“We live in an age of tremendous Bible ignorance. Even conservative seminaries do not teach much of the Bible; they teach everything else, but assume that the men will learn the Bible on their own. Pastors are told that laymen are stupid, and cannot be taught much of the Bible. They are told to give out “three point” sermons. This must not continue.

The goal of total Bible saturation is that our common sense is reshaped. This takes time. It probably takes a generation. Because we are estranged from the Biblical outlook, much of the Bible seems strange to us. The Bible comes to us as “formal language.” That is, it is “high language” that directly challenges our outlook on reality. We must learn it and live with it until what the Bible says becomes our common sense, what we instinctively operate with day by day.”

Great Value on Jordan’s Complete Works Here

“More frightening is the impression that the social sciences hold the key for church renewal and growth. The assumption seems to be that we are basically OK theologically, spiritually, morally, in our prayers and passion and understanding, and that if we just add this component we are bound to see fruit.”

Obviously the problem runs much deeper. We have spent the past 25 years honing the next church marketing programs and can’t miss church growth tools, but what has all this gotten us? Well, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest conservative evangelical denomination in America, was concerned enough to launch a task force to examine why we aren’t fulfilling the Great Commission. The task force released a progress report that contained some startling, if not surprising, data. America has 150 million more people than we did in 1950. The Southern Baptist Convention has over 17,000 more churches than it did in 1950. The SBC Baptized more than 35,000 fewer people in 2008 than it did in 1950. This is a sign of big trouble for the future of evangelicalism in America.

Our churches that are expert market strategists are doing a great job killing off our smaller churches, but little else. It’s time to get our head out of the sand and realize that there is no seven step workshop that we can go to that will make our church grow by 20%. We need a revival of the theological, spiritual, moral, prayer, passion and understanding variety. We need a return to gospel centered churches with biblical worship and a biblical purpose.

Buy D.A. Carsons The Gagging of God

“In North America, evangelical Christianity has been the predominant form of the faith, and has been for several centuries. During this time, our nation has walked away from Jesus Christ, and has been teaching the world to do the same. The false gospel of secularism is a false gospel. This happened on our watch., not on Wright’s. Piper rightly cautions Wright about what certain blurry spots in his gospel will lead to. I agree with that. But the blurry spots in the gospel of contempory evangelicalism is not something that will lead to bad consequences, but is rather something that has led to them. We are neck deep in them.”

In a recent radio program (available online), Dr. Al Mohler asks, “Should American Christians be optimistic about the future?” His conclusion is that optimism about the future, as well as pessimism, are incompatible with a Christian worldview. According to Dr. Mohler, we cannot be optimistic because we know things will only get worse in America (as indicated by recent events), but we cannot be pessimistic because we have an eschatological hope in the eventual return of Christ.

This kind of talk sounds like David resigning himself to never become King because Saul was such a wicked guy. Instead, through years of suffering, he patiently waited for what God has promised through Samuel: the crown. Do we doubt our commission? We have been delivered marching orders. Christ (a better Samuel) himself tells us, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We, like David, have confidence, but not in our own ability to grasp authority for ourselves. We, like David, are not afraid of Saul just because he currently rules and there is no end in sight. Our confidence rests in the promises of God. Though it started relatively well, it is obvious that America is quickly becoming Saul. But where there is a Saul there is a David and the Kingdom of God is often established on the blood of the older brother.

So while we (optimistically) wait for the beast to die, our job is to make sure that we are like David (prepared to take up the mantle of authority) instead of being Ish-bosheth, the last sons of a corrupt line. We do that by being built up in the better David, Jesus Christ. We follow Paul, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body…let the word of God dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” – Colossians 3:15-16

There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips – for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?” But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold the nations in derision. O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress. My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.” – Psalm 59:7-10

According to some recent reports, it’s those darn evangelical Christians again. Don’t they know the Moral Majority is dead?

HT: David Sessions

Carson notes that he has no objections with systematic theology as far as it goes, but believes that it might be wiser for pastors, and I would include anyone trying to minister to younger generations, to focus more on biblical theology than systematic theology. For Carson, Biblical Theology is, “the theology of the biblical corpora as God progressively discloses himself, climaxing in the coming of his Son Jesus Christ, and consummating in the new heaven and new earth. In other words, sequence, history, the passage of time – these are foundational for biblical theology and relatively minor in systematic theology.”

I agree with his observation for a few reasons. First, I myself am part of the generation that is increasingly influenced by a postmodern, pluralistic worldview. I was 13 when Carson’s book was published in 1996. From personal experience, although I enjoy and appreciate systematic theology, biblical theology has deeply resonated with my soul. I think, for instance, of my first exposure to the work of James Jordan, especially in his book Through New Eyes: Developing a Biblical View of the World.

A second reason is that I have spent the last eight years ministering to students who are far more influenced by pluralism than I am and rarely have any semblance of a modern or biblical worldview left. This isn’t necessarily good or bad, it just means that our role in seeking to evangelize and disciple these people is different than it was 15 or 30 years ago. Approaching people who don’t believe in absolute truth with a series of propositional truths simply will not work; especially when those individuals have little if any knowledge of God, the Bible or the Gospel.

Carson suggests that we teach people truth as the Bible does, by teaching them the progressive revelation of the Bible’s story line. He writes, “One is simultaneously setting forth a structure of thought, and a meta-narrative; one is constructing a worldview, and showing how that worldview is grounded in the Bible itself. For these reasons, evangelism might wisely become, increasingly, a subset of biblical theology.”

This seems incredibly wise to me, especially when working with students and younger generations with little biblical knowledge. It isn’t really foregoing systematic theology or propositional truth, but rediscovering it through the biblical lens with which it was originally given. This is a path that seems likely to bear great fruit in a world much more like the pluralistic world to which the Bible was addressed than the one world of 50 years ago.

NOTE: I just read the article that Mike quotes from extensively in his blog post and it is excellent as well if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Just an aside, my first e-mail address when I was in middle school was “likenimrod@hotmail.com.” I thought I was being clever because Nimrod was a “mighty hunter before the Lord.” Turns out I was just being a pagan. Darn those Bible translators.