Xavier Pacheco

Take Notice: SBC’s Resolution on Adoption

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:28:17 -1400

I heartily applaud the Southern Baptist Convention’s enthusiastic support of Dr. Russell Moore’s proposed resolution promoting adoption and orphan care. Dr. Moore, who is the dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is also the author of the excellent book entitled, “Adopted for Life” which I highly recommend for not just families thinking about adopting, but pastors and church leaders as well.

The wording and passion in the words of this resolution shows that the SBC “gets it” regarding the orphan crisis and the call of the church both theologically and practically. The complete text to this resolution is on Dr. Moore’s site here and also fully quoted in this post.

I pray that this is reflective of the growing movement, not just within the SBC but also with churches and local pastors world-wide who are finally recognizing God’s heart for the fatherless and the biblical mandate of the church to act (James 1:27).

RESOLUTION NO. 2 ON ADOPTION AND ORPHAN CARE - SBC 2009

WHEREAS, In the gospel we have received the “Spirit of adoption” whereby we are no longer spiritual orphans but are now beloved children of God and joint heirs with Christ (John 14:18; Romans 8:12-25; Galatians 3:27-4:9; Ephesians 1:5); and

WHEREAS, The God we now know as our Father reveals himself as a “father of the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5) who grants mercy to orphans (Deuteronomy 10:18; Hosea 14:3); and

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus welcomes the little ones (Luke 18:15-17), pleads for the lives of the innocent (Psalm 72:12-14), and shows us that we will be held accountable for our response to “the least of these brothers of mine” (Matthew 25:40); and

WHEREAS, The Scripture defines “pure and undefiled religion” as “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27); and

WHEREAS, The satanic powers and the ravages of sin have warred against infants and children from Pharaoh to Molech to Herod and, now, through the horrors of a divorce culture, an abortion industry, and the global plagues of disease, starvation, and warfare; and

WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have articulated an unequivocal commitment to the sanctity of all human life, born and unborn; and

WHEREAS, Churches defined by the Great Commission must be concerned for the evangelism of children—including those who have no parents; and

WHEREAS, Upward of 150 million orphans now languish without families in orphanages, group homes, and placement systems in North America and around the world; and

WHEREAS, Our Father loves all of these children, and a great multitude of them will never otherwise hear the gospel of Jesus Christ; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, June 23-24, 2009, express our commitment to join our Father in seeking mercy for orphans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on each Southern Baptist family to pray for guidance as to whether God is calling them to adopt or foster a child or children; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage our pastors and church leaders to preach and teach on God’s concern for orphans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend churches and ministries that are equipping families to provide financial and other resources to those called to adopt, through grants, matching funds, or loans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage local churches to champion the evangelism of and ministry to orphans around the world, and to seek out ways to energize Southern Baptists behind this mission; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage Southern Baptist churches to join with other evangelical Christians in setting aside a special Sunday each year to focus upon our adoption in Christ and our common burden for the orphans of the world; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we pray what God is doing in creating an adoption culture in so many churches and families can point us to a gospel oneness that is determined not by “the flesh,” or race, or economics, or cultural sameness, but by the Spirit, unity, and peace in Christ Jesus; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit on Southern Baptist congregations so that our churches will proclaim and picture, in word and in deed, that “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.”

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27, ESV)

Jesus Cast a Look on Me

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:38:45 -1400

Jesus cast a look on me,
Give me sweet simplicity
Make me poor and keep me low,
Seeking only Thee to know

All that feeds my busy pride,
Cast it evermore aside
Bid my will to Thine submit,
Lay me humbly at Thy feet

Make me like a little child,
Of my strength and wisdom spoiled
Seeing only in Thy light,
Walking only in Thy might

Leaning on Thy loving breast,
Where a weary soul can rest
Feeling well the peace of God,
Flowing from His precious blood

In this posture let me live,
And hosannas daily give
In this temper let me die,
And hosannas ever cry!

John Berridge

Here Am I

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:38:27 -1400

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

Adoption, Greater Than the Universe

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 08:03:22 -1400

Al Di Meola in San Francisco

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:59:11 -1400

This is a gem, one of my favorite guitarists. Enjoy.

Ten Things to do on John Calvin's Birthday

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:59:40 -1400

1. Memorize TULIP.

2. Study Reformed Theology (here’s a place to start)

3. Read the Westminster Confession of Faith (for the 50th time this year for you Presbyterians).

4. Plan a trip to Geneva (or take one if you can quickly arrange it).

5. Watch the movie (Luther). Ok this isn’t about Calvin but it is about the founder of the reformation and an excellent movie.

6. Have a religious statue, image/icon destroying ceremony.

7. Enjoy a meal of Swiss or French origin (like Swiss cheese and French Fries).

8. Make sure you do not swear, gamble, or dance (even at weddings: apologies to my friend Elvis who is getting married on this fine day).

9. Be sure you attend church this week or be penalized (unless you have a good excuse, but it’d better be good).

10. Enjoy a Calvinus beer. Note: this beer is hard to get, you basically have to go to Switzerland to get it. If you are not fortunate to be living in Switzerland, acquire some other beer of choice (a blonde ale), remove the label, slap a picture of Calvin on it and pretend it is a Calvinus. Then, to John Calvin - Prost!

bonus: read this fine article on Calvin by my good friend Bill Petro.

Charismatic Calvinist, an oxymoron?

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:00:10 -1400

Recently, I acquired the domain CharismaticCalvinist.com and several friends asked me to explain this seemingly oxymoronic combination of words.

The term "Charismatic Calvinist" can probably be attributed to Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hills Church who associated the term with himself at a pastors conference in 2005 according to this wiki article. Another term used to describe this position is Neo-Calvinism or Neo-Reformed. According to one Time's Article, one would get the impression that this is simply Calvinism paired with contemporary Christian music; it more complex than that and frankly, I personally can't stand most contemporary (pop) Christian music, but I digress.

Charismatic Calvinist combines two theological systems of thought. The first is Calvinism, a theology taught by John Calvin which emphasizes a high view of Scripture and the sovereignty of God from which it forms its theological views commonly described by the acronym T.U.L.I.P meaning:

Total Depravity (a.k.a. Total Inability and Original Sin)
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement (a.k.a. Particular Atonement)
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints (a.k.a. Once Saved Always Saved)

The details of Calvinism are beyond the scope of this post but if interested you can read about it here, and here.

Regarding the second component to Charismatic Calvinism, I am NOT speaking about that Pentecostal flavor of Charismatic thought that believes that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second work of grace that brings power in the life of the believer evidenced by the speaking of tongues. I am also NOT speaking about the charismatic movement having all those bizarre elements like raising of the dead, spiritual barking and laughter, crawling and shaking on the floor, future-telling and other counterfeit nonsense. Side note: a good book to have in hand is Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraff where he documents the danger of this deceptive brand of revivalism.

What I am referring to by the term charismatic Calvinist is defined by the term, continuationism or non-cessationism. Continuationists maintain that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit have continued to this present age. The opposite of continuationism is cessationism which maintains that gifts of the Holy Spirit like, prophecy, tongues/interpretation, healings, exorcisms, and miracles ceased after the apostolic era since they were needed only to authenticate apostolic authority (Grudem, 1031).

There are varying degrees of continuationism. Some well-known theologians/preachers who are considered to be continuationists are John Piper, Wayne Grudem, Mark Driscoll, Justin Taylor and C.J. Mahaney to name a few. Al Mohler was associated with Neo-Calvinism in the aforementioned Times article but I've not found any personal statement thereof so I am uncertain of this. I won't delve into all the specifics of continuationism. Rather, I'll provide some links to some studies and interviews that should shed some light on this idea.

One well-respected New Testament and theologian in the SBC wrote a paper that does a good job of defining some terms in this blog post. Check this out.

You should also read this interview with Wayne Grudem: Continuationism and Cessationism: An Interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem.

For a good study on "signs and wonders" I would strongly recommend this article by John Piper: Signs and Wonders: Then and Now as well as his fourteen-part sermon series on Are Signs and Wonders for Today?

This should at least get you started in understanding what is meant by the terms: Neo-Calvinism, Neo-Reformed and Charismatic Calvinism.

Finally, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the domain name, CharismaticCalvinist.com, maybe Pastor Driscoll will offer to buy it from me.

Today we see our own slender resources, our poverty in fact; but this is undoubtedly the punishment we deserve, as the reward for our own ingratitude. For God’s riches are not exhausted, nor has his liberality grown less; but we are not worthy of his largess, or capable of receiving all that He generously gives.” (Calvin on 1 Corinthians 14:32; The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, p. 305).

Referenced:

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.

Adopting

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:49:43 -1400

This is going to be a quick post simply to say that my wife and I are being led adopt two Ethiopian children. We are fairly far into the application process but have much more to do. You can find out more information on our family blog site, www.PachecosInColorado.com. We've also setup a site to follow us in the process at www.AdoptYemiAndAbe.com.

Finally, we also have a Facebook group happening.

See us on Facebook

More later.

Who's more foolish the fool or the fool who follows him?

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:34:23 -1400

"Who's more foolish the fool or the fool who follows him?" retorts Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi when called a fool by Han Solo.

We should be asking ourselves the same question. While we tend to associate foolishness with incompetence and stupidity, Scripture does not. The Bible associates foolishness with immorality. Consider the following passage:

The fool has said in his heart, “"There is no God."” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; Psalm 14:1 (my emphasis)

First, the passage does not say that the fool thinks that there is no God. Rather, it says that the fool says in his heart that God does not exist. The distinction is one of knowledge vs. essence. This is not a matter of ignorance for Scripture makes no provision for this (Romans 1:18-32). Rather, this is a matter of outright denial and rebellion. This posture is one that is affirmed by one’s actions; actions that offend God. Put differently, such people insult God to His face. This person’s deeds are “abominable.” In the Hebrew this may be rendered as detestable or repulsive. They are actions which God hates for they directly oppose God’s holiness. Consider Psalm 53:1 which further clarifies this:

The fool has said in his heart, There is no God, They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice (Psalm 53:1).

Here, instead of using the word deeds, the Psalmist uses the word injustice to emphasize a violation of God’s holy standard. So how exactly is this related to Obi-Wan Kenobi? Recently, I read the following quote from Ravi Zacharias,

"It is a mindless philosophy that assumes that one's private beliefs have nothing to do with public office. Does it make sense to entrust those who are immoral in private with the power to determine the nation's moral issues and, indeed, its destiny? .... The duplicitous soul of a leader can only make a nation more sophisticated in evil." -Ravi Zacharias

When we who call ourselves Christians hire (put into public office) those who openly oppose God’s moral code, we likewise commit a grave injustice. We place our nation under the authority of those who deny and mock the God of Israel to His face by their actions. By compromising our so-called values for a better life, a better economy, a more stable political environment we, as Zacharias asserts, put our nation on a path towards a more sophisticated evil. Proverbs 26:10 warned us in saying,

“Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool” Proverbs 26:10

Sadly, we are reaping what we sow. Perhaps it is time to repent and confess our own wrongdoing. Perhaps it is time to cry out to God as a community of saints and pray for the plight of our nation and for our President. Perhaps it is time to get out of our anemic mentality and take seriously and respond to God’s cultural mandate to restore our world not by might or by power but by the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6).

So, then, I ask, “Who's more foolish the fool or the fool who follows him?"

A Wretched Parody on True Sainthood

xavier.nospam@nospam.xapware.com (xpacheco) — Fri, 15 May 2009 05:52:51 -1400

My brother in faith,Chuck, shared this Tozer quote with me. I found it to be profoundly pertinent (prophetic actually) to the state of the Church in America. As you read it, I would advise that you read it as a self-critique; not as a criticism of those not sharing your preferred brand of Christianity.

We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone. Large and influential sections of the world of fundamental Christianity have gone overboard for practices wholly unscriptural, altogether unjustifiable in the light of historic Christian truth and deeply damaging to the inner life of the individual Christian. They have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost. The glowworm has taken the place of the bush that burned and scintillating personalities now answer to the fire that fell at Pentecost.

The fact is that we are not today producing saints. We are making converts to an effete type of Christianity that bears little resemblance to that of the New Testament. The average so-called Bible Christian in our times is but a wretched parody on true sainthood. Yet we put millions of dollars behind movements to perpetuate this degenerate form of religion and attack the man who dares to challenge the wisdom of it.

Clearly we must begin to produce better Christians. We must insist on New Testament sainthood for our converts, nothing less; and we must lead them into a state of heart purity, fiery love, separation from the world and poured-out devotion to the Person of Christ. Only in this way can the low level of spirituality be raised again to where it should be in the light of the Scriptures and of eternal values.

Excerpted from Of God and Men AW Tozer