Part 3 of 14: Ask The Outpost

 

Part 3

As many of you know, I am candidating for the postion of Pastor at Eganville Baptist Church. The vote is December 11 (prayers appreciated). They recently had me up to do a Q&A session on various theological topic. I've decided to post these here in order to foster fellowship/conversation etc...


Some answers may be edited from the original.

What is salvation?

      Salvation is simply the Gospel of Jesus Christ, belief in his virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death and burial and triumphant resurrection. Salvation is received by faith through repentance alone and justification is by faith alone. Salvation is needed by humanity because of our sinfulness, both by nature and choice, and there is no salvation outside of Christ. That's about as simple as I can make it... I hope that answers the question sufficiently.

Part 2 of 14: Ask The Outpost.

Part 2

As many of you know, I am candidating for the postion of Pastor at Eganville Baptist Church. The vote is December 11 (prayers appreciated). They recently had me up to do a Q&A session on various theological topic. I've decided to post these here in order to foster fellowship/conversation etc...


Some answers may be edited from the original.

 

Are churches becoming too liberal in today's world?

I think that that's a really broad question, in many ways I think yes, some churches are far too liberal in doctrine and practice, and have even become apostate. and in other ways some churches are far too conservative in doctrine and practice and have become religious and legalistic. Good doctrine is certainly very important and I for one try very hard to remain orthodox, but you have to be careful not to paint with too big of a brush when dealing with these matters. Many if not most of these people may are your brothers and sisters in the faith, it is not our role to condemn them. Be mindful of your own doctrine and beliefs,certainly, and pray for and encourage others when you have opportunity.

Part 1 of 14: Ask The Outpost.

 

As many of you know, I am candidating for the postion of Pastor at Eganville Baptist Church. The vote is December 11 (prayers appreciated). They recently had me up to do a Q&A session on various theological topic. I've decided to post these here in order to foster fellowship/conversation etc...

Some answers may be edited from the original.

 

1.  Do you believe in the rapture?
2.  Are you premil or almil?

      I lumped the first two questions together because they are asking very similar questions. Essentially what my belief is on last things and what I think the timing is of those things. So I thought what I'd do here is go over the Fellowship's own statement of faith, and then I'll elaborate a bit: We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and in the judgment and conscious, eternal punishment of the wicked.

      That's it, that's not an excerpt, that's the whole thing, and I'll tell you this, I agree with that 100%, as to the specific details of when the rapture is, who is raptured, when the millennium is, when the tribulation is, all of that, there are good solid arguments on all sides of the issue and you're more than free to choose any of them. My recommendation is that you don't let your concern for the future and the end distract your ministry and mission today.

That's my answer, what do you think? What's your position on last things?

-Kevin

Muammar Gaddafi And The Image Of God.

"When we break down, it all breaks down. That's just how it works. You can bend it, and if you make it hot enough you can bend it in a circle, but you can't break it. When you break it, it all breaks down until there's nothing unbroken. It starts here and now."

                                                                                     -His Grace Sir Samuel Vimes
                                                                                                            "Night Watch"

     I don't have a lot of faith in the new Libya. It's a country that I have a certain affinity for. In high school, I was a Libyan representative in the security council of our Model UN. I learned all about Gaddafi; I was his representative. (I won second place) So when I heard that Libya was in an uprising during the recent Arab Spring I kept an eye on the news. Don't get me wrong, I sided with the Libyan freedom fighters (history is unlikley to remember them as rebels I think) like the rest of the world. Gaddafi WAS a despot, he WAS an autocrat. He called down air strikes on unarmed civillians; hard to root for a guy like that.

     There's another thing that Muammar Gaddafi was though; an image bearer of God. Gaddafi WAS a man, he WAS human, this means he was created by God and bore His image (albeit poorly) on this earth. That simple fact means that he was entitled to something he didn't receive at his death: dignity. The reports comming in of Gadaffi's death, or rather the way he died are sketchy at best. It'll be a while before we get the true story if ever. Stories vary wildly, but video that has surfaces on the internet show Gaddafi being manhandled, beaten, dragged, stripped, and stabbed. There is even a story floating around that he was sodomized with a combat knife. His last words were allegedly: "Don't shoot" then he was shot.

      Don't shoot...he had surrendered, he had lost. It's hard to write this post. It's hard to plead mercy for someone like Muammar Gaddafi, but Sir Samuel up there is right, when we break down, when we become the beast we are fighting, it all breaks down. The new Libya could have risen above Gaddafi, by giving him the dignity he didn't give others. Offering the mercy he didn't. Proven that they are not him by being better to him. They failed though, the new country must begin it's history with a black eye. I think it's sad, they're not in an insurmountable position, but they could have started better.

     This raises a new question, how ought we, as Christians, respond to the death of Muammar Gaddafi? Can we rejoice with the end of his regime and be saddened at his treatment? is that the only appropriate response? We all bear God's image in this world and not a single one of us deserves to. Is this the real problem of evil? Not "why does an omnipotent God allow evil" but How do Go's children respond to evil in the world?

     I read a story this week, about Henry Tandy. He spared a young German lance corporal's life in WWI. This is not uncommon, but that lance corporal grew up to become Adolf Hitler. I was conflicted about this story and wondered if his decision to save a nameless man's life ever ate at Tandey. My wife reminded me that mercy is always the better choice. 

     I don't have all the answers, I'm not even sure there are any, but it's times like these I really can pray "How long Oh Lord, will the wicked gloat? How long until You make all things new?"

-Kevin

5 Things They Don't Tell You About Fatherhood And 1 Thing They Do

     So, I'm a father. My little girl is three months old and her and my wife are in Detroit for the weekend visiting family. (I had to stay home and work.) It's a fitting time, I think, to write a little about the things I didn't expect about becoming a father, because there are some things that they don't tell you. But they should, things like.

Bonding:

     You will bond with your child at least twice, and the first time doesn't really count. When my daughter was born, I was in the room, I watched it happen. I, like most every other man who has ever experienced this event was immediately overcome with emotion. The problem with this, as many would tell you, is that you can't base a relationship on purely emotion. emotional highs (like the one I just described) wear away, they ebb and flow. We, as humans are selfish. It's one thing for me to decide to love my wife on a daily basis, but another to do the same to my daughter (at least it was at first). My wife can love me back, my week-old daughter, could not. This truth left me with a profound sense that my home had been invaded by a small person I had no feelings for. I hadn't really bonded yet. This left me with a deep, deep sense of guilt and shame because "fathers should love their daughters" I said to my wife. It took a little bit of time (a couple of weeks) but I did bond with my little girl and I do love her more than anyone on this planet, (except her mother) but those first weeks were hard.

Sleep:

     "Get your sleep now! Haw haw haw" it's what everyone tells you when they find you you're going to have a baby. What they don't tell you is that if your wife is breastfeeding, you will sleep more or less like you always did. Odds are, at least for the first year or so, your wife will be at home on maternity leave, and if that is the case, odds are you are working and your wife, will let you sleep so that you can go to work. She however, will not sleep which leads to...


Guilt:

     If you are sleeping, you will feel guilty about it. It doesn't matter what she says about this that it's ok, or that she understands, you will feel guilty that you are not suffering with her. also, she will be more tired than you regardless, you will feel guilty about that too.

The Bed:

     It will be taken over by a tiny human who takes up 80% of the space, your wife gets 15%, the extra pillows preventing you from rolling onto and crushing the baby get 2% and you get 3%. Or at least, that's how it feels.

Lying:

     You will lie to your friends and family about how much you love being a new dad until you've actually bonded with your child. Because until then, you really are just confused, and filled with mixed emotions about the whole thing, but you can't say that to your mother, or mother in law for that matter, the best you can get away with is that you're feeling "challenged" when in fact, you may be miserable because this tiny human has invaded your life.

But.

     After all this, there is something that they do tell you about fatherhood that makes it all worth it. The first time you walk into a room, and your baby looks at you, recognizes you and smiles, THAT moment, covers up all the bad and makes every single thing worth it. All I need from my little girl for the rest of my life, is that smile when she sees me, because even though she can't say it now, or even know what it means, that smile says: "I love you dad."

And that means the world.

-Kevin