Don’t We Already Have Kids?

Posted on May 17, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

I came across this inspiring call to care for orphans and to consider adoption from Randy Stinson. Dr. Stinson serves as President of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) and as Dean of the School of Church Ministries at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. I have had the privilege of him serving as a professor for one of my classes at SBTS and he’s a wonderful man of God. After reading his words below, answer these questions:

● What’s my heart attitude towards orphans?
● What am I doing to reach out to them? How can I promote their care in my church?
● Am I praying for them?
● Am I called to adopt or is there a way to help a family as they do so?

“I can hardly breathe,” I told my wife. And I meant it. We were in an old elevator headed to the third floor of a battered women’s shelter in downtown Taipei just seconds before meeting our two new daughters. They were 5 ½ and 3 ½ and were just as nervous as we were. The social workers blandly announced to the girls, “here’s your mama, and here’s your papa.” They handed us a bag of clothes that did not fit and sent us on our way. No fan fare, no celebration, no instructions. It was one of the greatest days of our life. It was also the culmination of years of conviction, hard work, bureaucracy, patience (impatience!), and prayer.

The most common question we heard through the whole process was, “Don’t you already have kids?” What they meant was, “why would you adopt when you can obviously have kids biologically?” We had three biological children but it never crossed our mind that we should not add to our family through the gift of adoption.

Here are the factors that were the driving force behind our decision to adopt:

We are committed to life. For our entire marriage we have supported many pro life causes. But we always felt that if we were going to encourage unwed girls to give birth to their babies, then Christians should be in line to be ready to adopt those who would be given up. It was our way of “putting our money where our mouth was.”

We are committed to the helpless and disadvantaged. James (1:27) makes it clear that one of the evidences of our faith is how we respond to the “affliction” of widows and orphans. Taking care of these two groups is time consuming, messy, and sacrificial. But it is a central part of the Christian life. We wanted to make sure that our family was heavily invested in this important admonition.

We are committed to biblical manhood. Men are called to lead, provide, and protect (Gen. 1-2, Eph. 5, I Kings 2:1-9, 1 Pet. 3, Col. 3). This is a fundamental teaching of the Bible and it does not merely pertain to the four walls of one’s home. Men should be looking for those who need protection and provision. There are fatherless children all over the world. Every year I meet women who are burdened for adoption but their husbands won’t budge. It’s usually something about retirement, college costs, or they are finally able to afford that boat they always wanted. In our home, the men lead and sacrificially give of themselves for the good of others.

We are committed to Gospel-centeredness. The doctrine of adoption is at the heart of the Gospel. We are born outside of Christ, but it is through Christ that we receive “the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry ‘Abba! Father!’” (Rom. 8:15) Physical adoption is a daily living picture of this spiritual reality. It is a constant reminder to our family and others of the grace and mercy of God and His love for the lost and care for the fatherless.

We are committed to the nations. Not everyone is called to international adoption but the result is a reminder of God’s love for every “nation and tribe and language and people.” (Rev. 14:6). Every week the Lord adds people to his church and tells you and I to love them. They may not look like us, smell like us, have the same socio-economic background as us, or talk like us. But that’s the beauty of the Gospel. Twice we have brought into our home children from another country and told our other kids, “they don’t talk like you or look like you, but here’s another one, love them.” It has been one of the biggest blessings in the whole process for us and has dramatically shaped our view of the whole world.

Maybe the next big decision in your life will involve a vacation house or a boat or a car that you don’t need. Maybe it will involve trying to sock away even more money for that early retirement you have been hoping for. It might even involve contributing to a monument or building with your name on it. Or just maybe it will involve an old elevator in another country with your mind in a whirl, your heart racing, adrenaline rushing, and your lungs struggling inexplicably for their next breath. And in making that decision, it might not even cross your mind that you already have kids.

By Nelson Chapman
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Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Christian Living, Culture, Orphan Care | Leave a comment

Obama, Gay Marriage, and the Golden Rule

Posted on May 16, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

Part of a letter sent to U.S. President Barak Obama:

Last week, Mr. President, you announced during an interview with ABC News that you support gay marriage. You are the first incumbent President in American history to do so. You explained that your views on this issue have “evolved.” Indeed, they have. In 1996, as an Illinois State Senate candidate, you marked your support for gay marriage in a questionnaire, but later denied it saying it was an aide who filled out the form. When seeking to become a U.S. Senator, in 2004, you stated, “I’m a Christian. I do believe that tradition and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.” This was your basic position on the issue throughout the 2008 Presidential election and as President up until last week.

Granted, there were obvious indicators that you were friendly to those advocating gay marriage through the years. You’ve consistently asserted that gays and lesbians should be treated fairly in law and public discourse. Your own inner tension on same sex marriage was not hidden in your 2006 book, Audacity of Hope, “I was reminded that it is my obligation not only as an elected official in a pluralistic society, but also as a Christian, to remain open to the possibility that my unwillingness to support gay marriage is misguided.”

I understand that, like anyone else, you can change views on certain issues. But when a public servant has advocated a certain position on this issue for years and then changes, I instinctively want to know two things. First, why are you changing your view now? Second, what are the compelling arguments that moved you from one position to another on such an important societal concern like marriage?

In the ABC News interview, you cite various reasons for now supporting gay marriage: 1) talks with friends and family, 2) seeing evidence from staff of committed, monogamous gay relationships that raise children, 3) feeling pained for military members who defend the country that can’t enjoy same sex marriages, 4) wanting to teach your daughters that it’s not okay to treat people legally different, 5) Michelle holds the same view, and 6) your Christian faith. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt that you also researched historical positions, moral and ethical implications, societal effects, psychological studies, biological vs. choice issues of homosexuality, etc.

Mr. President, it’s the last thing you cite in the interview that caught my attention the most: you cite your Christian profession as a reason to support gay marriage. Here is what you said:

…the values that I care most deeply about and she [Michelle] cares most deeply about is how we treat other people. And you know, we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated. And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids and that’s what motivates me as president and I figure the most consistent I can be in being true to those precepts, the better I’ll be as a dad and a husband and, hopefully, the better I’ll be as president.

This is bad Biblical exegesis, Mr. President. You better have a stern talk with your speech writers or spiritual counselors advising you.

What is the Golden Rule? Jesus states in Matthew 7:12, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” The Golden Rule is proactively treating others in a loving and positive way just as you desire for yourself. Yet, this great statement of Jesus must not be understood as an isolated statement, but also in its context as part of the larger Sermon on the Mount. This is why the Golden Rule is introduced in the ESV with “so” or with “therefore” in the NASB and KJV. It is connected with what comes before it. Matthew 5:17 and 7:12 form an inclusio to the bulk of the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus explains how the Kingdom of God and its true citizens fulfill the Law and the Prophets. The very reason Jesus gives for living the Golden Rule is because it sums up the Law and the Prophets. Now it’s important to understand that Jesus also sums up the Law and the Prophets in this fashion:

And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:35-40)

Loving God above all else and loving others is at the heart of the Law and the Prophets. Therefore, both God and man are in view here in the Golden Rule. God is honored in the Golden Rule as we obey it. With that in mind, here’s where we Scripturally arrive with your remarks on gay marriage and the Golden Rule:

1. The Golden Rule means I seek the best for my neighbor. I ask, “What can I do in this situation that best serves and loves my neighbor?” In the Holy Bible, that question is always answered in the light of what places them in a loving relationship with God and best helps them fulfill their original intent in creation: to glorify God. Since God instituted marriage in Genesis 1-2 between a man and a woman, it is not seeking God’s best for your neighbor to encourage him to seek something outside of God’s revealed design for marriage.

2. The Golden Rule does not mean letting my neighbor do whatever he wants. It cannot be invoked in order to have one look the other way while another sins against God. Oh, the countless sinful behaviors that can be condoned by this way of handling the Golden Rule! Instead, it means loving your neighbor enough to tell them that they have violated God’s will and the way to restoration through Christ. Throughout Scripture, the Lord states that homosexuality is outside His will and is a sin (ex: Lev. 18:22, Rom. 1:26-28, I Cor. 6:9, 1 Tim 1:9-11). Indeed, Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word…” (John 14:23-24) Mr. President, how do you reconcile these other passages of Scripture on homosexuality with the Golden Rule without tearing apart the Bible? You can’t pick and choose which parts you want to follow. It’s ALL the Word of God.

3. The Golden Rule is primarily about God’s honor and glory. Since the Golden Rule sums up the Law and the Prophets and since they are summed up foremost in the Great Commandment (love God above all), it’s all about God’s worship in the end. It is not about people’s opinions, preferences, and political persuasion. It is about the sovereign God being honored by His created creatures in doing all that reflects His holy character. The Golden Rule cannot be used to justify favoring homosexual marriage since it does the exact opposite.

Sir, you are mishandling the Golden Rule. It makes you appear to be twisting the Bible to meet your political agenda. That is not your intent, right? Though I must admit, your position is quite unchristian since you are knowingly going against expressed Bible teaching. I understood your invoking of the Golden Rule as a way of saying you are trying to do what God commands by being open-minded to gay marriage. But God does not contradict Himself or command that which is expressly against His holy character. So in your attempt to please Him, you must also follow everything He commands and not just select passages. The irony here is that as you try to honor Him, you are dishonoring Him.

I wish you had spoken more about why you used to view marriage as only between a man and a woman in the past. Do those reasons no longer have any validity? Are you simply choosing to ignore those reasons now? Is there something new and profound you have discovered that reverses that time tested pillar of civilization? You can try to justify your decision in many ways, but you absolutely cannot do so using the Bible. The Bible is quite clear that Almighty God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman, which is a picture of Christ and His Church. That’s not my opinion or personal interpretation, but what it actually says.

Mr. President, I am praying for you and will continue to do so. Since you profess to be a Christian, I’m praying that you are still open to “evolving” and have not shut your heart and mind to further study, especially on what the Lord God instructs through His Word. Indeed, I will keep praying that your heart be like that of old King Nebuchadnezzar’s: “I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37)

With Respect From A Concerned Citizen, Nelson Chapman

Note: to further help our understanding of homosexuality, I am passing along these videos down below from The Village Church (Matt Chandler). He examines homosexuality from a Biblical and cultural point of view in the first two videos and then does a Q & A in the third one. He is quite Biblical & fair in his assessment. I first saw this on Justin Taylor’s blog and thought it timely to pass them along.

By Nelson Chapman
_____________________________________________________

Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Bible, Christian Living, Culture, Marriage | Leave a comment

Our World: In Case You Missed It In The News This Past Week

Posted on May 16, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

1. The First Gay President, Newsweek (Andrew Sullivan)

2. Is gay marriage sin? Americans are divided, USA Today (Cathy Lynn Grossman)

3. Committee OKs allowing chaplains to oppose gays, Army Times (Rick Maze) 

4. Black churches conflicted on Obama’s gay marriage decision, USA Today (Dennis Cauchon) 

5. On gay marriage, is Obama ‘imposing his religion’, The Washington Post (Matthew J. Franck) 

6. Europe’s Man Made Disaster, Slate (Joseph Stiglitz) 

7. Yeosu Expo kicks off 93-day journey, Korea Herald (Kim So-hyun)

8. Christianity Is Largest Faith Group, Shifts South, Ethics Daily Staff 

9. Why Baptists stand with Catholics on birth control mandate, The Washington Post (Bryant Wright, Richard Land and O. S. Hawkins)

10. Defense secretary restricts flights of F-22 Raptors, Los Angeles Times (W.J. Hennigen)

11. Study: Outside media changing N. Korean worldview, Stars and Stripes (Matthew Pennington)

12. U.S. says it’s ready to receive Chen, but waiting on China, CNN

By Nelson Chapman
_____________________________________________________

Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Culture | Leave a comment

Cynicism in Prayer

Posted on May 15, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

I wanted to pass along this insightful & challenging video from Desiring God about our prayer life. Paul Miller is the one speaking. I highly recommend his book A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A Distracting World.

By Nelson Chapman
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Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Christian Living, Prayer | Leave a comment

Our World: In Case You Missed It In The News This Past Week

Posted on May 9, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

1. Mosques and Mormon temples filling fastest in U.S., The Globe and Mail (Paul Koring)

2. ‘Seismic Shift’ In Europe After French And Greek Elections, NPR (Mark Memmott)

3. NC approves amendment on gay marriage, The Columbus Dispatch (Martha Waggoner)

4. China escalates crackdown on house churches, Baptist Press

5. Methodists keep doctrinal language calling homosexuality incompatible with Christian teaching, The Washington Post (Associated Press)

6. South Korea: Confiscated ‘health’ pills made of human remains, Los Angeles Times (Jung-yoon Choi and Barbara Demick)

7. Study: Over Half of South Jersey’s Catholics Believe Jesus Sinned, The Christian Post (Jeff Schapiro)

8. Christian Painter Thomas Kinkade Died From Valium, Alcohol Overdose, The Christian Post (Nicola Menzie)

9. GPS jamming highlights N.K. cyber war threat, The Korea Herald (Shin Hyon-hee)

10. Air Force pilots who blew whistle on F-22 problems will be protected, Orlando Sentinel (Lolita C. Baldor)

11. AZ defunding of P. Parenthood continues trend, Baptist Press (Tom Strode)

12. Nielsen: Smartphone owners now the majority, USA Today (Brett Molina)

By Nelson Chapman
_____________________________________________________

Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Culture | Leave a comment

The Story of Ian & Larissa

Posted on May 9, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

This moving video on God’s grace and marriage was posted by Desiring God. I wanted to pass this along as an encouragement to all those in marriages. Warning: may produce tears!

By Nelson Chapman
_____________________________________________________

Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Christian Living, Family, Marriage | Leave a comment

Ten Contemporary Sacred Cows that Need to be Tipped

Posted on May 3, 2012 by SCBC BLOG


A hearty “amen” to Jared Moore’s post at his blog (ExaltChrist) entitled, “Ten Contemporary Sacred Cows that Need to be Tipped.” He hammers the anthropocentric attitude of so many in our churches today and pulls us to a Christocentric position for church and our lives. Let the tipping reformation begin!

1. Entertainment-based Sermons

Pastors/elders/teachers want to be liked. Some want to be liked so much that they’re willing to entertain their hearers while preaching the Bible. They wrongly assume that because people enjoy their sermons, they enjoy Jesus as well. The problem is that if we’re seeking to entertain our hearers, then we don’t believe God or Scripture can hold the attention of God’s people. In other words, you may say “the Bible is worthy of your attention,” but if you’re using entertainment to communicate this, then you’re undercutting your message with your methods. If the Bible is worthy to be heard because God is its Author, then you shouldn’t have to use entertainment to get Christians to listen to it. You just might be entertaining your hearers to death.

2. Bribes

Easter Sunday was just a few weeks ago. With the heightened cultural interest in the resurrection of Christ, churches pulled out all the stops to persuade attendees. Churches gave away cars, money, ipads, food, etc. Should churches bribe sinners to attend worship services? Here are four realities about bribing sinners: 1) Bribing people to hear the gospel is absent from Scripture. 2) Bribing people to attend a worship service encourages them to attend worship for sinful reasons. 3) Bribing people to attend a worship service communicates the opposite of the gospel. 4) Bribing people to attend worship does not make disciples. Due to these reasons, I think Christians bribe sinners to hear the gospel because they’ve reversed the order of the two greatest commandments: First, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and second, to love your neighbor as yourself. Bribing people exalts loving one’s neighbor above loving God, because the purpose of evangelism is to glorify God, not to glorify sinners or Christians.

3. Revivalistic Quotas

Numbers, numbers, numbers, that’s what’s emphasized throughout evangelicalism. Is there anywhere in Scripture where Israel’s strength or the church’s strength were in numbers? No. Is there anywhere in Scripture where God evaluated His church or their ministry based on numbers? No. So, why is there a huge emphasis on numbers today? The answer is because in the Western part of the world, bigger is better. Some also argue that numbers are important because souls are important, but if you really care about souls, you’ll labor to make disciples, not to merely baptize unrepentant, salvation-ignorant people who do not understand the lifelong commitment they’re making. The Great Commission has been redefined today as baptizing those who confess Christ as Lord, with the Great Omission being the command to “teach these Christians everything that Christ has commanded” (Matt. 28:18-20). Repentance and faith in Christ is the beginning of Christianity. When a believer is baptized, he or she has just begun his or her public identification with Christ. In order to truly fulfill the Great Commission, the local church must take these baptized believers and teach them everything Christ has commanded.

4. Selfish Motives in Worship

Have you ever heard another believer say about worship, “I didn’t get anything out of that.” Next time you hear this, say, “It’s not about you.” God alone deserves to be glorified in worship. The only time we shouldn’t get anything out of worship is when God isn’t glorified. If the word of God was sung, prayed, and preached faithfully, and you didn’t get anything out of worship, then repent and worship because God is worthy of worship. Worship is not about us. God is the center of worship, not us.

5. Atmosphere-induced Nostalgia

The goal of worship is to glorify God, not to feel good. Have you ever read the Psalms, the hymnal of God’s people for thousands of years? They’re not always happy or joyful. In other words, they’re not nostalgia-inducing. Today’s worship in the local church is largely about an atmosphere that encourages worship. The test of “true” worship is often how good one feels when he or she leaves the worship service. Specific lighting, styles of music, sentimentality, singing phrases over and over, etc. serve to create a euphoric feeling that hearers will long for for the rest of their lives. The problem is that the feeling, the nostalgia, becomes the god the believer longs for instead of the true God who is worthy of worship when believers feel like it and when they don’t.

6. Relevant Sermons

There is such a large emphasis on preaching “relevant” sermons today, which often translates to sermons that “meet people’s needs,” regardless how selfish, narcissistic, and godless these needs may be. The preacher’s goal is not to make the Bible relevant, but to help his hearers see how relevant the Bible is! The Bible is the Word of God and is timelessly relevant! The Bible transcends all societies, cultures, fads, etc. If you’re “making the Bible relevant,” then change your name to “the Holy Spirit.”

7. Relativistic Interpretation

There’s an emphasis in our culture on being tolerant of other individuals and their ideas. This mentality has infiltrated the church as well. Various interpretations of Scripture are tolerated, often based on the perceived sincerity of an individual instead of the intrinsic social, historical, and grammatical properties of the text itself. The text does not have multiple meanings, but one meaning that has multiple applications. We cannot act like interpreters have more authority than the author who originally penned the words. It doesn’t matter what we “think” or “feel” about the text. What matters is what the author meant, what his recipients understood, what the Holy Spirit intended, and how all these truths apply to our daily lives. Don’t jump authorial intent to make yourself the “new author” by applying the text beyond the meaning of the text.

8. Parenting and Ministering for Man’s Applause instead of God’s Glory

Something that’s interesting about much of children’s ministry and youth ministry is that ministers are terribly concerned with being liked by these immature Christians or unbelievers. They’re desperately concerned with their hearers enjoying their songs, prayers, and sermons. Furthermore, parents are very concerned with whether or not their children enjoy going to worship at a local church. What happened to truth? What about God? What happened to “he who has ears to hear, let him hear”? Ministers and parents everywhere, for sake of hearing the applause of children and youth, are compromising the truth on the altar of being liked or possessing an easy life. I realize if a child hates church that every worhsip service you attend will be a battle, but that doesn’t free you to give your child another reason other than God to attend worship. Furthermore, if you’re a minister, don’t believe children and youth love Jesus because they love entertainment, and you’re trying to communicate the gospel through entertainment. How can you get a selfish person to see the value of Jesus and their need for Him by appealing to their selfishness? If children and teenagers are saying, “I don’t care if God has spoken or not, I won’t listen to Him unless you entertain me,” then they neither love God, Jesus, His Word, or the local church.

9. Unchristian Love

Love has been radically redefined in the local church as being “accepting of all, while holding no one accountable to Biblical faithfulness.” How many churches consistently practice Biblical discipline? Very few. Even though God has always held His people accountable to His Word, and even though Biblical discipline is commanded in Scripture, local churches have redefined Christian love to include “tolerance of unrepentant sin,” while excluding “loving accountability to God’s Word.”

10. Demigod Evaluations

If you and I evaluate our ministries, defining them as “successful” or “unsuccessful” based on our own arbitrary observations, then we’re making demigod evaluations. A demigod is a deified mortal. In order to truly evaluate our ministries as successful or unsuccessful, we must have God’s all-knowing evaluating ability. In most conferences and denominations, those who are held up as examples are those who have large churches. They’re often held up as examples because of demigod evaluations carried out by those in various leadership positions. These ministers may be more successful or they may not be. The truth of the matter is that we cannot accurately evaluate our ministries or other people’s ministries beyond the Word of God, as if we know the hearts of everyone who attends these churches. In other words, faithfulness to Scripture should govern and motivate your ministry, not a demigod evaluation made by you or others. Pursue faithfulness to Scripture in light of Christ’s redeeming work, not arbitrary ego-boosting or “calling of God” destroying submission to demigod evaluations.

By Nelson Chapman
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Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Christian Living, Culture | Leave a comment

Our World: In Case You Missed It In The News This Past Week

Posted on May 2, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

1. Work to turn S. Korea Army post into urban oasis to begin in 2017, Stars & Stripes (Ashley Rowland and Yoo Kyong Chang)

2. Secularists counter National Day of Prayer with National Day of Reason, The Washington Post (Kimberly Winston)

3. New North Korean Missile Is Called Into Question, The New York Times (Choe Sang-hun)

4. Native-speaking teacher cuts slower than expected in Seoul, The Korea Herald (Paul Kerry)

5. Lady Gaga Is Pornographic, Claim South Korean Protesters, The Christian Post (Daniel Blake)

6. Is the Megachurch the New Liberalism?, Albert Mohler

7. Teen birth rate drops; deeper issues remain, Baptist Press (Aaron Earls)

8. More Children Born to Unmarried Parents, USA Today (Sharon Jayson)

9. Suicide Leading Cause of Korean Youths Deaths, Yonhap

10. Why are Millennials Leaving the Church?, The Washington Post (Robert P. Jones)

11. World Trade Center is back on top in NYC, The Kansas City Star (Associated Press)

12. Chen, who exposed China abortion policy, in spotlight, Baptist Press (Erin Roach)

By Nelson Chapman
_____________________________________________________

Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Culture | Leave a comment

Why Don’t Christians Care That They Sin?

Posted on May 2, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

At the 2010 Ligonier National Conference, R.C. Sproul and Alistair Begg respond to the question, “Why don’t Christians care that they sin?” This video is posted at the Ligonier Ministries website.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:11

By Nelson Chapman
_____________________________________________________

Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

Posted in Bible, Christian Living, Jesus Christ | Leave a comment

Prayer Is The Greater Work

Posted on April 28, 2012 by SCBC BLOG

Oswald Chambers penned, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work.” Prayer is the sweet communion with God that we need & the trail to faithful dependency upon the Sovereign. A Christian’s spiritual life is only as strong as his prayer life. A nation’s destiny is linked to its leaders & citizens offering prayer as humble reliance upon Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

This Thursday, America is observing the 61st annual National Day of Prayer. In their recognition of the nation’s need to seek God’s face, past leaders of America set up this annual observance. You can view their official website here.

This Sunday at SCBC, we are observing a Concert of Prayer at 3:30 pm (English Sanctuary) to corporately worship the Lord and seek His face in prayer. Then on Thursday, our Women’s Ministry is hosting a Prayer Walk in the community. In both of these, we want to be a people who are depending upon God, seeking His will in both others’ lives and our own, and growing in our love for Him.

Everyone is welcome to join us for these times. To learn more, visit our “events” tab on our Facebook page.

But this emphasis on prayer should not only be on one day a year, at a periodic Concert of Prayer, or the occasional Prayer Walk opportunity. Prayer should be a continual attitude for the people of God as well. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “…pray without ceasing…” That is easier said than done for many, of course. In order to help, I want to pass along an article by Gregory Koukl. He gives ten suggestions for your prayer life in it. These suggestions are not necessarily “must-dos” in your prayer life, but hopefully will cause you to think of ways to improve it. I found it a useful encouragement for my walk with God in the discipline of prayer. It is my desire that it is for yours as well.

10 Tips to Help Your Prayer Life

1. Choose a specific place to pray away from distractions so you can concentrate. Ringing phones and crying children will sabotage your “quiet time” before it gets started.

2. Pray at the same time every day, if at all possible. Make it part of your regular routine and it will become habit. Write it into your schedule and then treat it just like a daily appointment.

3. Pray out loud. Many people can pray under their breath or in their minds for long periods and still maintain intensity, but for most of us it’s a quick ticket to dreamland. When we pray out loud we have to form intelligent sentences. We have to concentrate more on what we’re praying about.

4. Keep a note pad handy so you can jot down different things that come to mind while you’re before the Lord. Sometimes you’ll get great ideas totally unrelated to what you’ve been praying about. If you jot them down you can quickly get back to the topic at hand without being too distracted.

5. Make a list to keep track of your prayer needs. This can be done several ways. Prayer needs can be listed by category like “Church,” “Family,” or “Unsaved friends.” Or they may be listed by the days of the week. Each day you pray for a different set of needs. You may want to include prayer everyday for a different area of society that has a tremendous influence on the direction of our nation. These seven categories include 1) the church and religion, 2) the family and the home, 3) the media, 4) government, 5) education, 6) business and commerce, and 7) the arts and entertainment.

6. Redeem time for praying out of unused corners of your schedule. Those who have to drive to work can use the time talking with the Lord instead of screaming at traffic (just don’t close your eyes!). Busy homemakers can combine prayer with housework, especially if the task doesn’t require a lot of concentration. Joggers, swimmers and cyclists can use their workout time for prayer. Sometimes my best times with the Lord have been chats during long, early morning walks or jogs along the beach.

7. Change the pace during your prayer time. Include praise, thanksgiving and singing as well as petition. Spend some of your time reflecting on the Scripture, meditating on it and digesting its meaning.

8. Keep a prayer journal. Here are two variations of this idea. The first is to keep track of what you prayed for and when you prayed for it. Leave a space to jot down the answer when it comes. This will help you to keep alert to God’s answer so you can thank Him promptly. Sometimes prayer answers come in the back door and you don’t want them to slip by you. The second variation is to write the entire prayer in your journal. Make it a personal letter to the Lord on a daily basis. Just write “Dear Lord” instead of “Dear Diary.”

9. Pray with someone else. Though some prayers can only be said in solitude, there will be times when you’ll want to join hearts with another person in prayer. If you commit to meet on a regular basis, the accountability can really help build consistency. Such prayer trysts can become powerful, life-changing events.

10. Pray one-sentence prayers. If the thought of laboring over a topic wears you out, pray short, sincere prayers instead. A sentence or two may be all that’s needed to exhaust the topic for you for the time being. If so, just move on to the next item without feeling guilty for your brevity.

By Nelson Chapman
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Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.

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