Ed Eubanks's Pastor's Blog

Congratulations again, Laura!

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:39:00 +0000

One of my friends from college won a Grammy last night: Laura Story won the award for "Best Christian Music Song" for "Blessings."

Of my 10s of readers, long-timers may remember that I posted about Laura before: when she won a Dove Award for her song, "Indescribable", back in 2009. For the other eight or so of you, let me bring you up to speed.

Laura and I were on the same Young Life team for about a year, and we were friends from the college campus ministry where I was the music team leader (FCA). Also, Laura was in a band for whom I did a lot of photography for their CDs and promo materials. Eventually the band moved on to using a real pro for their photos, and Laura and I both moved on from Young Life to other ministries. But we kept in touch, at least a little, and it was a true delight to see her at the PCA's General Assembly a couple of years ago.

A fun story (sorry, bad pun) about Laura and her husband: one night, after one of the concerts where I did photography for the band, they and a few others (including me) went out for a bite. Laura and I were talking about relationships, and she told me she was trying to decide what to do. A guy she had seen off and on in high school wanted to date again, but she wasn't sure. My advice? Give me a chance! So she did— and eventually they got married!

(I asked her at General Assembly about that, and whether she remembered it; she said she did, and her husband, Martin, said, "dude! Thanks for my wife!")

Congratulations, Laura— may this be the first of many more recognitions of your wonderful talents.

Buy Laura's award-winning song, Blessings, here.

From Pastor Ed, 2/5/12: Why do we confess our sins every Sunday?

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:03:00 +0000

For those who have been worshiping as Christians for much time at all, we would have little trouble filling in the blank for this statement: "worship just wouldn't be complete without _____." Early in my ministry, a friend and fellow pastor introduced this statement to me by saying, "it wouldn't be Christian worship without a good confession of sin and assurance of pardon."

Obviously, that statement has stuck with me all these years; indeed, it was a beginning-place for my ongoing consideration of what constitutes right, healthy, biblical worship. For many, however, my friend's statement seems unreasonable, or even perhaps mistaken. Confessing our sin week by week may strike us as off-putting and even offensive. Why DO we confess our sin in worship every week?

I believe there are a number of good reasons to do so. Here I'd like to offer a brief glimpse of some of them.

We confess our sin because we can see a clear biblical pattern of confession in worship. Throughout the Bible, those who worship do so with confession of their sin readily on the tips of their tongues. As we read the Psalms, which was the hymnal and prayer book for the Old Testament church, we see that most of them contain a strong element of lament for sin. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He included a clear prayer of confession and request for forgiveness. Worship that is guided by the Bible, and not simply by preference, includes confession of sin.

We confess our sin because we recognize God's glory and, therefore, our sin. Every week our worship service begins with open and abundant praise to God. This is right! God is glorious and worthy of all of our praise— indeed, He is worthy of even more praise than we are able to give. If we honestly acknowledge God's glory and worthiness for praise, it should be a natural response to that to confess our own sin. The light of God's glory shines into the dark corners of our lives, and exposes who we really are.

We confess our sin because we are told, in Scripture, to approach God in worship with a humble spirit. The Psalmist wrote, "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Psalm 66:18). Likewise James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6) and therefore urges Christians, "humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you" (4:10). Pride keeps us from confession of sin; humility is required for forgiveness.

We confess our sins because we have them! No one— believer or unbeliever— is without sin. Christians don't stop sinning; we simply grow in our awareness of it and honesty about it. John the apostle, writing to believers, said, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). He was including himself, and all of the other believers, in this active and present-tense declaration. We have sins, and we must confront that fact— not with effort or desire to improve in our own strength, but with reliance upon God's grace, mercy, and strength.

We confess our sin because we have been promised forgiveness, assurance, and deliverance of it. Those who are believers are not only called to confession, but are promised assurance of pardon of the sins we confess. John immediately followed the verse above with this promise: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Not only are promised forgiveness, but also that God Himself will work in response to our confession to give us more righteousness.

We confess our sin because we are bound together in it. Sometimes the specific confessions of sin that we use may describe particular sins that we do not directly struggle with; yet, because we are bound together in Christ, and because we are commanded to bear one another's burdens, then we confess our own participation in the sins of our brothers and sisters. This is one reason why public and corporate confession is so vital: it encourages and enforces a solidarity with one another that the Bible tells us is necessary for our individual and corporate spiritual growth.

One of my favorite writers on Christian worship described confession of sin in this way:

"…Worship must include recognition of our sin. This is difficult for our age, but without it our worship lacks integrity. It is a matter of honesty. God is offended by sin, and yet he accepts sinners… Honesty demands that when we approach God sin be confessed. Otherwise we have an uneasy conscience about it, and, even worse, we compromise the holiness of God."
(Hughes Oliphant Old, Leading in Prayer: a workbook for worship [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995], p. 79.)

Sermon Texts for February

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:02:00 +0000

Here are the sermon texts for February 2012, for Dove Mountain Church:

2/5 — 1 Peter 1:13-21 (Holiness by Identity)
2/12 — 1 Peter 1:22-25 (The Imperishable Seed)
2/19 — 1 Peter 2:1-12 (Living as God's People)
2/26 — 1 Peter 2:13-17 (Submission, part 1: The State)

What it DOESN'T mean to "prepare our hearts" for the Lord's Supper [repost]

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:19:00 +0000

I've been using some of this, originally posted in July 2011, in my "From Pastor Ed" column in our Dove Mountain Church worship folders. Below is the entire contents.

____________________________

One of the areas where, as a pastor, I consistently notice misunderstandings is with regard to the sacraments. Really, there is misunderstanding left and right in that area. A particular part that is misunderstood, however, is what it means when church members are encouraged to "examine themselves" and/or "prepare their hearts" for the Lord's Supper.

One common(mis)perception that to prepare one's heart or examine oneself is simply to think, "hmm... now, what sins have I failed to confess to God, that I need to be sure to confess and ask forgiveness for before I can rightly take Communion?"

This is a wrong view, for several reasons. First, it implies that the barrier (or fence, if you will) between someone and communion with God is a matter of a work of their own-- in the form of a particular confession! In other words, the thing we must do to receive God's grace through Sacrament is the act of confessing. In fact, however, no work of our own, however religious, spiritual, or even biblical can or will gain us entrance to the table of God's Communion. This is a sacrament of grace, not of works; in order to obtain God's grace, we must be given it freely and mercifully.

Second, it implies a belief that our sins are not forgiven-- and therefore, we are not reconciled to God-- unless we have particularly confessed them. In fact, those who are in Christ truly have their sins forgiven before they even commit them. Our sins are known to God without our confession, their punishment has been paid by Christ on the cross, and they are wiped clean from our record, having been accorded to Christ. Receiving Communion is not contingent on our confession; it is contingent on Christ's finished work on our behalf.

Third, it implies that we are actually aware of all of our sins and able to confess them. Yet how often have I, by the maturing work of the Holy Spirit, come to realize an act-- or even a pattern-- of sin years after its commitment? You do, too. In fact, God knows the depths of our sin far more than we, and His forgiveness extends fare beyond our awareness. This is why Jack Miller so aptly stated something to the effect of, "You are more sinful than you ever dared to admit! But Christ is more gracious than you ever dared to dream!" As we mature in our faith, the cross becomes bigger and bigger-- though never big enough, in my eyes or yours, to truly account for just how gracious Christ is and has been with us.

Does this mean we shouldn't confess our sins? No-- we should confess our sins: to God, to those we've sinned against, even to one another. What it does mean is that there is not some measure of adequate confession that admits or forbids us to the Table.

Another common (mis)perceptionis that we must have sought reconciliation in every broken relationship before properly partaking in the Lord's Supper.

This is a wrong view, though it is frequently perpetuated by pastors. The appeal is made to Matthew 5:23-24:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

At the risk of stepping on the toes of fellow pastors, let me point out a few things about this as it applies (or doesn't) to Communion...

Notice that the verse begins with "therefore"-- which implies that we're missing at least a few verses if we want to gain understanding of this text. The immediate context is the two verses preceding these, which say, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell." In the larger context, Jesus (in the beginning portion of the Sermon on the Mount) is teaching about how he came to fulfill the law, and challenging the religiosity and formalism of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Jewish law. In brief, these verses are not rebuking someone who is otherwise properly worshiping, but demonstrating how the so-called worship offered under these pretexts is false.
The Communion Table is not an altar. No sacrifice is being made there; we are not re-crucifying Christ every time we celebrate Communion. That analogy is both poor theology and pastorally deficient. The death of Christ as recognized in "remembrance" in Communion (Luke 22:19) and which is "proclaimed" in Communion (1 Corinthians 11:26) is a finished work, not one that we must re-create each Lord's Day (or once a month/quarter/whatever).
The Sacrament meal is not something that WE are offering! Rather, it is something offered TO us. By its very institution, Christ offered the Sacrament to His disciples; this was, as at least part of the meaning of the Supper, a replacement of the Passover feast (which was ALSO a gift of mercy and grace offered by God to His people). By this point, we should be starting to seriously question the usefulness of this text as it is sometimes applied to Communion.

Is there no use or application of this passage with regard to the Lord's Supper? Yes and no. The setting Christ describes is worship-- so really, we ought to apply this text to our whole sense of corporate worship. Insofar as the Lord's Supper is a part of that (which, of course, it is inseparable), we should apply it appropriately. Yet, orthodox theology of corporate life together as the Body also teaches us that reconciliation is only possible through Christ, which is the very nature of the covenant renewal that takes place week by week. So the application to the ordinary life of the church-- and her individual members-- is limited in its scope. (See the above contextual comments.)

As I have said, these are common-- but they are certainly MISperceptions about the Lord's Supper. In a future post, I'll address what it DOES mean to "prepare our hearts" for the Lord's Supper.

Christ-Centered Worship discussion #2

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Our Session's second discussion of Christ-Centered Worship was this morning covering chapters 4 and 5. Once again, these are the questions I presented to the elders in advance of the discussion.

(Because the chapters were very similar in content— and my questions combined the ideas from both— the questions are not divided by chapter as they were last time.)

Calvin led worship in French, because he wanted to be understood. What are some ways that we order our worship "in the vernacular"? In what ways could we do better?
Chapell discusses how Calvin both participated in worship and led the congregation as "God's representative" (p. 43). What elements of worship are strongly participatory in our liturgy? What elements could be more so? How do/should our leaders demonstrate equal participation? How do/should our leaders (especially the pastor/preacher) demonstrate a role as God's representative?
Are you familiar with the "regulative principle of worship"? What does your familiarity (and agreement) with it suggest to you about what should be included in corporate worship? About what should be excluded?
Unlike the Roman Catholic liturgy, Calvin and Westminster put the Confession of Sin and Assurance of God's Pardoning Grace immediately in response to the call to worship and acknowledgement of God's glory— toward the beginning of the worship service. What is the function and place of the Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon, in your view? Why?
Calvin and Westminster made heavy use of Psalms sung and read. Why do you think the Psalter was so prominent in their liturgies? Why do you think the evangelical church has moved away from using the Psalms more frequently in public worship?
In contrast to Luther, Calvin (and Westminster) employed congregational singing frequently and heavily. How do you think song and music "fit" into worship today? What would happen if congregational song was taken out of worship entirely (a la Luther)?
Calvin saw the whole Bible as "preachable" (in contrast to Luther, whose preaching focus was narrowed to the New Testament). Westminster did, too, and also employed more frequent readings throughout the liturgy. Does our worship service make good use of all of Scripture? Why do you think so many worship styles/liturgies today include fewer readings than were historically common?
There are many individual elements of worship that are included in most or all of the liturgies we've seen so far in Chapell's book. Which ones are included in our liturgy? Which ones are missing? Which ones are placed very differently in ours than in these historic liturgies? Why do you think we have included some but left out others? Why have we placed ours where we have them?

Sermon Texts for January, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:57:00 +0000

Here are my sermon texts for January at Dove Mountain Church (sorry they are a bit late!):

1/1 — Isaiah 55:7-13 (A Call)
1/8 — Isaiah 56:1-8 (Salvation for All)
1/15 — 1 Peter 1:1-2 (Strangers & Aliens)
1/22 — 1 Peter 1:3-12 (Praise for Salvation)
1/29 — 1 Peter 1:13-21 (Holiness by Identity)

Christ-Centered Worship book discussion #1

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:21:00 +0000

The Dove Mountain Church Session is reading Bryan Chapell's book, Christ-Centered Worship, and discussing it together. For December, we read the first three chapters and discussed them on the second Wednesday.

Below are the discussion questions that I presented to the elders prior to our discussion; feel free to read the book and make use of these.

Overarching Questions

In each of the various liturgies, and in our liturgy, how do the liturgical elements account for the "stranger in our midst"— those who are unfamiliar with, or unbelieving toward, the Gospel? How do the elements disregard unbelievers?
What do the liturgies (including ours) — and our congregation's participation in them — communicate about the various elements of worship? How can we employ different forms, styles, and/or modes of these elements to accomplish the same goals?

Chapter 1

What are some ways that you have seen structure communicate a clear message?
In what ways are we in danger of being ineffective communicators in our worship?
Looking at the chart in chapter 1 (surveying the different liturgical patterns), where do you see similarities in the various traditional liturgies? Where do you see differences?
At this point in our reading, where is our liturgy similar to the various liturgies on that chart? Where is our liturgy different from them?

Chapter 2

What elements of the Roman Catholic worship liturgy do you see echoes and hold-overs of, in our liturgy? What elements have you seen carried over in other congregations that you have worshipped with?

 Chapter 3

One of Luther's goals in shaping his liturgy was to make worship a more participatory experience, in order to emphasize the communal nature of the church. What are some ways that this goal is met in our congregation's liturgy? What are some ways it could be better met?
Are you surprised to see how much of Luther's liturgy continues the forms of the Roman Catholic liturgy? Why or why not?

Inconsistency and the Pro-Life position

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:16:00 +0000

The state of Mississippi voted last November to defeat Poposition 26, which offered an amendment to the (state) constitution that said:

“As used in this Article III of the state constitution, the term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.”

The discussion surrounding this issue was wide and varied, and a number of arguments were offered against it. I won't go into the details of all of them (I'm not sure I could), but I will point to one interesting take by a Mississippi pastor, Stephen Wedgeworth: An Examination of Mississippi's Proposition 26.

What I do want to consider is something that arose as an interesting part of the discussion among Mississippians. It may not surprise you to hear that this referendum was contentious and divisive, but it might surprise you to learn that it was contentious and divisive even among those claiming a "Pro-Life" position. Popular (outgoing) Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, for example, spoke out against it because defining life as beginning at fertilization, rather than at conception (which I presume would be defined as the point at which a fertilized ovum implants into a woman's uterus), meant that some forms of birth control might be made legally-questionable by this definition. Others acknowledged that this represented an open challenge to the ethics of some aspects of in vitro fertilization (such as unimplanted zygotes being disposed of).

My response to these is, "exactly."

Of course, this definition would have substantially restricted (if not eliminated outright) the practice of abortion in all, or nearly all, circumstances, even raising legality concerns when the mother's life is threatened by the circumstances. Indeed, I'm fairly confident that the prospect of such was precisely the motivation behind this proposed amendment.

In reality, however, those who are consistently "pro-life" should already know that questions reaching far beyond the issue of abortion need to be raised. It shouldn't take the potential passing of a legal, constitutional definition for socially-conservative thinkers to consider the ethical implications of matters of a less cut-and-dried (at least in the eyes of the so-called pro-lifers) nature.

Consider birth control. Many who claim to be "pro-life" have probably never pondered at length the implications of many forms of birth control. However, many of the oral means of birth control ("the pill") contain an abortifacient, which is to say they contain some substance that prevents a fertilized egg (aka a zygote) from implanting into the uterus.

The thinking behind oral birth control goes like this: the primary substance in the birth control medication is meant to inhibit fertility by providing an artificial hormone which prevents ovulation. Secondarily, penetration of sperm through the cervix is inhibited by decreasing the viscosity of cervical mucus. In other words, between the two, it should be very unlikely that a viable egg would form in the first place, and if it does, that it should be fertilized.

However, in the event that these two both fail to prevent fertilization— or in some cases, as an alternative secondary measure— some oral contraceptives also contain the abortifacient mentioned above. Scientists will disclaim that the secondary measures are almost unnecessary; thus, they say, "pro-lifers" should not have a problem with it. This begs the question: why include the secondary measures in the first place, then?

Such matters are part of the reason why Mississippi Proposition 26 failed; it would make the legality of such birth control measures questionable, at least. But it seems to come as a surprise to many Pro-Life folk that this question even emerged as part of the equation. (For the record: our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters have been far more consistent on this question than we protestants. In fact, it was a Roman Catholic doctor who invented the condom, believing he had found a means for birth control that was clear of these ethical puzzles— though he was castigated by the Roman Catholic church nevertheless.)

Or consider the husband and wife whose infertility prohibits them from conceiving naturally via intercourse, but whose doctors have advised them that they would be good candidates for in vitro fertilization — where the wife will receive hormone therapy to increase her production of ova, and these will be "harvested" (removed) from her, then fertilized in a petri dish with her husband's sperm. At a certain point, decisions must be made: of the 10 harvested eggs, 7 were successfully fertilized; how many should the implant into her? They recommend 4, as it is likely that 2 or 3 of them may not be able to attach properly to the uterine wall, so she would probably conceive with twins or a singleton. Even if 3 attach, though, she will then only have triplets.

But what about the ones left in the petri dish? And the one (or more) that is expected to fail to attach? Ethical puzzles abound about these. Had the Mississippi referendum passed, all of the other zygotes would be legally considered persons and would be treated accordingly, insofar as legal rights are concerned (leaving the doctors and parents legally responsible for the well-being of the rest of the zygotes).

Without the law, all we have is ethics. But a pro-life thinker should be clear about this, as well: the zygotes in the dish are still their offspring (or, at least by the most liberating definition, potential offspring), and they mustn't dismiss the implications of this. Doctors will sometimes advise that the fertilized eggs be kept and preserved, in the event that the first implantation doesn't succeed and the couple should wish to try again. But the implanting procedure is financially costly (not to mention the emotional strain that the entire process puts on them both, and the physiological challenges for the wife), and many cannot afford to ever try again. Often these zygotes are simply thrown out. (Remember, the proponents of embryonic stem-cell research advocate that these "left over" zygotes be harvested for research purposes.)

Some friends of ours actually went through this, when they faced infertility obstacles in their own family. Their solution was to go ahead and implant all of the eggs that had successfully fertilized (in their case, this was only 3) to avoid the dilemma of having to decide what to do with the rest. For our friends, only one zygote attached, and he is doing well.

As for the one or more that are implanted but do not attach: well, here the ethics is even more gray, because the same set of events occurs naturally on a regular basis. Through intercourse, a couple may actually have an egg fertilized that does NOT attach to the uterine wall, and therefore the zygote never becomes a fetus, baby, adult, and so on. We don't mourn these fertilized eggs, even though they may be people; we don't even realize that they exist. Does that mean that the artificially-fertilized, harvested-then-implanted egg is not an ethical concern? Not so fast: it's really more of a "yes" and "no" answer. Remember, that zygote wouldn't exist had the mother, father, and doctors never begun the process of in vitro. There is some responsibility for its brief life in their hands, and its brief life's end.

This is not to say that parents for whom zygotes fail to implant (whether those zygotes are naturally or artificially fertilized) are irresponsible. At the bottom line, there is the matter of God's sovereign hand upon all things, and there is a limit to the accountability that is appropriate in such circumstances. My point isn't to try to parse these ethical issues, but to point out a few things:

Many, if not most, Christians have never considered that their claim to being "pro-life" ever amounts to anything more than being "anti-abortion"— when, in fact, the above issues (and others) are closely related.
The question of life and viability is often appealed to by Christians as the irrefutable claim against pro-abortion arguments; what is clear, however, is that many of the most conservative segments of our society haven't considered this argument out to its reasonable end.
Christians should not wantonly or thoughtlessly embrace fertilization technology on the basis that "God loves children and families" but most be more discerning about techniques such as in vitro fertilization and the ethical implications surrounding it.
Likewise, Christians need to be more thoughtful about using birth control; not eliminating it altogether, necessarily, but understanding what is actually going on by its use and considering whether these things are ethically consistent with their positions.

Books for December 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:46:00 +0000

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Probably the best book I’ve read this year.

This book was challenging, encouraging, strengthening, and edifying. Miller presents himself, and the lessons God has taught him, in a personal and vulnerable manner, rich with accounts from his and others' (in his family, mainly) experiences. He debunks several of the common struggles that keeps us from praying, offers solid theological foundations for right approaches to prayer, and includes concrete and practicable methods and approaches to living a praying life. Yet, none of it seems legalistic or method-driven.

I foresee returning to this one over and over again: in study with others, to be taught in Sunday School or small groups, and of course for personal growth. I’m sure I’ll probably give several copies away as gifts this year, too.

View all my reviews

I also read a manuscript for a book that, I hope, I'll get to be involved in publishing in 2012: Margie Haack (of Ransom Fellowship and Toad Hall) has written a memoir tentatively entitled The Exact Place; currently, we ("we" being Doulos Resources and especially Kalos Press) are discussing publishing this memoir. It's a wonderful piece, well-written and heartfelt, with engaging stories from Margie's childhood and youth. She reveals much of herself in these pages, even if subtly and with a modest consideration for not telling too much.

I love how Margie gives permission and blessing to those whose path to faith is neither straight nor obvious, even though she herself began to embrace faith early. I could see this being a book I invite my daughters to read in their early teens, introducing them to a companion in life as emerging adult women of faith. Thanks, Margie, for this early look at a promising book!

Books for November, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was reading about Amazon’s new lending feature for Kindle, and thought I would find a fun fiction piece for my day off; this was one of the titles on the first page, and while I had never thought of reading it, I had heard of it (and that a movie of it is on the way). Why not?

I was pleasantly surprised all around. it’s a good story, well-told, and with a nice back-and-forth flashback style of telling. The story is full of rich detail, revealing the author’s good work in researching the book, and a great glimpse into a part of the world (circus life) that has always fascinated me but about which I have known little.

As a nice bonus, there’s an interview with the author in the back, as well as study group discussion questions.

Letters to Steve: Inside the E-mail Inbox of Apple's Steve Jobs by Mark Milian

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a fun little book, and an interesting approach. It is peppered with clips and samples of e-mail exchanges, though not nearly as many as the title led me to believe. It gives a decent, if thin, account of the career of Steve Jobs, especially during his second time around with Apple Inc., and it does this with the e-mail correspondence at the center.

I wouldn’t highly recommend this book, and it’s probably not anything close to the quality of biography on Jobs as the others that have come out. But if you don’t know much about the man and his work leading Apple, this one would serve as a fair introduction to that.

View all my reviews

Sermon Texts for December 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Sermon texts for Dove Mountain Presbyterian Church for December will be:

12/4/2011 — Isaiah 53:7-12 (Willingly Crushed) (2nd Sunday in Advent)
12/11/2011 — Isaiah 54:1-8 (Redemption) (3rd Sunday in Advent)
12/18/2011 — Isaiah 54:9-17 (Steadfast Love) (4th Sunday in Advent)
12/24/2011 — Luke 2:21-38 (The Wait Is Over) (Christmas Eve Service)
12/25/2011 — Isaiah 55:1-5 (Without Price) (Christmas Day)

Items for prayer for the worldwide mission of Christ's Kingdom

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:19:00 +0000

As with yesterday, I've been thinking about an upcoming time of prayer for the DMC leadership. Here's a list of starting points for praying for God's world mission:

For the training & preparation of long-term missionaries…
For the hardened hearts of unbelievers in European nations…
For protection for the persecuted church…
For the effective labor of short-term mission teams…
For the financial support of missionaries during a difficult economy…
For the work of Bible translation into new languages…
For the training & installation of indigenous pastors…
For the healing of cultural wounds through Gospel ministry…
For the work among first-nations peoples in the U.S. …
For seminaries being established in India, Ukraine, & other countries…
For efficiency & effectiveness in the administration of mission boards & organizations…
For the families of missionaries to freely support & "let go" their loved ones for God's work…
For the church planting efforts by the PCA & other U.S. denominations…
For congregations to devote themselves to praying for local, national, & international missions…
For the children of pastors & missionaries…
For the continued rapid spread of the Gospel in Asia, Africa, & South America…
For the revitalization of struggling & unhealthy congregations…
For the Bible colleges & seminaries in their work of training…
For work in cities, especially urban & inner-city contexts…
For the health of marriages for pastors & missionaries…
For the safety of those laboring in high-risk / dangerous regions…
For receptivity to the Gospel by all who hear it…

Can you think of others?

Things to remember in group prayer settings

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:15:00 +0000

In thinking about an upcoming time of prayer for the Dove Mountain Church leadership, I thought of the following suggestions of things to remember in group prayer settings:

Not everyone must pray aloud in order to be united in prayer.
If you pray aloud, pray a-loud enough for everyone in your group to be able to hear you.
Be considerate of time constraints as well as ungodly wordiness (Matt. 6:7), and don't monopolize the time allotted for a given group or prayer topic.
Strive for a balance of sufficiency and brevity in prayers; this is usually what we mean by being "concise."
Though we are praying in groups, our prayers are spoken to God (who knows all things), and not to others; we need not exhaustively explain all of the contextual details of our prayers within them for God to hear and understand.
Meanwhile, while our prayers are spoken to God, they are edifying to the rest of the group; strive to pray in such a way that all may freely say "amen" ("I agree") to your prayers.

Can you think of any others?

From Pastor Ed, 11-13-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:12:00 +0000

Dear Dove Mountain Friends,

We've been quite grateful for the warm, hospitable welcome that we have received from all of you. Thank you very much for the way that you have embraced us, and continue to do so. We are so happy to be here among you.

Several of you have asked me how you might be in contact with me, and it occurred to me that it may be helpful for me to outline the different ways that you might get in touch with me. I'm also eager to be in regular contact with you! So I'll also mention some ways that you might "receive" communications from me.

We don't have local phone numbers for our mobile phones (yet), but you are certainly welcome to call me on mine nevertheless. I'm not a heavy text-messager, but I do receive— and respond to— text messages on my mobile phone, as well. That number is: (901) 451-0356. Of course, you can always reach me (at least by leaving a message) through the church's office line: (520) 744-8778.

I also do a good bit of e-mail, and if you e-mail then feel free to e-mail me at this address: ed@eubankshouse.org.

For the last several years, I've written a "pastor's blog" about a variety of topics. Sometimes I blog a lot, and other times I'll go for stretches without writing much. Still, if you read blogs, you may want to read mine; I would be happy to receive your comments through it, as well. My blog's address is: edspastorblog.blogspot.com.

I'm also active on several of the social network websites. You can find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ed.eubanks) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/EdEubanks); I'd love to be your Facebook friend and follow you on Twitter, if you're on these sites too. If you read books, my may want to find me on GoodReads (www.goodreads.com/edeubanks) so that we can trade book recommendations and reviews.

There are others, too— if you want to find all of my "social" pages, check out this web page: about.me/EdEubanks.

Again, I'm glad to be here as your pastor, and look forward to connecting with you, both in person and online!

Books for October 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:47:00 +0000

Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great read, and challenging in its content. Crouch offers a view of how everyone is engaged in the process of participating in, sustaining, and (at least in some way) cultivating culture. He lays this out in a manner that is clear and understandable, both in the abstract as well as in how each of us might more fully take up our role in participation.

One thing I appreciated about the book is the constructive critique of “worldview” as an approach to engaging/changing/shaping culture. Worldview, Crouch argues, will at best make us effective critics and thoughtful philosophers, but it won’t go very far to helping us constructively participate in the change of culture. He helpfully shows where worldview is useful, but also where it is in need of supplement.

One critique I would offer is that the whole approach is almost entirely based on individual participation in culture-making. Where is the church as a community, an institution, a body, in this process? I would like for Crouch to speak more to the communal aspect of culture-making; I’m sure he has much to say on that regard.

Overall: I would call this a must-read for any thoughtful Christian today.

Poke the Box by Seth Godin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not a bad book at all; I think I got it free or cheap, so it certainly was worth the price!

Obviously, this is a collection of Seth’s blog posts related to the general topic of getting off the ground with “shipping”— he metaphor or catch-all for getting to a final, delivered end-point with some creative or marketing endeavor. It may be as simple as selecting all of the posts tagged “ship” from his blog, and you would have the content of the book. Which is to say, it’s good content, worth reading, and helpful to have collected all in one place— but certainly available in other formats without price (as long as Seth’s blog archives are available, at least.)

The content, though, is good: challenging thoughts about getting somewhere with goals and creativity; analysis of some of the major obstacles that often stand in the way of “shipping”; suggestions for workflow and focus. It’s a good read for anyone who is running a business, trying to write, or in any other way has a final output toward which it is easy to procrastinate.

View all my reviews

Sermon Texts for November 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:56:00 +0000

Sermon texts for Dove Mountain Presbyterian Church in November will be:

11/6/2011 — Isaiah 51:9-52:6 (Awaken)
11/13/2011 — Isaiah 52:7-12 (Bringing Good News)
11/20/2011 — Isaiah 52:13-53:3 (Despised & Rejected)
11/27/2011 — Isaiah 53:4-6 (Afflicted & Crushed) (1st Sunday in Advent)

Blogging changes

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:08:00 +0000

This is our last full week in Tennessee; as I mentioned before, I have accepted a new call to serve as Senior Pastor of Dove Mountain Presbyterian Church in Tucson, AZ. This Sunday, 10/23, I will preach my farewell sermon at Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church (I'm actually no longer Senior Pastor there, as we installed my former Associate Pastor, Doug Barcroft, as the new Senior Pastor two days ago!). On Monday, 10/24, our truck will be loaded with all of our stuff, and we'll drive out of Tennessee and go west on Tuesday, 10/25.

What does this mean for this blog?

Well, I intend to continue blogging on a "pastor blog"; I feel like, at least occasionally, I've hit onto something worth saying/reading, and I want to continue to explore ideas in this sort of context. Obviously, though, the primary home for the blog — pastorblog.hickorywithepc.org — doesn't really "fit" any longer. So, here's what you need to do:

If you read this blog at http://pastorblog.hickorywithepc.org…
Switch over to this address instead: http://edspastorblog.blogspot.com. That page is already live and up-to-date.

If you read this blog via Feedburner RSS feed…
The new RSS feed will be: http://feeds.feedburner.com/EdsPastorsBlog. This feed will go live on Sunday, October 23.

If you read this blog via Facebook…
You don't need to do anything; the feed will keep coming as it has.

Thanks to my 10s of readers! I'll see you on the "other side" of this transition.

Books for September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:41:00 +0000

A Weed in the Church by Scott T. Brown<

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I found this book to be a mixed bag. On the one hand, I agree with both the underlying premises and the hoped-for end result of this book, and appreciate that the author used ample Scripture references to demonstrate them. I’d love to know that more pastors and others in the church were aware of the problems of highly-programmatic youth ministry and children’s ministry, and were willing to pursue greater biblical faithfulness in exercise of care for the younger generations in the church.

On the other hand, I found the tone and spirit of this book very off-putting. The author is quite aggressive in his attack of conventional youth and children’s ministries, and condescension is frequently employed with force. Most of the book is spent complaining of “what is wrong with conventional family ministry” and erecting elaborate portrayals of the horrifying— or at least disappointing— inevitable ends of these. Only at the very end does the author offer a constructive approach to how to “do” family ministry in a more biblically-faithful way.

The reason this is so disappointing is that the author is clearly able to articulate sound biblical ideas about family ministry, and how a church ought to execute it more faithfully. But the ethos with which he approaches his articulation means that few will read to the end who aren’t already convinced of his perspectives (at least to some degree).

If the author means to convert others en masse to a new, more biblical view of family ministry, his approach has sunk his attempts for the most part. If, on the other hand, he simply intends a ranting polemic that will “preach to the choir” and do little to make positive change, I wonder why he bothers.

The book has some very good content, if you can sift through the tone and attacking posture to get to it.

The Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene H. Peterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As expected, this book was excellent. Peterson’s honesty about his own humble path to becoming the pastor he was and is, in his simple description of how it came to pass, makes it seem that God could guide any pastor along a similar path. And in fact, that’s the point: our work and vocation as pastors is not all that different from one another, and Peterson’s portrayal of the life he has lived, and the lessons he has learned, as a pastor is not meant to be self-aggrandizing, but affirming of others whom God has granted the calling of “pastor”.

What makes this book so needed, as well, is that it (semi-unintentionally) debunks the common myths about what it means to be a pastor. Not a rock star, nor just one of the guys; not a CEO-styled visionary nor a psychologist. Rather, one who simply lives among others as the one who administers Word, Sacrament, prayer, and companionship, all the while giving dignity to all of those other vocations and more. Peterson casts a vision for pastoral ministry that is as old as the Scriptures themselves, yet in the face of so many misconceptions about the vocation of the pastor it is also fresh. And breathtaking.

View all my reviews

Sermon Texts for October 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Here are the sermon texts for Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church for October:

10/2 — Acts 15:35-41 (Differences & Disputes)
10/9 — Acts 16:1-12 (Advancing the Ministry)
10/16 — Matthew 16:13-21 (Laying Foundations)
10/23 — Genesis 12:1-5 (Going…)
10/31 — Acts 16:13-40 (Spiritual Attack & Freedom)

Bits and Tidbits, September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:14:00 +0000

21 Images You Won't Believe Aren't Photoshopped (part 8). Pretty incredible collection of photos here. (HT: Dorothy)
A Christian Response to Terrorism by Brenda Kay Zylstra. Really great thoughts here on how we ought to think clearly and biblically about the threat of terrorists.
Not a Good Week for Harper Collins. A fairly incredible post about how Harper Collins, the publisher, ripped off the cover art of a self-published author; the blogger also goes into the implications by way of copyright law, which is fascinating (to me at least).
22 Fascinating and Bizarre College Classes Offered This Semester. Exactly what it says; naturally, it's always good to see one from my alma mater on there.

Inconsistency and Justice

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Thanks to the generosity of friends, Marcie and I saw the new production of Les Misérables last Tuesday night. One of the first scenes reminded me of a topic that I've been thinking through a bit lately, so I thought this was as good an opportunity as any to consider it.

In the second (or third) scene, the main character, Jean Valjean, has been paroled after spending 19 years serving time, chained to a galley ship, for stealing a loaf of bread. He finds work as a field-hand, but the foreman interrupts his labor and dismisses him early (because of his status as an ex-convict). The foreman says, "I will pay you for the work you have given" but only gives him half-pay. When Valjean protests the injustice of this shortage of pay, an argument and scuffle ensues. Toward the end, another worker comments, "why should you receive the same as an honest man like me?"

Keeping that in mind, let's jump back to a couple of weeks ago: Michael Vick, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, had just signed a $100 million contract, and an acquaintance of mine was ranting on Facebook about how wrong this is/was. His point was simply this: no one who did what Vick did should be favored with such a wealthy deal.

In case you don't know, Michael Vick (at that time the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, and one of the presumed emerging stars of the National Football League) was arrested in 2007 for being involved in the operation of an inter-state dogfighting ring; he pleaded guilty to both state and federal charges, and was sentenced to 23 months in maximum security prison, which he served 21 months of (and was released early for good behavior at the discretion of the court).

My friend's rant was based on these facts. No dog-fighter should ever be allowed to work in the NFL again, he opined. Based on some of the comments his post received, it was clear to me that many believed he shouldn't be allowed to hold any job of substance or worth, let alone garner a lucrative contract like the one he recently signed.

Mr. Vick is Jean Valjean in our modern day. Not because his sentence didn't fit the crime— the ordinary and expected penalty for the charges Vick faced was apparently between 8 months and five years, and Vick was pretty well near the middle of that— but because, upon his release, there is no prevailing sense of justice served for his crimes.

By definition, "justice" is that a penalty is waged for a crime that is understood to be fair and right "payment" for that crime. That is, either there is an understood penalty that everyone receives for the committing of certain crimes, and that penalty is meted out; Or, there is a trusted system by which each crime is assessed and (based on the crime, as well as precedent from previous similar crimes) a penalty is assigned to it on a case-by-case basis.

When I was in seminary, Dr. Dan Doriani suggested to our class once that Exodus 22:4 is an example of perfect justice; regarding when a man steals an ox or a sheep, "If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double." Dr. Doriani explained thus: a man who has stolen a sheep to keep for himself (i.e., it is found alive) must give back what he took (one sheep) as well as forfeit from his own possession what he stood to gain (a second sheep). Perfect justice.

In our country, we have a justice system like I described above. By constitutional right, everyone who is charged with a crime is a) presumed innocent until proven guilty; b) has a right to have their case tried in court; c) has the right of the decision of their guilt or innocence determined by a panel of jurors; and d) must be believed by those jurors to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt. This is not a perfect system, and there are a lot of mistakes made (witness the release of the "Memphis Three" as perhaps only the most recent example). But it is our system, and the one both established by our constitutional government and agreed-upon by us.

But when we have a case like Michael Vick's, many of us are willing and ready to ignore that system completely. When my friend posted his Facebook tirade, I commented, "Wait a minute. He served his time, and fulfilled what justice required for his crimes. (In fact, it's generally agreed he got a harsher sentence because of his celebrity status-- to 'make an example of him'.) Now he's as innocent as you or me. If not, then justice means nothing."* I confess I wasn't too surprised when another commenter offered in response, "Yeah, I'm more an eye for an eye kind of guy."

I didn't bite (unless you count this blog post). But had I, I might have said: first, no you're not. No one is, consistently. Second, you should hope the Assistant Prosecutor trying your next traffic ticket, or the insurance adjustor assessing your next wreck, doesn't find this Facebook post of yours. And third, if this keeps up we're all in trouble.

Why the last comment? Because the erosion of trust in our justice system is a huge step on the path toward one of two likely ends: either anarchy, where no one follows any order, or a vigilante state, which eventually amounts to totalitarian rule.

We're already on the way. The manner with which our society treats sex offenders, for example, speaks to the general doubt and mistrust of our justice system. The response to the exoneration of Casey Anthony in Florida does, too. (Once again on Facebook, I lost count of how many people I knew who were convinced that their understanding of that case, by way of the coverage on Court TV, was clearly better and more objective than the jurors or actual court!) If the response to the Casey Anthony case is any measure, it looks like the United States will prefer the vigilante/totalitarian path.

Or we could start thinking and acting with greater consistency. If the length of sentencing and/or rate of recidivism of sex offenders is wrong, then there is room for changes in the system to accommodate those; the solution isn't, however, that we ignore the fundamental ideas of justice because of those. And we need to quit believing that our "armchair juror" pseudo-participation in the process counts as much as we think it does.

What is justice to you? Does it mean anything? If so, it must (by definition) mean that objectively and consistently. Otherwise, we really are in trouble.

*I was tempted to add to my comment, but refrained, something regarding the fact that, at the same time Mr. Vick was coming under fire for even being allowed back into the NFL, another prominent quarterback was facing several accusations of sexual assault; yet by and large, the media focus was on Mr. Vick's dogfighting (for which he had just completed the sentence assigned to him by the courts) instead of the under-the-table deals that were alleged to be going on to keep the other guy from having to deal with the possibility that he may be a serial-abuser of women.

On foolishness and rash statements

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:41:00 +0000

In case you're wondering…

I have no public statement about Pat Robertson's recent comments, other than to say: pastors make foolish and rash statements often. All of us. This is why the Bereans were commended. Pat Robertson is no exception.

Preparing for death

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:16:00 +0000

I recently finished reading Eugene Peterson's memoir, The Pastor. It was excellent! So nourishing to my soul, and both encouraging and insightful at the same time.

Toward the end, I was struck by the immense profundity of chapter 35, entitled, "Good Deaths". Here is an excerpt:

"Jan and I were visiting a Benedictine monastery, Christ in the Desert, in New Mexico. One of the brothers was leading us on a path from prayers in the chapel to the refectory where we would have lunch. The path led through the cemetery. We passed an open grave.
Jan said, "Oh, did one of the brothers die?"
"No, that is for the next one."
Three times a day, on their way from praying together to eating together, the monks are reminded that one of them will be "the next one."
And I was reminded that there is a long tradition in the church's life that the pastoral vocation consists in preparing people for "a good death." That tradition does not flourish in the American church. The widespread "denial of death" (Ernest Becker) that suffuses American culture now permeates the Christian church. But death, whether as metaphor, "I die daily," or as physical fact, "Blesses are those who die in the Lord," is given a lot of attention in our scriptures.
Resurrection does not have to do exclusively with what happens after we are buried or cremated. It does have to do with that, but first of all it has to do with the way we live right now. But as Karl Barth, quoting Nietzsche, pithily reminds us: "Only where graves are is there resurrection." We practice our death by giving up our will to live on our own terms. Only in that relinquishment or renunciation are we able to practice resurrection.
Eugene Peterson, The Pastor (New York: HarperOne, 2011), pp. 289-290.

I find that assertion both a high bar to reach for, and at the same time a gentle truth that causes me to rest a bit. And I find the idea of the pastoral vocation as preparing people for "good deaths" a fitting and apt description of what I am called to do, what I try to do with every encounter with my congregation's members, every prayer on their behalf, and every word spoken in proclamation of Scripture.

What will carry us from this point to the point of our consummation with Christ's glory? How will we live in light of the hope— or despair— that is ours based on our great need for something beyond ourselves, and Christ's redeeming work to meet that need? These are the ideas that permeate preparing for a good death.

Recipe #3: Ice Cream (home-made)

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:37:00 +0000

Every summer since I have been at Hickory WIthe Presbyterian Church (and for many summers as a youth minister), I have taken pleasure in making home-made ice cream for my congregation(s). Every summer, also, some people ask for the recipe for the custard I use in making the ice cream.

My recipe was given to me by my dear friend, Anne Burguet, when I first started doing this (probably during the summer of 1995). I love it, because it doesn't require cooking the custard before making the ice cream. Here's the recipe:

No-Cooking Homemade Ice Cream

Ingredients
2 cups Sugar
14 oz. Can Condensed Milk
2 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
6 Eggs, beaten
1 pint Whipping cream
1 pinch Salt
Whole Milk

Directions
1. Beat eggs.
2. Mix sugar, condensed milk, vanilla extract, whipping cream, and eggs together thoroughly. Pour mixture into churn canister.
3. Insert the dasher into the canister. Add any other ingredients (fruit, chocolate, etc.) to the canister, then add milk. Fill to the indicated line.
4. After closing the canister and attaching the motor, pack the churn with salt and ice. Plug in, adding more ice and salt as needed.
5. When churn stops (or after 35-45 minutes of churning), unplug the churn and remove the canister. Carefully remove the dasher, scraping ice cream from it as you lift it out.
6. Cover with the lid and freeze for 1-4 hours, as preferred. Ice cream will probably be soft; serve in bowls.

Notes:
This recipe is very flexible; add just about whatever you like to it. It works great with fruit, and also with many sweet things.

A few sweet combinations I have tried that work well are: Oreos (crushed); M&Ms; coffee chocolate-chip; mint chocolate chip; peppermint patty.

If you're using cookies or candy, try freezing them ahead of time; this makes it easy to break them into pieces (and less likely that they will simply dissolve in the ice cream custard).

If you're adding fruit, cut into very small chunks ahead of preparation. Sprinkle with a light coat of sugar, and refrigerate for a few hours.

Another variation is to try different kinds of extracts instead of (or in addition to) vanilla. I've tried 1 TBSP of peppermint extract (replacing 1 of the TBSP of vanilla) with good effect.

Sermon texts for September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Eubanks) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Here are the sermon texts for HWPC for the month of September:

9/4— Acts 12:25-13:12 (Spreading the Word)
9/11— Acts 13:13-52 (Stirring Up the City)
9/18— Acts 14:1-28 (Resistance & Advance)
9/25— Acts 15:1-35 (General Assembly)