09.30.07
Back…And Forth
I came back from Louisville Thursday. After a very long detour (60 miles one way) getting out of Lexington, KY, (note to anyone who may read this who might not otherwise know: the roads in the commonwealth of Kentucky were apparently laid out by drunk monkeys), i finally made it home. I had a great time in Lousiville. The occasion for my visit was not exactly social (though, it turned out to be that), but it was on the occasion of the installation of my very good friend the Reverend Timothy J. Phillips at the Midlane Park Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (Tim’s blog is on my blogroll as “Gairney Bridge,” named for the site where the Secession Church [i.e., the "Associate Presbyterians"] was organized after the free-offer Presbyterians were expelled from the Church of Scotland back in early 1700s).
Though i am technically not ARP anymore, he invited me to come and preach at his installation service. (Note, i was ordained in the ARP Church, and i still consider myself ARP, and i look at my membership in the PCA as a kind of exile. I am confident that Jehovah will hear my cry, as he did our forefathers in bondage in Egypt, and bring me out, as he did them, with a mighty hand and an out-stretched arm. 
It was a great time of worship and fellowship. I hope you’ll join me in praying for the success and effectiveness of his ministry there.
As strange as it sounds, Midlane Park is part of the Mississippi Valley Presbytery of the ARP Synod. It is the presbytery that includes western Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, and all points West (except Texas and Louisiana), and stopping at California and Oregon. So, other fellows in the service who were part of the commission of MVP (ARP) who installed him were from outside of Memphis and from northern Mississippi. One guy, Dan Hazen, is a pastor at a small country church in New Albany, MS, and i was glad to be able to see him again. Tim, i, and the three other men who came from far away to install him all shared a great time of discussion and fellowship over a nice bottle of Berringer White Zinfandel (btw, if you like sweet/semi-sweet wines like i do, that’s a good one, espeially for the price). Dan, especially, is always interesting to talk to, because he’s so thoughtful—and his thoughts usually take him “out of the box,” as it were.
But, as good as it was to be home for three days, i’m going again tomorrow. I had planned on staying here while Angela went down to Greenville, SC, to stay until she has the baby at the birthing center there with her midwife. However, because of some things that have happened to her over the past couple of days, we may have some indication that the baby may come sooner than later, and so i want to make sure and drive down with her and make sure she’s fine on her way, and i also wanted to be there in case the baby comes this week. So, i’ve come back and now i’m going forth. I’ve just been really busy these days. Pray that the Lord sustains us as he sends such things down our path.
09.22.07
Calvin on Who Is Called “Righteous”
“The word µymt (tamim) which the ancient interpreter is accustomed to translate perfect, is of the same force as upright or sincere; and is opposed to what is deceitful, pretended, and vain. And Moses does not rashly connect these two things together; for the world, being always influenced by external splendor, estimates justice, not by the affection of the heart, but by bare works. If, however, we desire to be approved by God, and accounted righteous before him, we must not only regulate our hands, and eyes, and feet, in obedience to his Law; but integrity of heart is above all things required, and holds the chief place in the true definition of righteousness. Let us, however, know that they are called just and upright, not who are in every respect perfect, and in whom there is no defect; but who cultivate righteousness purely, and from their heart. Because we are assured that God does not act towards his own people with the rigour of justice, as requiring of them a life according to the perfect rule of the Law; for, if only no hypocrisy reigns within them, but the pure love of rectitude flourishes and fills their hearts, he pronounces them, according to his clemency, to be righteous.”
From Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis 6:9
09.20.07
A New Toy
Earlier this week, i bought a new toy. I came yesterday afternoon, and i’ve been playing with it ever since.
What i got was an Archos PMA430. “PMA” stands for “Personal Media Assistant.” It’s kind of like a cross between a PDA and an MP3/video player, but it can connect to the internet, read documents (including PDFs), and play games. It has a 30 GB hard drive, with about 35 MB of memory. It has a touchscreen interface that makes it easy to navigate (rather than having to navigate with arrows and buttons).
One main reason i got it was to use the recorder to record my sermons, but i also wanted something versatile enough to do lots of other fun things for me. I’m still trying to figure out all the features on it. I’m planning on getting some nice accessories to go with it to make even more functional and to make it last longer (like screen protectors to be sure the touchscreen doesn’t wear out or get scratched all up). I just wanted you all to know about my new toy, because i couldn’t be happier to have it. Don’t you all want to run out and buy yourself one today?
09.17.07
The Republican Debate We Haven’t Heard About
Tonight, on Dish Network and Sky Angel channel 262, and streaming from Values Voter Debate, the next Republican debate will be broadcast. It promises to be an interesting debate, especially for those of us who are interested in issues in addition to what we hear about on CNN and Fox News.
The most disappointing thing about it, though, is that the so-called “top tier” candidates are not appearing. Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Thompson are all sufficiently convinced that the event will do nothing to help them, so they will not be attending. It really doesn’t surprise me, but in such a venue, one can hardly wonder why men who speak only in platitudes would be intimidated by the prospect. It just shows me that none of them are up to the task of being President of the United States. It’s certainly no job for a coward.
09.10.07
The Fundamentalist Response
Tim Bayly over at the Bayly Blog has written a post about the feminist tactic of using the cruel reality of wife abuse to put forward their agenda of absolute egalitarianism in marriage relationships. As Tim notes, and as we all know so well, that tactic is not only one used by secular feminists, but it is also one used by Christian feminists as well.
Tim notes lots of statistics that take the teeth out of such an argument—like the fact that women are just as, if not more, likely to abuse their husbands and children as husbands are of abusing their wives and children, and of course that relationships with no men (i.e., female homosexuals) are among the most abusive around. This is all very interesting, and i’m very glad that he has brought it to our attention. I know that, in seminary, when i would get into discussions about these matters with the women studying for ministry in the PC(USA), UMC, CCDC, EC(USA), or any other denominations where growing numbers of ministers are women, that is precisely what they’d always bring up.
I say this, not to talk about feminism itself in-depth, but simply because, in thinking about it, i find in this, as ironic as it might sound, an interesting parallel between feminism and other forms of fundamentalism. Now, in one sense, the original sense, i am a fundamentalist as are most “conservative” Christians. I believe in and stand for the fundamentals of the Christian faith. However, when i use the term “fundamentalism” in this sense, i mean the sense of the word meaning closed-minded and against any kind of change at all. One characteristic of this kind of fundamentalism is also its tendency to attempt to solve problems by forbidding people from doing particular things that, when done properly, are neither dangerous or forbidden by God’s Word. For example, one thing that is so very prevalent in the area where i live is alcohol abuse. This is something that has touched just about everyone in this area. The popular notion in this area, though, is to link the problems with the alcohol itself instead of with the abuse of a good thing. So, when they see all of the things that alcohol abuse produces, their answer, in typical fundamentalist fashion, is to forbid alcohol altogether in order that the problems associated with the abuse of the thing will be solved (or so they think). On a related note, this is precisely the reason why churches in this area either don’t celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion at all, or they don’t celebrate it, as it was instituted, with wine.
Now, feminism, as i see it, commits the very same mistake. They perceive the problem of wife abuse—a real problem, from anyone’s point of view, even if we admit that there are other issues of abuse as well—, but their answer for any presence of abuse is not simply having proper marriage and sex roles as God designed them, but to do away with marriage and authority roles altogether. It should be no surprise to us that, in the time that feminism has taken on ascendancy, the institution of marriage itself has become less important and more neglected in all societies that have adopted feminist ideas. People live together in unmarried relationships (and wonder why their mates don’t give them the kind of commitment that they know inherently that they should have—just watch an episode of Jerry Springer or Maurey Povich if you don’t believe me), and of course, we also see homosexual relationships coming into the public spectrum and demanding to be taken as equally viable as heterosexual marriage. Of course, just as in the case of alcohol abuse, the intended cure only exacerbates the problem. Just as ostensibly taking away all alcohol consumption leads only to more severe examples of abuse (only under cover of secrecy by way of underground and binge drinking), so too does taking away all authority and sex rolls in marriage and society contribute to greater incidence of spousal abuse—both abuse of wives by husbands and abuse of husbands by wives. In fact, the only clear answer to spousal abuse is to have proper authority roles and a mindset where men see themselves as protectors of their wives and families; otherwise, they will see them as absolute equals. And what do men do to other men when they become enraged, but to engage them physically? If women can do anything a man can do, as the propaganda goes, doesn’t that include fight other men?
The same response can be seen in all forms of fundamentalism—and it is important to remember that “fundamentalism” isn’t some “radical conservative” response, but can be just as well a mark of “radical liberalism.” Think of the response to the corporal punishment of children; same thing at work: because of the fear of abuse, no discipline at all. The same is true of the Romanist and ascetic view of sex: because sex can become sinful, therefore, all sex is something to see as sinful. Those who forbid people from going to or watching secular movies or listen to secular music. The Amish do the same thing with all forms of modern technology. Some Baptist groups do it with seminary education, reasoning that seminary education can instill liberal and anti-biblical views, so the solution is to call only pastors with no seminary training.
The list could go on and on (feel free to share others), but you see the pattern. This is one core aspect of the fundamentalist response to problems. Yet, as you can see, such forbidding not only doesn’t solve the original problem, but many times exacerbates it by assuming that it is solved when it was outlawed or forbidden (e.g., prohibition was the cause of greater evils in society than simply allowing the sale of alcohol to begin with). We need to recognize this response for what it is and oppose it in all its forms.
09.08.07
Facebook, Anybody?
I don’t know who else among the half-dozen or so readers i have (less than that, now, due to my hiatus) are on Facebook, but i recently signed up at the behest of my first cousin, once removed. Anyone who reads and who has a Facebook account, here’s Trey Austin’s Facebook Profile. Feel free to add me as a friend if you are on. These days, i need all the friends i can get.
09.06.07
Free Star Trek Downloads
Probably not many of you are Trekkers, but if you happen to have any interest at all, there are some really great pictures for desktop wallpaper or other uses that are free to download over at the official Star Trek site. I downloaded a really nice green nebula i am now using for my desktop wall paper.
The picture to the right is a character from the regular comic strip at StarTrek.com called (as indicated) The Trek Life. It’s a really funny comic if you have some bit of knowledge about Star Trek facts and storylines.
I really do love Star Trek. I watch TNG and Voyager every afternoon on SpikeTV (i’m watching Voyager as i write this post, as a matter of fact). I’ll probably make a big deal about the Star Trek XI movie coming out next year. I’m really looking forward to it. 
09.05.07
A Real Presbyterian Baptism
A week ago last Sunday, i had the great priviledge of baptizing a young man into membership in Christ’s body. He is a young man who had never been baptized (otherwise, i never would have baptized him!), but who came to know Christ through several issues in his life that providentially converged.
Well, i counseled with the young man, not only explaining the Gospel, but also explaining his responsibilities as a Christian to live in way that is worthy of the Gospel, because if he doesn’t, if he falls away and by his life later denies the Lord who bought him, he’ll be worse off than he was before. Also, though, one thing i counseled him to do was to wear nice clothes, but to wear clothes that he didn’t mind getting a bit wet.
Well, Sunday came, and i gave my baptismal exhortation before the baptism itself. Then, i asked the young man to come and kneel down next to the font. In keeping with the Didache, i practice trine baptism by effusion (short of baptism in running water, i pour water three times over the head). I cupped my two hands together, and took a handful of water from the font and said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father,” pouring the first handful. I took another handful as i said, “And of the Son,” pouring the second time. Once again, i took a handful of water as i said, “And of the Holy Ghost,” pouring the third time. Each time i poured the water, you could hear the water as it rolled down the young man’s head, off his shoulders and back, and splattered on the floor. Immediately after the third handful, i laid my hands on his head and prayed for him that God would make his baptism effectual, and that he would, by God’s grace, grow in his faith and assurance, especially thanking him for the grace of baptism that would give him, as it does for all of us, aid in time of temptation and trial. It was a wonderful time of worship and fellowship, as we had a meal immediately following the service to celebrate the new member of God’s Kingdom.
During that meal, though, several people made some funny comments about the baptism. One person said, “I thought you were going to drown that boy!” The funniest line, though, i thought, was one of the elders who said, “I’ve seen Baptists use less water to baptize somebody!” But of course, i just think that it was what Presbyterians should be doing as we baptize.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (Psalm 133)
Back from Blogging Sabbatical
Well, as you all know who have tried to access this blog over the past two weeks, i had closed down for business for a time. I was actually very encouraged by the emails that i received from very good friends and colleagues asking if everything was alright and encouraging me to resume blogging as soon as possible.
Well, i had several reasons why i stopped blogging. One is, as some of you may already know, my wife is pregnant, and we are expecting our second child in October. She’s having some pretty acute problems with her back and legs with pain. She’s been suffering with sciatica, and she has been diagnosed with lower lumbar scoliosis. She’s in a bunch of pain all the time, and now she’s reached the point where she just can’t sleep. She’s been trying to sleep on the couch for the last couple of weeks, but it only helps slightly. She’s been to the chiropractor and the masseuse, but her muscles in her hip are so locked up that the chiropractor can’t adjust her hip—even with the massage immediately preceding the adjustment to try and loosen it up. She has a doctor’s appointment in SC (that’s where her midwife is located) that we’re going to see next week, but i doubt he’ll be able to do anything for her. It’ll just be another several weeks of pain until October 21 (or thereabouts).
Another reason is some issues that have come up in the life of my congregation. Some counseling issues, some behind-the-scenes differences we’re trying to work through: it’s all just contributed to a bunch of stress for me. On a bright note as to congregational life, we’ve really been expereincing some growth. Over the two years that i have been here, we’ve had right at 10% growth each year in membership, and we’ve seen an increase in membership involvement (beyond morning worship) as well. In fact, a week ago Sunday, we had another baptism (my third since i’ve been here), and it was a young man who recently came to know the Lord through some personal interactions with folks in my congregation and myself. That has been a great encouragement to see a young man who had hardly any care for the Church at all begin to grow in the Lord and see him go from a catechumen to a bona fide member of Christ’s Church.
Apparently, though, the stress is taking its toll on me. I went a couple of months back to a doctor’s appointment and had some blood-work done. I just didn’t know why i was so fatigued all the time and had other health issues (relatively minor, but i didn’t want to overlook them), and it turns out that my testosterone level was 202 mg/dL. If you don’t know, testosterone is one of those things that, over the course of your life, gradually lowers from the peak of puberty (max healthy level is 1200 mg/dL) all through one’s life until, later in life, one reaches something around 300 or less (250-300 mg/dL is the minimum healthy level) up in his seventies. Well, i have the testosterone level of a man in his seventies or eighties, and i’m 28 years old. So, my doctor is going to have to do something to help correct that. The doctor i consulted with yesterday did say that the situation wasn’t all bad, since testosterone is one of the factors that contribute to the death of men earlier than women. Well, if that isn’t a silver lining. :-\ I’ll take the ability to be active and healthy ’til i’m 75 over living ’til i’m 100 but fatigued and unable to do much.
So, that has been an obvious contributing factor to my inability to finish up my landscaping project. Not only has the heat been grueling compared to what it normally is, but my own body is working at cross-purposes to my desires. I’m hoping that when it turns off a little cooler here in the next couple of weeks, i can get out and get some more done.
This past weekend, our town had its annual Guest River Rally celebration. They have booths where people sell their wares (food, crafts, &c.); they have concerts of Gospel and Bluegrass music; they have community festivities (the “Hillbilly dog show” is always a favorite), and lots of other things. Well, our church has its annual barbeque during the Rally, and we sell pulled pork barbeque, barbeque ribs (rib chops—alot of meat), sirloin tip beef roast, lemon chicken, and all the stuff that goes along (cole slaw, baked beans, baked potato). From initial estimates, it looks like we cleared around $5,000, all of which goes to fund our youth program for the year and send kids to camp in the summer. Tonight, instead of our normal Wednesday evening prayer meeting and Bible study, we’re having a clean-up night to put the church back in order after such a big operation (cooking started last Wednesday, and we sold food from Thursday to Monday, excluding Sunday).
Well, it seemed like i was going to say something else, but i can’t remember what it was (memory loss is a side-effect of low testosterone—seriously!), so i guess that’s all for the time being. Thanks for sticking with me, and when the Lord brings us to your mind, please do pray for the Lord’s strength and guidance for us.
