Fall Teaching

It’s that time of year again. The Summer break is yielding to the Fall semester and teaching ministries that have been dormant for a season are getting back into full swing. Here are most of the things I will be teaching this Fall.

Sunday School

We spent the Summer in Ephesians and are now back in the Westminster Confession of Faith. We just completed Ch. 5 on the Providence of God and will be moving on to Ch 6, Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof.

Women in the Church (WIC)

WIC has asked me to teach the Tuesday morning large group Bible study. Our subject matter is the book of Isaiah. This will carry us through the Fall and into the Spring. Small groups will be using Kathleen Buswell Nielson’s study guide. You can find out more about the WIC schedule here.

Women’s Bible Study

I will also be leading a small group of women on Wednesday mornings here at the church. We will meet in Rm 121 at 8am on Wednesdays. The subject will be a study of Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. All women are welcome to join us.

Wednesday Night Elective

After supper on Wednesday nights I will be teaching a class on Islam in Rm 224. We will survey the history and basic beliefs of Islam as well as how to most effectively minister the gospel to those Muslims in our community and around the world. We will begin promptly at 6:15 and end at 7.

Preaching

I am currently scheduled to preach one Sunday morning this Fall and am looking forward to that opportunity and the growth it always brings.

Miscellany…

In addition to these I will continue discipling church members as well as fulfilling my responsibilities at the Presbytery level, helping men prepare for ordination exams among other things. I am also joining the other staff members in writing for the church blog (on the church website) on a rotating basis. Although it will be a busy Fall, please know that we are never too busy to shepherd our membership. We hate to hear people say they didn’t call because they thought we were too busy. If you need us, please let us know how we can minister to you. We do more than teach classes. We want to love you well as best we can using the gifts and means with which God has provided us.

Overtures Committee Convened

The committee has convened and elected Fred Greco moderator.

I will update as often as the committee determines each recommendation.

The committee will be taking up Overtures 2, 4, 8, 10, and then 11 will be sent to the committee later from another committee.

A reminder: What are below are the recommendations that the Overtures Committee will make to the entire Assembly. So they are not decided until Thursday afternoon when the committee makes it’s report to the Assembly and the Assembly votes.

The committee is now recessed until either tonight or tomorrow (they hadn’t figured it out before I had to leave). I’ll provide a further update tomorrow re: Overture 11.

Overture 2: negative
Overture 4: affirmative (with perfecting language)
Overture 8: responded with statement (in other words, did not make 59 constitutional, but reminded TEs that WCF 24 and the WSC and WLC are binding).
Overture 10: affirmative, as amended.
Overture 11:

Prepping for GA 2011 Virginia Beach

We leave in the morning for General Assembly. If you are going to be following my posts as I report, you will find it most helpful to familiarize yourself first with the Overtures for this year. You can find them listed with links to each Overture in pdf format here:

http://www.pcaac.org/2011GeneralAssembly/Overtures.htm

The overtures aren’t usually very long. They begin with “Whereas” statements which form the basis for the overture. They then move to the “Therefore” clause in which the specific request is stated. Sometimes they conclude with a rationale section in which they explain in further detail what is motivating the request.

In my updates I will simply refer to them by number without explaining the substance.

Quick test

I’ll be posting here next week, updating events at the PCA General Assembly. I’m going to be using an iPad this year so I wanted to post from the iPad and see if there are any glitches. So far so good!

How Do I Find the Right Book?

In our information age I think people are more aware than ever of the need to consider the source of information. Unbelievable emails that are passed from person to person turn out to be untrue. Wikipedia entries turn out to be fallible. And so we are on our guard when it comes to things we read on the internet. But the fact is, this sort of vigilance has always been necessary. The medium may not have been electronic, but the problem has existed nonetheless. Newspapers and the evening news have never been the unbiased and infallible sources they seem to want us to think they are. And books are no exception. However, I find that many believers tend to have a very simple mechanism by which they evaluate the likelihood that a book contains error: Was it written by a Christian? Does the author deny any of the fundamentals? Then it must be trustworthy. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t a sufficient standard. But how then are we to guard against bad ideas? This post will offer a few suggestions that I’ve learned over the past ten years of schooling and ministry.

First, approach every book with a healthy skepticism. Make the author establish his or her trustworthiness. We instinctively do this in our personal relationships when it comes to who we trust with our children, or who we do business with. Bring the same healthy caution into the process of selecting who you will allow to influence your beliefs and understanding of Scripture and the Christian faith.

Second, lean on your Christian community. Ask your pastors, elders, and other mature believers to recommend books. Or if you have a particular book in mind, ask them about that title or author. I mentioned in a previous post that here in Nashville we have a wonderful resource in the person of Ralph at Logos.

Third, standing in the bookstore or looking at an Amazon page, start with the front cover and work your way to the back and then move inside. You want to ask some basic questions. Who is this author? Where did he go to school? What did he study there? What does he currently do (besides write books)? Is he associated with a particular Christian tradition? How will that inform his own beliefs and the tone and content of his book? What qualifies him to write on this topic? Who is the publisher? When was the book published? Do any other authors, theologians, or pastors that I know of and respect endorse the book? If it is reasonable to do so, read the front matter (foreword, preface, and introduction). Does anything set off alarm bells?

These three rules aren’t going to suddenly keep you from ever choosing poorly. We all do that from time to time. But the more you apply these rules, the better acquainted you will become with the “players” in the field. You will begin to recognize that some publishers are more trustworthy than others. Some authors are great and others are to be avoided at all costs. You will hone your skills and gain a good instinct.

Be committed to using discernment in choosing what you will read. It’s a diet. And as surely as the food you put in your body will largely determine your physical health, the people (including books) you allow to teach you will have an impact on your spiritual understanding. Choose wisely!