2008 Mid-America Conference on Preaching, Part 3

General Session 2: Departures (James 4:4)—Sam Horn

Sam Horn earned B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in New Testament Exegesis at Bob Jones University. In 1996, he joined the staff at Northland Baptist Bible College in Dunbar, Wisconsin. He is also pastor of Brookside Baptist Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Sam and his wife, Beth, are regular speakers at couple’s conferences, family camps, and teen retreats across the country. Dr. Horn spoke during General Session 2. Below is a summary of his message.

The topic we are looking at this year is one of the most significant topics we could be looking at in this time in history. Pastors today are concerned that their young people are not interested in being part of the ministry that raised them once they go off to school. Many of these young people are looking for others to engage in certain conversations and to give responsible answers. Since their churches are not willing to have those conversations, they are being swayed by those who are willing to do so.

One of the big topics being discussed is contextualization. What should our approach to contextualization be? What is the path that led us to this discussion? What should shape our discussion on this issue?

The Bible should be our authority in issues of contextualization. James gives us an important principle for these issues (James 4:4).

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (NASB)

In any discussion of contextualization, we must remember that there is a line. When we cross it, we become disloyal to God. There is a loyalty test in all of this. Before we discuss how we should reach the world, we must take note of our priority of being loyal to God. How did we get to the point that we have abandoned the Word for making the message palatable?

The Reality of the Departure

In many realms we have seen an uncritical, unbiblical embrace of the fallen parts of culture. On the other side has been an unbiblical embrace of some traditions.

The Reasons for the Departure

At least part of the explanation might be fear. On the one hand, fear resulted in compromise. Many lost confidence in the power of the Word and began looking to culture for things that might make the gospel acceptable. On the other hand a counter-fear has resulted in spiritual disillusionment and disengagement. This group had a similar lack of confidence in the Word and began to look to tradition.

Our young people are not where they are because they lack exposure to the Bible. They are not where they are because they have not been warned about sin. They are where they are because we have feared to let the Bible be their protection. We have taught them to fear the consequences of sin when we should have been teaching them more than that. What is the more? It is that they should love God. Our goal should not have been to produce a group of people who look a certain way; it should have been to produce a group of people who love God.

So in both cases, the reason comes down to fear that the unadulterated Word of God by itself is not enough, whether it be to penetrate culture or to protect people from the culture.

The Results of This Departure

Embracing something other than the Bible as authority, whether pagan culture or tradition, has led to both sides defending their position through pious pragmatism often including sinful carnality. In both cases, if you don’t concede, people vote with their feet.

The Response to This Departure

We find the answer in passages like 2 Peter 1.12-21.

For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty… . We have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (NASB)

First, we must rest on scriptural authority for our preaching. Peter argued that the Bible is more authoritative than his own experiences. Second, we must insist on scriptural accuracy in that preaching. Peter noted that he was not preaching “cunningly devised fables.” Third, we must display spiritual authenticity in that preaching. We must be “eyewitnesses” of the things we are preaching. This issue may be why the younger generation are listening to men on the other side of the conversation. Fourth, we must strive for scriptural accessibility in our preaching.

At the end of the day, when we look to the culture we have been called to reach, the first question needs to be, how do we stay the friend of God in this?

General Session 3 (John 17:14-19)—Drew Conley

“How Christians must see the world”

Thursday evening’s general session was also the midweek service at Inter-City Baptist Church. Drew Conley, the only guest speaker this year, earned a Ph.D. in Theology from Bob Jones University and pastors Hampton Park Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Prior to that, he planted Kennerly Road Baptist Church in Irmo and served as pastor for nine years. The following is a summary of his message.

We often read about of Jesus praying, but in no other passage do we get to listen in to Jesus as He earnestly prays for His followers. We know that God pours out myriad blessings on this world, but we also recognize the strife. And so, as Christ lays out His concerns for His disciples in this prayer, His concerns are certainly not unfounded. They desperately needed His intercession for them, as do we.

The passage provides insight into how Christ views their relationship not only to Him but also to the world.

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” (NASB)

The World Is a Place of Danger

The world hates us because we are not of the world. Christ asked the Father to guard us from the evil one. These two facts reveal that the world is a place of danger. What is “the world?” It is obviously neither creation nor the material universe. He defines it for us in 1 John 2—it is the unsatisfied desires of the world. He’s not even talking about the people as such, even though we would be tempted by that because Jesus loved the people of the world.

The world is the kosmos, an orderly arrangement. The world’s system is an organized rebellion against God. Ephesians 2 tells us that Satan dominates people through the “course” or “age” of this world. Titus refers to it as the “present age.” The temporal system that is in rebellion against God is the “world” of this passage. Jesus prays that in this kind of world His disciples might be kept from the evil one.

The World Is a Place of Deliverance

The world is certainly dangerous, but because of Christ, it is a place of deliverance. Here Christ is not just praying for His eleven disciples; He is also praying for us. He is perfectly capable of delivering us from whatever the world shakes up. This is a prayer of Christ for His people that God the Father answers in the affirmative. He will keep them, He will guard them, and He will protect them.

Christ says that He has consecrated Himself like a sacrificial animal so His disciples may be sanctified in truth. He was referring not only to what He would do on the cross but also to what He would continue to do after His ascension and resurrection. He continues to plead on our behalf.

Many think that if they hold themselves off from the world, they will be protected. But that doesn’t work; it is insufficient. We have to be sanctified by the Word of God. It is possible to be separated, yet not sanctified. We must be separated to God. We can practice separation but not be holy. Lloyd-Jones said that the gospel does not take the Christian out of the world; it takes the world out of the Christian.

What brings holiness in our daily living is the same thing that brought salvation to us in the first place—a vital, living relationship with Jesus Christ. This comes through God’s self-revelation to us. Holiness is God’s domain. If we want to be holy, we must have God. We must seek Him as He is; and by knowing Him, we are transformed.

The World Is a Place of Duty

The delivering work that Christ is doing is meant to display His power and glory in this world. It is part of the duty we are meant to perform, to be sent into the world to proclaim Christ’s message. God has planned this so that the world might believe.

Over time we can end up spinning a cultural cocoon around us—Christian families, recreation, education, and so on. We surround ourselves with Christian things to the point that we leave no time for the best things—time with God, time with believers doing only what true believers can do, and time with unsaved friends. We should have unsaved friends. In fact, we are obligated to spend time with unsaved people. We display the power of Christ to the world as we interact with unbelievers.

A disciple of Christ is supposed to be in the world but not of it. Unfortunately many Christians are of the world, but not in it. We are being tutored by the world for many hours a day, but we wouldn’t think about going out and being in the world. We are rotting from within. This is why many Christian families, churches, and schools become a mission field in themselves.

Conclusion and Evaluation

The issue of cultural “contextualization” is a hot one today, and as usual Dr. Doran and the professors at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary provided helpful instruction on this issue at the 2008 Conference. The general sessions and workshops that I attended supplied helpful biblical principles for consideration of the believer’s posture toward culture.

Conference highlights for me were Dr. Doran’s two general sessions and Mark Snoeberger’s workshop on defining culture. As Dr. Doran pointed out in both of his sessions, there are probably as many definitions of “contextualization” as there are people talking about it. But he helpfully pointed out that most discussions of “contextualization” today are really an attempt to alter our package or message in such a way as to make it more “palatable” to contemporary culture. This not only places man as a higher priority than God in our evangelism but also flies in the face of a biblical understanding of human depravity and God’s work of regeneration in enabling a person to apprehend the beauty of the gospel.

Dr. Snoeberger rightly defined culture as an expression of values. He also rightly pointed out than many, if not most, Christians today view culture as merely a neutral vehicle for the transport of truth. In contrast, Dr. Snoeberger advocated the careful parsing of meaning in all cultural expressions so we may be discerning in what elements of culture we may or may not adopt.

Other helpful emphases of the conference included an insistence that Scripture must be our supreme authority in making cultural evaluations and that we must move beyond discussions of mere externals and evaluate the values that undergird given cultural expressions at a given time.

I’m very thankful for Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and, in particular, the Mid-America Conference on Preaching. The professors of DBTS have had significant influence upon my theology and philosophy both directly and indirectly, and this conference was no different. I would encourage any pastor, student, or other church leader to seriously consider attending next year’s conference. It will be well worth your time.

Scott Aniol received a bachelor’s degree in church music at Bob Jones University. He has taken seminary classes at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and did graduate work in choral conducting and church music history at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. He earned a master’s degree in Musicology at Northern Illinois University and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology at Central Baptist Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. Scott speaks on the subjects of music and worship at various churches and conferences. Check out his Web site at Religious Affections Ministries.