Reconciled Community - Don’t Count On It?

We in the church often turn to Matthew 18 to build our case for church discipline.  No doubt that’s a good place to turn.  In context, however, it doesn’t seem to be primarily about church discipline at all, though it is about a related subject - reconciliation in the community of the renewed people of God.

Just before Jesus makes his comments about confronting a brother who has sinned against us, he gives us a parable - or at least an illustration.  It’s about the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to go and find the one that was lost.  It seems to me that we often misread the main intent of that one as well - but that’s another post for another time.  At the least - and perhaps at the most - it is an illustration of reconciliation.  The one is reconciled with both the shepherd and the other sheep.

Just after Jesus’ comments about the brother who has sinned against us we find Peter asking how many times we should forgive such a sinning brother?  Seven?  Seventy?  How often and how intently should we seek to be reconciled with one another?  Again, reconciliation.

So it’s no surprise that this passage we typically turn to for matters of church discipline is, at its heart, about being reconciled in the community of the faithful.

Reconciliation and harmony within the community of faith must have been a high priority to have gotten so much attention.  Of course, these accounts also assume that there will be matters between the faithful that challenge the very fiber of our connectedness.  There are those who don’t quite fit in with the flock.  They are wanderers.  They are weak.  They are easily neglected or overlooked.  Maybe they’re not "our" kind of people.  There are those who bring the conflict with them.  They sin against us.  There are matters that are more serious than "just a little misunderstanding."  So Jesus leads us into paths of reconciliation and shows us how to "get ‘er done."  He promises to be there in the midst of us showing us the way.  And when Peter takes Jesus statement about considering the unrepentant as a pagan or tax collector as an indication that forgiveness comes with limits, Jesus tells him that reconciliation is something to work at over and over and over and over and (if I were to write that out 490 times I’m sure you’d get the point) over again.

Why is it, then, that we so seldom practice reconciliation, but rather find so many ways to avoid it?  "I might be interested in working things out, but she’s going to have to make the first move."  "I know I’m supposed to forgive, but Jesus obviously didn’t have my circumstances in mind."  We don’t reconcile because the other is not sorry enough, isn’t trustworthy enough, isn’t Baptist enough, or whatever other reason we might give.  Never mind that there is a task sitting in front of us that will require not only the best that we have to give, but all that we have to give, and all of us who have anything to give, and more than any of that the power of God’s Spirit.

Reconciliation, not separation, is what we need to see it through.  Reconciliation, not separation, is what will honor God.  That’s hard for Baptists to do.  That’s hard for evangelicals to do.  Baptists have spent the last 27 years working on our exclusionary tactics.  We’ve practically perfected them.  A few years ago there was a push to change the name of the Southern Baptist Convention.  I had an idea.  We wouldn’t have to change our letterhead or sign up for a new domain name.  Just go with the Separate Baptist Convention.  We could still be the SBC.  And there are historical roots in the name.

Or we could keep the larger picture in view (not the Baptist picture, but the kingdom picture), and turn our fight against one another into a fight for one another.  Reconciliation.

Pic-O-The-Week

This is a Catholic church in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  I thought this made a nice pic with the flower garden in the foreground.  You may recognize a part of this pic from my previous banner.

Takin’ Care of Business

WE HAVE A WINNER!!  In the photo contest with the Grand Prize of a possible date with Keira Knightley the winner happens to be the only one who made a guess.  So, congratulations to Alethes (Truthful) Baptists.  He correctly guessed Alexander Campbell.  Actually, Kevin Stilley guessed Ben Cole, but that was in the comments of another blog which disqualifies his guess according to rule 7.B.3 which clearly states, "No submission shall be deemed valid which is made on a blog which has openly expressed a view contrary to the views and opinions expressed on Caught In The Middle."

Now, as far as the Grand Prize goes, all I could offer is the possibility of a date with Keira Knightley.  All that’s left now is for Alethes (Truthful) Baptist to ask her out and for her to accept.  But in the mean time, it would really look poorly for my little corner of the blogosphere if I just went around offering empty promises.  Therefore, I offer Alethes (Truthful) Baptist the praise of Caught In The Middle (sung to the tune of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God):

Alethes (Truthful) Baptist is great.
He really and truly is.
He knows his Campbellites like no other Baptist.
All hail to Alethes (Truthful) Baptist.
Yay, Alethes (Truthful) Baptist.  Hip, hip, hooray!
…………………..
On a more somber note, I also want to thank the aforementioned Kevin Stilley for the link back to Caught In The Middle.  However, how a guy who links to no less than four books on logic could disagree with anything here on CITM is a conundrum the likes of which almost certainly led to the death of Socrates.  Kevin, quit drinking the poison and come to the side of truth, justice and stretchy pants.

Big XII Football Predictions - The North

I could make this really short by putting the name of all the Big XII North schools on separate pieces of paper and drawing them out of a hat for a finishing order.  I could do that because it might be one of the most accurate ways of predicting the outcome.  I could also do that because I care very little how the North shakes out.  They’re the "B" league of the Big XII.  Their champion might finish fourth in the South.  Consistently.  With that disclaimer, I’ll actually try to put some kind of thought into this.  So here goes:

First:  Iowa State
Whaaaaa?  Sorry, boys and girls, but they’ve been perhaps the most consistent performer over the last four or five years.  They always seem to choke on something at the end of the season and lose out to Colorado, but Colorado is still choking on Gary Barnette’s words and deeds.  The press, who probably know a lot more about the north than I do, have picked their quarterback to be the first-team preseason conference pick.  Perhaps this is the year they finish what they start.

Second:  Nebraska
Yes, the mighty have fallen and still haven’t gotten all the way back up.  If they could ever perform up to the ego of their coach they’d win a Super Bowl.  Zac Taylor has demonstrated that he knows how to flip the ball around.  If he can just do it consistently this year they might make their way back to the top - of the North.

Third:  Kansas
Whaaaaaa?  Well, if you haven’t fallen asleep yet all I can say is you have quite the stamina.  Nevertheless, defense wins a lot of games and Kansas has a salty defense.  It’s yet to be seen if anyone can quarterback them to some points.  If they can they have as good a chance as any.

Fourth:  Colorado
Colorado always has a brutal schedule.  Maybe some of those high-profile games can get them ready for the rigors of the Big XII.  To be honest you can probably take three through six in the south and any of them could finish anywhere.  You might be able to take one through six and do the same thing.  But I’m picking Colorado fourth….and I’m sticking by it….or not.

Fifth:  Missouri
Who coaches Missouri?  Is it still that guy…what’s-his-name….Pinkle?  Did he get fired or are they waiting to do that this year?  Heck, I don’t know.  I heard someone on the radio saying they had a pretty good quarterback coming up.  Yeah.  And I remember when Brad Smith was a pretty good quarterback as well.

Sixth:  Kansas State
Did they not disband the team when Bill Snyder retired?  Should they have disbanded the team when Bill Snyder retired?  Does anyone outside of Manhattan, Kansas care?  Will they surprise everyone and return to their dominating ways?  Or will the Wildcats return to being the Mildcats?  I hear recruiting hasn’t been too great there lately.  Great coaches with mediocre players still produce mediocre results.  We’ll see.

Big XII Football Predictions

Yes, football fans, it’s the time of year to lay your pre-season predictions on the line.  This could be a very difficult year to predict.  With a new coach in Colorado the North is, yet again, nearly anyone’s for the taking.  The South features three new starting QBs.  While I don’t have any great in-depth analysis, here are my predictions for the Big XII South:

First: OU
Will Rhett Bomar figure to be the new incarnation of Brett Favre or will he look more like the Favre we saw last year?  He’s surrounded by a very talented cast including Heisman hopeful Adrian Peterson and a defense that that stops up holes quicker than Imodium AD.  Once again, there’s national potential awaiting these Sooners.

Second:  Texas
This all depends on QB play.  That spot remains open coming out of the Spring.  But Texas always recruits well.  September 9th (Ohio State) should tell a lot about what can be expected from this team.

Third:  Texas Tech
A QB who’s not a senior?  Are you kidding me?  If this kid get’s Leach’s system down like the last several have then Tech could be scary for years to come.  And their defense keeps getting better.  Could they beat out Texas for the number 2 spot?

Fourth:  Texas A&M
Everyone said that coach Fran’s teams kick it in during his third year.  Yeah…they kicked it in all the way to a 5-6 record.  Reggie McNeal completed what seemed like his 17th year of eligibility.  His replacement looked pretty capable in relief-duty last year.  In addition, they’ve subscribed to the Kansas State philosophy of scheduling taking on the likes of The Citadel and several lesser Louisiana schools.  Aggie fans (and coach Fran) can only hope it helps.

Fifth:  OSU
Can the Cowboys beat Baylor?  Will this new high-octane, no-huddle offense look anything like a high-octane, no-huddle offense?  Will Bobby Reid look like Vince Young or will Bobby Reid look like, well, Bobby Reid?  Could OSU leapfrog Texas A&M for fourth?

Sixth:  Baylor
Was last year a fluke or is Baylor actually getting competitive?  How competitive can a school be recruiting football players to Waco, Texas?  Grant Teaff did a heck-of-a-job.  Grant Teaff hasn’t been seen wearing a headset on the sidelines in a long time.  They’ve surprised Texas A&M recently.  Can they surprise the rest of us?

Thar She Blows

Summer is a terrible time to attempt theological thinking.  For one, every time you step outside there is the great risk of being preoccupied with the doctrine of hell.  At least if you live anywhere south of Iowa.  I am going to a region just north of hell this week.  We call it Falls Creek.  It’s our youth camp.  It’s outside.  It gets so hot that a popular natural pool hewn out of the rocks is called the Devil’s bathtub.  Yes, this is where Lucifer goes to cool off.  Well, it used to be called that before we felt the need to use more sanctifying names for places at our youth camp.  Gone are the days of "The-park-for eighth-graders-who-run-around-like-luciferians," "The B.B. Mephistopheles memorial chapel," "Beelzebub’s Bridge," and the like.  All of the names are quite holy now.

But the last week in July, Davis, Oklahoma is still 172 degrees in the shade.

In the summer, there’s also VBS.  Ahh… nothing like taking your mind off of good, solid, deep thoughts of God than the pablum that has become VBS.  Ok.  Now I’m just being smartaleky.  There’s summer vacation and summer ball and the local water park and the Thursday night outdoor volleyball league.  How does one ever think of God in the midst of all of that?

So this summer events in our state are throwing water on all of that fun stuff and making me think about baptism.  Well, at least there’s water involved.  But that has also raised larger issues of polity.  So I’ve read a paper by Mark Dever on Baptist Polity and Elders am reading through another on A Biblical Understanding of Church Leadership.

I should really get back to camp game before my head explodes.

Pic-O-The-Week

This is my boy Wesley two years ago.

An Apology

In a previous post I failed to communicate well.  Go figure.  So I want to clarify what I was and wasn’t trying to say and hopefully I’ll do a better job this time.

In the next-to-last paragraph of this post (before the update) it was not my intent to disparage any of our Seminary professors, past or present.  For instance, Dr. Tolar was Vice-President of Academic Affairs while I was at Southwestern and I have great respect for him.  Did then and do now.  I don’t know Brad Waggoner other than what I’ve recently read about him and his new post at LifeWay.  Seems like a very qualified person.  And I personally know Stan Norman from our days at Southwestern.  While we have not kept up with each other, I often hear one of his books referenced and praised as a new standard on the subject about which he’s written.  I don’t doubt that one bit as Stan was very bright then and I am confident that he remains so to this day.  I consider Stan a friend.

I have no great beef with the fact that these men, or Ray Sanders, or Anthony Jordan, or anyone else, wrote an article for the Messenger.  I have no great conflict with the content of their articles, though I do think the argument about obedience is not addressing the main issue involved in Henderson Hills’ proposal.  I’ll say that those writing those articles disagree with me on that point.  I can agree to disagree, but I won’t necessarily let that keep me from making my point.  I’ve had communication with Dennis Newkirk and he seems to agree with me that this is not a matter of obedience.  That simply means that some of us are either talking past one another or we simply haven’t found a way to find that common ground from which to address the issues.

My greatest conflict is in the editorial decision of the Messenger to make this issue a prominent one to the neglect of other issues that really are about obedience which we have literally been neglecting for decades.  To run a four-page pull-out specifically on this issue which only pertains to the decision of one (maybe two - not mine, by the way) church in Oklahoma comes across as piling on. This seems especially true when we live week-to-week with other forms of disobedience that are literally killing a good number of the churches in our state and across the convention and likely contribute to the plateaued state of the vast majority of the rest.  And yet about those we remain silent.  Even when a pastor attempts to promote meaningful church membership (a la Tom Ascol’s proposed resolution on Meaningful Church Membership at the SBC in Greensboro this year) the resolution doesn’t even make it to the floor and when he asks for the messengers to bring it to the floor they, not surprisingly, refuse to do so.  It is much more convenient to talk about the sins and disobedience of Henderson Hills than about the sins and disobedience of Faith Baptist.  It’s easier to pass resolutions against drinking one drop of alcohol than it is to even get a resolution proposed that deals with a lack of moderation in one’s eating habits.  Of course, you can walk the halls of the convention and see why that is.  Not one pastor will have a beer in his hand, but there will be a number for which one will need to allow a wide berth in walking past.

I’ve never heard my wife say, "Why is that pastor drinking?"  But I have heard my wife say, on a number of occasions, "How can that man stand in the pulpit and represent the call to a self-disciplined life and look like that?"

I hope by now you get the point that the heart of this issue for me is not over the finer points of the theological debate.  The Messenger could have found archived articles from Baptists who are no longer alive and my primary point would not be that someone holds to a different understanding between the relationship between baptism and church membership.  My problem would be that the Messenger has a four-page pull-out on an issue that is only being publicly dealt with by one church in our state and is neglecting greater issues that are contributing to the plateau, decline and death in the overwhelming majority of our churches.

It’s also about those who will take a stand against Henderson Hills either by resolution or motion or whatever other public means while there is active, ongoing disobedience in their own churches right now.  The disobedience of absence in worship, of stinginess with their resources, of unforgiveness toward their brothers and sisters in Christ, of hating their enemies, of a condemning spirit, of neglecting the poor, of straining gnats and swallowing camels, of unfaithfulness in their relationships, of greed.  But we won’t disassociate from those churches because if we did we would have to do away with all of our associations, local, state and national.

I’m not saying that we only have a right to speak when our house is perfectly in order.  I’m saying that if we’re going to try to clean out someone else’s house we’d better have had a good broom going in our own for a good while first.  Peter didn’t say that judgment would begin at the house of the pagans, idolaters or heretics.  He said it would begin at home - the house of God.

Now, if I’ve offended the Messenger staff then I suspect that I have not miscommunicated this time.

Sectarianisms Ugly Head

In 1889, J.L.M Curry wrote A Baptist Church, Radically different from Pedobaptist Churches.  Curry was the President of Howard College and a trustee of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  [That’s not him in the picture, but you might receive a prize if you can guess who it is.  Sorry, but Wade Hodges and Milton Stanley don’t get to guess.  Amazingly, no one seems interested in my prize.  I should have said
that there is a good chance that it could be a date with Keira
Knightley.   By the way, this is also not a picture of Keira Knightley.  Okay….go.]

I’ve posted the opening paragraph because I think they speak to the issue surrounding Henderson Hills Baptist church.  If you think that what HHBC has proposed is no different than pedobaptism then I’m not sure I can help you see the relevance of this.  All emphasis is mine.

No religious denomination has a moral right to a separate existence unless it differs essentially from others. Ecclesiastical differences ought always to spring from
profound doctrinal differences. To divide Christians, except for reasons of gravest import, is criminal schism. Sects are justifiable only for matters of conscience growing out of clear scriptural precept or inevitable logical inference. Human speculation, tradition, authority of pope or council or synod or conference or legislature, is no proper basis for an organization of Christians. Nothing short of the truth of revelation, the authoritative force of God’s word, rising above mere prejudice or passion or caprice, can justify a distinct church organization.
While Baptists rejoice that there are so many points of agreement betwixt themselves and other evangelical Christians, and are prompt to acknowledge the works of faith and the labors of love of their brethren, yet they hold peculiar and differentiating principles, that are of vital importance and enter essentially into the idea of a church, its organism, membership, ordinances, and doctrines. These differences are radical, growing out of God’s revealed will; and the barriers of: separation are neither few nor trivial. To suppose that we are kept apart from beloved brethren solely by our views on baptism and the Lord’s Supper is a grievous misapprehension. Our differences, as we conceive, are broader and involve imperishable scriptural ideas and principles. The “wall of partition” is not built of water, much or little, of rites or robes or ceremonial. No sectarian bitterness or preference for isolation keeps us apart from those with whom we delight to co-operate in many spheres of Christian labor. The suggestion would not be uncharitable that sectarianism is responsible for diverse denominations which have a common origin, recognize one another’s ordinances, and hold to infant baptism, infant membership, and other common practices.

The best case only case that has been made against Henderson Hills is one of Scriptural inference and Baptist tradition, neither of which have proven the case to be profound, of gravest import, vital, essential or radical.  To divide over this would be, in my opinion, "criminal schism."

HT: David Rogers

The Dippers Dipt - Update

Things are really heating up now. Notice that I didn’t say they were “lighting” up.

Ray Sanders, the editor at the Baptist Messenger is a good man. A very bald man, but a good man nevertheless. [And if this post truncates prematurely it will be that bears have emerged from the woods and have eaten me.]

Ray’s recent editorial in the Messenger is, I fear, bringing more heat than light to an important issue. While the Henderson Hills Baptist church is not specifically mentioned by Ray, he has confirmed to me that he had them in mind in writing the article. He didn’t mention them specifically because there are, apparently, other churches, including one in Oklahoma, several in Texas and elsewhere, that are discussing issues of baptism and church membership.

In each of the articles that now appear in the Messenger the authors that are addressing the issue at hand are, in my view, missing the point. They are making it an issue of obedience. It is much other than that and much more complex than that. I also have two points to make about this matter in relation to the obedience argument.

First, this is other than a matter of obedience/disobedience. HHBC is not suggesting that new believers can view baptism as an option. Pastor Dennis Newkirk has told me himself that if someone came as a new believer to join their church but refused baptism, they would refuse that person as a member. In that case, it would be a matter of obedience. Of course, I think those among us who have been at this pastoral business much longer than me would have difficulties finding an example of a person so described. In any case, if they refused baptism they would be refused membership.

But it is a fish of a completely different fin, a dog of another breed, a bird of a different feather, a….you get the point. It would be wrong to say that, for example, J.I. Packer has come to join a local Baptist church and he is refusing to be baptized out of disobedience. No, he isn’t disobeying. In his understanding of Scripture he has already obeyed the command to be baptized. Now we Baptists can shout him down all day long telling him how wrong he is in his interpretation, but he would only turn and do the same to us. Who is right? Well, of course, we are. But if you want to say that he is being disobedient, then you’d better be pretty confident that your own theology is a-ok 100% perfectly pure. Otherwise, your doctrinal misunderstanding will become your own disobedience. [Do you hear that all you Dispensationalists? REPENT! <snicker, snicker>].

If seeing through the glass dimly is defined as disobedience then we’d all better turn in our membership cards right now. And that brings me to my other point about this matter of obedience.

Here we have one church in the state of Oklahoma that is publicly proposing open membership. One church that is opening itself up to what the critics are accusing them of - having a disobedient church membership.

Oh, wait. What about the rest of us? How many people are on the membership rolls of your church? How many of them were obedient in worship last week? How many of them have lived in disobedience regarding their attendance for the past month? Year? Decade? And then, what about those who do attend? How many of them give? If you believe that tithing is still the standard for the New Testament church, how many of them give 10%? How many of them give nothing? How many of them are actively making disciples? How many of them are teaching them to do everything Jesus commanded? And how many of them are just keeping the pew warm? How many of them don’t know when to push away from the buffet table? To say no to that third helping of dessert at the church pot luck?

These are all examples of public, well-known patterns of disobedience. How many articles will you see in the Messenger calling those churches out? How many seminary professors will be asked to write an article on the sin of gluttony? At how many pastor’s meetings will you hear pontifications on the unbiblical, unhistorical and unbaptistic lack of church discipline? How many pastors will address these things publicly from their pulpits?

Why won’t those things happen? Because it’s so much easier to write and talk about how unbaptistic Henderson Hills is being than it is to write and talk about how disobedient our own churches are. Let that sink in over your head and ears for a while.

UPDATE: For a much more irenic and well reasoned statement which you can read without your sensibilities being acosted (and with which I am in total agreement) check out this fine post by Paul Burleson. Maybe by the time I get to retirement age I’ll be nicer…like him. Thanks, Bro. B!

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