Theology Breakfast #4

Theology Breakfast 4 was a good one! Pastor Nathaniel Wright presented from part 2 of Jonathan Edwards' classic Religious Affections. Nathaniel delivered a concise talk that generated significant discussion which was, in my estimation, very helpful. Below are are condensed notes from what he presented.

“Signs of Nothing”

from part 2 of A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections

by Jonathan Edwards

 Now let us look at this man who has had such a lasting influence, and who seems to be becoming again almost a dominating influence in religious thought in America. I confess freely that this is one of the most difficult tasks I have ever attempted. The theme is almost impossible, and very largely for the reason that I have already given, namely the influence of Edwards upon me. I am afraid, and I say it with much regret, that I have to put him ahead even of Daniel Rowland and George Whitefield. Indeed I am tempted, perhaps foolishly, to compare the Puritans to the Alps, Luther and Calvin to the Himalayas, and Jonathan Edwards to Mount Everest! He has always seemed to me to be the man most like the apostle Paul. Of course, Whitefield was a great and mighty preacher as was Daniel Rowland but so was Edwards. Neither of them had the mind, neither of them had the intellect, neither of them had the grasp of theology that Edwards had; neither of them was the philosopher he was. He stands out, it seems to me, quite on his own amongst men ... There are so many approaches to this great summit; but not only so, the atmosphere is so spiritually rarefied, and there is this blazing whiteness of the holiness of the man himself, and his great emphasis upon the holiness and the glory of God; and above all the weakness of the little climber as he faces this great peak pointing up to heaven. All I can hope to do is to give some glimpses of this man and his life, and what he did, with the ultimate end and object of persuading every one to buy these two volumes of his works, and to read them

                                                                                                Martin Lloyd-Jones

SHOWING WHAT ARE NO CERTAIN SIGNS THAT RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS ARE GRACIOUS, OR THAT THEY ARE NOT.

I. That religious affections are very great, or raised very high, is no sign

II. That they have great effects on the body, is no sign

III. That they cause those who have them to be fluent, fervent, and abundant, in talking of the things of religion, is no sign

IV. That persons did not excite them of their own contrivance and by their own strength, is no sign

V. That they come with texts of Scripture, remarkably brought to the mind, is no sign

VI. That there is an appearance of love in them, is no sign

VII. Persons having religious affections of many kinds, accompanying one another, is no sign  

VIII. That comforts and joys seem to follow awakenings and convictions of conscience, in a certain order, is no sign  

IX. That they dispose persons to spend much time in religion, and to be zealously engaged in the external duties of worship, is no sign

X. That they much dispose persons with their mouths to praise and glorify God, is no sign

XI. That they make persons that have them exceeding confident that what they experience is divine, and that they are in a good estate, is no sign

XII. That the outward manifestations of them, and the relation persons give of them, are very affecting and pleasing to the godly, is no sign

SHOWING WHAT ARE DISTINGUISHING SIGNS OF TRULY GRACIOUS AND HOLY AFFECTIONS.

XII. They have their exercise and fruit in Christian practice

1. Christian practice and holy life is a sign of sincerity to others

2. Christian practice is the chief evidence to ourselves, much to be preferred to the method of the first convictions, enlightenings, comforts, or any immanent discoveries or exercises of grace whatsoever.

What are the Practical Implications?

• Necessity for the gospel to be a part of regular church life.
• Signs/Gifts should not be elevated or sought at the expense of Holy Practices.
• Help to Christian Counseling/ Accountability.
• Promotes a healthy Fear of God (Phil 2:12)

Theology Breakfast 3

I have arrived home from Theology Breakfast 3 and thought that I would give a summary of it for today's post. For those of you who don't know what theology breakfast is, take a look here. Here is the short synopsis of what we are attempting when we meet together:

We call this idea Theology Breakfast. Simply, we want to set up an opportunity for Christian men with a love of theology to gather together for mutual enjoyment and edification. We want to network and strengthen relationships with brothers from around the city. This will not be a large gathering as we are looking at 12-20 people. Included in this email are both pastors and laymen from 8 different churches in London and the surrounding area. included are men ranging in age from 20s through 70s who belong to at least 5 different denominations.

Today, Pastor Mike Wilkins from West London Alliance was the presenter. The following is Mike's bio from his church's website:

Mike has been involved with the Christian & Missionary Alliance since he began attending the Kingston Alliance Church as a Queen's University student in 1973 and has been the Pastor of West London Alliance Church since 1984.

Mike and his wife Deb have been married since 1977. Queen's University grads, they moved to Toronto, where Mike worked first for a publisher of children's books, then at a Christian youth camp outside Toronto and finally as Minister of Discipleship at Bayview Glen Church. After seven years of Toronto life, they moved to London.

For many years, Mike's preaching and pastoral ministry have been primarily under the influence of the thinking (and writing) and character and vision of "Five (and then Nine and then Five once again and now Seven) Dead Men": especially Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, G.K Chesterton and C.S. Lewis.

After seven years of homeschooling their children, Deb now works for Compassion Canada, "releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name."

Mike and Deb have three children, now no longer children at all. Jessica is a high school English literature teacher, currently working at a private girls' school in Tokyo, Japan. Ben is a graduate of McGill University, still lives in Montreal and is working away at the building of a career as a piano-based singer/songwriter. Joanna lives here in London, works as a nurse on the Adult Oncology floor of Victoria Hospital and serves as a volunteer leader of our Senior High ministry.

Mike is a runner who for many years tried but never quite managed to qualify for the Boston Marathon. (Obviously, he didn't try hard enough.) He does have a personal lifetime best of 3:05, but that was back in 1982, when everyone ran faster and the Boston qualifying standards were much higher.

For a few weeks each summer, Mike is the guy paddling Iona, his severely-scratched but still beloved canoe: usually in Temagami because it's so hard to get a reservation in Killarney. Sometimes Deb goes with him and paddles in the bow, smiling stoically and secretly wishing that they had a cottage in Muskoka.

Besides reading books written by men now dead, and running and canoe-tripping, as a fourth hobby, Mike writes plays and forces the church to stage them. Some of them are now available for staging by other chuches and community theatre groups at www.longrunplays.com.

Mike delivered a talk entitled Living Lawfully and Loving It. He began by sharing some major developments in his life that led him to the place where he is today. These were explained as waves he encountered and are as follows:

•  First Wave: The authority of the Bible - Mike became convinced of the authority of Scripture and this was his answer to the question "Whose BOAT is this?"
• Second Wave: The sovereignty of God - Mike became convinced of the sovereignty of God and this answered the question "Who is steering the boat?"
• Third Wave: An eschatology of victory - Mike became convinced of the post-millenial position and this answered "Where is this boat going?"
• Fourth Wave: Living lawfully and loving it - Mike became convinced of the doctrinal stance referred to as theonomy and this answered the question "How is this boat ever going to get there?"

Mike than described four enormous personal values of this fourth wave:

1. A new understanding of the continuity of the Old and New Testaments
2. A delight in the law of God
3. Specific personal assistance in giving godly counsel
4. Living lawfully and loving it

This was an excellently delivered presentation that fulfilled both goals of being enjoyable and edifying. The question I am left with is: How do I formulate the continuity and discontinuity of the Old and New Testaments? Some more thinking and studying and praying is in order.

 A big thanks to Pastor Mike and to all the men who are passionate about what they believe and who they believe!

Theology Breakfast

We have begun a little something here in London, Ontario that we like to refer to as Theology Breakfast. Here is an excerpt from an earlier email that was sent out to determine if their was the will and desire for this sort of thing:

We call this idea Theology Breakfast. Simply, we want to set up an opportunity for Christian men with a love of theology to gather together for mutual enjoyment and edification. We want to network and strengthen relationships with brothers from around the city. This will not be a large gathering as we are looking at 12-20 people. Included in this email are both pastors and laymen from 8 different churches in London and the surrounding area. included are men ranging in age from 20s through 70s who belong to at least 5 different denominations.

It turns out there were a bunch of guys interested in this and we have had two get-togethers to fellowship over a shared meal and discuss theological ideas and issues. The first TB had 15 guys attend and the second 13. In TB1 I gave the talk and covered two topics. The first, a rationale for doing what we were doing and the second, a discussion of the book God With Us by K. Scott Oliphint. The presentation was well received and the general consensus was an appreciation for this event and gratitude for each persons participation.

In TB2, which went down yesterday morning, author and blogger extraordinaire Aaron Armstrong gave an excellent talk on the nature of God and contending for our faith. This talk clearly generated some thinking which overflowed into some lively and helpful conversation. As I paused during the morning for reflection, I was encouraged by a sense of gratefulness for these men and for God's giftings in these men and their desire to know Him and make Him known.

I look forward to more time spent around God this morning with a bunch of men. I am excited to be speaking at a men's breakfast at West London Alliance, a church around the corner. I'm enjoying being part of God's work as He raises up godly men to glorify His name.

Theology Breakfast

Began something today I have been thinking about for a few years. Some friends and I have been mulling over the idea of getting together with some like-minded men (like-minded meaning Christians who love theology) from different generations and varied denominations.

This morning those ideas and conversations came to fruition. We had our first Theology Breakfast this morning. There were 13 men in attendance representing every 10 year age bracket from 20 years old to 70 years old. There were 7 different churches represented. It was wonderful.

I'm very grateful for these men and grateful for what God has done and will do among us.