What's the Center?

 I remember a few years ago speaking with a friend about the cross of Christ. Our theology overall was similar but different enough to generate some good debates. I remember him saying to me that I was too focused on the cross. To him the cross was the tool that the Lord used to glorify Christ, thus securing salvation for us. He thought I should be more focused on that. To me the cross was and still is everything. As C.J. Mahaney addresses in Living the Cross Centered Life (read this book if you haven't!), we never move away from the cross, but instead only into a deeper understanding of it. Below is a quote from It is Well. In this passage Mark Dever addresses the Christian finding their identity in the cross and how it is the only focus of the Christian's life.

Occasionally some will accuse evangelicals of being too atonement-centered. But I don't know what it would mean to be too centered on the Suffering Servant suffering for us for our salvation. That's what makes us a people. That is our identity. Just a we saw in the last chapter, Jesus clearly understood Isaiah 53 to be talking about his life and his death. He knew that his sufferings were vicarious, that they were endured in sinners' stead. Thus, in just a few nights he would look into his disciples' eyes and say, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24). As Paul would later put it, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3). What would you suggest we put at the center of our focus instead of the cross?

C. J.'s leave of absence

This post by Justin Taylor is of significant interest to me. C. J. Mahaney wrote a book that has had and is having a profound influence on me; Living The Cross-Centered Life. Also, Sovereign Grace Ministries take a doctrinal stance that is close to my own. I'll be praying for C. J. as well as SGM.

“Why I’m Taking a Leave of Absence”

C.J. Mahaney writes:

Over the last few years some former pastors and leaders in Sovereign Grace have made charges against me and informed me about offenses they have with me as well as other leaders in Sovereign Grace. These charges are serious and they have been very grieving to read. These charges are not related to any immorality or financial impropriety, but this doesn’t minimize their serious nature, which include various expressions of pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy.

I believe God is kindly disciplining me through this. I believe I have by the grace of God perceived a degree of my sin, and I have been grieved by my sin and its effects on others. I have had the opportunity to confess my sin to some of those affected in various ways by my sin. And I am so very grateful for their forgiveness. But I want to perceive and confess any and all sin I have committed. Although my experience of conviction has already started—and this is an evidence of God’s mercy—I’m sure there is more for me to perceive and acknowledge. Even with the charges I disagree with it has been beneficial to examine my soul and ask for the observation of others. And I am resolved to take responsibility for my sin and every way my leadership has been deficient, and this would include making any appropriate confessions, public or private. Most importantly I want to please God during this season of examination and evaluation.

So here is what I am going to do. I’ve asked to take a leave of absence in order to give time to considering these charges, examine my heart, and receive the appropriate help from others. With the guidance of the SGM board, I would also hope to pursue reconciliation with former pastors of Sovereign Grace during this leave. I have stepped off the board and I will not be the President of Sovereign Grace Ministries during this period of examination and evaluation. In order for me to receive an objective evaluation in relation to these charges the board is securing the help of a third-party ministry that has no history of relationship with SGM. With counsel from that ministry, the board will determine the appropriate steps I should take going forward. After processing these findings, the board will determine the appropriate steps I should take going forward. This leave of absence will also help remove any impediment to the panel’s exploration that could potentially arise if I remained in my current position, and it will enable me to fully cooperate in the process.

Just so you’ll know, I have also contacted David Powlison and Mark Dever and asked them to review the charges and provide me with their counsel and correction. I have enlisted them to serve me personally during this time and to ensure this process of examining my heart and life is as thorough as possible. And for the past year I have been the recipient of Ken Sande’s correction, counsel and care. That, I am grateful to say, will continue. And as you would expect I will continue to meet with the appropriate men on the board of Sovereign Grace and benefit from their correction, counsel, and care as well. I am deeply moved as I reflect on how rich I am relationally and I am humbled by the time these men are willing to spend serving me and Sovereign Grace.

My friends, I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I continue to walk through this process. Please pray that God would give me the gift of sight where I have been blinded by my sin and others have been adversely affected by my sin. Pray that I will be convicted and experience godly sorrow resulting in reconciliation where necessary and adjustments to my heart and leadership. Thank you for praying in this way for me.

One more thing. For the past 5 years or so I have become increasingly aware of certain deficiencies in my leadership that have contributed to deficiencies in Sovereign Grace Ministries’ structure and governance, the lack of a clear and consistent process of conflict resolution and pastoral evaluation, and the number of former Sovereign Grace pastors who are offended with me/SGM. I have met with some and by God’s grace there has been reconciliation with men like Larry Tomczak (I wish I had recognized and repented of my sin against him years ago). This brings great joy to my soul. In other cases, appeals for mediation have thus far been declined, but I’m hopeful this process will facilitate further reconciliation. But beyond this, there are still issues that need to be addressed and fixed in our family of churches. And I bear a primary responsibility because it has happened on my watch and under my leadership. I have resolved that I and the Sovereign Grace team can’t effectively lead us into the future without evaluating the past, addressing these deficiencies, improving our structure, and as much as possible pursuing reconciliation with former pastors. So during this leave of absence I will not only devote all the appropriate and necessary time to the independent panel and the charges but also to doing what I can to identify where I have failed to lead us effectively in relation to pastoral evaluation and conflict resolution.

My friends, though my soul can be easily overwhelmed as I contemplate my sin and its effects on others, I am also resolved to examine my heart, address the past, and play my role in preparing SGM for a future of planting and serving churches. And given the mercy of God portrayed in the gospel my heart is filled with hope that his good purpose for us will come to pass and cannot be frustrated. I trust there will be much grace to tell you of at the end of this process.

Dave Harvey has also written a letter on behalf of the Board of Sovereign Grace Ministries:

By now you may have read C.J.’s letter about recent developments in his life and in Sovereign Grace Ministries. We want to take a moment to communicate to you as well concerning these events and inform you of the steps the SGM board is taking in response.

We understand that this news may strike some as sudden and surprising. However, a process has been unfolding over a number of months in which the board has sought to evaluate charges against C.J., assist him in examining his heart and pursuing reconciliation, and bring accountability and guidance to him in this process. Because some of the charges move beyond C.J. to SGM, we also wanted to examine ourselves and our practices both past and current. To that end, we are in the process of securing help from an outside organization that can conduct a thorough and objective review of the charges being brought against C.J. and SGM. We are seeking to identify an organization that has no prior history with us and that has wide respect in Christian circles, and we will keep you posted on that search process as we make progress. We have by no means guided this process flawlessly, but we are learning and growing through this long and difficult process. And we are encouraged by how God appears to be leading us.

It is also important for us to be clear that we are supportive of C.J.’s letter and the decisive actions he has taken. The charges against C.J. are serious, but his response has been one of self-examination and, when possible, specific confession to those sinned against. However, given the numerous events, people, and perspectives involved, the work of an independent panel will be vital to fully examining these charges and arriving at an objective conclusion, especially on those charges with which the board does not agree. We therefore believe the leave of absence is appropriate in the present circumstances to afford C.J. the time to reflect upon his heart and to allow an independent panel space to conduct its review. Like C.J., we are committed to facilitate as thorough and objective a process as possible by an independent panel.

In addition to our search for an independent panel, we have taken other steps in response to these circumstances. In order to secure a broader source of accountability and benefit from a deeper pool of wisdom, we have expanded the board to lead SGM in this season. The current regional leadership team members, all pastors in SGM churches, constitute the additional board members: Craig Cabaniss, Mickey Connelly, Rick Gamache, Pete Greasley, John Loftness, Aron Osborne, Mark Prater, and Steve Shank. We are grateful for the wisdom and experience these men bring to this board and for their willingness to serve in this capacity. To facilitate continuity in our day-to-day operations, the new board has appointed Dave Harvey to act as the interim president during C.J.’s leave of absence.

As for C.J., his primary focus during the leave of absence will be to continue to examine his heart and consider the various charges and offenses, as well as to fully cooperate with an independent panel, once chosen by the board. Any pursuit of reconciliation with aggrieved parties will be guided by the counsel of the board and the independent panel. C.J. has also fully submitted himself to the board’s direction regarding his ministry activities and external commitments during this time.

All of us carry concern for the Mahaneys personally, and the board is working to ensure that a clear and helpful plan is in place to provide adequate care for C.J. and his family during this season. This plan will integrate the local care C.J. receives with other lines of counsel he receives from those outside of SGM.

We realize there is much to process here, and much of it is disconcerting. Our theology serves us well in times like this: God is clearly at work in C.J., in our own lives, and in SGM. Our desire is to embrace all that he has for us in this season, knowing he is working for our good, however difficult that may be. To those in the SGM family of churches, our commitment is that we will, by God’s grace, seek to walk as humbly, wisely, and transparently as possible during this season, and to seek to serve and care for Sovereign Grace churches in whatever way we can. We covet your prayers, and we cherish our partnership with you now more than ever.

For Our Sake

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteosness of God.

Isaiah 53:10

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

This is something that I don't think I'll ever fully understand. That is was for our sake that God the Father crushed his own Son. Isaiah 53 is so detailed in the description of what suffering and pain Christ endured for us on the Cross, it's impossible to understand a Father loving sinful people like us enough to put his Son through that. After finishing The Cross Centered Life I'm understanding that the gospel is something that I'm never going to move on from.

Why So Many Cross-Centered Songs?

I came across this interesting post by C. J. Mahaney at the Sovereign Grace Ministries Blog:

Why So Many Cross-Centered Songs?

by C.J. Mahaney
9/4/2009 2:57:00 PM

At the WorshipGod09 conference, my friend Jeff Purswell asked Bob and me the following question:

Many of the songs we sing here, and many of the songs written by people in Sovereign Grace, have the gospel as a key component to them. There are all kinds of themes in Scripture, and there are all kinds of songs in Scripture. Why should we have so many songs about the cross? Why should the cross play such a central role in our singing when there are so many other things we can sing about?

This is an important question. Here was the essence of my answer:

First, since the cross is the storyline of Scripture, it should be the storyline of our corporate worship. The cross is the matter of “first importance” and it should be reflected in our singing on a weekly basis (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Second, we must never leave the impression during corporate worship that we do not need a mediator. There isn’t a moment where I don’t need a mediator. In light of the Father’s holiness and my sinfulness, I cannot approach him directly apart from Christ. It is quite possible for us to sing songs that are accurately extolling the attributes of God. But if the cross is absent, we leave the unintended impression that somehow I can approach the Father apart from a mediator—that I can experience intimacy with God apart from the One who died for my many sins.

Third, cross-centered songs imitate the heavenly model. In Revelation 5:1-14, for example, we catch a glimpse of eternal worship and our heavenly future. Jim Elliff has written, “One is taken aback by the emphasis upon the Cross in Revelation. Heaven does not ‘get over’ the cross, as if there are better things to think about; heaven is not only Christ-centered, but cross-centered, and quite blaring about it.” Amen! Every Sunday should be a heavenly preview as we survey the wondrous cross and as we sing of the Lamb who is worthy of our praise.

Forth, cross-centered songs affect our souls. You’ve heard the Martyn Lloyd-Jones quote about how most of our unhappiness comes from listening to ourselves more than we talk to ourselves. In light of this, corporate worship is a serious gift! Singing in corporate worship is a means of talking to yourself. This provides us an opportunity to stop listening to ourselves, to stop listening to sin, legalism, condemnation, and to begin singing and talking to ourselves. And by the end of corporate worship there is a good chance that we will experience the joy of the gospel. Not very often in our noisy world do we have such an opportunity to talk to ourselves. So what your church is saying in these moments of corporate singing is very important. And what a unique opportunity worship leaders have to transfer the hope of the gospel to people in corporate worship. And to think, you can do this each and every Sunday!

Cross-centered worship songs are vital to the life of the church.

I am so grateful to God that Bob has led Sovereign Grace Ministries into gospel-centered worship music, and has served the church with the writing and producing of many such songs and albums.

You can listen to the full audio recording of our discussion on this and other topics at the WorshipGod09 conference here.

Book Overview - The Cross Centered Life by C. J. Mahaney

Living The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing

By C. J. Mahaney

Introduction – At The Core

• The cross is of primary importance and is the “one transcendent truth that should define our lives” (p14)
• “For not only does this good news come first chronologically in our Christian experience, but it stays foremost in critical for creating and sustaining our joy and our fruitfulness…” (p15)
• Three tendencies takes draw us away: 1) subjectivism 2) legalism 3) condemnation
• We don’t move away from the cross, only into a more profound understanding of the cross
• There is nothing more captivating or overpowering to the soul than climbing Calvary

Chapter One – The Climax and the Key

• Paul to Timothy: you don’t need a new truth, you need to guard the one truth
• The cross and the resurrection are of first importance…but once the resurrection has occurred the cross remains central
• “Some might find it surprising that I would teach a young boy about God’s wrath towards sin. But I find it surprising that any loving person would withhold this truth from another person they love. Because only when we understand God’s wrath towards sin can we realize we need to be saved from it.” (p29)

Chapter Two – The Divine Order

• If we want the gospel to move our hearts and engage our emotions we must put our feelings in the proper place
• “We let our feelings tell us what’s true, instead of letting the truth transform our feelings.” (p33)
• We invest our feeling with final authority over truth: this is arrogance
• If we will focus on truth our feeling will follow and they will be reliable feelings
• We don’t ignore evaluating our feelings, we just don’t start there
• Quoting Lloyd-Jones: “Have you realized that mot of the unhappiness in your life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?” (p37)
• Talking to ourselves has an outward objective focus whereas listening to ourselves has a inward subjective focus
• “The cross centered life starts with biblical thinking.” (p41)

Chapter Three – Searching The Mystery

• God only promises to accompany the preaching of the gospel with saving effect, not the depiction of it (The Passion)
• The only part we play in the divine drama on Calvary is contributing to the sin that makes the suffering of Christ necessary
• Any illustration of heroic sacrifice falls short of being adequate because there is no adequate illustration of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ
• “Who killed Jesus? God did.” (p56)

Chapter Four – The Divine Dilemma

• A great answer to the question ‘How are you?’… Better than I deserve.
• "R. C. Sproul wrote that the most perplexing question is not why there's suffering in the world, but why God tolerates us in our sinfulness." (p61)
• In the conflict between God and man only one person has been offended; God is profoundly aggrieved by us and yet He is fully innocent

Chapter Five – The Divine Rescue

• “Our Mediator’s work would be a labor of blood.” (69)
• “John Stott expressed it this way: ‘Divine love triumphed over divine wrath by divine self-sacrifice.’” (p71)
• We have no way to atone for our sin and no way to free our selves from sin’s enslavement
• Christ’s mediation brought peace with God and release from condemnation
• We must deeply understand Christ’s work and take it to heart so we can share it accurately and passionately

Chapter Six – Staring Into The Cup

• Christ’s sorrow is so profound He comes close to death
• Christ was not surprised by death’s approach and yet he was horrified and distressed…why?
• It is because of unprecedented and incomparable suffering of wrath and abandonment
• The cup Jesus asked be removed? The cup of God’s wrath
• Needing God’s comfort and support more than ever…in history…separation from God was put before Him

Chapter Seven - Your Face In The Crowd

• After Gethsemane, Christ is no longer troubled…what is the difference? His obedience.
• In the Calvary scene the only ones with which we should identify are thos in the mob screaming ‘crucify Him’
• Only those truly aware of their sin can truly cherish grace

Chapter Eight – The Scream Of The Damned

• What keeps Christ on the cross? His passion to do the will of the Father and His love for us
• Jesus could not save himself and save you and me…He refused to save himself so He was able to save others
• Jesus experienced what no human ever has or will have to experience – the full and furious wrath of the Father
• Christ’s loneliness was an desolating abandonment that none shall ever fully experience

Chapter Nine – What God Understands

• “But I do know in our time of deepest affliction, none of us find comfort by endlessly focusing on that suffering. There’s am element of mystery in all our suffering, and in this life we can’t fully understand it, yet we face a subtle temptation to relive and review our suffering. That’s an exercise which will never bring rest and release.” (p98)
• The ideal time to prepare for suffering is never in the midst of it

Chapter Ten – Assurance And Joy

• Quoting Thomas Watson: “Your sufferings are not so great as your sins: Put these two in the balance, and see which is heaviest.” (p105)
• Never let there be a lengthy time where we are not receiving inspiration and direction directly from the cross

Chapter Eleven – Breaking The Rule Of Legalism

• Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and justification before God through obedience to God
• “Legalism is essentially self-atonement for the purpose of self-glorification and ultimately for self-worship.” (p113)
• We change what God intends as a means of experiencing grace into a means of earning grace
• Justification is not progressive and admits no degrees
• One is either wholly justified or wholly condemned in God’s sight

Chapter Twelve – Unloading Condemnation

• “Don’t buy the lie that cultivating condemnation and wallowing in your shame is somehow pleasing to God, or that a constant, low-grade guilt will somehow promote holiness and spiritual maturity.” (p126)
• To live a cross centered life one must face their own depravity without flinching
• You are the worst sinner you know!

Chapter Thirteen – The Cross Centered Day

• “A cross centered life is made up of cross centered days.” (p132)
• The most important daily habit: reminding ourselves of the gospel
• How do we do it:

1. Memorize the gospel
2. Pray the gospel
3. Sing the gospel
4. Review how the gospel has changed you
5. Study the gospel

Chapter Fourteen – Never Move On

• The gospel isn’t one class of many, it is the whole building you take classes in
• To understand the Old Testament you must grasp that the cross is the center of all human history

A Few Quotes From Current Books

From TACTICS by Gregory Koukl:

"Just make sure it's your ideas that offend and not you, that your beliefs cause the dispute and not your behavior." (p31)

"I focus on being faithful, but I trust God to be effective. Some will respond, and some will not." (p37)

" 'I understand that many of you think Christians are stupid,' I said to the audience. 'Well many of them are,' I admitted. 'But many non-Christians are stupid, too, so I don't know how that helps you. What I want to do this evening is show you that Christianity is not stupid.' " (p40)


From Living The Cross Centered Life by C. J. Mahaney:

"R. C. Sproul wrote that the most perplexing question is not why there's suffering in the world, but why God tolerates us in our sinfulness." (p61)

" 'Hey, how are you?' For a number of years I've been giving a particular response to that frequent question...'Better than I deserve,' I answered." (p59)

"Our Mediator's work would be a labor of blood." (p69)