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Is there a connection between birth control and abortion? Part 4 of Pastor Mark's interview with Randy Alcorn. See all the parts of this interview posted so far.
In this clip Alcorn refers to a couple of his books on the topic:
Re:Train professor Gregg Allison explains the missional church in his blog series on Missional Ecclesiology.
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Are young pro-life evangelicals inconsistent in how they approach the issue of abortion? Part 3 of Pastor Mark's interview with Randy Alcorn. See all the parts of this interview posted so far.
We believe God uses good books to change lives. Re:Lit publishes a growing line of books to fuel the Resurgence. Find out more.
In Jeremiah 29:4-7 God called the Israelites, who had been exiled into Babylon, to pursue the peace and prosperity of that pagan city. Likewise, Jesus, in Matthew 5:13-16, calls us to be a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. He clarified that not only our words, but our words backed by deeds of service would shine the glory of God from the city of God into the secular city.
We see in Luke how Jesus not only used his words to bring the gospel, but also his acts of service allowed his words to be heard. As Christians sent into our respective cities, we are called to be the very best citizens of that city. We are to work for the peace, safety, security, vibrancy, and future of our city, plus the common good of all of our neighbors. A gospel-centered church is one that takes this mission seriously. We want to demonstrate the resources the Christian faith has for hope in the future.
In Revelation, we don't see individuals being taken out of the world into heaven, but heaven coming down to renew the world and wash it of evil, disease, poverty, injustice and death. At Mars Hill Downtown we are actively working to build bridges and relationships with city and neighborhood leaders. We want to find out what the needs and gaps are in our city and if at all possible, work towards a solution.
Practically, we host "Town Halls," where we invite local city leaders to an evening of discussion, brainstorming and strategizing how we as a community can assist. A new ministry that sprung out of a conversation with a civic leader last year is "Rest". This ministry reaches out to the girls and women in our city who work in prostitution and dancing, or who are involved in sex trafficking. We are pursuing permission with a downtown strip club for some of our women to begin building relationships at the club on Friday nights.
Additionally, many members are actively involved on community councils, Mayor's office, business associations, and chambers of commerce. We don't believe that politics changes hearts—Jesus does. We do believe that we are called to serve our city, love our neighbors, and be as active as possible, so that people "see our good works and glorify our Father who is in Heaven" (Matt. 5:16).
The ESV Study Bible is our Bible of choice. To show how good the notes are, we’ve posted some free study notes on the Trinity. Read them here.
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Pastor Mark recently got a chance to sit down with Randy Alcorn, director of Eternal Perspective Ministries and author of numerous bestselling books, including The Treasure Principle and Heaven.
In this clip from the interview, he explains why in spite of having sold millions of books, he only makes minimum wage.
There are 7 more clips in this interview that we will be posting over the next month or two. Feel free to bookmark the Resurgence, grab our feed, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for more.
Pastor Mark answers the top nine most-asked questions in Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. Find out more.
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What would our lives look like if we were completely driven by the gospel? In this clip, we ask Michael Horton to tell us about his book The Gospel-Driven Life.
In this interview series, Mars Hill PR Director Nick Bogardus interviews Dr. Michael Horton. For more information and resources from Dr. Horton, check out White Horse Inn.
Customized research for pastors. High-level exegesis, theological analysis, and cultural research as well as writing assistance. Learn more.
I recently had the privilege of guest lecturing at the University of Texas on the topic of the Resurgence of Mission & Reformed Theology in America. Eileen Delao-Flynn, Professor and Religion writer for the Austin American-Statesman, was kind enough to extend me the invitation to address her Journalism & Religion class. The entire lecture would be too long to reproduce here. However, I have included a section on “Resurging Calvinism” below.
In an article entitled “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now,” TIME magazine numbered the "New Calvinism" as the third most influential idea changing the world in 2009. In an effort to explain this "New Calvinism," New Calvinists are laboring to shake off a fundamentalist, religious image and articulate the old gospel in fresh, biblically faithful ways. They are making five important distinctions:
New Calvinists point out that the Gospel is not Religion. This came as a surprise to some of the students. Religion says, “You must impress God,” but the gospel says, “Jesus impressed God for you.” Religion says, “Perfect yourself and God will be happy.” The gospel says, "We are all imperfect people, but Christians cling to a perfect Christ who obtains the pleasure of God for them." The gospel is good news, but religion is burdensome news. Religion tells us to perform for God, but the gospel reminds us that Jesus has performed perfectly on our behalf. The Gospel is not Religion.
The Gospel makes a distinction between arrogant separatism and humble evangelism. It doesn't exaggerate an Us/Them mentality. New Calvinism doesn't evangelize out of superiority but empathy. We recognize that we all need Jesus before the judgment of a holy God. The only difference between true Christians and non-Christians is that Christians are recipients of God’s grace in Christ. But we all are equally in need of that grace. There's not one person in this world who needs God's saving grace more than anyone else. The New Calvinism does not pit the human race against one another—Us versus Them—but views all humanity in light of our standing with God.
New Calvinism is recovering a gospel that is bigger than "fire insurance" from hell. It is articulating the gospel as “good news” for the whole world—society, culture, people, and the environment. The gospel is not an LCD, a lowest common denominator of the bare minimum facts you have to believe to get into heaven. Rather, it is a TOE, a theory of everything that addresses God’s purpose for humanity, society, culture, cities, environment, justice, and the future. It possesses an explanatory power that addresses everything from human motivation to environmental concerns. New Calvinists are embracing all goodness, truth, and beauty as God’s truth, goodness, and beauty, and redemptively engaging those things that are false, ugly, and evil. The gospel is much bigger than people think, but it is not smaller than personal redemption.
New Calvinists are distancing the gospel from politics. They are not preaching a political gospel, though the gospel does have political implications. In short, Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat.
New Calvinists are returning to the city, to engage the beauty and brokenness of urban life. They are recovering a commitment to justice and mercy in the city, returning to cities from the white suburban flight.
These distinctions are the direct result of a high view of the sovereignty of God—his reign over all of life, not just in so-called religious matters. These distinctions flow from a big gospel that can be articulated as the good news that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and evil through his own death and resurrection and is making all things new for those who hope in him. The dying-rising-from-the-dead Messiah alone has the power to break the back of evil, redeem sin, and exchange life for death. It is the gospel that awakens us to this marvelous news.
Much more could be said regarding this resurgence. One student asked what remains the same between the "Old Calvinism" and the "New Calvinism." There is much more continuity between the New Calvinism and John Calvin than with some of his followers. However, what essentially remains the same is the soteriological core—God's sovereign grace in redeeming broken sinners, which has been popularly captured by the TULIP acronym: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints (limited atonement appears to be more negotiable among the New Calvinists). This understanding of God’s sovereignty over salvation extends into a life lived under his sovereignty post-salvation.
The TULIP is flowering more vibrantly than it has for some time in the U.S. The Reformed resurgence has led to a missional resurgence that is set on holding the formerly "liberal" and "conservative" agendas together with the gospel, promoting robust engagement of social, cultural, and spiritual spheres of life. In this regard, the New Calvinism has more in common with the Calvinism of Abraham Kuyper, who argued that Calvinism is not merely a soteriological system, but an entire life- and worldview. The New Calvinism is broader than some of its narrower conceptions. All in all, I believe this resurgence is a very positive resurgence, a winsome Calvinism for the 21st century that advocates a whole gospel for the whole person and country.
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I've been asked several times in the last couple of days about whether I'm upset about the new remix of "We Are the World."
The Christians contacting me about this are disturbed by what they see as a startling omission from the '80s-era song in its 21st century update, performed by artists in support of Haiti relief. Willie Nelson's line "As God has shown us by turning stone to bread..." is gone. These Christians are outraged, and they wonder if I am too.
Well, yes, I am outraged. Willie Nelson should have been invited to participate. He's still every bit as talented as he was in 1985, and if Nick Jonas can be invited, then certainly Willie should've been too.
Oh wait.
That's not what these folks are outraged about. They're afraid this is indicative of the secularization of American pop culture, and that there should be a Christian backlash.
But wait, again.
God didn't turn stones into bread. It was Satan, not God, who suggested our Lord Jesus turn rocks into bread (Matt. 4:3-4). God sends bread down from heaven (Exod. 16), a Manna he ultimately gives to us in the body of Jesus (Jn. 6), signified in the communion meal (1 Cor. 11).
These Christians mean well. They don't want to see the gospel disrespected. But there's something parabolic here, I think. It's the same sort of thing we see when Stephen Colbert interviews a U.S. Congressman who wants to legislate the Ten Commandments in federal courthouses but can't name them. We'd almost rather have the affirmation than the revelation.
Why are we so desperate to see "God" affirmed by the outside culture, even when the "God" they're talking about more closely resembles Zeus (or, as in this case, Lucifer) than Yahweh? When we reach this point of perpetual outrage, are we closer to identity politics than gospel proclamation? I'm afraid so.
Could it be that the problem is we really want the reassurance that we're "normal"? We'd like a shout-out in our pop culture and our political speeches to signify that we're acceptable, that Christianity isn't really all that freakish. But, if that happens, apart from submission to the Cross, is it really Christianity anymore (Jas. 4:4)?
What if, instead, we loved the world the way God does (Jn. 3:16), and not the way the satanic powers ask us to? What if we loved the world through verbal proclamation and self-sacrificial giving, not by seeking product placement for the Trinity? Rather than expecting our politicians and musicians and actors to placate us with platitudes to some generic god, let's work with them where we can on "doing good to all people" (Gal. 6:10). Let's proclaim the God of a crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus. And let's teach our kids and our converts the actual content of the biblical revelation.
That project is more difficult than signing Facebook petitions. But it's more Christian than pouting when our culture mavens misspell "Elohim" on the golden calves we've asked them to make for us.
You can find Dr. Moore’s writing and preaching at Moore to the Point.
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A number of pastors and ministry leaders have been seeking to inform their people about Haiti so they can mobilize prayer and support. I had my research assistant put together some basic data on Haiti and I am posting it to be of service to anyone who can benefit from it. For those of you who use the content we give away, thank you for letting us have some influence in your life and ministry.
Click here to download this information sheet (with footnotes) as a PDF.
9,035,536
704,766 at the 2003 census but all estimates have it at over 2 million in the metro area
(Jan 19, 2010 USAID Fact Sheet)
In total, Haiti has suffered 49 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater since the devastating 7.0 quake in Port-au-Prince....
Click here to keep reading
On Sunday, January 24, I had the great honor of sharing a lot of photos, videos, and stories of the church in Haiti and how the church is responding to suffering. A number of pastors and ministries have asked if they can use that sermon. The answer is yes. The elders at Mars Hill have always been gracious in giving content away for free to serve Jesus, which is a great joy for me personally. So, we have made the entire sermon available for download free of charge, to be used however and wherever God’s people desire.
As a side note, this sermon is a bit different than the one that is posted online on Mars Hill’s media library and that played at the Mars Hill Campuses on Sunday. The sermon that played at Mars Hill included some issues about our giving and generosity that will not pertain to other churches and ministries. So, we have cut out that content but left everything else. We hope it is helpful to God’s people for God’s glory and you can download it for free here, including an option to burn it onto a DVD, if that is easiest for you.
This will also be available with the other media we have posted on the Churches Helping Churches site.
Who will help local churches in the wake of catastrophes? You can. Learn more here.
Pastor Mark has posted a letter to Mars Hill Church regarding the devastation he saw in Haiti and Mars Hill's response on the Mars Hill blog:
Read the whole letter on the Mars Hill blog. Consider giving to help rebuild the churches in Haiti at ChurchesHelpingChurches.com.
Who will help local churches in the wake of catastrophes? You can. Learn more here.
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