The Two Most Critical Words Missing From American Discourse Today

In 1852, Robert Winthrop, the 22nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, declared: "Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man, either by the Bible, or by the bayonet."

Can you imagine a Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, of any party, making such a statement today? Imagine indeed!

In our earlier years, "self-government under God” defined what liberty really meant for many U.S. leaders like Winthrop. Today, most Americans see liberty as “self-government,” period. The “under God” part is under the bus.  

Ironically, as the United States moves further away from true Higher Law, the less true liberty we have. That’s because the more U.S. citizens who lack internal self-control under God, the more need there is for external controls under man. And this is not a pleasant thought.

No amount of counter-legislation will save us. That's because genuine liberty, whether it’s liberty in marketplace, in the halls of power, or in the home, can only be voluntarily carried into these places by individuals who are “controlled by a power within them,” as Winthrop put it. 

When that’s gone, liberty is gone.     

Robert Winthrop was a descendant of the Puritan leader John Winthrop. Presidents Kennedy and Reagan both invoked the elder Winthrop when they quoted from one of his sermons: "...we shall be as a city upon a hill−the eyes of all people are upon us." 

Neither Kennedy nor Reagan, however, included what Winthrop said next: 

“So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God's sake."

It pains me to write this, but John Winthrop’s prophesy has come to pass. More and more Americans are now openly calling evil good, and good evil. And those who hold to a biblical view of morality are the enemy.

Our nation is overdue for a return to the definition of liberty we once held: self-government under God. 

In the meantime, “under God” are the two most critical words missing from American discourse today.

A friend sent me this remarkable clip of Governor Matt Bevin, of Kentucky, explaining why school shootings are occurring today, but did not happen 50 years ago. This clip is worth viewing twice. It ties in well with today's post. If it does not play, click https://youtu.be/F6XTVuUP0Ho

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

5 Foundational Books About Purpose

In the beginning, God created us to work. Specifically, He created us in His likeness and image so we could manage, steward, govern, rule, "have dominion over" this material world. We were created to be Earth-Tenders under God. 

Hello-o-o-o-o-o! 

This is what God had in mind for us from the start, and this is what human labor is supposed to be about. The First Commission [Gen. 1:26-28] gives purpose to education, and this is why I'm trying to restore the biblical meaning of work to Christian schools and churches. It is indeed, "The Lost Purpose for Learning." 

Last week I recommended 5 bedrock books about biblical worldview. This week, it's 5 foundational books about purpose. 

I was going to title this post, 5 Foundational Books About Work, but then realized if I did this, few would read the post! But these books are actually about purpose. 

Here you go: 

1. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work To God's Work, by Tim Keller.      

Accessibly written, this book has 5 stars on Amazon.com, with over 400 reviews. No small accomplishment! For this book, click here.

2. God's Pleasure At Work: The Difference One Life Can Make, by Christian Overman.

This was the outcome of my D. Min. studies at Bakke Graduate University, when I took the "deep dive" into theology of work. I created this for groups to use in church, as well as school. It is a curriculum pack, with over 50 video clips and a Participant Guide. For the pack, click here.

3. LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day, by Darrow Miller.

This is a thorough theological treatise for everyday work. To get to know the author, watch this video interview I did with Darrow: An Interview with Darrow Miller. For the book, click here.

4. The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work and Ministry in Biblical Perspective, by R. Paul Stevens.

Serving as a professor at Regent College, as well as a professional carpenter prior to that, Stevens knows whereof he writes, both in theory as well as practice. A brilliant mind. For this book, click here.   

5. Your Work Matters To God, by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks.

This was the first book I read on the topic of work from a biblical perspective, and I can't think of a better place to start. It is a classic. To order a copy, click here.

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

5 Bedrock Books About Biblical Worldview

There are many excellent books on the subject of biblical worldview. Looking back over the formative years of my own thinking on this topic, there are 5 bedrock books about biblical worldview that stand out in my mind. 

I consider the following 5 books to be "must reading” for anyone wanting to understand the nuts-and-bolts of a biblical worldview, given in alphabetical order:

1. Assumptions That Affect Our Lives, by Christian Overman.

What? My own book? Yes! This book affected me most because I learned more by writing it than anyone will learn by reading it! 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of its first publication by Tyndale House Publishers, under the title, Different Windows. I wrote this book when a Christian school principal, having parents, students and teachers in mind. If you read it, you will better understand where my head is "at," and why I write the outlandish things I do in my weekly blog. For a copy, click here.

2. Creation Regained, by Albert Wolters.

This book, more than any other, helped me to understand the Sacred-Secular Divide. It had a revolutionary effect on me. A truly mind-altering book! For a copy, click here.

3. How Should We Then Live, by Francis Schaeffer.

Schaeffer was highly influential in shaping my understanding of biblical worldview during the 1970’s and 80’s. Several of his books helped me, but How Should We Then Live stands out as the most “bedrock.” For a copy, click here.  

4. Understanding the Times, by David Noebel.

I spent 600 hours studying this book! This is not an exaggeration. I kept track of my hours. One of the first opportunities I had to teach on the topic of biblical worldview was at a Campus Crusade for Christ Bible School in Moscow, Russia, for two weeks. They were using a Russian translation of Understanding the Times as their text, and they wanted me to teach from it. I needed to know the book backwards and forwards. I can’t think of a better way to spend 600 hours! For a copy, click here.

5. The Universe Next Door, by James W. Sire.

This book gave me the mental framework I needed for cataloging all things “worldviewishly.” This book is so important that I would recommend it as a starting point for anyone wanting to know what this thing called “worldview” is about. For a copy, click here.


Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

The Future Of Our Nation--And Its Churches

Something went terribly wrong here.

An SSD infection lies at the root of our loss of Christian influence in America. I'm convinced we cannot recover any significant influence in our culture apart from a rejection of the "Sacred-Secular Divide." What's more, we need pastors with the resolve to lead the way.  

A fundamental shift of thinking must take place in our churches. Apart from pastors with the knowledge, courage and tenacity to facilitate this shift, it's not likely to happen.  
        

The Sacred-Secular Divide looks like this:

"Sacred” things, in his flawed model, include Sunday church, Bible study, prayer, spiritual growth retreats and mission trips. These things have real significance, because they are related to the soul, to spiritual growth, and to eternity. 

"Secular” things don’t really matter much, because they have to do with the physical, temporal realm of Planet Earth. These things include running banks, managing fish, and getting involved with political issues. These are the “things of earth” that should "grow strangely dim" as we "turn our eyes upon Jesus."

Most sermons in Evangelical churches today deal with our personal lives. Yes, Christianity is highly personal. But it isn't just personal.

Here is what to do with SSD:

Know this: both things in heaven and things on earth are Jesus' things. And when we turn our eyes upon Him, the things of earth should grow remarkably relevant to our Christian walk.   

Yes, the things of earth are broken, due to sin, and in need of restoration. The point is to engage with them in a reconciling and restorative way, as the Spirit leads. That's why we're here.

This requires a different way of seeing all things:

In this way of thinking, any sphere of human activity may be done in harmony with God or in conflict with Him; in alignment with His Word, or in opposition to His Word. Christ died to reconcile all things to Him so that in all things He may have the preeminence, both things in heaven and things on earth. Please read Colossians 1:15-20 here. 

Does this include business things, legal things, artistic things and civil things? Is Christ as relevant to what goes on in medicine as He is to what goes on in church? Is He as relevant to economics as He is to eternity?

How we answer these questions will determine the future of our nation--and its churches.

Something's going terribly wrong here.


Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

The Ability To Look Beyond Us

Do your windows need washing--again?

Paul wrote to slaves in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily as unto the Lord.”

A powerful word for when the work we're doing makes us feel like slaves. Vacuuming carpets (again)? Fixing the leaky sink (again)? If this work doesn't seem like “the work of God,” there is something we can do about it: we can think differently about work.

This is the power of the Word of God applied to our everyday lives: the ability to look beyond us. We don’t find meaning in our work, we bring meaning to our work when we approach work as something God wants done, regardless of how “mundane” it may seem at the time.  

Martin Luther, in his “Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity” sermon, exhorted his listeners to never separate God’s Word from their work. He advised his listeners to “inculcate” the Word of God into daily work, and that “by such work more is accomplished than if one had established all the cloisters and kept all the orders, although it be the most insignificant domestic work.”

“Our foolishness,” Luther maintained, “consists in laying too much stress upon the show of works and when these do not glitter as something extraordinary we regard them as of no value; and poor fools that we are, we do not see that God has attached and bound this precious treasure, namely his Word, to such common works as filial obedience, external, domestic, or civil affairs [and fish management], so as to include them in his order and command, which he wishes us to accept, the same as though he himself had appeared from heaven.”

“What would you do if Christ himself with all the angels were visibly to descend, and command you in your home to sweep your house and wash the pans and kettles? How happy you would feel, and would not know how to act for joy, not for the work’s sake, but that you knew that thereby you were serving him, who is greater than heaven and earth.”

“If we would only consider this, and by the power of the Word look beyond us, and think that it is not man, but God in heaven who wishes and commands these things, we would run full speed, and in a most faithful and diligent manner rather do these common, insignificant works, as they are regarded, than any others.” [Emphasis added.]

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

It Doesn't Come Easily To The Evangelical Mind

Our eldest son, Nathanael, is in full-time Christian service. 
He works as a fish biologist for the State of Washington. 

Nancy Pearcey, author of Total Truth, says many Christians fail to see work in business, politics, the arts, and science as ways to serve God. She notes that many young people think if they really want to serve God, they will go into "the ministry." To them, this means being a pastor or a missionary.

The problem, Pearcey maintains, is the "sacred-secular distinction," dividing life into "sacred" and "secular" categories. 

The Sacred-Secular Divide [SSD] is a mental stronghold that's hard to remove. Yet, ridding young people of SSD is an essential part of Christian education, whether formally at school, or informally at home. 

Our son, Nathanael, knows he’s doing God’s work by managing fish because we dismantled the Sacred-Secular Divide at the dinner table. We chewed it up and spit it out.

I don't want to be critical of pastors [they have a tough job], but when was the last time your pastor talked about how fish management fulfills God’s purpose for human beings to govern well over Planet Earth?

If you are a parent, when was the last time you talked about this at your dinner table?

When was the last time the car mechanics in your church were brought up front and commissioned to serve God through fixing broken automobiles?

All cars belong to Christ, but some are broken. The whole earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. Not just fish, but metal, glass and brake fluid. He's relevant to it all. Ruling well over God's stuff is the work of God. It's what God had in mind for human beings when He commissioned us to govern over this beautiful-but-now-broken planet.  

I'll say it again: repairing cars and fish management, done in response to the First Commission of Gen. 1:26-28, is the work of God.  

Yes, so is the work of pastors and missionaries. Yet, somehow, calling fish management and automotive repair “the work of God” is nearly heretical. It doesn't come easily to the evangelical mind.    

Jesus was a carpenter for most of His 33 years in Palestine, yet He only did what His Father showed Him to do. Was He doing the work of God before He became an itinerant teacher? 

He was doing exactly what His Father showed Him to do. Carpentry, for Christ, was the work of God.  

For a brief interview I did with Nancy Pearcey about these matters, click here.

Dr. Nancy Pearcey

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman