Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Seven Essential Elements of an Effective Shepherding Ministry

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That’s the title of chapter 9 in this book:

Timothy Z. Witmer. The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010. 268 pp.

Excerpts (pp. 193–224):

Fail to include one of these elements and the plan will be deficient and likely to falter. . . .

  1. An effective shepherding ministry must be biblical. . . . [U]nless the shepherding ministry is founded on biblical convictions, it is unlikely to survive. . . .
  2. An effective shepherding ministry must be systematic. . . . [T]here must be a plan. If shepherding the flock is something elders are called to do, it is important to have a well-considered strategy to accomplish the task. . . . [Read more…] about Seven Essential Elements of an Effective Shepherding Ministry

Getting the Old Princetonians Right

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Books like this are rare:

Paul Kjoss Helseth. “Right Reason” and the Princeton Mind: An Unorthodox Proposal. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010. 257 pp.

Helseth destroys the fifty-years-old paradigm about the Old Princetonians (esp. Archibald Alexander, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, and J. Gresham Machen) that postconservative evangelicals continue to use today.

I’ve heard John Woodbridge rave about Helseth’s research on the Princetonians many times. Woodbridge initially encouraged Helseth to write this book, and Woodbridge’s foreword sets the historical stage for how unusual and bold this book is.

You can view a PDF of Woodbridge’s foreword (along with endorsements by scholars like John Frame, Roger Nicole, and Steve Nichols) here.

Warfield the Affectionate Theologian

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The theologian B. B. Warfield was a scholar. One of the best. And he refused to separate theology and spirituality.

I write this in Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology (p. 283, numbering added):

Pitting doctrine against devotion is a false dichotomy because God intends them to go together. They are not mutually exclusive; one without the other is incomplete.

[Note 199] Warfield strikes an outstanding balance in five articles reprinted in his Selected Shorter Writings , 2 vols., ed. J. E. Meeter (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1970, 1973), listed here chronologically:

  1. “Authority, Intellect, Heart,” 2:668–71;
  2. “The Indispensableness of Systematic Theology to the Preacher,” 2:280–8;
  3. “Spiritual Culture in the Theological Seminary,” 2:468–96;
  4. “The Religious Life of Theological Students,” 1:411–25;
  5. “The Purpose of the Seminary,” 1:374–8.

See also Andrew J. B. Cameron and Brian S. Rosner, eds., The Trials of Theology: Becoming a “Proven Worker” in a Dangerous Business (Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2010).

Those five articles by B. B. Warfield profoundly influenced me when I was in seminary. Hugely helpful and motivating.

Here’s a sample from “The Religious Life of Theological Students” (1:411–12): [Read more…] about Warfield the Affectionate Theologian

Evangelize by Loving Christians

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J. Mack Stiles, Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010), 103–9:

Loving Other Christians and Evangelism

On the eve of his death Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34). This is by far the most important command for healthy evangelism. We are to love the church. . . .

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35). . . .

[T]his love must be seen by the world, not just felt by believers. . . .

How odd, one might say, that the best way to demonstrate that Jesus is from the Father and that we are his followers is not through method or technique or apologetics. It’s through loving, unified community among believers. . . . [Read more…] about Evangelize by Loving Christians

Why John Piper Doesn’t Own a TV

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Sam Storms, “Christian Hedonism: Piper and Edwards on the Pursuit of Joy in God,” in For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper (ed. Sam Storms and Justin Taylor; Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 49–50.

John Piper is known for many things. . . .

Some would likely mention the fact that he’s never owned a television! I vividly remember my first visit to John’s home in 1992. He had invited me to speak at his annual pastor’s conference which, as it turns out, is regularly scheduled during the week following the Super Bowl. Upon arriving at his home after the Sunday service, I told John that I had been looking forward for quite some time to watching the game with him. “Not at my house,” he said. “We don’t have a TV.” After I recovered from the initial shock, John graciously agreed to take me to the home of a church member where I could indulge myself in this annual affair. And yes, John stayed and actually watched the game! [Read more…] about Why John Piper Doesn’t Own a TV

God’s in Charge of the Weather

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We’re scheduled to fly today from Greenville to Green Bay via Detroit (for Northland’s Heart Conference), but snowmageddon in the Midwest is canceling and delaying flights.

“God’s in Charge of the Weather” (from J Is for Jesus ) keeps playing in our heads:

God makes the sun shine;
God makes the rain fall.
God’s in charge of the weather.

God makes the thunder;
God makes the lightning.
God’s in charge of the weather.

God can make it wet or dry;
God’s the big boss of the sky.

God makes the sun shine;
God makes the rain fall.
God’s in charge of the weather.

Sometimes adults benefit more from children’s music than children do.

Crusty Christians vs. Hugging Theologians

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“The Crust and the Core” is the clever epilogue to this book (pp. 241–44):

Kevin DeYoung. The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism. Chicago: Moody, 2010. 252 pp.

Excerpts:

This has been a book about theology, about knowing theology and loving theology. But if we’ve really paid attention to the Heidelberg Catechism, this should also be a book about warmhearted experiential faith. In fact, knowing and loving theological truth is what produces the warmhearted experiential faith.

Sadly, too many Christians are asked to choose between theology and experience, between head and heart, between having convictions and being kind. These are false dichotomies . . . . We ought to be hugging theologians . . . . [W]e need to have a theological core without being theologically crusty. . . . [Read more…] about Crusty Christians vs. Hugging Theologians

Three Central Emphases of Tim Keller’s Preaching

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Dennis E. Johnson summarizes three central emphases of Tim Keller‘s homiletic approach to illustrate how “the gospel changes everything” in “an approach to evangelistic, edificatory redemptive-historical preaching” (Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures [Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007], 54–61):

1) What both the unbeliever and the believer need to hear in preaching is the gospel, with its implications for a life lived in confident gratitude in response to amazing grace. Christians are constantly tempted to relapse into legalistic attitudes in their pursuit of sanctification, so we never outgrow our need to hear the good news of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ. . . .

[Read more…] about Three Central Emphases of Tim Keller’s Preaching