Wilson on the slow/sad/sugary demise of evangelicalism...

Here is a great article by Doug Wilson from his always fascinating, sometimes infuriating, Credenda/Agenda webzine: http://www.credenda.org/issues/17-1thema.php

A sample quote:

So what was the watershed issue? Love (which is most necessary) is to be defined by God, and not by unbelieving bedwetters and handwringers. When we decide whether or not we are being nice by whether or not the unbelieving establishment says we are being nice, the end result is that we will eventually find ourselves cheek by jowl with the unbelievers in their unbelief. For the sake of winning them, we allow ourselves to be won by them. Just like a simpleton teenage girl, we hope vainly to lure some horny boy into chastity, and the way we think it can be done is by lying down with him in the back seat of a car. What could go wrong? . . . We in the American church have cycled downward into incoherent unbelief two times in the twentieth century. The first time was when the spirit of modernism captured the mainstream denominations, who allowed it in for the sake of relevance. And so, of course, those denominations promptly became irrelevant. Son of a gun. The second time is when the spirit of postmodernism captured the evangelical establishment, which happened some time ago, but like that simpleton girl we are now starting to show. This also was done for the sake of relevance. The times they are a changing, but of course, they didn't really change, and it turns out the devil still lies.

Building a Family

At Four Oaks Church we are in the midst of a major restructuring of what we call our 'body life'. There are plenty of reasons for this, and if you are an Oaks-ter you might be growing tired of talking about it (and if you are not tired of talking/hearing about it, then, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?). To sum up all of these reasons in a rather simple and facile way:

The leadership of Four Oaks sees a woeful lack of understanding and experience of the fellowship of believers in the local church. We want to fight this with --

1. sound biblical teaching, God-glorifying theology
2. a call to deeper commitment of time, resources, gifts, energy, etc.
to the local church,
3. an exhortation toward intimate and accountable relationships,
4. a call to alignment with and submission to proper biblical leadership,
5. a challenge to lead, follow, teach, learn, serve, be served, be hospitable,
grow, change, etc. through smaller, more intimate groups

We call our local body to receive this challenge for the glory of God and the sake of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There will be plenty of info, articles, updates, etc. on this process on our website in the coming weeks and months. Go to www. fouroaks.net and click on 'sermons'- there is a five week series on this vision called "Church Body Building".

Yesterday I read an article on the state of the American Family by Matthew Spalding (read it here: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/wm373.cfm). I was grieved as I read the effects of divorce upon the children in our nation. We should never grow calloused to the horrible effects of our sin playing out in the culture at large. We have been able to chart the collapse of marriage and the familyfor thirty years now with the vision of 'no fault divorce' in the '70's: Dad's out of the home, mom is working full time, our children are raised by the state- or by themselves. The life is drained out of our greatest charge- our little ones. And the little ones from the early days of 'no fault' divorce and the 'me' generation of the sexual revolution are no longer little ones. They are all grown up but their attitudes, behavior, relationships, and struggles reveal the real devastation we have wrought. The statistics are absolutely overwhelming, and the prognosis is not good. Read the article.

Where is hope? As always, the believer finds his hope in Christ and the transforming power of the gospel.

And where is this hope brought forth? Consider Ephesians 3:8-11, To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God has ordained that the 'manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church'! God is revealing the glorious gospel through the ministry of the body to a lost world. The church is the 'household of God' (1 Tim. 3:15), the 'family of believers' (Gal.6:10; 1 Pet. 4:17) so that God might rescue his children and bring them into His house. And there they are grown up in the faith, loved as adopted children by God, loved as dear brothers and sisters by believers, and given the hope of abundant, and eternal life. And that, in a nutshell, is why I have given my life to be a pastor of God's glorious church.

So as families collapse, as we slide back to the days of Noah, as we grieve the innocence lost in our parent-less children, or our parent-less childhood, as the statistics prophesy doom...we listen to the Savior, the bridegroom, our elder brother, the Chief Shepherd of the sheep say, "Do you love me? Feed my lambs."

Let's be the family that God calls us to be.

A Perfect Evening...

1. 70 degrees, beautiful blue Tallahassee sky overhead.
2. My 9 month old, Emma, playing at my feet.
3. My other two precious ones, Tess and Bo, playing happily in the immediate vicinity.
4. My guitar nearby, for occasional strumming with an accompaniment of yelps and yodels.
5. My fourth precious one, Tori, inside cooking some killer chili. And if you feel there is some inequity in my enjoying this evening whilst Tori labors in the kitchen be assured that I shall do the dishes.
6. An ice cold Miller (which is, of course, the champagne of beers) in my hand. [If this bothers you, please read or listen to my sermon here: http://www.fouroaks.net/docs/ChristianLiberty.1-15-06.pdf; http://fouroaks.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.listAreaSummary&id=88]
7. A thick Systematic Theology on my lap (I just received R.D. Culver's new Systematic Theology as a birthday gift from my Mom and Dad, check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1845500490/sr=8-1/qid=1143501781/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7911597-6711128?%5Fencoding=UTF8).

Since seven is the biblical number of complete-ness, I will stop there, though I certainly could go on.

Helps in the Psalms

Since we are descending into the Psalms of Ascent, 120-134...let me share some works that have been helpful in my studies.

C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David. This is a classic 3 volume that includes Spurgeon's commentary on every psalm, his own collection of classic quotes (from other authors) on each psalm, and hints for preachers. Every one should have this on the shelf, it is wonderful for indepth study and devotional reading alike.


Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society. I certainly don't agree with everything that comes from Peterson's pen, but he always has some great insights.

James M. Boice, Psalms: An Expositional Commentary. I love Boice's work because he writes as a pastor teacher. As the title says, it is an expositional commentary, drawn from his own labors in preaching through these texts.

Samuel Cox, The Pilgrim Psalms: An Exposition of the Songs of Degrees.

Walter Kaiser, The Journey Isn't Over: The Pilgrim's Psalms for Life's Challenges and Joys.

Of course, in my studies, Calvin's commentary is inestimable.
Briggs does the commentary for the Int'l Critical Commentary (old and liberal, but always helpful in working through the Hebrew). I also like reading through Dahood's work in the Anchor Bible Commentary.

And there you have it.

A Preacher's Lament

1 Timothy 4:13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.

1 Timothy 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Titus 1:9 The overseer must [hold] fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Last Sunday, for you Four Oak-sters, you’ll remember that I was unable to finish my sermon on Psalm 120. If you’d like to see what I had intended to say, in its entirety, you can read the sermon text here http://www.fouroaks.net/docs/Text.03-19-06.pdf.

Please allow me the following lament (I’ll try not to grumble) regarding the common expectations we bring to corporate worship, especially the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

I love preaching. Some of my love for preaching is fleshly and worldly, I admit. I love to talk, ruminate, pontificate, even, dare I say it, entertain. There is always an unhealthy bit of ego in my preaching. A preacher is lying if he says that he doesn’t struggle with fleshly desires for reputation, fame, influence, or adulation to some degree. Preachers must wage war with the flesh in these areas. This is an ugly idolatry when we see it for what it is: a supplanting of self (or preachers) for the glory and grandeur of Almighty God. And God hates it with a holy hatred. And I pray that he will kill this insidious, festering disease by the power of his Spirit. I wage war with my ego during my preparation and in my preaching with prayer, with the godly disciplines, and with accountability.

But my love for preaching is rooted, by God’s grace, in far richer soil than my self. It is rooted in the heart of God revealed in His Word. I love preaching because it is the ‘proclaiming’ of good and glorious things from the very mouth of God. I love preaching because God ordains that the exposition of his Word amongst believers transforms and changes hearts. It brings conviction and repentance. It brings comfort and joy. It equips Christians with the weapons of spiritual warfare. It guards our hearts against the strategies and attacks of Satan. It rallies a host of people around the ultimate standard of holiness and the banner of truth. This is why Paul says what he says to Timothy and Titus in the Pastoral letters. Read those passages, study them, and see the urgency of Paul’s call on these young pastors and these young fellowships to dig into God’s Word.

We should not be surprised that the World, the Flesh, and the Devil would seek to minimize, undermine, limit, and denigrate preaching and teaching. How do we do this?
We package services into neat, tidy, palatable one hour blocks (recently a pastor was aghast that Four Oaks’ service was an hour and fifteen minutes long, his church services were 50 minutes. I told him I wished our services of worship were 2 hours!). Our corporate worship is a spectator-driven event, with stages, performers, the pastor is a hip entertainer/communicator. Corporate worship is more The Tonight Show and Oprah than family gathering in prayer, praise, fellowship, the Spirit’s power, breaking of bread, and teaching (Acts 2:42-47). And we want more people, bigger churches, bigger budgets, bigger programs; so we add another service (and another service, and another service). Soon we are shuffling in and out of each other’s lives on the Lord’s Day like lemmings at the local multiplex (the only difference being our willingness to sit through a 2, even 3 hour long movie). We say that we do this for outreach sake, because this is the heart of the Great Commission. But, I really don’t believe it. We mostly do this for ourselves. Sorry if that sounds too cynical.

We then build our corporate life on the Lord’s Day around these realities. And once we do this, we become enslaved to the forms we have built. If the worship goes long, the parking becomes too congested, the nursery workers are overwhelmed, the greeters are frustrated, the hallways jammed, the lunch plans (or soccer game plans) derailed.

Please hear me, I am culpable here! I am a shepherd in Christ’s church. I am called by God, and by you, to fight against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil in our gatherings. I am lamenting my own sin here.

I might be self deceived, but I am pretty good at perceiving the congregation’s reception of God’s Word. I can tell when I am boring people, when I am confusing people, or when I am missing the mark. I also realize that there are limits to what the average person can reasonable absorb in one sitting. I am not advocating long, boring sermons. But this past Sunday, in both services, we were really digging into God’s Word together. We were having a wonderful time searching the Word and God’s Spirit was very much working in our hearts through the preaching. We had hoped to respond to the Word with praise in a final song. And there just wasn’t enough time.

Forgive us, Father, of our narrow schedules, our foolish forms, our worldly preconceptions, our fleshly desires, our ignorance of Satan’s schemes that keep us from cherishing and savoring your wonderful Word and responding with worship in Spirit and truth.

On Manliness in a Feminized Culture...

I was done with my sermon and caught the tail end of an interview with Harvey Mansfield, professor of Government at HAH-vahd (if your from BAHstahn) on his recent book, Manliness. Prof. Mansfield was being grilled by none other than the paragon of feminist virtue, Naomi Wolf. She poked and prodded, scoffed and cajoled, but her subject seemed unflappable. He seemed, well, 'manly', I suppose.

Here is the description of Harvey Mansfield given by Gwen Ifill of the PBS Online Newshour:
Harvey Mansfield came to Harvard 50 years ago as a freshman and never left. As a professor of government he's made a name for himself as an expert on de Tocqueville and Machiavelli. But he is also deeply involved in shaping modern conservative political thought. He has had the ear of Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, and from his perch at Harvard he has often been at the center of campus debate, arguing against affirmative action, multiculturalism, feminism and academic grade inflation.

I'm sure that Ms. Ifill gave those credentials with a smirk and a roll of the eyes. But he sounds worth listening to in my book.

I commend an interesting article from The American Enterprise by Prof. Mansfield regarding manliness in our culture: http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17576/article_detail.asp

Ben Stein has a great article on Men and Cars in the same issue. I drive a '97 Isuzu Oasis minivan. Fully loaded. (2 car seats, dual window shades, 4 sippee cup holders, action figures and strange little pink haired ponies strewn about the floorboards). It takes a REAL MAN to drive that thing with pride baby!

Mothers, who's your daddy...

...this decaying culture or our Heavenly Father? The winds of our culture, so cruel indeed to mothers and children, are dashing biblical motherhood against the rocks of our own greed and self absorbtion.
Pastor Tim Bayly's blog points us to this great article in the Guardian. Check it out http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1725350,00.html, and check out BaylyBlog as well http://timbayly.worldmagblog.com/timbayly/.

Barna's 'Revolution' Reviewed

I am already going to deviate from my initial plan to examine emergent trends in Christianity via Kimball’s book. I’d like to examine another work that has recently been published in order to explore some of the very bold statements being thrown around regarding the state of the local church in America. In this work we can readily see how far some emergent authors and leaders can stray from a healthy and biblical portrait of spirituality and life in the body of Christ. I don’t want to be ‘overly critical’ (a comment I often hear). But we must critically evaluate everything in light of the Scriptures. We must be committed to biblical doctrine which preserves the glorious truths of the gospel. Part of this includes evaluating the teachings and writings of very influential leaders in the evangelical church.

The evangelical statistics guru, George Barna, has written a book (see my entry - Mohler on Barna) examining the new spirituality that is emerging in America and around the globe. His book boldly challenges traditional notions of the nature and importance of the local church. While Barna labels the subjects of his book ‘Revolutionaries’, it seems readily apparent that the new ‘emerging spirituality’ is what is under discussion. As I have said before, the emergent movement is by no means monolithic and the views of someone like Barna is not necessarily accepted by everyone in the movement. Barna is a very influential and popular author and speaker on contemporary issues facing the church and we must address his concerns and commitments. If they are valid and biblically tenable, so be it. But if his concerns are not on target, and his solutions and forecast for the future of the church are found unbiblical, critically evaluate such things in the light of God’s Word.

The subtitles of Barna’s book indicate his less than optimistic take on the state of the local church in America: Worn out on church? Finding vibrant faith beyond the walls of the sanctuary. The book’s sleeve captures your attention with the provocative statement, “Millions of believers have moved beyond the established church….and chosen to be the church instead.” According to Barna, this new brand of Christians are ‘revolutionaries’ and this is a ‘Revolutionary Age’ to be compared with “the Apostolic Age, the Time of the Martyrs, the era of the Desert Fathers, the Period of the Mystics, the Reformation, the Great Awakening, and the Missionary Age”. The new revolution is filled with “a new breed of disciples of Jesus Christ” whose lives “reflect the very ideals and principles that characterized the life and purpose of Jesus Christ and advance the Kingdom of God- despite the fact that David rarely attends church services.” These followers of Jesus have no use for “churches that play religious games, whether those games are worship services that drone on without the presence of God or ministry programs that bear no spiritual fruit.” Barna then goes on to paint a picture of these revolutionaries as those who are “seeking a faith experience that is more robust and awe inspiring, a spiritual journey that prioritizes transformation at every turn, something worthy of the Creator who their faith reflects”.

Now, let it be said that I am not one who promotes playing religious games, worship services droning on without the presence of God, or spiritually fruitless ministry programs. In fact, I agree with many of the criticisms that Barna, McLaren, and other emergent leaders level against the ‘established church’. But seeing these problems that have always plagued churches filled with sinners and criticizing them is a no brainer. Yes, there are a lot of boring churches. Duh. There are a lot of ‘professional’ pastors who are just playing games and collecting a paycheck. Double duh. Yes, there are churches that pursue one program after another, yet never seem to grow deeper in their relationship to Christ and one another (I’ll cease with the ‘duhs’ here). These have been challenges that have faced our church communities since the first century. And God does bring revival and reformation to his church. But he never brings that revival and reformation at the cost of the local church. And that is the real problem with Barna’s assessment of the current scene and his advocacy of this ‘revolutionary’ solution. Barna blithely throws out the baby with the bath water. Consider some of these egregious statements:

“Whether you become a Revolutionary immersed in, minimally involved in, or completely disassociated from a local church is irrelevant to me (and, within boundaries, to God). What matters is not whom you associate with (i.e., a local church) but who you are.” (pg. 29)

This is an incredible statement. Consider the biblical ramifications of this. How can we obey Matthew 18: 15-20 and be disassociated from a local church? Why did Paul give his whole life to spreading the gospel and planting churches, if the local church is irrelevant (within boundaries…fascinating that Barna devotes NO time to these ‘boundaries’) to God? How can you obey Hebrew 13:17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them” if you are disassociated from the local church? How can leaders “keep watch over your souls” if they, or you are disassociated from the local church? How can you truly follow the seemingly countless ‘one another’ passages in the bible and yet be disassociated from the local church. Barna’s ecclesiology (doctrine of the church) here is truly appalling. How can you be a son or daughter of God without being a brother or sister in Christ? And how can you truly be a brother or sister, as the New Testament insists we must, in God’s family without a submission to the household, which is the local church (1 Tim. 3:15)? What about the Apostle John and one of the real tests of spiritual vitality: loving your brother? It is hard to fathom these commands in John’s epistles apart from a committed association with God’s people in the local church.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with being involved in a local church. But realize that being part of a group that calls itself a “church” does not make you saved, holy, righteous, or godly any more than being in Yankee Stadium makes you a professional baseball player.” (pg. 36)

Actually, you must be a part of the body of Christ to be connected to the head. We are members of one another, members of one body (Romans 12:5, Eph. 4:25). We are to order our lives in submission to Christ and His Word and in relationship to one another. To do this we must be a part of a group that calls itself a “church”. We are saved by grace through faith alone. But this salvation also brings us into a relationship with “the church”. And this relationship is not a merely abstract and universal thing (Barna uses the classic ‘be a part of the Church with a big ‘C’; the church with a little ‘c’ is inconsequential to vibrant spirituality). It is practical, organic, and local. Part of godliness is submission to leadership in the local church (one wonders if Mr. Barna has even read the Pastoral Letters from Paul to Timothy, setting forth ‘how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth’). Godliness cannot be separated from our love of our neighbor, especially our neighbor who is our brother in Christ. Beware, Mr.Barna, lest you think yourself more highly than you ought, that you might remove yourself from the body that God has ordained for you to function in (Romans 12:3)! If I may press the baseball metaphor a bit further: Just going to Yankee Stadium doesn’t make you a professional baseball player; but you can’t be a professional baseball player and refuse to be on the team, come to practice, and go to the Stadium on game day.

“Being in a right relationship with God and His people is what matters. Scripture teaches us that devoting your life to loving God with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul is what honors him. Being a part of a local church may facilitate that. Or it might not.” (pg. 37)

How, exactly are we to 'be in a right relationship' with God's people? The New Testament tells us! The question is not, “Have you ever been a part of a local church that doesn’t facilitate spiritual growth?” This is a highly subjective question. The question should be a bit more objective and rooted in the Word and call of God: “Does God call you to pursue and facilitate spiritual growth in submission to a body of believers according to His Word?” We will all admit that there are many, many churches that are way off base. There are many, many churches that are unhealthy. There are many, many churches with very flawed leadership. This was so in Corinth, this was so in Galatia, this was so in Ephesus. But Paul, John, Peter, and James didn’t give up on the church. However flawed we are, or our brothers and sisters are, we are ‘bear with one another in love’. We are to patiently minister in the arena God has called us to. We are to serve one another. We are to disciple one another. And the local church is where God has called us to do this work. Whether we like that plan, or whether we think the plan is ‘working’ or not!

“Sadly, many people will label this view “blasphemy.” However, you should realize that the Bible neither describes nor promotes the local church as we know it today.” (pg. 37)

What a bold, sweeping statement about the church! Can this be true? Is the local church as we know it today simply an ‘abiblical’ concoction of tradition and style? This is the sort of heavy handed statement I read and hear so much in the ‘emergent’ movement. I am glad to say that Barna is dead wrong here. And I think that Barna is in no place to make such a sovereign and all encompassing evaluation of the church in America and around the globe. My own community, Four Oaks Community Church is not in any way perfect. But we are always pursuing God’s Word and Spirit in everything we do! We are always seeking to be conformed to Scripture in our programs, in leadership, in our corporate worship, in our fellowship groups, etc. There is a biblical standard for church life and health, and I know many believers, pastors, and assemblies who are seeking out that biblical vision for God’s glory. Sadly, Barna feels adequate in his polling, statistical, and market research to stand above the entire community of believers around our nation and cast them aside as unbiblical.

“The Revolution is not about eliminating, dismissing, or disparaging the local church…the core issue isn’t whether or not one is involved in a local church, but whether or not one is connected to the body of believers in the pursuit of godliness and worship.” (pg. 38)

If the Revolution is not about eliminating, dismissing, or disparaging the local church, then what is this book about? Mr. Barna has essentially eliminated the role of the church in the spiritual life of the believer in this work. He has dismissed it as ‘a-biblical’ and rife with unnecessary tradition, boring services, etc. and so forth. He has disparaged the ‘established church’ (whatever is meant by that) as narrow, unwelcoming, unloving, against ‘spiritual transformation at every turn’, and on and on. I disagree regarding the core issue here. You simply cannot be connected to a body of believers without being connected to the church. The church is the body of believers. And if it is the body, then it must conform to the marks and standards of that body presented in Scripture. You cannot disobey Christ in his call to be disciples in a local body and be actively engaged in the ‘pursuit of godliness and worship’. You cannot be committed to ‘all of life as worship’ if you refuse to submit to corporate worship with a local family of believers. One of the ‘Affirmations of a Revolutionary’ that Barna sets forth says: “I am not called to attend or join a church, I am called to be the church”. I couldn’t disagree with him more. You are absolutely NOT to be the church. You are to be a member of the church. Remember, “And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."(1 Cor. 12:21).

Well, you get the picture. As you can tell from Barna’s own statements (and there are many, many more disturbing statements in the book) that this is no small matter. There is a cultural and ecclesiastical revolution going on. That is a bold claim. These things cannot be said lightly, we must hold these assessments of the church and the solutions offered up to the light of God’s Word. We find in this work, and in so many other works from the emergent movement, some very serious critiques of the church. What is truly disturbing about Barna’s book is the solution he provides. While we might agree with some of the criticism that is leveled against stagnant and unfruitful churches and professional pastors, we must recapture the biblical vision for local commitment within the body of Christ. We cannot allow our disillusionment with flawed Christians lead to an abandonment of God’s biblically ordained instrument for advancing His Kingdom, the Church (Eph. 3:10-13).

I am so glad that people have suffered long with me in these past five years as an elder and shepherd of our local church. Praise God for those who have persevered and continue to fight for a biblical and God exalting vision for the local church rather than go golfing or hang out at Starbucks. I am so thankful for the work God has graciously accomplished in my life through his flawed saints in the body of Christ! I thank God everyday for his gracious plan for my continued sanctification through the ministry of the local church. I am a pastor’s kid. I have seen the worst of church splits, back stabbing, vain and boring worship, fruitless ministry, etc. People often ask me why I would go into ministry in the local church having seen and experienced all the problems, struggles, and diseases that afflict her. The first reason is because she is the bride of Christ, and if my Savior died to save her, I can live to serve her. The second is because I have no choice! God has made me a member of the body and I can no more abandon or dissociate myself from my local assembly than I my foot can walk away from my leg. The third is because I love the Church. I want to spend a life in fidelity to her and see the blessing and spiritual legacy this constant love will bring in my life, my family’s life, and the lives of those I have been called to serve.

We can rest on the promise of our Savior and King, the Bridegroom's promise to His glorious Bride, “…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18)

The Logic of Life

In 1973 the highest court in our land handed down a death sentence upon over 40 million of its most vulnerable and innocent citizens. Today, Governor Mike Rounds of South Dakota signed legislation that challenges the devastating and brutal decisions of Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton.

The bill would criminalize all abortions in that state except for those that would save the life of the mother. The law criminalizes abortion even in the case of rape or incest.

I'd like to consider two statements issued in the AP article reporting this significant milestone in the ongoing fight for life in America.

The first is the statement issued by Gov. Rounds upon signing the legislation:

"In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society. The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them."

What arguments can be made against this logic? Well, there are none. The courts decision made over thirty years ago rests on the argument that the fetus is not a person. This argument rests on feeble medical evidence, made even weaker after 33 years of medical progress which continues to preserve life in the womb at earlier and earlier stages. This argument flies in the face of the standing laws of the 32 states in the Union against fetal homicide, protecting the unborn. This decision was in fact the arbitrary assertion of the rights of the mother over the rights of the child. This is called tyranny. This is especially grievous considering the objects of our tyranny: our own children.

And here is the statement coming from Kate Looby, the director of Planned Parenthood in South Dakota:

"Obviously, we're very disappointed that Governor Rounds has sided on the side of politics rather than on the side of the women of South Dakota to protect their health and safety."

Why is the legislative process reduced to mere 'politics' in Ms. Looby's statement? Was Roe vs. Wade just 'politics'? Was Planned Parenthood vs. Casey just political maneuvering?
What about the health and safety of the 800 babies that were murdered in Sioux Falls abortion clinic run by Planned Parenthood last year?
Why is the health and safety of South Dakota's women more important than the health and safety of its children?
And what, exactly, is threatening the health and safety of South Dakota's women?

We have a very compelling argument for this legislation presented in the brief statement issued from the Governor's office.

We have logically flawed and heavy handed spin from the pro-abortion advocate.

I'll choose the logic of life.