Getting ready for the amazing

Childbirth is amazing. I've been with Robyn for four deliveries so far, and each time I am struck by the wonder of it - that from the womb emerges a new human life (a divine image bearer!) where there was none before. Though conception, pregnancy, and delivery is a "natural" occurrence that happens all the time, it would seem impossible not to consider the hand of God in it. How sterile and inadequate are our scientific descriptions of the beginning of life, compared with David's words!: "...you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13, 14).

Tomorrow is the BIG day. Robyn and I are to arrive at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. Soon thereafter, hopefully, they will begin the induction (I say "hopefully" because we've learned that Alaskans aren't always the most punctual people on earth). The kids are excited, too. And the older ones are beginning to ask the inevitable question: how does the baby come out, anyway? We tell them we'll explain it all to them when they are older.

I'm taking to the hospital some clothes, a book, my laptop, a camera, a camcorder, a cell phone, and a mp3 player. Robyn's taking the baby with her.

Lord willing, we'll have some happy news to announce tomorrow.

Sunday night recap

It's almost 10:00 p.m., three out the four kids are in bed, and I'm worn out. A typical Sunday night.

It was a good Lord's Day. In the morning I preached on Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler from Matthew 19. My main point was that when Jesus calls us to discipleship, he both demands all from us, and graciously gives all to us. I concluded by pointing out that in the account there are really two rich young rulers: the one who spoke with Jesus, and Jesus himself. As the Son of God in the flesh, Jesus possessed in himself all divine authority and glory (and riches). Yet, he made himself poor for our sakes so that by his poverty we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).

At the evening service, I preached from Psalm 32, focusing on the blessedness of the one whose sins are forgiven. I've been preaching through Romans in the evening, but for today I re-worked an older sermon so that I could have some time during the week to work on next Sunday's evening sermon.

And that is, of course, because this week Robyn is going into the hospital to be induced. I'm praying that the labor and delivery will go well for her. Of course, I can't wait to meet the baby and welcome her to the family.

For this reason also I am working tomorrow, Monday, which is usually my day off. When I do work on Monday, often concentration doesn't come easy. But, I know I'll have some extra motivation to be productive tomorrow, knowing what is ahead for this week.

Back to Blogging

At least I hope so. It's been nearly a year since I last wrote a blog, and during that time I've often wished I had not given up. I will try to write regular entries, though it is not always easy with the press of so many responsibilities.

It's been a little over two years since we've made the trek up the Alaska Highway to begin our Alaska life. Though the time has gone by quickly, when we look at pictures from our trip here I'm surprised to see how much the kids have grown. Sander and Moriah have lived here for most of their lives!

God has blessed us the last two years. Though there have been challenges (being a pastor anywhere will involve difficulties), our family has enjoyed living in Alaska. For just one example of how life here has been good, we have a freezer full of sockeye salmon from our two summer dipnetting trips.

The kids are thriving. Robyn works hard at homeschooling Meredith and Maggie, and both of them are little scholars. There is an abundance of extra-curricular activities for the kids: gymnastics, piano, P.E., t-ball, and so on.

Life is about to get a little crazier, though. Robyn is due to give birth to our fifth child (another girl!) on Tuesday. We are both excited to meet the newest Johnson, and a bit apprehensive of the extra busyness she will bring. The house can be lively with four young children - but with five? But God has given us grace so far, and we are trusting in his faithfulness to sustain us each day.

I am enjoying the work of pastoring Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I find preaching twice on Sunday can be a challenge. It's not so much the actual preaching on Sunday (which is more exhausting than most people realize), but the real challenge for me is working on two different passages each week and trying to prepare a message from each that expounds the text, preaches Christ, and engages the listener. I am thankful for patient and faithful listeners!

One goal of mine is to write short book reviews in this blog (as I've done in the past). A brief recommendation for an encouraging little book: Living the Cross Centered Life by C. J. Mahaney. He reminded me of the need to remember daily what Christ did for me at the cross. A friend gave it to me to read some time ago. The day I finished it, I gave it to someone else to read!

Singing and Making Music, by Paul S. Jones

For a non-musician like myself, this is a very helpful book. Paul Jones is the Organist and Music Director for Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and has written something of a primer for understanding the role of music in the worship of the church.

There is no question that God's people are to worship him with music. The Psalmist tells calls us to "sing to the Lord a new song" (Ps. 149:1), and the apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesians to "[address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart" (Eph. 5:19). Exactly how we are to worship God with song and music, however, is a matter of no little debate, a debate which unfortunately has produced more heat than light.

From the perspective of a church musician, and a Christian committed to the Scriptures as the final authority in matters of worship, Jones seeks to add light to this contentious issue. His essential point is that the church, in her use of music in worship, must pursue excellence. This means both faithfulness to God's Word in matters of music, and offering to God the very best music and singing we possibly can.

I was personally challenged by his stress on the importance of church leaders having some degree of musical competence. He quotes Martin Luther as saying, "We shouldn't ordain young men to the ministry unless they be well schooled in music" (pg. 142). Ouch! - this is one area in which I am certainly lacking (every time we sing a hymn, I take a few steps back from the microphone). As a remedy, Jones calls for Christian colleges and seminaries to make musical education a much greater priority than it is now. I had never thought about that before.

Jones also covers everything from Contemporary Christian Music (of which he is critical), to the use of instruments in worship (which he enthusiastically advocates), to the myth that Luther used bar songs for his hymn tunes (which he debunks), to providing guidance on how a church can acquire a pipe organ (which probably hadn't even entered the mind of most of his readers!), to the musical genius of past Christian composers such as Bach (which was very technical, and above my head).

The book is thought-provoking, enlightening, and practical. I highly recommend it as a valuable guide in thinking through the current debates over music in worship.

Miscellaneous

October 13th.
This date is an unhappy anniversary for my family. Twelve years ago, on October 13th, my sister Meredith died after a long and heroic struggle with a failed bone-marrow transplant for leukemia. I wish she could meet Robyn and the kids, and see what "the boy" (as she referred to me) has been up to all these years. I'm sure she'd have something funny to say. It makes me sad to think about it.

Pastor's appreciation.
It's always good to be appreciated. October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and the church expressed their thanks with a nice cake and balloons. It was a very thoughtful gesture, and an encouragement to me. Several people also made a point of thanking me for my service. This is a good group of people, and I am thankful that God has led us here to serve them.

"Change-over."
A fall and spring ritual in Alaska, at least in this part of the state, is "change-over." This is where you take the summer tires off your car and put on the studded tires (and vice verse in the spring) . I arrived at the tire shop at 6:45 a.m. this morning, 45 minutes before they open, and already there were 13 customers ahead of me. Nearly two hours and 55 dollars later, our Suburban was ready for winter.

ESV Study Bible

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the brand-new ESV Study Bible. I've been reading the English Standard Version since it was first published in 2001, and it is the Bible I use exclusively in preaching and teaching.

I believe it is the best English translation of the Bible out there. It is both very readable and faithful to the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. Whereas the New American Standard Bible is quite literal, the English is too wooden. And whereas the New International Version is very readable, the translators go too far in translating the "sense" of a verse, rather than the words themselves. The ESV strikes a good balance between the two: an accurate translation in natural English.

Morever, the ESV maintains much of the traditional language of the King James Bible. The "thees" and "thous" are updated, but the basic structure and wording of familiar passages remain essentially the same,, e.g., "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (ESV, Psalm 23:1).

Since it was first published, the ESV has really taken off, at least in Reformed and Evangelical circles. I think this is good for a couple of reasons. First, for the reasons I've indicated, it is a translation worthy to become, as its name suggests, the standard English version. Secondly, the more one version is uniformly read, and taught and preached from, the easier it will be for Christians to memorize Scripture.

I am excited about this ESV Study Bible. It looks to be a comprehensive resource for Bible study all in one volume: notes, maps, charts, introductions, diagrams, etc., etc. I'm going to order my copy soon.

Trueman on our financial crisis

One of the more thought-provoking seminary professors I had was a church history professor by the name of Carl Trueman. Carl (at Westminster, there was an unwritten rule that professors under the age of 45 or so were on a first-name basis with the students, all the rest were "Dr." so-and-so) is from England and is able to provide a perspective on American culture and politics that we Americans might miss. Plus, he's an historian which gives him a unique take on current events.

Carl has an article posted on one of the websites I frequent, Reformation21.org. It's called "The Freedom of the Christian Market" (click here) and is a very interesting analysis of our current financial mess. You may or may not agree with him on every particular, but it is definitely worthwhile reading.