Storms or Doldrums: Which Is More Dangerous?
Spiritual “doldrums” can be a place in time or a mental state. If it’s where we are, an important attitude and action is required to survive and see it through. That attitude and action is summed up in perseverance. Perseverance enables us to focus on our destination. Perseverance plays a vital role in discipline that urges us on in Bible reading and prayerfulness. Perseverance promotes fellowship and communion with other believers, elevates public worship, gives direction, and bolsters hope and joy; it undergirds works of charity and compassion.
I’ve never sailed on a sailboat, but I have sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea on ocean liners. The eight-day voyage across the Atlantic on the Michaelangelo was peaceful; the two-day and one-night voyage across the Mediterranean from France to Tunisia on the L’Avenir was something else. Le Mistral, a strong northern wind, spills over the Alps rushing across France to the Riviera and Marseille, blowing across the Mediterranean, and affecting weather in North Africa.
Working in Marseille, I learned the French call it “le balai” (the broom). It sweeps grime and dirt away. It chose that day to exercise its right. I and many others experienced an indefensible seasickness. It so roiled the waters I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be on a sailboat. Could anything be more dangerous than this?
Attending a memorial service for a friend’s husband, the pastor mentioned that, in conversations with him days before he died, he shared his sailboat experiences. He spoke of the doldrums. He said the “doldrums” could be more dangerous than a storm. That thought piqued my curiosity. I researched this phenomenon and learned: “The ‘doldrums,’ a nautical term, refers to the belt around the Earth near the equator where sailing ships get stuck on windless waters.” Sailboats could get stuck for days or weeks—unable to move. According to how well equipped they are, windless days could outlast supplies and the crew could all die.
I couldn’t resist thinking what a metaphor for spiritual life! Isn’t it true that when buffeted by life’s storms, we tend to pray more fervently, seek God’s face and deliverance more urgently, and rely more faithfully on the Lord? We may intently seek fellowship or communion with other believers. Searching the Scriptures becomes needful for understanding in such times. Isn’t it also true that it’s in the storms of life we grow, become stronger and are stretched in our trust? It’s when our faith is most deepened? Church life becomes a haven—a refuge; we’re not alone or isolated. Storms encourage us to focus on destination—where we’re headed and to keep afloat.
What do “doldrums” reflect in one’s spiritual life? We become stuck in a motionless rut, stagnant, failing to progress or advance, suffering ennui, languishing, becoming spiritually listless, and undisciplined. Perhaps saddest of all, we may allow ourselves to become isolated from other believers. Spiritual inertia, indolence, apathy, disinterest, or lethargy not only set in, they dominate. There is evidence of a Bible never opened, prayers never uttered, corporate worship absented, life directionless, hopeless, joyless, a loss of love for God, and charity toward others. Spiritual engagement decreases, if not disappears.
The “doldrums” appear at different times in one’s life. They may appear when we’re our busiest in careers or focused on family responsibilities. The expression, “The barrenness of busyness” is paradoxically closely akin to the “doldrums.” “Doldrums” can appear in the midst of ministry or following a grand spiritual achievement. Vulnerability to the “doldrums” can occur in the aging process when one begins to slow down, stamina decreases, mobility becomes more limited, and when many loved ones are no longer present to challenge, cheer or encourage us on in spiritual pursuit.
Spiritual “doldrums” can be a place in time or a mental state. If it’s where we are, an important attitude and action is required to survive and see it through. That attitude and action is summed up in perseverance. Perseverance enables us to focus on our destination. Perseverance plays a vital role in discipline that urges us on in Bible reading and prayerfulness. Perseverance promotes fellowship and communion with other believers, elevates public worship, gives direction, and bolsters hope and joy; it undergirds works of charity and compassion.
Perseverance is the Holy Spirit’s enablement to face a Mistral or the “doldrums.” I’ve experienced both, and perhaps you have, too. The Apostle James tells us what we need to know in any situation: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1: 2-4).
In Hebrews 11: 4, God testifies of Abel, “. . . though he is dead, he still speaks.” Likewise, though my friend’s husband is dead, “He still speaks.” He did to me. Storms can be dangerous, but the doldrums can be just as dangerous. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Beware of the “doldrums.”
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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The Ten Virgins
Oh may we strive by the grace of God to be as those wise virgins who were ready for the call at midnight, whose lamps were full, and who entered joyfully into the presence of the king.
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.Matthew 25:1
She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King’s palace.Psalm 45:14-15
The Lord makes many comparisons in Scripture. He compares His people to sheep, and He is the good Shepherd (John 10). He compares His people to wheat and glory is His barn (Matthew 13:24). He compares His people to a young child, loved when they were young and held fast until they are old (Isaiah 46:3-4). He compares them to dust, clay, branches and many other things. Then in Matthew 25 Christ likens the Kingdom of Heaven unto ten virgins. We notice many things about these virgins from this one verse. There is not one virgin but there are ten virgins. They appear outwardly pure and fair in all respects like as the young virgins who were brought before the king in Esther 2:2. We notice God does not say “virgins are the Kingdom of Heaven” or “the Kingdom of Heaven is ten virgins.” Catholic theology that uses this parable to falsely give veneration and adoration to Mary as a perpetual virgin despite her having several addition children with Joseph after Jesus was born (12:47) is hereby, as in every place in Scripture, firmly refuted. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is likened unto ten virgins. Jesus is illustrating the Kingdom of Heaven, as He so often does, by comparison to something. In this case, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to ten virgins.
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The Purity and Peace of the Church
The problem of lack of peace in the PCA is because we disagree regarding matters so essential as the three core marks of the Church (WCF 25:4, Worship, Sacraments, Gospel). If we disagree on these essentials, we will not agree on a united vision on the mission of the Church. These are not mere semantic disagreements.
I grew up in a city with a Presbyterian seminary where breakfast tacos are renowned. But I wasn’t a Presbyterian; I was reared Lutheran.
However, and through no fault of my parents, I became a Dispensationalist through the television ministrations of one wealthy former presidential candidate. He urged viewers like me to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” with the assurance that as I sought the blessing of the Jews in “their” city, I too would be blessed.But in college, through the ministry of Rev. Irfon Hughes and the other elders at Hillcrest Presbyterian Church, I was introduced to a better, fuller way to understand the Scripture. Instead of trying to understand the Bible through the lens of current geopolitics and the news, I learned to see the Scripture as centered on God and His glory as He redeemed His Church through the blood of His Son.
This changed my whole understanding of the Scripture and, of course, my life.
I. Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem
Psalm 122 is not about praying for the Jewish ethnic group to hold a certain town, but rather the peace that flows from God’s love for, blessing in, and reign over His Church: the place where He meets with His saints.
There thrones for judgment were set,the thrones of the house of David.Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!May they be secure who love you!Peace be within your wallsand security within your towers!—Psalm 122:5–7
The PCA is troubled and not characterized by peace within her courts despite our vows placing a premium on peace. Both for members:
Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?
And especially for officers:
Do you promise to strive for the purity, peace, unity[,] and edification of the Church?
I believe the absence of peace in PCA courts is the product of a lack of purity; we don’t agree on core matters of what it is to be a Reformed Church.
Note how Psalm 122 marvels at the “thrones for judgment…of the House of David” set in Zion immediately before calling the saints to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Right judgment must be established in the Church before the Church can have peace. To put it another way: purity must be secured before peace can be enjoyed; until the PCA unites to work for the purity of the Church, she will not have peace.
Our Confession reminds us there will be no completely pure church until Christ returns:
Particular churches…are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them.—Westminster Confession of Faith, 25:4
Westminster gives three marks of the Church, which together are a superb measure of church health:The Gospel Rightly Preached (biblically)
Sacraments Rightly Administered (biblically)
God Rightly Worshiped (biblically)Those three issues are at the core of our disagreements in the PCA.1
II. Confusion in the Marks of the Church
A. Biblical Worship
In a recent episode of the most influential and significant podcast within the PCA, Elder Doug Sharp noted the difficulty of recommending a PCA church to travelers because of the broad diversity reflected in our congregations, which is nowhere more pronounced than in worship.
1. What is Worship, and Who Leads It?
Recent events suggest there is not agreement on what public worship is in the PCA. A prominent congregation in New York featured a purportedly ordained woman “teaching” in the worship service (or was it just an event that looked like a worship service; the church website lists it under “sermons,” but the page itself says it was a “BIBLE STUDY”?).2
Whether the event was understood to be a bible study or a service of public worship remains ambiguous, but what is not unclear is that the Lord’s Supper was observed during this event, which raises another issue: the propriety of observing the Lord’s Supper without the preaching of the Word. It seems there is no unity of understanding in the PCA regarding the distinction between public worship and other activities of the Church.
The example of an Episcopalian priestess preaching (or was it teaching?) in a PCA congregation may be something of an extreme, but not unique. One former Covenant Seminary administrator even took to social media to celebrate his daughter the preacher at an event in another faith communion:Related Posts:
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How “You Do You” is Leading to Narcissism and a Mental Health Crisis
We weren’t designed to find our identity by looking within but by looking to our Creator God. Unfortunately, humanity is instinctively repelled by any thought of looking for our identity in Him (Romans 1:18-30), and so, left to ourselves, we look for identity anywhere but the living God. And in the modern secular West, that search for identity has turned inwards.
We’re the first generation in human history in which ‘You Do You’ is the default way of doing identity formation.
‘You Do You’: it’s all about finding your purpose and identity by looking within. It’s fed to us by Disney, our schools and universities, our sporting athletes, and just about every part of secular culture. We’re swimming in a ‘you do you’ world.
And we’ve been on this path for at least twenty years now.
But the consequences for individuals and society of implementing this idea will take decades to uncover and assess. And Australian Christian author Brian Rosner attempts to start doing that in his forthcoming book, How To Find Yourself: Why Looking Inward Is Not The Answer. [1] So, what has Rosner uncovered?
A lot, as it turns out.
While I’ve yet to finish his book, Rosner points out that we can be thankful for the increasing freedom we have to make choices about how we live our lives. But the ‘you do you’ way of doing identity comes at an enormous cost, including an increase in narcissism and a growing mental health crisis:
1) You Do You is Leading to an Increase in Narcissism
A narcissist is preoccupied with himself and constantly craves the approval of others. In 2013, Time magazine reported that “the incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that’s now 65 or older, according to the National Institutes of Health; 58% more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982.” [2]
As Rosner points out:Today, “Be your biggest fan” is actually a clothing brand, which unapologetically “pays homage to self love.” And given the new profession of influencer, “self-promotion” coaches are not hard to find. [3]
Psychologist Ross King claims that “studies show those with [narcissistic] traits have jumped from about 3 per cent to 10 per cent of the population over the past three decades.” [4] Indeed, some health professionals speak of an epidemic of narcissism in our society. [5] And in numerous studies, psychologists warn that addiction to social media is strongly linked to narcissistic behavior and low self-esteem. [6]Because of our fallen human nature, we all have narcissistic traits to some degree. But the rapid rise in narcissistic behaviour needs a further cultural explanation.
And that explanation, according to Rosner, is that ‘you do you’ mixed with social media has become a toxic brew reshaping how we think of ourselves. After all, if our identity is determined by looking within us, how do we measure our accomplishments? By comparing ourselves to others, especially on social media. [7]
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