A Bruised Reed and a Smoking Wick

ABC World News Tonight at Southern Seminary

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:58:00 +0000

ABC's World News Tonight broadcast a segment from Southern Seminary trying to understand the issue of why many conservative Christians think it is ok for a woman to be president of the United States while also thinking it would be sinful for a woman to be a pastor of a church.

The segment is available here.

World News Tonight doesn't quite know what to think or say to a complementarian understanding of gender. It's not patriarchy, its not egalitarianism, its not feminist, they simply do not have a category for it.

Albert Mohler was interviewed in this segment, his thoughts about the segment are posted at albertmohler.com

Faith Baptist Church 2008 Men's Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:43:00 +0000

I am very excited to announce our Men's conference this year. Our Church will be holding the conference on October 25th 2008 and our speaker will be Donald Whitney.

Two Books by Donald Whitney have had a huge impact on my life. First, book that impacted me was his Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, I find my self going over this book again and again helping me maintain spiritual health in my life. Secondly, Donald Whitney's little booklet on Family Worship also caused me to take seriously the call to lead our family in devotion and worship together.

I am hoping I will be able to take Professor Whitney's class on spiritual disciplines during the upcoming J-term at Southern Seminary.

The topic of the conference is "Responding Biblically to the Increasing Pace and Complexity of Life" This topic is based off of Donald Whitney's book Simplify Your Spiritual Life. I hope that God really blesses the men of our church through this conference.

Dr. Whitney has a very helpful website here

Family Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:06:00 +0000

In response to my post on discipline a few weeks ago Brynn asked good questions about what we do in our family devotion or family worship time. I thought that this being such an important and so often neglected subject, I should treat it in a few posts.

First, I must confess and have already confessed here that I am not the greatest model of faithfulness in leading my family in worship or devotions (praise God that he is rich in mercy). I am a Youth Pastor which means that our schedule is often hectic and our children routinely stay up way past their bedtimes because of my job and church related activities.

That said, this is no excuse for not having a regular family devotion/worship time. I should never want to miss the opportunity to bless my children, my wife, and myself through reading the Bible, singing praises to God, and praying for the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.

Here are some practical tips I have learned in starting and maintaining regular family devotions/worship in our home.

KEEP IT SIMPLE! KEEP IT SIMPLE! KEEP IT SIMPLE! Did I mention KEEP IT SIMPLE (read, sing, pray). This is the most important rule to remember. We don't need to do more than these simple elements.

-Keep it age appropriate (don't read the KJV if you have small children find an age

appropriate Bible)

- Be filled with joy as you minister to your family

- Have a set time to do it (right after dinner, before bed, after breakfast what ever will work

best for your family is the right time)

- Involve each person in the family (our children lead the singing)

-Seek out a person in your church to hold you accountable for doing family worship

-In the immortal words of those NIKE commercials "Just Do It"

I am putting in a side-bar for resources on family worship and I will cover the resources we use in a future post.

2008 Reading List

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:01:00 +0000

Part of the reason I decided to start blogging had to do with my 2008 reading goals. I thought blogging might provide some accountability and incentive. I found myself with shelves full of books that I wanted to read but never did. As a youth pastor there always seems to be something more important to read.

At the start of 2008 I compiled a list of books I wanted to read this year. I have added more than a few to my 2008 list and I have yet to remove any. I still have a little over three months to go. I doubt that I will make it all the way through my list. However, the benefits have been enormous. I have been far more disciplined in my reading.

Through my reading God has blessed me as I have wept my way through sections of books and was challenged by others, I have been encouraged, and convicted of sin, I have made new friends, and carried on conversations with some of the godliest men in church history. Above all, I find myself loving Christ more now than I did nine months ago. Thank you God for books.

John Piper on the Gospel

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:58:00 +0000

John Piper answers the question what is the gospel.

Biblical Theology Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:11:00 +0000

Just stumbled across a great website devoted to the subject of Biblical Theology. Check it out Beginning with Moses

What is the Gospel?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:13:00 +0000

As The United States drifts into post-Christian spirituality Christians must stop assuming the gospel. Many contemporary prophets have sounded the alarm but the mainstream Evangelical churches in the U.S. has not responded. In a recent interview OS Guinness made the point that many American churches have so adopted worldly practices for structure and leadership that the Holy Spirit could leave the church and the church could continue on for another 50 years or so and no one would know that he left.

We have moved our focus from the transcendent God and the Work of the Spirit through the gospel and put our focus programs and buildings. The Holy Spirit and the gospel can be removed from a church while the church continues on with its programs and building projects. Gospel-less, Spiritless churches send people to hell while assuring them of heaven.

That is why we can never assume the gospel. We must always revisit God's plan of redemption. It must form the base and ground of all that we do. Churches, pastors, elders, deacons, songs, curriculum, books and church budgets, all must be evaluated according to the gospel. But to do this we must know what the gospel is.

Here is Mark Dever explaining the gospel. I hope to add videos along these lines. I took this off The Gospel Coalition website.

For more on the dangers of assuming the gospel, my pastor Bob Buchanan has written an excellent post on his blog here

Themelios Returns

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 03:29:00 +0000

I just discovered today that my favorite Theological Journal is back in print (sort of.) I recieved a note last January telling me that Themelios would no longer be published. However, the good men over at The Gospel Coalition have decided to keep the journal even retaining the same layout and format. It is no longer a print journal but can now be found digitally at The Gospel Coalition website in three formats ipaper, HTML, and PDF download.

Discipline

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:14:00 +0000

About three weeks ago Shaunna (my uber awesome wife) and I noticed, that our children were not listening well, were very disrespectful and generally disobedient. I was getting tired of the constant discipline.

We started to brainstorm how we could parent more effectively when we needed to discipline . Both of us were very frustrated and during our brainstorm because the best we could come up with was harder spankings (now there is some creative parenting.) I left to go to the store and it dawned on me. We had not done family devotions in over two months. Because none of my children read yet our family devotions are their primary intake of the Scriptures.

I know in my own life that there is a direct correlation between the time I spend with God in the Word and prayer and my ability to resist and flee temptation. Of course this is true of our children as well. I was reminded that discipline has two sides. Discipline doesn't just seek to punish or correct sin but also must encourage us to follow, honor, and glorify God.

Discipline should always have as its goal discipleship and I was not thinking in terms of discipleship but behavior control. My goal as a parent must always be growth in God and I should never be content to merely curb sin. As a father I failed my children in the area of discipline and therefore failed also in discipleship.

Crazy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:12:00 +0000

I have just had the most insane weekend. On Saturday I went to a John McCain Sarah Palin rally in Colorado Springs. This was my first time at a political event and I have to say I was not impressed. For starters all of those home-made signs, well. . . they are not so home-made. Volunteers make them up ahead of time and then they pass them out. I guess every political move has to be calculated and the campaign wants to control the message down to the last detail.

I realized something else while I was at the rally. I care deeply about political issues: the war, whether its wise to nationalize health care, how we can become less dependent on foreign energy. However, I could not care less about the games politicians have to play to get elected.

On the bright side we had VIP tickets and were seated about 20 yards from the stage. We went with good friends so we had a good time. The coolest people at the rally were the secret service men and women. I think I want to be one when I grow up.

(Both Pictures were taken by Kirk Speer for the Colorado Springs Gazette and were found here)

More on a Theology of Adoption

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:18:00 +0000

John Piper always pushes everything to its ultimate cause. So here is a very thoughtful explanation of why Christians should adopt and support adoption.

Why is it Ok for Women to Lead a Nation but not a Church?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:08:00 +0000

Albert Mohler weighs in here regarding Sarah Palin and the gender issue. There are certainly going to be some Hyper-Patriarchal Christians who would have a problem with Palin Serving as VP of the United States. But does her nomination necessitate a revision of a complementarian understanding of the scriptures?

Dr. Mohler further highlights an even more fundamental issue at stake in this debate and that is the distinction between the church and the world. Should the church be a mirror of the world? Because Women can lead a country should they therefore be ordained as ministers and elders in our churches?

This cuts to the heart of debates that have been raging for years over the ordination of women. The question for complementarians is not whether women have abilities and gifts of leadership (many have excellent leadership gifts). The question we ask is, "who has God given the responsibility of leadership in the church?"

Even as we answer the question that God has given men the responsibility alone to serve as ministers and elders in the church. We recognize that God has not entirely excluded women from bearing leadership responsibility in the church. Titus 2 makes clear that women are to teach and lead other women. Further, the reality that Scripture presents, limits the role of women in so far as they are excluded from being elders. However, Scripture no where condemns women for leading in secular vocations.

I hope that the Palin nomination causes conservative Christians to think very carefully about the roles of men and women both in the church and in the world.

Sarah Palin and Complementarianism

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:34:00 +0000

The Counsel on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood has just published a short article about how Christian complementarians should view the nomination of Sarah Palin for Vice President.

Cultic Dangers

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:40:00 +0000

In an article posted at Reformation 21 Carl Trueman exposes the Danger of the Personality Cult. The title of Dr. Trueman's article is The Day They Tried to Recruit Me to the Most Dangerous Cult in the World!

In his article Dr. Trueman addresses the problem and dangers of seminary students who are drawn to the personalities of their professors. However, I do not think the issue of the personality cult is limited to seminaries. In general we all are as Calvin said idol factories and we will even turn good men into idols. Even worse is our tendency and desire to be worshipped ourselves. As pastors we are prone to the ego stroking that personality cults bring. (After all, its nice to have at least a few people who listen to what we say.) We need the words of John the Baptist "He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:30

I would encourage all to read the article

Adoption and the Gospel

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:52:00 +0000

Could there be a clearer representation of the gospel in the sphere of human relationships than adopting a child? It seems to me that adoption is a good picture of the result of the Gospel. Because of Christ's atoning work on the cross, we become children of God and co-heirs with Christ (see Romans 8:15-17). How might Christians have relationships that preach Christ? One answer would be to adopt children.

This is a video of Russell Moore, Senior Vice President for Academic Administration; Dean of the School of Theology; Associate Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics (2001) at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, explaining briefly how his theology helped him in adopting his own children.

Gospel Relationships

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:28:00 +0000

I have been teaching through Romans and almost done. In this book Paul gives his clearest and most comprehensive treatment of the gospel. Yet, what stung me most was not his exposition of sin and salvation but rather his treatment of relationships in chapters 14 and 15. Paul's basic argument is that the gospel in the life of the believer will produce gospel relationships.

Chapter 15:7 "Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you." This is a gospel statement. In order for Christ to welcome us he had to be killed to make atonement for our sin. Therefore it should be easy for us to be welcoming to one another. If we cannot welcome one another perhaps it means that we have not understood the gospel. The Gospel should radically transform our relationships. Yet how many churches are marked by division rather than unity, how many churches are stuck in a cycle of relational dysfunction? We need, I need the gospel to transform my relationships.

How to be a good husband

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:52:00 +0000

finally music with a message. I wish I had heard this when I was first married it would have saved a lot of time.

Colonial Rebelion Day

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:11:00 +0000

I just thought I would post this hilarous video I found to celebrate Colonial Rebelion Day (aka 4th of July).

Make sure to watch all the way to the end.

Southern Seminary

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:21:00 +0000

Got the royal treatment today at Southern Seminary (campus tour, lunch, etc.)

The Highlight of the day was stop at the studio where Albert Mohler broadcasts his show.

Traveling to Louisville

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Shaunna and I are in Louisville Kentucky, our first real trip together without children. Getting to Louisville was no easy task, it makes me think that God gave us airlines for our own personal growth and sanctification. We were scheduled to leave Denver at 10am and arrive in Kentucky at 6pm. But we were late getting out of Denver because of a plane malfunction so we missed all our connecting flights. To make a long story short we flew standby and made it to bed (in Louisville) at 1:30am.

However, God is good and as we boarded our (late) plane in Denver we meet Margaret and Sydney who are from Louisville. Margaret's husband Rob is the pastor at North Oldham Baptist Church just north of Louisville (Rob went to Southern Seminary). We ended up on all the same flights. In Chicago all of us were on standby for Louisville, so we had dinner at Chili's in the airport, with. Even in our travel woes God gave us good fellowship with believers.

The Grace of God in Good Sermons

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:03:00 +0000

It is 11pm on Sunday night and I am pondering the grace of God on Sundays. God gave me this day. He did not have to but he did. He also gave me the privilege of public corporate worship. I got to hear a sermon today. This is an amazing gift of God. Our pastor is preaching through the book of Hebrews and today his sermon was really a meditation on Hebrews 13:5-6 which deals with contentment. God is amazing in giving us faithful pastors who preach his word for his people. God's grace was further evident to me today in the preaching of his Word as the Holy Spirit convicted me. The final point of the sermon was this application, "I must remember that I do not belong to myself I belong to God."

As an American I think that I deserve so much, I deserve: great schools, financial help in a bad economy, health, good insurance, a life free of fear, low gas prices, social mobility, "The American Dream" I deserve to be the master of my life. In actuality, I deserve far less. God would be totally just in condemning me. God does not owe me anything. If he destroyed me in his wrath it would merely be to the exaltation of his glorious justice. I am a sinner. Too often my actions seek to dethrone God to organize a cosmic coup where I seek to take his throne and rule myself and others. Yet God rich in mercy does not pour out his wrath on me for my sin. No, he poured out his wrath on his Son, killing Christ in my place. I deserve nothing and I have been given everything. So fundamentally, my lack of contentment shows a deficiency in my understanding of the gospel.

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

Penal-Substitution

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:38:00 +0000

Just gave a lecture/discussion on the importance of Penal-Substitutionary Atonement today to a few of the men of our church . For me this was just an awesome study and reflection on the work of Christ. In my study I was drawn to think Christologically about the first Passover in Exodus 12. In the first Passover there were 2 salvations

1. Pharaoh and Egypt
2. God's wrath for idolatry

Verse 12 of Exodus 12 is so important. God states that he would have dominion over the god's of Egypt, gods the Israelites no doubt worshipped alongside the Egyptians. It seems that God's judgment in killing the firstborn was his judgment on both Egypt's and Israel’s idolatry. In order to be saved from God's righteous wrath a substitute had to be provided. This is a divine picture to help us understand the perfect substitute we have in Christ. John the Baptist no doubt understood this when he exclaimed "behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Why do we object to Penal-Substitutionary Atonement? It is a hard pill for us to swallow. The only way we could have a reconciled relationship to God was for God to kill his own Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. On the cross the righteous wrath and anger of God was poured out on Christ for our sin and rebellion against God. Perhaps some of us are uncomfortable with a God who is so perfectly just that he would kill his own Son in order to make sure that no sin goes unpunished.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”

Faux Bloger

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:59:00 +0000

For the two people who actually read my blog, I am sure you have uncovered my dirty secret. I am not a real blogger. No, real bloggers post daily sometimes multiple posts in a day with great pictures. Most of them even understand Html. I however, struggle to post once a week and until recently thought Html was an abbreviation for Hot tamales.

I am really a faux blogger. I aspire to look like the real thing but discerning bloggers can tell the difference. So thank you for reading my faux blog.

On a different note I would like to post on sandwiches. Not only do I love to read and listen to good music I also love a good sandwich. I am not talking about pbj slapped between two pieces of Wonder Bread. No, a good sandwich is a magnificent work of art much like the paintings of, Monet, the symphonies of Mahler the improvisations of Coltrane. How few there are in our time who can make a good sandwich.

The base of any good sandwich is of course the bread any sandwich not made from a loaf of fresh baked bread is worthless. My preference is sourdough. Next it should contain a binding element like Miracle Whip, mustard, ranch dressing, Heidi’s deli one of my favorite sandwich shops uses a spicy pepper spread for one of their sandwiches. I prefer the veggies to go next. My basic veggies are lettuce (iceberg or leaf) tomatoes (out of your garden are always the best) onions (red seem to work best in a sandwich) and if in season avocado.

I prefer protein (meat) to be in the middle of the sandwich and I like many different meats depending on my mood. The important thing about meat is that it must be from a good deli and it must be thin sliced. It is better to have many pieces of thinly sliced meat than a big hunk of meat in the middle. Cheese is the final piece for me I love nearly any cheese but for sandwiches white cheeses are best. For ham I like provolone, for turkey a good swiss or baby swiss, for roast beef (you might think I am weird) muenster or blue cheese. Generally I use Miracle Whip for one piece of bread then on the other I will use either a good stone ground mustard or especially with roast beef a horseradish spread. I prefer then to cut the sandwich in half. Any sandwich worth eating must be gently and carefully compressed to fit into your mouth.

Oh we should thank the Lord for his divine goodness and providence in allowing us to discover and enjoy one of the greatest fruits of his creation the sandwich.

Jazz 101 with Dave Brubeck

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Here is the Dave Brubeck quartet playing their most memorable tune Take Five. I just love this chart.

Why a Bruised Reed?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Crust) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Now that I have been blogging for a little while it may be a good idea to explain the title of this blog. Last year I read Richard Sibbes' TheBruised Reed and the work had a profound impact on my life in several ways.

1. It reminded me that I am a miserable sinner
2. It reminded me that Christ is a great Savior
3. It convicted me of my self-righteousness when
when I judge my brothers & sisters in Christ.
4. It humbled me and showed how deeply
rooted and pervasive pride is in my life.
5. It held out a great model of serving truth
with tenderness.
6. Sibbes uncovers and magnifies the work of Christ
in the gospel.

Like many young Calvinists I lack meekness, gentleness and humility and more than any other writer or book The Bruised Reed helped me see that my lack of gentleness is really pride and it is sinful. So, as a constant reminder to myself of the lessons the Lord taught me as I read Sibbes I have titled this blog A Bruised Reed and a Smoking Wick. This is not so much meant to be a tribute to Richard Sibbes as it is to be a reminder that I am a bruised reed and My Faith resembles a smoking wick much more than it does an actual flame. Matthew 12:20, Isaiah 42:3