Built in the 1920’s, the City Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana is one of the most famous church ruins in America.

Here is its story from a 1967 yearbook. It is scheduled to become a “Ruin Garden,” according to last information.

There are amazing photos at Flickr by many different photographers. Search City Methodist Gary. This photographer has many good shots. Find his long shot of the entire interior.

Abandoned church photography is quite an art these days. This one is in Detroit. Look at all that has been left behind.

1) Many of you have, like me, found Andrew Marin’s ministry to be extremely helpful on the issue of building bridges between evangelicals and the GLBT community. Having met Andrew personally and watched him communicate with seminar audiences, I can only say that we should all do whatever we can to extend the ministry of Andrew and the Marin Foundation as far as possible. [Continue reading]

NOTE: Despite the fact that this post is law, you should still read it

I want to talk about a specific problem in preaching and teaching: the problem of preferring law over Gospel.

I consider the primary problem with preaching and teaching in my Southern Baptist tradition these days to be an obsession with (or addiction to?) preaching the “law.” To put it mildly, it’s brutal out there. In many churches and ministries, you’re getting clubbed into putty with the law and hearing slightly less Gospel than what you’d get in fifteen minutes of country music, all courtesy of a preacher who has no excuse not to know better.

I’m using the simple Lutheran “law/Gospel” division here: all of scripture is either what God commands/demands under penalty or what he promises/provides freely by grace. This is law and Gospel. “Do” or “Done.” Moses or Jesus. God the accountant older brother or God the Father of the Prodigal. Advice or announcement. Sinai or the cross. Threat or comfort. Blessing or curse. You do it or else. God did and praise.

If you get this, Luther said, you are a theologian even without the degree. So if you don’t know this, learn it, and if ou learn it, use it. Go to New Reformation Press and get you some Rod Rosenbladt or, if you’re up for it, the book by Walther. (Lutherans can make suggestions for the rest of us on this.) [Continue reading]

6: 9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. -Paul the Apostle, First Letter to the Corinthians

I’ve always been encouraged that there is so much discussion of the Gospel in the Christian blogosphere, but I’ve been disappointed where most of that discussion has focused. I’m sure there’s a great need to clarify the differences between Piper and Wright on the nature of justification, but I doubt that the church on the corner has many people walking in the doors who particularly care. (Oh, I know that the theologians among us can tell us why they should care, but the theological class has never suffered from a lack of confidence in the significance of their particular areas of interest, yours truly included.) [Continue reading]

For those of you keeping score, we gave up the television about 4 months ago. We discovered that, for $60 a month, we were watching one episode of House, M.D. a week and I was watching baseball. Not worth it, especially with MLB.com and Hulu. Everyone is fine, we’re using Netflix, buying some DVDs and I’ve discovered Star Trek: Enterprise in iTunes.

I watched the original Star Trek as a 10 year old child. I religiously watched the reruns after school throughout my middle and high school years. I sampled about half the movies- loved Khan and the one with the whales- and was dimly aware of the spin off series, though none really got my loyalty.

Watching the “prequel” Star Trek: Enterprise has reminded me of many “fascinating” aspects of the Star Trek universe, but none quite so much as the appealing case the overall approach of the series makes for atheism, agnosticism, pan/panentheism or some form of evolutionary theism.

In the Star Trek universe, cultural relativism gets its most appealing face. Science is no longer debating evolution with anyone. Christian fundamentalists- or any sort of fundamentalists- are a footnote in a minor museum somewhere. Exclusive religion exists in those cultures that have yet to wake up to the true nature of an ancient and diverse universe, cosmic evolution and the ability of science to solve any problem or answer any question. While spirituality may have persisted, its healthier forms are the Vulcan variety: a mysticism and clarity of logic; purity and humility before the greater knowledge. [Continue reading]

I was reminded this week of how dangerous it is to use the word “Gospel” around evangelicals and expect that you are speaking the same language, so if you need a short version, I’m on a Lutheran Confessions kick. Let’s try this:

The Gospel, however, is that doctrine which teaches what a man should believe in order to obtain the forgiveness of sins from God, since man has failed to keep the law of God and has transgressed it, his corrupted nature, thoughts, words, and deeds war against the law, and he is therefore subject to the wrath of God, to death, to temporal miseries, and to the punishment of hell-fire. The content of the Gospel is this, that the Son of God, Christ our Lord, himself assumed and bore the curse of the law and expiated and paid for all our sins, that through him alone we reenter the good graces of God, obtain forgiveness of sins through faith, are freed from death and all the punishments of sin, and are saved eternally. (FC SD, V, 20)

I’m not wanting to have the infinite “What is the Gospel?” discussion that keeps some corners of the blogosphere running 24-7. I’m not even saying this confessional definition gets to everything that ought to be touched on. I simply want a starting place to reference in regard to my other question:

“If we believe the Gospel, doesn’t it seem a bit contradictory to….” [Continue reading]

Guest blogger Ted R is one of the good guys at New Reformation Press. Our discussion on the struggles of some evangelicals with assurance brought up some of the very helpful teaching available through that fine IM sponsor. See them on the sidebar if you like this post.

I thought I’d post a small sampling of Dr. Rosenbladt’s presentation which iMonk mentions, The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church, since it’s so timely in discussions regarding justification, sanctification and assurance. It’s hard to cherry-pick the presentation, though… it’s essentially one big cherry. I still listen to it regularly.

For your consideration I submit this sample of the PDF version of Dr. Rosenbladt’s presentation:

If the Ten Commandments were not impossible enough, the preaching of Christian behavior, of Christian ethics, of Christian living, can drive a Christian into despairing unbelief. Not happy unbelief. Tragic, despairing, sad unbelief. (It is not unlike the [unhappy] Christian equivalent of “Jack Mormons” i.e. those who finally admit to themselves and others that they can’t live up to the demands of this non-Christian cult’s laws, and excuse themselves from the whole sheebang.) A diet of this stuff from pulpit, from curriculum, from a Christian reading list, can do a work on a Christian that is (at least over the long haul) “faith destroying.” You might be in just this position this evening. [Continue reading]

I had a good talk yesterday with one of our young preachers on this subject. I’m also longing for Robert Capon to never die and to keep writing books that show me the way. Anyway, this is a favorite topic and I hope a helpful repost from a couple of years ago.

UPDATE: John H has a helpful Lutheran response.

UPDATE II: A Lutheran view of Assurance. [Link is dead]

UPDATE III: Mark Shea comments on assurance in Calvinism and Catholicism. I think Mark’s experience with Calvinism is not very nuanced, but it’s on target. Takes forever to load, but is worth it. (Buy the Rosenbladt presentation.)

Q. 1. What is your only comfort, in life and in death?

A. That I belong–body and soul, in life and in death–not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. [Continue reading]

Our guest blogger today is my daughter, Noel Cordle, who is riffing on David Mills review of contemporary young people’s literature in the current issue of Touchstone magazine. Noel recently finished her English degree from Ohio State and is teaching middle school English at the school where I serve. Her blog is Mere Musings.

During part of last year, I had my freshmen students completing bi-weekly book reports. Unfortunately most of them chose to either a.) not do the assignment or b.) pick some book from the library that was of no interest to them, simply to get the assignment done. However I did receive a couple of reports from students (almost always girls) who enjoyed reading and had chosen a book on their own that was of interest to them. That, my friends, was an eye-opening experience. Two of these experiences stand out to me.

First was the time one of my students was asking for clarification of the book report guidelines. As I was explaining that she could do a report on any book of her choosing as long as it was on her reading level, she got a bit wide-eyed and asked, “Really? Any book? You don’t care what it is about?” I gave her a hearty, “Sure, any book! I’m just glad you’re reading!” As I read the book report that was handed in to me, I started to regret saying those super-teacher words. I have no idea what the book title was, but it was basically something about lesbians coming out of the closet. While this could perhaps be written as a tasteful novel about finding one’s identity, I was not under the impression that this teen trash had been written as such. Yet this is what was of interest to my student and what she had read. She was reading after all…right? Shouldn’t I have been thrilled about that? [Continue reading]

I’m writing about spirituality these days. Yeah, I know how a lot of you feel about that word. So deal. We’re going to use it.

We’re also going to use another word some of you don’t like: formation. Now that we’re good and grumpy, let’s go for a ride.

I’ve been reflecting on the spiritual formation I’ve received as a result of my participation in the blogosphere. The Christian blogosphere.

What kind of Christian influences are coming into my life through the models of Christian faith I am exposed to in this medium? What is the shape of the spiritual formation I encounter here? Can I distance myself from it enough to make any kind of helpful observations?

I have to admit that the blogosphere is a unique experience to everyone. No one of us, no matter how many similar social networking or communication tools we use, encounters the exact same influences. I’m experiencing this medium from one place and through a unique combination of elements that I choose to read, view and participate in. Your mileage will vary. [Continue reading]

Prof Rah’s Youtube channel has the entire Saturday panel on “The Future of Evangelicalism.” It’s excellent video and in seven parts. There is some minor editing (no introductions for example.) Thanks to Jonathan Choe and crew for great work in producing the video.

Moving on, folks. Moving on.

Reader Chris has written me a couple of notes on my overall views of youth ministry. I owe him an answer, but I’d like to open up a couple of posts on the general idea of where we are going in youth ministry. I’ve been involved primarily with teenagers for 30 of my 34 years of church ministry. For more than a decade, I did lots of church consultation and I had successful youth ministries in two large churches. I made it to a lot of large youth events down through the years and heard most of the best speakers on the youth ministry circuit.

There was a time I was really sure how to “do” youth ministry. Today….a lot of my thinking has changed. Here’s a few thoughts. More coming. [Continue reading]

Southeastern Theological Seminary President Danny Akin on Mark Driscoll:

I appreciate Mark Driscoll and Acts 29. Southeastern has no formal relationship with either, but I am thankful for many aspects of both ministries. I think there is much that our students can learn from them. Mark and I have become good friends, but I do not agree with everything Mark says or does. In particular, I disagree with some of the language he has used in the pulpit in the past (though not in several years!) and I am uncomfortable with his position on beverage alcohol. I do appreciate his courage to tackle the difficult book The Song of Solomon and to address sexual issues with the adults in his congregation who have serious and important questions needing answers. [Continue reading]

UPDATE: Justin D. Barnard at Mere Comments has a much more useful and on point critique of Driscoll here.

First of all, let me thank Frank for the opportunity to have a good discussion about the issue of pastoral accountability in the internet age (a very important topic) and for having such a constructive and positive dialog. Though I expect to be denounced to the lower reaches of the pit by a couple of commenters at his place, Frank’s been a first class conversation partner, and has said nice things about another post of mine to boot.

I have very little to say in response to Frank’s SECOND POST, available now at his blog, but I will say a bit.

Frank’s conception of a “global pulpit” or “addressing the global church” is a slippery, ultimately subjective concept that primarily seems to be meaningful in the minds of a small group of theo-bloggers. I think that a room full of non-internet using Christians, even conservative ones, would need considerable help working with Frank’s idea that the orthodoxy of the “global church” is presided over by an unelected jury of successful pastors such as John Macarthur and C.J. Mahaney. [Continue reading]

UPDATE: In addition to criticizing Driscoll for his nutty exegesis of Song of Solomon and his less than impressive analysis of The Shack, I’ve backed up Pastor Mark before.

It became painfully/strangely/humorously obvious at this week’s SBC meeting that a lot of people are worried about Mark Driscoll.

I’d like to suggest a brief program to calm you people down before you hurt yourselves, or worse, start a preaching series on cursing preachers who link sex toys on their sermon pages.

1. First, cards on the table: I am, for the most part, a supporter of Driscoll. I’m not in agreement with him on gender issues, and I’ll criticize him without mumbling on a collection of boneheaded maneuvers. But the guy’s vulnerability, passion for the Gospel, missionary’s heart, vision for church planting and insight into contemporary ministry far outweigh his flaws. Give him a few years and some room to be a goober. [Continue reading]