Because of some recent conversations with various people, I have been re-studying the theory of “The Age of Accountability”.  I was intrigued to discover that in its various forms, it is indeed a theory and not a hard and fast Biblical doctrine.  However, the results of which version of the theory you believe in can have some pretty far reaching consequences and determine how you approach ministry, particularly children’s ministry as well as parenting.

During my studies I came across the following resources, which I’ve linked to for the next person who may have had some of the same questions that were stirring in my mind.

• What Is A Child’s Age Of Accountability? (a sermon followed by open discussion – Rick Leibee, Charity Christian Fellowship)
• The Nurture and Evangelism of Children (Mennonite Church, 1955 — Gameo Anabaptist Encyclopedia)
• The Age of Accountability (Well written article, Baptist theology)
• Where do I find the age of accountability in the Bible? (GotQuestions.org)
• The Age of Accountability (thorough study on the topic)
• Wikipedia Entry (Had to let the good ol’ Wikipedia weigh in on the topic. They’ve got every version from Catholic to LDS, so read discerningly)

Disclaimer: the links above are informational, but do contain a dose of opinion. Obviously our understandings and opinions must be lined up with inerrant Biblical truth to insure that we are on the right track in our understandings of this area of soteriology.

In our Explore the Book class at church, we are looking at the book of Job.  This book addresses the philosophical and theological issue known as “the problem of evil”.  In relation to this, here is a video about John Piper’s book, Job.

MP4 Video

MP3 Audio

I have always been fascinated by the well-developed and thoroughly thought-through ideas taught by John D. Martin on the Kingdom of God. His teachings and the teachings of others like him are what first drew me to Anabaptism in general and to conservative Mennonites and the “Charity Movement” in particular. Of course, as with any other movement/denomination there were things I didn’t fully understand, some of them purely cultural oddities, but the radical ideas as delineated in the following blog post by Christian thinker Greg Boyd, are some of the touchstones that have aided me in my quest for a practical and intellectually satisfying Christian reality.

Original post | About Greg Boyd

A Word to my Mennonite Friends

Hello friends,

I plan on getting back to the problem of violence in the Old Testament soon, but today I want to share a marvelous experience I had last week.

About eight months ago I spoke at a conference at Hesston college (a Mennonite college) on faith and politics (I posted on it here). While at this conference I sensed very strongly God telling me there was some sort of relationship I (and possibly the church I pastor) was to have with the Mennonites. More specifically, at the end of the conference I received a very clear and burning message I knew I was to share with the Mennonites. Whatever else this “relationship” entailed, I knew it included sharing this message. Yet, I had no idea when or how this message was to be shared.

Then about two months ago I received an invitation to speak at a historic gathering of Mennonite leaders in Columbus, Ohio. When the Executive Director of the Mennonite denomination (Jim Schrag) explained to me what he hoped my talk would accomplish I got goose bumps because it was exactly what God had put on my heart at Hesston seven months earlier. I have rarely been part of something that was so obviously providential. I was humbled and delighted to be given this important assignment. My message was — and is — basically this.

There is a beautiful and powerful grassroots Kingdom movement arising all over the globe that Mennonites in particular need to notice. Millions of people are abandoning the Christendom paradigm of the traditional Christian faith in order to become more authentic followers of Jesus. From the Emergent Church movement to the Urban Monastic Movement to a thousand other independent groups and movements, people are waking up to the truth that the Kingdom of God looks like Jesus and that the heart of Christianity is simply imitating him. Millions are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus are called to love the unlovable, serve the oppressed, live in solidarity with the poor, proclaim Good News to the lost and be willing to lay down our life for our enemies. Multitudes are waking up to the truth that the distinctive mark of the Kingdom is the complete rejection of all hatred and violence and the complete reliance on love and service of others, including our worst enemies. Masses of people are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus aren’t called to try to win the world by acquiring power over others but by exercising power under others — the power of self-sacrificial love.

What many who are being caught up in this movement lack is a sense of tribal identity and historical rooting, and many are looking for his. A central feature of post-modernity is the longing to “live in a story” that’s bigger than oneself. Many, therefore, are looking for a tradition they can align with.

The only tradition that embodies what this rising breed of Kingdom radicals is looking for is the Anabaptist tradition (which the Mennonites are heir to). This is the only tradition that consistently refused political power and violence. This is the only tradition that made humble, self-sacrificial love the centerpiece of what it means to follow Jesus. It’s the only tradition that isn’t soaked in blood and the only tradition that looks remotely like Jesus. Many (in fact, most) of the early leaders of this movement in the 16th century paid for their non-compliance with the Christendom paradigm by being martyred. This tradition is a treasure to be cherished. And it’s a tradition whose time may have come, for this is precisely the vision of the Kingdom that millions today are waking up to.

The irony is that, just as millions like myself are running toward this treasure, many Mennonites are running away from it. In the name of becoming culturally relevant, the distinctive, radical aspects of the Anabaptist tradition are being downplayed by some as they become “mainstream” American Christians. For example, some Mennonite churches now allow national flags on their premises — even in their sanctuaries! This was always taboo among Mennonites, for they have always (wisely) been keenly aware of the danger of mixing the Kingdom with nationalism. So too, some churches are now letting their Kingdom message get co-opted by politics — some on “the right” and others on “the left,” which in turn is beginning to create tensions in the church. And some churches have even begun to back off the centrality of their stance against violence.

So, my message to the Mennonites, in a nutshell, was (and is) this: Cherish Your Treasure! Not in a prideful way, of course, but simply as a precious gift God has given you and that God wants to give the world through you. Be daringly flexible on all matters that aren’t central to the Kingdom (e.g. worship styles, dress, etc.), but be utterly uncompromising on all matters that are central to the Kingdom (viz. everything that pertains to living a Jesus-looking life). My Mennonite sisters and brothers, you have what multitudes in the rising Kingdom movement are longing for. You can provide a home to so many who right now are looking for one. If you hold fast to the faith you’ve been entrusted with (Jude 3), you may just find your fellowship exploding in the years to come. For, I believe, the Anabaptist vision of the Kingdom is a vision whose time has come.

I am deeply humbled and honored to have been invited to share this word with the leaders of the Mennonite Church last week. My prayer is that God uses it to prepare them to fulfill the vital role God has for them in the Kingdom movement he’s inspiring in our day.

Blessings

Greg

Youth Bible School 2009… what a blessing, what an opportunity!  661 young people gathered together listening to sound Biblical teaching for an entire week.

What did we learn?

From David Janzen’s messages on Studies in the doctrine of Faith we looked back through the annals of time and reviewed the lives of several men and women of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. We explored the reason for their faith and how the same power that upheld them during times of extreme persecution and hardship can be ours, thousands of years later. Out of these sessions, David’s graphic description of Noah’s faithfulness in building the ark over a 120 year period, will remain etched in my memory for a long time.

Dean Taylor spoke on the familiar theme, What Would Jesus Do? Standing in front of the crowded auditorium, he grabbed a can of spray paint and wrote on a white cloth-covered stand, “What if Jesus really meant Every word that He Said?” This remained the theme for his messages during the rest of the week as he explored areas of Jesus’ teachings that are often overlooked by the broader evangelical church community.

John D. Martin’s sessions on Seeking God’s Kingdom, was for me a culmination of many of John D.’s previous messages on Kindom living. He told several familiar stories as well as some that I hadn’t heard to illustrate the vision that Jesus left us on how we are to live our lives as Kingdom citizens.

The evening revival services, conducted by Leonard Guenther, John Ray Nolt, and Mark Brubaker, were times of soul searching and repentance. Several young people turned over their lives to Jesus and found glorious victory over sin after these evening messages.

I am amazed each year at how Earl Fox, the chorus director, is able to get 600+ young people to sing together in four part harmony for Sunday evening’s Youth Choral Program. Added to that the controversial removal of one of the song selections midway through the week, and one can only attribute the strength, patience and wisdom of this man to God.

Prayer and Sharing was a highlight to me this year as nine of us young men shared our thoughts and poured out our hearts to our Savior and Lord. Youth Testimonies were similar as several young people shared about God’s work in their lives to a broader audience. Both of these times are so necessary in Bible School as they deal with areas in life “where the ruber meets the road” as it were.

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I took several photos this year which you can view at the password protected link below. Also included in this album are the group photos that were taken by Roger Weaver.

Link to Album
Username: guest
Password: (first word lower-case of first song in chorus book)

The concern that I have… is not first and foremost that we will fall into some great scandalous sin. My greatest concern for us is that our spiritual passion and zeal for Jesus Christ will be drowned in triviality. That our love for the Savior and our service for His kingdom will grow cold as we waste our lives on a million different allowable, permissable, absolutely inconsequential pursuits. And all the while, all around us there’s a spiritual battle to be fought, and there’s Gospel Truth to be gloried in, and there are souls to be won for Christ, and there are churches to be built, and there are nations to be won for Christ, and children to be discipled and hurting people all around us who are dying in their addictions…  Are we going to be Salt and Light?

My brother and I recently visited Seattle’s landmark, the Space Needle.  You can view more snapshots that I took during our visit HERE.

Charity Ministries will be hosting their annual Youth Bible School running from November 2nd to November 8th this year.  Registration is now open to any single young people aged 16-28 who are serious about their walk with God and would like to be immersed in good Bible teaching for an entire week. This event is sponsored by Charity Christian Fellowship and Ephrata Christian Fellowship located in Leola and Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

From the application form:

We are providing this Bible School for young people who are serious about their walk with God. We intend to provide an atmosphere of spirituality and discourage worldliness and carnality. We are not expecting everyone to be at the same place in their walk with Christ. However, we do expect students to be willing to be taught and guided in their walk with Him.

Our mission and purpose is threefold:

• To give the youth a week of concentrated Bible teaching
• To stimulate them to a closer walk with Christ and a deeper commitment to Him
• To provide an opportunity for them to fellowship with other like-minded youth

The speakers this year will be David Janzen, Dean Taylor, John D. Martin, Leonard Guenther, and Mose Stoltzfus.  As usual, Earl Fox will be the chorus director. There will be three sessions each day beginning at 8:50 AM, as well as a time for prayer and sharing in the afternoon. Revival meetings will be held for several of the evenings when the church people and community are welcome to come.  Lunch and supper is provided.  Housing will be provided through church families.  Of course, space is limited and applications are accepted in the order they are received.

To apply online or download a mail-in application form go to the Youth Bible School Announcement on Charity Ministries’ website.

See you there!

I was with a group of young people on Tuesday trying to learn a new song and no one happened to have a pitch pipe along. That steel cookie just doesn’t always make it into our pockets along side the requisite wallet, mobile phone and keys. So we stumbled along and made do without it for the duration of our song learning efforts.

Later, I got to thinking about how if we could just use our cell phone’s ability to play audio and use a pre-recorded set of auditory pitches, we wouldn’t ever have that problem again, since most people always have their cell phone with them. So I went hunting online to find something of that nature that would work for our future music endeavors. I came across the Online Pitch Pipe and figured the MP3’s found on that page would be just the ticket.  Unfortunately, they are no longer available, but thanks to our friends over at the Internet Archive and their Wayback Machine, I was able to download the files from the 2005 version of the website.  I have linked to them below in a zipped folder which you may freely download and unzip before loading them on your cellphone.  Now before anyone argues that the sound from a genuine free reed aerophone is far superior than the sound of an electronic micro-sized speaker on a cellphone, I will quickly agree.  However, having your cellphone blow the pitch is better than no pitch at all    So, I wouldn’t recommend this as an alternative for any of us Mennonite, Beachy or other Acappella singer-types on Sunday morning at church, but it works for impromptu singing events when the Real McCoy isn’t available.

Enjoy!

Cellphone Pitch Pipe.zip

Here are some photos from setup last night: