More books you oughta read!

Nine more of my favorite books (10, if you count both volumes of the Institutes):

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
Holiness by J.C. Ryle
The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson
Roman Catholicism by Lorraine Boettner
Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion, edited by Baillie/McNeill
Therefore Stand by Wilbur Smith
The Last Year of the War by Shirley Nelson
Here I Stand by Roland Bainton
What More Can God Say? by Ray Stedman

I think I've seen it all now

Not that I read Christianity Today as a general rule, but I couldn't help noticing this huge back-page ad. "National Porn Sunday," it says, "Exposing America's Dirty Little Secret." We're urged to register our churches now! It goes on: "This is a one-day event. Your church, your voice, a great film (I shudder to ask what the film would be ...) and the best resources that deal with pornography." What exactly are the "best resources" that deal with pornography, pray tell? And may I also inquire as to the corner of America in which porn is a secret? Am I missing something?
But best of all is the endorsement from Bill Hybels, my favorite wolf. From the weasely schlockmeister himself: "These guys get it! They talk about pornography in a way people can relate to (?????), get these guys to come to your church." Let's just get something straight right now. When Hybels proclaims that someone "gets it," run away, screaming. He is the poster child for not "getting it."
Back to the endorsements of porn Sunday. Emerging church extraordinaire Mars Hill Bible Church gives the whole thing a big thumbs-up! "Without reservation and with strong support, I would encourage you, take part in National Porn Sunday."
I have a better idea. How about we stop taking up valuable time on the Lord's Day with this kind of stuff and actually use worship time to worship the Lord? I'll even give it a name, if that makes everyone feel better, since evangelicals just love "calling" things something. So let's call it "National Worship Christ Sunday." Or "National Preach the Gospel Sunday." Or even "National Take-Morality-Off-the-Front-Burner-Just-for-an-Hour-and-Exposit-an-actual-Bible-passage Sunday."
Then again, Bill Hybels might withhold his endorsement if we did that.

A few of my favorite books ...

... but just a few! I love to read good Christian books and share them with my friends. Of course, this isn't a comprehensive list, but it's a good start. I'll just list 10 at a time as I make periodic installments. Here are the first 10 on my long list of must-reads:

Christian in Complete Armour, Vols. I, II and III by William Gurnall
Faith: Tried and Triumphant by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The Sufficiency of Christ by John MacArthur
Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges
Christ the Controversialist by John Stott
The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel by C.F.W. Walther
Female Piety by John Angell James
Freedom of the Christian by Martin Luther
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
The Life of Arthur W. Pink by Iain Murray

Call me a Christian, please

Every time I turn around lately, I seem to hear a politician, anchorman or radio talk-show host making references to 'people of faith.' Sometimes they're referring to Christians. But it's usually just a carte blanche reference to anyone who subscribes to a religion. Doesn't matter what the content of the faith is, as long as it's 'faith' in something. As far as I know, it doesn't even have to be faith in a god. Don't want to offend anyone, right? But they are, after all, the world. So it's expected to hear one generic term applied in a one-size-fits-all way. What really has been getting to me is hearing evangelicals throwing the term around to apply to Christians. I ask: Why don't they use the term "Christians?" Wasn't that the original term applied in the Book of Acts to us? Or even during the Reformation, we were called "evangelicals," or "the gospelers." Do we also need to water down who we are? And now I am seeing how this backfires. If you search online for 'people of faith,' you'll see peopleoffaith.com, making reference to Christian things. And the Family Research Council. And you'll also find People of Faith Against the Death Penalty. And my personal favorite -- the "People of Faith Alliance," whose mission is to - as they say - "give voice and action to our conviction that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people have the same worth and wholeness as all people, and the right to just and equitable treatment." So I ask: Am I part of these 'people of faith?' Or the FRC 'people of faith?' Or the politicians' 'people of faith?' To all of it, I say: Call me a Christian, please. And nothing softer.

The little sect down the lane

Every time I drive by the big box down on the corner, only one phrase comes to mind: "Yippety Creek Church." Of course, that's not its real name. I will not say what that is, to protect the sacriligious. I visited the place not too many months ago. My favorite moment was when one of the elders got up to give his testimony. I was expecting the typical "accepted Christ-fell away-rededicated my life-listened to secular music-rededicated-partied-cried at a campfire to "Pass it On"-rededicated" kind of scenario. No. Apparently I have been off-track on these newfangled testimonies. Now they consist of "How God Put My Family Back Together." This guy's entire testimony consisted of rantings about how much he loves his church because of all it does to "strengthen families." No mention of sin, salvation, Jesus Christ, forgiveness, the blood, the cross -- nada. So let me get this straight. God now exists to strengthen my family? Guess we'll have to toss Luke 12:51-53. It's all yippety, yippety, yippety in these goofy sects. Flash and no substance. Loud music, stupid ditties, a sea of Dockers, no Scripture reading, no pastoral prayer, Starbucks, big screens, lots of capri pants-sleeveless sweater combos, worship of-and-not-by family, hardly any biblical law and no gospel whatsoever. I want to scream out: Where is the Holy One of Israel? Don't you even miss Him?
I'll be adding rants about YCC on a regular basis. But that's my initial beef.

THE BACK PEW

Several years ago, a friend and I attended a well-known church with a good reputation. But from time to time, we'd hear things from the pulpit or a Sunday School class that weren't biblical at all, in a church that was known for being Bible-believing. Wacky remarks, bad exegesis, contradictory positions among the leaders. Over time, we realized we always sat in the back pew, which was waaaay up in the balcony. From there, we'd listen and periodically write each other notes on the bulletin about the crazy things we heard. We just couldn't help it. We'd say things like, "Where is THAT written?" or "What about (this verse) that contradicts what he just said?" It wasn't like we were going to church to be critical. It was just that, as we really started to listen and evaluate what was being preached, we discovered that it was nothing more than a syncretistic poupourri. We felt gypped. We were like the two little old men on "The Muppet Show," minus the tomato-throwing. And it struck me: If this can happen in a church that's known for being sound, it can happen anywhere. And unfortunately, it is happening everywhere. Not just in the church-growth warehouses, but in churches known for having their theological heads on straight. The old paths are being trampled on by wolves in sheep's clothing as church consumers have their itching ears scratched. And if there's one thing that bothers me in this life, it's the betrayal or deception of the sheep for whom Christ died. I vowed that someday, I'd go public under the name "The Back Pew" in an effort to expose the bad preaching and goofiness in America's churches, which you know - if you've been a Christian for any length of time - is rife. Well, here is my opportunity, and I hope to make the most of it. May the Lord be pleased to use this blog for His glory.