This is the fifth year I have hosted a March Madness challenge. I bought trophies last year and handed them out to previous champions and then last year’s champion. A trophy awaits this year’s victor as well.

ESPN Tournament Challenge

Group: Wishall March Madness

This is a public group, so there is no password needed. Just search for Wishall March Madness and join the fun.

Last year, roughly 60 folks jumped in the fray, including family, friends from high school, high school basketball teammates, friends from college, friends of friends, friends from seminary, past co-workers, current co-workers and other asundry people from other walks of life.

Do you think you have what it takes? Then join the fray.

Just don’t cry when you go down in flames.

Viewing oneself as a fallen sinner who has rebelled against a perfect and all-powerful Creator and then through the lens of a crucified and risen Messiah who came to earth and conquered the power of evil forces, sin and death addresses every human need.

Paul wasn’t kidding when he said he counted all things as loss compared to knowing Christ (Phil 3:7). He really lived his life based on that foundation. To him, to live was Christ and to die was gain (Phil 1:21).

Perhaps you are skeptical. Perhaps you are thinking of your cousin who can’t sit still long enough to complete a sentence. Perhaps you are thinking of the co-worker who is as nice as your grandmother one minute and as mean as a Roman soldier the next. Perhaps you are thinking of people who cut themselves, are manic-depressive or who drink themselves to sleep every night. Perhaps you are that person.

Can the Bible and the Gospel really address these needs?

CCEF (Christian Counseling Education Foundation) has posted an article by Aaron Sironi called “Becoming a Biblical Counselor: A Skeptic’s Journey.”

In the article, Sironi shares how he has gone from being a licensed professional counselor who was a Christian to an avid proponent of biblical counseling who works out his Christianity in his counseling.

Here is an excerpt:

How could I have gone through four years at a graduate school that was part of seminary never having explored the depths and breadths of the gospel as applied to specific counseling issues? The most profound and researched psychological perspectives that had seemed so attractive, that seemed to offer penetrating insight, now appeared two-dimensional against the three dimensional biblical descriptions. Alongside biblical explanations, psychology’s answers to the fundamental issues that underlie every psychiatric condition (suffering, guilt, shame, fear, death, anger, responsibility, etc.) came up wanting. In these conversations with my elder, my disaffection with the psychologies grew even as my joy multiplied in seeing rich practical theology applied to counseling. As if beginning to see clearly for the first time, Scripture began to shine beautifully and powerfully into each of counseling’s complex issues. This was just the beginning of the comfort available in the gospel.

Helpful comments on the place psychological studies can play in counseling:

Allow me to clarify. Studying and learning from the astute observations of the psychologies was helpful. Thousands of thoughtful counselors are in the trenches each day comforting, challenging, and attending to people in need. And these counselors have something to teach us. But we must not embrace the anthropologies and philosophies upon which the secular theories and interventions are built. Clearly, the psychologies never address our willful hearts of worship that cherish and defend idolatrous and adulterous passions. They excellently examine many things but are blind to deeper things. They are mindless of that which is most important—the soul before the living God. At the end of the day, our counseling falls short if we’ve addressed physiology, family history, trauma, systemic influences, etc., but have not done so in relation to our Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. Even if our clients experience certain positive change in their lives, we fail them if we do not help them to examine their active, willful, and sinful hearts. We fail if we do not help them understand their sufferings through God’s eyes. We fail if we do not help them find God’s precious mercies.

And the conclusion:

Returning to where I began this journey—as an undergraduate studying psychology at a Christian liberal arts college, I remember learning about “biblical” counseling. But it was presented as a fringe movement of Christians who rebuked just about everyone who walked through the counseling door. Sadly, there was probably an element of truth to that caricature. I too have met counselors who call themselves “biblical” but who are otherwise offensive, overly simplistic, and insensitive to people. Had this been my experience at CCEF, I can assure you that I’d still be a “former” therapist. Remarkably, I have been warmly welcomed and my clinical training has been widely valued and redeemed. The transition to biblical counseling has been slow, at times circumspect, but always full of joy and personal transformation. And if the Lord wills, I’ll continue to grow and work as a biblical counselor for years to come.

If you are skeptical toward biblical counseling, I would encourage you to read this article in its entirety. The truths it stands on are worth staking your life on.

Clowney’s treatment of a call to the ministry (a term I don’t really like) is one of the best I have read. Regarding a call to ministry, Clowney greatly values testing one’s gifts in the context of the local church and having those gifts confirmed through such service.

Clowney’s work on preaching is an excellent, Christ-centered treatment of this critical and central responsibility of a pastor. I am sure that Clowney’s work on prayer is likewise well worth digesting.

HT: Justin Taylor, TGC, courtesy of Beginning with Moses.

Jesus called doing God’s will His food (John 4:34) and said that He brought God glory on earth by completing the work God gave Him to do, i.e., doing God’s will (John 17:4).

Jesus is the head of the church, a role assigned to Him by God the Father (Eph 1:22-23). If we are to follow our Head, Christ, then our churches must submit to the will of God as revealed in the Word of God.

So, I provide here a definition of a local church and then briefly flesh out the definition. This is a work in progress and I welcome feedback. This definition and explanation are meant to describe what a healthy, biblical church looks like. We can discuss the bare minimum of what a true church is if you like, but I am aiming more at what a healthy church is, according to the Bible.

Definition of a local church: A covenant community that is characterized by assembling together for the teaching of God’s Word and the administration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This covenant community/assembly is a body that functions together, each according to his own role/spiritual gifts, to display the character of Christ and carry out the mission of God to the glory of God.

Fleshing out the definition: I want the emphasis to be on covenant community, not assembly, because I think the Bible places the emphasis on what goes on in the assembly, not the fact that a group of people are assembling. However, a local church is not less than an assembly: if a people do not assemble regularly they are not a local church and every group of people that assembles together is a distinct local church, not one part, i.e. campus or service, of a local church.

This body then is characterized by growing in possessing the character of Christ, individually and corporately. This body also carries out the mission of God, namely making disciples of all people. The mission of God centers on making disciples of all people and teaching people to live as faithful citizens in God’s kingdom. This includes social action as people have need. It does not have to include social action, but should if people have physical needs. However, the greatest need of all people is spiritual in nature and carrying out the mission of God must include sharing verbally the objective truth of the Gospel for the purpose of making disciples of all people.

Growing in the character of Christ and carrying out the mission of God are done to the glory of God. All acts of the church, individually and corporately, should be acts of worship, done because of the person and work of Christ. All of the ministry of the church centers on Christ’s work on the cross and His subsequent resurrection. We are not seeking to grow a moral body of people who do and say the right things as they walk toward hell. Instead, we recognize that only the righteousness of Christ is sufficient to count men righteous before God and we base all of life and ministry on this reality. We want people whose lives are flooded with worship that is built on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

Giving is something I’ve discussed a fair amount with my close friends, fellow church members and my college mentor. What does God expect of the Christian in this area? 10%? More (Sermon on the Mount principle/cheerful giver principle).

For the record, I think 10% is a good starting point for believers, based on Abraham giving a tenth to Melchizedek (Gen 14:17-24). I also think that 10% should come from one’s gross income, not net income, based on the principle of Prov. 3:9-10, giving of our firstfruits. But these issues are not at the heart of Christian giving.

At the heart of Christian giving is the question: what does it mean to be a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:6-7)? To give generously?

Key questions that stem from this central question include:

• Is it good or bad for Christians to save money (IRA, etc.)?
• Is it okay for Christians to have some nice material things?
• Should Christians not eat steak, sushi, etc. so that those without food can eat?

Greear’s post centers on the central question I listed above and addresses all the stemming questions I listed, plus several others.

Greear says he has thought a lot about this issue over the last few months and it shows in this excellent, helpful article.

Here are the two extremes he gives that Christians fall into:

1. The first extreme is those who teach that God wants you, religiously (pun intended), to simply give 10%, and after that you can do whatever you want with your money.

2. The second extreme is those who imply, whether intentionally or not, that whatever you give, you should be giving more.

Here are the six principles of his Generosity MATRIX, which he says must be applied in reliance on the Holy Spirit:

1. It is the joyful duty of those who have to share with those who have not.

2. We live with radical generosity to others in response to Jesus’ radical generosity to us.

3. The Holy Spirit must guide us as to which sacrifices we are to make.

4. God provides for His people richly and delights in our enjoyment of His material gifts.

5. Don’ttrust in riches and don’tdefine your life by the abundance of your possessions.

6. Wealth building is OK.

Greear has great balancing statements for principles 4. and 6. while also providing a biblical basis for those points.

In his conclusion, Greear notes that those who are generous givers will have a lifestyle that is significantly less than others who make equivalent salary. Here is his parenthetical note on that front:

(Do note this: when you consider that the average American gives less thant 1% away and most most are substantially in debt, if you are going to give with radical generosity and you are going to not go into debt and you are going to save, your lifestyle will look significantly different than your friends who make an equivalent wage.)

And here is the end of his conclusion:

My wife I have been asking God to help us live on less, trust Him more, love others more, and to give more. For now, we are committed to giving, at minimum, somewhere around double the percentage we we were giving when we got married, and hope to/plan to increase more in the future. We really are overwhelmed with what God has done for us, specifically in the radical generosity of the cross. We live in a world where there are poor and people are dying, and it is wrong to go on living as if that weren’t true. So, we want somewhat of a wartime mentality and to live simply and give abundantly. We try to live simply, driving, wearing and living in much less than we “could.”

At the same time, we are committed to enjoying the provision and goodness of God, realizing that it comes from His hand as a gift of a loving Father to His children, and one He wants us to enjoy. We know He delights when we are thankful and enjoy the things He has given us. We glorify Him by doing so.

Our standard is not yours. Some will find it woefully inadequate; others will find it beyond reach. My encouragement is for you to work through the 6 matrix principles yourself and let the Holy Spirit guide you to radical, joyful generosity and enjoyment of life.

– JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA - Alex Edgar Wishall, son of Garrett and Laura Wishall, was born at 2:12 p.m., Nov. 14, at Clark Memorial Hospital.¹

Alex is the younger son of Timothy, 1, who was born 16 months and 1 day ago, also at Clark Memorial.

Garrett and Laura said they rejoice at the Lord adding another blessing to their quiver.

“We are tremendously grateful and excited to have the privilege of another son entering our house,” the couple said. “We know that every child is a blessing from God. We are particularly excited about watching Timothy and Alex grow up together and hopefully teaching them a few things along the way.”

The account

Alex’s birth did not come without travail.

Laura began experiencing contractions with regularity Thursday afternoon, Nov. 12. Aware that Laura had endured 30 hours of labor, 14 at the hospital, with the birth of Timothy, the couple did not want to jump the gun and go to the hospital too early. Thus, Laura took a sleeping pill Thursday night and got a good night of sleep.

The contractions continued on Friday morning, so Garrett stayed home from work. The contractions stayed 5-10 minutes throughout the day and on into the evening Friday.

Around 11 p.m., the contractions began to intensify and the couple began to begin thinking about going to the hospital.

After five hours of early stage labor, during which Garrett snuck in a couple hours of sleep, the couple made the phone call to Raymond and Megan Johnson to come and watch young Timmy. The Johnsons arrived minutes later with far too much energy and vigor for 4:15 a.m., “reporting for duty” as Raymond put it.

The couple arrived at the hospital to discover that was 4-5 centimeters dilated and progressing nicely. Four hours later, statements like, “I’m not sure I can do this,” signaled to All-American nurse Holly that Laura was transitioning into second stage labor.

Midwife Allison asked another nurse to prepare the room for delivery. Excitement and anticipation filled the room like the aroma of a Meat Lover’s pizza from Pizza Hut.

Laura got ready to push and Allison checked to make sure she was ready. To Allison’s surprise, Laura was only 8 centimeters dilated. Exhausted, Laura asked for an epidural.

An hour or so later, Laura had progressed to a 10: it was time!

Laura gave a few good pushes with husband Garrett, and blessed friend Kelly Kantorski (who arrived at the hospital to help just after the Wishalls’ arrival), assisting and encouraging her. Garrett’s excitement quickly turned to another experience: wooziness.

Feeling queasy, Garrett sat down and drank a Sprit (actually diet Sierra Mist) supplied by nurse Holly, who could only shake her head and compare Garrett to her husband.

As Laura continued to push, Allison became concerned that, though she could see the crown of Alex’s head - covered with brown hair - he was not progressing toward freedom. After several rounds of pushing, some of which included Alex’s heart rate dropping, Laura was again exhausted and preparations were made for a Caesarian section.

Less than an hour later, Garrett showed proud, tired and emotional (Garrett was only the first … okay Garrett was the first and the second … all right, Garrett was all three as well) Laura her second son, Alex Edgar Wishall.

‘It was like trying to dig the Panama Canal with my head’

After things had settled down a bit and Alex had received his first bath, the couple sat down with their youngster to ask him what happened that prevented him from coming out the “natural” way.

“It was a tight, tight fit,” Alex recounted, through a mind-reading translator. “I knew it was going be tough, but I had no idea how tough. It was like trying to dig the Panama Canal with my head.”

Allison noted that Laura’s small birth canal combined with Alex’s 90^th percentile head most likely combined to prevent the vaginal delivery. Indeed, in retrospect, Laura’s dynamic size combined with Alex’s characteristically large, male Wishall head² had C-section written all over them.

Grateful to God

In all seriousness, Laura and Garrett are grateful for the blessing that is Alex Edgar Wishall. The creative wonder of a great and awesome God is no more clearly seen than in the birth of an infant.

While the birth processes of both Wishall children were arduous and exhausting, the intrinsic blessing of receiving beings that carry the image of God outweighs eternally the difficulty of their arrival.

Garrett and Laura know that well before the Fall of man that made such births difficult, God had planned to redeem a people for His own glory.

“Laura and I are aware that the first man, Adam, sinned against his Creator, acting on the impulses of price and self-sufficiency that drove his rebellion. We know that every human being after Adam, including our two sons, was thus born with a dead sinful nature that is accompanied by sinful acts,” Garrett said.

“However, we also know that this same Creator sent His only Son, the eternal Son of God, into the world to redeem sinful men and reconcile the world to Himself. This Son became the Savior of all would believe in Him when He lived a perfect life, died on the cross and rose again. Jesus’ resurrection declared to the spiritual forces of evil that though the effects of the Fall - such as Laura’s two difficult births - still linger in this world, He is calling a people to Himself with the same power that birthed this world and brought Him up out of the grave.

Laura and I know that all who repent of their rebellion against their Creator and place their faith and hope in Jesus Christ, a faith that includes submission to Him, receive the forgiveness of sins and enter the kingdom of God.

Laura and I live in this world to give glory to God by being messengers of this message. We will share this message with our sons, if God grants us the opportunity, and indeed, even today I prayed that He would save them both. It is our prayer that they will not persist in their rebellion, but will repent of their sins, and trust in Christ for their salvation.”

Garrett and Laura are grateful for the birth of Alex Edgar Wishall, who joins Timothy Robert Wishall in the Wishall household. And they are even more grateful for the new birth they have undergone that has made them new creations in Christ.

———————————————————–

¹The author wants readers to be aware that he composed this account after a good night of sleep. Had this story been written immediately after the birth, it would have taken on a tone similar to that of a chain-smoker desperately in search of a pack of cigarettes after a weak without nicotine.

²The large capacity of the typical Wishall head does not reflect a correspondingly high intellect. Instead, large cavities of the male Wishall mind are filled with sports facts. Other compartments are used for humor, not the kind that all find funny, but laughter triggers for odd, random and significantly demented comments and conversation.

While it is okay if the SBC ceases to exist, I think it is still very viable as a tool to serve and advance the ministries and missions efforts of Southern Baptist local churches. The SBC remains a great avenue for cooperating together for the purpose of carrying out the Great Commission, of making disciples of all nations. This is why the SBC formed and if this remains the focus of the policies and structures of the SBC then it serves a great purpose.

So, let’s keep it going.

A key, key initiative in the re-focusing of the SBC on its purpose is the Great Commission Resurgence task force. This group has already met a few times, and there next meeting comes up Oct. 27.

Ronnie Floyd, GCR chairman, has details:

Over these next few days, I am asking you to pray for a very important meeting that will take place in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, October 27. I have requested that each State Executive from our 42 state conventions meet with us. Due to matters of scheduling and some who have annual conventions at this same time, we are very grateful that 22 of our state convention executive leaders will be able to meet with us. I have asked their Chairman, Bill Mackey of Kentucky, to lead their group in a presentation to us about what is on their heart about the Great Commission. Following their presentation, we will dialogue with one another about the Great Commission related to the future of the Southern Baptist Convention. This pivotal meeting may be unprecedented in at least recent history and needs our highest support in prayer and hopefully even a day of fasting. It is my prayer that we can all go together towards a bold, visionary Great Commission future. The need is urgent and calls us to act together now.

Finally, we are listening, learning, and committed to leading our convention towards experiencing this Great Commission Resurgence. We do not have all the answers. As Chairman, I am in desperate need of God and His leadership. There are days I am overwhelmed with this task and feel it upon my life heavily. Our task force is agonizing not only over our desperate need, but also about what we must do to move together towards seeing every person in America and the world afforded the privilege of hearing the Gospel and coming to Jesus Christ.

State conventions will very likely play a key role in the recommendations from the GCR task force. Let’s pray that everyone involved is able to think clearly, have the advance of the Gospel as the forefront thing in their minds and then get to work at these meetings.

In the zeal for robust theology, we must not trample upon the priority of counseling for the lead pastor. Not that the lead pastor has to do the bulk of the counseling…though in a small church he probably will.

I mean more that the lead pastor creates and leads in an atmosphere where biblical counseling is in the air, in the water, in the blood. Where the Bible oozes from the elders and congregation and they have utmost confidence in it.

Ray Van Neste, Associate Professor of Christian Studies at Union University, presented a message on such pastoral care at Union University’s Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and the Future of Denominationalism conference Oct. 7.

Titled “Oversight of Souls – Pastoral Ministry in Southern Baptist and Evangelical Life,” Van Neste made several good points regarding the priority of pastoral care for pastors. A few highlights from Trevin Wax’s live blog of Van Neste’s presentation:

• Oversight of souls includes both public and private ministry. (Acts 20)
• The goal of pastoral ministry is to present everyone mature in Christ. (Col. 1:24-29)
• We do not guard souls in order to preach; we preach in order to guard souls.

I commend the remainder of Wax’s live blog for more of Van Neste’s valuable presentation.

In an interview I did with Greg Thornbury today, he noted that if people aren’t applying theology then they aren’t really doing theology. I agree heartily.

So let’s do theology. Let’s know it well. Let’s study the inns and outs of God’s providence, ecclesiology, the person and work of Christ, the role of the Holy Spirit and even some eschatology.

But let’s also have pastoral ministries where people are helped: where the divorced are ministered to, the abused are comforted and helped in working through their own idols. Where a pastoral staff walks through life w/ its people, caring for them and truly shepherding them.

Let’s have strong pulpit ministries: the strongest in the land. But let’s focus them on the people in our congregation, not the podcasting/YouTubing crowd outside our church walls.

Let’s be theologians. But let’s be pastors, too.

Along with Russell D. Moore, Tripp is one of the two best, most concrete, communicators I have heard. His insights on marriage are excellent, as he dissects the human heart and rightly explains why conflict arise in marriage and how it can be overcome.

This article came out of a presentation Tripp gave at Sojourn Community Church at their recent conference on Gospel-centered (biblical) counseling.

Tripp explicates Scripture clearly, faithfully and powerfully. Listen and be helped!

In the article, Waltke briefly lays out some typological connections between Elijah and John the Baptist and then the transition from Elijah to Elisha and the transition from John the Baptist to Christ. He then moves to the typological connection from Elisha to Jesus.

Here is an excerpt:

But now let’s really swim by comparing Elisha and the Lord Jesus. Both are designated by a prophet, whom the general populace recognized as a true prophet. Both receive the Spirit on the other side of the Jordan (2 Kings 2:7–15; John 1:28); are surrounded by more disciples than their predecessors; are itinerant miracle workers; give life in a land of death; cleanse lepers (2 Kings 5; Mark 1:40–45); heal the sick (2 Kings 4:34–35; Mark 8:22–25); defy gravity (2 Kings 6:6; Matt. 14:22–33); reverse death by raising dead sons and restoring them to their mothers (2 Kings 4: 1–7; Luke 7:11–17); help widows in desperate circumstances; are kinsman redeemers to save from slavery (2 Kings 4:1–7; Luke 4:19); feed the hungry (2 Kings 4:1–7; Mark 8:1–12); minister to the Gentiles (2 Kings 5:1–16); prepare (2 Kings 6:20–23) and sit at table with sinners (Luke 5:29); lead captives (2 Kings 6:18–20; Eph, 4:7–8); have a covetous disciple (Gehazi and Judas); end their lives in a life-giving tomb from which people flee (2 Kings 13:20–21; Mark 16:1–8).

These replications and foreshadows cry out for reflection. As God’s elect children, we too can inherit — can be filled — with the same Spirit as Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist, and our Lord by prayer and perseverance (Eph. 4:18). After all, as James says, “They were men just like us” (James 5:7). Elisha is a type of Christ’s disciples: elected by I AM; leaves father and mother behind; forsakes everything to be a disciple to his Master; becomes like his Master; perseveres with his Master; does greater works than these (2 Kings 4:31–35; John 14:12); brings life to those who stay close to their Master in a culture of death; and develops disciples for whom they also serve as types.

As we read Scripture, we must always remember that every Word is inspired by God and that all of Scripture moves toward the death and resurrection of Christ as its center, and then looks ahead to His triumphant return. Waltke’s article helps us in this quest.