Have You Made the Switch Yet?

In case you missed it Returned Sheep is being retired.

In its place is ‘one new branch’, my new blog. If you’re ready to make the jump, head on over to the new site and read today’s post. While you’re there have a look around, subscribe to the RSS feed and leave a comment.

See you there!

out with the old, in with the new

Image by GeekMom Heather via Flickr

This post represents to last post here at Returned Sheep. But don’t worry, I’m not totally closing up shop. My blogging is about to take a new direction.

This new blogging venture can be found at onenewbranch.com. The purpose of ‘one new branch’ is to help cultivate the call to pastoral ministry in the lives of those who are serving and those who love the church.

So head on over to the new site and have a look around. We are in the early stages so be patient as more content will be arriving soon. Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed in your favorite reader!

p.s. – Please tell your friends about the blog on facebook, twitter, and on your own blog. I would really appreciate the promotion!

Complete a Bible Clarity Survey and enter to win a cool gadget

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Here are the rules:

The New Living Translation Break Through to Clarity Bible Contest and Giveaway

Visit www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation and click on the tab that says “Sweepstakes”

Fill out a simple form, take a quick Bible clarity survey, invite your friends to join and you’ll be entered to win one of our exciting prizes.

With each fan number milestone a new prize will be given away.

Grand Prize

Apple iPad 64G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fifth milestone
Retail Value: $829.00

2nd Prize  - Already awarded

32G iPod Touch and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fourth milestone
Retail Value: $300.00

3rd Prize – Will be awarded when fan count hits: 3500

Kindle DX and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the third milestone
Retail Value: $489.00

4th Prize Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD

Apple iPad 16G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the New Living Translation Fan Page hits the second milestone
Retail Value: $499.00

5th Prize Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD

Apple iPad 32G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the first milestone
Retail Value: $599.00

Prize Eligibility – Recently updated to include more countries

Sweepstakes participants and winner(s) can be U.S. residents of the 50 United States, or residents of any country that is NOT embargoed by the United States, but cannot be residents of Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India.  In addition, participants and winner(s) must be at least 18 years old, as determined by the Company. 

Sweepstakes Starts

March 17, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)

Sweepstakes Ends

April 30, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)

Wait, there’s more!

Visit http://biblecontest.newlivingtranslation.com/index.php for a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii!

Here are the details:

Choose one of six passages of Scripture from the New Living Translation and consider:
How do these verses encourage you to know God better?
What is God teaching you in this passage?
How does this passage apply to your life?

Submit your answer and you’ll be entered to win.

Just for signing up: Everybody Wins! Win a Free .mp3 download from the NLT’s new Red Letters Project. It’s the dynamic, new presentation of the sung and narrated words of the Gospel of Matthew. You win the download just for entering! Or choose to download the NLT Philippians Bible Study, complete with the Book of Philippians in the NLT.

Every day, one person will win the best-selling Life Application Study Bible!

The grand prize: One person will win a fantastic trip for two to the crystal clear waters of the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore in beautiful Hawaii.

Your Review is Too Late

My apologies to those looking here for my review of ‘Your Church is Too Small’ by John H. Armstrong as part of this week’s blog tour. It’s been an unusually busy week of ministry (is there such thing as a usual week?) and therefore no posting is going to make it this week.

I hope to have my review posted soon. In the meantime there should be 74 other posts you can read as part of the blog tour as well as the book’s site www.yourchurchistoosmall.com.

Thanks to my readers and to the folks at Koinonia for your patience and understanding.

A Taxing Question

If you are a U.S. citizen then you probably already know that your taxes will be due two months from today. Here is an interesting response to a question about social security and taxes.

HT: Justin Taylor

True Worship

Cover via Amazon

“We live holistically under the grace of God. Either we are God-centered in all that we do, or we are not. If we are, then God’s words and ways are precious to us, and all of our living is offered in worship; if we are not, we are in rebellion against God, and nothing we do is true worship.” – D.A. Carson, Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians, 1996, p. 79 (italics mine).

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1, ESV)

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24, ESV)

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A Tour of my DG Conference SWAG Bag – Part 2

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Yesterday I posted the first part of a series of posts annotating the contents of my ‘nifty gifties’ that I picked up at last week’s Desiring God Conference for Pastors. Here are a few of the books that were included in my bag.

Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World

This little book edited by C.J. Mahaney contains six reflections on keeping a God-centered heart in a self-centered world. The contributors include Mahaney, Craig Cabaniss, Bob Kauflin, Dave Harvey, and Jeff Purswell. This work also includes a helpful set of discussion questions so that that the book can be read and discussed in a group setting. [Published by Crossway Books]

Contagious Christian Living

This book and study guide takes the reader into an examination of the lives of four Biblical characters including Jepthah’s Daughter (Judges 11:29-40), Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), Jacob (Genesis 32:22-32), and Daniel (Daniel 1). In this study, the author, Joel R. Beeke address the question of what does it mean to live “contagiously” as a Christian.

Note: I couldn’t find this book when I searched amazon.com so I’m glad that DG has introduced me to a book I might not otherwise have stumbled on. It makes me wonder what other treasures might be out there that aren’t as widely known. [Published by Reformation Heritage Books]

Teaching Romans Volume 1: Unlocking Romans 1 - 8 for the Bible Teacher

Christopher Ash has written a helpful volume designed to help preachers and Bible teachers do exactly what the title suggests—teach Romans. This first volume covering the first eight chapters of Romans is divided into three sections covering introductory material, Romans 1-4, and Romans 5-8). Volume 2 in the series, covering Romans 9-16 is also available as a companion to this work. [Published by Christian Focus Publications]

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Book Review – Master Leaders by George Barna

George Barna has written so many books on topics like leadership, the Christian faith, and church ministry that I am surprised that it has taken me so long to read one of them. That changed when I received a copy of Barna’s most recent book Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats.

Barna’s imagination takes the reader along with 30 contemporary leaders to attend the Master Leader Conference. The account of this fictional conference allows the reader to eavesdrop in on many behind the scenes conversations that take place between the conference speakers pertaining to a number of leadership principles.

Although the setting of the conversations is fictional, Barna’s research is not. Barna has creatively woven together many quotes from his interviews with leaders in business, sports, government, education, and Christian ministry in a way that keeps the reader engaged.

I found that this book was very well organized with respect to the various principles of leadership Barna wished to demonstrate. Although I read the book cover to cover, one might find that particular chapters would be more relevant to their present situation.

As a pastor I found it very helpful to read a book on leadership that wasn’t written entirely from a Christian ministry perspective. The variety of leadership backgrounds presented gave a more complete picture about what leadership is in way that could be translated into almost any area.

Master Leaders will stay on my self, and I would recommend it to anyone currently serving in a position of leadership, or for anyone wanting to encourage the leaders that they serve under.

You can read the first chapter of Master Leaders in PDF format.

Note: A copy of Master Leaders was provided to me free from Tyndale House Publishers as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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A Tour of my DG Conference SWAG Bag – Part 1

Last week I was up in Minneapolis, MN for the 2010 Desiring God Conference for Pastors. Now, I’m one of those people who goes crazy for free stuff (really, who doesn’t like getting stuff for free), so I was overjoyed that upon checking in I was handed a bag of freebies or what I like to call ‘SWAG’.

For those who didn’t attend or for those interested in what was handed out, here are the contents of my SWAG bag courtesy of Desiring God Ministries and their conference sponsors and partners.

Journibles The 17:18 Series: Proverbs

What’s a Journible you ask? I’d never heard of it either, but by the end of the conference I not only had my free copy on Proverbs, I had also purchased the one for Galatians-2 Thessalonians. If you have ever wanted to slow down and really focus on the words of Scripture this might be the tool for you. This journal allows you to write out a whole book of the Bible in your own handwriting and leaves room on the facing page for your own reflections. For more information visit the 17:18 Series website.

Tabletalk – February, 2010

Tabletalk is a monthly devotional magazine published by Ligonier Ministries. In my bag I received the February, 2010 issue which in addition to the daily devotional readings also includes a series of short, well written articles by a variety of evangelical scholars. In this issue the topic at hand is the doctrine of justification by faith and in particular the understanding of this doctrine as presented by Bishop N.T. Wright.

A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards (Unabridged Audio CD)

I’ve been a big fan of christianaudio.com for some time (full disclosure: I am also a participant in their Reviewers Program). This actually is the first of their audiobooks that I have owned on CD. Usually I just download my audiobooks in mp3 format and dump them on my iPod. This particular audiobook, written by George M. Marsden and read by Grover Gardner, is on 4 CDs and has a running time of about 5 hours. I look forward to listening and to learning more about Edwards and his ministry.

With 11 more items in my bag I think I it is best to divide this post up this week. Follow these links and take a look for yourself at these resources. Leave your comments if you have read or listened to any of these; I would love to hear your thoughts.

Audiobook Review – Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung

Flying can be an extremely convenient means of travel, but one of the downsides has got to be all the waiting around in the airport. This week I flew back home from a conference I had been attending. I had brought books to read and I had packed my iPod full of music. Fortunately I also had a few good audiobooks stored that I wanted to listen to as well.

At just right around 3 hours of listening time, Kevin DeYoung’s book Just Do Something seemed to be a workable choice for my downtime. Narrated by Adam Verner, Just Do Something had me engaged from the book’s introduction. DeYoung tackles a question that every Christian finds himself or herself asking at some point along their spiritual journey: “How can I determine what God’s will is for my life?”

Listening to the book, I couldn’t help but think how Just Do Something would make a great gift for the two high school seniors at our church that will be graduating this year. DeYoung makes the argument that while the easy answers to life’s questions can’t always be found in the pages of Scripture, the principles are certainly there. The book seems geared for college and post-college aged Christians, but the decision making wisdom offered will be helpful for other generations as well.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Christianaudio as part of their Reviewers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Here’s To Being “Ordinary”

Cover via Amazon

“Most pastors will not regularly preach to thousands, let alone tens of thousands. They will not write influential books, they will not supervise large staffs, and they will never see more than modest growth. They will plug away at their care for the aged, at their visitation, at their counseling, at their Bible studies and preaching. Some will work with so little support that they will prepare their own bulletins. They cannot possibly discern whether the constraints of their own sphere of service owe more to the specific challenges of the local situation or to their own shortcomings. Once in a while they will cast a wistful eye on “successful” ministries. Many of them will attend the conferences sponsored by the revered masters and come away with a slightly discordant combination of, on the one hand, gratitude and encouragement and, on the other, jealousy, feelings of inadequacy, and guilt.

Most of us—let us be frank—are ordinary pastors.”

D.A. Carson, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson, p. 9.

Download ‘Religion Saves’ Audiobook for FREE!

For the whole month of February christianaudio.com is giving away Mark Driscoll’s Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions as their free audiobook of the month. To get it simply visit http://christianaudio.com/free and add the book to your cart. You will need to you use the coupon code FEB2010 when you check out.

You can also read my review of Religion Saves that I posted in August, 2009. If you are unfamiliar with Mark Driscoll’s ministry or his books, this is a good place to start.

Heading to the DG Conference

I’m going to take a few days off from blogging because I will be attending this year’s Desiring God conference in Minneapolis. I plan to post my reflections once I return.

In My Place

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I was reading this morning and was particularly struck by this passage from Mark’s Gospel:

“And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?" But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death.” (Mark 14:60-64, ESV)

Jesus, the one who did not deserve condemnation and death, received condemnation and death on my behalf. Jesus stood where I should have been. Jesus became my substitute, a sacrifice of atonement on my behalf.

I could try and comment more about what it means that Jesus became my substitute, but I don’t think I could say it any better than the hymn writer Phillip B. Bliss who wrote,

“Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood—sealed my pardon with His blood: Hallelujah, what a Savior!”

Back to The Shack

Tim Keller has posted a review of the book The Shack by William P. Young at The Gospel Coalition Blog. Not to spoil it for those who haven’t read it yet, but Keller says,

“Here is my main problem with the book. Anyone who is strongly influenced by the imaginative world of The Shack will be totally unprepared for the far more multi-dimensional and complex God that you actually meet when you read the Bible.”

About a year ago Tim Challies wrote his review about The Shack at his blog saying,

“Because of the sheer volume of error and because of the importance of the doctrines reinvented by the author, I would encourage Christians, and especially young Christians, to decline this invitation to meet with God in The Shack. It is not worth reading for the story and certainly not worth reading for the theology.”

What about you? Did you read The Shack? What did you like about it? Did you have any concerns as you read it?

I ‘Like’ Fridays (Saturday edition)

Image by gsbrown99 via Flickr

Due to a power outage in my area this edition of I ‘Like’ Fridays was delayed a day. Here are the items I marked as ‘like’ in Google Reader from this past week.

1.) The Gospel Coalition and Ministry to Haiti from The Gospel Coalition Blog by D.A. Carson and Tim Keller

Want to give to Haiti and don’t know which group(s) are trustworthy? Here’s a good list.

2.) "How Can We Get Some Young Folks In Our Church?" from The Covered Dish by Jeremy Troxler

As the pastor of rural church with an ‘older’ group of members this post caught my eye.

3.) How Do You Put Your Sermon Together, part 1 and How Do You Put Your Sermon Together, part 2 from Kevin DeYoung

I am becoming a Kevin DeYoung ‘fan’. As a pastor who preaches weekly I enjoyed comparing notes with Kevin’s process.

4.) Carson Lecture on Evangelicalism from Justin Taylor by Justin Taylor

I blogged about this post here. Thanks to JT for bringing it to my attention.

5.) American Idol Auditions from Take Your Vitamin Z

We watch it because our wives like it. (Is that still the story we are going with guys?)

6.) What is a Worldview? Video by Glenn S. Sunshine from Koinonia by Zondervan

Short video, good definition, interesting looking book, even more interesting author’s last name.

7.) An Interview with Robert P. George on Roe v. Wade from Evangel by Justin Taylor

Lot’s of Roe v. Wade posts this week, this one stood out the most to me.

The Choices We Make

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Scandals related to the sexual misconduct of public figures are nothing new. In fact these stories can hardly be called shocking anymore due to their regularity. So, when I read the news Thursday about former U.S. Senator John Edwards I was more disappointed than I was surprised.

The story of Edwards’ affair is old news. What has recently surfaced is his admission that he fathered a child as a result of this affair. Reading the report of his admission, I was particularly struck by this statement:

“It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me…To all those I have disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry.”

I have no intention to judge the sincerity of his apology or to make this into an issue about politics. The point I want to make is that news stories like this provide us with a representative sample of what is happening in almost every town in America. The obvious difference is that most extramarital affairs will never be made public like this.

Stories like these are good reminders to myself and to anyone else who reads this that every choice we make has lasting consequences. The good choices we make can be a blessing to many, but the sinful choices we make can cause irreversible damage.

We all sin, and the good news of Jesus Christ is that in him there is grace and forgiveness and reconciliation with God (Romans 3:23-24; 5:9-11). However, the consequences of our sinful choices remain no matter how hard we try to reverse them.

I can’t imagine being in Edward’s shoes, having to explain to his daughter one day about this “relationship”, about why he felt it was necessary to deny his paternity, and to advise her to “do as I say, not as I do.” It is no wonder that so many times the sins of one generation are repeated with the next.

The moral of Edwards’ story goes far beyond “look before you leap.” Instead, we are better off not leaping at all. We are better off if we look for and follow “the way of righteousness” (Psalm 1:6).

Audiobook Review – A Sweet & Bitter Providence

I recently finished listening to the audiobook version of A Sweet & Bitter Providence by John Piper. The audiobook is available through Christianaudio.com for purchase either on CD or in digital download form.
The book, which is narrated by Grover Gardner, is an exposition of the Old Testament book of Ruth told in a very readable (or in this case listenable) form. I downloaded the audiobook from Christianaudio.com and listened to it on my iPod during longer drives in the car and while sitting at my desk in my office. The chapters are bite sized enough to enjoy one section at a time.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was how the author showed this ancient book to be so very relevant in today’s world. Piper does a wonderful job of showing that this is no mere ancient love story. As the book’s subtitle suggests, Ruth is a story that speaks to our human struggles and to our understanding of God’s sovereign rule over this world.
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of A Sweet & Bitter Providence. I would recommend this audiobook especially to those who may be new to audiobooks due to the relative shortness of this work.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Christianaudio as part of their Reviewers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The State of Evangelicalism?

 

D.A. Carson: Evangelicalism’s E.F. Hutton

With cup of coffee in hand this morning I treated myself to watching a video of D.A. Carson’s recent lecture at ETS entitled The Changing (Changeless?) Face of Evangelicalism. I don’t exaggerate, it truly is a treat to listen to Dr. Carson speak and to read his books. I had the privilege of sitting under his teaching for one class while I was a seminary student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Dr. Carson’s lecture, as you can discern from the title, was on the current state of evangelicalism. What does it mean to call oneself an “evangelical”? Is it a label tied to history? Does it define a set of doctrines or convictions? Does it refer to a certain kind of Christian lifestyle? Is it synonymous with “Conservative Christian”?

The video can be viewed or downloaded from The Gospel Coalition website courtesy of Crossway Books. In the meantime I am looking forward to the release of Dr. Carson’s book Evangelicalism: What Is It and Is It Worth Keeping? this September. I imagine this book will do much to further the conversation.

What’s in a name?

I wonder if the term “evangelical” (and its related cognates such as “evangelism”, “evangelist”, etc.) is indeed losing its intended meaning similar to the way the term “fundamentalism” and terms related to it have changed over the years.

Our church was forced to consider this not long before I came to serve as their pastor. For many years the name of our church was “Fundamental Gospel Church”, in fact many in town still refer to it by that name. Today, in large part due to our adoption in to the EFCA denomination, our church is now know as Cornerstone EFC. Our leadership realized that the once positive name “Fundamental” did not communicate the same positive sense that at the time of its founding 50 years prior.

I would encourage you to watch the video and consider what Dr. Carson is saying. What do you think? What is the state of evangelicalism, particularly in America? What do you think the term conveys today; is it positive or negative? I’m looking forward to hearing your comments.

Remember the Sabbath Day

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I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means for me to “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Ex. 20:8). I am being challenged to really nail down what my conviction is about the Sabbath and then to put those convictions in to practice.

The thing that seems to complicate the situation most for me is that Sunday is a ‘work day’. In what sense should that day be a day unique from the other six? I take a day off during the week, a day that I don’t spend at the church. But that day is hardly a day of rest. It’s a catch-up day to get to things that have been neglected for a week.

As I try and discover how the Sabbath is supposed to be observed, one thing seems to be loud and clear: I need to slow down. All those things I want to do, all those books piled up to be read, all that time that would be better spent with people. Busyness seems to steal from them all.

I’m reading Scripture, I’m reading books, I’m praying and thinking. But I’m not at a clear answer yet. So tell me, what is your Sabbath like? What has worked for you? Do you have strict rules you follow? When do you know you’ve sabbathed? I’m listening.