New Year's Resolutions

Since I took that test and got my Jonathan Edwards results, it has increased my curiosity about him. As I was looking around online, I stumbled across some resolutions that he made for his life. If you're looking to make any New Year's resolutions, these might be some to add to your list.

Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), from the Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake. [I will] remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.

Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge.

Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.

Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.

Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

Resolved, Always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.

Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1.

Which Theologian are You?

You scored as Jonathan Edwards. You're the original hellfire-and brimstone preacher and you take God's justice very seriously. You are passionate about preaching and an accomplished theologian.

Friedrich Schleiermacher		80%
Jonathan Edwards		80%
Karl Barth		73%
Anselm		67%
Jürgen Moltmann		67%
Augustine		53%
John Calvin		53%
Martin Luther		47%
Charles Finney		33%
Paul Tillich		27%

Which theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

So apparently I'm most like Jonathan Edwards and Friedrich Schleiermacher, with a leaning slightly more towards Edwards. (They had me answer a tie-breaker question on the quiz) I'm hoping that my theological resemblance to Schleiermacher doesn't also mean that any books I write will turn out to be dreadfully boring.

Tomorrow's sermon: 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God'. Not really, but ironically, my sermon tomorrow morning is going to be very apocalyptic. We have been doing a daily reading through the New Testament, which we finish this week. I'm preaching from the last chapters of Revelation. Having Hussein put to death this week makes for some interesting applications about how God will bring justice for everyone when Christ returns. We all will eventually reap what we sow. Take the quiz and let me know how it turns out for you.

Merry Christmas From the Adams Family!

It is really not easy to get Dora and Nacho to both be still and looking in the right direction in the right time. But we gave it a shot. Carolina was supposed to leave earlier today, but her flight was delayed, so we decided to get the Christmas pictures in front of our house that we haven't had time to take in the last few days. Tomorrow, Carolina flies to Durango to see her dad. I'll miss her a lot. At any rate, from Mark, Carolina, Dora, & Nacho, "Merry Christmas!" 

One of My Favorite People

Last Saturday, we had our 2nd annual "Breakfast with Santa" at church. We provide free pictures and a free pancake breakfast for anyone who shows up. It's a way of trying to get better connected with the community where our church is. Most of our members show up and participate, and it is such a wonderful time to visit with each other and do something good that's a lot of fun.

In the picture is one of my favorite people. Her name is Ruth Brown, and she's 94 years old. Her nephew is one of the elders at my church. Recently, she, her brother and his wife all moved to Rose Bud to be closer to family. Aunt Ruth (as I call her) has so much personality. She had always greeted me warmly, when she'd come as a visitor. But when they moved, and placed membership, she caught me on the way out the door one Sunday.

Ruth gave me a huge smile and a warm handshake and then started telling me several things in a lively manner. "I just love you! I think you're great! I think this church is great! I'm so happy to be here! I'm 94 years old, and I've never had any children, but I love all my nieces and nephews like they were my own! I'm so happy to be 94! I love life! I love people! God has blessed me so much!"

Ruth never has anything negative to say, and if she has to address something she isn't fond of, she finds a way to put a positive spin on it. I really enjoy old people who haven't forgotten what it's like to receive the Kingdom of Heaven like a child. 

My Cat

I haven't posted a weird picture of my cat in a while. She always sleeps in these really bizarre positions. She has pretty well taken over my recliner. It is her preferred place for naps. 

It's Not My Job!

My friend Brent Whitworth sent me this picture. It is such a great insight into human laziness. "I just get paid to paint the lines...moving limbs is somebody else's job!" Striving for mediocrity. Always doing the bare minimum.

I can't even say how many times a teacher in elementary school said to us, "I don't care if that piece of trash isn't yours and you didn't throw it down...pick it up anyway!"

It's a shame sometimes that adults expect to be treated respectfully, because it would probably do us a lot of good occasionally to have someone fuss at us and say, "Stop being so self-centered!" "It doesn't matter if it isn't your fault. Step up and do the right thing because it's the right thing; not because you have to do it."

Who is going to be a good example if I am not? Who will think that Jesus can make a meaningful difference in their life if I refuse to let my life be changed? Many people's lives are monumental messes; some of their own doing entirely, some with a combination of bad parenting. If I don't have time to make someone's life better, than who will make time?

And if I'm just not willing to be the example and go the extra mile for people in real, tangible ways, then I'd be a lot better off to stop wearing the name "Christian".

James 1:27. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." 

The Dani and Nabelan-Kabelan

After the conversion of the Damal people, something very interesting happened. The Dani people were the pompous overlords of the Damal, and as all the Damal began converting enthusiastically to Christianity, they were extremely intrigued.

They sent people to the Damal to inquire about the cause of the excitement. When the reply came that the Damal were rejoicing in the fulfillment of their ancient hope, the Dani were completely shocked. They too had been awaiting the fulfillment of their own concept that they called Nabelan-Kabelan. Nabelan-Kabelan was the belief that one day immortality would return to humankind.

If the Gospel was Hai to the Damal, could it also be Nabelan-Kabelan to the Dani? Gordon and Peggy Larson had been assigned to work with the Dani. As they presented the Gospel to the Dani, it was the warriors who became the most interested. They spoke of a man named Jesus who could not only raise others from the dead, but himself as well.

Everything fell into place for the Dani just as it had for the Damal. Their ancient longing for immortality was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Word spread quickly from valley to valley. The once barbarous Dani people listened to the Message, they felt compunction mixed with joy, and upon their conversion they were added to the Lord's body.

The Damal and the Hai

The Damal people are located in Irian Jaya. Just a couple of decades ago, they were living in the Stone Age. There is a much more politically powerful tribe called the Dani. The Damal lived as a subservient tribe.

For who knows how long, the Damal people spoke longingly of a concept called hai. Hai was a long-anticipated golden age; a sort of Stone Age utopia where there would be no more fighting, no wars, men would stop oppressing one another, and sickness would have all but disappeared.

A Damal leader named Mugumenday had yearned all of his life to see the advent of hai. Finally he grew old, and near the end of his life, he called his son Dem to his side. He told him, "My son, hai has not come during my lifetime. Now you must watch for hai. Perhaps it will come before you die."

Completely oblivious to all of this, several years later, some missionary couples entered the Damal valley where Dem lived. They first spent time learning the Damal language, and then began to teach the gospel. Many of the Damal people thought it was polite to at least listen to their message.

One day as they were preaching to them, Dem--now a grown man--stood up and spoke, "Oh, my people, how long our forefathers waited for hai. How sadly my father died without seeing it. But now, don't you understand, these strangers have brought hai to us! We must believe their words, or we will miss the fulfillment of our ancient expectation."

As a result, nearly the entire population welcomed the Gospel. Within a few years, there was a congregation in every Damal village.

The Sawi "Peace Child"

Don Richardson and his wife went as missionaries to the Sawi people. They gradually learned the language, and learned more about the culture, and sought to teach them the gospel. As they studied with them through the Gospel, they were in for the shock of their lives when they saw how the Sawi people reacted to Judas' betrayal. They began laughing and really hee-hawing at what happened to Jesus, and championed Judas as the hero of the story with Jesus as the loser. They considered treachery one of the greatest virtues.

The Richardsons were very shocked and confused, and really didn't know how they were going to win these people to Christ when they had such a skewed view of what true virtue is.

In the meantime, there started to be battles between the Sawi and one of the neighboring villages. These had been sporadic in the past, but they kept getting worse and worse with no resolution. Finally, the Richardsons informed the Sawi that unless the warring stopped, they would have to move away because it wasn't safe for them anymore. The Sawi had considered it an honor to have the missionaries living among them, and took this ultimatum very seriously.

Finally, one of the leading men stepped up to make peace. The Sawi culture has a special means of making peace with an enemy tribe. A father who has a healthy baby son will take his own son and in a public gathering with the enemy, will entrust his son to an enemy father to raise the child as his own. They referred to the baby as a "Peace Child". This was an enormous sacrifice for the family and the tribe, but it was a fairly sure way to have peace.

At this very emotional and crucial juncture, Richardson found a perfect redemptive analogy. He was able to present Christ as God's "Peace Child". This resonated deeply with the Sawi, who soon began to grasp the redemptive story of God as the greatest Father, giving his one and only son for the sins of the world, to reconcile alienated people. As of today, about 70% of the Sawi are Christians.

Redemptive Analogies

I'm currently in a Global Evangelism course at Harding with Dr. Stan Granberg. Though I'm a person who cares a lot for missions, I have not taken many courses in missions. If I had to pick between a missions course and a textual or theological course, I'd pick the textual/theological stuff every time.

But the MDiv requires me to be diverse, and to learn about all different aspects of Christianity, including missions. I've said up to this point that I have not taken a single class at the grad school that has not been worth my time and money. I still maintain this stance.

I think the most interesting thing I've come across in this course is the concept of Redemptive Analogies, described by Don Richardson in the book Perspectives On The World Christian Movement.

A Redemptive Analogy is what a missionary uses as a bridge between the Gospel and one's culture. If we can find an aspect of culture that helps people appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus, then it becomes more real to them.

Jesus himself did this. All Jews would know about Moses lifting up the serpent of brass upon a pole so that the Jews, dying of snake bites, could look at it and be healed. Jesus told Nicodemus that "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus here used a redemptive analogy.

There are several redemptive analogies that Richardson lays out in his chapter. I think they are so cool, and I am going to make a few posts relaying some of the ones he describes. What we find over and over is that God is at work in the mission field long before we get there.