Why We Need the 'Hood

In my latest article for the Reformed African American Network (RAAN), I talk about some of the main reasons why we need the 'hood. Here is a blurb:

We are also there because we need what the ‘hood has to offer. There are jewels, if you will, in marginalized communities that are missing from the Church’s crown. Without these jewels, the Church sparkles less.

You can read the rest of the article here. I hope it blesses you...

The Incarnation & Its Implications

I wrote an article entitled The Incarnation for Holy Culture.  In it I talk about how Christ's incarnation has and is changing my life.  Christmas was different this year.  It meant more and brought with it more weight than years past.  For that I am thankful.  Here is a snippet from the post:

Christmas is almost like a military draft, calling us, as it were, across enemy lines. The incarnation of Christ calls us to life among those who make the outside of our cup physically and emotionally dirty; all the while the One who lives in us makes the inside of our cup spiritually clean. The irony alone should shock us, and even convict us. We have stayed long enough among those who do not inconvenience us, that have the same moral idiosyncrasies as we do, and who will not demand more of us than what is socially acceptable. 


But Christ came to the world, fasted in the dessert, sat at the well, sweat blood in the garden, and shed blood on the Cross. 


Christmas brings us the gift of life through death. We are not in heaven yet. And we should cease trying to drag it down. It will be given soon enough. Becoming a Christian does not mean that we are delivered out of the world. Christian liberty is not about being free from the moral, social, emotional and physical inconveniences of those who have no moral compass, little social skills, who are on multiple psychiatric medications, and who would rather harm us than hug us. Liberty is found by losing one’s life. It is our mark to love the unlovable, to give to those who steal, and to embrace those who would rather us dead.

You can find the rest of the article here.

Dating or Adultery - Evangelism in Our Modern World

Do you remember the dating days?  I do.  When I was in ninth grade there was a girl that I liked very much.  I didn’t have the guts to ask her myself if she liked me, so, I did what most cowardly ninth graders do – I asked a friend to ask her for me. 

After a few days, my fried came to me with the news.  He said, “Man, she said no.”  I was devastated.  I asked, “Well, why did she say no?”  He replied something to the effect of, “She said that she didn’t really know you that well, and that she wants to keep her options open for the dance coming up.”  I walked away sulking and a little upset.  But I realized that she had every right to say no.

Over the years, I have seen and even embraced a view of evangelism that is very similar to the “dating” scene.  God wants to be in a relationship with a people.  He sends someone to tell the people.  And the people have the choice to say yes or no.  As an evangelist, we give them the facts about God and tell them that He is very much in love with them. 

The issue however, goes deeper.  We think that a person has the right to say no – and, that doing so is intelligible and reasonable.  We hear things from the unbeliever like, “I surveyed all of the religions and Christianity just didn’t cut it.”  Or, “I need to know more about this God before I make a decision.” 

Comments like this are not innocently neutral, but ethically rebellious.  

This “dating-game-evangelism” which says that a person who is single (or, without God) has every right to “play the field” or, to "choose God" like he/she chooses a partner in life, is completely foreign to the Biblical worldview.

The reality of the human condition is not that we are single until we choose a good mate; but rather, that we are married and we are presently committing adultery.  A person who is married has no right whatsoever to “play the field.”  A person who is married and who is in adultery has no grounds for “I’m trying to keep my options open” or "I need to know more" or whatever excuse they may have for not going home in repentance.

The message of the evangelist is therefore quite different.  We are not approaching an unbelieving person as someone who is “single,” but one who is married.  Every human was created by God and for God.  Every human has fallen into adultery (or, from the glorious relationship with their Maker).  Therefore, we do not say, “Hey, God loves you so much…will you consider a relationship with Him today?”  Rather, we say (in a humble, tactful, and truthful way), “Hey, you are running from your Maker.  Please repent.  He is willing to forgive your adultery, and take you back unto Himself in Christ Jesus.” 

And when the person says, “Ehhh…I need to know more about this God you speak of before I make a decision.”  We now see how sinful and unreasonable such a response really is, especially in light of the truth that every person knows God, and that they suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18ff).  Its like approaching a man caught in adultery, telling him to go home to his wife, and hearing him say, "tell me more about this girl (his wife!) and I might consider it."  Our response is not to tell him about her - but to point to his wedding ring!

The fact is, a person cannot suppress what they are not touching.  When you “suppress” a beach ball under the water, it may be out of sight, but you are actively applying force to it to keep it there.  There is no neutral ground.  A person either suppresses the truth or they embrace it - there is no in-between.  They are either in a right relationship with God or they are in adultery.  In essence, there are no true unbelievers - either they are believers who love God by faith in Christ, or they are believers who are in rebellion against Him.

Therefore, here is our gospel.  We all must repent and believe.  We must repent from our adultery, for we have chosen and loved other gods.  We are adulterers.  God, our Maker, because of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, is willing and ready to see us come home if we will repent of our adultery. 

In short, as evangelists, we approach our unbelieving friend not by saying, “Hey, I know this God who loves you and desires a relationship with you.”  That may be true - but, it is not the whole truth.  Rather we say, “Get your but back home.  God is waiting mercifully and with forgiveness for you.  The Gate will not be open forever.  Go now while there is still time!"

Faithfully Confronting the Whole "I was a Christian..." Thing

This will be a short post that will address an issue that could easily take us down all sorts of rabbit trails.  At the outset, it is important to understand that I have the presuppositions of a Reformed Evangelical.

I believe in the Sovereignty of God.  I believe in the Supremacy of Christ.  I believe in Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and all of the wonderful, liberating doctrines that were "brought back to life" during the Protestant Reformation.

This post has everything to do with our doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints.  Those who place their faith in Christ will persevere to the end - without exception.  Again, my point is not to debate this doctrine, but to address the implications of it when speaking with those who say they have left the faith.

I have encountered, over the last few months, a few individuals who both say that they were Christians, and eventually left the faith.   One of them is now a Muslim and the other is an atheist.  In my evangelical conversations with them (conversations that they both are and have been very open to), I have stressed the point that they were never a Christian in the first place.  In other words, when they say that they have been a Christian, I take the opportunity to lovingly disagree.  Here are a few reasons why.

1.  This statement is simply wrong.  Biblically speaking, a person who leaves the faith never was a true Christian (1Jn 2:19).  He/she may have once been among us, but he/she was not of us.  Simply put, not everyone who says they are a Christian is one.  And, everyone who says that they were a Christian, never was.

2.  This belief will keep them rebelling against Christ.  Disbelief is not a noble, morally neutral, innocent thing.  Unbelief is rebellion.  It is rebellion against the only true God.  This must be communicated clearly, but also very lovingly and compassionately.  Remember, we too were enemies of God.

I also take time to stress that the life I am presenting is not one that they have formerly experienced.  Many, who believe that they were once in the faith, do not come to faith b/c they believe that they will be "going back" to a life they once lived.  It didn't fill them so they left.  So, to avoid addressing this point is to leave them thinking the Christian life is not life at all; but simply death with a Christian sticker on it.

We must take time to show them the real Christ that they have never encountered.  We must faithfully share the gospel.

3.  This belief undermines the glory of Christ in the gospel.  Christ is our treasure.  In Him, we are eternally forgiven, accepted, safe, and secure.  We are also, eternally filled and satisfied.  When a person is genuinely committed and faithful to a particular treasure, the person is not the ultimate focus, but the treasure.

Our desires for whatever control us (Rom 6-7).  And whatever can keep our attention for any length of time must be a pretty significant thing.  In other words, if Christ is the greatest treasure in the universe, anyone who had this Treasure would never leave it.

The good news of the gospel is NOT that we embrace Christ for less enjoyment and fulfillment; but that until we embrace Him we have no earthly idea what true enjoyment is (Ps 16:11)!  The good news of the Gospel is that we have access, through simple repentance and faith in Christ alone, to God - the chief and greatest Treasure in the universe (Ps 73:25).

So for a person to say that they left Christ simply will not do.  If they truly did, it says everything about Christ (Rom 2:24) - that He is not great enough to keep our hearts for any length of time.

4.  Last, this belief leaves the unbeliever believing that leaving Christ was a rational decision.  Unbelief is the hight of human irrationality (for more on this, research Van Tillian presuppositionalism).  Many disbelieve in the name of intellectualism.  Many churched kids supposedly "leave the faith" during the college years for this reason.

But if what the Scriptures say about Christ is true...if He really is the perfection of Beauty...if He really is God in the flesh...if He really is the Lord of the universe...then, to leave Him is utterly irrational.  It's like deciding not to breath b/c you have never seen air.

Christian, find your comfort here - that, by faith, we are seated "safely" with Christ at the right hand of God the Father (Col 3; Eph 2).  Set your mind on this.  Think of your [heavenly] Treasure often.  And know, with absolute rational certainty that not one single sheep will be lost under His providential watch (John 6).  When a person comes to understand this by faith, he/she will never leave.  They will never want to.  And Christ will never let them go!

They Reached Me First

I will never forget the serious look on Dr. Richard Pratt's face one Monday night as he was expressing his number one fear for the next generation. It was not alcoholism, or disease. It was not liberalism, or the church's view on women being ordained (or not) in ministry. He looked across the classroom and called all of us to take heed to the Islamic growth in America. One statistic I remember is that the census reported that by year 2025, one major metropolitan city, in America, will be predominately Muslim. I tucked that statistic away, and have not thought of it since...until yesterday.

The doorbell rang. As the dog barked, and as the kids proceeded to run around like chickens with their head cut off, I left Katie to the new baby and answered the door. I was not prepared for my visitors.

I opened the door to find a family of five, dressed in very strict Islamic attire - the husband in a long robe and religious cap; the wife fully covered, except her eyes; and, the children with what looked like small turbans, along with their robes that looked like daddy's. The interaction changed my life. Allow me to share with you some of my observations:

1. They came bearing gifts. The balloon outside on the mailbox that read, "It's a girl!" lead them to rejoice with us that a new life had come into the world. So they gave us a birthday cake of Huggies and a small sun-hat for the baby. What does this mean? Well, first of all, 96 diapers are not cheap. They spent over $25 on a stranger and probably over 2-3 hours at least knitting the sun-hat (the wife made it) and arranging the diapers into a huge display.

2. They were kind. They were not indifferent to our new baby girl. They rejoiced (at least, to some extent) with us. And they were very polite and cordial.

3. This family was not (from what I could tell) from another country. They were African American; which, from what I understand is a demographic that is converting to Islam by the droves. 59% of Islamic converts in America are African American - most of whom convert from Protestantism. Big players in the African American community are promoting the religion and are having a strong influence. Ice Cube (who converted in the 90's) has been quoted saying, that the Nation of Islam is "the best place for any young black male."

4. They were dedicated as a family. Their attire alone showed their strict devotion to the religion. And they practiced as a family. I have read somewhere that each Muslim family produces, on average, 8 children per family unit. Not only is Islam growing by conversion, but its main objective is to grow (exponentially) by reproduction. This is a God-given mandate and process that all Christians must understand and at least acknowledge.

Muslims understand well that predominant and typically affluent cultures atrophy over small amounts of time due to decreased marriage and reproduction rates. Europe is a great example. To shed light on this point, consider a country isolated without the possibility of immigration. If family units have, on average, just one (or less than 2) children per unit, then it is mathematically impossible to maintain the population over just a few generations.

Family units in most European countries (like Greece, France and England) have roughly 1.3 children per unit (under 1.6 it is mathematically impossible to rescue the culture). It has been this way for some time. But, here is the kicker - the populations of these countries have grown! And they are being swallowed up by Islam.

5. My next point about this family is that they were evangelical. So, not only were they converts (probably), and not only were they furthering the Islamic agenda through reproduction; but they were also reaching their immediate world for "Allah" through evangelization. I am more aware of the Islamic presence in my geographical region. Every morning on my way to work I see more and more Muslims. This particular family lives three houses down from me. They are reaching their neighborhood (which is also MY neighborhood and has been for over one year now).

My final point is this...They reached me first.

I am now resolved, by the strength and perseverance of God's sovereign grace, to reach those around me quickly and consistently with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Shame on me for being silent this long. Yesterday is the day that God used a strict Muslim to get this PCA pastor off of his rear end.