Much of the world is rejoicing today. Even with the profound differences Christians have with Obama over abortion, surely we can still rejoice that in a nation where slavery and segregation are not too distant memories, a non-Caucasian will be in the White House.

We can and we should be glad that this change may well lead to a reduction in the racial tensions experienced in that great nation. Who can really claim that there is still an absolute and unchanging glass ceiling when Obama just smashed through it? How many black people will be lifted out of a victim mentality that hinders their success by considering Obama's example? How many white people will find their prejudices swept away? Of course, there are risks that the opposite effects may occur, but we can surely hope for God to use this event in his purposes.

It is even possible that the iconic nature of a black leader of the free world will be a force for peace in the world. But even Obama himself must realize that the level of expectation among his supporters guarantees that they will be disappointed. He is not a messiah. He is just a man. A deeply flawed man at that, like all of us.

Josh Harris, Justin Taylor, and John Piper have all rightly reminded us—it is time for us to pray for this man who will become president of the USA. We should pray for wisdom for him. Pray for his advisors. Pray for God to restrain his plans where they are ungodly, and give him success where he plans for good. We should pray for peace. We should pray for Obama's professed faith to become a true source of strength for him, and for him to seek God's will. We should ask that God grant that he be truly born again if he is not already. We should pray that God will change him where he needs changing. We should pray for his protection. I fear that any successful murder of this man would have far-reaching consequences. We should acknowledge that it is, in fact, God who has raised this man up, however much we might disagree with some of his policies.

God is sovereign. He rules the world. He exalts and deposes. Let's pray that Obama will be a force for peace and a tool in the hands of God.

I don't intend to cover the US election here in any detail. But I thought I should point you in a few directions if you are interested. One thing that has always puzzled UK evangelicals like me is why US politics is so polarized, with so few evangelicals voting Democratic. If you want a clear explanation as to why this is, Justin Taylor explains evangelical concerns about Obama in quite simply the most clear way I have ever seen, while interacting with John Piper's views, with which, in some ways, he disagrees.

There is a long comments section and a long list of posts that have linked to his well-written post. Basically, we could say, "It's about abortion, stupid!" What may surprise some Europeans is that the Republicans, to varying degrees, are pro-life and the Democrats are, to varying degrees, pro-abortion, with Obama, it seems, being the most pro-death candidate imaginable. Thus, for many Christians, they are single-issue voters. They want to do anything to try and prevent the genocide of babies that is ongoing. It seems to me that over the last year Gordon Brown has taken massive steps towards the UK political scene becoming similarly divided on religious grounds.

In my view, one thing is certain—Christians have a moral obligation to vote, and to vote remembering God is watching them. Too many Christians do not vote, almost arguing this disengagement from the process is a spiritual act. The truth is we should be grateful for the opportunity to vote; many in this world do not have that privilege. We should also vote recognizing the Lordship of Jesus over all of our lives and becoming fully engaged in the social and political world.

Other Christian sites to visit to understand the election over in the USA include:

• Al Mohler's radio comments on the election.
  
  
• In The Agora is a great site for political commentary from a Christian perspective.
  
  
• The Pulpit Magazine has some commentary from John MacArthur.
  
  
• Finally, although they haven't written about it yet, I will be surprised if the newly returned from a month's break Team Pyro doesn't blog about the election too. Certainly Dan Phillips has blogged about it on his solo blog.

I received an email highlighting a video on youtube of Gianna Jessen who survived an abortion. Her story and advocacy of the rights of the unborn is compelling. More from Wikipedia or Gianna's official site.


Part One


Part Two

A City in a City

Yesterday at Jubilee we were privileged to have Mark Driscoll here with us. This is the first time he remembers preaching in another church in many years. You can dowload the sermon or listen to it right here:


Incidentally, Tim Chester has shared his notes from one of the sessions of the Dwell Conference and plans to share from one of the others. I will post notes and video from the rest of the sessions from this Acts 29 day conference over the next few days. I also have video interviews to share from a number of people, including Mark Driscoll.

Mark took us to Jeremiah 29. Cities are marked by two things—density and diversity. London seems to be the most dense and diverse city he has ever seen. Originally Christianity was a city-based urban movement, although now it tends to be rural. Culture flows like a river downstream. By 300 A.D. around 50 per cent of people living in cities were Christian, while 90 per cent of those living in rural areas were not. Today that tendency is reversed and fewer Christians live in the cities than in rural areas. By 2030, 60 per cent of all people will live in cities.

The city of Babylon has a lot in common with Greater London. The Babylonians colonized many nations, a bit like the English did. Babylon was founded by Nimrod.

The local church is a small city living within the city living according to the values of God. In the kingdom of God there is racial harmony so it should be so in the Church. We should see repentance from sin and love for God. Our church needs to grow to become a city. With Jesus there is a better way of life. We do sex, marriage, love, parenting differently. We invite them to meet Jesus and have him change their life.


Jeremiah 29:4 “I have sent …” We are called of God to be a missionary wherever we are. Sent to the London area. We can reach the nations of the earth if we reach London. It’s like a hub or a crossroads. This is one of the most important cities, or probably the most important city in the world. Babylon was like that in previous days. God determines the times and places in which we live. If this city of London meets Jesus, the entire world will hear about him.

Verse 5 — Tells them to build houses, plant gardens, etc. Plan on being there for awhile. We shouldn't merely use the city, but invest in it. God will call some of us to move on, but many of us need to strongly consider staying here and giving our lives to London, investing our lives here for the good of the city. The first thing that a missionary needs to do is stay. Driscoll has given his life with his wife for one city, Seattle. Unless God shows up he will be staying there. Don't make decisions on economic ease, but on the kingdom.

Verse 6 — Take wives (well, the men, only!) and make babies. Multiply there and do not decrease. We must honor family, gender, sexuality, and parenting. If you are single, then aspire to be married. Men today shirk responsibility. We have to get the young men if we want to change the city. Single guys in their 20’s tend to shun masculinity, maturity, and responsibility. They are ruining the city—they take advantage of women, commit crimes, wives and girlfriends have to look after them, they murder their own kids by encouraging abortion. Young men must learn to be men—find their pants, get a job, marry a woman, and stay out of trouble. Men are like trucks, the more weight you can put on them, the straighter they drive, i.e. men who are lazy get distracted and tend to sin, load them with things to do and they will be better.

Men have to be independent and provide for their family. Anyone who doesn't provide for the needs of his family is worse than an unbeliever. His ten-year old daughter said of a girl kissing two different boys, “She doesn't have a good father.” In the city there is rape and abuse going on, as well as treating each other with contempt. We live differently here and we want the outsiders to have a better way of life and future.

We need to know and love the city. At the moment Muslims are moving into the city and having lots of children knowing that in a few generations they could control the culture. Do what is best for those who live in the city. Think about ways to do good for the whole city. If the schools are terrible, let the Christians go in and volunteer. Pray for the city, it moves the hands of God and it changes the hearts of men and women. God will change our hearts so that we will work to bring change to the city. Let people around notice that the church loves the city.

Verse 8 — Do not listen to false teachers. Satan will try and teach us false things so that we will do evil in the city. We need to know the truth well and defend it.

The gospel is that we are all sinners. We don't do what we are supposed to do, and we do do what we are not supposed to do. There is a broken relationship with God. It was only through God himself becoming a man and a missionary into human history that we can be reconciled to God. He went to the cross and substituted himself for us and for our sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 — God made him sin so we might become righteous. The great exchange. Death to him, life to us. Separation to him, relationship to us. Condemnation to him, salvation to us. He is resurrected and ascended to heaven to build his city on earth. The storyline of the Bible is from the Garden of Eden to the city of the New Jerusalem coming from heaven. We will live together in a city. He will wipe tears from our eyes. Our hope, salvation, life, eternity, joy, is all in Jesus. There are two primary enemies of the gospel—idolatry and religion. Jeremiah says to watch out for false teaching. The temptation to idolatry would have come from the Babylonians, while the temptation to being religious would have come from the Jews.


Idolatry is THE sin according to Martin Luther. Sin is turning our worship from God to something else. The opposite of Christianity is not atheism, it is idolatry. We must keep ourselves from idols. If we don't worship idols, we won’t sin. The first of the commandments tell us that there is only one God and we must worship him alone; the rest are the implications. So if we worship God and not our image, we won’t lie. If we worship him alone, we won't covet. We put something in the prime place of glory and we then worship it by making sacrifices of time, etc. IF it is Jesus, then we will enjoy what God gives. But, if someone or something else is in that position, then it is idolatry. Romans 1 says people changed from worshiping God to worshiping created things.

Who or what do you worship? Your spouse? Your health? Your comfort? Your children? These are all good gifts but they are not GOD. Don’t worship them instead of God. If our spouse doesn’t meet all of our needs, then we get disappointed. If you expect comfort and peace and sinless relational harmony from your spouse, then you will get angry because that is something you can only get from God.

Terry began by recommending the outstanding biography of John Newton written by Jonathan Aitkin. I have listened to the CD version and enjoyed it immensely. I join Terry in commending it strongly to you. Terry also recommended two books by Christopher Wright on being missional.

Mark Driscoll began by returning to the marks of a spirit-filled church. He again explained to us that he believes we have been faithful in the mission. He feels, however, that perhaps we could see more fruitfulness. He is convinced that we can grow more quickly and be more effective at reaching people for Christ.

More posts from this conference can be found on my TOAM08 label page. You can download the mp3 of Mark's talk or listen to it right here:


As he began, I was very impressed that, as he prayed, he asked the Holy Spirit to guard his words, his attitude, and his tone.

Here, then, is Driscoll’s eight-point definition of the Church. Some of these constitute the being, and others the well-being of the Church.

1. Regenerated Church Membership

Qualified Church Leadership

This is, he believes, THE strength of Newfrontiers based on what he has seen. In particular, Driscoll said it is very important to hold the line on male eldership. To oppose this position is very popular among those who are not successful. You have to approach the Scriptures differently to come to the opposite position. One of the reasons Newfrontiers is strong, argues Driscoll, is because of our commitment to male elders. If we ever compromise on that issue, we will find our blessing will diminish. Continue to hold that line. To change it changes everything—how families are organized, etc. Church life sets the pattern for home life. We need pastor-dads who are shepherds to their own flock at home. Keep holding that line!!

Gathering Regularly for Preaching and Worship.

He feels he is learning a lot from us on worship. (See also what he said on his blog about Newfrontiers.)

Rightly Administered Sacraments

Unity and Affection, which is evidence of the Holy Spirit

Discipline for Holiness

Church discipline is critical. Church discipline is correction, not retribution, just the same as in the family. Not to destroy someone, but to persuade them not to continue in sin. Don't preach one thing and fail to enforce it.

Obey the Great Commandment to Love—Church and Neighbor

Obey the Great Commission to Evangelize and Make Disciples

If definitions 1 through 7 are not present, you cannot do mission because unity isn't there. Prayer and worship and fellowship can be so much loved that we somehow just trust that the work will get done. Since we also believe God is sovereign, we tend to let him figure it out. Because we are charismatics, we tend to think the Spirit will figure it out. Truth is, we need a plan, and a more intentional one. We will see some growth without an intentional plan because we’re healthy, but if we are intentional about it we will grow faster.

God will be glorified by making disciples. Don't have a branch of church called the “Mission Department.” We have to have ALL branches of our churches being missional. So kids work is about discipleship of kids, etc. We want our children to be on a mission with us, too.

There was a missionary in India, and he discovered upon his return that London had become just as pagan as India was. He realized that the churches didn't think they needed to be missional themselves. If you are a Christian, you tend to become assimilated into the subculture of the church. Take all our missional thinking and be missionaries in the West.

Some people think of church as a bomb-shelter. You can identify this by lots of “we and them” language. Here you will find lots of preaching against the culture, not engagement with it. You will find people who share your values and protect your kids. There is no attempt to evangelize. This is classic fundamentalism.

Other people see church as a mirror. This is classic liberalism. Gender issues is a classic current example. If the culture is for an issue, the church then compromises and mirrors what is in the culture. No attempt is made to redeem the culture. They may be more aware, but in the end they are less helpful.

Some see church as a parasite. They enter the culture to take out of it for themselves. There is no real giving. They want to benefit from what happens, but not do for them. Ask non-Christians what they think of the church. Their answer will be—no serving the poor, no helping, no doing good, and taking, not contributing.

Some see church as a city within a city—a city on a hill. The Church is the city of God within the city of the world. Here the Church loves Jesus, believes the Bible, practices grace, and the power of God is made known. The people live differently within the culture. They are not antagonistic or negative, but live an alternative life style. They invite others to join in this life style.

Driscoll then began to identify the twelve aspects of a missional church.

First, a missional church sees the church as a missional outpost—with a view for growth. We have a weakness in Newfrontiers, in Driscoll's view, which is a fear of multiple services. More options means more people can be reached. Multiple services should become a goal. People can tend to define the church by the number of people in a room at one time. But it should be defined by the number of people on a mission, even if they are never in a room together. Can have multiple campuses. Can have one church in more than one location as a second form of church planting. A missional church does church plant. We should set aside money specifically for church planting. At least 10 per cent of church funds at Acts 29 churches go to church planting.

Second, a missional church sees every Christian as a missionary. Cares for those with whom they come in contact. Pays attention to getting out and reaching out. Needs their people to be good theologians and good apologists. Sets things up so people naturally bring their non-Christian friends to church. Shares the gospel every single Sunday. If you think that they are all Christians, they are not! If, for example, you want men, preach to men, even if there are none there because their wives will get them to come. It can’t be a goofy presentation of the gospel, it must be a relevant one. Every week train them to recognize how everything relates to Jesus, e.g. marriage, parenting, etc. Mark shared an example of a couple in the church who couldn't understand why they shouldn't sleep together outside of marriage. He told them, “You are preaching a false gospel.” He asked them if their friends knew that they were Christians and were doing this. If so, he explained, they were saying the wrong thing with their lives. Jesus has a bride, not a girlfriend.

If people know that there will be preaching about Jesus and the gospel every week, they will bring their friends. It won’t matter what week they come. Mars Hill has a group that discusses what he has preached. Those who come don't have to be Christians and can ask questions. Most people will allow you to pray for them, even if they are atheists. As soon as you get cancer, your become an agnostic. “Would you mind if I pray for you right now?”

Bring converts on stage. Let them tell their story. Tell them to share their stories before you baptize them. Stories drive us to being missional. A church is cursed when there are no converts or babies.

Daniel and his contemporaries weren’t just in Babylon to be punished, but to be a missionary to share the knowledge of God to all those kings. Driscoll again said that in watching Newfrontiers, it was his observation that we are devoted to the Lord. But we must be more of a witness to those around us.

Third, a missional church is keenly aware of the local culture. (Acts 17—He SAW that the city was full of idols.) We must be greatly troubled. We are too submerged in our Christian subculture. We need to ask ourselves, “What is going on in the world? What is popular? Which shows are women watching? Which are men watching?” He watches teenage girl shows because he wants to know what they are thinking! He wants to get ahead of his daughter. Fast-forward them. Ultimate fighting is the fastest growing sport in the USA, for example. TV shows the different gods, whether sports, fame, sex, money, etc. Look for the idols. Watch it missiologically. Don't be naïve. Stop the movie and discuss it with them. Where is the Dad? Dad is an idiot, but the dog is smart. What are they trying to tell us? That if you can’t trust Dad, you should do it yourself. TV shows are sermons. Watch Extreme Makeover. Ask yourself, “What is missing? Why does this family need this house?” None of the families have a Dad! Where’s the Dad? Use the examples that are out there. Work illustrations into the preaching. They know who Posh Spice is, or whoever! I pay attention to your world; now let me tell you about the culture of the Bible. Listen to radio/drive time TV. Know what people are talking about. See who are the teams and tribes. Find your kids My Space page! Find the teens in your church. Facebook and My Space are like a Catholic confessional. Pay attention to the students lives in the church. What are your people reading in blogs?

Magazines have on their cover someone's definition of heaven. Car heaven, six-pack heaven, stereo heaven, photography heaven, etc. Visions of heaven. If you buy the magazine can be delivered from your hell and give you your heaven. Do these things and you will get there. It’s evangelism. How does this work with the Bible? Is that view of heaven they are offering false? Why? What is the underlying need the magazine is trying to address?

People are devoted religiously to hobbies, sports, etc. Go to the mall before the kids do! If shopkeepers are working in the middle of the afternoon they are bored. See what they are selling and buying. Ask questions of the bored store workers. He walked into a teenage girls’ clothing store. He said, “Do you have anything in my size?” He told her the truth, that he is a pastor always looking to learn, who has a daughter who is almost a teenager. “Who shops here? What do they buy?” He walked out understanding more of why girls feel pressured to look a certain way.

Grocery store. Go with the intent of looking at everything. What’s there? What does it tell you? Big organic section means there are more green people. They believe in justification by recycling so you need to have recycling bins at church! Good to learn.

First place—where do they live? Second place—where do they work? Third place—where do they play? Go to where they play. Where they would live if they could afford it! Where do they really want to be?

Do you have a total routine? Repent and stop doing it. Leave early and use it to look around. There are multiple ways to do church work—see what is happening in your neighborhood. His wife asks, “Where are we going?” He says, “Don't worry, we will get there. I’m not lost I am missiological. Interesting! There's new businesses going in here, young families moving in. Pull over and start asking people questions.

This is not British, but that is why the UK is so non-Christian.

Building works asked the foreman, “What’s going on?” Oh, couples leaving, so we’re tearing down some homes and building condos. That’s more people. Start a new community group there and welcome them into the neighborhood. What is happening?

Speak to parents. What is happening to the kids? Talk to the people who talk to the people. Ask the cashier questions. Who comes in here? Who’s the weirdest person who ever comes in here? Talk to the people in service economy. They see hundreds of thousands of people all week. They see the real deal!

What’s going on lately at the bank? Was told people are freaking out. Checks bouncing. Well, maybe we should do seminars on money then! Always look for new opportunities.

Start an evening service for new people. They had five services where he preached live, but that felt like being hit by a truck. So they went down to four services, which now feels like being hit by a car! Services at 8:30 at night are packed and people even show up late! People who are out last night won’t get up for a 9 a.m. service. He pastors people publicly by text message, i.e. asks questions anonymously. Someone once asked, “I have been raped, can I get an abortion?”

Consider everybody in your church. It’s okay to be family friendly, have a great kids program, help your marriage. But if you’re not careful, singles may get the impression that you don't want them, don't need them, don't like them. Now there are more unmarried than married people! These days being married to a woman and having children is countercultural. If someone who is the product of an abused home walks in, etc., it’s not about trying to maintain a good family.

When preaching through the book of Ruth, Mars Hill showed great growth at that time. They had to turn 300 people away from one of their services! Is your church welcoming, friendly, a hospital to those people? Or is it all married couples and families?

Missional church contends and contextualizes. Jude says “Contend for the faith.” What are we going to fight over? What’s in the closed hand? You guys love the Bible, Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the poor, the lost, church planting. Keep that! Fight for them! But also contextualize. By ALL MEANS save as MANY people as possible. Do it for the sake of the gospel. Open the door to your church as broadly as you can without compromising. Use technology, etc.

We are NOT trying to make Christianity relevant, but rather are showing that it IS ALREADY relevant.

If a teenage girl tells you she lost her virginity to her father, the gospel IS relevant to her, but she needs to be shown HOW it is. So said I need to speak to you about expiation. “I’ve no idea about what that means!” Took some time, showed her that what was done to her the Bible calls a sin, a horrific evil. Fathers are privileged to carry the name father and carry it with nobility and honor. What has happened to you is shocking. What did you do afterwards? Took a shower because I felt dirty. You were defiled. The Bible says there is sin that is done by us and against us. And sin does make us dirty. “I will always feel dirty.” Jesus is God. He came to earth, was abused and beaten and tormented and shamed. He was humiliated and tortured. He can sympathize with you. God was sinned against. Jesus went to the cross and they killed him. But he forgives our sin AND cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1). She said, “I feel totally ashamed.” Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame. Jesus died not only to forgive you, but to cleanse you from the sins against you. That shower was an effort for you to cleanse yourself, but it can’t cleanse your soul, your identity, your femininity. The gospel was relevant to her! She responded immediately. Driscoll said to her, “Choose to see yourself as Jesus does. You need Jesus so you can be cleansed, pure, and wear white!”

We don't MAKE Jesus relevant; we show how he already IS relevant.

Here are some notes from the sermon I preached this past Sunday at Jubilee Church in Enfield Cineworld. You can download the audio or listen to it online in the following player:



I began by sharing the story of a mother who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and refused the abortion she was offered in order to give the gift of life to her daughter.

She told her husband, "If I am going to die, my baby is going to live."

Said her husband after she had died, "She knew all too well she didn't have long to live. So she put little Liam's life before her own."

Full story in the Telegraph.

The sermon is based on Philippians 2. The notes are very much just an outline, but they are nearly identical to the notes from which I preached. I have been experimenting with preaching from shorter notes, so I hope they will still at least make some sense to you. If not, you will just have to listen to the message itself.

We will come later in the book to the ultimate goal for living—to know Jesus. But one key way we express our love for God is by loving each other and the world. Jesus said in John 13:35: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

It is this love for each other that I am going to call "living for the good of others."

What is our motivation to live for the good of others?

"Because of" (verses 1-2) NOT “if” — but “assuming there is”

• Encouragement in Christ (paraklesis) ;
• Comfort from love (paramythion) ;
• Participation in the Spirit (koinonia);
• Affection (splanchon – spleen - bowels!) ;
• Sympathy.

Also, we do this to complete our leader's joy!

What does living for others look like? (verses 2-5 and others)

• The same mind (agreement).
  
• The same love (warmth, compassion, undertanding).
  
• Full accord “with united souls” (a combination of the two above – i. e. TRUTH AND LOVE).
• One mind (not clones, but scratch us and we bleed the same way).
  
• NO rivalry or conceit = opposite = poor me 'no one talks' versus living for self.
  
• Humility, NOT Mariah Heap “ever so 'umble.”
  
• Count others more significant than yourselves.
  
• Look out, not only for your own interests, but for those of others = being kind to others. “IF ONLY EVERYONE WAS LIKE THAT.” JESUS WOULD BE LIKE THAT.
  
• Do all things without grumbling or questioning (verse 14).
  
• We are to do EVERYTHING for the good of others, not ourselves (e.g. ministry, workplace, etc.). CHOICES FOR THEIR BENEFIT ARE NOT EASIEST!
  
• Genuinely concerned for your welfare (verse 20).
  
• They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ (verse 21).

How and why do we do it? Mixed in!!! (READ verses 5-13.)

• Constant refrain - “IN CHRIST.” This mind is in Christ—ours by union with him and by following his example.
  
• MODEL = DO LIKEWISE. He who lived and died for others.
  
• We have PURPOSE!
  
• CHOICES—He didn't grasp his right of equality. he laid his rights down.
  
• Made himself nothing, rather than self-fullfillment or getting that promotion.
  
• Made himself like us, not holding himself aloof as superior (e.g. racism).
  
• Became obedient—not independent. JOURNEY FROM HEAVEN TO THE CROSS.
  
• Sacrificed himself for us—not just his preferences, but his life! — OUR CHOICES.
  
• Another reason here is because God raises the humble up.
  
• James 4:6—But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
  
• Matthew 23:12—"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
  
• Because we need to learn to OBEY this Lord over all! CHOOSE TO FOLLOW.
  
• Lloyd-Jones: Best summary of the Christian life is to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (verses 12-13).
  
• BY LOVING GOD, EACH OTHER, AND THE WORLD.

For the unbeliever, it's no use to just try and live like this. You need the Jesus who died for you and was raised for you to come and live in you and empower you.

I was glad to receive this e-mail from a regular reader who disagrees with some of what I said recently about abortion and Gordon Brown's position.

Dear Adrian,

As a regular reader of your blog, I am pleased that you are highlighting the issue of abortion. You may also be interested in this video of Peter Saunders.

However, I disagree with you about whether this should be party political issues.

You said — "This is based on the fundamental principle that the people of the UK do not elect parties, they elect individuals to serve them, and on moral questions those representatives are best placed to make those judgment calls."

I would like to see political parties taking a stance [on] abortion like in America. Without this, I don't see much [chance] of dramatically changing the law on abortion.

I think the USA can make a better claim to saying that they elect individuals rather than parties.

In the United States, I think people [can] exercise greater choice over who there (sic) elected representatives are. For example, in the Florida presidential primaries held this year, about 1.89 million people voted for Republican candidates, and about 1.67 million people voted for Democratic candidates—meaning over 3,570,128 people voted in a PRIMARY election [1], out of a population of 18.25 million [2] — around 20% of the total population — the population eligible to vote would be smaller.

In contrast, when David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party, he got just 134,446 votes. [3] Mike Huckabee came 4th in the Florida primary, but got roughly double the number of votes in Florida alone that David Cameron got in total in his leadership election. [1]

In terms of selection for parliamentary seats — primaries for the US Congress can get [a] turnout of around 10% or 20%. [4, 5] In contrast, MPs have been selected as the candidate for safe Conservative seats with just 0.3% Conservative voters voting for them. [6]

In summary, I think the general US population has far greater say in who the candidates of the main parties are. People don't just vote between the two or three people with a chance of winning the election.

I believe that elections in the UK are more based on party (as opposed to individual) than they are in the USA — after all, the leader of the biggest party in the UK is the prime minister, without necessarily having been elected to that office himself (e.g. Gordon Brown now and John Major until 1992).

US primaries mean that voters get a say in the position of the candidates at election. For example, even though the Republican Party campaigns on a pro-life party platform, [7] Republican primary voters had the choice to select a range of presidential candidates, from the strongly pro-life Mike Huckabee to the pro-choice Rudy Giuliani. I believe that Rudy Giuliani's pro-choice views [8] contributed to his failure to win the Republican nomination, and has ensured that the Republican candidate is relatively more pro-life than the Democratic candidate.

If we had a better "primary" system in Britain, then there [would be] a better chance that candidates for a political party would reflect the views of the party grassroots. This means pro-life Conservatives could have a better chance of ensuring that the Conservative candidate was pro-life — as I think happens to some extent with the Republican party in the USA.

Currently, however, we have to vote for the better party, and no party is clearly better on abortion. I want the parties to take a clear stance [on] the issue of abortion so that I can vote for the party that I agree with. The Labour government is introducing damaging legislation (from a pro-life perspective), but consistently seems to argue that this should not lose them votes. In 2005, after Michael Howard expressed personal support for lowering the abortion limit to 20 weeks, Tony Blair appeared to argue that if you are pro-life, then there shouldn't be a way for this to affect your vote — arguing that abortion should not be an election issue. [9]

It could be argued that given low turnout at candidate selection election in the UK, there is more chance for a small group of party members to influence a parties (sic) position on a particular issue. However, there are also concerns about how democratic selection of MEP candidates for the Conservative Party is — where the candidates do not necessarily represent the views of party supporters (e.g. on attitudes on the EU).[10]

A vote for the Conservative Party may be marginally better than a vote for Labour on pro-life issues — as some senior Tory MP support more restrictions on abortion.[11] However, a vote for the Conservative Party is not a vote for a pro-life party. There seems to be little chance of any government (including a Conservative one) ending abortion soon.

If the Conservatives (or another party) took a pro-life stance, there would be a clear electoral way to change the law on abortion. Currently I don't know know how I could vote to end abortion unless I happen to be in a constituency with a strongly pro-life candidate.

In contrast, a vote for John McCain in America could realistically result in appointments to the Supreme Court that would result in Roe vs Wade being overturned. [12] This would not end abortion in America, but it would be real progress.

Best wishes,
Ben

References

[1] Voting Figures for Florida Primaries
http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#FL

[2] Population Figures for Florida
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida

[3] David Cameron's Election as Conservative Party Leader
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4502652.stm

[4] 2000 Virginia Congressional Primary
http://www2.sbe.virginia.gov/web_docs/election/results/2000/jun_primary/pj00_dis_turnout.html

[5] New Orleans Primaries for U.S. House of Representatives
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/congressional_primary_saturday.html

[6] Selection of Conservative Candidate for Cambridgeshire North East
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2008/01/cambridgeshire.html

[7] Republic Party Advertising Their Pro-Life Positions
http://faithandvalues.gop.com/GroupPage.aspx?

[8] Justin Taylor on Concern From Pro-Life Christians About the Chances of Rudy Giuliani Being the Republican Presidential Nominee
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2007/10/guiliani-vs-clinton-what-should-pro.html

[9] Tony Blair on Voting About Abortion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4349581.stm

[10] Complaints About the Conservative Party MEP Selection Process
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2008/04/the-story-of-ho.html

[11] Senior Tories Promise to Vote for Lower Abortion Limit
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/2008/05/senior-tories-p.html

[12] Justin Taylor Notes That Voting for John McCain is the Best Hope of Limiting Abortion
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/02/dobson-on-mccain.html

Earlier this week, I posted on Gordon Brown's antagonism towards pro-lifers. I thought I would remind us of the opportunity that exists for us to do something about the forthcoming law if we live in the UK. There have been 6.7 million abortions since 1967 in the UK.


Here are some things you can do if you live in the UK.

1. PRAY, that God will work a miracle in the House. Emotions run high at the moment in Westminster so anything is possible. Well, actually even our non-British readers can do this for us!

2. FIND OUT MORE about the issues. The following websites are worth visiting

• Alive and Kicking 
  
• Christian Medical Fellowship
• SPUC
• Passion for Life
• Parliamentary Pro-Life Group
• BBC on Abortion Debate.
• Netdoctor page on Abortion in the UK.

I also preached on the subject of murder and how abortion is simply that a few weeks back.  I also speak of the forgiveness that is available for any who have actually had an abortion themselves.

3. LOOK UP YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT'S VOTING RECORD.

4. WRITE TO YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT I attach the letter I wrote to my MP. If I get a reply I will share it here. Please do not simply copy and paste my letter, but feel free to use it as a basis to adapt.

Dear MP,

May I begin by thanking your for what I understand has been your voting record in the matter of abortion. As a medical doctor I have been in lectures where it has been openly stated that "every pregnancy is bad for a mothers health" and so therefore they see it is ok to offer social abortions "on demand". I do not believe that was the intention of the original abortion law. I would therefore ask you that with regard to the forthcoming Embryo bill, you would consider

Voting against the creation of animal/human hybrid embryos. Such a move is not medically necessary as adult stem cell research is productive and it is already possible to create cells that express single human proteins.

Voting against offering permission for IVF doctors to create "saviour siblings" chosen specifically to provide donor tissue to their sick older brother or sister. This devalues the lives of the embryos discarded.

Voting against the removal of the requirement for IVF clinics to consider the need for a father figure when deciding whether to offer treatment. Insufficient work has been done on the psychological impact of being raised without a father figure at least peripherally present in a child's life. We should not be further undermining the family in this way.

Voting against the removal of the requirement that doctors sign a form stating that an abortion is in the interest of a woman’s health. This requirement should instead by enforced and specific criteria to limit abortion to its original intent should be enacted. In the absence of a total ban on abortion I am in favor of any effort to remedy the current situation where it is available to anyone irrespective of their circumstances.

Voting in favor of the reduction to the term limit for abortion from 24 weeks to 20, saving 2,948 of the 193,000 lives taken by abortion each year in the UK.

I would be happy to speak with you further about any of these issues, and wish you success in your efforts to represent this area.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Adrian Warnock
http://adrianwarnock.com

5. WRITE TO THE PRIME MINISTER Here is what I wrote, but again please adapt this letter to make it personal.

Dear Mr Brown,

I am writing to express my anger and disappointment that you would overturn the tradition that matters of morality are not appropriate for the use of the Whip. I know you have allowed your MPs a free vote on certain amendments of the forthcoming Embryo legislation. I urge you to stop your vocal support of the whole law which is I believe immoral and allow your party the freedom to vote with their conscience. I also urge you to allow more time for the important debates on this matter.

Yours

Adrian Warnock
http://adrianwarnock.com

6.  Sign a petition at the Alive and Kicking website or at Number 10 where the following are open

• Childs right to a father
  
• End Abortion.

Okay—political post warning. For those who think Christians should not engage in the political process or write political commentary, I suppose you’d better pass on by. But equally for those looking for an unequivocal statement of support for a particular party or leader, again pass on by.

I think it’s important that we have opinions on political matters. And while I don’t often write about politics here on my blog, I have done so occasionally. For example, last December I expressed my strong concerns about the leadership ability of Gordon Brown, who is our current prime minister. Since then, even a member of his own party has claimed that Brown was put on earth to remind us all of how good Tony Blair was. There have also been no fewer than three sets of memoirs published that haven’t exactly portrayed him very well, and there have been a string of mistakes he has made which have been well catalogued in the British media.

What I want to highlight today is a serious blow to the very heart of our political system. It has always been the case that on matters of conscience, such as morality, our political parties do not have official policy. There is an unwritten agreement that members of Parliament and the Lords will always be given a free vote on such matters as abortion and embryo experimentation. This is based on the fundamental principle that the people of the UK do not elect parties, they elect individuals to serve them, and on moral questions those representatives are best placed to make those judgment calls. This has had a number of effects. It has not meant that we necessarily have more moral laws. What it does mean is that, unlike the U.S., where it seems such things are decided by unelected lawyers in the Supreme Court, if we want the law changed all we have to do is elect the right people.

Since the right people in the UK do not necessarily belong to particular political parties, it has also had the result that Christians are far less wedded to the Conservative party than their counterparts in the U.S. are to the Republicans. In fact, many Christians would have voted for Tony Blair, who was known as a man of some faith (which is perhaps relatively unusual in our politicians). Many Christians in the UK are, however, still rather detached from the political system, which is arguably as much a bad thing as being overly embroiled in it.

Gordon Brown risks awakening a sleeping bear in our nation for he has turned the status quo on its head. Despite howls of protest, even from some of his cabinet members (some of whom are Catholic), he is making a certain bill before the house currently into what is called a “whipped” bill for members of his party. The other parties are still allowing freedom of conscience.

Brown initially stated that his party would be forced to vote in favor of every provision in the act. Now, in true Brown style, he has climbed down, but only in a meaningless partial and tokenistic way. His members will be allowed to vote with their conscience on individual portions of the bill, but then if the portions are passed, when the bill as a whole comes before them they will be forced to vote in favor irrespective of their religious or ethical convictions. He is also being criticized for placing very short time limits on the debates over these vital issues.

This all sets a dangerous precedent, and is very worrying to Christians, especially considering the provisions being considered, which are as follows:

• The creation of animal/human hybrid embryos.
  
  
• Permission for IVF doctors to create "saviour siblings" chosen specifically to provide donor tissue to their sick older brother or sister.
  
  
• Removal of the requirement for IVF clinics to consider the need for a father figure when deciding whether to offer treatment.
  
  
• Removal of the requirement that doctors sign a form stating that an abortion is in the interest of a woman’s health.
  
  
• Reduction to the term limit for abortion from 24 weeks to 20, saving 2,948 of the 193,000 lives taken by abortion each year in the UK.

Please pray that there will be a miraculous turnaround and that somehow we might be delivered from these things becoming law (except perhaps the last one, which is, of course, a step in the right direction).

Here are notes from a sermon I preached on the 27^th April at Jubilee Church. The mp3 is available to download here or listen to using the following embedded player-

“You shall not murder.” (Ex 20:13)

Ok, right at the outset, do we have any murderers here? No? Anyone planning on committing a murder? No? Good, so then we can all go home, yes? We got it straight, since we live in a Christian country means its Chicken for dinner tonight rather than human. Lets go get some coffee.

Actually there is some more to this commandment than first meets the eye.

No careless killing ESV footnote "also causing human death through carelessness or negligence" so see for example Ex 21:28-29 “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.”

Deuteronomy 22:8: “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring blood-guilt on your house if anyone falls from it.”

Risk assessment is biblical! “[The Jew] was to do everything humanly possible not to cause the death of another person” -The Master's Seminary, Master's Seminary Journal Volume 11, 11:206 (Master's Seminary, 2000; 2003).

- Therefore, human life is precious we should take good care of it. Every human is made in Gods image and therefore worth looking after. It is the Christian faith that teaches us we are not just the outcome of millions of years of chance reactions. We don't kill because life itself is a gift of God. We should also support initiatives that reduce the risk of death or serious injury.

eg car and road safety - 1 in 200 risk of dying on the roads! So driving at no more than 30 mph in built up areas is a good idea due to the dramatic risk of death if hit faster. 95% live if hit at 20mph, 90% die at 40mph. Also wear seat belts, pay for proper maintenance, and buy the safest car you can afford.

-also health measures, smoking in public bans is good as it will lead to less premature death. Form of Russian Roulette – 50% will die prematurely loosing ave of 16 years of precious God-given life. In country after country smoking bans have led to dramatic drops in the rates of heart attacks – 17% in Scotland for example in one year. Christians should support the provision of good health care and also simple social changes that can make massive impact by saving lives. Especially in developing world eg lack of clean water.

However, although this commandment applies to careless killing, there were clear distinctions made in the punishment depending on the intent “(1) the weapon used, (2) the enmity of the killer toward his victim, and (3) premeditation” (Numbers 35. 16–24) -The Master's Seminary, Master's Seminary Journal Volume 11, 11:205 (Master's Seminary, 2000; 2003).

Similar rules are still used today.

What other things that might be called murder?

-We have seen that negligence such as careless fighting or driving, is surely potential murder by the broader hebraic definition. But what of some areas that may be less clear to some. Lets be very clear here -

-Euthanasia or so-called “mercy killing”- so far even the unbelievers cannot bring themselves to legalize this in the UK. How could we know someone really understood what they were asking for and weren't coerced or depressed? Bible simply says "no killing". This surely even applies to some of the grey areas being discussed such as removing food and drink via tubes from brain damaged.

-Assisting Suicide remains illegal, but what about neglecting to prevent it?. Psychiatric services should be used appropriately... sadly the quality of our services vary. But people have a right to be treated against their will when they pose a danger to themselves and are not in their right minds.

-Abortion? We all agree that life exists after birth. We believe it is wrong to murder a newborn baby. So surely life exists just before. When then does it start? There is no logic to our current term limits for abortion- loosely based on when a child might survive "independently" outside the womb. But when technology improves will that mean the date changes? And, since a baby is not truly "independent" are they less fully human?

Our question should simply be is this a human? Does he or she have the image of God? If so we must protect, not kill. John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mothers womb whom when he met Jesus (Luke 1:44) and Psalm 139 makes plain God saw us and knew us there as he knit us together.

-Contraception? Pre conception fine, anything that definitely acts post conception is clearly not. Some methods are controversial as to their mode of action (eg oral contraceptive pill, coil etc). Christians should examine the evidence for themselves, pray, seek advice if needed then make the decision their conscience is happy with.

-IVF? Christians undergoing this procedure may wish to speak with their doctors about the fate of so-called "spare" embryos. Although they are routinely discarded, this need not be the case.

-War? The police? Romans 13.1-4 "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”

In the end this boils down to a simple question. If you were holding an armed gun, and had a chance to kill someone who was definitely about to kill another, would you be wrong to pull that trigger? The balance of the bible strongly suggests that you would not be wrong to do that.

So far, though, for the vast majority of us, none of this will have touched us. Perhaps there are some in the room who have had an abortion, if so, please bear with me as there is forgiveness for you as we will explain later.

But for the rest of us there is a danger that we will feel morally superior and proud of ourselves. So we haven't murdered... Big deal! If we think that makes us worthy of praise by God we are deluded!

Jesus punctures that bubble by saying “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5.21-24

Words can kill!

“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” 1 Jn 3:15

“It is not only the act, but also the sentiment underlying the act, which is evil” - Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, Map on lining papers., 2044 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1988).

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning” Jn 8:44

Actual murder is just the extension of anger and bitterness. Billy Grahams wife was once asked if she had ever considered divorce during their long marriage her answer- "divorce, NO! Murder, YES!"

If murder is sometimes the ultimate punishment for some imagined harm done by its victim, forgiveness is the opposite. Far from merely not murdering our enemies, God calls us to love them and forgive them.

We are told to forgive as we have been forgiven and warned that he will not forgive us if we do not forgive others.

Christians should be recognized as those who practice the reverse of murder. If murder is treating someone as sub-human and a less valuable object then the opposite is surely thinking of others as more important than you and selflessly loving them expecting nothing in return.

You can't murder someone you love. Jesus said love fulfills the law - love God covers the first few commandments, love your neighbor covers the rest.

God is the ultimate forgiver. We see this in the sad story of King David. We see the king who is described as the man after Gods own heart that the smallest sin can grow to become a major one. Most murders happen as a result of an argument between for example husband and wife. It is even possible that by causing us to stop and realize how dangerous anger is that this sermon might prevent a future murder.

Owen once said “be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

In Davids case, laziness led to a roaming eye. In our day he'd have visited certain websites or the top shelf at the news-agent. Then, he went on the roof to catch a glance at a woman bathing. That led to adultery. That led to deception and trickery. That led to murder.

Sin is sin. We stand before God bankrupt. When you are bankrupt it doesn't really matter if you owe a few thousands or a few million. You simply can never pay. An eternity in hell facing the wrath of God wont wipe away our sins.

The scandal of the cross is that on it, a man was murdered. Without removing the moral responsibility for that act, and the fact that we are all guilty of killing the son of God....ultimately there was something else going on.

The cross was a judicial killing. God the Almighty poured out his righteous wrath and punishment on his son. Jesus paid our debt. Not only did he cancel our debts, he credited our account with his righteousness. If you are a christian this morning he is as pleased with you not just as if you never sinned but just as if you were always righteous or put another way he is as thrilled with you as he is with Jesus!

Murderers are Invited to become Christians. Why? Because God can even forgive murderers, So he can forgive you.

Up until now, I have mostly resisted getting drawn into commenting on US politics. I still think I probably won't do too many of these kinds of posts — I've always thought it was none of my business! But tell me, my fair readers, do you want me to talk more about all this?

I thought yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Court upholding the ban on partial birth abortion would throw the upcoming presidential election into sharp relief, and I was right. Here’s what some of the candidates had to say:


DEMOCRAT

• Hillary Clinton — "This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman's right to choose and recognized the importance of women's health. Today's decision blatantly defies the Court's recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account. It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito."
  
  
• Joe Biden — No comment yet.
  
  
• Chris Dodd — No comment yet.
  
  
• John Edwards — "I could not disagree more strongly with today's Supreme Court decision. The ban upheld by the Court is an ill-considered and sweeping prohibition that does not even take account for serious threats to the health of individual women. This hard right turn is a stark reminder of why Democrats cannot afford to lose the 2008 election. Too much is at stake — starting with, as the Court made all too clear today, a woman's right to choose.”
  
  
• Mike Gravel — No comment yet.
  
  
• Dennis Kucinich — No comment yet.
  
  
• Barak Obama — "I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman’s medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women."

REPUBLICAN

• Sam Brownback — "I'm delighted that the Supreme Court is moving forward to see the expression of life in the Constitution. I hope that some day we’ll see all life respected at all stages and protected in this land and around the world."
  
  
• John Cox — "Against abortion and for life without any exceptions. Life begins at conception."
  
  
• Rudy Giuliani — "The Supreme Court reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion. I agree with it."
  
  
• Duncan Hunter — No comment yet.
  
  
• John McCain — "Today's Supreme Court ruling is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life and integrity of the judiciary. The ruling ensures that an unacceptable and unjustifiable practice will not be carried out on our innocent children. It also clearly speaks to the importance of nominating and confirming strict constructionist judges who interpret the law as it is written, and do not usurp the authority of Congress and state legislatures. As we move forward, it is critically important that our party continues to stand on the side of life."
  

• Ron Paul — No comment yet.
  
  
• Mitt Romney — "Today, our nation's highest court reaffirmed the value of life in America by upholding a ban on a practice that offends basic human decency. This decision represents a step forward in protecting the weakest and most innocent among us."
  
  
• Tom Tancredo — "Congressman Tom Tancredo (R- CO) rejoiced over today’s Supreme Court decision, ending partial birth abortions. In these abortions, usually performed late in a pregnancy, the infant’s skull is crushed and extracted from the womb. Today the Supreme Court put an end to this barbaric practice of infanticide, Tancredo said. One can only hope this is the first step towards ending the tragedy of abortions. This ruling, won by a 5-4 margin, is the first major victory for pro-life activists since Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito were appointed to the Supreme Court. Both of them voted in the majority, along with Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy. Congressman Tancredo concluded by saying, 'I am pleased the Court has finally begun to address the moral and intellectual travesty of Roe vs. Wade.'"
  
  
• Tommy Thompson — "I commend the United States Supreme Court for upholding the nation’s ban on partial-birth abortions. This decision sends a clear message that the United States values life and has no tolerance for this gruesome, abhorrent way to take a life. There is no place for partial-birth abortions in this country, and I am pleased the court upheld the law passed by Congress."

The definition of when "life" enters a baby who is in the womb is a challenge for anyone who believes that it is at a different point from conception or at least implantation. The common alternative view is that it is when a baby is "viable". The following story reveals the moving goalposts of this. Of course, if we accept this moving goalpost as a definition, we are bound to eventually find that an artificial womb is created that can sustain life from the moment of conception to birth. It really isn't too difficult to imagine that — after all, all the baby needs is a supply of nutrients and oxygen delivered to its placenta. We have artificial lungs and hearts already, as well as IV feeds. In, say fifty years' time, when such a device has been created, will our secular ethicists start to argue alongside the Christians that a baby developing in the womb is "alive" and deserves protection under law from the very beginning?

"A baby has been born at one day less than 22 weeks gestation, has survived, and is doing well. This birth may have significant ramifications for abortion law because it reduces the time of viability to just over half a normal gestation period. It may impact futile care theory and the occasional attempts to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment for prematurely born babies. The birth could affect personhood theory, at least for those who refuse to depersonalize born infants, because it could materially alter their moral view of the moral worth of later-stage fetuses. So, welcome to the world, Amillia Sonja Taylor. Your birth might become a significant event for expanding the perception of who qualifies to be in the human family." (Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke)

If you'd like to read some commentary on the issue, here's the link to NewsBusters that talks about the media's reporting of it.

UPDATE
In January 2008, the following post was identified as the 23rd all-time most popular post with readers of this blog. The 24th most widely read post was my interview with Rob Rufus—you can access either the audio version or the written transcript.

It was very interesting to get the inside story on what it's like to be a female deacon working at Mark Driscoll's church—Mars Hill in Seattle, Washington.


***************

It is a pleasure to welcome to my blog today, Wendy Alsup, who is a member of Mars Hill Church Seattle—led by Mark Driscoll. Wendy is a mother of two, and Deacon in charge of Women's Theology and Training. There has been a lot of controversy about Mark Driscoll in the blogosphere, so I thought it would be great to get an insider's look at what it is like to be a member of the church he leads. For more information see my interview with Mark Driscoll, his blog or the new look Mars Hill Church website – their video section is especially cool. In part 1 we focused on finding out a bit more about Wendy and the church she attends. In part 2 we looked at what Mars Hill does to maintain a sense of community. Part 3 looked at the church’s emphasis on theology. Today I conclude by asking Wendy more about what ministry looks like at Mars Hill.

Adrian
Clearly it sounds like the Bible is highly valued at Mars Hill. It is often said that many churches seem almost as though they have chosen between being a "Word" church or being a "Spirit" church—do you feel that is true in the case of your church?

Wendy
H-m-m-m-m . . . that's curious. That is a very unbiblical concept. When Christ first instructs on the Spirit's coming, he says the Spirit will not speak his own, but will bring to remembrance the teachings of Christ. So the evidence that the Spirit is at work is that Christ, the Logos, is lifted up—which means a true "Spirit" church must be a "Word" church. I think the Spirit is working mightily at Mars Hill because I see Christ's name lifted up and lives transformed, and I know that only happens through the Spirit's quickening.

Adrian
What does the ministry of Mars Hill feel like behind closed doors? Mark Driscoll says things like, "I am a charismatic, but not that sort of charismatic." Just how charismatic would the church feel to the average member who is fully involved in the life of the church?

Wendy
I grew up in a non-charismatic background and was initially skeptical of switching my views on this—even once I was convinced from Scripture that the gifts are still for today. Maybe I was subconsciously afraid of being personally slain in the spirit during a service. :-) Then I began to slowly realize that many of my most respected friends at church quietly practiced charismatic gifts, but did so in a private way that seemed consistent with Scripture. My respect for them eased my skepticism and concern. Overall, it's not a big deal around church.

Behind closed doors, Mars Hill is not dominated by any personality. It is simply a bunch of humble believers doing their best to control the chaos. It reminds me of the old Super Bowl commercials of the company that built a plane while it was flying, and another where the company likened themselves to cat herders. There is no time to become territorial, and no room to etch an empire. We're all hanging on for dear life, but loving it at the same time. We've grown by nearly 4000 people in just the four and a half years I've attended. That's crazy! The testimonies of transformed lives bring me to tears again and again, and makes all of it worthwhile.

Adrian
What can you tell us about what it's like to be a woman on staff at Mars Hill?

Wendy
I am not technically on staff—I’m a volunteer and do most of my work from home. Our church does employ a number of female deacons, and we have many more who volunteer their time and energy. We have a wonderful group of elders who are very sensitive to the needs of women in the church and are very humble, gracious servants of Christ. It's been an honor and blessing to work with them. In particular, any time I've approached an elder with a women's issue that concerns me, they always receive my concern and work willingly with me to address it. But we do believe that women can't be elders, and that wives need to submit to their husbands. And for some people, no matter how you explain it biblically, they take that to be synonymous with female oppression. The reality is that Mars Hill is filled with strong women who search the Scriptures and know the Word. But, Lord willing, our strength is submitted to God's control. We're called to be gentle, not weak, helpers, not doormats. Gentleness implies tempered strength. Babies aren't gentle—babies are weak. But when an adult who has the strength to crush the baby instead cradles them in their arms, that's gentleness. That's what God has called us to be as women. Strength under God's control. I'm very impressed with the strength, character, and theological depth of the women at Mars Hill. I'm also impressed with the way our leadership receives and develops the gifts among our women.

Adrian
Can you tell me a bit more about the elders of the church and how they practically express their sensitivity to the members of the church and women in particular?

Wendy
Our elders are humble men who are both fiercely loyal to the mission and completely disloyal to particular methods. They have done a good job of herding the cats, so to speak, with a firm but gentle hand. They'll give a divisive person a swift kick in the pants without hesitation, and turn around to put their arm around the homeless guy with bruises on his face who comes through the church door during a service (I literally witnessed this once). We have a lot of single women whose fathers' have abdicated their responsibilities to them, and a lot of single moms whose husbands have done the same. Our elders are especially sensitive to the needs of both groups. If there is a woman at Mars Hill who has been abandoned or abused by her mate, our elders have trained the church members to take seriously their responsibilities toward her.

Adrian
Which Christian women do you take most of your personal inspiration from—either inside or outside your own church?

Wendy
Elisabeth Elliot is one of my female heroes of the faith. I recently reread The Path of Loneliness and was again impressed by my need to die to myself at every stage of life. Inside our church, several of our elders' wives continually exhort, rebuke, and encourage me. One in particular is probably a decade younger than me, but she is willing to ask the hard questions and confront me when I need it. I never leave her presence without feeling the need to examine myself and my motives in an effort to pursue singular devotion to Christ. Most of all, my sister is my best friend in Christ. She was recently divorced, but instead of becoming bitter toward her ex-husband, she has kept her face on God. She is my personal hero of the faith. She constantly reminds me of my need of consistent Bible study and prayer, is honest about her sinfulness, keeps a short account with God, and is determined by God's grace to raise her two boys to love Jesus. If I ever did stray from the faith, I know she'd recognize it immediately and rebuke me quickly.

Adrian
So far, in what you are describing to me, I'm getting the picture of a church full of men and women who are eagerly studying God's Word. With such a large church and only one main preacher, do you find some people feel frustrated that there might not seem to be an outlet for all this knowledge they are gathering? Or are there a lot of other areas where people can serve?

Wendy
There are a BUNCH of areas where people can serve. We're growing exponentially in numbers of attendees, but linearly in spiritual depth. Growth in Christ is slow and steady. You can't mature people overnight, so we constantly need mature leaders to minister to the needs of the people coming. We have a growing number of grace groups, which are basically accountability groups addressing various sin issues. Post-abortion. Sexual addiction. Drug addiction. And a large number dealing with the after-effects of sexual, verbal, or physical abuse. We also have a growing number of community groups looking for leaders. So, no, there shouldn't be much frustration that there is nowhere one can be used.

Adrian
Do you feel there are any disadvantages in being part of such a large church? Many Christians feel that the best kind of church is a smaller one where you can know everyone. What would you say to them?

Wendy
A smaller church is wonderful IF it is growing. We attended a smaller church in South Carolina and loved it. It was like a portal for ministry. People would come there and grow and then be sent out for ministry in other areas of the States or internationally. It was a church of maybe 400, but in the few years we were there, they sent out four couples to Seattle, another couple to plant a church in Florida, missionary couples to Spain and England, and those are just the ones that come to mind right now.

In a large church, you certainly have to work harder to build community. It's a constant battle to assimilate new people. I feel for single women who attend Mars Hill for the first time. It is surely intimidating and easy to get lost in the crowd. But if they can muster up the courage to approach the Welcome Desk, they'll meet helpful people who will direct them to the community group table. There they can find contact information for small groups meeting near their neighborhood. It takes one more burst of courage to knock on the door of the community group leader's house. But once the door is opened, they should find welcoming arms ready to make them feel at home and part of the Body. I remember knocking the first time on the door of the community group in our area. We had been attending Mars Hill for maybe a month. We got the time wrong and arrived thirty minutes early. The wife's hair was wet when she answered the door, but she welcomed us warmly, ushered us in to sit in front of the fireplace, hugged us when we left, and it was all downhill from there. :-)

Adrian
Well, our time is nearly up. What would you like to say to my female readers—some of whom may be finding it really hard to juggle a job, motherhood, and any kind of significant involvement in a local church?

Wendy
Simplify your life in every way possible. If you can walk away from outside employment, do it. I keep my baby toe in the door at the community college (I teach one class online from home) because it requires very little of me (having already developed the course) and it keeps me involved in the community near our newest church location. But I'd lose my sanity quickly if I did any more. Also, don't compare yourself to other ladies in your church. You don't have to keep up with them—just be a help to YOUR husband. When you find your identity in Christ and sufficiency in Him, friends can be sources of encouragement rather than competition for Best Wife/Mother of the Year. One of the most helpful things I ever did was to ask my husband what HE needed. His reply was so freeing. He didn't care that I had a three-course meal with coordinating dessert on the table every night. He needed the kids safe and cared for, and clean socks and T-shirts for himself. And that was about it. Instead, he'd come home to find a stressed wife because I was doing all the things I THOUGHT he wanted, when all he really wanted was a content wife he could talk with honestly about work. I'm learning to be a help to him based on his real needs and not the ones I conjure up for him based on my ideas of the ideal wife.

Also, take advantage of anything your church offers with childcare. Mars Hill has a number of women's Bible study groups where the moms pay a college student to baby-sit. Even in small churches, that's an easy setup to maintain. Most importantly, read your Bible, but be content that your personal Bible study at this stage of life will most likely happen in small increments. I started "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" by Jeremiah Burroughs well before my 4-month old son was born. I'm on page 11. I may only have time to read one paragraph, and often I just reread the portions I've already marked—but I know those 11 pages really well. :-) My sister read Desiring God by John Piper by keeping it in her car and reading it while waiting in the car line to pick up her boys from school. My life is five minutes here, ten minutes there, and if I'm lucky, an hour break in the middle of the day when both boys happen to nap at the same time. So I have books all over the house and a Bible in every room. I'm not in a position where I can do intense, deep study on a single issue or text every day. Instead, I consider this stage of life like a survey course—I study a lot of Scripture in small quantities and read a paragraph or single page in a lot of good Christian books. Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot is a good book at this stage of life because it is a compilation of short, separate thoughts full of Scripture. In ten minutes of reading, you have a complete thought about a deep truth from the Word. I try to discipline myself to walk away from whatever I'm reading to meditate on any Scripture presented. You can meditate on Scripture while changing a dirty diaper, as well as sitting in a rocker looking at the mountains. I do most of my meditating over the changing table right now.

Adrian
Thank you so much for joining us—it's been great talking with you!

Wendy
Thank you for the opportunity. We're excited about what God is doing in Seattle, and are always happy to share it.

Wayne Grudem has published an article which is strongly in support of Bush and the Republicans. What is interesting to me as a Brit is that I could never imagine a leading Christian in the UK endorsing a politician this robustly. And yet you are the ones who separate church and state - not us. I can't make up my mind who got it right, but perhaps a nation where church leaders are allowed to publicly speak about their political views is more mature than one where church bishops still sit in the House of Lords, but Christians in the public eye are, in some unwritten rule they all obey, not allowed to express an opionion. Wayne Grudem has an opinion and this is a quote to whet your appetite:

. . . overall I am so very very thankful for an outstanding, I think excellent, President. He has done right. And he is changing world history in a right direction, a direction that will give more freedom for everyone to determine their own governments and their own religion, and (of significance to me as a Christian), more freedom for the proclamation of the gospel around the world, so that people would have a fair chance to hear and consider (but never ever be compelled to accept) that good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What about the Iraq war? It is just that - a war, and wars are not won quickly or easily. We were attacked in an act of war on 9/11, and we had been attacked by similar terrorists many times before that. Finally we are fighting back, against an invisible, very skillful, very evil enemy.

When people complain, 'It’s not going well,' I just think, 'What you are saying is that we haven’t won yet.' But that is because there are still evil people in the world who want to destroy Iraq and eventually destroy Israel and destroy us, and in some countries their governments are not stopping them yet. So this is a huge task, but we have no choice but to go forward. There will only be one side left at the end of this war, and I want it to be us, not the Muslim terrorists.'

It seems to me that what we need as a country is to unite behind the President in this war, not attack every move he makes (isn’t this what a country usually does in war?). For every U.S. soldier who dies there are many times more terrorists who are caught or killed (which I think in light of Rom. 13:4 is the right thing for civil government to do), and the terrorist movements simply cannot and will not continue a losing battle forever. Criticism of the war sounds to me like people are saying, 'There are still some evil people in the world, therefore Bush is a bad President.' That is misguided reasoning, because there will always be evil people in the world, and the God-given solution, according to Rom. 13:1-7, is to prevent them from harming others through the use of superior force by our military and police. That is what President Bush is doing, and I don’t know if anyone else in the world could do any better. (Many nations are not even trying, just sitting back and letting us do the dirty work while they criticize!)

So I think President Bush has done a very good job as President, in an amazingly difficult time.I think if we did not have such a hostile press the President's approval rating might be well above 60%, if people were just aware of all the good this President has done...

So I continue to ask God if he will still hear the prayers of so many millions of his people, who are still seeking after many years to change the Supreme Court so that abortion could be prohibited by law in our country, so that marriage could be protected and the homosexual agenda would be stopped, so that Muslim terrorist attacks against Christians and against the basic human freedom of people to govern themselves could be defeated rather than encouraged around the world, so that true reform and true parental choice could come to our failed public school systems that are robbing millions of poor children of a chance to be productive citizens for their whole lives, so that wise policies concerning the use of the world’s resources could be implemented, so that the tax cuts could be made permanent and even expanded, to further strengthen the economy, and so that the judiciary could be sufficiently reformed that the will of the people, rather than the opinion of judges, would be the determining factor in the laws of our nation. All this and more is at stake, and much of it will become simply impossible if the Democrats take control of either the Senate or the House.

UPDATE
Some of Wayne Grudem's writings are available online. In a sermon preached just before the 2004 election at Covenant Life Church - home to C. J. Mahaney and Joshua Harris, Grudem argues why he feels Christians should speak to political issues. Interestingly, in the sermon he does not mention specific politicians or political parties - perhaps reflecting the difference between speaking as a private citizen or as a preacher of God's Word. Here is a quote to whet your appetite to read this transcript:

The simple fact is, if Christians do not speak out about what the Bible says about issues of right and wrong, there aren’t many other good sources for finding out any transcendent source of ethics, any source outside ourselves. If Christians do not speak about ethical issues, it will be difficult for people ever to know what God considers morally right and morally wrong. Without a clear Christian voice, the nation will be morally adrift, as much of it already is today.

So I think it is right for us to speak up – to say, “This is what the Bible says,” and, “This is how I understand the teachings of the Bible” – and then people can listen, and agree or disagree, but at least we have given a clear witness.

• DaVinci Code: The Dialogue
  Sony Entertainment has provided a site for Christian scholars to respond to the film, which is scheduled to be released on the 19th of May.
  (tags: film)
• Sister . . . Show Mercy!
  Dan Phillips at his best. "I'm about to stick my finger in the fan, about up to my elbow, and I know it. But I really think somebody needs to say this, so why not me?" Sister ... are you dressing as "helpfully" as you could?
  (tags: pyromaniacs sex)
• Reformissionary: Wednesday Highlights
  Recap on Stetzer, Harris, and Keller talks. Josh Harris on "humble orthodoxy": (1) Teach the truth faithfully; (2) Live the truth faithfully; (3) Represent the truth humbly."
  (tags: culture driscoll gospel)
• Chris Gonzalez - Reform and Resurge Notes
  The Gospel is: " (1) I am more wicked than I ever dared believe. (2) I am more loved than I ever dared hope."
  (tags: culture driscoll gospel)
• Today's Lunch Conversation with the Lovely Daughter
  "Women have this remarkable creative instinct when it comes to creating work for their men. Of course, I suppose I should admit that we men have a remarkable creative instinct when it comes to avoiding work-we're all Dagwood Bumstead's at heart."
  (tags: children humor jollyblogger work)
• Mark Driscoll's Interview with Ed Stetzer
  "I am unapologetic that we need to be culturally relevant. But without Biblical fidelity, cultural relevance has no purpose. My hope is that churches contend for the faith once delivered even while they contextualize and "become all things to all men."
  (tags: culture driscoll interview)
• Ochuk Responds to McLaren Interview and the DaVinci Code
  "Perhaps it would be more prudent to observe the tendencies of 'hatred' the New Testament claims the world will have for its message of redemption than to degenerate into drivel about how the greatest enemy the Gospel has is the Church." HT Justin Taylor.
  (tags: emerging gospel taylor)
• Christian Morality and Test Tube Babies, Part Two
  "We must deny that what is technologically possible is therefore morally acceptable. We must affirm our creaturely limits and trust our Creator who imposed those limits for our good. And we must learn to count the costs before those limitations are denied.
  (tags: abortion family marriage mohler)
• Challies: Accountability Through Visibility
  "In the past those who did right and those who did not do wrong often acted as they did because they knew they were seen by others. Lord Admiral Nelson once remarked, "Every sailor is a bachelor when beyond Gibraltar."
  (tags: challies)

• Biblical Literacy: Although Still a Best-Seller, Bible Knowledge Declines
  Don Whitney: "No spiritual discipline is more important than the intake of God's Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture." HT Paul Schafer.
  (tags: bible)
• Haykin Historical Biographies
  Justin Taylor links to some free audio files. "If you want to hear a good lecturer on historical theology, there are few guides better than Michael Haykin." Includes Edwards, Carey, Wesley, Fuller, Wilberforce, Bonar, and Cowper.
  (tags: history taylor edwards)
• Christian Morality and Test Tube Babies, Part One
  "God has placed natural limits upon our creaturely power and authority. Humans seem intent on exceeding those limits in every sphere, and the rapid developments in biotechnology threaten to transform ... what it means to be human."
  (tags: abortion mohler)
• Associated Press Reports 'Gay Brain' Study Incorrectly
  "Widely reported Swedish study suggesting lesbians respond differently from heterosexual women when exposed to sex hormones has been seriously misinterpreted, one of the researchers says." HT Pearcey Report.
  (tags: news)
• Topical Cream or Expositional Meat?
  Reglerjoe and his "big orange truck" share some timeless lessons from Spurgeon and Alfred Gibbs on how to preach a sermon.
  (tags: preaching spurgeon)
• More on Bruce Ware and the Women Issue
  Jollyblogger continues the discussion: "So did you catch that? The issue is central "strategically," not "doctrinally." Whaddya think? The flying of the fur may now commence."
  (tags: complementarianism feminism jollyblogger)

• The Two-Edged Sword of Medical Technology
  In London, "The Guardian" reports "some doctors are calling for a policy revision that would allow women with a family history of breast cancer to use IVF technology in order to give birth to children who do not carry genes associated with the disease."
  (tags: abortion children medicine mohler)
• To Clap or Not to Clap?
  "We need to recognize that what we do with our bodies is meant to reflect what's taking place in our hearts. Any kind of physical expression is unacceptable as worship to God unless it springs from a heart that truly loves God."
  (tags: music worship)
• Why is Defending Male Headship Important for Church Health?
  Complementarianism is central and primary - not doctrinally, but strategically. Where the Church is called on to withstand cultural pressures and maintain its commitment to counter-cultural revealed truth is on issues of gender and sexuality.
  (tags: complementarianism)

• Can Christians Use Birth Control?
  "The effective separation of sex from procreation may be one of the most important defining marks of our age - and one of the most ominous. This awareness is spreading among American evangelicals, and threatens to let loose a firestorm."
  (tags: abortion catholic children family mohler)
• A Call for Unity and Doctrinal Purity
  Bob Hayton over at Fundamentally Reformed posts his insights on the T4G Conference, and links to many posts written in the aftermath, including my own comments regarding John Piper's sermon. A useful one-stop site!
  (tags: adrianw T4GB)
• T4G Dave Warnock Continues to Respond from the "Egalitarian" Position
  Just a note to Bene, my use of the tag feminism is not intended as a label of the writer, more of the fact that the post will be of some interest to anyone looking for material on feminism.
  (tags: feminism T4GB)
• T4G and Respecting Scripture. One Woman's View of Attempts She has Seen to Get Round Passages that Restrict Teaching to Men
  "The explanations I have read for women to ignore these passages seem to range from dismissing the passages as only for a particular time, to Paul being a hideous woman-hater, to them actually not being part of scripture at all."
  (tags: feminism complementarianism T4GB)
• The Necessity of Satire
  Carl Trueman: "God opposes the proud . . and, dare I say, humorlessness is not infrequently a function of pride, of taking ourselves too seriously. Satire is one of the best cures for that I know." HT Phil Johnson.
  (tags: humor)

links for 2006-04-28

• T4G Session Four - R. C. Sproul
  "Justification is not accomplished by a profession of faith. It is the posession of faith, not the profession of it, that saves."
  (tags: T4GB challies faith gospel grace)
• John MacArthur's Cheese - Stolen at T4G
  (tags: T4GB)
• The Chronicles of Warnock Continues
  Paul points to a day when I posted no less than TWENTY SEVEN times! It's quite interesting seeing all my old posts resurrected!
  (tags: adrianw)
• Del.icio.us Fun for Bloggers
  This post has links that explain what I'm up to with del.icio.us tagging in my blog!
  (tags: adrianw article cool)
• T4G That Elusive Statement of Faith!
  This blogger-in only his second post-retyped the Together for the Gospel Statement of Faith - go read! This is, of course, an unauthorised version and I eagerly await an "official" one!
  (tags: T4GB theology)
• "We Never Say No." - The Right to Die Movement Abandons Pretense
  "If we trust our fellow humans to choose their occupations, their significant others, their political persuasions, their stances on religion, we should also defend their right to dispose of their most precious possession - their lives . . ."
  (tags: euthanasia medicine)
• Worship at the Together for the Gospel Conference - Singing New Songs
  "Here at the Together for the Gospel Conference, I've had numerous conversations with guys who have been deeply affected by singing songs they had never heard before."
  (tags: worship T4GB)
• One Man's Emotional Reaction to the Conference
  "I realized that I was quite overwhelmed. This sense came not because of a lack of understanding, but rather from a realization that what was being said is far, far, far more immense than my heart and mind are comfortable with."
  (tags: T4GB)
• More great T4G Pictures
  (tags: T4GB)
• T4G Session Five - John Piper
  "Where will the weight of God's glory be felt if not in the preaching of the Word? If not from the man in the pulpit, where?"
  (tags: preaching T4GB challies)
• "We want to see a strong coalition of Bible-saturated, truth-driven, God-entranced, prayer-soaked, aggressively evangelistic, Christ-treasuring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-filled, sovereign grace-loving, missions-advancing, hell-robbing, strong-thinking..
  ..real-need-exposing, soul-winning, mind-engaging, vagueness-rejecting, wartime-life-style-pursuing, risk-taking, justice-advancing, Scripture-expounding, cross-cherishing, homosexuality-opposing, abortion-denouncing, racism-resisting, heaven-desiring.."
  (tags: T4GB duncan piper)
• T4G Session Six - C. J. Mahaney
  "Merely listening and being moved is not enough. It leaves us vulnerable to deception if we do not have a high view of specific application of truth to our lives. True knowlege is the prelude to action, and it is obedience to the word that counts in the end."
  (tags: mahaney challies T4GB)
• More T4G pictures
  (tags: T4GB photo)
• Yet more T4G photos
  (tags: T4GB photo)
• T4G Session Seven - John MacArthur
  "Those who know God best, worship God deepest."
  
  (tags: challies T4GB)

links for 2006-04-11

• Russell Moore: Maybe Three Trimesters Is Not Enough?
  UCC clergyperson suggests abortion issue comes down to a view of "ensoulment," when the soul is imparted to the body, which she says is a life-long project. "What then stops the abortionist from coming for any of us? Maybe we are all fetuses now?"
  (tags: abortion news)
• UK Government Rapped Over Illegal Religious Discrimination
  What were they thinking? Forcing immigrants who were not Church of England to ask for permission before getting married - of all the hair-brained schemes . . . .
  (tags: marriage family religion discrimmination)
• The Chronicles of Warnock Part Two
  Well, Paul has reached my first summer of blogging already - I think if he actually makes it, he will deserve some kind of medal!
  (tags: adrianw)
• "Pleasant Post-Modernism"
  Mark Dever gives a practical description of the contemporary mood--what Spurgeon called "the fashionable way of trifling with divine truth and making things pleasant all round."
  (tags: T4GB preaching spurgeon)
• The Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach
  A few interesting notes from Al Mohler on the church musician whose faith and theology were inseparable from his music.
  (tags: history music)
• MBN Open Line Radio Alert
  Nancy Pearcey and Phil Johnson discuss "Darwin's Nemesis," Tuesday night, 8:00 to 8:55 Central.
  (tags: news)
• Piper: The Unparalleled Passion of Jesus Christ
  "The overwhelming testimony of the New Testament is that the controversy about who killed Jesus is marginal. He chose to die. His Father ordained it. He embraced it. One ordered all things, the other obeyed . . . ."
  (tags: christ passion Piper)
• Examining Emergent--Defining the Indefinable?
  In the first segment of his paper, "Examining Emergent," Pastor Paul Martin attempts to define what he calls this 'movement.' Future segments will include a critique of the movement's strengths and weaknesses. Open discussion is solicited. HT Challies.
  (tags: emerging)

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight [some translations: make straight] your paths.

Thought I would repost an old set of sermon notes here:

Intro
How can I know God's will? What if I make a mistake? if my life is in such a mess at the moment can I really be in God's will? Shall I give up and go somewhere else where it will all be alright?

The bible says without vision the people perish or alternatively cast off all restraint. SO it is critical for us as Christians to be convinced that we are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing in the right way, with the right people under the right leadership and for the right motives.

Only that certainty will keep us going when things seem hard or people question why we are doing something.

So the key question of our life and of this talk is 'How can I know that I am doing the right and best thing' or alternatively 'how can I know God's will'? The too are of course identical- a fact which many miss.

The aim of this message is nothing less than that you will go out of this room understanding the steps needed to receive God's guidance and be enabled to practice them with complete confidence of being in the centre of God's will and the very best place that you could be.

In these verses, are a promise. God says if we fulfil certain conditions, he will direct us. Direct v straighten or make pleasant- examples in the bible of each. Refer to Job 37:3 'sends it forth'.

God is more ready to guide you than you are to be guided. Jn 7: 17 If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God, or I speak from Myself. Ps 25:12 What man is he who fears the LORD? He shall teach him in the way that he shall choose.

The starting point is not our ability to hear God. Many Christians go wrong at this point. We only know in part, and our hearts are deceptive so if it was to depend solely or even mainly on our ability to hear God we would be in trouble.

A famous American preacher tells us that very regularly men will come to him and say something like this 'God has told me that I have made a mistake and married the wrong woman for me. To get back into his will I must divorce my wife and marry this other lady in the church'. To us that seems obviously wrong, but it rests nonetheless as a strong warning against relying too much on 'hearing God' only for our guidance. In fact, hearing God and learning how to do that, as important as that is  the wrong place to start.
So: How can we hear God?

There are only three conditions outlined here, and if we meet these, we can have an absolute confidence that God wont let us make a mistake. We may start off down the wrong path, but if we follow these conditions, we will be brought back on track- to use the NIV word he will straighten our path.

1 Trust in God with all your heart

heart does not equal emotions, but the centre of our being- the decision making, and constant part of us that doesn't change. We may not feel like trusting God but must preach at ourselves that we are to trust him and have every reason to.

Trust him in the bible

v1-4 outlines this. We must come to the conclusion that his word is truth.

Jn17:17- Jesus said it- can we believe it. Here we have absolute guidance which never fails. Do not go to God to speak to you if the answer is found in the word. Immediately you fall down at the first hurdle and give the devil a field day and permission to speak to you.

A command in the bible does not need to come to you specifically in revelation for it to be binding on you ! Do not wait for God to speak to you about baptism- if you want to follow him, obey what he already has said.

A leading Christian gynecologist, made the mistake of seeking God for a sign regarding abortion. He was given a sign alright that it was fine what he was doing- but I am sure it wasn't from the same God who said 'In the womb I knew you' Jer 1:5. A deceptive vision is a key reason why we face the abortion problem in the UK to the degree we do.

Trust his ways

Mercy and truth are always the best way of handling a situation- maybe simply asking yourself what is the most truthful and merciful way of dealing with this will answer the question.

Trust him with your money lets not get complacent about this! v9

Trust him in difficulties v 11- Gods chastening isn't about punishment however- rather correction and training, also as with Paul, a problem can be granted us to prevent us getting proud or whatever. Will you believe he really has your best at heart and is working for good (ro 8)

Believe that he is the strong all powerful God who's decisions are infinitely better than ours

Trust him in others-

    * Your husband
    * Your leaders
    * Even that he will change the hearts of unbelievers where necessary

This is one way he guides us separate from us hearing God


2. Trust not in your own understanding
Do NOT trust

    * The worlds ideas foolishness
    * Man- even Christians ultimately- we put no trust in flesh- we are to trust God in people though!
    * Ourselves = 2nd point ie We are not the clever ones!

What seems reasonable is not necessarily right!

Solomon the worlds wisest man wrote this. But Solomon, God gave you your common sense. Surely you should follow it. This way makes sense, so God must be in it. If you do that you will get more money to give to the kingdom of God, so God must be in it. Solomon replies 'No- I will not depend on my great wisdom and understanding- don't you realize how puny that is- I know in part, God knows fully- God may seem foolish at times to me- but even that foolishness is far wiser than the wisest I could be- God gave me my brains yes, but I will trust in him first. I do know what I am talking about- after all I didn;t always do that- Kings have lots of wives and it seemed reasonable to me that I should marry to extend treaties with my neighbours. When the wives wanted me to join them in worshipping their gods it seemed sensible to me to do so- after all if I went with them, perhaps they would come with me to God's temple and would be converted- how wrong I was!'

This is not to say that reason is always worthless. Principles are important, but just sometimes God will act outside our principles. It is a good principle to be very wary of giving prophetic words that speak of God promising children to people. I stand by that. But one day recently God spoke to me with such clarity to tell the couple we were praying with who were struggling to conceive that soon he would give them a child and it was to be a picture of the fruitfulness of their ministry. My reason said- don't be silly, what if you are wrong. But I knew God had spoken. So I said it. A few months later we found out that the woman was pregnant and had become pregnant immediately on us praying. Now don't go out and do this unless you are absolutely sure God has spoken, and even then as I did you must show there is room for weighing and it being wrong- but this is an example where good reasoning in a certain situation was wrong.

This is so vital. We must truly believe that God's way is best.  But what about.....If God speaks trust him with the what abouts!
Finally

Acknowledge him every step you take.

Even if you are absolutely sure you are in God's will, as you go down a path we must say. 'Not my will but yours'. If I am wrong Lord, show me. Speak to me. Tell my husband/ leader. Shut a door. Do whatever you need to to keep me on track.

We will often have a prayer time like that about an important decision, and then ask each other has God said anything. If he hasn't, or if he has, then I will make the decision and say. 'Right, this is what we will do'. At that point it is easy to panic and not do anything. But it is easier to guide a moving ship. DO something. Make a step. Don't commit yourself though emotionally or in any other way initially. Instead hold it lightly. Better to look a fool by withdrawing an offer on a house, or fouling up at an interview or whatever than end up bludgeoning your way into something that is not of God.

Maybe you feel that you've already blown it. You've made your path crooked already. God spoke about something and you ran away. You went into something without having these attitudes. Perhaps up to this point you feel God hasn't been absolutely free to take you where he wants and do with you as he wishes. Well theres a promise here for you too.

Fulfil these criteria today. From today on resolve to surrender to God's ways. Perhaps talk to one of us, and God will restraigten you path. The inheritance can be redeemed. You can get back into the centre of God's will. And amazingly when you do so (and not before!) God can even change your mistakes and sins around to be part of his purpose for you and his world. We spoke of Solomon. Not many of us may realise that his mother was Bathsheba the same woman David committed adultery with and murdered her husband. A product of this very wrong relationship became an ancestor of Christ.

So fulfil these criteria and know with all certainty that whether by prophetic revelation or by common sense or by circumstances or by whatever means God will keep you on the right path.    

Many Christians struggle with finding God's will for their lives. I though I would share with you an old sermon I preached on this matter......

Proverbs 3:5-6

by Adrian Warnock

Introduction

A changing, uncertain world. Cast off tradition and Christian ways of doing things now what do we base decisions on?

Illustrate from politics. Tony champions even a britain where the elite is finnished. Family values, but a foreign minister can be trusted to keep his promises to his country when he cant to his wife.

Confusion in workplace- different options our fathers never had. Which is right for me?

Confusion in leisure- too much choice.

For Christians- how can I know God's will what if I make a mistake. if my life is in such a mess at the moment can I really be in God's will Shall I give up and go somewhere else where it will all be alright Some of my friends have apparently heard God and now moved on- how can I know I havent missed him speaking to me

As a church- should we buy a building- if so which one How far along the cell route should we go How should we prepare for revival How will we see more leaders raised up?

The bible says without vision the people perish or alternatively cast off all restraint. SO it is critical for us as Christians to be convinced that we are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing in the right way, with the right people under the right leadership and for the right motives.

Only that certaintly will keep us going when things seem hard or people question why we are doing something.

So the key question of our life and of this talk is 'How can I know that I am doing the right and best thing' or altenatively 'how can I know God's will'? The too are of course identical- a fact which many miss.

The aim of this message is nothing less than that you will go out of this room understanding the steps needed to receive God's guidance and be enabled to practice them with complete confidence of being in the centre of God's will and the very best place that you could be.

In these verses, are a promise. God says if we fulfill certain conditions, he will direct us. Direct v straigten or make pleasant- examples in the bible of each. Refer to Job 37:3 'sends it forth'.

God is more ready to guide you than you are to be guided. Jn 7: 17 If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God, or I speak from Myself. Ps 25:12 What man is he who fears the LORD? He shall teach him in the way that he shall choose.

The starting point is not our abilty to hear God. Many Christians go wrong at this point. We only know in part, and our hearts are deceptive so if it was to depend soley or even mainly on our ability to hear God we would be in trouble.

A famous American preacher tells us that very regularly men will come to him and say something like this 'God has told me that I have made a mistake and married the wrong woman for me. To get back into his will I must divorce my wife and marry this other lady in the church'. To us that seems obviously wrong, but it rests nonetheless as a strong warning against relying too much on 'hearing God' only for our guidance. In fact, hearing God and learning how to do that, as important as that is is the wrong place to start.

So: How can we hear God?

There are only three conditions outlined here, and if we meet these, we can have an absolute confidence that God wont let us make a mistake. We may start off down the wrong path, but if we follow these conditions, we will be brought back on track- to use the NIV word he will straighten our path.

1 Trust in God with all your heart

heart does not equal emotions, but the centre of our being- the decion making, and constant part of us that doesnt change. we may not feel like trusting God but must preach at oursleves that we are to trust him and have every reason to.

Trust him in the bible

v1-4 outlines this. We must come to the conclusion that his word is truth.

Jn17:17- Jesus said it- can we believe it. Here we have absolute guidance which never fails. Do not go to God to speak to you if the answer is found in the word. Immediately you fall down at the first hurdle and give the devil a field day and permission to speak to you.

The heresy of the concept of the rhema word of God, where a word has to come to you specifically in revelation for it to be binding on you is wrong. Do not wait for God to speak to you about baptism- if you want to follow him, obey what he already has said.

A leading Christian gynaecoligist, made the mistake of seaking God for a sign regarding abortion. He was given a sign alright that it was fine what he was doing- but I am sure it wasnt from the same God who said 'In the womb I knew you' Jer 1:5. A deceptive vision is a key reason why we face the abortion problem in the UK to the degree we do.

Trust his ways

Mercy and truth are always the best way of handling a situation- maybe simply asking yourself what is the most truthful and merciful way of dealing with this will answer the question.

Trust him with your money lets not get complacent about this! v9

Trust him in difficulties v 11- Gods chastening isnt about punishment however- rather correction and training, also as with Paul, a problem can be granted us to prevent us getting proud or whatever. Will you believe he really has your best at heart and is working for good (ro 8)

Believe that he is the strong all powerful GOd who's decisions are infinitely better than ours

Trust him in others-

• Your husband
• Your leaders
• Even that he will change the hearts of unbelievers where necessary

This is one way he guides us separate from us hearing God

We thought we had the right house and God made the vendor refuse our offer and decide they wanted more money than they had asked for at first. When we heard this we said to the agent we are fed up of all this, and to be honest at that moment we almost felt like giving up. The next minute the agent said- well there is something just coming onto the market....and we got the cheapest and nicest place we had seen all year! Do NOT trust

• The worlds ideas foolishness
• Man- even christians ultimately- we put no trust in flesh- we are to trust God in people though!
• Ourselves = 2nd point ie We are not the clever ones!

What seems reasonable is not necessarily right!

Solomon the worlds wisest man wrote this. But Solomon, God gave you your common sense. Surely you should follow it. This way makes sense, so God must be in it. If you do that you will get more money to give to the kingdom of God, so God must be in it. Solomon replies 'No- I will not depend on my great wisdom and understanding- don't you realise how puny that is- I know in part, God knows fully- God may seem foolish at times to me- but even that foolishness is far wiser than the wisest I could be- God gave me my brains yes, but I will trust in him first. I do know what I am talking about- after all I didn;t allways do that- Kings have lots of wives and it seemed reasonable to me that I should marry to extend treaties with my neighbours. When the wives wanted me to join them in worshipping their gods it seemed sensible to me to do so- after all if I went with them, perhaps they would come with me to God's temple and would be converted- how wrong I was!'

This is not to say that reason is always worthless. Principles are important, but just sometimes God will act outside our principles. It is a good principle to be very wary of giving prophetic words that speak of God promising children to people. I stand by that. But one day recently God spoke to me with such clarity to tell the couple we were praying with who were struggling to conceive that soon he would give them a child and it was to be a picture of the fruitfulness of their ministry. My reason said- dont be silly, what if you are wrong. But I knew God had spoken. So I said it. A few months later we found out that the woman was pregnant and had become pregnant immediately on us praying- in fact the scan even seemed to suggest she had become pregnant a couple of weeks before. Now don't go out and do this unless you are absoulutely sure God has spoken, and even then as I did you must show there is room for wieghing and it being wrong- but this is an example where good reasoning in a certain situation was wrong.

This is so vital. We must truly beleive that God's way is best. But what about schooling for my children- well if God calls you he will sort that out. But what about.....If GOd speaks trust him with the what abouts!

Finally

Acknowledge him every step you take.

Even if you are absoulutely sure you are in God's will, as you go down a path we must say. 'Not my will but yours'. If I am wrong Lord, show me. Speak to me. Tell my husband/ leader. Shut a door. Do whatever you need to to keep me on track.

We will often have a prayer time like that about an important decision, and then ask each other has God said anything. If he hasnt, or if he has, then I will make the decision and say. 'Right, this is what we will do'. At that point it is easy to panic and not do anything. But it is easier to guide a moving ship. DO something. Make a step. Don't commit yourself though emotionally or in any other way initially. Instead hold it lightly. Better to look a fool by withdrawing an offer on a house, or fouling up at an interview or whatever than end up bludgeoning your way into something that is not of God.

Maybe you feel that you've already blown it. You've made your path crooked already. God spoke about something and you ran away. You went into something without having these attitudes. Perhaps up to this point you feel God hasnt been absolutely free to take you where he wants and do with you as he wishes. Well theres a promise here for you too.

Fulfill these criterea today. From today on resolve to surrender to God's ways. Perhaps talk to one of us, and God will restraigten you path. AS Ian said yesterday- the inheritance can be redeemed. You can get back into the centre of God's will. And amazingly when you do so (and not before!) God can even change your mistakes and sins around to be part of his purpose for you and his world. We spoke of Solomon. Not many of us may realise that his mother was Bathsheba the same woman David committed adultery with and murdered her husband. A product of this very wrong relationship became an anscestor of Christ.

So fulfill these cirterea and know with all certainty that wether by prophetic revelation or by common sense or by circumstances or by whatever means God will keep you on the right path.

Joel Edwards of the UK Evangelical Alliance has stated:

"John Paul II was one of the most remarkable Christian leaders of recent times. There is no denying his deep personal piety, and the courage, faith and fortitude he showed as a Christian pastor and bishop in the face of both Nazism and Communism. We strongly supported his witness in favour of life, and against the 'culture of death' exemplified by abortion and euthanasia.".

He went on to say, "We admired his readiness to forgive his would-be assassin early in his papacy, his commitment to evangelisation and the global Church, his promotion of peace, social justice and ecological concern, and his support for interaction and co-operation with other Christian churches and groups, including those of the Evangelical tradition.".

Despite differences between Catholics and Evangelicals, the Evangelical Alliance recognises that John Paul was committed, as we are, to credal Christianity. As such, in many instances he offered a welcome corrective to the forces of scepticism, secularism and theological liberalism, which threaten to undermine both the integrity of the Church and the effectiveness of its mission in the world. His gifts, energy and vision will be missed both within and beyond the Roman Catholic community.

Joel Edwards concluded, "Pope John Paul II combined traditional conservative Catholicism with a radical agenda for the dispossessed. The world community is the poorer for his passing.".

I have been trying to work out in my mind why it was that Mr Howard had ignited the Abortion debate. Then all of a sudden it struck me. Perhaps I am just being cynical myself, but it would seem to me that Howards proposal to reduce the number of weeks that a baby in the womb needs to fear abortion was indeed deliberately floated by him. You see, despite what the media would like us to believe some kind of restrictions on abortion are actually popular. So I ask myself was Howard actually being cynical and populist over abortion?

Certainly his latest yahoo pollicy of being tough on tavellers and tough on the causes of travellers is more easy to see as the pollitics of the opportunist. Could it be that focus groups and polls have shown Howard that the UK is loosing its love for abortion on demand?

There is a lot in the UK press today about the row that has suddenly engulfed our politicians. American readers need to understand that this is almost unprecedented. Religion and politics are bizarrely more separate in our nation than yours despite the fact that we have bishops sitting in our house of lords.

Anyway, today the Independent says the last thing the election should be about is abortion and the BBC seems to imply agreement. Readers of the Telegraph and the Mail are suprising in their opposition to abortion. the Mail even welcomes the debate, and in a headline I saw in paper form but cant find online I am fairly sure it was the Mail who reported that other faith leaders (Muslims and Jews I believe) were joining the fray (still no evangelical or C of E statment though!). Even more amazingly the Sun is covering it as "the Great Abortion Debate" and even has pictures of developmental stages of babies in the womb. Meanwhile the Guardian and the Times seem to be trying to put the genie back in the bottle.

There seems a strange conspiracy afoot here not to mention the statements of Jewish and Muslim leaders online- if anyone can find them I would be most interested.

The UK Catholic church has officially welcomed Michael Howard's statement that he would support a reduction in the age beyond which abortion is allowed in the UK. BBC NEWS quotes Blair on the other hand as saying :

"'However much I dislike the idea of abortion, you should not criminalise a woman who, in very difficult circumstances, makes that choice.

'Obviously there is a time beyond which you can't have an abortion, and we have no plans to change that although the debate will continue.'

I dislike this statement of Blair's for all kinds of reasons but will mention my two main ones- firstly it perpetuates the myth that I can be personally opposed to something as grusome as abortion but happy for others to carry it out. Secondly it is a bald lie, as in the UK there IS now no time beyond which you cannot have an abortion in any circumstances AND the UK law has NEVER recognised an absolute right for abortion at ANY age. Secondly it implies that universal availability of abortion as a means of birth control has long been established in UK law as a right.

Abortion was only allowed for health grounds in England in the first place. The act stated the grounds for abortion were when �continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk� of injury to the physical or mental health of the woman� greater than if the pregnancy were terminated� with the proviso that �account may be taken of the pregnant woman�s actual or reasonably foreseeable environment.�

Universal abortion is based on a misinterpretation of the law by doctors which states that "all pregnancies" are more harmful to the health of the mother than abortions. I have never understood why pro-life groups in the UK haven't tried to close that loophole down in the law courts.

I also don't understand why it is only the Catholics who have welcomed Michael Howards statement- where are the Evangelicals? Or for that matter the Muslims? We should make this an election issue and ask each candidate where they stand on it, publishing their voting records where relevant as in the USA- why not? I will try and get a reply for the EA on this one. I note that the UK Pro-life party have responded and pointed out that Blair voted for abortion up to the point of birth in 1990.

I like it when old posts get recycled. Comment Me No Comments has linked to an old post of mine which made an analogy between abortion and a car crash. It was a favorite post of mine, and as is common with favorite posts it didnt get taken up as much as Id have liked. Its always the posts you least expect that get the comments!

Imagine the scene. You are driving home down a country road at a reasonable speed. Trees line the road on either side their branches swaying in the wind.

A young woman steps out in front of the car. You begin to break. Your car slows. Everything seems to hang in mid air like a scene from the Matrix. You realise you are not going to stop. You have a choice. Hit the woman and almost certainly kill her? Or swerve and hit one of those trees that moments earlier seemed so pretty.

You know if you hit the tree you will be injured, possibly seriously. But the young woman will not benefit from an airbag. You are confident that you will not die. You know if you hit her she will die.

Do you swerve? Should you swerve? Is it even an option not to swerve? What should the law do to you if you don't swerve?

There is no real choice in this story. Any decent person would put themselves out and even at risk of physical injury when the benefit is to spare even a strangers life.

How then is it that society has become so warped that women feel under pressure to take the lives of their own unborn children?

They didn't swerve.

They weren't willing to put themselves out to save the life of another human. There is no way of dressing it up to make it more pleasing to the ear.

Abortion kills. We want it to stop.

Back in August my blogging friend JOLLYBLOGGER quotes Total Truth as follows

This heightened activism has yielded good results in many areas of public life, yet the impact remains far less than most had hoped. Why? Because evangelicals often put all their eggs in one basket: They leaped into political activism as the quickest, surest way to make a difference in the public arena - failing to realize that politics tend to reflect a culture, not the other way around......

Today, battle-weary political warriors have grown more realistic about the limits of that strategy. We have learned that 'politics is downstream from culture, not the other way around,' says Bill Wichterman, policy advisor to senate majority leader Bill Frist. 'Real change has to start with the culture, all we can do on Capitol Hill is try to find ways government can nurture healthy cultural trends.......

On a similar note a member of Congress once told me, 'I got involved in politics after the 1973 abortion decision because I thought that was the fastest route to moral reform. Well, we've won some legislative victories, but we've lost the culture (italics hers).' The most effective work, he had come to realize, is done by ordinary Christians fulfilling God's calling to reform culture within their local spheres of influence - their families, churches, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, professional organizations, and civic institutions."

Like most British people there are definitely two sides to my perception of Americans. Firstly, I have to confess to a certain degree of admiration, almost envy. Everything about the US is so much bigger and more extreme than the UK. You are the world super power we Brits conquered other nations to be without having colonies. But on the other side I sometimes feel I don't understand you, and that can lead to almost frustration.

When we don't understand, it can lead to both confusion and at times a sense of attraction. I confess to feeling both having just watched a particularly impactful edition of the West Wing. In the story Bartlett winds up appointing an extreme right wing judge and an extreme left wing judge to the supreme court. The shows with a wistful moment which seems to welcome the partisanship of these two and the toleration of both as being really very American. As a member of what I believe is the worlds oldest continuous democracy I ought to be proud of that. After all I do believe in the sentiment that says "I disagree with what you say but would die for your right to say it".

Real life mirrors that moment when the most vicious American election ever seemed to me to end in a most bizarre attempt at reconcilliation. But is it somewhat false for Kerry and Bush to attempt to be nice to each other now after all the mud-slinging of the campaign? Are Americans really united in their pride of their ability to create a phony civil war every few years and then unite once more? Is it right that my American cousins should attempt to be both so united and divided at the same time? Americans even have a system which registers voters according to whether they were democrat or republican. How is it that the most partisan nation is also the most patriotic?

Why is it that the fault lines run the way they do? White or black, old or young, gun owner or city dweller, north and south, educated and not, and most of all church goer or not seems to predict voting patterns far more than they ever would over here.

Jollyblogger is one of the few Christian blogs I have wanted to read over the last few weeks as to a brit the ringing endorsement of one candidate almost as "Gods annointed" seems wrong. There are probably almost as many Labour Christians as Conservative in the UK- possibly as we do not have any party that would agree with us on some of the moral issues of concern to most evangelicals.

Should Christianity be identified with republicanism? My instinct says no under, and yet if Bush is able to appoint his own supreme court justices and reverse Roe v Wade, then of course if he does it will be largely because the Christians voted for him. What if 1million UK Christians decided to vote with their conscience if we had someone we could vote for? I dont think my personal opposition to the current abortion free-for-all would be any surprise to most of my readers. I recently responded very brisquely to a pro-choicer who had said "but what about the suffering of the mother" when we discussed the implications of abortion to the most vulnerable human beings in our society (the unborn) "Look, say I drive home on a fast road and a young child runs into the road. I try to brake but realise I cant stop. I realise if I hit the child I will kill her. If I swerve to miss the child I will hit the tree, and due to my airbags and seatbelt am likely to be injured but probably survive. Do I swerve or do I hit the child?" But I am not sure that in America I would feel comfortable campaigning for the republicans, certainly not if I was a preacher.

Jollyblogger expresses the dilemna well and once again I find we have been mulling over similar subjects! He says "Somehow we've got to extricate ourselves from the current public perception that evangelicals are simply an arm of the Republican party." I might have left it there as a Brit, but he displays the dilemna of the American Christian by saying "At the same time, we have to bring the gospel to bear on political issues. How we do both I'm not sure - it's a tension we just have to keep working through."

OK its time to say it: I am bored of the US presidential election now. It just seems to go on and on- not like our brief and 'civilised' campaigns at all!

I know depending on which side of the fence I am on I should be worried that one of the guys will destroy the planet by not cutting down on the pollution that the USA spews out on the world , or that the other guy will destroy the world by being soft on terrorism.

I know it should bother me that one of them will probably appoint pro-abortion judges whilst the other one might leave America's poor to sufer inadequate healthcare.

But, at the end of the day it is none of my business, and as a member of "the rest of the world" I will simply have to put up with whichever leader of the free world you American's choose for us.

So, why not hurry up and choose already? Does it have to take this long? From the begining of the hustings for party nominations there has been a gradual deterioration in some of my favorite American blogs. We are now at the point where I barely want to read any of them for fear of coming accross yet another political post!

Somebody, please find something other than politics to blog on, and put a link here in this comments section so I can go look at it without wading through "Bush is great" or "Vote Kerry" posts!

World Magazine Blog reports a showdown on prime time TV which seems to have been about who Jesus would vote for in an election. I think with all the energy that has gone into answering the question What Would Jesus Vote?, we run the risk of forgetting a really crucial point.

Jesus has already voted. He knows, in fact he DETERMINED who the next president of the USA will be. Part of a belief in a sovereign God is that he is really in charge of everything. Thus, if Kerry gets in, it will not be as some from the Christian Right would no doubt feel "because Satan won this one"!

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

So you see, Jesus has already in the past 'voted' for an anti-abortion candidate, and at times for a pro-abortion candidate. Is he confused? Is he a floating voter? Has he defected more times than any other voter?

Even in election year, it is to my mind vital that a Christian should have a degree of restraint about partisanship. You see, it is up to God to raise up and remove our leaders. That candidate you are bad-mouthing might be God's choice to run your country. You better mind that you don't resist him wrongly.

Now of course, such a teaching has been misapplied and abused. It is entirely right for us to do our part in removing an ungodly leader, believing we are part of God's work in doing so. But, we must do so with a note of caution, and a recognition that God may actually want the leader to remain in office or to be appointed.

Why should God be happy with even an evil man being in charge? Because then his glory is revealed in judgement and in his ability to restrain such an evil man and turn even him around for good. (Ro 8:28) Because actually God is in charge even of the rulers of man (Ps 2)

Often the nations used to punish Israel for their rejection of God in biblical times were less godly than Israel was. God always takes the long view and is willing to allow what seems like illogical choices of leader.

Soemtimes a leader is put in place as punishment for his own nation. As always God is a God both of judgement and mercy. At this time I pray that his choice of your next leader will reflect more of the latter for the USA and for all the nations of the world who will also be affected by that choice.

Life In The Cultlane responded in my comments section to my post What is an evangelical? I thought I would include the post in its entirety here and comment as we go.

Hi! I seem to have sparked quite some discussion.

For context - I'm a New Zealander, I consider myself Christian, I grew up from 1971-1989 in a church that I would consider Pentecostal ('Indigenous Pentecostal', ie, NZ homegrown) and inspired directly by Smith Wigglesworth. This church very definitely suffered from 'paranoia and elitism' - we believed we were the only Christians left in the world and that the world was going to hell, as most especially any other so-called Christians.

My question here is - did you believe that those who weren't true Christians were going to hell or that those not in a church like yours? There is of course all the difference in the world between these two views. It sounds like your impression was clearly the second, but unfortunately it can sometimes be hard to distinguish between the two and it is possible to get the opposite impression from what is intended.

In 1989 my family finally left this church and became involved with a movement called 'Rise Up Together New Zealand' which I guess you could call Pentecostal in spirituality, but Evangelical in doctrine. Evangelical/Charismatic. I was then involved with the Vineyard Church NZ which I am still connected with, but now (since 2003) find my closest home at the moment in a Baptist church which is loosely affiliated with Brian McLaren's 'Emergent' network. (Which is not in itself a denomination but a sort of informal network across denominations).

I find the definitions of words to be a source of quite a lot of confusion. I use the word 'Evangelical' in the sociological sense to mean 'the churches aligned with the Evangelical Movement, ie, the cluster of Western Protestant churches which broke away from the Fundamentalist movement in the early 20th century'. As opposed to, eg, the Catholic church, the Orthodox church, the 'Anabaptist' churches (Amish, Mennonite, Quaker), or the 'mainline Protestant' churches (such as Reformed, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist) which tend to take a similar political line and cluster together. I am aware that there are evangelical wings within the mainline denominations, but for the most part when I say 'evangelical' I refer to the Baptists and the various newer Pentecostal/Charismatic denominations such as Elim, Assembly of God, etc.

On the whole, generally the 'evangelical' churches tend toward politics that could be described as 'right-wing' or 'conservative', and the 'mainline' churches toward 'left-wing' or 'liberal' politics. I am also aware that the meaning of these labels has drifted over time and is confusingly defined even at present, but most people have at least a similar understanding of these terms.

'Post-evangelical' is a term coined by Dave Tomlinson in his 1995 book 'The Post-Evangelical', and describes a church movement which has sprung out of the Evangelical movement and shares many, but not all, of its values. This is the sub-movement to which I consider I belong, and which is roughly the same / overlaps loosely with the movement self-described as 'the emerging church' and the 'alternative worship' movement (which are not quite the same things either, but close enough for now).

So...

So perhaps post-evangelicals are those who still believe in God but are feeling rather hopeless about the state of the world today, and have lost the faith in the onward march of the gospel felt by evangelicals?

Not quite. As I explained, by the word 'post-evangelical' I don't mean that I feel hopeless about the progress of the Gospel. But I feel that the particular 'gospel' which, by and large, is promoted by the movement calling itself the 'evangelical church' is not in fact the Gospel of Jesus. And the particular politics which the self-described 'evangelical church' has, in the latter half of the 20th century, associated itself with, tends to value things that I don't believe Jesus valued.

My politics tends toward the 'seamless garment' or 'consistent ethic of life': which is to say, anti-handgun (eep, I'm no conservative!), anti-abortion (eep, I'm no liberal!), anti-nuclear-weapons, anti-war... pro restorative justice, pro redistribution of wealth to the poor.

On sexuality, I find myself torn. On the one hand, it seems the Bible (if you ignore, say, the bits about how many wives and concubines David or Solomon had while still being called godly) is fairly consistent about sex being about a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. I don't have a problem with that. On the other hand, I'm not really a fan of using government power backed by violence to force people into 'moral' sexual behaviour that they would otherwise not want to do. Hence my angst about things like the Civil Union Bill.

There is, I'm ashamed to admit, a strong streak of authoritarianism running through the Evangelical church movement, and especially the Pentecostal subsector. The 'I'm the Pastor because I'm annointed of God and you will do as I say' model. I think this is a bad thing and would favour something more along Quaker lines - I believe the 'priesthood of all believers' means that God speaks to individuals... *lots* of individuals... not necessarily to lone, powerful, commanding leader-figures (or at least, not *more* to them than to the poor or the lame, etc). I don't disbelieve in the concept of absolute truth, but I am skeptical given sinful human nature about the ability of a few 'strong' individuals to find it for themselves and then impose it on others - I have seen from experience how strongly authoritarian churches can go bad. So I tend toward thinking democracy is pretty much the best political system

"If the moral foundation of Western law and civilisation falls apart - well, that's better than trying to hold it together by force. Sometimes there's nothing you can do and you just have to let things die."

As to this... bear in mind, the Gospel of Jesus as I understand it is a story of death and resurrection. You can't have the Empty Tomb without Golgotha. There is such a thing as trying to hold back the wind - whether it be birth or death, there comes a point where the cost of trying to impose a minority's viewpoint - no matter how technically 'right' that may be - on an unwilling people becomes neither Christian nor human.

Do we believe that our God raises the dead? Then let us be prepared to let the dream of 'Christendom' - a society where the laws of Christ are enforced with the weapons and violence of man - die. If the only way to save 'our Christian heritage' is though dressing up and acting like a Nuremberg Rally... that kind of Christian heritage we don't need.

Jesus said, 'They will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.' Not 'they will hear your good words and obey.' We don't need to try to make people be moral. We want to act in such a way that they see us and want what we've got.

What is it that we have - other than the need to have people listen to us and give us unquestioned obedience? What would our gospel be if nobody ever listened to us but it was only our own actions, gifted to the world in secret?

When we look inside our hearts and our history and can answer that positively, then we will truly be Evangelicals in all senses of the word.
Meh. That link didn't work. Here it is - take a look for yourself and see what you think this looks like. Why are liberals afraid that Christians are closet Nazis? http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0408/S00251.htm

I guess the most important point at issue is how much should we try and use the law to impose Christian values on a pagan society. Christians will differ on this- even quite conservative ones might want to leave well alone as far as the law is concened.

So it seems all in all that provided it is understood properly 'evangelical' remains a word I am happy to identify with and so, thanks to Nate, the title will remain for the time being at least in this blog.

As to emergent church, I guess that is a topic for another day. Suffice it to say that I share in a number of the sentiments- especially the criticism of much of the organised church. I am not convinced that the wholesale embracing of post-modern ideals is helpful. Christians need to adapt in their styles, yes, but our primary source for how to do church should always be the bible and not the modern culture.

A few days back I asked How Partisan should a pastor be%3F. Some of the comments there have been quite insightful.

I showed my ignorance by asking what Bush had done for foetuses. I guess from this side of the pond I am used to a prime minister who can do more or less what he wants. So, the idea of a president not being able to significantly alter abortion legislation if he was genuinely against it is somehow surprising to me.

I am educating myself on this by watching West Wing and reading my comments. The following was especially enlightening.

No, abortion laws (and laws that lend financial and medical support to unborn children) have changed in at least four areas under the Bush administration. (1) We now have a ban on partial birth abortions - the kind where they deliver the baby feet first, then suck the brain out before the head is born, (2) Bush limited stem cell research so that it would exclude research on aborted babies and embryos, (3) he put into affect laws that make the murder of a pregnant woman a more serious crime because it involves 2 lives, and laws that provide medical care to aborted children who are accidentally born alive (state and federal courts are attempting to overturn all of these changes). In Congress, all of the above abortion votes have been very close, with nearly 100% of the Republicans voting to limit abortion and nearly 100% of the Democrats voting for no restrictions on abortion, up to and including the moment of birth, and have passed only because Republicans currently hold a slim majority. Kerry has vowed he will overturn the partial birth ban and the stem cell research restrictions when he becomes president.

I should say that when it comes to people who actually get an abortion, it is probably equally split between the parties (and, I fear, between Christians and nonchristians), but the biggest difference to me is that key Kerry supporters tend to be proud of abortion (and wear buttons or tshirts saying as much), plus Planned Parenthood's endorsement of Kerry speaks volumes. So I would say while Bush has accomplished quite a bit, it may be just temporary, and is sure to be overturned under a new president. So on the abortion issue, I come down squarely in favor of the current president. Has he done anything that will permanently affect abortion? No, because no Supreme Court justices have resigned during his term, and Democrats in Congress, as well as Kerry, have made it clear that in the future only pro-abortion justices will be considered.

So that should answer your question about Bush and abortions.

Regarding the items you raised, I know trade is a big item in the UK because I see the term "free trade" whenever I am on UK websites or listening to some UK rock band anxious to give their opinion on a country they know nothing about) and most of us simple folk don't understand what it means, except that, in some circumstances, it may or may not involve coffee. Regarding trade, it is position of both candidates, I believe, is to protect the US economy (which may result in harming other countries), and to that extent most unions support Kerry. Kerry accuses Bush of sending millions of jobs overseas.

We also rarely hear anything about the "international court" (hopefully you can explain this to me, as well).

Scientists disagree over whether global warming exists and to what extent, or whether that situation is improving, but most environmentalists are opposed to Bush.

Regarding justice, American law is based on Engli....

Unfortunately the post was truncated! About abortions, I concede the point. About 'free trade' there are always fights and I guess some UK people take a different view- for example many dont want to be forced to import US Genetically Modified produce. On the international court- this referred to a war crimes court the USA wont sign up to- something about not wanting their soldiers to be judged there. On global warming, almost every Eurpopean believes that this is a real issue- although during hot summers I wonder if it might be a good thing......

Anwyay, it is quite understandable to me why many Christians would want to vote Bush. I am just pleading for room to be made for democrats to be Christian too (even if you feel they are misguided!). Mind you I am not over there and perhaps the distinctions between the parties are a lot stronger than over here.

BBC NEWS reports the success of a one woman campaign to use the courts to force the police to open an investigation into the late abortion of an unborn child with a cleft lip and palate. This is potentially a major step in the UK, and shows that it is possible to make a difference.

The Observer reports: "An abortion is to be shown on British television for the first time. A Channel 4 programme will also use previously banned images of aborted foetuses in one of the most controversial television programmes broadcast in Britain. "

Anywone who says 'I like your website, Adrian, it's one of the best.' in a comment, deserves to have that comment repeated in its entirety here for all to see! And what is more, Allison has hit the nail on the head in responding BOTH to what I have been saying about Iraq/Spain AND the church. There definitely IS a link in my mind and she has picked it up well (clearly at least one other person thinks in as wacky a way as me!)

I think what I was driving at is that the terrorist, the lone 'killer' and the unchurched all have one thing in common- a sense of unconnectedness. Granted some terrorists may be well connected to a community, but I cannot believe that they will see themselves as part of the community they attack.

Alison is so right that carrot and stick are needed though, and none of my comments previously about reaching out to include others who are different to us should mean that we dont fight terrorism in other ways.

I guess I just see two fronts, some hardline opponents will never be won over- those we have to fight to protect ourselves. There are, however a massive pool of people (possibly the majority) who no longer feel part of a church, a neighbourhood, a community. Out of this pool a tiny minority may become our active enemies- but it is not too late for them. We need to somehow reach out to these people even when they are totally different to us. Somehow a multicultural society must be born. Even a simple smile exchanged on a bus can make all the difference to some.

Arguably the very best place for such a community is the church, which is on earth to represent Gods multicoloured wisdom. Anyway without further ado on to Allison's post

I think it's been pretty obvious when dealing with Iraq that the carrot doesn't work. Especially since every bit of carrot that was dangled went directly into the pockets of the dictators, and the sick, hungry Iraqis didn't see any of it. I'm not saying I'm in favor of the stick, but sometimes it's the only thing that works.

Regarding the type of demonstration you see in Spain, I don't think you see much of it in the United States at this point, although it may come to that. We have our share of demonstrations, but instead of being unifying, they are usually "against" something and often include a number of people from other countries. One example, the violent demonstrations in the cities where the World Trade Organization meetings are held. Another example, the 1-1/2 million people who are expected from other countries to demonstrate at the Republican Convention this summer. Or the pro-abortion groups that demonstrate in Washington DC on a regular basis. For a totally different reason, you see demonstrations in the cities of both the winners and the losers after the Superbowl or the World Series, often resulting in outrageous vandalism, injury and death.

After 9/11, Americans reacted by hoisting the American flag (for which we were roundly critized by our neighbors across the sea), attending church on the day of mourning, memorial services, and greater attendance at Independence day and Memorial day parades.

After the invasion (or rescue) of Iraq, anti-war demonstrations and counter-demonstrations were held in almost every major city in the country. I attended one out of curiousity and talked to a lot of the demonstrators. Most of the anti-war group were self-proclaimed anarchists who wanted to move to Europe where there "are no laws" (an interesting thought), but the rest seemed to be upset over other issues, like the economy (one woman was demonstrating against the war, but she was really just upset that her 401K had lost $50,000).

Having said all that in defense of America, you will have a hard time finding American Christians who are willing to inconvenience themselves for each other. There is no feeling of being unison -- no mandate to take care of each other or support each other. Every now and then there is a cause or a bandwagon that people get on, and it's in the news for awhile, but the average Christian in America really doesn't care if their neighbor has enough to eat or stays warm at night. This is a complete turn-around from the way it was 10 to 20 years ago, and it might be traceable to the advent of the "mega-church." Now the average church is looking for people from the upper-middle to upper class to fill up their empty pews and are competing with each other to see who can bring in the most superstars to perform on Sunday morning. To see the "must read" movies or see the "must read" books or go to the "must attend" conferenc or ingest the "God-ordained" vitamin supplement you have to have big dollars.

The other thing that happened during the last ten years to disconnect us from each other was the 8-year presidency of Bill Clinton who, doing what he does best, divided the country radically along political lines, creating a new standard for divisiveness and hatred. He reveled in making enemies where there used to be friends and breeding intolerance where we used to be able to co-exist. Because he called himself a Christian, he set a standard that didn't stay in secular America but carried over into the church.

We are living in such a disconnected, fragmented country, that I don't know if it can be saved. We just don't care about each other any more. On those rare occasions (like 911) when we are able to muster some unity and connectedness, we are mocked by other nations.

I realize this I am writing not only in response to this post, but to several of your recent posts about the church, but there does seem to be some connection, at least in my mind. At any rate, what you said struck a nerve with me today, and I had to get this off my chest.

Thanks to Nick Queen for organising this, have a nosy round these posts some of them are great!

Brother Phil asks if your Christianity is Radical or Recreational

Tim Samoff reevaluates the label "post-modern"

Adrian Warnock gets his teeth into American conservatives over their surprise at Howard Dean's pro-homosexual comments

St. Stephen's Musings gives us a new acronym: HWJA? (How Would Jesus Argue?)

Parablemania takes Dennis Miller to task over his abortion stances as they relate to his pro-war stance

TheIrvins concludes a series on God's Providence

Damascus Road describes the restoring of sight to the blind man... from the blind man's perspective

Challies Dot Com discusses two methods of introducing unbelievers to a church community

Because You are Wrong has an overview of the accomplishments of last century's most prominent Christian academic philosophers, and their impact on the faith and intellectual life

New Quaker Notebook: "My take on the battle, now in secular courts, between a Christian and his church. Five years ago he gave his church $126,000; now he wants it back. They both want to do the Christian thing, but what is the Christian thing to do in this case?"

Crossroads Blog: "Deb, the author, is a new Christian. She describes her challenge in dealing with anger issues. She uses the analogy of a train to beautifully describe how her anger never gets the train going. Only the engine will work."

Earthly Passions is interviewed as "volunteer of the month" at his church

The Evangelical Outpost gives an evangelical response to the postmodern claim

that their are no absolute moral truths

The Happy Husband contemplates what it means to be the spiritual leader of a Godly household

After Abortion talks about how the "Silent No More" women in Wisconsin are responding to an editorial attack from Wisconsin's leading daily newspaper

The Bible Archive: Defining worship in light of scripture and in contrast to the world's definition of the subject. More than praying and breaking bread, worship has practical and eternal aspects to it and my post helps to look into that.

The Great Separation "It's OK to beat up and arrest Christians in the UK with signs calling homosexuality a sinful act"

Mark Roberts sends in a humorous part of a series: "Developing a Biblical Worldview" Sometimes the best theology is also fun

Ryan's Head has questions and answers to bringing up kids who are not of this world

Coffee Swirls says we need to measure our time in the days given us by God

� "The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States � and war is what they got." |

Front Page

After abortion: "The Top Ten After Abortion stories of 2003."

Another prolife step: "Wisconsin now has a Born Alive Infants Protection Act that offers babies who survive an attempted abortion the same legal rights as other children. Signed into law last week, the Act gained support after articles described incidents such as one involving a 23-week infant born alive after an abortion and placed in a specimen dish to be taken to the lab, where she died three hours later."

This kind of development is wonderful. The thought of a baby being left to slowly die apalls me.

Times Online in discusssing the case of a woman who wants the courts to rule her unborn child had a right to protection: "family-planning groups say that if the court backs her abortions and various forms of contraception, including the coil and the morning-after pill, could become illegal across Europe. "

As an abortion test case goes to Europe "A woman whose pregnancy was wrongly terminated wants the European Court to accept a foetus' right to life. " Pro abortion groups are getting worried!

Barna Research Online reports less than four per cent of Americans have a biblical worldview which was defined: "as believing that absolute moral truths exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and firm belief in six specific religious views. Those views were that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today; salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings."

Appologies for the protracted quotes but having been discouraged by percentages, a rare encouragement follows. It seems despite previous suggestions to the contrary having a biblical worldview alters your behaviour...

'People's views on morally acceptable behavior are deeply impacted by their worldview. Upon comparing the perspectives of those who have a biblical worldview with those who do not, the former group were 31 times less likely to accept cohabitation (2% versus 62%, respectively); 18 times less likely to endorse drunkenness (2% versus 36%); 15 times less likely to condone gay sex (2% versus 31%); 12 times less likely to accept profanity 3% versus 37%); and 11 times less likely to describe adultery as morally acceptable (4% versus 44%). In addition, less than one-half of one percent of those with a biblical worldview said voluntary exposure to pornography was morally acceptable (compared to 39% of other adults), and a similarly miniscule proportion endorsed abortion (compared to 46% of adults who lack a biblical worldview).

Among the more intriguing lifestyle differences were the lesser propensity for those with a biblical worldview to gamble (they were eight times less likely to buy lottery tickets and 17 times less likely to place bets); to get drunk (three times less likely); and to view pornography (two times less common). They were also twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters with other people in the past month and twice as likely to have fasted for religious reasons during the preceding month. While one out of every eight adults who lack a biblical worldview had sexual relations with someone other than their spouse during the prior month, less than one out of every 100 individuals who have such a worldview had done so.'

I have just come accross The UK LifeLeaguethey report "Over 6 million British babies have been killed by abortion since 1967, nearly 700 a day at present. Modern technology, imaging techniques and research have shown beyond doubt that the unborn child is very much a human being. Don't be fooled by the de-humanizing language used by abortion clinics, 'family planning' clinics and pro-choice groups. When it comes to life we believe in calling a spade a spade. Abortion is not 'choice' it is the legal murder of children. "

They also have a sobering gallery of abortion images, which I challenge ANYONE to view and remain in favour of this barbaric practice.

LAte abortions in the UK are strictly limited to those who have severe handicaps. Cleft lips, surely were not intended by the law to be included. So sue them decided a brave curate.

Abortion Kills Another: "Another woman was killed by abortion. This time an 18 year old girl. At first report no mention that it was caused by the RU-486 pill given to kill babies in the womb. "

Abortion laws in the UK may fall foul of the European constitution.

Professor Jack Scarisbrick, national director of the charity Life, said he was confident they could win.
'If you have a law which says special needs children can be killed, you are clearly practising eugenics,' he told BBC News Online. 'It is weeding out substandard human beings.' "

Of course UK laws are not fully applied as it is- the law states that abortion is allowed only where the life or health of mother or child are threatened. Doctors today claim this applies to all abortions, thereby allowing social abortion on demand- surely not intented by the law makers.

Abortions are funded on the NHS, both for eugenics but also as a form of family planning. This cannot be right even to the most ardent pro-abortionsist.

This is more deaths than any of the world wars. What started as a get out for extreme cases is now abortion on demand. Despite the risks to women's health from abortion most abortions are now done on the basis that ANY pregnancy is more risky for the woman's health than continued pregnancy. This appears simply to be untrue, and is certainly not what the UK law had in mind. For more information on the Ethics of abortion visit
the CMF pages or if you are considering an abortion or have had one, the CARE for Life pages are there to help not preach at you.