Friday Questions: An Interview with Aaron Armstrong

I really appreciate bloggers who consistently write good, helpful material. Aaron Armstrong is such an individual. Speaking of him, Tim Challies writes:

Aaron is one of those guys who poured a lot of effort into his blog in 2011 and the effort has paid off (at least in my estimation). He has become a go-to guy for solid theological content and excellent quotes from great writers of days gone by. He is at his best when discussing contemporary theological issues.

I'm pleased that Aaron agreed to let me interview him.

How did you get into blogging?

I got into blogging after getting "Forrest Gump"-ed into being the writer at a Christian charity in March 2008 (out of respect to my employers, they'll remain unnamed). I had no professional experience in writing to that point and hadn't even really tried to write anything since dabbling in blogging back in 2004 and writing some independent comics that were terrible during my college days. I kept my head above water for the first few months and churned out decent, but certainly not mind-blowing material. Around February 2009, I decided that if I was going to take this job seriously, I needed to actually get good at writing—and one of the best ways to do that is to write a lot. So I started Blogging Theologically and have been posting daily since.

You're a busy guy, with a full time-job, family, and other responsibilities. How have you protected your time to blog?

I don't watch a lot of TV, which helps, and I have a very patient and supportive wife, which helps even more. I also try to limit the amount of time I spend on the blog, ideally averaging out to a couple hours a night. Some nights I end up spending 30 minutes, others 4 hours.

How has blogging helped you?

Blogging has helped me in a number of ways:

• It's given me an outlet for working through theological issues as I've studied Scripture
• It's allowed me to keep up with my reading without having a book budget (Crossway and Baker in particular have been very generous)
• It's allowed me to interact with some really fantastic people like you, Tim Challies, Trevin Wax, Jared Wilson and a bunch more
• It's broadened my ministry, allowing me to serve not only my local church but serve more broadly through preaching periodically and now writing books.

What advice would you have for other Christian bloggers?

I've got a few small bits of advice:

First, and most importantly, be who you are. Don't try to be Tim Challies, Trevin Wax, Justin Taylor or whichever big name bloggers you read because you'll only be frustrated and disappointed (and really, no one wants to read a copycat, it's no fun).

Second, contend well. There is a great temptation to chase gossip and controversy like so many watch-bloggers do and it's just wicked nonsense. God is not honored by that sort of behavior. Don't shy away from addressing a difficult subject if you have something of merit to say, particularly on a pressing issue, but try your best to be known for what you're about rather than what you're against.

Finally, be content with whatever influence God gives you. If you have one person reading your blog and finding it helpful, praise God. If 10,000 read it, praise God just the same. Don't worry about things like traffic or trying to parlay your following into a book deal or any such thing. Just have fun and appreciate whatever impact God allows you to have.

Thanks, Aaron!

How to Prepare an Annual Preaching Plan

One of the best things you can do as a preacher is to create an annual plan for your preaching. There are tons of advantages to planning ahead:

• greater intentionality
• greater diversity
• more cohesive worship services
• allows you to address difficult topics
• saves and protects time
• reduces stress
• allows for deeper preparation
• heightens creativity

Here are some things that I find helpful. I typically work through books of the Bible, but many of the same tips apply to all types of preaching. You can do many of these together with your team, or alone.

• Take a retreat. I've found the payoff from a week of planning to be a wise investment of time.
• Pray.
• Think about the needs of the congregation.
• Think about providing a balance over the year: Old and New Testament, various genres (Law, OT History, Wisdom & Poetry, Prophets, Gospel, Acts, Epistles, Apocalypse), and themes.
• Think about the major themes of Scripture and theology. You can't cover everything in a year, but I aim to cover all the big themes over a three-year period.
• Begin to read, listen to, and pray through entire books. Absorb all that you can.
• Begin to break the book into sections, with one eye on the text (literary units) and one eye on the overall series length.
• Begin to jot down preliminary big ideas of each text.
• Begin to fill in a calendar, taking into account special days and annual rhythms.

I'm sure there's more. What tips do you have on preparing an annual preaching plan?

Tim Keller on Responding to Critiques

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. There have been lots of critiques going on against various groups and people that I admire. How do you respond, especially when you sense that some of the critiques have some truth to them?

One of the best answers to this question is found in a message by Tim Keller delivered a number of years ago in the United Kingdom. I've been thinking about this message a lot recently, and dug out my summary. Here are some highlights.

• To respond [to critiques], evangelicals must understand and practice biblical repentance as a result of believing the gospel. This will allow evangelicals to admit their sins, even if they disagree with 80% of the criticisms … and even if the remaining 20% is expressed poorly. To the degree that we understand the gospel, we will be able to freely admit our shortcomings as an evangelical movement.


• To the degree that we understand the gospel, we are free to admit the worst about ourselves finally. Repentance isn't how we get right with God; it's just the right response. It gives immediate assurance.


• Don't ever think that we can respond to legitimate criticisms of our practice by defending our doctrine. In defending our doctrines, we have not responded to the criticisms of our practices. Orthopraxy is part of orthodoxy.


• It is necessary to draw boundaries. What really matters is how we treat the people on the other side of those boundaries. People are watching. We're going to win the younger leaders if we are the most gracious, kind, and the least self-righteous in controversy. The truth will ultimately lose if we hold the right doctrines, but do so with nasty attitudes and a lack of love.


• We need to approach the controversies with a repentant heart corporately and say, "Despite all the bad things that are being said here, there's a core of truth here and we need to deal with it."

This paragraph is my absolute favorite:

My dear friends, most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader is someone who has been broken by the knowledge of his or her sin, and even greater knowledge of Jesus' costly grace. The number one leaders in every church ought to be the people who repent the most fully without excuses, because you don't need any now; the most easily without bitterness; the most publicly and the most joyfully. They know their standing isn't based on their performance.

Read the rest here.

Toronto Events

Toronto Greenhouse

On March 23 to 25, Church Multiplication Associates will be holding Greenhouse Intensive Training in Toronto. Here's a description:

The "FIRST Story" is a 3-day intensive that focuses on missional living resulting in new "organic" churches. An initial "download" if you please, of the philosophy and concepts of organic church planting.

ORGANIC Church Planters GREENHOUSE- The First Story: Starting organic churches that reproduce

The sessions in the FIRST STORY Training will be:

Session 1: Foundations for Organic Church Planting
Session 2: Cultivating the Soil of People's Hearts
Session 3: Sowing the Kingdom Seed
Session 4: Growing the Life of the Kingdom
Session 5: Organic Church Planting Q&A--Go & DO it

These sessions focus on "organic" strategies for reproductive discipleship and church planting in all sorts of ministry contexts. These sessions are not only for pastors, professional church planters and missionaries. They are intended for anyone who is passionate about "making disciples of all nations" and seeing the church of Jesus Christ grow and multiply everywhere.

Follow this link to register. Scroll and look for Toronto. Early registration ends March 2.

Simeon Trust

Simeon Trust is holding a workshop on May 2-4 on preaching the book of Exodus. I've attended their workshops before, and they're excellent. Details and registration are here.

Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)

Leave a book like this lying around, and you're sure to get reactions.

On one hand, my twelve-year-old son loved the title of this book, Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It). "That title tells the truth," he said. On the other hand, I was turned off. It sounded like a grudging acknowledgement of the reality of hell. As Kevin DeYoung puts it, it's okay in a sense to admit that we don't like hell, but we need to guard against grudgingly accepting what God has revealed about himself.

It turns out I was wrong about this book and its title. It's not a book about grudgingly accepting the reality of hell. It's a book that recognizes that hell is real, and that confronts us with our tendency to try and pretend that it's not.

The book is written by Brian Jones, pastor of Christ's Church of the Valley near Philadelphia. While on a spiritual retreat, Jones became convicted about his lack of belief and teaching on hell. He spent the next five hours reading the New Testament, discovering:

…hell is not an ambiguous topic supported by a few hard-to-understand passages. It is inescapable: Virtually every book in the New Testament underscores the reality of hell. Jesus taught it; Paul, Peter, and every early church leader taught it, but I wasn't teaching it. I realized that I had a decision to make. Could I discount what Jesus taught on hell if I based my belief in heaven on similar passages in the same books?

Jones returned to his church and repented before his congregation and asked for their forgiveness. "Hell is real," he writes. "Deciding whether or not hell exists isn't an intellectual exercise; it's a matter of eternal life and death."

Jones tackles a number of important areas in this book. First, he covers the biblical teaching, and answers some common questions and objections. Second, he talks about our own struggles to deal with the reality of hell and act accordingly. He does this with a sense of urgency. Finally, he gives us practical encouragement on how to share the gospel appropriately. This is a book that's informative, passionate, and practical all at once.

Jones is a skillful writer. He somehow manages to make a book on hell enjoyable to read.

One note: There were a number of books that came out last year in reaction to Rob Bell's book Love Wins, such as Erasing Hell, Christ Alone, and God Wins. While I'm grateful for the books that were written in reaction to Bell's book, I'm also grateful for this book that deals with the topic without even referencing Bell. There's a place for both kinds of books.

Before the entire controversy last year, my son encouraged me to preach about hell. "We don't hear enough about it," he said. I agree. The subject of hell isn't a comfortable one, but it's important. This book reminds us of its importance, and does a good job of encouraging us to live accordingly.

More from Amazon.com | IfHellisReal.com