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My New Favorite Song

Drew Jones — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:20:11 +0000

Here’s a live solo version of my new favorite song, Divine Romance, written and performed by Phil Wickham. Many thanks to my friend Katie Williams at Katie Williams Photography for introducing me to Phil’s music. Enjoy!

Link of the Week-Jib Jab’s Year in Review

Drew Jones — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:34:00 +0000

This week’s Link of the Week is Jib Jab’s Review of 2006. Enjoy!

Gay and Evangelical?

Drew Jones — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 14:55:00 +0000

In this morning’s issue of The New York Times, Neela Banerjee reports a story which literally hits close to home when it tells the tale of a young evangelical man in Raleigh, NC. Peculiarly enough, this man is also openly gay. Her article in full can be read here.

The subject of the story, Justin Lee, is reported to be a spokesman for the latest aberration of evangelicalism, which accepts monogamous, committed homosexual relationships as compatible with the Holy Bible. By arguing that the contexts of the biblical passages which prohibit homosexuality merely speak against promiscuity, violence, or idolatry.

This brings to the forefront what I believe to be one of the defining theological issues of our time. Within a great deal of what are considered evangelical circles, the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures are assumed. What will be the crux of theological debates for years to come is proper hermeneutics (the art and science of biblical interpretation). Hermeneutics determine one’s theology, and one’ s theology determines one’s practice.

One sentence in particular struck me as hitting the nail on the head in the Times article. An anecdote was given about another Raleigh resident who grew up in a Southern Baptist church. I quote the article verbatim here: “When she figured out at 13 that she was gay, she believed there must have been something wrong with the Bible for condemning her.” The tragic irony here is that the human heart does not change within any of us. In Genesis 3, we are given the account of the Fall of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. If you recall, the serpent (Satan taking animal form) tempts Eve to disobey God by appealing to her trust in what God has said when he asks, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?’” (3:1) The result is that Eve decided to transgress the express, clear directive of God and plunged all of humanity into chaos and turmoil. Furthermore, please recall that when God asked Adam to give an account for all that had just occured, Adam slyly blamed God (3:12, “The woman you gave to me…“).

Here’s the point: this article illustrates in vivid terms the way all of our hearts rationalize our attitudes and behaviors when confronted with the stark truth of the Bible. We do one of two things. First, we can choose to do what Adam & Eve (and the individuals in our article) did, which is to doubt what God has said or blame God for being too rigid or unfair. The other option is to fall down on our knees in prayer and admit that we have sinned, and beg mercy from the good God who has secured forgiveness for sinners by the death of His own Son. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

No matter how we feel, Jesus Christ is the Lord of all our lives. The same Word that gives us the Law which tells us to be holy also tells us that Jesus Christ has died to rescue those who believe that they are indeed sinners and Christ is the Savior.

Finally, the question of how evangelical churches must respond to this situation must be addressed. Let me take a couple of sentences to give my recommendation. First, evangelical churches must absolutely, dogmatically, and completely refuse to treat homosexuals as if they are sub-human and not worthy of courtesy or respect. This Pharisaical, “holier than thou” behavior denies the gospel which says we are all sinners in need of grace. Secondly, churches must teach that there is an essential distinction between homosexual inclination or orientation and homosexual practice. A godly, gospel-loving, Bible-believing man may very well struggle with homosexual attraction. This man should be loved by His congregation and discipled by a pastor just as a man who struggled with heterosexual lust would be. The worst case scenario would be that the struggling man would come to understand that remaining single is a respectable, godly path for him to take. If, tragically, the man (or woman) pursued homosexual practices after being confronted about it by another believer, then church discipline may be in order. Again, even this church discipline does not differ from how the congregation would react to any other person who continued to dive into a sinful behavior (as defined by the Bible).

The Word of God has spoken concerning the issue of human sexuality. Let us all seek to obey Him, trusting in His grace for godliness and forgiveness.

Attention Nerds: My New Favorite Link

Drew Jones — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 01:03:00 +0000

While writing a paper today, I stumbled across a fantastic website for those who wish to imbibe on intellectual trivia. The name of the site is AskOxford.com, and it is operated by Oxford University Press. Essentially it is a search engine of classic Oxford University Press reference works, such as the Oxford Concise English Dictionary. Of greatest interest for all preachers out there is a search engine which will find quotes from all sorts of authors simply by entering a keyword. Happy hunting!

Thoughts on "The Nativity Story"

Drew Jones — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:36:00 +0000

In today’s issue of The New York Times, A.O. Scott remarks:

It’s best to think of “The Nativity Story” as a Hollywood version of the kind of Christmas production some of the “Peanuts” kids put on in “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” This is not meant as a criticism. Quite the contrary.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke from a script by Mike Rich, “The Nativity Story” sticks to the familiar details of the narrative and dramatizes them with sincerity and good taste. There are no flights of actorly or cinematic bravura — though all of the performances are credible, and some better than that — and very few big, showy, epic gestures. Rather than trying to reinterpret or modernize a well-known, cherished story, the filmmakers have rendered it with a quiet, unassuming professionalism.

I managed to see this film two weeks ago as part of a sneak-peek showing for seminary students in our area. I must admit that many movies on biblical stories tend to fall in two categories: (1) They are sickeningly sappy and hokey, or (2) the producers try to “sex up” the biblical account and betray the actual storyline itself. The Nativity Story manages to do the difficult work of threading the needle between the two extremes. The story remains faithful to the Bible’s account while adding an appropriate amount of poetic license in illustrating the emotional struggles that all of these characters may have experienced. The film is elegant, earthy, funny, and heartwrenching. It is a movie that is appropriate for children to see, but adults will not find it childish or simplistic.

I highly recommend this film. For more in depth commentary, please read Dr. Albert Mohler’s review here.

On Scholarship

Drew Jones — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:26:00 +0000

As admitted in an earlier post, I am currently reading John Stott’s Between Two Worlds. In the context of discussing the preacher’s call to study both the Bible and the culture, he quotes Bishop Phillips Brooks, who says:

The preacher’s life must be a life of large accumulation. He must not always be trying to make sermons, but always seeking truth, and out of the truth which he has won the sermons will make themselves…Here is the need of broad and generous culture. Learn to study for the sake of truth, learn to think for the profit and the joy of thinking. Then your sermons shall be like the leaping of a fountain, and not like the pumping of a pump. (180-181)

After having preached a sermon of the “pump” variety yesterday, these words are most relevant. Take heed lest you stand up before a congregation still lost in the fog of your own ignorance!

A Hymn

Drew Jones — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:16:00 +0000

If you have been around PCA or RUF circles, you have most likely been exposed to the music of Indelible Grace. Indelible Grace is a band who focuses on matching historical Christian hymns with contemporary musical arrangements, thus re-introducing the Christian church to the theological richness of our past. One such hymn that has been quite powerful to me lately is In the Cross of Christ I Glory. A sample can be listened to here.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of tme;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’er take me,

Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,

Never shall the cross forsake me,

Lo! It glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming

Light and love upon my way,

From the cross the radiance streaming

Adds more luster to the day.

Band and blessing, pain and pleasure,

By the cross are sanctified;

Peace is there that knows no measure,

Joys that through all time abide.

Thus Saith Stott

Drew Jones — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:49:00 +0000

Today I began reading John Stott’s excellent book, Between Two Worlds. Stott, writing in 1982, has proved himself to be a most accurate prophet when he made a prediction about human relationships and technology by the year 2000. He writes:

It is difficult to imagine the world in the year A.D. 2000, by which time versatile micro-processors are likely to be as common as simply calculators are today. We should certainly welcome the fact that the silicon chip will transcend human brain power…Much less welcome will be the probable reduction of human contact as the new electronic network renders personal relationships ever less necessary. In such a dehumanized society the fellowship of the local church will become increasingly important, whose members meet one another, and talk and listen to one another in person rather than on screen. In this human context of mutual love the speaking and hearing of the Word of God is also likely to become more necessary for the preservation of our humanness, not less. (p. 69)

The very fact that you are reading these words on a blog, rather than discussing them over coffee with me, is proof that Stott’s prediction has come to pass. So yes, keep blogging away, but join me in making extra efforts to change and re-introduce the human touch to the way we communicate with others.

New Format

Drew Jones — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 12:57:00 +0000

If you have managed to find your way to this blog, then you’ve been informed about the re-formation of my former blog, The Indigent Intern. My goal in this is to recast the blog into one which focuses on ecclesiastical, theological, and cultural matters rather than simply my day-to-day rantings about the evil children of the Y. If this is disappointing to you, my sincere apologies. Perhaps from time to time I shall release cyber-thunderbolts upon those children, simply for old times’ sake.

Scandal, Tolerance, & King Consistency

Drew Jones — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 14:21:00 +0000

Dan Savage, writing an op-ed piece about Ted Haggard for The New York Times, makes a statement that reveals much about our culture’s understanding of morality when he writes:

“A callboy can’t expose your secret without exposing his own. There’s still a stigma attached to selling sex.
So why did Mike Jones speak out?
Because today it is arguably more shameful and damaging to be a hypocritical closet case than it is to be a sex worker. Even those delighted by Mr. Haggard’s disgrace — disclosure: I count myself among their number — ache for his five children, all suffering now for the sins of their father. And let me be clear: their father’s sin is not his sexual orientation, but his deceit and hypocrisy. His sin is the closet.”

Postmodern thought’s influence has been felt most strongly in the public’s understanding of morality. As Savage brilliantly illustrates, the only “sin” in postmodern America’s psyche is that of inconsistency. When moral codes are merely fabrications based on the individual preferences of autonomous beings, then the only charge we can make against each other is inconsistency. If your personal ethical mores remain consistent in their practical application, then they are beyond the realm of judgment.

Ted Haggard’s adultery is the hot-topic of the hour and this legacy will continue to disgrace the message of the cross for years to come. More frightening, and even more harmful, is the worldview that raises consistency and tolerance to the level of infallibility. When put into practice, a person who believes in abortion necessarily must also subscribe to euthanasia of physically disabled and elderly people if they are to be truly consistent. If a baby is not a person simply because he/she is either unwanted, not physically viable without its mother’s assistance, or otherwise useful to society as a whole, then the same criteria must also be applied to these other groups. I fear for the day when society realizes this and, in attempt to honor the sacred cow of inconsistency, begins to act upon this worldview.

The world is rightfully attacking Ted Haggard because of his hypocrisy, and I am in no way diminishing or justifying his sin. What I am after is the underlying philosophical implications which Dan Savage brings to light when he observes that it is ethically preferable to be an authentic prostitute than a hypocritical minister.

The Christian worldview avoids both the pitfalls of hypocritical religious moralism and the liberationist view of secularism. Sin, according to the Bible, taints every part of our being, including our minds. Therefore, even our logical arguments and attempts to be morally consistent can and will lead us to sinful conclusions, with the abortion/euthanasia scenario a prime example. What humanity needs, therefore, is an outside perspective. Happily, God has been gracious to shine His perspective into our lives, via the Bible. By seeking what God has to say about a situation, I am freed from dependence upon my own cruel logic. In doing this, I must forfeit my fantasy of being an autonomous being, but it is the only way to find true virtue. It is the only way to be consistently virtuous without becoming a cold-blooded executioner of my logical conclusions. In those gracious words of Scripture being applied to the way I live life, I discover that divine revelation is in itself grace.