Pope Francis I has been chosen by the Cardinals as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Albert Mohler has provided an outstanding digested analysis of the event in today’s podcast  of THE BRIEFING.  He not only provides historical backdrop and incisive cultural critique.  He also interacts with Gary Bauer’s USA Today article “Why Evangelicals Should Care About the New Pope.”

Bauer writes:

Doctrinal differences remain, of course, but the Catholic-evangelical alliance has reshaped American politics. In many cases, Catholics have provided the intellectual framework and vocabulary to discuss Christianity’s vital role in our democracy, while Protestants have contributed fervor and youth.

We do not agree on every issue. But on the essential ones — those both faiths consider “non-negotiables” — Catholics and evangelicals are allied.

We both champion the idea — the truth — that there are reliable standards of right and wrong to which all institutions, including government, must adhere. We stand together in proclaiming that all human life has equal dignity and worth. And we stand together in defending the traditional and time-honored conception of marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/03/13/gary-bauer-on-why-pope-is-important-to-evangelicals/1985291/

Here, Mohler passionately begs to differ with Bauer.

In today’s podcast of THE BRIEFING, Mohler wisely responds:

In those particular sentences, Gary Bauer provides some very honest and correct moral analysis with a fairly disastrous theological analysis.  For instance, in the sentence in which he says:

“We do not on every issue”, and then followed it with the next sentence, “But on the essential ones — those both faiths consider ‘non-negotiables’ — Catholics and evangelicals are allied.”  

That is a statement that is inherently dangerous and downright wrong, because both Catholics and evangelicals would classify as essential doctrines in which we are in absolute disagreement.  First and foremost, evangelicals must affirm that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is an essential because that is the very definition of the gospel itself.  

There is nothing that is more core, central, and essential than the gospel.  

The Reformers were absolutely right in saying that any understanding of justification — even the understanding that justification by faith and something else, is another gospel, and is anathema to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The only way of understanding the gospel by grace alone, through faith alone, is defining justification as the Scripture defines it, and that is justification by faith alone.

Later, Mohler reveals:

Evangelicals looking at the papacy itself must recognize what isn’t broadcast to the world with all the adulation and celebrity status that accompanied the press coverage.  For instance, the Roman Catholic Church officially teaches that the pope has the power to dispense merits, to forgive sin, to extend indulgences.  When you consider that, you realize just how unbiblical this office is.

Mohler is absolutely right.  Let’s not through pragmatism or naivete be duped into belittling the core of our faith which is the biblical gospel by which men must be saved.

I recommend listening to the entirety of Dr. Mohler’s podcast analysis, the first 9 minutes and 30 seconds of today’s THE BRIEFING:

http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/03/14/the-briefing-03-14-13/

One evening my Iowa brother-in-law, Mark, loaded up our sons into his SUV, along with his German short hair hunting dog.  Off we drove to the fields for some pheasant hunting.  To make it a time of guaranteed fun, he also brought along ten live pheasants, which he carefully distributed among the tall grass clods in the field.  Because Uncle Mark stocked the field, both dog and hunters had a great night.

Concerning kingdom evangelism, the fields are not only white unto harvest, but also stocked for the hunting.

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37).

Kevin DeYoung writes:

I think one of the main reasons we struggle to tell people about Jesus is that deep down we just don’t think it will ever work. We think we’ve already tried to share with people before and nobody was interested. We imagine sharing our faith to be nothing but muscling up our strength to go do our duty and embrace failure. We soldier on, expecting fruitlessness, so we can say, “I did it, pastor.”

We knew it was coming.  Tim Tebow is now being bullied by the media into conforming to our politically correct culture.  They’re dictating that it’s unacceptable for Tim to associate with a Dallas pastor who believes homosexuality is sinful.  And if Tim doesn’t fall in line, they’ll make him pay by irreparably damaging his market value.

It’s not just with Tim.  The pressure is intensifying all over.  Become pro-homosexual, or else!  I feel for him.

Early this morning (Thursday, February 21), Mike Bianchi (seemingly a sincere supporter of Tim) wrote in the Orlando Sentinel:

On Nov. 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, one of America’s most beloved presidents, was shockingly assassinated on the streets of Dallas.

Now, a half century later, Tim Tebow, one of America’s most beloved athletes, will assassinate his own character and reputation if he preaches at the First Baptist Church of Dallas on April 28, 2013.

Don’t do it, Timmy.

For all of your fans who are Catholic or Mormon or Muslim or gay or simply decent, diverse human beings, please don’t do it.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-cowboys/headlines/20130221-orlando-columnist-tim-tebow-risking-it-all-by-associating-with-noxious-preacher-of-dallas-church.ece

Just a few hours later, Tim decided to cancel his previously scheduled speaking engagement.

‘Due to new information,’ NFL quarterback Tim Tebow cancels First Baptist of Dallas appearance

In a series of tweets on his Twitter account (@TimTebow), Tim Tebow has announced on Twitter that he will no longer appear at First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, a scheduled visit that attracted national attention.

“While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ’s unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my upcoming appearance.” Tebow announced in over four tweets. “I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day. Thank you for all of your love and support. God Bless!”

As was written Monday in The Dallas Morning News, Tebow was to appear April 28 at the Dallas church led by Dr. Robert Jeffress as part of First Baptist’s monthlong celebration of the $130 million expansion and renovation of its downtown campus.

In America’s ongoing cultural wars, Tebow’s very public faith and Jeffress’ strict-constructionist views on salvation and Christianity have generated enormous amounts of controversy.

Jeffress has been outspoken against homosexuality, said Islam and Mormonism are “heresy from the pit of hell” and tied Catholicism to “a Babylonian mystery religion” that corrupted the early Christian church.

Neither man makes any apology.

“I think as pastors we have a duty to preach ‘the whole counsel of God,’ and not just discuss those that are politically correct,” Jeffress said. “It’s my role to speak clearly on the issues on which the Bible speaks clearly. It’s my role to preach what the Bible says, and that includes the controversial issues.

“The reason for this firestorm is not because the word of God has changed. It’s because society has changed.”

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-cowboys/headlines/20130221-tim-tebow-cancels-april-appearance-at-first-baptist-church-of-dallas.ece

Dr. Robert Jeffress endorsed Mormon candidate Mitt Romney for president.

Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper describe an “aha moment” in their ministry:

At Sojourn, we gather large on Sundays and small in community groups and in homes throughout the week. One of our community group coaches went to visit a community group a while back, and found this tendency at work.It was a newer group at a campus that had recently launched, and the group members were eager to do something big and evangelistic. They wanted to coordinate a fall festival or cookout at the campus, inviting the neighborhood around the church to attend. The coach listened, nodding, and finally interrupted.

“These are all great ideas, but let me ask you something. What’s the guy’s name in the house next door?”

There was a long and awkward pause. Finally the group leader spoke up. “Uh, I’m not sure.”

“How ’bout across the street?” the coach asked.

This time the leader knew a first name, but when pressed further, he didn’t know the wife’s name, the kids’ names, or what the neighbor did for a living. The group had a big vision for reaching the “lost,” but they didn’t have affection for the people living just next door.

The coach, wisely, identified something all too common for us. We’re happy to put together projects and throw big events at our churches. We’re much more hesitant to befriend neighbors, share life with them, and be witnesses to grace in our ordinary, everyday interactions.

—Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper, Faithmapping: A Gospel Atlas for Your Spiritual Journey (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 183.

Matthew 22:39: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The U.S. Military is lifting its ban on women serving in combat.  This is one of the biggest policy changes in Defense Department history.

Wise or foolish?

Here is a summary analysis excerpted from my book Womanly Dominion: More than a Gentle and Quiet Spirit (Mark Chanski, Calvary Press, p 210f).

http://www.amazon.com/Womanly-Dominion-Gentle-Quiet-Spirit/dp/1879737604/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359040582&sr=8-1&keywords=womanly+dominion

Important Considerations

1. There are biblical concerns.  The Bible presents a comprehensive picture of differentiation between men and women that certainly extends to the battlefield.  Men are to protect women and children who are, generally speaking, not as physically strong and militarily brave.

“Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, until the LORD gives your brothers rest” (Joshua 1:14-15a, emphasis added).

 “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head  from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their armies” (Numbers 1:2-3, emphasis added).

 Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, . . . and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.  You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman (1 Peter 3:6-7a, emphasis added).

 “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots . . .  Then the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, ‘Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart’” (Deuteronomy 20:1a, 8, emphasis added).

 In that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them (Isaiah 19:16, emphasis added).

 The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, they stay in the strongholds; Their strength is exhausted.  They are becoming like women (Jeremiah 51:30a, emphasis added).

             2. There are physical concerns.  The Center for Military Readiness states: “Female soldiers are, on average, shorter and smaller than men, with 45-50% less upper body strength and 25-30% less aerobic capacity, which is essential for endurance. Even in current non-combat training, women suffer debilitating bone stress fractures and other injuries at rates double those of men.” [i]

This is relevant considering that the equipment a soldier carries into combat can easily approach 100 pounds (flak jacket, rucksack, weaponry, etc.), and that every soldier should have the capacity to carry his comrade (of 200 lbs.?) out of harm’s way.  Private Jessica Lynch, the soldier who was injured and captured in Iraq during 2003, was “five foot three and a wispy 100 pounds.”[ii]  Furthermore, menstruation cycles and pregnancy are also delicate facts of life.

3. There are psychological concerns.  Do women have an adequate killer instinct?  Does the presence of women with men damage a combat unit’s esprit de corps?  Do budding romantic relationships between men and women disrupt a unit’s fighting capability?  Does a man’s natural protective instinct toward women suspend a soldier’s ability to make wise battlefield decisions?  After 1948 Israel Defense Forces policy for many years withdrew women from combat after observing a male infantryman’s rage when he witnessed a wounded woman.  His uncontrollable, protective, instinctual aggression could have caused a massacre.[iii]  Real men instinctively run to a woman’s rescue, potentially endangering the larger military unit.

4. There are POW concerns.  Combat assignments place women at high risk of being captured, tortured, and sexually assaulted.  Unlike their male counterparts, women are almost always subjected to sexual abuse of varying degrees upon capture.  According to the American doctors who examined Pfc. Jessica Lynch after her 2003 rescue by Special Operations forces, she was brutally raped by Iraqi thugs during the three to four hours following her ambush and capture.[iv]

5. There are moral concerns.  It is not prudent to order married men and women to live in close quarters where they are tempted to adultery.  The same can be said about singles and fornication.

Summary Opinion

I believe that women should be removed from all combat situations and employed militarily only in non-threatening support roles.  This is not sexual discrimination.  It is privileged exemption.  Our nation should honorably dignify and exalt women by protecting them from cruelty and carnage.  Women should fight only as a last resort, when survival demands it, i.e., “when the Indians are circling the ranch and the men are dead and wounded.”[v]

My hearts beats with John Piper’s on this theme:

 If I were the last man on the planet to think so, I would want the honor of saying that no woman should go before me into combat to defend my country.  A man who endorses women in combat is not pro-woman; he’s a wimp.  He should be ashamed.  For most of history, in most cultures, he would have been utterly scorned as a coward to promote such an idea.  Part of the meaning of manhood as God created us is the sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of our women.[vi]

For almost 20 years I’ve pastored Harbor Church in Holland, Michigan.  Grand Rapids, my home-town, is a suburb of Holland 🙂

Two years ago, Holland was ranked as the 2nd Happiest City in the US by a Gallup survey.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/michigan-town-happiest-places-america/story?id=9865005

Top Ten Healthiest, Happiest Places in America

1) Boulder, Colo.

2) Holland-Grand Haven, Mich.

3) Honolulu

4) Provo-Orem, Utah

5) Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif.

6) Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.

7) San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

8) Washington, D.C.- Arlington, Va.- Alexandria, Va.

9) Ogden-Clearfield, Utah

10) Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.

And now, Grand Rapids, previously designated by Newsweek Magazine as a “dying city”, has been recognized as raised from the dead.  “Bland Rapids” has become Grand again.

My friend, Mike Nichols, a staff reporter for the Grand Rapids Business Journal, has written an insightful article describing the resurrection:

In August of 2011, RelocateAmerica placed Grand Rapids No. 2 on its list of Top 10 Best Places to Live in the U.S.

The world didn’t come to an end in 2012, and neither did Grand Rapids, which kicked off last year by being named first on Forbes’ list of Best Cities For Raising Families. For many Grand Rapidians, that one felt especially good.

Grand Rapids also was recently ranked as the eighth best economic comeback city in the U.S. by a Metro Monitor report from the nonprofit Brookings Institution. Brookings rated Grand Rapids 13th in employment, third in unemployment, 12th in output (GDP) and 50th in housing prices.

Maybe Newsweek, which ceased its print publications in December, should be grateful Grand Rapids never countered with a list of dying magazines.

You can read Mike’s entire article here:

http://www.grbj.com/articles/75916-gr-no-longer-ranked-as-dying-city

If you’re a West Michigander, you’ll want to take a minute to watch the striking video Mike has included.  Grand Rapids is American Pie.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.     — Psalm 16:6

Come on over!

Twenty five years ago, did you ever think homosexuality would be normalized?  “No way!”, you thought.

Way.

Read this: The Normalization of Pedophilia by Timothy Whitman:

John Piper tells how he was 31 years old and a teacher at Bethel College in St. Paul when he entered the chapel service.  The Old Testament professor Art Lewis began the service by reciting from memory, and with insightful enunciation, Matthew 6:25-34 : “. . . do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or drink . . . ”

Piper says that he had never before heard anyone do that — recite such an extended passage so thoughtfully from memory.  It blew him away.  It revolutionized his spiritual life.  It was a defining moment, driving him to become a ferocious bible memorizer.

He then moves on to urge his church to commit themselves to the same:

My testimony can be summed up in eight short sentences.

1. Memorizing Scripture makes meditation possible at times when I can’t be reading the Bible, and meditation is the pathway of deeper understanding.  If you’re gonna meditate on the law of the Lord day and night, you need to have some of it in your head.
2. Memorizing Scripture strengthens my faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, and that happens when I am hearing the word in my head.
3. Memorizing Scripture shapes the way I view the world by conforming my mind to God’s viewpoint.  On everything!
4. Memorizing Scripture makes God’s word more readily accessible for overcoming temptation to sin, because God’s warnings and promises are the way we conquer the deceitful promises of sin.
5. Memorizing Scripture guards my mind by making it easier to detect error—and the world is filled with error, since the god of this world is a liar.
6. Memorizing Scripture enables me to hit the devil in the face with a force he cannot resist, and so protect myself and my family from his assaults.  What are YOU hitting him with?  He is millions of times stronger than you.  And he hates you, and your family, and your marriage, and this church, and God.  How anyone walks through this Devil-ruled world without a sword in his hand is beyond me!
7. Memorizing Scripture provides the strongest and sweetest words for ministering to others in need.  Ever been caught off guard?  With somebody in need?  You don’t need to be caught off guard.
8. Memorizing Scripture provides the matrix for fellowship with Jesus because he talks to me through his word, and I talk to him in prayer.  Here AND NOWHERE ELSE, O sweetly, powerfully, authentically, really, He speaks to me here.  And I can talk back to Him in prayer.  And O how sweet it is.  And if His word is here (in my head), then we can speak anywhere!

That’s my testimony. I hope it will motivate you to make your own discoveries.

Here’s a striking 4 minute video clip from John Piper’s sermon:

Desiring God – “If My Words Abide in You” – John 15:1-7 – January 4, 2009

To leap from day to day like a mad hunter scouring the fields, is an omen of being delivered over to destruction.

But the solemn pause, the deliberate consideration — these are means of grace and signs of an indwelling life.

The tide of ocean stays a while at ebb before it resolves to flood again.  The moon sometimes lingers at the full.

There are distinct hedges in nature set between the acres of time — even the stroke of the bell is a little mound of warning; men should not remove landmarks, but beat  the bounds frequently and keep with due interval and solemnity the remembrance of the passing away of days, and months, and years.

— C. H. Spurgeon – Preface to Evening By Evening

Think about people who find themselves in religious ruts. They discover a number of things about themselves. They will find that they are getting older but not getting any holier. Time is their enemy, not their friend. The time they trusted and looked to is betraying them, for they often said to themselves, “The passing of time will help me. I know some good old saints, so as I get older I’ll get holier and better. Time will help me, purify me and revive me.” They said that the year before last, but they were not helped any last year. Time betrayed them. They were not any better last year than they had been the year before.

— A. W. Tozer – Rut, Rot, or Revival

How solemn is the reflection, that with a new cycle of time for each traveler to Zion, commences a new and untrodden path!  New events in his history will transpire, new scenes in the panorama of life will unfold, new phases of character will develop, new temptations will attack, new duties will be assigned, new trials will be experienced, new sorrows will be felt, new friendships will be formed, new mercies will be bestowed.  As the pilgrim journeying thru the wilderness to his eternal home stands upon the threshold of this untried period of his existence, how truly may it be said, when pondering the unknown and uncertain future, “Ye have not passed this way before.”

— Octavius Winslow – Morning Thoughts

What are Christians to think when we see in the newspaper, or on TV reports that criminal behavior is not primarily sinful acting but brain misfiring?

Ed Welch writes in his book Blame It On The Brain?:

I once watched a televised press conference given by a prominent politician that made me actually feel sorry for the man’s brain. It was declared guilty without any real evidence. . .

He had been caught in the act of buying and using illegal drugs. It was all on tape. How was he going to get out of it this time?

As he was moving toward the podium, a reporter called out, “Why did you do it? Why did you lie to us all these years?” His response was immediate. “I didn’t do it,” he said. “My brain was messed up. It was my brain that did it. My disease did it!” There wasn’t a hint of remorse—only indignation that someone would ask such a question.

I had to shake my head as I watched. Surely he could come up with a better answer than that! No real student of the brain would accept such an excuse. I thought, “These reporters will be all over him in a minute with that response.”

But to my surprise, no one was laughing. His answer actually seemed to satisfy everyone present. Maybe they were afraid that they would appear ignorant of some brain research that supported the politician’s claims. Maybe they didn’t want to attack someone as a villain who might turn out to be a victim. Whatever the case, the politician appeared to have silenced his critics. He was already moving to another topic.

If privately polled, most of those attending the press conference would probably have said that this man was simply trying to avoid blame. But they would have had to give him credit for at least one thing: he knew how to change with the times. A few decades ago, his best bet would have been to blame his upbringing. Now, following some of the cultural trends of the day, he blamed it on his brain. And no one dared challenge him. . . 

As human problems seem to get both deeper and more widespread, people are desperate for solutions—and the quicker the better! How wonderful it would be, many think, if the right pill or genetic alteration could solve our problems! And such hope is encouraged by reports suggesting that we are on the verge of revolutionary brain treatments for problems that were once attributed to the soul.

As Christians, we are not so naive, however. We know that we cannot blindly accept everything we hear as God’s truth. Information we receive about brain functioning is viewed the same way we view any information, whether it is about finances, parenting, or the causes of our behavior: we view it through the lens of Scripture. And that requires us to be thoughtful, careful, and prayerful as we hear and assess the latest scientific discoveries.

Frankly, many people don’t understand why we attempt to do this. They think we are narrow-minded, old-fashioned, paranoid, or—well, you fill in the blanks. Most people are under the impression that researchers go into their laboratories and simply report the facts.

Then, those who get those facts report them to us. The reality, however, isn’t that simple. Although observations and discoveries come to us garbed in scientific language, they are more than just facts by the time we hear them. The reality is that, like all information we receive, data about the brain is shaped by influences such as our own desires and the unspoken assumptions of our culture.

At best, by the time brain research filters down to us, it is like a message distorted by a long game of “Whisper down the lane.” The original brain researcher whispers, “The brain is a remarkable instrument that participates in or contributes to all behavior.” But the last person hears, “My brain made me do it.”

That’s what you and I tend to hear from our neighbors or read in the newspapers.

—  From Blame It On The Brain? Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, & Disobedience; by Edward T. Welch, P&R Publishing, pp 13-14.