I’m afraid we’ve replaced “Jesus is My Boyfriend” CCM lyrics from the 1980s & 1990s with “Jesus is My Therapist” CCM lyrics in the 2010s & 2020s.
Both eras focus on our feelings more than on who God is and what he has done for us in Christ. Both aim to evoke emotional responses rather than summarize the biblical story or teach sound doctrine.
(One major factor in this is the false dichotomy placed btw “reaching people” & “discipling believers.” Those who profess to be focusing on the former write songs (& preach sermons & organize services) that are oriented toward non-believers or new Christians)
I love the hymn "How Deep the Father's Love For Us." It's biblically rooted, theologically rich, & imminently singable. But I just can't get over the line, "The Father turned his face away." Theologians I respect have made a case for it & I appreciate that. But here's my 2 cents:
The line is based on Jesus' cry from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46), which is a quotation of Ps. 22:1. We can talk about parameters for how to understand this statement (see here: secundumscripturas.com/2018/03/27/par… and here: secundumscripturas.com/2018/04/03/can…),
but there is a more fundamental problem with interpreting this statement as the hymn does - it directly contradicts a verse later in the Psalm. Verse 24 of Psalm 22 says, "he has not hidden his face from him."
There couldn't be a more stark contrast btw the hymn and the psalm.
The Netflix Daredevil series is my all-time favorite MCU product. The character development, the philosophical & theological exploration, the cinematography, the fight choreography. But this new season fell flat IMO, and for the same reasons that other Disney+ products do.
The biggest failure of these @DisneyPlus shows is the same one that plague this new iteration of the daredevil series: all they really care about is tying this product to their other products. There is a whole episode that serves the sole purpose of tying daredevil to Ms. Marvel.
Relatedly, all @MarvelStudios really cares about now are their movies, and the TV shows fall flat because they’re just set ups for the films. This was no less true of this new season of daredevil.
One of the most striking things about my trip to Central Asia in March and September of this year is how many people in highly restrictive Islamic countries begin to explore Christianity because they have a dream about Jesus.
The testimony is nearly uniform - a person deconverts from Islam because they realize how oppressive it is, they become an atheist or agnostic, they have a dream or vision about Jesus, and then they find a Bible and read it 6-7 times before submitting their lives to Christ.
God continues to use dreams and visions today to draw people to himself. It may not happen in the West all that often anymore, but it is certainly happening in one of the most religiously oppressive areas of the world.
Here are some reminders I try to recite when I am tempted to jump into social media controversies (and no, I don’t follow any of these perfectly):
1. Twitter (really, all social media) isn’t real life. The local church is.
2. “Faithfulness” in Scripture is always defined by sound doctrine, right living, & neighbor love.
3. A soft answer turns away wrath.
4. Some people find their identity & purpose in creating conflict; social media is the perfect medium for that. Don’t give in to their agenda.
5. The vocation to which God has called you and me is not fulfilled on social media. You don’t parent, pastor, teach, serve, lead, or otherwise on social media. Those callings are for embodied realities, not this gnostic wasteland.
I don't weigh in on most of what happens at the national level at the SBC, but when the issue at hand is in my "niche" wheelhouse (i.e. retrieving Nicene Trinitarianism for Baptists today), I do feel freedom and compulsion to speak on it.
It doesn't mean I don't care about or have strong opinions about what else is going on.