Always Reforming

The sad state of the modern Church, particularly in America, is well-documented.  One could create a seemingly-endless list of reasons for her disarray, and many of those reasons would be valid.  Human nature, a failure to cling to Scripture, material prosperity, and postmodernism, along with many other issues, can all claim some of the blame, but no discussion of the issue would be complete if we did not discuss the failures of the leadership of the Church.  This is a Biblical concept.  Throughout the Scriptures we see the leaders, both religious and secular, being held accountable for the spiritual decline of the people.  Again, a long list of issues plaguing the leadership in the Church, regardless of denomination, could be compiled, and behind those issues there could be found another list of underlying problems, but this is not the place, nor am I the person, to make such a list.  I want to narrow the discussion down and focus on the role that seminari...

Sam slowly opened his eyes.  The world was obscured by his fluttering eyelids and the blood streaming down his face.  Dazed, he tried to find his bearings, shock absorbing the pain he did not yet feel. What is that noise?   He cautiously looked to his left to see the profile of his best friend slumped over on the steering wheel, his weight causing the horn to blare. A crowd began to gather around the macabre scene, human nature finding the intrigue too difficult to resist.  Their hushed gasps harmonized with the blaring horn and the crunch of the glass beneath their feet. "Call 911!" Sam whispered, attempting to scream, but the sirens could already be heard approaching in the distance. "Hold on, Mark," he said, painfully stretching out his bloodied hand to touch the still figure.  Mark offered no response. Sam's heart began to race.  His senses began to return.  Reality swept over him like floodwaters bursting over a levee.  "Maaaaaaaa...

Net neutrality--social media's latest great debate.  Let's be honest...how many of us really knew all that much about net neutrality?  It became a hashtag and a meme and a battle-cry, but most of us were/are pretty uneducated about it.  My initial response, blindly following the outcries on the Internet, was that net neutrality was a good idea and should be upheld.  That was before I took the time to understand the issue.  Upon further review I have decided, still tentatively, that this recent abolition is a good thing.  The issue is complex, valid arguments existing on both sides, but here are three reasons why I'm glad they abolished net neutrality: 1) Less regulation is almost always a good idea .  Some regulations are necessary.  Murder, theft, etc. are all bad things and they should be illegal.  With regulations, however, less is often more.  Just adding laws to the books does nothing to guarantee that people will stop being jerks...

Warning!  This is another rant, which means you can expect conversational sentence structure, sarcasm, and my opinions.  Here it goes! We Americans are something, aren't we? Or maybe the entire world is messed up.  Yeah, it's probably that. Anyway, we Americans have the knack of taking any issue and making it political.  Example: abortion.  Killing unborn human children in the womb.  Appalling, right?  Beyond even consideration in a civilized culture that takes human rights seriously, right?  Right?!  Nope.  We have to debate it because I'm a Republican and you're a Democrat.  It's a political issue.  That means we have to come to a bipartisan answer that suits everyone, including people who tear fetuses limb from limb in the womb. We Americans suck, don't we? Well, here we go again, making a moral issue into a political one.  We have managed to make rape a political issue.  Your guy should resign because he...

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 says: Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. One of the most pervasive themes in the Bible, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, is that Christians are and are...

Numerous allegations of sexual misconduct perpetrated by members of the music and movie industries continue to pour in as women (and men) have been emboldened to speak up against their aggressors.  From A-list actors to music moguls to film producers (politicians have certainly been in the cross-hairs, as well, but I'd like to focus on the entertainment industry) it seems no one is immune to the shock-wave caused by America's newfound empowerment of victims.  This social conscience, while long overdue, is admirable, if not hypocritical.  Now, of course, we should always remember that allegations are not evidence, but the responses given by many of these stars fall short of actually denying the allegations, which leads us little choice but to believe the victims.  Even those who have denied such wrongdoing are often less than convincing, given the number of allegations and the history of "rumors" within the entertainment community.  It seems Hollywood is bearing ...

Recent allegations against Roy Moore have proved to be polarizing in multiple ways.  Besides the expected politicizing of these reports, another issue has come to the forefront of the discussion--marrying young.  Many Christians, even some of his supporters, were taken aback by his candid response to these accusations.  By his own admission, he dated much younger women back in the day .  Far from a confession, however, this admission was designed to extenuate his relationship choices.  He went on to explain that in the good ol' days back in Alabama dating younger girls was not only a normal practice, but it was actually encouraged.  Young girls were encouraged to find older, established men whom they could marry and with whom they could start a family.  Upon hearing his response, many found this concept a bit to high on the creepiness scale, especially given Moore's current age, but is it really that creepy?  It does not appeal to our modern sen...

So, Donald Trump is tweeting again.  This time Trump has taken a shot at North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, whose comments regarding age Trump apparently didn't take too kindly.  As I predicted before Trump won the election, his administration is entertaining, if nothing else.  Someone should probably find a way to take his account from him, but, until that happens, let's just enjoy the madness. Seriously though, this might be the most juvenile behavior ever by a world leader, and there have been a ton of world leaders who were literally juveniles.  What a time to be alive!  The President of the United States of America is name-calling foreign heads of state (well, technically one, but you get the point)!  We may not be what we once were, but America is still supposed to be the most powerful nation in the world, right?  And this is the type of guy we have "running" our country?  I'm surprised he hasn't tweeted out a "cracking open a cold one wi...

The Sabbath is one of the most controversial theological issues in Christianity, especially in the Reformed world.  Some Christians believe that the Sabbath, being typical of the person and work of Jesus Christ, has passed.  Others believe that the person and work of Christ altered/enlarged the meaning of the Sabbath and the details of its observance, but that the Sabbath command itself is a Creation Ordinance, and, therefore, is binding until we enter into the eternal Sabbath.  A third group believes that the Lord's Day has replaced the Sabbath, and amongst that group there are many views as to what the implications are for the New Covenant Christian.  A fourth faction, a relative minority, believes that the Jewish Sabbath remains intact and should be celebrated on the seventh day as was done in the Old Covenant. The Sabbath is a subject on which I have experienced considerable growth over the past few years.  I have documented the reasons for my newfound con...

It's that time of year again!  It's time for us law-abiding citizens to get to the polls and vote!  Some would call this a privilege, while others would insist that it's a right.  True 'muricans, however, remind you that it is your duty. Voting has rarely been as controversial in the good ol' United States of America as it is today, at least as far as the nature of that controversy goes.  Back in the day people fought over who was allowed to vote.  Was it only the landowners, the ruling class elite?  Should both men and women be allowed to cast their vote into the ballot box?  What about people whose skin is darker than your average Caucasian, and, if so, exactly how much melanin is too much before we assume you're not intellectual enough to vote?  Yeah, that was the kind of stuff we fought over for a long time. Not our proudest moment. Regardless, people wanted to vote and they fought for that right.  We're all about taxation with repr...

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Trump/Hillary fiasco...I mean...election, it is appropriate that people have begun to reflect on the job that Trump has done.  Social media is marked by a wide variety of responses to this issue: some people think Trump has done all he promised and more (except for build that wall, of course, but not even most Trump supporters really thought he'd get a wall built), others think he has done nothing, and others still believe that Hillary would have accomplished so much more than Trump has.  You're bound to have these type of responses, but what troubles me is to see the numbers of Christians who are praising the job that Trump has done as if it is confirmation that they were right to vote for him.  "At least we didn't get Hillary," they sigh.  "Trump has been great for the economy," they insist.  "America is," they allege, "better off one year later because we didn't elect Hillary." T...

In this life we are often presented with the choice to do what is right or to follow our feelings.  This is simply the reality of fallen men living in a fallen world.  Traditionally it was considered respectable to deny oneself for the sake of doing what one knows to be objectively right and good, but the superiority of following your heart has now been a popular notion for some years (the arts have glorified it for centuries, actually).  This is regrettable, but it is man's natural compulsion.  On a modern, local level, the American public has imbibed the glorification of man's heart through the influence of the likes of Hollywood, Freud, Dewey, and Disney.  As we have denied the authority of God, replacing Him with man as the ultimate authority in our universe, we have slidden further and further down the path of subjective morality.  Once again, none of this is surprising.  What is alarming, however, is how thoroughly the Church has embraced this c...

There is a saying being bandied about lately, namely,  stay woke .  I will explain the meaning of this for the benefit of those who are too square or just too old to understand such modern vernacular.  When kids these days say, "Stay woke," what they really mean is "Stay awake."  I know...it's crazy.  Now they don't mean that you should literally stay awake, of course.  What they really mean is that you should stay abreast of the social, political, and economic issues that are facing our world today.   Instead of saying "Stay woke," you could say "Be socially aware," but that would make too much sense and would never catch on.  As with many misuses of the English language, stay woke has caught on not despite that fact that it is grammatically incorrect, but because it features grammar that is not simply bad, but distinctively bad.  It's so bad that it has caught on.  If you're the adventurous type, you can go over to the Urban...

As you may have noticed, the name of my blog is "Always Reforming."  That may confuse some of you, considering that I often express opinions that good Reformed folks would never espouse, but I am Reformed and do appreciate that heritage.  I have blogged in the past about my apprehension at using that term, why I continue to use it, and what I believe truly makes someone Reformed , so I don't want to rehash those things today.  What I want to do is to take note of the significant anniversary that is coming up at the end of the month and to give a few thoughts on the enduring importance of the Reformation. This Halloween, which Reformed people know as Reformation Day, will mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the Church at Wittenberg (I will ignore the irony of Reformed guys, who widely express a dislike for man-made religious holidays, geeking out about this milestone).  This anniversary is an important event and a good ...

Occasionally I will engage in debates with others on the Internet about things like politics and theology.  I don't do this nearly as often as I used to, but, nonetheless, I still find myself trapped in a dead-end conversation every once in a while.  These conversations are rarely informed and are even less often productive.  Numerous reasons for this could be listed, but I want to discuss only one: ideology worship--one of the most common forms of idolatry in the Information Age. What is ideology ?  The short answer is that an ideology is a system of beliefs.  The term usually implies a nearly-immutable set of beliefs that provides the structure whereby data is received and interpreted.  Anything can be an ideology.  Conservatism is an ideology, but so is liberalism.  Theism, in whatever form you find it, is an ideology, but so is atheism.  Everyone has some form of ideology.  Ideologies vary in rigidity, and some are implicit, but ev...

From Facebook to ESPN, the nation is currently obsessed with the protests of our National Anthem by highly paid athletes, particularly in the NFL.  Everyone with Internet access has suddenly discovered  a renewed sense of either patriotism or an antiestablishmentarianism, while the intellectuals bemoan the vapidity of sports.  We're all very socially conscious these days, it seems.  Aren't we all so evolved? Despite my jocularity on Facebook, I am deeply interested in this subject.  As I reviewed my blog from last year discussing this phenomenon, something struck me.  The protests continue, but nobody really even knows why anymore.  It was originally Colin Kaepernick's way of protesting police brutality, particularly against African-Americans.  Subsequent protests were acts of solidarity on the part of fellow players.  This year the protests are far more ambiguous.  They are protests against racism and hate.  They are attempts ...

Dear human race, Listen to your voicemails!  Okay?! Seriously, people.  It's really not that difficult of a concept to comprehend.  When someone calls you and leaves a message, please listen to that message before calling them back.  97% of the time the call back will be thereby rendered superfluous.  They have left that message in order to convey information.  Please gather that information before calling them back. Technology makes us lazy, they say.  If you're looking for convincing evidence, look no further than our unwillingness to spend 30 seconds of our lives listening to the audible message intended to convey important information.  Voicemail is basically magical.  You can actually press buttons on your phone and, if that person isn't available to speak to you, you can speak to a "mail box" on the other end.  When that person has the requisite amount of time, he/she can somehow listen to the sound of your voice on their phon...

Dear children, Someday people will most likely make comments about your names.  Those comments may occasionally be derogatory or confused ("Are you Amish?!"), but will typically be complimentary or benign.  "Oh, what a nice name!" they'll say.   You're welcome. Please don't think that this is unintentional. Your mother and I have made every effort to grant you names that attract attention, not because we want to be those hipsters who came up with the world's most original names, but because we want your names to mean something.  You see, your names are more than just words used to beckon or identify you.  They are opportunities to proclaim the Gospel to the world.  They are occasions of worship.  They are ideals we hope become realities in your life--not merely names, but epithets. This emphasis on the importance of names by no means originated with me.  This idea pervades the Bible (as it did the cultures of the ancient world) and was...

A few weeks ago an odd and tragic event occurred at the funeral home across from where I work. My coworkers and I heard shouting and saw police cars and an ambulance in the parking lot, and we wondered what could possibly necessitate those things at a funeral.  We found out later that a family member had shown up and caused a ruckus at the funeral of a young man who had passed away.  My coworkers and I couldn't help but to wonder what could possibly drive someone at a funeral to behave in such a way that law enforcement had to intervene.  Is this individual simply that dense?  Is he/she that unaware of funeral etiquette?  Did he/she just not care?  Our minds were thoroughly boggled.  I could only come to one conclusion: it was grief.  I'd like to say a few words about the power of grief.  I have written about grief before, but I feel it bears repeating.  Truth be told, grief is one of the few life experiences about which I am personall...