I must also admit that I have been peeking ahead a bit toward my next calling, which is a kind of extension of Covenant’s Christ-centered educational mission across the globe. It will be exciting to see how God may choose to put the resources of the College into the mix in supporting the work of Christian schools in so many parts of the world where the gospel is moving, churches are growing, demographics are changing, and economic development is occurring.

As I bring this blog to an official close, I am very grateful for the opportunity to communicate with you through these four years of blog postings on topics of interest to me, to the College community, and, I hope, to you as well. This has been a very useful exercise for me, and I have many times recovered older postings as resources for various purposes. I trust that all this communication has served the College and, even more, the gospel and the Kingdom well.

Please remember to pray for the presidential search committee as they enter the final stages of the search process. To learn more about the process and its progress, please visit the presidential search website.

God’s blessings to you all!

Niel Nielson, Ph.D.
President

Then, of course, we settle in to the ordinary work before us — ordinary in the very best sense of the word: not inferior or second-rate, but following the common, repeated, beautiful pattern which gives order and normalcy and daily assurance of God’s providence and provision.

For sure, from time to time God may choose to demonstrate his extraordinary providence through special blessings, miraculous interventions, surprising turns of events. But mostly, when students awake in the morning, their rooms look pretty much like they did the night before; the food in our Great Hall dining room is there just like yesterday; classes and athletic practices start and end at the designated times. And so on we go, amidst the ordinary providences of God.

It is a good and gracious thing, this ordinary, “do-the-next-thing” life, in which and through which we live out the extraordinary educational calling to pursue in our studies the mind and heart of Jesus Christ, who is preeminent in all things.

All of which brings us to the consideration of Psalm 19, a psalm which presents God’s people with a beautiful pattern for grasping, and rejoicing in, the order and pattern of God’s revelation – both general in nature, and special in the Scriptures – and our proper response to such grand and convicting truths.

C. S. Lewis said of Psalm 19, “I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.” There is so much here of literary quality; the psalm’s poetic patterns and rhythms and images all contribute to its meaning and power. For those especially interested in the Psalms’ literary and poetic qualities, Leland Ryken’s Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible is a wonderful guide.

The point for now is that Psalm 19 one of the most precious treasures of God’s revelation in the Scriptures. It comes in three sections: verses 1-6 lay out what is commonly called God’s general revelation; verses 7-11 lay out what is commonly called God’s special revelation; and verses 12-14 lay out the powerful, sanctifying impact which God intends for us – the “so what” of the psalm.

It is important to recognize that the progression through the sections of Psalm 19 is not intended primarily as a chronological progression, as if people first, chronologically, apprehend God through his general revelation, and then second, chronologically, hear and understand God through his special revelation, and then third, chronologically, respond in faith and obedience. To put it another way, the psalm is not intended as the step-by-step path and pattern for coming to faith, although it’s probably happened that way for many.

Rather, the psalm’s three-part structure portrays a logical and theological framework, for God’s redeemed people, of how God’s general and special revelation are related, ultimately for the discipling and blessing of the believer.

Here is an initial statement of the thesis, the melodic line, of Psalm 19: The study of and delight in God’s general revelation rightly prompts the study of and delight in God’s special revelation, which rightly prompts us to delight in the gospel and to pursue gospel fruit in our lives.

First, in verses 1-6, the psalmist speaks of God’s wordless witness in the creation, often called general revelation or the Book of the World.

The psalmist’s main point here is that the heavens – i.e. created things – witness to their Creator. In the words of James Boice, long-time pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, the Book of the World provides “…a revelation of God’s existence and power so great that it should lead every human being on the face of the earth to seek God out, to thank him for bringing him or her into existence, and to worship him.” (Psalms, Vol. 1, p. 162)

The glory of God in verse 1 is not moral glory; that is, it does not refer to God’s moral attributes such as justice, mercy, love, goodness, and grace. It refers rather to his existence and his creative power and majesty, and to that more general sense of grace – common grace – by which God blesses and provides for every human being who lives and breathes.

Further, in Romans 1, Paul says, “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” So general revelation is sufficiently clear in its wordless witness about God, not only to prompt gratitude and worship, but also to condemn the person who does not acknowledge God the Creator.

For our academic work in Christian educational institutions, the study of the creation in all its aspects is, therefore, not a secular, i.e. non-religious or a-religious, study, for it rightly leads everyone not blinded by their own rebellion to an apprehension and appreciation of the powerful God who created all there is. While this is the main point of this first section of the psalm, there are underlying presuppositions and implications which shape our Christian academic approach to the study of the Book of the World.

1. Nature is worthy of being studied. The psalmist validates and encourages our examination of the creation, and we should give ourselves wholeheartedly to it, in all its complexity and detail. If knowing about the heavens a little will prompt us to acknowledge and praise God, then surely knowing it better will prompt us to acknowledge him even more.

2. Nature is observable and understandable. If the heavens and skies and sun testify to God, then they must be susceptible to being studied and known. This is actually a very important starting-point, for some post-modern epistemologies suggest that we humans are so captive to our own subjectivity and our own perspectives that objective observation and true knowledge of the world around us are not possible. Psalm 19, and in fact all of Scripture, rules out such an approach; the Bible consistently presupposes the capacity of the human mind to apprehend and comprehend a world outside and independent of our minds.

3. Nature is orderly in that patterns and regularities exist. The “day to day” and “night to night” of verse 2, as well as the circuit of the sun across the sky of v. 6, suggest that we can observe patterns and repeated events, investigate causal connections, and draw conclusions about the future and how human beings can affect it for good or evil purposes.

4. Nature speaks continuously and universally, as both day and night the “speech” pours out, and the “voice goes out through all the earth…to the end of the world.”

5. The study of nature is good, even delightful. The psalmist clearly takes delight in his examination of the heavens, with an echo in Ps. 111:2: “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.”

6. Finally the psalm encourages the study of all the chapters in the Book of the World.
Certainly science: Remember that amazing description in 1 Kings 4 of King Solomon, to whom God gave wisdom and very great insight and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the walls; he taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. So the wisdom that God gave Solomon was not only moral and judicial: it was scientific as well.

Mathematical study is validated as well, for nature’s orderly patterns can be measured and calculated — an alternate translation for verse 4 is “Their measuring line is gone out through all the earth.”

But what is the form of the psalmist’s writing? It is poetry — magnificent, high art. What are the elements of his poetry? Metaphor, simile, imaginative description, lyrical shape and rhythm. Nature “speaks.” The sun is like a bridegroom and a thoroughbred racehorse. And notice that the psalm is written to the “choirmaster;” it’s a song for singing!

All these aspects of Psalm 19 are glorious affirmation for our study of all the dimensions of human life and the artifacts of human work and creativity

Two further comments are in order before we move to the second section.

1. This ringing affirmation of our studies means that we don’t have to “spiritualize” our studies to validate them, i.e. we don’t have continually to draw cute little “spiritual” lessons or force moralistic applications to make our study “Christian.” It is good to study creation and what human beings have made of its potentialities.

2. Further, it is perfectly alright to recognize that we agree with non-Christians on much of our knowledge of the world. God has created a knowable world, for both believers and unbelievers; we should rejoice that there is common understanding; we should rejoice that we can learn even from those who do not acknowledge God – such is God’s mercy and providence. Non-Christian writers can be great writers; non-Christian philosophers can be great philosophers. We do have much to learn from such folks in all areas of study, even as we acknowledge their spiritual rebellion and the ultimate inadequacy of their views apart from biblical perspective.

Oh, what a marvel is the Book of the World, and how good it is to study it with diligence and delight, and to acknowledge the Creator and to treasure his creation. What a grand calling we have for this good work here at Covenant and in all distinctively Christian educational contexts.

But the psalmist does not stop there; the picture of God’s revelation thus far is not complete. God shows himself not only in the wordless witness of the creation, but also, and far more profoundly, in the word-full witness of the Bible.

So second, in verses 7-11, the psalmist speaks of God’s written witness in the Scriptures, often called special revelation or the Book of the Word.

Verse 7 introduces a new section of the psalm, and it has seemed to some readers to be such an abrupt change from what has come before that they have concluded that these were originally two separate psalms. However, rather than seeing this perceived abrupt change as evidence of two psalms, I think it is evidence of the psalmist’s understanding that the two subjects – the Book of the World and the Book of the Word – are utterly and inescapably intertwined. For, as we study nature and history and economics and art and philosophy, and as we discover patterns and laws and principles, we are drawn to remember that the God who has created all of this, has also spoken.

Listen to how C. S. Lewis describes this connection in Reflections on the Psalms:

First he thinks of the sky; how, day after day, the pageantry we see there shows us the splendor of its Creator. Then he thinks of the sun, the bridal joyousness of its rising, the unimaginable speed of its daily voyage from east to west. Finally, of its heat; not of course the mild heats of our climate but the cloudless, blinding, tyrannous rays hammering the hills, searching every cranny. The key phrase on which the whole poem depends is “there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” It pierces everywhere with its strong, clean ardour. Then at once, in verse 7 he is talking of something else, which hardly seems to him something else because it is so like the all-piercing, all-detecting sunshine. The Law is “undefiled…clean and everlasting…luminous, severe, disinfectant, exultant…As he has felt the sun, perhaps in the desert, searching him out in every nook of shade where he attempted to hide from it, so he feels the Law searching out all the hiding-places of his soul. (pp. 63-64)

Lewis is on solid biblical ground here, for Hebrews 4:12-13 tells us that

…the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from its sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eye of him to whom we must give account.

The physical sun, with all its searching light and scorching heat, powerfully points us further, to the penetrating, white-hot, judging and saving glare of the written Word of God.

Having previously used the word “El” for God – the least specific name for God in the Bible – here in v. 7 the psalmist announces that this Creator God, whose existence and power are on display for all to see, is in fact Jehovah God, the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who named himself to Moses at the burning bush.

And Jehovah God has spoken. He has spoken in the Scriptures, in words that have been written down so that all generations, all peoples, all language groups, in all times and all places, would have this verbal witness to and from Jehovah.

This writing first happened as God’s people were about to cross the Jordan River into the land of promise, as Moses was about to hand over leadership to Joshua. Deuteronomy 31:9 says, “Then Moses wrote this law….” – five game-changing words. This is the very first time a human being wrote down the very words of God, so that, as Deuteronomy 31 goes on to say, generations to come, “…who have not known God’s law, may hear and learn to fear the Lord….” And we now hold in our hands that very word, complete and true and sufficient in all that it says.

Notice the parts of speech in this section of the psalm.

1. All the nouns aggregate to form the idea of God’s comprehensive self-revelation in scripture – law, statutes, precepts, commands, fear, ordinances. This is God’s verbal testimony about himself in all of Scripture, not only in his creational power but now also in his moral and redeeming attributes.

   Whereas the knowledge of the Book of the World demands recognition and worship of “El,” these nouns carry specific spiritual and moral obligations toward Jehovah. This is the distinctive province of the Book of the Word: we are to keep these commands and obey these precepts.

2. All the adjectives – perfect, sure, right, clean, true – are words that admit of no qualification, no hint of incompleteness or inadequacy. The Scriptures are full of similar descriptions, for example in Psalm 119, which is so full of wonder and gratitude for God’s incomparable Word, which is, appropriately for the imagery of Psalm 19, “a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths.” Peter describes the written words of God as “more sure” than even his own eye-witness testimony about Jesus, again and appropriately calling the Scriptures “a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
3. All the verb-based phrases describe the fruit of God’s words taken in. It is, simply put, wonderful: reviving the soul, making wise the simple, giving joy to the heart, giving light to the eyes, enduring forever, warning his servants, bringing great reward. Stated simply and directly: The Book of the World cannot provide such satisfactions and blessings and joys as these.

The psalmist is pushing us to set our study of the world in the larger, more complete context of his revealed Word, which is more to be desired than gold, sweeter than the sweetest honey. As wonderful as scientific, mathematical, literary, historical, economic, psychological, or artistic studies are, they are incomplete, unredemptive, and ultimately unsatisfying apart from the special revelation of God. In fact, without the saving words of Scripture, they serve finally to condemn, whereas God’s Word, according to James 1, can “save our souls.”

If the Book of the World rightly inspires worship of the Creator God and diligence and delight in the study of creation, how much more – how much more! – should the Book of the Word inspire, in wonder and attentiveness and humility and repentance and worship and obedience and holiness and joy? El is Jehovah, and students and scholars ought to fairly run from our classrooms and our textbooks and our research into every single context – including campus chapel –where we might hear this God speak through the reading and preaching of the Scriptures.

How dare we, as God’s people, be satisfied with the wordless witness when we have the word-full witness which can save our souls! How sad, even how arrogant, to miss this treasure, to forego this food, to neglect this grace.

Come, come, the psalmist cries out, to the God-breathed Word.

But we are not yet at the end of this psalm’s story, for, as the descriptions and effects of the written Word have already implied, that Word drives us somewhere. And we learn about that in the final section of the psalm.

So, then, third, in verses 12-14, the psalmist speaks of the ultimate purpose of God’s revelation and the ultimate end of all our study.

In God’s design, general revelation is not an end in itself. Its study, while a good and useful thing, ultimately is intended to lead us to acknowledge and worship God, and to prod us to consider that the God El, who has created all there is, is in fact God Jehovah, who speaks in words for the salvation and blessing of his people. If we become excellent scholars in our disciplines, by itself that does not fulfill the pattern of God’s intentions for us.

In God’s design, neither is special revelation an end in itself. Knowing the Bible, while crucial to theological understanding and faith, ultimately is intended to lead us by God’s Spirit to repentance, faith, holiness, and trust, i.e. to the person of Jesus Christ himself. If we become excellent Christian scholars who understand the biblical framework and Kingdom implications of our disciplines, by itself that does not fulfill the pattern of God’s intentions for us. We can become like those in John 5:39, to whom Jesus says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

These final verses of Psalm 19 show clearly that what God is after is, as D. A. Carson has said, “…more than awe in the face of transcendent power, and more than personal delight in the personal, talking God…the appropriate response is repentance and faith, and zealous prayer that God himself would purify us within and make our words and meditations pleasing in his sight.”

Notice the repentance: of both “hidden faults,” i.e. those so deeply ingrained and habitual that even I may not be aware of them; and “presumptuous sins,” i.e. those willful transgressions representing intentional disobedience. Notice further that this is not only a prayer of repentance but also a prayer for God’s protection in the midst of temptation: “Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins.”

And notice even further that this is not only a prayer of repentance and for protection, but also a prayer of saving faith: “Declare me innocent,” David prays, and “Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression.” Certainly David acknowledged his sin before the Lord; we know that full well from many other psalms, e.g. Psalms 32 and 51. So he is not praying that God would somehow preserve him in his sinlessness, for he is not sinless. No – here he is throwing himself on the mercy of God, who in his mercy does not treat us as our sins deserve, but forgives, not on the basis of our righteousness – because we don’t have any – but, looking ahead to the shed blood of Jesus, the only Righteous One, and on that basis declaring us innocent and blameless before him.

Here at the end of Psalm 19, then, is the glorious message of the gospel, God’s own “so-what” for general revelation and special revelation, together with David’s humble and contrite response – repenting of his sin, pleading for God’s forgiveness, and resting only on the mercy and grace of God.

The psalm closes with those wonderful, familiar final words of v. 14:

Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Repentance, saving faith, and now the plea for purity and holiness of tongue and heart, of what we say and even of what we think and feel, so that it would all be acceptable in the presence of our holy, sovereign, all-seeing God.

David rightly recognizes again that it is not finally about his own holiness, as earnest as his prayer for holiness is. For the One to whom he prays is his rock and his redeemer: the only One who can redeem, setting us free from our bondage to sin and making us holy, and the only solid rock on whom we can truly stand.

If we delight in the wordless witness to God in general revelation, how much more should we delight in the verbal witness to God in special revelation. Our studies should prompt us to run to the Scriptures, and run to those places where we hear his words read and preached, i.e. where we hear him actually speak.

But then also, if we delight in the verbal witness to God in special revelation, in hearing him speak in the Scriptures, how much more – how much more! — should we lay yourselves open to his convicting, forgiving, saving, sanctifying work. And, humble and contrite, we should fairly run to come before him so that he would do that work in us, not once for all, as if somehow we took care of that way back when, but daily as we rejoice in the good news of the gospel and the One who is our Solid Rock and Redeemer.

There are some who would contend that such gospel faith and gospel piety are irrelevant to, or even inconsistent with, the Christian academic mission. Here in Psalm 19 we find a different view: such gospel faith and gospel piety are in fact the very point of it all, without which general revelation condemns and special revelation becomes the material for lifeless scholasticism.

And here’s a wonder: When God works gospel faith and gospel piety into us, then – and only then – we turn to the Scriptures and turn to the study of the creation with gospel eyes and gospel minds and gospel hearts. We run back to our Bibles, and we run back to our classes, and we run back to our research with a delight in the study of the Book of the Word and of the Book of the World which is ever more intense in the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

I urge you: Do not be satisfied with a “Christian” education which is an intellectual exercise, even if it is explicitly framed in biblical world-view. That’s not the end toward which we strain. God is calling us, not just to scholarship, not just to an intellectual grasp of the Scriptures and the Christian faith, but further, much further, to a life together of his continual saving and sanctifying work, rooted and sustained in the gospel and marked by humility, repentance, faith, love, and holiness.

For God’s glory alone!

William Wilberforce is probably best known for his four-decade effort to bring an end to slavery in the British Empire. Converted to Christianity as a young man, he recognized the radical call of the gospel, resolving to be fully at God’s command and to risk his career, his relationships, and his life for biblical truth and justice. On his deathbed, he heard the news of Parliament’s act to free slaves throughout the empire. The resolute and purposeful direction of his life, fueled by his understanding of the gospel and the call to radical obedience and action, provided a legacy described by one writer as “proof that one man may change his times.”

But there’s another aspect of Wilberforce’s impact on British life and culture, described at length in Garth Lean’s biography. Just as his heart was broken by the wickedness of slavery and the suffering of slaves, so was his heart broken by the immorality and degradation he witnessed in British culture. It was an age of hedonism and coarseness, at all levels of society. Among the wealthy classes were many who were profligate, urbane, lewd, brutal, and heartless. Among the working classes and the poor, who suffered enormously under this regime of calloused selfishness, many drowned their sorrows in an ocean of gin, sought gross entertainments, abused and brutalized one another – it is said that townsfolk were kept awake at night by the screams of victims of assault and rape.

In an effort to stem the tide of this torrent of social ills and the disappearance of law and order, the government moved to impose increasing sanctions against the worst offenses. By 1800, there were 200 capital offenses, i.e. the death penalty for theft, vandalism, as well as more serious crimes, and applied in some cases to children as young as eight.

The established church was of little or no help, trapped in a web of patronage and privilege, nepotism, and personal power struggles. During Wilberforce’s life, the estimate is that 7,000 out of the 11,000 clergy lived outside their parishes, preferring a life of comfort over sharing the cares and concerns of their flocks.

But it was also the era of John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, passionate preachers of the gospel with its implications for social reform. Prior to Wilberforce’s conversion, John Wesley had traveled some 225,000 miles, mostly on horseback, preached more than 50,000 sermons, and raised up 700 full-time lay preachers. While these preachers were certainly persecuted and attacked by mobs and gangs, often egged on by clergy and civic officials, nevertheless thousands of lives were changed by the powerful gospel they preached. As one writer put it, this gospel faith “made selfish men self-denying, the discontented happy, the worldling spiritually minded, the drunkard sober, the sexual chaste, the liar truthful, the thief honest, the proud humble, the godless godly, the thriftless thrifty.”

In such a context the now converted Wilberforce found himself, grieved at the condition of life and culture in England. By working tirelessly in the government and throughout society, Wilberforce attacked cultural banality and crassness – profanity, immorality, lewdness, brutality, prostitution, bull-baiting and cock-fighting. Along with these efforts at raising the moral standards, he worked toward a revision of the penal code, to reduce the horrifying number of hangings and to correct economic and social injustice.

And again his efforts were not without opponents, who saw their livelihoods and positions of power threatened and raised up many obstacles to his work, not unlike that episode in Acts 16 where Paul released a fortune-telling slave girl from the possession of an evil spirit, and he and Silas were dragged before the rulers by the girl’s owners who “saw that their hope of gain was gone” – after which Paul and Silas were beaten severely and thrown into prison with their feet in the stocks.

Here’s how Lean summarizes Wilberforce’s impact: “…in Wilberforce’s lifetime a fresh breeze was blowing away a deal of dirt and heartlessness from countless corners of national life.” A later writer says that “between 1780 and 1850 the English ceased to be one of the most aggressive, brutal, rowdy, outspoken, riotous, cruel and bloodthirsty nations in the world.”

Now of course we know that the gospel passion of Wilberforce and the Wesleys which moved so many toward a more compassionate and just culture soon gave way to the pretense and hypocrisy of the Victorian era. The struggle against banality and degradation continues in every generation. And yet in every generation God raises up his people to join this struggle, to live and speak from biblical truth and with gospel power against the crudeness and immorality and cruelty to which we sinful humans are so inclined.

Paul’s letter to Titus gives us the Apostle’s words to a young pastor taking on the role of shepherding congregations in the midst of a 1st century cultural context which may have been not unlike what Wilberforce confronted in Britain.

In Chapter 2, Paul instructs Titus how to teach and lead the people under his care to live and behave in ways that accord with the gospel they believe and proclaim, instructions for the older and the younger, for women and men, for slaves and masters, and for Titus himself. He writes in 2:7-8:

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

And in 2:10 Paul describes the desired outcome: “…so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.”

Is Paul here promoting some kind of prudish moralism, some old-fashioned prim-and-proper fussiness?

Certainly not. For in the next verses, Paul declares the foundational reason for such behavior: It’s the gospel.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (2:11-14)

Paul continues in this vein in the first verses of chapter 3:

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

We can assume that these words sounded as counter-cultural in Titus’s day as they did in Wilberforce’s and as they do in ours, with such wide-spread celebration of crude language, crass humor, and harsh and hateful public discourse.

Again, is Paul just some stuffed-shirt, old-fogey killjoy?

No – and again it’s because of the gospel, in 3:3-8:

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

According to Paul, the gospel breeds lives not just of ministry and mercy and cultural engagement and missions, but also of integrity, dignity, gracious speech, self-control, gentleness, perfect courtesy. That’s what the gospel does in the lives of the redeemed.

May I suggest that we face a very similar challenge as Titus did in the 1st century and as William Wilberforce did in 19th century England: a culture growing increasing banal, crude, disrespectful, discourteous, harsh, hungry for violence, and tolerant of brutality of many kinds?

May I suggest further that we who call ourselves Christians are susceptible to the same tendencies, which in our case represent an unbiblical separation between gospel faith and gospel life?

Surely you recognize such phenomena, not only in the wider culture but also, sadly, within Christian community:

• A delight in crude language and humor that exalt the degradation of sacred things;
• A verbal economy that relishes sarcasm and rewards the quick-witted who can skewer others with a clever phrase, in conversation or on a blog site;
• An increasing tendency to eschew responsibility and accountability for words as well as actions, and the consequences of hurt and harm which these bring about, especially on blog sites, where one can write whatever one wants and never have to look in the eyes of the targeted persons;
• Displays in media and the arts of increasing decadence, portraying violence, pornography, sexual sin, and banality as if they were acceptable culture;
• Lack of common courtesies toward one another, including an extreme casualness in dress – in fact an almost proud disregard for the sensibilities of others along with the attempt to excuse or justify it as freedom of self-expression;
• Scorn for authority of virtually every kind, glamorizing disrespect, rebellion, and even violence against parents, government, religious and church leaders, and historic convictions and beliefs;
• The elevation of “cultural heroes” – in sports, music, movies – who manifest these qualities and behaviors and attract disciples who go and do likewise.

What if, in stark contrast, our words and attitudes and actions were thoroughly tempered, conditioned, fueled by the gospel, which perpetually reminds us of God’s mercy and grace – his loving-kindness and courtesy — toward us? What if were to heed Paul’s call to Titus, on the basis of the gospel, to show integrity, dignity, sound speech, gentleness, and perfect courtesy toward all people? What if in our words and actions we relentlessly pressed toward elevating one another, even in those difficult conversations in which we disagree, but in ways that aim toward godliness and mutual respect and building one another up?

I recently attended a meeting during which a PCA pastor spoke of PCA-related websites and blogs where disagreements are characterized by anger and personal attack. On our campus, I am struck by the ease with which crude language and humor creep into our conversation, in both private and public settings. And I wonder why we don’t more faithfully apply Paul’s words to Titus in our ecclesiological and campus contexts.

How would we speak of and interact with those not of our faith, or not of our theological view or political persuasion, so as to build relationships of respect and trust, through which the Lord might move in surprising ways? This is not easy, of course, for nastiness seems to be the currency of the communications realm, on all sides of theological, political, and moral debate. Those who call for civility from their opponents often resort to the grossest incivility themselves.

I am very grateful for how Covenant students have so graciously interacted with campus visitors who are not believers, such as New Yorker editor Hendrik Hertzberg, who blogged almost with surprise that he found Covenant folks both firm and clear in their Christian convictions and kind and generous in spirit.

William Wilberforce was known to be a man of great civility and social graces, of kind speech and courtesy, so much so that even his political enemies were delighted to socialize with him. One author proposes that these personal traits were at least as important as his actual views in eventually winning the day for the abolition of slavery in Parliament. Some of you may also be familiar with the story of St. Francis, who resolved, because of his love for God, to show courtesy and good manners toward all – and with great effect.

What if Covenant and all our Christian communities could be contexts for the reformation of morals, not in a prudish Victorian sense, but in light of the gospel, so that as we interact with one another and with those outside the faith, it might be true that nothing evil can be said of us, and so that our words and deeds might adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

Some of you are probably thinking that I sound my age – a stodgy, nostalgic 57-year-old who longs for a sterile, clean – well, who longs for colorless, funless, boring Pleasantville. I don’t long for Pleasantville. But I also don’t long for that film’s answer to Pleasantville – which is the answer that our culture tends to give (you’re welcome to check it out for yourselves). I long for the coloration of the gospel in my own heart and life – for I am one who is inclined toward sarcasm; who too much loves the clever comment; who sometimes laughs at crude humor; who often has to edit the first draft of a reactive email message; who finds hockey fights strangely fascinating.

I don’t know all that should happen in you as you consider Paul’s words to Titus. What I need, more than anything else, as one who has received the washing of regeneration – I need the washing of renewal, of continuing renewal by the Holy Spirit, poured out so richly on me through Jesus Christ my Savior. I need to learn gospel-saturated laughter and delight, gospel-focused disagreement and debate, gospel-formed courtesy in word and deed. And, on the authority of the Scriptures, I will be so bold as to say that you need that too.

I believe that we have the opportunity to be witnesses to and agents of the gospel in standing against banality and coarseness and disregard for others, against sarcasm and crudeness and vicious attack in speech; and in standing for building one another up, elevating one another in our words and behavior, honoring one another in our humor and our clothing and our community life – so that in everything we may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

As important as it was to move forward with the announcement so that the College could have sufficient time for a presidential search, fifteen months is a long time to be a “lame duck!” After briefly answering questions about the Maclellan Center for Global Christian Education, I have been quick to clarify that I am now committed to focusing on the work of the College during this next year so that, in God’s providence, I might finish well and the College would be stronger in June 2012 than it is today.

Toward that end, I want to provide a broad summary of the areas which will have my attention, certainly in cooperation with others at the College whose work will carry on as the next president begins his service.

First and foremost, I will continue to attend to the most crucial area of focus: the continuing fidelity of the College to its mission and the biblical/theological commitments which define and energize that mission. As we interview to fill open faculty and staff positions and begin the next round of long-term strategic planning, staying joyfully true to our founding convictions will be our highest priority, leaning hard against the broader cultural current that, in every age, has tempted God’s people to listen more to other voices than his.

I am very excited about the opportunities we have to expand the academic program of the College, especially during tough economic times. These opportunities are testimony, I believe, to the providence of God and to the mission-centered vision that has always guided Covenant to seek out ways to serve students, the church, and the world. In this next year we are laying final plans for introducing a political and international studies program and a film studies program in 2012-2013; we are strengthening our pre-engineering program; and we will witness the full roll-out of our new Master of Arts in Teaching program. These new programs, and the faculty to develop and lead them, represent a strong and hope-filled expectation for the years ahead.

While I am describing these new academic developments, I want to take the opportunity to commend yet again the excellent work of Covenant’s faculty, as well as our staff. Not only as president but also as the father of two Covenant alumni, I am much encouraged about the future of the College, as these highly gifted and faithful folks carry on in their respective callings, under the oversight of the board of trustees and for the service of the church.

Second, we are coming to the final year of our current strategic plan, and we will soon begin to lay out the process for developing the next strategic plan. At this point we don’t yet know what the term of the next plan will be (the current one covers three years), but we can certainly take stock of progress and problems over these last years, start defining needs and opportunities in light of internal and external realities, and establish parameters and priorities for goals and action items that will continue to move the College along the worthy trajectories which, I believe, God has been pleased to bless.

An important element of the overall strategic plan is the campus plan, describing how the campus will develop over the next fifteen years or so, in support of academic and co-curricular programs and student life. The recently-completed first draft of the campus plan was presented earlier this month to the College’s Board of Trustees, who gave it their enthusiastic and unanimous endorsement and urged the administration to proceed with settling all aspects of feasibility, priorities, and funding. By next June, I hope to have a good beginning on the first projects of the plan – one of the most important of which is the projected relocation of Scenic Highway, bringing almost eight acres onto the “college side” of the highway and providing for the eventual transformation of the south end of our campus.

With strategic and campus planning underway, another crucial focus for these next months is fund-raising, and the completion of our current BUILD campaign. The campaign runs through June 30, 2013, but we have hopes to reach the $53 million goal well ahead of that end date. Specifically we are seeking to raise $3.7 million for Carter Hall, the College’s iconic flagship building, which would complete Phase 1 of the overall renovation plan. And we will continue to pursue our annual fund goal of $2.2 million for the College’s operating budget.

Covenant’s fund-raising efforts are an important part of the larger advancement enterprise of the College, which includes relationship-building with alumni, parents, individual donors, churches, and foundations, For example, this next year will include continuation of the President’s Council, a relatively new initiative that brings together a group of interested folks from around the country and from different vocations to serve the College through the wisdom and resources that are so important to furthering the mission.

Two years of provisional status remain for our transition to full intercollegiate athletics membership in the NCAA Division III. We are making good progress toward completing the transition, and this, along with settling on the appropriate Division III athletic conference, will establish firm foundations for the future of Covenant’s teams. At the same time, we are developing an athletic strategic plan, and by this time next year we should be well into the first stages of implementation.

All this, in addition to my daily duties, will certainly keep me busy and focused over the fifteen months until my job change actually occurs. I look forward to these responsibilities, as well as to the Lord’s blessing on the presidential search process and the installation of my successor.

Actually Niedlov’s is just one of many examples of Covenant alumni putting their Covenant education to work in creative, entrepreneurial, community-serving ways. In fact, the list is rather long and includes both for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises. The following is a partial list of enterprises which Covenant alumni have founded or played a major role in founding:

• True Shine, Chattanooga window-washing business
• Greyfriar’s, downtown Chattanooga coffee shop
• Harrison Center for the Arts, downtown Indianapolis center for the arts, education, and urban revitalization
• Herron High School, downtown Indianapolis public charter school providing classical liberal arts, college preparatory education
• World Magazine, Christian news magazine
• Bifrost Arts, worship music organization
• rbt Bags, maker of oilcloth bags and goods
• Lookout for Orphans, not-for-profit that raises funds to help families in Lookout Mountain meet financial requirements for adoptions
• Jennifer Daniels, singer/songwriter
• The Company Lab, program to help Chattanooga entrepreneurs start small businesses
• Chattanooga Football Club, amateur soccer organization
• Choices, Chattanooga pregnancy resource center (formerly AAA Women’s Services)
• Tight Seal Plumbing, Chattanooga plumbing company
• Clumpies, Chattanooga-based maker of specialty ice cream
• 3HD, Chattanooga-based technology and graphic design firm (recently acquired by ND&P)
• Tricycle, provider of environmentally-friendly merchandising services to the interior-design industry
• New City Fellowship, multi-ethnic PCA church in Chattanooga
• Hilger Higher Learning, provider of supplemental education resources and social activities for Chattanooga-area homeschoolers
• 26 Tools, writing and communications company
• Medium, software/IT company (formerly Coptix, formerly Cross Consulting)
• Kalypto Medical, medical device company
• The New Empires, contemporary music ensemble (formerly Third Lobby)
• LifeKraze, social networking enterprise encouraging active and healthy lifestyle

And it’s not just off campus that the entrepreneurial impulse is active. More than ten years ago, Dr. Brian Fikkert led the effort to found The Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College, to provide know-how and resources for microeconomic development in poor communities around the world.

Just two years ago, a group of students developed Covenant’s first forensic team, which now travels regularly to tournaments and has won numerous national awards. We have recently witnessed the creation of a Campus Stewardship Committee and the Student Service Coalition — in fact, of the more than forty student clubs and organizations on campus, the vast majority were student-initiated and are student-led.

Last year, noting this history of wide-ranging entrepreneurial energy and impact, we at Covenant laid down plans for The Seed Project, an annual program to encourage the continuation of such efforts by giving current students the opportunity to compete for $10,000 in seed capital for ideas and plans which they present to an adjudicating panel. The Seed Project operates under the auspices of the Center for Calling & Career, whose director, Covenant alumnus and one of the founders of Clumpies Ice Cream, says this about our hopes for this new campus venture:

As image bearers of God, our Creator, we possess innate qualities that spur imagination and drive us to create and innovate. The Seed Project will provide opportunity for the pursuit of putting these ideas into action.

Among the Seed Project ideas that students have been developing are a videography business, a service business to Lookout Mountain residents, an online Bible commentary and study for students, and an on-campus ATM.

Of course these entrepreneurial ventures point to a larger conviction at the core of the mission of Covenant College: that as God’s gospel people we are called to live out the new-creation implications of the salvation and hope that are ours through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, serving the communities and world in which we live and bearing witness to the coming consummation and reconciliation of all things under our Lord’s sovereign and eternal rule. This happens as Covenant alumni, because of what they have come to know and love, faithfully work in all kinds of jobs, minister in churches, love their neighbors as themselves, vote, serve in the military, raise children – and, yes, build thriving, entrepreneurial ventures from the ground up.

What a delight to see this energy at work in the lives of Covenant alumni around the world! And what a delight to nurture this energy in our current students!

All for Jesus, all for Jesus,
All my being’s ransomed pow’rs;
All my thoughts and words and doings,
All my days and all my hours.

Let my hands perform his bidding,
Let my feet run in his ways,
Let my eyes see Jesus only,
Let my lips speak forth his praise.

Christian educators are deeply concerned, therefore, not only with knowledge and understanding shaped by biblical truth, but with our students’ entire lives shaped by biblical truth, i.e. comprehensive spiritual growth and discipleship. In recent years, a phrase commonly used for this growth and discipleship is “spiritual formation.” Programs of spiritual formation have sprung up at Christian colleges across the country, in both academic and student-development areas, highlighting a perceived and probably historically real gap in Christian educational programs which, while intellectually sound, have been rather weak in addressing the whole person as the Bible surely does.

A Christian school or Christian college is not, of course, the church, and spiritual growth and discipleship are most foundationally to be directed and pursued through the ordinary means of grace for which God was pleased to establish and empower the church. But other life contexts, including families and schools, can and must be partners in this discipleship enterprise. This is a particular blessing for Covenant as an agency of the church, specifically the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) – not replacing the church in its primary teaching and sacraments and care, but complementing and serving the church in the specialized arena of higher education. In this task, Christian educational institutions play a vital role in extending the grace and truth of our faith into every academic and co-curricular endeavor, so that, indeed, all our students’ thoughts and words and doings might be, by God’s grace, all for Jesus.

But this recent concern for spiritual formation has not been confined to Christian or even more broadly faith-based educational settings. We are living in an increasingly “spiritual” age, when anti-spiritual secularism seems to be on the run. Virtually everyone – actors, athletes, politicians, educators of all stripes, and even corporations – is “spiritual” these days, pursuing a stunning array of spiritual pathways and providing contemporary evidence for that quip attributed to G. K. Chesterton: “When men cease to believe in God, they do not believe in nothing; they believe in anything.”

Higher education is replete with renewed attention to spiritual formation. In their recent book, Cultivating the Spirit: How College Can Enhance Students’ Inner Lives (2011, Jossey-Bass), authors Alexander Astin, Helen Astin, and Jennifer Lindholm present the results of five years of study on spiritual change in college students and on the role(s) that college plays in facilitating the development of students’ spiritual qualities. The book is worth reading, not only because of the fascinating data it presents about college students’ changing spiritual lives across a spectrum of types of institutions, but also, and more so, because of the book’s underlying starting-points about what spirituality is and, therefore, what the markers are of meaningful spiritual growth.

It’s likely that Christian educators will hardly recognize the forms and measures of spirituality described and utilized in this book. For the authors, as the book’s subtitle suggests, spirituality “points to our inner, subjective life,” “an inner moral orientation,” and “the development of self-awareness.” In providing rationale for the study in light of the important roles that today’s students will play in addressing significant world problems, the authors write:

At root, these are problems of the spirit, problems that call for greater self-awareness, self-understanding, equanimity, empathy, and concern for others. (p. 8)

In short, according to this perspective, the answers lie within us.

The actual measures of spiritual growth and development in the study are spiritual quest, equanimity, ethic of caring, charitable involvement, and ecumenical worldview. Such measures are intentionally distinguished from explicit religious belief and conviction, as the authors

…see religiousness as involving adherence to a set of faith-based beliefs (and related practices) concerning both the origins of the world and the nature of the entity or being that is believed to have created and govern the world. Religiousness typically involves membership in some kind of community of fellow believers and practitioners, as well as participation in ceremonies and rituals. (p. 5)

In sum, the authors seek to understand and measure the spiritual lives of college students primarily in inward terms which are mostly independent of conceptions of and convictions about the nature, character, and purposes of God, about sacred writings, about the community of religious adherents, and about senses of spiritual meaning and purpose which such explicitly religious convictions might provide.

It’s no surprise, then, when we see the authors’ conclusions:

…that while students’ degree of religious engagement declines somewhat during college, their spirituality shows substantial growth. Students become more caring, more tolerant, more connected with others, and more actively engaged in a spiritual quest.

In addition, the authors reported that students became less religiously conservative, measured by responses to questions about casual sex and abortion.

It’s also no surprise that, at Covenant, we approach the challenge of understanding and nurturing our students’ spiritual lives and spiritual growth differently. Among several complementary approaches is the Survey of Reformed Distinctives (SORD), which gathers information from students twice (early and then late in their years at Covenant) regarding theological beliefs and convictions, development of godly affections and biblical virtues, growth in discipleship and obedience and witness, commitment to the church, and grasp of their Christian calling in the world. While such instruments inevitably have shortcomings, in combination with other forms of gathering information and in the context of our multi-faceted campus community they provide a meaningful profile of the spiritual development of our students which enables us to care for them in increasingly fruitful and Christ-honoring ways, all as part of an overall, academically-centered educational program which serves them and the church.

In the context of this discussion, the key feature of Covenant’s approach to spiritual growth in our students is the essential connection between spiritual realities and understanding and the truth of the Scriptures, i.e. spirituality and religion are not separated but united from top to bottom, side to side, beginning to end. The Bible provides the theological framework, the meanings of terms, and the purpose and direction for our efforts. The centerpiece is the glory of God and his sovereign purposes, displayed through the person, saving work, and eternal glory of our Savior and King Jesus Christ. Everything we do – in our academic program, residence and campus life, co-curricular activities, and spiritual development – finds its source, its energy, its shape, and its telos in Jesus Christ, so that in all things he might be preeminent.

In short, according to our perspective, the answers lie outside us.

Yet, in spite of these concerns about Cultivating the Spirit, I would encourage Christian educators to read it. While the authors’ assumptions and definitions are certainly inconsistent with our guiding frameworks, the data provided by the study enable the authors to draw helpfully differentiated conclusions about students’ spiritual development based on their various upbringings, their religious and church involvements during the college years, and the types of institutions they attend (e.g. large public university, private four-year college, and religiously-affiliated college).

Some reflections, then, on these matters.

First, for those involved in Christian enterprises that care about spiritual growth among those we serve, it’s crucial to develop programs and means of assessing program effectiveness which are faithfully biblical. Much of what passes these days for spirituality and spiritual formation is in fact derived from sources which are fundamentally un-Christian and even anti-Christian – perhaps like Cultivating the Spirit, which separates spiritual development from specifically religious content and conviction, or perhaps like other spiritual formation approaches which borrow liberally from new age or mystical traditions. Inclusion of the word “spirituality” or even of Christian terminology is no guarantee that what is on offer is genuinely Christian. Scripture itself provides numerous reminders (e.g. Jude’s letter) that the language of heterodoxy is often very close to that of the historic Christian faith once for all delivered to the saints.

I would particularly call readers’ attention to the widening use of spiritual techniques (meditation and contemplation, prayer labyrinths, the enneagram, relaxation techniques, and so on) even among evangelical Christians. While there may be some limited applicability, for evangelical Christians, of forms of personal discipline from non-Christian sources, the Scriptures and the historic faith must be our unquestioned reference point. I believe that the Scriptures themselves contain teaching and instruction on all that we need to know and do for pleasing God and growing in grace and obedience, i.e. for true, biblical, Christ-centered spiritual formation. The search for alternative approaches is a sign, not of the insufficiency of the Scriptures and our Christian faith, but of the bent of hearts that have not found their center and joy in Jesus and his Word.

As a good example of the challenge of biblical and theological clarity regarding certain practices, readers may want to look at the controversy this past fall prompted by Dr. Al Mohler’s September 20, 2010, blog posting, “The Subtle Body – Should Christians Practice Yoga?” In the midst of unprecedented response traffic on his website, Dr. Mohler posted “Yahoo, Yoga, and Yours Truly,” where he writes of the host of critical postings from professing Christians:

I have received hundreds of emails and comments against my article from those identifying as Christians. Not one — not a single one — has addressed the theological and biblical issues. There is not even a single protest communication offering a theological argument.

The vulnerability of Christians to “believing in anything,” as Chesterton put it, is immense, fueled both by the prevalence of false and pagan ideas masquerading as truth and by the sad reality of many Christians ill-equipped to think and act and react biblically.

Finally, returning to the growth of interest in spiritual formation among Christians and Christian organizations, many of the Christian college programs in spiritual formation were formerly known as programs in Christian education. Certainly the phrase spiritual formation offers the sense of a holistic enterprise involving not just the cognitive but also the affective, not just the mind but also the heart, not just the objective but also the subjective. But, because of its common usage in decidedly non-Christian and anti-Christian contexts, God’s people must be careful to stay on God’s path by utilizing Scripture-informed and Holy Spirit-infused discernment, so that we avoid following other paths to other destinations.

(Note about vocabulary: We could easily retain a holistic conception of Christian education as well, so that it would remain a highly suitable title for such programs. Further, a colleague in the Christian educational enterprise recommends that, in our common Christian vocabulary, we return to the older and more biblical term discipleship in place of spiritual formation, for at least some of the reasons I’ve mentioned. I’m inclined to agree.)

So in all things – including spiritual growth and development among our students – may Jesus Christ be truly and gloriously preeminent!

Each spring semester is the final semester for those soon to graduate. It’s an exciting if bittersweet season, as seniors who’ve been part of our community for three and a half years now prepare to move on to what God has in store for them next. A few weeks ago, Kathleen and I were invited to dinner by a group of senior men who are looking forward to new jobs and, in several cases, weddings in the next few months. We left that house thanking God for the privilege of having a part in preparing them for the pathways of God’s callings.

The spring semester begins on a very positive note, with healthy enrollment numbers, a budget that is on track with our projections, and fund-raising results which are in line with our annual year-to-date average. These are really wonderful blessings in the midst of continuing broader economic weakness and uncertainty, and we are grateful to God for his provision for our students and for the College. Our BUILD campaign currently stands at 92% of the goal with two-and-a-half years remaining.

Our faculty continue their outstanding scholarly work both in the classroom and in their professional academic communities. Newly published books by Professors Jay Green and Kelly Kapic and national opera awards for orchestra conductor Lok Kim highlight a long list of faculty achievements. And Covenant’s new Master of Arts in Teaching degree program is fully underway, having now received approval from our accreditation association.

Art, music, theatre, film-making, athletics, student government, internships, local church involvement and community service – such activities continue to provide invaluable curricular and co-curricular experiences for our students, with wonderfully fruitful longer-term benefit as students explore vocational and professional opportunities.

A very important recent development is the separate incorporation of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development, enabling the Center to expand its ministries and outreach in unprecedented ways. Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Jeff Hall and I have the privilege of serving on the Center’s board of directors, and we are excited about the Center’s prospects and for continuing and mutually beneficial cooperation between the Center and the College.

Along with these encouraging happenings, we are keenly aware of our need for God’s wisdom and care during these spring months: for our recruiters as they work with prospective students and their families; for our board of trustees as they provide oversight for the College; for faculty and staff in all the challenges of their work and lives; for those among the campus community who are suffering from physical illnesses and other pressing burdens; for our soon-to-graduate seniors as they seek God’s leading for next year.

Kathleen and I continue to find great delight in this good work. We recently returned from a week in southern California where, in connecting with churches, students and families, and supporters, we were again encouraged about Covenant and its distinctive mission both in Christian higher education and in its service to the church.

So by God’s grace we’re in the midst of a good year.

How easy it is to get this wrong, to come to think that we must seek out extraordinary positions and do extraordinary things – that we must aim to be extraordinary leaders and “movers and shakers” in order for God to get his redemptive work done.

These thoughts have been especially important for us at Covenant as we seek to prepare our students for the pathways of God’s callings – not necessarily in positions of visible leadership, although God will surely choose to lead some in that way, but more often in ordinary paths of daily work and service and sacrifice and contribution. The phrase extraordinary callings in ordinary places captures our conviction, pointing to the reality that all callings from God are, indeed, extraordinary, flowing as they do from his sovereign, gospel purposes, and yet lived out for the most part in beautifully common and even mundane manner.

After that posting in mid-December, I came across another posting, this one on the Gospel Coalition website and written by pastor Kevin DeYoung, in which DeYoung rightly critiques Christian college marketing schemes which appeal to only-too-common obsessions with how “special” we are and how indispensable we are to God’s accomplishing his purposes. One presentation he does not mention announces a college’s intentional focus on “the ruling disciplines,” implying, I assume, that its graduates will invade the loci of power and leadership and “rule” for Christ.

As Covenant’s president, I readily acknowledge the desire to present the College as a worthwhile place to attend – a good investment, a context for real learning and growth, and a sound preparation for “making a difference” in the world. The fact is that I passionately believe this about Covenant, and I am grateful for the opportunities we have to demonstrate these truths again and again.

But DeYoung is surely right: Our marketing should be consistent with our mission, which flows from the mission of the gospel. It’s certainly something we think about and work toward, and I welcome accountability on it.

And yet there is perhaps another irony here, for this encouragement to think of ourselves rightly in light of God’s sovereign, gospel purposes must also include the Scriptures’ full picture of our gospel calling and gospel destiny. The Christmas story includes not only the expression of God’s condescension, in the clothing of his eternal Son in human flesh and in his pleasure to work his will through human weakness, but also the thrilling display of the trajectory of all this: the glorious destiny of his Son, through suffering and death and resurrection to his eternal reign over all things, and his people’s reign with him.

While many Christmas carols remind us of the humble conditions of Jesus’ birth, others declare powerfully the glory that is his and that will be his when he completes the mission that his Father gave him. Think of that final stanza of “Once in Royal David’s City” –

Not in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by,
We shall see him, but in heaven, set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars his children crowned all in white shall wait around.

In the last few weeks you have likely heard the prophetic word of Isaiah 9:7 –

Of the increase of his government and of peace,
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.

The testimony of the Old Testament prophets concludes with these words from Malachi –

For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. (4:1-3)

This theme of Jesus’ grand destiny continues in the gospel account of the Christmas story, for example, the angel’s words to Mary, recorded in Luke 1:32-33 —

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,” and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

The New Testament continues to carry us along the path from Christ’s humble birth, to his demonstrations of kingly power and glory – signs of who he is, where he came from and where he is going – to his arrest and crucifixion and death; and then to his rising from the tomb, his ascension to the throne of heaven, his current reign at the right hand of God; and soon his coming again for his people and for the comprehensive consummation of God’s salvation. The apostle Paul describes that final end in 1 Cor. 15:20-28 –

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

While the coming glory of our reigning Lord is abundantly clear from these texts, what might not be so readily clear is that his redeemed and glorified people will reign with him. His triumph is ours, by the grace and power of the gospel. Not only was he raised as the firstfruits of all in him who will rise to eternal life, but also, as Revelation 20:4 and 22:5 so powerfully express, his eternal reign will be eternally ours as well –

They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

The carol got this right, painting the picture of our Savior seated at the Father’s side and surrounded by “his children crowned.”

And we will not only reign, but also judge, as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 6:1-3 —

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life?

What a destiny – his and ours!

The point is this: Even as God’s people get the humility part right, they must also get the triumph part right. For as the Christmas story continues, it leads us through condescension and weakness and humility and death, to glory and sovereign power and total triumph. And it seems to me that, while some believers may be inclined toward an unbiblical triumphalism, others are just as inclined toward an unbiblical anti-triumphalism.

Triumph seems to carry bad connotations for Christians these days, and for good reason. Many are weary of the so-called culture wars, of the urge toward an over-reaching triumphalism in politics or values issues or even some types of evangelism. We can come to desire a quieter life and witness, setting aside words and deeds which carry connotations of war or conquest or victory.

In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter has recently urged Christians to pursue a manner of life which he terms “faithful presence,” and he does so in direct response to efforts of Christians over the last decades to “win” the culture, from the perspective of either the right or the left.

There is certainly truth in such reflection and in the call to set aside, for good biblical reason, the craving for power and control and the ascendancy of our faulty and incomplete ideas and means for accomplishing God’s purposes in the world. So this reflection takes nothing back from my last posting and its caution about thinking too highly of ourselves, our gifts, and our importance to God’s getting his will accomplished.

But while we should reject unbiblical conceptions of conquest and triumph, we must not miss the Bible’s own clear depiction of what was happening in that Bethlehem stable, and what it would lead to for us and for all of creation. There is a biblical triumphalism which we must embrace, even and especially at Christmas, for only if we understand and embrace it will we understand and embrace our gospel calling rightly and pursue it in light of the entire trajectory of biblical history.

This is, I believe, a time (probably like every time) when Christians are tempted to become cowed and intimidated, either by a world increasingly hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ or by their own inadequate grasp of God’s purposes for his people. We are inclined to draw in our gospel horns and to become quiet and quietistic and cautious, i.e. “faithfully present” in the wrong ways.

The Christmas season ought to prompt us to marvel at the incarnation, the descent of God himself to our humble station; we must rejoice in his power made perfect in weakness. But Christmas ought also to prompt us to marvel at the entire panorama of this grand story, from glory to glory, from reign to reign, with the crucified and risen Lamb who is the Lion judging and ruling, and his people judging and ruling with him.

That is our gospel destiny, assured by the authority of the Scriptures. It is not by means of politics or social justice, or effective evangelistic and church planting methods, or even Christian colleges, although all of these have roles to play in God’s redemptive purposes during these days. It is accomplished through the words and works of our Savior, applied and empowered by his Spirit through his church, according to the eternal will of God.

A biblical and gospel-defined triumphalism ought to renew our passion and energy for gospel ministry, in bold proclamation supported by faithful demonstration. It ought to fire us up for the work of the church and our callings, knowing as we do that the Christ born to die died and was raised and reigns and will reign forever, and we with him. It ought to inspire in us big hopes and dreams, and big prayers and sacrifice, for what God is up to in the world and for how we might become engaged with his gospel mission.

In this regard I recommend Dave Harvey’s fine book, Rescuing Ambition, in which he defines “ambition” biblically and challenges readers to embrace the gospel mission of Jesus Christ as our mission, his means as our means, his destiny as our destiny, and to step up for the great work that he has for us, until he comes again.

May we find joy and hope and energy in the ironic shape of the biblical story – that our sovereign God chooses the weak and foolish and humble things of the world to bring about his glorious triumph over sin and death and the devil. For our Lord, the story led from heaven to a cradle, to a cross, to a crown. As his people by grace through faith, we ride the down and up of his story, witnesses to his gospel and looking forward to the day when his triumph, and thereby ours, is finally final.

Happy new year!

How easy to get this wrong, to come to think that we must seek out extraordinary positions and do extraordinary things – that we must aim to be extraordinary leaders and “movers and shakers” in order for God to get his redemptive work done.

The story of Christmas provides several glimpses of this “extraordinary callings in ordinary places” truth. For those enamored with position and title and reputation and power, the Christmas story comes as a surprise, full of unexpected and ironic twists. It is good to be reminded of these ironies, of how God in fact chose to work his extraordinary will, so that we would believe truly in him and not in ourselves, and recognize his powerful grace and gracious power in our own ordinary lives.

The word irony points to the “incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.” Irony causes us to stop and say, “Wow, I wouldn’t have expected it to happen that way,” or “Who would have thought that it could turn out that way?”

Certainly ironies abound in the social and political and economic sphere – but that’s not the point for this posting. As we consider the Christmas story this season, we can take huge encouragement from the amazing ironies that run throughout the story, encouragement that should make us see our own situations differently as we consider the ways of God. I want to credit our oldest son Jon with calling my attention to much of this marvelous Christmas irony in a sermon he preached a couple of years ago. (He is now a pastor at the same church in Wheaton, IL, where I served before coming to Covenant.)
Consider Luke’s account in Luke 1:26-56.

First, the story begins in an ironic place: Nazareth. Human reason would have proposed Jerusalem – the place of Jewish kings and the temple – or Rome – the place of knowledge and global power. Instead it’s Nazareth, a somewhat backwater town, of which Nathaniel said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). For those who think that being in the “right” place is what counts, this is not an auspicious place for God to enter the world!

Second, the story begins with an ironic person: Mary. We could have expected that God would come to the famous and powerful, who could have done something big with this news. Instead, it’s to a young girl, probably fourteen or fifteen, and definitely out of the mainstream of public life. For those who supremely value position and title, this is not an auspicious person to be the lead character of the story!

Third, the story begins with an ironic situation: a woman betrothed. How much simpler and more appropriate for God to come to an uncommitted woman with no such legal entanglements and scandalous implications. Instead, it’s a woman legally bound to be married, a bond carrying severe consequences, including stoning, should it be broken. For those concerned about propriety and reputation, this is not an auspicious situation for God to get his work done in an appropriate way!

Fourth, the story involves an ironic faith: in Mary and not in Zechariah. We might have expected true faith and obedience in the learned and practiced priest Zechariah (see Luke 1:8-23). Yet his response manifests a self-focused skepticism: “How shall I know this?” — an expression of unbelief even though the birth of a child was exactly what he had been praying for (see 1:13). And because he did not believe (1:20), he was made mute for 9 months until his son was born. Instead, we hear the peasant girl Mary’s believing response, even as she is troubled and fearful: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” It’s a question not of doubt but of wonder at how God might accomplish such a marvel. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth declares God’s blessing on Mary precisely because she believed, without knowing how, the angel’s word from the Lord would be accomplished in her. For those who think that intellect and learning are what matter most, this is not an auspicious way for true faith to be displayed!

These ironies of place and person and situation and faith provide the surprising shape of the story of Christmas, the coming of God’s own Son into the world to save sinners. But I’m convinced that such ironies provide the shape of the stories of God’s people as well. In unexpected places, through “unimportant” people, through odd situations, through surprising faith, God is doing his redemptive work in the world. How eagerly we chase after the “right” places and positions and people, believing that power and beauty and influence are necessary to God’s plan. How desperately we avoid difficult situations where it seems like no good can result. How disappointed we are when elections don’t go our way, when it seems like the wrong people are in control, when it seems like everything we have worked for is going down the drain. How afraid we become when the economic systems in which we trust fail us.

The greatest story in the history of the world is a story of human insignificance, weakness, scandal, and all these of immense proportion. “What? This place, this girl, this pregnancy, this path?” But God is who he is: mighty, powerful, sure of his purposes which will never fail, gracious and merciful and compassionate to do all things well. He chose not to show himself here with overt glory and might, but through this true story full of Christmas irony. And his Word declares the same to you and me – have a look again at 1 Corinthians 1:26-30! We do not need to seek glory and might in order for God to use us. That’s why this “extraordinary callings in ordinary places” way of thinking has become so precious to us at Covenant as we aim to pursue God’s purposes in God’s ways.

There’s a fifth irony – an ironic salvation: for the hungry and humble, and not for the proud and mighty and rich. Surely God would want to leverage the available and considerable assets of wealth and political power and intellectual ability. Partner with the folks with those assets, we might have counseled God, and your salvation plan can realize serious ROI! It’s in
Mary’s song, known as the Magnificat, that the irony of God’s plan of salvation become clear – to exalt those of humble estate, to fill the hungry with good things, to show mercy to those who fear him; and conversely to scatter the proud, to bring down the mighty, to send the rich away empty. For those who assume that God needs our prized strengths and capabilities, this is not an auspicious picture of whom and how God saves!

For the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and all his people means good news for people like Mary: only a young girl, not rich (we find out later that Mary and Joseph offer temple sacrifices of pigeons and doves, offerings of people in poverty), not influential or well-known, from that “dump” Nazareth. And yet the coming of the King meant good news and joy for her. What surprising and glorious and gracious irony!

(There’s a wonderful and ironic reversal in the story of Joseph as well — see Matthew 1:18-25. When Joseph found out about Mary’s pregnancy, he “resolved to divorce her quietly” to protect her from serious consequences. This, according to rational human thinking, would have been the honorable thing to do. But then the angel spoke to him in a dream about this son: how he was conceived, what he would grow up to do – all as the fulfillment of God’s word of promise. And Joseph believed the angel! Against all traditional understanding and normal expectations, recognizing all the potential problems this could create for her and him, he believed. None of his ordinary categories had prepared him to grasp his and Mary’s extraordinary calling. Through God’s revelation, as our pastor once put it, what Joseph at first regarded as an act of infidelity by Mary he came to understand as an act of fidelity by God. When someone says that they simply don’t understand how one could believe in God and his purposes and ways – that’s Joseph before the angel’s visit. Our response to such people must not be anger or impatience or fear, but rather prayer and friendship, so that the Josephs in our lives would not be confused or put off by misplaced pride or misused power, but would be visited by God through his Word, and by his grace come to believe and trust and live in him.)

Jesus’ coming into the world was filled with surprises….filled with irony…filled with reversals of the way we might have thought things should be. He comes not to a mighty man, but to a young girl from Nazareth; she is the one who receives the great honor of a visit from the angel of God. He comes celebrated, not by kings, priests, and rulers, but by two pregnant women and a baby still in the womb. He comes to bring good news and hope, not for the rich and the powerful, but for the poor and humble in heart, for those who fear him and hear him.

We know that, just as the entrance of King Jesus into the world was filled with irony and surprise, so too was the way this King built and continues to build his kingdom. He didn’t gather an army. He didn’t build a palace. He didn’t unite his people to throw off the Roman rulers who held them down. How did this King build his kingdom? Where did this King’s life take him? To a cross, hanging next to common criminals, where he bled and died for the sin of his people. His life leads him to the greatest irony in the history of this world: the Creator of everything, God’s own Son, submitting himself to death in our place, that we might be saved. And we can hear him as he shouts “It is finished!”, looking at those around him and saying: “Do you understand now what kind of King I am? I am building my kingdom right now, here on this cross, in my body and through my blood, for all who will believe and live in me. This is what it looks like to be the true King of Israel. This is why I have come.”

It is understandable that those without faith – the faith that comes through hearing the word of the gospel — have difficulty accepting such a God who accomplishes his purposes in such ways. But it is troubling that Christians who claim the name of Jesus seem in practice to forget, neglect, and even be ashamed of the ironic ways of God and his salvation. They seem to think that, although God took on flesh to be born as a helpless baby under the ironic circumstances we’ve described, and then died in humiliation on the cross for our sins, we should nevertheless prefer different methods, methods of power and might and control, in the church and in politics and in the culture at large.

Of course it’s appropriate to pursue a good education, to serve and as God calls to lead in his church, to vote your convictions about a rightly ordered government, and to be salt and light in the culture for the truth and justice and beauty of God.

But it is good to remember that God almost never does things in the ways we would expect – almost never! He almost never does what most people would consider reasonable, according to normal patterns of human wisdom and strategic thinking. Not only do his ways appear weak and foolish to many, but there is offense in them, for they strike at the root of those assets – of resources and position and intellect – in which we take such pride.

It can be quite a knock-down to realize the implications for us hidden in the ironies of Christmas. God chose an ironic person in an ironic place, in an ironic situation, with an ironic faith, in order to accomplish his ironic salvation. He chooses the weak and the foolish and the humble, those who are poor in spirit, who fear him, and who believe and obey his word.

But what mercy! For it is the mighty power and grace of God that are at work in and through such people, in the ordinary pathways of their work and family and church and neighborhood. His great salvation — accomplished through his crucified and risen Son whose birth in a manger we celebrate at Christmas, ours by grace through faith, lived out by Word and Spirit in all the mundane details of our lives – that great salvation is our greatest asset. It is the supreme asset without which all other assets are rubbish.

Our callings are truly extraordinary, for it is God who calls through the gospel and through his sovereign and ironic leading in our lives. Who would have thought he would accomplish his eternal purposes in such ways!

In my next posting, we will consider another irony: that this God who chooses to work through the weak and foolish and humble does in fact with his people triumph over all his and their enemies. The cradle leads to the cross leads to the crown!

Merry Christmas!

First, I spent just over a week in Indonesia, pursuing a growing relationship with some wonderful Christians there who are developing a network of Christian schools at all levels. We at Covenant are finding great joy in identifying pathways for collaboration with these deeply committed colleagues in the Christian education enterprise. Second, Covenant had the privilege of co-hosting, with the PCA’s global mission agency, Mission to the World, the triennial PCA Global Missions Conference here in Chattanooga. Wonderful singing, strong biblical exposition, and inspiring testimonies encouraged and instructed the more than 2,000 attendees, including about 150 Covenant students, regarding God’s glorious gospel work around the world. Third, we’ve just returned from ten days with family in the Chicago area, where Kathleen and I celebrated Thanksgiving with our three sons and two daughters-in-law, and experienced the almost overwhelming thrill of meeting our first grandchild – Adelyn Grace Nielson – born on Saturday, November 20, to our oldest son Jon and his wife Jeanne.

These three experiences shared some common qualities and characteristics. They were all filled, first, with a sense of the past, as in each case the people involved recognize that they are building on the work of those who had come before. Our Indonesian Christian friends are wholeheartedly Reformed in their theological outlook, reflecting a gratefully received heritage that includes faithful Dutch witness and also now several generations of indigenous, dynamic Reformed church leadership. What a joy to see a large church in central Jakarta where the solas of the Reformation are boldly declared, both in the very architecture of the church building and in the regular preaching and ministries of the Word. The schools growing from the hearts of these brothers and sisters are solidly rooted in the soil of the long history of explicitly Christian and biblical education, with administrators and teachers who understand the importance of the preeminence of Jesus Christ in their academic disciplines and their schools’ environments. Their guiding motto, “True Knowledge, Faith in Christ, Godly Character,” is intended as an integrated educational vision that aims to be faithful to the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

The PCA’s global mission enterprise, under its past and present leadership, is also thoroughly and purposefully rooted in the past – not only the more recent past of the PCA’s mission work but also the longer history of biblical, gospel mission which has been going on for millennia. Much of the inspiration for the church’s present-day missionary and cross-cultural work is taken from the instruction and stories of faithful messengers across the centuries, carrying the prophets’ and apostles’ witness about Jesus to the ends of the earth. I was delighted to see so many Covenant students, many of whom have family roots in missions, watching and listening and participating in the plenary and seminar sessions, and more vitally and personally connecting with this history as their own.

And then of course there’s Adelyn Grace, born into an extended family which has included many gospel preachers and teachers and missionaries, along with musicians and business people and scholars and military servicemen. She is a child of the covenant, and as her grandparents we celebrate the multi-generational heritage which is hers, not simply as a family matter but most especially as a gospel matter: she is an heiress to the gospel promises of our covenant-keeping God, which are hers and will be hers by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

So first, then, a sense of the past. Now second, a sense of the future.

Our Indonesian friends have huge hopes and dreams for their burgeoning educational enterprise – a vision for more than a thousand Christian schools across the vast, thousands-of-islands expanse of their country, schools which will contribute in sound, biblical ways to a nation emerging as one of the next great economic growth centers, located in one of the next great economic growth regions of the world. I’ve had the privilege of visiting a good number of these schools, including one on the island of Nias off the west coast of Sumatra, where almost 400 students are receiving a strong, biblically-grounded, and academically excellent education, from teachers most of whom are graduates of the Teachers College on the outskirts of Jakarta founded by these visionary folks to provide the unique, Christ-centered preparation required for this Christ-centered enterprise. We at Covenant now have the privilege of sharing in this enterprise, through graduates of our education program teaching in some of their schools where classes are taught in English (we have our first graduate there now); through recruiting graduates of their high schools to Covenant where they can continue their Christ-centered education at the college level in preparation for returning to Indonesia equipped for their roles in God’s work there; through faculty exchanges that will enable us to benefit from each other’s vision and strengths. What an opportunity not only to watch the global future unfold, but to contribute to it with the distinctive gifts and capabilities with which God has blessed Covenant.

So many of the testimonies during the PCA Global Missions Conference, whose theme was “Jesus: The Hope of the Nations,” were filled with the hope of the gospel for the nations and for the specifically focused hope of the gospel for specific peoples and countries and cities of the world. In the present context of politics in the United States, with all the undeniably important issues of the economy and social issues and global political tensions, how wonderful to be reminded of our true and glorious future – and not only ours but of the whole world – secured for us by the death and resurrection and reign of Jesus Christ and not by political process or political party or achievement of a favored set of political aims. As James Davison Hunter writes in his recent book, To Change the World: the Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World:

As we have seen, the expectations that people place on politics are unrealistic, for most of the problems we face today are not resolvable through politics. That, however, is not the most serious problem. Far more grave is the way politicization has delimited the imaginative horizon through which the church and Christian believers think about engaging the world and the range of possibilities within which they actually act. Politics is just one way to engage the world, and, arguably, not the highest, best, most effective, nor most humane way to do so. This does not mean that Christians shouldn’t “vote their values” or be active in political affairs. It is essential, however, to demythologize politics, to see politics for what it is and what it can and cannot do, and not place on it unrealistic expectations. It cannot realize the various mythic ideals that inspire different Christian communities; it cannot even reduce the tension that exists between the concrete realities of everyday life and the moral and spiritual ideals of the Kingdom of God. At best, politics can make life in this world a little more just and thus a little more bearable.

As one whose political, economic, and social views would undoubtedly be described as “conservative,” I confess frustration with policies and directions which, I believe, undermine human dignity, economic vitality and opportunity (especially for the poor and dispossessed), the sanctity of life, the covenant of marriage, the welfare of communities, and true justice. I vote and give accordingly. But what a blessing to be reminded, as we were again and again during the conference, of where our real hope lies, and to be challenged to set our priorities according to the infinitely grand merits of that hope.

(I should add that this was brought home to me in Indonesia as well, where our friends are energetically pushing forward with their hope-fueled vision in a land where hope of political ascendancy for their convictions and values is virtually non-existent.)

And then of course there’s Adelyn Grace, whose birth signals the hope of the gospel in a world where hope often seems dim. With each such birth – and it’s appropriate, I think, to feel this most vividly in the birth of one’s own progeny – we can hear God’s glorious “YES!” to the question of his ongoing commitment to his redemptive purpose for his creation. With each incoming freshman class at Covenant, my heart rejoices at God’s renewed “YES!” as he raises up another generation to explore and express the preeminence of Jesus Christ in all things and to be witnesses to gospel hope in the decades ahead. In all probability, I won’t live to see too much of the fruit of that hope in Adelyn’s life, but God’s promises are sure, and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So, a sense of the past and a sense of the future. But now, a sense of the risk.

We have to acknowledge that God’s people doing God’s work in God’s way are always at risk. The gospel is an offense, and as early as the opening verses of the third chapter of Mark’s gospel – after reading of Jesus’s kingly authority in word and deed – we read that “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him” (Mark 3:6).

Our Indonesian friends are aware of this, and they pursue their vision with the confidence that God is at work and that God will always accomplish what he intends, including – and often especially – through the suffering of his faithful people.

Our PCA missionaries are aware of this, and they do their gospel work, with proclamation of the good news bearing fruit in deeds of mercy, knowing that still today God carries forward his salvation of the nations often by martyrs’ blood. I was reminded a couple of weeks ago, as we prayed for Christian brothers and sisters persecuted for their faith, that they ask that we pray not so much for the elimination of their suffering as for the power of their gospel witness through their suffering.

And then of course there’s Adelyn Grace, born into a world and a country where biblical faith and life are becoming more and more, let’s say, consequential. Can her parents and grandparents sing that verse from that old hymn:

Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free;
And blest would be their children’s fate
If they, like them, should die for thee.

With trembling and trusting hearts, we say “yes,” for God still says “YES!” and he is good and mighty and will do all things well. Jesus Christ is indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever.

A sense of our gospel past; a sense of our gospel future; a sense of our gospel risk – reflections on three distinct but interrelated experiences of this past month. And of course such reflections bear on the mission of Covenant College as well, as we seek to teach and equip our students in light of these realities, for gospel witness in all the pathways of all the callings which God has in store for them.

After this past month, it’s great to be back to a normal schedule, whatever “normal” actually means! I’m grateful for the daily routines of the ordinary life and work of the College, punctuated by more extraordinary times like those I’ve described here. May God grant us all a clear sense of our gospel past, future, and risk, so that we walk both ordinary and extraordinary paths with gospel hope in the One who is preeminent in all things.