Discerning Reader Blog

Introducing Blue Fish Digest

Mark Tubbs — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:53:57 +0000

Over the past few years I have enjoyed the lighthearted but pointed writings of Jess MacCallum, author of two delightful little books: I Married Wonder Woman...Now What? and Put the Seat Down, both from Standard Publishing.

MacCallum has recently inaugurated the Blue Fish Digest, a monthly miscellany of articles, short stories, poetry, recipes, etc. It falls somewhere between Ligonier's Tabletalk and Good Housekeeping. Sorry, Jess. I couldn't resist.

Happy Feast Day of St. Patrick

Mark Tubbs — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:02:12 +0000

To read a short description of this missionary saint from Church history who often suffers from a mild case of mistaken identity, read Bob Kellemen's post. To investigate how St. Patrick's methods can inform our own missional living in the 21st century, read George Hunter's updated and revised book, The Celtic Way of Evangelism.

BlogThru: Equipping Counselors for Your Church, Part 3

Mark Tubbs — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:17:04 +0000

For context, please read Part 1 and Part 2 of this BlogThru series.

Part 3 of Equipping Counselors for Your Church is entitled “Equipping Godly Ministers for Ministry.” Initially this title struck me as quite a hefty claim for 100 pages of print. Could this section truly and definitively equip godly ministers (i.e., all Christians) for ministry, as per Ephesians 4:12? Obviously not everything about training ministers can be covered comprehensively in only 100 pages. But in as much as 100 pages is ample space in which to put forward an approach, a strategy, a vision for equipping saints to do the work of ministry, Bob has risen to the challenge. He accomplishes his aim by packaging this strategy into what he calls the 4C approach: Biblical Content/Conviction, Christlike Character, Counseling Competence, and Christian Community. This 4C approach informs goals and objectives, curriculum and resources, and strategies and methods. Bob resists spelling out these areas, aware that each church’s situation is different, but he does provide a much-needed counseling lexicon for pastors and their people.

The first thing Bob does is to puncture the perception that he is, and always has been, an expert. While he now feels most comfortable in the role of coach, whether of wrestling or of counseling, he didn’t always feel that way. When training his first batch of counselors he suddenly imagined himself as “a kid in his dad’s suit” and had the courage to share the image with the class. Sharing this image with the reader accomplishes the same thing as it did in that inaugural session: putting the beginner and/or the reticent at his or her ease. Counseling ministries will begin in churches because God grants the faithful a vision and commensurate equipping. In fact, paraprofessionals are often more effective than professionals, the data says. But we do not trust in data – we trust in the name and the word of the Lord our God.

The Word is crucial. Or perhaps I should say, the Word are crucial. Grammatically incorrect, yes, but theologically sound: God’s written Word is sufficient for counseling (in that it provides the foundation for counseling, not that it provides specifics about every single issue inherent to the human condition) and God’s incarnate Word is the source of the counselor’s confidence, character, and even competence. We cannot possibly ignore the unrivalled counseling competence of the most gifted Spiritual Director in the history of the universe: Jesus Christ.

Bob then spends two chapters answering the question, “What makes Biblical Counseling biblical?” As I skim through these two chapters once again, having read them thoroughly a few weeks ago, I am struck once again by the wealth of this material. Therefore, I am going to counsel you to read these chapters yourself in order to obtain Bob’s answers, because my attempt at reproducing the answers here will result in one of two unwanted outcomes: replicating the entire two chapters or shortchanging them. Finally, the fourth and final chapter in this section describes the time frame and sequence of Bob’s first training cohort. But he doesn’t simply say “here’s how it worked for me. Now go!” Rather, he provides strategies a leader can pre-plan into the sessions, as well as in-the-moment techniques to capitalize on the direction the session is taking, or failing to take, whichever the case may be.

Equipping Counselors is not a trend, not a quick-fix, and not a band-aid solution. It is the foundation of one-anothering in Christ's Church. Equipping Counselors is more than a must-read; it is a must.

Announcing Gospel-Centered Discipleship

Mark Tubbs — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:57:51 +0000

I haven't been this excited about a Christian non-fiction book in a while. I've read many books on discipleship, and while they all have good things to say, I've almost always felt they fell a few degrees away from the target. The gospel is our center, as a recent book edited by Tim Keller and D.A. Carson takes as its thesis, which naturally and necessarily extends into discipleship itself.

The publisher's recent press release for Jonathan Dodson's forthcoming Gospel-Centered Discipleship (foreword by Matt Chandler) describes the book thusly:

"Reflecting on the practice of disciple making in young adult, college, graduate, and local church contexts, Jonathan Dodson has discerned some common pitfalls. For many, discipleship is reduced to a form of religious performance before God. For others, it devolves into spiritual license and a loose adherence to spiritual facts. Both approaches distort biblical motivations for Christian obedience and are in need of reform.

By explaining various motivations for discipleship, Dodson charts a biblically faithful, grace-driven alternative. Additionally, he provides a practical model for creating gospel-centered discipleship groups—small, reproducible, missional, gender-specific groups of believers that fight for faith together. This book blends both theology and practice to inspire and equip Christians to effectively fight sin, keep Jesus central, and make gospel-centered discipleship a way of life.

Both new and growing Christians will learn to trust the gospel in community as they fight together for holiness as well as how to start gospel-centered community groups in any local church."

Interested in the author? Visit GospelCenteredDiscipleship.com.

Gospel-Centered Discipleship releases March 12, 2012.

10 (Well, 13) Great Christian Non-Fiction Series

Mark Tubbs — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:28:48 +0000

As I was reading the latest entry in Carolyn Weber's I Read Dead People blog series over at PressingSave.com, I reflected for the second time in the space of a week how Christian non-fiction series have grown in consistency and excellence over the past decade. In a recent email to a local Christian bookstore (they asked for suggestions) I listed the following publishers' series, many of which I believe to be under-appreciated.

1. If you have found Puritan writing difficult to read, start with Grace Publications' Christian Classics series.

2. Day One Publications' Opening Up the Bible series are short expositional commentaries that do double-duty as Bible study guides.

3. No less than three publishers have entire series devoted to exploring the spectrum of thought and belief on many relevant biblical and theological issues: B&H's Perspectives series, Zondervan's Counterpoints series, and IVP's Spectrum series.

4. Rick Cornish is an ex-Marine and current theology professor who has written three instalments in NavPress' 5-Minute series.

5. The Welwyn Commentary series from Evangelical Press is marked by clarity and orthodoxy. Go to CVBBS.com and type "Welwyn" in the search box.

6. The Guidebooks for Life series from Matthias Media is conversationally written but constantly gets to the heart of the matter(s).

7. For far too long Evangelicals have been counseling one another in a truncated fashion, throwing out verses and platitudes and hoping they will stick. New Growth Press' mini-books series provide some nuance in difficult counseling situations, as do Day One's Living in a Fallen World booklets.

8. Crossway Books' Preaching the Word series is as good, or better, in my opinion, for personal study than it is for preaching.

9. For specific Old Testament study with Christ in view, it doesn't get much better than P&R's Gospel According to the Old Testament series.

10. Kregel's 40 Questions series is young, but its authors are giants in their fields.

Digging Deeper for Friendlier Songs

Mark Tubbs — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:38:54 +0000

As a reader, I often draw reading material from publishers' back catalogs (a post for another day). As a worship leader, I often draw new music from the late 1990s. Why is that?

By way of brief background (scroll down to the bold print if you wish), I spent most of my childhood and adolescence in the same local Baptist church. At age two I was conducting from the pew (isn't that cute?) and by my pre-teens accompanying the choir on piano. At age 18 I became the interim Director of Worship - the latest in a revolving door of music ministers. I was sent packing just over a year later, and I'm still not sure if the door hit me on the way out. I certainly bore the scars - some of my own cultivation via grudges - for many years after.

Then I had the opportunity to apprentice under Pat Sczebel at the first then-PDI/now Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Canada. Both he, and Bob Kauflin by distance, taught me 95% of what I know about biblical worship. I am greatly indebted to both of them and spent a happy and profitable seven years there.

Against our wishes (initially) at the end of seven years, we were called back to my childhood church. It had made some significant strides forward, with two gospel-centered pastors now at the helm. Nevertheless, the worship ministry was in shambles. I pledged not to get involved, but within months was leading worship, which involves occasionally choosing new songs, of course.

I recall when Brian Doerksen's "Faithful One" debuted in 1989, and because it had climbed the Praise & Worship charts so quickly, one or another worship leader at my church decided the congregation should learn it. And learn it they did - over the course of many, many painful months. For a congregation I refer to as 60 over 60 (60% over 60 years of age) to learn a somewhat rambling song with an A-B-C-D format and nebulous melodic/rhythmic features was very difficult.

Fast-forward to a few months ago, when another worship leader attempted to introduce "Made to Worship" by Chris Tomlin. If you have seen the piano score, you'll know that dotted notes and sixteenth notes are rife, and some of its phrases are quite long. It's a nice song, and our congregation could certainly learn it, but it would take many, many months of repetitive drilling. Is this the best we can do?

A congregation comprising so many older people ought to be able to trust that a worship leader will select songs that feature at least two main attributes. The attributes that I have in mind are found in some PDI/Sovereign Grace Music hymns and songs of the late 1990s, and also among many of those written by British worship leaders such as Graham Kendrick, Stuart Townend, and the Gettys.

Singability: In a singable song, intervals larger than a fifth are used sparingly, the rhythm of the melody is complimentary to the lyrics, and there is a discernible "hook." Once in awhile I will also introduce a song with a bit of an echo (all you hipsters are cringing, aren't you?) because the congregation immediately feels like they are participating in the song. "I Will Always Love the Lord (Honour the Lord)" by Graham Kendrick is an example, and it was written just a few years ago.

Melodiousness: This feature isn't just reserved for slow, beautiful songs. "I Want to Know You" by Steve & Vikki Cook comes to mind, and it is a moderate-speed song. You know you've hit on a good, melodious song when a congregation takes to it like a duck to water because it seems the song ought to have always existed. "In My Heart" by Eric Grover is one, and a faster example would be Mark Altrogge's "Every Good Thing" (the unexpected perfect fifth interval in the verse is gold, and the chorus contains just enough repetition to acclimatize the congregation to the song within a short period of time).

These qualities together in a song create a kind of timelessness that I refer to as the Phil Collins phenomenon. So many of Collins' songs appeal to young and old alike. Other songs that fit this bill include "All I Have is Christ" by Jordan Kauflin, "You Made Us Your Own" by Steve & Vikki Cook, "You Prepared a Place for Me" by Doug Plank, "Lord, You Are Gracious" by Pat Sczebel, "He Is Jesus" by Stephen Altrogge, and Bob Kauflin's version of "How Firm a Foundation."

It's not only Sovereign Grace Music that has produced these songs I call timeless. I am well aware of my bias! In my travels I have found Vineyard songs, Hosanna! Integrity songs, Maranatha! songs, and Hillsongs songs that are hidden treasures. But my research has turned up more Sovereign Grace songs that exude these qualities than any other songwriting source.

Bias notwithstanding, I adjure worship leaders to dig a little deeper - especially if you lead worship in a 60 over 60 (or higher/older) church. There's gold in them old songbooks.

To Tim Challies, Upon His 3,000th Consecutive Day of Posting

Mark Tubbs — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:24:31 +0000

My favorite baseball player of all time is Cal Ripken Jr., whose consistency and excellence ensured he reached 2,632 games played – the Major League Baseball record. It's a record which also ensured his enshrinement in the MLB Hall of Fame.

No award exists for Christian blogging longevity, but I know of no one who has blogged for 3,000 consecutive days – except for Tim Challies. Not only longevity but consistency has marked his contribution to the blogosphere. Like him or dislike him, you must admire his thoughtfulness and his tenacity. No one arrives at 3,000 posts worth posting without both qualities.

Even while posting a blog every day for the past 3,000 days, he managed to write two major books, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Crossway, 2007) and The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (Zondervan, 2011). He also founded Cruciform Press along with Kevin Meath and Bob Bevington, and became a co-pastor alongside his own trusted pastor, Paul Martin. All this besides being a father and husband.

You may also know Tim founded this very site, Discerning Reader, which is nearing the end of a five-year run. Years ago he asked me, a blogosphere greenhorn, to be Managing Editor, a task I relished until it became clear that the end was near. What you don't know is that he singlehandedly kept Discerning Reader going, underwriting its hosting fees when its only payoff was the trickle from click-throughs to online booksellers. He would never tell you this himself, of course.

I'm also privileged to call Tim a friend. I was never a fanboy; I never had time to become one. Although I'm unable to recall just how our online correspondence began exactly, I thank God for the day he saw fit to connect us. Since then we have traded countless emails across the miles/kilometres and were providentially able to hang out a couple of times in Chicago and in my hometown. Good times, mice and all.

So Tim, if you're reading, thank you for running with the vision of Discerning Reader as an online review site by and for discerning Christians. Thank you for including me in the journey, and here's to thousands more blog posts in your future. The Christian blogosphere is better because you are part of it. Oh, and your books aren't bad either. Four stars each, at least.

Peter Is Everyman

Mark Tubbs — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:49:58 +0000

Peter is, I believe, the biblical figure with whom any given twenty-first century North American Christian resonates most, if they've given it any thought.

Faithful Old Testament figures lived a faith experience different to some degree or another, simply by virtue of the Holy Spirit's operation under the Old Covenant (see James Hamilton's excellent book on that topic, although I'm not certain I agree wholeheartedly with all of his conclusions). Adam was created, not born. Enoch walked with God and was no more. David is a tempting candidate, but we probably shouldn't attempt psychological contortions to relate to the second-most successful king of Israel. As for Job…no, let's not even go there.

Turning to the New Testament, Jesus is right out of the running, of course. While we do have a high priest that sympathizes with us (Heb 4:15) because he endured the hardships of life on earth, we cannot sympathize with his complete sinlessness, his utter desolation on the cross, or his resurrection experience – yet (and the "yet" is crucial, but a topic for another post altogether).

Likewise, relating to Paul is out of reach for most of us because we have not experienced a blinding flash of light from heaven, accompanied by the voice of Jesus. Nor have we received surpassingly great revelations and visions (2 Cor 12:2-7), and Paul's multiple apostolic journeys are the stuff of legend – and I'm not including the mythological (in the “fabulous" and "unsubstantiated" sense) final missionary trip to Spain.

Then there are the other disciples, of whom even John and James the brother of Jesus are not developed in detail by objective accounts (i.e., in the gospels and Acts) sufficient to render them fully relatable. Besides, John experienced the vision catalogued in the Book of Revelation – enough said. Now we merely relate in part..

So it's down to Peter. As so many preachers delight to inform us, Peter could be dunderheaded. But I insist he wasn't a dunderhead by character. For instance, many translations render Acts 4:13 more pejoratively than the original text warrants. Obviously, Peter was "uneducated" – in the sense that he had not studied under the Rabbis but was nevertheless preaching with authority. Uneducated, then, like someone with a high school diploma. Obviously, as a Galilean fisherman Peter was "common" – in the sense of lacking special rhetorical skills training, specially reserved in the first-century Mediterranean world for scions of middle- to upper-class families. Then again, Peter may not have received rabbinical training, but he had sat under John the Baptist's teaching, that wilderness dweller of whom Jesus said there was no one greater born of a woman (Luke 7:28).

Peter is therefore our biblical paragon of normality, attempting to advance his own agenda far too aggressively at times (John 18:10) and failing to live up to his calling as a Christ follower at other times (Luke 13:38). In the gospels and in Acts, Peter is drawn with colors and textures that allow the reader to see themselves in the variegation of this disciple's character.

Take heart then, for Peter was arguably the closest of disciples to his Lord and Savior (John 21:17), and it is in the character of Peter that we see our own normal human colors shine most brightly and fade to black most chillingly. Peter is Everyman.

What I'm Reading in 2012 Week 1

Mark Tubbs — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:52:27 +0000

Of the books I was reading last week, I wrote a blogthru entry for one and a full review for another. I also reviewed another book I had finished last year.

I should also reveal that some books I haven't yet finished reading may be temporarily absented from this list because I didn't read them at all the week before. They may yet reappear, so please don't worry if one of your favourite books suddenly vanishes without a subsequent review.

1. Equipping Counselors for Your Church: The 4E Ministry Training Strategy by Robert W. Kellemen (P&R Publishing, 2011)

2. Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy by Park Honan (Oxford, 2007)

3. The Earliest Christian Hymnbook: The Odes of Solomon by James H. Charlesworth, ed. (Cascade Books, 2009)

4. Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community by David Powlison (New Growth Press, 2005)

5. Welcome to Theological Field Education! by Matthew Floding, ed. (The Alban Institute, 2011)

6. The Promise of His Appearing: An Exposition of Second Peter by Peter Leithart (Canon Press, 2004)

7. Help! I'm Drowning in Debt (Living in a Fallen World) by John Temple (Day One Publications, 2011)

8. Awaiting a Savior: the Gospel, the New Creation, and the End of Poverty by Aaron Armstrong (Cruciform Press, 2011)

We're With Erik

Mark Tubbs — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 07:04:32 +0000

Yes, I know that we live in the New Covenant era. I know that there is no longer a temple built by human hands. I know there are no longer any appointed feasts for the people of God.

But I also know that Hebrews admonishes us to keep in the habit of meeting together, and if we are wise we will make a special effort to meet together on the days that aren't as convenient: when church meetings and services fall on holidays and long weekends. Where I live, I know of families who "take the summer off" from churchgoing, either because their schedules are already filled, or they have a cabin elsewhere. Let's simply observe a logistical fact: this type of lifestyle isn't conducive to being built up together into the body of Christ (I'm also aware that I might well be tempted to disappear into the woods or to the island or into the California desert if I could afford to).

So I'm making a special effort to join with the people of God for worship on New Year's Day. It probably won't feel much different than a usual Sunday at my church, but that's not the point, is it? The thing about a God-glorifying habit is that it's just another step along the road of everyday Christianity.

Don't feel condemned if you are attending a party tonight instead of a service tomorrow. Condemnation and guilt indicate another problem altogether, beyond the scope of this brief blog entry.

But as for me and my house, we're with Erik.