We Southern Baptists say that the Bible is without error, that it is God’s authority over our lives, and that it is sufficient for leading us to God and rightly ordering our lives. I wonder, though, if we really believe what we say we believe.

It seems that we have our belief system that we profess and we have our “but’s” that we live. We say we believe that God created all things, but it looks really dumb to believe he did it in six twenty-four-hour days. We say we believe that men should lovingly lead their wives and that wives should lovingly follow that lead, but we engage in the best (worst?) of the battle of the sexes when our partner is not treating us according to our satisfaction. We say we believe in the church government taught in the Scriptures but many of our churches have deacons acting as though they were elders or, even worse, a church council acting as an elder board. We claim that church membership is to be taken seriously, but Southern Baptist Convention churches have millions of members who rarely, if ever, attend corporate worship in the church where their name persists in being on the roll.

We say we believe a lot of things, but our actions reveal what we really believe. Maybe that’s the reason denominational leaders are constantly trying to devise new means to renew our churches. Perhaps a more effective strategy would be to repent of our sin of violating our professed beliefs with our unbiblical actions and really become submissive to the teaching of the Word of God.

As Barack Obama came to national attention as the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, many were caught up in the aura of the Illinois state senator. He had a presence about him, an ability to deliver his speech, the way he held his head–all of these would draw great crowds at campaign stops and would eventually catapult him into Presidency of the United States.

The one almost universal description of candidate Obama, and now President Obama, has been that he is intelligent. He is widely considered to be more intelligent than almost anyone else in politics, indeed more intelligent than any other man elected to lead this nation. He just has that aura about him.

And I think that helps explain a great deal this fawning over President Obama–his aura. I am really not convinced that he is particularly intelligent. I do not mean he is ignorant, and I certainly do not denigrate him as so many did the younger President Bush. There simply is little hard evidence to support the commonly-held position that he is possessed of lofty intelligence. As far as I know, his grade point averages at Occidental, Columbia, and Harvard have not been released. (I recognize that one’s GPA alone does not signify intelligence, but the media made a great deal of President George W. Bush’s GPA.) As President, Mr. Obama has not really done anything that is widely considered brilliant, while he has made some noticeable gaffes that seem to be fairly overlooked by the national media.

I have to ask: What is there about President Obama which brings about this almost universal acclaim of intelligence? In a word, I think it is the “cool” factor. The President is a cool dude. He bounces down the stairs without touching the handrail. His chin is up while he makes a speech. He looks pretty good with a basketball. He just looks cool.

In America, where a large portion of our citizenry swoons over celebrities, there is great difficulty in distinguishing between intelligence and cool. We fawn over actors who are attractive and can play the part of a character before the cameras. We yawn at the scholar backed by serious research who says something that will actually impact the way we live. We are willingly led by what appears to be than by what actually is (cf. John 7:24). We cannot tell the difference between intelligence and cool.

November’s free audio download from Christian Audio is Desiring God by John Piper. In a cultural Christianity that too often sees God as a means to an end, we need to understand that God is the end, and in him alone is true joy.

Insert NOV2009 into the coupon code in order to receive the book free. Enjoy!

There is really no easy way to say this, but the state of far too many of our Southern Baptist Churches is poor. One has to look no further than the deacons who serve as de facto elders in many churches.

Those coming from other denominations may be unaware of the leadership model commonly found in Baptist churches. In these churches, the deacons function as ruling elders. They are the authority in the church, superseded only by congregational vote. Instead of a plurality of elders having oversight of the church in teaching and administration, most SBC churches (and most other Baptist denominations as well) have deacons functioning in that role. (Even more egregious than this model is the one that has a church council operating as ruling elders, but that is for another discussion.)

Usually these deacons are nominated and voted upon by the congregation. Business sense and popularity are often the criteria for getting elected. Spiritual requirements found in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 are seldom acknowledged. These deacons typically have little awareness of the Scriptures, no knowledge of church history, no understanding of why they are Baptists other than immersion as the mode of baptism, and yet have authority over the church. When someone in the church has a complaint about the pastor, these deacons confront the pastor to change in order to keep peace in the church. Heaven forbid that a disgruntled church member offended because his sin is confronted through the preaching of the Word should leave and take his money with him. At all costs, the budget must be met!

But why do we have this situation? The blame cannot help but be placed upon pastors who have been more concerned with keeping their positions than being faithful to the Scriptures. Pastors have before remarked about some particular doctrine with this: “I believe that, but I can’t preach it in my church. They won’t stand for it.” Didn’t the apostle Paul warn us of this very thing?

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4, ESV)

So now we have church after church led by deacons who possess little understanding of the Scriptures and yet determine whether the church’s pastor stays or goes. Too often they are more concerned about the budget and attendance than with sound doctrine and godly living. Have our churches ever been in a more deplorable condition? I doubt it. May God have mercy on the pastor who seeks to be faithful to the Scriptures in such churches. Unless God intervenes, he will find himself either without employment or with a drastically-reduced congregation (as well as reduced compensation). And often his antagonist will be some curmudgeon retired pastor who has remained as a member of the congregation, the very cause for the congregation’s wretched spiritual condition! (I have in mind a church in which this has recently occurred.)

May God be pleased to change the hearts of our people to be submissive to his Scriptures, to seek to glorify him in all things, and to rejoice in having pastors who preach the whole counsel of God.

Dr. Ross Layne is a godly pastor in Lavonia, Georgia, who without reservation preaches the gospel of Christ. Ross received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and served as pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Lavonia, Georgia, for five years.

Check out Ross’s blog, Captivated by Christ. In a day when few Baptist churches are interested in the biblical gospel and few pastors dare preach it, Ross is a happy exception. I commend him highly. Ross can be reached at rosslayne at ymail dot com (yes, replace the “at” and “dot” with their respective symbols ;-)).

During the past century or so, the concept of pragmatism has become the guiding force behind how conservative churches function and how the gathered church worships. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, pragmatism is “a practical approach to problems and affairs.” Philosophically, pragmatism is “an American movement in philosophy founded by C. S. Peirce and William James and marked by the doctrines that the meaning of conceptions is to be sought in their practical bearings, that the function of thought is to guide action, and that truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of belief.”

Basically, pragmatism boils down to doing what works, doing what produces the desired results. The April 25, 1912, issue of The Christian Index, the weekly paper of the Georgia Baptist Convention, editorialized: “‘What can it accomplish?’ is the question that meets every man today who presents to the world for its consideration either some new invention, or some new theory of social, civil or political activity; or some religious belief and practice.” That which applied to individuals also applied to organizations: “‘What are you accomplishing for the betterment of men and of society?’ is the question which every organization of men has to meet and answer. And the higher the claim of such organization the more searching the investigation that then will make into the results it is achieving.” Obviously, then, those churches which were producing tangible results were the ones which had satisfactorily answered the question. For support, the work of the Salvation Army was presented: “Some years ago, the Salvation Army began its operations, and by its strange, biazarre [sic] methods, shocked the sensibilities of the thoughtful. It had to run the gauntlet of suspicion, ridicule, contempt, and misrepresentation. But it stood the test. It has done a great work where no one else was working. In the parlance of the day, it has ‘made good;’ and now men of every creed and nation recognize it as a great power for good. Its officers get a hearing anywhere and purses open to its pleas that remain closed to those of regular churches.”

Neither the doctrine nor the methods of the Salvation Army were examined for biblical faithfulness. The criterion for approving the Salvation Army’s methods was that they had “made good.” The Index found support in the words of Jesus: “‘By their fruits ye shall know them’ is as true of churches and denominations as it is of individuals.”

Whatever works, whatever gets the most persons to the worship “service,” whatever appeals to the populace so we can get out our message—these are the concepts which have been directing much of the work of evangelical churches for over a century. In the twenty-first century we find churches following the latest fads to attract a following. Pastors wearing suits are out; pastors preaching in jeans and untucked shirts are in. Reverent worship is out; high-powered bands are in. The use of discretion in sermons is out; explicit talk about sex is in.

Many of these churches teach doctrine which we would endorse, and yet there seems to be danger lurking. When a church appeals to outsiders through a “hip” pastor and a certain style of music and the use of coarse speech, that church is on the slippery slope to compromising its message. It may not happen in the first generation, but the next generation will discover that people are turned off by concepts such as personal holiness, judgment and hell, the wrath of God, and the inability of humans to come to Christ in their own power. After the hip wears off, the message will come under attack. The apostle Paul’s warning in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 will come into play: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Evangelicalism rarely displays its desire to be relevant and attract the masses, regardless of credal statements to the contrary, with its longing to find the next great thing that “works,” that gets the crowd. A few years ago, some decided it was time to “diversify” their worship “services” (events?) by having services according to style of music and order of worship. Out of that arose the now common-place offerings of a contemporary service and a traditional service in many churches. One mega-church took the idea to its logical conclusion by offering several services at the same time on its campus with a different style of music in each venue to satisfy different tastes. The pastor preached to all the gatherings via telecast.

The now latest and greatest idea seems to be for the pastor to dress like “everyman.” Neckties and suits are out; untucked shirts and jeans are in. I viewed a video the other day of an immensely popular pastor in the now-required (if you’re going to be “cool”) untucked shirt and jeans. Taking it another step in the “cool” direction, the pastor’s jeans looked as though he had worn them for several days.

Someone will doubtlessly protest the drift of this post. “Clothes don’t matter. Why does a minister need to wear a suit? Neckties are just dumb.” To be fair, I’m no great fan of neckties! However, if clothes do not matter, why is the new fashion of the day untucked shirts and jeans? It seems that clothes do matter to those wanting to be cool.

I contend that what pastors wear to worship does matter, and the appeal should not be the appearance of “cool.” Worship is serious business. Believers have gathered in the presence of Almighty God. The atmosphere is not kick back in the recliner and let’s hang out.

Would the pastor decked out in his untucked shirt and well-worn jeans wear the same clothing to an invitation to the Oval Office? Why do television news anchors wear coats and ties when relaying the news of the day? Clothing implies the degree of seriousness with which one undertakes certain duties.

Does an evangelical minister have to wear a coat and tie? In our culture, such attire indicates a degree of the importance of the task at hand. In other cultures, one would “dress up” differently. And even in our own culture, though I may not insist on a coat and tie, I think when we come for corporate worship, we should wear our best, especially those conducting worship.

I realize that my viewpoint is not the popular one and will be misconstrued. To be clear, I’m not saying that an evangelical minister who wears a coat and tie will be more serious about worship and preach a more orthodox sermon than his untucked shirt/jeans wearing counterpart. Some of the “cool” guys are preaching some really good, expository sermons. Wearing proper clothing does not ensure that one worships “in spirit and in truth,” and wearing jeans does not mean that one is not worshiping rightly.

What I am saying is that our never-satisfied quest to be deemed relevant and appealing to the masses undermines the business about which we gather–the worship of the thrice-holy, sovereign God. I think I’ll skip this fad.

Proverbs 22:1 reminds us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” Character matters. How a Christian lives, particularly among unbelievers, is an issue of no little concern.

Think about how a person handles his finances. That person is building a reputation among unbelievers. Let’s say that a Christian has gotten into some financial difficulties through foolish spending. He sees the problems he has created and works to overcome them. He sees his debt as a matter to be resolved, so he cuts back on his spending, perhaps drastically so, and pays his creditors. He will build a reputation as an honest person who sees his mistakes and accepts responsibility for them.

On the other hand, let’s say that this Christian sees his debts as a non-issue in the overall scheme of things. When told that he needs to contact his creditors and work out a plan to pay his debts, he responds with, “It’s not that important. They have already soaked me so much with interest charges that they made enough to cover what I owe. They’ll eventually write it off.” Not only is that person a thief, he is providing evidence that he may actually not be a true Christian if he does not repent of such an evil attitude (“The wicked borrows but does not pay back” [Psalm 37:21a]). Unfortunately, there are some men who serve as pastors of Baptist churches who have that very attitude.

The Bible instructs us “to be ready for every good work” (Titus 3:1). We often think that good works are spiritual duties, but good works encompasses all deeds which a Christian should do as he lives in this fallen world. Christians should benefit their fellow citizens whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Paul insists that Christians are to be consciously engaged in performing good works among their fellow citizens: “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people” (Titus 3:8).

Unfortunately, we too often think that such works are to be attention-getting endeavors, perhaps leading a food drive or building a house for someone in need. News of the deed is published in the local newspaper, “to the glory of God,” of course! While there is certainly nothing wrong with such deeds, we need to recognize that it is the relatively simple deeds that really glorify God. Returning to our earlier illustration, one’s personal finances ranks up there in importance.

Why is that? Why is how we handle our money so important? Money serves as a universal language and a universal concern. For instance, money is at the forefront of why elections are won or lost. We saw that with the infamous behavior of President Clinton and the infamous public response to it. Because Mr. Clinton was credited with the relative prosperity that the United States was enjoying during the 1990’s, his sexual sin proved no serious long-term threat to his popularity.

Those who are careless with their personal finances—who exhibit unconcern about outstanding bills and obligations and complain about what they cannot afford while heedlessly spending money on non-essentials—inhibit the spread of the gospel, regardless of all their talk of personal evangelism.

How we handle money may seem boringly “unspiritual,” but it is a part of the essential “good works” in our lives among unbelievers. May we adorn the gospel of Christ by being good stewards, by paying our debts on time, by living frugally, and by exhibiting generosity.

We carry the descriptive name “evangelical” because we believe that people are accepted by God through believing the evangel, the “good news” that Jesus died upon the cross for believing sinners. Sinners who repent of their sin and look to the crucified Christ, who took the wrath of God in their stead, are forgiven and counted righteous by God: “For our sake he [God the Father] made him [God the Son] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV).

An unfortunate invention, however, was devised around the turn of the nineteenth century. What we term the “altar call” or the “invitation” was begun by revivalistic preachers and popularized by the evangelist Charles Grandison Finney.

Finney is looked upon by many Baptists, as well as others, as a wonderful role model for evangelistic preaching. Throngs of people listened to Finney’s sermons and responded to his calls to come forward to the “anxious seat.” There they professed Christ and were counted as converts and received into the membership of local churches.

Many of us, though, see Finney as more of a problem to be avoided than a pattern to be followed. Finney put great emphasis upon making a physical move at the end of the preaching service in order to follow Christ, to respond to the invitation to turn to Christ. Unfortunately, as revealed by Iain Murray in his Revival and Revivalism, most of those who so “followed” Christ were revealed to be superficial believers who later stopped following Christ. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19, ESV).

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), pastor of the famed Westminster Chapel in London, looked upon Finney’s impact with grave concern. An altar call puts psychological pressure upon people to make a decision. Dr. Lloyd-Jones commented, “The Puritans in particular were afraid of what they would call ‘a temporary faith’ or ‘a false profession.’ There was a great Puritan, Thomas Shepard, who published a famous series of sermons on The Ten Virgins. The great point of that book was to deal with this problem of a false profession. The foolish virgins thought they were all right. This is a very great danger.”

Most evangelicals today believe that an invitation at the end of a preaching service must be extended in order to “draw the net,” to bring the unconverted to Christ. Great emphasis is placed on getting people to respond to the invitation, to come forward to confess Christ. Hearers are instructed to close their eyes so that no one, except the preacher, sees their response. They may be asked something like this: “Do you know that if you died today you would go to heaven? Please raise your hand.” “If you were not able to raise your hand, you may very well go to hell for all eternity. If you don’t want that to happen, why don’t you come forward to receive Christ?”

Dr. Lloyd-Jones, though, saw that such practices actually reveal a lack of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. He explained, “I can sum it up by putting it like this: I feel that this pressure which is put upon people to come forward in decision ultimately is due to a lack of faith in the work and operation of the Holy Spirit. We are to preach the Word, and if we do it properly, there will be a call to a decision that comes in the message, and then we leave it to the Spirit to act upon people. And of course He does. Some may come immediately at the close of the service to see the minister. I think there should always be an indication that the minister will be glad to see anybody who wants to put questions to him or wants further help. But that is a very different thing from putting pressure upon people to come forward. I feel it is wrong to put pressure directly on the will. The order in Scripture seems to be this—the truth is presented to the mind, which moves the heart, and that in turn moves the will.”

On June 25, 2009, the news of the death of Michael Jackson was greeted with shock and disbelief. Madonna was crushed: “I can`t stop crying over the sad news. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever.” Dick Clark commented: “Of all the thousands of entertainers I have worked with, Michael was the most outstanding. Many have tried and will try to copy him, but his talent will never be matched.”

Admittedly, and probably unsurprisingly, I fail to share the reaction of the Madonnas and Dick Clarks of the world. I have never enjoyed Mr. Jackson’s music and find neither his dancing nor his lifestyle as particularly attractive models for boys aspiring to manhood.

The news of Mr. Jackson’s death and the attendant round-the-clock analysis of his life and death, however, does have some important lessons for us. Here are a few observations.

First, the masses have no concept of the holiness and justice of God. The throngs who are grieving the death of a popular entertainer are unconcerned that he will stand before the absolutely holy God to be condemned to an eternal hell. There is no evidence that Mr. Jackson feared God and repented of his sin. There exists no evidence that Mr. Jackson believed on the crucified Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Doubtlessly, Mr. Jackson died in a lost state and awaits divine condemnation. Indeed, the entertainer was reared as a Jehovah’s Witness and is rumored to have converted to Islam. Whether the rumor is true or not, there is no evidence he ever trusted in Christ, evidence in either word or lifestyle.

Unfortunately, though, such is the position of most mortals. This world and its pleasure is what drives the thinking of the masses. “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Universal amnesia fails to recognize the reality of Hebrews 9:27: “Just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”

Second, Michael Jackson’s life is one to be pitied, not admired. He led an incredibly empty and self-indulgent life. Drugs were his comfort; fantasy was his existence. After all, his estate was named Neverland, a kind of dream-land utopia. His lavish lifestyle revealed a heart never satisfied, always looking for pleasure and comfort in the excesses of debauchery.

Few people can look upon Mr. Jackson’s self-indulgence, however, from a position of moral superiority. Most people do not engage in hedonism to the extent which Mr. Jackson displayed simply because they do not have the funds or influence to do so. They would if they could, as evidenced when someone wins a multi-million dollar lottery. He soon comes to ruin as the innate desire to indulge his fantasies now finds no limitation due by a lack of funds. No sacrifice, no living for others, no submission to a holy God. It’s all about fun and frolic.

Third, fame and fortune will not ward off death. We live in a fallen world, disease and danger abound, and death awaits all. Michael Jackson had physicians and health care at his beck and call, but death would not be averted.

But what about us? How many of us awake in the morning with the conscious recognition that this very day may be the last of our mortal existence? Though written centuries ago, Thomas Adams’ words ring true today: “All are like actors on a stage, some have one part and some another, death is still busy amongst us; here drops one of the players, we bury him with sorrow, and to our scene again: then falls another, yea all, one after another, till death be left upon the stage. Death is that damp which puts out all the dim lights of vanity. Yet man is easier to believe that all the world shall die, than to suspect himself.”

But we shall die, and then what? As followers of Jesus Christ, we live not in depression because of impending death, and neither do we ignore the reality of it. We face it head on, knowing that Christ himself suffered our judgment on the cross and conquered death through his resurrection. The apostle Paul instructs: “‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:55-58).