The Hole in our Holiness

May 7, 2013 By RVD in Book Reviews, Holiness, Sermons (Audio)

Kevin DeYoung’s book, The Hole in Our Holiness, came out last year. I read it a couple weeks ago, because I listened to a series of conference talks that DeYoung gave at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC. The talks whetted my appetite for more of the same; I wasn’t disappointed by the book, which thoughtfully unpacks the topic of holiness, grounding the exposition in Scripture.

After discussing what holiness is and why we should pursue it, De Young tackles some of the apparent contradictions inherent in the topic: My heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9); how can I say that I am holy? If we believe that it’s grace alone through Christ alone and there’s nothing we can contribute to salvation, why is it biblical to pursue holiness? Continue reading →

Dove Ads, Ambrose, and Christian Women

April 22, 2013 By RVD in Culture, Women

The social experiment that Dove released last week is fascinating. It has a clear message: “You are more beautiful than you think”.

Apparently, it’s not new for women to think that they are ugly. Hence the early invention of make-up, which has been around at least since the ancient Egyptians started the eyeliner trend about 4,000 years ago. Ambrose of Milan, writing in the fourth century, commented:

“[Women] erase that painting [of God] by smearing on their complexion a color of material whiteness or by applying an artificial rouge. The result is a work not of beauty, but of ugliness; not of simplicity, but of deceit. It is a temporal creation, a prey to perspiration or rain. It is a snare and a deception which displeases the person you aim to please, for he realizes that all this is an alien thing and not your own. This is also displeasing to your Creator, who sees His own work obliterated. Continue reading →

The PK Parishioner (4)

April 11, 2013 By RVD in Church Life, Pastoral Ministry

Although there can be hard things about being an adult pastor’s kid in a church not pastored by your father, being a pk in different congregation can also be a blessing. Here are some of the perks I’ve discovered.

First, you know what the ministry is like. You understand what life is like for your pastor’s family like few other people can and so you can pray for them accordingly. You might not even talk to them much, but you pick up on vibes, clues, or just common pk knowledge, and pray in a more informed way than you would be able to if you had not grow up in a pastor’s home. It will be a blessing to their ministry even if they are unaware of it.

And hard as it can be to have to earn the trust of a congregation, it’s good for you. When you are the new member and nobody knows your dad, you can’t rest on your pk laurels. Continue reading →

The PK Parishioner (3)

April 10, 2013 By RVD in Church Life, Pastoral Ministry

I never thought too much about it at the time, but growing up, I sort of assumed that once I moved out of the house, I would effectively stop being a PK: someone else would be my pastor, I would not play board games in the basement while Dad counseled an engaged couple upstairs, and I would not hear the phone ring in the middle of the night. Wrong.

It’s true, my dad is no longer my pastor, I don’t play board games much, and though I’m married to a pastor, he’s serving as a professor and students don’t tend to call at 2 A.M. But being a pastor’s kid never stops. Continue reading →

Preachers’ Daughters (2)

April 4, 2013 By RVD in Pastoral Ministry, Raising Children

What I’ve heard about the latest reality tv show isn’t encouraging, let alone edifying. Thankfully, there are teenaged preachers’ daughters who aren’t doing drugs, getting drunk, pregnant, and ruining their father’s reputations. Some of these young ladies, from different denominations, countries and families, answered a few questions about being pk’s for our second post in this series. We have left out their names to give them privacy. Their answers give insight into what it’s like to have dad as the preacher and give everyone some encouragement: there are many godly pastor’s daughters out there!

Would you marry a pastor?

1. “This is something that I have thought about a lot actually and have had pretty mixed feelings about. In some ways, I would like to marry a pastor as I think that it would help me to go deeper in my faith and having grown up in a pastor’s home, I have experience and knowledge that would hopefully enable me to be a blessing to a pastor. However, growing up in a pastor’s family has also opened my eyes to the amount of spiritual and emotional trials that many pastors deal with on a regular basis. Continue reading →

The Pastor’s Kid (1)

April 2, 2013 By RVD in Pastoral Ministry, Raising Children

My Dad is a pastor. Same for Grandpa, uncles, brothers-in-law, and husband. Growing up in a family of pastor’s kids (there were six of us, plus cousins) has given us a different experience than many of our peers, simply because dad was a minister. From not having him in the pew with us on Sunday, to going to every funeral and wedding in the congregation, our growing up years were shaped by his calling.

I haven’t seen much written on the pastor’s kid – pk’s tend to be tight-lipped, sometimes rebellious. So in the next couple weeks, we’ll be posting about different aspects of being a pk. Our hope is to give pk’s encouragement, give their parents some insight on a child’s perspective, and open up the topic for discussion in families.

Last week I was on a panel about growing up in the manse. Future pastor’s wives submitted questions ahead of time, and then a mix of pastor’s children answered. We’ll start this series with some thoughts I jotted down in preparation for that evening. Continue reading →

Sanctification: Take it for Granted?

March 26, 2013 By RVD in Holiness

Last month, we had a couple over; she was American, but he had been born and raised in the middle east. He had a lot to say about his Muslim upbringing, his conversion, and his experience in the U. S.. But it was what he said about sanctification that really grabbed me.

As a Muslim, this man had always lived with a strict set of rules: things he must not do if he was to attain paradise. But even when he and Muslim friends were outwardly conforming to the law, they would still inwardly want the sin. Sometimes they didn’t keep the law because they couldn’t. Other times they did keep the law, but their hearts weren’t in it. They weren’t drinking, but they wanted to. They were praying, but they didn’t want to. This believing man described this as an inescapable bondage: you do (or don’t do) certain things with no heart, no love, and no power. Continue reading →

Hate is a Strong Word

March 13, 2013 By RVD in Christian Living

Once, a couple decades ago, I was playing at a friend’s house and said that I hated something. I don’t remember what it was, but I’m sure it was nothing serious – bologna, or sweat, or having to clean my room. My friend’s mother overheard and told me off: “Hate is a strong word!”

I remember looking at her thinking, “It’s a strong feeling: I chose the word carefully!” What was wrong was not so much my hatred as the object of my hatred. Bologna is far to blah for an emotion like hate. Continue reading →

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