Praying for Sovereign Grace Ministries

The readers of this blog who know me at all will know that I have been influenced and helped by CJ Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM). I've read everything CJ has ever written, listened to dozens of his sermons, visited Sovereign Grace churches, and met CJ personally.

So, needless to say, I was saddened last week to hear the news that serious accusations have been made against CJ and SGM. As a result, CJ is temporarily stepping down as president of SGM and is submitting to a process of searching his heart and seeking godly counsel.

You can read CJ's letter/blog post about all of this here.
You can also read SGM's letter here.

For those who are unfamiliar with the circumstances, here is a summary of what I understand has happened.

One particular Sovereign Grace leader has compiled and detailed these accusations and supported them with e-mails, phone calls, meeting notes, etc. This leader sent these detailed accusations to SGM pastors. Someone in SGM posted all of these documents online for anyone and everyone to read.

I've scrolled through the documents (I think its over 600 pages), and its not pretty. Did I mention that they are detailed? Painfully detailed.

My purpose in writing this post is simply informational. We need to be aware of what's going on. We need to pray that above all Christ will be honored and that all of this does not bring shame on our Savior. May God take these realities and use them to advance His mission in the world. I pray that SGM comes out of this stronger and more faithful and more humble.

I'm sure I'll have more reflections as more information becomes available. For now, let's all check our own hearts and realize that God cares how we respond to other's shame and humiliation.

Religion Saves: Chapters 2-4

Chapter 2 of Religion Saves addresses the question of humor. This is a very funny chapter that had me laughing out loud. It is basically a defense of the value of humor and a survey of Biblical humor. Driscoll does a good job of showing that the Bible mainly uses humor to mock people, religions, ideas, idols, and anything else that oppose God. Some things deserve to be mocked! Driscoll ends with 10 "commandments" for sanctifying comedy.

Chapter 3 of Religion Saves addresses the issue of predestination. It is a good and balanced explanation of what the Bible teaches on this subject. Driscoll touches on the order of salvation, total depravity, and answers the most common objections to the Bible's teaching on predestination.

Chapter 4 of Religion Saves is about the amazing grace of God. Driscoll describes this subject as one of the hardest to actually believe and remember. He writes this chapter as a reminder of just how wonderful is God's grace. He identifies 13 experiences of grace: electing grace, preached grace, regenerating grace, converting grace, justifying grace, adopting grace, ministry grace, sanctifying grace, empowering grace, provisional grace, miraculous grace, persevering grace, and glorifying grace.

For my summary and thoughts on chapter 1 (Birth Control), see this post.

Sovereign Grace CRAZY SALE

The folks at Sovereign Grace Ministries are serving us at a crucial time in our economy. Get the details of the "Crazy Sale" here.

Guard Your Heart

The newest Sovereign Grace podcast is excellent. In case you missed the first one, it was all about the pastor and reading. Lots of good books were recommended!

The second one is about the pastor's care for his soul. It is directed toward pastors, but it would be beneficial for anyone to listen. CJ Mahaney is moved to tears as he surveys the wondrous cross. His passion for the Savior is contagious. Josh Harris, Jeff Purswell, and CJ all share their normal morning routine as they seek to practice the spiritual disciplines. Purswell admits that he skipped his quiet time that morning (a very humble admission to record for all the world to hear). CJ advocates setting the alarm clock to play country music (a suggestion that would result in a bad start to my morning!). I'd much prefer the annoying buzz, buzzz, buzzz, buzzz...

Listen, and let me know what you think.

Breaking News Alert: FREE Sovereign Grace Resources

The day has finally arrived! Sovereign Grace Ministries is now offering all of their single messages for free download from their site. Over the past couple of years I have purchased a lot of these messages and have longed for them to be more widely available. Now, they are totally free.
Just go to their store, and click 'messages.' You can sort by speaker, topic, or conference. Maybe I'll post links to some of my favorites in the days to come.

I hope Desiring God Ministries' example is rubbing off on other ministries!