What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Well, it is back to work!  I had a very productive sabbatical and got much done. 

I completed a series for Tabletalk (which will run throughout 2009).   I'll post the links when they are available.

I completed a chapter dealing with church-planting for a forthcoming book for church-planters.  In the chapter, I try to answer the question so many of you have asked me--"what do we do if we live in an area where there are no Reformed churches?"  The chapter is a step-by-step guide as to how to go about planting a confessional Reformed/Presbyterian church in your neighborhood.  Hopefully, I'll be able to post it here when the book is released.

I spent a fair bit of time preparing to teach a course on Christology in the Spring of 2009 at Westminster Seminary California.

I also completed a book outline and proposal which I'll tell you all about after it undergoes some peer review and discussion with publishers.  Hint--it is not a book on eschatology, but it is a frequent topic on the White Horse Inn.

The picture above was taken last week at the Mammoth Hot Springs with some church friends.  If you've seen John Wayne's True Grit, you'll recognize the location.  The picture below was taken at Ohlmstead Point in Yosemite (we came in through Tioga Pass, for those of you who know the area).  That is "Half-Dome" way off in the distance.  A number of us (40 or so) vacation together in the Eastern Sierras during early August.  This week is always the high point of the summer!

Lord willing, beginning next Sunday I'll be preaching on the Book of James (I'll post the audio links here) and then on 1 John.  I'll also be adding some lectures to the "Amillennialism 101" series during the upcoming fall/winter 2008 Academy session.

All in all, it was a great summer!  And it is almost over . . .

Who Said That?

"I'm for morality, but morality goes beyond sex to human freedom and social justice. . . Evangelists cannot be closely identified with any particular party or person. We have to stand in the middle in order to preach to all people, right and left. I haven't been faithful to my own advice in the past.  I will be in the future."

You know the drill!  Leave your guess in the comments section below.  Please, no google searches!

Also, you can check out past "Who Said That?" posts by clicking on the "Who Said That?" at the bottom of the post.

Update on Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 03:43PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This was Billy Graham's response back in 1979 when asked why he had not joined Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority.  Billy is trying to come up with something like the two-kingdom model, but is sure going about it in a ham-fisted way.

Greetings from the Eastern Sierras!

A bunch of Christ Reformed folk have been having a blast this week in the Mammoth Lakes/Eastern Sierras area.  We've enjoyed some great food, great conversation, great scenery, and some good hiking.  Here are a few of the kids who made the hike with us to Emerald Lake.  Some of the more adventurous (and fit) in our group did the Duck Pass hike (10.5 miles and a gain of 1500 feet in elevation).

I have a very poor Internet connection where I am staying, so I haven't been able to update much this week.

Lord willing, I will return to my regular duties on Monday.

Who Said That?

"This then, is a plain proof that the doctrine of predestination is not a doctrine of God, because it makes void the ordinance of God; and God is not divided against himself.

[The doctrine of Predestination] directly tends to destroy that holiness which is the end of all the ordinances of God.  I do not say, none who hold it are holy; (for God is of tender mercy to those who are unavoidably entangled in errors of any kind;) but that the doctrine itself, -- that every man is either elected or not elected from eternity, and that the one must inevitably be saved, and the other inevitably damned, -- has a manifest tendency to destroy holiness in general; for it wholly takes away those first motives to follow after it, so frequently proposed in Scripture, the hope of future reward and fear of punishment, the hope of heaven and fear of hell."

OK, who said that?  Leave your guess in  the comments section below.  No google searches  or cheating!

Update on Friday, August 8, 2008 at 10:33AM by Kim Riddlebarger

As many of you correctly guessed, this comes from John Wesley's famous sermon "On Free Grace," (1740).

More from Archbishop Williams and Other Stuff from Around the Web

So, after twenty years of "prayer" and "study" on the matter, the Archbishop of Canterbury thinks gay relationships reflect the love of God much in the same way marriage does.  Swell.  This is what happens when you engage in twenty years of prayer and study without being willing to submit to the final authority of Scripture.  Click here: Rowan Williams: gay relationships 'comparable to marriage' -Times Online

What happens when Italian Roman Catholics go "seeker"?  They come up with an inflatable church, pick a beach, and then they take confessions from vacationers.  Anyone who has ever witnessed what goes on those inflatable "bounce houses" at a neighborhood birthday party, will (understandably) have a bit of trouble taking an inflatable church seriously.  Do you have to take off your shoes before you go in? Click here: Blow-up church looks to lure Italian beachgoers - Yahoo! News

 

Boy, times have changed.  I remember having to go into the local "head shop" (with all the tie-dye, and roach clips, and ziggy papers) to buy Grand Funk's Red Album because it was too controversial for the local record shop to carry it.  And now I read that AC/DC's new release is a Wal-Mart exclusive???  You gotta love Wal-Mart--the only store on earth where you can buy a suit, a tire, a box of shotgun shells, slim-fast, a vacuum cleaner, and the new AC/DC CD, all in the same place.  Click here: Rock'n'roll damnation - Wal-Mart style | Music | guardian.co.uk

Baseball fans know the story of Jason Giambi's mustache.  The American Mustache Institute offered the following words of sadness when Giambi went into slump and shaved it off.  Long live the mustache!!!!!  click here: The LoHud Yankees Blog

A Bad Week for Preachers and Other Interesting Stuff from Around the Web

It has been a very bad week for preachers, their wives, and their posses.

Apparently, Mrs. Osteen threw a snit on an airplane and now faces a lawsuit for "assaulting" a stewardess.  If the stewardess wins a judgment, no doubt she'll experience her "best life now."  Click here: FOXNews.com - Flight Attendant Sues Wife of Evangelist Joel Osteen Over Alleged Air-Rage Incident - Local News | N

Here's a preacher who was late to church, so he pulls out a gun and threatens another motorist in a fit of road rage.  I wonder what the sermon was supposed to be about that morning?  Click here: FOXNews.com - 71-Year-Old Ohio Preacher Convicted in Road Rage Case - Local News | News Articles | National News

For those of you who know Orange County, you know of "Set Free" and the Christian biker posse they founded.  Well, "Set Free" has gone from a name to a desperate hope.  About 150 cops and FBI agents descended upon their communal homes (not far from Christ Reformed) and busted a bunch of them (along with some Hell's Angels from across town) due to a bar-room brawl and a knife fight which left several seriously injured.  The neighbors are all terrified of this "Christian gang" and their "chief" Phil Aguilar.  The church-friendly Anaheim police call this a biker-gang masquerading as a church.  Click here: News: 150 officers swoop down on Christian biker gang | warrants, street, schmidt, four, anaheim - OCRegister.come

Say what you will about Jan and Paul Crouch and their heretical theology.  They have nearly 1 billion of assets--and no debt.   They are the eighth largest owner of TV stations in the world, and their outreach is truly global.  They've turned Pentecostalism into a force with which to be reckoned.   Click here: God’s quid pro quo? - OC Watchdog - OCRegister.com

A Riddleblog Programming Note

You may have noticed that things here at the Riddleblog have been fairly quiet of late.

I have been on sabbatical, and am working on a series of articles for Tabletalk (2009), a chapter for a forthcoming book on church-planting, and in preparation for a course I'll be teaching on Christology at Westminster Seminary California during Spring 2009.

It is also that time of year when a bunch of us from Christ Reformed Church invade the Mammoth Lakes area.  We'll be heading up there soon to hang out, hike, eat together, and enjoy the Perseus meteor shower (our midnight field trip).

So, things will remain quiet here for a couple of weeks, with an occasional update or two.

When I return to my pastoral duties at the end of the month, Lord willing, I'll resume my sermon series on Joshua (Judges will follow), the series on the Canons of Dort (we'll take up the second head of doctrine), and I'll be posting questions and answers dealing with eschatology (so, send in those questions which haven't been asked yet!)

B. B. Warfield's Theological Legacy

It is, of course, extremely difficult to estimate with any precision the extent of B. B. Warfield's impact upon subsequent theological developments after his death.  Nevertheless, there are several important indicators that clearly indicate Warfield's powerful and lasting influence upon the American theological scene.  One such indicator is that Warfield himself was responsible for the primary theological training of over 2700 students during his tenure at Princeton (Noll, The Princeton Theology, 19).  Since the classroom was his domain of sorts, his personal influence upon his students was, no doubt, quite significant and certainly lived on for at least one generation subsequent to Warfield's death in 1921.  This particular legacy can be seen most clearly in the work of Warfield's successor of sorts, J. Gresham Machen, and the eventual split in the Presbyterian church leading to the founding of Westminster Theological Seminary.  While Machen was the most notable minister trained by Warfield, nevertheless, his influence upon a whole generation of clergymen trained in his classroom is certainly a significant reason why Warfield’s legacy has survived.

To read the rest of this essay, Click here: Riddleblog - B. B. Warfield's Theological Legacy

My Poor Wife . . .

Tomorrow (August 5) is our 30th wedding anniversary! 

My poor wife has endured much these last 30 years.  I promised her fame and fortune--instead, she ended up a pastor's wife, a calling at which she's excelled, I might add. 

Without a word of complaint, she's endured many a Yankee game (in person, or on TV), she's endured my absence too many an evening (if the truth were known, she probably enjoyed that part), having her living room turned into my study, cigar smoke, loud music, all of my theologian/pastor friends, and my mid-life crisis (a car).  Not to be overlooked, is my most recent middle-age affliction-snoring.  That one, she's complained about (just a bit).

We've raised two boys (Dave and Mark), two dogs (Willie and Andy), and we have lived in the same place the whole time (our old family home).  We've aged well (except for the top of my head) and so far have enjoyed good health.  We've made countless friends, and we've seen many of the places in the world we wished to see.  Most important of all, we witnessed our two beloved sons make profession of faith in Christ.

As you can see in the picture, we were young once.  But, we have grown older together and we await the joy (Lord willing) of watching our sons pursue their callings, get married, and give us grandchildren (should that be the Lord's will).

Where did those thirty years go?  Seems like only yesterday that I showed up at an employee Bible study at Knott's Berry Farm, and to my great surprise saw Micki in attendance.  We'd been in grade school together, but paid each other no mind until crossing paths again at Knott's.  Six months later we were married.  Now, thirty years have flown by . . .

All of that is to say that God has been very, very good to us.  And I am very, very thankful to be a recipient of his love, grace, and mercy. . . much of that coming to me through the care and love of my dear wife.

Who Said That?

"Sometimes I think the environment in which we operate is entirely too secular.  The fact that we have freedom of religion does not mean we need to try to have freedom from religion, doesn't mean that those of us who have faith shouldn't frankly admit that we are animated by faith, that we try to live by it, and that it does affect what we feel, what we think, and what we do."

You know the drill!  Leave your guess in the comments section below.  Please, no google searches or cheating!

Update on Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 05:35PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is from former President Bill Clinton (Morning Edition, September 24, 1994)