Theological Reflections - why I don't like systematic theology

Well a whole summer has passed since I last posted, so I'm not sure if anyone reads this anymore. If you are looking for up to date information and important discussions on topics like "what's on John's mind right now" (that's a joke) I regularly post low-thought updates on my facebook page. But I am am going to make a quasi-valiant effort to get back to posting on this site.

I am attempting to post a series of theological reflections. I have no idea how long this series will last. The subject matter (God) is infinite and therefore the limiting factors will be not the lack of things to ponder but my ability or lack thereof to ponder them coupled with my lack of discipline.

I ask you to please challenge me and interact with what I post as much as possible. Hopefully this will be a fruitful journey for us all.

The idea for this series comes from my realization that I feel like systematic theology is one of the weakest areas of my life. There are probably many reasons for this but here are a few I could think of:

1. All systematic theologies have an inherent bias in them. The Bible is not a systematic theology book. Systematic theology requires the filter of a human mind and therefore can and most likely will have fallibilities in them. Wading through the muck of the author's presuppositions can often be daunting.

2. There is a strong temptation when studying theology to make it only academic. Every fiber of my being loathes studying just for studying's sake (although I too often fall into that trap). For that reason I have tended to deemphasize systematic theology. I remember being frustrated in seminary when the practical things I was experiencing in inner city ministry didn't seem to find a place in the systematic theology syllabus we were being taught. Part of that I believe was the personal bias' and perspectives of the professors who were not concerned/exposed to the issues of the inner city. Most of it was my failure to convert orthodoxy into orthopraxy.

3. I love expository preaching/studying. I have strong convictions that the expository method is the best and most faithful way to understand and explain the Word of God. Systematic theology done bad has all of the pitfalls of a bad topical sermon, namely taking verses out of context and eisegesis.

4. The Bible is not a systematic theology textbook, and I really like the Bible.

5. Systematic thinking is very much a western concept. Does that make it necessary for understanding and living out the truth of Scripture?

6. Good systematic theology books are huge and I am a lazy, slow reader.

7. I prefer reading narratives to didactic writing.


Well that's it for now
Next up: What I like about systematic theology and why I think it is essential

Shalom in Jesus
jrf

Seminary, prostitutes, adultery, grace and the sovereignty of God

At 11:57am on Thursday, December 13, 2007 I finished my last test for my Master's of Divinity degree at the Master's Seminary. The program took me 3 1/2 years to complete and was immeasurably more difficult than my bachelors in every way - academically, spiritually, physically, emotionally..etc.

It will take me much time to process this experience and I will probably never fully realize it's impact on my life and hopefully the lives of others. This post is not an attempt to understand or reflect on my seminary experience. I merely want to praise God for His faithfulness.

Perhaps the most prominent feeling I have been experiencing as I let the fact that I am done with seminary sink in is a sense of unworthiness. People expect me now to be qualified for ministry just cause I got an M Div. People expect me to have all the answers now and to not struggle with sin, expectations I will never meet. I know that most people dont actually have those expectations for me, yet often that is how I feel. I have learned Greek and Hebrew, studies homiletics, and know the outlines of the Bible and I know I have grown in my understanding and love of the Lord, yet in many ways I am still the same tired, struggling, sinner I was when I started.

So what does that have to do with prostitutes and adultery you might ask? Well, I will tell you. The morning after having the burden of seminary deadlines lifted from my shoulders, I decided to read through the book of Matthew. As you may know, the book of Matthew begins with a 17 verse genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham. It is easy to skip over this list of names but to do so would to rob yourself of a passage of inspired Scripture which contains great encouragement. As I read over the genealogy the names that stuck out to me were these: Tamar (:3), Rahab (:5), Ruth (:5) and Bathsheba (:6). The names of these four women represent some of the most sinful and tragic episodes in the Old Testament (Gen 38:13-30; Joshua 2:1; Ruth 1:3; II Samuel 11) yet they are included (and even highlighted - recording the names of women was not a common practice in ancient geneologies) in the genealogy of Jesus. We can look at this and be amazed at God's grace - how he could use things like prostitution and adultery and a Moabite woman to bring the Messiah into the world. Yet we can go farther than that. God didn't just make the most of a bad situation, He chose this way to bring Jesus into the earth. It was His perfect plan all along. Not that sin is excusable or that God is culpable for it, but in His sovereignty He chooses to use sinners to accomplish His purposes. That gives me great hope. God can use a sinner like me. God has chosen to use a sinner like me. The proper response to God's sovereignty is not a fatalistic, it-doesn't-matter-what-I-do attitude, but a bold confidence that God has a purpose for me, even me. A confidence that is in the unchanging faithfulness of the one who was killed and in turn killed death so that I and all those who He brings to Himself can be called His children. A confidence that manifests itself in a growing, burning, and joy-filled obedience to the Lord of all things. Who or what can stand in the way of such God-anchored confidence? Praise the sovereign and faithful God of the universe!

by His grace
for His glory,
jrf

Freedom!

As of 12 o'clock today both Sarah and I are done with school for this semester. Its been a rough semester, especially for Sarah but God was faithful to bring us through. So you three regular readers who are foaming at the mouth for some bloggy goodness to chew on just hold on for a few more days while I wait for my brain to stop bleeding from stretching it way beyonds its abilities during finals week. I'll do my best to get something more substantial than a "what I am doing now" post up in the next few days.
In the mean time, we would love your prayers for a six hour planning meeting for our church we will be a part of today. Pray that God would unify us around His truth and that a love for Him and each other would permeate the meeting. Pray that our methodology would flow out of our doctrine which would be solidly founded in a proper understanding of the truth of God's Word.

by His grace
for His glory
jrf

Kirk Cameron does evangelism

Kirk Cameron (Mike Seaver from Growing Pains, Buck from Left Behind) was our guest speaker in my evangelism class last friday. Here is a link to some good thoughts about his presentation, written by a fellow classmate who has a way cooler blog than me. In a side note, one of the downsides of being a semi-famous actor is that it is really easy to find old dorky pictures of you on the internet. He doesnt look that dorky in real life.

by His Grace
for His Glory
jrf

smooth sailing

By God's grace another semester of seminary is over and another eighth of my brain is rendered inept. So hopefully as the raging sea in my frail psyche (ooh how psycho-babblish sounding) come to a calm my posts will be increasingly frequent and possibly more coherent.

but no deep thoughts for today. Instead here is a brief update on what's been going on in LA for the last few months since my last update.

Wendnesday Mornings: About two months ago Tito came to me and expressed some specific sin he was struggling with and wanted to talk about and turn from. So Tito, Brad, and I started meeting Wednesday mornings from 6-7. We have very loosely been studying I Peter but most of the time we go on "inspired" rabbit trails and spend our time seeking God's wisdom on particular issues and then giving those things to the Lord in prayer. These times have been consistent and encouraging both to Brad and I as well as Tito. What a blessing it has been to see him grow in his faith. Please pray that Tito will continue to mature in his faith and that Brad and I will grow in our discipleship skills.

3xm : this last week we had our May Mid-month madness (I guess it should have been 4xm) and we had around 30 youth from the neighbor hood. There was a big group of guys playing football in the street so I just asked if I could play with them, scored a couple touchdowns for them (its amazing how even a dumb street game can reveal the pride in my heart), and then told them we had drinks and snacks in the church and presto! we had a captive audience. While no one came to Christ many said they would return next week. Please pray that these unchurched (and more importantly unsaved) youth would return to hear the gospel and that God would be working in their hard hearts to respond to His call of mercy and grace. Pray that I and the youth staff will excel in our ability to communicate the Gospel in a faithful, relevant, and clear way.

Staff end of the year dinner: Last weekend I took out the youth group staff and student leaders for dinner. We had a wonderful time recounting the work of God in our lives as individuals and as a group over the last year. Most encouraging of all was the growth of character and Biblical understanding and application witnessed in the lives of the student leaders. I think the comment that brought the most joy to my heart was, " I say God in a much bigger way than i ever have this year!" What power our God has that He shows HImself to filthy sinners and then uses them to help others see Him in His glory. Please pray for the staff and student leaders (Miriam, Isabel, Brad, David, and Elizabeth) as some scatter (Isabel is going on a missions trip to Equador), some deal with family loss (Brad's Grandmother died last week) and others keep faithfuly serving in the youth ministry.

Well that should keep you prayer soliders busy for a while, Thank you so much for your support.

by His grace,
for His glory,
jrf

of men and mammon

Yesterday in my discipleship/leadership class one of my favorite professors was speaking on the temptation of pastors to let their greed for wealth destroy their ministry. It was refreshing to me that he did not just repeat the usual weak cautions concerning greed that we've all heard such as, "money is not the root of evil, the love of money is" or "have a budget to keep you accountable" or things along this vein. Not that those aren't valid cautions, it's just I feel they miss the point. My prof. went directly to the heart of the issue: the pastor's willingness to proclaim the Gospel. He took us to I Peter 5:2 where Peter says point blank, "shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness." Next he pointed us to Paul in Rom 1:15 who could not wait to get the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel in Rome. In light of these passages what happened next baffles me. My prof told the class that we should adopt the motto, "I will not seek to be paid to preach, but will be so eager to share the Gospel that I would pay others to preach to them". As my heart soared at hearing such faithful hutzbah, I looked around the class and noticed many of my classmates had a different expression on their faces: shock. People looked as if my prof had just turned into Che Guevara. Fortunately through more discussion, I feel most of the class was convinced that this was in fact a Biblical motto. But it just got me to thinking about what is it that would make such a statement sound radical, to a class of pastors in training no less. Of course all false ideaologies have their root in sin, but sin can manifest itself in different ways. Deepest of all these manifestations I believe is in the heart. This temptation to succumb to greed is a common denominator in all sinners, everywhere, in all times. Compounded with that common depravity is the apparent fact that the ministry tends to bring increased temptation to become greedy. Again I believe this is a temptation that crosses all cultural or historical boundaries. I have seen an Anglican priest in Uganda steal money from his starving congregation to line his own stomach, just as I have seen pastors in the States ruin their ministry because of misappropriation of funds. But I think the problem with some in my class was more subtle. Many have the mentality that there should be compensation for ministry when I believe in reality ministry is the compensation. True, God will provide the minister's needs (through various means, most of which include opportunities to work) those needs are just that: needs. They are given to the minister so that he can minister effectively. Look at II Tim 2:6. Paul tells Timothy that the hard-working farmer should recieve his share of the crops first. I believe this is an illustration of the pastor's relationship to the church. If a farmer doesn't eat, then he dies, then the crops die, then everyone else dies. The point of the farmer getting food is so he can get back to work and make more, so more people can eat, not so he can get fat. God gives us what we need to do His will. You may ask now, "well does that mean God only gives us what we need, and never more?" I believe the answer to that is: yes. If you find yourselves blessed beyond your needs, that merely means that God has chosen to enable you to use those blessings in way that glorifies him. The point is, wealth is not an issue, the Gospel is. If you are wealthy, use it to spread the Gospel (it is possible, I know many wealthy people who are powerful witnesses of Christ). If you aren't weatlhy then that means you don't need it to proclaim the Gospel in your context. Greed is a powerful enemy that we all have living inside us as well as assualting us from the outside. We must battle it. We must starve it. We must drown it in the Living Water of Christ. Please join me in prayer for those who minister (myself included) that they would not allow greed to bring impotence to their ministry as well as shame the name of Christ.

by His grace, for His glory
jrf

time to crash...yes and no

On Monday December 19, 2005 the faculty mailbox at the Master's Seminary (check out thier new website) opened and my final papers of the semester slipped in, thus ending my third semester of grad school. Time to crash?...yes

Tonight I board a plane for a thirteen hour flight to Tokyo. Time to crash?...let's hope not.

I really havent had time yet to reflect on this past semester, but lets just say I think my hair receded at least a centimeter this semester.

Hopefully this break will afford me some time to push the restart button.

I will make every effort to post while in Japan.

In the meantime have a great Christmas and remember those who may have no one to spend it with.

not without aim

Lets start with me apologizing for not posting in a while.

As the semester draws nears end, it is getting harder and harder to ignore the fact that I am not as disciplined as I need to be. The excitement has worn off of school and ministry and even this blog and now whether I like it or not it has become a grind. The assignments I've been putting off, the debts I've ignored, the frantic lifestyle of not eating or sleeping enough...all these things are catching up. I know I only have three more weeks and then a nice long relaxing vacation. I could just grit my teeth until then and then crash. But I dont want to live like that. I dont want to live from vacation to vacation. I want to redeem the time I live in. It's just such a struggle to find that balance between plunging into ministry and work and school and yet not burning out. Which is why I know I need to be more focused, more disciplined. I can't tell you how much this grates against my nature but I am starting to see the need for it. So now that I realize I need more discipline in my life I must start asking questions. What is my goal? Is that goal in line with God's will? What things must I give up to pursue this goal? What can I do today to take steps toward that goal?
I want to "run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." 1 Cor 9:26-10:1

please pray for my journey
and ask yourself where yours is leading

by His grace, for His glory
jrf