Praise The Lord!

I have been living with pain in my right hip for almost a year and a half now. It had been getting progressively worse until I started physical therapy and seeing a Doctor of Osteopathy. These seem to have helped a bit over the last 2-3 months. I have seen 5 doctors and been more frustrated with this than anything I have had to go through in my entire life. Last Saturday I found a sample of something my mom used to use, it is called Biofreeze and we put it on my hip and it seemed to relieve the pain a bit. Lisa called a chiropractor here, my mom used to get it from her chiropractor, and we found one who was not open on Saturdays, apparently the phone number was his cell, but he agreed to go to his office and sell us a tube. I found this odd but chalked it up to "southern hospitality" and we drove over to his office about a mile from our new home. The doctor pulled into the lot next to us just minutes after we arrived. He got out of the car, looked at me reclined in the passenger seat, and said "You're in pain aren't you?" I said yes and he told me to get out of the car. We went into his office and he did some "voodoo" magic that consisted of my putting my right hand on different muscles and seeing if I could resist his pushing down my left arm, him mumbling to himself, getting out a cylindrical steel instrument that seemed to work on the same principal as a retractable pen, thumping me on the hip with it 3 or 4 times and then telling me to walk. I was dumbfounded, I could walk upright, without my cane and, most importantly, without pain!

It did not last long but I went back today for an appointment, he adjusted me, thumped me on the hip again with his cylindrical miracle instrument and I was pain free. I have to say I will be going back to this worker of God's true healing power until I am completely well, which he says will happen. He said his wife had the same thing, they are both chiropractors, for eight years before he ran across and article in a journal that introduced him to this wonder tool. All I can say is I was pretty sure we moved to Mississippi because I am called to preach the gospel, but I am absolutely sure I ended up at RTS because this 68 year old, semi-retired chiropractor happened to providentially practice a mile from the seminary. Praise the Lord for sure!

By The Way

We are selling our home in Cedar Rapids. If any of you are interested in a 3 story, 5 bedroom house about 100 years old let us know. It's a great place to live and has plenty of room for expanding families. There is not much in the way of Reformed Churches in the area but the one we go to in Cedar Falls, about an hour north, is a great church.

Truth Withdrawal

Ok, it's 35 days until we move to Mississippi and we are feeling the crunch. I am still going to PT 2-3 times a week and the DO twice a month. I am teaching myself Greek, about 2/3 done with that, and Hebrew, 1 of 14 lessons done. I know it sounds impressive that I am teaching myself but I am using a Greek and Hebrew tutor software along with help from a wonderful scholar living in England named George. He has helped quite a bit with some timely tips as I head down the stretch with Greek. So if you are suffering from withdrawal from my blog I do apologize and I think once we get moved and class begins I should have plenty to blog about.

Wasting Time With Doctors

I went to a specialist today to determine what is wrong with my hip. You know what he told me, it is muscular take some Tylenol. Tylenol, are you kidding me? He obviously does not know the first thing about medicine. This pain I am having is incapacitating, but you know what, I have been called to preach the gospel so I am going forward with my plan to attend seminary. I trust the Lord will get me through it and hey, pain builds character, right? I thought I had enough character but obviously I was wrong. I will not turn down any prayers though.

Update

I went to the doctor and found out the x-rays were negative. So it may not be osteo-arthritis after all. What exactly it is remains a mystery but what is not a mystery is it is getting worse. I realized last night I could not work like I was 2 months ago and I am not sure I could cook dinner like I was 2 weeks ago. I go for a bone scan and MRI in 2 more weeks and am getting frustrated. I am sure God has called me to preach the gospel but I am not sure exactly how He is going to enable me to endure the training. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated.

A Reason For The Pain

I don't believe I have updated you all on my hip. I have Osteo-arthritis and will be seeing a family doctor tomorrow who will then give me a referral to a specialist. They may be able to give me a cortisone shot to help deal with the pain. But other than that this is degenerative and surgery may be the only other option eventually. I need some strength and motivation to go swimming, the only cardio I can do with my hip which will help me lose some weight.

My Story Part 4

One thing I became firmly convinced of early on was that a pastor should be married. I think it is vital to his well being that he have someone who will be there to listen, make suggestions, pray for and with him, and complete the man called by God. In January. 2007, after more than 2 years of praying for her, the Lord provided that person for me in one Lisa Bronson. Now, Lisa Gielczyk and I are preparing for the adventure the Lord has for us together. She is so excited to see where the ministry of the word takes us. The support she has already provided has been invaluable. One thing she encouraged me to do is to start a blog, www.truthincontext.blogspot.com, where I tell people of the importance of discernment, warn them about false teaching, and provide a wealth of links to other resources that expound the truth.

As I have matured in Christ, I have had many opportunities to perform varied services. I led a Sunday School class on cults; witnessed to Mormons over a three month period and would love a chance to do that again; have led Bible studies on at least four different occasions; served as the secretary of a student led ministry at my undergraduate school, which provided several preaching opportunities; worked in the school library; and went on a mission trip to Kentucky. I believe all of these have contributed toward preparing me for the ministry the Lord has prepared for my wife and me.

I have never been more certain of anything in my life than that the Lord has called me to preach Christ and Him crucified. I discussed this over time with the pastor and elders of Christ Presbyterian Church. On one occasion as one of the elders was taking time to mentor me, I questioned why all of the elders in our church had seminary degrees, yet their vocation was in the secular world. I made the comment, “I cannot see myself doing anything but preach the gospel.” He responded that is one thing they look for in confirming a calling. He said, “If you can see yourself doing something else, you should do something else. I could see myself doing something else, so I did.” I will never forget that conversation. It has helped confirm for me that I have truly been called.

The state of preaching today is in such a mess; sound, historical-redemptive, expository preaching is needed now more than ever. I am forty years old, with a wealth of experiences I know the Lord will use to his glory. It's been nearly four years since I quit drinking, and I have been on a non-stop reading binge ever since. I have read a wide range of theological works, including systematic theology, biblical theology (Vos), homiletics, hermeneutics, apologetics, and commentaries of various theological schools. With about 50 college credits including English Composition, History, Philosophy, Speech, and several Bible classes, along with two decades of life experiences, I believe I am more than fully prepared to enter and complete the MDiv. program at fill in the blank Seminary. I am including a paper I did in undergraduate school as an example of my work. My undergraduate school was a Restoration Movement, Arminian, baptismal regeneration school and I still received an A on this paper. One major reason I would like to be admitted to the degree program is my intention of pursuing doctoral studies at some point in the future. Following the completion of my MDiv., I plan on preaching the gospel until the Lord calls me home, and I pray He gives me many years to do so.

The End, So Far!

My Story Part 3

I ended up leaving the church and joining Christ Presbyterian Church (PCA) where the biblical doctrines were being taught. I walked into their Sunday School class where they were going through Machen’s “Christianity and Liberalism” and knew immediately I had found a home. When my new pastor did a three-part series on Covenant Theology based on “God of Promise,” I finally had the missing pieces of my beliefs put in place.

A few months before this, I started attending an Arminian, baptismal regeneration college which only solidified my assurance of the Biblical (reformed) faith. I was a four-point Calvinist, if that is really possible, until another non-traditional student, Kelvin, asked me a simple question: “Is unbelief a sin?” From that moment on, I have been firmly entrenched in the reformed faith. As the wife of one of the elders at Christ Presbyterian Church puts it, “He’s so reformed, I love it!”

While attending this school, I became friends with Jason and Kelvin, both non-traditional students like myself, and also reformed. All three of us began attending at the same time, in the middle of the school year, confirming even more my belief in providence. Being older and not afraid of speaking our minds, we were quickly branded the “TULIP Squad,” which we not only did not mind but kind of wore proudly.

Sitting under that teaching was very difficult and frustrating. The linguistic gymnastics Arminians practice boggles the mind. To listen to them say they are “saved purely by grace, all one has to do is accept Jesus”, all the while believing they are not violating the law of non-contradiction, is more frustrating than listening to Atheists. I had one professor, the so-called Greek scholar, tell me that Romans in the NIV was translated by Calvinists. Yes, he really said that. I just calmly reminded him that Romans was written by a Calvinist. I got a C in that class.

My Story Part 2

Happy morning! I thought I would put this up early so those of you waiting with baited breath could relax the rest of Saturday. Here then is part 2:

One day in 1997, my car broke down, and I borrowed my mother’s car. She had an NIV Bible in the front seat, and when I opened it, I was amazed that I could actually understand it. She bought me a copy with a two-week reading plan on the life of Jesus. I read through those fourteen chapters in a couple of hours. When I realized Jesus was God, I understood that I was not and never would be acceptable to a completely holy God; I fell to my knees as God regenerated me and gave me the faith to believe His word.

In November of 1997, I quit doing drugs and began attending the Bible Church Tom attended. After a couple of years, I began drinking again—but, I figured I wasn’t drinking as much as before, and after all, I could control it. Or so I thought. It felt odd going to Church after drinking during the week, and I soon realized I could not continue to serve two masters. So, in 2002, I stopped attending Church.

After struggling with alcohol for two more years, I was released from that bondage as well and soon felt the call into preaching Christ and Him crucified. I was attending a Bible church, but spent a year investigating the confessional churches because I just could not shake the feeling that something was being watered down where I was. I kept hearing that we were “Evangelicals,” and although I was not sure exactly what that meant, I was somehow pretty sure I was not. During a conversation with one of our elders, I mentioned something about dispensationalists. He said “All Christians are dispensationalists.” This bothered me because I was sure I was not a dispensationalist. So I struggled for a time with the feeling that perhaps I was not really a Christian.

Tune in next time...

My Story Part 1

I sent my applications to Westminster and MARS yesterday and some have asked me to share the testimony I included in that application process. It is rather long so I will break it up over a few posts. So hear goes.

A Story of One Called by God to Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ
My name is Alan Gielczyk, and this is my story. I was born in total depravity, an enemy of the God who formed me in my mother’s womb. I hated God and every day of my life tried to show that I knew better how to live my life than He did. Of course, I did not realize this. I thought I knew god and had a pretty good relationship with him. He did not interfere in my everyday life and lived up to every expectation I had of him. He never made any demands upon my life and was thoroughly obedient to my every whim. Of course he never really helped me when I was struggling with drugs and alcohol, but hey, our relationship had to have SOME limits, did it not?

I was baptized Roman Catholic when I was an infant, raised by my divorced mother as a nominal Episcopalian, and knew just enough of the Bible to think my standing with God was fine. As a teenager, I struggled with depression, dropped out of high school, and started working. I married, and before I knew it had a son. My life spiraled out of control as I got divorced, became addicted to drugs, and began a fifteen year love affair with a bottle—all before my twentieth birthday.

I will skip most of the gruesome details of life lived in a hazy, drug-induced, alcoholic blur, save to say that even at my lowest point I still deluded myself into thinking I was ok with God. The lengths one will go to in deceiving oneself amaze even me, the one who did the deceiving. I wonder who the people I was comparing myself to (and deciding I was better off than) were comparing themselves to.

After the divorce and wearing out my welcome at the home of every relative that would give me a chance, I moved in with my best friend. We had the “party house”. Both of us worked at a pizza place, and since we were a bit older than the average teenager there, they all enjoyed coming to our house where no parents were to be found. One of those who would frequent our abode was a guy named Tom. Everyone knew Tom was a Christian, but that he would not condemn us for our lifestyle. He would simply come over and talk with us while we were doing drugs and getting drunk, and eventually the conversation would move toward religion. He would patiently answer all my challenges and questions and did a lot of planting in my life.

to be continued.....

In My Thinking?

Someone asked me if I am Calvinistic in my thinking. Well, I suppose I should take this opportunity to tell a bit more about where I came from and how I got to this place. I was raised, as a Christian, in a non-denominational Bible Church. God saved me when I was 30. I spent the better part of ten years in that church. There were many people that had a great influence on my maturing as a Christian, and there are still many there that I deeply love.

About four years ago, I sensed a calling to preach the word of God. I approached my pastor and he suggested I attend a "Bible Institute." I do not think he understood what I meant—I wanted to learn everything there is to learn about God and his word, I wanted to go to school and earn as many doctorates as they would allow me to. About this same time, I started having an identity crisis. OK, it wasn't a crisis, but that is the term, so I'll go with it. I understood that we, at our church, were evangelical, but as I was reading everything I could get my hands on, and comparing that to what I was seeing on TV and hearing on radio as evangelical teaching, I was quickly coming to understand that I was not an evangelical.

I enrolled in a Bible college and thought this would be a great way to earn my BA before heading off to seminary. The school happened to be an Arminian school. Had I known that, it still would not have kept me out, because I had no idea what an Arminian or a Calvinist was. Now, I had just finished a Bible reading plan that took me through the Bible in a year, and I was terribly excited about taking classes to learn more about the Bible and what it taught. It was not long before I had to ask myself, "What is this strange teaching I am hearing?" I do not know where they were getting their teaching from, but it was not the scripture. Within a couple of weeks, I was returning to my room every night searching the scriptures and finding the exact opposite of what I was being taught. Being in my mid-thirties and so excited about school again, I was sitting in the front of every class and my professors quickly learned my name as I would not remain silent and had to speak up every time I thought they were teaching error. I actually had one fellow student tell me, "We are never going to finish this class if you don't shut up." That made me feel good.

There also happened to be two other older guys who started at the same time I did, and both of them were "reformed" as well. Midway through our first semester, we were nicknamed the "Tulip squad," I didn't mind, and I don't think Jason or Kelvin minded either. I had an understanding of the difference between exegesis and eisegesis and was amazed at how often seminary trained men, some with doctorates, would practice the latter. Now, we are all fallen and tend to bring our own presuppositions to the text, but if we are aware of that and try as often as we can to avoid it, it goes a long way toward allowing us to understand what the text says instead of what we would like it to say.

Now Jason was new to the area and looking for a church. I searched the internet and happened upon this Presbyterian church just down the street from school. The first Sunday I took him there we walked into a Sunday School class studying Machen's "Christianity and Liberalism," the pastor there, Scott Churnock, was preaching on Romans. He had started this series seven months earlier and on that particular day was somewhere in Chapter three, that is expository preaching! He is now over two years into the book and not quite done with chapter eight, I listen via podcast every week. Anyway, I knew I had found a home, this was the kind of preaching and teaching I had been looking for. I do not think it any coincidence that shortly after I began attending he also did a three part series on covenant theology involving chapter four. At last things began falling in place, everything in scripture started becoming clearer and clearer when viewed from an historical/redemptive standpoint.

So now here I am and the doctrines of grace are the point at which I approach everything in life, I think they are where everyone should begin their thinking. So am I Calvinistic in my thinking? Well, I suppose, but only because the Bible is Calvinistic in it's meaning.