Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Free Class This Summer: Models of Sanctification

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That’s the name of a 4-credit class that I’m scheduled to co-teach this summer with Bruce Ware.

  • When? June 6–10, 2011
  • Where? Northland International University
  • For whom? Students in Northland’s graduate program (esp. DMin students)
  • How much? It’s free for first-time students in Northland’s graduate program (whether or not they wish to remain in the program).
  • Can the credit transfer to other schools? Yes.
  • What’s the workload? Check out the syllabus.
  • What’s the course’s general schedule? I’ll start off surveying and evaluating the Wesleyan, Keswick, Chaferian, and Pentecostal views of sanctification. Then Bruce Ware will survey and evaluate the contemplative view and explain and defend the Reformed view.

More info here.

I visited Northland’s campus for the first time last month to speak at their Heart Conference and then to teach a week-long grad course on the use of the OT in the NT. I was impressed. The faculty and administration are good folks, and the caliber of students is high. And they assure me that the weather in northern Wisconsin is nicer in June than February!

Update on 8/23/2017: My latest book attempts to survey and analyze “let go and let God” theology more accessibly:

No Quick Fix

Dever, Doran, Bauder, and Others Dialogue

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Calvary Baptist Seminary hosted the Advancing the Church Conference a few weeks ago, and the conference audio is now available.

Mark Dever was the keynote speaker, and he interacted with Dave Doran, Kevin Bauder, and other fundamentalist leaders in two panels:

Kevin Bauder shares his perspective on the conference in “Reflections after the Encounter: Considering the Current Situation of Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism; or, Why I Am Still a Fundamentalist (And How I Am Not).”

Fear of Change

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Why do so few churches have a plurality of elders?

Benjamin L. Merkle suggests three reasons in 40 Questions about Elders and Deacons (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2008), 188–91:

  1. Lack of Qualified Men
  2. Lack of Biblical Knowledge
  3. Fear of Change

Some of his shrewd observations about fear of change apply to more than changing a church’s polity (pp. 189–90, numbering added):

Fear is a motivating factor in the lives of many people, and fear of change often is what holds back a church from adopting and implementing plural eldership.

[Pastors fear change.]

  1. Pastors fear that the congregation will reject their ideas.
  2. They fear that the church will split if they try to change the constitution or bylaws in regard to church government.
  3. They fear that their efforts will fail and the church will be worse off than before.
  4. They fear having to do the hard work of educating the congregation about eldership.
  5. Other pastors fear that they might lose some of their power and authority in the church. Newton agrees: “At the root of much opposition to plural eldership are pastors who fear the loss of their authority in the church.”

Those in the congregation are also fearful.

  1. They fear that things might not be as comfortable as they are now. [Read more…] about Fear of Change

Called to Work

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Last month I presented a three-hour address to my church entitled “Called to Work: How We Should View and Do Work.”

Here’s the outline:

Introduction

1. What are some popular views on work?

1.1. Work is awful.

1.2. Work is meaningless.

1.3. Work is everything.

1.4. Work is money.

1.5. “Secular” work is inferior to “full-time Christian ministry.”

2. How does work fit in the Bible’s storyline?

2.1. Work at Creation [Read more…] about Called to Work

The Vanity of Life without God

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Is this vapid, moralistic therapeutic selfism the best you can do?

Text from the video (numbering added):

  1. Show up
  2. Follow your heart
  3. Find a new perspective
  4. Have a sense of wonder . . .
  5. Find people you love . . .
  6. Set goals
  7. Help others
  8. Dance
  9. Pamper yourself . . .
  10. Face your fears . . .
  11. Go to a museum
  12. Exercise
  13. Limit television
  14. Get in touch with nature
  15. Lighten up
  16. Get a good night’s sleep
  17. Read books
  18. Buy yourself flowers
  19. Don’t compare yourself with others
  20. Don’t beat yourself up
  21. Be open to new ideas
  22. Don’t focus on negative thoughts . . .
  23. . . . Focus on creating what you desire
  24. Make time just to have fun
  25. Keep the romance in your life
  26. Make a gratitude list
  27. Love your Mother Earth
  28. Want what you have
  29. Be true to yourself

That way of life is ultimately unsatisfying.

There is a better way.

That’s Why It’s Called Progressive Sanctification

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C. S. Lewis, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” in The Chronicles of Narnia (repr., San Fransisco: HarperCollins, 2004), 476:

[Context: The narrator makes this observation shortly after Aslan transforms Eustace Scrubb, the selfish-brat-turned-dragon, back to his human form.]

It would be nice, and fairly true, to say that “from that time forth Eustace was a different boy.” To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun.

Bible Memory for Young Children

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Jenni and I are frequently amazed at how easily our two-year-old daughter, Kara Marie, memorizes things. It’s amazing. So we’re trying to harness some of her brainpower by memorizing the Bible.

Jenni has taught Kara dozens of verses, and we’re using some additional resources to help these verses stick long-term. Texts in song are remembered long, so memorizing Scripture with music is especially helpful (though some of the songs mentioned below may be more “bumpy” than some prefer).

By the way, children are not the only ones who benefit from Scripture put to song. Dads and moms do, too! We frequently find ourselves meditating on verses like “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” or “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God.’”

1. Foundation and Fighter Verses (Children Desiring God)

  • “Foundation Versesare strategically chosen Bible verses for children preschool through age five.”
    • The verses are available on little flashcards with a picture on one side and the verse and verse reference on the other.
    • Eleven of the 68 verses are put to music, and those MP3s are available for free.

[Read more…] about Bible Memory for Young Children