Heretic!

I was listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon this morning and I heard him recall a conversation with J.I. Packer. Packer was kicked out of his Anglican denomination because he opposed same-sex marriage. He didn't just disapprove of the Anglican shift in considering homosexuality as sinless, he opposed it by calling the Anglican leaders to repentance.

Imagine being passionate about something... something that you are so convicted of as true. So convinced that this ideal is true that you are willing to go at lengths to defend your "truth". Then someone you know and respect tells you that you are wrong. In light of this, I understand why the Anglican leaders kicked Packer out of their denomination.

But the final straw seemed to come when Packer called them heretics. To these Anglican leaders, this was tantamount to name-calling and not to be tolerated.

So what does "heretic" mean? It means: "a person believing in or practicing religious heresy."

For me, this word seems medieval and dated. Probably because I rarely hear it. But I realize that Packer is very right to use the term. He adds that heresy happens when a person does not call another to repentance. The Anglican leaders were sinning by not leading others away from sin, and thus they are themselves accused. Repentance is the necessary consequence.

No one likes to label anymore, a deficiency of our post-modern era. But in cases where life and death is on the balance, labels can help us understand who we are.

So are we leading others to repentance? If not, then it is clear that we are heretics, no less worse than the Anglican variety...

Best "Living" Preachers

Tullian Tchividjian posted a blog that I'd thought I'd try out: Check it out here.

The best preachers (that are living) I've heard are:

1. John Piper
2. D.A. Carson (He preaches sometimes)
3. Timothy Keller
4. Chris Lee (Pastor from Montreal)
5. Mark Driscoll

Outside of this list, I also highly regard these preachers: Pastor Sean Huh, Pastor Barry Duguid, C.J. Mahaney, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur and Joshua Harris.

Movie Review: Battle Royal

I just watched Battle Royal.

It's a Japanese movie that takes place in an alternate reality where youths have gone out of control and adults are "forced" to institute a barbaric law. I'm confused as to the law and how it works, but it seems like a class of 9th graders are chosen randomly to fight in a battle. All the kids are given various weapons and have to fight each other. The last one standing gets to live.

I'm assuming that this battle is set as an example to other kids. The message seems to be: if you are bad, bad things happen to you. But good kids get caught in the mix, so I'm confused as to the purity of the message. Given the brutality of the movie, I think the flawed storyline was just an excuse for mayhem and murder.

Would I recommend this movie? Not unless you have some sort of sick sadistic tendencies; or you hate kids; or you are some strange Japanese movie loving nut.

I, personally, was reminded of the depravity of man (and woman). In this way, it was somewhat (barely) beneficial to watch. I was, however, not entertained. And it definitely is not a good movie to watch while you work out! It just does not pump you up! And to the unguarded heart, the violence is too much...

I'm Back!

I recently went on a mobilization trip to Western Canada to inform Christians about the Great Commission (Matthew 28:28-20) and East Asia's need for the gospel. This is my account of the experiences I had:

The first destination was to Trinity Western University. This was my second time visiting this Christian school. I have to admit, I was not particularly hopeful about the number of students I would talk too. Last year, not many students were available to talk, nor did it seem like they were interested. Understandably, they were concerned with their studies and perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer number of mission reps attending their mission week. This year, it was pretty much the same. I gave a seminar on "When Mom and Dad Say No!" and two people showed up. One thing was certain, not that many people there wanted to get involved.

I also had the honour of helping my co-worker train some Serve Asia workers (short term workers) in Comox. Comox is a beautiful place with fantastic weather! But even more awesome were the people that were planning to go to Thailand to serve Third Culture Kids. The pastor, Bob Verret, and his team were truly edifying. Though they are of a different tradition from what I am used to, I enjoyed my time with them. It was encouraging to see such a God centered group so involved.

The next event was Missionfest Vancouver. I have to admit, I really like going to this particular conference because it seems like there are so many solid Christians there. However, my mood was a bit dampened by the fact that Tony Campolo was the plenary speaker. Dr. Campolo is a great advocate of social justice issues, don't get me wrong. But a priority for me is the gospel. I've read some of his books and I have been saddened by his lack of focus on the gospel. I would advocate for social justice for the goal of spreading a passion for Jesus. Nevertheless, I will cease my rant and say that I had a chance to challenge people to get involved in my seminars and conversations with people.

Lastly, I went to Briercrest in Saskatchewan. There, I was incredibly blessed by the worship that was held. Eight hours of worship is glimpse into what it would be like in heaven. But being on earth and in the flesh, I was exhausted by the end of it! After that first day, it was great to talk to a number of students and share the needs of East Asia. If anything, this experience was entirely different from TWU. Students openly shared their desire to be involved in missions.

This whole experience got me wondering. How many of my friends and family are involved? I'm not just talking about missions, but I'm talking about actively being involved in their life of faith.

I came home and one of the first things I did, apart from giving my wife my love, was work out. The discipline of exercise requires active involvement. And you can't force yourself to do it without a motivating desire. You need to cultivate that desire in order to be motivated to force yourself to do it!

Sometimes our spiritual lives are like that. We need to pray and seek and hope for God to cultivate that desire in us, so that we can be involved and actively live lives of faith. No guilt trip here. Just a call to faith.

Insomnia

I've never experienced insomnia like this before. No matter what I tried I can't seem to induce any state of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. So I've been up for more than 20 hours and I'm super tired!

As a Calvinist, I have to wonder what God's purposes are in light of this experience. Am I being punished? Does he want me to do something, or teach me something? Is this some sort of divine practical joke?

With the exception of the last question, which was me being facetious, I am left with no answers. Except for the fact that his purposes are way beyond me.

"How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways" (Romans 11:33)

So what am I left with in light of my 6 O'clock sleeplessness? The very nature of God as sovereign and fully trustworthy. Even in the midst of this minor suffering.

What the?!

Was sleeping a few nights ago and had a hard time breathing for some reason. I tried to breathe harder. Tried to take deep breaths.

Why was it so difficult?

I finally was awakened to a completely conscious state only to realize that my wife put her hand on my mouth... she was trying to stop my snoring by suffocating me!

What I didn't know was that she's been trying hard in recent times to deal with the increase in nasal resonance. Consciously, she would never try to hurt me. Unconsciously, she would never have a problem with my snoring. Subconsciously, it seems, she would kill for a good night's rest!

Tolerance is the New Intolerance

I was reminded today that Canada is a tolerant society. In other words, Canadians value broadmindedness and openness to others. On a side note, maybe this "openness" is why postmodernism was established so quickly as the norm in comparison to other Western countries.

I digress.

My realization is that this Canadian tolerance has evolved into something very different from its intended value. With the influx of immigrants into Canada (my parents included), I'm sure many Canadians had to become very comfortable very fast in welcoming different peoples' beliefs and worldviews. This welcoming through toleration was well-intended I'm sure.

But this tolerance has turned into something malicious in a growing number of circles, it is the new intolerance.

Let me explain. The very nature of tolerance is to be broadminded and not offensive to those with particular views. For example, if a person believes in buddhism, then that person has every right to not be disrespected for that particular worldview. But what if that buddhist was more particular about his/her views? Say, for instance, that buddhists believed that people are exclusively saved by karma. Then the postmodern, tolerant Canadian is faced with a problem: Do I maintain my tolerance in the face of their intolerance, or do I reneg my tolerance in light of their intolerance?

The unfortunate thing is that so many guise themselves under the banner of tolerance and start spewing rhetoric denouncing supposedly intolerant religions (i.e. Christianity). This, my friends, is the opposite of tolerance, or should I say: the new intolerance. In actuality, these people are only being tolerant to those that are likewise tolerant to their beliefs. They require reciprocity.

That, my friends, is not tolerance.

So why does this matter? It matters because there is a tolerance that is not simply a worldview, but an eternal reality. Jesus died so that we could be forgiven. No matter what kind of person, no matter what he/she has done. We are tolerated (though I'd rather use the word "loved") because we have been forgiven.

Actually, now that I think about it, this is something that is far greater than tolerance. It is, I believe, an act of forgivenness that arises from the greatest act of intolerance ever - Jesus' death on the cross. Maybe, then, it's not a matter of tolerance, but a single act of grace.

That's what we need in Canada (and the world). Not tolerance, but grace.

Posting on a Blog

I should post something...