I’ve made it no secret that I enjoy Christian rap music (and I’m not above poking fun at myself, as I did with The Middle-Aged White Guy’s Guide to Christian Rap). Near the forefront of the Christian rap or holy hip-hop movement is Trip Lee. His new album, The Good Life, releases today and last week I was able to catch up with Trip to ask him about life, ministry, and this new album.

You have a new album releasing in April. Who do you see as the primary audience for this album?

The Good Life is my fourth album and I couldn’t be more excited about its release. As I put together the songs for this record, I tried to write them in a way that would impact both believers and skeptics. I’m hoping that the songs will reach all different kinds of people who’ve been impacted by hip hop culture. Because I do hip hop, it gives me opportunities to speak to folks who wouldn’t usually listen to what I have to say. I want to take advantage of that and steward the platform well.

So what is it that you want the listener to take away from this album? What do you hope it will accomplish in the listener?

I want the listener to think deeply about the kind of life they desire to live. We’re fed so many lies about what “the good life” is and I set out to challenge those lies on this album. Too often, especially within hip hop, we’ve been told that the good life is a life with money, cars, and girls. Or maybe we think the good life is a life free from worry and responsibility. Or maybe a life where God gives us everything we ask Him for. Whatever it may be, I wanted to challenge those lies and paint a new picture of the good life using a biblical lens. What is the best kind of life we can live according to God? I think the good life is a life spent believing God and embracing everything He has for us in Christ.

Who or what influenced the content of this new album? Were there books you were reading or Scriptures you were preaching that provided inspiration?

The main thing that made me choose this theme was heartbreak. I’m always heartbroken when I see people build their lives around lies. So I wanted to encourage the listeners to build their lives around God’s words. Whenever I read Romans 8, I’m reminded of the riches God has given us in Christ. There is nothing that can separate us from His omnipotent love, and the good life is wrapped up in that truth. That truth from Romans 8 is at the heart of this album.

As I read books and preached sermons during the album process, God continued to show me new things I could encourage my listeners in. It’s a broad topic, so everything I’ve been reading has contributed and inspired me in some way.

I happen to know two people who have read the complete written works of D.A. Carson—at least everything that is publicly available. This takes some dedication, considering that Carson’s bibliography includes 62 books, 257 articles and 115 reviews.

I recently interviewed the two of them, trusting that they would be able to give us an introduction to Carson’s works and help bridge the rest of us into the ones that are most important and most accessible. Andy Naselli is a former student of Dr. Carson’s who lives in South Carolina and now serves as Dr. Carson’s Research Manager. John Bell lives in Toronto, Ontario and is pastor of New City Baptist Church.

How has reading the works of D.A. Carson benefited you on a personal level?

Andy: He has helped me love God and my neighbor better by understanding his Word better. His example motivates me to consecrate my life to God by using the theological disciplines as a good steward of God’s manifold grace (1 Pet 4:10).

John:

1. Through my reading of Carson the Lord has blessed me with a more biblical understanding of who God is and what he accomplished in the death and resurrection of his Son. This glorious knowledge has spread to every area of my life and ministry.
2. Having read the works of Carson, I more clearly see the sinfulness of sin, the holiness of God, and the salvation-historical necessity of the propitiatory cross work of Jesus. Sin angers God. The bible tells us God responds to sin with personal wrath because sin is rebellion against him; it’s cosmic anarchy; it’s an outrageous display of creaturely autonomy; our sin is an attempt to de-god God, to kick over his royal throne; sin is idolatry. Through Carson, the Lord has taught me that sin is first and foremost vertical—it is against the Holy One himself. God is the most offended party by my sin, not other humans (whom I sin against on a horizontal level). And because he is holy, God must punish sin. This controls how I understand and preach the cross.
3. Through Carson, I have a much clearer understanding the christological, salvation-historical unity of the bible’s storyline, which means as a preacher I more accurately handle the word of truth. 
4. One of the functional non-negotiables of my Christian life and ministry is the inerrancy of scripture. The Lord used Carson’s writings to answer the many, many skeptical questions I had on this front. As a result, the members of New City Baptist have the very highest view of scripture: that’s what they are hearing from their pastor.
5. Finally, I have a biblical understanding of suffering and evil, though I am young enough not to have experienced much of it for myself. Evil, suffering and death is consistent with a biblical worldview, and as a Christian that worldview is to be my own. The Lord has used Carson to prepare me for evil, suffering, and death by opening up the scriptures and explaining to me what they say. In turn, I am able to preach these truths to my people.

What do you see as D.A. Carson’s most important contributions to contemporary evangelicalism?

I first met Lee Dyck at a men’s retreat. I had been asked to lead a retreat for the men of his church and over the course of the weekend he told me about Emma, the daughter who had just been adopted into his family. That was a couple of years ago now, but just recently our paths crossed and I asked him how Emma was doing. As he filled me in I realized that I wanted to do a full interview with him. He had his wife Anna were kind enough to do that. Read it and be encouraged!

Tell me about yourself and your family.

My wife Anna and I have been married for 16 years, we have four children: Nathan 14, Corina 9, Emma 4 and Cameron 2. I am a pastor at First Baptist Church in Arnprior, just outside of Ottawa.

Did you plan to adopt and then decide to adopt a child with Down syndrome? Or right from the beginning was your desire to adopt and your desire to adopt a special needs child one and the same?

I had just graduated seminary and was serving a church in Edmonton. At the time we had two healthy children, our youngest was 2 and finally becoming a little more independent. We had a church who loved us, our housing was provided, life was comfortable. One night my wife and I listened to John Piper preach a sermon called Predestined for Adoption which really opened our eyes to the beauty of adoption. Around this time God had also really given us a passion for the sanctity of human life. Anna was volunteering as a peer counselor at the local Pregnancy Care Center but we felt God calling us out of our comfort zone to do something more. We knew He was calling us to adopt and we knew we wanted to adopt where there was a need. We began exploring that a bit not knowing exactly where God was leading us until we learned the startling reality that 80-90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome during pregnancy were being terminated. After realizing that, there was no turning back for us. We both had had people in our lives with Down syndrome that we loved dearly and were overjoyed at the thought of welcoming a child with Down syndrome into our family. Still there were friends and family worried about the stress this would put on our family and we ourselves knew that it would be challenging . And yet we also knew that God calls us to step out in faith and pursue the hard things in life for His glory and that His grace would be sufficient to meet all our needs.

How did it happen that you came to adopt Emma?

Not knowing where to begin we went to a private agency and let them know we were specifically looking to adopt a baby with Down syndrome. We were told that they really only saw healthy newborns and our best option would be to go through Alberta Children’s Services as they dealt more with the special needs cases. So we began the long process of paperwork, training, home study, etc. only to find out they really didn’t see babies with Down syndrome either. We followed through though trusting this was where God was leading. Once we became an approved home through A.C.S. we began contacting all the different private agencies just to get our name out there. We followed up on different leads we had heard about but nothing happened for three years. It was during this time, as we began to question our decision, wondering if we were making any progress, that the Lord taught us about the need to wait on Him. As it turned out, God used this time to have us create awareness of the issue in our church and community as well as being interviewed for an article in a national magazine. In the end, we received our phone call from that first private agency we met with. In God’s providence they had decided to keep our names on file, “just in case.”

Next April will bring the 2012 Together for the Gospel Conference—the 4th of these bi-annual conferences. What began in 2006 as a meeting between friends has expanded into a very large event with thousands attending. With a new, bigger venue, next year’s event promises to be bigger than ever.

With the early bird registration period ending in just a few days (October 31), I was asked to mention T4G on this blog. I took the opportunity to speak to Matt Schmucker, who helps direct the event, to ask him a few questions that I’ve been thinking about as I consider attending.

2012 will mark the 4th T4G Conference. Before I ask how it has changed over 4 iterations, let me ask this: What is T4G at this point in time?

In the simplest terms T4G is an every-other-year event that brings friends together to encourage pastors in their task of shepherding. In a grander sense we hope God uses it to help define and defend gospel truths for our generation. In the midst of confusing mounds of digital opinions, it offers, Lord permitting, a little bit of clarity.

T4G began as a conversation between friends and the co-founders called upon some of their heroes in ministry. Noticeably different this year is the subtraction of John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul and the addition of Kevin DeYoung, Matt Chandler and David Platt. Can you talk about this shift? Is this still a conversation between friends or has it become something else?

Dr. MacAruthur and Dr. Sproul sadly were unable to attend for personal reasons. We will miss their contribution. The generation of rising preachers may have little idea how indebted they are to these men for their decades of standing for the truth. We are excited about having Kevin, Matt, and David as plenary speakers in 2012. They all spoke at T4G 2010 either in breakout sessions (David and Kevin) or a main session (Matt). These men have been building solid relationships for years with Al, Lig, Mark and CJ. A unique feature of T4G is the friendship between all the men. There is no lack of familiarity. The relationships are, I believe, what makes T4G stand. Besides, Mark Dever would have it no other way!

The iPad has proven itself a game-changing medium in many ways, not the least of which is in being a medium that Christians can use to share the good news of Jesus Christ. A few weeks ago I came across a fascinating app called The Book of Revelation App, a graphic novel adaptation of Revelation. I have been enjoying the app and recently got in touch with Chris Koelle, the artist, to ask him about the project. I hope you enjoy this interview.

Tell me a little bit about yourself—who you are, where you go to church, and so on.

I’ve been doing art and freelance illustration full-time for about 7 years now. Alot of my work has been providing illustration for books, graphic novels, documentaries, and album art for CDs and vinyl records. My wife Annie is one of the most wonderfully inspiring and passionate artists I know. We have a 4-year-old son named Marshall. We are, with much joy, a part of Downtown Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC. I love a hot mug of strong coffee, cold, grey sweater weather, experimental music of all sorts, and intaglio printmaking, among other things.

I’ve got something a little bit different today. This is a kind of discussion or interview I had with my friend Julian, who was asking me about some of the questions and some of the complications related to having a popular blog. I thought it would be worth sharing since it addresses some of the criticisms people have lodged against me recently. And I hope it gives a little bit of perspective to the Christian blogosphere.

Here is Julian’s introduction follow by his questions and my answers.

In NHL hockey politics (which is big news here in Canada) there has been lots of talk over the last couple years about "the code." Rumor has it that there is some moral code that guides how players hit each other or when they fight. Supposedly everyone knows it and it is universally seen as "dirty pool" when someone breaks this code. However, whether the code actually exists is a matter of debate.

It's clear that for the average blogger with a readership of 20, anything is fair game. You can say whatever you want about whomever you want in whatever way you want whenever you want because only he and his mom will read it. But I think a lot of people suspect that there is a "code" in the evangelical blogging world. There are certain places you cannot go, certain things you cannot say, certain people or ministries that you cannot criticize.

I wanted to actually explore this a little bit, so I took the following questions to the biggest blogger I know, Tim Challies. I wanted to find out, "Is there a 'code' amongst big-name bloggers?"

To give some context to "big-name blogger," how many people read your blog? 

I do not track statistics as much as I probably should (at least according to all the blogging experts) but I think if I were to add up people who visit the blog and who read it through other media (RSS, Facebook, etc.) it would be somewhere between 750,000 and 1 million reads per month. With all the different ways people can digest the content today, it’s increasingly hard to get an accurate measure.

And how long have you been blogging?

I’ve been blogging since late 2002 or so, and I’ve been blogging every day since late 2003. I’ve probably posted around 5,000 articles in that time.

What's the purpose of your blog?

I think the purpose has evolved over the years, but as it has gained an audience, I think it's become a place to discuss what is of particular interest to Christians, and especially those Young and/or Restless and/or Reformed Christians. I consider what I do thinking out loud about important issues and then allowing other people to help me think better. That is why I write about relevant topics, why I review books and why I try to draw attention to good resources.

I do not consider it my job to critique everyone or everything. Yes, there are times when I use the blog to critique, but largely I want the blog to be positive in tone. I have no interest in being one of those watch-bloggers who has a ministry of criticism.

Would you say there is a "code" in the Christian blogosphere?

Yesterday I shared the first part of a two-part interview with John MacArthur. Yesterday’s questions revolved around Dr. MacArthur’s new book Slave, the best Bible translations, avoiding scandal, the challenges he has faced in ministry, and the advice he would give himself if he could go back to the early days of his ministry.

Today the interview continues…

You are obviously a busy man. What advice would you give to pastors on loving their wives and children amidst the many demands of the pastoral ministry?

It is critically important that the pastor give priority to his family. As Paul told Timothy regarding the qualification of an elder, "He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?" So, this is a priority that comes to us directly from the Scriptures.

The most important things a Christian father can do for his children are to love their mother in a Christ-like way (Ephesians 5) and to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6). And the most important thing he can do for his wife is to pursue Christ, and then to love and lead her out of the overflow of his devotion for the Savior. Thus, the fundamental key for being both a good husband and father is to be a godly man--one who fervently loves the Lord and is shepherding his own heart and mind with the Word of God. And that is intensely practical. To be an effective parent and a model husband, you must be faithful in your walk with Christ. Everything else in life flows out of that. Then your leadership in the home will be marked by an attitude of humble sacrifice and selfless service. As the Spirit uses His Word to sanctify your heart, you will be able to shepherd and care for your family.

There are other important things that fathers must do, of course--such as praying for their children, correcting them with patience and gentleness, instilling within them a love for the church, spending time with them, encouraging them, befriending them, and helping them make wise friendships of their own. But the heart of Christian parenting is being a faithful Christian.

That kind of genuine Christianity, daily lived out before those who know him best, brings great credibility to the pastor's preaching and leadership in the church.

How can we best critique people who are “in our camp” and yet believe things different from us? Or behave in ways we do not appreciate? How can we know where to draw those lines?

A couple of weeks ago I asked the readers of this site to help me interview John MacArthur. I collected several of the best questions, added in a few of my own, and sent them off. Dr. MacArthur was kind enough not just to answer them, but to answer them very thoroughly.

I am posting the first 5 questions and answers today and will follow up with the next 5 tomorrow. Today the questions revolve around his new book Slave, the best Bible translations, avoiding scandal, the challenges he has faced in ministry, and the advice he would give himself if he could go back to the early days of his ministry. Tomorrow he talks about time management, about critiquing people “in our camp,” about theological crises, about the Reformed Charismatics and about Christians who deny a literal 6-day creation.

Without further ado, here is the interview with Dr. MacArthur:

Slave. What is it about this word that merits a whole book?

Sometimes one word can make an enormous difference. For example, the Latin Vulgate's translation of metanoia (repentance) as paenitentia (penance) in places like Acts 2:38 led to all sorts of problems in the Roman Catholic Church.

The slave concept is a major theme in Scripture. In fact, believers are referred to as "slaves" hundreds of times throughout the Old and New Testaments. Yet, the American church is blind to this critical theme because most English versions translate the word as "servant" instead.

While it is true that the duties of slave and servant may overlap to some degree, there is a key distinction between the two: servants are hired; slaves are owned. Servants have an element of freedom in choosing whom they work for and what they do. The idea of servanthood maintains some level of self-autonomy and personal rights. Slaves, on the other hand, have no freedom, autonomy, or rights. In the Greco-Roman world, slaves were considered property, to the point that, in the eyes of the law they were regarded as things rather than persons. To be someone's slave was to be his possession, bound to obey his will without hesitation or argument.

This reality has major implications for our understanding of the gospel. Christ's call to follow Him is not simply an invitation to become His associate, but a mandate to become His slave. That message is especially needed in American culture, where a man-centered, feel-good, cheap-grace gospel has become so popular. But nothing could be farther from the biblical reality--a reality which is brought to the forefront by rightly translating that one word: "slave."

In the past I've written many books that focus on a right understanding of the gospel--The Gospel According to Jesus, The Gospel According to the Apostles, Hard to Believe, and so on. But, as I note in my preface to Slave, "I have no doubt that this perpetual hiding of an essential element of New Testament revelation has contributed to much of the confusion in evangelical teaching and practice. In fact, I wonder if it wasn't the reason I felt the need to write so many books to clarify the gospel. If this one reality had been known, would any of those books have been necessary?"

So, I see this as a vitally-important issue with far-reaching implications for how the gospel ought to be understood, preached, and lived.

In a week or so I am going to have an opportunity to interview John MacArthur. This isn’t something that comes along every day! I thought it would be interesting to have an open mic, so to speak, allowing those of you who read this site to suggest questions I may like to ask him.

So here is your chance to ask Dr. MacArthur anything at all (anything at all within reason, of course). Let’s try to focus the questions on MacArthur, his books, his ministry and perhaps some contemporary events. Which is to say, I don’t see this as an opportunity to ask him the general theological questions that have been bothering you. Let’s talk about him, his years of ministry, the books he has written, and maybe especially his most recent book.

So go ahead and leave a comment with your question. To make things just a bit more interesting, I’ll try to find some copies of Slave, that most recent book I just mentioned, for some of you whose questions end up being chosen.

Suggest a Question

A short time ago, while posting a poem titled “I Looked for Love in Your Eyes,” I lamented that while there are many, many books written to help men overcome an addiction to pornography, there is very little written to help the women who have been victims of a husband’s addiction. Shortly after I received an email from Vicki Tiede who has written just such a title. Her book, titled Mosaic Heart: Spiritual Healing in the Midst of a Husband's Addiction to Pornography (Update: The book has been released as When Your Husband Is Addicted to Pornography) will be published by New Growth Press, probably about a year from now.

I asked Vicki if, in the meanwhile, she’d be willing to do an interview to offer some words of help to women who are struggling with the effects of their husband’s sin. She was kind enough to do so. Here is what I asked her:

What is the scope of this problem? How many women are struggling with the effects of a husband’s addiction to pornography?

For nearly every man who regularly views pornography, there is likely a wife or girlfriend experiencing the fallout resulting from his choices. According to TopTenReviews.com, 28.8 million U.S. men regularly visit pornography websites. 50-60% of Christian men struggle with addiction.

From a wife’s perspective, is there a difference between an addict and a more casual user? Should there be?

This is a great question. First let me give you a technical response and then I'll give you a heart response. The term "addiction" implies that there is a progression, tolerance, and an inability to stop the behavior even when there is a desire to stop. A single act of viewing pornography would not be an addiction. However, a "casual user," indicates more than a single act and I would suggest that a "casual user" is already on the slippery slope of addiction. Pornography has a snowball effect; what may begin as seemingly "innocent," occasional visits to a porn site often slowly increases to greater frequency of visits and for larger amounts of time.

Sadly, this increased exposure to porn results in desensitization and tolerance, so when free internet pornography no longer satisfies their supposed needs, some men expand their repertoire to include subscription pornography, massage parlors, strip clubs, prostitutes, hotel rooms, and travel expenses for clandestine affairs. So to answer your initial question - Is there a difference between a one-time exploration and an addiction? Yes. Is there a difference between an addict and a more casual user? No, there is not enough difference to suggest that we can dismiss casual use as harmless.

Now, here's the heart response of a wife ... I would ask the question, "Is the betrayal any less heartbreaking if a husband only has an extra-marital sexual affair 'once in a while,' and he insists he can 'stop having affairs anytime he chooses to do so,' than if he seeks sexual fulfillment from someone other than his wife several times a week and can't stop himself?" It seems ridiculous to even answer such a question, doesn't it? Whether a man claims to be a casual user of porn or is addicted, his wife still experiences the same feelings of rejection and loss.

To be honest, in my book I tell women that they should thank God if their husband is struggling with his addiction to pornography. That struggle is an indication that the Holy Spirit is at work. It's when a husband feels no conviction for his sexual sin that hope seems harder to hold onto.

What is the struggle of women whose husbands are battling (or perhaps given over to) pornography? What do men need to know about the way a husband’s use of pornography tends to affect his wife?