3rd Mark of the True Church

"Anabaptists insisted that mutual accountability was a third mark of the true church alongside the two recognized by the reformers (faithful preaching of the gospel and proper administration of the sacraments). It was the absence of mutual accountabililty, they argued, that prevented the reformers' churches from being communities of disciples; sound doctrine was not enough on its own."

Stuart Murray, The Naked Anabaptist, 103.

My Top 20 Books

In no particular order, here is a list of 20 books that have been most helpful/edifying/influential to me:

1. The Search for Order – William J. Dumbrell

1. New Testament Theology – Thomas R. Schreiner

1. The Temple and the Church’s Mission – G.K. Beale

1. The Mission of God – Christopher Wright

1. The Drama of Scripture – Michael Goheen & Craig Bartholomew

1. Missional Church – ed. Darrell Guder

1. Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl – N.D. Wilson

1. The Naked Anabaptist – Stuart Murray

1. The Cross of Christ - John Stott

1. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought – Robert Wilken

1. Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers – Christopher Hall

1. Cruciformity – Michael Gorman

1. The End of the Law – Jason C. Meyer

1. The New Testament and the People of God – N.T. Wright

1. Total Truth – Nancy Pearcey

1. The Reason for God – Tim Keller

1. The Pleasures of God – John Piper

1. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God - J.I. Packer

1. What Did You Expect – Paul David Tripp

1. The Servant King by T.D. Alexander

I put a link to this list under the "Book Lists" toolbar, along with a link to Recommended Reading.

Postmodern Apologists

"The conventional image of a Christian apologist is one who teaches at a university, one who wields logical arguments for the existence of God and manuscript evidence for the reliability of the Bible, one who engages in debates about evolution or Islam. But in a postmodern world focused on a narrative discourse, we need to take a lesson from the apostle Paul [Acts 17] and expand our avenues for evangelism and defending the faith. We need more Christian apologists writing revisionist biographies of Darwin, Marx and Freud; writing for and subverting pagan TV sitcoms; bringing a Christian worldview to their journalism in secular magazines and news reporting; making horror films that undermine the idol of modernity; playing subversive industrial, rock and rap music. We need to be actively, sacredly subverting the secular stories of the culture, and restoring their fragmented narratives for Christ. If it was good enough for the apostle Paul on top of Mars Hill, then it's certainly good enough for those of us in the shade of Hollywood hills now."

-Brian Godawa, Word Pictures, 138-39

Secular/Sacred Lie

"There is no work better than another to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a cobbler, or an apostle, all are one; to wash dishes and to preach are all one, as touching the deed, to please God.

-William Tyndale

"The idea that the service to God should have only to do with a church altar, singing, reading, sacrifice, and the like is without doubt but the worst trick of the devil. . . . The whole world could abound with the services to the Lord, not only in churches but also in the home, kitchen, workshop, field."

-Luther

Good Lookin' Out: Light to the Nations

I have been waiting for this book for a few years. This April, Michael Goheen's book A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story will be available. The book that Goheen co-authored with Bartholomew, The Drama of Scripture, is one of my favorites. He has a good grasp on biblical theology, worldview, and did his doctoral work on the ecclesiology of Leslie Newbigin who is in many ways the Father of the missional movement, having influenced many people ranging from Tim Keller to Brian McLaren. You can read the Preface and Ch. 1 here.

Here is the Table of Contents:

1. The Church's Identity and Role: Whose Story? Which Images?

2. God Forms Israel as a Missional People

3. Israel Embodies Its Missional Role and Identity amid the Nations

4. Jesus Gathers an Eschatological People to Take Up Their Missional Calling

5. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus and the Church's Missional Identity

6. The Missional Church in the New Testament Story

7. New Testament Images of the Missional Church

8. The Missional Church in the Biblical Story--A Summary

9. What Might This Look Like Today?

Here are a couple of endorsements:

"Goheen expertly traces the continuities of and developments in the Bible's grand story of the people of God, showing that at every stage God's people exist for the sake of God's mission to all the peoples of the world. Here is the biblical depth needed for the contemporary church's reflection on and practice of its missional identity."--Richard Bauckham, emeritus professor, New Testament studies, University of St. Andrews, Scotland; senior scholar, Ridley Hall, Cambridge

"It is so encouraging to see the revived interest in missional interpretation of the Bible flourishing and bearing fruit. This marvelous book by Mike Goheen moves the discipline significantly forward. It roots our understanding of the church's role and mission in the whole of the Scriptures, showing how formative the Old Testament was for Jesus and his New Testament followers and remains for us. The nourishing meat of rich biblical reflection is sandwiched between a historical analysis of the cultural roots of the contemporary church and a challenging conclusion as to how a church today can be truly missional and biblical. This is biblical theology in the service of the mission of God through God's people for the sake of God's world."--Christopher J. H. Wright, international director, Langham Partnership International; author,The Mission of God and The Mission of God's People

Is Jesus Lord?

"The proclamation of the 'gospel' has often failed to emphasize a fundamental element of the teaching of Jesus, and indeed, of orthodox Christian doctrine: 'Jesus is Lord' is a radical claim, one that is ultimately rooted in questions of allegiance, of ultimate authority, of the ultimate norm and standard for human life. Instead, Christianity has often sought to ally itself comfortably with allegiance to other authorities, be they political, economic, cultural, or ethnic. Could it be that 'Jesus is Lord' has become one of the most widespread Christian lies?"

--Lee Camp, Mere Discipleship, 16.

2011 John Bunyan Conference

The info for this year's John Bunyan Conference is up. Here is the schedule:

Speakers and Topics:

Chad Bresson Stephen, A New Covenant Preacher

Les Clemens Some Practical Implications of New Covenant Theology

John Reisinger Romans in the 21st Century

Book review: 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law

Steve West Ethical Implications of the Sermon on the Mount Today

Blake White Union With Christ and the New Covenant

Fred Zaspel The Great Commission in Redemptive-Historical Perspective

Pie in the Sky

"We are looking to a world made new, not because we deny this present world, but rather because we understand what is currently going on in this present world. All this will be dismissed as 'pie in the sky' by scoffers, but we should not be swayed by them. Those who dismiss heavenly pies are not to be trusted with earthly pies."

--Doug Wilson, Heaven Misplaced, 42.