Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Part 3: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

This is question three in a five part interview series with Dr. John Hammett on the Importance of Church Membership. Dr. Hammett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) currently serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Previous posts in this series: Introduction , Part 1 , Part 2

Dr. Hammett, what are the privileges of being a member of a local church?

God loves to bless obedience and designs his plans for our good, we find Scripture teaches that membership has its privileges. In the interest of conciseness I will limit my response to four privileges.

1. Corporate Worship

Now I like to sing, and I read Scripture and pray at home, but it’s not the same as corporate worship. Jesus promises his presence among us in a special way when we gather in his name. (Matthew 18:20) Sometimes we sense his presence more than others, but that probably says more about our lack of preparation than it does about his faithfulness to keep his promise. But it’s not just his presence in our worship, it’s his power:

When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present . . . (I Corinthians 5:4)

Paul seems to be saying here that when a local body of believers gather in Jesus’ name, that his power is among them in a special way. It doesn’t mean that God can’t work anywhere else—on the workplace, in the home, or among Christians gathered informally. But I personally don’t know of a healthy and strong Christian who has grown to maturity apart from the blessings God has bestowed through his church. Theologians talk about what we call different means of grace; various avenues God uses to minister to us, to strengthen and nurture and sustain us. Many of them are associated with corporate worship—the preaching of God’s word, the prayer and praise of God’s people, the ordinances of the Supper and baptism—Jesus’ power to work among us is seen in how he uses these times when his church gathers. I think many of us have experienced times when praising God with others gives us strength and encouragement. Christ’s power is at work when we assemble, and I think the reason is clear. Jesus said,

I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18)

What has Jesus been doing since he arose and ascended? Completing what he began in the incarnation and crucifixion. Paul described it like this:

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Special things happen when churches gather, because they are special to Jesus. The church is what he is building, what he is making holy, radiant, and blameless. And when you join a church, and you gather with that church in corporate worship, you are in the place where God promises to work—his presence, his power. O that we will have ears to hear, and hearts to know him near! He is here and is at work among us—what a blessing! What a privilege! In addition to corporate praise, there is:

2. Corporate Ministry

Of course, the church is far more than just the time we gather on Sunday morning. If we have that type of covenant commitment we mentioned, we will be sharing life, and as we do so, other members of the body will minister to you in a host of ways.

From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16)

Look at that last phrase: as each part does its work. We need the ministry of the body to grow to maturity. We need encouragement, prayers, admonition, example, and teaching. For me, this happens in the church community. I hear words of support and prayers for me and my family; I receive emails and expressions of encouragement throughout the week. These things build me up, help me keep focused and going. I need that.

I’ve also seen the value of the ministry of the body in my family. My kids are healthier and more mature today spiritually because of the ministry of the local church. That’s one of the privileges of membership, and I say thank you to all of you for being part of that.

3. Corporate Confirmation of Personal Guidance

Let me mention one aspect of corporate ministry that I think we don’t often recognize or utilize. I call it corporate confirmation of personal guidance. Here’s the situation I have in mind. You have a decision to make, about a job, a relationship, your kids. You pray and seek God’s guidance and you think you understand what he wants you to do. But you know you are fallible. What do you do? I think God places us in the body and calls us to covenant commitment, to allow others into our lives, to get to know us, so that in moments like that, they can provide corporate confirmation of personal guidance. Often, they can see us and our situations more clearly than we can, because we’re too close. Consider this example from the life of Saul, who we know more as Paul.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2)

How did these first two great missionaries receive their call? In the context of the life of the body.  They may have thought God was calling them, but there were other brothers and sisters there, who knew them and knew the Lord, and could see and confirm God’s guidance for them. Now that type of blessing and advice perhaps could come from any good friend, but I think God places us in churches to supply us with such wise counselors.

4. Corporate Accountability

As a local body, we are Christ’s representatives to the world, and in many cases, churches aren’t doing that great a job. Nonbelievers routinely accuse churches of hypocrisy; that their members do not live any differently than they do. The divorce rate, alcohol abuse, spouse abuse, pornography use, drug use, not to mention greed, jealousy, anger, choices of entertainment, overall lifestyle—all too often there is little difference between the church and the world. As I mentioned earlier, in the average church, less than 40% even attend. Somehow, we have to recover the courage and care enough about each other to confront, when confrontation is called for. Jesus spoke of it:

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. (Matthew 18:15)

Paul gives such confrontation as especially the responsibility of those who claim to be mature:

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

One final example extends that responsibility to all of us.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:15)

Do you have someone who loves you enough to call you out when you go off track? Do you have someone so committed to your holiness that they will say a hard word when it needs saying? If so, you are a blessed person, and that’s what we’re called to do and be for each other; to give and receive accountability. And when a church gives its members that kind of accountability, it’s moving toward being that radiant church that Jesus died to create, that is far from perfect, but not open to the charge of hypocrisy either.

This is tough, especially as a church gets larger. It’s tragically possible to fall through the cracks. That’s why at my home church one of the questions we ask in the membership process is small group involvement; because that’s where the relationships develop that allow accountability. It’s hard to be accountable to strangers; it’s hard for a stranger to care enough to hold someone else accountable, but that’s what we’re seeking to develop– a culture, not of rigid expectations, but loving, caring accountability among those committed to following Christ together.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Introduction: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

Over the next week I will be posting a five part interview with Dr. John S. Hammett on the importance of local church membership. I am excited about this interview series not only because the topic is extremely important to the Church, but also because God has used Dr. Hammett notably in my own theological formation.

While working on my master’s degree I had the privilege of sitting under Professor Hammett for several lecture courses and worked with him in one independent study course. His love for the local church was contagious and propelled me to see the importance of ecclesiology in a very deep way. John Hammett is a seasoned, humble, and respectable scholar who loves Christ’s church dearly.

Dr. Hammett earned degrees at Duke University (B.A), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div.), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (D. Min.), and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ph.D.). Dr. Hammett is currently serving as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Hammett’s book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches has been instrumental in the formation of my own ecclesiology, and naturally I highly recommend it. Hammett also wrote an excellent chapter on “The Doctrine of Humanity” in A Theology for the Church. Dr. Hammett has contributed too many other books, magazines, scholarly journals, and online resources on Theology, Ecclesiology, and Missiology. (Here are a few from 9Marks Ministries) Simply put, he has given much thought to the importance of the local church.

The interview series will be organized under five questions:

  1. Is local church membership really that important, is it even biblical?
  2. In your opinion, what are the requirements one must meet for local church membership?
  3. What are the privileges of being a member of a local church?
  4. What are the responsibilities of being a member of a local church?
  5. What, if any, are valid reasons for parting ways with a local church?

Here are some introductory thoughts from Hammett:

“Church membership is something that can be misunderstood. It’s not the same thing as the gospel, and certainly doesn’t guarantee someone’s place in heaven. But consider this – On a typical Sunday morning, of the more than 16 million members of Southern Baptist churches across the country, more than 10 million will not be present in a local church, that’s less than 40%. Where are they? Some are sick or on vacation, but many simply choose not to come, and have made that choice consistently for years. Somewhere along the line they joined a church, but their life shows no evidence that they know Christ. My fear is that they think somehow their church membership guarantees them access into heaven, but being a church member doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a genuine follower of Jesus. It should, but in many churches it doesn’t.

Not only can church membership be misunderstood, it can also become meaningless. Churches where more than 60% of the members never even come and whose lives shows no sign of Christ’s presence make membership a meaningless mockery and expose such churches to the charge that they are full of hypocrites. All you can say is, “you’re right.” Church membership doesn’t guarantee that someone will live a Christ-honoring life. So some churches have deemphasized church membership. It doesn’t save you, and doesn’t make someone a better person, so what’s the value? While I want to keep the main thing the main thing, there can also be secondary things that have significant value. I think church membership is one of those secondary things.”

I look forward to posting Dr. Hammett’s thoughts on the importance of church membership over the next few weeks.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Resources for Reading the Bible

Last week a friend of mine gave me an advanced copy of “Read the Bible for Life” by George H. Guthrie. This book looks like an excellent resource for teaching people how to read, understand, and apply the Bible. It is written in a very conversational way for broad readability. Here is a video introducing the project:

I would also recommend a book titled “40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible” by Robert L. Plummer. I agree with Justin Taylor‘s assessment.

Dr. Plummer has managed to produce something pretty unique here. I’d recommend it for virtually all Christians: laypeople, parents, pastors, and professors. If I were teaching a Sunday School, college, or even seminary class, I’d make this required reading (though obviously the higher the level of class the more supplemental reading would be required).

I can see a lot of folks using this as a one-stop introductory resource on questions of text, canon, translation, inerrancy, Christ-centered interpretation, application, genre, etc. Pastors in particular: this is a very good resource for producing concise, excellent answers for most of the questions people ask about matters of the Bible.

Quite simply, this is the best introductory book on biblical interpretation I’ve yet seen. I highly recommend it.

Take up and read!

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Personal, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

David Alan Black’s “Why Four Gospels?”

When people ask me what professors I enjoyed most at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, David Black is always on the list. I had Dr. Black for Greek while working on my M.Div. Anyone who sits in his class quickly learns that he loves God’s word and loves to teach. (Which is evident in this video.)

Recently, Dr. Black has revised “Why Four Gospels?” , and it is being re-published by Energion. Dr. David Black earned his D.Theol. from the University of Basel, Switzerland. He serves as professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is the author or editor of 16 books, including Learn to Read New Testament Greek, Interpreting the New Testament, and Rethinking the Synoptic Problem.

In Why Four Gospels? noted Greek and New Testament scholar David Alan Black, concisely and clearly presents the case for the early development of the gospels, beginning with Matthew, rather than Mark. But this is much more than a discussion of the order in which the gospels were written. Using both internal data from the gospels themselves and an exhaustive and careful examination of the statements of the early church fathers, Dr. Black places each gospel in the context of the early development of Christianity.

I look forward to reading this book. Dr. Black blogs here. One last thing…Dr. Black is a very eccentric person (in a good way). I personally think his beard is Beard Team USA worthy.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

A Call For Christians To Think!

In his book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Notre Dame Professor of American religious history, Mark Noll has said that, “the scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.”[1]

His argument was simple. Christians need to make an effort to ‘think’ within the Biblical framework across the whole spectrum of learning including: economics, political science, literary criticism, imaginative writing, historical inquiry, philosophical studies, linguistics, the sciences, social theory, and the arts. This call to ‘think’ should be heeded seriously by Christians who are seeking to live as a faithful presence in the world. R.C. Sproul has argued that “we live in what may be the most anti- intellectual period in the history of Western civilization.”[2]

Noll appropriately concludes, “Jesus Christ demands from evangelicals a more responsible intellectual existence.”[3] All other mental disciplines aside, this call for responsible thinking among Christians should be applied to God’s word first and foremost. God has revealed himself in a book. Understanding, interpreting, and applying this book requires rigorous thinking. If we do not labor to think through God’s word we will misinterpret it and lead others astray.

The Bible is clear about the importance of Christian thinking. Proverbs tells us “if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:3-5) Paul carries this thought into the New Testament when he urges Timothy to “think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2:7) The command is clear – Think!

Living as fallen people we must acknowledge that we experience the effects of sin on our minds. However, even as we acknowledge this hard truth, we must not be discouraged for there is hope in the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), and this salvation includes the renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2). Goldsworthy aptly comments:

“The gospel achieves noetic (see footnote[4]) salvation for us through the perfect mind of Christ our Savior. This is part of his righteous make-up as the perfect human being. His is the human mind in perfect relationship with mind of God. To be justified includes our noetic salvation…our noetic sanctification is the fruit of our justification in Christ. It is the gradual formation within us of what we have in Christ through faith.”[5]

We must acknowledge that as fallen people we have the tendency to swing the ‘pendulum of thinking’ between two extremes: anti-intellectualism and over-intellectualism. In the most general terms, anti-intellectualism tends to pit feeling over thinking while over-intellectualism tends to exalt the life of the mind as an end in itself. But the gospel provides a third way of the mind. We are humble enough to realize that we do not have a perfect mind, and confident enough to know that the renewing of our minds is an ongoing process by which our thinking is being conformed more and more to the truth as it is in Christ.

Just like any other aspect of sanctification, we are called to have an active role in obedience. This is why the Scriptures call us to be sober-minded, to gird up the loins of our thinking, to be ready, to be alert, to be watchful, to have our eyes open. Albert Mohler goes as far to argue that this is our calling as Christians…we are to be a community of the open-eyed, the intellectually alert, the brokenhearted, the resolutely hopeful.”[6] We are called to be a thinking people.

We understand that our hope and salvation does not rest in our intellectual abilities. We must avoid the pride of over-intellectualism. But, the Christians who argue that ‘thinking’ should be left to others. Forgive my ‘lack of tact’, but your anti-intellectualism is unbiblical. John Piper has recently reminded us that “glorifying God with our minds and hearts is not either-or, but both-and. Focusing on the life of the mind will help you know God better, love Him more, and care for the world.”[7]

Yet, if Noll and many others are right[8], evangelical Christians seem to fit the description of anti-intellectuals more than the opposite. When it comes to thinking about, and through, God’s word, if we don’t think clearly we may find ourselves on the verge of slaughtering the gospel, if we haven’t already. Christians, Tolle! Lege.[9]

Continue reading “A Call For Christians To Think!” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Towards a Definition of Missional

There has been much conversation in evangelical literature and in the blog world about the word ‘missional.’ In this post I would like to survey the landscape of discussion. This is not a comprehensive survey, but a quick look at the conversation.

Introduction

“What would be involved in a missionary encounter between the gospel and this whole way of perceiving, thinking, and living that we call ‘modern Western Culture?”[1]

The concept of missional ministry owes much of its influence to Lesslie Newbigin, who posed this question above after returning home to England in 1974 from missionary service in India for nearly 40 years. Newbigin’s work has served as the catalyst for bringing the issue of mission in Western culture to the forefront of the agenda of the church. In attempt to answer missiological questions similar to Newbigin’s, many in the Western church began to develop what has become known as the ‘missional model of ministry.’

Ed Stezer has reminded us that the word ‘missional’ is not a new term. In fact, he traces its origins back to 1907.[2] Yet, as we all know, words begin to take on new meanings as they are used in different contexts. In 1998 a book titled Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America[3] attempted to apply Newbigin’s ‘missiology’ to ‘ecclesiology’ and launched the concept of a missional church into mainstream conversation.[4] Since that time many conflicting definitions of missional church has been circulating in the context of evangelicalism.

One of the first things one will notice is that the word missional is used in different contexts – denominationally and theologically. One thing we can see is that the term itself is being used with increasing frequency all across the evangelical spectrum. Therefore, it is helpful to consider a few explanations of the word that have been used in the past few years.

Towards a Definition of Missional

Many would point to Tim Keller as the central voice that took the word missional and uprooted it from the larger conversation, since many in the emergent camp were using it, and planted it in evangelical soil. In 2001 Keller published a concise article titled The Missional Church, in it he offered a list of traits that mark the missional church:

  • Discourse in the vernacular.
  • Enter and retell the cultures stories with the gospel.
  • Theologically train laypeople for public life and vocation.
  • Create Christian community which is countercultural [not to be taken as ‘against-culture’] and counterintuitive.
  • Practice Christian unity as much as possible on the local level.[5]

Two years later, in 2003, Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost wrote a book titled The Shaping of Things to Come, in it they argued that:

“The missional church is incarnational, not attractional, in its ecclesiology. By incarnational we mean it does not create sanctified spaces into which unbelievers must come to encounter the gospel. Rather, the missional church disassembles itself and seeps into the cracks and crevices of a society in order to be Christ to those who don’t yet know him.”[6]

In 2006, New Testament scholar Scot McKnight delivered an address at Westminster Theological Seminary on the emerging church where he argued that the concept of being missional comes from the great missiological thinkers[7] in order to give expression to the Missio Dei, namely, what God is doing in this world. McKnight argued that church communities become missional by participating, with God, in the redemptive work God is doing in this world. He continued by illustrating how missional churches seek to be a faithful presence in their community.

“The central element of this missional praxis is that the emerging movement is not attractional in its model of the church but is instead missional: that is, it does not invite people to church but instead wanders into the world as the church. It asks its community “How can we help you?” instead of knocking on doors to increase membership.”[8]

For Mcknight, participating with God in his redemptive work ‘missionally’ requires the American Church to consider a shift in philosophy and practice. Within the categories of ministry philosophy and practice is where the larger theological conversation of the term missional has been shaped, namely, with reference to how the Church contextualizes in relation to the culture around it. Most of the time missional has been explained in contrast to attractional ministry.

In the same year, 2006, Mark Driscoll published a book in which he argued that a missional church is marked by some specific traits. Some of them are:

  • Christian’s being a missionary to their local culture.
  • The church accepts that it is marginalized in culture and holds no privileged position of influence but gains influence by serving the common good.
  • Churches grow as Christians bring Jesus to lost people through hospitality.
  • Community means his church is a counterculture with a new kingdom way of life through Jesus.
  • Pastors are missiologists who train Christians to be effective missionaries.[9]

Like others, Driscoll’s list was written in comparison to the traditional/institutional and contemporary/evangelical models of ecclesiology. The conversation on ‘what it means to be missional’ has also seeped its way into the Southern Baptist Convention. But many Southern Baptist who use the term missional, do not use the word in the same sense as the larger evangelical world, a point made by Ed Stetzer in his chapter of the book Southern Baptist Identity. Stetzer writes that “Not all who use the term “missional” are missional”, for example: missional is not the same as a church that is in support of missions.[10] Michael Lawrence argues the same point by writing that:

“Being missional is not the same as being committed to missions, or being missions-minded. Being missional is a way of thinking about the church and how it relates to the world. A missional church understands that the church does not go on mission, or send people out to do missions. Rather, the church is the mission of God into the world, in order to heal the world and reconcile people to God.”[11]

A few years earlier Stetzer published a book titled Breaking the Missional Code. In it Stetzer and Putman argue that there are certain shifts that allow a church to sharpen their focus. They argue that these important shifts will come when one is thinking about what a biblical church looks like, and what it means to be missionally engaged in our communities and in the world.[12] For these authors, the shift to missional is seen when the church ministry moves:

  • from programs to process
  • from demographics to discernment
  • from models to missions
  • from attractional to incarnational
  • from uniformity to diversity
  • from professional to passionate
  • from seating to sending
  • from decisions to disciples
  • from additional to exponential
  • from monuments to movements

Conclusion

From the context of the larger evangelical conversation, it would seem that ‘being a missional church’ generally has to do with three main things:

  1. Our understanding of and stance towards the surrounding culture – with a view to be a faithful Christian presence in our context of ministry.
  2. The implementation of ministry through the local church – with implications on staff and structure, both organizationally and functionally.
  3. A renewed ministry emphasis on both word and deed – The Great Commission and Kingdom Living, with an aim to avoid the errors of both the social gospel movement and the separatist fundamental movement.

Despite the vast amount of discussion on this issue, it is notable that ‘missional’ has been a term that has been consistently used in contrast to the attractional, seeker-sensitive, church growth[13], models of church.

Matt Capps Books

Book Review: John Maxwell’s “The Leaders Heart”

In American Christian circles John Maxwell is among the most popular of “leadership experts.” In an effort for complete transparency, let me state that I do not read many leadership books thoroughly. I tend to ignore the antidotes and stories while looking for the main points and the leadership principles that are being espoused. In my opinion, this is the primary strength of Maxwell’s new devotional journal “A Leaders Heart”, published by Thomas Nelson.

The leadership principles are divided into 365 daily leadership “devotions”, which are concise and clear – straight to the point. Each one of the “devotions” is followed up by a question and space for writing personal reflections. The topics include success, stewardship, teamwork, mentoring, etc. The leadership principles in “A Leaders Heart” are pulled from 11 of Maxwell’s other books, so you get the best of his leadership principles in one succinct volume – this is another one of the strengths of this work.

You will notice that I have placed the word “devotion” in parenthesis throughout this review. My primary critique of Maxwell’s “A Leaders Heart” involves his application of biblical passages. The challenge is grounded in the fact that this book will primarily be marketed to Christians, plus the word “devotion” has sub-cultural ties to ‘properly reading and applying Scripture’ among Christians. One of the usual pitfalls of niche books like this, marketed to Christians, is that Scripture is often used in ways foreign to its primary meaning.

Each of the 365 “devotions” in “A Leaders Heart” begins with a passage of Scripture. Maxwell then applies that scripture with a leadership focus. The primary problem lies in the fact that for some of the passages a leadership principle can only be vaguely implied as a secondary application, if at all. But because of the aim of the book, marketed as a “leadership devotional”, Maxwell’s application of each text must be applied for leadership development.

Without this caveat most readers will not discern this hermeneutical leap. This can be extremely dangerous since there is no explicit “Christ-centered” focus in this book, which is marketed to Christians. Another concern I have is for the non-Christian reader, there is a hazy call to believe in Jesus, the “ultimate leader” tagged on at the end.

Books like this seem to loose their sincerity when they are bent to fit the literature mold of America’s Christian sub-culture. Maxwell would have done well to just simply make this book a “leadership reflection journal” instead of a “devotion” based on Scripture. With that said let me return to my previous point: if you can acknowledge and ignore the hermeneutical weaknesses of this book, it can be a good succinct leadership resource.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

“10 New Books for 2010”

I am looking forward to 10 Books to close out 2010 and begin 2011. In no particular order here they are…

  1. Wayne Grudem’s “Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture.”
  2. Thomas Schreiner’s “40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law”
  3. Tim Keller’s “Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just”
  4. John Piper’s “Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God”
  5. Brian Hedges’ “Christ Formed in You: The Power of the Gospel for Personal Change”
  6. James Hamilton’s “God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology”
  7. Michael Horton’s “The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way”
  8. Don Carson’s “Evangelicalism: What Is It and Is It Worth Keeping?”
  9. Kevin DeYoung’s “Don’t Call it a Comeback”
  10. And….

Which book would you add to the list? Leave a suggestion in the comments section.

Matt Capps Books

Book Review: The Heavens Proclaim His Glory

Lisa Stilwell has created and compiled a neat collection of NASA’s Hubble® Telescope photographs, Scripture, and quotes for Thomas Nelson Publishers in The Heavens Proclaim His Glory. As an artist I am visually oriented, so I was drawn to this book. The vivid pictures of galaxies, stars, auroras, nebulas, astroids are truly awe inspiring.

As I examined the photographs of the heavens I was drawn to worship the creator God, and was reminded of Psalm 19:1. Along with the beautiful pictures she has worked in relevant Scripture passages and quotes from a wide range of people such as Francis Chan, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, R.C Sproul, John MacArthur, Abraham Lincoln, C.S. Lewis, Thomas Watson, and many others.

Now, as a designer I must admit that The Heavens Proclaim His Glory is not as aesthetically pleasing as the pictures it contains. By its design alone, the book seems to land somewhere between elementary school text book and coffee table book. In other words, this is one of those books that you pick up and it’s purpose will not be completely obvious. If you are interested in quality pictures of outer space, if you want an interesting book to place on a coffee or waiting room table, or if want to teach your children to appreciate the majesty of God’s creation this book will do the job. – But that’s about it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Dr. Michael Lawrence on what it means for a church to be “missional.”

I am a fan of succinct theology, so I am always excited to find a good clear explanation of something and pass it on. I am currently finishing Pastor Michael Lawrence’s (Ph.D.) book “Biblical Theology In The Life of the Church”, Lawrence has a very good explanation of what being a missional church looks like.

“Being missional is not the same as being committed to missions, or being missions-minded. Being missional is a way of thinking about the church and how it relates to the world. A missional church understands that the church does not go on mission, or send people out to do missions. Rather, the church is the mission of God into the world, in order to heal the world and reconcile people to God.” (205)

Just for clarity, Lawrence is not arguing that we stop doing “missions”. But, that’s all I am going to give you, so go read the book.

I highly recommend this book. I am currently reviewing it for PLANTD.COM.