Author: Jonathan Dodson

How to Help Your Pastor

Posted on September 6, 2009

I appreciate it when others write about how to help pastors. It’s a rare topic. I really like the four points listed by John Catanzaro in his series “Healthy Pastors.” Please consider these for the pastoral leaders in Austin City Life. It’s a good list to keep in mind for your City Group leaders.

  • Understand. The first way to help your pastor is to develop understanding and sensitivity to the stress and demands of a pastor’s work.
  • Pray. Secondly, pray for your pastor. A very active prayer ministry to support the pastors in their evangelical work is fundamental to the health of pastors and the church at large.
  • Grow. Thirdly, mature in the faith. Grow and work to preserve the work of God in your sphere. Do not contribute to confusion, gossip and bitter attitudes. Get involved in action, service, and financial contribution, which are all vital to the health of the Christian mission of proclaiming Christ in your community and the world.
  • Lead. Finally, faith in action is serving others above what you want in support of the ministry of the church. Don’t just get involved in ministry; actively work with the leadership to provide healthy momentum in ministry and to become a personal preacher of the ways of Christ!

Check out the rest of the post here.

New Deluxe Jesus Storybook Bible

Posted on September 5, 2009

We use the Jesus Storybook Bible with our kids just about every morning. The stories are adapted from the Bible in kid-friendly language without dumbing down the theological content. The stories are Christ-centered and well illustrated. Although they can be a little long for small children (we shorten them), the Jesus Storybook Bible is a rich resource for teaching your children about God and his plan for all creation through Jesus.

Next month Zondervan is releasing a Deluxe Version which includes MP3s (get some free now), which will be great for the car. Check out the free resources on the new website.

New Statesman Article

Posted on September 5, 2009

The Statesman was kind enough to run my article on God’s Promise of Renewal today. Check it out and interact with the comments. An excerpt:

Walking out into the backyard, I could see the Cape Cod peninsula on the horizon. The Boston skyline stood tall to my right, and the Atlantic waves crashed into the shore below. With my pipe packed with black Virginia, I took a deep breath, inhaling New England beauty. Taking in the glories of this veritable paradise, my thoughts climbed the trees around me, jumped to the clouds overhead and scrambled into heaven. What force, what greatness, what creativity could will such beauty out of nothing?

Read the Rest.

Calvin on Repentance

Posted on September 4, 2009

In his Institutes, John Calvin makes a wonderful distinction between what he calls “Legal repentance” and “Evangelical repentance.” After a close reading of this text, it is abundantly clear that Calvin would be quite happy with our contemporary nomenclature of “legalistic” and “gospel-centered” to communicate the difference between legal and evangelical repentance.  Consider his descriptions:

Legal (legalistic) Repentance

“Legal repentance; or that by which the sinner, stung with a sense of his sin, and overwhelmed with fear of the divine anger, remains in that state of perturbation, unable to escape from it.”

This kind of repentance rises and falls with the effort of man. It leaves us upset with ourselves and fails to carry us to joy in Christ. It is a man-made trap of moral performance, an act that keeps us in the jaws of guilt never to experience the liberation of grace. Legalistic repentance is the antithesis of gospel-centered repentance. It exchanges grace for law, Christ for man, peace for anger and produces no real change at all.

Evangelical (Gospel-centered) Repentance

“The other they term Evangelical repentance; or that by which the sinner, though grievously downcast in himself, yet looks up and sees in Christ the cure of his wound, the solace of his terror; the haven of rest from his misery.”

This kind of repentance rises and falls upon the grace of God. It brings about a bittersweet conviction that is less bitter than sweet. Instead of beating us down, it lifts us up. Gospel-centered repentance makes much of the death and resurrection of Jesus on behalf of sinners. It carries us to Christ, where we find perfect forgiveness, acceptance, and rest. Gospel-centered repentance is the antithesis of legalistic repentance. Gospel repentance exchanges law for grace, man for Christ, anger for peace, and produces lasting change in the life of man.