C.S. Hayden's Blog

Monday, May 23, 2011

An Exciting Announcement

Friday, May 20, 2011, with the complete and full blessing of our parents (and siblings), I asked my Lauren Jones to marry me. Below are some photos we wanted to share that indicate Lauren's answer and the joy that followed:

I was scheduled to arrive late in the evening but was able to completely surprise Lauren by arriving around noon with roses, poem and ring in hand.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Lauren and me and our families as we enter this exciting new season.

Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."

Thursday, December 09, 2010

The Event Bloggers Team is in Asheville, North Carolina for the Love the Church Conference!

My brother Josh and I are excited about the Love the Church conference. Stay tuned to our live blog coverage on EventBloggers.com.

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Fall 2010 Hayden Siblings Picture

Thanks to Mom for taking this picture during our family photo shoot!

Join the EventBloggers.com Team at the Love the Church Conference Next Week!

I am excited about the upcoming Love the Church conference December 9-11 at the beautiful Ridgecrest Conference Center in Asheville, North Carolina. View the tremendous lineup of speakers. The National Center for Family-Integrated Churches has some helpful information about affordable lodging options for you and your family, and I hope you can make it to the event.

The EventBloggers.com team will be on hand to provide live blog coverage, so be sure to sign up for our email list, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and visit our website for ongoing photos and updates.

Friday, December 03, 2010

Fall 2010 Hayden Family Picture

After our Thanksgiving picture, we decided to attempt another family photo shoot. Here is one of the images we captured:

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Gathering With Movie-Making Brothers and Sisters in Christ

We enjoyed fellowship Friday evening at our home with friends from the Steege, Heidrick, and Youngberg families.

Our family was blessed and uplifted by the Steege's delightful movie, The Runner from Ravenshead, which won the Audience Choice Award and was runner-up for Best Feature Film and for Best of Festival at the 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.

Our EventBloggers.com team interviewed Joel at the SAICFF about their film:

Cameron Heidrick was one of the stars in The Widow's Might, which won the Audience Choice Award and Best of Festival at the 2009 SAICFF.

We were blessed and encouraged by the fellowship with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010: Reflecting on God's Providence

Today is a special day we set aside to reflect on God's providence in our lives, our families, churches, our nation, and throughout history. We give thanks to God and proclaim His mighty deeds with our families and friends, cross-generationally.

Psalm 78 is one of my favorites when I consider God's providence, and here is a portion of this passage:

"[1] Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. [2] I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: [3] Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. [4] We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. [5] For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: [6] That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: [7] That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: [8] And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God. [9] The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. [10] They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; [11] And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them. [12] Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan."

Outside of inspired Scripture, my favorite words about God's providence are from godly men in ages past:

"God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will; to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy" (Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, V.I: Of Divine Providence).

After we enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings this afternoon, I had the opportunity to video record a half-hour of interview footage with my maternal grandparents. I asked them about memories from their families, past Thanksgiving celebrations, lessons they would entrust to future generations, and more.

Our family went to a local park and endured brisk, chilling breezes to take some photos.

I give thanks to God for the Pilgrim fathers who came to a new land almost 400 years ago as courageous frontiersmen, disciples, and disciple-makers for Christ and His Kingdom. William Bradford wrote in Of Plymouth Plantation:

"Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least of making some way towards it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work" (p. 21).

"It was replied that all great and honourable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both met and overcome with answerable courage. It was granted the dangers were great, but not desperate; the difficulties were many, but not invincible. For, many of the things feared might never befall; others by provident care and the use of good means might in a great measure be prevented; and all of them, through the help of God, by fortitude and patience, might either be borne or overcome. True it was that such attempts were not to be undertaken without good ground and reason, rashly or lightly; or, as many had done, for curiosity or hope of gain. But their condition was not ordinary; their ends were good and honourable; their calling, lawful and urgent; therefore they might expect the blessing of God on their proceedings. Yea, though they should lose their lives in this action, yet might they have the comfort of knowing that their endeavor was worthy" (pp. 22-23).

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Live Blogging the 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival through EventBloggers.com

Friday, October 29, 2010

Follow Ongoing Live Blog Coverage of the 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival through EventBloggers.com

We are in San Antonio covering the 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival through EventBloggers.com. Please check EventBloggers.com to enjoy updates and coverage of the event. Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter, and sign up for our email list for more updates!

Friday, October 22, 2010

ANNOUNCING: EventBloggers.com -- Join us at the 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival!

My good friend Mark Stubblefield and I are delighted to announce our new project to keep you informed about exciting events around the country: EventBloggers.com, a Project of ProvidenceReport.com. You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for our email newsletter to stay up-to-date.

The 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival is just around the corner! Over 50 films will compete for great awards, including the $101,000 Grand Prize for Best of Festival. Learn more and sign up today -- you won't want to miss it!

The EventBloggers.com team is looking forward to experiencing and sharing about the great work Christians are doing in media and the arts at the 2010 SAICFF. We will be on hand to provide up-to-the-instant social media updates on Facebook and Twitter, video reports and interviews on YouTube, and blog posts with recaps of the films, workshops, and all the exciting happenings. You won’t want to miss our coverage, and be sure to tell all your friends about EventBloggers.com!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor Services

I recently became a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. The training process was worthwhile, and I'm excited about serving clients in setup, troubleshooting, and various outsourced accounting services.

Check out my profile.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Widow's Might screening in Wichita, KS -- Friday, July 30, 2010 @ 9pm

Our friend Cameron, one of the stars, will be at the showing. I first saw this movie at the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival where it won the $101,000 grand prize for "Best of Festival." It's fabulous for everyone, young and old.

Bring your friends and the whole family!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Vision Forum's Baby Conference: Symposium on the Future of Healthcare in America Summary (part 1)

I enjoyed the great privilege of attending the Baby Conference last week. Here are some notes from an important panel discussion regarding the future of health care in America.

Wesley Strackbein, Vision Forum Employee and Panel Moderator

We must, first, understand the times (I Chron. 12:32). The church, generally, has responded to changes in technology, government policy, and so forth, impotently. We have allowed secularists, God-haters, and a brave new world vision, to define the issues. We are in the back seat rather than taking the lead. We realize God is sovereign, but as His representatives on earth, we are expected to obey. The first step is to understand the times.

Secondly, we must have an answer to give (II Pet. 3:15). We are to be always ready with answers that we find in God’s Word. A key presupposition is biblical sufficiency (II Tim. 3:16). Many Christians can see the problem, know they need to give an answer, but don’t think the Bible has the complete answer. We can’t just give any answer, but an answer founded upon Scripture. Proverbs 21:30 shows us that apart from God’s Word, our intentions will come up short.

Thirdly, we must show moral courage and follow God’s Word (Prov. 7:2). Anthony Comstock, a courageous defender of moral order in his day, said, “Give me a man who dares to do right and one ready at all times to discharge his duty to the community and to God.” He saw a problem and was a faithful Christian to confront it. He stood with courage against evil times.

We are entering a perfect storm, which is a simultaneous occurrence of weather events that are more powerful because of their combination. Factors include:

Social Security Act of 1935
FDA approval of the pill in 1960
Social Security Amendments of 1965: Medicare and Medicaid
Medicare Prescription Reform of 2003
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

These have laid the groundwork from a government perspective. We have looked to statist goal for who will provide for our family. We don’t look to the future and plan ahead, but rather disengage and become passive. This is coupled with a selfish lifestyle that limits children. Also, as a debt-based culture with much consumer debt, we are unprepared for challenges.

Phillip Longman said the ongoing decline of birth rates is the biggest trend affecting 21st century societies. Robert Samuelson said the boomers are retiring, which will strain the system. Longman points to debt, people looking to pets that will be of no avail to care for them, and other dire cultural trends. WorldNetDaily recently reported that health care rationing is coming, as Obama appointed a health care czar who is in favor of redistribution and rationing. Berwick said rationing is inescapable, so the key is to do it “with our eyes open.”

We have made choices to have the government provide for our needs and not to have children, so the system will go bankrupt. The system is going to blow up. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, so we have to fear Him and act with humility. Don’t cower, but look for answers. In the years of plenty of Joseph’s day, they prepared. What can we do as families and the church? There is an unprecedented evangelism opportunity. In terms of I Timothy 5:8, we must provide for our own. We must have a plan and solutions. The elderly will be most affected by the crisis, but it will affect everyone. Don’t let the NY Times editorial page define the issues. Lead the charge.Think about your own family’s needs first. Secondly, think about your grandparents.

What if … God is giving us this opportunity to take cultural leadership and evangelize our country and the nations as never before? The countries of Europe are even a few years ahead of us. We must not cower back but must take leadership. We can out-give the world. Look for VF to work on putting together resources regarding the crisis and solutions ahead.
_____________________________

James Lansberry, Vice President of Samaritan Ministries

Wesley just gave us the good news. As we look forward, we see a ticking time-bomb. Medicare is underfunded to the tune of $80 trillion. We set up a system that was never designed to be able to take care of all needs of our elderly for the rest of their lives, and now we have technologies to make their lives longer. Because government pays for about all of it, costs have skyrocketed. From an economic and political, rather than medical standpoint, we have to say that the church has dropped the ball with regard to healthcare. In 1965 the church abdicated charitable care to the government. Rent-seeking politicians can now seek their own profit in a system that was never designed to provide charity.

Charity can never be provided by government but is always voluntary. The government can only steal. Anytime the government does anything it will always become politicized. The government pays out to the politically correct and politically connected.

Last year we exacerbated the problem with the “protection and care act,” which is a misnomer. The provisions drive costs up. One of the most dangerous aspects is that all preventative care has zero co-pays. The costs will only go up drastically. Health care will become more and more expensive and controlled over the next 20 years.

We have to look forward into the future, and we can say a few things with nearly absolute certainty: Health care will become more expensive, Medicare will turn down people in need, and there will be many more in need of the Gospel. Medical missions in the US need to become a priority before the baby boomers peak and the system collapses. We have to get ready with funds, personnel, and charity. Our parents and grandparents will have claims denied, and the government will not keep its promises.

The solution: Do not tax people further. It is impossible and wrong to try to make the system work. It is wrong to rob to provide charity. We need to make great sacrifices of our own desires to have the funds, personnel, and time, to reach out to those who are struggling around us. We need young men who are chemists to produce helpful medicines, doctors to provide charitable services, and charity in our churches. We will be able to help those in our community who have nowhere else to turn.

Medicare and Medicaid still exist because we have refused to do what we should. Churches send their members to the state for funds. Christ’s church is sending its children to leviathan. We are defaming His name. We need to place charity as a huge priority.

The issue is not funding or people. The problem, the biggest obstacle, is that when we begin to do what God tells us to do, no one will come and we will lose. People will go down the street to government rather than facing Christ. We will have to put the pieces in place, and just patiently wait for the government to fail. We will then have the opportunity to provide the face of Christ to the poor, sick, elderly, and infirm. The government will have to stop taking people for treatment.

We see glimpses of government failure, e.g., Katrina. Wal-Mart figured out how to get water to refugees when the government miserably and utterly failed.

We know the story of the Samaritan who provided two denari for the innkeeper, which was 40% of a week’s pay, without even thinking about it. We should have money ready for use when needs come along. We don’t know when someone will need us. Our “neighbor” might be someone we have not yet met. It is someone we meet face-to-face with a legitimate need, whom we can help with the Gospel. When we help someone with a legitimate need, they come face-to-face with the Savior. The church will then blossom as we love the needy. We have to put our house in order and be ready.

The patient care act will fund abortion and create tremendous problems. The bright spot is that we can still use medical sharing organizations as exemptions from the individual mandate. Most insurance companies already pay for abortions, not just when the mother’s life is in danger either, and the bill forces all insurance companies to pay for abortion. There will be no other option.

Think about how to pursue godliness in the health care arena. It will mean volunteering in clinics and teaching children. It will mean being realistic about what is out there and what is not. Think about your own long-term care. If you are under 40, Medicare will definitely not be there. If you are not 70 or older, Medicare will likely collapse during your lifetime. We must look at charity with faith and liberty in mind. Otherwise, we won’t be able to solve the problems. Even if the GOP repeals the act, it doesn’t change the insolvency collision course. They are not going to cut prescription benefits or Medicare. Seniors vote. No matter who is in power, it will get worse. Our only hope can be in Christ. He will work through us, His church, for His glory.

Monday, July 12, 2010

The Myth of Overpopulation and the Coming Demographic Bomb

Here is my summary of one of Kevin Swanson's talks at The Baby Conference:

Fears about overpopulation are rising. According to a recent poll, seventy-two percent of the population is worried, up from 65% in 1990. The early Christian apologist Tertullian had to address similar concerns in his day, around 200 AD. Malthus renewed concerns in 1798 with his thesis that populations increase geometrically (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 …), while resource supplies only increase arithmetically (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 …).

Malthus was proven gloriously wrong between 1800 and 2000, as world population increased 6-fold and world resources increased 80-fold; life expectancy increased from 30 to 65. Although Malthus rightly recognized that poverty can often result from lack of character, his wicked solution was to eliminate the poor by means of placing their cities near swamps to perpetuate disease, encouraging uncleanly living, withholding charitable assistance, and similar measures.

From Malthus, who gave us “survival of the virtuous,” Darwin learned in 1838 about the struggle for survival among ostensibly rapidly increasing populations competing for limited resources. In time, Darwin would refine Malthus’ thesis into “survival of the fittest.” Galton, a relative of Darwin, devised the practice of “eugenics” to deliberately select and breed a superior race. Chesterton rightly described eugenics as “survival of the nastiest,” and Hitler was the most consistent practitioner in history.

Sanger, also heavily influenced by Malthus, gave us “survival of the smartest.” She paved the way for social programming, including forced sterilizations in many states, starting in the 1920s and continuing through 1981. Sanger believed in extermination of the lesser races to make room for those she considered to be superior. Oliver Wendell Holmes, in the 1927 Buck v. Bell case regarding forced sterilization, infamously declared in his 8-1 majority opinion, “Three generations of imbeciles is enough.”

The social programmers would come to discover that propaganda through the media and schooling establishments is more effective than coercive measures to reduce populations. For example, China’s one-child policy, enforced in a horrifically totalitarian manner, has resulted in a birthrate of 1.6. South Korea, without any coercion, has reduced its birthrate to 1.1, the lowest in the world. Statistics show that higher levels of schooling correlate with lower birthrates. The key is not education and intelligence, but that the women have been more effectively propagandized in the established system with a narcissistic and existentialist worldview.

Here is an important principle of history we should learn: When men apostatize from a foundation and upbringing in the faith, as did Malthus, Darwin, Galton, Nietzsche, and others; the synthesis of backgrounds—mixing the city of God with the city of man—leads to something like the nephilim of Genesis 6. The most fearsome and horrific men are the apostates from Christianity. They believe they can predestine history in the absence of a sovereign God to carve out a pretended meaning in a chaotic world.

Overpopulation is not and never has been the problem. The great famines of the 20th century were created by communists, Islamists, and animists. Worldviews and character are the best predictors of prosperity or desolation, as the real issues are spiritual and moral. Men have been immature and are not taking dominion. They are immoral, fat, and lazy. We have wicked economic systems from men like Keynes, which have led to massive debt and will result in inevitable collapse.

Psalm 33 is our hope. We do not fear man, and we do not trust in princes or horses. We serve and fear the sovereign, living God alone, Who frustrates the counsel and schemes of the wicked and preserves His people in famines. As hopelessness spreads around us, we are hopeful that Christians will disciple the nations; we in the homeschool movement will serve as the monasteries in our new dark age; and we will restore godly liberty in family-based economies rather than relying on the state and godless corporations.

[This was also posted on Doug's Blog in a slightly condensed form.]

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Preaching on Justification and Atonement

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to deliver two messages on the biblical doctrine of justification. My goal was to expound on the historic and biblical teaching of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. James Buchanan explains the importance of this doctrine:

[The biblical doctrine of justification] is an attempt to solve the deepest problem, and to answer the most anxious question, which conscience continually prompts men to raise, but which their minds strive in vain to determine--'How shall a man be just with God?' or, 'How can God be just,' and yet 'justify the ungodly?' That great problem may seldom occur to those that are habitually unmindful of God, and of their relation to Him; and should it be suggested to their minds, it will probably be lightly dismissed, as long as they cherish slight views of sin, and have little or no sense of their solemn responsibilities and prospects as subjects of the righteous government of God. ... The Gospel of Christ alone has presented that problem in all its magnitude, and in its just proportions; and the Gospel of Christ alone has offered a solution of it, based on a full view of the Attributes of God,--of the unalterable requirements of His Law,--of the principles and ends of His Moral Government,--and of the state, character, and prospects of man, as a dying yet immortal being, chargeable with past guilt, and still depraved by inherent sin. (James Buchanan, Justification, pp. 405-406, Banner of Truth, 1997 -- reprinted from the 1867 original)

. . .

The mere statement of such a problem, and of its indispensable conditions,--including the glory of God, the honour of His law, and the ends of His moral government, as well as the pardon of sin, and the salvation of sinners,--is peculiar to the Gospel of Christ, and may well be regarded as a proof of its superhuman origin: but the solution of it, by the Incarnation, Substitution, and Satisfaction of the Son of God Himself, is such a marvellous manifestation of divine wisdom as 'it could never have entered into the mind of man to conceive.' For none other than the infinite mind of God was capable of such a conception, either of Love, or of Justice, as that on which it is based; and far less of carrying it into effect in the stupendous work of Redemption. It may be esteemed as 'foolishness' by those who have never seriously considered, or sufficiently realised, the conditions of the great problem; but no sooner is any one brought, under the teaching of the Word and Spirit of God, to apprehend them aright, and to apply them in earnest to the case of his own soul, than that which hitherto seemed to be 'foolishness,' is seen to be the 'wisdom of God.' Hence,--while the very repugnance with which it is regarded by many affords ample evidence that it could never have been invented by men,--the best and most convincing evidence of its divine origin is discerned, when it is seen to be worthy of the infinite perfections of God, as well as adapted to the most urgent wants of man; and when 'He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines into our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' (Ibid., pp. 407-408).

Justification is not a subjective, inward, progressive moral change within us, but rather an objective, forensic (legal), one-time declaration from God's sovereign tribunal that our sins are pardoned and we are accepted in His sight. The best theologians have always been careful to maintain this distinction between justification and sanctification. The sole ground of our acceptance is not anything righteous wrought within us or done by us, but the extrinsic, perfect righteousness of Christ that is reckoned or imputed to us by God's legal act. By faith, the sole instrument of justification, we receive and rest in the person and work of Christ alone, renouncing any confidence in ourselves. We do not place our faith in faith itself, but in Christ and His work.

Last week I preached the first of two messages on the biblical doctrine of the atonement. The source of the atonement is God's love and His own eternal purpose, stemming from His free will. Nothing above or outside of God required Him to make provision for the redemption of a people for Himself, but He chose to do so from eternity for His own glory. Atonement is a covering for guilt, and from the Old Testament we learn that expiation involved the removal of guilt (liability to punishment) accruing to sin; sacrifice was the provision for the removal of this guilt. Christ fulfilled His office of Priest by offering Himself up as a sacrifice, once and for all without spot to God, securing eternal salvation for all who believe. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will preach on the propitiation, whereby Christ was given by the provision of the Father to appease God's wrath; reconciliation, whereby Christ removes the alienation between God and sinners; and redemption, whereby Christ purchases or ransoms His people out of bondage. I will conclude with a discussion of the extent and efficacy of the atonement, demonstrating that limited atonement is an inescapable biblical reality; either the extent or the efficacy of the atonement is limited, and Christ's priestly work of oblation is no less effective than His present work of intercession for His people. The atonement is efficacious to secure expiation, propitiation, reconciliation, and redemption for all, throughout the world, for whom it was intended. This was a particular multitude of people, whom God chose from eternity.

I started a blog last year to document some of my studies on justification and the atonement.

I have found John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied to be particularly useful on the topic of the atonement. Also, not to be neglected, is John Owen's treatment, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, considered one of the best non-inspired Christian works ever written.