’t promise that movements will stand the test of time. That privilege belongs only to the institution of the church (Matt. 16:18). As in the local church, movements suffer the inevitable tensions that stem from diverse personalities and persistent sin. Looking toward the future, we can only pray to God and exhort one another to resist the temptations to seek personal acclaim. Rather, recognizing God’s grace shown toward us, we should “love one another with brotherly affection” and “outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10).
Meeting this standard will not be easy. As our movement grows, we will face new challenges. We will not always agree. Right now, we see several potential dangers.
(1) Some of us struggle to be bold without being obnoxious; others of us seek to be meek but often succumb to cowardice. We want to guard the truth, not strangle it. We want to be both wise and innocent, fearless and faithful, bold but brokenhearted. We want to keep our affections in proportion to the things that matter most.
(2) We are trying to find the right balance between the call to radical discipleship and the acceptance that faithfulness requires much that is mundane and ordinary. Along these lines, there is still much confusion about whether the church’s mission in the world has been too big or too small—too diffuse or too narrow.
(3) We anticipate there will be the inevitable tensions between generations as retiring leaders pass the baton to a younger generation. Younger leaders will need great wisdom to both show respect for their heroes in the faith as well as learn that some disagreements with them are okay. For their part, older leaders must plan ahead to train a new generation of leaders and empower a deep and broad network of capable, young ministers for faithful ministry for the years ahead. We are encouraged to see many good examples of these things in both generations.
Hope in God
We don’t pretend to know how or if these three tensions will resolve. Certainly we will be disappointed if they rise to the level of splitting the movement. But no movement of God can or should long endure if Christians cannot treat one another with grace. We have been given much; we agree on much; we ought to love much. Above all, we pray God will be pleased to raise up more churches around the world that delight in our great God, proclaim his great gospel, and lift high great David’s greater Son, our Lord Jesus Christ by whom all things in heaven and on earth hold together.
1. Pray that God would give you a good and honest heart.
The heart we need is a work of God. That’s why we pray for it. Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart.” Jeremiah 24:7, “I will give them a heart to know Me.” Let’s pray, “O Lord, give me a heart for you. Give me a good and honest heart. Give me a soft and receptive heart. Give me a humble and meek heart. Give me a fruitful heart.”
2. Meditate on the Word of God.
Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good.” On Saturday night read some delicious portion of your Bible with a view to stirring up hunger for God. This is the appetizer for Sunday morning’s meal.
3. Purify your mind by turning away from worldly entertainment.
James 12:1, “Putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch. This makes us small and weak and worldly and inauthentic in worship. Instead, turn off the television on Saturday night and read something true and great and beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Your heart will unshrivel and be able to feel greatness again.
4. Trust in the truth that you already have.
The hearing of the word of God that fails during trial has no root (Luke 8:13). What is the root we need? It is trust. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream.” Trusting in the truth you already have is the best way to prepare yourself to receive more.
5. Rest long enough Saturday night to be alert and hopeful Sunday morning.
1 Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.” I am not laying down any law here. I am saying there are Saturday night ways that ruin Sunday morning worship. Don’t be enslaved by them. Without sufficient sleep, our minds are dull, our emotions are flat, our proneness to depression is higher, and our fuses are short. My counsel decide when you must get up on Sunday in order to have time to eat, get dressed, pray and meditate on the Word, prepare the family, and travel to church; and then compute backward eight hours and be sure that you are in bed 15 minutes before that. Read your Bible in bed and fall asleep with the Word of God in your mind. I especially exhort parents to teach teenagers that Saturday is NOT the night to stay out late with friends. If there is a special late night, make it Friday. It is a terrible thing to teach children that worship is so optional that it doesn’t matter if you are exhausted when you come.
6. Forebear one another Sunday morning without grumbling and criticism.
Psalm 106:25, “They grumbled in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the LORD.” Sunday morning grumbling and controversy and quarreling can ruin a worship service for a family. When there is something you are angry about or some conflict that you genuinely think needs to be talked about, forebear. Of course if you are clearly the problem and need to apologize, do it as quickly as you can (Matthew 5:23-24). But if you are fuming because of children or spouse delinquency, forebear, that is, be slow to anger and quick to listen (James 1:19). In worship open yourself to God’s exposing the log in your own eye. It may be that all of you will be humbled and chastened so that no conflict is necessary.
7. Be meek and teachable when you come.
James 12:1 “In meekness receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” Meekness and teachability are not gullibility. You have your Bible and you have your brain. Use them. But if we come with a chip on our shoulder and a suspicion of the preaching week after week, we will not hear the Word of God. Meekness is a humble openness to God’s truth with a longing to be changed by it.
8. Be still as you enter the room and focus your mind’s attention and heart’s affection on God.
Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” As we enter the sanctuary, let us “come on the lookout for God and leave on the lookout for people.” Come with a quiet passion to seek God and his power. We will not be an unfriendly church if we are aggressive in our pursuit of God during the prelude and aggressive in our pursuit of visitors during the postlude.
9. Think earnestly about what is sung and prayed and preached.
1 Corinthians 14:20, “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature”. So Paul says to Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). Anything worth hearing is worth thinking about. If you would take heed how you hear, think about what you hear.
10. Desire the Truth of God’s Word more than you desire riches or food.
1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” As you sit quietly and pray and meditate on the text and the songs, remind yourself of what Psalm 19:10-11 says about the Words of God “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
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Baptist21 held its 2nd annual B21 Panel at the SBC. The panel took place in Orlando during Tuesday’s Lunch at the SBC Convention. The members of the panel were Danny Akin, Matt Chandler, Ronnie Floyd, Johnny Hunt, Albert Mohler, David Platt, Jimmy Scroggins, and Ed Stetzer. The panel discussed issues pertaining to the gospel, the SBC and its future, the Great Commission Resurgence, and more.
In addition, Baptist21 also posted the discussion that took place on Tuesday night of the Southern Baptist Convention at the 9marks@9 event. During that event Danny Akin, Mark Dever, Albert Mohler, and David Platt discussed some very important topics. They addressed Platt’s sermon from the previous night, the importance of the GCR, next steps for the SBC and individual pastors, the health of the SBC, the importance of attending the national meeting (check the Mohler quote at about 11:30-12:30), the future of theological education, and more.
