What Tiger Has Taught Us

Over the last few weeks we have witnessed in the life of Tiger Woods that, "whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Gal. 6:7)." All things eventually come to fruition. If one desires to have a good name, raise a family, and continue in marriage he must sow the appropriate seed. If one acts in a ways that threaten the bonds of marriage, those bonds will eventually break. Sowing and reaping, it is a natural occurrence in every aspect of life.

Tiger was once a media darling. He is now fresh meat. In an image driven culture we will not stop being witnesses to this tragedy until we are bored with it or something better comes along. Until that moment comes, the talking heads will feed us all we want. So while this story is fresh I want to pose a question, "What's the message?"

Is the message that our culture is infatuated with the fallen? That is probably true, even more so than my next point, but I think another message in all of this is that in human sexuality and marriage there is a certain absolute moral law that simply can't be broken without consequence. The sages of our time would call us to a humanistic or an atheistic relativity when it comes to truth. But Tiger has taught us, truth is not relative. It is wrong to cheat on your wife. That's the way marriage works for atheists, Christians, Muslims, agnostics, and golfers. Sin comes with consequence whether you shoot under par or not.

Phil Knight, chairman of Nike said about their continued sponsorship of Tiger Woods, ""I think he's been really great. . . When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now."

There is nothing about this story that is a blip, or minor. What Tiger Woods has done will forever change his relationship with his wife Elin and his children. He may win another Master's title in Nikes, but sin has destroyed his marriage. The media may be making "a big deal" about all of this simply to feed the ratings monster, but unwittingly they have reminded us of another message. Truth is not relative. Marriage and sex create deep bonds in humans. When those bonds are broken there will be tragic consequences. The Bible is very plain about all of this, ironically at this moment, so is ESPN. As we watch the life of Tiger Woods unravel it should call us all back to the sanctity of marriage. We should not crave to hear more, but we should instead mourn for him, for his wife, and for his children. We should evaluate our own actions and repent of those things that will eventually destroy us, and others. You and I may not be front page news, but if we walk in sin it will rip us and our families to shreds. God's Word is true and in a strange ironic twist, ESPN has become God's megaphone. A man will reap what he sows.

Christmess (Sermon Audio: Sunday A.M.)

There is an incredible message of hope in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Paul teaches that if we take the time to meditate on the truth of the incarnation that it will change the way we relate to one another and it will change our worship.

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Mega Christmas (Sermon Audio: Sunday A.M.)

Christmas has a way of changing our tune. In late October usually one radio station in town dedicates itself to getting us in the Christmas spirit. Most of us are excited about Christmas music for about a month, but as Christmas Day approaches there are parties, family, gift lists, decorations, traffic, long lines, rude people. By the 25th of December our tune has changed from, “I’m ready for Christmas” to “I’m ready for Christmas to be over.” If you listen to our tune about this time of year we would have to say that our souls are not doing so well.

The pressures of life are making our souls come apart at the seams. Christmas, instead of being a season of peace and joy, only adds to the pressure. Because our souls are so stressed, we have lost the meaning of this moment. Yet a suddenly pregnant girl in her early teens sings a song that shows her soul is large, and under pressure, able to not only hold it together, but to truly appreciate the magnificence of this holy moment. Let us learn from Mary how we can use this moment of Christmas to foster mega souls.

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Why Brian Signed the Manhattan Declaration

After my two previous posts concerning the Manhattan Declaration I received a couple of emails alerting me to the inevitable red flags surrounding it. I suspected this would not take long. It seems the controversy is not in the statement itself, but in the idea that it includes Catholics, Evangelicals, Anglicans, and Orthodox under the same banner and definition of "the gospel." To demonstrate the point here are a couple of excerpts from an article written by Alex Crain, editor of Christianity.com:

"Evangelical leader R.C. Sproul, who elected not to sign the Manhattan Declaration, sums up the controversy by his response (posted 12/8/09) on his blog, "The Manhattan Declaration confuses common grace and special grace by combining them. While I would march with the bishop of Rome and an Orthodox prelate to resist the slaughter of innocents in the womb, I could never ground that co-belligerency on the assumption that we share a common faith and a unified understanding of the gospel."

"Other Evangelical leaders like Mark Driscoll, Alistair Begg and Michael Horton believe that the Manhattan Document reduces Christianity to mere Trinitarianism and degrades the heart of Christianity, namely, the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a set of ethical standards and a non-descript gospel."

This may be a testimony to my discernment skills, but when I read the Manhattan Declaration, my mind really didn't go to the place where I thought that this was an attempt to redefine the gospel. I believe that when it comes to the gospel that many groups who fly the Christian banner have it wrong, but when it comes to the Manhattan Declaration and its statements on marriage, life, and religious liberty, I believe that the groups included have it right. When I signed the statement I did not feel that I was being strong armed into doctrinal compromise. After signing the statement I do not feel that I was duped into doing the same.

My prayer in all of this is that The Manhattan Declaration would accomplish what I believe it was intended to do, to make a strong statement from the Christian community to the culture. Furthermore, I pray it makes a strong statement to lawmakers and to our President that there are a significant number of voters in our Democracy who believe our leaders are headed down the wrong path on these issues. I could only hope that this controversy does not do what usually happens in Christendom, and this is we end up with 4, or 7, or 40 different documents that essentially say the same thing, but demonstrate that we have no sense of agreement or unity.

I signed the Manhattan Declaration. I believe that the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God. I believe that salvation is received by grace, through faith alone, in the risen Son of God. I also believe that when I signed the Manhattan Declaration I did not make a mistake.

Why Al Mohler Signed the Manhattan Declaration

As a follow up to my post earlier this week on the Manhattan Declaration I wanted to share an article posted by Dr. Al Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Dr. Mohler is one of the Christian faith's foremost voices. The link provided is takes you to the full article, but I want to you to pay particular attention to the following paragraph from Dr. Mohler that expresses my fears and concerns as well.

"There are several reasons, but they all come down to this -- I believe we are facing an inevitable and culture-determining decision on the three issues centrally identified in this statement. I also believe that we will experience a significant loss of Christian churches, denominations, and institutions in this process. There is every good reason to believe that the freedom to conduct Christian ministry according to Christian conviction is being subverted and denied before our eyes. I believe that the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and religious liberty are very much in danger at this very moment."

Why I Signed iThe Manhattan Declaration/i

If the Christian church is not intentional about communicating its message to our culture, practicing its sacred values, and fighting for religious liberty then I believe future of public worship and Christian ministry is in serious question. I encourage you to pass along the information concerning the Manhattan Project and take the time to read Dr. Mohler's article as well.

The Manhattan Declaration

This morning I heard Dr. Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School here in Birmingham, talking about the Manhattan Declaration on The Rick and Bubba Show. In short this is a document stating fundamental Christian convictions in three areas, the sanctity of human life, the definition of marriage, and religious liberty. I have had an opportunity to read through the document only once at this point in the morning, but from what I have read I believe it is a good thing. However, I would not encourage you to sign it haphazardly, but thoughtfully and prayerfully as it is a formal declaration with potential consequence. Our faith is under assault. We are long overdue in standing upon our convictions and expressing the gospel clearly in word and in practice.

The Manhattan Declaration - The home page has a shortened form of the declaration. Click on the tab labeled "THE DECLARATION" for a full copy.

Mega Soul

Christmas changes our tune. Early in November some radio station in town will sell its soul to Christmas. Where the voice on the dial once sang about pickup trucks, cheating boyfriends, and dogs now the voice croons Christmas. It takes some of us longer than others, but by Thanksgiving we are ready for the change. We are in the Christmas spirit. Yet by the time Christmas arrives we begin to sing another song. We are ready for Christmas to be over.

Is it that Christmas is too big? Is there too much to buy, to do, to decorate? Is it to the point that by the end of it all instead of being overjoyed we are overwhelmed? If we were to sing an honest tune about the condition of our soul during the holiday season would it be more of a rant than a reflection of peace and joy?

An unwed, young, pregnant girl named Mary sings a song about a season in her life that has changed everything (Luke 1:46-55). Her song is an honest reflection of her soul. The opening lyric reads, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” The word translated “magnifies” is built on the Greek stem “mega.” She is a young girl with a mega soul.

If we were honest about the things that we make “mega” in our lives we would confess that our mega concerns should rather be ranked mini. The human soul was not built to devote itself to mini. The human soul was created to devote itself to mega. If we sell our soul to mini, it crashes. Life is stupid, meaningless, and chaotic. If we sell our soul to mega, the minis begin to look different, not so large and important.

Mary has sold her soul to mega. She will magnify the Lord. The pressures of being the virgin mother of God would seem overwhelming, but not for a mega soul that magnifies the Lord. When God is the focus the trials of life seem mini. In the immediate future Mary stands to be ridiculed. To a mini soul that seems mega, but to Mary’s mega soul, with God as the focus, she trusts that, “From now on all generations will call me blessed (Luke 1:48).” A mega God makes a person’s scornful opinions rank mini. Call her what you want, God has called her blessed (Luke 1:28).

Listen to the song of our soul this Christmas. Does it reflect a soul that is focused on mini or mega?