“Session” – derived from the Latin, sessio, meaning “seated” or “sitting” refers primarily to King Jesus’ shepherdly oversight of His Church, the Body of Christ, from where he is “seated” today at the right hand of God the Father. Secondarily and derivatively, in the local congregation, it refers to the exercise of this oversight through men called, equipped and led by His Spirit, and recognized by the congregation by the work of the same Spirit, for the accomplishment of His Mission and the display of His Glory in and through the congregation.

What strikes me the most here is the clear, comforting and yet sobering statement that Jesus Christ is the head of His Church — not the elders or pastors. Such an understanding of submissive shepherding stands in stark contrast to our culture’s view of leadership, does it not?

While aimed squarely at the emergent church movement, there is really nothing “all-new” about the lies being lampooned here. It has been said that good satire always contains an element of truth, one of which is that the stuff that is satirized in these “motivational” posters is the stuff of ministry—yes, even ministry in the church. I have conversations with the folks in the posters on a regular basis (and you can put my picture in the one above, too). The deceits of the devil are indeed subtle and pervasive—and fatal.

It is fascinating. I mean, really, fascinating. It is a window into what the multitudes must have been blogging about when Jesus walked through the countryside. In fact, it was exactly what they were blogging about. They were wild and frenzied with uncontrolled hope for exactly the same reasons … they had no real spiritual awareness, per se; Jesus was going to be the guy who finally got the country in order.

+++++

Recently I came across the writings of a different Richard Lovelace—the contemporary Richard F. Lovelace, professor of church history at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, who, other than name, has little else in common with the hasty 17th century cavalier lyricist, except for having a gift at conveying complex principles (albeit a lot less flowery). One such example is the following passage from “Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal,” a book that takes a deep dive into a world where revival is “normative;” exploring the reality that our seemingly ordinary “spiritual lives” are being radically shaped and altered by God. Writing on the issue of “the gravitational force toward enculturation,” that is, the gravitational force of fallen humanity to wed the truth of God’s redemptive proclamations to the forms and functions of fallen humanity as embodied in the surrounding culture, Lovelace says:

“The evangelical stream, however, was only partially dis-enculturated, and it became increasingly less so, … But it was still largely wedded to the Puritan version of the training-code morality [an enculturated version itself; a thorough-going product of the enculturation of the gospel, rather than the "separatist" image we have of Puritanism ...], which caught on in Pietist circles also. As the understanding of grace declined in revivalism, evangelicalism erected a stronger shell of protective enculturation to guard it from the world. Not only did it cling to the Puritan taboos, but in the nineteenth century it added more: wine and tobacco, both of which had been consumed by both Reformers and Puritans. The early Temperance movement was motivated by social compassion for the victims of distilled liquor during the stresses of the Industrial Revolution, and it really called for temperance. When moderation seemed too difficult a spiritual discipline and too slow a remedy, the revivalists of the 1820′s and 30′s moved on to redefine temperance as abstinence, to the horror of Charles Hodge [professor at Princeton Seminary], who protested that the replacement of Communion wine with grape juice was an insult to Jesus and to biblical ethics. … A few decades later, coffee and tea were added to the taboo list by revivalist Charles Finney [whose] understanding of justification and sanctification were essentially severed from any doctrine of union with Christ; in effect, he taught justification by sanctification and not by faith, and sanctification by will power more than by grace.” (Lovelace, Dynamics, p194, emphasis added)

Note the connection at the end of the passage between the development of a moralistic training-code ethic and the “disconnect” of justification from the person, work and life of Christ and the union of the believer in Christ’s person, work and life. As Lovelace says almost explicitly, the degree to which we lose a clear focus on the nature and place of the “grace of God in Christ” we develop calcified hearts; as we become increasingly “accustomed to grace,” as is generally the case here in the Bible Belt, we become increasingly impervious to the life-work of grace itself.

The thrust of his argument: revivals tend to fizzle at the rate that the clarity, centrality and certainty of “God’s grace in Christ” diminishes; and the corollary—those who are “asleep in the light” are wakened and energized at the rate that “God’s grace in Christ” becomes more intensively clear and indispensably central and un-movably certain to the understanding and practice of all of life. How? It is by the prayerful, faith-filled preaching, teaching, and counseling of the Word, which is always (thankfully) accompanied by the Spirit who overcomes our faithless and self-protective resistance so as not to flop lifeless on the sanctuary floor, but so that it will have its intended, life-creating effect.

Along these lines we (those who are called as leaders in the Church) find that one of our greatest shepherding struggles involves 1) getting disentangled from the “enculturated” way in which we understand, live and teach the gospel of “God’s grace in Jesus Christ” and 2) struggling to articulate in winsome and convicting ways the extent to which we are addicted to pursuit of the Kingdom according to the forms, functions and patterns of fallen humanity. That is, it is not merely that we say “no” to “drink, smoke, chew and going with girls who do;” but more to the heart of the matter, it is that we seek to pursue “Jesus” and “the life of Jesus” and even “the righteousness of Jesus” according to the strategies and systems of the world, “according to the flesh,” as Paul says in 2 Corinthians.

Pursuing Christ and His Kingdom “according to the flesh” is so profoundly, deeply and pervasively a part of who we are and a part of the religious industry in the South, that anything that directly or indirectly counters it is dismissed out of hand—sometimes, but rarely, dismissed violently and explicitly; but more often dismissed out of hand by benign, though willful and ignorant, blindness and deafness (cf. Eph 4:17ff).

May we therefore be continually reminded of our shepherd calling: namely, to lift high the cross of “God’s astounding grace in Jesus Christ” in such a way that we and the congregations given to our care are consciously and increasingly gripped by its reality, pulsing through every aspect of life in a fallen world.

The greatest danger, however, amongst present day Christians, is in the other direction. They tend to disregard the Church’s history. They adopt the attitude that it is unimportant “Let’s not have Calvin or Wesley or Machen,” they say, “But let us get back to the Scriptures. Only then shall we know the truth.” In this way they are adopting the position, that before this age no one has ever really wrestled with problems of the faith, and what is even more important, no one has ever found a solution. They imply that their problems, their needs and their ideas are absolutely new. Therefore history cannot help.”
William Stanford Reid, Reformation Today — Volume 2, Number 4, February, 1953 (via PCA Historical Center)

If you are familiar with this brand (who is not?), then you have probably seen the quotes that they put on the sides of their cups. It is way better than a story about how my beans traveled from Central America all the way to the coffee in my cup, but not quite as fun as poker cards. But I digress.

This particular cup has been sitting on my desk for over a week now. Since I am cleaning up in order to move cubicles, I need to throw away the cup. Below is the quote that caught my eye. I think it is spot on, whether you have a “spiritual belief system” or not (i.e., even Christians find themselves digging broken wells).

The Way I See It # 192

Many people lack a spiritual belief system and fill that void with obsessions about celebrities. The celebrities are raised to the rank of gods, and these earthly gods will always fail the expectations the masses have set for them. The cycle runs thusly: adoration turns to obsession, obsession turns to disappointment, and from disappointment it is just a short emotional jump to contempt.

– Donna Phillips, Freelance writer. She lives in Claremont, California.

I find myself nodding in agreement, as this has been my observation as well. “Whew, glad that is not me,” I say! However, when I am honest with myself, I question if this is not how I often relate to God? I do not mean the living and true God as revealed in Scripture, but the one that I shape, mold and put into my own little box. When I remember who God really is, that he is not boxed or limited by anyone, then the cycle runs thusly: contempt turns to faith, faith to repentence, and from repentence comes restoration. It is a continual cycle, too, one that will last throughout all of my earthly days.

1. People talk about television addiction, but what about internet addiction? Imagine seeing a “Kill Your Computer” bumper sticker.
2. I used to think that wheeled business briefcases (like these) were dorky. Then I traveled for three weeks; through four airports; taking twelve flights; carrying a laptop and a bunch of gear; in a backpack; all on one shoulder. I went with this brand’s sportier model.
3. Blake Lewis could not have received a worse fate than having to sing the song that won American Idol’s Songwriter competition. “This is My Now” was written exclusively for voices like Jordin Sparks’. It would have been far more interesting to see her matched up with Melinda last night.
4. I have heard increasing reports of PCA churches with serious leadership versus congregational struggles. This is deeply disconcerting.
5. There are several rock band reunion tours this summer. I would love to see Genesis or The Police, but will probably have to settle for the perennial Riverbend has beens (Alan Parsons Project, Steve Miller, etc.).
6. Floyd Landis may end up keeping his Tour de France title, but, after the mess last week at his USADA hearing, I am sure glad that I did not give any money to the Floyd Fairness Fund. I almost bought a t-shirt.
7. I start a (sort of) new job in a week and a half. I have worked in healthcare underwriting for several years (support, Policy & Procedure and most recently, Training), but never before as a line underwriter. I am looking forward to taking on a more customer facing role.