Jared Longshore's Blog, page 19

This Is My Body Given for You

One of the striking things about the Lord’s Supper is that Jesus said this bread is his body. The bread not only reminds us of Jesus Christ. It reminds us of his flesh, which he still has. This bread comes after the incarnation. And it could not be otherwise because this bread is the body of the Son of God incarnate.

When the Son of God took a body he did so in order to give it. Man likes to play it safe. Self-preservation is the name of the game for many. But that was manifestly not the way Jesus played it. At the institution of this meal he said, “This is my body, given for you.” He laid down his life. He offered himself up to God as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice. And in giving his body for us, his body was resurrected. Christ stated the truth plainly with words before illustrating it with his actions when he said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” 

That is a Bible verse that many of us have heard so many times we may miss the point. The only way to get the resurrection is to die. The only way to find your life is to genuiely lose it, not like you misplace your car keys. You must lose your life the way a pitcher loses its water to satisfy the thirsty. Come to this table remembering the one who took a body in order to give it for you. Come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

The post This Is My Body Given for You appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Maneuvers for Dealing with Manipulative People: How to Be an ERLC Board Member

One of the things that you must be on the lookout for when the shakable things are shaken is manipulative people. Manipulators manipulate in all seasons but they really go to pulling the strings when things begin to rumble. Since we have more than our fair share of societal tremors at the moment, you can bet that there is a whole lot of steering going on in unhealthy organizations. 

Megan Basham’s recent book Pastors for Sale demonstrates that Christian organizations are susceptible to manipulation. The recent happenings over at the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission underscore the point. While I have not seen any explanation of why Brent Leatherwood, the president of the ERLC was fired and then rehired, I do have eyes in my head. We do not need insider information to observe the observable. 

The ERLC announced that Leatherwood was fired only to come out the next day and announce that he was not fired and the chairman of the ERLC executive board, Kevin Smith, had resigned. Smith released a statement saying that he believed there was a consensus to remove Leatherwood, and “in an effort to deal with it expeditiously, I acted in good faith but without a formal vote of the Executive Committee.” In response to the news that the ERLC had rehired Leatherwood and railroaded Smith, my friend Toby Sumpter tweeted, “We apologize again for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked.” Basham has documented on her X feed how Russell Moore stirred up major left media along with other major players to pressure the ERLC board after they fired Leatherwood. The peculiar thing was why they fired him in the first place. The chairman of the ERLC and the makeup of the entire board itself is not a bastion of MAGA republicanism. So what happened? 

In short, the ERLC board responds to pressure. When that pressure comes from the right, they respond by agreeing with Smith and firing Leatherwood. When that pressure comes from the left, they respond by rehiring Leatherwood and ousting Smith. What will the board do next? The answer is quite simple: they will do whatever the loudest voice in the room is saying to do. The ERLC is an example of an organization that has cultivated a culture of manipulation. Principle is gone. Genuine leadership is gone. The ERLC is Joe Biden, listening very closely to the Nancy Pelosis of the world who assure them that we can do this the easy way or the hard way.

The only way to rectify an organization that is riddled with manipulative people and manipulated people is for the individuals in that organization to grow up. Manipulated people are infantilized people and it really does take a work of renewal to change things. To that end, if you find yourself in a culture of manipulation, here are some maneuvers for dealing with manipulators.

The first thing to do is buckle up because you’re going to have a bumpy ride. Can you imagine what would have happened if one of the ERLC board members grew a spine amid the back and forth? Imagine that some regular Johnny on the board gets news, after they agreed to fire Leatherwood, that they would now be rehiring Leatherwood. He gets a call from a fellow board member, “Johnny, while we agreed to fire Leatherwood, Russell Moore made a phone call, and it dawned on us that we did not take a formal vote in session. Johnny, there were no yeas and there were no nays, and in addition to this Smith did not even ask if there were any abstentions and it is most certain that he did not use a gavel to close session.” But this Johnny decides to speak the truth amid the shenanigans and says something like, “You know, we knew what we were doing and we should follow through on principle rather than let CNN dictate the decisions of the ERLC.” If Johnny went that way, he would be inviting a good deal of trouble upon himself. And he would come out on the other side being a better man. But note, there is no way of breaking out of manipulative systems without fireworks.

Amid such systems, you must rise above the standard operating procedure. You must expand your view. Manipulative leadership squelches creativity within the organization. Contrary views are ridiculed without being answered. Within a suffocating system, remember that it is one thing to disprove an interlocutor and another thing to slander or ridicule him. If it is becoming clear to you that the leaders within your organization are cutting you off from other opinions without actually understanding them and answering them, then you my friend might be a puppet.

You can test such a hypothesis by stating your convictions, by disagreeing without being disagreeable. Do not be fussy about it. But explain why you think it would be good and wise to go a particular direction if you indeed think that is the best way to go. If the response is that you are simply trying to flex or getting too big for your britches, or if the response is that you have an inordinate interest in others who hold the position you’re advocating, explain that those are wonderful ad hominem fallacies, but illegitimate replies to your proposition. 

As you work these maneuvers on manipulators, bless those who are trying to pull your strings. Make sure that this does not turn into scratching the back of the one who is scratching yours. Manipulators will gladly welcome that kind of thing. What you are after is genuine blessing not back-scratching. You will find yourself in a sea of back-scratching. So the task before you is to think through what will be an actual blessing to the manipulators in the system. Depending on how deep the rot goes, the biggest blessing you may be able to render them is to depart the organization graciously. At other times, you should do a kindness within the system. But one that is going to stand out amid all of the gladhanding and shmoozing. 

Within manipulative institutions, men evade responsibility. This is one reason you have to go through seventeen rounds of pre-recorded selections before speaking with a genuine human at the IRS. Healthy organizations draw leaders who are looking for the freedom of making decisions and standing by them. If you have to check with your superiors before you blow your nose, then you know where you are. You can test this hypothesis as well. If you suspect that you are being micro-managed, then take a reasonable shot without asking. Do not steal the launch codes and fire a missile at Iran. But when the opportunity presents itself to make a decision and there is no clear standard saying that you can’t, take the shot and see if this puts the manipulator’s knickers in a knot.

I recently tweeted the following:

Biden was old enough to steer. Kamala is dumb enough to steer. The ERLC is anxious enough to steer. Russell Moore is shrewd enough to drive.

This is a subject worth expanding on so perhaps more later. For now, we have a real problem. There are steering wheels on many backs and revival will not come through the right learning how to steer. A sign that revival has come will be all of the steering wheels being removed.

The post Maneuvers for Dealing with Manipulative People: How to Be an ERLC Board Member appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

The New Has Come

Baptism is a testimony that the old has gone and the new has come for if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. As Israel passed through the waters with their children, leaving behind the furnace of Egypt and pressing on toward what lied ahead, so we pass through waters with our children, leaving behind death and judgment to walk in the light of God’s covenant faithfulness. This good news is received by faith and sealed in baptism. All of this is upheld by the God who can be trusted for He is light and in Him is no darkness, none at all.

The post The New Has Come appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Friendship When Your Fields Increase

Proverbs 17:17 says that a friend loves at all times. But, love does different things at different times. You might think it is a good thing to bless your friend with a loud voice. But not early in the morning (Proverbs 27:14).

Now God is clearly increasing our fields. This is a fulfillment of God’s promise through Ezekiel. When he puts a new heart and new spirit in his people, he adds, “I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field.” With these blessings comes the need to work the increased fields and tend to the multiplying fruit. 

Real friendship at a time like this will require a good deal of diligent work with a heavy helping of cheerful patience. You’re a part of a growing church, growing community, growing schools, growing businesses, and growing families. With increased fruit and fields, and increased laborers, somebody is bound to get frantic, some else is going to get elbowed by accident, some fruit will be plucked a week later than it should have been. And you may start to feel a longing for calmer days, saying, “Back then my stalls may not have had oxen in them, but at least they were clean!”

There’s a mistaken vision of friendship that terminates on the friends, does not require faith or work, and begins to silo itself off both from real needs and from what God is doing in the world. After a big night of hospitality, one of the most friendly things a husband can do is the dishes. As a husband comes home after a long day’s work, one of friendliest things a wife can do is feed him a tasty meal at a good price.

It is through these steady, cheerful, and sacrificial blessings that true friendships are built. And here is the abiding principle of friendship, no matter the season of life: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

The post Friendship When Your Fields Increase appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

The Church as It Now Is, and Will Be

We must understand the kingdom of heaven in one sense as a kingdom in which both are included, the man who breaks what he teaches, and the man who practises it, though one is the least and the other is great in the kingdom, while in another sense it is a kingdom into which there enters only the man who practises what he teaches. Thus where both are to be found we have the Church as it now is; but where only the one kind will be found, there is the Church as it will be, when no evil person will be included. It follows that the Church even now is the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven.

Augustine, City of God

The post The Church as It Now Is, and Will Be appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Poured Out and Refilled

Life consists of being poured out and refilled. We are constantly brought to the place of having nothing left in the tank. This happens in one sense every day. We come to the end of the day and we simply can’t go on so we lie to sleep and wake again to face another day. In the same way, we run out of the energy that food supplies, and so we have to sit down to eat and drink so that we can go on. 

This table should be viewed in this light. We spend ourselves for Christ and his kingdom. And we have the sensation that we’re all used up. Our faith has been working. And we get the sense that we need more faith, saying with the Apostles, “Lord, increase our faith.” 

Romans 10:17 tells us where faith comes from, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We see the Word on this table. We gather at this table to taste the Word, to partake of the Word. And that Word is where faith comes from. Jesus said that he would give his flesh as bread for the life of the world (John 6:51). He would not only give this bread to be broken. It was not broken and discarded. It was broken so that you might eat. It was broken so that you might be nourished. 

Christ’s blood was not simply poured out. It was poured into a cup. And like wine healed Timothy’s stomach. And like wine gladdens the heart of man. So this cup strengthens the faith of those who come to drink it in faith. Are you weary from your labors, then retire to this Table and you will find rest, strength, and renewal. Come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

The post Poured Out and Refilled appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

How to Survive a Coup

We have had no little political tumult as of late and the sense that God is writing quite a story is inescapable. One gets the sense that He is not dictating this story, but writing it with His own hand. It seems like a pen and pad situation, up close and personal, with the Triune author saying something like, “Do you hear me now?” As I saw one commentator recently say after observing our festive news cycles, “Boy, this America: Season Finale really is something.” Given our riveting times we should prepare to stay riveted; and these rivets should be fastening into something with more staying power than the Breaking News. Lucky for us, our text is more dramatic than our recent happenings, and that is really saying something.

Summary of the Text (2 Kings 11:1-21)

Athaliah was the wife of Jehoram king of Judah. She was a worshipper of Baal like her father Ahab, king of Israel, and his wife Jezebel. Athaliah’s husband died and her son Ahaziah took the throne of Judah only to die himself. Upon hearing of the death of her son and king, Ahaziah, the wicked Athaliah murdered her grandsons—all the seed royal—and claimed the throne of Judah in Jerusalem. But, Jehoiada the High Priest and his wife, Jehosheba, protected one of those grandsons named Jehoash by hiding him in the temple. After raising Jehoash secretly for about six years in the temple, Jehoiada gathered five rulers over hundreds to show them the rightful seven year old king and made a covenant with them to overthrow Athaliah. These gathered Levites and chiefs of the fathers throughout all Judea to Jerusalem. Orderly arrangements were made as they declared Jehoash king, including dividing up the guards and Levites to man certain stations. The guard shielded young King Jehoash as he stood between the temple and the altar.

Jehoiada put the crown upon King Jehoash’s head, gave him the testimony, and anointed him, as the crowd clapped their hands and cried out, “God save the king.” Athaliah, hearing the commotion, hurried to the temple. When she saw the young, crowned king, she cried, “Treason! Treason!” I envision Jehosheba looking on as she leans against a temple pillar with a smirk, eating a biscuit that she baked that morning (alas, this is not in the text). Jehoiada commanded the captains to obtain Athaliah, kill any who assisted her, and escort her out of the temple lest she be killed in it. Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people. The people broke down the house of Baal in Jerusalem, along with his altar and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal. Jehoiada appointed officers over the house of the LORD. With all the people and rulers, they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and he sat on the throne of the kings. The people rejoiced, the city was quiet, and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house.

Coup and Covenant

The key question to answer is, “How many coups do you count?” Are we dealing with an Athaliah coup and a Jehoiada coup? The answer to that is, no. We have one coup. Grasping this point is most essential.

Athaliah had no right to the throne so her actions are a text book coup, a violent and unlawful seizure of the throne. Jehoiada’s business was lawful and righteous. In other words, when Athaliah cried, “Treason!” she was quite mistaken. The key is the covenant God made with David, which promised that a son of David would sit upon the throne.

“Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” (2 Samuel 7:11-13)

This is the prophet Jeremiah’s understanding: “For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 33:17)

It is Solomon’s as well: “Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel.” (1 Kings 8:25)

Athaliah was married to a son of David, Jehoram. Her son was a son of David, Ahaziah. But she was a daughter of Ahab, a worshiper of Baal and no son of David. She set herself to slaughter the sons of David and thereby extinguish God’s covenant with him.

An Athaliah Autopsy

It is not without reason that the Kings of Israel jingle says “Queen Athaliah was a cat.” She followed in the footsteps of her mother Jezebel. We can learn several things from an Athaliah autopsy. She was the only human to usurp the throne of Judah from the sons of David. It is sons of David all the way down, from Rehoboam to Zedekiah and the Babylonian exile. The covenant promise to David was hanging on by a snotty nosed Jehoash in the temple and Athaliah was doing her best Cruella de Vil to snuff out that divine oath. Her root problem was unbelief and that root problem gave birth to many others . . .

Jehoiada and Jehosheba

Jehoiada and Jehosheba are one of the most loveable couples in the Bible. They lived in a nasty time. King Jehoram, Athaliah’s husband, was wicked. His son, Ahaziah was also wicked. Now they had to deal with the wretched cat Athaliah. A house of Baal stood in Jerusalem, likely on Mount Moriah itself. The temple in Jerusalem at which Jehoiada served was falling apart from neglect (2 Kings 12:5). And yet they remained faithful. Athaliah went to slaughter her son’s sons, and Jehosheba, who was Athaliah’s brother and thus aunt to the baby Jehoash essentially says, “Oh no you don’t. I know the promises made to the sons of David.” They are a witness to how one survives a coup . . .

From the Temple to the Throne

The arc of this particular story runs from the temple to the throne. Darkness had descended upon Jerusalem and Judea. But a son of David was in the temple. Many years later another son of David would be in the temple shocking the teachers with his wisdom. As Jehoash stood, crown upon his head between the temple and the altar, it is as if he told that daughter of Ahab, “You seek me? Didn’t you know I must be about my father’s business?”

And this the Greater Jehoash has said (Luke 2:49).

The post How to Survive a Coup appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

We Cannot See Forevermore

The Apostle Paul said that the life he lived, he lived by faith in the Son of God. This statement holds true for the Lord’s sacraments. They are signs from God to be received by faith. God has promised that His Spirit who is upon us will not depart from our children or our children’s children from this time forth and forevermore. We cannot see forevermore. We cannot even see into the next minute. But we can believe what the Lord has promised, which He signs and seals in baptism.

The post We Cannot See Forevermore appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Blind Guides in a Blizzard

While there is no good time to have a blind guide, there are worse times to have one. If you must have a blind guide, then have him when you are meandering through a meadow, making your way through Kansas on a calm sunny day. Unfortunately, we are not in that story at the moment. Our situation is more like traversing the Rockies in a blizzard, with snipers on the ridge, and it is almost certain that several in our caravan have come down with a nasty case of cholera. Now is not the time to have a blind guide and it is not the time to be one.

You can easily spot the blind guides. They are the ones who leave their big gnarly sins festering, only to wake on Sunday and open the spice cabinet to measure out the oregano tithe. They use the sieve to strain the gnat out of the coffee while sitting down to a camel breakfast. The blind guides have lost all sense of proportionality, distance, weight, size. They have lost their vision, but they are still eager to talk to you about what you need to see. Well, how did they become such visionless visionaries?

Jesus told his disciples that the Scribes and Pharisees said, but did not. There was plenty of talk about what ought to be done without the doing of it. They would strap others with burdens, but they wouldn’t move a pinky to move those burdens. 

When the LORD shakes the things that can be shaken, as He most certainly is doing, the people who have been laboring away at the things that cannot be shaken really do have a lot to teach others. But the only way to guide others is to do the good works God has called you to do.

The post Blind Guides in a Blizzard appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Christendom’s Revolutions

Christendom has had a series of revolutions and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.

G. K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

The post Christendom’s Revolutions appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.