More Women Priests
From the Telegraph: The watershed moment comes less than 20 years since the Church first allowed women to be priests, in the face of opposition from Anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals who believe that only men can be church leaders.

The Kingdom of the Cross Under the Sword of the Crescent
From Michael Horton: Newsweek‘s current cover-story is “The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World,” by Ayann Hirsi Ali, who fled her native Somalia and served in the Dutch Parliament before taking a position at the American Enterprise Institute. As the article points out, widespread anti-Christian violence is exploding even in countries with Muslim minorities. How do we respond wisely as Christians to this growing threat?

10 Reasons to Believe in an Historical Adam
From Kevin DeYoung: In recent years, several self-proclaimed evangelicals, or those associated with evangelical institutions, have called into question the historicity of Adam and Eve. It is said that because of genomic research we can no longer believe in a first man called Adam from whom the entire human race has descended.

Carson and Keller on Jakes and the Elephant Room
The purpose of this post is not to provide a re-hash of recent events, still less to assign blame. It is to provide some theological and pastoral reflection on the interlocking issues with which we have been wrestling.

The President, the Pill, and Religious Liberty in Peril
From Albert Mohler:  In 1808, President Thomas Jefferson stated the matter bluntly: “I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises.”  Fast forward 204 years and President Barack Obama has reversed that logic, ordering religious institutions to provide insurance coverage for employees that must include contraceptives, including those that may induce an abortion.

Pastoral Contentment and the Plague
In the beginning of May, 1665 London had a divine appointment with what the Puritan Thomas Vincent described as “one of the most terrible plagues that was ever visited on this or perhaps any other kingdom.” We now know it as the bubonic plague.

I had some online (just a few), and a bit more offline, commentary regarding yesterday’s quote from ‘Knots Untied’.  A few of the offline missives were dismissive of Anglican evangelicals in general (don’t these folks know their history?) and of certain aspects (stereotypes?) in particular.  This dismissive and condescending comments provided a bit of fodder for discussion amongst some of our clergy as we travelled to and from Florence, SC (did you know that yesterday, Florence, SC was named the 7th most unromantic city in the U.S.?).  One consequence of our conversation was a universally renewed appreciation for Bishop J.C. Ryle and the timeliness of his writings – astounding for a work written across the pond well over a century ago.

One assertion of a Ryle dissenter noted the “disregard” with which Anglican evangelicals hold the Book of Common Prayer (or so the writer suggested).  Ryle had this brilliant response to the same charge leveled in his day:

I go on to say that Evangelical Religion does not undervalue the English Prayer-book. It is not true to say that we do. We honour that excellent book as a matchless form of public worship, and one most admirably adapted to the wants of human nature. We use it with pleasure in our public ministrations, and should grieve to see the day when its use is forbidden.

But we do not presume to say there can be no acceptable worship of God without the Prayer-book. It does not possess the same authority as the Bible. We steadily refuse to give to the Prayer-book the honour which is only due to the Holy Scriptures, or to regard it as forming, together with the Bible, the rule of faith for the Church of England. We deny that it contains one single truth of religion, besides, over and above what is contained in God’s Word. And we hold that to say the Bible and Prayer-book together are “the Church’s Creed,” is foolish and absurd.

Knots Untied, p. 14

Bravo!

“Knots Untied” is the first book in a four volume series written by J.C. Ryle, the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool; the other titles being “Practical Religion,” “Old Paths,” and “Holiness.”

While most people are usually familiar with the latter three (especially “Holiness”), “Knots Untied” has for the most part fallen by the wayside – ironic in that “Knots” went through ten editions in its first eleven years, and is considered by many J.C. Ryle’s magnum opus.

His chapter on the Thirty-Nine Articles is brilliant – a much needed corrective in his day as well as ours.  Here’s an excerpt:

I must now take up a question which is of great and serious importance. To prevent mistakes I shall state it as clearly and logically as I can. “What is the precise rank, authority, and-position of the Thirty-nine Articles? Are they, or are they not, the chief, foremost, primary, and principal test of true Churchmanship?”

My reasons for going into this point are as follows: Some clergymen and laymen in the present day are fond of saying that the Prayer-book, and not the Articles, is the real measure and gauge of a Churchman. “The Prayerbook! the Prayer-book!” is the incessant cry of these people. “We want no other standard of doctrine but the Prayer-book.”—Is it a controverted point about the Church? What says the Prayer-book ?—Is it a doctrine that is disputed? What says the Prayer-book ?—Is it the effect of baptism, or the nature of the Lord’s Supper, that is under discussion? What says the Prayer-book ?—To the Articles these gentlemen seem to have a peculiar dislike, an hydrophobic aversion. They seldom refer to them, unless perhaps to sneer at them as the “forty stripes save one.” They never quote them, never bring them forward if they can possibly help it. What intelligent observer of religious questions among Churchmen does not know perfectly well the class of men whom I have in view? They are to be found all over England. We meet them in newspapers and books. Wc hear them in pulpits and on platforms. They are ever thrusting on the public their favourite “Diana of the Ephesians,”—their darling notion that the Prayer-book, and not the Articles, is the test of a Churchman.

Now, with all respect to these worthy people, I venture to say that their favourite notion is as real an idol as the Ephesian ” Diana” was of old.  I shall try to show the reader that in exalting the Prayer-book above the Articles, they have taken up a position that cannot possible be maintained. I shall try to show, by evidence that cannot be gainsayed, that the true state of the case is exactly the reverse of what they are so fond of proclaiming. I am not going to say anything against the Prayer-book. It is a matchless book of devotion. But I am going to say, and to prove, that the Articles, and not the Prayer-book, are the first, foremost, and principal test of a true Churchman.

Read the rest (N.B. the chapter on the 39 Articles begins on p.74)

Pondering Psalm 139
”Before I let you see your baby, I have to tell you that there’s something wrong with her”. I cannot even begin to imagine the sorrow of hearing such words. You see, I have four children of my own now; and, truly, the only thing I wished for them was health. I just wanted my babies to be healthy. They could be bald, look like an alien, have a cone head that never went away, but please Lord let them be healthy. Just imagine what it must have been like to have no idea that there was anything amiss, sitting in a hospital bed with open, waiting, empty arms…..”there’s something wrong with her”. How do you even begin to filter through the rush of emotions that accompany such a phrase? From utter joy to utter despair with a few spoken words.

The Elephant in the Room
From Voddie Baucham: This past week a firestorm erupted over the recent “Elephant Room 2.”  The controversy centers around the decision to invite Bishop T.D. Jakes to participate in the event.

The Distinguishing Marks of a True Work of the Spirit of God
Jonathan Edwards sought to promote vibrant Christian faith through teaching people what the “marks,” or signs, of godly living actually are. He did so not merely because he was really smart and liked categorizing things, but because he wanted Christians to experience the joy of true Christianity and then spread that joy to others. In short, he was a missional pastor before the vodcasts and fauxhawks.

You Don’t Generate Sympathy by Being Negative
They didn’t have time to listen to me whine.  That was a great lesson to learn in my early twenties. Work hard. Give it your best. Do great work.

The Power of Why
Over the years, I’ve learned from my kids that one of the most powerful words is, “Why.”

Spurgeon on Counting Numbers
I found these thoughts from Charles Spurgeon’s book on preaching evangelistically, The Soul Winner, to be particularly helpful and remarkably relevant to contemporary discussions. Spurgeon had the rare combination of being one of the most evangelistically successful, as well as doctrinally rich, preachers of his day. How we need more who can do both!

Meet the Marriage Killer
From the WSJ: Ken Mac Dougall bit into the sandwich his wife had packed him for lunch and noticed something odd—a Post-it note tucked between the ham and the cheese. He pulled it out of his mouth, smoothed the crinkles and read what his wife had written: “Be in aisle 10 of Home Depot tonight at 6 p.m.”

When Good isn’t Good Enough
Our unbelieving neighbors regard themselves as more tolerant. They suppose themselves to be morally superior to judgmental Christians with our exacting, unrealistic standards of holiness. But the reality of the situation reveals itself in a case like Paterno. No good is good enough to wipe away his sins from the record of history as judged by his peers. He could never recover. The first paragraph of his obituary tells the story.

Adele as Allegory
From James Smith: Because of her commercial success, some indie music snobs might miss the fact that Adele is one of the great female crooners of a generation. We bought my daughter a copy of her live performance at Royal Albert Hall for Christmas, but I think it’s been in the CD player in my car since December 25. It is a masterful, captivating performance (despite the fact that she was suffering from a throat condition and would undergo surgery shortly after).

The Iron Lady: A Truly Meaningful Film
From Carl Trueman: Watching The Iron Lady was a strangely emotional experience.   As for anyone who came of age in eighties Britain, the formative years of my life were dominated by the presence of Mrs Thatcher.  The riots of 81, the Maze hunger strikes, the IRA bombings, the Falklands, the miners’ strike, the poll tax: these were the events which shaped public life; and they shaped how I thought of England, of Britain and of the rest of the world.  I joined her party in 1982, voted for her in 1987 and was saddened but not surprised when she fell from power in 1990.   It is a tired and hackneyed phrase, but, for good or ill, we shall not probably not see her like again.

Work on Your Character and a Good Life will Come to You
The blogosphere is abuzz with advice for the new year. We’re being given tricks and tips on getting ahead, becoming more efficient and so forth. But as a guy who helps people live better stories, I have to tell you the best advice I’ve ever heard is simple: Work on your character and a good life will come to you.

How to Be A Miserable Comforter
Apart from the suffering of Jesus on the cross of Calvary the book of Job is the best biblical illustration of human suffering. In a few moments’ time Job, a great man of the east, lost all of his wealth (which was massive), his physical property, and his ten children. Though imperfect (he was a sinner) Job’s response of persevering faith in the God who is sovereign—while in the midst of his suffering, not just afterward—is exemplary.

Hey Football Fans, the Big Day is Nearly Here
From Michael Horton: God and football (baseball has fallen a bit) block and tackle for each other in American civil religion these days. Typically, in the reports I scanned, pastors were justifying their decision by appealing to the mission opportunity. Somehow, having the building full with people who want to be there for a game, but not for God’s saving service to sinners, is “missional.” In any case, the evening service has fallen by the wayside in many churches anyway—no conflict there. Yet even where there are such services, many sympathize with one pastor who said that it’s “a bit of a luxury,” especially “when it falls on a legal holy day [you read that right: holy day] like Super Bowl Sunday.”

On Media and Messages
From Carl Trueman: A few years ago, I was on a panel discussing the Puritans.  A member of the audience asked if I could provide `a few bullet points’ to summarise Puritan theology.  My mind immediately went to those passages of John Owen and Richard Baxter where they give the reader the fifteenth point of the seventeenth qualification of the twentieth application of a doctrine or passage.  `No, I’m afraid I can’t.’ I replied, `The Puritans were not bullet point people in the modern sense.’  As if to underline the point, the recording manager, now a respected RCA pastor in California, added a backtrack of a tommy-gun firing to the mp3 recording.

Owned by Ownership; The Need to Simplify
I have a cousin who moved to a new location and found that some boxes remained in her basement long after her new digs were fully established. One trash day, she brought a box to the curb, “I didn’t even open it. I figured if I hadn’t needed anything in that box for the last five years, I did not want to open it and talk myself into suddenly ‘needing’ to keep whatever was in there. It seemed healthier to just let it go.”  Over the course of a few months, she eventually got rid of all of her stored up boxes, and now she uses the basement for creative projects.

Is Hollywood Out of Touch with Middle America?
From Phil Cooke: Recently, the Christian Post interviewed me about Hollywood. It was a good article, but as most publications do, they only used a few short quotes. I thought I’d post the entire interview in case you might be interested in my comments.  Let me know what you think…

Christianity Today Goes on the Record Against Spanking
From Denny Burke:  There are a number of problems with this editorial, not the least of which is its unsatisfying interaction with the biblical issues at stake in this debate. The CT editorial relies almost entirely on William Webb’s trajectory hermeneutic—a way of interpreting the Bible that says modern readers sometimes need to move beyond the ethical instruction of scripture to an ethic that supercedes it.

Up In The Air
What should you avoid touching on an airplane? Pretty much everything.

St. Andrew’s member Dr. Bill Sasser first began doing short term mission trips over 15 years ago.  Bill and his wife, Susalee, have traveled all over the world, offering dental care to those least able to care for themselves. Their travels have taken them from the jungle highlands of Southeast Asia to prisons in Rwanda to the squalor of Haiti. After serving solo for many trips, they felt led to reach out to students at MUSC’s Dental School.

Ten years ago, they helped organize Dental Community Fellowship (DCF – DentalCommunityFellowship.net). This is a student chapter of a national  organization called the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. DCF organizes yearly mission trips where students play an integral part of the care given in these locations. Students who go on these trips are responsible for covering all associated costs for their trips. These include airfare as well as incountry expenses. The trips not only benefit the patients but the students as well as they are able to provide hands on care at a rate and under circumstances that they will never see if their learning was confined to the school and its clinics. In addition, they are exposed to missions and serving those who are many times forgotten.

This Saturday,  January 21, they will hold two events to raise money for scholarships. The first event of the day will be a golf tournament at Stono Ferry. In the evening, they will have a banquet here at St. Andrew’s beginning at 6:30 pm. The DCF Banquet will feature a silent auction, bar-b-que dinner and a speaker, Dr. Stan Cobb. Stan is known as the Cowboy Dentist and hails from Spearman, Texas. He is a dentist, artist, writer, and occasionally, a cowboy.

I invite you to come and be a part of the banquet and hear the incredible stories of what our Lord is doing through and with our local dental school. To purchase tickets to the banquet, please visit the DCF’s website.

A Danish TV crew was at SAMP this morning, both the 9 & 10.45 am services. They did a profile story one of our members.  The story is to about integrating faith and life and how faith can influence a voting decision.

The station is a European CNN and CBS affiliate.  The story will be a part of their prime-time newscast and will be seen across Northern Europe.

They were interesting folks.  And, they were fascinated about the general faithfulness of Americans and as noted above, the significant role faith plays in the American electorate.

I’m pleased to let you know that at our Vestry meeting this week the following people were elected to the following Vestry officer positions:

Mary Graham, Sr. Warden
Mary is the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Regional Advancement.

Bill Maddux, Jr. Warden
Bill is the Chief Operating Officer of Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC, and is a member of the company’s Advisory Board and Investment and Operating Committees.

Robyn Frampton, Treasurer
Robyn is the Chief Financial Officer for the MUSC Foundation and Treasurer for the MUSC Foundation Board

Andy Breaux, Secretary
Andy is the Chief Operating Officer for American Benefit Services

What a great group, we’re richly blessed.