Humble Orthodoxy

Tag Archive - Humble Orthodoxy

Hey Christian: Don’t be a jerk!

July 2, 2011 in Jesus with 2 Comments

I’m excited to be spending the weekend with the SOULIES Youth Leaders. Good vibe so far. We’re hoping to have a good mix of business and pleasure. The main teaching content will be on ‘Humble Orthodoxy‘. We’ll reflect on some of Josh Harris’ writing and 2 Timothy. Not sure on what ‘Humble Orthodoxy’ is? Check out this comic that Josh shared on his blog:

That pretty much sums it up!!

I’ve written on Humble Orthodoxy a bunch of times. Click here to read a bit more.

It’s a message I need to keep hearing, and I’m guessing it’s probably a message many of my readers need to keep hearing too!

Josh also posted a recent sermon on Humble Orthodoxy. I might try and listen this weekend…

Familiar with Humble Orthodoxy? How do you try and cultivate it in your life? (ie What do you do to guard yourself form being a Christian Jerk?)

The Good Shepherd + Humble Orthodoxy

December 18, 2010 in Jesus with 0 Comments

We’re currently on holidays on the South Island of New Zealand. We’ve seen more sheep than people. Below are some local sheep posing for the camera. While on the subject of sheep, I recently spoke on the Youthworks YMC – Some to be Shepherds. I gave the opening and closing talks. The first one was on John 10 – I think it was a good place to kick off the conference reflecting on Jesus the Good Shepherd. The final talk was on Humble Orthodoxy – which is all about speaking the truth without being a jerk.

Here are the mp3s for both talks:

To get all 6 talks on Video, contact Youthworks (they have a swanky new website!!).

Think Hard, Stay Humble: The Life of the Mind and the Peril of Pride

December 4, 2010 in Jesus with 5 Comments

I had a mild case of preacher crush watching this sermon the other night. It’s Francis Chan from the Desiring God National Conference 2010. Some really really good stuff. His main text is 1 Corinthians 8:1-3. We need to be those who don’t just think hard about the scriptures, but also think hard about loving people. Chan’s passion for people and particularly for lost people is a rebuke and challenge to me.

Rather than plagiarising some of the content, I might just play it on the big screen at a conference I’m speaking at this week!

If you can’t see the vid above – click here to watch/download.

Humble Orthodoxy – chapter from Josh Harris

August 10, 2010 in Jesus with 1 Comment

If you haven’t heard of Humble Orthodoxy, now is your chance. I’ve posted on it a bunch of times, you can read those posts. Or even better you can download Josh Harris‘ chapter on ‘Humble Orthodoxy’ from his new book Dug Deep Down. Basically, Humble Orthodoxy is all about believing and living the truth of the gospel without being a jerk.

Link to the chapter | Link to Josh’s blog post

The most humbling, human-pride smashing message in the world

May 25, 2010 in Jesus with 1 Comment

Josh Harris has posted an excerpt from his book Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters on Humble Orthodoxy (read my previous posts on this subject). In the post he speaks warmly of the way his friend Justin Taylor has embraced humble orthodoxy. If you haven’t heard of humble orthodoxy, it basically means – don’t be an arrogant Christian jerk. I need to hear this, maybe you do too…

Here’s a snippet:

Genuine orthodoxy–the heart of which is the death of God’s son for undeserving sinners–is the most humbling, human-pride smashing message in the world. And if we truly know the gospel of grace it will create in us a heart of humility and grace toward others. Francis Schaeffer, a Christian writer and thinker from the 20th century, modeled this kind of profound compassion. He genuinely loved people. And even as he analyzed and critiqued the culture he did so “with a tear in his eye.”

That is humble orthodoxy. It’s standing for truth with a tear in your eye. Telling your friend living in sexual sin that you love them even as you tell them their sexual preference is disobedient to God. It’s remembering that angry, unkind, opponents of the gospel are human beings created in the image of God who need the same mercy God has shown you.

Read the rest here

Pilgrim’s Podcast #28: Dave Miers, Youth Ministry, Humble Orthodoxy & Snoring on Trains

April 17, 2010 in culture with 2 Comments

I hung out with Mark Earngey & Steve Gardner to record an episode of their podcast.

Check it out. It’s rowdy!

What we know about God shapes the way we think and live

February 17, 2010 in Jesus with 1 Comment

[This is the 4th video from the last 5 posts. Back to original content tomorrow!] Josh Harris has recently released a new book, Dug Deep Down. I look forward to reading it! He held a short film contest to coincide with the book launch. Here is the winner:

See the rest of the videos here. I noticed in one of them the concept of ‘Humble Orthodoxy’. I’ve posted on Humble Orthodoxy before. I’ll be doing a series of talks on a similar topic later in the year, so you’ll be sure to hear more about it on this blog.

Peaceout.

(h/t Josh Harris)

Embrace Humble Orthodoxy

April 30, 2008 in Jesus with 4 Comments

While watching the New Attitude 2008 Conference video (see it below – it’s a good vid), I was reminded of Humble Orthodoxy. I’ve posted on it before.

Humble Orthodoxy

Josh Harris preaches a message I need to keep hearing. Now that I’m hanging out with Anglicans more, it’s a message that they need to hear too! There are Reformed Evangelical Christians who are so dogmatic about the truth, that they fail to love. Arrogant Orthodoxy is ugly. Humble orthodoxy is “a commitment to believe, live, and represent biblical truth with humility.”

If you are a pastor or pastor-in-training, whether you think you’re arrogant or not, please, for the Glory of Jesus, listen to this word and embrace Humble Orthodoxy.

Loving the lost

December 2, 2007 in life with 0 Comments

There are two extremes on the cultural engagement spectrum. At one end there are Christians who are no longer being shaped by the Bible but by their surrounding culture. At the other end are Christians who denounce everything in culture as wrong.

My observation is that reformed evangelical Christians are more likely to fall into the latter. We run in the opposite direction from culture. We create Christian schools, home schools, Christian contemporary music, Christian sports comps, Christian monastic communities (sometimes in the guise of a theological college), Christian political parties and the like.

I’ve been reminded a number of times lately of a quote from Francis Schaeffer that has stuck with me. It’s the final paragraph in a chapter describing the despair experienced in the lives of 19th and 20th century artists. As I first read the chapter I began to laugh at the desperate things done by some of the artists. That was until the final paragraph. A timely rebuke:

These paintings, these poems, and these demonstrations which we have been talking about are the expression of men who are struggling with their appalling lostness. Dare we laugh at such things? Dare we feel superior when we view their tortured expression in their art? Christians should stop laughing and take such men seriously. Then we shall have the right to speak again to our generation. These men are dying while they live; yet where is our compassion for them? There is nothing more ugly than a Christian orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion. (The God who is there)

There’s a significant relationship between what Schaeffer is saying and humble orthodoxy.

3 warm fuzzies up for grabs. 1) name of artist above. 2) name of painting. 3) museum where it’s hung. (one per person)

September 1, 2007 in life with 2 Comments

Joshua Harris has said some great things about Humble Orthodoxy. Here’s his latest. Not sure on what Humble Orthodoxy is? Listen or watch to find out more.

I think about the truth often and reflect on the need to tell the truth in love. Humble Orthodoxy is a message that Sydney Evangelicalism (of which as part of the greater metro region – I consider myself a part) desperately needs to hear. If God has graciously revealed the truth to you, don’t be arrogant with it… but in humility speak the truth in love.

Humble Orthodoxy

September 26, 2006 in life with 15 Comments

Young, Restless, Reformed: Calvinism is making a comeback—and shaking up the church from the September Christianity Today has recently been made available online. It’s a great article with some great quotes from guys such as: John Piper, Al Mohler, Kent Hughes, Mark Dever and Joshua Harris.

Below are a number of Josh Harris quotes from the article. On his first encounters with Calvinists:

“I’m sorry to say that they represented the doctrines of grace with a total lack of grace. They were spiteful, cliquish, and arrogant. I didn’t even stick around to understand what they were teaching. I took one look at them and knew I didn’t want any part of it.”

On his understanding of Reformed theology:

The theological depth attracted Harris. “Once you’re exposed to [doctrine],” he said, “you see the richness in it for your own soul, and you’re ruined for anything else.”

And:

“If you really understand Reformed theology, we should all just sit around shaking our heads going, ‘It’s unbelievable. Why would God choose any of us?’” Harris said. “You are so amazed by grace, you’re not picking a fight with anyone, you’re just crying tears of amazement that should lead to a heart for lost people, that God does indeed save, when he doesn’t have to save anybody.”

I think that Joshua Harris is someone who has been gripped by the truths of Reformed theology and seeks to respond in humility rather than with spiteful arrogance. On the New Attitude site (recently updated) there is this description of something Josh calls Humble Orthodoxy:

Humble orthodoxy is a commitment to believing, living, and representing the truth with humility. We believe that God’s truth in Scripture should not be redefined or reinvented to suit our own preferences or culture. Our role is not to change truth but to let truth change us.

It’s not a revolution. It’s not a movement. It’s a group of people in local churches, passionate about rediscovering truth and recommitting to it. We stand on the shoulders of those who have followed God before us. So this is what we offer to the conversation:

Forget reinvention. Embrace a humble orthodoxy.

I’ve read a bunch of Josh’s books, listened to a bunch of his sermons too (see here and here) and think that he’s good value. Have a listen to his sermon on Humble Orthodoxy.

I’ve been guilty in the past of arrogance and a great ability to tell the truth without love. This is a great danger in churches like mine where we are concerned with teaching the truth and refuting error, that we neglect to love one another as we ough to love one another.

Watch your life and doctrine closely. 1 Tim 4:16

How are you (and your church) going with Humble Orthodoxy? Would love to hear your comments…

[The photo is of Sam Chan playing 2 recorders through his nostrils!! He gave a great talk on Sunday night]