Theology Central
Theology Central exists as a place of conversation and information for faculty and friends of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Posts include seminary news, information, and opinion pieces about ministry, theology, and scholarship.
God, Creation, and Humanity, Part 1: Beginning a Conversation
When we think wrongly about God, we necessarily begin to think wrongly about other things, too. When we feel wrongly toward God, we inevitably feel wrongly toward other things. When we choose against God, we direct our wills such that making wrong choices about other things becomes unavoidable.
How we think about God determines how we think about ourselves. It determines how we think about creation and our role in it. It determines how we think about sin and its effects. No wonder that A. W. Tozer opened his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, with this sentence: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
The process also works in the other direction. If we think about creation wrongly, we shall begin to think of God wrongly. Wrong thinking about ourselves or about our sin will also lead us into wrong thinking about God. Indeed, one reason that people reject the true and living God is because they entrench themselves in false beliefs about self, sin, and the world—beliefs that they are not willing to surrender. Where our bad thinking starts does not matter. Wrong ideas about any of these areas will corrupt our thinking in all the other areas because these areas are connected.
The devil, God’s greatest enemy, knows about this connection. He wants people to misunderstand who God is. He also wants them to misunderstand themselves, their sin, and the world in which they live. He further knows that if he can lead people astray in any one area, then the other areas are sure to follow. Consequently, he varies his strategy depending upon the situation. Sometimes he directly assaults our concept of God. Sometimes he attacks our vision of the created order. Sometimes he undermines our understanding of human nature. Sometimes he subverts our comprehension of sin and its effects. Wherever he starts, his goal is to sell us a package of lies that corrupts our entire moral vision.
Believe it or not, the devil and his demonic agents plan how they are going to subvert people’s thinking. Ephesians 6:11 warns against the wiles of the devil. The word for wiles is one that means stratagems or schemes. Apparently, the devil and his spiritual operatives sit around thinking of ways in which they can deceive people about God, creation, humanity, and sin. Perhaps the demons even hold committee meetings where those strategies are discussed and refined. Their strategies can be quite sophisticated: James talks about a demonic wisdom that is earthly and sensual, one that results in human bitterness and fighting.
The demons also get help from human agents in transmitting these false teachings. According to the apostle Paul, certain false teachers pay attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Tim 4:1). These teachers sometimes repeat demonic teachings even when they know that they are false. Unbelievably, for reasons of their own, these hypocrites are willing to lie about teachings that they know to be untrue (1 Tim 4:2). Sometimes these false teachers even start out as professing Christians, but they later depart from the faith. Even after they apostatize, they try to leverage their former standing among Christians to convince God’s people that their demonic teachings are true.
The power of these demonic strategies lies in the connectedness of biblical ideas about God, creation, humanity, and sin. The devil’s schemes work because these areas of thinking cannot be sequestered from each other. Instead, they depend upon one another. For example, the false teachers of 1 Timothy 4 attacked biblical teaching about creation by denying its goodness, insisting that people should abstain from foods that God had made. They also tried to undermine a biblical understanding of humanity by attacking the institution of marriage, which (besides being part of the created order) is fundamental to God’s purpose for the human race (1 Tim 4:3). Paul responded by defending the goodness of God’s creation (1 Tim 4:4–5), and no wonder: the goodness of creation is tied directly to the goodness of the Creator who made it.
Paul was responding to a particular demonic stratagem. It was a stratagem that would multiply into many erroneous systems of thought, some explicitly pagan and others professing to be Christian. These demonic teachings would endure for centuries to come. Indeed, some manifestations of this stratagem are still with us today (more about those later). Paul’s point, however, was not simply about one particular form of error. Rather, he was working from a vision in which teachings about God, creation, humans, and sin stand at four corners of a great theological quadrilateral. To bend any corner is to warp the whole quadrilateral and to distort all of the other corners.
What I want to do over the next several essays is to examine each of the corners individually. I will begin by looking at the biblical understanding of God—not exhaustively, but insofar as it affects our thinking about creation and humanity. Then I will explore a doctrine of creation, followed by a biblical vision of humans within creation. I will ask how sin has changed both the created order and human involvement in it. Then I will try to bring all four corners together to articulate a vision for human activity under the Creator God in a sin-damaged creation. Once I have done that, I hope to explore a couple of specific ways in which this vision can be skewed by misunderstandings of God, creation, human nature, and sin.
This essay—the one that you are reading right now—functions as a kind of preface to the whole series. I am not yet sure how long the series may go. It will certainly get interrupted occasionally along the way. But I encourage you to keep track of the argument week by week. I believe that some of the thorniest problems in Western civilization today—and in the Western Church today—arise out of ways in which demonic teachings have warped the quadrilateral. So keep reading.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
From All that Dwell Below the Skies
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
From all that dwell below the skies,
Let the Creator’s praise arise;
Let the Redeemer’s name be sung
Through ev’ry land by ev’ry tongue.
Eternal are thy mercies Lord;
Eternal truth attends thy Word;
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Acton University
The last week of June, I had the opportunity to attend Acton University for a second time. Acton University is not really a university but a week-long conference held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is sponsored by the Acton Institute, and its focus is represented by the tag line, “Connecting good intentions with sound economics.”
The Acton Institute is a conservative think tank. It is not explicitly a religious organization, though it involves mostly religious people of some sort. At any rate, it recognizes that political, social, and economic thinking are closely joined with theological thinking, and it invites theological discussion insofar as theology affects those areas of human flourishing.
One of the first principles of conservatism is the belief that politics and economics cannot be uncoupled from transcendent morality, and that moral behavior ultimately rests upon a moral vision. The thinkers at Acton University do not all share the same religion. Many are Catholic. Some are from various Protestant traditions, from Anglican to Reformed to Wesleyan. Some are Jewish. A few are even Muslim. None is prepared to put aside her or his religion for the sake of the conversation, and none is willing to demand that any other do so. Consequently, conservative social, political, and economic principles are examined from multiple theological perspectives, leading to a more robust understanding of how those principles can be articulated in ways that transcend religious divides.
My week at Acton University was funded through the Kern Family Foundation, established by the founders of Generac Power Systems. My daughter and son also obtained funding through the Kern Foundation (one has a PhD in music and the other a PhD in Medieval philosophy), as did my daughter’s husband (PhD in philosophical theology). Consequently, the week was not only a time of instruction and intellectual challenge, but also a time of strengthening family ties.
The hospitality at Acton University is magnificent. The conference hotel is first class and the meals are delightful. Non-classtimes are structured to promote conversation. One breakfast I found myself at a table with an editor from Reason Magazine. At another breakfast I was joined by a professor from Cedarville University. Other meals were eaten with attendees from a variety of African and Asian nations. I shared table talk with the leaders of several political and religious institutions. Acton University encourages these conversations to strengthen the bonds between people from around the world who hold conservative beliefs.
Tuesday through Thursday, there were two teaching sessions each morning, then two more each afternoon. The two sessions I enjoyed most were both taught by Ryan Anderson, author of When Harry Became Sally—one of the very few books to be outright banned by Amazon because of its opposition to transgender ideology. Anderson is always highly articulate and quite entertaining. His first session was on “The Use and Abuse of Anti-Discrimination Law: On Private Property and the Free Exercise of Religion.” The second was on “Social Justice and Economic Rights,” in which Anderson argued that it is possible to articulate a meaningful vision of social justice that does not capitulate to Leftist or Identity Politics. Stephen Barrows had a good session on “Population and Migration in the Modern World” in which he argued that one of the world’s chief dangers at this moment is depopulation and that migration can be part of the solution to that problem. Economist David Bahnsen (son of the late theologian Greg Bahnsen) presented an interesting study on “Debt, Crowding Out, and Economic Growth.” Jordan Ballor had a very good presentation on “An Introduction to Abraham Kuyper’s Public Theology.” This last was of special interest because, while Ballor clearly identified as Kuyperian, he tended to distance himself from the Christian Reconstructionists.
Speaking of Abraham Kuyper, the Acton Institute has commissioned an English translation of his twelve-volume “Collected Works in Public Theology.” The translation is being done in connection with Lexham Press. I do not know whether the entire series has been completed, but at least several volumes are available. I see this as a valuable reference for both Christians and conservatives.
The week was not without its difficulties. All three of my immediate family members got sick during the week. My son and daughter seemed to recover apace. In my case, I ended up with an infection that (after I returned home) required both a trip to the dentist for a root canal and a trip to urgent care for narcotics. By the way, I am genuinely grateful that God has put opioids in His creation, and that He has given humans the ability to refine them. Used in the proper way, they are far preferable to blinding pain. I ended up taking two of my dozen or so tablets; they did the trick in a way that over-the-counter pain relievers could not.
I’ve attended Acton University for two years now. Both years have been excellent experiences. Both have helped me to learn how to articulate a range of moral and social issues. I am grateful to the Kern Foundation for its funding. You do not need to go to Acton University, however, to take advantage of its expertise. Use a good search engine (I recommend DuckDuckGo, which will not track you or sell your data) to find the Acton Institute, and then explore its resources. It has a trove of materials that will be useful to pastors who are trying to engage moral issues.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
The Ten Commandments
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
1. Thou shalt have no more Gods but me.
2. Before no idol bow thy knee.
3. Take not the Name of God in vain:
4. Nor dare the Sabbath–day profane.
5. Give both thy parents honour due.
6. Take heed that thou no murder do.
7. Abstain from words and deeds unclean:
8. Nor steal, though thou art poor and mean.
9. Nor make a wilful lie, nor love it.
10. What is thy neighbor’s dare not covet.
Thinking About Immigration
The immigration policies and procedures of the United States are a mess. Anyone who has had to deal with the department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement knows that this agency is unpredictable to the point of seeming arbitrary. It sometimes feels like a Third World agency, except that bribery cannot solve the problems. Legal visitors and immigrants face inexplicable obstacles, while we simultaneously face an illegal immigrant population of somewhere north of ten million people.
When Democrats are in office, Republicans like to blame them for the “immigration crisis.” The fact is, however, that Republicans have done no better than Democrats at solving this problem. I suspect that it cannot be solved without an overall reconstruction of ICE, its policies, and its procedures.
The problem is exacerbated, however, by those on the Left who appear to favor completely open borders. Armed with silly slogans like, “No human is illegal,” these folk appear to want the USA simply to capitulate to anyone who cares to cross the border. Such a philosophy, however, would prove highly destructive.
The USA has an interest in keeping terrorists and criminals on the other side of the border. There have been constant rumors of some countries emptying their jails and sending their convicts onto American soil. Certainly we have seen horrifying instances of illegal immigrants committing horrifying crimes.
This is not to say that all immigrants are criminals—far from it! Nevertheless, by definition, those who enter the USA in violation of immigration laws are guilty of a misdemeanor under the criminal code. Those who simply outstay their visas or remain for other reasons are also in violation of the law, but the penalties are civil rather than criminal in nature.
Too Left Evangelicals assume that the Old Testament required Israel to welcome all immigrants and to treat them on an equal basis. This is not true. The law and prophets recognize a distinction between a ger (a resident alien who obtains permission to live in the land) and a nekhar or zar, who are foreigners who simply show up, not really intending to put down roots. These categories are treated differently, with different privileges and protections. All are required to submit to Israel’s law while in the land. But Israel did not welcome the Philistines when they showed up as unwelcome invaders, nor did Israel welcome invasion from other groups. It is not unreasonable to suggest that an illegal immigrant is really an invader.
There is no easy solution to the problem of burgeoning and often illegal immigration, but several changes might help to redefine this problem. First, we should recognize that immigration is not the problem. Indeed, as the USA approaches a demographic cliff, immigration is part of the solution to other problems. We ought to welcome immigrants who are qualified to contribute to our society, and we should also be committed to helping others reach a point at which they can contribute. Let me say it again: immigration in itself is not a problem—it is a solution. Republicans in particular ought to push for ways to expand the number of qualified, legal immigrants who enter the country.
Second, to open the door to these legal immigrants, we need to revise the culture and procedures of ICE. There need to be more officials who hear immigration cases, and they should be trained in a welcoming perspective. Granted, background checks still need to be done—but these are being done already. Yet in some cases it takes years before an immigrant (whether legal or illegal) can actually get a hearing, and the amount of red tape to enter the country legally is truly appalling.
Third, we need structures to help integrate immigrants into American civilization. Citizenship should be a goal for all immigrants, and one of the duties of immigrants should be to complete courses in American civics (and I don’t mean the kind of courses that Critical Theorists would like to offer). There may be room for voluntary organizations to take over some of this task. We need to look actively for ways to prevent immigrants from simply reproducing the cultures of their home countries within the USA. It’s fine if they want to keep their language and customs, but they must at least be willing to contribute to the larger orbit of the civilization around them.
Fourth, while holding the door wide open for legal immigration, we need to slam it shut on the illegal variety. The Border Patrol should be enhanced, and state and local law enforcement should be empowered to enforce immigration laws. I can understand why an immigrant would become frustrated with the present situation, and why that person might try to circumvent an arbitrary and unwieldy process. If we streamline the process, however, we may rightly insist that only legal immigrants will be allowed to stay, unto the third and fourth generations.
I recognize that the foregoing is not a developed, careful policy recommendation. It is not meant to be. It is intended as a series of generalized ideas to try to move us past the present crisis. Both parties—all American citizens—have an interest in solving the problem of immigration. If you don’t think that these proposals will work, feel free to suggest your own. But we have reached the point at which we need to do more than simply complain about the problem.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Stand Up and Bless the Lord
James Montgomery (1771–1854)
Stand up and bless the Lord,
ye people of His choice;
stand up and bless the Lord your God
with heart and soul and voice.
Though high above all praise,
above all blessing high,
who would not fear His holy name
and laud and magnify?
O for the living flame
from His own altar brought,
to touch our lips, our minds inspire,
and wing to heav’n our thought!
There, with benign regard,
our hymns He deigns to hear;
tho’ unrevealed to mortal sense,
the spirit feels Him near.
God is our strength and song,
and His salvation ours;
then be His love in Christ proclaimed
with all our ransomed pow’rs.
Stand up and bless the Lord;
the Lord your God adore;
stand up and bless His glorious name
henceforth and evermore.
Nupson Completes 25 Years of Military Ministry
From Ch (Lt Col) Scott Nupson, USAF 70th ISR Wing, Fort Meade, MD, in the AGC Newsletter:
“As Ellen and I conclude 25 years of Military ministry, my heart overflows with gratitude for our Lord’s overwhelming goodness and grace. Ellen has been my steadfast partner since day one, passionately joining me in serving our Military members and their families. Our children have walked alongside us in Military ministry, maturing in their faith, and pursuing God’s calling as adults. Words fail to adequately express my gratitude for the privilege of serving as a USAF Chaplain. The blessings we’ve experienced have far exceeded any expectations I held. Every day, God has sent individuals into my path, affording me the privilege to minister to them and share the enduring hope of the Gospel. I pray for all our AGC Chaplains, along with their spouses and children, trusting in God’s power to work through them to impact the lives of those they serve for Christ’s sake.”
Ch (Lt Col) Scott Nupson completed his Master of Divinity at Central in 1996 and was a fully qualified candidate for the Air Force Chaplain School. Scott is endorsed as a chaplain by the Associated Gospel Churches. Scott has a number of Central Seminary family connections with his nephew, Tyler Nupson, currently pursuing a Master of Divinity student at Central, and father-in-law, Dr. Gordon Hanson, brother-in-law, Larry Johnson (Pastor at Grace Baptist, Mankato), and nephews Nathan and Jason Johnson all graduates of Central.
PRESS RELEASE:
After 25 years of faithful service to the Lord through the Air Force Chaplain Corps in the United States Air Force; Chaplain, Lt Col Scott Nupson begins a new chapter of his life in retirement where he plans to spend more time with his family and volunteer at his church. His retirement bio is as follows:
“Chaplain Scott P. Nupson boasts a commendable 25-year tenure as a military chaplain, having been commissioned into service in 1999. He is an ordained Baptist minister endorsed by the Associated Gospel Churches Chaplaincy and has worked full-time in ministry for 31 years.
His career journey began in Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota where he served from 1999 to 2002, followed by a stint at Kadena Air Base, Japan, from 2002 to 2005, with a deployment to the Philippines during this assignment.
Subsequently, he returned stateside to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, serving from 2005 to 2009, including a deployment to Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras. From 2009 to 2014, he assumed the role of Deputy Wing Chaplain at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, deploying to the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. His journey continued with an assignment at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from 2014 to 2015, followed by serving as the Wing Chaplain at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, from 2015 to 2018. Transitioning to the Defense Intelligence Agency at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., he served from 2018 to 2020, followed by a brief tour in Korea from 2020 to 2021 as the Wing Chaplain at Kunsan Air Base,. Currently, Chaplain Nupson serves as the Wing Chaplain for the 70th ISR Wing at Fort George G. Meade, in Maryland.
Chaplain Nupson’s exemplary service has been recognized with personal decorations including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and various other unit and campaign awards.
Since 1987 Chaplain Nupson has been happily married to the former Ellen Hanson, and together they are blessed with four children: Kyle, Kelly, Kristen, and Kari. Additionally, they have an amazing daughter-in-law, Jozi, and two precious grandchildren: Pippa and Kit”
– Photo & Article: 70th ISRW Chapel on Facebook, May 13, 2024
A Family Journey of Faith and Service
Reflecting on his career, Nupson takes great joy knowing he has helped his fellow Airmen and strengthened them through faith and counseling.
“Being a chaplain is a neat opportunity and a great experience because faith and religion are where people get their spiritual resiliency,” said Nupson. “When that is suffering, and people haven’t exercised their spiritual health, that’s when their struggles and difficulties won’t soften”
I’m grateful that I can help people with their struggles, and provide the service with strong Airmen and families,” said Nupson.
By Eric Sharman, Air University Public Affairs / Published March 05, 2018, Maxwell Air Force Base
On Knowing One’s Limitations
Nobody is omnicompetent. Nobody. At some point, everybody has to rely on somebody else for information, advice, and perspective. The trick is in knowing whom to rely upon.
Most people gain considerable expertise in some one area. I had a friend who was an outstanding delivery driver. He was so good that he eventually was given the job of training other delivery drivers. My brother is a broadcast engineer, and one of my sisters is an emergency physician. Both of them know things that I don’t and probably never will (there won’t be much need for emergency medicine during the Millennium). While I can tinker with cars and make basic repairs, I take my vehicle to a trained auto mechanic. My father-in-law was a farmer, and his experience gave him detailed knowledge of soils, weather, tilling, crop rotation, markets, and polled Hereford cattle. I myself would not be able to earn a living doing any of the above.
My doctor’s degrees do not qualify me to offer advice in matters medical or legal. One doctorate is in systematic and historical theology—I do know a bit about that. The learning that I acquired while earning that doctorate also gives me significant competence in related biblical disciplines, plus a kind of trailing expertise in cognate disciplines such as philosophy and intellectual history. I can also bring the tools of my discipline to bear upon other humanities such as languages, literature, various historical studies, and the liberal arts. My training also provides some tools for criticism in the fine arts, particularly where they overlap with esthetics, as well as a platform for interacting with the social sciences (which are more like humanities than sciences). Other than helping to order the mind, however, my preparation in theology gives me little insight into what have been called the “servile arts” (business, finance, accounting, and related fields), and none at all into the formal, natural, and applied sciences.
You have heard that it has been said that everybody has a right to an opinion. That is not true. The only opinions to which people have a right are informed opinions. An opinion that is not backed by informed perspective is sheer presumption and bigotry. That is why I cannot offer legal and medical advice beyond, “See a doctor,” and, “Talk to a lawyer.” Indeed, if I were to hang out a shingle advertising myself as available for legal and medical advice, I would expect a visit from the authorities rather quickly.
The truth is that what I know is only a drop in the ocean of all that can be known. That’s how it is with all of us. We are forced to rely upon other people who know things that we don’t. We trust people in their areas of expertise. We have to.
Some people want that trust without having earned it. The most egregious offenders are actors and athletes. Actors make their livings by pretending to be what they aren’t. The fact that they can pretend well gives them no qualification whatever to offer observations about any serious matter—unless you consider pretending to be a serious matter. The same is true of athletes. When it comes to the weightier matters of life—the permanent things—why should anyone credit the opinion of a person whose sole contribution to the world is the ability (borrowing Garo Yepremian’s phrase) to “kick a touchdown”?
Other people try to erect alternative frameworks of trust. For example, a person who can’t make it through medical school can still advertise and practice some form of “alternative healing.” Commonly, such a person will claim to possess esoteric knowledge that has been neglected by traditional medicine, while at the same time attempting to call into question the credibility of the medical profession itself. This person’s claims will not typically be backed with rigorous research or double-blind studies, but with ephemeral correlations, anecdotal evidence, and personal testimony. The same sort of mentality in the religious sphere results in cultic thinking. In the political sphere it bolsters conspiracy theories.
Sometimes a figure who has gained credentials that merit trust might abuse that trust. For various reasons, experts might place their reputations at the disposal of political and social forces that promote policies they ought to know are mistaken. Increasingly, it is becoming apparent that key individuals did exactly that in the face of the COVID pandemic. They knowingly withheld vital information and even lied to us while claiming to be following the science. One expert even claimed to be the science. The result is that many people will distrust governmental pronouncements about diseases for a long time to come.
Yet we must trust someone, even if we do it critically. And we ought to know whom to distrust: journalists, shills, demagogues, conspiracists, sensationalists, blogs of all sorts, social media sites, and anonymous sources (including those that start with Q). We must trust, but we ought to try not to be gullible.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Lord, When Thou Didst Ascend on High
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Lord, when thou didst ascend on high,
Ten thousand angels filled the sky;
Those heavenly guards around thee wait,
Like chariots that attend thy state.
Not Sinai’s mountain could appear
More glorious when the Lord was there,
While he pronounced his holy law,
And struck the chosen tribes with awe.
How bright the triumph none can tell,
When the rebellious powers of hell,
That thousand souls had captive made,
Were all in chains like captives led.
Raised by his Father to the throne,
He sent his promised Spirit down,
With gifts and grace for rebel men,
That God might dwell on earth again.
Central Travels
Central Travels Update for June
Throughout the year, you may see us at a conference or seminar in your area. This offers a chance to connect with prospective students and our alumni. We’d love to have you stop by. Bring a friend by our booth to learn more about Central Seminary or grab a pen and remember us in prayer.
Some upcoming travels:
For the final week of June we will be at a number of conferences around the country. Catch us at the:
165th Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Baptist Association
Monday-Tuesday, June 24-25 in Plymouth, MN
-and-
IFCA INTERNATIONAL 2024 ANNUAL CONVENTION
Monday-Friday, June 24-28 in Springdale, AR
-and-
2024 REGULAR BAPTIST MINISTRIES CONFERENCE
Monday-Thursday, June 24-27 in Elgin, IL
TOGETHER “The Incredible Value of Biblical Fellowship”
If you’re in the area of one of these events, drop us a note at info@centralseminary.edu.
Do you know of a prospective student? Someone who desires theological education, ministry, or working in their church? Visit this page to refer a student and we’ll contact them.
Thanks for sharing the word about Central Seminary!
The Foundations Baptist Fellowship International 2024
This week I had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting of the Foundations Baptist Fellowship International. The meeting was hosted by the Tri City Baptist Church in Westminster, Colorado, pastored by Will Senn. The meeting began with scheduled training for chaplains on Monday, followed by a general preaching session on Monday night, then other sessions through Wednesday night.
The chaplains’ training was important, since the FBFI is an endorser for chaplains serving under the Department of Defense. In addition to endorsing individuals for military chaplaincy, the FBFI also provides structure and training for people who minister in community chaplaincy (such as police, fire, and hospital chaplains). Since separatist Baptists have few recognized endorsers for chaplains, this is an important function of the FBFI.
The opening session of the conference on Monday night featured Bruce McAllister preaching. McAllister is now the executive vice president at Bob Jones University. His presence at the meeting sends a message from both the FBFI and BJU of their determination to continue a cordial and cooperative relationship. That message was reinforced by the presence of Joshua Crockett, the new president at BJU.
Bob Jones University is not the only institution of higher learning that cooperates or identifies with the FBFI. Central Baptist Theological Seminary regularly has a representative at this meeting. Several other schools were also represented, either on the platform or by exhibits. These included Appalachian Bible College, Baptist College of Ministry, Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary, International Baptist College and Seminary, and Maranatha Baptist University. Each of the colleges had a musical ensemble at the conference, and on the last night these ensembles combined to form a fair-sized choir.
Several mission agencies also had representatives present at the meeting. These included the Northwest Baptist Mission, Bibles International, Baptist World Mission, Baptist Evangelistic Missionary Endeavors, Baptist Home Missions, International Partnership Ministries, and Baptist Mid Missions, which was represented by its president, Patrick Odle. While Mid Missions is often viewed as a GARBC institution, an increasing proportion of its missionary recruits are coming from other circles, including churches whose pastors fellowship with the FBFI. In their core commitments (Baptist polity, dispensationalism, separatism, and cessationism, to name a few), the FBFI and BMM are virtually indistinguishable.
The FBFI did not ignore the fact that Denver has become a very Hispanic city. Multiple Spanish-speaking churches cooperated as partners in hosting the event. Those churches provided a dinner on the opening night. All songs that night were sung simultaneously in Spanish and English, and McAllister’s sermon was translated from the pulpit as he preached. This struck me as a genuine effort to live up to the “International” part of the FBFI’s name. Perhaps next time a Spanish preacher will be interpreted for the English speakers.
An intriguing aspect of the conference was that most of the preachers were second-generation FBFI members in their twenties or thirties who were introduced to the audience by their fathers. Each preached on an assigned theme related to the specific mountains mentioned in the four gospels. Even though the preaching was thematic, most of these men chose to develop their assigned texts in an expository and even exegetical way. If these young men are any indication, then there is reason for optimism about the future of preaching within Baptist separatism.
In addition to the preaching sessions, the conference featured several other events. One was a chaplains’ session that included the recognition of a key military chaplain and a key community chaplain. Extended afternoon prayer meetings were held separately for women and men. The host church sponsored a chuck-wagon dinner before the Wednesday evening service, complete with Western music and a yodeler. It offered dessert fellowships after the evening services. The day after the conference ended, attendees were given the opportunity to participate in a mountain hike above tree line. Nobody had any excuse for being bored during the week.
The FBFI occasionally presents a “Torchbearer Award” to individuals who have evidenced integrity and who have substantially advanced the Lord’s work over a process of decades. Such recognitions are, I think, appropriate. They are part of rendering honor to whom honor is due. They are part of remembering those who have ministered among us. They neither presume upon nor replace our ultimate judgement at the Bema, but they do allow us to express our gratitude and respect for one another.
This year a Torchbearer Award was presented to Pastor Mike Harding of First Baptist Church in Troy, Michigan. Partly this award honors Pastor Harding for decades of ministry in Troy, but it also has greater significance. Pastor Harding serves on the boards of both the FBFI and Bob Jones University. This conjunction has placed him in an uncomfortable position over the past couple of years, and it has occasionally placed him in someone’s crosshairs. The Torchbearer Award recognizes that, throughout a difficult situation, Pastor Harding has acted at all times with grace, dignity, balance, and charity.
The Foundations Baptist Fellowship International of today still holds the biblical principles that it has held from its founding. It has, however, changed through the years. During the 1920s and 1930s it was a fellowship that worked within a modernistically-dominated convention. During the 1940s and 1950s it led in organizing an entire Conservative Baptist Movement separately from the convention. From the 1960s through the 1980s it could sometimes lack a biblical sense of balance. From the 1990s onward it has positioned itself to become the leading individual fellowship within Baptist separatism. Under its current leadership the FBFI is growing in understanding and in grace, and I am personally grateful for it.
A kindred organization of the FBFI is the New Testament Association of Independent Baptist Churches. While the FBFI is an individual fellowship, the NTAIBC is a fellowship of churches. Several years ago the two organizations met jointly for the first time. Next June 9–11, 2025, the NTAIBC and the FBFI will again meet together at Calvary Baptist Church in Watertown, Wisconsin. That should be a conference worth attending.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Behold, How Good a Thing
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Behold, how good a thing
It is to dwell in peace;
How pleasing to our King
This fruit of righteousness;
When brethren in the faith agree—
How joyful is such unity!
Where unity is found,
The sweet anointing grace
Extends to all around,
And consecrates the place;
To every waiting soul it comes,
And fills it with divine perfumes.
Grace, every morning new,
And every night we feel
The soft, refreshing dew
That falls on Hermon’s hill!
On Zion it doth sweetly fall:
The grace of one descends on all.
E’en now our Lord doth pour
The blessing from above,
A kindly, gracious shower
Of heart-reviving love,
The former and the latter rain,
The love of God and love of man.
In Him when brethren join,
And follow after peace,
The fellowship divine
He promises to bless:
His choicest graces to bestow,
Where two or three are met below.
The riches of His grace
In fellowship are given
To Zion’s chosen race,
The citizens of heaven;
He fills them with His choicest store,
He gives them life for evermore.
Those Pesky Premillennialists
[This essay was originally published on July 31, 2009.]
Disagreeing with someone’s perspective is one thing, but dismissing it is something else. People can disagree respectfully. Respectful disagreement involves listening carefully to other individuals in conversations, understanding their positions, and considering carefully the arguments that favor them (or that weigh against one’s own position) before replying. When a perspective is dismissed, however, it is rejected as so implausible—and perhaps so damaging— that it does not warrant a hearing. Dismissiveness is often accompanied with derision.
In certain theological circles, premillennialism, especially in its dispensationalist varieties, is almost habitually dismissed and derided. A recent example involves a sermon preached by a well‐known evangelical pastor. The sermon, which was partly addressed to premillennial pastors, was mainly an exposition of Revelation 20. To be clear, the sermon contained much useful teaching. This influential pastor, however, began his treatment of the text by repeating a quip that Revelation is not “for the armchair prophets with their charts of historical events and their intricate diagrams of the end of the age.” He then continued, “This is not rightly dividing the Word of Truth,” a clear allusion to dispensational theology. He insisted that the purpose of the book of Revelation is to provide “warning and reassurance” to “harassed, subsistence‐level Christians,” to “encourage them in their struggle,” and to “liberate them from fear of the enemy within and without.” In other words, the purpose of Revelation is to hearten persecuted believers, not to disclose details of an eschatological timetable.
Those two activities, however, are not mutually exclusive. Granted, the purpose of the Apocalypse really is to encourage perseverance among believers who are facing oppression. Even so, that does not imply that eschatological chronology or detail is necessarily absent from the book. Indeed, it is at least possible that the details of eschatological chronology might be revealed in order to provide motivation for perseverance.
At this point, a concession is in order. Even if eschatological detail and chronology are important, not every use of these details is necessarily helpful. In fact, two uses of prophetic schematizing are damaging. These uses ought to be an embarrassment to every responsible premillennialist.
One bad use of biblical prophecy is to satisfy mere curiosity about the future. Some people experience a kind of nosiness about things to come. To satisfy this desire, unscrupulous individuals have created an entire occult industry that purports to peer into the future. Some people read biblical prophecy for much the same reason that others read Nostradamus or consult their daily horoscopes. This practice surely misses the point.
A second bad use of prophecy is to turn it into a source of entertainment. Some dispensationalists have invented a literary genre that could be called “prophetic fiction.” In their novels and movies, they surround biblical prophecies with action‐packed story‐telling and extra‐biblical speculation. Treated this way, prophecy becomes fantasy. Some people read Left Behind for much the same reason that others read Harry Potter. Turning prophecy into amusement almost invariably debases it.
Such uses of prophecy are harmful, but they do not count against the suggestion that biblical prophecy reveals eschatological chronology or detail. Whether or not Scripture includes those details can only be determined by examining the Scriptures themselves. If the text actually communicates eschatological chronology and details, then chronology and details must be important and ought to be studied.
Not surprisingly, the dispute over eschatological detail soon turns into a dispute over the proper way of reading prophetic passages. Those who deride eschatological detail often assume that prophetic texts should be read in a non‐literal way. Contrapositively, those who read the texts in a literal way usually affirm the importance of eschatological detail.
The word literal, however, lends itself to misunderstanding. Premillennialists (especially dispensationalists) have sometimes contributed to this misunderstanding by failing to clarify what they mean by their use of the term. Too often, “literal” seems to be opposed to “literary,” disallowing any figurative or symbolic uses of language.
Responsible premillennialists know better. They are fully prepared to grant the multiple levels at which ordinary language communicates. What they are not prepared to concede is that biblical prophecies ought to be read in a way that wholly exempts them from the ordinary use of language. Premillennialists are not prepared to concede that figurative or symbolic uses of language authorize the wholesale spiritualization of prophecy.
Premillennialists—particularly dispensationalists—note that biblical prophecy may be divided into two broad classes. Some prophecies have been wholly and indisputably fulfilled. The fulfillment of other prophecies remains wholly or partly in the future.
The prophecies that have already been fulfilled provide a convenient way of understanding how prophetic language works. By noting how these prophecies were fulfilled, interpreters can develop a hermeneutic for interpreting prophecy. The same hermeneutic may then be applied to unfulfilled prophesy.
If interpreters do engage in that exercise, then what conclusions will they draw? The answer is that they are very likely to become premillennialists. Indeed, this kind of reading is what premillennialists mean by “literal” interpretation. Incidentally, the habit of reading prophetic Scriptures in this way is one of the marks of dispensationalism.
Prophetic chronology and eschatological detail are not antithetical to spiritual encouragement. Interpreters will be able to determine whether prophetic passages include detailed chronology only by studying those passages. As they explore the prophetic, unfulfilled prophecies ought to be understood in the same way in which fulfilled prophecies have received their fulfillment. If prophetic passages, when interpreted in this way, actually do include eschatological details and chronological markers, then those things are part of the whole counsel of God. Whatever is in the Word of God is worthy of being studied, believed, and taught.
So what about charts? Would non‐dispensationalists really be happier if dispensationalists simply refused to use charts? It seems unlikely.
All sorts of people, including theologians, use charts, diagrams, and graphic representations to help them visualize all sorts of things. Biblical geography can be represented cartographically. Greek and Hebrew professors expect their classes to do sentence diagrams. The history of Israel is often taught using charts and diagrams. The relationships of biblical characters can be charted in a family tree. Charts can be very useful in distinguishing doctrines such as redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation.
Many non‐dispensationalist teachers use charts for a variety of purposes. Charts can be used to help people conceptualize geographical, grammatical, historical, genealogical, and soteriological relationships. Why should they not be used to help people conceptualize eschatological ones?
Premillennialists use charts. So what? They see detail and chronology in eschatological passages. So what? They think that eschatological details matter when those details are taught by the Word of God. So what?
None of these considerations constitutes a real objection to premillennialism or even dispensationalism. None of them constitutes a legitimate, prima facie warrant for dismissing premillennial eschatology. A more appropriate response would be to treat premillennialism as a responsible alternative within the theological matrix, even if one must disagree with it.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Behold, the Mountain of the Lord
John Logan (1748–1788); Michael Bruce (1746–1767)
Behold, the mountain of the Lord
In latter days shall rise
Above the mountains and the hills,
And draw the wond’ring eyes.
To this, the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues, shall flow:
“Up to the hill of God,” they say,
“And to his house, we’ll go.”
The beam that shines on Zion’s hill
Shall lighten ev’ry land:
The King who reigns in Zion’s towers
Shall all the world command.
No strife shall vex Messiah’s reign,
Or man the peaceful years;
To ploughshares men shall beat their swords,
To pruning-hooks their spears.
Come then, oh, come from ev’ry land,
To worship at His shrine;
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauty shine.
Dominion
It was never meant to be easy, this business of exercising dominion. When God blessed the first humans, he gave them the power to fill the earth and to subdue it. Yes, subdue it, like the sons of Manasseh were to subdue the land across the Jordan (Num 32:22), like the children of Israel subdued the promised land (Josh 18:1), like Ahasuerus thought that Haman had tried to subdue Esther (Esth 7:8). To subdue a thing (kavash) is to tread it down, to dominate it, and to bring it into subjection (BDB, sv).
When God created the heavens and the earth, they were formless and empty (Gen 1:1–2). There was order, but it was a relatively lower level of order. Throughout creation week, God brought His world into higher and higher levels of order, and that was good. Nevertheless, the full ordering of the world was not complete at the end of Day Six. God did not finish ordering the world Himself. Instead, He committed that task to the godlike creatures whom He had made for the purpose—human beings.
Humans were made to rule the world. They were made to take dominion. To exercise that dominion, they would have to wrestle the created world into higher levels of order. They would have to subdue it. We were made to rule. We were made to dominate and subdue, and our world was made to be dominated.
Tragically, the work of exercising dominion was subverted by sin. The presence of sin in the world has at least two effects. First, sin has corrupted both our thinking and feeling. We now perceive it as good and right to dominate the created order—including other people—in predatory ways. Second, the order of creation itself has been distorted. God chose not to leave fallen humans in an untouched environment. Now the ground brings forth thorns and thistles. Scarcity has become part of life, which means that acquiring daily food has become a labor. Animals kill each other, and they kill humans, too. We experience fires, floods, earthquakes, storms, and other natural disasters. More than ever, we need to bring order to the world, but the degree of required effort has increased exponentially.
We can make two great mistakes in our present situation. The first mistake is the preservationist mistake: the belief that the best approach to the created order is to leave it alone. On this view, people treat the created world best when they affect it the least. The summum bonum would be to let the world function with minimal human interference. Indeed, some versions of this theory see humanity as a disease upon the planet, and a few of them are only too ready to see the human race eradicated.
The preservationist view tends to ally itself with religions that deify nature. Various forms of animism, shamanism, and pantheism feed this theory, and its adherents are quite prepared to impose their religion upon the rest of us. This view is also reinforced by an evolutionary theory that believes the earth evolved into higher levels of order without human interference.
The problem with preservationism is that God’s original blessing and purpose have never been revoked. Left to itself, the earth will never function optimally. It was made to be governed and shaped by humans, and without human domination it will always display a chaotic element—the more so since sin entered the world.
Part of human dominion involves challenging the results of the Fall. It is good and right to subdue illness-causing viruses and bacteria. It is right to control flooding, till the soil, and otherwise harness natural resources. Sometimes it is even right for humans to displace parts of the created order, including other created beings. Not long ago a creature existed that caused smallpox; when we drove that creature into extinction, we did a good thing.
Preservationism is a serious error, and one that will work against human flourishing. But the opposite error is just as serious. It is predation, and it occurs when humans exploit the created world without any intention of increasing its good and its order. Sometimes predation is purely destructive. Sometimes it arises from ignorance. Sometimes it comes from negligence in cleaning up our messes.
Within living memory both bald eagles and wild turkeys hovered on the brink of extinction. During the 1960s Lake Erie was widely regarded as a dead lake. In 1969 the Cuyahoga River caught fire. These were emblems of a civilization whose industrial capacity had outstripped its willingness to clean up after itself.
Preservationism and predation both share the same core problem. They fail to recognize the vital role that human domination plays in developing the created order. God never made a world that could function without human supervision, without humans acting within creation to bring it to higher levels of completeness and order.
As a human, you were made to exercise dominion. You were made to subdue the earth. You should start now, with whatever part of the earth you control. If all you control is your own body, then learn to bathe and brush your teeth. If you control a bedroom, then make your bed and pick up your clothes. Take dominion over your schedule and get up on time in the morning. Subdue your workspace and clean up your own messes. Exercise dominion over your relationships so that you show both justice and charity to parents, siblings, children, neighbors, and strangers. Subdue your work habits so that you give your employer an honest day’s work for a day’s pay. Exercise dominion over your finances and spending choices so that you not only live within your means, but so that you are able to about toward those who experience need. In all departments of life, avoid both the laissez-faire of preservationism and the inclination toward predation that comes from just wanting to be served. You can offer no workable solutions for the big problems of scarcity, oppression, inequity, and injustice in the world if you cannot first address these smaller problems within your own personal world.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
At the Name of Jesus
Caroline M. Noel (1817–1877)
At the name of Jesus ev’ry knee shall bow,
ev’ry tongue confess him King of Glory now.
‘Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord,
who from the beginning was the mighty Word.
At his voice creation sprang at once to sight,
all the angel faces, all the hosts of light,
thrones and dominations, stars upon their way,
all the heav’nly orders in their great array.
Humbled for a season to receive a name
from the lips of sinners unto whom he came,
faithfully he bore it spotless to the last,
brought it back victorious, when from death he passed.
In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue
all that is not holy, all that is not true:
crown him as your Captain in temptation’s hour:
let his will enfold you in its light and pow’r.
Brothers, this Lord Jesus shall return again,
with his Father’s glory, with his angel train;
for all wreaths of empire meet upon his brow,
and our hearts confess him King of glory now.
That Dog Won’t Hunt
Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, recently stirred up controversy when she admitted in print to shooting an unmanageable dog. The story is in her new book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward (Center Street). It is one of multiple stories that involve Noem killing farm animals.
Predictably, the story provoked hysteria from liberal pundits. What Noem probably could not have guessed, however, was how harshly leading conservative figures would judge her. Writers at National Review have singled her out for repeated excoriation. The incident puts a serious cloud over her aspirations to become Donald Trump’s pick for Vice President.
Not that I think she would make a good selection. Noem is the Republican governor who vetoed a bill that would have kept biological males from participating in women’s sports. People who believe in protecting actual women and girls find this veto incredible, and that is an issue of substance.
What is not a substantial issue is Governor Noem shooting the dog. The canine in question was a 14-month-old wirehair that had been raised for hunting. According to Noem, the dog not only wouldn’t point game, but actually disrupted the hunt. Furthermore, it attacked and killed a neighbor’s chickens. When Noem attempted to restrain the dog, it turned on her and tried to bite her. Subsequently, Noem took the dog to a gravel pit and killed it.
Several observations should be offered here. First, many of Noem’s critics are castigating her for shooting a “puppy.” In certain respects, a 14-month-old dog is still juvenile, but it has substantially reached its adult strength and stature. To call this dog a puppy is the equivalent of calling an armed 17-year-old gangster a child. The emotional content of the word does not match the reality of the case.
Indeed, this case is about emotion versus reality, and misplaced emotion at that. People are not wrong to love dogs and other animals. Quite the contrary, there is a proper degree and kind of love for everything that God has made, as there is for God Himself. The problem arises when people begin to love things to an improper degree—either more or less than God loves them—or with a wrong love. The result of a wrong love is either brutality, which occurs when we love a thing too little or too coarsely, or sentimentalism, which occurs when we love a thing too much or too sweetly.
An example of brutality occurs in individuals who abuse animals and do not care about their pain. An example of sentimentality occurs in individuals who anthropomorphize animals, treating them as if they had human value. A century or so ago, brutality to animals may have been the more common problem. Now sentimentality clearly is.
Typically, sentimentality in one area leads to a corresponding brutality in another. For example, a civilization (if it can be called that) might grow indignant at the swift and painless killing of beasts but defend as unalienably right the butchery of partially-born infants. Predictably, when animals are elevated to near-human status, certain human beings will be demoted to the bestial.
I suggest that the reaction against the killing of Kristi Noem’s dog is sentimentalism run amok. Furthermore, I suspect that the hue and cry against Noem has been raised by people who have little experience of rural life. In farm country, animals are not usually pets. They are property. Often, they are tools. Dogs in particular are tools, used for hunting, herding, and guarding.
Treating animals as tools is unquestionably moral. God Himself killed animals to acquire their skins. He gave animals to humans as food after the Flood. He required the blood of animals in sacrifice. Jesus recognized the right of humans to own and control animals when he prepared to ride the donkey’s colt into Jerusalem—which was itself a use of an animal as a tool.
Kristi Noem’s dog proved to be a severely defective tool. It would not perform the task for which it was intended. Furthermore, it became destructive, not only to Noem but to others as well. When a dog in farm country starts to kill stock, there can be only one outcome. The dog is never going to stop on its own. If that dog turns vicious with its master, then it becomes a threat to be eliminated.
The task of humans is not to preserve the natural order but to improve it. To do that, they need tools. Sometimes they make tools out of inanimate materials. Other times they use animals as tools. In either case, the tool must perform or it will be scrapped.
What Kristi Noem did is an aspect of human dominion within the natural world. She eliminated a threat to her neighbor’s property and to her own personal safety. Might she have found an alternative way to deal with the problem? That is only an important question for those who have already anthropomorphized animals. Every imaginable alternative would have been more costly and time-consuming. The alternative that she pursued was cheap, painless, quick, and effective. To argue otherwise is to commit oneself to an untoward sentimentalism.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Lord, What Was Man
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Lord, what was man when made at first,
Adam the offspring of the dust,
That thou should’st set him and his race
But just below an angel’s place?
That thou should’st raise his nature so,
And make him lord of all below;
Make every beast and bird submit,
And lay the fishes at his feet?
But, O, what brighter glories wait
To crown the second Adam’s state!
What honours shall thy Son adorn,
Who condescended to be born!
See him below his angels made,
See him in dust amongst the dead,
To save a ruin’d world from sin;
But he shall reign with power divine.
The world to come, redeem’d from all
The miseries that attend the fall,
New-made, and glorious, shall submit
At our exalted Saviour’s feet.
2024 Commencement
Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis held its 68th Commencement on the evening of Friday, May 10, in the auditorium of Fourth Baptist Church. Area pastor and long-time faculty and board member Dr. Lee Ormiston was our commencement speaker and shared a challenge to our graduates from Romans 8.
Graduation Pictures
Graduation Video
Diplomas were conferred for the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling, Master of Arts in Theology, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry degrees.
The Word and the Testimony
by Dr. Richard V. Clearwaters
Founder of Central Seminary
Isaiah 8:20
To the Law and Testimony
Ever shall be Central’s song;
For within these sacred pages
We have found the Father’s Son.
Of our service He is worthy,
For His form we plainly see,
In the pages of the Volume
Daily witnessed there for me.
Words there great and oh so precious,
Ever speaking loud and clear
To lost sinners, poor and needy,
By God’s nature, now drawn near.
For the hunger that He gives us,
By this Self of His within;
We are pure in daily living,
Through the power He gives to men.
In the world and no part of it,
We will shun its sin and lust;
For the Savior’s image charms us
Through the Book, for us to trust.
In the highways and the byways,
In the halls with noise and din;
Here at “Central” He is central,
Like the Book that brings us Him.
Remembering Chaplain (Capt.) Dale Goetz
Links to articles remembering U.S. Army Chaplain (Captain) Dale Goetz.
In the Nick of Time, “Honor to Whom Honor is Due” – by Kevin Bauder, July 23, 2021
Dale had a reputation as a soldier’s chaplain. The story is that the troops called him the “chaplain with dirty boots” because of the time he spent in active ministry. His goal was to lead three hundred soldiers to Christ and to see ten of them go into ministry. Dale also longed to see Muslims saved. He regularly prayed for them (he even prayed for the salvation of Osama Bin Laden), and he shared the gospel with insurgents.
“Chaplains don’t sit around the big bases waiting for soldiers to come to them,” said Chaplain Carleton Birch, a lieutenant colonel with the Office of the Chief of Chaplains. “They go out to where the soldiers are.”
It is an article of faith among the small community of military chaplains that the job provides great rewards and blessings — but also sorrow, sacrifice and loss.
Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, the Army’s Chief of Chaplains, in announcing the death of Chaplain Goetz, said of him, “Dale was a selfless servant of God, a devoted husband and father, a strong American patriot, and a compassionate spiritual leader whose love for Soldiers was only surpassed by his firm commitment to living his calling as a United States Army Chaplain.” Lt. Col. Chet Chapman (U. S. Army RET), head of the ACCC’s chaplains’ endorsing agency, has written of Chaplain Goetz that “he served our country faithfully as soldier, pastor and soul winner through eight years of military assignments.”
U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, Facebook Post
Goetz was serving as the battalion chaplain for the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment,1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. The dining facility at Forward Operating Base Walton was quietly and informally dedicated to him after his death, marked by a small sign. Goetz was known to spend much of his time in the dining facility while deployed, getting to know his Soldiers, building relationships and interacting with them. In May 2013, the dining facility was formally dedicated to Goetz, who was “a dirty boots chaplain; he liked to get out there and be with the Soldiers,“ as CH ( LTC) Gregory Walker, 3rd Infantry Division and Regional Command-South chaplain said about him.
U.S. Army: “Dining facility commemorates fallen chaplain” by Staff Sgt. Kristen Duus – June 7, 2013
“It’s a great opportunity to memorialize him so Soldiers and other service members and civilians who go through can see what he’s done and the kind of life he’s lived,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Gregory Walker, 3rd Infantry Division and Regional Command-South chaplain. “He was a dirty boots chaplain; he liked to get out there and be with the Soldiers.”
“We took the opportunity as close to Memorial Day as we could to honor his life, his service and his sacrifice, as well as remember and honor our heroes who have fallen,” concluded Irwin. “His ministry and his impact are not forgotten.”
Farewell to the Fallen: Dale A. Goetz by the Oregonian
“He had always wanted to minister,” classmate Scott Ashby said. “He had a dedication to God and country.”
As much as you comfort us who have gathered here today, we pray that in an even greater measure you will comfort Dale’s family, especially his wife Christy and their three sons Landon, Caleb and Joel. Be for them all that they need you to be just now and continue to provide for them in every way in the days, weeks, months and years ahead that they face life without their husband, father and son.
Central Seminary has a proud history of graduates faithfully serving our Lord as chaplains. The Dale Goetz memorial scholarship reflects our commitment to continue his legacy.
Please join us in remembering Dale’s sacrifice by praying for his family and asking God to call more men to train for chaplain ministry.
Pro Deo et Patria (“For God and Country” – military chaplain’s motto)
It’s Time To Live It
Among the books that I was reading last week was Peter Sammons’s volume on Reprobation and God’s Sovereignty. Perhaps I should say that if reprobation is understood as symmetrical with election—i.e., that God elects and then creates some individuals simply to condemn them forever—then I do not judge it to be true. Nevertheless, I found benefit in reading Sammons. One particularly challenging point is that we cannot accept the benefits of Providence when it brings obvious blessing into our lives while complaining about our circumstances when things seem to go wrong (Job 2:10). Directly or indirectly, even the evil that happens in the world is ordained by God for good ends. If we really believe Romans 8:28, then we must see God’s hand in the worst of calamities.
The week I spent reading the book was rather arduous in other ways. It was finals week at the seminary, a time for grading papers, administering exams, closing out courses, preparing for board meetings, and of course observing commencement. The week was made more difficult than usual because our administration had to lop a day out of the schedule (no fault of theirs). Instead of graduating our students on Saturday morning as we always have, we graduated them on Friday night.
Further complications came from the pastoral side of my life. Our deacons had to meet after church on Wednesday night to address a family emergency. Another member of our fellowship had a mother who was dying, and she passed away on Friday morning. Combined with the seminary’s schedule, these and other factors resulted in a pressured week of late nights, early mornings, and little sleep. I was looking forward to resting on Saturday.
Both Debbie and I had responsibilities after the commencement ceremony. She was responsible to check in the rented and borrowed caps, hoods, and gowns. Consequently, we didn’t pull in the driveway until around 10:00 PM. Given the tension of the week, I lay awake for a long time on Friday night.
Saturday had the potential to be a much more relaxed day, though the situations from church were still pressing. Debbie was preparing a late breakfast at around 8:00 when she glanced out the window at the driveway. “Where’s the car?” she asked.
I looked out the window then, and sure enough, there was no car. I hadn’t even dressed for the day, but I pulled on jeans and a tee-shirt and walked out to investigate. Where the car had been parked was a pile of shattered glass. The obvious conclusion was that our car had been stolen. I was a bit surprised because I put a locking bar on the steering wheel. Nevertheless, there was the driveway, empty except for the heap of broken glass.
The obvious first step was to call the police. Ten minutes later an officer arrived. He took our information and viewed the pile of glass. He told us that earlier in the morning a stolen car had been recovered in front of our house, where it had been abandoned by thieves. The thieves had apparently just changed cars. “Probably juveniles,” he said, “Ages ten to fourteen. That’s typical. You can hope that they’ll joyride with your car and abandon it where it will be found.” He also told us about occasions when he had arrested the same juveniles three times in stolen cars. They were always put back on the street. “It’s not the police,” he said. “We try to enforce the law. It’s the county that won’t prosecute.”
Well.
After the officer left, I took up the matter with my insurance company. On Saturday morning their regular offices weren’t open, but I was able to call a weekend number to file a claim. The person I spoke with was as helpful as she might have been, but at that stage there was little that she could do except to write up the report.
Next came a quick call to the seminary’s business manager. Fourth Baptist owns a car that it lends out for ministry purposes, and I asked whether I might use it. Instead, the business manager offered to lend me his wife’s car. It helps, I suppose, that the business manager is married to one of my sisters.
Debbie and I still had to travel to the town where I pastor. It was now well past noon, and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. We stopped to grab something along the way, and we finally reached our ministry home late in the afternoon. We completed several necessary chores, ate a quick supper, and then drove another fifteen miles to visit our bereaved church member.
That may have been the most encouraging part of the day. What we heard from our friend was his complete acceptance of God’s workings in his life. He blessed his mother’s memory. He told us about moments he had relished with her during her final week. He expressed his hope that God would use the situation to reach unsaved members of his family. We had gone to offer him comfort and encouragement, but we received far more than we gave.
That night the police called to tell me that my car had been recovered. The window had been shattered (we knew that). The steering column was torn up. The car had been ransacked and the inside was badly messed around. And it was being taken to an impound lot.
Never had I guessed the Byzantine machinations and labyrinthine procedures that would be necessary to recover a car from impound. These entailed multiple phone calls and multiple stops. Once I had cleared those hurdles, the car was released. Since it is undrivable, however, it will have to be towed to a shop. All those matters are now in the hands of the insurers.
Most people would consider this week to be a bad one, and there is no use denying that the circumstance is a minor calamity. Naturally, Debbie and I comfort ourselves by telling each other how much worse it might have been, and that is a real consideration. We will suffer a financial loss (insurance doesn’t cover everything), but our home is intact and we were not harmed in our persons.
The greatest comfort, however, is this. These calamitous circumstances were ordained by an all-wise and loving God. They were ordained for His glory. They were ordained for our good. God knows what He is doing, even if we do not. He still deserves our adoration, our praise, and particularly our gratitude. God could have protected us from the evil, but He chose not to. We can only trust Him, that what He is doing will be better, and that it will produce greater glory and greater good. So we humble ourselves before Him and accept His dispensation as if He were visibly before us directing events. We have thanked Him in the past when events seemed good to us. Now it is time to thank Him when events seem bad. To Him alone be glory.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Commit Thou All Thy Griefs
Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676); tr. John Wesley (1703–1791)
Commit thou all thy griefs
And ways into His hands,
To His sure trust and tender care,
Who earth and heav’n commands;
Who points the clouds their course,
Whom winds and seas obey,
He shall direct thy wand’ring feet,
He shall prepare thy way.
Thou on the Lord rely,
So safe shalt thou go on;
Fix on His work thy stedfast eye,
So shall thy work be done:
No profit canst thou gain
By self-consuming care,
To Him commend thy cause, His ear
Attends the softest pray’r.
Thine everlasting truth,
Father, thy ceaseless love,
Sees all thy children’s wants, and knows
What best for each will prove;
And whatse’er Thou will’st
Thou dost, O King of kings;
What Thine unerring wisdom chose,
Thy pow’r to being brings.
Thou ev’ry where hast sway,
And all things serve Thy might,
Thy ev’ry act pure blessing is,
Thy path unsully’d light:
When Thou arisest, Lord,
What shall Thy work withstand?
When all Thy children want, thou giv’st,
Who, who shall stay Thine hand?
A Complex Event
Sometimes the events of biblical prophecy are relatively simple. The foretold event occurs and the prophecy is fulfilled. From that moment, it slips into the past. Noah prophesies the flood, and it comes. Elijah prophesies a drought, and the rain stops. Micaiah prophesies the death of Ahab, and Ahab is killed. Even where the event takes time, it is a single, simple event.
Other times, the events of biblical prophecy are complex. In this case, complex does not necessarily mean complicated, but rather consisting of multiple parts. The most clearly complex event in biblical prophecy is the coming of the Messiah.
Arguably, the first messianic prophecy is about the seed of the woman who will bruise the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15). Jacob prophesied the coming of “Shiloh” of the line of Judah, from whom the scepter would not depart (Gen 49:10). Balaam foresaw a star coming out of Jacob and a scepter out of Israel, one whom he calls, “He that shall have dominion.”
To these earlier foretellings, the later prophets added much detail. The coming Messiah would be a prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15). He would be a king of David’s line (2 Sam 7:11–16). He would be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Ps 110:1, 4). He would rule the nations with a rod of iron (Ps 2:8–9). He would give His life for the iniquities of His people (Isa 53). Dozens more prophecies foretold the events of Messiah’s birth, life, activities, death, and, according to 1 Corinthians 15:4, even His resurrection.
A new wrinkle was pressed into the messianic timeline by Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks (Dan 9:24–27). With this prophecy it became possible to know the exact year of Messiah’s arrival hundreds of years in advance. What Daniel prophesied, however, was not Messiah’s birth, but most likely His triumphal entry.
This wrinkle leads to the question of what exactly is meant by Messiah’s coming. When should students of the Bible reckon that Messiah has come? At His birth? His baptism? His triumphal entry? Some other event?
In a certain sense, any of several events could be pointed to as the coming of Messiah. Indeed, in the fullest sense, Messiah has not come yet, for He is not yet exercising the fulness of royal sovereignty over the earth through Israel. Perhaps this factor is what Jesus’ disciples had in mind when they asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” (Matt 24:3). Even though Messiah was right in front of them and was even talking with them, He had not yet come in the fulness of His power.
Jesus answers their question in a way that discloses even more about His coming. He refers to it in the future tense. He claims that it will occur only after a series of increasingly severe judgments. When it happens, it will be as unmistakable as the lightning flashing across the sky (Matt 24:27). It will culminate with the sign of the Son of Man in heaven (Matt 24:30). The grammar in that last statement probably includes a genitive of apposition: when the Son of Man appears in the heavens, He will be the sign.
By the end of the Gospels, it is clear that Jesus is going to leave earth and that He will return someday (John 14:1–3). At the beginning of Acts He bodily ascends into heaven (Acts 1:9–10), leaving many messianic prophecies to be fulfilled at His return. In other words, what the Old Testament speaks of as an event (the coming of Messiah) turns out to be a series of events and even a series of comings. Christians now speak without hesitation of Jesus’ first coming, which is past, and His second coming, which is still future. What the Old Testament speaks about as a single thing—the coming of the Messiah—is thus a complex event.
What is true of Jesus’ coming in general is also true of His second coming in particular. The second coming is also a complex event. The prophecies that remain to be fulfilled do not all take place at once. Some are fulfilled when He arrives on earth. Others are fulfilled when He establishes His millennial kingdom. Others will not be fulfilled until the end of the Millennium.
Dispensationalists insist that the coming of Jesus will occur in at least two stages. First, He will come in the air to rapture His Church. These Church saints will then live with Him for seven years in heaven, at which point they will accompany Him when He returns to earth to judge His enemies and establish His millennial kingdom. The coming in the air and the coming to earth are not really two separate comings, but two stages of the same second coming, which is a complex event.
That is why dispensationalists learn to be careful in the way they speak about the second coming. When they talk about this event, they may mean Jesus’ coming in the air at the Rapture or they may mean Jesus’ descent to earth to establish His kingdom. Sometimes they may mean both at once, preserving the complex nature of the event. Often, however, they find it necessary to specify which stage of the second coming they are talking about.
Anti-dispensationalists sometimes find this way of speaking humorous. They may jibe, “Do you mean the first second coming or the second second coming?” Viewing Jesus’ coming as a complex event, however, means that there is nothing implausible in the idea that the second coming occurs in stages. In fact, dispensationalists affirm that the Bible rather clearly shows these multiple stages. The second coming must be viewed as a complex event.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Bless, O My Soul, the Living God
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Bless, O my soul, the living God;
Call home thy thoughts that rove abroad,
Let all the pow’rs within me join
In work and worship so divine.
Bless, O my soul, the God of grace;
His favors claim thy highest praise;
Why should ungrateful silence hide
The blessings which his hands provide?
‘Tis he, my soul, that sent his Son
To die for crimes which thou hast done;
He owns the ransom, and forgives
The hourly follies of our lives.
The vices of the mind he heals,
And cures the pains that nature feels—
Redeems the soul from hell, and saves
Our wasting life from threat’ning graves.
Our youth decay’d his pow’r repairs;
His mercy crowns our growing years;
He fills our store with ev’ry good,
And feeds our souls with heav’nly food.
He sees th’ oppressor and th’ opprest,
And often gives the suff’rer rest;
But will his justice more display
In the last great rewarding day.
Episode 52 – The Word and the Testimony – The Central Hymn with Roy Beacham & Jon Pratt
In this episode, Dr. Roy Beacham & Dr. Jon Pratt discuss the history and significance of the Central Hymn. “The Word and the Testimony,” based on Isaiah 8:20, has served as the motto of Central Seminary and emphasizes the centrality of the Word of God.
Keywords
Central Seminary, Central Hymn, history, significance, motto, Word and testimony, Isaiah 8:20, professors, anecdotes, memories, Christological, evangelistic, ministry
Takeaways
- The Central Hymn is based on Isaiah 8:20 and has served as the motto of Central Seminary in emphasizing the importance of the Word and testimony.
- The hymn reflects the legacy and mission of Central Seminary to train leaders who are committed to the Word and its centrality in preaching and teaching.
Quotes
- Jon Pratt: “Little did I know that the song that I was listening to as a kid would be the main theme song of the seminary where I would be teaching at one day.”
- Roy Beacham: “Return to the word, follow the word, follow the Lord. If not, your future is dim, there’s no light.”
The Word and the Testimony
by Dr. Richard V. Clearwaters
Founder of Central Seminary
Isaiah 8:20
To the Law and Testimony
Ever shall be Central’s song;
For within these sacred pages
We have found the Father’s Son.
Of our service He is worthy,
For His form we plainly see,
In the pages of the Volume
Daily witnessed there for me.
Words there great and oh so precious,
Ever speaking loud and clear
To lost sinners, poor and needy,
By God’s nature, now drawn near.
For the hunger that He gives us,
By this Self of His within;
We are pure in daily living,
Through the power He gives to men.
In the world and no part of it,
We will shun its sin and lust;
For the Savior’s image charms us
Through the Book, for us to trust.
In the highways and the byways,
In the halls with noise and din;
Here at “Central” He is central,
Like the Book that brings us Him.
Ending Another School Year
Here at Central Seminary the school year draws to an end in May. It is a bittersweet time. The “bitter” side of bittersweet comes from two sources. One is because the season always involves intense work. Professors are always crunched to do final grading. We don’t get much else done for a couple of weeks. The registrar and office help must scurry in preparation for graduation activities, which include the semi-annual board meeting, graduation practice, a meal for graduating seniors and their families, and of course the commencement ceremony. During these weeks we tend to run on adrenaline.
The other part of the “bitter” in bittersweet comes from the departure of our graduates. Over the years we see them in class repeatedly. We develop relationships with them outside of class. We become friends, and our lives begin to revolve around each other’s. With graduation, however, the relationship changes. While the friendships don’t dissolve, they tend to become more distant for the simple reason that we don’t see each other as regularly.
But of course, that change leads directly into the “sweet” side of the bittersweet season. Students graduate because they have finished their preparation. They no longer need to be in class. Instead, they can devote themselves to the work that the Lord gives them. They are able to minister effectively on their own, and that is exactly why we invest in them to begin with.
One of the blessings of teaching is that you get to see your students go on to put their learning to use. I’m now in my 27th year of teaching at Central Seminary, and I am delighted to have former students who are ministering effectively around the United States and even around the world. It is a special pleasure to have seen numbers of them surpass me in various ways (for example, I work for two of my former students). Many of them are doing work that I never could, and that is cause for rejoicing.
For years our graduation regimen has stayed the same, but this Spring it is changing in multiple ways. In the past, the activities of graduation week were spread over three days, from Thursday when the board committees met until the Saturday commencement ceremony. This year, however, we are trying to fit it all into one day. Friday will begin with board meetings until about noon. After a brief lunch the board will continue to meet while students attend the graduation practice. The graduation meal, which used to be a breakfast on Friday morning, will now become a dinner on Friday afternoon. The ceremony itself will be held on Friday evening.
The schedule is not the only change. Over the past several years we have shifted toward Zoom technology as the platform for delivering education. We are now at the point where few of our students are local. Many live in distant countries. For the first time, one of our graduates has been unable to get a visa to attend commencement. Due to these changes, Central Seminary will shift its commencement to include a significant livestream component.
We also have an unusually small graduating class this year. Partly that is because we went through a slump in recruiting several years ago (that has been corrected and we have a robust student population now). Partly it is because students are taking longer to complete their programs. Mostly, we don’t know why the numbers have worked out as they have. At any rate, this is a good year to experiment with a new format for graduation.
Today I signed the final drafts of a major project for a Doctor of Ministry graduate. This week I will teach the final classes before Final Exam Week. Next week we will administer those exams, and the professors will have an accelerated schedule to submit grades for graduating students. Then on Friday, May 10, the school year will conclude. I anticipate waking up a week from Saturday to the first day of summer break.
The expression “summer break” hardly seems an adequate designation anymore. Although the graduates will have departed, we will nevertheless be offering courses through much of the summer. Those months will also involve a fair amount of travel as administrators and faculty represent the seminary at the annual meetings of various fellowships. In July most of our professors will travel to the Bible Faculty Summit to interact with peers from sister institutions. By August, each of us will be gearing up to face the faculty in-service meetings, which will conclude just before the next academic year begins. These days, teaching at Central Seminary keeps us busy all twelve months of the year.
Nevertheless, graduation represents a milestone, and not only for those who are graduating. Each commencement is a rite of passage, as much for teachers and administrators as for students. It marks an academic year coming to a close, a task accomplished once for all, and a new circle of students advancing into the next stage of their service for the Lord.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Christ’s Care of Ministers and Churches
Philip Doddridge (1702–1751)
We bless th’ eternal Source of light,
Who makes the stars to shine;
And, through this dark beclouded world,
Diffuseth rays divine.
We bless the churches’ sovereign King,
Whose golden lamps we are;
Fixed in the temples of His love
To shine with radiance fair.
Still be our purity be preserved;
Still fed with oil the flame;
And in deep characters inscribed
Our heavenly Master’s name.
Then, while between our ranks He walks
And all our state surveys,
His smiles shall with new luster deck
The people of His praise.
Equality
We often hear equality spoken of as if it were one of the greater goods. The assumption seems to be that any form of inequality is intrinsically unjust, and that inequalities only exist because one person or group of people is oppressing another. Inequalities that convey advantages are now called privilege, and privilege is regularly and roundly denounced. Justice (it is thought) requires the abolishment of privilege.
Perhaps it is worth asking what real equality would look like. For example, what would complete political equality involve? A truly egalitarian political system would be one in which offices were lifted out of the realm of favoritism. To do that, they would have to be filled by rota. Everyone would serve once in every office. Of course, to do that, terms of office would have to be shortened dramatically. Suppose we tried to give every citizen the chance to serve as President of the United States for exactly one hour. In that system, we would have approximately 8,766 presidents over the course of a single year.
While that number seems high, it would still not give everyone the opportunity to be president. For every resident of the United States to serve a single one-hour term would take just over 34,223 years, which is almost as long as we have to stand in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles. So what is the alternative? If everyone cannot serve, should we perhaps draw lots for each hour of office?
We could combine the methods of rota and lot, particularly if we take into account all of the public offices that exist in the United States. Besides the president and vice-president, we have about 500 people in Congress, fifty governors and lieutenant governors, around 7,000 state legislators, an army of local officials, plus the entire judiciary (in a truly egalitarian system, everybody would have a turn at being a judge). The total comes up to something like half-a-million offices.
Suppose each office were filled by a different person each day, and that each officeholder was chosen by lot. In this scheme, every American would serve in some office about one day every two years. The particular office—whether federal, state, or local—would be entirely up to chance. This system might give us our best shot at genuine equality. It would also have other advantages, such as the complete elimination of election campaigns. Furthermore, the amount of damage that any one officeholder could do would be limited.
On the other hand, that kind of equality would create chaos. A significant number of officeholders would have little interest in serving their day. They would view a day in office as an unwelcome interruption, just as many now perceive a day of jury duty. Another number would see a day in office as little more than an excuse to party. Of those who really wanted to serve, only a fraction would bring the necessary skills and qualifications. Who really needs that kind of equality?
Political equality does not and cannot exist. In my community lives a woman named Ilhan Omar. She and I do not have an equal voice in the political process. She gets to act directly upon federal legislation, and I do not. Her level of power and privilege far exceeds, and in fact contradicts, mine. She rarely or never represents my interests, opinions, views, and perspectives.
How did she get to be so privileged? It happened through favoritism. She was elected to office by people who live near us both. The largest bloc of people who chose her share the religion and ethnicity into which she and they were born. In other words, her privilege is based in unearned features. She sometimes talks about equality, but I have never heard her advocate the kind of equality that would give me the same voice in Washington that she has.
The American founders were not ignorant of the difficulty in creating complete equality. When they declared that “all men are created equal,” they immediately qualified their statement with an appositional clause implying that all people are equally “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.” They never dreamed of creating a system of full political equality, partly because they knew that crude population was not the only interest that needed to be represented in a just system of government. Nevertheless, they did understand that under a just government people must stand as equals before the law. (I note in passing that this principle is violated every time Congress exempts itself from laws that it passes to govern the rest of the nation.)
These same founders also recognized that people must all equally answer to God. Answering to God is a far more serious matter than answering to civil authority. Consequently, the founders inferred that governments have no right to mandate how people must relate to God. Instead, just governments must refuse to establish religions and must also protect the free exercise of religion (as long as those exercises do not transgress in matters that governments do have a right to legislate). So long as we have not entered the Kingdom of God, civil authorities have no right to mandate the worship of the true and living God or to forbid the worship of false gods.
The point is that equality is not the greatest good. It is not always a good at all, particularly when understood as equality of condition. Political philosophies or movements that constantly appeal to equality should rouse our suspicions. At the end of the day, almost all egalitarians are faux-egalitarians. What they want is not true equality, but a way to promote privilege for their own crowd.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Psalm 37
Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Why should I vex my soul, and fret
To see the wicked rise?
Or envy sinners waxing great,
By violence and lies?
As flow’ry grass cut down at noon,
Before the ev’ning fades,
So shall their glories vanish soon,
In everlasting shades.
Then let me make the Lord my trust,
And practice all that’s good;
So shall I dwell among the just,
And he’ll provide me food.
I to my God my ways commit,
And cheerful wait his will;
Thy hand which guides my doubtful feet,
Shall my desires fulfil.
Mine innocence shalt thou display,
And make thy judgments known,
Fair as the light of dawning day,
And glorious as the noon.
The meek at last the earth possess,
And are the heirs of heav’n;
True riches, with abundant peace,
To humble souls are giv’n.
Rest in the Lord, and keep his way,
Nor let your anger rise,
Though Providence should long delay,
To punish haughty vice.
Let sinners join to break your peace,
And plot, and rage, and foam;
The Lord derides them, for he sees
Their day of vengeance come.
They have drawn out the threat’ning sword,
Have bent the murd’rous bow,
To slay the men that fear the Lord,
And bring the righteous low.
My God shall break their bows, and burn
Their persecuting darts,
Shall their own swords against them turn,
And pierce their stubborn hearts.
Vocation and Vocations
[This essay was originally published on February 5, 2016.]
The Reformers erected the doctrine of calling in reaction to the Romanist distinction between clergy and laity. At the time, Catholics recognized only two vocations: the calling to consecration (which typically involved joining an order) and the calling to ordination (priesthood). In other words, monks and priests had a vocation; other people did not.
Over against this distinction the Reformers insisted that God calls all Christians. Their vocation is whatever station enables believers to demonstrate God’s love by serving others. In the Protestant view of vocation, ministers are called—but so are bakers, farmers, shopkeepers, and tradesmen.
The Protestant view of vocation grows out of 1 Corinthians 7:17-22. In this passage, vocation refers primarily to God’s calling of the individual to salvation. That is the first and highest calling for any Christian—to be a child of God, placing His character on display in the world, working out our salvation. Paul’s point in this passage and its surrounding context is that every lawful station of life (marriage, singleness, slavery, freedom, circumcision, uncircumcision) provides the opportunity to do just that. We are to use whatever station in which we find ourselves for God’s glory. The Reformers’ doctrine of vocation—the Protestant doctrine of vocation—is really the Pauline and biblical doctrine of vocation.
This Pauline doctrine of vocation is probably what lies behind Paul’s cryptic comment in 1 Timothy 2:15. He says that the woman will be saved in childbearing if she continues in faith, love, holiness, and self-restraint. Paul certainly does not mean to teach that giving birth somehow forgives a woman’s sins and secures eternal life. Given the context, he is most likely saying that maternity is a station that allows a woman to demonstrate how God’s saving grace is working in her life. A minister exhibits his salvation through his preaching and teaching, but Paul forbade women to teach or usurp authority over men. Are they then relegated to the position of second-class Christians? Not at all! Maternity (and domesticity) enable the stay-at-home mom to place her salvation fully on display.
This is an important truth. Pastors have the privilege of spending hours each day in the Scriptures so that they might minister the Word of God. Stay-at-home moms may struggle to find a quarter of an hour for devotions. Some might think that the pastor occupies the more spiritual position, but that is not what Paul says. A woman who rightly fulfills her station as a mother is bringing glory to God, just as the minister is.
What is true of the stay-at-home mom is true of all lawful vocations. They are ways of showing God’s love by serving others. They are ways of working out our salvation. Every vocation provides a giant screen upon which the Christian can project the manifold grace of God.
The difference is that the pastor’s vocation takes him into the study, away from the rush and tumble of life, to listen quietly to God. The mother’s vocation takes her into playrooms and grocery stores, and she does things like changing diapers, preparing meals, and wiping runny noses. To use the traditional labels, the minister’s life is contemplative while the mother’s life is active.
The point is that both of these lives are callings. Both are spiritual. Both bring glory to God if they are conscientiously pursued.
Most Christians actually occupy multiple callings. One of those callings pertains to all believers: the calling to place salvation on display. Other callings are discovered in our particular situations. A married man is called to love his wife. A father is called to bring up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Whatever we do to gain a living is also our calling, whether it involves balancing books, performing surgeries, or flipping burgers. Obviously some callings may change over time. A wedding marks the end of singleness (one calling) and the beginning of marriage (a different calling). A transition between jobs also usually marks a change in callings.
Some callings we choose; some are chosen for us. A slave does not typically choose slavery, though Paul says that if slaves are given a choice, they should choose freedom. Nevertheless, both slavery and freedom are callings. Sometimes our choice of callings is restricted by circumstances: there are no accountant jobs open, so we sweep floors instead. When such situations occur, we must not feel ourselves to be victims or become bitter against the calling into which God has led us. We must use it for His glory.
Other times God allows us to select from multiple options. How then should we choose? Too many Christians assume that the most financially rewarding option must be God’s calling. Sometimes it is, but often it is not. Callings should almost never be chosen on the basis of pecuniary considerations alone. Rather, we should ask, Where can I best place my salvation on display? How can I best show people God’s love by serving them? What am I equipped to do with excellence, and what will make the greatest difference for the Lord?
A man who would make a terrible pastor might make a wonderful truck driver. A woman who could never adapt to the mission field might make a good lawyer. Some young people who would be miserable in college might be more useful—and more happy—as plumbers or electricians. God not only calls people to different vocations, He also equips them differently for those vocations.
Every vocation deserves respect and even esteem. Christians who are farmers, bankers, doctors, airline pilots, police officers, short order cooks, managers, cashiers, actuaries, and stay-at-home moms have vocations that are just as significant to God as the vocation of the minister. Let us honor all, and make the most of the callings that God has given us.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Psalm 82
Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Among th’ assemblies of the great
A greater Ruler takes his seat;
The God of heav’n, as Judge, surveys
Those gods on earth, and all their ways.
Why will ye, then, frame wicked laws?
Or why support th’ unrighteous cause?
When will ye once defend the poor,
That sinners vex the saints no more?
They know not, Lord, nor will they know;
Dark are the ways in which they go;
Their name of earthly gods is vain,
For they shall fall and die like men.
Arise, O Lord, and let thy Son
Possess his universal throne,
And rule the nations with his rod;
He is our Judge, and he our God.
Blessings of Distance Education
This week, Central Seminary welcomed Ellis and Jillian Narcisse, distance education students from South America, to spend some time at our campus in Plymouth. The Narcisse family, along with their three children, are missionaries in Bolivia planting New Life Baptist Church. Their visit to Central Seminary coincides with a family visit to North America this spring and summer.
The global pandemic of Covid-19 opened doors for the Narcisse family in an unexpected way. Cell service became available for the school system in their remote village high in the Andes mountains. This newfound connectivity allowed Ellis to begin his Master of Divinity through Central Seminary’s distance education program. Jillian has also joined in, pursuing her M.A. in Biblical Counseling.
Central Seminary faculty and students were thrilled to have the Narcisse family join them on campus for classes. Their dedication to ministry and their commitment to continuing their education, even from afar, is an encourgament in our mission.
To learn more about distance education, visit our Distance Education page.
During the month of April, we are accepting free applications. Look up our programs and begin the process. We would love to assist in your studies of God’s Word.
Libraries and Bookstores
I learned to read in first grade. I loved it immediately. Being able to conjure meaning from black marks on a white page was like magic. I no longer had to rely on others to read stories to me. I could discover for myself what Dick and Jane, Sally and Spot were doing.
An aunt used to bless us with copies of the great children’s books. Together with books that my parents gave us, my siblings and I had whole shelves of reading. These included the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries (we read them all, indiscriminate of gender). We had some volumes of the Bobbsey Twins, and I remember reading several Tom Swift books. We had abridged editions of classic literature, and I loved the Landmark historical series.
I must have been in fourth or fifth grade when my parents bought me a book of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. That introduced me to horror. Though I did not find Poe particularly frightening, Algernon Blackwood’s short story, The Willows, haunted me for weeks.
It must have been about that time—fifth or sixth grade—that our class went on a field trip to the Sage Library in Bay City, Michigan. The building looked like a castle, and inside were more books than I’d ever seen. Not just shelves of them, but whole rooms and even floors of them. I was enthralled. Sadly, I’ve never been back, but the event began a love affair with libraries.
By the time I was in seventh grade my parents had moved into the small town of Freeland, where I learned that the Saginaw County bookmobile visited every two weeks. I was ecstatic. I received my first library card and, as I recall, this was where I first read Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about Sherlock Holmes.
Two years later we had relocated to Iowa so my father could attend Bible college. Soon my mother was managing the campus bookstore. I can remember helping my father build sections of bookshelves for the store, some of which may still be in use after fifty years. This was my first contact with a bookstore, and I learned to love the atmosphere of a room filled with books for sale.
Mom’s job also helped my father to build his library. It gave her a line on publishers’ discounts and closeouts. We lived right across the street from the college, and Dad built a study in our basement. Soon it was packed with hundreds of books. I loved to sit at his desk and read his books. For example, Feinberg’s commentary on Ezekiel helped me to understand the opening chapters of that prophecy.
Within another couple of years, Dad had accepted a pastorate in a small town. Now his study was in the church building, and he had even more books. This room was one of my favorite places. Perhaps that is where I first discovered that, even in solitude, one is never alone when one is surrounded by books.
When I was a junior in high school I accompanied my father to a bookstore in downtown Des Moines. He pointed out the writings of C. S. Lewis and encouraged me to get acquainted. He even bought me copies of The Screwtape Letters and Out of the Silent Planet. I could not have guessed what a turning point that day would become.
About that time, indoor shopping malls became the rage. Ames had the one that was closest to our home, but Des Moines had a bigger one. Inside those malls were shops like B. Dalton Booksellers and Walden Books. Later on, Borders Books and Barnes and Noble joined them. For the next twenty years, any trip to the mall meant checking the discount tables in those stores.
When I was in Denver for seminary, one of the big mail-order distributors of theological books had a retail store in the south part of town. Several classmates and I would visit that store to look for bargains every few weeks. It’s where I bought my first copies of many of J. Gresham Machen’s essays. That, too, was a turning point.
During my first pastorate I learned that some of the big publishers operated their own bookstores in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On a couple of occasions I traveled to Grand Rapids specifically to raid the stores at Eerdmans and especially Kregel. They were wonderful places.
When I moved to Dallas for doctoral studies I discovered a Half Price Books just a mile from our home. It wasn’t huge, but it had a surprising selection of used books at good prices. The problem was that I had no money. I recall coveting a volume of Meister Eckhart’s works for something like two years before finally making a lowball offer on it. And my offer was accepted! I went home feeling like a great hunter that day.
Dallas was home to the Half Price Books headquarters. Their main store was located near Central Expressway and Northwest Highway. It was in a rambling old frame building with board staircases leading to the second floor. My children loved it as much as I did, and they would beg to go to the “wooden bookstore.”
Other bookstores were scattered around Dallas, and I got to know most of them. When I was planting a church in Sachse, we had to drive to Plano to copy our bulletins. My wife would make the copies at Office Depot while I took the kids next door to the bookstore. They would be too occupied ever to cause trouble. So was I, sometimes to my wife’s exasperation.
Of course, both my study and my home eventually began to overflow with books. I could see a problem looming—where to find more space for shelves? But then the world changed. By about 2005, Amazon was pushing brick-and-mortar bookstores out of business. By 2010, Kindle and Nook were beginning to replace paper books, and Logos was providing an electronic platform that greatly enhanced theological study. Around 2012 I began to shift seriously toward electronic books.
I still have several thousand physical books, but fewer than I once did. I have more than double the volumes on Logos, and many times more for Kindle. I have begun to cull most physical books if I own an electronic version.
It’s wonderful to be able to transport tens of thousands of volumes in a computer no larger than a clipboard. I love being able to read almost anything I wish, almost anywhere I want to read it. I’m more grateful than I can say.
But I miss bookstores. I miss their atmosphere. I miss the adventure of handling texts before buying them. I miss being able to leaf through the pages. I miss the smell. Sadly, those are experiences that are now receding into the past, and I feel sorry for the coming generations that will miss them.
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Rise, O My Soul, Pursue the Path
John Needham (?-1786)
Rise, O my soul, pursue the path
By ancient worthies trod;
Aspiring, view those holy men
Who lived and walked with God.
Though dead, they speak in reason’s ear,
And in example live;
Their faith, and hope, and mighty deeds,
Still fresh instruction give.
‘Twas through the Lamb’s most precious blood
They conquered every foe;
To His power and matchless grace
Their crowns of life they owe.
Lord, may I ever keep in view
The patterns Thou hast giv’n,
And ne’er forsake the blessèd road
That led them safe to Heaven.
APPLICATION & AID