APTAT

I was listening to a John Piper MP3 on vacation. He has a 5 step Acronym to help people to walk by the spirit: APTAT

Admit (Acknowledge).
Prayer
Trust
Act
Thanksgiving

This is not the link I heard, but it describes the process except he said "Admit" and not "acknowledge" in the talk I heard.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1981/286_Let_Us_Walk_by_the_Spirit/

School of Tyrannus (Acts 19)

I haven't really study the cell church movement or the Emerging church movement. Both groups stress good works in the community and meeting non-Christians where they live. This is very good. However, these movements seem to downplay teaching and doctrine. The model of forming small groups, which reach out, grow and split into other small groups is a fine model. The weakness of this strategy is that if the small groups grow quickly, these leaders have very minimal training in doctrine. If we look at Paul's methodology, we read at least at one point, he stayed put and taught theology for over two years to disciples in Ephesus. Paul wrote Romans and Ephesians. These letters are not user friendly. The training of these leaders need to be addressed. We must guard the deposit of faith and pass it on.

Acts 19:8-10 (ESV)
8And he [Paul] entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.[c] 10This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (brackets mine)

Was Jesus a Carpenter

At a Promise Keepers (Des Moines 2006) the organizers ran a film clip. In the film I heard it argued that Jesus did not grow up as a carpenter. The assertion is that he was not a carpenter, but was trained from a young age as a Rabbi. They asserted that someone who was called "Rabbi" and who taught in the manner as Jesus did, had to be a Rabbi. Promising boys were sent to Rabbinic school at a young age. Therefore, Jesus was trained as a Rabbi and could not be a carpenter. It is a quaint concept, we are told, to think a simple carpenter confounded the spiritual leaders of the age, but it simply wasn't so. A rabbi confounded other rabbis.

I haven't studied the Jewish custom of someone being addressed as Rabbi. I don't know if it can be a term like how we use "Pastor" today to refer to seminary graduates and self-taught teachers. However, I do think two passages contradict the theory that Jesus was a "trained" rabbi and not a carpenter.

Mark 6:2-3

And on the Sabbbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did ths man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such might works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?

Notice that menial labor is not being denigrated, but rather the people of the audience were saying that they know Jesus. He was not trained as a Rabbi. We know him. He was a carpenter. He is not special. Why should we pay attention to him?

If he went to rabbinical school the audience would know where he has gotten his wisdom. If he was trained by a great Rabbi, they would have treated him with more respect.

John 7:14=15 (ESV)

14About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?

Again, people who knew the Rabbinical schools knew that Jesus did not go to Rabbinical schools. He did not have formal training. I don't know how much clearer scripture can get on this issue.

So in conclusion, what do we make of this? The teaching that Jesus was not a carpenter, but a Rabbi seems to be prevalent among the emergant churches. However, I would believe writers who lived with Jesus before I would believe a strange little guy on a video telling me he researched Jewish culture for years and assuring that knows what he is talking about.

Post script: Nooma produced the Video and Rob Bell was teaching the false doctrine in the video.

In His Name.